31 OCT 2008 _______________________________________ *FAA calls for check of factory installed 737NG engines *A330 Multiple Birdstrikes at Heathrow *Holiday jet skids off runway *Spanish jet from Glasgow skids off runway in Canaries *Perm Crash Pilots Used Fake Papers *Controller Not Required to Know Procedure, FAA Says *FAA Suspends US Helicopters, Inc. Certificate *Will FAA Allow Supersonic Overland Flights? *France to vote on increasing crew retirement age cap *FAA Warns Airports About Winter Deicing Fluid Shortage *************************************** FAA calls for check of factory installed 737NG engines The US FAA is proposing that operators of nearly 500 US-registered Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) aircraft inspect the twin-jet's aft engine mounts to determine if the centre link assembly mechanism is reversed, a problem originally thought to apply only to aircraft after having an engine removed and improperly reinstalled during maintenance. The new airworthiness directive (AD) would replace a 2003 AD requiring operators of 737NGs with serial number 1 - 1,277 to review maintenance records to determine whether an engine had been removed since the original manufacturing date, and if it had, to perform an inspection of the aft mount for correct installation. "Since we issued (the AD), the manufacturer informed us that it is possible that some centre links were incorrectly installed in an aft engine mount before the airplane was delivered," says the FAA. In fact, the agency says operators had reported that the centre link assemblies were found to be reversed on "several airplanes" that had never been removed. According to a Boeing spokeswoman, the airframer has received "a couple of reports" of the link being installed incorrectly. The company says it recently revised instructions for installing the part, including the correct orientation. "We have also sent a service bulletin to all operators of 737NG, recommending an inspection of the link for proper orientation, including a decal with illustration of correct orientation of the engine strut upper link," says the spokeswoman. Left unchecked, the FAA says a reversed link assembly increases structural loads on the aft mount, which could cause the mechanism to fail with "consequent separation of the engine from the airplane". Though no 737NG aircraft have experienced engine separation incidents to date, several 737-200 models have shed right-side engines due to fatigue in the aft cone bolts holding the engines to the wing structure, the most recent being the Nationwide Airlines 737-200 in November 2007. To date, Boeing has delivered 2,722 737NG aircraft. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** A330 Multiple Birdstrikes at Heathrow Date: 30-OCT-2008 Time: 7.24 Type: Airbus A330-200 Operator: Cyprus Airways Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 223 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Minor Location: Heathrow, London - United Kingdom Phase: Landing Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: LCA Destination airport: LHR Narrative: Both engines of the aircraft suffered damage after multiple birdstrikes during landing atHeathrow, London. The pilot managed to land the aircraft safely and taxied to the terminal. The flight to Larnaca, Cyprus this morning was cancelled and the aircraft has been towed for further inspection and repairs. (aviation-safety.nt) ************** Holiday jet skids off runway Dozens of passengers had to be evacuated after a jet carrying holidaymakers from Glasgow skidded off a runway as it landed in the Canary Islands. The Air Europa plane went off the end of the runway after it touched down at Lanzarote airport. Spanish police said there were no reports of injuries. http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jA1jCufBCpe40RRlFQqAGQWUMu6g *************** Spanish jet from Glasgow skids off runway in Canaries MADRID (AFP) - A Spanish airliner on Friday skidded off the runway on landing at an airport in the Canary Islands on a flight from Glasgow, but there were no injuries, Spain's airport authority said. The 74 passengers aboard the Air Europa Boeing 737 "left the plane without any problems and are in the terminal," a spokeswoman for the agency, AENA, told Spanish national radio from the island of Lanzarote. Lanzarote airport was temporarily closed after the accident, which occurred at 7:30 am (0630GMT). The cause was not immediately known. Spain's Canary Islands archipelago, located in the Atlantic Ocean off northwest Africa, is a popular tourist destination. **************** Perm Crash Pilots Used Fake Papers The pilots of the Aeroflot-Nord jetliner that crashed during its approach to the Perm airport last month gave false information about their qualifications to fly, a top aviation safety investigator said Thursday. The damning comments by Gennady Kurzenkov, head of the State Aviation Inspection Service, appeared to confirm suspicion that pilot error was to blame for the Sept. 14 crash, which killed all 88 people on board. Kurzenkov said the pilots of the Boeing 737 had submitted false documents to the airline showing that they had passed preflight courses, Itar-Tass reported. He did not elaborate. The flight attendants also had false documents saying they were qualified to fly on international flights, he said. The Aeroflot-Nord flight was a domestic flight from Moscow to Perm. The crash was caused by "a lack of coordination by the crew and their insufficient preparation for flights," Kurzenkov said. Aeroflot-Nord officials could not be reached for comment after office hours Thursday. The airline has previously denied that its pilots lacked the necessary experience. Aeroflot-Nord is a subsidiary of state-owned Aeroflot. After the crash, Aeroflot banned all of its subsidiaries from using the airline's name and logo in an attempt to protect its reputation. Transportation Minister Igor Levitin has said the 737 had no technical problems and that both of its engines were in proper order before the flight. He also said there had been no midair explosion. Levitin's comments came after a crash investigator told Kommersant that the tragedy had been the result of pilot error due to inexperience. The plane burst into a ball of fire at an altitude of about 1 kilometer, apparently after an engine caught fire, scattering debris across an area of 10 square kilometers. The plane was making a second attempt at landing in difficult weather conditions. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1010/42/372073.htm *************** Controller Not Required to Know Procedure, FAA Says A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said yesterday that an air traffic controller who was unable to assist in a rare landing procedure requested by the pilot of a Maryland State Police medical rescue helicopter before it crashed last month in Prince George's County was not required to be able to do so. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown's comments came in response to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report that confirmed that the pilot asked for help with an Airport Surveillance Radar approach, which would have required the controller to help guide the helicopter close to the ground. The report did not identify the cause of the crash. Pilot Stephen J. Bunker, who was among four people killed in the crash, asked the sole controller at Andrews Air Force Base for the help because he was having trouble receiving a signal that would have allowed him to guide himself into the airport. Brown said that the Andrews controller, who was not identified in the report, is not required to be proficient with the approach procedure because controllers at a regional facility, Potomac Approach Control in Warrenton, can provide the service. The controller did not direct Bunker to contact the regional facility before she and he lost radio communication, the report says. A final NTSB report might not be issued for months or years. According to the preliminary report, the Andrews controller reported that visibility at the airport was 10 miles at the time of the crash. Another pilot searching for the missing helicopter a short time later, however, reported encountering low-level clouds about 2 miles from Andrews. Bunker crashed north of the airport at a point where his altitude should have been at least several hundred feet. In addition to Bunker, 59, also killed were Trooper Mickey C. Lippy, 34, an onboard paramedic; Tonya Mallard, 39, a volunteer emergency worker from Southern Maryland; and patient Ashley J. Younger, 17, a recent high school graduate from Waldorf. Younger and another teenager, Jordan Wells, 18, were being flown to a Prince George's hospital after a car accident. Wells survived. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/30/AR2008103004 436.html *************** FAA Suspends US Helicopters, Inc. Certificate The FAA Oklahoma City office confirmed on October 29, 2008 that the Part 135 certificate of operator US Helicopters, Inc. (certificate USXA753I) has been suspended as of October 24. US Helicopters, Inc. is headquartered in Marshville, North Carolina, with bases at Centennial Airport (APA) in Denver, Colorado as well as at Indianapolis Downtown Heliport (8A4) in Indianapolis, Indiana. At this time, no further details have been provided as the suspension is still under investigation. http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=3598 **************** Will FAA Allow Supersonic Overland Flights? Hopeful manufacturers of supersonic business jets-Aerion, Gulfstream and Supersonic Aerospace International-are encouraged by an updated FAA policy statement issued last week to align noise limits for future civil supersonic aircraft with current Stage 4 noise regulations. According to the FAA, this action is intended to provide guidance on noise limits to manufacturers that are considering designs for supersonic aircraft. Interest in supersonic aircraft technology has not disappeared. Would-be manufacturers hope it's a "foot in the door" for regulations allowing low-boom or boomless supersonic flight over land in the U.S. "Current research is dedicated toward reducing the impact of sonic booms before they reach the ground, in an effort to make overland flight acceptable," the FAA policy states. "Recent research has produced promising results for low boom intensity, and has renewed interest in developing supersonic civil aircraft that could be considered environmentally acceptable for supersonic flight over land. Quiet Aerospace CEO J. Michael Paulson told AIN, "I was very pleased to see the statement regarding supersonic flight over land. Obviously, we are excited about the opportunity this gives our revolutionary 'quiet' supersonic aircraft [to achieve] supersonic overland permission. http://www.ainonline.com/news/single-news-page/article/will-faa-allow-supers onic-overland-flights/ *************** France to vote on increasing crew retirement age cap France's National Assembly will tomorrow vote on a change in the law which proposes increasing French commercial pilots' maximum retirement age from 60 to 65 years and that of cabin crew from 55 to 65. A 1997 decree restricts French airline pilots over the age of 60 from operating commercial flights. The rule does not apply to foreign carriers, which can operate services to, over and within France in accordance with their own national and corporate policies. Jean Serrat, who leads French pilot group PNT65, labels the existing French regulations as "insane" and has led a long-running campaign for the retirement age limit to be lifted to 65, in line with ICAO norms. Serrat tells ATI that a three-part amendment, increasing the age limits, has been backed by the Assembly's social affairs committee. He adds that the text will be put to a National Assembly vote tomorrow. In its current format, the amendment proposes implementation of the new retirement limit on 1 January 2010. If the Assembly backs the motion, it will be passed to the Senate for a final vote within two to three weeks. Once this process is completed, it will be signed into law by French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Serrat says: "If [both houses] pass the vote, the limit will be set to 65 for both pilots and flight attendants. A lot of the members of parliament (MPs) are on our side, but others are on the side of the CGT and SNPL [pilots' unions], which want to go on strike. "I really think that the MPs are going to vote for it. I can't say what will happen in three weeks' time. Tomorrow I think we are going to win, but it is just one battle - not the war." He adds that other French pilots' bodies have reacted angrily to the changes and are threatening to strike if the vote is successful. He claims that this opposition is based on a potential slow-down in seniority list progression and the loss of a tax-free payout, totalling nine months' salary, which is paid upon reaching the age limit. But he stresses that, while the first two amendments separately lift the pilot and cabin crew maximum retirement age to 65, the third gives the crew members the option to request a ground-based position when they reaching the former age limits - in accordance with the status quo. These requests, says Serrat, cannot be fulfilled by the company and therefore the nine-month tax-free payout would remain in place. "We have tried to find a way to be compatible with everyone's needs. If people want to leave at [the current age limit], they will get nine months' pay without income tax," he explains. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** FAA Warns Airports About Winter Deicing Fluid Shortage Airports are facing a shortage of runway deicing fluids this winter due to a strike by a mine in Canada that produces potassium, a key ingredient in the liquid, warned FAA. FAA first found out about the shortage for E36 deicing fluid in the summer, said Michael O'Donnell, the agency's director of airport safety and standards. "The folks in our engineering department have regular talks with manufacturers of the deicing fluids, and were told of the shortage," he recalled. Cryotech Deicing Technology, a leading manufacturer of the fluid, told FAA that E36 would be "significantly limited" for the 2008-09 winter season, in a letter to aviation advocacy groups, including ATA and the American Association of Airport Executives. "CDT previously produced 9 million gallons of fluid a year," said O'Donnell. "They will be going down to 2 million gallons, which will definitely have an impact." FAA is getting the word out about the shortage so that affected airports can plan ahead, said O'Donnell. "The good news is that deicing fluid is not the only thing out there that airports can use," he said. "They can use different kinds of fluid that are glycol-based, along with dry chemicals like urea and even sand, brooms and sweepers." www.aviationweek.com **************