Flight Safety Information March 12, 2013 - No. 054 In This Issue President Goodluck Jonathan Sacks Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority DG Harold Demuren (Nigeria) Three killed as Navy jet crashes in Washington state 5 Americans killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash Fuel Truck Catches Fire At Philadelphia International Airport Frankfurt Airport shut down amid heavy snowfall Lucky escape for 200 after plane's engine fails midair PROS IOSA Audit Experts Boeing Seeks Approval for Updated Jet Frontier Airlines pilots, flight attendants will use iPads FAA to close 238 air traffic control towers Taiwanese airline to build flight school at Sacramento Executive Airport President Goodluck Jonathan Sacks Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority DG Harold Demuren (Nigeria) President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the sack of the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren. This takes effect from today 12th March 2013. Details of his removal from office was contained in a statement issued on Monday night by the Special Assistant to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Media), Sam Nwaobasi. According to the Statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria, the decision was approved by President Jonathan after "a careful consideration of Demuren's unsatisfactory response to the numerous concerns of stakeholders in the aviation sector". It added that President Jonathan wished him well in his future endeavours. Here is the statement entitled 'Removal of Dr. Harold Olusegun Demuren from office as Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.' "His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has approved the removal of Dr. Harold Olusegun Demuren from office as the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority with effect from March 12, 2013. "This is consequent upon a careful consideration of Dr. Demuren's unsatisfactory response to the numerous concerns of stakeholders in the aviation sector. Mr. President wishes him well in his future endeavours." The Senate and the House of Representatives had in January resolved that Demuren be sacked amid uproar over the crash of a Dana Air plane that claimed 163 lives in June last year. The House of Representatives had blamed the crash on negligence by the regulatory authorities and recommended the dismissal and prosecution of Demuren. http://www.bellanaija.com/2013/03/12/president-goodluck-jonathan-sacks-nigerian- civil-aviation-authority-dg-harold-demuren/ Back to Top Three killed as Navy jet crashes in Washington state The jet, flying from Naval Air Station Whidbey, crashed near Harrington, Wash.. on Monday, March 11. A Navy jet on a routine training mission crashed Monday in a remote field in eastern Washington, killing all three on board, defense officials told NBC News. The plane crashed near the town of Harrington, about 50 miles southwest of Spokane, about 8:45 a.m. (11:45 a.m. ET), the Navy and local media reported. It was flying out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, in western Washington north of Seattle, the Navy confirmed. The victims' identities were being withheld until their families could be notified. The jet, a Northrop-Grumman EA-6B Prowler, can accommodate two to four people. It's flown by the Navy and the Marine Corps and specializes in jamming enemy radar and intercepting radio transmissions. Witnesses told NBC station KHQ of Spokane that they saw a large black plume of smoke. One described it as a black mushroom cloud that could be seen as far away as Davenport, about 25 miles away. The owner of the wheat field where the plane crashed told KHQ that when he arrived at the scene, there were no signs of a parachute ejection. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/11/17271470-three-killed-as-navy-jet- crashes-in-washington-state?lite ************ Date: 11-MAR-2013 Time: 08:45 LT Type: Grumman EA-6B Prowler Operator: U. S. Navy Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Lincoln County, near Harrington and Odessa, WA - United States of America Phase: Nature: Military Departure airport: NAS Whidbey Island - KNUW Destination airport: NAS Whidbey Island - KNUW Narrative: The aircraft, a E/A-6B Prowler, impacted terrain in Lincoln County, Washington. The aircraft was destroyed and the three crew members onboard received fatal injuries. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top 5 Americans killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Five U.S. service members were killed when a helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan, a U.S. official said early Tuesday. The chopper went down Monday in the Daman district of southern Kandahar during a rain storm, said Jawid Faisal, a government spokesman for the province. There was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the incident, according to a statement by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The U.S. official, who did not want to be identified, did not offer additional information about the victims. It was the first coalition helicopter crash with fatalities since September, when two separate crashes killed a total of 11 coalition service members. One occurred in early September, killing two; the other in the third week, killing seven service members and injuring two more. There were no reports of enemy fire in either of those incidents. There have been 18 coalition deaths in 2013, including two U.S. service members who were killed Monday by an assailant wearing an Afghan National Security Forces uniform. The deaths come just after newly installed U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel visited Afghanistan on his first overseas trip since his confirmation and as coalition members draw down their forces in the nation where war has been ongoing since 2001. In August 2011, a helicopter went down killing at least 30 U.S. service members, the single deadliest loss for U.S. troops in the Afghan war. Insurgents shot down the CH-47 Chinook, which was carrying 25 U.S. special operations forces. Some the those who died belonged to the same covert unit that conducted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, though they were not the same men, a military official said at the time. ************* Date: 11-MAR-2013 Time: night Type: Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk Operator: ISAF / USAF Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Daman district, Kandahar province - Afghanistan Phase: En route Nature: Military Departure airport: Destination airport: Narrative: Crashed during bad weather (heavy rain storm). Five US service men were killed. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Fuel Truck Catches Fire At Philadelphia International Airport PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A fuel truck caught fire at Philadelphia International Airport Monday night, causing several delays. The incident happened around 8 p.m. on the tarmac at Terminal F. Fire crews used foam to quickly bring the flames under control. There were a few flight delays as a result, but there was no damage and no one was injured. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/03/11/truck-catches-fire-at-philadelphia- international-airport/ Back to Top Frankfurt Airport shut down amid heavy snowfall BERLIN (AP) - Authorities say Frankfurt Airport, Europe's third busiest, has been shut down by heavy snowfall. Stefan Schulte, a spokesman for airport operator Fraport AG, told the dpa news agency Tuesday the airport should remain closed until at least 1:30 p.m. (1230 GMT) when the snow is expected to let up. Frankfurt has seen about 12 centimeters (5 inches) of snow and the airport had already canceled more than 100 flights and reported many delays. It is not immediately clear how many more of the scheduled 1,200 flights will be canceled due to the closure. Back to Top Lucky escape for 200 after plane's engine fails midair The Air France flight, AF 217, took off for Paris around 4am. After detecting engine failure, the pilot contacted air-traffic control (ATC), requesting a return and asking for emergency services to be readied. . MUMBAI: An Air France flight with 200 passengers on board was forced to make an emergency landing at Mumbai airport in the early hours of Monday after the pilot detected engine failure 15 minutes into take-off. Ground inspection revealed the presence of a chisel-like tool in the hood of the engine. Experts said they were not sure if engine failure was caused by the tool, since it had not caused any visible damage, but called the safe return of the flight "fortunate" as interference by the tool could have led the engine to catch fire. The incident came just two days after an Indigo flight veered off the runway. The Air France flight, AF 217, took off for Paris around 4am. After detecting engine failure, the pilot contacted air-traffic control (ATC), requesting a return and asking for emergency services to be readied. The plane landed at 4.45am (30 minutes passed between detection and landing). Airport officials said a preliminary check conducted by the fire team did not show anything amiss. The tool was found during a check by maintenance officers. According to airline and airport officials, the tool was in the cowling, which an official said "is the hood that covers the engine; engineers usually work on it to check wiring and small apparatus". The aircraft was grounded after the discovery and the passengers were put up in a hotel, an airline spokesperson said. While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the airline's air-safety department have launched an investigation, airport officials said the tool was possibly left behind by a maintenance engineer before the flight was cleared for take-off. "The tool was present inside the hood when the aircraft landed. On opening the cowling, it was found lying near the engine. There was no visible damage to the engine because of the tool," said a DGCA official. "Leaving a tool inside is a serious error and could have caused trouble for the aircraft and put passengers at risk." An airline spokesperson said the "foreign object" (the tool) would be analyzed. "According to available information, the object had absolutely no link with the engine malfunction." Aviation experts said the tool could have caused massive damage had it interfered with the engine during take-off when "engine power is at its highest". "If the tool had caused interference at that moment, it could have caused severe damage to the engine and even a fire," said a senior commander. An expert said the tool could have caused engine failure mid-air as well. "But all aircraft can operate on other engines and always seek priority landing followed by emergency assistance," said air-safety expert Capt Mohan Ranganathan. "A foreign object can break the engine's fan blades. This causes vibration and the pilot can switch off the engine immediately. The plane can then land safely with one engine." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lucky-escape-for-200-after-planes-engine-fails- midair/articleshow/18917527.cms? Back to Top Back to Top Boeing Seeks Approval for Updated Jet Boeing is likely to seek approval from its board as early as next month to start taking orders for an updated version of its 777 passenger jet, industry officials said Monday. The company plans to add lightweight carbon-composite wings and new engines to the popular model to take advantage of new technologies that it developed for its 787 Dreamliner and to cut fuel usage by perhaps 20 percent. The 777 holds a sweet spot in the growing commercial plane market. It seats more than 300 people, but with only two engines, it is cheaper to operate than the largest planes, like the Boeing 747 or the Airbus A380. All 50 of the 787s delivered so far have been grounded after two incidents involving smoke and fire from new lithium-ion batteries, and no decision has been made about which batteries would be in the new 777s. But the long-awaited decision to upgrade the planes would be an important moment for Boeing as it tries to hold onto its recent dominance in sales of twin-engine planes, which represent the middle of the size range for commercial jetliners. Airbus, Boeing's main rival, is building the A350-XWB, its first jet making substantial use of composite parts, to compete with both the 787 and the larger 777. Boeing also plans to build two larger versions of the 787. Boeing would like to deliver the first of two new models of the 777 to customers by 2019. The first model would probably seat about 400 people, while the second one would hold about 350 passengers and be ready in 2021. Boeing's plans to seek board approval soon were first reported by Aviation Week. It said Boeing was trying to decide whether to offer engines from both General Electric and Rolls-Royce and might make G.E. the sole supplier. The Emirates airline has pushed Boeing to move ahead with the 777 and hinted last week that Boeing was close to a decision. A Boeing spokesman, Marc R. Birtel, said Monday that the company was "aggressively moving forward" with its plans for the 777. "Customers are happy with the airplane design, and we are pleased with where we are in the process," he said. Boeing is already working on an extended 787, called the 787-9, and some analysts had expected the company's board to approve an even longer 787-10 before authorizing the 777 upgrade. But while Boeing works to fix the 787 batteries, airlines have been pushing harder for a decision on the new 777. Boeing has also been talking to airlines about design plans for 787-10. But its board has not yet approved that jet for sale. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/business/boeing-near-decision-on-updated- 777.html?_r=0 Back to Top Frontier Airlines pilots, flight attendants will use iPads Jeppesen iPad application. (Provided by Jeppesen) Frontier Airlines said Monday that its pilots and flight attendants will replace its paper flight bags with a new Apple iPad program. The program, approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, will replace the traditional 30-pound flight bags that contain aircraft manuals, flight-crew operating manual and navigational charts. The lighter weight is expected to save the Denver-based carrier hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in fuel costs as well as reducing paper and printing expenses. "We are very excited for the opportunity to reduce costs and our carbon footprint while improving reliability and safety," said Scott Gould, Frontier's vice president of flight operations. The iPad program is called Electronic Flight Bags - or EFB. Once the technology passes its six-month evaluation, it will be used during every flight phase and on all Frontier flights. Frontier partnered with Englewood-based Jeppesen, a part of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, and will use Jeppesen's FliteDeck Pro application during flight. "Digital flight information delivered through mobile EFB solutions is revolutionizing the aviation industry," said Thomas Wede, Jeppesen senior vice president and general manager, Aviation. "Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro on iPads will help Frontier Airlines operate more efficiently on the ground and in the air by reducing pilot workload, increasing situational awareness and reducing fuel consumption to help lower cost. http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_22765918 Back to Top FAA to close 238 air traffic control towers [Updated] The FAA said 238 air traffic control towers will close April 7 as it aims to cut $600 million from its budget, the result of automatic spending cuts that kicked in March 1. Above, a plane takes off past the control tower at San Francisco International Airport. Twenty-three air traffic control towers in California are among more than 200 nationwide scheduled to close April 7 as the Federal Aviation Administration begins imposing $600 million in federal budget cuts. It was unknown which traffic control towers would be affected when the automatic federal budget cuts in the so-called sequestration kicked in March 1, but the FAA last week released a list of airports, mainly small and medium-sized, that will be affected. They include airports in Riverside, Fullerton and El Monte. QUIZ: How much do you know about the federal budget cuts? The majority -- 195 -- of traffic control towers scheduled to close are operated by outside contractors. An additional 43 are operated by the FAA. "The Contract Tower Program has a well-established record of success in enhancing air safety and efficiency in communities across the country in a cost-effective manner to taxpayers," said J. Spencer Dickerson, executive director of the U.S. Contract Tower Assn., in a statement. "The prospect of closing nearly 195 contract towers nationwide along with 43 FAA- staffed towers because of sequestration is inconceivable given the very real impact it would have nationwide, and yet it appears to be a real possibility," Dickerson said. [Updated at 1:42 p.m.: The FAA said only air traffic control towers operated under its Contract Tower Control Program will be affected. Santa Monica's tower, which is FAA- operated, is not among towers scheduled to close April 7.] Federal aviation officials have previously said overnight shifts would be shut down at air traffic control towers, but tower operations at some airports may face outright closure. The federal agency has also put out the option of furloughing FAA employees for one or two days per two-week pay period, beginning in mid-April. At Los Angeles International Airport, officials previously said it is too early to gauge how much of an effect the budget cuts would have on the average air traveler, but warned of delays. The closures, however, are not yet final. The FAA will issue a final closure list on March 18, the Associated Press reported. http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-faa-to-close-238-air-traffic-control- towers-23-in-california-20130311,0,1136641.story Back to Top Taiwanese airline to build flight school at Sacramento Executive Airport A Taiwanese airline plans to build a flight training facility at Sacramento Executive Airport, county officials say. The first step in the process of establishing the flight school will take place today when the Board of Supervisors will be asked to approve a lease between the county and EVA Airlines. The airline, which provides freight and passenger service to 40 destinations, could eventually invest $12 million to $15 million in the school, which would train up to 100 people. "This is a great and exciting project," said Interim Director of Airports Rob Leonard. He said EVA Airlines wanted a West Coast location and chose Sacramento over several others in Northern California. But before building its flight training facility, EVA Airlines must get approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, and that will require the airline to develop a curriculum and complete training of 12 to 15 students, according to a county staff report. The airline will initially pay $1,833 a month to lease a building, until August, when it will use the whole building and rent will go up to $7,279 a month. The eventual development of a larger flight school would be handled under a separate lease. "This is the first step in what will be a long-term partnership," Leonard said. "Over the next few months, our staff will work with EVA and other stakeholders on a ground lease and other details for development of the project." Classes will initially be open just to potential pilots for the company, but could be opened up later for anyone wanting training, Leonard said. The county operates at four airports, including Sacramento International, and has been working on plans to expand. The flight training school is consistent with those plans, county officials say. Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2013/03/12/2616884/taiwanese-airline-to- build-flight.html#storylink=cpy Back to Top Seattle-area flight training operations will move to Miami, Boeing says SEATTLE (AP)-- Aerospace company Boeing will move its Seattle-area flight training operations to Miami, starting with two 787 flight simulators. The Boeing Co. says all eight flight simulators in its Renton site will move to Miami, affecting about 100 local jobs. Spokesman Jim Condelles said Friday those workers will be offered an opportunity to relocate. The Seattle Times reports that Boeing has 19 flight-training centers around the world with Miami being the largest. The Miami facility currently has 11 simulators but has space for 20. The first two simulators to move from Seattle are for the 787, which are not getting much use because deliveries have been suspended. The Renton simulators train pilots and maintenance personnel on the full range of Boeing planes now in production. Curt Lewis