Flight Safety Information July 14, 2010 - No. 138 In This Issue NTSB Determines Probable Cause In 2008 Denver Accident Mid-air collision between two planes averted Plane crash kills 4, injures 1 in Michigan West Michigan aviation company to help build Chinese aircraft Oneworld airlines expect US tie-up decision "shortly"... Fourth Air France Search Mission Possible ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB Determines Probable Cause In 2008 Denver Accident Continental Flight Left The Runway, Six People Seriously Injured The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday determined that the probable cause of the 2008 Continental Airlines flight 1404 runway excursion accident was the captain's cessation of rudder input, which was needed to maintain directional control of the airplane, about 4 seconds before the aircraft departed the runway, when the airplane encountered a strong and gusty crosswind that exceeded the captain's training and experience. Contributing to the accident was the air traffic control system that did not require or facilitate the dissemination of key available wind information to air traffic controllers and pilots, and inadequate cross wind training in the airline industry due to deficient simulator wind gust modeling. On December 20, 2008, Continental Airlines flight 1404 veered off the left side of runway 34R during a takeoff from Denver International Airport. as a result, the captain initiated a rejected takeoff and the airplane came to rest between runways 34R and 34L. There was a post-crash fire. All 110 passengers and 5 crewmembers evacuated the airplane immediately after it came to rest. The captain and five passengers were seriously injured. At the time of the accident, mountain wave and downsloping wind conditions existed in the Denver area and the strong localized winds associated with these conditions resulted in pulses of strong wind gusts at the surface that posed a threat to operations at Denver International Airport. "This aircraft happened to be in the direct path of a perfect storm of circumstances that resulted in an unexpected excursion in an airport with one of the most sophisticated wind sensing systems in the country," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "It is critical that pilots receive training to operate aircraft when high wind conditions and significant gusts are present, and that sufficient airport-specific wind information be provided to ATC controllers and pilots as well." As a result of this accident the NTSB issued 14 recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration regarding mountain waves, wind dissemination to flightcrews, runway selection, pilot training for crosswind takeoffs, and crashworthiness. FMI: www.ntsb.gov Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mid-air collision between two planes averted A last minute alert from the anti-collision device mounted on aircrafts helped avert a mid-air collision after a Jet Airways flight from Chennai came close to an Air India aircraft over Mumbai on July 10. The Jet aircraft, with 142 passengers on board, was asked to descend to 11,000 feet by the Air Traffic Control. It came close to e Air India flight that had 70 passengers on-board and was also on its way to Mumbai from Chennai. The Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), a hi-tech system designed to reduce the incidence of mid-air collisions between flights, on both the flights alerted the pilots of the intrusion in their path. As a rule, two aircraft are required to maintain a vertical separation of 1,000 feet and a lateral separation of five-miles. If any aircraft breaches these limits, the TCAS sends out an alert. In the present case, the two aircrafts were less than five miles apart laterally. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the matter. "Our commander was alerted by the aircraft's technological system well in time about the presence of another flight in its vicinity while approaching Mumbai," said an Air India spokesperson. Jet Airways said that the incident took place while holding over Mumbai under Air Traffic Control instructions. http://www.hindustantimes.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103563967299&s=6053&e=001JmbYYw3UA0-u8j-KF-isUjiO7_IYAmYwHrjYegFpx1oOpqRSDAFoEJh7ra-OmzuWmQWXUM6Vqr-wNnKZ9rRKL2r95pMW-0aeUEwtvJPKrfoONHvjeSDiaShtadu4RKOM] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plane crash kills 4, injures 1 in Michigan ST. IGNACE, Mich. - Authorities say a small plane crash on an interstate in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has killed the pilot and three others. Mackinac County Sheriff officials say a 13-year-old boy who was "ejected" from the plane remains hospitalized and that he was the only survivor of the crash that happened about 5 p.m. Tuesday. Police say the twin engine Beachcraft Model 58 that is registered out of state was airborne less than 1,000 feet before encountering trouble after taking off from Mackinac County Airport. The plane flipped after striking a median barrier on I-75. Police have not identified the victims pending notification of family. No other injuries were reported. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. ******** Date: 13-JUL-2010 Time: 5:10 pm LT Type: Beechcraft 58 Baron Operator: Tri United Inc. Registration: N3081N C/n / msn: TH-1526 Fatalities: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 5 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Near Mackinac County Airport (K83D), St. Ignace, Michigan - United States of America Phase: Initial climb Nature: Private Departure airport: K83D Destination airport: Narrative: The twin-engined aircraft crashed almost immediately after takeoff and burst into flames. Four of the five occupants were killed. The fifth occupant was taken to hospital with serious burns. www.aviation-safety.net [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103563967299&s=6053&e=001JmbYYw3UA0_9qk8vJYRa-aFKT6cfwt6VPa9hGCtu9LmiFQ00AWK_k2wFz0RAm2JlVqhOaxsedp1mOxdvj4OPmlp9ueDRFcx4wxxPgM4puV1BWRex52jIUIUVxBM5iblS] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ West Michigan aviation company to help build Chinese aircraft GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Hiring is set to pick up on a major aviation project in West Michigan. GE Aviation Systems in Grand Rapids learned this week that a letter of intent has been signed regarding a contract to build China's first commercial airplane. GE has a joint venture with another Chinese company for the work, and that means that the facility in West Michigan can keep hiring. "China is the fastest growing aviation market in the world and GE is pleased to be a part of that," said George Kiefer of GE Aviation Systems. Comac and Avic, state-run companies in China recently signed a letter of intent with GE to provide the central information system for the new C-919 airplane. The Comac C-919 will not make its commercial debut until 2016, but GE Aviation has already begun work on building the brains and central nervous system of the airplane. The company has already added 50 employees, 25 in West Michigan and eventually plans to have more than 200 engineers and project managers working in Grand Rapids. GE Aviation Systems will continue to hire during the next two years. "The primary areas that we're looking for now from the engineering standpoint are systems engineers, people that have a broad knowledge of how to apply avionics on an airplane," said Kiefer. The Comac C-919 is similar to the Boeing 737 or Airbus 320. The company is estimating worldwide demand in its first 20 years to be 2,300 aircraft. http://www.wwmt.com/articles/rapids-1378973-grand-aircraft.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103563967299&s=6053&e=001JmbYYw3UA08Bk74I73-hbxLKXFQ9Cx6bSu5oz4_4i_30Z_cz2OVUlLgJybGHStJ1ZdM6ww4xpDqvnDv1YzMbisKSrzGGEdIGiLLBzxgzVK85b0Yv6N1N8Y7x0QhtMxx6IDCzGOHOgqINC02fERtJSi_0SWi1CkPp67DcOjNSYcY=] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103563967299&s=6053&e=001JmbYYw3UA0_wbcq8s0kSpBo9_Zyh_QP4rqLTttBPfQ05dThcPuynGdNv9jjplvNDHlhKjxWQn7cyerFvtAz3i1t5bP2M3MpK] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oneworld airlines expect US tie-up decision "shortly" Oneworld carriers British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia are hoping soon to receive final clearance from US authorities for their transatlantic tie-up, in order to commence joint activity this autumn. The three carriers today secured clearance from the European Commission for their three-way transatlantic venture, and British Airways says the partners "anticipate that they will receive the final decision...from the US Department of Transportation shortly". British Airways chief Willie Walsh describes the European approval as an "important and vital step forward" and says the concessions to gain clearance amounted to a "pragmatic decision" to allow the venture to start "as soon as possible". "The slot commitments provide a further guarantee that there will be no possible loss of competition as a result of our joint business," he says. European Commission regulatory attention has concentrated on six transatlantic routes: five from London - to Dallas, Boston, Miami, Chicago and New York - plus Madrid-Miami. Lack of peak-time slots at London Heathrow, combined with the Oneworld carriers' frequencies and dominance of connecting traffic, have resulted in a high entry barrier on these routes. The three airlines have agreed to make slots available from London Heathrow or London Gatwick to Dallas, Boston, Miami and New York, allowing competitors to fly 49 return flights weekly to these four US destinations. Slots will be accessible at New York JFK. BA says slots will be freed if competitor carriers cannot obtain them through normal channels. Slots on the London-New York route, it adds, will only need to be released if the number of services falls below current levels. As part of the concession package the Oneworld carriers will grant other freedoms, including access to their frequent-flyer programmes for new-entrant competitors. In its ruling today the Commission points out that the clearance "does not conclude" whether there has been an infringement of European competition rules, but it legally binds the three carriers to their remedial offer. If the airlines break their commitment, they could be fined without any need to prove breach of competition rules. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fourth Air France Search Mission Possible The French government may approve of a fourth search mission for the cockpit voice and flight data recorders of Air France Flight 447. Secretary of State for Transport Dominique Bussereau said on Tuesday that an analysis was performed over the summer that is intended to prove the viability of another effort and that a decision could be made in the fall. AF447, an Airbus A330-200, crashed on June 1, 2009, off the Brazilian coast on a return trip from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 people on board were killed. Three previous attempts to find the devices have failed. French accident investigation authority BEA is lobbying for another search. Crucial accident details have still not been explained, and BEA hopes the picture can be enhanced once it has access to the FDR and CVR data. While floating debris was located immediately after the crash last year, the wreckage's location in the deep sea has not been found. www.aviationweek.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103563967299&s=6053&e=001JmbYYw3UA0-9yvl9R3YjIaZ7rviWhGelyL1wZ0pm1D0seNtrlqhZID6vgBznz9vgoN4a8j1C47Rsj-4vjpeIK0YV5er1GF9ActdlFmlwx1-95NVfPh2E_Q==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC