Flight Safety Information June 29, 2012 - No. 132 In This Issue Passengers Foil Hijacking Attempt in China Russian fighter jet crashes, crew eject safely China blames deadly plane crash on pilot who failed to locate runway Flight attendant loses cool aboard NYC plane ARGUS PROS Aviation Auditing Delta Expands World's Largest Wi-Fi-Equipped Fleet to Include International Aircraft The Transportation Department wants to expand the reporting of incidents when pets are lost, injured Sport-Plane Makers Warned by FAA to Stop Evading Rules Passengers Foil Hijacking Attempt in China SHANGHAI (WSJ)-Sky marshals and passengers aboard a plane in China's restive western province of Xinjiang on Friday overpowered a group of six people attempting to hijack the aircraft, official media reported. Minutes after the Tianjin Airlines flight with 101 people aboard took off from the city of Hetian in southwestern Xinjiang, three passengers in the front and three in the back stood up and announced a hijacking, according to the reports. They were tackled by police and passengers and tied up with belts before the plane returned to the airport and landed safely. Several passengers and crew members were injured subduing the alleged hijackers, the state-run Xinhua news agency said. A spokeswoman for Xinjiang's government said six suspects are in custody, all of them members of the Uighur ethnic group, a Muslim Turkic minority. The dramatic incident appears to be the latest sign of discontent in the resource-rich province where some Uighurs and members of other ethnic minority groups chafe at Beijing's rule. The event came on a day when state media trumpeted two significant events: President Hu Jintao's arrival in Hong Kong to celebrate its 15th anniversary as a Chinese territory- after it was handed over by Britain in 1997-and the safe return to Earth of China's first female astronaut after a 13-day space mission. Witnesses on the plane distributed photos of the attempting hijacking to Chinese microblogs. One showed a man being subdued in an airline seat. It was unclear whether the six were armed, though a witness said in an Internet posting that one had boarded using a crutch and clutched a detonator-like device. China's Civil Aviation Administration said the plane was an Embraer 190, with 92 passengers and nine crew members. It was flying between Hetian and Urumqi, the provincial capital. The plane had returned to its destination within 16 minutes of takeoff, the regulator said. While China's air safety record is good, authorities have reported various near-misses in the airspace over Xinjiang, a region that has experienced multiple violent incidents that the government calls acts of terrorism. Two years ago, two passengers aboard a plane in Xinjiang were detained on suspicion they lit a fire with toilet paper, state media said. A plane heading to Xinjiang from Afghanistan in 2009 was turned back after a bomb threat. In a March 2008 incident with parallels to Friday's events, Xinhua said passengers and crew foiled an attempt to destroy a plane by a female passenger who later admitted she had smuggled an unidentified "destructive device" onboard. Back to Top Russian fighter jet crashes, crew eject safely (AP) Russia's military says one of its fighter jets has crashed, but its crew of two bailed out safely. The Defense Ministry said a Su-27 fighter jet went down Thursday during a regular training mission. It fell into a forest near the Besovets air base in Karelia near Lake Onega, about 700 kilometers (430 miles) northwest of Moscow. The ministry said that both crewmen were picked up by a helicopter and remained in satisfactory condition. The air force has grounded its Su-27 fleet pending a crash probe. Back to Top China blames deadly plane crash on pilot who failed to locate runway before trying to land BEIJING (AP) - China says a commercial airline pilot failed to locate the runway before landing and abandoned the plane after it crashed in northeastern China two years ago. The State Administration of Work Safety called for the chief pilot to be prosecuted. The agency's investigation report also suggested Henan Airlines be fined 5 million yuan ($795,000) for lax safety management. The 2010 crash that killed 44 people and injured 52 was China's first major commercial air disaster in nearly six years. The agency says chief pilot Qi Quanjun violated aviation rules during the descent and did not locate the runway before landing. The Embraer E-190 jet hit the ground 690 meters (2,260 feet) short of the runway at the Lindu airport in Heilongjiang province's Yichun city, then burst into flames. Back to Top Flight attendant loses cool aboard NYC plane NEW YORK (AP) -- A flight attendant on a weather-delayed plane at LaGuardia Airport yelled at passengers and challenged them to leave the plane if they dared. The incident involving American Eagle flight attendant Jose Serrano was caught on video. Flight 4607 to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., was delayed for five hours on Monday. Port Authority police were called to the plane. American Airlines apologized for the incident. It said in a statement it did "not believe that the passengers' frustrations were always met with the level of service that we expect from our people." Serrano was removed from the plane. There were no arrests. The incident recalled a similar episode involving a Jet Blue attendant last year who swore at passengers and pulled the emergency chute on a flight after it landed at Kennedy Airport. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/29/2873930/flight-attendant- loses-cool-aboard.html#storylink=cpy Back to Top Back to Top Delta Expands World's Largest Wi-Fi-Equipped Fleet to Include International Aircraft --Partnership with single provider will offer global connectivity with Gogo Inflight Internet service --Customer feedback highlights importance of fleet-wide connectivity on two-class regional jets, mainline domestic aircraft and international flights ATLANTA, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Delta Air Lines /quotes/zigman/463579/quotes/nls/dal DAL +0.81% will begin offering in-flight Internet service on its long-haul international fleet of more than 150 aircraft, which includes Boeing 777, 767, 747, Airbus 330 and transoceanic Boeing 757 aircraft in early 2013. The expanded Wi-Fi service will use satellites to provide coverage internationally and will complement the existing air-to-ground service already provided by Gogo for aircraft flying within the domestic U.S. Delta already operates the world's largest Wi-Fi-equipped fleet of aircraft with more than 3,000 flights daily, including its entire fleet of 550 domestic mainline aircraft. More than 800 Delta aircraft, including all Delta Connection two-class regional jets, are equipped with in-flight Wi-Fi service offering more than 400,000 customers per day access above 10,000 feet. The international service will use high-bandwidth Ku-band capacity satellites to provide global coverage. When complete in 2015, Delta will operate approximately 1,000 Wi-Fi- equipped aircraft in its worldwide fleet. "Delta's advancements in technology have been a key component to our improvements in the customer travel experience and have been cited by J.D. Power and Associates and PCWorld magazine as important aspects of travel," said Tim Mapes, Delta's senior vice president - Marketing. "With our expansion of international Wi-Fi options across our fleet, Delta customers will be able to stay connected throughout their journey." The expansion of in-flight Wi-Fi to Delta's transoceanic fleet is the latest in the airline's more than $3 billion investment in enhanced global products, services and airport facilities through 2013. In addition to Wi-Fi improvements, Delta has added more First Class seats and in-flight entertainment to its domestic product; offering full flat-bed BusinessElite seats on its entire international widebody fleet; recently completed the system-wide roll-out of Economy Comfort on all two-class aircraft; adding personal, in- seat entertainment for both BusinessElite and Economy class customers on all long-haul international flights; updating Delta Sky Clubs throughout the system; and upgrading new terminal facilities for international customers at its two largest global gateways - the new international terminal in Atlanta now open and the expanded international terminal opening next May at New York-JFK. Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. During the past year, Delta was named domestic "Airline of the Year" by the readers of Travel Weekly magazine, was named the "Top Tech-Friendly U.S. Airline" by PCWorld magazine for its innovation in technology and won the Business Travel News Annual Airline Survey. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to nearly 350 destinations in 65 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo- Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, a world-class airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $3 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com. SOURCE Delta Air Lines Back to Top The Transportation Department wants to expand the reporting of incidents when pets are lost, injured or killed on airline flights. Currently, only the 15 largest airlines report when animals are involved in these incidents, which total in the dozens each year. But in a proposed rule, to be published Friday in the Federal Register, all airlines with a 60-seat plane would have to begin reporting, which the department says would cover 36 airlines flying 99.6 percent of domestic passengers. "This new rule is good news for animal lovers," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says. "It will help ensure that all animals can be transported safely and will enable consumers to more accurately compare airlines when it comes to the care provided to their pets in the air." The reports now cover all incidents involving pets transported by their owners. The proposed rule would expand the reporting to cover all cats and dogs transported as part of a commercial shipment, so it would cover breeders. Airlines reported 35 deaths, nine injuries and two lost animals during 2011, according to department reports. Through April this year, 12 animals have died and 14 were injured. Animal-rights advocates welcomed the proposal. "The Humane Society of the United States is pleased with this proposed rule because it will help regulate transport of dogs for commercial sale, including the importation of puppies out outside of the U.S. and the shipping of puppies by breeders within the U.S.," said Cory Smith, senior director of the group's Pets for Life program. department report in July 2010 found that "short-faced" dog breeds such as pugs and bulldogs, represent about half of the dogs that die while being transported by their owners as cargo, a significantly higher rate of mortality than for other dog breeds. Airlines had reported 122 dog deaths in the five years leading up to that report. But the department said that reflected a small percentage of the total pets transported on planes. About half the deaths belonged to breeds such as the English bulldog, French bulldog, American Staffordshire terrier and pug. http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2012/06/airlines-pet-safety-expanded- reporting/793135/1 Back to Top Sport-Plane Makers Warned by FAA to Stop Evading Rules By Alan Levin U.S. regulators warned manufacturers of so-called light sport aircraft that many of them are violating safety standards and could be shut down. Most makers aren't following rules that were streamlined to help a struggling industry, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a Federal Register filing yesterday. audited by the agency couldn't prove planes were properly built and inspected, and weren't able to notify plane owners of safety directives, the FAA said. In some cases, planes built in unapproved nations were shipped through third countries to make it appear they were properly constructed, according to the agency. "They are just getting started," Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, said of the FAA crackdown in a telephone interview. The Port Orange, Florida- based group represents 60 firms in the industry, according to its website. While he didn't dispute the FAA's findings, Johnson said there's no indication that planes are unsafe. The association sent a letter June 8 urging plane makers to keep adequate records and comply with FAA regulations. Light-sport planes must weigh no more than 1,320 pounds (600 kilograms), can't hold more than two people and can't fly faster than 138 miles per hour (222 kilometers per hour). Manufacturers include Textron Inc. (TXT) (TXT)'s Cessna subsidiary and Tecnam North America, a division of Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam in Italy. Other manufacturers include Rans Designs Inc. of Hays, Kansas, and IndUS Aviation of Dallas, according to Johnson's website. Streamlined Rules The FAA created the light-sport category in 2004 in an attempt to boost the flagging private-plane industry, Johnson said. Through 2011, 2,235 of the planes have been registered in the U.S., he said. The FAA allowed the industry to develop its own consensus standards for safety instead of imposing the manufacturing requirements for traditional aircraft builders. In an attempt to assess the new industry, the FAA visited 30 manufacturers selling the planes in the U.S. Inspectors found many rule violations, according to a report the agency released in 2010. Most makers did not keep records on each plane and aircraft owner to ensure quality, according to the report. We conclude that these lack of controls may result in the production and distribution of such poorly documented aircraft that it may be very difficult to verify conformity," the agency said in the report. Foreign Manufacturers The FAA also said it found irregularities in how U.S. firms imported aircraft or plane parts. FAA regulations require that aircraft manufactured outside the U.S. be assembled in countries that have agreed to follow U.S. standards. U.S. firms must ensure that parts are built to proper standards. In some cases, all or most of the construction had been done in other nations, even when U.S. firms told the FAA that they were the manufacturer, according to the agency's filing. When that happened, the U.S. companies could not guarantee that the planes were properly built. The agency won't license planes of light-sport manufacturers that don't follow the rules, effectively halting their ability to sell them, according to the notice. Planes previously licensed won't be affected, it said. The notice didn't explain why the agency is acting now, two years after its report. Crash Rate Light-sport aircraft appear to have a higher accident rate than other private planes, according to Bruce Landsberg, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Foundation, which oversees the group's Air Safety Institute. The Frederick, Maryland- based association represents more than 400,000 pilots and aviation enthusiasts. Because the category is so new, there isn't enough data to say how much higher the accident rate is or what may be causing the difference, Landsberg said in a phone interview. There have been an average of about seven private-plane crashes per 100,000 flight hours each year since 2000, according to U.S. National Transportation Safety Board statistics. As more planes enter the U.S. market, light-sport accidents have increased, Landsberg said. There were 27 accidents in 2010, seven of them fatal, about double the number in 2006, he said. 'Normal Oversight' The FAA crackdown doesn't threaten the industry, Johnson said. He called it normal growing pains for a business that has existed for less than a decade. "This is reasonable and normal oversight by government," he said. Most of the violations uncovered by the FAA involved a failure to keep paperwork, he said. "Missing a document doesn't mean an airplane wasn't built right," he said. "It just means you can't prove it was built a certain way." In its notice of the crackdown, the FAA gave the public 90 days to comment. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-29/sport-plane-makers-warned-by-faa- to-stop-evading-rules Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC