09 JUN 2009 ____________________________________   *Part of Air France jet's tail found by Brazil navy *Migratory geese blamed in NY jet river landing *NTSB opens hearings on plane's Hudson River landing  *Small fire extinguished on JAL jet *FAA to inspect pilot training at regional airlines *Pilots fined for almost crashing commercial jet *Safety Experts Call for Airborne 'Black Box' Data Stream *************************************   Part of Air France jet's tail found by Brazil navy   The Brazilian air force prepares to tow a piece of the downed Air France Flight 447, which was carrying 228 people when it crashed en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Crews have recovered 24 bodies.   The nearly intact vertical stabilizer shows the Airbus probably broke apart in the air, much like one that crashed in 2001 in New York, a U.S. consultant says.   Reporting from Los Angeles and Bogota -- The Brazilian navy on Monday found a huge piece of tail section from Air France Flight 447 floating in the Atlantic Ocean, raising hopes that crews will be able to find more wreckage to help determine what caused the plane to crash.   One U.S. aviation consultant said the almost perfectly intact vertical stabilizer provides evidence that the jetliner broke apart before hitting the water and said it resembles the condition of a tail that was torn off an Airbus that crashed in New York City in November 2001.   The Air France Airbus 330 disappeared May 31 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris over a section of the Atlantic where the ocean floor is between two and four miles below the surface. All 216 passengers and 12 crew members are presumed to have died. Brazil has recovered 24 bodies.   The listening devices were flown aboard commercial aircraft to Brazil from Washington on Monday morning and were accompanied by a Navy crew. The devices will be towed by two French navy tugboats based in Brazil.     In the 2001 accident, U.S. investigators found that pilots for the American Airlines A300 jet had encountered turbulence in the wake of another jet and that they applied so much force on the rudder that the tail tore off the plane, sending the craft into a sharp dive.   Robert Ditchey, an aeronautical engineer, former pilot and retired airline executive, said he was struck by the similar conditions of the Air France tail and the American Airlines tail. Ditchey said he doubted the tail would have remained so well preserved if it had crashed into the water while still attached to the fuselage.   Investigators have learned that the Air France jetliner's autopilot was disengaged for unknown reasons about four minutes before the crash.   Ditchey said the new evidence opens the possibility that after the autopilot was disengaged, the plane encountered weather-related turbulence. The pilots may have overcompensated, as pilots did in 2001, and caused the tail to rip off, he said.   In Paris, an Air France pilots union said members should refuse to fly long-haul planes like the Air France Airbus that crashed unless the models are upgraded with improved airspeed detectors.   The call came days after Air France announced it had accelerated a program to replace the three independent flight speed detectors, known as pitot tubes or pitot probes. The airline said the upgrading initiative was conducted "without making any assumptions" that the devices caused the accident.   All of Air France's long-haul Airbuses now have at least one of the latest pitot models, while nine out of 30 have two new probes, an airline spokeswoman said Monday.   The program to update the planes began April 27 and was accelerated after the crash.   Nevertheless, the union said that, "so as not to reproduce a catastrophe, and while waiting for the results of diverse open investigations," it suggested that all its pilot members "refuse all flights on A330/A340 lacking at least two modified pitot probes." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-brazil-crash9-2009jun09,0,1886961.story ******************   Migratory geese blamed in NY jet river landing   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Migratory Canada geese, and not local birds, were responsible for bringing down a US Airways passenger jet that landed safely in New York's Hudson River in January, researchers reported on Monday.   The team at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History said their research could lead to better ways to prevent aircraft bird strikes.   They studied genetic samples and feathers from the remains of the birds that were killed when the plane hit a flock of geese.   Samples showed the birds were most similar to migratory Canada geese from the Labrador region and significantly different from birds living in New York City, they told a news conference.   "Determining whether these birds were migratory or not was critical to our research and will help inform future methods of reducing bird strikes," said Peter Marra, who led the study.   "Resident birds near airports may be managed by population reduction, habitat modification, harassment or removal, but migratory populations require more elaborate techniques in order to monitor bird movements."   Marra's team used a mass spectrometer to look at stable-hydrogen isotopes -- chemicals with a specific chemical signature -- to show what kind of vegetation the birds had been eating.   "It is important to not only know what species of birds are involved in collisions, but to also understand the role that migration plays in the larger picture," said Carla Dove of the Smithsonian's feather identification laboratory, who worked on the study.   "The more information we are able to gather in cases like this, the more we will be able to reduce the risks of bird strikes in the future."   The US Airways flight hit a flock of geese just after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport, extensively damaging both engines and forcing a dramatic emergency landing and rescue in the Hudson River.   In April, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it would open its database on aircraft bird strikes. ********************   NTSB opens hearings on plane's Hudson River landing    Flight 1549 passengers get into an inflatable raft after gliding to a near-perfect forced landing on the Hudson River on Jan. 15 in New York. Everyone aboard survived.    By Alan Levin, USA TODAY   WASHINGTON — Half the life rafts were rendered unusable. Water gushed into the plane's cabin through a hole in the tail. The jet's engines were not built to withstand impacts from a single large bird, let alone a flock of them. When US Airways Flight 1549 successfully splashed down into the Hudson River on Jan. 15, the pilots and flight attendants were hailed as heroes who prevented a single death from occurring.   But a three-day hearing opening Tuesday at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will look at safety issues raised by the landing that became known as the "Miracle on the Hudson."   "We want to learn from this accident, not only what went right, but what we can improve on in future events," said NTSB member Robert Sumwalt, who will chair the hearings.   Flight 1549, an Airbus A320, hit a flock of Canada geese at about 3,000 feet after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. The geese were from a flock that apparently migrated from Labrador, Canada, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution announced Monday.   FIND MORE STORIES IN: US Airways | Airbus The birds knocked out one engine and severely damaged the other. Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles couldn't reach LaGuardia or other airports and aimed their crippled jet at the Hudson.   The investigation has revealed several safety issues that will be studied at the hearing. Formal findings about the cause of the crash won't be revealed for months.   •Airline jets are designed to land on water and float long enough for passengers to get off. But the jet hit the water so hard that it ripped open sections in the tail, allowing water to flood the rear. The buckling of the aircraft also injured flight attendant Doreen Welsh. Investigators want to know whether the strength standards for jets are adequate and how pilots are trained to handle water landings, Sumwalt said.   •With the rear of the jet partially sunk, two life rafts at the rear emergency exit doors were rendered useless. That meant that only the two rafts on the front exits were usable, which were not enough to hold the 155 people aboard. Luckily, the jet landed near New York City and several ferry boats rushed to pick up passengers. One possible avenue to be looked at during the hearings is whether extra life rafts should be required.   •Aircraft and jet engines must be built to withstand impacts with birds, but the size of the birds in tests are much smaller than the geese and other large birds that are common across the USA. The CFM56 engines were designed to withstand an impact with seven birds weighing 1½ pounds. Geese typically weigh 8 to 12 pounds.   Sumwalt said it's important for the NTSB to study safety issues even when there aren't fatalities. "Here's a case where we had no fatalities, but we have tremendous learning opportunities," he said. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-08-hudson_N.htm *****************   Small fire extinguished on JAL jet   SENNAN, Japan, June 8 (UPI) -- A Japan Airlines flight from Japan to Taiwan was completed safely during the weekend after fire was found under a seat and extinguished, airline officials said.   The Mainichi Daily News reported Monday a flight attendant used an extinguisher to put out the small fire, which occurred Saturday night on JAL Flight 653 from Kansai International Airport to Taipei. The Boeing 767-300, with 33 passengers and 10 crew members on board landed with no injuries reported.   The fire was under a seat in the aircraft's center section. The airline said it believes a cigarette lighter found under the seat cushion caused the fire, the newspaper said.   The plane's return flight to Japan Sunday morning was canceled because of the incident. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/08/Small-fire-extinguished-on-JAL-jet/UPI-59741244501039/ *****************   FAA to inspect pilot training at regional airlines   WASHINGTON (AP) â?? Federal officials said Tuesday they will beef up inspection of pilot training programs at regional airlines in response to safety concerns raised by the crash of a regional airliner in New York in February.   Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement they will also hold a meeting with the airline industry â?? both regional and major carriers â?? next week to seek better pilot training, cockpit discipline and other safety improvements.   Babbitt said it was clear from the crash of a regional airliner near Buffalo, N.Y., on Feb. 12 that safety needs to be improved.   Testimony at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing last month revealed that a series of critical errors by the captain and co-pilot preceded the crash of Continental Express Flight 3407 as it neared Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Feb. 12. The plane experienced an aerodynamic stall before plunging to the ground, killing all 49 aboard and one man in a house on the ground.   The flight was operated for Continental by Colgan Air Inc. of Manassas, Va. Testimony at the hearing indicated the flight's captain may not have had hands-on training on a critical cockpit safety system. The cockpit voice recorder showed the co-pilot describing her lack of experience flying in icy weather not long before the crash.   The NTSB investigation has also raised concern that pilot fatigue may have been a factor in the crash. The co-pilot, Rebecca Shaw, lived near Seattle with her parents and had commuted all-night to get to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, where Flight 3407 originated. The captain, Marvin Renslow, commuted to work from his home in Tampa, Fla. It's not clear where either of them slept the night before the crash or how much sleep they received.   Testimony at the hearing indicated they may have tried to snatch sleep in a crew lounge at the airport in violation of company policy. The pair were chit-chatting just before the crash, which may have prevented them from realizing the airspeed of the twin-engine turboprop had dropped dangerously low.   Colgan officials testified at the hearing that Shaw, who had worked for the airline a little over a year, earned about $16,000 her first year. A company spokesman, Joe Williams, later said she earned $23,900. Colgan officials also testified that pilots with Renslow's experience typically earned about $55,000 a year; Williams said the correct figure was about $67,000.   A Senate panel is scheduled to hold a hearing Wednesday on FAA oversight of regional airlines; the House holds a hearing Thursday. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8548997 ***************   Pilots fined for almost crashing commercial jet   Two Swiss pilots accused of endangering the lives of nearly 200 passengers and crew received heavy fines for almost crashing a jet in Kosovo in 2004. The Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona gave the two pilots from Helvetic Airways fines equivalent to 90 and 60 days worth of pay, or SFr15,750 ($14,414) and SFr12,000, respectively. The judge suspended the sentences but ordered them to pay court costs totaling SFr18,148.   On October 21, 2004, the pilots, aged 34 and 39, were on approach into Pristina airport in heavy fog with 165 passengers aboard. The pilot gave control of the DC9-83 to the co-pilot, who brought the plane in at an incorrect angle.   The pilot seized control of the plane much too late, the court ruled, resulting in the plane's wing hitting the ground, breaking, and scattering some debris across the runway. Passengers were shaken but otherwise unhurt.   A German-owned airliner ready for take off with 28 people on board was sitting on the runway at the time. A lawyer for the pilots conceeded that the men had not followed all landing procedures but that there had been no risk of the two planes colliding.   The court found the pilots guilty of disrupting public transportation. http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news_digest/Pilots_fined_for_crashing_commercial_jet.html?siteSect=104&sid=10799940&cKey=1244531969000&ty=nd ******************   Safety Experts Call for Airborne 'Black Box' Data Stream   In the wake of the Air France crash over the Atlantic Ocean last week, air safety experts say it may be time to augment the black box. Data could easily be sent remotely, and shed more immediate light on the causes of a wreck.   The message arrived at 2:14 a.m. GMT. It was encoded, no longer than a text message, and it was a portent of doom: 213100206ADVISORY.   Last week, engineers at Air France decoded the transmission to mean: "drop in cabin pressure." The message of the plane's impending demise was sent by the computer system on board the Airbus A330. Then the communication system went silent. Two hundred twenty-eight people died in the crash, but by Monday -- after a long search -- only 17 bodies had been found in a deep part of the Atlantic.   The circumstances of the crash of flight AF 447, from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, seem almost sinister. An aircraft disappears, far from the nearest radar system, and no physical traces are found for days -- except a computer-generated obituary, probably transmitted at the very moment of the catastrophe, thanks to a technology used in most modern jets called ACARS, or Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System.   In their last radio message, the pilots had reported flying through black, electrically charged thunderclouds. What happened after that remained a mystery, at least until investigators last week managed to piece together a vague explanation based on the last 24 ACARS transmissions, pinged by satellite to the control center in Paris.   According to one message, 221002006AUTO FLT AP OFF, the autopilot system was switched off in the turbulence of the tropical storm. The first of the indicator panels in the cockpit failed a short time later.   Captain Marc Dubois, a highly experienced pilot with more than 11,000 flight hours under his belt, was confronted with a fatal situation. On a pitch-black night, in the midst of a thunderstorm, with no view of the horizon or any other points of reference he could have used for orientation, the instruments he needed to show him the position of the aircraft began to fail.   It is particularly difficult for a pilot, faced with such a situation, to no longer know what his air speed is. But this was precisely what one of the messages ACARS sent to the control center in Paris indicated: 341040006NAV ADR DISAGREE -- an error message feared by pilots.   Several sensors mounted on the fuselage below the cockpit measure the flight speed of the aircraft based on air flow. However, these sensors reported different flight speeds, presumably because at least one of them had iced over in the storm.   Last Thursday, aircraft manufacturer Airbus explained, in an "Accident Information Telex" it sent to all airlines operating Airbus models, how pilots faced with such a situation can determine their correct speed. Last Friday evening, Air France announced plans to accelerate the replacement of air-speed sensors on its Airbus planes.   But how did the 58-year-old captain and his two copilots react?   Missing Pieces   If search teams fail to recover the flight recorder, which consists of two metal devices that record flight data and cockpit conversations, this question may never be answered. "It would be a real shame for aviation," says Robert Francis, the former vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, the agency that investigates aviation accidents in the United States. "If we want to avoid dramas like this in the future, we have to know what went wrong," says the safety expert. For this reason, Francis wants to see all important flight data transmitted via satellite in the future, using ACARS technology. "This crash demonstrates how valuable this technology could be," he says.   Air France 447's last automatic signals were received in Paris just after 2 a.m. GMT. Significant upgrades to aircraft would not even be required, according to Francis. All that is needed, he says, is to reprogram the software in the communication system, turning it into a sort of online black box. Krishna Kavi, an engineer and professor at the University of North Texas in Denton, presented the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with a similar system 10 years ago. "The cost is low," he says. For the 256 parameters recorded by a black box, Kavi came up with a volume of data requiring transmission of four to eight kilobits per second. "This is a fraction of what mobile wireless devices transmit today," says Kavi.   Airlines already use ACARS for a number of purposes. The system notifies mechanics on the ground of unusual vibrations in an aircraft's engines, so they can prepare any necessary repairs. Flight crews also use ACARS to send messages to their airlines about delays, or passengers with potential connection problems.   Lufthansa has used ACARS to transform one of its intercontinental aircraft into a flying weather station. Once every 30 minutes, the onboard system reports the temperature, wind speed and atmospheric pressure to a central office in Germany.   This very task was being performed by the ACARS system on board a jumbo jet traveling from São Paulo to Frankfurt during the night of the Air France crash. The data it collected show how quickly the disaster must have unfolded. "Our aircraft was flying through the area of bad weather only half an hour ahead of the Airbus, and the automatic weather data showed nothing unusual," explains Lufthansa spokesman Michael Lamberty.   After the 2001 terrorist attacks, a satellite telephone provider called Iridium offered the FAA the use of its radio frequencies for the real-time transmission of flight recorder data. According to the company, "the Iridium system could have an important impact on flight safety."   But transmission of flight data is expensive. It takes up satellite bandwidth. Former NTSB official Francis is familiar with these problems. But he argues that a constant flow of data during flight would not be absolutely necessary. "We would already gain a lot if the system would only transmit data the minute the aircraft entered an unusual situation," he says.   Experts with Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation in Braunschweig and the European Aviation Safety Agency in Cologne consider it "technically feasible" to report flight data on every flight to a central office via an online system. But pilots are the ones raising objections. "It would be tantamount to the full-scale monitoring of pilots," says Jörg Handwerg of Cockpit, a German pilots' association.   Safety expert Francis knows his proposal affects the personal rights of pilots. For this reason, he says, data would have to be encoded to prevent unauthorized individuals from listening in on radio communications. He also advises against transmitting conversations in the cockpit. "People's last words before they die are part of the private sphere and should not be broadcast around," says Francis, who became known more than 10 years ago as a result of his investigation of the explosion of a TWA jumbo jet near New York.   On the other hand, he says, nothing highlights the need for improved radio transmission of data than last week's desperate search for wreckage from the downed Air France jet. According to Francis, ACARS should always transmit an aircraft's position data, thus enabling rescue teams to search more effectively in an emergency.   "This crash demonstrates, in a drastic way, that we must improve our monitoring systems," he says. In a world in which satellites perform monitoring and navigation tasks, says Francis, it should not be possible for aircraft to simply disappear. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,629249,00.html ******************* Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC