Flight Safety Information May 2, 2011 - No. 088 In This Issue Crucial 'memory unit' from 2009 Air France crash recovered FAA announces review panel, management shuffle US FAA shakes up air traffic control management Crashed Air France A330's auxiliary power unit located EU liquid ban to stay after last-minute chaos EU-US aviation safety agreement enters into force Sheriff's deputies make another arrest after laser is pointed at pilot Odor grounds flight One reported dead after plane crashes into home, vehicles near Opa-locka Airport AFRAA responds to EU ban of Mozambican airlines from European airspace Southern Air Appoints David Soaper Chief Operating Officer Jury awards $48 million in skydiving plane crash Crucial 'memory unit' from 2009 Air France crash recovered NEW: Air France calls the recovery "very significant" British aviation expert skeptical data remains; French expert hopeful All 228 people aboard the Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris were killed The Airbus A330 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009 (CNN) -- The memory unit that may tell why an Air France jet plunged into the Atlantic nearly two years ago was recovered from the bottom of the ocean Sunday, France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) said. A remote-controlled submarine, known as the Remora 6000, located the memory unit Sunday morning and it was lifted on board the search ship Ile de Sein six hours later, the Paris-based BEA said. All 228 people aboard the Air France Flight 447 were killed when the plane fell into the ocean on the way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009. The submarine found the orange-colored flight data recorder's chassis Wednesday, the second day of an operation that also hopes to retrieve bodies from the wreckage site. The memory unit was part of the recorder, but was not attached when it was found. The flight recorder chassis is found last week The finds come more than three weeks after search teams found the tail section of the Airbus A330. Air France, in a written statement Sunday, called the discovery "very significant." "We hope that the BEA, in charge of the technical investigation, will be able to provide answers to questions that relatives of the victims, Air France and the entire airline industry have been asking for nearly two years as to why this tragic accident occurred," the airline's statement said. A British aviation consultant said he is skeptical about how useful the memory unit will be to investigators, considering it has been sitting between 2,000 to 4,000 meters (6,562 to 13,124 feet) below the ocean's surface for 23 months. "If you were to throw a computer into the ocean, imagine how all the parts would eventually split and you have the corrosive effects of seawater and the depths involved," Phil Seymour, chief operating officer of the International Bureau of Aviation, said Thursday. Father of crash victim: Leave remains "It may be that the more wreckage they find will help them to piece it all together, which bit by bit could help them build a picture of what caused the plane to come down," Seymour said. Martine Del Bono, a spokeswoman for the Paris-based BEA, says there is a good chance the memory unit, which records any instructions sent to the aircraft's electronic systems, will still hold retrievable data. The Airbus A330's pilots lost contact with air traffic controllers while flying across an area of the Atlantic Ocean known for constant bands of severe turbulence, officials said. Q&A: Will mystery ever be solved? But exactly what caused the plane to plunge into the sea has remained a mystery, with only small portions of the wreckage and a handful of bodies found in the remote area where it went down. Back to Top FAA announces review panel, management shuffle The FAA shuffles key management jobs amid controllers controversy It names four members to a review panel that will evaluate training programs The panel will submit a report to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt this fall The controversy includes more than a half-dozen alleged sleeping or inattentive controllers Washington (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday that it had shuffled some key management jobs as it continues its review of the controversy over sleeping and inattentive controllers. It also named four members to a review panel that will evaluate the FAA's controller training programs to make sure new controllers are properly prepared. The panel will submit a report to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt this fall. "We are continuing to do everything in our power to ensure that our nation's aviation system remains the safest in the world," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. He called the changes "just the beginning of the process." The controversy, which grew in recent weeks to include more than a half-dozen alleged sleeping or inattentive controllers, had already claimed a top FAA official, Henry "Hank" Krakowski, who resigned his post as head of the FAA's Air Traffic Organization. It has also fired three air traffic controllers in Miami, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Seattle who were found to have slept on the job, and is continuing its review of other controllers. GPS technology making air traffic safer In the changes announced Friday, the FAA said it is repositioning three veteran FAA managers to critical roles. Walt Cochran will oversee terminal operations, where he will be responsible for FAA airport towers and regional radar facilities. Chris Metts will oversee all of the FAA's "en route" and oceanic operations. Glen Martin will become air traffic manager at the Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center. The FAA said it also is assessing key mid-level management positions "to ensure that both technical and leadership expectations are being met." The members of the independent review panel are: Michael Barr, University of Southern California Aviation, Safety & Security program; Tim Brady, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University; Garth Koleszar, National Air Traffic Controllers Association; Michael New, United Airlines; and Julia Pounds, FAA. Earlier this month, the FAA changed work schedules to allow controllers more time off between shifts, and Babbitt and controller union president Paul Rinaldi toured facilities to send a message to controllers about job expectations. The FAA said it and union teams have so far visited facilities in and around 20 major U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Sacramento and Salt Lake City. "The FAA's focus is safety. These changes ensure that we have the right people in the right places to help us carry out our mission," Babbitt said in a statement Friday. "I am confident our top-to-bottom review is making our air traffic system even safer." Back to Top US FAA shakes up air traffic control management WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. aviation authorities further shook up air traffic management on Friday following embarrassing incidents involving sleeping controllers and mistakes handling first lady Michelle Obama's plane. Randy Babbitt, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, reassigned three senior managers, including those responsible for airport towers, approach and departure centres, and transoceanic operations. All three were replaced. "This is just the beginning of the process to make sure we have the best possible team in place," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, whose agency oversees the FAA. The chief of air traffic operations, Hank Krakowski, resigned two weeks ago amid uproar over disclosures of tower and other controllers falling asleep on the job. Three controllers have been fired. Those problems were magnified by widely publicized air traffic miscues last week involving a government plane carrying the first lady and Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, landing in Washington. Separately on Friday, the FAA established an independent committee to evaluate air traffic control training and job placement. Academic experts, airline and FAA officials and the air traffic controller union is represented on the five-member review panel. The FAA oversees 15,000 air traffic controllers who handle more than 9 million commercial and private flights annually at more than 400 airports. Back to Top Crashed Air France A330's auxiliary power unit located Recovery teams have located the auxiliary power unit from the wreckage of flight AF447 in the South Atlantic, but are cautioning that the search for the flight recorders remains difficult. Remote underwater vehicle images have enabled the search personnel to identify new components of the crashed Air France Airbus A330-200. While the APU is located at the rear of the aircraft, there is no indication whether the recorders - normally mounted behind the rear pressure bulkhead - are in the same region. Part of the flight-data recorder has been found, but not the vital memory unit which holds the data. The entire cockpit-voice recorder has yet to be located. "The forward and aft parts of the aircraft are broken apart and mixed up, which means that a time-consuming systematic search is required," says the French Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses. Recovery work is being conducted from a specialised lifting vessel but no wreckage recovery has been undertaken, says the BEA, because "priority has been given to the search for the flight recorders". Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top EU liquid ban to stay after last-minute chaos European plans to lift a ban on carrying duty-free liquids in hand luggage through airports have descended into farce after several states opted to keep the restrictions in place. As a result, the ban on liquids purchased in third countries, originally scheduled to be lifted on 29 April, will remain for the time being, says European transport commissioner Siim Kallas. Kallas says the decision is to avoid confusion for passengers which would result from a failure to lift the restrictions simultaneously across all states. "In recent days a growing number of member states decided to maintain the ban," says the European Commission. The removal of restrictions will be deferred "for a limited period", it adds. Kallas says: "My main objective is to make life easier for air travellers. However, it is clear that a situation at European airports which leads to confusion for air passengers as to whether they can travel or not with duty-free liquids - in particular for connecting flights to the USA - should be avoided." The Commission will consult with US representatives and review the situation, he says. In the meantime the ban will stay until passengers "can travel with certainty". Lifting of the ban on duty-free liquids is part of a longer-term plan to remove all restrictions on liquid transport in hand luggage by 2013, by implementing suitable screening capabilities. The ban has been in place since 2006, the result of concerns over the risks from liquid explosives. Passengers transferring from third countries, through European airports, normally have to discard duty-free liquids at security checkpoints, although there are separate arrangements for passengers from Canada and the USA, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and certain Croatian airports. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top EU-US aviation safety agreement enters into force The agreement between the EU and the United States on cooperation in the regulation of civil aviation safety, signed on 15 March, entered into force on 1 May. It establishes reciprocal acceptance of certificates and approvals of airworthiness and environmental conformity of aircraft and aeronautical equipment, with the aim of limiting duplication of assessments, tests and controls. The agreement does not imply reciprocal recognition of standards: it simply allows one party to issue conformity certificates based on the other party's standards and on behalf of the other party. In a statement, released on 1 May, the European Commission notes that it is "ready to explore with the US how to expand the scope of the agreement rapidly into new areas, such as flight crew licensing and aircraft operations". http://www.europolitics.info/sectorial-policies/eu-us-aviation-safety-agreement-enters- into-force-art302776-46.html Back to Top Sheriff's deputies make another arrest after laser is pointed at pilot (LA Times) Los Angeles County sheriff's officials Sunday announced the arrest of another suspect for pointing a laser at an aircraft and have scheduled a demonstration Monday to highlight the dangers that lasers pose for pilots. The most recent arrest occurred shortly after the suspect Tuesday pointed a green laser at a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department helicopter. Over the last seven months, lasers have been pointed at helicopter pilots and aircraft from the sheriff's Aero Bureau six times while in flight. Four suspects have been arrested. Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a felony punishable by up to three years in state prison and a fine of $2,000. If tried as a federal offense, it's punishable by 20 years in federal prison. Witnesses are asked to call 911 if they see someone pointing a laser at an aircraft. No injuries have resulted, but previous incidents have caused pilots to be so distracted or disoriented that they had to land, cancel landings or take evasive action - diverting them from their law-enforcement or public-safety tasks, the department said. "When the laser hits the plexiglass windshield, it refracts the light and fills the cockpit with laser light, causing disorientation or temporary blindness," Sgt. Morrie Zager, a helicopter pilot assigned to the s Aero Bureau, said in a news release. "It has caused long-term damage to some pilots. This is a serious matter. The pilot's disorientation could cause loss of control of the aircraft." The most recent incident occurred April 26 at 10:47 p.m. Department pilots reported to deputies on the ground that a person in a car near Interstate 5 and Rosemead Boulevard was pointing a laser at them. Deputies from the Pico Rivera station immediately responded and stopped the car as it was traveling south on the 605 Freeway. In the car was a 16-year-old Los Alamitos resident with a green laser penlight. The suspect admitted that he had pointed it at the chopper as it flew overhead, according to the Sheriff's Department. The juvenile, who name has not been released, was arrested and later released to his parents. He must appear in juvenile court to face the felony charge. in 2010, nationwide reports of lasers pointed at aircraft almost doubled from the previous year to more than 2,800. Los Angeles International Airport recorded 102 incidents, the highest number in the country, federal officials said. "This is a serious safety issue," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in January. "Lasers can distract and harm pilots who are working to get passengers safely to their destinations." Monday's demonstration of laser risks will take place at the Biscailuz Center in East Los Angeles. Back to Top Odor grounds flight TAMPA -- A Delta flight from Atlanta to West Palm Beach was forced to land early in Tampa on Sunday because of a smoky odor in the cockpit. The plane landed at Tampa International Airport at 3:30 p.m., Delta spokeswoman Kristin Baur said. It had been scheduled to arrive in West Palm Beach at 3:43 p.m. The Boeing 757 has been taken out of service while officials investigate, Baur said. Meanwhile, the 182 passengers on board Flight 1147 were offered a bus ride to West Palm Beach, 31/2 hours away, or seats on other flights. Delta also compensated passengers with $100 vouchers. The emergency landing didn't affect air traffic at Tampa International, said Brenda Geoghagan, airport spokeswoman. http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/ Back to Top One reported dead after plane crashes into home, vehicles near Opa-locka Airport OPA-LOCKA- There was one reported fatality when a small cargo plane crashed into a residential neighborhood near Opa-locka airport in northwest Miami-Dade Monday morning. Shortly before 8:15 a.m., Miami-Dade Fire Rescue received a call of a plane crashing into two vehicles and a house near Northwest 157th Street and 37th Court, according to WPLG-Ch. 10. The older-model plane was identified twin-engine Beechcraft 18 that makes frequent trips between the Bahamas and South Florida, the station reported. Televised aerial images initially showed the plane's flaming fuselage up against a home where a van and another vehicle were also on fire. One person was killed in the crash but it wasn't immediately known if it was the plane's pilot who died, The Miami Herald reported. Emergency crews have since spread foam on the aircraft and other vehicles that were incinerated in order to smother the flames. No other information about the crash, injuries or extent of the damage was immediately known. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/ ************* Date: 02-MAY-2011 Time: 8:00 a.m. Type: Beechcraft 18 Operator: Registration: N18R C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Near Opa-Locka Airport in northwest Miami-Dade - United States of America Phase: Take off Nature: Private Departure airport: Opa-Locka Airport Destination airport: Nassau, Bahamas Narrative: A small plane crashed into a residential neighborhood shortly after takeoff in Opa-Locka Monday morning. The twin-engine Beech aircraft had just left Opa-Locka Airport around 8 a.m. when it went down near a home just north of the airport in the 14000 block of Northwest 41 Ave. The plane struck two vehicles before it burst into flames next to the house. Firefighters were called to scene as the plane, a car and a van were engulfed in flames. They were able to quickly extinguish the fire. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top AFRAA responds to EU ban of Mozambican airlines from European airspace It is with great disappointment and concern that the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) received the disturbing news that the European Commission has included the Republic of Mozambique and all its airlines in the infamous EU list of banned airlines - the blacklist. Mozambique is the 14th African State to be included in the list and this brings to 26%, the number of African States now on the banned list. The number reaches 15 when counting Madagascar, whose national airline, Air Madagascar, is slapped with a partial ban. LAM Mozambique Airlines' safety record is impeccable. Since the company was established in 1980; it has not had a single major accident. And since 1989 there have been no accidents of any kind involving LAM Mozambique Airlines aircraft. Major European airlines can make no such claim. For example, according to the Flight Safety Foundation, Air France has had 23 major accidents (involving substantial damage to aircraft, serious or fatal injuries) since 1990, three of them with fatalities, and a total of 348 deaths. LAM Mozambique Airlines has worked hard and invested significant resources to attain industry best practices on safety which enabled it attain the IATA Safety Audit Certification in 2007 which was renewed in 2009. However, the airline's impeccable safety record, and dual achievement of the internationally reputed IOSA Certification and ISO 9000 Certification, has not spared it from the EU blanket banning. AFRAA fails to see how such blanket banning contributes to encourage African carriers which strive to achieve industry best practices in safety standards. The banning of an airline not only prohibits the airline from operating to the EU but also impacts its ticket sales to other destinations including on code shared routes as travel agents and other code share partners in EU are required by regulation at the time of sales or booking to notify passengers that the airline is blacklisted. Irrespective of what the European Commission public relations exercise of attempting to pass blanket banning as a solution to safety concerns is, it amounts to nothing either than a blunt instrument that constrains the development of a viable African air transport industry in Africa. While the net losers are African carriers, the net beneficiaries are always the EU Community carriers that swiftly step in to fill the vacuum and take the market share of the banned airlines. Despite the blacklisting of Mozambique, EU carriers will continue to operate with increased frequencies and higher yields to Mozambique and the other States that are the subject of the ban. If the airspace of an African country is unsafe, it is unsafe also to European carriers who continue to fly the African skies for commercial benefit. African governments, the African Union (AU) and African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) should not allow this state of affairs to continue as the continents' air transport industry is being progressively destroyed. AFRAA calls upon all African stakeholders including governments, the AU, AFCAC, AFRAA to address the serious safety oversight deficiencies and concerns in the States blacklisted and to seriously and meaningfully engage with the EU to establish a mutually acceptable, fair and transparent mechanism to address safety concerns in place of the unilateral blanket banning, which has so far not yielded any meaningful achievement in advancing safety in the continent. Once again AFRAA' reiterates its call which it made on its 42nd Annual General Assembly Resolutions in November, 2010 which deplored the continued unilateral practice of blacklisting of mainly African States and airlines with no visible benefits in enhancing safety on the continent whilst having a huge negative commercial implications not only on the carriers concerned but on African aviation in general. The AFRAA Assembly Resolution called upon the AU and AFCAC to engage the EU with the view to find a mutually acceptable and agreed approach to jointly addressing safety issues. http://www.african-aviation.com Back to Top Southern Air Appoints David Soaper Chief Operating Officer NORWALK, Conn., May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Air Holdings, Inc. today announced that David Soaper has been named Chief Operating Officer, effective May 15. Mr. Soaper joins Southern Air from Comair, a Delta Connection Carrier, where he held several senior operations management positions over the last 28 years. Daniel J. McHugh, Chief Executive Officer of Southern Air, said, "David comes to Southern Air with significant operation and aviation industry experience and a deep understanding of all aspects of flight operations, including extensive knowledge of safety and security regulations, procedures and programs and a strong understanding of labor management. We are confident he will be a strong addition to our team and will be invaluable as we continue growing the company and expanding our fleet." Mr. Soaper said, "I am thrilled to join Southern Air, one of the world's leading air cargo carriers. Southern Air has built a strong reputation as a leading ACMI operator, and I look forward to working closely with Dan and the entire management team as we continue to provide reliable, flexible air cargo solutions to our customers around the world." Mr. Soaper was most recently Senior Vice President, Aircraft Operations, for Comair. In this role he had operational and administrative oversight of Comair's flight operations, corporate safety, corporate security, systems operations, inflight resources, flight training, crewmember resource, customer service operations, planning and performance. He joined Comair in 1982. Mr. Soaper earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilmington College. About Southern Air Southern Air was founded in 1947 as a low-cost, high-quality global cargo carrier specializing in the provision of block space and aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance ("ACMI") services. Southern Air's blue-chip customer base includes some of the world's largest combination cargo carriers and government agencies. Southern Air operates a fleet of 14 Boeing 747 and two new 777 freighter aircraft and is the first ACMI operator in the world to operate the new Boeing 777 Freighter. For more information about Southern Air, visit: www.southernair.com. Back to Top Jury awards $48 million in skydiving plane crash ST. LOUIS (AP) A jury has awarded $48 million to relatives of five people killed when a skydiving plane crashed shortly after takeoff from a rural Missouri airport in 2006. The jury in Union, Mo., sided against London-based Doncasters Inc., ordering the company to pay $4 million to each family, and another $28 million in punitive damages to be split among the families. "Lives will be saved because of what this jury did," said Gary Robb, the Kansas City attorney for the victims' families, of Thursday's verdict. "Aviation safety will be improved because manufacturers will not cut corners, because if they do they will be caught." An attorney for Doncasters did not return phone and email messages seeking comment. The right engine of a DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter plane blew up shortly after takeoff on July 29, 2006, at the Sullivan airport, about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis. Six people were killed, though relatives of one of the victims were not part of the lawsuit. Among those testifying was U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who gave video testimony about the impact of the death of 38-year-old Melissa Berridge of St. Louis, who was compliance director for McCaskill's Senate campaign staff. Also killed in the crash were Victoria Delacroix, 22, of London; Robert Cook, 22, of Rolla, Mo.; Rob Walsh, 44, of St. Louis; Scott Cowan, 42, of St. Louis; and David Aternoster, 35, of Claycomo, Mo. Two others on board were badly injured. Relatives of Aternoster were not part of the lawsuit. Cowan and his brother, Jim, co-owned Quantum Leap Skydiving Inc. of Sullivan, and was piloting the plane, which crashed within about 10 feet of a house. No one on the ground was injured. Robb said testimony indicated that Doncasters used a different alloy material than called for by the engine manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney Canada. Jurors heard testimony from crash investigators, metallurgists and aircraft design engineers. Evidence was presented suggesting that eight other airplane engine failures were believed to be due to the same faulty part made by Doncasters, Robb said. "The family more than anything wants them to take this defective part off the market," Robb said. Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/04/30/2838218/jury-awards-48-million- in-skydiving.html#ixzz1LCckdDed Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC