Flight Safety Information October 21, 2010 - No. 215 In This Issue Federal Judge Rules Flight 3407 CVR Can Be Used As Evidence Embraer 650 executive jet wins certification Pilot refuses full-body scan at Tenn. airport FAA Expected To Add Photos To Pilot Certificates Florida Tech lands $14M deal to train airline pilots FAA reissues rule on 747-8 turbulence... 21 injured on Vietnam Airlines flight to Paris...( Federal Judge Rules Flight 3407 CVR Can Be Used As Evidence Judge Said Written Transcript Does Not Accurately Reflect Actual Conditions In a decision that could have far-reaching implications for aviation, a federal judge has ruled that the actual recording from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) made when Continental Connection Flight 3407 went down can be introduced as evidence in the wrongful death suits filed in connection with the accident. A transcript of the CVR recording was released last year, but judge William M Skretny said the written transcript was not complete and contains inaccuracies. The Buffalo News reports that Skretny listened to the recordings in private before making his ruling. "Production of the recording [as evidence] is necessary because the written transcript does not and cannot reflect tone of voice, pitch, volume or inflection, nor does it necessarily accurately reflect ambient and other noises pertinent to the aircraft's operation," Skretny wrote in his opinion. "The Second Circuit [Appeals] Court has recognized the evidentiary importance of the audio recording from a cockpit voice recorder, which is often the only piece of neutral evidence in an air crash case," the ruling continued. Attorneys for the families of some of those fatally injured in the accident said that the written transcript does not convey the "pre- impact terror" aboard the aircraft. 39 lawsuits have been filed in connection with the accident. The paper reports that five have been settled out of court. Aero-News Analysis: There are few in aviation that will argue with the opinion that this sets an overtly dangerous precedent. Pilots have fought the disclosure of such recordings for years by virtue of the fact that the real factual evidence is contained in the transcripts that ARE released and that the actual recordings will do nothing but harm those involved (emotionally) and enrich grand-standing attorneys. This decision needs to be fought at all costs... as the release of this information has no evidentiary value whatsoever... and is nothing but a ghoulish attempt to profit off tragedy. -- Jim Campbell, ANN Editor-In-Chief FMI: www.ca2.uscourts.gov Back to Top Embraer 650 executive jet wins certification Embraer Legacy 650 executive jet. (Embraer) Embraer's Legacy 650 executive jet has achieved certification from Brazil's Civil Aviation Agency and the European Aviation Safety Agency, the Brazilian plane maker announced Wednesday. The certification comes one year after launch of the Legacy 600 derivative, Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer's executive vice president, Executive Jets, noted in a news release. "This will allow us to start deliveries of the aircraft in 2010, as planned," he said. "The Legacy 650 met all of the original specification targets, particularly the 3,900 nautical mile range, which allows the airplane to connect important city pairs and open new markets for Embraer." The Legacy 650 is larger than the 600, with a longer range: 3,900 nautical miles with four passengers and 3,840 nautical miles with eight passengers. Modifications include reinforced wings and landing gear, a redesigned automated fuel system with larger tank capacity, and new Rolls-Royce AE 3007A2 engines. http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/225594.asp Back to Top Pilot refuses full-body scan at Tenn. airport ExpressJet Airlines first officer Michael Roberts drew a line in the sand at Memphis International Airport security checkpoint C. He left the airport without boarding a flight to his duty base in Houston, refusing a full-body scan and its alternative, a manual pat-down, by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers. MEMPHIS, Tenn. - ExpressJet Airlines first officer Michael Roberts drew a line in the sand at Memphis International Airport security checkpoint C. He left the airport without boarding a flight to his duty base in Houston, refusing a full-body scan and its alternative, a manual pat- down, by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers. Roberts, 35, is waiting to find out whether his protest would cost him his job. "I'm not trying to throw down the gauntlet with the federal government per se," he said. "I just want to be able to go to work and not be harassed or molested without cause.... I'm just not comfortable being physically manhandled by a federal security agent every time I go to work." TSA spokesman Jon Allen, said the incident was the first of its kind at the Memphis airport since the agency began rolling out advanced imaging technology, or full- body X-ray scanners, at the airport in September. Roberts said he had been going through security at Memphis without incident for 4 ˝ years. He said Friday was his first time at the checkpoint since new scanning equipment was installed. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the TSA is testing scanners at a checkpoint in the South Terminal, used mainly by international passengers. Five of the 14 machines will be installed there. The north checkpoint, closest to the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air and United Airlines ticket counters, closed Sunday for about two weeks while the TSA installs scanners there. TSA officials have said passengers are selected to undergo the scan at officers' discretion. The alternative is to be frisked. Passengers go through metal detectors if they aren't selected for the enhanced screening, Allen said. Roberts was wearing his pilot's uniform and identification at the time. "For a guy like this, who is probably going through once or twice a week, who has been doing it four or five years, you'd think they would just know him and say, 'Hi, how are you?' and would just pass him through with normal screening," said Scott Erickson, a Pinnacle Airlines captain who heads Pinnacle's unit of the Air Line Pilots Association. Erickson said his members are divided over the new procedures, particularly questioning whether health risks are as insignificant as TSA claims. "It's certainly not universal," he said. "Some people have the privacy concern; others don't." The scanner produces an image of the surface of a person's body and shows items hidden beneath clothing. The image is checked by an officer who is isolated and has no way to personally identify the passenger. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ Back to Top FAA Expected To Add Photos To Pilot Certificates The FAA will publish a new proposed rule in the next few months that would require pilot certificates to include a photo, an FAA spokesperson said this week. Currently, pilots are required to carry a government-issued photo ID in addition to their pilot certificate. U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., recently wrote to the FAA, the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security asking why they haven't complied with a 2004 law that requires pilot certificates to include not only a photograph but a means to record biometric data such as fingerprints and iris scans. The FAA's Sasha Johnson said the FAA will release an NPRM by the end of this year, according to The Associated Press. She also said that the current plastic certificates already are capable of holding biometric data, although no such data currently is required. "It is mind-boggling that six years [after passing the law], after spending millions of dollars, the FAA license still does not have a photograph," Mica wrote. "The only pilots pictured on the license are Wilbur and Orville Wright. ... It is absolutely astounding that DHS, TSA and FAA could, after six years to implement the [law], still achieve such an incredible level of incompetence." Back to Top * Florida Tech lands $14M deal to train airline pilots MELBOURNE - A $14 million flight-training contract with Turkish Airlines will bring hundreds of pilots to Florida Tech's campus during the next five years. * The announcement of the recent partnership is one of several additions, accolades and accomplishments that university President Anthony Catanese made during his "State of the University" address Wednesday. * Others included: * Despite the economy, Florida Tech is doing well financially. Revenues, research funding and private fundraising are up, Catanese said. * Proposals are in for new business and psychology facilities and a multi-purpose building to house offices for the growing university. Construction is under way on competitive and recreational swimming pools. A new dining hall with a 300-car parking deck is nearly complete. However, while enrollment climbed significantly for the 13,000-student university this year, Catanese said freshman enrollment has "remained flat" over the last few years. As a result, he said administrators are actively developing marketing and recruitment plans to attract more students. "I still want to go on our quest of becoming one of the top 10 technological universities in the world," Catanese told the more than 200 faculty, staff and students who gathered in Gleason Auditorium. "But we've got to keep moving ahead; we can't relax. And our biggest challenge is America's challenge -- getting high school kids interested in what we do." Administrators hope the private university's focus on research opportunities for undergraduates and its efforts to expand sports offerings to include swimming and diving, track and field, football and lacrosse will help. Meanwhile, the school is also working on expanding its global presence. * * Under the flight-training agreement, the College of Aeronautics and F.I.T. Aviation will annually train 100 Turkish pilots up to the FAA commercial pilot level. A spokesman said the first group -- all experienced graduates of top colleges in Turkey -- arrived in June. Florida Tech already has a partnership to train Irish pilots. http://www.floridatoday.com/ * * Back to Top FAA reissues rule on 747-8 turbulence The Federal Aviation Administration has reinstated an interim rule requiring that planes landing after Boeing's new 747-8 stay 10 miles back to avoid turbulence from the jumbo jet. By Seattle Times business staff FAA rescinds precautionary order about Boeing's new jets The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reinstated an interim rule requiring that planes landing after Boeing's new 747-8 keep their distance to avoid turbulence from the jumbo jet. The 10-mile separation rule for the airplane was initially issued three weeks ago; a similar requirement for the 787-8 was imposed in the same FAA order. But that order was withdrawn within days after the FAA determined the document had factual and procedural errors. The new order covers only the 747-8. It takes effect Nov. 1 and could be in place for up to a year. Contradicting the earlier FAA order, the latest one asserts that analyses of computational models suggest that the 747-8 wake vortices are "similar" to those generated by the 747-400 jet, now in service. That jet requires just 4 miles separation from other heavy jets and up to 6 miles from light aircraft. The rule describes the prescribed interim separation standards as "conservative" and states that final guidance will be provided after data from the 747-8 flight tests is evaluated. Back to Top 21 injured on Vietnam Airlines flight to Paris (AP) Vietnam Airlines says a flight from Hanoi to Paris has encountered severe turbulence which injured 21 people, including nine who required hospital treatment. The airline says the 18 passengers and three crew members injured aboard Vietnam Airlines flight 535 were given first aid on the plane by crew members. It says the aircraft later made a safe landing at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. The statement Wednesday said all of the injured people were examined at a clinic, and nine were sent to a hospital. It says all are expected to recover quickly. It says the Boeing 777-200 airplane will be inspected before it returns to Vietnam. Back to Top Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC