10 SEP 2009 _______________________________________ *Police raid ends jetliner hijacking in Mexico *Bolivian Man Is Held in Mexican Hijacking *Pilot error, commanders blamed in deadly December Harrier crash *Plane blows tire at Reagan, no injuries reported *Woman Injured by Turbulence On Flight *JetLite aircraft's (B737) tail damaged during takeoff (India) *TAM is Awarded United States Federal Aviation Administration Certification *IATA Positions Available: **************************************** Police raid ends jetliner hijacking in Mexico MEXICO CITY (AP) – A jetliner from the beach resort of Cancun was briefly hijacked as it landed in Mexico City on Wednesday. The hijackers released all passengers shortly before federal police stormed the plane, and the crew emerged unharmed moments later. Police, who did not fire a single shot, led as many as eight handcuffed men away from the airplane, which was isolated at the end of a runway in an area designed for emergencies. The hijackers' motive was unclear, though Mexican news media initially identified them as Bolivians demanding to speak with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. U.S., French and Mexican citizens were among the 112 passengers and crew on Aeromexico Flight 576, according to a U.S. official who had been briefed on the situation. The official was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity. Mexico's transportation and communications secretary, Juan Molinar, said there was no bomb on the airplane, although some passengers said one of the hijackers held a package that resembled an explosive device, and a bomb squad was later seen near the airplane. He did not immediately identify the hijackers or speculate on their motive. "Various people who participated in the act have been detained and we are investigating," Molinar said. The attorney general's office said it was opening an investigation into terrorism and kidnapping but did not specify how many people could be charged. Mexican news media initially reported the hijackers were Bolivian, but Bolivia's ambassador to Mexico, Jorge Mancilla, said Mexican authorities had no evidence that was the case. Mancilla said sources told him they could be Colombian or Venezuelan. Several passengers told reporters they did not notice a non-Mexican accent. Passenger Rocio Garcia told the Televisa network that the pilot made an announcement after landing in Mexico City that the airplane was being hijacked. Passengers said the hijackers never communicated with them directly. "These were scary moments," she said. She said she saw one of the hijackers whom she described as a well-dressed, older man. "He looked fine, like a normal passenger," she said. Passenger Daniel Hernandez said he saw a hijacker carrying a Bible. The most recent hijacking in the Americas occurred on April 19, when a man with a handgun tried to commandeer a Canadian jetliner from Jamaica. The standoff ended before takeoff at Montego Bay's airport when military commandos burst onto the plane and disarmed the man, who was described as "mentally challenged." *************** Bolivian Man Is Held in Mexican Hijacking MEXICO CITY -- A Bolivian-born preacher briefly hijacked an Aeroméxico airliner traveling from Cancún to Mexico City with 112 passengers aboard on Wednesday, Mexican officials said, but passengers and crew were released unharmed after the plane landed safely. While the plane was en route, the hijacker told the crew he had a bomb and would blow the plane up unless he was allowed to speak to Mexican President Felipe Calderón after the plane landed, Public Security Minister Genaro García Luna said. More than 100 passengers are safe after an Aeroméxico plane was hijacked shortly after taking off from a Caribbean resort in Cancún, Mexico. The hijackers reportedly threatened to blow the plane up unless they were allowed to speak to President Felipe Calderón. Video courtesy of Reuters. Mexican Plane Hijacked, Passengers Unharmed Three men hijack an Aeromexico plane, which had 104 passengers on board. The passengers and crew were released unharmed after the plane landed safely. Video courtesy of Fox News. The man "said he had a vision and wanted to warn the president" that a major earthquake was about to strike Mexico, Mr. García Luna said. Mexican federal police initially arrested eight men shortly after the incident, but released all except the preacher. Police believed there was more than one hijacker because the preacher told the crew he was accompanied by three others, police said. It turned out he was referring to the Holy Trinity, Mr. García Luna said. Police said the suspect was José Flores, a Bolivian-born former drug addict who became an evangelical preacher and has lived in Mexico for the past 17 years. There was no public background information available for the name given by police. But there are many Internet links, including a number of songs on YouTube and a Web site for a man named Josmar Flores, who describes himself as a Bolivian-born evangelical preacher who lives in Mexico and who owes his salvation from drugs to Jesus. His picture appears to match the man police presented to journalists. Police enter the Aeroméxico plane that was hijacked Wednesday. All passengers and crew were released; no one was hurt in the incident. In one video, Mr. Flores strums a guitar and sings a song called "Jesus Christ, the Superior Dose," which recounts how, when down and out at a bar at 3 a.m., the narrator is saved by Jesus, who is a "superior dose" to the drugs he was taking. Police said Mr. Flores felt the earthquake was imminent because of the date: 09/09/09, which, read upside down, was 666, a number that some associate with the devil. To offset the date, the preacher wanted the plane to circle the Mexico City runway seven times. The number seven is seen by some as a holy number. Police said the pilot told Mr. Flores the plane would run out of fuel if it circled seven times. Mr. Flores was bluffing about the bomb; no explosives were found on board the plane, police said. Mr. Flores, at the press conference with police, told reporters that he hijacked the plane using two juice cans. "I filled them with dirt and put some lights on them," he said. Adriana Romero, a passenger on Aeroméxico Flight 576, told the Televisa network that the hijacker was a well-dressed man in his early 50s. Another passenger said he walked up and down the aisle carrying a Bible. Ms. Romero and other passengers said they had no idea the plane had been hijacked until after it had landed and was surrounded by federal police. "There were no shouts, there wasn't any crying, we were all very tranquil," she said. After the plane landed, the passengers were informed by the captain through the public-address system that there was a "delicate" situation and that negotiations were going on. Shortly after, a large group of passengers disembarked. A few minutes later, a contingent of heavily armed federal police rushed into the plane, and within seconds crew members and a few others emerged. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125252393383796725.html *************** Pilot error, commanders blamed in deadly December Harrier crash HAVELOCK — A Harrier pilot’s lack of proficiency and a supervisory breakdown in his training led to his death in a crash last year, according to a report. Capt. Alberto N. Bencosme died when the AV-8B Harrier he was flying went down on Dec. 29, 2008, two miles short of the runway at Cherry Point air station just off N.C. 101 outside Havelock. As a result of the investigation into the crash, Bencosme’s commanding officer at Marine Attack Training Squadron 203 was relieved of his duties. That officer’s name was blacked out in the report, a copy of which was obtained by the Havelock News through the Freedom of Information Act. “This mishap is the consequence of a tragic chain of events underpinned by layers of supervisory failure,” according to the Manual of the Judge Advocate General report on the crash. The 658-page report puts blame on “the occurrence of a complete breakdown of supervisory oversight, a failure of interdepartmental checks and balances and individually, failed duty-driven expectations for the application of any reasonable degree of Operational Risk Management by those entrusted to do so.” The report states that the exact cause of the crash is speculative. Bencosme was attempting to land at Cherry Point after a canopy warning light went off, but that did not contribute directly to the crash, according to report. Instead, in cloudy, misty and foggy conditions, Bencosme tried to get the jet into proper position for landing but inadvertently left the flight path. With low altitude on approach, the pilot had little time to recognize his rate of descent, especially with low visibility, and crashed short of the runway, according to the report. Bencosme, 28, died on impact, according to the report. In his letter to the commandant of the Marine Corps about the crash included in the report, Maj. Gen. James F. Flock, commander of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, writes “other than the canopy warning light, Capt. Bencosme’s aircraft was functioning normally as he attempted to land. Thus, Capt. Bencosme bears the ultimate responsibility for permitting his aircraft to depart controlled flight.” Still, the report points out that Bencosme had not piloted a Harrier solo for about two months before the crash and had other shortfalls in his flight status. He was selected to serve in a support role for a flyover at the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., requiring him to fly solo from Cherry Point to McDill Air Force Base in Florida, which was the reason he took off from Cherry Point that day. The report lists Bencosme’s last Harrier solo flight as Sept. 23, 2008, which meant he would have to complete Naval Air Training and Operating Procedure examinations, complete two flight simulations and fly dedicated Vertical/Short Takeoff or Landing flights to regain his flight currency. The investigation found no record of Bencosme having completed the exams, yet when the captain was asked about it, he replied that they had been completed. Partially completed open and closed book exams dated Dec. 19, 2008, were found in Bencosme’s personal gear stowed in the jet, the report said. Bencosme did fly in the rear seat of a two-seat Harrier trainer on Dec. 22, but did not take off or land. The next day, he flew in the front seat of the trainer and made three landings, logging 0.9 hours of first-pilot time, according to the report. In considering Bencosme’s qualifications for the formation trip to Florida, the Marine Air Group 14 commander expressed skepticism about the captain’s qualifications. The squadron commander considered the pilot safe. The MAG-14 commander finally gave approval of the request for Bencosme to be part of the group flying to Florida, but the report states the commander was unaware that the recent flights were logged as co-pilot time, not solo time. The names of those commanders were blacked out in the report obtained by the Havelock News. “While Capt. Bencosme wasn’t as forthcoming about his circumstances as he should have been, he was surrounded by a cadre of qualified and experienced instructors who knew and were duty-bound to exercise due diligence in the matter,” the report said. “Sadly, no one in the squadron attempted to validate his readiness beyond what was necessary to progress their own immediate task.” The report states that Bencosme, who had 69.9 hours of solo flight time in the Harrier, was either too inexperienced to recognize his situation at the time of the crash or failed to apply corrective measures during the processes leading up to the crash. “In essence, he had virtually no instrument experience in the AV-8B, 0.9 hours of first-pilot time and had not flown formation in the last 97 days — yet he said nothing when thrust into a weather-challenged division flight to an unfamiliar airfield,” the report said. “Furthermore, he raised no concerns with members of the flight after it was poorly briefed, rushed to get airborne.” The report concludes that Bencosme “was in the line of duty, not due to his own misconduct, when the mishap occurred.” On the day of the crash, poor weather prompted Bencosme and two other pilots to delay their departure from Cherry Point for almost two hours, according to the report. Shortly after the 11:50 a.m. takeoff, a warning light went off in Bencosme’s plane indicating the jet’s canopy wasn’t shut all the way. Bencosme and one of his wingmen opted to return to Cherry Point to check out the problem. The wingman, not identified in the report, knew of Bencosme’s lack of proficiency with instrument flying and thought it would be best if the two planes landed together. The pilot was leading Bencosme in and both pilots lowered their landing gear together and completed landing checks. “Landing checks complete,” Bencosme responded to his wingman. That was the last time the wingman heard from Bencosme. The wingman noted Bencosme in the mirrors and saw the plane “was straight and level and slightly low, about five plane lengths away.” The wingman noted that the airspeed was too slow for the approach and called for a wave-off of the landing. He then added full power to the throttle and the plane accelerated forward. There was no similar wave-off call from Bencosme. The wingman asked the Cherry Point control tower if they had Bencosme on radar. They did not. Cherry Point rescue helicopter Pedro launched at 12:18 p.m. and saw smoke from the crash site just off N.C. 101 in a field. Pedro crews reported three prominent explosions at the crash site, the last being caused by the ejection seat. Bencosme had died as a result of the impact, and it was determined that the heat from the fire had caused the ejection seat to fire off. When nearby hunters first arrived at the scene, they noticed Bencosme slumped over in the cockpit but could not reach him because of the fire. The plane crashed relatively flat, but the jet’s data recording devices were destroyed in the fire and were unavailable to help investigators determine what happened in the final seconds of the flight. http://www.enctoday.com/news/pilot-47840-nbsj-deadly-blamed.html ************** Plane blows tire at Reagan, no injuries reported WASHINGTON (AP) — A runway at Reagan National Airport is open again after a brief shutdown when an American Airlines flight from St. Louis blew a tire on landing. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesman Rob Yingling says the flight landed at 9:35 a.m. Wednesday. No one was injured, but the runway the plane landed on was closed until 10:05 a.m. while officials cleaned up tire debris. The airport's two other runways remained open. The airplane, American Airlines flight 884, was able to taxi to the gate. It was unclear how many passengers were onboard. *************** Woman Injured by Turbulence On Flight A Florida woman was treated at a hospital Tuesday night for injuries she received when a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to the Washington area was rocked by heavy turbulence, authorities said. The Boeing 757, with 177 passengers aboard, was about 150 miles from Dulles International Airport when it encountered turbulence. Most of the 4 1/2 -hour trip on United Flight 236 had gone smoothly before the pilots suddenly turned on the fasten-seat-belt lights and ordered flight attendants to sit down, according to passengers. Jeanne Holton Carufel, 56, who was returning home to Tampa after a family reunion, was in the bathroom. She heard the announcement and hurried back to her seat. "I couldn't get back to my seat fast enough," she said. "The plane took a big dive, and I hit the roof of the plane and fell back to the ground." Paramedics met the plane when it landed at 9:30 p.m. and took Holton Carufel to Reston Hospital Center. She was treated for head and back injuries but was not admitted. Holton Carufel was staying at a Washington hotel Wednesday and said she expected to leave for Tampa on Thursday. United Airlines confirmed the turbulence encounter but did not offer other details about the flight. Other people on the plane said that service carts in the rear galley were knocked over and that cans of soda went everywhere, drenching passengers In the past year, there have been eight turbulence-related incidents that caused serious injuries on U.S. airliners and 42 that caused minor injuries, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The most severe incident occurred Aug. 3, when a Continental Airlines flight from Rio de Janeiro to Houston encountered turbulence so severe that 33 passengers were hurt. Henry Margusity, a meteorologist at Accuweather.com, said the jet stream has been flowing over the Dakotas, the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic region, leading to more turbulence for air travelers. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/09/AR2009090902 118.html *************** JetLite aircraft's (B737) tail damaged during take off (India) Kolkata, Sep 9 (PTI) A JetLite aircraft with 139 people on board suffered a damage to its tail while taking off from Mumbai today but landed safely at the NSC Bose airport here. No one was injured in the incident described by the airline as "tail scrape". In a statement, JetLite claimed that "at no time was the safety of the passengers and crew compromised" in the incident. Airport sources here said the tail of the Kolkata-bound Boeing 737 was damaged while taking off from Mumbai airport. "The plane landed here safely with 135 passengers and four crew members on board," they said. The sources said the pilot realised that the tail of the aircraft had been damaged during take off but flew it to Kolkata safely. After the passengers disembarked, the aircraft was towed to a separate bay for repairs. http://www.ptinews.com/news/273474_JetLite-aircraft-s-tail-damaged-during-ta ke-off **************** TAM is Awarded United States Federal Aviation Administration Certification The document issued by the American aeronautical authority enables maintenance operations on aircraft registered in the USA SAO PAULO, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TAM's Technological Center, the MRO business unit (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul), has just been certified by the American aviation authority, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to be able to perform maintenance operations on aircraft registered in the United States. With this seal of quality issued by the U.S. aviation authority, we amplify our array of MRO services offered and become the only Brazilian aviation company certified by the FAA, by the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) and by the ANAC (Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil - Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency). "Now we are certified by the world's foremost aeronautical authorities. This is a recognition of the quality of our service. With these approvals, we can strengthen our service offering MRO to third parties and meet the major airlines in the market," states Ruy Amparo, Vice President of MRO. The FAR 145 certification obtained authorizes us to perform all the major programmed maintenance operations (C and D checks), in addition to the revision of different aeronautic components. The process of obtaining this certification took 14 months and was preceded by extensive audits, in which all the technical and quality procedures of our Technological Center were thoroughly checked over and verified by the U.S. aviation authority. Expansion of services This last August, we were certified by the DGAC (Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil), the organization from the Chilean government, to service Airbus A318 aircraft and their components for aircraft registered in Chile. The certification was achieved after we were approved by the ANAC to perform maintenance on the Airbus A318 aircraft. It is the unit's first approval for an aircraft model that is not a part of our fleet. We are also certified in Chile to perform maintenance operations on A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. Our Technological Center has also been approved by the ANAC and by the EASA to carry out all the major programmed maintenance operations on Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 and A330 aircraft, both in our fleet and on third party aircraft, in addition to Fokker-100 aircraft. In addition, we are certified for the maintenance of components of the Boeing aircraft that are being incorporated into our fleet and we are in the final process of certification for Boeing 767 aircraft. Since January of 2007, we have had the IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) certification, the most complete and accepted international acknowledgement in operational safety. The IOSA audit involves more than 950 requirements in 8 operational areas of a single airline company, including engineering and maintenance of aircraft, and others. Our Technological Center is located in the city of Sao Carlos, in the interior of Sao Paulo State, and covers an area of 4.6 million square meters. In addition to maintenance hangars, the facility houses workshops for examining more than 3,000 aeronautic components. SOURCE TAM ************** IATA Positions Available: 3 Vacancies in Miami: • Assistant Director Safety, Operations & Infrastructure - Latin America & Caribbean • Manager, Safety, Operations & Infrastructure - Latin America & Caribbean • Assistant Director, Safety, Operations & Infrastructure - North Atlantic & North America These postings can be found on the IATA website at http://www.iata.org/hc/recruitment.htm . Please let me know if you require additional information. **************