Flight Safety Information January 15, 2013 - No. 012 In This Issue Japan opens probe of Dreamliner after Pittsburgh-bound jet makes emergency landing FAA to pilots: Turn off personal devices in the cockpit Embraer 190 overran after pilots ignored flap-fault procedure (Ecuador) Four bullets found on China Airlines aircraft on return flight from the US Cessna Grand Caravan EX Earns FAA Type Certification PROS IOSA Audit Experts American amends jet orders from Boeing, Airbus Brazil's Embraer delivers 205 aircraft in 2012 China's BOC Aviation places record order for 50 A320 jets Japan opens probe of Dreamliner after Tokyo (Reuters) - Japan's transport ministry has launched an investigation into what caused two fuel leaks on a Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines Co., just days after U.S. authorities began a wide-ranging review of the aircraft following a series of incidents, including a battery fire. Over the weekend, the JAL jet, which was undergoing checks in Japan after a fuel leak at Boston airport in the United States last week, again leaked fuel during tests. Both were due to separate valve-related problems. Back to Top Pittsburgh-bound jet makes emergency landing A US Airways jet headed from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., to Pittsburgh International Airport turned back after a fire aboard and made an emergency landing, WTNH-TV said. All aboard were safe. A Pittsburgh-bound regional jet returned safely to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut after a small fire aboard the jet about 20 minutes after takeoff Monday morning. None of the 49 passengers or crew aboard US Airways Flight 3518 were hurt and the plane landed safely shortly before noon, according to Bradley International Airport spokesman John Wallace. The Embraer 135 twin-engine regional jet took off around 11:34 a.m. from the airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., headed for Pittsburgh. Wallace said that at about 11:51 a.m. the Bradley control tower reported the jet suffered a fire in its auxiliary power unit, although it was now out. "The plane landed safely, taxied to the gate under its own power and passengers exited through the jetway," Wallace said. He referred questions about the airline to US Airways. US Airways (NYSE: LCC) didn't immediately respond to a call seeking more details. According to FlightAware.com, US Airways Flight 3518 took off at 11:34 a.m. Monday headed for Pittsburgh International Airport. The flight, which is normally a little more than an hour to Pittsburgh, turned around near the Massachusetts-New York border and landed back at Bradley shortly before noon. It was traveling at about 15,200 feet and on its ascent when it turned south at 11:47 a.m. and made its way back to Bradley, FlightAware.com data showed. http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2013/01/14/pittsburgh-bound-jet-makes- emergency.html Back to Top FAA to pilots: Turn off personal devices in the cockpit WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing to prohibit pilots from using personal wireless devices in the cockpit, although iPads or laptops that pilots use for work would still be allowed. Since 1981, the FAA prohibits any activity while taxiing, taking off or landing that could distract pilots from their duties, under what is called a "sterile cockpit" policy when planes are below 10,000 feet in the air. The new proposal would extend the prohibition against personal electronics to the entire flight. The 19-page proposal, which will be published Tuesday in the Federal Register, aims to reduce distractions for pilots so they can pay better attention to air-traffic control, weather, environmental hazards and other concerns. "It's like driving: Don't text while you're driving," says John Cox, a retired airline captain with US Airways who runs his own aviation consulting company, Safety Operating Systems. "This is a little broader in that it says don't use personal electronic equipment while you're operating the airplane." Congress called for the prohibition a year ago in the latest FAA policy legislation. The FAA says several incidents prompted the proposal, including an incident in October 2009, when two Northwest Airlines pilots using their personal laptops flew 150 miles past their destination of Minneapolis. In February 2009, the co-pilot in Colgan Air Flight 3407 sent a text message on her personal cellphone after the plane pulled away from the gate, about 5 minutes before it was cleared for takeoff. The flight later crashed, killing 50 people. The National Transportation Safety Board found the text was not directly associated with the accident, but the board recommended that the FAA prohibit the use of personal electronic devices in the cockpit. Kelly Nantel, an NTSB spokeswoman, says the board is looking forward to reviewing the proposal and will provide formal comments at that point. The FAA had a rule since 2006 that said cellphones in the cockpit should be turned off after leaving the gate. And Delta Air Lines, which governed Northwest during that flight, had a policy against using personal electronics during a flight. The latest proposal doesn't affect pilots using electronics for their jobs. "The proposed rule does not prohibit the use of personal wireless communications devices or laptop computers if the purpose is directly related to operation of the aircraft," or for emergencies and employment related communications, according to the proposal. Airlines such as Alaska and American have given their pilots iPads to lighten the load of carrying paper documents. American estimated that removing 35 pounds of documents from each flight will save $1.2 million in fuel each year. American Airlines referred questions about the FAA proposal to the industry group Airlines for America. Victoria Day, a spokeswoman for the industry group, says it will review the proposal and may comment after analyzing it. FAA will collect comments about the proposal for 60 days. Cox, the safety expert who also answers readers' safety questions for USA TODAY, says the agency will have to develop a clear definition of what is a professional or personal use of a device. "Once you define it, then the crews know what to do with it," Cox says http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2013/01/14/pilot-electronics/1833313/ Back to Top Embraer 190 overran after pilots ignored flap-fault procedure (Ecuador) Ecuadorian investigators have determined that the crew of a TAME Embraer 190 did not follow correct procedures for flap failure before landing at Quito and overrunning the runway on September 17, 2011. As the aircraft descended towards runway 35, after arriving from Loja, its centralised monitoring system alerted the crew to a flap and slat problem. Ecuador's Junta Investigadora de Accidentes says the pilots attempted five times to reset the flaps, but that the slats would not deploy and the flaps would only move to position 2. The crew, however, decided to continue the approach with the high-lift surfaces in these positions, "without carrying out" the appropriate Embraer procedure in the quick- reference handbook, says the JIA. JIA analysis calculated the aircraft's reference speed for this configuration at 149kt, and put the actual landing distance at 1,950m. The 3,120m runway was wet with average braking action. But the aircraft was still travelling at 164kt while 50ft above the ground, and 80m before the threshold. Although the pilots had intended to land close to the threshold, to provide maximum distance for stopping, the aircraft floated and did not make runway contact until 880m beyond. After touchdown the aircraft travelled for 70m before the spoilers deployed, another 330m before the thrust-reversers activated, and a further 380m before braking started. Full braking was not applied until 2,300m past the threshold. The aircraft, which was transporting 97 passengers and six crew, failed to stop in the available distance. After overrunning, the 190 crashed through six instrument landing system antenna structures before striking a perimeter wall and coming to rest 300m from the runway end. It suffered severe damage, mainly to its undercarriage and the underside of its fuselage, as well as to the leading edges of its wings. Investigators discovered that maintenance records for the aircraft showed 53 occurrences of slat-flap failure messages in the two months preceding the 17 September 2011 accident. The inquiry questioned whether corrective measures were being properly applied and has recommended that the operator puts more robust analytical processes in place. But it primarily attributes the accident to the crew's failure to follow the correct procedures for dealing with the flap problem. The JIA adds that the crew "did not respect" sterile cockpit requirements and that this was detrimental to their concentration. http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/embraer-190-overran-after-pilots-ignored- flap-fault-procedure-381011/ Back to Top Four bullets found on China Airlines aircraft on return flight from the US The tightened security inspection procedures implemented at US airports since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US may still have loopholes, after four bullets were found in the economy-class cabin of a China Airlines plane that arrived from Los Angeles on Sunday night. Flight CI-005 landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at about 9:45pm on Sunday. As the aircraft was not assigned to an onward flight, it was towed to the airline's depot in the airport for maintenance. Aviation police said that the ground crew started cleaning the cabins at about 1am and found four bullets in a backseat pocket in the economy class. The crew then quickly reported the find to the aviation police. Aviation police said the bullets are used in pistols and were likely manufactured by US- based Smith & Wessen Holding Corp. They added that they were trying to trace the owner of the bullets. China Airlines said it was informed by the Taoyuan International Airport Service Co that the bullets had been found in backseat pocket. The carrier said it had no knowledge of the exact number or source of the bullets, nor did it know if the bullets had been used. The airline said that it would fully cooperate with aviation police in their investigation and would offer a list of the passengers on the flight if necessary. Airport officials said that there was another case last year in which passengers on flights departing from the US were able to pass the security with guns or bullets in their check- in luggage. They said they were compiling the information of all these different cases and would report them to the US government. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/01/15/2003552573 Back to Top Cessna Grand Caravan EX Earns FAA Type Certification The Cessna Grand Caravan EX earned a supplemental type certification from FAA, the company announced last week. (Cessna's Grand Caravan EX) The aircraft's new engine -- Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140s -- will increase the Grand Caravan EX's rate of climb by 38 percent over its predecessor, Cessna said. "When we started with this design, we knew we could push the performance envelope on the Grand Caravan EX and get it into service for our customers in 'high and hot' missions, but the performance we've realized through the certification process with the new Pratt & WhitneyCanada PT6A-140 engine has truly exceeded our already aggressive performance targets," said Lannie O'Bannion, spokesman for Cessna. http://www.aviationtoday.com/categories/bga/Cessna-Grand-Caravan-EX-Earns-FAA- Type-Certification_78234.html Back to Top Back to Top American amends jet orders from Boeing, Airbus American Airlines said Monday that it amended agreements with Boeing and Airbus regarding the purchases of hundreds of planes, including a landmark 2011 order. The AMR Corp. unit said in a federal filing that it has a definitive agreement with Boeing to acquire 100 737 MAX airplanes with more fuel-efficient engines, set for delivery from 2018 through 2022. Under the updated agreement, American said it will have the option to buy 60 additional MAX planes from 2022 to 2025. American also said in the filing that it had revised a 2011 purchase agreement with EADS unit Airbus regarding the purchase of A320 planes. In the summer of 2011, before its Chapter 11 filing, American announced that it agreed to buy 200 Boeing 737s and 260 Airbus A320s in what it called the largest aircraft order in aviation history. The carrier, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2011, also said it restructured agreements dating to 1997 and 2008 tied to Boeing 737, 777 and 787 models that will provide savings to American. The revised purchase agreements are subject to U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval, American said. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-american-amends-jet-orders- from-boeing-airbus-20130114,0,7048564.story Back to Top Brazil's Embraer delivers 205 aircraft in 2012 Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica (Embraer) in 2012 delivered 106 commercial airliners and 99 executive jets, and it ended the year with a portfolio of firm orders worth US$12.5 billion, the company said in a statement issued Monday. Last year Embraer delivered one E170, 20 E175s, 62 E190s and 23 E195s, as well as 77 light aircraft and 22 large aircraft in the executive aviation segment. The airline also said that it had delivered 23 commercial aircraft and 53 executive aircraft in the fourth quarter of the year. The portfolio of firm orders includes 185 aircraft worth a total of US$12.5 billion. http://www.macauhub.com.mo/en/2013/01/15/brazil%E2%80%99s-embraer-delivers- 205-aircraft-in-2012/ Back to Top China's BOC Aviation places record order for 50 A320 jets HONG KONG (Reuters) - BOC Aviation, the aircraft leasing arm of Bank of China Ltd (601988.SS), has placed its largest ever order to buy 50 A320 family jets from Airbus (EAD.PA) at a list price of $5 billion. "After a couple of years of depressed market conditions, we are beginning to see that the market is turning," Robert Martin, BOC Aviation's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, told Reuters in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "Now we are replenishing our pipeline. This is a leasing company. You want a pipeline of orders to grow your business going forward," he said. The deal, which includes 25 new engine options (NEOs), comprises A320 and A321 variants with delivery scheduled from the second half of 2014 to the end of 2019. "The A320 NEO family order reinforces our commitment to be a key player in the leasing industry," Martin said. Including this deal, BOC Aviation's outstanding orders for new aircraft total 100, including planes from Airbus, its major rival Boeing Co (BA.N), and Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA). It also has 26 planes in the pipeline from purchase and lease back deals. The list price of the deal is around $5 billion, but large orders typically involve substantial discounts on that price. BOC Aviation's assets are expected to rise by 25 percent to $10 billion in mid-2013 from $8 billion at the end of June 2012, Martin said. Cash-rich Chinese investors want greater exposure to the international aircraft leasing market. Last month a Chinese consortium led by New China Trust agreed to buy nearly all of American International Group Inc's (AIG.N) aircraft leasing business ILFC for $4.8 billion. The global aviation market will need $4 trillion of new aircraft over the next 20 years, according to estimates from Boeing. Around half of those new planes are expected to be owned by leasing firms, and China will be a major growth market. BOC Aviation, known as Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) until Bank of China bought the Singapore-based company in 2006, is due to celebrate its twentieth anniversary this year. Curt Lewis