Flight Safety Information October 26, 2012 - No. 216 In This Issue FAA General Aviation Survey Diabetes Insulin Pumps Victims of Airport Security Airplane with engine trouble makes emergency landing at PBIA Jail term warning for shining laser pens at aircraft Safety concerns see 60% of North Sea's Super Pumas left grounded Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Accident (Nigeria) PROS IOSA Audit Experts Airbus targets 60 pct of narrowbody jet market Gulfstream Revenue Soars on Business Jet Orders Boeing expects demand for 7,200 new aircraft in North America through 2031 New USAF website for proactive safety Aviation Research Survey FAA General Aviation Survey Help the General Aviation Community by Taking the 2011 General Aviation Survey Today! The 34th annual General Aviation (GA) and Part 135 Activity Survey is well underway and still needs your help! There is one month left before the survey deadline, and we haven't reached our response goal yet. If you were invited to take the survey, please take some time to fill out and submit it by November 30th. By taking the GA Survey for calendar year 2011, you help the FAA measure the size and activity of the general aviation fleet and better understand how people use general aviation aircraft. The FAA uses the information collected in this survey to assess the impact of general aviation activities on the National Airspace System and determine the need for increased traffic facilities and services. It also allows the FAA to track the success of its safety initiatives, identify areas for improvement, focus its resources, and better serve the GA community. To take the survey online, please visit our website at www.aviationsurvey.org. The information provided will be used only for statistical purposes and will not be published or released in any form that would reveal specific information reported by an individually identifiable respondent. To learn more about the General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey, visit our FAQ site at www.aviationsurvey.org/faqs. For any questions, please contact us toll-free at 888.672.4493 or by email at InfoAviationSurvey@faa.gov. For the latest survey updates, follow the FAA on Facebook and Twitter (@FAANews). Back to Top Diabetes Insulin Pumps Victims of Airport Security A walk through airport security could prove to be more than a minor hassle for people with diabetes who have an insulin pump or sensor. A new report suggests insulin pumps and insulin sensors may be damaged when individuals wearing them go through a full-body scan at an airport. Is your insulin pump safe and secure? It's not enough you have to take off your shoes, belt, jewelry, and jackets when going through airport security, not to mention separating your laptop from its case and your toiletries into baggies. If you have diabetes, especially type 1, you already have to be prepared for anything when traveling, making sure you take your medication on time, closely monitor glucose levels, and being sure to eat at the proper times, get sufficient exercise, and manage stress. A new report in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics suggests people with diabetes who wear an insulin pump or a continuous glucose monitoring device may encounter a problem when going through a full-body scanning machine. The authors provide an example of a patient with type 1 diabetes and an insulin pump who was ordered to go through a full body scan even though she had a doctor's letter explaining the potential for pump damage if it was exposed to the scanner and requesting the patient have a pat-down instead. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners ignored the request, even though the patient had followed rules officially endorsed by the organization. She was told to go through the scanner and later reported the incident to the pump's manufacturer, who recommended she disconnect from the pump even though the company could not confirm the pump had been damaged. As the authors of the report note, insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring devices are at risk of electromagnetic malfunction if they are taken through imaging devices. More specifically, here is a list of diabetic medical devices and imaging equipment that may cause interference: Insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitors, continuous glucose monitor transmitters, and the iPro Recorder (from Medtronic) can be affected by computer-assisted tomography (CAT), x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and airport body scanners. All of these same medical devices are not affected by airport metal detectors To be safe, therefore, anyone who has any of these devices should opt out of full-body scans and request a pat-down or to be checked with a regular metal detector. Medtronic, for example, provides patients with Airport Security Guidelines which explain that their continuous glucose monitoring devices and pumps can be taken through metal detection but that both devices must be removed if patients go through a full-body scanner. The company also provides patients with information cards that can be shown to TSA screeners. Another pump manufacturer, Animas Corporation, recommends patients avoid exposing their pumps to x-rays and ask for a hand-wand inspection. Insulet Corp. has a pump system that uses a technology that makes it theoretically immune from electromagnetic problems. The possibility that going through airport security could impact and damage insulin pumps brings to mind another security issue regarding insulin pumps and other implanted medical devices. Numerous experts have been investigating the possibility that hackers can remotely infiltrate insulin pumps, pacemakers, and other healthcare technology, causing them to malfunction. So while advances in medical technology are helping improve the lives of individuals who have serious health issues, they also have the potential to makes those lives more complicated. For people who have insulin pumps or sensors, precautions should be taken when traveling to help ensure these critical medical devices don't become victims of airport security. SOURCE: Cornish A, Chase H. Peter. Navigating airport security with an insulin pump and/or sensor. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics 2012. doi:10.1089/dia.2012.0220 Back to Top Airplane with engine trouble makes emergency landing at PBIA A Spirit Airlines plane with a stuck throttle was forced to make an emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport this evening, authorities said. Spirit Airlines Flight 946 from Cartagena, Colombia, landed safely just before 5:30 p.m. after its crew reported engine trouble, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. The flight was en route to Fort Lauderdale when it was diverted to West Palm Beach. Beach County Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Patrick Thume said that the aircraft had a stuck throttle, but landed without incident. Spirit Airlines spokeswoman Misty Pinson said that 54 passengers and crew were on board. The airline is providing the passengers with transportation to the Fort Lauderdale airport, she said. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/airplane-with-engine-trouble-makes-emergency- landi/nSnxL/ Back to Top Jail term warning for shining laser pens at aircraft Police recently warned people in Northern Ireland not to shine lights at aircraft (BBC) A judge has warned that anyone who shines laser pens at aircraft faces the prospect of going to jail. Judge Kinney made his comment as he handed down a six-month suspended jail term to Michael Jackson, 26, from Island Street, east Belfast. He shone a green laser at a pilot in the police helicopter flying in the area on 17 August 2010. His sentence was suspended because he is a full-time carer for his mother-in-law and had pleaded guilty. "It is clear those who target aircraft in this dangerous and reckless way should expect to go to prison," said Judge Kinney. lawyer Ian Tannahill told Belfast Crown Court that during the incident the pilot was able to direct officers on the ground to where the light was coming from and officers arrested Jackson and found a laser pen during a search. Jackson later pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft. Mr Tannahill said it was an indication of how seriously such matters were taken by the Civil Aviation Authority that even though there may be no effect to a pilot's vision, they were not allowed to fly again until they had had their eyes tested. Defence lawyer Jonathan Brown said Jackson was well aware of the potential consequences of shining laser pens at people as since the incident, someone had shone such a light at him, leaving him "disorientated and dazzled" as he drove. He added that in this case, while the incident lasted 17 minutes, Jackson only shone the laser at the helicopter for a total of 37 seconds in "flashes" of one or two seconds at a time. As well as the suspended jail term, Judge Kinney ordered Jackson to pay the pilot £30 compensation, the price of the eye test he had to undergo Back to Top Safety concerns see 60% of North Sea's Super Pumas left grounded The Super Puma which ditched in the North Sea has returned to shore. SIXTY per cent of the North Sea's entire Super Puma fleet is to remain grounded indefinitely because of renewed safety concerns about the aircraft following Monday's dramatic ditching in the seas off Shetland, it was announced last night. The ban on fights will apply to all 16 EC225s - the model involved in the controlled ditchings since May of this year - and a number of the earlier versions of the Super Puma fitted with the same suspect gearbox component now linked to both major emergencies, The decision to impose the indefinite flight suspension, which could last for weeks, was welcomed by offshore union leaders who are calling for a flight ban until the source of a "potentially catastrophic design fault" can be identified in the wake of Monday's latest ditching of a Super Puma, operated by CHC helicopters. Concerns about the safety integrity of the Super Puma, manufactured by French aviation company Eurocopter,have intensified following the publication of special bulletin by the Government's Air Accident Investigation Branch which found that the ditching of the CHC-operated Super Puma EC225 was caused by a serious mechanical failure in the gear box of the North Sea workhorse. The failure is identical to the fault found in a Bond-operated Super Puma which ditched in the North Sea off Aberdeen in May In both incidents the main vertical gear shaft had suffered a complete 360 degree crack near a weld that joins two sections of the shaft. It was claimed six months ago that the faulty gearbox had been traced to a batch of only ten spare parts, one of which was supplied to Bond and used in the downed aircraft. But helicopter industry sources have told that the Scotsman that the gearbox at the centre of the latest ditching involving the CHC Super Puma was not included in the batch at the centre of the safety alert in May - a claim which has now been confirmed by Eurocopter.. Jake Molloy, the offshore organiser of the RMT union ,called for every Super Pima being used in North Sea crew change flights to to be suspended until assurances can be given to workers about the fundamental safety of the aircraft. A total of 86 helicopters of various types are used in the North Sea. Sixteen are EC225s and 13 are the earlier L2 version of the aircraft. Mr Molloy said: "We are deeply concerned. We were given assurances in May by Eurocopter that a manufacturing fault was associated with very small batch of shafts and that none of those were now in use. "Less than six months later exactly the same situation has happened again with a completely different shaft on an aircraft that was never on the list of those with a manufacturing fault. And that, to my mind, means we cannot be confident about any aircraft which has this type of vertical shaft in it. "Eurocopter assured us that this was manufacturing fault related to one specific batch. It now appears - on the face of it at least - that this is potentially a design fault and the blame lies fairly and squarely at the door of Eurocopter." He said that Monday's ditching could have ended in catastrophe. And Mr Molloy continued: "We don't want workers to be exposed to what is clealy now an inherent danger and could have ended in fatalities. It was only by the Grace of God that we had good weather when the Super Puma ditched. Richard Toome spokesman for BALPA, the pilots' union, also voiced his concerns about the latest revelations. He declared: "There is now growing concerns amongst pilots of the safety of this helicopter, as there is amongst the oil and gas workers who regularly fly in it. We question what EASA ( the European Aviation Safety Agency) and Eurocopter have done to ensure that the fault identified in May's incident has been rectified on all helicopters of this type. Whatever action has been put in place has clearly not been sufficient if the AAIB's initial investigation proves to be correct" Derek Sharples, Eurocopter's executive vice president in charge of support, confirmed that the CHC-operated Super Puma involved in Monday's emergency had not been include on the list of aircraft affected by the safety alert related to the May ditching. Mr Sharples said there was no "obvious" reason why there had been two ditchings involving Super Pumas since May - "At this stage I frankly think it was an unfortunate coincident." And he refuted the union claims that a potential design fault was to blame for the incidents. Said Mr Sharples: "We are fully confident in the safety of the product. It is safe by design. There is no fundamental design flaw - neither in the aircraft nor the procedures which apply to the aircraft. "My message to the passengers and the crew of these aircraft is that Eurocopter will not compromise on your safety. You can be confident in the aircraft. It is designed to be safe. " http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/safety-concerns-see-60-of-north-sea-s-super-pumas-left- grounded-1-2598749 Back to Top Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Accident (Nigeria) Date: 25-OCT-2012 Time: 05:30 p.m. Type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Operator: Taraba State Government Registration: 5N-BMJ C/n / msn: 208B2098 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Some hills near the Yola airport in Adamawa state - Nigeria Phase: En route Nature: Private Departure airport: Jalingo, Taraba State Destination airport: Yola in Adamawa State Narrative: Taraba State Governor, Dambaba Sutai earlier reported to have died in a plane crash is alive but critically injured along with five other occupants of the planed owned by the state government. The governor was said to be piloting the plane from Janlingo to Yola Airport when it crashed. The accident, according to the Spokesman of the Aviation Minister, Joe Obi involved a Cessna 208 which had six persons on board including the crew. The flight he said departed Jalingo, Taraba State for Yola and reported contact with the Yola Control Tower (1720Z) and field in sight at 38 miles estimating landing at 1730Z. Back to Top Back to Top Airbus targets 60 pct of narrowbody jet market PARIS Oct 25 (Reuters) - Airbus intends to keep a market share of 60 percent of narrowbody jetliner orders after a two-year, see-saw battle with Boeing in the largest segment of the global aircraft market, the European planemaker's sales chief said on Thursday. Airbus scored record sales of a revamped version of its A320 single-aisle jet last year after deciding to upgrade its engines, while Boeing has taken the lead this year with a similar fuel-efficient upgrade of its own 737 medium-haul jet. "We have two thirds of the backlog" for the revamped models, Airbus' John Leahy said. "I don't think we will keep that but I think we will keep a 60-40 split in the market." While Boeing is expected to beat Airbus in sales this year, the European company expects to come out slightly ahead when the two years are taken together, Leahy said. He expected total deliveries to be neck-and-neck at almost 600 planes each. The arrival of revamped models has triggered a fierce sales battle and talk of a price war as both planemakers try to stake out territory and back future airline winners. Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Ray Conner, recently promoted from sales chief, refused at an air show in July to be pinned down to a market share target, but industry sources say the U.S. firm is determined to fight for 50 percent. Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney said on Wednesday that price pressures were easing in the key narrowbody market. Leahy was speaking at the French-American Foundation in Paris after returning from Asia, where he clinched a $7.5 billion Singapore Airlines order on Wednesday. In remarks highlighting the rising importance of intermediaries, Leahy also said he was comfortable with leasing companies controlling about half of Airbus deliveries. "I think 50 percent is ok, I don't have a problem with that," Leahy said. "In 1994 or 1995 we sold about 124 planes and lessors were maybe 20-25 percent of the market. Our sales financing portfolio was billions of dollars, because we had to finance aircraft. "Right now, this year we might deliver 580 planes or so, close to 600, yet our sales financing portfolio is lower than in 1994-95 because someone else is picking up part of that." The leasing industry is a key part of the distribution system for planemakers. Airbus sells about a third of its planes to leasing companies, but some airlines sell their aircraft to lessors at the point of delivery and rent them back. Back to Top Gulfstream Revenue Soars on Business Jet Orders Certification of Gulfstream Aerospace's two newest products -- the large-cabin, mid-range G280 and the ultra high-speed, ultra-long-range flagship G650 -- helped boost the Savannah-based business jet manufacturer's revenues by 30 percent in the third quarter, even as parent company General Dynamics' earnings slipped 8 percent, company chairman and CEO Jay Johnson reported Wednesday. General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) posted third-quarter 2012 earnings of $600 million or $1.70 per share, compared to third quarter 2011 earnings of $665 and $1.83 per share. Company-wide operating margins were 11.4 percent compared to 12.7 percent in third quarter 2011. Third-quarter aerospace revenues were $1.8 billion in 2012, up $424 million from the same quarter last year. Operating earnings were up 20.3 percent to $261 million. Gulfstream's total order backlog was $16 billion, with $15.8 billion of that funded. "We continue to be encouraged by the size of our large-cabin backlog and the health of our order pipeline," Johnson told analysts during a morning conference call Wednesday. Sales were boosted by several multi-aircraft orders, with more expected in the fourth quarter, he said. "Overall, it was a very successful third quarter at Gulfstream, highlighted by the Federal Aviation Administration's certification of both the G280 and the G650," Johnson said. Revenues for the quarter topped $1.8 billion, due primarily to higher green G650 deliveries, he added. A green aircraft is one that has completed the initial phase of manufacturing and has received a certificate of airworthiness from the Federal Aviation Administration. It's called "green" because it's covered with a green protective coating that is washed off before the aircraft gets its final coat of paint. Green aircraft are delivered to one of five Gulfstream completion centers to be fitted with interiors and painted before final delivery to the customer. In a departure from recent years, domestic orders represented some 60 percent of Gulfstream's year-to-date book. "Gulfstream's sales staff reported their best order quarter of the year, driven by several multi-aircraft deals in North America," Johnson said. "This metric represents a resurgence of North American demand and some softening of international demand, driven by political uncertainty in some regions and the overall negative impact of the European debt crisis on global economic sentiment." Even so, Johnson said, Gulfstream's international customer interest remains healthy across the board. With an estimated wait time of five years for a G650 order placed today, and 18 months for a G450 and G550, the sales staff continued to book healthy orders for the G650 as well as all other models in the third quarter, he said. All three aircraft are manufactured in Savannah. "Looking to the fourth quarter, the Gulfstream team expects to see its strongest sales quarter of the year," Johnson said, adding that deliveries of the first G280s and G650s to customers are "just weeks away." Green deliveries for 2012 are projected to include 24 G650s, 80 G450 and G550 models and 15-20 mid-cabin models, Johnson said. GULFSTREAM BY THE NUMBERS 3Q 2011 3Q 2012 Revenues $1.41 billion $1.83 billion Operating earnings $217 million $261 million Operating margins 15.4 percent 14.2 percent Green deliveries 25 34 http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2012/10/25/gulfstream_revenue_soars_on_business_jet.htm Back to Top Boeing expects demand for 7,200 new aircraft in North America through 2031 TORONTO, CANADA (BNO NEWS) -- The fleet in North America is expected to grow by nearly 2,200 aircraft to 8,800 airplanes over the next two decades, and aircraft manufacturers could sell more than 7,200 aircraft as less efficient planes are likely to be replaced with newer versions, Boeing said on Thursday. The forecast shows single-aisle airplanes will account for the bulk of demand between 2011 and 2031. More than 900 new fuel-efficient single-aisle airplanes were ordered in 2011, and Boeing expects air carriers will require a total of 5,000 new single-aisle aircraft during the full period. Taking retirements of airplanes into account, this would raise the single-aisle fleet in North America from 3,730 last year to 6,090 in 2031. "The North American commercial aviation market is about to record a third consecutive year of profit, with modest passenger traffic growth," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The long-term outlook for the North American airline industry is approximately 3 percent annual traffic growth through the forecast period." Tinseth said the North American market, projected to be worth some $820 billion during this period, is shaped by aggressive growth of low-cost carriers and the need to replace aging airplanes in the fleets of established network carriers. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines have all recently announced plans to replace some of their older aircraft with more fuel-efficient airplanes. But the market for twin-aisle aircraft is also likely to see a significant expansion over the next two decades. Boeing expects the twin-aisle fleet in North America to expand from 1,030 twin-aisle aircraft last year to an estimated 1,740 twin-aisle aircraft in service by North American air carriers in 2031. This would give potential for aircraft manufacturers to sell up to 1,320 new aircraft. Driven by anticipated passenger traffic to Southwest Asia, China, the Middle East, Africa and South America, long-haul international traffic to and from North America is forecast to grow at an annual rate of approximately 5 percent. Passenger traffic between North America and those regions is forecast grow at or above 6 percent per year. Large airplanes such as the Boeing 747, however, are unlikely to see significant demand in North America over the next two decades. Boeing expects the fleet of large aircraft in North America will drop from 120 in 2011 to 110 in 2031. Taking the retirements of airplanes into account, the need for large aircraft in the region is unlikely to be more than 40 new planes. Back to Top New USAF website for proactive safety Greetings from the USAF Safety Center. We have just launched a new website dedicated to proactive aviation safety that may interest you. Here's the news release: http://www.afsec.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123323288 The pages contain a philosophical overview and descriptions of our three leading proactive programs (FOQA/ASAP/LOSA), plus an explanation of how they fit into human factors. Please take a minute to visit our pages. Click on the "Proactive Aviation Safety" icon on the right-side of the AFSEC website under Safety Center Links: http://www.afsec.af.mil/ Proactive Aviation Safety (MFOQA, ASAP, LOSA) HQ U.S. Air Force Safety Center (AFSEC) Kirtland AFB, NM Back to Top Aviation Research Survey This research, Impact on Aviation Safety due to Cultural Differences between East and West, is granted by National Science Council, Taiwan (101-2918-I-156-001). The main purpose of this research is to investigate pilots' perception on three key elements of Safety Culture, i.e., Just Culture, Reporting Culture, and Learning Culture, plus their opinions on Cultural differences between east and west in commercial aviation. Department of Tourism Information, Aletheia University Assistant Prof., Meng-Yuan Liao Survey Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDFDUF9JV1pheUxMcUVoSkEtZW92WFE6MQ Curt Lewis