Flight Safety Information April 16, 2012 - No. 076 In This Issue Virgin aircraft in emergency landing at Gatwick Airport Elmhurst man arrested at O'Hare for theft of airplane's exit sign Airspace use critical for Middle East PRISM ANNUAL SMS AUDIT RESULTS Fatigue fracture of turbine blade led to Qantas 747 engine failure - ATSB Exhaustive 146 crash probe battles to pinpoint spoiler failure Virgin aircraft in emergency landing at Gatwick Airport The plane returned to the runway at Gatwick after leaving the airport (BBC) Flights in and out of Gatwick Airport have been suspended after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing after smoke was reported in the cabin. Virgin flight VS027 had left the West Sussex airport and was bound for Orlando in the US when it had to return to make the landing on Monday. Passengers were being evacuated by emergency services, an airport spokeswoman said. A Gatwick Airport spokeswoman said: "It has made a safe emergency landing." She added: "The emergency services are on the scene and the aircraft is safe and passengers are being disembarked." A statement from Virgin Atlantic confirmed the flight had returned to the airport and been evacuated. It said: "Due to a technical problem on board the aircraft, the captain decided as a precautionary measure to immediately evacuate the aircraft. "Our teams at Gatwick are now looking after our passengers and assisting with their immediate requirements." The airline said the Airbus A330-300 aircraft had 13 crew and 299 passengers on board. Back to Top Elmhurst man arrested at O'Hare for theft of airplane's exit sign An Elmhurst man was arrested Saturday night at O'Hare International Airport after he ripped an exit sign off an aircraft he had just exited, police said. David Lipka, 29, of the 300 block of Scott Street in Elmhurst, was charged with theft and criminal damage to property - both misdemeanors, police said. Lipka was seen pulling the sign, which says "Exit and Salida," from the left pocket of his hoodie about 8 p.m. Saturday at O'Hare after he exited the jetway from a Spirit Airlines jet, police said. Police detained Lipka and spoke with the aircraft's captain, who said Lipka wasn't given permission to take the sign, which is used to guide occupants off the plane during an emergency, police said. The incident caused damage and the sign had to be reattached before the plane could depart on its next flight, per Federal Aviation Administration rules, police said. Police said they do not know why Lipka took the sign. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-ohare-airplane-sign-theft- david-lipka-elmhurst,0,6183511.story Back to Top Airspace use critical for Middle East Effective air traffic management is becoming critical for efficient and sustainable aviation growth in the Middle East, according to speakers attending the inaugural Global Aerospace Summit. The summit opened in Abu Dhabi today with more than 700 delegates from aerospace, aviation and space sectors in attendance. UK air navigation service provider NATS particpated to discuss the pivotal role air traffic management must play in shaping the future of the aerospace, aviation and space sectors. "This summit marks the growing importance of the Gulf Region to the international aviation industry. NATS is proud to participate in such an influential dialogue at this critical juncture in managing the rapid expansion of air traffic movements in the Middle East. Particularly here in UAE, where the forecast growth in aircraft movements is prompting serious consideration of how airspace can facilitate expansion," said Paul Reid, NATS Services managing director. "As domestic and international air travel increases across the region, now is the time for countries to implement effective, efficient air traffic management systems to ensure this growth occurs in a safe, environmentally responsible and sustainable manner." NATS has worked with Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE to support the safety efficiency and environmental performance of their airspace and has recently appointed John Swift as Director, NATS Middle East, to establish a permanent presence in the region. Demonstrating NATS' strong commitment to the region, John will be based in Abu Dhabi and responsible for developing the current and future Middle East activities into a significant, sustainable business. "With the rapid growth of aviation driving economic growth in the Gulf Region, an optimised ATC network is vital to keep pace with the speed of development," said John. "As airlines, airports and governments are taking bold steps to future-proof their airspace, we believe that NATS is the right partner to support this progress." Opening the summit, Sultan Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy for the United Arab Emirates said the event provided "an opportunity to demonstrate the country's progress and ambition in the aerospace, aviation and space sectors." He underlined the government's support for a culture of partnerships spanning the public and private sectors. "As the UAE moves from an economy that has a solid base through natural resource revenues to one that will be sustained in the long-term through a diversified, knowledge- based approach, it is vital that we provide a platform for thought leadership," Al Mansoori added. http://www.airtrafficmanagement.net/2012/04/airspace-use-critical-for-middle-east/ Back to Top Back to Top Fatigue fracture of turbine blade led to Qantas 747 engine failure - ATSB Investigations into an uncontained engine failure on a Qantas Airways Boeing 747-400 in August 2010 have found that it was caused by the fatigue fracture of a low-pressure turbine blade. The ensuing rotor imbalance had caused the low-pressure turbine bearing to fail and the debris ejected ruptured the turbine case and fairings, producing a large perforation in the right side of the engine nacelle, says the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). Debris ejected through the hole also scratched the aircraft's wing skin and bent its leading-edge flaps. The aircraft, registration VH-OJP, had departed from San Francisco International Airport for Sydney in Australia on 30 August 2010 when its number four engine failed. The engine was shut down and the aircraft returned without incident to San Francisco. The aircraft had four Rolls Royce RB211-524G2-T engines. The number four engine had accumulated 5,059 hours and 518 flight cycles since its last overhaul in May 2009. The Australian investigators found that the high-service time, low-pressure turbine blades had reduced fatigue endurance because of vibratory stresses sustained during operations at high speeds. "It was likely that as a result of the reduced fatigue endurance limit, a single stage two low-pressure turbine blade fractured and separated from the low-pressure disc during engine operation," says ATSB. Vibratory stresses from the low-pressure turbine blade loss then resulted in the turbine support bearing to collapse, allowing contact between the low-pressure and intermediate-pressure turbine shafts. This led to the severing of the intermediate- pressure turbine shaft, resulting in the uncontained engine failure. Rolls Royce has since instructed operators of the RB211-524 engine variants to fit a more robust low-pressure turbine bearing during the next maintenance check to reduce the likelihood of an engine failure resulting from rotor imbalance. The engine manufacturer is also recommending that operators replace high-service time, stage two, low-pressure turbine blades to increase their fatigue endurance. ATSB also found that the cockpit voice recording of the event was not available as it was on a continuous loop and recording of the failure event had been overwritten. The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority has since amended the civil aviation order to require air operator's certificate holders to preserve cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder data for 30 days in case of reportable events. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Exhaustive 146 crash probe battles to pinpoint spoiler failure After a difficult six-year inquiry, Norwegian investigators believe they have come as close as possible to establishing the cause of the spoiler failure which preceded a fatal British Aerospace 146 overrun at Stord. But while it has a comprehensively analysed its primary theory - that a switch in the multi-layered spoiler protection system failed to function after touchdown - accident board SHT admits it cannot establish precisely which component lay at fault. The pilots activated the spoiler deployment lever upon landing at Stord on 10 October 2006 but neither of the two independent spoiler systems, controlling six spoilers in all, functioned. With the resulting poor runway contact, exacerbated by a tailwind, the Atlantic Airways jet careered off the end of Runway 33 and tumbled down steep terrain, before a fire consumed the wreckage. The fire, says SHT investigator Birger Bull, destroyed the airframe, rendering a conclusive determination impossible. "The fact is that the wreck was completely burned out," he says. "We couldn't tell if this component failed." But he points out that the investigation had access to the flight recorders and, although four of the 16 occupants were killed, the pilots survived. SHT is to release its final report into the crash on 19 April. "We have a theory," says Bull, adding that the inquiry performed a detailed fault-tree analysis to explore all possible aspects of the spoiler failure. He says the hydraulic and electrical systems operated correctly, but states that the 146 has "many protections" featuring micro-switches and relays to prevent spoiler deployment in-flight. "There are many places in which this could go wrong," Bull states. Because both the green and yellow independent circuits appeared to fail, the inquiry concentrated on finding a single common element between them. The inquiry considered that one of the micro-switches in the circuitry, or a switch in either the landing-gear or the spoiler lever could have malfunctioned. "We have done all we could have done," says Bull. The investigation will make two recommendations, he adds. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC