Flight Safety Information March 4, 2011 - No. 048 In This Issue Private plane goes off runway at Hobby Europe Maps Volcanic Ash EGNOS Navigation System Now Serving Europe's Aircraft New York airport passenger boards with box cutters Airbus modifies TCAS to avoid false 'climb collision' warning Indonesian air charter carrier grounded after incident Bolivia reverses ban on aging aircraft Boeing's 737 production increase to mean about 1,200 new jobs in Renton Boeing secures 10 more 777 orders this week Private plane goes off runway at Hobby A private plane carrying a burn patient from Mexico slid off the end of a runway at Hobby Airport early this morning. The accident occurred as the 10-seat Lear Jet was landing at the airport about 4:10 a.m. Friday, according to the Houston Fire Department. Officials said no injuries were reported. But the plane was damaged when it smashed through safety rails at the end of the runaway, officials added. Officials said the pilot overshot the runaway and the plane ran off the tarmac. The plane had been in route from Mexico to Galveston to take the patient to Shriners Hospital for Children for treatment, but the flight was diverted to Hobby. Officials did not say why the plane was diverted. On board the flight were two pilots, two paramedics, the patient and the patient's father. The patient was taken by ambulance to Shriners after the mishap. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/7456601.html Back to Top Europe Maps Volcanic Ash Airlines and Regulators to Test System Aimed at Minimizing Travel Disruptions By ANDY PASZTOR ISTANBUL (WSJ)-European airlines and regulators plan next month to test a new regional emergency-response system intended to help reduce air-traffic disruptions from volcanic ash. The exercise, spelled out Thursday at an aviation-safety conference here, aims to validate enhanced computer models and data-sharing tools designed to avoid a repeat of last year's airspace shutdowns in Europe that affected more than 100,000 flights and 10 million passengers. A European air-traffic control official said representatives of more than 200 entities, including airlines, aviation authorities and weather experts, are expected to take part in the two-day exercise. Coordinating Data The goal is to improve the accuracy and speed of information about ash contamination in the atmosphere, Maria Cruz Garcia de Dios of Eurocontrol, the Brussels-based organization that manages air-traffic control services for more than 35 countries, said at the conference. Improved forecasting and faster data coordination should help depict "where the [ash] cloud is likely to be at a certain moment and altitude," she said. By more accurately projecting the movement of ash plumes-and providing updated and detailed maps of potentially hazardous areas-Eurocontrol hopes to avoid the chaos that occurred after the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano last spring. "We have a real big interest in how it's going to help us" cope with eruptions, said Kevin Hiatt, executive vice president of the Flight Safety Foundation, which sponsored the European safety seminar. Eurocontrol said the emergency system also will help the region cope more effectively with the environmental and other effects from wildfires or nuclear- plant accidents. Airlines lost an estimated $1.8 billion in revenue because of last spring's air-traffic disruptions. There also was widespread criticism of political disputes and conflicting safety analyses that kept about 80% of Europe's skies off limits to airliners for days. The latest computer simulations and assessment tools won't solve the fundamental problem: Safety experts, manufacturers, airlines and regulators haven't agreed on a comprehensive set of standards establishing when it is safe for aircraft to fly through even low-level concentrations of ash. More Research Needed Substantial research needs to be done to better understand the way volcanic ash spreads through the atmosphere. International industry and government study groups are at least months away from issuing revised safety guidelines for airlines. And regulators in various countries still will retain the ultimate authority to determine whether flights can operate. Meanwhile, Eurocontrol and its partners are trying to assemble their Internet- based emergency network capable of distributing more-accurate and thorough data to decision makers. The impending test "has created a great expectation," according to Ms. Garcia de Dios and "we will be looking at the feedback provided by the different parties." In previous years, Eurocontrol helped organize emergency-response exercises to prepare for possible volcanic eruptions. But none of those earlier tests and simulations envisioned the widespread traffic disruptions the region experienced last year. Back to Top EGNOS Navigation System Now Serving Europe's Aircraft Today, the EGNOS Safety-of-Life signal was formally declared available to aviation. For the first time, space-based navigation signals have become officially usable for the critical task of vertically guiding aircraft during landing approaches. By using three satellites and a 40-strong network of ground stations, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) sharpens the accuracy of GPS satnav signals across Europe. The signals are guaranteed to the extremely high reliability set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation standard, adapted for Europe by Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. The EGNOS Open Service was launched in October 2009, for navigation applications where the safety of human life is not at stake, such as personal navigation, goods tracking and precision farming. Today, following an arduous certification and verification process, the EGNOS Safety-of-Life Service has been declared operational, and suitable for use by European aviation. "We are very proud of the large effort ESA put into EGNOS, and very pleased that it can now be used for the purpose it was initially designed for," said Philippe Michel, head of ESA's EGNOS project team. "Through EGNOS, satellite navigation guidance is being made available for the first time in the vertical as well as horizontal domain," explained Francisco Salabert of Eurocontrol. "EGNOS offers the aviation industry the means to provide accurate and safe vertically guided approaches to smaller airports where a conventional precision landing system is not today economically viable. "Its introduction will reduce delays, diversions and cancellations of flights into and out of these airfields while improving passenger safety." In order to use EGNOS for approaches, Air Navigation Service Providers must publish runway procedures and aircraft and operators have to be equipped with certified receivers and be approved for operations. "Eurocontrol is coordinating EGNOS's operational introduction across Europe," Mr Salabert added. "Runway procedures have already been designed for various airports and heliports, with more on the way. "On the airline side, we are encouraging early adaptors - called EGNOS pioneers." After six years in operation, the 'WAAS' US equivalent to EGNOS, is being used by more than 40 000 aircraft and more than 2000 procedures have been published. Some 15 years in the making, EGNOS is the result of a tripartite agreement between ESA, the European Commission (EC) and Eurocontrol. As initial EGNOS program manager, ESA designed, qualified and procured the system from a consortium led by Thales Alenia Space France. Overall program management passed to the EC in 2009. The system's day-to-day running is overseen by the Toulouse-based European Satellite Service Provider (ESSP). Meeting the aviation industry's demanding safety requirements, set by Eurocontrol, posed the real challenge for EGNOS's Safety-of-Life service. ESA produced much of the technical documentation needed for formal safety certification, while Eurocontrol performed independent monitoring of EGNOS performance. The final system comes with an extremely high degree of integrity built in. The EGNOS signal is guaranteed to maintain a minimum level of accuracy, with just a one in 10 million chance of error. If this reliability falls below this level then EGNOS users are alerted within six seconds. ESA is now acting as the design and procurement agent on behalf of the EC for all major EGNOS system changes throughout its operational lifetime, as well as preparing for the next-generation EGNOS, expected around 2020. http://www.redorbit.com/news/ Back to Top New York airport passenger boards with box cutters NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man carried three box cutters in his hand luggage onto a flight at a New York airport on Saturday, nearly ten years after the September 11 attacks in which hijackers used such cutters to commandeer the planes. The man was not charged, and the incident appeared accidental, officials said. Box cutters are forbidden on all flights. After the man boarded the Dominican Republic-bound JetBlue flight, the box cutters slipped out of his luggage and were noticed by a flight attendant, officials said. "TSA continues to review the circumstances under which prohibited items were discovered on a plane at JFK International Airport on Saturday," a statement by the Transportation Security Administration said. Hijackers on September 11, 2001 used box cutters to wrest control of the airliners used in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "We can assure travelers that appropriate disciplinary action will be taken and remedial training will occur for the officers involved," the TSA said. Back to Top Airbus modifies TCAS to avoid false 'climb collision' warning Airbus intends to secure certification this year for a modification that will eliminate the large number of false collision-avoidance warnings generated when aircraft are about to level off from a cleared climb. Speaking at the Flight Safety Foundation European Aviation Safety Seminar in Istanbul, Airbus experimental test pilot Claude Lelaie revealed the airframer had developed a software modification for flight management systems that reduces vertical closure rate with the anticipated level-out altitude. False warnings are caused when TCAS assumes a climbing aircraft will not level off but continue to climb into the path of another aircraft immediately above. The TCAS in the higher aircraft makes the same assumption, leading both to generate resolution advisories that demand evasive action by the pilots. This problem has been exacerbated since the introduction of reduced vertical separation minima, which cut the separation distance between adjacent cruise altitudes to 1,000ft (300m). Known as TCAS Alert Prevention, or TCAP, the Airbus system will eliminate many false resolution advisories. About 50% of such advisories, says Lelaie, are needlessly generated by aircraft approaching their level-off height. He says the system is not intended to replace conventional altitude capture, but will "soften" arrival to an intended altitude only if TCAS detects proximate aircraft. French investigators recommended development of such a system while investigating an airprox event in March 2003. The incident, involving an Air France A319 and A320, occurred at flight level 270 as the jets operated opposite- direction services between Paris and Marseilles. Lelaie says that the patented system is being presented for certification on new aircraft, with approval possible as early as the end of this year. By 2013, he says, the company hopes to be able to offer it as a retrofit to all Airbus types. This is the latest TCAS-related modification offered by Airbus which, in the past 18 months, has seen its autopilot-flown, flight-director guided resolution advisory system certificated. http://www.flightglobal.com/ Back to Top Indonesian air charter carrier grounded after incident The Indonesian Ministry of Transport has suspended the Air Operating Certificate of carrier Sabang Merauke Raya Air Charter following a crash involving its aircraft last month. A Casa 212-100 operated by the carrier crashed on 12 February in Bintan island while it was conducting a test flight from the neighbouring island of Batam. The airline's AOC has been suspended for an unspecified period. An report from the ministry's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says that the airline did not obtain official permission to conduct the test flight and its pilots did not have the necessary qualifications to conduct test flights. The report adds that a spare engine was found among the aircraft debris after the crash and a special safety audit will be conducted. It does not say when the audit will be conducted. Reports quoting the airline's president director, Budi Tetuko, say that the airline is working on preventive actions and revamping its internal safety operations and procedures as recommended by the DGCA. The airline's management hopes to resume operations as soon as possible, he was quoted as saying. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Bolivia reverses ban on aging aircraft The Bolivian Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) has reversed its earlier decision banning aircraft older than 25 years from operating scheduled passenger flights within the South American country. In early 2010 the DGAC took the decision to ban aging aircraft from commercial operations after a number of Boeing 727s operated by Aerosur and defunct Lloyd Aereo Boliviano suffered several critical incidents and accidents. But Aerosur imposed an administrative complaint against the measure, claiming that there is no correlation between the age of an aircraft and its operational risks. The ban, originally planned to enter into effect on 1 January 2011, is not currently in place because of the open administrative procedure. A DGAC source confirms that a commission at the Ministry of Public Works has determined that the ban has no legal base and can therefore not be imposed on Bolivian airlines. However, he insists that aircraft older than 25 years will remain under special technical supervision and will have to go through a more thorough maintenance check every 1,500 hours. He also hints the aircraft may be affected by "special restrictions based on environmental and noise protection concerns". Santa Cruz based Aerosur currently operates four Boeing 727-200s and three 737-200s, which would have fallen under the ban, in addition to several more grounded aircraft of these types. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Boeing's 737 production increase to mean about 1,200 new jobs in Renton Boeing will add roughly 1,200 new jobs at its 737 plant in Renton over the next two years to handle the record-breaking production of the world's most popular airplane. The production rampup includes construction of a two-story, 75,000-square-foot building that will house equipment purchased directly by a Boeing airplane customer and make production more efficient. The building is working its way through the Renton review process. "We are working very closely with The Boeing Co. to ensure its ramp up of production of the 737 is seamless," said Mayor Denis Law. "Coupled with Boeing's signing of a 20-year lease agreement for Renton Municipal Airport, we view these capital improvements as additional signals that Renton will continue to be a center of commercial airplane manufacturing for many years to come." The jobs will span all facets of the 737 workforce, from engineering to support to production, said Liz Verdier, a company spokeswoman at the 737 plant. Boeing will add roughly 600 workers during each of the two production increases. Boeing doesn't release specific employee numbers at its plant, but its Renton workforce is estimated at 8,000 to 9,000 workers, including support staff. The region got a big employment boost last week, thanks to Boeing, when the U.S. Air Force awarded the aerospace company the $35 billion contract to build a new fleet of air-refueling tankers using the 767. That contract will secure thousands of direct and indirect Boeing jobs in the Puget Sound region. The rampup in 737 production is a bright spot in Renton's overall economic outlook. Every Boeing job at the 737 plant generally supports 1.7 jobs in the community. That number has been described as conservative, however. "The Boeing Co. is a powerful engine in our economy and is responsible for creating thousands of jobs, attracting other companies and economic opportunities to Renton," said Bill Taylor, president of the Renton Chamber of Commerce. City officials point out that a 2008 Deloitte study indicated that Boeing's operations in Renton account for nearly $7 billion (2.7 percent) of Washington's gross state product, 10.7 percent of the state's exports and more than 45,000 direct and indirect jobs. Boeing increased 737 production to 31.5 planes a month last year, a record rate. Then, later in the year it announced a production rate of 35 737s a month beginning in January 2012 and to 38 a month in the second quarter of 2013. The 737 is built on two moving assembly lines at the plant. The production increases are made with "deliberate planning," said Verdier, the Boeing spokeswoman, to avoid "significant" drops that can occur if rates were increased too fast and too high. "We have learned a measured approach," she said. At the same time, she said, "we are making sure we're meeting market requirements." Boeing has a backlog of 2,164 737s on order. Mayor Law points out that more than 40 percent of the jetliners in the air worldwide today took their first flight from Renton Municipal Airport. "We will do everything we can to ensure Boeing's continued success," he said. The new warehouse will be built on an empty parking lot off Logan Avenue North now used by second-shift workers at the plant, according to the City of Renton. Construction will begin in the next few weeks and finish by year's end, said Vicki Ray, a Boeing spokeswoman. The company will receive and then stage such equipment as seats and galleys until needed in the final assembly buildings, said Ray. This is a good example of a Boeing Lean practice the company has implemented in recent years to improve efficiency, Ray said. "You do as much work as you can off the assembly line and have parts arrive just in time for installation," she said. Boeing also would place two 2,900-square-foot seal booths within the Boeing 4- 20 building, demolishing the existing seal booth when the new ones are completed, according to the city. "The expansion is one of many steps we're taking to prepare for increased 737 production rates," said Ray. http://www.seattlepi.com/sound/436350_sound117195653.html Back to Top Boeing secures 10 more 777 orders this week Boeing secures two orders for a total of 10 to bring the year-to-date total to 19 jets. The Boeing Co.'s 777 jet is the industry's sales star over the first two months of 2011. Boeing added orders for 10 of its Everett-built 777 jets Thursday, boosting the twin-aisle aircraft's order total to 19 through March 1. The orders validate remarks made by the company's chief executive in early February. "I think we're going to sell one heck of a lot of 777-300ERs," McNerney said during an industry conference Feb. 9. On Thursday, Boeing added an order for eight 777s from an unidentified customer. It also posted an order for two 777s from Brazil's TAM Airlines. That order had been announced Monday. Last December, Boeing announced plans to boost 777 production in anticipation of growing demand. The rate hike will be in two stages, with Boeing upping production to seven aircraft monthly from five by mid-2011. The rate will increase again to 8.3 aircraft monthly in the first quarter of 2013. With the new orders posted Thursday, Boeing's order tally through March 1 sits at 17 net orders. The company has taken 55 gross orders but recorded 38 cancellations, including two 737s added Thursday. Boeing's rival, Airbus, finished February in the red in terms of jet orders. The European jet maker had three more cancellations than new orders at the end of February. In the first two months of 2011, Airbus logged cancellations for 18 A320s, 13 A330s and 12 A350 XWBs. Airbus continues to best Boeing in jet deliveries, handing over 40 aircraft last month to Boeing's 35. Boeing has delivered 61 jets this year. Boeing's stock increased $2.10 on Thursday to close at $71.67, after a Reuters report that Airbus' parent company, EADS, is unlikely to protest Boeing's win of a lucrative Air Force tanker contest. EADS has until next week to make its decision public. http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110303/BIZ/703039815/0/biz Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC