Flight Safety Information April 1, 2011 - No. 067 In This Issue A Trial in Brazil, With Testimony on Long Island Clouds, crew contributed to PNG crash (Papua New Guinea) UPS to Install Cockpit Smoke-Protection as Congress Debates Aviation Bill Air India pilots' body opposes appointment of new ED Emergency landing at O'Hare Airport suspected terrorists United amends 747 flight manual after tail strike A Trial in Brazil, With Testimony on Long Island Demonstrators outside the courthouse demanded that two American pilots be held accountable. NYT) The hushed atmosphere in this little room on Long Island belies the catastrophic matters at stake, for this is a trial stemming from a 2006 air collision at 37,000 feet on a clear day in another hemisphere that left 154 people dead, their bodies scattered in the dense rain forest of Brazil. Two planes collided that day, a jetliner and a new commuter jet that was being delivered to its buyer. The large jet crashed; the small one was brought to an emergency landing by its two pilots, both of them American, both from Long Island. The pilots, along with several air-traffic controllers, were criminally charged in Brazil with negligence for causing the crash, but the two Americans have declined to return to that country. So the trial has come to them, and to Central Islip. On Wednesday one of them took the stand - or, at least, a virtual stand - in his own defense. The second is to testify on Thursday. They agreed to testify, saying they did nothing but fly professionally under dire circumstances; if convicted, they seem certain to fight extradition. A prison sentence could be as long as four years. It is not unusual for witnesses to testify on video in the United States for a foreign case. But officials with the Justice Department and the State Department were hard pressed to cite another instance in which an American citizen on trial in a distant nation was given his or her day in court here, in the United States, through a little silver camera like the one that watched the pilot Jan Paul Paladino motionlessly on Wednesday. It was an almost surreal day of questions haltingly asked and answered. On the screen, a waiter with a tray and a bow tie could be seen serving small cups of coffee to those in a makeshift courtroom in the justice ministry headquarters in Brasília, where relatives of the dead have staged protests and demanded punishment for the two pilots. Technical problems plagued a session that lasted hours. The video connection broke down repeatedly, and the listeners on Long Island, including the pilots' Brazilian lawyer, learned that Portuguese turns into an indecipherable rumble if the hook-up is not perfect. "I can't hear," said Mr. Paladino, who is from Westhampton Beach. "I'm sorry, forgive me; the audio's very difficult," he grimaced, as a Brazilian judge, Murilo Mendes, pressed ahead with question after question about how two planes could have ended up in the same spot in a deserted sky. Treaty provisions permit this proceeding, and procedures are in place. The Justice Department works as a coordinator of sorts to make the legal sessions possible. There were the familiar trappings: an American flag in the Long Island frame (on the right screen in Central Islip) and the Brazilian flag behind Judge Mendes (left screen). The proceedings began with the judge's statement that Mr. Paladino had the right to remain silent. The camera in Brasília panned the room once, showing an orderly crowd awaiting the latest in a trial that has proceeded in fits and starts since the fall of 2007. The testimony of Mr. Paladino and the other pilot on the Embraer Legacy 600, Joseph Lepore, is to be the last at their trial. A decision from the judge is expected in April. The nightmare collision, the unlikely survival of the passengers on the smaller plane and the devastating fate of the Gol Airlines Boeing 737 in the dense Amazon rain forest drew wide attention. A writer who contributes to The New York Times, Joe Sharkey, happened to be on board the Legacy writing an article for another publication. He detailed his harrowing experience on The Times's front page, and was questioned by officials along with other surviving passengers in 2006. He is not involved in the criminal case. In Brazil, the story of the death of children, a medical student, a captain of industry and others aboard the Boeing 737 has been something of a national obsession, tinged at times with rumor and anti-Americanism. As in many trials, there were moments of high drama on Wednesday. The judge spoke firmly. A pause. The translator: "Your profession, please." Another pause. Mr. Paladino, a pale 38-year-old, sat up a little straighter. "Pilot," he said. The Brazilian prosecutors have accused the American pilots of committing an offense similar to criminally negligent homicide by flying when their radar might have been off, failing to follow their flight plan and flying at the wrong altitude. The pilots say they had no warning of any malfunction and followed the instructions of air-traffic controllers. When those charges of carelessness came up, as they did repeatedly, Mr. Paladino spoke firmly as he described what it was like in the cockpit of the smaller plane, with seven aboard, as something rocked it in the air. Still, it was not quite the confident voice pilots use over the public address system, as he spoke looking squarely at the big flat-screen television. "I wasn't even sure if it even involved another aircraft," he said as he described the growing emergency. With the equipment seeming to be working and the plane on course, he said, another plane out there over the Amazon seemed impossible. "I could not believe," he said, "that an aircraft would be involved given all the things I just mentioned, and we would still be alive." But if there were those moments that brought a stark reminder of what this proceeding was about, there were many more moments when the technology seemed to conspire against real emotion. Mr. Paladino gave an impassioned explanation to rebut the claim that the pilots might have turned off the transponder that sends a signal to keep track of planes. Again, a pause. Then the translator: "O.K. There was a break-up in your answer." In the courthouse, Mr. Paladino repeated himself again as he described those events over a faraway rain forest. Next to Mr. Paladino was his Brazilian lawyer, Theo Dias, and next to him was Joel R. Weiss, his Long Island lawyer. Mr. Paladino described the last moment before the crash. He had spoken routinely to an air-traffic controller. Then, he said, "I started to transmit again, and then the collision occurred." On the television in the small room, the translator was back from Brasília. "I'm sorry, repeat that, please," he said. Back to Top Clouds, crew contributed to PNG crash (Papua New Guinea) (AAP) Inadequate pilot experience and cloudy conditions are believed to have contributed to the 2009 Kokoda plane crash that killed nine Australians. Papua New Guinea's transport investigator released its final report into the incident on Thursday. All 13 people aboard the Airlines PNG flight were killed when the small passenger plane slammed into the side of a hill as it made its way to Kokoda on August 11, 2009. The seven Victorians and two Queenslanders on board had planned to walk the Kokoda Track, while the others killed were two PNG pilots, a PNG passenger and a Japanese tourist. The PNG Accident Investigation Commission said the plane crashed while in controlled flight, meaning there had been nothing wrong with the plane itself. Although the day had been very cloudy, the crew had attempted a descent using visuals only and it did enter a stage where instruments needed to be used. The co-pilot had not been qualified to fly using instruments. "When the crew commenced the descent through the Kokoda Gap in the reported rapidly changing weather conditions, they committed themselves to a course of action that they could not be assured of completing safely," the report said. The difficult conditions of the flight would have tested the crew. "It was probable that during the descent, the crew were required to manoeuvre the aircraft to remain clear of cloud, or regain that status, and in so doing, impacted terrain," the report concluded. The plane crashed sometime around 11.14am, barely 20 minutes after it took off from Port Moresby's International Airport. The commission attributed some responsibility to the aircraft operator, saying it had no emergency procedures in place should pilots need to rely primarily on flight instruments. But it also did not rule out the possibility that the co-pilot had become incapacitated before the crash, although it noted he had appeared to be in good health. In response to the accident, PNG's civil aviation safety authority is in the process of legislating for cockpit voice recorders to be installed in all aircraft that carry nine or more people. CASA PNG has also set up a new chief medical officer position and shifted responsibility for incident reporting to the accident investigation commission. Despite PNG being a signatory to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, it previously had neither a compulsory or voluntary reporting system. Airlines PNG has also since employed new visual flight procedures. Back to Top UPS to Install Cockpit Smoke-Protection as Congress Debates Aviation Bill By ANDY PASZTOR and JOSH MITCHELL (WSJ) United Parcel Service Inc., after months of pressure from the union representing pilots, has decided to equip its entire fleet of cargo jets with smoke-protection devices designed to ensure that cockpit instruments remain visible in case of heavy smoke. The Atlanta-based company has informed its pilots about the decision, according to people familiar with the details, and the company also has pledged to move toward installing fire-suppression systems on a large chunk of its fleet of more than 200 cargo aircraft. The moves come as the House is scheduled to resume debate Friday on a broad Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. Even as UPS was finalizing details of its safety initiative Thursday, leaders of the House Transportation Committee persuaded the House to defeat an amendment that would have required the FAA to consider mandating technology to "maintain pilot visibility when dense, continuous smoke" fills the cockpit. The House is slated to finish work Friday on the four-year $59.7-billion FAA package, but not before disposing of a series of controversial safety and labor-related amendments. The most contentious issue is a Republican provision intended to make it more difficult for airline and railway employees to organize. Pushed by Rep. John Mica (R., Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the language would repeal a new rule by the National Mediation Board that allows a union to be formed when a majority of votes cast are in favor of collective bargaining. Previously, it took a majority of a company's entire work force to vote to unionize, which meant that employees who didn't cast votes were counted as "no" votes. Regarding safety, the bill revives discussion about the need for the kind of cockpit smoke hoods UPS has decided to install. Designed to inflate in case of a severe fire, such technology has been the focus of a heated industry debate since at least the 1990s. UPS declined to comment late Thursday. Controversy over cockpit smoke-protection measures flared again in the wake of the October 2010 crash of a UPS Boeing 747 after takeoff from Dubai. Bound for Cologne, the pilots were incapacitated by a raging fire in the belly of the jumbo jet -- suspected of being spread by a large load of rechargeable lithium batteries. Radio transmissions indicated the crew couldn't see some of their flight instruments or switch radio frequencies. Both pilots died when the crippled plane crashed trying to return to the Dubai International Airport. The next month, UPS and the union representing its 2,800 pilots signed a wide-ranging agreement intended to pave the way for installation of fire-suppression equipment in cargo holds and enhanced smoke-protection and vision systems in cockpits. The agreement also called for revised emergency pilot checklists and enhanced safety measures for transporting rechargeable lithium batteries. Lawmakers also have been mulling whether additional legislative or regulatory safeguards are necessary when cargo planes transport such flammable batteries. In the labor arena, the House debate reflects the same rancor that has developed in various states where governors are bent on reducing the influence of unions. One of the amendments headed for a vote Friday would strip the bill of Rep. Mica's provision. Rep. Steven LaTourette (R., Ohio), bucking Republican leadership in proposing the amendment, said in an interview Thursday that he believed he had lined up enough votes to defeat the committee chairman's language. Rep. Mica said he was undeterred by a White House threat earlier in the week to veto the bill if it contains the provision. "I will work to restore the well-established union certification process as it was before the NMB unilaterally changed it," he said Thursday. Rep. Pete DeFazio (D., Ore.) said the labor provision threatened to kill hopes of putting in place the first long-term FAA reauthorization legislation since 2007. "This is a national Republican campaign to use every opportunity they can to blame labor for the ills of our nation," DeFazio said in a brief interview Thursday. The House voted down an amendment requiring criminal background checks for airline- maintenance workers at overseas facilities. But in a separate move bound to complicate the FAA's effort to draft new rules combating pilot fatigue, the House approved an amendment exempting pilots of all-cargo charter aircraft and air ambulances from those anticipated flight-time and work-hour restrictions. Back to Top Air India pilots' body opposes appointment of new ED A major pilots' body of Air India has opposed the appointment of a new executive director (flight safety) and sought a probe into it alleging that he did not possess the required necessary qualification for the job. In a letter to civil aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) alleged that Capt Subodh Nigam, who was appointed as officiating ED (flight safety) by the Air India management on Monday, violated safety norms. The ICPA, which claims a membership of over 800 of the 1,100 pilots of the national carrier, said Nigam has "flown on an invalid license for over six months in spite of not completing his mandatory DGR (Dangerous Goods Regulation) training at the Central Training Establishment at Hyderabad." "In spite of being aware of the gross violation of air safety norms by Capt Subodh Nigam, the management of Air India has yet chosen to give him this officiating position. ... In view of this, we would like a thorough investigation to be carried out regarding his case," ICPA general secretary Capt Rishabh Kapur said in the letter. Interestingly, Nigam was appointed as the officiating ED (flight safety) on March 28, the day on which the ICPA shot off a letter to Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav demanding his suspension alleging "he has flown on an invalid license and tarnished the image of the airline". Quoting a recent vigilance report against Nigam, the ICPA had also directed Air India pilots not to undertake any flight, training or checks carried out by him. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_air-india-pilots-body-opposes-appointment-of- new-ed_1526751 Back to Top Emergency landing at O'Hare Airport suspected terrorists On Tuesday night, United Airlines flight 251 out of Portland, Oregon en route to Washington, D.C. was diverted to Chicago's O'Hare after three men were decribed as acting strangely. Whether or not the three suspects of middle-eastern descent were terrorists is not known. However, according to reports detailing the suspicious behavior of the three men - they were acting like terrorists. Upon arrival in Portland, reporters were present to interview the passengers and hear witness accounts of what exactly took place. Stacy Niedermeyer and her family witnessed the events aboard the flight. She told a Portland news station that one of the men went to the back of the plane and "sat down on his bottom." Other passengers added that the man was involved in a physical altercation with a flight attendent after walking to the back of the plane where the flight attendant station was located. A witness that did no want to be identified said another man began to pace back and forth in the aisles was wearing a backpack. The witness said a "verbal altercation" ensued between the man and a flight attendant. http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-chicago/emergency-landing-at-o-hare- airport-suspected-terrorists Back to Top United amends 747 flight manual after tail strike United Airlines has revised its Boeing 747-400 flight manual, following a tail strike incident last May at Sydney Airport. On 7 May 2010, the tail of a United 747, registration N128UA, struck the ground while taking off from Sydney Airport on a flight to San Francisco. The aircraft subsequently dumped fuel and returned to Sydney after it was advised by Sydney Air Traffic Control about the tail strike. Inspections showed scrape damage to the aircraft's lower rear fuselage, extending from the stabiliser access door to the tailcone, says the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which released its final report into the incident today. "This resulted in minor damage to the auxiliary power unit bay access doors and lower fuselage frames at the tailcone," it adds. The ATSB, which did not find any organisation or individual liable for the incident, says a few safety factors contributed to the tail strike. Firstly, analysis of the 747's flight data showed that the aircraft was "subject to a wind gust during rotation". "That. combined with a high instantaneous pitch rate around the time of lift-off and a reduction in lift due to spoiler deployment, reduced the tail-to-runway clearance," says the ATSB. The flight crew had also conducted a reduced-thrust take-off, which increased the aircraft's exposure to wind variations during rotation, it adds. United, which conducted an internal investigation into the incident, subsequently made changes to its 747 flight crew training manual in January 2011, says the ATSB. The pitch rate of three degrees per second during take-off rotation was amended to 2.5 degrees per second, it adds. However, the airline says it does not see the benefit in modifying the flight training simulator to simulate external conditions or forces. "By continual repetition of normal rotation rates, with normal stick forces, [the operator] is able to produce repeatable performance from our pilots. By using this approach, we teach the rotation and forces required to be 'second nature' to our pilots allowing them to recognise any non-normal 'feel' and compensate accordingly," says United in the ATSB report. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC