Flight Safety Information February 23, 2010 No.041 In This Issue NTSB asks to monitor pilots' talk in cockpits American Eurocopter Scoops Up Orders At Heli-Expo Australian Pilots Say Bill Will Criminalize Pilots Decrease Air Safety ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB asks to monitor pilots' talk in cockpits The National Transportation Safety Board wants to have routine access to conversations recorded on cockpit voice recorders like this one. By Alan Levin, USA TODAY Government investigators are making an unprecedented push to use "black box" voice recordings to routinely monitor pilots' conversations and make sure cockpit crews are focusing on their jobs. The move represents the first time that workplace monitoring could extend into the nation's cockpits and has drawn intense fire from pilots' unions who say that the plan is intrusive. The black box recorders have until now only been used in accident investigation. The recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) comes amid a string of serious distractions during flight, including the fatal crash near Buffalo after two pilots chit-chatted in the cockpit and two Northwest Airlines pilots who flew 100 miles past their destination because they were using their personal laptops. "It is essential to understand what is going on in the cockpit if we are to achieve further reductions" in accident rates, NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Hersman said in a written statement to USA TODAY. The NTSB has no regulatory power but it has recommended the black box idea to the Federal Aviation Administration. The recommendation calls for airlines and unions to monitor the recordings as a way to watchdog the workplace. Investigators say the effort is part of a broader trend to reduce misbehavior and inattention by transportation workers in the age of instant messaging and cellphones. But some worry that the proposal could undermine other safety efforts by sowing distrust among pilots. "It's an intrusion on privacy," said Mike Michaelis, chairman of safety at the Allied Pilots Association, the American Airlines union. "It's the wrong way to go safety-wise." The agency said that the recommendation isn't intended to violate privacy. It suggested that the recordings be scrutinized for safety trends. The reviews should be done anonymously and could not be used to punish individual pilots, the agency said. "This is not a case of Big Brother spying on pilots," NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt said. NTSB board members said their recommendation was prompted by the Feb. 12, 2009, crash near Buffalo that killed 50 people. The pilots' chit-chatting was a violation of federal regulations and came before they mishandled a warning and lost control. Regional airlines endorsed the concept of using the cockpit voice recorder as an auditing tool after the Buffalo crash. Support has also come from powerful members of Congress. "This is the next frontier of safety that we must not put off," Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., the chairman of the Transportation Committee, said at a recent hearing. Pilots have been wary of the crash-hardened recorders since they were introduced in 1967. Currently, accident investigators are the only ones who listen to the recordings. The NTSB releases a transcript of the recording but never makes the recording itself public. Capt. John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association union, said reviewing the recorders could make pilots uneasy about speaking up about safety issues in the cockpit. Bill Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation, said he would prefer to see other safety initiatives before cockpit recordings are monitored. The recorders capture conversations and background noises in the cockpit. As of April 7, 2012, they must record the last two hours of a flight; previously, the devices only recorded 30 minutes. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-02-23-recorders_N.htm [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103090514497&s=6053&e=001OFoS-R0Gu7mJ5nkQs37nMWysM5E_8-NKW7aDk_k8j9uAZvp-73xzbCNZBijPKC4NFUjejsuWjSJkGdwRE71Zyzg6LhBT9GWPe3TdjCzRap6od3ICChHtVOr0O7XWs4Tnw_sbRCnkxEy6zmvQkydDr3dmNg5upLxfRvtLbVTwaGk=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ American Eurocopter Scoops Up Orders At Heli-Expo Wed, 24 Feb '10 Five Companies Order 21 Aircraft In Houston Nearly a half-dozen companies have signed orders to buy aircraft from American Eurocopter at the 2010 Heli-Expo in Houston. The largest order came from Air Methods Corporation, which plans to acquire eight EC130 and four AS350B3 helicopters, for a total of 12 aircraft. The order is part of an ongoing Air Method's initiative to maintain the upgrade of its fleet despite the economic challenges throughout the country. All 12 aircraft are scheduled to be delivered this year and they will join Air Methods' considerable fleet of 330 helicopters providing emergency medical services throughout the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has entered into the first option year on the Light Enforcement Helicopter (LEH) contract and placed an order for six AS350B3s. This is the second order on the LEH contract that was awarded to American Eurocopter by the Department of Homeland Security in July 2008. "The AS350B3 has proven that it is well-suited for the CBP's surveillance missions and security patrol," said Marc Paganini, American Eurocopter President and CEO. "It provides a cost-effective, durable and high-performance solution to meet their varied mission objectives." The LEH contract with the Department of Homeland Security is a multi-year contract and may result in orders for a total of 50 AS350B3s and could be worth over US$150 million. The first helicopter on the contract was delivered in December 19, 2008 and to date, 14 aircraft have been delivered. The LEH aircraft are produced in the company's facilities in Columbus, Mississippi. "Our employees take pride in knowing that aircraft they produce are an integral part in assisting the CBP in their important homeland security missions," explained Paganini. The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) has ordered another AS350 B2 helicopter that will join the department's existing fleet of two AS350 B2s and one EC145. The aircraft will replace another helicopter and with this addition, the SCPD's Aviation Section will become an all-Eurocopter fleet operator. "Due to their outstanding performance and adaptability, the AS350 family of helicopters has established itself as a preferred platform for law enforcement agencies throughout the nation," said Marc Paganini, President and CEO of American Eurocopter. The Suffolk County Police Department's Aviation Section performs a wide variety of missions including medevac, interhospital transport, over water search and rescue, as well as law enforcement. The Suffolk County PD's AS350 B2s primarily operate in the department's law enforcement missions, but they are also able to fulfill EMS missions in a backup role. TEMSCO Helicopters has signed for an AS350 B3 helicopter as it begins a fleet upgrade program. TEMSCO's fleet includes 56 helicopters and 39 of those are Eurocopter aircraft. "TEMSCO was one of the launch customers for the AStar in North America and they played an integral part in the development of the AS350 B3," explained Larry Roberts, VP of Sales, Marketing and Customer Support for American Eurocopter. "This is just the first B3 in the upgrade plan and we look forward to working with them in the future as they continue to upgrade their fleet." "We have operated AStars since 1983 and we are very comfortable with the reliability and performance of these helicopters," said Joe Hicks, Senior Vice President of Operations at TEMSCO Helicopters. "The B3 is a workhorse and it is perfect for our fleet upgrade plans. It provides us with the extra power and performance we need, plus the added safety features including dual hydraulics and dual FADEC." Finally, Papillon Helicopters has ordered another EC130 B4 to its aerial tour operations in the Grand Canyon and the surrounding area. This is the fourteenth EC130 B4 in the company's fleet. "Our focus is on customer satisfaction, comfort and safety," said Lon Halvorson, EVP of Papillon Helicopters, Inc. "The B4 is renowned for its spacious cabin, excellent visibility, reliability and performance, and it is the right choice for our fleet." The EC130B4 is equipped with a Turbomeca ARRIEL 2B1 turbine engine. It comes with a dual channel digital engine control system (FADEC) and has a cruise speed of 130 knots, and a range of 329 nm with no reserves. Its Fenestron tail rotor and automatic control of rotor RPM results in a significantly reduced operating noise level, which makes it popular for the aerial tour industry. FMI: www.eurocopterusa.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103090514497&s=6053&e=001OFoS-R0Gu7n6wKkgqcKw7y2Ft3w715VaVV0rodtmieYsYTOiZzZ0bRTSxOdqBcO7B8XPsbHMSZX-0GvvEEgFTkiIKs-8VFaq2BPZ6PjkSto8t9gut_bQ3Q==] Aero-news.net Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Australian Pilots Say Bill Will Criminalize Pilots Decrease Air Safety February 24, 2010 - The Australian parliament will soon vote on weather to add a new amendment to their Transport Security Act, known as the, "Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulations." Pilots and trade unions say if voted on in whole will only criminalize pilots and decrease air safety. Many believe the Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulations offer some sound legislation. However, there are two provisions within the bill that pilots and trade unions find unacceptable. Under section 4.67E of the Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulations, it would prevent licensed pilots from accessing a flight deck if they are not on a company list and transfer safety breaches of the cockpit from airlines to the pilots. In essence if the captain or other pilots fail to lock the cockpit door during flight, or an ineligible person enters and or remains in the cockpit during flight, the pilots would be in violation of the Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulations under section 4.67E of the regulations if enacted. Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) President Captain Barry Jackson said of most concern was the potential exclusion of licensed company pilots from the list of people who could travel on the flight deck of their company's aircraft, as well as the shift of criminal responsibility from the airlines to the pilot in command for safety breaches. "Shifting criminal responsibility to the pilot in command undermines a long held aviation principle that the airline is ultimately responsible for the actions of its pilots..... Any other approach risked allowing airlines to claim they were blameless for accidents and incidents," Captain Barry Jackson said. The association had commissioned an independent risk specialist to investigation the regulation's premise that pilots travelling in flight deck jump seats were a safety and security threat. "The results of this detailed, independent study clearly found that having an additional licensed pilot on the flight deck enhanced safety and security, which is hardly surprising, because if you can't trust pilots on the flight deck, who can you trust," Captain Barry Jackson said. A review of overseas aviation practices was conducted with pilot association representatives from the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Germany, Portugal, Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, China and Israel regarding the respective airline aviation authority provisions on access to the flight deck. The review revealed section 4.67E of the Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulations would be a significant departure from global safety practices. That is, airlines have always been responsible for the actions of their pilots. Having other pilots sit in the jump seat weather on-duty or off-duty pilots or those suitable for entry into the cockpit was appropriate. Data provided by pilots association here in the United States lists multiple instances where having a pilot in the jump seat had important positive safety outcomes. Senator Xenophon (South Australia) stated, "Put simply, the proposal will not make our skies safer; it will make air travel more dangerous. Further, the Australian pilots association has provided information that confirms 14 nations, which I have listed, allow jump-seat access for pilots. Unfortunately, we cannot amend this legislative instrument to add a new category of current off-duty pilots. This leaves us with the only option to disallow this regulation and call on the government to introduce it in a more appropriate form. The government will no doubt respond by saying that this will mean that we will revert back to the old system for the next six months." "That is the not case. The fact is that, if the government wants to bring back a new regulation, if it wants to do so with the consent of the Senate, it can do so. It can fix this up by consulting with pilots and by consulting with the experts who know and with whom we entrust our safety." "However, if the new instrument is substantially different, as I believe it must be, it could be reintroduced immediately. My understanding of Senate procedure is that we can rescind this regulation and deal with it and not be fettered by the six-month rule in relation to it. I would support the government if it chose to bring back a suitable legislative instrument, and I also strongly urge my colleagues to support rescinding the six-month rule." http://avstop.com/news_feb_2010/australian_pilots_say_bill_will_criminalize_pilots_decrease_air_safety.htm Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC