Flight Safety Information November 10, 2010 - No. 232 In This Issue Boeing 787 Makes Emergency Landing... Important Air India meeting postponed... Elmira-bound Allegiant flight hits large bird, damages landing gear... Plane lands safely at LAX after bird damages wing, fuel tank... Making the Japanese skies safe for air travel... Indonesian volcano's ash disrupts more flights... Most of the information gathering related to last December's runway overshoot by American Airlines F... John Purvis Tapped As New VP At AeroMech Engineering... Prepare your Safety Professionals Canada creates new security rules for passengers following bomb scare... Singapore Airlines pulls 3 A380s due to engines... Boeing 787 Makes Emergency Landing A Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner on Tuesday made an emergency landing in Laredo, Texas, after the crew reported smoke in the cabin during a test flight, according to the company and the Federal Aviation Administration. The second plane of Boeing's six-member test fleet was on a planned flight and routine approach to the Texas border city when a fire broke out in the rear of the cabin at about 2:50 p.m. local time. The crew of between 30 and 40 Boeing flight-test employees on the plane used the jet's emergency slides to evacuate, officials said. Emergency crews on the ground responded and extinguished the remainder of flames inside the aircraft, and no injuries were reported. A spokeswoman for Chicago-based Boeing said the company is "continuing to gather data at this point" regarding the incident. An FAA spokesman in Texas said the agency will also be looking at the incident. According to a person familiar with the matter, as the jet was approaching Laredo at an altitude of 1,000 feet, the Dreamliner's crew reported a fire, possibly in the plane's rear electronics bay. Subsequently, the 787's emergency auxiliary-power unit, known as a ram air turbine, deployed as a result of at least a partial power failure. Some of the plane's automated systems, including the auto-throttle and cockpit flight displays and electronics-assisted flight controls, were affected, this person said. The pilots also canceled their instrument flight plan and proceeded to land under visual flight rules, possibly because some of the flight instruments were knocked out. A Boeing spokeswoman declined immediate comment regarding those issues. Boeing customers have ordered about 850 Dreamliners, a plane that is critical to the company's future. According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, the Dreamliner had departed Yuma, Ariz., at 7:42 a.m. Mountain Standard Time. It was expected to land in Laredo sometime on Tuesday afternoon after a flight of several hours testing the Dreamliner's nitrogen-generation system, a new safety measure designed to reduce the risk of fire in the plane's fuel tanks. The state-of-the-art 787, which is made largely of carbon-fiber composite material, depends heavily on its vast and complex electrical system. Unlike most modern commercial airliners, the Dreamliner uses electrical systems to operate many functions on the plane that are typically powered by excess air from the engines, known as a bleed air system. Boeing executives have touted the levels of electronic and computer redundancies built into the plane's design. It appears that some of the electrical systems may have failed after the fire. The test Dreamliner jet is painted in the color scheme of Japan's All Nippon Airways Co., the first customer for the new airliner, though the test jet isn't slated for delivery to the airline. Boeing last year said the first three Dreamliner test aircraft have been too heavily modified for commercial service. The plane is equipped with Rolls-Royce PLC's Trent 1000 engines, which have come under scrutiny in recent months after a series of problems with the engines both on flying test aircraft and at Rolls-Royce's ground testing facility in Derby, England. It is unclear whether Tuesday's emergency was related to any engine issue. On Monday, Rolls-Royce, which is at the center of last week's mishap involving one of its engines on a Qantas Airways Ltd. Airbus A380 superjumbo jet, issued a statement saying the Airbus incident was unrelated to problems with the Dreamliner's engine. A day after the first Qantas incident, another Qantas jetliner, a Boeing 747, reported a different problem with its Rolls-Royce engine. Tuesday's incident in Texas is the latest setback for Boeing's new flagship commercial aircraft program, which is running nearly three years behind schedule. The first Dreamliner is slated for delivery to ANA sometime in the first quarter of next year. It's unclear if Tuesday's incident will further affect that timetable. Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703523604575605100601208676.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Back to Top Important Air India meeting postponed The crucial Air India board meeting slated for November 11, wherein the fate of some recently hired senior executives was to have been decided, has been postponed by a week. An AI spokesperson said he was unaware of the decision to postpone the board meeting. The decision, conveyed to board members late on Tuesday, was ostensibly taken, as the top management, including CMD Arvind Jadhav and COO Gustav Balduaf, were busy with the shifting of domestic operations to T3 at the Delhi airport. "Shifting of operations was the first major challenge for Baldauf in which he has completely failed," a civil aviation ministry official said. He wished to remain anonymous. Many in the airline and ministry, however, believe that delaying the board meeting could be a tactic to "buy time" especially in view of last week's developments. AI's independent directors had in an unprecedented move met with Prime Minister's principal Secretary TKA Nair on November 1 to convey that they had lost confidence in the airline's current leadership and wanted Jadhav to go. The directors had complained that they had been "misguided" and "kept in dark" about the previous record of Pawan Arora, the new COO of AI Express. HT had first exposed the fact that the directorate general of civil aviation had removed Arora from key flight-safety posts (AI plum post for Capt with shaky past, October 22) including that of a test pilot and flight operations inspector. Following the report, the ministry asked AI for a report on Arora's appointment. The AI management has also asked Arora to respond to the charges. The independent directors are also likely to meet the civil aviation minister this week. Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/624170.aspx Back to Top Elmira-bound Allegiant flight hits large bird, damages landing gear Plane lands safely in Big Flats Despite having damaged landing gear due to striking what is believed to be an eagle, an Allegiant Air flight from Orlando Sanford International Airport landed safely in Big Flats Sunday evening. "I'm happy that everybody's safe and there were no injuries or no safety issues," said Ann Crook, manager of the Elmira Corning Regional Airport. When the flight arrived, the pilots reported the plane had damaged landing gear as the result of the bird strike, but the crew didn't know where it happened, she said. "The landing was fine. Nobody was hurt. There were no issues with that," Crook said. "But after that, then they inspected the plane, and they did find what appears to be an eagle, or parts of an eagle, caught in the landing gear, and it was damaged." The plane was grounded because mechanics and a part were needed to fix it, she said. As a result, passengers who were planning to take that flight to Orlando were put up at a hotel by Allegiant while another airplane was brought in to make the return flight. The passengers left Monday morning instead of Sunday night, she said. "It's out of the ordinary. It doesn't happen every day," Allegiant spokeswoman Sabrina LoPiccolo said of bird strikes. "Luckily, we were able to take the safety precautions that we needed to ensure that our passengers got home safely." Meanwhile, an investigation has begun to determine what kind of bird was involved and what happened, Crook said. It is believed the strike occurred during takeoff at Orlando Sanford, where what appears to be part of an eagle was found on the airfield there, she said. Both airports have reported the bird strike to the Federal Aviation Administration as required, she said. "This is the first time that I've heard of this sort of situation where we've got a possible one part of an animal in New York and another part of an animal in Florida," she said. As is done whenever there is a wildlife issue, samples of the bird remains in Big Flats and Orlando were sent to the Smithsonian for analysis through DNA testing to confirm exactly what species it was and what part of the country and region the animal was from, Crook said. "Until we get the results back from that, we can't say conclusively" what kind of bird was involved, she said. "I can tell you it's a big bird. A lot of times, the issues with birds and airplanes are flocks of smaller birds, like sea gulls or starlings. Bigger birds, particularly birds of prey, don't flock, and they're normally not as much of a hazard for aircraft, but one big bird can do a lot of damage." Bird strikes are not that common, despite dramatic incidents such as the "Miracle on the Hudson," Crook said. She referred to US Airways Flight 1549 captained by Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who safely ditched the jetliner in the Hudson River in January 2009 after both engines were disabled from striking a flock of birds. Even so, the FAA has been tracking bird strikes more in recent years, and there is more of a focus on wildlife around airports in general, she said. A total of 59 bird strikes involving commercial, business and private aircraft were reported at the Elmira Corning Regional Airport from October 1990 to July 2010, with most strikes causing no damage, according to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's National Wildlife Strike Database. There were 5,959 bird strikes involving 208 species of birds reported at airports in New York state from January 1990 to July 2010, the database shows. That total includes one bald eagle. Nationwide, the total number of bird strikes was 109,596 for that period, according to the database. Source: http://www.stargazette.com/article/20101109/NEWS01/11090382/Elmira-bound-Allegiant-flight-hits-large-bird-damages- landing-gear Back to Top Plane lands safely at LAX after bird damages wing, fuel tank A Horizon Air twin-engine turboprop plane made a safe landing at Los Angeles International Airport after being damaged by a bird that struck the right wing and fuel tank, officials said today. Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot declared an emergency and landed the plane at LAX shortly after 2 p.m. Monday. The plane, with 73 passengers, hit the bird at an altitude of about 6,000 feet near Dodger Stadium, Gregor said. Flight 306 was en route to LAX from Redding, Gregor said. The National Transportation Safety Board classified the collision as an accident, Gregor said. Source: http://www.bhcourier.com/article/Local_News/Local_News/Plane_lands_safely_at_LAX_after_bird_damages_wing_fuel_tank/7256 5 Back to Top Making the Japanese skies safe for air travel The First Petit Bench of the Supreme Court in a 4-1 decision on Oct. 26 upheld a Tokyo High Court ruling that had found two air traffic controllers guilty of professional negligence in connection with a near hit in 2001, which injured some 100 passengers and crew members aboard a jetliner. The two were the first air traffic controllers to be indicted over a near miss. Having received guilty sentences, although imprisonment was suspended, they will be dismissed in accordance with the national public service law. Multiple factors are believed to have led to the near miss. Even the majority opinion in the Supreme Court decision said the two air traffic controllers should not be held solely responsible for the incident. While the decision serves as a reminder that air traffic controllers must do their utmost to avoid errors, it could unnerve them and lower their morale. It could have another effect. If an accident happens, air traffic controllers, fearful that they may be indicted, may not disclose all the information they have during an investigation by the Japan Transport Safety Board. Thus, information useful in preventing accidents may not be forthcoming. Wide discussions should be held on how to build a system that will best prevent accidents and collect all the necessary information related to accidents. The incident occurred on Jan. 31, 2001, over the sea off Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, and involved Japan Airlines Flight 958 from Pusan to Narita and JAL Flight 907 from Tokyo's Haneda to Naha, Okinawa Prefecture. Mr. Hideki Hachitani was directing flights as a trainee air traffic controller under the supervision of Ms. Yasuko Momii. Since Flight 958 and Flight 907 were drawing closer to each other, Mr. Hachitani intended to tell Flight 958 to descend. But he confused Flight 907 and Flight 958 and gave instructions meant for Flight 958 to Flight 907. Ms. Momii failed to notice the error. Consequently Flight 907 started to descend. Immediately, the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) warned it to climb. But the pilot ignored the TCAS signal and continued to descend. Flight 958 was also descending because TCAS warned it to descend. As the two airplanes neared each other the pilot of Flight 907 nosedived his aircraft to avoid a collision. Flight 907 passed under Flight 958 with only about 10 meters seperating the two planes. Flight 907's evasive maneuver injured some 100 passengers. The near mid-air collision occurred only about one minute after Mr. Hachitani gave Flight 907 the order to descend. The majority opinion in the Supreme Court decision said that both Mr. Hachitani's direction to Flight 907 to descend and Ms. Momii's failure to notice his mistake of confusing Flight 958 and Flight 907 and to correct his instruction constituted professional negligence. It also said that the pilot of Flight 907 continued to descend because he was following Mr. Hachitani's command. It added that his instruction to the wrong flight led to "the materialization of a danger" and that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between his direction and the near collision. The minority opinion given by Justice Ryuko Sakurai said that because the pilot of Flight 907 ignored the TACS climb signal and the continuation of its descent gave rise to an "unexpected unusual situation," the two air traffic controllers cannot be charged with professional negligence. Besides Mr. Hachitani's mistaken instructions, various factors contributed to the near hit. One is that the pilot of Flight 907 ignored the TACS climb signal because he thought that if he climbed, the aircraft would stall. However, if he had climbed, the aircraft would not have stalled. But the pilot was unsure about the airplane's airworthiness capability because he had not been given sufficient information about the aircraft. Also there was no rule on what a pilot should give priority to an air traffic controller's direction or TACS signals. (After the incident, it was decided that TACS should be given priority.) at the time, no system existed that enabled air traffic controllers to recognize which signal climb or descent a TACS was giving. These factors led the Tokyo District Court to find Mr. Hachitani and Ms. Momii innocent in the first trial. The lesson from the incident and other similar incidents is that air traffic controllers can make mistakes. The air traffic control work at Haneda Airport, which is now a 24-hour facility with the addition of international flights, will become more complex because it uses four runways roughly arranged in a cross-hatch pattern. While the total air traffic volume nationwide has increased, the number of air traffic controllers has nearly leveled off. As a result, an average air traffic controller in 2007 had to handle 1.5 times more flights than in 1994. The government and the aviation industry must build a system that ensures air safety on the basis of the assumption that air controllers and pilots are not free from human error. Source: http://www.koreaherald.com/opinion/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101109000099 Back to Top Indonesian volcano's ash disrupts more flights Ash from the eruption of Indonesia's most active volcano, which has killed 151 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more, caused more disruption to flights on Wednesday. Mount Merapi, which means "Mountain of Fire", has been spewing ash and heat clouds since late October, killing people with torrents of boiling hot gas and rock and forcing 320,000 people to flee to makeshift camps. An Indonesian government volcanologist said the pace of the eruption had slowed, but Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific and Australia's Qantas cancelled flights because of the ash. The ash caused major disruptions to flights in and out of Indonesia at the weekend and forced US President Barack Obama to cut short his trip to the sprawling archipelago on Wednesday. Cathay said it had cancelled flights to and from Jakarta on Wednesday and Thursday, while Qantas cancelled a Sydney-Jakarta service on Wednesday. "Cathay Pacific will monitor and assess the situation and the possibility of operating flights," the airline said on its website Wednesday. Jetstar, the low-cost offshoot of Qantas, has also changed its flight schedule for services to the Indonesian island of Bali, cancelling flights that arrive at or depart from the popular holiday destination at night. "Safety is Jetstar's number one priority and the airline has put a range of measures in place to ensure safe operations, including the decision to operate services arriving to/departing from Bali during daylight hours only," it said. Officials said safety worries about the ash also meant Yogyakarta airport -- the city lies around 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the volcano -- would stay closed until Monday next week at the earliest. "We may prolong the closing of the airport then if Merapi is still erupting," Transport Ministry director general for aviation Herry Bhakti said. Obama pledged US support for Indonesia in dealing with the aftermath of the eruption, the biggest at Mount Merapi since the 1870s. "As always, the United States stands with Indonesia in responding to this natural disaster, and we are pleased to be able to help as needed," the president said in a speech in Jakarta. "As neighbours help neighbours and families take in the displaced, I know that the strength and resilience of the Indonesian people will pull you through once more." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said forecasts for the ash meant Obama had to leave early from Jakarta, although the capital is more than 400 kilometres west of the volcano. The air in Jakarta was smoggy on Wednesday but there were no obvious signs of volcanic ash falling on the city. "The intensity of the eruption has decreased but the volcano's activity is still high and it still emits heat clouds," government volcanologist Surono told AFP. "There was a burst of ash reaching up to 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) vertically last night, but the ash did not have the potential to reach Jakarta," he said. Surono said data showed Merapi had belched more heat clouds at 5:30 am on Wednesday (2230 GMT Tuesday) which could reach up to four kilometres from the volcano's crater. The government announced a 20-kilometre "danger zone" from the top of the volcano on Friday, saying residents within the area should evacuate. The Indonesian archipelago has dozens of active volcanoes and straddles major tectonic fault lines known as "ring of fire" between the Pacific and Indian oceans. Source: http://www.mysinchew.com/node/47843 Back to Top Most of the information gathering related to last December's runway overshoot by American Airlines Flight 331 at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston has been completed, the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) has said. Director general of the JCAA, Lt Col Oscar Derby, said investigators - who have been separated into subgroups to focus on four key areas - are analysing the data for "useful information". Calling it a very tedious process, Derby said the data will be contained in a draft final report that is expected to be completed by March next year. The subgroups created by the JCAA are focusing on the performance of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft before the accident, its airworthiness, the human factors and cabin safety. In what has been called a 'Miracle at Christmas', AA Flight 331 landed halfway down the runway at the Norman Manley International Airportthen careened through the perimeter fence. The aircraft skidded across the Port Royal main road before coming to a stop about 40 metres from the sea. The accident left 92 of the 148 passengers with mostly minor injuries. More than 20 passengers injured in the crash have retained the services of local and United States-based attorneys to take legal action against the airline. The JCAA director general said a copy of the draft final report will be sent to the different interest groups - aircraft designers, manufacturers and AA - for their comment. Derby said these comments will allow investigators to prepare a final report on the accident by the end of next year. Source: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20101110/news/news3.html Back to Top John Purvis Tapped As New VP At AeroMech Engineering Company Builds Unmanned Air Systems John Purvis has been named Vice President of Small Tactical Unmanned Air Systems (STUAS) at AeroMech Engineering (AME). Mr. Purvis comes to AME from a large ISR Systems Integrator where he served as the Vice President for Corporate Strategic Development and International Business, covering over $500M in annual business. He founded the Aviation Programs business area in Denver, Colorado, leading over 425 people in service of U.S. Special Operations Command and the United States Air Force. "We are very pleased to have John Purvis on the AME Team," said Jay McConville, President and CEO of AME, making the announcement Thursday. "John is an experienced executive who knows how to develop and deliver complex ISR and IEW systems to our defense customers, and he will bring that experience to the fielding of our successful STUAS line - including the Fury(TM) UAS. He is both a visionary and a results-oriented engineering professional." "We have a real opportunity here to serve the Warfighter with unique special mission UAS platforms," added Mr. Purvis. "AME's team of dedicated professionals and unique unmanned system portfolio has all the fundamentals needed to meet multiple customer requirements. I am extremely impressed with their engineering capability as well as the line of successful unmanned systems. "AME is a full UAS systems provider, with a strong portfolio, including the Fury(TM), a breakthrough UAS optimized for special payload missions, and Sharkfin, an advanced mission management system for reconnaissance and surveillance assets. I am proud to be associated with a team doing so much for our nation and our world's defense." John has a Bachelor's and Master's of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado. Source: www.aeromechengineering.com Back to Top Canada creates new security rules for passengers following bomb scare OTTAWA - The federal government announced several new aviation security rules Monday, including restrictions involving large office-sized printer toner cartridges, just days after it banned all air cargo originating from Yemen. The Yemen ban was brought on after officials in Dubai and in Britain discovered two U.S.-bound parcel bombs from that country. Passengers are no longer allowed to bring large printer toner cartridges in checked bags on any flights departing Canadian airports, or in carry-on bags on any outbound flights from Canada to the U.S., Transport Minister Chuck Strahl announced Monday. "Our government's highest priority is the continued safety and security of Canadians and the travelling public. While there was and is no current information that these incidents were targeting Canada, we will continue to monitor the international security environment closely and take further action as appropriate to protect air travellers," Strahl said. Any printer toner cartridges that weigh more than 454 grams, or 16 ounces, are now banned. They are between 20 and 30 centimetres in length - or about the size of a loaf of bread, Strahl spokesman John Babcock explained in a news release. Passengers are still allowed to carry smaller toner cartridges, such as those used in home printers. Earlier this month, American authorities said the two bombs, hidden inside a printer toner's cartridge in cargo packages addressed to Chicago synagogues, were meant to destroy the planes carrying them. Air carriers are also restricted from moving large printer cartridges in cargo carried on passenger flights leaving any Canadian airports, according to the new rules. As of last week, all cargo originating from or passing through Yemen was banned from entering Canada, but officials extended the ban Monday to any mail or cargo from or moving through Somalia and Yemen. The new security measures were effective as of noon Monday. Strahl said Somalia was added after a risk assessment was conducted by Canadian and American officials, who announced identical measures. "The situation in Somalian is desperate, we realize that. Some of the same factors that forced our hand in the Yemen situation exists in Somalia as well," Strahl told reporters. There are no direct flights from either country to Canada and this ban would only affect a small amount of mail and cargo, Strahl said. "It's not like there's a lot of volume involved here, but what we saw from Yemen is, again, it's not the volume of the air cargo, it's what might be in the air cargo and so we have to put security of the Canadian travellers and international travellers first," he said. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Canadian officials are still working closely with American and international allies to "combat threats to the safety of Canadians." "Canada is not immune from terrorist threats. Our law enforcement and security agencies remain vigilant and always work closely with their counterparts in the United States to protect our shared border. We face the same threats and share the same concerns," he said. Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, former chair of the senate committee on national defence, said the announcement included a "funny set" of rules that do not make him feel any safer. "I was a little puzzled by the regulations because it implies (printer toner cartridges are) the only place you can ship explosives," he said. "These people are very creative, to say the least. If you ban ink cartridges, they'll find another way to move the explosives in," he said. He said increasing CBSA facilities that inspect packages, or tightening up on searching shipments would have been better rules to put in place. Andre Gerolymatos, a Simon Fraser University professor specializing in security and terrorism, said the new set of rules indicate the government is being "proactive." "These are very good measures that'll certainly go a long way in deterring people from using packages to get explosives through," he said. "But they'll always try another way. We are reacting and logically so, but we have to anticipate what the next round will be," he said. Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/travel/Canada+creates+security+rules+passengers+following+bomb+scare/3800510/story.html Back to Top Singapore Airlines pulls 3 A380s due to engines Singapore Airlines grounded three of its A380 superjumbos Wednesday after tests uncovered problems with the planes' Rolls- Royce engines less than a week after an engine on a Qantas A380 exploded shortly after take-off. Tests revealed oil stains in three engines on three of the airline's A380s, Singapore Airlines said in a statement. The planes, in Melbourne, Sydney and London, will be flown to Singapore, where they'll be fitted with new engines, the airline said. "We apologize to our customers for flight disruptions that may result and we seek their understanding," airline spokesman Nicholas Ionides said in a statement. Last week, Qantas grounded its fleet of A380s - the world's newest and largest airliner - after one of the aircraft's Rolls-Royce engines burst during a flight from Singapore to Sydney. The explosion showered debris over Indonesia's Batam island. The plane, carrying made a safe emergency landing in Singapore. On Monday, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said tests had uncovered oil leaks in the turbine area of three engines on three different A380s. All six of the Australian airline's A380s remained grounded Wednesday. London-based Rolls-Royce, an aerospace, power systems and defense company that manufactures engines for A380s by Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Germany's Lufthansa, had recommended a series of checks on the Trent 900 engines. Lufthansa and Singapore briefly grounded their planes last week but quickly resumed services after completing checks. On Wednesday, Singapore said Rolls-Royce had recommended further detailed inspections of three engines after additional analysis uncovered the oil stains. Bryony Duncan-Smith, a Sydney-based spokeswoman for Singapore Airlines, said she did not know whether the oil staining found in the Singapore engines was similar to the oil leaks found on the Qantas planes. The affected engines will all be replaced with Trent 900s, Duncan-Smith said. The airline does not know how long that will take, she said. Rolls-Royce did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment Wednesday. On Monday, it issued a statement saying it had made progress in understanding what caused the Qantas engine to burst, but offered no details on what that cause might be. Joyce said Monday that Qantas was focusing its investigation on the oil leaks, which he said were abnormal and should not be occurring on new engines. Singapore said the engine changes don't affect its eight other A380s at this point. On Tuesday, the European Aviation Safety Agency said it was closely monitoring the probe into the Qantas incident. The agency issued orders twice this year advising airlines about extra inspections or repairs needed for the Trent 900s. Source: http://arabnews.com/world/article185135.ece Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC