Flight Safety Information December 21, No. 260 In This Issue For Air Cargo, a Screening Conundrum Polish Leaders Say Russia's Investigation Into April Accident 'Unacceptable' Boeing To Produce More 777s B757 To Be Converted To Combination Freighter And Passenger Jet Delta jet lands safely despite engine trouble... EU to unveil flight time limits for pilots... New report blasts FAA for airline inspection crisis... Scrutiny high for 787 ETOPS certification Helicopters Grounded After Sunday's Crash Boeing sees 737 rates at 50 per month Canada reaches air transport agreements with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago Watchdog: Improper payments mar FAA airport improvement program For Air Cargo, a Screening Conundrum (NYT) Ever since 9/11, each new security threat to airlines has increased the rigor of passenger screening. They have to remove their shoes and carry liquids only in small containers. They have to take off their belts and take laptops out of their cases. Now, they have to submit to full-body scanning machines and intrusive pat-downs. But since the discovery in October of explosives from Yemen hidden in ink cartridges on cargo planes, the $50 billion freight business has seen little of the same kind of escalating security. Even in the midst of one of the air cargo industry's busiest periods of the year, governments and aviation experts continue to struggle to come up with ways to strengthen cargo security without paralyzing a business essential to global trade. Still, that could change. Cargo safety has suddenly emerged as one of the biggest topics in aviation security. Governments around the world have pledged to tackle the problem, while in Congress, lawmakers are calling for much tougher inspections of cargo. The cargo industry has resisted one idea: screening all cargo. It argues that such a step is impractical since most airports do not have the space to screen all the packages shipped each day. And some goods, including perishable products and medical supplies, may not survive a long wait at the airport to be screened. "It's the old conundrum," said Billie Vincent, a former security director for the Federal Aviation Administration. "Do you put the industry out of business in the process of making it safe?" Screening passengers is far simpler than inspecting cargo. More than 1,600 airports worldwide are funneling passengers through security lines and metal detectors. But air cargo can come from countless sources and comprises countless kinds of goods, including fresh produce, medical supplies and electronic devices. The cargo industry itself is fragmented, too, with door-to-door shippers like DHL, United Parcel Service and FedEx; all-cargo airlines; and shipping companies that rent cargo space on passenger planes. Air cargo represents about 40 percent of the value of global trade. As a result, the Transportation Security Administration, which handles all passenger screening in the United States, has taken a different approach to air cargo. It mostly relies on the cargo industry to screen its own freight. And freight is inspected in factories or in warehouses, by shippers, freight operators or airlines, in this country or overseas. Reflecting the T.S.A.'s focus on passenger safety, it received $5.2 billion for aviation security in the last fiscal year and just $123 million for cargo security. And while new safety procedures were adopted for passengers almost immediately after 9/11, it wasn't until 2007 that Congress passed a law requiring all cargo on passenger planes to be screened. The new requirement has been in effect since August. But Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, who wrote the mandate, said it still left a "safety loophole" because freight on cargo planes, which accounts for 85 percent of all air cargo, is not subject to the same screening. After the Yemen incident, Mr. Markey introduced a bill to extend the screening mandate to all cargo planes. "As the terrorists are turning to cargo planes as a delivery device for their deadly plans, we now need to secure cargo planes," Mr. Markey said recently. "We simply can't afford to leave this vulnerability open." Cargo experts contend that it is far more effective to focus on packages coming from risky countries, or from unknown shippers with no track record of business or those who pay in cash. Well-established companies that ship goods regularly, the experts say, present much less of a safety risk and therefore require less scrutiny. "Screening every piece of freight on every single freight aircraft coming or leaving the United States would be a tremendous challenge and would not equate to 100 percent air cargo security," said Brandon Fried, the president of the Airforwarders Association, an industry trade group. "The focus should be on who is shipping what, and where." But there are some serious gaps in the current system. While cargo on passenger flights leaving the United States is screened, T.S.A. officials acknowledged that it would not be until 2013 before passenger flights from foreign countries had the same level of scrutiny. For the moment, only about 65 percent of cargo on international passenger flights is screened. T.S.A. officials, however, said that the current system, which sought to identify risky shippers, was effective. "Aviation security is stronger than it has ever been," John S. Pistole, the T.S.A.'s administrator, said in an e-mail. Still, governments around the world have been recognizing the threat to cargo. After the October incident, the United States banned shipments from Yemen and Somalia. The European Union also said it would tighten air cargo rules from outside the bloc. The International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency in charge of setting international aviation rules, has also said it will work on new rules for cargo screening. "Terrorists have air cargo in their sights as a means of executing their attack and the system has to be able to deal with that," said Jim Marriott, the chief of the U.N. agency's aviation security branch. Express cargo companies like DHL and FedEx say they have developed their own safety procedures. Jack O'Neill, DHL Express's head of operations in the United States, said the company inspected packages using a variety of tools, including X-rays and explosives detectors. The company's site at Kennedy Airport in New York, for instance, is also equipped with a system that can pick up small radioactive sources. And the express cargo system is a well-oiled machine. Early one morning this week, a DHL cargo plane from Germany broke the freezing stillness at Kennedy, its belly full of about 4,000 packages from around Europe. Within two hours after the plane landed, all the packages were sorted and on delivery trucks, destined for Wall Street banks, Manhattan stores and households in New Jersey. United States authorities, who had received the plane's manifest four hours beforehand, asked to check just 11 packages. "It's a fine balance between cargo security and facilitating trade," Mr. O'Neill said. In recent years, the T.S.A., working with the cargo industry, has also sought to move the screening of goods up the supply chain. In effect, the agency has developed a system that relies on shippers, cargo operators, freight companies, or airlines to screen and inspect packages on its behalf. The system, known as the Certified Cargo Screening Program, allows cargo companies to be certified by the government to establish screening sites outside of airports to inspect packages. "They take a layered approach to security that in my mind is quite effective," said Jim Marcino, a director at World Courier, a large cargo company. At any point, he said, federal agents can show up and make sure Mr. Marcino's business, which is part of the certified cargo program, is in compliance with the T.S.A.'s requirements. In a small warehouse in Queens, Racine Berkow was recently readying her latest cargo for shipment. Ms. Berkow, who runs her small shipping business from an anonymous building in Long Island City, was packing several paintings owned by a private collector and destined for Mexico. Before Ms. Berkow closed the crates, she inspected them and affixed a metal seal, which meant the shipment had been screened. In another part of the building, a couple of similarly sealed crates were waiting to be driven to the airport and flown to Kazakhstan, their contents cushioned by layers of wood, foam and other protective packing. "We are the eyes and ears of the T.S.A.," she said with a smile. "We're the front line here." Back to Top Polish Leaders Say Russia's Investigation Into April Accident 'Unacceptable' Prime Minister Calls Conclusions "Unjustified" Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said last week that the findings of a Russian investigation into the accident last April which fatally injured President Lech Kaczynsky are "unacceptable, without question." The PM cited what he called omissions, errors, and the absence of reaction to requests from the Polish government in calling the conclusions in the report "unjustified." "I'm not saying they are false, but they are not confirmed by tests," Tusk said in a speech in Brussels. 95 people including Poland's President, his wife, military leaders, and several members of parliament were killed when the Soviet-made TU-154 went down on approach on April 10th. The French news service AFP reports that a Russian preliminary report indicated that that the crew ignored warnings about heavy fog at Smolensk in northwest Russia and attempted the landing despite those warnings. There were also reports of passengers in the cockpit shortly before the airplane went down. Russia gave the Polish government a 200-page report in October, but said it would not publish its findings until Poland had made comments. A 150-page response was sent back to Russia within the 60 day comment period, according to the news service. FMI: www.ulc.gov.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=419&Itemid=42 1 Back to Top Boeing To Produce More 777s Second Production Rate Increase Announced This Year The production rate for Boeing's 777 program will increase to 8.3 airplanes per month in the first quarter 2013, the planemaker announced Monday. This is the second production increase announced for the program in 2010. In March the program announced it would increase production from five to seven airplanes per month beginning in mid-2011. "In response to strong customer demand globally, we are increasing our yearly production to 100 777s," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh. "The 777 is the twin-aisle market leader because of its superior operating economics, unmatched range and preference among travelers' needs." The 777 has a large installed operator base, and a track record of proven performance including 1,163 orders, 907 deliveries and a backlog of more than 250 airplanes. Suppliers are prepared to support the rate increase. Boeing does not expect that the production rate decision will have a material impact on 2010 financial results. FMI: www.boeing.com Back to Top B757 To Be Converted To Combination Freighter And Passenger Jet "Combi Configuration" Will Accommodate 45 Passengers, 10 Cargo Pallets An airline and and engineering firm plan to convert a standard Boeing 757-200 aircraft into what they call a "Combi Configuration", which will allow for 45 passengers and up to 10 cargo pallets. The conversion is being planned by Global Aviation Holdings' North American Airlines and the aerospace division of Vision Technologies Systems, Inc. (VT Systems), which jointly announced the agreement last week. "The B-757 Combi will be utilized on routes where our customers require the shipment of heavy supplies as well as personnel," said Brian Bauer, Chief Commercial Officer of Global Aviation. "As a long-time operator of the passenger Boeing 757, North American will be able to offer customers a seamless upgrade using this modern and fuel-efficient platform." "This agreement is a vote of confidence in our strong MRO and engineering track record in the U.S. and our capability to offer tailored solutions to meet customers' special operating requirements," said General (Retired) John G. Coburn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VT Systems. "We look forward to supporting North American Airlines with a complete solution - from design and development to implementing the conversion at our MRO facilities." B757-200 VT Systems' aerospace division, which owns maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities in Mobile and San Antonio, is the largest private employer in Mobile, and the largest private independent MRO employer in San Antonio. Managed by ST Aerospace as part of its global network of MRO facilities, these facilities have been performing heavy maintenance and modification works for numerous aircraft types, including the Boeing 757. The Mobile facility previously designed and converted two Royal New Zealand Air Force 757-200 passenger aircraft into multi-role combination configuration. It also jointly developed the engineering solution with Boeing for the 757-200 passenger-to-freighter (PTF) conversion and redelivered 17 converted freighters to Boeing's customer DHL. It is currently performing PTF conversions for FedEx Express, following the award of a conversion contract for 87 Boeing 757-200 aircraft. ST Aerospace is the aerospace arm of ST Engineering. FMI: www.vt-systems.com, www.flynaa.com Back to Top Delta jet lands safely despite engine trouble SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - A Delta regional jet with 52 people aboard has made a safe landing in Syracuse after developing trouble with one of its engines. A city aviation spokeswoman, Christina Reale, said a low oil pressure gauge lit up when the twin-engine plane heading from Detroit to Syracuse was about 5 miles from its destination shortly after midday Monday. The pilot shut down the engine and declared an emergency landing. The plane landed without incident at Syracuse Hancock International Airport. Back to Top EU to unveil flight time limits for pilots BRUSSELS - The European air safety agency says it will unveil on Monday a new proposal to combat pilot fatigue, known as the "silent killer" of civil aviation. The new rules, which come into effect in 2012, will limit flight hours for air crews and standardize the current hodgepodge of national regulations across the continent. The proposal would bar airlines from scheduling pilots to be on duty -- both waiting to fly or in the cockpit flying -- longer than 14 hours in a day. Nighttime work hours would be reduced to 12. The European pilots association said that the agency buckled under pressure from the airlines. The association said in a statement the proposal ignores independent research into fatigue affecting aircrew, which recommends a maximum of 12 hours on duty during daytime and 10 hours at night. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9K7NO880.htm Back to Top New report blasts FAA for airline inspection crisis DALLAS - More than 43 million people are flying this holiday season. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport expects three million passengers to pass through its gates alone, a four percent jump over last Christmas. But News 8 has learned that you could be flying on planes the FAA hasn't fully inspected. A new 35-page report from the Department of Transportation's Inspector General blasts FAA inspectors for failing to get critical safety and maintenance checks done in a timely manner. It says federal inspections of important systems have fallen behind the most with locally-based American and Southwest airlines. "This report is a big deal, but nobody will pay much attention to it," said aviation consultant Denny Kelly, who says the document details a concerning problem - FAA inspectors have fallen behind on their jobs by not inspecting airlines and airliners when they're supposed to. "It's dangerous. They can say whatever they want, but it's dangerous," Kelly said. In the last decade, the FAA reduced the total number of inspections by 75 percent. Still, the report points out that overdue inspections continue. It's taking nearly eight years to check airline policies and procedures that are supposed to be checked every five years. The report also says FAA inspectors missed 340 specific checks of critical systems with airlines, making sure they comply with federal rules and safety bulletins. The FAA's inspection office overseeing Southwest Airlines missed the most; it was overdue on inspections 57 times. American's FAA inspectors came in second-worst, missing 51 checks. A shortage of federal inspectors is the biggest problem, the FAA complained. In a statement, the agency went on to say: "...it modified the Air Transportation Oversight System to focus and prioritize the most critical safety issues. This spring, the FAA instituted a process to track overdue or incomplete assessments to ensure proper follow up. The [agency] said it's confident in its ability to oversee the National Airspace System." The Inspector General's report covered a four-year period between 2005 and 2009. It notes that the FAA and its inspectors won't finally get caught up with all their checks for another two years. http://www.wfaa.com/ Back to Top Scrutiny high for 787 ETOPS certification Any limitation on Boeing's ability to win an FAA rating to fly the 787 Dreamliner long distances over water could be a big liability for the aircraft, analysts say. Extended-rang Twin-engine Operational Performance Standard, or ETOPS, is a certification required by the Federal Aviation Administration to allow twin-engine passenger aircraft to fly long distances away from airports, usually over oceans. The concept is that the aircraft, and its systems, are reliable enough to guarantee the aircraft can reach an airport within 180 minutes or 240 minutes, depending on the level of certification, even with only one engine working. The ETOPS issue was raised by a Seattle Times story on the 787's problems. The Times reported that John Hickey, the FAA's deputy associate administrator for aviation safety, warned Boeing that problems with the 787's Rolls Royce engines and the plane's electrical systems could jeopardize its certification. "It's a serious concern in my opinion. Without extended ETOPS rating, the 787 doesn't make any sense for its customers," said Hans Weber, president of Tecop International Inc., a San Diego aviation consultancy. "It's intended to be a long- haul aircraft, and this goes to the very heart of the 787's utility." In the Times story, Dreamliner program director Scott Fancher downplayed the problems, and said Boeing will "fully address" the FAA's concerns. Weber agreed that the issues withe the engines and the electrical system raise the bar for Boeing in its quest for ETOPS certification for the 787. "For ETOPS, a very important requirement is to demonstrate systems reliability and redundancy, " he said. "The failure of the electrical system was by itself not so much a problem, but the way the system responded to it, by not switching to alternative electrical power the way it was supposed to - that puts into question the ability of the electrical system to function under ETOPS." Aerospace analyst Scott Hamilton, president of Leeham Co. LLC in Issaquah, said the situation Boeing faces with the 787 is much more demanding than with the earlier twin-jet 777, which was certified "out of the box." "It's very worrisome," Hamilton said. "Boeing is going to have to demonstrate that following the Rolls Royce Trent failure, and the electrical fire, that systems are reliable before they grant ETOPS." He added that the November electrical control panel fire, and the engine problems, put Boeing on the defensive. "I would say they're working under another challenge, that obviously they'd prefer not to have," he said. .. http://www.bizjournals.com/ Back to Top Helicopters Grounded After Sunday's Crash COLUMBIA (MO) - Air Methods grounded Staff For Life helicopters after one crashed in La Monte on Sunday. Air Methods spokesperson Joan Drake said Staff For Life 1 helicopter in Columbia and Staff For Life 2 based in Osage Beach were both back in service by 7 a.m. She said the helicopters were down for around 12 hours. Drake said the grounding gave everyone a chance to diffuse and collect themselves after the crash. Craig Yale, Vice President of Air Methods of Colorado, said the grounding is standard procedure. "We usually do some type of safety stand down for a period of 12 to 24 hours. It really depends on when the crews are comfortable about being able to go back to work," Yale said. A flight nurse, paramedic and pilot on the helicopter that crashed remained in the University Hospital Monday. All three are listed in fair and stable condition. The helicopter crash happened Sunday morning at about 10 a.m. Assistant Chief of the LaMonte Fire Department Mariah Durham spoke with the pilot after the crash. She said, he told her the engine quit functioning, causing a 200-foot drop back to the ground. Air Methods is still investigating the crash and is not exactly sure the cause. "There's nothing about this so far that would give us any reason to believe that there's anything systematic," Yale said. "It's isolated, we believe, to the aircraft." The helicopter crashed on its way to a medical call; another Staff For Life helicopter responded to the original emergency. http://www.komu.com/ Back to Top Boeing sees 737 rates at 50 per month Even as Boeing weighs taking production rates of the popular 737 beyond the 38 per month officials have announced, to 42 a month (41 for the commercial 737 and one for the 737-based P-8A Poseidon), consideration is underway to boosting rates even more-to 50 per month, ATI and Flightglobal sister publication Commercial Aviation Online (CAO) has learned. In a meeting with employees last month, Nicole Piasecki, vice president of Business Development & Strategic Integration, said that Boeing is prepared to move forward with a 737 re-engine or a new airplane, as well as proceed with further upgrades to the current Next Generation 737, but there are other considerations as well in making these program development decisions. "We are looking at what technology do we have that will allow us to bring a superior product into the market toward the latter end of this decade," Paisecki told employees. "Our customers would like it sooner rather than later, but there is one additional perspective. Going forward, we are probably going to see production rates at about 50 [737s] per month as we look out in the growth of the industry." Officials have inspected the land around its Renton, Washington 737 production plant to consider expansion, CAO understands. The facility, with some rejigging of the internal footprint, can accommodate 42 airplanes a month, although ramp space for the finished product will be challenging. "The production line is really efficient today," Piasecki told employees, "so we have to have not only abetter performing product, we also have to have a more efficient, higher quality production system." In the same meeting, Piasecki was asked whether the high productions rates might mean setting up another line at an underutilized Boeing facility in another state, Piasecki noted that prospect is not part of her job description but answered that "if we aren't uncovering every opportunity to ensure that we can get up to rate, we should be." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Canada reaches air transport agreements with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago Canada's government says it has forged "open skies-type" agreements with the Caribbean nations of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The Canadian government states the new agreements allow airlines additional flexibility for route selection, frequency of service and price setting. Air Services between Canada and Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have been operated for several years, says Canada's ministry of transport. The new agreements allow new air services to begin immediately. Since the government introduced its "Blue Sky" policy in late 2006, Canada has negotiated air transport agreements with more than 50 countries. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Watchdog: Improper payments mar FAA airport improvement program A US government audit of the FAA-managed airport improvement program (AIP) in 2008 reveals that an estimated 4% of the $4 billion in grants were made improperly, prompting calls for more stringent cost controls. The US Department of Transportation's office of inspector general (OIG) analyzed 26 airport improvement program (AIP) grantees from 2008, finding that payments of $13 million made to 17 of the grantees were improper. The amount represents 5% of the total grants to all 26 grantees. "Approximately $7 million of the $13 million was paid for work performed that grantees did not sufficiently document," the OIG states. "Almost $4 million was paid to grantees for ineligible or unallowable services. The remaining $2 million was paid to ineligible recipients, in the incorrect payment amount, or as a duplicate payment." The OIG says the FAA had ranked 24 of the 26 grantees as "low risk", meaning they could receive funding without submitting documentation or obtaining prior approval from FAA, hurdles that high-risk grantees must clear before receiving funds. The worst offender, according to the report, was the Panama City-Bay County airport in Florida, with almost $7 million in improper payments used for building the new Northwest Florida Beaches International airport, which opened for service in May. The OIG says the airport received more than $4 million for construction work on temporary pollution and erosion control, but could not provide documentation that the work met FAA and contract requirements. Panama City also used $784,000 in grant money to pay financing costs for the new airport, a use that is prohibited under AIP guidelines, says the OIG. "For more than two years, FAA was unaware that this grantee was receiving payments to fund these ineligible/unapproved tasks," the report states. "When a state auditor brought the matter to FAA's attention, instead of taking action to recover the funds, FAA's airport district office modified the grant agreement by incorporating and approving AIP eligible tasks already billed, and identifying other eligible tasks to compensate for the $784,000 paid for prohibited expenses". The FAA disagreed with portions of the OIG's findings, saying that grants for $4.6 million of the $13 million in question were in fact proper. Recommendations by the OIG for preventing improper payments in the future include revising the risk management procedures for categorizing grantees, developing procedures to prevent duplicate AIP payments from being made and finding ways to recover funds deemed to be improper. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC