Flight Safety Information September 8, 2010 - No. 186 In This Issue NTSB Revisits 'Child In Lap' Debate Christine Negroni' Blog - At ISASI 2010 Boeing 767 reaches 1,000-jet milestone Fire may have erupted on UPS plane HAI to Work with FAA on Credit Validation for HUMS-equipped Helicopters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB Revisits 'Child In Lap' Debate Accident In Montana Fatally Injured 7 Children The NTSB is once again asking the FAA to require all passengers, even those under 2 years of age, to have their own seats and seat belts. The recommendation follows a 2009 accident in which 14 people, including seven children, were fatally injured when the Pilatus PC-12 in which they were traveling went down in Montana. The aircraft was taking members of three families to a ski vacation in Bozeman, MT, but diverted to Butte for unknown reasons. It went down in a cemetery adjacent to the city's airport. The NTSB said several of the children were found "far" from the wreckage of the aircraft, suggesting they were not properly restrained in individual seats. Nora Marshall is chief of NTSB survival factors in aviation safety. She told The Associated Press "We strongly believe one seat, one person." The board has been making similar recommendations to the FAA for two decades, and an FAA spokeswoman said the agency will take the most recent recommendation under advisement, but has no rules changes in the works at this time. The NTSB admits that the severity of the crash made it unlikely that anyone would have survived regardless of seat belts. But its most recent recommendation says the accident renews the boards longstanding concerns about restraints. Under current rules, an adult may hold a child under 2 years of age on his or her lap during takeoff, landing, or turbulence. The FAA agrees that putting the child in an individual seat with its own seat belts would be safer, but says it does not want to require families to pay for the additional seat or push them onto the highways for their travel, which FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquestte says is less safe. The NTSB disagrees with that assessment. A study put together by the Board indicates there is no "clearly defined relationship between diversion from air travel and highway accidents or injury." FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.faa.gov Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flying Lessons Christine Negroni riffs on all things aviation and whatever else inspires her to put words to page. Wednesday, September 8, 2010 What maternal mortality rates have to do with air safety Attendees at the annual meeting of the International society of Air safety investigators are an experienced - may I say largely grizzled lot. Over beers (or saki) you'll hear members recounting crash investigations that included nights spent swatting misquotes, hairy helicopter rides to inaccessible mountain passes or days spent holding back sea sickness while towing black box beacon locaters from the back of boats. Marcus Costa chief of accident investigations for the International Civil Aviation Organization recalls worrying that piranhas might have been lurking in a river-submerged cockpit on one particular investigation in Brazil. But what I've never heard in the five years I've been attending the annual meeting is discussion of maternal mortality rates. That changed this year. In a presentation Tuesday at the 41st ISASI meeting here in Sapporo, Japan, Robert Matthews, senior analyst at the accident investigation and prevention office at the Federal Aviation Administration made a creative and entirely logical leap in suggesting a nation's attention to safe aviation operations can parallel other social indicators including, maternal and infant mortality rates, gross domestic product and standards of governance. China, the Republic of Korean and Vietnam showed noticeable improvement as well. Those countries still struggling - Indonesia, Central Asia, Pakistan and the Philippines - had in common high maternal and infant mortality rates and what Matthews called "national challenges of basic governance and stability." But from the 30,000 foot view, Matthews report is a reminder that safety isn't accomplished in isolation. A government's commitment to its people is an essential ingredient. http://christinenegroni.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-maternal-mortality-rates-have-to.html Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boeing 767 reaches 1,000-jet milestone Winning the tanker deal would keep the line going in Everett for another 20 years, a company official says. EVERETT -- The Boeing Co. celebrated the start of its 1,000th 767 on Tuesday, saying it hoped a successful bid for a new U.S. Air Force tanker will mean it will produce many more. Calling the 1,000th jet a career milestone for the aircraft, Kim Pastega, a Boeing vice president and 767 general manager, pushed a button to ready the wing spar for the aircraft. The left spar, which holds up the wing, is the beginning of all 767s. "The spar build is where it all happens," Pastega said. "We're looking to the future with the potential tanker contract and 20 additional years of production." Pastega noted that the company has 55 orders now for the 767. If it gets the $35 billion deal for the new tanker, it would make 179 more of those in the initial contract. Boeing officials said earlier that a tanker win for the company would create 50,000 jobs in the United States, including 9,000 in Washington state. Airbus parent EADS is competing with Boeing to build the replacement for the tanker, developed during the 1950s, that the government has been trying to retire for nearly a decade. The government is expected to make a decision on the contract late this year or early next year. And analysts said whatever the Air Force decides, the issue likely will wind up in court. Pastega said it's an exciting time for the 767. In addition to the 767's possible use as the Air Force's new tanker, it also is getting a new production line inside the Everett plant that Pastega said should be ready by the end of this year. "It's a huge opportunity for us to focus on being more efficient," she said of the new line. The new 767 production area will have a smaller footprint, so it would use less space in the world's largest building by volume. Boeing also expects to add some efficiencies that would allow it to build 767s faster than it has in the past, Pastega said. Workers also will build a new giant sliding door in the building to remove the 767s from the new assembly line. Pastega said the company is in the middle of stepping up production from one 767 a month to 1.5. It plans to go to two a month next summer. All Nippon Airways, the launch customer for the 787, will get the 1,000th 767, Pastega said. She said the 767 is important because it has carved out many routes and was the first to fly an extended twin engine. "Its legacy is really big in terms of what it has done in aviation history," she said. "We would compare this (the 1,000th aircraft) to one of those milestones that happens in life." Pastega, formerly the director of manufacturing for the 777, was recently moved to the 767 program, replacing Elizabeth Lund, who is the new deputy manager of the 747. http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100908/BIZ/709089925/1005 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=gqvqzbdab&et=1103667596835&s=6053&e=001U485X5LfaWSlmjqsWNbdKi10WCUPg_Jdr3DXnm6ooPcmrlEDlS-LzOm1V6XYQy70fZNe1bFPLwPkXj78w-stIdItyeLxn5RnYTI_fumodVLH3Oq1u5ePkhgtwFQWknSXJyYvs2FN4rmPLHXXjkh-QK7N4Be3RBpXDt3HCiQL7P8=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fire may have erupted on UPS plane WASHINGTON (AP)- The fire that broke out in a UPS plane that crashed last week in Dubai, killing both pilots, appears to have begun in a cargo compartment, according to people familiar with the accident investigation. Accident investigators are now trying to verify which cargo aboard the Boeing 747-400 was located just forward of the starboard wing, where the fire erupted, those familiar with the investigation said. Investigators also want to know if there were any lithium-ion batteries in that location. If a battery short-circuits, it can catch fire and ignite others. The location of the fire was identified so quickly because the plane was equipped with a sophisticated data transmission system that sent information via satellite to the company's airline operations headquarters in Louisville, Ky. The transmissions are so fast, people familiar with the investigation said, that UPS' airline operations half a world away had information in hand indicating the plane was in serious trouble before it crashed. Those familiar with the investigation who discussed the preliminary findings asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. Atlanta-based UPS, formally known as United Parcel Service Inc., has identified the crew members killed in the crash as Capt. Doug Lampe of Louisville, Ky., 48, and First Officer Matthew Bell, 38, of Sanford, Fla. Lampe had been with UPS since 1995. Bell had been with the company since 2006. Both flew out of UPS's Anchorage, Alaska, pilot base. UPS spokesman Mike Mangeot confirmed that the crashed plane was equipped with an airplane health management system, Boeing's name for the transmission system. He declined to comment directly on the crash or what information the company received from the plane before the accident. AHM systems help "self-diagnose" problems in flight and alert the airline before landing so that maintenance workers are ready to do repairs and parts are on hand. The systems aren't standard on Boeing planes, but the company has been installing them on 747-400s for customers who request them for about five years, said Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx. Among the data transmitted ahead of the Dubai crash, according to people familiar with the investigation, was an alert about a serious problem in the cargo compartment near the starboard wing. The plane's pilots also told air traffic controllers that a fire had broken out in the main compartment, and smoke was so thick that they were having trouble reading their instruments, people familiar with the investigation said. Among the issues raised by the crash is whether FAA should require equipment be installed in cockpits that would enable pilots to read instruments - in most modern airliners that amounts to computer screens - even in heavy smoke. Pilot unions have been pressing for the equipment. Pilots have limited options for extinguishing a fire in a cargo compartment, said aviation safety consultant Jack Casey. A continuously smoky fire is especially difficult, Casey said, because it interferes with pilots' ability to breathe and see well enough to fly the plane. The investigation is being led by UAE's aviation authority, but a team led by the National Transportation Safety Board has flown to Dubai to assist the investigation. A preliminary report released by UAE authorities on Sunday said the crew reported smoke in the cockpit about 20 minutes after taking off from Dubai on a flight to a UPS hub in Cologne, Germany. Air controllers in the nearby Gulf nation of Bahrain said the plane was returning to Dubai. But the crew on Flight 6 did not speak directly with the Dubai tower. For reasons still unclear, the crew could not switch from the Bahrain to the Dubai radio frequency. The plane was not in the proper alignment to make an emergency landing in Dubai on its first pass, but then began losing altitude and crashed inside a UAE military camp, authorities said. Investigators also want to exam the plane's flight data recorder - which also monitors the plane's systems - to see if it verifies the information received through the AHM system. The data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder will be sent to the United States for analysis, UAE authorities said. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HAI to Work with FAA on Credit Validation for HUMS-equipped Helicopters Alexandria, Va., September 7, 2010 - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Research Grants Program has awarded the Helicopter Association International (HAI) a cooperative agreement to support research titled "Validation of FAA AC-29-MG for Usage Credits". "HAI is pleased to be working with the FAA on this important project" says Matthew Zuccaro, HAI President. "The ability of the Health and Usage Systems (HUMS) to detect mechanical degradation significantly reduces unscheduled maintenance of the power train, enhancing aircraft availability and avoiding mechanical failures in flight. In addition, this technology measures the intensity of operational usage in a way that promises to extend the safe lives of components that are subject to less demanding operational use." Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters perform a variety of missions from heavy lift to transportation, and the useful life of dynamic components varies from mission to mission. But until the advent of HUMS little consideration has been given to the life of a part based on actual usage. When fully implemented the collective impact of these and other features of the HUMS will be an increase in safety and operational efficiency throughout the rotorcraft industry." The safety contribution of HUMS equipment was verified by the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST), formed in 2005 to reduce the helicopter accident rate by 80 percent in ten years. The group chartered the Joint Helicopter Safety Analysis Team (JHSAT) to perform a data driven analysis of all accidents on an annual basis by statistically analyzing the root causes for every accident in the data set. This methodology was successfully used by the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) for the air carrier fleet. The JHSAT reported "The development, installation and use of HUMS on aircraft to monitor the status of the aircraft systems and their level of use, or equivalent Engine Monitor Systems (EMS) is a predominant system failure intervention. The JHSAT has identified 24 (47 percent) of the part/system failure accidents that may have potential for mitigation by monitoring systems." The full report can be found at www.ihst.org. In short, HUMS and Conditioned Based Maintenance (CBM) have the potential to increase operational efficiency, improve safety, and aircraft availability. HUMS equipment is starting to be deployed in the civilian helicopter industry. These systems typically consist of a variety of sensors and data acquisition systems. The three basic aspects of HUMS are installation, credit validation, and Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA). Although installed on a number of aircraft, to date there has not been a successful application for a "maintenance credit." HAI has put together a team of industry experts and is joining the effort to support the FAA and the industry as a whole to document the steps needed to validate the processes needed to provide flight time extensions for components subject to the least severe operational loads. If you have had experience operating helicopters with HUMS functionality, especially if you now operate HUMS equipped aircraft, we would like to hear from you. Please contact ed.dicampli@rotor.com with a summary of your experience. http://new.rotor.com/Portals/1/RotorNews/Icons/best-logo3.gif [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=gqvqzbdab&et=1103667596835&s=6053&e=001U485X5LfaWS6awe3uC8qeQlv0XtqBNqVS3cCwAb_CziL2s9fkEK_FcoxWicg74GErURvA57B4bkLewH7jbQjUkqE7TmuOZ7fTFz80F2vCrTEYJyt8NzKMeo8DV6q4Saaa6duO28_wEvpdiQ7FP1hgcwDxMY7If_FpgGkUZLcwNE=] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=gqvqzbdab&et=1103667596835&s=6053&e=001U485X5LfaWQjI3eXMZCzgEHgXVqkITvUBt1RlvsGNVTJz3Wj-uJ60hsm8ENQrWPTZDarRD-9vn997fY0gaVmI4J87gwXE8Eo] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC