Flight Safety Information June 10, 2011 - No. 119 In This Issue Easyjet plane makes emergency landing at John Lennon Airport UPDATED... Dassault finds fix for grounded 7X... Regulator aligns aviation rules with global standards... EASA gives instructions to airlines on how to face the problem of Koito seats not meeting the safety... Airliner with emergency lands without incident in Melbourne... King Air 250 receives FAA type certification... Volcanic ash dusts Argentine capital, cuts flights... Hoax bomb threat at Chennai airport... Easyjet plane makes emergency landing at John Lennon Airport UPDATED EMERGENCY services rushed to John Lennon Airport this morning after an Easyjet flight was forced to make an emergency landing. The Belfast bound A319 Airbus, the workhorse of the Easyjet fleet, took off at 6.52am but suffered technical problems just 18 minutes into the flight. The pilot radioed through to ground control he was returning to the airport and crews from local services scrambled to get ready as part of an 'emergency plan'. Three fire engines responded along with ambulances from the nearby station and police patrols. The plane landed at 7.25am with no casualties reported and was checked on the runway before returning to the terminal building. It is understood 38 people were on the flight which has capacity for around 160 passengers. Other flights have continued to land although many were behind schedule and some were listed as cancelled. JLA spokesman Robin Tudor said: "They had some form of technical problem, although I've not got the exact details, and the aircraft decided to turn back. "I think it's standard procedure depending on the nature of the problem to declare an emergency. "It's a precautionary measure and certainly not unusual but it may have startled a few people to see lots of fire, ambulances and police having to attend the airport. "There were no problems and the passengers disembarked normally. "We don't know what Easyjet intend to do with the passengers "We have a few more flights to Belfast each day so I don't know if the flight will go late or they will switch to an alternative." He said emergencies of one form or another were dealt with around two or three times a month at JLA but didn't know what level of alert this morning's had been. A police spokesman confirmed they attended but stressed it was not a security incident. He said: "At 7.12am this morning the police and other emergency services implemented an emergency plan following reports of an operational problem with a plane. "Police officers were deployed to a pre-arranged area close to the airport in order to respond if necessary. "At 7.22am the police were notified that the plane had safely landed and that no-one on board was injured. "The emergency services called to the incident were stood down a short time later and the matter is now being dealt with by airport personnel." Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/06/11/easyjet-plane-makes-emergency- landing-at-john-lennon-airport-updated-100252-28848714/ Back to Top Dassault finds fix for grounded 7X By David Learmount Dassault's Falcon 7X business jets, currently grounded because of a stabiliser trim fault, are expected to be airborne again shortly. Dassault said on 9 June that it had developed and validated a modification, and depending on approvals from the European Aviation Safety Agency and "modification kit logistics", it expects the first aircraft to have the changes completed "within about 10 days". This modification will feature additional automated protection beyond that already designed into the horizontal stabiliser trim circuitry, the airframer said. Dassault said it involves both software and hardware alterations, which have already been tested and validated on a test bench. Dassault said it is "co-ordinating an unprecedented logistic effort" to manage the modifications within its own service centres and its Falcon authorised service network, adding that "additional dedicated retrofit lines have been set up in France, at Bordeaux-Mérignac and Istres, and also in Little Rock, Arkansas". The aircraft have been grounded since an EASA emergency airworthiness directive, issued at Dassault's request, came into effect on 26 May. This followed the 25 May incident when a Falcon 7X experienced a pitch trim event during descent. The crew successfully recovered the aircraft to a stable flight profile and performed an uneventful landing. The manufacturer says its investigation "has confirmed that the Falcon 7X control laws operated normally, which allowed development of a safe ferry procedure using the digital flight control system in normal mode". The 7X entered service in 2007, 112 aircraft have been delivered, and until this event they had accumulated over 75,000 fault-free flight hours, said the company. Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/06/10/357842/dassault-finds-fix-for-grounded-7x.html Back to Top Regulator aligns aviation rules with global standards THE CIVIL AVIATION Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has amended its rules to align them with international standards, the 2011 Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations published in a newspaper yesterday showed. This, as the country hopes to win safety rating upgrades from the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) during audits expected from late this year to early-2012. "The [CAAP board of directors] finds the 2011 Revised Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations (PCAR) sufficient in form and substance, and fully comply with the standards set forth by FAA/ICAO/EASA," Board Resolution No. 2011-025 on the PCAR read. The CAAP board of directors, lead by the Transportation secretary, is composed of the CAAP director general, as well as the secretaries of Justice, Finance, Tourism, Foreign Affairs, Interior and Local Government, and Labor and Employment. Key changes to the 2008 PCAR included disallowing pilots who are 60-64 years from operating alone in an international commercial flight. In a multi-crewed flight, such a senior pilot can take command only if the other pilot is below 60 years of age, the revised PCAR read further. Pilots who reach 65 years of age will not be allowed to fly. The revised PCAR allows pilots and flight engineers who have reached their 65th birthday to apply for licenses to conduct flight checks or to serve as instructors in training flights or exercises using flight simulators. With regard to inspection, air transport firms are required to grant CAAP-authorized personnel "unrestricted access" to aircraft, facilities and other documents the regulator may require, the revised PCAR read further. The revised PCAR took effect yesterday upon publication. Last month, CAAP director general Ramon S. Gutierrez said his agency has been training safety inspectors in preparation for the FAA audit expected in the last quarter of the year, since this was the key issue that earned the country its rating downgrade in terms of civil aviation safety. After an audit from the FAA, Mr. Gutierrez said that the country will invite the ICAO and the European Union (EU) next. The FAA downgraded the Philippines to "category 2" from "category 1" in 2008 after a safety audit in November 2007, preventing Philippine carriers from expanding operations in the US. The Philippines had been in "category 1" since 2002 prior to the downgrade. Responding to the downgrade, the government enacted Republic Act No. 9497, or the Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008, which replaced the Air Transportation Office with a stronger CAAP. ICAO designated the country as a "significant safety concern" in December 2009, while the EU also blacklisted Philippine carriers in April last year. -- K. A. Martin Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=Regulator-aligns-aviation-rules-with- global-standards&id=32882 Back to Top EASA gives instructions to airlines on how to face the problem of Koito seats not meeting the safety standards Cologne, Germany - Airworthiness directive in force from August, 1st (WAPA) - Recently EASA, European Aviation Safety Agency, issued an airworthiness directive, with effects from August 1st, due to the discovery, made in 2010, that Koito Industries' seats do not meet safety standards. They're about 150,000 copies used on about 1000 airplanes of 32 airlines all over the world, from All Nippon Airways and Jal to Singapore Airlines, to Air Canada, Klm and Sas. The Japanese producer, in fact, would have falsified, starting from Nineties, data on crash and flammability tests of the seats. The news, first unveiled by sources in the Yokohama-based company, was later confirmed by the management of the company. The matter of the fraud, had stated Takashi Kakegawa during a press-conference, was the fear of a delay into the deliveries, on the case of slowness into the tests' ending (see AVIONEWS). The repetition of safety checks, ordered by the ministry of transportation, considered that the airplanes equipped with these seats could continue to fly, anyway for some months EASA -as well as FAA, Federal Aviation Administration- continued its assessment of the airplanes produced in its territory, issuing an airworthiness directive (AD) and promising to make, if necessary, a further evaluation (see AVIONEWS). Last June, 2nd, finally, the airworthiness directive, involving seats installed on some aircraft models produced by Airbus (such as A-330 and A- 340), Boeing (such as B-737, B-767 and B-777) and Fokker (Fokker-27), that must be removed within two years from the directive's entry into force, unless further tests are implemented confirming they meet the current safety standards. "Completion of testing in accordance with requirements of this AD may allow the seats to remain in service for a longer duration", states EASA, which in the directive moreover specifies in detail the kind of fraud committed by Koito Industries. (Avionews) Source: http://www.avionews.com/index.php?corpo=see_news_home.php&news_id=1130640&pagina_chiamante=index.php Back to Top Airliner with emergency lands without incident in Melbourne After an emergency developed onboard a passenger airliner Thursday, officials at Melbourne International Airport said preparations for its landing couldn't have gone more smoothly. The Delta flight from Atlanta was approaching the airport after 6 p.m. when its pilot reported a problem with the airplane's wing flaps. Lori Booker, the airport's spokeswoman, said emergency responders scrambled to the runway in five to seven minutes. All hospitals in Brevard County were notified of the potential for mass casualties. But the McDonnell Douglas MD-88 landed without incident around 6:30 p.m. The airplane can carry up to 155 passengers, but it wasn't known how many were onboard Thursday night. "It ended exactly the way it was supposed to," Booker said. "This just increases my faith in planes and pilots and airports. It just confirms that everything works." Technicians were scheduled to examine the airplane and determine whether an actual mechanical problem or a faulty indicator light caused the alarm. Booker said it was one of the tensest moments "in recent memory" for a commercial airliner landing at the airport. More than three years ago, a lone pilot from Florida Tech experienced problems with landing gear. But she was lone person onboard the small airplane. A year ago, 39 agencies and 250 people participated in a mock disaster in which a Boeing 757 crashed into the Indian River shortly after takeoff. The drill served as training for rescuers and paramedics, and as a learning experience for people like Booker who deliver information to the public. "When it's a drill, it's a completely different feeling because you know it's coming," Booker said. "This was just an unfortunate situation that put our emergency system to the test. And we're extremely pleased with the response." Source: http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110609/BREAKINGNEWS/110609017/Airliner-emergency-lands- without-incident-Melbourne Back to Top King Air 250 receives FAA type certification Hawker Beechcraft has announced that it has received type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the Beechcraft King Air 250. "The King Air 250 is a prime example of Hawker Beechcraft's product forward strategy of taking a market-leading aircraft and making it even better," said Shawn Vick, HBC executive vice president. "The fact that we have been able to continually adapt this airplane's roles and applications, and that it continues to be in high demand around the world, is a tribute to the quality of its design and unmatched service record." Source: http://corpjetfin.live.subhub.com/articles/King_Air_250_receives_FAA_certificate_141 Back to Top Volcanic ash dusts Argentine capital, cuts flights BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Ash from a Chilean volcano fell across a wide swath of South America on Thursday, forcing cancellation of most flights across the southern half of the continent and grounding the presidents of Argentina and Uruguay. The ash dusted streets in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo as well as Argentina's Buenos Aires, roughly 850 miles (1,360 kilometers) northeast of the Cordon Caulle volcano that began erupting through a gash in the earth on Saturday. Volcanic ash can damage airline engines, so many flights were canceled between the capitals of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil. Even Argentine President Cristina Fernandez was forced to use a car rather than a helicopter to get to work on Thursday. Her planned meeting with Uruguayan leader Jose Mujica was scrapped because he was unable to fly to Buenos Aires. A meeting in Argentina of South American central bankers and economy ministers also was called off. Argentina's transport ministry said regional airports serving at least 12 cities closer to the volcano will remain closed until Tuesday or later, due to safety concerns. About 4,000 evacuees from Chilean towns and farms near the volcano were kept away from home Thursday as gas and ash continued to spew from a wide fissure along the a ridge between two volcanic peaks. Steady rains mixed with the ash and snow to create a slippery mess, spoiling water sources for some 9,000 cows and sheep and threatening to cause flooding along rivers coursing down from snowy mountaintops. Usually frigid river water was measured at a steamy 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius) in places. Aerolineas Argentinas, Austral and LAN airlines canceled nearly all their international and domestic flights in or out of Argentina on Thursday, and other leading international carriers were cancelling or rerouting flights on a case-by-case basis. Flights to and from Buenos Aires on United Airlines, Iberia, Lufthansa, Delta, British Airways, Avianca and TACA were canceled; one flight on American Airlines was rerouted; the international airport's web site didn't say where. At least two-dozen flights from six Brazilian cities to Chile, Argentina and Uruguay also were canceled. Airport chiefs in Santiago and Asuncion said similar flights from Chile and Paraguay also were grounded. The ash plume seems to be "nailed down" over the Argentine capital with prevailing northerly winds dying down, Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi said. Argentina's national weather service said the ash is mostly floating at an altitude of more than 19,000 feet (6,000 meters), in the path of long-distance flights. Source: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8182308 Back to Top Hoax bomb threat at Chennai airport Chennai/New Delhi, June 10 (IANS) A hoax call Friday of a bomb being planted at the Chennai International Airport building sent security agencies into a tizzy as they scoured the terminal building with dog squads and conducted anti- sabotage searches but nothing was found. "We were alerted by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that there was a bomb inside the terminal. Our personnel stationed there took quick action, searched the entire airport, but nothing was found," Rohit Katiyar, chief spokesman for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) - the agency responsible for security at all major airports in the country - told IANS. According to Katiyar, specific information about location of the bomb and time of explosion was also given by the BCAS. "We got to know that a bomb may explode at 1 p.m. Dog squads were used. Anti-sabotage searches and procedures were followed," he said. Currently, the CISF has around 800 security personnel at the Chennai airport, which handled 10.5 million passengers, 1.10 lakh movement of aircraft and 3.23 lakh metric tonnes of cargo in 2009-10. Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which operates the airport in Chennai said that operations were normal and that security was heightened. "Airport was searched, there is nothing to fear in Chennai airport. Some mischievous caller must have made the call. Operations are normal and no delays or flight disruptions have been reported," a senior AAI official told IANS from Chennai. According to AAI, operations at Chennai airport were crucial for the aviation scenario in the country as it was the third busiest airport after Delhi and Mumbai. "On an average, daily, 10,500 international passengers and 18,000 domestic passengers are handled here," said the official, adding that 26 international airlines and five domestic airlines operate from Chennai airport. Source: http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=244169 Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC