Flight Safety Information July 22, 2011 - No. 148 In This Issue U.S. Close To 10-Year Safety Milestone 'Jumbo' scare for Guwahati flight (India) AFRAA condemns Europe's 'unfair' African blacklist Whiting Field lauded for safety excellence Probe finds Qantas flight's faulty engine from bad batch Composites, Metals Face Off For Next-Generation Single-Aisle Congressmen aim to to make ETS illegal Air China receives its first Boeing 777-300ER U.S. Close To 10-Year Safety Milestone The U.S. airline industry is a few months away from achieving 10-year milestone since having a "large aircraft" accident, says John Hickey, FAA's deputy associate administrator for aviation safety. That milestone accident happened on Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines' Airbus A300 crashed soon after taking off from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. http://www.aviationweek.com Back to Top 'Jumbo' scare for Guwahati flight (India) New Delhi, July 21: A Guwahati-bound Jet Airways flight from Delhi today suffered a mid-air scare that was at first attributed to a near-collision but later to turbulence from the "rough air generated" by a nearby jumbo jet. Those on board said the Jet Airways Boeing 737 shook violently and plummeted for about 20-25 seconds, causing the 130 passengers to panic. However, no one was injured and the plane landed safely in Guwahati around 1pm, airport and airline sources said. However, even if there was no near-collision and the turbulence was caused by the atmospheric vortex generated by the "wake" of a passing Boeing 747, it could mean the two planes had come too close for comfort, sources in the aviation regulator said. The directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA) is treating the matter as "serious" and has started a probe. "There was no near-miss collision, the phenomenon is called a 'wake'," a Jet Airways spokesperson said, adding that the Boeing 747 was coming from the opposite direction. "In laymen's terms... when the air that an aircraft disperses still remains in a bunch after it has flown and another aircraft goes through the same area, it causes turbulence. It was not an alarming incident and all the passengers landed safely." DGCA chief E.K. Bharat Bhushan said: "It is very serious. We will definitely probe when there is a conflict in the two versions." Directorate officials said they were trying to find out which Boeing 747 it was and would ascertain its flight details. They are also probing whether the two planes were allowed to violate the mandatory separation norms between two aircraft, and whether either of them had deviated from their assigned paths. According to PTI, however, some DGCA sources said the two planes were well separated and the turbulence was caused by winds and air pockets. The incident took place when the plane, Flight 9W-2280, was over Patna, sources said. The pilots quickly brought the aircraft under control. "While the passengers panicked, the pilot immediately announced that he had been told by air traffic control (ATC) that another plane was flying above ours," MP and Assam Congress president Bhubaneswar Kalita, who was on the flight, told The Telegraph. "The ATC told the pilot to increase the gap between the two aircraft; so the pilot lowered the height of his flight." Kalita said the pilot announced that there was no cause for worry and that the incident was normal. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110722/jsp/nation/story_14273140.jsp Back to Top AFRAA condemns Europe's 'unfair' African blacklist Nairobi - Africa's representative carrier group has condemned the European Commission's blacklist as an unfair punishment on all the region's airlines, one which stifles local competition and results in a commercial advantage to overseas operators. The Commission's blacklist prevents carriers with poor safety records, or even an entire country's airlines, from operating within Europe. Since first being drawn up in 2006 the blacklist has featured a string of African carriers and currently imposes a blanket ban on all air transport from 14 African states. African Airlines Association secretary general Elijah Chingosho slammed this "unfair" approach during the Embraer-organised Connectivity in Africa seminar in Nairobi. He acknowledged the need for better safety in the region - IATA figures for 2010 showed Africa still had the worst hull-loss rate, although statistics have improved, and AFRAA requires its members to pass IATA's operational safety audit - but he hit out at the blacklist which, he believes, tars the whole region's airline sector. "Many of these airlines had no intention, or had no aircraft they could fly into Europe. They had no plans to do so," he said, noting that a blacklist containing 100 African airlines gave passengers the perception that even high-standard operators are unsafe. "Why not publish a list of safe airlines?" AFRAA criticised this year's blanket ban on Mozambican carriers, including LAM Mozambique, and restrictions on Air Madagascar, arguing that both carriers had passed IATA audits and had good safety records. Chingosho singled out France for rebuke, suggesting it was instrumental in shaping the blacklist and that Air France benefited. Nine out of 10 of Air France's most profitable routes are African, he claimed. Air France rejected this, stating: "We always try to co- operate with local carriers, to find a partner for domestic flights. Knowing the growth rates, strong African carriers would be beneficial to us. It brings competition but at least it also gets people flying regionally." If a country's entire aviation infrastructure is deemed unsafe, no airline should be allowed to operate there, Chingosho added. "If a country is unsafe, why would it be safe for European airlines to fly into it?" he asked. "It would carry more weight if they were to say EU airlines are banned from flying there because it is unsafe." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Whiting Field lauded for safety excellence Helicopter Training Squadron 18 at Whiting Field Naval Air Station recently received the Department of the Navy Safety Excellence Award. The award is presented annually to commands that display the vigilance and dedication to preserving the well-being of military members. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus presented the award during a ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial on July 7. "When safety becomes second nature, an integral part of how we do business, when that happens, not only does every Sailor and Marine come home at the end of the day, but we are way better as a fighting force," Mabus said. Squadron Commanding Officer Cmdr. Jeffery DeBrine said safety comes naturally to the training squadron. "We did not specifically strive for this award, it is our overall safety culture that we work to perfect," DeBrine said. There are only 19 Navy safety excellence awards given each year. The Whiting squadron was the only aviation training command to receive an award. http://www.pnj.com/article/20110721/NEWS01/110721015/Whiting-Field-lauded- safety-excellence?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp Back to Top Probe finds Qantas flight's faulty engine from bad batch Jet engine turbine blades that ruptured on a Qantas Boeing 737 airliner at 7000m were known by the engine maker to be from a dodgy castings batch, air investigators have found. But in a critical misjudgment of risk, engine maker CFM International had eliminated the batch number of the defective blades from a maintenance bulletin to airlines, Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators found. Pilots of flight QF637 from Brisbane to Melbourne, carrying 123 passengers, heard a "loud thump" after take-off and saw a rise in engine temperature and vibration as the twin-engine plane climbed through 7000m, according to the bureau, which issued its final report into the November 10, 2009, incident yesterday. Advertisement: Story continues below At the time, one shocked passenger said he saw a "bright flash and a bang" and had heard other passengers telling cabin crew they could see flames, although Qantas later rejected accounts of an engine fire. The pilots, 120km from Brisbane, throttled back on the engine, returned to land and shut down the right-side engine on the taxiway as a precaution. Back in the workshop, engineers found most of the 174 blades of the low-pressure turbine, located aft of the combustion chamber, had shattered. Investigators believe one or more blades initially broke off and struck the fast rotating blade set, smashing the rest. In 2007, CFM had identified 500 potential casting batches susceptible to temperature- induced stress deformation and breakage. But in a special July 2009 engine service bulletin CFM had whittled that down to 52 probable batches. The blade that broke on QF637 came from a batch it earlier suspected but later ruled as sound. Qantas spokesman Luke Enright said the airline wasn't prepared to follow the engine maker's recommendation and replace the dodgy parts the next time an engine was stripped for maintenance.Mr Enright said Qantas was unwilling to take the risk and was fast-tracking the parts replacement. There were three more engines, one on each of three 737s, that needed blades replaced, which would be done by the end of the year. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/probe-finds-qantas-flights- faulty-engine-from-bad-batch-20110721-1hpvi.html#ixzz1SprG3Zdk Back to Top Composites, Metals Face Off For Next-Generation Single-Aisle Composites are at the beginning of their evolution, but metals are not yielding the field The true test of whether composites can replace metals as the dominant raw materials from which aircraft are manufactured has still to come. Whether it is an all-new aircraft from Boeing before 2020 or Airbus after 2025, the next-generation single-aisle airliner will determine the balance of materials. Composites are here to stay, but there could be a swing back to metals for the next- generation single aisle. It's a matter of timing, says Rich Oldfield, director of technology with GKN Aerospace, a leading supplier of both composite and metallic aerostructures. "Everything being done today has a 'black metal' design philosophy," says Oldfield. "A lot of compromises are made in using design rules evolved over decades for metals. To fully unlock the potential of composites, we must move . . . to design concepts optimized for carbon." "To change the design philosophy we have to build up a huge body of evidence and conduct large-scale demonstrations, and do so way in advance of any program or take an enormous risk. That's the dilemma. Is there enough time before the next program comes along?" If it comes soon, he says, composites content will stay where it is on the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787, around 50%. "If it comes along in the 2020s, there is far greater opportunity for more radical concepts." The metals industry is ready with new aluminum-lithium alloys and advanced structural concepts. "New alloys fit into the existing metallic infrastructure, and offer less risk and cost versus a new supply chain for composites," says Mick Wallis, president of North American rolled products for aluminum manufacturer Alcoa. "We can provide up to 10% weight saving, up to 30% less cost to manufacture and be ready for the next single-aisle entering service after 2015." Third-generation aluminum-lithium provides the full 7% lower density with corrosion and fatigue resistance. This allows metals to match the advantages of carbon fiber in the high-stress lower skins of thin, stiff wings with advanced aerodynamics, enables higher humidity, more comfortable cabins and meets the extended 12-year heavy check cycle possible with carbon-fiber composites, he says. "There is always going to be a balance between composites and metallics, but it will depend on the size and architecture of the aircraft," says Oldfield. "It's possible we will see more metallics on the next-generation single aisle, because it has to land eight or 10 times a day, versus one or two for a widebody, and the increased risk of 'ramp rash' during loading and unloading changes the design trades." The biggest issue for composites is the readiness of the supply chain to meet simultaneous demand from Airbus and Boeing to support production of 40-plus single- aisle airliners a month. "To switch from rate 40 in metals to rate 40 in composites is a huge challenge. It is the key question: How do you get to rate in time?" asks Oldfield, who says composites in commercial aircraft are still at "generation 1.5." "To be able to manufacture at high volumes and rates will require improvements to every step in the process to really bring the manufacturing cycle down dramatically and reduce both investment required and recurring costs," he says. "There is still a large cost gap [between composites and metals]." Research into advanced composites, meanwhile, is threatened by spending reviews in all the major economies. "Just when investment needs to be dramatically increased for the next generation, it is difficult for government and industry to make the investment," says Oldfield. Whichever material dominates, new virtual design techniques could reduce costs. "Immersive reality" modeling and simulation tools now give specialists the opportunity to challenge design choices in the manufacturing and support phases, says Pierre Marchadier, vice president of aerospace and defense for leading engineering software developer Dassault Systemes. Changes can be made early, saving time and cost, he says. Extensions to 3-D design systems enable high-fidelity simulations for use with virtual- reality visual displays and haptic devices. This allows production lines to be simulated in advance, for example to make adjustments to accommodate the different sizes of U.S. and Japanese workers. "More and more we are moving into support and service," he says. Accessibility is key. Experts working on virtual aircraft can lead to issues being found while there is still time to change the design. http://www.aviationweek.com Back to Top Congressmen aim to to make ETS illegal Two US Congressmen, one a Democrat and the other a Republican, are leading a move to make participation by US carriers in the imminent European Emissions Trading Scheme illegal. Their proposed bill is called "The European Union emissions trading scheme prohibition Act of 2011". The move has been welcomed by the US National Business Aircraft Association president Ed Bolen, who said: "Chairman [John] Mica and Subcommittee Chairman [Tom] Petri...and their colleagues are to be commended for taking strong action to prevent the EU from implementing a plan that will have negative economic consequences for our economy, and for business aviation." The core clause in the bill as drafted is: "The European Union's extraterritorial action is inconsistent with long-established international law and practice, including the Chicago Convention of 1944 and the Air Transport Agreement between the United States and the European Union and its member states, and directly infringes on the sovereignty of the United States." Bolen added: "While the industry will continue working to minimize its carbon footprint, we welcome this strong signal from government leaders that emissions policies, like all aviation policies, should be set by the International Civil Aviation Organization." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Air China receives its first Boeing 777-300ER Air China's first Boeing 777-300 ER arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport on July 21, 2011. BEIJING -- Air China, the country's biggest international carrier, received its first Boeing 777-300ER Thursday afternoon, which is also the first such aircraft for the Chinese mainland. Air China will introduce 19 such aircrafts in the future, the company's vice president He Li said at the reception ceremony in Beijing. The first aircraft will fly on routes between Beijing and Guangzhou, and Shanghai and Shenzhen, he said. The second will be used on routes between Beijing and Frankfurt, and London and Paris, and will replace Boeing 747-400 planes currently used between China and North America, he said, without saying when the company will receive the second Boeing 777- 300ER. Air China will increase the proportion of wide-bodied aircrafts in its flight team in the next five years, he added. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2011-07/22/content_12957821.htm Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC