Flight Safety Information April 19, 2011 - No. 079 In This Issue Watching movie on duty gets two air traffic officials suspended US Airways diverts to GSP with smoke in cockpit 'Fake pilot' probe: Top DGCA official relieved of duty pending inquiry (INDIA) Family booted off airplane sues airline 20 die in Indian helicopter crash Narita says radiation levels remain safe Watching movie on duty gets two air traffic officials suspended Controller catches flick at work Atlanta (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday announced the suspension of a Cleveland air traffic controller and a front line manager after the controller was discovered watching a movie on a portable DVD player while on the job. The announcement coincides with the Monday launch in Atlanta of a nationwide tour by top FAA officials and union representatives, to discuss professionalism and safety at air traffic control centers. It also comes after the agency suspended a Miami controller on Saturday for falling asleep while directing air traffic. The Cleveland incident occurred early Sunday morning, according to an FAA statement. The agency stated that the controller was watching a DVD while working a radar position at the Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center. "For a little more than three minutes, the controller's microphone was inadvertently activated, transmitting the soundtrack of the movie over the radio frequency for that airspace," the statement read. "The problem was brought to air traffic control's attention by the pilot of a military aircraft using an alternate frequency." The FAA forbids the use of video players and other devices on the radar room floor, according to the statement. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has not commented on the Cleveland DVD incident, though he has repeatedly voiced outrage over the problem of air traffic controllers falling asleep on the job. "None of us in this business can tolerate any of this," Babbitt said of the sleeping controllers. "It absolutely has to stop. ... One mistake is one too many." This "will not be tolerated," said Babbit in Atlanta on Monday. Federal officials have announced a series of new regulations aimed at preventing air traffic controllers from falling asleep while on duty. Among other things, controllers now must have a minimum of nine hours off between shifts, instead of the current minimum of eight hours. In addition, controllers can no longer be put on an unscheduled midnight shift following a day off. If the shift from eight to nine hours isn't enough, "then obviously we'll take that into consideration," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. But it's up to the controllers "to take personal responsibility" and get adequate rest during their down time, he said. Will NextGen air traffic overhaul make us safer? FAA managers will also schedule their own shifts in a way to ensure greater coverage in the early morning and late night hours, the secretary noted over the weekend. To date, the FAA has suspended seven controllers for failing to stay awake at work. LaHood called the fatigue experienced by overworked controllers "a very big concern." He vowed, "We will do better." Aside from Miami, cases of sleeping controllers have been reported in Washington; Knoxville, Tennessee; Seattle and Reno, Nevada. There have been two suspected cases in Lubbock, Texas. All of the incidents occurred during controllers' midnight shifts. Most of the lapses occurred at local control towers. In at least one incident, the FAA has said, the controller deliberately went to sleep, while some of the others appear to have been accidental. Back to Top US Airways diverts to GSP with smoke in cockpit A US Airways flight bound for Charlotte, N.C., landed safely at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport after pilots reported smelling smoke in the cockpit. US Airways Flight 907, a Boeing 737-400 model, was on its way from Dallas/Fort Worth, said Michelle Mohr, a company spokeswoman. The plane, which was carrying 94 passengers and five crew members, immediately diverted to GSP. It touched down safely about 1:30 p.m., she said. Mohr said the source of the smell had not yet been identified. No injuries were reported. Passengers were being transported via bus from the Upstate to Charlotte, Mohr said. "We're very pleased that everyone is safe and sound, and we're taking care of our passengers," she said. "We're obviously pleased with the actions of our crew and pilots. They train for this sort of thing. They determined the best course of action was to divert, and they did." GSP spokeswoman Rosylin Weston said the airport's emergency response team was standing by when the plane landed. Units from Boiling Springs and Pelham-Batesville fire departments also responded, as well as EMS crews from Greenville and Spartanburg, she said. "Two good things happened," Weston said. "One, the plane landed without incident - no injuries. And two, our emergency response team was standing by." Weston said the incident caused no disruption for flights arriving at or departing from GSP. http://www.goupstate.com/ Back to Top 'Fake pilot' probe: Top DGCA official relieved of duty pending inquiry (INDIA) New Delhi: The probe into the 'fake pilots' probe has now reached the top echelons of aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). RS Passi, the joint director of DGCA has been relieved of his duties pending probe into his role into his daughter procuring a fake pilot license. Mr Passi is the father of Garima Passi who quit SpiceJet airlines last month following allegations of attaining a pilot license under "extraordinary circumstances". Alongwith Mr Passi, 8-9 DGCA officials are also under the scanner and have been asked to explain how their relatives procured pilot licenses. The functioning of the DGCA has been under a cloud ever since it was discovered that parents of two accused pilots, including Garima Passi, worked with the regulatory body. The father of Rahul Yadav, who quit Air India, is working as a junior-level officer with the DGCA. The aviation watchdog had, at the time, promised to probe the matter. "All these people will be subjected to a scrutiny," DGCA chief E K Bharatbhushan had said. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/ Back to Top Family booted off airplane sues airline (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - A Winchester family who was booted off an airplane is now suing the airline. They claim they got into it with a confrontation with a flight attendant that ended with the National Guard getting involved. Yevgeny Yurkovetsky and his wife blame a rude flight attendant for the humiliating experience of having the whole family thrown off a plane. Now the Winchester family is suing US Airways for more than $160,000 Back in January, the family had just boarded a plane in Charlotte, NC but couldn't find any space in the overhead compartments for the two bags and their coats. They asked the flight attendant for help but say she had a bad attitude from the get go. When they demanded her name, they say it got worse. Minutes later another employee told them to deplane, and this time they brought along airport security and a National Guardsman. They did eventually comply and did board another flight home two hours later. When the family arrived home, Yevgeny wrote an email complaining, but says US Airways blamed him for everything. US Airways tells FOX25 that they do not comment on pending litigation. www.myfoxboston.com/ Back to Top 20 die in Indian helicopter crash GUWAHATI (India) - TWENTY people died and three others were injured on Tuesday when a civilian passenger helicopter crashed in north-east India close to the border with China, a local police chief told AFP. 'There were 23 people on board the helicopter and three survived the crash but they are badly injured and almost completely burnt,' said S.B. Singh, police inspector general of Arunachal Pradesh state. The Russian-designed helicopter that crashed in the state's frontier Tawang region belonged to the state-run Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd, Mr Singh told AFP by telephone. -- AFP ************** Date: 19-APR-2011 Time: 13:30 LT Type: Mil Mi-172 Operator: Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. Registration: VT-PHx C/n / msn: 356C0x Fatalities: Fatalities: 17 / Occupants: 23 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Tawang near the border with China. - India Phase: Landing Nature: Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Guwahati Destination airport: Tawang Narrative: Police say a helicopter has crashed in India's remote northeast, killing at least 17 people. Police official S.N. Mosobi says the helicopter with 23 people on board was about to land at a helipad Tuesday when it hit a wall and burst into flames. The MI-17 chopper was trying to land in the Buddhist pilgrimage town of Tawang near the border with China. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Narita says radiation levels remain safe Tokyo's Narita Airport reports it has been affected by minimal levels of radiation from the badly-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, some 195km to the north. According to the airport, the radiation dose detected atop the telecommunications tower at the airport was 118 micro sieverts. By way of comparison, says the airport authority, a chest x-ray accounts for 50 micro sieverts. There are 1,000 micro sieverts in one milli sievert and the annual exposure calculation for someone at Narita would be just over 1 milli sievert. According to the World Health Organisation, a person is typically exposed to natural background radiation of around three milli sieverts over the course of a year. According to the Airports Council international, a UN agency task force has assessed that current radiation levels are well within safe limits and do not pose a hazard for people travelling to Japan. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC