Flight Safety Information April 23, 2012 - No. 081 In This Issue Pakistan Investigates Jet Crash That Killed 127 Pakistan orders new plane inspection after crash PRISM ANNUAL SMS AUDIT RESULTS FAA urged to adopt fatigue rules for cargo pilots Pakistan Investigates Jet Crash That Killed 127 ISLAMABAD (AP) -Pakistan blocked the head of an airline whose jet crashed near the capital from leaving the country and ordered him into protective custody on Saturday as it began an investigation into its second major air disaster in less than two years. The Bhoja Air passenger jet crashed Friday as it tried to land in a thunderstorm at Islamabad's main airport, killing all 127 people on board and reviving concerns about aviation safety in a country saddled by massive economic problems, an embattled government, and Islamist insurgency. The small domestic airline, which only resumed operations last month after suspending them in 2001 due to financial difficulties, said after the crash that the weather was the cause of the accident. Speaking at the scene of the disaster, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Farooq Bhoja, head of Bhoja Air, had been put on the "exit control list," meaning he can't leave Pakistan. Such a ban is often put on someone suspected or implicated in a criminal case. He said Mr. Bhoja had been ordered into protective custody and a criminal investigation launched into the incident. He later said that the airline "seems to be at fault as it had acquired a very old aircraft." "If the airline management doesn't have enough money it doesn't mean you go and buy a 30-year-old or more aircraft as if it were a rickshaw and start an airline." Separately, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said he has ordered a judicial commission to probe the accident and said, "It is not fair to reach any conclusion without a proper investigation." Jahanzeb Khan, a Bhoja Air representative, declined to comment. The weak government has come under immediate media criticism for granting Bhoja, one of only three private airlines in Pakistan, a license. Mr. Gilani and Mr. Malik maybe trying to deflect some of that criticism. Such is the distrust of the state in Pakistan, few believe that the government has the will to hold wealthy or political connected people accountable, or carry out credible investigations. Given the violent storm lashing Islamabad during the accident, some experts have speculated that "wind shear," sudden changes in wind that can lift or smash an aircraft into the ground during landing, may have been a factor. It may even have been a dangerous localized form of the phenomena, called a microburst. That can cause planes to lose airspeed suddenly or lift abruptly if a headwind suddenly changes to a tailwind during takeoff or landing. Soldiers and emergency workers at first light began the grim task of looking for bodies and body parts among the debris from the Boeing 737-200, which was spread out over a stretch of wheat farms around three miles from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. The plane was on a flight from the southern city of Karachi to Islamabad when it crashed at dusk. One soldier had a plastic bag over his hand and was picking up small bits of flesh. Another was using a stick to get at remains in a tree. The smell of decomposing bodies was beginning to fill the air. "We are collecting these so that the souls are not desecrated," one of them said. The officers were also picking up personal effects of the passengers, making piles of documents, bank cards, gold and bangles. The last major plane crash in the country-and Pakistan's worst-occurred in July 2010 when an Airbus A321 aircraft operated by domestic carrier Airblue crashed into the hills overlooking Islamabad, killing all 152 people aboard. A government investigation blamed the pilot for veering off course amid stormy weather. According to the website www.airfleets.net, the Bhoja jet was 32 years old and first saw service with British Airways in South Africa. Thirty-two years isn't especially old for an aircraft, and age by itself is rarely an important factor in crashes, said Nasim Ahmed, a former crash investigator. Mr. Ahmed said it appeared at this stage that the age and air worthiness of the plane were unlikely causes. He said that a combination of factors during the most crucial stage of the flight, the landing, was probably to blame, possibly the weather or some form of unexpected incident that caused the pilot to lose vital awareness of the plane's location. Mr. Ahmed said the accident highlighted long-standing weaknesses in Pakistan's aviation industry, which he said couldn't be separated from management problems in the Civil Aviation Authority, poor government oversight and corruption and nepotism in the state- owned Pakistan International Airlines. In 2007, the European Union banned most PIA flights from its member's airports for eight months due to safety concerns. "There are problems in the overall handling of the country, and the Civil Aviation Authority isn't an isolated pocket of good governance," he said. Back to Top Pakistan orders new plane inspection after crash ISLAMABAD - The Pakistani government mandated Sunday that all airplanes operated by private airlines must undergo a new inspection to determine whether they are safe to fly, days after a crash near the capital killed 127 people. The Bhoja Air crash Friday was the second in Pakistan in less than two years involving a private Pakistani airline. In both cases, the planes went down in bad weather as they approached the main airport in Islamabad. The crashes have raised concerns about the safety of aviation in a country saddled by economic problems. A passenger jet operated by a third private airline, Shaheen Air, faced potential disaster Sunday when its left tire burst as it touched down, said a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, Pervez George. The pilot applied the emergency break, causing the landing gear to buckle and the left wing to scrape along the ground as the plane came to a halt. None of the more than 170 passengers was injured, said George. The planes operated by private airlines will be inspected one by one, and any aircraft that fail will be grounded, Pakistani Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar told state TV. Planes currently in operation will be allowed to fly as they await inspection, he said. The largest airline in the country is state-run Pakistan International Airlines, which has suffered from serious operational and financial problems. Pakistan also has a handful of private airlines that fly both domestic and international routes. The airline involved in Friday's crash, Bhoja Air, only recently received a permit and began flying last month after it lost its license in 2001 because of financial difficulties. It's still unclear what caused the Boeing 737-200 to crash in wheat farms about five kilometers (three miles) from Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Friday evening. It was arriving from the southern city of Karachi. The violent storm that was lashing Islamabad when the plane went down has led some experts to speculate that "wind shear," sudden changes in wind speed or direction that can lift or smash an aircraft into the ground during landing, may have been a factor. Some in the media and the government have suggested that the age of the aircraft may have been a factor. An industry website indicated the jet was 32 years old, not especially old for an aircraft, according to experts. Also, age by itself is rarely an important factor in crashes, they said. Pakistan has barred the head of the airline, Farooq Bhoja, from leaving the country and has launched a criminal investigation into the crash, alongside the probe being conducted by aviation authorities. Bhoja Air has declined to comment and said it would discuss the case after the investigation was complete. The last major plane crash in the country -- and Pakistan's worst -- occurred in July 2010, when an Airbus A321 aircraft operated by domestic carrier Airblue crashed into the hills overlooking Islamabad, killing all 152 people aboard. A government investigation blamed the pilot for veering off course in stormy weather. Dozens of mourners walked through the streets of Karachi on Sunday, carrying coffins holding victims of the Friday crash. One distraught young boy was comforted by a relative as he stood over his brother's wooden coffin, which was draped in a green cloth covered in Islamic prayers. Other mourners stopped to pray in the street during the funeral procession. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9UA44T01.htm Back to Top Back to Top FAA urged to adopt fatigue rules for cargo pilots Regulating the amount that airline pilots fly remains hotly contested, as pilots urge the Federal Aviation Administration to adopt the same rules for cargo as for passenger flights. The concern is that a drowsy pilot could cause problems in the same airspace or runways that passenger planes travel. But when the FAA finalized its rule in December for more rest for passenger pilots, in reaction to the Colgan Air crash that killed 50 near Buffalo three years, cargo pilots were left out because government officials decided the benefits didn't justify the cost. Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., proposed legislation Tuesday to force the Transportation Department to apply the same rule to cargo and passenger pilots. The bill faces an uncertain future in Congress, with the industry group Airlines for America opposing the bill and pilots' unions supporting it. "As a former cargo pilot, I understand the importance of a single standard of safety for our pilots who share the same airspace and runways with passenger aircraft," says Cravaack, the keynote speaker at an Air Line Pilots Association conference. Under FAA's new rule going into effect in January 2014, passenger pilots will be limited to flying eight or nine hours, depending on the start time. Minimum rest periods will be 10 hours, with the opportunity for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. But FAA consulted about the rule with the Transportation Department and the White House's Office of Management and Budget, and decided basically that cargo accidents are so rare that costly remedies such as fatigue rules aren't justified. FAA estimated it would cost passenger airlines $300 million a year to comply with the new rule and airlines contend the figure is much higher. Peggy Gilligan, associate FAA administrator for aviation safety, says her agency calculates that society would be willing to pay $6 million to prevent each airline fatality, so costs for applying the rule to cargo pilots were weighed against the likelihood of accidents and how much the new rule would prevent. "This is just one example of how difficult it will be to put new safety regulations in place in aviation because of the outstanding safety record," Gilligan says. But she says passenger and cargo airlines still must have plans for combating pilot fatigue. "We are not sitting on our hands," Gilligan says. "There is more than one way to skin a cat." Steve Alterman, president of Cargo Airline Association, says the industry guards against accidents because it is geared to offer better rest between flights and pilots fly fewer hours per month. "Our segment of the industry is unique and it provides more and longer rest opportunities for its flight-crew members," Alterman says. Capt. Sean McDonald, a member of FedEx's Master Executive Council, says cargo pilots and their families would disagree with Gilligan's calculation about societal costs outweighing greater safety. "Our customers are willing to pay that additional cost," McDonald says. http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2012/04/cargo-pilot-fatigue-faa- regulations/675256/1 Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC