Flight Safety Information January 28, 2011 - No. 021 In This Issue Pilots Union Targets Laser Threats to Planes Two airmen rescued after jet crashes in the Minch New Years Day Accident Pilot Was Not Rated For The Airplane He Was Flying LAX-to-Chicago jet returns, makes emergency landing EU Flight-Time Rules Endanger Passenger Lives, U.K. Pilots Say Safety Article Roils Airline Group FAA Approves Croatia As Meeting International Aviation Standards Japan volcano spews ash, flights cancelled Pilots Union Targets Laser Threats to Planes By ANDY PASZTOR (WSJ) The largest U.S. pilots union has stepped up the campaign against people on the ground intentionally pointing lasers at airliners, by calling on lawmakers, regulators and industry officials to prevent such hazards. The Air Line Pilots Association's proposal-unveiled one week after the government announced heightened dangers from lasers-includes calls for a sweeping public awareness effort and expansion of "laser-free zones" around airports. The union, which represents nearly 53,000 commercial pilots in North America, also wants new air-traffic-control safeguards and pilot procedures when laser threats emerge. Lasers can temporarily blind or incapacitate pilots, and even cause permanent eye damage in some cases. Tuesday's move is the first major public-safety drive under Lee Moak, the union's recently elected president "A threat this serious requires decisive action from every legislative and regulatory angle, but we also need the public to get engaged," according to the union chief and Delta Air Lines pilot. For the first time, union-backed legislation aimed at increasing the penalties for targeting aircraft with lasers appears to be gaining momentum on Capitol Hill. There haven't been any reports of lasers causing aircraft accidents, but some of them are powerful enough to temporarily light up cockpits and make it difficult to see instruments. The issue is attracting more attention from government and industry, particularly because many of the events occur during landings or takeoffs, when pilots can least afford distractions or visual problems. In its annual report on the issue last week, the Federal Aviation Administration said that potentially blinding laser incidents involving all types of planes across the U.S. almost doubled to 2,800 in 2010, versus the previous year. Such incidents have increased steadily from the 300 reported in 2005, when the FAA began formally collecting such data. Some cities and states have enacted laws prohibiting laser use against aircraft, even as less expensive and more powerful hand-held lasers are becoming available on the Internet. In 2010, Los Angeles International Airport and nearby airspace had the largest number of laser incidents, with 102 reported events. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport ranked second, while three additional airports in Western states accounted for the rest of the five fields most affected by lasers. The union also called on the National Transportation Safety Board to highlight the dangers posed to both commercial and private pilots. Back to Top Two airmen rescued after jet crashes in the Minch Crew bail out 6,000ft above the sea and are quickly saved by copter crew on training exercise TWO RAF Lossiemouth airmen had to bail out of their blazing jet 6,000ft above the sea off Wester Ross yesterday. After ejecting from the multimillion-pound Tornado GR4 warplane, they were plucked to safety within minutes from the Minch between the mainland and Lewis by a Stornoway-based coastguard helicopter. The Tornado pilot and navigator ejected at about 2.45pm and parachuted into the sea. The burning Tornado - one of two in the area at the time - plunged into the water and was destroyed. Wreckage was strewn over the impact area. But within 15 minutes, the two men were in the helicopter and on their way to hospital in Inverness. The dramatic crash and rescue last night led to strong calls for the retention of the north services involved. The coastguard helicopter crew winched the men from the water seven miles west of the Rubha Reidh lighthouse, near Loch Ewe, Wester Ross, and airlifted them to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. The rescue operation was especially speedy because the four coastguard crew - pilot Captain Iain Campbell, winchman and paramedic Simon Price, winch operator Gerry Flannery and co-pilot Dominic Thorpe - were in the air on a training exercise near their base when they were alerted about the crash. The airmen were found within 20ft of each other and winched 200ft into the helicopter. The RAF crewmen are believed to have escaped serious injury and were conscious throughout the rescue. Winch operator Mr Flannery, of Stornoway, said at Raigmore: "We picked up the electronic distress beacons from the ejection seats and the pilots' flight jackets, homed to them, and found the two men easily so we were well pleased. "They are in pretty good condition. "One had very minor injuries to his face. "The sea was calm, the weather was good and the wind was light so they did not drift far from where they ejected." Stornoway coastguard helicopter skipper Iain Campbell said: "If any day is good to go down, then today was it. The weather was perfect, the water flat calm and visibility excellent. It was a textbook recovery job." A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said of the RAF crewmen: "It is too early to say what caused the crash." The airmen were taken from the coastguard helicopter to waiting ambulances by stretcher. The five-strong volunteer coastguard team from Inverness, led by sector manager Hamish Young, assisted in transferring the men from the helicopter. Lifeboats stationed at Portree on Skye and Stornoway on Lewis were launched and the Stornoway-based Maritime and Coastguard Agency tug Anglian Earl also went to the crash site. Lifeboats The lifeboats and tug were deployed to pick up floating wreckage. Stornoway coastguard said the jet had sunk in 225ft of water. SNP Westminster leader and defence spokesman Angus Robertson MP, who represents Lossiemouth, said: "Plans to shut and sell off Scotland's military and coastguard facilities are madness. These Tory cuts are putting lives at risk on land and sea. "This rescue was co- ordinated from a centre at Kinloss which faces closure, involved a rescue helicopter from Stornoway whose station is threatened with closure, and involved a tug-boat service which is also being axed. "It is not difficult to see what is at stake, and how serious these cuts could be in terms of emergency responses. The UK Government must think again." under-threat Highland Council leader Michael Foxley last night said the crash high- lighted the need to retain the under-threat coastguard tug. He said: "Yet again, we have another incident in the Minches involving the Stornoway coastguard station and the local emergency tug. Fortunately, there was no loss of life. "This is the third major incident in as many months in the Minches. It just shows how essential these rescue services are. They are life- savers. "Together with the Western Isles Council and the Northern Isles, we will be fighting hard to retain these. We have a meeting with shipping minister Mike Penning on Monday, February 7, when we will be highlighting the importance of maintaining these lifeline services." In July 2009, an RAF pilot and navigator died when their Tornado from RAF Leuchars crashed near Arrochar, in Argyll. http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/ Back to Top New Years Day Accident Pilot Was Not Rated For The Airplane He Was Flying Was Flying A Cessna 310 On PPSEL Certificate We don't ever enjoy writing about any accident, of course, but this one is particularly difficult not because the pilot survived, but because his 35-year-old daughter was fatally injured. No probable cause has been released, but the NTSB preliminary report below indicates that the pilot was not yet rated to fly solo in the airplane he had purchased. NTSB Identification: ERA11FA102 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Saturday, January 01, 2011 in Orange, MA Aircraft: CESSNA 310F, registration: N6725X Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Minor. This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. On January 1, 2011, about 1757 eastern standard time, a Cessna 310F, N6725X, registered to and operated by an individual, crashed in a wooded area adjacent to the Orange Municipal Airport (ORE), Orange, Massachusetts, during a visual approach to runway 19. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. The personal flight was conducted under Title 14 of Federal Regulations Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane incurred substantial damage. The pilot received minor injuries and the passenger was killed. The flight departed about 1630, from Dillant-Hopkins Airport (EEN), Keene, New Hampshire. A Massachusetts State Police representative (MSPR) stated that there were no eye witnesses to the accident. Residents near the airport, along the approach path to runway 19, reported hearing the airplane and noted from its sound that it was flying low compared to what they were accustom to. Moments later they heard the crash. One witness ran toward the area were a person (the pilot) was yelling the passenger's name, the pilot instructed the witness to call 911. The pilot stated to the MSPR that he became a pilot in 1989 and has about five hundred hours of flight experience. For a period of 6 to 7 years he stopped flying and resumed about a year ago with an instructor. He purchased the accident airplane around May or June of 2010. About 1630 he and the passenger departed from EEN and flew over Franklin County where the pilot is originally from. He had decided to practice a "touch and go" landing at ORE before returning to EEN; the pilot mentioned he had flown to ORE previously. When the pilot approached the airport there was less ambient light than he'd anticipated and there was a "haze" in the air; he also found the airplane to lose altitude faster than his previous airplane. He did not notice the trees the airplane collided with until after the crash and he was on the ground. He reported no mechanical issues with the plane prior to the accident. Personnel Information The pilot, who was seated in the left seat, held a private pilot certificate with rating for airplane single engine land. He did not hold a multiengine rating. He was issued a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate on September 10, 2010, with limitations that he must wear correcting lenses for distant and possess glasses for near vision. He had documented 500 total hours at that time. A review of the pilot's flight logbook showed the pilot had about 50 hours of multi-engine instructional time. There was no multi-engine solo endorsement. The last entry for night time flight was in 2000. The passenger, seated in the right seat, held no FAA certificates. Aircraft Information The Cessna 310F, a 4 place all metal, low wing, multi-engine airplane, with retractable landing gear, serial number 310-0025, was manufactured in 1960, and issued a standard airworthiness certificate, in the normal category. The airplane was powered by 2 each Continental IO-470-D, 260-horsepower engine and equipped with Hartzell two bladed, variable-pitch, propellers. The airplane's last annual inspection was February 1, 2010 and had a total of 5,416, hours at that time. The airplane's engines were last inspected on February 1, 2010. The airplane last had maintenance on September 4, 2010; addressing a FAA Condition Notice. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated a total of 5,471 hours. Meteorological Information The ORE 1752 METAR, was winds from 310 degrees at 3 knots; visibility, 9 statute miles; clear sky; temperature 02 degrees Celsius (C); dew point minus 1 degrees C; altimeter 30.00 inches of mercury. The United States Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department recorded the phase of the Moon, on 1 January, 2010 for Orange, Massachusetts, as waning crescent with 8 percent of the Moon's visible disk illuminated. The Moon's position was recorded just above the horizon during the time of the accident. The sunset was at 1648 and the end civil twilight was 1658. Airport Information Runway 19 at ORE is an asphalt, 5000 foot long by 75 foot wide, with a 850 feet displaced threshold, at an elevation of 533 feet mean sea level (msl). The airport is does not have a control tower and none of the 4 runways are equipped with a visual slope indicator. Information cautioning trees at the approach end of runway 19 are published. The runway lighting system is controlled by the airport's common traffic frequency. Wreckage And Impact Information The main wreckage came to rest at latitude 42 degrees, 34.604 minutes north and longitude 072 degrees, 17.407 minutes west, at an elevation of 536 feet msl; the nose of the airplane was on a heading of 080 degrees. The airplane's energy path was on a 200 degrees heading. The airplane initial contact was with a 70 foot tall tree, about 202 feet north from the main wreckage. The second contact was with a tree at a height about 55 feet above ground level (agl). The right aileron was located 125 feet north from the main wreckage. The third contact was with a thick tree at a height of 45 feet agl. Near that location a section of the right outboard wing was located on the ground. The fourth contact was with a thick tree at a height of 40 feet agl. The mid section of the right wing along with the right main landing gear, in the extended position, was located at the base of that tree. Several trees were impacted thereafter along the energy path until the airplane's left forward inboard wing to fuselage area struck a large diameter tree about a height of 25 feet agl. The airplane lodge itself at that location. The tree broke over near the base, which resulted in the airplane impacting the ground, in a fresh water creek, inverted. The left out board wing section with the tip fuel tank was located 20 feet southeast of the main wreckage. The nose gear assembly was located the furthest from the initial tree contact, about 45 feet east of the main wreckage. The left engine came to rest about 5 feet from the main wreckage, left wing area. The right engine came to rest about 30 feet east of the main wreckage. The engines and the left outboard wing section came to rest across the creek on public property. The distant from the initial tree contact to the beginning of the displaced threshold was about 640 feet and 1,490 feet to the touch down zone of runway 19. An on-scene wreckage examination showed all of the flight control surfaces and control cable continuity were accounted for. The right wing was the first to contact the trees separating, the tip tank, the wing section between the engine nacelle and tip tank and then separating the wing from outboard of the engine to the fuselage. The right aileron was observed separated from the wing and early in the wreckage path. The right fuel tip tank was observed stuck in the tree approximately 60 feet agl. The left wing was observed separated just outboard of the engine. There was an impact with a tree approximately, 12 inches in diameter, just outboard of the left side of the fuselage which severed the main spar. The both horizontal stabilizer were observed to have impact damage from the trees approximately 6 inches inboard of the tip. Both control yokes were observed in the respective locations in the instrument panel and moved together. The rudder pedals moved when the rudder was moved by hand. The elevator cables in the tailcone were observed connected; impact damage to the forward fuselage prevented the control yokes from moving when the elevator was moved by hand. The aileron cables were continuous from the cockpit to the left wing aileron bellcrank. The aileron cables for the right wing were not observed, due location of the wreckage and damage to the right wing. All four of the flap panels were observed extended. The flap actuator was not observed due to the position of the wreckage. The empennage flight control surfaces were observed attached to their respective aerodynamic surfaces. All three trim tabs were observed attached to their respective control surfaces. The trim tab actuator measurement for the rudder was observed beyond the limits displacing the rudder tab to the right. The right aileron was observed separated from the wing. The left aileron was observed attached to the left wing. Both the front seats were observed separated from the seat pedestals and found outside the aircraft. The seat pedestal for the left front seat was observed distorted. The seat pedestal for the right front seat was observed with minor damage. The top forward section of the cabin area was crushed inward. The left side of the cabin area absorbed most of the impact. Both forward center attachment tabs for the front, left and right, lap seat belt systems were observed with their respective bolts ripped through the metal tab. The forward windshield was broken; remnants remained. Both of the rear seats remained attached to the fuselage. The left engine magneto switch was observed in the "Both" position. The right engine magneto switch was observed in the "Left " position. The left fuel selector was observed in the "Left Main" position. The right fuel selector was observed in between "Right Main" and "Right Aux" position. Engine control levers (throttles, propellers, and fuel mixtures) were observed in the full forward position. The altimeter setting was observed at 29.95 inches of mercury. The left engine's number 2 cylinder's valve cover was observed with impact damage. Tree debris was observed in the area in between the engine cowling and top cylinders. Engine continuity was established by rotating the propeller and observing the alternator belt rotate. The fuel control assembly was intact. The fuel divider was observed with clean screen and fuel was present when opened. All top cylinder spark plugs were removed and observed with indication of the engine running rich. The left engine's propeller was attached at the engine crankshaft flange. The propeller hub was compromised by impact damage. Both blades were bent aft at mid span. One blade was observed in the low pitch and the other in the high pitch angle. No cord scoring was observed on the blades. The right engine's number 1 cylinder valve cover was observed with impact damage. The oil sump pan was crushed. The fuel control assembly separated and was observed with impact damage. Engine continuity was established by rotating the propeller and observing the alternator belt rotate. The fuel engine driven fuel pump drive shaft was intact. The fuel divider's top screws were not properly safety. The fuel divider was observed with clean screen and fuel was present when opened. The top cylinder spark plugs were removed; unremarkable. The right engine's propeller was attached at the engine crankshaft flange. The propeller hub was unremarkable. One of the blades was observed with cord "S" twisting and bent aft, the other blade was bent aft at mid span. Erosion on the leading edge of the blades was observed. One blade was in the low pitch and the other in the high pitch angle. FMI: www.ntsb.gov Back to Top LAX-to-Chicago jet returns, makes emergency landing American Flight 1364 took off from LAX around 7 a.m., but circled back to the airport shortly after the pilot reported flight control problems, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. The MD80 aircraft, carrying 102 passengers and crew, safely landed at LAX around 8:35 a.m., Gregor said. No injuries were reported. http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_17218876 Back to Top EU Flight-Time Rules Endanger Passenger Lives, U.K. Pilots Say (Bloomberg) European Union rules will put lives at risk by increasing the number of hours that airline pilots are allowed to fly in one stretch, Britain's cockpit union said. Proposals from the EU's European Aviation Safety Agency will limit flying to 13 hours and 55 minutes -- more than one- third longer than the 10 hour, 15 minute limit under current U.K. regulations, the British Airline Pilots Association said. EASA has ignored scientific evidence that up to 20 percent of accidents are caused by fatigue, Balpa said in a statement. The agency, which implements and monitors aviation safety rules in the EU, aims to introduce the new limits by April next year. "Fatigue is a growing problem as more and more demands are made of pilots," Balpa General Secretary Jim McAuslan said in the release. "British passengers who have enjoyed the safest flying in the world are now to be put at risk." EASA always prioritizes safety and devised the proposals after consulting with pilots, airlines and aviation authorities, said Dominique Fouda, an agency spokesman in Cologne, Germany. The European Low Fares Airline Association, a 10-member lobby group with members including Ryanair Holdings Plc and EasyJet Plc, the region's biggest discount carriers, said in December it rejected "unsubstantiated" claims from pilot and cabin crew unions that EU rules are unsafe. Balpa said it will coordinate its lobbying effort with other pilot groups around Europe and participate in studies on stress and fatigue being carried out by U.K. universities. An increase in flying hours would also run counter to U.S. plans to boost rest times between shifts as part of an overhaul of rules prompted by a crash in Buffalo, New York, that killed 50 people in 2009, the union said. "The industry has taken its eye off the ball," McAuslan said in a briefing. "The commercial side is trumping safety and it's no longer something that people can take for granted." Back to Top Safety Article Roils Airline Group The U.S. airline system is "safe. Very, very safe," according to a recent article in US News and World Report. "America's Safest Airlines" sets out to rank U.S. airlines on safety. Yet the Air Transport Association, the leading industry group representing U.S. airlines, says the report is "terribly misleading." US News and World Report points out that there has not been a fatal crash by a U.S. airline since Feb. 12, 2009, when a Colgan Air plane flying as Continental Connection crashed near Buffalo, N.Y. Because there were no accidents last year, the magazine decided to rank airlines by how many "incidents" each airline experienced. An incident is a mishap that doesn't qualify as an accident, such as a blown tire or mechanical malfunction. The numbers are low. Very, very low. JetBlue, the airline cast as "least safe" in the ranking, had 17 documented incidents out of approximately 219,000 flights last year. That works out to 0.0000776 incidents per flight. The article declares AirTran "the safest" carrier, with five documented incidents out of approximately 255,500 flights, or 0.0000196 per flight. With such a minimal risk level, the ATA says "any difference or change between the numbers can look dramatic, even though in reality, they are utterly meaningless." Economists and analysts have long held that airline accidents and incidents are so rare that it is pointless to try to extrapolate any meaningful data from the numbers. "Trying to rank the US airlines on safety is like trying to rank the players in this week's Pro Bowl. They are all at the top of their game, as are the airlines on safety," the ATA says. http://news.travel.aol.com/ Back to Top FAA Approves Croatia As Meeting International Aviation Standards January 28, 2011 - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday announced that Croatia complies with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), based on the results of a reassessment of Croatia's civil aviation authority. Croatiahas made significant progress and is now upgraded from the Category 2 safety rating the country received in September 2008 to Category 1. A Category 1 rating means the country's civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards. A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority, equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, recordkeeping or inspection procedures. With the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Category 2 rating, Croatian air carriers could not establish new service to the United States. Now with the Category 1 rating, Croatian air carriers will be able to establish new service to the United States. As part of the FAA's IASA program, the agency assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that operate or have applied to fly to the United States and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether or not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations. Countries with air carriers that fly to the United States must adhere to the safety standards of ICAO, the United Nations' technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) established the IASA program through public policy in August of 1992. FAA's foreign assessment program focuses on a country's ability, not the individual air carrier, to adhere to international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance established by the United Nation's technical agency for aviation, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The FAA has established two ratings for the status of countries at the time of the assessment: does comply with ICAO standards, and does not comply with ICAO standards. They are defined as follows: - Category 1, Does Comply with ICAO Standards: A country's civil aviation authority has been assessed by FAA inspectors and has been found to license and oversee air carriers in accordance with ICAO aviation safety standards. - Category 2, Does Not Comply with ICAO Standards: The Federal Aviation Administration assessed this country's civil aviation authority (CAA) and determined that it does not provide safety oversight of its air carrier operators in accordance with the minimum safety oversight standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This rating is applied if one or more of the following deficiencies are identified: 1. The country lacks laws or regulations necessary to support the certification and oversight of air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards; 2. The CAA lacks the technical expertise, resources, and organization to license or oversee air carrier operations; 3. The CAA does not have adequately trained and qualified technical personnel; 4. The CAA does not provide adequate inspector guidance to ensure enforcement of, and compliance with, minimum international standards; 5. The CAA has insufficient documentation and records of certification and inadequate continuing oversight and surveillance of air carrier operations. This category consists of two groups of countries. One group are countries that have air carriers with existing operations to the United States at the time of the assessment. While in Category 2 status, carriers from these countries will be permitted to continue operations at current levels under heightened FAA surveillance. Expansion or changes in services to the United States by such carriers are not permitted while in category 2, although new services will be permitted if operated using aircraft wet-leased from a duly authorized and properly supervised U.S. carrier or a foreign air carrier from a category 1 country that is authorized to serve the United States using its own aircraft. The second group are countries that do not have air carriers with existing operations to the United States at the time of the assessment. Carriers from these countries will not be permitted to commence service to the United States while in Category 2 status, although they may conduct services if operated using aircraft wet-leased from a duly authorized and properly supervised U.S. carrier or a foreign air carrier from a Category 1 country that is authorized to serve the United States with its own aircraft. No other difference is made between these two groups of countries while in a category 2 status. http://avstop.com/ Back to Top Japan volcano spews ash, flights cancelled TOKYO (AFP) - Train and flight services to Miyazaki in southwestern Japan were suspended on Friday as the erupting Shinmoedake volcano spewed columns of smoke and ash thousands of metres into the sky. The 1,421-metre (4,689-foot) volcano in the Kirishima range between Kagoshima and Miyazaki has been belching smoke and ash into the air since late Wednesday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The eruption prompted All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to cancel a number of flights to and from Miyazaki while JR Kyushu Railway Company also suspended train services in the affected area. In Takaharu town near the volcano, 31 people spent the night at an evacuation centre on Thursday. Television footage showed the volcano billowing grey smoke into the sky, while residents used shovels to clear ash from streets. There were no reports of damage or injuries, police said. The Kagoshima observatory raised its five-scale warning level on the volcano from two to three, restricting access to the entire mountain, officials said. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC