Flight Safety Information May 2, 2012 - No. 088 In This Issue High-risk take-off warning for Melbourne Airport FAA probes why controller put UPS jet at collision risk 2 Iowa pilots charged with harassing migrating birds FAA probes how Hawaii planes got on crash course Woman Flying To SFO Checks Luggage Containing Explosives PRISM CERTIFICATION CONSULTANTS Investigator of air crashes slams safety standards (India) Aviation safety suffers further setback after Helios conviction N Korea 'jamming aircraft signals' Flight Data Recorder (Black Box) Manufacturing in the US Industry Market Research High-risk take-off warning for Melbourne Airport A "significant safety issue" has been found at Melbourne Airport. Planes in close calls at Melbourne Airport "Significant safety issue" found by investigators No set climbing speed for take-off determined AIR safety investigators have branded take-off procedures at Melbourne Airport a "significant safety issue", with planes routinely flying too close to each other. The discovery by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) came during an investigation into two separate close calls between passenger jets. The ATSB found planes have been able to depart at the minimum distance from each other, with no regulation of climbing speed to keep the planes separated. "(The) investigation ... revealed limitations with the risk controls in place for departures at Melbourne that had the potential to lead to higher-risk situations, particularly during high-workload periods," the report said. Airservices Australia has reviewed the recommendations and has submitted a request to Civil Aviation Safety Authority to establish a standard speed profile around the nation, as well as ensuring pilots notify the controller when travelling at a significantly lower speed than the standard. The first incident happened on December 5, 2010, when a Virgin Boeing 737 jet departing for Brisbane came within 3.5km and 152m vertically of a faster climbing Qantas 767 plane headed to Sydney. The jets were initially a safe distance of 6.3km apart but the 737 crew was slowed by a significant tailwind and heavy fuel and passenger loads. Despite the fact that the 767 crew could see the slower jet the "entire time", neither crew received any traffic or collision avoidance alerts from the air traffic controller. The ATSB report found the controller had expected the jets to climb at similar speeds and failed to recognise that they were coming too close together. "The controller's actions to manage the compromised separation were not fully effective," the report said. Luckily as the aircraft were travelling in a similar direction, the closing speed was relatively low and there was enough time for the problem to be detected and fixed. A similar incident happened on October 12 last year involving an A320 departing for Auckland, New Zealand, and a 737 headed for the Gold Coast. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/travel-old/close-call-for-jets-at-melbourne- airport/story-e6frg8ro-1226344629410 Back to Top FAA probes why controller put UPS jet at collision risk A Federal Aviation Administration investigation into how an air traffic controller's error put two jets at risk of colliding over Hawaii shows the worker did not believe he was ready to direct planes from the radar station where he was assigned and had asked for more training, reports the Associated Press. The incident involved an Atlanta-based United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) flight from Louisville, Ky., and a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo. The incident occurred Jan. 14 as the jets approached Honolulu International Airport, AP reported. FAA documents show the jets came within 300 feet of each other vertically and less than two miles horizontally before changing course to avoid getting too close, the news service said. http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2012/05/faa-probes-why-controller- put-ups-jet.html Back to Top 2 Iowa pilots charged with harassing migrating birds by flying small planes low over lake IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Prosecutors hope to use a rarely enforced federal law to punish two Iowa pilots whose low flying disturbed thousands of resting migratory birds in a case that centers on this question: Is it a crime to harass animals? In a case drawing attention from bird lovers, two Des Moines men have been charged with violating a federal law that prohibits using aircraft to harass animals. A judge is expected to decide soon whether the Airborne Hunting Act is constitutional. Attorneys for the two men, Paul Austin and Craig Martin, say it's not. Among the questions being debated: Are birds capable of feeling harassment? And if harassing birds is a crime, wouldn't Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger have violated the law when he accidentally struck a flock of geese before famously landing his plane safely on the Hudson River? Both sides agree Austin and Martin were flying low on Nov. 16 as they passed over Saylorville Lake, a reservoir north of Des Moines known for birdwatching. Tens of thousands of pelicans, ducks, geese and other birds stop there every fall to rest and feed before continuing south. A natural resources specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the lake, saw the two planes pass about 20 feet above the water, disrupting thousands of white pelicans and other birds. Once the birds settled on another part of the lake, the planes passed by again, sending them back into flight, prosecutors said. Natural resources specialist Jonathan Wuebker snapped photographs and eventually cited Austin and Martin for flying "in a careless, negligent or reckless manner" over protected land. Then in February, a grand jury indicted the men on charges of violating the Airborne Hunting Act, which carries up to one year in jail. Prosecutors also aim to seize their small planes - a 1974 Magnus Bowers Fly Baby and a 1946 Aeronca. Prosecutors say the law applies even though the pilots weren't hunting because its ban on harassment makes it a crime "to disturb, worry, molest, rally, concentrate, harry, chase, drive, herd, or torment" animals with a plane. Wuebker compared it to using a car to chase deer through a field. "When it is intentional or blatantly obvious, I would definitely consider that harassment. But that's not my decision," he said, noting trial is scheduled for May 30. Austin and Martin have asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing the law is unconstitutionally vague. In a court filing, defense attorneys said it "seems doubtful" that animals experience the kind of human emotional response necessary to feel harassed. And how can pilots know? "Flying is what birds do. Who can say if the bird is pleased or annoyed to have taken flight? Indeed, who can say whether the bird's flight was the result of any cognition and not just impulse?" they asked. Austin's attorney, William Ortman, said Monday that the law doesn't draw a clear line between legal and illegal behavior. In court documents, defense attorneys noted that planes routinely strike birds on accident. They cited the 2009 incident in which Sullenberger successfully ditched US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River after a flock of geese hit it following takeoff. Under the government's theory, they argued, Sullenberger "likely 'harassed' the flock of birds that downed his plane, and he probably 'harassed' fish when he arrived in the Hudson." Martin's attorney and a spokesman for the prosecution did not immediately return phone messages. In a filing last week, assistant U.S. Attorney Cliff Wendel rejected the idea that Congress meant to punish pilots for something "so common and unavoidable" as bird strikes. But he said reasonable pilots know that flying planes at a low altitude above thousands of resting birds would be considered harassment. It's like one famous legal definition of pornography, he said: you know it when you see it. People know when they're harassing someone, "whether it's an older brother picking on his little sister; a baseball pitcher intending to hit the batter; or two pilots, flying their airplanes 20 feet above the ground, while making two passes that both times cause 6,000 migratory birds to flee from their resting place," Wendel wrote. Robert Johns, a spokesman for the American Bird Conservancy, said Saylorville Lake was an important resting spot for migrating white pelicans and "this sort of behavior should not be tolerated." "The pilots in this case showed a callous disregard for the birds, the natural environment, and anyone who might have been peacefully enjoying them," he said. Back to Top FAA probes how Hawaii planes got on crash course HONOLULU - A federal probe into how an air traffic controller's error put two jets in danger of colliding over Hawaii shows the worker didn't believe he was ready to direct aircraft from the radar station where he was assigned and had asked for more training. The incident involved a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo and a United Parcel Service Inc. flight from Louisville, Ky., as they approached Honolulu International Airport on the morning of Jan. 14. Federal Aviation Administration investigation documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show the jets came within 300 feet of each other vertically and less than two miles horizontally before changing course to avoid getting too close. FAA rules required the planes to be separated by at least 1,000 feet vertically or three miles horizontally. The agency said it acted swiftly once it learned of the incident, took the controller off operational duties and gave him additional training. "The FAA is committed to ensuring the safety of our nation's airspace for the traveling public, and we take seriously and investigate all reported infractions," the agency said in a statement. The incident and investigation were first reported by Hawaii News Now. The controller had a little more than two years' experience with air traffic control, an FAA memo on the investigation said. He earned certification to operate the radar station he was manning on Dec. 24 - just a few weeks before the incident - but said he didn't feel adequately prepared for the job. "The controller stated he wasn't ready for certification, and had actually requested additional certification through his training team," the FAA memo said. He was directing eight planes at the time - an average load - and became concerned about a conflict between two other airliners. After taking one minute to resolve this situation, he saw the JAL and UPS planes were on course to collide. The controller told the JAL plane to descend and the UPS plane to climb. But by that time, both planes were already changing course at the direction of automated collision avoidance systems they have on board. The controller told investigators he was flustered by the event and asked another controller to take over for him afterward. He's now back at work directing air traffic after undergoing additional training. The conclusion and recommendation sections of the memo were redacted, but the FAA said the Honolulu Control Facility is conducting regular safety briefings. The agency and the controllers' union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, also have developed a pilot program giving employees an opportunity to address peer conduct, the FAA said. The manager of the Honolulu office retired from the FAA after the agency began investigating. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57425879/faa-probes-how-hawaii-planes- got-on-crash-course/ Back to Top Woman Flying To SFO Checks Luggage Containing Explosives NEWARK, NJ (CBS SF) - A New Jersey woman headed to San Francisco International Airport was briefly detained Tuesday after Transportation Security Administration screeners found explosive devices inside a suitcase she had checked for the flight, federal authorities told CBS San Francisco. TSA explosives experts said the woman's luggage contained three small Claymore land mine casings, two of which were "packed with shrapnel." According to the TSA, the woman told officials at Newark Liberty International Airport's Terminal C that she had packed the mines in her suitcase because she was going to be attending an explosives demonstration. TSA and local police confiscated the weapons, but allowed the woman - identified only as a resident of Union, New Jersey - to travel on a later flight to San Francisco. Back to Top Back to Top Investigator of air crashes slams safety standards (India) New Delhi: Air Marshal (retd) P S Ahluwalia, who led the investigations into two air crashes last year, today said that the induction of inadequately trained pilots and the unavailability of technical expertise in search operations were severely undermining India's ability to handle the explosive growth of the industry and increasing instances of accidents. In an interview to The Indian Express, Ahluwalia took a strong view of the government's casual approach towards air safety and rescue operations, and called for an independent, statutory board to investigate air mishaps. "To avoid conflict of interest and any possible external interference in probes into accidents and incidents, the exercise must be conducted by, or be under the control of, an independent safety investigation authority. This should be independent of aviation authorities responsible for airworthiness, certification and air traffic control," he said. According to Ahluwalia, UN-mandated standards for rescue operations "existed only on paper" in India. International standards demand that rescue teams possess helicopters, medical aid, specialised equipment, communication systems and expert manpower. "This aspect needs urgent and immediate action if we are to stand scrutiny by international authorities," Ahluwalia said. The training, instructional and examining methodology for pilots must be restructured, Ahluwalia said. "Due to excessive automation, basic flying skills are neglected. The consequences are disastrous when manual flying has to be resorted to," he said. Ahluwalia, a former director-general for flight safety who probed the Lubuthang crash that killed Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others last April, and the Faridabad air ambulance crash in May 2011 that killed 10 people, said that the expansion of commercial aviation at the cost of training was "absolutely alarming". "It is important to be well educated and mature. Candidates must be able to handle high-pressure emergency situations. The selection process must include psychoanalysis," he said. Pilots in India are allowed to fly till the age of 65. "Pilots have to be fit with exacting medical standards. They must be younger due to the demands of the job. Standards fall as age increases," Ahluwalia said. The retired air marshal said that in the case of the Lubuthang crash, not just the Airports Authority of India (AAI), even the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Indian Air Force had failed to locate the debris. "ISRO or IAF were unable to locate the crash site for five days. Finally, yak herders found the debris," he said, emphasising the criticality of reaching the crash site quickly. "These minutes can save lives." The crash site was 15,000 feet above sea level, and search teams faced difficult weather conditions. "It was discovered that the aircraft's critical component, the engine, would have to be airlifted but it did not fit into the only chopper that could land there," Ahluwalia said. The young Air Force pilots decided to take a controlled risk by airlifting the engine in a Cheetah chopper, leaving the chopper's door open. "This is against flight safety but there was no option," he said. The government accepted Ahluwalia's reports two weeks ago, and published them on the Internet on Monday. The challenges faced by the probe team underscored the absence of regulatory oversight. "In both cases there was no cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, and critical engine information was destroyed by fire. We had to rely on unusual methods to ascertain the causes behind the crash," Ahluwalia said. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/investigator-of-air-crashes-slams-safety- standards/944235/0 Back to Top Aviation safety suffers further setback after Helios conviction A Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer has received a 10 year prison sentence by an Athens court for allegedly not resetting a cockpit switch following maintenance on the Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 which crashed into a mountain near Athens in 2005 after its oxygen supply failed and the pilots and most of the passengers fell unconscious. It is difficult to grasp how aviation safety can be improved if the legal process surrounding an aircraft accident allows an engineer to be condemned to a prison sentence based on an "assumption" that a cockpit Switch (critical to flight safety) was set in the incorrect position. There was absolutely no evidence presented during the trial that the Engineers actions caused or even contributed to the accident. On the contrary, the conviction is based purely on the unproven supposition that the switch was left in the incorrect position although it was demonstrated by experts that that was unlikely. In fact some accident investigators maintain that the switch was still in AUTO (correct position) at impact. The factual evidence in the Helios case paints a rather different picture of the engineer than that suggested by this decision. The facts suggest an extremely conscientious and professional engineer performing the job at hand in an extremely professional manner. Perhaps most importantly, the decision makes the ground engineer criminally responsible for the configuration of the controls of the aircraft, prior to the flight crew joining and carrying out their pre-flight and post take off checks. Such a proposition runs completely counter to the core proposition of division of responsibilities that every engineer and every pilot will recognise but which sadly various engineers and pilots called as witnesses on behalf of the prosecution felt able to deny. Once again we are witnessing a judicial process that offered an opportunity to improve aviation safety failing to meet that challenge preferring instead to allocate blame on an uninformed and irrational basis and with a mindset that someone must pay because an accident sadly causing deaths has occurred and society demands a scapegoat. The current trend of criminalising aircraft accidents serves no other purpose other than to undermine safety and will ultimately lead to more accidents. Despite all the rhetoric about aviation safety being paramount, the introduction of safety and quality management systems, the simple fact remains that due to a failure on the part of Europe to create a centre of investigatory excellence for the industry and to eliminate the inappropriate use of accident reports for criminal purposes; instead pandering to the blame culture, safety systems will fail to deliver what air travellers want - Safety in the skies. http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/49125-Aviation-safety-suffers- further-setback-after-Helios-conviction Back to Top N Korea 'jamming aircraft signals' A South Korean official says jamming signals from North Korea have affected 250 civilian flights in and out of South Korea. Seoul's Transport Ministry said on Tuesday (local time) the signals have interfered with GPS on flights since Saturday. The planes have relied on alternate navigation systems to prevent trouble. Lee Kyung-woo of Seoul's Korea Communications Commission says the signals appear to have come from the North Korean border town of Kaesong. South Korean officials accused North Korea of similar jamming in 2010 and 2011. South Korea's Defense Ministry says its military hasn't been affected. The two Koreas are technically at war since the 1950's Korean War end http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/6848604/N-Korea-jamming-aircraft-signals Back to Top Flight Data Recorder (Black Box) Manufacturing in the US Industry Market Research Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 02, 2012 Despite economic volatility in the five years to 2012, the Flight Data Recorder (Black Box) Manufacturing industry has fared quite well. Strong demand for new commercial airplanes in downstream markets and increased defense spending on military aircraft boosted demand for industry products. With rising fuel prices, international and domestic carriers increased their demand for new, more fuel-efficient airplanes. As a result, aircraft manufacturers, such as Boeing, increased their purchases of flight data recorders (FDRs) and cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) since they are a necessary good in almost all aircraft. In addition, the military increased its activity in Afghanistan, driving growth for new military aircraft and positively affecting industry demand. "The high sales volumes, combined with product price increase, have helped the industry offset higher input costs, such as those of steel," says IBISWorld industry analyst Mary Nanfelt. Despite strong demand from downstream markets, commercial aircraft activity slowed during the recession, restraining overall industry growth. From 2007 to 2012, industry revenue is expected to rise at an annualized rate of 0.5% to $264.6 million, including an increase of 1.9% in 2012. From 2012 to 2017, Flight Data Recorder (Black Box) Manufacturing industry growth is projected to pick up. International and domestic carriers will continue to demand more airplanes due to improved technology and an expansion of airline companies in Asia. With more new airplanes, more FDRs and CVRs will be demanded. In addition, the price of steel is expected to remain stable, keeping costs and profit margins constant. "Although the industry will grow, it will be negatively affected by the reduction in defense spending by the US government," adds Nanfelt. As federal funding for defense declines, fewer new military aircraft will be needed, so fewer industry devices will be demanded for these planes. Although the industry is expanding, the number of companies in this industry is expected to remain constant. Current major players include L-3 Communications Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., Teledyne and Universal Avionics. Given that industry equipment is highly regulated, production of these devices is tightly controlled and so there are few companies operating in the industry. The industry has high barriers to since it manufactures a very technical device and has a limited number of customers who require such products. Furthermore, the capital investment necessary to produce these devices is high, further limiting competition in the industry. Major companies in this industry that specialize in defense products submit bids that detail proposed technical solutions and designs and cost estimates to win government contracts. Even though firm numbers are forecast to remain constant, employment is expected to grow at an in the five years to 2017. As demand increase, companies will need more employees to meet their production quotas. For more information, visit IBISWorld's Flight Data Recorder (Black Box) Manufacturing in the US industry report page. Follow IBISWorld on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/IBISWorld Friend IBISWorld on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IBISWorld/121347533189 IBISWorld industry Report Key Topics This industry manufactures flight data recorders (FDRs), which are often referred to as black boxes. An FDR is an electronic device used to record any instructions sent to electronic systems on an aircraft; it is primarily used in accident investigation. Cockpit voice recorders (CVR) are also included in this industry. CVRs record radio transmissions and other sounds in the cockpit, including pilot voices and engine noises. Industry Performance Executive Summary Key External Drivers Current Performance Industry Outlook Industry Life Cycle Products & Markets Supply Chain Products & Services Major Markets Globalization & Trade Business Locations Competitive Landscape Market Share Concentration Key Success Factors Cost Structure Benchmarks Barriers to Entry Major Companies Operating Conditions Capital Intensity Key Statistics Industry Data Annual Change Key Ratios About IBISWorld Inc. Recognized as the nation's most trusted independent source of industry and market research, IBISWorld offers a comprehensive database of unique information and analysis on every US industry. With an extensive online portfolio, valued for its depth and scope, the company equips clients with the insight necessary to make better business decisions. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IBISWorld serves a range of business, professional service and government organizations through more than 10 locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ibisworld.com or call 1-800-330-3772. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC