Flight Safety Information July 3, 2013 - No. 133 In This Issue American Airlines flight diverted to Kansas City International Airport, Unruly Passenger Russia: 23 Dead, Others Stranded in Siberian Helicopter Crash 2013 Aviation Human Factors and SMS Seminar - Dallas, July 23-24, 2013 Federal officials reject conspiracy in '96 jet crash Bolivia furious over Snowden jet claims... Myanmar Delegation in Beijing to investigate MA60 aircraft safety concerns New York man causes two flight diversions in 12 hours 'because he wanted to smoke' Guns In Airports On The Rise According To TSA The Government Has Some Tips For Surviving A Plane Crash 'Like MacGyver' Think ARGUS PROS American Airlines flight diverted to Kansas City International Airport after passenger becomes unruly KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An American Airlines flight made an unexpected stop in Kansas City Tuesday morning because of an unruly passenger. Kansas City International Airport spokesman Joe McBride says the Chicago-bound flight, based out of Albuquerque, circled around and landed at KCI after the man became unruly. The man was questioned and released by airport police, McBride said. The plane landed at about 11:30 a.m. and had taken off again, without the unruly passenger, about an hour later, according to McBride. http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/local_news/American-Airlines-flight-diverted-to-Kansas-City-International- Airport-passenger-unruly#ixzz2Xz2VBFJ5 Back to Top Russia: 23 Dead, Others Stranded in Siberian Helicopter Crash A commuter helicopter carrying several dozen passengers, including at least 11 children, crashed in a remote Russian region on Tuesday, killing 23 and prompting a frantic attempt to reach survivors stranded deep in the Siberian taiga. A company official said heavy wind caused the crash. Many residents travel by helicopter between villages in Yakutia, a far-northern region where terrain is rugged and roads are few. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/world/europe/russia-23-dead-others-stranded-in-siberian-helicopter- crash.html?_r=0 ************** Date: 02-JUL-2013 Time: 10:40 LT Type: Mil Mi-8T Operator: Polyarnye Avialinii Registration: RA-22657 C/n / msn: 8107 Fatalities: Fatalities: 23 / Occupants: 28 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: 66 km northwest of Deputatsky, Yakutia - Russia Phase: Landing Nature: Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Deputatsky Destination airport: Kazach'e Narrative: A Mi-8 helicopter operated by Polyarnye Avialinii, was involved in a hard landing accident, 66 km from Deputatsky, Russia. There were 25 passengers on board and three crew members. 23 passengers died. www.aviation-safety.net 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 Federal officials reject conspiracy in '96 jet crash WASHINGTON - Current and former federal officials who investigated one of the nation's worst aviation disasters said yesterday they stand by their conclusion that the crash of TWA Flight 800 was caused by an accidental fuel-tank explosion, not a bomb or missile. The officials spoke at a briefing on the National Transportation Safety Board's four-year investigation of the crash of the Boeing 747 off Long Island, N.Y., on July 17, 1996; all 230 people on board were killed. The officials dismissed allegations of a cover-up. A documentary film set to air this month on the 17th anniversary of the tragedy says new evidence points to the often-discounted theory that a missile downed the jet. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2013/07/03/federal-officials-reject-conspiracy-in- 96-jet-crash.html Back to Top Bolivia furious over Snowden jet claims Bolivia has called a decision by European authorities to force a jet carrying President Evo Morales to land in Austria and undergo a search for former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden an "act of aggression." On Tuesday, the plane was diverted to Vienna after being denied airspace by France, Spain and Italy, but Spain opened its airspace to the presidential jet on Wednesday after Austrian officials said Snowden was nowhere to be found. Austrian's deputy chancellor confirmed that Snowden was not on the plane. Morales had been flying back to Bolivia from Moscow, where Snowden is thought to be at the international airport. The plane carrying Morales has now taken off, but Bolivia said it would file a complaint to the United Nations over the blockade, reporters in Geneva were told by Bolivia's ambassador to the United Nations, according to Reuters. Sacha Llorentty Soliz told reporters he had no doubt that the orders to divert Morales' plane came from the United States, and said the search was a "violation of international law" as well as an aggressive act. Russian news agencies Tuesday quoted Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Snowden, unhappy with the conditions Russia has set, had taken back his application for asylum there. Of the list of 21 countries where Snowden has applied for asylum, at least 10 have either turned him down flatly or said his request was invalid because he was not physically on their territory. The rest are pending. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/07/03/edward-snowden-nsa-leaks-bolivia/2485363/ Back to Top Myanmar Delegation in Beijing to investigate MA60 aircraft safety concerns An official delegation from Myanmar travelled to Beijing on June 23 to inspect the black boxes of two MA60 aircraft bought from China which experienced landing incidents recently. They will cooperate with Chinese officials from Aviation Department in Beijing to investigate the causes of the incidents, the officials said. The state-owned Myanma Airways has grounded its three Chinese-made MA60 planes for safety concerns following two landing incidents involving the aircraft in the past months. In mid-May, an MA60 overshot the end of a runway at an airport in eastern Shan State injuring two people. Another MA60 carrying about 60 passengers skidded off a runway at a domestic airport in southern Myanmar on June 10 but nobody was injured. Win Swe Tun, the deputy director-general of Civil Aviation Department is leading the delegation to China and has said that they will report their findings when they return. The aviation authorities also went to Australia to inspect the black box of an Air Bagan aircraft which crashed- landed at Heho Airport in Shan State, killing three people in December 2012. http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/national/2610-delegation-in-beijing-to-investigate-ma60-aircraft-safety- concerns Back to Top New York man causes two flight diversions in 12 hours 'because he wanted to smoke' and tried to open the DOOR mid-air 'Russian-speaking' man tried to exit both flights mid-air to smoke Las Vegas flight was forced to divert from Charlotte to Albuquerque Second flight headed to Chicago had to land in Kansas City instead Twice the man had tried to open the cabin door to have a cigarette A New York man caused two flight diversions in less than 12 hours after he tried to open the cabin door to have a smoke while the plane was in the air. On both occasions the man had tried to light a cigarette inside the plane before heading for the emergency exit, forcing the flights to divert. The first disruption took place on an overnight flight from Las Vegas to Charlotte, North Carolina, which was forced to land in Albuquerque. Diverted: The man attempted to open the cabin door on the U.S. Airways flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, because he wanted a smoke The man, who reportedly spoke with a Russian accent, had been shaking the seat in front of him, attempted to light a cigarette and gone for the door to 'exit for a smoke,' authorities told KCTV. The man was interviewed by police and FBI agents but as he had not managed to open the cabin door, he was released without charges. Passengers reported that the man yet again tried to light a cigarette inside the plane and refused to stay seated. Stopped again: The second flight, to Chicago, was forced to land at Kansas City Airport, pictured, when he repeated his behaviour and headed for the emergency exit to 'have a cigarette' mid-flight An off-duty federal agent and several passengers restrained the man and the airplane was forced to land at Kansas City Airport at 11.30am. 'He was just being obnoxious,' one passenger said. 'He was being belligerent.' According to another passenger the man spoke Russian and 'kept trying to open the exit door to step outside and have a smoke.' The man was escorted off the plane and the flight was able to continue to Chicago an hour later. He was yet again interviewed by authorities and released without charges in Kansas City. Share or comment on this article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2354476/New-York-man-causes-flight-diversions-12-hours-wanted- smoke-tried-open-DOOR-mid-air.html#ixzz2XyuORJZi Back to Top Guns In Airports On The Rise According To TSA By Joan Lowy WASHINGTON (AP) - Several times every day, at airports across the country, passengers are trying to walk through security with loaded guns in their carry-on bags, purses or pockets, even in a boot. And, more than a decade after 9/11 raised consciousness about airline security, it's happening a lot more often. In the first six months of this year, Transportation Security Administration screeners found 894 guns on passengers or in their carry-on bags, a 30 percent increase over the same period last year. The TSA set a record in May for the most guns seized in one week - 65 in all, 45 of them loaded and 15 with bullets in the chamber and ready to be fired. That was 30 percent more than the previous record of 50 guns, set just two weeks earlier. Last year TSA found 1,549 firearms on passengers attempting to go through screening, up 17 percent from the year before. In response to a request from The Associated Press, the agency provided figures on the number of firearm incidents in 2011 and 2012 for all U.S. airports, as well as the number of passengers screened at each airport. The AP analyzed the data, as well as weekly blog reports from the agency on intercepted guns from this year and last year. TSA didn't keep statistics on guns intercepted before 2011, but officials have noticed an upward trend in recent years, said spokesman David Castelveter. Some of the details make officials shake their heads. As one passenger took off his jacket to go through screening in Sacramento, Calif., last year, TSA officers noticed he was wearing a shoulder holster, and in it was a loaded 9 mm pistol. The same passenger was found to have three more loaded pistols, 192 rounds of ammunition, two magazines and three knives. Screeners elsewhere found a .45-caliber pistol and magazine hidden inside a cassette deck. Another .45- caliber pistol loaded with seven rounds, including a round in the chamber, was hidden under the lining of a carry-on bag in Charlotte, N.C. A passenger in Allentown, Pa., was carrying a pistol designed to look like a writing pen. At first the passenger said it was just a pen, but later acknowledged it was a gun, according to TSA. A passenger in March at Bradley Hartford International Airport in Connecticut had a loaded .38-caliber pistol containing eight rounds strapped to his lower left leg. At Salt Lake City International Airport, a gun was found inside a passenger's boot strapped to a prosthetic leg. TSA doesn't believe these gun-toting passengers are terrorists, but the agency can't explain why so many passengers try to board planes with guns, either, Castelveter said. The most common excuse offered by passengers is "I forgot it was there." "We don't analyze the behavioral traits of people who carry weapons. We're looking for terrorists," he said. "But sometimes you have to scratch your head and say, `Why?'" Many passengers found to have guns by screeners are arrested, but not all. It depends on the gun laws where the airport is located. If the state or jurisdiction where the airport is located has tolerant gun laws, TSA screeners will frequently hand the gun back to the passenger and recommend locking it in a car or finding some other safe place for it. The government doesn't track what happens to the people who are arrested. Is it plausible that some people are so used to carrying guns that they simply forget that they have them, even when they're at an airport about to walk through a scanner? Or do some people try to bring their guns with them when they fly because they think they won't get caught? Jimmy Taylor, a sociology professor at Ohio University-Zanesville and the author of several books on the nation's gun culture, said some gun owners are so used to carrying concealed weapons that it's no different to them than carrying keys or a wallet. The most common reason people say they carry guns is for protection, so it also makes sense that most of the guns intercepted by TSA are loaded, Taylor said. Many gun owners keep their weapons loaded so they're ready if needed, he said. Even so, Taylor said he finds it hard to believe airline passengers forget they're carrying guns. "My wife and I check on things like eye drops and Chapstick to see if we're allowed to take them on a plane, so it's a little difficult to imagine that you aren't checking the policies about your loaded firearm before you get to the airport," he said. Occasionally passengers stopped by TSA are people who are used to carrying guns because they work in law enforcement, security or the military, but that doesn't appear to be the case most of the time. Robert Spitzer, an expert on gun policy and gun rights, theorizes that for some, the "I forgot" answer is an excuse, "just like somebody who walks out of a store with an unpaid-for item in their pocket. The first thing that person will say is, `I forgot.' Do people forget sometimes? Sure they do. But are there also people who try to shoplift to get away with something? Sure there are, and I think that's no less true with guns." Eighty-five percent of the guns intercepted last year were loaded. The most common type of gun was a .38- caliber pistol. Airports in the South and the West, where the American gun culture is strongest, had the greatest number of guns intercepted, according to TSA data. Of the 12 airports with the most guns last year, five are in Texas: Dallas-Fort Worth International, 80 guns; George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, 52; Dallas Love Field, 37; William P. Hobby in Houston, 35, and Austin-Bergstrom International, 33. Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta had the most for any airport, at 96. Others include Phoenix Sky Harbor, 54; Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International in Florida, 42; Denver International, 39; Seattle-Tacoma International, 37; Orlando International Airport in Florida, 36, and Tampa International in Florida, 33. When expressed as a proportion of airport traffic volume, small airports in the West and South led the way. The airport in Roswell, N.M., had 8.5 guns intercepted per 100,000 passengers last year; Cedar City, Utah, and Provo, Utah, both 6.5; Longview, Texas, 4.9; Dickinson, N.D., 4; Joplin, Mo., 3.8; Twin Falls, Idaho, 3.4; Fort Smith, Ark., 3.3, and Walla Walla, Wash., and Elko, Nev., both 2.9. By contrast, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where TSA screened nearly 27 million passengers last year, there was a single passenger found to have a gun. "There are some Americans who believe that there are no limits, that they not only have a constitutional but a God-given right to have a gun and `By gosh, if I want to bring a gun on a plane I'm going to do it,'" said Spitzer, a professor at the State University of New York-Cortland. TSA's count of guns intercepted doesn't include all the other kinds of prohibited "guns" that TSA screeners find, like flare guns, BB guns, air guns, spear guns, pellet guns and starter pistols. Screeners find half a dozen to several dozen stun guns on passengers or in their carry-on bags each week. Last December, screeners stopped a passenger in Boston with seven stun guns in his bag. He said they were Christmas presents. The same week, screeners spotted 26 stun guns in the carry-on bag of a passenger at JFK. TSA has found several stun guns disguised as smartphones, and one that looked like a package of cigarettes. Passengers are allowed to take guns with them when they fly, but only as checked baggage. They are required to fill out a form declaring the weapons and to carry them in a hard-sided bag with a lock. Most of those who are stopped with guns are reluctant to talk about it afterward. One who didn't mind was Raymond Whitehead, 53, of Santa Fe, N.M., who was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey in May after screeners spotted 10 hollow-point bullets in his carry-on bag. Whitehead, who is completely blind, also had a .38 caliber Charter Arms revolver in his checked bag that he had failed to declare. He said in an interview with the AP that he was unaware of the specifics of the rules for checking guns, or that hollow-point bullets are illegal in New Jersey. Whitehead acknowledged that it seems "counterintuitive" for a blind man to have a gun but said he keeps a loaded gun handy for protection from intruders. In such a situation, he said, he would call out a warning that he had a gun and spray bullets in the direction of the noise if the intruder didn't leave. "I have five shots, and if I fan it out I'm going to hit you," said Whitehead, a National Rifle Association member who owns five guns. Back to Top The Government Has Some Tips For Surviving A Plane Crash 'Like MacGyver' FAA The latest issue of the Federal Aviation Administration's FAA Safety Briefing magazine is out, and it includes handy tips for surviving after a plane crash. In "What Would MacGyver Do?," Sabrina Woods uses the television secret agent, famed for using everyday materials to solve problems, as an inspiration for keeping aviators alive after things go wrong. Here are some of her tips, aimed at pilots of small aircraft. Sorry, no help here for living through the crash itself: * Keep people informed of where you plan to go and how long it will take, in case you don't make it. * Carry a pocket knife and other basic survival gear (that's climate-appropriate). * Bring duct tape. * Consider keeping vital gear on your person - so you don't leave it behind when you escape your crashed plane. * Know how to get rescued, including how to use your plane's emergency locator transmitter * Get trained: The Civil Aerospace Medical Institute offers a free, one-day survival course. You can read the full article in the June/July issue of the FAA Safety Briefing, and take a look at this excerpted survival equipment list: Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/faas-macgyver-plane-crash-surival-tips-2013-7#ixzz2Xz0UILS0 Back to Top Curt Lewis