Flight Safety Information August 19, 2010 - No. 168 In This Issue Medevac industry opposing upgrades wanted by NTSB Mangalore crash: Hearing reveals huge safety lapses Air Canada jet makes emergency Winnipeg landing NASA's Green Aviation Summit 2010 N.M. State University will lead FAA commercial space effort Court dictating pace of Spanair MD-82 crash probe ALTA aims to work with FAA on improving safety in Latin America Man Arrested For Pointing Laser At Helicopter Curt Lewis & Associates, LLC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Medevac industry opposing upgrades wanted by NTSB By Alan Levin, USA TODAY The helicopter air ambulance industry is opposing several key safety upgrades sought by federal accident investigators even as a recent surge in crashes has killed 19 people since September. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling on regulators to require new lifesaving technologies on many air ambulances, including night-vision goggles, terrain avoidance computers and autopilot controls. The devices are costly, but the NTSB says they would save lives in a health care system increasingly reliant on choppers for transporting critically ill patients. Industry groups such as the Air Medical Operators Association say their members should have the freedom to adopt some, but not all, of the technologies. The group, which represents companies operating more than 90% of medevac helicopters, has pushed its members to make voluntary safety improvements. Amid the recent spate of deaths, the NTSB says the voluntary approach is not working. "While some operators have voluntarily adopted measures to address our safety recommendations, others have not," said NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Hersman. At least two of the recent crashes happened amid conditions that the new technology devices are designed to address. Some smaller air ambulance companies and family members of crash victims say that the industry is opposed to the safety equipment the NTSB wants because of cost. "If the economic bottom line gets in the way of protecting our workforce and protecting patients, we have a problem," said Tom Judge, director of Maine's medevac program. After a record number of fatal accidents killed 35 people from December 2007 through October 2008, air ambulance industry groups adopted several safety improvements on their own. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates the industry, also pushed for voluntary improvements while it worked on drafting new requirements. Those efforts coincided with an 11-month span through last September in which no one died on a medevac helicopter, according to the NTSB. That period was shattered when a helicopter crashed in Georgetown, S.C., on Sept. 25 in severe weather, killing three people. Since then, 10 more medevac choppers have crashed, including three since June. An air ambulance plane crashed last month in Alpine, Texas, killing five people and bringing the death toll on emergency aircraft to 24. On June 2, a CareFlite medevac chopper crashed near Midlothian, Texas, after breaking up in flight, killing a pilot and a mechanic, according to the NTSB. A pilot and flight nurse died July 22 in Kingfisher, Okla., when an EagleMed chopper went down. An Air Methods helicopter plunged to the ground in Tucson on July 28, killing three. Chris Eastlee, managing director of the Air Medical Operators Association, said the group's members take "a very dramatic and extremely broad look at safety." The group asked members to increase pilot training and get night-vision goggles, Eastlee said. The association balked at key NTSB recommendations to install multiple layers of safety to prevent crashes in bad weather and poor visibility. Operators believe they should have the flexibility to adapt to their own circumstances, Eastlee said. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-19-1Amedivac19_ST_N.htm [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103624814543&s=6053&e=001hkeflXzCYh2320zMiihoj91uUQkwf49CNi3eSegCKQsiL1wHp2c4LVUFHPdZb8aLN0tJZ88cMDI9aXny3geB-Hy6XdQ7x3bvKZMCoK78OUtGkK0_RYCDlY4_gsJVSwe253msjhLbgwj2OajM6cTCOQiIegN9G2rVGV4_k3u8w9wpIkvyGT4L1g==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mangalore crash: Hearing reveals huge safety lapses Mangalore: Early on May 22, an Air India flight from Dubai to Mangalore crashed; 158 people were killed. The pilot had overshot the runway at Mangalore.(Read: 158 killed in crash, eight survivors) Now emerging - a huge point of concern - that the Air Traffic Control tower got to work just two minutes before the pilot touched down. (See Pics: Mangalore Air Crash) He had approached Mangalore half an hour early. At 6 am, the Air Traffic Control tower got to work and switched on its systems. The flight from Dubai, IX812, was not expected till 6.30. But this flight routinely comes in early because of high tailwinds in the Dubai-Mangalore sector. At 6.02 am, the flight landed. At 6.03 am, it crashed into a valley. So did the Air Traffic Control have enough time to prepare for the landing? That's a major point of debate a public hearing that has just begun in Mangalore. The court of enquiry has been set up at the request of the government; its report will be used by the Civil Aviation Ministry to improve flight safety. (See Pics: What went wrong) Share on Twitter Share on Social Gmail Buzz Print The court of enquiry is headed by Retired Air Marshall BN Gokhale. ''Apart from the truth, the only thing we want is that there is no blameworthiness attached to it. There will be shortcomings in the system, but