14 FEB 2009 _______________________________________ *NTSB: 'Severe' Oscillations Recorded Moments After Flaps Lowered On Flight 3407 *Ice eyed as possible cause of fatal plane crash *White House Memo Prevented FAA From Issuing ADs *FAA Issues SAFO For Wintry Airport Operations *Airbus A320 Bird Ingestion (Philippines) *AAIU finds electric wiring problems in A340 fire incident investigation *FAA: Fuel transfer problems prompted jet's return *Jet's nosegear collapses during landing in London *Manitoba airline could be grounded over safety flaws **************************************** NTSB: 'Severe' Oscillations Recorded Moments After Flaps Lowered On Flight 3407 Crew Discussed 'Significant' Ice Accretion On Wings, Windscreen The flight data recorder recovered from the wreckage of Continental Connection flight 3407 has revealed a series of "severe" pitch and roll oscillations moments after the flight crew lowered 15 degrees of flaps to configure their Bombardier Q400 turboprop for landing, NTSB member Steven Chealander disclosed during a Friday press conference. Both the FDR and cockpit voice recorders were recovered in surprisingly good shape, and are now being analyzed by Board investigators in Washington, DC. Chealander said a prelminary analysis of the last 30 minutes of voice and flight data recovered from the recorders indicated the following timeline of events: At 30 minutes prior to the end of the recording, the flight crew briefed on the ILS approach to runway 23 at BUF, and destination weather. The crew also discussed their current visibility conditions flying at 16,000 feet, reporting 3 miles visibility in light snow and mist; Commenting on restricted ("hazy") visibility at FL160, the pilot requested and was granted permission to descend to 12,000 feet. ATC cleared the aircraft to 11,000 feet soon after; The flight crew activated airframe deicing systems, and discussed "significant" ice buildup on the windscreen and leading edges of the wings on the descent; The pilot put the landing gear down one minute prior to the end of the recording, and selected Flaps 15 degrees 20 seconds after deploying the gear; The flight director recorded a series of "severe pitch and roll excursions" seconds after the flaps were lowered. The crew apparently attempted to retract landing gear and flaps before the aircraft impacted. The Q400 is equipped with pneumatic deicing boots on the leading edges of the wings, horizontal stabilizer, and vertical stabilizer. Chealander warned the investigation has just begun, and it's too soon to draw any conclusions about what brought down the aircraft with 49 people onboard. "We're not ruling anything in, or anything out," he told reporters. Previous Report 1200 EST: National Transportation Safety Board investigators have recovered both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the wreckage of Continental Connection Flight 3407, which impacted a western New York home Thursday evening while on approach to land at Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF). The NTSB will hold a briefing at 4:00 pm EST Friday to release further details of the accident, which claimed the lives of all 49 persons onboard the Bombardier Q400 turboprop and at least one fatality on the ground. Witnesses say the aircraft impacted the home at a steep, left-wing down attitude. Fire consumed the wreckage but for the aircraft's empennage section, which contained the CVR and FDR. We will follow this story throughout the day and provide updates as more information becomes available. Aero-News joins with others in expressing our deepest sympathies for the friends and families of the victims of this accident. FMI: www.ntsb.gov aero-news.net ************** Ice eyed as possible cause of fatal plane crash BUFFALO, N.Y.(AP) - Investigators pored over instrument data and listened to the last words of the doomed pilot and co-pilot of a commuter plane in the hopes of determining whether ice on its wings caused the fiery crash that took 50 lives. Officials say the crew of Continental Connection Flight 3407 remarked upon significant ice buildup on the wings and windshield shortly before the aircraft pitched violently and slammed into a house. Ice on the wings can interfere catastrophically with an aircraft's handling and has been blamed for a number of major air disasters over the years, but officials said they had drawn no conclusions as to the cause of Thursday night's crash. The aircraft, bound to Buffalo from Newark, N.J., went down in light snow and mist - ideal icing conditions - about six miles short of the airport, plunging nose-first through the roof of a house in the suburb of Clarence. All 44 passengers, four crew members, an off-duty pilot and one person on the ground were killed. Two others escaped from the home, which was engulfed in a fireball that burned for hours, making it too hot to begin removing the bodies until around nightfall Friday. Investigators pulled the black box recorders from the incinerated wreckage, sent them to Washington and immediately began analyzing the data. It was the nation's first deadly crash of a commercial airliner in 2 1/2 years. One of the survivors from the house, Karen Wielinski, 57, told WBEN-AM that she was watching TV in the family room when she heard a noise. She said her daughter, 22-year-old Jill, who also survived, was watching TV in another part of the house. "Planes do go over our house, but this one just sounded really different, louder, and I thought to myself, `If that's a plane, it's going to hit something,'" she told the station. "The next thing I knew the ceiling was on me." She said she hadn't been told the fate of her husband, Doug, but added: "He was a good person, loved his family." Among the passengers killed was a woman whose husband died in the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11. Steve Chealander, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said at an afternoon news conference that the crew of the twin-engine turboprop discussed "significant ice buildup" on the windshield and the leading edge of the wings at an altitude of around 11,000 feet as the plane was coming in for a landing. The flight data recorder indicated the plane's de-icing equipment was in the "on" position, but Chealander would not say whether the equipment was functioning. The landing gear was lowered one minute before the end of the flight at an altitude of more than 2,000 feet, and 20 seconds later the wing flaps were set to slow the plane down, after which the aircraft went through "severe pitch and roll," Chealander said. The crew raised the landing gear at the last moment, just before the recording ran out. No mayday call came from the pilot. Doug Hartmayer, a spokesman for Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which runs the Buffalo airport, said: "The plane simply dropped off the radar screen." "Icing, if a significant buildup, is an aerodynamic impediment, if you will," Chealander said. "Airplanes are built with wings that are shaped a certain way. If you have too much ice, the shape of the wing can change requiring different airspeeds." But he refused to draw any conclusions from the data, and cautioned: "We are not ruling anything in or anything out at this time." Witnesses heard the plane sputtering before it plunged through the roof of the house, its tail section visible through the flames. "It was like you were on the runway. It wasn't just different. It was like it was going to hit your house," said Michelle Winer, 46, who ran to look out her front window to see what was happening. "I saw a glow in the sky and I ran to get my husband. He thought I was crazy and then there was a huge explosion. You heard it and felt it." When she ran outside with her husband, Winer met in the middle of the street with her friend Sandy Reilly, who had a houseful of guests after a wake for her father-in-law. The smoke burned their eyes. Several explosions followed as the entire neighborhood poured out of their homes and onto the frozen sidewalks. "There was a guy standing on the corner in his bathrobe and slippers," Reilly said Friday, still in awe of the surreal scene that night in a small neighborhood of older homes and cottages. William Voss, a former official of the Federal Aviation Administration and current president of the Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group, said the plane's near vertical drop suggests that ice or a mechanical failure, such as wing flaps deploying asymmetrically or the two engines putting out different thrust, caused the crash. After the crash, at least two pilots were heard on air traffic control circuits saying they had been picking up ice on their wings. The 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft, in the Dash 8 family of planes, was operated by Colgan Air, based in Manassas, Va. Colgan's parent company, Pinnacle Airlines of Memphis, Tenn., said the plane was new and had a clean safety record. The pilot, Capt. Marvin Renslow, had been with the airline for nearly 3 1/2 years and had more than 3,000 hours of flying experience with Colgan, which is nearly the maximum a pilot can fly over that period of time under government regulations. Flight 3407 is the first fatal crash of a commercial airliner in the United States since Aug. 27, 2006, when 49 people were killed after a Comair jetliner mistakenly took off from a Lexington, Ky., runway that was too short. In general, smaller planes like the Dash 8, which uses a system of pneumatic de-icing boots, are more susceptible to ice buildup than larger commuter planes that use a system to warm the wings. The boots, a rubber membrane stretched over the surface, are filled with compressed air to crack any ice that builds up. A similar turboprop jet crash 15 years ago in Indiana was caused by ice, and after that the NTSB recommended more aggressively using pneumatic de-icing boots. But the FAA has not adopted the recommendation. It remains on the NTSB's list of most-wanted safety improvements. *************** White House Memo Prevented FAA From Issuing ADs Matter Cleared Up After Two-Week Delay A White House memo appears to be the reason why we haven't seen any new airworthiness directives issued by the FAA over the past several weeks. The Wall Street Journal reports a memo signed by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on January 20 directed all federal agencies to freeze any pending regulations that originated during the Bush administration... until they could be reviewed by the new sheriffs in town. In addition to holding off decisions on such political footballs as new mining and drilling standards, the rule also prevented the FAA from issuing any new ADs over a two-week period. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the memo left the FAA's authority in limbo... which was apparantly compounded by the January 23 confirmation of Ray LaHood as US Transportation Secretary. The spokeswoman described "an initial indication that were considered rules," as defined by the White House, so "we had to clarify the issue." LaHood signed a new memo on February 5 that clarified the FAA's authority, "allowing ADs to be issued," said DOT spokesman Bill Mosley... who added the department is "looking at how to complement the chief of staff's direction across our rulemaking actions." Brown stressed flight safety was not compromised by the oversight, stating if a particular situation warranted emergency action "we could and would have done that." This week, the FAA released four new proposals for ADs, though no final decisions have been implemented. The situation raised eyebrows among FAA oversight groups. Richard Williams of Denver-based Aviation DataSource Inc. notes previous changeovers between presidential administrations never affected the FAA... but "[t]his time, they managed to stop the FAA bureaucracy dead in its tracks." FMI: www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/airworthiness_directives/ aero-news.net **************** FAA Issues SAFO For Wintry Airport Operations Notes 16 Aircraft Slid Off Pavement In One-Month Period At best, it's embarrassing; at worst, it's potentially life-threatening. We're referring to when an airliner slides off a slick runway or taxiway... and, the FAA says, it happened 16 times at US airports over a 31-day period this winter. On Friday, the agency issued its second Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) of 2009, emphasizing the importance of pilots' and dispatchers' preflight and in-flight planning for winter airport operations during taxi, takeoff, and landing. The SAFO elaborates on the previously published, SAFO 08012 regarding ground operations during snow and ice conditions. >From December 17, 2008 to January 18, 2009, the FAA says it received 16 incident reports of commercial or corporate airplanes that departed airport paved surfaces during taxi, takeoff or landing. These incidents involved factors such as loss of stopping capability, loss of steering control, speeds greater than surface friction conditions permitted, or reduced visibility of surface markings and signage. Investigation of these events indicated several factors were involved in causing those incidents... and the SAFO offers suggestions for pilots, airport personnel and air traffic controllers to decrease the chances of an inadvertent runway or taxiway excursion. Those recommendations include better dissemination of NOTAM information by pilots and dispatchers, to airport personnel and ATC keeping a closer eye on deteriorating pavement conditions during wintry weather. aero-news.net *************** Airbus A320 Bird Ingestion (Philippines) Date: 13-FEB-2009 Time: ca 06:00 Type: Airbus A320 Operator: Cebu Pacific Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Airplane damage: Minor Location: Tacloban Airport (TAC) - Philippines Phase: Approach Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Manila (RPMM/MNL) Destination airport: Tacloban Airport (TAC) Narrative: Cebu Pacific flight 5J651 was landing at the airport in Tacloban City when a bird was ingested by one of its engines, damaging three blades inside. (aviation-safety.net) ***************** AAIU finds electric wiring problems in A340 fire incident investigation Irish air accident investigators released a preliminary report regarding an incident involving a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340 en route from Heathrow to Chicago in January 2009. A small fire broke out in the bottom of the waste bin storage compartment of the bar unit in the First Class area. The fire was located in a hole in the floor of the compartment. The crew noted that a damaged electric cable loom appeared to emanate from this hole. Arcing was observed in the hole. Crew members used fire extinguishers but they could not put the blaze out. An emergency landing was carried out at Shannon. The Investigation found that the cable loom in the bottom of the waste bin compartment had been completely severed and bore strong evidence of burning/arcing. The loom in question consists of ten wires in a protective sheath, six wires carrying 28 V DC and the other four carrying 115 V AC. This wiring provided power and dimming circuits for "mood" lighting which is recessed into the bar unit counter-top. Initial indication was that the lower edge of the metal waste bin made contact with the wiring loom. Information from drawings provided by the Operator indicated that two runners should be installed in the bottom of the compartment to keep the bin above the wiring loom, thereby avoiding contact. Furthermore, a protective metal cover should be installed over the loom in the bottom of the compartment. No evidence of the presence of the loom cover or rails was found. Initial inspection indicated the possibility that they were never fitted. A fleet inspection of the Operator's A340-300 and A340-600 (which have a similar bar unit fitted but a different part number) aircraft found that a number of these aircraft also had problems relating to missing covers, rail screws and cable routing in this area. Damage to the loom was found on one other aircraft. (AAIU) (aviation-safety.net) ****************** FAA: Fuel transfer problems prompted jet's return LOS ANGELES (AP) - Authorities say fuel transfer problems prompted an Air Pacific jetliner to return to Los Angeles International Airport. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says Flight 811 bound for the Fiji Islands landed safely early Friday. LAX spokeswoman Candy Andrus says there was a problem in transferring fuel between tanks on either side of the Boeing 747 to ensure weight control. She says the plane was airborne for less than an hour when the pilot discovered the problem. It was fixed shortly after the plane landed. No injuries were reported among the 441 passengers and crew aboard. They're being booked on other airlines or back on Flight 811. **************** Jet's nosegear collapses during landing in London LONDON (AP) - The nosewheel of a British Airways passenger jet collapsed with a loud bang as it landed Friday evening at London City Airport, sending the plane scraping across the tarmac with 71 people aboard, officials and witnesses said. All aboard escaped by emergency slides, but one person was taken to a hospital with a minor injury. The plane was arriving from Amsterdam about 8 p.m. when the front landing gear failed and the front of the plane slammed onto the runway and skidded, officials and firefighters said. "As a precaution the emergency slides were deployed and passengers were evacuated down the slides onto the runway," British Airways said. "One passenger suffered a minor injury." The airline said it did not yet know what caused the landing gear problem on the Avro 146 RJ100, which had been carrying 67 passengers and four crew members. The government sent three investigators to the scene. "There was obviously quite a loud bang as the plane scratched in," passenger Justin Fletcher told the British Broadcasting Corp. "The stewards and stewardesses were quick to evacuate everyone off. There was a few scrapes and cuts due to hitting the asphalt. All in all everyone seems to be doing quite well now." In addition to the person who received hospital treatment, four others were treated for minor injuries at the scene. There were no further details on the injuries. The east London airport's only runway was closed, forcing 11 flights to be diverted to other airports, officials said. The airport handles about 80,00 flights yearly, mainly domestic and European. The aircraft remained on the runway Friday evening, surrounded by fire trucks and maintenance crews. Police officers also arrived to get witness statements from passengers. City Airport said after the incident, passengers were brought to the terminal where they were checked for any problems and provided with food. Passenger Ray Hamblin said there was smoke inside the aircraft after the landing, but officials from City Airport and British Airways said they were not aware of any smoke. "The front wheel collapsed, the cabin filled with smoke and everyone had to vacate from the rear of the plane," Hamblin said. "As I came off the emergency slide I hit my wrist on the runway. I think there are a couple of people with cuts and scrapes." The Avro 146 RJ100, a four-engine plane made by BAE Systems, has a capacity for 100 passengers. Officials say the aircraft design makes it suitable for landings on poor quality runways. The accident in London came a day after a commuter plane nose-dived into a suburban house in upstate New York, killing all 49 people aboard and one person in the home. City Airport had to close for an hour earlier this month when the front wheel on a jetliner bent out of shape. No passengers on that flight were evacuated. Recent plane crashes in Britain have involved smaller aircraft - earlier this week Royal Air Force light aircraft collided near a nature reserve in Wales, killing four people. Last year, two pilots and three passengers were killed when a Cessna jet crashed into a house in Kent in south east England. **************** Manitoba airline could be grounded over safety flaws WINNIPEG - Transport Canada has ordered Manitoba-based SkyNorth Air to address safety concerns or risk being grounded next month. Susan McLennan of Transport Canada said SkyNorth has been issued a notice of suspension giving it 30 days to show it has addressed safety deficiencies found in a recent inspection. "If they don't address the safety deficiencies we will suspend the company," McLennan said on Friday. McLennan said SkyNorth has until March 13 to address the problem, which include ensuring proper maintenance and quality assurance are in place before allowing planes to fly. McLennan said the company can still fly planes during the next few weeks, but it will be monitored by Transport Canada. A spokeperson for SkyNorth Air, which offers charter and medevac flights, could not be reached for comment. The inspection by the country's aviation authority was launched earlier this month after three of the company's planes were involved in air incidents in less than three months. Five people survived after a SkyNorth plane suddenly crashed in dense bush near God's Lake Narrows on Nov. 22. Last month, another SkyNorth plane was forced to abort a landing after its wing and undercarriage clipped trees. The damaged plane was able to land safely. As well, early last month a SkyNorth plane's landing gear collapsed on the runway at Winnipeg's airport, causing several flights to be delayed or cancelled. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Manitoba+airline+could+grounded+over+safety +flaws/1288632/story.html **************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC