11 MAR 2008 _______________________________________ *FAA to improve aircraft black boxes *ADS-B Program Wins 2007 Collier Trophy *Air travel 'safe', says official *NTSB: Ground GE CF34s With Cracked Fan Blades *************************************** FAA to improve aircraft black boxes Cockpit voice recorders will soon be required to capture last two hours of audio Data can no longer be recorded on easily damaged magetic tape Flight data recorders must now record more measurements more often FAA will not require video recorders in the cockpit, as recommended by the NTSB WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday it is mandating that cockpit voice recorders record for longer periods of time and continue recording after a loss of power. Magnetic tape, which is vulnerable to damage, will be replaced with new technology in cockpit voice recorders. Voice recorders will be required to capture the last two hours of cockpit audio instead of the current 15 to 30 minutes, and to continue recording for nine to 11 minutes once the main power is disrupted. Voice recorders also must use solid-state technology instead of easily damaged magnetic tape. Digital flight data recorders, which record speed, altitude and other critical information, must now also record more data more frequently. The devices, commonly called "black boxes," are orange to make them easier to find at crash sites. The FAA rule comes nine years after the National Transportation Safety Board called on the agency to improve the recorders and does not go as far as the board recommended. The FAA said the costs of some of the recommendations would be too great to justify any potential benefit. Notably, the FAA did not pursue the National Transportation Safety Board recommendation to require video recording of cockpit activities. Investigators say video could have been helpful in cases such as the October 1999 crash of Egypt Air Flight 990, in which it was determined the co-pilot intentionally flew the plane into the sea. Pilot groups have opposed the use of cockpit cameras. Also, the FAA is not requiring aircraft to have two cockpit voice recorders/digital flight data recorders, one close to the cockpit and the other as far aft as possible, increasing the likelihood that at least one system would survive a crash. The FAA opposed dual systems because of "the substantial costs involved." The new standards for the recorders will apply to all aircraft manufactured after March 7, 2010. Many builders, however, are already installing the newer equipment. Existing commercial airplanes -- but not helicopters -- must be retrofitted with some of the equipment by March 7, 2012. The FAA said the longer audio recordings may be especially beneficial, noting that in several past accidents, shorter recordings did not capture the full conversations about problems. "The adverse effect on safety of these abbreviated recordings cannot be ignored," the FAA said in a news release. Mandated independent power sources enable cockpit voice recorders to collect data even after a plane's power is disrupted. Existing planes are not required to be retrofitted. "We found that the cost ... was considerable and the burden on [airlines] would be substantial," said the FAA release. In addition to new voice recorder requirements, all new aircraft will be required to record 25 hours of digital flight data. Some helicopter manufacturers said 25 hours would be excessive given the relatively short duration of their flights. However, the FAA said increased recording time is "a matter of memory and is not a technical challenge," and there would be benefits to standardizing equipment and rules. Robert Sturgell, the FAA's acting administrator, said the improvements will enable investigators to retrieve more data from accidents and incidents. "These enhancements will give us more information about the causes of accidents and find ways to avoid them in the future," he said. The new rule affects airplanes and helicopters with 10 or more seats. The FAA proposed the changes in 2005, and they have undergone an extensive comment and review period. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/10/black.boxes/ *************** ADS-B Program Wins 2007 Collier Trophy Group Awarded Honor Over Airbus A380, Falcon 7X The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) announced at its Annual Spring Awards Luncheon last week the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Team of public and private sector groups has been selected as the recipient of the 2007 Robert J. Collier Trophy. The Collier Trophy will be presented at a formal dinner on Thursday, June 12, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. Government and industry leaders who have collaborated for nearly a decade will be honored "for conceptualizing, developing, and the initial implementation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, the next generation performance-based air-ground, ground-air, and air-air surveillance system," states the NAA. "ADS-B is a ground-breaking effort for next-generation airborne surveillance and cockpit avionics," noted NAA Chairman and Collier Selection Committee Chairman Walter Boyne. "Its implementation will have a broad impact on the safety, capacity and efficiency of the national airspace system." NAA categorized ADS-B as "the vision of many prestigious aviation organizations and individuals who both recognized its potential to dramatically improve the current aviation system and who also worked tirelessly for its adoption as the first phase of building the Next-Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)." Among those groups are the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Cargo Airline Association, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Federal Aviation Administration, ITT Corporation, Lockheed Martin, NASA, the MITRE Corporation, UPS, ACSinS and many others. "We were very pleased with the nominations that came to NAA for the Collier Trophy this year," said Jonathan Gaffney, President and CEO. "I believe the importance of the trophy is best reflected in the quality of the nominations - and we had some outstanding nominations and presentations." The Collier Trophy is awarded annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." The list of Collier winners represents a timeline of aviation, as many of the awardees mark major events in the history of flight. In addition to the winning ADS-B Team, other nominees for the 2007 Collier Trophy includes Dassault Aviation, for its new Falcon 7X bizjet; the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST); Epic Aircraft's VLJ team; the Airbus A380 superjumbo; and the Air Force Space Command's Space Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) highly elliptical Orbit (HEO) Development, Test and On-Orbit Operations Team. FMI: www.adsb.gov, www.naa.aero aero-news.net *************** Air travel 'safe', says official Air passengers will be guaranteed safety during the upcoming Beijing Olympics, a senior civil aviation official said Monday. Li Jiaxiang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), was speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing NPC session in reference to the foiled attempt on Friday to crash a passenger jet bound for Beijing. "China's civil aviation industry adopts very tight security measures, which in recent years have been among the best in the world," Li said. "We have the capability to guarantee the safety of airline passengers." A China Southern Airlines flight that took off from Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, was forced to make an emergency landing on Friday at Lanzhou, capital of neighboring Gansu province, because "some people were attempting to create an air disaster", Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, said on Sunday. The Southern Metropolis News quoted an unnamed source yesterday as saying at least two people, including an 18- or 19-year-old girl, were involved in the attempt. An air hostess smelled a faint odor of gasoline and traced it to the girl, who was put under restraint, the paper said. The suspect was trying to ignite the fuel to cause an explosion in the airplane, the newspaper quoted a CAAC circular as saying. The paper also said loopholes in the safety procedures at Xinjiang airport were to blame. Although declining to comment on the accusation, Li, the former head of Air China, the nation's largest airline company, said "measures will be taken to strengthen the safety of air transportation" for the upcoming Beijing Games. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-03/11/content_6525021.htm **************** NTSB: Ground GE CF34s With Cracked Fan Blades Defective fan blades on General Electric CF34-3B1 engines should be taken out of service before another inflight fire or engine failure occurs -- so says the National Transportation Safety Board. In its March 5 recommendation letters, the safety board cites two previous fan blade failure events, both involving Bombardier CRJ-200s. One occurred July 27, 2006, as Air Nostrum Flight IB8174 was climbing out of Barcelona International at 23,000 feet. The second event occurred May 24, 2007, when an Atlantic Southeast Airlines aircraft was in cruise flight at 23,000 ft. In both instances, the flight crew heard a loud bang and the aircraft experienced severe vibrations prior to the event. Air Nostrum's No. 1 (left) engine fractured and separated in the disk area, resulting in considerable engine mechanical damage and extensive thermal damage. ASA's No. 2 (right) engine separated below the platform in the blade attachment area. In both events, the low-pressure turbine case-to-turbine transition case flange failed, with the LPT case shifting aft and rotating slightly. Both flights landed safely, and no one on board was injured. Both failures are related to a material defect introduced in the manufacturing process -- which make the blades susceptible to premature fatigue fractures, according to the NTSB. San Luis Potosi, Mexico-based Teleflex manufactures the failed fan blades, of titanium forging: P/N 6018T30P14, Serial Nos. MAE35246 (Air Nostrum event) and Serial No. MAE49663 (ASA) -- and some 28,000 are currently in service. NTSB recommendations include having FAA require that GE Aviation modify the CF34-1/-3 engine design and ensure that an unbalance event (which can result from high engine vibrations caused by fan blade fractures) will not cause the engine to catch fire. The safety board also recommends that Transport Canada require Bombardier to redesign the retention feature of the engine throttle gearbox on the CRJ-100/-200, so that it can withstand loads generated by fan blade separation. For a complete list of NTSB recommendations, see http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/letters/2008/A08_3.pdf and http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/letters/2008/A08_4_9.pdf http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=aviationdai ly&id=news/NTSB03108.xml&headline=NTSB:%20Ground%20GE%20CF34s%20With%20Crack ed%20Fan%20Blades ****************