Flight Safety Information April 4, 2013 - No. 070 In This Issue Missing Airplane Found Crashed In Oklahoma Panhandle Plane crash: Police to decide on underwater operation Vintage cargo plane makes emergency landing on Fla. highway after engine stalls FAA puts no-fly zone over Arkansas oil spill with Exxon employee in charge PROS IOSA Audit Experts Inland Empire officials criticize L.A.'s terms on Ontario airport Missing Airplane Found Crashed In Oklahoma Panhandle Authorities say an airplane missing on a flight from Oklahoma to Colorado has been found crashed in the Oklahoma Panhandle near Guymon with at least two people killed. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford says the single-engine aircraft that disappeared after leaving El Reno Monday morning bound for Colorado Springs, Colo., was found shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday about four miles northwest of Guymon - about 265 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. Lunsford says the burned wreckage was spotted by another pilot. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says at least two people were killed in the crash. Trooper Betsy Randolph says troopers are keeping the scene secure until federal investigators arrive at the scene. The names of the victims have not been released. The aircraft was registered to a Colorado man. http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/04/03/missing-airplane-found-crashed-in-oklahoma- panhandle/ Back to Top Plane crash: Police to decide on underwater operation Police will decide whether the wreck of the plane belonging to the 2degrees' chief executive Eric Hertz will be recovered from the seabed off the Waikato coast, the Navy says. Deteriorating weather is delaying further exploration of the plane wreckage believed to be holding the bodies of Mr Hertz and his wife Kathy. The plane is lying upside-down about 56 metres below the surface. The Navy's dive support vessel, HMNZS Manawanui, is due to arrive at the site tomorrow. The vessel's commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Kerry Driver said conditions were expected to improve from Saturday. "But really, we're going to get down to the area and assess the weather conditions in consultation with the police and the dive squad," he told Radio New Zealand today. He said there would have to be further investigation on whether they would be able to lift the plane from the seabed. "We'll still need to have divers investigate the scene, but really we're just here to support the New Zealand police." It would be a police decision of whether an underwater operation would be able to be carried out, he said. The vessel had a recompression chamber, which would be needed because of the depth the divers would go to. Commander Driver described the depth as being on the limit of the drivers' capabilities. There was also a crane on board which could lift the aircraft from the seabed. "Whether or not we do any aircraft recovery will be up to the New Zealand police." Sonar images have mapped where the twin engine Beechcraft Baron was lying near Gannet Island. CAA spokesman Mike Richards once police and Navy had completed recovery options to retrieve the bodies, the CAA would start considering ways to carry out the investigation as to establishing a possible cause or causes of the accident. The couple had been on their way to visit their daughter in Dunedin when their plane ditched at high speed on Saturday. Their families yesterday said thank you for the support they had received. "Knowing that they both touched so many lives in a positive way is a profound reminder of how much they meant to us in our own lives," the family said in a statement. "We are comforted and proud to know they were not just beloved in our families, but also integral and engaged members of the community they loved in New Zealand." http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10875327 Back to Top Vintage cargo plane makes emergency landing on Fla. highway after engine stalls The crew of a vintage cargo plane practicing what to do in the event of an in-flight emergency, found themselves in the middle of one when the 1959 Beechcraft 18 lost both engines during a test flight Tuesday evening, reports CBS Miami. The Florida Highway Patrol said the instructor and his student pilot were forced to bring the plane down on an isolated part of US 27 about 5 miles north of I-75. No one was hurt. CBS4 Photojournalist Kyle Hall was told Stuart Hanley of Hollywood and Ronald Russell of Auburn, Maine were practicing what to do in the event of an engine stall. The instructor killed one of the engines as part of the test, but, for whatever reason, the second engine quit and wouldn't restart. That forced the crew to put their training to the test. Since there was no way the plane could make it back to Executive Airport on its own power, Hanley and Russell made an emergency landing on the highway. Late Tuesday, the plane was moved from the roadway to a nearby boat ramp. The FAA will make a report on the incident and Aztec Airways will decide later Wednesday on how best to get the plane back to its base at Executive Airport. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57577740/vintage-cargo-plane-makes- emergency-landing-on-fla-highway-after-engine-stalls/ Back to Top FAA puts no-fly zone over Arkansas oil spill with Exxon employee in charge The FAA announced a temporary no-fly zone would be enacted indefinitely over the Arkansas oil spill. With word that an Exxon employee was controlling the airspace, though, speculation pointed to the idea the oil company was trying to keep the media away. The Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday that until further notice, no aircraft will be allowed to operate over the Mayflower oil spill in Conway, Arkansas. While there was scant explanation for the mandate, it was "effective immediately" - and ordered to stay in place "until further notice." The FAA's online posting raised some questions Wednesday, though, by noting that "only relief aircraft operations under direction of Tom Suhrhoff" are permitted in the area. On his LinkedIn profile, Suhrhoff lists himself not as an emergency expert or safety official, but as an aviation adviser for ExxonMobil. Prior to ExxonMobil, according to his profile on the professional social network, he worked as a US Army pilot for 24 years. The only reasoning provided on FAA.gov for "temporary flight restrictions" was a "hazard" warning. An FAA spokesman told reporters that the flying ban applied to aircraft flying at 1,000 feet or lower and within five nautical miles, so that emergency support are able to respond to the disaster immediately. However, there's been rampant speculation that the ban was enacted to censor news cameras from taking shots of the disaster area. Lynn Lunsford, a spokesperson for the FAA, revealed that the restriction was requested by local disaster officials and that the order would eventually be amended to include news helicopters. "They are using at least one helicopter to provide aerial support for the cleanup," Lunsford said. "For safety reasons, they asked us to protect the airspace 1,000 feet above the area to allow the aircraft to move as needed." On April 2, the day after flight activity was suspended, an aerial video surfaced online revealing the extent of the damage. http://rt.com/usa/faa-zone-exxon-employee-306/ Back to Top Back to Top Inland Empire officials criticize L.A.'s terms on Ontario airport Inland Empire officials seeking control of LA/Ontario International Airport are balking at an unprecedented demand by Los Angeles that they buy the struggling operation for hundreds of millions of dollars. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the agency that operates Ontario have insisted that the once-thriving aviation hub be sold at a price that helps recover the cost of improvements made over the years. Their studies estimate Ontario's fair market value at $243 million to $605 million. Inland Empire officials assert that the facility, 37 miles west of downtown Los Angeles, has a negative market value due to its severe decline during the recession and its uncertain future. They note that of the eight U.S. airports that have shifted ownership from one government agency to another over the last 20 years, not one involved a sale like that envisioned by Los Angeles. The officials counter that the price estimates are unrealistic. They say that Ontario - once the linchpin in a plan to more evenly spread air traffic across the busy Los Angeles region - has lost almost 40% of its passengers, noting that revenue is declining and its high costs for airlines have made it difficult to restore service. "There has never been a transfer of this type that has entailed the amount of compensation Los Angeles World Airports wants," said Ontario City Councilman Alan D. Wapner, who has been leading the effort to acquire the airport. "My biggest concern is that they will give it to us after it has failed. A lot is at stake." The newly formed Ontario International Airport Authority and the Ontario City Council met in closed sessions earlier this week to discuss their options in the talks with Los Angeles, such as potential counteroffers and the possibility of litigation. Serious discussions over control of the airport began late last year after the Los Angeles City Council rejected an offer by Ontario officials, which included making a $50-million payment and retiring the airport's remaining debt of about $70 million from the construction of two passenger terminals. Inland Empire officials believe the airport can be a much more vibrant economic driver for Riverside and San Bernardino counties. They contend that Los Angeles officials - who also manage Los Angeles International Airport and one of the nation's busiest general aviation centers in Van Nuys - have not done enough to halt Ontario's severe decline. Passenger volumes have plummeted from 7.2 million in 2007 to 4.2 million last year. The latest projections indicate that the passenger level could fall below 4 million in 2013. Los Angeles officials assert that the worst recession since World War II has prompted carriers to reduce service and relocate flights to well-established markets at larger hubs, such as LAX. Efforts to cut costs and lure airlines back to Ontario, they say, have not worked. Representatives from Los Angeles and the Inland Empire have agreed not to publicly discuss the substance of the negotiations. Miguel Santana, Los Angeles' chief administrator, is moderating the talks. He said the negotiations are at a critical stage and that finding a middle ground acceptable to the parties is difficult. "We are trying to find areas of commonality," Santana said. "The city has not changed its view on a sale. The question is, what is the appropriate value. I still believe there is reason to be optimistic, but there are major challenges that need to be overcome by both sides." Based on various assumptions about the airport's future revenue, expenses and projected growth, Leigh/Fisher management consultants established a range of values. Researchers also weighed the transaction terms of about 30 airports worldwide, whose government operators sold long-term leases or shares to private interests. In the U.S., Leigh/Fisher noted that private investors bid $2.52 billion in 2008 to acquire a 99-year lease for Chicago's Midway International Airport - the nation's 29th-busiest airport. Though the deal collapsed, researchers said "Midway remains a relevant data point for valuing the sale of a commercial airport." According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Los Angeles can sell the airport to the Ontario authority, but the proceeds must be used for airport purposes at LAX or Van Nuys and cannot go into the city's general fund. In stark contrast to Leigh/Fisher's estimates, Inland Empire officials contend that the airport has a negative value of $78 million to $104 million due to its decline and forecasts for a slow recovery. They say it is disingenuous for Los Angeles to claim that Ontario must be sold to recover the cost of improvements that were financed with the help of airport revenue from Ontario, federal grants and passenger fees assessed for construction projects. About $506 million has been invested, officials say. Oliver Wyman, the consulting firm hired by the Ontario airport authority, states that the facility has no real value because it operates on a break-even basis and has no surplus revenue. Passenger volumes are declining and the costs for airlines have been among the highest in the region, an impediment for restoring air service, researchers said. The consulting firm notes that like the eight other transfers of airports among government agencies, the city of Ontario shifted ownership to Los Angeles World Airports in 1985 without selling it in the traditional sense as Los Angeles officials claim. To complete the transfer, the agency paid $58,329 in costs and demonstrated that it had satisfied its financial obligations under a 1967 joint powers agreement to operate the airport for the city of Ontario. That amounted to $6 million to $7 million in debt payments and reimbursements to the city for a land purchase. "LAWA's insistence on a high transfer price for Ontario despite the no charge basis of the original transfer from Ontario to Los Angeles appears to violate the expectation of fair dealing between the parties," Wyman's report stated. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-airport-talks-20130404,0,7181376.story Curt Lewis