24 DEC 2008 _______________________________________ *Continental 737 crash: Pilot called for rejected take-off *Noises gave pilots a tough choice *Post-V1 abort after bird-strike destroyed Kalitta 747 *FAA proposes A320 cockpit door fix *FAA modifies "ineffective" directive on CRJ flap problems *Report: Drunk Pilot Removed From Jet Airways Cockpit **************************************** Continental 737 crash: Pilot called for rejected take-off Cockpit voice-recorder evidence shows one of the pilots of the Continental Airlines Boeing 737-500 involved in the runway excursion accident at Denver called for a rejected take-off. The US National Transportation Safety Board says the call came just four seconds after the recorder picked up a "bumping and rattling sound" as the jet accelerated down runway 34R on 20 December. During a briefing on the accident a spokesman for the NTSB stated that the CVR showed "nothing out of the ordinary" during pre-flight checks and taxi-out for the service to Houston. The NTSB has also reportedly said there is no evidence of any problems with the CFM International CFM56 engines, thrust reversers, brakes or flaps. Twenty-eight seconds after the brakes were released, says the spokesman, one of the pilots stated that take-off power was set. But 41s after release, a "bumping and rattling" began, and the call to reject take-off came at 45s. There was no debris on the runway, which was bare and dry. Main landing-gear tyre marks started 1,900ft from the runway 34R threshold and nose-gear marks began 100ft further on. The jet then began to veer off the centreline, says the spokesman, exiting the runway at 2,650ft from the threshold. It travelled into a grassy area before crossing taxiway WC and striking a berm. As a result of the inertia from the impact, and the profile of the terrain, the aircraft "slightly became airborne". From the point at which it left the runway, the 737 travelled around 2,000ft before coming to rest. The rattling sound continued to the end of the cockpit-voice recording, at 51s. The spokesman indicates that the recording was ended by the triggering of a deceleration 'g-switch', probably from the aircraft's impact with the ground after it struck the berm. Information from the flight-data recorder information is "very good", he adds, and shows that the jet reached a maximum speed of 119kt. At the point where the flight-data recording ceased - again, possibly due to the ground impact - the aircraft was moving at 89kt. Despite the aircraft's suffering severe structural damage and a fire around the right rear fuselage, none of the 115 occupants was killed, although dozens were taken to hospital with varying degrees of injury. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Noises gave pilots a tough choice Investigators cite split-second decision to abort jetliner's takeoff Twitter: Read a passenger's real-time account As the Continental Airlines jet topped 100 mph and neared the speed it would need to become airborne in Denver last Saturday, a sudden bumping and rattling forced its experienced pilots to make a difficult runway decision: Continue or abort the takeoff at a point it clearly would be dangerous. The split-second decision was made not to take off, which meant quickly reversing thrusters on at least one engine and hurriedly applying the aircraft's brakes. But the plane veered off Runway 34 Right at Denver International Airport, struck a berm, slid into a ravine and caught fire, injuring 38 people. Those details, revealed in a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board review, have prompted aviation accident experts to focus on sources of those unusual noises - audible on cockpit recordings and reported by frightened Houston-bound passengers. One possibility is as simple and dangerous as a faulty wheel. The former chairman of the NTSB cited that Tuesday as a potential source of the problem. "You would think the bumping has to be the wheels," said Jim Hall, former board chairman. "And the rattling, you have to wonder if there is any problem with the wheels." Hall, who was nominated to the National Transportation Safety Board in 1993, became the board's chairman in 1994 and headed the board until January 2001. He now heads Hall & Associates, which consults on legislative affairs, crisis management and transportation security and safety. Hall said this week that there is a strong possibility that the NTSB would have a hearing on the Continental accident. Austin lawyer Mike Slack, who has handled numerous aviation-related cases, agreed that possible wheel problems are among the top five things investigators will look at. Slack also said he would expand that list and said investigators will synchronize the cockpit voice recorder with the flight data recorder. "The synchronization process will tell you what aircraft parameters were at time," Slack said. "Airspeed, acceleration, engine conditions, there are probably well over 100 channels of data being recorded by a separate box." Into the ravine The bumping and rattling first were heard 41 seconds after the plane began rolling down the runway, according to the recorder on board the aircraft. Four seconds later, a crew member called for an aborted takeoff. Six seconds later, the plane was in the ravine. NTSB's Go Team of experts remains in Denver, where the plane still sits without its engine or landing gear in the snowy ravine. An NTSB spokesman has reported finding no problems with the engines, brakes, tires or flaps, though those experts have provided no other information on mechanical or structural failures of the 14-year-old Boeing 737-500 series jet. Still no interview The experienced pilot of Continental Flight 1404, which was bound for Houston with 115 aboard when it crashed, remained hospitalized in Denver Tuesday. Capt. David Butler and First Officer Chad Levang were among 38 people injured in the crash. Butler, one of the most seriously injured, remained unable to give an interview Tuesday to NTSB officials. Investigators have interviewed Levang and reviewed cockpit recordings. Continental's chairman and chief executive, Larry Kellner, went to Denver on Tuesday and met with the captain in the hospital. Kellner also met with Denver firefighters, who were the first responders at the crash, to thank them for their efforts. Kellner also met with others, including city and airport officials. An NTSB spokeswoman Bridget Serchak said the agency's preliminary report on the accident likely would be available in early January, but the agency probably would not schedule any further briefings before then. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6180010.html ************** Post-V1 abort after bird-strike destroyed Kalitta 747 Belgian investigators believe a bird-strike on a Kalitta Air Boeing 747-200 freighter at Brussels Airport triggered the crew to abort take-off at a late stage, causing the jet to overrun and break up. DNA analysis of organic material recovered from the site shows that a kestrel struck the starboard inboard Pratt & Whitney JT9D engine as the aircraft accelerated along the runway on 25 May. Cockpit-voice recorder evidence has revealed that, four seconds after the jet reached the crucial V1 decision speed, there was a loud bang, followed by a loss of power from the engine. Two seconds later - and despite being six seconds past V1 - the crew attempted to abort the take-off. The aircraft failed to stop in the remaining runway length, travelling 300m beyond the end. It broke up and was destroyed but all the crew members, and a passenger on board the service to Bahrain, escaped. There were no technical problems with the aircraft, which was carrying 73t of cargo, or the runway condition. Belgium's air accident investigation unit, in an interim statement on the inquiry, says the "likely" cause of the accident was the pilot's decision to execute a post-V1 abort after the ingestion of a bird by the inboard starboard engine. It points out that the crew was highly-experienced: the pilot had accumulated 15,000hr including 3,000 on 747s. Investigators have suggested that, while the runway-end safety area meets ICAO standards, it could be improved with an arrestor system. The inquiry adds that the risk of bird-strike should be assessed to determine whether bird-control measures at Brussels Airport should be strengthened. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** FAA proposes A320 cockpit door fix The US FAA is proposing to mandate a cockpit door fix called for by Airbus in a service bulletin spawned by an incident where pilots in an A320 could not open the aircraft's reinforced cockpit door with or without the aircraft powered up. EASA proposed a similar airworthiness directive (AD) in August. At issue is a cockpit door latch/striker assembly that likely overheated, "causing permanent internal damage prior to being electrically isolated by the internal thermal fuse," says the FAA in the proposed AD. "This condition, in case of a rapid decompression in the cockpit, would prevent the necessary unlocking/opening of the door, which may lead to failure of the airplane structure." Though Airbus originally managed the in-service implementation of a service bulletin fix to the door, which included an improved strike package/door bolting system with internal overheat protection, FAA says the "rate of installation by operators has not met the expected timescales, making mandatory action necessary to address this." The agency notes 620 US-registered aircraft are affected and that the upgrades take 6h to complete at an average cost of $480 per aircraft. Comments on the AD are due to the agency by 22 January. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** FAA modifies "ineffective" directive on CRJ flap problems US regulators are proposing to expand an airworthiness directive for Bombardier CRJ100/200s to reduce the risk of flap failure, after finding the original directive was not effective in addressing the problem. The original US FAA directive, issued on 3 January this year, was intended to deal with stuck-flap incidents in cold-weather operations. It required pressure tests of drive shafts in the flap mechanism and torque tests on flap actuators. But the FAA is proposing a new directive to supersede the earlier one, and is calling for comments by 20 January. "Since we issued [the original directive] we received a reported that [it] was not effective in reducing the number of flap failures [on CRJs]," it states. The new FAA directive will be largely in line with one issued by Canada's civil aviation authority on 18 August. It will retain the requirements of the previous directive but add several corrective actions, including checking, repairing or replacing flap components after a flap failure and installing cockpit placards specifying new flap operating limitations. It also allows installation of modified flap actuators. The directive requires revising the aircraft flight manual with a temporary revision clarifying maximum flaps extended speeds and incorporating maximum flap operating speed data. It also modifies operational limiations and requirements for zero-flap landing simulator training. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Report: Drunk Pilot Removed From Jet Airways Cockpit Ex-Marine May Have Partied Too Hard A 62-year-old airline pilot and ex-US Marine appears about to lose his career over a few drinks with younger co-workers. India's Economic Times cites other newspaper reports in relating the arrest of Michael Harr, who was reportedly in the cockpit of a Jet Airways Boeing 777, preparing for a Sunday morning flight from London Heathrow to Mumbai, India, when police responding to a tip from airport security arrested and removed him from the plane. An airport source told the London Sun, "Security were immediately suspicious about him and deemed that he wasn't fit to fly. He was arrested and now faces losing his job. He is only a couple of years away from retirement and has blown everything." The source added Harr had been partying with fellow crew members Saturday night, possibly violating the hard eight-hour minimum requirement between last drink and start of duty. London Metro Police added that a breath test showed Harr's blood alcohol content to be above the UK's legal limit. Harr is free on bail pending a later court date. FMI: www.jetairways.com aero-news.net ***************