02 MAR 2009 _______________________________________ *Investigators Say Turkish Airliner 'Fell Straight Down' *Turkish pilots say turbulence likely reason for crash *Dutch prosecutors seek crashed 737 recorder data *Turkish pilots raise possibility of 757 wake in Schiphol crash *Schiphol crash pilot's death draws cockpit door scrutiny *NWA B747-451 Gear failed to Raise (Japan) *NTSB investigating jet fire *TSA flooded with opposition to corporate-jets proposal *Daytona Beach airport honored for safety *Korea's Aviation Safety Ranked First in World *Airplane slides off runway *Alaska Becomes Latest Airline With Wi-Fi *Global Bizav Groups Launch Safety Tool Kit *Safety: NCAA Hits 75% US Standard (Nigeria) *Another Sea-Tac flight targeted with laser *French prosecutors 'interfering' in Airbus enquiry *New Brazilian decree sets out civil aviation policy framework *Audio reveals rescuers' confusion over Denver 737 crash site *NTSB blames controllers for three near-misses *Continental progresses with EFB installation on Boeing 757s and 767s *************************************** Investigators Say Turkish Airliner 'Fell Straight Down' Survivors Says Engines Powered Up Immediately Before Impact A spokesperson for the Dutch safety authority announced last week that a preliminary report on the crash of Turkish Airlines Flight TK1951 will probably be released by this Wednesday. As ANN reported, a Boeing 737-800 operating as Turkish Airlines flight 1951 was inbound from Istanbul to Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam when it crashed a mile short of the runway on approach, resulting in nine fatalities and another 84 injured among the 134 passengers and crew onboard. UK' Guardian reports Pieter van Vollenhoven, head of the Dutch safety authority, said the B737-800 had fallen almost straight down, and speculated that the airliner had experienced engine failure. That assessment contradicts statements from those onboard the aircraft, however. Survivor Fred Gimpel told Dutch NOS news, "[It] just fell straight down and then you heard the engines at full power as if it was trying to go forwards. It probably went up too steeply and stalled, and then the tail hit the ground," which seemingly refutes van Vollenhoven's theory. An international team of 40 investigators have converged on the crash site. The plane's "black boxes" have been recovered and sent to Paris for an in-depth analysis, with a preliminary report expected mid-week. Investigators are still exploring all possible scenarios that could have led to the crash, ranging from weather to fuel exhaustion, navigational errors, pilot fatigue or bird strikes. FMI: www.safetyboard.nl, www.ntsb.gov, www.thy.com aero-news.net *************** Turkish pilots say turbulence likely reason for crash ISTANBUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Turbulence created by a large plane landing at Amsterdam just ahead of a Turkish Airlines passenger jet may be the most likely reason it crashed, a Turkish pilots' association said on Friday. Five Turks and four Americans were killed when the Boeing (BA.N) 737-800 plane plunged into a field short of the runway at Schiphol airport on Wednesday. Among the dead were three pilots and a flight attendant. A Boeing 757 heavy aircraft appeared to have landed on the same runway just two minutes before the Turkish Airlines (THY) plane, the Turkish pilots' association (TALPA) told a news conference. "Wake turbulence", an air turbulence created by a pair of vortices trailing in the wake of an aircraft's wing tips, could have hit the descending Turkish plane, preventing it from continuing to fly, the group said. TALPA Vice Chairman Mete Dane demonstrated flight TK 1951's approach to Schiphol and said the reason why it had suddenly lost altitude pointed to wake turbulence. The Schiphol control tower should issue full information about planes landing on the runway, the landing intervals, and what communication took place, he said. A Dutch Safety Board spokesman said wake turbulence was one of the options its investigators were looking at. "We look at all options and we certainly are not excluding this one," spokesman Fred Sanders said. It was not clear if a Boeing 757 had actually landed just before the Turkish Airlines plane, he said. A Schiphol spokeswoman declined to comment on any speculation while the cause of the crash was being examined. BLACK BOXES EXAMINED TALPAS's Dane said: "We do not have exact information about the distance between the planes and we do not know if our plane has been warned about the situation. But according to the records we have seen, no mention of it is made." "We want Dutch Aviation Authorities to be neutral and release all information, including any which might relate to them." Experts are examining the flight recorders from the plane, which are now in Paris, where French authorities are providing technical assistance. The Dutch Safety Board expects to present a preliminary conclusion of the investigation next week. A THY plane carrying some of those injured in the crash arrived in Istanbul on Friday. The company said the pilots who died were Captain Hasan Tahsin Arisan, Murat Sezer, Olgay Ozgur and flight attendant Ulvi Murat Eskin. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLR365468 *************** Dutch prosecutors seek crashed 737 recorder data Prosecutors in the Netherlands have requested flight-data recorder and cockpit-voice transcripts from the crashed Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Amsterdam Schiphol. The Openbaar Ministerie says the Dutch Safety Board does not have to grant the request, contained in a letter from its aviation department, because the prosecutor is "lacking" a legal basis. "We are awaiting a response from the Safety Board," says the prosecutor's office, adding that it has submitted the request because the data can give "an insight into the circumstances of the accident". Judicial intrusion into accident investigation has attracted high-profile criticism over the last few days, after the Italian Agenzia Nationale per la Sicurezza del Volo accused legal officials of hampering the probe into a Cessna executive jet crash in Rome. ANSV is calling for deconflicting of investigators' needs from the rules of criminal proceedings. The US Flight Safety Foundation has also echoed ANSV's concerns, claiming prosecutors have also "interfered" with French inquiries into last November's fatal Airbus A320 crash in the Mediterranean Sea. "In recent days the French authorities have returned some of the Airbus evidence to safety investigators," it states. Chief executive William Voss says he understands the demand for justice and accountability. But he adds: "We cannot allow the safety of the aviation system to be jeopardised by prosecutorial overreach. "Unless there is evidence of sabotage, law enforcement and judicial authorities need to step aside, allow accident investigators immediate access to the wreckage and to surviving crew and passengers, and let safety professionals do their job." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Turkish pilots raise possibility of 757 wake in Schiphol crash Turkey's pilot association, TALPA, is questioning whether wake turbulence played a role in the loss of a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 on approach to Amsterdam Schiphol two days ago. The president of the association, Capt Ziya Yilmaz, has highlighted the arrival of a Northwest Airlines Boeing 757 to Schiphol's runway 18R shortly before the fatal approach of the Turkish 737. Certain civil aviation authorities, including the UK's, require aircraft trailing a 757 on approach to maintain a greater separation distance than when trailing other types of a similar size category. Yilmaz claims the Northwest 757, operating Boston-Amsterdam as flight NW60, was 2min ahead of the 737, which was arriving from Istanbul as TK1951. He says the minimum separation should be 3min and that the potential effect of wake vortices cannot be overlooked, stating: "The 757 has one of the highest wake-turbulence categories." Air traffic control recordings show that Amsterdam controllers cleared NW60 to the 18R approach around 2min 30s before issuing a similar approach clearance to TK1951, but this gives little firm indication of the separation distance between the jets. Based on information obtained by TALPA, Yilmaz says that at 10:25:27 the aircraft was flying at a height of 475ft at 129kt, but that the speed fell by 30kt by 10:25:38. "The speed could not drop 30kt in 11s because of a dual engine problem," he says, and claims that the information "clearly shows" evidence of wake turbulence. Yilmaz expresses irritation at the Dutch investigators for referring to the engines in brief comments before information had been retrieved from the flight recorders. The investigators have already stated, however, that engine problems are just one possibility which will be considered in the course of the inquiry. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Schiphol crash pilot's death draws cockpit door scrutiny The Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 crash on approach to Amsterdam Schiphol airport is the first survivable incident in which the anti-hijacking cockpit security door was shown to be a hazard for pilots. Turkey's main English language newspaper Hurriyet has reported an on-scene witness statement that one of the pilots survived the crash even if badly injured, but he was not rescued in time to save his life. Rescue teams eventually had to recover the bodies of the three pilots - one was traveling in the jump-seat - by cutting through the cockpit roof. "According to the eye-witnesses and passengers, first aid came 40 minutes after landing," said Ziya Yilmaz, Turkish Air Line Pilots Associaton (TALPA) president tells ATI. "The first officer was screaming and waiting 40 minutes for rescue. We will inform IFALPA and ask why?" The Dutch Safety Board says it cannot comment on the allegations in the Hurriyet report, adding that it is investigating all scenarios, including the Turkish Airline Pilots Association allegation that wake vortex from a previous aircraft may have contributed to the accident. The Board added that more information may be available "after the weekend". The Hurriyet report, quoting Turkey's Dogan news agency, says that Ismail Akyuz, a Turkish man living in Amsterdam, and his wife were travelling along the main road near the airport when the aircraft came down in fields close to them. Akyuz told Hurriyet: "We took notice of the plane after we realised it was Turkish." The two crossed the field in which the aircraft had come to a halt, says the report. Akyuz described to Dogan what they found: "I saw the hand of the pilot in the front part of the plane. He was in the throes of death. When I arrived he was still alive but couldn't move. I heard him noisily breathing. Akyuz continued: "When we first arrived at the scene we saw people lying on the ground injured. Some of them had broken legs... I entered the fuselage from one of the open doors and walked to the back part of the plane. There were couple of people there and we helped them to get out." He also commented: "It took around 20 minutes before the rescue teams got to the scene as a secondary road leads there." The Safety Board said it is unable, at present, to provide the time it took for the crash rescue team to arrive at the accident scene. Runway 18R is the furthest of the runways from the main part of Schiphol airport, and the wrecked hull was about 1km short of the runway threshold outside the airport boundary. Dutch authorities have also been unable to confirm whether the rescue teams were able to determine whether the cockpit crew were dead when they reached the accident scene. But they concentrated first on evacuating badly injured survivors because they could not penetrate the cockpit door. "The cockpit doors changed after 9/11," says TALPA's Yilmaz. "But in the crashes, how will the pilots be rescued from the cockpit?" The seven-year-old 737 (TC-JGE) crashed while inbound from Istanbul, Turkey on 25 February. It came down in open fields on short final approach slightly to the left of the extended centreline. Accident investigators say that initial download from the flight data recorder shows it had "very low" forward speed. This fact is borne out by the extremely short skid marks on the ground before the hull came to rest. The aircraft hit the surface in landing configuration, and witnesses say the nose was very high. The investigators confirm the tail hit the ground first, partly severing it, and the aircraft had a high vertical speed, which accounts for the nine fatalities and a large number of serious injuries among the seven crew and 127 passengers. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** NWA B747-451 Gear failed to Raise (Japan) Date: 01-MAR-2009 Time: 3:15 pm loca Type: Boeing 747-451 Operator: Northwest Airlines Registration: N673US C/n / msn: 30268/1226 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 440 Airplane damage: None Location: Tokyo - Japan Phase: Initial climb Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Tokyo Narita - NAA Destination airport: Minneapolis - MSP Narrative: The flight NW-20 could not raise the gear after departure, dumped fuel over the Pacific Ocean near Chosi and returned to the airport for a safe landing 80 minutes after takeoff. Sources: http://avherald.com/h?article=415cf50b&opt=0 (aviation-safety.net) *************** NTSB investigating jet fire TALLAHASSEE: National Transportation Safety Board investigators are trying to figure out what sparked a small fire on a commercial jet in Tallahassee. The Tallahassee Fire Department said the Canadian Regional Jet was not occupied when the fire broke out on Saturday morning. Bags had been loaded on the twin-engine jet, which can seat about 48 passengers. Crew members were preparing for a flight to Atlanta when they noticed smoke on the aircraft. Firefighters were called to Gate B5 at Tallahassee Regional Airport and extinguished the fire. No one was injured. Jim Durwin, assistant superintendent of airport operations, told the Tallahassee Democrat that the jet was being operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which is a Delta Connection carrier, and most of the passengers were rebooked on other flights. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29453372/ *************** TSA flooded with opposition to corporate-jets proposal WASHINGTON - Private pilots and business groups are assailing an effort to impose the first security rules on corporate jets, sending more than 4,000 protest e-mails to the Transportation Security Administration. The outpouring, including nearly 1,500 e-mails last week, represents the largest public opposition to an aviation-security proposal since the TSA was formed in 2003. On Monday, the Alaska State Senate urged the TSA to drop the security proposal, calling its cost to plane owners and small airports "exorbitant." "There's a visceral type of reaction to this," said Andy Cebula, head of government affairs for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which urged its 415,000 members to protest the TSA effort. "Our members are saying, I'm a good American, I'm not a threat to our country. Why is there a presumption that somehow I'm a threat and I've got to prove myself innocent?" The TSA has not identified a specific threat involving corporate jets but notes that many are the same size and weight as commercial planes that are tightly regulated. Corporate jets could be used to fly into a building or transport terrorists or lethal materials, the TSA said. The TSA proposal would regulate 15,000 corporate jets and 315 of the busiest airports that serve private planes. It would not affect more than 150,000 smaller, piston-engine planes or roughly 5,000 small private-use airports. Passengers on the jets would be checked against terrorist watch lists, just like airline passengers, but would not face physical screening. The jets' flight crews would face criminal-record checks. Opponents say passenger background checks could cause travel delays and violate privacy, and that securing corporate jets is unnecessary. "It would be the equivalent of regulating the same number of passengers that fit in a minivan," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote the TSA. The National Business Aviation Association says jet owners could face tens of thousands of dollars in costs to do background checks as well as security audits the TSA is proposing be done on jet operators every two years. "This could harm thousands of small- and midsized companies that rely on an airplane," association spokesman Doug Carr said. The TSA will review the comments before finalizing any security regulation. Federal agencies typically take months or longer to review feedback and finalize rules. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2009-03-01-privatejets_N.htm *************** Daytona Beach airport honored for safety Daytona Beach International Airport was awarded the Air Carrier Airport Safety Award for the southern region during the recent Federal Aviation Administration Communications Conference in Atlanta. Among DBIA's accomplishments are establishing a unique graphic notice to airmen system and continuing close work with the FAA to improve operational procedures and signage at certain high-activity locations on the airport. Additionally in 2008, the DBIA established an active and successful foreign object debris program that includes all tenants. DBIA is the sixth most active airport in the United States for general aviation aircraft movements. http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Business/Headlines/bizBI Z03030209.htm ************** Korea's Aviation Safety Ranked First in World When it comes to air travel, Korean airliners may be the safest way to fly. The UN's International Civil Aviation Organization says Korea ranked first for aviation safety so far with a 98.89 percent performance rating by international standards. The organization's rating was introduced in 1995 in the wake of a rising number of accidents in the early 90s. The UN organization still has about 70 more countries to evaluate before the ranking is complete. http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200903/200903020027.html *************** Airplane slides off runway SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - Investigators are trying to figure what caused a Delta plane operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines to roll off the runway at the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport this afternoon around 5 o'clock. Fifty-six people were on board the airplane coming from Atlanta when the airplane was traveling at a low speed rolled of the runway. Airport officials said no one was hurt and there was no damage to the aircraft. ASA is investigating the incident, but did tell WTOC they believe weather could be the cause. The return flight back to Atlanta has been canceled. http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9924064 **************** Alaska Becomes Latest Airline With Wi-Fi Alaska Airlines is the latest carrier to launch in-flight Wi-Fi, offering passengers on a specially equipped Boeing 737 a service that uses satellites instead of cellular towers to connect the plane to the Internet. The service was to begin a 60-day trial run on Thursday with a flight between Seattle and San Jose, California, the airline said. Wi-Fi will be free on board at the beginning of the trial, and the airline plans to use customer feedback to determine future pricing. At the end of the test, Alaska will determine its schedule for rolling out the service across its fleet. The airline serves more than 90 cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Most major U.S. airlines are either testing in-flight Wi-Fi or offering it commercially on some planes. Most have chosen Aircell's Gogo system, which links the onboard Wi-Fi network to the Internet over specialized EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) towers on the ground. Alaska, which routes many of its flights over water and wilderness, is using a satellite-based system from Row 44. Like other airlines, Alaska won't let passengers talk over VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) while in flight. They are invited to surf the Web, send and receive e-mail and instant messages, access games and multimedia content and use corporate VPNs (virtual private networks). Users can access the network with any Wi-Fi device, including phones and portable media players. They will get an opening Web page with news, music, shopping and links to services on the airline's homepage. Row 44's system, which uses leased satellite transponders with coverage across North America, delivers about 4MB bps (bits per second) to the plane from the satellite and at least 256K bps from the plane. That is shared among all users of the Wi-Fi service, although not all users are likely to be sending or receiving data at all times. Alaska and Southwest Airlines, both Row 44 customers, had said they would begin trials last year, but both formally announced their test launches this month. The deployments were held up by typical logistical and development delays, as well as delays caused by the holiday travel season, said Wendy Campanella, Row 44's director of business development. The service is operating on a temporary license from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission but is in the final stages of getting a permanent license, she said. The current wave of in-flight Wi-Fi rollouts, announced over the past two years, are taking shape amid tough times for the airline industry as businesses and consumers cut back on spending. The cost of the deployments needs to be balanced by enough passengers buying an added-cost service, said analyst Jack Gold of J.Gold Associates. "Those formulas may not be looking as good as they did six months ago," Gold said. In most cases, in-flight Wi-Fi costs about $10 or more per flight. In today's economy, "It's not a sure thing at all," he said. Several trial deployments have been delayed. Southwest announced Feb. 10 it had installed the system on one plane and would equip two more by early March. The budget airline is partnering with Yahoo to offer a homepage featuring a flight tracker and content that is relevant to passengers' destinations. http://www.pcworld.com/article/160391/alaska_becomes_latest_airline_with_wif i.html **************** Global Bizav Groups Launch Safety Tool Kit Building on business aviation's International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) introduced in 2002, business aviation groups from around the world have developed a Safety Management System Tool Kit (SMS TK) to help operators respond to global standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Peter Gatz, chairman of the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), said that "given our long and positive experience with SMS over the past eight years we can now provide assistance to operators who have not yet introduced SMS into their operations." According to IBAC, the new tool kit will be of immediate interest to commercial fixed-wing and rotary-wing operators, the first sectors to be affected by the new regulatory requirements. Commercial on-demand charter operators facing new regulatory requirements will find that the kit provides a step-by-step program for implementing the new safety provision. Regulators such as the European Aviation Safety Agency have encouraged industry associations to develop guidance material for operators to help them meet the requirements of the regulation. While business aviation associations continue to encourage operators to implement the "gold standard" IS-BAO program, the tool kit will provide the guidance for those operators who want to implement SMS only to satisfy regulations. For those with the IS-BAO program, the SMS TK will optimize the safety benefits. Business aviation associations formed a group of safety specialists to develop the stand-alone SMS TK to be responsive to rule requirements of regulations around the world. "The tool kit provides operators with a common sense and systematic methodology," said Gatz. As a member of ICAO, the FAA is supposed to develop SMS guidelines for U.S. operators. Because it missed the Jan. 1, 2009 deadline, for having SMS requirements, the agency filed a "difference" with ICAO. Compliance with the ICAO standards depends on FAA action to define specific requirements. The FAA has published Advisory Circular 120-92, "Introduction to Safety Management Systems for Air Operators," which contains information for operators to develop SMS programs voluntarily. At present, there are no authorized provisions for FAA approval or acceptance of SMS programs, but the additional guidance and tools are being developed. http://www.ainonline.com/news/single-news-page/article/global-bizav-groups-l aunch-safety-tool-kit/ **************** Safety: NCAA Hits 75% US Standard (Nigeria) Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said it has met the requirements of American Federal Aviation Administration, having achieved 75per cent for the International Aviation Safety Assessment (ISSA). The successful outcome of the exercise would enable Nigeria to attain category 1 status. Attainment of category 1 status, The Tide learnt, would enable airlines from Nigeria operate direct flights to United States of America. Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren said that the US Federal Aviation Administration has scheduled the management review next month. Dr. Demuren said that the of management review team comes when a country is assessed as having completed at least 75 per cent of the requirement of category I status. The NCAA boss further said Nigeria is on the track to achieve category one by the last quarter of this year. He listed Arik, Bellview and Virgin Nigeria as three Nigerian airlines designed for routes to the United States of America. According to him, once Nigeria gets the category 1 status, the affected carriers would commence flights to America using Nigerian registered aircraft. For now, the NCAA director general said the airlines can only operate to America with aircraft improved by FAA or a category 1 approved countries. He said category one is anchored when a country's Civil Aviation Authority has been assessed by FAA inspectors who licence oversee air carriers in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Aviation Safety Standards. He mentioned five African countries that can be assessed as category 1 status including Cape Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa. Dr. Demuren, however, said the auditing of the Nigerian Civil Aviation by the FAA inspectors started 18 months ago and listed eight critical elements to be undertaken by the inspectors. The elements include Civil Aviation and Civil Aviation regulations, technical guidance material, qualified technical personnel, civil aviation authority structure and oversight functions; licensing and certification; continuing surveillance obligations and resolution of safety issues/enforcement. http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=03/02/2009&qrTitle=Safety:%20 NCAA%20Hits%2075%%20US%20Standard&qrColumn=AVIATION *************** Another Sea-Tac flight targeted with laser Dozen pilots report laser pointing near Sea-Tac Airport By KOMO Staff SEA-TAC AIRPORT -- One week after a dozen pilots reported a laser being aimed at a their aircraft, another flight heading into Sea-Tac Airport was targeted with a laser beam Sunday evening. Airport officials said the crew of a Horizon Airlines plane reported seeing a bright green laser light about 6:30 p.m. as the flight was trying to land. The flight was arriving from Portland and was north of Boeing Field in Seattle when someone pointed a laser at the aircraft. Seattle police, the FAA and TSA officials are all investigating and trying to determine if Sunday's incident is related to last week's, when 12 planes reported seeing a laser between 7:10 and 7:30 p.m. while on final approach to the airport. It is a federal offense to shine a laser at a plane in flight. David Campbell with the Air Lines Pilots Association said last week that bright laser light isn't likely to jeopardize the safety of passengers, but can be a huge distraction to the pilots. "We're able to handle this threat, but it's something that we'd rather not (handle)," he said. "The danger is, as you look to find where you are in relation to the airport, the laser beam hits you right directly in the eye. That's the real danger." http://www.komonews.com/news/40523082.html *************** French prosecutors 'interfering' in Airbus enquiry French prosecutors are interfering in the investigation into what caused an Air New Zealand plane to crash last November, a leading aviation lobby group says. In a weekend statement the US based Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) cited two aircraft accidents where prosecutorial inference was going on. One involved an accident in Rome last month and the other the Air New Zealand Airbus A320 crash on November 27 last year which killed all seven aboard. "The safety investigations . are being held up because law enforcement authorities seized vital evidence before safety investigators could examine it," FSF president William Voss said. Only in the last week had they returned some of the Airbus evidence to safety investigators. "Unless there is evidence of sabotage, law enforcement and judicial authorities need to step aside, allow accident investigators immediate access to the wreckage and to surviving crew and passengers, and let safety professionals do their job," Voss said. "To prevent another tragedy, it's far more important that we learn what happened, and why, than to build a criminal case. "Reports of interference with the accident investigations in Italy and France are very troubling; we simply cannot allow these obstacles to keep us from learning and acting quickly after a crash." Voss said public shock and grief was understandable, along with calls for justice and accountability. "(But) we cannot allow the safety of the aviation system to be jeopardised by prosecutorial overreach." Although not named in the statement, FSF's criticisms appear aimed at the Perpignan-based judicial team who have declared they are conducting a manslaughter investigation around the crash. They have repeatedly clashed with the French aviation safety experts at the Bureau d'Enquetes et Analyses (BEA) in Paris. Shortly after the crash the prosecutors seized the flight recorders or black boxes and at one point chief French investigator John-Pierre Dreno declared they had been so badly damaged they could not be read. BEA tried to send them to the US where digital recording cards could be extracted but the prosecutors held that up for weeks. Eventually, the data was recovered in good order and to the shock of both Air New Zealand and BEA Dreno then publicly announced details of the last seconds of the flight. Five New Zealanders died in the crash - Captain Brian Horrell, 52, from Auckland; engineers Murray White, 37, from Auckland, and Michael Gyles, 49, from Christchurch; Noel Marsh, 35, from Christchurch; and Jeremy Cook, 58, a Wellington airworthiness inspector. The two Germans, flying the plane, were Captain Norbert Kaeppel, 51, and co-pilot Theodor Ketzer, 58. FSF's statement also referred to a February 7 incident in which a Cessna Citation jet crashed on taking off from Rome Ciampino airport in Italy, killing the two crew members. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4865184a12.html *************** New Brazilian decree sets out civil aviation policy framework Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and defence minister Nelson Jobim have signed a new national civil aviation policies decree, a general framework of political intentions to serve as the basis for future development of the commercial aviation regulatory system. The decree, number 6,780, has become effective following its publication in the Brazilian official bulletin and is structured around six fundamental objectives: . Safety and security, to preserve the physical integrity of users, assets and infrastructure of the civil aviation system . Service delivery, aimed at developing an air transport system which guarantees continuity and reliability of service to all regions of the country . Environmental protection, to reduce pollution from air and ground operations . Consumer rights protection, through developing and controling a system which protects the dignity, health, safety and economic interests of air transport users . Development of civil aviation, including a joint public and private effort to improve, long-term, the country's most complex and capital-intensive means of transport, and develop domestic aeronautical manufacturing and services . Improvement of civil aviation efficiency, including a reassessment of air traffic control, its technological renewal and refinement of the regulatory system This decree is a road-map for Brazil's legislators and institutions for the development of new regulations, reform of institutions and prioritisation of public investment in the sector. It is also a political response to the air traffic control breakdowns suffered repeatedly over the last couple of years and a struggle between the country's civil aviation administration, ANAC, and other defence ministry institutions. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Audio reveals rescuers' confusion over Denver 737 crash site Audio recordings detailing the aftermath of the Continental Airlines Boeing 737-500 runway run-off at Denver indicate the initial difficulty that air traffic controllers experienced trying to direct rescue crews to the crash site. In the darkness, emergency vehicles initially headed away from the site and Denver's tower controller several times had to relay the location of the jet in order to guide rescuers to the scene. The 737 had veered off the left side of runway 34R during departure for Houston on 20 December, coming to rest between runways 34R and 34L, north of the WC taxiway and a fire station. Audio archives reveal that, after clearing flight CO1404 for take-off, the controller was alerted to a problem by an unidentified crew. "Tower, it looks like you had a plane go off of 34R on the left side," it states, prompting a surprised response from the tower: "Say that again?" After failing to raise CO1404, the tower halts subsequent departures before an unidentified radio call says: "Looks like fire over there." The tower controller seeks an available ground operations centre, raises a unit called Ops 9, and declares: "Ops 9, just had an aircraft departure off 34R, exited the runway at [taxiway] Whiskey Charlie, appears to be on fire immediately adjacent to the fire house - red alert." After stating that the aircraft appears to be north of WC and west of 34R, the controller tells Ops 9 that the rescue vehicles are "coming out of the station going the wrong way", adding: "They need to go eastbound out of the fire-house." The controller then contacts a rescue unit, Ops 7, gives the crash location again, and advises that the rescue vehicles can cross the closed runway 34R. But he then asks: "Ops 7, it appears your truck is going southbound on 34R. Is that what they want to do, away from the aircraft?" Ops 7 responds: "I'll turn them around, tower, I'll turn them around." The controller repeats the location again, saying that "everybody that's on 34R needs to go northbound", telling the rescue crews that he can "see the flames" before the emergency crews finally advise that they "have the glow" and request confirmation of the aircraft type. While the aircraft was destroyed in the accident, and several of the 115 occupants sustained injuries, there were no fatalities. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** NTSB blames controllers for three near-misses The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has found that errors by air traffic controllers were the probable causes of three recent near-misses, according to final reports on the events. An early afternoon 21 July incident at Chicago O'Hare International Airport resulted in an arriving Learjet 60 business jet passing 99m (325ft) above and slightly behind an American Eagle ERJ145 on departure from an different runway. The NTSB says the controller failed "to ensure the appropriate separation between two airplanes operating on runways where flight paths intersect". A 28 August night-time near-miss at Fresno, California occurred when a tower controller failed "to ensure the runway was clear" after a six-passenger Piper Malibu private aircraft landed before allowing a Skywest CRJ200 to land. Compounding the situation was the Malibu pilot's unfamiliarity with the airport layout. The Skywest pilot told investigators he was forced to steer to the right side of the runway as the CRJ decelerated under braking and full reverse-thrust in order to avoid the Malibu, which had failed to leave the runway on a left-side taxiway. In a similar 19 September night-time incident at the Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania, a Mesa Airlines CRJ700 on takeoff narrowly avoided a Cessna 172 that had landed previously and not turned off the runway as rapidly as controllers had intended. The Mesa crew estimated that the two aircraft missed one another by approximately 3m as the CRJ decelerated through 40kt after aborting the takeoff. NTSB puts primary responsibility for the near miss on both tower controllers, who failed to "maintain awareness of the position of (the Cessna) and ensure that the aircraft was clear of the runway before issuing a takeoff clearance to the (CRJ)". Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Continental progresses with EFB installation on Boeing 757s and 767s Continental Airlines has completed the first flight featuring a Jeppesen Airport Moving Map on a class two electronic flight bag designed by Navaero. The Houston-based carrier plans to retrofit its Boeing 757/767 aircraft with the Navaero electronic flight bags, with 12 aircraft scheduled for equipage during the first month. Flight's ACAS database shows Continental operates 41 757-200s, 17 757-300s, 10 767-200ERs and 16 767-400ERs. The moving map shows pilots their own position on the airport surface to help reduce runway incursions during ground operations. In a statement Navaero says it executed the first electronic flight bag supplemental type certificate for the 757 on 11 August 2008. Elements of the Navaero electronic flight bag include a manufacturer-designed and AT&T certified UMTS/HSDPA 3G cellular modem module for on-ground data transfer. Navaero says a majority of its 18 airline customers are evaluating airport moving map capabilities. Continental recently said it was working with Jeppesen to develop a plan to execute Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC