20 MAR 2008 _______________________________________ *Inflight Fire Burns Passenger Onboard Delta 767 *Criticism of FAA Stacks Up *Australia in danger of losing its aviation safety rating? *Cargo Flight Diverted to Boston *NetJets To Launch Operation In India *Dornier Do-328 Accident (Germany) *Nigeria: Missing Plane, a National Embarrassment *Honeywell to equip Airbus aircraft with new features *************************************** Inflight Fire Burns Passenger Onboard Delta 767 Airliner Makes Emergency Landing At GSP An inflight fire broke out in the cargo compartment of a Delta Air Lines 767-300 Wednesday afternoon, burning a passenger and forcing an emergency landing at Greenville-Spartanburg Airport (GSP) just before 1700 local time. Flight 1819 departed Raleigh-Durham, NC just before 1600 EDT, enroute to Atlanta. The airliner (file photo of type, above) with 200 passengers onboard had just passed Greenville when the fire apparently broke out. GSP spokeswoman Rosylin Weston told WYFF-4 in Greenville the flight crew reported smelling smoke in the cockpit. Airport manager Larry Holcombe said one passenger was treated for burns from the fire; no other injuries were reported. Little is known about the nature of the fire, though Delta spokesman Brian Kruz said a preliminary investigation by inspectors points to a malfunction in the airliner's cabin air system. Several passengers told authorities they heard a possible explosion onboard, and felt heat coming from the floor of the cabin. The flames had reportedly been extinguished by the time the aircraft landed. FMI: www.faa.gov, www.delta.com aero-news.net **************** Criticism of FAA Stacks Up Traffic System Plan, Safety Draw Fire; Inspection Response As it addresses concerns over airline inspections, the Federal Aviation Administration faces pressure from Congress and industry to change how it ensures the safety of air travel and how it overhauls the aging air-traffic-control system. The agency was already dealing with a protracted labor battle, resistance to its congestion-relief initiatives and Democratic opposition to President Bush's nominee to head the FAA. Then, revelations surfaced this month that an FAA supervisor had let Southwest Airlines Co. keep flying older jets even though they had missed required inspections. The FAA and airlines immediately afterward suggested the issue was a rare oversight. The FAA inspectors' union and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said a wider problem existed. The agency changed course this week, initiating industry-wide maintenance audits at every airline. Meanwhile, earlier spot checks prompted by the Southwest case have found areas of concern elsewhere. At US Airways Group Inc., a spot inspection found the carrier was unable to access some compliance data as quickly as inspectors wanted, according to people familiar with the matter. These people said that it was a process issue and that no serious safety matters were found. A US Airways spokesman confirmed the FAA's check and said "the records can be accessed in a timely manner; there is simply a new process for doing so." He added that the carrier is "confident that we will be found fully compliant." Many aviation-safety officials stress that air travel has never been safer and that stepped-up reviews will strengthen the FAA's oversight. "We're focused on keeping the aviation system as safe and efficient as possible and on using taxpayer dollars as wisely as possible," said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown, adding, "there will always be critics." Attention now is focusing on the agency's process for conducting inspections, the Air Transportation Oversight System, which relies on data submitted by the airlines. The system calls for the agency's roughly 3,000 inspectors to spend more time analyzing industry-provided data than conducting physical inspections. The inspectors' union, passenger groups and some lawmakers say that has essentially abdicated a regulatory role to the industry. They take information from the carriers, put them into formulas and do very focused inspections," said Linda Goodrich, a vice president of the union that represents most FAA inspectors. "The carrier knows when we're showing up and exactly what we're going after." The agency argues the approach gives inspectors a broader look at safety that helps them identify budding hazards that might be missed in looking at just specific aircraft. "We can identify issues, fix them and ensure they stay fixed," Nicholas Sabatini, the agency's top safety official, told lawmakers last September. At a safety conference two months later, Mr. Sabatini said the long-term goal is to use data the industry provides "without fear of reprisal or punishment." The Southwest case highlights how dependent the FAA can be on the accuracy of the data. The top local FAA maintenance inspector last year ordered an FAA employee to withhold certain negative findings from an agency-wide database, according to a federal report based on allegations by two agency whistleblowers. Instead, favorable findings were put into the database. Southwest said it is conducting its own probe. "Ronald Reagan said 'trust and verify,'" said Rep. Jerry Costello, an Illinois Democrat who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the agency. "Their attitude too often has been trust and accept." The FAA's Ms. Brown said inspectors generally receive data from enough separate sources, including some directly from flight data recorders, to ensure its validity. In addition to a series of hearings set for April, lawmakers said they will likely move to increase the agency's authority to hire inspectors for more physical inspections. Staffers in the House and Senate said their committees may also examine whether a "cooling off" period should apply before former airline employees can inspect their former companies' planes. Meanwhile, the FAA in recent weeks has met resistance from the aviation community over its strategy for rolling out the next generation air-traffic-control system, which the agency touts as the cure for persistent congestion. The move would replace the radar-reliant system with a satellite-based system that provides up-to-the-second positional information. The new system enjoys broad popular support. But the FAA's proposal calls for aircraft owners to purchase equipment that transmits positional information to controllers, not on technology that would send traffic, weather and other helpful data to pilots in the air. "Not only are the benefits extremely difficult for us to find, but the cost of complying with the proposed mandate is very high," said Randy Kenagy, chief of staff for government affairs at the Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association, a trade group. "That's just not going to fly for our members." Paul Takemoto, an FAA spokesman, said the agency is consulting an advisory committee comprising industry officials. "We have to let the process play out," he said. The nomination of Robert Sturgell to head the FAA for a five-year term remains stalled amid concerns about the agency's plans to revise flight paths around New York's congested airports. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120597189840250367.html?mod=googlenews_wsj ****************** Australia in danger of losing its aviation safety rating? Ben Sandilands writes: Deficiencies in air safety in Australia have been uncovered in an audit by ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, and must be fixed by the end of the year to avoid risking the loss of its Level 1 rating as a nation in full compliance with the highest standards. ICAO debriefed the relevant public servants and AirServices Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and other parties three weeks ago. It gave some of these parties a period of months to devise and implement a corrective action plan pending its publication of a final audit report by the end of the year. This report will be posted after a draft version is circulated to and discussed with the Federal government and the safety bodies with ICAO having the last word over as to its contents or conclusions. A spokesperson for CASA confirmed that the debriefing identified areas where Australia doesn't conform to the various rules or annexes of ICAO but declined to give specifics. He said, "There are no shock horrors in it. It did not identify any immediate threats to aviation and any suggestion that it does are an exaggeration." Crikey understands the debriefing strongly endorsed some aspects of air safety procedures in Australia, including technical excellence in making recommendations arising from issues with faulty components. However it was described as being sufficiently confronting over certain deficiencies to put Australia's over all ICAO level 1 rating at risk. It is not difficult to guess where it found them, within an air traffic control system that doesn't continuously control even at major airports, an air safety investigator that doesn't always investigate, and an air safety regulator that not only doesn't always regulate, but according to departing chief executive officer Bruce Byron, sees its role as encouraging rather than enforcing compliance. Such spectacles as Qantas refusing to take off or land at Australian airports because AirServices Australia can't fulfil its responsibilities haven't escaped notice. Nor, it is understood, has the absurd exposure of larger scheduled aircraft to light aviation movements around airports where passenger numbers are rapidly growing. If Australia loses its Level 1 ICAO rating it also drops from a Level 1 to a Level 2 nation under the US Federal Aviation Administration's safety assessment rules. The FAA allows the established carriers of Level 2 countries to continue flying into US airports subject to heightened surveillance, but it bars entry by new carriers using their own aircraft unless they are wet-leased (meaning crewed and maintained by) an airline from a Level 1 state. This means Virgin Blue's plans for flights to the US by 'V Australia' are in effect hostage to the current and unsatisfactory failings of air safety services and administration in this country. http://www.crikey.com.au/ ***************** Cargo Flight Diverted to Boston BOSTON (AP) - A cargo flight from Milan to Miami has been diverted to Logan International Airport after the crew smelled an odor and reported a possible hazardous materials problem and possible damage to a cargo door. Airport spokesman Phil Orlandella says the four-member crew of Alitalia Flight 9180 used oxygen masks and landed safely just before 10 p.m. Tuesday night. He says the crew has been examined by medical personnel and no injuries were reported. A hazardous materials crew was checking the MD-11 aircraft. A call to the airline was not immediately returned. *************** NetJets To Launch Operation In India Also Eyes Partnership In China It's no secret the Asia-Pacific region is a current hotbed for aviation, as the burgeoning region embraces growth in both commercial and business aviation sectors. The latest operation to tap this market is fractional jet provider NetJets, which plans to launch operations in India shortly... and it doesn't plan to stop there. Reuters reports the company, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, is also looking towards a partnership in China, that would open yet another large market for the company's private jet operations -- creating still more opportunities beyond the company's existing US and European bases. For now, however, India's the focus. "In India, wealth creation is taking place at a phenomenal pace," said NetJets Executive VP at a recent news conference. "We think we'll get to our first 100 customers in India very quickly, and that will be just the tip of the iceberg. Colucci notes a 400-percent increase in the number of NetJets flights to and from India over the past four years... many of them for high-net-worth individuals and businesses. "Our customer base is not affected by a market slowdown," he said. "Breakeven will be a few years down the line here, not many years." FMI: www.netjets.com aero-news.net **************** Dornier Do-328 Accident (Germany) Status: Preliminary Date: 19 MAR 2008 Time: 17:45 Type: Dornier Do-328 Operator: Cirrus Airlines Registration: D-CTOB C/n / msn: 3107 First flight: 1999 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 24 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 27 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Mannheim Airport (MHG) (Germany) Phase: Landing Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Berlin-Tempelhof Airport (THF/EDDI), Germany Destination airport: Mannheim Airport (MHG/EDFM), Germany Flightnumber: 1567 Narrative: Overran runway on landing and hit an earthen wall. One wing and engine severely damaged. (aviation-safety.net) ********************* Nigeria: Missing Plane, a National Embarrassment Daily Trust (Abuja) The Federal Government's inability to unravel the fate of an aircraft that has been missing since Saturday is a national embarrassment, the Action Congress (AC) has said. In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, expressed shock that the combined efforts of the military, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the aviation agencies cannot determine what happened to the Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. The party said that the conflicting statements from the Aviation Minister, Mr Felix Hyet, were an embarrassment. "It is sad that with the technological advancement available today, a minister in charge of such a key sector will have to rely on the claims of a village head and a local council official on the fate of the airplane. "Worse still, one is deeply worried over the silence from the Presidency considering the fact that three Nigerian citizens were on board the aircraft when it went missing and the signal it sends to the international community about aviation safety in Nigeria and the value attached to human life by the administration," it further added. According to the party, the development has triggered concern across the country about aviation safety, especially after billions of naira were spent to reform the sector following a spate of deadly air crashes. AC called on the National Assembly to urgently organise a public hearing on the state of the nation's readiness for disaster prevention and management. It also called on the Federal Government to investigate why the combined efforts of NEMA, the military and the aviation agencies cannot unravel the fate of the aircraft. http://allafrica.com/stories/200803200264.html ***** Status: Preliminary Date: 15 MAR 2008 Time: ca 08:15 Type: Beechcraft 1900D Operator: Wings Aviation Registration: 5N-JAH C/n / msn: UE-322 First flight: 1998 Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67D Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: 3 Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: / Occupants: 3 Airplane damage: Written off Location: still missing (Nigeria) Phase: En route Nature: Ferry/positioning Departure airport: Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS/DNMM), Nigeria Destination airport: Bebi Airstrip, Nigeria Narrative: The Beech 1900D airplane took off from Lagos at about 07.35 en route to Obudu. It was expected to arrive at Bebi Airstrip there at approximately 08:45. The aircraft contacted Enugu ATC at 07:54 and again at 8:04 am before contact was lost. It did not arrive at Beb Airstrip and was declared missing. Initial confirmations by the NCAA that the wreckage was found the next day at Nbagu village in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, proved to be false. The plane is still missing as of March 20. (aviation-safety.net) *************** Honeywell to equip Airbus aircraft with new features Mar 20, 2008 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) -- Honeywell has said that it has been selected to provide the Flight Management System and the Aircraft Environment Surveillance System for Airbus's new long-range, wide-body A350XWB aircraft. The contract is expected to generate more than $1.5 billion in revenue for Honeywell over the life of the program. Honeywell has said that its Aircraft Environment Surveillance System (AESS) combines the Traffic Alert Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), Mode S transponders, Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) and Advanced 3-D Volumetric Weather Radar (RDR-4000) into a single unit. This will offer pilots increased situational awareness to reduce workload and maximize route and fuel efficiency. The company claims that the AESS reduces system weight by more than 20% and saves more than 50% in aircraft space by combining systems housed in eight avionics boxes into two boxes. It is operating on all delivered Airbus A380 aircraft, and will be enhanced for the A350XWB. Garrett Mikita, president of Air Transport and Regional Business of Honeywell, said: "Delivering safety information to pilots is critical, and Honeywell continues to advance flight safety by creating this system that surrounds pilots with the key information they need such as weather, traffic and terrain." The Flight Management System is at the heart of an integrated system of sensors and displays that allow the flight crew to handle the in-flight details of flight planning and navigation. http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1225370/ ***************