17 OCT 2008 _______________________________________ *Wire likely ripped off blades in fatal chopper crash *NTSB ISSUES URGENT RECOMMENDATION REGARDING PRATT & WHITNEY 2037 ENGINES INSPECTIONS *FAA Creates 'Lessons Learned' Online Database *Boeing 737-200 Runway Overrun (Venezuela) *FAA expands runway status lights nationwide *Industry slow to adopt warning system for helicopters *'We've lost too many lives' in EMS crashes *AAMS Works with FAA, Congress Toward Safety Enhancements *‘No Nigerian Airport Has Met ICAO Safety Conditions’ *The Association of Relatives and Friends of Gol's Flight 1907 Victims Reports Lawsuit Filed Against US Journalist *American remains coy in explaning favourable 787 delivery slots **************************************** Wire likely ripped off blades in fatal chopper crash CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- The rotor blades on a critical-care helicopter that crashed -- killing all four passengers -- likely clipped a guy wire, causing the blades to break off, an air safety investigator said Thursday. A helicopter blade lies in a field after the Wednesday night crash that killed four people. 1 of 3 "A rotor blade is not designed to travel through anything except air," said National Transportation Safety Board investigator John Brannen. The Wednesday night crash in Aurora, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, is the latest in a string of medical helicopter accidents that has raised concerns among NTSB officials. Pieces of what appear to be the main rotor blades, their hubs and shaft were found in a nearby apartment complex apartment lot, about 100 yards from the main wreckage, Brannen said. "It indicates that possibly the main rotor blades separated from the aircraft during flight," Brannen said, citing "preliminary information." Police evacuated 16 apartment buildings near the crash as a precaution while crews assessed the tower's stability. The guy wires add stability to the tower, which Brannen said is 1,149 feet high. Two crew members, a nurse and a 1-year-old patient were killed when the Air Angels Inc. chopper, a Bell 222, crashed in a field, authorities said. The aircraft was en route from Valley West Community Hospital in the town of Sandwich to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. Investigators don't know whether they will be able to retrieve any usable data from the chopper because it caught fire, Brannen said. Weather conditions were clear when the accident occurred, he added. "We don't have any indication at this point that there was a distress call from the helicopter," he said. Brannen said he reached the crash scene about 90 minutes after the copter went down. Air Angels Inc. is an independent emergency medical transport service based at Clow Airport in Bolingbrook, officials said. The FAA and NTSB are investigating the accident. Last month, NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt said his agency was concerned about the increasing number of medical helicopters that had been crashing. "We have had too many of them," he said. "We need to do something about it. We need to do something about it right now." His remarks came three days after a Maryland State Police chopper carrying two victims of an automobile accident crashed in foggy weather as it attempted to land in suburban Washington. The September 27 crash marked the eighth fatal medical helicopter accident in a year. While the NTSB acknowledges that emergency medical operations are often conducted in darkness and bad weather and over rough terrain, the agency says the accident rate for the missions is too high. The NTSB has raised concerns about medical helicopter crashes in the past. The agency investigated 55 crashes -- resulting in 54 fatalities -- between January 2002 and January 2005. In a 2006 report, the NTSB said 29 of the accidents could have been prevented. At that time, the NTSB noted some recurring themes: less stringent requirements for flights with no patients on board; a lack of flight risk-evaluation programs; lack of consistent, comprehensive dispatch procedures; and few requirements to use certain safety-enhancement technologies, such as night-vision goggles. More than 50 people have died in medical flight accidents since the NTSB made its recommendations in 2006. Nearly two-thirds of the fatalities involved nighttime or poor-visibility conditions. Fewer than a third of about 800 emergency medical services helicopters in the United States have night-vision technology. A lot more would like to have it, according to a survey of 382 active helicopter EMS pilots by the National EMS Pilots Association. The survey, published in May, found that 82 percent of pilots prefer to use night-vision equipment. "We are an independent federal agency, charged by Congress to investigate transportation accidents, to determine the probable cause and then to issue safety recommendations," Sumwalt said last month. "When those recommendations are not implemented, lives are lost, needlessly." Although the NTSB offers recommendations, the FAA has the power to make regulations mandatory. "We understand the NTSB safety recommendations, and we agree with all of them," said Jim Ballough, director of the FAA's flight standards service. "We also understand that rulemaking takes a long time." ************** NTSB ISSUES URGENT RECOMMENDATION REGARDING PRATT & WHITNEY 2037 ENGINES INSPECTIONS Washington, DC -- As a result of its ongoing investigation of an incident involving a Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engine experiencing an uncontained failure, the National Transportation Safety Board issued an urgent recommendation today to the Federal Aviation Administration to require all Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engines be removed from service for inspection of the second stage turbine hubs when they have accumulated significantly fewer hours (10,880) and/or cycles (4,392) than the incident engine. On August 6, 2008, Delta Air Lines flight 624, a Boeing 757-232 equipped with PW2037 engines, experienced an uncontained failure of the right engine’s high pressure turbine second stage hub at McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada. According to the pilots, at the start of the takeoff roll they heard a loud bang and observed that the right engine had lost power. The pilots rejected the takeoff and the airplane returned to the gate. All 166 passengers and the crew of four deplaned. There was no fire or injuries. Examination of the incident airplane’s right engine revealed a hole in the bottom of the core cowl that was in line with a hole through the engine’s high pressure turbine. The inspection also revealed missing lugs and cracks in the turbine hub. Additionally, the Safety Board learned that at least four other PW2037 second stage turbine hubs have had cracks in the blade retaining lugs. And, NTSB has also learned that, during a routine overhaul, an American Airlines PW2037 second stage turbine hub with cracks in two adjacent blade retaining lugs was reported. The Safety Board has requested information on all of these hubs. “These discoveries raise serious concerns and warrant immediate action by the FAA,” said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. “A string of consecutively fractured blade retaining lugs could result in the simultaneous release of multiple blades, which would exceed the design capacity of the engine’s cases and result in an uncontainment. Preventive safety measures must be taken.” The NTSB issued a second recommendation today that would require a continuing inspection schedule for the hubs until the cause of previous instances of cracking is found and corrective action is identified. The Safety Board is still investigating this incident. A copy of the Board’s safety recommendation letter may be accessed on the NTSB’s website at the following link: http://ntsb.gov/Recs/letters/2008/A08_85_86.pdf ************** FAA Creates 'Lessons Learned' Online Database Pilots, Others Encouraged To Review Lessons From The Past The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established a one-of-a-kind online safety library that teaches "lessons learned" from some of the world's most historically significant transport airplane accidents... especially how that knowledge can help maintain today's aviation safety record. "Why study aircraft accidents that happened as long as 40 years ago?" the agency asks, rhetorically. "The FAA believes many of the lessons learned from these tragedies are timeless, and are relevant to today's aviation community. By learning from the past, aviation professionals can use that knowledge to recognize key factors, and potentially prevent another accident from occurring under similar circumstances, or for similar reasons, in the future. "The FAA's Lessons Learned library, in its initial release, lists 11 major airplane accidents that made an impact on the way the aviation industry and the FAA conduct business today. The FAA's goal is to stock the library with 40 more historically significant accidents by the end of 2009." The 11 selected accidents now in the library are: Braniff L-188 (Electra) in Texas (September 29, 1959) Northwest L-188 (Electra) in Indiana (March 17, 1960) United Viscount 745D in Maryland (November 23, 1962) United 727 near Los Angeles (January 18, 1969) Eastern L-1011 in Florida (December 29, 1972) Continental DC-10 at LAX (March 1, 1978) Air Florida 737 at Washington, D.C. (January 13, 1982) British Airtours B737 at Manchester, UK (August 22, 1985) USAir 737 in Pennsylvania (September 8, 1994) ValuJet DC-9 in Florida (May 11, 1996) China Airlines 747 near Taipei (May 25, 2002) Each accident entry features the accident investigation findings, resulting safety recommendations and subsequent regulatory and policy changes, if any. The entry also includes sections on the unsafe conditions that existed, precursors that pointed to an impending accident, and the basic safety assumptions made during the airplanes' design, or that led to the airplanes' continued operation. Most important, the lessons learned from the investigation are explained in detail, and grouped into relevant technical areas and common themes, such as organizational lapses, human error, flawed assumptions, preexisting failures and unintended consequences of design choices. "The FAA believes that the Lessons Learned library can help foster a culture in which aviation professionals capture and use day-to-day information from certification, maintenance, and operational activities to improve safety," the agency notes. "The expected benefits from examining the library include more consistent safety decisions and fewer safety problems caused by breakdowns in communication between design, maintenance and operational organizations." FMI: http://accidents-ll.faa.gov/ aero-news.net **************** Boeing 737-200 Runway Overrun (Venezuela) Status: Preliminary Date: 16 OCT 2008 Time: ca 15:30 Type: Boeing 737-2H4 Operator: Rutaca Registration: YV162T C/n / msn: 23055/970 First flight: 1983-05-26 Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A(HK3) Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 47 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 54 Airplane damage: Minor Location: Caracas-Simón Bolívar International Airport (CCS) (Venezuela) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Puerto Ordaz Airport (PZO/SVPR), Venezuela Destination airport: Caracas-Simón Bolívar International Airport (CCS/SVMI), Venezuela Narrative: RUTACA Boeing 737 registered YV162T landed on runway 28R at Caracas-Simón Bolívar International Airport (CCS) following a domestic flight from Puerto Ordaz (PZO). After touchdown the airplane swerved to the left. The nose came to rest on the runway embankment. The weather at the time of the incident (18:00 UTC) was reported as: SVMI 161800Z 34002KT 9999 -DZ SCT016 OVC090 26/23 Q1012= (wind 340 degreees at 2 knots, light drizzle, scattered clouds at 1,600 ft. and overcast 9,000 ft., temperature 26°C,dewpoint 23°C, QNH 1012 mb.) (aviation-safety.net) *************** FAA expands runway status lights nationwide The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded a contract to Sensis Corp. of Syracuse, N.Y. to install runway status lights at 22 major U.S. airports. Runway status lights are designed to improve runway safety at busy airports by warning pilots when it is unsafe to cross or enter a runway. The initial award is a three-year contract valued at $131 million to install the lights. There are two one-year options to install the lights at additional airports, for a total contract value of $215 million. Sensis Corp. is responsible for developing the software, testing and installing the lights. When runway status light prototypes at Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego International airports proved effective in helping avoid potential runway conflicts, the FAA decided to install the lights at the same airports where the Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model X (ASDE-X) systems are being installed. The runway status lights will use the ASDE-X surveillance data to operate. As part of the initial contract, runway status lights will be deployed at Atlanta; Baltimore Washington International; Boston; Charlotte, NC; Chicago O’Hare; Dallas-Fort Worth; Denver; Detroit; Washington Dulles; Fort Lauderdale; Houston Intercontinental; New York John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Newark, N.J.; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; San Diego; and Seattle airports. (FAA) (aviation-safety.net) *************** Industry slow to adopt warning system for helicopters By Alan Levin, USA TODAY MORRISTOWN, N.J. — The helicopter flies toward a ridge looming in late-afternoon shadow. But before it can get too close a voice comes over pilot Marc Lajeunesse's headphones: "Caution, terrain. Caution, terrain." Lajeunesse intentionally continues toward the ridge as a voice intones, "Warning, terrain! Warning, terrain!" A computer map displays the high ground in bright red and the words "PULL UP" appear on the cockpit display. Lajeunesse turns safely away and the warnings end. A computerized safety system such as the Honeywell model demonstrated by Lajeunesse is one of the best defenses against the epidemic of accidents on air ambulance helicopter flights that have killed 35 people in nine crashes over the past 12 months, say federal accident investigators and safety experts. The system is designed to help prevent accidents such as the crash Wednesday night in Aurora, Ill., that killed four people, including a 1-year-old girl being ferried to a hospital. Preliminary reports indicate the medical evacuation helicopter struck a support wire holding a 750-foot radio tower. Besides natural obstacles, the system warns helicopter pilots when they fly too close to towers and other man-made obstructions. "I don't want to have to see the numbers of deaths continue in this area when we have technology that can prevent these kinds of accidents," said Mark Rosenker, head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The board has urged federal regulators to mandate the safety systems on air ambulance flights. Only a tiny faction of the industry's helicopters are equipped and federal regulators say they will not consider requiring them until studies on the devices are completed next year. Honeywell was the first company to create a worldwide database of every hilltop and radio tower to help stem one of the biggest killers in aviation — pilots who inadvertently strike the ground in darkness or poor weather. The system, known as Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS), tracks an aircraft's heading and altitude, and issues alerts if pilots get too close to danger. A computer screen in the cockpit shows approaching obstacles, so pilots can steer clear well in advance. It virtually wiped out such crashes on airliners since becoming mandatory in 2005. Honeywell adapted the system for helicopters in 2000, but the industry has been slower to adopt it than airlines. So far the company has sold about 200 of the helicopter devices, mostly to firms that ferry workers and equipment to off-shore oil rigs, said Doug Kult, a sales director for Honeywell's helicopter division. CHICAGO SUBURB: 4 killed in helicopter crash The NTSB recommended in January 2006 that federal regulators require the systems on the nation's 750 medevac helicopters. The NTSB said terrain warning systems likely would have prevented 17 of 55 accidents it studied. Legislation sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., also would require the systems. The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees air ambulance firms, believes the devices have promise but require further study, said John Allen, deputy director of the FAA's Flight Standards Service. "These processes, undeniably, go a little slow for some folks, especially the NTSB," Allen said. "But when we go to a new technology, we have to make sure there isn't some unforeseen hazard. We'd hate to make a rule that would contribute to future accidents." The Association of Air Medical Services, an air ambulance trade group, informally urges members to use terrain avoidance systems, but would prefer not to see a requirement, said Christopher Eastlee, the group's government relations manager. Some companies are not waiting for a government mandate. Air Methods, the largest air ambulance firm in the nation, decided two years ago to equip its fleet of about 340 helicopters. "I think it's critical for our company to be very proactive about safety," said Craig Yale, the firm's vice president of corporate development. In a demonstration flight last week for USA TODAY, Lajeunesse flew near New York City to show how the Honeywell system reacts to hazards. Flying toward the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, he pointed the helicopter toward one of two 693-feet-high support towers. The towers were clearly visible on the cockpit display when the helicopter was still miles away. When the on-board computer estimated the helicopter was about 30 seconds from hitting the tower, the system issued an alert: "Warning, obstacle! Warning, obstacle!" Lajeunesse turned away. "I've used (the device) for almost 10 years on both airplanes and helicopters and I would not want to fly an aircraft without it," he said. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-16-crashwarning_N.htm *************** 'We've lost too many lives' in EMS crashes RECORD U.S. DEATH TOLL: 35 KILLED | Safety Board pushes FAA for tougher rules Emergency medical services aircraft have been in nine fatal accidents in the last 12 months, killing 35 people -- the highest number of fatalities since such flights began in the 1970s. The grim toll has prompted the National Transportation Safety Board -- which has been critical of EMS flight operations -- to step up pressure on the Federal Aviation Administration to adopt safety measures the board wanted two years ago. "The NTSB is extremely concerned with the EMS helicopter record," said Robert Sumwalt, NTSB director. "We want the FAA to move forward with these recommendations. We've lost too many lives." The NTSB plans a three-day public hearing in February on EMS helicopter safety. At its Oct. 28 meeting, the NTSB will consider adding its EMS recommendations to its "most wanted list" of safety improvements. In a 2006 study of 55 EMS accidents between 2002 and 2005, the NTSB identified the following problems: • • Less stringent requirements for operations conducted without patients on board. • • Lack of flight risk evaluation programs. • • Lack of consistent, comprehensive dispatch procedures. • • No requirement to use certain safety technologies, such as those that can warn when an obstacle is approaching. The FAA takes the NTSB concerns seriously and is focusing on ways for EMS operators to reduce risk, according to FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette. But she said turning a recommendation into a regulation takes time. It's difficult to say why there are so many EMS crashes. Sumwalt said the operating environment is "challenging" -- EMS pilots often go out at night and in bad weather. In some cases, they're picking someone up off the highway. The National EMS Pilots Association advocates the use of night vision goggles, currently used on only 25 percent of EMS helicopters. A survey by the group in May found that 82 percent of pilots want them. One pilot said he felt "virtually blind" without them. Pilot Del Waugh, who died in Wednesday's helicopter crash in Aurora, was not wearing the goggles. His outfit, Air Angels, has not purchased or trained in them, the FAA said. The technology is expensive -- $118,000 for equipment and training. Goggle supplies are also limited because so many are being used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Dawn Mancuso, executive director of the Association of Air Medical Services. The need for EMS flights has exploded because complex equipment isn't available in every hospital, and emergency rooms are closing down, so there's more need to move patients quickly from one hospital to another, Mancuso said. http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/1226994,CST-NWS-safe17.article *************** AAMS Works with FAA, Congress Toward Safety Enhancements ALEXANDRIA, VA – In light of recent accidents, the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and concerned members of Congress to actively promote safety enhancements in the air medical community through FAA rulemaking and federal legislation. AAMS is deeply saddened by these recent tragedies and offers the heartfelt condolences of all of its members to the families, friends, and co-workers of the victims of the most recent helicopter EMS accident. AAMS and the FAA, along with representatives of the aviation community, have planned closed-door meetings to discuss short and long term rulemaking changes to address possible deficiencies in the current rules that apply to Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS). The purpose of these discussions, and the subsequent actions, is to increase the current regulatory standards based on recommendations made by the NTSB. AAMS also continues to support Congressional legislation that promotes changes similar to those under consideration in the regulatory arena. These changes include higher weather minima on all legs of an air medical flight, and the mandatory use of risk assessments before take-off. Furthermore, AAMS supports the continued study and future implementation of recording devices in helicopters, both in an effort to ensure flight quality and to provide additional information in the event of an incident or accident. AAMS also continues to advocate for low-altitude weather reporting and aviation infrastructure improvements desperately needed to enhance pilots’ decision-making. While these efforts address both short- and long-term regulatory changes, AAMS also continues to promote safe operations in air medicine. Air medical transport is a critical part of the medical system in the United States, transporting nearly 400,000 patients via helicopter per year. These services transport the sickest and most critically ill patients, and the level of care offered by air medical services combined with the speed and accessibility of helicopters are often the determining factor in lifesaving medical interventions. For more information visit www.aams.org. http://www.amtonline.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=6590 *************** ‘No Nigerian Airport Has Met ICAO Safety Conditions’ The Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren, has said that the nation's airports could only be certified if they meet the safety conditions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and that of the regulatory body. Some of these conditions include having enough fire cover, medical equipment for emergencies, perimeter fencing and efficient navigational aids. Demuren stated this in an interview in Abuja. He said that no airport in the country, including the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos had met the conditions for certification. He disclosed that out of the four major airports in Nigeria only MMIA is close to meeting these conditions, while the one in Port Harcourt is far from meeting the standard criteria because it does not have any perimeter fencing. "The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria is working on it and they have done a lot. Very, very soon Lagos will get through to being certified. Lagos will be the first to get through. Port Harcourt is still a long way because of the perimeter fence. We are looking at the four major airports first. We need Lagos for FAA Category 1. That is why I am mounting pressure on Lagos . The emphasis here is air side; not the land side", Demuren said. The NCAA boss vowed to strictly follow the international standards in evaluating each airport, stressing that the objective was to ensure that the airports were safe. "There is a requirement you must meet before meeting ICAO and NCAA certification. If these requirements are not in place I will not certify it. I mean business. Take Lagos for example, there must be perimeter fence; the same with Port Harcourt International Airport . "This does not mean that the airlines cannot operate at the airports. There have been mitigating factors because the airports are monitored regularly as inspectors go through the airports", he said. Demuren reiterated his position that inadequate fire cover, security and poor infrastructure were the reasons for his refusal to certify the airports and noted that safety in the aviation sector cannot be compromised. According to him, lack of fire cover had forced him to downgrade some airports from category three to seven and above, meaning that instead of the airport operating a super-jumbo jet, it can be allowed to operate light air planes like Hawker Sidney, Beechcraft or at most, a B737 aircraft. The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Senate public investigative hearing on Tuesday admitted that only three airports in Nigeria have good fire cover and these are MMIA, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport , Abuja and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport . http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=125386 ************* The Association of Relatives and Friends of Gol's Flight 1907 Victims Reports Lawsuit Filed Against US Journalist The Indemnification Lawsuit Was Brought Against US Journalist Joseph M. Sharkey by Rosane Gutjhar, the Widow of One of the Flight 1907 Crash Victims CURITIBA, BRAZIL, Oct 16, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- The Association of Relatives and Friends of Gol's Flight 1907 Victims reports that Rosane Gutjhar, the widow of Rolf Ferdinando Gutjhar, one of the victims of Flight 1907, which went down on September 29, 2006, is bringing a lawsuit against US journalist Joseph M. Sharkey seeking compensation for moral damages. The lawsuit is of concern to the association, which was founded after the accident between Gol's Boeing 737 and a Legacy jet, with the purpose of providing support to the relatives of the victims as well as supervising the investigations on the second largest aerial accident in Brazil's history, which carried a death toll of 154 people in the state of Mato Grosso. On board the Legacy jet, which collided with Boeing 737-800 belonging to Gol Linhas Aereas airline, he published articles in his internet blog so as to push his country to prevent the Legacy jet pilots from returning to Brazil, and used language which was, according to Rosane, offensive against all victims' families and Brazilians. To Gutjhar's lawyer, that fact, in itself, would not be reproachable, but the journalist launched personal attacks against Brazil's President, air traffic controllers and other notorious individuals and, repeatedly and piercingly, started offending Brazilians indiscriminately, as explained by Oscar Fleischfresser, one of the lawyers responsible for the lawsuit. According to the lawyer, besides tragically losing her husband, Rosane Gutjhar feels she is being discriminated against by the treatment offered to the American defendants in the criminal case underway in Brazil and in addition, together with other Brazilians, she was publicly attacked by Joseph Sharkey. "Nothing can justify the words he used against all Brazilians. All I want from him is to take it all back," says Rosane. "Only amends will restore the widow's dignity," states her lawyer. In the civil suit filed at the 18th Civil Court of Curitiba, it is suggested as a reference for compensation for moral damages an amount similar to the one that would be awarded should the journalist be convicted in his own country. "That would be a means to effectively prevent this type of behavior. Another request is that a court order be issued for the journalist to apologize to all Brazilian citizens, in the same media used by him," concludes Fleischfresser. SOURCE: The Association of Relatives and Friends of Gol's Flight 1907 Victims *************** American remains coy in explaning favourable 787 delivery slots Executives at American Airlines are declining to supply specific details pertaining to securing early delivery slots for its 787-9 aircraft. American parent AMR earlier today detailed plans for a 42 aircraft order with deliveries starting in September 2012 and continuing through 2018. Air New Zealand, which became the launch customers for -9 version more than two years ago, will not receive the first of eight aircraft on order until early 2012. "We've been saying for a long time by virtue of our long-term agreement with Boeing that we have access to 787s," said AMR CFO Tom Horton today during an earnings call. "And this is just a manifestation of what we've been saying." As the carrier firms up favourable 787 delivery positions further out in 2012, carrier CEO Gerard Arpey says American raised "several hundred million in financing" in September that allowed the carrier to establish permanent financing for 20 Boeing 737-800s scheduled for delivery in 2009. Horton points out that the latest financing combined with previously-announced backstop financing for two-thirds of the 76 -800s due for delivery during the next two years "covers most of the 2009/2010 deliveries". While a large portion of the -800 deliveries will replace aging and less fuel efficient McDonnell Douglas MD-80s, Arpey says that American is likely during the next couple of years examine the economics of the 737-800 and possibly the -900 against the 757. "Something we're paying attention to is the costs on the Rolls [Royce]-powered 757s", says Arpey. Noting American will look at the cost of those aircraft compared with the newer narrowbodies and "try to decide if there's a better tradeoff for us there going forward". Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ***************