Flight Safety Information November 16, 2012 - No. 231 In This Issue F-22 fighter jet crashes in Florida Two die in Corning helicopter crash Thursday (New York) Woman with child drives on Phoenix airport runway Maker of Airport Body Scanners Suspected of Falsifying Software Tests Memphis airport security no longer will confiscate Elvis Presley snow globes ALTA: ALTA pushes IATA for small airline safety programme PROS IOSA Audit Experts End of an era as Airbus sells last two A340 jets Pilot supply a key long-term challenge for regional airlines PIA to be revamped with new aircraft Airbus: Passenger jets should use aircraft carrier-style catapults Boeing (BA) 737 MAX Airplane Passes 'Firm Concept' Milestone Helicopter lands hard after hitting power lines F-22 fighter jet crashes in Florida (CNN) -- WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An F-22 fighter jet crashed Thursday afternoon near Tyndall Air Force Base in the Florida panhandle. The pilot ejected safely, according to Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the U.S. Air Force. Tyndall AFB is a training base for F-22 pilots. There's no confirmation that the plane took off from Tyndall before the crash, but that would be logical, Dorrian said. The F-22 has been the focus of years of investigations about a problem that causes some of the stealth fighter's pilots to become dizzy or black out. The exact cause of the problem still hasn't been identified. Back to Top Two die in Corning helicopter crash Thursday (New York) Emergency responders work near the site of a helicopter crash near the Chemung River in Corning on Thursday. CORNING - Two men were killed in a helicopter crash near the Chemung River in the City of Corning on Thursday afternoon. City police said they received a 911 call about the crash was received at 12:09 p.m. The helicopter was being used by New York State Electric & Gas to inspect transmission lines, according to NYSEG spokesman Clay Ellis. "The helicopter is not owned by NYSEG. This is a contracted service," Ellis said. "We are cooperating with the authorities that are investigating the crash. NYSEG is deeply saddened by this tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and co-workers of the two men who were killed in today's crash." The name of the company that contracted with NYSEG was not available Thursday. The names of the two victims have also not yet been released. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating the accident. FAA spokesman Jim Peters confirmed that the helicopter was inspecting power lines when it crashed. An employee of World Kitchen on the south side of the river said the helicopter clipped a power line near their building first, knocking out electricity temporarily before it crashed along the dike on the opposite side of the Chemung River. "Our power went off three times and when that happens with our tanks, employees dropped everything and went running to get the tanks back on," said the employee, who asked not to be identified. "Employees upstairs thought it was something happening on our roof. They got really scared. it was really loud up here and the explosion was pretty loud. Brad Turner, assistant director of the Southeast Steuben Area Library, said the power outage went beyond World Kitchen. "Our lights went out momentarily and our computers went down," Turner said. "I was walking toward our building at the time. I didn't hear anything but there is construction going on nearby. The lights also went out at the Radisson." The dike where the helicopter crashed is near Corning-Painted Post East High School. Most school functions went on as normal Thursday but the school district did rush to assure parents that everyone at the school was OK, said school district spokesman Bill Cameron. "We immediately put a message on our website and got a message out to parents that we had received word of a possible aviation- related accident," Cameron said. "It was not on school property and all of our students and staff are safe. Our seniors have an open campus privilege. We closed that for the remainder of the day. Otherwise it did not affect operations." http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20121115/NEWS01/121115015/?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CBUSINESS ************ Date: 15-NOV-2012 Time: 12:09 p.m. Type: Hughes 369D Operator: Haverfield International Registration: N369AW C/n / msn: 470117D Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Corning, NY - United States of America Phase: En route Narrative: The helicopter was inspecting power lines, when it hit some lines. The helicopter crashed and was destroyed by fire. Both occupants died. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Woman with child drives on Phoenix airport runway PHOENIX (AP) - Police say a woman driving with a small child in her car crashed through a gate at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and drove on the runway. Sgt. Trent Crump says the woman rammed an airport gate around 10 p.m. Thursday and started crossing the runway. Police officers forced the car to stop after a few minutes and detained the driver. Crump says the driver and the child were not injured. He says that the woman may have been impaired but did not elaborate. Police say they're not aware of any flights being endangered, but airport operations were stopped for about 15 minutes because of the incident. Sky Harbor communications departments declined to release any details, saying only that all operations returned to normal shortly after a ''security incident.'' Police also declined to release any more information. Back to Top Maker of Airport Body Scanners Suspected of Falsifying Software Tests A company that supplies controversial passenger-screening machines for U.S. airports is under suspicion for possibly manipulating tests on privacy software designed to prevent the machines from producing graphic body images. The Transportation Security Administration sent a letter Nov. 9 to the parent company of Rapiscan, the maker of backscatter machines, requesting information about the testing of the software to determine if there was malfeasance. The machines use backscatter radiation to detect objects concealed beneath clothes. But after complaints from privacy groups and others that the machines produce graphic images of passenger's bodies, the government ordered the machines be outfitted with privacy software by June to replace the invasive images with more generic ones that simply show a chalk-like outline of a body. While L-3 Communications, the maker of another brand of scanners used in airports, successfully developed the privacy software for its machines, Rapiscan was having problems with its software, according to Bloomberg. The testing of the software, done earlier this year to determine if it met privacy requirements, was conducted by a third party, so it's not immediately clear how Rapiscan might have manipulated the tests. At a hearing on Thursday before the House Transportation Security Subcommittee, Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) asked John Sanders, assistant administrator for TSA's office of security capabilities, this very question. Sanders replied obliquely that "before [a test] gets underway, we might believe the system is on one configuration when it's not in that configuration." Sanders said that TSA has no evidence yet that the vendor did manipulate the tests, but is looking into the matter. "At this point we don't know what has occurred," Sanders said. "We are in contact with the vendor. We are working with them to get to the bottom of it." The vendor has denied any wrongdoing. "At no time did Rapiscan falsify test data or any information related to this technology or the test," Peter Kant, an executive vice president with the company, told Bloomberg. DHS has spent about $90 million replacing traditional magnetometers with the controversial body-scanning machines. Rapiscan has a contract to produce 500 machines for the TSA at a cost of about $180,000 each. The company could be fined and barred from participating in government contracts, or employees could face prison terms if it is found to have defrauded the government. It's not the first time Rapiscan has been at the center of testing problems with the machines. The company previously had problems with a "calculation error" in safety tests that showed the machines were emitting radiation levels that were 10 times higher than expected. It turned out the company's technicians weren't following protocol in conducting the tests. They were supposed to test radiation levels of machines in the field 10 times in a row, and then divide the results by 10 to produce an average radiation measurement. But the testers failed to divide the results by 10, producing false numbers. A recent Wired.com three-part series examined the constitutionality, effectiveness and health concerns of the scanners, which were never tested on mice or other biological equivalents to determine the scanners' health risks to humans. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/11/rapiscan-fraudulent-tests/ Back to Top Memphis airport security no longer will confiscate Elvis Presley snow globes Graceland souvenir dealers may be interested to know their plastic Elvis Presley snow globes no longer are subject to seizure by airport security. Thanks to a more common-sense approach, the 20 to 30 Elvis snow globes that go through passenger screening each month are now safe from confiscation by security officers at Memphis International Airport. Transportation Security Administration and Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority officials joined forces Thursday to preview the holiday travel season, highlight changes in screening procedures and show off an expanded B Checkpoint. Kevin McCarthy, TSA federal security director at Memphis, said the $8.5 million expansion of the airport's busiest checkpoint has relieved a strain on passengers and TSA officers alike and should mean smoother operation during the holiday push that begins Friday. John Greaud, airport vice president of operations, said the B Checkpoint expansion, more than two years in the making, is about 97 percent completed. It has space for up to eight screening lines, twice as many as before; it allows passengers to queue up inside the checkpoint, not spilling out into the terminal lobby; and it has natural light from clerestory windows in a raised roof structure featuring the airport's martini-glass design motif. For passengers leaving the airport, B Checkpoint added an escalator that leads down to baggage claim, bypassing the terminal lobby completely. The airport, which typically puts 8,000 to 10,000 people a day through three security checkpoints, expects peaks of 10,000 to 12,000 a day Wednesday and the Sunday after Thanksgiving, officials said. McCarthy said travelers should allow about 90 minutes to get checked in, through security and situated at their gates. TSA aims to keep screening waits to 20 minutes or less, he said. Travelers should know some rules haven't changed, like a prohibition on bottles with more than 3 ounces of liquids, gels or aerosols. But others have been relaxed as part of TSA's risk-based security initiative. Children 12 and under and people 75 and older face modified screening procedures, including not having to remove shoes and light jackets, McCarthy said. The "snow globe" rule, in effect for about two months, says such items that contain less than 3.4 ounces (roughly equal to or smaller than a tennis ball) can be stored inside a resealable one-quart plastic bag with other liquids and placed in carry-on luggage. TSA advises against putting wrapped gifts in carry-on luggage, because officers may have to unwrap them to check for threats. Food items such as cakes and pies can be carried on, but also may require closer inspection. The agency has a toll-free hotline, TSA Cares, at 855-787-2227, to provide information to passengers with disabilities and medical conditions. Information can also be found at tsa.gov. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/nov/15/memphis-airport-security-no-longer-will-elvis/ Back to Top ALTA: ALTA pushes IATA for small airline safety programme ALTA (Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association) Leaders of ALTA called on the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to create a set of safety standards for airlines not eligible for the organisation's existing IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) programme. Roberto Kriete, president of ALTA, says that, while accident rates in Latin America are declining, the fact that there is a subgroup of non-IOSA airlines, including those not eligible for the programme, with a rate four-times higher than IOSA member carriers is disturbing, during the opening session of the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum 2012 in Panama City. He calls on Tony Tyler, director general of IATA, and others to create such a programme for carriers that are ineligible due to their size or the type of aircraft that they fly. Tyler tells Airline Business that this is an issue around the world and that IATA is working to address the situation. IATA is looking to collaborate with other organisations who have a focus on smaller aircraft regarding developing a comparable IOSA programme, says the organisation. IATA would then be able to validate and endorse this standard. Speaking to Latin America's civil aviation authorities, Kriete says that countries should replicate the model set by Brazil, where IOSA participation is a requirement and not an option for airline certification. ALTA has a goal of reducing the accident rate of member airlines to that of those in the USA by 2014. Airport infrastructure and air traffic control are also concerns for ALTA. Kriete says that 30% of the airports in Latin America are "congested" and that the local aviation authorities have been slow to address capacity issues. He says that there are only 16 airport construction projects in the region while China, which also expects significant airline growth, has 94. "The surroundings that airlines operate [in] is not always optimal for airline operations," he says. Kriete says that air traffic control is still subject to gaps around the region and that many of the systems have not been upgraded with the latest technology. Fuel costs, regulatory harmonisation, airport concessions and the environment are also concerns for the region's airlines looking forward, he says. Latin American airlines have made significant strides during the past decade, despite these concerns. The number of city pairs connected to the rest of the world have increased to 953 from 687, low-cost carriers have boomed to about 50% of the market from a negligible market share, the average age of the fleet has decreased by more than four years and the region's carriers have grown considerably, says Kriete. http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/alta-alta-pushes-iata-for-small-airline-safety-programme-379088/ Back to Top Back to Top End of an era as Airbus sells last two A340 jets Nov 15 (Reuters) - Airbus announced the sale of two A340 passenger jets to a UK services company on Thursday, marking the final deliveries of its longest-range model but also one of its least profitable. The two A340-500s will be the last examples of the four-engined jetliner to be delivered brand-new from their French factory and had previously been earmarked for struggling Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines, industry sources say. Airbus has already halted production of the A340, which came out in 1993 just before changes in engine design and regulations allowed Boeing to develop its rival 777 with two engines instead of four, allowing airlines to fly many routes at a lower cost. Airbus said the 282-seat A340-500 aircraft, each with a range of 16,670 km (9,000 nautical miles), had been sold to AJW Capital Partners, an aviation services group based in the UK. They will be placed into commercial service with an unidentified airline early next year, it said in a statement. Airbus declined to comment on the background to the sale, but industry sources have previously said the only two A340s remaining for sale had orginally been built for Kingfisher. They were most recently listed by Airbus as waiting for delivery to unidentified private customers. Once considered Airbus's most glamorous jet, the slender A340 boasted "four engines for long-haul" and versions of the passenger plane once held records for endurance and the biggest passenger jet by fuselage length, both now held by Boeing. In its heyday, the A340 was feted when Virgin Atlantic boss Richard Branson asked the late Princess Diana to name one the "Lady in Red," but caused blushes at Airbus a decade later when another crashed into a concrete barrier during ground tests. More recently Airbus and even its rival Boeing have been buying A340s back from airlines as trade-ins to facilitate sales of more efficient two-engined aircraft. The only four-engined passenger jets left in their catalogues are the larger 525-seat Airbus A380 superjumbo and the latest 467-seat version of Boeing's jumbo jet, the 747-8. Halting production of the A340 will however benefit its smaller cousin, the A330, the European company's best-selling long-haul jet which generates significant cash for Airbus. Because both models share the same type of wing, engineers have found a way to improve the A330's performance by redesigning the place reserved for the A340s two extra engines. The changes are designed to gird the A330 for a new round in the perennial battle for sales between Airbus and Boeing as the U.S. company prepares to launch a stretched version of its 787 Dreamliner -- dubbed the "A330-300 killer" by Boeing supporters. Airbus insists the A330 has a solid future especially as a cross-regional jet within Asia, a fast-growing travel market. Back to Top Pilot supply a key long-term challenge for regional airlines The Regional Airline Assn. (RAA) has identified pilot supply as a key long-term challenge for growing the regional airline industry. Speaking at the SpeedNews 17th Annual Regional & Business Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference in Phoenix, RAA SVP- government affairs Faye Malarkey Black cited several constraints, including lack of financial aid, training capacity, increased rules and regulations, retirements/attrition, and declining pilot career perceptions. "My number one wish would be to increase the financing available for student pilots," Black said. She believes the lack of aid is making a pilot career the domain of the elite. Regional airlines continue to be a significant driver of traffic even though consolidation has considerably reduced their numbers in the US over the past 30 years. In 2011, six to seven airlines carried 90% of the traffic versus 100 airlines in 1980. In 2011, regional airlines in US carried 160.7 million passengers and accounted for about half of all of airline departures, providing the majority of flights at major hubs, an increase from 14.7 million passengers carried by regionals in 1980. Other future challenges include cost management, contracts, future aircraft to meet industry needs, and regulatory/policy issues. A short-term concern is sequestration (ATW Daily News, Aug. 13). Black said sequestration is still a large unknown for the regional airline industry. She conceded the FAA would suffer sizeable budget cuts, which could slow or stall NextGen and also impact ATC. The government would be pressured to increase revenues, which could lead to user fees. The RAA is working with industry and government stakeholders on aviation workforce issues. http://atwonline.com/operations-maintenance/news/pilot-supply-key-long-term-challenge-regional-airlines-1115 Back to Top PIA to be revamped with new aircraft LAHORE: PIA fleet would be revamped with the addition of modern and younger aircraft on lease. PIA Chairman and Secretary Defence Asif Yasin Malik expressed these views while addressing the airline cockpit, cabin crew and the aircraft engineers emphasised upon them that 'Passenger Most Important Person' may be given maximum travel facilitation. He said that he has accepted the responsibility with clear intent and a capacity to serve on sensitive appointment and high pressure jobs with administrative experience. He would be serving PIA in the best interest of the Passengers keeping in view his personal experience as a passenger with deep association with the airline. Keeping his allied assignments in place as Chairman PIA he would be devoting two days every week for improving the airline and would be visiting the head office. For direct communication and feed back from employees his email would be available for suggestions and information. Besides, a strong vigilance system is also being put in place so that wrong doings may be timely checked and systems may be made efficient. System and procedures are also underway for upgrading the passenger cabins of B-777 long haul international flights followed by the domestic flight cabins. Review of the scheduling system, rules of business for transparency and PIA pensions are also under review. Besides, lost luggage tracking system and a mobile ramp-side workshop for immediate repair of cabin are also being developed. PIA chairman said that it may take one year to address and resolve about 90 percent of the issues and problems being faced by the national flag carrier. Appreciating the Cockpit and Cabin Crew, Chairman PIA said that "you are the best in the region", while the Aircraft Engineers responsible for the safety of passengers were also performing well in keeping the old fleet of the airline safe and operational and hoped that they would be teaming up to turn around the airline. He informed that shortly PIA fleet would be revamped with the addition of modern and younger aircrafts on lease. The aircraft are being procured with absolute transparency by a committee; the bid opening process was also witnessed by the Transparency International Pakistan. http://paktribune.com/business/news/PIA-to-be-revamped-with-new-aircraft-10575.html Back to Top Airbus: Passenger jets should use aircraft carrier-style catapults Aircraft carriers have a really short runway, so to get the jets up to speed crews use special catapults to fling planes into the air. Now, Airbus is saying that we should be using similar technology with passenger jets, saving fuel while reducing noise for people who live near airports. . Accelerating a jet to takeoff speed uses tremendous quantities of fuel, with engines pushed to maximum thrust to get a plane off the ground before the runway ends. Even after it leaves the runway, a plane's engines still need to be on full-blast to get to a cruising altitude. This not only uses lots of fuel, but those maxed-out engines make lots of noise, and can disturb populated areas. . The proposed Airbus Eco-climb system would work a little differently from those steam catapults used on carriers, and would put the plane on a sled that travels along a track on the ground. The sled would be driven by electric induction motors, and coud get the plane up to takeoff speed in just 2/3 the distance of a regular takeoff. Once up to speed, the plane simply lifts up from the sled without turning a wheel, at which point the engines take over. . One big advantage the electric induction sled has over the steam catapult is that the acceleration force can be applied gradually, making for a smoother ride for the passengers. If properly applied, Airbus says that the maximum g-force during takeoff will be no higher than the 2.5 g that's currently typical. . Another big benefit of this rapid acceleration is that the takeoff speed will be higher, allowing the plane to climb out of the airport more rapidly. This reduces the jet's noise footprint, bothering fewer people on the ground. It also saves fuel, at a time when fuel costs are a major factor in the overall cost of flying. It also clears space over an airport so that more planes can operate. . Airbus figures the Eco-climb could deliver about a 3% fuel savings on a typical 560-mile flight. That might not sound like much, but the air carrier points out that once the system is widely adopted, future planes could be developed using smaller engines, resulting in greater savings. . This all sounds pretty cool, but I hope they don't plan to use those arrestor cables to slow the planes on landing. Those suckers can stop a plane so fast that your fillings might fall out. . http://dvice.com/archives/2012/11/airbus-says-pas.php . Back to Top Boeing (BA) 737 MAX Airplane Passes 'Firm Concept' Milestone (By Balaseshan) Aerospace giant Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) said its newest single-aisle airplane, the 737 MAX, has recently passed a major milestone in development known as 'firm concept'. . "The team has a firm plan in place to incorporate all the changes necessary to realize a 13 percent fuel-use reduction within the scope and schedule of the program," said Beverly Wyse, vice president and general manager 737 program. Fuel-use reduction changes include new LEAP-1B engines from CFM International, a redesigned tail cone and advanced technology winglets. Other changes allow these fuel-saving features to be integrated into the overall airplane design. . Boeing also decided to incorporate limited systems changes to the 737 MAX. These include an electronic bleed air system that will be supplied by Honeywell and large-format displays, supplied by Rockwell Collins, for the flight deck of the 737 MAX. . The 737 MAX flight deck will have four new large displays with significant growth capability while maintaining a common look-and-feel with the Next-Generation 737 display formats that preserves commonality with training across the 737 family. . The team also has defined the high-speed aerodynamic lines for the 737 MAX. Through analysis and testing conducted in high- and low-speed wind tunnels, the 737 MAX design team has further refined the geometric shape of the airplane, eliminating the need for the small bump on the nose-gear door that appeared in earlier design iterations. . With firm concept, the factory plan for the 737 MAX also has been defined. The factory plan includes a 737 MAX transition line where the initial 737 MAX airplanes will be assembled before integrating the new airplane into the existing 737 production lines in Renton, Washington. . "The 737 MAX remains on track for first delivery in 2017. Now we are focused on the finer details of the configuration and we are confident we'll be ready to begin detailed design in mid-2013," said Michael Teal, chief project engineer, 737 MAX. BA is trading up 0.65 percent at $71.75 on Thursday. The stock has been trading between $62.12 and $77.83 for the past 52 weeks. . http://www.istockanalyst.com/finance/story/6146189/boeing-ba-737-max-airplane-passes-firm-concept-milestone Back to Top Helicopter lands hard after hitting power lines . Bell 407 LANDER, Wyo. (AP) - An air ambulance has made a hard landing in rural Fremont County after hitting power lines. . Capt. Ryan Lee of the Fremont County Sheriff's Office says the 1996 Bell 407 helicopter was traveling from Casper to Riverton when it hit power lines about 43 miles east of Riverton. There were three people on board, none of them a medical patient. Only minor injuries were reported. . The pilot was able to land the helicopter despite significant damage. Lee says his department got the call at about 8 a.m. Thursday. . Technicians with High Plains Power were repairing the lines on Thursday afternoon. . The Sheriff's Office and federal officials will continue the accident investigation in coming days. Curt Lewis