27 OCT 2008 _______________________________________ *NTSB: Non-Instrument-Rated Lancair Pilot Filed IFR In Fatal Accident *FAA's Initiative to Cut Runway Incursions *American pilot officials meet with FAA over ASAP *ADS-B Approvals To Airlines *************************************** NTSB: Non-Instrument-Rated Lancair Pilot Filed IFR In Fatal Accident Plane Encountered Icing Conditions, Three Lost The National Transportation Safety Board said several factors contributed to the downing of a plane near Albany, OR last February, claiming the lives of all three persons on board. The owner/pilot of the Lancair Super ES was seated in the left seat, and a pilot friend of the owner in the right seat. Family members indicated that friend and the owner/pilot flew together often, and the right seat pilot would provide radio and navigation assistance to the owner/pilot. Although neither of the two pilots were instrument-rated, according to information provided by the Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center, the pilot seated in the right seat had filed an IFR flight plan earlier that morning. The flight originated February 8 from McNary Field, Salem, OR at 1010 local time, and was headed for Klamath Falls Airport and then on to Salt Lake City. The plane collided with terrain just minutes later, approximately four miles northeast of Albany Municipal Airport, near Albany, OR. Numerous times during the evening prior and on the morning of the fateful flight, both pilots checked weather forecasts along the intended route. The forecast was for marginal VFR to VFR conditions in the morning that were to improve by late morning, and there were AIRMETS for icing, turbulence, and mountain obscuration. At 1003, McNary Field weather conditions were reported as "wind from 180 degrees at 14 knots, gusting to 19 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, light rain, clouds were scattered at 2,900 feet, broken at 3,500 feet, and overcast at 6,000 feet, temperature was 42 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point was 39 degrees Fahrenheit, and the altimeter was 30.29 inches of Mercury." In its official report on the incident, the NTSB narrative said that following departure, a pilot from the accident airplane contacted the Seattle ARTCC at 1006:58 and was cleared to climb to 13,000 feet msl. At 1012:40 the controller advised the airplane there were earlier reports of moderate icing between 10,000 and 12,000 feet msl. A voice responded with the airplane call sign. At 1013:20, the controller advised that the icing reports were moderate-mixed icing. No response was received from the airplane and the controller queried him at 1013:40. The airplane responded at 1013:46 with the call sign. At 1017:43 an occupant of the airplane contacted the controller stating the airplane's call sign. At 1017:56 a transmission from the airplane stated, "...ah niner bravo whiskey we have (unintelligible) niner bravo whiskey." The controller advised the airplane that the transmission was not intelligible, and at 1018:05 a transmission for the airplane reported, "...nine bravo whiskey we're an emergency situation niner bravo whiskey emergency (unintelligible)." There were no further transmissions from the accident airplane. The Lancair was equipped with a Chelton navigation system, and the two display units were examined at the NTSB Recorder Laboratory in Washington, DC. Review of the data obtained from the units showed that the accident flight power-on time was approximately 28 minutes. Through most of the flight, the engine revolutions per minute (rpm) were 2,600 rpm, decreasing to 2,000 rpm at 1018:04, and 14 seconds later the final reading showed 1,600 rpm. During the last portion of the flight, the descent rates increased to 10,000 feet per minute, and the indicated air speed showed an increase from 100 knots to approximately 160 knots. The last 45 seconds of data showed great fluctuations in the recorded data and performance numbers for ground speed, heading, track, rate of climb, pitch, bank, and vertical acceleration. A witness about 2 miles west of the accident site saw the airplane come out of a cloud layer about 2,000 feet above ground level. With the right wing pitched down, the airplane was in a clockwise corkscrew pattern, at a descent angle of approximately 45 degrees. It continued this corkscrew pattern until going out of view of the witness. The NTSB determined the probable cause of this accident to be the pilot-in-command's failure to maintain aircraft control while in cruise flight. Contributing factors to the accident were inadequate planning/decision making, icing conditions, and continued flight into known icing conditions. According to FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 91-51A, "The most hazardous aspect of structural icing is its aerodynamic effects. Ice can alter the shape of an airfoil. This can cause control problems, change the angle of attack at which the aircraft stalls, and cause the aircraft to stall at a significantly higher airspeed. Ice can reduce the amount of lift that an airfoil will produce and increase drag several fold." FMI: www.ntsb.gov aero-news.net ************** FAA's Initiative to Cut Runway Incursions Over the past few years, curbing potentially deadly runway incursions (where one aircraft accidentally strays into the path of another on the ground) has been at or near the top of the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) "Most Wanted List." It appears the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been listening to NTSB's entreaties. FAA has awarded a contract to Sensis Corporation for installation of runway status lights at 22 major airports in the United States. These lights warn pilots when it's unsafe to cross or enter a runway. Look for the lights to go on at these airports: Atlanta (ATL), Baltimore/Washington (BWI), Boston (BOS), Charlotte (CLT), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Denver (DEN), Detroit (DTW), Washington Dulles IAD), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH), New York Kennedy (JFK), New York LaGuardia (LGA), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP), Newark (EWR), Orlando (MCO), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX), San Diego (SAN), and Seattle/Tacoma (SEA). FAA says the system has already been tested at Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego, and contends it has proven "effective in helping avoid potential runway conflicts." The price tag for this potentially priceless protection: $131 million. http://news.cheapflights.com/airlines/2008/10/faas-initiative.html ************** American pilot officials meet with FAA over ASAP Pilot leadership at American Airlines met with senior FAA officials this week to discuss the status of the carrier's Aviation Safety Action Programme (ASAP), which was recently terminated. Encouraged by the FAA, ASAP provides incentives to airline employees to report safety problems confidentially. American's programme was allowed to expire due to what the Allied Pilots Association (APA) considers unreasonable demands by management. "The FAA officials emphasized the importance of the three-way partnership that is at the core of ASAP," says the APA in an internal message to employees. "They also reiterated that the FAA has made no changes to the guidance governing ASAP agreements and is not mandating any changes to existing provisions of our agreement." The union adds: "We remain committed to restoring ASAP as it was intended to be - a means of identifying safety problems before they become accidents through a non-punitive self-reporting and data-gathering programme." American in a statement last week said that while it is disappointed by the APA's action, it does not believe that the safety of American's operations will be affected by the programme's expiration. "American will provide its pilots with a confidential hotline and online reporting system to report concerns directly to our safety department," it said. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** ADS-B Approvals To Airlines Three aircraft operators have become the first in Europe to be approved for the use of satellite-based surveillance in non-radar areas. The European Aviation Safety Agency granted approvals to Air France, Air One and Volkswagen to use automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) as a sole surveillance source. They are among the 18 operators participating in Eurocontrol's ADS-B Pioneer Airlines project. Currently, Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy and Turkey are committed to providing ADS-B in the parts of their airspace not covered by radar. Meanwhile a Single European Sky Implementing Rule mandating ADS-B capability from 2015 onwards will be published for consultation in the coming weeks. http://www.aviationweek.com/ ****************