Flight Safety Information February 22, 2010, No.040 In This Issue British Airways to buy jet fuel from city waste Audio of Tesla Plane Crash May Help in Determining Cause Applied Safety Assessment - Cranfield University (UK)... Jet with steering failure lands safely at KCI Private jet lands safely in Rochester after possible oil problem American Airlines jet returns to D/FW after bird strike 20 People Hurt By Turbulence on United Flight 93-year-old female aviation enthusiast from Kansas dies Heli-Expo 2010: Rolls Royce forecasts growth in civil helicopter market ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ British Airways to buy jet fuel from city waste LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways will start sourcing a small portion of its jet fuel from municipal waste from 2014, under a deal with U.S.-based biofuel company Solena Group, the two companies announced on Monday. British Airways, one of the top three airlines in Europe, said it had signed a deal to purchase all the "sustainable jet fuel" that Solena could make from a plant expected to be sited in London and operational from 2014. The plant would convert 500,000 tonnes of waste annually into 16 million gallons of green jet fuel, which the two companies calculated would reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared with burning normal jet fuel, also called kerosene. A British Airways spokesman declined to comment on the value of the deal, and added that the volume of biofuel used would be equivalent to 2 percent of the airline's operation now at Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport near London. British Airways aimed to obtain 10 percent of all its jet fuel from this waste-to-energy process by 2050, he said. Kerosene is made from crude oil and emits the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when burned. Municipal waste can emit a powerful greenhouse gas methane if it is left to rot in dumps, and the companies therefore calculated a climate change benefit from transforming the rubbish into a liquid fuel and burning it instead. Such technologies have become popular as governments reward the generation of fuel and power from low-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels, including livestock manure and crop residues, wood chips, and food and municipal waste. British Airways cited research estimating that each year London produced nearly three million tonnes of organic waste, mainly from food. The aviation fuel will be produced from gasification of the waste into a so-called syngas which is then converted by the Fischer Tropsch process into liquid fuel. "Projects like this demonstrate that the technology is viable," said Stephen Didcott from ARCADIS, the Netherlands-based consultants on construction of the plant. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Audio of Tesla Plane Crash May Help in Determining Cause By CHRISTINE NEGRONI Investigators looking into the cause of the airplane crash that killed three Tesla employees on Wednesday have been given an unusual clue, audio recordings made on the ground of the last few seconds of the flight. An acoustic surveillance system operated by the police department in East Palo Alto, Calif., produced five separate recordings on which the sound of the twin-engine airplane can be heard clearly for about three seconds, followed by at least four loud thumping sounds as the plane hits a power transmission line. Children who were playing nearby can be heard screaming after the crash. After listening to the recordings, Capt. Curt Estelle, of the East Palo Alto Police Department, said it was "a blessing" that no one on the ground was injured. "You can hear children laughing and playing, very clearly, and then the children are screaming." The police department provided the recordings to the National Transportation Safety Board's investigator, Josh Cawthra, who said the sounds would be analyzed in Washington. Because general aviation airplanes like the Cessna 310 that crashed are not usually equipped with flight data recorders, the audio recording could prove valuable in determining if the airplane's engines were functioning properly prior to the collision. Sounds were recorded from 600 to 1,500 feet from the crash site giving investigators a "millisecond-by-millisecond recording of the incident" according to James Beldock, president of ShotSpotter, which makes the system. The company markets the acoustical surveillance system as a law enforcement tool to alert first-responders after gunfire or an explosion. Douglas Bourn, a senior electrical engineer with Tesla who died in the crash, owned the Cessna. He was an experienced pilot and flight instructor, certified to fly in limited visibility conditions and likely aware of the power line obstructions in the vicinity of the Palo Alto Airport. "A pilot taking off in instrument conditions would have a chart that told him the obstacle departure procedure was to turn toward the water. And he would follow that procedure," said Wallace Moran, a retired airline captain and Federal Aviation Administration certified pilot examiner who has flown out of Palo Alto Municipal airport and nearby Santa Clara County Airport. "There are other things that could cause him to go in the wrong direction either instrument issues with the airplane or a medical condition with the pilot, so the N.T.S.B. will look at those possibilities." The six-seat Cessna was 33 years old. Mr. Bourn is believed to have been flying. Killed with him were two other Tesla Motors employees, engineer Andrew Ingram and Brian M. Finn, a manager. http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/audio-of-tesla-plane-crash-may-help-in-determining-cause/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103071564279&s=6053&e=001E6m5w22gllorkG4PPC01FQ-sx63cyAbF55MRSxcZaXWR6DDqR9PGWzjWzsrxQfUv5bLyIedQtufHCYUuVTGIumPg66iCeaw4y4hrIrs6G0e_4nnDqCoFqNMwgG_4uiE_SdXDacoLiGA85aD2foKOIPYm6z_WWU9jgu3H95rJRvNywEZXthCKZURpdXd8RKW3EVEfISRGWnWPRRkp2EbWElcBitZGepXy] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Applied Safety Assessment - Cranfield University (UK) Course dates: 28 Jun - 2 Jul 2010 29 Nov - 3 Dec 2010 Course overview This new workshop serves as an addition to the existing course on Safety Assessment of Aircraft Systems. Lasting 4.5 days, the workshop addresses the tasks involved in carrying out a comprehensive System Safety Assessment. It takes the form of a series of hands-on tutorials to describe the process and techniques involved. Delegates will carry out safety analyses on a system installed on an aircraft using drawings, schematics and the actual aircraft as appropriate. These analyses will form an integral part of the workshop objective of producing a comprehensive System Safety Assessment. Delegates will work in groups to carry out the System Safety Assessment and will use various methods including the following safety analysis techniques: * Functional Hazard Assessment * Particular Risks Analysis * Enhanced Fault Tree Analysis * Failure Mode and Effects Analysis * Zonal Safety Analysis More details on http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/soe/shortcourses/atm/page3806.jsp [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103071564279&s=6053&e=001E6m5w22gllpV3gEIk0fFLxsNw8DPVIQ0JSmwWif0COst04NmHrmP2kbiffNXi7M9ApLw8cpos49K0Md39oC4Y2ov32XBeSIpyybD-7qfPsuekeXX9fr-DOHZdFkXdkeUOudP64qaDNgT6urY1lrsZBPELRDKJRD2A_VI5XdkABM=] This course is presented in association with: Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jet with steering failure lands safely at KCI Despite a steering failure and a snowstorm, pilots managed to land a Midwest Airlines jet safely this afternoon at Kansas City International Airport, officials said. Several Fire Department pumpers were on standby waiting for Flight 1581 from New York to land. The landing was tense but safe, and no one was injured. "It even got in a minute early," said Joe McBride, KCI spokesman. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/02/21/1763598/jet-with-steering-failure-lands.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103071564279&s=6053&e=001E6m5w22gllpePq2deARZ3wZxmF9QCJf1TBM3275AB8JdEJDM2r6dW9h5exQPnsmklfXiZY2EWw6ZuNUU8NpB6LFeGTqbCrqKQev5RtRuRVhYapOj32_spla23wP8W4AYH3c61VqZo0LvlszrC5ZBEcfqHi0MT__RV1LlBtHqzyqT_cTSlnyuiIQeY18VEfxvYXR03bcND_8=] Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Private jet lands safely in Rochester after possible oil problem A private jet with a possible oil problem landed without incident at Greater Rochester International Airport this afternoon. Airport director David Damelio said 12 people were aboard the Dassault Falcon jet, which was bound for Rochester when the pilot reported low oil pressure. An alert was declared and emergency equipment was deployed around the airport at about 2:15 p.m., but the aircraft landed without any problem, Damelio said. He declined to identify the jet's owner. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100221/NEWS01/100221010/1002/NEWS [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103071564279&s=6053&e=001E6m5w22gllquRni2jIo2L41AuatjEvsfFi28pRjz1sToHS5WjtVUqIb8JbA2n3v10bN_5AyXP1n5gm-h0mDvsUdT64bDO2Xaxdon_dBYb8qpHK8dFzlYigc_7q4RoxG_mRgOe0YN3CspwFQ15VJgBBzGYjw8_PIGlfWsacFYDe3jvPGwB3QlcGxoMwNnwbCZpIfWihEsJ7E=] Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ American Airlines jet returns to D/FW after bird strike kills engine 12:00 AM CST on Saturday, February 20, 2010 Jason Trahan An American Airlines 737 bound for Californiahad to return to Dallas/Fort Worth InternationalAirport on Friday night after a bird strike knocked out one of the jet's engines, an airport official said. There were no reports of injuries among the 151 passengers and crew on board, D/FW Airport spokesman David Magana said. Flight 473, bound for Orange County, was struck about 7:30 p.m., about seven miles out of the airport, he said. The plane turned around and landed safely at 7:47 p.m., he said. "We fight this every day," Magana said of crews that constantly work to keep birds away from the airfield. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-dfwflight_20met.ART.State.Edition1.4b9d601.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103071564279&s=6053&e=001E6m5w22gllpSkTGaOSwohL3PSXyvi2JAT_8kTGxEdHZteKOnj3Ir-55qUFbIGqiuNF7s_vMrDGeBBqEL-sMNVpfMzTGZpNwg_buZI0htKBPgcKoMYT2TvbUE_KjpPRgB82Qo-s2dbgXJ1paY0TPig6TXl05rX4eDMkBmbQs5436_qM9H3EJUg_-IgmdDSmi8pdqixq10B2GCn7cV4sT_2Y9b-oTekBPFz3rwneEX50ylBGGaoyzwaM1WyNgSupHV] Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 20 People Hurt By Turbulence on United Flight to Japan, AP Says Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- About 20 people were injured due to turbulence on a United Airlines flight to Japan from Washington D.C., the Associated Press reported today, citing police at Tokyo's Narita International Airport. The Boeing 747 with 263 people on board encountered turbulence over Alaska, the report said. The plane landed on schedule in Tokyo today, AP reported, without providing further details. Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 93-year-old female aviation enthusiast from Kansas dies WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A 93-year-old woman who was fixture in Kansas' aviation community has died. The Wichita Eagle reported that Marguerite Lawrence died this past week. Until her 90th birthday, she volunteered at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture Oshkosh. After selling tickets by day, she would camp in a pup tent. Her son, Stan Lawrence, says she refused to stay in a hotel. Marguerite Lawrence also was a longtime volunteer at the Kansas Aviation Museum and was involved with other aviation groups. She was 21 when she soloed and earned her pilot's certificate three years later. Her flight instructor, Gene, became her husband, and she helped him with the fixed-based operation he ran in southern Nebraska. She also was a charter pilot and ferried airplanes. Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Heli-Expo 2010: Rolls Royce forecasts growth in civil helicopter market Rolls Royce is predicting a near-term recovery of the civil helicopter market and is confident of long-term growth over the next 10 years. Presenting the company's 10 year forecast at the Heli-Expo exhibition in Houston, Rolls-Royce Helicopter Engines president Ken Roberts said the underlying requirement to replace the aging airframes in use today would supplement demand for helicopters in the civil market. "In recent years the OEMs have been running a full capacity. There has definitely been a downturn, particularly in the civil market. But we think that we are going to get back on the growth track relatively quickly. There are strong indicators that that growth will happen," Roberts said. He said a recent update of the market outlook had predicted turbine rotorcraft deliveries to reach more than 16,400 units over the 10 year period. This was split between a civil market of 10,300 civil helicopters valued at some $38 billion and 6100 military helicopters valued at $108 billion. "in addition to the normal growth that would occur in the market, as emerging countries markets develop, there is underlying demand that will be generated by replacement. Because currently there is a large segment of the global fleet which is excess of 30 years old - particularly there are a number of 1970s helicopters that have been flying and are now starting to replaced in the market," Roberts said. "So irrespective of market growth we think there is going to be an important and sustainable element in the market which is just really about replacing these 30, 40 and sometimes 50 year old helicopters that are being operated." Meanwhile, Roberts revealed the company had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bell Helicopters to provide customers the option of retrofitting the Bell The company has also developed a M250 C47 upgrade kit that provides greater power in hot and high conditions and can be installed on the engine during a normal shop visit. http://www.shephard.co.uk/news/rotorhub-com/heli-expo-2010-rolls-royce-forecasts-growth-in-civil-helicopter-market/5579/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103071564279&s=6053&e=001E6m5w22glloohcBVn_6D9y2K8vc25aRe6XLyZZEavg93HQeYamdOCG8prVTfjq5j2P0NOq027fkr0Pm-qPRdY_O0t1WXykd-uvYR3h3j53Ne6Nz0DrcCivgntLZnEadiu2-A8wYJalERkJRhFmVBmxIADh_r0jgGEuBN1ZFMnHq9skkD-gxc7RSZPZaxyoxJgh1TWrfHrxwYSEqZqQdLHrcZffSLuvQ3F4H0QygL-hFd_xaDKy1gbpZicBadra_W] Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC