Flight Safety Information January 16, 2013 - No. 013 In This Issue 2 Dead After Helicopter Crashes in London ANA, Japan Air ground Boeing 787s after emergency landing NTSB Provides Second Investigative Update on Boeing 787 Battery Fire in Boston Small aircraft crashes near Burlington, pilot dies First aviation safety culture conference to be held in Dubai 18 Human Heads Shipped From Italy Held at Chicago Airport FAA Encourages Pilots To Hand Fly More PROS IOSA Audit Experts United Airlines Begins Offering Satellite Wi-Fi On Overseas Flights Company sells airplane-glider combo at Melbourne International Airport 2 Dead After Helicopter Crashes in London A general view of the scene shortly after a helicopter crashed in the Vauxhall area of central London after hitting a crane on top of a tower block by the River Thames, according to eyewitness reports, Jan. 16, 2013. LONDON January 16, 2013 (AP) A helicopter crashed into a crane and fell on a crowded street in central London during rush hour Wednesday, sending black plumes of smoke into the air as it smashed to the ground. The pilot and one person on the ground were killed and 13 others injured, officials said. The helicopter crashed just south of the River Thames near the Underground and mainline train station at Vauxhall, and near the British spy agency MI6. Police said one person had critical injuries. Several people were taken to a nearby hospital with "minor injuries," London Ambulance Service said. The pilot, who was killed, had requested to divert and land at the nearby London Heliport. "We received a request from Heathrow air traffic control to accept the helicopter, which had asked to be diverted due to bad weather," the heliport said in a statement. "The London Heliport never gained contact with the helicopter," the statement added. The Ministry of Defense said it was not a military helicopter, and a British security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the press said the incident was not terror-related. The horrific scene unfolded at the height of the morning commute when thousands of pedestrians were trying to get to work. The weather at the time was overcast and misty with fog and poor visibility, according to the weather forecasting service, the Met Office. Video on Sky News showed wreckage burning in a street, and black smoke in the area. The video from the crash scene showed a line of flaming fuel and debris. Witnesses said the helicopter hit a crane atop a 50-story residential building, the St. George Wharf Tower. "I was 100 percent sure it was a terrorist attack," said Allen Crosbie, site manager for the landscape firm Maylim Ltd., who was working at the scene. "There was debris everywhere, a ton of black smoke. Parts of the crane, parts of the helicopter. I heard bang, bang - I presume it was the helicopter hitting the crane and then the ground. People were just panicking." William Belsey, 25, a landscape worker, also said he heard the helicopter hit the crane. "Luckily the crane operator was late for work this morning. He picked a good day to be late," Belsey said. Police Commander Neil Basu said one of the dead was the pilot of the commercial helicopter, which had been flying from Redhill, south of London. No one else was thought to be aboard, Basu said; the other fatality was a person on the ground. British aviation authorities had issued a "notice to airmen" warning pilots about the crane, which extended to 770 feet (235 meters) above ground. The crane is lit at night, and police said investigators would look at whether the light was faulty. The area, roughly 10 blocks from the major Waterloo train and Underground station, is extremely congested during the morning rush hour. Many commuters arrive at the main line stations from London's southern suburbs and transfer to buses or trains there. Aviation expert Chris Yates said that weather may have played a role. Investigators also would look at whether the crane had navigation lights. "The question then becomes whether the pilot was fit," Yates said ************ Date: 16-JAN-2013 Time: 08:00 a.m. Type: AgustaWestland AW109E Operator: Castle Air Registration: G-CRST C/n / msn: 11017 Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 1 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Vauxhall, London - United Kingdom Phase: En route Nature: Private Departure airport: Redhill Aerodrome (EGKR) Destination airport: London Elstree Aerodrome (EGTR) Narrative: The helicopter hit a construction crane on top of St George Wharf Tower (181 metres / 594 feet high) and crashed into a street in the Vauxhall part of London, damaging a building and destroying two cars. According to the Metropolitan Police there are two casualties (the occupant of the helicopter and one person on the ground) and 9 people were injured. Four of them were taken to hospital, one is said to be in critical condition. According to BBC the helicopter had requested a diversion to the London Heliport at Battersea. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top ANA, Japan Air ground Boeing 787s after emergency landing Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co., the world's largest users of Boeing Co. 787 jets, grounded their entire fleet of Dreamliners in the biggest blow yet to the troubled passenger jet's image. An All Nippon 787 made an emergency landing in Japan this morning after pilots got a battery-fault warning and smelled smoke, prompting the decision to ground the carrier's entire fleet for the first time, said Ryosei Nomura, a spokesman for the Tokyo-based carrier. Japan Air followed suit, and the carriers will also cancel all Dreamliner operations tomorrow. The emergency landing comes a week after a battery in a Japan Airlines Dreamliner caught fire on Jan. 7 in Boston, prompting U.S. regulators to review the design and manufacturing of the 787. The jet entered service in 2011, more than three years late, as the first airliner with a composite-plastic body and the first Boeing plane to use lithium-ion batteries. "This is the worst new aircraft development program Boeing has experienced, when you look back at these troubles and all the delays," said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation consultant with Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia. Emergency Chutes Boeing fell 3.3 percent to the equivalent of $74.40 in German trading as of 9:48 a.m. The shares fell 1.9 percent to $75.50 at 7:59 p.m. in New York trading yesterday in extended trading. Pilots evacuated the 129 passengers and eight crew on board down emergency chutes today after diverting the domestic, Tokyo- bound flight to land at Takamatsu airport in southern Japan, All Nippon Vice President Osamu Shinobe said at a press conference in Tokyo. One passenger was taken to the hospital because of wrist pain. The 787-8 model can seat about 250 passengers. All Nippon will "carefully" investigate the incident, which may have been caused by a battery issue, President Shinichiro Ito told reporters in Tokyo today. Resumption of flights with the 787 will come after the airline completes its investigation, Ito said, without providing a timeframe. "We will work to investigate the cause of the incident and to understand what happened," Ito told reporters in Tokyo after meeting Japan's Transport Minister Akihiro Ota to apologize for the incident. "Finding out what happened is our first and utmost priority now." Shares, CDS All Nippon shares fell 1.6 percent to 182 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo, their biggest drop in more than a month, while Japan Airlines gained 1.8 percent to 3,675 yen. Credit-default swap contracts insuring ANA's debt for five years traded at 235 basis points at 9:41 a.m. in Tokyo, according to Barclays Plc. That's up from 208 basis points yesterday in New York, according to data provider CMA, which is owned by McGraw-Hill Cos. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market. Shares of GS Yuasa Corp., which makes the lithium-ion batteries for the 787, tumbled 4.5 percent, the most since Oct. 23, in Tokyo trading. The battery maker hasn't heard of any change in production plan of the 787, spokesman Tsutomu Nishijima said today. Japan's Transport Ministry said it considered today's emergency landing as a "serious" incident that could have led to an accident, according to an e-mailed statement. The ministry said the pilots and air-traffic controllers saw smoke. Boeing has delivered 17 jets to All Nippon so far while Japan Air got seven, the ministry said. All Nippon still intends to increase its fleet to 20 by the end of the financial year, the carrier said after today's incident. "We are aware of the event and working with our customer," Lori Gunter, a spokeswoman for Boeing in Everett, Washington, where the main 787 factory is, said in an e-mail. "We don't have any more details to share at this point." Boeing is poised to retake the global lead in jetliner deliveries for the first time in almost a decade, after delivering an estimated two dozen more jets through November than Airbus, according to analysts. Toulouse, France-based Airbus will announce tomorrow its 2012 performance. Last year, airlines were ordered to inspect all operating Airbus SAS A380 aircraft as Europe's air safety regulatory escalates required checks after the wing structure of the double-decker superjumbo developed cracks. In 2010, Qantas Airways Ltd. grounded its fleet of A380s for 23 days after an engine exploded mid-flight, forcing an emergency landing in Singapore and checks on the aircraft. The A380, the world's biggest passenger jet, started commercial flights in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines Ltd. Air India Arun Mishra, India's Director General of Civil Aviation, said the regulator will conduct checks on all six Dreamliners in Mumbai-based Air India's fleet. "What's happening with the 787 is altogether surprising," said K. Ajith, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian Research Ltd. in Singapore. "There will be a loss of confidence and it will affect the airlines as well as the manufacturers." Qantas, Australia's biggest airline, said it's confident that issues with the 787 will be fully resolved before it starts getting deliveries from Boeing. The Chicago-based planemaker has kept the carrier fully informed about the Dreamliner's performance, Qantas said in an e-mailed statement today. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is monitoring the incident, said Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement it will include the incident in the review it began last week of the 787's critical systems. Introductory Pains United Continental Holdings Inc., the only U.S. carrier that flies a 787, had no immediate comment on the groundings, Rahsaan Johnson, a spokesman, said by e-mail. All Nippon was the first customer for the plane, which entered service in late 2011 after more than three years of delays. The 787 has been plagued by incidents since then, including fuel leaks and faulty parts, most of which have been typical for a new model's first year or two and none of which have caused major injuries. Last week's fire in Boston was the most serious of the incidents. It was followed by a couple of fuel leaks, a software problem with the electric brakes -- new to the Dreamliner -- and a cracked windshield -- all reported by the two Japanese carriers. Boeing last week stood by its new plane, testifying to its safety and that the issues are introductory pains that will be overcome. The 787's entry into service hasn't been any worse than that of the 777 -- one of Boeing's most popular models -- and has been better than "other widebodies" available, Mike Sinnett, chief 787 project engineer, said Jan. 9. Very Disconcerting People shouldn't jump to the conclusion that the 787 is a flawed jet, especially with only sketchy information available about the latest incident, Michael Barr, an instructor at University of Southern California's Aviation Safety and Security Program, said in an interview today. "It's too early to say that the design of this airplane is to the point where it needs to be grounded," Barr said. "But it is very disconcerting that an airplane with this much testing and evaluation is having these types of problems." The airport's runways were shut following the incident, said Yorimasa Tojo, a spokesman at the transport ministry's Takamatsu airport bureau. "The runways will remain closed until we at least move the plane," he said. Boeing chose lithium-ion batteries for the 787, which uses five times more electricity than similar jets, because they hold more energy and can be quickly recharged, Sinnett said. Smoke In a worst-case scenario in which the batteries do burn, they are designed to do so in a way that doesn't threaten the aircraft, Sinnett said. If the jet is airborne, smoke is supposed to be vented out of the compartment so that it doesn't reach the cabin, he said, and all of the battery cells can ignite without harming the plane's ability to stay aloft. This is a crucial year for the 787 as Chicago-based Boeing increases deliveries, trying to get out from under the weight of seven delays to the jet's introduction that spanned more than three years. Boeing is set to double 787 production this year to help fill remaining orders for about 800. The planemaker has delivered about 50 of the $207 million jets to eight customers: All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Air India, Ethiopian Airlines, Chile's LAN Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines SA, United Continental Holdings Inc. and Qatar Airways. "This is not good," said Andrew Orchard, a Hong Kong- based analyst at CIMB Securities HK Ltd. "There could be some sort of softness in demand in the short term, but I don't think the incidents will have a huge impact on demand in the long term." http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ana-japan-air-ground-boeing-787s-after- emergency-landing/2013/01/16/8baf1b7a-5fbe-11e2-9dc9-bca76dd777b8_story_2.html Back to Top NTSB Provides Second Investigative Update on Boeing 787 Battery Fire in Boston WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board today released a second update on its investigation into the Jan. 7 fire aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston. The lithium-ion battery that powered the auxiliary power unit on the airplane was removed and transported back to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington on Jan. 10. The battery is currently being examined by NTSB investigators, who plan to disassemble it this week. NTSB photos of the burned auxiliary power unit battery from a JAL Boeing 787 that caught fire on Jan. 7 at Boston's Logan International Airport. The dimensions of the battery are 19x13.2x10.2 inches and it weighs approximately 63 pounds (new). In advance of that work, under the direction of the NTSB, radiographic examinations of the incident battery and an exemplar battery were conducted this past weekend at an independent test facility. The digital radiographs and computed tomography scans generated from this examination allowed the team to document the internal condition of the battery prior to disassembling it. In addition, investigators took possession of burned wire bundles, the APU battery charger, and several memory modules. The maintenance and APU controller memory modules will be downloaded to obtain any available data. Investigators also documented the entire aft electronics bay including the APU battery and the nearby affected structure where components and wire bundles were located. The airplane was released back to Japan Airlines on Jan. 10. The airplane's two combined flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder units were transported to NTSB headquarters and have been successfully downloaded. The information is currently being analyzed by the investigative team. The airport emergency response group documented the airport rescue and firefighting efforts to extinguish the fire, which included interviews with first responders. Fire and rescue personnel were able to contain the fire using a clean agent (Halotron), however, they reported experiencing difficulty accessing the battery for removal during extinguishing efforts. All fire and rescue personnel responding to the incident had previously received aircraft familiarization training on the Boeing 787. In accordance with international investigative treaties, the Japan Transport Safety Board and French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile have appointed accredited representatives to the investigation. The NTSB-led investigative team is comprised of subject matter groups in the areas of airplane systems, fire, airport emergency response, and data recorders and includes experts from the Federal Aviation Administration, The Boeing Company, US Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division, Japan Airlines (aircraft operator), GS Yuasa (battery manufacturer), and Thales Avionics Electrical Systems (APU battery/charger system). Further investigative updates will be issued as events warrant. To be alerted to any updates or developments, please follow the NTSB on Twitter at twitter.com/ntsb. NTSB Media Contact: Office of Public Affairs 490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, DC 20594 (202) 314-6100 Eric Weiss eric.weiss@ntsb.gov Back to Top Small aircraft crashes near Burlington, pilot dies BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP) A small aircraft (Pilatus PC-12) has crashed in Burlington and police say the pilot has died. Assistant Police Chief Chris Verdeck said the crash was reported around 6 a.m. Wednesday about 5 miles northeast of the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport. Verdeck says the aircraft appears to be a small jet. He says he doesn't know if the pilot issued a distress call before the crash. Verdeck says the pilot was the only person onboard. He says no one on the ground was hurt. The plane came across a cemetery and some woods and most of the wreckage appears to be on a softball field. Verdeck says there is no indication of why the plane crashed. He did not know where the flight originated. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/01/16/3791540/small-aircraft-crashes-near- burlington.html#storylink=cpy ************ Date: 16-JAN-2013 Time: 06:00 a.m. Type: Pilatus PC-12 Operator: LabCorp Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Five miles northeast of the Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport - United States of America Phase: Take off Nature: Private Departure airport: Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport Destination airport: Morristown, NJ Municipal Airport Narrative: The plane crashed under unknown circumstances. The pilot and sole occupant of the plane was killed Back to Top First aviation safety culture conference to be held in Dubai Establishing standard safety protocols for aviation in the region will be one of the key objectives of the first ever Aviation Safety Culture conference to be held in Dubai later this month. Mohammed Abdulla Ahli, director general, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, who will make the opening, welcome address, says, because aviation is so vital to today's economy, potential flight risks need to be eliminated or minimized to prevent costly and tragic consequences. "There is no question that aviation safety is today at an exceptionally high level, but that isn't to say that there isn't room forimprovement," he said. "We are delighted to present and host this event which we are confident will provide an important platform for deliberation as to the ways and means to moving to the next level and more importantly instilling a culture of safety within everyone involved in this industry." The two-day summit will comprise a series of panel discussions covering a range of topics, from the evolution of global aviation safety culture and integrating safety and culture with world class safety management system to the commercial advantages of safety culture. Deliberations will be coupled with reviews of the some of the latest safety products and technologies from industry leaders Boeing and Honeywell. The event is being chaired by our very own editor-in chief Alan Peaford MBE. Peaford said: "Although aviation safety statisics look good on paper there are some underlying threats and worries. I hope that this conference will address those issues and help the industry work towards even better safety standards." http://www.arabianaerospace.aero/first-aviation-safety-culture-conference-to-be-held- in- dubai.html?utm_source=googleNews&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=news_feed Back to Top 18 Human Heads Shipped From Italy Held at Chicago Airport U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials halted a shipment of 18 human heads, at Chicago O'Hare International Airport A shipment of 18 human heads, still covered in skin, was held at Chicago O'Hare International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Customs officials halted the heads for investigation before handing them over to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. "We are involved because they can't store them any longer," Tony Brucci, chief of investigations at the medical examiner's office told ABC News. "We'll be examining the heads in the autopsy room today, but there is no foul play suspected in the collection of the heads." The heads were en route to a research facility near Chicago, but there was a glitch in the paperwork. "They were all properly preserved and tagged for the purpose of anatomical study," Brucci said. "The paperwork just isn't properly done." Researchers in Rome had been using the embalmed heads but shipped them to the United States for cremation at a facility near Chicago. "The crematory has done nothing wrong. In fact, they were just here to hand all the paperwork over, and we're satisfied everything is on the up-and-up," Brucci told ABC News. "We are releasing them back to the crematory soon." The somewhat grisly discovery apparently wasn't all that unusual. Doctors, medical facilities and research organizations often ship human body parts, said Brucci. This shipment raised flags because of the paperwork problem. "This isn't as strange as it sounds," Brucci said. "People ship body parts to universities and hospitals all the time, we just don't usually hear much about it." In 2010, a shipment of up to 60 human heads and parts of heads was seized at an airport in Arkansas. Those heads were intended for medical training but were stopped in transit because of improper packaging and errors in the paperwork. http://abcnews.go.com/US/shipment-18-human-heads-halted-ohare- airport/story?id=18219832 Back to Top FAA Encourages Pilots To Hand Fly More Recognizing that pilots' stick-and-rudder skills may be atrophying in an increasingly high-tech world, the FAA has issued a new safety alert for operators (SAFO) reminding crew members to continuously maintain and improve their hand-flying skills by switching off the autopilot every once in awhile. An analysis of flight operations data including several incidents and accidents has identified an increase in "manual handling errors," according to the SAFO issued on January 4. Too much reliance on the autopilot, the FAA says, "does not reinforce a pilot's knowledge and skills in manual flight operations." Autoflight systems, the agency notes, are "useful tools for pilots and have improved safety and workload management, and thus enabled more precise operations. However, continuous use of autoflight systems could lead to degradation of the pilot's ability to recover the aircraft quickly from an undesired state." Pilots are being encouraged to hand fly their airplanes more often, "such as in non-RVSM airspace and during low-workload conditions," while operators are being encouraged to adjust their procedures to include the changes. The SAFO applies to pilots of all stripes, but seems mostly geared toward corporate jet and airline crews that rely most heavily on cockpit automation. h Back to Top Back to Top United Airlines Begins Offering Satellite Wi-Fi On Overseas Flights United Airlines has announced that inflight Wi-Fi is now available on the first of its international wide-body aircraft, which makes it the only U.S. carrier to currently offer an Internet connection on long-haul overseas routes. The company said that it expects to install Wi-Fi on 300 mainline aircraft (including Airbus 319 and 320 aircraft, and Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 aircraft) by the end of this year. Here are the specs: The Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft is a Boeing 747-400 that serves trans-Atlantic and trans- Pacific routes. It's outfitted with Panasonic Avionics Corporation's Ku-band satellite technology, offering customers faster inflight Internet service than air-to-ground technology (ATG). We've also outfitted two Airbus 319 aircraft serving domestic routes with Ku-band satellite Wi-Fi. Passengers who want to connect their laptops or mobile devices to the in-flight hotspot while onboard can choose from two speeds: standard, priced initially between $3.99 and $14.99 depending on the duration of the flight, and Accelerated, which offers faster download speeds and is priced initially below $5.99 and $19.99. This is not the first time a U.S. carrier has experimented with Wi-Fi service on long-haul flights. Boeing launched Connexion, its high-speed broadband service, in 2004, but it was only widely available in Europe and Asia before being discontinued in December 2006 due to lack of customer interest (fees were high, usually starting at $9.95 for one hour of access). German airline Lufthansa sought to relaunch the service in 2007, and since December 2010 has offered Ku-band satellite Internet, the same technology now being offered by United Airlines. http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/united-airlines-begins-offering-satellite-wi-fi-on- overseas-flights/ Back to Top Company sells airplane-glider combo at Melbourne International Airport Jim Lee, owner of Phoenix Air USA, is selling the motorized gliders at Melbourne International Airport. Prices for the ultra-fuel efficient aircraft start at about $150,000. A new company at Melbourne International Airport has started selling motorized gliders, hoping to take advantage of a fairly recent type of FAA certification: light sport aircraft. The company, Phoenix Air USA, is headed by Jim Lee of Satellite Beach. Phoenix Air has four employees. The company already has 12 orders for the ultra fuel-efficient aircraft, which can carry two people. "This is a uniquely versatile aircraft," Lee said. "Not only does the Phoenix allow for incredibly efficient and affordable flying, on top of that, you can go soaring. I would say it's the wave of the future." Though the aircraft company is small, Monday's announcement by Phoenix Air is another example of growth at Melbourne International. In recent years, the airport has added numerous high-profile developments that brought with them millions of dollars in capital investment and hundreds of new jobs. Brazilian company Embraer builds business jets, and Liberty Aerospace builds small private aircraft at the airport. Several other companies perform aircraft renovation. The Phoenix Air announcement shows there is room at the airport for low-profile companies. The 59-year-old Lee has been based at Melbourne International for the last five years, leasing space in two hangars. "It is very positive for another innovative product in a growing niche aviation market to be distributed from right here at our airport," said Richard Ennis, Melbourne International's executive director. "Phoenix Air USA is a great example of the airport's continued growth as a major aviation manufacturing hub that is reshaping the Space Coast economy," he added. The parts of Phoenix Air planes are made in the Czech Republic and transported by cargo ship to Port Everglades in South Florida. From there, they are shipped by truck to Brevard County, where the aircraft are assembled, the avionics are installed and customer deliveries are finalized. Lee said the aircraft appeals to the recreational pilot and the soaring, or glider, enthusiast. Versions of the aircraft sell for $149,000 and $172,000. Lee said he recently flew one of the aircraft to Maryland, and during the five-hour trip, he used just 20 gallons of unleaded fuel. He also said he flew from Kissimmee to the Georgia border using mostly the glider capability. The the ocean breeze and warm updrafts called thermals provided the power for gliding. Lee called Melbourne an ideal location for his business. Shipping here is easy, he said, and the FAA inspection process is quick and efficient. And, he added, the weather is perfect. http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20130115/BUSINESS/301150005/Company-sells- airplane-glider-combo-Melbourne-International-Airport Curt Lewis