01 OCT 2009 _______________________________________ *Family of Americans killed in Air France crash sue *All Clear in Boston After Bomb Threat on Plane *NTSB issues safety recommendations on bird strikes and charter ops *Midwest Airlines to ground 717s in November *Air Safety Initiatives Run Into Opposition *Cockpit chatter cited in six crashes *Embry-Riddle celebrates OctoberWest *Airbus welcomes approval of synthetic fuel standard **************************************** Family of Americans killed in Air France crash sue HOUSTON - The families of two Americans killed in the crash of an Air France flight off the coast of South America in June filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the airline and the plane's various manufacturers knew the aircraft had defective parts that could have caused the accident. The lawsuit was filed in Houston federal court by the families of Michael Harris, 60, and his wife Anne, 54. The Houston-area couple were two of the 228 people killed aboard Air France Flight 447 when it crashed en route from Brazil to France on June 1. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was filed against Societe Air France; Airbus, the plane's manufacturer; and Honeywell International Inc.; Rockwell Collins Inc.; and Thales SA, which manufactured various components related to radar equipment and other components that measure airspeed and altitude. The cause of the crash is still being investigated and remains unclear. But attention has been focused on whether a type of speed sensor known as a Pitot tube malfunctioned and sent false speed information to the computers as the plane ran into a thunderstorm at about 35,000 feet. Automatic messages transmitted by the plane show its computer systems no longer knew its speed, and the automatic pilot and thrust functions were turned off. "The focus of the lawsuit is the speed and sensor devices and the related components which we believe played a significant role in what happened to the aircraft," said Richard Mithoff, attorney for the two sons of the Harrises who filed the lawsuit. "It's pretty clear that a plane doesn't drop out of the sky either without the fault of the crew or equipment or both." Mithoff said questions have surfaced about whether Air France was aware of problems with the speed sensing component parts and if the airlines took timely action to solve possible problems. The Associated Press reported earlier this month that Airbus knew since at least 2002 about problems with the Pitots. Thales manufactured the Pitot tubes, Honeywell a unit that supplied air data, including airspeed and altitude, and Rockwell the radar system. "We are aware of the lawsuit but we have no comment," said Airbus spokesman Clay McConnell. Messages left with Air France officials in Paris, Thales offices in Paris and Arlington, Va., and spokespeople with New Jersey-based Honeywell and Iowa-based Rockwell were not immediately returned. Investigators insist sensor malfunction was not the cause of the crash. But the exact role the Pitots played in the crash may never be known without the flight recorders, which might never be recovered. The plane was flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it went down in a remote area of the Atlantic, 930 miles off Brazil's mainland and far from radar coverage. Michael Harris worked in Rio de Janeiro for Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corp. But he and his wife still maintained a home in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands, Mithoff said. The couple was heading to Europe for work and vacation. *************** All Clear in Boston After Bomb Threat on Plane BOSTON - Authorities found nothing suspicious on a plane headed from Boston to Miami that was emptied and moved to an isolated area at Logan International Airport after a written bomb threat was found on board. The American Airlines plane and luggage was searched Wednesday by police and a bomb-sniffing dog. Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for airport operator Massport, said the plane was given the all-clear around 4 p.m. He said passengers on Flight 1318 were transferred to another plane and will continue to Miami. The plane arrived from Dallas at about 1:45 p.m. and was scheduled to head to Miami about a half hour later. During the preboarding process, a flight attendant found "Bomb on board, Boston-Miami" scrawled on a cabinet in the bathroom. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,558141,00.html *************** NTSB issues safety recommendations on bird strikes and charter ops On March 4, 2008, a Cessna 500 Citation entered a steep descent and crashed after colliding in flight with a flock of large birds about 2 minutes after takeoff from Oklahoma City-Wiley Post Airport (PWA). Following its investigation the National Transportation Safety Board issued ten new safety recommendations. These include recommendations for: - the revision of bird-strike certification requirements; - airports compliance with the requirements to perform wildlife hazard assessments; - aircraft-specific guidance information for minimizing the severity of aircraft damage sustained during a bird strike; - reporting of all wildlife strikes; - inclusion of the operator and operating rules in flight plans; - issuance of a written document that expressly describes the terms of carriage by Part 135 on-demand operators; - improving FAA on-site inspector surveillance to detect improper charter operations; In addition, the NTSB reiterated a safety recommendation to require all operators of aircraft equipped with a CVR make sure the CVR is functioning (A-06-23). (NTSB) *aviation-safety.net) ************** Midwest Airlines to ground 717s in November Midwest Airlines of Oak Creek will permanently ground its Boeing 717 jets on Nov. 3, leaving the remaining Midwest pilots and flight crews without jobs. "While there will still be airplanes flying with 'Midwest' written on them, there will no longer be any of the pilots who truly provided 'the best care in the air' operating them," said Anthony Freitas, chairman of the Midwest Airlines unit of the Air Line Pilots Association. "All of the original Midwest flight crews are being outsourced in the final phase of dismantling our airline." The remaining Boeing 717 aircraft will be returned to the manufacturer on Nov. 3 and all of the remaining Midwest pilots will no longer fly any Midwest aircraft, according to the union. "Midwest's new owner hopes that if they keep the same paint scheme and cookies, no one will notice that the crews who helped build our airline's well-deserved reputation for award-winning customer service are gone," Freitas said. The move to lower-cost pilots will be "devastating" to Midwest pilots and their families, he said. Midwest is replacing its nine remaining Boeing 717 aircraft with Embraer 190 aircraft. Last October, Midwest entered into an agreement with Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings to replace Midwest's Boeing 717s with Embraer aircraft flown by pilots employed by Republic subsidiary Republic Airlines. Midwest Airlines, which is now owned by Republic Airways (NASDAQ: RJET), filed an updated mass layoff notice with the state on Sept. 25 indicating that 68 pilots and 52 flight attendants would be furloughed in November as a result of the grounding of the 717 planes. http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/09/28/daily50.html ************** Air Safety Initiatives Run Into Opposition (AP) Federal efforts to improve U.S. aviation safety after a deadly regional plane crash in February have hit major obstacles, sapping momentum for a reform effort that enjoyed broad political support earlier this year. A number of aviation safety proposals have been filed in Congress this year in response to the Feb. 12 crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 outside Buffalo. The crash killed 50 people, making it the deadliest U.S. transportation accident in seven years. In preliminary hearings and reports, the National Transportation Safety Board has exposed a number of safety issues, including lax pilot hiring practices, problems related to training and fatigue and superficial regulatory oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration. In three days of hearings in March, the NTSB released cockpit voice transcripts from the accident, and the plane's co-pilot can be heard expressing fears about poor training and her inadequacies as an entry-level pilot. The safety board's revelations were followed by a wave of news conferences, news releases and congressional hearings in which lawmakers demanded action. Action appears to have been stymied on a number of fronts, however. Objections from U.S. aviation colleges have slowed House legislation intended to improve safety. The schools are fighting a provision that would require all airline pilots to obtain airline transport pilot certificates from the FAA, substantially boosting the flight time of entry-level pilots. Under current regulations, only senior pilots must have the certificates, which require 1,500 hours of flight time. The flight time requirement is a big problem for the colleges, which tend to graduate pilots who have 250 to 350 hours. Pilots from the schools have been able to move quickly to entry-level jobs at regional airlines as junior pilots. The new rule would force graduates to spend an additional year or more acquiring the required flight hours. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the country's largest aviation school, has emerged in recent weeks as a major opponent of the provision. The school's Daytona Beach campus is in the district of Rep. John L. Mica (Fla.), ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees aviation. Tim Brady, dean of Embry-Riddle's College of Aviation, and other aviation educators said the provision would spur aspiring airline pilots to fulfill the flying time requirement by piloting crop-dusters and towing banners. Staff members in Mica's office have been working on a compromise with FAA officials and committee Democrats. Jim Berard, a spokesman for the House transportation committee, said he is confident that the group could reach "an amicable solution." But a compromise could alienate other House Democrats, families of crash victims and pilot union members who back reforms. "Any attempt to decrease the qualifications below the level of an airline transport pilot license is watering it down," said Capt. James Ray, media chairman of the U.S. Airline Pilots Association, which represents 5,200 US Airways pilots and has been a strong backer of the bill. Meanwhile, other efforts to improve aviation safety have foundered. In the Senate, action on aviation safety legislation has taken a back seat as key lawmakers grapple with health-care reform. Separately, an FAA initiative to extract voluntary commitments from the aviation industry to improve safety has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats. In June, FAA Administrator J. Randolph Babbitt wrote dozens of airlines and eight labor unions asking them to upgrade safety practices and report back to him on their progress. Rep. Jerry F. Costello (D-Ill.), chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, credited Babbitt with starting a rulemaking process aimed at addressing pilot fatigue this year. But Costello said that the FAA had failed to impose firm deadlines and that data from the voluntary initiative are "raw and incomplete." The FAA has said 69 of 98 airlines and three of eight aviation unions have responded. Babbitt vowed last week to publicize the names of unresponsive airlines and unions. "While we haven't heard from everyone at this point," Babbitt said at the hearing, "I will use my bully pulpit going forward." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/30/AR2009093003 002.html *************** Cockpit chatter cited in six crashes By Alan Levin, USA TODAY Airline pilots regularly violate federal law by chit-chatting or joking during critical phases of flight - the kind of distractions that may have played a role in two recent fatal crashes that killed a total of 62 people, according to government records. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has cited violations of the "sterile cockpit rule" in six crashes since 2004, a USA TODAY review found. In addition, the pilots of a commuter plane that crashed Feb. 12 near Buffalo were casually talking minutes before the accident that killed 50 people. More than half - 11 out of 20 - of the cockpit recording transcripts released in serious accidents during the past decade contain evidence of violations, USA TODAY found. Comments that range from mimicking a chicken to expletive-laced jokes were captured on cockpit recordings. Since 1981, federal law has barred such banter while taxiing and flying below 10,000 feet. Pilots need to improve their discipline, according to some safety advocates. "It is sending a signal that following the regulations are not necessary," said NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt, a former airline pilot. "We're seeing too many of these slips," said Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt. Among the examples in NTSB records: . Pilots on a Great Lakes Airlines flight into St. Louis were making chicken noises and talking in character as they taxied on Sept. 7, 2008. The plane suffered substantial damage to the tail when it struck a building, but the four passengers were not injured. . The pilots of a Comair jet talked about other people applying for piloting jobs for 30 seconds as they taxied in Lexington, Ky., on Aug. 27, 2006. The plane crashed while trying to take off on the wrong runway, killing 49 of the 50 people aboard. . The pilots of a Corporate Airlines commuter plane approaching Kirksville, Mo., on Oct. 19, 2004, joked they should tell passengers "you people should all shut the (expletive) up." The pilots descended too low and struck the ground, killing themselves and 11 of 13 passengers. Edwin Hutchins, a University of California, San Diego professor who has studied pilot behavior, cautioned that most violations are minor, and research hasn't shown a threat to safety. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-10-01-pilot-speak_N.htm **************** Embry-Riddle celebrates OctoberWest Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is celebrating 30 years in Prescott during OctoberWest Homecoming Friday and Saturday. The theme of this year's Homecoming is "Lunarcy on Campus," and it will highlight man's quest to conquer space and the hectic life of college students. Events are open to students, alumni, parents, and the local community. OctoberWest events include: . Friday, 2 p.m. - Special Speaker Series presents Bill Voss, president, Flight Safety Foundation, Davis Learning Center Auditorium (DLC); "Aviation Training: Past, Present and Future." This presentation is for people interested in the future of flight training and new regulations for airlines and pilots. . Friday, 4 p.m. - Robertson Aviation Safety Center II (RASC II) dedication. ERAU welcomes Harry Robertson back for the dedication of his new building on campus dedicated to aviation safety and education. . Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - OctoberWest Festival including the College Motorsports Association Car Show & Shine; games, crafts, inflatables, bands, face painting, climbing wall, and men's and women's soccer matches. The OctoberWest Parade starts at 12:30 p.m. on campus The OctoberWest events are free and open to the public. The ERAU campus is located at 3700 Willow Creek Road in Prescott. http://prescottdailycourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleI D=72955 ************* Airbus welcomes approval of synthetic fuel standard Moves to establish a formal standard for 50% synthetic fuel blends for commercial aviation have been praised as a "breakthrough" on the path to flight with 100% blends. Airbus VP for sustainable development and eco-efficiency Christian Dumas said formal approval by ASTM International of its ASTM D7566 specification for non-petroleum-based fuels "paves the way for a 100% xTL blend made entirely from bio feedstock, such as woodchip waste". Synthetic fuels can be made from coal, natural gas or biomass and are all known as xTL fuels. Airbus confirmed that it remains on schedule to make a test flight using a 50% fuel mix before the end of the year. The airframer's alternative fuels "roadmap" estimates that 30% of jet fuel could be made from sustainable biomass by 2030. The Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, a consortium of aerospace firms, trade groups and the US FAA, expects 100% biomass fuels to be certified by 2013. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC