Flight Safety Information March 16, 2011 - No. 055 In This Issue NTSB Determines Pilot Error Caused Owatonna Accident EU Concludes Aviation Safety Deal With US Air India clears IATA safety audits for ground operations Beijing airport ranked second busiest in the world Pinnacle Airlines CEO leaving $1B Memphis company 'DGCA looking into fake pilot licences' (India) NTSB Determines Pilot Error Caused Owatonna Accident Cites Captain's Decision To Attempt A Go-Around Late In The Landing Roll With Insufficient Runway Remaining The NTSB determined Tuesday that the probable cause of the 2008 plane crash at Owatonna Degner Regional Airport, (KOWA) in Owatonna, Minnesota, was the captain's decision to attempt a go-around late in the landing roll with insufficient runway remaining. Contributing to the accident were the pilots' poor crew coordination and lack of cockpit discipline; fatigue, which likely impaired both pilots' performance; and the failure of the FAA to require crew resource management training and standard operating procedures for Part 135 operators. "This accident serves as a reminder that aviation is an unforgiving environment; no detail is too small to be overlooked - not the winds, or the communication between crew members, or even how much sleep they get," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "The small things do matter and in this case they accumulated to result in tragedy." On July 31, 2008, East Coast Jets flight 81, a Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 125-800A, crashed while attempting a go-around after touchdown and during the landing rollout at Owatonna Degner Regional Airport. The flight was a nonscheduled passenger flight. An instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed and activated; however, it was cancelled before the landing. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The two pilots and six passengers were killed. The safety issues addressed in this investigations are: the flight crew actions; pilot fatigue and sleep disorders; the lack of Part 135 Standard Operating Procedures, including crew resource management training and check list usage; go-around guidance for turbine-powered aircraft; Part 135 preflight weather briefings; inadequate arrival landing distance assessment guidance and requirements; Part 135 on-demand, pilot-in command line checks; and cockpit image recording systems. As a result of this accident investigation, the NTSB issued recommendations to the FAA regarding training, Standard Operating Procedures, and sleep disorders. Those recommendations include: 愛equire manufacturers of newly certificated and in-service turbine-powered aircraft to incorporate in their Aircraft Flight Manuals a committed-to-stop point in the landing sequence (for example, in the case of the Hawker Beechcraft 125-800A airplane, once lift dump is deployed) beyond which a go-around should not be attempted. 愛equire 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and 91 subpart K operators and Part 142 training schools to incorporate the information from the revised manufacturers' Aircraft Flight Manuals asked for in Safety Recommendation [1] into their manuals and training. 愛equire 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and 91 subpart K operators to establish, and ensure that their pilots adhere to, standard operating procedures. 愛equire principal operations inspectors of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and 91 subpart K operators to ensure that pilots use the same checklists in operations that they used during training for normal, abnormal, and emergency conditions. 愛equire manufacturers and 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and 91 subpart K operators to design new, or revise existing, checklists to require pilots to clearly call out and respond with the actual flap position, rather than just stating, "set" or "as required." 慌ork with the National Weather Service to revise Advisory Circular 00-24B, "Thunderstorms," by including explanations of the terms used to describe severe thunderstorms, such as "bow echo," "derecho," and "mesoscale convective system." 愛evise regulations and policies to permit appropriate use of prescription sleep medications by pilots under medical supervision for insomnia. 愛equire 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and 91 subpart K pilots to receive initial and recurrent education and training on factors that create fatigue in flight operations, fatigue signs and symptoms, and effective strategies to manage fatigue and performance during operations. 愛eview the policy standards for all common sleep-related conditions, including insomnia, and revise them in accordance with current scientific evidence to establish standards under which pilots can be effectively treated for common sleep disorders while retaining their medical certification. 弒ncrease the education and training of physicians and pilots on common sleep disorders, including insomnia, emphasizing the need for aeromedically appropriate evaluation, intervention, and monitoring for sleep-related conditions. 嫂ctively pursue with aircraft and avionics manufacturers the development of technology to reduce or prevent runway excursions and, once it becomes available, require that the technology be installed. 弒nform operators of airplanes that have wet runway landing distance data based on the British Civil Air Regulations Reference Wet Hard Surface or Advisory Material Joint 25X1591 that the data contained in the Aircraft Flight Manuals (and/or performance supplemental materials) may underestimate the landing distance required to land on wet, ungrooved runways and work with industry to provide guidance to these operators on how to conduct landing distance assessments when landing on such runways. 愛equire that 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 pilot-in-command line checks be conducted independently from other required checks and be conducted on flights that truly represent typical revenue operations, including a portion of cruise flight, to ensure that thorough and complete line checks, during which pilots demonstrate their ability to manage weather information, checklist execution, sterile cockpit adherence, and other variables that might affect revenue flights, are conducted. 愛equire Part 121, 135, and 91 subpart K operators to ensure that terrain awareness and warning system-equipped aircraft in their fleet have the current terrain database installed. FMI: www.ntsb.gov/events/Boardmeeting.htm. Back to Top EU Concludes Aviation Safety Deal With US BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Union said Tuesday it had concluded a deal on a long-delayed air-safety pact with the United States that both sides have said should improve aviation oversight and save the sector millions of dollars. The accord will come into force May 1. Announcing the deal, the EU said the agreement will enable "reciprocal acceptance of findings of compliance and approvals, promote a high degree of safety in air transport and ensure regulatory cooperation and harmonisation between the United States and the EU." The EU and US first reached the agreement in 2008 but the deal languished amid opposition in trhe U.S. Congress. Back to Top Air India clears IATA safety audits for ground operations Air India, which also does ground handling for other international airlines, has received the safety audit certification for ground operations by IATA. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has developed the commercial standards for the airline industry, and conducts safety audits of the airlines that the laid down procedures are followed or not and certifies them. Erstwhile Air India, had in 2003, was the first airline in India to clear the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). "Air India achieved another milestone when it became the first airline, providing ground services in India, to earn the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) recognition," an airline spokesperson said. The ISAGO audits were conducted jointly by an auditor from IATA and auditors from the airline. During the audit, airline''s headquarters'' organisation and management systems as well as the management system at various stations (airports), were assessed on the parameters like passenger and baggage handling, load control, aircraft handling and loading, aircraft ground movement, cargo and mail handling. "After this, we are now officially recognised as the safest airline. This would give Air India an edge over others in providing ground handling services to international carrier if they come to India," said a senior Air India official. The airline''s Quality Management System (QMS) unit had ensured timely and successful registration of IOSA as well as ISAGO for Air India, he added. The ISAGO registration reiterates Air India''s commitment to achieve excellence in safety and quality standards in all spheres of aviation. ISAGO Compliance will reduce costs, enhance safety standards and ensure greater safety and quality standards. IATA has 230 airlines as its members, some of the world's leading passenger and cargo airlines, and represents 93% of scheduled international air traffic. http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/ Back to Top Beijing airport ranked second busiest in the world The Beijing International Airport has been ranked the second busiest airport next only to Atlanta's Hartsfield airport, after reporting a 13 percent growth in passenger travel compared to 2009, according to a report on world traffic growth generated by Airports Council International (ACI). Beijing beats Chicago's O'Hare and London's Heathrow airport that figured third and fourth on the list. ACI Director General Angela Gibbons said: " Last year underscored the resilience of the air transport business and resulted in over five billion passengers for the first time ever." The ACI, which groups 1650 airports in 179 countries and territories, said world passenger traffic rose 6.3 percent in 2010 and cargo traffic jumped 15.2 percent. London's Heathrow airport and Las Vegas were the only ones among the world's 30 largest airports where traffic had decreased in 2010, China Daily reports.he Douglas International airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the only large airport outside Asia- Pacific and the Middle East where traffic grew more than 10 percent. Whereas, Europe registered a slightly higher growth rate of 4.3 percent despite a setback caused by a volcanic ash cloud last April. (ANI) Back to Top Pinnacle Airlines CEO leaving $1B Memphis company MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WSJ) - Philip Trenary, who built Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines Corp. into a $1 billion company, said on Monday that he will step down as president and CEO next week. Trenary, 56, first came to Memphis in 1997 to operate Express Airlines I, a Northwest Airlines subsidiary. During his tenure, Pinnacle has grown from a $78 million airline with 36 turboprops to a fleet of nearly 300 jets and turboprops and revenues surpassing $1 billion last year for the first time. The holding company now owns Pinnacle, Mesaba and Colgan airlines. They fly as Delta Connection, United Express and US Airways Express. Pinnacle board chairman Donald Breeding will become interim CEO until a successor is found, The Commercial Appeal reported. Trenary said he is leaving to pursue interests outside the company, but will stay on as a consultant for a year after his resignation, according to a news release. He told Pinnacle's 7,700 employees in an e-mail that a recent focus on building the company's future state leadership team made him start to think about his own future. "I am only able to make this decision with the knowledge that the goals I laid out when I joined Pinnacle Airlines have been achieved," he wrote. Trenary oversaw acquisition of Colgan Air in 2007 and Mesaba Airlines in 2010. He also led the company through a crisis when a Continental Connection plane operated by Colgan crashed into a house outside Buffalo, N.Y., two years ago. The crash was blamed on pilot error and killed 49 on board and one on the ground. More recently, Pinnacle pleased downtown Memphis boosters by agreeing to move headquarters from the airport area to downtown. The company also made peace with key labor groups including the Air Line Pilots Association. And the company is moving forward with restructuring into two operating companies. Plans call for the corporation to drop the Colgan name, organize regional jets under Pinnacle Airlines Inc. and put turboprops under Mesaba Aviation. Breeding, who will take over when Trenary leaves on March 24, is a Houston businessman and former executive with Continental Airlines and Eastern Airlines. He has been on Pinnacle's board since 2003 and served as chairman since 2007. He said Trenary has "positioned the airline to realize great success." Back to Top 'DGCA looking into fake pilot licences' (India) The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is looking into the issue of fake pilot licences, Air India Chairman Arvind Jadhav, said on Wednesday. "The DGCA is looking into the matter," Mr. Jadhav told reporters on sidelines of an aviation event here. Air India has reportedly de-rostered a pilot for allegedly submitting a forged marksheet to get his licence. Besides, some pilots of private air-carriers have also had action taken against them and the aviation sector regulator, DGCA, is now conducting a probe into the matter. It is reported that some officials of the DGCA, past and present, are under the scanner in this matter. The police are also investigating the matter. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1543469.ece Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC