04 DEC 2009 _______________________________________ *Merpati Fokker 100 lands without right main landing gear *Private jet makes emergency landing *Air France Assembles Outside Experts for Safety Review *Boeing Urges Overhauling Key Jet Part *ALPA to FAA: Fatigue Rule Needed Now *Phenom 300 Receives Brazilian Type Certificate *Does composite use in airplane manufacturing trade passenger safety for profits? *Environment and aviation safety are IATA’s priorities *FAA administrator urges proactive approach to safety *CAAC appoints Air China exec to Shenzhen Airlines following police probe *Position Available: Human Factors/Ergonomics **************************************** Merpati Fokker 100 lands without right main landing gear A Fokker 100 operated by Indonesia's Merpati Nusantara made an emergency landing on west Timor after its left main landing failed to deploy properly. The aircraft's 88 passengers and six crew were uninjured, and the aircraft suffered no serious damage, says a Merpati spokesman, referring to last night's incident at El Tari airport which serves the west Timor capital Kupang. "The plane was forced to land with only its right landing gear because the left hand gear could not extend properly," he says. The aircraft is still blocking El Tari's runway 07, says the spokesman, who adds that he expects the aircraft will be removed soon. The carrier has yet to ascertain the cause of the malfunction, he says. It had been operating from Ujung Pandang in Sulawesi to Kupang. The aircraft's local registration is PK-MJD. According to Flightglobal's ACAS database Garuda Indonesia is the owner of the 15-year old aircraft. Merpati had another incident on 6 July, in which a wheel on the landing-gear of a Merpati Boeing 737-400 fell off as it was taking off from an airport in eastern Indonesia. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Private jet makes emergency landing The air traffic control tower at Evansville Regional Airport received a call that an indicator light on the landing gear was not working. After making a couple of passes by the tower, emergency crews on the ground were in place and ready for the landing. The landing gear worked and the plane landed safely. There were six people on board. No one was injured. http://www.wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=11617010 **************** Air France Assembles Outside Experts for Safety Review By DANIEL MICHAELS and ANDY PASZTOR Air France, taking an unusual and high-profile step to assess operational risks, has assembled a group of internationally respected aviation officials to conduct an independent safety review in the wake of the fatal crash of one of its jetliners in June. Led by Curt Graeber, a cockpit-fatigue expert and former high-ranking Boeing Co. engineer, the study teams will have a broad mandate to analyze both cockpit and maintenance safety programs, from training and procedures to incident analysis to organizational issues, according to the airline and people familiar with the details. Expected to kick off in two weeks, the initiative also includes Nick Sabatini, until recently the top U.S. air-safety regulator, as well as a handful of academics and airline executives from various countries with expertise in cockpit automation and related fields. The effort is unusual partly because of the group's broad mandate, as well as the commitment of time and resources it is likely to take to complete the roughly yearlong project. An Air France spokesman said the makeup of the Independent safety-review team will be finalized by the middle of December. Mr. Graeber, who pioneered studies on cockpit napping under limited circumstances as a way to enhance pilot performance, called the review "a very healthy and sincere effort to look at everything related to safety at Air France." The study team, authorized by Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman of the airline's parent company, Air France-KLM SA, is expected to have access to and support from the airline's safety officials. Air France-KLM Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said in an interview in September that the plan was to ask outside experts to conduct " a very extensive review of all our safety procedures" and provide ideas for continuous improvement. The company said later in a statement posted on its Web site that the review "will cover all internal operating methods, decision-making processes and practices which could have an impact on the safety of Air France's flights." Based on the makeup of the teams and their preliminary marching orders, some of the focus is likely to be on how effectively Air France collects and assesses data on safety lapses that could be warning signs of future incidents or accidents. Other major areas of interest are likely to be cockpit automation, human factors and how pilots react when their sophisticated flight-computer systems suddenly malfunction or shut down. The team won't investigate the June 1 crash of an Air France Airbus A330 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 people onboard were killed when the plane plunged into the Atlantic, after entering a violent storm and experiencing malfunctions of its speed sensors and other systems. Investigators are stymied because the plane's cockpit and flight-data recorders haven't been found. The crash, which followed a string of other incidents and accidents at the carrier, has sparked an internal debate over Air France's safety standards. But the study comes as Airbus and French crash experts are poised to step up efforts to determine what caused the tragedy. By early next year, according to industry officials, it's likely that the underwater search for the wreckage will resume. And last weekend, another Air France A330 flying the same route as the jet that crashed experienced turbulence which its crew considered unusually severe. Barely 20 miles from the site of the June accident, the pilots opted to descend a few thousand feet. They also made an emergency radio transmission, as required by international safety rules, to alert nearby planes of their sudden altitude change, according to people familiar with the incident. A Brazilian TAM airliner picked up the "Mayday" message, though the Air France jet continued on and landed safely in Paris. Following the June crash, Air France quickly replaced some onboard air-speed indicators on certain Airbus planes, and it also emphasized to its pilots the proper procedures for using weather-radar systems to find paths around big storms. Four years earlier, after the crash of an Air France Airbus A340 on landing in Toronto, in which nobody was killed but the plane was destroyed, Mr. Spinetta, the Air France-KLM chairman, commissioned an internal safety review. The document was widely praised for its frankness about shortcomings within the carrier. But critics inside and outside the airline said initial enthusiasm for the recommended changes wasn't followed by sufficient efforts to enact them. Air France officials say the report continues to serve as a reference within the company. In a recent internal memo to pilots, Air France's director of safety, Etienne Lichtenberger, admonished flight crews to follow safety procedures more closely and to stop criticizing the carrier. Air France officials say they have full confidence in their pilots. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703735004574572193993866038.ht ml **************** Boeing Urges Overhauling Key Jet Part By ANDY PASZTOR Boeing Co. is urging airlines to conduct a major retrofit program on more than 220 of its widely used 777 jets world-wide, following a string of potentially dangerous overheating incidents and chronic structural damage to some engine parts. The Boeing service bulletin issued last week covers Boeing 777s equipped with Rolls-Royce PLC engines and a certain type of thrust reverser, a device attached to the engine that helps jets slow down after landing. The decision, in effect, means that the design of a critical safety system on a portion of this widely used jetliner fleet has been found to be inadequate, though industry officials said it still could take years before all the suspect parts are replaced. The fix is likely to be mandated eventually by regulators. Industry officials predicted the ultimate fix to the thrust reversers could end up costing tens of millions of dollars, though Boeing didn't provide an estimate, and it isn't clear whether airlines will have to shoulder the bulk of the expense. Among the carriers most affected are AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc. A Boeing spokeswoman said Thursday that installation of the redesigned thermal-protection system, including new insulation blankets and other cooling features, is expected to start within weeks. The problem hasn't caused any accidents, according to industry and government safety experts. But for several years, the issue has posed a nagging safety and maintenance problem, as Boeing, its airline customers and air-safety regulators on both sides of the Atlantic struggled to come up with adequate periodic inspection programs. Those inspections will continue until the suspect parts are swapped out for improved versions. The devices at issue, partly made of composite material, have a history of being damaged from excessive heat, sometimes including weakening and unraveling of the layers of fibers that make up the inside walls, according to pilots and airline safety officials. If the thrust reversers fail to deploy properly after touchdown to redirect engine thrust and assist in braking—or swivel open during flight—the results can be unpredictable and dangerous. A full airborne deployment could even bring down a big jetliner. The safety issue was highlighted last December, when a chunk of one thrust reverser broke off an American Airlines long-range Boeing 777 shortly after takeoff from Tokyo's Narita airport. Nobody was injured and The plane returned safely to Narita, but the incident sparked consternation among pilots and U.S. safety officials. At the time, American told its pilots that since 2003 there had been eight previous incidents of thermal damage to the same type of thrust reversers reported by other carriers.Some of the damage occurred even after airlines had complied with maintenance fixes laid out by Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration The Narita incident, however, prompted a renewed industry effort to get to the bottom of the problem. At American Airlines, for example, maintenance officials recently said they continue to be concerned about the safety implications even as they are scheduled to wrap up the latest round of interim safety checks by the end of this month. American plans to begin by installing at least one redesigned thrust reverser on each of its Boeing 777 jets, before swapping out the device on the other engine. An FAA spokeswoman said Thursday that the latest recommendation put out by Boeing is "the first of several bulletins" likely to be issued dealing with thrust reversers. "The manufacturer," she said, "is proceeding with development of a series of changes for both production and previously delivered airplanes" that will be considered for a later federal safety mandate. Boeing's service bulletin comes at a time when Boeing, its European rival, Airbus, and various parts suppliers are stepping up scrutiny and maintenance safeguards intended to avoid reverser malfunctions on other aircraft types. Previously, regulators developed a flurry of mandatory maintenance work involving different engines and several other airliner models. Those fixes cover, among other things, certain popular General Electric Co. engines, as well as Boeing 747 and 767 airplanes and Airbus A300 and A340 models. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703735004574574382391362874.ht ml?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories **************** ALPA to FAA: Fatigue Rule Needed Now Prater Tells Committee Pilot Fatigue Represents A "Dire" Threat In testimony before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, Capt. John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, (ALPA), told senators that current federal flight- and duty-time rules for airline pilots are obsolete and modern science-based regulations are needed now to combat pilot fatigue and safeguard passengers and cargo. “We are disappointed by the FAA’s announcement that the draft regulation will be delayed until early next year, but we expect work to remain on track to create a new regulation by mid-2010,” said Prater after his testimony before the Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. “The threat from pilot fatigue is dire, and the decisive action our industry needs from the FAA can’t come quickly enough.” The existing rules date from the 1950s and are “a stick-and-wire biplane struggling to stay aloft in a supersonic age,” Prater said in his testimony to the members of the Senate. “I ask for your help in giving the flying public a new, consistent level of safety by ensuring that every pilot in the United States starts every trip alert and rested.” Prater said the new rule on pilot fatigue must meet three criteria to be truly effective: it must be based on scientific research into human fatigue and circadian rhythms, it should be uniform for all airline pilots, and it should encourage airline managers and pilot unions to collaborate in setting up voluntary Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMS) at their individual carriers. John Prater “No science exists to support multiple sets of flight-time and duty-time limits. No rational argument can be made for different flight/duty rules for pilots based on whether they fly passengers or cargo, domestic or international,” he said. Prater pointed to existing rules that allow cargo pilots to fly up to 60 percent more hours in a given week than pilots carrying passengers within the United States. “Exceptions or ‘carve-outs’ would kill long-overdue efforts to ensure all pilots are well rested. Worse, carve-outs would undermine the one-level-of-safety principle that must remain our ultimate goal.” Seven ALPA pilots representing every spectrum of the airline industry participated in an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) that made recommendations to the FAA. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt had publicly stated that his agency would publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on this vital aviation safety issue by the end of 2009, and issue a final rule next year. “I remain encouraged that we finally appear to be on the verge of securing the modern, science-based flight- and duty-time rules we know are so vital to enhancing aviation safety,” concluded Prater. “We look forward to evaluating the FAA’s proposed rule, and challenge the administration to stay on target for a final rule by mid-2010.” FMI: www.alpa.org aero-news.net **************** Phenom 300 Receives Brazilian Type Certificate U.S. Certification Expected Shortly, Followed By First Deliveries Embraer received the type and production certificates for its Phenom 300 executive jet on Thursday from Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Authority (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil – ANAC) in a ceremony held at Company headquarters, in São José dos Campos, Brazil. An FAA type certificate is expected to be issued in the coming weeks. “When we launched the Phenom 300 program, we wanted to bring an unparalleled product into the light jet category,” said Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer Executive Vice President, Executive Jets. “Besides delivering a product with unique and innovative features for this class, we are very happy to announce that the Phenom 300 has not only met all original specification targets, but has also surpassed many performance goals.” The Phenom 300’s maximum range, originally designed to be 1,800 nautical miles (3,334 kilometers), has been extended to 1,971 nautical miles with six occupants and NBAA IFR reserves. Runway performance also significantly improved over the initial targets. Takeoff field length, at maximum takeoff weight (MTOW), is now 3,138 feet, considerably better than the original 3,700 feet, while landing distance at maximum landing weight (MLW) improved to 2,621 feet, or 329 feet shorter than the targeted 2,950 feet. For flights into and out of airports with restrictions due to high temperatures or high elevations, the Phenom 300 exceeded the range targets, resulting, for example, on a range of more than 2000 nm from Aspen, Colorado, U.S. Climb performance also surpassed expectations, allowing the aircraft to depart from sea level at MTOW and reach its operational ceiling of 45,000 feet in only 26 minutes. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535-E engines, the Phenom 300’s fuel consumption is as much as 6% better than originally estimated. The jet’s top speed of 453 knots TAS was validated during the flight test campaign. Certified without restrictions, the Phenom 300 is able to fly according to Visual and Instrument Flight Rules, day or night, and into known or forecast icing conditions. The aircraft also operates well within Stage IV external noise requirements. “After working hard to meet design criteria and certification requirements, we are finally approaching the first Phenom 300 delivery. The aircraft’s performance demonstrates the top quality of our engineering,” said Humberto Pereira, Embraer Vice President, Engineering, Executive Jets. “I would also like to congratulate NAC for their professionalism and competence demonstrated during the Phenom 300 certification campaign.” The highly intuitive Prodigy flight deck, based on the acclaimed Garmin G1000 avionics suite, was developed from Embraer’s accumulated experience in human factors design. It offers full situational awareness and automation for a low workload, enabling single-pilot operation. At the same time that Embraer received the type certificate for the Phenom 300, ANAC also issued the production certificate, which is an approval to manufacture the jet in series. The process began in June 2007, and Embraer had to demonstrate that the Phenom 300 Organization Production System Sistema de Organização da Produção – SOP) complies with the Brazilian aeronautical rules. The main characteristics analyzed by ANAC were project and material controls, manufacturing process, final dispatch and continuous airworthiness, which are part of the Production Organization Manual. FMI: www.embraer.com aero-news.net ***************** Does composite use in airplane manufacturing trade passenger safety for profits? Fort Worth is a key player in the technological revolution sweeping the aircraft industry. The Bell Textron plant produces major assemblies for the revolutionary V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, 43 percent of whose structure is composed of advanced lightweight composite materials. It is also home to AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, which in October 2008 ordered 42 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, whose proportion of composites is even higher: roughly 50 percent. Boeing and Airbus (with its A350) are racing to produce this next generation of computer-controlled commercial aircraft constructed primarily of composite materials to reduce weight, improve fuel economy and increase passenger loads. Almost 1,500 orders worth hundreds of billions of dollars are on the books, with more to come. Despite repeated delays and safety-related design problems, it appears that these airplanes will be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency. But more than money and national pride are at stake: Human lives hang in the balance. Today, in thousands of certified commercial aircraft partially incorporating layers of fibers in a resin matrix, design defects and unexpected deterioration are appearing as composite structures begin to fail — catastrophically in at least one case. On Nov. 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587 from New York crashed, killing 265 people and leaving its severed composite tail fin floating in Jamaica Bay. Extensive disbonding was subsequently found within a FedEx A300 rudder, and in 2005 an AirTransat A310 composite rudder disintegrated in flight. Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330-200, crashed June 1, killing 228. Its composite tail fin was found floating 30 miles from the main debris field. Did AF447 suffer the same fate as AA587? In 2007, the European air safety agency ordered repetitive and enhanced inspections of rudders on older Airbus A300/310s and certain newer A330s and A340s. But it and the FAA overlooked thousands of Airbus A320s and Boeing 777s with composite tail fins and rudders. Two years behind schedule, Boeing has finally rolled out the first of six certification-test 787 "Dreamliners." But the Dreamliner has been an engineering nightmare: Its wing stringers detached along the wing-fuselage join line during flex testing, and wrinkles appeared in a composite fuselage section during manufacturing. Test flights are on hold pending repairs. These composites can absorb moisture, and expansion and contraction during freeze/thaw cycles trigger concealed delamination, degradation and loss of structural strength over time. Unlike with aluminum, fatigue prediction is far more difficult with composites, which are brittle and subject to sudden and catastrophic failure. Then there’s lightning. Aluminum skins of contemporary jetliners provide built-in protection from the lightning strikes routinely encountered by all commercial aircraft, easily directing strikes of up to a million volts and 200,000 amperes around internal electronic components, fuel tanks and passengers. Attempting to provide equivalent protection, Boeing has embedded wire mesh in the 787’s thin composite skin and engineered fine tolerances to avoid spark gaps in metal fasteners. Since this wire mesh must be connected across every joint and since thousands of fastener holes must be drilled through the composite, gaps overlooked or developed during operations can facilitate dangerous arcing that could spark in-flight fires. As with home computers without surge protectors, failure of the complicated 787 lightning-strike system could also cause loss of all electronic flight controls. And in the event of crash landings, the resin used in composites may contribute to the growth and spread of fire. Composite combustion releases dangerous fumes and hazardous carbon fibrils, posing potentially fatal dangers to passengers, firefighters and people downwind from crash sites. Public safety demands that the FAA and its European counterpart deny certification of 787- and A350-type aircraft until it can be soundly demonstrated that such composite jetliners are safe enough to carry passengers. Moreover, rigorous new standards must be established for scheduled composite maintenance, repair and overhaul — with mandatory replacement of critical parts that suffer damage. Human lives are at stake and must take precedence over corporate profits in these decisions. Hans Van der Zanden is a materials engineer specializing in durability http://www.star-telegram.com/1021/story/1808981.html *************** Environment and aviation safety are IATA’s priorities Environmental responsibility is a top priority for aviation, alongside safety and security, International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani stressed as governments prepare to gather in Copenhagen for talks on climate change. The aviation industry is globally united with a commitment to stabilize emissions with carbon neutral growth from 2020 and a 50% net reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, he pointed out. “Aviation is a global industry that moves with global standards,” the CEO explained. “Our commitment to reducing emissions includes all the value chain manufacturers, airports, air navigation service providers and airlines and crosses all geographies. Because our businesses operate across borders, aviation has a unique track record of finding global solutions to even the most difficult issues.” He is rallying the sector under the leadership of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). “Under ICAO, we found a solution to noise that accommodated the needs of developed and developing nations. We are a model for industry-government cooperation within the United Nations framework. Aviation will be the only industry bringing a global solution to Copenhagen.” Significantly, a global sectoral approach would account for aviation’s carbon emissions at a global level as an industrial sector, not by state. This would ensure that aviation is fully accountable for its emissions, and through access to global carbon markets would pay for its emissions once, not several times over. Cooperation between industry and government to secure aviation’s future was the theme of Bisignani’s remarks which focused on long-term strategic industry issues. “Flying is the safest way to travel precisely because of industry cooperation with governments though ICAO,” according to the CEO. Improvements in safety must be data-driven, he went on. IATA is launching a Global Safety Information Center to house IATA safety information in a single online database and is supporting ICAO Secretary-General Raymond Benjamin’s call for even greater sharing of safety data. “To make a safe industry even safer we must cooperate and share data. The upcoming ICAO high level meeting on safety (March 2010) will be a great opportunity to take this forward with concrete plans to amalgamate safety data from audits and inspections conducted by ICAO, FAA, EASA and IATA to improve safety by identifying trends and potential hazards,” he elaborated. http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/232418/environment-and-aviation-safety-are-iat a-s-priorities-says-bisignani *************** FAA administrator urges proactive approach to safety US FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said regulators, airports and airlines have "picked off all the low-hanging fruit there is to pick" to improve runway safety and now must focus on gathering "more detailed information" that can be analyzed to preemptively identify airfield risks. Speaking to the FAA International Runway Safety Summit in Washington, he touted the 50% year-over-year reduction in "serious" runway incursions to 12 at US airports during the government's fiscal year ended Sept. 30, including only two involving airlines, which he called "a staggering achievement" (ATWOnline, Oct. 13). To reduce incursions even further, he asserted that "we've got to shift away from the forensic investigation of what happened and instead start chipping away at the precursors. When the numerator is 12 and the denominator is 50 million [annual operations], frankly there's no other way we can get there." To that end, FAA has established a "Safety Management Systems" rulemaking process and is considering issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in late 2010 that would require US airports to develop SMS programs to analyze operational data proactively and identify safety risks. It also has initiated an SMS Council within the agency to develop processes for "thinking ahead" and "making sure [safety] decisions are based on knowledge, data and prevention," according to Director-Office of Safety and Standards Michael O'Donnell, who also spoke at the conference. "There is now so much data and so much information [regarding aircraft and airport operations] that we are able to predict things," O'Donnell said. "We've never been able to do that before." He explained that the new data and advanced methods for analyzing it enable the aviation industry to shift its focus from "who shot John investigations" of past crashes to taking measures to prevent future accidents, though he acknowledged that accident investigations will remain an important component of aviation safety. "We're trying to get the industry moving in an SMS direction," he said. Babbitt credited technology such as ASDE-X, which is in place at 23 US airports and will be installed at 35 by 2011, for improving runway safety. But as more technology is put in place, ensuring that pilots stay focused on "the fundamentals" is critical, he said. "My instincts tell me that the place all of this will head is a tricky area: Human factors. . .The human factor is going to loom large in the future. . .[With a growing amount of safety-related technology in cockpits and on the ground], we need to get pilots to stop troubleshooting warning systems and make sure they continue to fly the aircraft" (ATWOnline, Dec. 3). http://atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=18687 *************** CAAC appoints Air China exec to Shenzhen Airlines following police probe The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has installed Air China executive Fan Cheng into Shenzhen Airlines, a move that comes after the airline's major owner was taken in for police questioning. Fan, who still keeps his post as VP of Air China, is now general secretary of the communist party assigned to Shenzhen Airlines, says a Shenzhen Airlines official, who wishes to remain anonymous. "For the past three years we have not been state-owned so we have not had this position," says the official, adding that the CAAC made the decision to install Fan. Having a general secretary of the communist party is only for state-owned companies and Shenzhen Airlines, being privately-owned, has only had the level of vice-secretary of the party, says the official. The move comes after police, in recent days, took Shenzhen Airlines' major shareholder, Li Zeyuan, in for questioning. Li had effectively been managing the airline for the past two years but now Shenzhen Airlines president, Li Kun, is making the management decisions, says the official. The appointment of an Air China executive to Shenzhen Airlines has raised concerns, in the foreign news media, about the future ownership of Shenzhen Airlines. In 2005, Li Zeyuan's company Shenzhen Huirun Investment put in a joint bid - with China's Bright Oceans Corporation - for Guangdong Development Bank Holding Group's 65% stake in Shenzhen Airlines. They bid 2.72 billion yuan ($329 million), outbidding Air China which had been keen to take control of the airline. Air China owns 25% of Shenzhen Airlines. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** Position Available: Human Factors/Ergonomics 6 month Contract, Indianapolis Area --MA or MS in Human Factors, Ergonomics, Industrial and Operations Engineering, Engineering Psychology, or Biomechanics --At least 2 years of post-degree experience applying ergonomics principles/techniques to the design and evaluation of consumer products or operator workstations, or demonstration of equivalent skills, preferably within the transportation industry Forward Resume/CV to: TechStaff@curt-lewis.com CL&A Technical Support Staffing ************* Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC