Flight Safety Information June 12, 2012 - No. 120 In This Issue Tam Airplane Makes Forced Landing After Suspected Bathroom Fire Dana Air Crash: Bird strike or poor quality aircraft? Pilot: Wind shear caused Aspen accident Pak Air Force''s Mirage jet crashes; pilot safe Fears over air safety if Air India pilots are replaced Quest For FAA Category 1 Status On Course - GCAA (Ghana) PRISM Certification Consultants Textron Confirms NetJets Order for Up To 150 Aircraft Airplane stolen in northern Colombia Sanford (FL)...airport gets privatization of security screenings ROMULUS: Flight 255 survivor to speak in documentary (video) TAROM Romanian Air Transport obtained the third renewal of IOSA registration Tam Airplane Makes Forced Landing After Suspected Bathroom Fire (Bloomberg) A Tam SA airplane made an emergency landing in Brasilia today because of a suspected fire in a restroom, the airline said in an e-mailed statement. The airplane took off from Rio de Janeiro and was scheduled to land in Belem, Para state, TAM said. Globo news earlier reported that there were signs of fire in two bathrooms Back to Top Dana Air Crash: Bird strike or poor quality aircraft? WITH 24 hours two air lines operating in Nigeria took lives. The first was in Ghana when a Nigerian cargo airline Allied Air crashed into a minibus at Ghana's Accra airport after overshooting the runway on landing and killing at least 10 people. Hours later that fatal crash of Dana Air on Sunday afternoon which not only killed everyone on board but also those in their houses and like the normal pattern that arises from any tragic event in Nigerian, a national sense of disbelief and grief followed by official visits to the scene of the tragedy, declaration of national mourning, and then an impeccable commissioning of an investigative penal into the cause of the tragedy, this tragedy protocol has been fully observed. Planes do not just fall from the sky something went wrong but because the cause of the crash cannot be established right away, people are left with speculations and the politicians are at it again. The VIP movement involving the first Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, allegedly caused the Dana MD-83 crash. Apparently, because the air space was closed for the First Lady, the plane had nowhere to land and then crashed into buildings. The office of the First Lady rebuffed stating: "Our attention has been drawn to the orchestrated plan to politicize the Sunday Dana Air crash in Lagos in which many people lost their lives, through rumours about the possible cause of the accident citing VIP movement involving the wife of the President. "We consider it callous, inhuman and devilish for anyone to have thought of wrapping such national calamity in political garb by insinuating that the plane crashed because the airspace was closed for the First Lady's movement in Lagos. "For the avoidance of doubt, the First Lady arrived Lagos at about 2pm on Saturday, 2nd June, 2012 for a private engagement and was billed to leave for Abuja on Monday, 4th June, 2012. "In compliance with her itinerary, the First Lady arrived Lagos on Saturday. She was at a public event on Sunday when the accident occurred and promptly abandoned the ceremony as a mark of respect for the victims and retired to the State House, Marina. She left Lagos at exactly 13.15hrs on Monday, 4th June, 2012, according to schedule. "It is therefore surprising that some mischievous persons will see this moment of National mourning as an opportunity to blackmail and impugn the First Lady's integrity. "This is the time for all Nigerians to be sober and pray for the repose of the souls of the victims and not a time to subordinate the interests of our nation to narrow self-serving interests," the statement reads. Trying to avoid any allocation of blame on their part till the cause of the crash is established Dana Air have cited Bird strike as a possible cause of the crash. According to Dana Air's Director Of flight, Captain Oscar Wason, speaking on Sliver Bird Television in Lagos, he explained "I don't know what could have been responsible for the crash, but this morning we found remnants of birds in one of the engines," he added. "We have bird strikes and it might have been that a mass of birds went through the engine and caused it to lose power" Since 1975 bird strikes have been the cause of a significant number of Plane crashes and it usually occur at lower altitudes, especially during take-off or landing. This is because the aircraft shares almost the same air space as that of the birds. The bird that strikes the aircraft might damage the nose, the trailing edge of aircraft's wing flap or the engine. The size of the bird also matters in determining the extent of destruction it can cause. While a tiny bird like a sparrow would not be able to cause any damage that would impede the functionality of an aircraft, a flock of geese might cause unrecoverable damage, eventually leading to a plane crash. The fan blades of the plane engine move at a very high speed to generate sufficient power required by the aircraft to fly. If the bird hits the engine, it may damage or break off one or several fan blades leading to significant engine failure and no matter how skilled the pilot is, nothing can be done to avoid the imminent disaster. . If Oscar is right, this means Dana Air was not negligent and as such cannot be held liable for the accident. However, due to the fact that the airport authorities are aware that birds are congregating around the airport, there should have been bird management initiatives to reduce the number of birds in the airport area by making the environment unattractive for birds, scaring the birds, or as a last resort, reducing the bird population. Though Bird strike is a plausible explanation, the quality of Dana Air plane is fuelling yet another speculation that the crash occurred because the plane was faulty a theory Dana Air is vehemently denying. However, the plane's history does not look good. The Twin-Engined McDonnell Douglas MD-83 was purchased new by Alaska Airlines in 1990. Alaska Air then sold the Aircraft to North Shore Aircraft LLC in May 2007 in order to fly a fuel-efficient Boeing 737s but leased it back for about a year. In August 2008, the aircraft was retired from the Alaska fleet and returned to the owner. During its service at Alaska Air the MD-83 developed a number of faults. According to public records, it is known that the aircraft experienced a mechanical fault and the crew made an emergency diversion due to smoke and an electrical smell in the cabin on November 4th, 2002. This was determined to have been the result of overheated light ballast. The aircraft was also involved in an evacuation following landing in Long Beach, CA (LGB) on August 20th, 2006, due to smoke in the cabin. That incident was later determined to have been the result of a chafed wire bundle that had discharged. However, Alaska Air is claiming the plane was still air worthy at time of retirement. After retirement, the aircraft was stored in Miami until early 2012 when it was sold to Dana Air. As of the time of purchase, the aircraft was already above the age limit allowed in Nigeria but Dana Air still went ahead to purchase it. Though, according to experts, an Aircraft's age has never been the cause of a passenger death however, just like old cars, older planes need more inspections and safety checks. Theoretically a well-maintained plane can fly indefinitely but needs more frequent inspections, and bigger and costlier repairs. That means less time in the sky carrying paying passengers. Thus an Aircraft would become impractical to fly long before it becomes unsafe. Age is not the only factor when it comes to safety. Each takeoff and landing cycle - and the pressurisation and depressurisation associated with it - adds stress to the skin of the plane. Aircraft that fly short, frequent routes go through more of these cycles than planes flying long distances and the MD-83 was used by both Alaska Air and Dana Air for short desistance flying. Meaning it may have pressurised and depressurised more than 70,000 times in its 22 years. The aviation Minister, Stella Oduah tears during the press conference is a little too late. If it was the West, not only would there be calls for her resignation, she would have handed it in herself. If she was doing her job, and making sure regulations are being followed, Dana air would not break them. A minister that could tolerate power failure in the airport without instant backup generator is clearly incompetent. Rather than ask for her resignation, lawmakers are set to carry out their own separate investigation into the Dana Air crash - and want the director general of Nigeria's independent civil aviation authority, Harold Demuren, to be suspended until they conclude the probe Whether it is bird strike, poor aircraft maintenance, or whatever the cause maybe, it is high time Nigerians lives count for something. All Nigerians can do right now is wait for answers. However, it would take several months if not years to establish the cause of the crash. That is, if the panel comes up with anything at all as has been their usual fashion. After a couple of months the tragedy grows cold. People either forget or become complacent and goes about their business like nothing happened and lessons that should be learnt are not learnt. http://www.tribune.com.ng/ Back to Top Pilot: Wind shear caused Aspen accident ASPEN - A crew was expected Monday to begin dismantling a Learjet that veered off the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport runway last week in an accident the pilot blamed on wind shear that caused one wingtip to hit the pavement as the aircraft was landing. The damaged jet has been sitting outside the airport operations center, located opposite the runway from the terminal building, since it was placed there after Thursday's mishap. The wings will be removed and other work will be done to accommodate transport of the aircraft on a flatbed truck, said Jim Elwood, aviation director at the airport. The cause of the accident is the subject of a National Transportation Safety Board investigation, but the airport's report on the incident includes a statement from Todd Chilton, pilot in command, who said a wind shear flung the jet down as it was coming in to land, causing the left wingtip to hit the pavement. "This caused me to veer off the runway into the east side safety areas. In the process of trying to correct it, the right main gear broke off and we eventually came to rest in the west side safety area," Chilton said in the report. The aircraft had about 185 gallons of fuel on board, the pilot indicated. Leaking fuel prompted an airport emergency crew to spray fire-suppressing foam at the accident site. No one was hurt in the accident; the jet was carrying two pilots, six passengers and two dogs. The incident forced the closure of the airport for more than four hours, but federal officials were on the scene quickly, according to the airport report. The runway was closed to operations at about 12:30 p.m. and NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration officials allowed cleanup of debris and repairs to airfield lighting to begin at 1:30 p.m. The airport was cleared to start moving the wreckage at 2:30 p.m. The aircraft couldn't be moved without NTSB approval, Elwood said. "Otherwise, the airplane has to sit wherever its stopping point was," he said. Although the jet was off of the runway, it was too close to allow operations to resume until it was moved, according to Elwood. The jet was chained to a trackhoe that was already on site at the airport and lifted onto a truck to move it out of the way, he said. The accident caused about $5,000 in damage to airport property, according to the report. Seven airfield lights were broken, as was a sign that advises pilots and the concrete pad it sat on. Two other lights, owned the FAA, were also broken; repair was estimated at $2,000. The aircraft suffered damage to both wings, lost a right flap and its right main gear. It also had a deep scratch on the left side of its fuselage, the report said. Following the accident, the FAA checked the alignment of navigational lights known as the Precision Approach Path Indicator, or PAPI. Elwood said he hasn't heard from the FAA regarding the results of that check. The Learjet is owned by Performance Aircraft Leasing of Buffalo Grove, Ill., Elwood said. An insurance adjuster representing the owner inspected the aircraft last week, he said. http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20120612/NEWS/120619975/1077&ParentProfile=1058 Back to Top Pak Air Force''s Mirage jet crashes; pilot safe Islamabad, Jun 12 (PTI) A Mirage jet fighter of the Pakistan Air Force today crashed while on a routine training mission in Balochistan province in the country's southwest though the pilot ejected safely. The jet crashed near Uthal city in Lasbela district. There were no reports of loss of life or property on the ground, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The PAF has constituted a board of inquiry to determine the cause of the accident. http://www.ptinews.com/news/ Back to Top Fears over air safety if Air India pilots are replaced The news that civil aviation minister Ajit Singh is exploring the option of terminating the jobs of a majority of Air India pilots and hiring fresh recruits has alarmed many in the airline industry who fear that flight safety will suffer. MUMBAI: The news that civil aviation minister Ajit Singh is exploring the option of terminating the jobs of a majority of Air India pilots and hiring fresh recruits has alarmed many in the airline industry who fear that flight safety will suffer. The AI pilots have been striking for the past month. Air India recently put out advertisements calling for pilots trained on Boeing aircraft. So far the airline has terminated over 100 pilots and, according to sources, termination letters are being sent to many more. Capt Manoj Hathi, ex-Air India director of operations and flight safety and an examiner/instructor on Boeing 747-400, categorically said that replacing 400-odd "company- experienced pilots" with fresh recruits could have repercussions on flight safety. "In the 1960s, Japan Airlines replaced its American pilots with Japanese pilots with minimal experience on jets. They had a large number of American pilots and replacing them en masse was a bad decision as the airline had more than half-a-dozen accidents in the next nine years, all attributed to lack of experience, training and pilot error,'' said Hathi. He said there were numerous, serious CRM (Cockpit Crew Resource Management) issues the airline would face in training the new recruits. CRM covers factors like interpersonal communication between pilots, human error and so on -- all vital requirements to ensure flight safety in a multi-crew aircraft. "All airlines follow different Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to standardize pilots. As a matter of interest, even Indian airline and Air India follow different SOPs. Having a mixed crew in a cockpit increases the probability of CRM failure," he added. Hathi said that Air India's operations and flight safety custodians must give serious thought to unilaterally replacing company-trained and well-experienced pilots. "There is just no short cut to experience," he added. Air India executive pilots also fear that the move could have air safety implications. An executive pilot, who wished to remain unnamed, said: "Which airline in the world would let go 400 experienced pilots and recruit fresh ones, only to spend considerable time and money on their training, pay them double the salary if they are foreign pilots and in the end operate flights that have a high risk of getting involved in an incident or accident because of CRM failure?" Said another commander who is also an instructor: "With fresh recruits, there is always the possibility of their past airline training rearing its head unexpectedly during an emergency, when split-second decisions need to be taken. It can be disastrous when two pilots take action based on two different SOPs,'' he added. A section of Air India pilots who operate flights to the US, Europe, Far East and Middle East have been on strike for over a month now. They have demanded equal opportunity to career progression as their Indian airline counterparts. Executive pilots feel strain Air India's executive pilots who have been working to their full capacity for the past month to fill in for the absent pilots have started feeling the strain. About 15 to 20 executive pilots have called in sick in the last few days, apparently in protest against the airline management's failure to resolve the issue. Two executive pilots resigned in the last two days, sources added. An airline spokesperson did not comment on the developments http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Fears-over-air-safety-if-Air-India-pilots-are- replaced/articleshow/14039736.cms Back to Top Quest For FAA Category 1 Status On Course - GCAA (Ghana) Air Commodore (Rtd) Kwame Mamphey, Director General, GCAA Air Commodore (Rtd) Kwame Mamphey, Director General, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), says Ghana's quest to regain the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Category 1 status is on course despite the accident involving the crash of the Allied Air Cargo plane. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Air Commodore Mamphey stressed, "I don't believe the accident would in any way mar our reputation in the aviation industry" adding that the GCAA would continue to pursue the highest levels of safety and security in Ghana aviation. According to him, FAA had earlier conducted a technical review and identified some gaps in procedures which the GCAA had come up with an action plan to address. "When we are ready, we would then invite the FAA for the audit" he said. He noted that it was important to wait for the report of the Accident Investigation Committee on the crash, in order to determine probable causes of the accident and that based on the report, the GCAA would improve safety in areas where there was the need to. On recent calls for the relocation of the KIA due to its location in the city centre, he said there was the need to think of a future relocation of the airport but agreed with the Minister for Transport, Alhaji Collins Dauda, who had earlier stated that the location of the airport was not enough reason for its relocation, citing the fact that other international airports were located in city centres. A Boeing 727-200 with registration 5NBJN operating from Lagos to Accra overshot the runway on landing at 7:10pm, June 2, and went through the airport perimeter fence before hitting a commercial vehicle plying the Giffard road killing all passengers on board. Ghana lost the FAA Category 1 in 2005 and has since made every effort to regain it. The FAA conducts International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme (IASA), assessing the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of each country that has carriers operating to the United States. Because of the provisions of the Chicago Convention and national sovereignty, FAA is not permitted to evaluate a foreign carrier within its own sovereign state. An IASA assessment determines if the foreign CAA provides oversight to its carriers that operate to the United States according to international standards. The International Civil Aviation Organisation, a United Nations agency, and Annexes 1, 6, and 8 of the Chicago Convention develop those standards. If the CAA meets standards, FAA gives that authority a Category 1 rating, which means that air carriers from the assessed state may initiate or continue service to the United States in a normal manner and take part in reciprocal code-share arrangements with US carriers. Source: GNA http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/general-news/13593-quest-for-faa-category-1- status-on-course-gcaa- Back to Top Back to Top Textron Confirms NetJets Order for Up To 150 Aircraft Textron Inc. (TXT) signed an agreement with NetJets Inc. for delivery of as many as 150 of its Citation Latitude business jets, with initial deliveries beginning in 2016. The confirmation comes after The Wall Street Journal reported that NetJets said it plans to buy up to 425 aircraft from Textron's Cessna division and Bombardier Inc. (BDRBF) worth up to $9.6 billion, the largest-ever purchase of private planes and a boon for an industry that has struggled since the onset of the global recession more than four years ago. "This order from NetJets shows confidence in the growing strength and long-term outlook of the global economy and the aviation industry," said Cessna President and Chief Executive Scott Ernest on Tuesday. The NetJets order is a boost for the "super-midsize" segment -- generally, those that seat around nine passengers -- sales of which were hit especially hard. The Journal had reported that NetJets made firm orders for 25 Cessna Citation Latitudes -- one of several new aircraft being offered by the Wichita-based plane-maker -- plus options for 125 more, with deliveries beginning in 2016. The Citation Latitude has a current retail price of $14.9 million, however, such large orders generally include substantial discounts. NetJets' planned purchase includes firm orders for 75 of Bombardier's Challenger 300 Series, a nine-passenger jet popular for coast-to-coast flying, plus options to buy 125 more. It also includes 25 firm orders and 50 options for the Challenger 605 Series jets, which seat 12 passengers and are capable of intercontinental flights. Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/06/12/textron-confirms-netjets-order- for-up-to-150-aircraft/#ixzz1xa7sUR7J Back to Top Airplane stolen in northern Colombia An armed group stole a small airplane after entering an airport in northern Colombia Sunday night, newspaper El Colombiano reported. The airplane, a small Cesna 210 stationed at Antioquia's "Los Cedros" airport, was apparently taken around 7PM Sunday, when the armed group threatened the guards of a private security company to hand over the aircraft. "The airplane, which was under the custody of competent regional authorities, in one of the hangars in the Los Cedros airport, took off without a plan of return and without any permission", said the Colombian air force in a statement. A firefight broke out between the assailants, guards and police, reported radio station Caracol. According to air force intelligence, the plane was last seen on radar flying across the Panamanian border. Central american authorities have been notified. The Guatemala-registered airplane was parked in the hangar of a fumigation company that was detailed with private security. had been stationed at the airport since December 2011, when it was intercepted and expropriated by Colombian authorities during an attempted illegal flight between Colombia and Honduras. http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/24511-airplane-stolen-in-northern- colombia.html Back to Top Sanford (FL) airport gets privatization of security screenings SANFORD, Fla. - The Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday that security screenings at Sanford-Orlando International Airport will be privatized. The airport has been approved for a screening partnership program. Rep. John Mica won a significant battle. Eleven years after writing legislation that created the Transportation Security Administration, Mica helped the Orlando-Sanford International Airport remove TSA screeners and have a private company take over. "This will probably create an avalanche of change in the entire way we conduct passenger screening across the county," said Mica. Mica said TSA has become a bloated Washington bureaucracy that wastes millions of dollars every year paying top administrators, while underpaying screeners. Airport Director Larry Dale and his board of directors now have the ability to choose from a handful of certified screening companies. WFTV found that all signs are pointing to Covenant Aviation Security, which is a company in based in Casselberry that already owns a screening contract at the San Francisco International Airport. "We've done a lot of due diligence of and discovery on this, and we've been talking to people not only in the airports they're operating in, but the private screening people themselves," said Dale. But more than a decade after major communications failures were blamed for allowing the 9- 11 attacks, WFTV asks if passengers will be safe under private screeners. "What makes you think a private company would be able to communicate effectively enough with the government to stop that kind of an attack?" WFTV reporter Drew Petrimoulx asked. "Actually, the private company has nothing to do with it. This model is the model almost all of the rest of the world has adopted," Mica said. http://www.wdbo.com/news/news/local/faa-announces-privatization-security-screenings- sa/nPRSg/ Back to Top ROMULUS: Flight 255 survivor to speak in documentary (video) SOLE SURVIVOR TRAILER Cecelia Cichan, the lone survivor of Northwest Flight 255, which crashed shortly after takeoff Aug. 16, 1987, has broken her silence. Cichan, who lost both parents and her brother in the crash, spoke to filmmakers last year for "Sole Survivor," a documentary that seeks out the 14 known living people who were the only survivors of major airliner crashes. She was 4 years old at the time of the crash and kept in seclusion by family in Birmingham, Ala., after recovering from injuries sustained during the mishap, including a fractured skull, collar bone and leg, as well as third-degree burns over 30 percent of her body. Flight 255, the worst airline disaster in state history, exploded at the intersection of I-94 and Middlebelt Road after pilots were unable to control the plane. Investigators later found the crew did not follow preflight protocols. The film, directed by Ky Dickens, should be completed by August, according to its website www.solesurvivorfilm.com. http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2012/06/12/news/doc4fd660d5a1452908235972.txt Back to Top TAROM Romanian Air Transport obtained the third renewal of IOSA registration * TAROM obtained the third renewal of its IOSA registration at the end of a complex preparation and audit process in which the entire organisation was involved. * According to the IATA statistics, the safety performances for the operators registered in the IOSA registry are 52% better than those of the companies not included in the IOSA registry. * TAROM is among the 381 worldwide airlines seen as the elite group of international airlines dedicated to safety and quality operations. IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) is an internationally certified programme developed to assess the operational management and control system of an airline company. IOSA employs the principles of an internationally acknowledged quality audit. The programme is so designed as to allow audits to be conducted in an independent, coherent and standardized fashion. This year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has updated the IOSA host website (www.iata.org/registry) with the renewed certification expiry date, which is May 6, 2014 in case of TAROM. TAROM was first audited in May 2006 and IOSA certified at the beginning of 2007. The third audit, intended for the certification renewal, checked the conformity with over 900 standards and practices recommended by IOSA on 8 operational areas of the company: organisation and management, flight operations, passenger cabin, operation control, ground operations, cargo operations, aeronautical safety and aircraft maintenance. During this audit, TAROM was part of the pilot project commenced by IATA in 2011, Enhanced IOSA. According to this concept, the operator's internal quality system will include all standards and practices recommended by IOSA in the annual audits to be performed so as to ensure the permanent conformity control. This initiative will lead to strengthening the quality and safety systems of the airlines. Flight safety is our main priority. For a national company such as TAROM, the IOSA renewal is a proof that we operate in compliance with the most demanding civil aviation standards and shows our commitment to safety and quality in all the operations and services provided to our customers; also, the audit result is proof to the dedication of all our employees for passenger safety, as TAROM General Manager Gabriela Bordea said. IOSA Standards rely on the ICAO standards and the best practices in the aviation industry, and are fully available to the public as posted free of charge on the IOSA website, www.iata.org.iosa. *** ABOUT TAROM: TAROM Romanian Air Transport was established in 1954 and has been growing up with the Romanian aviation. TAROM carries out its activity under the authority of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and has been member of the SkyTeam Alliance since June 25, 2010, thus providing its passengers access to more destinations and connections. TAROM has been a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) since 1993 and of the Association of European Airliners (AEA) din 2000. CONTACT: TAROM Press Office E-mail: presa@tarom.ro Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LL