30 OCT 2009 _______________________________________ *Airframers request additional time for CVR, FDR rule *FAA cautions operators on foul weather landings *Delta pilot chief scolds NTSB *Asiana Airbus A321 Tail Strike on Landing *Pilots seek Indian study on fatigue *Boeing Takes 10 New 737 Orders In Week, No Orders Canceled *Audit: Airport screening needs more risk study **************************************** Airframers request additional time for CVR, FDR rule Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier are requesting an exemption from the US FAA for a 7 April 2010 deadline to equip new part 121 aircraft with enhanced flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorders (CVRs). Along with increased sampling rates for certain data parameters in the FDR, the new rule calls for an independent power source and increased recording time for the CVR, up to 120 min from 30 min. In addition, datalink messages must now be recorded and both the CVR and FDR must be made more rugged from a crash survivability standpoint. Boeing has asked for a one-year delay in implementing the datalink recording requirement, increased sampling rates for certain parameters and CVR independent power source requirements for its Boeing 737, 747, 767 and 777 lines. By allowing more time, Boeing in its request says customers will be able to continue using pilot-controller datalink capabilities in the interim "thus providing Boeing with the additional development time needed to integrate the datalink recording capability into these highly complex aircraft for production". The company says development schedules for the new and modified CVRs and FDRs "either do not support the compliance date or have an unacceptable amount of risk". Likewise, Bombardier is asking for similar relief out through 2012 for its commercial line, and Airbus through the end of 2011. CVR and FDR provider Universal Avionics, which has a market share of about 25% in the sector, is ramping up production of its CVR and FDR line to 500 units per year in order to accommodate the expected surge. Robert Clare, Universal's director of OEM sales and marketing says the company is aligned with several airframers to supply the CVRs and FDRs, which cost between $15,000 and $25,000 per unit, depending on the installation, though no formal announcements have yet been made. Despite Boeing's comment to the contrary, Clare says Universal's combined CVR and FDR system already records 120min of datalink information, and that there is nothing inherently complex with the process. Perhaps more of an impact to airframers, he suggests, is developing the pre-stored datalink messages that must be loaded in the aircraft's communications management unit. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** FAA cautions operators on foul weather landings The US FAA is alerting airlines to retool procedures and training in several areas linked to landings in bad weather. In two safety alerts for operators (SAFOs) issued yesterday, the agency recommended additional simulator training and upgraded standard operating procedures to combat runway overrun accidents. As a result of the 18 February 2007 overrun in which a Shuttle America Embraer ERJ170 departed the runway at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the agency is requesting that operators introduce rejected landing scenarios during simulator training sessions, including performing a rejected landing below 100ft (30.4m) of altitude. In the Shuttle America accidents, pilots lost visual contact with the runway at low altitude during the landing due to a snow squall. The aircraft overran the runway end and suffered a collapsed nose-gear as it struck an instrument landing system (ILS) antenna and the airport's perimeter fence. The US NTSB had requested that the FAA require airlines to train pilots to perform rejected landings below 50ft. The second SAFO comes as the result of two runway overrun accidents where flight crews "did not fully utilize the braking capabilities available to them on the contaminated runway", says the FAA. To help avoid the situation, the agency is recommending that airlines update their standard operating procedures (SOPs) for pilots to include criteria for stabilized approaches that end with a landing in the touchdown zone as well as "the proper application of aircraft landing performance data, the proper deployment of aircraft deceleration devices, and the proper braking concept". In addition to specifying the minimum altitudes for having the aircraft stabilized on the approach, the FAA says the SOPs should also emphasize that pilots should perform a go-around rather than attempt a landing from an unstabilized approach. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ***************** Delta pilot chief scolds NTSB TheStreet.com has an interview with Lee Moak, chairman of the Delta Air Lines master executive council of the Air Line Pilots Association. The gist is Moak's concern that the National Transportation Safety Boardhurriedly hung the Northwest Airlines pilots out to dry (my wording, not his). TheStreet.com quoted Moak as saying that the NTSB has committed "a breach of the trust and special confidence (by) pre-maturely releasing self-disclosed information" from the pilots." The board "is right on the cusp of showing total disregard for the process of (ensuring) airline safety," Moak said . TheStreet.com said the safety board declined to comment. On Monday, Moak issued this statement: "As professional airline pilots, our primary concern is and always will be the safety and well-being of our passengers. In any aircraft incident, there is always more to the story than first appears in the press. We do not condone the abandonment of due process that will result from a rush to judgment; instead we implore all interested parties to move with deliberate and unemotional professionalism as the events surrounding this incident are investigated. ..." "To date, all crew statements related to this case have been voluntary. We are disappointed that these voluntary statements are being used without regard for the breach of trust and confidence their use will cause. "Programs like ASAP [Aviation Safety Action Programs] and FOQA [Flight Operational Quality Assurance] could be dealt a debilitating blow as pilots question the integrity of these voluntary programs. A rush to judgment by the NTSB will have a direct impact on the future of voluntary safety programs, which are at the very core of the safety structure of the U.S. aviation industry. The continued viability of these programs themselves will be placed at risk. That will, in turn, cause irreparable harm to the safety of our nation's aviation system. "The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. They are not charged with prematurely releasing self-disclosed information to be sensationalized in the press. "We will work closely with Delta and federal officials to determine any root causes for last weeks sequence of event, but in the meantime I strongly encourage all parties not to reach a hasty conclusion. There is a proper venue for this investigation, but we stand firmly behind the crew's right to due process." ALPA represents pilots for both Delta and Northwest, which merged last year and are expected to be combined into a single airline soon. Delta officials said last week they expected to get a single operating certificate by the end of the year. http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/10/delta-pilot-chief-scolds -ntsb.html ***************** Asiana Airbus A321 Tail Strike on Landing Date: 28-OCT-2009 Time: 10:08 Type: Airbus A321-231 Operator: Asiana Registration: HL-7763 C/n / msn: 3297 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: RJBB, Osaka - Japan Phase: Landing Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: GMP Seoul, Korea Destination airport: RJBB Narrative: An Asiana Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration HL7763 performing flight OZ-1125 from Seoul (South Korea) to Osaka Kansai (Japan) with 147 people on board, touched down at Osaka's Kansai Airport at 10:08L (01:08Z) however struck the tail onto the runway. The crew elected to go-around and managed a safe landing 11 minutes later. No injuries occured. A postflight inspection revealed scrape marks and damage of 1.8 meters in length and 30cm in width on the underside of the airplane's tail. (aviation-safety.net) **************** Pilots seek Indian study on fatigue MUMBAI: Cockpit crew fatigue and its effects on air safety have been one of the most researched subjects in the aviation sector worldwide. India, though, has not yet conducted any indigenous scientific study on this crucial aspect of flying. Taking that into account, the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), the recognised union of Air India (international) pilots, on Wednesday requested the DGCA to commission a scientific study on pilot fatigue in the Indian context. The pilots union have also offered partial funding for the project if the government faces budgetary constraints, a first for the country. The IPG pilots - the only ones in India who operate 16-17 hour ultra-long haul flights - have even offered to be guinea pigs for the study. The union cited the examples of Qantas and Air New Zealand where pilots volunteered to be subjects of fatigue studies. The matter came to the fore as the DGCA had, in the last few weeks, sought suggestions on cockpit crew rest rules or Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) from airlines and pilots unions. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had early this year set a deadline of November 19 for countries to change to scientifically-backed FDTL. Many countries, including India, do not follow science-based work-rest schedules for pilots. Currently, India follows a cockpit crew work-rest pattern formulated in 1992. The DGCA had brought into effect scientifically worked-out rest rules in 2007 only to roll them back following pressure from airlines. Now, with the ICAO stepping in, the DGCA has been taking a relook at the FDTL rules currently followed in India and has started meeting pilots unions and airlines to work out a solution before the deadline. According to the IPG, the country needs to consider the long-term and commission a comprehensive study (which could take 4-5 years or more), which could be conducted by independent bodies such as the Indian Air Force medical establishments using doctors who are aviation medicine specialists. "Some of the factors that necessitate a scientific study in India are the genetic predisposition of Indian pilots and the cultural differences between flight crew,'' said an IPG spokesperson. The fact that Indian regulations permit pilots to fly up to 65 years of age, the geographical location of India, regional weather conditions, poor quality of navigation aids, the relative inexperience of newly recruited co-pilots who fly sophisticated jets, various psychosocial requirements, the commercial pressures of airline operators are all reasons for a study in India, the spokesperson added. IPG said that while lessons from the critical studies done by NASA and other organisations on pilot fatigue should be used to frame the scientifically-based FDTL rules in India, the Indian perspective should also be factored in. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Pilots-seek-Indian-study-on-f atigue/articleshow/5178023.cms **************** Boeing Takes 10 New 737 Orders In Week, No Orders Canceled CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Boeing Co. (BA) took 10 new orders for its 737 model in the week ended Oct. 27, the company reported on its Web site Thursday. No orders were canceled during the week, Boeing said. Norwegian Air Shuttle placed an order for four of the aircraft, while six other 737s were ordered by unidentified customers, the aircraft-maker said. So far this year, Boeing has taken 84 net new aircraft orders. **************** Audit: Airport screening needs more risk study WASHINGTON (AP) - The government has installed high-tech passenger screening equipment at airports without fully measuring whether the technologies address the most serious risks to aviation, congressional auditors found. Most of the decisions to introduce new passenger screening devices at airports have been based on threats described in intelligence reports. While this is important, the Government Accountability Office said these threats also need to be measured against how vulnerable air systems are to them and against the full consequences if the threat were successfully carried out. The auditors said the Transportation Security Administration has not completed this full assessment of threat, vulnerability and consequences together. As a result, TSA cannot get a complete picture of the potential risk from any particular threat and it cannot be sure that its investments in screening devices address the greatest risks to aviation, the auditors said. Nor can TSA measure whether an appropriate amount of money has been spent on the machines, the auditors said. Their report noted that since TSA was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 10 passenger screening technologies have been either put into research and development, testing or put in use at some airports. Among these are: _A scanner designed to detect explosives hidden in shoes, like those used by convicted would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid, who tried to ignite his device on a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001. _A walkthrough portal designed to detect traces of explosive residue on clothing. _A whole body imager which gives screeners an image of a passenger's body surface unobscured by the passenger's clothing. In a pilot program to evaluate the technology, TSA screeners are currently using 46 units, with two different types of technology, at 23 U.S. airports, according to TSA's Web site. TSA said in its response to the GAO report that the agency has considered threat, vulnerability and consequence when it makes decisions about technology. The report, released Thursday, is a public version of a restricted report provided to lawmakers earlier this year. "A comprehensive and sensible strategic plan is critical to ensure that the government minimizes waste while securing the flying public," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee said the GAO audit began three years ago, and since then the agency has "taken steps to strengthen testing procedures and improve the strategic deployment of emerging technologies." On the Net: GAO report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10128.pdf **************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC