Flight Safety Information February 23, 2011 - No. 040 In This Issue Global accident rate is lowest ever for Western-built jets Alitalia adopts 3D safety card for sight-impaired passengers Prisoner transport plane returns to Oklahoma City airport because of smoke in cabin Qantas plane take-off aborted in Perth Airline Passengers And Flight Crews Gain Ground In OSHA Protection Lawsuits Pending in Buffalo Plane Crash Global accident rate is lowest ever for Western-built jets Last year was the safest year on record for Western-built jets, an aviation trade group said Wednesday.STORY HIGHLIGHTS 2010 saw 17 accidents on such airplanes Africa has the worst rate (CNN) -- Last year was the safest in aviation history for passengers flying on Western-built jets, an international aviation trade group said Wednesday. The 2010 global accident rate was 0.61 per million flights, a rate equating to one accident for every 1.6 million flights, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). That is just below the previous historic low rate of 0.65 rate in 2006, and a "significant improvement" over the rate of 0.71 recorded in 2009. There were 17 plane accidents -- or hull losses, in the lingo of the business -- involving Western-built jet aircraft in 2010, compared to 19 the previous year. A hull loss is an accident in which a plane is destroyed or damaged beyond repair. There were 786 fatalities in passenger aircraft compared to 685 in 2009, IATA said. As in the past, there were significant regional differences in the accident rates, with North America having relatively low rates and Africa having the worst rate. While Africa's hull loss rate was 7.41 -- four Western-built planes crashed in Africa -- it was lower than the 2009 rate of 9.94. IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani said African systems must improve. "Flying must be equally safe in all parts of the world," Bisignani said. "An accident rate in Africa that is over 12 times the global average is not acceptable." He said African carriers should make use of an IATA audit system to improve safety. Runway excursions -- instances when a plane leaves the runway during take-offs or landings -- accounted for 21 percent of the worldwide accidents, IATA said, saying the number has dropped because of attention to the problem. Some of the accidents occur when planes land on wet runways; others when the aircraft approaches too fast, too high or touches down beyond the desired spot on the runway. IATA said it is working with the industry and regulators to address the issue. IATA said 2010 had the following results: 2.4 billion people flew safely on 36.8 million flights. 94 accidents for all types of aircraft -- Eastern and Western built -- compared to 90 in 2009. 23 fatal accidents for all passenger aircraft types, compared to 18 in 2009. IATA represents some 230 airlines comprising 93 percent of scheduled international air traffic. Back to Top Alitalia adopts 3D safety card for sight-impaired passengers Italian flag-carrier Alitalia is to introduce an on-board safety card written specifically for sight-impaired passengers, which includes three-dimensional relief illustrations, as well as instructions in Braille symbols. The safety card has been developed by the Italian civil aviation administration ENAC as well as the country's association of institutions for the blind, Federazione Nazionale delle Istituzioni Pro Ciechi. Last November a European Aviation Safety Authority on air transport of "special categories" of passengers, carried out by TUV Rheinland, recommended mandatory carriage of Braille safety cards. Several major carriers offer safety cards written in Braille, on request, to sight-impaired travellers, although ENAC claims its new development is the first of its kind. Alitalia will initially carry the instruction card on board around 90 Airbus aircraft. It takes the form of a ring-bound booklet in which large-print text is overlaid with Braille characters, with a colour scheme whose contrast is designed specifically to enhance readability. Illustrations show the aircraft layout in raised relief, including tactile elements showing the location of emergency exits, lavatories and seats, as well as information on fastening seat-belts, brace positions, and the use of oxygen masks. "Alitalia has chosen this new on-board welcoming policy for travellers with visual impairments, an indication of the carrier's particular focus on passenger needs," says ENAC president Vito Riggio. The airline says it will also provide personalised safety briefings to passengers along with the new card. Alitalia says that it transports thousands of sight-impaired passengers every year and says that the safety card "represents a further step along its path of innovation and social responsibility". http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/02/23/353554/pictures-alitalia-adopts-3d-safety-card-for- sight-impaired-passengers.html Back to Top Prisoner transport plane returns to Oklahoma City airport because of smoke in cabin A U.S. Justice Department aircraft used for prisoner transport took off from Will Rogers World Airport on Tuesday and returned to the airport after smoke began to build in the cabin, officials said The U.S. Justice Department called in replacement planes Tuesday after a prisoner transport aircraft returned to Will Rogers World Airport with smoke reported in the cabin, officials said. No injuries were reported. The MD-80 aircraft returned to the Oklahoma City airport after the pilots sent out a distress signal about 9:05 a.m. shortly after it took off, airport spokeswoman Karen Carney said. It taxied to a U.S. Marshals Service hangar, where it remained until the replacement aircraft were flown in. The majority of the 150 people aboard were prisoners, U.S. Marshals spokesman Dave Oney said. The smoke was reported in the passenger compartment, but workers were not immediately able to determine its source, Oney said. The headquarters for the air fleet operations center of the Justice Department's Prisoner and Alien Transportation System is in Oklahoma City. http://newsok.com/smoke-forces-plane-to-land/article/3543237 Back to Top Qantas plane take-off aborted in Perth (AAP) - The take-off of a Qantas A330 passenger plane has been aborted in Perth when the crew felt a sideways movement of the aircraft, the airline says. Sydney-bound Flight 566, with 180 passengers aboard, was racing down the runway at the domestic airport around 3.15pm (WST) on Wednesday when the "rejected take-off" occurred, a Qantas spokesman told AAP. "At about 140km/h, which is still well below take-off speed, the flight crew just detected a slight lateral movement in the aircraft which they weren't expecting," he said. "They did what we call a rejected take-off, so they basically hit the brakes and stopped the aircraft." That caused the plane's brakes to heat up and, in line with procedure, fire appliances were called to help cool the brakes before the aircraft could return to the terminal. The plane was back at the terminal at 4.20pm and passengers were looked after while it was determined what caused the problem and how to rectify it, the spokesman said. "There were no safety issues, the crew responded as would be expected." It was hoped to get the flight away later on Wednesday, the spokesman said. Back to Top Airline Passengers And Flight Crews Gain Ground In OSHA Protection February 23, 2011 - Members of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) put key U.S. Senate offices on speed dial in a successful call-in campaign to press for long-overdue health and safety protections. On Thursday, the Senate defeated an attempt to strip OSHA protections for Flight Attendants from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill. The amendment to remove health and safety protections for Flight Attendants and passengers, including sanitation and temperature standards in the aircraft cabin, was rejected by a 52-47 party line vote. Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) voted in opposition of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill presented on the Senate floor. "I have taken to the floor over the past week to discuss with my colleagues my disproval of this legislation. I disapprove not of airline safety or safe work conditions for airline employees, but rather the damning effects its price tag will have on our nation's rising debt. The amendments I attached to this bill required my colleagues to consider cutting spending, ending gifts to Big Labor, and preventing unnecessary regulation in planes." Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) spoke on the floor of the Senate to oppose an amendment that would undermine flight crews' job safety, along with an amendment that would prohibit collective bargaining by Transportation Security Administration employees. "The last thing we need to do is take a step backward and make working people even more vulnerable than they are today. But that's exactly what the Wicker (Senator Roger Wicker R- Mississippi) amendment and the Paul amendment would do for two groups of very dedicated people - flight crews and transportation security officers - who work every day to keep us safe when we travel," Harkin said. "No sanitation standards in the passenger cabin. Really???" said Veda Shook, AFA International President. "It is not funny. To date, OSHA has been kept out of the aircraft cabin and that means Flight Attendants and passengers are subject to an environment absent sanitation standards, temperature standards and proper procedures for clean up of biohazards. "This is inexcusable and our union of Flight Attendants will not rest until we get the OSHA protections for passengers and crew. We applaud the Senate for taking this action today and we implore the House to act quickly to include the same provision in their version of the bill." For Flight Attendants, each day on the job brings potential exposure to turbulence, severe air pressure changes, unwieldy service carts, broken luggage bins, balky exit doors and door handles, exposure to toxic chemicals, unruly passengers, communicable diseases, and emergency evacuations. As a result, safety and health violations occur on a daily basis for Flight Attendants yet the Federal Aviation Administration, which claims exclusive jurisdiction over the safety and health of crew members on civil aircraft, has failed to extend basic OSHA protections afforded to other workers across the country. The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, the Senate for passage of the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (S.223), which will help create jobs and modernize the air traffic control system. A modernized air traffic management system will improve operational efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and lower airline operating costs. "This bill moves the United States toward our goal of enabling a safe, sustainable and profitable airline industry that provides good value to customers and promotes global competitiveness," said ATA President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. "We applaud the leadership and significant work to pass a bill that reflects a continued commitment to safety and modernization of the air traffic control system by requiring that FAA establish and track performance metrics." House Republicans reject safety and health protections for flight attendants and passengers. The Association of Flight Attendants has already begun a targeted grassroots advocacy campaign to implore members of the House to include the health and safety provisions for Flight Attendants and passengers. The FAA Reauthorization bill has been extended 17 times over three years, delaying critical safety and health protections for Flight Attendants and the traveling public. http://avstop.com/feb_2011/airline_passengers_and_flight_crews_gain_ground_in_osha_protection.htm Back to Top Lawsuits Pending in Buffalo Plane Crash Buffalo, NY: It has been two years since the tragic plane crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York. The airplane crash, officially blamed on pilot error, killed all 49 people on board the plane and one person on the ground. Although some lawsuits filed by the families of plane crash victims have been settled, many more are currently pending. According to CBS New York (02/10/11), 43 lawsuits concerning the Continental Connection plane crash were filed in federal court in Buffalo. Of those, 10 have settled. Those that do not wind up settling are expected to go to court in March 2012. Named as defendants in the lawsuits are Continental Airlines, Colgan Air, Pinnacle Airlines and Bombardier, Inc. In October 2010, a federal judge ruled that families involved in litigation would be allowed to use the cockpit voice recording at trial, rather than using the written transcript. The plaintiffs argued that the written transcript was not complete, which the judge agreed with. The defendants argued that the voice recordings would invade the flight crew's privacy. According to news reports by WVIB (02/09/11), an important issue in the lawsuits is that of punitive damages. WVIB reports that the airlines involved in litigation are trying to limit punitive damages. Punitive damages are awarded in situations where the defendant is found to have exhibited malicious or willful misconduct. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the crash determined that the pilot and co-pilot were involved in a personal discussion at the time of the crash, violating Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules regarding sterile cockpit procedures. Those rules state that any conversation in the cockpit while the aircraft is below 10,000 feet must be about the operation and function of the aircraft and not be of a personal nature. Furthermore, the NTSB ruled that the pilot did not respond properly to activation of the stick shaker, resulting in the plane stalling and ultimately crashing. Although the NTSB blamed pilot error for the crash, a lawsuit filed against Bombardier, maker of the plane involved in the plane crash, alleges the company was negligent and careless in the design of the plane. The lawsuit claims that more efficient warning systems could have alerted flight crew to problems with the aircraft, including problems with icing. Meanwhile, families of Flight 3407 plane crash victims say the government and airlines have not yet enacted safety recommendations designed to prevent pilots with severe fatigue from flying. An NTSB report, cited by ABC News (02/08/11) found that in the past 20 years, more than two-dozen plane crashes involving more than 250 fatalities were linked to pilot fatigue. Pilot fatigue was cited as a contributing factor in the Buffalo plane crash-both pilots were commuters and had slept in the airport crew lounge before the flight. http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC