Flight Safety Information May 15, 2013 - No. 098 In This Issue FAA Calls For GA Safety Improvements Chinese Airlines Receive Flight Threats Air India plane's cockpit door gets jammed during flight, locking out the captain Bali plane crash pilots criticised NJ Man Accused of Selling Rejected Airplane Parts American jet makes emergency landing in Amarillo Annual SMS Audit Results Released Flight Safety Information - Searchable Database Huge solar airplane coming to D/FW Airport this week FAA Calls For GA Safety Improvements With the busy summer flying season upon us, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta on Tuesday met with leaders from EAA, AOPA, GAMA, NBAA and others in the general aviation community to discuss actions to enhance safety and reduce accidents. The GA fatal accident rate has remained flat over the past five years, Huerta noted. "We cannot become complacent about safety," he said. "Together, we must improve the safety culture to drive the GA fatal accident rate lower." The group agreed to set short-terms goals to raise awareness on the importance of basic airmanship and to promote a positive safety culture. Huerta also asked the aviation community to commit to several longer- term goals. Huerta called on the aviation community to install life-saving equipment in older airplanes, such as angle-of-attack indicators, inflatable restraints, and two-axis autopilots; to improve data collection and analysis; and to improve airman certification testing and training. To meet these goals, the GA community and the FAA agreed to work together and move forward as quickly as possible on three key initiatives -- an overhaul of airman testing and training standards, an expedited rewrite of Part 23 that will make it faster and cheaper to install new technology in airplanes, and more industry-wide efforts to collect and analyze safety data. More details about the proposals are posted at the FAA web site. http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/FAACallsForGASafetyImprovements_208696- 1.html Back to Top Chinese Airlines Receive Flight Threats China's aviation regulator said it is looking into threats to five flights that three Chinese airlines received on Wednesday morning. The flights operated by China Eastern Airlines Corp., Shenzhen Airlines and Juneyao Airlines landed safely after some delays due to security checks. The Civil Aviation Administration of China said the threats appeared to be false. "Police are presently doing their utmost to find the perpetrator," the regulator said in a statement. An official at China Eastern said the carrier launched emergency procedures after a flight from Lanzhou to Xi'an received a threat shortly after takeoff on Wednesday morning. The official declined to specify the nature of the threat, said the plane landed safely and added that the airline is investigating the matter. Three separate Shenzhen Airlines flights bound for Shenzhen-one each out of Nanjing, Xi'an and Beijing-received threats between 8 a.m. and 8:33 a.m. local time, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Flight ZH9866 was immediately ordered to return to Nanjing, while Flight ZH9243 out of Xi'an was redirected to the airport in Guilin, Xinhua said. The other flight, ZH9889, hadn't yet left Beijing when the threat was received, according to the Xinhua report, but was cleared to take off after police inspected the plane. Juneyao recalled a flight out of Shanghai and transferred passengers to another plane after determining there was no safety threat, the airline said in a statement posted to the Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblogging service. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324767004578484351235325598.html Back to Top Air India plane's cockpit door gets jammed during flight, locking out the captain NEW DELHI (AP) - Air India says the cockpit door of one of its planes got jammed during a flight while the captain was using the toilet, forcing an unscheduled landing by the co- pilot in central India. An airline statement says the captain couldn't return to the cockpit because the door was locked and that all efforts to open it, even from inside, failed during Tuesday's flight from New Delhi to the southern Indian city of Bangalore. The co-pilot landed the plane at the nearest airport. The door was fixed by ground maintenance staff and the plane resumed its flight. The airline said the incident posed no danger to the passengers. Back to Top Bali plane crash pilots criticised Lion Air needs safety measures, proper training: Bali crash report This handout photo released by the Indonesian Police on April 13, 2013 shows a Lion Air Boeing 737 submerged in the water after skidding off the runaway during landing at Bali's international airport near Denpasar. An Indonesian plane carrying more than 1 (Credit: AFP) . Indonesia's National Transport Safety Committee (NTSC) says budget airline Lion Air should immediately introduce a number of safety measures when it comes to landing procedures. It also says the airline must ensure its pilots are properly trained, after a preliminary investigation into last month's Boeing 737 crash in Bali. All 108 passengers and crew survived when the passenger jet undershot the tourist island's main airport runway and landed in the water. The preliminary report says a young, second-in-command pilot was at the controls at a "critical time". While the report did not give an exact cause of the crash, it ruled out any major problems with the new Boeing 737-800 passenger jet. Weather reports indicated that there was a sudden loss of visibility in the area, it said, adding the second-in-command pilot was in charge seconds before the plane crashed into the sea just before the runway. The 24-year-old, who had 1,200 hours of flying experience, was in control during the descent into the airport and reported that he could not see the runway 900 feet above ground. The captain then switched off the auto-pilot and the second-in-command handed over controls to him at around 45 metres - or one minute and six seconds before the crash - after repeating that he could not see the runway. One second before the crash, the pilot commanded a "go-around" and attempted to abort the landing, but it was too late. The preliminary report recommended Lion Air "review the policy and procedures regarding the risk associated with changeover of control at critical altitudes or critical time". It added the fast-growing airline should also "ensure the pilots are properly trained during the initial and recurrent training program with regard to changeover of control at critical altitudes and or critical time". A spokesman for Lion Air, which has had six landing accidents in the past decade, said on Wednesday the airline had not "received the report yet". The cause of the crash has potential implications for the reputation of Lion Air - one of the world's fastest-growing airlines - which is fighting to be removed from a European Union safety blacklist, even as it buys record volumes of Airbus and Boeing jets. Indonesia has also failed UN agency the International Civil Aviation Organisation's standards for aircraft operations and maintenance, and as a result American regulators have imposed restrictions on them starting or increasing flights to the United States. The NTSC said it expected to release its final report within the next 12 months. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013-05-15/bali-plane-crash-pilots- criticised/1131402 Back to Top NJ Man Accused of Selling Rejected Airplane Parts NEWARK, N.J. May 15, 2013 (AP) - A New Jersey man has been charged with running a scheme to sell airplane parts that had been scrapped or rejected. The U.S. attorney's office says Edgewater resident Gideon Vaisman and others bought scrapped airplane engine parts and created fake paper trails to hide the fact the parts had been rejected by licensed repair facilities. Authorities say the parts were cleaned and sanded at a facility in Suffern, N.Y., and were sold to aircraft owners. It's unknown if any of the parts contributed to any airplane accidents. Vaisman appeared in federal court in Newark on Tuesday to face a wire fraud conspiracy charge that carries a 20-year maximum sentence. He was released on $1 million bond, secured by equity in his home. His attorney has declined to comment. Back to Top American jet makes emergency landing in Amarillo AMARILLO (AP) -- An American Airlines jet bound from Dallas-Fort Worth to New Mexico has made an emergency landing in Amarillo amid reports of smoke in the plane. An official at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport says nobody was hurt in Tuesday's incident involving Flight 1099 to Albuquerque. Airport spokesman Patrick Rhodes says the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit. Rhodes says all 117 passengers and the crew safely disembarked. Rhodes says authorities are seeking to determine the source of the problem. The Amarillo Globe-News reports the passengers were put on another plane later Tuesday to continue their flight to Albuquerque. Officials with Fort Worth-based American did not immediately return a message Wednesday. Back to Top Back to Top Airbus eyes new jet's maiden flight with Paris show a month away With the Paris Air Show just one month away, European plane-maker Airbus got one step closer to the first flight of its new A350 XWB passenger jet, rolling out one of the aircraft from its paint shop in Toulouse, France. Company executives want the new jet to make a big splash at the world's premier aviation showcase. The wide-body plane is a direct competitor to rival Boeing Co.'s beleaguered 787 Dreamliner in the long-haul market. The Paris Air Show is where airlines and aircraft leasing companies go on buying sprees, announcing orders worth billions of dollars. It's held every other year. The A350 XWB, which is made largely with lightweight carbon fiber, has been beset by delays, but in recent months several key tasks have been completed, including flight-test- instrumentation verification, engine installation and a subsequent intensive phase of ground vibration tests. Airbus has been ambiguous about when exactly it plans to conduct the plane's first flight. In an earnings call with reporters Tuesday, executives with the company's parent, European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., said the A350 XWB's maiden flight is expected to take place by summer. The Paris Air Show is set to run from June 17 to 23. The A350 XWB seats 270 to 350 passengers in typical three-class layouts. Airbus listed the jet at $254.3 million to $332.1 million, depending on the version ordered. Airbus is looking to cash in after Boeing's misfortune with its 787. That plane has just returned to service after being grounded for three months in connection with two separate incidents in less than two weeks in which the plane's lithium-ion batteries were found to be overheating. Since then, investigators have probed the 787's battery design and certification process, but the root cause remains a mystery. Airbus had planned on using lithium-ion batteries on the A350 XWB because it saved weight and therefore produced fuel savings, but the company switched to more traditional nickel cadmium batteries when Boeing's problems began making headlines. http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-airbus-a350-paris-air-show- 20130514,0,4587387.story Back to Top Huge solar airplane coming to D/FW Airport this week The world's only 100-percent solar aircraft will fly into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport this week and will be on display for aviation enthusiasts at an event tentatively scheduled for noon Saturday. Swiss pilots Andre Borshberg and Bertand Piccard will be the first to pilot a solar aircraft across the country. D/FW Airport is the third stop in the cross-country journey from the west coast to the east coast. The SolarImpulse started its journey going from San Francisco to Phoenix. From Dallas, the plane will make stops in St. Louis, Washington D.C. and then New York City. The flight from Phoenix to North Texas will take about 20 hours at about 40 mph. The landing will likely occur late at night or early in the morning when winds are calmer. For up-to-date information on the plane's arrival, click here. The airplane's expansive wings are covered in solar panels. The total wingspan resembles a Boeing 747 jumbo jet but it weighs about the same as a car or truck. The group's long-term goal is to fly around the world with a stop in each northern hemisphere continent using a plane with a bigger cockpit by 2015. The airplane uses batteries to store power during the day for use at night. Flight plans had to be worked out ahead of time and special permission was required from each destination and the Federal Aviation Agency. St. Louis was chosen as a tribute to another aviation pioneer, Charles Lindbergh, who flew the Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, the first to fly solo nonstop across the ocean. http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/05/14/huge-solar-airplane-coming-to- dfw.html Curt Lewis