Flight Safety Information September 6, 2012 - No. 181 In This Issue Safety board: Equip big jets to prevent runway collisions Nigeria lifts ban on airline after crash killed 159 Two Survive Fiery Plane Crash at Spinks Airport (Fort Worth, TX) Air traffic controllers rattled when planes flew too close at Reagan airport near DC PRISM Certification Support FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education Safety board: Equip big jets to prevent runway collisions Big jetliners should be equipped with anti-collision equipment such as cameras to help pilots avoid clipping wingtips while taxiing, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended Wednesday. A damaged Airbus A380 belonging to Air France sits on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport, on April 12, 2011, after it clipped a much smaller Bombardier CRJ- 700 on a wet tarmac. The recommendation from the safety board to the Federal Aviation Administration follows at least three runway collisions in the past 18 months. One of the collisions, involving the world's biggest passenger jet, drew national attention: That's when a giant Airbus A380 struck the tail of a small regional jet on April 11, 2011, at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The problem in larger planes, the NTSB said, is that the pilot can't see the wingtips from the cockpit without opening a window, which the NTSB says is often impractical. The board suggests that a camera could be mounted with a display in the cockpit so that pilots could see other aircraft and obstacles. "While collision-warning systems are now common in highway vehicles, it is important for the aviation industry to consider their application in large aircraft," said Deborah Hersman, NTSB chairwoman. Preventing runway collisions has long been a priority for the safety board. Since 2007, the FAA has added new safety technology, altered procedures for how planes taxi and pressured airlines and airports to make dozens of additional improvements. In a September 2011 report, the most recent year available, the FAA said the most critical ground errors, called runway incursions, had fallen the previous decade from a high of 67 a year to seven. Still, incursions occur: *In July 2011, a Delta Boeing 767 was taxiing at Boston's Logan Airport when its left wing struck an Atlantic Southeast Airlines Bombardier CRJ-900. The Bombardier suffered substantial tail damage and the plane lost fluid in three hydraulic systems. *This year on May 30, an American Eagle Embraer 135 regional jet was struck in the tail by the right wing of a Taiwanese EVA Airways Boeing 747, which was taxiing at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. The Embraer suffered substantial damage to the rudder and vertical stabilizer, while the 747 had minor damage to the wingtip and slats. The NTSB said that new warning equipment should be installed on older planes as well as new ones and that Boeing's 747, 757, 767 and 777 models, along with the Airbus A380 and McDonnell Douglas' MD-10 and MD-11, should be covered. The airline industry group Airlines for America said the risks are low. "These types of incidents are extremely rare in the context of overall operations," spokeswoman Victoria Day said. "Airlines have procedures in place using wing walkers and other means to minimize these risks." http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/story/2012-09-05/Safety-board-Equip-big-jets-to- prevent-runway-collisions/57613250/1 Back to Top Nigeria lifts ban on airline after crash killed 159 ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian airline Dana Air can fly again three months after one of its jets crashed and killed 159 people, aviation authorities said on Wednesday, even though the cause of the crash has still not been made public. The Dana Air flight, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (BA.N), collided with an apartment block in a populated Lagos suburb in June, killing everyone on board and six people on the ground. "The federal government has lifted the suspension of the Operating Licence of Dana Airlines," Joe Obi, spokesman for the aviation ministry said in a statement. "This follows government's satisfaction with the air-worthiness of the airline after a rigorous technical, operational and financial audit." He added that this meant Dana was free to resume commercial flights. Little is yet publicly known about why the airliner crashed. The pilot reported dual failure just before the plane went down, but the results of an investigation launched into the crash have not been made public, despite the black box voice and data recorder being recovered. Air crashes are relatively common in Nigeria, which despite being Africa's second biggest economy has had a poor air safety record, although it has improved in the past few years. Most of the dead on board the Dana crash were Nigerians, although a family of six Americans of Nigerian descent was killed, as were four Chinese citizens, two Lebanese, a French woman and a British woman. Back to Top Two Survive Fiery Plane Crash at Spinks Airport (Fort Worth, TX) Plane catches fire after crashing short of runway Two men have been airlifted to a hospital following a plane crash south of Fort Worth. The twin-engine plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Spinks Airport this morning. There's no word yet on the cause of the crash. Two people have survived a fiery crash after their plane went down shortly after takeoff from Spinks Airport Wednesday morning. A spokesperson for the FAA said a twin-engine Cessna 421B crashed south of the runway shortly after departing the south Fort Worth airport. The pilot/owner of the aircraft, John Campbell, and another man, were able to walk away from the crash and were spotted walking down a dirt road by emergency responders. Both men suffered burns and other injuries, but were alert and aware of what had occurred. They were transported by CareFlite to Parkland Hospital in Dallas for treatment. At the request of the Campbell family, further details about his condition have not been released. The name of the passenger has not been released. The plane came down in a wooded area several hundred yards from the runway, sparking a small brushfire that was quickly contained by firefighters from Burleson, Cleburne and the Fort Worth fire departments. Tim Hardeman, spokesperson for the Fort Worth Fire Department, described the crash as catastrophic. "The plane's totally destroyed. It burned upon impact and the gentlemen were able to walk away so, in that, they were very fortunate," said Hardeman. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Fort Worth city spokesperson Bill Begley said a report at the scene said someone radioed before the crash that a door had opened. Wednesday's crash isn't the first Campbell has walked away from. Vicki Anderson, who was hired by Campbell at his auto body shop in 1998, said he also walked away from a crash in another plane after losing power. "The engine kinda went out and he landed it down into a corn field. He was with his dad and they just walked out with scrapes then," Anderson said. Anderson, who helped Campbell restore the aircraft that crashed Wednesday, said she is concerned about how he and his family are doing after the most recent incident. "Very relieved, but I'm still concerned," said Anderson. "Concerned for his family and how they're doing and make sure he's still okay." Spinks Airport is a general aviation airport located near Interstate 35W and Alsbury Boulevard. After the crash, inbound and outbound air traffic, as well as nearby road traffic, was stopped for a short time. http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Plane-Down-at-Spinks-Airport-168615766.html Back to Top Air traffic controllers rattled when planes flew too close at Reagan airport near DC WASHINGTON (AP) - Air-traffic controllers were rattled after mistakenly flying three planes too close together in the skies near the nation's capital, a federal report released Wednesday says, describing a chaotic scene in an airport tower during those minutes. The National Transportation Safety Board's 14-page report confirms some of what investigators already released about what happened on July 31 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, including that miscommunication led to the too-close flights. The report also provides more detail about what happened when controllers cleared two outbound flights to head in the direction of an incoming plane. The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said soon after the too-close call that the three U.S. Airways commuter flights, which were carrying 192 passengers and crew, were on different headings and at different altitudes, and would not have crashed. However, federal guidelines require commercial jets to maintain a certain distance between them, 1,000 vertical feet and 3.5 lateral miles separation, and they came within that required distance. The report released Wednesday describes a tower supervisor dropping the phone and jumping in to help solve the problem during the confusion. The report also explains the miscommunication between controllers in the tower at Reagan and others at a regional air center in Virginia that guides planes into area airports. Because of bad weather to the south, a regional controller called the Reagan tower to ask to briefly land planes in a direction opposite the airport's traffic flow. The request was rare, and after the incident, the FAA said it was barring airports nationwide from the same maneuver until a standardized procedure can be put in place. The report said the unusual request by the regional controller would normally require coordinating with the tower supervisor. In this case, however, the supervisor was on a different phone line making overtime assignments for the next day. And the controller at the tower who took the call misheard the request, believing she was simply being asked to decrease the space between arriving flights, something she would be allowed to do on her own. Controllers then watched as the aircraft came too close at about 2 p.m. The report says that one regional air traffic controller gasped when she saw what was happening. Afterward, the tower supervisor and regional supervisor talked by phone. "Ok well I think we had an error there," the supervisor at the tower said. "Yeah, probably a couple of them," responded the regional supervisor. Back to Top Back to Top FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education "FAA AFS-600 Regulatory Support Division Open House September 18 & 19, 2012" Topic: Aviation Industry Information and Safety Related Topics On Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 9:00 AM Location: FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) 6500 S. MacArthur Blvd Building 1 Oklahoma City, OK 73169 Select Number: SW1546173 Description: September 18 will consist of guest speakers discussing topics that effect aviation safety and you. September 19 is a continuation of the 18th, however following the lunch break on the 19th there will be a panel of guest there to answer your questions related to the event topics, or your individual questions. Register now to allow time to receive your complete information packet on this event. To view further details and registration information for this seminar, click here. The sponsor for this seminar is: FAA-AFS-600 The following credit(s) are available for the WINGS/AMT Programs: Basic Knowledge 3 - 1 Credit AMT: 1.00 Curt Lewis