Flight Safety Information May 20, 2010 - No. 099 In This Issue Polish Tu-154M crew ignored low visibility warnings: investigators FAA probing 'anomalies' in Hobby airspace 'Second most deadly': Air France slammed over safety FAA moves to establish research center of excellence for airport safety technology Non-crew heard in Polish aircraft cockpit before crash FAA expedites windshield inspection order after cockpit fire FAA proposes $1.55 million fine on FedEx for maintenance lapse AIG Names Ex-Airbus Executive Courpron CEO of ILFC Check out our new updated website!... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Polish Tu-154M crew ignored low visibility warnings: investigators The flightcrew of the Polish air force Tupolev Tu-154M that crashed at Smolensk, Russia on 10 April had ignored repeated warnings that the visibility in fog was well below minimums for the approach, according to an initial factual report released by the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK). There was nothing wrong with the aircraft, its engines or the navigation aids at Smolensk North aerodrome, the report says. The flight was carrying Polish president Lech Kaczynski and a large delegation of senior figures from the country's government and institutions to attend a remembrance ceremony for Polish lives lost in the Katyn massacre at the end of the Second World War. All 96 people on board were killed when the aircraft hit trees on the approach and crashed. The report says that the cockpit door was open at the time of the crash, and that there were two non-crew people on the flight deck, one of whom has been identified but is not named in the report. Despite being warned that the 400m horizontal and 50m vertical visibility was insufficient to land, the Tu-154 crew requested permission to carry out a trial approach to the decision height of 100m, and was cleared to do this. The type of approach guidance the crew used is not stated in the report, but a trial flight on the same route three days before had found the airport's precision approach radar (PAR) serviceable, and the weather minimums provided to the crew on the day would have been appropriate for a PAR. The report says the approach was initiated with autopilot and authrottle engaged. There was a "pull up" warning from the terrain awareness warning system 18s before the aircraft's first collision with an obstacle, and the pilot initiated a go-around just prior to impact with a tree at 8m height about 1,200m from the runway threshold. The aircraft then suffered more damage from trees and the fuselage hit the ground inverted. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA probing 'anomalies' in Hobby airspace The Federal Aviation Administration this week launched a review of procedures at Hobby Airport's control tower after general aviation aircraft and Southwest Airlines jets twice came dangerously close to one another in little more than a week. "Essentially, we've got a team at Houston and they are evaluating pretty much everything about air traffic handled in the Hobby area," said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford. "We have robust procedures in place, and we want to make sure those procedures are adequate." FAA inspectors will seek to determine if the airport's control tower is adequately staffed at peak traffic times and whether it is adequately equipped. They conceivably could recommend changes in procedure, or, if necessary, order additional training for control tower staff, Lunsford said. Lunsford said the review, which began Monday and should be completed within a week, was prompted by two "anomalies" in Hobby airspace. The first was an April 28 near-mid-air collision between a Southwest Airlines jet and a television news helicopter. In that incident, which also is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, the helicopter flew over and in front of the jet, which was taking off. Air controllers had cleared both aircraft for takeoff. Lunsford said the aircraft were 200 feet apart horizontally and 100 feet apart vertically. FAA regulations require aircraft stay 1.5 miles apart horizontally and 500 feet vertically. The Southwest pilot safely maneuvered his jet beneath the helicopter, Lunsford said. The second incident, described as an "operational error" happened May 6 when a single-engine Cessna 182 engaged in commercial photography was traveling through Hobby airspace - roughly between Ellington Field and the Texas Medical Center - when it crossed the path of a Southwest Airlines jet making its final landing approach. Lunsford said controllers cleared both aircraft, but did not advise either pilot of the other craft's presence. Only a horizontal mile and 400 vertical feet separated the aircraft when the Cessna pilot spotted the jet and veered sharply to the right. Simultaneously, Lunsford said, the Southwest jet's terminal collision avoidance system alerted the pilot to the Cessna's presence. The jet's pilot aborted his landing, adding power and pulling the plane to a higher altitude. Lunsford said it is not certain that the planes would have collided if neither pilot had altered course. No one was injured in either incident. Lunsford said Hobby is typical of most of the nation's airports in that it serves both private pilots and commercial airlines. City aviation records show Hobby - served by Southwest and four other air carriers - handled 8,538 commercial flights and 6,592 general aviation flights in March, the most recent month for which data is available. George Bush Intercontinental Airport, by comparison, handled 20,873 commercial flights and 1,100 general aviation flights during March. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7012408.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103421608083&s=6053&e=001AQVHQfQFZcxrXYQYJ4dZ0nkYgy8PPdXIStqbHYCYp0aW3IWMT3GifOnJLU6KXMqtxyFIGGZ_4ThVuKmTBcOc4QVt3SXWfrSJKSJ2toG7v1FBOHbyjFOaRa__aeDU162FDkmCobj1nz4kFYhvK-nYkrAkgxIhJunXKmH8__4SLd8=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'Second most deadly': Air France slammed over safety AFP - Air France-KLM's safety record came under harsh scrutiny yesterday as a shock new book added to the problems facing Europe's biggest airline as it announced record losses. The company's recent record of disastrous crashes was already on the front pages of the press even as executives announced losses of 1.55 billion euros ($A2.26 billion) between March 2009 and March 2010. The Hidden Face of Air France, an investigation by journalist Fabrice Amedeo into what he alleges are failures in Air France's management culture, accuses Air France executives of having a lax attitude to flight safety. Air France rejects the allegations. Air France flights have fallen victim to several accidents in recent years and, according to the French daily Liberation, statistics compiled online rank its safety record as only the 65th best in the world. And with 1783 fatalities in its history, according to a tally compiled by the Swiss-based website "Aircraft Crashes Record Office", Air France has been the second most deadly airline for passengers after Russia's Aeroflot. Germany's Lufthansa, which is of similar size and age, is in 43rd place. In June last year Air France flight 447 from Rio to Paris broke apart and plunged into the Atlantic with the loss of all 228 people on board. The cause of the crash has not been officially determined, but investigators found that cockpit flight computers were receiving incorrect airspeed readings and Air France has since replaced speed probes on its other jets. An undersea search has so far failed to find the missing black box flight data recorders, but lawyers acting for the victims' families have accused the airline of knowingly flying with probes known to be at risk of icing up. In the new book, Amedeo suggests the pilots might have been able to save the flight if their Airbus A330 had been equipped with a safety system known as a BUSS of a type Lufthansa fitted to all its planes in 2008. In July 2000 an Air France Concorde supersonic airliner caught fire after take off from Paris and exploded, killing all 113 on board. In August 2005, and Air France flight into Toronto skidded on the runway on arrival and broke apart. Miraculously, no-one was killed. "Air France has a fleet of ultramodern planes, and its pilots are among the best in the world ... but its safety statistics are those of a second division company," writes Amedeo in his book. "The problem appears not to be technical but cultural," he says, accusing the airline's executives of a "certain laxity" in responding to incidents and adapting their safety procedures. The company responded to Liberation's account of the book with a statement. "Air France's safety standards meet the most stringent requirements in the international aviation industry," it said. "Air France is continuously working on improving flight safety which has always been one of its main priorities." Air France shares were trading down 4.61 per cent on the Paris exchange as markets awaited confirmation of the annual results, which were expected to be the company's worst since its 2004 merger with Dutch carrier KLM. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA moves to establish research center of excellence for airport safety technology WASHINGTON, 20 May 2010. Leaders of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Washington are making plans to establish a research center of excellence for airport safety technology. FAA research centers of excellence are partnerships with colleges and universities to operate regional centers of air transportation excellence. These centers may contract with others to conduct crucial research and development to improve U.S. and global commercial airline transportation. The FAA is scheduling a public meeting on the soon-to-be-established FAA Center of Excellence for Airport Safety Technology for 8 July 2010 at the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J., which is adjacent to the Atlantic City International Airport. Sponsors of the public meeting are the FAA Air Transportation Center of Excellence Program Office and the FAA Office of Airports. To register for the meeting, or for more information, provide your name, title, organization, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number to Dr. Patricia Watts, the FAA grants officer and the national COE program director, by e-mail at patricia.watts@faa.gov, or by post at Contracts Branch, ACM-510, Attn. Patricia Watts, Atlantic City International Airport, Atlantic City, N.J. 08405. The FAA today supervises seven centers of excellence (COE) and associated advisory boards: the COE for Research in the Intermodal Transport Environment (RITE); the Joint Center for Advanced Materials Research (JAMS); the COE for Aircraft Noise and Aviation Emissions Mitigation (PARTNER); the COE for General Aviation (CGAR); the COE for Airport Technology (CEAT); the COE for Operations Research (NEXTOR); and the COE for Airworthiness Assurance (AACE). More information about the public meeting on the proposed FAA Center of Excellence for Airport Safety Technology is online at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOT/FAA/WJHTC/10-C-COAST-P/listing.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103421608083&s=6053&e=001AQVHQfQFZcxb_9eAtLyABGxaYkN653cz_dWREsq99Tb4UB59kEp0XtH354kOcV4NWGt29cU3qZ2catxtjCCDHWOy51SRw5njLwgdyEyCFAvsYp6MpcaqkQxw3yO6N1eAKVVKG7xkctIhA7niZ1v5tv2qD6V-VKTTsNIQ-qYzTcxLSZgf-HYpJw==]. http://www.militaryaerospace.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103421608083&s=6053&e=001AQVHQfQFZcyLBJTsUX_R6sNIIzCOzRwblyEmGjIgcCFDqsuMum5rUvgpEMZXaXNwZgipKIbc6s8zp8GaLEmChw9-f6VtDRrx5v9s1K1siVBM3-_KwJzGQmVJeT3kKXiUj0AtabCMStppippbUIm7T_oU0LL2jK34adzQrcz39GpOCk-TN56_rIZT3iqz4HENtS9OkLn_tLu2PC2iXIF3LtspXWcr6u2TbPCiqKdYuWblfxCWMqYQ7kYjvCVKxKhv3w2CdLeRHDJgSNUn4pKI0fVCZr3lHusYi9BWmxqOYRitiNvMJRWtpw==] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103421608083&s=6053&e=001AQVHQfQFZczeG2urpeoCp1TN7r5obcYnMocdGur4oSxFnQ2XXcyG4b1GlSuCNqU_5EXpDzfmzxxpg15wCWZ0ydbjNPvDViA_] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Non-crew heard in Polish aircraft cockpit before crash Two non-crew members were in the cockpit of the Polish government Tu-154 airliner before it crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing Polish president Lech Kaczynski and 95 others, investigators said yesterday. The crew apparently disregarded repeated warnings about low visibility at the Smolensk Severny airport before beginning their ill-fated landing attempt on the morning of April 10, officials leading the investigation said. They also said that the aircraft was not brought down by a technical failure or an act of terrorism. Edmund Klich, the Polish representative on the team, said flight deck recordings did not give the impression that the crew had been under pressure to land. However, Tatyana Anodina, the Russian official heading the investigation, said that the issue of whether the crew was encouraged to land still had to be determined. There has been speculation that the pilot had been ordered to land rather than divert to another airport, despite the poor conditions, because the event was so important for Kaczynski. The Polish president was at the head of a large delegation travelling to the Katyn forest, not far from Smolensk, where the Soviets murdered thousands of Polish prisoners of war 70 years ago. Donald Tusk, prime minister and Kaczynski's rival, had been at Katyn earlier that week, and the president needed a public relations success to boost his flagging campaign to win a second presidential term. Kaczynski had tried to force the crew of a government aircraft to land in Georgia during the 2008 war with Russia, and after the pilot refused, accused him of cowardice. Although investigators did not reveal the identity of the two voices in the cockpit, PAP, the Polish news agency - citing a source close to the inquiry - said one belonged to Gen Andrzej Blasik, the head of the Polish air force. The cockpit door was open when the aircraft crashed. The crew of the Russian-built Tu-154 airliner were twice warned by the control tower that visibility at the airport was only 400 metres, below the 1,000 metres considered safe. The crew of a Polish air force Yak-40, which had landed at Smolensk earlier that day, warned the Tu-154 four minutes before the crash that visibility was 200 metres. The aircraft's proximity warning system was also functioning, issuing a "pull up" alert 18 seconds before the Tu-154 clipped the first object on the ground. The airliner crashed six seconds later. It had been carrying 19 tonnes of fuel, enough to allow it to continue circling Smolensk or divert to another airport. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b694cc2a-63a6-11df-a32b-00144feab49a.html Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA expedites windshield inspection order after cockpit fire Washington (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration is expediting an order requiring airlines to inspect windshield heaters on Boeing jets following an incident Sunday in which a fire broke out in the cockpit of a United Airlines B-757, shattering the plane's windshield and forcing an emergency landing. The FAA said an investigation into Sunday's incident is ongoing, and that the cause of the fire has not been established. But it said the incident prompted the agency to review the windshield heater issue and to speed up the inspection order. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency will issue the order "as fast as possible," but that the date is still unclear. Originally, it was to be released in August. Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Boardare investigating whether Sunday's fire aboard United flight 27 is related to the windshield heater or some other cause. The plane, traveling from New York to Los Angles, California, was about a half hour into its flight when a fire broke out near the plane's windshield, shattering the windshield in "a loud explosion," passenger Joe Frank said the pilot later told him. The pilots donned oxygen masks, declared an emergency and landed at Dulles International Airport near Washington. None of the plane's 105 passengers or seven crew members was injured. According to the entertainment website E! Online, several celebrities were on the flight, including actress Ashley Olsen, her actor boyfriend Justin Bartha, "Californication" actress Pamela Adlon and Jarrod Spector of Broadway's "Jersey Boys." Since 2004, at least six incidents involving smoke and in some cases fire have originated from window heating systems in B-757 aircraft, according to the NTSB. Most incidents ended without injury, but a pilot was cut by flying glass and passengers suffered smoke inhalation in 2008 aboard an American Airlines B-757 flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The plane made an emergency landing in West Palm Beach, Florida. Based on those incidents, the NTSB recommended that the FAA require the installation of redesigned window heating systems in all Boeing 747, 757, 767 and 777 aircraft. FAA officials said Boeing has issued voluntary service bulletins addressing the issue. Though airlines typically follow service bulletins, a United Airlines spokesman said Tuesday it was not immediately known if the aircraft involved in Sunday's incident had been inspected in accordance with the bulletin. The order to be issued by the FAA -- an airworthiness directive -- is a mandatory order. It will require airlines to either conduct routine inspections of the windshield heaters or to replace them, the FAA said. "We're very encouraged by the fact that the FAA has indicated a willingness to expedite (the order)," said Scott Shankland, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airline pilots. "From a pilot's perspective, I can tell you that truly the worst problem you can have onboard an aircraft is a fire, particularly in the cockpit." Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA proposes $1.55 million fine on FedEx for maintenance lapse Federal Express should pay $1.55 million for failing to follow its airplane maintenance program in accordance with regulations, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday. FedEx failed to ensure use of approved standards, inspections and time limitations for 14 cargo unit load devices used on its airplanes starting in early 2008, the FAA charged. It said the proposed fine addresses 124 flights from March 20 to April 17, 2008. "When it comes to maintenance, it's unacceptable for any air carrier not to meet the FAA's standards," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a news release. The FAA said its inspectors noticed the problem during a routine surveillance in March 2008 and told FedEx about it on March 20, 2008, but FedEx didn't address the issue until April 17, 2008. FedEx has 30 days to respond to the proposed fine. http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/206498.asp Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AIG Names Ex-Airbus Executive Courpron CEO of ILFC May 19 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc. named Henri Courpron, a former Airbus SAS manager, to be chief executive officer of the bailed-out insurer's plane-leasing unit and expand its fleet of aircraft. Courpron, 47, takes over as CEO of International Lease Finance Corp. from Alan Lund, who held the post on an interim basis after the retirement of John Plueger in March, less than two months after founder Steven Udvar-Hazy stepped down. Courpron will work in Los Angeles, where ILFC is based, according to a statement today from AIG. ILFC regained access to outside funding this year after being shut out of the credit markets because of downgrades of New York-based AIG, which needed a 2008 government rescue that swelled to $182.3 billion. AIG on May 7 opted for the first time in four quarters against extending the period in which it is committed to supporting ILFC, saying the unit's finances improved after selling planes and accessing debt markets. "Having stabilized the company's financial position, ILFC is now ready to begin growing its fleet," AIG CEO Robert Benmosche said in the statement. Benmosche said Courpron is "one of the aviation industry's most experienced leaders." Courpron will earn a base cash salary of $975,000 a year and stock salary of $1.68 million that rises to $3.23 million in 2012 under a long-term performance program, ILFC said in a filing. His annual incentive target is $2.75 million for this year and 2011, the firm said. Courpron will be reimbursed for expenses tied to moving from France, ILFC said. 'Newly Obtained Flexibility' Courpron's aviation career started 23 years ago at Aérospatiale + Airbus-France, and he held positions through 2007 including executive vice president of procurement and CEO of Airbus North America Holdings, AIG said. He was most recently a president at the Seabury Group, an aviation advisory and investment banking firm. ILFC, with about 1,000 aircraft, is among the biggest customers for Boeing Co. and Airbus. ILFC raised about $8 billion in March and April as the insurer issued debt and amended credit facilities, Mark Herr, a spokesman for AIG, said today in an e-mail. The insurer "will use this newly obtained flexibility to build the company," he said. Credit-default swaps used to hedge against losses on ILFC debt jumped 50 basis points to a mid-price of 625 basis points, the highest since March 9, according to broker Phoenix Partners Group. The swaps typically climb when investor confidence wanes. No Extension AIG said this month it intends to provide support to ILFC and a consumer-lending unit through Feb. 28, 2011, the same date the company gave in its annual report in February. "At the current time AIG believes that any further extension of such support will not be necessary," the insurer said. AIG had previously announced three-month extensions in August and November of last year and February of this year. Benmosche, 65, told employees shortly after joining AIG in August that he would build businesses rather than liquidating them. In March he announced deals to raise about $51 billion by divesting two life insurance divisions, which he said put AIG "on a path" to repaying taxpayers. ILFC posted a $56 million operating loss in the three months through March 31 on an impairment charge tied to aircraft sales, compared with the unit's $316 million profit in the year-earlier period, AIG said May 7. The unit agreed in April to sell 53 planes for about $2 billion. Courpron's long-term-performance compensation is subject to approval from the office of Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration's special master on executive pay, AIG said. Feinberg controls pay for AIG's 25 highest-paid employees and instituted a $500,000 base salary cap for most workers. He has made exceptions for those deemed critical to AIG's success, including Benmosche, whose compensation totals $7 million in salary and $3.5 million in long-term incentives. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check out our new updated website! As times change, so must we. Curt Lewis & Associates has changed its online appearance, so go to www.curt-lewis.com and check it out. We hope you enjoy the fresh and updated website. While there are a few areas still under construction, if you experience any difficulties, feel free to make a comment using the "Contact Us" form. The new appearance should make it a cross-functional website for all browsers, as well as smart phones and other handheld devices. We will continue to keep you updated as new features are added. Thanks, Darwin Copsey, MAS VP Operations / COO Curt Lewis & Associates, LLC C. 817.808.1453 Darwin@curt-lewis.com http://www.curt-lewis.com http://www.fsinfo.org Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC