Flight Safety Information December 18, 2012 - No. 252 In This Issue Pilots blamed for Russian jet crash in Indonesia; ignored warnings, cockpit distractions FAA Cites Cost for Excluding Cargo Pilots in New FAR 117 Boeing, Embraer Team On Runway Safety Project Safety Conference Scheduled for Next Month in Dubai Are we getting dangerously zapped at the airport? Six aircraft, a chopper gutted in fire at Hyderabad airport (India) PROS IOSA Audit Experts MidEast's wealthy eye Dreamliner as private jet Turkey's Pegasus Airlines places large Airbus order CAE sells 2 flight simulators to Chinese aircraft maker, 2 to Russian company European Flight Data Monitoring Conference on the 23rd of January International Accident Investigation Forum...Singapore, 23 - 25 April 2013 ERAU Professional Programs Course Schedule Pilots blamed for Russian jet crash in Indonesia; ignored warnings, cockpit distractions JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Pilot error caused a Russian-made passenger jet to crash into an Indonesia volcano seven months ago during a demonstration flight, killing all 45 people aboard, the National Commission on Safety Transportation announced Tuesday. Information recovered from the Sukhoi Superjet-100's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder indicated the pilot in command was chatting with a potential buyer in the cockpit just before the plane slammed into dormant Mount Salak on May 9, Commission Chairman Tatang Kurniadi told reporters. He said that 38 seconds before the crash, instruments inside the cockpit issued a warning saying "pull up, terrain ahead." Later the warning "avoid terrain" was issued six times, but the instruments were turned off because the crew assumed there was a problem with the database, Kurniadi said. He added that a simulation showed that the crash could have been avoided if the crew had responded within 24 seconds of the first warning. "The crew was not aware of the mountainous area surrounding the flight path," Kurniadi said. The Jakarta radar service was also not equipped with a system in the area where the crash occurred that was capable of informing flight crews of minimum safe altitudes, he said. Russian pilot Alexander Yablontsev was in charge of the demonstration flight meant to woo potential buyers. He was an experienced test pilot, logging 10,000 hours in the Sukhoi Superjet and its prototypes. Six minutes after it took off from a Jakarta airfield, the pilot and co-pilot asked air traffic control for permission to drop from 3,000 meters to 1,800 meters (10,000 feet to 6,000 feet) on the scheduled half hour flight. "The purpose of decreasing the altitude was to make it not too high for the landing process at Halim airport," Kurniadi said. However, six minutes later, the plane hit the mountain, he said. It took more than 17 additional minutes before anyone on the ground realized the plane had vanished from radar screens, and no alerts sounded on the system prior to the disappearance. Indonesia is one of Asia's most rapidly expanding airline markets, with growth rates of nearly 20 percent a year. It has a poor air safety record and is struggling to provide qualified pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and updated airport technology to ensure safety. On Sunday, a blackout at Jakarta's international airport led to a 15-minute disruption of its radar system, causing 64 regional and domestic flights to be delayed, said Bambang Ervan, Transportation Ministry spokesman. The outage has raised questions about the safety of the airport's 26-year-old system. Last month, Indonesia certified the Russian Superjet-100 as safe to fly in the country after a thorough validation process unrelated to the crash investigation. This opened the lines for delivery of the aircraft to its first customer in Southeast Asia, the Indonesian airline Sky Aviation, which signed a deal for 12 planes. The Superjet is Russia's first new model of passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago and is intended to help resurrect its aerospace industry. Back to Top FAA Cites Cost for Excluding Cargo Pilots in New FAR 117 The just released flight crewmember duty and rest requirements docket, which includes an extensive cost-benefit analysis, shows that the FAA still plans to exclude U.S. cargo pilots from the new rule, due to take effect Jan. 4, 2014. The agency said the cost of compliance is greater than it earlier believed. In a statement sent to AIN, the Air Line Pilots Association, representing the pilots of FedEx, commented: "After reviewing the FAA supplemental cost-benefit analysis of cargo operations in the new FAR 117 flight-time/duty-time rule generated in response to the Independent Pilots Association suit, ALPA remains committed to ensuring one level of safety for all passenger and cargo operations. We believe calculating cost versus benefit based on the absence of an aircraft accident and resulting passenger fatalities is a fallacy, and a severe deficiency in the cost-benefit process...While the government has shifted to evaluating safety improvements by eliminating accident precursors in other areas, it chose not to do so in this case. We remain committed to pursuing a fix to the flawed cargo cutout from the new flight-time/duty-time rule, both through regulatory action and pursuit of the Safe Skies Act on Capitol Hill." The FAA is accepting comments on this latest proposal until Feb. 11, 2013. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainsafety/2012-12-17/faa-cites-cost-excluding- cargo-pilots-new-far-117 Back to Top Boeing, Embraer Team On Runway Safety Project When aware and in control of a situation, flight crews can make effective and timely decisions to ensure a safe landing. The loosely defined safety partnership entered by Boeing and Embraer in April yielded its first tangible results with Tuesday's announcement that the two companies will collaborate on a new set of "tools" designed to reduce the incidence of runway excursions. The project involves what the companies call Runway Situational Awareness Tools, centered on new pilot procedures for landing an aircraft. Essentially augmenting each company's existing product support offerings, the package will include a free landing- performance training video. Next, within roughly a year, the companies plan to introduce joint technology and systems for the flight deck to improve pilot information about approach and landing. A decade-by-decade statistical summary published by Boeing reveals that while controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) continues to decline and loss of control has stayed relatively stable over the years, runway excursion fatalities have increased. The reasons, said Boeing Commercial Airplanes director of aviation safety Corky Townsend, remain unclear. But the trends are unmistakable. Speaking with AIN on the day of the announcement, Townsend explained that in studying 29 separate incidents and accidents, Boeing noticed three primary consequences of poor situational awareness: improper approach and landing speeds, touchdown location and use of stopping devices. "In looking at those events, we have to make sure [the pilots] understand and have gotten the latest weather data, and they understand what their landing distance is going to be," said Townsend. One training element, therefore, would involve proper performance of approach and landing assessment at the top of descent, and not just at the point of dispatch. The new procedures also include the addition of some "callouts" for deploying speed brakes, thereby ensuring the maximum amount of weight-on-wheels and, therefore, optimum braking. The training doesn't necessarily address human error, noted Townsend, but rather educates pilots to make better use of available technology. "One of the pieces that we can do today, without new technology, is really improve [performance] with the capability that's already embedded in the airplane," she said. "It is clear that there is an opportunity to improve just by getting some guidance out there." Beyond offering guidance, though, both Boeing and Embraer see an opportunity to collaborate on technological advances in the cockpit to give pilots the information they need to render better-informed judgments. Embraer executive vice president of engineering and technology Mauro Kern explained that the equipment-still in a relatively early developmental stage-would provide both visual and aural cues to aid pilots' awareness during descent, approach and landing while not compromising intuitiveness. "It's all about providing the pilots with more information...more alerts...to improve their awareness," said Kern. "We also agree with Boeing that the pilot needs to have full authority." In the context of landing an airplane, situational awareness means knowing how much runway remains, stopping performance, proper runway alignment and approach speeds, explained Townsend. The equipment provision itself wouldn't necessarily involve new hardware, but rather improvements to existing systems. "How the information would be displayed would depend on whether you have a heads-up display," she said. "We have displays that would be available in a heads-up version as well as in an airplane without one, so it would portray itself on a primary flight display." "[In either case], the goal of the teams is to have as minimal change as possible to the airplane systems," concluded Kern. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2012-12-18/boeing-embraer-team-runway- safety-project Back to Top Safety Conference Scheduled for Next Month in Dubai A conference called Aviation Safety Culture, focused on establishing the highest levels of aviation safety across the Middle East, is scheduled for January 29 and 30 in Dubai. Organized under the auspices of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, the event is supported by Dubai Airports and Emirates Airline. The conference will include officials from airports, airlines, regulators and other industry stakeholders to discuss how the regional aviation industry can develop a community- wide safety culture. Other topics will include discussions about the challenges and planning associated with making this safety culture a reality. Companies such as AirBP, Boeing, Honeywell, Malakut and Maximus Air are also supporting the event. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainsafety/2012-12-17/safety-conference- scheduled-next-month-dubai Back to Top Are we getting dangerously zapped at the airport? At Senator Collins' Urging, TSA To Study Health Effects Of Scanners WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) issued the following statement upon being informed that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) intends to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study the health effects of radiation exposure resulting from backscatter x-ray advanced imaging technology (AIT) systems used at airport security. Senator Collins, ranking Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced legislation earlier this year to require an independent study of backscatter x-ray scanners and to require signs to alert travelers they have screening alternatives other than the backscatter machines. "I am pleased that at long last the Transportation Security Administration has heeded my call to commission an independent examination into the possible health risks travelers and TSA employees may face during airport screenings," said Senator Collins. "I have repeatedly expressed the need for independent analysis of the potential health effects of ionizing radiation emitted by these backscatter machines and introduced legislation calling for such an independent study in January. "We Americans have demonstrated our willingness to endure enhanced security measures at our airports - if those measures appear reasonable and related to the real risks. While TSA has told the public that the amount of radiation emitted from these machines is small, passengers and some scientific experts have raised questions about the impact of repeated exposure to this radiation. Pregnant women, children, the elderly - and as much as five percent of the adult population - are more sensitive to radiation exposure. This independent study should help us to finally answer those questions." http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2012/12/17/are-we-getting-dangerously-zapped- at-the-airport-read/ Back to Top Six aircraft, a chopper gutted in fire at Hyderabad airport (India) Hyderabad, Dec 18, 2012 (IANS) Six Cessna aircraft and a helicopter which flies the Andhra Pradesh chief minister were gutted in a major fire at old Hyderabad airport late Monday night, officials said. There are no reports of any casualties in the fire that broke out around midnight at the maintenance shed of Andhra Pradesh Aviation Academy at the airport located in the heart of the city at Begumpet, popularly known as Begumpet airport. Earlier, Ports and Airports Minister G. Srinivasa Rao told reporters Tuesday that five training aircraft of the academy and an AgustaWestland helicopter of the state government were destroyed in the fire. The Cessna aircraft were being used for pilot training by the academy. The 15-seater Agusta AW 139 was purchased by the state government in 2008 from AgustaWestland Italy for Rs.63 crore. The minister said the chopper was insured and the government would claim the money. The initial estimates by the officials have put the loss at over Rs.100 crore. Ten fire engines, including those belonging to the Indian Air Force, battled the blaze for over four hours to bring it under control. The fire fighting personnel remained at the scene till Tuesday afternoon to completely douse the fire. The airport was being used for non-commercial purposes since 2008 when the new airport became operational at Shamshabad, about 30 km from the city. Besides the Aviation Academy, the airport is used for VIP flights, private chartered aircraft and by the Indian Air Force. Media persons were not allowed inside the airport area and the officials were tight-lipped about the exact damage. However, the huge flames and explosions spread panic among people in Bowenpalli and surrounding areas in Secunderabad. The state government ordered a high-level probe into the incident. The state home secretary will head the investigations to find out if there was any sabotage or if the fire was caused by an electrical short-circuit, said the minister. Several parts of other aircraft and equipment kept at the hangar were also destroyed. "Everything is reduced to ashes," said an official after visiting the site. The presence of large quantity of aviation fuel made the task of fire fighting more difficult. Eye witnesses said within few seconds, the fire engulfed the entire area. The hangar, built almost 100 years ago during the times of Nizam, the ruler of then Hyderabad State, collapsed due to the fire. Various government agencies launched probe into the fire. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is currently visiting Visakhapatnam, ordered an inquiry by the Crime Investigation Department (CID). Officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) also visited the scene. CID officials launched their probe with the forensic experts gathering clues. Additional Director General, CID, Krishna Prasad said they would probe the incident from all angles. He quoted some eye witnesses as saying that loud explosions were heard from the hangar before they saw the flames. Meanwhile, the minister said they would make alternate arrangements for the chief minister's travel. Kiran Kumar Reddy was using the spacious helicopter, which can fly long distances. His predecessors K. Rosaiah and Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy also used to fly in the Agusta AW 139. Though it was purchased during Rajasekhara Reddy's tenure, he was using both the new one as well as a Bell 430. He was killed on Sep 2, 2009 when the Bell helicopter crashed in bad weather in Kurnool district. The Agusta helicopter was also used for rescue and relief operations in the floods in Kurnool district in 2009 and after the Maoist attack on policemen in the Andhra-Orissa border area. The government was spending Rs.1.25 crore every month on the maintenance of the chopper. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/299305/six-aircraft-chopper-gutted-fire.html Back to Top Back to Top MidEast's wealthy eye Dreamliner as private jet Around ten Dreamliner 787 aircraft have been ordered as private jets by wealthy individuals in the Middle East, with deliveries due to start next year, the head of Boeing's business jet division said in an interview. "We have sold a dozen of them [Dreamliner 787s] as private airplanes as VIP customers," said Captain Steve Taylor, president, Boeing Business Jets. "The very first deliveries are about a year from now and there are several deliveries spread through 2014." Boeing said the Middle East represents around 30 percent of its orders for business jets, but confirmed that of the nine BBJ 747-8 larger aircraft that have been ordered to date by heads of state, all but one are for customers in the Middle East. "The 30 percent of the market is if you look at our entire portfolio. The bigger airplanes tend to be even more dominant in this region... Similarly, with the 787, the majority will be here in the region," Taylor said. While not confirming how many of the 12 Dreamliner 787 business jets are heading to the Middle East, statistics indicate that as many as ten will be for Arab customers. Confirmation of the orders comes as the CEO of Qatar Airways, the first commercial airline in the Middle East to take delivery of a Dreamliner 787 aircraft, criticised the US plane maker after it was forced to ground one of its newly received aircraft due to a faulty generator. The aircraft, recently handed over by Boeing, has developed a problem similar to one that forced a United Continental aircraft to make an emergency landing, Bloomberg reported. Qatar Airways' third 787 suffered the failure on its delivery flight from the US, Akbar Al Baker, the Gulf carrier's CEO told the news service. He said the plane has been grounded since December 9 as Boeing sent spares and a recovery team. "These problems are unacceptable because this aircraft has been flying for the last 14 months," Al Baker told Bloomberg in an interview in London. "They have to get their act together very fast because we at Qatar Airways will not accept any more defects," he added as a 787 began its service to Heathrow from Doha on Thursday. A United 787 was forced to land on December 4 following the failure of one of six generators. Al Baker added: "Definitely we will demand compensation. We are not buying airplanes from them to put in a museum." Boeing said its technicians "would evaluate the findings in Qatar to understand the root cause of this issue and take the appropriate next steps". Despite these setbacks with the 787, Taylor said the Middle East in general was proving to be a lucrative market for business jet sales. "Despite the global economic downturn, the Middle East region remains a very strong market for both single-aisle and twin-aisle VIP airplanes," he said. "Our customers want an aircraft capable of connecting virtually any two cities in the world nonstop," he added. Two months ago, the first BBJ 777-200LR (longer range) for a head-of-state customer in the Middle East entered into service. With a range capability of more than 10,000 nautical miles (18,500 km), the BBJ 777-200LR is the longest range business jet in the world. http://www.arabianbusiness.com/mideast-s-wealthy-eye-dreamliner-as-private-jet- 483138.html Back to Top Turkey's Pegasus Airlines places large Airbus order ISTANBUL, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Turkey's Pegasus Airlines ordered at least 75 Airbus medium-haul planes worth around $7.5 billion, Airbus said on Tuesday, marking the country's largest single aircraft order. The Istanbul-based budget carrier placed a firm order for 58 fuel-saving A320neo aircraft and 17 A321neo jets. The aircraft have a combined list price of $7.5 billion. The deal also includes options for a further 25 aircraft. If all options are exercised, the deal's value for all 100 aircraft could rise to $9.9 billion, based on official Airbus prices. In practice, airlines win significant discounts for large orders. Pegasus currently operates aircraft built by Airbus's arch-rival Boeing. It switched allegiance after what industry sources described as a tough price contest between the planemakers, during negotiations first reported by Reuters. The competition is the latest milestone in what has, over the past year, become the fiercest worldwide contest for market share between Airbus and Boeing in a decade. Founded in 1990, Pegasus has grown its fleet from just two aircraft to more than 40 mostly Boeing BA.N 737-800s over the past two decades and serves 52 destinations in 24 countries. Its latest expansion highlights rapid growth in Turkish aviation after flag carrier Turkish Airlines recently ordered long-range aircraft from both Boeing and Airbus. Back to Top CAE sells 2 flight simulators to Chinese aircraft maker, 2 to Russian company MONTREAL - CAE Inc. (TSX:CAE) has sold four flight simulators and associated technology in two separate deals valued at a total of about $50 million, the Montreal- based company announced Tuesday. Two of the simulators are for the new C919 aircraft being developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., also known as COMAC. CAE says the training equipment is to be ready for use in 2015, prior to the aircraft's entry into service. The other two simulators are being delivered to NITA, a Russian aviation equipment company. One of those simulates the Boeing 737NG and the other the Bombardier CRJ200. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/cae-sells-2-flight-simulators-to-chinese- aircraft-maker-2-to-russian-company-183919941.html Back to Top European Flight Data Monitoring Conference on the 23rd of January The European Operators Flight Data Monitoring forum (EOFDM) supported by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is organizing a FDM/FOQA Conference in Cologne - Germany on the 23rd of January 2013. This conference is primarily dedicated for professionals involved with FDM/FOQA programs. Presentations require at least basic knowledge of FDM to be followed. This second edition of the EOFDM conference will contain technical presentations on the implementation of Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) programmes, advanced FDM techniques and FDM-related initiatives and developments. The agenda can be consulted at http://www.easa.europa.eu/events/docs/2013/01/23/EOFDM_Conference2_ProvisionalAgenda_Website.pdf For registration information please consult http://www.easa.europa.eu/events/events.php?startdate=23-01- 2013&page=2nd_Conference_of_the_European_Operators_Flight_Data_Monitoring_forum_%28EOFDM%29. Registration will be closed on 04 January 2013. The EOFDM works under the aegis of ECAST (European Commercial Aviation Safety Team). Its objective is to facilitate the implementation of Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) tools and programmes by operators and to help operators in drawing the maximum safety benefits from an FDM programme. For more information on EOFDM, consult http://easa.europa.eu/essi/ecast/main-page-2/eofdm/ . Back to Top International Accident Investigation Forum Singapore, 23 - 25 April 2013 The Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore (AAIB) will be hosting the Second International Accident Investigation (IAI) Forum at the Singapore Aviation Academy on 23 - 25 April 2013. The IAI Forum aimed to bring together the world's top government investigation officials and experts to discuss issues relating to the organisation, infrastructure and management of accident investigation. It is open to investigation officials responsible for discharging their country's obligation under Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, regulatory officials and aviation safety professionals from the private sector. The Inaugural IAI Forum was held on 21 - 23 April 2010, with the strong support of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI), the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). It was attended by 149 government investigation officials and aviation safety professionals from 29 countries. The IAI Forum served as a platform for ICAO to inform, explain to and discuss with the safety investigation community regarding the developments and issues being pursued by ICAO. Encouraged by the success of the Inaugural IAI Forum, the AAIB has decided to make the IAI Forum a triennial event. Ms Nancy Graham, Director of ICAO Air Navigation Bureau, has very kindly consented to attend the Second IAI Forum to deliver a keynote speech. The Second IAI Forum will cover the following important topics, among others: * Development of a new ICAO Annex 19 on Safety Management * Outcome of the ICAO Safety Information Protection Task Force * Conclusions of the AIG Roundtable held in Singapore on 16 - 17 October 2012 and chaired by Mr Marcus Costa, Chief of the ICAO Accident Investigation Section For more information on the Second IAI Forum, please contact Mr Steven Teo (Fax: (65) 6542-2394 or Email: steven_teo@mot.gov.sg). Back to Top Course Dates Location Cost OSHA/Aviation Ground Safety* Apr.15-19, 2013 Daytona Beach Campus, Florida $2,000 This course gives the participant working knowledge of OSHA's General Industry Safety and Health standards. In addition, participants will gain a fundamental working knowledge of an aviation ground safety program. Participants will also receive the OSHA 30-Hour General Industry Safety & Health Card. Aviation Safety Program Management* Apr.22-26, 2013 Daytona Beach Campus, Florida $2,000 This course gives the participant working knowledge of the development and management of an effective safety program. Course topics include: Safety Culture, Economics of Safety, Risk Management, Internal Reporting Systems, Human Error and Human Performance, Introduction to Safety Management Systems (SMS). Aircraft Accident Investigation and Management* Apr.29-May3,2013 Daytona Beach Campus, Florida $2,000 This course is designed to teach the participant the fundamentals required to conduct or manage an aircraft mishap/accident investigation. The participant will review the investigation sequence from the preplanning stage through the general survey and specific analysis of a mishap/accident, culminating with the determination of contributing factors and probable cause/s. Advanced Aircraft Accident Investigation and Management May 6-10, 2013 Prescott Campus, Arizona $2,000 This course introduces the participant to advanced accident investigation procedures involving design, materials, and aircraft performance. Participants will analyze various mechanical and structural factors and loads on an airplane, as well as be introduced to advanced fire investigation and avionics. Extensive use will be made of crash laboratory simulated accident scenario exercises, and case examples will help participants identify, collect, and analyze data in the process of determining probable cause/s. Discount: Individuals who complete all three courses are eligible for the Certificate of Management in Aviation Safety and will receive a discounted price of $1,000 at the time of registration for their third course; thus reducing the total cost to $5,000 for all three courses. Professional Programs offers courses in the Fall and Spring terms; participants may take one or a selection of courses per term. Website & Registration Information: http://www.erau.edu/case Email: case@erau.edu Phone: (386) 226-6928 Director: Sarah Ochs Curt Lewis