21 OCT 2009 _______________________________________ *Cargo 707 reportedly crashes outside Sharjah *FAA probes jet's taxiway landing *New EgyptAir chief upbeat on European safety assessment *Boeing plunges into the red in 3Q, reiterates 787 will fly by year-end *Safety board issues wake-up call on sleep disorder *Australian carrier Virgin defends safety record *************************************** Cargo 707 reportedly crashes outside Sharjah Emergency services are reportedly attending the scene of a freighter crash at Sharjah Airport in the United Arab Emirates. The aircraft, said to be a Sudanese Boeing 707, apparently came down after take-off. Details are still sketchy but early reports suggest none of the six crew members on board has survived. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Status: Preliminary Date: 21 OCT 2009 Time: 15:30 Type: Boeing 707-300 Operating for: Sudan Airways Leased from: AZZA Transport Registration: C/n / msn: First flight: Crew: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: ca 1 km N of Sharjah Airport (SHJ) (United Arab Emirates) Phase: Takeoff (TOF) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Sharjah Airport (SHJ/OMSJ), United Arab Emirates Destination airport: Khartoum-Civil Airport (KRT/HSSS), Sudan Flightnumber: 2241 Narrative: A Boeing 707 cargo plane, owned by Azza Transport, was destroyed when it crashed in a desert area immediately after takeoff from Sharjah Airport (SHJ). The airplane operated on Sudan Airways flight SUD2241, crashed near the Emirates Road, broke up and burned. Weather reported around the time of the accident (ca 11:30 UTC): OMSJ 211100Z 33012KT 270V010 9999 FEW040 32/19 Q1012= OMSJ 211200Z 32011KT 9999 FEW040 32/18 Q1012= (aviation-safety.net) *************** FAA probes jet's taxiway landing ATLANTA, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. aviation officials say they're investigating why a Delta Air Lines flight from Rio de Janeiro landed on an Atlanta airport taxiway. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said Tuesday even though the pilot of Delta Flight 60 had declared a medical emergency just before landing at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport shortly after 6 a.m. Monday, the craft should not have landed on a taxiway instead of a runway, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Delta spokesman Anthony Black told the newspaper the pilot and co-pilot have been "relieved of active flying pending the completion of the investigations, and we're cooperating with the investigations." Officials said Flight 60 landed Hartsfield's "taxiway M right," which runs parallel and north of its 12,000-foot runway 27. Bergen told the Journal-Constitution none of the 183 passengers or 12 crew members was injured and there were no other planes on the taxiway. She said she could not remember another case where a jet landed on an airport taxiway. *************** New EgyptAir chief upbeat on European safety assessment EgyptAir insists it isworking with the European Commission to address safety concerns, and points to no adverse findings from aircraft inspections carried out this month. The Commission warned the airline earlier this year thatit risked inclusion on its blacklist of banned carriers unless it addressed concerns in several areas of its operations. European regulators stopped short of adding EgyptAir to the list, butintensified inspections of the airline and its air safety committee will review the carrier's position next month. New EgyptAir chairman Hussein Massoud, speaking to ATI in Cairo, said: "We have been in close co-operation with them. "We took the remarks and we started working at it. So far we have had five inspections since the start of October, they have inspected five aircraft without any single finding.So it is just a way of understanding each other. We have an ambitious programme for co-operation." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Boeing plunges into the red in 3Q, reiterates 787 will fly by year-end Costs and charges associated with Boeing's delayed 787 and 747-8 programmes pushed the airframer deep into the red for the third quarter. For the three months ended 30 September, the manufacturer incurred a net loss of $1.6 billion compared to a $695 million profit in the year-earlier period. Boeing says the results reflect the $2.5 billion reclassification to research and development (R&D) of costs incurred through July for the first three 787 flight-test airplanes and $138 million of spending on those airplanes in August and September. The previously announced 747 forward-loss of $1 billion is due to increased production costs and difficult market conditions. Third quarter revenue grew 9% year-over-year to $16.7 billion. Of this amount, Boeing Commercial Airplanes saw an increase of 13% to $7.9 billion on higher deliveries partially offset by lower services volume, while Boeing Integrated Defense Systems saw a 3% rise to $8.7 billion on increased military aircraft deliveries and higher volume in services Boeing notes that last year's strike and supplier production problems reduced year-ago revenue by an estimated $2.1 billion. Company chairman, president and CEO Jim McNerney says the 787 cost reclassification and 747 charge "clearly overshadowed what continues to be otherwise solid performance across our commercial production programs and defense business". He adds: "We look forward to getting the 787 and 747-8 in the air soon and moving forward with flight test and certification for these two important programs." Boeing has reaffirmed that first flight of the 787 remains on track to occur by the end of 2009, with first delivery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2010. The company has also reaffirmed its 2009 revenue guidance at $68 billion to $69 billion. It will issue financial guidance for 2010 with its fourth quarter results. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Safety board issues wake-up call on sleep disorder WASHINGTON (AP) - Safety investigators have sent government agencies a wake-up call about sleep apnea, a disorder that's showing up in a wide range of transportation accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that commercial truck and bus drivers and merchant ship pilots should be screened for sleep apnea. The board made similar recommendations for airline pilots and train operators earlier this year. In letters to the Coast Guard and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the board recommended requiring medical examiners to question drivers and ship pilots about the disorder - which involves disruptions in breathing during sleep - and to develop programs to identify the problem. Sleep apnea denies people the rest they need, and it has been found to be a factor in incidents involving every transportation mode, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said in the letters. The board has sent similar recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration and to local transit agencies across the country. Among the incidents cited in the letters: _In January 2008, a motorcoach carrying passengers returning from a weekend ski trip went too fast around a curve on a rural Utah highway. The bus went careening down a mountainside, killing nine people and injuring 43 others. The driver suffered from sleep apnea and had trouble using a device to regulate his breathing while sleeping in the days before the accident. _The same month, two go! airlines pilots conked out for at least 18 minutes during a midmorning flight from Honolulu to Hilo, Hawaii, as their plane continued to cruise past its destination and out to sea. Air traffic controllers were finally able to raise the pilots, who turned the plane around with its 40 passengers and landed it safely. The captain was later diagnosed with sleep apnea. _A trolley train crashed into another train in May 2008 in Newton, Mass. Investigators said the driver probably fell asleep because she suffered from sleep apnea, but it could not be proved because she died. _In November 2001, a train engineer drove through a stop warning in Clarkston, Mich., striking another train and killing two crew members. He was found to be a very high risk for sleep apnea, but he had not been diagnosed or treated. _In June 1995, a cruise ship maneuvering through Alaska's Inside Passage was grounded on a submerged but charted and marked rock by a pilot later diagnosed with sleep apnea. The ship was carrying about 2,200 people. A 2002 study that found 7 percent of adults have at least a moderate form of the disorder, but people often don't know they have it. The motor carrier administration is already considering a rule to tighten its standards for medical certification of commercial drivers, Transportation Department spokeswoman Sasha Johnson said. The FAA is also in the process of drafting new rules to broadly address pilot fatigue and will consider the board's recommendations, spokeswoman Laura Brown said. The Coast Guard is examining the recommendations and will pursue possible safety strategies, spokeswoman Lisa Novak said. The letters noted the Federal Railroad Administration is also working on drafting new regulations to address the problem. Mark Rosenker, a former NTSB acting chairman, said the issue has long been a concern of the board, but the go! airlines incident jarred board members. "Obviously when two pilots fall asleep in the cockpit and they miss their stop, that triggers a lot of interest at NTSB," Rosenker said. On the Net: National Transportation Safety Board: http://www.ntsb.gov *************** Australian carrier Virgin defends safety record MELBOURNE (AFP) - Australian budget airline Virgin Blue defended its safety record Wednesday after a front wheel malfunctioned on landing, sending an aircraft veering across the runway. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it was investigating the incident, in which a Boeing 737-800 landing at Melbourne airport from Adelaide city on Tuesday morning pulled strongly to the right once on the ground. "My understanding is that as the pilot was taxiing in he noticed increased difficulty in manoeuvring the aircraft, whereupon after-flight inspection found there was damage to the nose wheel," air safety investigator Ian Sangston told AFP. The union representing aircraft engineers said the nose wheel had "disintegrated" on landing in the incident which follows a Virgin aircraft losing a wheel as it prepared for takeoff from Melbourne in July. Virgin Airworthiness and Maintenance manager Darren Dunbier said safety was the airline's priority and the well-being of the crew and guests on board was never in question. "Upon inspection our engineers found that a component within the wheel hub of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft had failed," Dunbier said. "This is the first time this issue has occurred with any of our aircraft and we have been advised by the wheel supplier that it is a very rare occurrence." The wheel and brake unit were replaced and the aircraft immediately returned to service, he added. "These aircraft, including aircraft landing gear, are expertly designed with many back-up safety features including the ability to land safely if any wheel is rendered unserviceable, which was the case this morning," he added. Virgin was preparing to step up the frequency of its maintenance schedule to exceed manufacturer and industry requirements, said Dunbier. *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC