07 AUG 2009 _______________________________________ *Wind shear may have contributed to Samui ATR crash *Senate Panel Approves Chris Hart for NTSB *TSA and ALPA Announce Enhanced Security Initiative for Airline Crews *Jet lands safely in LA after tire blows *New 787 schedule "weeks away"- Boeing engineer *Former Beijing Airport Director Is Executed *Delta flight hits turbulence on approach to SLC *Boeing's Alteon Changing Name to Boeing Training & Flight Services *JAL posts first-quarter loss of ¥99 billion *China stalls in efforts to recruit foreign managerial talent *EgyptAir swaps 777s for 737s *FAA proposes new certification category for upset training aircraft **************************************** Wind shear may have contributed to Samui ATR crash Wind shear could have been a factor in the crash of a Bangkok Airways ATR72-500 at Koh Samui's airport. Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva reportedly told Thai media yesterday that "sudden wind shear" may have caused the accident. Reports suggest he learned this from Thailand's transport minister. On 4 August a Bangkok Airways ATR 72-500, local registration HS-PGL and local manufacturer's serial number 670, crashed into a disused concrete control tower at the airport after landing in rain. The captain died and four others on board had serious injuries and two had minor injuries, says the airline, adding that there were 68 passengers, two pilots and two cabin crew on board. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Senate Panel Approves Chris Hart for NTSB Full Senate must still confirm for senior transportation jobs A key Senate committee approved the president’s nominees for senior jobs at the Department of Transportation, to lead the Surface Transportation Board and fill a slot at the National Transportation Safety Board. The Aug. 5 action by the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee sent those nominations to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Those cleared by the committee include Christopher P. Bertram to be assistant DOT secretary for budget and programs as well as chief financial officer, and Susan L. Kurland as assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs. Daniel R. Elliott III was approved as a member of the three-person STB, and President Obama has said that upon confirmation Elliott would also be designated as chairman. However, the Senate committee put a hold on his nomination (see story here). The STB, which handles economic regulation of railroads, now has Francis P. Mulvey as acting chairman since mid-March, and Charles D. Nottingham as a board member. The Senate panel also okayed Christopher A. Hart to join the NTSB, which investigates accidents to determine their cause and recommend policy changes to improve safety. http://www.joc.com/node/412769 *************** TSA and ALPA Announce Enhanced Security Initiative for Airline Crews Biometrics Will Be Used To Identify Airline Crews TSA announced Wednesday it has set the standards for the CrewPASS program, paving the way for nationwide expansion. CrewPASS is an initiative that verifies flight crew identity through biometrics, enhancing security and expediting the screening process for all travelers. "CrewPASS is an excellent example of public-private partnership that expedites travel for flight crews, while increasing security standards," said John Sammon, assistant administrator, TSA. "Working together, TSA, ALPA, ARINC and others made CrewPASS a success in its test phase, and soon it will be possible to put it in place at airports nationwide," said ALPA President Capt. John Prater. "As a result, the identity of U.S. pilots will be positively verified and crewmembers will be expedited through security screening checkpoints." Eligible flight deck crewmembers will enter the secure area via the exit lane of the security checkpoint after presenting their airline-issued identification and another form of ID to Transportation Security Officers (TSOs). An approved biometric will also be used to enhance identity verification. TSOs will check these credentials against the Cockpit Access Security System (CASS) database, which includes a picture and other information to verify the individual's employment status. Flight deck crewmembers who utilize this program will also be subject to random screening, observation by behavior detection officers and other layers of security. TSA's standards require CrewPASS service providers to, among other things, include a biometric component in crewmember credentials before requesting approval to expand the system to additional U.S. airports. FMI: www.tsa.gov, www.alpa.org aero-news.net **************** Jet lands safely in LA after tire blows LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman says an Alaska Airlines jet has landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport after a tire blew during takeoff. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says Flight 6 had just taken off for Washington National Airport on Thursday when the pilot reported a possible blown tire on the nose gear and declared an emergency. The Boeing 737-800 landed without incident at 3:04 p.m. Gregor says one of the two tires on the nose gear did fail. It's not immediately known how many people were aboard the flight. ***************** New 787 schedule "weeks away"- Boeing engineer ATLANTA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) is "weeks away" from issuing an updated test flight and delivery schedule for its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner, the program's chief engineer said on Thursday. The company announced another delay for the first flight of the revolutionary carbon-composite aircraft in June, and has not released a new target date. Airlines, which have ordered more than 850 of the planes, are eager for Boeing to issue the new schedule. "I think we're just weeks away from doing that," chief engineer Chris Musoke told a breakfast meeting of the Organization of Black Airline Pilots in Atlanta. The aircraft, already two years behind its original schedule, was set to fly in the second quarter of 2009. It was delayed so Boeing could address a structural problem. The 787 will undergo rigorous tests to ensure the problem has been addressed before the new schedule is released, Musoke said. "Obviously, we've disappointed our customers," he said. "We have to stick to our plan whenever we lay it out and perform to it." Chicago-based Boeing and rival Airbus, a unit of EADS (EAD.PA), have struggled as carriers and cargo operators grapple with the global recession. (Reporting by Karen Jacobs in Atlanta. Writing by Kyle Peterson, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Ted Kerr) **************** Former Beijing Airport Director Is Executed BEIJING — China executed the former head of a huge state-owned airport holding company on Friday, six months after he was convicted on bribery and embezzlement charges involving more than 100 million yuan, or $14.6 million. The executive, Li Peiying, had been the chairman and general manager of Capital Airports Holding Company, a 100 billion yuan ($14.6 billion) conglomerate that runs 30 airports in nine Chinese provinces, including Beijing’s much-acclaimed new international airport. China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said that Mr. Li’s was executed in Jinan, a Yellow River city in east China’s Shandong province. The province’s Higher People’s Court rejected an appeal in July. The execution underscored the gravity of the continuing struggle by the national government against official corruption, which President Hu Jintao has labeled a serious threat to the nation’s stability. Graft, especially at lower levels of government, is woven into the fabric of everyday Chinese life, and disclosures of especially outrageous instances often provoke outcries on Internet chat sites and, sometimes, even street demonstrations. The Communist Party announced this week that it was investigating a member of its ruling authority, the party’s central committee, apparently for corruption in the nation’s nuclear industry. News reports stated that that official, Kang Rixin, was suspected of embezzlement and bidding irregularities related to the construction of nuclear power plants. Recent months also have seen the sacking of one big-city mayor and the arrest of a former senior oil-company executive on corruption charges. At his peak, Mr. Li, 60, supervised a 38,000-employee behemoth that not only served 30 percent of the nation’s air passenger traffic, but had launched forays into insurance, hotels, real estate and tourism. Last February a Jinan court ruled that he had embezzled 82.5 million yuan ($12.1 million) from the company over a three-year perod ending in 2000, and had accepted an additional 26.6 million yuan ($3.9 million) in bribes during an eight-year period starting in 1995. Most of the bribes received by Mr. Li — reportedly for loans or loan guarantees — came from Qin Hui, owner of the popular Paradise nightclub located in the luxury Great Wall Sheraton Hotel in Beijing, according to Shanghai Daily. Justifying the death sentence, the court said that Mr. Li’s actions had caused the nation severe financial losses. China executes more convicts than any other nation, and while executions for financial misdeeds are not common, they are not unheard of. In 2007, China executed the government’s top drug regulator, Zheng Xiaoyu, after he was convicted of taking $850,000 in bribes to approve counterfeit medicines. One of the fake drugs, an antibiotic, was blamed for the deaths of at least 10 people. In Beijing last month, the former chairman of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, the oil giant known as Sinopec, was sentenced to death for taking more than $28 million in bribes. Chen Tonghai was given a two-year reprieve for helping prosecutors with other investigations. The court said crimes involving “extremely large sums of money” warrant the use of the death penalty. The ruling, cited by the official Xinhua news agency, also said the handling of Mr. Chen’s case had “sounded an alarm for the country’s state-run company leaders.” And on Wednesday, China executed two business owners who had been convicted of defrauding investors of more than $127 million, a scheme that “seriously damaged the country’s financial regulatory order and social stability,” according to Xinhua. Some analysts say a lack of official oversight at state-owned enterprises has allowed corrupt senior managers to slip through “loopholes rooted in the management structure” of the firms, according to Wang Yukai, a professor at the China National School of Administration, quoted in Global Times, an English-language publication controlled by the People’s Daily. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/world/asia/08china.html *************** Delta flight hits turbulence on approach to SLC SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Three flight attendants are being checked for injuries after a Delta flight experienced turbulence as it approached the Salt Lake City airport. Delta Air Lines spokesman Anthony Black says Flight 1118 was headed from Oakland to Chicago, with a scheduled stop in Salt Lake City on Thursday. Black says that on approach to Salt Lake City International Airport there was turbulence. He says all 146 passengers were seated and were not hurt. He says three flight attendants were up at the time and are being checked for injuries as a precaution. Black says the flight landed Thursday afternoon without incident, was emptied of passengers and was then cleared to continue to Chicago. **************** Boeing's Alteon Changing Name to Boeing Training & Flight Services Comtex SEATTLE, Aug 06, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----Boeing (NYSE: BA: 45.51, 0, 0%) today announced that the company's training organization, Alteon, will be renamed Boeing Training & Flight Services. The new name will be phased in across the organization's global network in the months ahead. The new name reflects the organization's expanded capabilities for providing flight, maintenance, cabin safety and flight operations training. With the addition of flight services, the organization's expertise now includes customized flight and dispatch documentation, airplane performance data, operational consulting and safety analysis. "Our customers trust Boeing to provide unsurpassed industry leadership in training and flight operations," said Sherry Carbary, vice president of the new organization. "Boeing Training & Flight Services reflects the commitment of Boeing to provide our customers the resources and technical expertise they need to enable safe and efficient operations." Boeing Training & Flight Services provides innovative training products and services to more than 400 customers around the world. Its training and services programs are accepted by more than 100 regulatory agencies worldwide. The customer support team provides 24-hour support to more than 12,000 in-service airplanes. Boeing Training & Flight Services has a global network of more than 20 locations around the world supporting more than 100 full-flight simulators, including the new world-class 787 training suites. http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/industrials/boeings-alte on-changing-boeing-training--flight-services/ ***************** JAL posts first-quarter loss of ¥99 billion Japan Airlines (JAL) posted a ¥99 billion ($1.04 billion) net loss in the first fiscal quarter but forecasts that in the current quarter it will have better results. The Oneworld carrier says in a statement that in the three months ending 30 June it had a net loss of ¥99 billion compared to a net loss of ¥3.4 billion the corresponding period last year. Total operating revenue fell 32% to ¥334.8 billion from ¥490.3 billion with international cargo and passenger traffic the most adversely affected, it says. International passenger revenues fell 46% year-on-year to ¥97.3 billion from ¥180.4 billion and international cargo revenues dropped 56% to ¥19.9 billion from ¥45.4 billion. Domestic passenger revenues fell 15% to ¥131.1 billion from ¥153.7 billion, it adds. JAL cut operating expenses by 13% to ¥421.0 billion from ¥486.4 billion but it was insufficient to counter the drop in revenues. "With the pandemic threat of the H1N1 influenza occurring within this reporting period which is also the first April-June period since the economic downturn, operating conditions compared to a year before are starkly harsher," says JAL. "First and business class traffic were significantly down due to cutbacks in the number of business trips or downgrades to economy class business travel and leisure demands were weak especially after the outbreak of the influenza in May." JAL's operating statistics show total passenger numbers fell 15% year-on-year in the fiscal quarter to 9.5 million from 11.2 million. RPKs fell 21% and ASKs fell 12% so the passenger load factor dropped six percentage points to 58.1% from 64.1%. Cargo freight tonne kilometres, meanwhile, fell 29%. JAL says its cuts in capacity were unable to match the fall in demand because the global H1N1 outbreak in May led to a sharper drop in demand than earlier forecast. The Japanese carrier says in the fiscal year ahead "leisure passenger demand shows sign of recovery as fear of a pandemic recedes." "Furthermore, 'silver week' occurs this September when there will be a string of five consecutive holidays comprising Japanese national holidays and a weekend." Meanwhile, "business travel is projected to remain slow" but "JAL will persevere in the drastic adjustments to our network, down-sizing our aircraft, and implementing 'nothing-off-limits' cost-cutting measures to improve profitability." JAL Group maintains its" targets of an operating revenue of ¥1,748 billion yen and a net loss of ¥63 billion for the full fiscal year, it adds. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** China stalls in efforts to recruit foreign managerial talent Aviation Industry Corporation of China's (AVIC) efforts to attract senior foreign talent appears to have come to naught. A report in state-run China Daily says the six people AVIC has recruited, as a result of its senior recruitment drive, are all Chinese nationals. These six will take VP level positions in the defence, aircraft, helicopter, international and capital divisions, it says. Seven senior executive positions remain unfilled in divisions including engines, systems and technology, it adds. AVIC announced in February it would seek to recruit managers from overseas in an effort to get international expertise and make the company more international. But it says those that applied for the positions were mostly from China. The new recruits include Li Jian, who becomes VP of the aircraft division and is a former vice-mayor of Shaoguang city, Guangdong province. He has been VP of Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group since 2002, it adds. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** EgyptAir swaps 777s for 737s EgyptAir has replaced its order for two Boeing 777-300ERs with an order for eight additional Next-Generation 737-800 aircraft to focus on regional growth and increased international connectivity through Cairo International airport. The change appeared on Boeing's orders and deliveries Web site last week and was attributed to an unidentified buyer. Of the swap, EgyptAir chairman Capt. Tawfik Assy says in a statement: "We are pursuing a fleet plan that allows us to expand our regional markets and offer those passengers extensive international routing options." The flag carrier's latest order is on top of an order for 12 -800s, of which it has taken delivery of seven aircraft and will receive five more this year. Cairo-based EgyptAir ordered the two -300ERs last year as part of a twin-aisle fleet upgrade for its long-haul service. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** FAA proposes new certification category for upset training aircraft The US FAA is proposing to create a new certification category for aircraft that can be used to teach airline pilots how to recover from upset situations in actual flight conditions. The need for upset recovery training has been gaining prominence in the wake of loss-of-control elements in several high profile regional airline accidents, including the crash of Pinnacle Airlines CRJ200 in 2004 and the February crash of the Colgan Air Q400 on approach to Buffalo. Both the US Congress and the FAA are considering updates to airline training regimes to address the issue, the Congress through new legislation and the FAA via a proposed update to crew training rules. Pilots are typically exposed to non-ordinary situations in ground simulators, which generally cannot duplicate the gravitational forces and sensations that would accompany an actual event. In-flight simulators, available primarily through research company, Calspan, use variable stability business jet aircraft to simulate the handling and performance characteristics of a wide variety of large jet aircraft, allowing for safe in-flight practice in the manoeuvres. "Airborne simulation can provide aircraft dynamic responses that simulate larger, heavier transport aircraft, and result in improved safety through more-realistic upset recovery training for air carrier pilots," says the FAA in the proposed change. "The use of large transport aircraft for Upset Recovery Training is costly, and would increase the risk level of training. It is also impractical to certificate these modified aircraft in compliance with the requirements of their standard category type certificate." Under the suggested certification change, aircraft that previously could only by flown as "experimental" category aircraft will become "restricted" category aircraft, a revision that will allay some concerns by airlines, pilot unions and others of having their pilots train in experimental aircraft. Calspan plans to certify two of its four variable stability Learjet aircraft under the new category for anticipated pilot training programs, according to a company official. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC