31 AUG 2009 _______________________________________ *Belarusian jets collide, pilots dead *French Probe of Air France Crash to Take at Least 1½ Years *Comoros Crash Black Boxes to Be Sent to Paris *JTSB issues report on Saab 340 runway excursion incident *JTSB issues report on China Airlines Boeing 737-800 fuel leak and ground fire *Southwest Presents Dilemma for FAA *Air Force plane damaged while landing at Nellis *Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) between India and USA *NTSB Plans New Emergency Medical Helo Rules *Namibia: Air Safety Record Improves *Mexico's Interjet overhauls first A320 for third-party customer **************************************** Belarusian jets collide, pilots dead The Belarusian Defense Ministry has confirmed the deaths of both Air Force pilots onboard a two-seater SU-27 fighter jet at an air show in central Poland. The Su-27 Flanker fighter crashed Sunday while performing aerobatic maneuvers as part of the festival in Radom, 65 miles (104 kilometers) south of Warsaw, when it suddenly plummeted to the ground. Footage of the jet performing a stunt before disappearing behind trees was shown on Polish TV channels. Moments later, a cloud of smoke appeared on the horizon. Preliminary reports said the accident was due to a bird getting stuck in the engine. The Belta news agency quoted ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Remenchuk as saying both deputy commanders were killed in the accident. Earlier this month, two SU-27s crashed during a preparation flight ahead of the MAKS-2009 air show in Moscow. One of the pilots died and at least one civilian was injured when the two jets, both piloted by an elite Russian aerobatic group, Russian Knights, collided outside the Russian capital. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=104857§ionid=351020606 *************** French Probe of Air France Crash to Take at Least 1½ Years Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- The chief of the French aviation accident investigation office said it will take at least 1½ years to reach conclusions about the cause of Air France Flight 447’s crash in the Atlantic Ocean on June 1. Paul-Louis Arslanian, head of the BEA, said at a Paris news conference today that there is no evidence speed sensors caused the accident off the coast of Brazil. Speed probe failures are not uncommon and generally last a few seconds, he said, adding that a failure in itself wouldn’t bring down a plane. **************** Comoros Crash Black Boxes to Be Sent to Paris Skip to next paragraph MORONI (Reuters) - Both black boxes recovered from a Yemeni jet that plunged into the Indian Ocean off Comoros in June will be sent to Paris for study, officials said Sunday. Only one person out of 153 on board survived the crash, which happened as the Yemenia Airbus A310-300 tried to land in bad weather on the final leg of a trip from France to Comoros. Chief investigator Mohamed Ali Abdou said experts in Paris would recover the contents of the two flight recorders, but that further analysis of the data would take place in Moroni. "Bodies remain in the wreckage and recovery operations continue," Abdou told Reuters. Six bodies have been brought up so far by deep-water recovery specialists aboard the U.S.-crewed EDT ARES ship, who also found the black boxes Friday. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder should shed light on the cause of the accident, which officials say remains unknown. Corpses and wreckage have washed up hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the crash site. The sole known survivor was a 14-year-old girl who clung to floating debris in rough seas for more than 12 hours. Flight IY 626 was carrying 75 Comoran passengers, along with 65 French nationals, one Palestinian and one Canadian, according to the state-run Yemenia airline. Its crew were six Yemenis, two Moroccans, one Indonesian, one Ethiopian and a Filipina. ************** JTSB issues report on Saab 340 runway excursion incident On December 18, 2007, at about 11:26, a Saab 340B, registered JA001C, operated by Japan Air Commuter as Flight 2345, ran off runway 25 at Izumo Airport toward the right (north) in the landing roll and continued running further while veering to the right before coming to a stop on the apron. There were 37 persons on board. No one was injured in the serious incident. The aircraft was slightly damaged, and there was no outbreak of fire. The JTSB concluded: "It is considered highly probable that this serious incident occurred through the following causal chain: While the left propeller of the Aircraft was brought to the coarsen pitch almost simultaneously with touchdown causing the Aircraft to veer to the right during its subsequent landing roll, no necessary procedures were taken to stop the veering and furthermore to recover the directional control, which resulted in the Aircraft deviating from the runway, the nose gear being broken, and eventually the Aircraft being unable to ground roll for itself. With regard to the left propeller having been brought to the coarsen pitch, it is considered highly probable that the power lever operations that were performed prior to touchdown caused the autocoarsen to be activated. It is considered highly probable that the nose gear was broken when it hit the ditch that runs parallel to the runway." (JTSB) http://aviation-safety.net/news/newsitem.php?id=2180 ***************** JTSB issues report on China Airlines Boeing 737-800 fuel leak and ground fire On August 20, 2007, a Boeing 737-800 operated by China Airlines took off from Taiwan-Taoyuan International Airport on a flight to Naha Airport, Japan. At about 10:33, immediately after the aircraft stopped, fuel that was leaking from the fuel tank on the right wing caught fire and the aircraft was engulfed in flames. Everyone on board was evacuated from the aircraft and there were no dead and wounded. The aircraft was destroyed by fire. The Japan Transport Safety Board concluded: "It is considered highly probable that this accident occurred through the following causal chain: When the Aircraft retracted the slats after landing at Naha Airport, the track can that housed the inboard main track of the No. 5 slat on the right wing was punctured, creating a hole. Fuel leaked out through the hole, reaching the outside of the wing. A fire started when the leaked fuel came into contact with high-temperature areas on the right engine after the Aircraft stopped in its assigned spot, and the Aircraft burned out after several explosions. With regard to the cause of the puncture in the track can, it is certain that the downstop assembly having detached from the aft end of the above-mentioned inboard main track fell off into the track can, and when the slat was retracted, the assembly was pressed by the track against the track can and punctured it. With regard to the cause of the detachment of the downstop assembly, it is considered highly probable that during the maintenance works for preventing the nut from loosening, which the Company carried out on the downstop assembly about one and a half months prior to the accident based on the Service Letter from the manufacturer of the Aircraft, the washer on the nut side of the assembly fell off, following which the downstop on the nut side of the assembly fell off and then the downstop assembly eventually fell off the track. It is considered highly probable that a factor contributing to the detachment of the downstop assembly was the design of the downstop assembly, which was unable to prevent the assembly from falling off if the washer is not installed. With regard to the detachment of the washer, it is considered probable that the following factors contributed to this: Despite the fact that the nut was in a location difficult to access during the maintenance works, neither the manufacturer of the Aircraft nor the Company had paid sufficient attention to this when preparing the Service Letter and Engineering Order job card, respectively. Also, neither the maintenance operator nor the job supervisor reported the difficulty of the job to the one who had ordered the job." (JTSB) http://aviation-safety.net/news/newsitem.php?id=2179 **************** Southwest Presents Dilemma for FAA (AP) The Federal Aviation Administration's discovery of a significant maintenance lapse at Southwest Airlines Co. -- unauthorized parts used for up to three years on 82 planes -- presents a vexing policy question for the agency. Both Southwest and FAA agree that the parts don't pose an imminent hazard, but over the years FAA officials generally have taken a hard line by demanding that airlines temporarily ground aircraft until unauthorized parts are replaced. .Should the FAA force the airline to ground the planes to enforce longstanding air-safety rules, even though the violations don't pose an immediate danger? Taking the jets temporarily out of service would seriously disrupt operations at the largest domestic carrier measured by passengers. Southwest said it is seeking an exemption to continue using the planes. FAA managers and company officials are trying to work out a compromise by a Tuesday deadline. The problem initially was believed to affect 46 jets, which Southwest grounded for several hours Aug. 22, causing major flight delays. But a lawyer for the airline said Sunday that 82 Boeing 737 planes had been fitted with the unauthorized parts. The lawyer said government-approved replacement parts -- pieces of a system designed to protect movable panels on the rear of the wings from hot engine exhaust -- were expected to be installed on as many as 30 of the planes by early Monday. But that still would leave some 52 jets -- roughly 10% of Southwest's fleet -- technically in violation of FAA regulations because the parts lack required paperwork showing they were designed, made and tested for aviation uses. Southwest has told the FAA that swapping out all the suspect parts could take up to three more months, and the airline has pledged to significantly step up inspections of the parts until then. Both Southwest and FAA agree that the parts, some of which have been on the planes for up to three years without causing apparent problems, don't pose an imminent hazard. Boeing Co. also said it doesn't believe the parts pose a safety threat. Still, over the years FAA officials generally have taken a hard line by demanding that airlines temporarily ground aircraft until unauthorized parts are replaced. In this case, according to people familiar with the details, FAA officials want to avoid creating a dramatic disruption to Southwest's schedules. But at the same time, factions inside the agency are concerned that allowing the jets to continue flying could set a precedent by opening the door for other carriers to seek similar special treatment in the future. An FAA spokesman said Sunday: "We are still considering the options available to us." Dane Jaques, an outside lawyer for Southwest, said Sunday that relations with the FAA were "positive" and regulators "appear to be open to our suggestions." But Mr. Jaques said, "We have not yet received FAA permission to continue flying the planes after Tuesday." Mr. Jaques said Southwest used an FAA-approved contractor, Phoenix-based D-Velco Aviation Services, which in turn subcontracted work on the affected systems to another company. The subcontractor wasn't authorized by the FAA to provide those particular parts, Mr. Jaques said. The parts had slightly different dimensions than Boeing-approved brackets, and the aluminum alloy differed slightly from Boeing specifications, he said. Southwest has since suspended D-Velco as a maintenance contractor, Mr. Jaques said. D-Velco didn't respond to requests for comment Sunday. An exemption not only would seem to go against decades of FAA policy, it's likely to spark criticism of the agency at a time when lawmakers on Capitol Hill are prodding the FAA to be more aggressive in policing airlines and enforcing safety rules. Such a move also could create internal FAA procedural problems, since it would bypass typical public comment requirements. The airline, according to people familiar with the matter, is arguing that the public interest would be best served by avoiding the extensive economic and personal disruptions stemming from a protracted grounding. Mr. Jaques said the latest friction with the FAA highlight the broader industry-wide problem that there isn't ``a quick and easy'' way agency inspectors can sanction planes to continue flying with unauthorized parts that nonetheless have been deemed safe. He said he hoped that in the future, the FAA will develop some way to address that shortcoming. In the spring and summer of 2008, the FAA seriously disrupted schedules at AMR. Corp's American Airlines and other carriers by demanding that planes be kept on the ground while certain maintenance work was redone. Those repairs also weren't considered to pose an immediate safety hazard. Last month, a Southwest jet carrying 126 passengers and five crew members developed a one-foot-wide hole in its main body midflight, and federal investigators are still trying to determine the cause. The incident was a setback for the discount airline just four months after it agreed to pay $7.5 million for flying dozens of its older 737s on nearly 60,000 flights between June 2006 and March 2007 without performing necessary inspections. The latest safety issue and related expenses come at an inopportune time for Southwest, which, like many carriers, is struggling to make a profit amid a recession-fueled downturn in business and leisure travel. The airline has booked 36 straight years of profits but lost money in three of the last four quarters, and Chief Executive Gary Kelly has cautioned Southwest could finish in the red again in the current quarter. Although Southwest is faring better than most large airlines, its revenue slumped 7.9% to $4.97 billion in the first half of 2009 from the year before. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125167359024470771.html ****************** Air Force plane damaged while landing at Nellis An Air Force plane was damaged while landing at Nellis Air Force Base late Friday. Everyone on board was safely evacuated, according to a report from a Nellis spokesman. The aircraft, an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system, was returning from a mission when the fire occurred. It was being flown by members of the 552nd Air Control Wing from Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, according to the report. The 32-person crew safely evacuated the aircraft and a subsequent fire was extinguished by Nellis emergency response forces. The Air Force will convene a formal board to investigate the incident. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/29/air-force-plane-damaged-while-la nding-nellis/ **************** Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) between India and USA India and USA are working on a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA), which would lead to mutual acceptance of aeronautical products/parts developed in either country. Since aeronautical products are now being designed and manufactured in India, a need was felt for international acceptance of such products. The steps involved in BASA process include: * Skill upgradation of Indian DGCA certification experts by providing advanced training in certification procedures and oversight of design and production activities. * Assessment of Indian authorities and industry capabilities to undertake certification and production work on a sustained basis to meet the FAA Standards. * FAA conducting a Shadow Certification exercise with DGCA officials on a sample product, and satisfying themselves that Indian standard certification procedure are acceptable for high class aeronautical products. The BASA process with a limited scope is expected to be completed by end of year 2010. US-India Aviation Cooperation Programme (ACP) The US-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP), a public-private partnership between the U.S. Trade Development Agency (USTDA), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. aviation companies, has been established to provide a forum for unified communication between the Government of India and U.S. public and private sector entities in India. The ACP is designed to work directly with the Indian Government to identify and support India’s civil aviation sector modernization priorities. The ACP’s specific objectives are to: (i) promote enhanced safety, operational efficiency and system capacity in the Indian aviation sector; (ii) facilitate and coordinate aviation industry training and technical ties between the U.S. and India; and (iii) strengthen overall US-India aviation cooperation. Funding for training and technical assistance programs is provided by USTDA and the in-kind support will be provided by FAA and US aviation companies. Through the mechanism of ACP, Indian and US officials has identified specific areas for technical co-operation, which include: · Air traffic flow management · Certification of aeronautical products · Certification of Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS) · Development of human resources. · Assistance in the area of helicopter operations. The training programme are targeted for DGCA personnel and industry in India. This programmes would be a joint effort between several ACP member companies including Boeing, Prat & Whitney, GE and Honeywell. The ACP project on human resources development is designed by HEICO Parts Group Inc., with the objective to develop a comprehensive and specialized US Aviation standards Technical training program and will be conducted by HEICO for DGCA and Indian aviation industry personnel. The cost of the programme funded by USTDA is US$371,700/-. The agreement between DGCA and HEICO Parts Group will be signed in New Delhi in a few days, which will pave way for the specialized training on aviation standards. (c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 31-Aug-09 In-depth analysis of the Indian airline and airport sectors, including latest traffic and financial reports and outlooks, is available each month in the Monthly Essential India. http://centreforaviation.com/minisites/mei/ http://indiaaviation.aero/news/airline/30215/59/Bilateral-Aviation-Safety-Ag reement-(BASA)-between-India-and-USA ***************** NTSB Plans New Emergency Medical Helo Rules The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) plans to propose 19 new safety recommendations aimed at minimizing the risks of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) operations at a Sept. 1 board meeting in Washington, D.C. According to the safety board, the recommendations will address a wide range of safety improvements - including the development of a low-altitude airspace infrastructure, operators' adoption of safety management systems and data monitoring programs, and pilot use of new technologies such as night vision goggles. The new recommendations were developed following the NTSB's Feb. 3-6 hearing that evaluated factors that led to an increasing number of HEMS accidents. At that hearing, the board noted that from 2003 through 2008, 77 people died in 85 HEMS accidents. Last year was the deadliest on record for HEMS operations, with 29 fatalities in eight accidents - an increase from seven deaths in two accidents in 2007. At the February hearing, the NTSB heard testimony from some 41 witnesses. Topics under discussion included how the growth of HEMS operations might increase pressure to conduct flights, pilot training and use of flight simulators, and the use of safety-enhancing technologies, such as terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS). Improving safety of EMS flights is on the NTSB's 'Most Wanted List" of aviation safety improvements. The NTSB issued four recommendations issued in Feb. 7, 2006, in conjunction with its January 25, 2006, special investigative report on EMS safety. The following three recommendations are categorized as "open," with the FAA's response "unacceptable:" require that all flights with medical personnel on board be conducted in accordance with FAR Part 135 regulations. (Currently positioning flights with medical personnel but with no passengers onboard may operate under less stringent provisions of Part 91.); develop and implement flight risk evaluation programs; and require the installation of TAWS on aircraft. The recommendation that would require formalized dispatch and flight following procedures including up-to-date weather information is categorized as "Open" with the FAA's response "acceptable." http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=busav&id=ne ws/HEMS082809.xml&headline=NTSB%20Plans%20New%20Emergency%20Medical%20Helo%2 0Rules ***************** Namibia: Air Safety Record Improves Namibia's air safety record has shown a marked improvement in the first half of this year. Figures on aircraft accidents and incidents that were recorded in Namibia over the first six months of the year indicate that this has been the safest first half of the year for the country's aviation sector in at least five years. Figures released by the Ministry of Works and Transport this week show that from January to the end of June this year, 13 aircraft occurrences - these are both accidents and less serious incidents that could nevertheless affect the safety of a flight - were recorded in Namibia. With no lives lost in any of these occurrences, this makes it the safest first half of the year for Namibian aviation since at least 2005. In the first half of 2005, two fatal aircraft accidents claimed three lives in Namibia. A total of 37 aircraft accidents and incidents were recorded in the country in that period. In the first half of 2006, 34 aircraft accidents and incidents were recorded in Namibia, with two of these accidents claiming two lives. The number of aircraft occurrences rose to 51 in the first half of 2007, with four people killed in two fatal accidents in that period. The first half of 2008 was the deadliest first six months of a year for Namibian aviation since at least 2005. Although only nine accidents and incidents were recorded in that period, two of these were fatal accidents in which seven people lost their lives. According to the Ministry, the drop in accident figures in the period from January to June 2009 can be attributed to measures implemented by the Directorate of Civil Aviation and the Directorate of Aircraft Accident Investigations in the Ministry of Works and Transport, and also to action that has been taken by aircraft operators and aircraft maintenance organisations. "Aircraft operators and maintenance companies have improved discipline and put in place more checks and balances as well as proper supervision," Ministry spokesperson Julius Ngweda remarked in a statement issued on Monday. Ngweda added that assistance from International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) experts has been playing a major role in correcting serious safety deficiencies such as incorrect air operator certificates and inadequate cockpit checklists and operation manuals. ICAO airworthiness experts have also improved maintenance practices and been dealing with aircraft that were operating without airworthiness certificates, Ngweda stated. All aircraft, operators and maintenance organisations in Namibia are being inspected by an ICAO team as part of a formal audit programme, while a flight crew licensing audit programme has also been under way since shortly after an ICAO team arrived in Namibia in December last year, Ngweda said. He added that while the Directorate of Civil Aviation has recently recruited three additional inspectors, it remains seriously understaffed. There are more than 550 registered aircraft - ranging in size from small micro-light aircraft to an Airbus A340 passenger jet - in Namibia that are required to be inspected once a year, according to Ngweda. Forty maintenance organisations and 24 commercial operators are also inspected annually. http://allafrica.com/stories/200908280923.html **************** Mexico's Interjet overhauls first A320 for third-party customer Mexican Airbus A320 operator Interjet has completed the first heavy maintenance check for a third party customer. An Interjet spokeswoman says the low-cost carrier's maintenance operation re-delivered earlier this week an Airbus A320 which is now registered to US low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines. She says the aircraft is owned by lessor Aviation Capital Group (ACG) and was formerly operated by US leisure carrier USA 3000. Interjet opened in 2007 a maintenance hangar at its hub at Toluca airport outside Mexico City. Interjet's maintenance operation secured FAA approval last year, authorising it to work on US-registered A320 family aircraft, but until now it only did work on its own A320 fleet. The Interjet spokeswoman says to date the carrier, which operates 15 A320s, has completed 18 in-house heavy checks. In February Interjet CEO Jose Luis Garza told ATI the carrier was looking to secure its first third-party maintenance customer and had several open slots on its single A320 heavy check line for the second half of 2009. Garza also said Interjet was talking to foreign maintenance companies about potentially establishing a maintenance hub in Mexico. If such a joint venture is reached, Interjet would grow its maintenance operation well beyond its one-aircraft hangar at Toluca and build a larger third-party business. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ***************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC ******************