22 JAN 2009 _______________________________________ *NTSB Finds Damage Consistent With Bird Strike On A320 Engine *Flight 1549 Investigation Sheds Light On CFM56 Airworthiness Directive *Crash investigators find feather, engine damage *Engine of jet that landed in Hudson River is found *Passengers feel like 'hostages' during 16-hour ordeal *Air traffic control problem at Frankfurt airport *US Initiates Plan to Improve Aviation Safety in Africa *FAA clears Bethany firm to fly again *Man opens emergency door on Delta flight *NTSB Releases Helicopter Crash Reports *************************************** NTSB Finds Damage Consistent With Bird Strike On A320 Engine Board Updates Status Of Flight 1549 Investigation In its continuing investigation of US Airways flight 1549, the National Transportation Safety Board has developed the following factual information: The right engine has been externally examined and documented. An examination of the first stage fan blades revealed evidence of soft body impact damage. Three of the variable guide vanes are fractured and two are missing. The engine's electronic control unit is missing and numerous internal components of the engine were significantly damaged. What appears to be organic material was found in the right engine and on the wings and fuselage. Samples of the material have been provided to the United States Department of Agriculture for a complete DNA analysis. A single feather was found attached to a flap track on the wing. It is being sent to bird identification experts at the Smithsonian. The left engine has been located in about 50 feet of water near the area of the Hudson River where the aircraft ditched. The NTSB is working with federal, state and local agencies to recover the engine, which is expected to occur sometime on Thursday. The NTSB has learned that the right engine experienced a surge during a flight on January 13, 2009, and that subsequent maintenance actions included the replacement of a temperature probe. Investigators from the NTSB's Maintenance Records group are researching this report by examining applicable maintenance records and procedures. The NTSB's Survival Factors group is in the process of interviewing passengers to learn more about the events surrounding the ditching and the emergency evacuation and rescue. The Operations and Human Performance group is interviewing US Airways flight operations training personnel. The checked and carry-on baggage is in the process of being removed from the aircraft. Representatives from the NTSB's Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance are working to coordinate efforts with US Airways to return these items to the passengers. The on-scene documentation of the airplane is expected to be completed by the end of the week. Preparations are underway to facilitate movement and more permanent storage of the airplane so that more detailed documentation of the damage can be performed at a later date. FMI: www.ntsb.gov aero-news.net *************** Flight 1549 Investigation Sheds Light On CFM56 Airworthiness Directive Compressor Stall Problem Reported With A320 Engines The National Transportation Safety Board's ongoing investigation into last week's downing of US Airways Flight 1549 has centered on the aircraft's two CFM International turbofans, which appear to have been knocked out simultaneously after an encounter with a large flock of birds. The NTSB is exploring all possible causes for the engines to lose power, however... and that investigation has revealed some interesting tangents. As ANN reported Tuesday, passengers who flew on the same plane on January 13 -- two days before Flight 1549 ditched in New York's Hudson River -- reported a loud bang and temporary loss of power in the plane's number two (right) on their flight, which was attributed to a compressor stall. The NTSB has since confirmed those reports. Now, Newsday reports that two weeks before that incident, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive on CFM56-5B engines... the same type that were on N106US, the A320 that ditched in the Hudson. That AD was related to, you guessed it, compressor stall incidents; specifically, the AD calls for more stringent inspections of engines which exceed upper operating temperature ranges when the throttles are rolled back from takeoff power. Earlier this month -- before Flight 1549 -- General Electric spokesman Rick Kennedy told The Business Courier of Cincinnati there had been 10 reported cases of compressor stalls on A320 family aircraft since April 2008, each lasting "a second or two." In one of those cases, both engines on an Air France A320 suffered apparent compressor stalls shortly after takeoff. CFM is a joint venture of GE Aviation and French consortium Snecma. At this time, these revelations appear to have little to do with what felled Flight 1549 on January 15. Both pilots onboard the airliner say they saw a large flock of birds immediately before the engines flamed out, and were unable to maneuver to avoid it. Neither have reported any prior engine anomalies. That seems to follow with early results of the NTSB's investigation. "We have not found any indications of anomalies or malfunctions with the aircraft from the time it left the gate in LaGuardia... to the point at which the pilots reported a bird strike and a loss of engine power," said Board spokesman Peter Knudson on Tuesday. Furthermore, analysis of the aircraft's right engine has revealed broken turbine vanes, consistent with impact with foreign matter... like with one or more large birds. Crews are still working to recover the plane's left engine from the floor of the Hudson River. Newsday adds that salvage crews were seen Tuesday circling several areas of the A320's nose section with greasepens, "apparently to indicate possible bird strikes." FMI: www.faa.gov, www.ntsb.gov aero-news.net ************** Crash investigators find feather, engine damage NEW YORK (AFP) - Investigators on Wednesday reported finding "soft body" impacts in one of the engines of the US Airways jet that crashed-landed last week, while police divers located the second engine. The evidence, also including a feather stuck on a wing, appeared to support the belief that the Airbus hit a dense flock of birds before losing power in both engines and crash-landing in New York's Hudson River last Thursday. "The right engine has been externally examined and documented. An examination of the first stage fan blades revealed evidence of soft body impact damage," the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a statement. "A single feather was found attached to a flap track on the wing." The impacts left the right engine "significantly damaged," the NTSB said. More will be known after further tests and an examination of the left engine, which came off during the crash landing and was located by New York police divers Wednesday. "Organic material" found in the right engine and on the wings and fuselage "have been sent to the US Department of Agriculture for a complete DNA analysis," the NTSB said. The feather "is being sent to bird identification experts at the Smithsonian." The emergency landing was completed without loss of life, turning the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, into a national hero. The NTSB said the left engine is likely to be raised from the water Thursday. The rest of the plane was pulled out over the weekend, allowing recovery of the black box flight recorders. In addition, NTSB investigators are "interviewing passengers to learn more about the events surrounding the ditching and the emergency evacuation and rescue." Meanwhile, "the checked and carry-on baggage is in the process of being removed from the aircraft," the NTSB said. *************** Engine of jet that landed in Hudson River is found NEW YORK (AP) - Divers searching for an engine that broke off a US Airways plane after it hit a flock of birds and safely splashed down in the Hudson River last week found it Wednesday in hard mud about 65 feet below the surface of the murky, frigid water. Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board, already examining the rest of the Airbus A320, discovered a feather attached to one of the plane's wings. The feather was being sent to bird identification experts at the Smithsonian Institution. In the search for the left engine, New York Police Department and New Jersey State Police harbor officers working with a sonar expert from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration got a reading on the river floor Tuesday of an object 16 feet long and 8 feet wide near where Flight 1549 made its emergency landing. Divers went into the water around 2:35 p.m. Wednesday and located the engine in about 10 minutes, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. The Army Corps of Engineers dropped a 1,500-pound concrete anchor with a light attached near where the engine was thought to be. NYPD divers Paul Reynolds and Michael Delaney used the anchor line to guide themselves down to the engine and were within 2 feet of it. Delaney was involved in the rescue efforts after the Jan. 15 crash, pulling passengers from the icy water. Reynolds said that when he reached the river bottom he saw an eerie glow of red and blue from the engine. "When I hit it, I knew right away it was part of the wreckage," Reynolds said. "I could see writing on it, 'Open hatch here,' that type of thing." Divers had been unable to locate the object found Tuesday after running out of daylight and being stifled by swift currents that made it impossible to drop a robotic device with a video camera to confirm whether it was the engine. Investigators want to closely inspect the engine once it is pulled from the water to better understand if it conked out after hitting a flock of birds shortly after the plane's takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. The NTSB said salvage crews were working with federal, state and local agencies to recover the engine, likely on Thursday. The rest of the plane was taken by barge to a Jersey City, N.J., marina over the weekend to be studied by investigators. On-scene work was expected to last through the week and plans were being made to move the plane to a more permanent location. An examination of the fan blades from the right engine showed soft-body impact damage, the NTSB said. The engine's electronic control unit was missing, and numerous internal components of the engine were significantly damaged. The NTSB said organic material was found in the right engine and on the wings and fuselage. Samples of the material were sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for DNA analysis. Investigators also were interviewing passengers about their experiences. The baggage left on the plane was being removed, and crews were working to return the items. Police have already located 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. The plane's right engine was still attached to the body of the plane. The Airbus A320 crash-landed in the Hudson after hitting the birds and losing thrust in both engines. All 155 people on board the flight, which had been bound for Charlotte, N.C., survived. http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Engine-of-jet-that-landed-in-Hudson-Ri ver-is-found/bv4G16W2OEybSFl0lnXgyQ.cspx ************** Passengers feel like 'hostages' during 16-hour ordeal Mexico City, Mexico, flight bound for Seattle, Washington, diverted due to heavy fog Flight returns to Mexico after customs agents can't process all passengers Representatives with Aeromexico plan to investigate situation (CNN) -- Some passengers on a diverted Aeromexico flight finally reached their destination in Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday after spending 16 hours in limbo. The plane was scheduled to fly from Mexico City, Mexico, to Seattle on Tuesday, but was diverted to Portland, Oregon, because of thick fog, said Kara Simonds, a spokeswoman for Portland International Airport. In Portland, the passengers were not allowed to exit the plane for four hours because the airport did not have enough customs agents to process them, according to CNN affiliate KING. KING also reported several passengers became so angry that police boarded the plane and told them to stay there or be arrested. Fire officials tried to calm down the outraged passengers by providing them with burgers from a local fast-food restaurant during their wait, Simonds said. Passengers were then flown back to Mexico City after officials could not solve the issue with customs agents, Simonds said. Seattle residents Mike and Karin Kuntz said they had a good vacation in Mexico, but it went downhill after they tried to get home. "We had a wonderful time, everything went great. Then the flight home turned into a nightmare," Karin Kuntz told KING. "We just felt like we were hostages -- that we, as passengers, had no rights." Karin Kuntz said she was concerned about the pilot's fatigue and the safety. "Can he fly back? Is he logged in? How many hours does he have," she said. "No one seemed to be concerned about putting us back on that plane for all that time and that poor tired pilot." The couple said they waited in the airport in Mexico City for 10 hours before getting a flight back to Seattle on Wednesday night. It is unclear whether other passengers on the flight were able to get to their destination. Representatives from Aeromexico said they were investigating the situation and issued a statement apologizing for the inconvenience. "We will seek an explanation about why the customs agents were not available to assist the plane and its passengers in Portland," the statement said. "We will also take appropriate steps to thank the passengers who were inconvenienced by this situation for their patience." However, the ordeal did not end for the Kuntzes when they reached Seattle. "They lost one of our bags," Mike Kuntz said. It is unclear if other passengers on the flight were able to get to their destination. Representatives from Aeromexico said they were investigating the situation and planned to release a statement. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/01/22/us.mexico.flight/index.html *************** Air traffic control problem at Frankfurt airport FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Officials say a technical malfunction at air traffic control amid heavy fog led to a one-hour shutdown of Frankfurt airport, one of Europe's busiest. Frankfurt airport operator Fraport says 75 flights were canceled between 6.40 a.m. and 7.24 a.m. (0540 and 0624 GMT) Thursday. Air traffic control spokesman Axel Raab says a data link with the German weather service went down. Twenty-five aircraft were diverted to airports in Cologne and Stuttgart to land. Some later flights were delayed. **************** US Initiates Plan to Improve Aviation Safety in Africa United States of America has initiated a plan to significantly reduce the high record of air crashes in Africa through implementation of safe sky in the region and has chosen Nigeria as the first beneficiary of the plan. While Africa has the lowest operating capacity in the world; it ironically registers the highest rate of accident in the world. Nigeria is expected to serve as template for other countries in the region, according to Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren, who disclosed this to newsmen Tuesday in Abuja, at a one day seminar on Search and Rescue (SAR), organised by NCAA, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria and the American Air Force. Demuren said the country was determined to pursue the scheme, so that the entire sub region would have a safe airspace and improved aviation sector. "We ( Africa ) have the highest rate of accidents and the difference between the rest of the world and us is simply because they are using advanced technology and improved training methods, that is what we want to get. "If you look at it, apart from search and rescue that we are doing, we have a lot of collaboration programme with the U.S. We are talking about safety; we are looking for zero accident," he said. Demuren said accidents do occur, but what made a huge difference with the Hudson River air crash by an American airline was the quick response of its search and rescue, adding that the situation was handled with expertise and the assistance that readily came on hand for rescue. He said search and rescue must be everybody's concern and not limited to just a particular agency, adding that the seminar focused on continuous search and very effective mock search and rescue exercise. http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=133632 *************** FAA clears Bethany firm to fly again Blaming paperwork issue, chief of helicopter flight company says he's eager to resume The Federal Aviation Administration has once again certified a Bethany aircraft company to carry helicopter passengers for hire, FAA officials confirmed Wednesday. "We're looking forward to carrying passengers again," said Jim P. Johnson, whose Interstate Helicopters lost its ability to carry passengers for more than four months after the FAA issued a Sept. 12 emergency order revoking its air carrier certificate. FAA officials took the earlier action in the midst of an ongoing investigation into an Oklahoma City airplane crash March 4 that killed five people. The new license does not authorize the company to carry passengers in fixed-wing aircraft. Johnson said the FAA's issues with his company had nothing to do with the cause of the crash. Although a final cause has not been determined, bird residue was recovered from the plane and there are strong indications a collision with a bird caused the crash, Johnson said. Interstate Helicopters was cited in the emergency order for conducting air passenger service with fixed-wing aircraft, including the Cessna 500 that crashed. The FAA said the company only had authority to use helicopters for such service and pilots had not completed appropriate training for the operations they conducted. Johnson, however, said the pilots who crashed were highly trained and qualified to fly the Cessna 500 and other fixed-wing aircraft. The FAA's issues with his company really were a matter of "paperwork" and the type of FAA certificate the company was using, he said. He said he believes he could have successfully challenged the FAA's decision, but it was more cost-effective to voluntarily surrender his certificate, address FAA issues and apply for a new license. Company's history Johnson said his company has a long history of serving dignitaries here. "I flew for the governor's office for four years during Governor Walters' administration," he said. He said he provided flight services to actor Keith Carradine and Mary Fallin, when she was lieutenant governor. TV stations have used the firm. Johnson said he is eager to get back to serving Oklahoma passengers. The March crash killed five people: pilots Tim Hartman, 44, of Yukon and Rick Sandoval, 40, of Weatherford, and Garth C. Bates Jr., 59, of Oklahoma City, president of United Engines; Frank M. Pool Jr., 60, of Edmond, vice president of United Engines; and Lloyd G. Austin, 57, of Palm Coast, Fla., vice president of United Holdings. http://newsok.com/faa-clears-firm-to-fly-again/article/3339787 ************** Man opens emergency door on Delta flight PHOENIX (AP) - 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. local time. 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.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-01-21-delta-emergency-exit_N.htm *************** NTSB Releases Helicopter Crash Reports Last week, the NTSB released its probable-cause reports on four of the nine helicopter emergency-medical-services flights involving 35 fatalities that occurred since Dec. 2007, an event that quickly became somewhat overshadowed, as an A320 ditched in the Hudson River that very same day. The safety board said that flying at night in bad weather was a factor in three of the EMS crashes, which killed 12 people. In the fourth crash, in which three people died, the pilot flew too low over trees while searching for a lost hunter, the board said. The FAA has still not acted on NTSB recommendations to require Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems in emergency helicopters, and the board's suggestions to improve training and dispatch procedures also have not been fully implemented. "It is a big issue and the safety board is very concerned about the alarming increase we've seen over the last 14 months," said board member Robert Sumwalt, according to The Associated Press. "The recent accident record is totally unacceptable." The main goal is to get the new technology and procedures into the cockpit, FAA spokesman Les Dorr told the AP. "Rulemaking is one way, but it is not the only way." The NTSB's final reports can be read online. http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/NTSBReleasesHelicopterCrashReports_1996 26-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS ****************