Flight Safety Information April 22, 2010 - No. 080 In This Issue European Air Traffic Close to Normal Antonov 12 Accident (Philippines All victims in Polish plane crash identified UN to work on standards for ashes in jet engines 6 killed in collision of 2 Colombian military helicopters Southwest to inspect tugs for safety switch fault ASH CLOUD: Crisis leaves lessons to be learned Cathay's deputy chairman Philip Chen resigns ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ European Air Traffic Close to Normal Europe's air traffic control agency says almost all European airspace is open to flights again. Eurocontrol says it expects Europe to have at least 28,000 flights Thursday, after a huge cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland turned almost the entire continent into a no-fly zone for six days. Eurocontrol says flight restrictions remain only in northern Scotland and parts of southern Norway, Sweden and Finland. Thousands of passengers were stuck in airports and hotels Wednesday. Eurocontrol said the volcanic ash caused about 95,000 flight cancellations since last Thursday. The International Air Transport Association called the cancellations "devastating," saying they cost the airline industry almost $2 billion ($1.7 billion) dollars. The group's chief, Giovanni Bisignani, urged governments to look at ways to compensate airlines for their losses. Two major European travel agencies - Thomas Cook and TUI - criticized the British government for shutting down its airspace. But Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said the main barrier to resuming flights had been determining how much ash aircraft could tolerate. Scientists said flying thorough volcanic ash could cause jet engines to shut down in mid-flight. The volcano that caused the flight cancellations still was erupting Wednesday, but producing much less ash. The U.S. State Department said it has helped U.S. citizens and others, including a group of Nazi concentration camp survivors who needed a new hotel and an elderly patient in Frankfurt needing specialized medical treatment. Among European efforts to help stranded passengers, Britain sent a warship to Spain to pick up civilians and troops on their way home from Afghanistan. http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/europe/European-Air-Traffic-Close-to-Normal-91795794.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103334022292&s=6053&e=001meFQbqpFinFtlKiI7YlUhk9L5fQq1l0CV3lBPiuKxYdQe4LHxV630CHU-MODKILWkCU7kx0OqKtsnrPcjByvDVWwywzN7-vkGkxrsDxXjcknQkcFBl4IhsTH2g93cwmN1Nj_nlLMgQ1jEEn9KDsp4wKx_r9-zumSifqqBNnibWwYq8QR4DaNvZPkaVXAjbkMKiklBTCikmn1DVZ1utBHVA==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Antonov 12 Accident (Philippines) Status: Preliminary Date: 21 APR 2010 Time: ca 20:50 Type: Antonov 12BP Operating for: Interisland Airlines Leased from: ATMA Registration: UP-AN216 C/n / msn: 402001 First flight: 1963 Crew: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 6 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 6 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Barangay Laput, Mexico (Philippines) Phase: En route (ENR) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Cebu Airport (CEB/RPVM), Philippines Destination airport: Angeles City-Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (CRK/RPLC), Philippines Narrative: An Antonov 12BP cargo plane, registered UP-AN216, was destroyed when it crashed near the town of Mexico, Philippines. Three crew members survived, three others are presumed to have been killed in the crash. The airplane operated on a flight on behalf of UPS from Cebu Airport (CEB) to Angeles City-Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (CRK). It crashed in a rice paddy and broke in two. The forward fuselage caught fire. According to the Mexico town mayor the plane involved in the accident was labeled "Inter-Island Antonov 12". News reports indicated the An-12 was chartered by Pacific East Air Cargo (PEAC), but this was denied to ASN by a company spokesperson. He confirmed that the airplane had been operating for Interisland Airlines "for quite sometime already in non - scheduled commercial operations". A bulletin from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said there were 3 Russians, 2 Uzbekistans, and 1 Bulgarian on the plane. aviation-safety.net Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All victims in Polish plane crash identified WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's government says forensic experts have identified the last 21 bodies among the victims killed in the plane crash that claimed the life of President Lech Kaczynski. Government Minister Michal Boni said Thursday that DNA tests in Moscow had helped in identifying 16 of the passengers and five crew members. The bodies are to be flown to Poland on Friday. Already 75 victims' bodies have been returned for burial. Kaczynski, his wife Maria, and many top state and military officials died in the crash April 10 in western Russia. Polish investigators are holding a news conference Thursday. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UN to work on standards for ashes in jet engines UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The International Civil Aviation Organization said Tuesday it will start work on setting global standards for the concentration of ashes that could affect airplane engines. Raymond Benjamin, secretary-general of the U.N. agency responsible for aviation safety, said ICAO convened a special meeting of its governing council on Monday on ash standards following the global disruption to air travel caused by the ash plume from an volcano in Iceland. He said the council decided to convene a group including representatives from industry, manufacturers, governments, scientists, and the International Air Transport Association "to start working on these standards." Benjamin spoke to reporters after meeting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Montreal-based agency, which has 190 members, operates nine stations around the world that monitor ashes from volcanos, like Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl), which erupted on April 14, causing the cancellation of thousands of flights and creating chaos for travelers. ICAO's President Roberto Kobeh Gonzales said the information from the stations is sent to governments that then have to decide whether it's safe to allow planes to fly. "The states are responsible for safety following the standards of ICAO," he said. "We have standards of minimum of visibility, minimum of ceiling. ... There are no standards at this moment for what is the concentration of ashes that could affect the engines." Kobeh cautioned that "it's not easy to develop a standard" because "there are many variables." Benjamin explained that "if you ask a manufacturer of engines, `what is the concentration of ashes that your engine can sustain?,', he will not answer you because it's a matter of liability." "At the end of the day, everybody is looking to liability and that's why ... no one will fly if there is a risk," he said. How long will it take for the new standards on the concentration of ashes to be published? "You will have to wait a little," Kobeh said. Benjamin added: "It's not a matter of two weeks work." Two days ago, IATA said it could fly, but many governments kept their airspace closed until Tuesday when they felt it was safe to send passenger flights into the air, Benjamin said. Would they fly over Europe now? "It's safe," Kobeh said. "If I have to fly I will." Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6 killed in collision of 2 Colombian military helicopters BOGOTA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Two helicopters collided and crashed on Tuesday in southwestern Colombia, killing six military officers including a general and injuring five others, the military said. The tragic event occurred during the inauguration of a military base in Tolima, southwest of Colombia, the Colombian Military Forces said in a statement. The two helicopters -- one Bell 222 of Vertical Aviation and a Huey of the Colombian Armed Forces -- crashed when they were lifting off. Among the dead were Brigadier General Fernando Joya Duarte, a commander in the military force in the south of Tolima, two colonels and three soldiers. The authorities said a technical commission of the Air Forces had been sent to investigate the accident. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-04/21/c_13260977.htm [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103334022292&s=6053&e=001meFQbqpFinH_3LHhv5YnfvQmqE9r4gZOsmWIOuEGrv2FOUENOUZ3m9Uk0aB3ayelQB1f_HFIsv3DEAIvruG66CwfK0SPNLTETrB82zJwUaBWeaR8Ggh7ybRDajDlcPguSsQXIuJrdmH5Gn_YKI9rEav_YwwP4TvKDi2mJwIVWPTBrn9OVVTfoA==] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103334022292&s=6053&e=001meFQbqpFinF4pCLN54fzrgOo89dB7Ijjew_PYUz-ajEdtRh9obwKjAX-5CR6PMNAuy93KJmeIBLYR9Sj_oYqlERFBTDcfGtd] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Southwest to inspect tugs for safety switch fault Southwest Airlines is performing a fleet-wide check of its baggage tugs after a runaway vehicle damaged the engines and fuselage of an aircraft leaving the gate at the Los Angeles International Airport on 9 April. Southwest ordered the check after investigators found a faulty safety switch on the errant tug and others at Los Angeles. According to the US National Transportation Safety Board's initial report on the incident, Southwest Flight 579, a Boeing 737-300 (N624SW) with 109 passengers and crew was being pushed back from the terminal on a flight to Tucson when the incident occurred Friday evening. The airline tells the NTSB that the tug driver exited the vehicle to handle bags without first engaging the emergency brake or turning off its electric motor. "The employee stated that he picked up one of the bags and placed it on the passenger's seat of the unoccupied tug," says the NTSB. "Then, as the employee was handling the second transfer bag, he observed that the tug had moved, and it was proceeding in the direction of a hydrant fuelling cart that was parked between gates 3 and 5." According to Southwest employees on the scene, the tug initially hit the hydrant fuelling cart, then continued at what some said was "full speed" until hitting N624SW's left engine, impacting the left side of the aircraft and belly as it passed underneath. The tug then stopped after hitting the aircraft's right engine. The captain shut down the right engine and the aircraft was towed back to the terminal, according to the report. NTSB says damage to the aircraft includes "dented, punctured, and lacerated skin panels in the left wing-to-body nacelle and in the airplane's belly", adding that "no definitive determination has been made regarding the extent of internal structural damage". On the tug, the NTSB determined that a "deadman" switch, a weight-activated device that opens an electric circuit when the tug's driver's seat is unoccupied, had failed. "The initial Safety Board conducted survey of other tugs operated by Southwest Airlines revealed similar malfunctions of deadman switches in baggage tugs at LAX. Southwest Airlines is performing a fleet-wide survey of its tugs to ascertain whether similar anomalies exist at other airports it services." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ASH CLOUD: Crisis leaves lessons to be learned As the dust begins to settle on the volcanic ash cloud crisis, industry experts are highlighting two major lessons that can be learned to help protect airlines from similar events in the future: regulations governing cross-border mergers should be relaxed and cash is king. The six-day shutdown of European airspace resulting from the ash cloud cost airlines $1.7 billion, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association. Carriers based in Europe were "disproportionately impacted" by the event because they have been prevented from spreading their geographical risk through global mergers, says Brian Pearce, chief economist at IATA. "US, Asian and Middle Eastern carriers with flights into Europe have seen their revenues impacted but they have networks elsewhere," says Pearce. "If it was any other global industry there would be production facilities in other countries, but because of the regulatory restrictions that prevent cross-border mergers airlines are not allowed to spread the risk." Pearce adds that for risk mitigation purposes "there is a strong reason to review the regulatory structure that prevents European airlines from becoming global". Chris Tarry, chief executive of consultancy CTaira, believes the ash cloud crisis will hammer home to airlines the importance of maintaining strong cash reserves to enable them to cope with unforeseen events. "There's lots of talk about the effect on profits but it's the effect on cash that's key," says Tarry. "This all shows why cash is so important in this business. There is no magic figure for what the right amount is, but more is better than less." Airlines with weak cash reserves will find it "increasingly challenging" to continue operating in the aftermath of the crisis, adds Tarry, and bulking up those reserves will be tough because "very few airlines can access new money on attractive terms". Raphael Bejar, chief executive of consultancy Airsavings, says that to help improve their cash position airlines need to "push direct sales and push all extra revenues to the maximum". He adds: "The question is not to sell more, but to sell better." The potential impact on future bookings of passengers reluctant to fly due to the fear of being stranded by a similar event is difficult to predict, but Pearce points out that "when we've had these sorts of disasters in the past we've seen passengers returning". Tarry believes there could be a behavioural change among passengers and that "to encourage people to fly airlines will cut prices, so some good deals could come out of this". IATA expects the airline industry to make a speedy recovery from the losses inflicted by the ash cloud crisis, noting that "people want to fly and goods are waiting to be transported". However, the organisation believes it will take three years for the industry to recover from the effects of the global economic downturn. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cathay's deputy chairman Philip Chen resigns Cathay Pacific Airways' deputy chairman Philip Chen will resign from its board from 1 July. Chen, who was Cathay's CEO from 2005 to 2007, is leaving to "pursue his personal interests", says the Oneworld carrier. Chen has been a director at the airline since March 1997, and joined Cathay's parent Swire group in 1977. He was appointed chief operating officer of Cathay in 1998, and then CEO in 2005. Chen was replaced by current CEO Tony Tyler in 2007, when he left to oversee Swire's investment strategy in China. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC