22 SEP 2009 _______________________________________ *FAA Approves 1st U.S. Ground Based Augmentation System *Babbitt, Hersman, Bolen To Open 13th Annual Bombardier Safety Standdown *EASA issues emergency AD related to specific Goodrich pitot tubes on A330s/A340s *CASA 212 Accident (Alaska) *Key US review of airport safety standards in India begins today *New Orleans Armstrong plans to transform into a private airport. *Airbus Planning To Set Up New Logistics Center In China *Samoan airline suspends flights **************************************** FAA Approves 1st U.S. Ground Based Augmentation System Initial System Located In Memphis, Tennessee The FAA Monday gave approval to Honeywell's Smartpath Precision Landing System, clearing the way for increased safety and efficiency at airports by providing precise navigation service based on GPS. The first U.S.-approved system is located in Memphis, TN and will become operational early next year. "The approval of Honeywell's system marks the successful completion of a partnership between the FAA and Airservices Australia to build and certify a ground based augmentation system (GBAS)," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "We expect GBAS to become an asset to airports around the world." Airservices Australia is expected to approve their system soon at Sydney Airport, Australia. GBAS augments the GPS to provide precision approach guidance to all qualifying runways at an airport. It monitors the GPS signals to detect errors and augment accuracy by transmitting correction messages to aircraft via local radio broadcast. GBAS will initially supplement the legacy Instrument Landing Systems currently used at airports. The FAA's NextGen Implementation Plan identifies GBAS as an enabler for descent and approach operations to increase capacity at crowded airports. The Honeywell system is approved for precision approach operations down to 200 feet above the surface. GBAS will be improved over the next few years to guide an aircraft down to the runway surface to support zero-visibility operations and provide precise positioning service to enable performance-based navigation, area navigation (RNAV) and required navigation performance (RNP) operations. RNAV enables aircraft to fly on any desired 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. As such, RNAV aircraft have better access and flexibility for point-to-point operations. RNP is RNAV with the addition of an onboard performance monitoring and alerting capability. FMI: www.faa.gov aero-news.net *************** Babbitt, Hersman, Bolen To Open 13th Annual Bombardier Safety Standdown Wichita Event Open To All Aviation Professionals The 13th edition of Safety Standdown, Bombardier's industry leading safety seminar, will return to Wichita, Kansas at the Hyatt Regency Wichita from September 28 to October 1. FAA administrator Randy Babbitt, NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman, and NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen will deliver opening remarks at this year's fully booked event. Under the new banner "Knowledge Ace", the seminar offers three full days of lectures and one day of practical training workshops. New on this year's agenda are: Smart Pilot workshop, TERPS/Runway Analysis workshop, and Mind and Body Wellness - a workshop examining cardiovascular risk factors among pilots and crew. Randy Babbitt "Safety Standdown is designed to challenge pilots and crew to expand their understanding of the human factors involved in aviation accidents. Knowledge Ace refers to the concept of using the acquired information to minimize the possibility of human error," said Rick Rowe, chief pilot, Learjet. "Knowledge-based training integrated with skill-based training is our greatest defense against error, bridging the gap between what the industry gets and what it needs. It is the goal of Safety Standdown for our presenters, the subject matter experts, to share their varied knowledge with as many aviation professionals as we can reach worldwide." Deborah Hersman Return presenters include industry and safety experts such as: Captain Gene Cernan, United States Navy (ret.); Commander Apollo 17, Dr. Mark Rosekind, President and Chief Scientist, Alertness Solutions; Dr. Tony Kern, CEO and Senior Partner, Convergent Performance; Sean Roberts, Director, National Test Pilot School; and John Nance, Author and ABC News Aerospace Analyst. Ed Bolen Safety Standdown and Safety Standdown Europe are organized annually in partnership with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The seminar is offered at no charge to all aviation professionals regardless of the type of aircraft they fly. As of June 2009, over 3,500 pilots, crewmembers, safety specialists and industry officials had graduated from Safety Standdown. FMI: www.safetystanddown.com aero-news.net *************** EASA issues emergency AD related to specific Goodrich pitot tubes on A330s/A340s EASA on 21 September issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus A330/A340 aircraft fitted with certain Goodrich pitot tubes after receiving several reports of loose pneumatic quick disconnect unions on the tubes. The AD applies to Goodrich pitot tubes featuring the part number (P/N) 0851HL with serial numbers 267328 through 270714. EASA explains the disconnect could be the result of mis-torque of the affected unions at the equipment manufacturing level, but investigations are still ongoing to determine the root cause. "This condition, if not corrected, could lead to an air leak resulting in incorrect total pressure measurement and consequent erroneous calibrated airspeed/MACH parameters delivered by the Air Data Computer," EASA explains. EASA is ordering operators with the affected pitot tubes to perform a torque check of the pneumatic quick-disconnect union of the tube, and depending on the findings, apply the appropriate corrective actions before the next flight. Airbus has supplied corrective actions in communications sent to all operators. Within 10 days of the emergency AD's issuance operators have to report findings of the torque checks, including no findings, to Airbus. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** CASA 212 Accident (Alaska) Status: Preliminary Date: 18 SEP 2009 Type: CASA 212 Aviocar 200 Operator: Bering Air Registration: N349TA C/n / msn: 349 First flight: 1986 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Savoonga Airport, AK (SVA) (United States of America) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: ? Destination airport: Savoonga Airport, AK (SVA), United States of America Narrative: A Bering Air CASA 212 cargo plane was damaged when it suffered a runway excursion on landing at Savoonga Airport, AK (SVA). The plane had more than 5,000 pounds of cargo on board. (aviation-safety.net) ************** Key US review of airport safety standards in India begins today Outcome of final audit will decide whether new services and more Indian carriers will be allowed into the USTarun Shukla New Delhi: The US aviation regulator will begin on Tuesday a final audit of its Indian counterpart, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on safety oversight that will be key to the future international expansion plans of Indian airlines. Testing times: Director general of civil aviation Nasim Zaidi. DGCA has tightened monitoring and oversight measures since FAA's March audit. Rajkumar / Mint The two-day audit is the culmination of a review begun by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) earlier this year after the International Civil Aviation Organization, or Icao, found India lacking in around 70 areas, including shortage of flight safety inspectors and other technical personnel. Since the review began, no new direct flights to the US from India have taken off. No new code share agreements have been approved between Indian carriers such as Jet Airways (India) Ltd and National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India, and US airlines such as United Airlines and US Airways, according to officials at the DGCA and the civil aviation ministry. Both Jet Airways and Air India connect cities in the US and have sought expansion of code-share agreements with US carriers that will depend on the audit. The outcome is also crucial for airlines such as SpiceJet Ltd and Paramount Airways Pvt. Ltd that are preparing to fly international routes starting next year. Code sharing refers to a ticket marketing practice among airlines that allows carriers to share the two characters in codes used in airline reservation systems. This helps customers purchase a single ticket on a journey that has two flights such as a New Delhi-London leg and a London-New York one on two different airlines. If the FAA downgrades its safety standards rating for India to so-called category II after completing the review, no new services by Indian carriers can be started to the US. Once placed in category II, no new code-share agreements can also be allowed. Climbing back to category I, the highest class of safety, could take months or years. Israel, for instance, was downgraded to category II late last year by the FAA on similar grounds. "It is essential that we keep category I because we will not be able to enter US in a downgrade," said the chief of an Indian carrier who did not want to be named because of it being a regulatory issue. "Further, existing ones (flights) will have to bear severe checks every time the flight lands and takes off from the US. Schedules will be frozen, and no new routes will be available." To be sure, FAA's safety audits do not necessarily mean that airlines of a particular country are not safe to fly. The audits are aimed at ascertaining if the regulatory authorities are following international safety oversight procedures. The FAA team, said a civil aviation ministry official who asked not to be named, will review all the steps India has taken to fulfil its commitment on safety oversight. The first FAA assessment was conducted 16-20 March in New Delhi. "Whatever we had to do, we have done," the ministry official said. Between January and now, several steps have been implemented. This included selection of around 50 flight safety inspectors, setting up a nation-wide surveillance programme, reviving 132 lapsed technical positions at DGCA and the creation of 427 new ones. Approval has been granted to fill 73 technical positions with consultants until regular recruitment is completed, and to procure accident investigation kits, according to a civil aviation ministry note reviewed by Mint. By 1 June, the note says, 18 of the 19 issues raised by the FAA had been addressed. One requires the amendment of aircraft rules for which a note has been sent to the law ministry. DGCA, under Nasim Zaidi, has also moved to improve safety standards and enforce safety rules. Aviation safety consultant Mohan Ranganathan cited the example of an airport operator using grooved tyres for runway friction testing, which was against international specifications because it gives an inflated friction reading, dangerous for aircraft landing on wet runways. Corrective action was taken within a month of DGCA being apprised of this, Ranganathan said. "Here, I see action being taken, while earlier even when evidence was given, no action was taken," he added. Last week, DGCA also moved to decentralize the organization and create regional command centres, in line with a suggestion by FAA for the creation of a senior-level regional structure, the aviation ministry official mentioned earlier said. Officers of the rank of deputy director general will head the command centres for the north, south, west and east which are being strengthened with airworthiness and air safety divisions, said a DGCA official who didn't want to be named. Ranganathan said the move will allow for "better monitoring action instead of everything being held up at headquarters (in New Delhi)". http://www.livemint.com/2009/09/21214744/Key-US-review-of-airport-safet.html *************** New Orleans Armstrong plans to transform into a private airport. New Orleans Armstrong International has received federal approval for its preliminary application to become a private airport, a move that could bring the city a sudden cash windfall but strip it of its oversight and operational rights. Airport officials submitted the application last month to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is overseeing a trial program to privatize up to five U.S. airports. New Orleans Armstrong officials can now begin to look for private investors who are willing to pay a large sum of money to own the airport in a long-term lease. The investor-owner would keep the profits from running the airport. The airport says it will select the bidder with the highest and best bid. "The airport, the board and the staff are looking at all possible avenues," airport spokeswoman Michelle Wilcut says. Once the airport selects a private operator, it'll submit its final application to the FAA. To complete the process, it will also require approval from the city council and 65% of its airline tenants. The airport hopes to submit its final application by the fall of 2010. The FAA's attempt to privatize airports has been slow to get off the ground. Chicago Midway is the only other airport that has been given approval for privatization, but it has had difficulty finding a private investor with enough money. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2009-09-20-airport-checkin_N .htm **************** Airbus Planning To Set Up New Logistics Center In China BEIJING (Dow Jones)--European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is planning to set up a new logistics center in China to coordinate its growing operations in the country, Airbus China Ltd. President Laurence Barron said Tuesday. "We've got so much industrial activity here, we want to harmonize the transport systems for all the goods flowing in and out of China for us," Barron said at an aviation forum in Beijing. The logistics center will likely be located in Tianjin, he said. Airbus opened its first final assembly line outside of Europe in the northeastern Chinese city last year. The plant assembles A320s and delivered its first plane in June. Airbus forecast its procurement of components and materials in China will rise to $200 million by 2010 and to $450 million by 2015. The company sourced about $70 million worth of parts and materials from China in 2007 and expects to source $140 million this year. It has also begun construction of a plant in Harbin, nothern China, to manufacture major components for the A350 XWB and it is scheduled to start operations by the end of 2010. Airbus will own a 20% stake of the plant, and Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co. will hold a 50% stake. Hafei Aviation Industry Co., Avichina Industry & Technology Co. and Harbin Development Zone Heli Infrastructure Development Co. will hold 10% each. China's efforts to develop its own mainline commercial jet to challenge Airbus and Boeing Co. has made Airbus more "circumspect" in how it does business here, Barron said. "Maybe five years ago, we would have just signed a subcontract - here's the design, here are the parts we want, please make them and deliver them," Barron said. "Now, we've decided to take a 20% share in a joint venture." The A350 uses "state of the art technology, and we want to keep it for ourselves," he said. China is developing a single-aisle aircraft called the C919, which is scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2014 and be ready for delivery in 2016. It will seat at least 150 passengers and have a range of 4,075 kilometers to 5,555 kilometers, making it comparable to Boeing's 737 and Airbus' 320. "C919 is an advanced plane. We are in touch not only with Chinese airlines, but also foreign airlines," Chen Jin, director of the marketing and sales department at Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, said at Tuesday's forum. "There will definitely be foreign users." State-backed Comac is also the developer of the ARJ21, China's first homegrown regional jet. China has the potential to become a significant operator in aviation financing globally, Barron said. "In other parts of the world the financing community is struggling and there's a lack of liquidity in certain markets," he said. "Chinese banks have come through the financial crisis pretty strongly, and they are all interested in doing more in the area of aircraft financing and aircraft leasing." In June, Airbus and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on aircraft financing and leasing. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090922-702685.html *************** Samoan airline suspends flights WELLINGTON, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Samoan airline, South Pacific Express, or SPEX, has suspended flight operations. The airline's Chief Executive Officer, John McNeely, said in a statement on Tuesday that flight operations have been placed on hold. He said this decision was difficult to make but continued economic deterioration within American Samoa and Samoa has provided no alternative. SPEX flew its first commercial flight in December 2005. The airline employed about 18 staff in American Samoa and slightly fewer in Samoa. A year ago the airline incorporated in Samoa and switched its headquarters from Pago Pago of American Samoa to Samoa's Apia. The suspension of SPEX flights leaves only Polynesian and Inter Island Air flying between Samoa and American Samoa. **************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC