Flight Safety Information February 7, 2014 - No. 028 In This Issue A Virtual Airline, a Real Crash Why 2,000 passengers just rioted at an airport in China Search for Arkansas forestry pilot finds old crash Save the Date: 6th Annual Aviation Human Factors and SMS Seminar - Dallas, TX Unmanned aircraft technology takes leap forward thanks to Queensland research SERC of ISASI Annual Meeting 2014 Joe Biden Says NYC Airport Like 'Some 3rd-World Country' Charlevoix County newsman charged after photographing airplane wreckage PRISM SMS Fasten your seatbelts! Home improvement enthusiast unveils guest house made out of a plane Smithsonian Displays Smallest Airplane Calls for Application for The ISASI Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship University Research Call For Papers A Virtual Airline, a Real Crash Europe is full of small upstart airlines, and Manx2, which served eight destinations in Britain and Ireland, certainly seemed to be one of them. Its planes were emblazoned with its name. The flight attendants said, "Welcome aboard this Manx2 flight." Even the headrests and pilots' ties advertised the airline. Then one of its planes crashed, killing the pilots and four others, and Manx2 said it wasn't an airline after all. It was resolutely earthbound, a mere ticket seller. Someone else was responsible for what happened up in the sky. The crash, which took place on a foggy morning at the Cork, Ireland, airport three years ago, is now the subject of a lengthy report by Ireland's Air Accident Investigation Unit. As entrepreneurs invade formerly regulated spheres like ground transportation, short- term lodging and perhaps even medical care, it makes for alarming reading. Manx2 was formed in 2006 on the Isle of Man, a popular vacation spot nestled between England and Ireland. Its planes flew between such cities as Blackpool, Cardiff, Newcastle and Cork as well as to the Isle of Man itself. Offering cheap flights to convenient airports poorly served by bigger carriers, Manx2 was a gift to travelers and a model entrepreneurial start-up in a mode of transportation that has not seen much innovation. "Passenger comfort and safety is our prime concern," a promotional video said reassuringly. But the accident report says this was all an illusion, noting "systemic deficiencies at the operational, organizational and regulatory levels." No one was really in charge. The plane, a Fairchild Metro III that took off from Belfast, was owned by a Spanish bank and leased to a Spanish company. It was then subleased to another Spanish company, Flightline, which in essence rented the plane and pilots to Manx2. Manx2, the report said, "did not wish to have the regulatory complexity" of actually running an airline. Since none of its planes had more than 19 seats, it did not need a British permit for its activities. Other points brought out in the investigation: Both the pilot and copilot were relatively inexperienced, and thus should not have been flying together. Neither was fully rested, so fatigue may have been a factor in the crash. The pilots did not have an adequate back-up plan involving alternate airports. During the flight, "there was limited formal evaluation of the weather conditions or discussion of available options." There were various maintenance "non-compliances" (the plane had been used for cargo earlier that morning, which involved removing the seats), while decisions made onboard were "not in accordance with good practice." The plane crashed on its third attempt at landing, one wing striking the ground first. The plane went upside down and went into the mud. All the fatalities were in the front, the point of maximum impact. "I could hear screaming, moaning, shouting and then I heard another passenger shout - We're on fire, we're on fire," one of the survivors told the BBC. The BBC investigation also noted that Manx2 had bragged in a news release that it could land planes in fog when other airlines would not. Manx2 no longer exists. A year ago, it rebranded itself as CityWing, flying most of the same routes. "Manx2 customers have been assured it is business as usual," an Isle of Man paper reported in discussing the change. When the crash report came out, Manx2 issued a statement noting it had been liquidated. "Unfortunately, the report is clear that the prime causes of the accident were decisions made by the Flightline crew in adverse weather conditions," the statement said, going on to blame "a significant lack of oversight by the Spanish air safety authority." As for Flightline, it seems to have issued no statement and did not respond to a request for comment. Its website says "we want to be a new concept of a company," which critics think is precisely the problem. Expect a lot of discussion of this issue in the next year or two. In a related development, a group of taxi owners and drivers filed suit Thursday against the City of Chicago, claiming that by failing to enforce its own rules for taxi services with start-ups like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar, it was jeopardizing public health and safety. The suit is apparently the first of its kind in the nation, but probably will not be the last. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/a-virtual-airline-a-real-crash/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 Back to Top Why 2,000 passengers just rioted at an airport in China On Feb. 6, more than 2,000 delayed passengers stormed check-in counters at an airport in Henan province, smashing computers and equipment, in response to the airport's five-hour long shutdown because of snow. Photos posted online show police trying to calm angry crowds. Chinese state media described the incident as a "riot." One passenger's comment circulated online (registration required) said, "This is how crazy travelers who have gone through multiple delays can get." The Henan incident is only the latest civil disturbance over airline service in China, and specifically poor customer service. Henan Radio said that airport patrons were fed up not only with the delays, but the staff's attitude. "There were not enough seats and passengers had to sit on their luggage eating instant noodles. The airport staff were indifferent and said 'I don't know' to questions asked of them," the radio station said on its microblog. The airport reportedly resumed service later on Feb. 6, allowing the passengers, many of whom were returning from their Chinese New Year travels, to finally board their flights. China has been building a modern domestic airline industry to service what is expected to be the world's largest aviation market. The total number of airports in China is expected to reach 244 in 2020, compared to 80 in 2011, with the help of state funding. In August, China's aviation authority announced it would grant rebates of up to 433 million yuan ($70.7 million) for airlines that operate regional services. As the aviation industry has expanded so have the crowds-but not the air space that planes are allowed to fly in, in part because China's military still commands most of the skies. Delays, naturally, have ensued. In 2012, Chinese airlines took off and landed on time on average only 74.8% of the time with Beijing Capital believed to have the worst delays of the country's main airports. Officials have instructed airline staff to take better care of delayed passengers and offer food, accommodation, and most importantly explanations for the delays. Travelers complaining (registration required) on online message boards say airport staff distractedly perform security checks and continually check their phones instead of attending to customers. In January, Shanghai's Pudong airport took three days to unload (link in Chinese) the luggage for 10 arriving flights. Some airlines say that inexperienced passengers who don't understand the logistical issues involved are the real problem. The net result is more angry flight-goers. In 2008, over 30 passengers protested the delay of their flight at an airport in the city of Kunming by sitting on a runway (link in Chinese), blocking the path of other planes. Last July, passengers in Dalian refused to leave an airplane that had landed two hours behind schedule until they were compensated for the delay. Eventually police had to remove them. Last summer, there were over two dozen fights at airports. http://qz.com/174911/why-2000-passengers-just-rioted-at-an-airport-in-china/ Back to Top Search for Arkansas forestry pilot finds old crash MENA, Ark. (AP) - Searchers looking for a missing Arkansas Forestry Commission pilot and his aircraft found the wreckage of a decades old plane crash - but no sign of the currently missing pilot and plane. Commission spokeswoman Adriane Barnes said Wednesday that searchers on Rattlesnake Mountain in Polk County found the wreckage of a plane - giving brief hope that missing pilot Jake Harrell and his plane had been found. Barnes says searchers soon learned that the moss-covered wreckage they found was discovered and recorded years ago and that no remains were found with it. She said she had no other information about the old crash. Harrell and his plane disappeared Friday and Barnes says the search will resume Thursday morning along Harrell's suspected flight path from Oden to Wickes in western Arkansas. http://www.seattlepi.com/news/science/article/Search-for-Arkansas-forestry-pilot-finds-old-crash-5205829.php Back to Top Back to Top Unmanned aircraft technology takes leap forward thanks to Queensland research Firefighters could be using small, unmanned aircraft with cameras to monitor bushfires by next summer, thanks to Queensland breakthrough ensuring the planes automatically avoid mid-air collisions. Researchers have successfully tested an onboard monitoring system that is able to detect other aircraft nearby and send warnings to ground control. The next step, they say, will be to program the planes to swerve away from each other to avoid crashes. Small unmanned aircraft are currently not permitted to fly in civil airspace in Australia, but aerospace company Insitu Pacific hopes they can get clearance from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority by the end of the year. "One thing firefighters don't tend to do a lot of is follow the bushfire front at night time," Insitu Pacific managing director Andrew Duggan said. "Occasionally they'll fly very high altitude aircraft over them but really, getting real-time updates on the fire...is critical. "Terrible scenarios like what occurred in Victoria on Black Saturday where people literally couldn't get on the phone lines to find out how close the fire was to their homes ... if this is being streamed in a YouTube format, people with an internet connection could potentially say, 'That's where the fire is, I need to get out now'." The new technology is part of Project ResQu, a $7 million plan to fast-track technology to allow unmanned aircraft to assist with disaster, environment and biosecurity management. It has been funded and developed by QUT's Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation, Boeing and Insitu Pacific. The Queensland Government and CSIRO have also provided funding. QUT Professor Duncan Campbell said the technology was a world-first for small unmanned aircraft. "I can't overstate the achievement that's been made here. All these opportunities will ultimately lead to greater productivity and greater safety to people," he said. If the aircraft do get CASA clearance, they could become a regular feature in the skies. The humble traffic and police choppers could become obsolete. Power companies could also use them during long-haul maintenance checks in rural Australia. However the unmanned aircraft, which can fly for more than 20 hours, don't come cheap. Mr Duggan said they can range from "hundreds of thousands up into the millions". "It's more about capability and safety more than anything else," he said. "A lot of it comes to getting the price point down and the safety factor up." http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/unmanned-aircraft-technology-takes-leap-forward-thanks-to-queensland-research- 20140206-323g6.html Back to Top SERC of ISASI Annual Meeting 2014 The Southeast Regional Chapter of ISASI would like to invite you to attend their 2014 Meeting to be held in Cape Canaveral, FL on Saturday, March 22, 2014. Please see the registration form below. A tour of the Columbia Research and Preservation Center is also being offered on Friday, March 21, 2014. Availability is limited, and the deadline for tour registration is Monday, February 10, 2014. Please contact astorey@srca.net for additional information and reservations. ISASAI Registration Form 2014 Back to Top Joe Biden Says NYC Airport Like 'Some 3rd-World Country' Never one who can be accused of failing to speak his mind, Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday compared LaGuardia Airport in New York to "some third-world country." During a speech about infrastructure at a Philadelphia train station, Biden said the United States led the world economically for decades because of superior infrastructure but that other countries have leapfrogged the U.S. with major investments while domestic infrastructure has decayed. Biden said that if one blindfolded a person and took them to Hong Kong's airport and asked where they were, they would reply: "This must be America, it's a modern airport." On the other hand, he said, "if I took you and blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York you must think, 'I must be in some third world country.'" LaGuardia, the smaller of New York City's two major airports, has four terminals and several aging buildings that have not been upgraded in decades. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia, is currently investing $3.6 billion to overhaul the airport. http://swampland.time.com/2014/02/07/joe-biden-laguardia- airport/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Fswampland+(TIME%3A+Swampland) Back to Top Charlevoix County newsman charged after photographing airplane wreckage A Charlevoix County newsman faces jail time and a fine after being charged under an obscure state law that prohibits taking pictures of human remains in a grave. The grave in question is the wreckage of a small airplane that crashed Jan. 6 near Boyne City. Two died in the accident just after the plane had started its journey from Boyne City to Oakland Troy Airport. After the early morning accident, media crews arrived on the scene to cover the story. To accommodate reporters, the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office took camera crews to an area near the crash, but prohibited them from getting too close to the wreckage. Damien Leist works for the Charlevoix County News and went to the scene with a videographer after most of the news crews had finished up. At the time, sheriff's deputies on duty told him he could not approach the site. At some point close to noon, Leist and the cameraman returned to the scene to record footage of the wreck. He maintains that no one told him he could not approach the wreckage. "We didn't ask permission and no one told us not to go either," Leist, 38, said Thursday. Once the pair reached the site, they shot more than a minute of footage that shows pieces of the plane, mostly covered with snow that had fallen since the crash. They were eventually told to leave the scene. Officials with the Sheriff's Office tell a different story. They said when Leist and the cameraman returned the second time, many of the deputies working the crash had left to refuel vehicles. Leist, they said, spoke with two reserve deputies and told them he had been given permission to access the scene. "(Leist) told them I personally gave them permission to go back to the crash site," said Undersheriff Chuck Vondra. "I never spoke with him." The Sheriff's Office was unaware footage had been shot until they received an angry phone call from a family member of one of the crash victims who has seen the video online. More than three weeks after the crash, state troopers arrested Leist at his Boyne City home, charging him under the Michigan statute. He faces up to two years in prison and as much as a $5,000 fine. Vondra said that by the time Leist had accessed the scene, the victims' bodies had been removed, but small trace remains were still in the wreckage. Leist said the law under which he has been charged was enacted in 1997 after video footage appeared of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Family members of the victims in that famous maritime disaster complained about the coverage. He faces arraignment Tuesday. http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140206/METRO06/302060128 Back to Top Back to Top Fasten your seatbelts! Home improvement enthusiast unveils guest house made out of a plane An Arizona engineer has finally finished his four-year pet project to build a guesthouse in his backyard. It's not just any guesthouse, and it's not just any backyard, either. Toshikazu Tsukii lives at La Cholla Airpark and his two bedroom guesthouse looks like it could take off along the private runway residents of the park enjoy. The two-storey guesthouse is made almost entirely of aircraft parts. Tsukii used three aircraft bodies to create the quirky dwelling: the nosecone of a 737, the fuselage of two 707s and the tail end of a 727, reports the Arizona Star. The pool is covered with the fuselage of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Tsukii, an engineer for Raytheon, accomplished several goals with the completion of his guesthouse. The ambitious Japanese-born airplane enthusiast had always wanted to be an engineer, an aviator and an architect. With the completion of his guesthouse, he's crossed that last one off the list. The 76-year-old designed and built the climate-controlled pad after seeing the nose cone of the 737 in a scrap metal yard which sparked his imagination. At La Cholla Airpark, each of the 91 homes are arranged around a landing strip for the exclusive use of residents. All the homes are on seven acre lots, leaving plenty of space for Tsukii to build his dream house. He made the floor wider by cutting one 707 fuselage in half and spreading it apart. He also used first-class airline seats and improvised other furniture with parts, such as glass-topped tables from the engine cowling of a DC-9 and the wheel of a B-57. Tsukii has always been inventive and a jack-of-all-trades. The Arizona Star reports that a 1962 article from the Fort Scott (Kansas) Tribune described how Tsukii, then 24 and a Wichita State student, was putting himself through college working as a TV repairman, electronics technician, sign painter, judo instructor, photographer, folk singer, guitar player and Samurai swordsman. He is still working full-time as Principal Engineering Fellow at Raytheon Missile Systems and flies his two Cessnas as one of only 3,000 monocular pilots in the U.S., having lost one eye to glaucoma. Tsukii's wife of 50 years, Doris, says she's 'very proud' of her husband. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2553617/Raytheon-engineer-76-builds-incredible-guesthouse-airplane-parts.html Back to Top Smithsonian Displays Smallest Airplane The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, recently got an addition to its immense collection in the Boeing Aviation Hangar. Unlike some of the massive airplanes on display there, such as the Space Shuttle, SR-71 and Concorde, this new member of the Smithsonian family is tiny and looks more huggable than flyable. The Stits SA-2A "Sky Baby" was the first airplane with the claim of being the smallest airplane capable of carrying a human in flight. The airplane was developed by amateur airplane designer Ray Stits in Riverside, California. Measuring 7 feet, 2 inches from wingtip to wingtip and 9 feet, 10 inches from prop to tail, the Sky Baby weighs in at 666 pounds, according to an article by R.P. Boal published in Flying's November 1952 issue. Because of the lack of space on the wings, the airplane's flaps are mounted on the top wing while the ailerons are attached to the bottom. Despite its miniature size, the Sky Baby was capable of flying at more than 200 mph thanks to a modified Continental engine producing 112 horsepower. The Sky Baby took off on its maiden flight in 1952 with Robert H. Starr at the controls. It turned out, however, that Starr wanted all the glory and turned around and built a smaller airplane, which he named the Bumble Bee and, later, the Bumble Bee II. Stits' son Donald in turn built the smallest monoplane, named the Baby Bird, which has been recognized as the smallest flyable monoplane. The smallest twin-engine airplane is the Colomban Cri-Cri, designed in the 1970s in France. http://www.flyingmag.com/pilots-places/pilots-adventures-more/smithsonian-displays-smallest-airplane Back to Top Calls for Application for The ISASI Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship DEADLINE for filling application 15 April, 2014 The 2014 ISASI Seminar will be held in the Stamford Hotel in Glenelg, near Adelaide, Australia 13-16 October 2014. INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATORS 2014 The ISASI Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship (In memorial to all ISASI members who have died) Purpose: To encourage and assist college-level students interested in the field of aviation safety and aircraft occurrence investigation. Funding: The ISASI Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship fund will be established through donations and will provide an annual allocation of funds for the scholarship if funds are available. Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled as full time students in a recognized (note ISASI recognized) education program, which includes courses in aircraft engineering and/or operations, aviation psychology, aviation safety and/or aircraft occurrence investigation, etc., with major or minor subjects that focus on aviation safety/investigation are eligible for the scholarship. A student who has received the annual ISASI Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship will not be eligible to apply for it again. Administration of the Fund: The President of ISASI will appoint a two person committee to be executors and administrators of the fund. The ISASI Treasurer will oversee all expenditures. The Scholarship Fund Committee will check that the education program is at a recognized school and applicable to the aims of the Society, assess the applications and determine the most suitable candidate. Donors and recipients will be advised if donations are made in honor of a particular individual. Annual Scholarship: Funded attendance at ISASI Annual Seminar An award of $2000 will be made to each student who wins the competitive writing requirement, meets the application requirements and will register for the ISASI annual seminar. The award will be used to cover costs for the seminar registration fees, travel, and lodging/meals expenses. Any expenses above and beyond the amount of the award will be borne by the recipient. ISASI will assist with coordination and control the expenditure of funds. In addition, the following are offered to the winner(s) of the scholarship. 1. A one year membership to ISASI 2. The Southern California Safety Institute (SCSI) offers tuition-free attendance to ANY regularly scheduled SCSI course to the winner of the ISASI Scholarship. This includes the two-week Aircraft Accident Investigator course or any other investigation courses. Travel to/from the course and accommodations are not included. More information at http://www.scsi-inc.com/ 3. The Transportation Safety Institute offers a tuition free course for the winner of the Scholarship. Travel to/from the course and accommodations are not included. More information is available at http://www.tsi.dot.gov/ 4. The Cranfield University Safety and Accident Investigation Centre offers tuition-free attendance at its 5-day Accident Investigation course which runs as part of its Masters Degree program at the Cranfield campus, 50 miles north of London, UK. Travel to/from the course and accommodation are not included. Further information is available from www.csaic.net/ Application requirements: 1. A full time student who meets the Eligibility requirement stated above and has been enrolled for a duration of one year 2. The student is to submit a 1000 (+/- 10%) word paper in English addressing "the challenges for air safety investigators" 3. The paper is to be the students own work and must be countersigned by the student's tutor/academic supervisor as authentic, original work 4. The papers will be judged on their content, original thinking, logic and clarity of expression 5. The essay and application must be submitted in a format that can be opened by Microsoft Word. 6. The student must complete the application form with their paper by April 15, 2014 and submit it to ISASI by mail, fax, or email to isasi@erols.com. ISASI contact information - Ann Schull, International Office Manager 107 E. Holly Avenue, Suite #11 Sterling, VA 20164 703 430 9668 (Main) 703 430-4970 (FAX) Some advice to those applying: 1. Late submissions are not advisable 2. Handwritten applications are not advisable 3. Make sure to include your email address as indicated above Application Form 2014 INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATORS The ISASI Rudolf Kapustin Memorial Scholarship (In memorial to all ISASI members who have died) Name: Date: Address: Course enrolled for: Year /Subjects Studied: Academic Institute: Address: Email: Telephone number: Student Signature:_____________________________________________________________ Tutor/Academic Supervisor title and signature:________________________________________ 1000 Word Paper ""the challenges for air safety investigators" NOTE: Students who wish to apply for the scholarship should visit www.isasi.org or send email to isasi@erols.com. The ISASI office telephone number is 1-703-430-9668. Back to Top University Research Dr. Rose Opengart is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration, and Dr. Kees Rietsema is Dean of the College of Business, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide. They are interested in examining how to increase recruitment and retention in the aviation field, especially that of women and minorities. They are requesting that anyone interested please complete a survey that is short and anonymous. It is found at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/womenandminoritypilots Rose Opengart, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Business Administration Assistant Program Chair - MSM Program Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide 256-603-7279 Rose.Opengart@ERAU.edu Curt Lewis