Flight Safety Information November 5, 2012 - No. 222 In This Issue Safety Board Wins More Access to Flight Data NTSB to begin investigation into fatal APD helicopter crash AI crew claim flying rules were diluted by safety regulator Shaky finances rattle Nigeria's airline safety At least 6 people die in two Brazil airplane crashes PROS IOSA Audit Experts United launches first domestic Dreamliner flight One Pricey 'Civic': Honda Starts Production of $4.5 Million Airplane ERAU receives FAA funding for GPS study GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Safety Board Wins More Access to Flight Data By ANDY PASZTOR An American Airlines Boeing 757 overran the runway at Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming in December 2010. The National Transportation Safety Board is about to gain access to information from confidential incident reports that will expand its role as an air-safety watchdog, government and industry officials said, after the agency won a turf battle with the Federal Aviation Administration. The agreement worked out by the two agencies is expected to be announced shortly. It caps a nearly two-year fight by the safety board to move toward identifying and resolving broad aviation-safety concerns. Instead of focusing entirely on specific accident investigations as it has done for decades, the board has now persuaded the FAA and airline officials to share data distilled from voluntary reports of mistakes by pilots, mechanics and air-traffic controllers over the years. The shift, according to these officials, also will add to the board's clout and safety mandate by providing it with details of potential aviation hazards gleaned from routinely downloading flight-data recorders after airline flights. Voluntary reports by pilots and confidential flight data collected by the FAA have highlighted operational lapses over the years, and then they were used to fashion programs to improve safety. But until now, that extensive stash of information basically was off limits to the NTSB, an independent agency that traditionally focused on determining the causes of specific crashes or close calls. The impending agreement, however, for the first time gives the safety board legal standing to use portions of about three dozen databases to look beyond individual crashes and proactively start investigating safety trends, according to people familiar with the details. At least to some extent, the NTSB will be able to tap into data covering more than 90% of U.S. flights. Spokeswomen for the FAA and NTSB declined to comment, except to say that a formal agreement on data-sharing is close. Only last-minute questions from some labor groups could postpone a final decision. The change has been championed by Deborah Hersman, NTSB chairman, who wants to break new ground by having the safety board analyze hazards that may stretch over years and involve various federal policies, ultimately threatening commercial-aviation safety. With U.S. airline accident rates at record low levels, the board has significantly fewer airliner crashes to review than in the past. The board's broader agenda, Ms. Hersman has said, is to expand its purview "to identify safety issues before they result in fatal accidents." But the approach continues to be controversial. Critics argue the board's five, presidentially appointed members don't have a congressional mandate to act as regulators. FAA leaders, industry officials and union representatives also say they have worked to fine-tune the voluntary data-sharing system, partly by building trust through strict controls on distribution of the data. Critics of the NTSB worry that if some of the confidential data that have been gathered ends up going public, it could chill future voluntary reporting. Others skeptical of the NTSB's initiative fear the long-term fallout could erode overall safety. When it comes to protecting confidential safety data, "you don't realize how little protection we have today," attorney Kenneth Quinn, a partner in the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman who specializes in protecting voluntary safety data, told an industry conference last month. The legal and political debate over protecting such data was sparked when a BoeingBA - 1.05% 757 operated by AMR Corp.'s AAMRQ +0.26% American Airlines ran off the end of the runway while landing at Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming in December 2010. Nobody was hurt and the aircraft sustained only minor damage. But as part of its probe, the safety board asked to review data from large numbers of voluntary incident reports dealing with runway overruns at various locations. The request prompted immediate opposition from the FAA and industry. The result was a lengthy negotiation between NTSB officials and a committee of safety experts- representing the FAA, airlines and pilot-union leaders-responsible for safeguarding the data. Raw safety data still won't be turned over to the NTSB, according to people close to the discussions. But barring a last-minute hitch, the agreement will allow the safety board to ask for summaries or targeted analyses of portions of the coordinated databases. The arrangement envisions using such information as part of specific accident or incident investigation, and not "simply to launch fishing expeditions," according to one official involved in the negotiations. Several others familiar with the issue said a memorandum of understanding has been approved in principle by all sides, and only minor language changes need to be resolved. Final approval is expected this month. Months ago, the FAA, plane manufacturers and representatives of U.S. airlines signed a narrower agreement to share data with aviation safety officials from Latin American and the Caribbean. But under that arrangement, affecting only voluntary reports of flights by U.S. carriers in those areas, no data have yet been provided to the regional safety group, according to industry officials. The agreement hammered out by the NTSB gives the FAA, airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association, the largest pilot union in North America, unilateral authority to veto any data-sharing request. But discussions are continuing about the role of other unions that represent pilots at Southwest Airlines Co., LUV -0.22% cargo operator United Parcel Service Inc. UPS -0.57% and additional carriers. Without sign-off from these labor groups, whose members also supply voluntary reports to the overall data network, the impending agreement could face day-to-day challenges. Another issue still being discussed, according to industry officials, is the future makeup of the executive board that controls access to all the U.S. databases and will oversee dealings with the NTSB. The data are stored in computer systems set up by nonprofit Mitre Corp. Back to Top NTSB to begin investigation into fatal APD helicopter crash Two Atlanta police officers died late Saturday night after their police helicopter crashed while looking for a missing child. The crash happened just after 10:30 p.m. near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Hamilton E Holmes Drive, just south of Interstate 20. Probe into APD crash could take up to 9 months ATLANTA - A special investigation team should be in Atlanta Monday to look into a fatal helicopter crash that killed two officers from the Atlanta Police Department. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said they believe a collision with power poles caused the police helicopter to crash. They said that was based on witness statements and evidence near the intersection of Hamilton E Holmes Drive and Martin Luther King Junior Drive. "We do have evidence that the aircraft did strike the support cables of the tops of the poles, and about one half of the landing gear remained at the top of the pole," said NTSB investigator Ralph Hicks. Atlanta police said officers Richard Halford, 48, and Shawn Smiley, 40, were assisting in a search for a missing child when their mission was cut short. The child was later found safe. They were flying a Hughes OH-6A Light 4-Blade helicopter powered by a Rolls Royce turbo shaft engine. Hicks said the NTSB was putting together a team of specialists dealing with this specific helicopter. He said McDonnell Douglas supports the Hughes line and would be in Atlanta Monday. He also said an investigator with Rolls Royce engines would join the team. Channel 2's Carl Willis learned that a surveillance camera at a restaurant near the scene may have captured the incident. He also found witnesses at a nearby apartment building who watched the crash from beginning to tragic end. "I heard a boom, like a bomb, and I looked out the window and flames were everywhere," said Rebecca Horne. "It scared me so bad that I panicked, because I heard another pop and I just thought it was going to explode." Horne only had to look out of her living room window to see the devastating aftermath of the APD helicopter crash. She is just a short walk from the scene on Holmes Drive. As the flames burned out and dozens of officers rushed to the scene, Horne and her neighbors felt their way through the dark due to a power outage caused by the crash. Hicks said the cockpit and fuselage were consumed for the most part by a post-crash fire. He said all the major structural components have been accounted for. Investigators said they hadn't heard any witness statements that suggested there were any mechanical issues. They will work with APD to gather maintenance records for the helicopter. Investigators told Willis the aircraft did not have a cockpit voice recorder or a data recorder, but they will look for a GPS in hopes that it may have useful data. The NTSB will publish a preliminary report in the next few days, but its complete report could take six to nine months. Flags at the Atlanta Police Department's headquarters remain at half-staff to honor the fallen officers, both of whom were fathers. Halford, a 26-year veteran with APD, was a part of the air unit for 16 years. He left behind a 21-year-old daughter. "The loss of an officer is probably the most difficult thing a chief of police has to deal with. Magnify that twice and it's very difficult time, for not just me, but the entire Atlanta Police Department," Chief George Turner said. Smiley joined APD in 2010 and joined the air unit earlier this year. He left behind a wife and three small children. Trust funds have been set up to benefit the officers' families through any Wells Fargo bank location. Contributions may be made in the name of the officers beginning at noon on Monday. Funeral arrangements will be announced. http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ntsb-begin-investigation-fatal-apd-helicopter- cras/nSxWH/ Back to Top AI crew claim flying rules were diluted by safety regulator Air India's international fleet cabin crew has alleged that the country's aviation safety regulator is compromising passenger safety by diluting flight duty rules for pilots, including extending shifts and allowing crew numbers below the permissible limit. The All India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA) on October 18 served a notice to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a copy of which is available with HT, saying it has amended the flight duty rules framed by it to suit operational requirements of AI. The union claimed that the DGCA did not take any action against flight duty violations by the AI management, despite repeated complaints. The AICCA said the alteration in rules could compromise passenger safety and endanger lives. "Safety rules are framed to curb crew fatigue. If the regulator itself turns a blind eye towards violations, we are waiting for a disaster to happen," said a member of the association who did not wish to be named. The notice lists several alleged safety violations by the national carrier, which were reported from time to time through 33 letters and emails to the DGCA, but no action was taken. For instance, junior DGCA officials allegedly reduced the in-flight rest time for the crew from five hours to four hours. When the matter was reported to the DGCA chief, it was found that a middle-level officer had permitted this amendment to suit the AI's operational requirement, without the approval of the DGCA chief. Similarly, though the provision of bunk beds for crew on ultra long-haul flights (flights with duration of more than 10 hours) was mandatory, the airline stopped providing this service to crew operating the Boeing777-300ER aircraft. Again, no action was taken despite repeated complaints, the notice alleges. The AICCA also claimed that while the minimum crew requirement for on long haul flights is 16, the DGCA failed to take action against the airline for operating with a smaller crew. According to the notice, 95% of AI's international flights are operated with minimum crew, which has led to fatigue. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/AI-crew-claim-flying-rules-were- diluted-by-safety-regulator/Article1-954130.aspx Back to Top Shaky finances rattle Nigeria's airline safety LAGOS (Reuters) - Passengers arriving at Murtala Mohammed airport in Lagos could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into a refugee camp. In a big white tent a throng of people struggle with luggage in the sapping heat and humidity. In front of makeshift service counters they form something that might be a queue but looks more like a scrum. The only clue that this is one of the most important domestic air terminals serving Africa's second-biggest economy and top oil producer is that many wear business suits. Terminal Two, where Arik Air has operated out of a tent for a year while repair work goes on, is not the only evidence that Nigerian aviation is in chaos. In the last four months, Nigeria has seen a plane crash kill 163 people, the collapse of one of its main international airlines and a central bank order banning lenders from giving its main carriers more cash until they repay burgeoning debts. Documents obtained by Reuters from now defunct Air Nigeria suggest financial mismanagement was largely to blame for its collapse last month, though its owner Jimoh Ibrahim disagrees. Insiders say other airlines are also in dire financial straits, which could soon have grave consequences for air safety in a country that already has one of the world's worst records. 'Last flight to Abuja', a film about a plane crash caused by mechanical failure, is the longest running box office smash in 'Nollywood', Africa's answer to Hollywood and the world's third biggest film industry. film was eerily ready for release just days before a Dana Air flight from Abuja smashed into an apartment block in Lagos in June, killing 153 people on board and 10 more on the ground in the worst airline disaster in Nigeria for two decades, and the first major one for six years. An investigation into the causes has yet to be completed, though a preliminary report blamed dual engine failure. For some it simply added to the litany of misery in a country already reeling from Islamist insurgency in the north, massive oil theft and multi-billion- dollar corruption scandals. "I don't fly these days unless I really have to," said Dayosola Odunsi, 56, a businessman, after watching the film. "It raised important air-safety issues. But will anyone listen?" "FLYING COFFINS" Nigeria's government has long cherished ambitions of making Lagos a regional transport hub. When British billionaire Richard Branson set up domestic and international carrier Virgin Nigeria in 2000, that dream seemed within reach. Branson pulled out in 2010 in frustration at what he said was interference by corrupt politicians and regulators. Yet the economics that lured Virgin to Nigeria still look promising on paper; it has Africa's biggest population, economic growth of around 7 percent year after year, a growing middle class and a small but hugely wealthy elite. Lagos, the commercial hub, is about 330 miles (530 kilometres) from the political capital Abuja, and both are hundreds of miles from oil-producing regions in the southeast. Roads connecting them are poor. Many Nigerians, as well as foreign oil workers, bankers and other business people have little choice but to fly. Even with two major airlines suspended in the past four months, nearly 200 domestic flights a day cross Nigeria's skies. International carriers such as British Airways (ICAG.L) and Virgin Atlantic are making huge profits out of Nigeria. Yet two years after Branson's exit, the airline he created, rebranded Air Nigeria, closed last month. Ibrahim told Reuters he shut it down because of "unreliable staff". But former finance director John Nnorom says the company collapsed under about 35 billion naira of debt and could not even pay its staff. He thinks such financial woes are widespread and a real danger to air safety. "The aircraft we have in Nigeria are flying coffins," he told Reuters. "Many are too old. The ones that aren't are often poorly maintained," he continued, adding that he had tried to petition the aviation ministry after quitting Air Nigeria. "I told them, if nothing is done ... there will be a plane crash imminently. Days after my mail, Dana's plane crashed." John Obi, a spokesman for Aviation Minister Stella Oduah, admitted the Dana crash was a "wake-up call" but said safety standards now were more stringent than ever. "Safety is a process," he said. "We are working day and night to try and ensure Nigerian skies are safe. The Dana crash was tragic, but it was a reminder we still have work to do." FINANCIAL TURBULENCE Airlines the world over are suffering from high fuel costs and the weakness of the global economy, but small national flag carriers and private rivals in Africa also have to compete with global giants controlling 70 percent of traffic. A central bank document shows Nigeria's only other two major domestic carriers are deep in the red. The biggest, Arik, owes 85 billion naira to state-backed "bad bank" AMCON, set up in 2010 to stem a financial crisis. The other, Aero Contractors, owes AMCON 32.5 billion naira. Arik's director did not respond to a request to speak to Reuters, and other officials were not available to comment. All three airlines have one thing in common: ownership by powerful oligarchs, usually with core interests in other things. Ibrahim's Nicon investments is in everything from oil to hotels to insurance. Arik owner Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide has lucrative interests in oil and engineering. The super-rich Ibru family own Aero Contractors but also banks, deluxe hotels and newspapers. Nnorom accuses Ibrahim of running Air Nigeria like a personal slush fund, even diverting Air Nigeria's share of a 35 billion naira central bank emergency fund set up in 2010. Ibrahim denies this. He told Reuters Nnorom was a disgruntled employee whom he sacked for embezzling $100,000. Nnorom said it was a spurious, politically motivated accusation and the charges had been dropped. Nnorom showed Reuters a Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority letter explaining its decision to suspend Air Nigeria in June. The letter quotes a senior employee as saying "we owe virtually all outstation hotel bills, fuel money, handling charges, facility bills. We do not pay ... for fuel even at the hub here in Lagos. We never depart on time due to finance". It adds that the company struggles to pay night-stop allowances to staff and that key "service providers are withdrawing their services because we are not paying". "We sent aircraft for checks, but they came back due (to lack of) funds," the staff member adds. The authority concludes that such evidence plus Air Nigeria's "cash-and-carry mode of refuelling your aircraft were considered by the Authority as indicative of a situation of dire financial distress, which endangers safe operation". Ibrahim denies Air Nigeria's debt was his fault. He says it had $370 million of debt when he took it off Virgin and that there had been no impact on safety. He told Reuters he suspected the civil aviation authority suspension was political. "VANITY PROJECTS" Nnorom thinks airlines routinely lack money to pay for spare parts, maintenance, hangars or handling agents. Air Nigeria had 11 aircraft, 10 of which should not have been flying, he said. "We could not afford repairs or the changing of engines." A letter dated September 2010 sent by Air Nigeria to the managing director of United Bank for Africa in Lagos, provided by Nnorum, shows a request to transfer $27 million from the airline's account into the accounts of companies owned by Ibrahim's Nicon Group in Nigeria and Ghana. Nnorom listed another 6 billion naira worth of transfers he had recorded going from Air Nigeria into Nicon in 2010 and 2011. "He was taking money out of a company of which he owns only 50 percent and spending it like it was his money," Nnorom said. When shown the transfers, Ibrahim told Reuters it was above board and he only made them to Nicon to pay it back capital it had sunk into Air Nigeria, on which it had made a huge loss. Analysts say Nigeria's poorly run airlines reveal a failure by the private sector to make something of deregulation. "The systematic failure of Nigerian carriers to generate money in a conventional way, as successful companies, highlights something: airlines there have always been treated as a kind of vanity project," said Antony Goldman, head of PM Consulting. "The companies operating international flights to Nigeria on a commercial basis ... are making huge amounts of money." Aviation minister Oduah has also been criticised for her handling of the sector's various crises. Carriers like Ibrahim say her inexperience in the sector - she was in the haulage industry before President Goodluck Jonathan hired her - has led her to focus on the wrong things, like a slow, state-run renovation of the airport, instead of improving finance and tightening up safety standards. Two months after the Dana crash, she led a delegation to the United States, China and Canada on a "road show" to drum up foreign investment into aviation. Critics called it insensitive and a waste of money. Some officials refused to join her. Oduah's spokesman John Obi said critics were wrong to blame the sector's woes, especially safety, on her lack of experience. "When we had those with more technical experience, we had more crashes, so that argument doesn't hold any water," he said. He added that she was working with the central bank to try to extend cheap finance to the capital-intensive industry and import tax waivers that would help ease the airlines' distress. If, as industry officials say, the clock is ticking to the next disaster, she has no time to lose. Back to Top At least 6 people die in two Brazil airplane crashes At least six people died and a youngster was injured in two air accidents in Brazil over the past 24 hours, authorities of the western state of Mato Grosso and the southern state of Santa Catarina reported Saturday. The first crash, in which four people were killed, occurred Friday afternoon in the mountainous region of Chapada dos Guimaraes, at 65 kilometers (40 miles) from Cuiaba, the capital of Mato Grosso, a state bordering on Bolivia, municipal firefighters said. Aboard the twin-engine plane, the pilot and copilot were flying two engineers of the Mato Grosso Transport Secretariat who had supervised paving works in Confresa, at 1,160 kilometers (720 miles) from Cuiaba, and lost control of the aircraft while approaching the regional capital. In a similar accident on the coast of Santa Caterina state bordering on Argentina, a single-engine plane went down in the sea on Saturday near the beach of Taquarinhas in the city of Camboriu. According to state police, flying in the aircraft were the pilot, an adult and an 11-year- old boy, who was the only survivor and who was hospitalized but without serious injuries. Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/11/03/at-least-6-people-die-in- two-brazil-airplane-crashes/#ixzz2BM15RTpo Back to Top Back to Top United launches first domestic Dreamliner flight United Airlines flew the first domestic passenger flight using the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner on Sunday. The LA Times reports that the flight took off from Houston and landed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The Dreamliner is expected to start international service with United soon on daily flights from L.A. to Japan. United is among the top carriers flying out of Dayton International Airport. Parts for the airline and its engines are made in the Dayton region. Boeing reports that 23 local manufacturers are suppliers to it, and the most-common engine on the 787 is built by General Electric's GE Aviation, which makes tubes, ducts and manifolds for the jet engine at a factory in Dayton. Many Dayton-area residents also could be flying on the new aircraft as the region ranks 37th in the nation for growth in international air travelers. http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/blog/morning_call/2012/11/united-launches-first- domestic.html Back to Top One Pricey 'Civic': Honda Starts Production of $4.5 Million Airplane Honda said its production line will be able to turn out 80 planes in a year. For years people squawked about the roughly $80,000 price of the first-generation Acura NSX, an exotic sports car from Honda Motor Co. 7267.TO +1.22%'s luxury-car division. Who would pay so much for what is, in the end, "just a Honda?" Well, how does $4.5 million sound - for what some people call a Civic? Honda said its aircraft unit has begun production of the HondaJet, a twin-engine light jet aircraft designed for the business and personal-transport market. Some insiders have called the plane the Civic of the skies in part because it incorporates design and manufacturing techniques used to build the company's Civic economy car. In flipping the switch on its jet assembly line, Honda is marking another milestone on the way to FAA certification and delivery to customers. The jet, which has a number of unique design features, made its first flight in late 2010 and reached a top speed of 489 mph in testing early the following year. http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/11/05/one-pricey-civic-honda-starts- production-of-4-5-million-airplane/ Back to Top ERAU receives FAA funding for GPS study DAYTONA BEACH - A team of researchers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has received about $341,000 for a project that centers around using GPS-guided technology to land small airplanes at small airports. The project will help researchers evaluate different runway and lighting conditions at smaller airports and assess the feasibility of letting the global-positioning instruments guide small planes to lower altitudes in conditions of poor visibility. The project is funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and sponsored by the MITRE Corporation. Instrument-rated pilots from central Florida will conduct approaches and landings using a Level 6 Cessna flight simulator that can replicate low-visibility conditions. The research, led by Michael Wiggins, professor of aeronautical science, will take place at Embry-Riddle's campus in Daytona Beach next summer. The purpose of the research is to see if precision approaches normally used to land on longer runways can be used for landing at the shorter and narrower runways found at small airports. In the study, pilots of small planes will simulate GPS-guided approaches down to the minimum altitude they can fly to in poor visibility and land using various simulated runway and lighting conditions. Pilots for the project will be recruited beginning in the spring of 2013. http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20121104/NEWS/311049974?Title=ERAU- receives-FAA-funding-for-GPS-study Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY: My name is Steve Buckner, and I'm a Doctoral candidate at North Central University. I'm soliciting your participation in my research study by conducting a 5-10 minute survey. The topic of the dissertation is titled"Examination of Safety Management Systems and Aviation Technologies in theHelicopter Emergency Medical Services Industry". This anonymous survey examines the opinions and associations if any, of air medical rotor- and fixed-wing pilots with regard to their organization's safety culture, the support of safety by management, and use of technology to enhance operational safety. Link to survey is posted on the National Emergency Medical Service Pilot Association (NEMSPA) website http://www.nemspa.org/ or use direct link to survey: http://www.hostedsurvey.com/takesurvey.asp?c=NCUHEMS2012 If you have any questions, please email tnbuck1@msn.com or call 817-939-6496 Thanks in advance for your time and help in this research study Curt Lewis