Flight Safety Information August 23, 2012 - No. 171 In This Issue The Government Is About To Fly A Gulfstream Jet Into A Tropical Storm La. passenger locks self in cockpit of empty jet for 3 hours Tourists and pilots die in Kenya game-reserve crash (Let L-410UVP-EP) Kingfisher pilot flouts rules by allowing woman in cockpit, DGCA orders probe (India) Fresh safety audit for Air India Express, Kingfisher PRISM Certification Support Hard-Hit Qantas Cancels Boeing Aircraft Worth $8.5 Billion Forklift truck driver fined £150 for causing £1 million damage to aircraft FAA Extends FAR 145 Comment Period Sleepy woman's epic 18-hr flight after she misses stop The Government Is About To Fly A Gulfstream Jet Into A Tropical Storm Tropical Storm Isaac is on a direct track toward Cuba and Florida, gaining clout as it creeps closer. But The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has an ace up its sleeve. We learned via Twitter that the National Hurricane Center plans to send a high altitude Gulfstream IV jet on its first mission into a tropical storm so that they can create a better model of its trajectory. NOAA operated a similar program - Winter Storms Reconnaisance - earlier this year from Anchorage, Alaska to track Pacific Storms. This is how they described a mission: Data on wind speed and direction, pressure, temperature and humidity from the sensors will be monitored and quality checked by meteorologists aboard the aircraft. NFOAA then will use the information to predict the location and intensity of high winds, destructive surf conditions, severe weather and flooding rainfall caused by winter storms. The NOAA Hurricane Hunters have operated a pair of Lockheed WP-3D Orions and a handful of smaller aircraft, all named after Muppets, for the past two decades. But the Gulfstream flies at a much higher altitude - 45,000 feet as opposed to the Orion's 27,000 - deploying a dropsonde, a little widget designed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research that transmits weather data back to the aircraft as it descends through the storm dangling from a parachute. With all of the weird weather this summer, we could surmise that Florida stands a chance of sustaining worse than normal damage from the storm. http://jalopnik.com/5936950/the-government-is-about-to-fly-a-gulfstream-jet-into-a- tropical-storm Back to Top La. passenger locks self in cockpit of empty jet for 3 hours A "distraught" American Eagle passenger locked himself in the cockpit of an empty jet for about three hours today in Baton Rouge, La., according to news reports. Andrew Alessi, who left the plane about 3 p.m. CT, was charged with interfering with a flight crew. The Baton Rouge resident barged past two gate agents and ran into the aircraft about noon, a half hour before Dallas/Fort Worth passengers were to start boarding, airport spokesman Jim Caldwell told the Associated Press. "He stayed there for several hours while police and FBI negotiated with him. He eventually came out voluntarily," Caldwell said. A Baton Rouge police spokesman told The Advocate that earlier in the day Alessi was involved in an accident on Interstate 10 and wanted police to kill him. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/08/la-passenger-locks- self-in-cockpit-of-empty-jet-for-3-hours/1 Back to Top Tourists and pilots die in Kenya game-reserve crash (Let L-410UVP-EP) Date: 22 AUG 2012 Time: 12:17 Type: Let L-410UVP-E9 Operator: Mombasa Air Safari Registration: 5Y-UVP C/n / msn: 912627 First flight: 1991 Engines: 2 Walter M-601E Crew: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 11 Total: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 13 Airplane damage: Written off Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Ngerende Airstrip, Masai Mara Game Reserve (Kenya) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Mombasa-Moi International Airport (MBA) (MBA/HKMO), Kenya Destination airport: Ngerende Airstrip, Kenya Narrative: A Let L-410UVP passenger plane, operated by Mombasa Air Safari, crashed at the Ngerende Airstrip in the Masai Mara Game Reserve. Two pilots and two passengers reportedly died and seven people were injured in the accident. The Standard Digital website reports that the airplane carried five German tourists, four Americans and two nationals from Czech Republic. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Kingfisher pilot flouts rules by allowing woman in cockpit, DGCA orders probe (India) The DGCA guidelines prohibit passengers from even entering the cockpit. A senior Kingfisher Airlines pilot allegedly violated air safety rules by flying a Delhi- Mumbai flight recently with a woman inside the cockpit. The pilot of the general manager rank, who also happens to be the in-charge of the airline's pilot training programme, turned a deaf ear to protests by the cabin crew and even asked them to stay away from the cockpit during the journey on August 19. Following the incident, the crew members lodged a complaint against the flight commander with the Kingfisher management soon after the landing. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines prohibit passengers from even entering the cockpit. Moreover, in case one of the pilots exits the cockpit, a crew member is supposed to take his or her place. The errant pilot was one of the senior most pilots in the airline. In fact, he was among the select few who flew airline promoter Vijay Mallya's personal Airbus corporate jet. DGCA Arun Mishra took a serious note of the violation of safety rules and ordered a probe into the incident. He promised strict action against the pilot if he was found guilty. The DGCA said it was a serious violation of rules. He has sought a reply from the airline. On the other hand, Kingfisher only said that it would investigate the matter. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/dgca-safety-rules-kingfisher-pilot-woman- cockpit/1/214344.html Back to Top Fresh safety audit for Air India Express, Kingfisher India's aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started a fresh safety audit of two airlines, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and Air India Express, the low-fare unit of national flag carrier Air India Ltd, according to the agency's top official. Both the carriers are under severe financial stress. According to Arun Mishra, director general of civil aviation (also abbreviated as DGCA), the audit reports could be submitted in a week. The regulator had conducted a safety audit of all airlines in December. That exercise found serious irregularities with Kingfisher and Air India Express. A serious lapse could cost an airline its licence to fly. Kingfisher chief executive officer Sanjay Aggarwal met DGCA officials in Tuesday in connection with the audit. Most employees of the airline have not been paid since February and some of its pilots have been striking work. Aggarwal did not return calls, and the airline's spokesman did not respond to text messages seeking comment. The Air India Express spokesman declined comment. Two senior executives of Kingfisher Airlines said Aggarwal had assured employees that their salaries would be paid this week. The executives, who asked not to be identified, said Aggarwal also told DGCA on Tuesday that two investors are in discussions with the airline to infuse capital into it and that it will restore its old flying schedule once that happened. Mint couldn't independently confirm this. Until a year ago, Kingfisher was flying 365 flights a day. It now operates less than 100. DGCA Mishra did not comment on his interaction with Aggarwal. "I cannot tell the management how to run an airline. But we will not be compromising on safety issues," he said. In the December 2011 audit report, former DGCA E.K. Bharat Bhushan had raised concerns about Kingfisher Airlines and Air India Express. Bhushan had said that nearly one-third of Kingfisher Airlines' planes were on the ground and that there was extreme shortage of engines and spares. "Widespread cannibalization of parts is noticed. A reasonable case exists for withdrawal of their AOP (airline operating permit) as their financial stress is likely to impinge on safety," he had noted. The audit also highlighted a shortage of pilots and trainers at Air India Express. Bhushan was removed as DGCA in July. A former civil aviation ministry official said a financially stressed airline would not necessarily compromise on safety, and a profitable carrier could violate safety norms, he added. "One will have to wait and watch for the findings of the report. I don't understand why the safety regulator would single out Kingfisher Airlines and Air India Express?" asked this person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "One should check the financial health of the organization and also whether aircraft lessors are paid. The previous DGCA had asked these questions and he was given the boot. The audit seems to be in the right spirit even though I don't want to guess the outcome," said Neelam Mathews, a senior aviation journalist, analyst and consultant. Some of the experts are also questioning DGCA's preparedness to carry out such an audit. Consulting firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), in a July report, noted that in 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration of the US, concerned by what it considered to be gross under-staffing particularly in DGCA's airworthiness division, threatened to downgrade India to category II status. This would have hit DGCA's reputation in providing safety certifications, and hence international carriers would hesitate to come to India. "Although 136 officers are in the process of being recruited, this is just the first step. The next major task is to train the workforce to bring them up to the required levels of expertise. A number of senior officials have recently been suspended due to impropriety, a positive measure in its own right, but this has led to the loss of expertise and the middle ranks have never been provided with adequate training to be able to fill these roles," it said. Capa said the weakness of DGCA is one of the most critical issues for the industry in fiscal year 2013. Kingfisher Airlines has not made a profit since its inception in 2005. The airline is seeing an exodus of people, with at least 3,500 employees, close to 50% of its staff strength, having resigned in the last one year. Shares of Kingfisher Airlines ended Wednesday at Rs.9.97 apiece on BSE, up 2.68% from their previous close, while the exchange's benchmark Sensex index fell 0.21%. http://www.livemint.com/2012/08/22205516/Fresh-safety-audit-for-Air- Ind.html?atype=tp Back to Top Back to Top Hard-Hit Qantas Cancels Boeing Aircraft Worth $8.5 Billion SYDNEY (WSJ)-Australia's flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. QAN.AU +2.56%reported its first annual loss in almost two decades Thursday and canceled orders for 35 Boeing Co. BA -0.65%fuel-efficient aircraft with a list price of $8.5 billion in a bid to save money. Australia's Qantas airline canceled orders for 35 Boeing fuel-efficient aircraft worth $8.5 billion. The WSJ's Deborah Kan speaks with Sydney Bureau Chief Andrew Critchlow about why the company is posting its first loss in almost two decades. The biggest ever 787 order cancellation is a further blow to the U.S. aircraft manufacturer, following lengthy delays bringing the Dreamliner, a twin-engine super- light model, up to standard. Boeing last year delivered the first 787 to Japan's All Nippon Airways Co., 9202.TO 0.00%more than three years behind the original delivery schedule. Compensation payments to carriers for delays and cost overruns in developing the aircraft have already put the profitability of the 787 project under pressure. Qantas's cancellation comes after China Eastern Airlines Corp. 600115.SH 0.00%in October killed an order for two dozen of the jets. Global airlines like Qantas are struggling to stay in the black and reassessing spending plans as lingering global economy concerns curb spending on big-ticket items such as long-haul flights, and obstinately high oil prices keep fuel costs high. Qantas's move brings the number of 787s currently on order down to 824 from 859, a U.S.-based Boeing spokesman said, adding that there was "still strong demand from customers around the world for the aircraft." Qantas faces its own unique challenges. The airline is fighting to hold on to its coveted investment-grade credit rating as a robust performance from its domestic-flights operation is offset by heavy losses at the international division. Based deep in the southern hemisphere, Qantas is an end-of-line carrier that is more exposed to soaring jet-fuel costs, and the long-delayed arrival of the 787s has lumbered it with fuel-guzzling 747s longer than it expected. "Qantas look like they have made the necessary steps to tidy up their balance sheet as well as keep future capex at manageable levels," said Nicholas Markiewicz, an analyst at Credit Suisse. "The question now remains how this impacts the medium-term growth in the business." Qantas said it has retained options and purchase rights for 50 of the 787-9 aircraft, a large version of the 787 that can fly longer distances than the 787-8. There has been no change to the group's plans for the 787-8, 15 of which will be delivered from the second half of next year. "Qantas continues to practice disciplined capital management and, in the context of returning Qantas International to profit, this is a prudent decision," Chief Executive Alan Joyce said. The Sydney-based company booked a net loss for the year to June 30 of 245 million Australian dollars (US$257.4 million), compared with A$250 million profit a year earlier. It was the airline's first annual loss since it was privatized by the Australian government in 1995. Underlying pretax profit of A$95 million was at the top end of company guidance of A$50 million-A$100 million. The airline has already delayed the delivery of two A380 superjumbo jetliners, valued at US$390 million each at list prices, from the Airbus unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. EAD.FR -1.62% Qantas last year ordered as many as 110 single-aisle A320 Airbus jets, valued at US$9 billion at list prices, in the biggest single aircraft order in Australian history. The order included 78 A320neos, the manufacturer's more fuel-efficient version of the A320. In an effort to return the ailing international-flights unit to break-even by 2014, the airline is terminating poorly performing routes, cutting almost 3,000 jobs, consolidating engineering and catering bases, and establishing joint ventures in Asia through low-cost offshoot Jetstar, such as Jetstar Japan and Jetstar Hong Kong. Back to Top Forklift truck driver fined £150 for causing £1 million damage to aircraft A Heathrow fork-lift truck driver caused more than £1 million damage to an aircraft after he misjudged the size of his baggage cart, a court was told. SAS had to lease an aircraft to replace the stricken plane, which also sustained damage to a set of stairs, an airline spokesman said, adding that the plane was out of action for nine working day. Dennis Jackson, 60, sliced through the tail of an SAS Airbus 321, with 175 passengers on board, as it prepared to fly to Copenhagen on June 12. Uxbridge magistrates were told he had forgotten which vehicle he had been driving. Engineers later found that his high loader was only inches away from the fuel line. Such was the force of the impact that one member of the crew was knocked off her feet as she was standing in the cockpit. The 175 shaken passengers were evacuated from the aircraft. "Unfortunately the difference in size led to the accident occurring - Mr Jackson is used to driving the regular-sized one. ''He misjudged the distance and failed to take into account the width and height." Jackson, who was employed Dnata, ground handling firm, had an exemplary record since joining the company in 2006. Marilyn Levene, the chairman of the bench, said he had made a "genuine mistake". Jackson, of Linkscroft Avenue, Ashford, west London, admitted driving without due care and attention. He was fined £150, ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge at Uxbridge magistrates court. He escaped a licence endorsement because the incident had not take place on a public road. Declining to to discuss the case afterwards, he said: "I just want to draw a line under it." SAS had to lease an aircraft to replace the stricken plane, which also sustained damage to a set of stairs, an airline spokesman said, adding that the plane was out of action for nine working days. Another member of the crew feared the plane would burst into flames, Amanda McCabe, prosecuting, told the court. "The damage was very clear - it had sliced through the rear of the aircraft, causing extensive damage. "The fuel line was very close to where it had impacted, and there were passengers and crew on the aircraft - it was preparing to move away from the stand," she said. "This collision was due to the defendant not following instructions contained within the Heathrow Airport Operational Safety Instructions.'' The plane was evacuated and on inspection, engineers found the rear door had been jammed shut. Bethan Charnley, defending, said Jackson was responsible for an 'expensive accident' after forgetting he was driving the largest type of the vehicle. The high loader in question had earlier that day been used to lift a car into an aircraft's hold, she said. "This wasn't needed any more, and he was asked to take that back,'' she said. "Passengers were booked onto other flights. We had to take care of them as best we could, that was our main priority," the spokesman added. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/9492837/Forklift-truck-driver-fined-150-for- causing-1-million-damage-to-aircraft.html Back to Top FAA Extends FAR 145 Comment Period The FAA has added 90 days to the comment period for the agency's rewrite of Part 145 rules, moving the date to November 19. The change, which was posted in the U.S. Federal Register on August 17, comes in response to a letter from the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (Arsa) and other aviation industry associations requesting more time to comment. According to Sarah MacLeod, Arsa's executive director, the letter emphasized the significant operational and financial ramifications for the repair station industry, which is dominated by small business. The groups also highlighted the difficulty that many repair stations face in preparing to comment on such a robust rulemaking proposal. Arsa has prepared a side-by-side comparison between the original and the new proposed document. "The additional time allows for a more comprehensive response that will undoubtedly improve any final rulemaking. The agency responded appropriately to the depth and breadth of the signature associations," MacLeod told AIN. "The changes impact private, corporate and transport owners and operators, not just repair stations. The industry is committed to providing comprehensive comments to this far-reaching proposal." http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainmxreports/2012-08-22/faa-extends-far- 145-comment-period Back to Top Sleepy woman's epic 18-hr flight after she misses stop Pakistan International Airlines officials are investigating how a French woman could have taken a flight from Lahore to Paris and slept while the plane stopped for two hours at the French capital. The woman did not get off the plane and flew back to Lahore. A French woman endured an 18-hour journey from the Pakistani city of Lahore to Paris and back again after sleeping through her plane's stop in the French capital, officials said on Wednesday. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) are investigating how ground crew failed to notice the woman during the plane's two-hour stopover at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The woman, named as Patrice Christine Ahmed, who is married to a Pakistani, left Lahore at noon on Tuesday to fly to Paris via Milan, but did not wake up to get off the plane, airline spokesman Sultan Hasan told AFP. The woman did not mention her mistake to cabin crew and the matter only came to light when she was stopped by immigration officials on arrival back in Lahore on Wednesday morning -- after a 12,000-kilometre (7700-mile) round trip. Hasan said PIA were investigating the incident and the French subcontractor responsible for passenger handling in Paris. "We have put questions to this French firm also about the incident but it is also the responsibility of the passenger to disembark at the destination," he said. "It is a passenger's responsibility to check about the destination and disembark when the plane arrives at the particular airport." PIA later arranged to send the woman back to Paris with another airline because none of its own flights were available, but said that the party responsible for the negligence will pay for the extra ticket. "It depends who is at fault. If it is a mistake by the local firm, they will pay and if the woman herself is responsible than she will have to bear the cost," Hasan said. Read more: http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/5034f3b0f7dfe06004000004/sleepy-woman-s- epic-18-hr-flight-after-she-misses-stop#ixzz24NLEAqJx Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC