Flight Safety Information March 2, 2010 No.046 In This Issue NASA Presents An Inside View Of NTSB Accident Investigation Airbus A300-B4 Landing Gear Collapse LA airport police official, ex TSA nominee resigns British Airways Running Ghost Flights to Train Ground Staff Save the Date!...International Air Transport Section(ARTEX)... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NASA Presents An Inside View Of NTSB Accident Investigation NTSB Member Will Talk About Accident Investigation Process Robert Sumwalt, the 37th board member of the NTSB, will present "An Insider's View of NTSB Accident Investigation" at 1400 in the Reid Conference Center on Tuesday, March 2, at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. Sumwalt will discuss the NTSB's investigative process and techniques, and discuss the results of several aviation accident investigations. On Tuesday evening, Sumwalt will present a similar talk for the general public at 1930 at the Virginia Air & Space Center in downtown Hampton. The evening presentation is free and no reservations are required. The NTSB, an independent Federal agency, is charged by Congress with investigating each civil and public-use aviation accident in the U.S., and is often called upon to assist the international community when an aviation disaster occurs outside the United States. NTSB personnel known as "Go" Team members are on call 24/7/365, and when a major aircraft accident occurs, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) dispatch a "Go" Team to the accident scene. From 1991 to 1999, Sumwalt (pictured, right) conducted aviation safety research as a consultant to NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System, studying various issues including flight crew performance and air carrier de-icing and anti-icing problems. Prior to his NTSB appointment, Sumwalt was a pilot for US Airways and Piedmont Airlines for 24 years, logging over 14,000 flight hours on five different types of aircraft before retiring in 2005. During this time, he served as a member of Air Line Pilots Association's (ALPA) Accident Investigation Board from 2002 to 2004, and chaired ALPA's Human Factors and Training Group. In 2003, Sumwalt joined the faculty of the University of Southern California's Aviation Safety and Security Program, where he was the primary human factors instructor. President Bush appointed Sumwalt to a two-year term as vice chairman from 2006 to 2008. Since joining the NTSB, Sumwalt served as Chairman of the Board of Inquiry for June 2009 public hearing for the accident involving US Airways flight 1549 and for the NTSB's 2009 public hearing regarding emergency medical services (EMS) helicopters. Additionally, he has served as the Member on-scene for several transportation accidents. FMI: http://shemesh.larc.nasa.gov/Lectures/ Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Airbus A300-B4 Landing Gear Collapse ( Afghanistan) Status: Preliminary Date: 01 MAR 2010 Type: Airbus A300B4-203F Operating for: DHL Airways Leased from: ACT Airlines Registration: TC-ACB C/n / msn: 121 First flight: 1980-11-24 (29 years 3 months) Engines: 2 General Electric CF6-50C2 Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Bagram Air Base (BPM) (Afghanistan) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: ? Destination airport: Bagram Air Base (BPM/OAIX), Afghanistan Narrative: An Airbus A300 cargo plane, reportedly registered TC-ACB, suffered a landing mishap at Bagram Air Base (BPM), Afghanistan. It came to rest on the left runway shoulder of runway 03, approximately 500 ft north of taxiway Charlie and just south of the 3000 feet remaining distance marker. It has been reported that the airplane suffered a collapse of, presumably the left hand, main undercarriage. Aviations-saftey.net Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LA airport police official, ex TSA nominee resigns LOS ANGELES (AP)-A counterterrorism expert who withdrew his nomination to lead the Transportation Security Administration is leaving his job at the Los Angeles Airport Police Department. Erroll Southers says Monday he's resigning as Assistant Chief of Airport Police to consider offers from a number of international security consulting firms. He also plans to expand his teaching role at the University of Southern California. A former FBI agent, Southers was President Obama's choice to lead the TSA. He pulled out his name in January when his confirmation was blocked by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, who says he was worried that Southers would allow TSA employees to have collective bargaining rights. Southers says consulting will allow him to help nations improve their security. Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ British Airways Running Ghost Flights to Train Ground Staff Apparently British Airways is currently running ghost flights to train ground staff as cabin crew in order to minimize the potential disruption that would be caused by a strike. Flights are operating from Heathrow to Cardiff and Glasgow to allow them to gain experience in the air. Other colleagues are pretending to be passengers on the plane. British Airways usually trains its cabin crew on scheduled services with paying customers. These people work alongside experienced staff. However, these emergency crew are undergoing intensive training to get them ready quicker. The airline did confirm that they are flying these ghost flights but did note that they do serve a purpose. They are not simply running empty planes for the fun of it. A spokeswoman for The Times said that, as part of the Civil Aviation Authority approved training course, the volunteer cabin crews have to take part in a day of flight familiarization. This is a great way for ground crew to get a good feel for what it's like being a cabin crew member. The workers union Unite received an 81 percent vote from members in support of industrial action. If the strike moves ahead, then it could start at any time after March 18th. British Airways told its 25,000 strong ground staff that they could be trained as strand-in cabin crew after 21 days of instructions. The union claims that the airline could train only a fraction of the 12,000 cabin crew employees that run 650 flights a day. British Airways has not revealed just how many people they have trained or will train to take the place of the striking cabin crew. http://www.comparecarrentals.co.uk/news/128327639.html Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Save the Date! International Air Transport Section(ARTEX) Aviation Ground Safety Seminar and Section Meeting June 8 - 10, 2010 National Safety Council Headquarters Itasca (Chicago), Illinois, USA You are cordially invited to attend and participate in the June 2010 ARTEX Aviation Ground Safety Seminar and Section Meeting at the National Safety Council's headquarters located in Itasca (Chicago), Illinois, USA on June 8 -10, 2010. The Aviation Ground Safety Seminar will take place on Tuesday, June 8 & Wednesday, June 9 and the Section meeting will take place on Thursday, June 10 (until noon). ARTEX is the oldest Section of the NSC - our first meeting was in 1928. The Section's scope includes all phases of ground and in-flight work operations except those under control of the flight crew. Functions covered by this scope include: ramp operations, baggage handling, aircraft maintenance, fuel and cabin servicing; ground equipment operations; and facility maintenance. The Section is responsible for the Aviation Ground Operations Safety Handbook (265 pages) that is recognized as a premier publication on the topic. ARTEX is excited to announce that our preliminary agenda includes presentations on current issues and high impact aviation ground safety topics including: · Computer based safety training · Simulator training for GSE operations · IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) · Musculoskeletal Claim Validation - Is That Back Injury Real? · Managing Aviation Ground Safety in an International Setting · Lightning Detection and Protection Systems · And others If you are interested in a presenting a paper on a ground safety topic, please submit a short description or abstract to Sloane Grubb (sloane.grubb@nsc.org). The agenda is filling up fast, so don't delay! If you have any questions, please contact: Sloane Grubb at sloane.grubb@nsc.org or 1-800-621-7615 x-52227. We look forward to your attendance and participation! NSC 2010 Corporate Hotel Room Rates Attendees are asked to make their own hotel and transportation reservations. Please mention you would like the National Safety Council Corporate Rate when making your hotel reservations. If you have a problem getting the Corporate Rate please let them know who the sales rep. on our account is. Their names are listed below. Eaglewood Resort & Spa - (ARTEX HQ) 1401 Nordic Road Itasca, IL 60143 (877) 285-6150 Sales Representative: Maria Harkness Room Rate: $89 Single/Double Amenities: Free high-speed internet access in guest rooms, complimentary shuttle service to NSC office in Itasca as well as within a 5-mile radius, USGA-certified 18 hole golf course, indoor bowling alley, comprehensive day spa, pool, and health club Holiday Inn - Itasca 860 West Irving Park Road Itasca, IL 60143 (630) 773-2340 Sales Representative: Kia Chow Room Rate: $79 Single/Double Room Rate: $90 Single/Double (includes coupon for dinner) Amenities: Free high-speed internet access in guest rooms, complimentary shuttle service to NSC office in Itasca as well as within a 5-mile radius Hampton Inn & Suites - Addison 1685 W. Lake St. Addison, IL 60101 (630) 495-9511 Sales Representative: Griselda Rojero Room Rate: $89 Single Amenities: Free high-speed internet access in guest rooms, complimentary shuttle service to NSC office in Itasca as well as within a 5-mile radius, and complimentary breakfast NSC 2010 Rental Car Discounts Please mention you would like theNational Safety Council Corporate Rate when making your rental car reservations. Hertz 1-800-654-4405 CDP#279746 National 1-877-222-9058 CD#GCAMA015 Enterprise 1-800-RENT A CAR Corporate ID: NA15A99 Back To Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC