02 DEC 2009 _______________________________________ *NTSB chairman admonishes FAA for moving 'too slow' on runway safety *Commutes unlikely to be addressed in new rules on pilot fatigue *Air Canada crews call safety allegations 'unsubstantiated' *Check pilot's prank nearly crashes Jet flight *Airbus A330 Hydraulic Failure (Brazil) *Indian Air Force grounds fleet of 100 Sukhoi fighter jets *Supreme Court won't hear appeal of airplane crash lawsuit *United Nations World Food Programme organize a free SMS training course in Dubai, UAE *EASA calls for repeat elevator checks on A330s and A340s *************************************** NTSB chairman admonishes FAA for moving 'too slow' on runway safety US National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman yesterday criticized FAA for failing to act on runway safety recommendations the board repeatedly has made, including multiple recommendations first issued in July 2000. "We really can do better than that," she said while delivering the opening address to the FAA International Runway Safety Summit in Washington, where 500 delegates from 17 countries gathered to exchange information on runway safety. "We owe it to [passengers] to address safety recommendations in a timely and effective manner," she added, explaining that she was engaging in "truth telling." She pointed out that NTSB's recommendation issued in 2000 for FAA to switch its "taxi into position and hold" phraseology to the ICAO standard "line up and wait" is just now in the process of moving toward possible implementation next year. "How do safety improvements end up taking 10 years to deliver?" she asked. "Every day they are delayed could be the day" an accident occurs. Hersman said FAA is taking "commendable action" in several areas regarding runway safety, such as installing Sensis Corp.'s runway status lights triggered by ASDE-X at 22 airports by 2011 (ATWOnline, June 15), but complained the agency is "just too slow." The RSLs will be installed at "only" 22 airports "11 years after NTSB recommended developing a direct warning for pilots" of potential runway collisions. The NTSB chairman even threw cold water on FAA's recent positive news that there were 12 "serious incursions" at US airports during the government's fiscal year ended Sept. 30, including just two involving commercial carriers, down from 25 serious incursions the prior year including nine involving airlines (ATWOnline, Oct. 13). "It's too early to tell whether it's an aberration or the beginning of a trend," she said, adding that the "economy-driven decrease in flight operations" could explain the 50% reduction in serious incursions. "It will likely take a few years to determine whether the recent drop is a trend," she warned. Responding to Hersman's complaint that the agency is moving too slowly to implement NTSB recommendations, FAA Director-Terminal Safety and Operations Support Michael McCormick, also speaking at the conference, said that "absolutely I'm sensitive to the time constraints." He added that the agency is "working fast" on the RSL initiative and needs to "start moving [NTSB recommendations] up the escalator." http://atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=18653 *************** Commutes unlikely to be addressed in new rules on pilot fatigue Lawmakers say the long distances flown just for pilots to get to work are contributing to the problem, but the FAA said there is no plan to make policy changes. Reporting from Washington - The Federal Aviation Administration will announce new rules on pilot fatigue in January, but they probably will not include restrictions on long-distance commutes that lawmakers said Tuesday are essential to solving the problem. The crash of a regional Colgan Air flight in Buffalo that killed 50 people in February highlighted the need for federal rules limiting the distance pilots often have to fly to begin their workday, said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), who heads the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's aviation panel. One pilot traveled from Seattle to Newark, N.J., before the Buffalo flight, the other from Tampa, Fla. Both died in the crash. "You've got people whose work station is on the East Coast, flying from all over the country just to go to work," Dorgan said at a hearing Tuesday. "I'm not suggesting that people shouldn't commute. I am suggesting that if you're going to have this kind of substantial commuting, you better understand that you're going to have some problems." Ice buildup on the plane and lack of pilot experience also may have been factors in the Buffalo crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) called pilot commuting "an issue that deserves immediate concern" and at the hearing urged Margaret Gilligan, the FAA's associate administrator for aviation safety, to consider long-distance commutes a contributing factor to the overall problem of pilot fatigue. Gilligan said the FAA's rule-making committee, which worked from July to September this year developing recommendations for the agency based on science and international standards, did not recommend any changes to current airline commuting policies. So far, the FAA continues "to see that as a pilot responsibility," Gilligan said, though the administration is "considering additional elements" to the upcoming rules. The rule-making committee, composed of 18 labor, industry and FAA representatives, delivered its final report to the FAA on Sept. 10. Joe Williams, a spokesman for Pinnacle Airlines, which owns Colgan Air, said the company respects the right of pilots to live where they choose. "Where would you draw the line?" he asked. Industry and labor representatives brought up similar points in questioning the government's possible intervention. "It's a crew member's responsibility to be rested and prepared," said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Assn. of America, the nation's largest airline trade group. Capt. John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Assn., the leading pilot union in North America, said in an interview after the hearing that the instability of the regional airline business contributes to pilots suddenly finding themselves with commutes of hundreds of miles because their airline has lost or gained a contract with a larger airline. Prater, a pilot who lives in southern Illinois, has had to commute as far as Guam, in the western Pacific Ocean, to get to work. Still, he disagrees that the problem is as bad as lawmakers say, and said he believes businesses and unions should come together to make sure pilots are properly rested and fliers remain safe. "I have serious doubt that this is an issue for the regulators," Prater said. http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-pilot-fatigue2-2009dec02, 0,7674763.story ****************** Air Canada crews call safety allegations 'unsubstantiated' OTTAWA — Air Canada pilots are challenging allegations of serious safety problems at the airline — including the claim that one plane unsafely refuelled with passengers aboard and took off with ice-covered wings. The accusation was one of a litany of horror stories the Canadian Federal Pilots Association outlined before a House of Commons committee on Monday. The CFPA, which represents federal inspectors responsible for air safety, said the Air Canada flight took off after an unscheduled refuelling stop in North Dakota despite a warning from a passenger — a veteran pilot — that the wings had ice on them. But Paul Strachan, head of the Air Canada Pilots Associations, calls the accusations "sensational"and "unsubstantiated" and he wants them withdrawn. "You have undermined public confidence in Canadian pilots and the safety of flying in Canada," he wrote in a public letter Tuesday to the CFPA. Strachan said there were emergency vehicles on hand for the North Dakota fuelling and that the co-pilot inspected the plane’s wings and found them safe for flight. He said the crew acted professionally, followed all the rules, and insisted that no Air Canada pilot would fly an unsafe aircraft. In an appearance before the Commons transport committee Monday, the CFPA said the North Dakota incident violated Canadian law. "That pilot decided to become a test pilot with 100 passengers and crew aboard," said spokesman Jim Thompson. "It is very dangerous." In a statement Tuesday, the CFPA said it wasn’t pointing fingers at the Air Canada pilots — calling them "professional and highly competent" — but at what it sees as lax safety management at Transport Canada. The group said Transport’s new Safety Management Systems, which rely largely on airline self-monitoring, don’t work and the North Dakota incident is a prime example. "Operators know they can break the rules without suffering any consequences of enforcement action from Transport Canada, provided the company notifies Transport Canada of its transgression and follows up with a corrective action intended to address future transgressions," the association said in the statement "When you examine this incident in this light it certainly appears that Transport Canada’s SMS actually provides an opportunity for airlines to bend or break the regulations." http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1155675.html *************** Check pilot's prank nearly crashes Jet flight MUMBAI: A Jet Airways flight coming in to land in Mumbai in October lost height faster than the prescribed rate of descent as the auto-pilot tripped, the flight director disappeared and the ground-proximity warning system went off. The flight finally landed safely — with none of its passengers hurt or even aware how close they had come to disaster, but for the experienced pilot and tons of luck. The dangerous turn of events began — about 3,700 feet above the ground — when a check pilot, seated behind the commander and the first officer on the Jet Airways Delhi-Mumbai flight, pulled out a circuit-breaker. He did it ostensibly to check the pilot's ability to handle an emergency. Only, such checks are always done in simulators — never with a plane load of people. The unthinking act set off a chain reaction, tripping the autopilot, making the flight director indications disappear and turning off the ground-proximity warning system. The aircraft went sinking at a rate faster than the maximum prescribed descent of 1,000 feet per minute over the hills behind Jarimari, Andheri, but — despite all this — the aircraft managed to make a safe landing. Jet Airways has ordered a probe. But it has not derostered the check pilot though both aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus have a strict policy warning flight crew against use of circuit-breakers during flight — they are not pulled even on a check or a test flight. A Jet Airways spokesperson said: ``The flight had a normal approach and landing, carried out safely within the acceptable parameters. An internal inquiry is in progress.'' But inquiries and investigations are not carried out for flights that are ``operated safely within the acceptable parameters'' and an exceeding high sink rate is not an acceptable parameter, say aviation experts. The matter is over a month old but the inquiry is still in progress and no action has been taken against the pilot concerned. The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation too has initiated an inquiry. ``I will be able to comment only after I have the facts from the air safety department,'' director-general Nasim Zaidi said. When the commander was interrogated, he said (and gave it in writing) that after the aircraft landed, the ACM revealed to him that he had pulled out the circuit-breaker on Radio Altimeter 1 ``just to see his reaction to failures''. The incident took place on October 20 on flight 9W 332 around 8.50am, during the morning peak hour. The check pilot was flying as an additional crew member (ACM) in the jump seat located behind the pilots' seats. An ACM's status is that of a passenger and s/he is not supposed to touch the flight controls. ``The aircraft was established on the Instrument Landing System (ILS) for runway 27,'' an official said, implying the aircraft was coming in to land from the east and was about 3,700 feet high and had got visual guidance to help it descend and touch down on the runway 27 centre line. ``At that instant, the autopilot tripped and the flight director disappeared,'' he added. A flight director gives visual cues to the pilot who follows it by, say, turning left or right or pitching the aircraft up or down to take it to its destination. So, with both vital navigation instruments failing, the commander took over the flight controls to bring in the plane for landing entirely manually. ``But the aircraft started sinking fast. It was going down faster than 1000 feet a minute, the maximum prescribed descent rate. It was a dangerous situation as the approach to runway 27 was over hilly terrain,'' the official said. When an aircraft has a higher-than-normal descent rate, the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) blares out a loud aural warning, ``sink rate whoop whoop pull up'' continuously till the descent rate is slowed down. But no such alarm went off in this cockpit. ``A pilot can do the job of an autopilot; he can land, albeit with difficulty, without the help of a flight director. But neither can he nor any other instrument in the cockpit do the job of an EGPWS,'' said the source. It is such a critical equipment to prevent crashes that the International Civil Aviation Organisation mandates that no passenger aircraft should fly without a functioning EGPWS. Jet Airways confirmed that the EGPWS warning was not received. This confirms a system malfunction or a deactivation of the system. ``Since the sink rate was very high, the Digital Flight Data Recorder showed up an `exceedance report', which was picked up by the airline's flight safety department after the aircraft landed,'' said the source. ``It is a very dangerous thing to do as pulling out a C/B can render unintended systems to fail, like the EGPWS failure in this case. No pilot would want to fly without an EGPWS,'' an official said. Aircraft manufacturers are so careful about C/Bs that these switches are not installed at locations easily accessible or even viewable from the pilot's seat. It is located behind the seat as Airbus and Boeing did not consider the possibility of an ACM pulling out a C/B. JET AIRWAYS' RESPONSE TOI: Has Jet Airways initiated an inquiry into the incident? Was the DGCA informed about this? Jet Airways: Yes the DGCA has been informed.The aforesaid flight had a normal approach and landing, carried out safely within the acceptable parameters. Yes, an internal inquiry is in progress. Q: What is Jet Airways' policy on pulling out CBs (when the aircraft is in the air and when there is no requirement to do so in the checklist)? Ans: We cannot comment at this stage, as the inquiry is in progress. Q: Does such an action amount to ``unlawful interference'' as the ACM, whose status is that of a passenger, interfered with the switches? Ans: As mentioned earlier, we cannot comment at this stage since the inquiry is in progress. Q: Has the airline initiated any action against the pilot concerned (the ACM who pulled out the CB)? Ans: Since the internal inquiry into the incident is in progress, we are unable to comment. Q: Did the pilots on that flight get an EGPWS aural warning when the sink rate was high? Ans: No EGPWS warning was received by the Pilots. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Check-pilots-prank-nearly-crashes-J et-flight/articleshow/5290059.cms *************** Airbus A330 Hydraulic Failure (Brazil) Date: 01-DEC-2009 Time: 04:38 PM Type: Airbus A330-203 Operator: TAM Linhas Aereas Registration: PT-MVF C/n / msn: 0466 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 169 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: None Location: near Sao Paulo - Brazil Phase: En route Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: São Paulo/Guarulhos – Governor André Franco Montoro International Airp Destination airport: Ezeiza/Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE), Buenos Aires, A Narrative: A TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A330-200, registration PT-MVF performing flight JJ-8018 from Sao Paulo Guarulhos,SP (Brazil) to Buenos Aires Ezeiza (Argentine) with 169 passengers, had already climbed to cruise level FL380, when the crew reported a hydraulics failure and decided to return to Guarulhos, where the airplane landed safely on runway 09L. The airplane stopped on the runway and needed to be towed to the apron. The passengers disembarked normally. (aviation-safety.net) **************** Indian Air Force grounds fleet of 100 Sukhoi fighter jets NEW DELHI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Indian Air Force (IAF) Wednesday officially grounded its entire fleet of 100 Sukhoi 30 fighter jets as a "precautionary measure," following two crashes this year including one this week, Defense Ministry sources said. "The entire fleet of 100 Sukhoi fighter jets has been grounded. The decision came in the wake of two crashes this year which has raised questions about the safety of the Russian-made aircraft," the sources said. The two Sukhoi crashes this year are among the 13 air crashes the IAF suffered in the last 11 months. IAF is already in touch with experts from Russia, with the Sukhois still being under contractual warrantee, as well as HAL, which had "manufactured or assembled'' the fighter indigenously, to help in the court of inquiry ordered to investigate the exact reason behind the crash. IAF currently has five operational Sukhoi squadrons. It aims to have at least 280 Sukhoi air superiority fighters in its fleet. The Su-30 is a multi-role fighter. It has a two seat cockpit with an airbrake behind the canopy. This multi-role aircraft is adequately fitted for the entire spectrum of tactical and operational combat employment scenarios, varying from counter-air tasks to ground attack, close air support and and maritime attack. ****************** Supreme Court won't hear appeal of airplane crash lawsuit WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by a Michigan woman who wants to sue the federal government over claims air traffic controllers acted negligently. Susan Hertz wants to sue the government because air traffic controllers told the pilot of a homemade plane to continue flying in a thunderstorm before it crashed. Her husband, Roger Hertz, was one of three people who died in a May 31, 2004, plane crash in Michigan. Hertz said she learned about a month after the crash that the pilot had asked air traffic controllers for alternative directions to avoid the storm. But rather than redirect the plane, she claims they sent the plane directly into the storm. She filed a lawsuit June 6, 2006. Since the Federal Torts Claims Act requires that lawsuits against the government be filed within two years of the time of the action for which the person is suing, her lawsuit has been tossed out of court. For her part, Hertz said the time limit should have begun from the point that she found out that air traffic controllers were allegedly negligent. The original lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Hertz's appeal case was heard by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with the trial court's April 2007 decision to toss the lawsuit. "Plaintiff's spouse died, tragically, in a plane crash. The record makes plain-and Plaintiff herself concedes-not only that she should have been able to determine in the two-year period whether to file a claim, but that she in fact made that determination, when the NTSB investigator told her, less than a month after the crash, that 'the NTSB believed that the cause of the accident was related to air traffic controller negligence,'" the appeals court ruled. "The problem was simply that, for whatever reason, her then-counsel chose not to file the claim in the remaining 22 months of the period prescribed by Congress." The case is Hertz v. United States, 09-26. http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/224314-supreme-court-wont-hear-appeal-of-a irplane-crash-lawsuit **************** United Nations World Food Programme organize a free SMS training course in Dubai, UAE The United Nations World Food Programme is hosting this year again an ICAO Safety Management System Training (SMS) between the 06th-10th December 2009 in Dubai FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 30, 2009 – While increased Safety Measures is Crucial across the Expanding GCC Aviation sectors, the United Nations World Food Programme Safety Aviation Office (UAE) carries on regular Safety The United Nations World Food Programme is hosting this year again an ICAO Safety Management System Training (SMS) between the 06th-10th December 2009 in Dubai, UAE. In collaboration with ICAO, as a part of its continuing efforts to promote safety culture in the aviation community, this is the 6th free of charge aviation safety workshop organized by the UN/WFP for the past three years. Increased attention to higher aviation safety measures is a priority for the World Food Programme and the Aviation Safety Unit, It is critical to the success of the growing regional aviation sector to implement the latest in safety management principles. However in recent months, the WFP Aviation Safety Office in the GCC (Sharjah, UAE) in conjunction with heads of local civil aviation departments have recognized the need to further enhance existing safety procedures, raise safety techniques across all facets of air operations and offer safety management workshops to both government and commercial aviation leaders. This strong commitment to better aviation safety is a direct result of the unprecedented expansion seen across many of the Middle East airports and airlines. With the booming influx of tourism and financial travel, heads of civil aviation departments have partnered with the WFP and leading aviation safety bodies like the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to revise and raise existing safety measures. # # # WFP has managed air operations in support of its activities for over 20 years. Although it was originally and predominantly for the delivery of large quantities of food by cargo aircraft in Ethiopia, Somalia, Angola and Sudan, it soon became necessary to coordinate passenger flights to facilitate the movement of WFP staff involved in the relief operations notably for assessments and food distributions. It was only in 2003 though that with the aim of establishing common services, WFP officially received the mandate from the High Level Committee on Management (HLCM) to provide air services to the UN Humanitarian Agencies and their Cooperating Partners as and when required. Types of WFP Aviation Services: Traditionally, WFP Aviation has contributed towards humanitarian mandate by: http://www.prlog.org/10433449-united-nations-world-food-programme-organize-f ree-sms-training-course-in-dubai-uae.html **************** EASA calls for repeat elevator checks on A330s and A340s The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has mandated that operators of Airbus A330 family aircraft and A340-200/300 models perform repetitive inspections of the composite skins on the aircraft's left and right-side elevator assemblies from 15 December. An earlier directive, issued by French regulators in 2004 after maintainers found debonding on the right-hand elevator of an A340 during a scheduled maintenance task, called for a one-time inspection to search for flaws in the sandwich structure of the skin panels of the aircraft models. Along with the initial inspections defined in the previous directive, the new mandate calls for repeat inspections for evidence of debonding every six years. "Investigation has revealed that this debonding may have been caused by water ingress and, if not detected and corrected, might compromise the structural integrity of the elevators," says EASA. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC