Flight Safety Information February 27, 2012 - No. 040 In This Issue FAA asked to investigate controllers at NY airport Flight returns to St. Louis after bird strike FAA: Ditch The 3rd Class Medical Petition, Denied Panel finds problem with overhead bin gear on 737s NTSB: re-evaluate crashworthiness test requirements for overhead units and bins Report: Fatal Embraer 120 loss of control accident at Darwin, Australia DGCA questions govt on staff progeny (India) ARGUS PROS Global Auditing Passengers go into panic when they mistakenly believe pilot says 'bomb on board' Airplane emergency ends well - Canada Boeing names new head of 787 programme Cirrus Aircraft stays on top in its market New Beijing airport touted as world's busiest-media Research Survey Request FAA asked to investigate controllers at NY airport WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - New York officials want the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate whether air traffic controllers are sleeping on the job at a local airport. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Westchester County executive Rob Astorino were reacting to a report on TV station WNYW. The report included video purporting to show controllers sleeping, texting and reading while on duty at the county airport. The airport is 30 miles north of New York City. It serves nearly 2 million passengers annually. The report included an FAA statement that because of an elevator breakdown, off-duty controllers are allowed to use part of the tower as a break room. In separate letters to the FAA, Gillibrand and Astorino questioned that explanation and demanded an investigation. The FAA said Friday it would take action as appropriate. Back to Top Flight returns to St. Louis after bird strike ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) - A Denver-bound Frontier Airlines flight has to make an emergency landing in St. Louis after colliding with at least one bird. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Frontier flight 297 left Lambert-St. Louis International Airport a little after 6 a.m. Sunday. The scheduled two-hour flight was cut short just minutes later when the plane hit the bird. The aircraft landed safely at Lambert, but passengers had to be transferred to another Frontier plane because the first one sustained damage. A federal "wildlife strike" database shows Sunday's incident was the fourth one at the St. Louis airport this year. The Federal Aviation Administration says 23 people have been killed and 209 injured nationwide since 1990 due to wildlife strikes on aircraft. Back to Top FAA: Ditch The 3rd Class Medical Petition, Denied AOPA and EAA are expected to advance their own petition, soon, but an earlier submission from Potomac Airfield's David Wartofsky has received an official FAA response: denied. Wartofsky's petition was posted as a public docket and generated more than 1000 comments. The petition sought to allow pilots flying aircraft under 6,000 pounds max gross weight to operate their aircraft with medical authorization provided by a valid driver's license, only, with no third class medical required. In its clear denial, the wording of the FAA's response may allow some wiggle room for future efforts. According to the FAA, the agency "does not have evidence to support private pilots operating without medical oversight in aircraft that are considerably more complex" than those used in LSA operations. The FAA says the 6,000-pound limit would include a wide range of aircraft. And the agency has no experience allowing pilots of multi-engine, complex, turboprop, or high-altitude turbojet aircraft to exercise flight privileges without airman medical certification. According to the FAA, "absent more substantive safety evidence," approval of the petition, as written, "may prove unwise." The wording may suggest that a successful petition could still be crafted, provided it proposes different parameters and provides evidence that the FAA might recognize as an established safety record. Wartofsky has posted the full text of the FAA's response. http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/3rd_class_medical_petition_denied_pilot_driver_license_206224- 1.html Back to Top Panel finds problem with overhead bin gear on 737s DALLAS - Federal safety officials want changes in how equipment is mounted to overhead bins on Boeing 737 jets to prevent the 12-pound (5 1/2-kilogram) units from falling on passengers during survivable crashes. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was swayed by evidence from several accidents since 2008 in which oxygen and ventilation equipment tore loose and likely caused head injuries. The accidents occurred on a 2008 Continental Airlines flight in Denver, an American Airlines flight in Jamaica and a Turkish Airlines crash near Amsterdam, both in 2009, and a 2010 Aires Airlines crash in Colombia. All resulted in injuries, and there were deaths on the Turkish Airlines and Aires flights. The board said in a letter released Friday that the government should require changes in the design and testing of how the "passenger service units" are mounted under overhead bins. Boeing spokeswoman Julie O'Donnell said, "We are aware of the recommendations that the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board made today to the Federal Aviation Administration, and we will work with NTSB, FAA and (airlines) as needed to ensure safety continues at the highest levels." FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency had just received the safety board's recommendations and had no immediate comment. She said FAA would respond within 90 days. The Boeing 737 is a workhorse of the U.S. commercial airliner fleet and is widely used on short and medium-haul flights. Chicago-based Boeing Co. has delivered more than 6,700 of them, including more than 3,600 of the next-generation models that debuted in 1997. The safety board also recommended redesigning cockpit seat-belt systems in the Boeing 737 including replacing some attachment brackets with stronger ones. The board said FAA should develop ways to measure the holding power of so-called negative-g strap assemblies during survivable crashes. The safety board lacks authority to write regulations. Instead, it makes recommendations for the FAA and other agencies to consider. The FAA isn't required to follow the board's advice, and when it does, it can take years. http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/story/2012-02-27/Panel-finds-problem-with-overhead-bin-gear-on- 737s/53267318/1 Back to Top NTSB: re-evaluate crashworthiness test requirements for overhead units and bins Failed aircraft rail on the left of the aft section of Continental Airlines flight 1404 (photo: NTSB) The U.S. NTSB notes that there have been several survivable accidents in the last 3 years in which overhead bins and passenger service units (PSU) on Boeing 737 airplanes became separated from their attachments during the accident sequences. This suggests that current crashworthiness test requirements do not provide an adequate basis on which to evaluate how these items will withstand impact forces during survivable accidents. In reviewing the accidents, the NTSB concluded that the separation of PSU's and overhead bins likely increased the number of reported occupant injuries, particularly injuries to the head and face. These findings prompted the NTSB to issue six safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration: * Modify the design and test requirements for the attachment points of passenger service units to account for the higher localized loading that results from the relative motion of the attachment structure. (A-12-1) * Require that the installation design for overhead bins and passenger service units (PSU) manufactured by Boeing and installed in Boeing 737NG series airplanes be modified so that the PSUs remain attached to the bins or are captured in a safe manner during survivable accidents. (A-12-2) * Review the designs of manufacturers other than Boeing for overhead bins and passenger service units (PSU) to identify designs with deficiencies similar to those identified in Boeing's design, and require those manufacturers, as necessary, to eliminate the potential for PSUs to separate from their attachments during survivable accidents. (A-12-3) * Develop test criteria and performance measures for negative-g strap assemblies to better evaluate their real-world loading capability during accident sequences. (A-12-4) * Once test criteria and performance measures are established as recommended in Safety Recommendation A-12-4, amend 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 25, as appropriate, to include the newly developed test criteria and performance measures for negative-g strap assemblies. (A-12- 5) * Require that negative-g strap attachment brackets manufactured by Ipeco be retrofitted with stronger brackets. (A-12-6) More information: * NTSB Safety Recommendation A-12-1 through -6 (PDF) www.aviatiosafety.net Back to Top Report: Fatal Embraer 120 loss of control accident at Darwin, Australia Aircraft wreckage of the EMB-120 (photo: ATSB) The Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) published the final report of their investigation into the fatal Embraer 120 loss of control accident at Darwin, Australia. The airplane crashed during a simulated engine failure on takeoff. On 22 March 2010, an AirNorth Embraer 120ER Brasilia aircraft, registration VH-ANB, crashed moments after takeoff from runway 29 at Darwin Airport, Northern Territory, fatally injuring both pilots. The flight was for the purpose of revalidating the command instrument rating of the pilot under check and was under the command of a training and checking captain, who occupied the copilot's seat. The takeoff included a simulated engine failure. Data from the aircraft's flight recorders was used to establish the circumstances leading to the accident and showed that the pilot in command (PIC) retarded the left power lever to flight idle to simulate an engine failure. That introduced a simultaneous failure of the left engine and propeller autofeathering system. The increased drag from the 'windmilling' propeller increased the control forces required to maintain the aircraft's flightpath. The pilot under check allowed the speed to decrease and the aircraft to bank toward the inoperative engine. Additionally, he increased power on the right engine, and engaged the yaw damper in an attempt to stabilise the aircraft's flight. Those actions increased his workload and made control of the aircraft more difficult. The PIC did not restore power to the left engine to discontinue the manoeuvre. The few seconds available before the aircraft became uncontrollable were insufficient to allow 'trouble shooting' and deliberation before resolving the situation. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top DGCA questions govt on staff progeny (India) Air safety regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has questioned the civil aviation ministry's silence over its investigation report recommending major penalties on eight of the nine DGCA officials whose wards were employed with private aviation companies. These officials had flouted service rules by failing to obtain government sanction before their wards took up private sector jobs. In a scathing letter to civil aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi in October last year, DGCA chief EK Bharat Bhushan expressed his displeasure with the lackadaisical attitude of the ministry. "The letter accused the ministry of stonewalling further action in these cases. It said that the ministry should decide on the future course of action instead of seeking repeated clarifications," said a top source, revealing the contents of the letter. The action based on DGCA recommendations could lead to dismissal, the source added. The DGCA had initiated an inquiry in March 2011 and submitted a report to the government in August, 2011. According to sources, civil aviation minister Ajit Singh, also recently sought details of these cases and action taken by the ministry. As is mandatory, any action against Class I officers requires administrative ministry's approval. The DGCA letter exhorted the ministry to take a decision and not delay the matter. A DGCA source said, "The clarifications sought by the ministry seem frivolous." Ministry officials, however, said the DGCA inquiry against officials did not follow laid-down procedures. "They did not seek first stage advice from the Central Vigilance Commission before beginning inquiry against Class I officials. The ministry has raised two clarifications to which it has not received any response till date." The ministry sought to know the fate of the representation sent by erring officials and the quantum of involvement in procuring jobs for their wards. When contacted, Bhushan refused to comment. In reply to the show-cause notices sent to nine officers in April 2011, most feigned ignorance about the service rules, and only one sought retrospective permission. "Their excuses can't be accepted. The rules are clear, central government employees need prior approval," said a DGCA official. "It is next to impossible to determine the involvement of officials in procuring jobs for their wards. The cases have been sent to the minister for his considered opinion," the official said. DGCA barred them in May, 2011 from handling any matter related to the respective companies where their wards are employed. An inquiry in March 2011, initiated by Bhushan soon after he took office in 2010, had revealed nine officers' wards employed with private aviation companies without prior government clearance. These were senior-most DGCA officials AK Sharan (joint DG), Charan Dass (JDG), VP Massey (Director, Airworthiness), RS Passi (Director, Air Safety), besides MM Kaushal (assistant director), Rajiv Gaur (assistant director), R Yadav (senior airworthiness officer), BS Nehra(junior pilot) and RNS Bisht (assistant). It later emerged that questions were raised over flying abilities of wards of Passi and Sharan who were employed as pilots with budget carriers SpiceJet and IndiGo, respectively. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dgca-questions-govt-on-staff-progeny/917087/2 Back to Top Back to Top Passengers go into panic when they mistakenly believe pilot says 'bomb on board' Southwest Airlines pilot was trying to send birthday wishes A Southwest Airlines pilot caused panic on a domestic flight when passengers mistook the word "mom" for "bomb." The pilot, during the journey from Baltimore to Long Island's MacArthur Airport, was innocently trying to wish happy birthday to the mother of an air traffic controller when he used the term "mom on board," according to published reports. Many of those on board went into a panic when they mistakenly thought the pilot had said "bomb on board." "He did clarify with the passengers that he was wishing the mother on board a happy birthday,' Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Brandi King told radio station WCBS 880. Two passengers complained to airport officials upon landing at MacArthur, according to reports, but the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it is "not investigating the pilot or the flight crew." "Pilots and controllers will sometimes engage in brief greetings," the FAA said in the statement. "If such conversations go beyond this limit, controllers are counseled to refrain from such unnecessary talk." http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/passengers-panic-mistakenly-pilot-bomb-board-article-1.1028942 Back to Top Airplane emergency ends well (Canada) A Cessna 206 Amphibian airplane caught fire in-flight and made a safe landing at Springbank Airport with three male passengers escaping unharmed, Feb. 17. The men avoided what could have been a deadly situation as an in-plane fire broke out eight kilometres before their scheduled landing. The pilot was forced to land 42 metres short of the runway, hitting the grass, before bringing the plane to a stop on the tarmac. Fire crews put out the fire and EMS examined the men. The men were flying from Villeneuve, a reliever airport north of Edmonton. Springbank Airport spokesman Larry Stock said the men were flying in to pick up another aircraft. "He (the pilot) did an excellent job bringing the aircraft in considering the condition it was in. It's the first in-flight fire I've seen here," said Stock. The plane's lower engine cowling had completely melted off and Stock said he believes the aircraft is "recoverable," although it isn't currently flight worthy. The Transportation Safety Board and Rocky View County Fire Services will work together to determine if an investigation is necessary. http://www.rockyviewweekly.com/article/20120227/RVW0801/302279987/police-notebook-airplane- emergency-ends-well Back to Top Boeing names new head of 787 programme (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said it swapped the heads of its 787 Dreamliner and 777 programs, tapping the skills of the long-time 777 leader to ensure the delayed Dreamliner program hits a production rate target that many experts believe is unrealistic. The changes came the same week Boeing said all 55 of the Dreamliners it has assembled so far could have a flaw in the fuselage that will take 10 to 14 days per plane to repair. The plane-maker named Larry Loftis as general manager of its 787 program on Friday, replacing Scott Fancher, who takes Loftis' old job as head of the 777 program. The job swap comes as Boeing ramps up production on its long-delayed 787 program and plans to update the popular 777. "No one's been demoted or promoted," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Rob Stallard. "It's the proper allocation of management based on the background and experience they have." Stallard said the shift will not guarantee Boeing hits its goal of increasing 787 production to 10 planes per month by the end of next year from the current 2-1/2. But Boeing is hoping it improves the chances, he said. The 787, which entered service in 2011 after three years of delays, was stung this month by news of the most recent glitch, involving incorrect shimming and signs of "delamination" on a support structure in the rear fuselage. Delamination occurs when repeated stress causes layered composite materials to separate. Boeing did not link the leadership shakeup, which takes effect immediately, to the new problem or any dissatisfaction with Fancher's leadership of the program. "Today we are announcing two leadership changes intended to better align our organization for the challenges ahead," said Jim Albaugh, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a statement. IMPROVING THE ODDS The Dreamliner is a light-weight, carbon-composite airplane that promises fuel savings to operators and new comforts for passengers. Development of the plane has been delayed repeatedly, because of snags in the complex global supply chain. Boeing has 870 Dreamliner orders on its books and is eager to burn through some of that backlog. Some experts think Loftis, who has run the 777 program since April 2007, stands a better chance than Fancher of successfully increasing the build rate. "That makes a lot of sense. The triple seven has been a very successful program. And as we know the challenge with the 787 is now to get production rates up," said EarlyBirdCapital Managing Director Alex Hamilton. "It does not change my opinion that I'm very hesitant they're going to hit 10 per month. But I think it might give them more of a fair shot," Hamilton said Boeing has delivered nearly 1,000 777s. The 777 rate went up from five to seven per month in 2011 and is headed to 8.3 in the first quarter of 2013. Boeing is upping production rates on all of its commercial airplane programs to meet increased demand. Despite impressive orders for the 787, many experts expect Boeing to disappoint customers with late deliveries. Boeing made first delivery of a 787 in September and has handed over only five planes, all to its launch customer, Japan's All Nippon Airways (9202.T). United Continental Holdings(UAL.N), parent of United Airlines, said in a government filing it was in talks with Boeing on compensation for late 787 deliveries. The world's largest airline has 50 Dreamliners on order and expects to take delivery of its first this year. In his new role, Fancher, who took over as head of the 787 program in December 2008, will help define the next variant of the 777 widebody. "This will allow us to take advantage of Scott's vast experience on development programs and allow him to