21 MAY 2009 _______________________________________ *Arsonist set fire to plane at Glasgow airport *Safety board urges changes at American Airlines *House weighs safety of overseas aircraft repairs *American Airlines says pilot fails breathalyzer *Congress members react to FAA revelations *Executives at US regionals scrutinise safety **************************************** Arsonist set fire to plane at Glasgow airport A man has admitted setting fire to a plane at an airport after using a plank of wood to breach security. Safet Bukoshi, 36, used the makeshift ramp to climb a fence at Glasgow Airport and set light to the British Midlands jet in January 2005. Fire crews raced to the scene and prevented a "catastrophic" blaze. Bukoshi, an Albanian, was arrested after plastic roses he had taken from his flat were discovered at the scene. He admitted culpably and recklessly setting fire to the plane and a charge under the Aviation Security Act when he appeared at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday. It emerged he was already a convicted arsonist having been jailed in Ireland in 2007 for torching a £100,000 Ferrari. The court heard Bukoshi drove in a borrowed BMW to Glasgow Airport around 3am on January 22, 2005, from his flat in the city's Garnethill. Hugh Irwin, prosecuting, said he was seen on the M8 with a plank of wood strapped to the car. Mr Irwin added: "It appears the accused scaled the fence using the plank of wood." Bukoshi ran towards the stand where the 50-seater BMI Embraer plane was parked The aircraft, which had 1600 litres of fuel in its tank, had come from Copenhagen the previous evening. The blaze was quickly extinguished but the repair bill totalled £103,000. Peter Gray, QC, defending, said the dad-of-four had a mental illness which brought "delusional beliefs". He added he had set fire to the plane after receiving a message from the Archangel Gabriel. Judge Lady Dorrian placed Bukoshi on an interim compulsion order for him to remain at the State Hospital in Carstairs. http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2509429.0.Arsonist_set_fire _to_plane_at_Glasgow_airport.php ***************** Safety board urges changes at American Airlines DALLAS (AP) — Safety regulators said Tuesday that American Airlines should figure out how it missed mechanical problems with a jet engine that caught fire during a 2007 flight, and then fix its maintenance program. The safety officials also made several technical recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration, including considering whether to require warning-system changes on jets like the one which caught fire. An American Airlines plane with 143 people aboard was forced to make an emergency landing after an engine caught fire leaving St. Louis in September 2007. The plane landed safely, and there were no injuries. At a public hearing last month, investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board said one engine on the American Airlines MD-82 had been difficult to start and maintenance crews replaced a starter valve six times in 10 days before the fire. On Tuesday, the safety board recommended that American determine why it failed to catch the no-start problem with the jet and "discover the lack of compliance with company procedures." Then, the safety board said, the airline should make necessary changes to fix the problems. Similar comments had been made last month at a public hearing into the incident. Tim Smith, a spokesman for American, said the airline had already taken steps to fix the problems, including replacing air filters and start buttons on all its MD-80 series jets and giving additional training and directions to pilots and mechanics. Testimony at the hearing indicated that mechanics contributed to the problems by failing to properly maintain a metal air filter and using the wrong tool, possibly a screwdriver, to manually start the troubled engine. Smith said mechanics have been told specifically not to use screwdrivers on the restart button. At the hearing, NTSB officials criticized the pilot and co-pilot for some actions, including interrupting an emergency checklist to tell passengers of the problem, which delayed shutting off fuel to the fire. The fire damaged the plane's hydraulic system so badly that the rudder wasn't working and the nose landing gear failed to extend during the first landing try. A second attempt was successful, although the plane was heavily damaged. Safety board members said last month that the fire could have had catastrophic results. On Tuesday, the safety board made several recommendations to the FAA, which regulates airlines. These included determining whether changes should be made to a warning system in order to make it potentially more helpful to crew on all MD-80 series jets, and ensuring that pilots are trained to run checklists before engaging in "nonessential" tasks such as talking on the radio. The board also recommended more guidance for pilots and flight attendants in how to handle emergency evacuations. In addition, it recommended that aircraft maker Boeing Co. tell airlines how often to replace air filters on air turbine starters — the filter that failed on the American jet **************** House weighs safety of overseas aircraft repairs WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is considering a bill that would require more inspections at aircraft repair stations overseas despite objections from the European Union. The bill, which is being taken up Thursday, also authorizes $70 billion through Sept. 30, 2012, for Federal Aviation Administration programs, including $13.4 billion to accelerate the agency's transition from the current radar-based air traffic control system to one based on Global Positioning System technology. The foreign repair station provision would require the FAA to increase its overseas inspections from once a year to twice a year and to require foreign workers to submit to the same drug and alcohol testing required of U.S. workers. The provision has the backing of labor unions, who complain that safety enforcement isn't as rigorous overseas. A report last year by Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel said nine major U.S. airlines are farming out aircraft maintenance at twice the rate of four years earlier and now hire outside contractors for more than 70 percent of major work. Most of the outsourced work is still done in the U.S. — although often at nonunion repair shops — but more than a quarter of the repairs are done overseas. "The inspection regime that applies overseas is wholly inadequate," said Ed Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO transportation trades department. "The inspector work force is too small to adequately cover the globe, where you have over 700 facilities." The European Commission has threatened to pull out of a pending aviation safety agreement unless the provision is changed. A key part of that agreement stipulates that the U.S. and European Union aviation safety bodies have comparable safety requirements and inspection regimes. "We have yet to see any data to suggest there is a real safety problem with foreign repair stations," said William Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation in Alexandria, Va., an international aviation safety think tank. The provision is perceived as an effort by the U.S. to impose its standards on other nations, who also inspect the repair stations, Voss said. Other provisions of the bill would: _ Require the FAA to hire more safety inspectors. _ Create an independent office within the FAA to investigate whistleblower complaints. _ Increase funds available to subsidize air service to rural communities from $127 million to $200 million annually. _ Direct the National Academy of Sciences to study pilot fatigue. _ Require airlines and airports to develop contingency plans for how they will handle the passengers whose flights have been delayed for hours on tarmacs. The plans are to be submitted to the transportation secretary for approval. *************** American Airlines says pilot fails breathalyzer LONDON (AP) — American Airlines says one of its pilots failed a breathalyzer test at London's Heathrow airport. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline says the pilot was given the test Wednesday after airport security staff alerted police. He was supposed to operate a flight with 204 passengers to Chicago. The flight was delayed while a replacement was found and the plane eventually took off. American declined to release the pilot's name Thursday. ************** Congress members react to FAA revelations While the vast majority of aircraft mechanics are well trained and competent, a News 8 Investigation found decades of problems with the way the FAA is certifying and testing aircraft mechanics. News 8 found that many people working on aircrafts in North Texas may not be able to read repair manuals because they can't speak English. Now, North Texas congressional representatives are calling for change in the FAA. Dozens of FAA inspectors and mechanics told News 8 FAA regulation on the repair process is full of holes. "I would say it's more don't ask don't tell," said Gabe Bruno, a whistleblower, when asked what he thought of the licensing procedure. "In my opinion, the FAA is corrupt and the southwest region is corrupt," said Gene Bland, said another whistleblower. It's a problem some say has been around for quite some time. "The FAA has been aiding and abetting, if not enabling, terrorists," said Tom Devine, with the Government Accountability Project. WFAA-TV Now, with an FAA funding bill before Congress, North Texas representatives say it's time for change. "The day for sloppiness is over, and this agency must be run professionally and all credentials must be checked," said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson. Whistleblowers have been hounded by the FAA. Rep. Michael Burgess said he wants to improve protection for people like them. "The amendment that I have on the floor is going to strengthen the existing whistleblower statute and provide them the full protection that we can offer within the FAA re-authorization bill," he said. The bill will decide how much money the FAA gets in coming years. It will come up before Congress before the week is out. http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090520_mo_ news8faa.23899c19.html *************** Executives at US regionals scrutinise safety High-level management from US regional airlines had a nearly round-the-clock meeting 19 May to engage in a detailed self-assessment of safety practices in response to issues raised by the investigation of the Colgan Airways flight 3407 crash. Hearings last week conducted by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) examined the role of several factors --sterile cockpits, training, fatigue, commuting and crew lifestyles -- in the fatal accident of the Bombardier Q400 turboprop on 12 February. Since the conclusions of the initial hearings safety practices of US regional airlines have come under scrutiny, spurring a decision by US legislators to launch their own probe. At the annual Regional Airline Association convention this week in Salt Lake City this week heads of the group's member airlines met for nearly 18 hours specifically to discuss safety. "They talked about the changed paradigm surrounding human factors, the next frontier in aviation safety," says RAA president Roger Cohen. "We need to consider psychological factors - why do highly trained professionals fail to follow their training and experience when faced with unusual situations." Cohen highlights the "advanced technology of our airplanes and systems have evolved to such a high point, become so sophisticated and incredibly reliable that perhaps everyone - from flight crews to line managers to the CEOs themselves - have become too reliant on them, and we're not keeping our heads in the game at all times". But he stresses concerns raised by the NTSB hearings are not systemic to the regional airline industry, rather, they reach across all facets of industry. Cohen says he received a call this week from senior officials from the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) "indicating their shared belief these issues are industry wide" and include a wide range of factors. Both US network and regional airlines plans to look collectively as those issues "as we always have", Cohen explains. Responding to a question about the concerns raised over long-distance commutes during the hearings, Cohen says the association does not track stats on commuting. But he highlights that US Airways Captain Chesley Sullenberger, who some regard as the "world's most successful pilot", commuted from San Francisco to Charlotte. Sullenberger piloted the A320 that ditched into the Hudson River earlier this year. The top level regional carrier executives also discussed ways to use information from data collection programmes such as flight operations quality assurance, aviation safety action programmes and flight data recorders. "We're drowning in data points," says Cohen. "But are we, our employees, the FAA investing the time and people resources to translate that data into actions that improve our margin of safety?" Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC