31 JAN 2009 _______________________________________ *NTSB: Inadequate Bombardier action on persistent CRJ door problems *Birds cause emergency landings, aborted takeoffs *Owner, Operator Sues Airport In September 2008 Accident At CAE *Boeing Says Dreamliner Production Has Resumed *Pole-to-pole flight finds CO2 piling up over Arctic *DGCA seeks foreign help to meet safety norms (India) *Astronics Acquires DME Corporation *JetBlue CEO Barger presses NextGen in talks with President Obama *JAL completes biofuel flight using flowering plant *Link to US Airways salvage photos **************************************** NTSB: Inadequate Bombardier action on persistent CRJ door problems A review of pilot reports since 1995 in the Canadian service difficulty system, provided to US investigators by Bombardier, has revealed 823 incidents in which the main cabin door of a CL65-series regional jet (CRJ100 through CRJ900) has jammed or was difficult to open. The issue came to light on 13 June 2007 after a Mesa Airlines flight operating as US Airways flight 2705 with 53 onboard landed in Phoenix after a flight from Los Angeles. Once at the gate, a flight attendant and later, the first officer, were unable to get the CRJ's jammed main passenger cabin door open. Though a mechanic ultimately opened the door after entering the aircraft through the galley service door, an NTSB investigator who happened to be aboard the flight launched an investigation of the issue. Mechanics later determined that the door had jammed because it was out of adjustment and some internal components had failed, issues the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) ruled in a final report issued yesterday were the probable cause of the incident. Contributing to the failure however were the airline's "inadequate" maintenance programme and airframer's "inadequate" response to what turned out to be a long list of similar failures on other CRJs, says the NTSB. Investigators reviewing Mesa's maintenance data and FAA records learned that crews had experienced problems opening or closing the incident aircraft's main cabin door on 14 different occasions over the previous 18 months. A review of the FAA's service difficulty reporting (SDR) database revealed 58 similar events for the CL65 model since 1994. Neither US Airways nor Bombardier was immediately available for comment. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Birds cause emergency landings, aborted takeoffs An Associated Press review of reports filed voluntarily with NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System show that bird-airliner encounters happen frequently, though none as dramatic as the one involving a US Airways jet that ditched safely into the Hudson River on Jan. 15 because a run-in with birds took out both of its engines. Since January 2007, at least 26 serious birdstrikes were reported. In some of them, the aircraft's brakes caught fire or cabins and cockpits filled with smoke and the stench of burning birds. Engines failed and fan blades broke. In one case, a birdstrike left a 12-inch hole in the wing of a Boeing 757-200. The NASA data does not include details such as the names of crews, airlines, and in many cases, the airports involved - confidentiality designed to encourage greater reporting. "That's only touching the tip of the iceberg," said former National Transportation Safety Board member John Goglia. "Clearly, we don't have knowledge of the full width and breadth of this problem." >From 1990 to 2007, there were nearly 80,000 reported incidents of birds striking nonmilitary aircraft, about one strike for every 10,000 flights, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Agriculture Department. But those numbers also are based on voluntary reports, which aviation safety experts say almost certainly underestimates the size of the problem and fails to convey the severity of some incidents. In some cases reported to the NASA database, crews said they could smell birds burning in the engines - "a toxic smell like burning toast (or) popcorn" wrote a flight attendant on an MD-80 airliner that had just taken off last March. After returning to the airport for an emergency landing, it was discovered the aircraft had suffered a birdstrike on a previous landing that had gone undetected. The pilot of a Boeing 767-200 reported aborting a takeoff after the cockpit "filled with the smell of cooking bird." The plane had "ingested" birds in the right engine on a prior landing, but mechanics had thought the birds had passed through the engine and had given the flight the go-ahead to takeoff again. Among other cases detailed in the NASA database: _In March 2007, the pilot of a Boeing 777-200, a wide-bodied airliner that typically seats over 280 passengers, reported a birdstrike in the right engine shortly after a takeoff, causing strong engine vibrations. The pilot shut down the engine and asked to divert to another airport for an emergency landing, dumping as much of the plane's 160,000 pounds of fuel as possible to reduce the plane's landing weight and cut its risk of breaking apart. _In June 2007, a Boeing 757-200 at Denver International Airport was forced to abort a takeoff at between 150 mph and 160 mph after a flock of birds the size of grapefruit flew into the path of the plane. Some birds were sucked into both engines, the pilot reported. _In July 2008, the pilot of a Boeing 737-300 in the midst of a 139-mph takeoff roll spotted a hawk with a 4-foot wing span on the runway. As the bird flew past the left side of the plane, the crew heard a "very loud bang" and there was engine surge. The pilot aborted the takeoff at great strain to the aircraft's brakes, which caught fire. Fire trucks doused the flames. No one was hurt. _In May 2008, the pilot of a regional airliner reported that he arrived at his plane to get ready for a flight and found the windshield "covered in blood, guts and feathers from an obvious birdstrike" during a previous flight. When he complained to the airline's maintenance department, he said, he was told the previous flight crew was responsible for reporting the incident or cleaning up the mess themselves. "At no time should an aircraft ever be left with obvious birdstrike debris and no indication that someone has taken the necessary steps to ensure that the aircraft is safe to operate," the pilot's complaint said. More common than aborted takeoffs are reports of planes that had to circle back to their departure airports or divert to other fields for emergency landings because a bird had damaged an engine shortly after takeoff. Former NTSB Chairman Jim Hall said the safety board has been warning for decades that birds "are a significant safety problem." The board sent a series of bird-related safety recommendations to the FAA in 1999, including required reporting of birdstrikes by airlines and the development of a radar system that can detect birds near airports. A decade later, reporting is still voluntary and there is no bird-detecting radar except limited testing at a handful of airports. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said developing a reliable bird-detecting radar has proved difficult. Some of the systems tested by the agency picked up insects as well as birds. "We've been working on this," Brown said, "and haven't developed a system yet we feel we can make operational in a commercial aviation environment that's going to give us the kind of solid, reliable data we're looking for." Brown said the FAA decided nearly 20 years ago on a voluntary birdstrike reporting system to encourage greater cooperation. She said the agency also agreed not to make airport-specific birdstrike data public because it didn't want to discourage airports from reporting incidents. She said an airport that was diligent about reporting incidents might look like it had a greater bird problem than an airport that wasn't as thorough. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090131/ap_on_go_ot/airliners_birds *************** Owner, Operator Sues Airport In September 2008 Accident At CAE Four Lost When Learjet 60 Overran Runway A new lawsuit has been filed in the September 2008 takeoff crash of a Learjet 60, alleging the layout of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) in South Carolina was culpable for the accident that killed four people. The Associated Press reports Irvine, CA-based Inter Travel & Services Inc., owner of the aircraft, joined with operator Global Exec Aviation of Long Beach in seeking over $12 million in damages from CAE, as well as Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co and Bombardier Aerospace. As ANN reported, the two year-old Learjet crashed on takeoff at 2353 EDT the night of September 19. The jet skidded off Runway 11 and impacted a berm across a road from the runway end, the plane's fuselage splitting in two just forward of the empennage. That circumstance likely saved the lives of former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, and Hollywood party DJ Adam Goldberg, who were able to escape through the cracked fuselage but were both severely burned. The four fatalities in the accident were pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31 ; co-pilot James Bland, 52; and Charles Monroe Still Jr. and Chris Baker, associates of Barker and Goldstein. It's still too soon to say what caused the accident, though the National Transportation Safety Board noted in its preliminary report the aircraft's crew thought a tire had blown on takeoff, and attempted to abort the takeoff at close to V1, based on tapes from the Lear's cockpit voice recorder. Investigators also recovered pieces of tire at about 2,800 feet down from where the Lear started its takeoff roll. Barker, Goldstein, and relatives of Baker and Still have already filed at least four lawsuits related to the crash. The latest lawsuit contends CAE did not have proper overrun areas at the runway end, and that an airport security fence and other items damaged the jet's fuel tanks, causing fuel to spill which later caught fire. The lawsuit also asserts had the adjacent roadway not been lower than the ground surrounding it, the jet may not have crashed nose-down into the embankment on the other side. Officials at CAE denied the allegations levied against their airport, while a spokesman for Bombardier declined to comment on the pending litigation. "While the tires may have been involved, it is still too early to speculate on a cause," said Goodyear spokesman Ed Markey. "The performance of a tire is dependent upon how the tire was used, if it was properly maintained and whether it was damaged before the accident." FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.bombardier.com, www.goodyear.com, www.globalexecaviation.com/ aero-news.net ************** Boeing Says Dreamliner Production Has Resumed Asserts First 787 Will Fly In Second Quarter Boeing says production of its 787 Dreamliner resumed Thursday, for the first time since last year's machinists strike, with the join of the fifth airplane designated for flight test. Aircraft ZA005 is the first to be powered with General Electric GEnx engines. The major assemblies were loaded in final body join over the past several days. The fuselage and wing joins occur simultaneously. "This airplane signifies our return to a steady production rhythm," said Jack Jones, vice president of 787 Final Assembly and Change Incorporation. "Sections are arriving in Everett at the completion levels committed by our partners and close to what is expected for mature production. The substantial progress made by our partners streamlines the assembly process, which is essential as we ramp up production." Five of the six airplanes designated for flight test are now in varying stages of production. Power was restored earlier this week to the first flight-test airplane, ZA001, and production testing has resumed as the airplane prepares for first flight in the second quarter. Rolls-Royce engines are hung on ZA002, in the fourth and final production position in the factory. The third and fourth flight-test airplanes, ZA003 and ZA004, are in the third and second production positions, respectively. Fastener rework is done on ZA001, nearly complete on ZA002 and progressing well on the third and fourth airplanes, Jones said. As ANN reported earlier this week, Boeing has opted to leave out-of-spec fasteners in hard-to-reach, non-crticial places, in order to meet the planemaker's latest timeframe for the troubled program. "We have applied the resources necessary to complete all the outstanding work on these airplanes and keep the production line moving forward," Jones stressed. Assemblies for the final flight-test airplane, ZA006, are in production at partner sites worldwide. In all, assemblies for 30 Dreamliners are in production at this time. The Dreamliner has orders for 895 airplanes from 58 airlines. That figure was once over 900 aircraft... but this week, Russian airline S7 announced it has cancelled its order for 15 planes, due to uncertainty about the global economy. The airline now plans to lease those planes from a third party. FMI: www.boeing.com/commercial/787family/ aero-news.net *************** Pole-to-pole flight finds CO2 piling up over Arctic NEW YORK (Reuters) - Scientists who flew a modified corporate jet from pole to pole to study how greenhouse gases move found carbon dioxide piling up over the Arctic, but also higher than expected levels of oxygen over the Antarctic. The three-week, $4.5 million mission this month in a specially equipped Gulfstream V jet was the first of five flights planned over the next three years by a Harvard University-led project based in Colorado. The research will help scientists understand how carbon is stored in the planet and how much carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, is released by cars and factories burning fossil fuels, or by the burning of forests. The jet, which flew from Colorado to the Arctic and back south to the Hawaiian Islands toward Antarctica, is equipped to suck in air samples and test them in a laboratory aboard. Initial observations point to a carbon dioxide build up over the Arctic, which may be due to industrial pollution and burning of trees over the last few centuries, scientists told reporters on Thursday in a teleconference about the mission. The slightly increased levels of oxygen over Antarctica may result from increased growth of plants in the tropics due to higher levels of carbon dioxide or higher temperatures, said Britton Stephens of the Boulder, Colorado-based National Center for Atmospheric Research. Much of this may have to do with yearly biological changes in plants, Stephens said. Forests in the North absorb carbon dioxide in the summer and release it in the winter when leaves fall off and rot. "There's a strong need to understand what the forests and oceans are doing now so we can predict whether or not they'll continue to protect (us) in the future," Stephens said. As more than 180 countries try to agree on a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, which runs out in 2012, atmospheric-based measurements are expected to play a larger role in trying to show how carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases move across the atmosphere. On Thursday, the U.S. space agency NASA said it will launch a satellite next month to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and Japan is also working on satellite research. The combined measurements could eventually inform the world more accurately about the best way to slow global warming, which scientists warn could lead to more deadly heat waves, droughts, floods and storms. One of the major challenges scientists face is tracking the estimated 30 billion tons of carbon emitted each year by motor vehicles, factories, deforestation and other sources. About 40 percent of the gas accumulates in the atmosphere, with the rest apparently being absorbed by oceans and forests. Stephens said data from flights on the research jet will complement some 20 models that predict how greenhouse gases move through the atmosphere. Until now, these models run by universities and governments, have been based on observations from the surface of the planet. Steven Wofsy, a Harvard professor of atmosphere and environmental science, said the flights should also provide a baseline for atmospheric observations that occur some 10 or 15 years into the future. The next missions will be take place at different times of the year to help scientists learn more about the role seasons play in variations of carbon levels and to help make predictions about how much fossil fuel can be burned safely. http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE50T0AV20090130 ************** DGCA seeks foreign help to meet safety norms (India) NEW DELHI: For the first time ever, India will take the assistance of foreign aviation authorities to ensure its airlines and airports meet all safety norms. The desperately short-staffed Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is asking the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to set up three national projects to monitor the vital areas of flight safety, airports and air navigation. ICAO is being asked to set up these projects for two years. During this time, it will have to put the systems in place, hire professionals and train them so that the systems can function on their own once the contract period is over. This plan to rope in ICAO and begin the process of strengthening India's extremely weak regulatory mechanism is part of an elaborate action plan drawn up by DGCA's new chief Nasim Zaidi. This plan has been submitted to the US Federal Aviation Administration that has put flight safety oversight systems here under scanner and is planning to reassess DGCA by February 22, with ramifications for Indian airports if they are downgraded. The action plan has two components - immediate steps to be taken within four months and long-term measures that will unfold over four years. The idea - tell FAA corrective steps are being taken and buy time for the reassessment. "For the long-term, we have sought recruitment of 400 technical officials. Our current staff strength is 240 officials, of which 110 posts are vacant and have lapsed. We have sought revival of these posts immediately and till the clearances come for hiring these 110 officials, we have asked for taking people on contract," said Zaidi. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/DGCA_seeks_foreign_help_to_meet_safety_no rms/articleshow/4055821.cms *************** Astronics Acquires DME Corporation EAST AURORA, NY -- Astronics Corporation announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase 100 percent of the stock of DME Corporation, a provider of weapons and communications test equipment, training and simulation devices and aviation safety solutions. DME, a privately-held company founded in 1976, has two operating divisions that employ about 350 employees including professional technicians and electrical, mechanical and software engineers. The company had unaudited revenue of approximately $86 million in 2008. DME's Orlando, FL-based Test, Training and Simulation Division, which represents approximately 80 percent of DME's total revenue, designs, develops, manufactures, and maintains communications and weapons test systems and training and simulation devices for the U.S. Department of Defense and various branches of the armed forces, foreign military operations and prime defense contractors. The Fort Lauderdale, FL-based Aviation Safety Division provides safety and survival products and airfield lighting, approach, and navigational lighting aids for commercial and government aviation markets. This division is a supplier to the FAA and airport authorities for approach lighting systems and precision approach path indicator lights. It also provides survival aviation products to major aircraft manufacturers and commercial airlines around the world. "The addition of DME diversifies the products and technologies we currently offer and improves our market balance by increasing our military and defense content," says Peter J. Gundermann, President and CEO of Astronics. "We believe that this is an excellent strategic fit for us because of the parallels with our military and aerospace business and the experience that Astronics AES had in the electronics test equipment market prior to being acquired by Astronics in 2005. Like us, DME serves specific, well-defined markets and customers, provides highly-engineered products and has built a brand on quality, service and innovative designs. DME's management and workforce have extensive experience and technical capabilities, strong relationships with their customers and a culture that we expect will be a great fit with ours." http://www.amtonline.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=7322 **************** JetBlue CEO Barger presses NextGen in talks with President Obama JetBlue Airways chief executive Dave Barger used a 28 January meeting with US President Barack Obama to champion the inclusion of funding in the currently-debated economic stimulus package to equip aircraft with technology to operate in the country's next generation (NextGen) air traffic control system. US aerospace industry associations in December banded together and sent legislators a request for $4 billion in funding for the stimulus, which allocated close to $3 billion to equip aircraft for use in NextGen and $1 billion for the airport improvement programme (AIP). The US House of Representatives in its proposed stimulus plan largely ignored the equipage funding request, allocating $3 billion for AIP, $500 million for the installation of explosive detection equipment in airports and an allocation of only $150 million to NASA for research and development targeted to NextGen. Discussions in the US Senate indicate that chamber would allot $200 million for NextGen equipage and about $1 billion for airport funding. The Senate is also warning NextGen funding could emerge as a major issue as it works to resolve differences with the House in the economic stimulus plan. Barger was among of handful of CEOs meeting with Obama to specifically discuss the stimulus, and was the sole representative of the airline industry. "The aviation industry needs increased federal investment in our nation's air traffic control infrastructure in order to best serve the travelling public and stimulate economic growth for the United States," says Barger. Barger believes investment in NextGen would "enhance capacity and energy efficiency, thereby reducing recent record delays and congestion in our nation's busiest airports". JetBlue's CEO also spoke to President Obama about the need to address congestion in the New York airspace, says a carrier spokesman. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************* JAL completes biofuel flight using flowering plant Today Japan Airlines (JAL) completed a flight in which a JAL Boeing 747-300 used a mix of biofuel and kerosene to power one of its four engines. JAL has issued a statement that quotes the aircraft's captain, Keiji Kobayashi, as saying "everything went smoothly" and "there was no difference at all in the performance of the engine powered by the biofuel blend and the other three engines containing regular jet fuel." "Data recorded on the aircraft will now be analysed to determine" if this is the case, says JAL. JAL says today's one and a half hour demonstration flight, from Tokyo Haneda with no passengers or pay-load, was significant because its the first to use a blend of three biofuels and the first to use Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines. Other airlines doing biofuel demonstrations have tended to use jatropha but JAL says its blend was 50% biofuel and 50% jet kerosene and of the biofuel component camelina makes up 84%, jatropha 16% and algae less than 1%. Camelina is a flowering plant. No modifications were made to the engines but some tests were done before the flight to ensure the engines performed well with the biofuel blend, says JAL. During the flight, the pilot had the engines do quick accelerations and decelerations and an engine shut-down and restart, it adds. JAL group president and CEO, Haruka Nishimatsu, says in the statement: "The demonstration flight brings us closer to finding a greener alternative to traditional petroleum-based fuel." "When biofuels are produced in sufficient amounts to make them commercially viable, we hope to be one of the first airlines in the world to power aircraft using" biofuels, he adds. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Link to US Airways salvage photos: on Signal Charlie http://www.signalcharlie.net/ ************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC