De : "Curt Lewis" Date : 21/04/2009 14:55 A : Objet : [flightsafety] Flight Safety Information (21APR09-093) Flight Safety Information (21APR09-093) _______________________________________ *Report IDs air-ambulance problems *Medical-Helicopter Study on Safety Splits Industry *Union calls for safety summit after North Sea air crash *Airline passenger gets probation for fake threat *Severe turbulence paralyzes woman in airplane restroom *Boeing runs first 787 through gauntlet testing *FAA lags Transport Canada in Q400 gear directive *FAA to mandate A320 flap check *New runway alerting system functional at Fort Lauderdale **************************************** Report IDs air-ambulance problems The report comes as tensions are brewing within an industry that has come under the spotlight for a record spate of crashes. After nine crashes killed 35 people from December 2007 to last October, the National Transportation Safety Board held a public hearing to address the problem. By Alan Levin, USA TODAY The air-ambulance helicopter industry has jumbled oversight and poor organization that led to safety problems and a record number of fatalities last year, according to safety review released Monday. The report released by the Flight Safety Foundation, a research group, identifies eight "very high" risks within the industry and 18 factors it labels "high" risks. Unlike the airline industry, which is a highly regulated business, air-ambulance companies are overseen by a patchwork of state and federal agencies that overlap or leave some areas untended, the report says. The industry has so many different styles of operation - from government-run programs to fiercely competitive for-profit businesses - that regulation and standardization is difficult, the report says. The report comes as tensions are brewing within an industry that has come under the spotlight for a record spate of crashes. After nine crashes killed 35 people from December 2007 to last October, the National Transportation Safety Board held a public hearing to address the problem. Six patients were among the dead during that period. The author of the study released Monday, Kimberley Turner, CEO of Aerosafe Risk Management, said that some unnamed air-ambulance companies had objected to the report. As a result, manufacturer Bell Helicopter, which paid for the report, was not a part of its release. The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates the industry's flight operations, issued a statement saying it welcomed the report. "It confirms what we believe: Reducing risk in helicopter EMS operations demands a systematic approach," the statement says. The report was released prior to a congressional hearing scheduled for Wednesday on industry safety issues and two competing bills to reform the industry. Many small and medium-size air-ambulance companies support a bill that would give states more authority to regulate medevac companies, limiting the number of bases and controlling competition. "I'm no longer convinced that voluntary (reforms) will work," said Tom Judge, who runs Maine's air-ambulance operation and chairs the Patient First Air Medical Transport Alliance. Larger companies, represented by the Air Medical Operators Association, object to the measure, Managing Director Christopher Eastlee said. "We believe it would result in a patchwork of 50 state regulations, making it extremely difficult to transport patients over state lines," he said. Turner said the best way to improve safety would be to have hospitals and others in the medical community take a stronger role in demanding improvements and getting the industry to better coordinate its risk-reduction efforts. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-20-chopper_N.htm *************** Medical-Helicopter Study on Safety Splits Industry By ANDY PASZTOR As industry groups continue to squabble over how to reduce the risks of emergency medical helicopter flights, a safety study commissioned by Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter is pitting industry factions against one another, forcing Bell to distance itself from the conclusions to avoid antagonizing some corporate customers. The study, which will be released Monday, is being described by aviation safety experts as the most comprehensive report ever about enhancing safety for patients and crews alike. Prepared by international consulting firm Aerospace Risk Management Inc., which has advised numerous airlines and helicopter operators over the years, the study was intended to foster consensus around voluntary safety efforts as a way to head off regulatory or legislative fixes. Rather than focusing solely on traditional topics such as installing new electronics and improving pilot training, the study delves into broader structural and financial issues that the authors contend raise risks across the industry. By sketching out the full range of risk, the report poses a challenge to the entrenched practices of some companies. With 13 medical chopper crashes claiming a record 29 lives in 2008, pilots of such emergency flights had the most dangerous jobs in the U.S., based on previous statistical analyses. A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman declined to comment until the study is released. Federal regulators are expected on Wednesday to lay out their most wide-ranging plan yet to step up oversight of emergency medical choppers. Large parts of the industry already have gotten behind the study, with more than 30 organizations providing data. But some members of the Air Medical Operators Association, which represents companies flying some of the largest emergency medical helicopter fleets, have been particularly critical. An association spokesman said "we didn't see what sources were used and we weren't part of the research." According to people familiar with the situation, the initial plan was to release the report and simultaneously announce a long list of industry associations and helicopter safety groups ready to start working together on solutions. Instead, some operators have threatened to withhold or cancel orders from Bell if the company released the report under its own name, according to people familiar with the situation. Bell subsequently transferred the report to the Flight Safety Foundation, an Alexandria, Va.-based safety advocacy organization supported by industry. In light of disagreements over how to proceed, implementation of the study's recommendations has been delayed pending further discussions. Dave Downey, Bell's vice president of safety, said "somebody needs to put the information out there in totality, without any bias." A Bell spokesman said the company ordered up the study to look at the root causes of accidents and that it will continue to pursue responsible measures to enhance safety. The report identifies more than two dozen broader structural and financial issues that raise risks industrywide. The final draft version of the study suggests risk levels may not go down significantly until reimbursement rates for transporting patients are adjusted to better reflect operating costs as well as the price tag for upgrading onboard safety equipment. Kimberley Turner, chief executive of Aerospace Risk Management, said over the weekend that the initial reaction to the study shows the relative immaturity of the air-ambulance industry. A mature industry with a well-established safety culture "wouldn't balk at having all the risks laid out on paper," she said. The thrust of the report is also expected to be discussed at a House aviation subcommittee hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Senior Federal Aviation Administration officials are slated to discuss safety initiatives focused on everything from broader use of night-vision goggles and ground-collision warning systems to new ways to combat pilot fatigue to creating more low-altitude helicopters routes reserved for instrument flights in bad weather, according to industry officials. While some of the proposals entail pilot education and voluntary industry-government cooperation, others envision mandatory rules affecting issues such as dispatching procedures and simulator training for pilots. Still, other proposals call for improved training of FAA inspectors, according to people familiar with the details. In the past, agency officials relied largely on voluntary compliance by operators and made general statements about possible regulations. But in recent briefings, according to industry officials, FAA managers laid out a more hard-hitting and ambitious agenda, including specific rulemaking actions, mandatory goals, and targeted techniques to prod industry to enhance safety. On Sunday, an FAA spokeswoman said the testimony was still being prepared but declined to elaborate. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124018627927633409.html *************** Union calls for safety summit after North Sea air crash A pilots' organisation called on trade unions today to back a wide-ranging safety summit in the wake of the North Sea helicopter tragedy. But the British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) said the summit should involve not only those with commercial interests in the industry but independent safety experts and helicopter pilots among others. The body, which represents about 80% of ADVERTISEMENTBritain's professional airline and helicopter pilots, has written to Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, about the matter. The appeal to trade unions came through an emergency motion to the Scottish Trades Union Congress in Perth today, almost three weeks after the Super Puma crashed 11 miles north east of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire. All 16 men on board died in the crash on April 1 as the helicopter returned from BP's Miller platform. The Super Pumas of the type involved in that crash and in another earlier this year have been grounded while inspections and modifications are carried out. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) last week ordered urgent safety checks on gearboxes. Industry body Oil and Gas UK has set up a task group made up of leading figures in the sector to look at safety in the wake of the crash. But Jim McAuslan, Balpa's general secretary, said the task group is just "the industry talking to itself". He said: "What we need to do is to throw a spotlight on the oil and gas industry, who with one hand are squeezing suppliers to make huge cost reductions, whilst in the aftermath of the recent tragedy and the AAIB report, are urging more investment in safety. "This circle will not be squared and this should be of concern to all who want a safe and sustainable North Sea industry." http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Union-calls-for-safety-summit.5186279.jp *************** Airline passenger gets probation for fake threat DENVER (AP) - A man accused of telling an off-duty Northwest Airlines pilot that he had explosives in his carry-on bag was sentenced to four years probation for making false threats. Federal investigators said the Northwest Airlines plane was backing away from a gate at Denver International Airport last year when 56-year-old Mark Randall Rayborn grabbed his bag and told the pilot seated next to him that he had five pounds of explosives that security screeners had missed. The flight was delayed for four hours as bomb-sniffing dogs searched the plane and the 140 passengers were screened again. Investigators said Rayborn was drunk at the time he made the statement. He was sentenced in federal court Monday. **************** Severe turbulence paralyzes woman in airplane restroom McALLEN, Texas (AP) - A South Texas woman remained paralyzed Monday after her Continental Airlines flight from Houston to McAllen experienced severe turbulence. Three people in all were taken to a local hospital Saturday when Continental flight 511 landed in McAllen at 2:17 a.m., said Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark. One passenger and a crewmember were treated and released, Clark said. But a 47-year-old woman who was in the airplane's restroom at the time of the turbulence suffered a fractured neck, Dr. Trey Fulp, an orthopedic spine surgeon at McAllen Medical Center told The McAllen Monitor Monday. The woman, who Fulp did not identify for privacy reasons, was thrown against the ceiling. Doctors spent six hours operating on her back after the plane landed Saturday and planned to operate on her neck Monday. The back injury left her paralyzed from the chest down, Fulp said. It was unclear if the paralysis would be permanent, he said. The flight's departure from Houston had been delayed, but the plane had begun its descent into McAllen when it encountered "sudden turbulence." The seat belt signs were illuminated at the time, Clark said. *************** Boeing runs first 787 through gauntlet testing Boeing today launched the first of three phases of gauntlet testing on the first 787 flight test aircraft, ZA001, as the programme edges closer to first flight. The factory gauntlet is the first phase of full integrated systems testing that sees ZA001 hooked up to an external computer and "flown" in a simulated environment to see how systems react. Gauntlet testing also marks the handover of the first 787 from the assembly workforce to the flight test team. Most of the aircraft's onboard systems will be tested during the first phase of the gauntlet. The aircraft's power will be drawn from ground cart and battery. The engines and auxiliary power unit (APU) will not be turned on during this indoor phase of gauntlet testing. The final two phases of gauntlet testing, intermediate and final, will both take place once ZA001 exits Building 40-24 for the Everett flight line. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************* FAA lags Transport Canada in Q400 gear directive The US tomorrow will issue a final airworthiness directive (AD) aimed at preventing Bombardier Q400 landing gear collapses. The mandate, which requires visual and non-destructive inspections of the aft hinge of the main landing gear forward stabilizer brace for fatigue cracks beyond a certain number of landings, comes more than one month after Canadian authorities issued an emergency directive for the same issue. That action came after Transport Canada, the certification authority for the Q400, received "several reports" of failures of a hinge on the brace. "Laboratory examinations have found that the fatigue cracks were initiated from the dowel pin hole at the aft hinge lug of the main landing gear forward stabilizer brace where the stop bracket is attached," Transport Canada had found. "Failure of the stabilizer brace could result in the collapse of the main landing gear," the AD states. Horizon Air, the largest operator of Q400s in the US, with 37 aircraft in service, had performed checks of 20 Q400s to which the emergency directive applied immediately after Transport Canada issued its mandate in March. "We're always following developments on our type of aircraft," a Horizon spokeswoman told ATI at the time. "We became aware of the Transport Canada AD and began to inspect our aircraft." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** FAA to mandate A320 flap check The US FAA tomorrow will mandate that operators of A320-family aircraft perform a one-time inspection to determine if improper post-factory maintenance has been performed on the aircraft's wing flaps. The action follows a 10 February European Aviation Safety Agency airworthiness directive (AD) issued after an operator during routine maintenance had discovered that a bearing had migrated out of position on a flap track pendulum assembly on an A321. EASA says the problem "was probably due to methods used during in-service replacement of the bearing during maintenance, whereby the necessary special tools, fixtures and equipment were not used". Officials say the faulty bearing placement could lead to the separation of the bearing/flap track assembly, resulting in the "detachment of the affected flap surface from the wing and consequent loss of control of the aircraft". The FAA's version of the AD will give operators 600h from early May to perform an inspection of the flap track pendulum bearing or determine from records that the aircraft has not received maintenance on the affected part since being delivered. Based on the experience, the FAA says Airbus had earlier removed instructions for replacing the bearing in the pendulum assembly from the A320 maintenance manuals, and has issued a service bulletin outlining how to conduct the flap inspections and perform any required follow-up procedures. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** New runway alerting system functional at Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale airport has become the latest facility to deploy a runway incursion alerting system developed by Sensis. The Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model X (ASDE-X) combines ground surveillance data from a variety of sources to supply air traffic controllers with real-time positioning of aircraft and vehicles on an airport surface. Data sources used by ASDE-X include automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B), and radar and multi-lateration devices. Additionally ASDE-X features an advanced runway conflict detection and alerting technology dubbed Safety Logic that uses algorithms to discern and alert controllers of potential aircraft or vehicle incursions on the runway. With the addition of Fort Lauderdale, 15 of 35 airports scheduled to receive the technology by 2011 have now been equipped with ASDE-X. Sensis has been FAA's long-term partner in ASDE-X deployment after being awarded a contract by the agency earlier this decade. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** "Flight Safety Information" is a free service of: Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC (Targeting Safety & Risk Management) curt@curt-lewis.com www.curt-lewis.com www.fsinfo.org PH: 817-303-9096 Cell: 817-845-3983 Fax: 682-292-0835 Curt Lewis & Associates, LLC is a multi-discipline technical and scientific consulting firm specializing in aviation and industrial safety. Our specialties are aviation litigation support, aviation/airport safety programs, accident investigation, safety & quality assessments/audits, system safety, human factors, Safety Management Systems (SMS) assessment/implementation & training, safety/quality training & risk management, and airfield/heliport lighting products. ****************