Flight Safety Information August 28, 2012 - No. 174 In This Issue NTSB blames pilot, modifications for Reno air race crash FAA to study using electronic gadgets on planes Inactive transponder hid departing 757 from Atlanta radar PRISM Certification Support Airbus scores with $7b Philippine order What Did Neil Armstrong Really Think Of Business Jets? ANA to equip flight and cabin crew with iPads by February 2013 NTSB blames pilot, modifications for Reno air race crash RENO, Nev. (AP) - The World War II-era P-51 Mustang hurtled over the race course in Nevada at more than 500 mph, its skin wrinkling and canopy separating from the sheer force of the flight. A crucial tail control fluttered, its screws loosening. At the stick was 74-year-old pilot Jimmy Leeward who had listed his age as 59 on a race entry form and made changes to his plane to make it fly faster than it ever had before. It did for several seconds before taking a deadly plunge into spectators. Nearly a year later, and just weeks before organizers stage the race again on Sept. 12, federal investigators on Monday blamed Leeward and his aircraft modifications for the crash. National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt, speaking at a board hearing in Washington, compared Leeward's decisions to putting a loaded gun to a person's head. "If you want to go out and fly fast and try to win, that's one thing," he said. "If you're modifying an aircraft without fully understanding how the modifications can affect the aerodynamics, you're playing Russian roulette." Along with Leeward, 10 people on the ground were killed, including a Fort Mohave couple, and more than 70 were hurt in the September 2011 crash. Efforts to reach Leeward's family through their business office in Ocala, Fla., weren't immediately successful. According to the NTSB final report, in addition to cutting 15 years from his own age, Leeward failed to report to the Federal Aviation Administration all the modifications that had been made to his 65-year-old aircraft. He also didn't provide documentation showing they had been tested. NTSB investigator Clinton Crookshanks said cutting several feet off the aircraft wingspan and other modifications reduced weight and wind resistance. They also weakened the frame and made the aircraft more unstable. Crookshanks said the aircraft's high speed and loose screws led to "flutter" and vibration on the crucial tail control that made the plane unstable as it rounded a pylon toward the main grandstand. As the plane pitched vertically, Leeward had perhaps one second to respond. Investigators said he was probably rendered unconscious by gravitational forces reaching 17 times normal - and far exceeding the levels of human tolerance. People can begin to experience loss of consciousness at 5G. A photo showed Leeward slumped forward in the cockpit. NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman blamed the pilot for "operating at the edge of the envelope" without fully reporting and testing modifications to his plane, dubbed the Galloping Ghost. She said the five-member panel was satisfied that federal aviation officials and race organizers had implemented several preliminary recommendations to improve pilot and spectator safety. "Innocent bystanders should never have to rely on faith for their safety," said Hersman, noting that the board is an independent investigative and recommendation body, not a regulator. The FAA said in a statement Monday that agency officials already were working to address NTSB recommendations with less than three weeks to go before the 49th annual Reno Air Races. The Reno Air Racing Association Inc. and the National Air-racing Group Inc. balked at requiring pilots to wear flight suits designed to mitigate high gravitational forces. They said the expensive suits might prove too bulky for cramped cockpits and too hot during competition, and noted that the forces Leeward experienced weren't normal. But organizers redesigned the course to add 150 feet of buffer - pushing the distance between racing planes and the permanent grandstand at Reno Stead Airport to at least 1,000 feet. Racing association chief executive Mike Houghton said race officials decided to make that change while the FAA addresses discrepancies in its regulations regarding whether a 500-foot or 1,000-foot buffer is appropriate. Pilots this year will undergo new training, and a new tracking procedure aims to ensure that problems cited during aircraft inspections are addressed before aircraft take to the skies. Houghton and several air racing fans said Monday they were relieved the board didn't issue new recommendations or call for an end to the only race of its kind in the world. "There is an element of risk to racing, whether it is in an automobile or a boat or whatever," Houghton said. "That is part of the thrill that draws the crowd - the ultimate risk and the danger." Nineteen pilots died in accidents before last year's crash. Hersman noted that the crash was the first involving spectators. It has also spawned civil liability lawsuits against the pilot's family and mechanics and the host organization. Valerie Linse, who suffered a wrist injury when she was struck by flying crash debris last year, said her plans to go this year were sidetracked by family obligations. She said her injury required several months of therapy. "I wish I could be there this year. I'd like to see what things they're doing differently," said Linse, a nurse at a Las Vegas veterans hospital near Nellis Air Force Base. "I like the races. I like all of it. She added: "How often does a crash actually happen?" Back to Top FAA to study using electronic gadgets on planes The Federal Aviation Administration is forming a group to study whether smartphones, laptops and other electronic gadgets can be used safely during a flight. Current policy requires an airline to determine that interference isn't a safety risk before allowing their use, which is becoming increasingly daunting because of the variety of devices available and because so many passengers seek to use them. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he recognizes that consumers would like to use the devices. But, he says, "Safety is our highest priority, and we must set appropriate standards as we help the industry consider when passengers can use the latest technologies safely during a flight." A USA TODAY investigation in December found that passengers frequently disregard flight attendants when they tell them to turn off portable electronic devices during takeoff and landing - two critical flight phases when a mistake by a pilot could lead to an accident. But the investigation's review of thousands of pages of technical documents shows the gadgets emit radio signals that can interfere with cockpit instruments and electronic equipment and systems on an aircraft. The advisory group will include representatives from the electronic and aviation manufacturing industries, pilots, attendants and passengers. It will be assembled this fall and will meet for six months to make recommendations about how devices should be tested and used during flight. One thing the group won't do: Consider the use of cellphones to make calls during flight. That's something that many consumer surveys indicate passengers don't want because they view it as an annoyance. In anticipation of the group's work, FAA will ask for public comment for 60 days starting Aug. 28 in the Federal Register about what the group should study. "We're looking for information to help air carriers and operators decide if they can allow more widespread use of electronic devices in today's aircraft," says Michael Huerta, acting FAA administrator. "We also want solid safety data to make sure tomorrow's aircraft designs are protected from interference." http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2012/08/faa-to-reevaluate-whether-phones- gadgets-are-safe-to-use-in-flight/832322/1 Back to Top Inactive transponder hid departing 757 from Atlanta radar Investigators have determined that a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 was involved in three losses of separation within a few minutes of departing Atlanta, after the crew failed to activate the twinjet's transponder. Despite being instructed to contact departure control after being cleared to an initial waypoint, the pilots did not establish communication with air traffic control until around 8min after take-off from runway 27R. Radar displays showed only a primary target, with no identifying data, and analysis of this information indicated that the 757 lost lateral separation with a Beech 55, a Pilatus PC-12 and an Atlantic Southeast Airlines Bombardier CRJ100. The respective closest proximities were 1.44nm, 0.81nm and 2.36nm. "The [aircraft] flew through one controller's airspace and entered another controller's airspace without co-ordination, before radar and radio contact was established," says the US National Transportation Safety Board. Procedures required Atlanta tower controllers to check that departing flights were showing a radar data block before transfer to terminal airspace control. But the NTSB says that the tower controller - distracted by a situation at the 27R approach - "did not notice" that the data block had not been automatically acquired. As a result the radar showed no altitude information about the 757, which was using a standard instrument departure - designated UGAAA 2 - involving a climb to 10,000ft. Although the aircraft took off at 13:19 local time, the crew did not make contact again until almost 13:27. In the intervening 8min, departure control had asked the tower about an unaccounted flight strip for the Delta jet, but attempts to locate the aircraft among primary radar targets proved "futile", says the NTSB. The 757's first radio contact was not with departure control, but with Atlanta tower, to ask whether it was required to stay at 10,000ft, to which the tower replied that the crew was supposed to be communicating with departure control. When the pilots made contact with the departure controller, they were asked to verify that the transponder was switched on. Six seconds later the aircraft's data block appeared on the radar display, showing that the jet was 20nm east of the airport. Owing to its proximity to inbound Atlanta traffic, the 757 was quickly cleared to 14,000ft and handed off to Atlanta's en-route centre. Visual conditions prevailed during the 11 March 2011 incident. http://www.flightglobal.com/ Back to Top Back to Top Airbus scores with $7b Philippine order Manila/Paris: Airbus won a $7 billion (Dh25.7 billion) order to help more than triple Philippine Airlines Inc's fleet, beating Boeing Co to a deal despite US support for Manila in a diplomatic dispute with China. The flag carrier, which plans to buy up to 100 new aircraft in total within the next five to seven years as it fights to regain dominance of the local market, said it was still in talks with both Airbus and Boeing for its next tranche of planes. For this stage of fleet expansion, the airline has ordered 10 long-haul A330-300s and 44 jets from the A321 family, with delivery starting in 2013, Asia's oldest airline said in a statement. The carrier is ready to issue more shares to fund its jet purchases, it said. "The Boeing planes we are looking at are the 777-300 ER and the upcoming 777-X. We're also interested in the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner," airline president Ramon Ang told reporters on the sidelines of the deal signing event in Manila. "We have the option on whichever type of aircraft to go," he said. One person familiar with the matter said there had been significant "commercial and political pressure" on the airline to secure a deal with Boeing. Boeing and Airbus are already locked in a global contest for market share, in some cases more than halving prices to bolster orders of the newly revamped models of best-selling narrowbody jets, industry sources and analysts say. With prestige, jobs and often influence at stake, experts say diplomacy is an occasional weapon in jetliner deals. Analysts say Airbus - originally a consortium between France, Germany, Britain and Spain - also benefits from diplomatic support from European nations for major contracts. Former French presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy both regularly promoted Airbus overseas, especially in Asia. Airbus hopes to win orders to sell up to 100 A320 planes to China when German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the country this week, industry sources said. China regularly places three-figure plane orders tied to state events held with US or European leaders. http://gulfnews.com/business/aviation/airbus-scores-with-7b-philippine-order- 1.1066912 Back to Top What Did Neil Armstrong Really Think Of Business Jets? Learjet 28 Former Astronaut Neil Armstrong, passed away last weekend at age 82. Armstrong's death is poignant for all of us and particularly those in the aerospace world. Of the billions of people who preceded him on this planet he became the first human to set foot on the moon, a truly remarkable and spectacular achievement for mankind. As a U.S. Naval aviator, Armstrong was a decorated Korean fighter pilot. Later, he flew high altitude missions for NASA in the supersonic X-15, and in a less publicized part of his professional life he was an advocate for business aviation. Less publicized because that's just the way he conducted his life - never really seeking the public attention that invariably came his way due to his stellar career accomplishments. I was fortunate to share time with him in the back of a Learjet on several occasions as we traveled to Gates Learjet board meetings where he served on the board of directors. I was also privileged to work with him on a special project while he set several world records at the controls of the first business jet to be certified for flight at 51,000 feet. While I performed tough assignments like handing out motel room keys to our group staying near the famed First Flight Strip at Kitty Hawk, NC, and writing the press release, he merely set five world records in the left seat of a Learjet 28. It was early 1979, less than 10 years after he walked on the moon, and he was already established as an even-keeled aerospace statesman, more interested in advancing the technology of flight than any of the hoopla that surrounds the truly famous. I remember he was extremely involved in the technological advancements of the industry's first civilian use of winglets, first installed on the Learjet. He literally catapulted to 15,000 meters (49,200 ft) in fewer than 12 and a half minutes (nearly 4,000 feet/minute) for the sanctioned National Aeronautic Association world record. And he and co-pilot Pete Reynolds practiced the record attempt a number of times to perfect the flight plan. I think he went along with letting us publicize the world records for a couple of reasons: He wanted everyone to know that high-performance business jets could help the world to become more productive, and that flying in shirtsleeves vs. a pressurized flight suit at 51,000 ft. was a supremely safe environment that could take business travelers above most bad weather. In fact, he proved that business jets performed more efficiently at such altitudes. While Neil Armstrong will be remembered primarily for his historic first step on the moon, he also supported business aviation and used it throughout his career while he served on a number of corporate boards and conducted his professional life. The industry and the world will miss his leadership. http://www.forbes.com/sites/businessaviation/2012/08/27/what-did-neil-armstrong- really-think-of-business-jets/ Back to Top ANA to equip flight and cabin crew with iPads by February 2013 All Nippon Airways (ANA) will equip all its 2,500 flightcrew with an iPad each, starting February 2013. For the three months starting September 2012, the carrier will provide iPads to 300 crew members on a trial basis. The iPads will allow flightcrew to access weather and other latest flight-related data. This will enable them to choose the route and altitude with the least turbulence, and help ensure that operations run on time. Secondly, constant access to the latest passenger reservation and cargo volume information via the iPad will enable optimal fuel loading on each flight. This would help ANA in the conservation of fuel. iPads will allow the production of electronic versions of the flight manual that involve voice and video-based training, and educational material. This in turn, will reduce printing costs and streamline the process of distributing and updating manuals. http://www.flightglobal.com/ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP, FRAeS, FISASI CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC