Flight Safety Information May 4, 2012 - No. 090 In This Issue FAA seeks to fine Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air Safety warning over smouldering iPhone incident Air Safety Violations Up 16% in 2011 (Russia) IATA Bares Priority Areas Where To Improve Aviation Safety Measures Airport security stops 69-year-old man carrying butter knife on his walker PRISM CERTIFICATION CONSULTANTS Glider Pilots Riding Mountain Waves to Over 20,000 Feet Today Hawker Beechcraft files for bankruptcy protection DFW International Airport Reveals New A380 Mockup For Fire Training Research Center 'Too Fat To Fly' Passenger Sues Southwest Airlines For 'Discriminatory Actions' "A Practical Approach to Safety Management Systems" Course FAA seeks to fine Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal officials are seeking $655,125 in fines against Alaska Airlines and its Horizon Air affiliate for alleged safety violations, including failing to inspect a plane for cracks. Sponsored LinksThe Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that Horizon operated a Bombardier Dash-8-400 aircraft on 45 flights, while it failed to follow a safety order to check for cracked or corroded fittings on the engine housing. A 2011 order required airlines to inspect the fittings every 300 hours of flight time and make repairs as needed. The FAA said Horizon used the plane on at least 45 passenger flights in March 2011 after it had passed the 300-hour mark. The FAA proposed a civil penalty of $445,125 against Horizon. The FAA also said it would seek a $210,000 civil penalty against Alaska Airlines, charging that the airline failed to properly tag turned-off equipment before making repairs to Boeing 737 jets. It said the violations of worker-safety rules occurred 10 times in 2010 and 2011. Both airlines are owned by Seattle-based Alaska Air Group Inc. Company spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said Horizon performed the required inspection of the fitting over the engine covering, "however, we did not properly document our maintenance due to a misunderstanding over wording on the work order." She said the plane was pulled from service the next day after the documentation mistake was spotted, was inspected again and passed. Egan added that Horizon is replacing the fittings with ones that don't require such frequent inspections. On the Alaska planes, she said, the maintenance work was done to Boeing's specifications but not properly documented. She said passengers were never in danger. The airlines have 30 days to respond to the FAA Back to Top Safety warning over smouldering iPhone incident SYDNEY: Australia's air safety watchdog warned today of the potential dangers of lithium battery-powered devices, after an iPhone that had undergone unauthorised repairs started smouldering on a flight to Sydney. In the incident last November on Australian carrier Regional Express, a crew member used a fire extinguisher on a passenger's phone that began overheating and giving off smoke in the cabin. An investigation by the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau (ATSB) found that a small metal screw had been misplaced in the phone's battery bay. The stray screw punctured the battery casing, causing an internal short circuit that led to overheating, which increased as the battery reacted and began to break down. It found that an "unauthorised repair facility" had failed to exercise appropriate quality control on the iPhone when it was being fixed. The ATSB said passengers should be aware of the safety measures related to flying with lithium battery-powered devices. "When travelling with mobile phones, laptops and other portable electronic devices, or just their batteries, passengers should, wherever possible, carry them in the cabin, and not in checked-in baggage," it said. "The incident also highlights the importance of good maintenance and repair processes for these devices, and the risk of using non-authorised repair agents." The report did not say if the danger was limited to travelling in pressurised air cabins but said there was no previous record in the ATSB's databases of a similar incident happening on an aircraft in Australia. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/australia-warning-over- smouldering-iphone-incident/articleshow/12992825.cms Back to Top Air Safety Violations Up 16% in 2011 (Russia) Emergency Situations Ministry Wreckage at the site of a June plane crash outside Petrozavodsk in which 44 were killed. The number of air safety violations in 2011 went up 16 percent, from 124,000 in 2010 to 144,000 last year, due in part to higher numbers of checks by watchdogs, a Prosecutor General's Office official said in an interview published Wednesday. The increase in inspections came partly as a result of a rise in airline accidents, from 24 in 2010 to 34 last year, said Yelena Glebova, the head of transportation and customs oversight in the prosecutor's office, in an interview with legal magazine Prokuror, RIA- Novosti reported. Russia ranked as the most dangerous country in the world in which to fly in 2011, with nine crashes claiming 140 lives, surpassing even the Democratic Republic of Congo for aircraft-related fatalities. The top reason for airplane crashes in Russia is errors made by airline personnel, which are to blame in 80 percent of cases, Glebova said. She said an investigation showed that pilots were flying who had not had the necessary training and that flight schools do not have adequate numbers of teachers, planes Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/air-safety-violations-up-16- in-2011/457886.html#ixzz1tuHThhh9 Back to Top IATA Bares Priority Areas Where To Improve Aviation Safety Measures The operations committee of the International Air Transport Association has urged governments to focus on the implementation of targeted safety measures instead of adding costly and cumbersome regulations that do little to improve safety. Over the next months, IATA will submit three priority areas for the aviation industry to work with ICAO, the US FAA and EASA with a goal of harmonization. "Safety remains the top priority. We have a full agenda to make an already safe industry even safer. Industry and governments have always cooperated to achieve our common goals based on global standards and harmonization. The need to take those even further in the areas of training, ground safety, and auditing will be our priority over the coming year," said Guenther Matschnigg, IATA's Senior Vice President for Safety, Operations and Infrastructure. The operations committee has identified four main priorities to guide IATA's safety initiatives over the next 12 months. These are pilot and engineer training, enhanced IATA operational safety audit program, ground operations and harmonization. Accommodating the growth in demand for air connectivity with trained pilots and engineers is a priority. IATA will facilitate this with the IATA Training and Qualification Initiative (ITQI), which moves into its implementation stage. The focus will be on working with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) and regulators to shift to a competency-based approach to training for pilots and engineers. ITQI takes a comprehensive approach to training by addressing aptitude testing, multi- crew pilot licensing, evidence-based training and instructor qualification. Training modernization is based on ensuring the core competencies of pilots and mechanics as defined in the first phase of ITQI (2007-2011). Alongside training modernization, ITQI will also promote mutual recognition of standards for pilot and engineer licensing and certification of flight simulators. The Enhanced IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program will include measures to ensure continuous conformity with IOSA standards and recommended practices (ISARPS) with quality control processes and self-auditing in between IOSA's two-year audit cycle. A timeline for the implementation of Enhanced IOSA will be proposed for endorsement at the next OPC meeting in October. Since the end of 2008, IOSA has been a condition of IATA membership and has been supported by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and ICAO along with other key regulators around the globe. A dedicated IATA ground operations team was created to support the IATA Ground Handling Committee as it drives safety and efficiency improvements. http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/358740/iata-bares-priority-areas-where-to-improve- aviation-safety-measures Back to Top Airport security stops 69-year-old man carrying butter knife on his walker NEW YORK - Authorities say a 69-year-old man carrying a butter knife on his walker tried to get through security at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The Transportation Security Administration says its officers stopped the Bronx man before he could get on a plane. TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says the man was not charged. Port Authority Police spokesman Al Della Fave says the knife posed no danger. He says the man couldn't explain why he had it. The passenger was allowed to board his flight. Walkers are inspected by TSA officers. Farbstein says it's normal for tons of prohibited items to be seized at the city's major airports each year. Such items include screwdrivers, hatchets, box cutters and even replica hand grenades filled with perfume. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/airport_security_stop_69-year-.html Back to Top Back to Top Glider Pilots Riding Mountain Waves to Over 20,000 Feet Today Weather conditions deteriorated forcing the flight to end early today. The pilots landed at Joslin Field near Twin Falls in southern Idaho. Right now, somewhere over northern Nevada, planes are being told by air traffic controllers to keep an eye out for a small, two-seat glider. The unpowered airplane is piloted by 44-year-old Gordon Boettger and the good news for the big jets in the area is that the sailplane pilot has a radio on board and is in communication with air traffic control as well. Riding atmospheric phenomena known as mountain waves, Boettger will spend much of the time at more than 20,000 feet and even higher. If all goes according to plan today, Boettger and his co-pilot, 79-year-old Hugh Bennett, will fly nearly 1,000 miles simply by using lift provided by the rising air, and speed provided by the jet stream. He departed his home airport at Minden, Nevada, on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains just after 5 a.m. local time, and plans to land somewhere in the upper Midwest before sunset, according to his wife, Melissa. "He's been wanting to go all the way to the Dakotas," she said by phone from their Nevada home. "His biggest passion is going downwind. He's been waiting for good weather to do this." The wait for the right conditions can be a long one, according to Boettger. She says there may only be two or three days a year when the winds and other weather conditions permit such a flight. On Tuesday, Boettger and Bennett made an attempt for the long flight to the Dakotas but had to abandon their plans when the lift wasn't sufficient to get them above 20,000 feet. Conditions often change during the flight and can force changes after weeks of planning. Just after 10 a.m. PDT today, Boettger encountered a wall of clouds over Winnemucca, Nevada, and was forced south, looking for an open route to the east. As of 11:45 a.m. PDT, the pair is flying Bennett's German built Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus sailplane at speeds over 140 miles per hour above Wells, Nevada. Bundled in down suits designed for high-altitude mountain climbing and breathing oxygen from small tanks carried onboard (Boettger is pictured above during a previous high altitude flight), they are nearly seven hours into their flight. All sailplane pilots must use some sort of rising air to stay aloft after being towed into the sky by a powered airplane, or in the case of some sailplanes, with a small "self- launch" motor that gets them airborne. Typically, sailplane pilots search for the invisible rising columns of air known as thermals caused by the sun warming a parcel of air near the ground. Once that warm air is heated enough relative to the surrounding air, it begins to rise and can carry everything from dust and small pieces of garbage, to hawks, eagles and sailplanes with it as it climbs through the atmosphere. Riding thermals can only get you so high. Eventually the warm rising air cools and matches the temperature of the air surrounding it. At this point the thermal stops rising and often forms one of the classic cotton ball-like cumulus clouds that can fill a summer sky. Pilots will circle in one thermal until it stops, then glide while losing altitude until they can find the next one to climb again. Another source of rising air is known as ridge lift when a wind blows over a ridge or mountain carrying the air - and sailplanes - upward. But for sailplane pilots who really want to fly high, they must rely on an extreme version of ridge lift known as mountain waves to get them into the higher altitudes. A mountain wave forms when strong winds blow across a mountain range. As the wind encounters the mountains it is forced upward, a phenomenon known as orographic lifting. This air that is forced upward can continue its upward trajectory for tens of thousands of feet above the mountain range on the downwind side of the peaks. Unlike the puffy cumulus clouds that mark the top of a thermal, mountain waves are often spotted by the presence of the UFO-like lenticular clouds. Most record-setting flights in gliders take advantage of mountain waves for a constant source of lift. Last year Gordon Boettger and Hugh Bennett set a U.S. record flying more than 1,300 miles while riding mountain waves over the Sierra Nevada mountains. The flight is also the longest flight in the northern hemisphere. The world record flight took place over the Andes mountains in Argentina and covered more 1,800 miles. Boettger is no stranger to flying at high altitudes, his day job is as a captain for FedEx flying MD-11 jumbo jets. His wife Melissa says his next big goal is to try and ride a mountain wave for more than a day, "he wants to do an all-nighter." First he and Bennett will have to keep riding his current wave eastward to his planned destination of Rapid City, South Dakota, later today. Their progress can be followed on Flight Aware and on Spot. http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/05/glider-pilots-mountain-waves/ Back to Top Hawker Beechcraft files for bankruptcy protection WICHITA, Kan. - Aircraft maker Hawker Beechcraft filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday after reaching agreement with the majority of its secured lenders and bondholders on a plan to restructure its massive debt. Hawker Beechcraft, which is based in Wichita, Kan., said in a statement that it filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal bankruptcy court in New York in order to expedite the prearranged restructuring of the company and some of its subsidiaries Under the terms of its restructuring plan, about $2.5 billion in debt and almost $125 million in annual cash interest expenses would be eliminated. The company also said it had obtained a commitment for $400 million in financing that will enable it to continue paying employees, venders and others. It said all orders will be fulfilled and service to customers will be uninterrupted. The company employs some 7,400 people, with roughly 4,700 working at its Wichita facility. It also has factories in Little Rock, Ark., Britain and Mexico, as well as more than 100 service centers worldwide. Hawker Beechcraft Corp., which is owned by GS Capital Partners and Onex Partners, has struggled with tepid demand for its military planes and business jets over the past few years. "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with our largest lenders and bondholders on a solution to stabilize and improve our capital structure," Robert Miller, CEO of Hawker Beechcraft, Inc., said in a statement. "In the last three years, the company has made aggressive transformational changes in all operational functions, and today's announcement represents the next step forward." The company said restructuring its balance sheet and recapitalizing the company in partnership with our debt holders will dramatically improve its ability to compete in a rapidly changing environment. The company said more than two-thirds of its bank and bond holders are parties to the agreement. Since its founding and highly-leveraged 2007 purchase of Raytheon's former aircraft unit, Raytheon Aircraft, Hawker Beechcraft has carried a heavy debt burden, reporting a total debt of $2.3 billion at the end of 2011, according to its annual statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In its annual statement, which was filed with the SEC on April 13, Hawker Beechcraft reported operating losses of $481.8 million in 2011 and a net loss of $632.8 million, when factoring in $135.6 million in interest expenses and other costs. Some 350 employees were handed 60-day layoff notices last month in the latest round of work force reductions. The company insisted at the time that the layoffs wouldn't affect its agreement with state and local officials to keep its aircraft operations and at least 4,000 jobs in Kansas until 2020 in exchange for $45 million in incentives. Hawker Beechcraft can trace its Kansas roots to Beech Aircraft Corp., a company founded by Walter and Olive Ann Beech that began making aircraft in the 1930s. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UHELS83.htm Back to Top DFW International Airport Reveals New A380 Mockup For Fire Training Research Center DFW AIRPORT, Texas, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport today unveiled a new Airbus A380, though this particular aircraft will never take flight. The Airport has installed a mockup of the A380, the world's largest passenger jet, at its Fire Training Research Center, where it will help DFW train its own aircraft rescue firefighting (ARFF) team and others from around the world. The DFW Fire Training Research Center, one of the world's top facilities of its kind, is in the midst of a $29.2 million renovation program due to be completed at the end of 2012. "We are committed to maintaining the best training firefighters and facilities in the world, and this A380 mockup is a key piece of the infrastructure that we need," said Jeff Fegan, CEO of DFW International Airport. "Our aircraft rescue and firefighting teams are known globally for their excellent training and preparedness, and we expect to share our research and best practices with airports worldwide." The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is funding the bulk of the rehabilitation of DFW's Fire Training Research Center primarily through a federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant of about $19.2 million. The renovation will include a new propane burn pit and control system, the A380 mockup for live fire training, a new capability for training with liquid hydrocarbon, along with a new roadway from Runway 13R/31L to the fire training facility. A new two-story building will provide training classrooms, a mock operations control room and additional office space. "DFW is once again demonstrating its leadership in aviation safety initiatives with its Fire Training Research Center," said Kelvin L. Solco, the Airports Division Manager for the FAA Southwest Region. "Our partnership with DFW on this and many other safety initiatives goes back many years, and we are confident DFW will continue to provide outstanding fire training programs at this facility." "I'm delighted that the FAA has made the decision to help fund this facility," said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, (D) Texas, who attended the event. "It means a great deal to us. It means that firefighters from all over can learn the skills right here to help them to save lives." The on-the-ground training provided at the DFW Fire Training Research Center prepares local, regional, and nationwide emergency response personnel, and has also trained airport workers from as far away as Latin America and Europe. Over 15,000 firefighters from 29 states and 24 countries have trained at the DFW Center since it first opened in 1995. The mockup of the A380 installed at the DFW Fire Training Research Center is a shortened version of the double-deck, wide-body jetliner. The training jet includes three interior sections, one configured for first/business class, one for economy class and one for a cargo variant of the aircraft. Training will include the ability to light the mockup on fire using propane. About DFW International Airport Located halfway between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW International Airport is the world's fourth busiest, offering nearly 1,750 flights per day and serving 57 million passengers a year. DFW provides nonstop service to 144 domestic and 50 international destinations worldwide. For five consecutive years, DFW has ranked in the top five for customer service among large airports worldwide in surveys conducted by Airports Council International. For the latest news, real-time flight information, parking availability or further details regarding the many services provided at DFW International Airport, visit www.dfwairport.com Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/03/4464171/dfw-international- airport-reveals.html#storylink=cpy Back to Top 'Too Fat To Fly' Passenger Sues Southwest Airlines For 'Discriminatory Actions' Kenlie Tiggeman, the overweight passenger who garnered national attention last May after she claimed a Southwest gate agent told her she was "too fat to fly," is now suing the airline. Tiggeman, who lives in New Orleans and blogs about weight loss on her website, AllTheWeigh.com, filed an injunction against Southwest in district court on April 20, alleging that the Southwest agents "did not follow their company policy and chose to discriminate, humiliate and embarrass" her in front of "airport onlookers," and that the airline uses "discriminatory actions ... toward obese customers." Southwest currently has a Customers of Size policy, which requires passengers to buy a second seat if they can't fit between the armrests. Southwest's seats measure 17 inches across. Tiggeman said she is not seeking monetary damages from the airline and filed the injunction application pro se, without legal representation. She said she wants an industry standard to be put in place for flyers who have to buy a second seat, including rules so that it is no longer up to gate attendants to decide whether or not an obese passenger has to purchase a second seat. "If you're telling me I have to buy two seats, you should tell me at the point of purchase, not the day I'm flying when I check in at the terminal," she said. Tiggeman said she was horrified last May when a Southwest Airlines gate agent told her to buy a second seat. "The gate agent came up to me and he asked me how much I weighed, what size clothes I wore," Tiggeman said. "He said that I was too fat to fly, that I would need an additional seat, and he was really sort of crass about the whole thing." At the time, Tiggeman said she weighed between "240 and 300 pounds." "There was no privacy," she continued. "He didn't know what the policy was. So he actually brought in a supervisor as well who didn't know." After the incident, Tiggeman said a Southwest executive contacted her to apologize, refunded her ticket and offered her flight vouchers, which she accepted. But last November, Tiggeman said she was again told by a Southwest agent that she was too fat too fly. In a statement to "Nightline," Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said she was aware of Tiggeman's blog post describing the suit, but hadn't confirmed the filing with the airline's legal department. "We realize that it's a sensitive conversation and we train our Employees to approach the situation as discreetly as possible," King said in the statement. "The ... best case scenario is for the Customer to notify us of any special needs ahead of time. If providing the additional seat does not result in our having to deny another Customer boarding, we will refund the ticket to the Customer at no charge, which happens more than 90 percent of the time." Tiggeman's crusade is just a small part in what feels like a war that has erupted between the airlines and their passengers. Many charge for everything from onboard snacks, to blankets and pillows, to excess baggage and body weight. Just today, Spirit Airlines announced that passengers may have to pay up to $100 for a carry-on, meaning bags that have to go in the overhead compartment and are checked in at the gate. Bags that can fit under the seat are still free. But if you weigh more, should you pay more? Peter Singer, a bio-ethics professor at Princeton University, raised this simple, but inflammatory question. http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/fat-fly-passenger-sues-southwest-airlines-discriminatory- actions/story?id=16271932 Back to Top Beyond Risk Management Ltd. in conjunction withCurt Lewis & Associates LLC are pleased to host "A Practical Approach to Safety Management Systems" a course designed for the aviation industry. With the ICAO recommendations and standards for the introduction of Safety Management Systems throughout the world - you can get ahead of the curve and save time and money by learning the potential pitfalls and challenges associated to its implementation. The Canadian large aircraft aviation industry has experienced many of the same challenges likely to be faced by others. To better prepare you and your organization to meet these challenges we are pleased to bring to you the Canadian 705 experience with regulated Safety Management Systems adapted to your needs. Dates - June 18 & 19, 2012 (Monday and Tuesday), SEATS ARE LIMITED - to ensure good discussion and time to question in a workshop environment class size is intentionally intimate. Register now to avoid disappointment. Important Details - This course covers the ICAO standards and the Canadian requirements and experience. The content is global in nature enabling participants from other nations and industries to find the material both useful and beneficial. For Canadian attendees this course fulfills the requirements for CASO training (non 705 operators.) Schedule Day One (Monday) 0730 - 0800 hrs. Registration & continental breakfast 0800 - 1200 hrs. Session #1 1200 - 1245 hrs. Lunch 1245 - 1700 hrs. Session#2 Day Two (Tuesday) 0730 - 0800 hrs. Continental breakfast 0800 - 1200 hrs. Session #3 1200 - 1245 hrs. Lunch 1245 - 1630 hrs. Session #4 1630 - 1700 hrs. Closing remarks and Presentation of certificates Overview - Improve safety performance by applying the fundamentals of SMS within your organization. Get past the barriers of independent departments to an integrated system. This two-day course gives you the comprehensive understanding of SMS and the tools to assist you in preparing for change in your organization. Who should attend - Any individuals who will be actively involved in the organization's Safety Management System (safety program). Individuals with previous experience and those with no knowledge in safety management will find this course useful for the formation or expansion of safety programs within their organizations. What you get - Participants will receive a consolidated reference binder of class material as well as an electronic version of the material which will provide guidance for setting up a system within their organization. Upon successful completion of the course a certificate will be issued. Subjects that will be reviewed are: * Safety and security * What Safety Management Systems is (definitions) * Corporate culture - The push for change (an overview of the proposed FAA Safety Management Systems, current ICAO and Transport Canada requirements) * Risk Assessment techniques * Data collection and processing * Front line involvement and committee process * Incident Reporting * Incident/Accident investigation techniques and process * Trend Analysis * Response to events and emergencies * Safety promotion * Implementing change (and the obstacles to change) * Documentation process. Location & Logistics - Calgary, Alberts, Canada. Tea/coffee/juice/water will be provided in the classroom at all times, continental breakfast and lunch on both days is included. Cost - $1,195.00 per person Canadian Funds SPECIAL OFFER: When you register three people from one organization they may bring a 4th person as our guest to this session! (Save $1,195.00!) for any given session the fourth attendee is our guest! DISCOUNTS: Option 1 - When attending the following CAP - Corrective Action Plan Course (June 20, 2012) and this course there is a special discount - the two courses for $1,600.00 a $345.00 savings! To receive this discount enter the code "CAP2012" when registering for the Safety Management Course, then register for the Corrective Action Plan Course and enter the discount code "SMS2012." Option 2 - When attending the following Quality Assurance and Auditing Course (June 21 & 22, 2012) and this course there is a special discount - the two courses for $2,000.00 a $390.00 savings! To receive this discount enter the code "QA2012" when registering for the Safety Management Course, then register for the Quality Assurance course and enter the discount code "SMS2012." Option 3 - BEST SAVINGS - When attending both the Corrective Action Plan Course & the Quality Assurance and Auditing Course (all three courses, five days) there is a bonus discount - the three courses for $2,500.00 a $540.00 savings! To receive this discount enter the code "ALL2012" when registering for the each of the courses. *all costs shown are exclusive of GST* Hosted by Beyond Risk Management Ltd. -Seating Restricted for better workshop discussion- -Registration is limited - Register now- Register on line at: http://www.regonline.ca/SMSYYCJune2012 For further information or questions: email - Brendan@beyondriskmgmt.com Or call: Brendan Kapuscinski 403-804-9745 Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC