Flight Safety Information July 8, 2010 - No. 134 In This Issue Small door from Alitalia jet falls near Nassau Courthouse FAA sends expertsto review safety rules at air traffic center 3 dead, 1 hurt in Coast Guard copter crash... FAA: Not liable in Medevac crash Woman faces charges after passenger, employee assaulted aboard airplane FAA Proposes $168,000 Civil Penalty Against D&M Plastics First and third 787 test aircraft undergoing stabiliser rework FAA promotes upset recovery aid ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Small door from Alitalia jet falls near Nassau Courthouse A 4-pound metal door fell from an Alitalia Boeing 767 on final approach to Kennedy Airport last week and landed near the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. There were no injuries, according to the FAA. The door provided access to hydraulic controls on plane's underbelly. Jim Peters, a spokesman with the FAA, said about 4 p.m. Saturday,... http://www.newsday.com Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA sends expertsto review safety rules at air traffic center The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday sent a team of experts to review procedures at the air traffic control center that directs all flights in the Washington region after the facility recorded its 22nd potentially dangerous mistake last week. With another federal agency -- the National Transportation Safety Board -- already investigating mistakes made by air traffic controllers nationwide, the FAA told its employees in a conference call this week that it was launching a new effort to make air travel more safe. "This spring we had several close calls that got everybody's attention," said Robert Tarter, vice president of the FAA's Office of Safety, in the conference call, "and I think that's the thing that really keyed us into taking a look at some of the risks, [to] try to identify what we're missing." The team was sent after The Washington Post reported Monday about an incident in which a 120-seat United Airlines Airbus 319 narrowly avoided colliding with a 22-seat Gulfstream business jet June 28. The United flight from Chicago was being guided by an air traffic controller toward a landing at Reagan National Airport when an onboard collision-avoidance system warned that it was headed for a midair encounter with the Gulfstream under the direction of another controller. The United pilot reported pulling up hard and then seeing the Gulfstream pass just behind him. There had been 21 other incidents this year in which planes being directed by controllers at the Warrenton center invaded the air space of other aircraft. FAA regulations require that planes be separated by at least three miles or 1,000 feet in altitude. Among the close calls attributed to controller error were a Continental 737 waiting to land at National that came within 3,900 feet of a military plane that had taken off from Andrews Air Force Base. In addition, an 80-passenger shuttle jet taking off from Dulles International Airport was turned directly into the path of a commuter jet on track to land at National; they continued on that course until onboard collision-avoidance systems went off. A JetBlue Airways 150-passenger Airbus was directed into the path of a Beechcraft charter jet as both were making final approach to Dulles; they passed within about 3,600 feet of each other. The FAA attributes the national increase in the number of errors by controllers to a new approach to reporting that relaxes punitive action against controllers so as to encourage them to report their mistakes. That new policy spells out that controllers should "only rarely be removed" from directing air traffic if they make errors. The FAA said Wednesday that it would hold a meeting of top management and safety experts in Washington on Aug. 17 to address urgent safety problems. An internal FAA safety team is reviewing operations at the Potomac facility to make sure all procedures are being followed properly. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103549467006&s=6053&e=001dqmFXMS5Al6WjOWe5eGilvBbZbMiNICMAe23ROttNTSW7KfGm5QCYE99sycPI1xCd3pLvf3Jb7NXiPKi1Gu4dtEGRC6VHxsN_fZWeNe_bFk2lkqRk4fhVIzVJ94BqTDr] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 dead, 1 hurt in Coast Guard copter crash SEATTLE (AP) - A Coast Guard helicopter crashed off the Washington coast yesterday, killing three crew members, officials said. The fourth member of the crew was injured and taken to Harborview Medical Center, where a spokeswoman said the survivor was alert. Rear Admiral Gary Blore said the four-member crew was based in Sitka, Alaska, and was returning there from Astoria, Ore., when the helicopter crashed off James Island, about 100 miles west of Seattle. Residents of the Quileute Nation tribe rushed to help, pulling some of the victims from the water. *** Date: 07-JUL-2010 Time: 9:30 am LT Type: Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk Operator: U.S. Coast Guard Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Off coast at James Island, Washington State - United States of America Phase: En route Nature: Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: The Coast Guard helicopter crashed into the sea in unknown circumstances. Two crew members were rescued but one of them unfortunately died after being brought to shore. The helicopter may have struck power cables. www.aviation-safety.net [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103549467006&s=6053&e=001dqmFXMS5Al7xwMFk31j0IIRTq-8F5pTwcnIcg4gDYpmnWttN4kZkxZl3L1Bv8ResnV8YIv440oARvUNuAPFFhBt9uVF2W46gTEEkOruZY-7EO24Jn0v8oB2VImxWqFuJ] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA: Not liable in Medevac crash (AP) Federal Aviation Administration officials say they aren't liable for injuries suffered by the sole survivor of a 2008 Maryland Medevac crash in which air traffic controllers provided outdated weather information. The attorney for Jordan Wells said Wednesday that FAA officials sent him a letter last month declining to pay damages sought by Wells. National Transportation Safety Board members concluded last year the crash that killed four people was caused by a combination of factors, including a pilot who was not proficient in instrument landing approaches, and the outdated weather information. Wells has said she has undergone more than 20 surgeries since the September 2008 tragedy. Attorney Greg Winton says his next step will be filing a lawsuit. Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103549467006&s=6053&e=001dqmFXMS5Al7YTLma2_NfD7cd60SyGlLwcFib-aKAO3PpmTqbnhhrRpiI3gpSjXgBIBIdbWkch-9oqwyQsGWTIueLhKut8VdI] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Woman faces charges after passenger, employee assaulted aboard airplane The suspect faces charges for two counts of assault, along with a charge for endangering the safety of an aircraft, said Winnipeg police. A woman faces charges after a passenger and airline employee were assaulted aboard an airplane headed to Halifax that was forced to land in Winnipeg because of the disturbance. Around 2 p.m. on July 6, a female passenger got out of her seat and tried to open the door hatch on a plane that was about one hour into a flight from Calgary to Halifax, said police. Cabin crew and passengers managed to restrain the suspect and the plane made an emergency landing in Winnipeg. An airline employee and a 77-year-old male passenger were assaulted by the suspect while they tried to restrain her, said police. The 77-year-old passenger received minor injuries, said police. The suspect was arrested in Winnipeg. Barbara Loretta Morton, 47, of St. John's, Newfoundland faces charges for two counts of assault, along with charges for mischief and endangering the safety of an aircraft. http://winnipeg.ctv.ca/ Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA Proposes $168,000 Civil Penalty Against D&M Plastics July 8, 2010 - The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a $168,000 civil penalty against D & M Custom Injection Molding Corp. of Burlington, Ill., doing business as D & M Plastics, for alleged violations of Department of Transportation hazardous materials regulations. D & M offered a five-piece shipment of approximately 2,000 Runyan Rapp E-Mysticks smokeless cigarettes to Federal Express for transportation by air from Indianapolis to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Aug. 14, 2009. Each smokeless cigarette contained alcohol, a flammable liquid, and a lithium battery, a hazardous material. Each box contained 400 E-Mysticks, including 7.6 kilograms of lithium batteries, exceeding the five-kilogram limit for shipment aboard passenger aircraft. Because the shipment was not packaged in accordance with regulations it was forbidden on all aircraft, including all-cargo flights. As the flight approached Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the FedEx flight crew received a fire warning on the instrument panel. The crew discharged the fire suppression system during the landing and taxied to the gate. The airport fire department responded and extinguished a fire in an LD3 cargo container. The fire was started by the lithium batteries in the shipment. D & M offered the shipment for transportation by air when it was not packaged, marked, classed, described, labeled or in condition for shipment as required by regulations. D&M has 30 days from receipt of the FAA letter to respond to the agency. http://avstop.com/ Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First and third 787 test aircraft undergoing stabiliser rework Boeing's first and third flight test aircraft, the latter of which is slated to represent the company at the 2010 Farnborough air show, are undergoing rework of their horizontal stabilisers following the discovery of a quality issue that threatened to reduce the fatigue life of the structure, Boeing confirms. ZA001 and ZA003 are scheduled to be in a planned maintenance layup and the rework is being done concurrently, says Boeing. ZA003 returned home to Boeing Field, site of the company's 787 flight test centre, on 28 June following remote testing at Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona. Continued inspections on the same day prompted rework on the horizontal stabiliser of what was an expected eight-day process of reworking over-torqued fasteners and structural shims. Boeing disclosed on 25 June that a workmanship issue on the Alenia Aeronautica-built horizontal stabilisers would require inspections of 25 aircraft and shipsets following the discovery of a improperly installed fasteners and shims during a routine inspection at the airframer's Everett facility. ZA002, Boeing's second 787 flight test aircraft which wears the colours of launch customer All Nippon Airways, is on reserve for the mid-July air show in case ZA003 is not out of rework in time for the show. However, Boeing estimates that the ZA003 will complete the rework by 9 July, eight days before the aircraft is set to depart Boeing Field for Farnborough Airport in the UK on 17 July. Meanwhile, ZA004 kicked off its flight loads survey today from Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California after nearly a month of being outfitted with new instrumentation that will measure and compare the loads on the aircraft's structure against design expectations. ZA005 is undergoing flutter testing which began on 2 July to evaluate the airframe engine combination of the GEnx-1B engine. Boeing aims to complete certification and first delivery of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered 787 by year's end. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA promotes upset recovery aid The US FAA is asking airline, air cargo, air taxi and fractional flight departments to incorporate upset recovery aids developed by government and industry into their training programmes. "Although the overall accident rate has decreased, the category of loss-of-control (LOC) continues to outpace other factors as the leading cause of fatal accidents in the last 20 years," the FAA says in an Information for Operators letter issued 6 July. LOC is defined as flight "outside the normal flight envelope, with nonlinear influences, and with an inability of the pilot to control the aircraft", the agency states. LOC as it relates to training was highlighted as a problem area in the February 2009 crash of a Colgan Airways Q400 near Buffalo, New York. In that crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the pilot responded incorrectly to a stick shaker warning, putting the aircraft in an aerodynamic stall and upset condition from which the crew did not recover before hitting the ground. The FAA in January 2009 proposed a revamping of pilot training rules that would require formal upset recovery training programmes for airline pilots, giving them the chance to regularly experience the events in simulators. The agency has not yet finalised the proposed rules. In the 6 July safety letter, the FAA asked operators to use applicable portions of a modular airplane upset recovery training aid developed in 1998 by an FAA/industry working group that was chaired by Boeing, Airbus and the Flight Safety Foundation. "Although the work group was primarily focused on large aircraft, many of the same aerodynamic principles apply to smaller swept wing turbine aircraft," notes the FAA. The print and video-based training aid reviews the physics behind the events as well as the expected recovery procedures. "When tailored to specific aircraft and operator procedures, the suggested actions presented in this aid provide an excellent framework for an effective upset recovery training module," the agency says. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Indian Airports Upgrade Air Traffic Management Facilities The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has started looking at upgrading air traffic management (ATM) facilities and reviewing methods to improve safety, mostly in Delhi, where a new Terminal 3 was dedicated July 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport. As India's traffic grows and monsoon season starts, increasing the risk of accidents, Honeywell has offered its Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System to avoid controlled flight into terrain. Responsible for managing the 2.8 million-sq.-nm Indian airspace, AAI controls all airborne operations. Having anticipated the traffic growth, AAI has installed the Air Traffic Service automation system in Delhi. The system has built-in capabilities, such as arrival manager, medium-term conflict alert, minimum safe altitude warning, short-term conflict alert and remote monitoring. Reduction of horizontal separation to 50 nm from 80 nm has been planned on a trial basis under the ICAO regional office, starting in November. The reduction in separation will permit more flights at economic flight levels and increase the en route and terminal area control capacity, says AAI. Performance based navigation procedures have been implemented at Delhi and Mumbai to structure traffic flow at the airports. An Airport Surface Movement Guidance and Control System has also been installed at Delhi to help conduct safe Category II and III operations. The current instrument landing system suffers from technical limitations, such as VHF interference, multi-path effects (due to new building works at and around airports), as well as ILS channel limitations. A Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) - a safety-critical system that augments the GPS Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and provides enhanced levels of service - at Delhi Airport is planned by the year-end. The GBAS station will support multiple runway ends. GBAS supports all phases of approach, landing, departure and surface operations within its area of coverage. GBAS is expected to play a key role in maintaining existing all-weather operations capability at Cat I, II and III airports. GBAS Cat I is seen as a necessary step toward the more stringent operations of Cat II/III precision approach and landing. A new format of the Flight Plan (FPL) will be implemented by mid-November 2012 per the ICAO Regional Plan. The new format is designed to meet the needs of aircraft with advanced capabilities and the evolving requirements of automated ATM systems. http://www.aviationweek.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103549467006&s=6053&e=001dqmFXMS5Al7_oUl_C_izkJYhXkSj6LwbAl8MlX0bwfaFqBaaoOcJJS8uC8Kc6wTA6aO2hAXg_mzVussjI-G13cXJXYE7OXEACPfgHSNi3X4jHuNdk53-Fw==]. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC