06 JAN 2010 _________________________________________ *2 die as small cargo jet crashes outside Chicago *American jet landed too far down runway, Jamaican official says *3 biologists, pilot die in helicopter crash *Incident: Southwest B733 at Sacramento on Jan 5th 2010, bird strike *FAA Sets Safety Conditions for 787's Crew Rest Compartments ***************************************** 2 die as small cargo jet crashes outside Chicago Jet crashes near Chicago Pilot, co-pilot killed as plane crashes short of runway Learjet was on its final approach into Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, Illinois The flight was operated by Royal Air Cargo; no other people onboard (CNN) -- The pilot and co-pilot of a small cargo jet were killed when their aircraft crashed short of the runway while landing at an airport in suburban Chicago, Illinois, local authorities said. The Learjet 35A was on its final approach into Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, Illinois, when it went down about 1:30 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration reported. The plane crashed into a forest preserve about a mile south of the runway and ended up in a river, said Jay Reardon, the head of a multi-agency firefighting task force that responded to the crash. The two-man crew was found dead at the scene, Reardon said. No emergency was declared before the crash. "To our knowledge, everything appeared normal up until the aircraft was reported down by the tower at Chicago Executive Airport," Reardon said. The National Transportation Safety Board has begun its investigation of the crash. There was no immediate indication of the cause, NTSB senior investigator Pam Sullivan said. "It's way too early to even start narrowing down what could or could not happen," she said. The flight was operated by Royal Air Cargo, a Waterford, Michigan-based carrier that operates a fleet of small jets to deliver "time-sensitive" freight, airport spokesman Michael Standard said. Reardon said the jet appeared to be empty when it went down. The downed plane was en route to Atlanta, Georgia, from Pontiac, Michigan, with a stop in Chicago, according to private Web sites that track air travel. There was no immediate comment from the company. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/05/illinois.jet.crash/index.html ************* Status: Preliminary Date: 05 JAN 2010 Time: ca 13:30 Type: Gates Learjet 35 Operator: Royal Air Freight Registration: C/n / msn: First flight: Crew: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: ca 2,5 km S of Chicago-Executive Airport, IL (PWK) (United States of America) Phase: Approach (APR) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Pontiac-Oakland County International Airport, MI (PTK/KPTK), United States of America Destination airport: Chicago-Executive Airport, IL (PWK), United States of America Narrative: A Learjet plane, operating as Royal Air Freight flight RAX988, was destroyed when it crashed on approach to Chicago-Executive Airport, IL (PWK). It reportedly came down a forest preserve south of the airport. The wreckage came to rest on the west bank of the Des Plaines River. According to NBC both pilots were killed in the accident. The airplane had just been cleared for a visual approach to runway 34 following a flight from Pontiac-Oakland County International Airport, MI (PTK). Weather about the time of the accident (13:30 local, 19:30 UTC) was reported as: KPWK 051852Z 31009KT 10SM FEW025 BKN055 M06/M11 A3019 RMK AO2 SLP232 T10611111= KPWK 051941Z 33009KT 10SM FEW060 M06/M11 A3018 RMK AO2= [Wind 330 degrees at 9 knots; visibility 10 miles; few clouds at 6,000 ft; temperature -6 degrees C, dew point -11 degrees C; 1022 hPa] KPWK 051952Z 33010KT 10SM FEW060 M06/M11 A3018 RMK AO2 SLP231 T10561111= (aviation-safety.net) *************** American jet landed too far down runway, Jamaican official says WASHINGTON - An American Airlines jet that crashed in Jamaica last month touched down in the middle of the runway and was still traveling 72 mph just before it split open near a series of thick concrete posts, a top Jamaican aviation safety official said Tuesday. The fuselage of American Airlines Flight 331 cracked in two places after landing in rain Dec. 22 in Kingston, Jamaica. Jamaican investigators are scheduled to give their first public update today on the crash of American Airlines Flight 331, which careened off the runway at Kingston-Norman Manley International Airport on Dec. 22. Lt. Col. Oscar Derby, director general of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, said investigators have gathered facts but are still trying to answer why pilots landed in nearly the middle of the 8,910-foot runway - limiting their distance for stopping the aircraft in heavy rain and gusting winds. Derby said the Boeing 737-800 bounced after landing, which would have further eliminated several hundred feet of stopping distance. "The [runway] touchdown usually occurs at 1,500 feet, or between 1,000 and 1,500 feet [down an 8,900-foot airstrip]," Derby said. "Why this aircraft touched down at 4,100 feet is something that we are investigating very carefully in order to determine what the cause might be." The crash left the plane cracked apart in two places but didn't result in any fatalities. Jamaican investigators are leading the inquiry, while the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has sent investigators to assist. Jamaican investigators have interviewed the pilots and are reviewing cockpit voice and flight data recorders for clues, Derby said. Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration is conducting extra surveillance of Fort Worth-based American after two other bad landings, including one on Dec. 24 in Austin when a plane's wing struck the ground while landing. Such reviews typically include in-flight inspections and examinations of safety data to look for warning signs that may have been missed. "In situations where there may be several incidents involving a single carrier over a short period of time, FAA inspectors increase their surveillance, which we're doing now, and conduct a review of those events to determine whether they might be indicative of a larger issue," FAA spokeswoman Sasha Johnson said. Tim Wagner, an American spokesman, said the carrier is examining the Jamaica crash as it cooperates with the FAA review. The carrier was the subject of enhanced FAA scrutiny last year because of maintenance lapses. "We always do comprehensive reviews of incidents," Wagner said. "We are always willing to work with the FAA and find ways to evaluate incidents to learn lessons going forward." Derby said Jamaican authorities are still "weeks or months" away from reporting the major contributing factors to the accident, which may turn on bad decisions by pilots in difficult weather. Pilots typically approach an airfield into a headwind to reduce speed. But the American pilots approached the Kingston runway from the north, where a 16 mph tailwind increased their speed. The Boeing 737-800 has a tailwind landing limit of about 17 mph. When the plane's wheels first touched down on the rain-slicked runway, the pilots were already 4,100 feet into the 8,900-foot airstrip. It remains unclear why the pilots touched down there. Preliminary evidence suggests the captain used a head-up display, a navigational aide that guides a pilot toward the appropriate point to land, Derby said. Pilots and aviation experts say that if a head-up display is used correctly, it almost always results in a safe landing regardless of weather. Passengers on Flight 331 reported turbulence so severe that beverage service had to be stopped. Some said they felt the jet bounce or skid after landing. Derby said there were "indications" that the jet hydroplaned over water after landing, a condition that can impair a plane's braking system. On Wednesday, investigators plan to begin a runway friction test to determine whether a slick runway may have contributed to the crash, Derby said. Previous flights landed in bad weather that evening, but the rain may have been heavier when Flight 331 landed, Derby said. "We have looked at exactly where the rain was and the intensity of the rain," he said. "We are zooming in to try and reconstruct the conditions on the runway and test the friction rate, and therefore what braking existed at the time." Mike Slack, an aviation lawyer in Austin, said a jet may bounce on landing for reasons including excessive airspeed and excessive rate of descent. The bounce can deprive the jet of several hundred feet of stopping distance, Slack said. "The moral of the story is you don't land an aircraft in a thunderstorm with a dynamic weather environment like that present over the runway," he said. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-american_06bus.AR T0.State.Edition2.4ba7c66.html ***************** 3 biologists, pilot die in helicopter crash MADERA COUNTY, CALIF. -- Three biologists with the California Department of Fish and Game and a contract pilot were killed Tuesday when their helicopter clipped a power line and crashed while they were surveying deer in the Sierra foothills south of Yosemite National Park, authorities said. Fish and Game Warden Patrick Foy said the helicopter went down about 12:30 p.m. near Redinger Lake in Madera County, along the Fresno County border. The crash site is in the Sierra National Forest, about 25 miles from the southern edge of Yosemite. The victims included two state scientists, Clu Cotter, 48, and Kevin O'Connor, 40, and a seasonal aide, Tom Stolberg, 31, all of Fresno. The body of the pilot, Dennis Donovan, was also found amid the wreckage. His age and city of residence were not released. The helicopter, a Bell 206-B owned and operated by Landells Aviation of Desert Hot Springs (Riverside County) - also known as Palm Springs Aviation - had four people aboard, including the pilot. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Fish and Game had halted all surveys and animal captures done by helicopter until further notice. "This is a devastating tragedy," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "We send our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of the victims." The Madera County Sheriff's Department said a pair of U.S. Forest Service police officers had seen the helicopter fly into a 220-kilovolt electrical transmission line and crash. "They were roughly 90 to 100 yards away from the incident," Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Erica Stuart said. Debris spread over a quarter-mile area. Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, confirmed that officials were looking into whether the helicopter had hit the power line. The agency and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. The biologists, who have not been identified, were estimating the size and health of the local deer population in an effort to develop strategies for managing the animals, Foy said. He said the work carried a measure of danger because pilots had to fly at a low altitude but that Landells Aviation had years of experience in the area. "I've personally flown with these guys probably 50 to 60 times in their helicopters and they've always been great pilots, very competent," Foy said. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/05/BA8J1BE22P.DTL&t sp=1 ****** Date: 05-JAN-2010 Time: afternoon Type: Bell 206 Jet Ranger Operator: Landells Aviation. Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Near Redinger Lake, California - United States of America Phase: En route Nature: Survey Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: The helicopter, carrying a pilot and 3 biologists from the California Dept of Fish and Game, crashed in a canyon after clipping a power line while surveying deer herds. All four occupants sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft was burned out. The accident occurred in the Sierra National Forest, near the border of Fresno and Madera Counties. (aviation-safety.net) **************** Incident: Southwest B733 at Sacramento on Jan 5th 2010, bird strike A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300, flight WN-549 from Ontario,CA to Sacramento,CA (USA), was on final approach to Sacramento's runway 16L descending through 1300 feet, when a bird impacted the nose of the airplane. The crew continued for a safe landing 2 minutes later. The airplane was able to depart for its next leg with a delay of 40 minutes. http://avherald.com/h?article=425565a3 *************** FAA Sets Safety Conditions for 787's Crew Rest Compartments Boeing's second Dreamliner completed its first flight on Dec. 22 from Everett, Wash., to Seattle. The first production aircraft will be delivered next year to Japan's All Nippon Airways. The Federal Aviation Administration has published the safety conditions for unique crew rest compartments Boeing has incorporated into the 787 Dreamliner, a new, twin-engine jetliner that will have a maximum takeoff weight of 476,000 pounds and maximum passenger count of 381 passengers when in commercial use, according to FAA's notices in the Federal Register. The second Dreamliner completed its first flight Dec. 22 from Everett, Wash., to Seattle; the first production aircraft will be delivered next year to Japan's All Nippon Airways. The notices, published Jan. 4, proposed special conditions for two overhead rest compartments, one that members of the flight crew could occupy during taxiing, takeoffs, and landings (TT&L) and a larger one that flight attendants would not occupy during TT&L. The notices listed the conditions and invited comments on them by Feb. 18 to Federal Aviation Administration, Transport Airplane Directorate, Attn: Rules Docket (ANM-113), Docket No. NM412, 1601 Lind Ave. SW, Renton, WA 98057-3356. The attendant rest compartment will be installed above the main passenger cabin adjacent to an exit door. It will be accessed from the main deck by stairs through a vestibule. This compartment "will contain six private berths, an emergency hatch that opens directly into the main passenger cabin area, a smoke detection system, an oxygen system, and various occupant amenities," according to the notice, which said crew rest compartments have been installed and certificated on several Boeing airplane models "in locations as varied as the main passenger seating area, the overhead space above the main passenger cabin seating area, and below the passenger cabin seating area within the cargo compartment." http://ohsonline.com/articles/2010/01/06/faa-sets-safety-condition.aspx?admg area=news *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC