Flight Safety Information April 12, 2010 - No. 073 In This Issue Polish Crash Inquiry Looks at Decision to Land Jet FAA Proposes $380K Civil Penalty Against Frontier Airlines F-16s neared commercial jet over Ohio IATA opens Beijing office Frontier Airlines, ERA Helicopters fined by FAA African Airlines reject blacklisting by the European Union ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Polish Crash Inquiry Looks at Decision to Land Jet MOSCOW - Investigators examining the crash of the Polish president's plane appeared Sunday to be focusing on why the pilot did not heed instructions from air traffic controllers to give up trying to land in bad weather in western Russia. Their inquiry may lead to an even more delicate question: whether the pilot felt under pressure to land to make sure that the Polish delegation would not be late for a ceremony on Saturday in the Katyn forest, where more than 20,000 Polish officers and others were massacred by the Soviets during World War II. Officials have recovered the flight voice recorder, but on Sunday they did not release transcripts of conversations in the cockpit or the control tower. Still, attention has been drawn to the pilot's state of mind because of a previous incident involving the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, who died along with numerous other senior Polish government and military officials in the crash. In August 2008, during Russia's brief war with Georgia, Mr. Kaczynski got into a dispute with a pilot flying his plane to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, according to reports at the time. Mr. Kaczynski demanded that the pilot land despite dangerous conditions, but the pilot disagreed and diverted to neighboring Azerbaijan. Mr. Kaczynski threatened that there would be consequences for the pilot, the Polish newspaper Dziennik reported. "If someone decides to become a pilot, he cannot be fearful," Mr. Kaczynski said. "After returning to the country, we shall deal with this matter." That pilot was not disciplined and received a medal for his service. But the defense minister later said that the pilot had suffered depression in the wake of the incident. Lech Walesa, the former Polish president, told the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza over the weekend that in these situations, the captain often sought the views of the government leaders on the plane. "If there were any doubts, the leaders were always approached and asked for their decision, and only on this basis were further steps taken," he said. "Sometimes the plane captain would make the decision himself, even against the recommendations. We do not yet know what happened, so let's leave the explaining to the experts." Officials from both Russia and Poland were taking part in the inquiry into the crash, which killed 96 people, and they said preliminary evidence seemed to indicate that there were no technical malfunctions on the plane, though it was a 20-year-old, Soviet-designed Tupolev. Prosecutors, forensic pathologists and crash investigators were working in Moscow and at the crash site in the city of Smolensk. Throughout the weekend, the Russian government seemed to go out of its way to demonstrate its despair over the crash and its determination to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry, efforts that were well-received in Poland. The two countries have long had an uneasy relationship, though it has improved recently. Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia went to Smolensk on Sunday for a ceremony to return Mr. Kaczynski's body to Poland. Russian soldiers wearing red and black armbands carried his coffin, while a band played the Polish and Russian national anthems. Mr. Putin and the Polish ambassador to Russia laid bouquets of red flowers beside the coffin as the red and white Polish flag covering it fluttered in the breeze. A Polish military honor guard carried the coffin onto the military plane back. In Smolensk, Mr. Putin also held a meeting with top Russian public safety and law-enforcement officials that was broadcast on national television in Russia. Aleksandr I. Bastrykin, chief of the prosecutor general's investigation committee in Russia, told Mr. Putin that a preliminary examination suggested pilot error was to blame. "The pilot was informed of severe weather conditions, but nonetheless made a decision to land," Mr. Bastrykin said. Russian officials said Saturday that traffic controllers had several times told the plane not to land because of heavy fog, warned that it was descending too low and recommended that it go to another airport. On Sunday, a Russian news service, Lifenews.ru, published an interview with an official who was identified as an air traffic controller at the airport. The controller said the pilot, after trying several times to land, indicated that he wanted to try once more. "He said that if he did not land, then he would go to an alternate airport," the controller said. The traffic controller said that at that point, the pilot was asked for the plane's altitude, but stopped responding to communication from the traffic control tower. Mark V. Rosenker, a former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States and a retired Air Force major general, said the fact that the plane made several attempts to land indicated that "these guys were truly wanting to complete this mission at all cost." Mr. Rosenker was the head of the White House Military Office during the administration of President George W. Bush, and was thus responsible for the president's transportation. He said Sunday that the Polish pilot could have followed the air traffic controller's warnings. But if he chose to do so, "He's going to have to explain to somebody if he's going to land somewhere else." And that could be difficult, Mr. Rosenker said. http://www.nytimes.com/ Status: Preliminary Date: 10 APR 2010 Time: 10:50 Type: Tupolev 154M Operator: Polish Air Force Registration: 101 C/n / msn: 90A837 First flight: 1990 Engines: 3 Soloviev D-30KU-154-II Crew: Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8 Passengers: Fatalities: 88 / Occupants: 88 Total: Fatalities: 96 / Occupants: 96 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: ca 1 km from Smolensk Air Base (Russia) Phase: Approach (APR) Nature: Executive Departure airport: Warszawa-Okecie Airport (WAW/EPWA), Poland Destination airport: Smolensk Air Base (XUBS), Russia Narrative: A Tupolev 154M passenger jet, operated the Polish Air Force, was destroyed when it crashed on approach to Smolensk Air Base in poor visibility. All on board were killed in the accident, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski. The airplane departed Warszawa-Okecie Airport (WAW), Poland, carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, several Members of Parliament, President of the National Bank of Poland Slawomir Skrzypek, Chief of General Staff Franciszek Gagor, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrzej Kremer and a number of passengers and crew members. The Tu-154 struck trees and broke up. Weather reports at 10:00 indicated a temperature at Smolensk of 1°C, Dew Point:1°C, wind from 140 degrees at 6 knots, Pressure: 1026 hPa, heavy fog. www.aviation-safety.net [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103296569686&s=6053&e=001Q3pnsHO_ArNemqhV3CVlnJpfXAJcHs7O-b-x7WngpkylkpXTHPPw6lkCezmWT1MWCovZhsNaiXQx7t7BFU9pPRmwud1spPzd9RQ9WJ8Z_Pa0ljMLvuOcZI2I8pgVdVe-] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA Proposes $380K Civil Penalty Against Frontier Airlines Dig Deep, The Feds Are Hungry... The FAA has proposed to assess a $380,000 civil penalty against Frontier Airlines of Denver for operating several aircraft on approximately 900 flights when they were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The FAA alleges that in 2008 and 2009, Frontier reconfigured the passenger cabins on some of its Airbus A-318s and -319s, to permit dual-aisle access to the overwing emergency exits. However, the airline did not replace the existing placards with placards showing the new configuration, as required. The placards are in place to tell passengers how to operate the overwing exits. Frontier then operated these aircraft with the wrong placards in place. The airline has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA's enforcement letter to respond to the agency. FMI: www.faa.gov Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ F-16s neared commercial jet over Ohio CINCINNATI (AP) - Two military fighter jets apparently flew higher than allowed and came so close to a commercial flight over southern Ohio this week that they triggered a cockpit alarm in the commuter plane, authorities said Friday. Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 5202, a 70-seat commuter jet, was flying from Cleveland to Atlanta on Thursday when its two pilots saw the F-16s nearby at 10 a.m., the airline said. The commercial planes "had a near-miss incident," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro. Radar showed the Ohio National Guard F-16s were flying at 30,000 feet when they should have been no higher than 29,000 feet, Molinaro said. The commercial plane was flying as planned at 30,000 feet, he said. The F-16s are from the 180th Fighter Wing, based at the Toledo Express airport and were on normal training flights, said Mark Wayda, a spokesman for the Columbus-based Guard. The Guard is investigating, he said. "It does appear they were above their ceiling, but we are not sure by how much at this point," he said. The commercial pilots saw the F-16s but couldn't say how near they came, Molinaro said. Pilots contacted controllers, who cleared them to climb to 36,000 feet as a precaution. The plane was carrying 58 passengers and four crew members; it remained on its flight plan and landed safely and on time, said Kate Modolo, spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based Atlantic Southeast. "Our pilots did a good job and handled the flight appropriately and got our passengers safely to Atlanta," she said. A pilot does not often get outside the training area, Wayda said. If the investigation results warrant, procedures will be reviewed and the F-16 pilots involved could be retrained, he said. "There are not many of these sort of near-miss incidents," he said. The sight of jet fighters outside a plane's window can mean they've been sent because of an air security or safety concern, but that apparently wasn't the case this time. "That was not a NORAD mission," John Cornelio, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IATA opens Beijing office, encourages China's airlines to continue modernizing IATA said last week that it "strengthened its commitment to China's aviation development" with the opening of its new North Asia Regional Office in Beijing. DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said safety standards, "simplifying the business," developing infrastructure and liberalization are the four key areas on which China's airline industry needs to focus. He said he "hopes" CAAC will consider using IOSA and IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations and highlighted the need for the nation's carriers to adopt100% barcoded boarding passes by year end as well as to increase their participation in e-freight, and he encouraged China to join the IATA "Agenda for Freedom" (ATWOnline, Nov. 17, 2009). Bisignani commended China for its "impressive" safety record with no hull losses involving jet aircraft in the last five years and called the country a "star of the e-ticketing program" for achieving 100% e-ticketing ahead of schedule. "China is the leading market in Asia with 38% of passengers in the region either starting or ending their journey in China," he said. "By 2013, this will increase to 45%. China is a big market and getting bigger." IATA expects a profit of $900 million for Asia/Pacific airlines this year, the largest for any region. It projects the global airline industry will lose $2.8 billion. http://atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=19978 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103296569686&s=6053&e=001Q3pnsHO_ArM8XcsIrXT5046gSVYT-ZnSqUEgp-lXo6rW1LAGSArFQE3myqCzznNoPl0KxEKIdgJYudQMd523h58oK68Lm--acB8jB6XkKn4J3gB_GsyKBSYPAMv3nC0zmjYXAvVT7QdoE1__6zNHzUeXXNuWlr_0] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Frontier Airlines, ERA Helicopters fined by FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed over $600,000 in fines against a helicopter company and major airline for violating federal regulations. The agency has proposed to assess a $260,000 civil penalty against ERA Helicopters Inc., of Lake Charles, La., for failing to perform test flights and other required checks before returning an aircraft to passenger service. The FAA alleges that in February 2009, ERA replaced a part known as a lag damper in the rotor system of one of its helicopters. Afterward, ERA operated the aircraft on 23 passenger-carrying flights without performing tests to ensure the work had been done properly, violating a number of Federal Aviation Regulations. In addition, the FAA is also proposing to assess a $380,000 civil penalty against Frontier Airlines of Denver for operating several aircraft on approximately 900 flights when they were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The FAA alleges that in 2008 and 2009, Frontier reconfigured the passenger cabins on some of its Airbus A-318s and -319s, to permit dual-aisle access to the overwing emergency exits. However, the airline did not replace the existing placards with placards showing the new configuration, as required. The placards are in place to tell passengers how to operate the overwing exits. Frontier then operated these aircraft with the wrong placards in place. Both companies have 30 days to respond to the agency concerning the fines. Source: examiner.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103296569686&s=6053&e=001Q3pnsHO_ArOly5XBIbWX4gKJTQF4RSt54A2qzAniJQ8fvvuApObB6UUG-HqCvtu1xLR9hVHggPAV8vOtyNvS-dcWq8PtjmPh] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103296569686&s=6053&e=001Q3pnsHO_ArOly5XBIbWX4gKJTQF4RSt54A2qzAniJQ8fvvuApObB6UUG-HqCvtu1xLR9hVHggPAV8vOtyNvS-dcWq8PtjmPh] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ African Airlines reject blacklisting by the European Union Airlines in Africa have complained against the blacklisting of carriers in the continent by the European Union (EU). The carriers, under the African Airlines Association, an umbrella body based in Nairobi, Kenya, argued that the latest list of airlines banned from the European airspace due to safety concerns will dent the confidence placed on African carriers, as 13 of the 17 countries affected by the ban are from Africa, with a total of 111 African airlines 'blacklisted.' "While the EU list may be well-intended its main achievement has been to undermine international confidence in the African airline industry," said Nick Fadugba, Secretary General AFRAA in a statement. Admitting that Africa needs to improve on its air safety record, Mr. Fadugba disclosed that air safety is the "number one priority" of the association, adding that the ultimate beneficiaries of the ban are European airlines which dominate the African skies to the disadvantage of African carriers. "If any list is to be published, it should be done by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the global regulator of aviation safety, which has a known track record of impartiality," he said. The association further argued that last week's list has the effect of damaging the reputation of many scheduled African airlines whose safety records and adherence to ICAO safety standards are comparable to the best airlines anywhere in the world. Outlining some of the contradictions in the blacklist, the association's secretary disclosed that majority of the airlines in Africa on the list have never operated scheduled flights to Europe, do not plan to do so, and have no aircraft with a range to fly to any EU state. Mr. Fadugba disclosed that the list includes many airlines that only exist on paper and are not operational, stressing that neither the operating license nor the ICAO registration numbers of most of the banned airlines are known. The association, however, called on the EU to emulate the United States of America, which introduced the "Safer Skies for Africa" initiative aimed at upgrading capacity, developing skills and providing infrastructure to improve safety in the African continent, adding that the US did all this when only a few of its carriers operate into Africa. Also calling on the International Civil Aviation Organization to venture into the matter, the association in the statement disclosed that it is willing to have talks with the European Union on the issue. "We are ready to engage the EU and other stakeholders in constructive dialogue to find an amicable solution to the air safety challenges in Africa," it said. http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5553334-146/story.csp Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC