Flight Safety Information October 05, 2012 - No. 202 In This Issue NTSB to Meet on 2011 Gulfstream Test-Flight Crash Virgin jet 'was never lost' (Australia) CAAN to Hire Foreign Experts to Improve Air Safety (Nepal) Taiwanese Air Force jet crashes in eastern France, killing pilot American Grounds 757s for Second Time GE Engine Failure Caused by Assembly Error PRISM Certification Support Boeing doubles 787 deliveries in the third quarter AOPA unveils Center to Advance the Pilot Community Delta flight makes emergency landing in Toronto after mechanical issue NTSB to Meet on 2011 Gulfstream Test-Flight Crash ________________________________________ WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a Board meeting to determine the probable cause of the crash of a Gulfstream G-650. On April 2, 2011, the experimental airplane crashed during a test flight in Roswell, N.M. The two pilots and two flight engineers on board were fatally injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. Event: Board Meeting Date/Time: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 9:30 a.m. (EDT) Location: NTSB Board Room and Conference Center 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, DC 20594 Participants: NTSB Board Members www.ntsb.gov Back to Top Virgin jet 'was never lost' (Australia) AIRSERVICES Australia has rejected claims that a Virgin Australia jet travelling between Sydney and Brisbane last week became invisible to radar for 30 minutes. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating an incident in which an aircraft's details were "inadvertently inhibited" for 30 minutes on September 28, producing a loss of separation assurance. Some reports have said this meant the plane was lost to radar, with one describing it as an "invisible projectile". is understood there was a change in the colour coding of the icon representing the plane but information such as altitude, direction and speed had still been displayed. "We reported the incident to the ATSB in accordance with our well established policies and procedures," an Airservices Australia spokesman said "The aircraft was never lost to Airservices air traffic controllers and continued to be displayed on air traffic control displays managing the airspace. "Additionally, our aviation system has multiple layers of safety mechanisms to ensure that serious incidents do not occur. Those defences include automated safety alerts in air traffic control systems and aircraft cockpits, and they all continued to operate." spokesman said he was unable to comment further because the incident was under investigation by the ATSB. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/aviation/virgin-jet-was-never-lost/story- e6frg95x-1226489105225 Back to Top CAAN to Hire Foreign Experts to Improve Air Safety (Nepal) Kathmandu, Oct. 5 -- The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal ( CAAN ) plans to hire foreign experts to improve safety and other aspects in the country's aviation sector. Speaking at a programme on addressing bird hazards at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport, CAAN Director General Tri Ratna Manandhar said, "A recent board meeting of CAAN has decided on this course of action." He added that CAAN was currently following the European Standards procedure for maintenance of aircraft. Meanwhile, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Post Bahadur Bogati said that the government had adopted a number of immediate measures to ensure safer skies. "We have planned to dispatch inspectors to some airports to study safety aspects," he said. Likewise, CAAN has directed airlines to maintain a single model fleet. It has given them until Dec 31 to fully enforce the system as per International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules. The directives will bar pilots from operating multiple types of aircraft. Minister Bogati said that the government had decided to hold an interaction with the people living around TIA to make them aware of environmental and bird hazards besides educating them on air movements and possible consequences. Immediately after the Sita Air crash on the banks of the Manohara River in Bhaktapur district, the cause of which has been suspected to be a bird hit, CAAN officials said that it was necessary to educate people on how birds are attracted to TIA and how that could be prevented. According to CAAN , the polluted Bagmati and Manohara rivers, paddy cultivation, trees and landfill sites which are situated within a 15-km radius of TIA have been attracting birds to the area. Officials said that when a bird weighing 3 kg slams into an aircraft at 150 km per hour, the impact is equivalent to being struck by a 1,800 kg hammer on an area of 1 sq ft. "The speed of a bird is equal to a missile when it hits an object from a negative direction," CAAN officials said. "Perhaps this will be the first deadly crash due to a bird strike if the fact-finding committee finds that as the cause of the mishap of Sita Air." The first bird hit happened to a Thai Airways Airbus A300 in October 1996. The second major bird strike happened to a Bangladesh Biman DC-10 on Sept 2, 2010. More than 70 bird strikes have been reported in Nepal since 1990. Most of them have occurred during take-off or landing, officials said. TIA has a 48 percent incidence of bird strikes compared to other airports. A CAAN report shows that there are 29 species of birds in the area around TIA. Among them, five are large types, 10 are medium sized and 24 small sized. The black kite is the major threat, and bird strikes happen mainly during the period September-October. Officials said that five bird strikes have been reported so far this year. http://www.aviationpros.com/news/10798969/caan-to-hire-foreign-experts-to-improve- air-safety Back to Top Taiwanese Air Force jet crashes in eastern France, killing pilot PARIS, FRANCE (BNO NEWS) -- A Taiwanese pilot was killed on Wednesday when a Taiwanese Air Force fighter jet crashed during a training mission in eastern France, officials in both countries said on Thursday. Taiwan immediately grounded all its Mirage fighter jets while an investigation is underway. The accident happened at around 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday when radio contact was lost with the Mirage 2000-5 aircraft as it was conducting training operations over Froideconche, a district approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Luxeuil-les-Bains airfield in eastern France. The Republic of China (Taiwan) Ministry of National Defense identified the pilot, who was killed in the accident, as 37-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Wang Tung-yi. He was an experienced pilot who had logged more than 1,300 hours of flight time in the Mirage 2000-5 aircraft and was just two months from completing a two-year training course in France. Froideconche Mayor Henri Passard told French media that Wang Tung-yi had managed to steer the aircraft away from a nearby residential area before the plane came down. The Mirage 2000-5 eventually crashed in a wooded area just 500 meters (0.3 mile) from a group of residential buildings. The cause of the accident was not immediately known, but the Taiwanese Air Force has grounded all its Mirage fighter jets until France has established the cause of the crash. The aircraft involved in Wednesday's accident was one of 60 Mirage 2000-5 planes which Taiwan purchased from a French aviation firm in 1992, a deal which upset Taiwan's bitter rival China. The last aircraft was delivered in 2001 and four of them have since crashed in separate accidents, leaving 56 of them in service. Back to Top American Grounds 757s for Second Time American Airlines Grounds Half of 757 Fleet Two days after American Airlines said it had inspected and discovered what caused rows of seats on three different passenger jets to come loose in flight and returned those planes to service, the troubled carrier is taking planes out of service for repairs once more. American Airlines will make repairs to 48 757s at their next stops, the airline said in a written statement. "American has instructed mechanics to pay particular attention to the seat lock plunger mechanism that secures the seat to the aircraft floor," American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said in the statement. "Mechanics have begun taking steps necessary to ensure that no seat can become dislodged from its track. The work is expected to be completed after the 48 affected aircraft land at their next destination. "Some select flights may be delayed or canceled in order to complete this work," the statement added. "We expect this work will be completed by Saturday, Oct 6. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this may cause with their travel plans. The safety of our customers and people as well as the reliability of our fleet, is always of utmost priority to American." The decision to perform the maintenance was a voluntary decision by the airline. The Federal Aviation Administration endorsed the move and says its investigation is ongoing. "The FAA is aware of American's decision to conduct further inspections on certain Boeing 757s and concurs with this step," the FAA's statement said. "Our safety investigation continues and we'll take additional action as appropriate." It's been a difficult few weeks for the bankrupt carrier, whose parent company filed for bankruptcy protection last year. See a timeline of American Airline's troubles. Almost 50 of American Airlines' fleet of Boeing 757s -- nearly half the fleet -- were taken out of service earlier this week after three incidents of seats becoming loose in flight. In one case, passengers flipped on to their backs. The airline said Tuesday the seats' saddle clamps were improperly installed on the planes where the seat rows disengaged. Many of those planes were put back in service. The first reported instance of seats becoming loose took place on Sept. 29 when seats came unbolted on flight 685 from Boston to Miami. The flight was diverted and made an emergency landing at JFK. A second incident took place on Monday. Flight 443 from JFK to Miami was returned to JFK without incident when the seats were discovered, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. Then on Tuesday, it was reported that a Sept. 26 American Airlines flight from Vail, Colo., to Dallas had a similar seat issues. The FAA said in a statement Tuesday it was looking into the first two incidents and that the airline's initial inspection of each aircraft had found other rows of seats that were not properly secured. "Preliminary information indicates that both aircraft had recently undergone maintenance during which the seats had been removed and re-installed," according to the FAA. The loose seats are just the latest in a series of troubles for American. The airline has suffered from heightened delays and cancellations in recent days. "It's going to take American some time to rebuild trust in terms of the reliability of the schedule," Henry Harteveldt, airline and travel analyst at Atmosphere Research Group told ABC News. AMR Corp., American Airlines' parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2011. The FAA has stepped up scrutiny of American during its bankruptcy, as it has in the past for other carriers in similar situations. http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/american-grounds-planes- maintenance/story?id=17400267 Back to Top GE Engine Failure Caused by Assembly Error (WSJ)General Electric Co. said the failure of an aircraft engine on a Boeing Co. in Shanghai was caused by an assembly error, adding a second source of concern about the company's newest engine. GE told aircraft operators to complete a one-time, hourlong inspection of its fleet of 120 GEnx engines in the next 90 days. The inspection will check whether a part that directs air into the rotating blades of the turbine was properly installed. The initial findings indicate that "a stage-one nozzle may have been improperly assembled and became dislodged," a spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board said. "Efforts are continuing to determine the reason for these observations." The problem is the second found by GE with the GEnx, which is fitted on Boeing's Dreamliner and 747s and whose design is at the heart of the company's coming generation of aircraft engines. The mishaps are a black eye for the world's largest jet- engine maker at a time when the aircraft market is booming and the battle among engine makers is fierce. these issues are "resolved relatively soon and decisively, they could cause some problems with customers refusing delivery of aircraft," said William Storey, president of Teal Group, a Fairfax, Va.-based research firm specializing in aerospace and defense. The outspoken chief executive of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, said this week he won't take delivery of its 787 on order until defects with the current engine are sorted out. A GE Aviation spokesman said no other customers had complained. Problems with the GEnx emerged in July during a ground test run of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in North Charleston, S.C. The NTSB traced the problems to the failure of a part called the fan midshaft. Broader inspections found another cracked fan midshaft in August on a 787 that had yet to fly. The incident in Shanghai, on Sept. 11, involved a Russia-based AirBridgeCargo Airlines 747-8 freighter that lost power in one of its four GE engines, forcing the takeoff to be aborted. No one has been injured in any of the incidents. GE stressed that all of its engines continue to fly and none was grounded. Some airline operators have already begun the newest round of testing, and no issues were discovered, GE said in a statement. GE isn't alone in having troubles with its new engines. Earlier this year, All Nippon Airways grounded several 787s after a problem with their Rolls-Royce PLC engines. Those problems were caused by corrosion in the gearboxes the resulted from changes to a manufacturing process. Back to Top Back to Top Boeing doubles 787 deliveries in the third quarter Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner aircraft stands on the tarmac at Manchester Airport in Manchester, northern England April 24, 2012. (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Thursday it doubled deliveries of its fuel-efficient 787 jets in the third quarter to 12, compared with six in the second quarter. Boeing is years behind its initial delivery schedule on the new light-weight, carbon- composite 787 aircraft after extensive development delays. The company declined to say how many of the 787s delivered in the quarter came from a group of previously produced jets that needed engineering changes after they left the factory. Boeing has produced more than 70 of its 787 jet and delivered 26, suggesting that 45 or more jets require the post-factory retrofitting, said Russell Solomon an analyst at Moody's Investors Service in New York. "When you do the math, there are 50-ish sitting there with some level of work that needs to be completed," he said. "We think most of those will get delivered next year. A few more from that group should be delivered this year." All of 787s delivered so far have been produced at Boeing's plant in Everett, Wash. Boeing is trying to speed up production to five 787s per month by year-end. The rate will include jets made at its plant in South Carolina. That factory is expected to deliver its first 787 from South Carolina on Friday, to Air IndiaAIN.UL. Overall, the company delivered 149 jets in the third quarter, down from 150 in the second, but up from 137 in the first quarter. Deliveries rose 17 percent from a year ago. Orders rose sharply in the latest quarter, hitting 404, compared with 36 in the second quarter. Orders for the new 737 MAX drove the increase, Boeing said. The company logged orders for 377 of the single-aisle 737 jets in the quarter, up from just three in the second quarter of 2012, and compared with 243 in the third quarter of 2011. Among the big buyers, United Airlines (UAL.N) ordered 100 of the 737 MAX planes, and Air Lease Corp (AL.N) and GE Capital Aviation Services (GEA.N) ordered 75 each. Virgin Australia Airlines (VAH.AX) ordered 23. Back to Top AOPA unveils Center to Advance the Pilot Community AOPA has launched the new Center to Advance the Pilot Community designed to arrest a decline in the pilot population that has been occurring for several decades. The center, led by Senior Vice President Adam Smith, will focus on projects that have clear, measurable outcomes. "The decline in the pilot population didn't happen overnight and reversing the downward trend requires a long-term commitment," said AOPA President Craig Fuller. "The Center's first few initiatives are just the beginning of what will become a much more robust and wide-reaching program that builds a community in which more people earn pilot certificates, pilots are more active, and the flying lifetime of pilots is extended." The first major initiative of the Center to Advance the Pilot Community will be to support the development of a network of flying clubs. Extensive research has shown that flying clubs are a valuable part of the aviation landscape and that the most effective ones help keep aviation affordable and accessible. They also create a supportive community that keeps pilots active and engaged. AOPA will work to promote flying clubs nationwide and provide the tools and resources clubs need to build on their own success and that of their members. As part of that effort, the center will develop a flying club network to strengthen the bonds among pilots and clubs nationwide with a goal to link 1,000 clubs in the next five years. AOPA will reveal comprehensive research on flying clubs and make available valuable, new resources at noon Pacific Daylight Time on Oct. 12 at AOPA Aviation Summit in Palm Springs, Calif. The center also will continue the work that AOPA began a couple of years ago with the Flight Training Student Retention Initiative. AOPA's detailed research found that as many as 80 percent of student pilots drop out of training without earning a certificate. Reducing the number of dropouts by as little as 10 percent could see thousands of new pilots entering the general aviation community each year. The center will now oversee projects including the Flight Training Excellence Awards, created to recognize flight schools and certificated flight instructors that provide top- notch training experiences. Through these awards, AOPA has identified the best CFIs and flight schools in the country. In the first year, AOPA received more than 2,400 nominations from satisfied students and customers. The winners of the first AOPA Flight Training Excellence Awards will be announced during Summit at a gathering on Oct. 10. The center also will be making available three Flight Training Field Guides designed to optimize the flight training experience for flight schools, instructors, and students. AOPA is pleased that Cessna Aircraft Co. will be distributing copies to each of its Cessna Pilot Centers across the world in an effort to encourage the customer experience concepts these books instill. "Turning around the decline in the pilot population is a tremendous challenge and our members and others in the community are looking to AOPA to provide leadership in this area. We have made the commitment to create the Center and are dedicated to sustaining and growing this effort in order to strengthen general aviation now and for future generations," said Fuller. http://www.aopa.org/training/articles/2012/121003center-to-help-stem-declining-pilot- population.html?CMP=News:S1RM Back to Top Delta flight makes emergency landing in Toronto after mechanical issue TORONTO (AP) - Authorities say a Delta Air Lines plane has made an emergency landing at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. A spokesman for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, which operates the airport, says a mechanical issue forced the plane to land just after 8 a.m. It wasn't immediately known where the aircraft was travelling or where it came from. No damage or injuries have been reported. Curt Lewis