Flight Safety Information September 23, 2010 - No. 198 In This Issue Pilots, Air Traffic Controllers Share Safety Data Jet landed with parking brake on at Sacramento Investigators Suspect Pilot Distraction In Two Recent Airliner Incidents ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pilots, Air Traffic Controllers Share Safety Data Will Allow Review Of Safety-Related Events From Both Perspectives A safety program created by the FAA will for the first time integrate voluntary safety information self-reported by pilots and air traffic controllers. This data-sharing program unveiled Wednesday by the FAA will give the agency a more complete picture of the national airspace system by collecting, assessing and reviewing safety events from the perspective of both pilots and air traffic controllers. United Airlines and its pilots have the first agreement in place to participate in a demonstration program. The FAA expects to sign similar agreements with other carriers in the future. "Safety is our number-one priority," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Having pilots and controllers provide information abut potential air safety problems will help us correct them before they become accidents." "This revolutionary program will give us an incredible amount of data that will help us find problems, make corrections and avoid incidents," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "I applaud air traffic controllers, pilots and airlines for their dedication to keeping our aviation system as safe as possible." For the first time, information from the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) and the Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP) will be merged, so input from both pilots and controllers can help guide safety decisions. The program will develop processes and policies to share and analyze relevant safety information in a non-punitive way, consistent with the basic principles of Safety Management Systems. These systems are widely used within the FAA and the aviation industry. ASAP encourages aviation employees to voluntarily report safety information that may help identify potential precursors to accidents. The ASAP process resolves safety issues through corrective action rather than through punishment or discipline. Each program is based on a safety partnership that includes the FAA and the aviation operator, and usually includes a third party, such as the reporting employee's labor organization. In today's agreement, the airline's labor organization is the United chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Today, 73 air carriers have 169 ASAP programs for pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, and dispatchers. ATSAP is an agreement between the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) that is designed to foster a voluntary, cooperative, non-punitive environment for FAA air traffic employees to openly report safety concerns As a result of ATSAP, all parties have access to valuable safety information that otherwise might never have been discovered or reported. The FAA analyzes the information to develop skill enhancements or system corrective actions that will help solve safety problems. Voluntary reporting programs have significantly contributed to the nation's impressive aviation safety record, including improvements to training and enhanced operations and maintenance procedures. FMI: www.faa.gov Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jet landed with parking brake on at Sacramento SACRAMENTO, Calif.(AP) - A JetBlue airliner apparently landed with its parking brake on when its main tires blew and caught fire at Sacramento International Airport last month, a federal safety agency said Wednesday. Recorded flight data show the Airbus A320-232's parking brake was engaged during approach at an altitude of 5,100 feet and stayed on throughout the Aug. 26 landing, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary finding. The NTSB said the twin-engine jet rapidly decelerated, the four tires on its main landing gear blew out, and a minor tire fire erupted. The first officer was flying Flight 262 from Long Beach and the captain took over when the problem occurred and the tower reported sparks and smoke, the NTSB said. The captain brought the plane to a halt and ordered an emergency evacuation on the runway, the NTSB said. Seven of the 86 passengers suffered minor injuries while using emergency slides. The two pilots and three flight attendants were unharmed. The preliminary NTSB report said the airplane was examined by the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration, and the main gear tires showed evidence of being locked on touchdown. The NTSB said neither pilot recalled any abnormal indications or warnings associated with the braking system prior to landing. An after-hours telephone call and e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment from JetBlue Airways Corp. were not immediately returned Wednesday. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Investigators Suspect Pilot Distraction In Two Recent Airliner Incidents By ANDY PASZTOR (WSJ) - Federal air-safety officials are investigating whether pilot distraction was responsible for two recent dangerous runway incidents involving Allegiant Air and JetBlue Airways Corp. The safety lapses didn't result in any fatalities, but the two separate close calls over the past few weeks have prompted renewed scrutiny of pilot attentiveness by government regulators and crash experts. The latest investigations follow a string of other cockpit mistakes-some stretching back to 2009-highlighting the dangers of pilot complacency or distraction. On August 26, a JetBlue Airways Airbus A320 blew four tires and experienced a landing-gear fire after touching down in Sacramento, Calif. Seven of the 86 passengers aboard the plane, en route from Long Beach, Calif., received minor injuries during the emergency evacuation on the runway. Investigators subsequently determined that the pilots of JetBlue Flight 262 inadvertently engaged the plane's parking brake while approaching the airport at roughly 5,000 feet. According to preliminary findings of the National Transportation Safety Board, the first officer was at the controls when the plane touched down and "began a rapid deceleration." Four main landing gear tires deflated and main wheel rims were damaged. Similar parking brake slip-ups have occurred on a number of other Airbus aircraft over the years, according to pilots, even though the planes are designed to alert the crew whenever the parking brake is engaged. The safety board said neither pilot "recalled any abnormal indications or warnings" of braking system problems prior to landing. A JetBlue spokesman said the carrier was cooperating fully with the safety board, but he declined further comment. The Allegiant Air incident involved a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 jet that barely managed to take off from the Lake Charles, La. airport less than two weeks later. The plane damaged part of its landing gear after using the entire strip for its takeoff roll, and then striking lights at the end of the runway. The pilots, who apparently didn't realize the damage until they were alerted by air-traffic controllers, diverted and landed safely in Tunica, Miss. Allegiant Air's parent is Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co. An Allegiant spokeswoman declined to comment, except to say the airline was cooperating with investigators. An FAA spokesman declined to comment on the status of the agency's probe. Federal regulators, safety-board investigators and pilot-union leaders appear particularly sensitive to suspected cockpit distraction after some high-profile examples. The most prominent incident occurred in October 2009, when the pilots of a Northwest Airlines jetliner cruising at 37,000 feet across the country lost radio contact with controllers for more than an hour. The plane overshot Minneapolis, its destination airport, by roughly 100 miles, before the cockpit crew realized the mistake. Both pilots told investigators they became distracted talking about changing crew schedules and looking at a personal laptop opened on the flight deck. The errant flight resulted in a Congressional outcry, stoked public outrage and led to FAA moves to revoke the licenses of the pilots. Ultimately, both pilots left the airline, which is now part of Delta Air Lines Inc. Pilots "simply cannot allow complacency and inattention to permeate and contaminate cockpits." Rory Kay, a top safety official at the Air Line Pilots Association, said during a recent public safety forum. Aviators must "comprehensively self-assess their fitness to fly," according to Capt. Kay, who flies for United Airlines. A week before the Minneapolis incident, an experienced Delta crew on an overnight flight from South America landed a widebody Boeing 767 on a 75-foot wide taxiway instead of a parallel, 150-foot wide runway at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. The weather and visibility were both good, and runways have different colored lights than taxiways. But investigators determined that at the end of a 10-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro, the crew was distracted by the illness of a senior pilot, several different landing instructions from controllers and the desire to taxi as quickly as possible to the terminal. Between the fall of 2009 and the spring of 2010, pilots for two U.S. commuter airlines failed to start up the second engines of their jets before getting ready to take off. The unusual incidents prompted federal investigations and sparked comments by safety experts about the need to step up training to prevent pilot distractions that can result in dangerous errors. Both crews realized the mistake before their aircraft started to gain speed. There also have been scores of pilot mistakes that escaped public notice. During 2008 and 2009, at least 20 crews flying for Comair, Delta's commuter arm, prepared to take off without extending the Canadair regional jet's flaps, movable panels at the rear of the wings essential to enhance lift. In each case, according to people familiar with details, automated cockpit warnings sounded before takeoff and there were no accidents. But the airline felt the need to rewrite parts of its checklists and review training procedures to assure proper flap deployment. A Comair spokeswoman said Wednesday that the carrier's safety-reporting program "identified the need to reinforce the new procedure, and since that time, we have experienced no further incidents." Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC