07 JAN 2009 _______________________________________ *Audit of FAA runway safety improvements scheduled for January *NTSB investigates Delta 777 rejected takeoff *No injuries in back-to-back American Eagle ERJ incidents *Here's Your New Acting FAA Administrator... Lynne A. Osmus *OSHA: American Airlines must reimburse sick time for pilots *Recording devices recovered from helicopter crash site *Former Head of FAA Aircraft Maintenance Division Joins AAR *Indian airline fires 9 overweight crew members *Safety Bid Accelerates For Airbus Jetliners *NTSB issues report on doomed air ambulance flight *NTSB cites pilot error in Spectrum Aero Med crash *Atlas, Polar pilots leave ALPA for Teamsters *************************************** Audit of FAA runway safety improvements scheduled for January An audit by the US DOT's Inspector General (IG) of FAA's framework to improve runway safety is scheduled to start the last week of this month. The examination is request by Senators John Rockefeller and Kay Bailey Hutchinson originally tabled in April 2008. Specifically IG will scrutinize how successful FAA has been with five point action plan to improve runway safety the agency launched in August 2007. The five elements include upgrading surface markings, reviewing airports carrying a high safety risk, improving cockpit and ATC procedures, establishing a voluntary reporting system and dissemination of information and training. In March 2008 FAA explained it was reviewing runway safety issues at 22 airports during a four month period in addition to 20 airports where reviews had been completed. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** NTSB investigates Delta 777 rejected takeoff The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a 2 January mid-morning rejected takeoff by a Rolls-Royce Trent 800-powered Delta Air Lines 777-200ER at the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. Flight 55, with 242 passengers and 15 crewmembers including four pilots, was departing for Japan's Narita Airport on Runway 9L when pilots experienced a compressor stall on the right engine when accelerating through 85kt (157km/h) and aborted the takeoff, according to an FAA spokeswoman. FAA's preliminary incident report states that damage was reported on the right engine fan and cowling, though the NTSB could not be immediately reached to verify the information or to status the investigation. The incident follows a series of Trent 800 engine problems on the 777, the most recent being an in-flight uncommanded rollback at cruise altitude on the right engine of a Trent 895-powered Delta 777-200ER inbound to Atlanta from Shanghai. Pilots were able to recover the engine at lower altitude and continue to Atlanta. Passengers from Flight 55 were placed on another 777-200ER for departure from Atlanta, according to the FAA spokeswoman. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** No injuries in back-to-back American Eagle ERJ incidents American Eagle says no one was injured this afternoon after an emergency landing of an Embraer ERJ-145 in Killeen, Texas following a flight from Dallas. Pilots of Flight 3505, with 50 passengers and three crew, declared an emergency after smelling smoke in the cockpit. Upon landing, the aircraft taxied to the gate for a normal deplaning. However, the airline says an investigation is underway. The carrier this afternoon also removed a slightly damaged ERJ-145 from the runway area of the Hancock Airport in Syracuse, New York, following an incident Sunday night after a flight from Chicago. A spokeswoman for American says Flight 3906, with 48 passengers and three crew, "landed normally and towards the last third of the runway, slid off the runway." Passengers, none of whom were injured, deplaned on location and were shuttled to the terminal, according the spokeswoman. An FAA spokesman says that ice is suspected in the loss of control incident and that officials are investigating how the airport assessed runway conditions before the aircraft was cleared to land. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Here's Your New Acting FAA Administrator... Lynne A. Osmus Lynne A. Osmus Takes Over For Bobby Sturgell It's been nothing but small surprises here and there today, folks... not the least of which is the fact that an understated announcement by the President brought news that the FAA was coming under new management, as of January 16th... until further notice. According to some industry sources, the appointment comes as a bit of a surprise, since the current Acting Administrator, Bobby Sturgell, had not been reported as having submitted his resignation. Still; it was taken for granted that he would be stepping down at the end of the Bush Administration. Lynne A. Osmus will take over for Bobby Sturgell effective January 16, 2009. Near the end of an announcement about President Bush's late appointments is the statement: "The President intends to designate Lynne A. Osmus, of Virginia, to be Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, to become effective January 16, 2009." And that's all there is to that... for now. Ms. Osmus is currently the FAA Assistant Administrator for Security and Hazardous Materials, a position she has had since July 1, 2003. She has been with the FAA since 1979, and an executive since 1990, primarily in the field of aviation security. She was appointed to be the Deputy Associate Administrator of FAA's Civil Aviation Security Program just three months prior to the 9/11 attacks and then led the FAA's transition of the security programs to the TSA. More recently, Ms. Osmus was designated as the "transition executive" for the Obama Transition team. This reunited her with her old boss Jane Garvey, the former FAA Administrator under President Clinton, for whom Ms. Osmus was Chief of Staff. Ms. Garvey is a member of the Obama Transition team and had been previously mentioned as a possible nominee for Secretary of Transportation (though, unfortunately, not nominated for that august post). FMI: www.faa.gov/about/key_officials/osmus/ aero-news.net ************** OSHA: American Airlines must reimburse sick time for pilots The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered American Airlines Inc. to reimburse two pilots for sick time following an investigation into the pilots’ allegations that the company retaliated against them for reporting they were too sick to fly out of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that in both cases, the airline erred in rejecting medical documentation provided by the pilots and illegally recouped sick pay already paid to the pilots, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The Department of Labor does not reveal names in whistleblower cases. Pilot No. 1 is from Folsom Calif., and he was scheduled to fly out of St. Louis on Dec. 27, 2007, when he called in sick, said Jeremy Eggers, a spokesman for the department. Pilot No. 2, who lives in O'Fallon, Mo., was scheduled to fly out of St. Louis on Jan. 9, 2008, when he called in sick, Eggers said. “A policy that forces pilots to make a choice between flying when they are too sick to do so or being retaliated against violates the law,” said Charles Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City, in a statement. “While OSHA is best known for ensuring the safety and health of employees, it is also the federal government’s main whistleblower protection agency.” The airline was ordered to provide whistleblower rights information to its employees. Under the various whistleblower provisions enacted by Congress, employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. American Airlines said it disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal. “American does not retaliate against employees and strictly adheres to the whistleblower laws," said Tami McLallen, a spokeswoman. "Here, the pay was deducted because the pilot did not provide sufficient evidence of his illness, not because he called in sick. We never ask our pilots to fly when sick, and in fact expect them not to. “The vast majority of American’s pilots use sick leave appropriately. In a very small fraction of cases where a pilot has been out for an extended period of time, or where there is an unusual use of sick leave, the company may ask the pilot to substantiate the use of sick time. In the vast majority of these rare cases, the pilot provides the substantiation and is paid accordingly. Only when substantiation is not provided or is insufficient as deemed by our medical department does the pilot’s sick pay come into question." http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2009/01/05/daily23.html ************** Recording devices recovered from helicopter crash site HOUMA – Terrebonne deputies searching the site of a helicopter crash that killed eight say search crews found flight data recorders Monday that may help reveal the mishap’s cause. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to begin working at the scene today. The Sikorsky S-76 went down in a vast western Terrebonne marsh about 10 miles south of Morgan City seven minutes after taking off from an Amelia heliport operated by its owner, Lafayette-based Petroleum Helicopters Inc. A PHI crew worked much of the day at the site and located the flight data records, said Maj. Tommy Odom of the Terrebonne Sheriff’s Water Patrol. A ninth victim remains in critical but stable condition at a New Orleans hospital. The sole survivor, Steven Yelton, a former Morgan City resident, was the head of a five-member crew of oilfield workers heading to a Shell Oil platform, authorities said. Allen Boudreaux Jr., 23, of Ama, Ezequiel Cantu, 35, Andrew Moricio, 30, of Morgan City and Randy Tarpley, 53, of Jonesville, died in the crash. Each lived in Louisiana and worked for the New Iberia-based Dynamic Industries, except for Yelton, who recently moved to Floresville, Texas, family said. Two other passengers, Jorey Rivero, 35, of Bridge City and Charles W. Nelson, 24, of Pensacola, Fla., worked for MMR Offshore Services, headquartered in Baton Rouge, officials said. Thomas Ballenger, 63, of Eufaula, Ala., piloted the helicopter along with Vyral Martin, 46, of Hurst, Texas, his co-pilot. The platform is about 95 miles south of Terrebonne’s coast in the South Timbalier block of the Gulf of Mexico. They planned to stay there 14 days, Dynamic Industries officials said. PHI lost track of the helicopter when it stopped transmitting a satellite signal at about 2:09 p.m., shortly after it took off, said Ted Lopatkiewicz, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. Around 3 p.m., the Air Force picked up a distress signal from the helicopter and notified the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in New Orleans. Terrebonne Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol searched for more than four hours for the victims, four of whom were stuck beneath a piece of the aircraft and had to be extricated Sunday. Yelton sustained critical injuries and was taken to Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma. He later flew to Oschner Medical Center in New Orleans, where he remains, the Coast Guard said. He had just moved to Texas with his five-months pregnant wife, said his sister, Julie Yelton, a resident of Floresville. He also has a 9-year-old stepdaughter and 17-month-old infant. Yelton suffered head trauma, a collapsed lung and fractures to his legs, said Gary Alford, a senior investigator with the Terrebonne Coroner’s Office. All the victims had wallets and identification on them when they were found, he said, and each wore an inflatable vest that hadn’t been deployed. “When it went down, it went down fast,” he said. “They didn’t have time.” The flight data and cockpit voice recorders recovered Monday are a key part of the investigation, Lopatkiewicz said. The helicopter’s manufacturer, Sikorsky, and its engine manufacturer, Turbomeca, will also play a role. Other devices on the helicopter could show whether it was working properly when it crashed, he said. “They’re not made to withstand the impact,” he said. “But if they survived, we’ll want to read those out as well.” The full investigation could take up to 10 months, he said. The board’s investigation into a June 2008 crash of a medical helicopter in Huntsville, Texas, owned by the same company is ongoing, he said. Four people died in the crash. Another PHI-owned helicopter made an emergency landing in Tippecanoe County, Ind., Monday because of a motor malfunction, the county’s Sheriff’s Office said. http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20090106/ARTICLES/901069946/0/NEWS01 *************** Former Head of FAA Aircraft Maintenance Division Joins AAR WOOD DALE, Ill., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR)announced today that Dave Cann, former head of the Federal AviationAdministration's (FAA) Flight Standards Service, Aircraft Maintenance Divisionhas joined AAR as Vice President, Regulatory Compliance responsible forquality and safety at the Company's repair station businesses. Cann retired from the FAA in January 2008 and was most recentlyresponsible for the overall direction of federal aviation regulations andnational standards related to the airworthiness and maintenance of commercialaircraft. Additionally, he served as the FAA's central point of contact forthe aircraft maintenance industry and represented the agency withinternational regulatory agencies, congressional members and staff, industryorganizations, and other government agencies, including the NationalTransportation Safety Board. In his new role, Cann will report to AAR's seniorquality officer, Mickey Cohen. "Dave has a deep understanding of aircraft maintenance operations, safetyprograms and regulatory requirements," said David P. Storch, Chairman andChief Executive Officer of AAR CORP. "He is an excellent addition to analready strong team in our Quality organization and we look forward to hiscontributions toward the advancement of AAR's quality culture." AAR is a leading provider of products and value-added services to theworldwide aerospace and defense industry. With facilities and sales locationsaround the world, AAR uses its close-to-the-customer business model to serveaviation and defense customers through four operating segments: AviationSupply Chain; Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul; Structures and Systems; andAircraft Sales and Leasing. More information can be found athttp://www.aarcorp.com. This press release contains certain statements relating to future results,which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the PrivateSecurities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements arebased on beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions and estimatesbased on information currently available to the Company, and are subject tocertain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differmaterially from historical results or those anticipated, including thosefactors discussed under Item 1A, entitled "Risk Factors", included in theCompany's May 31, 2008 Form 10-K. Should one or more of these risks oruncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions orestimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from thosedescribed. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible topredict accurately and many are beyond the Company's control. The Companyassumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflectevents or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect theoccurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. For additional information,see the comments included in AAR's filings with the Securities and ExchangeCommission. SOURCE AAR CORP. ************** Indian airline fires 9 overweight crew members NEW DELHI (AP) — Nine flight attendants who couldn't meet the weight standards of India's national airlines have been fired, an official said Tuesday. The crew were significantly overweight and had been given time to lose weight but had not, said Air India spokesman Jitender Bhargava. He declined to give details on their weight. A lawyer for the women blasted the firing. "The action is illegal and against the natural justice. I will soon file an application in the Supreme Court against the order," Arvind Sharma told the Press Trust of India news agency. Air India has spent years fighting for the right to fire cabin staff it considers physically unfit. In 2006, it warned its nearly 1,600 cabin crew workers to shape up in two months or risk being assigned to ground duties_ jobs that often pay less than those in the cabin. When the airline reassigned employees it deemed overweight, some of them took it to court. Last year an Indian court ruled in favor of the airline, paving the way for the firings earlier this week. The airline said that fitness and efficiency were the reasons for its weight standards, which it said were based on "scientific" combinations of height, age and gender. It did not give further details about how such standards were determined. While all the cabin crew fired this week were women, Bhargava said there was "no gender bias. The rules are the same for both men and women." India has laws aimed to protect against discrimination based on factors including caste, gender and religion, but no specific ones about weight. Air India has tried in the past few years to change a public perception of its cabin staff as tired, unfriendly and inefficient. India's airline industry has grown dramatically in recent years as rising incomes and loosened regulations put air travel within the reach of millions of new customers — and increasing pressure on Air India to remain competitive. ************** Safety Bid Accelerates For Airbus Jetliners By ANDY PASZTOR After nine sudden engine-stalls on Airbus aircraft since last April, U.S. and European aviation regulators are working with engine-maker CFM International SA to develop new safety measures for approximately 1,500 workhorse Airbus jetliners used around the world. The effort was accelerated by an alarming incident last month, when both engines of an Air France Airbus A321 stalled briefly after takeoff from an airport in Tunisia, according to regulators and industry officials. Like most of the previous incidents, high-pressure compressors on the engines stopped working when the pilots eased back takeoff power and set the throttles to climb away from the runway. None of the incidents ended in crashes or loss of life because the engines never shut off and recovered normal power after a brief interval. The pattern, however, has prompted enough concern to warrant development of new software by CFM, a joint venture between General Electric Co.'s engine unit and France's Snecma, which is part of Safran Groupe SA. The software modification is designed to adjust airflow through the engines, particularly older ones with some performance deterioration that haven't gone through a major overhaul for several years, according to a GE spokesman. More broadly, the latest moves reflect heightened concerns recently by regulators and outside experts about a wide range of engine-reliability and safety issues spanning various passenger-jet makes and models. From computer-control malfunctions to high-altitude engine icing that can temporarily shut down thrust, engine problems in recent years have re-emerged as high-priority safety topics. The CFM engines at issue have an excellent overall safety record, and only a small number of aircraft are expected to undergo enhanced inspections or engine replacements in the near term. But the stepped-up scrutiny will prompt significantly tighter inspection and monitoring of engine conditions on many more Airbus aircraft over the years. Airbus is a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. The stalling incidents all occurred on narrow-body Airbus jets using the same engines since around the beginning of the decade, GE spokesman Rick Kennedy said. The software modifications are expected to be installed on some 1,500 A319, A320 and A321 aircraft by the middle of the year, according to GE. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123128402658958947.html?mod=googlenews_wsj *************** NTSB issues report on doomed air ambulance flight ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.(AP) - The pilot of a medical airplane was disoriented just before the plane crashed in the mountains of southern New Mexico, killing all five people aboard, federal investigators say. Scattered clouds dotted the night sky when the Southwest Med Evac air ambulance took off from the Sierra Blanca Regional Airport near Ruidoso on Aug. 5, 2007. The pilot, Ricky Byers, made a left turn toward Albuquerque - where he and his crew were taking an ill toddler and her mother - and the plane disappeared. Minutes later, the Beechcraft King Air E-90B plowed into trees on a hillside and burned. The wreckage, strewn over 1,100 feet, was found the next morning. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a Dec. 28 report that the pilot failed to maintain clearance from the terrain due to spatial disorientation. "The impact damage to the aircraft, presence of dark night conditions, experience level of the pilot and anomalous flight path are consistent with spatial disorientation," the report states. The crash killed Byers, 56, of Ruidoso; flight nurse Brian Miller, 44, of Roswell; paramedic Deanna Palmer, 40, of Prescott, Ariz.; Tracy Smith, 41, of Ruidoso; and her 15-month-old daughter, Lily. The NTSB report said the pilot had logged 2,775 flight hours, including 439 hours of night flying, and was described by co-workers as cautious, competent and comfortable with the airplane. The report also said toxicology testing on the pilot detected chlorpheniramine, an over-the-counter antihistamine, and acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. Investigators said they were not able to estimate when the medications were last taken or whether they had impaired the pilot during the flight. The plane did not have a flight data recorder or a cockpit voice recorder, but the NTSB said analysis of the crash site revealed the debris path indicated a heading away from the destination. After examining the wreckage, federal investigators determined there was no evidence of any mechanical malfunction before the crash. The planeŐs two engines were running when it crashed and the flaps and landing gear were retracted. http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_11384654 ************** NTSB cites pilot error in Spectrum Aero Med crash GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) - The National Transportation Safety Board has released its report into the Aero Med helicopter crash in May and says that the pilot failed to maintain proper distance from the tail rotor to a tower on the roof. The Aero Med helicopter was destroyed by the resulting fire atop Spectrum Health after the crash on May 29th of 2008. The pilot and a training instructor were leaving the Spectrum Health helipad when both reported hearing a "pop" and then the helicopter veered to the right. The main rotor blades then hit the brick tower on the roof of the hospital, which caused the helicopter to crash to the roof. The pilot and trainer escaped as the helicopter burst into flames. Both suffered injuries in the crash. The investigation determined that the "pop" was the tail rotor striking a tower on top of the roof, and that caused the pilot to lose control of the aircraft. Spectrum Health released a statement today saying that they have taken steps to enlarge and enhance the helipad on the roof of the hospital. The new helistop opened in November. http://www.wzzm13.com/news/most_popular_story.aspx?storyid=103657&provider=t op *************** Atlas, Polar pilots leave ALPA for Teamsters Freight pilots at Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo voted to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), abandoning representation by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). By a more than 2 to 1 margin, nearly 900 employees voted in favour of the change in an election run by the National Mediation Board (NMB), Teamsters general president Jim Hoffa says in a statement. Captain David Bourne will lead negotiations for the Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings subsidiaries. Pilots had been represented by ALPA, "but the association does not have the focus, strength and cargo experience of the Teamsters to represent their interests", IBT says. The Teamsters' airline division represents more than 40,000 workers. ALPA was not immediately available for comment. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ***************