it will be important to find them to ensure they are plugged," he said. Fifty people including some of the seven survivors of the accident will share what they saw and heard as the plane crashed and burst into flames. Also helping to piece together what happened - Air India ground staff who were on duty, Air Traffic Officials from Mangalore, and those who work at the airport's Fire Departments. Day One of the hearing has revealed other major lapses that continue to possibly compromise passenger safety. One half of the Mangalore "table top" runway - notoriously tricky because it's built on a hill top with the sides and ends of the runway sloping down - is not visible from the ATC tower. (Read: What is a table-top airport) Also, the Mangalore Airport Fire Department is short-staffed - there are 30 firefighters, instead of the 40 required - that may have affected the speed of rescue operations that morning. Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mangalore-crash-hearing-reveals-huge-safety-lapsesni-45348?trendingnow&cp [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103624814543&s=6053&e=001hkeflXzCYh2DQ_v5WBDLOpi9gFxfEekWWob2fBTshv5cYKp2Esyj_JT63uQjYwFSiWp8tng0dXrAs6Hu6zgg-0nD4HAIS-lYyIDDGj1JSVqJuMUORIDVhb5z5cA8HoobuBHB6i1jWKNvsgLr0retanlZfZUqFNiB1pIqN8J5OrDcGttScx9Kv8ltLtg4hDml_8CrLEOKEbMfA3NNBxD1GX0jQQjnobIZPzcRhu2LhYA=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Air Canada jet makes emergency Winnipeg landing Emergency crews surround an Air Canada jet that made an emergecy landing in Winnipeg on Wednesday. (CBC) A cracked windshield forced an Air Canada pilot to make an emergency landing in Winnipeg on Wednesday afternoon. There were no injuries when Air Canada Flight 169 landed at the James Richardson International Airport at about 2:15 p.m. CT, according to the Winnipeg Airport Authority. The Airbus passenger jet was on its way to Vancouver from Toronto and had 152 passengers and crew on board. The WAA spokesperson did not know what caused the windshield to crack. Fire and other emergency crews rushed to the scene but were quickly called off. Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/08/18/man-air-canada-emergency-landing.html#ixzz0x2xlXK5p Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NASA's Green Aviation Summit 2010 The 2010 edition of the Green Aviation Summit will be hosted by NASA on September 8-9, at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. This is the perfect occasion for the agency to present all of the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate's work, that has, is and will be done to develop aviation technologies that are environmentally friendly. NASA experts, federal government organizations, industry and academia will take part at this two-day meeting, greeted by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on September 8. The discussions will cover challenges for green aviation as well as the presentation of some of the groundbreaking solutions being explored by NASA and its research partners to reduce aircraft noise, emissions and fuel consumption, and to ensure the safe and manageable development of the aviation system. At this summit, leading policymakers will have the opportunity to present their work and the most passionate participants will be given technical details and will assist at discussions on the current state of the art and emerging technologies, as well as the direction for near- and far-term research and development. All research and development activities within NASA Aeronautics with the purpose of limiting the environmental impact of aviation will be presented to the public, who will have the opportunity of exchanging ideas and concepts with some of the key stakeholders of the green aviation. All attendees must register for this event and the online registration will close at 5:00 PM (PDT) on Tuesday, August 31, 2010. NASA is conducting research for improving the air transportation system and for developing future environmental friendly air and space vehicles with low noise, emissions and fuel burns. The space agency's research fields include aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, propulsion, materials and structures, sensor and actuator technologies, dynamics and control, advanced computational and mathematical techniques, and experimental measurement techniques. www.nasa.gov [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103624814543&s=6053&e=001hkeflXzCYh0dX8F4gklu1_6QxGFFoh53L7-9-YpLPtIpbrFt0hey4ZYWKv3SNOiqK5V0nLlt35Pp5akN51rtF0Rbbn64j_PSkG6jmw_0Y7k=] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103624814543&s=6053&e=001hkeflXzCYh3CkVQYks9BYn1i74gTaNJQah1az8DbhTTADDPo7h7hYVHuix4A5wW12GIJEdz_bc2UkSODB2jjbLSjlbvzacrn] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ N.M. State University will lead FAA commercial space effort The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has chosen New Mexico State University to lead a new Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation, the agency announced Wednesday. The center, scheduled to start operations this month, is a partnership of academia, industry and government. It will aim to address current and future challenges for commercial space transportation, focusing on: space launch operations and traffic management; launch vehicle systems, payloads, technologies, and operations; commercial human space flight; and space commerce (including space law, space insurance, space policy and space regulation). "Commercial space flight is ready to play a greater role in the nation's space program," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a news release. "Universities working with industry partners will fuel the research necessary to help keep us in the forefront of both technology and safety in space." The Las Cruces area is home to Spaceport America, where Virgin Galactic plans to launch commercial passenger flights into space. The FAA plans to spend least $1 million per year for the initial five years of the center's operations and establish agreements to split costs 50-50 with partners. NMSU will lead a team of colleges and universities, including Stanford University, the University of Florida, the Florida Institute of Technology, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion, the University of Colorado and the University of Texas Medical Branch. The FAA has established eight other centers of excellence, focusing on air cabin environment, noise and emissions mitigation, airport pavement technology, operations research, advanced materials, aircraft structures, airworthiness assurance, and general aviation. http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/218556.asp [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103624814543&s=6053&e=001hkeflXzCYh16jvCOk7abLB5n0-ihUEy129whtMJAsJTdaxkYta599u68QkQK3qxQskCPMAYykIOptIj84uW_1t_45Kn4S8VdQpkjU4GMQ7ka3SgOmeVwc1aJ_TzEjWQNRCMdYb0A1kk6MgIhVfsX3O77WNIraQpR] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Court dictating pace of Spanair MD-82 crash probe Legal procedures mean investigators have yet to examine in detail an electrical component suspected of playing a role in the Spanair Boeing MD-82 crash at Madrid Barajas Airport two years ago. The component, an electrical relay, is crucially linked to the take-off warning system on the type. Pilots of the ill-fated aircraft had attempted to depart with the aircraft's flaps retracted, after the warning system failed to alert the crew to their oversight. The relay is suspected to have contributed to the absent warning, because it also connects to a ram-air temperature gauge which was showing spurious readings on the MD-82. But the Spanish investigation authority CIAIAC says that disassembly of the component is "still pending, as is the examination of its internal elements". "These tests are under the control of the court handling the case," adds the authority, in a progress update on the investigation released today. Just 18 of the 172 occupants of the aircraft survived after it stalled almost immediately after rotation. CIAIAC has been analysing the performance of the aircraft during the accident sequence. While there was no technical problem with the engines, the crew questioned whether there had been a powerplant failure just as the MD-82 became airborne. Flight-data recorder information showed that the throttles were briefly retarded, reducing the engine thrust. CIAIAC says it is expanding its performance study - with the use of flight simulation - to reproduce manoeuvres from the fatal flight and assess the behaviour of the aircraft, including its reaction to the retardation of one throttle. Flight simulations have also "yielded qualitative conclusions" regarding possible modification of the stall recovery procedures on take-off, it says, adding that Boeing has made changes to its MD-series flight crew operations manuals. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ALTA aims to work with FAA on improving safety in Latin America Latin American and Caribbean airline association ALTA has launched an effort with the US FAA to try to improve the region's safety record, which declined further this week following the crash of an Aires Boeing 737-700 in Colombia. ALTA executive director Alex de Gunten says the association's target is for Latin American and Caribbean carriers to match by 2014 the safety record of North American carriers. He says ALTA is particularly focusing on unstabilised approaches and runway incursions, as these are the causes of "most of the region's crashes". "We have a number of programmes that we are working on with the FAA and with ICAO to see how we can improve that," de Gunten says. He says ALTA on 16 August met with the FAA to further discuss "safety in the region [and] how we can work closely together overall". He adds ALTA aims "to keep working [with the FAA] to see what we can keep doing on the safety side. With the Aires accident it is even more timely". The meeting with the FAA, which included de Gunten and ALTA president and Avianca-TACA chairman Roberto Kriete, had already been scheduled long before the Aires crash. The crash occurred at about 01:50 local time on 16 August as an Aires 737-700 attempted to land on the Colombian island of San Andres in the Caribbean during what seems to be a lightning strike. One fatality and over 100 injuries were reported as the aircraft broke up after completing the domestic flight from Bogota. de Gunten says Aires is not currently a member of ALTA because the carrier has not yet completed an IATA operational safety audit (IOSA). ALTA adopted IOSA as a requirement for all existing members and new members effective 1 January 2010. de Gunten says four of ALTA's then 31 members were dropped at the beginning of this year for not meeting its IOSA requirement - Aires, Ecuador's Icaro, Costa Rica's Nature Air, and Chile's Sky Airline. IATA has required IOSA certification to maintain membership since 31 December 2008. de Gunten says ALTA two to three years ago decided it should also make IOSA a requirement and gave its members until 31 December 2009 to complete the audit process. de Gunten says ALTA now has a programme which includes financial and technical assistance to help former members and potential new members pursue IOSA certification. He says Icaro, Sky and Nature Air are now part of this programme and are working towards IOSA certification, which he expects will allow them to re-join ALTA in one to two years. de Gunten says Dutch Antilles carrier Insel Air, which has been seeking to join ALTA, is also now participating in this programme. But he says so far Aires has not opted to be part of this programme, which includes assigning an IOSA-certified ALTA member to mentor each participant on "the do's and dont's" of the IOSA certification process. "If they ask for help we will give it to them," de Gunten says of Aires. "But they haven't asked. We are just in conversations. We offered and we are in conversations with them but they haven't made their decision yet [on whether to pursue IOSA certification]." While Aires is the only ex-ALTA member currently not pursuing IOSA certification, is not unusual for small carriers who do not codeshare or have interest in codesharing to decide against pursuing IOSA. The Aires crash is the second hull loss in Latin America this year, following an AeroUnion Airbus A300 freighter which crashed in April in Monterrey, Mexico. de Gunten says 2009 "was quite good" safety wise as there were no hull losses in the Latin American and Caribbean region. But he says 2008 was "a nightmare" with two hull losses in the region driving a safety record of 2.55 hull losses per one million sectors. This compared to a world average in 2008 of 0.81 hull losses per one million sectors, with Latin America reporting a worse safety record than Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In the first half of this year, Latin America had 1.98 hull losses per one million sectors. The Aires crash means at best the region will post a figure of about 1.98 hull losses per one million sectors for the full year. ALTA as a result remains well off its goal of matching North America's safety record, which had 0.58 hull losses per one million sectors in 2008 and 0.41 hull losses per one million sectors in 2009. "So it's still an area of concern for the region," de Gunten says. In addition to the new initiative with the FAA, de Gunten says ALTA promotes regular meetings of the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission (CLAC) and its safety committee. It also participates in regular ICAO safety meetings for the Americas region. de Gunten says the next ICAO meeting is scheduled for later this week in Seattle and will involve manufactures, airlines, pilot associations, regulatory authorities and other industry stakeholders. These ICAO-led meeting are for the entire Americas region but de Gunten says the focus of this group is currently on improving safety in the Latin America and Caribbean region. "A lot of efforts in the region are on Latin America and the Caribbean. Canada and the US have a shorter way to go. We have more catch-up to do," de Gunten says. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Man Arrested For Pointing Laser At Helicopter Apologizes Police: Man Wanted To See If Police Would Actually Show Up To Home ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- A local college student who bailed out on Wednesday said he never intended to shine a laser pointer at a sheriff's helicopter. "I didn't realize the laser pointer was that powerful," said Payam Keshmiri, who is a junior at Cal State San Marcos. The 21-year-old said his sister bought a laser pointer for $30 on Tuesday. Around 2:35 a.m., Keshmiri and two friends were playing with it in his Escondido backyard. "We were looking for stars, trying to look for satellites," said Keshmiri. "We shined it for several hours. I was pointing it at the area generally, then I was like, what is that red dot?" The dot was a sheriff's helicopter and soon after, Keshmiri was under arrest and facing a felony charge. Law enforcement said they talked to three men sitting around a fire pit in the backyard. Two of the men admitted that they told Keshmiri not to point the laser at the helicopter but that he did it anyway, saying he wanted to see if the police would actually come. But Keshmiri said his words were misunderstood by his friends once he realized what he had done. "I said, 'police will come because this is a police helicopter,' said Keshmiri. He said he had no idea he was putting lives at risk and said he had not heard of the dangers. Each pilot 10News has talked to said they've been hit with dozens of strikes in the last few years. "I now realize how dangerous my actions were. I want that message to get out to people not to repeat it. I want to apologize to the pilot of that helicopter and to the Escondido Police Department for causing such a huge misunderstanding," said Keshmiri. Keshmiri said he plans to call the pilot and apologize personally. He said he knows his actions could affect his future and said he's ready to accept the consequences. http://www.10news.com/news/24673604/detail.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103624814543&s=6053&e=001hkeflXzCYh20EkDkQO4uU-crdrzGbox_otbDFOGhzMftHwTLlkTnCino0eFB6Mq7Hr_LNjyfwGqueYC73CZoSRq4ExC-SYICI5nxhiQo9ahm5U1zkRqNY7bJj9KiB_Xza_GyFhMR25aOMYDwTU7cqw==] 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 Support ►Airfield/Heliport Lighting Products ►SMS Software www.curt-lewis.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103624814543&s=6053&e=001hkeflXzCYh1CMMIX9-Y-Xx0FYUFfRt8PQlSnKePi4KiXIgXTUjZX2nvDXcFgrvu34EFlJN2CqyBaxNqd40SMtDOJG3F0x1e2Hq0lSC1ad-8rRhk2FYtpWg==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC