27 NOV 2008 _______________________________________ *GM Asks U.S. FAA to Bar Public Tracking of Leased Corporate Jet *Air Astana launches ab initio pilot training scheme *Costly runway de-icer shortage crimps US airports *British Airways adopts tailored pilot training programme *U.S. Army Aviation Accidents Rise in Deadliness, Cost *EASA issues AD on Trent 900 engines *Heminger Rising In Crowded Field For DOT Secretary *FAA Orders Checks Of 757 Fuel Tanks *************************************** GM Asks U.S. FAA to Bar Public Tracking of Leased Corporate Jet Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., criticized by U.S. lawmakers for its use of corporate jets, asked aviation regulators to block the public's ability to track a plane it uses. "We availed ourselves of the option as others do to have the aircraft removed" from a Federal Aviation Administration tracking service, a GM spokesman, Greg Martin, said yesterday in an interview. He declined to discuss why GM made the request. Flight data show that the leased Gulfstream Aerospace G-IV jet flew Nov. 18 from Detroit to Washington, where Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner Jr. spoke to a Senate committee that day and a House panel the next day on behalf of a $25 billion auto-industry rescue plan. Representatives at the Nov. 19 House hearing including Democrat Gary Ackerman of New York faulted Wagoner, Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally and Chrysler LLC CEO Robert Nardelli for taking private jets to Washington to plead their case. "Couldn't you all have downgraded to first class?" Ackerman said. Symbol for Critics Critics of a federal aid package for GM, Ford and Chrysler spotlighted the exchange to attack the money-losing companies as undeserving of a bailout. GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, has said it may run out of operating cash by year's end without government loans. The Gulfstream jet was leased from GE Capital Solutions in Danbury, Connecticut, a unit of General Electric Co. After the plane's latest flight to Washington on Nov. 25, and from there to Dallas, its movements could no longer be tracked. An FAA spokeswoman, Laura Brown, said she couldn't immediately determine whether her agency had granted GM's flight-privacy request. "We do this routinely" for aircraft owners, she said yesterday. "They don't have to have a reason" for requesting the block, she said. The FAA tracking data don't identify who is aboard the flights. GM also has seven planes in its own fleet. All were grounded yesterday, said a spokesman, Tom Wilkinson. Two are for sale and two are in the process of being listed for sale, while Detroit-based GM plans to keep three, he said. The leased Gulfstream has made 10 trips to Washington this year, including three since October, according to data compiled by Houston-based flight-tracking service FlightAware.com. GM said it often sub-leases the airplane to other users. GM officials said company employees weren't aboard the jet on the final Nov. 25 flights before its movements ceased being tracked. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=afrKemH3i.2Y&refer=us *************** Air Astana launches ab initio pilot training scheme Kazakh flag-carrier Air Astana is considering the creation of a flight training school in Almaty as it readies for the launch of a new ab initio pilot training scheme, in partnership with a US flight school. Air Astana is expecting to double its 300-strong pilot base over the next four year to cater for its planned fleet growth. In preparation for this, the airline has teamed up with the Commercial Airline Pilot Training Centre (CAPT) in the USA to offer an ab initio scheme. Eight initial trainee pilots have secured places on the one-year flight-training course, which will begin early next year. These new recruits will return to Air Astana as first officers in 2010. Air Astana president Peter Foster says: "Air Astana is committed to a program of long-term fleet and network growth and it is critical that there are sufficient pilots to fly the new Airbus and Boeing aircraft arriving in the future. "We are delighted to invest in the future of Kazakhstan aviation by launching the ab intio flight training scheme in co-operation with CAPT and examining the feasibility of opening a flight training school in Almaty in the longer term." Air Astana operates a fleet of 21 Airbus, Boeing and Fokker aircraft, but this is projected to grow to 63 aircraft by 2022. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Costly runway de-icer shortage crimps US airports US airports face a shortage of runway de-icing fluid just as they go into the winter season, and although alternative products are available, they are considerably more expensive. The FAA told airports in a recent memo that they face "a severe shortage" of potassium acetate, which is the main raw material in the most popular de-icing fluids. Michael O'Donnell, FAA's director of airport safety and standards, says that a long strike at potash mines in Canada led to the shortage of this basic material. He says the agency has tested some new runway de-icing fluids and explains that they acted comparably to the traditional mix of propylene-glycol with urea and poastassium acetate. O'Donnell notes that even though the miners strike has been settled, "it will take time to build up stockpiles, possibly until February, so the alternatives may have to be used". FAA's memo to airports asked airports to develop contingency plans to deal with winter conditions. A major supplier of fluids, Fort Madison, Iowa-based Cryotech Deicing Technology, notes on its website that most of its runway de-icing products "will be in short supply." Cryotech is a unit of General Atomics. Some airports say they do not anticipate major problems but that their costs will go up, and the majority of airports responding to an ACI-NA survey said they saw their raw materials costs rising this winter. At the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which runs the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, "we are seeing our costs rise. The popular Cryotech E36 product has gone up from $2.50 a gallon to $3.25 gallon, but is impossible to get, and the FAA-approved alternative is about $7.00 a gallon," spokesman Patrick Hogan says. O'Donnell of the FAA's airports sections says, "It all depends on the weather this winter. We don't know what the winter will be like." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** British Airways adopts tailored pilot training programme Several UK airlines are adopting a new form of recurrent training for their pilots that allows them to tailor training sessions to the carriers' specific needs, rather than following a rigid statutory testing routine. This alternative training and qualification programme (ATQP), approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, is being adopted by British Airways, EasyJet, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomsonfly and Virgin Atlantic. BA's head of flight technical and training, Steve Sheterline, says: "ATQP allows us to manage training time more effectively by using evidence-based data. Our crews will now have more time for training rather than being constrained by some of the elements of the fixed training and testing regime." The CAA says it has worked with BA for two years to develop the changed approach to training that ATQP represents, and emphasises that it does not mean a saving in total training time. Since it is a closed-loop system, training and testing results also have to be monitored. ATQP is not only airline-specific but fleet-specific, the CAA explains, and it is based on meeting the training needs demonstrated by experience, as revealed in mandatory occurrence reports and the carrier's operational flight-data monitoring programme. Sheterline says ATQP will be rolled out over BA's entire fleet during the next 12 months, but that it is already operational in the carrier's Boeing 777 simulators at its Cranebank training centre near London Heathrow. BA says ATQP does not involve special equipment nor modification to existing simulation. BA's flight-training manager, Keith Dyce, who was responsible for producing the BA ATQP, says genuine training time is created by performing the statutory tests, like engine failure during take-off, only once a year instead of twice, but the crews still do their six-monthly recurrent training sessions. These are used to improve pilot knowledge and performance where it is shown to be needed. The ATQP model is based on the US FAA's advanced qualification programme, which US carriers have been free to use since 1990. But Dyce points out that the European Joint Aviation Authorities did not provide guidelines until 2006 on how to apply its own regulations on the subject. Swiss International Air Lines and SAS Group have also adopted ATQP. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** U.S. Army Aviation Accidents Rise in Deadliness, Cost U.S. Army aviation incidents and accidents have started to get deadlier and costlier since the beginning of this decade, an exclusive Aerospace DAILY analysis of service mishap data shows. The number of fatalities spiked 875 percent, from 8 in 2000 to 78 in 2001, when the Bush administration's so-called global war on terror started, the analysis shows. After that, fatalities for the remainder of the decade hovered near or at the top of the list of deadliest years since 1986. The annual cost of accidents followed the same general trend. Part of the reason, military aviation experts say, is because Army aircraft are more technologically complex and expensive, making even minor mishaps costlier compared with previous years. (See charts p. 7.) Still, the data is a potentially disturbing trend as military operations look set to stay at a high tempo for years to come. Previously, many of the most expensive and fatal years were during peacetime. Now, however, there have been more fatal or costly accidents as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have worn on - and even as the number of actual mishaps each year has dropped. Altogether, the odds are still running against surviving such accidents, on average. For example, for those involved in aviation accidents or mishaps in 1992 - which with 1,068 accidents or incidents, ranked among the worst years - the odds of being killed were about 1 in 38. Throughout this decade, the chance of those involved being killed was roughly 1 in 2, or even almost 1-1. Furthermore, the top six worst fiscal years by mishap costs are all in this decade. The worst year under the DAILY's review was fiscal 2005, for which the Army reported about $407.9 million in accident losses after 164 total incidents. For each of fiscal 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2004 - in order of descending cost - the Army reported between $337.3 million and $282.2 million per year. In the first quarter of fiscal 2008, representing available data, there was a reported total of about $11.4 million. By comparison, since 1972 the least two annual amounts the Army reported are $18.9 million in 1974, followed by $19.8 million in 1973. The total over the past three decades has been about $16.2 billion. "Much of this had to do with helicopters getting bigger, more sophisticated, and more expensive in this time," says Richard Aboulafia, military aviation analyst and vice president of Teal Group. "The Army, for example, went from UH-1s for transport and AH-1s for attack to UH-60s and AH-64s." Some of the DAILY analysis reflects this operational shift. For example, throughout the early and mid-1990s, the leading aircraft for Army mishaps were the UH-1Hs, with a high of 256 incidents or accidents in 1990. After that timeframe, though, more UH-60s and AH-64s start to appear and then dominate the annual mishap data. http://www.aviationweek.com *************** EASA issues AD on Trent 900 engines Frequent inspections of the high pressure turbine nozzle guide vanes on Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines currently fitted to A380 aircraft have been mandated by EASA from Dec. 2. In its first airworthiness directive for the A380, EASA states that evidence from development testing and flight test Trent 900 engines has identified cracking on some HPT Nozzle Guide Vane (NGV) convex surfaces. "Analysis of test data and review of the manufacturing process has revealed compounding effects that may contribute to a shortfall in component life and an increased likelihood of premature cracking in this region," the directive said. "Excessive cracking on the convex surface may lead to the release of NGV material or the blockage of turbine gas flow, resulting in a risk of fracture to the HP turbine blade." The agency points out that not all NGV assemblies are affected, but says that if the problem exists, it will manifest itself below 1,000 cycles. Moreover, the release of an HP turbine blade on more than one engine could result in multiple engine loss of power or in-flight shut down, which presents a potential unsafe condition to the aircraft, the directive concludes. EASA is therefore instructing operators of Trent 900 engines to inspect the HPT NGV surfaces within 400 cycles and to repeat these inspections "at intervals not exceeding 100 cycles." If no damage is revealed at 1,000 cycles, operators should revert to normal inspection maintenance as detailed in the Rolls-Royce RB211-Trent 900 Maintenance Planning Document (MPD). Rolls-Royce said it has introduced a modification to the cooling of Trent 900 NGVs more than a year ago to address any potential issues on the early service-entry of Trent 900s. It noted that no NGVs had failed in service. It also confirmed that the modification has been rolled out on a number of early in-service engines, and that the rest of the fleet will be modified as required, as part of the maintenance program. No new Trent 900s are affected, it said. http://www.aviationweek.com ************** Heminger Rising In Crowded Field For DOT Secretary The Bay Area's head transportation official, Steve Heminger, is emerging as one of the favorites to be the next U.S. transportation secretary, and early frontrunners are also emerging for the top FAA post. Last week, the region's congressional delegation, including seven House lawmakers and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, wrote to the Obama transition team urging it to pick Heminger to lead the DOT. The driving force behind the letter was Rep. Ellen Tauscher, who is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The letter stresses Heminger's extensive resume on surface transportation issues. He is executive director of the Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and was also appointed by House Speaker Leader Nancy Pelosi to an influential surface transportation policy commission. Heminger testified on the commission's findings at a Senate hearing in April. He is on the board of directors of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations. Although he is attracting a lot of interest, Heminger is still one of several names that have been mentioned as possible candidates for the DOT job. Former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey is also still generating a lot of buzz. She and former DOT deputy Mortimer Downey are on the Obama transition team. At least three House lawmakers have been rumored to be possibilities, although Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar is believed to be an unlikely choice. (For more on the speculation surrounding the DOT pick, see the 'Things With Wings' blog at AviationWeek.com/wings). Also on the list are state governors and prominent Democratic politicians who may not have extensive transportation experience, but will likely get a top post of some kind for political reasons. And the Obama transition team could throw all this speculation out the window and appoint a Republican - much the same as President Bush did when choosing Democrat Norman Mineta for the transportation role. Meanwhile, the FAA administrator's job is also attracting attention. Among the early favorites are former Air Line Pilots Association head Duane Woerth, and top Transportation Committee aide Clayton Foushee. Interestingly, both Woerth and Foushee worked for Northwest, Woerth as a pilot and Foushee as an executive. These two have both approached Oberstar, who is the most influential transportation figure on Capitol Hill and a vital ally for any potential FAA head. Oberstar approves of Woerth, but is a bigger fan of Foushee, who has worked with Oberstar on the Transportation Committee. Sources say that he would back Foushee over Woerth. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid initially pushed his aide Robert Herbert for the FAA job, but his chances have since faded. Woerth is a well-known figure in Washington, and testified at many hearings on Capitol Hill. He is likely to win the backing of many labor groups. Foushee has probably been more prominent in the past few years, heading the Transportation Committee's oversight and investigations unit. He was the driving force behind high-profile investigations into maintenance practices at airlines, flight service stations and the condition of air traffic control facilities. http://www.aviationweek.com *************** FAA Orders Checks Of 757 Fuel Tanks Under an FAA airworthiness directive issued Nov. 25, Boeing 757 operators will be required to inspect the aircraft fuel system. The work will take up to 545 work hours per aircraft, depending on configuration, at an average labor rate of $80 per hour, according the FAA. Based on those figures, the estimated cost of compliance to U.S. operators will be up to $23.7 million or $43,925 per aircraft. Specifically, the directive (2007-0289) requires operators to seal fasteners on the front and rear spars inside the main fuel tanks as well as the rear spar and lower panel of the center fuel tank. In addition, operators are to inspect wire bundle support installations to ensure that certain clamps are installed, and to ensure that Teflon sleeving covers the bundles inside the equipment cooling system bays, as well as the rear and front spars. A Boeing fuel system review prompted the FAA to issue the directive. The intention of the AD is to detect improperly installed wire bundle support installation and sleeving. It also aims to prevent improperly sealed fasteners from becoming a source of ignition in the event of a fault current, which could lead to a fuel tank explosion. The directive, which becomes effective Dec. 30, affects 1,049 aircraft in the worldwide fleet, 539 of which are U.S.-registered. http://www.aviationweek.com **************