Flight Safety Information July 26, 2012 - No. 152 In This Issue Pilot safely ejects in Marine Corps fighter jet crash in Arizona US Military Grounds F-16s After Crash off Japan French helicopter crash kills 6 Turbulence incident: flight crew suspended (Air India) Delta flight makes unscheduled landing in LA ARGUS PROS Aviation Auditing Aeromexico places $11 billion order with Boeing Pilot safely ejects in Marine Corps fighter jet crash in Arizona PHOENIX (Reuters) - A Marine Corps fighter jet crashed during a routine training mission near a southwestern Arizona air base on Wednesday and the pilot was able to eject safely, a military official said. The official said the AV-8B Harrier was carrying live ordnance when it slammed into the ground in a largely unpopulated area about 15 miles northwest of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. No one on the ground was injured. The unidentified pilot of the single-seat aircraft was able to eject safely and was taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center as a precaution, said Captain Staci Reidinger, a base spokeswoman. "Early findings say that he should be fine and there are no major injuries," Reidinger said. "He was walking around and seems to be OK." The pilot is assigned to Marine Attack Training Squadron 203 based out of the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina, officials said. The squadron regularly conducts training exercises at the Yuma base. The cause of the crash was under investigation. The Yuma facility is the Marine Corps' busiest air base, home to four squadrons. Back to Top US Military Grounds F-16s After Crash off Japan TOKYO July 26, 2012 (AP) A squadron of U.S. F-16 fighter jets in Japan has been grounded for safety checks after one of their aircraft crashed in the Pacific, military officials said Thursday. The crash comes as an uproar in Japan has been raised over the deployment of the U.S. Marine Corps' latest transport plane, the MV-22 Osprey, to the southern island of Okinawa. Two Ospreys have crashed since April and swelling opposition to their deployment has become a major political headache for Tokyo and Washington. The F-16 with the 35th Fighter Squadron at Misawa Air Base crashed Sunday about 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island. It was the first crash of an F-16 out of Misawa since 2002. Staff Sgt. Nathan Lipscomb said the 45 F-16s at Misawa, which is the northernmost U.S. air base in Japan, have been grounded pending safety checks. He said an investigation into the cause of the crash was under way. The aircraft was en route to Alaska when it went down Sunday morning. The pilot, whose name has not been released, ejected safely and was retrieved after about six hours by a Japanese and U.S. rescue mission. Lipscomb said the pilot is in stable condition and has been taken to a U.S. facility - reportedly in Alaska - but will return to Misawa. He could not immediately provide further details. The United States has about 50,000 troops stationed throughout Japan under a mutual security pact. Though Misawa is relatively remote and F-16 crashes rare, concerns over accidents, noise and base-related crimes are endemic in many areas that host the U.S. troops. Such concerns are especially sensitive on Okinawa, which is home to most of the troops, and the outcry over the Osprey deployment has focused national attention on the potential dangers of U.S. military aircraft. To help ease the uproar, U.S. and Japanese officials met in Tokyo on Thursday to discuss ways to assure the safe operation of the Ospreys in this country. The first 12 Ospreys arrived earlier this week for assembly in the city of Iwakuni and are to be deployed to Okinawa soon, though local officials have strongly criticized the plan. Back to Top French helicopter crash kills 6 Rescuers and gendarmes stand next to the debris of the Cougar helicopter on July 25, 2012 near La Palud-sur-Verdon, after six employees of the aviation company Eurocopter died in a helicopter crash as they were carrying out a test flight in the Verdon Gorges in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Southeastern France. The rocky, limestone area â€" seen as France's answer to the Grand Canyon â€" is one of Europe's most beautiful river canyons and extremely popular with tourists and hikers. Paris (AP) -- All six people on board a helicopter died Wednesday when it crashed in flames in an area often referred to as France's answer to the Grand Canyon, officials say. Francis Mene, a defense official, said the helicopter crashed while carrying out a test flight in the Verdon Gorge in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in southeastern France. All six were employees of aviation company Eurocopter. The EADS-owned firm issued a statement confirming the aircraft involved was manufactured by them, and was being delivered to a buyer. They added that they were working to identify the circumstances and cause of the accident. Laurence Fortini, the owner of a hotel in the village of Aiguines, said she heard a "loud, abnormal sound," and then saw the helicopter plunge into the river below. The rocky limestone area is one of Europe's most beautiful river canyons and extremely popular with tourists and hikers. At 2,297 feet deep, it is also one of Europe's biggest. Eurocopter hasn't released the identities of those involved in the crash. *********** Type: Eurocopter AS 532 AL Super Puma Narrative: A helicopter from Eurocopter group crashed in the Gorges du Verdon (Alpes de Haute- Provence), killing six people. The accident occurred around 13 h 40 in the village of La Palud-sur-Verdon. The six victims' bodies were found at the scene by emergency services. A spokesman for Eurocopter confirmed that it were employees, pilots and engineers of the manufacturer. According to a spokesman for the Eurocopter Group, it was a Super Puma AS 532 AL, just out of assembly lines and that was to be returned to the customer soon. The helicopter was just out of assembly lines and was designated for the Albanian Army. Two of the victims were mpossibly Albanian. One of the hypotheses at this stage to explain the drop is that the helicopter would have "caught a EDF power cable". www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Turbulence incident: flight crew suspended (Air India) After preliminary investigations, the crew of Air India's A330 aircraft that operated from Delhi to Shanghai on July 5 have been grounded in connection with an incident of the aircraft encountering turbulence, which left two of the crew and 18 passengers injured. The incident is being investigated by the Office of Director Air Safety (WR) in the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation. Data has been obtained from the Digital Flight Data Recorder to analyse the aircraft's altitude when the incident occurred, an official spokesman said on Wednesday. The aircraft was under the command of Captain S.P.S. Suri with Captain Rajesh Mirchandani as the first officer, when it faced turbulence owing to bad weather. As per a report filed by the pilot, when the aircraft encountered mild turbulence, passengers and the cabin crew were told to be seated and strapped. However, five minutes later, it ran into a severe turbulence. All galley items were thrown out. The flight took off with 60 passengers and 11 crew members and was in Indian airspace when the incident occurred. After the incident, the passengers tried to impress upon the crew and the pilot the need to land at the nearest airport, which is Kolkata, but that did not happen. Furthermore, the pilot did not report the matter to either the airline or the DGCA, but just wrote that there was a little turbulence. The pilot and the crew will remain grounded till the completion of the investigation. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3683290.ece Back to Top Delta flight makes unscheduled landing in LA LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Atlanta made an unscheduled landing at Los Angeles International Airport when the landing gear failed to retract after takeoff. Delta spokesman Anthony Black says the pilot was unable to bring the wheels back into the Boeing 757 after the jet left from San Diego International Airport on Wednesday. The plane landed safely in Los Angeles at 12:30 p.m. Black says none of the 259 passengers and eight crew members were injured. Passengers were being placed on other flights out of Los Angeles. Back to Top Back to Top Aeromexico places $11 billion order with Boeing MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's largest airline Aeromexico on Wednesday placed an $11 billion provisional order with Boeing (BA.N), in what the company said was the biggest aircraft investment by a Mexican airline in that country's history. The order is for 90 737 MAX 8 planes and 10 787-9 Dreamliners, Aeromexico (AEROMEX.MX) said in a statement that did not provide specifics on financing arrangements. The deal could allow Aeromexico to overhaul its existing fleet of 110 aircraft over the next decade, a trend among carriers worldwide as they seek to reduce fuel bills. Airlines need to place orders far in advance in the expectation that it will put them in a better position to face eventual increased demand. "This is an important order for Aeromexico's expansion plans in the next few years, although at first glance it seems very aggressive," said Vector Casa de Bolsa analyst Marco Montanez. "This will definitely help them roll out new routes and take advantage of operating efficiencies - fuel and maintenance savings - over the medium and longer term," he added. Aeromexico, which went public last year, said the Dreamliners will begin arriving in the summer of 2013 and the 737 MAX 8 aircraft will be delivered starting in 2018. "Over the mid-term, we want to own half of our fleet and lease the other half. Down the road we could reach 70 percent of company-owned fleet to have a more solid balance sheet," Jose Luis Barraza, head of Aeromexico's board, told Reuters. The decision to buy was based mainly on bets Mexico's economy will remain robust in coming years, Aeromexico's Chief Executive Andres Conesa told a news conference in Mexico City. The company will make its first pre-delivery payment of $40 million before the end of the year, when it expects to sign the purchase agreement. Aeromexico can easily finance that with its cash position, Conesa said on an earlier call with analysts. The next important payment will be in 2015, he added. The company will have time to evaluate financing options for the later payment, Vector's Montanez said, adding it could consider cash or debt or a mix of the two. The latest order comes on top of a 20-aircraft package that Aeromexico announced last year, for 10 Embraer (EMBR3.SA) jets and 10 Boeing 737-8 NG. Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) in June bought a 4 percent stake in Aeromexico for $65 million. The Aeromexico spokesman did not say whether the U.S. airline would contribute toward payment for the order. A Delta spokesman declined to comment. Aeromexico increased its market share after rival Mexicana ceased operations before filing for bankruptcy in 2010. The Mexican airline's shares dropped 0.3 percent to 21.6 pesos shortly before the closing bell. FUEL SAVINGS Boeing, which posted better-than-expected results on Wednesday, is on track to overtake rival Airbus (EAD.PA) in plane deliveries this year. Boeing is in the midst of booking orders for the revamped 737 as it catches up with the latest version of Airbus' A320, which produced great demand and redrew the battle lines between the world's top planemakers last year. Both aircraft achieve fuel savings of around 15 percent due to new engines and other enhancements. Raymond Conner, the recently appointed head of Boeing's commercial division, said winning the deal had not been easy. "We faced very stiff competition ... yes, we competed with Airbus," he told Reuters. General Electric (GE.N), which competes with Rolls-Royce (RR.L) to power the 787, said it had won a deal worth $400 million to provide the engines for the 10 Dreamliners. A joint venture between GE and France's Safran (SAF.PA) is the sole engine supplier for the 737. Mexico City-based Aeromexico, which operates some 600 flights a day, on Tuesday said revenue during the second quarter rose 15 percent to 9.9 billion pesos from 8.6 billion pesos in the same period last year. The firm's profit dropped 73 percent to 152.9 million pesos from 583.5 million pesos in the year-earlier period because of a pickup in expenses and financing costs. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC