01 DEC 2008 _______________________________________ *NTSB Sends Team To Assist With A320 Investigation *First black box recovered from French jet crash *Search teams retrieve crashed A320's cockpit-voice recorder *NTSB: JetBlue A320 Had Fractured Nosewheel Steering Lugs *Qantas A330 Incident (Australia) *Misconfigured A330 flight computers led to severe hard landing: EASA *ICAO President: Stop Indonesian Flight Bans *Israeli pilots pessimistic over possible FAA reclassification *************************************** NTSB Sends Team To Assist With A320 Investigation Locator Signals From Flight Recorders Detected The National Transportation Safety Board will be sending a team of investigators to Perpignan, France to assist in the investigation of Thursday's accident in which an Airbus A320 crashed into the ocean. As ANN reported, the airliner was nearing the end of a two-hour maintenance checkout flight when it suddenly plunged into the Mediterranean Sea while on approach to Perpignan. The plane was slated to be returned to owner Air New Zealand after coming off lease to Germany's XL Airways. Of the seven persons reported onboard, two bodies have been recovered... and on Friday, search crews refocused their efforts from rescue to recovery of the five still missing. Bloomberg reports five boats, two aircraft, and a search crew in excess of 150 persons are working to retrieve the airliner's flight data recorders. Teams have detected the locator signals from the so-called "black boxes," but poor weather conditions at the wreckage site hampered recovery efforts. NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has designated senior aviation accident investigator Joe Sedor as the US Accredited Representative. The US team will also include technical advisors from the NTSB, FAA, and International Aero Engines. The team will head to France when the actual recovery efforts of the aircraft are underway. Information on the progress of the investigation will be released by the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA). FMI: www.bea-fr.org, www.ntsb.gov aero-news.net ************ First black box recovered from French jet crash PERPIGNAN, France (AFP) — One of the black boxes of an Air New Zealand Airbus A320 that crashed off the French coast has been recovered, an official said Saturday. Deputy prosecutor Dominique Alzeari told reporters that the flight data was being analysed and the results would be available within the next two days. "The first results will be known within 48 hours, the conversations that took place in the flight's last minutes will give some indication as to the cause of the crash," he added, stressing that it would be "premature" to draw any conclusions now. Alzeari also said that divers had found the second flight recorder and hope to bring it to the surface for analysis Sunday. French coastguards and around 50 police divers took part in the search for a second day on Saturday. Investigators are also trying to recover debris from the plane, some of which has drifted off in the direction of the Spanish coastline, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) away from the crash site. The plane went to France for tests and maintenance work before heading to Frankfurt in Germany from where it was scheduled to leave for New Zealand on Friday. It crashed on Thursday with five New Zealanders and two German pilots. Two bodies have been recovered so far. Built in 2005, the aircraft had been leased to German charter firm XL Airways a year later. The jet had been undergoing servicing at EAS Industries in Perpignan and had been flying circuits for 90 minutes before it crashed. Deputy Prosecutor Alzeari said the bodies had been sent for DNA analysis and that autopsies would be carried "at the start of the week." Prosecutors also confirmed that an inquest for "involuntary homicide" would open Monday or Tuesday. ************** Search teams retrieve crashed A320's cockpit-voice recorder Recovery teams have retrieved the cockpit-voice recorder of the Airbus A320 which crashed off the eastern coast of France during a check flight. The aircraft, being returned off lease to owner Air New Zealand, had been performing a test flight from Perpignan on 27 November. It was returning to the airport when it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, about 3.5nm (6.5km) from the French coast, with the probable loss of all seven occupants. Air New Zealand group general manager, international airline, Ed Sims says the carrier has been informed of the CVR's recovery. He says the recorder appears to be in good condition and will be sent to Paris for data extraction and analysis by the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses. "This marks a significant step in the process of understanding what caused this tragic accident," adds Sims. "French authorities continue to put every effort into the recovery operation." Sims says more than 40 divers have been working to retrieve the CVR and will resume efforts to locate the A320's flight-data recorder. Recovery teams at the scene had detected location signals from both devices. Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe is travelling to France with safety specialists from the carrier, as well as representatives from New Zealand's police force, transport accident investigation commission, and airline pilots' association. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** NTSB: JetBlue A320 Had Fractured Nosewheel Steering Lugs Fatigue Caused By Normal Cyclic Pre-Landing Tests The failure of an automatic nosewheel centering system on a JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 led to the flight's 2005 emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. The flight, carrying six crew and 141 passengers, departed Burbank, CA on September 21, 2005 bound for JFK airport in New York. Upon retraction of the landing gear, the flight crew "noted an error message on the Electric Centralized Aircraft Monitoring system listing a fault message for the nose landing gear shock absorber," the report said. Cycling the landing gear then produced "an error message of a fault for the nose wheel steering," and a subsequent fly-by confirmed suspicions that the nose gear was cocked sideways. As ANN reported, the flight crew elected to divert to LAX and flew for about two hours to burn off excess fuel. Although the landing shredded the nose gear tires and ground the wheel hubs down to the axle, the landing was otherwise uneventful. The plane tracked straight down the runway and no injuries were reported. Metallurgic analysis of the nose landing gear assembly "revealed that two of the four anti-rotation lugs on the nose landing gear upper support assembly had fractured and separated from the upper support assembly. The other two lugs contained cracks." The NTSB report attributed the damage to "induced fatigue from the steering system's programmed pre-landing dynamic steering tests that repeatedly cycles pressure to the steering cylinders." Adding to the problem was the operation of the Brake Steering Control Unit which tried to re-center the nose gear, but shut the steering system down when a second fault was detected. "Also contributing was the lack of a procedure to attempt to reset the BSCU system under these conditions," the NTSB said. Airbus has since issued an Operations Engineering Bulletin providing a procedure for the flight crew to reset the BSCU in flight, made a design change to the upper support assembly, and provided specific inspection requirements at nose landing gear overhaul. FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.airbus.com, www.jetblue.com aero-news.net ************** Qantad A330 Incident (Australia) Date: 30-NOV-2008 Time: Type: Airbus Industrie A330 Operator: Qantas Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: / Occupants: 247 Airplane damage: None Location: - Phase: En route Nature: Departure airport: Singapore Destination airport: Adelaide Narrative: While in-flight from Singapore to Adelaide (Australia), the pilot of QF 52 (Qantas Flight 52) noticed a warning signal mid-flight indicating a problem with a part of the hydraulic steering system. It later touched down without incident at the Brisbane Airport, despite problems with its steering system. Ambulance and fire crews were on standby when the plane landed but it appeared to touch down safely. The aircraft was towed to the international terminal. (aviation-safety.net) *************** Misconfigured A330 flight computers led to severe hard landing: EASA Incorrect configuration of flight-control computers, leading to a severe hard landing by an Airbus A330, has prompted a warning to operators to pay greater attention to installation of critical components. Neither the identity of the carrier involved in the landing, which occurred in September, nor the location has been disclosed. The specific A330 variant is also unclear. But the aircraft struck the ground hard after its elevators failed to respond to a pitch-up sidestick command from the pilot, who was attempting to flare the aircraft before touchdown. Instead of deflecting upwards, the elevators remained at their neutral position for several seconds. In a bulletin on the event, the European Aviation Safety Agency says that the subsequent impact was "severe" and required replacement of the A330's main landing-gear. Investigators discovered that while two primary flight-control computers - of the same standard and part number - were fitted in the first and third computer installation positions, designated FCPC1 and FCPC3, the computer in the second position differed in both respects. This particular configuration led the second flight-control computer to transmit erroneous signals to the elevator servos, and EASA states that "force-fighting" resulted within the elevator actuation system. Airbus says that this particular configuration of flight-control computers is "not authorised" by any of its service documents for the type. EASA has warned operators to ensure that parts are mixed only in accordance with established guidelines from the airframer. "To prevent an uncertified configuration that may result in unexpected operation of the aircraft systemsowners and operators should adhere to the interchangeability and mixability rules given in Airbus type certificate holder documentation," it states. EASA highlights a similar occurrence, in 2004, during which an Airbus A340's ground spoilers partly extended during power-up, when they normally would have remained fully stowed. Inquiries discovered that the aircraft's three primary flight computers had been installed in a similar unauthorised mixed configuration. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/11/29/319522/misconfigured-a330-fl ight-computers-led-to-severe-hard-landing-easa.html ************** ICAO President: Stop Indonesian Flight Bans TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: President of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Roberto Kobeh Gonzales urged the European Union to immediately stop flight bans to Indonesia. He said Indonesia has improved its flight safety standard, as well as its capacity, pilot quality, and air traffic service. “I hope the union will see it to stop it soon,” he said yesterday. Gonzales met the leader of the European Union to discuss the ban. He explained that Indonesia has been transparent by showing the ICAO audit report on its official site. “Not every country does this. Transparency is important,” he said. He asked the Indonesian government not to see the banning as a burden. “It is only a small snag. Indonesia is going the right way,” said Gonzales. However, he suggested that the Indonesian government increase flight safety by approving the aviation draft bill soon. He is amazed with the improvement Indonesia has made. Indonesia added more flight inspectors and integrated operators of air traffic service. “If there had been no progress, I would not be here,” he said. During his visit in Indonesia, Gonzales gave a speech for a seminar about the Air Navigation Service Provider. He was involved in a launching of a Civil Aviation Transformation Team (CATT) that works together with international aviation regulators like ICAO, the Aviation federation Administration (FAA-America), Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA-Australia), Japan, and the European Union. Meanwhile, Mandala's Director Warwick Brady said that since the flight ban applied, Mandala lost around 3,000 passengers. “The ban forbids foreigners from flying with Indonesian airlines,” he said yesterday. Earlier, Mandala offered to fly thousands of employees of the oil company Total E&P Indonesie. Due to the flight ban, this offer was canceled. Mandala can only fly local passengers. “The European Union has made a mistake by banning all airlines,” he said. Brady received a letter from Director of the Air Transportation Directorate of the European Union, Daniel Calleja, saying that he is happy with the progress Mandala made. “Mandala can meet the standards as it has been audited by various international institutions,” he said. Mandala has also completed an external audit, carried out by foreign institutions Airbus, Boeing Kenyon, and Altara-Australia. http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasional/2008/11/29/brk,20081129-148711,u k.html ************* Israeli pilots pessimistic over possible FAA reclassification Sources in the Israeli airline pilot community are claiming that over 100 individual shortcomings in the country's civil aviation administration have yet to be addressed, as the country's oversight comes under US scrutiny. Israel is facing the possibility of being reclassified as a 'Category 2' - or non-ICAO compliant - state by the US FAA, and a source close to the Israeli Air Line Pilots Association understands that a formal announcement on the matter is due within days. Assessment by the FAA has prompted the Israeli CAA into driving forward a raft of initiatives, including the replacement of senior officials, in a bid to retain its 'Category 1' status, which signals compliance with ICAO standards. "ICAO had an audit to inspect the Civil Aviation Authority in January 2007," says the senior Israeli pilot source. "It reported 102 deficiencies up to date most of them have not been dealt with. "It looks like the FAA will downgrade but I know that the ministry of transport is working very hard to convince them that they should not do so." A committee headed by former Israeli air force commander Amos Lapidot was set up to look at Israel's civil aviation situation with sources in the country noting: "It seems that the ministry of transport accepted the conclusions of this committee and is looking to take care of the issues." Part of the FAA's ire appears to centre on insufficient staff at the CAA. Despite a recent recruitment drive, concerns have been raised that there are still not enough personnel. Cockpit crew criticism is being levelled at the CAA's capacity to perform checks on foreign carriers flying into Israel. "This area is very neglected," claims the pilot source. "Very few ramp checks are done as far as I know." The Israel Air Line Pilots Association chairman, Capt Boaz Hativa, says the organisation has been warning authorities about the situation for several years, adding: "[FAA downgrade] would hurt the airlines, travelling public, companies that manufacture aircraft and course, pilots and other employees." Neither the Israeli CAA or ministry of transport could be reached to respond to the pilots' views, although the latter has said it is in the process of addressing manpower issues. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************