February 2, 2010 No.027 In This Issue Captain's Inappropriate Actions Led To Crash of Flight 3407 Pilots at fault in Continental Connection crash, investigators NTSB backs away from flight time recommendations in Colgan probe Concorde crash trial opens in Paris Cessna 425 Conquest Engine Failure on Landing (Germany) Cargo jet bumps airport vehicle on Anchorage taxiway United sues city of Chicago for $1M for jet-truck collision Colombia's Avianca Airlines Merges With El Salvador's Taca ACE leads cover for Ethiopian crash ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Captain's Inappropriate Actions Led To Crash of Flight 3407 in Clarence Center, New York, NTSB Says The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the captain of Colgan Air flight 3407 inappropriately responded to the activation of the stick shaker, which led to an aerodynamic stall from which the airplane did not recover. In a report adopted today in a public Board meeting in Washington, additional flight crew failures were noted as causal to the accident. On February 12, 2009, a Colgan Air, Inc., Bombardier DHC-8-400, N200WQ, operating as Continental Connection flight 3407, was on an instrument approach to Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, Buffalo, New York, when it crashed into a residence in Clarence Center, New York, about 5 nautical miles northeast of the airport. The 2 pilots, 2 flight attendants, and 45 passengers aboard the airplane were killed, one person on the ground was killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The flight was a 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 scheduled passenger flight from Newark, New Jersey. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The report states that, when the stick shaker activated to warn the flight crew of an impending aerodynamic stall, the captain should have responded correctly to the situation by pushing forward on the control column. However, the captain inappropriately pulled aft on the control column and placed the airplane into an accelerated aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the cause of the accident were the Crewmembers' failure to recognize the position of the low-speed cue on their flight displays, which indicated that the stick shaker was about to activate, and their failure to adhere to sterile cockpit procedures. Other contributing factors were the captain's failure to effectively manage the flight and Colgan Air's inadequate procedures for airspeed selection and management during approaches in icing conditions. As a result of this accident investigation, the Safety Board issued recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding strategies to prevent flight crew monitoring failures, pilot professionalism, fatigue, remedial training, pilot records, stall training, and airspeed selection procedures. Additional recommendations address FAA's oversight and use of safety alerts for operators to transmit safety-critical information, flight operational quality assurance (FOQA) programs, use of personal portable electronic devices on the flight deck, and weather information provided to pilots. At today's meeting, the Board announced that two issues that had been encountered in the Colgan Air investigation would be studied at greater length in proceedings later this year. The Board will hold a public forum this Spring exploring pilot and air traffic control high standards. This accident was one in a series of incidents investigated by the Board in recent years - including a mid-air collision over the Hudson River that raised questions of air traffic control vigilance, and the Northwest Airlines incident last year where the airliner overflew its destination airport in Minneapolis because the pilots were distracted by non-flying activities - that have involved air transportation professionals deviating from expected levels of performance. In addition, this Fall the Board will hold a public forum on code sharing, the practice of airlines marketing their services to the public while using other companies to actually perform the transportation. For example, this accident occurred on a Continental Connection flight, although the transportation was provided by Colgan Air. A summary of the findings of the Board's report are available on the NTSB's website at: http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2010/AAR1001.htm [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102993713697&s=6053&e=001G7JNCya8GCD5Zx0bmMWIcsHlxTEH6B9NIcekF6JiD1F09AqM5tbWm0ZrAlsLD8zMw6AIb9s2p60PnAwk7s0R0JH9IA0oQrWp-7J3F6DLti5T7QBEtkqUW80nZxzD4k-i8jTvnhyOPlURX4ZP49vtIA==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pilots at fault in Continental Connection crash, investigators Washington (CNN) -- The pilot and first officer of doomed Continental Connection Flight 3407 clearly did not take actions -- even though they had time -- that could have prevented the plane crash, which killed 50 people, federal investigators said Tuesday at a final meeting on the cause of the crash. The pilot reacted "with startle and confusion" to warnings the plane was entering an aerodynamic stall, investigators said. Most notably, Capt. Marvin Renslow pulled back on the plane's control column instead of pushing it forward, exacerbating the situation, and dooming the plane, according to the investigators. Likewise, First Officer Rebecca Shaw did not react as she should have, the investigators said, neither by calling out the stall nor pushing forcefully on the control column, which they said she had time to do. The blunt assessment came at the beginning of the final meeting of the National Transportation Safety Board on the crash, which killed all 49 people on the plane and one person on the ground. The board is expected to rule on a probable cause and make recommendations later Tuesday. A draft included 23 possible recommendations, although the board could make even more, said board member Robert Sumwalt. "There was adequate time for either pilot to take action before the stick shaker [warning]," the board staff said. Another 27 seconds passed between the onset of the warning and the time flight data recorders stopped working, presumably upon impact. "It is apparent to me the captain kept a very casual and relaxed tone on the flight," said Sumwalt, who flew as an airline pilot for about 24 years. Sumwalt said he was struck by the amount of conversation between the captain and first officer, saying it was "almost continuous." "It was as if the flight was just a means for the captain to conduct a conversation with this young first officer," he said. By continuously conversing, the crew "squandered time and their attention" -- resources that should have been spent gaining awareness of their surroundings and preventing errors, Sumwalt said. Plus First Officer Shaw did not respond to the emergency as she should have, said board investigator Capt. Roger Cox. She should have "called out 'Stall' and pushed forward on the control column forcefully." Asked how much time she had to respond, Cox said he could not give a specific number of seconds, but "I do think there was time; it wasn't a split second." "The crew did not perform in a way consistent with the training they received," said Dr. Evan Byrne, another board investigator. While much of the focus remained on the actions of the pilot and first officer in the minutes immediately before the crash, investigators also explored a wide range of factors that may have contributed to the crash, including the crew's training, whether they engaged in extraneous discussions during critical phases of the flight, and their sleeping and commuting patterns. Renslow commuted from Florida to his job in suburban New York, while Shaw commuted from the West Coast. Investigators Tuesday said they ruled out mechanical problems, saying they found no evidence of pre-accident airframe, engine or system problems. The plane, a Bombardier Dash 8-Q400, was owned by Colgan Air Inc., but was doing business as a Continental Connection flight. It crashed the evening of February 12, 2009, in Clarence Center, New York, about five miles short of its destination, Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. At the time, the plane was experiencing icy conditions, but investigators said Tuesday ice was not a factor in the crash. More than 60 family members attended Tuesday's NTSB meeting, many of them wearing photographs of their loved ones. John Kausner, who wore a button with a picture of his daughter Elly, said the accident revealed to the public that there are two standards for commercial aviation -- one for the major airlines and a lesser standard for regional airlines. Family members said they unknowingly purchased cheaper tickets, not knowing that by doing so, they were subjecting their families to additional dangers by putting them on more dangerous flights. But the airlines say that pilots have sufficient training, and that the failing was solely in the actions of the two pilots on the Continental Connection flight. In a 67-page report submitted to the NTSB, Colgan placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the captain and first officer, citing a litany of lapses that Colgan says ultimately led to the crash. Among the errors, Colgan said, the crew did not respond appropriately to warnings that the plane was entering an aerodynamic stall, did not accomplish checklists, and failed to follow "sterile cockpit" rules which prohibit unnecessary conversation during critical phases of flight. Colgan concludes that the accident was caused by the crew's "loss of situational awareness and failure to follow Colgan Air training and procedures, which led to a loss of control of the aircraft." The crew did not perform in a way consistent with the training they received. --Dr. Evan Byrne, NTSB investigator After the deadly accident, it was revealed that the pilot, Renslow, had failed three pilot tests, known as "check-rides," before joining the airline, but had disclosed only one on job applications. After that, he failed another two check-rides while at Colgan Air. In August, Philip Trenary, president and CEO of Pinnacle Airlines, the parent company of Colgan Air, testified at a Senate hearing that while "a failure on a check-ride is not necessarily a reason for someone not to fly, it depends on what kind of failure it is." "The failures that we were unable to see were the basic fundamental failures that you would not want to have," Trenary testified. "Let me stress one thing, Captain Renslow was a fine man by all accounts," Trenary said. But he added, "Had we known what we know now, no, he would not have been in that seat." At the time of the accident, Renslow had 3,379 hours of flight experience -- 172 hours in the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400. In Colgan's submission to the NTSB, Colgan describes its hiring process as rigorous. But, Colgan said, Renslow "was not truthful on his employment application." Renslow did not disclose two of the three proficiency checks he failed, Colgan said. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/02/02/continental.crash.inquiry/index.html?hpt=T2 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102993713697&s=6053&e=001G7JNCya8GCCmkedCPqJGkB1cTDPD7NY0sKkdbI9pf30tqIYL2QXciaLk1QOne2-icP8_t8w-31emMXx0I987TcKH3e-xzIJYetvPyrjUBBeY9BcLwkHwkOm7NRPgJrd5_1hYCJ3pPSm-K2_1jN_nP6-8YqFbylqwRXBry9xJXwLpl-jlqo2FSIpQkljku_xR3vV1WuQqtK01I0bklNaDTA==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB backs away from flight time recommendations in Colgan probe A report scheduled for release today citing the probable cause of the February 2009 fatal crash of a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 will not include any recommendations to change required flight time for pilot certification. Investigators at the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have concluded the total time each pilot had accumulated at the time of the crash "was not something tied to this accident". Director of NTSB's office of aviation safety Tom Haueter said today it is not the quantity of time a pilot has, but more importantly both the quality of the time and the instruction. Haueter gave that assessment during the final hearing held as part of NTSB's investigation into the accident. Board members pointed to the fatal November 2004 crash of a Bombardier Challenger 601 during takeoff from Montrose, Colorado, arguing the aircraft's crew were both high-time pilots, but had little experience operating in icing conditions. US FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has made similar statements recently, emphasizing key to efficiency is ensuring pilots are familiar with every possible scenario they are likely to encounter in commercial operations, including high altitude operations, multi-crew procedures and icing events. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Concorde crash trial opens in Paris NEW: Lawyer urges suspension of trial; judge wants expert testimony Concorde jet crashed in 2000, killing 113 people Five people, Continental Airlines on trial for involuntary manslaughter 2004 investigation found thin metal strip caused tire to burst Paris, France (CNN) -- Nearly 10 years after the deadly crash of an Air France Concorde jet, a trial began Tuesday to determine who's to blame for the doomed flight. The judge began the trial by reading out the names of all 113 people who were killed when the plane burst into flames and smashed into a hotel on July 25, 2000. Three French people responsible for the design, testing and certification of the Concorde face charges of involuntary manslaughter. Also on trial are Continental Airlines and two of its American employees, accused of the same crime because a Continental Airlines jet was found to have played a key role in the crash. The Americans were not present for the opening day. The head of an organization representing the victims of disasters criticized the trial as it began. Stephane Giquel of Fenvac said the trial would be a dehumanized battle of experts as Continental and Air France sought to blame each other. Air France is not on trial. A lawyer representing Continental said Concorde's problems were apparent decades before the crash. Then-French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing told his Council of Ministers in 1980 that the Concorde needed to be improved, lawyer Olivier Metzner said Tuesday. Jacques Chirac, who was president at the time of the Concorde crash, saw it take place and reportedly said Concorde is dead, Metzner said. In fact, that is what Giscard d'Estaing should have said in 1980, he argued. Metzner said the trial should be suspended because it is not fair to Continental, but presiding judge Dominique Andreassier said she would not rule on the request until after some expert testimony, which could take months. An investigation revealed a tragic chain of events that brought down Air France Flight 4590 shortly after takeoff from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport: A tire under the left wing blew on takeoff when it struck a small strip of titanium metal on the runway. The blown tire sent debris into the wing, causing the fuel tank to rupture and sparking the catastrophic fire that led to the crash, which killed 100 passengers, nine crew and four people on the ground. Metzner said the plane was on fire before it hit the metal fragment. According to the charges, the Concorde engineers on trial could have acted much earlier to correct well-known design flaws in the plane, whose tanks had insufficient protection from debris. Prosecutors are likely to present evidence that because of its higher-than-normal takeoff speeds, there were more than 60 tire blowouts over the Concorde's 25 years in the air. Only one Concorde ever crashed. The titanium strip that is said to have played a major role in the crash allegedly fell off a Continental DC-10, which took off just before the Concorde. Judicial investigators say the strip was improperly installed on the DC-10 engine, prompting the charges against the airline and two of its employees. Air France and British Airways introduced supersonic commercial service in 1976, but the disaster, combined with high maintenance costs and falling passenger numbers, led both airlines to retire the Concorde fleet in 2003. The trial is expected to last about four months. http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/02/02/france.concorde.trial/index.html?hpt=Sbin [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102993713697&s=6053&e=001G7JNCya8GCDs1fHIvLgnn5WBB2D7LxTwjw9NtsyQnSXRhAe1UIMTnnypn0sVdz62zOLjcCHunxR4VTvsJOC-QuGBeZxcex5JMNI4S7CZKA5IAZZA0dVKNPvkXJWKNFZyl0ZUYEsRGkU0JZvyyQFrf9hJyjEHQKmfhQMZBJKlLetEGmAouz21p-7TcMXmn7z3mhQ5qilgYCteeg93MpAUNQ==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cessna 425 Conquest Engine Failure on Landing (Germany) Date: 02-FEB-2010 Time: 02:10 Type: Cessna 425 Conquest I Operator: Aerowest GmbH Registration: D-IAWF C/n / msn: 425-0222 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Munich (MUC/EDDM) - Germany Phase: Landing Nature: Ambulance Departure airport: HAJ Destination airport: MUC Narrative: After double engine failure on final approach aircraft touched down 80m short of the runway, skidded on the snowy ground and came to a rest besides the runway. The aircraft received substantial damage, pilot and copilot were not injured. The aircraft was performing an ambulance fligth from Hannover to Munich to pick up an organ for transplantation. (aviation-safety.net Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102993713697&s=6053&e=001G7JNCya8GCAdNcCF27pAKcdYL_5W6ULhGR0LJ0Ded6ZT0GLfoM_5QT2UzQYECYm4cBVY0F5vdSU79cUc-LnRZQ==] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cargo jet bumps airport vehicle on Anchorage taxiway A Japan Airlines 747 cargo jet bumped an airport vehicle as the jet was taxiing at the Anchorage airport today, a spokesman said. No one was injured and the damage was described by Ted Stevens International Airport Operations Manager Jim Iagulli as minor. "It looks like it was just an embarrassing little incident," Iagulli said. Apparently the pilot or pilots did not see the airport vehicle, which was on the taxiway repairing lighting when the collision happened around noon. He said airport police are taking statements. http://www.adn.com/front/story/1121316.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102993713697&s=6053&e=001G7JNCya8GCDUVf307klJhW4U7y032X2QCzTV-yJTX4L3xtsWD9e0oB15JJWiALISkUv2a2p09DtQ187QK2Ra5vWft6mWAQ74l-Va1DyUpWyZdz5t2IvZf4mebnwqh7yN0J1gyz2apCwQFtHR05IGsg==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ United sues city of Chicago for $1M for jet-truck collision United Airlines is suing the City of Chicago for more than $1 million for an accident five years ago, when a United jet pushed back from the gate at O'Hare International Airport and struck a city maintenance truck. In a lawsuit filed Friday, Chicago-based United claims that the vehicle was there improperly and the city hadn't notified ground control. The accident happened Feb. 2, 2005. United had hoped to collect the $1 million from a city insurance policy issued through AIG Inc. United's insurance paid $434,128. And the city tried to collect $21,600 from United for damage to its truck, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. City officials declined to comment on the lawsuit. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=36953&seenIt=1 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102993713697&s=6053&e=001G7JNCya8GCBjFsx7uXd5KUsKPd-zPdre-iMdyuep5Fzbc6hql4rahEBbowNl4s0cfyPbZn0_ayL5TlNwLxzgv2esJqVD5d2ks7x3Ifvv41JFI-u9HREXGos3IkLYNrQ1ijCvTKCks1m_7ubVea23_U3kf3G2wDWkXXbCikGHr6joRXeWcMwP2w==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Colombia's Avianca Airlines Merges With El Salvador's Taca BOGOTA (Dow Jones)--Colombia's largest airline Avianca SA and El Salvador's Grupo Taca said Tuesday the merger they had announced in October became effective after all regulatory hurdles were passed. Synergy Aerospace Corp., which owns Avianca, Brazil's Ocean Air and an option on Ecuador's AeroGal, will own 67% of the new merged airlines and Taca's shareholders will own the remaining 33%, the companies said in a statement. Bolivian-born businessman German Efromovich controls Synergy and the Kriete family controls Taca. Strategic decisions will be made by consensus between the two shareholders. The two airlines together register about $3 billion in sales a year and operate 129 jets. Efromovich has said he expects the company to grow fast in the future will need many more jets than the ones already being purchased. http://online.wsj.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102993713697&s=6053&e=001G7JNCya8GCCZQmdOv2LAv2bFAJNM8Vkf6DY2Taloc0bpitJxXrvRpqdka3ZSGbQP94ar1NRQUe5-Y4v6dnblL9VBNUJ0_fPmAutBFYkXxH8PyhbvZFsQlDZuvEgGI_W8ZKRJw2uA0X5Lz7Pq8yJ9Cwy59AD7uWzz58kMTP8G38GSbGe6oyzyY8ljGIC5e2YcZwdPP_11aUqUylqU3kdwQQ==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ACE leads cover for Ethiopian crash BEIRUT-ACE Global Markets leads the hull and liability coverage of an Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff last Monday, market sources said. Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashed in stormy weather shortly after takeoff from Beirut International Airport. All 90 people on board were believed to have died in the accident, reports said. The flight was heading toward Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, when it disappeared from radar about 2.1 miles off the coast of the Lebanese city of Na'ameh. Lebanese authorities said terrorism was not suspected. The Boeing 737-8AS was insured for $39 million, one source said. The plane was built in 2002, according to London-based Ascend Worldwide Ltd., which tracks aviation accident data. The accident is the fourth fatal accident for Boeing's newest generation of 737 jets, according to Ascend. Aon Ltd., a unit of Chicago-based Aon Corp., is the broker for the airline's coverage, sources said. Ethiopian Airlines' last fatal accident occurred in November 1996, when a hijacked plane attempted to ditch in the ocean off the Comoros Islands, Ascend said. London-based ACE Global Markets is a unit of ACE European Group Ltd. http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20100131/ISSUE01/301319979 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102993713697&s=6053&e=001G7JNCya8GCBYt60l8kpU_3p4ei7W9RcPzmsOGSOJlHPYzGHRxye_bygaBJA7ynpGE2mQKV6jdqYLgUht4aeuY1s2T-uGni87V7hWlVmHyJpGxPqiHTLNb-v82WRQ1fIwRuVf_DnEnnSCyGgvu1SiiKRqboPVJzXH8xv00uLvgyq36Jkcd-pOgA==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC