25 NOV 2008 _______________________________________ *Five Escape King Air Crash Landing In Manitoba *FAA Gives Green Light To Nationwide Deployment Of ADS-B *King Air 200 Accident (Brazil) *Smoky cockpit sends jet back to Houston *Air Force investigator: F-15 spun 20 times before July crash *Federal government not meeting air-safety recommendations: Analysis *TAM Receives Second Boeing 777; Fleet Now Has 123 Aircraft *5th Annual CHC Safety & Quality Summit to Take Place March 30th-April 1st 2009 *FAA acts on disastrous helicopter ambulance safety record *Helicopter crash kills 3 in Colombia *Sturgell concerned about voluntary safety programmes *Regulators to review FAA controller hiring procedures *Israel bids to avoid US FAA safety classification downgrade *************************************** Five Escape King Air Crash Landing In Manitoba Plane Explodes Shortly After Passengers Escape One of the memorable story lines of 2009 is bound to be the number of spectacular general aviation accidents which saw all occupants of the aircraft escape unharmed. The latest is the spectacular crash-landing of a Beech King Air A100 in northern Manitoba about 9:45 pm Saturday. CTV reports the Sky North Air plane (similar to type shown above) was on an air ambulance mission when fire broke out in the cockpit, forcing the pilot to put the plane down in dense brush. Two pilots, a nurse, a passenger and her infant son walked away unharmed, just moments before the aircraft exploded. There are only a few pieces, just bits, that are left and the rest is badly burned," said Peter Hildebrand, regional manager for Canada's Transportation Safety Board. "Even the emergency landing location transmitter wasn't working... I think because of the crash." Mike Young, of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, added the pilot had no time to attempt to return to the airport. The crash site was described as a rugged area about 500 kilometers north of Winnipeg. Police in the area started getting reports of a fireball erupting just above the trees. The survivors were found at 2:45 am local time and taken to a nursing station, but had suffered only a few scrapes and bruises. Young credited the occupants' quick escape from the plane for the fortunate outcome. CTV Winnipeg reported the 10-month-old baby, who was the patient being transported, slept through the crash. FMI: www.skynorthair.com aero-news.net *************** FAA Gives Green Light To Nationwide Deployment Of ADS-B Agency Wants 794 Ground Stations By 2013 In a step the agency says will improve the efficiency of air transportation for millions of Americans, FAA Acting Administrator Robert A. Sturgell gave the green light Monday to nationwide deployment of a system that allows aircraft to be tracked by satellite rather than radar. Touted by the FAA for years, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) will reduce the risk of midair collisions and weather-related accidents, according to the agency, and will provide more efficient routes in adverse weather, and improve situational awareness for pilots "The next generation of air travel has arrived," Sturgell said. "ADS-B is the backbone of the future of air traffic control. NextGen is real and, as of today, NextGen is now. President Bush just last week stated that modernizing our aviation system is an urgent challenge, and today's announcement demonstrates that the Department of Transportation and the FAA are taking concrete steps to do just that." An executive order signed by President Bush on November 18 accelerated the implementation of NextGen, stating that it is the policy of the United States to establish and maintain an air transport system that meets the present and future needs of this country. Sturgell's commissioning of essential services for ADS-B in Florida clears the way for nationwide deployment of the system by 2013. The installation of 11 ground stations in Florida gives pilots viewing ADS-B cockpit displays the same live traffic seen by controllers. Pilots also receive free, real-time weather updates from the National Weather Service, as well as critical flight information such as temporary flight restrictions and special-use airspace. These advances, in turn, will allow the United States to accommodate the increasing number of aircraft in the nation's skies, and will help to make the travel experience for airline passengers more efficient, safer and environmentally friendly. The commissioning marks a significant milestone in the FAA's deployment schedule for ADS-B. By 2013, 794 ground stations will provide ADS-B services everywhere there is radar coverage today -- with further coverage in places that currently lack radar coverage, including the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. Work at the sites of the next key milestones for ADS-B services -- Juneau, AK, Louisville, KY, the Gulf of Mexico and Philadelphia -- are scheduled for completion by the end of 2010. This will allow controllers to begin using ADS-B for aircraft surveillance or separation services. FMI: www.faa.gov aero-news.net *************** King Air 200 Accident (Brazil) Date: 23-NOV-2008 Time: 11:30 LT Type: Beechcraft 200 Super King Air Operator: TL Air Taxi Registration: PT-OSR C/n / msn: BB-784 Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 10 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Recife-PE - Brazil Phase: Landing Nature: Private Departure airport: Teresina-PI, Brazil Destination airport: Recife-PE, Brazil Narrative: During aproach to landing at Guararapes International Airport, aircraft must be ran off of fuel and crash in a residencial area. Sources: www.dpnet.com.br www.folhape.com.br (aviation-safety.net) **************** Smoky cockpit sends jet back to Houston HOUSTON (AP) - A regional jet with 33 passengers aboard returned to Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport and made an emergency landing on Monday. An airport spokeswoman says the Continental Express Flight 5570 from Houston to Louisville, departed Houston about 7:30 a.m. but returned about 8 a.m. after flight crew reported smoke in the cockpit. Officials say Marlene McClinton says the Bombardier CRJ-200 landed and was evacuated safely. No source has been determined for the smoke. **************** Air Force investigator: F-15 spun 20 times before July crash A July 30 jet crash that killed one pilot over a remote area of the Nevada Test and Training Range during a training exercise resulted from several factors that sent the F-15 into a spin that lasted about a minute and a half, an Air Force review panel concluded Monday. Imperfections in the F-15's nose cone and an imbalance in the jet's fuel tanks contributed to the crash that killed Lt. Col. Thomas Bouley as he tried to recover, concluded Brig. Gen. Robert Otto in a 32-page investigative report. The jet spiraled about 20 times in 87 seconds before Bouley recovered his bearings and ejected, Otto's report said. But by the time Bouley ejected roughly 20 miles northwest of the tiny town of Rachel, he had lost too much altitude for his parachute to open, Otto said. A back seat observer pilot from the Royal Air Force successfully ejected from the jet's rear seat four-tenths of a second earlier and was rescued, Otto said. The jet cost more than $38 million and aircraft and equipment were destroyed in the crash. No civilian casualties or additional damage was done, the report said. The crash occurred in an uninhabited area belonging to the Bureau of Land Management. Otto was appointed on July 31 to lead the Air Force accident review board. The review was conducted at Nellis Air Force Base. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/nov/24/air-force-investigator-f-15-spun -20-times-july-cra/ *************** Federal government not meeting air-safety recommendations: Analysis OTTAWA - The federal government has failed to fully implement half the recommendations in the last decade from the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) to fix safety gaps in Canada's air transportation system, according to an analysis by Canwest News Service. Transport Canada has fully satisfied the board in 26 of the 53 recommendations. In the remaining cases, the government has not taken adequate action to "substantially reduce or eliminate the safety deficiency" for air travellers. Of the 27 delinquent files, the board has determined Transport Canada's response to be "unsatisfactory" in two cases, because the board has received "inadequate explanations to convince it that the risks are not worth pursuing." Both are in response to recommendations related to the Swiss Air crash off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1998 that killed 229 people. In 10 cases, Transport Canada has committed to fix the safety deficiencies flagged by the board as far back as March 1999, but has yet to do so. On average, the board warned the government of these deficiencies 76 months ago. The remaining 15 files remain deficient, because the steps Transport Canada has taken to date will improve safety, but not substantially reduce or eliminate the safety deficiency. The board provided the department with these recommendations, on average, 70 months ago. The analysis does not include any recommendations made since August 2006, because Transport Canada's responses are not yet publicly available, but some address a long-standing problem previously flagged by the TSB. Post-impact fires involving small aircraft in otherwise survivable accidents are a "well-known safety concern," the board noted in a safety-issues report dated Aug. 29. 2006, but a "cost-benefit analysis negated the proposed safety measures." Canwest's analysis of Transport Canada's responses to air-safety recommendations comes as investigators probe two crashes in the span of seven days. Board investigators were sent Sunday to northern Manitoba after a fire in the cockpit of a small commuter aircraft forced a crash landing. The crew and three passengers on the medevac escaped before the plane exploded. The board is also investigating a fatal crash off B.C.'s Sunshine Coast on Nov. 16. The crash of a charter aircraft operated by Pacific Coastal Airlines killed the pilot and six passengers when the vintage, amphibious Grumman Goose carrying workers to a hydroelectric project crashed on a small island; one passenger survived. It was the second crash fatal crash this year for the Vancouver-based airline. On Aug. 3, another Grumman Goose crashed into a mountainside on Vancouver Island, killing the pilot and four passengers; there were two survivors. The most recent Pacific Coastal crash came just a week after the B.C. coroner's office highlighted Transport Canada's failure to implement a key safety recommendation of the board dating back years. The B.C. coroner's office probed the deaths of a pilot and two passengers, including a three-year-old boy, after a single-engine Cessna commercial aircraft operated by Sonicblue Airways lost power on a flight from Tofino to Vancouver on Jan. 21, 2006, and crashed near a logging road near Port Alberni. Five passengers survived. The coroner's report noted that regulations in the United States would not have allowed the aircraft to fly in this area unless it was equipped with a terrain-awareness and warning system. Canada had no such requirement, even though the report noted the safety board had previously recommended the installation of those systems. Transport Canada approved these equipment requirements in 2005, "however, implementation and compliance have been delayed," the coroner's report stated. In its January 2008 report, the TSB determined that the lack of equipment enabling the pilot to locate and identify high terrain was one of the contributing factors to the Sonicblue crash. Department spokesman Patrick Charette said Monday a new terrain-awareness proposal will be ready for industry to review next spring, and, once the new rules come into force, aircraft will have two years to comply. In cases where files are stalled, Charette said some of the TSB recommendations refer to areas of jurisdiction not exclusive to Transport Canada. And others require changes to aircraft design, which cannot be done without further study, he said. None of this washes well with Jonathan Huggett, whose 25-year-old son, Edward, died in the pilot's chair of the Sonicblue aircraft. "Had my son had the terrain-awareness and warning system, it would have said, 'You're too close to the ground, you've got to get out of here.' Had he all the right gear, it was probably a survivable incident," Huggett said in an interview. Kirsten Stevens points to other examples of unfulfilled safety recommendations. Her husband, David, was one of five occupants who survived impact and escaped from their float plane, but later died after it crashed on waters near , on Feb. 28, 2005. Her husband's body was the only one found; autopsy results showed he died of drowning and suffered from extreme hypothermia. While the TSB did not investigate this crash, the board's analysis of another fatal float plane crash seven months later involving a drowning death highlighted a recommendation in 1994 to require occupants to wear life-jackets while taking off or landing, but noted Transport Canada believed this "provides no tangible and quantifiable safety improvement." The Nov. 11, 2006, report also cited an aviation safety advisory to Transport Canada dated March 2000, "regarding its concerns regarding the apparent lack of progress among seaplane operators to address the issue of underwater escape." Another Transport Canada float-plane safety review launched after a series of crashes in 2005 resulted in more recommendations in 2006, but they have not been enacted. The review was "inconclusive," according to internal Transport Canada correspondence dated May 23, 2008. And senior managers in the civil aviation unit "agreed that, in the absence of a clear way forward, this file would be put on hold in deference to other civil aviation priorities," states the document, released to Stevens under Access to Information. "There are so many recommendations and they're not acted on, and people are still dying," said Stevens. But Charette pointed to fully implemented recommendations, including a new requirement for cockpit voice recorders to have a capacity of at least two hours, up from 30 minutes, and new rules governing runway approaches in poor visibility. The investigation system The Transportation Safety Board does not investigate all accidents, but, when it does, Transport Canada must respond within 90 days to any recommendations. The board uses four categories to assess the department's responses - fully satisfactory, satisfactory intent, satisfactory in part and unsatisfactory. Fully satisfactory: if action taken by Transport Canada will "substantially reduce or eliminate the safety deficiency." Satisfactory intent: if the planned action when fully implemented will substantially reduce or eliminate the safety deficiency. "However, for the present, the action has not been sufficiently advanced to reduce the risks to transportation safety." Satisfactory in part: if the planned action or the action taken to date will reduce, but not substantially reduce or eliminate, the deficiency. In these cases, the board continues to follow up to review options to further mitigate risks. Unsatisfactory: if no action has been taken or proposed that will reduce or eliminate the deficiency. "In the board's view, the safety deficiency will continue to put persons, property or the environment at risk." In most cases, there is a back-and-forth between the TSB and Transport Canada until the board is either satisfied or concludes the department has no intention of fully implementing the recommendation. In both cases, the file then becomes inactive. Other cases remain active files with a "deficiency" label. http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=e870e7fb-c168-4871- 8ebb-d3f805810c00 *************** TAM Receives Second Boeing 777; Fleet Now Has 123 Aircraft SAO PAULO, Brazil, Nov 24, 2008 (PR Newswire Europe via COMTEX) ----New plane is operating on the route between Sao Paulo and Frankfurt, Germany TAM S.A. (BOVESPA: TAMM4; NYSE: TAM) received a Boeing 777-300ER, the second of eight total aircraft of this model acquired by the company. Captain David Barioni Neto, President of TAM, and Commander Fernando Sporleder Junior, the company's Vice President of Operations, received this B777 directly from Boeing's factory in Seattle and both piloted the aircraft to Sao Paulo. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080221/SPTH002LOGO ) TAM is operating the route between Sao Paulo and Frankfurt, Germany, with this new aircraft, which has a more spacious cabin, three seat classes and a capacity of 365 passengers. The route between Sao Paulo and Santiago, Chile is currently operating six days per week with the new plane. Due to its greater energy efficiency, as well as allowing a reduction of operating costs because it consumes less fuel, the B777-300ER emits less harmful gas into the environment. Currently, after returning two MD-11s, TAM's fleet now has 123 aircraft, 117 Airbus models (17 A319s, 81 A320s, 3 A321s, 14 A330s and 2 A340s), 2 B777-300ERs, 3 B767-300s and one MD-11. The fleet's average age was reduced to 5.9 years. For Captain Barioni, "these acquisitions reinforce our policy of operating a fleet with a low average age, assuring greater comfort for passengers, aiding in our search for Service Excellence, one of the three fundamental pillars of the company's actions, together with Technical-Operational Excellence and Management Excellence." Since the beginning of 2008, the company has operated the domestic market with a monofleet, made up exclusively of Airbus aircraft. TAM has a consistent and flexible long-term fleet plan to sustain expansion in the international and domestic markets. The estimate for the end of 2013 is to have 151 planes in operation. http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/retail/tam-receives-seco nd-boeing--fleet--aircraft-491922862/ *************** 5th Annual CHC Safety & Quality Summit to Take Place March 30th-April 1st 2009 VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Nov 17, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- CHC Helicopter Corporation ("CHC") announces the 5th annual CHC Safety & Quality Summit, a conference focused on Safety and Human Error Management in Aviation. CHC welcomes all aviation companies and others with an interest in aviation safety to attend the March 30th to April 1st 2009 summit (at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver) to share best practices on this important topic. Aviation safety is an integral part of every aspect of CHC's operations. Each year CHC hosts this event to bring the industry together to further the goal of advancing aviation safety for all operators in the industry. A diverse group of individuals participate in the summit every year, providing a unique perspective which can lead to new ideas and innovations in aviation safety for all operators. The 2009 CHC Safety and Quality Summit will feature high-level safety courses facilitated by renowned instructors and top level trainers in aviation safety, risk assessment, engineering and leadership. Intended for Executives and Senior Managers, sessions will include Accident/Incident Investigation and Analysis, Flight Data Monitoring, Dr. Scott Shappell and Dr. Doug Weigmann's HFACS, and many other interesting courses. CHC is very pleased that Captain Al Haynes will be the keynote speaker on the morning of Monday, March 30th. In July 1989, Captain Haynes was the Commander of United Flight 232, a DC-10 airplane which suffered catastrophic damage to its number two engine, causing all three of its hydraulic control systems to fail. Captain Haynes will be speaking about his experience "Against All Odds". On Tuesday, March 31st, CHC will host a banquet dinner featuring Dr. Jerry Cockrell as the keynote speaker. Dr. Cockrell, one of the earliest developers of CRM, will raise your awareness and buoy your spirits with his light-hearted look at safety and human factors in aviation. Attendance for the 2008 CHC Safety & Quality Summit reached over 500 participants and was comprised of Executives, Managers, Oil & Gas personnel, Regulators, OEM's and Auditors from over 125 organizations. The 2009 Summit attendance is expected to meet or exceed the 2008 attendance level. For more information or to register please visit www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com. About CHC CHC is one of the world's largest providers of helicopter services to the global offshore oil and gas industry, with aircraft operating in more than 30 countries worldwide. *************** FAA acts on disastrous helicopter ambulance safety record Stung by US National Transportation Safety Board criticism of its dismal record on improving helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) safety performance, the Federal Aviation Administration is inviting comment on proposals to upgrade flight-planning requirements for HEMS operations. Proposed revisions to existing requirements state that visual flight rules operations must be operated "within the weather minimums", and that pre-flight planning must establish a minimum safe cruise altitude at least 300ft (91m) above all en-route obstacles in daylight, and 500ft above them at night. Pilots must also, in planning, ensure that the forecast weather will provide at least the regulatory minimum cloud ceiling and visibility conditions, which vary between 800ft and 1,500ft cloudbase and two to five miles (3.7-8.2km), depending on the type of terrain in the area, whether it is day or night, and whether or not the pilot is equipped with a night vision imaging system or a helicopter terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS). Finally, suitably qualified HEMS crews are permitted to land at a location that does not have any approved site weather reporting under instrument flight rules only if there is an approved weather reporting system within 15nm (28km) of the landing site. The FAA explains that, so far, its strategy for improving HEMS safety has relied upon advice and voluntary fitting of equipment like TAWS, rather than rule making. So far in 2008 there have been seven fatal emergency medical service accidents in the USA killing 28 people, despite the FAA's safety campaign that began in August 2004 http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/11/25/319181/faa-acts-on-disastrou s-helicopter-ambulance-safety-record.html *************** Helicopter crash kills 3 in Colombia BOGOTA, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Three people abroad a helicopter from a value transport company died on Monday when the aircraft had an accident in the mountainous area of the northwestern province of Santander. Director of Civil Defense in Santander, Captain Gonzalo Ordoneztold reporters that the helicopter was delivering money in the municipality of Betas and it had an accident due to unknown causes minutes into the flight. "All the people aboard died because of the strong impact that the aircraft suffered. We have not been told about any survivor," Ordonez said. Ordonez said rescue efforts were being hampered by difficult access to the crash site. "Six rescuers went to the accident site in an army helicopter, and because the accident happened in a very high area, they had to reach the place walking," Ordonez added. ************** Sturgell concerned about voluntary safety programmes FAA acting administrator Robert Sturgell is lamenting the end of voluntary safety reporting programmes at two major US carriers. The FAA Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) generally frees employees from FAA penalties when they voluntarily report incidents or safety concerns. Pilot ASAP programmes at both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines remain suspended. "We have fought long and hard for voluntary disclosure programmes like ASAP," Sturgell said today during an address to the Aero Club of Washington. "They are critical for us to continue to raise the level of safety." According to Sturgell, "It's disheartening to see some of our carriers and pilot unions abandoning these programmes at a time when we need them the most." American Airlines and its Allied Pilots Association suspended their ASAP programme in October as the union criticized management for tabling a proposal in the renewal process that in its view left pilots exposed to potential punishment. A similar programme at Delta was suspended in December 2006. Sturgell urges separation of safety from labour issues in order to put the programmes back in place. "The data we gather from them is critical". Pilots at Delta are working to reinstate the programme, but no definite time line has been set. No new talks between American and APA regarding ASAP have been scheduled. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Regulators to review FAA controller hiring procedures The US DOT's inspector general office has launched a review of FAA air traffic controller training at the request of House aviation subcommittee chairman Jerry Costello. According to a 19 November letter sent from DOT assistant inspector general for aviation and special programmes. Lou Dixon, to the FAA's chief financial officer, the review will cover the FAA's "processes for screening, placing, and training newly hired air traffic controllers". Dixon writes that Costello is concerned "about whether the FAA's screening test, air traffic selection and training (AT-SAT) effectively identifies candidates' potential to become air traffic controllers and whether the FAA Academy adequately trains candidates before the FAA places at them facilities." The objectives of the audit include an assessment of how the FAA determines whether candidates "have the requisite abilities to become successful controllers", the procedures the FAA uses to place controllers at air traffic facilities, and whether the initial training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City "adequately prepares controller candidates for facility training", according to the letter. Costello's office was not immediately available for comment. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Israel bids to avoid US FAA safety classification downgrade Israel's Government is preparing to implement a set of recommendations from the US FAA in a bid to avoid the country's being reclassified as non-compliant with ICAO standards. The FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment scheme classifies states as Category 1 if their safety oversight is considered compliant with ICAO, and Category 2 otherwise. Although the FAA declines to confirm that it has issued a formal report concerning Israel's civil aviation safety environment, a statement from the Israeli transport ministry in Jerusalem indicates that Israel's Category 1 status is under threat. "The report's recommendations are being studied in depth and any other shortcomings dealt with, so that the state of Israel will retain Category 1 rating in the International Aviation Safety Assessment," it says. The statement adds: "All the issues raised in the report have already been incorporated into the [Israeli] CAA's work plan and are currently being put into practice." Any downgrade to Category 2 would prevent Israeli carriers from starting new services to the USA. Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and US president George Bush are meeting today in Washington, although it is not clear if the safety rating issue will be discussed. Category 2 status means that the FAA regards a country as providing inadequate oversight of air carriers, or deficient in areas such as inspection, technical expertise or trained personnel. Ukraine, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Ghana are among the countries currently classified as Category 2. Conceding a "decades-long" hiatus, the Israeli transport ministry says it is addressing the replacement of senior officials at the CAA. "We are currently in the midst of recruiting high-quality manpower to increase the standard of control," it notes. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ****************