18 NOV 2009 _______________________________________ *Military jet skids on Eagle County runway *Cellphone user delays Atlanta flight *Man on jet diverted to Boston denies being unruly *Qantas jet dive not linked to Air France crash *Boeing shareholders sue over 787 jet *Wing tips fly to the rescue of aircraft emissions *TSA planning to inspect shops that repair jets *US TSA releases proposed rule for repair station oversight *Airbus wants to help China with air traffic management *Tests done on oxygen bottles to find answers to Qantas blast *************************************** A U.S. Coast Guard aircraft is inspected after its nose gear collapsed upon landing at the Eagle County Regional Airport on Tuesday in Gypsum. Military jet skids on Eagle County runway Eagle County airport is open though its only runway is closed EAGLE, Colorado — The nose gear of a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft collapsed upon landing at Eagle County Regional Airport, Tuesday at around 11:30 a.m. The reason for the malfunction is not yet know. The HU-25 Falcon jet from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi slid about 1,000 feet before stopping, said Kris Friel, communications director for Eagle County. The crew of five was conducting high-altitude training operations at the time of the incident, Friel said. No one was injured in the incident. The airport is open but its sole runway is closed. At least one commercial flight had been delayed as a result of the incident, said Friel. Additionally, Regional Hazardous Materials Assessment of Eagle County — a multi-jurisdictional hazardous materials response team — will examine the scene, Friel said. A camera on board the plane has a lens coating that is classified as a hazardous substance, but county officials do not believe there is a hazardous materials concern at the site, Friel said. Crews are now working on getting the aircraft off of the runway and checking for debris. A Coast Guard team was expected to arrive at the airport between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday night to figure out how the plane will be moved. Eagle County airport is paying to have CME transport passengers tonight from Denver International Airport to Eagle County. As many as 38 people may take advantage of the offer and CME has given the county a reduced rate, Friel says. The airport expects to resume normal operations by Wednesday. http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20091117/NEWS/911179975/1078&ParentProfile= 1062 *************** Cellphone user delays Atlanta flight An AirTran Airways flight was delayed about two and a half hours in Atlanta after a passenger refused to get off the cellphone. Houston-bound Flight 297 was taxiing on the runway when a crew member asked a passenger to turn off his phone. The passenger refused after being asked several times, and as a result the aircraft went back to the gate and the passenger left the flight. http://blogs.ajc.com/chatter/2009/11/17/cellphone-user-delays-atlanta-flight / *************** Man on jet diverted to Boston denies being unruly BOSTON (AP) — A Scottish man who was branded unruly and disruptive by the flight crew on a Philadelphia-to-London jet that was diverted to Boston has been ordered held on $300 bail. Prosecutors say Glasgow resident John Alexander Murray's arm was in a splint and he refused the crew's requests to keep it out of the aisle. They say he then became belligerent and demanded to be taken back to Philadelphia. A spokesman for Boston's Logan International Airport says Murray was arrested after US Airways Flight 728 landed at around 11 p.m. Monday. The plane departed for London two hours later without him. Murray pleaded not guilty to a charge of interfering with a flight crew at his arraignment Tuesday at East Boston District Court. The 50-year-old was ordered to return to court Dec. 1. A telephone call to his attorney hasn't been returned. ************** Qantas jet dive not linked to Air France crash The Qantas jet nosedived twice on its way from Singapore to Perth The ATSB has released its second interim report into what may have caused the Qantas jet to nosedive twice on its way from Singapore to Perth. Investigators say they are yet to determine what caused sensors on the plane to fail, but they say interference from cosmic rays is among the issues being investigated. The ATSB's Martin Dolan says the cause of the incident has not been found, although the plane was tested in a flight over a radio transmitting station in Western Australia to see if cosmic waves were to blame. "We verified ... that the station was transmitting and there were no anomalous effects, so it was an interesting idea but not relevant to what happened here," he said. A final report will be released next year. The bureau says international aviation authorities have worked out a protocol to override the problem, which is now part of general procedure. The bureau says although the Qantas plane and an Air France jet were similar aircraft, the sequence of events leading up to each failure was different, and the sensors involved were different models from different manufacturers. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/18/2746265.htm?section=justin ************** Boeing's Dreamliner Boeing shareholders sue over 787 jet Investors claim the plane maker made misleading statements about when the delayed Dreamliner would be ready to fly. The firm's CEO is named as a defendant in the suit, which seeks class status. The first fully assembled Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet was unveiled to employees and executives in July 2007. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press) Boeing Co., whose 787 Dreamliner jet has been delayed more than two years by production difficulties, was sued by investors claiming company executives made misleading public statements about when the aircraft would be flight ready. The city of Livonia, Mich., employees' retirement system filed the complaint Nov. 13 in federal court in Chicago, seeking class-action, or group, status on behalf of all investors allegedly misled by statements made from May 4 to June 22. Also named as defendants were Boeing Chief Executive W. James McNerney and Scott E. Carson, who in August announced he would step downfrom leading the Chicago-based company's commercial airplane division. "As the date for the maiden flight of the 787 approached, defendants made a series of misleading statements to the market concerning the results of the testing process for the 787 and Boeing's ability to meet the schedule for the first flight and the delivery of the 787," according to the complaint. Boeing, the world's second-largest commercial airplane maker, initially planned to deliver its first jets to customers in May 2008. That date has been postponed five times, most recently in June, when engineers discovered structural problems where the plane's wings are joined to the fuselage. In a statement filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Boeing said a second lawsuit, making similar allegations, was filed against it in federal court in East St. Louis, Ill. "The company believes the lawsuits are without merit and will vigorously defend them," it said. Boeing shares rose 5 cents to $52.53. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-boeing18-2009nov18,0,3475609.story *************** Wing tips fly to the rescue of aircraft emissions New Airbus "sharklet" wing design to reduce fuel use by 3.5 per cent European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has this week announced plans to attach new wing tip devices to all its A320 aircraft as part of an initiative to curb fuel use by 3.5 per cent, resulting in an estimated annual saving of 700 tonnes of fuel for each aircraft. The so-called "sharklet" wing tips will be fitted to Air New Zealand A320 aircraft from 2012 and all other models from 2013, the company said. "Sharklets are not just part of Airbus's response to addressing environmental issues and rising fuel costs, they also enhance overall aircraft performance," said John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer, explaining that the new design would increase the lift generated at the wing tip and reduce the drag caused by wing tip vortices. The company said that as well as improving the aircraft's fuel efficiency, the devices also allow for higher takeoff weights, enhanced climb performance, higher initial cruise altitude and a two per cent saving in engine maintenance costs as a result of lower average takeoff thrust. Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe said the sharklets would enable " lower fuel burn and carbon emissions, both across Air New Zealand's domestic network and especially on the longer trans-Tasman sectors". The move is the latest in a range of environmental initiatives from Airbus, which announced earlier this year that up to 5,000 new A320 aircraft would be equipped with longer-life LED lighting on the wing tips, saving about $30,000 (£18,000) per aircraft over the life of the plane. http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2253350/wingtips-fly-rescue -aircraft *************** TSA planning to inspect shops that repair jets WASHINGTON — Thousands of airplane maintenance shops in the U.S. and abroad would get increased scrutiny to make sure they are not easy prey for terrorists looking to sabotage U.S. jets during routine repairs, a government proposal says. Some experts and lawmakers have warned for years about potential terrorist saboteurs infiltrating airplane repair shops, and have urged security oversight. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says the greatest danger is posed by repair shops that are on or next to airports because a terrorist could take control of an airplane. A TSA regulation proposed Monday would for the first time enable the agency to inspect airplane repair shops. If the TSA found a problematic repair shop, the agency would tell the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend the shop's operating license. TSA Assistant Administrator Lee Kair said the new requirement "guards against the potential threat of an aircraft being destroyed or used as a weapon." The agency is soliciting public comments on the proposal and could finalize it later this year. Airplanes ranging from small recreational planes to wide-body jets are repaired at more than 4,200 shops across the U.S. as well as at 700 shops abroad, in countries such as France, Germany, Singapore, Egypt and Jordan. The shops include small operations that fix seat cushions and massive complexes that overhaul engines. Some industry officials say lawmakers have overstated the potential threat posed by repair shops, noting that shops must be inspected and licensed by the FAA to work on U.S.-based planes. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-11-16-repairs_N.htm ************** US TSA releases proposed rule for repair station oversight The US Transportation Security Administration today released is proposed rule outlining security oversight at FAA-certified US and foreign repair stations. According to FAA there are roughly 4,447 domestic repair stations and 694 facilities with part 145 approval. "Civil aviation remains a target of terrorist activity worldwide," says TSA. "Terrorists continue to seek opportunities to destroy public confidence in the safety and security of air travel, deny the ability of the public to move and travel freely and damage economic security." Elements of the proposed rule include the codifying of TSA's authority to inspect and review security programmes and procedures at the stations, the requirement by part 145 authorised stations to carry out a security programme issued by TSA to ensure the safety of the repair station and work performed at the facility and requiring each station to comply with security directives issued by TSA. Those stations would also need to appoint a security coordinator. Other requirements of the stations proposed by TSA include describing methods used to identify individuals with proper access to the site and how a facility handles those who are not authorised to be on the property. Finally, the proposed regulation would require a process for the FAA to suspend a certificate upon written notification by TSA that a repair facility has failed to correct deficiencies uncovered during an audit within 90 days, and permit an appeal of a certificate suspension. The rule also requires the establishment of guidance covering an immediate certification revocation. Recognising a "once size fits all" approach would not address the diversity of different types of repair stations, TSA believes flexibility should exist with respect to specific equipment, facilities and measures listed in the standard security programme used to comply with the proposed regulations. Based on its visits to various repair stations TSA determined that facilities located on or adjacent to an airport could pose a higher security risk, and the agency says it would specify particular security measures in the required standard security programme for those stations. However, under the proposed rule stations located or adjacent to airports that support operations of aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of less than 12,500 lbs would not require the same security measures as those near airports where larger aircraft operate. The TSA is also proposing that repair stations supply a profile to include general information such as location, number of employees and number of staff with access to large aircraft to determine the order in which stations would be inspected. "We invite comments on the burdens associated with TSA collecting this profile," the agency says. Supplying a figure of 2,123 small business repair stations, TSA does acknowledge the proposed rule "may have a significant impact on a substantial number of small businesses". TSA believes "that for 47.8% of the small businesses, the compliance costs will result in an economic impact of two percent of annual revenue or less, and for 71.9% of the small businesses, the compliance costs will be less than three percent of annual revenue". During testimony in Congress tomorrow officials from the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) plan to address the impact of TSA's delay in offering a repair station security rule, "namely the current 'freeze' on initial certification of foreign repair stations", the association explains. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Airbus wants to help China with air traffic management Airbus is promoting the use of a common traffic management system in China, like the SESAR system in Europe. It will start a working group on the system, says Airbus VP cooperation and partnership with China, Marc Bertiaux. Such a system will help coordinate the many flights in China, he adds. SESAR stands for Single European Sky ATM Research and is a new programme that aims to better integrate Europe's air navigation services. China, which is the fastest-growing commercial aviation market in the world, is also grappling with how to improve its air navigation services in an effort to boost efficiency and limit flight delays. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Tests done on oxygen bottles to find answers to Qantas blast There is no evidence of there being a systematic safety problem with aircraft oxygen bottles, says Australian investigators in their latest report into the July 2008 accident in which an oxygen bottle on a Qantas Airways 747 exploded. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's (ATSB) second interim report on this accident, released today, says to date there is no evidence of systematic problems with oxygen bottles of this type. On 25 July last year the Qantas 747-400, local registration VH-OJK, was cruising at 29,000ft while on a flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne when one of 94 oxygen cylinders on board exploded causing a rupture of the forward fuselage and depressurisation of the cabin. The rupture was approximately 2m along the length of the aircraft and 1.5 metres vertically. ATSB says the cylinder that exploded was lost but, for the purposes of its investigation, it has obtained five cylinders from the same manufacturing lot. It says all the pressure tests of the cylinders met or exceeded safety specifications. "The minimum allowable rupture pressure prescribed ....was 4,111 psi and all the test cylinders exceeded that value", it says. Today's report also provided details on how the cabin crew and cabin equipment responded to the depressurisation of the cabin. It says "the passenger address tape reproducer - the automatically activated system for addressing passengers in the event of a depressurisation - did not function." It also says "not all the oxygen masks deployed and as a result two passengers did not immediately start using oxygen and displayed symptoms of hypobaric hypoxia," a condition resulting from oxygen deprivation. The ATSB says Qantas has since taken action to address these cabin issues. As for why one of the aircraft's oxygen cylinders exploded, the bureau says it will complete its investigation early next year. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC