Flight Safety Information January 19, 2011 - No. 014 In This Issue FAA proposes $359,000 in Civil Penalties Against SkyWest Airlines FAA could spike Boeing's new 787 delivery schedule IndiGo to launch international operations (India) Smolensk air traffic controllers warned Polish pilots in advance Israel slow on aviation safety reform Bombardier Inspections Ordered (Q400's) Delta plans largest aircraft purchase in history KLM student pilots to undergo mandatory upset training New York Bound Qantas Flight Makes Unscheduled Stop In Fiji 146 pilots, flight attendants sue JAL over dismissals China Southern airline reports record flight safety Airline Safety Stalls Again in 2010 FAA proposes $359,000 in Civil Penalties Against SkyWest Airlines Airline Cited For Improper Weight And Balance Data On Five Flights The FAA has proposed $359,000 in civil penalties against SkyWest Airlines, Inc., of St. George, UT, for alleged violations of FARs. The FAA proposed a penalty of $220,000 for alleged failure to document heavy checked bags, motorized mobility aids and a heavy shipment carried in the cargo compartment of the company's passenger aircraft. As a result, the company operated the aircraft on five flights between April 21 and May 25, 2010 with incorrect weight and balance data. The FAA alleges the violations occurred because the carrier's employees failed to follow required procedures for documenting cargo carried on revenue passenger flights. The other two proposed civil penalties are for allegedly operating two Bombardier Regional Jet aircraft when they were not in compliance with FARs. In the first case, a proposed civil penalty of $70,500, the FAA alleges SkyWest employees failed to follow the company's Continuous Airworthiness Maintenance Program (CAMP) and the Bombardier maintenance and inspection manual during five attempts by mechanics to correct an avionics system cooling problem on one aircraft. SkyWest operated the aircraft on at least five revenue passenger flights between July 15 and 21, 2009 when it was not in compliance In the second case, the FAA is proposing a civil penalty of $68,500, alleging SkyWest operated another Bombardier jet on eight revenue passenger flights between May 30 and June 1, 2010 when it was not in compliance with regulations. The FAA alleges SkyWest mechanics failed to follow procedures required in the airline's CAMP when replacing the right air conditioning pack's pressure-regulating and shutoff valve. SkyWest has 30 days from receipt of the FAA's enforcement letters to reply to the agency. FMI: www.faa.gov Back to Top FAA could spike Boeing's new 787 delivery schedule The FAA has yet to agree on the steps Boeing must take during the flight-test program to certify the Dreamliner to fly long trans-ocean and trans-polar routes. Boeing on Tuesday pushed out the first delivery of its new 787 Dreamliner to the third quarter of this year. Yet, an uncertainty built into the new schedule could cause further slippage. According to two people close to the discussions, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has yet to agree on the steps Boeing must take during the flight-test program to certify the jet to fly long transocean and transpolar routes. This sets up tension between a plane maker that believes it has fixes for engine and electrical-system problems and a regulator that demands proof the fixes are safe and reliable. Boeing needs FAA certification upon first delivery to satisfy its customers. But the agency wants stringent, potentially extended, testing before it will certify the plane to fly long-range routes far from available landing facilities. To try to assure that Boeing can meet its newly announced timetable, the seventh revision, Dreamliner program chief Scott Fancher said in a statement he has "restored some margin in the schedule to allow for any additional time that may be needed to complete certification activities." After assessing the impact of an in-flight electrical fire in November, Boeing said the new schedule will allow it "to produce, install and test updated software and new electrical power-distribution panels in the flight-test and production airplanes." The consequent delay extends roughly six months beyond the previous delivery timetable, although it could stretch to 7 ½ months. Flight tests for certification resumed Monday. Assuming only a six-month delay, the jet will be three years and three months later than originally promised to first customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan. But first, Boeing needs to win that long-range flight certification. John Hickey, the FAA's deputy associate administrator for aviation safety, visited Seattle in December and warned 787 executives that in the program's current state, the jet would not qualify for a certification known as ETOPS - Extended-range Twin-engine Operations - which an airplane needs to fly more than an hour from the nearest airport. The FAA's concern was that the electrical fire and a Rolls-Royce engine failure in a ground test last summer had raised reliability questions. Boeing's plan for the Dreamliner was to follow the certification path of its previous all-new airplane, the 777, which in 1995 became the first airliner to win ETOPS certification from the moment that it entered service. Before that, twin-engine airplanes had to prove reliability through two years of commercial flying before the FAA granted permission to fly more than an hour from available airports. Because Boeing designed and marketed the 787 as an ultra-long- range jet with a range exceeding 9,000 miles, customers have assumed that, like the 777, the Dreamliner would be approved for long-range flying "out-of-the-box." Any delay would be a tremendous setback to airline route plans. The lack of clarity on what Boeing will have to do to earn its ETOPS stamp for the Dreamliner leaves the schedule somewhat provisional. Cai von Rumohr, an analyst with Cowen and Co., said the extra margin in the new schedule is to cover uncertainties in the certification process. "Boeing still has some issues left to be resolved with the FAA," Rumohr said. "My understanding is that's why there is a three-month window, to absorb that." Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter said the company is "working closely with the FAA," including recent discussions focused on the long-range flight certification. Boeing is expected to fly a new test aircraft this week, Dreamliner No. 9. This jet will join the six Dreamliners already in the test fleet and "will be largely devoted to ETOPS safety-certification flights," Boeing's Gunter said. A person familiar with the plans said another flight test plane will join No. 9 in this mission, flying a series of long-range flights, many conducted with one engine deliberately shut down for many hours. During Boeing's earnings call with financial analysts next Wednesday, executives will address the impact of this latest delay on its 2011 financial guidance and talk about the number of initial 787 deliveries expected this year. According to a 2009 internal company document, Boeing had planned to ramp up 787 production to 10 planes a month by early 2013 in a series of small increases over three years. With the initial delivery postponed until at least July, that plan no longer is possible. Boeing likely will push out that peak production-rate target date by at least a year. Boeing announced the new delivery schedule before the stock market opened Tuesday. Investors saw it as positive news and pushed the stock price up 3.43 percent, or $2.40 a share, to $72.47. ANA spokeswoman Nao Gunji described the long-awaited announcement of the new timetable as "a positive step." "However, the aircraft ... is now three years late and has been delayed seven times so we will be looking to Boeing for assurance that it can meet this latest delivery date," Gunji said. "We will also be seeking from Boeing a full schedule for delivery of all the 55 aircraft on order from ANA," she said. Gunji said Boeing hasn't told ANA when it might receive its second Dreamliner. And, she said, "ANA expects Boeing to obtain the (long- range flight) approval as soon as possible." http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ Back to Top IndiGo to launch international operations (India) IndiGo, which recently placed the world's largest aircraft order, has received government nod to launch international operations and would fly to Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and Muscat soon after it completes five years of domestic operations in August. The airline, which bagged the second position after Jet Airways in terms of the number of passengers, got permission for launching international operations from the forthcoming summer schedule, which begins in April and continues till October-November. An airline spokesperson said on Wednesday that the flights would be operated from several Indian cities to Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and Muscat. However, "the schedules and dates for the launch of these international services will be announced in the coming months", she added. The criteria for permission to launch international operations are that the airline should complete five years of domestic operations and have a 20-aircraft fleet. Sources said the first global flight would be launched as soon as IndiGo completes five years of domestic operations in August this year and added that it could also be matched with the fifth anniversary celebration. Preparations are on in full swing, they said. A company statement said, "IndiGo is delighted to receive these important traffic rights and is grateful to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for approving its application in a timely manner." http://www.thehindu.com/ Back to Top Smolensk air traffic controllers warned Polish pilots in advance MOSCOW, January 19 (Itar-Tass) -- Air traffic controllers of the Smolensk- Severny airfield began to look for a reserve airfield for the Polish plane with President Lech Kaczynski on board an hour and a half before the air crash, and began to say, starting from the first communication session, that they had no conditions for receiving the plane. This is shown by the recordings of the open microphone in the air traffic control centre, which were published as a verbatim report on the site of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC). On April 10, 2009, at 09.26 (Moscow time here and afterwards), Colonel Krasnokutsky, who was staying at the airfield tower, said after a Russian Il-76 plane could not land at the Smolensk-Severny airfield and was sent to a reserve airfield: "We should tell the Poles what sort of a flight they will have." Two minutes later he said: "Just look, it came at once," meaning thick fog, which no one had expected. The air traffic controllers began to call the officer on duty in charge of air traffic control, telling him that they should look for a reserve airfield for the Polish plane. At 09.40 Krasnokutsky told the officer on duty: "According to my information, the Polish Tu-154 plane is taking off. They did not ask us for information, they are flying on their own. We should warn them that we are having thick fog. The visibility range is about 400 metres. We should look for a reserve airfield, if it is ready - Vnukovo or some other airport." The air traffic controllers could not contact the plane of the Polish president for a long time, but during their first conversation after contact was established - at 10.23.30 - Lieutenant Colonel Plyusnin, who was in charge of the flights, asked the Polish crew how much fuel was left on board the plane and what reserve airfield they were going to choose. Flight commander Arkadiusz Protasiuk answered that they chose the airports of Minsk and Vitebsk, and that they had 11 tons of fuel on board. At 10.24 the air traffic controlled told the crew: "We have fog at Korsazh [Smolensk-Severny airfield], the visibility range is 400 metres, temperature plus two degrees, pressure 745. We have no conditions for receiving the flight." "Thank you, but we shall try to approach the airfield. If the weather is bad, we shall make the second round," the Polish crew reported 11 seconds later. Several minutes later, when discussing a possibility of the landing, Krasnokutsky said in a conversation that "the decision should be made by international flight No.1, they should do it on their own." His words confirm the version of IAC that the air traffic controllers could not forbid the plane to land. According to international rules, such decisions are to be made by flight commanders. By 10.35 the plane went down to the level of 500 metres (Krasnokutsky was discussing a reserve airfield at that time, while Plyusnin was talking with the crew). The Polish pilot said, responding to the question of the air traffic controllers, that he had landed on military airfields before. When he was warned that after going down to the level of 100 metres they should be ready to make the second round, he said: "Yes, we shall do it." At 10.37 Krasnokutsky said: "Just look, it is getting worse... They will not make it. The important thing is to give them permission to the second round, after which he will decide on his own." At 10.39 the officer in charge of the flights reported to the crew of the Tu-154: "Landing additionally." This means that the landing is not permitted, but the runway is free, and the flight commander should make the decision about the landing himself. Nevertheless, the Polish plane continued to go down. The last thing heard on the microphone from the crew was "Lights turned on." At 10.40-10.41 the air traffic controller called "Horizon-101 [this was the call signal of the Polish plane], mind height control, Horizon!". After which he repeated four times: "Go to the second round," but the Polish plane did not respond. At 10.41 the Tu-154 crashed several hundred metres away from the runway, to the left of the road. All the 96 people who were on board the plane - the president, his wife and members of the Polish official delegation, who were going to Katyn to take part in a mourning ceremony - died in the air crash. Earlier on the same day, however, another Polish plane, a Yak-40, landed at the Smolensk-Severny airfield. At 08.55 the visibility range near the airfield was four kilometres, and a haze came. Fifteen minutes later the visibility range was reduced to 1.2-1.3 kilometres. At 09.15 the Yak-40 managed to land, although at the last moment the air traffic controller gave a command to the crew to make the second round. He praised the flight commander after the successful landing. IAC inspectors established later that the flight commander of the presidential Tu-154 plane also contacted the pilot of the Yak-40 plane, which landed near Smolensk, asking him about the weather at the airfield. The Yak-40 pilot described the weather in most negative terms. At the same time, the Russian Il-76 plane going from Vnukovo could not land at Smolensk-Severny at 09.25. It made the second round, and then went to a reserve airfield. Back to Top Israel slow on aviation reform JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's heavily fortified international airport is considered by many to be the go-to place for airline security, with vehicle checks, robots, closed-circuit cameras and controversial passenger profiling all helping to keep travelers safe from terror attacks. But behind the reputation - and above the airport - lie troubled skies. The U.S. government has ranked Israel's air safety among the world's worst, lumping it with countries like Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Zimbabwe. In a pair of mishaps, the Israeli air force scrambled warplanes to intercept commercial airliners suspected of being hostile aircraft. Some pilots fear an airliner could one day be shot down by mistake. The downgrade in Israeli safety standards, reaffirmed late last year, was first issued in 2008, in the wake of two additional mishaps that could have resulted in accidents, said an Israeli aviation official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to discuss the issue with media. "This is an international embarrassment for the civil aviation authority," Giovanni Bisignani, the head of the International Air Transport Association, an industry umbrella group, said of the downgrade during a recent visit here. Other warnings are coming from home. Israel's state watchdog agency recently accused the government of dragging its feet on implementing a safety panel's recommendations to redress serious problems at Ben-Gurion International Airport. Chief among them were outdated technology, runways that are too short, crowded air space used by both commercial airlines and the military, and a dysfunctional civil aviation authority. Bisignani visited Israel in November, in part to press the country to update its air safety practices - which stand in stark contrast to the sparkling new international airport that served a record 3.5 million tourists last year and a similar number of Israeli travelers. He told local officials that passengers should remain confident in the safety of Israel's airlines - El Al, Israir, Arkia and C.A.L. Cargo Airlines. Bisignani also praised Israel's "long history of leadership" on security - singling out its "pioneering work on behavior monitoring." Other countries, like the U.S., have balked at such methods, where inspectors question people who match suspicious profiles, often based on ethnic or racial background. But he took Israel to task for not doing enough to address the problems that led the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to downgrade it to the lower of two categories - ordinarily the province of the world's least-developed nations. The Category 2 ranking prevents Israeli airlines from expanding capacity in the U.S. market or carrying code-share passengers from U.S. airlines. "It is a costly situation for the country's reputation and it is damaging Israel's airlines," Bisignani said at the time. His office refused interview requests. Israel has never experienced an airport crash, but experts say civil aviation here was neglected for decades, with authorities slow to renovate runways and introduce state-of-the-art instrument landing and radar technology. Crowded airspace shared by civil and military flights further complicates matters. A near-crash between El Al and Iberia carriers in 2007 at Ben-Gurion shook things up and a panel, headed by a former air force commander, was formed to review safety and recommend changes. Upgrades are under way, including newer radars and instrument landing systems, the extension of one of the airport's three runways and construction of a new air control tower. But state comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said in a September report that the changes are not happening fast enough. "Despite the safety deficiencies noted in critiques by commissions and professionals in Israel and abroad, government ministries unfortunately did not do enough to improve aviation safety in Israel," he wrote, adding that "the lives of civil aviation passengers are liable to be at risk." He criticized parliament for not passing an updated aviation law. The existing law dates back to 1927, when Britain ruled prestate Palestine. Since the downgrade, Israel has been working with the FAA to meet top-category standards, said the Transportation Ministry, which oversees the Israeli civil administration authority and operations at the airport. The Israeli aviation official says Israel is well on the way to addressing outstanding concerns, mostly updates to antiquated laws, and that he expected an updated aviation law to be ready for parliament in February. Capt. Boaz Hativa, chairman of the Israel Pilots Association, is worried by some of the provisions in the bill, especially concerning accident investigation. Under the proposed law, the Israeli agency charged with investigating aviation accidents and other mishaps would no longer be the sole arbiter, and its autonomy would be compromised, Hativa said. Investigative material would no longer be confidential, making people less willing to testify, he added. "We are afraid that if the institution of accident investigation is impaired, flight safety will suffer," he said. He and Bisignani also criticized a security program being tested by the Transportation Ministry that requires pilots to submit a security code confirming their identity before they are authorized to land. The program - still in a test phase - is meant to make sure incoming aircraft do not pose security threats. But at least two planes - in April 2009 and July 2010 - have been intercepted by Israeli fighter jets as they approached Israeli air space after submitting incorrect identity codes. "We think this code can set off a sequence of events that could lead to the shootdown of an innocent carrier," Hativa said. "Of course, that's an extreme scenario, but it could happen." Bisignani said no other country has a similar requirement. He said he has encouraged Israel to scrap the program. The ministry did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment on its plans for the program. Back to Top Bombardier Inspections Ordered (Q400's) By ANDY PASZTOR (WSJ) Canadian air-safety officials have ordered emergency inspections of landing gears on more than 300 Bombardier Q400 turbobrop airliners, in order to ensure that alternate extension systems can properly deploy the main gears. Released earlier this week by Transport Canada and issued Tuesday by European aviation regulators, the safety directive calls for inspections to be completed within 10 days or 50 flight hours. U.S. regulators are expected to adopt the same directive. Manufacturer Bombardier Inc. issued a nonbinding safety bulletin last week covering all 331 DCH-8 Q400 aircraft operating world-wide. A Bombardier spokeswoman said Tuesday that about 65% of the Q400 fleet has been inspected, with problems found and parts replaced on two aircraft. The safety issue came to light during maintenance inspections at one operator, but Bombardier said there haven't been any incidents during passenger flights. The mandatory inspections focus on the backup system designed to open the main landing gear doors and deploy the gear in case the primary gear-extension mechanism fails to function properly. According to Transport Canada, improper position of parts of the backup system can result in fractures or ruptures that will prevent the system from opening landing gear doors Canadian officials also ordered repetitive follow-up inspections within 10 days or 50 flight hours. Last August, Bombardier urged carriers to conduct special inspections to look for potential cracks caused by corrosion and metal-fatigue near the landing-gear doors of Q400 aircraft. Three years earlier, European and U.S. air-safety regulators took action after a number of Q400 emergency landings caused by failure of landing gears to lock properly. Back to Top Delta plans largest aircraft purchase in history WASHINGTON - In what could spell the world's largest plane order, Delta Airlines internal memo reveals carrier's plans to replace 200 aging aircraft. AFP reports tha Delta has approached manufacturers with a view to buying "100 to 200 firm aircraft" with an "option for 200 more" from early 2013, according to a memo posted on Delta's intranet. If all planes were bought from the same supplier it would be the largest aircraft purchase in history, surpassing an IndiGo order of 180 planes from Airbus, which was announced this week. "Several major aircraft manufacturers" were approached in December, according to the document, as Delta tries to replace 200 narrow- bodied jets, including the Airbus A320, the DC9-50 and the Boeing 757-200. The memo did not name the companies approached. According to AFP, since 2007, Delta has bought 60 lower-capacity aircraft, all from Boeing. "We're now starting to plan for the long term, to ensure that we continue to maintain a flexible, cost-efficient fleet that meets our customers' needs in the years to come, replace retiring airplanes and provide for domestic mainline growth." Nat Pieper, the head of fleet strategy, told staff. http://www.eturbonews.com/ Back to Top KLM student pilots to undergo mandatory upset training KLM Flight Academy is to begin mandatory in-flight upset recovery training for students at its Phoenix, Arizona facility in February, using two Extra 300L single-engined aerobatic aircraft operated by Aviation Performance Solutions. APS will initially teach the three-day course to 60 students a year, possibly ramping up to higher numbers based on KLM's pilot needs. The concept of required upset training has been gaining momentum in the USA, spurred by the February 2009 loss-of-control accident of a Colgan Airways Bombardier Q400 in New York. KLM Flight Academy head of training Rob van den Heuvel, a former Lockheed F-104 fighter pilot, says the course is a first for the airline industry. Students will complete the course at the end of the single- engine training portion of their programme. "Nowadays, training for civil aviation does not involve manoeuvres of more than 60° bank and 20° nose up or down," says van den Heuvel. "After upset training, they realise they can recover from any situation. It does a lot for self-confidence. We talked to KLM about whether it would contribute to safety and they thought it would be helpful." KLM's Arizona flight training involves 135h in single-engined Piper Archers and retractable-gear Piper Arrows. Upset training at APS will include more than 4h of in-flight training that culminates in spin- awareness and instrument flight recoveries on the last day. Once complete, the students return the Netherlands for 164h of twin- engined training in Beechcraft Baron simulators and aircraft as well as Boeing 737 simulators. Van den Heuvel says that, while the results of the upset training might not be immediately obvious, he expects to "see some differences" in the students' performance when they begin initial airline training with KLM. http://www.flightglobal.com/ Back to Top New York Bound Qantas Flight Makes Unscheduled Stop In Fiji SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--A New York-bound Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN.AU) replacement 747 flight departed from Fiji Wednesday morning after the airline made an unscheduled landing due to a fault with a fuel valve, a spokeswoman for the airline said. The in-flight problem is he latest in a string of technical issues to plague the airline since a Nov. 4 engine blowout on one of its flagship A380 jetliners grounded its entire fleet of the superjumbo and led to an extensive engineering review of the planes' Roll-Royce Group Plc (RR.LN) Trent 900 engines. Crew on the Boeing (BA) 747 aircraft, flight QF107, noticed the fuel valve glitch just after the aircraft passed Nadi Airport in Fiji and decided to make a priority landing to investigate, said the spokeswoman. The majority of the passengers were put on another 747 aircraft Wednesday morning. A week ago, Qantas said it would resume flying its A380 jumbojets on Australia-to-Los Angeles routes this month. The airline has struggled with problems on its 747s as well, on Saturday, a Qantas 747 bound for Los Angeles suffered an engine failure just as it was about to take off from Sydney. Investment bank Merrill Lynch had estimated that the grounding of the Qantas A380 fleet could cost the airline 207 million Australian dollars (US$206 million) in lost revenue and direct repairs. In the year ended June 30, Qantas reported A$13.77 billion in revenue, off 5.7% from a year earlier. It attributed the results to a volcanic-ash cloud that disrupted operations into Europe, as well as the effects of the global financial crisis. Back to Top 146 pilots, flight attendants sue JAL over dismissals A total of 146 former pilots and cabin attendants of Japan Airlines Corp filed a lawsuit Wednesday with the Tokyo District Court, seeking to nullify the carrier's decision to dismiss them at the end of last year as part of its rehabilitation efforts. The move comes on the first anniversary of JAL's filing for bankruptcy protection with the court and is believed to involve one of the largest numbers of plaintiffs seeking to reinstate their jobs with a restructuring company, according to the plaintiffs' lawyer. Upcoming developments in the court battle will likely have an impact on JAL's rehabilitation as well as the attitude Japanese companies will take in downsizing their workforces. JAL, which has pursued a restructuring program that includes cutting air routes, fired a total of 165 pilots and flight attendants on Dec 31 as its job cut target was not fulfilled under its voluntary retirement scheme. Of them, 17 captains, 57 copilots and 72 cabin attendants joined the lawsuit. They include captains aged 55 or over, copilots aged 48 or over and cabin attendants aged 53 or over, as well as those who took leaves of certain durations for illness and other reasons. The plaintiffs argued in their complaint it was unreasonable to choose who should be dismissed based on age-based criteria, and that JAL did not make sufficient efforts to keep their jobs while it was not necessary to reduce its workforce. ''The company has discarded people, especially those who have long ensured the safety of its flight operations,'' they said. ''Through court hearings, we want to question the company, which belittles operational safety and lacks concerns for the good of society.'' Shoichi Hara, a 57-year-old former copilot and one of the plaintiffs, said, ''I was suddenly ousted from the airline's flight schedules on a certain day, so I had my last flight without knowing it was my last one.'' The Air Self-Defense Force serviceman-turned pilot, said, ''I cannot accept this, as the company one-sidedly dismissed people in weak positions, including those in relatively high age brackets and those who had taken illness leaves.'' The airline's rehabilitation plan calls for shedding 16,000 jobs by the end of March, or around 30% of its group workforce. JAL has been trying to downsize its workforce since last March through such means as soliciting retirement applications under a special early retirement plan and a voluntary retirement program. So far, about 670 JAL pilots, 1,920 cabin attendants, 1,470 maintenance mechanics and 1,260 ground-duty employees have left the workforce, not including employees from subsidiary companies. The airline moved to fire the 165 last December on grounds that the number of pilots and cabin attendants who applied for the voluntary retirement program fell short of its targets. http://www.japantoday.com/ Back to Top China Southern airline reports record flight safety The flight safety record of China Southern Airlines Group reached 7.72 million hours, or 134 months, at the end of 2010 -- no other of China's civilian airlines has such a long period without a safety incident. "Although we have been flying safely for 12 years, we are always on our guard, which is an important reason that we can keep our record," said Tan Wangeng, general manager of Southern Airlines Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Southern Airlines Group. The number of passengers who flew with Southern Airlines totaled 76.5 million in 2010, up 15.4 percent year on year, due to the large amount of visitors to the Shanghai Expo and the Asian Games, said Si Xianmin, general manager of the group. Source: Xinhua Back to Top Airline Safety Stalls Again in 2010 LONDON, January 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Global airline accident rates have not fallen for eight years, with a widening gap between carriers with the best and worst safety records. This is the finding of Flight International's latest annual safety review, which tracks the incidence of airliner accidents around the world and their causes. It has sparked worries that some airlines and authorities are failing to learn the lessons of previous incidents and implement a proactive safety culture among their pilots and managers. The survey found that in 2010, there were 26 fatal crashes, causing 817 deaths. This compares with 28 accidents and 749 deaths in 2009. Flying remains one of the safest ways to travel. From 1903, when the Wright brothers invented powered flight, safety improved significantly every decade for exactly 100 years. But since 2003, that improvement has stopped - and the difference between the best and worst performers appears to be getting bigger. Flight International's special report - published in its 18-24 January issue and available online at http://www.flightglobal.com/safetyreview - details advances made by the International Air Transport Association's member airlines in 2010. Their hull-loss accident rate dropped to an all-time low of 0.28 hull losses per million flights, but the world average nonetheless remained fairly static at 0.66. Alongside the full report at http://www.flightglobal.com/safetyreview, there is a video interview with its author David Learmount, Flightglobal's operations and safety editor. SOURCE Flight International Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC