Flight Safety Information September 30, 2011 - No. 202 In This Issue FAA to Boost Co-Pilot Training Six accused of improper aircraft part repairs at Lincoln shop Police: Mont. woman had loaded gun at NY airport CAPA refutes ATA's claims over proposed FAA fatigue rules FAA awards two contracts for airspace capacity work MD-80 Fuel Burn Reduction Kit Wins FAA Approval Authorities suspend AOC of Dutch operator Solid-aiR Hawker 800XPR Earns EASA Certification; Deliveries Begin Germany's Lufthansa places $1.36 billion order FAA to Boost Co-Pilot Training By ANDY PASZTOR (WSJ) The Federal Aviation Administration is about to propose a minimum experience requirement for airline co-pilots that is substantially higher than current mandates but considerably below the level sought by Congress, according to industry officials and others familiar with the details. Airlines face an aviator shortage that could be made worse by expected FAA increases in co-pilot training. Above, a pilot at San Francisco's airport. .Proponents of the change say the proposed requirement of at least 700 or so flight hours of experience for nearly all co-pilots-rather than the 1,500 hours sought by lawmakers to boost airline safety-is essential to avoid future pilot shortages. Expected as early as next month, the FAA proposal would pave the way for one of the biggest shifts in commercial-pilot training in decades. It would come at a time when reduced hiring of former military aviators and the looming retirement of thousands of older pilots threaten to create an industry-wide pilot shortage. Raising co-pilot qualifications-without running afoul of congressional wishes or drastically reducing the likely pool of job applicants-is among the most difficult issues facing U.S. airlines and regulators. An FAA spokesman declined to comment. The FAA's proposal still could be modified or delayed by additional reviews by White House regulatory officials and lobbying efforts by industry groups. The push for revised aviator qualifications stems from the high-profile crash of a turboprop plane near Buffalo, N.Y., in February 2009. The Colgan Air accident killed 50 people and prompted a debate over pilot training and the safety of such regional carriers. The FAA's plan, which follows in broad outline the recommendations of an industry- labor group, would require most co-pilots to have at least 700 or so hours of experience flying smaller aircraft before they would be permitted to fly airliners, according to people familiar with the proposal. That compares with as little as 250 hours under existing FAA rules. In a speech on Wednesday, FAA chief Randy Babbitt said agency officials are drafting the proposals based on the earlier recommendations, but he didn't elaborate. The goal is to improve the knowledge and caliber of newly hired co-pilots, partly by giving extra flight-time credits to civilian job-seekers who graduate from four-year academic institutions or other advanced-training programs in which they study such things as aeronautics and airmanship. Pilots leaving the military to join an airline could be eligible for even larger flight-time credits or possibly special exemptions, said people familiar with the details. By comparison, most others would need at least 1,500 hours of actual flight time to be an airline co-pilot, these people said. The FAA's plan doesn't go as far as Congress advocated in July 2010, when it called for 1,500 hours of flying experience as an across-the-board safety minimum for all commercial pilots, including co-pilots. Airline captains already must meet that standard. Lawmakers, however, grudgingly gave the FAA flexibility to effectively set lower flight- hour standards for co-pilots coming from enhanced training programs. A spokeswoman for the Regional Airline Association, which represents more than two dozen carriers, declined to comment on the proposal. If the proposal becomes final after months of public comment and further FAA deliberations, it could be a boon to universities and others that offer flight training as part of broad aviation programs. Mike Suckow, an administrator at Purdue University's Department of Aviation Technology, said his school could accommodate a requirement of about 750 flight hours, compared with the roughly 500 hours of individual flight time and service as a flight instructor the average student currently accumulates before graduation. But for stand-alone flight schools that offer limited academic work, the proposal could result in a sizeable drop in students. The plan "would likely drive many of those people interested in an aviation career into the academic realm," said Bob Rockmaker, president of the Flight School Association of North America. Last October, an air-safety advisory group created by the FAA lobbed the hot potato of pilot qualifications into the lap of the FAA's Mr. Babbitt. The group's recommendations included a flexible, sliding scale that would offer prospective co-pilots the chance to supplement their flight hours with a college degree, special jet-training courses and other proof of enhanced aeronautical knowledge. The group also urged the FAA to require each new co-pilot to demonstrate proficiency in the specific aircraft type he or she will be assigned to fly. Currently, the FAA requires only captains to have such "type ratings" covering their knowledge of specific models, though many airlines also require co-pilots to pass the same tests. In addition, last year's recommendations would require specific piloting skills for new hires, ranging from high-altitude aircraft handling to contending with winter weather conditions. The increased flight-hours proposal is one of four safety initiatives the FAA is expected to release this year. Others include revamping rules intended to combat pilot fatigue; proposals to encourage mentoring of new pilots; and a broader rewrite of training practices affecting both commuter airlines and mainline carriers. All were prompted by the 2009 Colgan Air crash. But progress on the rule-making efforts has been slow. A proposed rule intended to encourage more-experienced pilots to serve as mentors for new airline hires has been under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget since May, according to industry officials. The pilot qualification proposal has been under formal review by the same office since late June. And white House officials have been mulling the issue of alleviating pilot fatigue for months, though they asked Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to hold off officially submitting that package-and therefore delayed the start of a formal regulatory time clock-until August, according to people familiar with the process. Back to Top Six accused of improper aircraft part repairs at Lincoln shop Six former employees of a Lincoln company were accused Thursday in a federal grand jury indictment of endangering the lives of fliers by cutting corners in the repair of airplane parts. On one occasion related in the indictment, two of the defendants used a paper clip instead of an approved part to complete a repair, and then returned the part to the customer after certifying that the job had been done properly. The six defendants regularly directed technicians at WECO Aerospace Systems Inc., an air-repair station certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, to use unapproved parts in violation of FAA regulations and manufacturers' component maintenance manuals, the indictment alleges. Each time, it alleges, they falsely certified to customers the parts had been repaired in accordance with FAA regulations. The FAA-approved maintenance manuals describe the steps a repair shop must take to fix a part, as well as the tests and inspections required before the part can be returned to service. Yet, the indictment charges, the defendants did not have the equipment needed to perform many of the mandated tests. "It is appalling that these defendants would put financial gain and reward ahead of the safety and well-being of the many people who could have fallen in harm's way as a result of these fraudulently repaired airplane parts," said Herb Brown, special agent in charge of Sacramento's FBI field office. U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner said, "While it is fortunate that there are no aircraft crashes known to be associated with faulty repairs conducted by these defendants, their alleged conduct needlessly took risks with the safety of persons who used aircraft that they repaired." Charged in the 36-count indictment are Jerry Edward Kuwata, 60, and Douglas Arthur Johnson, 52, both of Granite Bay; Scott Hamilton Durham, 39, of Roseville; Christopher Warren MacQueen, 53, of Lincoln; Michael Dennis Maupin, 58, of Arbuckle; and Anthony Vincent Zito, 47, of Saugus. All six were executives or supervisors at WECO. Upon learning of the allegations, the FAA issued an emergency order suspending the firm's repair station certificate, Wagner said. In addition, he said, since finalizing its purchase of WECO in 2008, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has fully cooperated with the investigation of the former employees. The alleged conduct occurred before Gulfstream acquired the firm. Investigators with three federal departments - Transportation, Homeland Security, and Defense - teamed with FBI agents to gather the evidence supporting the charges. Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/30/3949663/six-accused-of-improper- aircraft.html#ixzz1ZQahXLLJ Back to Top Police: Mont. woman had loaded gun at NY airport COLONIE, N.Y. (AP) - Police say a Montana woman was arrested after security screeners found a loaded handgun in her purse at New York's Albany International Airport. Loretta Quayle of Bozeman is charged with a misdemeanor count of illegally possessing a loaded .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun. Police say she had the gun in the side of a hard-shell leather purse when she went through security Monday on her way back to Bozeman. She had been in the Albany area visiting relatives. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple says Quayle told them she forgot the gun was there. She was arraigned and released without bail. A message left Thursday at a Bozeman phone listing in Quayle's name was not immediately returned. Back to Top CAPA refutes ATA's claims over proposed FAA fatigue rules The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA) has refuted claims by the US Air Transport Association (ATA) that proposed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules to prevent pilot fatigue would lead to job losses and increased costs. The FAA proposed rules more than a year ago that would reduce maximum flight duty time for pilots, and increase the consecutive hours free from duty every week by 25%. Earlier this month, the ATA said the rules could end up eliminating up to 27,000 US airline jobs and up to 400,000 related industry positions. Citing an economic analysis by a consultancy firm, it also said airlines could incur $2 billion in additional annual costs in order to comply with the rule. The FAA has estimated that the rule will cost $1.25 billion over ten years. "While we acknowledge that there are costs associated with the new proposed fatigue rules, the actual costs will be much more in line with the FAA's estimates, not the inflated costs the industry is claiming," said CAPA. It accused the ATA of "crying wolf" over the issue, saying: "The voices in opposition to these new rules come from people who have never operated a flight under the archaic and inadequate rules that our nation's pilots currently operate under every day. They have never been subject to the debilitating effect of fatigue on crew performance." Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top FAA awards two contracts for airspace capacity work The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded two contracts to two companies for work associated with airspace capacity. Washington-based technical and engineering services company CSSI won a $6 million contract to support the airspace redesign work around up to 21 airports, including Washington, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta. The contract will last for a year, with four optional years. The work will be conducted through the FAA's Optimisation of Airspace and Procedures in the Metroplex (OAPM) programme, which will address issues like airspace congestion. Separately, the FAA awarded a $1.3 million contract to Flatirons Solutions for the remaining phases of work on its Airspace Capacity Study, which is part of the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). "This study will provide important data to assure that the long-term capacity of the aviation system matches forecasts of future demand," said Flatirons, which has completed phase one of the study in 2010. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top MD-80 Fuel Burn Reduction Kit Wins FAA Approval A drag-reducing upgrade kit developed for Boeing MD-80 operators has received supplemental type certification from the FAA. Developed by Long Beach, Calif-based engineering company Super98, the first part of the kit is initially designed to reduce fuel burn by 2.5% or more, with a further 1% benefit available from a more extensive upgrade. Fuel savings were verified in flight tests of an instrumented MD-83 in late 2010 and early 2011. Fuel savings from the Phase 1 kit are estimated at over $236,000 per aircraft per year based on a $3/gallon oil price, says Super98. The first phase kit is divided into two packages, the first of which includes flap hinge fairings forward and aft, aileron and elevator tab hinge covers, wing-body sealing and wing trailing edge seals. The second sub-kit includes flap segment seals, a windshield fairing, rudder lower gap seal, aileron edge seal, a main landing gear door skid, re-faired tail skid and a horizontal stabilizer tip seal. The additional modifications that will deliver a further 1% drag reduction require more time to install on overnight maintenance stops. They include slat lower trailing edge seals, slat segment gap seals and spoiler trailing edge extensions. "We've got the first parts assembled and they're ready to go," says sales and marketing Vice President Rolf Sellge. Production plans are currently based on providing up to six shipsets per month. Although MD-80s are being replaced throughout the type's main operating arenas in the U.S. and Europe, Sellge says the waiting list for newer 737 and A320 models means many will remain in service well into the decade and beyond. Breakeven for the drag kits comes in a year for the first phase and a year-and-a-half for the full kit, he adds. Super98 hopes to see the first kits installed around year-end, and the first customer for the full package to be on contract in the first quarter of 2012. Overall more than 700 MD-80s currently remain in service. http://www.aviationweek.com Back to Top Authorities suspend AOC of Dutch operator Solid-aiR The Dutch Transport and Water Management Inspectorate (IVW) has suspended the AOC of operator Solid-aiR for safety reasons. Effective September 28, 2011 the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Solid-aiR is suspended for a period of three months. During a safety audit the Inspectorate found several shortcomings with regards to crew training and defect reporting. Also, violations were found of duty and rest schedules for pilots, incident reporting and violations in flight operations. The Inspectorate states that these findings were serious and of a structural nature, leading to the suspension. The suspension will be lifted when the company successfully demonstrates its ability to conduct safe operations. According to the Dutch civil aircraft register, the airline operates one Bombardier Challenger 850, one Cessna 525 CitationJet, two Cessna 550 Citation Bravo's, one Cessna 560 Citation V, fourCessna 650 Citation VI's, one Dassault Falcon 900, one Piaggio P.180 Avanti, and one Raytheon Premier 1. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Hawker 800XPR Earns EASA Certification; Deliveries Begin WICHITA, Kan. (Sept. 28, 2011) - Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support (GCS) today announced the type certification of the Hawker 800XPR by the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), just weeks after receiving certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This upgrade package is available exclusively through factory-owned HBS facilities, including its Chester, U.K. location. It offers significant performance and capability improvements by replacing the aircraft's original engines with new technology TFE731-50R powerplants and improved aerodynamics with Genuine Hawker winglets. Customer deliveries have commenced. "We are very excited to follow up our recent FAA certification with EASA as this opens up significant opportunity for the modification," said Christi Tannahill, Hawker Beechcraft vice president, Global Customer Support. "Achieving Hawker 800XPR EASA certification enabled us to begin our first customer deliveries." Capable of producing 5,000 pounds of thrust but flat rated to 4,660 pounds, the Hawker 800XPR's new TFE731-50R engines create a robust interstage turbine temperature margin that translates into significantly improved performance and durability. Through the incorporation of 70 design and material improvements, the TFE731-50R delivers a 7 percent reduction in specific fuel consumption while increasing maintenance intervals. The result is a 32 percent reduction in Honeywell's minimum Maintenance Service Plan (MSP) costs thanks to major periodic inspections of 3,000 hours and core zone inspection intervals of 6,000 hours as compared to 2,100 and 4,200 respectively on the original engines. The 800XPR upgrade qualifies for zero-cost enrollment in Honeywell's MSP. The new engines also deliver a number of green advantages, such as lower noise levels and reduced carbon emissions. Hawker 800XPR operators will also be impressed by the improved hot/high performance. Climbing directly to FL410 at maximum takeoff weight in just 25 minutes, the 800XPR will reach FL370 a full three minutes faster than the Hawker 800XP. The direct climb capability, combined with the airplane's improved fuel efficiency, translates into true transcontinental range and faster block times. In addition, optional avionics, a newly stylized interior and XPR custom paint designs are available. Headquartered in Wichita, Kan., Hawker Beechcraft GCS is dedicated to improving the value of HBC aircraft by employing products and services to simplify aircraft ownership, reduce operating cost and increase resale value. GCS is comprised of four functional groups that include Support Plus (cost predictability/warranty programs), Hawker Beechcraft Parts & Distribution (genuine factory parts), Hawker Beechcraft Services (factory-owned service centers) and Technical Support (Field Support Representatives, Hot Line specialists and Technical Publications). Hawker Beechcraft Corporation is a world-leading manufacturer of business, special mission, light attack and trainer aircraft - designing, marketing and supporting aviation products and services for businesses, governments and individuals worldwide. The company's headquarters and major facilities are located in Wichita, Kan., with operations in Salina, Kan.; Little Rock, Ark.; Chester, England, U.K.; and Chihuahua, Mexico. The company leads the industry with a global network of more than 100 factory-owned and authorized service centers. For more information, visit www.hawkerbeechcraft.com. http://www.amtonline.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=14605 Back to Top Germany's Lufthansa places $1.36 billion order for 12 new planes, including 2 A380 superjumbos BERLIN (AP) - German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG says it has ordered 12 new planes, including two Airbus A380 superjumbos. The company says the order valued at about €1 billion ($1.36 billion) also includes one long-haul jet Airbus A330, four Airbus A320 planes, and five Embraer 195 regional jets. Germany's biggest airline says the order was approved by its supervisory board Thursday, with deliveries of the planes expected to start next year. The Lufthansa group includes Swiss International Airlines, Austrian Airlines, budget offshoot Germanwings and Britain's BMI. Lufthansa currently operates a fleet of eight A380 superjumbos, and has now placed orders for nine additional planes. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC