25 SEP 2008 _______________________________________ *FAA to help airlines install crash-avoidance equipment *Pilot Error Suspected In Crash Near Perm *FAA settles with SoCal helicopter crash survivor for $4.5 million *El Al flight from Paris gets fighter plane escort following bomb scare *India's Kingfisher calling on some lessors to cancel A320 leases *Florida's Panama City airport aims to build 10,000ft runway *Carib Aviation to suspend operations *African continent prepares for RVSM implementation *************************************** FAA to help airlines install crash-avoidance equipment Skywest Airlines, US Airways and Southwest Airlines will get $600,000 each to help pay for systems designed to help prevent runway incursions. Three airlines that operate at Los Angeles International Airport will install safety equipment in their cockpits designed to reduce runway near misses, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday. The FAA will provide $600,000 each to Skywest Airlines, US Airways and Southwest Airlines to help pay for cockpit systems that show pilots their precise locations at airports and provide them with information about the runways they are entering, crossing or departing from. Research by the FAA and the airline industry shows that the technology would have eliminated 44% of the serious runway incursions nationwide that were caused by pilot error between 2004 and '08. Incursions occur when pilots fail to stop at hold lines on taxiways that lead to runways. Aircraft that stray too far present a risk of collision with other planes. FAA officials say the so-called "electronic flight bags," which include a map display and an alerting system, will be particularly useful to pilots at night, during poor weather or when flight crews are not familiar with the layout of an airport. "This technology is on every pilot's wish list. It's going to be a big boost for runway safety," said Bobby Sturgell, the FAA's acting administrator. "As a former airline pilot myself, I can tell you that putting these systems in the cockpit will raise situational awareness considerably." The FAA has agreed to help fund the systems in exchange for information from the airlines that will help the agency evaluate the effectiveness of the system. Under the agreement, each airline will install the technology in 20 aircraft by May 15, 2009. The $600,000 grants are part of a $5-million program by the FAA to help equip cargo and passenger carriers with the new technology, especially at major airports with runway safety issues. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lax25-2008sep25,0,138932.story *************** Pilot Error Suspected In Crash Near Perm Transportation Minister Igor Levitin said Wednesday that there were no mechanical problems with the Aeroflot Nord airliner that crashed near Perm on Sept. 14, killing all 88 people on board. "This was not a case in which the plane should not have been allowed to fly because of a technical defect," Levitin said, adding that both of the jet's engines were in proper working order before the flight and there had been no midair explosion, Interfax reported. His comments came a day after a source within the technical commission investigating the crash of the Boeing 737 told Kommersant that the tragedy had been the result of underqualified pilots. Airline industry experts were quick on Wednesday to defend the skill of the country's commercial pilots in general and of the pilots of the Aeroflot Nord flight, in particular. "Those preparing to be pilots go through multiple years of training and regularly attend advanced training courses," Yury Fedyushin, deputy head of the State Aviation Inspection Service, said Wednesday. Aeroflot Nord, a subsidiary of state-owned Aeroflot, defended the pilots of the crashed plane. "Those were experienced pilots," said Anton Popov, the company's spokesman, adding that the captain of the craft had logged a total of 3,689 flying hours in his career, including 1,165 in aircraft produced by Boeing. Vladimir Gerasimov, a flight safety expert with the Russian Association of Cockpit Personnel, said the cause of the crash had to lie elsewhere. "Pilot error couldn't have been the cause of the catastrophe," Gerasimov said. "We have to look for the cause of the accident, which could be in the conditions under which the pilots were working as well as in the mechanical condition of the jet." He said the regulation of flight safety had deteriorated since the pilot's service within the Soviet Ministry of Civil Aviation folded after the breakup of the Soviet Union. As a result, Gerasimov said flight safety "leaves much to be desired" in small airlines like Aeroflot Nord. The State Aviation Inspection Service is now responsible for civilian aircraft safety. Investigators working on the case had dismissed an earlier theory that the crash had been caused by a faulty speed-control system, Kommersant reported Wednesday. The pilots had complained about a minor malfunction in the system before the flight, the paper reported. Calls to the spokesman for the Interstate Aviation Commission went unanswered Wednesday, while a spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office, which is also investigating the incident, refused to comment on the Kommersant report. Aeroflot Nord's Popov dismissed all of the speculation Wednesday, saying, "The commission has not finished its investigation and thus cannot reach any conclusions." http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1010/42/371211.htm *************** FAA settles with SoCal helicopter crash survivor for $4.5 million LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman says the agency has agreed to pay $4.5 million to the lone survivor of a deadly collision of 2 helicopters over Torrance Municipal Airport. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said today the agency decided this month to settle with 27-year-old Gavin Heyworth, a former Marine. Heyworth sued the FAA after the November 6th, 2003, collision in front of the control tower. Heyworth was a student pilot flying solo when his helicopter slammed into the other helicopter. The other pilot, 55-year-old Robert Bailey, and 36-year-old passenger Brett Boyd were killed. Heyworth suffered severe injuries. Heyworth said in a statement issued by his lawyer he is now "essentially a young man in an old man's body." The settlement comes after a U.S. District Court judge ruled that negligent air traffic controllers gave confusing instructions to Heyworth. *************** El Al flight from Paris gets fighter plane escort following bomb scare El Al flight 324 from Paris to Tel Aviv was escorted to Israel by air force fighter planes before its 8 P.M. landing last night due to suspicions a bomb had been placed onboard. The event proved a false alarm. After landing, the Boeing 767 carrying 237 passengers parked far from the terminal, and passengers were bused to the main terminal and went through a security check. El Al technical staff, meanwhile, examined the plane for a bomb. Advertisement "We saw fighter planes from the windows. The captain explained to us what was happening," said a passenger. A few days ago, Israeli security authorities received a warning that a bomb might be placed on the flight, and alerted their French counterparts. Strict security measures were taken even before the plane took off from Charles de Gaulle Airport, and French warplanes escorted the plane until it left French airspace. The other countries along the plane's route were notified, and they all chose to have the plane escorted. Israeli authorities implemented the standard procedures in such cases, even though Israeli security authorities believed the event was a false alarm, particularly in light of the severe security measures taken in Paris, Haaretz has learned. In general, fighters escort a commercial flight in cases of suspected hijackings to direct the plane or prevent it from flying to other destinations. If the authorities had truly suspected a bomb had been placed onboard, the plane would have been directed to make an emergency landing on the way. Zeev Sarig, the managing director of Ben-Gurion Airport, told Haaretz yesterday: "In order to rule out any possibility [of a bomb], we conducted examinations of the passengers and the plane, to ensure the plane was clean. The process was carried out with no problems." This is not the first time in recent years that air force jets were scrambled to escort commercial flights on their way to Israel, whether for fears of hijackings or false alarms of bombs placed onboard. For example, a Lufthansa flight was forced to land in Larnaca, Cyprus in 2004 after an anonymous caller phoned the airline's offices in Germany and warned of a bomb onboard. Lufthansa said the caller spoke in and Arabic accent. After being checked, the plane was allowed to continue to Israel. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1024188.html ************** India's Kingfisher calling on some lessors to cancel A320 leases Kingfisher Airlines has sold two of its Airbus A340-500s on order, it is calling on some aircraft lessors to cancel leases on some of its Airbus A320s and it will be doing likewise with some of the ATR 42s. "The issue we have is we have to cut capacity" because the aviation industry in India is down, Kingfisher executive VP, Hitesh Patel, says from Mumbai. Kingfisher recently returned two A320s to leasing companies, he says, adding that the airline wants reduce the size of its A320 fleet further by returning A320s when the leases expire and in some instances it will be seeking to return the aircraft before the leases expire. But there will be no cancellation of leases on Kingfisher's ATR 72-500s although it does plan to completely phase out its fleet of ATR 42-500s and this will involve cancelling some leases, says Patel. According to ATI's ACAS database the airline has nine ATR 42-500s. All are on leases and the aircraft's owners include ATR Asset Management, Oman Air and Air Tahiti, it says. "There's a route dispersal scheme in India" where local airlines are required to serve some remote areas and in some instances the only aircraft that can land at these places is smaller aircraft such as the ATR 42-500, says Patel. He says despite this Kingfisher plans to meet its obligations using the ATR 72-500s. It needs to phase out the ATR 42-500s because "its an odd-ball aircraft in our fleet", he adds. Besides narrowbodies, Kingfisher recently started operating Airbus A330s plus it has five A340-500s on order for delivery next month. Patel says two of the five A340-500s have already been sold but he declines to say to whom. He says the airline's total fleet stands at around 90 aircraft, which includes all the narrowbodies and widebodies. According to ATI's ACAS database the airline has 49 A320-family aircraft, five A330s, 28 ATR 72s and nine ATR 42s. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Florida's Panama City airport aims to build 10,000ft runway Panama City-Bay County International airport authority will extend the commercial runway for a new airport set to open in northwest Florida 2010. The $318 million airport is scheduled to open during the Memorial Day holiday that year. After securing $4.5 million for the expansion from the Florida legislature, the authority will have a 10,000-ft (3,048 m) runway built instead of an 8,400-ft runway. The extension allows for the accommodation of larger aircraft and potential service from Europe, airport executive director Randy Curtis tells ATI, adding the extension is pending approval from the FAA, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The authority has begun the permitting process for the expansion and the lengthening is not expected to impact the construction schedule. The runway has been graded and paving is scheduled to begin early next month. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Carib Aviation to suspend operations About a month after ceasing codeshare and wet-lease agreements with fellow Antiguan carrier LIAT, Carib Aviation will shutter operations. The commuter carrier will cease service on 30 September, LIAT says in a statement. "We await further announcements from Carib or the authorities regarding Carib's future operations and the servicing of the Barbuda and Montserrat routes by other carriers," LIAT says. LIAT says it will no longer market Carib Aviation flights or provide the carrier ground handling services. LIAT agreed to supply those services after the Carib codshare ended on 16 August. While LIAT will takeover service to Nevis, it says its Bombardier Dash-Q100/300 aircraft are unable to fly to most of the airports served by Carib Aviation. In addition to Nevis, Carib Aviation offers charter flights to Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Tortola. Carib Aviation was not immediately available for comment. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** African continent prepares for RVSM implementation States across the African continent are preparing to reconfigure their airspace by adopting reduced vertical separation minima (RVSM) from midnight tomorrow. The switch will halve the standard height interval between cruising altitudes from 2,000ft to 1,000ft over all states in the ICAO African and Indian Ocean region. The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations says the programme is "undoubtedly the largest" air traffic management initiative undertaken by the continent, and will "contribute to improving overall safety" in the region. ICAO's planning and implementation group agreed the changeover date from conventional separation minima to RVSM airspace at a meeting in Rwanda last year. RVSM applies to altitudes from flight levels 290 to 410. The change will create additional flight levels and bring the continent into line with other areas of the world - notably Europe and certain North African states - which have already introduced RVSM operations. In June ICAO confirmed the switchover date and said that all 53 African and Indian Ocean region countries had reaffirmed commitment to RVSM by completing national safety plans. It stated that the time around midnight on 25 September would be a suitably "quiet and stable" period during which the transition could take place. Under the transition plan all ground stations will repeatedly warn aircraft, from 45min beforehand, of the impending change. Non-RVSM aircraft will be excluded from altitudes between FL290 and FL410 from two hours before the midnight transition, and operations by non-RVSM aircraft above FL410 will be suspended for the four-hour period bridging midnight. From midnight controllers will start allocating RVSM altitudes. Intervals of close monitoring will follow during which authorities will check for, and report, any possible irregularities or incidents such as height deviations wake vortex encounters. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************