Flight Safety Information October 10, 2011 - No. 208 In This Issue Russian crash inquiry to begin Yak-42 take-off tests Eurocontrol: Danger to aviation safety from misuse of lasers growing sharply Plane out of fuel down miles off Hawaii; pilot OK 7 aboard missing Russian helicopter alive Elbit Systems of America Delivers 1000th Enhanced Vision System NTSB Bar Association Law Conference, 8-12NOV, Pensacola American Airlines To Outsource Some 757 Maintenance Updated: "Commercial Aviation Safety" book released Russian crash inquiry to begin Yak-42 take-off tests Russian investigators have approved a full-scale take-off test with a Yakovlev Yak-42 aimed at explaining the fatal crash of a similar aircraft at Yaroslavl. The experiment will use a Yak-42 registered RA-42412 from the fleet of Yak Service, the operator involved in the 7 September accident. Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) said that various organisations - including the Yakovlev design bureau and Gromov flight-test institute - had prepared the test programme. The crashed Yak-42 had experienced a decelerating force during its take-off run - the source and nature of which remains uncertain - but the test will not initially attempt to recreate this effect. It will simply repeat the actions of the crew during a normal take-off, said MAK. By using data from several aborted take-off runs the investigators will be able to check the mathematical modelling of the effects of an additional retarding force, at various stages, on the aircraft's performance. This will enable the inquiry to evaluate its impact on rotation, the lifting of the nose-wheel, and achieving the pitch required to become airborne. MAK said the tests are scheduled to take place from 10 October if the weather conditions are suitable. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Eurocontrol: Danger to aviation safety from misuse of lasers growing sharply BRUSSELS (AP) - Eurocontrol urged the European Union to criminalize the malicious use of lasers to blind pilots and air traffic controllers - a growing problem in both Europe and the United States that experts warn could lead to a crash. The air traffic agency said Monday there were 4,266 such incidents in Europe last year, compared to just 1,048 in 2008. In the U.S., the number of incidents nearly doubled from 1,527 in 2009 to 2,836 last year. "Preventing and mitigating the current problem requires a harmonized approach throughout Europe," Eurocontrol safety expert Dragica Stankovic said. "We need the full involvement of regulators, judicial authorities, police, airlines and their associations, air navigation service providers, laser manufacturers who must understand how serious the problem is, as well as research institutes." Interference with commercial airlines is already a federal crime in the U.S. and in some European nations such as Sweden and Austria. But most EU states don't have such laws. Typically, after police find and arrest the attackers, they will just question and then free them, Stankovic said on the sidelines of a conference dedicated to the problem and involving the EU Commission, the U.N. aviation agency ICAO, airlines' and pilots' associations, as well as national police authorities. Incidents of laser interference generally involve people directing powerful laser beams at aircraft on take off or on the final landing approach, the most critical phases of flight when pilots need to be their most alert. In several recent cases, pilots flying the aircraft have been forced to hand the controls over to their co-pilots after being temporarily blinded. While the so-called green lasers now in use can temporarily blind pilots, the more powerful blue lasers which are now commercially available could cause permanent vision impairment, Eurocontrol warned. Helicopters, such as police and ambulance or rescue choppers, are especially vulnerable to laser attacks because they fly at lower altitudes than airliners. There have also been instances when lasers were directed at air traffic control towers. Eurocontrol says that because of the potential danger posed by the handheld devices, which are readily available and cost just a few hundred euros, they should be subject to the same restrictions as firearms. "The best solution is to have a harmonized approach across Europe based on an EU directive," Stankovic said. "EU legislation should cover the purchase, the carriage and the use of laser, exactly in the same way as for handguns, rifles and other weapons." Politicians in other European nations also have been calling for tougher laws to punish individuals pointing lasers at aircraft cockpits. In Germany, Volker Kauder, head of the ruling Christian Democrats' faction in parliament, said last week that high-power lasers should be reclassified as weapons and included in the country's Arms Act. Back to Top Plane out of fuel down miles off Hawaii; pilot OK This twin-engine plane, piloted by a 65-year-old man, runs out of fuel on the solo flight from Monterey and crash lands in the ocean 13 miles off Hawaii. Hilo, Hawaii -- The pilot of a small plane ran out of fuel and ditched in the ocean several miles off Hawaii's coast. He was rescued by Coast Guard crews who had flown alongside and coached him on crash landing in the choppy seas. Video released by the Coast Guard shows the plane gliding low over the water and then splashing down. Within seconds the pilot climbs out onto a wing as a helicopter lowers a rescue swimmer, who helps him enter a basket and is hoisted to the hovering aircraft. Police identified the pilot as Charles Brian Mellor, of Puerto De Santa Maria, Spain. The 65-year-old, who was not seriously injured, was flying solo from Monterey when he radioed authorities Friday afternoon that he was running low on fuel about 500 miles from his destination of Hilo, the Coast Guard said. The cities are about 2,300 miles apart. The Guard sent a plane to rendezvous with the two-engine Cessna and dispatched a ship and helicopter to be ready for a possible rescue, spokesman Lt. Gene Maestas said. After meeting up with the plane over the Pacific, the Guard's HC-130 Hercules flew alongside for more than an hour, until the aircraft's fuel gave out and it went down 13 miles off Hawaii. "We were communicating to him the entire time," Maestas said. "The pilots were telling him how to make the airplane ready ... to lighten, tie things down, adjust the seat." Mellor was also urged to go in at a low angle to the water and touch down parallel to the waves rather than absorbing their power by plowing into them head-first. "We basically talked him down," Maestas said. In the video, the plane skims lightly on the water for a few seconds before coming to an abrupt stop and spinning around in the foaming seas. The plane floats upright with the pilot clinging to it but appears to begin sinking within a minute, as the Guard swimmer is lowered to waters near the plane. Maestas said the Cessna sank in just a few more minutes. "He was able to crawl out of the cockpit and speak to the rescue swimmer; he didn't appear to have any significant injuries," Maestas said. "We feel very fortunate that we were able to save this man's life." Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi- bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/08/MN5P1LF79F.DTL#ixzz1aNKCprZW Back to Top 7 aboard missing Russian helicopter alive (Xinhua) MOSCOW - Rescuers have found the missing Mi-8 helicopter in Russia's Trans-Baikal region and all seven people aboard the helicopter were alive, local emergency department said on Sunday. A spokesperson for the regional emergencies department said the helicopter was found at 17:09 Moscow time (1309 GMT), adding that over 110 rescuers and 15 units of special equipment had been involved in the rescue operation. According to the press service of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, the helicopter had conducted an emergency landing in the Kyrym District of the Trans-Baikal region and nobody aboard the plane was injured. Earlier on Sunday, local reports said the Mi-8 helicopter has been missing in eastern Russia. The helicopter, which belongs to the Siberian branch of Russia' s Emergency Situations Ministry, lost contact with authorities at 12:45 Moscow time (0845 GMT) in Trans-Baikal area. Later, the plane's emergency location beacon started to send signals. According to local reports, the plane had been performing a patrol flight over forests in the south of the Trans-Baikal region before it was reportedly missing. Back to Top Elbit Systems of America Delivers 1000th Enhanced Vision System MERRIMACK, New Hampshire, October 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Elbit Systems of America, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd., announced the delivery of its 1000th Enhanced Vision System (EVS). Leading the industry, the Kollsman EVS is a key component of an aircraft's Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) certified for full operational credits. When combined with a certified Head Up Display (HUD), this system provides low visibility "approach ban" relief and landing credits in North America and Europe. The first Kollsman All Weather Window® EVS was invented in 2001 to improve the capability for commercial, business, and military aircraft to execute precision and non- precision approaches. Today, Kollsman EFVS equipped aircraft can land, taxi and takeoff in total darkness, fog, rain, snow and other reduced visibility conditions. The results are an increase in safety and significant reduction in flight operation delays. The Kollsman EVS system is certified for use by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on business and airline aircraft in accordance with published EFVS regulations. It is currently installed on all aircraft models manufactured by Gulfstream Aerospace and is in the installation process on all wide body aircraft for the FedEx air transport fleet. The Kollsman EVS is well suited for Next Generation airspace satellite based operations, such as WAAS, LAAS, SBAS, RNP, and RNAV, by providing a means to continue descent below decision height at all airports regardless of infrastructure and weather conditions. The Kollsman EVS also provides improved situational awareness during ground operations aiding in a reduction of runway incursions. Commenting on the milestone, Elbit Systems of America President and CEO, Raanan Horowitz, stated, "Since the development of the first unit, our Enhanced Vision System has offered the aviation industry increased flexibility and safety. We are proud to have reached the 1000th delivery and to continue our legacy in aviation, transitioning this cutting edge technology to aircraft operators across multiple industries." About Elbit Systems of America, LLC Elbit Systems of America is a leading provider of high performance products and system solutions focusing on the commercial aviation, defense, homeland security and medical instrumentation markets.- With facilities throughout the-United States, Elbit Systems of America is dedicated to supporting those who contribute daily to the safety and security of the United States.- Elbit Systems of America, LLC is wholly owned by Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ and TASE: ESLT), a global electronics company engaged in a wide range of programs for innovative defense-and commercial-applications. About Elbit Systems Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international defense electronics company engaged in a wide range of programs throughout the world. The Company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance ("C4ISR"), unmanned aircraft systems ("UAS"), advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, airborne warning systems, ELINT systems, data links and military communications systems and radios. The Company also focuses on the upgrading of existing military platforms, developing new technologies for defense, homeland security and commercial aviation applications and providing a range of support services. For additional information, visit: http://www.elbitsystems.com. Back to Top Back to Top American Airlines To Outsource Some 757 Maintenance American Airlines has announced plans to outsource heavy maintenance on four Boeing 757's to a company in North Carolina. The planes had been serviced in Tulsa. The company calls it a short term solution and released the following statement: "Over several years, we have outsourced very few, specialized projects, usually on a short-term basis. That work is a minuscule fraction of our overall maintenance operation. In the case of the Boeing 757 fleet, a short-term solution was required to address heavy maintenance checks that were needed for some of the aircraft. The company planned for this work, but it has taken longer than expected to complete some of the maintenance checks. There is only a set amount of space, machinery and employees to complete this maintenance work in-house. If the work is not done in time, the aircraft would have to be grounded, forcing the airline to cancel flights and adversely affecting our customers and employees As a result - and as a short-term solution - we are sending four 757 aircraft to Timco Aviation in North Carolina. This allows us to get the work completed without affecting our customers or the operation. Keep in mind, that's four of 124 planes in American's 757 fleet. That means our TWU employees will still handle nearly 97 percent of our 757 maintenance. For the 757 work, we did discuss a number of possibilities with the TWU, but as the union knows, these were economically unfeasible." In response, the local Transport Workers Union also released a statement saying, "AA management purposefully made the decision to put off repairs because they didn't want to hire any more people and they didn't have enough to get it done. The repairs weren't critical at the time, but it was corrosion and progressed. By contract, it's TWU's work." TWU International Organizer Rick Mullings said they will file a grievance. "It's 4 to 5 airplanes right now, but there will probably be more in the future. AA gets $70-80 million from Tulsa promising to grow, then didn't. TWU pitched to management their idea for the repair plan, but it was refused, so now it has to be contracted out. Mechanics are trained in business, so they're educated on how to do this. "It's a bad management decision," Mullings said. http://www.ktul.com/story/15653449/american-airlines-to-outsource-some-757- maintenance Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC