Flight Safety Information April 20, 2011 - No. 080 In This Issue EU updates list of banned airlines Michelle Obama's plane was too close to other jet Rodent Droppings 'Too Numerous to Count' Found on Delta Jet Truck clips JetBlue plane in Boston HUD For Small Jets Unveiled Man arrested at Bradley airport after skirmish with flight crew US signs open skies deal with Saudi Arabia EU updates list of banned airlines: adds Air Madagascar and all Mozambique carriers The European Commission has adopted today the 17th update of the list of airlines banned in the European Union. Some airlines - including four all-cargo air carriers from Indonesia and one air carrier from Ukraine - have been removed from the list as safety concerns have been satisfactorily addressed. However, all air carriers certified in Mozambique have been banned from flying into the EU as have the operations of Air Madagascar for two specific aircraft because of significant safety deficiencies requiring decisive action in both cases. This update removes the previous ban on the operations of four Indonesian all cargo air carriers - Cardig Air, Republic Express, Asia Link and Air Maleo. This is due to solid enforcement action taken by the Indonesian authorities to ensure that their operations are safe. Restrictions on Ukrainian airline UMAir have also been removed after solid evidence showed its performance had improved. The authorities of Angola, Cambodia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have intensified their efforts to enforce the international safety standards. On this basis some companies that are no longer engaged in commercial air transport have been taken off the list. In order to ensure that there were no risks for safety from the operations of certain air carriers, the Commission with the unanimous support of the members of the Air Safety Committee has decided to impose operating restrictions in two cases. First, it has imposed an operating ban on all air carriers certified in Mozambique in view of the significant deficiencies faced by the civil aviation authorities of this country as reported by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the framework of its Universal Safety Oversight Audit. The Commission has also imposed restrictions on the two aircraft of type Boeing 767 operated by Air Madagascar given the persisting deficiencies in their operation and oversight. Given that new airlines were established in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they have been added to the list as all carriers from this state are subject to operating restrictions due to insufficient capacity in the competent authorities to discharge their safety oversight responsibilities at that stage. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Michelle Obama's plane was too close to other jet WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A jet carrying first lady Michelle Obama abandoned a landing approach outside Washington to avoid another plane in an apparent mistake by air traffic controllers, U.S. aviation officials said on Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement her government-owned Boeing 737 was approaching Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when it was told to "go around," or to climb and attempt another approach, shortly after 5 p.m. EDT Monday. The agency said Mrs. Obama's plane was about three miles behind an Air Force C-17 that was landing, rather than the five-mile spacing required when trailing in the wake of a much larger aircraft like the military cargo plane. "The aircraft were never in any danger" and both planes landed safely, the FAA said. Andrews is a military facility where Air Force One -- the presidential aircraft -- and other top level government planes are based. But the air space around it is handled by the civilian FAA, which is under fire over disclosures in recent weeks that a handful of controllers had fallen asleep on the job while working overnight shifts. Mrs. Obama's plane was being overseen by a radar facility in Virginia when it was given the order to attempt a second landing approach to Andrews due to the apparent aircraft separation error. The FAA said it was investigating the incident. Suspected controller errors in 2010 hit 1,887 from 1,233 the previous year, according to the FAA. More than half were considered relatively minor, but reports in the most severe category rose to 43 from 37, FAA figures show. Back to Top Rodent Droppings 'Too Numerous to Count' Found on Delta Jet (Bloomberg) Rodent droppings "too numerous to count" were found by U.S. health inspectors near a Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) jet's galley where food and drink are stored. The excrement and mammalian urine turned up in inspections from Jan. 26 through Feb. 2 at a Delta hangar at its Atlanta headquarters, the Food and Drug Administration said in an April 13 letter to the airline. Delta said today the plane was cleaned and returned to service within days. Mechanical traps probably would be preferable to chemicals in trying to end a rodent infestation on a plane, said Chad Artimovich, who is the president of pest-control company Atlanta Wildlife Solutions LLC and has exterminated rats in recreational vehicles, mobile homes and a hot tub. "You don't want to use poison because then you have to go through the process of tracking it down and finding it and maybe tearing the whole airplane apart," Artimovich said in an interview. "A dead rat stinks to high heaven." Delta took the rodent case "very seriously" and resolved the issue by temporarily parking the jet and "humanely catching the animal," said Ashley Black, a spokeswoman for the Atlanta- based carrier. International Plane Black declined to specify the type of plane involved, other than that it was used on international flights. It was returned to service within days after the rodent's removal, she said. "We believe this was an isolated incident and we cooperated with the FDA immediately to resolve it earlier this year," Black said. "The health and safety of Delta's customers and employees are Delta's top priority." The FDA said rodent excrement was discovered above the right and left forward galleys and mammalian urine was detected in six areas on ceiling panels over a galley. Delta's response to the agency didn't include steps to prevent a recurrence, which is "likely" unless such measures are taken, the FDA said. Federal regulations for transportation companies require that "all places where food is prepared, served, or stored shall be constructed and maintained as to be clean and free from flies, rodents and other vermin," the FDA said. The animal most likely to be involved in an airplane infestation is a roof rat, a species prevalent in Atlanta, Artimovich said. Those rodents leave as many as 50 droppings a day, and a jetliner provides "everything a rat needs" with spilled nuts and pretzel crumbs and sources of water, he said. "Once it gets in there and gets established, there's no reason to leave," he said. "The real concern is if a rat started chewing on wires. Almost every house I go into where there are rats, they've chewed on wood and wiring and ornaments. Their teeth are harder than iron and they have to keep them gnawed down." Back to Top Truck clips JetBlue plane in Boston . BOSTON (AP) - A JetBlue jet that had just landed at Boston's Logan International Airport has had its left wing clipped by a truck that was being escorted on the ramp by an airline employee, forcing officials to take the aircraft out of service. JetBlue Flight 464 had just landed from Southwest Florida International Airport and passengers were deplaning when the incident occurred Tuesday afternoon. Massachusetts state police say the truck was backing up next to Airbus 320 jet to handle its cargo it clipped the aircraft. Police cited a JetBlue worker for not staying with the truck driver. Airport spokesman Phil Orlandella says there were no reports of injuries related to the incident. The Federal Aviation Authority, police and airport officials are investigating. New York-based JetBlue says it is evaluating damage to the aircraft. Back to Top HUD For Small Jets Unveiled Rockwell Collins has unveiled what it says is the first head-up guidance system (HGS) designed for small and medium-sized business jets. The HGS-3500 was revealed at the Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar in San Diego. The system will run off a Collins Pro- Line Fusion panel and display enhanced and synthetic vision images. Rockwell Collins spokesman Greg Irmen said the gear is a "breakthrough system that brings this advanced capability to thousands of aircraft that never before had access to the safety benefits of head-up flying." The HUD itself is an all-in-one hardware package that is designed to fit in smaller cockpits. Rockwell Collins has installed 3,500 HUDs in larger aircraft in the last 20 years. http://www.avweb.com/avwebbiz/news/HUD_For_Small_Jets_204516-1.html Back to Top Man arrested at Bradley airport after skirmish with flight crew WINDSOR LOCKS - A 20-year-old Arizona man was arrested Tuesday at Bradley International Airport after swearing at a flight crew and refusing to put away his electronic devices, police said. Verrell Paul Isaiah was a passenger on a Southwest flight 292 from Chicago, police said. He was acting "tumultuously," and refused to put away electronic devices as the plane was about to take off, according to a press release from State Police. After the plane landed and Isaiah woke up, he continued to curse at the crew, police said. He "berated" a Southwest customer service representative in front of a state trooper and used foul language in public. Isaiah's behavior allegedly upset commuters and the flight crew, the release states.He was charged with second-degree breach of peace and interfering with an officer. Police set bond for the accused at $1,000. http://middletownpress.com/ Back to Top US signs open skies deal with Saudi Arabia The US and Saudi Arabia have concluded an open skies agreement, according to a brief statement from the US State Department. The agency states the agreement will expand air service and encourage vigorous price competition by airlines while safeguarding aviation safety and security. Schedules in the Innovata database show national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines serves John F Kennedy International airport from Riyadh twice per week and Jeddah once per week. The carrier offers Washington-Dulles Jeddah flights twice per week and Dulles-Riyadh once weekly. Saudi Arabian's flights to Houston Intercontinental are offered either with one or two stops. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC