Flight Safety Information June 19, 2010 - No. 121 In This Issue Pilots call for airport runway safety system FAA team to...assess Indian aviation safety NASA partners with FAA to study fatigue No restrictions on An-148 after in-flight upset Oil Spill Congestion Prompts Gulf Flight Limits 787 Moves Closer To 777 Commonality Approval Concorde Trial Teaches No Air-Safety Lessons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pilots call for airport runway safety system A United Express airplane went off the runway after touching down Wednesday afternoon in Ottawa. (CBC) A crushable concrete system at the end of runways can slow planes dramatically and should be mandatory at all Canadian airports, the chair of the Air Canada Pilots Association's safety division says. Barry Wiszniowski said the safety measure, called an engineered material arresting system, or EMAS, could have prevented the mishap at Ottawa's Macdonald-Cartier International Airport on Wednesday. A Trans States Airlines Embraer 145 aircraft with 36 people on board, operating as part of United Airlines Express, touched down Wednesday afternoon on a wet runway and was unable to stop quickly enough. It cleared the runway and wound up nose down in a grassy ditch about 500 feet from the landing strip. Two crew members and one passenger were treated for minor injuries. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the incident and is not expected to release a full report on the causes until at least six months from now. Earlier this year, however, the safety board placed runway overruns on its watch list of potential air safety problems across the country. "Airports need to lengthen the safety areas at the end of runways or install other engineered systems and structures to safely stop planes that overrun," the safety board said in March. Wiszniowski said an engineered system has the advantage of taking up less space than a runway that has simply been extended. Engineered systems are typically created using lightweight, crushable concrete that gives way under the weight of the plane, slowing it down safely. "If there would be an excursion [past the main runway] it would be like driving into a sandbox," Wiszniowski said. "The blocks of the engineered material arresting system absorb some of the energy and momentum of the aircraft, bringing it basically to a stop in the designated area." Similar to 2004 mishap Wednesday's incident was similar to a runway mishap six years ago on the same runway involving the same regional airliner. On July 14, 2004, a Trans States Airlines plane, also an Embraer 145 aircraft but operating on behalf of US Airways Express, ran off runway 07/25 and came to a rest 300 feet from the landing strip. Neither plane had thrust reversers to help it decelerate quickly. Thrust reversers are optional on this type of aircraft. In the earlier case, the Transportation Safety Board ruled the flight came in high and fast and the flight crew was slow to react to the plane's lack of deceleration. The TSB also said the flight's smooth landing contributed to the aircraft hydroplaning on touchdown. As with Wednesday's incident, it was raining that day. No one was injured in the 2004 accident. Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/06/18/ottawa-runway-incident.html#ixzz0rIqlTO3n Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA team to assess Indian aviation safety NEW DELHI: It's reality check time for Indian aviation. Last September, the aviation ministry made tall promises about strengthening the Directorate General of Civil Aviation - agency responsible for ensuring safe flying - after the US Federal Administration (FAA) had threatened to downgrade Indian aviation from the current top billing to sub-Sahara Africa levels. Now a FAA team is coming to Delhi on July 8 and 9 for "final consultation" with authorities here and seeing if the systems promised to enhance aviation safety are being put in place. "There was a list of things that we needed to do. Last September we informed FAA that the implementation process had started by getting almost 600 technical posts sanctioned along with having much needed rules for safe flying. DGCA will be made an autonomous aviation authority. This process is already in motion and hopefully we will retain the top billing," said a senior official. Asked if recent Mangalore crash will have an impact on how safety standards of Indian aviation are viewed, the official added: "It was a very unfortunate accident but should not have a bearing on the FAA rating. Indian aviation has been safe and we are now taking steps to strengthen the DGCA." Last September, FAA had expressed satisfaction over the steps India had promised to take and said if this process is actually implemented and not remain on paper alone, India would not be downgraded. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/FAA-team-to-check-out-safety-record/articleshow/6065899.cms Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NASA partners with FAA to study fatigue FAA and its air traffic controllers union have partnered with NASA to study causes and effects of fatigue on controllers. In an employee update FAA says fatigue risks have been frequently referenced by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) during the last two decades. Earlier this year FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and National Air Traffic Controllers Association president Paul Rinaldi signed a formal joint agreement encouraging controller participation in the study. The research being conducted by the NASA Ames Research Centre includes a survey of all the roughly 15,000 US controllers and a study of objective measures of sleep and alertness. FAA says all operational controllers are allowed to use duty time to take the survey. The survey specifically inquires about hours worked in a week, watch schedule patterns, the amount of break time taken, workload and stress-related fatigue, sleep patterns and fatigue self-assessments. FAA explains 3,000 controllers have completed the survey during the first two months of the study. Roughly 208 Controller volunteers have agreed to participate in a study of individual sleep and wake patterns and objectively measured alertness. During a two week period participants wear an actigrpah watch that measures activity and sleep periods over a 24h cycle, maintain a sleep and activity log and take alertness test three times during each shift. Controllers at four locations - Chicago Centre, New York Centre, Washington Centre and the JFK Tower - have already completed the objective study. Staff in Baltimore, Washington Dulles, Philadelphia International airport and the Potomac Tracon are scheduled to complete the study this month. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103496791306&s=6053&e=001LXt9cibsedpYov3pO0Ct4XwS2zgWfjzCbW1QhkwhtOwhgdCQ4sxM3zBgJuykcDqDmZuBUbYQoD8AcRBJYFUDV8cJ3CVcQg0H] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No restrictions on An-148 after in-flight upset Russian authorities are not intending to restrict Antonov An-148 operations following the in-flight upset to a Rossiya aircraft en route to St Petersburg earlier this month. After departing Moscow Vnukovo on 4 June the twin-jet was cruising at 10,600m (34,800ft), with 54 passengers and five crew members on board, when the upset occurred. Preliminary information indicates that the aircraft, conducting a night flight, suffered an uncommanded rudder deflection, and entered a steep right bank - some 56° - and pitched downwards before the crew brought the jet under control. Federal air transport agency Rosaviatsia confirms that the aircraft banked and lost height but states: "The crew promptly switched to manual control, then made a safe landing at St Petersburg Airport." Investigators from Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) states that the fault was linked to a malfunctioning control system. Inquiries discovered damaged insulation on an electrical cable which appears to have resulted in the transmission of spurious signals. MAK says that an airworthiness directive has already been issued aimed at verifying the integrity of the supply chain for An-148 production. Design bureau Antonov, Voronezh-based airframer VASO, and systems developer Moscow Institute of Electromechanics and Automation are participating in the investigation. But Rosaviatsia says that there is "no reason" to restrict the flights of the An-148, three of which are among the Rossiya fleet - including the airframe involved in the incident, RA-61701. It adds that any problems arising with the type, particularly at this early stage of its introduction to airline service, would be carefully assessed in order to implement solutions to ensure continued safe operation. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oil Spill Congestion Prompts Gulf Flight Limits, FAA Says The FAA says airspace congestion over the Gulf oil spill is creating safety concerns, and government agencies are taking action against a media flight that violated airspace rules over the Gulf. Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) have been imposed over the oil spill zone to help regulate heavy traffic caused by the cleanup effort. The FAA requires aircraft to obtain authorization to fly into the restricted zone and to stay above 3,000 ft. "The reason for these requirements is safety, pure and simple," the FAA said on June 17. "So far, there have been a number of reported near misses over the Gulf due to heavy traffic and pilots flying above the oil spill to give their passengers a closer look." On June 13, a helicopter carrying a member of the AP violated the TFR and was "flying at various altitudes well below 3,000 feet," the FAA said. For more than half an hour, the helicopter was not in communication with the Customs and Border Protection aircraft that is providing traffic advisories for aircraft in the area. CBP "was forced to divert other traffic in the area, creating a dangerous situation for everyone involved," the FAA said. "When the pilot was finally reached, he was told to leave the area." Some media outlets - including the AP -- have accused the FAA of preventing coverage of the spill. However, the FAA noted that since May 28 the agency has received 176 requests for exceptions to the TFR, and all have been approved. The FAA has been "working with news organizations and granting exceptions, so that pilots can fly at lower altitudes throughout the day." http://www.aviationweek.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103496791306&s=6053&e=001LXt9cibsedpCW8dXcfDhquoOGMs-tj3Rxe__HSpdVWT4VtOLgbOVVYdFs0IRGU7y9JOIM95640ovf28bDj1TXABCgjgatMGnoPZwW8VWwOF7A5rDtb-nCQ==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 787 Moves Closer To 777 Commonality Approval 787 test team readies for performance evaluations and service-ready demo Boeing is gearing up to start full performance tests of the 787 and is in the planning stages for a service-ready demonstration with launch customer All Nippon Airways. "We're going to try to squeeze every inch and ounce out of it," says 787 chief pilot Mike Carriker. "This is where the fun part of it" really begins, he adds. Upcoming performance work follows the completion of baseline airworthiness, structural and systems tests, as well as type inspection authorization in a program that has so far accumulated more than 930 flight hours and almost 300 flights. Progress toward the planned target of around 2,300 hr., although initially slower than expected, is picking up, says Carriker. The fifth 787 test aircraft, and the first General Electric GEnx-1B-powered aircraft, ZA005, is due to begin flying in the next week. "In the near future, we should be flying four or five aircraft per day," he says. "We think we have a good plan, and the aircraft's handling qualities are such that I think we'll get the data in hand." Carriker's confidence is based on the completion of three key milestones. Flutter testing was completed in 108 hr. during 27 days, while real-time stability margin testing of the flight control system indicated a robust design. Coupled with the completion of structural tests on static test airframe ZY997, the work showed that "at the end of it, we had ourselves a jet," says Carriker. Tests that on the 737 took 20 hr. are taking only 5 hr. on the 787. "We're doing spectacularly well, but then that's the way it has to be." Flight testing of ZA001 is due to restart later this month with artificial ice shapes on the leading edges of the wing. Following this phase, the aircraft is due to fly to Edwards AFB, Calif., for the start of extensive runway tests-such as Vmu (velocity minimum unstuck), which measures the lowest speed at which the aircraft can lift off. ZA001 is currently in lay-up while being fitted with a fresh pair of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. Prior to lay-up, the aircraft was used to prepare for the upcoming performance tests. "We ran through several dual-failure scenarios, including flying with dual hydraulic systems and with two flight control computers turned off. We've done all that sort of stuff and built in all the information to get the speed scheduling that forms the first part of the tests at Edwards AFB," says ?Carriker. ZA001 was also used to complete Vmcg (minimum control ground velocity) tests at Moses Lake, Wash., in two flights for a total of 1 hr. 50 min. Stall testing was also completed in a short time, says Carriker. "We did it all in around 2 hr., or after around 200 stalls," he adds, comparing it to the approximately 2,000 stalls conducted on the 737-600, -700, -800 and -900 family. Testing established that stall characteristics "are sublime," although Carriker says the travel of the leading edge was "tweaked a little bit" to ensure a positive pitch recovery in certain configurations. "We've also signed up to go on All Nippon Airways' service-ready demonstration toward the end of the year," he says. Boeing's engineering and training plan included bringing in two ANA pilots who "have Boeing badges and trained with Boeing pilots," says Carriker. ANA captains Masayuki Ishii, director of 787 pre-operations planning, and Masami Tsukamoto, manager of 787 pre-operations, reported "transient-free" handling qualities between various flight modes. In line with these and other demonstrations, Boeing has also proved to regulatory authorities that the 787's handling qualities are similar to the 777's, marking a milestone on the path to winning type commonality approval between the two models for crew qualification. The 787 is designed to be operationally common with the existing Boeing fleet, and with the 777 in particular. Passing the handling-quality test is therefore "a big deal," says Carriker. Boeing's goal is for 777 crews to take as few as five days of training to qualify as 787 pilots. The pilot pool for operators of 777/787 mixed fleets is the same, and the company says 787 pilots will spend less time training and more time flying. The approval is being sought in a three-step process, with T-1, the systems aspect, already passed. "We just passed the T-2 test, which proves the 787 has similar handling qualities," Carriker says. The final element, T-3, will cover validation of the training courses and involves candidate pilots taking an FAA check ride. "We've already sent 100 plus Boeing people through the course to internally validate it," he adds. The T-2 phase involved flights with six non-Boeing crew-three pilots from the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau, European Aviation Safety Agency and Transport Canada, as well as three from the FAA. All were 777 line pilots from national airlines, and were each taken through a series of flight evaluations including a standard takeoff and landing, touch-and-go and landing, and takeoff with power pulled back on one engine. Other procedures included a simulated single-engine missed approach and single-engine approach with full-stop landing. "They all said it flew like a 777; and while some said it was either a bit ?higher, low or about the same on flare forces, they all landed it on the right speeds, on the numbers and on the centerline," says Carriker. The result reflects efforts to design flight control software closely emulating 777 handling qualities, as well as careful design efforts with flight-deck systems such as the alternate flap actuator, he adds. http://www.aviationweek.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103496791306&s=6053&e=001LXt9cibsedpCW8dXcfDhquoOGMs-tj3Rxe__HSpdVWT4VtOLgbOVVYdFs0IRGU7y9JOIM95640ovf28bDj1TXABCgjgatMGnoPZwW8VWwOF7A5rDtb-nCQ==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Concorde Trial Teaches No Air-Safety Lessons In early December, a French judge will announce the Concorde trial verdict. Although not unusual for a case involving months of testimony, the long delay in rendering a verdict has already prompted speculation about the possibility of dismissing all charges against the accused despite prosecutor Bernard Farret's harsh requests. He asserts that two Continental Airlines maintenance mechanics, John Taylor and Stanley Ford, are guilty of negligence; while Henri Perrier, a Concorde program manager for many years, should have helped to fix the supersonic transport's alleged structural weaknesses. In addition, the prosecutor says the charges against two French engineers should be relaxed. The trial, which ended on May 28, further confirms that accident investigations and judiciary probes are largely incompatible. And to this observer, the uncategorizable trial was ultimately meaningless. The Mach 2 transport momentarily lost its certification in the wake of the July 25, 2000, crash at Gonesse, near Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Its fuel tanks were reinforced with Kevlar liners. Air France and British Airways restarted flights and finally ceased supersonic operations a few months later. What finally killed the Franco-British icon was not flight safety concerns but soaring fuel prices. It is just enough to say that, to cross the Atlantic, Concorde consumed about 1 metric ton of JP4 per passenger. As for the historical context, feasibility studies designed to lead to Mach 2 commercial flights began in France and in the U.K. during the 1950s in what is now a forgotten era, when oil was incredibly cheap. In other words, high fuel consumption was not considered a showstopper. In addition, engineering teams in Europe and the U.S. were still convinced that speed was the airline industry's best asset. Why plan to operate forever at Mach 0.8 when forward-looking designers were convinced that supersonic travel was feasible? France and the U.K. jointly launched the then-128-seat Concorde in November 1962 while Boeing (even more ambitiously) conceived the 2707 SST, a 200-seat-plus aircraft expected to fly even faster than Concorde. Both programs were heavily subsidized in Europe and in the U.S. To make sense of the complex case involving a crash that occurred 10 years ago, judges and lawyers had to revisit a distant past. When Aerospatiale and the British Aircraft Corp. launched Concorde, Judge Dominique Andreassier and her peers were either children or not yet born. Unfortunately, the 2707 was canceled and Concorde hardly survived the dramatic oil shock of 1973. The European initiative evolved into an expensive commercial failure, and no more than 20 aircraft were built, including prototypes. Nevertheless, Concorde became a genuine icon. This is due partly to the aircraft's sophisticated aerodynamics, which resulted in what was widely considered a work of art. The program also provided-through its audacity and self-confidence-what European industry needed to establish Airbus, whose goal was to garner a major share of the civil transport market.In short, Concorde failed but Airbus succeeded. Now this is all history and, to some extent, the trial should have been run by aviation historians. Videos available on the Internet show the last minutes of Air France Flight 4590, which crashed just after takeoff when a punctured tire threw rubber debris into the delta wing; a tank spilled fuel that quickly ignited. Two engines lost power shortly after liftoff, the pilots lost control, and the crash became inevitable. The sequence of events, as scrutinized by investigators and judges, is not in question. The tire rupture resulted from a wheel hitting a titanium wear strip, which was left on the runway minutes earlier by a Continental DC-10. During the trial, all parties denied any wrong?doing, and flight safety experts stressed that the accident was unforeseeable and could not justify a trial for involuntary manslaughter. Raising technical questions nearly half a century after Concorde's design was completed was pointless; it also underscored the grave danger of criminalizing aviation accidents. Looking beyond the public prosecutor's requisitions, the trial could have been declared null and void before it started. Reportedly, this was a possibility considered by Andreassier early this year but not publicly discussed. Now it is too late to return to Square 1, and three men risk suspended sentences and heavy fines, while Air France hopes to obtain financial compensation from Continental. Although potential follow-on scenarios were not disclosed, if suspended sentences are pronounced next December, the "guilty" parties will certainly appeal. A new trial would then be scheduled for 2011-12, and the legal nightmare would continue. The end result would certainly be another mess. www.aviationweek.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103496791306&s=6053&e=001LXt9cibsedpCW8dXcfDhquoOGMs-tj3Rxe__HSpdVWT4VtOLgbOVVYdFs0IRGU7y9JOIM95640ovf28bDj1TXABCgjgatMGnoPZwW8VWwOF7A5rDtb-nCQ==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC