Flight Safety Information November 27, 2012 - No. 237 In This Issue NTSB investigating fatal Corona helicopter explosion Passenger Alejandro Hurtado Arrested For Dynamite Joke At Miami Airport Instructors leave city, AI pilots left untrained (INDIA) Boeing 737NG Engine Drain Tube Swap Now Required By FAA Airlines get tougher with overweight passengers Landing Accidents and Runway Overruns - Video (From TSBC) Risk of collisions on runways - Video (From: TSBC) PROS IOSA Audit Experts NOTICE OF MEETING: ICAO Safety Information Protection Task Force Listening Session Emirates Airline Wants A Triple-Decker Jet That Seats 800 Passengers Billionaire Joins Quest for Boomless Supersonic Jets NASA Space shuttle-carrying jet lands for good Two space veterans named to yearlong station flight ISASI Forum Magazine: October-December 2012 NTSB investigating fatal Corona helicopter explosion CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were in the Inland Empire Monday inspecting remnants left from a deadly helicopter explosion. FAA officials have confirmed a pilot has died after a four-seat Robinson R-44 helicopter exploded into flames near the fuel pumps at the Corona Municipal Airport around 11 p.m. Sunday. Investigators said a blade from the chopper may have struck the canopy above the refuelling pumps and caused the accident. "We have two ear witnesses," said Howard Plagens, a NTSB Air Safety Investigator. "They heard the roller blades and motor turning and all of a sudden they heard it stop. They heard a bang and then they heard the explosion. " Investigators with the NTSB said a rotor from the chopper flew off and caused damage to a hanger about a hundred yards away. However, they are still trying to determine the exact cause of the accident. "We really don't know much," said Plagens. "We don't know if he was trying to get fuel, if he was coming to just go into a parking area, if he was stationary and just went up, we just don't know at this point." Investigators are trying to obtain surveillance video from cameras on top of a nearby hanger to hopefully shed some light on exactly what led to the accident. Pilots and aviation enthusiasts at the small airport came out to survey the scene. Although the identity of the pilot has not been released pending notification of kin, many say they are all family and accidents like this one are a grim reminder of the risks in aviation. Aircraft owner Kurt Norton says he always thinks about the level of risk associated with flying activity. "You feel for the family" said Norton. "You pray that you know they're able to accept the loss. It is a dangerous endeavor. It is a serious endeavour and there is loss of life." According to the Corona Municipal Airport's website, the airport operates from dawn to dusk and is strictly a recreational airport with no commercials flights. Investigators say at the time of the accident the area was very dark but plan on continuing their investigation and will be looking into all factors that may have played a part in the deadly fiery explosion. Back to Top Passenger Alejandro Hurtado Arrested For Dynamite Joke At Miami Airport MIAMI (AP) -- A concourse at Miami International Airport was partially evacuated after a man allegedly joked that he had dynamite in his luggage. Miami-Dade police say 63-year-old Alejandro Hurtado, of Guatemala, made the remark Monday when a TACA Airlines ticket agent asked if he was carrying any hazardous materials. Police say that when the agent told him he was calling police, Hurtado said he was only joking. Bomb squad officers responded and searched Hurtado's bag but found no explosives. Concourse J was partially evacuated. Hurtado was taken into custody and charged with falsely reporting a bomb at an airport. Airport officials say the investigation delayed one outgoing Avianca Airlines flight by an hour. Some arriving international arrivals were also delayed because of the evacuation. Back to Top Instructors leave city, AI pilots left untrained (INDIA) National carrier Air India's plan to operate Boeing 787, the fuel-efficient Dreamliner aircraft, on the Mumbai-London and Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney routes is not likely to take- off this year as pilot training for aircraft stopped abruptly on Wednesday. According to sources, six instructors sent by Boeing to provide line training to AI pilots left the city on Wednesday before completing the process. Line training a part of flight training, in which an instructor pilot occupies the co-pilot's seat and monitors the commander's flying skills. The stoppage of training has left at least 14 sets of 787 pilots unfit for flying along. "The Boeing instructors were hired for 600 man hours which roughly corresponds to 90 days. How could the airline let them off after barely a month?" said a senior commander, requesting anonymity. "The civil aviation minister had announced that these flights would start by November, but poor training management has delayed the operations," said another senior flight operation official. http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/Chunk-HT-UI-HomePage-CityNews- Mumbai/Instructors-leave-city-AI-pilots-left-untrained/Article1-964802.aspx Back to Top Boeing 737NG Engine Drain Tube Swap Now Required By FAA The FAA has ordered Boeing 737 Next Generation operators to replace engine strut fluid draining systems with updated assemblies designed to eliminate a wear problem that caused some tubes to fail, creating a fire hazard. The airworthiness directive (AD 2012-23-08), issued yesterday, gives operators until Dec. 31, 2017, to replace aft fairing drain tube assemblies and support clamps with improved parts designed by Boeing. The manufacturer recommends the repairs in a November 2011 service bulletin. The wear problem surfaced more than five years ago and was the subject of a 2008 FAA directive. However, Boeing soon discovered that the modified assemblies-tubes and supporting hardware installed inside the fairing running above and parallel to each engine's exhaust nozzle-were still causing wear, particularly around an area where a clamp meets the drain tube. Boeing reworked the fairing drain tube assembly to include integrated support clamps. The FAA estimates the cost of the work on the 1,098 U.S.-registered aircraft affected by the AD is $13,500. http://www.aviationweek.com/ Back to Top Airlines get tougher with overweight passengers As Americans travel this holiday season, with planes crowded and space tight, they may encounter a growing problem: oversized passengers who can't fit comfortably in a 17- inch-wide economy-class airplane seat. More than 30 percent of U.S. adults are categorized as obese, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards. And airlines have a variety of policies to deal with "passengers of size." Enforcement of the rules is left to ticket and gate agents and flight attendants, and policing can fall short, as it did recently for frequent flier Steve Lapin of Elkins Park. He was buckled into a window seat from Tampa to Philadelphia on Sept. 23, when a large man sat down in the middle seat next to him. Lapin could not lower the armrest between them, he said in an interview, and he spent the next two hours and 15 minutes "scrunched all the way over by the window." In the United States, there are no government regulations for accommodating overweight air travelers. It's left up to the airlines, which until recent years "didn't have clearly stated policies to deal with passengers of size. Now, they do," said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. More airlines are enforcing "customer of size" rules, which range from requiring such passengers to purchase additional seats to, in some cases, refusing to board them. "Keep in mind that these rules are observed on a case-by-case basis," Hobica said. Enforcement is up to individual airline employees, "and many may feel uncomfortable acting as the 'fat police.' " Coach seating - six seats across, in three-by-three arrangements - is skimpy for the average-sized, much less the large and tall, he said. "Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his heyday, probably didn't fit in a standard 17-inch coach seat," Hobica said. Meanwhile, airlines are packing more people onto planes, as jet fuel and other costs have risen, but seats in coach are not getting bigger. Although airline policies suggest that the person buying the ticket should know whether he or she can fit in the seat, some travelers have encountered humiliation at the gate or when boarding. Kenlie Tiggeman gained national attention in April 2011 after a Southwest Airlines gate agent told her she was "too fat to fly without an additional ticket." "He asked me what my weight was, what size clothes I wore. I was on the fourth leg of a Southwest flight," said Tiggeman, a New Orleans resident who blogs about weight loss on her website, AllTheWeigh.com. She weighed 284 pounds at the time. "I could put the armrest down and wear the seat belt." After informing the agent she had a weight-loss blog and was going to record him with her iPhone, he allowed her to get on the flight. Southwest contacted her the next day, apologized, and offered her a free flight voucher. Tiggeman flew several more times on Southwest without incident, and then last November when she checked in for a flight, she again was told she had to buy a second ticket. "My problem with Southwest is that they need to be consistent. On one flight, I don't have any trouble. On another flight, I have an issue," she said in an interview. "They need to take the power out of the hands of the gate agents. Make it the same policy every day. If they want our height and weight, fine," Tiggeman said. "I'd much rather give it via the Internet when I buy my ticket than at the gate." On the flip side are travelers who have had their personal space invaded by seatmates spilling over their seats onto the armrests. US Airways passenger Arthur Berkowitz said he had to stand for most of a seven-hour flight from Anchorage to Philadelphia in July 2011 because a man weighing at least 400 pounds was in the middle seat next to him. Berkowitz asked flight attendants about moving but was told there were no other seats. The airline later apologized and offered him a $200 voucher. At the time, Berkowitz said, his primary concern was safety - he could not use his seat belt during takeoff and landing because the man next to him was sitting on top of it. Berkowitz said in a recent e-mail that he had corresponded with the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Transportation, and the airline. "I tried a year ago. With the FAA and DOT and US Air. I'm done." Policies vary and change, according to Airfarewatchdog.com. Delta Air Lines does not require larger customers to buy extra seats, but may ask them to move or wait for another flight with more seating. Delta suggests that travelers purchase second seats if they think they are needed and can't wait for flights with empty seats. United Airlines requires that passengers fit in the seat with both armrests down; if not, they have to buy second seats. "Those who decline to do so or upgrade to larger seats risk being refused at the gate." US Airways says it "takes it case by case, offering extra space when available - and may require waiting for a later flight." Passengers who refuse to change flights may be required to purchase second seats at the gate, although the policy is rarely enforced. Southwest requires customers to buy second seats if they cannot fit between the armrests. Southwest will refund the cost of the extra seats - after the trip and if the flight was not oversold. Recently, Southwest revised its policy to say that passengers can get second seats free of charge at the gate. The airline recommends that passengers buy second seats in advance if they need extra room, but they can request refunds after the flight. US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher said: "Our first goal is to try to accommodate the customer on their originally scheduled flight, by moving seats, if necessary. If that doesn't work, we will offer a later flight. "It's rare," he said, "but if we need to compensate a volunteer to take another flight, in order to accommodate the person of size, then we will." Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/ Back to Top Landing Accidents and Runway Overruns - Video (From TSBC) Good morning, As important members of the aviation community, I am pleased to provide you with a short video about landing accidents and runway overruns. Advancing aviation safety is key to our work at the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. So too is informing industry of inherent risks and outstanding issues. To help raise awareness about transportation safety, we encourage you to share this video with your professional and social media networks, and to consider hosting it on your website. Runway overruns and landing accidents in Canada This video-the second of a nine-part series-touches on challenges faced by pilots, the environment in which they operate and some possible solutions. Because too many landing accidents and runway overruns continue to occur, we renewed our call for action by highlighting this issue on our updated Watchlist. If you'd like to hear more about aviation safety or other transportation safety issues, invite us to speak at an upcoming event or meeting by contacting outreach@bst- tsb.gc.ca. A DVD copy of the complete video series will also be available upon request. Thank you, Wendy A. Tadros Chair, Transportation Safety Board of Canada Back to Top Risk of collisions on runways - Video (From: TSBC) Good morning, I am pleased to provide you with the link to our second Watchlist video on aviation safety, which addresses the risk of collisions on Canadian runways. To help draw attention to this critical issue, I encourage you to share it with your professional and social media networks, and to consider hosting it on your website. Risk of collisions on runways In this video, we touch on the busy airport environment, common circumstances that lead to runway collisions and some possible fixes. Until better defenses are put into place to reduce the risk of collisions on runways, the TSB will continue to call for change through its Watchlist. Thank you, Wendy A. Tadros Chair, Transportation Safety Board of Canada Back to Top Back to Top NOTICE OF MEETING: ICAO Safety Information Protection Task Force Listening Session A working group of the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Safety Information Protection Task Force (SIP TF) will be holding a public listening session on 5 December 2012 in Washington, DC at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. Industry stakeholders, aviation accident victims' family groups, law enforcement, the judiciary, and members of the public are invited to present their views on topics currently under review by the SIP TF. This listening session is supported by the Flight Safety Foundation, the International Air & Transportation Safety Bar Association, the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on Air & Space Law, and the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section's Aviation and Space Law Committee. The purpose of the listening session is to assist the SIP TF in its efforts to (1) understand the needs and perspectives of interested groups and individuals, and (2) identify a sound basis on which to consider approaches to balancing the protection of safety information with the administration of justice, safety-related regulatory action, and the public's right to know. The session will be conducted in two separate parts. The first session will be a public discussion canvassing the views of members of the aviation bar on issues related to safety information protection in civil litigation, criminal prosecutions, regulatory actions, and related investigations. The focus of the discussion will be on the protection and use of safety information (accident information, including witness statements, cockpit voice recordings, voluntarily supplied incident reporting, etc.) in the courts, both in civil and criminal proceedings, and in the context of the Freedom of Information Act and other similar laws. Other areas of related interest to prosecutors, judges, defense and plaintiffs' lawyers, members of the insurance bar, and other legal professionals will also be considered. Some issues to be addressed during this session include: How do legal professionals use and protect safety information and data during investigations and trials? How do they view the importance of protecting safety information, particularly information gained from voluntary reporting programs? What are best practices for maintaining the confidentiality of safety data and information over the course of an accident investigation and hearing? If safety information is introduced in court, are suitable safeguards appropriate? How should the protection of safety information be balanced with the administration of justice? What are the problems and issues associated with accessing safety information in discovery and trials? Are national laws, advance arrangements, or law enforcement training programs needed to better safeguard the handling and use of safety information for non-safety related purposes (i.e., civil and criminal liability)? The second session will provide a private setting for victims' family members and victims' support groups to provide the SIP TF working group with their perspective on the issue of safety information protection. The focus of this session will include, but not be limited to: families' perspectives on whether to protect accident data and information (and if so, to what extent); recommendations for international standards to protect safety information; and other issues of interest to victims' loved ones. Details on the meeting are below: Date, Time: December 5, 2012 First Session: 9:00am-2:00pm Second Session: 2:00pm-5:00pm Location: L'Enfant Plaza Hotel 480 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, DC 20024 +1-866-920-7763 Each session will begin at the time noted above and will be moderated by the SIP TF Chair, Vice Chair, and/or other representatives of the ICAO SIP TF. Individual presentations to either session should be limited to brief (10-minute) remarks, which may be supplemented with written submissions. The insights gained from these sessions will be conveyed to the SIP TF and will be used to inform important aspects of the Task Force's work. The sessions will be held in English. Limited sleeping rooms are available at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel. Please contact the hotel directly at 1-800-635-5065 and reference IATS12. This listening session is supported by the Flight Safety Foundation, the International Air & Transportation Safety Bar Association, the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on Air & Space Law, and the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section's Aviation and Space Law Committee. To register or submit comments, please contact: Alison Agnew: alison.agnew@pillsburylaw.com. USA. +1 202-663-8010. http://flightsafety.org/notice-of-meeting-icao-safety-information-protection-task-force- listening-session Back to Top Emirates Airline Wants A Triple-Decker Jet That Seats 800 Passengers Emirates has 26 Airbus A380s, the largest passenger jet in the world. Emirates, the Dubai-based airline that owns 26 Airbus A380s, the largest passenger jet in the world, says it would be interested in an even larger plane, if someone built it. "I think the size we would look at right now is the treble aircraft configuration that goes from 500 to 800 passengers," Emirates Executive Vice President of Engineering and Operation Adel Al Redha told Arabian Business. Treble aircraft, meaning three levels. Emirates has already ordered 64 double-decker A380s in addition to the 26 in its fleet. At its maximum capacity, the "Superjumbo" has room for more than 800, using a single- class layout that comes at the expense of profitable business and first class tickets. It usually seats around 500. Why the interest in such an enormous aircraft? "It is always difficult to get slots in any international airport today...The only way to fill your need is to operate that kind of aircraft," Al Redha said. He noted that it's unlikely a triple-decker plane will arrive in the market in the next ten years. Among the many challenges would be finding runways long enough to allow such a large plane to land and take off, and finding a way to limit fuel consumed by the theoretical aircraft. http://www.businessinsider.com Back to Top Billionaire Joins Quest for Boomless Supersonic Jets Bombardier Inc.'s Global 7000 and 8000 jets retail for as much as $65 million. The largest corporate planes already cost almost as much as the smallest Boeing and Airbus SAS airliners, and can fly about 90 percent as fast as sound. Supersonic flight, a longtime dream for makers and owners of private planes, is inching closer to reality. Nine years after the last trip of the Concorde jetliner, the quest for speed without window-rattling sonic booms is spurring research by billionaire Robert Bass, General Dynamics Corp. (GD)'s Gulfstream, Boeing Co. (BA), Lockheed Martin Corp., the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and others. The efforts signal that the time may finally be nearing for corporate aircraft flying faster than sound, about 750 miles (1,207 kilometers) per hour at sea level. Technological leaps since the Concorde's development in the 1960s are converging with the willingness of globe-trotting chief executive officers to pay more for ever-bigger and longer-range jets. "Most all of the manufacturers have done size, have done luxury and opulence," said Andrew Hoy, a managing director at broker ExecuJet Aviation Group in Zurich. "Time is the biggest opportunity for them all and the only differentiator left." High operating costs and scant demand for the Concorde's premium fares forced its retirement in 2003 after 27 years in service. The 100-seat jets streaked from New York to London at twice the speed of sound, slicing travel times in half to about three hours. Planemakers took away a lesson in supersonic economics: It may be easier to find CEOs and wealthy individuals who crave faster corporate aircraft than to persuade airlines to invest in a Concorde successor. 'More Sense' "Given the amount of fuel you need to burn to achieve supersonic speeds, it's going to be a more expensive proposition that only a sliver of the market is going to pay the price for," said George Hamlin, president of Hamlin Transportation Consulting in Fairfax, Virginia. "When you're talking about a supersonic business jet, that begins to make more sense." The largest corporate planes already cost almost as much as the smallest Boeing and Airbus SAS airliners, and can fly about 90 percent as fast as sound. Gulfstream's G650 lists for $58.5 million. Bombardier Inc. (BBD/B)'s Global 7000 and 8000 jets retail for as much as $65 million. Warren Buffett's NetJets unit ordered 20 last year. The chief obstacle to supersonic flight is the same one that bedeviled the Concorde: the sonic boom. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration outlawed such flights by civilians over land in 1973 because of the noise, and other countries followed. FAA Rules Reversing that ban will be pivotal to any revival of supersonic travel, because the planes would lose their business case if they can't fly at top speed, according to Savannah, Georgia-based Gulfstream. "That requires a solution to the sonic boom problem, and that's where our research efforts are focused," Preston Henne, Gulfstream's senior vice president of engineering and test, said during an aviation conference in Orlando, Florida, on Oct. 29. "We continue to make progress on that." NASA expects to start building a demonstrator plane in 2016 to show that disruptive booms can be minimized, and that jet may fly after 2020, according to Peter Coen, chief of supersonic research. In an industry in which Boeing's Dreamliner took more than a decade to go from the Sonic Cruiser concept to first delivery, that's not a long-range timeline. "This is a high-value niche market; the winner here will be the first to market," said Brian Foley, an aviation consultant based in Sparta, New Jersey. "That's why there's interest and that's why there's motivation for these people to keep on trying." Risks Ahead Success for a new generation of planes is hardly assured, said Foley, who spent 20 years as marketing director at Dassault Aviation SA (AM)'s Falcon business-jet unit. No follow-on aircraft has emerged since Air France and British Airways parked their Concordes, which were grounded for more than a year after the 2000 crash in Paris that killed 113 people when one of the Air France jets struck runway debris. The planes slurped twice as much fuel as a Boeing 747 jumbo jet with only about a quarter of the passengers, and round-trip tickets in 2003 fetched as much as $13,500, then the sticker price on a Dodge Neon compact. While new designs and engines may tame the roar billowing from a supersonic jet in flight, engineers still must muffle the so-called focused boom, the sharp crack that occurs as a plane first goes past the sound barrier. Emissions and maintenance on high- performance engines also remain challenges. 'Magic Number' "It doesn't matter which manufacturer is working on it at the time, when you ask them when it's going to be a reality, they generally all say, 'Within 12 years,'" Foley said. "That seems to be the magic number. It doesn't matter if someone asks them in 1980, 1990 or 2000, there will be one within 12 years." Supersonic-flight boosters such as NASA's Coen see reason for optimism. Planemakers can employ more-powerful engines, use new materials such as the lightweight composites on Boeing's Dreamliner and draw on years of aeronautical knowledge from the Concorde's operations and from making supersonic warplanes. Gulfstream is experimenting with a telescoping rod protruding from a jet's nose to disrupt the sound waves that cause sonic booms. Bass, a co-founder of investment firm Oak Hill Capital Partners LP, has hired a NASA research jet to test a high-speed wing design from his Aerion Corp. Boeing and Lockheed (LMT) have devised supersonic concepts with slender fuselages and rear-mounted engines to damp drag that contributes to the noise. NASA is testing models as long as 3 feet (0.9 meter) in wind tunnels and studying nozzles from General Electric Co. (GE) and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (RR/) for future engines, Coen said. 'Pretty Close' "We were able to achieve both good aerodynamic elements and low sonic boom simultaneously," Coen said. "We think we're there or pretty close. That was a really exciting development over the past year." After holding public meetings on supersonic flight from 2008 through 2011, the FAA is shifting to gather data from NASA and industry groups as it weighs noise regulations. "Current research has demonstrated enough progress on reducing impact of sonic booms before they reach the ground for us to revisit this issue," the FAA said in an e-mailed response to questions. No new public sessions are scheduled. Bass's Aerion doesn't want to wait for any regulatory changes. The Reno, Nevada-based company has a low-drag wing design that it says will allow a jet to fly efficiently at subsonic speed over land and at as much as Mach 1.6, or 1.6 times the speed of sound, over the ocean. Aerion was in "deep discussions" on a planemaker partner to build the craft as the recession began in late 2007, Chief Operating Officer Douglas Nichols said. Before the economy tanked, Aerion had 50 commitments for an $80 million supersonic plane, Nichols said. Bass declined to comment on Aerion through a spokeswoman, Marcia Horowitz. "We have a thoroughly committed and patient investor who believes these things and is heavily involved in the business," Nichols said. "The next frontier is speed and the industry will get there sooner or later. Our wish is sooner." http://www.businessweek.com/ Back to Top NASA Space shuttle-carrying jet lands for good Houston, you have a space shuttle ... carrier aircraft. NASA's original jumbo jet, which was used to ferry the space shuttles around the country, has landed at Ellington Field in Houston, where it is to stay. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), often referred to using its tail number, NASA 905, was most recently used to fly space shuttle Endeavour to Los Angeles in September. The 747 jetliner was seen by millions of people as it made its way from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to California, where it performed a scenic flyover of the state with Endeavour riding piggyback. After Endeavour was offloaded, the SCA took off from Los Angeles International Airport, without fanfare, on what was reported to be its final flight: a 20 minute trip to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California. There, it was to join its sister SCA, NASA 911, as a parts donor for another of NASA's 747 jetliner- based programs, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). [Gallery: Ferry Flight in Photos] Then a flight plan was filed for Ellington Field. NASA 905 was flown to Houston on Oct. 24, just in time for it be on hand for the Wings Over Houston Air Show. The rumor on the flight line was that the public display was a preview of things to come. Static display The rumors were right. "SCA pilots Jeff Moultrie and Bill Rieke and long-time SCA flight engineer Henry Taylor from NASA's Johnson Space Center flew the modified Boeing 747 jetliner from Dryden to Ellington Airport in southeast Houston Oct. 24, where the big Boeing jet will be retired and eventually placed on public display," a statement on NASA's website confirmed this month. How, when and where NASA 905 will be exhibited is still to be announced -- if not also still to be decided. Houston was not awarded one of the retired flown shuttle orbiters that the SCA carried, but Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for Johnson Space Center, exhibits a full size, high-fidelity orbiter mockup. Regardless of the details, the decision to display the aircraft ensures its history will be preserved. An early-model 747-123 version, NASA 905 was the 86th 747 built, rolling out in 1970 and making its first flight on Oct. 15 of that year. After serving as a flagship jetliner for American Airlines for several years, the jumbo jet was acquired by Johnson Space Center in 1974 for use by the coming space shuttle program. Prior to its conversion into a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, the jetliner was the focus of several aeronautical research experiments conducted at Dryden (then known as NASA's Flight Research Center) including wake vortex turbulence studies that aided the Federal Aviation Administration in modifying airport approach-and-departure procedures for airplanes flying behind large commercial aircraft. NASA 905 then underwent significant structural changes and upgrades by Boeing in 1976, to prepare it for the role it would serve for the next 35 years. Modifications to the 747 included beefing up the aircraft structure, adding attach points for mounting the shuttle orbiter and installing a flight crew escape system. The latter consisted of an exit tunnel extending from the flight deck to the bottom of the fuselage and pyrotechnics to activate the hatch and cabin window release mechanisms. The additions also included vertical fins mounted at the ends of the horizontal stabilizer (tail) to aid stability when carrying a shuttle, upgraded engines, removal of most of the interior furnishings, and installation of shuttle-specific instrumentation. The converted jetliner then returned to Dryden to serve as a launch aircraft for the prototype shuttle orbiter Enterprise during NASA's Approach and Landing Test (ALT) program in 1977. The crew escape system was removed following the successful completion of the ALT program. [Final Voyage of Space Shuttle Enterprise (Photos)] Shuttle carrier NASA 905 was then modified again from ALT launch to ferry flight configuration, and flew four test flights before being placed into service to carry the shuttle orbiters. Although the primary function of the SCA was to transport the orbiters back to Kennedy Space Center from Dryden or other contingency landing sites, the aircraft also carried shuttles to and from Palmdale, Calif. for modifications and maintenance. NASA 905 also ferried the Enterprise for display at special events such as the Paris Air Show in France and the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans, La. NASA 905 flew 70 of the 87 ferry flights during the shuttle program's operational phase, including 46 of the 54 post-mission ferry flights from Dryden to Kennedy. After the orbiters were retired, NASA 905 flew three ferry missions in 2012 to deliver the shuttles Discovery, Enterprise, and Endeavour to the museums where they are currently on display. After delivering Endeavour to Los Angeles on Sept. 21, where the space shuttle was turned over to the California Science Center, NASA 905 returned to Dryden to end its service to the shuttle program. Flight-worthy During its 42-year flight career, both as a commercial jet and as a space shuttle carrier, SCA 905 amassed 11,017 flight hours and made 6,334 takeoffs and landings. Currently, the SCA remains in flyable condition. A decision on its future use or retirement is still pending. NASA's second Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, 911, was acquired from Japan Air Lines in 1989 and, after being modified for its new role, was delivered to NASA in late 1990. It was retired in early 2012 after 386 flights as a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, 66 of which were ferry flights with a space shuttle mounted on top its fuselage. NASA 911 is now parked at Dryden's Aircraft Operations Facility adjacent to Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif. It is now available as a source of potential spare parts to support NASA's SOFIA, a highly modified Boeing 747 that carries a 100-inch infrared telescope on science missions around the globe. Both SCAs were owned by Johnson Space Center, though they were based at Dryden during much of their service to NASA. www.space.com Back to Top Two space veterans named to yearlong station flight To collect data on how the human body reacts and adapts to the space environment, a NASA astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut will spend a full year aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly Astronaut Scott Kelly and Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, both veterans of long- duration space flights, will spend a full year aboard the International Space Station to help scientists learn more about how the body reacts and adapts to weightlessness and other aspects of the space environment. Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko The research is aimed at helping scientists and engineers develop possible countermeasures for future manned missions to deep space destinations including the moon, nearby asteroids and, eventually, Mars. "Congratulations to Scott and Mikhail on their selection for this important mission," William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space flight, said in a statement. "The one-year increment will expand the bounds of how we live and work in space and will increase our knowledge regarding the effects of microgravity on humans as we prepare for future missions beyond low-Earth orbit." The mission also could free up two seats aboard Russian Soyuz ferry craft for station visits by wealthy space tourists, providing needed cash to the Russian space program. The Russians launched eight "spaceflight participants" to the station between 2001 and 2008, including one who flew twice. Seven of those were considered space tourists, paying between $20 million and $50 million per flight. The flights were arranged by Space Adventures of Vienna, Va. Tourist flights have been on hold in recent years with all available Soyuz seats booked for professional astronauts and cosmonauts making up the station's six-member crew. In early October, however, NASA and the Russians announced plans for an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut to spend a full year aboard the space station, freeing up two Soyuz seats in the normal crew rotation matrix. Soprano Sarah Brightman announced on October 10 that she was booking a flight to the station through Space Adventures and Roscosmos, the Russian federal space agency. Russian space officials said late last week that a final decision is expected next year. If the flight is approved, Brightman likely would fly in the mid to late 2015 timeframe. "I have met her, she is all set to fly, but Roscosmos has not yet decided on it," Vladimir Popovkin, director of the Russian space agency, said in published accounts. "We have a range of possibilities, including sending young cosmonauts to fly. A final decision will be made in the first half of 2013." NASA did not announce when Kelly and Kornienko would begin their mission, but sources said earlier they likely will take off in March 2015 aboard the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft, accompanied by a Russian spacecraft commander who would stay aboard the lab for a normal six-month tour. Under that scenario, the next Soyuz in the rotation, TMA-17M, would launch with a three-person station crew the following May. The Soyuz after that, TMA-18M, would take off that September or October 2015 with a Russian commander and, perhaps, one or two space tourists. The spaceflight participants would spend about 10 days aboard the lab complex and return to Earth aboard the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft with the same commander that ferried the long-duration crew to orbit the previous March. The long-duration crew members would return to Earth in March 2016 aboard the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft with the commander who ferried the commercial fliers to orbit. Other scenarios are possible. NASA and Roscosmos have not yet specified how Kelly and Kornienko will fit into the crew rotation matrix. Kelly has spent 180 days in space during three earlier flights. He served as pilot of shuttle mission STS-103 in 1999 and as commander of STS-118 in 2007. He then served as a flight engineer aboard the space station during Expedition 25 in 2010 and as commander of Expedition 26 in 2011. His twin brother Mark, married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, also is a veteran shuttle commander. He retired from NASA last year. Kornienko served as a space station flight engineer during Expeditions 23 and 24 in 2010, logging more than 176 days in orbit. "Selection of the candidate for the one-year mission was thorough and difficult due to the number of suitable candidates from the cosmonaut corps," Popovkin said in the NASA statement. "We have chosen the most responsible, skilled and enthusiastic crew members to expand space exploration, and we have full confidence in them." While Kelly and Kornienko will set a new record for International Space Station crews, they will fall well short of the world record held by cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who spent 438 days aboard the Russian Mir space station in 1994 and 1995. The U.S. record for the longest single spaceflight is held by astronaut Michael Lopez- Alegria, who spent 215 days in space aboard the International Space Station in 2006-07. "We have gained new knowledge about the effects of spaceflight on the human body from the scientific research conducted on the space station, and it is the perfect time to test a one-year expedition aboard the orbital laboratory," Julie Robinson, space station program scientist, said when the yearlong flight was announced earlier this year. "What we will gain from this expedition will influence the way we structure our human research plans in the future." http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57554162-76/ Back to Top ISASI Forum - October-December 2012 http://www.isasi.org/docs/Forum-Oct-Dec-2012-1119.pdf Curt Lewis