04 AUG 2009 _______________________________________ *Pilot killed in Bangkok Airways ATR 72 landing accident *Plane Hits Control Tower on Thai Island, 1 Dead *Turbulence forces Continental to make an emergency landing *Extreme turbulence injures 26 on Continental Airlines flight *FAA Mandates Timely Activation Of Ice Protection Systems For New Designs *NTSB Determines go! Airline Pilots Fell Asleep In Flight **************************************** Pilot killed in Bangkok Airways ATR 72 landing accident One of the pilots of the Bangkok Airways ATR 72-500 which slid off the runway at Koh Samui today was killed in the accident, but there are no other fatalities among the 68 passengers and three other crew members. Four passengers were seriously injured in the accident, however, which occurred as flight PG266 from Krabi was landing at the Thai airport. Another two passengers received minor injuries. Bangkok Airways president Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth says the aircraft struck a "former control tower" after skidding off the runway. Investigators have been despatched to the scene of the accident. Images of the crash site indicate that the aircraft had been attempting to land on runway 35 but veered to the left of the runway before striking the tower. Its cockpit and forward fuselage have been substantially damaged. Weather at the time of the accident, around 14:00, points to good visibility but the presence of towering cumulus clouds - an indicator of heavy rain in the vicinity - and a crosswind from the east at 15kt. Bangkok Airways has confirmed the aircraft involved is MSN670, an eight-year old turboprop listed by Flight's ACAS database as being owned by the airline. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************* Plane Hits Control Tower on Thai Island, 1 Dead BANGKOK - A plane skidded off the runway and crashed into an air traffic control tower after landing on the Thai resort island of Samui on Tuesday, killing the pilot and injuring 34 people on board, an official said. The co-pilot and six others were severely injured after the Bangkok Airways flight landed in stormy weather and hit the airport's old tower, said Kanikka Kemawutanond, director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation. "The heavy damage was at the front of the plane where the pilot was. It looks like he suffered from the impact," police Maj. Col. Sayan Sartsri said. "The co-pilot is still stuck and we are still trying to evacuate him from the plane," Kannikka said. All others aboard were evacuated and the injured sent to five hospitals in Samui, she said. Except for the seven, the others sustained minor injuries. The nationalities of those on board were not immediately known. Samui, located 298 miles (480 kilometers) south of Bangkok, is an island in the Gulf of Thailand popular with foreign tourists. Kanikka said the ATR72-500 twin-turboprop had 68 passengers, two pilots and two crew members on board and was flying from Krabi, another popular resort area in southern Thailand. "Initial reports indicated that the weather was bad with heavy rain and wind. We do not know what the pilot did or did not do that led to the incident at this point and I would rather not speculate," she said. Kanikka said the Samui airport runway was closed after the accident and at least one Thai Airways flight was canceled. In 1990, a Bangkok Airways turboprop crashed into a coconut grove short of the airport during heavy rain, killing all 37 people on board. The French-Italian manufactured ATR72 has been involved in a number of incidents in recent years. One in South Korea skidded off the runway while landing at the resort island of Jeju in 2006, injuring six people. Two years earlier, an ATR72 of Thai Airways had to make an emergency evacuation of passengers when its front landing gear collapsed during a landing in northern Thailand. A Cambodian airliner slipped off a runway and got stuck in the mud near the ancient temples of Angkor in 2001. And in 1994, a Chicago-bound American Eagle ATR-72 crashed in northern Indiana, killing all 68 people aboard. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536542,00.html?test=latestnews ***** Status: Preliminary Date: 04 AUG 2009 Time: ca 14:30 Type: ATR-72 Operator: Bangkok Airways Registration: C/n / msn: First flight: Crew: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 4 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 68 Total: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 72 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Koh Samui Airport (Thailand) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Krabi Airport (KBV/VTSG), Thailand Destination airport: Koh Samui Airport (USM/VTSM), Thailand Flightnumber: 266 Narrative: A Bangkok Airways ATR-72 passenger plane was substantially damaged when it skidded off the runway at Koh Samui. METAR about the time of the accident (07:30 UTC): VTSG 040700Z 32005KT 9000 SCT020 BKN300 30/23 Q1008/A2977 RWY 32 INFO I= VTSG 040800Z 32004KT 9000 SCT020 BKN300 28/25 Q1007/A2975 RWY 32 INFO J= (aviation-safety.net) *************** Turbulence forces Continental to make an emergency landing Reports are indicating a Continental aircraft has made an emergency landing in Miami after encountering extreme turbulence. Various local media outlets are indicating 26 passengers were injured. The aircraft was operating on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Houston. Continental launched flights on the route on 1 August, and schedules in Innovata show it is operated with a Boeing 767-400. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************* Extreme turbulence injures 26 on Continental Airlines flight Twenty-six people are injured as a Continental Airlines jet hits "extreme turbulence" and makes an emergency landing in Miami. The Boeing 767 was flying from Rio de Janeiro to Houston when it encountered trouble north of the Dominican Republic. The plane was diverted to Miami, according to a BBC report. The aircraft landed at 0535 local time (0935 GMT). Twenty-two people suffered bumps and bruises and four had serious neck and back injuries and had to be admitted to hospital along with nine others. Passengers with minor injuries were flown to Houston later along with the remaining passengers, In all there were a total of 168 passengers and 11 crew on board. Continental Flight 128 hit extreme turbulence while cruising at 11,600m (38,000ft), about 80km (50 miles) north of the Dominican Republic. The pilot declared an emergency and opted to land at Miami. An investigation is anticipated. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/276898 *************** FAA Mandates Timely Activation Of Ice Protection Systems For New Designs Automatic Activation Or Cockpit Indicator Will Be Required The FAA Monday changed its certification standards for transport category airplanes to require either the automatic activation of ice protection systems or a method to tell pilots when they should be activated. The new rule requires an effective way to ensure the ice protection system is activated at the proper time. The rule applies to new transport aircraft designs and significant changes to current designs that affect the safety of flight in icing conditions. There is no requirement to modify existing airplanes, but the FAA is considering a similar rulemaking that would cover those designs. "We're adding another level of safety to prevent situations where pilots are either completely unaware of ice accumulation or don't think it's significant enough to warrant turning on their ice protection equipment," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. Under the revised certification standards, new transport aircraft designs must have one of three methods to detect icing and to activate the airframe ice protection system: An ice detection system that automatically activates or alerts pilots to turn on the ice protection system; A definition of visual signs of ice buildup on a specified surface (e.g., wings) combined with an advisory system that alerts the pilots to activate the ice protection system; or Identification of temperature and moisture conditions conducive to airframe icing that would tip off pilots to activate the ice protection system. The standards further require that after initial activation, the ice protection system must operate continuously, automatically turn on and off, or alert the pilots when the system should be cycled. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt The FAA has previously addressed activation of pneumatic deicing boots on many aircraft models by requiring activation of boots at the first sign of ice accumulation. This new certification standard further increases safety by not relying on the pilot alone to observe whether the airplane is accumulating ice. Also this certification standard applies to all types of ice protection systems, not just pneumatic deicing boots. FMI: www.faa.gov aero-news.net **************** NTSB Determines go! Airline Pilots Fell Asleep In Flight Captain Later Diagnosed With Sleep Apnea The NTSB has released a probable cause report for an incident in which both pilots of a go! Airlines Bombardier CL-600 fell asleep while flying from Honolulu to Hilo, Hawaii. While the captain on the flight was later diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, the NTSB determined that crew fatigue played a major role in the incident. After overshooting its destination by 26 miles, the plane returned to Hilo and landed safely. The NTSB report says, in part: Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier operation of Mesa Airlines (D.B.A. GO) Incident occurred Wednesday, February 13, 2008 in Hilo, HI Probable Cause Approval Date: 8/3/2009 3:34:10 PM Aircraft: Bombardier, Inc. CL-600, registration: N651BR Injuries: 43 Uninjured go! flight 1002 departed for its destination about 0916 Hawaii standard time. About 0930, the captain transmitted to air traffic control (ATC) that the flight was climbing through 11,700 feet to its cruise altitude of flight level (FL) 210 (approximately 21,000 feet mean sea level.) The controller acknowledged the transmission and cleared the flight to proceed to an intersection along the flight route located about 29 miles north-northwest of the destination airport, and the flight crew acknowledged. At 0933, during cruise flight, the controller repeated the navigational clearance, which the flight crew acknowledged, and the airplane turned in accordance with the clearance. At 0940, the controller instructed the flight to change radio frequencies, and there was no response. The controller continued to try to contact the flight crew multiple times but received no reply. At 0951, the airplane crossed the intersection that was its clearance limit then turned southeast toward the destination airport without descending, which is consistent with the airplane being on autopilot. The controller handling the flight asked another controller to attempt to contact the flight crew on a different frequency, but there was still no response, and the flight proceeded on a southeasterly heading at FL 210. About 0955, the flight crossed over the destination airport and continued on a southeasterly course without changing altitude or heading. Two separate airline crews in the area attempted to contact the incident crew, but neither flight crews' attempts were successful. About 0958, when the flight was about 26 nautical miles southeast of the destination airport, the captain contacted the controller with an abbreviated call sign ("Ah HCF ten zero two"), and the controller asked if the flight crew was experiencing an emergency. The captain responded, "No, we must have missed a hand off or missed a call or something." The controller then issued instructions for the flight to return to the destination airport, with which the flight crew complied. The flight arrived without further incident about 1015. The captain and first officer both reported to their company that they had unintentionally fallen asleep in flight. The fact that both pilots fell asleep during the midmorning hours, a time of day normally associated with wakefulness and rising alertness, indicates that both pilots were fatigued. The captain had undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea, which was diagnosed during a medical evaluation shortly after this incident and for which symptoms (such as snoring) and risk factors (such as obesity) were present before the incident. This condition likely caused him to experience chronic daytime fatigue and contributed to his falling asleep during the incident flight. In addition, the day of the incident was the third consecutive day that both pilots started duty at 0540. This likely caused the pilots to receive less daily sleep than is needed to sustain optimal alertness and resulted in an accumulation of sleep debt and increased levels of daytime fatigue. The first officer stated he needed between 7.5 and 8 hours of sleep per night to feel rested. He estimated that he had spent about 7 hours 25 minutes in bed the night before the incident, and about 6 hours 55 minutes in bed during each of the previous two nights. Thus, the first officer's self-reported sleep history indicated an accumulated sleep debt of between 1 hour 15 minutes and 2 hours 45 minutes in the 72 hours before the incident. The first officer's reduced sleep probably resulted from the flight crew's recent work schedule. The incident pilots' lack of adequate sleep, together with the low workload associated with the cruise phase of the flight, likely contributed to the pilots inadvertently falling asleep. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this incident as follows: The captain and first officer inadvertently falling asleep during the cruise phase of flight. Contributing to the incident were the captain's undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea and the flight crew's recent work schedules, which included several consecutive days of early-morning start times. FMI: www.ntsb.gov aero-news.net *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC