Flight Safety Information December 4, 2012 - No. 242 In This Issue FAA Rolls Out New NexGen Feature In Colorado Probe ordered against two Jet pilots (India) Brazilian Officials Confront Accident Criminalization A Plane Burst Into Flames After Hitting A Deer On The Runway Another Saudi military aircraft crashed in less than 24 hours 32 People Were Killed When A Plane Crashed Into A Bar In The Congo Passenger indicted for punching, shattering JetBlue airplane window Feds warn pilots, truck and bus drivers about pot Age of pilot in Oklahoma State plane crash a cause for concern PROS IOSA Audit Experts Pilot-less Aircraft X-47B Makes Its First Catapult Take-Off [Video] Boeing Creates Jet-Development Unit T.S.A. Skips a Hearing on Terminating the T.S.A Business jet builders geared for expansion (China) Curt Lewis & Associates - On-Demand Professional Short Courses Offered 2013...CL&A SCHEDULE OF TRAINING COURSES AND LOCATIONS FAA Rolls Out New NexGen Feature In Colorado FAA and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Monday announced the activation of new NextGen technology that will help pilots address inclement weather around Montrose Regional Airport in western Colorado. The technology, known as Wide Area Multilateration (WAM), improves safety and efficiency by allowing air traffic controllers to track aircraft in mountainous areas that are outside radar coverage, FAA explained. The WAM deployment around Montrose is part of the Colorado Surveillance Project, which is a partnership between the FAA and CDOT, which began providing radar-like service to the mountain communities of Craig, Hayden, Steamboat Springs and Rifle in 2009. The FAA and State of Colorado expect to complete the project by deploying WAM around Durango, Gunnison and Telluride in summer 2013, FAA said. "This system will allow pilots to fly search and rescue missions in weather conditions that would have previously kept them grounded," said Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. "It also will support Colorado's tourism by enabling pilots to land in conditions that previously caused diversions or flight delays." "We are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiencies," said CDOT Aeronautics Division Director David Gordon. "Partnering with the FAA on applying this new and improved surveillance will translate into more efficient flight paths, saved time, reduced fuel burn and enhanced economic benefits to our mountain resort communities and airports." WAM is a NextGen technology that tracks aircraft using a network of small sensors deployed in remote areas. Aircraft transponders receive and send back signals to these sensors. System computers immediately analyze those signals and determine the aircraft's precise location. CDOT paid for the sensor site preparation and the system's equipment, power and telecommunications. The FAA maintains and operates the system. http://www.aviationnews.net/?do=headline&news_ID=212747 Back to Top Probe ordered against two Jet pilots (India) A government appointed independent panel on aviation safety has warned the aviation safety regulator to act on its pending complaint against two Jet Airways pilots allegedly caught fudging flight training records. The Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council (CASAC) set up after the Air India Express crash in May 2010 on Wednesday wrote to the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) expressing concern over the delay in action in the matter. The body also alleged that some DGCA officials were in collusion with the airline to suppress the issue. "If the DGCA fails to act against the violations, we will report the matter to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) during their safety standard inspection next month," said Captain Mohan Ranganathan, member, CASAC. HT had reported on the case on April 31 when the body had first complained about discrepancies in the training records. In the complaint CASAC had alleged that Captain PP Singh was operating flights without completing proficiency checks, a mandatory test to assess a pilot's basic flying twice a year. It also pressed for action against Captain SB Contractor who allegedly fudged training logbooks to show that Captain Singh had completed the checks. Although the airline had denied the allegation initially, the pilots were taken off roster soon after. http://www.hindustantimes.com/ Back to Top Brazilian Officials Confront Accident Criminalization Some Brazilian industry experts are convinced that criminalization will never improve aviation safety and they have been trying to persuade some the country's judges and prosecutors to accept this premise in the wake of contentious accidents such as the 2006 midair between an Embraer Legacy and an a Gol Airlines Boeing 737. A week-long course beginning on November 26 in the capital Brasilia focused on the pros and cons of criminalization before an audience of federal judges, prosecutors, aviation safety investigators and assorted military officers and lawyers. "It's a complex subject that can have criminal consequences to be considered by both the military courts and by the federal courts, and civil consequences as well," said STM minister José Coęlho Ferreira [a judge with Brazil's superior military tribunal-Ed.]. AIN asked Col. Wagner Celso da Souza, assistant to the Air Force Commandant's office, whether prosecutors and safety experts will ever see eye to eye. "There are divergent cultures," he responded. "Part of the court system needs to understand SIPAER [Brazil's aviation safety system], but the safety system also needs to understand the court systems' obligations. After all, it's the prosecutor's job to blame someone." STM minister and air force lieutenant general William de Oliveira Barros summarized the course's purpose as follows: "The purpose of this meeting is so you gentlemen know that, even though there has be an inquiry after an airplane accident, especially a fatal accident, you can't confuse one with the other. A safety investigation is not a criminal investigation." http://www.ainonline.com/ Back to Top A Plane Burst Into Flames After Hitting A Deer On The Runway A small Cessna 550 burst into flames after it collided with a deer while landing at the Greenwood County Airport in South Carolina on November 17. As the plane hit the runway, a deer ran out of the neighboring woods and was struck by the left wing. The collision caused the fuel in the tank to enter the engine, setting the jet on fire, according to local news channel WSPA. The preliminary NTSB accident report (accident number ERA13LA061) notes the two pilots were able to shut down the plane and escape without injury. www.businessinsider.com/ Back to Top Another Saudi military aircraft crashed in less than 24 hours RIYADH - A Hawk aircraft of Saudi Air Forces crashed during a training mission on Monday, but its pilot survived after using a parachute, Saudi News Agency reported. The accident occurred in less than 24 hours after the crash of a F15 jet of Royal Saudi Air Forces, the reported said quoting an official source at Defense Ministry. The Hawk aircraft, serving at King Faisal Air Base in northwestern region, crashed due to a technical glitch while approaching the runway, the source said. The pilot has been referred to a hospital, with no information of his condition released so far. The F15 jet was also on a training mission, with the pilot still missing. Two technical teams have been formed to investigate the two accidents. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-12/04/content_15982187.htm Back to Top 32 People Were Killed When A Plane Crashed Into A Bar In The Congo Red Cross workers search the wreckage of a cargo plane that crashed late on November 30 at Brazzaville airport as it was trying to land in a storm. A Congolese city morgue official on Sunday updated the death toll to 32, as the search continued for more bodies in the wreckage. (AFP) A Congolese city morgue official on Sunday updated the death toll from a cargo plane crash two days ago to 32, as the search continued for more bodies in the wreckage at Brazzaville airport. So far emergency workers had removed 32 bodies from the scene, 15 of whom had been identified, said the official. An earlier death toll from a hospital official put the total at 27. All seven people on board the plane were killed as the plane skidded off the runway as it came into land in stormy weather, demolishing several homes and a bar before crashing into a ravine. The other victims were those caught in the path of the crash, which left more than 30 others injured. Five of the people on board the plane were Armenians, a civil aviation official in Yereven said Saturday. Their foreign ministry said that the aircraft belonged to Armenian freight specialist airline Rij Airways. The Ilyushin plane, registered with local company Aero-services, was flying in from the western port city of Pointe Noire carrying cars and other goods. www.businessinsider.com/ Back to Top Passenger indicted for punching, shattering JetBlue airplane window A New Jersey man accused of punching and shattering a window on a JetBlue airplane as it departed Orlando last month is slated to be arraigned on a federal charge Tuesday. Robert Ramirez of Hackensack, N.J., was a passenger onboard a JetBlue flight that departed from Orlando International Airport on Nov. 2. But the aircraft had to return to the terminal shortly after pulling away from the gate because an irate Ramirez punched a window, federal authorities said. According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Ramirez was upset that he could not sit next to his mother. Members of the flight crew told Ramirez where to sit and soon after, Ramirez broke the window, causing it to detach from the wall of the aircraft. The flight was delayed for roughly one hour while a crew replaced the window. A federal grand jury in Orlando indicted Ramirez last week on a charge of destruction of an aircraft. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ Back to Top Feds warn pilots, truck and bus drivers about pot The U.S. Department of Transportation, in now-hear-this language, has warned that it will continue to test for drug use and make no allowance for those who say they are "recreational" users of marijuana - even in states that have legalized its use. The USDOT even used a favorite phrase - "perfectly clear" - of Richard Nixon, the president who launched the federal government's vast, costly and failed War on Drugs more than 40 years. "We want to make it perfectly clear that the (Washington and Colorado) state initiatives will have no bearing on the Department of Transportation's regulated drug testing program," said a notice from Jim L. Swart, head of DOT's Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance. "The Department of Transportation drug and alcohol testing regulation - 49 CFR Part 40 - does not authorize the use of Schedule 1 drugs, including marijuana, for any reason." According to the DOT, transformation workers in a variety of fields - "pilots, school bus drivers, truck drivers, train engineers, subway operators, aircraft maintenance personnel, transit fire-armed security personnel, ship captains and pipeline emergency response personnel" - are subject to both post-accident and random screening for drug and alcohol use. "Medical review officers will not verify a drug test as negative based upon learning that the employee used 'recreational marijuana' when states have passed 'recreational marijuana' initiatives," Swart wrote. "We also firmly reiterate that an MRO will not verify a drug test negative based upon information that a physician recommended that the employee use 'medical marijuana' when states have massed 'medical marijuana' initiatives." Washington and Colorado, which voted Nov. 6 to legalize recreational use of marijuana, have waited for reaction from the federal government. Marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I drug - the most severe classification - despite calls for change from Govs. Chris Gregoire of Washington and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Gregoire talked with the Dept. of Justice about Initiative 502 - which legalizes, regulates and taxes growing and sale of pot to adults - but has not commented on her discussions. The Department of Transportation notice is the first hard-line response to come from Washington, D.C., bureaucrats. "It remains unacceptable for any safety-sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation's drug testing regulations to use marijuana," said the notice from DOT's Swart. "We want to assure the traveling public that our transportation system is the safest it can possibly be." I-502 passed by a substantial margin in the November election. It carried areas from populous, liberal King County to conservative rural counties in northeast Washington. Two ex-U.S. attorneys, John McKay and Kate Pflaumer, and Seattle's former FBI agent- in-chief Charles Mandigo, spoke strongly for the initiative. http://blog.seattlepi.com/ Back to Top Age of pilot in Oklahoma State plane crash a cause for concern, expert says Following Oklahoma State University's overhaul of the university's travel policy, an aviation expert said Monday he would have reservations about allowing an 82-year-old pilot to fly a private plane on university business. STILLWATER - Oklahoma State University's new travel policy requires that a consultant pass judgment on private aircraft and pilots used by the school. One such consultant expressed reservations Monday about allowing an 82-year-old man to fly a plane on university business as was the case in a Nov. 17, 2011, crash that killed four people, including two OSU coaches. Kirk Koenig, president of the Indianapolis-based firm Expert Aviation Consulting, said flights like the one that crashed have relatively little federal oversight. The single-engine Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee aircraft crashed into the mountains of central Arkansas, killing pilot Olin Branstetter, 82; women's basketball coach Kurt Budke, assistant coach Miranda Serna and Branstetter's wife, Paula. Federal officials haven't determined the cause of the crash. National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Terry Williams said the agency expects to release an accident report early next year. There's no specific age at which a pilot would be considered unfit to fly, Koenig said, but when a pilot the age of Branstetter flies a small aircraft, it could raise concerns. Koenig said federal law requires commercial pilots to retire at age 65. As a private pilot, Branstetter wouldn't have fallen under that provision. Federal restrictions tend to be more lax regarding private pilots than for charter or airline pilots. Unlike commercial airline pilots, private pilots generally don't risk the safety of hundreds of passengers. Most private pilots act responsibly, he said, since they put themselves at risk when they don't. "Worst-case scenario, you're generally killing yourself," Koenig said. "And most people generally have self-preservation as their No. 1 issue." Koenig said the age of Branstetter's plane, built in 1964, would have been less of a concern. If a plane receives proper maintenance, it could be airworthy for decades, he said. OSU's new travel policy tightens restrictions for all university faculty and staff, including student employees, who travel on university business. The new policy requires that a university aviation consultant approve all private aircraft that would be used for university business, as well as the pilots who would fly them. OSU officials said they overhauled the policy as a result of the crash, but didn't tailor it to the specific facts of the accident. Officials wouldn't speculate as to whether last year's fatal flight would have taken off had the new policy been in force. However, both Branstetter and the plane would have had to receive approval from an aviation consultant before flying. Another aviation consultant said he isn't convinced the age of the pilot alone would be enough to justify grounding a plane. George Williams, president of Arizona-based firm Williams Aviation Consultants, said safeguards are in place to prevent a pilot with serious health problems from flying. Pilots must undergo an annual medical checkup to keep their FAA medical certification current. Those checkups must be conducted by an FAA-certified medical examiner, meaning any pilot with a valid license has received approval to continue to fly. Generally when evaluating whether a pilot and a plane are safe to fly, Williams said, he looks at the plane's maintenance records and history. Likewise, he looks at the pilot's credentials - how many hours logged, and in what conditions. "Age doesn't seem to be a factor," Williams said. "If you have anything major wrong with you, you basically can't have a pilot's license." http://newsok.com/ Back to Top Back to Top Pilot-less Aircraft X-47B Makes Its First Catapult Take-Off [Video] Last Thursday, the U.S. Navy completed their first steam launch catapult with the X-47B pilot-less aircraft. The same catapult system is what will help this aircraft take off from aircraft carriers in the middle of the ocean. After watching the video (below), it seems like the ground controllers were very happy with the successful launch. In addition, for a pilot-less aircraft, the X-47B took off and landed flawlessly. Take a look: First Catapult Launch Of The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) Demonstrator Un-manned aircraft and drones have become very popular in the military. Now that they can successfully take-off and land with the aid of slingshots, the sky (and ocean) is the limit for drones. The X-47B has a wingspan of 62 feet, is only 10 feet tall,and weighs 14,000 lb (6,350 kg). The X-47B also has a cruising speed of 0.45 mach (342 mph), a range of just under 4,000 kilometers, and a service ceiling of 40,000ft. The X-47B will make its first sea trials aboard the USS Harry S. Truman. Sometime in 2013, the U.S. Navy plans to catapult and recover the prototype aboard aircraft carriers. http://www.mobilemag.com/ Back to Top Boeing Creates Jet-Development Unit (WSJ) Boeing Co.has announced a reorganization of its new-commercial-jet development programs that will see five new aircraft introduced over the next decade, the unit's chief executive announced today. The new group, dubbed Airplane Development, will unite the design, development, testing and certification of new jetliners under a single organization as the company seeks to avoid the pitfalls of its significantly delayed 787 Dreamliner and jumbo 747-8 programs. Boeing has appointed Scott Fancher to spearhead the development as vice president of airplane development, a new role for the commercial unit, Ray Conner, chief executive of the commercial airplanes unit, announced in a note to employees Monday morning. "This framework will help clarify responsibility, streamline decision-making and accelerate our progress," Mr. Conner wrote. Mr. Fancher, currently vice president and general manager of the long-range 777 program, served as vice president and general manager of the 787 program from December 2008 to February 2012, shepherding the jet into service and through part of the tumultuous development that saw a total of 3˝ years of delays for Boeing's flagship product. The company is simultaneously developing a new model of the 787 Dreamliner; the 737 Max, an upgrade to its single-aisle product; and a refueling tanker aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. It also continues to lay the foundation to design a third 787 model and another major update to its 777. The development programs come along with record production increases at Boeing, which is expected to see jet output increase by more than 25% over the next 18 months. As part of the reorganization, Boeing will also fold its South Carolina unit into its Airplane Programs unit along with the rest of its production programs, which are based in Washington state. The North Charleston, S.C., outpost, which hosts one of the company's three 787 assembly lines, was previously managed as a supplier to the jet maker. Back to Top T.S.A. Skips a Hearing on Terminating the T.S.A. (NYT) Representative Reid Ribble fixed witnesses assembled at a House aviation subcommittee hearing last Thursday with a baleful stare. "I am very disappointed that the T.S.A. was unwilling to come," said Mr. Ribble, a freshman Republican from Wisconsin. "I understand how uncomfortable these hearings can be for them, especially since we're talking about a lot of complaints today. But part of their job is to let the American people know what they're doing." The director of the Transportation Security Administration, John S. Pistole, had declined to testify before this particular subcommittee on two previous occasions, despite angry criticism from some members who are longtime agency critics. The reason, the agency later explained, is that oversight for the T.S.A. resides in the House Homeland Security Committee - not the aviation subcommittee, which is a part of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The agency noted that in the 112th Congress alone, officials had testified at 38 hearings and provided 425 individual briefings. So the T.S.A. sat out that one last week - and got lambasted for it, at both the hearing and in some media accounts. No one would argue that the T.S.A. should not be held closely accountable. There have been too many problems. Since the agency was created in the aftermath of Sept. 11, this column has regularly reported on many of them, like the outrage that began in 2004 over charges that some screeners were groping female travelers. More recently, the agency faced questions about its decision to replace metal detectors with those whole- body image machines, which the T.S.A. still has not adequately defended against claims that they are personally invasive, arguably unsafe and ultimately not as reliable as good old metal detectors. On the other hand, the hearing last Thursday seemed to have an agenda, which was that the T.S.A. should be replaced by private security companies - you know, like the ones that were accused of hiring poorly trained, underpaid screeners at airports before Sept. 11 brought a somewhat more intense focus to checkpoint security. One of the leaders of that charge is Representative John L. Mica, a Florida Republican who is chairman of the House Transportation Committee. At Thursday's subcommittee hearing, Mr. Mica said that the T.S.A. was "out of control." He said Mr. Pistole was defying the committee to protect "one of the biggest bureaucracies that has ever expanded in the history of our federal government." Mr. Mica said, "We need to be closing down T.S.A. as we know it." Representative Thomas Petri, a Wisconsin Republican who is the subcommittee chairman, was even more harsh in denouncing Mr. Pistole and his agency. "A fish," Mr. Petri said, "rots from the head." Underlying the issue is a Congressional provision that gives airports the option of replacing T.S.A. screeners with private security companies. Only about 16 of the nation's 450 airports have done so, and a handful of mostly small airports have requests pending. Five witnesses testified at the sparsely attended hearing on Thursday. Several, including Stephen M. Lord, director of homeland security and justice issues at the Government Accountability Office, offered cogent suggestions and critiques for various T.S.A. initiatives, including the PreCheck program that allows expedited security for selected high-frequency passengers who undergo background checks. PreCheck will operate in 35 airports by the end of the year. Another, Charlie Leocha, the director of the Consumer Travel Alliance, offered some solid recommendations, most of them long familiar to critics of the T.S.A. Among them was rethinking the prohibited items list for carry-ons, which ties up screeners and annoys passengers at checkpoints, in an arguably useless search for small items that could never be used to hijack airplanes. Another was to get rid of those body-scanner machines. Mr. Leocha said that the agency had become the "butt of countless jokes." But Mr. Leocha may have gone too far when he suggested that new checkpoint attire was a priority. "Dress T.S.A. security screeners in nonthreatening uniforms, perhaps pastel polo shirts," Mr. Leocha said. To me, the best moments in the hearing belonged to Veda Shook, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants union. Ms. Shook kept going off the message - if the committee message was to end the T.S.A. as we know it, as Mr. Mica had declared. "Today the skies are absolutely safer than they were before 9/11, before the onset of the T.S.A.," Ms. Shook insisted. "I'm safer as a crew member. Our passengers are safer. Our country is safer." Mr. Ribble frowned upon hearing that. "A lot of the changes would have happened anyway as a result of 9/11, outside of federalization," he said. Given her support of a federal security force, "Should we not then federalize flight attendants?" he asked. Ms. Shook blinked and replied, "That's a great question. So thank you for that." Then, like the no-nonsense flight attendant she is, she calmly repeated herself for clarity. "We believe that any return to a bottom-line-driven system that puts security second to profits would be a reckless and unjustified regression from T.S.A.'s mission to protect our skies." Back to Top Business jet builders geared for expansion (China) Domestic and foreign business jet builders have been expanding their operations in China to prepare for what is expected to become a boom market in years to come. One of the highest profile developments has been by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which used last month's airshow in Zhuhai, Guangdong, to introduce the prototype of its Primus 150, which will become China's first locally built business aircraft. A prototype of the Primus 150 is exhibited at the Zhuhai airshow in Guangdong province on Nov 12. The demand for business jets is expected to surge in China in the coming years. The six-seat business aircraft, with a carbon fiber composite airframe, will take its maiden flight in October 2013 and is expected to be put on the market in 2015. According to CAIGA, the aircraft will be one of the fastest turboprops in the world and already has attracted eight orders from domestic buyers. Earlier this year, another leading Chinese builder, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd, also introduced a version of its ARJ21 regional aircraft aimed at the Chinese business market, which will be delivered in one or two years. Among the foreign companies preparing for expansion, meanwhile, Dassault Falcon Jet Corp, the French business aircraft manufacture, has announced plans to establish a Beijing branch specializing in business jets which will be run by John Rosanvallon, its president. China is already the largest source of Dassault Falcon's new orders, said Rosanvallon. The company delivered its first aircraft in China in 2006, and Rosanvallon said he expects the country's rapid expansion to continue for at least the next 20 years. Another international name expanding its presence in the country is Bombardier Inc, the world's largest business jet manufacture by market share, which is now forecasting that 2,420 business aircraft will be delivered in China from 2012 to 2031, as the country's wealth continues to grow. Han Zhiyu, regional vice-president of Bombardier China's business aircraft division, said: "We are confident China's market will continue to grow. Products are already in short supply right now." Bombardier had delivered 87 business aircraft in China by the end of November, and Chinese consumers have to wait for more than two years for the delivery of one of its Global Express aircraft, Han said. According to a recent report on the global jet market over the last 21 years, published by the system supplier Honeywell (China) Co Ltd, competition in China's aircraft manufacturing industry is going to get a lot tougher. But Rishiraj Singh, the director of business and general aviation for Asia Pacific and China at Honeywell, said he considers that a good thing, because with it comes a large variety of models. Singh said he expects the business jet market in Chinese mainland to increase from the current 160 per year to more than 500 in the next five to seven years. "Chinese buyers now prefer business jets with larger cabins, which fly at higher speeds and longer," said Singh. He added that Chinese buyers are realizing that owning a business jet amounts to more than having a luxury. It is a business decision which benefits companies. Although the demand for business jets slowed this year due to the struggling global economy, experts view it as a long-term growth success and expect more domestic jet manufacturers to start up in the coming years. By the end of 2011, China had nine business jets operators, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Deer Jet Co Ltd, the country's largest, said growth hit 48 percent in 2009, but it will slow to around 20 percent this year. "But demand from the mining, commercial real estate and manufacturing industries is still strong enough to support the operation," said Li Jiang, Deer sales director. According to industry insiders, as many as 48 operators are preparing to start business this year, but the failure rate could be high. Some Chinese business jet operations have closed, even before their first aircrafts were built or delivered. "No more than 20 operators will survive in this market," said Gao Yuanyang, director of the General Aviation Industry Research Center of Beihang University. "Any successful operator needs a fleet of at least 15 aircraft." http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-12/04/content_15982234.htm Curt Lewis