Flight Safety Information January 31, 2012 - No. 021 In This Issue Southwest Jet Topples Denver Airport Light Pole; Nobody Hurt FAA delays new rules for operating small drones State plane grounded due to safety concerns (Ohio) FAA Investigates Air Drop of Seismic Equipment ISASI 2012 43rd Annual Seminar...Call for Papers PRISM Certification Consultants Pilot fatally struck by moving propeller he tried to manually restart Arik Air Takes Measures To Improve Aviation Safety, Security SIA 777 attempted go-around before Munich veer-off US FAA mandates Q400 wire checks Manila's Cebu Air to lease 8 A330-300s for non-Asian routes Southwest Jet Topples Denver Airport Light Pole; Nobody Hurt Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- A Southwest Airlines Co. jet knocked down a 30-foot light pole today while taxiing to a gate at Denver International Airport. No one was injured in the accident, which occurred at 9:45 a.m. Denver time, said Laura Coale, a spokeswoman for the airport. Southwest Flight 792, which flew to Denver from Los Angeles, carried 89 passengers and five crew, said Brandy King, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Southwest. "We are currently working with the National Transportation Safety Board and other relevant agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, to assess the situation and cannot provide additional details at this time," King said in an e- mailed statement. A picture taken by a passenger and posted online by the ABC News affiliate in Denver showed the pole on the ground under a Southwest airplane's wing. The airline declined to discuss any damage to the Boeing Co. 737. Passengers got off the plane on the tarmac and were bused to the airport's C concourse, where Southwest's gates are located, Coale said. The accident didn't disrupt flights at the airport, she said in an interview. The light was used to illuminate a part of the airport ramp around the C concourse. Denver is the fifth-busiest airport in terms of Southwest departures, with 151 daily. Back to Top FAA delays new rules for operating small drones LOS ANGELES -- New rules for operating small drones in U.S. airspace have been delayed by the Federal Aviation Administration, which has been weighing for years how to regulate these unmanned aircraft over populated areas. Currently, drones are not allowed to fly in the U.S. except with special permission from the FAA. But as demand increases for using drones in the commercial world, the agency plans to propose new regulations on small remotely piloted aircraft, a move seen as the first step toward opening the nation's skyways to drone aircraft. The FAA had said it planned to issue its proposal by this month. Now, the agency says the earliest that the proposed rules will be published is "this spring." The FAA did not say why it was being postponed. Not everyone has waited for authorization to use drones. Just last week, real estate agents were warned by the Los Angeles Police Department to stop using drones to create images of properties taken from small drones. The department said the unmanned aircraft pose a potential safety hazard and could violate federal aviation policy. Meanwhile, a number of industries interested in using drones, such as utility companies and law enforcement agencies, are awaiting the FAA proposal. The FAA doesn't permit drones in national airspace on a wide scale out of concern that the remotely piloted aircraft don't have an adequate "detect, sense and avoid" technology to prevent midair collisions. Under FAA rules, any drone flying above 400 feet needs "certification or authorization" from the administration. But the FAA has identified only some of the groups and organizations that have the permits. This has drawn fire from the San Francisco digital legal advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation. This month the foundation filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco against the Transportation Department for withholding the names of all organizations interested in flying drones in civil airspace. The foundation said in the lawsuit that its Freedom of Information Act request for the names has gone unacknowledged since April by the FAA, which is overseen by the Transportation Department. The foundation said it's concerned that there is no information available to the public about who specifically has obtained these authorizations or for what purposes. The FAA said it wouldn't comment on the suit. Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/business/transportation/aviation/faa-delays-new-rules-for-operating-small- drones/article_31008770-f716-5469-b3e6-5dc1bf0818bd.html#ixzz1l373iwoy Back to Top State plane grounded due to safety concerns (Ohio) Aircraft was to be used for spotting pot COLUMBUS - For 16 months, the state-owned Partenavia P68 Observer airplane has been sitting idle in the Ohio Department of Transportation's hangar while state and Federal Aviation Administration officials haggle over safety concerns raised by two state pilots. The 1982 plane, purchased in 1988 for $240,000, has a clear plastic nose, which makes it ideal for spotting marijuana crops and inspecting airport runways. But since the P68 has been grounded, the state has had to manage such work using other aircraft. The Dayton Daily News decided to investigate because of the length of time the plane has been sitting idle. Pilots John Milling and Eric Smith say the P68's cramped cockpit causes a safety hazard. The issue is apparently a new concern raised about a plane that has been flying since the 1970s. When aviators who routinely flew the P68 retired, Milling, Smith and other state pilots were sent to ground school to begin training on the aircraft. Between April 2009 and April 2011, the two pilots lodged complaints with ODOT and the FAA, saying that given their height and weight they didn't have free and clear movement of all the flight controls. In the most extreme positions, the controls would bump into their thighs, they said. Vulcanair, the aircraft manufacturer in Italy, and the FAA told ODOT that they had not received previous complaints about the movement of the controls. In June 2011, Walter Hutchings, an FAA manager in the aircraft evaluation group, told ODOT that if the pilot in command doesn't have free and clear movement of the controls, then it would be unsafe to fly. ODOT responded by indefinitely grounding the P68 and urged the FAA to look at the safety of all P68 Observer models flying across the country. FAA Great Lakes Region spokesman Tony Molinaro said a full, thorough investigation of the P68 Observer model is under way. "We are talking with the manufacturer, and the FAA is talking with the Italian aviation authority," Molinaro said. "We are expecting to give ODOT a response in the coming weeks." ODOT owns airplanes and helicopters used to transport state officials and do surveillance work for state agencies. Transport missions, which involve larger planes, are usually done during business hours, while marijuana eradication flights involve smaller aircraft, longer work days and increased risk, according to ODOT spokesman Steve Faulkner. Smith said he doesn't have any current safety concerns with the grounded P68 but declined to clarify whether he is willing to fly the plane now. "I just don't have anything to say about it right now," he said. Milling did not return telephone messages. Molinaro and Faulkner did not offer opinions on whether the Ohio pilots discovered a safety flaw or just don't like the P68 assignments. ODOT documents obtained by the Daily News said that Milling and Smith "had previously expressed reluctance" to flying certain missions in the P68. Milling is about 6-foot-1 and weighs 207 pounds, while Smith is 6 feet and weighs 235. Six ODOT pilots, including two who recently retired, are close in height and weight but did not raise the same safety concerns. Smith, 59, was hired by the state in 1992 and made $90,020 last year as an ODOT pilot; Milling, 62, was hired in 1989 and earned $88,147 last year. Personnel files show that both men received positive annual reviews but that Milling and Smith were verbally counseled by the chief pilot in February 2011 about operating aircraft in icing conditions. All told, the state of Ohio owns 25 aircraft used for passenger travel, wildlife surveys, aerial mapping, traffic enforcement and marijuana eradication. Most of the aircraft are kept at OSU Don Scott Field in suburban Columbus, and all the planes and helicopters are maintained by ODOT. The aviation division's operations budget is $3.8 million a year. ODOT's aviation division has received scrutiny in recent years. Former Attorney General Marc Dann was found to have used a state plane to commute to and from his home in the Youngstown area. A Daily News investigation last year also found that Gov. John Kasich was using the planes more often than his predecessor, former Gov. Ted Strickland. And between May 2009 and January 2011, the FAA grounded ODOT's Cessna 208B Caravan because of problems the state encountered with the installation of a new $1.29 million digital aerial photography system in the plane. During the grounding, the state paid more than $230,000 to outside vendors to take aerial photos. State Auditor David Yost is planning an audit of the use of the passenger aircraft in 2010 and 2011, but he does not plan to investigate grounded aircraft or other issues, his spokeswoman said. http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/state-plane-grounded-due-to-safety-concerns-1321007.html Back to Top FAA Investigates Air Drop of Seismic Equipment Jackson Township, PA (WBNG Binghamton) The FAA's investigating after a Pennsylvania homeowner says a helicopter missed its target and dropped heavy equipment onto her deck. A homeowner in Jackson Township says she was terrified Sunday afternoon when a helicopter dropped a bag of seismic equipment, she says just feet from her home. Kathy Kaminsky's home is off Township Road 712 or Gaylord Road. Seismic testing is a technology used to search for pockets of natural gas. Cougar Land Services is a company that works with land crews and seismic companies A Cougar project manager visited Kaminsky's property today. The manger says Cougar believes equipment landed somewhere else, and not on her deck as Kaminsky says. The company did not want to comment any further on that. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating The agency took photos of a pink stake placed a little further away near a pond. "I'm not looking to gain anything myself I just don't think that they should be dropping bags on people without telling them. I'm looking to make it public that this is how it works so that nobody else has to go through this because that's not fair," says Kaminsky. "Yes I'm sure she's very concerned with the distance that it was dropped from the home itself. At this particular time we're investigating there's no comment as far as why it dropped, how it dropped so until we do a further investigation we couldn't comment on anything else," says Aviation Safety Inspector with the FAA, Bob Ference. Kathy Kaminsky has two gas leases on her property, One with Cabot Oil and Gas, and another with Southwestern Gas. Cabot tells Action News the air drop of the seismic equipment was not a part of its operations. Southwestern says it is investigating. It doesn't know if the equipment was part of its gas drilling operations. http://www.wbng.com/news/video/FAA-Investigates-Air-Drop-of-Seismic-Equipment-138358529.html Back to Top ISASI 2012 43rd Annual Seminar Evolution of Aviation Safety-From Reactive to Predictive Call for Papers International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) August 27 - 30, 2012 Baltimore, Maryland ISASI, the world's premier organization for professional aircraft accident investigators and analysts, with individual and corporate members in 60 countries, has scheduled its 43rd Annual Seminar in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, from Monday, August 27, 2012 through Thursday, August 30, 2102. Papers are invited which would benefit an international audience and which address the theme of the seminar: Evolution of Aviation Safety- From Reactive to Predictive Papers are invited which would benefit an international audience and which address the theme of the seminar: "Reactive to Predictive." Topics may address the historical evolution from reactive to predictive, the interaction between accident or incident investigation and accident prevention or analysis, analytical processes that identify, monitor or assess emerging risks, the practical application of those processes to minimize the risk of accidents, or other topics related to investigative or analytical methods, issues, or past findings. Topics may address any segment of the air carrier industry or general aviation. An expression of interest in delivering a paper should be sent by e-mail no later than February 10, 2012 to isasi.baltimorepaper@yahoo.com. Please include a working title for your paper, plus your name, affiliation, and position. Abstracts must be submitted by e-mail by March 9, 2012 to be considered by the Selection Committee. The Committee will invite final papers and presentations from selected abstracts. Please limit abstracts to a maximum of 300 words. Only e-mail submissions will be considered. If your proposal is selected for presentation, you will be advised by e-mail no later than April 5, 2012. Final papers must be submitted by July 6, 2012. www.isasi.org Back to Top Back to Top Pilot fatally struck by moving propeller he tried to manually restart after plane stalled Pilot was trying to hand crank propeller after Piper Cherokee stalled Struck him in head; he was taken to hospital and died four hours later A pilot died today after being struck in the head by the moving propeller of a single-engine plane. The horrific accident happened at 8:30am on Monday at the Gillespie Field airport in San Diego, California, while the victim was trying to restart the plane after it stalled, witnesses said. Two pilots were on board when the Piper Cherokee was taxiing out to the runway when the engine stalled and one of them got out to hand crank the propeller. But it struck him in the head. The struck pilot was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital for treatment of critical injuries after the incident. He died there at 1pm. Flight safety authorities are now investigating what happened. The blue and white Piper Cherokee PA-28R-200 four-seat fixed-wing plane was built in 1974 and is registered to a man in nearby Lakeside, California, according to official records. It comes after model and fashion blogger Lauren Scruggs, 23, walked in front of a plane at Aero County Airport in McKinney, Texas, last month and lost her left hand and left eye in the incident. Her mother Cheryl said last week that although her daughter's pain is reduced 'when she is moving about and distracted', when she tries to sleep, 'it comes - and it comes ferociously at times'. Gillespie Field was constructed by the government in 1942 during World War Two to be used for training Marine Corps parachutists and it was originally named Camp Gillespie. This was in honour of Marine Lieutenant Archibald H. Gillespie, who was renowned for his efforts in the 1840s war between the U.S. and Mexico. The airport was leased to San Diego County in 1947. It became a general aviation airport and then the county owned it from 1953, when it was used mostly for privately- owned aircraft and by flight schools. Now the airport holds one terminal, two industrial parks, three museums, a restaurant, maintenance shops and various flight schools, according to a San Diego County newsletter. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2094021/Pilot-dies-struck-moving-propeller-single-engine-plane- Gillespie-Field.html#ixzz1l2g6SwF3 Back to Top Arik Air Takes Measures To Improve Aviation Safety, Security Arik Air has emphasised its commitment to safety and security of its operations and is undertaking a series of enhanced measures in response to the growing security threat in the country. The airline said it was strengthening its security department with the recruitment of local and expatriate staff. New aviation security experts, with previous experience in Iraq and Afghanistan and are fully trained in counter-terrorism, will be deployed in Abuja and Lagos to assist local staff in ensuring that the airline's staff continue to operate at the very highest security level on an ongoing basis. Currently, the domestic Chief Security Officer (CSO) and Standards & Training Manager are trained to the highest European standards and endorsed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Arik Air disclosed that it has also brought in new equipment to assist security officers in their jobs. It currently uses its own X-ray equipment in addition to its own explosive and narcotic equipment. 2012 will also see the company develop its own specialist search teams for in-depth aircraft and passenger searches. The security teams are led by experienced personnel who have worked in various airport environments ranging from Glasgow International Airport, Scotland to Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/14881/2012/01/31/arik_air_takes_measures_improve_aviation_safety_security.html Back to Top SIA 777 attempted go-around before Munich veer-off Pilots of a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER which veered off both sides of a Munich runway had unsuccessfully attempted to execute a go-around before the incident, German investigators from the BFU have revealed. After landing the aircraft careered off the left-hand side of Runway 08R, before crossing it and coming to a halt off the right-hand side. The twinjet had been conducting an instrument landing system approach but the flight-data recorder showed that, 6s before touchdown, the 777 started to roll to the left, as the autopilot responded to a localiser indication that the aircraft was deviating to the right of the centreline. There had been localiser signal deviations for a few seconds beforehand. While BFU noted that a BAE Systems Avro RJ had been departing from the same runway, and had still not cleared the runway end before the 777 overflew the threshold, it has not indicated whether this was connected. The RJ passed over the localiser antenna, at a height of 740ft, some 20s later. The 777, which had banked 3.5° left, touched down on its left main landing-gear, 490m beyond the threshold, and began to drift towards the left-hand runway edge, rolling off around taxiway B4. Crew rudder inputs led the autopilot to disengage, and the aircraft rolled about 400m over grass in a gradual right turn before rejoining the runway - about 40° off the centreline heading - and coming off the right-hand edge 1,620m along its course. None of the 143 passengers and 15 crew members was injured, and the aircraft escaped damage during the incident on 3 November last year. There had been no warnings in the cockpit during the approach but the captain said that he had retracted the spoilers and tried to execute a go-around when the aircraft started moving to the left, but that the aircraft would not respond. While the flight-data recorder contained no trace of go-around initiation, the cockpit-voice recorder showed the captain called "Flaps 20" and there were several sounds consistent with the take-off/go-around switch being pushed twice and the speed-brake handle being moved. BFU said the landing took place in a slight crosswind from the right. Although the co-pilot had been designated to fly, the captain had taken over for the approach because the weather had fallen below the minimum requirement. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top US FAA mandates Q400 wire checks A final airworthiness directive (AD) to be issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration on 31 January targets wiring issues that could potentially cause the failure of ice protection systems on the Bombardier Q400. Within 400 flight hours or 60 days of the mid-February activation date of the AD, US operators of Q400s will be required to inspect certain alternating current (AC) power wire bundles for damage, making repairs if needed, and segregating the wire bundle into two separate bundles with Teflon tubing. The FAA said the AD, initially issued by Transport Canada on 20 December, was prompted by multiple reports of the loss of certain alternating current (AC) systems and the tripping of associated circuit breakers. The failure was caused by burned AC power wire bundles, the FAA said. "All AC systems and AC generators could be affected by damage to this AC power wire bundle resulting in the loss of ice protection systems for the angle of attack vanes, pitot probes, engine inlets or windshields," said the FAA in the AD. "In icing conditions, the loss of the ice protection systems could affect continued safe flight." The FAA accelerated the activation time for the inspections from the 600 flight hours and 90 days as mandated by Transport Canada in December. "In developing an appropriate compliance time for this AD, we considered the degree of urgency associated with addressing the unsafe condition, the upcoming inclement weather conditions, and the maximum interval of time allowable for all affected airplanes to continue to operate without compromising safety," the agency said. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Manila's Cebu Air to lease 8 A330-300s for non-Asian routes MANILA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The Philippines' largest budget carrier, Cebu Air Inc, said on Tuesday it will lease up to eight Airbus A330-300s as it launches long-haul flights as part of an expansion aimed at adding new markets to its existing Asian routes. The additional aircraft would allow Cebu Pacific, the airline operated by Cebu Air, to start flying to Australia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe and the United States by the third quarter of 2013. "The A330-300 will give us the lowest cost-per-seat, allowing us to drive long-haul fares 35 percent lower than those currently offered by other airlines and as much as 80 percent lower when Cebu Pacific offers promo fares," Lance Gokongwei, the company's president, said in a statement. "This aircraft type is very well suited to the kind of network we want to build and the routes we want to launch," he said, adding the company hopes to provide more affordable direct flights to an underserved market of about 11 million Filipinos living and working overseas. The A330-300 aircraft carries 295 people up to 5,650 nautical miles or 10,500 kilometres, with a three-class layout. Philippine carriers have been banned since April 2010 from flying to Europe due to safety issues, but Gokongwei said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines was addressing the concerns which should result in a lifting of the ban soon. "With the support of all major airlines, we're confident that before the end of the year, the blacklist should be lifted," he later told reporters. Cebu Air, a unit of Philippine conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc., competes with Philippine Airlines (PAL) . Its shares were almost flat in afternoon trade while PAL was up 1.7 percent in a broad market that edged up 0.4 percent. In June, Cebu Air announced it had put in orders for 30 new A321neos and seven A320s from Airbus, a unit of France's EADS , with delivery between 2015 and 2021 as it sought to double its fleet and expand routes. It currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 19 Airbus A320s and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft, with an average fleet age of 3.6 years. The company said it expects to take an additional 23 Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft between 2012 and 2021. It plans to raise a total $150 million to $160 million via bank loans to finance four new A320 jets arriving this year. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC