06 OCT 2009 _______________________________________ * Airports Get Aid for Device to See Debris * AirTran flight makes emergency landing, none hurt * United Airlines flight makes emergency landing at LAX * NYC: "Zero tolerance" for geese on airport property * NBAA welcomes Rosekind nomination to NTSB board * FedEx Express Advances In-Flight Safety with Automatic Fire Suppression System * European Pilots Want Stricter Safety Rules to Fight Fatigue **************************************** Airports Get Aid for Device to See Debris MATTHEW L. WALD October 5, 2009 The Federal Aviation Administration is taking steps toward helping airports buy equipment that will spot dangerous debris on their runways. The agency published an advisory circular on Sept. 30 that lays out the specifications the equipment must meet. The systems can use cameras or radars, and be fixed or mobile. Airports can apply for federal grants to buy systems that meet the specifications, setting the stage for the first systems to be in place next year. The agency's action comes more than nine years after the crash that started the quest for debris-seeking technology. In that accident, a strip of metal from a preceding flight shredded a tire on an Air France Concorde. Rubber fragments flew against the underside of the wing so forcefully that they put holes in the fuel tank and ignited a fire as the plane took off. The plane crashed, killing all 109 people aboard and four people on the ground. An Israeli company, XSight Systems, installed a system at Logan International Airport in Boston and tested it through two winters. Alon Nitzan, president and chief executive of the company, said that at the time of the crash, "The entire industry begged for a tech solution, including the regulators." Several other companies offer debris detection systems, including QinetiQ and Stratech. Xsight sells through distributors; Mr. Nitzan said the Pentagon was one customer. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/business/06debris.html ************** AirTran flight makes emergency landing, none hurt ORLANDO (AP) - An AirTran Airways plane headed from Orlando to Akron, Ohio, returned for an emergency landing shortly after takeoff because of engine problems. Orlando International Airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said no one was injured in the Sunday afternoon incident. The airplane's 122 passengers and crew departed the aircraft by emergency chutes and were bussed back to the terminal. Fennell said airport fire and rescue teams applied cooling foam to the engine, but airport officials were not told what caused the malfunction. An AirTran spokesman did not immediately return messages seeking comment Monday morning. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-10-05-airtran-orlando-landing_N. htm ************** United Airlines flight makes emergency landing at LAX Robert J. Lopez October 5, 2009 United Airlines flight makes emergency landing at LAX October 5, 2009 | 3:36 pm A United Airlines flight that took off this afternoon from Los Angeles International Airport was forced to return to the airport and make an emergency landing after the pilot noticed a possible leak in the hydraulic system, authorities said. The pilot of Flight 891, which left for Narita, Japan, at 1:25 p.m., noticed the problem as the plane cruised over the Ventura area, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Los Angeles. The pilot headed back to LAX and declared an emergency that prompted officials to scramble crash rescue units as the plane prepared to land. The plane landed safely at 2:21 p.m. and was towed to the gate, Gregor said. United crews were inspecting the aircraft this afternoon to determine what may have gone wrong. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/united-airlines-flight-makes-e mergency-landing-at-lax.html ************** NYC: "Zero tolerance" for geese on airport property; For Culprits in Miracle on Hudson, the Flip Side of Glory SIMON AKAM October 2, 2009 Most great tales have a hero and a villain, and the now-legendary Miracle on the Hudson, in which a pilot successfully ditched a plane that had lost power in both engines, is no exception. Skip to next paragraph On Thursday, the return of the pilot, Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III, to complete the flight from La Guardia Airport to Charlotte, N.C., was greeted with nonstop media coverage, his fans besieging him with applause and autograph requests. The story of the culprits in the Jan. 15 accident - namely the geese that knocked out those engines - has played out a little differently. The exact number of resident Canada geese is difficult to ascertain - probably somewhere above 20,000 in the New York metropolitan area, according to the State Department of Environmental Conservation. What is certain is that over eight hectic days last summer that number was reduced by 1,235. In June and July, about a dozen workers from the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and the city's Parks and Recreation and Environmental Protection Departments descended on 17 locations across New York. Their aim was to gather as many birds as they could, and they were taking no prisoners. The exercise was politely termed a roundup, not an extermination, but none of the geese herded out of the water with kayaks and corralled behind plastic barriers would live to see the autumn leaves. Instead, they were packed in turkey crates and taken away to be gassed. By the time the exercise was over, the geese were dead, and the city had had its vengeance. Whether the cull has made the skies above New York safer is less clear. It is certainly true that Canada geese are no friends to aircraft. According to Richard A. Dolbeer, a wildlife scientist who retired from the United States Department of Agriculture in 2008, their bulk - typically around nine pounds, he said - means they can do much more damage than smaller birds, and they also congregate in flocks. They are abundant, too, with more than five million in the United States. Traditionally, they passed through New York only during migrations in the spring and fall, he said, but a resident population was introduced in the 1930s to provide opportunities for hunting. "The bottom line with Canada geese is that they truly are the most hazardous species of bird that poses a threat to aviation," Dr. Dolbeer said. But some wildlife advocates are skeptical about the efficiency of last summer's cull. Glenn Phillips, the executive director of New York City Audubon, said research into the goose population in the city was insufficient to know the appropriate number of birds to kill. "There's a lot that has to be done before we are taking measures like this," Mr. Phillips said. "We're not saying you can't do these things, we're saying you have to do your homework first." Mr. Phillips said the birds that brought down Captain Sullenberger's plane, US Airways Flight 1549, were migrants lab tests showed that. He said therefore that reducing the resident population would not necessarily have prevented the accident. Unsurprisingly, the authorities offer a more positive assessment, although the tally of geese caught fell somewhat short of the 2,000 they had predicted before the roundup. "Canada geese pose a serious threat to aviation, so to protect people in the air and on the ground, we have taken a number of steps to reduce the likelihood of bird strikes," said Edward Skyler, a deputy mayor. The roundup - which Jason Post, a spokesman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, said cost less than $50,000, with the bill shared between the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - was not the only attempt to reduce the city's goose population this year. During the nesting season, before the gathering and gassing, the Agriculture Department undertook another goose control measure by coating 1,739 eggs with oil. "You use 100 percent corn oil," said Carol A. Bannerman, a department spokeswoman. "The oil prevents air from going through the shell, and the egg will no longer develop." Alongside these seasonal efforts, other procedures to keep birds away from planes continue year round. John Kelly, a Port Authority spokesman, said New York's three major airports have conducted wildlife-control exercises since at least the mid-1970s. Pyrotechnics and falconry have both been used, and the authority also has 20 men and women trained with shotguns. "Members from Port Authority operations make regular rounds of the airport properties, and one of their assignments is to watch for birds," Mr. Kelly said in a statement, adding that "some situations call for the use of a shotgun to disperse and kill birds on airport property." "The Port Authority maintains a zero tolerance policy towards geese on any airport property," he said. "The shotgun is used and handled only by trained and certified members of Port Authority operations." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/nyregion/03geese.html ************** NBAA welcomes Rosekind nomination to NTSB board 06-Oct-2009 The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) recently welcomed the White House nomination of Dr. Mark R. Rosekind to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The White House announced the nomination on September 30. Rosekind, president and chief scientist of California-based Alertness Solutions, is an expert on the effects of fatigue on productivity, safety and flight operations. Throughout his career, Rosekind has studied and made recommendations to improve operations in the aviation industry, as well as the military and healthcare and energy industries. "We are pleased with Dr. Rosekind's nomination to the NTSB," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "His exhaustive research and acclaimed studies have provided proven strategies that have helped many companies address challenges related to pilot fatigue. Given the aviation community's renewed focus on fatigue in recent months, we believe Dr. Rosekind is the right addition to the Board at the right time." Rosekind's experience also includes work for NASA's Fatigue Countermeasures Program in the Human Factors Division, and chief of the Aviation Operations Branch (human factors activities) in the NASA Ames Flight Management and Human Factors Division. "Dr. Rosekind has been a partner to the business aviation community for many years," continued Bolen. "We've always been honored to welcome him as a featured speaker at some of our industry's most important safety-themed events, including our U.S. and European safety standdown events. We look forward to continuing our productive efforts to promote business aviation safety when his nomination to the Board is confirmed." http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=5160 ************** FedEx Express Advances In-Flight Safety with Automatic Fire Suppression System C Business Wire 2009 FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX), has unveiled the industry's first onboard automatic fire-suppression system (FSS), elevating the level of safety during international, over-water flights. The comprehensive fire-safety system is the result of seven years of design and development efforts at FedEx Express, and expands upon the company's existing commitment to advancing aviation safety. "The in-flight safety of crew and cargo is a top priority at FedEx Express, leading to our development of this enhanced fire-safety technology," said Joel Murdock, managing director, Strategic Projects, FedEx Express. "After seven years of design and development, we're proud to see this proprietary technology take flight on a variety of aircraft in the FedEx fleet, representing another strong step forward in our air-safety initiatives." In April 2009, FedEx Express began installation of the FSS technology on MD-11 freighters - the workhorse of the FedEx international aircraft fleet. Each installation requires approximately 700 man hours and will be completed on the company's 59 MD-11 aircraft in early 2011. FedEx also plans to install the FSS technology on new Boeing 777 Freighters, which begin international service in the company's fleet in early 2010. In all, 74 FedEx wide-body planes used for international, over-water flights will be upgraded with the technology. How the FedEx FSS Works The FSS features a network of infrared thermal sensors, foaming-agent generators and an overhead cargo-container injector. If heat is detected by the sensors, the fire suppression technology located above each cargo container is activated, simultaneously alerting crew members. The metal container is pierced by an injector apparatus and filled with an argon-based biodegradable and non-corrosive fire-suppression foam that controls and extinguishes the fire in minutes. Cargo in other containers is unaffected by the system's activation, and the foam has only minimal impact on packages housed within the container. For palletized freight, a special fire-retardant blanket is used to cover the cargo; it restricts the level of oxygen around freight, effectively serving as a fire suppression tool. In extensive testing, including the certification process, the FedEx FSS proved quick and effective on classes of fires, demonstrating its capability of protecting aircraft, crew and customer shipments from fires started by. - Ordinary materials such as paper or lumber (Class A) - Flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline or kerosene (Class B) - Combustible metals such as lithium, magnesium titanium, potassium and sodium which burn at extremely high temperatures (Class D). No other aircraft fire-safety system in use today is effective against Class D fires. Shipments that are subject to what would be considered Class C fires, electrical equipment, for example, will continue to be carried separately in the aircraft's lower belly compartment, and are safeguarded with the industry-standard halon bottle system. How FedEx FSS Enhances Air Safety A majority of fire-safety systems in use onboard cargo aircraft require manual activation by a crew member. In addition, many systems only address fires that could potentially occur in containers holding cargo that must be declared and labeled by shippers as being Dangerous Goods. Yet most cargo fires originate from undeclared Dangerous Goods, posing additional challenges to existing fire-suppression systems. Because of its unique over-head design and automatic activation, the FedEx FSS technology overcomes this challenge by suppressing fires contained within any cargo container or pallet on the main flight deck. In addition, current FAA regulations require that aircraft depressurize, divert to the closest airport and land immediately after any in-flight fire situation. This means that the flight crew has about 30 minutes to safely land the aircraft. With the new FedEx safety system, aircraft on lengthy international flights, which can be up to three hours from land, are able to safely divert and land. "Our new in-flight system has pushed the industry safety standard to a new level," Murdock said. "With the FedEx technology our pilots have more time to review and assess an in-air situation, further ensuring their safety, and the safety of their plane and cargo." A History of Aviation Safety Advancements The introduction of the FedEx FSS into the company's fleet is just the latest upgrade in a series of pilot and aircraft advancements that underpin the FedEx Express commitment to safety. In 2008 FedEx Express certified a unique Head-Up Display/Enhanced Flight Vision System (HUD/EFVS) on MD-10 and MD-11 aircraft. The technology - pioneered in conjunction with Honeywell and Elbit Systems - improves situational awareness for flight crews in reduced visibility conditions. Installation of the HUD/EFVS began in January 2009 on the MD-11 and will be followed by the MD-10. On-the-ground safety was also addressed with the recent installation of the Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS). This upgrade improves the existing Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System standard at many airports to provide aural alerts to improve crew awareness of an aircraft's actual position relative to runways and taxiways during takeoff, landing and taxi operations. About FedEx FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $34 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 275,000 team members to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. NOTE: For a visual demonstration of the Fire Suppression System, go to http://news.van.fedex.com/firesuppression FedEx Corp.Jim McCluskey, Media Relations, 901-434-7764 jmmccluskey@fedex.com http://www.pr-inside.com/fedex-express-advances-in-flight-safety-r1514152.ht m ************** European Pilots Want Stricter Safety Rules to Fight Fatigue Monday, October 05, 2009; Associated Press Outside the EU head office - and at 22 European airports - pilots and cabin staff issued fake boarding passes to the public containing health warnings resembling those on cigarette packages. The European Cockpit Association, representing 38,200 pilots, said the EU's European Aviation Safety Agency refuses to act on a report by an independent experts that recommends fewer flight hours to combat fatigue in pilots and cabin crews. ECA President Martin Chalk accused airlines of causing the delay for fear of higher staff costs and urged the European Commission to nudge its aviation safety agency into action. Chalk did not name European airlines his union feels are unsafe because of excessive flight times. Daniel Hoeltgen, a spokesman for Cologne-based EASA, rejected the pilots' complaints. He said EASA published the flight time report in January and is consulting with the International Civil Aviation Organization. The safety agency plans to hold a public consultation on air crew fatigue and then draft new flight time rules that are scheduled to take force in 2012. "The pilots are jumping the gun," He told The Associated Press. "We are not reducing our review of flight times to this one study." The study was carried out by Moebus Aviation, a Swiss consultancy in Zurich, in 2008. It found EU rules on day and night time duty hours for pilots and cabin crew too long. For instance, maximum night duty, now limited to 11.45 hours, must be cut to 10 hours, it recommended. While the European pilots union said the report is based on scientific evidence, EU airlines say it is "flawed" and "unconvincing." EU flight time rules are very complex and let national governments set higher standards through national regulations or collective labor agreements between airlines and their employees. Several countries, including Britain and the Netherlands, have opted for that. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,560240,00.html ************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC