Flight Safety Information January 20, 2011 - No. 015 In This Issue FAA: Pointing Lasers At Aircraft Poses A Serious Safety Issue... Private jet skids off the runway Boeing will debut its new 747 passenger jet Feb. 13 Electronic devices seen as airplane threat EU Transport Chief Asks Airports To Plan For Winter Disruptions Middle East airspace to undergo restructuring Goodrich introduces new 777 wheels and brakes FAA: Operations and maintenance errors behind SkyWest fine FAA: Pointing Lasers At Aircraft Poses A Serious Safety Issue Incidents Have Nearly Doubled Over The Past Year The FAA released statistics Wednesday that in 2010, nationwide reports of lasers pointed at airplanes almost doubled from the previous year to more than 2,800. This is the highest number of laser events recorded since the FAA began keeping track in 2005. Los Angeles International Airport recorded the highest number of laser events in the country for an individual airport in 2010, with 102 reports, and the greater Los Angeles area tallied nearly twice that number, with 201 reports. Chicago O'Hare International Airport was a close second, with 98 reports, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport tied for the third highest number of laser events for the year with 80 each. "This is a serious safety issue," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Lasers can distract and harm pilots who are working to get passengers safely to their destinations." Nationwide, laser event reports have steadily increased since the FAA created a formal reporting system in 2005 to collect information from pilots. Reports rose from nearly 300 in 2005 to 1,527 in 2009 and 2,836 in 2010. "The FAA is actively warning people not to point high- powered lasers at aircraft because they can damage a pilot's eyes or cause temporary blindness," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "We continue to ask pilots to immediately report laser events to air traffic controllers so we can contact local law enforcement officials." Some cities and states have laws making it illegal to shine lasers at aircraft and, in many cases, people can face federal charges. The increase in reports is likely due to a number of factors, including the availability of inexpensive laser devices on the Internet; higher power levels that enable lasers to hit aircraft at higher altitudes; increased pilot reporting of laser strikes; and the introduction of green lasers, which are more easily seen than red lasers. Top 20 Laser Event Reports By Airport In 2010: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)-102 Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)-98 Phoenix/Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)-80 San Jose International Airport (SJC)-80 McCarran International Airport (LAS)-72 Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) -66 Oakland International Airport (OAK)-55 Honolulu International Airport (HNL)-47 San Francisco International Airport (SFO)-39 Denver International Airport (DEN)-38 Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)-38 Tucson International Airport (TUS)-37 Miami International Airport (MIA)-36 Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)-36 Portland International Airport (PDX)-32 LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT)-32 Bob Hope Airport (BUR)-31 Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI)-31 John Wayne Airport (SNA)-31 Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)-26 FMI: www.faa.gov Back to Top Private jet skids off the runway January 20, 2011 A private jet skidded off the runway while it was landing at the Waukegan Regional Airport last Wednesday. As of press time, there were no reported injuries from the accident and the plane only suffered minor damage. The pilot was injured when she got off the plane to check it for damage. She was rushed to the Vista Medical Center East, where her minor injuries were treated. Reports claim that the plane was transient, which means that it wasn't based in the airport. Airport officials also said that other plane operations were not affected by the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently investigating the accident. Source: Lake Country News-Sun Back to Top Boeing will debut its new 747 passenger jet Feb. 13 Boeing will unveil its newest and largest passenger jet, the 747-8 Intercontinental, in ceremonies at its Everett plant Feb. 13. The 747-8 is the fourth generation of the original jumbo jet. It replaces the 747-400 in Boeing's airliner lineup. The 747-8 Intercontinental is 18.3 feet longer than the 747-400. In a three-class configuration, the plane can carry 467 passengers, 51 more than the 747-400 in the same seating setup. The aircraft is powered by modified versions of the General Electric engines that power Boeing's smaller 787 Dreamliner. The new airliner is expected to have an unrefueled range of some 9,200 miles. It's the only aircraft currently offered in the 400-500- seat category. Boeing brags that the plane will have costs 13 percent lower per seat- mile than the 747-400 and 26 percent greater cargo capacity. Despite have the 400-seat niche to itself, the plane has been a slow seller in its passenger version with just 33 on order. Lufthansa is the largest customer with 20 ordered. Korean Air has signed up for five with VIP customers ordering eight. Boeing hasn't revealed when the passenger version will fly for the first time. The better-selling freighter version -- 74 are on order -- is currently in the test phase. http://blog.thenewstribune.com/ Back to Top Electronic devices seen as airplane threat WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The growing number of electronic devices being brought onto airplanes by passengers could pose a danger of a plane crash, U.S. aviation experts warn. Many devices such as cellphones and laptop computers emit an electromagnetic signal that could potentially interfere with the plane's own electronic systems, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday. Safety experts suspect electronic interference may have played a role in some airline accidents and have warned passengers not to be complacent, news.com.au reported. "Electronic devices do not cause problems in every case," David Carson, an engineer with Boeing, said. "However it's bad in that people assume it never will." Passengers often leave their devices on despite instruction from cabin crew to turn them off, experts say, putting an aircraft's system at possible risk. "A plane is designed to the right specifications, but nobody goes back and checks if it is still robust," Bill Strauss, an engineer and former doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University, said. "Then there are the outliers -- a mobile phone that's been dropped and abused, or a battery that puts out more (power) than it's supposed to, and (aircraft) avionics that are more susceptible to interference because gaskets have failed. "And boom, that's where you get interference. It would be a perfect storm that would combine to create an aviation accident." A 2003 plane crash in Christchurch, New Zealand, has been suggested as an example where a cellphone is thought to have interfered with the plane's navigational equipment. Eight people were killed when the plane flew into the ground short of the runway. The pilot had called home sometime before the crash, leaving his cellphone on and connected for the last few minutes of the flight. A final report into the incident by the New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission found that "the pilot's own mobile phone may have caused erroneous indications" on the navigational aid, news.com.au reported. http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/ Back to Top EU Transport Chief Asks Airports To Plan For Winter Disruptions BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Airports across Europe will have to submit to the European Commission a plan on dealing with possible disruptions caused by bad weather, in an effort to avoid the chaos created by snow in December, the commission's transport chief said Wednesday. "We take consistent European standards for granted when it comes to aviation safety--and rightly so. Now we need to do the same for severe weather planning," Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said in a statement. Kallas also said he will propose new, more stringent rules on the issue later this year. Back to Top Middle East airspace to undergo restructuring Air traffic management (ATM) stakeholders in the Middle East are planning to restructure the region's fragmented airspace for greater efficiency and much needed capacity. The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), the global association of air navigation service providers (ANSP), has revealed that a joint Middle East airspace study is to develop a "co-ordinated approach" to optimise the structure of the region's strained airspace over the next 12 months. This review will not only include the research and development but also the implementation of "measurable capacity enhancements", says CANSO in its "UAE declaration". This document was endorsed by ANSPs, airport, airline, civil and military aviation authority representatives from the United Arab Emirates as well as Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Syria, among other stakeholders. The study is part of CANSO's "Red Sea vision" to enhance safety, airspace management, ATM personnel development and introduce new procedures such as performance-based navigation. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Goodrich introduces new 777 wheels and brakes Goodrich Corporation has introduced new lighter-weight main wheel and brake assemblies for Boeing 777-200LR, 777 Freighter, and 777- 300ER aircraft models. The new wheels and brakes will provide a weight savings of 260lbs (118 kg) per aircraft, resulting in reduced fuel costs for 777 operators, says Goodrich. The new equipment is now standard on 777s delivered with Goodrich equipment, and will be available in the aftermarket starting in January 2011, it adds. Goodrich says the new assemblies are accepted by Boeing and are intermixable with existing wheel and brake assemblies for the 777- 200LR, 777 Freighter, and 777-300ER. In addition, the new brake will continue to provide a 35% brake life advantage over competitive products through the use of Goodrich's latest Duracarb carbon brake disk material. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top FAA: Operations and maintenance errors behind SkyWest fine The US FAA is proposing $359,000 in fines against Utah-based SkyWest Airlines for three separate violations the agency says took place between July 2009 and July 2010. Separate from the FAA fines, SkyWest is the focus of six ongoing National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigations that involve cabin door maintenance deferral procedures, ramp incidents and landing gear problems. Flightglobal's ACAS database shows that SkyWest operates 297 aircraft. The largest of the three fines, $220,000, is linked to five flights between April and May, 2010. FAA states SkyWest failed to "document heavy checked bags, motorized mobility aids and a heavy shipment" carried in cargo. "As a result, the company operated the aircraftwith incorrect weight and balance data," says the FAA, adding that the violations allegedly occurred "because the carrier's employees failed to follow required procedures for documenting cargo carried on revenue passenger flights." A proposed civil penalty of $70,500 is linked to allegations that SkyWest employees failed to follow the company's continuous airworthiness maintenance program (CAMP) and the Bombardier maintenance and inspection manual for its regional jets "during five attempts by mechanics to correct an avionics system cooling problem on one aircraft." The FAA says SkyWest operated the aircraft on "at least five" revenue passenger flights from 15-21 July 2009. The FAA is proposing a $68,500 fine in response to allegations that SkyWest operated another non-complying Bombardier jet on eight revenue passenger flights between 30 May and 1 June 2010. The agency says mechanics in that case failed to follow the carrier's CAMP when replacing the right air conditioning pack's pressure- regulating and shutoff valve. SkyWest, which has 30 days to respond to the proposed fines, says it is "disappointed with the FAA's assessment" and looks forward to meeting with the agency's representatives "to review the findings" in detail. "Safety of flight was not compromised and we are disappointed with the FAA's decision to issue a notice of proposed civil penalty," says the carrier. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC