Flight Safety Information March 30, 2010 - No. 063 In This Issue NTSB Releases Safety Recommendations To FAA Boeing Dreamliner wings bend, apparently don't break Europe Wants Collision Avoidance Boost Black box on agenda at meet Relatives of Air France crash victims sue in U.S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB Releases Safety Recommendations To FAA Suggestions include Changes In Airman Testing On EFD's The NTSB Monday released a recommendation to the FAA that it revise airman knowledge tests to include questions regarding electronic flight and navigation displays, including normal operations, limitations, and the interpretation of malfunctions and aircraft attitudes. The board said the FAA should require all manufacturers of certified electronic primary flight displays to include information in their approved aircraft flight manual and pilot's operating handbook supplements regarding abnormal equipment operation or malfunction due to subsystem and input malfunctions, including but not limited to pitot and/or static system blockages, magnetic sensor malfunctions, and attitude-heading reference system alignment failures, and incorporate training elements regarding electronic primary flight displays into your training materials and aeronautical knowledge requirements for all pilots. The board further recommended that training elements regarding electronic primary flight displays be incorporated into initial and recurrent flight proficiency requirements for pilots of 14 Code of Regulations Part 23 certified aircraft equipped with those systems that address variations in equipment design and operations of such displays, and that guidance should be developed and published for the use of equipment-specific electronic avionics display simulators and procedural trainers that do not meet the definition of flight simulation training devices prescribed in 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 60 to support equipment-specific pilot training requirements. Finally, the board said the FAA should inform aircraft and avionics maintenance technicians about the critical role of voluntary service difficulty reporting system reports involving malfunctions or defects associated with electronic primary flight, navigation, and control systems in 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 23 certified aircraft used in general aviation operations. FMI: www.ntsb.gov Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boeing Dreamliner wings bend, apparently don't break EVERETT - The Boeing Co. met another milestone on its new 787 jet program this weekend but still has a long road ahead to meet its goal of delivering the first Dreamliner this year. On Sunday, Boeing performed its ultimate wing load test, bending the 787's wings 25 feet upward. The goal of the test is to ensure the 787's wings could withstand 150 percent of the most extreme forces the airplane is expected to experience while in service. Although Boeing engineers will need weeks to determine the outcome, the company reported that initial results look positive. "The test program has been more robust than any conducted on a Boeing commercial jetliner," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We are looking forward to the technical team's report on the details of the test results." Boeing is more than two years behind schedule on delivering its mostly carbon fiber composite 787 jet. Since the first Dreamliner made its maiden flight Dec. 15, three additional 787s have joined the flight test fleet. Two more 787s, which will be powered by General Electric engines, have yet to fly. The first four flight test 787s are powered by Rolls Royce engines. Earlier this month, Jim Albaugh, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told analysts that the company already had used up some of the one and a half months of padding it had put into the 787 flight test program. In order to deliver the 787 by year's end, Albaugh said, Boeing will need to have all six test planes flying roughly 90 hours a week. The four 787s that are in flight testing have logged almost 400 hours in the air during roughly 130 flights. Altogether, Boeing estimates the 787 program will put in 2,000 hours of flight testing. In January, Boeing completed its initial air worthiness testing on the 787 - the testing allowed Boeing to put additional jets and personnel in the air. Its next major milestone will be to receive Type Inspection Authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration. After that obstacle is cleared, Boeing can begin some of the high-profile maneuvers of flight testing: testing in both hot and cold weather, takeoffs at high altitude locations, and hard landings. FAA officials take part in that phase. Lastly, Boeing will put its 787 flight test aircraft through function and reliability testing, which demonstrates the aircraft, including all its equipment and parts, will perform as expected when put into use by airlines. Boeing has 876 Dreamliner jets on order. The company's stock increased $1.52 on Monday to close at $74.11, hitting a new 52-week high. http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100330/BIZ/703309959 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103247610403&s=6053&e=001GxP0n9lrStv62zG3sfyOK_M7e4VYfVE8gVsvnoOyBJJ7lAXEaz3_CJwy4S2rGmeei5FmLkKLv1ZQolVOxQyj_OKUq7GUac_7sxQhSLNwg-h5HWEH7Y-mS9E8eAj5wwkFGWrWTpbe3wlELRGYruBCQsRsJfHgk-eC] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Europe Wants Collision Avoidance Boost LONDON The European Aviation Safety Agency is planning to issue a mandate for operators to upgrade their ACAS II airborne collision avoidance system to address deficiencies that have been subject of review for some time. The recently released notice of proposed amendment would require operators to use the ACAS II software version 7.1. Industry has six weeks from the March 25 release date of the proposal to comment, with the Association of European Airlines last year already having given its endorsement of the upgrade of the software. Eurocontrol estimates that the upgrade will deliver a four-fold improvement in safety from the current probability of a mid-air collision in European air space; the latter is given as once in every three years. The cost of the enhancement is relatively limited, with a $150,000 price for a new installation. In other cases existing equipment can be upgraded, which would be cheaper. Two primary changes are introduced with the new software version. One is to ensure the terrain and collision avoidance system monitors whether aircraft are correctly following resolution advisories (RAs) and the other is to optimize the use of so-called reversal RAs (which are changes from the initial recommendation) to avoid a collision. The second step is to fix an observed problems when pilots do not properly execute the recommended "adjust vertical speed, adjust" RA. The recommendation calls for pilots to reduce speed, but observed behavior shows that on several incidents speed was increased. Under the upgrade, pilots will receive aural and visual cues to "level off" to be more explicit about what needs to be done. The mandate will apply to all carriers operating in the European Union will aircraft exceeding 5,700 kg maximum takeoff weight, carry more than 19 passengers or are fitted with ACAS II, EASA says. The formal effective date would be March 1, 2012. http://www.aviationweek.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103247610403&s=6053&e=001GxP0n9lrStsj1t4qpOTeVY_pJmP3AIH2zMauI5R7XXo4mrtn7gEg1iolmDpFhzx3iTy8yRqzymV52pBVO1yPt8SRDEE4WU4NeuZjaFg193YxetwfQ8l4_Q==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black box on agenda at meet Aviation safety conference: Members expected to okay extension of signals It is "totally unacceptable" that 10 months after the shocking crash into the ocean of an Air France jet en route from Brazil to Paris, the aircraft's black box still has not been found, Raymond Benjamin said yesterday. In an interview at a high-level aviation safety conference, the secretary-general of Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization said that it's "essential" to improve the black-box technology to make air-traffic accident investigations more timely and effective. One of the two main objectives of the conference is to devise ways to reduce the number of accidents, Benjamin said. He expressed confidence that by the conclusion of the four-day-long meeting, members would agree to lengthen the time during which black boxes emit signals from one month to three months. Nancy Graham, director of ICAO's air navigation bureau, added that one option being considered is streaming technology that would transmit data for the duration of the flight to a land-based server. Currently, black boxes emit sonar "pings" for about a month before expiring. Air France flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean between South America and Africa on June 1. Although some bodies and large chunks of debris were found, the black box has never been located despite strenuous efforts by the French, Brazilian and U.S. navies. Benjamin suggested that if the black box had emitted signals for longer, searchers might have found it. The most commonly accepted scenario is that the aircraft's "pitot tubes" - sensors that tells pilots their speed - were not working. But that theory has been challenged, and only close examination of the black box would solve the issue definitively. "We have the technical means to improve black boxes, but at the end of the day, they have to be cost effective," Graham said. Fatalities figures, Benjamin noted, are impressive: in 2009, there were about 700 aviation-related deaths around the world - but out of 2.5 billion passengers. "That's very low," he said. "But there's always room for improvement." Such improvements would come if the stakeholders - the ICAO, Montreal's other international aviation body, IATA (International Air Transport Association), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the European Union's Joint Aviation Authority and others - agree on a seamless exchange of information that would be candid and exhaustive. "Currently, they all operate as silos, and we're trying to assemble them under the aegis of ICAO so we can all merge safety data," said Benjamin, which would make it easier to detect accident patterns and find global solutions. Graham said that reluctance to share accident data springs mainly from the fear of lawsuits across national boundaries. Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103247610403&s=6053&e=001GxP0n9lrSttjdrqpOzIhESM0lF7jICUJ9LjJ5b5gT-OMgsAXU1Mv8KIUHwRckn2US2MQNBZnMI5697RWRVnOYrM-SnoDzjRXj2_UhaPq0WghpSMgUEyZB9oQMf_O_DRy] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Relatives of Air France crash victims sue in U.S. MIAMI (Reuters) - Relatives of passengers killed in an Air France crash off Brazil have filed nearly two dozen wrongful death lawsuits in Miami against Airbus, alleging that aircraft maker's A330 crashed because of flaws in the plane and its U.S.-made components. Airbus, a unit of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, called the lawsuits baseless. "We don't believe that they are well stated or well founded," said Airbus Americas spokesman Clay McConnell. "We will be moving to have them dismissed." The lawsuits were filed in U.S. district court by the families of passengers aboard Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009, some 3-1/2 hours after taking off from Rio de Janeiro. The Paris-bound plane plunged into the sea 680 miles off Brazil during a storm, killing all 228 people aboard. France's aviation investigation agency, the BEA, is leading a probe of the crash but has not determined the cause. Last week it resumed a search for the plane's data recorders, which are believed to lie at a depth of 13,000 feet in the Atlantic off Brazil's northeast coast. A Miami law firm, Podhurst Orseck, has filed the 23 wrongful death lawsuits in Florida on behalf of passengers' families and expects to file at least 10 more in the next few weeks, firm attorney Steve Marks said. The identical lawsuits assert that the plane crashed because design and manufacturing defects left the pilots without accurate data to maintain altitude and air speed. Speculation about the cause of the crash during a storm has focused on the possible icing of the aircraft's speed sensors, which appeared to give inconsistent readings and may have disrupted other systems. The suits say that the weather radar, ice detector and airspeed indicator provided flawed information while other equipment malfunctioned and engines lacked sufficient power to enable the aircraft to recover from a stall. Defendants include Airbus and France's Thales Group and their U.S. subsidiaries. Also named are U.S. companies Honeywell International Inc, Motorola Inc, Intel Corp, Rockwell Collins, Hamilton Sundstrand Corp, General Electric, Goodrich Corp, Rosemount Aerospace, Dupont Co, Judd Wire Co and Raychem Co. Marks, the plaintiffs' attorney in Miami, said U.S. courts have jurisdiction because the companies are either U.S.-based or operate in the United States. "So many U.S. firms are component parts manufacturers, the U.S. legal system has a unique interest in making sure the skies are safe," Marks said. The crash was the first in-service fatal accident involving the A330, which first flew in 1992, Airbus spokesman McConnell said, adding that 667 of the aircraft are now in service. Seven people were killed during a 1994 test flight in Toulouse, France, in a crash blamed on pilot error. Air France is not named in the lawsuits because separate laws and treaties govern airline liability, Marks said. The Brazilian government has set up a compensation committee with Air France's insurers and victims' families to determine what the families should be paid. Earlier this month, Air France's insurance company, Axa, said it would appeal a Brazilian court's ruling for the airline company to pay $1.16 million in compensation to one crash victim's family. The insurer said then it did not accept the ruling as a precedent because compensation should be decided by the committee. [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103247610403&s=6053&e=001GxP0n9lrStveUya4WJLrOKVwy-wEXahNapfY9d_QQJ7dkREHYgrj-bPmxsky-XXuoJCx4avTgYpIL7Y1EIfWU0Xrb3upAFtg] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103247610403&s=6053&e=001GxP0n9lrStveUya4WJLrOKVwy-wEXahNapfY9d_QQJ7dkREHYgrj-bPmxsky-XXuoJCx4avTgYpIL7Y1EIfWU0Xrb3upAFtg] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC