Flight Safety Information February 7, 2012 - No. 027 In This Issue A380 Wing Issues Expected To Be Minor Setback MAK investigation findings of Yaroslavl Yak-42 accident challenged in court No greater risk of blood clots from flying economy class European 2012 Regional Air Safety Seminar Cargo Pilots Have Been Down This Road Before Airport worker run over by Boeing Dreamliner passenger jet PRISM Certification Consultants Pilot in Fresno crash might have stolen plane for joy ride, was not licensed to fly Aviation Policy Skirmishes End With U.S. Senate Passing FAA Bill Brazil Privatizes Airports, Raising $14 Billion More Private Screeners to Be Allowed at Airports Under Bill Air Namibia buys new aircraft A380 Wing Issues Expected To Be Minor Setback Airbus and airlines expect little disruption for A380 wing repairs The high profile Airbus has given the A380 magnifies any of its problems in the public eye. The mega- transport's latest setback, cracks in a wing component that must be repaired in much of the fleet worldwide, may end up as little more than a footnote, however. Airbus has put in place changes to its A380 wing assembly process to address the occurrence of component cracks as it becomes apparent that most A380s already built require fixes to deal with the issue. Twenty of the more than 60 Airbus A380s in service worldwide are affected by the European Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) airworthiness directive (AD) to inspect the aircraft for potential cracks of wing rib-feet. The findings by the airline inspections having unfolded in recent days are "in line with the expectations," says Airbus executive vice president for programs, Tom Williams. Singapore Airlines has the most A380s affected; it found cracks on all six aircraft inspected initially. No major service disruptions resulted, although some flights had to be shifted to Boeing 777-300ERs while the A380 wing repairs were underway. Similarly, Lufthansa's A380 introduction director, Dean Rainieri, says he does not expect any major disruptions. Lufthansa operates eight A380s, but they are not yet affected due to their low number of flight hours. The Jan. 20 AD requires A380s with 1,800 flight cycles or more to undergo a detailed visual inspection within four days or 14 flight cycles, whichever occurs first. For aircraft with 1,300-1,800 flight cycles, the inspection must occur within six weeks or 84 flight cycles, according to EASA. Aircraft not yet affected by the directive will undergo the process once they reach the flight cycle threshold, or even earlier, Williams notes. There are enough replacement wing rib-feet available to avoid parts shortages that could impact aircraft return to service. At issue is an L-shaped bracket that attaches the wing skin to the ribs. Each wing has about 2,000 L- shaped brackets (30-40 per rib, with 60 ribs per wing), so the failure of one bracket is not seen as a safety issue. However, EASA says that "this condition, if not detected and corrected, could potentially affect structural integrity of the aeroplane." To avoid the problem on new-build aircraft, Airbus is using shimming to reduce the strain applied when the wing skins are assembled, which will reduce the loads on the wing rib-feet. Rather than a 0.5-mm gap when skins were pulled down in the assembly process, it was 1.5-2 mm in the lower wing area around Rib 26 and Stringer 21, causing an unexpected load on the wing rib-feet. Airbus also is changing the material of the part from an Aluminum 7449 alloy to a stronger component. The overall effect will be to add 89 kg (196 lb.) to the aircraft, Williams says. Furthermore, Airbus is altering the interference fit fasteners because it deems the current configuration complicit in the damage seen. The inspection regime airlines are undertaking involves draining the wing tanks and opening an access panel. Depending on local rules, the process takes a day or more. If a repair action is required, it can take several days. Airbus stresses that the issue is not a flight safety concern. As part of the root-cause analysis, Airbus instrumented one of its own aircraft to determine if its wing- load estimate had been erroneous. The testing indicated that was not the case. EASA notes that this AD "is considered to be an interim action to immediately address this condition." But, it adds, "further mandatory actions might be considered" as a result of the ongoing investigation. Wing changes being introduced on the A380 to boost the maximum takeoff weight to 574 from 569 metric tons should not create a new problem in this area, Airbus says. But that is not the only in-service issue the aircraft maker is dealing with on its flagship product. Fleet- wide dispatch reliability of the A380 is now at 98%. "We were not at the levels of reliability that we had hoped for," concedes Paul Oliver, head of customer support for the Middle East, Africa and India during Aviation Week's MRO Middle East conference in Dubai last week. However, he emphasizes that the trend lines are in the right direction and that more than half of A380 operators have a 99% dispatch reliability rate. Lufthansa has a 99.2% rate, according to Rainieri. The airline operated four of the aircraft at 100% for four months before encountering some glitches. Separately, the Qantas A380 severely damaged as a result of the Nov. 4, 2010, uncontained Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine failure is now "back in flying condition," Oliver says. The aircraft is on the ground again, though, undergoing wing-crack repairs in Singapore. http://www.aviationweek.com Back to Top MAK investigation findings of Yaroslavl Yak-42 accident challenged in court Yaroslavl Yak-42 accident scene Relatives of the Yak-42 pilots involved in a fatala accident at Yaroslavl in September 2011 dispute the official findings on the causes of the accident in a Russian court. On September 7, 2011 a Yakovlev 42 passenger jet carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team crashed on takeoff. Forty-four occupants died; just one passenger survived the accident. The investigators of the MAK Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) concluded amongst others that the wrong V1 speed had been calculated and that the airplane failed to accelerate because one of the pilots inadvertently pushed the brake pedals. A document disputing the conclusions was submitted to the Zamoskvoretskiy court of Moscow. Relatives of the captain and copilot believed, on the basis of "expert legal analysis", that the crash investigation was conducted in violation of ICAO standards and recommended practices. In addition, according to defense, the Interstate Aviation Committee was interested in the outcome of the investigation. The conclusion about the application of brake pedals was refuted because it was "not based on any legal documents". The document also challenged the findings that the airplane stalled due to a critical angle of attack because this critical angle was not recorded by the flight data recorder. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top No greater risk of blood clots from flying economy class Blood clots form during inactivity because blood is pumped from the extremities by muscle contractions. However, new guidelines state those who fly in economy class are not more likely to develop clots. The guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians, last updated in 2008, are being released Tuesday and will be published in this month's edition of the journal Chest. Anyone who's flown recently has heard the advice to stay hydrated, get up and move around the cabin and do leg exercises at one's seat. That's because sitting without moving for long periods of time can cause blood clots in the legs, known as deep vein thrombosis. The 2012 guidelines were crafted based on research. The good news is that there's almost no increase in risk for people flying short-haul flights, says Mark Crowther, who co-chaired the committee that wrote the guidelines and is a hematologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Even for those flying for more than four hours, the risk of a clot is only about once every 4,600 trips. "So if you're a completely healthy 42-year-old with no health concerns, your risk of getting a blood clot on a plane is very low," he says. Blood clots form during inactivity because blood is pumped from the extremities by muscle contractions. When you sit for long periods of time, the muscles don't contract, "the veins in the legs dilate and blood pools a little bit, and it's that pooling that's a potential trigger" for clotting, says Harold Palevsky, a professor of pulmonology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The 2012 guidelines cover multiple potential causes of blood clots in veins. One one small section is devoted to air travel and points out those at increased risk of blood clots, including those who had recent surgery or a broken bone, people with active cancer, pregnant women or women on birth control pills, the elderly, those with limited mobility, or those who have previously had blood clots. For patients at high risk, "talk to your physician," Crowther says. Blood thinners are a possibility as protection before a flight. Obesity is also a risk factor, though it's unclear whether it's related to an actual risk for clots or whether obesity tends to make people more immobile. Other physical attributes affect risk as well. The very tall are often so crammed in that they can't move around much, while the very short often have to sit in an odd position because the seat is too long and their legs can't easily flex, Crowther says. One surprising finding was that there's no good scientific evidence that staying hydrated by drinking lots of water lowers the risk of clots. However, Crowther thinks it's a good idea anyway, because at least "it makes you get up to go to the bathroom." And it's not just planes, says Victoria Day with Airlines for America, an airline industry group. "The risk of developing a DVT during air travel is about the same as being seated for the same period of time at a desk, in a movie theater, on a bus or in a car." A report by the World Health Organization in 2007 found that for every four hours of immobilization, the chance of experiencing a blood clot doubles. That immobilization could be due to surgery or travel in a car, plane, train or airplane. Perhaps the most controversial statement in the guidelines is that there's nothing inherently more clot- inducing about economy class vs. business or first class. That's a bit disingenuous, says Kate Hanni, executive director of FlyersRights.org. "It's simply easier to get up and move around in business and first class." She was recently on a flight where the seats were so close together that "I could not cross my legs" because the person in front of her had reclined the chair. "I was completely immobilized," she says. There are two main symptoms for blood clots in the leg: if one leg, but not the other, becomes sore and swollen, or if one but not the other feels heavy and may be red, says Crowther. The danger is that a piece of the blood clot in the leg can break off and be carried to the lungs, called a pulmonary embolism. Then patients get very short of breath and have chest pains that last for more than 15 minutes. It "feels like a knife every time you take a breath," says Crowther. Twenty percent of patients who have a pulmonary embolism die, which is why seeking medical care for blood clots in the leg is so important. http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2012-02-07/No-greater-risk-of-blood-clots-from-flying- economy-class/52993704/1 Back to Top 2012 Regional Air Safety Seminar Air Accident Investigation in the European Environment Thursday 19th and Friday 20th April 2012 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands Following the continued success of its seminars the European Society of Air Safety Investigators is pleased to announce the dates for its 5th Air Safety Seminar to be held in Amsterdam. With emphasis on current European issues in the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents, the two-day seminar is aimed at accident investigation professionals and will provide an opportunity to update professional knowledge and skills, as well as to meet other active air safety investigators. Presentations will address current issues in European environment and the challenges of modern air safety investigations. The presentation programme will be available early in 2012. The two day programme will take place at the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) which is the key centre of expertise for aerospace technology in The Netherlands. The cost for the Seminar is £250 for ESASI members and £300 for non-members. Hotel accommodation has been arranged at the Eden Hotel in the city centre and transport will be provided to the NLR. For hotel bookings follow the link as follows http://tinyurl.com/84was8z Amsterdam has been called the "Venice of the North" for its more than one hundred kilometres of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The Seminar programme will include an evening reception with a dinner cruise on the canals providing a unique perspective on the city. Companions are welcome to attend the dinner cruise.. For details please check our website www.esasi.eu and for bookings contact ESASI Councillor ESASI Secretary Anne Evans John Dunne Tel: +44 (0) 7860516763 Tel: +44 (0) 7860 222266 e-mail: anne_e_evans@hotmail.com e-mail: j.dunne@btinternet.com Back to Top Cargo Pilots Have Been Down This Road Before by Bill Carey Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with leaders of the Independent Pilots Association (IPA) over coffee at the Mayflower hotel in downtown Washington. Based in Louisville, Ky., site of the UPS Worldport international air hub, the IPA represents 2,650 pilots who fly freight for Big Brown. The delegation was visiting the nation's capital to inform lawmakers about the FAA's decision to exempt all-cargo airlines from its new flightcrew member duty and rest requirements "because their compliance costs significantly exceed the quantified societal benefits." The IPA wants the so-called cargo "carveout" removed from the FAA rule, which it is challenging in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Capt. Robert Travis, IPA president, contends "one level of safety" was the intent of the Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010, which introduced new safety provisions in the wake of the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407. He argued that cargo pilots fly the same aircraft in the same airspace as their passenger- carrying brethren, and thus are subject to the same fatigue. First officer Lauri Esposito, who served on the aviation rulemaking committee that helped develop the "science-based" duty rule, suggested cargo pilots might be even more prone to fatigue. "Operating on the back side of the clock, across multiple times zones, is exclusively what we do," she said. But cargo pilots have been down this road before, arrayed against the greater industry over safety and working conditions. While the traffic collision avoidance system (Tcas) has been mandated for passenger- carrying aircraft since the early 1990s, it wasn't until 2003 that Tcas was required for cargo aircraft at the urging of pilot unions. "We've already experienced the tragic effects of what this two-tiered cargo cutout can do," said Travis, citing the midairs and near misses that preceded the requirement. "It took blood and tragedy to get us carved back into the [Tcas] rule." Pilots sided with the FAA in its interpretation of the "Whitlow Letter," issued in November 2000 by FAA Deputy Chief Counsel James Whitlow, enforcing a 16-hour maximum duty day. The Air Transport Association, now Airlines for America, and the Regional Airline Association challenged the interpretation in court. Now the IPA is challenging the FAA in its petition for review of the duty rule in federal appeals court. Other unions representing cargo pilots-the Airline Professionals Association-Teamsters Local 1224 and FedEx Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)-expressed outrage over the cargo carveout, but hadn't joined the legal case at this writing. During a February 2 briefing in Washington, Capt. Lee Moak, ALPA president, said eliminating the carveout is a top association priority for 2012. He said ALPA is pursuing a two-pronged strategy: supporting Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in encouraging cargo carriers to voluntarily opt in to the FAA rule and working through Congress to introduce a new bill eliminating the carveout. The day we spoke, the IPA delegation planned to meet with Kentucky's Republican senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, neither one a champion of labor unions, to press their case for including cargo carriers in the duty rule. On the legal front, William Trent, IPA general counsel, said the association wants the appeals court to remand the duty rule back to the FAA with instructions to reevaluate why cargo carriers were excluded. The court also could reject the petition. He expects the process will take 12 to 18 months. "We're not opposing the rule," said Travis. "We're just asking for inclusion." http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/blogs/ain-blog-cargo-pilots-have-been-down-road Back to Top Airport worker run over by Boeing Dreamliner passenger jet An airport worker has been run over by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet. The unfortunate ground crew worker got trapped under the landing gear of the jet on Friday at the manufacturer's Everett factory in America. The Associated Press reported that the man was run over as the plane was being towed by Japan Airlines livery at Paine Field in Washington. According to stuff.co.nz, the man was taken by helicopter to hospital suffering serious leg injuries. Boeing said it was investigating the incident and would "implement the necessary changes to avoid a future re-occurrence", reports the smh.com.au. Meanwhile, the 787 Dreamliner - a fuel-efficient, carbon-composite aircraft - is under inspection for a possible problem with the fuselage's structure just month's after it was launched, according to the Daily Mail. Boeing spokesman Scott Lefeber said: "Boeing has found that incorrect shimming was performed on support structure on the aft fuselage of some 787s." He added that it would not affect production and that there were not short term safety concerns. http://travel.aol.co.uk/2012/02/06/airport-worker-run-over-by-boeing-dreamliner-787-passenger-jet/ Back to Top Back to Top Pilot in Fresno crash might have stolen plane for joy ride, was not licensed to fly The owner of a single-engine plane that crashed Sunday afternoon west of Fresno said it was stolen by a man with no pilot's license who may have been on a joy ride. The Cessna 172 four-seater severed power lines and plowed into a canal bank alongside Barstow Avenue about a quarter-mile west of the city limits about 4 p.m. Sunday. The pilot was killed in the crash. He has not been identified. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The mangled plane remained on the canal bank overnight and was removed Monday morning after owner Felix J. Boston of Walnut Creek drove in to see it. The plane's interior instruments were scattered outside the plane, and there was Cheez Whiz everywhere, said Boston, who owns a Farmer's Insurance agency in Pleasant Hill. Boston said he heard a cellphone ring from the fuselage while he was there, but he and investigators couldn't find it. "I loved that plane," said Boston, who bought the plane in 2006. He auctioned rides in the plane to raise money for scholarships and agencies that help the homeless. "I take a lot of charity flights over the Golden Gate Bridge. I won't be able to do that anymore." NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said Monday that the pilot was unlicensed and that investigators believed the plane had been stolen. Boston last saw the plane on Friday at Buchanan Field Airport in Concord after finishing its annual checkup. He didn't know it was missing until an NTSB investigator from Seattle called him Sunday night about the crash. "I didn't know people stole planes," Boston said. Thefts of small general aviation aircraft are rare. Fewer than a dozen are stolen each year, according to the Aviation Crime Prevention Institute Inc., a Florida-based nonprofit organization that tracks aviation- related crime. Last year, only one aircraft was stolen in the U.S. There are more than 220,000 general aviation aircraft nationwide, according to the FAA. The man must have had some flying experience to get the plane off the ground, Boston said. The pilot even taped over some of the numbers on the plane's tail, he said. Boston said planes are so simple that almost anyone who knows how to hot-wire a car could get the engine started without a key. "You just touch two wires and away you go," Boston said. The doors can be pried open with a screwdriver, he said, although many plane owners leave their doors unlocked. Boston said he always locked his doors because he had GPS in his plane. He still hasn't found the GPS equipment. Boston said his heart sank when he saw the plane sitting by the canal. He is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves and has seen his share of wrecked vehicles while serving in Baghdad from 2007 to 2008. But "when it's yours, it's a little more emotional," he said. The plane was moved to Sacramento where investigators can take a closer look at the parts, Boston said. The last fatal plane crash in Fresno County occurred in November 2008, when a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza crashed in heavy fog near the Coalinga airport, according to NTSB data. The crash killed one woman and injured two other people. Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/02/06/2711960/plane-in-deadly-crash-west- of.html#storylink=cpy Back to Top Aviation Policy Skirmishes End With U.S. Senate Passing FAA Bill By Alan Levin Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate's approval yesterday of a bill to run the Federal Aviation Administration for four years ends the political gridlock that triggered a two-week partial shutdown of the agency last year. "Many compromises were made to get us here," Senator Jay Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who is chairman of the commerce committee, said during debate. "Compromises in the present atmosphere are not easy. And while no one got everything they wanted, the bill will permit us to achieve our shared goals." The bill, which authorizes $63.4 billion in FAA spending through 2015, goes to President Barack Obama for his signature after being passed by the House on Feb. 2. It's the first long- term law guiding U.S. aviation policy and spending since the last such measure expired in 2007. The agency has since operated under 23 short-term extensions. The legislation includes a faster timetable for completing air-traffic control upgrades known as NextGen. It requires aircraft flying in congested airways to use the new technology by 2020 and orders the FAA to develop more efficient routes into the busiest airports. The bill would cut U.S. subsidies that encourage airlines to serve rural airports. Rockefeller tried to protect those flights in his home state, while John Mica, the Florida Republican who leads the House transportation committee, sought to eliminate them except in Alaska. Flammable Batteries U.S. regulators will be restricted in efforts to enact new requirements for shipping lithium batteries on cargo jets, which technology companies including Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. had fought. Regulators cannot adopt rules that are more strict than those of the United Nations. Tougher battery standards can be created under a one-year emergency measure or if the secretary of transportation finds that batteries have caused fires. The legislation also provides for eight additional round trip flights a day from Washington's Reagan National Airport to cities more than 1,250 miles away. U.S. rules now permit 12 such round trip flights. Security companies would have an easier time winning contracts to operate airport checkpoints. Transportation Security Administrator John Pistole last year froze the number of airports allowed to have private firms performing screening at 16. The legislation would require the TSA to reconsider applications for private screeners that it had rejected. FAA Shutdown The bill is an important stimulus to a sector that creates more than $1 trillion a year in economic activity, Rockefeller said. "We will create and sustain jobs in every state," he said. Passage of a bill was held up last year by Democrats' objections to a Republican-sponsored provision in the House version that would have overturned a 2010 U.S. National Mediation Board decision making it easier to form a union at airlines and railroads. Tensions over the labor issue and rural-flight subsidies triggered a partial shutdown of the FAA from July 23 to Aug. 5 after Congress couldn't pass an extension allowing the agency to operate. The shutdown stopped airport construction projects, forced the FAA to furlough about 4,000 employees and cost the government at least $468 million in airline-ticket and aviation- fuel taxes, according to government and industry data compiled by Bloomberg. Labor Compromise Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, and House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, brokered a deal they announced Jan. 20 that stripped the labor provision from the bill. Reid agreed to other changes in NMB election rules that would make it more difficult to unionize. Senator Tom Harkin, the Iowa Democrat who is chairman of the committee overseeing labor law, said yesterday that he objected to the compromise. "I call it an abuse of our legislative process and we shouldn't let it happen," Harkin said during the debate. While some labor groups endorsed the compromise, others called for its defeat, contending that it would make it harder for workers to organize. A group of 18 unions issued a joint statement last week opposing the agreement. The bill is a "compromise in name only," the Communications Workers of America said in an e-mailed statement yesterday that urged Senate Democrats to oppose the bill. The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents almost 60,000 people at 23 airlines, is part of the CWA. Back to Top Brazil Privatizes Airports, Raising $14 Billion (WSJ) SÃO PAULO-Brazil raised $14 billion in a privatization of three major airports, a bid to speed modernization of overcrowded hubs before the country hosts soccer's 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. Investor groups including a Brazilian pension fund, private construction firms and airport operators bid for concessions Monday to operate the international airport in São Paulo, Latin America's busiest, as well as growing hubs in the capital Brasilia and in Campinas for up to 30 years. The concessions require the firms to improve the airports. The sale of other long-term operating licenses are planned. Officials said strong demand for the concessions reflected heightened investor interest in one of the world's fastest growing airline markets. Brisk economic growth and record low unemployment have created millions of entrants into Brazil's middle class. That in turn has spurred air traffic growth of double-digit rates, with demand jumping 16% in 2011 to about 180 million passengers. But the country's airports are groaning under the rapid expansion of the domestic economy. "Chaos in the Air" has become a catch phrase for local news coverage of the long lines and delays that already plague the country's airports around holidays. That has heightened concern that the country will be ready to receive travelers during the World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. Though President Dilma Rousseff's leftist party is against privatization, Ms. Rousseff is selling long-term operating licenses as a way to accelerate expansion plans. Brazil's airports are currently operated by the government's Infraero agency. Contracts to upgrade and operate airports in the cities of São Paulo, Campinas and Brasilia were sold for a total of 24.5 billion Brazilian reais ($14 billion), more than four times the government's initial asking price, a reflection of strong demand for the opportunity to manage the infrastructure of one of the world's fastest growing airline markets. "The result is a positive sign that this country is a place where investments are safe and profitable," said Wagner Bittencourt, Brazil's Civil Aviation Secretary, which oversaw the auction process. Brazil opted last year to privatize several airports, and sold a small airport in Brazil's northeast. Monday's auction marks a major step forward. The prize asset, the Guarulhos airport in São Paulo, was taken by Investimentos e Participacoes em Infraestrutura SA-or Invepar, a holding company made up of construction companies and some of Brazil's largest pension funds-together with Airports Company South Africa. The partners bid 16.2 billion Brazilian reais, considerably higher than the next bid of 12.9 billion reais, made by EcoRodovias Infraestrutura e Logistica SA and Germany's Fraport AG. "We are very confident about the bid we made," said Gustavo Rocha, chief executive of Invepar. "The bid was made based on months of studies and modeling. We didn't make the bid just to scare off other bidders." Guarulhos was considered to be the most attractive of the batch because it already has a huge flow of customers, and so guaranteed revenues. The airport in Brasilia is smaller, but still has a significant customer base; its concession was picked up by Brazil's Engevix construction firm and Argentina's Corporacion America, with a bid of 4.5 billion reais. Transportation company Triunfo Participacoes won rights to operate the Viracopos airport in Campinas, which is slated to become Brazil's biggest airport, but which will require the most investment, at 8.7 billion reais. Triunfo partnered with construction company UTC Participacoes and France's Egis Airport Operation to bid 3.8 billion reais, more than double the starting price of 1.5 billion reais. Despite bringing in private-sector operators, the government is still expected to pay a dominant role in the funding for the airports, via the national development bank, or BNDES, which has agreed to lend about 80% of capital needs-excluding the amount paid for the license-at heavily subsidized interest rates. Meanwhile, the success of Monday's auction is likely to encourage more concessions later this year. Secretary Bittencourt told reporters the government is planning concessions for airports in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. Back to Top More Private Screeners to Be Allowed at Airports Under Bill Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Companies wanting to take over passenger screening at U.S. airports from the Transportation Security Administration will have an easier time getting contracts under Senate legislation. The U.S. agency must allow airports to switch to private companies for screeners unless it can show the move wouldn't be cost-effective and would be detrimental to security, according to the legislation, which the Senate cleared today for President Barack Obama's signature. The House approved the measure Feb. 3. "They've been trying to force the door open for several years," Jeff Price, a Denver-based consultant who has written a textbook on aviation security, said of U.S. lawmakers. "It reverses the burden of proof. It is definitely trying to checkmate the TSA." TSA Administrator John Pistole raised the ire of House transportation committee Chairman John Mica, a Florida Republican, last year by freezing the number of airports using non-government screeners. Mica, who proposed the House version of the FAA bill, has said the TSA should get out of passenger screening to focus on intelligence gathering and security oversight. Before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, airlines were responsible for aviation security and hired security companies to operate checkpoints. The law that created the TSA put it in charge of security while requiring five airports to have private screeners under a two-year pilot program. The number later grew to 16. Pistole halted new participation in January 2011. Orlando Airport Pistole had said he wouldn't allow more airports to convert to private screeners unless there was a "clear and substantial advantage to the federal government," said Greg Soule, a TSA spokesman. The four-year Federal Aviation Administration blueprint approved by the House Feb. 3 and set for a Senate vote today will force TSA to reconsider applications it rejected. One of those is from the Orlando Sanford International Airport, in Mica's congressional district. "The business cases submitted by these airports failed to demonstrate an operational, security, or cost advantage that provides a clear and substantial benefit," Soule said. Closely held Covenant Aviation Security LLC has won at least $692 million in contracts since 2002, more than any other private-screening company, according to a Bloomberg review of TSA contracts. Florida Offices Covenant maintains offices in Casselberry, Florida, which is in Mica's district, and provides screening at San Francisco International Airport, the largest U.S. airport with private security. Covenant would be interested in bidding on the Orlando airport contract if TSA approves the airport for private screeners, Janine Morris, a company spokeswoman, said by telephone. The biggest change will be that the TSA will have a deadline to act on airport requests, Morris said. "They will have to provide an explanation," she said. "That has not been done in the past." Yellowstone Airport The TSA has already reconsidered and approved an application at Yellowstone Airport in Montana, Soule said. The airport operates four months a year, and private screeners will allow the TSA to reassign government resources to other airports, he said. Pistole is scheduled to appear at a House Homeland Security subcommittee tomorrow in a hearing entitled, "Why is a Job- Creating, Public-Private Partnership Meeting Resistance at TSA?" In June, the American Federation of Government Employees won the right to bargain for the TSA's 44,000 screeners. Emily Ryan, a union spokeswoman, declined to comment on the FAA legislation. The existing market for private screeners is about $144 million a year, compared with $2.9 billion a year spent on TSA screeners. The agency spent $925 million on screener contracts through 2011. Private-screeing companies have come and gone in the years since TSA was created, but most haven't stuck around because the agency made it known it wasn't interested, said Price, the Denver consultant. A new batch of startups is likely, he said. Seventy-four companies registered last year when the TSA sought bids for contracts at six airports. "You'll see companies make themselves known," Price said. "They'll make sure every airport operator knows the rules have changed." Back to Top Air Namibia buys new aircraft WINDHOEK - European aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, has confirmed Namibia's national airline's purchase of two new Airbus A319 aircrafts. Air Namibia announced mid-last year its intention to buy two brand-new aircraft from the European manufacturer, with financial guarantee from the government, as part of a new turn-around business plan adopted by Cabinet. Airbus, which does not confirm sales of its products until an actual order is signed, released a statement yesterday morning saying: "Air Namibia, the Windhoek-based national airline of the Republic of Namibia, has ordered two new Airbus A319 aircraft." Well-placed sources have told New Era that delivery of the aircraft is scheduled for December 2012. The statement did not mention the price tag of the two aircraft but earlier estimates are at about N$620 million (US$90 million). The national airline has been leasing aircraft since selling its jumbo jet Boeing 747-400 combi double- decker aircraft in 2004. The purchase of that jumbo jet in late 1998 plunged the national carrier into financial woes for almost five years, as Air Namibia battled to break even to sustain the jumbo jet's high operational and maintenance bills. Cabinet approved the purchase of two new aircrafts, as well as lease of other small aircrafts, as part of the turnaround business plan that saw the treasury increase the injection into the airline to total N$1,191 billion under the three year rolling budget until 2012/14. Air Namibia's new business plan seeks to turn in a profit in five years time, by focusing on profitable regional and domestic routes, minimising operational costs and implement better flight scheduling, which is only possible with reliable and newer aircraft. International Air Transport Association (IATA) consulting services, which draw up the business plan, asked Air Namibia to focus on turning itself into "a full service carrier with a geographically focused network that services the traffic flows to and from and within Southern Africa." Further, the airline was advised to use the state of the Hosea Kutako International Airport to its advantage. The country's international airport is neither congested, nor requires transit visas for passengers to other destinations. The prospects of the national airline turning in profits are so convincing, that Cabinet moved the airline to the Ministry of Works and Transport, saying: "We have extensively discussed this [issues around the turn around plan] that is why Government decided to bite the bullet and finance the acquisitions [of new aircraft]." The airbus A319 have a seating capacity of 112 passengers each in a two-class layout and Airbus says the aircraft will bring new levels of comfort to regional routes from Windhoek to other major African cities. Air Namibia already operates two leased A319s on regional routes, and two A340-300 aircraft on its international route between Windhoek and Frankfurt, Germany. Industry forecasts are that the emerging economies would be driving the growth in aviation industry, with more travellers in such countries compared to the developed countries. In Namibia alone the average travel pattern continues to increase and is not far off from the average trip travel for the entire world. As of September this year Namibia's overall traffic went up 27 percent compared to year 2000, according to the world's revered Official Airline Guide (OAG). The institution says Namibia's domestic traffic is up more than 80 percent, while traffic to or from Europe to Namibia is up 13 percent. Traffic between Namibia and the rest of Africa went up nearly 50 percent since 2000. http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=42685&title=Laser%20beams%20unsettle%20Kaaronda Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC