Flight Safety Information November 2, 2012 - No. 221 In This Issue Dr. John K. Lauber will be the recipient of the 2012 Joseph T. Nall Safety Award US rehabilitates Israeli air safety, a lesson for Australia UK Military Aviation Authority tackles ageing aircraft challenge DHS contractor allegedly fixed an airplane with paper clips PROS IOSA Audit Experts New Wales air ambulance is 'most advanced in the UK' Arik, Lufthansa To Establish World-Class Aircraft Maintenance Facility Ethiopian Airlines Adds Three B787s With Long-Term Lease Agreement With ILFC Today in History:...The flight of the Spruce Goose Dr. John K. Lauber will be the recipient of the 2012 Joseph T. Nall Safety Award Dr. John K. Lauber will be the recipient of the 2012 Joseph T. Nall Safety Award presented annually by the International Air & Transportation Safety Bar Association (IATSBA), formerly the NTSB Bar Association. The presentation will occur the evening of December 6 at the historic Hay Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with this year's annual conference. Conference and registration details can be located at: http://www.iatsba.org/events John K. Lauber has led a distinguished career in aviation and safety-related positions, in particular. He served as Senior Vice President and Chief Product Safety Officer for Airbus SAS in Toulouse, France, until his retirement in January, 2008. Prior to that, Dr. Lauber was Vice President - Safety and Technical Affairs for Airbus North America in Washington, D.C., and Vice President-Training and Human Factors for Airbus Service Company. Prior to joining Airbus, he was Vice President - Corporate Safety and Compliance at Delta Air Lines. In 1985, Dr. Lauber was nominated by President Reagan and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for his first term as a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board. In 1990 he was re-nominated by President Bush and confirmed for a second term at the NTSB, where he served through 1994. Dr. Lauber also served as Chief of the Aeronautical Human Factors Research Office for the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California. While there, he was instrumental in the development of advanced flight crew training concepts such as Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT). These principles are now used by airlines around the world. From 1969 until 1972, he was a Research Psychologist at the U.S. Naval Training Devices Center in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Lauber holds a Ph.D. degree in neuropsychology from Ohio State University. He is a commercial pilot, with both airplane and helicopter ratings, and is type-rated in the B727 and the A320. http://www.iatsba.org/events Back to Top US rehabilitates Israeli air safety, a lesson for Australia Ben Sandilands The US Federal Aviation Agency's rehabilitation of Israel as a Level 1 state in relation to air safety ought to be read as the clearest of warnings to Australia to get its act together without delay. If Australia is busted down to Level 2, which on the evidence, it should be, the consequences include the prohibition under US law of code shares between Australian flag carriers and those of America. The managements of Qantas and Virgin Australia need to carefully consider what losing their respective code share deals with American Airlines and Delta would mean, and ask whether the craven acceptance of the dismal state of affairs in CASA, the ATSB and AirServices Australia is worth the damage such a downgrade would inflict on their shareholders, employees and commercial reputations. When Israel flouted its responsibilities and was busted for almost four years, it failed to lobby its way out of trouble, which was quite surprising. But as Wikileaks showed earlier this year, when Australia provisionally failed the necessary audits to retain Level 1 status, our lobbying efforts saved the day. Since then matters if judged by recent events, have gone backwards in CASA, the ATSB and AirServices Australia, and the risk of a safety downgrade and all of its commercial consequences should be treated (as it may already be in high places) as being severe and imminent. This is the FAA statement concerning Israel, released overnight: WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that Israel complies with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), based on the results of an October FAA review of Israel's civil aviation authority. Israel is now upgraded to Category 1 from the Category 2 safety rating the country received from the FAA in December 2008. Israel's civil aviation authority worked with the FAA on an action plan so that its safety oversight system fully complies with ICAO's standards and practices. A Category 1 rating means the country's civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards. A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority - equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters - is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures With the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Category 1 rating, Israeli air carriers can add flights and service to the United States and carry the code of U.S. carriers. With the Category 2 rating, Israeli air carriers were allowed to maintain existing service to the United States, but could not establish new services As part of the FAA's IASA program, the agency assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that operate or have applied to fly to the United States and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether or not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations In order to maintain a Category 1 rating, countries with air carriers that fly to the United States must adhere to the safety standards of ICAO, the United Nations' technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance. This is the situation in Australia, in terse form: CASA is accused in multiple places, including under parliamentary privilege before the Senate, of conspiring with the ATSB, to withhold vital safety information contrary to the provisions of the Transport Safety Information Act of 2003 in order to protect the reputation of operator Pel-Air in relation to the ditching of one of Westwind jets off Norfolk Island in 2009, in the final report into the crash published by the ATSB on 30 August. The ATSB has admitted that the report is not one it can be proud of, through its chief commissioner Martin Dolan, and the general manager, air safety investigations, Ian Sangston, deposed that he didn't even know what safety questions had been asked of the survivors, but signed off on a report that did not even say whether the safety equipment on the jet worked. (It didn't.) AirServices Australia has recently lost at least two airliners in Australian controlled airspace, and in the case of the Virgin Australia 737 that it lost track of for most of the way between Sydney and Brisbane, lied about to the media, and has not addressed evidence that the notification of the incident to the ATSB was so inaccurate in the first instance that it had to be amended after the fact. There are many more areas of administrative and competency failures, as regular readers of Plane Talking would be aware. The damage the situation in CASA, the ATSB and AirServices Australia can do to life, property and the economic interests of this country are considerable. They are conveniently ignored in the general media and public life. The inconvenience that will arise without determined and urgent corrective action cannot be understated. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2012/11/02/us-rehabilities-israeli-air-safety-a- lesson-for-australia/ Back to Top UK Military Aviation Authority tackles ageing aircraft challenge The UK's Military Aviation Authority (MAA) will establish a new model for managing the safety of the armed forces' aged aircraft fleets by year-end, as several Royal Air Forces' types near retirement. A new continuous air management model will come into effect by 31 December, which will provide "better understanding of 'tail' airworthiness" for all types down to the individual aircraft level, says Air Vice Marshal Martin Clark, the MAA's director (technical). The date coincides with the planned out-of-service date for the RAF's last Lockheed Martin C-130K tactical transports (below), and comes just months before the expected last use of its Vickers VC10 tankers and Lockheed TriStar tanker/transports. Decisions on whether to extend any currently targeted out-of-service dates will be taken only after balancing the risk and operational benefit of doing so, MAA officials said during the organisation's Military Air Safety conference in London in late October. The MAA was formed in April 2010, on the recommendation of the Haddon-Cave report into the loss of RAF British Aerospace Nimrod MR2 XV230 during a mid-air explosion over Afghanistan in September 2006. The investigation found that a new safety case written for the type in 2001 had failed to identify critical design flaws with its inflight refuelling system. Tasked with overseeing the air safety governance of in-service equipment and also for supporting the acceptance process for new platforms, the organisation has more than 200 staff. "This is meant to be a change in culture, not just ticking boxes," says MAA director general Air Marshal Timo Anderson. "We want to be best of breed - international." With full safety cases rewritten for legacy types, the MAA "can now assure the secretary of state [for defence] that kit is safe, or if there is a risk, he knows about it", says Royal Navy Admiral Simon Charlier, its director (operations). Meanwhile, a new Defence Aviation Error Management System, which involves the self- reporting of incidents under a "just culture" model is also being introduced, including with the Eurofighter Typhoon. "Picking up the near misses is pivotal to avoiding the catastrophes," Anderson notes. http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-military-aviation-authority-tackles-ageing- aircraft-challenge-378415/ Back to Top DHS contractor allegedly fixed an airplane with paper clips Jerry Edward Kuwata, formerly an executive at an airplane repair company with government contracts, pleaded guilty to "recklessly endangering the safety of aircraft," the Justice Department announced. Kuwata, a former executive with WECO Aerospace Systems Inc., concealed facts about repairs from customers and did not ensure that repairs were done according to Federal Aviation Administration regulations, said U.S Attorney Benjamin Wagner of the Eastern District of California. WECO's clients included the Homeland Security Department and the City of Los Angeles. "This conduct recklessly endangered the safety of aircraft that used the parts repaired by WECO," Wagner said. Airplane repair stations are required to use component maintenance manuals -- guides developed by aircraft manufacturers and approved by FAA -- to direct technicians through sanctioned repair procedures. Wagner said Kuwata "conspired with others to conceal facts," did not adhere to the proper CMMs specified by the manufacturers and falsely told customers that the repairs had been completed to federal regulations. Kuwata and several others were indicted in September 2011 on charges of fraudulent repairs. In one instance, WECO employees allegedly used paper clips instead of certified parts to fix an aircraft component and then told the customer that the repair was properly completed. "The indictment alleges that these defendants knowingly cut corners in repairing aircraft parts and concealed the fact that they were not complying with FAA regulations," Wagner said in September 2011. Two others have pleaded guilty in the case and charges remain against four more co- defendants. Though the actual sentencing will be done at a later date, Wagner said Kuwata faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised released. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon, and the investigation was undertaken by the inspector general for the Transportation Department, the FBI and IGs from the Defense and Homeland Security departments. http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2012/11/dhs-contractor-allegedly-fixed-airplane-paper- clips/59201/?oref=ng-HPriver Back to Top Back to Top New Wales air ambulance is 'most advanced in the UK' (BBC) A new air ambulance, described as "the most advanced in the UK," is coming into service in mid Wales. The new aircraft can fly at night and in bad weather, reach speeds of more than 150mph (241km/h), and replaces the current 20-year-old model. The helicopter is the last of Wales' three air ambulances to be upgraded after the charity raised an extra £600,000. A charity spokesman said it "belongs to the people of Wales". The aircraft, which comes into service on Friday, can reach Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, from its base in Welshpool, Powys, in 12 minutes. There is also more space for paramedics to treat patients, an additional seat for a doctor, nurse or a parent, and it has radar technology that can detect bad weather ahead. The air ambulance can also carry an incubator - a first for the Welsh fleet - so it can fly sick children all over Wales. Mark James, from the Wales Air Ambulance charity, said: "To be honest the paramedics are absolutely delighted with the aircraft. You can see they're running around like kids on Christmas morning. "This aircraft is the most advanced air ambulance currently flying in the UK. "It's brand new, it's straight off the production line and it's got all the bells and whistles on it." Flight operations manager Jason Williams it was a "privilege" to fly the new aircraft. "It's a phenomenal difference," he said. Cannot play media. You do not have the correct version of the flash player. Download the correct version "The speed of the aircraft is completely different. The avionics have got the new equipment that allows us to fly in worse conditions we wouldn't be flying in before." Mr James added: "The wording on the side [of the aircraft] - 'funded by the people of Wales' - has always been behind everything we've done. "It isn't our aircraft...it belongs to the people of Wales because they pay for it and if they didn't believe in what we were doing they wouldn't be paying for something like this." Back to Top Arik, Lufthansa To Establish World-Class Aircraft Maintenance Facility VENTURES AFRICA - Arik Air, West Africa's largest carrier, in conjunction with Lufthansa Technik plans to establish an international Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility that would attract businesses from different parts of the world. As disclosed by the Arik's Chairman, Joseph Arumemi Ikhide, at the airline's 6th year celebration, when completed, the MRO will be one of Lufthansa Technik's major business outside Hamburg, Germany. According to the Arik boss, the airline would be built in Nigeria to meet international standards, including that of the International Aviation Safety Assessment Program (IASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States. "The MRO we are setting up with Lufthansa is global. It is not strictly for Arik alone. I just want to make that one very clear. Lufthansa sent us to Malta; the base of Lufthansa is Hamburg, but they have this type of facility they want to build for us in Malta; they have in Budapest; they have in Asia. "What we made very clear to Lufthansa is that we want an MRO that will be global. Someone can come from Philippines, some can come from France, but one problem that we have, which I don't know, except government takes a very strong step; we are looking for NGs, Next Generation aircraft. We are thinking about the A330s; we are not thinking about B737=200. We won't maintain all that, but we may maintain B737=400," Arumemi Ikhide said. The MRO which will be built to carry out overall maintenance of New Generation aircraft will save Nigeria aviation companies lots of money as Nigeria aviation spend millions of Dollars every year to repair their aircraft overseas. The airline chairman also revealed that the facility is largely dependent on the support of government and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) while Lufthansa gave conditions that must be met by the Federal Government of Nigeria before the facility would be established. "Lufthansa set some conditions, which they feel the government must abide by. We have to work with NCAA and they have to keep it to IASA standards and FAA standards. So it is going to benefit the whole country. Arik itself will be a customer of that MRO so there is going to be a difference between Arik airline and the MRO." He said the project could be established from next year if all the conditions given by Lufthansa were met. "And then of course they are going to train Nigerians. There are international standards for all these things. I think we and NCAA will have to work hand in hand. We need government input and government approvals for it. It is better for all of us to key to it and educate the public. The MRO is a very important thing to our heart," he added. In a related development, the airline recently secure a credit facility amounting to $2 billion (361 billion naira) from international financiers to acquire new aircraft, including the Boeing B787 Dreamliner "They said that they wanted their money within seven years and Union Bank was to refinance it, which we all agree and we filled the form. Of course banking reform came and the new management in Union Bank came and said they don't want it and that was how they drove us to AMCON. So all these saying that we owe debts everywhere is just out of ignorance." "We too have engaged the services of Lloyd and Associate and they are looking at the value of Arik as we speak. We took Lloyd and Associate because of their experience and they are valuing Arik, our network, everything. When they come and bring the report then we now go down to the stock market and divest some percentage to the public. So there is no intention of somebody holding the company. If you hold it, life is very short...," he added. Arik Air, Nigeria's biggest airline, is a member of the International Air Transport Association, IATA. It was established on 30 October 2006, the airline began operation with four daily flights between Lagos and Abuja, using three brand new Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft; today with its 23 aircraft, the airline controls 65 percent of the domestic traffic. It has carried over 10.2 million passengers in its six years of operation. http://www.ventures-africa.com/2012/11/arik-partners-lufthansa-to-establish-world-class- aircraft-maintenance-facility/ Back to Top Ethiopian Airlines Adds Three B787s With Long-Term Lease Agreement With ILFC LOS ANGELES - International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG), announced today that Ethiopian Airlines, one of the fastest growing airlines in Africa, has agreed to lease three of Boeing's new Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft. "ILFC is proud to reinforce our partnership with Ethiopian Airlines by adding to their fleet the most advanced aircraft in the skies today - Boeing's Dreamliner," said ILFC Chief Executive Officer Henri Courpron. "Ethiopian is a proud airline with a history of success and commitment within Africa and international destinations around the world. We look forward to their continued success." Tewolde GebreMariam, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, said, "In line with vision 2025 strategic road maps, Ethiopian is scaling up its fast, profitable and sustainable growth. Being the first in Africa and third in the world to operate the 787 Dreamliner aircraft and being satisfied with the performance of the fleet in service, Ethiopian is pleased to bring the B787 fleet to thirteen by 2015. We value our partnership with ILFC." ILFC's Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa Colin Bole commented, "Africa presents a real opportunity for the aviation industry to expand and contribute to the growth and prosperity of the continent. ILFC is committed to partnering with the region's strategically minded airlines such as Ethiopian." Last year ILFC opened a full-service office in Amsterdam to support regional customers including those in Africa. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2015 and will carry GEnx-1B70/75 engines. ILFC is the largest customer for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with an order book of 74 aircraft. The 787 incorporates visionary technologies that provide environmental improvements together with enhanced fuel efficiency and passenger comfort. About Ethiopian Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing airline in Africa, made its maiden international flight to Cairo in 1946 and now the Airline provides dependable services to 70 international destinations spanning four continents. Ethiopian is proud to be a Star Alliance Member. The Star Alliance network is the leading global airline network offering customers convenient worldwide reach and a smoother travel experience. The Star Alliance network offers more than 21,555 daily flights to 1,356 airports in 193 countries. Ethiopian is a multi-award winner for its commitment and contributions towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry and in recognition of its distinguished long-haul operations enhanced by the introduction of new routes and products. Recently, Ethiopian won Gold in the African Airline of the Year 2011/2012 Awards organized by the African Aviation News Portal. Ethiopian also received the 2011 AFRAA award for being consistently profitable over the years and has won the "AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2011 Award" for its excellence in air cargo. Ethiopian also won the 2012 "African Airline of the Year Award" from Air Transport Quarterly Magazine. With its acquisition of and firm orders for several new modern fleets, the airline is well positioned to pursue aggressively the implementation of its 2025 strategic plan to become the leading Aviation group in Africa. www.ethiopianairlines.com About ILFC ILFC is the world's largest independent aircraft lessor measured by number of owned aircraft. ILFC's portfolio consists of over 1,000 owned or managed aircraft, as well as commitments to purchase 239 new high-demand, fuel-efficient aircraft and rights to purchase an additional 50 of such aircraft. www.ilfc.com http://nazret.com/blog/index.php/2012/11/01/ethiopia-ethiopian-airlines-leases-three- b787s Back to Top Today in History: The flight of the Spruce Goose Scott Harrison In 1947, the Senate War Investigating Committee called Howard Hughes to testify regarding government money spent on his H-4 Hercules experimental aircraft. During a break in the hearings, Hughes returned to Los Angeles to perform taxi test flights on the aircraft. The results of the Nov. 2, 1947, taxi tests were reported the next morning in a Page 1 Los Angeles Times story: Lifting gracefully from whitecapped waters into the teeth of an erratic 20-knot wind, Howard Hughes' $25,000,000 plywood flying boat yesterday took to the air and flew at 70 feet for a mile during its first taxi tests in Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor. Hughes was at the controls of the 400,000-pound plane when it took off midway in the third and final trial run before thousands of surprised spectators who jammed the shore line. Brought down on the choppy waters lightly, the behemoth was towed back to its moorings to await an abatement of the gusty winds that prevented redocking at Terminal Island. As he returned to shore, the Texan sportsman-pilot was grinning broadly and munching an apple. "I think the airplane is going to be fairly successful," Hughes commented. "When we got up to 95 m.p.h., I lowered the flaps to take-off position and it felt so good, I just took it off." The flyer said the eight 3,000-horsepower engines were turning up 2,200 revolutions per minute at the take-off, "but I throttled back to 1200 r.p.m. and she settled down like a feather at the end of the course." Men aboard the flying boat said the hull skipped from wave to wave when the speed increased and that a violent motion shook the cockpit. An engineer stationed in the plane's after section reported that the huge fuselage twisted with each wave. With a hollow booming of its hull, the huge plane began its test runs under the two inboard engines that pulled it to the Outer Harbor at 10 m.p.h. As the other engines were started, Hughes steered the craft through waves four feet high for the first water-borne trial from east to west. The brisk, gusty wind and choppy sea offered no apparent difficulties to the 219-foot-long plane as it made an initial run at an estimated 40 m.p.h. The gigantic winged boat maneuvered easily at the end of its first run in turning for a second thundering race at nearly 90 m.p.h. in the opposite direction. On the second sweep the ponderous hull lifted onto its step and completed the downwind taxi in a wide-flung spray of water. Hughes piloted the boat on a course roughly paralleling the shoreline from Terminal Island Navy Base to offshore from Pier A in Long Beach. An estimated 15,000 persons jammed beaches and piers along the course to watch the boat's trials... Hundreds of small boats ranging from fishing craft to row-boats swarmed waters adjacent to the taxing lane. A Coast Guard cutter stood by to warn spectators clear of the plane. In addition to the multimillionaire planemaker, 30 engineers, technicians and observers were aboard the plywood giant for its first movement under its own power. Acting as copilot was Dave Grant, Hughes' chief hydraulic engineer... After the flight Hughes was asked if he believed the test would have any effect on the attitude of Senate committee members toward his plane. "I think not," Hughes replied. "I don't think the committee is concerned whether the flying boat flies or not." The flyer is scheduled for an appearance Wednesday before the Senate committee investigating war contracts. Hughes' wartime contract for the construction of the huge plywood seaplane, under investigation by the committee, was under an $18,000,000 government contract handled by the Reconstruction Finance Corp. Hughes has put more than $7,000,000 of his own money into the project. Following the flight, the H-4 Hercules returned to its Terminal Island dock - never to fly again. Hughes built a custom climate-controlled building around the airplane. In 1980, the Spruce Goose was moved and put on display next to the Queen Mary. Today the aircraft is on display at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Ore. http://framework.latimes.com/2012/11/02/the-flight-of-the-spruce-goose/#/0 Curt Lewis