Flight Safety Information July 7, 2010 - No. 133 In This Issue US airline 'loses Netanyahu bodyguard guns' Unruly passenger forces flight diversion to Denver Caribbean carrier blacklisted by EU Cathay Pacific Plans In-flight Broadband, Live TV From 2012 Bombardier to Launch Latin American Safety Standdown at LABACE 2010 Window pops out of CareFlight helicopter in flight... Iran Air's EU ban centres on MRO and airworthiness Boeing aims for 787 fatigue-test buffer over lead aircraft IATA remains neutral on pilot retirement age ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ US airline 'loses Netanyahu bodyguard guns' (BBC) The powerful Glock 9mm is used by security services around the world Not even officers from Israeli security service Shin Bet can escape the scourge of lost luggage it seems. A bag belonging to agents travelling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was mistakenly put on a flight from New York to Los Angeles, not to Washington. Alarmingly the bag contained four 9mm Glock handguns, which are now missing. A Shin Bet spokesman told the AP news agency that it is not known whether the guns went missing before or after the luggage was put on the wrong flight. The Israeli officers were accompanying Mr Netanyahu to Washington for White House talks with President Barack Obama. Checked in NBC News reported that the handguns had, in accordance with security procedures at New York's John F Kennedy airport, been placed inside checked luggage. Mr Netanyahu was en route to Washington to meet Mr Obama The luggage was then supposed to be put on a connecting flight to Washington however, American Airlines workers at the airport instead sent it right across the country to LAX in Los Angeles. By the time the luggage was located and recovered, the guns had disappeared, and are presumed to have been stolen. Port Authority police in New York are currently investigating whether the weapons went missing before or after the suitcase was transferred to LAX, NBC News has reported. One source told NBC that the suitcase was inspected and cleared for shipment by Transportation Security Administration screeners who put a seal over the bag at Kennedy Airport. The Glock 9mm is a powerful semi-automatic used by law enforcement and security organisations around the world. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unruly passenger forces flight diversion to Denver DENVER (AP) - An unruly passenger aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Salt Lake City forced the pilots to make an unscheduled landing in Denver. Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Mainz said the pilots aboard Flight 3655 declared an emergency Monday night and landed at Denver International Airport. Other passengers aboard the flight helped restrain the male passenger, who was removed from the plane at the Denver airport and turned over to authorities. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caribbean carrier blacklisted by EU . PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Wednesday July 7, 2010 - Almost three years after being removed from a list of carriers that have been banned in the European Union, Suriname's Blue Wing Airlines is back on because of safety concerns. The airline, which began operations in 2002, was among countries blacklisted because specific safety rules were not fulfilled and there was no adequate reaction on a query regarding safety issues. However, the carrier was removed in late 2007. But in its updated list, published yesterday, the European Commission (EC) said Blue Wing Airlines had been put back following "a series of accidents...and serious deficiencies revealed during ramp inspections of its aircraft". Two months ago, an Antonov An-28 operated by Blue Wing Airlines crashed about three miles north-east of Poketi, Suriname. The two pilots and six passengers died. In October last year, the same model plane was involved in an accident on a runway and was substantially damaged. Four people were injured in that incident. But the most serious accident on record was in April 2008 when 19 passengers and two crew members were killed after one of the Antonov An-28 planes crashed upon landing at the Lawa Antino Airport in southeastern Suriname. "We cannot afford to compromise on air safety. Where we have evidence that air carriers are not performing safe operations, or where regulators fail in their obligation to enforce safety standards, we must act to guarantee safe skies for our citizens when they travel," said EC Vice-President Siim Kallas as the revised list of blacklisted countries was released. While Blue Wing does not fly to Europe, it does go to French Guiana which is an overseas region of France, an EU member state. Early last month, the United States embassy in Suriname said that its staff had been banned from travelling with Blue Wing due to safety concerns. A few days later, the Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Zulficar Mohammed, told the Stabroek newspaper that the airline's safety clearance was up to standard and was continually monitored. The EU list of 278 banned airlines is made up mostly of carriers from Africa and Asia. This latest update is the 14th revision since the list was first released in 2006. http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/travel/31021.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103547274804&s=6053&e=001xbi5pOuw9FV9YgbA0QhhSuAxofCgCzZUbC53yvG--NDdsbMhusWFc0h-kfiTnHKp89GdnOH0cyzAVZRUO3Ke18b2fM3Hio9lmC3TbV_9HIqOtonpeSCQgcAGTWLkILwpfvKWSKGUx6-4-WD6882v3G0sa_SR5aGD] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cathay Pacific Plans In-flight Broadband, Live TV From 2012 Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways plans to offer in-flight broadband, cell-phone service and live television on its aircraft from early 2012, it said Wednesday. The airline will use the eXConnect system supplied by Panasonic Avionics that can deliver a 50Mbps Internet stream via satellite to aircraft. That stream will be split between passenger Internet service and crew applications, such as the transmission of real-time flight data back to the airline's base of operations. The satellite link will also support data and voice cell-phone calls and carry a handful of live TV stations and some pay-per-view programming. As a first step towards the service, the two companies have signed a preliminary agreement to introduce the services across the entire Cathay Pacific and Dragonair fleets. Cathay Pacific is the first Asian airline to announce plans to launch the service but its planes won't be the first in the skies to offer it. Germany's Lufthansa plans to launch in-flight Internet access on some of its routes in the next few months as part of a roll-out that will see the majority of its long-haul fleet equipped by the middle of 2011. Lufthansa was launch customer for Connexion by Boeing, an earlier in-flight Internet service that operated from 2001 until 2006. The service was adopted by carriers in Europe, the Middle East and Asia and initially supported by several U.S. airlines, but the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and subsequent turbulence in the U.S. airline industry meant no North American carrier ever launched the service. It was this failure to crack the U.S. market and the tough conditions in the aviation market that eventually led to the closure of the service. In-flight Internet has since come to North American flights based on the Aircell GoGo in-flight Internet service. It relies on ground-based towers so is cheaper to fit on aircraft but coverage doesn't extend far beyond the U.S. The Panasonic service is technically more sophisticated and uses a network of satellites to maintain a signal even while aircraft are flying over oceans. http://www.pcworld.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103547274804&s=6053&e=001xbi5pOuw9FWQxaAw1JbfsYiz9AE0fhESS1Vj8QfKmhCwQ0UvFN9Lyggb3uzZ8zC9RoedntB7BsFwDV2A2VJ4fjVrJQr5kLAUILQqzT26kspifSD6NJDeCg==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bombardier to Launch Latin American Safety Standdown at LABACE 2010 Bombardier Aerospace today announced that the highly acclaimed Bombardier Safety Standdown, held annually in Wichita, Kansas, since 1996, and in Geneva, Switzerland since 2007, will also take place this year in Brazil. The Latin American Safety Standdown is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, August 11, on the eve of the opening of the 7th annual Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (LABACE), at the Hilton Morumbi Hotel in São Paulo. "LABACE is a perfect platform to reach the growing Latin American aviation community, as well as operators in the region," said Steve Ridolfi, President, Bombardier Business Aircraft. "The need for knowledge-based training in the industry is constant and with established annual seminars now in North America, Europe and Latin America, the Safety Standdown message will reach key audiences worldwide." The first Latin American Safety Standdown will feature a line-up of internationally renowned presenters: Captain Gene Cernan, United States Navy (ret.), Commander, Apollo 17; Dr. Tony Kern, President and Chief Executive Officer, Convergent Performance, LLC on professional airmanship; Dr. Paulo Alves, Vice President, Aviation and Maritime Health, MedAire, on travel health and fatigue management; Antonio Cortes, Flight Safety Analyst, Headquarters U.S. Air Force Safety Center, on safety leadership and Rick Rowe, Chief Pilot, Flight Operations, Bombardier Business Aircraft, on Safety Standdown fundamentals. Safety Standdown is the first safety program of its kind that is developed primarily for professionals in the business aviation community, and to date, no other safety event held in Latin America has focused so exclusively on this industry. The world-class conference provides attendees with unprecedented insight into the human factors that cause errors in judgment and the latest training approaches, beyond the regulatory skill-based training, in order to avoid them. This initiative can benefit all operators - regardless of the type of aircraft they fly or its manufacturer- as they discover first-hand how they can apply the latest safety intelligence and expertise to their operations. Bombardier pioneering safety worldwide Originally conceived as a safety-training event for the Learjet flight demonstration team, the conference quickly gained a reputation for excellence beyond Bombardier's customer base. In 1999, growing interest prompted Bombardier to open the event to all pilots - whether corporate, commercial or military. Safety Standdown has been endorsed by top aeronautical training institutions for the quality and depth of its content. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the National Test Pilot School and NBAA Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) all offer continuing education credits to all attendees. As of May 2010, over 4,200 pilots, crew members, safety specialists and industry officials have graduated from Safety Standdown. Bombardier Safety Standdown seminars are now held in the United States, Europe, Latin America and as part of the Bombardier M&Os in Asia. On-line registration and additional details are available at www.safetystanddown.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103547274804&s=6053&e=001xbi5pOuw9FUgX4oJ4ndZ4aqo9M5wjR-4_kgGAXXaVRcNZUlstDglpCjUiXrhAnmQfXro2wH5mg-3w3qc4ntyMv9SlAkKGujR2kz48J54lHLoQSPP4H7MtN___f9SioyM]. About Bombardier A world-leading manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions, from commercial aircraft and business jets to rail transportation equipment, systems and services, Bombardier Inc. is a global corporation headquartered in Canada. Its revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2010, were $19.4 billion US, and its shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). Bombardier is listed as an index component to the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America indexes. News and information are available at www.bombardier.com. Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103547274804&s=6053&e=001xbi5pOuw9FVN4OfEjPMdF8NjRcjuJlQT6YDxBRcbIiGU5x60j6nYgddiYrI4REwjbB0kmTY5oVmTh5wJE516oyMwZnELymUK] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Window pops out of CareFlight helicopter in flight DAYTON - Miami Valley Hospital's helicopter ambulance lost a Plexiglas window while in flight early Sunday morning from Warren County, spokeswoman Nancy Thickel said. Thickel said Tuesday, July 6, that no passengers were on board. The CareFlight helicopter then landed at Moraine Airpark, where it is maintained. A Federal Aviation Administration spokewoman said the July 4 incident is being investigated. No injuries were reported, and Thickel said the helicopter is back in service today. Mike Allen, senior vice president with helicopter operator Air Methods Corp. of Denver, said the helicopter hasn't had a problem meriting investigation since the company began managing it in 2007. The company operates air ambulances in 43 states, he said. The Plexiglas window was one of two on the aircraft. It's about eight inches across and is attached to either door on the helicopter, Allen said. It also functions as an emergency exit. "We're investigating it internally," he said. http://www.daytondailynews.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103547274804&s=6053&e=001xbi5pOuw9FWpEXI1ccwaFl7lTKTUdonb61bJdlAoYxLX-Z0eu5VM9S3xc1EHYs93GG7Vl9uAQWmms2CllYVO4ByBDKTmd-b0v55qh1hNC7rB9XzkNtATtpJBN1a-I9fT] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Iran Air's EU ban centres on MRO and airworthiness Serious flaws in Iran Air's fleet maintenance and airworthiness programmes led to the decision to ban most of the flag-carrier's aircraft from European Union operations. Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation has demonstrated "several weaknesses" in its oversight of Iran Air, including a lack of detailed review of maintenance programmes and minimum equipment lists. These failings have led to "failure to detect errors" made by the airline, states the European Commission in an assessment detailing its rationale for blacklisting the carrier. Iran Air is suffering "significant deficiencies" in the management of airworthiness and maintenance, it says. "In particular basic errors had been made in the maintenance programmes leading to significant omissions from the programmes for safety-related equipment on the Airbus A320 fleet and the Boeing 747-200 freighter," it adds. Ramp check results from Iran Air's A320s are "noticeably worse" than those for other aircraft in the airline's fleet. Assessment of the airline's operations has shown that the A320 fleet maintenance system "failed to ensure that deferred items had been rectified in the specified timescales". No flight-data monitoring has been carried out on the A320 fleet while the rate of data-gathering on other aircraft has been "very low", the Commission adds: "Moreoverthe company is failing to address the basics in terms of the continued airworthiness of its aircraft." Iran Air's A320s, along with its Boeing 747s and 727s, have been included in the most recent revision of the European Union blacklist. The Commission acknowledges that, during an assessment visit in May-June, the Civil Aviation Organisation was able to demonstrate an oversight system which "complies with the intent" of ICAO regulations, and that the CAO had a "strong commitment" to adopting modern safety management techniques. It adds that the CAO has corrected previously-identified weaknesses in audit follow-up procedures, through a system which enables urgent safety issues to be addressed quickly, and says the CAO has shown an "open, co-operative and constructive approach" to addressing shortfalls. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boeing aims for 787 fatigue-test buffer over lead aircraft Boeing is about to start the 787's fatigue trials as it sets out to accumulate the required testing buffer ahead of the carbonfibre twin-jet's planned service entry at year-end. Test airframe ZY998 was moved from the Everett factory to the outdoor test fixture on 31 January, and has subsequently been undergoing preparations for the fatigue trials. Over three years ZY998 will be used to demonstrate 165,000 flight cycles to prove the durability of the structure, well beyond the certification target of 88,000 cycles, which is double the airframe's design life. These full-scale fatigue trials, which had been due to begin by mid-year, should get started "soon", says Boeing's vice-president of supplier management Bob Noble. "It needs to lead the high-time airplane by about 1,000h of testing." Boeing has already completed static and fatigue trials on certain sections of the aircraft individually - for example, the horizontal stabiliser, which ZY998 does not have. Launch customer All Nippon Airways is due to receive its first 787-8 at the end of the year, following the completion of the flight-test and certification programme. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IATA remains neutral on pilot retirement age IATA has responded to a request for clarification of its position on pilot age limits by stating that it does not have an opinion on the issue. The request was made by Lithuanian cockpit-training centre Baltic Aviation Academy, which believes that variations in wealth, culture and diet in different states should be taken into account when deciding on mandatory retirement ages for pilots. IATA says it does not have a firm position on the issue, but is monitoring the situation carefully. "Pilot retirement age is a regulatory issue with varying mandatory retirement ages around the globe," says an IATA spokesman. "We also note that in some countries the ages of both the captain and co-pilot are required to be monitored, that is, if the captain is over 60 the co-pilot must be under 60. "We are watching developments closely, but we do not have an opinion to offer." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC