Flight Safety Information July 12, 2011 - No. 139 In This Issue FAA Proposes Civil Penalties Against American Eagle, Atlantic Southeast DGCA plans to phase out expat pilots by 2013 (INDIA) Tourists on Burning Russian Jet Force Pilot to Abandon Takeoff Man Caught With Stun Guns at New York Airport Airplane lavatories - For duty or terrorists doodling? Airbus hopes to attract American Airlines as major customer - report Tiger spin-off grounded over multiple safety worries FBI investigating how stun gun got on plane bound for Newark FAA Revokes Bimini Island Air Operating Certificate Suspected flight stowaway indicted DOT Grants Terrafugia Exemption Requests Boeing Sees Booming Market for Passenger Airplanes in India FAA Proposes Civil Penalties Against American Eagle, Atlantic Southeast FAA has proposed to fine American Eagle $77,500 for alleged violations of the company's operations specification for its ground de-icing/anti-icing program. The agency alleges American Eagle's line maintenance contractor at Richmond., Va., used uncalibrated tools to test the anti-freeze used for de-icing aircraft, and that the tools were not specified for use by the airline's FAA-approved general maintenance manual and its ground deicing program. Under FAA regulations, a carrier is responsible for overseeing a contractor's maintenance. FAA inspectors discovered the problem and said the violations took place between Feb. 13 and March 9, 2010. FAA also has proposed to fine Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) $132,000 for allegedly operating a Bombardier CRJ regional jet on 22 passenger-carrying flights between May 14 and May 18, 2010, while it was not in compliance with FAA regulations. The agency alleges that ASA performed maintenance on the aircraft on May 13, 2010, but did not execute a maintenance release or appropriate aircraft logbook entry releasing the aircraft for service. The companies have 30 days from the receipt of the FAA's enforcement letter to respond to the agency. http://www.aviationnews.net/?do=headline&news_ID=194020 Back to Top DGCA plans to phase out expat pilots by 2013 (INDIA) Move to help Indian co-pilots get promoted as commanders Thiruvananthapuram, July 11: - The Director-General of Civil Aviation is working on a proposal to phase out the over 400 expat pilots/commanders on the rolls of various airlines in the country. The new deadline is year 2013, according to the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Mr E. K. Bharat Bhushan. MINIMUM LIMIT While this would help more Indian co-pilots to get promoted as commanders, the DGCA is also seeking to raise the minimum limit of flying hours that a co-pilot needs to put in to make the grade. The official notification is expected to be readied next month, Mr Bhushan said while taking exception to the practice of individual airlines resorting to arbitrarily reducing the minimum limit. Meanwhile, the office of DGCA is in the process of 'migrating' to the status of the all-powerful Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The CAA is mandated to regulate airfares and appoint ombudsmen to address consumer grievances. NEW-LOOK DGCA As of now, the DGCA is only a safety regulatory authority, he said. Given the huge growth potential in the sector, it has become crucial than ever before that the regulator be given more teeth to address passenger grievances, pull up errant airlines to regulate airfares and appoint ombudsmen to address consumer grievances. The revamped DGCA would even have an appellate tribunal, which will hear appeals against its decisions. The process to give more powers to the DGCA was expedited after the Mangalore plane crash last year, which killed 158 people. The turnaround plan for loss-making national carrier Air India is awaiting a decision from the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee. TURNAROUND PLAN It is for the GoM to take a call in the matter, Mr Bhushan said. This is a make-or-break situation for Air India, saddled as it is with a loss of Rs 7,000 crore according to the latest annual results. The massive Rs 55,000-crore programme for acquiring 111 Boeing and Air Bus aircraft is sputtering ahead, with all but 27 of the machines having been delivered. This has burnt a huge hole in airline finances with Rs 24,000 crore outstanding, along with Rs 20,000 crore in working capital debt and around Rs 5,000 crore in payables to vendors. BUDGETARY SUPPORT The turnaround plan provides for a rehabilitation package envisaging a budgetary support of Rs 8,000-9,000 crore over a period of the next five/six years. The GoM has set up a committee with representatives from the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Expenditure, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Planning Commission to examine the turnaround and the financial restructuring plan. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com Back to Top Tourists on Burning Russian Jet Force Pilot to Abandon Takeoff ANTALYA, Turkey - Passengers on a Russian charter flight forced the pilot to let them off the plane, when he attempted to take off with one of the engines on fire, The Moscow News reported Monday. About 150 Russian vacationers were about to head home to the city of Samara from the Turkish resort of Antalya when an engine of the Russian-made TU-154 aircraft caught fire. The plane, which was becoming increasingly hot, taxied around the airport for an hour while emergency crews doused the engine fire, the report said. When the flame was extinguished, the pilot announced that the problem was fixed and they would be leaving, at which point passengers demanded to be let off. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/07/11/tourists-on-burning-russian- jet-force-pilot-to-abandon-takeoff/#ixzz1RtfjG9Fe Back to Top Man Caught With Stun Guns at New York Airport NEW YORK - A passenger at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport was caught trying to board a plane with two stun guns stashed in his luggage -- just two days after a stun gun was found on a JetBlue plane that had landed at Newark Airport, The New York Post reported Tuesday. The latest incident -- which appeared to be unrelated to the first -- occurred shortly after 9:00 p.m. local time Sunday in the airport's Terminal One, sources said. Othon Mourkakos, 53, a restaurateur from Alpine, N.J., was busted as he waited to catch a Lufthansa Airlines flight for Frankfurt, Germany, according to sources. Transportation Security Administration screener Romane Romain noticed the stun guns in a suitcase during an X-ray and physical bag search, according to a criminal complaint. "I didn't know it was illegal in New York," Mourkakos allegedly told authorities. He claimed to have bought the weapons for relatives in Greece because of the civil unrest there, a law-enforcement source said. His arrest follows Friday evening's discovery of a stun gun on JetBlue Flight 1179 from Boston after it had landed in Newark, N.J., and its passengers had departed. The stun gun was found by a member of the flight crew in the back pocket of seat 9B. The Boston office of the FBI is investigating. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/12/man-caught-with-stun-guns-at- new-york-airport/#ixzz1RtbWVdOe Back to Top Airplane lavatories - For duty or terrorists doodling? July 11, 2011 A bizzare pattern may be emerging regarding threatening messages on airplane lavatories walls, three messages have been reported in as many months-could they be connected? On Sunday morning at approximately 1 a.m., United Airlines International Flight 926 from San Francisco to Germany was diverted to Chicago over a threatening message. The flight made an emergency landing at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after a member of the flight's crew found a sticker with an unspecified "threatening message" in one of the airplane's bathrooms. United spokesperson Charles Hobart told the Associated Press that 247 passengers were briefly removed from the airplane and "the flight was searched, cleared and allowed to continue on to Germany." On June 14, 2011, a Continental Airlines jet bound for Little Rock was delayed after a flight attendant discovered a graffiti message in the lavatory above the mirror. She managed to capture an image on her cellphone and reported it to the plane's captain. The message read "By the beard of Mohamed and mighty sword of Allah." The airplane's captain notified his operations center, who immediately called the Transportation Security Administration. In the 47 minutes it took TSA agents to respond to the report, a the message was scrubbed off by a member of the cleaning crew. A law enforcement official told the New York Post that "The delay severely compromised the integrity of a crime scene." The TSA denied the response time claim, stating that it responded "within a few short minutes," according to reports. On Sunday, May 8, 2011 a Delta Air Lines flight from Detroit to San Diego was diverted to Albuquerque, N.M., then cleared to take off again after authorities found "no suspicious devices" on the plane, an FBI spokesman said One passenger, Tim Cole of Hazleton, Penn., told reporters that the pilot announced that a note that had the word "bomb" on it was found in one of the plane's bathrooms. FBI, Homeland Security or TSA officials are not commenting on the details of the cases, due to the ongoing investigation... Continue reading on Examiner.com Airplane lavatories - For duty or terrorists doodling? - Chicago Homeland Security | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-chicago/airplane-lavatories-for-duty-or- terrorists-doodling-1#ixzz1RtYaoFJP Back to Top Airbus hopes to attract American Airlines as major customer - report (ADPnews North America) - Jul 11, 2011 - European plane maker Airbus hopes to break the monopoly of US rival Boeing (NYSE:BA) in the preferences of American Airlines which is on the point of ordering more than 250 aircraft. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which quotes sources close to the matter, Airbus has already hired a team of bankers and leasing companies so that it may offer preferential financing of some USD 6 billion (EUR 4.2bn) to the US airline. Thus, the European plane maker has presented an offer worth USD 23 billion at catalogue prices. The offer includes serious discounts, according to the Wall Street Journal. Reportedly, Airbus is ready to offer American Airlines 130 A320 aircraft and 130 A320 neo, the new version of the A320 model which should enter into service in 2015. (USD 1.0 = EUR 0.705) Back to Top Tiger spin-off grounded over multiple safety worries Two low-approach incidents in three weeks sparked a dramatic decision to ground budget carrier Tiger Airways Australia, whose operations remain suspended until at least 1 August. The grounding order from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority came almost immediately after the second incident, on 30 June, when a Tiger Airbus A320 descended below the published minimum altitude on approach to Avalon airport, Victoria, at night. Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were already probing a similar incident on 7 June, when a Tiger A320 operating Brisbane-Melbourne descended to 2,000ft on approach despite the minimum safety altitude being 2,500ft. Concerns were raised in March when CASA issued a show-cause notice to the airline, a subsidiary of Singapore's Tiger Airways, ordering it to tighten pilot training and fatigue management, improve maintenance control and reinforce its operational management structure. Despite this, Tiger Airways Australia failed to convince CASA it could conduct safe operations and CASA, insisting the carrier posed a "serious and imminent risk to air safety", suspended the airline on 2 July. The crisis has cost the carrier's chief, Crawford Rix, his position. Rix will leave at the end of July. CASA said it took the grounding decision having already imposed conditions on the carrier's air operator's certificate. "In the circumstances CASA no longer has confidence in the ability of Tiger Airways Australia to satisfactorily address the safety issues that have been identified," it said. Although the suspension was initially for five working days, the extent of the investigation led CASA to seek a prolonged grounding through the Federal Court in Melbourne. CASA said concerns focused on "a number of areas" but particularly pilot proficiency, adding: "There have been a number of examples of pilots not performing to the standards we expect in Australia, which are very high standards. It's not as if they've been deliberately going out of their way to breach the rules. It's more about their systems failing them." Tiger Airways had recently given evidence before an Australian Senate committee hearing on pilot proficiency, a hearing which also looked into a specific safety reporting oversight by Tiger. The airline, which has removed all tickets from sale, said it is taking internal steps to address CASA's concerns, stating: "We wish to reassure the Australian public that safety has, and will, underpin our operations at all times." Services to Singapore are unaffected. "We are committed to resolving these [issues] quickly and resuming our [domestic Australian] services as soon as possible," Tiger said. http://www.flightglobal.com Back to Top FBI investigating how stun gun got on plane bound for Newark A stun gun that looked like a cell phone was found aboard an empty Jet Blue airplane that had landed at Newark Liberty International Airport Friday night, raising questions about how the concealed weapon made it past security checkpoints. The Striker 1800KV stun gun can deliver a 1.8-million-volt jolt, according to onlinestunguns.com. The FBI is investigating the apparent security lapse, authorities said Monday. The thin, rectangular device was found in a seat pocket by a worker cleaning the airplane after it arrived from Boston's Logan International Airport. Authorities said it was likely left behind by a passenger. The passenger assigned to the seat where the stun gun was found said Monday during a brief phone interview that it was not hers. Kara Kearney, an auditor at Boston University, said she moved from her assigned seat, 10B, because a nearby television monitor showing the in-flight movie, "Troy," was not working. The stun gun was found in the pocket in front of 10B, authorities said. "It's not mine, but I really don't want to talk about it," the 31-year-old from Lincroft, N.J. said before hanging up. Authorities said the stun gun was likely not intended as an in-flight weapon. "We know who the passengers were, and based on preliminary information, it does not appear that an attack was imminent," said Bryan Travers, spokesman for the Newark FBI office. "This was more of a case of someone bringing something on a plane that they shouldn't have brought." Travers declined further comment. "This incident is the latest in a troubling pattern of breaches in our aviation security system," said Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. "TSA and the FBI need to quickly determine how this stun gun made it on to a plane, and we need assurances that steps are being taken to make sure this doesn't happen again." The stun gun, identified by authorities as a "Striker 1800KV," was found on flight No. 1179. There were 96 passengers and four crew members on the flight, according to a Jet Blue statement. The stun gun was in a black case and resembled a cellular telephone, Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said. Similar stun guns offered on the Internet sell for about $20. The Striker is "one of the highest voltage compact models on the market," according to onlinestunguns.com, a web site advertising the stun gun. The site says the 1.8 million volt shocking device measures a little over four inches long and two inches wide. It is illegal in New Jersey to carry a stun gun, which can momentarily incapacitate a person. They are also prohibited as carry-on items but may be transported in checked luggage, according to the TSA web site. Port Authority police were notified of the stun gun at about 10:20 p.m., after a worker preparing the plane for another flight found the gun. Police swept the plane with K-9 units but found nothing suspicious, and the plane was cleared to board passengers for the next flight out of Terminal A. Coleman said the FBI and TSA were notified and have taken over the investigation. A TSA spokesperson issued a statement Monday but would not say whether the agency's screening measures would detect a stun gun. "TSA employs multiple layers of security to minimize risk, deter future attacks, and protect the traveling public," the TSA said in a statement. "Those layers include checkpoint screening technology, federal air marshals, fortified cockpit doors and armed pilots, among others both seen and unseen." Travers said the ongoing investigation was being handled by the FBI's Boston office. A spokesman from the Boston office did not return a message seeking comment. http://www.northjersey.com/ Back to Top FAA Revokes Bimini Island Air Operating Certificate Florida-Based On-Demand Operator Grounded As Of June 27 The FAA has revoked the operating certificate of Bimini Island Air (BIA) of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, an on-demand operator. The FAA issued the emergency order of revocation on June 27 and it took effect immediately. The FAA alleged BIA advertised and operated 15 scheduled flights between Fort Lauderdale and the Bahamas in March and April, 2011, using a 30-seat Saab 340-A twin-turboprop aircraft. BIA is not authorized to use a 30-seat aircraft for scheduled flights. The FAA also alleged BIA offered and advertised scheduled flights on the 30-seat plane, including the departure location and time and arrival location. The FAA said BIA operated as a scheduled airline rather than as an on-demand service when it provided those flights. Scheduled airlines are governed by rules different than those for charter operators or on-demand services. Bimini Island Air petitioned for review of the emergency nature of the order of revocation, June 30, which also serves as an appeal of the merits of the order. Both the petition and the appeal will be heard by the National Transportation Safety Board. BIA surrendered its operating certificate to the FAA July 1. FMI: www.faa.gov Back to Top Suspected flight stowaway indicted Los Angeles (CNN) -- A man being held without bond was indicted Friday on charges he stowed away aboard a cross-country flight and later tried to do it again, federal authorities said. Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi, 24, could get a maximum 15-year prison term if convicted on two federal charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. His arraignment is set for July 18. Noibi allegedly got past security at John F. Kennedy International Airport and boarded a June 23 Virgin America flight to Los Angeles without a valid boarding pass or identification. While authorities have said they do not have any indication of a terrorism threat related to the case, it has raised questions about the quality of the airport's security as well as Noibi's intentions. Noibi was arrested June 29 by an FBI agent at a Delta departure gate at Los Angeles International Airport, where Noibi arrived to apparently board another flight -- again, without any proper documentation or a ticket. Noibi later told authorities that he'd been in the Los Angeles area trying to recruit people for his software company, one that a website indicated was based in Nigeria. While he has family members in Michigan and Georgia, the suspect doesn't have any known ties to southern California. The prosecution contended at a hearing July 1 that Noibi is a "serious flight risk," adding that he planned to return to his native Nigeria. His public defender, Carl Gunn, said his client comes from a respectable family and has been "doubly, triply, quadruply embarrassed" by the ordeal. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Wilner expressed concern that Noibi is an adept thief who has proven able to obtain other people's boarding passes and breached security at two major airports. A U.S. citizen who was born in Nigeria, Noibi has a history of allegedly skipping out on travel fares: In January 2008, he was arrested by transit police aboard an Illinois commuter rail train for boarding a train without paying his $4.70 fare, according to an arrest report from the Chicago Police Department. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller recently said, "We are investigating his motivation, and whether it was anything beyond not wanting to pay for a ticket." Transportation Security Administration spokesman Greg Soule said that Noibi went through "the same physical screening" as any other passenger at Kennedy airport. Another TSA statement, issued the next day, said an officer failed to properly determine that Noibi "was traveling with improper travel documents." The crew on the Virgin America flight didn't become aware of Noibi's presence on June 23 until two passengers complained about his odor, Eimiller said. The 24-year-old was sitting in seat 3A, which was supposed to be empty, and was not on the passenger manifest, according to an FBI affidavit. Pressed by a flight attendant, Noibi did eventually produce a boarding pass. But the man whose name was on that pass said his boarding pass disappeared from his back pocket on June 22, while he was riding the subway to the airport, according to the FBI affidavit. Noibi told the Virgin America crew member that his U.S. passport had been stolen and his Nigerian passport was at home, FBI Special Agent Kevin Hogg wrote. He produced an identification card with his full name and photo from the University of Michigan, where a school spokeswoman said he'd studied from 2004 to 2006. After the pilot confirmed Noibi shouldn't be on the flight, the crew kept him "under surveillance, but at no time felt there was any threat," Virgin America said in its statement. Noibi slept for most of the roughly 2,500-mile flight, the airline said. Hogg wrote in the FBI affidavit that Noibi claimed he'd been told he could go to the Delta gate in Los Angeles on June 29, despite having shown a "portion of a green boarding pass" that was for the previous day. The FBI agent said Noibi eventually admitted that he had not paid for his Virgin America ticket to Los Angeles, according to the affidavit. Authorities found Noibi had two boarding passes in his pocket and more than 10 in his two bags -- none of them in his own name -- the affidavit said. Eimiller said the FBI hadn't determined how he got the boarding passes. Back to Top DOT Grants Terrafugia Exemption Requests The Transition Becomes The First 'Flying Car' To Receive Such Consideration The Transition Roadable Aircraft officially received a grant of all of the special exemptions it had requested from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) late last month. Terrafugia's Transition is the first combined flying-driving vehicle to receive such special consideration from the Department of Transportation since the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards came into being in the 1970s. These exemptions pave the way for Terrafugia to begin deliveries once Terrafugia's rigorous Transition certification testing program is complete. Extensive analysis and simulated crash testing are also being employed with industry partners to ensure that the Transition meets all other applicable crash safety standards. The Transition is the only light airplane to have undergone this high level of crash safety design and analysis. It is also the first to incorporate automotive safety features such as a purpose- built energy absorbing crumple zone, a rigid carbon fiber occupant safety cage, and automotive-style driver and passenger airbags. These exemptions allow the Transition to use tires that are appropriately rated for highway speeds and the vehicle weight but are not ordinarily allowable for multi-purpose vehicles. The same tires were used successfully on the Transition Proof of Concept that was flight and drive tested in 2009. Traditional laminated automotive safety glass would add significant weight to the Transition and could fracture in such a way as to obscure the vision of the pilot in the event of a bird impact. This exemption allows the use of polycarbonate materials that provide comparable protection to the occupants at significant weight-saving without shattering or crazing - improving the safety of the Transition. In the exemption text, NHTSA states: "We further conclude that the granting of an exemption from these requirements would be in the public interest and consistent with the objectives of traffic safety." In 2010, the Transition was granted an additional 110 pounds allowance by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a prior exemption action by the DOT. "Terrafugia" is Latin for "escape from land." FMI: www.terrafugia.com Back to Top Boeing Sees Booming Market for Passenger Airplanes in India Growth in passenger travel, strong GDP fueling demand. India will need 1,320 new passenger airplanes over the next 20 years, as its economy pushes toward double-digit growth, Boeing said in its latest outlook for India's commercial-airplane market. As economic prosperity spreads to a wider swath of the Indian population, demand for new and replacement airplanes will surge to $150 billion through 2030, according to the Boeing forecast. "Indian air carriers are becoming profitable and we expect the GDP to maintain its upward trend in the long-term," Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar said last week. "As a result, both the air-travel and air-cargo markets will grow." Boeing in June said it will increase production of its next-generation 737s, shown here in final assembly in Renton, Wash. Single-aisle airplanes will be in high demand in India, according to Boeing's latest forecast. Airline revenue and yields are up, Keskar added, but high inflation and volatile fuel prices will play a pivotal role in the health of the industry. Passenger traffic is expected to grow by 8.1% annually over the long-term, according to Boeing's forecast. "The economic and air-traffic growth will in turn stimulate demand for a variety of aircraft types," Keskar said. New airplanes "that can efficiently and profitably fly short and long-haul routes" will be in high demand, Keskar added. "This demand is driven by growth in developing and emerging cities, demand from low- cost carriers and the need to replace an aging fleet," Keskar explained. More Flights, Lower Fares Single-aisle airplanes will be the most sought-after airplanes, according to the forecast. To keep up with demand, Boeing recently said it will boost production to a record 42 single-aisle 737s per month by the first half of 2014. India's airlines have been growing rapidly by taking advantage of geography, demographics, airplane technology and well-coordinated growth and investment plans, according to Boeing. Some carriers, like Air India, also are looking for replacement airplanes as they retire aging and less-efficient jets. Boeing predicts that India-based airlines also will grow by responding to passenger preference for more flight choices, lower fares and direct access to a wider range of destinations. Air carriers will focus on offering more flights using more efficient airplanes, instead of significantly larger airplanes. Globally, Boeing forecasts a $4 trillion market for new aircraft over the next 20 years with a significant increase in deliveries. The company sees a market for 33,500 new passenger airplanes and freighters between 2011 and 2030. Passenger traffic is expected to grow at 5.1% annual rate over the long-term and the world fleet is expected to double by 2030, according to Boeing's global forecast. http://www.industryweek.com/ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC