08 DEC 2009 _______________________________________ *Inquiry scrutinizes second A330 incident for AF447 insight *BEA Sets New AF447 Report Date *Pilots who overshot destination blame controllers *Ndebele assures on SA air safety record (South Africa) *Beechcraft F90 King Air Accident (Germany) *Security and Safety Key For Indonesian Airlines’ Return to Europe: Minister *United to Place Order for 50 Widebody Planes *Continental Airlines plane makes unscheduled landing in MT after engine trouble develops *Aviation group adds birds to priority list *Colombia approves Avianca-Taca merger *ADS-B Trial Shows Usefulness In Avoiding Runway Conflicts ***************************************** Inquiry scrutinizes second A330 incident for AF447 insight French investigators are to examine a severe turbulence incident a week ago involving an Air France Airbus A330-200 which had been operating the same route as the ill-fated flight AF447. The Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses says that the 29 November incident to flight AF445, operating Rio de Janeiro-Paris Charles de Gaulle, could yield information valuable to the inquiry into the loss of AF447, another A330-200, on 1 June. BEA is set to publish, on 17 December, a second investigation report into the south Atlantic crash. The AF447 inquiry has been forced to proceed without the crucial data from the A330's two flight recorders, which have yet to be recovered. But the upset involving AF445, the BEA says, "might provide further insight" into the accident. The aircraft (F-GZCK) encountered severe turbulence about four hours after departing Rio, and the pilots brought the aircraft down to a lower flight level. Air France says that the crew could not raise air traffic control and opted instead to transmit an emergency message over the radio to advise of the change in altitude. "After half an hour of moderate to severe turbulence, the flight continued normally," the carrier adds. Air France says the cockpit crew carried out its actions "in strict accordance with procedures". The A330 was transporting 203 passengers and 12 crew. AF447 had been almost four hours into its journey, and in the vicinity of storm activity, at the time of its disappearance. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** BEA Sets New AF447 Report Date French accident investigators on Dec. 17 plan to release their second interim report into what happened to Air France Flight 447. Prior to the event, the head of the accident investigation office, the BEA, and the lead investigator into the AF447 crash will travel to Rio de Janeiro to meet with families of victims there. The Airbus A330-200 that crashed into the Atlantic took off from Rio de Janeiro on May 31, and all 228 people on board died. The BEA says it will also meet with French groups representing victims just before issuing the latest report. Even before releasing the latest findings, BEA officials say they have so far seen no information that leads them to alter their main determination that the Airbus A330 did not break up in flight. Investigators continue to be hamstrung by the fact that the cockpit voice and flight data recorders have not been recovered; a new search phase is expected next year. The new report will try to more closely explore the information available, including the meaning of the Acars fault messages the A330 transmitted in the final minutes before all contact with the aircraft was lost. http://www.aviationweek.com ************** Pilots who overshot destination blame controllers Flight 188's captain and first officer say air traffic control rules weren't followed, which contributed to the incident.STORY HIGHLIGHTS (CNN) -- The Northwest Airlines pilots who flew their jet past their destination city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 21 have blamed air traffic controllers for the snafu. In separate responses to the administrative law judge handling their case, Capt. Timothy B. Cheney, 53, of Gig Harbor, Washington, and First Officer Richard I. Cole, 54, say air traffic control rules weren't followed, which contributed to the incident. "The air traffic controller(s) did not comply with the requirements of the air traffic control manual and other relevant orders, rules, procedures, policies and practices with respect to Northwest Flight 188, nor coordinate effectively with Northwest dispatch, and such failure was a causal or contributing factor in the incident," they said. The responses were filed November 24, but made public Monday. "Since this is the subject of an ongoing legal process, we can't comment," said Laura J. Brown, deputy assistant administrator for public affairs at the Federal Aviation Administration. The pilots are appealing the revocation of their licenses by the FAA. The National Transportation Safety Board has reported that the pilots told investigators they used personal laptop computers during the flight, in violation of company policy, and lost track of time. The men said they became aware of their plane's position only after a flight attendant asked about the landing time. The Airbus A320 was flying at 37,000 feet over the Denver, Colorado, area at 5:56 p.m. when air traffic controllers lost radio contact for more than an hour, the NTSB said in a report. Northwest Flight 188 had departed San Diego, California, en route to Minnesota carrying 144 passengers, the two pilots and three flight attendants. "Using laptops or engaging in activity unrelated to the pilots' command of the aircraft during flight is strictly against the airline's flight deck policies and violations of that policy will result in termination," said a statement from Delta Air Lines, which recently merged with Northwest. Cheney was hired in 1985 and has more than 20,000 hours flight time, while Cole was hired in 1997 and has about 11,000 hours of flight time, the NTSB report said. Neither pilot reported having had an accident, incident or violation, neither had any ongoing medical conditions, and neither said he was tired, it said. They each had had a 19-hour layover in San Diego; neither said he had slept or argued during the flight, but both said "there was a distraction" in the cockpit, according to the report. The pilots said there was "a concentrated period of discussion where they did not monitor the airplane or calls" from air traffic control, though both said they heard conversation on the radio, the report said. Neither pilot said he noticed messages sent by company dispatchers, it added. It said the men were talking about the new monthly crew flight scheduling system put into place after the Northwest-Delta merger. "Each pilot accessed and used his personal laptop computer while they discussed the airline crew flight scheduling procedure," the report said. "The first officer, who was more familiar with the procedure, was providing instruction to the captain." Both pilots said a flight attendant called the cockpit about five minutes before the plane was to have landed and asked their estimated time of arrival, the report said. "The captain said, at that point, he looked at his primary flight display for an ETA and realized that they had passed" the airport, it added. After landing at Minneapolis-St. Paul, both voluntarily underwent alcohol breath tests, which were negative, the report said. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/07/wayward.pilots/index.html **************** Ndebele assures on SA air safety record (South Africa) TRANSPORT Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has assured all travelers that South Africa is still one of the safest countries in the world in which to travel by air. The Minister's assurance follows a South African Airlink plane which went off the end of the runway at George Airport on Monday and came to rest on a perimeter road leading to the N2 highway. "We want to assure all those who make use or intend making use of air travel in South Africa that our planes and airport infrastructure are safe. There have been two isolated incidents of runway excursions in the past weeks, but there is nothing to panic about. South Africa has one of the best air safety records in the world," the Minister said. Runway excursions are a worldwide problem and are being aggressively addressed by both aviation authorities and air safety bodies. According to reports, the 37-seater aircraft was arriving from Cape Town when it aquaplaned off the end of the wet runway. It penetrated the airport perimeter fence and came to a halt at a road between the airport and the N2 freeway. It didn't affect traffic on the freeway, and 33 people were evacuated from the aeroplane, five of them with minor injuries. Weather at the time is reported as being overcast with rain. http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=89052 ***** Date: 07-DEC-2009 Time: 11:06am LT Type: Embraer 135 Operator: South African Airlink Registration: ZS-SJW C/n / msn: 145423 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 33 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: George (GRJ), South Africa - South Africa Phase: Landing Nature: Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Cape Town Airport - FACT Destination airport: George Airport - FAGG Narrative: SA Airlink Embraer 135, flight SA 8625 overshot the runway at George Airport, crashed through a security fence and came to a standstill on a major road next to the airport. The aircraft's pilot was trapped in the wreckage for nearly an hour. It was not immediately clear if he had been injured. The passengers had been evacuated from the plane, but only minor injuries were reported. Aircraft is reported as having aquaplaned off the end of the wet runway. (aviation-safety.net) ************** Beechcraft F90 King Air Accident (Germany) Date: 07-DEC-2009 Time: 16:16 LT Type: Beechcraft F90 King Air Operator: Eisenmann Industrial Marketing Consult (EIMC) Registration: D-IDVK C/n / msn: LA-96 Fatalities: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: 5km E of Egelsbach - Germany Phase: Approach Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Bremen - EDDW Destination airport: Egelsbach - EDFE Narrative: Crashed in a forest. (aviation-safety.net) **************** Security and Safety Key For Indonesian Airlines’ Return to Europe: Minister Airport security measures and an airline’s ability to deal with chaos and panicked passengers are key points to be considered if all of the nation’s carriers are to be certified as eligible to fly to Europe, Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said on Monday. He made the statement ahead of a planned visit by the European Union’s Air Safety Commission this month, following a request in November to have EU bans lifted on domestic carriers Lion Air, Indonesia AirAsia, Batavia Air and charter airline Travira Air. Freddy said the EU would not only assess the airlines but also the security preparations adopted by Indonesian airports. “Airport safety and emergency readiness are two major points,” Freddy said. The government has certified 20 of the country’s airlines as eligible to fly to Europe and will soon deliver a report to the EU requesting the 2007 blanket flight ban be lifted. In July, the EU removed restrictions on flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia, Mandala Airlines, Airfast and PrimeAir. The move was in response to what the European Commission, the EU’s regulatory arm, deemed “significant improvements” by the Indonesian civil aviation authorities. The EU flight ban, based on safety concerns uncovered by an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization as well as a string of accidents in Indonesia, was enforced by on all Indonesian airlines in 2007. The restriction has been costly, with Garuda losing $1.5 million a month in revenue because of the ban, the carrier said in 2008. Herry Bhakti Singayuda, director general of civil aviation at the Transportation Ministry, said that the state authority responsible for air transportation would be divided into two separate entities next year. “One institution will be responsible for monitoring air transport in the eastern half of Indonesia, and the other in the western part of the country,” Freddy said, adding that the offices in the east would be based in Makassar, South Sulawesi, while the western offices would be in Jakarta. The move is in accordance with the 2009 Aviation Law stipulating that the government can only be the regulator and not the operator of an airport. The Transportation Ministry still operates several airports in collaboration with state-owned operators PT Angkasa Pura I and PT Angkasa Pura II. Trisno Heryadi, spokesman for PT Angkasa Pura II, which is responsible for air travel in western Indonesia, said the company had worked hard to meet the standards set by the ICAO, adding that frequent training programs were held for airport personnel, particularly at international airports such as Soekarno-Hatta in the capital. Training programs for airport staff, however, were not evident on Friday at Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto Airport, where little was done to pacify angry passengers who became involved in a vicious brawl with Lion Air customer service officials after their flight was delayed three times. Eko Roesni, secretary general of aviation watchdog People for Indonesia Air Transportation, said the fight was triggered by Lion Air’s failure to communicate vital information to its passengers about the delays. The altercation on Friday came on the heels of another incident that sent travelers into a panic the day before, when smoke began billowing from a Batavia Air flight’s engine at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar. Nine were injured as the passengers rushed for the exits. In August, passengers waiting to board an Air Asia flight destroyed chairs and luggage carts at Medan’s Polonia International Airport after their flight to Jakarta was delayed overnight. Indonesia has reported 2,176 air-crash fatalities since 1943, compared with 1,141 in the Philippines and 1,976 in Japan. http://thejakartaglobe.com/news/security-and-safety-key-for-indonesian-airlines-return-to-europe-minister/346092 *************** United to Place Order for 50 Widebody Planes UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, which last summer asked Boeing Co. and Airbus to propose dueling bids for up to 150 new jetliners, is expected to announce Tuesday that it has placed initial firm orders for 50 widebody planes, evenly split between the two manufacturers. People close to the situation said the No. 3 US airline by traffic is expected to announce orders for 25 of Boeing Co.'s new 787 Dreamliner model and the same number for Airbus's new A350, with options for many more units of both that could be converted into orders at later dates. At list prices, the firm order could reach more than $9 billion, although airlines typically command big discounts for large orders. The new-technology 787 has been severely delayed by developmental problems and only is expected to begin deliveries in late 2010, two and a half years late. Dozens of orders have been canceled as airlines have grown frustrated with the delays – or because the recession is taking its toll on airlines' budgets. The new A350 is expected to begin deliveries to customers in 2014. Chicago-based United sent formal requests to the rival manufacturers in June, hoping to replace many planes in its Boeing-built widebody international fleet, as well as some of its aging Boeing 757 narrowbody planes used mostly in domestic service. The airline since has divided the two assignments, and expects to launch the narrowbody competition next year, according to people familiar with the situation. United, which currently operates a big fleet of Airbus-built narrowbody planes, initially had envisioned a winner-take-all competition and hoped that would help it obtain better terms than otherwise might be available. The carriers figured it could bargain-hunt at a time when both manufacturers were seeing customers cancel or defer orders as a result of the recession. At that time, United, which didn't have a lot of liquidity and was grappling with frozen credit markets, wanted manufacturer-arranged financing that didn't eat into its cash. It also wanted the flexibility to change the orders later, according to people familiar with the matter. Since then, the airline industry has begun to show tentative signs of recovery from the recession, and United and others in the industry have successfully tapped the debt and equity markets to raise billions of dollars of fresh cash, even while still posting quarterly losses. It wasn't known Monday whether Boeing and Airbus will be offering financing for the new aircraft. Boeing declined to comment, as did Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. Tony Cervone, United's senior vice president of communications, also had no comment. United, which emerged from a protracted bankruptcy-court reorganization in early 2006, has been an industry leader in reducing its capacity in the face of the subsequent oil shock then the recession-induced plunge in travel demand. The carrier has retired all of its nearly 100 elderly Boeing 737s and six Boeing 747-400s in recent months, paring its total fleet to 360 planes. The carrier has taken pride in its lack of aircraft orders in recent years, even as U.S. rivals started reopening their checkbooks. It hasn't ordered any new aircraft since 1998. And its position has been that if it couldn't extract favorable terms from the plane makers in this competition, United was well positioned to wait since its international fleet is fairly young. United has 24 747-400s, with an average age of 13 year, and if flies 35 Boeing 767-300s, which are 15-years-old on average. It is expected that those two fleets will be phased out after the new aircraft start arriving. United also has 52 Boeing 777s, which are a fairly youthful 11-years-old on average. Its narrowbody fleet consists of 152 newer Airbuses, along with 97 older Boeing 757s. When it started shopping last summer, United was hoping to simplify its fleet by ending up with fewer types of aircraft, a change that would cut its maintenance and crew-training costs. The first version of Boeing's 787, which seats up to 250 passengers and is designed to fly about 8,000 nautical miles, has attracted 840 orders from 55 customers, including U.S. rivals Delta Air Lines Inc., AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. But eager airline customers have been waiting more than two years for the promising aircraft to get past its teething problems, win Federal Aviation Administration certification and begin deliveries. Airbus's rival A350 model has logged 493 orders from 31 customers, with US Airways Group Inc. being the only U.S. carrier that has ordered the plane so far. The A350 is designed to seat 270 passengers and fly 8,300 nautical miles. On paper, the two planes sound like they perform similar missions, but a person familiar with the matter said neither model alone would serve all of United's widebody aircraft needs because there is surprisingly little overlap in how United would deploy the 787 and the A350. There is industry speculation that one reason United is splitting the order between the two aircraft models is to keep its powder dry in case merger scenarios become more enticing in the future. The carrier has had merger dalliances in recent years that went nowhere. But dividing the order also gives the airline an opportunity to have the manufacturers compete all over again when United looks to covert options into firm orders, one person said. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126024695983081449.html?mod=article-outset-box ************** Continental Airlines plane makes unscheduled landing in MT after engine trouble develops HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Continental Airlines plane en route from New Jersey to Oregon made an unscheduled stop in Montana after encountering engine trouble. Jeff Wadekamper is the assistant manager of the Helena Regional Airport. He says the Continental flight from Newark to Portland, Ore., landed in Helena shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday after one of the engines was shut down. Wadekamper says emergency vehicles were ready, but the landing was routine. The 150 passengers spent the night in the terminal in Helena. A replacement jet was flown in from Portland, Ore., and the flight left Helena at 6:15 a.m. Monday. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-unscheduled-landing,0,1511232.story ***************** Aviation group adds birds to priority list WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. government-aviation industry safety group added birds to its list of priority issues at the behest of two government entities, officials said. The Commercial Aviation Safety Team elevated birds to its priority issues after reviewing bird-aircraft incidents, including January's Hudson River landing of a US Airways jet that hit geese and engine damage caused by birds on a Frontier Airlines plane departing Kansas City Nov. 14, USA Today reported Monday. The team was asked to urged to do so by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Agriculture Department. "This is a big flashing beacon," says Carla Dove, head of the Smithsonian Institution's bird identification lab. "It's time to wake up." Since the Hudson River accident, the FAA improved bird strike reporting and is writing new, tougher requirements for how airports should combat birds and other wildlife, Kate Lang, FAA's acting associate administrator for airports, told USA Today. Airline officials believe the risk from bird strikes remains relatively small but still deserving of more attention, said Basil Barimo, vice president for safety with the large-airline trade group, Air Transport Association. Bird experts said efforts must be undertaken to develop new technology to track birds and study other ways to lower bird hazards. **************** Colombia approves Avianca-Taca merger The Colombian Civil Aviation Authority Aerocivil has approved the proposed merger between the country's largest airline Avianca and Central American carrier Taca. An Aerocivil source confirms that the its board decided earlier this month to approve the merger "without condition". No Avianca source could be reached immediately to give further details. Avianca and Taca announced in early October their decision to merge ownership into a common corporate umbrella while maintaining separate brands and management. The holding will be owned 33.3% by Taca's Kriete family and 66.6% Avianca's sole owner, German Efromovich. The combined group will be the dominant airline in Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras, share a virtual duopoly with Lan in Peru and hold around a 5% domestic market share in Latin America's largest market, Brazil. Volaris, the Mexican airline co-owned by the Kriete family, will initially not be part of the group but, according to a Taca source, "might enter later". Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** ADS-B Trial Shows Usefulness In Avoiding Runway Conflicts ADS-B demonstrates potential to avert runway conflicts in US Airways trials The use of automatic dependent surveillance—broadcast (ADS-B) to provide cockpit alerts of potential runway collisions is being demonstrated under an FAA effort to accelerate the safety and efficiency benefits of equipping aircraft with the required avionics. Coupled with the Dec. 2 approval of the technical and operational performance standards for ADS-B avionics, and the ongoing deployment of ground-station radios across the U.S., the demonstrations show the FAA is moving quickly to meet its promises on ADS-B availability, says Vincent Capezzuto, director surveillance and broadcast services. A US Airways Airbus A330 equipped with ADS-B hardware and software supplied by ACSS conducted the first demonstration of the surface indications and alerts (SURF IA) “ADS-B In” cockpit application at Philadelphia International Airport on Nov. 8. Two further demonstrations were to be conducted at the airport on Dec. 6 and 7. The A330 is equipped with Goodrich’s Class 3 electronic flight bag running ACSS’s surface area movement management application, which provides an airport moving map display showing airborne and ground traffic information received via ADS-B. The series of runway and taxiway conflict scenarios demonstrated involved the A330 and an ADS-B-equipped King Air owned by ACSS. Under normal conditions, SURF IA provides traffic information and runway status indications on the moving map to improve crew situational awareness. The application also provides color-coded cautions and warnings to alert the crew to abnormal surface operations, such as traffic entering or approaching the occupied runway. With additional funding provided by Congress to accelerate development of ADS-B In applications, in an effort to encourage early equipage, the FAA in November 2008 awarded ACSS and Honeywell contracts in to demonstrate SURF IA. ACSS’s contract includes FAA-funded installation of ADS-B on US Airways’ fleet of 20 A330s. Honeywell will conduct its demonstrations at Seattle-Tacoma and Paine Field airports in Washington state this month and next. Together the demonstrations will provide data to finalize the standards for SURF IA, which Capezzuto expects to be ready by summer 2010. “That’s pretty good,” he says, noting it would typically be expected to take four to five years to develop and approve a new standard. Approval of the minimum operational performance standards (MOPS) and technical standard orders (TSO) for ADS-B avionics clears the way for release the FAA’s final rule in April 2010, which will mandate equipage in controlled airspace by 2020. Approval of the MOPS and TSOs gives vendors and operators assurance that avionics meeting the standards will comply with the rule. The standards have also been harmonized with Europe, Capezzuto says. The final rule will mandate only “ADS-B Out” for FAA surveillance services, but will provide the infrastructure for the cockpit applications that are expected to generate safety and efficiency benefits for airlines and other operators. The FAA hopes to encourage equipage ahead of the 2020 deadline by accelerating availability of beneficial ADS-B In applications such as SURF IA at the airport, interval management (previously called merging and spacing) on approach and in-trail procedures in oceanic airspace. ADS-B surveillance services became operational at UPS Airlines’ Louisville, Ky., hub in October, with initial operational capability in the Gulf of Mexico planned for this month, followed by Philadelphia, and Juneau, Alaska, by April 2010. The in-service decision on ADS-B surveillance services is on track for September 2010. Capezzuto says prime contractor ITT has already installed 50 ground-station radios, and will have more than 320 deployed by the end of 2010. http://www.aviationweek.com *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC