Flight Safety Information March 04, 2010 No. 048 In This Issue New York airport jets 'directed by child' A pilot has been arrested for flying with fake license Muslim woman refuses body scan at airport Boeing Faces Lawsuit Over Ethiopian Airlines Crash Miracle on the Hudson pilot retires A Plan to Send Flight Data Somewhere Off the Plane Russian investigators to press ICAO for cabin cameras FAA suspends two controllers for allowing a child to talk with pilots ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New York airport jets 'directed by child' US officials are investigating how a child was apparently allowed to direct planes at New York's JFK airport - one of the country's busiest. The probe comes after an audiotape caught the boy directing several pilots preparing for take-off last month. In one exchange, the boy is heard saying: "JetBlue 171 contact departure." The pilot responds: "Over to departure JetBlue 171, awesome job." The boy was apparently with his father - a certified air traffic controller. The adult is later heard saying with a laugh: "That's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school." In another exchange, the child says: "MS 4-0-3, contact departure," and then adds: "Adios, amigo." The pilot responds: "Adios, amigo." The pilots on the tape appear to be not concerned that a child is giving them instructions. The incident happened on 17 February, when many New York pupils were on a week-long break. The age and name of the child and the adult on the audiotape were not immediately known. 'Not indicative' incident The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement: "Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic. "This behaviour is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees." The agency did not give any further details. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said the incident was "not indicative of the highest professional standards that controllers set for themselves and exceed each and every day in the advancement of aviation safely". Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A pilot has been arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport for flying passenger planes for 13 years with a false licence. The 41-year-old Swede was in the cockpit of a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 about to take off for Ankara with 101 passengers on board when the Dutch police arrested him after a tip from the Swedish authorities. The Turkish low-budget airline was informed in advance and had a second pilot lined up to take over the flight. The fake pilot says he has been flying for 13 years on a false licence and had spent at least 10,000 hours flying hours in the cockpit. He had worked for airlines in Belgium, Great Britain and Italy. Once arrested, he appeared relieved that his deception had come to light and immediately removed his stripes. The man did have a pilot's licence, but it was not valid for passenger aircraft, so he had falsified it. A lawyer for Corendon Airlines says the fake pilot had worked for the budget airline company for the last two years and had "expertly misled the company with his false papers". At other airlines he had managed to pass tests with flying colours. The lawyer called it pure luck that he had never flown alone and said the fake pilot will never pilot a Corendon Airlines flight again. http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/fake-pilot-arrested-schiphol-airport [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103133292979&s=6053&e=0017ZiqywDENjIVAgSzhNVstApKL95RuKKyOAu79svnRCu2GcnL6CoJ24n-Ba7qHyfnyNTT9SK8i77e4-C_giFATweNoL1RKmPeJGCzRpNvlAO5YNR4iT_A3AosVFs8prRE15UNawUebs3SSMJp9GiXscStfB8DTaNaD4zCgx415PDrfmMbMvZevw==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Muslim woman refuses body scan at airport The introduction of scanners has been criticised by human rights groups A Muslim woman was barred from boarding a flight after she refused to undergo a full body scan for religious reasons. The passenger was passing through security at Manchester Airport when she was selected at random for a full-body scanner. She was warned that she would be stopped from boarding the plane but she decided to forfeit her ticket to Pakistan rather than submit to the scan. Her female travelling companion also declined to step into the scanner, citing "medical reasons" for her refusal. The two women are thought to be the first passengers to refuse to submit to scanning by the machines, which have provoked controversy among human rights groups. They were introduced on a limited basis last month at Heathrow and Manchester airports in response to the alleged attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a jet over Detroit on Christmas Day using explosives concealed in his underpants. The X-ray machines allow security officials to check for concealed weapons but they also afford clear outlines of passengers' genitals. They are due to be introduced in all airports by the end of the year. Civil liberties campaigners have said the scans represent an invasion of privacy and their introduction may yet be challenged by the Human Rights Commission. Trevor Phillips, head of the commission, has told Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, that there are concerns over passengers' privacy and an apparent lack of safeguards to ensure that the scanners are used without discrimination. Sources at Manchester Airport have said the two women were due to board a flight two weeks ago when they were turned back at security. No other passengers had objected to the checks and about 15,000 have so far submitted to the piercing eye of the £80,000 Rapiscan machine at the airport's Terminal 2. The second female passenger was said to be concerned because she had an infection. They may be the first to be turned back for their refusal to be scanned, though a spokesman for Heathrow said it could not comment on individual cases. At Manchester, a spokeswoman said: "Two female passengers who were booked to fly out of Terminal Two refused to be scanned for medical and religious reasons. "In accordance with the government directive on scanners, they were not permitted to fly. Body scanning is a big change for customers who are selected under the new rules and we are aware that privacy concerns are on our customers' minds, which is why we have put strict procedures to reassure them that their privacy will be protected." Last month, Lord Adonis stressed that an interim code of practice on the use of body scanners stipulated that passengers would not be selected "on the basis of personal characteristics". He said that images captured by body scanners would be immediately deleted after the passenger had gone through and that security staff were appropriately trained and supervised. Objectors to the scanners, and indeed the two women who forfeited their flight last month, have an unlikely ally in Pope Benedict XVI, a man who is likely to be waved through airport security for the rest of his life. Last month he told an audience from the aerospace industry that, notwithstanding the threat from terrorism, "the primary asset to be safeguarded and treasured is the person, in his or her integrity". Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boeing Faces Lawsuit Over Ethiopian Airlines Crash Thu, 04 Mar '10 737-800 Went Down Just After Departure From Beirut Lawyers have filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Boeing on behalf of the families of those who were aboard an Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 that went down just after takeoff from Beirut January 25th. The airliner went down in the Mediterranean during what was described as a "fierce" storm. The suit, filed in Chicago, charges that there was a severe mechanical failure of the aircraft or a maintenance problem, though no official cause of the accident has been determined. "Our aviation expert believes that simple pilot error could not have brought down the plane," Manuel von Ribbeck, of the US firm Ribbeck Law, told the international news service AFP. Lebanese Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi has said that data recovered from the FDR indicates all instruments were operating at the time of the impact. Ribbeck said the $20,000 per passenger offered by Boeing's insurance company was "insufficient", and that he would be seeking compensation of up to $1 million each. He said the same insurance companies have offered far more in other accidents. Boeing said in a statement that it "extends its deep condolences to the families and friends of those lost in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 in Lebanon," but company policy prevents further comment on ongoing litigation. FMI: www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/home/, www.boeing.com Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Miracle on the Hudson pilot retires (UKPA) - The hero pilot who landed a jet safely on the Hudson River, saving scores of lives, is retiring after 30 years - and plans to campaign for better flight safety. "My message going forward is that I want to remind everyone in the aviation industry - especially those who manage aviation companies and those who regulate aviation - that we owe it to our passengers to keep learning how to do it better," Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger said shortly after his last flight landed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina. Capt Sullenberger, 59, officially retired at a private ceremony in Charlotte with fellow pilots and other US Airways employees. He joined US Airways' predecessor airline in 1980. His final flight, number 1167 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to his base at Charlotte took just under two hours, 17 minutes ahead of schedule. Capt Sullenberger flew with his co-pilot during the Hudson landing, First Officer Jeff Skiles. As they walked off the plane, people in the airport recognised the pilots and applauded. Capt Sullenberger said he plans to spend more time with his family in retirement and will write another book. He will also continue to talk to politicians about raising minimum qualifications for pilots and work to lower the maximum number of hours pilots are able to work in a single day. All 150 passengers survived the emergency river landing in January 2009 when a flock of Canada geese was sucked into the plane's engines minutes after taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport for Charlotte, North Carolina. "Each generation of pilots hopes that they will leave their profession better off than they found it," Capt Sullenberger said. "In spite of the best efforts of thousands of my colleagues, that is not the case today." He said about a half dozen of the passengers on Flight 1549 joined him on his last flight. Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103133292979&s=6053&e=0017ZiqywDENjLMfZFRVXQ4qDCN6qiO8_uoPFlRgs9mP56OJ_2Ou13T-HYksIGYtwK-mAQQ8w35g2ZZnSKxoOZCJznL1DQcq9C5] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Plan to Send Flight Data Somewhere Off the Plane By CHRISTINE NEGRONI Published: March 3, 2010 Investigators of a French airline accident and aviation agencies from 44 other European countries plan to ask the International Civil Aviation Organization to change the way planes transmit information while flying over oceans. The hope is to prevent airliners from vanishing without leaving clues about what happened. The flight data recorder boxes for Air France Flight 447, which crashed in the Atlantic, were never recovered. Since the disappearance last June of Air France Flight 447, carrying 228 people on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, two searches of the Atlantic have failed to find the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. Without that data, investigators cannot determine why the plane, an Airbus 330, crashed. The French investigators from the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile and the other Europeans want the international aviation group to consider requiring commercial airliners to regularly send basic flight information like direction, altitude, speed and location to some receiver off the airplane. Over the last 20 years, aircraft in flight have been sending out increasing kinds and amounts of information, though transmitting a great deal of data and equipping older airplanes with the technology to do so will be expensive. The recommendations are "absolutely feasible," said David Coiley, aeronautical business director for the satellite communication company, Inmarsat, that provides aviation communications. The company participated with the working group on flight data technology that helped develop the investigators' recommendations. In an e-mail message, Mr. Coiley said, "There is an argument for the augmentation of stored data sources with some degree of live data feeds." The French investigators' report, which was obtained by Air Transport Intelligence, a news agency that covers the industry, also recommends that the international aviation group change the standards for black boxes so that their locator beacons have a wider range and a functioning life of three months rather than the current one month. Underwater searches were required for 26 aviation accidents over the last 30 years, according to the French investigators. The searches lasted anywhere from three days, in the case of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which crashed in the Pacific in January 2000, to 77 days to find the black boxes from an Australian charter flight that crashed in the Pacific in April 2008. Air France Flight 447 is the only commercial airplane crash in which neither recorder has been found, despite an estimated $40 million in spending on searches involving the navies of France, Brazil and the United States. "They haven't been able to identify the cause of the accident," said Ron Schleede, a retired air crash investigator and private aviation consultant. "But they've identified a deficiency in air safety. They can't find the recorders. The next step is to develop safety recommendations to remedy the situation." Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Russian investigators to press ICAO for cabin cameras Russian accident investigation representatives are to put the case for equipping passenger cabins with airborne image recorders to a high-level ICAO safety conference this month. The Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK), in a working paper ahead of the Montreal gathering, states that the potential advantage of cockpit cameras, to support cockpit-voice recordings, have been pressed for several years. But it also cites the problems of obtaining independent analysis of evacuation procedures. MAK states that the fatal overrun of an S7 Airlines Airbus A310 at Irkutsk in July 2006 resulted in 120 passenger fatalities, and medical evidence showed that all but one succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning and lack of oxygen. "Most people did not die because of the collision but as a result of secondary effects," it says. "The assessment of the evacuation process was significantly hindered by the lack of objective data and [differing] explanations of the surviving passengers and cabin crew." MAK adds that a similar situation was experienced after the loss of an Itek Air Boeing 737-200 outside Bishkek in August 2008, which killed 64 of the 85 passengers. Medical analysis, it states, revealed that passengers died not from internal injuries but from thermal shock in a smokeless atmosphere, after the cabin was exposed to high temperatures by ground fire - raising questions about the apparent inability to evacuate. "Investigators actually lack objective information on the evacuation process," says MAK, given that the only source of data tends to be confused testimony from those on board. It says that ICAO should view the installation of cameras in the cabin - as well as other areas, including the cockpit and cargo hold - as a "necessity" and pursue the issue "as a matter of high priority". Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA suspends two controllers for allowing a child to talk with pilots "Two employees at the John F Kennedy International airport tower have been placed on administrative leave by the US FAA following an incident last month when a child was permitted to speak with airline pilots on air traffic control frequency. The two employees - a supervisor and controller - are on administrative leave pending the outcome of FAA's investigation, which is already underway. "This lapse in judgment not only violate FAA's own policies, but common sense standards for professional conduct. These kinds of distractions are totally unacceptable," says FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. He stresses the behaviour of the controllers "does not reflect the true calibre of our workforce". Additionally all unofficial visits to FAA air traffic control operational areas, including towers and radar rooms, are being suspended during the investigation. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Links Products [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103133292979&s=6053&e=0017ZiqywDENjLNx4TgqUdGnVNFdjEzSxFUzEnbrVvn6-BkWoD4rEx3FMaoIkSQ_XS2SOHRDyAZ-DOlPH_H8DIFVpS6jnrunPRO57U1igplYNyGZJg-IUKJGBHyicTUiTY_] Services [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103133292979&s=6053&e=0017ZiqywDENjKIABgp_82WZfl6xopPNhugzJUy2lFCTldtiB8q1tTZrRQySRjTT3o2mQMT2zeC6_i-xOaqZav1i2tyVL6KhmpNDYLZ-3j1iN5uID9uF0wF4g==] Contact us... 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