Flight Safety Information October 27, 2010 - No. 219 In This Issue LAX-Bound Jet Lost Navigation System Boeing Pauses Delivery of 787 Jet Sections Airline Officials Tout Commuter Air Safety Improvements Airbus studies winglet retrofit for the A320 Saudi Arabian 'committed' to 787 despite apparent 777 plan Cape Air studies three designs for Cessna 402 replacement New Boeing services aim to optimize flights en route Corporate jet manufacturer files for bankruptcy NASA Seeks Additional Commercial Crew Proposals FSI Advertising Union Rep: LAX-Bound Jet Lost Navigation System Union rep: LAX-bound jetliner lost navigation system, had to be talked down through clouds (AP) A Southwest Airlines jet lost its navigation system as it approached Los Angeles International Airport last week, forcing air traffic controllers to redirect several flights to clear the airspace as they guided the aircraft to a safe landing, a union representative said Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement saying only that it was investigating the flight and that controllers handled the situation professionally. The Boeing 737 carrying 92 passengers and crew members was coming from San Jose when the navigation system failed around noon on Oct. 20, causing the jet to lose its positioning amid the clouds, said Ron Geyer, union representative for air traffic controllers at the facility that handles planes approaching and leaving Southern California airports. "The weather was bad. The pilot had no visuals until he was below the clouds," Geyer said. Geyer said controllers scrambled to redirect several flights so they could clear airspace for the Southwest pilot to get through the clouds until he could see the airport. He said controllers almost never encounter such a scenario. "It was such a rare occasion, yet there was no impact to the system except we had to turn some planes around to make sure nobody was in jeopardy in case the plane got off course," Geyer said. A Southwest spokeswoman said the captain's instruments failed but the copilot's remained intact, and emphasized that the plane landed safely and nearly on time. "An aircraft like this is set up with redundant systems," Ashley Dillon said. "There are backups to backups to backups." She said the outage occurred because a circuit breaker was flipped on the aircraft. She could not say how common the problem is. Najmedin Meshkati, a professor who studies aviation safety at the University of Southern California, said he has read few reports of such failures on airliners compared with more frequent incidents like runway incursions. But he said that simply could be because instrument problems are not made public. Back to Top Boeing Pauses Delivery of 787 Jet Sections (WSJ) Boeing Co., still struggling with workmanship issues from a major Italian supplier, is again pausing factory deliveries of components for the new 787 Dreamliner while the latest problems are resolved. The issues involve delivery of the new jet's horizontal stabilizers, which are small wings at the rear of the aircraft that help control the up-and-down pitch of the aircraft. The parts are built by Alenia Aeronautica in Foggia, Italy, and have been a source of consternation for Boeing much of this year. Boeing will halt shipments of Dreamliner sections from most major suppliers to the final-assembly factory in Everett, Wash. The latest hiccup was first reported by the Seattle Times. A spokesman for Boeing said the latest issue won't cause a new delivery delay and that the first Dreamliner is on track for delivery to All Nippon Airways Co., sometime in the first quarter 2011. "In the days ahead, we'll formally notify partners of a slight rephasing of some 787 shipment dates," said Jim Proulx, the Boeing spokesman. "As we've said before, this is one of the tools we've used in the past and continue to use as we manage the 787 production system." A person familiar with the situation at Aleniasaid the company is working with Boeing to resolve the issues related to the stabilizer and that it had put in place a recovery plan that Boeing had agreed to. Alenia is a subsidiary of Italian aerospace company Finmeccanica SpA. Mr. Proulx said parts shipments will likely resume after about two weeks, which will coincide with the final assembly of Dreamliner No. 30. Nearly 20 Dreamliners have been completed at the Everett plant and sit at the adjacent airfield, awaiting the plane's final government certification before deliveries begin. The largely carbon-fiber composite Dreamliner, which is nearly three years behind schedule, relies on subcontractors to build components at far-flung locations before being flown to Everett for final assembly. Major parts are built in Italy, Japan, South Carolina and Kansas. Issues with Alenia's horizontal stabilizers first surfaced in late June, when Boeing acknowledged that parts it received from the Foggia factory were built improperly. At that time, Boeing said the problem involved improper installation of small composite pieces called shims, where the horizontal stabilizers meet the fuselage. The current problem involves gaps between the horizontal stabilizers and where they connect to the fuselage; those gaps will have to be filled with shims, as well. Boeing has already stopped Dreamliner component shipments this year for more than 10 weeks as it has struggled with issues across its supply chain. In recent months, the company has sent hundreds of Boeing engineers and mechanics to the global suppliers to oversee the work and has discussed bringing much of the work back in-house. Boeing has also had recent issues with supplier Rolls-Royce Group PLC, which is one of two engine suppliers for the Dreamliner. Rolls, which had a major engine failure at a test facility in England earlier this year, is working on a fix for that problem and expects to have the issues resolved without causing another delivery delay, Boeing executives said during last week's earnings conference call. Jim Albaugh, chief executive of Boeing's commercial-airplanes unit, told the Seattle Times last week that the company is considering bringing the horizontal-stabilizer work back to Boeing, partly as a result of the Alenia issues. Separately, Boeing has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company overcharged the Air Force for a decoy system to protect against guided missiles. The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles said Tuesday that Boeing never told Air Force contract negotiators it had previously manufactured the decoy more cheaply, largely through outsourcing. In the settlement, Boeing agreed to resolve the case without admitting wrongdoing. Back to Top Airline Officials Tout Commuter Air Safety Improvements (WSJ) U.S. airline officials said Tuesday that voluntary industry moves to step up outside audits and increase data-sharing have significantly enhanced safety among the nation's commuter carriers. In their strongest and most specific response yet to lawmakers and pilot groups critical of commuter-airline safety, industry officials told the National Transportation Safety Board that large airlines increasingly are helping smaller, regional partners beef up reporting and analysis of hazardous incidents. Management of commuter airlines that may have been reluctant in the past to aggressively pursue such safety efforts have changed course and "are getting it now," according to Roger Cohen, head of the country's largest commuter airline association. Details of the accelerating voluntary efforts come 20 months after a fatal Colgan Air turboprop crash near Buffalo, N.Y., prompted a public outcry against training and safety lapses at some regional airlines. John Prater, head of the largest North American pilot union, said economic pressures continue to inhibit safety programs at certain commuter operations. Major carriers, according to Prater, ought to be "held responsible to make sure that all these safety programs are there in more than name only." Ken Hylander, the top safety official at Delta Air Lines, said that commuter affiliates face "routine review and continuous monitoring" by major carriers. Back to Top Airbus studies winglet retrofit for the A320 Airbus continues to study the possibility of offering a winglet option for retrofit on its A320 narrowbody family, but has not set a definitive timeframe for making a decision to offer the drag reducing equipment to existing operators. One of the manufacturer's largest A320 customers, JetBlue, concluded winglet tests on a single A320 off the coast of Southern California in February of this year in conjunction with Aviation Partners (API). Shortly after completion of the tests JetBlue chief executive Dave Barger noted the carrier was "pleased with what the team was coming across with" in collecting data from the trials. During the 26 October International Aviation Forecast Summit hosted by the Boyd Group International Airbus airline marketing director Lynda Paulson told ATI that Airbus was looking at the possibility of a winglet retrofit, and has talked with a couple of manufacturers, but that no firm decision to offer the retrofit option has been made. Airbus does recognise a retrofit option for the A320 is something customers, including JetBlue, want, says Paulson. Airbus remains on track to debut its sharklets, which the airframer has previously claimed offer 3.5% improvements in fuel burn, on new-build A320 family aircraft in 2012. Airbus unveiled plans to offer sharklets at the 2009 Dubai Air Show, and Air New Zealand is the first operator scheduled to operate sharklet-equipped aircraft The company's A320s/A321s can offer an additional 100nm of range with the sharklets to 3,350nm, Paulson explains, while offering 25% lower costs than Boeing 757s flying in the US domestic market and to Hawaii. Recently Airbus narrowbody and 757 operator US Airways said it was looking to replace older 757s for specific missions such as Phoenix- Hawaii and some international flights from Philadelphia, and noted one recent deal to lease 757s failed to materialise. The A320 aircraft featuring sharklets will not have the capability to support transatlantic missions. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Saudi Arabian 'committed' to 787 despite apparent 777 plan Saudi Arabian Airlines insists it is still intending to take the Boeing 787 as part of its fleet-modernisation programme, even though it has recently indicated a planned acquisition of Boeing 777-300ERs. The airline signalled two years ago that it would take 12 787s, fitted with General Electric GEnx powerplants through a mix of lease and purchase agreements. But Boeing's order backlog does not feature Saudi Arabian as a customer for the type, and Saudi Arabian states on its Internet site that its fleet modernisation will include 12 777-300ERs. These aircraft, says the carrier, will be introduced towards the end of 2011. The modernised fleet list does not mention the 787. But speaking to ATI at the Arab Air Carriers Organization conference in Cairo last week, Saudi Arabian Airlines chief Khalid Al-Molhem said the Jeddah-based flag-carrier was "still committed" to the 787. The relationship, if any, between the two batches of widebody aircraft has not been disclosed. Boeing's backlog figures show an order for 12 777-300ERs dated 13 April this year, attributed to an unidentified customer. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Cape Air studies three designs for Cessna 402 replacement Roughly a year-and-a-half after issuing a request for proposal (RFP) to manufacturers to offer a product to replace its Cessna 402s, Cape Air says it is examining specifications for three types of designs. The carrier operates 56 of the 9-seat 402s, and in April of last year stated it would look at a replacement in three-to-five years. Cape Air vice president Andrew Bonney told ATI today at the International Aviation Forecast Summit hosted by the Boyd Group International the carrier has talked with about 12-14 manufacturers about a new design, and is studying three types of specifications stemming from those discussions. Bonney believes a strong business case exists for replacing the Cessna 402s since the aircraft haven't been manufactured in over a decade. He believes there is significant opportunity in both the replacement market and growth aircraft segment. Cape Air is also studying alternatives for the lead-based Avgas used to fuel the 402s. Part of the RFP Cape Air issued to manufacturers included a specification that the engines powering the new aircraft could not burn Avgas. The carrier is working with a number of companies to determine if biofuels or purified motor gas could be used in the Cessnas. Bonney says that Swift Enterprises' SwiftFuel "looks like the perfect plug and play, but it will be years before it will be deployed". Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top New Boeing services aim to optimize flights en route Boeing on Tuesday rolled out two new services designed to help airlines save fuel and increase environmental efficiency. "We are bringing to market easy-to-implement solutions to help our customers reach new levels of operational and environmental efficiency by reducing cost, fuel use and CO2 emissions," Sherry Carbary, vice president of flight services, commercial aviation services, at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a news release. "As part of our commitment to offer lifecycle solutions to our customers, we are now providing real-time flight efficiency advisories." One of the InFlight Optimization Services, Direct Routes, will automatically alert an airline's operations center and flight crew when a more fuel-efficient path opens up, pre-checking them for such factors as traffic conflicts, wind conditions and airspace constraints. Boeing's initial projections show that this can save more than 40,000 minutes of flight time per year for a medium-size U.S. airline. The other service, Wind Updates, will send datalink messages directly to the flight deck with real-time, flight-customized wind information, allowing the airplane's flight management computer to optimize speeds, altitudes and trajectories. Planes now fly with data that can be as much as 12 to 20 hours old as a flight approaches its destination, Boeing said. It projects airlines could save 100 to 200 pounds of fuel for the descent portion of a typical single-aisle airplane flight. The services require no regulatory changes and little to no new equipment, Boeing said. It expects to make both available next year. http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/226189.asp Back to Top Corporate jet manufacturer files for bankruptcy MARTINSBURG, W.Va.(AP) - A company that manufactures corporate jets at facilities in West Virginia and Texas has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Bill Walkup, the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport Authority's general manager, said the Airport Authority was notified Friday of San Antonio-based Emivest Aerospace Corp.'s bankruptcy filing. The filing made in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware estimates the number of creditors between 200 and 999. It listed both estimated assets and liabilities at between $50 million and $100 million. "We're continuing operations here as we have before," Emivest spokesman Mark Fairchild said Tuesday. Emivest is a subsidiary of Dubai-based Emirates Investment and Development. The company acquired an 80 percent interest in Sino Swearingen Aircraft in 2008. The SJ30 corporate jet was assembled at facilities in Martinsburg and San Antonio. When Sino Swearingen won regulatory approval to build the jet in late 2005, it had 140 workers at the West Virginia plant. Walkup told The Journal in Martinsburg that the facility's former president took another job about a month ago. He said one employee remained in Martinsburg. "I have not seen her for a week," Walkup said. "There is no activity at the plant." The company has delivered only a handful of aircraft, including one last year to actor Morgan Freeman. U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., was instrumental in bringing the Sino Swearingen plant to Berkeley County "I am very concerned about the news of restructuring at Emivest," Rockefeller said. "I worked hard to bring Sino Swearingen and now Emivest to West Virginia and I hope that they are able to restructure in a way that keeps the company in the Mountain State." The West Virginia Jobs Investment trust, the state's venture capital fund, invested $2 million in Sino Swearingen in the early 1990s. Andy Zulauf, the fund's executive director, told the Charleston Daily Mail the investment is currently valued at $3.1 million and it's too early to determine what impact the filing might have. "We have our legal counsel reviewing the documents and expect to get some advice from them over the next week or so," Zulauf said. Back to Top NASA Seeks Additional Commercial Crew Proposals Multiple Awards Expected By March Of Next Year NASA has issued an announcement seeking proposals from U.S. industry to further advance commercial crew space transportation concepts and mature the design and development of system elements, such as launch vehicles and spacecraft. Awards will result in funded Space Act Agreements. Multiple awards are expected to be announced by March 2011 for terms of up to 14 months. Approximately $200 million total is expected to be available for awards under this announcement, but funding is dependent on the 2011 fiscal year appropriations from Congress. The deadline for submitting proposals is Dec. 13. The agreements are expected to generate significant progress toward maturing the design and development of commercial crew systems elements that also ensure crew and passenger safety. The overall objective is to accelerate the availability of U.S. commercial crew transportation capabilities and reduce the gap in U.S. human spaceflight capability. Through this activity, NASA also may be able to spur economic growth as potential new space markets are created. Once developed, crew transportation capabilities could become available to commercial and government customers. FMI: http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/ccdev2/ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC