Flight Safety Information July 14, 2011 - No. 142 In This Issue Brazil plane crash kills 16 Dead Cuban Stowaway Found in Iberia Plane Landing Gear Turkish military jet crashes, 2 feared dead India and US to Sign Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement U.S. fails airport bomb-detection standard NATA Puts Safety Training Programs Online Boeing wants to please American Airlines-executive Brazil plane crash kills 16 RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - A small plane crashed near the Brazilian city of Recife after reporting an onboard emergency, killing all of its 16 occupants, rescue officials told AFP. The Noar Linhas Aereas plane, which was bound for Natal, the capital and main city of Rio Grande do Norte in northeastern Brazil, crashed within 10 minutes of taking off, authorities said. "The information from our crews working at the site of the accident is that there are no survivors," a spokesman for the Recife fire department told AFP. An aviation administration official told AFP that the crash "was a total human and material loss." President Dilma Rousseff voiced sadness at the tragedy, and in a statement expressed "solidarity with the friends and family of the passengers and crew at this painful time." The twin-engine aircraft was completely charred in the disaster, which left a wide area of denuded terrain where a fire had ignited the crash site, officials said. The aviation official said that the pilot had reported an "emergency situation" aboard the aircraft to air traffic controllers and said he was going to attempt an emergency landing shortly before crashing about 100 meters (300 feet) short of the beach that was his intended goal. "We still don't know what happened on the plane, but the pilot managed to avoid a tragedy of enormous proportions, because the plane narrowly avoided a densely populated area," a fire official told local television. The plane was carrying 14 passengers and two crew members including the pilot when it went down. In the aftermath of the accident, all Noar airline flight were suspended Wednesday by Brazil's aviation authorities. Back to Top Dead Cuban Stowaway Found in Iberia Plane Landing Gear The body of a dead Cuban man was found in the landing gear of a jet at the Madrid airport, reports the Associated Press. The man, 23, was discovered on an Iberia plane after a Wednesday flight from Havana to the Spanish capital. According to AFP, Spanish media identified the man as Adonis GB, who had injuries to his head and chest, and possibly died from being crushed. In a similar incident, late last year a North Carolina teen also stowed away in the landing gear of a plane and was found dead near Boston's Logan Airport. It is believed he died from a fall. Amazingly, not long before that a 17-year-old Russian survived a 50-minute flight hiding in a wheel-well. As of that time, Federal Aviation Administration records revealed that 63 flights have carried 72 wheel-well stowaways since 1996. Only 12 survived. http://news.travel.aol.com/2011/07/14/dead-cuban-stowaway-found-in-iberia-plane- landing-gear/ Back to Top Turkish military jet crashes, 2 feared dead ANKARA, Turkey - The Turkish Air Force says one of its small jet-powered planes has crashed on a training flight in western Turkey. The air force says in a statement on its website that the T-37C light-attack aircraft went down near the town of Urla, after taking off from the Cigli air base on the outskirts of the Aegean port city of Izmir. Cahit Kirac, the governor of Izmir, says the plane crashed into the sea and that the pilots are feared dead. The T-37 Tweet first flew in 1955 and has become a favorite training plane around the world for being agile and responsive. The T-37 got its nickname from the high-pitched shrieking noise made by the aircraft's small jet intakes. Its production ended in 1975. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43752117 Back to Top India and US to Sign Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement Dr. Nasim Zaidi Launches "India Aviation-2012" Dr. Nasim Zaidi, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation launched "India Aviation-2012", the 3rd international Exhibition and Conference on Civil Aviation here today. The event will be held at Begumpet Airport from 14-18th March, 2012. Addressing on the occasion, Dr. Zaidi said that it would be necessary to redefine the parameters of regulation in order to assure travelers the guarantee of safety. The ministry is considering restructuring the DGCA into a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In order to prevent repetitive accidents, an Independent Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Committee has been set up within oversight of Ministry of Civil Aviation to coordinate and oversee the investigation into accidents and also effective follow up of compliance of recommendations. Steps are under way to set up a full-fledged Independent Accident Investigation Board. He announced that a land mark Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement has been approved by the Cabinet and will be signed with USA, during the visit of Ms. Hilary Clinton, US Secretary of State. The proposed agreement will open up huge market for export of aeronautical products manufactured in the country in USA and other regions of the world. This will open up huge potential for investment. Emphasizing the passengers' facilities and consumer protection, he said that the rights of the passengers need to be respected and protected at all times. The significant steps for consumer protection has been taken through CARs on disability related rights, refunds, cancellations, delays, over-bookings and denied boardings. He suggested that Airlines and Airports should compete with each other in offering to passengers better of facilities, services and protection of their rights. He announced that a task force is working in Ministry to prepare an outline to set up an Ombudsman institution in civil aviation sector. Ministry of Civil Aviation has also set up an Innovation Council to suggest primarily IT lead innovations to improve products, services and customer related matters by airlines, airports and air traffic management service providers. Dr. Zaidi also announced that the Ministry of Civil Aviation is also proposing to declare 18th February every year as Civil Aviation Day. On connectivity, he said that the Ministry is reviewing policy of route dispersal guidelines to enhance connectivity in inaccessible areas and islands of the country. With a view to increase regional connectivity, regulatory framework pertaining to schedule and regional operators is also currently being reviewed to ensure that regional connectivity gets boost with the support of Airports Authority of India and private sector participating in the development of Tier II and Tier III cities. A task force is also working to examine the ways and means required to cut transaction time, cost and various other measures to simplify procedures to improve business environment with regulatory authorities. Highlighting the growth of Civil Aviation Sector that the Secretary said that the sector has registered phenomenal growth in India in past decade. Passenger traffic has grown at 18% year on year basis and the year 2010 closed at 90 million passengers both domestic and international. India is the fastest growing aviation market and expected to be within 4-5 big aviation markets by 2020 and 3rd in terms of domestic market after US and China. India will cross 450 million mark of domestic passengers by 2020. During the last two decades from a fleet of only about 100, the scheduled operators today have 435 aircrafts connecting the nation and the world. It is projected that the center of gravity in the aviation industry will be shifting to the Asia-Pacific region in the coming years. Considering the geographic position of India, it has the potential to become an aviation hub at the cross roads between Europe/ Middle East and Asia Pacific. He informed that T- 3 Terminal at Delhi International Airport is already evolving into a hub. About 11000 passengers are transiting from various spokes to different destinations in the world by utilizing spoke and hub system. Air India is already contributing to this growth including Jet Airways. It is also proposed to develop Mumbai and Chennai as hubs in next 2 years. The "India Aviation-2012", the 3rd international Exhibition and Conference on Civil Aviation is being organized by the Ministry of Civil Aviation jointly with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). It will witness participation of over 250 exhibitors comprising of Aircraft Manufacturers, Aircraft Machinery & Equipment Companies, Aircraft Interiors, Airlines, Airlines Services & Air Cargo, Skill Development, Airport and Infrastructure, MROs. The exhibition will be spread over as area of 20,000 square meters. UK is the partner country for the 2012 event with France as Focus country and USA as the Guest Country. The Host State is Andhra Pradesh and the Overseas Associate for the show is Famborough International Ltd. Apart from the Exhibition, India Aviation-2012 will have a conference on policy issues and business aspects of the civil aviation sector, a CEOs Forum representing chief executives of leading aviation companies, Chalets, Static Display, Demonstration Flights and Media Conferences. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=73250 Back to Top U.S. fails airport bomb-detection standard WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. government has failed to meet its own requirements for installation of airport bomb-detecting equipment that scan passengers' checked-on luggage, leaving domestic aircraft potentially vulnerable, according to a federal report released Wednesday. Some airport screening systems still are operating under requirements established in 1998, while others are only up to 2005 standards, according to the Government Accountability Office report. Standards that went into effect in 2010 require that even smaller amounts of explosive materials must be detected. The report didn't say how many airports fell into each category. Agency plans to enforce the 2010 requirements could take years to complete, the GAO report stated. It noted that the agency did not even begin enforcing 2005 requirements until 2009. The president's fiscal 2012 budget request includes an additional $273 million to help upgrade the systems. Click to Play Turtles cause runway delays at JFKIt was a case of turtle tie-up at JFK Airport in New York recently when some 100 amorous diamondback terrapins had to be removed from a runway as they set off on a spawning mission. Listen to air traffic controllers manage the situation. Courtesy Fox News/ liveATC.net. "The standard currently in use by the majority of explosive detection system (EDS) units in U.S. airports provides the most stringent level of checked-baggage security in the world," the TSA said in a statement. The biggest challenge in getting the first 260 detection systems up to current standards was due to safety concerns, the GAO said. Testing the machines and developing the detection software required the use of explosives. An exact number of EDS units wasn't available, but it's well over a thousand. The GAO report was part of a broader look at shortfalls in the administration during a House oversight hearing. Those shortfalls included a high number of security breaches, questionable screening practices for nearly 1 million airport workers with access to sensitive areas and the slow assessment of airport security risks. As of July 1, the administration had yet to assess security risks at some 83% of the nation's airports, the GAO said. Witnesses at the hearing also spoke of an often-contentious relationship between the administration and airport management that hobbles security improvement. "True security needs are being lost in the current climate," said Jerry Orr, aviation director at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. "It requires proactive thinking, not the reactive thinking which is the operating mantra of the TSA." The U.S. is facing a steep budget deficit. The administration has an annual budget of more than $5 billion, up from about $500 million a year before the U.S. nationalized airport security following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Back to Top NATA Puts Safety Training Programs Online Association Has Launched 18 Modules Developed Following OSHA Guidelines NATA has just made its 18 "Safety 1st" safety and health training modules available online. These modules were developed using the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) standards and regulations and are specifically designed to train employees at aviation businesses. NATA's 18 modules include back safety, bloodborne pathogens, cold stress, ergonomics, fall protection, fire extinguishers, forklift safety, hazard communication, hearing conservation, heat stress, ladder safety, lockout tagout, machine guarding, office safety, personal protective equipment and respiratory protection. Companies can buy only those modules applicable to their job. From office workers to maintenance technicians, line service personnel, pilots and more, the modules allow the user to create a curriculum that best meets their job requirements. Each module averages 30 to 45 minutes in length and all 18 modules can be completed in approximately 10 hours. "The best news about this online training is that it is available any time your employees want to train and it can be accessed using existing Safety 1st online training credentials, said NATA Director of Safety and Training Amy Koranda. "With 18 modules to choose from, employees can take their time going through training concepts and, once complete, run through a quick exam to confirm their training." NATA's Safety 1st Safety and Health Training for Aviation Facilities Online Training Features: Anytime, anywhere availability The latest best practices and industry standards Lessons illustrated with high-quality photos and diagrams Electronic reporting of student progress Universal login for PLST Online participants NATA says the onine training program allos operators to: Put safety first Instruct to one standard Improve operational efficiency and effectiveness Ensure safe employees and service Track student progress automatically; eliminate tedious training paperwork Stay current with the latest regulations Minimize time away from work "With the range of NATA Safety 1st online educational modules now available, NATA members are realizing the convenience and financial benefits of adding Web-based training to their safety programs," said NATA President and CEO James K. Coyne. FMI: http://nata.aero/plst/osha_curriculum.html Back to Top Boeing wants to please American Airlines-executive WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) will do whatever American Airlines, one of its most loyal U.S. customers, wants it to do as the carrier gears up for a big aircraft order, the head of Boeing's commercial airplanes division said on Wednesday. American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp. (AMR.N), is in talks with plane makers on an order for more than 250 narrow-body jets. The order could be split between Boeing and its top rival Airbus (EAD.PA), a move that would allow the European challenger to gain ground on U.S.-based Boeing's home turf. Some experts say pressure from American could force Boeing to decide more quickly whether to redesign its best-selling 737 plane or to upgrade it with just a new engine. Airbus is putting a new engine in its competing A320 and has raked in impressive orders for the upgraded model. "We're in talks with that customer, and I'm not going to comment on the things we're discussing," Jim Albaugh, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told Reuters after a speech in Washington D.C. "We're going to do whatever American wants us to do, and they're an important customer to us, and we'll see what the outcome is." In his prepared remarks to the National Aeronautic Association, Albaugh said Boeing would not be rushed into a decision. Boeing has been assessing its ability to redesign the 737 and has said it hopes to give clearer direction on the program by the end of the year. A redesigned plane would take longer to bring to market, but would provide greater fuel efficiency. "We're going about that in a very measured way," Albaugh said. "We're going to do precisely what our customers want us to do. We're going to take our time and be responsive to competition and responsive to what our customers want us to do." But as Boeing agonizes over this choice, EADS unit Airbus is making inroads into the market with its upcoming A320neo. At last month's Paris Air Show, Airbus racked up firm orders for almost $50 billion of neos, including orders from U.S. carriers JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) and Republic Airways Holdings (RJET.O). The Airbus competes with Boeing for narrow-body jet sales estimated at $1.7 trillion over the next 20 years. Boeing has unfilled orders for 2,109 737s on its books and has taken net orders for 104 of the planes this year. Sources close to discussions say American is deep in talks with Boeing and Airbus, and its board of directors could be presented with options when it meets next week ahead of the company's quarter earnings release, which is on Wednesday. American Airlines has declined to comment on future orders. Even a small American Airlines order for Airbus planes would mark a significant shift in loyalty by the airline, which flies an all-Boeing mainline fleet. "If, in fact, American did a split order, questions would be asked," said Craig Jenks, who heads Airline/Aircraft Projects Inc consulting firm in New York. "Investors and analysts with a Boeing orientation would be concerned." Boeing shares were up 54 cents at $72.47 on the New York Stock Exchange. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC