02 JAN 2009 _______________________________________ *Investigators Focus on Likely Wind Gust in Denver Crash *NTSB: Winds Reached 37 mph when Jet Crashed *Crashes prompt scrutiny of charity-flight regulations *'Safest' seat remarks get Muslim family kicked off plane *BEA: icing cause of Fokker 100 crash at Pau, 2007 *Qantas Navigation Error Forces Back Plane, West Australian Says *Tell TSA what Large Aircraft Security Program means to you *Charges laid against man who allegedly tried to open aircraft door on flight *As We Welcome 3rd Minister Of Aviation In 18 Months (Nigeria) *************************************** Investigators Focus on Likely Wind Gust in Denver Crash By ANDY PASZTOR A sudden wind gust appears to be the most likely culprit behind a Continental Airlines jet that on Dec. 20 veered off a runway during takeoff and ended in a non-fatal crash at Denver International Airport, according to people familiar with interviews of the plane's pilots by federal accident investigators. While investigators haven't reached any definitive conclusions and continue to consider a wide range of potential causes, preliminary data from the plane's onboard recorders and interviews with the cockpit crew increasingly suggest the problem began when a strong crosswind pushed the twin-engine jet to the left of the runway's centerline, according to these people. In the next few days, investigators hope to conduct their first thorough inspection of the nose gear and portions of the main landing gear, both of which are crumpled under the wreckage of the twin-engine Boeing 737. In addition to focusing on wind direction and speed, teams from the National Transportation Safety Board, Continental Airlines Inc. and manufacturer Boeing Co. also continue to delve into whether problems with brakes or landing gear may have played a role in the accident. NTSB and Continental officials have declined to comment on the status of the probe. The pilots of Flight 1404, according to these people, told investigators the acceleration for takeoff appeared to be routine with engines functioning as expected. But they said a crosswind gust – or perhaps some sort of icy patch on the runway – started pushing the plane left of the centerline of the strip and eventually caused an aborted takeoff. The twin-engine jet smashed across a taxiway, traveled nearly half a mile through a field and ended in a ravine with portions of its nose and main gear sheared off or badly damaged. The runway was reported free of snow and ice at the time, and investigators haven't uncovered anything to back up the idea that an icy patch may have caused the plane to lose direction. Other planes left around the same time and didn't delay their takeoffs due to high winds, according to people familiar with the investigation. Previously, safety board officials have said they didn't uncover any problems with the engines or the brakes, but they said an unusual rattling sound could be heard on the cockpit recorder shortly before the plane veered off the runway. Investigators haven't said what they suspect caused those sounds. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123076650861346631.html?mod=googlenews_wsj ************* NTSB: Winds Reached 37 mph when Jet Crashed DENVER – Continental Flight 1404 encountered wind gusts of up to 37 miles per hour when it veered off the runway at Denver International Airport during take off, crashed and then caught fire, according to an initial report by the National Transportation Safety Board. The force, however, should not have affected the pilot’s ability to maintain directional control of the aircraft, the report said. The Houston-bound Boeing 737 was carrying 110 passengers and five crew members when it went off the runway on Dec. 20 and crossed a service road before coming to rest near an airport fire station. Passengers and crew escaped through emergency exits during the ensuing fire. The NTSB says 37 people were hurt, instead of 38 as initially reported. All victims have been released from the hospitals. No one was killed. The wreckage of the plane was expected to be moved from the ravine where it crashed to a hangar on Friday. Federal investigators are still trying to determine what caused the accident. They have inspected the wreckage and interviewed passengers and crew members, including the pilot. Continental spokeswoman Kelly Cripe has said that the pilot was hospitalized for at least five days after the crash but has been released from the hospital. Airline officials have not described the pilot's injuries. http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8180289&versi on=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 ************** Crashes prompt scrutiny of charity-flight regulations By Alan Levin, USA TODAY A rash of fatal crashes in 2008 involving charity flights carrying the sick and others is prompting calls by aviation experts for tougher training and safety regulations closer to those in force for commercial flights. At least 24 people died in 2008 in five crashes in the USA and around the world on flights operated by U.S.-based non-profit organizations carrying medical patients or foreign development workers, federal records show. That's up from the 16 people who died in crashes on similar flights during the previous eight years, according to the records. Some charity groups are considering upgrading safety standards, but they oppose new rules that they say could cripple their operations. Non-profit flights have become an increasingly important means of transporting people. Angel Flight organizations, which fly medical patients to faraway doctors, arrange 20,000 flights a year. Even though these flights carry passengers, they are treated as private flights that do not have to abide by more rigorous regulations — such as recurring pilot training and government inspections — that govern airlines or charter companies. FIND MORE STORIES IN: Congress | Virginia | Georgia | Missouri | Kansas City | Federal Aviation Administration | National Transportation Safety Board | Congo | Iowa City | Laura Brown | Jim Hall | Democratic Republic "It's just a deadly loophole," says Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). "People blindly assume that whoever they get in an airplane with is going to be careful," NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said. "Unfortunately, we at the NTSB sometimes find out that that is not the case." Sumwalt — who said he was voicing his own opinions — said the government should consider increasing standards on such flights. The charity operators say additional regulations are not needed. "If we were to do anything different, it would significantly impact the number of people that we would be able to help," said Christel Gollnick, executive director of Angel Flight Central in Kansas City, Mo. Federal regulators are trying to promote safety for all private flights, but it would be tough to create new regulations for charity flights without changes in the law, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said. So far, the deaths have not prompted calls for change in Congress or the FAA. Some recent accidents: • On Sept. 1, a flight operated by Air Serv International of Warrenton, Va., crashed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 15 aid workers and two pilots. The non-profit company, which operates like a small airline, flies aid workers in some of the most dangerous places in the world, according to its website. Spokesman Rudolph Joseph said the organization's existing federal oversight is sufficient. • From June to August, three flights arranged by several charities known as Angel Flight crashed, killing a total of seven people, including the three patients. A 2-year-old girl who died on a June 3 flight in Iowa City was not belted in, the girl's mother, Christina Blanton of Thomasville, Ga., told USA TODAY. Federal regulations require that all passengers age 2 or over wear seat belts. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-01-02-charity-flights_N.htm *************** 'Safest' seat remarks get Muslim family kicked off plane Man says Muslim family taken off flight after discussion over safest place to sit WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Muslim family removed from an airliner Thursday after passengers became concerned about their conversation say AirTran officials refused to rebook them, even after FBI investigators cleared them of wrongdoing. A Muslim family was removed from an AirTran flight after a conversation about the safest place to sit. Atif Irfan said federal authorities removed eight members of his extended family and a friend after passengers heard them discussing the safest place to sit and misconstrued the nature of the conversation. Irfan, a U.S. citizen and tax attorney, said he was "impressed with the professionalism" of the FBI agents who questioned him, but said he felt mistreated when the airline refused to book the family for a later flight. AirTran Airways late Thursday said they acted properly and that the family was offered full refunds and can fly with AirTran again. "AirTran Airways complied with all TSA, law enforcement and Homeland Security directives and had no discretion in the matter," the company said in a prepared statement. Family members said FBI agents tried to work it out with the airline, but to no avail. "The FBI agents actually cleared our names," said Inayet Sahin, Irfan's sister-in-law. "They went on our behalf and spoke to the airlines and said, 'There is no suspicious activity here. They are clear. Please let them get on a flight so they can go on their vacation,' and they still refused." "The airline told us that we can't fly their airline," Irfan said. The dispute occurred about 1 p.m. Thursday as AirTran flight 175 was preparing for takeoff from Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C., on a flight destined for Orlando, Florida. Atif Irfan, his brother, their wives, a sister and three children were headed to Orlando to meet with family and attend a religious conference. "The conversation, as we were walking through the plane trying to find our seats, was just about where the safest place in an airplane is," Sahin said. "We were (discussing whether it was safest to sit near) the wing, or the engine or the back or the front, but that's it. We didn't say anything else that would raise any suspicion." The conversation did not contain the words "bomb," "explosion," "terror" or other words that might have aroused suspicion, Irfan said. "When we were talking, when we turned around, I noticed a couple of girls kind of snapped their heads," said Sobia Ijaz, Irfan's wife. "I kind of thought to myself, 'Oh, you know, maybe they're going to say something.' It didn't occur to me that they were going to make it such a big issue." Some time later, while the plane was still at the gate, an FBI agent boarded the plane and asked Irfan and his wife to leave the plane. The rest of the family was removed 15 or 20 minutes later, along with a family friend, Abdul Aziz, a Library of Congress attorney and family friend who was coincidentally taking the same flight and had been seen talking to the family. After the FBI interviewed family members, it released them, Irfan said. AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said the incident began when some passengers reported hearing suspicious remarks by a woman and alerted flight attendants. Two Federal Air Marshals, who were on board the flight, notified law enforcement about the security-related issue, AirTran said. After the family and Aziz were taken for questioning, the remaining 95 passengers were taken off of the plane and rescreened, along with the crew and the baggage, AirTran said. Irfan said he believes his family is owed an apology. "Really, at the end of the day, we're not out here looking for money. I'm an attorney. I know how the court system works. We're basically looking for someone to say... 'We're apologizing for treating you as second-class citizens.'" "We are proud Americans," Sahin said. "You know we decided to have our children and raise them here. We can very easily go anywhere we want in the world, but you know we love it here and we're not going to go away, no matter what." Aziz said there is a "very strong possibility" he will pursue a civil rights lawsuit. "I guess it's just a situation of guilt by association," Aziz said. "They see one Muslim talking to another Muslim and they automatically assume something wrong is going on." *************** BEA: icing cause of Fokker 100 crash at Pau, 2007 The French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) released the final report on their investigation into the accident involving a Fokker 100 at Pau Airport, Jan. 25, 2007. The airplane overshot the runway after an aborted takeoff. It struck a vehicle, killing the driver. All on board the F100 survived. The investigators concluded that the accident was caused by a loss of control caused by the presence of ice contamination of the surface of the wings associated with insufficient consideration of the weather during the stopover, and by the rapid rotation pitch, a reflex reaction to a flight of birds. (BEA) (aviation-safety.net) *************** Qantas Navigation Error Forces Back Plane, West Australian Says Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- A Qantas Airways Ltd. plane traveling to Singapore was forced to return to Perth after experiencing problems with its navigation system near a military installation on Australia’s western coast, the West Australian said. Flight QF71 was carrying 277 passengers on the Airbus A330- 300 aircraft when it encountered problems Dec. 27, the newspaper said. The plane used the same navigation system and was traveling in the same area as flight QF72 on Oct. 7, which abruptly lost altitude, injuring 40 people. The Australian and International Pilots Association President Barry Jackson yesterday said airspace around the military installation, near the town of Exmouth, about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) north of Perth, should be declared off limits to commercial airlines, the newspaper reported. Calls to Qantas by Bloomberg News weren’t returned. The Australian and International Pilots Association, which has closed its offices until Jan. 5, didn’t return a call to its message service. The Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt, established by the U.S. in the 1960s, uses very low frequency transmissions to relay communications between Australian and American submarines. The U.S. Navy left the base in 1992 and it is now owned by the Australian Department of Defence. On Oct. 7, an Airbus A330-300, flying from Singapore to Perth, plunged 650 feet (198 meters) in seconds before the pilots regained control and made an emergency landing at an airfield near Exmouth. More than 40 passengers and crew needed hospital treatment for spinal injuries, broken bones, cuts or concussion. Investigating Plunge Australian air safety investigators later said a fault in a flight system computer component may have caused the plunge. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was also examining whether electromagnetic interference from the naval base could have caused the plane to dive, with a preliminary report finding such a scenario was “unlikely.” The Dec. 27 incident was the latest scare for Australia’s largest airline, which has a safety record that was made famous in the movie “Rain Man” in which Dustin Hoffman’s character insisted on flying Qantas because it hasn’t had a fatal jet accident. On July 25, a Qantas aircraft made an emergency landing in Manila after an oxygen tank exploded, puncturing the plane’s fuselage at 29,000 feet. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=aUP1bStKkGTU&refer=austr alia ************** Tell TSA what Large Aircraft Security Program means to you By AOPA ePublishing staff The Transportation Security Administration wants to impose new security regulations that would treat larger general aviation aircraft just like the airlines, and AOPA members are urged to file comments telling the TSA how the rules would affect them. The proposed Large Aircraft Security Program, or LASP, would impose a whole range of expensive and burdensome requirements on Part 91 operators of aircraft weighing more than 12,500 lbs. Those requirements include criminal history record checks for crew members, matching passengers to TSA watch and no-fly lists, checking passengers and baggage for dangerous weapons or prohibited items, and paying for biennial third-party audits. That last item amounts to outsourcing security oversight, an inherently governmental function. “These unprecedented measures represent a serious infringement on the privacy rights of GA owners and operators, and they do nothing to account for the inherent differences between private GA operations and commercial air travel,” said AOPA Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Andy Cebula. “We’re also concerned that the regulations could easily be expanded to include all aircraft, regardless of size or type of operation, because the TSA hasn’t said anything to justify the 12,500-lb limit.” All affected AOPA members are urged to file written comments with TSA. AOPA’s LASP online member action center offers an overview of the issue and step-by-step instructions for writing and filing comments. At AOPA’s request, the TSA also has agreed to hold public meetings on LASP. Members who are able are encouraged to attend the meeting closest to them. AOPA representatives also will attend all meetings. Registration for each meeting will begin at 8 a.m., with the meetings beginning at 9 a.m. The meetings are scheduled for Jan. 6 at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y.; Jan. 8 at the Renaissance Concourse Hotel Atlanta Airport in Atlanta, Ga.; Jan. 16 at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel and Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.; Jan. 23 at the Burbank Airport Marriot Hotel and Convention Center in Burbank, Calif.; and Jan. 28 at the Hilton Houston Hotel-North Greenspoint Conference Center in Houston, Texas. http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2008/081231gasecurity.html ************** Charges laid against man who allegedly tried to open aircraft door on flight TORONTO — A Toronto man is facing charges after a plane was forced to make an unscheduled layover in the Dominican Republic. Peel police have charged Adrian Worrell, 33, with several counts of assault, one count of mischief and a charge of endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight. A Toronto-bound Skyservice flight was diverted to Punta Cana on Tuesday when a disruptive passenger tried to tamper with an aircraft cabin door. A man was detained in the Dominican Republic, where more than 200 passengers and the plane's crew also spent the night before returning to Toronto the following day. Worrell is scheduled to appear Friday in a Brampton courtroom for a bail hearing. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5htIoxOrnvdFGiBk k4LmBaAL8B27Q ************** As We Welcome 3rd Minister Of Aviation In 18 Months (Nigeria) Capt Daniel Omale January 2nd, 2009 It has become totally unimaginable that the aviation system in Nigeria will ever become stable in the near future. In just 18 months, we are welcoming the third minister of aviation into the systems. The new minister will obviously come with his brand new ideas that may be in dissonance with his predecessors’. The sharks would probably hijack him or he may bring into the system his own cronies who would change the system to their own advantage. Whichever way, the system is far from stability. It is highly ambiguous, in my own mind, to try to understand why such a turnover of aviation ministers in this country. My myopic assessment of the situation is that it’s either those responsible for the appointment and allotting portfolios do not think of the sensitive nature of aviation and the overall impact of how a misplaced priority can have a huge negative impact much later in the system, or they do not just care. Whatever the rationale for these changes, only those responsible can understand it, while we wait and watch the equal but opposite reaction of their decisions. Only the future can tell, but I, personally, find it absolutely absurd. If the new minister stays long enough in the office, his tenure will last only for the next two years before another minister is appointed. We hope that the new minister can support the following core areas before his time expires. Core areas that need serious attention are: (1) Although we can boastfully say that commercial aviation safety has improved tremendously in the past two years, the process of safety initiatives continues throughout the life span of commercial aviation. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) must be supported with the tools necessary to promulgate, enforce and monitor safety rules and regulations. Personnel training with the use of technology should be enhanced for data collection and evaluation. (2) Air Traffic Management (ATM): This is the core of commercial aviation everywhere and Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind. Safety programmes can only function properly if air traffic management is efficient. To this effect, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) occupies the most important position in aviation safety in this country. The organisation deserves the most profound attention in terms of funding for equipment acquisition to support its goals. Obsolete communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) equipment must be replaced immediately to enhance qualitative operations and ease off the pressure on our air traffic controllers. Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), which is envisaged to be implemented in two years, should be given utmost priority. Reduced Vertical Separation Minima or Minimum (RVSM) was implemented in the whole of Africa by September 25 last year. How can Kano Flight Information Region (FIR) effectively monitor all the aircraft within 29,000 feet and 41,000 feet with the current obsolete communications equipment in our towers? (3) Training: While the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, has resumed active ab initio training of commercial pilots, aircraft type and recurrent courses are largely done abroad. It is estimated that conversion and recurrent trainings on aircraft type gulp approximately N1.5 billion annually. With well-equipped training facilities in this country, our airlines would be able to minimise costs and increase profits. Also, this nation can create more jobs by utilising experienced and retired aviation professionals who, by all accounts, would transfer knowledge to the younger generation of pilots and engineers. Nigeria can also become a training hub for the West African sub-region. But analysis alone cannot bring the changes necessary to move this project forward. Action is needed. Constructive engagement is very important to move the nation forward, and it requires absolute commitment on the part of the new ministry. (4)Aircraft maintenance facility: Airlines in Nigeria spend over N2 billion annually on maintenance repairs and overhaul (MRO) by outsourcing their routine and schedule maintenance checks to foreign approved maintenance organisations (AMO). Of late, Ethiopia has become the maintenance hub for our domestic airlines. But why not? Ethiopian airlines have over 700 qualified aircraft engineers and technicians. This is a far cry from what is obtained in this country. A giant nation like Nigeria with a vibrant aviation industry cannot boast of a single standard maintenance facility to cater for the airlines operating within. This, of course, is one area that public-private partnership (PPP) would fare very well, but it requires government initiatives to propel its establishment. For commercial aviation to thrive well in Nigeria, there must be conscious and consistent effort on the part of our government to bring home, at least, 75% of all aircraft maintenance requirements. Aircraft maintenance and engineering are the pivot of aviation development in any country and we cannot afford to ignore this developmental necessity. (5) Public-Private Partnership (PPP): The only way to develop our airports, if we are very serious about moving this industry further from its present position, is PPP, but concession must be transparent to avoid the hitches being experienced by the first concessionaire, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, the operator and manager of the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA2). The MMA2 concept is necessary throughout the country, if we can ask the public to bid for such projects in an open and honest manner, just like what the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) did during the bidding for GSM licences. The whole nation saw the transparency, embraced it and, so far, there have been no intrigues coming from any quarters. We need the same open process to alleviate discontentment in aviation industry. To build a terminal like MMA2 requires huge investments that, no doubt, demands adequate patronage for the operator to recoup its investments, but this cannot be done in secrecy and does not require infighting with the stakeholders to promote a sensible business of this kind. Other airports like Kano, Maiduguri, Yola and Port Harcourt (just to name a few) should be developed through PPP or we will never attain our dream of building world-class airports and terminals. The ministry must make its intention or stand on this issue visible to the public for consumption, to avoid factional supports for development. It is unfortunate that despite government-established committees (at least three) on the issue of concession, especially our airports, there is very little response or embracement from all the stakeholders who are suspicious of the movement to practical improvement of the industry but are dogmatic in their ways of leaning on government. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should be transformed into a competitive venture whereby it can compete with other concessionaires in the industry. It must be run as a profitable business without government interference. The mere fact that FAAN cannot authoritatively ground an airline that is in default of payment because a superpower from Abuja will intervene and ask FAAN to withdraw the grounding order shows how government’s overbearing weight has paralysed FAAN as an organisation, and this has prevented the organisation from efficient and effective performance. FAAN should not be allowed to end up like Nigeria Airways because of the influence of big men in Abuja. The future of this great industry lies in the hands of those appointed to manage aviation system in this country. We are far from engaging in research and development in this sector because intrigues have played so much on our psyche on how to make cheap money through the system without corresponding sacrifice to make it work. Once again, it is interesting to hear that another aviation minister has been appointed, but it requires honesty, hard work and dedication to get the system functioning properly. We hope that, before his departure, the new minister would have made a positive impact in the system –– that is, if he stays long enough, because most of us are in doubt about what would become of the sector if new ministers come with new policies as we have seen many times. Well, ultimately, someday, the essentials will be separated from the accessories. http://leadershipnigeria.com/news/128/ARTICLE/4772/2009-01-02.html **************