Flight Safety Information November 5, 2010 - No. 228 In This Issue Second Qantas jet returns to Singapore after engine trouble Czech lawmakers approve ban on use of laser pointers NTSB recommends review of European helicopter Comair, mechanics renew safety agreement Boeing powers on first 747-8 Intercontinental American replaced execs after maintenance lapses Second Qantas jet returns to Singapore after engine trouble (CNN) -- A Qantas passenger jet landed safely in Singapore on Friday after turning back due to engine problems shortly after takeoff, Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman Neville Blyth told CNN. "I saw flames five minutes into flight and we could see flames through the left-side window," said passenger Terence Sim. It is the second Qantas jet in two days to return to Singapore as a result of engine trouble. In Friday's incident, the Boeing 747-400 was carrying 412 passengers and 19 crew members and was headed to Sydney, Australia, according to a Qantas spokesman, who would not provide his name, citing company policy. On Thursday, a Qantas Airbus A380 jet made an emergency landing at Changi Airport after one of its four engines shut down as it started a flight to Sydney. As the plane headed back to the airport, part of the engine's covering, or cowling, tore off. Airbus announced Friday that it asked all operators of A380s with Rolls-Royce engines to inspect them as a precaution. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says it has deployed investigators to examine the cause of Thursday's engine failure on the Airbus A380 and is currently gathering more information regarding Friday's incident. None of the passengers aboard the Boeing 747-400 also had been aboard the Airbus A380, according to the Qantas spokesman. Back to Top Czech lawmakers approve ban on use of laser pointers to blind pilots after several attacks PRAGUE (AP) - The lower house of the Czech Parliament has approved an amendment to civil aviation law that makes it illegal to use laser pointers to blind pilots. The amendment has been requested by a Czech airline pilots group who said at least seven passenger planes were targeted by laser pointers last year at Prague's international airport as they were landing or taking off. The Czech Airline Pilots Association says the country needs a law against laser misuse like other countries, including Britain, Germany and the U.S. because such attacks pose a serious security risk. Lawmakers voted 113-2 on Friday to ban use of laser pointers in areas around the country's airports. The upper house has yet to approve the ban but smooth passage is expected. Back to Top NTSB recommends review of European helicopter (AP) The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that its European counterpart require a helicopter manufacturer to review the design of a fuel control lever blamed for a crash in Alaska. The NTSB on Thursday also recommended the European Aviation Safety Agency review the "detent" track on Eurocopter's AS350- series helicopters and require modification to ensure that the fuel flow control lever is protected to prevent unintentional movement. A detent is a part that stops or releases a movement. A Eurocopter AS350B2 helicopter crashed on April 15, 2008, about 34 miles east of Chickaloon, Alaska, killing four people: pilot Benoit Pin, 39, and passengers Thomas E. Middleton, 46, of Anchorage, Joseph C. O'Donnell, 47, of Girdwood, and Michael D. Seward, 37, of Palmer. The passengers all worked for the Alaska Department of Administration. Pin was a pilot for Era Helicopters, an Anchorage helicopter company. Seward's stepson, Quinn Ellington, who was 14 at the time, also was on board and suffered head injuries and hypothermia. He was rescued a day after the crash. The helicopter was transporting the state employees to a remote telecommunications site. Neither state officials nor Era personnel knew that the teenager was on board, according to an earlier NTSB report. The flight was only supposed to cover 2.5 miles. After picking up Seward and his stepson from a rest area along the Glenn Highway, the helicopter crashed about three-fourths of a mile away. An NTSB probable cause report in March concluded that the crash likely was caused by a front-seat passenger bumping a fuel lever into an emergency position, causing the turbine engine to "overspeed" and lose power. The NTSB said a floor-mounted lever likely was bumped by Quinn Ellington, either with his right foot or a backpack. His family's attorney said in March the company could have prevented the crash by placing an inexpensive guard over the fuel lever. The manufacturer's design and placement of the fuel flow control lever made it susceptible to accidental contact and movement by passengers, the NTSB said in its report Thursday. The pilot's failure to properly stow the passenger's backpack also was faulted. Findings from the investigation and other accidents created concern that inadvertent movement of the lever on certain Eurocopter AS350-series helicopters could produce additional catastrophic accidents. One incident occurred April 4, 1994, with a Canadian-registered AS350B near High Prairie, Alberta, Canada, after a passenger inadvertently moved the lever from the "flight" detent to the "stop" detent while trying to adjust a knapsack placed under his right knee, the report said. The engine suddenly lost all power, and the pilot conducted an autorotation, a maneuver allowing a helicopter to descend. The helicopter touched down heavily, collapsed the skid gear, and rolled onto its left side. Three occupants were uninjured. The Eurocopter Group is a global helicopter manufacturing and support company with facilities in France, Germany and Spain. A person answering a call made late Thursday to American Eurocopter said office staff were not available. Back to Top Comair, mechanics renew safety agreement Comair and the union representing its mechanics have reached a deal to reinstate participation in a voluntary safety program. Comair's mechanics in July had pulled out of the Aviation Safety Action Program, a program intended to allow aircraft technicians to confidentially report on-the-job mistakes without fear of reprisal. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 142 had withdrawn participation in the project, saying that those who submitted error reports to the program were being subjected to disciplinary actions, both by Comair and the Federal Aviation Administration. But according to a statement from Comair, the two sides have worked out an agreement that includes increased oversight, better communication to employees, and quarterly meetings of union, FAA and Comair officials. Comair is headquartered at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. It is a unit of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL). http://www.bizjournals.com/ Back to Top Boeing powers on first 747-8 Intercontinental Boeing has powered on its first 747-8 Intercontinental, allowing the start of functional tests on the passenger variant of the company's largest-ever airliner. "This is a critical step in the assembly process for the new 747-8 Intercontinental," Elizabeth Lund, 747 deputy program manager, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a news release. "The airplane's systems are now live." Power on brings the airplane's electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems on line in a methodical series of steps, with power from an external cart. Electricity flows through the aircraft's 133 miles of wire at up to 105 kilovoltampere; with hydraulic system pressure of 3,000 pounds per square inch to power flight control surfaces, landing gear, brakes and steering systems; and pneumatic pressure at 160 pounds per square inch to operate environmental control systems and the leading-edge flaps. Boeing expects to finish assembling the first 747-8 Intercontinental in the first quarter of 2011, with first delivery scheduled for late next year. Boeing has orders for 33 747-8 Intercontinentals and 76 747-8 Freighters, with first freighter delivery now scheduled for the middle of 2011. http://blog.seattlepi.com/ Back to Top American replaced execs after maintenance lapses DALLAS (AP) - American Airlines replaced seven high-ranking executives after problems surfaced in its maintenance program in 2008, according to a government report. Some of the departures had been previously disclosed, but more details were requested by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an agency charged with protecting whistle-blowers who disclosed what they considered to be lax regulation of the airlines. This year, federal officials proposed a $24.2 million civil penalty against American for allegedly failing to properly maintain wire bundles in the wheel wells of McDonnell Douglas MD-80-series jets. The agency said the lapses could have caused fires and even fuel tank explosions on the planes, but American said the FAA concerns were overblown. In a memo released Thursday but dated Oct. 21, the inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department said since 2008 American has replaced its senior vice president of maintenance, vice president for safety, director of maintenance, vice president of base maintenance, vice president of engineering, vice president of flight and managing director of flight operations. American had no immediate comment on the report. Along with maintenance issues at Southwest Airlines Co., the American situation also led to criticism of the FAA. Investigators and lawmakers have accused the FAA of being too cozy with the airlines. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC