Flight Safety Information August 5, 2010 - No. 156 In This Issue United flight evacuated after landing gear problem Indonesian air safety improving: IATA Woman kicked off Delta flight after accusing pilot of drinking Australian/European Aviation Safety Oversight Challenged Lit passenger lights up napkin on American Airlines flight India's Civil Aviation Regulator Takes Hard Look At Safety Issues Ex-NetJets boss launches aircraft leasing firm Curt Lewis & Associates, LLC - Expertise and Specialties Aircraft Accident Investigation Handbook ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ United flight evacuated after landing gear problem CHICAGO (AP) - United Airlines officials say passengers on a flight from London to Chicago made an emergency evacuation after smoke was observed coming from beneath the aircraft after it landed. Authorities say three people reported minor injuries as a result of the evacuation on Wednesday afternoon at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. United spokesman Mike Trevino says nearly 200 people were aboard the Boeing 767. The aircraft's emergency slides were deployed after smoke believed to be coming from the landing gear was detected. Chicago Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor says the smoke may have come from a wheel fire. Fire crews on a runway sprayed the aircraft with a retardant to prevent any spread of a fire. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Indonesian air safety improving: IATA IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani says there have been three accidents this year, none fatal, but this means Indonesia is still at the top of the list for risks. [ABC] The International Air Transport Association says Indonesian airlines have made improvements in safety but still have a long way to go to rebuild their reputation. Speaking in Jakarta, IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani says there have been improvements in the last two years. However, he says much more has to be done to improve safety and to improve the reputation of Indonesia, which has been damaged by the safety issue. Mr Bisignani says there have been three accidents this year, none fatal, but this means Indonesia is still at the top of the list for risks. He urged the government to make the IATA Operational Safety Audit, a mandatory requirement for the nation's airlines. It's the highest safety standard in the world and Mr Bisignani says this would send a strong signal that Indonesia's aviation safety is moving in the right direction. http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103600833558&s=6053&e=001IGuChj7db3lYUU3X-6g3rFaQMfWO9Z2PJDUbxQm8cNgIQQDbfrY1Vjf4KnFsY-XRk_5XDqFJ2QOEpywyNr8IKBokQgnsv3WswqlN1Vh4V5VII0bdppHMWnptAz5Hz1GN] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Woman kicked off Delta flight after accusing pilot of drinking The Atlanta Journal-Constitution A Southern California woman says she was kicked off a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta after she reported that she thought she smelled alcohol on the pilot's breath, NBC-LA is reporting. Cynthia Angel said she was on the July 19 flight preparing to leave Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when she and three other passengers struck up a conversation with one of the plane's pilots, according to NBC-LA. " ... the pilot walked by us, and I jokingly said, 'Boy, you had been here a long time,'" Angel, 51, told NBC-LA. The flight's departure out of Hartsfield had been delayed for almost an hour at that time. The pilot -- who was actually the captain on that flight -- responded to Angel and the other passengers. When he walked away, another passenger asked whether anyone smelled alcohol on the pilot's breath, NBC-LA said. "We all agreed that he did smell of alcohol, but we didn't know if he had been drinking or what we should do about it," Angel told NBC-LA. Angel said she volunteered to talk with the head flight attendant, saying, "I didn't know what protocol is, but I believe I smelled alcohol on one of the pilots' breath," NBC-LA reported. Angel then repeated the same thing to one of the other pilots, who assured her that he had been with the captain for several hours before the flight -- and that he had not been drinking. Angel told NBC-LA she was satisfied with that response and thought the issue was over. It was, but only briefly. About 20 minutes after Angel sat down, a manager for Delta escorted her off the plane, where she once more recounted what she said to the pilot. "We took these allegations very seriously and the pilot responded immediately to Ms. Angel's concerns," Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said in an email to the AJC. "Consistent with our policies, the crew contacted Flight Operations and Airport Customer Service who followed company policies and engaged a trained evaluator to determine if the pilot was impaired in any way. Following the evaluation, the pilot was cleared for duty." Was the situation over this time? No. Another 20 minutes passed, and this time the Delta manager returned with a co-worker. Angel told NBC-LA that they asked her to remove her things and follow them off the plane. This time she wasn't getting back on. "They told me that they take these accusations very seriously, and that the captain and the crew did not want me on this flight," Angel told NBC-LA. Delta gave Angel meal and hotel vouchers and told her she could return in the morning to take another flight to Los Angeles, NBC-LA said. "Airport Customer Service, in consultation with the flight crew, determined that because the passenger continued to express concern even after the pilot was cleared that it would be best to reaccomodate her on another flight," Elliot wrote in her email to the AJC. She has contacted an attorney. The attorney had written a complaint letter to Delta. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Australian/European Aviation Safety Oversight Challenged The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) has prevailed in a three-year legal battle against CASA, the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority. ALAEA sued to gain access to safety-related audit reports of CASA-approved foreign maintenance bases. According to an ALAEA spokesperson, the suit was filed in response to the discovery of "poor quality maintenance" on Qantas aircraft after being maintained at approved facilities in Singapore and Hong Kong. One Qantas aircraft allegedly departed an approved foreign maintenance organization with more than 450 open defects. The maintenance facilities have a stamp of approval from CASA and various other aviation authorities around the world. ALAEA used the Freedom of Information Act to request all CASA audit reports on the companies concerned. "The implications of this case are far reaching and will eventually take on a global perspective. The evidence produced so far clearly highlights a standard of work well below that which is acceptable, yet the organizations concerned continue to operate under multiple approvals obtained from various national aviation authorities around the world," the spokesman said. http://www.ainonline.com/news/ Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103600833558&s=6053&e=001IGuChj7db3k_mi0n0ZT5m2QH8VFIuPqwGycDmreq1X7JBN2Z3rb-Pt6SI-7EGXxZm7Qp3gTun4LnRaa8skR7ok_sss6Vdj2j] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lit passenger lights up napkin on American Airlines flight An apparently drunk passenger Sunday pulled out his lighter and set a couple of drink napkins ablaze aboard an American Airlines flight headed from Honolulu to Chicago. A woman whose friend and friend's one-year-old child were seated in the row behind the guy gave this second-hand description: "The lady sitting next to the passenger who lit the fire threw down her DVD player and alerted flight attendants who berated the passenger verbally and tried to determine his intent. "It was an extremely tense situation, and the pilot ordered an emergency landing in San Francisco where the passenger was taken into custody by police. The DVD player lady was distraught and crying the rest of the flight." The incident apparently occurred about three or four hours after the flight left Honolulu. American spokesman Tim Wagner confirmed the incident. He said flight attendants asked another passenger to watch the misbehaving passenger until the airplane landed at San Francisco International, and the flamer behaved from that point. The aircraft was met by officials from the Transportation Security Administration, San Francisco police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the adult male was taken into custody, Wagner said. Wagner said he knows of no motive for the fires, although he had seen reports that alcohol and some drugs apparently were involved. "He won't be flying on American Airlines anymore," Wagner said. Airport spokesman Michael C. McCarron said the passenger was arrested for being drunk and was booked into the San Mateo County Jail. The flight finally arrived in Chicago about an hour behind schedule. http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103600833558&s=6053&e=001IGuChj7db3m9Qm4q8Gn8oO0wWGtI-OqR9h9EPtGOQByQlstNptOLvdvQuED5jg_WSu_8z48gERMwLENAwe-tPI8A1zBttOJnapEVqYsuFzI999-bVPPEhyVlcu-kQk-V] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ India's Civil Aviation Regulator Takes Hard Look At Safety Issues Following the crash of an Air India Express aircraft May 22 in Mangalore, safety is being given serious consideration by authorities, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has set up four working groups to address issues in operations, airworthiness, air navigation and aerodromes. Directions have already been issued regarding adherence to stabilized approach for safe landing, approach and landing reduction, monsoon training, and review of missed approaches-go-arounds are encouraged in cases of unstabilized approaches and hard landings, only when within limits. The DGCA will also perform a special audit of airports identified as critical on a priority basis to review their systems and facilities. Eleven airports have been identified as critical-Agartala, Calicut, Jammu, Kullu, Latur, Leh, Lengpui, Mangalore, Patna, Port Blair and Shimla. A Surveillance and Enforcement Division has been set up within the DGCA. While the regulator conducted 4,327 surveillance activities in 2009, this year 4,788 activities have been planned. Further, a Board for Aviation Safety has been created to resolve and monitor the progress of enforcement of deficiencies noted during surveillance. The DGCA has also started evaluating the financial health of scheduled airlines and its impact on safety. In addition, it is framing regulations to ensure that safety is not compromised on account of an airline's financial distress. The concept of a Safety Management System, recommended by ICAO, is also under consideration, and a draft regulation is being finalized. http://www.aviationweek.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103600833558&s=6053&e=001IGuChj7db3lkFj1AJ2bwHvsBKtIIKyLRBZZUMkKC0zDtLmdkqO-LmrpELH_UHboPtOPZIQkOyuHJNZTiRRE4zRlzkMGrKBhj_Azk9u_W3-AIH0jtO3Lk8w==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ex-NetJets boss launches aircraft leasing firm A year to the day that NetJets Inc. CEO Richard Santulli left the aircraft company he built, he is back in the aviation business Santulli on Wednesday unveiled Milestone Aviation Group. Flush with a $500 million investment, the company will purchase new and used helicopters and jets and then lease the aircraft. Columbus-based NetJets, by comparison, sells fractional ownership stakes in its fleet of aircraft. Milestone has 10 employees and is based in Dublin, Ireland, home to a number of commercial aircraft leasing firms. It has offices in Columbus and Colts Neck, N.J. President Daniel Rosenthal, a former NetJets executive vice president, told Columbus Business First in an interview Wednesday that he's working out of an Arena District office with COO Matthew Harris, former owner and employee services chief at NetJets, and a third employee. Santulli, who left NetJets on Aug. 4, 2009, is chairman of Milestone. The company's top management is composed of former NetJets executives, including Milestone CEO William Kelly, who was chief of NetJets Europe. Other top officers at Milestone include Robert Dranitzke, a managing director who was COO for NetJets Europe; and CFO Michael Wargotz, Santulli's one-time chief financial adviser. Despite the slew of familiar faces from NetJets, Milestone spokesman Eric Berman said the company hasn't set out to compete with NetJets, one of Central Ohio's 50 largest employers with more than 1,300 workers in the region. "This is a financing effort," he said. "We're not in competition." Instead, Rosenthal said, Milestone is looking to fill a niche by targeting companies or individuals who can't get 100 percent financing or a quick approval turnaround from lenders to obtain aircraft, two services Milestone offers. "We hear every day from operators that there's a real lack of financing available in the marketplace," he said. "What makes us truly different is that we all came from aviation backgrounds. We want to go in and look at the pilots, maintenance and the rest of operations ... and look beyond a company's balance sheet." The company is looking for corporations and high-net-worth clients to lease its aircraft as a temporary fix. The helicopter market, where Santulli got his start, could branch out marketing to oil and gas exploration companies, search and rescue missions, and forestry and utility clients. Rosenthal declined to disclose details on current deals in the pipeline but said it has its hand in transactions in Brazil, Nigeria and Australia. The Columbus office expects to hire a pair of interns this fall and grow the operation from there. Milestone's private placement was backed by Jordan Co., a New York-based private equity firm, and Nautic Partners, an equity investor from Providence, R.I. The company says it is using proceeds from the placement to jump-start the purchase and leasing of helicopters and jets. Top executives also invested, though Rosenthal declined to disclose the amount. A former Goldman Sachs principal, Santulli formed NetJets in 1984, when he bought Executive Jet, which got its start in Columbus in 1964. NetJets was acquired in 1998 by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK). Read more: Ex-NetJets boss launches aircraft leasing firm - Business First of Columbus Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis & Associates, LLC is an international firm with the main headquarters in Arlington, Texas and a Latin American office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We are also globally sponsored by satellite representatives/partnerships in Mumbai, India and Calgary, Alberta. We are a multi-discipline technical and scientific consulting firm specializing in aviation and industrial safety, audits, training, and services. Our expertise and specialties include: Safety Management Systems (SMS) ►Assessment/Audits ►Implementation ►Training Aviation Safety Programs & Training ►OSHA Compliance Assessment/Audits ►OSHA and Aviation Ground Safety for Managers Course ►Aviation Safety Management Systems ►OSHA 10 & 30 Hour Courses (coming soon) Airport Safety Programs & Training ►Part 139 Compliance Assessment/Audits ►SMS Assessment/Audits ►SMS Training ►Security Training ►Emergency Response Planning Accident Investigation ►Management ►Reconstruction ►Forensics ►Training Aviation Litigation Support ►Technical Assessment Reports ►Accident Reconstruction ►Accident Investigation ►Expert Consultation & Testimony Auditing (Compliance Assessments/Audits) ►Safety Management Systems (SMS) ►OSHA ►Part 121, 135, 91 Operations ►Maintenance, Repair, & Overhaul (MRO) ►IS-BAO ►Safety ►Quality Management ►Training Human Factors ►Helicopter and Fixed-wing Single Pilot Crew Resource Management (CRM) Course ►Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) Prevention Strategies Course ►Tactical Decision Management (TDM) Course ►Survival Training Course (STC) Security Programs & Training ►Aircraft Operator Security Management System (AOSeMS) Course Quality & Risk Management Programs & Training ►Lead Quality Auditor Training (LQAT) System Safety ►Safety Analysis of systems, organizations, & product lines for inherent hazards (undiscovered) Product Safety ►Product Analysis to protect the user or consumer ►Product Analysis to protect the designer/manufacturer from product liability Staff Acquisition ►Technical ►Professional Technical Support ►Airfield/Heliport Lighting Products ►SMS Software www.curt-lewis.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103600833558&s=6053&e=001IGuChj7db3mUE9FOlQ-mMqrOCSU6L4akei3ziHDPxOw7IV3Y1JDGQ-BuHuTVvaVkwu7WmPFyv5VHPZz9Bwapxk9JZJgriy944MNJXEeX8HpSWc43mLiyWQ==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ aai [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103600833558&s=6053&e=001IGuChj7db3nCS85PhVKj14XqKvPcvjSVNMeY2-YmHIf0_GZymO-VoMAjKAB7H9d0Jn-KQglS_hTLHo1TOM2zmIyjGY-fJVFDzfGYOX_50xfcmUQ279-nxdGJLzQZ3olW4C61b50BQCmRgzdW8wPzmsSdUJozetD3] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC