Flight Safety Information December 14, 2012 - No. 250 In This Issue Two Killed When Soviet-Era Jet Crashes, Burns In Texas Field Jenni Rivera crash investigation focuses on pilots, plane condition New forecasts could help transoceanic flights avoid peril Taiwan's absence from ICAO detrimental to global air safety Two passenger aircraft flying from UAE to Pakistan escape mid-air collision Feds seize $2.7M in cocaine in bags at Miami airport PROS IOSA Audit Experts AirAsia Unveils 100-Jet Order for Airbus to Drive Expansion Three U.S airlines adding Internet on overseas flights Places to Look for Aviation Scholarships GRADUATE RESEARCH REQUEST Two Killed When Soviet-Era Jet Crashes, Burns In Texas Field SCURRY (December 13, 2012)--Two people died Thursday when a type of jet used during the Soviet-era to train military crashed and burned in a North Texas field. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said law enforcement officers confirmed that neither of the two people aboard the two-seat aircraft survived the crash Thursday morning in Kaufman County near Scurry, about 30 miles southeast of Dallas. The single-engine L-29 Delfin was destroyed on impact and Lunsford said he believes there was a post- crash fire as well. Lunsford says the plane took off from the Lancaster Regional Airport, located just south of Dallas. Lunsford says FAA investigators are expected on the scene Thursday and National Transportation Safety Board investigators are also en route. http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Former-Military-Jet-Crashes-Burns-In-Texas-Field-183389851.html Back to Top Jenni Rivera crash investigation focuses on pilots, plane condition Mexico's Ministry of Communication and Transportation said the two pilots of Jenni Rivera's ill-fated plane, Miguel Perez and Alejandro Torres, had valid licenses to fly in Mexico. Rivera, 43, a mother of five and master of a growing international business empire, was killed when the jet plummeted 28,000 feet early Sunday morning and crashed near Iturbide, Mexico. Authorities have said that Rivera's camp chartered the flight from Starwood Management to ferry her from a performance in Monterrey, Mexico, to an appearance near Mexico City. In a telephone interview from Mexico City, an executive at the firm that owns the plane, Christian E. Esquino Nunez, said that the Learjet 25 was perfectly maintained. Esquino, 50, said he believes the 78-year-old pilot suffered a heart attack or was incapacitated in some way, and that a "green" co-pilot was unable to save the plane. "We're all grieving," said Esquino, who described himself as the operations manager of the company that owned the Learjet 25, Starwood Management LLC of Las Vegas. "I'm definitely very sorry that this happened." Esquino said maintenance and safety issues "had nothing to do with the accident." He said the 1969 Learjet had been based and maintained in Houston for the last 10 years, and underwent a top-to-bottom inspection this summer. The same plane, according to U.S. aviation records, sustained "substantial" damage in 2005 when a fuel imbalance left one wing tip weighing as much as 300 pounds more than the other. The unnamed pilot, despite having logged more than 7,000 hours in the air, lost control while landing in Amarillo, Texas, and struck a runway distance marker. No one was injured. Esquino called that accident "minor" and said the plane had flown without issue for 1,000 hours since then. He said the only conceivable explanation for the crash is that 78-year-old pilot Miguel Perez Soto was incapacitated. He said that while the Learjet was a fine airplane, "it has some critical characteristics." "Once it gets out of normal flight mode ... it's hard to recover," said Esquino, himself a pilot for many years. An appreciation: Jenni Rivera was a rare voice Mexican authorities said Starwood Management officials told Mexican authorities that Rivera was interested in buying the plane, and as a result, hadn't paid to rent it. Mexican authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board were continuing to investigate the crash "to formulate a hypothesis as to the cause of the accident," the statement said, noting that the investigation could take nine months to a year to be concluded. The remains of the passengers that have been found thus far, including Rivera's, have been taken to the University Hospital in Monterrey, Mexico, where they will be analyzed by forensic experts there, the statement said. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/12/jenni-rivera-crash-pilots- plane.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+(L.A.+Now) Back to Top New forecasts could help transoceanic flights avoid peril Right now, radar can quickly warn pilots of storms over land, but not over seas NCAR A new prototype system developed by a National Center for Atmospheric Research team can generate more reliable and up-to-date data about storms over the oceans for transoceanic flights. This map is one example. On June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447 set off from Rio de Janeiro en route to Paris. Partway over the Atlantic, the Airbus A330 encountered an area of intense thunderstorms and crashed into the ocean. While the final report from France's air accident investigators, released earlier this year, cited human error and technical malfunctions of a set of the plane's sensors, the Air France incident underscored the difficulty pilots on transoceanic flights have of knowing where storms will be given the limitations of current systems for monitoring storms far out over the ocean. The crash was one of the factors that spurred researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., to develop a better system to forecast such storms and help planes avoid them. Thunderstorms are well-monitored over land areas, where radar can keep an eye on their sometimes-quick development. But there is no similar radar system over the ocean. Instead, pilots on transoceanic flights are briefed on the weather before they take off, but storms can arise quickly; if storms do arise, the pilots may get in-flight updates every four hours, but those briefings are based on satellite data, and those satellites cannot peer into clouds. They also have onboard radar, but it is limited in scope and cannot see through dense clouds. The new prototype system, which NCAR developed with NASA, MIT, the Naval Research Laboratory and the University of Wisconsin, can provide up to eight-hour forecasts that are updated hourly. It uses satellite data and weather models and is based on a system NCAR developed to keep pilots and air traffic controllers informed about storm dangers, such as turbulence and lightning, over the continental United States, according to an NCAR statement. "These new forecasts can help fill an important gap in our aviation system," said NCAR's Cathy Kessinger, the lead researcher on the project, in the statement. "Pilots have had limited information about atmospheric conditions as they fly over the ocean, where conditions can be severe. By providing them with a picture of where significant storms will be during an eight-hour period, the system can contribute to both the safety and comfort of passengers on flights over the ocean." Right now, pilots have to use the limited information at their disposal to decide whether to possibly detour hundreds of miles around a storm system or fly into a potentially stormy region, which could have hazardous conditions and turbulence. Turbulence is one of the leading causes of airline injuries, and the developers of the system are hoping that the forecasts can help pilots avoid it and make more informed flight decisions. The system identifies areas in the atmosphere that have high cloud tops and water vapor at high elevations - signs of a strong updraft, which can create turbulence and is associated with strong storms. Researchers can use particular techniques to analyze that data along with simulations of wind fields to project storm locations at hourly intervals for up to eight hours in the future. Tests forecasts were verified with observations from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50166864/ns/technology_and_science-science/ Back to Top Taiwan's absence from ICAO detrimental to global air safety: president Taipei, Dec. 13 (CNA) International Civil Aviation Organization's denying entry to Taiwan is detrimental to global air safety because the island provides more than 1.5 million items of aviation-related information to the world every year, President Ma Ying-jeou said Thursday. In a bid to drum up support for Taiwan's bid to join the organization, Ma said Taiwan acts as a regional nexus for international flight paths, with more than 1 million flights passing through its airspace every year. He added that international aviation safety may suffer if Taiwan is excluded from the body, which is dedicated to improving aviation safety. The president made the comments while receiving a group of permanent representatives to the U.N. from Taiwan's allies. Ma said both the U.S. Congress and the EU Parliament have voiced their support for Taiwan's bid to join the organization, and even Chinese President Hu Jintao had promised to find a way to allow Taiwan to accede to the body. Taiwan's previous bids to join the body had been blocked by Beijing which considers the island one of its provinces and had spared no efforts to exclude it from international bodies which require statehood. Ma said hostility prevailed between Taiwan and China before he assumed office in 2008, but now the ties are thawing due to his administration's efforts to reconcile with China. Due to Taiwan's improving ties with China, Beijing has softened up its policy to isolate Taiwan on the international stage, and Taiwan has succeeded in taking part in the World Health Assembly since 2009, Ma said. Now the confrontation between Taiwan and China has gradually given way to mutually complementary ties, which illustrate a dramatic change in their relationship, said Ma. It doesn't mean that Taiwan and China have ironed out their differences all together, rather they put aside their differences to deal with the urgent problems facing them, and this approach has made a great difference in the last four years, the president said. Taiwan's improving ties with China have given it greater chances to join international activities which will in turn boost Taiwan people's confidence in dealing with China, Ma said. The president vowed to beef up Taiwan's ties with allies, adding that his country won't stop its allies from forming trade and economic ties with China, as long as they are non-official ones. http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aIPL&ID=201212130033 Back to Top Two passenger aircraft flying from UAE to Pakistan escape mid-air collision Reports say both aircraft were flying at same altitude when aircraft collision avoidance system alerted pilots about imminent collision Two passenger aircraft flying from the UAE to Pakistan escaped a mid-air collision disaster in Pakistan airspace on Friday morning, reports said. One flight was flying from Abu Dhabi to Lahore while the other flight was on its way from Dubai to Lahore on Friday early morning when disaster was avoided after aircraft collision avoidance system activated and alerted the pilots about imminent disaster. Without identifying the airlines, Pakistan media reports said both were foreign carriers. The flights were flying over the Pakistani city of Pasni at 1am local time on Friday morning when both the aircraft had come closer to a collision but aircraft collision avoidance system activated and alerted the pilots. Both the aircraft were flying at 34,000-feet altitude. Reports said audio frequency was not functioning properly because Pasni radar had malfunctioned and communication between the pilot and air-controller was not taking place at the regular intervals. The report didn't how many passengers were flying in the two aircraft. http://www.emirates247.com/news/two-passenger-aircraft-flying-from-uae-to-pakistan-escape-mid-air- collision-2012-12-14-1.487296 Back to Top Feds seize $2.7M in cocaine in bags at Miami airport MIAMI (AP) --Federal customs agents say they have seized cocaine worth an estimated $2.7 million hidden in luggage at Miami International Airport. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say 231 pounds of cocaine were found Thursday during a random search. The drugs were contained in three pieces of luggage that had arrived from Quito, Ecuador. No arrests have been made and it wasn't immediately clear what happened to the owner of the bags. CBP officers at Miami International Airport routinely pick out bags at random to be X-rayed. In this case investigators noticed irregularities in the luggage. When the bags were opened, officers found 90 brick- shaped objects hidden inside. The substance in the bricks tested positive for cocaine. Back to Top Back to Top AirAsia Unveils 100-Jet Order for Airbus to Drive Expansion AirAsia Bhd. (AIRA), the region's biggest discount airline, unveiled an order for 100 additional Airbus A320 jets as the carrier expands to fend off rising competition. The order includes 36 current-generation A320s and 64 fuel- efficient A320neos, Airbus said in a statement yesterday. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron joined AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes at Airbus's wing-manufacturing facility in Broughton, Wales, for the announcement of the contract, valued at $9.4 billion at list price. AirAsia, which has fallen 29 percent in Kuala Lumpur this year, is Airbus's biggest customer for single-aisle aircraft worldwide. The airline ordered 200 Airbus A320neo aircraft valued at $18 billion at the Paris Air Show last year. Airbus had already booked the latest order in its tally last month, without disclosing the customer. "This order is primarily about expansion," Fernandes said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. "Business has been very strong in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, coupled with very robust demand out of China and India." The airline should have no trouble implementing the new order amid the growth in the regions it serves, said Arnaud Bouchet, a Singapore-based analyst for BNP Paribas SA. Pan-Asian low-cost carriers also have fewer planes than U.S. and European counterparts, despite Asia's higher population and increasingly affluent middle classes, he said. 'Not Worried' "I'm not worried about overcapacity," Bouchet said. "Asia can comfortably absorb additional aircraft in the next 10 years, particularly if these airlines start replacing their current fleet." AirAsia fell 0.7 percent to 2.69 ringgit at 3:53 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur trading. It's one of two stocks that will be removed from the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index from Dec. 24 after seeing its market capitalization fall this year, the country's exchange operator said yesterday. The carrier has slumped 18 percent since Sept. 10, erasing more than 1.5 billion ringgit ($491 million) from its market value, amid concern competition may intensify after Indonesia's PT Lion Mentari Airlines said it would help set up a rival low- cost carrier in Malaysia named Malindo Airways. "I think we're trading at a ridiculously low level," said Fernandes, who bought back shares last month. "There's been a massive over-reaction on some of the impending competition. We're very cash positive. We're going into a have a fantastic fourth quarter. 2013 looks very good." Keeping Momentum The AirAsia contract has helped Airbus maintain order momentum for the more fuel-efficient A320neo. Incorporating the classic A320s into contracts is a bonus, as the manufacturer can trim the number of unfilled delivery slots for a model that will be phased out gradually. Production of A320neos will start in late 2015. Taking some of the existing model will allow it to get planes faster, Fernandes said. AirAsia competes with the budget or regional arms of flag carriers including Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Qantas Airways Ltd. The airline, based in Sepang, Malaysia, has set up ventures in the Philippines, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia, and also faces growing competition from emerging low-cost carriers seeking to win passengers who demand low-cost travel options. Back to Top Three U.S airlines adding Internet on overseas flights Price not yet disclosed for going online on flights United, Delta, and American (AP) - the nation's three biggest airlines - say that they're within weeks of having their first international flights with Internet service. It's fairly common for passengers to check email and update Facebook while flying over the U.S. But the air- to-ground signal used by those planes won't work over the ocean. So airlines are installing satellite-based systems to solve that problem. The service The three airlines have not yet disclosed pricing for the international Wi-Fi. United said prices will depend on the distance of the flight and other factors. Travelers eager to stream a movie through their Netflix account are likely to be disappointed. Delta's international Wi-Fi systems both will include computer servers on the plane with movies and TV shows that travelers can watch - for a fee. United has said that it, too, will have on-board streaming video. For domestic flights, Delta currently charges 99 cents to watch TV shows and $3.99 for a movie. Speeds on Delta's current domestic Internet connection are good enough for email and basic Web browsing. Delta is upgrading its domestic fleet's Internet connection to make it three times faster. United hasn't disclosed speeds on its new system, but CEO Jeff Smisek claimed in October that it will be consistently faster than what competitors have. Who has what For Internet connections over the U.S., Delta is out front. Roughly 800 Delta planes used on domestic flights - all but its smallest regional jets - have onboard Wi-Fi. American has installed it on about 400 planes, or 81 percent of its fleet. United basically missed the first wave of onboard Wi-Fi - it's on only 13 planes that fly between the U.S. East and West coasts. Now it's installing satellite-based Internet connections that work both in the U.S. and overseas. And it expects to have the first plane with that dual capability within the next few weeks and 300 by the end of 2013. Delta Air Lines Inc. expects to have its first international plane ready for Internet access within 45 days, Chief Operating Officer Stephen Gorman said at an analyst presentation on Wednesday. Its whole fleet should have Internet access in the next 18 months to two years, he said. American Airlines just got its first plane with international Internet access on Tuesday night, a new Boeing 777-300ER that it expects to begin hauling passengers by the end of next month. The service will become more widely available as the company gets new planes or overhauls some of its older 777s. A spokeswoman declined to offer details about how fast it will add international Wi-Fi. Southwest Airlines Co. expects to have satellite-based Wi-Fi on about three-quarters of its fleet by the end of January, spokeswoman Katie McDonald said. An exception After a nine-month test, Australian airline Qantas dropped the service after just 5 percent of passengers paid for it. Cost was likely one factor - prices ranged from $13.60 to $42 U.S. dollars. And Qantas noted the flights from Australia to London and Los Angeles were overnight, when many passengers preferred to sleep. In-flight Internet has overcome early doubts about whether passengers would pay enough for it to justify the cost. The gear that provides a wireless signal on the plane costs money and adds weight, which adds to the fuel bill on each flight. The U.S. airlines clearly see it as a money-maker now, though. Even some of their youngest passengers are carrying Internet-enabled devices such as smartphones and hand-held games, making them potential Wi-Fi customers. Smisek, the United CEO, said on a conference call in October that his airline will own the on-board equipment, allowing it to set pricing and steer passengers toward websites and its own streaming video. Airborne Wi-Fi lets United "establish a wide array of commercial agreements," he said, boosting its value for the airline. Back to Top Places to Look for Aviation Scholarships By Scholarship America Turn your passion for flight into money for college. December 17 marks the 99th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first controlled, powered, and sustained heavier-than-air human flight. In honor of their soaring accomplishment, we've researched a number of scholarships for students whose heads are in the clouds. The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF), created by the Mercury 7 astronauts, awards twenty-eight $10,000 scholarships annually. Their mission is to promote the importance of science and technology to the general public, and they provide college scholarships for students pursuing science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) degrees. Scholarship candidates must be at least second year (sophomore) college students, have excellent grades, and have conducted a substantial amount of lab and research work in their field. In addition, they must be nominated by a faculty member at one of the 27 participating colleges and universities, so check the list and contact the ASF liaison at your school if you are interested in applying for this prestigious award. Women pursuing flight should look into the variety of scholarships available through The Ninety-Nines (99s), Inc., the International Organization of Women Pilots, whose Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships & Awards provide fully paid flight training, jet type training, technical training, emergency maneuver training, and a $5,000 renewable academic scholarship toward one year of a college degree in aviation or aerospace. Eligible applicants are 99s members; a recommendation from your local chapter must accompany the application. The deadline is right around the corner-after December 20, applicants will need to wait another year. The Aircraft Electronics Association Educational Foundation scholarship program provides scholarship assistance for students interested in careers in the aircraft electronics and aviation maintenance industry. Awards range from $1,000 to $35,000 and include scholarships for specific schools (Tom Taylor Memorial Scholarships to Spartan College of Aeronautics & Technology in Tulsa, Okla.); studying in Canada (Field Aviation Co. Inc. Scholarship); type of program (Chuck Peacock Memorial Scholarship for students planning to study aviation management); and birth continent (Monte R. Mitchell Global Scholarship for European students pursuing a degree in aviation maintenance technology). The application deadline for scholarships available through AEA is Feb. 15, 2013. If you are a resident of New England, look no further for scholarship opportunities than the Aero Club of New England. ACONE provides numerous scholarship awards for pilot training and aircraft maintenance. To be eligible for the Aircraft Maintenance Scholarship, students must use the scholarship funds within one year, demonstrate financial need, and be at least 16 years old. To be eligible for the Pilot Scholarship, students must also hold current Airman and Medical Certificates and have accumulated a total flight time of 100 hours. Applications must be submitted by March 30, 2013 for consideration. Janine Fugate, the recipient of numerous scholarships at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, holds a bachelor's degree from the College of Saint Benedict, Saint Joseph, Minn., and a Master of Public Affairs from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Fugate joined Scholarship America in 2002. http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-scholarship-coach/2012/12/13/4-places-to-look-for-aviation- scholarships Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH REQUEST Study Participant Recruitment Solicitation People who have skills in project management and project cost analysis are needed to be a part of a research study that will be conducted at Northcentral University. In addition, these people need to be familiar with aviation safety management programs. . If you know of anyone with these skills, please contact ninaduncan@ymail.com or call 832-215-7037. Curt Lewis