Flight Safety Information March 12, 2010 - No. 054 In This Issue US Airways jet strikes geese, lands safely in N.Y Fire aboard jet let to crash, pilots' ejection into Atlantic Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University -...Professional Programs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ US Airways jet strikes geese, lands safely in N.Y. Airbus ran into birds on takeoff, was able to return to Rochester with one engine. For the second time in about 14 months, a US Airways jet bound for Charlotte on Thursday struck birds shortly after takeoff. This time, the jet was able to land safely at Greater Rochester (N.Y.) International Airport, where it had taken off minutes earlier. No injuries were reported. The result was much less eventful than with US Airways Flight 1549, a Charlotte-bound flight which was landed in the Hudson River after hitting birds during takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Jan. 15, 2009. In Thursday's incident, Flight 1101 struck Canada geese at about 2,000 feet, shortly after the 8:25 a.m. takeoff. Jennifer Hanrahan, a spokeswoman for the airport, said the crew experienced a problem with one of its two engines and returned to an emergency landing at 8:40 a.m. Airport officials said 129 people were aboard, including a crew of five. The flight was canceled, and passengers were rebooked on other flights. Passenger Nicole Dalberth, 20, who was flying to Jamaica with a connecting flight in Charlotte, said the Airbus had taken off and was in the air for a few minutes. "We heard a loud noise, and you could tell everyone heard it, and then we started to smell something," she told the Associated Press. Dalberth said flight attendants told passengers what had happened. She said passengers clapped for the crew when the jet landed. "It was a little bit scary," passenger Alfred Robles, 36, told the Rochester Democrat-Chronicle newspaper. "As soon as the pilot took care of the airplane, we were fine." http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/12/1306899/us-airways-jet-strikes-geese-lands.html Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fire aboard jet let to crash, pilots' ejection into Atlantic A fire aboard a dual-seat F/A-18 Hornet is thought to be what caused two Beaufort fighter pilots to eject Wednesday over the Atlantic Ocean during a training mission. Maj. Duane Liptak and Capt. Jonathan Hutchison were about 80 miles offshore when the fire started, said Lt. Col. Joseph Maybach, commanding officer of Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224. The cause of the fire and where it began have not been determined. Maybach said the pilots initially thought they could make it back to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, but the fire spread and caused dual engine failure, leaving Hutchison and Liptak no choice but to eject at 5,000 feet and ditch the $29 million fighter jet. The plane went down at about 5:25 p.m. in the ocean about 30 miles east of the St. Helena Sound. Liptak, the jet's pilot, and Hutchison, the weapons system officer, were spotted in the water by another F-18 crew training nearby within five minutes of ejecting, Maybach said. A crew from Coast Guard Station Charleston plucked the pilots from an inflatable raft and had them back to the air station less than two hours after the crash, Maybach said. The Coast Guard recovered the jet's flight recorder Thursday morning, which will play an integral part in the Corps' investigation into what caused the fire and subsequent engine failures. "We haven't had the chance to review the system data, so we don't know exactly what happened or why it happened," Maybach said. Maybach said Hutchison and Liptak were given the day off Thursday and that both pilots appear to be fine. "We're very glad that they weren't injured," he said. "They ejected safely, which can be dangerous. Ejections can be fatal, and it's not uncommon to break arms and legs when you eject." The 400-pound ejection seat in the F-18 Hornet is equipped with rockets that blast the pilot through the jet's canopy and into the air before deploying a parachute. Wednesday's crash adds to what has been a challenging year for the squadron nicknamed The Fighting Bengals. In October, two squadron pilots had to use an external fuel tank as a third wheel to land their fighter jet at Jacksonville International Airport after the F-18's left landing gear malfunctioned. The pilots were training near Jacksonville and were scheduled to perform a fly-over the next day at a Jacksonville Jaguars football game. http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/03/11/1169538/fire-aboard-jet-let-to-crash-pilots.html Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Professional Programs [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103179734861&s=6053&e=001v1jHRwrGpczgA8ElVD-kghQRK3U1LJ5MUTyODNohoSM6PKKQts5gAjCMKUYU70K9BS5cAnZs_xq6pBdXDdc-m2jA-ORWAdVlaHwekrD5SULXalc9kj8Hm-cP9gJ6kqXlCgfhMxoA5Qs=] is hosting the following five-day short-courses which combine the latest in safety, security, human factors and accident investigation topics in a professional and dynamic classroom environment. Participants may elect to take course(s) independently or complete all three courses to receive the Certificate of Management in Aviation Safety. Participants will receive Continuing Education Units (CEU's) for each course successfully completed. OSHA and Aviation Ground Safety for Managers - CASE Course This course is designed to provide the participant with the working knowledge of OSHA's General Industry Safety and Health standards. In addition participants will gain a fundamental working knowledge of an aviation ground safety program concentrating on how incidents/accidents can be prevented and the expense of avoidable incident/ accident in terms of dollars and lives lost. Participants will become familiar with current OSHA violations and issues in aviation, acquire skills in the design and implementation of a ground safety program and engage in hands on exercises based on real-world experiences to aid them in application of principles covered in the course. Participants will receive the OSHA 30-Hour General Industry Safety & Health training card shortly after completion of the course. Course Dates: May 3-7, 2010 (Daytona Beach Campus, Florida) Aviation Safety ManagementSystems-CASE Course This course will provide an overview of the history, philosophy and quality management foundation of Safety Management Systems (SMS). The topics are designed to provide the participant with the working information of an aviation safety program and how accidents can be prevented. The participant will review problems facing today's aviation safety program manager and learn how to deal with basic safety and risk management concepts, as well as analyze program elements typically found in aviation safety programs. Participants will partake in classroom exercises based on real world experiences to learn how to use additional tools and techniques to promote safety management in their organization. Course topics include SMS Overview, Building a Safety Program, Safety Analysis Techniques, Aviation Security, and Regulatory Safety and Health Programs. Course Dates: May 10-14, 2010 (Daytona Beach Campus, Florida) Accident Investigation and Management - CASE Course This course is designed to teach the participant the fundamentals required to conduct or manage an aircraft mishap/accident investigation. The participant will review the investigation sequence from the preplanning stage through the general survey and specific analysis of a mishap/accident, culminating with the determination of contributing factors and probable cause/s. Crash laboratory exercises and case examples will help the participant identify, collect and analyze data in the process of determining probable cause/s. The participant will also discover solutions to problems faced during aircraft mishap/accident investigations. Course Dates: May 17-21, 2010 (Daytona Beach Campus, Florida) Please contact ERAU Professional Programs/CASE Short Courses: Director: Sarah Ochs Phone: (386) 226-6928 Fax: (386) 226-6719 Email: case@erau.edu [mailto:case@erau.edu] Website: http://www.erau.edu/academic/ep-case.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103179734861&s=6053&e=001v1jHRwrGpczgA8ElVD-kghQRK3U1LJ5MUTyODNohoSM6PKKQts5gAjCMKUYU70K9BS5cAnZs_xq6pBdXDdc-m2jA-ORWAdVlaHwekrD5SULXalc9kj8Hm-cP9gJ6kqXlCgfhMxoA5Qs=] Registration Information: http://case.erau.edu/register/CASE%20registration.pdf [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103179734861&s=6053&e=001v1jHRwrGpcwvZw9yEHbRVO2_i2poQxAUr2jEc_g7k_0hP3dIzGa2U7Sf6ZeFWBsBJ6sEvI7ieNBRN41bcTfBliUhTjDb0DaxG2OZ3qR_T6qDdbtP0gfWbVPkKiGcQxXbZnGMq_AA8auYeYoaxIH1xhn5sh7EHphH] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC