De : "Curt Lewis" Date : 03/08/2009 06:30 A : Objet : [flightsafety] Flight Safety Information (03AUG09-177) Flight Safety Information (03AUG09-177) _______________________________________ *David J. Harrington joins Condon & Forsyth LLP as a partner *Plane carrying 15 disappears in Indonesia *Northwest jet blows 5 tires on landing in Minn. *American checking 737s, canopy bolt scratches jets *American Eurocopter Appoints 2009 Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award Blue Ribbon Committee *FAA: navigational procedures faces hurdles *Virgin America hires former US Airways, Eos exec **************************************** David J. Harrington joins Condon & Forsyth LLP as a partner David J. Harrington, formerly of Holland & Knight LLP, will be joining Condon & Forsyth LLP as a partner in their New York office effective August 3, 2009. Harrington is a former U.S. Navy F-14B pilot and will continue concentrating his aviation litigation practice on behalf of airlines and aviation products manufacturers. Condon & Forsyth LLP is well known for its experience and expertise in aviation law. *************** Plane carrying 15 disappears in Indonesia Merpati Nusantara Airlines plane carrying 15 people disappears Plane lost contact 10 to 15 minutes after departing from Jayapura, Indonesia JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A Merpati Nusantara Airlines plane (DHC-6 Twin Otter) with 15 passengers and crew on board disappeared shortly after takeoff in eastern Indonesia on Sunday, an airline official said. Among the 13 passengers were 11 adults and two babies, said Nikmatullah, director of operations for the airline. The crew included a pilot and co-pilot. "The Merpati plane lost contact 10 to 15 minutes after departing from Jayapura," Ministry of Transportation spokesman Bambang Ervan said. The aircraft was en route to Oksibil, about 175 miles (280 kilometers) to the south, when authorities lost contact with it, Ervan said. "The Ministry of Transportation will coordinate and assign a team to look for the plane and the (National Transportation Safety Board) has been alerted to investigate when we find the plane," he said. The search stopped for the night and will resume in the morning, the Ministry of Transportation said. ***** Status: Preliminary Date: 02 AUG 2009 Time: ca 10:28 Type: de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 Operator: Merpati Nusantara Airlines Registration: PK-NVC C/n / msn: 626 First flight: 1979 Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: 3 Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: 13 Total: Fatalities: / Occupants: 16 Airplane damage: Missing Location: between Jayapura and Okibil (Indonesia) Phase: En route (ENR) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Jayapura-Sentani Airport (DJJ/WAJJ), Indonesia Destination airport: Oksibil Airport (OKL), Indonesia Flightnumber: 9760D Narrative: A Merpati Nusantara Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter passenger plane was reported missing when it failed to arrive at Oksibil Airport (OKL) after a domestic flight from Jayapura (DJJ). Merpati Flitht MZ9760D took off at 10:15 with an estimated time of arrival at Oksibil of 11:05. Contact was lost at 10:28. (aviation-safety.net) ************ Northwest jet blows 5 tires on landing in Minn. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Northwest Airlines jet blew five tires as it landed at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, closing a runway for a few hours. No injuries were reported in Sunday's incident. Fifteen employees were on the plane, but there were no passengers. The plane landed without crashing or going off the runway, although one runway was blocked for the rest of the afternoon. It's not clear why the tires blew. Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Pat Hogan says the pilot reported his brakes were overheating. Hogan says airplanes have dual wheels like semitrailers that provide stability if tires blow. Hogan says the plane was arriving in Minnesota to prepare for future flights. It was being operated by Delta Airlines. *************** American checking 737s, canopy bolt scratches jets DALLAS (AP) - Boeing 737s operated by American Airlines will be checked for exterior scratches above cabin doors blamed on a bolt. American spokesman Tim Wagner says a couple of planes had scratches. Two-thirds of the 80 or so jets were checked by Friday. He told The Associated Press that one jet was taken out of service. Wagner on Thursday told KDAF-TV that a recently discovered exposed bolt on a jet bridge canopy was responsible. He declined to identify the airport. Inspections should be completed in a few days. The main routes of the planes include Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago and Miami. Wagner says the manufacturer has scratch guidelines and "if it's deeper than the tolerance recommends, then you would take that aircraft out of service until it's repaired." Wagner says passengers were not in danger. Information from: KDAF-TV, http://www.kdaf.com ************** American Eurocopter Appoints 2009 Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award Blue Ribbon Committee American Eurocopter announced today that it has appointed the 2009 Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award Blue Ribbon Committee. The members of this committee will be responsible for evaluating the applications and determining the winner of the prestigious Vision Zero Aviation Safety award, which was established by American Eurocopter with the purpose of promoting a higher level of safety within the air medical industry. As part of the award, American Eurocopter will contribute up to $10,000 to the winner of the award to further develop aviation safety initiatives within their organization. This is the third year for the award. The 2008 award was given to Dr. Ira Blumen and team from the University of Chicago Medical Center for their tireless work on the Opportunities for Safety Improvement in Helicopter EMS (OSI-HEMS) research project. Dr. Ira Blumen explained "the team is very grateful to have been selected as the recipient of the 2nd Annual American Eurocopter Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award. The $10,000 award has allowed our group of aviation and medical experts to thoroughly review and discuss over 135 HEMS accidents from 1998 to 2009 with the additional funding. Through this root cause analysis, specific problems have been identified and concrete recommendations will be made to compare the potential benefits, cost, effectiveness and feasibility of various interventions that can prevent HEMS accidents or reduce the impact of accidents that do occur." All programs and operators who are members of the Association of Air Medical Service (AAMS) are eligible to apply, and may nominate themselves. Nomination forms are now available. Each of the following members of the Blue Ribbon Committee has extensive background within the air medical industry: Bill Bryant MPA/HSA (Chairman) Mr. Bryant is the president and principle of Sierra Health Group, a national healthcare consulting firm based in Dallas, Texas and Golden, CO. Mr. Bryant has over 25 years experience in the air medical industry, and has worked on consulting projects in over 30 States. He is a prior AAMS Board member and Officer. Denise Landis, RN, EMT-P, MSA, CMTE Ms. Landis has been in the air ambulance industry over 25 years and is the Program Director for the University of Michigan Survival Flight and is also a past President of the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS). She is the current Chairperson of the Medical Transport Leadership Institute (MTLI) and current President of Michigan AAMS. Eileen Frazer, RN, CMTE, CLNC Ms. Frazer has been the Executive Director of CAMTS since its inception in 1990. Frazer has published many articles and chapters related to safety and medical transport operations and has a regular feature in the Air Med Journal entitled "Ask CAMTS". Ed MacDonald Mr. MacDonald has over 39 years experience flying patients since 1970 as a combat medical evacuation pilot and 17 years of experience as an active EMS Pilot, and has held positions as a Chief Pilot, Safety Manager, and Lead Pilot. He is a retired US Army Major, and is past President of NEMSPA, the Co-Chair of the AAMS/CORE Safety Committee, and current Chairman of AMSAC. Clark Kurschner Mr. Kurschner is the Director of Operations for Omniflight Helicopters, Inc. His duties during his thirty plus year career at Omniflight include EMS line pilot, a flight instructor, a check airman and Chief Pilot. He is a member of the AAMS Safety Committee, The HAI Flight Operations Committee, the HAI Air Medical Committee, and past Chairman of AMSAC. Gerry Pagano Mr. Pagano is the Director of Operations for the Health Care District of Palm Beach County's Trauma Hawk Aeromedical Program in West Palm Beach, Florida. He has over 30 years experience in aviation operations including combat flight assignment, air traffic control, emergency medical services and consults on air carrier certification. Mr. Pagano has been certified as an Aviation Safety Program Manager at the Transportation Safety Institute, currently serves on the AAMS Board, and is the Chairman of the AAMS Safety Committee. Jason Schwebach MBA, MHA, CMTE Mr. Schwebach is the Administrative Director for MedCenter Air, the transport service for Carolinas Healthcare System in Charlotte, NC. He is a former military medical service corps officer and helicopter pilot with both the US Army & US Air Force, and has been in the air-medical industry for 18 years. He is a CAMTS site surveyor, and immediate past president of the North Carolina Air-Medical Affiliation. Joe Syslo Mr. Syslo is the Senior Manager, Aviation Safety, for American Eurocopter. He is a retired US Army Aviator and Commercial Pilot who has flown helicopters for the last 42 years in a variety of applications, including HEMS. He has been a Chief Pilot for a Part 135 company, an ARNG CW4 ASO, and is also retired from Bell Helicopter, where he was a Senior Aircraft Accident Investigator and Aviation Safety Specialist. Mr. Syslo is actively involved in the International Helicopter Safety Team, whose goal is to reduce helicopter accidents 80% by 2016. For more information on The American Eurocopter Vision Zero Aviation Safety Award, please visit www.aams.org http://www.rotor.com/Default.aspx?tabid=510&newsid905=61918 *************** FAA: navigational procedures faces hurdles As the FAA advances implementation of fuel-saving navigation procedures, the agency is running into challenges with establishing priorities, conducting environmental reviews and addressing mixed equipage concerns. The FAA needs to prioritise which procedures to create and in what order as the agency receives more requests for area navigation (RNAV) and required navigation performance (RNP) procedures, said Rick Day, FAA Air Traffic Organisation senior vice president of operations, during a 29 July US House Aviation subcommittee hearing. In addition, some proposed RNAV and RNP procedures remain in limbo due to needed environmental assessments. Day explains that while some procedures essentially overlap current air traffic patterns, others require more timely environmental reviews because the location and number of proposed flight paths may be different from what currently exists. Environmental issues aside, aircraft equipage will also be challenging, he says, explaining that air traffic controllers are bound to work with aircraft featuring varying RNAV/RNP capabilities as RNP equipage is not universal among US carriers. As a result, a "hybrid environment" will present additional challenges to controllers, he says. As the FAA sorts through these issues, the agency in coming weeks will begin mapping all performance-based navigation (PBN) processes to standardize how it develops, tests, charts and implements PBN procedures, Day says, noting that FAA currently only has a process for developing RNAV/RNP procedures in the airport terminal area. Since 2002, the FAA has implemented 159 RNAV routes, which enable aircraft to fly on any desired enroute flight path within the coverage of ground- or spaced-based navigation aids, within the limits of the capability of the self-contained systems, or a combination of both capabilities. RNAV routes cover procedures for the high-altitude portion of a flight. At the same time, FAA has also created 270 RNAV arrival and departure procedures, which define a lateral and vertical path either to an airport from the airway, or from an airport to the airway. RNAV procedures are on top of the 163 RNP special aircraft and aircrew authorization required (SAAAR) approvals that the FAA has implemented since 2002. By the end of fiscal year 2009, the agency plans to implement 48 other RNAV routes, 35 RNAV arrival and departure procedures and 29 RNP SAAAR approach procedures. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Virgin America hires former US Airways, Eos exec Virgin America named former US Airways customer service vice president Ross Bonanno as its vice president of airports and guest care. Bonanno will begin working for the San Francisco-based carrier on 3 August. He replaces Todd Pawlowski, who left the airline to pursue other opportunities after working for Virgin America for six years, a Virgin America spokeswoman says. Pawlowski also spent eight years at Virgin Atlantic Airways as its North American vice president of customer service and the director of airport service. Bonanno most recently oversaw airport customer service for US Airways' eastern division. Prior to joining US Airways, he served as vice president of service operations at now-defunct Eos Airlines. At Eos, he was responsible for the development of customer-facing areas including airport operations, in-flight service, reservations, catering, security, fuelling and properties. Before working for Eos, Bonanno held director-level positions in corporate planning, corporate project management/security and technology at Southwest Airlines. Bonanno also served in a number of leadership roles at American Airlines, including managing director of the airline's western region. Bonanno began his career in the aviation industry as a baggage handler. 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, IS-BAO Auditing, and airfield/heliport lighting products. ******************