Flight Safety Information June 24, 2010 - No. 125 In This Issue Air France Crash Investigator Examines Airbus Emergency Drill Tailcone of American Airlines jet jettisoned at gate in Chicago NTSB Exempts Helicopters From Runway Incursion Reporting Rules Mechanical Problem Causes Small Plane Crash In Quebec Boeing will recommend more frequent maintenance checks on 767 aircraft FAA approves unmanned aircraft for Texas-Mexico border FAA asks industry for GPS backup ideas ERAU Graduate Survey ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Air France Crash Investigator Examines Airbus Emergency Drill June 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Air France Flight 447 crash inquiry is reviewing pilot instructions issued by Airbus SAS for dealing with instrument failures of the kind implicated in the accident, according to the lead investigator. France's BEA air-accident investigation bureau is examining the directive to climb in response to the loss of airspeed data, Alain Bouillard said in an interview. Air France said it has restricted use of the procedure in thin air at high altitudes on concern that it may increase the risk of a mid-air stall. The emergency maneuver "can lead to a reduction in speed" when carried out at cruising level, Air France safety chief Etienne Lichtenberger said in an interview. "The risk of a low- speed stall is significant at high altitude, so it's not a good idea to reduce speed." Airbus said it stands by the guidance. The switch leaves Air France at odds with the drill still applied by other airlines. In its preliminary findings, the BEA blamed erroneous airspeed data for system failures logged by automated transmissions from the A330 airliner en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro, minutes before it plunged into the mid- Atlantic on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board. The Airbus maneuver instructs pilots to climb at a five- degree pitch attitude -- the aircraft's angle above horizontal -- when airspeed readings become unreliable anywhere above 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). Only later in the procedure are they told to check whether it's safe to level off. 'Hard to Fathom' When cruising at or above 35,000 feet, Flight 447's last known altitude, pulling up the nose and climbing is an inappropriate response to speed-sensor failures, according to pilots and independent experts. "It's hard to fathom why they would suggest that," said Hans Weber, president of Tecop International Inc., an aviation consulting firm based in San Diego, who has given safety advise to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and companies including Airbus parent European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. "If you're at high altitude and you carry on climbing at five degrees for too long you will lose control of the aircraft," Weber, a physicist by training, said in an interview. "It's what pilots call the coffin corner -- you're quickly running out of lift in the thinner air." The BEA is "looking at the pertinence of these procedures" and may suggest a review even if the plane's flight recorders, which might indicate what caused the crash, aren't found, Bouillard said in the June 18 telephone interview. "It's one line of inquiry -- but it's still too early to say whether anything needs to be improved or changed." 'Piloting Sense' Cedric Maniez, a pilot who flies A330s for Air France, said knowing when to follow the Airbus drill was a "matter of good piloting sense." When airspeed data is lost at high altitude, "you don't touch the pitch attitude, you just try to keep it level with constant thrust," Maniez said. "Unfortunately there's no way of knowing what happened aboard Flight 447 or to what extent the unsuitability of this emergency maneuver might have played a role. Three search operations have failed to recover the black- box flight recorders. Jeremie Teahan, a spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency, which certified the maneuver and reviewed it again after the crash, said the authority has "not found any issues with the Airbus procedures for the time being." Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said in an e-mail that "strict adherence to these approved procedures remains the best way to manage unreliable airspeed situations." New Instructions Four days after the crash, Air France gave its pilots new instructions that contradict the Airbus procedure for coping with airspeed-data loss. When the problem occurs at safe cruising altitude, pilots should "maintain the same pitch attitude and engine thrust," according to the June 5, 2009, memo signed by Lichtenburger and three other executives. Crews should then troubleshoot "without carrying out the emergency maneuver." Most pilots realize that there is no need to climb when already at cruising altitude, Lichtenberger said. Air France issued the memo because it nonetheless "felt there was a risk that pilots might follow the Airbus procedure to the letter." Air France also raised the issue with Airbus and EASA officials after its own tests showed that maintaining the five- degree configuration could slow an A330 from 270 knots to 230 knots in about two minutes, Lichtenberger said. "That means you're getting closer to stalling speed." Stall Warnings With an estimated mass of 205 metric tons at the time of the crash, the Airbus A330 would have had a stalling speed of about 170 knots, data from the manufacturer show. According to the final radio transmissions, the failure of Flight 447's airspeed sensors, or Pitot tubes, caused the autopilot to shut down about four minutes before a rapid loss of altitude, recorded in the final message. Debris analysis and post-mortems of the 50 bodies show that the plane hit the water belly-first in a near-vertical plunge, investigators say. The BEA has documented 13 other cases of high-altitude airspeed-data loss, of which nine resulted in stall warnings. Some of the crews -- all of which managed to overcome the problem -- had begun and then abandoned the emergency climb maneuver when the alarm sounded, Bouillard said. The BEA has also called for further study of atmospheric ice crystals that may be capable of disabling Pitot tubes for longer periods and at higher altitudes than previously thought possible. "When Airbus wrote the instructions they were probably of a mind that the emergency would occur well below cruising altitude," Tecop's Weber said. "There tends to be an assumption that the chances of encountering real atmospheric problems are very much reduced at high altitudes." Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tailcone of American Airlines jet jettisoned at gate in Chicago CHICAGO (WFAA) - American Airlines ground workers likely got quite a scare not long after an MD-80 taxied into the gate at Chicago O'Hare International Airport last week. Someone pulled the release at the back of the aircraft to jettison the tailcone. The large metal aerodynamic cone fell about ten feet to the ground. The emergency slide on the rear of the jet also deployed through the opening. It happened June 14, though it's uncertain how. Baggage carts can be seen in photographs of the incident, but an airline spokesman said no one was hurt. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB Exempts Helicopters From Runway Incursion Reporting Rules Amends Notification Requirements To Apply To Fixed-Wing Only The NTSB has taken action to correct a regulatory subsection that became effective on March 8, 2010. The NTSB determined that a final rule which requires reports of certain runway incursions, failed to specify that one paragraph (49 CFR 830.5(a)(12)) applies only to fixed-wing aircraft operating at public-use airports on land. The amendment considerably narrows the reporting requirement to include only the specific set of incidents for which the NTSB seeks reports. After the publication of this final rule, several organizations pointed out to the NTSB that the regulatory language may inadvertently require that aircraft taking off or landing at sites outside an airport submit a report each time they take off or land. Representatives of these organizations were concerned that they would be required to report every takeoff or landing of a helicopter that occurs on a "taxiway" or "other area not designed as a runway." While the new rule literally states this, the preamble of the NPRM stated that it is not the NTSB's intent to be notified of normal taxiway and off-airport rotorcraft takeoffs and landings. The NTSB says it does not seek to require reports of off-airport or taxiway takeoffs and landings that occur during normal helicopter operations, including helicopter operations at heliports, helidecks, hospital rooftops, highway berms, or any other area normally utilized to transport patients, passengers, or crews. The NTSB also does not seek to require reports of other off-airport or taxiway takeoffs and landings that occur during normal operations, such as those involving seaplanes, hot-air balloons, unmanned aircraft systems, and aircraft designed specifically for takeoffs and landings that do not occur at land airports. Since the new language functions to narrow the reporting requirement, and does not impose any new requirements but instead narrows the current requirement to include only reports of incidents in which airplanes at public-use airports on land are involved in runway incursions, the NTSB concludes that it is legally permissible to publish this correction to the rule rather than engage in a new rulemaking procedure under the Administrative Procedure Act. FMI: www.ntsb.gov Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mechanical Problem Causes Small Plane Crash In Quebec, All 7 On Board Perish Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (AHN) - Engine problem caused a small plane to crash near the Jean Lesage Airport in Quebec City on Wednesday, instantly killing all seven people on board. The aircraft, a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air owned by Aeropro, encountered mechanical problems after takeoff. The pilot even managed to inform the air control tower at 5:57 a.m. that the aircraft could not gain altitude because of a problem with the plane's right engine. The pilot advised the tower they were returning for landing, based on the recording. At that time, the plane was just 185 yards (170 meters) off the ground. After the pilot's advisory, the aircraft crashed at the backyard of a house two kilometers off the airport. Upon hitting the field, the aircraft's fuel sparked. Aside from the crew of two, the plane had five passengers who were architects and provincial public workers on their way to a school construction site in Natashquan at Quebec's lower north shore. Canada's Transportation Safety Board started an investigation on the air accident. The board will be assisted by its U.S. counterpart and the Federal Aviation Administration because the aircraft was made and certified in the U.S. Aeropro, the plane operator, is based in Quebec City and has used the aircraft to ferry the province's cabinet ministers and for business and leisure charters. ***** Date: 23-JUN-2010 Time: 6am LT Type: Beechcraft A100 King Air Operator: Aéropro Registration: C-FGIN C/n / msn: B-164 Fatalities: Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: 1.6 km N. of Jean-Lesage Int. Airport (CYQB) , 20 km from Quebec City - Canada Phase: Initial climb Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Jean-Lesage International Airport - CYQB Destination airport: Sept-Îles Airport - CYZV Narrative: The pilot of the Beech King Air, performing Aeropro flight APO201, reported a problem with the right engine after take off from Jean-Lesage International Airport (CYQB). The pilot tried to return but the aircraft crashed into a residential property and exploded, about 1.6 km north of the airport. All seven occupants were killed. www.aviation-safety.net [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103511385331&s=6053&e=001YkMgSvgRu7KIQFNYyBK3VPJhlJTsRlhHCLfxOdWex7yLiYx61f5mUjYgmpZ3k8nDy24HnwqBjNetJYOTZNlyesi5trExwWLl4eakQzla9Z50blhPds4BTCZ6SCAKyf-E] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boeing will recommend more frequent maintenance checks on 767 aircraft (CNN) -- Boeing says it has notified all 767 aircraft operators about cracks found on two American Airlines 767-300 planes, and by mid-July will recommend more frequent maintenance checks. American Airlines found the cracks in large pylons that hold engines onto the wings of two of its 767-300 aircraft, which Boeing currently recommends inspecting every 1,500 takeoff and landing cycles. "Boeing will recommend decreasing the number of flight cycles between inspections of the pylon mid spar fitting from every 1,500 flight cycles to possibly as low as every 400 flight cycles," the company said late Wednesday. About 260 planes constructed in the same manner as the damaged American Airlines aircraft could be affected by the recommendation, Boeing said. American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said the problem was first discovered on one of its 767-300s about two weeks ago during a maintenance check targeting other parts of the aircraft. The airline then found cracking on one more 767-300 after inspecting a total of 56 aircraft -- 767-300 and 767-200s -- a process American Airlines completed Monday night. "We found these issues when it's best to find them, which is early on," said Wagner. The airline has sent the first damaged pylon to a metallurgy lab to try to determine why it cracked. "Until that metallurgy testing is completed no one knows what the cause is," said Wagner. The damaged planes were among American's older aircraft, Wagner added. American flies Boeing 767-300s on international routes as well as long-haul domestic routes. The 767-200s fly primarily transcontinental routes. Airlines have previously found similar cracks at the holes where the pylon attaches to the wing, which led Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration five years ago to recommend checks every 1,500 cycles. At that time, when the FAA issued an airworthiness directive it said, "We are issuing this (directive) to prevent fatigue cracking in the primary strut structure and reduced structural integrity of the strut, which could result in separation of the strut and engine." [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103511385331&s=6053&e=001YkMgSvgRu7KLXzlicKtuaIE3M0A_daFY24Fxy4625eGzLuTt0MbrTiKZzZSKIxgLM07gCVTk0BRI9eOZz5yzb6Cw7MRha_7g] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103511385331&s=6053&e=001YkMgSvgRu7KLXzlicKtuaIE3M0A_daFY24Fxy4625eGzLuTt0MbrTiKZzZSKIxgLM07gCVTk0BRI9eOZz5yzb6Cw7MRha_7g] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA approves unmanned aircraft for Texas-Mexico border The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it approved the flight of an unmanned aircraft over the border that Texas shares with Mexico. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will operate the aircraft, which is sometimes called a drone, and it will be based at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Customs and Border Protection started flying an unmanned aircraft, based in Arizona, over a sliver of West Texas earlier this month. The new plane will cover the remainder of the border as well as the Texas coastline. It will be the first Texas-based remotely piloted aircraft. The FAA had been studying safety issues, particularly the region's heavy commercial and private air traffic, before it gave approval. The $4.3 million aircraft will be a General Atomics-produced Predator B or a maritime version of it. Predators can stay airborne for about 20 hours and reach an altitude of 50,000 feet. State and local elected officials - including U.S. Rep Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, Republican U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Gov. Rick Perry - have been trying for years to get unmanned aircraft to patrol Texas skies along the border. Cornyn and Perry have been among the most vocal critics of the regulators' pace. Cornyn often accused the FAA of "foot-dragging." "While the approval process should not have taken this long, I'm pleased to see the FAA moving forward," Cornyn said Wednesday. Cuellar, chairman of the House's Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism , said the approval "marks a critical next step in securing the Texas-Mexico border." Also Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said that it will be working with the Department of Justice to build a system that will link federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement entities in the Southwest region of the country. Additionally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be expanding a task force to identify and arrest convicted undocumented immigrants. And the federal government also will be increasing training programs with Mexican law enforcement agencies in the hopes of curbing money laundering and human trafficking. The initiatives are in addition to President Barack Obama's request for $600 million in for border security and his deployment of up to 1,200 National Guard troops to help secure the border, according to the Department of Homeland Security. http://www.statesman.com/ Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA asks industry for GPS backup ideas The US FAA will hold a 3-day public meeting on 10-12 August in Stanford, California to gather industry ideas on alternative positioning, navigation and timing (APNT) methods that could be used if global navigation satellite services (GNSS) are interrupted. At present, the FAA says it uses a variety of non-GNSS equipment, including distance measuring equipment, VHF radio, instrument landing systems and radar surveillance, for APNT services. However the agency notes that with the coming of its space-based next generation air transportation system (NextGen), legacy backup systems will not provide the minimum level of APNT performance needed. "Therefore the FAA is collecting information regarding research, development and potential implementation of systems, avionics, processes and procedures that minimise the impact to system capacity and efficiency during periods of GNSS interference," the FAA states in the 17 June announcement. The agency is planning to have a "limited number" of 30-minute closed-door sessions with manufacturers in cases where proprietary information is discussed. An updated version of Long Range Aids to Navigation (Loran) had been proposed several years ago as an APNT for NextGen. At the time however, Airbus and Boeing noted that flight management and inertial measurement systems on board their modern aircraft were able to provide enough stopgap performance to land an aircraft safely in the event of a GPS outage, negating the need for an independent backup system. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ERAU Graduate Survey Michael Blouin, a graduate student at ERAU Worldwide, is conducting a survey on aircrew distractions in the cockpit. The survey is ten questions and takes no more than three minutes to complete. The survey is anonymous and the results will be used in a non-compensated academic pursuit. Please consider taking the survey. Thank you. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/aircrew-distractions [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103511385331&s=6053&e=001YkMgSvgRu7LWeNqfgXIolUSAx9XFmXlFoH7rjTsUA_rdn3RDoQRcjWz-HuAfpyPszUlwAYXLkR2KhyUlM_cSdA3O0t4hv4erDUxwiMvlFWPE5GP_UCKm0DfRPgMCV0HfSRKfBwzLyVgjSy0FwUPhyg==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC