04 NOV 2009 _______________________________________ *Co-Pilot Lands Qantas 737 After Captain Becomes 'Incapacitated' *Calif. man gets prison for aiming laser at planes *Senator Proposes A Bill To Ban 'Gadgets' In The Cockpit *FAA Approves Arkansas Children's Hospital HFDM Program *CAAC Kudos for Safety *Continental says merger with United still possible **************************************** Co-Pilot Lands Qantas 737 After Captain Becomes 'Incapacitated' Qantas Says The Pilot Suffers From "Minor Health Problems" A domestic Australian flight from Adelaide to Perth with 110 people on board declared an emergency Friday morning, after the captain of the Qantas B737 became "incapacitated" and was unable to land the aircraft. The co-pilot landed the airplane safely in Perth, and it was towed to the gate. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that an Australian Transport and Safety Bureau spokesman said the incident would be investigated. The pilot was taken to a hospital in Perth, where he will remain until he recovers. Qantas spokeswoman Kristy McSweeney said the pilot suffers from a "minor health problem," but that he walked off the plane to a waiting ambulance. She said the captain fell ill about an out from Perth. McSweeney said either the pilot or the co-pilot is qualified to land the plane, and the passengers were never in any danger. FMI: www.atsb.gov.au aero-news.net ***************** Calif. man gets prison for aiming laser at planes LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Southern California man who aimed a laser beam at two airliners as they approached an airport has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for disrupting the flights. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles says Dana Christian Welch of Orange, who was sentenced Monday, was the first person in the nation to be convicted at trial of interfering with pilots by aiming lasers at their planes. Authorities say the 37-year-old aimed a handheld laser at two Boeing jets as the passenger planes were about to land at John Wayne Airport on the night of May 21, 2008. The laser beam struck one pilot in the eye, causing "flash blindness," and interfered with pilots' ability to land the other plane. *************** Australian pilots suspended over landing gear miss SYDNEY (AFP) - Two Australian pilots have been suspended for preparing to land a passenger plane without the correct landing gear, in what air safety investigators Wednesday labelled a "serious incident". The Qantas flight from Melbourne was forced to do a second lap above Sydney airport on October 26 after a cockpit alarm went off as the Boeing 767 prepared to touch down, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said. "Passing 700 feet on approach into Sydney, the crew commenced a missed approach due to the aircraft being incorrectly configured for landing," the bureau said. ATSB air safety spokesman Ian Sangston said the "too low gear" alert sounded because the landing gear had not been lowered, but said it was too early to speculate on the cause. Qantas said flight safety was never at risk but it had stood the pilots down pending the bureau's inquiry into whether human error was to blame. "This is an extremely rare event, but one we have taken seriously," the airline said in a statement. "The flight crew knew all required procedures but there was a brief communication breakdown. They responded quickly to the situation... the cockpit alarm coincided with their actions." The incident follows the revocation last week of the licences of two US pilots who overshot their destination by some 150 miles (240 kilometres) while distracted. Sangston said the ATSB was also investigating an incident in which the autopilot briefly disconnected on board a Jetstar flight between Japan and the Gold Coast as it passed through stormy conditions on October 29. "My understanding is that there was some sort of problem with the information being provided to the pilots," Sangston said. Qantas' budget offshoot Jetstar said early indications were that the Airbus A330's airspeed sensing system was momentarily impaired, and several parts had been replaced on the aircraft before it was allowed to resume flying. The error messages were similar to those reported from an Air France Airbus A330 jet which mysteriously plunged into the Atlantic in May, taking the lives of all 228 people on board. But Sangston said the ATSB was yet to examine the black box data from the craft or interview the crew and it was "only conjecture" to draw parallels. **************** Senator Proposes A Bill To Ban 'Gadgets' In The Cockpit Dorgan Bill A Response To Northwest Flight 188 The chair of the Senate Transportation Aviation Subcommittee says he is working on a bill that would ban all personal electronic devices in airliner cockpits. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) says the bill is intended to prevent another incident like the one that occurred on Northwest Flight 188, which traveled about 150 miles beyond its intended destination. The pilots told the NTSB that they did not respond to repeated attempts at contact because they were distracted by using their laptops and a discussion of company policy. Dorgan said he intends to introduce the bill in about a week. In an interview with the Associated Press, he said he was surprised to learn that the FAA does not specifically ban the use of laptops, MP3 and DVD players, and other personal electronic devices by airline pilots. "We now understand from this flight at least that this can happen and there ought to be a more clear understanding by everyone in the cockpit that there is a national standard that would prohibit this and that they need to take it seriously," said Dorgan. Dorgan said his bill would include and exception for "electronic flight bags." Dorgan says he expects his bill to be folded into a larger aviation bill already pending before the senate later in the session. He said he expects no opposition to the measure. A similar measure is being crafted by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and other Senators have expressed support for the bill. FMI: http://commerce.senate.gov/public/ aero-news.net **************** FAA Approves Arkansas Children's Hospital HFDM Program First Dedicated HEMS Operator To Implement FAA Approved Program Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) has received FAA approval for their HFDM/FOQA program, the first dedicated HEMS provider to reach that goal. The ACH HFDM program will serve ACH's fleet of two S76 C+ Single Pilot Instrument (SPIFR) equipped helicopters and will provide increased visibility into the ACH flight operations. HFDM provides significant safety benefits to ACH using previously unavailable data to improve the problem identification and definition process and provide for assessment and resolution of systemic safety issues. "The entire ACH aviation team, also known as Angel One Transport, including flight safety, flight training, flight operations, maintenance and crewmembers will benefit from this important safety program," said ACH Director of Aviation, Bernard "BJ" Raysor. "Crucial to the success of the program are specific incentives that ensure both ACH and its pilots are protected from FAA certificate action or civil penalties as a result of information and data that are collected and analyzed by the HFDM program. In establishing these incentives ACH and the pilot group have agreed to use this confidential data to conduct trend analysis of flight operations," Raysor said. ACH hired system integrator and system safety consultant, CAPACG, LLC to oversee the implementation and operation of the HFDM/FOQA program. CAPACG Vice President of FDM services, Stuart "Kipp" Lau points out key areas that distinguish ACH from other FAA-approved programs, both fixed-wing and helicopter. ACH is the first dedicated HEMS operator to gain FAA-approval of a FOQA/FDM program. ACH is the first small operator to gain FAA-approval with only two aircraft, 10 pilots and no labor organization. In the past these where considered barriers to implementing a formal FOQA program. Many of these barriers were overcome by using a third-party contractor to accomplish the initial implementation, event definition and programming, analysis and initial reporting. Among the other first, ACH is the first HEMS operator to utilize a light recorder system for Helicopter Flight Data Monitoring. "CAPACG is extremely pleased to assist ACH with the development, implementation and operation of their HFDM/FOQA program. Bringing active flight data monitoring to HEMS operations will be an important factor in identifying threats and providing mitigation strategies to improve safety and efficiencies for this segment of aviation," Lau said. FMI: www.archildrens.org/angelone aero-news.net **************** CAAC Kudos for Safety Flight Safety Foundation President and CEO William R. Voss presented the Civil Aviation Administration of China with the 2009 Aviation Week and Space Technology Distinguished Service Award at the Foundation's 62nd International Air Safety Seminar in Beijing, China. The award was accepted by Vice Administrator Jian Li. "The Flight Safety Foundation is pleased to recognize the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for successfully overseeing aviation safety despite the challenge of an air traffic growth rate twice the world average," commented Voss at the luncheon ceremony. "The CAAC is leading the country's aviation industry away from a compliance-based approach toward a performance-based approach, and that has helped China achieve an excellent safety record in recent years. The accomplishments of the CAAC in managing and regulating China's explosive aviation growth while achieving such an extraordinary safety record is the type of work that Jerry wanted to recognize when he dreamed up this award. Any national regulator can learn many lessons from the work the CAAC is doing," he added. http://www.aviationtoday.com/asw/topstories/CAAC-Kudos-for-Safety_36385.html ***************** Continental says merger with United still possible Continental Airlines hasn't ruled out a merger with United Airlines and would again pursue a deal to become the world's largest carrier if the current No. 1, Delta Air Lines, proves a formidable competitor, Continental President Jeff Smisek said Tuesday. For now, Houston-based Continental prefers to remain independent and focus on its new partnership with Chicago-based United and other members of the Star Alliance, the global marketing consortium that Continental joined last week, Smisek said in an interview with Bloomberg television. "We are watching Delta to see whether Delta outperforms us financially," said Smisek, who will become Continental's CEO at year's end. "To date they have not done so. They've gotten bigger, they've gotten more complex, but they haven't gotten profitable." http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed_brief_1nov04,0,5338383.story **************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC