Flight Safety Information July 21, 2010 - No. 143 In This Issue Turbulence causes passenger injuries on cross-country flight Senate, House Agree to Sixfold Boost in Airline Pilots' Flight Experience Inventor of the aircraft "black box" dies at 85 Boeing Delivers 800th Airplane to China Symposium Puts Aviation Safety In The Spotlight Safety Management Systems - Journal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Turbulence causes passenger injuries on cross-country flight United Airlines Flight 967 hit severe turbulence over the Midwest, the FAA says As many as 30 passengers were injured, one seriously The plane was diverted to Denver, Colorado (CNN) -- As many as 30 passengers were injured -- one seriously -- after a United Airlines flight experienced severe turbulence and landed in Denver, Colorado, Tuesday evening, the Denver Fire Department said. UAL Flight 967 was en route from Washington Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles International when it encountered the turbulence over the Midwest, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The Boeing 777 was diverted to Denver and landed about 7:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. ET). The Denver Fire Department said up to 30 people were hurt. The extent of the other injuries was unknown late Tuesday. United, which would not confirm the number of injuries, said the plane had 255 passengers and a 10-member crew. The airline will conduct an investigation, spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said. Inspectors were en route to the airport, the FAA told CNN. ************* Date: 20-JUL-2010 Time: ca 19:15 Type: Boeing 777-222 Operator: United Airlines Registration: N773UA C/n / msn: 26929/4 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 265 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: None Location: In flight over Kansas - United States of America Phase: En route Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: KIAD Destination airport: KLAX Narrative: The aircraft, flight UA967, encountered severe turbulence at 34000 ft over Kansas and diverted to Denver. At least 25 occupants reported injured, one of them seriously. www.aviation-safety.net [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103576796655&s=6053&e=001wdRDq0Kjl6zCNun2rarWidGROgSzHe7O6ud7CXsNq9Em1TRhlTczyEsZBKnZZ0AyBZHxp9XR8iRylciP2c02NcoKKqdDoY2_Fczx2hjHVSpmTYCQwgSpbsBpjPyO9Ywm] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Senate, House Agree to Sixfold Boost in Airline Pilots' Flight Experience U.S. pilots would need at least 1,500 hours of flight experience to get a job in an airline cockpit, six times the current minimum requirement, under a House-Senate agreement disclosed by a passenger advocacy group. The agreement, part of broader aviation legislation being negotiated in Congress, was outlined by Senator Jay Rockefeller to relatives of victims in a fatal crash near Buffalo, New York, last year, according to Scott Maurer, whose daughter was killed in the accident, and who attended today's meeting in Washington. The deal is "very positive" and is among safety changes that "should have been happening" more than a year ago, said Kevin Kuwik of Columbus, Ohio, who said he was dating Lorin Maurer, one of 50 victims in the Feb. 12, 2009, crash of Pinnacle Airlines Corp.'s Colgan unit. Boosting the minimum required pilot experience from 250 hours has been a top goal of friends and relatives of people who died when the plane crashed in Clarence Center, near Buffalo. Airline pilot unions and House Democrats also pushed for the higher requirement, saying it would lessen the chance of a repeat of the Colgan accident. Rockefeller appreciates the families' "deep commitment to a safer transportation system," spokeswoman Jena Longo said in a statement. The senator believes legislation funding the Federal Aviation Administration, which includes the requirement, "is ready and he is hopeful that the bill will be considered this week," she said. The West Virginia Democrat heads the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Pilot Blamed The National Transportation Safety Board this year said Colgan Captain Marvin Renslow caused the crash by incorrectly responding to a stall warning in the cockpit. Renslow died along with all passengers, crew and one person on the ground, after the flight for Continental Airlines Inc. departed from Newark, New Jersey's Liberty airport. A 1,500-hour minimum exceeds the 800 hours approved by the Senate in March as part of $34.6 billion legislation to fund the Federal Aviation Administration. The House in October 2009 approved a 1,500-hour minimum in its version of the legislation. The Air Transport Association, the Washington trade group for major U.S. carriers, told House lawmakers in a letter before their vote that carriers were concerned the requirement would result in "unnecessary and artificial barriers" for qualified pilots and reduce the applicant pool for carriers. Congressional talks on the FAA bill accelerated last week in anticipation negotiations could be completed this week. Differences remain over how much to raise ticket taxes to fund airport projects and how many long-distance flights should be allowed from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Kuwik said after the Rockefeller meeting. Congress is almost three years overdue in renewing the law that finances the FAA. The agency has been operating on temporary renewals of the law while lawmakers negotiate. http://www.bloomberg.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103576796655&s=6053&e=001wdRDq0Kjl6zfo3N8PHfd8bAnogRdbtzH8GDERzIjDZWJa9nYF5c2PkGhLGIJusMAH8QYXn9ZGJR99Nxm4cpChLmmFW8ORaApr5hviJPJWSfpPd0AmPK0lA==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inventor of the aircraft "black box" dies at 85 CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian scientist who invented the flight data recorder famously known as the "black box" to help investigate aircraft accidents has died at the age of 85, defense officials said on Wednesday. David Warren, whose own father was killed in a plane crash in 1934 in Australia, was a research scientist at the Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne. He came up with the idea of a crash and fire-proof machine to record the crew's voices and instrument readings after helping to investigate the mysterious crash of the world's first jet airliner, the Comet, in 1953. Warren designed and built the world's first flight data record prototype in 1956 which became known as the "black box" but it took five years before the value and practicality of his invention was realized. It took another five years until authorities ruled that the flight-data recorders should be fitted to cockpits in Australian aircraft. "The modern-day equivalent of Dr Warren's device, installed in passenger airlines around the world, is a testament to his pioneering work," said a statement from the Australian Department of Defense. "It is now also used in other forms of road transport to capture information in the lead-up to accidents. Dr Warren's flight data recorder has made an invaluable contribution to safety in world aviation." Warren was appointed an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 2002 for service to the aviation industry and in 2008 Australia's national carrier, Qantas, named an Airbus A380 aircraft in his honor. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boeing Delivers 800th Airplane to China SEATTLE, July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA), the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and Air China today celebrated the delivery of the 800th Boeing airplane for China - a Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 to Air China. "Boeing and China have had a long-standing and productive partnership since 1972," said Wang Changshun, deputy administrator of CAAC. "CAAC and Boeing have broad cooperation in safety, flight standards, airworthiness and new technologies, etc. We hope we will continue to further strengthen this win-win partnership." In 1972, CAAC ordered 10 Boeing 707s, establishing it as a major world airline. Today, Boeing jets are the mainstay of China's air travel and cargo system. More than 50 percent of all the commercial jetliners operating in China are Boeing airplanes. "The history of working together between Boeing and Air China dates back to 37 years ago. We have created a mutual benefit through our long-term partnership," said Zhang Lan, vice president of Air China. "Taking the delivery of the 800th Boeing airplane on behalf of all the Chinese airlines marks another significant moment in this great partnership." Air China, China's national flag air carrier, is the largest air carrier based in mainland China in terms of Air China's international traffic and size of its twin-aisle fleet. "We have witnessed the rapid development of the aviation industry in China. We are honored to be part of the development by providing our best products and services," said Jim Simon, vice president of Sales for China, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We are also proud that China has a sophisticated and expanding role in the commercial aviation industry and on all Boeing commercial airplane models including the 787 Dreamliner." Since the 1980s, Boeing has purchased more than $1.5 billion in aviation hardware and services from China and will double that in coming years. More than 5,700 Boeing airplanes currently in service include Chinese-made parts. Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103576796655&s=6053&e=001wdRDq0Kjl6y7gQ9FG6e9D_ySTjOCC5vxiPL88rjRNgPg_kpV-FdI5qn6l-7OdS4mfdVyDeg7HURbdUq0-mnwezE5sG979OYf] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Symposium Puts Aviation Safety In The Spotlight Academics and practitioners from across New Zealand and Australia will gather next week to review the latest developments in aviation safety, management, technology and education. Massey University's School of Aviation is hosting a symposium to discuss issues facing the industry. The symposium, on July 28 and 29, in conjunction with the Aviation Industry Association and the Royal Aeronautical Society is part of Aviation Industry Conference Week at the Palmerston North Convention Centre. Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey is the keynote speaker at the launch of the main conference on July 26. The symposium will be a forum for disseminating research and discussing current issues in aviation, with an emphasis on bridging theory and practice. There will be 13 speakers including School of Aviation chief executive Ashok Poduval, who will give a presentation on the impact of advanced technology on pilot training. He will speak about how training philosophy in the industry needs to be reviewed - something the school has already done - to keep pace with the technology of aircraft equipped with digital avionics. "The training syllabus for a commercial pilot's licence is focused almost entirely on physical handling and manoeuvre skills," Mr Poduval says. "The air transport aircraft for which these pilots are being prepared to fly and the light aircraft on which they are trained are now highly automated and demand a different approach for safe and efficient operations." http://www.voxy.co.nz/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103576796655&s=6053&e=001wdRDq0Kjl6zYmDORCSSuUr6_5x3sQGa4tKGCSpSZgXjfWVbbZLq0LSRtvEmx_-QNMirSAAk1Wwcx1_DhCD9DoUz0BJjIQb6l48hm8jp_69LTY1vo_V14xw==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SMS [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103576796655&s=6053&e=001wdRDq0Kjl6wTlAovEV8PkzjToJxvmTRPChqyr-YNbDOzvkJrvVsJDNLgwljZPjmoywnf-4nXgRhJHK3ph5WSrsZeuUbjaDe9LFl27fS8hDA2DzeS0Guj0XHm2U4ptpWw9I2jbI-uuKA=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2001 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103576796655&s=6053&e=001wdRDq0Kjl6xw8dNshZBH9advpS06pVbPEvxrIDNsG1Jwa2hfxN-rTg204c4w23tlGBHDu2mpD8G0iND0zTYwUAfrz395CCzgaS6Puihlib_yZbFsYgz-FQ==] Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC