Flight Safety Information September 17, 2013 - No. 192 In This Issue Plane returns to Martinique due to safety concerns Woman slapped, threw phone at flight attendant European Parliament puts aviation safety first. Airplane declares emergency for engine problems Aviation authority sees safety rating upgrade in October (Philippines) One dead in helicopter crash southeast of Salem (Oregon) Airbus Prepares to Ramp Up Flight Testing of Next-Gen Passenger Jet Smoke forces evacuation of Allegiant jet in Las Vegas Think ARGUS PROS Cessna announces plans for small military jet called Scorpion New Bombardier Jet Takes Flight Mesa Air Hiring Pilots, Support Crew Plane returns to Martinique due to safety concerns FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AP) Officials say an Air Caraibes flight bound for Paris had to return to the French Caribbean island of Martinique minutes after takeoff Sunday. Matthieu Garrigue-Guyonnaud is Cabinet director of the prefect of Martinique. He said that the plane's captain turned the Airbus around on Sunday evening after receiving information casting doubt on the flight's safety. Airline officials did not disclose the specifics of why the craft with 344 passengers was turned around. Several passengers were questioned by police after the plane touched down without incident. Authorities say an investigation of the plane and its baggage turned up nothing suspicious. Air Caraibes says the plane has been cleared to resume its Paris trip on Monday. The carrier is the regional airline of the French Caribbean. Back to Top Woman slapped, threw phone at flight attendant PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police say a 23-year-old woman was removed from a Miami-bound plane at Philadelphia International Airport after she allegedly threw her cellphone at a flight attendant, slapped him and scratched his face. Authorities say Sasha Anderson of Philadelphia was removed from the US Airways plane on Monday morning and was charged with simple assault, reckless endangerment, harassment and disorderly conduct. The name of the flight attendant wasn't released. Police say other passengers on Flight 2051 stated that they were afraid to leave the ground with the disruptive passenger on the plane. The plane took off about an hour and a half later. Back to Top European Parliament puts aviation safety first The Transport Committee supported provisions to ensure that aviation safety professionals - such as pilots and air traffic controllers - are protected when reporting any mishaps or mistakes and that the information they provide is not misused. BRUSSELS - EU pilots and air traffic controllers welcome the EU Parliamentarians' positive vote on the proposed new Occurrence Reporting Regulation. The EP Transport Committee agreed on refining and improving procedures for reporting of aviation safety incidents and setting up a solid framework for strengthening aviation safety across Europe. "Europe's airline pilots and air traffic controllers warmly welcome the adoption of this report", says Nico Voorbach, ECA President. "The pro-safety stance developed by the EP rapporteur Mrs de Veyrac - and vigorously supported by her colleagues within the Transport Committee - is remarkable. A true safety culture is one that recognizes that it can always improve. MEPs have understood this and introduced valuable improvements to an already good proposal by the EU Commission." In view of the forthcoming inter-institutional negotiations, Alexis Brathwaite, IFATCA President & CEO states: "EU Ministers must now take note of the will of Europe's citizens and aviation experts and start putting more emphasis on safety. This was the clear message of today's Parliament Transport Committee vote." With this vote the EU Transport Committee remains consistent and coherent in its approach to improving occurrence reporting in Europe and goes in the opposite direction of EU Transport Ministers who watered down the text in June. The Transport Committee supported provisions to ensure that aviation safety professionals - such as pilots and air traffic controllers - are protected when reporting any mishaps or mistakes and that the information they provide is not misused. These provisions would help to set up a comprehensive framework for collection and analysis of aviation incident data, which is critical to identifying the pertinent safety risks in aviation. The proposed Occurrence Reporting Regulation, with the changes adopted by the Parliamentarians, is a solid basis for developing a genuine, robust Just Culture environment across Europe. http://www.traveldailynews.com/news/article/56682/european-parliament-puts-aviation- safety#sthash.7XBub9ze.dpuf Back to Top Airplane declares emergency for engine problems INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A Dallas-bound American Airlines aircraft declared an emergency about 15 minutes into the flight and landed in Indianapolis on Monday morning. The crew of American Airlines flight 2217 reported a mechanical issue - on the MD 80 plane. The aircraft is a twin engine and one of the engines was experiencing problems. According to an Indianapolis International Airport spokesperson, the aircraft landed safely and all the passengers were bused back to the terminal. Maintenance crews were going over the aircraft to determine what the problem was on Monday morning. No injuries were reported and the amount of passengers on board was not immediately released. http://www.wishtv.com/news/local/airplane-declares-emergency-for-engine-problems Back to Top Aviation authority sees safety rating upgrade in October (Philippines) THE CIVIL Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) expects the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to raise the country from Category 2 to Category 1 sometime in October, the local aviation regulator's top official said. "Sometime in October, that's in our agreement. There are milestones in there. It's a final thing whether the lifting will be done," CAAP Director General William K. Hotchkiss III said on the sidelines of the 1st Aviation Safety and Good Corporate Symposium yesterday at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. According to the FAA Web site, the US agency assesses the civil aviation authority of each country that has carriers operating to the US. If the CAA meets International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, the FAA gives it a Category 1 rating, allowing carriers from the assessed country to initiate or continue service to the US. If the CAA does not meet standards, the FAA gives it a Category 2 rating, restricting the carriers of the country "while corrective actions are underway". Mr. Hotchkiss said that the FAA and the CAAP signed a two-year Technical Assistance Services Agreement on June 4, allowing the probationary lifting of the Category 2 status in October. The lifting will only be done once the FAA notes that the country's aviation is safe and secure. "The two-year Technical Assistance Services Agreement with the FAA [is] to [help] address both operational and sustainability issues," he said. "It is now being implemented, and, as I speak, a second visitation from the FAA is on-going and all indications are positive towards a possible upgrade before the end of the year," the CAAP chief said in his keynote speech. The FAA downgraded the Philippines to Category 2 in 2008, following a November 2007 audit that found that the country was not compliant with ICAO standards. As a result, local airlines were barred from expanding operations in the US. The FAA move prompted the ICAO to issue its safety warning in 2009, which subsequently led to the European Union's (EU) blacklisting of local carriers. The EU partially lifted its ban on Philippine carriers on July 10, allowing Philippine Airlines to once again fly to European destinations. CAAP met with FAA regulators in June this year for a safety inspection. In early May, FAA officials also came to audit Philippine air safety. Philippine regulators earlier noted that the meeting was fruitful and positive towards the Category 1 upgrade. "By these deeds, we have raised the bar of excellence for Philippine civil aviation, not only for CAAP, but for its stakeholders as well, with the international civil aviation community. To continuously maintain this reputation remains a daunting challenge -- not just for CAAP, but for the whole country as well, for the safety and security of the Philippine Flight Information Region is not just CAAP's sole responsibility but that of the whole national defense authorities as well," Mr. Hotchkiss, who is a retired Armed Forces of the Philippines general, noted. Despite the safety improvements in Philippine aviation, the regulation chief pointed out that there are still "hurdles" remaining, like the releasing of funds for the training of contractual employees of CAAP. "We also have to find a means of untying the proverbial Gordian knot in regards to the recurrent training of our Safety Inspectors. CAAP has the necessary funds to support the recurrent training. However, government accounting rules disallow release of funds for training of contractual employees, who make up the majority of our experienced inspector corps," he said in his speech. Mr. Hotchkiss also noted that the key to vital themes to ensure long-term viability as a sector are aviation safety and good corporate governance. "It is in our shared responsibility to embrace these themes with fervor through diligent compliance that we can reap positive outcomes." "The absence of good corporate governance will nonetheless be obvious when the cracks of mismanagement start to manifest itself in terms of unsafe operations," he noted. -- Lorenz Christoffer S. Marasigan http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=Aviation-authority-sees-safety-rating- upgrade-in-October&id=75768 Back to Top One dead in helicopter crash southeast of Salem (Oregon) NEAR IDANHA, Ore. - One person was killed Monday afternoon after a helicopter crashed in a remote area near Idanha, which is on Highway 22 southeast of Salem, according to the Linn County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Tim Mueller says the private logging helicopter crashed upside down near Blowout Road. The pilot, William Bart Colantuono, 54, of Indialantic, Fla. was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff's office said witnesses of the crash gave deputies the following account: The helicopter, a 1962 Bell UH1B, was being used to transport logs from the cutting area to a log deck in Idanha. It had just returned after the pilot had taken a 45 minute break. The helicopter had picked up a load when witnesses reported hearing a loud snapping sound which was followed by logs hitting the ground and it appeared the pilot had released the logs electronically, indicating the pilot knew of a problem prior to the crash. Witnesses then saw a rotor separate from the helicopter followed by it turning upside down and falling to the ground. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are also investigating. The FAA will inspect the helicopter where it crashed Tuesday, according to the sheriff's office. The helicopter is owned by Umatilla Lift services, which is also from Indialantic. http://www.katu.com/news/local/One-dead-in-helicopter-crash-east-of-Salem-223992891.html Back to Top Airbus Prepares to Ramp Up Flight Testing of Next-Gen Passenger Jet Over the course of just a few years, the global airline fleet will grow from no composite airliners, to three models: the Boeing 787, Airbus A350 and Bombardier CSeries. Airbus' wide-body jet made its first flight back in June, and the A350 XWB flight test program has been relatively trouble-free so far. A second flight test airplane is expected to make its first flight soon at Airbus' test center in France, and the composite airplane remains on schedule to enter airline service during the second half of next year. The A350 XWB is slightly bigger than Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, and so far has enjoyed a smooth flight test program. The second airplane will begin flight testing in both cold and hot weather conditions. The cold- weather testing is normally used to simply find any issues that may arise when systems, parts, and materials get, well ... extremely cold. On the other hand, hot-weather testing does look at some of the straightforward issues related to something getting too hot, but it is also critical in determining aircraft performance limitations. The lower density of hotter air reduces an airplane's performance. The engines don't produce as much power and the wings do not generate as much lift. Airplane makers must define these limitations during the flight testing so that when an airplane is operated in and out of an airport with high temperatures (and/or high humidity/high altitude), the pilots make the necessary adjustments to their performance calculations. A third A350 flight test airplane is in the final stages of assembly and will include a full cabin interior. The first two aircraft are filled with flight engineer test stations, water ballast tanks to transfer the weight around the cabin during testing (a quick glimpse can be seen in the video below from Airbus), and other instrumentation unique to flight test. Equipped with a full interior, the third airplane will be used to test a the airplane and the cabin as if it were an airliner in service. In all there will be five flight test aircraft in the A350 XWB program and Airbus expects to fly about 2,500 hours before receiving certification of the design next year. Qatar Airways is expected to take delivery of the first airplane sometime in the second half of 2014. That airplane will start its way down the assembly line by the end of this year. Peter Chandler visits the A350 XWB cockpit http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/09/airbus-flight-testing-a350-xwb/ Back to Top Smoke forces evacuation of Allegiant jet in Las Vegas An Allegiant Air flight at McCarran International Airport was evacuated this afternoon after reports of smoke on board. Allegiant flight 436, bound for Peoria, Ill., was evacuated on the taxiway shortly before 3 p.m., airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said. As the plane was taxiing from the terminal, a smoke detector went off in the cockpit indicating the presence of smoke toward the back of the aircraft, Allegiant spokesman Brian Davis said. The plane's emergency slides were deployed, allowing the 144 passengers and six crew members to evacuate, Davis said. Two people suffered minor injuries. The cause of the smoke has not been determined. "It's too early to speculate, but there will be an investigation," Davis said. Passengers were bussed back to the terminal, where they were given food and beverage vouchers, Davis said. A different Allegiant plane will transport passengers to Peoria, Davis said. That flight is scheduled to depart at 5:45 p.m. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/sep/16/smoke-forces-evacuation-allegiant-jet-las-vegas/ Back to Top Back to Top Cessna announces plans for small military jet called Scorpion An artist's drawing shows the look of the Scorpion, a Cessna-built military tactical jet. Textron, with a big hand from subsidiary Cessna Aircraft, Monday unveiled the prototype of its first modern military jet, the Scorpion, a light jet for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and attack. The Scorpion is being built by a new Textron division, Textron AirLand, a joint venture with AirLand Enterprises. It was introduced at the Air Force Association Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition in National Harbor, Md. The prototype was designed from scratch and built at Cessna in Wichita, in secrecy, beginning in early 2012, company officials said Monday. Its first flight is scheduled for this year, and low-volume production is slated for 2015. Testing and early production will be done in Wichita, said Textron spokesman Dave Sylvestre. Beyond that, he said, it remains to be seen. "We began development of the Scorpion in January 2012 with the objective to design, build and fly the world's most affordable tactical jet aircraft capable of performing lower-threat battlefield and homeland security missions," Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly said in a statement. "We relied on commercial best practices to develop a tactical jet platform with flexibility and capabilities found only in far more costly aircraft." The Scorpion is designed for a world of tight defense budgets, including the budget of the U.S. Department of Defense and those of U.S. allies. The company said it is well suited for the Air National Guard's missions, such as irregular warfare, border patrol, maritime surveillance, emergency relief, counter-narcotics and air defense operations. Sylvestre said the nearly all-composite plane borrows technology, but not the design, used in Citations business jets. It was built without government funds and the company didn't go through the usual procurement process in which the military issues specifications and the companies compete for the project. Sylvestre wouldn't say how much the program cost. Sylvestre said the market for the plan is potentially quite large: the U.S. Air Force, other branches of the military, Air National Guard and the military forces of allied nations. "Based on the reaction that we've had from potential military customers, we think it's got potentially high demand," Sylvestre said. It's a much less expensive plane to buy and operate, Sylvestre said. The estimate is that it will cost $2,500 to $3,000 per hour to fly vs. $25,000 to $30,000 per hour for an F-35. "What Textron realized, in conjunction with AirLand Enterprises, is that there was a potential major market for an aircraft that could fly a lot of homeland security missions, where there is a lower threat level, where you don't need a high-end sophisticated fighter jet," Sylvestre said. "There isn't an aircraft like it." As a light attack aircraft, the Scorpion will compete in the market against Embraer's Super Tucano and Beechcraft's AT-6 turboprops, said Ray Jaworowski, senior aerospace analyst for Forecast International. "As a jet, the Scorpion will probably offer greater speed than the turboprops but, with many countries facing defense spending limitations, Textron will have to make sure that the Scorpion's operating costs are not significantly greater than its competitors," Jaworowski wrote in an e-mail. He said it's unlikely that the U.S. military will buy the plane for its existing missions, but it could be popular internationally if it could serve also as a trainer. And reconfiguring the plane as a trainer may be the key, Jaworowski said. Textron may be angling to make the Scorpion a contender in the coming fierce competition for the contract for at least 350 of the next generation of U.S. Air Force trainer to replace Northrop Grumman's T-38. http://www.kansas.com/2013/09/16/3003973/cessna-announces-plans-for-small.html#storylink=cpy Back to Top New Bombardier Jet Takes Flight Canadian Aircraft Maker Seeks to Make Inroads Against Boeing and Airbus MIRABEL, Québec-Bombardier Inc.'s new CSeries jet made its maiden flight here Monday, a major milestone in the Canadian company's bid to take on giants Boeing Co. and Airbus in the market for small passenger jets. The 120-passenger jetliner landed safely about 2½ hours after taking off under clear skies from Bombardier's factory here north of Montreal in front of thousands of employees, customers, and others who had gathered to watch. The single-aisle CSeries makes Bombardier the first new entrant in the market for the smallest category of mainline passenger jets since 1987, when Airbus, now a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., first flew its A320. Airbus and Boeing have been the only Western producers of larger commercial jets in the market since 1997, when Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas. The CSeries could be the last all-new aircraft from a Western manufacturer to enter the market for some time. Onlookers awaited the first test flight of a Bombardier CSeries jet in Mirabel, Québec, Monday. The plane could rival Boeing and Airbus small jets. Companies in Japan, China and Russia are all working on new jets. But while Airbus, Boeing and Embraer SA- a Brazilian manufacturer that like Bombardier has focused on smaller, regional jets-all plan major modifications to existing models, they aren't known to be working on all-new designs now, meaning they're unlikely to bring any new planes to market before the middle of the 2020s. The CSeries version that flew Monday lists for $63 million, with a larger version at $72 million, before discounts, compared with about $70 million to $92 million for comparable models from Boeing and Airbus, which have offered aggressive discounts to keep Bombardier from gaining traction, according to industry officials. Bombardier has also set aggressive performance targets for the CSeries, including what it claims is 20% better fuel efficiency than competing models, to woo cost-conscious airlines. Monday's takeoff was nearly silent, highlighting another of Bombardier's selling points for the CSeries, which it says is engineered to be quiet so that it can be used at smaller, noise-restricted airports. Customers have ordered 177 of the CSeries jets. But airline executives are still looking for more evidence that the jet will deliver the company's touted performance-and waiting to see how much Bombardier plans to discount the plane. The maiden flight give Bombardier "another element for their sales team to go and sell it," said Nico Buchholz, executive vice president of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which has an order for up to 60 CSeries for its Swiss International Air Lines unit. But whether it will sell well, he said, depends on how aggressively Bombardier will use discounts and other incentives. Guy Hachey, chief executive of Bombardier's aerospace division, said the company hopes to collect data over the first 100 hours of flying the aircraft to feed to sales executives to validate its claims to customers. "We'll be able to back up all the performance guarantees we've been making all along," he said. Mr. Hachey said Bombardier hopes the CSeries will help the company's aerospace division to increase its annual revenue by an estimated $5 billion to $8 billion-it was $8.6 billion in 2012-once it reaches production of 120 jets a year. The CSeries program is running roughly nine months behind schedule-the first flight was originally scheduled for last December-but that pales in comparison with the delays and cost overruns suffered by Boeing and Airbus in developing their newest jets. Bombardier expects the development to cost $3.9 billion, said Mike Arcamone, president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, a unit of the aerospace division. The company had previously estimated the cost at $3.4 billion. A spokesman attributed the difference to new financial reporting standards that took effect in 2011 that prompted Bombardier to factor in interest costs. Bombardier has said it plans to deliver the first CSeries after it completes certification by regulators, which itself could take a year following Monday's flight. Bombardier said it will evaluate the timing of the planned first delivery in coming weeks as the CSeries progresses in flight testing. It has declined to identify who its first customer for the jet will be, but one person familiar with the company's plans says that Malmö Aviation of Sweden, a unit of Braathens Aviation Group, will take the first jet. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323981304579079013827946076.html Back to Top Mesa Air Hiring Pilots, Support Crew Mesa Air to operate 30 new planes for United and hire 850 employees Mesa Air Group Inc. -- The parent of interisland carrier go! -- has reached an agreement with United Airlines that extends the term of its existing fleet of 20 Bombardier CRJ 700 aircraft to 2019 and adds 30 new United- owned Embraer 175 aircraft. Under terms of this agreement, due to be announced today, Mesa will place the new Embraer 175 jets into service over the next two years. Mesa will hire approximately 350 pilots, 300 flight attendants and 200 maintenance and other support personnel to support the additional aircraft. "This is truly a great day for Mesa," Mesa Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein said. "We will continue to work hard to provide the best possible service to United's customers." Mesa began operating under the United Express banner in 1992. The Phoenix-based carrier also operates as US Airways Express. "Our first code-share agreement with United transformed our company, and I am sure this one will do the same," Ornstein said. Mesa operates 71 aircraft with approximately 425 daily departures to 82 cities, 32 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Mexico. http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/9/16/mesa_air_hiring_pilots_support_crew.htm Curt Lewis