Flight Safety Information July 9, 2010 - No. 135 In This Issue The FAA's focus on aviation safety Taxiing jet hits passenger bridge in Alaska NTSB TO MEET ON 2008 CONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT 1404 ACCIDENT Flights diverted, delayed as UFO detected hovering India DGCA Continues to be in Compliance with International Standards FAA works with universities to study human factors research ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The FAA's focus on aviation safety Friday, July 9, 2010 Regarding the July 5 front-page story "Close calls on the rise in the skies over D.C.": The mission of the Federal Aviation Administration is to keep the skies safe for the flying public, and we are doing just that. Experienced and well-trained air traffic controllers safely guide millions of aircraft every year across our country and here in the D.C. area. The article makes an unsubstantiated correlation between air traffic controller experience levels and safety. The overwhelming majority of controllers at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility have at least 10 years of experience. The FAA has been hiring and training controllers over the past few years to prepare for expected retirements. Our rigorous training programs ensure new controllers earn their certification while maintaining our high safety standards. Controllers who are learning a specific radar position are under the guidance of a senior controller and cannot work traffic by themselves until they are fully certified on that position. The FAA is concerned whenever an operational error occurs. We establish separation standards between aircraft to create a safety buffer, and we examine our performance if there is even a minor infraction of that standard. The article made only a brief mention of voluntary reporting programs, but we are confident these programs are effective. The FAA recently began a Partnership for Safety campaign with its largest labor unions to encourage employees to speak up when they make a mistake or see a safety issue. We believe these efforts are resulting in more reporting, which will help us spot problems or trends so we can address them before an accident occurs. Voluntary reporting is a key element of our safety culture and something we will continue to promote at all levels of aviation to keep our system safe. Randy Babbitt, Washington The writer is FAA administrator. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103552954826&s=6053&e=001ZcH3_4YLqB9r9RnxHD8z-Oic2yzId3obZHOjUP0ozB0OHEHDUCsik4fOXiTNQSdv-ux7MMyFXtYyw1Ol9KjAXlPrxZRqFrpLN26aoBN_3j9v24jD1WzVCAiXolw_npPB] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Taxiing jet hits passenger bridge in Alaska ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - United Airlines is investigating why one of its jets struck a passenger bridge as it was taxiing after landing in Anchorage. No one was injured in the mishap involving a Boeing 757 shortly before 1:30 p.m. Thursday, following a nonstop flight from Chicago. Department of Transportation spokesman Roger Wetherell says the jet and bridge sustained minor damages. Rahsaan Johnson, a spokesman for the Chicago-based airline, says Flight 431 was carrying 168 passengers and six crew members when the jet's left wing hit the bridge. He says those on board were able to safely exit the plane. A continuing flight to San Francisco was canceled. Johnson says a maintenance crew will assess the damage to the jet. Wetherell says the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB TO MEET ON 2008 CONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT 1404 ACCIDENT AT DENVER AIRPORT The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a Board meeting on Tuesday, July 13, 2010, at 9:30 a.m. in its Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. There is one item on the agenda. On December 20, 2008, Continental Airlines flight 1404 departed the left side of runway 34R at Denver International Airport during takeoff. There was a post-crash fire. The captain and five of the 110 passengers were seriously injured. A live and archived webcast of the proceedings will be available on the Board's website at http://www.ntsb.gov/events/Boardmeeting.htm [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103552954826&s=6053&e=001ZcH3_4YLqB9MQ0KgEguscGKsL4e-bsM8tQvVEsNV2d2JFN9tnqE9hCbHyUDBkqxwkaRN5o4_Oil3zhIeiI3xWQj90k7bmN9lE7uyZ0o3E9Gtc5tUrV6JfFhUEupVFowTWdDJH8O6OXM=]. Technical support details are available under "Board Meetings" on the NTSB website. To report any problems, please call 703-993- 3100 and ask for Webcast Technical Support. A summary of the Board's final report, which will include findings, probable cause, and safety recommendations, will appear on the website shortly after the conclusion of the meeting. The entire report will appear on the website several weeks later. Verizon wireless cellular service is accessible in the Board Room and Conference Center. Directions to the NTSB Board Room: Front door located on Lower 10th Street, directly below L'Enfant Plaza. From Metrorail, exit L'Enfant Plaza station at 9th and D Streets escalator, walk through shopping mall, at CVS store (on the left), take escalator (on the right) down one level. The Board Room will be to your left. NTSB Media Contact: Terry N. Williams (202) 314-6100 williat@ntsb.gov Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flights diverted, delayed as UFO detected hovering A photo taken by a resident in Hangzhou shows an unidentified flying object hovering over Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, late Wednesday, July 7, 2010. [Photo/Metro Express] An unidentified flying object (UFO) disrupted air traffic over Zhejiang's provincial capital Hangzhou late on Wednesday, the municipal government said on Thursday. Xiaoshan Airport was closed after the UFO was detected at around 9 pm, and some flights were rerouted to airports in the cities of Ningbo and Wuxi , said an airport spokesman, who declined to be named. The airport had resumed operations, and more details will be released after an investigation, he said. A source with knowledge of the matter, however, told China Daily on Thursday that authorities had learned what the UFO was after an investigation. But it was not the proper time to publicly disclose the information because there was a military connection, he said, adding that an official explanation is expected to be given on Friday. Inbound flights were diverted to the nearby airports in Zhejiang province's Ningbo and Jiangsu province's Wuxi. Outbound flights were delayed for three to four hours. A staff member at the airport's information desk said the airport had "no idea" how many flights were affected by the closure. At around 11 pm on Wednesday, a netizen wrote three entries announcing the airport's closure in his microblog at Sina.com, but they were all soon deleted. He posted an apology at midnight, saying the news had not been confirmed and asking those who had republished his earlier entries to delete them. Source: China Daily(By Yang Yijun) Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ India DGCA Continues to be in Compliance with International Standards and Continues to Remains in Category-1 under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme (IASA) The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of USA has today confirmed Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that India continues to remain in Category-1 status of FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme (IASA). The audit is conducted under an 'International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme' (IASA) and focuses on the country's ability to adhere to standards and recommended practices of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for aircraft operations and maintenance. Under the IASA programme, FAA in the year 1997 had conducted an audit of DGCA India wherein they had awarded Category 1 status to India. This year, in March 2009, FAA, based on the report of an audit conducted by ICAO in October 2006, conducted a reassessment of DGCA. While the FAA's IASA team found India to be compliant in areas of aviation legislation, operating regulations, civil aviation structure and safety oversight functions, and licensing and certification obligations, it raised concerns in the areas of adequate technical guidance for DGCA inspectors, hiring and retaining technical personnel in DGCA, establishment of an on-going surveillance programme of air operators and the resolution of identified safety issues. DGCA was required to rectify the concerns in the identified areas in a short time frame of about five months. Repercussions of non-action could have resulted in India being downgraded to Category 2 status from the Category 1, which has been held by India since 1997. Under Category 2, no expansion/ changes to the services of Indian air carriers would have been permitted by USA and the existing operations would have been subjected to 'heightened FAA surveillance'. Such a downgrade would not only have resulted to an economic impact to the nation but would also have been a setback to India's image worldwide in ICAO, EU, USA and in the international aviation community. The FAA IASA team revisited DGCA on 23rd September 2009, to confirm and validate the action taken on the concerns since the audit in March 2009. The visit was also made to ascertain the information which were provided to FAA by DGCA from time to time in the previous few months on the progress made to make good the deficiencies. The FAA team confirmed the action taken by DGCA to make good the identified concerns of the earlier March 2009 audit. India was found fully compliant with FAA observations and ICAO Annexes 1, 6 and 8. DGCA stated that India fully meets the eligibility criteria to retain current Category I status under FAA IASA. Based on the above discussion and the information shared, FAA at the close of the discussion informed DGCA of being in compliance with international standards for aviation safety and reported India to continue to be maintained in Category 1. This determination was made public under FAA public disclosure policy. FAA while informing DGCA that it continues to meet the minimum international standards for safety oversight established by International Civil Aviation Organisation and that IASA category for India remains Category 1, informed that FAA would be holding follow up consultations in six to nine months in order to confirm that all the work completed by India continues to be sustained. As a follow up of the above, FAA visited DGCA on 8th July 2010 to ensure that DGCA continues to sustain the actions demonstrated in September 2009 and continues to meet the international standards for effective safety oversight of India's airline industry. During the discussions, the FAA flagged following four areas for consultation: 1. Availability of qualified technical personnel in DGCA; 2. Technical Guidance for the personnel; 3. Continued Surveillance Obligations; and 4. Resolution of safety concerns DGCA during its presentation covered all the above areas in detail and presented evidences in support. CAA Structure and safety oversight functions In the area of CAA Structure and safety oversight functions, the FAA acknowledged that adequate financial resources have been released by Government to DGCA and that there has been a sixteen-fold increase in the annual budget for DGCA this year as against 2008-09. In 2010-11, DGCA has a budget of Rs 860 million. FAA was informed by DGCA that the report on the feasibility study for establishment of Civil Aviation Authority conducted by ICAO has been received and is presently under review with DGCA and MOCA. FAA endorsed the proposal for setting up of CAA which is in line with ICAO policy. Technical Guidance Qualified Technical Personnel 132 (98 technical and 34 others) positions. FAA was shown that an aggressive time-bound action plan has been prepared to fill up the newly created/ revived posts. The FAA was informed that 48 technical officers have been hired on short term contract and recruitment process for 178 positions will be completed by September 2010. FAA was also shown that DGCA strength has increased from 144 technical officers in March 2009 to 254 in June 2010 and will be increased to 432 by September 2010. The strength of Flight Standards Directorate in DGCA now has increased to 32 Flight Operations Inspectors as against four in March 2009. This was found satisfactory by FAA. Continued Surveillance Obligations The FAA was informed that the DGCA-wide surveillance program for year 2010 has been prepared which includes surveillance plan of all scheduled, non-scheduled, general aviation, MROs including foreign airlines. The current programme for 2010 includes 4,788 surveillance activities, of which 1800 have been conducted till June 2010. Evidence to demonstrate aggressive implementation of surveillance programme was shown to FAA. The system for addressing deficiencies arising out of the surveillance was discussed. The FAA was informed of setting up of Surveillance and Enforcement Division (SMED) and the Board for Aviation Safety (BFAS) in DGCA headquarters for monthly monitoring of identified Level 1 deficiencies and progress of other deficiencies including their resolution. 189 enforcement actions have been taken against personnel and operators (upto June 2010). It was informed that DGCA has taken initiative for sharing of safety-related information of stakeholders by displaying Level I findings in a de-identified form on DGCA's website, an initiative that is in line with ICAO and FAA and was highly appreciated by FAA. In addition to the surveillance programme, FAA was apprised of the System of Quality Check of foreign flying training facilities used by Indian students for obtaining pilot licenses including surveillance of Type Rated Training Organisations (TRTOs). The FAA was informed that five (5) foreign training organization inspections have been carried out since October 2009. The FAA was informed of the recently issued CAR on 'Evaluation of Air Carrier's Management of significant changes - Financial Surveillance from safety perspective' which was also duly acknowledged by FAA team. Resolution of Safety Issues The FAA was informed that the revised Schedule VI of the Aircraft Rules 1937 on Penalties published in September 2009 having substantial financial penalty for non-adherence to regulations is already in place. Further in order to ensure speedy enforcement action, a proposal for amendment in the Aircraft Act has been submitted to the Government for empowering DGCA to levy fines (Summary Powers) as provided in Schedule VI. As an evidence of DGCA having uniform policy and procedures for enforcement action, FAA was shown the Enforcement Policy and Procedures Manual which establishes and publicizes internal deadlines for taking action, appeal actions, and monitoring compliance with enforcement decisions throughout the regions, and implements an effective internal staff process to ensure timely action. The DGCA Officers at headquarters and in the regions have been trained on the use of the manual. Stakeholders are aware that they are subject to enforcement, and the program constitutes an effective deterrent as the manual is available on DGCA's website. Further, FAA was informed that the Board for Aviation Safety (BFAS) has been set-up at DGCA headquarters to monitor and resolve the safety related findings identified during surveillance. The Board, in addition, to the deficiencies arising out of surveillance also takes up other safety concerns. It was further informed that the Board meets at least once in a month and that in all 11 meetings of the Board have already taken place since June 2009 wherein 17 safety related issues have been resolved. ADDITIONAL INITIATIVES The FAA was informed that additional initiatives have been taken by DGCA after September 2009 which includes: 1. Setting up of Civil Aviation Regulatory Group to avoid multiplicity, duplicity and ensure consistency of regulations. 2. Setting up of Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council (CASAC) to advise DGCA to further strengthen aviation safety environment wherein experts from airlines, flight operations, airworthiness, aerodromes, air navigation services, aircraft engineering, human performance have been taken on board. The Council can invite international experts from ICAO, FAA, EASA, Boeing, Airbus, etc. and held its first meeting on 3rd June 2010. Four working groups have been set up in the areas of operations, airworthiness, aerodromes and air navigation services. 3. In order to sustain the effective safety oversight system post ICAO and IASA audits, a 'Roadmap' identifying twelve areas has been prepared for implementation and being monitored at DGCA level. 4. Global Aviation Safety Roadmap (GASR) has been organised on 25 - 26 June 2010 in association with ICAO, FAA and Boeing. The workshop generated recommendations for runway incursions and excursions. CONCLUSION FAA scrutinized the voluminous documentary evidences presented by DGCA. The FAA team appreciated the initiatives taken by DGCA and further stated that DGCA has not only sustained the actions taken till September 2009 but has also demonstrated amazing improvement in continuing to enhance and improve safety oversight system beyond expectations. The FAA concluded that India not only continues to meet FAA's IASA Category-1 status but is also considered to be a 'Role Model' and plays a leadership role for other nations in the Asia region in civil aviation sector. In his debrief to the Secretary (Civil Aviation), the FAA team apprised the Secretary that it would like to take some of the DGCA initiatives back home to FAA. The team also lauded the commitment, support and the cooperation extended by the Government of India. In FAA's view, India should continue to play a leadership role for other nations in the Asia region in the civil aviation sector. http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=63107 Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103552954826&s=6053&e=001ZcH3_4YLqB-WKUnTYreZ1-BBRBqUNOCrlwifEwtSJLWr_7xMbi2IyH1SiUAgxuv6QQjy5PHFUiyoQTFeTp2R_8Gn1O4ZECP5] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . FAA works with universities to study human factors research US university Georgia Tech has entered into an agreement with FAA to study pilot responses to alerts from traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS) used in the agency's next generation (NextGen) air traffic control system. FAA's agreement with Georgia Tech is the first of several pacts the agency plans to forge in the coming months with universities to study aviation-related human factors. Under the agreement with Georgia Tech, the FAA specifically seeks to determine how pilots should respond to alerts under the NextGen system where aircraft will be able to operate closer together. One of the university's engineering psychology professors also plans to lead a team to study how flight crews and controllers work with current automation, and then determine how they use automation in the future to manage workloads and improve situational awareness and performance. Georgia Tech's school of aerospace engineering features aviation research tools including air traffic control simulators and an Airbus flight deck simulator. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC