Flight Safety Information October 7, 2011 - No. 207 In This Issue Politicians debate NYC chopper rules after crash Boeing Settles Toxic Cabin Air Case Flight data lab bolsters safety of fast-growing UAE air traffic Tiny Maine airline suspends island flights after crash Eurocopter tests hybrid aircraft Don't Touch That Dial! No the Other Dial!... Some Airbus Jets May Need Windshields Replaced FAA Certifies Remanufactured Business Jet The Nextant 400XT Aircraft NTSB Bar Association Law Conference, 8-12NOV, Pensacola Updated: "Commercial Aviation Safety" book released Politicians debate NYC chopper rules after crash NEW YORK (AP) - The fatal crash of a helicopter in the East River reignited a debate over whether to restrict their flights as investigators on Wednesday studied weather reports and instruments looking for clues to the accident's cause. State and city legislators led by U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the crash underscored the danger of helicopter flights. They called for a ban on tourist flights and pleasure trips by privately owned aircraft at Manhattan's three riverside heliports. "You're talking about the densest population center in the country, very, very tight, narrow corridors and a huge amount of volume," said state Sen. Daniel Squadron. "And even though they're not going over land, that's still a pretty dangerous cocktail." Mayor Michael Bloomberg, himself a helicopter pilot, defended the flights. "Helicopters are a very safe way to travel," he said. "There's three or four deaths in automobile accidents every single week in the city. ... Nobody's suggesting a ban on automobiles." There have been 28 helicopter accidents in New York and 19 deaths since 1983, National Transportation Safety Board records show. Aviation trade groups said any restrictions would be premature because investigators are still trying to determine what caused Tuesday's crash. "You can't offer a solution to a problem you don't even understand yet," said Matt Zuccaro, president of Helicopter Association International, an advocacy group. Commercial air tour companies are already limited to a heliport near Wall Street and only fly specific routes around the Hudson River and New York Bay. But the Bell 206 helicopter that crashed on Tuesday at the East 34th Street Heliport was on a private, non-commercial flight and was carrying only friends of the pilot. The crash killed passenger Sonia Marra, a 40-year-old British citizen living in Australia. Another passenger, Helen Tamaki, was in critical condition with possible damage to her lungs and brain, her sister, Suzanne Tamaki, told the New Zealand Herald. The helicopter might have been saved if it had been equipped with inflatable emergency pontoons, Zuccaro said. Air tour helicopters operating over water are required to have either pontoons or life jackets for each person, but private aircraft are not. Investigators on Wednesday were examining the wreckage of the helicopter at a former Navy base in Brooklyn. They were hoping to extract information that may have been stored by the aircraft's GPS navigation equipment, engine monitors or other instruments, said NTSB member Mark Rosekind. Experts were also talking to the pilot and reviewing videos of the crash for clues. Rosekind said a piece of one of the helicopter's main rotor blades was missing, but it's unclear whether it broke before or after it crashed. The helicopter was built in 1976, and investigators were reviewing its maintenance logs, he said. Experts also were studying the weather, which has been a key factor in other crashes at Manhattan heliports. "One of the areas we're looking at are the winds," Rosekind said. A weather reporting station at nearby LaGuardia Airport had reported gusts of up to 20 mph on Tuesday afternoon, and there were gusts to 25 mph at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Winds can sometimes be rougher along the river because of turbulence caused by tall buildings and bridges. In June 2005, two helicopters crashed within four days of each other at the East 34th Street Heliport. One, a Sikorsky, took off in 17 to 26 mph winds and was caught by a tailwind that had been initially blocked by a building. The tailwind caused the helicopter to lose lift and drop suddenly into the water. The other helicopter, a Bell 206 similar to the one that crashed on Tuesday, had taken off overweight and with a tailwind that made it more difficult to climb, the NTSB determined. The NTSB also cited winds in the crash of helicopters in 1985, 1986, 1990 and 1997. In 1993, a Bell 206 lost engine power but landed safely on the water after inflating its emergency pontoons. The Federal Aviation Administration and city officials tightened the rules governing commercial sightseeing flights after a sightseeing helicopter and a light plane collided over the Hudson River, on the other side of Manhattan, in 2009. Sightseeing flights now depart from the Wall Street heliport near Manhattan's southern tip and follow a strict route. Aircraft on the Hudson have to obey a 161 mph speed limit and call out their positions on the radio using landmarks. But Nadler and other lawmakers have clamored to have tourist flights eliminated entirely. "Yet another terrible tragedy involving a helicopter should send us a clear message in flashing neon lights," Nadler said in a written statement. "Sightseeing and nonessential helicopters are dangerous, unnecessary, and not worth it." U.S. Rep. Carol Maloney, D-N.Y., sent a letter to Federal Aviation Administrator Randolph Babbitt on Wednesday calling helicopter traffic the "wild west of aviation" and asking him to review airspace rules over the city. The pilot in Tuesday's crash, Paul Dudley, was a charter pilot who also managed the Linden, N.J., airport where many New York City helicopters are based. But on Tuesday he was flying for himself and his friends, Rosekind said. Aviation advocates said the lawmakers were using the crash as an excuse to pick on tour companies. "Any banning of tourist flights would not have prevented this tragedy," Jeff Smith, chairman of the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, said in a written statement. The passengers in Tuesday's flight were visiting New York to celebrate the birthdays of Marra and her stepfather, Paul Nicholson, 71. They were accompanied by Nicholson's wife, Harriet Nicholson, 60; and a friend of Marra, Helen Tamaki, 43. The Nicholsons are British but live in Portugal; Marra, a British citizen, and Tamaki, a citizen of New Zealand, lived in Sydney, Australia. The group had planned to do some sightseeing and then go to dinner. Marra had worked at Galluzzo's fruit and vegetable market in the Sydney suburb of Glebe for the past three months, worker Joe Galluzzo said. Marra was thrilled when Tamaki surprised her with the trip to New York as a 40th birthday present, Galluzzo said. Marra had not seen her relatives in years and was planning to meet up with them at the top of the Empire State Building as soon as she and Tamaki arrived in New York, Galluzzo said. "Loved by the customers, fantastic personality -- very bubbly," Galluzzo said of Marra. "She couldn't do enough for us. She was just a great, great person." Fellow pilots at the Linden airport said Dudley is an experienced pilot in helicopters and airplanes. He has more than 2,200 flight hours under his belt as a pilot, including about 500 hours in the Bell 206, Rosekind said. In 2006, he landed a Cessna 172 light plane in a park near Coney Island in Brooklyn after the engine failed. No one was hurt. Back to Top Boeing Settles Toxic Cabin Air Case Former flight attendant Terry Williams has won a settlement of an undisclosed amount after suing Boeing, alleging that the manufacturer employs faulty engineering, which allows toxic fumes into the cabin and harm people inside. Williams' lawsuit claimed that fumes in engine bleed air pumped into aircraft cabins can cause tremors, severe headaches, and memory loss. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA believes that the bleed air can contain carbon monoxide, tricresyl phosphates and other contaminants. Settlement aside, Boeing contends that cabin air is safe and that independent research shows that it meets applicable health and safety standards. The FAA has also chimed in on the subject. FAA funds were used to produce a guide for health care providers treating airline workers exposed to aircraft bleed air contaminants. According to the document itself, the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine sponsored the project, and "it neither endorses nor rejects the findings of this research." The research states that bleed air "may sometimes be contaminated with pyrolyzed engine oil and/or hydraulic fluid." It also says "airline workers and passengers may develop acute and/or chronic health effects and seek attention from health care providers." The document (PDF) cites mechanical failures, maintenance irregularities and faulty designs as potential sources for bleed air contamination. According to the guide, health effects due to exposure to contaminated bleed air "are difficult to document." In a statement to CNN, the FAA said "the concerns are reasonable and are being investigated." http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/bleed_air_toxic_lawsuit_terry_williams_boeing_205519-1.html Back to Top Flight data lab bolsters safety of fast-growing UAE air traffic Abu Dhabi: At first glance, the monitors and sound mixers tucked away in the little room look like run-of-the-mill computer equipment. One is forced to remind oneself that the unassuming facility - the first flight recorders laboratory in the UAE - could play a vital role in preventing air accidents. Located in the Abu Dhabi premises of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the sole authority for control and regulation of civil aviation in the UAE, this Dh2 million facility for flight data analysis began operations in August. Its necessity was brought about by the growing air traffic in the UAE in recent years, Esmail Abdul Wahed, executive director of air accident investigation at the GCAA, told Gulf News. "We are seeing record levels of air traffic passing through our airspace, and although the UAE is statistically safe in terms of air travel, there was a need to optimise our capacity for investigation," Abdul Wahed explained. Record traffic Over the last few years, air traffic in the UAE has reached record levels, with a surge in movements despite the regional unrest brought about by the Arab Spring. In 2010, air movements stood at 64,457, up 11.09 per cent over the previous year, according to the GCAA. In addition, airports recorded an 8.25 per cent growth in traffic in the first half of this year. Abdul Wahed explained that the GCAA is the authority called upon whenever an accident or safety incident occurs in and over the UAE, and that investigators also look into all incidents worldwide that are associated with aircraft and carriers registered in the UAE. Easier procedure Prior to the establishment of the laboratory, data recorded in an aircraft's black box was sent for analysis to international investigation bureaus abroad such as the Transportation Safety Board in the United States and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in the United Kingdom. "This required an investigator to accompany the black boxes retrieved from the wreckage or airplane to the bureau, and took up valuable time and resources that we can no longer spare given the growth in air traffic," the executive director said. Currently, the lab is investigating the September 2010 crash of United Parcel Services' (UPS) cargo aircraft in Dubai, as well as the accident involving a Sudanese-registered cargo plane in Sharjah in 2009. Among its other major investigations is the crash of a private aircraft last February that left four people dead. "Accident investigations often take years to complete, especially because the final report needs to be extremely precise. Having a lab within the country is extremely helpful, however, because we can ourselves go to the site of the wreckage and collect all the required data," said Darren Straker, chief air accident investigator at the GCAA. The laboratory itself is equipped with two sophisticated computer systems that can separate and analyse data from the two black boxes in every aircraft, the cockpit voice recorder that stores all sounds coming to, from and within the cockpit, as well as the flight data recorder that files important data like altitude, speed and temperature. "Our findings from the 2010 UPS crash, as well as other incidents, will also be instrumental in determining air safety procedures and guidelines worldwide," he added. In future, the lab's capacities will be further expanded to investigate even partially-destroyed black boxes. Air safety at a glance * 1,200 people killed worldwide due to air accidents in 2009 * 600 people killed worldwide due to air accidents in 2010 * 23 accidents on average per year over the last decade * 80% of air ccidents occur due to human error Source: Darren Straker, General Civil Aviation Authority At a glance * 1,200 people killed worldwide in air accidents in 2009 * 600 people killed worldwide in air accidents in 2010 * 23 accidents on average per year over the last decaden * 80 per cent of air accidents caused by human error Source: Darren Straker, General Civil Aviation Authority Back to Top Tiny Maine airline suspends island flights after crash ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) - A small Maine airline has stopped flying until a federal safety investigation has been completed into a crash on the island of Matinicus that killed the pilot. The Wednesday fatal crash was the second crash involving Penobscot Island Air in less than three months. Penobscot Island Air Service Chief Pilot Roger Wolverton says they voluntarily grounded the fleet "until we find out what's going on." In a July, a plane went down near the island, but the three passengers and pilot survived. Wolverton tells the Bangor Daily News the pilot who was killed, 57-year-old Donald Campbell of Waldoboro, had been with the air service since it began flying in 2004. Campbell crashed while attempting to land on the island's dirt runway. He was the only person on board. ********* Date: 05-OCT-2011 Time: 5:45pm LT Type: Cessna 207A Stationair 7 Operator: Penobscot Island Air (Waters Aearo-Marine Inc. Dba) Registration: N70437 C/n / msn: 20700552 Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Near Matinicus Island Airport - 35ME, ME - United States of America Phase: Approach Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Knox County Regional Airport - KRKD Destination airport: Matinicus Island Airport - 35ME Narrative: A pilot and well-loved member of the island community died in a plane crash on Matinicus Island, ME, late Wednesday afternoon. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna 207 clipped a power line and crashed while approaching the runway. The pilot was 57 year-old Donald Campbell. He flew for Penobscot Island Air, the company that transports most island residents back and forth from the island. He was transporting groceries and other freight. People in the community are absolutely devastated by his death. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Eurocopter tests hybrid aircraft MARIGNANE, France, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Eurocopter in France has successfully tested a hybrid helicopter that combines a turboshaft internal combustion engine with an electric motor. "For this initial breakthrough in exploring the hybrid concept, Eurocopter is using the supplemental electric system to increase maneuverability of a single-engine helicopter during an autorotation landing, which is performed by helicopters in the event of a main engine failure," the company said. The demonstrator helicopter is a production version of Eurocopter's single-engine AS350, which has been equipped with a supplementary electric motor. In the event of an engine failure, the electric motor provides power to the rotor, allowing a pilot to control the helicopter very easily during the descent to a safe touchdown. The next step in development is to bring this concept to maturity and evaluate its implementation on Eurocopter's series production helicopters. "Eurocopter's research and development efforts are used every day to push the frontiers by increasing helicopter safety and performance for the benefit of our customers and we are proud to have brought the first helicopter equipped with an internal combustion engine and electric propulsion system to flight," said Lutz Bertling, Eurocopter president and chief executive officer. "Hybrid propulsion is an important element of Eurocopter's innovation road map in developing the next generation of helicopters. It offers new opportunities for improvements in safety, along with the potential for reducing fuel consumption and emissions." The AS350 hybrid demonstrator has its highly compact electric motor and lithium ion polymer battery installed in the center area of the helicopter. Electronic controls enable precise deployment of power delivered by the electric motor during the period of autorotation. Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/10/07/Eurocopter-tests-hybrid- aircraft/UPI-34631317987259/#ixzz1a6WODFFv Back to Top Don't Touch That Dial! No the Other Dial! Certainly the Japanese safety authorities know better than to tell pilots of All Nippon Airways to be more careful in the future and don't touch the knob that can turn a 737 upside down with a full load of passengers in the back. But I'm not so sure the boss does judging from his comments the other day. Futoshi Osada, chief of the country's Civil Aviation Bureau was quoted as saying, "It is really deplorable that the incident occurred as it threatened to undermine public trust in the safety of the public transportation system." Osada then told the airline's president to "to take appropriate action and report back." If that wraps up the investigation into what happened on the upside down flight from Okinawa to Tokyo last month, an opportunity to learn from this near-disaster will be lost. A recap: the Boeing 737 was put into a turn so steep the plane rolled upside down. The co-pilot who was alone in the cockpit at the time inadvertently selected the wrong knob while trying to readmit the captain to the flight deck after a potty break. When I heard this story, I immediately thought of the DC-8. Let me explain. Back in the 1970s when many airlines were flying the McDonnell Douglas jet, pilots on at least two occasions accidentally deployed the ground spoilers when the airplane was still in the air. Because this destroys lift (spoils it, get it?) it is a monumental no-no. On July 5, 1970 the oopsie caused an Air Canada flight to crash after an attempted go-around at Toronto International Airport, killing all 109 people on board. Three years later, a Loftleidir Icelandic Airlines DC-8 crashed on landing at Kennedy Airport in New York. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the pilot deployed the ground spoilers while attempting to arm them. Fortunately, no one was killed. Air travelers in general were fortunate too because the American safety officials spent some time trying to find out why the pilots erred. Their conclusion: telling pilots "don't do that" wasn't going to fly. Design changes in the cockpit were necessary. Don't get me wrong, this insight wasn't immediate. After the Air Canada accident, the Federal Aviation Administration's first response was to install a placard on the DC-8 flight decks saying - and I am not making this up - DO NOT DEPLOY SPOILERS IN FLIGHT. It is easy to be smug in the 21st century about the oversights in the 1970s when human factors in cockpit design was a relatively new field of study. I don't mean to be that girl. Thirty-five years ago the machine was considered rigid and the pilots considered malleable. Why not bend the human to the design of the cockpit? Over the years we have learned why not. As the late flight surgeon Dr. Charles Billings wrote in his 1997 handbook of human factors "Technology should not expect humans to adapt in some fundamental way because cognitive and physical abilities of the human do not change." So in Japan, and anywhere else in the world where 737s fly and that would be everywhere, I sure hope the air safety folks are doing an examination of their incident and accident databases to see if there are similar cases of pilots accidentally confusing critical flight control knobs with the door knob. If so, perhaps Boeing needs to take another look at the design of the flight deck and how it pairs up with the design of the people who work on it. http://christinenegroni.blogspot.com/2011/10/dont-touch-that-dial-no-other-dial.html. Back to Top Some Airbus Jets May Need Windshields Replaced - Australian Govt SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--European operators of Airbus A330s and A320s may be forced by regulators to replace aircraft windshields following cockpit fires on flights, the Australian government said Friday. Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EAD.FR), last year recommended the replacement of thousands of windscreens on jets that could be at risk but only a limited number of carriers have followed through on its advice, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, or ATSB. In results of an investigation released Friday into a fire on a Jetstar flight in 2009, the ATSB concluded that flames at the base of the A330's main right windshield were caused by the use of a sealant that created unintended electrical heating during operation of the windshield heating system. The Jetstar flight flying from Osaka, Japan to Australia's Gold Coast was diverted to Guam after the fire was extinguished by flight crew. Following subsequent incidents in other A330 and A320 aircraft, Airbus last year recommended carriers identify and replace all windshields that had been produced using the same sealant. The safety program was initiated in May, 2010 and extended to the replacement of about 1,500 units worldwide. "The ATSB have been advised that due to limited fleet-wide completion of the windshield replacement program, the European Aviation Safety Authority is considering the implementation of an Airworthiness Directive that will require all European operators of applicable Airbus aircraft to comply with the Airbus windshield replacement program," the ATSB said in a statement. A spokesman for Airbus in France said Airbus is fully cooperating with the European Aviation Safety Authority on the Airworthiness directive, which once issued will require operators to comply with the replacement program within nine months. The directive will "boost" the replacement program, the Airbus spokesman said, adding the ATSB is "satisfied with the actions taken." It wasn't immediately clear, however, who would pay for the cost of replacing the windshields. Jetstar is the low-cost unit of Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN.AU) and the ATSB said that Qantas completed the windshield replacement program across all applicable aircraft in April. "At the time of the release of this report there was no confirmed release date for the Airworthiness Directive," the ATSB said. Back to Top FAA Certifies Remanufactured Business Jet The Nextant 400XT Aircraft October 6, 2011 - Nextant Aerospace, which introduced the concept of remanufacturing to the business jet market, announced that it has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for its Nextant 400XT aircraft, the world's first completely remanufactured business jet. The FAA certification is the final step in the approval process for the 400XT, a plane that is the equivalent of a new jet at a cost approximately half that of competing models. The first retail deliveries of the planes will begin in October 2011, part of a 40-plane order from Flight Options, the nation's seco nd-largest fractional jet company. Nextant's remanufacturing process, which requires more than 6,000 man-hours per plane, enables it to deliver a factory-standardized product that features significantly evolved technology, increased efficiency and cost- effectiveness, improved range and a life expectancy that meets or exceeds competitive products. The 400XT is delivered as a new aircraft with a two-year, tip-to-tail warranty and a full suite of support services previously available only in new aircraft. They include a national service network to support the plane with centers in seven key markets around the country as well as comprehensive flight training, including a common training curriculum and a Level D Full-Flight Simulator. "In developing the Nextant 400XT, we sought to deliver the latest in business jet technology without passing on the cost of 'clean sheet' design to our customers," said Kenneth C. Ricci, chief executive officer of Nextant Aerospace. "We have created an entirely new category of business jet with more range, more speed and greater cost-effectiveness, all at half the cost of comparable planes. The Nextant 400XT is truly 'what's next' - a jet designed for tomorrow's business needs, available today." The 400XT process employs a remanufactured airframe from the Beechjet 400A/XP aircraft, enhanced with new, state-of-the-art technology including the Williams FJ44-3AP turbofan engine, the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated avionics suite, advanced electronics and completely rebuilt interiors. The remanufacturing process takes all life-limited components to zero-time status, either through replacement or complete overhaul, which effectively makes the 400XT a new plane in all material aspects even before the addition of advanced technology. The 400XT is considered to be a new type in Aircraft Bluebook. Further options include additional avionics features and cabin entertainment including high speed wireless internet. The resulting aircraft supports a range of 2,005-nautical miles with four passengers and NBAA IFR Reserves, a 50 percent increase over the 400XP. Other performance improvements include a cruising speed of 460 nautical miles per hour; fuel efficiency improvements of 25-30 percent, depending on the length of the flight segment and noise compliance that exceeds Stage IV requirements. Nextant Aerospace was founded in 2007 for the primary purpose of developing an aircraft modernization program. The company is credited with being the first to introduce the concept of aircraft remanufacturing to the business jet market. http://avstop.com/news_october_2011/faa_certifies_remanufactured_business_jet_the_nextant_400xt_aircraft.ht m Back to Top Back to Top Nigeria-based Arik Air Orders Two Boeing 747-8 (RTTNews) - Nigeria's Arik Air Ltd. finalized Thursday an order to purchase two 747-8 Intercontinental airplanes from aerospace and defense giant Boeing Co. (BA: News ) for about $635 million at list prices. Boeing noted that the order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on its website. "Air travel within the region continues to grow at a rapid pace and we must prepare our fleet to accommodate that growth. Boeing's new 747-8 fits perfectly into our long-term planning. It brings the best operating economics for its size, which is important with the increase in fuel prices," Arik Air chairman Sir JIA Arumemi-Johnson said in a statement. Boeing noted that the airplane will be powered by using General Electric Co.'s (GE) GEnx-2B engines that will be quieter, produce lower emissions and achieve better fuel economy than any competing jetliner. Arik Air is West Africa's largest privately and wholly Nigerian owned commercial airline. The airline operates a domestic, regional and international flight network. It is also the national carrier of Sierra Leone. Arik Air has the youngest fleet in West-Africa, operating a mixture of new Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier models. All its aircraft are maintained by its partners Lufthansa Technik and Iberia. The airline plans to use the 747-8 on its key long-haul routes. Arik becomes the first airline in Africa to order Boeing's newest and largest airplane. The 747-8 Intercontinental successfully completed its first flight in mid-March. Boeing is scheduled to make the first delivery to launch customer Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG (DLAKY.PK, DLAKF.PK). Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC