Flight Safety Information September 21, 2012 - No. 192 In This Issue FAA ANNOUNCES EFFORT TO ENHANCE SAFETY Air NZ calls for ban on hand-held lasers Authority eyes A.C. airport. Driver recounts Bibb jet crash Pilot protest a blast from the past Nigeria: Airline Suspends Flights PRISM Certification Support ISASI News WW2 flying ace Sir Douglas Bader endangered other pilots with his tactics Maggie Rizer Claims United Airlines "Killed" Her Dog GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY FAA ANNOUNCES EFFORT TO ENHANCE SAFETY, INCREASE EFFICIENCY AND REDUCE AIRCRAFT EMISSIONS IN FLORIDA AIRSPACE Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta today announced a collaborative NextGen effort that will increase safety and efficiency while reducing aircraft emissions for the passengers, air traffic controllers and airlines flying into and out of many of Florida's major airports. The announcement was made at JetBlue University, the carrier's training center, where simulators demonstrated examples of NextGen procedures and routes. CEO and president of JetBlue Airways Dave Barger joined Acting Administrator Huerta for the announcement, and is chair of the NextGen Advisory Committee, an industry advisory group that works with the FAA as part of NextGen. "The NextGen Metroplex initiative demonstrates the progress that can be made when the public and private sectors collaborate to deliver benefits for the flying public, the aviation community and the national economy," said Huerta. "We're excited about the improvements NextGen is bringing to Florida. The end result for travelers will be fewer delays, quicker flights and an even safer, greener flying experience." As part of the FAA's NextGen modernization program, the Metroplex initiative will improve the flow of air traffic into and out of airports in the Miami, Orlando and Tampa metropolitan areas. A metroplex is a region with several airports serving major metropolitan areas where heavy airport activity and environmental constraints combine to hinder the efficient movement of air traffic. Metroplex initiatives are underway or planned in numerous metropolitan areas across the country and will help airlines improve on-time performance and reduce emissions generated by aircraft. The Metroplex initiative is based on satellite navigation, which the FAA calls Performance-Based Navigation (PBN), also a key component of NextGen. PBN enables pilots to fly aircraft using satellite coverage or by utilizing the on-board flight management system. PBN allows shorter, more direct routes that reduce flight time and fuel consumption, and result in fewer carbon emissions. "As the largest domestic airline based in New York, the busiest airspace in the world, JetBlue will continue to take an active leadership role in advancing the next generation of airspace management in partnership with the FAA," said Dave Barger, CEO and president of JetBlue Airways. "These new procedures will increase traffic flow predictability while reducing our environmental impact, allowing us to provide more efficient travel for customers." The FAA estimates that more direct routings and more efficient aircraft descents into the Florida Metroplex will save eight million gallons of fuel annually, which equates to a reduction in carbon emissions by nearly 80,000 metric tons and an estimated $23.0 million saved in fuel costs. In addition, the FAA estimates that 5.4 million fewer nautical miles will be flown in and out of Florida based on current flight plan miles filed. This collaborative partnership includes the FAA, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, US Airways, NetJets and other aviation stakeholders including business and general aviation interests. The Florida Metroplex study area includes six airports: Orlando International, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers. Satellite airports, including Boca Raton, Daytona Beach, Kissimmee, Marco Island, Naples, Orlando Executive, Orlando Sanford, Sarasota Bradenton and Stuart (Witham Field), are also part of this NextGen initiative. The Florida Metroplex work teams will explore and develop proposed strategies to streamline airspace to help reduce airspace complexity for air traffic controllers and flight crews. The strategies include: * Creating separate flight tracks for departures and arrivals to allow aircraft to climb and descend more efficiently. * Expanding the development of Optimized Profile Descent (OPD) procedures into the airports. OPDs allow pilots to almost idle the engines while the aircraft descends, using the on-board Flight Management System to fly a continuous, descending path without leveling off. OPDs reduce fuel consumption, carbon emissions and noise. * Shortening flight tracks by making them more direct. * Designing new satellite-based procedures for reliever airports. * Developing routes that will enable general aviation traffic to fly more efficient routes through congested airspace. NextGen is the transformation of the radar-based air traffic control system of today to a satellite-based system of the future. New procedures and technologies will significantly improve safety, capacity and efficiency and will reduce fuel burn, carbon emissions and environmental impacts. http://www.avionics-intelligence.com/news/2012/09/21/faa-announces-effort-to- enhance-safety-increase-efficiency-and-reduce-aircraft-emissions-in-florida.html Back to Top Air NZ calls for ban on hand-held lasers Air New Zealand is calling for a New Zealand ban on powerful hand-held laser devices to protect the safety of the travelling public following the sentencing today of a teenager who aimed lasers at three commercial aircraft and a police helicopter. David Morgan, Air New Zealand's General Manager Airline Operations, says the current legislative penalties for shining the lasers at pilots in control of aircraft are not proving to be a deterrent, and the number of incidents where these devices are being used to deliberately target aircraft is on the rise. "Safety is paramount and non negotiable for Air New Zealand. As the largest carrier of people to, from and within New Zealand we are calling on the Government to move swiftly to ban class 3 green-light laser devices. "Laser pointing has the potential to distract pilots, impact their night vision and potentially cause eye damage. The fact that these incidents occur during the critical phases of take off and landing makes the practice potentially very dangerous. Failure to act to ban these devices runs the real risk that a thoughtless and reckless individual could cause an air accident," Captain Morgan says. There are no legal barriers to the ownership of high power hand-held laser devices in New Zealand and Air New Zealand is calling for a ban on Class 3 green-light laser devices from being sold or owned here, which would bring New Zealand into line with Australian legislation on this issue. http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/air-nz-calls-ban-hand-held-lasers/5/135482 Back to Top Authority eyes A.C. airport N.Y.C. agency says it could ease air traffic. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is considering taking over operation of Atlantic City International Airport to help reduce air traffic congestion at New York-area airports, officials said Thursday. The agency said Thursday that it had authorized $3 million for a feasibility study that will look at financial, legal, and environmental issues. The Port Authority operates the New York area's three major airports - Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy, and LaGuardia - in addition to Teterboro Airport in North Jersey and Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y. Newark, JFK, and LaGuardia annually handle more than 100 million passengers. Delays at any often have a ripple effect on air travel throughout the United States. Legislation in 2007 in both New York and New Jersey empowered the Port Authority to establish an additional air terminal in each state. The Port Authority acquired an interest in Stewart in 2007. Atlantic City's airport is operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority. A spokesman for the authority declined to comment on the Port Authority's plans. "Right now the airport is serving a great many passengers from central New Jersey, not to mention Southern New Jersey and Atlantic City," Port Authority Chairman David Samson said. "It could relieve pressure at Newark, and it could be an independent generator of income for us through passenger and air cargo. It's potentially a very valuable asset." There is no deadline for the study to be completed, Samson said. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20120921_Authority_eyes_A_C__airport.html Back to Top Driver recounts Bibb jet crash Ricky Willis had just crested a hill on Ocmulgee East Boulevard on Tuesday morning when he saw a small jet roll through a ditch just a hundred yards in front of him. "It was pretty fast," said Willis, a sales representative who was out visiting customers. "It hit nose first. It bounced up and crossed the road. The landing gear hit." Startled, Willis slammed on his brakes in the rain. He'd slowed down by the time he reached the spot where the Beech 400 had crossed the road. By then, the plane had crashed into the woods. Willis, of Gray, turned his truck around in the road and found a place to park. He saw a woman run into the woods, so he called 911. He was standing on an embankment between the airport and the road when other cars stopped. Soon a man, who he later learned had been on the jet, came out from the woods and asked if Willis had seen his bird dog. Although firefighters had to cut the pilot out of the cockpit, the pilot, co-pilot and passenger were not seriously hurt. The dog also was on the aircraft when it crashed. The jet was pulled from the woods late Wednesday afternoon and moved to the Macon Downtown Airport, where it will stay until it's moved to a secure facility in Griffin, said Shawn Etcher, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator. Etcher started examining the wreckage Wednesday, a day after the jet hydroplaned while landing at the airport during a storm. Etcher said the cockpit voice recorder and a GPS box have been removed from the jet and are on the way to a lab in Washington, D.C., for analysis. Although the nose of the jet was badly damaged, the rest of the plane is in good enough condition to check for mechanical problems, he said. "Overall, the airplane is actually in not too bad a shape," Etcher said, "It's good enough to give us a lot of information that we need." The plane landed during a heavy downpour and hit a puddle of water, according to the sheriff's office. Etcher said logistics for the airport, including the runway length, will be compared with performance numbers for the jet. "That's going to be in the days and weeks to come," he said. The co-pilot, Joel Perkins, told Bibb County deputies the plane was coming in at normal speed in light rain, but there was a lot of water on the runway. After touching down, the plane started to hydroplane and fishtail, according to an incident report released Wednesday. The pilot, Brian Landers, wrote in a sheriff's office statement that the plane left Charleston, S.C., destined for the Macon Downtown Airport with the Middle Georgia Regional Airport as an alternate. The plane flew through moderate rain and "received visual" into Macon Downtown Airport. The jet touched down and immediately hydroplaned, according to the statement. John Dewberry, the owner of the jet, wrote in his statement that the pilot "saved our lives." http://www.macon.com/2012/09/19/2182689/ntsb-starts-bibb-plane-crash- investigation.html Back to Top Pilot protest a blast from the past Those with long memories will recall that American Airlines has faced this type of protest from its pilots before. We're not talking about February 1999, the month of the famous sickout that caused thousands of American flights to be cancelled before a federal district judge ordered a stop and then slapped the Allied Pilots Association hard for not doing enough to stop it. We're talking about the winter of 1990-1991 when prolonged contract talks resulted in a bunch of late and cancelled flights over the 1990 Christmas holidays. On one day alone, Dec. 29, 1990, American had to cancel 389 flights, or about one in six scheduled flights. As now, the union denied that there was any orchestrated action going on as the number of pilots out sick climbed. As now, American responded by cutting back its schedule for a few months, in that case by 11 percent. American also obtained a temporary restraining order against the APA, which said it wasn't doing anything to promote a job action and said the problem was just weather, legitimately sick pilots and so forth. That was also the time of the infamous "AApology" ad, in which American apologized to passengers for the disruptions and blamed the pilots. In the newspaper ad, American blamed the "Airline Pilots Association," rather than the Allied Pilots Association. This time around, the APA appears to be proactive in distancing itself from whatever is going on. It sent out a press release Thursday blaming the rise in cancellations on the airline's old fleet of aircraft, furloughs of maintenance jobs and the closing of the Alliance maintenance base. (Of course, the airplanes were old before a judge allowed American on Sept. 4 to throw out the pilot contract, and the closing of Alliance and the reduction in in-house maintenance employees happens in the future.) There apparently are rumors out there that Friday will be a particularly bad day, to the point that the union is "robo-calling" its members with a message from APA vice president Tony Chapman. "There is no APA sanctioned activity on Friday," Chapman says on the recorded message, we're told. "If scheduled to fly, show up and just do your job." The 1990-1991 protest came after American and the union had been negotiating 14 months on a new contract. By contrast, Thursday marked the sixth anniversary of the beginning of talks between the airline and APA. http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2012/09/pilot-protest-a-blast-from-the-past.html/ Back to Top Nigeria: Airline Suspends Flights The country's biggest airline, Arik Air, suspended its domestic flights on Thursday in a dispute with unions, adding to the chaos in Nigeria's aviation industry. Arik's shutdown leaves Nigeria with only a handful of small airlines of uncertain reputation still operating. It follows the collapse this month of the country's other major airline, Air Nigeria, in a mountain of debt and unpaid salaries. Arik halted its flights as workers, including employees at Nigeria's aviation agencies, the airport authority and the meteorological office, went on strike over what an Aviation Ministry spokesman said were the company's unpaid bills to the government, amounting to more than $25 million. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/world/africa/nigeria-airline-suspends- flights.html?_r=0 Back to Top Back to Top ISASI News The 43rd Annual ISASI seminar was recently held in Baltimore, Maryland. The seminar was a great success. The Baltimore Waterfront Marriott Hotel provided the perfect place for the 370 delegates and companions. The week started off with a two track tutorial program. The tutorials were attended by over 120 delegates and were well received. The U. S. National Transportation Safety Board joined us and held four panels moderated by board members. The technical program was outstanding with 17 papers presented. The working group and society meetings were also well attended. The seminar was highlighted by three keynote speakers that each gave a superb speech. Mr. Curt Lewis received the Jerry Lederer Award and we had over 20 new members join during the seminar. Plans are underway for our next seminar that will be held in Vancouver, B.C. Canada from August 26-29, 2013. I hope to see you all there. Frank Del Gandio President, ISASI Back to Top WW2 flying ace Sir Douglas Bader endangered other pilots with his tactics Britain's most famous war time pilot, who lost both his legs in a crash, was an enthusiast for the so-called "Big wing" attack formation in which up to 60 aircraft swooped down on the enemy in a cluster. But the new film, while acknowledging his brilliance as a flier, said that his adherence to the technique endangered the lives of other pilots and slowed down the attack. Wing Commander Tom Neil, 93, who had 15 confirmed kills and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar, told the Times: "They always arrived after the action. "We would be arriving home with our tongues hanging out and we'd see these 60 aircraft in close formation coming overhead, going, 'Where is all the enemy?' Well, they'd all gone home." "They were claiming 20, 25, 30 aircraft shot down but as far as we were concerned no aircraft were shot down. The claims by Big Wing always seemed exaggerated." Large formations are said to be dangerous because of the risks of colliding with other aircraft while moving through the clouds. It also took too long to bring all the pilots into formation meaning that they missed all the action. "Big Wing was absolute nonsense," said another pilot. The pilots lent their expertise to Heroes of the Skies, a series of six hour-long programmes which began last night on Channel 5. Bader was able to persuade Air Vice-Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, who was in charge of defending the skies over the middle of England, that Big Wing would be a success. Their plans were opposed by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, who was in charge of defending London and the South East. Park successfully argued that smaller groups were able to engage more quickly, but after the Battle of Britain he was outmanoeuvred politically and lost his position to Leigh- Mallory. Sir Alan Smith, 95, Bader's wingman, defended Big Wing. "It was very logical and very sensible," he said. Sir Alan said that Bader, who scored at least 20 kills, was an inspirational figure regardless of the politics of Big Wing. "He was a marvellous leader, a brilliant pilot, a dead shot and everything you relished. "He didn't just save my life, he saved a hell of a lot of lives." Bader, who lost his legs in a crash before the war, was able to use his disability to his advantage in tight turns. While the g-force would cause able-bodied pilots to blackout as blood rushed from their heads to their legs, Bader, who had both legs amputated after a crash in 1931, could recover more quickly. Bader had to bail out over France in August 1941 and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. His story was told in the film Reach for the Sky. He died in 1982. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9557187/WW2-flying-ace-Sir-Douglas-Bader- endangered-other-pilots-with-his-tactics.html Back to Top Maggie Rizer Claims United Airlines "Killed" Her Dog; United Denies Wrongdoing Maggie Rizer's story is about as sad as it gets for a dog owner. The model is mourning her Golden Retriever Beatrice after the pooch passed away while riding in the cargo hold of a flight to San Francisco after Rizer's vacation with her husband and son in upstate New York. And Rizer blames "the negligence of United Airlines" for Bea's death, according to a post on her Bea Makes Three blog, which bluntly alleges that Bea "was killed" by the airline. Maggie and husband Alex Mehran welcomed son Alexander III last year Rizer states that 2-year-old Bea was in perfect health and that they had purchased special kennels and provisions for her and their other dog, Albert, for the cross-country flight. But when they arrived in San Francisco, she writes, a cargo worker bluntly told them that one of the dogs had died. They were then informed, when they asked for their dog's body, that Bea's remains had already been transported from the airport to a local vet for necropsy (an animal autopsy). "Whatever thread of trust remained between us and United broke and we then insisted that she be returned to us for our own autopsy...Over the next two hours the supervisor's lie unraveled as it became clear that Bea was right behind a closed door the whole time and he had been discussing how to handle the potential liability with his boss who had left and sticking to the divert and stall tactic that they had been taught," Rizer charges. United Airlines, meanwhile, said in a statement to E! News that they "understand that the loss of a beloved pet is difficult" and express their condolences to Rizer and her family. "After careful review," United continued, "we found there were no mechanical or operational issues with Bea's flight and also determined she was in a temperature- controlled environment for her entire journey. We would like to finalize the review but are unable until we receive a copy of the necropsy." Rizer writes that the necropsy performed by their longtime veterinarian determined that Bea died of heatstroke but they couldn't determine "exactly what happened" on the plane. E! has learned that the $1,800 that Rizer's family paid to transport both pets is being refunded and United also covered the cost of the necropsy. http://www.eonline.com/news/347642/maggie-rizer-claims-united-airlines-killed-her- dog-united-denies-wrongdoing 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