Flight Safety Information July 11, 2012 - No. 140 In This Issue F-22 pilot in Hawaii briefly has oxygen deficit American Airlines Flight Turbulence Lands 5 in Hospital 5 taken to hospital from Rome-bound plane diverted to Philly airport Newark Airport Faces Delays After Tower Evacuation Nigeria: Lufthansa Withdraws Aircraft Services to Air Nigeria Qatar Airways Delays Jet Delivery Over Wing Cracks ARGUS PROS Aviation Auditing Airbus Scraps A380 Sales Target on Soft Demand Who Is Superior Aviation? FAA Extends Driver's License Medical Comment Period F-22 pilot in Hawaii briefly has oxygen deficit HONOLULU (AP) - The Hawaii Air National Guard said Tuesday one of its pilots briefly experienced an oxygen deficit while flying an F-22 stealth fighter last week. The pilot was heading back to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam from a routine training sortie when sensors indicated he wasn't getting as much oxygen as he should, said Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, a spokesman for the Hawaii Guard. The pilot also felt dizzy. He activated the emergency oxygen system until his symptoms abated and the plane's oxygen generating system returned to normal. The pilot landed safely after Friday's incident, the first time a Hawaii F-22 pilot has experienced hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, Anthony said. A medical exam cleared the pilot for duty. All 14 of the Hawaii National Guard's F-22 planes are operational, Anthony said. The nation's F-22 fighter jets were grounded for four months last year after pilots complained of experiencing a lack of oxygen that can cause dizziness and blackouts. An Air Force advisory panel studied the problem for seven months but couldn't identify the cause. The panel supported a plan to keep the aircraft flying with pilots using special sensors, filters and other safety precautions. In May, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered that F-22 flights remain "within proximity of potential landing locations" so that pilots can land quickly in the event they experience an oxygen-deficit problem. The F-22 is the Air Force's most-prized stealth fighter. It was built to evade radar and is capable of flying at faster-than-sound speeds without using afterburners. Five other bases are home to F-22s: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.; and Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Back to Top American Airlines Flight Turbulence Lands 5 in Hospital Miami-Bound Flight's Scary Turbulence Two separate flights were diverted Tuesday after one plane encountered turbulence so severe that five on board had to be hospitalized and another plane's cabin filled with fumes that made several people sick. Two flight attendants and three passengers were taken to the hospital after American Airlines flight 1780, bound for Miami International Airport, encountered turbulence shortly before landing. The Boeing 757 had 185 passengers and six crew members on board when it took off from Aruba Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement from American Airlines. The airliner said the plane encountered "moderate" turbulence about 30 minutes before landing in Miami. Twelve people sought medical attention in the gate area inside the airport. Witnesses say the shaking was so severe that passengers were flying out of their seats. "When I closed the door, the airplane started jumping around," said Javier Silva, 8, who was in the bathroom when the turbulence began. Javier's mother slammed her head on the airplane's ceiling as she tried to reach her son in the bathroom. "I never felt something like that in the past with the noise and the bumps," Leandro Silva said. "You just think that it's going down." The turbulence lasted for 15 seconds while the plane was making its initial descent. American Airlines said the seatbelt sign was on at the time of the turbulence and nothing on the radar indicated that turbulence was in the area. That wasn't the only trouble over the skies Tuesday night. A US Airways flight on its way to Rome was diverted to Philadelphia after several people were sickened by fumes aboard the aircraft. Five crew members were taken to a Philadelphia hospital after they became nauseous from an unknown odor on board after taking off from North Carolina. "At approximately 10 p.m. we received a notification that US Airways Flight 720, which was scheduled from Charlotte to Rome, was going to divert to Philadelphia, because individuals were exhibiting signs of illness. I believe nausea," said Victoria Lupica, spokeswoman for Philadelphia International Airport. US Airways spokesman Bill McGlashen said the five crew members were transported to the hospital for observation and no passengers needed any medical attention. McGlashen said a new crew will work the flight to Rome. http://abcnews.go.com/US/american-airlines-flight-turbulence-lands- hospital/story?id=16751957 Back to Top 5 taken to hospital from Rome-bound plane diverted to Philly airport; nausea symptoms reported PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Fire department officials say five people were taken to a hospital from a plane diverted to Philadelphia International Airport after several people reported feeling ill. Officials said no serious injuries have been reported. Airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said US Airways flight 720 had taken off from Charlotte, N.C. bound for Rome, but local officials were informed just before 10 p.m. Tuesday that the plane was diverting to Philadelphia after some people reported symptoms of nausea. Lupica said airport police, fire and emergency crews responded and the flight landed safely. The fire department said five people were taken from the airport's Terminal A to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where their condition was not immediately available. Airline representatives did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Back to Top Newark Airport Faces Delays After Tower Evacuation (WSJ) Air traffic to Newark Liberty International Airport was briefly halted Tuesday afternoon after smoke from an elevator shaft forced the evacuation of the control tower. Smoke was reported in the elevator shaft at 12:44 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration, prompting air-traffic controllers to move to an alternate location at the airport. As a result of the relocation, officials ordered a temporary "ground stop," freezing traffic into and out of the airport. Controllers working from the backup location resumed managing flight traffic at 1:05 p.m. "Air traffic controllers are now managing air traffic at the alternate site and will remain there until the issue in the tower is resolved," the FAA said in a statement. Investigators have not determined the cause of the smoke or established how many flights were delayed because of the incident. A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark Airport, declined to comment and referred questions to the FAA. Airport authorities have operated a ground-delay program since 2 p.m., an FAA official said, limiting incoming flights to manage the backlog of delayed planes. Back to Top Nigeria: Lufthansa Withdraws Aircraft Services to Air Nigeria Perhaps taking a cue from General Electric Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) which withdrew its four aircraft last week, Luftahnsa Technik was Tuesday alleged to have terminated its aircraft spare parts and aircraft component pool which was domiciled in Lagos for the use of Nigeria's major carrier, Air Nigeria. Before the withdrawal of its services, Lufthansa Technik was the leading provider of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) support to the airline. The aircraft maintenance company was servicing the airline's Boeing and Embraer aircraft. The implication of this is that when the airline, which was grounded by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) about two weeks ago, resumes operation, it would face difficulty in getting spares to service any of its aircraft on ground (AOG) as there would not be readily available aircraft parts for minor repairs. In fact, an inside source told THISDAY Tuesday in Lagos that with the withdrawal of Lufthansa Technik, the airline may not even resume operation after meeting the laid out conditions by NCAA without approved technical team. "This is because they cannot carry out any maintenance of their aircraft. In the first place, NCAA will not even give them approval to start operation without maintenance engineers and they cannot in the time being put up the required engineers to have their own technical team, and where will you even get those engineers?" Reacting to the report, Air Nigeria denied that the aircraft maintenance company has severed its services to the airline, insisting that Lufthansa Technik was still providing spares to the airline. According to the head of communication of Air Nigeria, Sam Ogbogoro, "Sequel to the recent reduction in our capacity following the return (repossession) of four Boeing B737-300 aircraft in our fleet, we are currently in discussions with Lufthansa Technik to rationalise aircraft spares in alignment with the current fleet size" Meanwhile, air fares continue to rise for local destinations because only few airlines are still operating as the lull that was observed after the crash of Dana Air flight on June 3, 2012 has given way to an upsurge in passenger movement in many of the nation's airports, especially in Abuja and Lagos airports. Industry observers said that if the present number of airlines continues to operate in the next few months that fares might rise as high as N50, 000.00 for one hour's flight during the peak period which begins from September. http://allafrica.com/stories/201207110209.html Back to Top Qatar Airways Delays Jet Delivery Over Wing Cracks FARNBOROUGH, England - The head of Qatar Airways said Tuesday that the airline was delaying delivery of its first Airbus A380 by three months, to January 2014, as it awaited modifications to the superjumbo's wings to resolve a cracking problem identified this year. Akbar Al Baker, chief of Qatar Airways, said of the Airbus jets, "We don't want a fixed wing, we want a newly designed one." "We don't want a fixed wing, we want a newly designed one," Akbar Al Baker, the airline's chief executive, told a small group of reporters here. European safety regulators ordered inspections of the entire fleet of the 555-seat, twin- deck planes in February after a series of hairline cracks were found in a wing component of at least 30 of the aircraft, which entered service in 2007. Airbus has scrambled over the last several months to modify the assembly process and to redesign an L-shaped bracket that connects the aluminum skin of the A380's enormous wings to its structural ribs, which are made of a combination of metal and lightweight, plastic-based composite materials. About 40 brackets - each about 8 inches long - are on each rib, with a total of 2,000 brackets spanning each wing. European regulators recently approved a redesign that Airbus has said will prevent future cracking. But Airbus will not introduce the changes to its assembly lines until the end of this year. Until then, all 77 planes in service and another two dozen expected to be delivered in the next 12 to 18 months will require regular inspections for cracks and replacement of any damaged parts. Airbus has said the changes could cost it over $600 million. Qatar Airways has placed orders for eight A380s and options for five more, with delivery dates extending to 2019. Mr. Al Baker, who has often been critical of Airbus, said he was confident the company would be able to deliver Qatar's first modified A380 within the revised time frame. Mr. Al Baker's comments came on the second day of the Farnborough International Airshow, where Qatar Airways has been showing off its new 787 Dreamliner, a 250-seat twin-aisle jet built by Boeing, Airbus's American rival. Qatar has firm orders for 30 Dreamliners with options to buy 30 more. Mr. Al Baker said he expected to receive five of the new Dreamliners, which are made largely of lightweight plastic composite materials, before the end of this year, with at least five more expected to join the fleet of the carrier, based in Doha, in 2013. The 15-year-old Qatar Airways, the second-largest Persian Gulf carrier after Dubai-based Emirates, has been expanding rapidly. It operates a fleet of more than 100 planes and has orders for an additional 250 from Airbus and Boeing with a combined list price of more than $50 billion. Mr. Al Baker said he had no plans to announce new aircraft orders at the air show. He also sought to play down speculation that his carrier was considering an equity investment in a European passenger airline. Qatar Airways last year bought 35 percent of Cargolux, a freight carrier based in Luxembourg. "We are quite satisfied with Cargolux and we do not need to make any more investments at this difficult time for aviation," he said. Any further expansion in the near term, he said, would more likely be code-sharing partnerships with other airlines. A number of other airlines and lessors did announce new jet deals Tuesday. Boeing said GE Capital Aviation Services, the aircraft leasing arm of General Electric, had committed to buying 100 single-aisle jets with a combined list price of more than $9 billion. The agreement, which is not yet a firm contract, is for 25 of Boeing's 150-seat 737-800 jets and 75 of a version, known as the 737 Max, equipped with more fuel- efficient engines. Alafco, a leasing company based in Kuwait, also committed to an order for 20 737 Max jets valued at $1.9 billion, Boeing said. Airbus, meanwhile, said Cathay Pacific Airways of Hong Kong had placed a firm order for the largest version of its forthcoming twin-aisle jet, the A350-XWB, the first since the European plane maker announced a major redesign of that plane a year ago. The order, for 10 A350-1000 jets, is valued at $3.2 billion. Cathay also plans to convert 16 previous orders for a smaller version, the A350-900, into the stretch variant, in a deal valued at an additional $1 billion. Airbus said last year that it would postpone delivery of the A350-1000 till mid-2017 in order to meet demands for a more powerful engine that would extend the plane's range and payload. Mr. Al Baker said his airline expected to convert an order for 20 of the original A350- 1000 jets into the souped-up version within the next 12 months. Qatar has 60 smaller A350s also on order. "Airbus has made significant improvements, and we are confident the new design addresses our concerns," he said. htt Back to Top Back to Top Airbus Scraps A380 Sales Target on Soft Demand Airbus SAS abandoned a target of selling 30 A380 superjumbo jets this year, as airlines opt for smaller, less-expensive aircraft in an economic slump. "The big aircraft market has been slowing down," Airbus Sales Chief John Leahy said in an interview at the Farnborough air show today. The target of 30 is "looking like a stretch as this point but when you set your goals at the beginning of the year you can't change them. Let's see how close we can get." Airbus has struggled with its flagship aircraft, after cracks emerged in wing components and deliveries in the first half only reached a third of the annual goal. The A380, which typically seats about 520 passengers on two decks, is Airbus's response to Boeing Co. (BA) (BA)'s 747 jumbo. That plane's latest variant, the 747-8, has also failed to sustain the momentum of earlier versions, with Chicago-based Boeing booking the last orders for the humpbacked jet one year ago. European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., the parent of Airbus, fell as much as 1.47 euros, or 5.2 percent, to 26.76 euros in Paris, and traded at 27.14 euros at 11:36 a.m. The drop pared EADS's gain this year to 12 percent. Slow Intake Airbus's only contract for the A380 this year is one for four aircraft worth $1.58 billion from Russia's Transaero Airlines. That's after Leahy had said Feb. 15 at the Singapore air (SIA) show that he expected to sell at least 30 of the planes, replenishing the backlog by matching the delivery target. The 747-8's strength has been in the freighter model, with 70 sales so far compared with only 36 for the passenger version, and even those purchases have been under pressure. Boeing said in November that it lost a deal for five 747-8s when lessor Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Ltd. converted that order to the cargo version of the twin-engine 777. The A380 and 747 are the only remaining aircraft with four engines in the manufacturers' line-up. Airbus ended production of its four-engine A340 last year after the jet with the company's longest fuselage lost out to the 777 model. Airlines are opting for more fuel-efficient two-engine jets, as kerosene makes up the single biggest expense for carriers. Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN) and Singapore Airlines Ltd. have both had to repair A380s after fissures were found in wing parts. While the aircraft is safe to fly with the cracks, repair work has cost Airbus more than a quarter of a billion euros and damaged the image of the world's largest commercial aircraft. Emirates is the biggest customer for the A380, having ordered a total of 90 units, with a list price of $389.9 million apiece. Qatar Airways Ltd. will receive an upgraded version of Airbus SAS's A380 superjumbo after refusing to take jets with wing faults requiring modifications later, Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said at the show this week. The second- biggest Middle East carrier behind Etihad will take its first A380 in January 2014, he said. Airbus has delivered 10 A380s to customers so far this year, and would need to double output in the second half to reach its 30-plane goal. Malaysian Airline System BHD (MAS) is among the most recent airlines to receive the double-decker, and the carrier has put the jet on display at the Farnborough air show. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-11/airbus-scraps-target-of-30-a380- sales-as-demand-dwindles Back to Top Who Is Superior Aviation? (WSJ) The Chinese company that is in advanced talks to acquire the bulk of bankrupt aircraft manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft Inc. for $1.79 billion has trolled U.S. bankruptcy courts to purchase assets in the past. Superior Aviation Beijing Co., the presumptive stalking-horse bidder for Hawker, which was backed before Chapter 11 filing by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Onex Corp., bought Texas engine-maker Superior Air Parts out of bankruptcy in 2010. According to Bloomberg News, Superior is 60% owned by Chairman Cheng Shenzong, a Chinese businessman whose other holdings include Qingdao Haili Helicopter Co. and Qingdao Brantly Investment Group. Haili Helicopter's Chinese website shows that the company was founded in August 2007 in the Eastern China coastal city of Qingdao. The company's total investment was $23.35 million, with a registered capital base of $10.2 million. It was designed to have an annual production capacity of 80 Brantly B-2B helicopters, the website shows. The aircraft has two to five seats each and is used by firefighters, riot police and civilians, according to a transcript of a television newscast posted on Haili's website. Haili - meaning "seaworthy" in Chinese, loosely - obtains design and production authorization, as well as certification by the Federal Aviation Administration of the U.S., through a joint venture, the website says. The site features pictures of helicopters hovering over a cityscape with a bay view. Qingdao Brantly's website, meanwhile, isn't functional. Haili's website, however, offers the link to the website of another company that bears the same corporate logo as that of Brantly International Inc., a helicopter manufacturer based in Vernon, Texas. All of Brantly International's manufacturing is being done at the company's "parent facility in Qingdao, China," its website states. Brantly traces its roots to Newby O. Brantly, who designed B-2 helicopters around 1953, the website shows. Brantly International is now run by President Kyle Hardman. Back to Top FAA Extends Driver's License Medical Comment Period If you missed the chance to comment on the AOPA/EAA proposal to allow private pilots to use their driver's licenses in lieu of obtaining a third-class medical certificate, you still have time to weigh in. The FAA has granted an extension of the original comment period from July 2 to Sept. 14. The FAA received around 14,000 comments by the time of the close of the original comment period. The agency agreed to extend the deadline at the request of both organizations. The change would let private pilots flying fixed-gear airplanes of 180 horsepower or less, with four seats or fewer and carrying up to one passenger to fly without a medical certificate. Pilots who choose this option would be limited to day-VFR recreational flights and would need to complete an online course detailing how to assess their fitness before each flight. Comment on the proposal here. http://www.flyingmag.com/news/faa-extends-drivers-license-medical-comment-period Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC