Flight Safety Information July 17, 2012 - No. 145 In This Issue Jet bound for London makes emergency landing in Canada Air show organizers tout safety record Exclusive: The Airplane Mystery Wire that Triggered Delta Scare Embry-Riddle grads killed in airplane crash in Southern France Domestic drone use detailed in extensive FAA filings ARGUS PROS Aviation Auditing Utah federal judge sends question about airplane crash lawsuit to Montana Supreme Court FAA Hits Operator with $185,750 Fine for FAR Violation Needles found in sandwiches on 4 US-bound Delta flights Mongolian Carriers Seek International Flight Rights Jet bound for London makes emergency landing in Canada St. John's, Newfoundland (CTV/CNN) - United Airlines passengers headed from Washington D.C. to London wound up taking a detour to Canada after the jet suddenly began to lose altitude. Passengers say the plane dipped in the sky. The plane was diverted and landed safely in Newfoundland, Canada Monday morning. "Starting at about 1:30 in the morning, we were notified by Air Traffic Control that a United aircraft 757 was declaring an emergency. The aircraft had a number one engine shut down. Once we were notified of that, we had about an hour's notice. At about 2:30, we notified all the local emergencies and activated our emergency plan and put the resources on standby at the airport. The aircraft landed safely and by about three in the morning, everything was under control and passengers were brought to the terminal and emergency services folks checked them out and went back to their stations," said Bob Nurse, Director of Security and Emergency Response at St. John's Airport. The displaced passengers were put on other flights. Back to Top Air show organizers tout safety record Tragedy at Reno air race spurred hearing Air show organizers have been busy touting their safety record ever since a deadly crash at an air race in Reno one year ago brought the issue into the public spotlight. Eleven people died and about 70 were badly injured during the 2011 Reno Air Races when a World War II-era plan piloted by Experimental Aircraft Association board member Jimmy Leeward crashed and sent parts into the crowd. The Reno incident prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to hold a hearing on air show and air race safety in Washington D.C. earlier this year. EAA's CEO, Rod Hightower, and Sean Elliott, the organization's vice president of industry and regulatory affairs, testified at the hearing. There have been 152 air show and air race accidents in the U.S. since 1986, according to the NTSB. Fatalities occurred in 75 of those accidents, but the Reno incident was the only one with spectator deaths. Air shows and air races are two different animals, said John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows. He said he believes air shows - including EAA's annual AirVenture convention in Oshkosh - have a top-notch safety record. "If air shows are like public figure skating demonstrations, then air races are like short course speed skating," Cudahy said. "For anyone who has attended AirVenture, that difference is going to be pretty clear. It's almost a ballet in the air, a dance by the airplanes." "It's a huge honor to fly at EAA, and it's like a pinnacle to a career," Tucker said. "If you're invited, they're saying you're the best of the best, so act like it and perform like it." He said air show performers take safety very seriously because "if you hurt yourself in front of an audience, you take away their dreams. People aren't coming to air shows to watch a crash. They're coming to air shows to be inspired." The Federal Aviation Administration sets stringent safety regulations for air shows, including: »Setting up crowd lines that keep spectators 500 to 1,600 feet away from overhead activity, »Confining flight demonstrations to an "aerobatic box," »Prohibiting planes from facing the audience while performing an aerobatic maneuver and »Requiring pilots to undergo no less than one competency review annually for each type of aircraft flown in an air show. Hightower and Elliott testified at the NTSB hearing that AirVenture organizers maintain safety by coordinating closely with local officials and emergency responders, the FAA, the NTSB and military units. The efforts have helped ensure no spectators have been killed at an air show in North America in 60 years. And, the number accidents in which pilots died has been decreasing from an average of four per year more than a decade ago down to an average of two per year more recently, Cudahy said. He said he believse that's an impressive record given that there are about 300 air shows in North America every year with approximately 5,000 airplane performances. "There's almost no motor sport in the world that can say that," Cudahy said about the safety record. http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20120715/OSH0107/207150302/Air-show- organizers-tout-safety-record Back to Top Exclusive: The Airplane Mystery Wire that Triggered Delta Scare An object made of straw and wire triggered a terror scare aboard a Madrid-bound flight from New York's JFK airport on July 12. No explosive was found. (ABC News) New details emerged today about the two mysterious pieces of wire encased in straws that triggered a short-lived but widely-reported terror scare on a Delta flight last week from JFK airport in New York to Madrid. A government picture of one of the wires, obtained by ABC News, provides the first look of what a federal air marshal feared could be a component for a bomb. The wire that led to the false alarm appears to be no more than two inches long, running through a dark straw shield. Authorities speculated it could be part of a rectifier, a device that converts AC to DC current. Federal authorities also revealed today that the Barnes Air National Guard base in Westfield, Massachusetts was placed at "battle stations" as Delta flight 126 aborted its route to Madrid and turned around north of the island of Nantucket to return to JFK airport in New York. A public affairs spokesperson at NORAD, Lt. Commander Bill Lewis said, "We were aware of the situation but we did not launch any aircraft." The plane, with 206 passengers on board, returned to JFK and declared an overweight landing emergency due to the amount of fuel on board for the transatlantic trip. The plane landed without incident. According to a report on the incident, the two wires in the right rear lavatory were first discovered by a flight attendant who notified the flight's first officer who then alerted one of a team of federal air marshals on the flight. Concern apparently grew because the wires, one on the lavatory floor and the other on the toilet, "were not there during a pre-flight check," according to the report reviewed by ABC News. The report said none of the lavatory's panels had been tampered with and the wires did not appear to be part of the aircraft. The federal air marshals questioned a 43-year-old male passenger identified by flight attendants as the last person to be near the lavatory before the discovery of the wires. He was identified in the report as traveling on a Bolivian passport with a U.S. green card. Initial reports suggested he was of Pakistani descent. The air marshals cleared the passenger after he denied using the lavatory and a background check conducted by the FBI raised no concerns, according to the report. There was no immediate comment from representatives of the Federal Air Marshals or the TSA. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/exclusive-airplane-mystery-wire-triggered-delta- scare/story?id=16786573 Back to Top Embry-Riddle grads killed in airplane crash in Southern France DAYTONA BEACH -- A recent graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University died "pursuing his passion" for flying when his plane crashed at an airport in France, his father said. Robert Helton, 24, of Pembroke Pines, whose career was just getting off the ground, and Dale Popik, a 60-year-old seasoned pilot from Delray Beach, died when the twin-engine Gulfstream G-IV crashed Friday afternoon while attempting a landing at Le Castellet airport, near Toulon, southern France. Both were Embry-Riddle graduates. Helton was a 2010 graduate from Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus with a bachelor of science in aeronautical science, school officials and family members said. Popik graduated in 1975 from one of Embry-Riddle's former worldwide campuses in the Miami-Homestead area with a bachelor of science in aviation management. Helton's father, Michael Helton, said on Monday that flying "was his (son's) passion." "Embry-Riddle was a great experience for him. It gave him a great opportunity and a great future," Helton said. "His entire experience there in Daytona was great." Helton's mother, Lori, said her son flew while at Embry-Riddle and "landed his job as soon as he graduated." Michael Helton said his son was a first officer, but that they could not comment further about the crash because of an ongoing investigation. "Our thoughts are with the families of Dale Popik and Robert Helton during this sad time," said ERAU spokeswoman Melanie Hanns. The Associated Press reported a third American crew member on the plane, a 30-year- old woman, was killed, too, but her identity was not released. The plane and crew, which was from Universal Jet Aviation, an executive jet service based in Boca Raton, reported no passengers on board. A company spokesman, Christopher Smith, said the company didn't have clearance to release the woman's name Monday. Universal Jet Aviation President Michael McCauley told The News-Journal on Monday that both Popik and Shelton were pilots though he could not confirm who was flying the plane. Other south Florida news publications and television stations report a relative of Popik stating he was the pilot. McCauley said the company is assisting the National Transportation Safety Board "to figure out what happened." "It's very sad and we're shocked. Our primary focus now is to assist the families," McCauley said. Company spokesman Smith said the manufacturer of the plane, Gulfstream Aerospace, is also working with investigators. Another south Florida television station reported that Popik flew with a commercial airline for several decades and decided after retirement to go back to flying. A French newspaper, Var-Matin, reported the plane veered off the runway and crashed at the end of the airfield in a patch of trees. The plane had taken off from Nice International Airport to retrieve passengers from Le Castellet airport, the paper reported. The Sun Sentinel in South Florida also reported the French newspaper said the plane touched down at a high rate of speed and the airport director reported seeing "lots of smoke at the moment the plane went off the runway." http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/east-volusia/2012/07/17/embry-riddle- grads-killed-in-airplane-crash-in-southern-france.html Back to Top Domestic drone use detailed in extensive FAA filings The details of how 18 different law enforcement agencies, colleges and federal agencies are using unmanned aerial drones were uncovered by electronic rights group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, on July 13. The group received the additional drone certificate of authorization information (COAs) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a result of a Freedom of Information Act suit. Last April, the FAA had initially provided only a list of entities to which it had granted the certificates. The documents released on July 13, said the EFF, contained extensive details about drone flights in the U.S., including specific drone models some entities are flying, where they fly, how frequently they fly, and how long they stay in the air. The 125 drone certificates and accompanying documents the FAA released total thousand pages, it said. The 18 entities detailed in the new release, said EFF, include police departments from Seattle, WA to North Little Rock, AR; about 10 public colleges and universities; a few federal agencies, including the USDA and the Department of Energy-Idaho National Lab; and other entities like the City of Herrington, Kansas and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. For every entity, the files include the actual Certificate of Authorization (COA) application information submitted to the FAA and many other supporting records. The files go back several years and include COAs for every year that the entity has had drones. For some entities this is as early as 2004, said EFF. The organization provided ZIP files of the documents on its Web site and encouraged a public review. *City of Herrington, KS *Cornell University *Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory *Eastern Gateway Community College - Steubenville, OH *Miami-Dade Police Department *Mississippi Department of Marine Resources *North Little Rock Police Department, AR *Ogden Police Department, UT *Ohio University *Seattle Police Department *Texas A&M - Texas Engineering Experiment Station *Texas Department of Public Safety *Texas State University *University of Connecticut *University of Florida *USDA Agricultural Research Service *Utah State University *Virginia Tech EFF said the FAA documents it received mainly address safety issues with drone flights, but there are still many unanswered questions about the privacy implications of drones. EFF wants the Internet community to help push for more transparency around the use of drones for domestic surveillance and said it had teamed up with open government organization MuckRock to help track drone use. http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/26756?c=federal_agencies_legislative Back to Top Back to Top Utah federal judge sends question about airplane crash lawsuit to Montana Supreme Court Courts » But judge asks Montana high court if that state's laws allow claims against U.S. A Utah federal judge has asked the Montana Supreme Court to decide whether that state's laws allow an aviation company to pursue its claim that federal air-traffic controllers were at fault in a 2007 crash that killed three people. In her order Monday, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell said that Montana law should prevail in the case because the Metro Aviation air ambulance was traveling intrastate when it crashed in Montana. The fact that Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air- traffic controllers were at a facility in Utah was immaterial, she said, adding that the federal government has no home state. But Campbell said Montana law is "unsettled" and asked the Montana Supreme Court to rule on whether that state's laws allow such claims in connection with the dispute between Metro Aviation and the United States. The air ambulance crashed around 9 p.m. on Feb. 6, 2007, during a flight from Great Falls, Mont., to Bozeman. Pilot Vince Kirol, 59, and passengers Paul Erickson, a 33-year- old paramedic, and Darcy Dengel, a 27-year-old nurse, died in the crash. The crew, under contract with Benefis Healthcare, was traveling to Bozeman to pick up a patient. Before reaching a settlement, Dengel's family alleged Metro endangered the lives of the flight crew by using only one pilot instead of two during the night flight and had not properly trained employees how to use safety equipment. The National Transportation Safety Board later determined that pilot error was a "probable" factor in the crash. The pilot, it said, failed to maintain an adequate altitude and descended too fast when approaching the Gallatin Field Airport, which is about 11 miles west of Bozeman. The board also said night conditions and mountainous terrain also were contributing factors. The aircraft struck a tree 80 feet below the ridgeline, causing the Beechcraft 200 King Air to hit the mountainside. After Metro Aviation settled claims brought by the passengers' families, the company and its four insurers filed a lawsuit in Montana's federal court against the U.S. government alleging FAA air traffic controllers caused the crash. Metro Aviation alleges controllers were directing the pilot and failed to warn him of a "minimum safe altitude alert" received in Salt Lake City. Had that information been relayed to the pilot, he would have changed the angle of descent, the company maintains. The lawsuit was transferred in May 2010 after a ruling that Utah was the proper venue because the FAA's Salt Lake Center Air Traffic Control directed and advised air traffic in Montana and any alleged act or omission occurred in Utah. The lawsuit seeks damages that include loss of the airplane, settlement payments and related investigation and litigation costs. Metro Aviation acknowledges that such claims are barred in Utah, but argues Montana law, which allows such actions, should apply. The U.S. argues the claims are barred by laws in both Utah and Montana, and if those laws conflict, only Utah law should apply because it is the state with the "most significant relationship" to the allegations. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54497891-78/montana-utah-aviation-crash.html.csp Back to Top FAA Hits Operator with $185,750 Fine for FAR Violation The FAA is proposing a civil penalty of $185,750 against Kingfisher Air Services Air Safari of San Juan, P.R., for allegedly violating FARs when operating a Cessna 208B on 44 flights between June 2 and June 11, 2010. The agency alleges that three pilots reported the turboprop single's engine temperature exceeded take-off limits before the carrier took the required maintenance action. The engine maintenance manual requires the operator to send the engine to an overhaul facility for a light overhaul when such problems are reported. The carrier failed to send the engine after the first and second pilot reports. Kingfisher Air has 30 days from receipt of the FAA's civil penalty letter to respond. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainsafety/2012-07-16/faa-hits-operator- 185750-fine-far-violation Back to Top Needles found in sandwiches on 4 US-bound Delta flights NEW YORK (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc said it was working with federal authorities after what appeared to be sewing needles were found in food on four U.S.-bound flights that left Sunday from Amsterdam, injuring one passenger. The needles were found in sandwiches made by the airline's Amsterdam caterer, Gate Gourmet, Delta spokeswoman Chris Kelly said in an email Monday. The FBI and Netherlands officials are investigating, Delta said. "Delta is taking this matter extremely seriously and is cooperating with local and federal authorities who are investigating the incident," the airline said in a statement. "Delta (DAL.N) has taken immediate action with our in-flight caterer at Amsterdam to ensure the safety and quality of the food we provide onboard our aircraft," the statement said. One person on a flight to Minneapolis was injured but declined medical treatment. A suspected sewing needle was also found in a sandwich by a passenger on an Atlanta- bound flight. A U.S. air marshal found another while flying on another Atlanta-bound flight. Another apparent needle was found aboard a Seattle-bound flight in a sandwich that had not been served. Gate Gourmet is a subsidiary of Swiss-based gategroup Holding AG (GATE.S), one of the largest independent global providers of airline passenger products and services. Christina Ulosevich, a gategroup spokeswoman, said the caterer was cooperating fully with investigators. She declined to comment further, saying "details of this matter must remain confidential." Back to Top Mongolian Carriers Seek International Flight Rights Newer carriers want to rely less on the country's small domestic market Mongolia's airline industry could soon be coming to the fore internationally, because it has a remarkable number of carriers that are planning to connect this remote nation to its Asian neighbors. The country's privately owned carriers are hoping the government will grant them international traffic rights in the coming weeks, breaking the monopoly of national carrier MIAT Mongolian Airlines . The policy of the incumbent government, led by the People Party, backs such a move to liberalization; but Mongolian citizens went to the polls on June 28, so it will take some time for the new government to settle in and decide whether to grant these carriers the traffic rights they desire. In the past decade, Mongolia has transitioned from using just one airline, MIAT, to having four commercial carriers. But the country has a population of only 2.8 million and its passenger traffic is extremely seasonal. Mongolia's domestic scheduled carriers are supplementing their revenue with lucrative charter work for mining companies, which are driving demand for services to fly workers into and out of remote sites. The airlines have generally been operating older equipment, such as Fokker 50s, but foreign miners are pushing the carriers to switch to newer aircraft. Aero Mongolia, which started in 2002 and was the nation's first privately owned commercial airline, has a fleet of three Fokker 50s, all of which it owns. But it has been speaking to leasing companies about jets. It hopes to conclude a lease deal as early as next month, says CEO Munkhbaatar Ganbold. He declines to name the types being considered, except to say they are regional jets and narrowbodies. Industry executives, however, tell Aviation Week that the Embraer 190 is one of the types being evaluated. The plan is to operate the jet aircraft on domestic and international routes, says Munkhbaatar. Now that the domestic operators have established local networks, they are all keen to grow their business further by expanding into international scheduled operations. "The government wants domestic airlines to be part of international travel. MIAT is doing nearly all the international flights right now, but their capacity is not able to meet demand, so the government is adding local carriers to international routes," says Munkhbaatar. Aero Mongolia is part of the Monnis Group, a local conglomerate that also has businesses involved in the sale of cars, trucks, mining and earth-moving equipment. The country's other two privately owned carriers are also part of larger conglomerates. Bodi Group, which owns local financial institution Golomt Bank, started Mongolian Airlines. The carrier, not to be confused with MIATMongolian Airlines , had its first passenger flight in January and launched with two Fokker 50s purchased from Danish lessor Nordic Aviation Capital. It then added two Airbus A319s , one in late January and the other in March. Both are leased from U.S. lessor Aviation Capital Group. Chief engineer Batzorig Darjaa says the carrier chose the A319 because it is comfortable and gives Mongolian Airlines enough range. The A319 has the same cabin cross-section as the larger A320 , but the A319 has the added benefit of a 3,740-nm range. That is enough to cover most of East Asia, as far south as Singapore. The aircraft can also fly nonstop to Moscow from the country's capital, Ulaanbaatar. The arrival of A319s at Mongolian Airlines introduces the A320 family to both the carrier and the country. They are being used for passenger services linking Ulaanbaatar's Chinggis Khaan International Airport to Hong Kong and to Tokyo Haneda international airports. Mongolian Airlines also uses the aircraft for services linking Ulaanbaatar to Khovd, a city in the far western part of the country. Batzorig says Mongolian Airlines plans to launch more services to China as well as to start serving South Korea using the two A319s , but he declines to elaborate because the international traffic rights are still subject to government approval. The government situation is uncertain owing to the recent parliamentary elections. Another Mongolian conglomerate-Newcom Group , which owns the country 's largest mobile phone network-owns Eznis Airways . This carrier began service in 2006 and has been operating four Saab 340Bs and two Avro RJ85s. The airline 's spokeswoman tells Aviation Week the carrier has taken delivery of a leased 737-700 . "We're also planning to bring in two Bombardier Q400 aircraft this summer on a leasing agreement," she says. "These are the initial steps toward remodernization of our fleet. We aim to have a fleet consisting of only Q400s and Boeing 737s ." Industry executives say one reason Eznis was receptive to the Q400 is because of its links with All Nippon Airways , a Q400 and 737-700 operator. ANA will be helping Eznis with maintenance support for the Q400 , says one of the executives. In May 2011, the two carriers said they planned to "cooperate in a broad range of areas such as management, operations and charter flight services between Mongolia and Japan." As part of this agreement, ANA has seconded Hiroshi Kitahara to be chief operating officer at Eznis. Kitahara was instrumental in Eznis 's decision to acquire Q400s , say industry executives . The great seasonality of Mongolia's air traffic is related to the weather. In winter, the average daily temperature is -20C (-4F) and at night it plummets to as low as -40C. The main driver of the economy is mining, which accounts for 22% of GDP. Mongolia has large deposits of copper, iron ore, oil, coal, gold, uranium, tungsten, zinc and other minerals. There are many foreign mining companies there, such as Australia's Rio Tinto; Canada's Ivanhoe Mines, South Gobi Sands and Khan Resources; Brazil's Vale; and China's PetroChina and Dongsheng. http://www.aviationweek.com Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC