Flight Safety Information September 18, 2012 - No. 189 In This Issue JFK Hijack Scare Paraglider pilot has second encounter with Salem authorities Pilots group questions draft flight safety rules U.S. airline industry urges Obama to block EU carbon scheme American Cuts Capacity Amid Canceled Flights, Sick Pilots PRISM Certification Support 93-year-old WWII pilot flies back to Australia to commemorate war battle SPEED PILOT MISSING IN SWITZERLAND GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY JFK Hijack Scare Three packed passenger jets were searched at Kennedy Airport yesterday after an anonymous phone caller claimed there were Islamic hijackers aboard armed with explosives - but it was nothing but a hoax, law-enforcement sources said. The jets, American Airlines flights 24 and 846, and Finnair Flight 5, were instructed to park in a remote part of the airport known as "the hijacker site" for security inspections after they landed on schedule at about 3:30 p.m., the sources said. Police gave them a 90-minute once-over before declaring the call a hoax. Two other US airports, including one in San Antonio, received similar bogus calls, the sources said. The caller, who spoke to Kennedy's Port Authority Police desk, from an unidentified man, said he got the information from a member of the unnamed Muslim terrorist group. He claimed that the hijackers were hiding in the wheel wells of the plane and were wearing gas masks, one law-enforcement source said. The pilots reported no indications that anything was wrong. Nevertheless, a "multi-agency mobilization" was organized to check out the planes, a source said. A PA police officer came aboard one of the American flights and announced there was a threat that had to be checked out, a passenger said. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/jfk_hijack_scare_1E9Nq6ujbaI0XUncKAu6HL?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Local Back to Top Paraglider pilot has second encounter with Salem authorities after engine problems off coast A paraglider pilot had his second encounter with Salem authorities this weekend after experiencing engine problems that required a rescue effort off of Eagle Island, police said. Patrick Tarmey, 25, of Peabody, was retrieved by harbormasters late Sunday afternoon after calling police for help, Salem police Lieutenant Conrad Prosniewski said. Tarmey was not injured in the incident. Tarmey was recently arrested by Salem police on a disorderly conduct charge after paragliding over the North River on Sept. 11. That day, police received numerous phone calls for a low-flying, unfamiliar aircraft observed in the area and causing traffic delays, Prosniewski said. "It's not wise to fly something unfamiliar over a populated area on that day," Prosniewski said. "People were seeing something strange, so everyone was calling." According to Prosniewski, Tarmey claimed he was not doing anything wrong, but after a brief argument with officers, he was arrested on the disorderly conduct charge. His case was dismissed in Salem District Court last week after he agreed to pay a $50 fine. "Maybe with the FAA he wasn't doing anything wrong, but the fact was that he was flying an unusual aircraft in the sky on 9/11, people were alarmed, and it was causing traffic on the streets to stop. Those actions themselves fit the description of disorderly conduct," Prosniewski said. Paraglider pilots fly with motors that look like giant lawnmowers on their back. The paraglider itself looks like part of a parachute. It acts as an airplane wing does, lifting the pilot and motor into the air. A telephone message seeking comment from Tarmey was not immediately returned. http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/09/17/paraglider-pilot-has-second-encounter-with-salem- authorities-experienced-engine-problems-off-coast/pHJDg2gZXS2u4TgHZDySJN/story.html Back to Top Pilots group questions draft flight safety rules Regulations proposed by the EU's air safety agency for reducing fatigue in the cockpit are too lax, reflecting pressure from the airline industry for more flexibility, leaders of the European pilots' organisation said yesterday (17 September). The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is due to table recommendations to tighten existing rules, chopping up to 45 minutes off the maximum time European pilots can fly when their shifts involve nighttime hours. The proposed 11-hour cap is among several safety suggestions due to be handed to the European Commission to strengthen a 2008 regulation. But the European Cockpit Association (ECA) contends the nighttime duty recommendation falls well short of what is needed. They base their criticism on medical and scientific studies of pilots and cabin crews who work long hours that typically exceed a normal shift for an office or service worker as well as coach and railway operators. The existing law on flight duty represents "a typical European comprise" between national and pressure group interests, said Philip von Schöppenthau, secretary-general of ECA. He added that the emerging recommendations are an improvement over current EU standards but still fall short of what the pilots and cabin crew trade unions want. No compromise ECA calls for a 10-hour flight limit for night duty, an hour less than what EASA's draft proposal, and sees little room for middle ground. "Can you compromise on safety?" said Nico Voorbach, president of ECA, which represents 38,000 pilots in Europe. "I don't think you should do that through legislation." The draft standards for flight crews follow an 18-month review of the earlier EU regulation and cover other duty periods as well. But the night restrictions are of particular concern, with studies showing the likelihood of accidents rising sharply the longer a pilot spends at the controls. The debate pits pilots and other members of the flight crew against their employers, which seek more flexibility in times of inclement weather and congestion when longer shifts may be needed. Currently, airlines can ask pilots to work extra time and an airplane captain can use her or his own discretion to work additional hours when delays are anticipated. Most airlines operate under restrictions carved out in trade union contracts, and some EU national governments impose tighter restrictions than those called under EU law. The 2008 regulation on flight safety gave more muscle to EASA over aircraft operations, crew standards and safety training. It also called for a review of the flight duty hours to address trade union concerns. Work hours depends on the time of day a pilot goes on duty and how many flight sectors - from one destination to another - are flown. Night duty generally means anytime the flight crew is working between 2 a.m. and 4:59 a.m. In November 2008, a study submitted to EASA by MOEBUS Aviation consultancy in Zürich argued that pilots can lose awareness after 10 hours and recommended flight duty periods for crew "should not exceed 10 hours overnight." EASA: Proposals improve safety But an EASA working group representing national regulators, airplane crews and the airlines, rejected the 10-hour limit in favour of an 11-hour standard for duty starting times between 5 p.m. and 4:59 a.m. The EASA recommendation also removes the possibility of one-hour extensions for night duty. "The draft rules on flight time limitations are intended to avoid crew fatigue by introducing limitations to the way crews can be scheduled by airlines," EASA said in a written response to questions from EurActiv. "They clearly provide safety improvements to the existing regulation including reductions in night time flying, increases in weekly rest, and new operator responsibilities." Airline industry groups including the Association of European Airlines and the European Regions Airline Association had earlier called for the current standards to remain in effect. In May, airline employees picketed outside EASA's headquarters in the German city of Cologne, calling for the agency's draft recommendation to be changed from 11 to 10 hours. Schöppenthau now believes that the EASA proposal will be adopted by the Commission and Council without public input, since the European Parliament cannot amend the flight proposals that would take effect in 2015. "What we expect at the end of the month is that it [the draft] will not protect the safety of the passengers," Schöppenthau told a news conference in Brussels. NEXT STEPS: End of Sept. 2012: EASA due to present recommendations to the European Commission Mid-2013: Revisions to the 2008 regulation on flight safety expected to be adopted into law Mid-2015: Full implementation of new rules http://www.euractiv.com/transport/pilots-group-questions-draft-fli-news-514839 Back to Top U.S. airline industry urges Obama to block EU carbon scheme The U.S. aviation industry urged President Barack Obama on Monday to file a U.N. action to stop the EU from forcing foreign aircraft to pay for their carbon emissions ahead of a U.N. meeting that will try to make progress on a multilateral solution to the ongoing aviation row. Nineteen aviation industry groups called on the president to initiate an Article 84 proceeding in the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO.L, whose governing council will convene from October 29 to November 6. "An Article 84 action will prompt, rather than impede, agreement and implementation of a global framework for addressing aviation greenhouse gas emissions," the groups, including the U.S. airline organization Airlines for America, wrote in their letter to Obama. The letter said the body "has a proven track record of efficiently handling an Article 84 dispute while simultaneously advancing new environmental standards." An Article 84 proceeding is a dispute mechanism available to ICAO's 191 member states, which would give ICAO's governing council the authority to decide on disputes that cannot be resolved between states. GLOBAL ALTERNATIVE Environmental groups and ICAO's Secretary General Raymond Benjamin have said they oppose the time-consuming action because it could undermine efforts by the body to devise a common plan. ICAO has been under pressure to devise a global alternative to the European Union's carbon cap-and-trade system due to strong opposition from the United States, China and other nations, but the process has been slow. It is in the process of weighing three market-based approaches for its members to take to help them cut their greenhouse gas emissions. Benjamin told Reuters earlier this month that he expected the council to have a draft plan by March 2013, rather than the end of 2012 as had been previously thought. The global system must approved by ICAO's 191 members at its autumn 2013 assembly. The U.S. aviation groups, that also included the Aerospace Industries Association, warned that if left unchecked, the EU's imposition of its carbon trading scheme could extend beyond just foreign airlines. "If this EU breach of U.S. sovereignty ... over our airspace and international waters - goes unanswered, it almost certainly will result in other such schemes affecting a variety of sectors of the U.S. economy," the letter said. CONGRESSIONAL PRESSURE Meanwhile, Congress may also put pressure on the Obama administration this week with the possible passage of a bill that would shield U.S. airlines from participating in the EU's emissions trading scheme. Last week, Republican Senator John Thune had been prepared to put get a unanimous consent vote on the Senate floor on the bill he co-authored with Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill. The senator called off the vote because some objections were raised, a Senate aide told Reuters. But supporters of the Thune-McCaskill bill are negotiating compromise language to address lingering concerns, said Jean Medina, spokesperson for Airlines for America. She said the senators hope to secure enough votes for passage before Senate goes into recess ahead of the November elections. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/18/uk-airlines-eu-emissions- idUSLNE88H00C20120918 Back to Top American Cuts Capacity Amid Canceled Flights, Sick Pilots American Airlines (AAMRQ) cut U.S. capacity by as much as 2 percent for the rest of this month and October as pilot retirements, sick calls and mechanical issues left the carrier with more cancellations than any of its U.S. competitors. The airline is trimming flight and seating capacity less than a week after imposing cost cuts on its pilots. The reductions take effect immediately and will occur "selectively across our system," Bruce Hicks, a spokesman, said in an interview. American led the U.S. industry in both scrapped flights and delays yesterday, according to FlightStats.com. American, a unit of AMR Corp., won bankruptcy court permission on Sept. 12 to void its existing pilot contract and impose cost cuts after the workers rejected the carrier's final contract offer. Pilots are conducting a strike vote, though they currently don't have the legal right to stage a work stoppage. The Allied Pilots Association and its leaders are not "sanctioning or supporting any job action or slowdown," said Tom Hoban, a union spokesman. "It's illegal to do so. Having said that, you have 8,000 pilots watching their profession and livelihood being vaporized by this management team. To say they are angry would be the understatement of a lifetime." The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier is reducing capacity for at least the fourth time in the past 12 months because of a pilot shortage. 'Reliable Service' "We are constantly evaluating our schedule based on operational and staffing resources, as well as seasonal demand, making adjustments when necessary," Hicks said. "The schedule adjustments we are implementing will ensure we provide our customers with reliable service while minimizing any impact to their travel plans." American accounted for 92 of 157 U.S. flight cancellations yesterday and 414 of 2,092 delays, data on FlightStats' website showed. Era Aviation Inc., an Anchorage, Alaska- based carrier, had the second-most dropped flights at 12, while SkyWest Inc.'s ExpressJet unit had the second-highest delays with 254, according to FlightStats. "They're dealing with excessive delays today and they were throughout the entire weekend," Keith Gerr, a FlightStats spokesman, said in an interview yesterday. "They have the highest cancellations," he said. The FlightStats data doesn't indicate the cause of a cancellation or delay. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, American's largest hub, led in both delayed arrivals and departures. Union Concessions The airline earlier won approvals from its other unions for concessions to help cut annual labor costs by more than $1 billion as it restructures in bankruptcy. American blamed its November Chapter 11 filing in part on labor costs it said topped those of rivals by as much as $800 million a year. Under a federal law governing airline labor, the pilots unions would have to move through several additional steps before its members are legally allowed to strike. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-17/american-cuts-capacity-amid- canceled-flights-sick-pilots Back to Top Back to Top 93-year-old WWII pilot flies back to Australia to commemorate war battle Four inches have been added to his waistband and five pounds to his lanky 6-foot-3-inch frame, but in his new replica uniform John B. Wells doesn't look so very different from the "pea green" pilot he was in 1941. The 93-year-old World War II B-26 bomber pilot will head for Australia this month, the lone veteran representing the 18th Recon Squadron/408th Bomb Squadron stationed there during the height of the battle in the South Pacific. His new uniform is tailored with the vintage style, fabric and insignia of his era. And Wells, president of the 22nd Bomb Group Assoc., will be wearing it for the memorial service and dedication of a plaque in the town of Charters Towers in Northern Queensland, part of a "Victory in the Pacific" Heritage Festival commemorating the arrival of U.S. servicemen there 70 years ago. "They asked if we'd show up in uniform," Wells said about his new outfit. And since an Arctic parka was "the only survivor" of his service togs, he had to improvise. "We found this place that makes uniforms from the old fabric, in the old style - I'd forgotten how high we wore our pants then," Wells joked. "It's pretty funny." He can still put on his garrison cap at a rakish angle, without even a glance in the mirror. He can reel off stories of his comrades, details of their missions flying over the Coral Sea and high mountain ranges to bomb Japanese invaders in New Guinea; the grinding work of ground crews "cannibalizing" parts to keep the planes flying; plus some off-duty escapades. But it wasn't always that way, said Jane Wells, his wife of 64 years. Until their three children coaxed him to add his wartime memories to a spoken record of his childhood, the Chattanooga, Tenn. native never talked about the war. "Not a word," she said. "It took quite a while to come out. We'd be asleep and I'd wake up and he'd be crying. The memories were buried way down, but every now and then they'd surface. Was it (President Harry) Truman who said, `War is Hell?"' It was Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman who said it, but Wells was one of those who lived it. "When I look back on it, we were just naive kids, but we were damn good pilots," he said. "We had absolutely no combat experience ... We were pea green, but we could fly. We got the job done." Wells' four traveling companions will include Thomas E. Dewan of Staunton, Va., and William J. Dewan of New Mexico, the son and grandson of 18th Recon Sq/408th Bomb Squadron navigator Merrill Dewan, who served with Wells. "He was a buddy of J.B. (Wells), and like him he survived the war and came back to civilian life," Tom Dewan said. His father died in 1963, at age 45, he said, but left behind a diary that was later published, recording his wartime thoughts and emotions. Wells said reading that diary was key to unlocking his own complicated feelings about his service, which he called a "defining moment" of his life. "We went from being very naive to being fairly cynical, I guess," he said. "You didn't stay long as a kid." The air war in the Pacific, with untested American pilots and planes fighting the cream of the Japanese air crews, is often overshadowed by the European action, he said. But if not everyone here remembers what American pilots did in the Pacific, the Australians have never forgotten, Dewan said. Having Wells be there for the ceremony "means everything" to them, Dewan said. Some of the Australian co-pilots who helped familiarize the Americans with the terrain on the Australian coast, the Coral Sea and New Britain will also attend, Dewan said. He still marvels at what Wells, his father and all the other young pilots achieved, he said. "(The bombers) had no fighter escort as they fought against Japanese targets - and they basically took brand new planes, not test-flown, gave them to the crews and sent them into battle," he said. "They left Langley Air Force Base the day after Pearl Harbor and flew directly into combat. John was in the first bomber group to arrive in the Pacific and flew into action as the Japanese were advancing on Australia." Wells came back stateside in 1943, with the "worn-out" and later scrapped B26 bombers, and began work on training pilots and testing munitions. He still has some regrets about not being there for the end of the war. Looking back, he said, so many terrible things happened and so many of his comrades never came home. But he has no doubts that they all played a major role in preventing a Japanese invasion of Australia from New Guinea. "We were just a bunch of raggedy-ass Yanks," he said. "But we stopped them there ... Sometimes you get to dreaming about it, you're back again - and there's enough conceit to think you probably could still do it." An illustrated World War II history of the 22nd Bombardment Group "Revenge of the Red Raiders" is available in the Pasadena Public Library system. http://www.presstelegram.com/breakingnews/ci_21559047/93-year-old-wwii-pilot-flies- back-australia Back to Top SPEED PILOT MISSING IN SWITZERLAND A British speed flying pilot has been missing in the Alps for three nights following a flight from the Jungfraujoch on the morning of Saturday 15 September. Dan Hunt, 33, took off at around 10am with two friends but failed to land with them in the Lauterbrunnen Valley as planned. He has not been seen since. The alarm was raised immediately but a search of the area has so far failed to find him. A fundraising campaign has been set up to help pay for more helicopter air time. The Jungfraujoch is a col between the Mönch and the Jungfrau in the Bernese Alps. It is 3,471m hight and is close to the mountain railway station the Jungfraubahn, the highest rail station in Europe. The area accommodates all sorts of air sports - from hang gliding to wingsuiting. As the search entered its fourth day on Tuesday Kara De-los-Reyes, a friend in London who is helping to coordinate the rescue, said everyone was still focused on finding Dan. "The team in Switzerland has searched the top of the mountain very thoroughly," she said. "Now the focus is on forested parts of the gorge lower down the mountain." As well as Swiss mountain rescue, volunteer climbers, mountaineers and pilots have been involved in the search so far. "There are 11 on the team," Kara said, "including a team of climbers searching the glacier." A speed wing pilot is also planning to fly the line this morning in an attempt to spot Dan, she said. The Facebook page set up to help raise funds for the search says that Dan is an experienced pilot and was seen to take off cleanly. He was not thought to be flying close to terrain. One of the pilots flying with Dan posted on Facebook: "When I saw Dan [he was] flying high above the ground like a paraglider to be extra cautious. The possibility of an impact with the ground in low flight has almost 100% been ruled out." A separate post described the conditions as "perfect" and said Dan took off "fine" and was four minutes behind the other two pilots. Before launching the three pilots had discussed the route and agreed to land in the valley on the right side, avoiding a Base jumping competition on the left side of the valley. Dan was carrying a mobile phone and it was switched on, Kara said. However, an attempt at locating him through triangulation on Saturday night failed. He was not carrying a Spot or other tracking device. The Swiss authorities had been "amazing" Kara said. However, after two free search and rescue flights the search and rescue helicopter must be paid for, she said. Although insured, Dan's insurers have refused to fund more of the search, hence the appeal for funds through Facebook and Paypal. "So far we have £14,000," Kara said. "The insurance money was exhausted after the first day, that's why we're asking people to donate." As well as the speed pilot this morning, a helicopter search of the tree-covered gorge will be carried out later today with a rescue volunteer suspended from a winch in order to search the tree canopy more closely. The search comes only a few weeks after a Paragliding World Cup pilot went missing for 48 hours in Sun Valley, Idaho. Guy Anderson was found alive after two nights out in the hills with minor injuries. http://www.xcmag.com/2012/09/speed-pilot-missing-in-switzerland/ Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Hello, My name is Christopher Hubacek and I am a Master's student in Aviation Human Factors at Florida Institute of Technology. For my thesis, I am developing a low-level prototype for a data communication interface that will be incorporated into GA glass cockpits, to follow with design and implementation goals for FAA's NextGen system. However, before I develop the display, I need input from intended users about display preferences and when they would plan on using it the most. Transport category aircraft already have the ability to send and receive data communication from the cockpit with ATC, commonly through a system called ACARS. My concept is taking that technology and incorporating it with GA. Also, going beyond simple display design, receiving input on the intended use can be helpful for creating procedures revolving around when is best to use data or voice communications. The survey can be accessed through the following link: http://GADatacommfinal.questionpro.com. It is primarily multiple-choice with a few questions that involve typing comments, and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Thank you for your participation. Christopher Hubacek Curt Lewis