align the 777 production system with the next generation 777," Albaugh said. Back to Top Cirrus Aircraft stays on top in its market Despite another drop in plane shipments, Cirrus Aircraft outsold its competitors in 2011 and continued to be the world leader in its class of small personal aircraft. Despite another drop in plane shipments, Cirrus Aircraft outsold its competitors in 2011 and continued to be the world leader in its class of small personal aircraft. The Duluth-based airplane manufacturer now commands 35 percent of the world's single-engine piston plane market. That's up from 28 percent three years earlier and from 11 percent a decade ago, according to General Aviation Manufacturers Association annual shipment reports. "Every year, we've increased our share, despite the downturn," said Todd Simmons, Cirrus' vice president of sales and marketing. "We continued to grow during economic down times." At the same time, Cirrus plane shipments - the number of its SR-20, SR-22 and SR-22T planes sold - continued on a five-year decline. It delivered nine fewer planes in 2011 than 2010. Since 2006, deliveries have plummeted from 721 to 255 planes, GAMA's shipping reports show. But Cirrus - whose SR-22 is the world's best-selling single engine personal aircraft of its type - stayed on top. Compare Cirrus' 255 shipments last year to the Cessna's 181 shipments or Diamond's 72, Piper's 17 and Mooney's zero shipments of comparable four-seat, single-engine piston planes, according to the 2011 shipment report released last week. Cirrus' 3.5 percent drop in shipments wasn't unusual. It paralleled the 3.5 percent drop in the general aviation industry worldwide. "Because we're such a big player in the business, we tend to mirror the industry," Simmons said. Cirrus, however, bettered the 5 percent drop in its class of single piston-powered aircraft worldwide. And like that category of planes, Cirrus began its dramatic downward sales trend in 2008 as the industry took a major hit with the economic recession. Amid declining shipments, however, Cirrus boosted its revenues by cutting costs and selling more fully loaded planes. "Because of cost reductions since 2008, we're leaner," Simmons said. The company reached out to international markets, which have grown to 40 percent of its business today. But with Europe's economy uncertain, Cirrus is looking more to Latin America for a stable market and to China, Asia and Australia for faster growth, Simmons said. As a result, Cirrus finished 2011 with its strongest quarter since 2008. Its 89 planes shipped during the quarter included 20 SR-22s delivered to the Civil Aviation Flight University of China in Luoyang, China. And in 2012, Cirrus' shipment totals will get a boost when it delivers most of the SR-20s ordered by the U.S Air Force Academy's Powered Flight Program. That institutional market for training aircraft is another part of Cirrus' strategy for growth in a down market. Flight schools and governments around the world are renewing their fleets and seeking the latest safety and cockpit technologies, Simmons said. "Unfortunately, we are still in an industry that's contracting from historically highest levels," Simmons said, referring to the heyday of the mid-2000s. In 2011, all three industry sectors - piston, turboprop and business jets - continued to see a drop in shipments, but those declines shrunk to single digits percentages, a sign that the industry's downward spiral may be coming to an end, GAMA Chairman Caroline Daniels said. "A majority of the market fundamentals are moving in the right direction," Daniels said in a statement. She noted some of those trends: corporate profits remain at record high levels; flight activity is up; the used plane market is up; emerging markets are driving new sales; there's a pent-up demand for new planes; and the credit market is easing, which could return growth to the industry. Simmons doesn't see the industry returning to the pre-recession growth levels anytime soon. But he thinks the industry has hit bottom and will stabilize or improve slightly in 2012. http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/224094/ Back to Top New Beijing airport touted as world's busiest-media BEIJING (Reuters) - China's capital Beijing will begin construction this year of an airport that is likely to replace Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States as the world's busiest, local media said on Sunday. The online edition of Caijing magazine put the cost at 30.2 billion yuan. It did not say how it would be funded. With nine runways, the new airport will handle more than 130 million passengers and 5.5 million tonnes of cargo annually, China Radio International said. The airport, yet to be named, will cover an area of 2,680 hectares (6,620 acres), the online edition of Beijing Youth Daily said, quoting an unidentified airline executive. Located in Daxing, 46 km (28 miles) south of Tiananmen Square, Beijing's political centre, construction is due to be completed in October 2017. Beijing's two existing airports have reached their maximum handling capacities. Back to Top 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