Flight Safety Information February 26, 2013 - No. 044 In This Issue 18 killed as hot air balloon explodes, plummets in Egypt Air Force to Stealth Fighter Pilots: Get Used to Coughing Fits Aircraft of Turkish Airlines hit flock of birds Storm: Airlines cancel nearly 2,000 flights, Chicago next Kingfisher Airlines to Lose All Flight Slots Copter caper costs pilot his aircraft Air India wants Dreamliner back in air in April PROS IOSA Audit Experts Diamond Lays Off Most Staff, Suspends D-JET AAR Completes The Sale Of 10 737-400 Aircraft To MAS 18 killed as hot air balloon explodes, plummets in Egypt (CNN) -- Eighteen tourists on a hot air balloon ride in southern Egypt were killed Tuesday when the balloon exploded and plummeted to the ground, authorities said. It was the deadliest hot air balloon accident in the world in at least 20 years. Twenty-one people were in the balloon when it dropped about 300 meters (almost 1,000 feet) in the city of Luxor, the Egyptian interior ministry said. A gas explosion caused the crash, state-run EgyNews reported. Passengers in the balloon included 19 foreign tourists: nine from Hong Kong, four from Japan, three from Britain, two from France and one from Hungary, officials said. An Egyptian pilot and another Egyptian were also on board, Luxor province spokesman Badawi al-Masri said. Three people -- two Britons and the pilot -- are hospitalized, and four passengers remain missing. Balloon rides offering panoramic aerial views of the Nile River and the ancient temples of Karnak and Hatshepsut are a popular tourist attraction in Luxor, about nine hours' drive southeast of Cairo. "You can see Valley of the Kings in the background bordered by farmland," Pauline Liang of Vancouver, Canada, told CNN's iReport last year. "Below were banana farms, and behind us was the city of Luxor. There was a great contrast between desert landscape, lush farmland and urban development." Tuesday's crash prompted Gov. Izzat Saad of Luxor province to ban all hot air balloon flights until further notice. The last hot air balloon accident in Luxor occurred in 2009, when 16 foreign tourists were injured after a balloon struck a cell phone transmission tower. Until Tuesday's incident, the deadliest accident in recent memory took place in 1989, when 13 people were killed after two hot air balloons collided in Australia. Egyptian government spokesman Alaa Hadidi announced the Cabinet will form a committee from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to investigate the cause of Tuesday's accident, EgyNews said. Back to Top Air Force to Stealth Fighter Pilots: Get Used to Coughing Fits An F-22 takes off on a training flight last month. The Air Force has some bad news for the pilots of its F-22 Raptor stealth fighters: Your planes are going to make you feel crappy and there's not much anyone can do about it. And the message to the maintainers of the radar-evading jet is even more depressing. Any illness they feel from working around the Raptor is apparently all in their heads, according to the Air Force. Those admissions, buried in newly released Congressional records, represent the latest twist in the years-long saga of the F-22s faulty oxygen system, which since at least 2008 has been choking pilots, leading to confusion, memory loss and blackouts - combined known as hypoxia - that may have contributed to at least one fatal crash. Ground crews have also reported growing sick while working around F-22s whose engines are running. The Air Force claims its has a handle on the in-flight blackouts. All 180 or so F-22s are having faulty filters removed and new backup oxygen generators installed. There have also been changes to the G-suits pilots wear. But the Air Force says the alterations won't do anything to fix the so-called "Raptor cough," a chronic condition afflicting almost all F- 22 pilots. The coughing - which, to be clear, is a totally separate issue from hypoxia - is due to a condition known as "acceleration atelectasis," Maj. Gen. Charles Lyon, who headed the Air Force's Raptor investigation, wrote in response to questions submitted following a September testimony before a House subcommittee. "Acceleration atelectasis results from pilots breathing high concentrations of oxygen (above 60 percent) while wearing anti-G trousers, and exposure to G-forces," Lyon explained. Maj. Jeremy Gordon, a Virginia Raptor flier who blew the whistle on the Air Force last year, described a typical room full of F-22 pilots where "the vast majority will be coughing a lot of the time." One Air Force widow claimed her F-22 pilot husband's coughing contributed to his suicide. The coughing, Lyon continued, results from the closure of the lungs' alveoli as oxygen- rich air is absorbed, leaving insufficient gas such as nitrogen behind to keep the alveoli open. "The normal physiologic response to re-open the alveoli is to cough," Lyon wrote adding that an F-22 feeds its pilot higher concentrations of oxygen compared to other jets. Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis told ABC News that the Raptor's extreme performance - flying higher and faster than most planes - could also exacerbate the cough. "The Air Force will continue to explore further potential causes through long term breathing air analysis and human systems integration efforts," Lyon wrote. But he offered no solution to the condition. Apparently, from the Air Force's point of view, coughing is the cost of sitting the world's most high-tech fighter cockpit. With regard to the maintainers who reported symptoms alongside the oxygen-deprived F-22 pilots, Lyon wrote that the Air Force conducted extensive testing and found no evidence that the ground crews were actually sick. "None of the ground incident aircraft cockpit testing revealed anything approaching a remarkable health guidance value," Lyon explained. "None of the maintainer blood, breath or urine samples indicated anything remarkable." Lyon wrote that the Air Force has ruled out any adverse health effects from toxic fluid leaks, hazardous particles from the Raptor's stealth coating and the possible impact of breathing the F-22s engine exhaust. If the maintainers really were sick, as they claimed, the Air Force is "confident that factors other than the life support system or the aircraft caused the ground incidents," Lyon wrote. The F-22, arguably the most capable jet fighting in the world, is the mainstay of the Air Force's frontline fleet and has even gotten more money, even while the rest of the military braces for impending budget cuts. Raptor pilots and ground crews shoulder a large part of the burden of deploying American power in the sky. The flying branch's brass seem to believe coughing, and possibly imaginary illness on the ground, are just part of the job. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/02/stealth-pilots-coughing/ Back to Top Aircraft of Turkish Airlines hit flock of birds An aircraft of Turkish Airlines (Türk Hava Yollar?), carrying out Istanbul-Ankara flight, hit a flock of birds, the Sabah newspaper reported on Tuesday. Engine of the aircraft was damaged as a result, due to which it had to return back to Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. It is reported that none of 110 passengers of the flight injured. They all departed for Ankara by another flight. http://en.trend.az/news/incident/2123778.html Back to Top Storm: Airlines cancel nearly 2,000 flights, Chicago next An American Airlines flight arrives as sleet falls at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. Airlines have canceled more than 1,800 flights during the past 72 hours as yet another winter storm plows through the central United States. In addition to canceling flights, airlines are also waiving fees for passengers flying through the storm's path. Today (Feb. 26) the storm takes aim at the major air travel hub of Chicago as well as busy Midwest airports like Kansas City. Airlines preemptively canceled flights as the storm neared, with more than 180 cancellations being reported at Chicago O'Hare and nearly 100 at Kansas City as of 1:30 a.m. ET this morning, according to FlightStats. By 7 a.m. ET, those totals had ballooned to 268 cancellations at Chicago O'Hare and 113 at Kansas City. Today's problems come after the storm snarled flights in Texas and the southern Great Plains on Monday. Two Texas airports -- Lubbock and Amarillo -- were closed Monday because of blizzard conditions. Not a single passenger flight operated at either airport on Monday, though both hoped to resume flights sometime this morning. Dallas/Fort Worth also took a hit from the storm on Monday, with 229 flights canceled for the day, according to FlightStats. DFW's cancellations came from a combination of strong winds at DFW and because flights from other cities were canceled. Nationwide, more than 600 flights were canceled Monday, according to FlightStats. Not all those cancellations can be tied directly to the storm, though nearly all came to or from airports in the storm's path. Sunday also was a rough day for air travel because of the storm. Airlines scrapped 775 flights across the USA as the storm developed in the Rockies. Most of those came in wintry Denver, where Southwest suspended most of its schedule and all of the airport's airlines cumulatively canceled nearly 600 flights, according to FlightStats. The storm is the second to hit the region in just four days, following one late last week that prompted airlines to cancel more than 2,000 flights Thursday and Friday at airports from Texas and Colorado to the Great Lakes. This week's storm is hitting many of the airports that were hit by poor weather last week. As has become common, most big airlines issued flexible rebooking policies for fliers with flights to, from or through the airports in the storm's path. The fine print varies by airline, but most allow customers to make one change within a certain rebooking window without paying additional fare or change fees. Depending on the carrier, the winter-weather waivers cover airports from as far west as New Mexico and as far East as Vermont. http://www.freep.com/article/20130226/NEWS07/130226013/Storm-Airlines-cancel- nearly-2-000-flights-Chicago-next Back to Top Kingfisher Airlines to Lose All Flight Slots MUMBAI--India's government has decided to withdraw all local and overseas flight slots allotted to Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. as the carrier, grounded since Oct. 1, hasn't been using them, the aviation ministry said Monday. Kingfisher's permits to operate flights to eight foreign countries including the U.K., Singapore and Thailand will be given to other local airlines, the ministry said in a statement. A spokesman for the airline declined to comment. The latest development comes after Kingfisher's lenders decided to recall 70 billion rupees ($1.30 billion) worth of loans from the airline. The recall is a demand for immediate repayment of loans, failing which banks may go through a legal process to take control of the assets the company has put up as collateral. Kingfisher started its operations with much aggression in 2005, buying costly planes and taking over local budget carrier Air Deccan. But high costs and a slowdown in demand soon hit its operations. Because of its huge debt, Kingfisher was never able to recover from its troubles. The carrier has never posted a net profit and currently owes more than $2.5 billion to its lenders, suppliers, leasing companies, employees and the Indian government. To reduce its losses, the airline stopped its overseas flights and cut its original 400- flights-a-day schedule to a fourth. It grounded all its flights in October due to a strike by its employees over pay. The government later suspended its license. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323384604578326061985904582.html Back to Top Copter caper costs pilot his aircraft The federal government is confiscating William Stokely's helicopter as part of a plea deal reached earlier this month. Homeland Security agents arrested the Tulsa ad man and seasonal resident of Forest Highlands, an exclusive gated community south of Flagstaff, at the Flagstaff Airport last summer. Prosecutors say that he falsified the tail number of his aircraft to stop authorities from catching on that he was flying without a pilot's license, according to U.S. District Court documents. He had lost the license for buzzing Flagstaff homes. The guilty plea caps an odd saga that started when Stokely was spotted filling up gas cans at the Winslow airport and then caching them in remote areas around Flagstaff and northern Arizona. In October 2011, the Flagstaff Homeland Security office started an investigation into the suspicious behavior. The agents learned that the Robinson helicopter belonged to Stokely, the wealthy owner of an event center in Tulsa, Okla., as well as an outdoor advertising business. Instead of terrorism or drug running, he had been caching the fuel in 5-gallon containers to create gas stations across the high desert because of his helicopter's limited fuel tank capacity. But they also learned that his pilot's license had been revoked by the FAA for flying too close to homes in Flagstaff, according to court documents. A longtime pilot, he also apparently needed to provide the FAA with proof that he was medically cleared to have a license. Investigators were told that Stokely lives in Forest Highlands and keeps his helicopter at the Flagstaff Airport during the summer, then returns to Tulsa during the winter. Agents began to stake out his home in Forest Highlands, taking video and watching his comings and goings. They also followed him on his trips to the airport. Electrical tape had been placed over the tail number on his helicopter, changing a "Q" into an "O." United States law allows the government to seize an aircraft with falsified tail numbers. A grand jury indicted Stokely in May 2012, and in July agents watched as he pulled up on the tarmac at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport in his blue, convertible BMW and got into the helicopter. In an interview with the Phoenix New Times last year, Stokely said that once he was airborne, the air traffic controller told him he needed to land, as his BMW had been hit by another car. He said he was handcuffed and arrested on a warrant by six agents when he got out of the helicopter. The plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix means that Stokely will neither fly nor own another aircraft for two years. http://azdailysun.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/copter-caper-costs-pilot-his- aircraft/article_14e7b06d-63ae-5205-97b3-b833ff7132b4.html Back to Top Air India wants Dreamliner back in air in April Air India, which grounded six Boeing-made 787 Dreamliners on January 16 after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directive to suspend all flights of the aircraft pending completion of a safety review related to battery malfunctions, is hopeful that things will settle down by April and the aircraft would take wings once again. "Air India engineers are of the view that the Dreamliner should be back in air sometime in April,'' Air India chairman and managing director Rohit Nandan said. The airline ordered a total of 27 Dreamliners in January 2006 and the six were delivered, though several years behind schedule. The cash-strapped airline was scheduled to get delivery of Dreamliners in January and February, but deliveries have been held back by Boeing in view of the air safety issues. Air India had weaved revival of its fortunes by acquiring the fuel-efficient Dreamliners and launching some lucrative international routes. It was operating the Dreamliners to Paris, Frankfurt and Dubai, as well as on three domestic routes. It had planned to launch Dreamliner service on the Delhi-Sydney and Delhi- Melbourne routes this summer. However, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made it clear that it is looking at zero tolerance on air safety and worthiness of the aircraft. In a statement, it said it was reviewing a Boeing proposal to fix the battery problems but the aircraft would stay grounded worldwide until a safe solution was determined. "We are reviewing the Boeing proposal and will analyse it closely,'' it said after meeting with senior Boeing executives to discuss the investigation into the battery issues. "The safety of the flying public is our top priority and we won't allow the 787 to return to commercial service until we're confident that any proposed solution has addressed the battery failure risks,'' it was quoted as saying. Last week, Boeing's European arch-rival Airbus said it decided to drop lithium-ion batteries planned for the new A350 aircraft it was developing and use heavier nickel- cadmium batteries instead. On February 21, America's leading carrier, United Airlines, said it was taking its six Boeing 787s out of service through June 5 due to air safety issues http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/air-india-wants-dreamliner-back-in-air-in- april/article4449562.ece Back to Top Back to Top Diamond Lays Off Most Staff, Suspends D-JET Diamond Aircraft's North American manufacturing operations have been effectively suspended and work on the D-Jet personal jet halted as the company restructures its London, Ontario, Canada operations. In a brief statement, Diamond Canada CEO Peter Maurer said the company will reorganize but in the meantime most of its staff has been laid off at the London plant. Maurer said the layoffs are temporary and he's hopeful most will get their jobs back when the reorganization is complete. The action affects only the Canadian operations. Austrian-based Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH is independent from the North American company. Maurer said enough staff have been kept on to fulfill orders and maintain fleet support but most of the employees got notices. "We want to hire back as many employees as possible, as quickly as possible but the exact number and timing will be determined as we develop our restructuing plans in the coming weeks," he said. "Regrettably, we need to suspend activity on the D-JET program pending the securing of additional funding." The London operation and the jet program were taken over in a majority purchase by Dubai-based Medrar Financial Group in late 2011 with a pledge to take the D-JET to certification. http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Diamond_Layoffs_DJET_Suspended_208230- 1.html Back to Top AAR Completes The Sale Of 10 737-400 Aircraft To MAS From Its Joint Venture Portfolio WOOD DALE, Ill., Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - AAR (NYSE:AIR) and its joint venture partner have completed the sale of 10 Boeing 737-400 aircraft to Malaysian Airline System Berhad (MAS), which the Company announced in November 2012. The sale is consistent with the Company's stated goal to reduce its investment in aircraft leasing. AAR's portfolio now includes four aircraft held in joint ventures and two aircraft that are wholly-owned. At its peak in 2007, the Company held a total of 42 aircraft in its joint venture and wholly-owned portfolios. The transaction closed during the third quarter and will generate net cash proceeds of approximately $20 million and a modest recorded gain during the Company's current fiscal year 2013. Due to joint venture accounting, there will be no impact on reported sales. The Company remains active in the aircraft sales, re-marketing and modification business, where AAR has an established market presence and augments the sale of aircraft with high-value parts, maintenance and modification services from its broad range of capabilities. About AAR AAR is a leading provider of value-added products and services to the worldwide aerospace and government and defense industries. With facilities and sales locations around the world, AAR uses its close-to-the-customer business model to serve aviation and government/defense customers through two operating segments: Aviation Services and Technology Products. More information can be found at www.aarcorp.com. http://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2013/02/26/aar-completes-the-sale-of-10-737- 400-aircraft-to-mas-from-its-joint-venture-portfolio/ Curt Lewis