21 JAN 2009 _______________________________________ *Sonar detects object in river; could it be airplane's engine? *Before crash, FAA had ordered extra look at engines *Deaths in Spanish fighter-jet crash *Crew arrested after drugs found on jet *Obama inauguration sets new record for private jets *Short-staffed regulatory body lets airlines decide on safety (India) *3rd airport arrest for gun possession *Australia's CAA Safety Authority Reports Changes to ELT Requirements *Passenger Opens Emergency Door on Delta Flight *El Al retains IATA safety audit approval *Nextgen funding unlikely in US economic stimulus plan **************************************** Sonar detects object in river; could it be airplane's engine? NEW YORK (AP) - Police and federal marine agents searching the Hudson River with sonar equipment for the left engine of US Airways Flight 1549 said yesterday that they had found what appears to be an object the same size as the engine. A spokesman for the New York Police Department, Paul Browne, said that the object was 16 feet long and 8 feet wide and was lying in about 60 feet of water north of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. The NYPD said that the river currents were too powerful to put a robotic device into the murky water to confirm whether the object was the engine. Divers were trying to examine the object late yesterday. The Airbus A320 crash-landed in the Hudson last week after hitting birds and losing power in both engines. All 155 passengers and crew on board survived. Police harbor officers used sonar-equipped boats and worked with a sonar expert from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to search the area where the plane made a forced landing. The NYPD monitored the river from the air because the sensitive equipment was threatened by ice in the fast-moving water. Crews had already found several pieces of debris from the flight, including 35 flotation seat cushions, 12 life jackets, 15 pieces of luggage, two briefcases, 11 purses, 15 suit jackets and shirts, four shoes and two hats, Browne said. All the debris and passengers' belongings were being turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board for its investigation. US Airways has sent $5,000 checks to each of the 150 passengers to compensate them for lost belongings. The NTSB said Monday that the jet had experienced an engine-compressor failure two days before the crash landing. A spokesman for the agency, Peter Knudson, said that the plane had a different pilot that day and that the board planned to interview that pilot to learn more about the incident. http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jan/21/sonar-detects-object-in-river -could-it-be-airplane/ *************** Before crash, FAA had ordered extra look at engines Two weeks before US Airways Flight 1549 ditched into the Hudson River, the Federal Aviation Administration had ordered heightened inspection procedures for the type of engine on that aircraft, saying it was prone to a rare type of stall, federal records show. News of the Dec. 31 FAA Airworthiness Directive yesterday came as federal investigators said they were probing a Jan. 13 mid-flight engine stall on the Airbus A320 just two days before it crash-landed in the Hudson River alongside Manhattan on Thursday. The crew corrected the Jan. 13 problem in the air and safely completed its journey from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte. National Transportation Safety Board investigators want to talk to the pilot of that flight, said spokesman Peter Knudson. But he said nothing so far found has contradicted the working theory that a bird strike caused the plane's engines to shut down Thursday. The directive warned such compressor stalls - a disruption of airflow into the engine causing an abrupt shutdown and violent shuddering of the plane - were "likely to exist or develop on" the CFM56-5B engine series, two of which powered Flight 1549. The warning was issued without a public comment period because "an unsafe condition exists," the directive said. Experts said such stalls are unusual in modern jet engines. What others are saying "We have not found any indications of anomalies or malfunctions with the aircraft from the time it left the gate in LaGuardia [last Thursday\] to the point at which the pilots reported a bird strike and a loss of engine power," Knudson said. The FAA directive ordered airlines to conduct detailed inspections when both engines record temperatures above a certain threshold and required the removal of at least one of those engines, even if it passes inspection. Officials would not say whether Flight 1549's engine turbines underwent the required inspection with an optical instrument that allows maintenance workers to see inside the engine. "It's like colonoscopy, almost. You can look down in there and see if there is any damage to the blades," said Ted Steffens, an airline maintenance expert with Expert Aviation Consulting in Indiana. Rick Kennedy, a spokesman for GE-Aviation, which co-owns engine manufacturer CFM International, said 12 of the more than 3,000 CFM56-5B series engines had running temperatures above the threshold. All of them were older, like those on Flight 1549, and some were no longer in service. About 10 aircraft with such engines experienced compressor stalls last year, leading CFM International to issue a safety bulletin, he said. But he said compressor stalls are unrelated to what occurred on Flight 1549. Spokesmen for the FAA and US Airways declined to comment. Airbus did not respond to messages. Aviation experts said the plane's apparent engine stall problems were likely a coincidence with little significance for the probe. John Cox, a former US Airways pilot and now president of Safety Operating Systems a Washington aviation consulting firm, said a susceptibility to compressor stalls "would not affect the ability to take a bird strike," especially since the plane's engines were not designed to handle ingestion of large birds like the Canada geese suspected in Thursday's crash. The cockpit voice recorder, flight data recorder and transcripts of air traffic control conversations show that the plane lost power to both engines about one second after the pilots reported a bird strike. Meanwhile, the search for the plane's missing right engine appeared to progress yesterday afternoon, as police boats spotted an object about the same size as the lost engine about 60 feet deep in the middle of the river off West 52nd Street, New York City police said. Divers are to resume the search today. On a large salvage barge at Weeks Marine in Jersey City yesterday, inspectors opened the aircraft's nose cone to examine electrical devices inside. They drew large red circles on the nose portion of the fuselage, apparently to indicate possible bird strikes. http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/news/ny-mon let6006344jan21,0,3034110.story *************** Deaths in Spanish fighter-jet crash Two Mirage fighter jets have crashed in southeastern Spain while on routine training flights, killing their three air force pilots. A defence ministry spokesman, who wished to remain anonymous, said it was not yet known what caused the accident. "There was an accident this morning involving two F1 Mirage jets from the Albacete military base which were carrying out routine training flights. Three pilots were killed," the spokesman said. The ministry launched a search at around 1015 local time [0915 GMT] after it lost radar contact with the planes in Osa de Montiel, in the Albacete region. About half an hour later teams found the wreckage of the two jets, about three kilometres apart, as well as the bodies of the three pilots. The three men have been named as Lieutenant Roberto Carlos Alvarez Cubillas, Captain Fernando Negrete Uson and Captain Jerónimo Jose Carbonell Rodriguez. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/01/200912014369237241.html ************* Crew arrested after drugs found on jet LONDON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- The pilots and flight attendants of a South African Airways jet were detained after British Customs found a large stash of drugs on board Tuesday. Inspectors found 110 pounds of marijuana and nearly 9 pounds of cocaine with a total value of close to $500,000 in three suitcases opened during a search of crew luggage, the Daily Mail reported. Customs officials said the ownership of the suitcases was unclear so the entire flight crew, 15 people in all, was arrested. Investigators said it is possible some members of the crew may have been bringing drugs from Johannesburg to London for several months, The Sun said. "Those arrested are being held in custody and will be interviewed by investigation officers," said Bob Gaiger of Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs. "We have arrested the captain, the first officer and other crew members." The jumbo jet landed at Heathrow at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Crew baggage is subject to the same Customs procedures as passenger's suitcases, officials said. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/20/Crew_arrested_after_drugs_found_on_je t/UPI-63381232513525/ *************** Obama inauguration sets new record for private jets Reporters confirm that over 600 private jets will have touched down at Washington D.C. for the Obama inauguration. The Washington Dulles runway was closed as early last Saturday to make room for 100 small planes to park. And the Metropolitan Washington Airports claimed that they were expecting a total of 500 private jets to land during inauguration week. “That would set a record, topping the 300 the airport accommodated for President George W. Bush’s 2004 inaugural,” claimed an Airports Authority. http://www.privatejetdaily.com/index.php/20090121334/Latest/Obama-inaugurati on-sets-new-record-for-private-jets.html *************** Short-staffed regulatory body lets airlines decide on safety (India) CHENNAI: With airlines having the responsibility of judging the air-worthiness of their own craft, safety seems to dropped to the bottom of the checklist. The regulatory Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has relaxed its rules in favour of airlines, and a shortage of staff and a poorly-located office makes effective monitoring of safety practices adopted by airlines near impossible at Chennai airport. In Chennai, DGCA has just two officials one for air safety and another for air-worthiness. And their office is located at the old airport building, which is now used only for cargo and corporate jets. Their role has also shrunk as DGCA performs just a supervisory role these days, certifying aircraft for service at the airport, sources said. According to sources, "Several aircraft develop technical snags and return or are diverted. Such incidents could be avoided if DGCA norms were stricter and there were enough staff to implement them." An average of 10 safety-related incidents are reported at Chennai airport every month. Recently, an aircraft reported trouble in its cabin pressure but the same plane was used the next day after the airline's aircraft engineers certified that the fault was rectified. But it developed the same problem in the middle of a flight. "Such incidents recur because DGCA allows authorised engineers employed by the airlines to certify the air-worthiness of planes. Airlines prefer this arrangement because they want to avoid delays in getting aircraft certified and released for service. They feel that schedules will suffer if DGCA engineers have to certify all affected aircraft," said a source. Earlier if an aircraft developed a snag, DGCA engineers used to check it, certify it and then inform air traffic control whether the aircraft could fly. "Now DGCA receives information about delays and technical problems only when air traffic controllers inform them. Otherwise they will not be able to monitor even that," said an official. According to Captain A Ranganathan, former pilot and safety expert, "DGCA's safety department is under-staffed and flight operations inspectors do not conform to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) norms." The country is facing the threat of being downgraded by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for consistently not adhering to ICAO safety standards. DGCA officials maintained that they were not compromising on safety. "Our engineers periodically check aircraft and ensure that airline engineers certify them properly. All incidents, including technical problems, are recorded and forwarded to Delhi," a DGCA official said. However, sources said DGCA had hardly acted on reports. "An Air India pilot travelled as a passenger on a Delhi-Dubai flight and operated a Dubai-Pune-Hyderabad service. He overshot the runway and damaged the arresters while landing at Pune. Air traffic control had to call him back when he was about to take off for Hyderabad. However, DGCA has not acted on this incident," said Ranganathan. India is known as a highly regulated country, but "DGCA has waived too many regulations and cover up too much. This has led to major problems," he added. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Short-staffed_regulatory_body_let s_airlines_decide_on_safety/articleshow/3998588.cms ************* 3rd airport arrest for gun possession The third person in recent days has been arrested for allegedly trying to get a gun through security at a Chicago airport, authorities said this morning. Bail was set Tuesday at $50,000 for Russell T. Kess, 46, of South Holland, who police saaid was arrested Monday afternoon at Midway Airport when he allegedly attempted to board an aircraft with a loaded gun in his carry-on luggage. A law-enforcement source said a Transportation Security Administration officer found a loaded 9mm Glock pistol inside a Crown Royal liquor bag in Kess' carry-on as it passed through an X-ray machine. Kess explained he was an Obama supporter on his way to the inauguration in Washington, D.C., and didn't realize the gun was in his carry-on. He is charged with boarding an aircraft with a weapon. His next court date is Jan. 26. At least two other people have been arrested at Chicago airports in January for attempting to bring firearms onto aircraft. Rodolfo Durate, 27, of Berwyn, was arrested Jan. 8 at O'Hare International Airport, and Goce Stojanovski, 47, of Crown Point, Ind. was charged Jan. 6 with trying to board an aircraft at O'Hare with a weapon. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/01/3rd-airport-arrest-for-gun-posses sion.html **************** Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority Reports Changes to ELT Requirements Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has announced that it is making changes to the requirements for the carriage of emergency locator transmitters (ELTs). As of 1 February 2009, all ELTs in Australia must operate on frequencies of 406 and 121.5 MHz. Currently, many ELTs used in Australia operate on 121.5 and 243 MHz. These will be unusable after 1 February. The Cospas-Sarsat system will cease to process 121.5/243 MHz signals from distress beacons on 1 February. After this date, on 406 MHz beacons will be identified by the Corpas-Sarsat system. Australian Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 currently require the carriage of an ELT on the majority of flights in Australian airspace. ELTs are distress beacons activated following an accident either automatically or manually by a pilot or other person. http://www.amtonline.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=7192 *************** Passenger Opens Emergency Door on Delta Flight PHOENIX — A man is in custody after opening an emergency door on a Delta Air Lines flight that landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Tuesday afternoon. Phoenix police have not released the man's name. Police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson says the 37-year-old man arrived in Phoenix from Salt Lake City about 4:30 p.m. Thompson says the flight taxied into the gate at Sky Harbor Terminal 3. As people were getting off the plane, the man opened an emergency door and walked out on the plane's wing. The man was later detained by runway personnel until police arrived. Police and federal authorities questioned the man. Thompson says charges are pending. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,481065,00.html# *************** El Al retains IATA safety audit approval El Al has passed the IATA operational safety audit (IOSA) again, at a time when Israeli safety oversight has come under US scrutiny. Passing the IOSA standard is a condition of IATA membership, which allows airline co-operation such as codesharing. "The IOSA standard is the most stringent safety standard for airlines," says El Al vice-president of operations Capt Lior Yavor. "In light of the success of the inspection, El Al has earned the safety seal for the next two years as well." Israel has recently been the subject of a US FAA safety assessment downgrade to Category 2, signalling that the FAA considers the country's safety oversight as non-compliant with ICAO standards. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************* Nextgen funding unlikely in US economic stimulus plan US airports could gain $3 billion for airport improvement projects (AIP) and $500 million to install explosive detection systems in the next economic stimulus package, based on plans recently outlined by the US House of Representatives. The House did not allocate funding for next-generation (nextgen) air traffic control equipment as requested by aerospace industry groups, but the plan outlined by the legislators would allocate $150 million to NASA for research and development and demonstration funding for nextgen. Industry reaction has been mixed to the House funding plan. Last month airline and airport trade groups requested $3 billion to equip aircraft to handle the planned next generation air traffic control system and $1 billion for AIP. While Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) VP of civil aviation and former FAA assistant administrator for policy, planning and environment Dan Elwell says is he pleased that money has been set aside for NASA research and airport improvements, it is short sighted to exclude funding to help accelerate the rollout of nextgen. The Senate is expected to unveil its stimulus plans this week, and AIA continues to press the case for nextgen funding. But the likelihood that such funding will be included in the stimulus package has been diminished, Elwell says. Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), which also signed onto the December request, is pleased with the House plans. "Airports applaud Congress for recognizing the important role airport infrastructure investment plays in creating jobs and generating economic activity throughout the United States," ACI- NA president Greg Principato says in a statement. Also of interest to airports is that the House package would change the tax treatment of private activity bonds, which airports sometimes use to fund new construction and other projects. Private activity bonds may be subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT), making bonds more difficult to sell in the credit crunch, ACI-NA director of government affairs Annie Russo says. Exempting private activity bonds from the AMT will make it easier for airports to sell bonds and move forward with planned projects, she says. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ***************