Flight Safety Information February 24, 2012 - No. 039 In This Issue Marine training crash in Calif. among deadliest Helicopter shakes itself apart on landing Tired Pilots Are Falling Asleep At The Controls Boeing Says 787 Fix Takes 10 to 14 Days With No Redesign Needed A Flight Attendant Refused To Let Passengers Off A Plane After A Video Player Went Missing ARGUS PROS Global Auditing Facing a bankrupt American, some pilots look to China for jobs ICAO Adopts New Security Strategy Cyprus to host annual conference on air safety Graduate Research Survey Request Marine training crash in Calif. among deadliest SAN DIEGO (AP) - An aviation training accident that killed seven Marines - one of the Corps' deadliest aviation training accidents in years - left the military community shaken and was a solemn reminder that preparing for war poses some of the same risks as the real thing. "It's an unfortunate consequence of the high tempo of operations," said retired Marine Col. J.F. Joseph, an aviation safety consultant. "They're out there working on the edge trying to exploit the maximum capabilities of the aircraft and their tactics. Just by the virtue of that, in becoming combat ready, these unfortunately are not uncommon occurrences." The Marine Corps and Navy, nonetheless, stand out in their efforts to mitigate that risk and make training as safe as possible, he said. Officials said it could weeks to determine what caused two helicopters, an AH-1W Cobra and a UH-1 Huey, to crash in midair during a routine exercise Wednesday night, killing all aboard the aircraft. Skies were clear and the weather was mild. The accident occurred near the Chocolate Mountains along the California-Arizona border - a sprawling desert range favored by the U.S. military because its craggy mountains and hot, dusty conditions are similar to Afghanistan's harsh environment. With 17,500 Marines and sailors, including personnel stationed at Camp Pendleton and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing conducts hundreds of aviation training exercises a year so troops can get as much experience as possible before they go to war. It was the fifth aviation accident since March involving the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. Throughout the Navy and Marine Corps, there have only been two other aviation training accidents in the past five years involving seven or more deaths, according to the military's Naval Safety Center. Chaplains and counselors were called in to talk to troops. Six of the Marines killed were from Pendleton - the West Coast's largest base - and one was from the base in Yuma. The Marine Corps won't release their names until their families have all been notified. A Fresno man said his son was among the dead. James Everett told the Fresno Bee (http://bit.ly/AoWeY6 ) that his 33-year-old son, Sgt. Justin Avery Everett, was a 10-year Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Iraq and was scheduled to go to Afghanistan in July. He grew up in Fresno and he was a wrestler at Reedley High School. Justin Everett is survived by his wife, a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son who live in the Winchester area of Riverside County, James Everett said. Gov. Jerry Brown issued a statement on behalf of himself and his wife: "Anne and I offer our condolences to the families and friends of the Marines who died last night. We honor their bravery and sacrifice." Two of the Marines were aboard the AH-1W Cobra and the rest were in the UH-1 Huey utility helicopter. They were flying in a remote section of the 1.2-million-acre Yuma Training Range Complex as part of a two-week standard training called "Scorpion Fire" that involved a squadron of about 450 troops from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. The helicopters collided near dunes at the edge of the Yuma range about an hour before the range was to shut down for the evening. Ground troops were in the area, but they were not affected, said Gunnery Sgt. Dustin Dunk, a spokesman at the Yuma base, which is a 90-minute drive from the accident site. Part of the exercise involved having helicopters low on fuel descend to ground troops that have set up a refueling outpost, Dunk said. He did not know if that's what the pilots were doing at the time of the crash. "Our training is always evolving, safety is paramount, and being prepared is paramount," he said. "It was a very standard exercise for what we do. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family members. ... Our investigation will look to see what went wrong and how to correct it." The AH-1W carries a pilot and gunner and is considered the Marine Corps' main attack helicopter. The UH-1Y, which is replacing the aging version of the Huey utility helicopter first used during the Vietnam War, carries one or two pilots, a crew chief and other crew members, depending on the mission. Hueys often are used to pick up and drop off ground crews, while Cobras hover by ready to fire if the Huey comes under attack. In other crashes in the past year, a twin-engine, two-seat AH-1W Cobra helicopter went down in September during training in a remote area of Camp Pendleton, killing two Marine pilots and igniting a brush fire that burned about 120 acres at the base north of San Diego. In August, two Marines were ejected from their F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet as it plunged toward the Pacific Ocean. The two Marines spent four hours in the dark, chilly ocean before they were rescued. Both suffered broken bones but survived. In July, a decorated Marine from western New York was killed during a training exercise when his UH-1Y helicopter went down in a remote section of Camp Pendleton. Another Hornet sustained at least $1 million damage when its engine caught fire on March 30 aboard the USS John C. Stennis during an exercise about 100 miles off the San Diego coast. Eight sailors, a Marine and two civilians were injured. In one of the worst accidents in the past five years, an AH1-W flying in formation with three other Marine helicopters on a nighttime training mission from Camp Pendleton to San Clemente Island collided with a Coast Guard C-130 airplane in October 2009, killing two aboard the Marine helicopters and seven aboard the C-130. Back to Top Helicopter shakes itself apart on landing Brazil's air safety authorities are investigating after a helicopter shook itself to pieces after landing at an airfield in the north of the country this week. Four people in the rescue helicopter were injured during the incident in the state of Pará on Wednesday, the UK's Telegraph newspaper reports. Footage shot by the Pará Fire Department shows the helicopter vibrating heavily before coming apart, shedding the entire front nose section. Officials believe the helicopter experienced what is known as ground resonance, which occurs when the aircraft's rotor is spinning while the helicopter is on the ground. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8425128/helicopter-shakes-itself-apart-on-landing Back to Top Tired Pilots Are Falling Asleep At The Controls British pilots warned members of Parliament Tuesday that if proposals to increase pilot flying time are approved, it will be a danger to public safety, report our colleagues at HuffPost UK. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) wants to standardize pilot workloads across its 27 member states. The EU proposals would increase pilot work time from 16 hours 15 minutes a day to 20 hours, according to The Telegraph. When transportation time is factored in, that could result in a 22-hour work day. When we last addressed this story, the EU was debating only increasing pilot duty to 13 hours. At that time, the British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) claimed this would result in fatigue that's equatable to being four times over the legal alcohol limit -- an assertion it is still making. Dr Rob Hunter, Balpa's head of safety, told MPs that "its own poll showed 43 percent of pilots had fallen asleep on the flight deck - but said this was 'probably an underestimation,'" reports the Daily Mail. "We need an appropriate reporting procedure," he told the BBC. "People fear that if they report fatigue they will be subject to a disciplinary process. Their concern is that they will be effectively writing the evidence for their own prosecution..." These proposals would allow pilots to fly further, even as far as California, with no back- up crew. Pilots would also be allowed to do seven early starts in a row. A Unite union leader told the Daily Mail that the proposals could result in a 17 percent increase in pilots' workloads. And, "there is a five-and-a-half times higher chance of an accident when duty periods exceed 13 hours," another expert told the paper. On the other hand, proponents like Transport Minister Theresa Villiers believe overall safety will improve with the changes, as "moving to a Europe-wide system of safety regulation 'would undoubtedly bring up the standards to a broadly equivalent level to that in the UK,'" she told the BBC. Do sleepy pilots threaten air safety? The question is not a new one. But, after the 2009 crash of a Colgan Air plane near Buffalo, N.Y., it was considered enough for the FAA to propose a rule change allowing pilots more sleep. The new pilot work rules, which limit the maximum time a pilot can be scheduled to be on duty to between nine and 14 hours, were adopted in late 2011. In 2010, a sleeping pilot was blamed for an Air India crash that killed 158. The next year, a Scandinavian Airlines pilot fell into a sleep so deep his co-pilot could barely wake him. And, according to news.com.au, half of all Norwegian airline pilots admitted to falling asleep in the cockpit. Even Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, famous for landing his U.S. Airways plane safely in the Hudson River, admitted to ABC that he probably could not have made the miraculous landing had he not had slept enough. "Had we been tired, had we not gotten sufficient rest the night before," Sullenberger told ABC, "we could not have performed at the same level." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/23/tired-pilots-are-falling-asleep-at-the- controls_n_1296110.html Back to Top Boeing Says 787 Fix Takes 10 to 14 Days With No Redesign Needed Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. said replacing improperly installed shims on its new 787 Dreamliners will take 10 to 14 days per airplane and doesn't indicate that the model needs a redesign. The shims, patches about the size and thickness of two sheets of legal paper used to fill gaps, will be replaced in tandem with other modifications on already completed jets, Pat Shanahan, Boeing's vice president and general manager of airplane programs, said today in remarks broadcast online from a Barclays Plc conference in Miami. "It's just work," he said. "We have to remove a fastener at a time, and it just takes time." Boeing said earlier this month it had traced the problem to the company's new factory in South Carolina where the aft sections of the composite-plastic jet are assembled. All 55 787s built so far will need to be fixed, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Jim Albaugh said yesterday in Singapore. Shanahan gave a goal of not having to perform any extra work on planes outside the factory by the time the 70th jet is built. That work, called "change incorporation," has the biggest impact on cash, he said. The company has thousands of projects under way on the 787 and other programs to boost productivity and profitability with suppliers, he said. "It has a 'B' in it" for billion, Shanahan said of the potential savings. More Complete The 787s rolling out of Boeing's plant now are more complete than they had been, Shanahan told investors. Each plane now needs completion of about 500 to 1,000 jobs after leaving the factory, down from 5,000 to 7,000 before, he said. There's been significant improvement to the program in the past six months, he said. The 787 supply chain is already building parts for 3.5 of the composite-plastic jets a month, he said. Boeing, based in Chicago, is assembling 2.5 a month and is ramping up toward a goal of 10 a month by the end of next year. The company plans to start up the so-called surge line it's preparing in its main factory in Everett, Washington, in June, he said. It's a second, temporary line that's intended to provide "rate protection" while the new factory in South Carolina begins producing 787s. Shanahan said it may also be used to separate the 787-8s, which are the first model built, from the 787-9s that have yet to begin production. 'Basic Learning Curve' Boeing is working to train employees amid a hiring push, as one in four workers at its manufacturing hub around Seattle has less than 18 months of experience, Shanahan said. The shimming problems in South Carolina, where the company is creating a production base with workers new to aerospace, were "part of what I'd call a basic learning curve," he said. As the company nears the middle of a production increase of more than 60 percent across all of its jets between 2010 and 2014, that push has caused "hardly a blip" to the smooth flow of assembly, Shanahan said. "On the development side, we're back into our stride," he said. "The pendulum has finally shifted from risk to opportunity." Back to Top A Flight Attendant Refused To Let Passengers Off A Plane After A Video Player Went Missing Surging Energy Prices Are Already Taking A Toll On One Area Of The Market Writer and tech consultant Jeff Reifman was on an Alaska Airlines flight from Miami to Seattle when something strange happened. Apparently, a rented video player went missing, and one of the flight attendants was hell-bent on getting it back. In fact, she threatened to detain them, saying that "the cabin doors would not be opened and that passengers would not be allowed off to catch connecting flights," claims Reifman. Yikes. The "horrified" Reifman posted about the encounter on his blog, where he made the observation that "threatening to detain all your passengers over transgressions by other flyers is about the dumbest thing you can do for customer loyalty." It may not be the worst thing, but it's up there. Any time a worker resorts to threatening an entire group of customers, that's not going to do anything positive for a brand. To make matters worse for Alaska Airlines, it turns out that the flight attendant was in the wrong anyway. The airline's policy is to keep track of who rents the video players so that they can check later. Plus, the player was actually located before the flight landed in Miami in the first place. We know this because Alaska Airlines quickly went on damage control and explained exactly what happened on its end, which was great crisis management. Spokesman Bobbie Egan went to Reifman's blog and posted this apology in the comment section of the post: Mr. Reifman, The flight attendant's announcement to our passengers onboard this flight was inappropriate and did not follow our procedures. The video player was located before the flight landed in Miami and we should have shared this with our customers. In regards to the suggestion that we note the seat number of passengers renting these devices, our flight attendants are trained to do just that when renting the video players. This step was not followed on this flight. We are following up with the crew of this flight to make sure they understand our procedures. I apologize for any alarm this caused you and the other passengers onboard this flight. Sincerely, Bobbie Egan, Alaska Airlines spokesperson http://www.businessinsider.com/a-flight-attendant-refused-to-let-passengers-off-a- plane-after-a-video-player-went-missing-2012-2 Back to Top Back to Top Facing a bankrupt American, some pilots look to China for jobs With American Airlines in bankruptcy, pilots have more reason to feel nervous about their careers. But China needs veteran pilots. Pilots arrive and are being escorted to various rooms where Asian airlines are presenting details for employment at the All-China Job Fair being held at the Pan Am International Flight Academy on Thursday. Ken Krizman felt so confident signing on as an American Airlines pilot in the late 1990s, he stopped recording his flight hours. Why fool with paperwork when he'd never have to apply for another job again? "I thought I didn't need to keep a logbook anymore,'' said Krizman, who lives in San Francisco but flies for American out of Miami. "I thought I was starting my very last aviation job." But on Thursday morning, the 52-year-old joined a throng of fellow pilots to consider a new career - as a Chinese airline pilot. A dozen Chinese carriers hope to fill hundreds of pilot jobs during a two-day job fair at a Doral aviation center, promising to reward veteran U.S. pilots with more money than they could earn living in the United States. The opening hours of the All-China Job Fair captured the mix of promise and fear that looms over sagging economies in the West and the surge of China. Held inside a training center bearing the name of a defunct airline, the hiring expo paired more than 100 mostly middle-aged men with 20- and 30-something Chinese airline executives boasting of rapidly expanding routes and the privileged life of an American pilot in China. "You get so many days off,'' Yang Dan, a recruiter for Okair in Tianjin, told about 20 U.S. pilots gathered in a small room in the Pan Am International Flight Academy. "You have plenty of time to take your family all over China. China is so big." About 1,100 registered for the job fair that continues through Friday in Doral, then moves to Las Vegas for a third day, fair organizers said. As American scrambles to reduce pilot pay as part of its bankruptcy plan, Chinese carriers are racing to accommodate surging demand for travel across the world's most populous country. That has led China to pursue veteran U.S. pilots with offers of higher pay and the job security that comes with an industry growing rapidly. Ronghui Lang of Shenzen Airlines came to Doral with a quota of about 50 hires to feed an airline that saw its roster of pilots double in the past several years to nearly 500. But if Lang ends up with more promising candidates, he's ready to make more offers. "We're looking for 46 pilots, but we'll take as many as we can get,'' said Lang, who introduced himself as "Ron" at the start of a seminar on Shenzen. A compensation summary listed a starting salary of $175,000 for contract workers. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says the typical airline pilot in the United States earns about $116,000. The bankruptcy of American, one of the largest private employers in South Florida, gave pilots just one more reason to worry after a decade that saw the other major established carriers seek Chapter 11 protection, too. They sought bankruptcy largely to reduce costs brought on by contracts with pilots and other employees, along with pension expenses. Stuart Klaskin, a Miami aviation consultant, said despite American's crisis, most U.S. pilots should feel a bit better about their career prospects than they have in recent years. The earlier bankruptcies of Continental and Delta left those airlines on stronger footing, while an aging pilot corps should soon bring a wave of retirements that will allow for more promotions lower in the ranks. An improving economy has analysts more bullish about the industry's prospects, and even most American pilots are expected to retain their wings after the Texas-based carrier's cost-cutting plan takes effect. "The upper two-thirds are fine,'' Klaskin said of American's seniority ranking for pilots. "The bottom one-third have something to worry about." In a statement, American noted its average pilot stays with the company for 20 years and continues to be paid well for flying. "They have long been among the best compensated in the industry and even with the kinds of changes we are proposing during our restructuring, will remain highly compensated,'' American spokesman Bruce Hicks said. Pilots waiting seven deep in line for interviews with Chinese carriers at the Pan Am training center did not express much enthusiasm about moving to China. At the helm of a Chinese airliner, they will rely on a copilot who will also serve as translator for any air- traffic controllers or crew who don't speak English. The morning's program hinted at the challenge ahead: while some Chinese presenters spoke fluently to their American audience, others spoke in such halting English that it was difficult to follow. Some pilots talked of home-schooling their children in China, while others planned to leave their families at home and get back to the states every few months. "Push comes to shove, I'll do it,'' said one 20-year American pilot out of New York with five children under the age of 17. "But I don't want to do it." The pilot, who asked that his name not be used, and others said the opportunity to pocket savings from a higher salary in a three-year contract was something they had to consider as they worried about layoffs, slashed pensions and reduced flying hours in the United States. Gustavo Estevez, a long-time corporate pilot in Venezuela who now lives in Fort Lauderdale, was among those at Thursday's fair. He has three children, including a 9- year-old who may end up attending a school in China. "It's hard to start all over again,'' he said. "But with all of the benefits they offer us, it is a little bit easier." http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/24/v-fullstory/2657806/facing-a-bankrupt- american-some.html Back to Top ICAO Adopts New Security Strategy MANILA, Philippines - Twenty member-states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) from North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America unanimously adopted a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving passenger and cargo security throughout the hemisphere, as part of a common effort to counter threats to civil aviation worldwide. Elsa Gutierrez Graffe, Venezuelan minister of aquatic and air transport emphasized the need to join forces in order to achieve sustainability in aviation security. Graffe also stressed that the implementation of the ICAO Assembly Declaration on Aviation Security requires "proactive and collaborative actions from the member-states". ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin highlighted the progress made in the harmonization of aviation security and facilitation measures throughout the region. He emphasized to delegates attending a two-day regional aviation security conference that "cooperation is the hallmark of global aviation and the basis for enhancing aviation security throughout the international air transport system". In a joint statement, state representatives agreed to facilitate communication between national security agencies and to share threat information on a timely basis. Participants also called on ICAO to continue to address threats to the global air cargo system and agreed to work with border control authorities and other regulatory bodies such as the World Customs Organization (WCO) to strengthen the global supply chain system. Joining national civil aviation authorities at the conference were regional bodies and international organizations, including the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission (LACAC), the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism of the Organization of American States (OAS-CICTE) and the Airports Council International (ACI). They have confirmed their support in assisting states in the implementation of the ICAO Assembly Aviation Security Declaration. This aviation security conference was the fifth in a series of similar meetings held in other parts of the world to promote the implementation of the ICAO Declaration on Aviation Security and to pave the way for a global high-level security conference at ICAO Headquarters in Montréal from 12 to 14 September. (EHL) http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/352347/icao-adopts-new-security-strategy Back to Top Cyprus to host annual conference on air safety The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and the European Organization for the safety or air navigation- EUROCONTROL are organizing an annual Conference on safety performance to take place 28-29 February in the coastal town of Limassol. According to a press release, the aim of the conference is to bring together CEOs of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) across Europe to hear how safety is managed from a local, Functional Airspace Block (FAB) and Network level. CEOs will share their practical experience, as well as the challenges to provide safe services in a well functioning FAB and Network taking into account the other performance factors of capacity, cost efficiency and environment. Minister of Communications and Works Efthymios Flourentzos will open the Conference which will be attended by more that 70 participants. http://www.financialmirror.com/news-details.php?nid=25778 Back to Top Graduate Research Survey Request: Online Survey on U.S. Air Transport Pilot Attitudes about Upset Recovery Training AIRLINE AND AIR TRANSPORT CARGO PILOTS: Please give us your opinion at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UpsetTrainingSurvey The Target Audience Is Pilots Currently Employed by a U.S. Air Transport Company (Airline or Cargo) or Pilots Retired from Such Duty No More than Five Years. The survey supports research on Air Transport Upset Prevention and Recovery Trainingbeing conducted by a faculty member in the Department of Aeronautical Science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida. It takes 7-8 minutes to complete. Participants are anonymous and cannot be identified by their employers or by the researchers or anyone else. Thanks in advance for your participation in our research. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC