Flight Safety Information April 30, 2014 - No. 088 In This Issue Forget Australia, the Missing Jet May Have Crashed Near Bangladesh Grand Canyon air crash site is new U.S. landmark--but you can't visit East Midlands reopens after stricken aircraft removed NZ safety regs not suitable for Australia - CASA Russia's aviation watchdog warns of flight safety hazard over Ukraine due to GPS failures Aviation authority, Air Macau, ADA agree on safety information exchange PRISM SMS Foreign Airlines Won't Haggle Over $4 Billion Trapped Inside Venezuela China Carrier Juneyao Airlines Plans Shanghai IPO Embry-Riddle to offer SMS Workshop for Aviation Executives May 20-22 ICAO Loss of Control In-Flight Symposium Upcoming Events Forget Australia, the Missing Jet May Have Crashed Near Bangladesh Sergeant Trent Wyatt, a crew member of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion, takes part in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 over the Indian Ocean on April 11, 2014 A geological survey company says it has evidence suggesting that MH370 crashed off the coast of Bangladesh, not Australia The hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 should turn several thousand kilometers from the southern Indian Ocean to the Bay of Bengal, say supporters of new evidence that could suggest that the doomed jet may have crashed around 190 km (120 miles) south of Bangladesh. Australian company GeoResonance uses radiation scanning technology to locate significant concentrations of minerals and metals. By comparing images of the Bay of Bengal before and after the jet disappeared, the firm uncovered what it believes to be a sudden deposit of aluminum - the chief component of the Boeing 777 that vanished shortly after departing Kuala Lumpur on March 8 - along with titanium, jet-fuel residue and other key substances that may indicate the wreckage of a commercial airliner on the seabed. Nothing has been confirmed, but the firm says that the technology has previously "been successfully applied to locate submersed structures, ships, munitions and aircraft." It stresses that it "is not declaring this is MH 370" but that the findings should be investigated. Malaysian acting Transportation Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says Malaysia is "working with its international partners to assess the credibility of this information." The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), which runs the search from Australia, has dismissed GeoResonance's suggestion, with officials in Perth saying they are "satisfied" four signals detected in the Indian Ocean came from the black boxes of the missing aircraft. Those signals were plotted along a corridor defined by analysis of maintenance data by British satellite firm Inmarsat. Hundreds of air and sea reconnaissance missions have been launched based on the analysis, making the search operation the most expensive in history. An underwater drone continues to operate along this route. However, by Inmarsat's own admission, the calculations that defined the southern search corridor had never been done before. The firm's refusal to release raw data, despite repeated desperate pleas from distraught relatives, means the scientific community has been unable to critique or corroborate the findings. Jules Jaffe, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in California, tells TIME that he would like to think the Indian Ocean pings came from MH370, but: "One would really want to see the data to be more confident of that. I really hope that they have the quantitative analysis to back up their claims." There are difficulties with GeoResonance's theory. While multispectral analysis has been used to discover subterranean mining deposits, electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by seawater, and many simply do not accept that it is capable of detecting a plane lying under a kilometer of ocean. David Gallo of the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who co-led the search for Air France Flight 447, told CNN the data was "perplexing on a number of fronts." Nonetheless, GeoResonance says, "The company and its directors are surprised by the lack of response from the various authorities." http://time.com/82126/mh370-bangladesh-bay-of-bengal/ Back to Top Grand Canyon air crash site is new U.S. landmark--but you can't visit 1956 plane crash in Grand Canyon National Park The severed tail of the TWA jet that in 1956 collided with another plane over the Grand Canyon. The site of a 1956 plane collision over Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park has been designated a National Historic Landmark. But don't plan on visiting it; you can't. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel last week anointed this as a national landmark, but the National Park Service has long restricted anyone from hiking to the wreckage that fell in a remote and rugged part of the canyon. In the crash, a TWA Super Constellation L-1049 and a United Airlines DC-7 collided about 21,000 feet over the Grand Canyon, killing 128 people on board. The places where the two planes crashed into the ground are about 1 1/2 miles apart, but the specific locations have been redacted from the National Park Service's nomination paperwork. The landmark, officially named the 1956 Grand Canyon TWA-United Airlines Aviation Accident Site, joins 2,540 sites that have been designated nationwide. What makes it worthy of recognition? The collision spurred an effort to modernize and increase airline safety, leading to the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration and other advances, according to an April 23 announcement by the park service. And that makes it part of our history and heritage. This story in The Atlantic reports: "The designation is unusual. For one thing, it may be the first landmark to commemorate something that happened exclusively in the air. "'And we've never done an actual crash site,' said Alexandra Lord, branch chief of the National Historic Landmarks Program in Washington. 'In some ways we can argue that the crash itself-which led to the scattering of pieces over a huge debris field-is what's crucial. And it sort of doesn't matter if you think of it as on the air or on the ground.' " Three other landmarks were designated along with the air accident site. They include: --The Adlai E. Stevenson II Farm in Mettawa, Ill., which was the home of two-time Democratic candidate for U.S. president and U.N. ambassador. --The Detroit Industry Murals, Detroit Institute of Arts, which were created by Mexican artist Diego Rivera in the early 1930s. --George Nakashima Woodworker Complex in Bucks County, Pa., which was built and used by the furniture designer and maker. "These four new national historic landmarks are as diverse as our American heritage, telling stories of triumph and tragedy, of dedicated public service and artistic beauty," Jewell said in the statement. http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trb-new-national-historic-landmarks-20140427,0,3050454.story#ixzz30Mvq4Tao Back to Top East Midlands reopens after stricken aircraft removed East Midlands airport has reopened after all flights were suspended when a cargo aircraft had problems during landing. Freight company Air Contractors said a Boeing 737-400 from Paris suffered a landing gear failure. It happened as the aircraft was slowing down to exit the runway at about 2.30am on Tuesday. The airport did not reopen until last night as arrangements were made to remove the aircraft from the runway and dozens of flights were cancelled. An spokesman said: "We would like to thank all our passengers for their patience and offer apologies for the inconvenience caused. "As we return to normal operations, it is possible that there may be some changes to the flight schedule and we would encourage passengers to contact their airline and check our live flight information for the latest information on their travel." http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2014/04/30/47834/east+midlands+reopens+after+stricken+aircraft+removed.html Back to Top NZ safety regs not suitable for Australia - CASA CASA has dismissed calls to adopt NZ-style regulations. The Director of Safety at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), John McCormick has dismissed calls from industry to adopt aviation safety regulations similar to those of New Zealand. McCormick said the New Zealand rules allowed for considerable discretion in regard to the intent of the regulations and what is acceptable for compliance, and that many of the provisions in the New Zealand regulations were not consistent with Australian legislative standards, definitions, and terminology. "If we went in this direction we may need to amend the Civil Aviation Act and rework the new Civil Aviation Safety Regulations that have already been made," he said on the CASA website. "This would be a long-term undertaking, involving several additional years of legislative redrafting and industry consultation." McCormick's comments come in the wake of informal lobbying from industry bodies to Transport Minister Warren Truss to consider adopting New Zealand style regulations. McCormick said the New Zealand rules left an operator open for prosecution if contravened, and that they contain too many differences to ICAO regulations. "We believe some rules may not offer adequate levels of safety and do not take into account Australian conditions and considerations," he added. http://australianaviation.com.au/2014/04/nz-safety-regs-not-suitable-for-australia-casa/ Back to Top Russia's aviation watchdog warns of flight safety hazard over Ukraine due to GPS failures Earlier, the Federal Air Transport Agency registered failure of GPS onboard navigation systems of civil jet during its flight over Ukraine ICAO instructs Russia, Ukraine to negotiate air traffic control over Crimea and Black Sea MOSCOW, April 29. /ITAR-TASS/. When flying over Ukraine, air carriers should be ready to use navigation systems not based on GPS, Russian aviation watchdog's (Rosaviatsia) representative told ITAR-TASS. The agency has confirmed that it has sent notifications to the air carriers about interference with operation of onboard GPS receivers. "Rosaviatsia has notified the air carriers to be ready to use alternate navigation means when performing flights over Ukraine," the agency's representative said. Rosaviatsia's representative stressed that "incidents that involve recurring interferences are considered by the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) as threatening flight safety, which can lead to accidents caused by GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) failures." The aviation agency asked air carriers to notify it about all cases of navigation failure. ITAR-TASS reported earlier that Rosaviatsia had registered the failure of GPS onboard navigation system in a civil airliner flying over Ukraine's territory. http://en.itar-tass.com/world/729948 Back to Top Aviation authority, Air Macau, ADA agree on safety information exchange Two agreements on the exchange of aviation safety information have been finalized by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) with Air Macau and the Administration of Airports Ltd. (ADA). According to the agreements, Air Macau and ADA will submit monthly reports to AACM for analysis in order to identify potential risks. The Memoranda of Understanding were signed yesterday at AACM's office. By extending the collection of aviation safety data by the SAR government, and analyzing that data, the signatories hope to further improve civil aviation safety under the Macao SAR State Safety Program and the operator's Safety Management System. In accordance with the two Memoranda of Understanding, the airline carrier Air Macau will provide AACM with analysis and risk reports generated from their flight data analysis program; ADA, the airport operation service provider, will provide AACM with ramp safety reports and voluntary occurrence reports, both of which were originally intended for their internal use. All these reports will be sent to the AACM representative on a monthly basis and will contain anonymous information only. The AACM representative will analyze the information and look for latent hazards. The signatories also agree to proactively analyze the exchanged data for this purpose, and, where necessary, implement appropriate corrective action plans to mitigate the risks and improve aviation safety. The Accident Prevention and Investigation Group (APIG), an internal department of AACM, was established last year and has been working to construct an improved safety database. "After sorting reports, we will conduct trend analyses to see if certain problems occurred more frequently. Preventive measures should be adopted to avoid these problems," said Mr Edwin Sin, the Group's Safety Officer. AACM said that it has been negotiating with other aviation operators to sign similar agreements, an undertaking which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Speaking at the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Sin said that they would try to sign with local operators, before trying in neighboring cities and regions. Sin's response echoed the speech of AACM President Chan Weng Hong: "We hope we can achieve the same cooperative projects with all organizations in our industry, thus gradually expanding the scope of cooperation [regarding] safety information exchange. Meanwhile, we are preparing our next phase of cooperation, which is a safety information exchange with neighboring states and regions." Mr Chan said that the authority had invited "two or three" other operators. "But each organization has its own considerations, [so it] may not be [completed] in the same time." In addition, Chan stated that there were no aviation accidents in Macau last year. He also illustrated that Macau's effective implementation of safety oversight sits at 83.35 percent, which is above the global average. The aviation accident rate in the Asia-Pacific is 2.2 cases per one million flights, which is lower than the global 2.8 per million flights, according to the AACM, as quoted from this year's safety report from the International Civil Aviation Organization. Signatories presiding over yesterday's included ceremony: the President of AACM, Mr. Chan Weng Hong; the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Air Macau, Mr. Zhu SongYan; and the Airport Director of ADA, Mr. António Barros. Air Macau invests MOP1.5m in aviation safety each year Mr. Zhu Song Yan, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Air Macau estimated that MOP1.5 million was spent each year on aviation safety for the past three years. Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony yesterday, Mr Zhu revealed that the company had introduced facilities to transmit data from the airplanes to a database via wireless signals, upon their arrival into Macau airspace. http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/52521-aviation-authority-air-macau-ada-agree-on-safety-information- exchange.html Back to Top Back to Top Foreign Airlines Won't Haggle Over $4 Billion Trapped Inside Venezuela A passenger stands near the Air France desk at Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas on