Flight Safety Information May 26, 2010 - No. 104 In This Issue Boeing 787 makes first visit to Arizona LaHood: Aviation Advisory Committee Can Help Ensure The Health Of The Industry Flight diverted as turbulence injures passengers Polish Air Force Commander Was In Cockpit Before Presidential Plane Went Down Latest sea search of Airbus crash fails to find black boxes French Group Urges New Search of Crash Site Sikorsky Aircraft Successfully Flies Helicopter At 180 Knots LAX inaugurates new cross-field taxiway American Airlines training managers to replace flight attendants Landsberg stresses safety to Aero Club Iraq considers dissolving airline over row with Kuwait Bolivia grounds Aerosur and LAB aircraft over safety concerns ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boeing 787 makes first visit to Arizona Boeing's fourth flight-test 787, ZA004, lands at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. (Boeing) Boeing's fourth 787 Dreamliner, ZA004, flew to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport this past weekend for "a short series of tests that require a combination of hot weather and low-altitude conditions," the company reported Tuesday. Boeing expects the stay to last just a few days. http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/207683.asp [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103437217606&s=6053&e=001d85xMG5m2KzA5daTIb6uKu9hSypNWxksHcc8EU7gTOLVQ31OGjlMk_zKA35yNDuCs2NeGyTIJEb1v1N-NbWCMY_oFsA_3yuRpyuEXe4qwoNoLa7bVi-X9N8Ljl61RhWkouLVHAvHw_aU6jKTWc5v6G9N76tr8yPC] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LaHood: Aviation Advisory Committee Can Help Ensure The Health Of The Industry DOT Secretary Opens The First Meeting Of The New Panel At the opening session of the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (pictured) charged the committee's members with helping to ensure that the U.S. aviation industry remains vital, competitive, sustainable and safe. "Today, men and women who care deeply about the future of aviation in this country come together to challenge old assumptions and tackle persistent problems in new ways," Secretary LaHood told the members meeting at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters. "I have high hopes and high expectations for what this committee of diverse experts can accomplish on behalf of the aviation industry, its workforce and consumers." The committee, formally established in April, grew out of a forum last November hosted by Secretary LaHood on the future of the U.S. aviation industry. The committee is charged with providing information, advice, and recommendations to the Secretary on ensuring the competitiveness of the U.S. aviation industry and its capability to address the evolving transportation needs, challenges and opportunities of the U.S. and global economy. The committee will focus principally on five issue areas: ensuring aviation safety, ensuring a world-class aviation workforce, balancing the industry's competitiveness and viability, securing stable funding for aviation systems, and addressing environmental challenges and solutions. The committee plans to meet five times over the coming year, during which it will develop its recommendations to the Secretary. FMI: www.dot.gov/faac Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flight diverted as turbulence injures passengers (CNN) -- A United Airlines jet en route from London, England, to Los Angeles, California, was diverted Tuesday to Montreal, Quebec, after turbulence injured 10 people aboard, an airline spokeswoman said. Flight 935 had departed London's Heathrow International Airport bound for Los Angeles International Airport at 10:05 a.m. (5:05 a.m. ET) carrying three pilots, 12 flight attendants and 196 passengers, spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said. But the Boeing 777, which was to have landed at 1:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. ET), encountered severe turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean and landed instead at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, she said. The injured people -- nine passengers and a crew member -- were taken to an area hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening and will stay in Montreal. The remaining passengers and crew were to travel to Los Angeles aboard an aircraft that was being sent to Montreal from Chicago, Illinois, McCarthy said. The airline's website estimated their arrival in Los Angeles at 8:02 p.m. (11:02 p.m. ET). The jet that encountered the turbulence was to be inspected for possible damage, McCarthy said. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Polish Air Force Commander Was In Cockpit Before Presidential Plane Went Down No Evidence Of Pilot Being Pressured To Attempt Landing The commander of the Polish Air Force was in the cockpit of the plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and other officials before it went down short of the runway in heavy fog in western Russia last month. Polish envoy to the investigating committee Edmund Klich confirmed that General Andrzej Blasik was in the cockpit of the plane a few minutes before it crashed. Bloomberg News reports that Klich made the statement Monday night on the Polish private television channel TVN. He reportedly said that, while there was no direct pressure to land placed on the pilot, "everyone would feel pressure in such a situation." Kaczynski, his wife, and many of his cabinet members and other high government officials were traveling to Russia for the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre, in which 22,000 Polish POW's were killed by Josif Stalin's secret police in 1940. Investigators have determined that the left wing of the Tupolev TU-154 struck a birch tree on final approach and disintegrated in just a few seconds, killing all on board. FMI: www.pansa.pl/index.php?lang=_eng Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Latest sea search of Airbus crash fails to find black boxes (AFP) - French crash investigators have failed to find the black boxes from an Air France jet that plunged into the Atlantic and do not yet know whether their hunt will continue, their agency said Tuesday. Flight AF447 between Rio and Paris was lost almost exactly one year ago when it plunged into the ocean killing all 228 people on board. The French air accident investigation agency said the latest phase of its undersea search for the jet's flight data recorders had drawn a blank and the search would halt for at least a month. Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103437217606&s=6053&e=001d85xMG5m2Ky2cn6Rkcrz7ZlqDT039Ce5VwbniLlzTWh5O-15QEtBHjHUCwYwGhEbD2GtpJHNlOa3KScx4tg0Ob8uILdS-u1LZ_hzq_lE7X8mc0JRkErNmg==] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103437217606&s=6053&e=001d85xMG5m2KwMsd6KOxPlxzrzL4AsJOJJNlaCTkd-8ReVCFSh4feNRaFjIG9o0hsFtr5aNeZNmKiuILcWm59cjVRwMHXB8IRf] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ French Group Urges New Search of Crash Site PARIS (AP) - An association representing families of some of the 228 people who died aboard an Air France jet that crashed in the mid-Atlantic last year urged the French government on Tuesday to conduct a new search for the bulk of the plane after the latest one failed to find any trace of the wreckage. "We absolutely have to find that plane and its black boxes," said Jean-Baptiste Audousset, president of Entraide et Solidarité AF447, a group representing relatives of French victims of the crash. "This is not only of importance to the families, but for everyone. For the sake of aviation safety, we need to find out what happened in those final 14 minutes to know if something can be done to prevent this from happening again." French air accident investigators late Monday ordered a Norwegian search boat equipped with specialized underwater drones and submarines to return to port in Recife, Brazil, after a three-week search of more than 1,200 square miles of seabed, said Alain Guilldou, a spokesman for France's Bureau of Investigations and Analyses. Leases on the boat and search equipment had run out, he said, forcing the bureau's team of 50 specialists to abandon the effort, at least for now. Investigators interrupted their hunt for a week earlier this month after the French Navy said it believed that the wreckage was about 40 miles to the southwest. The navy based its hypothesis on a new analysis of sonar recordings made in the weeks after the crash on June 1, 2009. That analysis appeared to reveal the signal from at least one of the "pingers" attached to the jet's two flight recorders. But a thorough scan of an 80-square-mile area identified by the navy proved fruitless, and the search of the original zone resumed on May 13. Mr. Guilldou did not rule out the possibility of a new search for the wreckage of the plane, an Airbus A330 that went down in heavy thunderstorms on a flight to Paris from Rio de Janeiro. Searches last year recovered more than 600 pieces of debris and 51 bodies, but the flight recorders and the bulk of the wreckage have not been found. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sikorsky Aircraft Successfully Flies Helicopter At 180 Knots Marks Milestone IN Quest To Be World's Fastest Sikorsky Aircraft said today that it successfully flew its X2 demonstrator helicopter at 181 knots, the latest milestone in the Stratford company's quest to create the world's fastest helicopter. The latest test flight took place today at a Sikorsky facility in West Palm Beach, Fla. In a previous test flight, the X2 flew at more than 168 knots. The current top speed for single-rotor helicopters of similar size and weight to the X2 is 160 knots, according to Sikorsky. The X2 has two rotors. Sikorsky, a division of United Technologies Corp., hopes to create a helicopter that can cruise at 250 knots. It expects to attempt that speed this summer. "The X2 Technology demonstrator today exceeded average helicopter speeds of a conventional helicopter, generally 160-170 knots," Jim Kagdis, Program Manager, Sikorsky Advanced Programs, said in a statement released by the company. "The demonstrator is proving out the technologies very well, from the active vibration control system to the fly-by-wire controls. There are no show-stoppers here so far, and now the program turns a corner, as this completes phase three of four. We are flying forward to the 250-knot cruise speed." http://articles.courant.com/ Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LAX inaugurates new cross-field taxiway The route will reduce congestion resulting from ground traffic of new, larger jetliners, including the Airbus A380. With the help of a giant Airbus A380 jetliner, city officials Monday inaugurated a new cross-field taxiway at Los Angeles International Airport that is designed to improve the safety and efficiency of moving aircraft on the ground. Situated west of the Tom Bradley International Terminal, the $88-million taxiway is 3,437 feet long and wide enough to accommodate the largest commercial planes as they travel between the north and south runway complexes. The taxiway is one of several modernization projects underway at LAX, the third-busiest airport in the nation. The ribbon of concrete provides an alternative to the current cross-field routes, which were too narrow to allow an Airbus A380 to clear aircraft on the adjoining taxiway. The A380 has a wingspan almost as long as a football field. In addition to the A380, the 100-foot-wide taxiway can handle the next generation of large wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 747-8 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Officials for LAX and the Federal Aviation Administration say the new route will help reduce aircraft congestion that would result from construction of the Bradley West project, which includes new gates, new concourses and a great central hall filled with restaurants and concessions. That work requires closing and relocating two existing cross-field taxiways immediately west of the Bradley terminal to make room for the improvements. Those taxiways will be widened and strengthened to handle larger jets. "This is the first enabling project for the Bradley West," said Gina Marie Lindsey, director of Los Angeles World Airports. "It is also the first taxiway at LAX designed for the largest aircraft." For Monday's ceremony, Qantas supplied an A380 that was en route from Australia. It landed on one of the airport's southern runways and then moved along the new taxiway to reach its gate on the north side of the Bradley terminal. As the plane headed to the terminal, the airport's firefighting units heralded the opening of the taxiway with plumes from their water cannons. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/25/local/la-me-taxiway-20100525 Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ American Airlines training managers to replace flight attendants American AirlinesInc. wants to train 4,000 managers to replace its flight attendants in case Association of Professional Flight Attendants members walk off the job. American spokeswoman Missy Latham said the carrier sent messages to Dallas-Fort Worth area managers Monday asking for volunteers to undergo training as flight attendants. It informed flight attendants Tuesday. The latest round of contract talks ended last week without an agreement. The carrier talked to the Federal Aviation Administrationin early 2010 about the possibility of using replacements and dusted off the training program it used before the last APFA strike in November 1993. FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said the agency probably will sit in on classes as American trains the replacements. "There are specific tasks that any flight attendant must be able to accomplish," Lunsford said. "We'll be closely monitoring any such training." Latham said American is still pushing for a negotiated agreement that rewards flight attendants while keeping American healthy. However, "we also have a commitment to our customers and those who depend on us every day to keep the airline flying," she said. "For that reason, the company has created a contingency plan for staffing flights should APFA decide to take a lawful job action." APFA president Laura Glading said American is discussing putting replacements through "a mere 17 days of training." "American management - and more importantly the flying public - have to recognize that less than two and a half weeks of training is not a substitute for years of experience," she said. Lengthy process The airline and union have been in contract talks since mid-2008 and in mediated negotiations overseen by the National Mediation Boardsince early 2009. APFA officials in March asked the board to declare an impasse and release both sides from mediation. That would start a 30-day cooling-off period, after which the union could strike. Instead, the mediation board on April 14 told American and the union to return to the table for more talks. Those negotiations ended Friday without a deal, and the board has not yet set times for additional discussions. Strike authorized The union last week announced that more than 96 percent of its members who voted had cast ballots in favor of authorizing a strike. Latham pointed to the union's action as justification for what American is now doing. "This effort is in response to APFA's announcement of the results of their strike authorization ballot, their desire to be released from mediation, and takes into account the lead time necessary for development and completion of the company's training program," she said. Airline analyst Michael Derchin of CRT Capital Group predicted Tuesday that any flight attendant strike would be "many months away." "If you read the headlines and stories yesterday, it read like the flight attendants will be released soon," Derchin wrote in a research note. "We believe that is NOT the case." He said his sources have told him that the mediation board will wait to see if Transport Workers Unionworkers approve or three tentative contract agreements that cover about half of the union's 25,000 members at American. "If the TWU rank and file reject the tentative agreements, according to my sources, the NMB is likely to release the TWU first," he wrote, "then after those contracts are resolved, release the flight attendants. So we are many months away from the flight attendant negotiations being declared an impasse." http://www.dallasnews.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103437217606&s=6053&e=001d85xMG5m2KxRHd8_jGWlLMwQnWddEongkETPNRtmr1SG92gdDJ8ScRpf3k70uAN2xuRURJ8j_kpn9uUcCobNNfuy0oqAlJ3nhCM_iCnyWRG7Ws1amv_DOg==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Landsberg stresses safety to Aero Club Bruce Landsberg, new president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Air Safety Foundation, was in Wichita on Wednesday speaking about the importance of increasing safety among pilots. Landsberg, who spoke at a Wichita Aero Club Luncheon, said the foundation will be increasing its efforts to provide training and safety seminars around the country to help lower the number of general aviation accidents. Landsberg also touched on the importance of training new pilots, whose numbers he said are declining. And, he said, the entire industry can work together to find ways to get more trained pilots into the cockpit, thereby increasing demand for the planes built by Wichita's aircraft-makers. "We don't have to go it alone," he said. "Collectively, I think we are smarter than we are individually." Read more: Landsberg stresses safety to Aero Club - Wichita Business Journal Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Iraq considers dissolving airline over row with Kuwait Iraq's council of ministers dissolves Iraqi Airways Kuwait wants reparations from 1990 invasion by Saddam Hussein A British court froze the assets of Iraqi Airways Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi council of ministers has decided to dissolve Iraqi Airways and liquidate its assets after the airline dropped flights to England and Sweden in a row with Kuwait over war reparations. Aqeel Kawther, a transportation ministry spokesman, said that the decision was made Tuesday, but implemented Wednesday. The move came amid pressure from Kuwait, which claims that Iraq stole its fleet of airlines in the 1990 invasion. A British court recently froze the airline's assets at the request of Kuwait Airways Corporation. Kuwait says that when then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's army invaded the country, they stole about $1.2 billion in aircraft and parts. The move to dissolve Iraqi Airways came less than a month after Iraq flew its first commercial flight to the United Kingdom in 20 years. On April 25, the passport of the airline's head Captain Kifah Hassan was seized. He was eventually allowed to return home. "We were pleased to return Capt Kifah's passport and wish him Godspeed on his way back home. We trust that he will be able to fully comply with the order for disclosure of worldwide assets when back at his desk with all his files to hand and will be fully briefed for his return to England for cross examination," said the law firm Fasken Martineau, that is representing Kuwait Airways Corporation. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bolivia grounds Aerosur and LAB aircraft over safety concerns The Bolivian government has grounded two Aerosur Boeing 727-200s after a routine inspection detected technical failures. Bolivian authorities have also grounded the only aircraft, also a 727-200, owned by LAB, which is in the process of liquidating. A Bolivian civil aviation authority source confirms the grounding, saying that the aircraft will be "released for service as soon as the operators prove that the shortcomings have been fixed". An Aerosur spokesman tells ATI that both aircraft had already been grounded by the airline itself several days before the official inspection, dismissing the government's decision as "aimed at discrediting Aerosur to benefit [state owned carrier] Boliviana de Aviación". The government put Aerosur under special technical and operational surveillance in February after a nearly 30 year old Boeing 727-200, CP-2498 [one of the aircraft grounded again this week], operating Aerosur flight 557 from Santa Cruz to Miami suffered multiple system failures while overflying Northern Bolivia, forcing it to perform an emergency landing. After determining the Aerosur incident was the latest of 18 727-related incidents in six months, the Bolivian government decided to ban from 2011 all aircraft older than 25 years from operating scheduled commercial passenger flights. The mandatory retirement of all passenger aircraft built before 1986 in 2011 will affect Aerosur the most. Its fleet includes 10 Boeing 727 aircraft, six of which are already grounded. Aerosur also operates four Boeing 737-200s and a 767-200ER built in 1984, which is normally used for flights to Miami. An Aerosur spokesman says that the company "is already immersed in a major fleet rollover to Boeing 737-300 and -400 aircraft". Currently the airline operates a single 737-300. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC