Flight Safety Information August 9, 2012 - No. 162 In This Issue NTSB: GE jet engine failure a contained incident Green laser forces Coast Guard helicopter to land Scientist arrives in NZ after Antarctic rescue Analysts Doubt FAA Can Meet Unmanned Aircraft Obligations Rolls Engines on Airbus A380s Face New Checks Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing at Mineta San Jose International Airport Silver Airways flight lands at wrong W.Va. airport in 1st week of service Beyond the Black Box - book review regarding airplane crashes PRISM Certification Support ILFC To Lease Of Six Airbus A330-300 Aircraft To AirAsia X. FAA seeks $1M fine for Horizon Air over door rivets JetBlue pilot has psychotic episode in prison Private equity firms look to sell Landmark Aviation Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar (APASS) on 12-13 September 2012 Invitation to the 4th Global Humanitarian Aviation Conference NTSB: GE jet engine failure a contained incident (Reuters) - The National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday that the failure of a General Electric Co jet engine on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner last month was a contained incident of the sort that does not normally pose an immediate safety risk. The NTSB said that a shaft in the GEnx engine fractured, leading to the incident in Charleston, South Carolina, in which debris fell from the engine and sparked a grass fire near the runway. The jet in question was being tested before Boeing shipped it to a customer. "A contained engine failure is a specific engine design feature in which components might separate inside the engine but either remain within the engine's cases or exit the engine through the tail pipe," the NTSB said in a statement. "This design feature generally does not pose immediate safety risks." The agency said it will continue to investigate the engine failure, including a metallurgical analysis of the properties of the shaft that failed. GE spokesman Rick Kennedy said the roughly 80 GEnx engines installed on aircraft around the world remain in use. "We're not aware of any issue that would hazard the safe flight of aircraft powered by these engines," Kennedy said. "We're continuing to ship engines to Boeing." He noted that of 25,000 engines wholly or partly made by GE that are in use, there have been six failures of shafts over the past decade. Boeing spokesman Doug Alder said the company was "working very closely with investigators and GE," but declined further comment. E's jet engine business competes with United Technologies Corp and Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC. Back to Top Green laser forces Coast Guard helicopter to land GARDEN CITY BEACH, S.C.(AP) -- The U.S. Coast Guard says it had to abandon another air search because of green lasers along the South Carolina coast. Officials say a Charleston-based helicopter crew had just begun searching near Garden City Beach at around 1:45 a.m. Wednesday when they were temporarily blinded and forced to land. One crewmember was hit in the eye and couldn't fly again until Wednesday afternoon. Officials said this marked the third time in three weeks a laser has hindered Coast Guard searches in the Grand Strand. The Coast guard has warned local governments they may have to limit search activities unless they can stop the problem. Green lasers can temporarily blind pilots, especially when they're wearing night vision goggles. Shooting a laser at an aircraft carries up to five years in prison. Back to Top Scientist arrives in NZ after Antarctic rescue An Australian plane carrying a sick American scientist, who was evacuated from Antarctica, has touched down in New Zealand. The scientist from the US McMurdo base has a medical condition but authorities are remaining tight lipped about the details. It is understood he requires surgery. The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) - a branch of the Government's Environment Department - said the US National Science Foundation (NSF) had requested assistance in the tricky emergency mission. NSF spokeswoman Debbie Wing said no US aircraft were available so Australia agreed to loan an A319 Airbus to fly the patient out. The Royal New Zealand Air Force provided search-and-rescue coverage for the flight. An AAD spokeswoman said the plane made a successful landing on an icy runway at McMurdo Station this morning and left a short time later. McMurdo is experiencing temperatures of minus 25 degrees Celsius, but as the supply station for the US Antarctic program, it has a runway that is open all year round. Ms Wing said the patient "may require immediate corrective surgery best delivered at a more capable facility than available at McMurdo". AAD director Tony Fleming said all nations with an interest on the icy continent "work together very cooperatively in these sorts of emergency situations in Antarctica to provide support when and as required". Medical evacuations from Antarctica are relatively infrequent, with the last such rescue taking place in October 2011, when a US scientist was airlifted from McMurdo after suffering a stroke at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The Australian Antarctic Division plane and its five crew are expected back in Hobart tomorrow. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-09/antarctic-mission/4188320 Back to Top Analysts Doubt FAA Can Meet Unmanned Aircraft Obligations LAS VEGAS - The Federal Aviation Administration must be able to fully integrate unmanned aerial systems in the national airspace by 2015. Four analysts whose job it is to prognosticate the future of the UAS market don't believe that deadline will be met. The acting administrator said in a keynote speech at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference that he was confident that the FAA will meet its obligations. "I am very optimistic that we will get there," FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta said. Congress earlier this year mandated in the agency's reauthorization legislation that small unmanned aircraft, up to 55 pounds, be fully integrated into national airspace by 2014 and the larger versions by 2015. "Rest assured that the FAA will fulfill its statutory obligations to integrate unmanned aircraft systems," he added. "I don't really want to speculate on hypotheticals that we won't get there because I am quite optimistic that we will," he said. When asked later in the day, during a panel discussion, whether they believed the administrator's comments, the four participants shook their heads and gave and emphatic "no." The main roadblock will be ensuring drones can sense and avoid other aircraft, they said. The FAA will insist that the aircraft be able to both detect an oncoming airplane, and take corrective measures to not collide with it. Industry and the government have been working on this problem for a number of years, but a satisfactory solution has not been found yet. "I think industry feels comfortable with the progress being made with sense-and-avoid technology, but I am not sure how comfortable the FAA is," said Phil Finnegan, director of corporate analysis at The Teal Group. Mike Blades, senior industry analyst at Frost &Sullivan, rattled off about five different programs and approaches that are looking at the problem. There doesn't seem to be any unity of effort. "There is no one way of doing it. Everybody is trying to answer the question, and I don't know if they all know what the question is. .. Everybody wants to solve sense and avoid, but they are all attacking it from a different direction." Derrick Maple, principal analyst at IHS Industry Research and Analysis, said he agreed that the technology might not be ready, and pointed out that the rules and regulations that must be rewritten are also a factor. He described the rules for flying aircraft in general as "archaic" and "complex," and adding remotely piloted aircraft into the mix makes it even more so. At last year's conference, an air traffic controller said during a similar panel that every page of their rulebook will have to be rewritten to accommodate the technology. Ron Stearns, research director at G2 Solutions, said this all may be a moot point unless a market emerges for the kinds of services UAVs can provide. There are a lot on niche applications for unmanned aircraft, but the potential market is "hyper fragmented," he said. "Unless you have a true demand pull in the marketplace, I'm not sure it matters right now," Stearns said. One of the most talked about markets is for police agencies, which want inexpensive overhead surveillance capabilities. However, Congress forced the FAA in May to allow law enforcement to use UAVs weighing up to 25 pounds, as long as they don't climb higher than 400 feet and remain in the line of sight of operators. The 2014 deadline will allow operations of the aircraft up to 55 pounds and at higher altitudes. The market for medium and large UAVs, the ones that would fly among passenger traffic, is less clear. They cost several million dollars, and would be out of reach for most local public safety agencies. http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=859 Back to Top Rolls Engines on Airbus A380s Face New Checks By ANDY PASZTOR And JON OSTROWER European air-safety regulators ordered another round of high-priority inspections of Rolls-Royce PLC engines on dozens of Airbus A380 aircraft, similar to checks they mandated after an engine blowout caused nearly catastrophic damage to a Qantas superjumbo in 2010. A new Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on a Qantas jet in Singapore in April. Qantas returned the jet to service this year after a high-profile engine blowout caused extensive damage to the superjumbo in 2010. Tuesday's move by the European Aviation Safety Agency refocuses attention on the oil- distribution system inside Rolls-Royce's Trent 900 models, the same engine family that suffered an internal oil leak resulting in the high-profile accident two years ago. The engines are used only on the A380, which is made by Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. The latest safety directive was prompted by a malfunction of a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on a Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Hong Kong last month, said an industry official familiar with the details. Nobody was hurt, pilots shut down the engine and the plane returned safely to Singapore. But investigators now believe some of the engine's turbines seized up due to inadequate lubrication because a part between an oil tube and a cover for some bearings was never installed, according to the European Aviation Safety Agency. European regulators on Tuesday ordered some carriers to finish the safety checks and complete necessary repairs by the end of the month-an unusually short deadline for most safety directives. More than 200 Trent 900 engines are being checked for the missing part, with 30 engines identified as a priority, said the industry official. All of the priority engines currently flying on A380s have been checked, the official said. Rolls-Royce said the lack of lubrication was traced to a part that was omitted during assembly. "As a precautionary measure, checks to ensure the correct fitting of the component are now well advanced," said company spokesman Bill O'Sullivan. "Measures have been taken to prevent a repeat occurrence," Mr. O'Sullivan added. Singapore Airlines Ltd. served as launch customer for the A380 and the Trent 900 engine in 2007. It has been joined by Rolls-Royce engine customers Qantas Airways Ltd., Deutsche Lufthansa AG, China Southern Airlines Co. and, most recently,Malaysia Airlines System Bhd. Emirates Airline, Air France-KLM and Korean Air Lines Co. operate the A380 with Engine Alliance GP7200 engines. Engine Alliance is a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. The inspections will search for potential fractures of certain oil tubes, and consider whether nearby portions of bearing covers need to be replaced. Such fractures can reduce oil flow and may damage bearings. Reduced lubrication may result in engine disintegration or "uncontained engine failure," according to the directive from the European Aviation Safety Agency, which could cause fractured internal pieces to blast through engine coverings and damage other parts of the airplane. The oil tubes pinpointed in the directive are different from those under previous scrutiny, but the inspections again draw attention to potential hazards stemming from oil leaks, pools of oil inside engine compartments and the fires they sometimes spark. Earlier safety directives by European and U.S. regulators ordered inspections to identify and eliminate such dangers on other Airbus and Boeing Co. jetliners powered by engines supplied by various makers. Prompted by an in-flight engine fire and eight other dangerous oil-system incidents that affected engines made by Pratt & Whitney, the Federal Aviation Administration previously mandated enhanced inspections of oil tubes on more than 900 of the company's widely used PW 4000 engines. In the dramatic 2010 Qantas accident, investigators determined that a manufacturing flaw affecting some oil tubes initiated a chain of events that caused an engine disc to fail on a heavily loaded A380 shortly after takeoff from Singapore. The engine spewed out flames and a trail of metal debris, which badly damaged portions of the wing and swaths of electrical wiring. The Qantas pilots confronted an unprecedented cascade of fuel leaks,widespreadsystem failures and flight-computer malfunctions after the engine explosion, including stall warnings and inoperative fuel pumps as they were on final approach to touching back down in Singapore. The crew struggled to shut down one of the jet's engines, compounding worries the overheated brakes and a small fire that had melted portions of the tarmac would pose a greater fire danger as fuel continued to leak from the stricken jet. http://online.wsj.com/ Back to Top Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing at Mineta San Jose International Airport An Alaska Airlines flight making its way from Southern California to Seattle made an emergency landing in San Jose on Wednesday morning after initially reporting "catastrophic electrical failure with cabin depressurization," according to the FAA and local fire officials. The San Jose Fire Department rushed crews to Mineta San Jose International Airport. The Boeing 737 landed safely with no injuries. Fire dispatchers received a 911 call from the airport tower at 7:24 a.m. that Alaska Airlines Flight 539 heading to Seattle had lost cabin pressure and was experiencing "catastrophic electrical failure," according to San Jose Fire Capt. Mary Gutierrez. The aircraft, which departed from Ontario airport at 6:28 a.m., landed safely at 7:42 a.m. It was later reported the aircraft had experienced "minor electrical issues," but did lose cabin pressure, Gutierrez said. In an email, Alaska Airlines spokesperson Bobbie Egan said the flight began experiencing several electrical issues as it was climbing to its cruising altitude. The crew also had to manually pressurize the cabin. The flight descended to 10,000 feet and diverted to San Jose, Egan said. Because of the nature of the call, the fire department response included six ambulances and a trailer capable of dealing with mass casualties, Gutierrez said. The fire department holds yearly training for potential airport disasters; in March, first responders did a full scale exercise for a plane crash at the San Jose airport. The airplane has been taken out of service while maintenance technicians determine the cause and make repairs, according to Egan. The 131 passengers on board were transferred to various flights out of Oakland and San Francisco, Egan said. A larger aircraft was being substituted for the noon flight from San Jose to Seattle to accommodate other passengers. http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_21263076/san-jose-airport- firefighters-respond-after-incoming-plane Back to Top Silver Airways flight lands at wrong W.Va. airport in 1st week of service; no one injured MORGANTOWN, W.Va.(AP) - A Silver Airways pilot making one of the Florida airline's first flights to the North Central West Virginia Airport in Bridgeport mistakenly landed his Saab 340 at a tiny airport in Fairmont, but officials said Wednesday that no one was injured. "Obviously, it was a mistake," said Jake Wilburn, manager of the Fairmont Municipal Airport-Frankman Field, which is less than 5 miles by air from the Bridgeport airport. The No. 5 runway at Fairmont is just under 3,200 feet long and 75 feet wide. According to Silver's website, its Saab aircraft have a wingspan of about 70 feet wide and carry 34 passengers. The landing occurred late Tuesday night during Silver's first week of service to the Bridgeport airport. "It was a normal landing, if you can say landing a Saab 340 here is normal," Wilburn said. "He got it in, no problem." Passengers were taken by taxi to Bridgeport. Wilburn said the incident is under investigation, but he couldn't comment further. Silver Airways said 11 passengers and three crew members were on board at the time of what the company called a diversion. "Safety is our top priority, and we have launched an internal review to determine what led to the flight diversion," said David Querio, chief operating officer. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience to passengers aboard flight 4049 last evening." The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it is investigating but offered no further details. Silver operates under the United Express program, with weekday flights between Morgantown and Bridgeport, and Dulles, Va. It became the new carrier Aug. 1, replacing Colgan Air, and will provide federally subsidized service for two years in Bridgeport, Morgantown and Beckley. Silver also serves airports in Lewisburg and Parkersburg, and has a maintenance facility in DuBois, Pa. Back to Top Beyond the Black Box - book review regarding airplane crashes Beyond the Black Box: the forensics of airplane crashes - book review regarding airplane crashes For many, the study of aircraft crash events may be morbid. But, the number of crashes has allowed much knowledge to be gained so an analyst can gain understanding through statistics and the variety of professionals performing their specialty investigations. To be sure, the author (an expert in the field) discusses the myriad of things which are investigated: structure, fire, engines, seats, wiring, lightning and more. Famous and not so famous incidents and accidents are used to illustrate the points that are illuminated. Picking a few items, I learned: Knute Rockne's death in a crash of a Fokker F-10A (see photo) led to accident investigation as we know it today The Luftwaffe, beginning in 1939, began ejection seat development and thoroughly studied each spinal vertebrae for G-force resistance (a table is provided). This data is used today in the design of passenger seats. When a jet engine has a contained failure or an uncontained failure it is termed as an engine burst How 7000 pounds (3500kg) of titanium ingot is used to make a 6200 pound (~2820kg) billet that is subsequently cut into 700 pound (~320kg) forging blanks to make fan disks. Why fan disks are forged and not cast as well as why the hard alphas must be detected (a type of crystal defect which increases the likelihood of disk failure). Titanium ignites at half its melting point, which is a curiosity, and why a jet engine often has a short intense fire when a fan blade or disk fails. The titanium contacts the surrounding metal and ignites, titanium scrub, burning intensely but usually quickly extinguishes. Everything in an airplane's construction has a paper trail, and some trails over a decade and a half old have been tracked in aircraft crashes The physics of hit-and-stick accidents as opposed to hit-and-slide accidents This is an excellent book, not only full of information (tables, math formulae and sketches) but replete with knowledge. Reading this book will give a comprehensive understanding of airplane design as well crash investigation procedures. Beyond the Black Box: the forensics of airplane crashes, George Bibel, ISBN 10: 0-8018- 8631-7, 393 pp. http://blog.seattlepi.com/travelforaircraft/2012/08/08/beyond-the-black-box- %E2%80%94-book-review-regarding-airplane-crashes/ Back to Top Back to Top ILFC To Lease Of Six Airbus A330-300 Aircraft To AirAsia X (RTTNews.com) - International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC), a wholly owned unit of American International Group Inc. (AIG), said that AirAsia X, a low-cost, long-haul affiliate of AirAsia, has reached a letter of intent with ILFC for the lease of six Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The aircraft are slated for delivery between 2013 and 2014, and would be operated on the airline's expanding network in Asia Pacific, comprising the markets of Australia, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and its surrounding regions. AirAsia X would lease the six aircraft on a 10-year lease term. The leased aircraft would be reconfigured to meet AirAsia X's existing Airbus A330-300 configuration, including 12 premium flatbeds and 365 economy seats. Commenting on the partnership, ILFC Chief Executive, Henri Courpron, noted, "This new partnership will support the long-haul business of AirAsia X and reinforce the airline's position in low-cost segment of the market." Also, AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani said, "These six aircraft, together with existing delivery orders from Airbus, will see AirAsia X's growth develop, with a total of seven deliveries each in 2013 and 2014, with the aim of being the dominant market leader in the low-cost long-haul segment." Back to Top FAA seeks $1M fine for Horizon Air over door rivets The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday a proposed $1 million fine for Horizon Air after concluding the Alaska Air Group unit flew more than 186,000 flights with planes that had security doors not installed according to the agency's standards. The FAA said that from December 2007 through June 2011, Horizon flew 22 passenger planes that contained incorrect rivets used to install the doors that keep passengers from the flight deck where pilots sit. FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the number of flights is the reason for such a large penalty. The company plans to meet with the FAA to discuss the proposed fine, said Horizon Air spokeswoman Bobbie Egan. It has the option to appeal. The doors were first installed on planes nationwide after Sept. 11, 2001, in an attempt to make cockpits more secure. When Horizon installed the doors on the Bombardier Dash 8 turboprops, it elected to substitute the FAA-required solid rivets with blind rivets on a particular bracket, Egan said. Rivets are used to bind two pieces of metal together. Blind rivets are tubular, so the tip can be expanded by applying pressure from the other side, through the hollow core. Keith Mackey, an airline safety and maintenance consultant in Florida, said solid rivets generally are more secure than blind ones. Blind rivets are often used when workers can't access both sides of a solid rivet to seal it properly, Mackey said. Egan said Horizon decided to make the substitution because the blind rivets, in this case, could withstand 20,000 more pounds of pressure per square inch than solid rivets. Mackey said the strength of the fasteners likely isn't a major concern in this case. "Frankly, we're not talking about a huge deal here," Mackey said. "A 400-pound guy charging at the door probably wouldn't break through either rivet." http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ Back to Top JetBlue pilot has psychotic episode in prison DALLAS (AP) - The JetBlue Airways pilot who disrupted a cross-country flight by leaving the cockpit and yelling about religion and terrorists has had a psychotic episode in prison and requires further mental evaluation, a judge said Wednesday. Clayton Osbon was charged with interference with a flight crew, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity last month. A forensic neuropsychologist testified in a short, unpublicized trial that Osbon had a "brief psychotic disorder" at the time of the flight brought on by lack of sleep. Passengers said Osbon left the cockpit during a March 27 flight from New York to Las Vegas. He ran through the plane's cabin yelling about Jesus and al-Qaida. The flight was diverted and safely landed in Amarillo, Texas. After the trial, Osbon was sent to a prison medical facility in North Carolina for evaluation. He was scheduled to return to Amarillo federal court this week for another hearing on whether he should go free or be sent to a mental health facility. Instead, U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson on Wednesday extended Osbon's evaluation period to Oct. 15, with a final evaluation report due to her by the end of that month. Robinson said she was notified by a forensic psychologist that Osbon "had suffered a psychotic episode." She did not say what the nature of the episode was, if it was connected to his previous disorder or what prompted it. A message seeking comment was left for Osbon's attorney, Dean Roper. Robinson's order said attorneys on both sides did not oppose the extension. Neuropsychologist Robert E.H. Johnson testified in July that Osbon's psychotic disorder lasted about a week after the flight, according to a hearing transcript. He didn't say how long Osbon had gone without sleeping before boarding the plane, and his psychiatric evaluation of Osbon has been sealed, but he determined Osbon suffered from brief psychotic disorder and delusions "secondary to sleep deprivation." Those symptoms made Osbon incapable of understanding why his actions on the flight were wrong, Johnson testified. Osbon showed up unusually late for the March 27 flight. The plane was in midair when he told his first officer that they wouldn't make it to their destination, according to court documents. Osbon started rambling about religion. He scolded air traffic controllers to quiet down, then turned off the radios altogether and dimmed the monitors in the cockpit. He said aloud that "things just don't matter" and encouraged his co-pilot they take a leap of faith. The first officer then "became really worried," according to a sworn affidavit from FBI agent John Whitworth. "Osbon started trying to correlate completely unrelated numbers like different radio frequencies, and he talked about sins in Las Vegas." A flight attendant's ribs were bruised as passengers tried to restrain Osbon, but no one on board was seriously injured. At least 10 passengers have sued JetBlue over the incident. Back to Top Private equity firms look to sell Landmark Aviation Platform Partners LLC and another private equity firm are looking to sell Houston-based aviation maintenance company Landmark Aviation, which could be worth up to $700 million, Reuters reports. Unnamed sources told Reuters that Houston-based Platform Partners and Chicago-based GTCR Golden Rauner LLC hired Morgan Stanley as advisors in a process that could result in the sale of Landmark Aviation. Platform Partners and GTCR bought the aviation maintenance company from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise in 2007 for an undisclosed amount, and the auction for the company is now in its second round, according to Reuters. Other private equity firms and infrastructure funds are among interested potential buyers, and the company could fetch $600 million or $700 million, Reuters reports. Landmark Aviation has 41 locations in the U.S. and is one of the largest fixed-based operators in the country that offers services to the aviation industry, according to Reuters. Landmark Aviation was combined with Houston-based fixed-based operator Encore FBO in 2008. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/ Back to Top Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar (APASS) on 12-13 September 2012 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!! As part of efforts to establish continuous improvement in aviation safety in the region, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) is holding the next Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar (APASS) on 12-13 September 2012 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The seminar, hosted by Vietnam Airlines and endorsed by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) is organised by the AAPA Flight Operations & Safety Working Group with the support of the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) and Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific. This seminar is designed to create a common meeting place for all airlines from the Asia Pacific region, airports, aircraft manufacturers, insurers, ground handlers, MROs and suppliers to discuss and to be updated on the latest developments in aviation safety. This seminar will provide an excellent networking opportunity for the participants to exchange ideas on the important fundamentals and applications of aviation safety best practices, in-service experience and lessons-learned with key aviation safety experts from within and outside the region. Topic-specific workshops will be organised to create a more focused environment for participants to exchange views and debate on the practical approaches in managing some of the leading safety issues facing the region. For further enquiries, kindly contact CV Thian at cvthian@aapa.org.my or tel: +603 2145 5600 For more details including the latest programme and registration, please visit: http://www.aapairlines.org/Asia_Pacific_Aviation_Safety_Seminar_2012.aspx Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC