Flight Safety Information July 2, 2013 - No. 132 In This Issue FAA Probes Close Call of Spirit Jet, Small Plane Five airline 'near misses' prompt call for changes in safety rules 2013 Aviation Human Factors and SMS Seminar - Dallas, July 23-24, 2013 Siberia helicopter crash leaves many dead CAA to tighten air-lease rules safety Drunken Sri Lankan cricket star tried to open aircraft cabin door at 35,000ft Egyptian Protesters Bombard Helicopter With Lasers Think ARGUS PROS Cessna TTx enters GA fleet RESEARCH SURVEY FAA Probes Close Call of Spirit Jet, Small Plane DETROIT July 2, 2013 (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is investigating a close call between a Texas-bound Spirit Airlines flight and a skydiving plane that forced the jetliner to dive sharply over Michigan, as screaming passengers feared the plane was going to crash Flight attendants bumped their heads and luggage spilled out of overhead binds during the incident Sunday evening The Airbus 319 jetliner took off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport with 126 passengers and a crew of five, bound for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. It was over Tecumseh in southeastern Michigan about 8:22 p.m. when controllers reported another plane nearby, the FAA said. "Air traffic controllers notified the Spirit pilot that a skydiving jump plane was climbing just south of the jetliner's position," FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said in an email. "The Spirit pilot confirmed that he could see the smaller aircraft on his Terminal Collision Avoidance System. ... A minute later, the Spirit jet received an automated TCAS warning that required him to begin an immediate 1,600-foot descent to 12,800 feet from a previous altitude of 14,400 feet." At the closest, the two planes were 1.6 miles apart horizontally and 400 feet vertically, Cory said. The sudden dive caught the passengers unaware, said Janet Dunnabeck of Whitney, Texas, who was returning with her 10- and 19-year-old daughters from a visit with Michigan relatives. "It was horrifying," Dunnabeck told The Associated Press. "Every person on that plane was screaming. We thought we were going down Dunnabeck said the plunge caused overhead luggage bins to spill open, drinks to spill and flight attendants to bump their heads Two of them complained of pain and asked for medicine, sitting down while nonworking flight attendants stepped up to help. Jolene Dunnabeck, 10, said she was "really scared." "It felt like we were falling, we were going to hit the ground and die," she said. Only after the dive was the pilot able to give out information, announcing only that a "flight control issue" led to the maneuver. "Thank God he was able to control the plane," said Janet Dunnabeck, who said she spoke with the pilot later at Dallas-Fort Worth airport. No passengers were injured, said Spirit spokeswoman Misty Pinson. "Our pilots followed appropriate procedures and adjusted their flight path upon receiving an advisory of another possible aircraft in range," Pinson said in an email. "The flight continued to Dallas/Fort Worth without incident." Addressing why the two planes got dangerously close, the FAA pointed to the smaller plane's pilot. "The skydiving plane was flying under Visual Flight Rules, under which pilots are responsible for seeing and avoiding other aircraft," Cory said. Gabrielle Dunnabeck, 19, said she, her mother and sister want answers about what went wrong and whether air traffic controllers should have alerted the Spirit's crew sooner. "We're still wondering who dropped the ball," she said. Back to Top Five airline 'near misses' prompt call for changes in safety rules Near mid-air collisions cause changes Washington (CNN) -- Five close calls involving passenger jets at big U.S. airports prompted a recommendation on Monday for new rules to prevent planes from getting dangerously close to each other when one aborts a landing. The National Transportation Safety Board recommended the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) change its standards to ensure safe aircraft separation in cases of a "go-around." That's when pilots cut short a landing at the last minute and pull up to circle the airport before making another try. NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman outlined four incidents in 2012 and one in 2006 when planes initiating "go-arounds" and got dangerously close to aircraft taking off or landing. Three occurred at Las Vegas's McCarran airport, one at New York's John F Kennedy airport and one at Charlotte-Douglass International. "The NTSB is concerned that in these events, ATC (air traffic control) was not able to ensure the safe separation of aircraft." Hersman wrote in a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. Crashes were only avoided because pilots took evasive maneuvers, she wrote. The FAA oversees air traffic operations. In each of the incidents, the flight paths would not have intersected had the plane landed successfully instead of conducting the "go around." Controllers under current rules are required to ensure there is enough space between aircraft during take offs and landings. But there is a gap in regulations when those paths converge during "go arounds," the NTSB said. The FAA said in a statement that it takes the recommendations seriously and will respond within 90 days. The FAA said its thoroughly investigated the close-call incidents and took aggressive steps to address the causes. The incidents cited by the NTSB include: On July 30, 2012, a Spirit Airlines Airbus A319 was executing a go around at Las Vegas and came within a quarter mile horizontally, and 100 feet vertically of a Cessna Citation landing on a separate runway. The same day at JFK, an American Airlines Boeing 737 aborted landing and came within a third of a mile horizontally and 300 feet vertically a from a Pinnacle Airlines CRJ-200 regional jet. The NTSB reported the pilot of the American jet radioed "we are turning as tightly as we can" while the Pinnacle pilot said on another frequency "we are trying not to hit this aircraft off our right." On July 14, 2012, an ExpressJet Embraer 145 at Charlotte came within 1,000 feet horizontally and 400 feet vertically of an Air Wisconsin CRJ that was departing. On April 26, 2012, a Jet Blue A320 conducting a go around came within a third of a mile horizontally and 100 feet vertically of a Learjet 60 at Las Vegas. On January 27, 2006, a United Airlines A320 aborted a landing and came within 1,400 feet horizontally and 300 feet vertically of a departing American 757 at Las Vegas. Back to Top 2013 Aviation Human Factors and SMS Seminar - Dallas, July 23-24, 2013 Just under a month until the 2013 Aviation Human Factors and SMS Seminar in Dallas, July 23-24 at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, from 8-5 each day. The seminar fee is $100. Please RSVP if you plan to attend. We have a great speaker lineup, entertaining venue and a chance to share best practices with your fellow professionals. FMI: http://www.signalcharlie.net/Seminar+2013 Registration: http://www.signalcharlie.net/Seminar+Registration+2013 Kent B. Lewis (850) 449-4841 www.signalcharlie.net Back to Top Siberia helicopter crash leaves many dead MI-8 helicopter comes down in nearly impassable taiga in country's east, killing at least 19 people, including children. At least 19 people, including children, died when a MI-8 helicopter crashed in the nearly impassable taiga in eastern Siberia, an aviation committee has said. The Moscow-based committee, citing the surviving crew, said on Tuesday 19 of the 28 people on board were killed, but the emergencies ministry refused to confirm the toll. The accident is the latest disaster to hit Russia's accident-prone aviation industry. The ministry said rescue teams had difficulty reaching the crash site in the mountainous woods of the northern Yakutia region due to bad weather. Some 240 rescuers and eight aircraft have been dispatched to the area. "There were three crew members and 25 passengers on board," the Interstate Aviation Committee said in a statement. "Nineteen people died, the aircraft burnt down." Of the 25 passengers, 11 were children, officials said without providing further details. The accident apparently happened when the Polar Airlines helicopter performed a hard landing in poor weather, 45km northwest of the small town of Deputatsky in Yakutia. The first deputy head of the Interstate Aviation Committee, Alexander Filatov, told the AFP news agency he had been notified of the death toll through a telegram from aviation officials in Yakutia, who were able to communicate with the crew after the crash. But a spokeswoman for the emergencies ministry, Irina Rossius, said it could not give a toll until rescue teams were on the ground. A spokesman for the regional government in Yakutia, Afanasy Yegorov, said the helicopter was performing a regular passenger flight from the town of Deputatsky to the town of Kazachye and was flying over a mountain range when a downward stream of air pushed it to the ground. With weather conditions in the area rapidly deteriorating, the emergencies ministry said another MI-8 helicopter flying from the town of Tiksi was ordered to fly back. But a plane carrying rescue workers and medics has already been able to land in the town of Deputatsky, the ministry added. Russia's aviation industry remains blighted by repeated accidents involving its ageing fleet of planes and helicopters. Poor maintenance and lax safety precautions are also often blamed for frequent accidents http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/07/20137272641979779.html Back to Top CAA to tighten air-lease rules safety British carriers who rent foreign planes in busy periods are likely to face tougher safety checks The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has pledged to crack down on the regulation of British airlines leasing planes from overseas rivals, because of "potentially serious" consequences for passenger safety. Major airlines typically use this "wet-leasing" arrangement either to save the expense of buying aircraft, which can cost hundreds of millions per plane, or to meet short-term spikes in demand, such as the school summer holidays. This type of deal hit the headlines last year when the budget airline Monarch cancelled a wet-lease agreement with the Lithuanian charter carrier Aurela - a plane had overshot the runway at Birmingham International Airport after a flight from Nice. The aviation regulator allows UK-based airlines to take these leases from overseas operators for only up to 14 months, but there is growing evidence that operators are looking to rely on them for longer periods. In a recent board meeting, the CAA's safety regulation director, Gretchen Haskins, warned that there was a "lack of oversight" on aircraft leased from foreign operators because they are regulated by their domestic aviation authorities, with standards that might not meet the CAA's. The regulator, she said, "needed to be assured that the British airline would retain sufficient oversight of the safety of the operation". Mrs Haskins added: "Which airline would be liable if there was an accident? British airlines should not be able to avoid liability to British passengers through subcontracting aircraft operations." Concerns were raised that the increased use of non-UK registered craft and their crew could "have an adverse impact on the numbers of British pilots being trained for commercial transport operations". The board concluded that the "consumer's interests must be kept paramount". It was also noted that there would be an impact on the CAA's finances, as the regulator receives no income from operations involving foreign carriers regulated elsewhere. The CAA's costs are met through charges on the companies and operations that it directly oversees. A CAA spokesman said: "We are actively reviewing, with Easa [the European Aviation Safety Agency], improvements that could be made to ensure that airlines maintain the highest level of safety and we have effective oversight of their operations. This is particularly important where airlines are wet leasing from several operators, leading to greater complexity. All airlines should be providing clear information to their passengers at the time of booking." The news comes as the Government is trying to assess the best option for increasing airport capacity in the South-east, which could ultimately involve a hugely criticised fourth runway at Heathrow or even the construction of a whole new hub in the Thames Estuary. Last year, ministers confirmed that they had ditched plans to sell the Government's 49 per cent stake in National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which navigates pilots through the skies, after complaints that the state should not abandon such a strategic asset entirely to the private sector. Nats is a lucrative business: on Friday it announced a pre-tax profit of £190.7m for the 12 months to April, although this was down negligibly from £194.5m a year earlier. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/caa-to-tighten-airlease-rules- safety-8679913.html Back to Top Drunken Sri Lankan cricket star tried to open aircraft cabin door at 35,000ft as he looked for the toilet The unnamed cricket star allegedly mistook the cabin door for the toilet Was flying from St Lucia to London Gatwick after playing Tri Nations Tour Drunk player 'tried to open the cabin door several times' at 35,000ft A drunken Sri Lankan cricketer caused panic on a packed British Airways passenger flight when he tried to open the cabin door at 35,000ft. In his stupor he tugged away for up to two minutes at the exterior door before telling BA cabin crew on board the packed Boeing 777 that he had mistaken it for the toilet. The incident alarmed eye-witnesses among the 229 passengers on board flight BA 2158 as the Sri Lankan cricket team flew back high over the Atlantic ocean from St Lucia to London Gatwick after playing against the West Indies in the Tri Nations Tour. Wrong door: A member of the Sri Lankan cricket team tried to open the cabin door on the British Airways flight from St Lucia to Gatwick while the plane was at 35,000ft Wrong door: A member of the Sri Lankan cricket team tried to open the cabin door on the British Airways flight from St Lucia to Gatwick while the plane was at 35,000ft (stock picture of a Boeing 777) The team had boarded in Grenada for the overnight flight which stopped over in St Lucia before landing at Gatwick just before 8am Monday. Witness Charlene Francis, 26, from Willesden in London was just feet away from the unfolding drama with her one year-old daughter 'TJ', her mother Linda and sleeping brother Kevin, when the incident happened in economy class about six hours into an eight hour flight from St Lucia to London's Gatwick Airport. The recruitment consultant who is on maternity leave said: 'It was pretty frightening. I'm a nervous flyer anyway but things had been fine until then. I was awake. My daughter had been crying. So I saw everything.' She said the man wrestling with the door was among a group of cricket players wearing the blue Sri Lankan polo-shirt team uniform with their country's name in yellow lettering. 'Suddenly he came over and tried to open the cabin door several times. It went on for a few minutes. He was pulling quite heavily.' 'The BA flight attendants came running down the aisle and tried to calm him down. He seemed quite disoriented. At one stage he was leaning against my daughters cot.' She heard the man tell cabin crew that he had been looking for the toilet - an account confirmed by BA. Mrs Francis said: 'It was very scary. He looked very dazed or drunk. He was very tall and wearing black and red 'Dre' headphones. 'He had a blue polo shirt and the team logo along with his team-mates. 'Some of his team-mates were shouting and telling him to stop. I was just a few feet away. My mum was really upset. Thank goodness he was stopped. 'Somebody said they had been drinking for four hours before they got on the plane.' BA said: 'During the flight a man got up and tried to go to the toilet. 'But instead of going to the toilet he tried to open the aircraft door in mid-flight. 'The event was linked to "an element of alcohol". He explained his mistake and cabin crew accepted it in good faith. Cabin crew reassured customers who witnessed the event.' The player, who has not been identified, was intoxicated on he flight back from the game, pictured, and thought the cabin door was the bathroom BA stressed that it is impossible to open the pressurised door in mid-flight and that at no point was the safety of passengers compromised. Security were informed on the ground but police were not called or involved. After leaving the BA flight at Gatwick, the player and his team mates subsequently boarded another plane belonging to another airline taking them on to Sri Lanka. Officials confirmed witness accounts that the man at the centre of the drunken escapade was a Sri Lankan cricketer but declined to name him. A British Airways spokesman said:' There was a minor incident onboard the BA2158 service from St Lucia to Gatwick involving a customer who we believe had been drinking' He added: 'It is impossible to open an aircraft door when it is at high altitude and at no point was the aircraft in any danger. 'Our cabin crew are highly trained to deal with such incidents and offered re-assurance to customers who were sitting near to the door.' The West Indies beat Sri Lanka by six wickets. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2353156/Drunken-Sri-Lankan-cricket-star- tried-open-aircraft-cabin-door-35-000ft-looked-toilet.html#ixzz2XtI21yYF Back to Top Egyptian Protesters Bombard Helicopter With Lasers Party copter? Rotor raver? Chillout chopper? Whatever you call it, this Egyptian military helicopter certainly got more than it bargained for on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into Cairo's streets on the first anniversary of president Mohammed Morsi's election, some for and some against the embattled president. As tensions rose over the potential for clashes between the rival groups, Egypt's military dispatched this chopper over the presidential palace in Cairo. But protesters were fully prepared to mess with the military aircraft. As the Daily Mail reports, laser pointers can prove distinctly dangerous for pilots. "It's equivalent to a flash of a camera if you were in a pitch black car at night," St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer Doug Reinholz told the newspaper. "It's a temporary blinding to the pilot and also to the tactical flight officer, whoever we are with." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/helicopter-laser-photos-egypt- protesters_n_3528371.html Back to Top Back to Top Cessna TTx enters GA fleet The first Cessna TTx customers flew their new wings home from the factory in Independence, Kan., in the last week of June, Cessna Aircraft Co. announced July 1. The fastest certified piston single in the world, the TTx can churn out 238 KTAS under ideal conditions, with a ceiling of 25,000 feet and optional anti-icing system certified for flight into known icing conditions (FIKI). The all-composite TTx "is designed for advanced pilots with advanced technology and greater comfort in mind," the company noted in a news release. AOPA Editor in Chief Thomas B. Haines got a chance to fly the new "X" last year, and noted somewhat slower speeds in his flight test report, though still a very respectable 192 knots down at 12,000 feet. Direct-drive flight controls manipulated with a sidestick make the TTx "feel more like a fighter than a piston-powered, fixed-gear, four-place business flier," Haines wrote. Cessna announced that business flier David Barnes, CEO of Watermark Retirement Communities, was among the first customers, and he plans to fly his TTx between the 32 Watermark properties throughout the country. The $734,000 base price (technically, $733,950, a company spokesman noted) does not include options such as a TKS system for flight into known icing (FIKI), which will set a buyer back another $49,500. Filling the tanks to their 102-gallon capacity will set a pilot back to 377 pounds remaining for people and baggage, though Haines was able to elicit 180 knots at 12,000 feet (lean of peak) burning 15.5 gph, so fuel can be traded for passengers or gear while still retaining respectable range. http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2013/July/1/cessna-delivers-ttx.aspx Back to Top RESEARCH SURVEY Over the next month, licensed pilots will be asked to take the survey at this link. A $50.00 Visa Gift Card will be given to a randomly chosen survey taker. This survey seeks information from licensed pilots - especially in general aviation - who operate in the United States Airspace System (NAS). The transition from ground radar based air traffic control to space based (ADS-B) air traffic management using GPS accuracy presents a number of opportunities, and choices. The survey asks pilots to identify their preferences; and their responses will help guide efforts to design and manufacture certified avionics that they would like to see in NextGEN. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W6QFWJX Thank you. Curt Lewis