Flight Safety Information August 25, 2010 - No. 173 In This Issue Safety questions swirl after China plane crash Foreign pilots will be allowed to stay in India Jumble of Air Safety Rules FAA Tighten Boeing 737 Inspections NTSB Suggests Poor Visibility in Plane Crash Involving Former Sen. Stevens China's Henan suspends operations after crash Authorities recover FDR from crashed Henan Embraer 190 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Safety questions swirl after China plane crash (AFP) Investigators Wednesday sifted through the charred wreckage of a Brazilian-made Chinese airliner for clues on why it crashed while trying to land in heavy fog, killing 42 people and injuring 54. The government promised a thorough but speedy probe into China's first major air disaster in nearly six years, amid reports of past technical problems with the model of jet involved -- a twin-engine ERJ-190 made by Brazil's Embraer. Survivors of late Tuesday's crash in a remote part of northeast China described terrifying jolts before the Henan Airlines domestic flight slammed into the ground, leaving a long trail of crumpled metal burning in the dark. The black box flight data recorder was recovered near Lindu airport in the northeast city of Yichun where the Henan ERJ-190, which was carrying 91 passengers and five crew, crashed. The Beijing Youth Daily reported that a bigger airline, China Southern, suspended all night flights in and out of Lindu airport in September 2009 -- just days after the facility opened for business -- because of safety concerns. Civil aviation authorities were hoping to glean information also from the plane's captain, who survived the crash but was so far unable to speak due to severe facial injuries, Xinhua news agency reported. Lindu airport -- located in a forested area about nine kilometres (five miles) outside Yichun -- was closed on Wednesday and all Henan Airlines flights grounded, Xinhua said. "The plane really started to jolt in a scary way -- the plane jolted five or six times very strongly," one male survivor told China Central Television from his hospital bed, describing scenes of panic as passengers tried to escape. A second male survivor interviewed by CCTV -- his head bandaged and his nose bloodied -- also said he felt a "big jolt" as the plane was coming in to land and heard "big crashes -- bam bam bam". Rescuers meanwhile transferred victims' bodies wrapped in silver bags to funeral homes for identification, Xinhua said. Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang visited the survivors -- mainly from the plane's front and middle sections -- who were being treated in four local hospitals and "demanded a quick investigation" into the cause of the crash, Xinhua said. State television said a preliminary probe had ruled out any intentional wrongdoing, as well as any mid-air explosions or fires. Provincial police said visibility was less than 300 metres (yards) at the time of the crash due to heavy fog. Xinhua said Chinese carriers using ERJ-190s had previously reported technical problems, and that the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) called a workshop in June 2009 to discuss the issues. Notes from the meeting -- which involved Kunpeng Airlines, as Henan Airlines was previously known -- showed that broken turbine plates and flight control system errors were among the problems, Xinhua said. Henan Airlines has grounded three of the four other ERJ-190s it operates on other routes following the crash, China National Radio said, adding that the crashed plane was only two years old. Embraer offered its condolences to the victims' families and said it had sent a team of technicians to help with the investigation. The crash occurred just after 9:30 pm (1330 GMT) on Tuesday, around 40 minutes after the plane took off from the northeast city of Harbin. Henan Airlines, which mainly operates in north and northeast China, had only launched the route two weeks ago, Xinhua said. Among those on board were 18 officials from China's Ministry of Human Resources including vice-minister Sun Baoshu, who was in a serious condition, it reported. A passenger from Taiwan was lightly injured with burns to his back but was recovering, officials from the island said. Wang Xuemei, the vice mayor of Yichun who oversaw the rescue efforts, said most of the survivors had suffered broken bones. It was China's first major air disaster since a China Eastern Airlines jet crashed in Inner Mongolia in November 2004, killing 53 people on board and two on the ground. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Foreign pilots will be allowed to stay in India India's aviation authorities have changed their minds about a policy that would have barred overseas pilots from working on India's commercial airlines. The country, which has been trying to ensure work for its own pilot graduates, has recently seen a pick-up in passenger demand. A one-year extension for removing an estimated 400 foreign pilots from its commercial airlines has been agreed to. Foreign pilots were supposed to have been out of the aviation industry by the end of July to make room for an over-supply of young domestic pilots. Jobs for 3,000 novice pilots who were awaiting vacancies on domestic carriers have now been largely filled. Many Asian carriers which are being forced to ramp up capacity in response to passenger growth are also looking for more foreign pilots. http://story.albuquerqueexpress.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103636369404&s=6053&e=001Yj2E2RB45P1MtKS0JENMiQA40k7wecfa3Axe_HTYmwV0yUlFWeA_ebeCi5w8dfss6bl7G-7CHWEIphsApuqb8GWVxLhYPxvpAGzFK1Lp-wzwi56fEPJ_-H92l6WvvMiT] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jumble of Air Safety Rules Bonnie Rind pushed for better air safety standards after her brother died in a plane crash in Thailand. Aviation officials often cite the industry's low accident rate after a plane crash, and statistics back up their assertions: last year, there were about 2.5 accidents for every one million commercial flights worldwide. In 2007, Ms. Rind's brother was on a One Two Go Airlines flight from Bangkok to Phuket when it crashed, killing 90 of 130 people on board. But that is still about 90 accidents, 18 of them involving nearly 700 fatalities, and safety standards can vary widely among airlines. Yet passengers and companies responsible for employee travel have little information to evaluate a carrier's safety standards, or judge a particular country's commitment to safety, given the patchwork of organizations monitoring safety and the limits on what details are made public. That issue has been in the spotlight ever since the Federal Aviation Administration downgraded Mexico from a category 1 rating to category 2 on July 30, meaning it does not comply with safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency that the United States and other countries rely on for guidelines. Those standards evaluate whether a country has adequate laws to oversee air carriers and a civil aviation authority with the expertise, personnel and procedures to enforce safety regulations. The F.A.A. typically does not disclose why a country's rating has been downgraded, leaving travelers - and some industry officials - in the dark about how to interpret the change. "It's definitely worrisome," said William R. Voss, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Flight Safety Foundation, although he emphasized that the category 2 rating was an evaluation of the government's oversight capabilities, not individual carriers. "It would appear that Mexico has had some problems with its work force of inspectors," Mr. Voss said. While Mexican airlines may be maintaining adequate standards, he added that "it means that they're doing it of their own volition and the regulator is not standing above them and holding them to account." Mexico's transport ministry has said the downgrade was because of an insufficient number of aviation inspectors, a situation it is working to correct. In the meantime, the category 2 rating means that Mexican carriers cannot code-share with American carriers, or add new service to the United States, although existing flights between the two countries may continue. About 20 countries have a category 2 rating, including Belize, Honduras, Indonesia, Israel, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Uruguay and many African nations. Although the United States government does not evaluate individual airlines, the European Union maintains a list of carriers that are banned from flying to its airports; that blacklist includes more than 200 airlines, mostly from Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines. The International Air Transport Association, a trade group representing 230 carriers, maintains a registry of airlines that have passed its operational safety audit; about 340 carriers have met hundreds of criteria, like ensuring crew members have been trained in procedures, like responses to wind shear. While the registry is considered valuable, it has some limitations. Many of its provisions defer to national regulations on things like pilot rest, meaning a carrier simply must demonstrate it abides by local rules, which can vary. Other criteria are suggestions, not requirements. "It's the industry policing itself," said Bruce McIndoe, president of iJet, a company that provides risk intelligence services to corporate clients, including airline safety. Mr. McIndoe said his primary concern was aircraft maintenance, particularly given the growth in global air travel and the pressure to find qualified workers - and properly certified (not black market) parts. "Where are all these parts coming from and where are all these people coming from?" he asked. "There are huge opportunities for abuse, and abuse leads to safety failures." That is a message Bonnie Rind has been trying to spread ever since her brother died in Thailand in 2007. His One Two Go Airlines flight from Bangkok to Phuket crashed while trying to land, killing 90 of the 130 people on board. Reports issued by Thai investigators and the National Transportation Safety Board found several pilot errors. Both pilots had exceeded their duty time limits, had insufficient rest before the flight and had not received required training. Ms. Rind, an engineer who has some flight experience, did her own investigation, using the Internet to connect with Western-trained commercial pilots working in Thailand. She said she had found evidence of a broader pattern of lax oversight of airlines in Thailand (posted at investigateudom.com), and met with representatives from the F.A.A. to press for a more thorough review of the country's safety standards. "I showed them what I had collected and asked them how it was possible Thailand was a category 1 country," Ms. Rind said. "They told me that they couldn't answer specific questions about Thailand or any other review." Laura J. Brown, a spokeswoman for the F.A.A., said the agency could not comment on its decisions about Mexico or Thailand, citing confidentiality agreements with other countries. Ms. Rind views that as a disservice to Americans who increasingly travel to remote corners of the globe, not necessarily understanding the disparities in aviation safety. "What troubles me is that travelers cannot evaluate this issue. The information is not available to them," she said. http://www.nytimes.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103636369404&s=6053&e=001Yj2E2RB45P0FNKoVqdX96P4Et6oFDRv7imskvYj6SxOFeebt0KVUXu-iUxrc1mhE92FYhMLbQZu4dlJcMPGJam9GVEPFSWjp8fglBoPcpHrgPJOB1Od_1g==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA Tighten Boeing 737 Inspections By ANDY PASZTOR U.S. aviation regulators, concerned about potentially dangerous vibrations and possible structural problems, are ratcheting up and expanding mandated inspections for more than 1,000 of Boeing Co.'s latest 737 jet models. A Federal Aviation Administration safety directive expected to be issued Wednesday will require U.S. airlines such as AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc., and Southwest Airlines Co., to conduct enhanced inspections of the tail sections of certain Boeing 737-600 and newer models. Mechanics will seek to identify and replace loose or suspect parts that control the movement of elevators, movable surfaces on the tail that determine the upward and downward angle of flight. The latest FAA move comes after two previous rounds of mandated FAA inspections in the spring, which covered only a portion of the planes. The directive is unusual because it requires continued repetitive inspections even after suspect parts have been replaced by interim hardware. Failure of the control mechanism can result in vibrations that can damage elevators or horizontal stabilizers and, in extreme cases, "could result in loss of structural integrity and aircraft control," according to documents released by the FAA Tuesday. A Boeing spokeswoman said there have been two in-flight reports of "heavy vibration" of elevators, with the planes diverting and landing safely. Both incidents occurred this year, she said. The FAA's directive indicates one of those incidents occurred-and various other loose or malfunctioning parts were discovered during ground checks-after the earlier inspection mandates were in place. Foreign regulators eventually are expected to follow the FAA's lead, extending the tighter inspection requirements to as many as 2,000 additional planes flown by foreign carriers. The Boeing spokeswoman said the company is working on a permanent fix and the stepped-up inspections are intended to "ensure that safety continues at the highest level" until all the suspect parts are replaced. She didn't say how long that process could take. The FAA's document indicates the agency has "determined that the identified unsafe condition is related to the design" of the system that helps control the elevator. Under the latest FAA timetable, some planes will have to undergo new inspections as soon as 30 days or 300 flight hours after the previously ordered checks. For other aircraft, airlines will have up to six months or 1,800 flight hours before the latest inspections must be done. Mechanics, among other things, will look for loose bearings to determine whether there is a safety issue. And periodic inspections must continue until upgraded replacement parts are installed. Boeing earlier this month issued a service bulletin laying out the latest inspection procedures, but following such bulletins isn't mandatory for carriers. Reflecting the level of concern by the FAA and manufacturer Boeing, some of the earlier inspections were targeted partly at aircraft flying long-range routes over water, which makes elevator malfunctions particularly dangerous because planes can be cruising two hours or more from the nearest emergency landing strip. http://online.wsj.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103636369404&s=6053&e=001Yj2E2RB45P2u27I3M7RwUhYVN-U8tPgXSdkptcxe9EzeS4DNZMhsqJNZOneIOQx-jo1oUHj8j7KPqmJs-IlQVatCPbr-sye0FHqJrNBXp9YTGoulQO3I5A==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB Suggests Poor Visibility in Plane Crash Involving Former Sen. Stevens By ANDY PASZTOR Federal investigators issued Wednesday the strongest signals yet that poor weather conditions-including clouds perhaps as low as 600 feet-likely played a central role in the plane crash that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens and four others earlier this month on a remote Alaskan mountainside. The preliminary accident report released by the National Transportation Safety Board includes new details about the difficult flying conditions that prevailed that day not far from the crash site. Roughly 10 minutes after the presumed time of the accident on the afternoon of Aug. 9, according to the report, the closest official weather-observation station indicated rain and mist, with winds gusting to more than 25 miles an hour and scattered clouds with a ceiling as low as 600 feet. The safety board's report, released early Wednesday, states that the precise weather at the accident site still isn't known. But it goes on to say that "marginal visual meteorological conditions were reported" at the airport in Dillingham, about 18 miles to the south. And rescuers encountered similarly restricted visibility when they arrived at the crash scene six hours later. Investigators also obtained information from a private weather-forecasting and data-collection company, further supporting the notion that visibility likely was significantly reduced at the time of the crash Closely held AirDat LLC, based in Morrisville, N.C., supplied data to help the board try to reconstruct weather conditions at the moment the single-engine, propeller-powered plane slammed into the steep, tree-covered slope. The company has installed some of its weather sensors on certain commuter airliners, and it provided readings from aircraft that flew near Dillingham and the crash site throughout the day. The data shows that at some points, forward visibility may have been less than a mile around the Dillingham field. Cloud and mist restricted vertical visibility anywhere from an altitude of about 500 feet to nearly ground level, according to data presented to the board. "I didn't see weather improve at all in Dillingham" the day of the crash, Neil Jacobs, AirDat's chief atmospheric scientist, said in a recent interview. The Stevens aircraft was flying at an altitude of about 900 feet when it smashed into part of the Muklung Hills, 19 miles southeast of the fishing lodge where the flight originated. Wednesday's report also sheds light on a perplexing issue: why the plane's emergency-locator transmitter failed to send any signals after the crash. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the transmitter "separated from its mounting bracket during impact," according to the report, "and the antenna cable was found separated" from the device. The safety board's report offers scant new information about the sequence of events leading up to the crash of the floatplane plane that was ferrying Sen. Stevens and his companions on what was intended to be a quick, 52-mile flight from the lodge to a fishing camp for a peaceful afternoon of recreation The safety board previously indicated that the brightly painted red and white De Havilland Otter-a 1950's vintage plane that had been overhauled a few years before the crash-seemingly didn't suffer any obvious engine or mechanical malfunctions prior to impact. The former veteran Alaska lawmaker, pilot Theron "Terry" Smith and three others were instantly killed. Four passengers , including former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and his son, Kevin, a college student, survived the impact. They spent a harrowing night on the slope, surrounded by dead companions and a fuel slick, before being evacuated the next morning. Survivor accounts and earlier updates by the safety board suggested that poor visibility likely was a factor in the crash. But Wednesday's report provided the most direct sign yet that NTSB investigators increasingly suspect the experienced pilot took off under visual flight rules, but may have encountered fast-changing or possibly deteriorating weather conditions as the trip progressed. The plane apparently ended up slightly off-course while flying through a valley surrounded by peaks that may have been shrouded in mist or clouds, according to people familiar with details of the investigation. Members of the pilot's family have declined to comment. It could take months for investigators to tear down the plane's engine, evaluate other evidence and complete a report determining the probable cause of the high-profile crash. http://online.wsj.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103636369404&s=6053&e=001Yj2E2RB45P2u27I3M7RwUhYVN-U8tPgXSdkptcxe9EzeS4DNZMhsqJNZOneIOQx-jo1oUHj8j7KPqmJs-IlQVatCPbr-sye0FHqJrNBXp9YTGoulQO3I5A==] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103636369404&s=6053&e=001Yj2E2RB45P2i-d5fD-uayAp3gq0FuA8GX06zkGgD2vGy9Fmg5TKfmypUXnXpvq_od7d52cA-JOk4OJaLZyaxlXSsjC97HAbM] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ China's Henan suspends operations after crash China's Henan Airlines has suspended its flight operations temporarily, after last night's deadly air crash involving an Embraer 190 operated by the airline. The carrier cancelled all its flights today and is likely to cancel flights tomorrow as well, says an airline official. "The airline's management is still in discussions with the authorities to see how we should proceed from here," he adds. Search and rescue operations have recovered the aircraft's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, says the official. The aircraft overshot the runway at Yichun Airport in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang last night while it was landing after a flight from Harbin. The twin-jet broke apart and caught fire as a result of the impact, and eventually came to a stop in a grassy patch 1.5km away from the runway. Of the 96 people on board, 42 died in the crash. The airline official says weather conditions at the airport were foggy last night, but adds that it was not raining. Yichun Airport, which only began operations last August, has a 2,300m long runway. The airport was constructed in 14 months, and can accommodate Airbus A320s, Boeing 737-700s and other smaller aircraft. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Authorities recover FDR from crashed Henan Embraer 190 Rescuers have found the flight data recorder (FDR) from the Henan Airlines Embraer 190 that crashed in north-eastern China last night. The FDR was recovered this morning from the crash site, says Chinese state media. It is not clear if the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder has been found. Officials from Henan were not able to provide more details when contacted. The aircraft crashed at Yichun Airport in Heilongjiang province after it overshot the runway while landing. It was operating a flight from Harbin. Of the 96 people on board, 42 died. Embraer says it has dispatched a team of specialists to the crash site to assist the Chinese authorities with the incident investigation. Henan operates a fleet of five Embraer 190s and was formerly known as Kunpeng Airlines. It is wholly owned by China's Shenzhen Airlines. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC