15 OCT 2008 _______________________________________ *Hijacker overpowered on Turkey-Russia flight *American Airlines safety program ends amid bickering with pilots *Improved African aviation safety targeted at UN forum *Four Indonesian airlines grounded over safety breaches *Perth airport to get Sensis surface movement surveillance system *JetBlue, Cape Air pilot recruitment programme grows *************************************** Hijacker overpowered on Turkey-Russia flight ISTANBUL, Oct 15 (Reuters) - A man attempted to hijack a Turkish Airlines THYAO.IS plane on a flight to Russia on Wednesday but was disarmed by fellow passengers, an airport spokeswoman told Reuters. Passengers on the aircraft, which had taken off from the southern Mediterranean Turkish resort of Antalya, overpowered the assailant after he said he had a bomb strapped to his body, the spokeswoman for airport operator TAV TAVHL.IS said. The plane, with 162 passengers on board, was shortly due to land in St Petersburg. *************** American Airlines safety program ends amid bickering with pilots A lauded safety program at American Airlines has ended amid bickering between the airline and its pilots, a development that an airline official called "sad and incomprehensible." The Aviation Safety Action Partnership was a joint program run by the airline, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Allied Pilots Association. Launched in 1994, it allowed pilots to report safety-related incidents for investigation without fear of discipline from American or the FAA. Aviation experts have praised it as an effective way to identify potentially dangerous safety lapses that otherwise might go unreported. The program expired Monday after American and the union failed to negotiate its renewal. Each side is blaming the other for the failure to keep the partnership alive. "The APA’s willingness to discard a 14-year program that has done so much for our pilots, our airline and our industry is impossible to understand," American spokeswoman Tami McLallen said. Billy Nolen, an American pilot who works for airline management, said in a message to pilots that the program’s lapse was "sad and incomprehensible." Airline officials say the union had made unreasonable demands for additional immunity under the plan. Union officials, meanwhile, alleged that the airline had begun to use the program to punish pilots, and they chafed against a proposal they say would have allowed the airline to label pilots as "reckless." "Management, in this case, flight department management, has lost the trust of its pilots," union leaders said in an e-mail to pilots. "It is that simple." American still has ASAP programs for flight atten- dants and ground workers. Pilots who wish to report safety incidents can still do so confidentially to the airline’s safety department, American officials said. Pilots can also report safety cases under a system operated by NASA. The collapse of the program, which served as a model for the industry, is the latest casualty of deteriorating relations between American pilots and management. A proposed flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to China was scrapped last year after airline officials and pilots failed to negotiate an agreement to fly the lengthy route. Contract talks with pilots have dragged on for two years with little progress. And pilots have opposed a bid by American to win antitrust immunity for an alliance with British Airways, which airline executives say is vital to compete on overseas routes. "Given closer arrangements now being forged between Delta and Northwest, and Continental and United, [American] would be strategically wounded if labor is successful at thwarting" the alliance with British Airways, Daniel McKenzie, airline analyst at Credit Suisse, said in a recent note to investors. http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/974879.html ************** Improved African aviation safety targeted at UN forum 14 October 2008 – The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is seeking to boost air safety in Africa, organizing workshops and fine-tuning in-air flight separation regulations. “The foundation for a much safer and efficient air transport system throughout Africa has been laid,” ICAO Council President Roberto Kobeh González told 281 participants from 19 African States and four international organizations at a two-week seminar in Addis Ababa. “With completion of this first seminar and workshop, participating African States are in a much better position to successfully meet the very serious safety challenges that confront the region.” The ICAO State Safety Programme/Safety Management Systems Seminar and Workshop from 22 September to 3 October marks the first in a planned series of safety-related activities for Africa under the Africa-Indian Ocean (AFI) Comprehensive Implementation Programme. The overall objective of the programme is to enhance aviation safety through increased cooperative efforts by government and global industry stakeholders, under the leadership of ICAO, to effectively address deficiencies identified through ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme. Conference participants were introduced to the recognized safety management concept – with its supporting programmes for service providers, including airlines, air traffic services and airports, and for civil aviation authorities – as a predictive approach to safety. ICAO analysis indicates that traditional safety strategies and initiatives focused on the outcomes of accidents and regulatory solutions to specific technical problems have begun to stall. In a related move, ICAO has halved the minimum vertical distance between aircraft in AFI airspace, resulting in more efficient flight operations and related benefits for airlines, passengers and the environment. The reduction from 2000 to 1000 feet between 29,000 and 41,000 feet, provides access to more efficient cruising levels, leading to less fuel burn with related annual savings for the AFI region of an estimated $85 million. It should also result in an annual reduction of 250,000 tons of global warming carbon dioxide and create six additional flight levels, increasing overall efficiency of airspace management, better on-time performance, and fewer delays on the major air traffic routes between Africa and other regions. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28562&Cr=aviation&Cr1= **************** Four Indonesian airlines grounded over safety breaches JAKARTA: Indonesia has grounded four airlines, giving them three months to improve safety standards or face a ban, a transport ministry spokesman said today. A safety audit found airlines Pura Wisata Baruna, Sampoerna Air Nusantara, Dabi Air Nusantara and Atlas Deltasatya failed to meet minimum standards in several safety categories, spokesman Bambang Ervan told AFP. The airlines have been moved into the transport ministry's bottom safety ranking and have had their Air Operator's Certificates (AOC) suspended with effect from October 7, Ervan said. "They could not comply with the requirements and safety standards," he said. Four out of five airlines that had their AOCs suspended in July have also been allowed to return to the skies after improving their safety standards, Ervan said. "But we are still closely monitoring them to ensure they continue to comply," Ervan said. The fifth airline suspended from flying in July, Helizona, failed to meet its three-month deadline and has had its AOC revoked. The airline now has six months to fix standards before being deregistered as a business. Indonesia, an archipelago nation which relies on air routes, has one of the world's worst air safety records. - AAP ************** Perth airport to get Sensis surface movement surveillance system Airservices Australia has contracted Sensis to provide a surface movement surveillance system at Perth Airport in Western Australia. Sensis says in a statement that Perth will be the fourth airport in Australia to receive its Advanced - Surface Movement Guidance and Control System, or A-SMGCS. Two years ago it announced a contract covering A-SMGCS installations at Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney airports. "Sensis A-SMGCS uses the most advanced multilateration, surface movement radar and conflict prevention and alerting technology available to provide air traffic controllers with improved situational awareness," says Sensis Air Traffic Systems VP and general manager Tony Lo Brutto. "The controllers at Perth will now have the tools to enhance runway safety and work more efficiently with the other major airports in the Australian national air traffic system." The system gathers data from multiple surveillance sources at an airport including multilateration, radar and vehicle locator systems. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** JetBlue, Cape Air pilot recruitment programme grows A new pilot recruitment programme being implemented by JetBlue Airways, its codeshare partner Cape Air and major US colleges is producing favorable results and will begin accepting additional candidates shortly. The so-called Aviation University Gateway programme identifies potential future Cape Air and JetBlue pilots at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of North Dakota (UND). "We are pleased to announce that 41 young pilots from University of North Dakota and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University have now been accepted into the [Gateway] programme - they are progressing exceptionally well," says JetBlue VP of flight operations John Ross. JetBlue and Cape Air will bring more students into the programme in the next two months. Under the initiative, which was first announced in January, participants intern at Hyannis, Massachusetts-based Cape Air - which operates Cessna 402 aircraft - and then serve as an instructor at their respective flight school. Following this process, candidates will fly with Cape Air for at least two years and then be eligible for a final interview at JetBlue, which operates Airbus A320s and Embraer 190s. Cape Air recently completed the first summer of internships for Gateway participants. "Some of the pilots flew as first officers, while others worked in a variety of ramp functions. But all of them also spearheaded important projects, such as creation of new quick reference handbooks for the Cessna 402 and business cases for the airline," says Cape Air chief operating officer Dave Bushy. UND department of aviation's chair, Kent Lovelace, adds: "Our students came back to campus with glowing reports - they felt as if they were part of a culture called Cape Air and had a better understanding of aviation as a business." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ***************