Flight Safety Information November 12, 2010 - No. 234 In This Issue Flame in Boeing 787 FIT air crash kills 3 in West Palm Beach All but 1 of 50 survive plane crash in Darfur region of Sudan Airbus Says Bearing Box Failed in Rolls Engine PIA seeks state bail out to survive Philippines seeks quick removal from aviation blacklists Safety at top of Etihad agenda Man arrested for 'cursing' woman at Dubai airport EADS weighs risk of Qantas incident on A380 deliveries P100 power panel focus of 787 fire probe US Government views UPS 747 crash as accident NTSB: Unprofessional behaviour behind PSA CRJ overrun Flame in Boeing 787 Nov 12 , 2010 - A in flight fire had been reported being seen in the electrical equipment bay of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight-test plane. The in flight fire was forcing the flight test plane to have an emergency landing Tuesday in Laredo, Texas. Fortunately, around 30 to 40 people in the plane were evacuated safely using slides. According to a person who is seemingly very familiar with the incident, the fire reportedly affected the cockpit controls and make the jet throttle of the plane lost its primary flight display and also the auto throttle ability. The person added that the pilot lost the use of the flight and engine controls, which on the Dreamliner are electrically activated. The in flight flames were seen in the rear electrical/electronics bay of the plane. It is located underneath the passenger cabin, according to the two people who informed the detail on the incident. This could be something that will be more serious than this when we have this thing happened at 2500 feet, one of the people added. The smoke that was seen in the back of the cabin of Dreamliner No. 2, where a team of technicians sat at computer workstations monitoring the flight data, was initially detected on approach to the Laredo airport after the plane had six hours of flying. At the end, the Boeing 787 evacuation was done on the runway. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said that the aircraft managed to land at Laredo about 2:54 Central Time. http://www.coffetoday.com/ Back to Top FIT air crash kills 3 in West Palm Beach Small plane had been en route to Melbourne Three people -- including two current students -- connected to Florida Tech's aviation college died in a twin-engine plane crash at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach on Thursday evening, the university confirmed. Four were onboard the Piper PA-44 Seminole when it crashed at 6:10 p.m. -- the two students, one flight instructor and one other passenger. One person survived the crash and is hospitalized in serious condition. No names were released Thursday. "Florida Tech and F.I.T. Aviation are dealing with great sorrow today," said Anthony J. Catanese, Florida Tech president, in a statement released late Thursday. "We have lost members of our university family. Our thoughts and prayers are with all who have lost loved ones and friends in this tragedy." The plane crashed on airport property just after takeoff and was destroyed by fire, said Kathleen Bergen, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman. The plane was on a routine training flight that had made a successful return leg from the Bahamas, said Winston Scott, dean of the university's college of aeronautics. The plane cleared customs at the airport in West Palm Beach and was probably refueling for a return to Melbourne at F.I.T. Aviation, the company where the school's flight school is run, Scott said. The university will cooperate with the NTSB as it investigates the crash, Scott said. "We don't know the cause of the crash," he said. "There's no problem that would indicate grounding the fleet. You typically ground when there's an inherent problem, and there's no indication of that. There will be no flight operations (Friday), and we'll be deciding over the next couple days about resuming operations. Primarily, we're doing what we can to support the families. We have one of our administrators in Palm Beach now." F.I.T. Aviation operates a fleet of more than 40 aircraft, from basic single-engine flight trainers to more advanced twin-engine airplanes. F.I.T. Aviation online literature says aircraft like the one that crashed in West Palm Beach are used for multi-engine and commercial pilot training. It was designed to hold one pilot and three passengers, records show. The fleet is also available as rentals. The plane was one of five Seminoles used by the university, Scott said, and was purchased in 2007. Grief counselors were made available late Thursday and memorial plans are unfolding. http://www.floridatoday.com/ Back to Top All but 1 of 50 survive plane crash in Darfur region of Sudan NEW: A local official said that 49 people survived a plane crash in Sudan, 1 died NEW: The plane was full of people flying to Darfur to mark a major Muslim holiday NEW: The aircraft crashed after an explosion ripped through its side upon landing Previous reports had put the death toll as high as 15 (CNN) -- A plane crashed while attempting to land in Darfur, western Sudan, killing at least one woman though most passengers walked away with minor or no injuries, according to a local government official. The Tarco Airlines plane was carrying 44 passengers and six crew members when it took off west from Khartoum, Sudan, for Zalingei. An explosion erupted in the aircraft's side as it was touching down at 4:20 p.m. local time Thursday at the airport, said Abdullah Mohammed al-Amin, a commissioner for the district of Zalingei. "Nothing is clear, at the moment, as for the reasons behind the explosion," said al-Amin, who was at the scene and talked to authorities involved in the investigation and recovery operations. In addition to the woman who was killed, one person was seriously injured, and four others suffered minor injuries, according to al-Amin. The governor of the west Darfur state planned to accompany the body back to Khartoum, added al-Amin. Previous media reports had put the death toll as high as 15, with news agency AFP citing hospital sources as saying six people were killed. The full plane carried passengers were coming back to Darfur to join their families in celebrating Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday that commemorates the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son for God, according to al-Amin. ************ Status: Preliminary Date: 11 NOV 2010 Time: 16:18 Type: Antonov 24B Operator: Tarco Airlines Registration: ST-ARQ ? C/n / msn: 07305910 First flight: 1970 Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 38 Airplane damage: Written off Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Zalingei Airport (Sudan) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Khartoum-Civil Airport (KRT) (KRT/HSSS), Sudan Destination airport: Zalingei Airport (HSZA), Sudan Narrative: An Antonov 24 cargo plane, registration unknown, was damaged beyond repair in an accident at Zalingei Airport, Sudan. Preliminary reports indicate that six of the 38 people on board may have been killed. The airplane had departed Khartoum-Civil Airport (KRT) at 13:27 and landed at Zalingei at 16:18. According to an airline spokesman two tyres burst on landing and the aircraft split in two and burst into flames. Unconfirmed rumours indicated that ST-ARQ might have been the airplane involved in the accident. This airplane was seen with TARCO titles in September 2010. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Airbus Says Bearing Box Failed in Rolls Engine LONDON (AP) -- An Airbus executive said Friday that Rolls-Royce has identified a faulty bearing box as the cause of the oil leak problem implicated in the midair disintegration of an engine on one of the world's largest airliners, an Australian newspaper reported. Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy told reporters in Sydney that Rolls-Royce had at some point fixed the bearing box on newer versions of the massive Trent 900 engine, a model designed for the massive A380 superjumbo. He said Rolls was now fixing it on older versions. The Herald Sun reported his comments on its website. His comments did not address why Rolls-Royce had not fixed the bearing box in older versions of the engine. Airbus did not elaborate and Rolls-Royce declined to comment on his remarks. The box in question contains the metal ball bearings that allow movement of the drive shaft that powers jet engines. Investigators have said they suspect that leaking oil caused a fire in the engine of a Qantas A380 that led it to disintegrate over Indonesia last week, sending pieces of metal into the wing and cutting vital safety systems before the jetliner landed safely in Singapore. "In the future the computer will have software that can identify a problem at the outset and it will shut down an engine before a turbine disc can go out of control and come apart," Leahy told the Herald Sun. Rolls-Royce Group PLC said in an update to investors Friday that the disintegration of the engine resulted from a problem in a specific component in the Trent 900, but it did not provide details. Leahy said the new models of the Trent 900 had been redesigned to eliminate the problem of excess oil causing turbine fires. He said that Rolls-Royce was retrofitting the older versions with new parts to stop the oil leaks and computer software that would shut down an engine with leaking oil before it became at risk of disintegration. Leaks or oil stains have been discovered on six of the total of twenty A380s operated by Qantas, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines that use the Trent 900 engines, a technologically advanced model designed to be lighter, quieter and more efficient than older engines. Qantas and Singapore Airlines have grounded nine of the world's largest airliner between them while Germany's Lufthansa has already replaced an engine on one of its A380s. Engines on the A380 malfunctioned four times before one of them disintegrated during a flight from Singapore to Sydney last week, and aviation experts have said that the earlier mishaps may hold clues to design or construction flaws. Airbus will take Rolls-Royce engines off the final assembly line in Toulouse, France, and send them to Qantas "so we can get Qantas back up and flying," the Airbus press office said. In a trading update Friday, London-based Rolls-Royce said the incident will cause full year profit growth "to be slightly lower than previously guided," but it also said that the company's other operations will help to offset any losses. Back in July, the company said that its underlying profits would grow by 4-5 percent compared to 2009. Shares in the company rose after the update -- a signal that investors are happy to see a definitive statement after days of silence from the world's second-biggest engine maker behind General Electric and one of the last globally important industrial manufacturing companies in Britain. Rolls-Royce shares were up 4 percent at 607.5 pence ($9.74) in midmorning trade on the London Stock Exchange. Rolls-Royce said the series of checks made on the Trent 900s after last week's incident had led it to draw two key conclusions. "First ... the issue is specific to the Trent 900," Rolls- Royce said in a statement to the London bourse. "Second, the failure was confined to a specific component in the turbine area of the engine. This caused an oil fire, which led to the release of the intermediate pressure turbine disc." The statement supports a report from the European Aviation Safety Agency, which issued an emergency order Thursday requiring airlines to re-examine their Trent 900s and ground any planes with suspicious leaks. EASA said the explosion on the engine of the Qantas jet was caused by an oil fire inside the engine. Rolls-Royce's chief executive said the company will be replacing the relevant part "according to an agreed program" as inspections on the engine continue in association with aviation regulators. "This program will enable our customers progressively to bring the whole fleet back into service," Rose said. Four problems dating to 2008 led to two warnings for airlines to check parts of the Trent 900. Three of the four previous problems centered on the turbines or oil system. Joerg Handwerg, a spokesman for the pilots' union for German airline Lufthansa, said that minor problems are routine for any jet engine, but it is possible that the issues were an indication that regulators did not adequately check the engine before approving it for commercial use. "When you see we have a problem with not just one of these engines but several then it points towards that we have a problem in the certification process," Handwerg said. Back to Top PIA seeks state bail out to survive ISLAMABAD: Ailing state carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is asking the government, saddled with its own mounting debt, to write off losses of 1.7 billion dollars to save it from looming bankruptcy. In a five-year survival plan submitted to the government, PIA has promised to make cutbacks and better its fleet in a bid to improve its fortunes, if the treasury agrees to cancel its debt and pay off other creditors. Blaming "bad policies of the past" for accumulated losses of 80 billion rupees (936 million dollars) and liabilities of 144 billion rupees, PIA spokesman Sultan Hassan insisted the airline is capable of future success. Defending the company against long-standing allegations of graft and staffing problems, he told AFP that operational profits show PIA can become self reliant. "We want to reform the airline. If the government helps us by taking on our previous losses and loans so that we can invest capital, we will be able to revamp the company for the future," said Hassan. But the burden would be a massive undertaking for a government dependent on US aid to survive. The country is mired in a recession worsened by falling foreign direct investment and is plagued by security and social problems. "I don't think it is viable," said an international finance official in Islamabad on condition of anonymity. "The Pakistani economy is already weak, the government is under billions of dollars in debt - if they accept PIA's request to pay off their loans it would be an additional burden." A former financial adviser to the government, Ashfaq Hassan, said privatisation was the only long term solution for the airline, which has failed to turn a net profit since 2004 according to its last annual report. "This is a plan that the Ministry of Finance should never accept. It would leave a huge impact on the national budget," said Hassan, now dean of Islamabad's National University of Sciences and Technology. "If the government injects any money into PIA it would only help it to survive for another year and nothing more. The only solution for this corporation is privatisation. Anything else is a waste of time and money." PIA was created out of private airline Orient Airways in 1955, just eight years after Pakistan came into existence, and today has a fleet of 40 planes, a combination of Boeing 747s, 777s, 737s, Airbuses and ATR aircraft. Performing well until the 1970s when corruption and overstaffing hit company fortunes, PIA's reputation was further battered in the 1980s as it failed to maintain its fleet, said economic expert Shahidur Rehman. He said 1990 signalled further defeat for PIA, when legislation liberalised to allow more competition in the flight market. The state carrier remains the largest operator on Pakistan's international and domestic routes. But union officials say years of corruption, nepotism, bad management and poor planning have pushed the corporation to its lowest ebb. "Every PIA contract is awarded against kick-backs and commission to the relevant authorities. This is employees' money being looted by corrupt officials," said Ashraf Bilo, a PIA union leader. Relations between PIA management and its more than 18,000 employees in Pakistan and its global offices are in disarray. "Merit has always been ignored," said Bilo. Bilo said PIA's 500 pilots each earn around 500,000 rupees (6,000 dollars) per month and can claim a pension of 4,000 rupees a month after 15 years of service - huge sums in Pakistan. But the airline recently imposed new rules to force pilots to fly on its terms, after a row over working hours and pension benefits led pilots to adopt an unofficial "go slow" protest leading to flight delays, said spokesman Hassan. Pilots said they were routinely forced to fly 12 hours per day, two hours more than the civil aviation rules allow, and occasionally for as long as 18 hours. This "is impossible and a serious violation of airline safety conduct," said PIA pilot Sohail Balouch, also the spokesman for Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association. "The management is unwilling to solve this crisis." dawn.com Back to Top Philippines seeks quick removal from aviation blacklists MANILA, Friday 12 November 2010 (AFP) - The Philippines hopes soon to be removed from blacklists of countries deemed to have unsafe aviation, paving the way for its flag carrier to add US flights and return to Europe, a regulator said Friday. Philippine airlines were stopped from expanding services to the United States in 2008 and banned from Europe in March this year over concerns airline safety was not being overseen according to international standards. An International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) inspection team will visit Manila next month and be told the government has complied substantially with 87 of 89 listed deficiencies, chief industry regulator Alfonso Cusi said. The United States' Federal Aviation Authority and the European Union both take guidance from the ICAO. "It's a matter of time before we are out of the blacklist," Cusi told reporters, adding that the government had addressed the most critical issues raised in the ICAO's last safety audit. These included problems with the Philippines' aviation regulatory framework and the quality of staff. Lax surveillance of schools that train pilots, some of them foreigners from the Middle East, India, Afghanistan and Sudan, was another problem. The two outstanding items are completion of the training of the new civil aviation authority's inspectors, and computerisation of the agency, which has been held up as contracts are still under review. Cusi did not say when the final two problems would be rectified. But the next audit of the US agency, the FAA, will be in the first three months of 2011, and the Philippines is hoping it will be lifted from the US blacklist after that, according to Cusi. After the US FAA downgraded the Philippines to "Category 2" from "Category 1", parliament passed a law creating the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to regulate the industry. Cusi, the new body's first director-general, said the ICAO, the FAA and the European Union air safety committee had acknowledged the progress made over the past two years. He said removal from US and EU blacklists would allow Philippine Airlines to resume flights to Europe for the first time since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. Cusi said PAL also wanted to add to its US service, now limited to the US west coast and Hawaii. http://www.mysinchew.com/node/47967 Back to Top Safety at top of Etihad agenda (Gulf News) - CEO says airline is on the path of rapid expansion of its network. Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi's flagship carrier Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways celebrated its seventh anniversary in style last week when it was named the world's best airline for the second consecutive year at a prestigious industry event. The company's chief executive James Hogan spoke to Gulf News about his ambitious plans for the future of the airline and the many challenges it faces on a daily basis. EtihadEtihad is the world's fastest growing carrier and is set to double in size over the course of the next decade. It currently flies to 66 destinations in 43 countries with a new daily service from Abu Dhabi to the South Korean capital Seoul commencing on December 10. The Middle East is energizing the global aviation industry, read how here: The airline, however, is not exempt from the difficult issues currently facing the aviation sector. A fragile security situation and an increasingly competitive market pose huge challenges to the industry as airlines continue to operate in a difficult economic environment. The subject of export credit and government subsidies has also come to the fore in recent months with several European airlines calling for curbs on the expansion of Gulf carriers. Hogan addressed these issues during a frank discussion with Gulf News at EtihadEtihad headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Gulf News: What was your mandate when appointed Chief Executive of Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways? James Hogan: The mandate I was given was to create an airline that was best-in-class, an airline that was safe and an airline that supports the aspirations of Abu Dhabi and the 2030 Plan. There are always issues and opportunities [in this industry] such as competition, which is why we have to be innovative and focus on the customer as well as continuing our work with Abu Dhabi. As I look forward to the next three years, the opportunities for both Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways and Abu Dhabi as a destination are very exciting. In Abu Dhabi, we are at the crossroads of the world; we fly to all points non-stop. What lies ahead for EtihadEtihad over the coming year? We are very excited about the recent opening of Ferrari World and more hotels are beginning to come online because there are now more reasons for people to come to Abu Dhabi, which enables us to package and sell. We will continue to build our networks in Asia and the Middle East and over the coming years you will begin to see more destinations in America. We have also launched our deal with Virgin in Australia, which will bring Virgin Australia to Abu Dhabi in February of next year. What are the main challenges you face as an airline? There's always challenges such as competition and the issue of available infrastructure that allows the airline to grow. But that's business; we never saw the volcano eruption in Europe coming in the first quarter of this year or the troubles in Bangkok. That is part of running an airline and as a business you have to be well conditioned to understand those challenges quickly and be able to adapt and move forward and that is what we do. We have been through a major economic crisis where you saw prices move down. We need to see them move back to a level where they meet our investment, product and service. I would expect to see prices increasing but I would also expect them to be competitive against other airlines. There are plans afoot for a new Midfield Terminal Complex at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Until that is complete, is the current facility large enough to sustain Etihad's rapid growth? This is a challenge but in business you can do one of two things; you either complain or reach a bridging solution. The airport is our hub so we are working with Abu Dhabi Airports Company to develop a bridging strategy, which means there will be more busing at the airport and we are also investing in extending terminal three. If the spirit's right, we will be able to tackle and work through those issues. What's more important to me is the end product is completed properly. If the project is late then so be it; I would rather it was completed properly than have continual snagging issues. What is your response to the recent criticism aimed at Gulf carriers including Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways and Emirates regarding the issue of export credit and government subsidies? The issue with the Eur-opean airlines is they believe it is unfair that we get access to export credit; that applies to any non-European carrier, not just airlines in the Middle East. It is not an issue for us, it is an issue for their [European] governments; if they wish to change the rules then so be it. I think it is a bit of a smokescreen by some of the European carriers to say this is a reason why Gulf carriers are getting preferred status. We're not getting preferred status as export credit is available to all non-European carriers. What concerns me more is this may be used as an issue to block our expansion and that is not good for the customer. This [European criticism] is an attempt to block competition, but we will work through it and at the end of the day this is more of a European domestic issue; we are just being caught up in it. Do you think European airlines are just beginning to wake up to the threat that Gulf carriers pose? Before privatisation, governments [in Europe] poured billions upon billions into establishing infrastructure, bases and their airlines. On the contrary, we had to build a business from scratch so the challenges we have compared to them are quite different. Their major issue is how does a legacy carrier become competitive? When you see things such as British Airways and Iberia merging that is about becoming efficient. They have also seen this part of the world as their territory but it's not as we're in a global market today. We were not first to this [region]; the Asian carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways were there first but I don't see that same focus [from Europe] on them. What you have seen is a part of the world - including India and the Middle East - that over the last 15 years have been protected markets. However, competition is the evolution of business. What steps are you taking to increase security following the recent discovery of explosive devices on two separate cargo planes? One of my first priorities is running a safe airline. We work very closely with airport authorities across the world along with Abu Dhabi Police and the intelligence agencies in the UAE to ensure we are vigilant. That never stops but at certain times throughout the year, if we believe there is a risk, we will enhance security. We are also working very closely with our cargo facility and we are currently not taking any cargo from Yemen or Somalia. In the outstations, whether it be India or southeast Asia, we ensure cargo is screened to a standard that we believe is appropriate. We will break down palettes if we believe it needs to be done. How do you plan to celebrate your seventh anniversary? Sponsoring this weekend's Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways Formula One Grand Prix is not a bad way to celebrate our seventh anniversary. This is an ongoing journey and we are very excited. JAMES HOGAN: ETIHAD AIRWAYS CHIEF EXECUTIVE profile James Hogan was appointed Chief Executive of Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways on September 10, 2006. Over the last four years, he has overseen massive growth of the UAE's national airline, adding 33 new destinations and 35 new aircraft. Hogan started his career in 1975 at Ansett Airlines and subsequently held senior positions with bmi, Hertz, Forte Hotels and Gulf Air. CEO Magazine named him Aviation CEO of the Year in 2008 and Visionary of the Year in 2010. ETIHAD AIRWAYS Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways was established by Emiri Decree in July 2003 and has gone on to become the fastest growing airline in commercial aviation history. The airline is governed by a Board of Directors under the chairmanship of Shaikh Hamad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. EtihadEtihad currently operates over 1,000 flights per week from the UAE capital and employs more than 8,000 staff representing over 120 nationalities. Back to Top Man arrested for 'cursing' woman at Dubai airport London: A 34-year-old Briton, working with the United Nations, has been jailed for two months in the UAE for giving an airport worker "the finger" in Dubai, a news report said. Paul Anthony allegedly got into a row with a female airport employee when she refused to let him use a customer services desk phone. A Dubai court heard he "cursed" the Muslim woman in front of colleagues then thrust his middle finger in her face as he passed through border controls, leading British tabloid 'The Sun' reported. He was arrested minutes after the woman lodged a complaint with the police. He was convicted of indecency and insulting the employee -- named in court as Maryam -- at a previous hearing. However, he pleaded not guilty and launched an appeal yesterday, the report said. Court sources said that Anthony worked for the UN and was planning a six-day stopover in Dubai en route from an Asian country. He was locked up for three days then bailed after the first hearing. He faces a month awaiting an appeal against a two-month jail term and deportation order. A Dubai court source was quoted as saying, "Brits have often fallen foul of decency laws but no one's been arrested this quickly." http://www.ndtv.com/ Back to Top EADS weighs risk of Qantas incident on A380 deliveries EADS is still assessing the effects of the Qantas engine- failure incident on its delivery schedule for the Airbus A380 this year and next. It states that Airbus needs to deliver four more A380s to deliver this year to meet the target of 20 aircraft originally outlined. But three of these, says EADS chief financial officer Hans Peter Ring, are fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines - the powerplant at the centre of the Qantas investigation. "Due to the ongoing developments [with the inquiry] we're not yet fully clear what it means [for the schedule]," he says. Ring says that it "should be possible" to achieve the deliveries planned for this year and next. But he admits to "uncertainty" over the programme into 2011, given that the A380 delivery split between the two engine manufacturers is about 50:50. While Rolls-Royce is working on a solution to replace the engine module suspected to have triggered the uncontained failure on the Qantas aircraft, Ring says: "The question is how quickly they'll deliver these modules." He says the situation is "being managed on a daily, or even an hourly basis", but adds that if "all goes well" with the retrofit and the manufacturer is able to provide enough spare engines, then Airbus "might reach its targets". Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top P100 power panel focus of 787 fire probe Two days after a 9 November fire forced the grounding of the 787 test fleet, a power control panel, responsible for distributing electrical power generated by the aircraft's left engine, is at the center of Boeing's investigation. Program and supplier sources confirm the panel, known as P100, caught fire as ZA002 was passing through 305m (1000ft) during its final approach into Laredo, Texas on Tuesday. Boeing disclosed Wednesday that a power control panel was being replaced, but declined to identify if P100 was the source of the fire. The P100 panel sits on the left side of the aft electrical equipment (EE) bay, and is part of a highly-integrated electrical system that receives 235v ac power from the left engine's twin 250 kVA engine generators for distribution throughout the aircraft. An identical P200 panel performs the same tasks for the right engine's generators. The larger electric systems architecture of the 787 is driven by up to one megawatt of electricity from the two 250 kVA variable frequency starter generators (VFSG) on each of the 787's General Electric GEnx-1B or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. ZA002 is powered by Trent 1000 engines. The P100 panel is home to seven main components supplied by Hamilton Sundstrand, including those that are responsible for commanding loads on and off to various systems depending on the need on board the aircraft, as well as components that replace thermal circuit breakers, which provide overload and fault protection. Further complicating ZA002's return to testing is the damage sustained during the fire, which included dripping of molten metal onto the system wiring and internal fuselage structure, which program sources say is driving Boeing's inspection of the area surrounding the P100 panel to "determine if other repairs will be necessary." Boeing is continuing to investigate the fire to determine any impact to "the overall program schedule" as it reviews data collected from the incident. The airframer is currently slated to deliver the first production 787 to Japan's All Nippon Airways in the middle of the second quarter 2011. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top US Government views UPS 747 crash as accident US Government investigators have found no evidence that the UPS Boeing Boeing 747-400 freighter which crashed in Dubai two months ago was brought down by sabotage. While the Government has kept an open mind since the 3 September accident, in light of the discovery of explosives on a US-bound UPS freight flight, and claims of responsibility for the loss of the 747, internal documentation is playing down the possibility of terrorist involvement. Neither the FBI nor the Department for Homeland Security would comment on the documentation. But an official source familiar with the situation says: "We are continuing to take another look at the Dubai crash but nothing thus far has indicated any nexus to terrorism. The available information continues to indicate that the crash was an accident." The source adds that the claims of responsibility for bringing down the UPS flight are "not surprising". But he also points out that the United Arab Emirates investigation team has similarly found nothing pointing to a deliberate attack on the 747, which crashed while attempting to return to Dubai following an on-board fire warning. Both pilots on the UPS flight were killed in the accident. Police in the UK have determined that the explosives found on the UPS flight at East Midlands Airport could have detonated while the aircraft was en route to the USA. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top NTSB: Unprofessional behaviour behind PSA CRJ overrun Non-pertinent discussions between a PSA Airlines captain and first officer were the root cause behind a runway overrun accident at the Yeager airport in Charleston, West Virginia on 19 January, says the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in a final report. None of the 31 passengers or three crewmembers were injured when US Airways Express Flight 2495 exited the runway and came to rest 39m (128ft) into a 139m engineered material arresting system (EMAS) bed at the end of Runway 23 after a high-speed rejected take off (RTO). The NTSB lists the probable cause as "the flight crewmembers' unprofessional behaviour, including their non-adherence to sterile cockpit procedures by engaging in non-pertinent conversation, which distracted them from their primary flight-related duties and led to their failure to correctly set and verify the flaps". Rather than reject the takeoff per PSA procedures, the captain, after noting the incorrect flap setting, had attempted to command the flaps to the correct setting as the aircraft accelerated through 120kt (222km/h). Configuration warnings sounded soon after. The CRJ ultimately reached about 140kt, 13kt above takeoff speed (V1), before the captain initiated the RTO. According to Bombardier calculations, the aircraft would have been stoppable on the 1,920m (6,300ft) runway had the pilots initiated the rejected takeoff at the V1 speed. The NTSB says the aircraft entered the ESCO-built engineered materials arresting system (EMAS) just past the runway end while travelling at 50kt. The EMAS was installed in 2007 to bring the runway overrun safety area up to US FAA standards. The terrain "drops off sharply about 350ft" past the runway end, the NTSB notes. "If this incident had occurred before the installation of the EMAS, the airplane most likely would have travelled beyond the length of the original safety area and off the steep slope immediately beyond its end," says the NTSB. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC