21 JUN 2009 _______________________________________ *Brazil takes radar plane off Air France jet search *Massive ocean search for Air France black boxes *FAA blocks Mexico's Aviacsa from operating into the US *New bill would require operating carrier to be identified *New FAA Procedures Boost Denver's Capacity *Grand Canyon Airport Threatened With Closure *Ukrainian diplomats meet Nigerian security chiefs over detained aircraft *NASA's human space flight committee ponders our future *US Airways appoints two VPs *Airbus to test Israeli 'robot' tow-tractor concept *Volcanic Eruption Delays Asia-Pacific Flights *787 First Flight a Week Away ***************************************** Brazil takes radar plane off Air France jet search SAO PAULO (AFP) - Brazil's military said Saturday it was taking a specialized aircraft with on-board radar out of the search for more remains from the Air France plane disaster in the Atlantic. The air force Embraer R-99 was being removed from the operation after nearly three weeks of flying over the zone, 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off Brazil's coast, the military said in a statement. The plane was the first to spot debris from Air France flight AF 447, using its radar during night flights over the area in the first week of June. "The R-99 flew more than 100 hours and fulfilled a fundamental role in the operation, especially in its initial phase," the statement said. The search operation was continuing with other aircraft and a small flotilla of Brazilian and French navy vessels, though nothing more was found Saturday. A Brazilian sea tanker involved in the effort was bringing to shore a body, some plane debris and a small amount of passenger baggage, officials said. Fifty bodies have been recovered from the crash zone, along with hundreds of pieces of the plane. Hope was fading of finding more, and the search operation was being regularly evaluated by Brazil as to whether it would continue. A separate search by a French submarine for the plane's black boxes, believed to be on the ocean's floor, was continuing. The homing beacons on the devices will only operate for around another week. The Air France Airbus A330 carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris came down in the Atlantic on June 1. The cause of the disaster has not been determined. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g9DkXF3PqiH1NKi_btiot1pMt Msg ************** Massive ocean search for Air France black boxes By Alexei Barrionuevo and Matthew L. Wald, New York Times RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Three ships and a nuclear submarine are engaged in the most extensive marine search for black boxes from an airline accident in modern aviation history, air safety experts said Friday. Search teams, with crew and equipment from the French and U.S. navies, continued to sound the deep Atlantic waters on Friday, straining to hear an acoustic ping emitted from the flight data and cockpit recorders of Air France Flight 447, which crashed some 620 miles off the coast of northern Brazil in the early morning hours of June 1. Veteran investigators said they could not recall a similar effort to locate a plane's recorders; these could contain information that is critical to solving the mystery of the downed Airbus A330. "I can't think of any one event where there's been more than one military naval organization out there hunting for them," said Greg Feith, a former investigator at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. The vessels hunting for pings around the clock make up just part of the armada of surface ships and aircraft involved in the search and recovery effort, which includes at least 11 ships, 10 planes and two helicopters from four countries. The Brazilian military has more than 1,000 personnel devoted to the search. As daunting and improbable as it seems to find tiny boxes in a huge ocean, especially with the crash site still uncertain, searchers almost always recover them, air safety experts said. Of 20 total airplane crashes in water over the past 30 years, in only one case was neither recorder found during the crash investigation, said Curt Lewis, president of Curt Lewis & Associates, a safety and risk management consulting firm. In one other case, one of the two recorders was recovered, and in two instances he was not able to determine whether they were ever found, he said. But this search is more difficult than most. French investigators are searching an area with a 50-mile radius and water depths exceeding 15,000 feet. Most airliner crashes over water have been along coastal waters or along the continental shelf, said Paul Hayes, air safety director of Ascend, an aviation consulting company in London. "This is pushing the envelope," he said. "Because of the depth of the water, this may be the accident where they fail to do it." Searchers are also pressed heavily for time. The boxes transmit signals for about 30 days before the signals start to fade. The batteries in the boxes on the Air France flight may have less than two weeks of life left. http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_12653139 ************** FAA blocks Mexico's Aviacsa from operating into the US The FAA has banned Mexico's Aviacsa from serving the US until it can resolve safety violations identified by the Mexican DGAC. Aviacsa has been grounded twice in recent weeks by the DGAC over alleged safety violations but both times the carrier was able to secure court orders authorising it to resume operations. However, Aviacsa has not yet been able to overcome an FAA decision to ban the carrier from serving the US. An FAA spokesman confirms Aviacsa's "operations specifications" were revoked on 12 June and have not yet been reinstated. "Our top concern is safety and we are following the lead of the DGAC, which has determined that there are significant problems with Aviacsa's operation," says the FAA spokesman. "I anticipate that until the carrier fixes those problems, and the DGAC signs off on the fixes, we will not allow Aviacsa to fly into the US." Aviacsa planning director Manuel Cung confirms Aviacsa has not operated its only US route, connecting Monterrey with Las Vegas, since last week. But he says the carrier is working on fixing the problems identified by the DGAC and is confident it will soon receive the required permission to resume its Las Vegas service. "We are working on that right now," Cung tells ATI. Cung adds Aviacsa has been operating all of its domestic routes since 12 June, when Aviacsa secured a new court order authorising it to resume operating 20 of its Boeing 737s. Aviacsa was forced to cease operations on 11 June after another court reinstated the DGAC's initial grounding order from 2 June. Aviacsa was initially grounded for four days from 2 June until late on 5 June, when the carrier secured an initial court order authorizing the carrier to resume operations despite vehement objections by the Mexican DGAC. Mexico's Secretary of Communications and Transportation (SCT), which oversees the DGAC, continue to legally challenge the decision by two Mexican courts to override its grounding order. The SCT claims it has the right to ground carriers over safety concerns and believes 25 of Aviacsa's Boeing 737s are not airworthy. The case is likely to drag on for months without a final outcome. The next court hearing is reportedly scheduled for the middle of next week. Meanwhile, Cung says Aviacsa is working on addressing the deficiencies highlighted by the SCT in the initial grounding order. But he claims these problems are very minor and do not actually affect the airworthiness of its aircraft. Aviacsa is arguing that the grounding was not warranted and the carrier is being unfairly singled out by the SCT. Other Mexican carriers are pushing for more consolidation in the oversaturated domestic market and have pointed out that Aviacsa is also behind in paying airport and air navigation bills. The SCT tried to ground Aviacsa last August, citing its overdue bills with government owned suppliers, but the carrier was able avert the grounding before operations were ceased by again securing a court order. The SCT continues to fight this case in court as well. Some Mexican carriers also have voiced a concern that Mexico's DGAC inability to ground Aviacsa over safety violations could lead to Mexico being downgraded under the FAA international aviation safety assessment (IASA) programme. But an FAA spokesman says a downgrade from category 1 is not currently being considered. "I don't think you can indict a country's entire aviation safety system based on one court ruling," the FAA spokesman says. "The IASA Program focuses on a country's ability to adhere to international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance The IASA program does not evaluate individual carriers." While Aviacsa is currently banned from serving the US, the spokesman says the carrier's two FAA Part 145 repair station certificates have not been revoked. Aviacsa therefore can continue to work on US-registered aircraft at its airframe and engine shops in Mexico City as well as on US-certified products at its avionics shop in Monterrey. Aviacsa, which owns a fleet of 23 737-200s and three 737-300s, has heavy maintenance capabilities for the 737-200 and Pratt & Whitney JT8D engine as well as various components. While a higher court could potentially revoke any day the current order authorising Aviacsa to fly despite the DGAC grounding order, Cung says its traffic has returned to normal with load factors "above 60%". He acknowledges Aviacsa has cut capacity and is not currently operating all 26 of its aircraft but this is in response weak demand due to the economic downturn. He says Aviacsa had only been flying 18 or 19 of its aircraft before the initial grounding on 2 June. Cung says Aviacsa may return to its previous schedule of 80 to 85 flights per day during the peak summer season, which in Mexico includes July and August. Meanwhile, the SCT continues to warn potential Aviacsa passengers that it still cannot guarantee the safety of the 25 aircraft cited in its initial grounding order. It also has pointed out to the public that the FAA has suspended Aviacsa from operating in the US after determining the carrier does not meet international safety standards. Cung, however, says its passengers are loyal and realise safety has been Aviacsa's main focus since it began operations nearly 20 years ago. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** New bill would require operating carrier to be identified New York Senator Chuck Schumer has introduced legislation to require airline ticket vendors to identify which carrier will operate each flight segment. The legislation comes on the heels of a fatal Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 crash in which Colgan flew on behalf of Continental Airlines. Several congressional leaders have raised concerns during regional aviation saftey hearings held since the crash that passengers purchase tickets based on the assumption that they will travel on aircraft operated by experienced mainline pilots and not aircraft from regional partners operated by less experienced crew. The bill has been read twice and referred to the Senate commerce, science and transportation committee. Corresponding legislation has not yet been introduced in the House. On 12 February, a Colgan Q400 stalled and went out of control on approach to Buffalo, New York. The aircraft crashed into a house about 9km (5nm) from the airport, killing all 49 on board and one person on the ground. Regional airlines' first officers have, on average, 3,075 flight hours and captains have, on average, 8,571 flight hours, according to the Regional Airline Association (RAA). The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) does not have a formal position on the legislation, a spokesman for the organization says. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** New FAA Procedures Boost Denver's Capacity The FAA has developed new procedures to reduce delays at Denver International Airport during major runway construction work. The airport pulled Runway 17L/35R out of service June 1 so it could replace deteriorated concrete panels. That left the airport without one of its four north-south runways, and limited it to only two runways during marginal visibility, cutting the arrival rate to 64 planes an hour. With the new procedures in place, the arrival rate will return to 96 planes an hour. But according to the FAA, their personnel quickly figured out a way to mitigate the construction's impact and boost the arrival rate by 33 percent. They designed a runway configuration in which planes can land on two of Denver's north-south runways, 34R and 35L, and one of its east-west runways, 26. Using those three runways, the airport can now land 96 planes an hour, reducing the potential for passenger delays. The rehabilitation of Runway 17L/35R is expected to take about three months. FMI: www.faa.gov, www.flydenver.com aero-news.net *************** Grand Canyon Airport Threatened With Closure Arizona Budget Negotiations Threaten Airport Literally hundreds of thousands of people may have had the opportunity to experience The Grand Canyon from the air. Scenic rides over the gash in the Arizona desert have been a staple of family vacations for decades. It is still a way to get a unique view of one of natures' wonders. In a terse letter to FAA Western-Pacific Regional Administrator William C. Withycombe, Arizona DOT Aeronautics Division Director Barklay Dick said a dispute with the Arizona Legislature over budgets could close Grand Canyon National Park Airport. "Dear Mr. Withycombe: If continuing negotiations between the Arizona legislature and the Governor do not result in an approved budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, the State of Arizona may cease many of its services. Among those services is the operation of the Grand Canyon National Park Airport. If there is not an approved budget for the new fiscal year prior to July 1, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will close the Grand Canyon National Park Airport at midnight on June 30, 2009. Should the airport be closed, it will remain closed until further notice. Closure of the airport will be communicated through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the airport manager. The standard "X" marking will be placed on each end of the airport's runway to indicate the runway is closed to traffic." FMI: http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com aero-news.net *************** Ukrainian diplomats meet Nigerian security chiefs over detained aircraft LAGOS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian diplomats on Friday met with Nigerian security officials over the detention of a Ukrainian aircraft carrying arms to Equatorial Guinea, the Nigerian Tribune newspaper reported Saturday. Two diplomats from the Ukrainian Embassy in Nigeria met for over an hour with army officers and security agents at the Air Force Base in northern Nigeria's Kano State, where the aircraft and its crew have been held since Wednesday, an official said. Reports had it that the diplomats also met briefly with the seven detained Ukrainian crew. Security officials are said to be exercising caution in the handling of the issue because it is not yet clear if the arms and ammunition on board the plane were illegal. A competent source said this was being done because the matter might eventually be settled diplomatically if it turned out that the impounded arms were legally-owned by Equatorial Guinea. Meanwhile, the seven-member crew of the Ukrainian aircraft was on Friday moved to the Abuja office of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) for further investigation. A Nigerian clearing agent linked with the Ukrainian aircraft, simply identified as Sylvester, was also taken to the DMI office with the crew. It was gathered that authorities of the country where the flight originated (Ukraine) and its final destination (Equatorial Guinea) have been contacted in the course of investigations carried out by DMI. The Ukrainian aircraft was seized on Tuesday at the Kano airport after it had stopped to refuel. Trouble started for the crew when officials of the Customs and Immigration Services reportedly observed suspicious information supplied by the crew in the flight discharge sheet. Some of the weapons said to have been discovered on the aircraft include howitzers, rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers and mortars. Suspicions have been rife that the 18 crates of arms and ammunition on the plane might have been headed for the Niger Delta. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/20/content_11573823.htm ************** NASA's human space flight committee ponders our future The Review of US Space Flight Plans Committee, formed at the request of President Obama, held its first meeting Wednesday to establish practical and state-of-the-art methods to encourage more manned missions to space. NASA In recent months, the new administration has been prodding NASA to study how current space technology might be utilized to put more humans into space. President Obama recommended that NASA form a committee to evaluate these possibilities, including commercial space flight, and deliver a report to his administration within 180 days. The committee that resulted held its first public meeting on Wednesday to discuss this issue. On May 7, 2009, John Holdren, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, sent a letter to Christopher Scolese, NASA's Acting Administrator, on behalf of the US government and President Obama in particular. Holdren extolled the importance of examining the state of humans in space, or lack thereof. He also pointed out that much time has passed since this issue had been evaluated, especially relative to the pace of technological developments, and recommended that NASA form a committee to assess the potential for future human space flight. In response, the US Human Space Flight Committee was formed, composed of persons such as Norman Augustine, the CEO of Lockheed Martin; Dr. Leroy Chiao, a former International Space Station commander; and Dr. Sally Ride, the first woman the US put in space. The committee's statement of task charged it with identifying the sort of human space flight architecture that would allow US support of the International Space Station and missions to the Moon and further destinations. They also need to consider if and how that architecture would allow for commercial space flight. More generally, the committee is expected to be an advocate for technologies that are innovative and inspiring to younger generations. There's also hope that this will encourage international competition (hopefully the friendly kind) and have a positive impact on the nation's work force and industrial base. The committee held its first public meeting on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., which was broadcast on NASA's website. At the meeting, the committee's members presented various methods of launching spacecraft, and reported the status of some commercial programs, such as those from SpaceX and Orbital. There were also two half-hour periods for public comment. In addition to broadcasting the public meetings (three more of those will take place in Huntsville, AL, Cape Canaveral, FL, and again in Washington, D.C.), the committee is using Web 2.0 tools to keep the public updated and involved, including Twitter, Flickr, online polls, and RSS feeds. One of the committee's members, Dr. Chiao, is maintaining his own related Twitter. They have also dedicate a page on their site for user-submitted questions, to ensure that any reasonable submissions will receive answers. A significant part of the Committee's job will be to suggest how these plans might fit into the NASA budget, which will be $3.96 billion in 2010, but is scheduled to rise to $6.27 billion by 2014. The budget will cover the development of a craft dedicated to human space flight, robotic support technology, and R&D spending. Once the various options have been assessed through meetings and site visits and deemed affordable as well as sustainable, the committee is to submit a report to the Obama administration with their recommendations and strategies to foster human activity in space. The final report, like the rest of the process, will also be available to the public. http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/06/human-space-flight-committee-hol ds-its-first-public-meeting.ars **************** US Airways appoints two VPs US Airways has appointed Keith Bush as vice president, financial planning and analysis and Todd Christy as vice president, business technology. Bush joins US Airways from Northwest Airlines, where he most recently served as assistant treasurer. The vice president, financial planning and analysis position is a new role at US Airways responsible for managing the company's capital and operating budgets as well as overseeing long-range planning and fleet analysis. Bush had worked at Northwest, which is now part of Delta Air Lines, for 14 years in various financial planning roles. Christy has been promoted from the position of managing director, technology delivery. This is also a new position with management responsibility for information technology support, finance and accounting. Christy first joined US Airways predecessor carrier America West Airlines in 2001. His original position was director, infrastructure and security and was promoted in 2005 to managing director, infrastructure and technology. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Airbus to test Israeli 'robot' tow-tractor concept Airbus is to explore the potential for engine-off taxiing through a co-operative effort with Israel Aerospace Industries, centred on semi-robotic towing. In a statement during the Paris Air Show, Airbus said it had signed a memorandum of understanding to assist development of the Israeli firm's pilot-controlled towbarless tractor concept. The concept is known as 'Taxibot' and involves fitting a tractor with necessary hardware and software for specialised towing dispatch. IAI says the Taxibot would allow commercial aircraft to be towed between gate and runway without using jet engine power. The pilot would have "full control" of the system and would use the regular aircraft steering and braking controls in the same way as during taxiing under normal engine power. It claims that the scheme has the potential to slash annual fuel costs. IAI vice-president of business development Yehushua Eldar says it "demonstrates our commitment to the environment". The company adds: "Use of the Taxibot system requires no modification to the aircraft and minimal modifications to the airport infrastructure, which will not affect existing taxiways and runways." Airbus and IAI are looking at operational, performance and safety aspects of the system by performing trials at Toulouse on an A340-600 test aircraft. If the tests are successful, says IAI, the two sides - plus a tractor manufacturer - could establish a joint venture to certify and market Taxibot to ground-handling services and airport operators. Deliveries could take place from the third quarter of 2011. Airbus says the Taxibot has so far "shown promising results" but states that further testing is needed to validate the concept. It points out that while the engines can be switched off, the auxiliary power unit would still need to be operating to provide cockpit and cabin power. Airbus says that, under the memorandum with IAI, the companies will look at regulatory, legal and financial aspects of Taxibot. But the airframer says: "Reducing costs and emissions at airports is key to improving our industry's eco-efficiency." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** Volcanic Eruption Delays Asia-Pacific Flights Volcanic activity in Russia's Far East is expected to cause flight diversions, delays and cancellations. The Sarychev Peak volcano in the Kuril Islands, near Japan's Hokkaido Island, began belching ash plumes on June 12. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways reported the activity would cause international flights to be diverted, resulting in delays of 30-60 min. Air Canada issued a similar travel advisory for flights between Vancouver and Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The Air Line Pilots Assn. notes that there are 1,500 known volcanoes around the world, 600 of which are active. Ash spewing from the eruptions can reach 30,000-40,000-ft. altitudes, where airliners tread, and ash has resulted in multiple engine flameouts on commercial transports, according to ALPA. Japan Airlines last week reported the ash from Sarychev Peak had risen to 33,000 ft. http://www.aviationweek.com **************** 787 First Flight a Week Away As June comes to a close, Boeing is set to complete its final two pre-flight exercises on ZA001, setting up a first flight of the 787 that is likely to be about June 28. Meanwhile, Boeing has rolled out the second flight test article, ZA002, in All Nippon Airways (ANA) livery to the flight line and moved the first production aircraft and the seventh to be built, ZA100, into final assembly in Everett, Wash. Vice President Pat Shanahan, the general manager of Boeing's commercial airplane programs, scheduled a flight readiness review in Everett on June 20. Boeing set a series of ground test blocks-three to cover the primary flight control and three on functionality tests of the flight control management system-for June 19-21. The fact that they were originally set to be completed by June 21 indicates the volatility and hour-by-hour changes as ZA001 proceeds to the flight line. With flight readiness review and the last ground test blocks finished, the airplane will enter the last major phase of its testing: final gauntlet. That 48-hr. procedure will push ZA001 through a continuous series of final system checkouts using a software load developed to address minor issues that arose during the first two test phases: factory and intermediate gauntlet. Final gauntlet is expected to begin June 22. Most likely it will be followed by a two-day analysis session. When flight managers are satisfied with that analysis, they will be ready to see ZA001 move under the power of its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines for the first time. Those runs at Paine Field, next to the Everett factory, will initially be a series of low-speed taxi tests and, finally, a move to higher speeds that will bring the aircraft, which is expected to weigh almost 400,000 lb., to rotation velocity. At Vr, the nose wheel lifts slightly off the runway but the main landing gear does not. The taxi tests should take no more than a day. At this point, Boeing is likely to take June 27 for tidying up preparations work before the big day of first flight. If this theoretical schedule holds, first flight of the 787 will come no earlier than June 27 and more likely on June 28, which will be 21-22 months behind Boeing's original schedule. The first flight is expected to last at least 5.5 hr. The airplane will land at Boeing Field in Seattle, from which the full flight test program will be conducted. Shanahan is concerned that the closer first flight moves to the end of June the greater the chance of the airplane's entry into service with ANA slipping to April 2010. Boeing has wanted entry into service by the end of the first quarter, not the start of the second. "As we get to the end of second quarter [this year] we continue to put a lot of pressure on that [2010] date," he says. The good news is that the airplane's systems demonstrated a robustness during the long intermediate gauntlet tests that "gave us confidence we can continue at the flight rate we need to in the certification program," Shanahan says. However, he concedes that "there's not a lot of margin" in an 8.5-month flight test and certification program. Previously, flight test has taken 10 months or more, but Boeing is confident that months of pre-flight planning have reduced risk in the program. If first flight gets underway within the next week, Boeing will be able to freeze the final configuration in October of the next version of the 787 family, the -9 stretched variant. Although originally planned for around mid-2009, reaching that milestone requires large loads of data from flight tests of the standard-sized 787-8 before configuration of the 787-9 can be completed, says Shanahan. http://www.aviationweek.com *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC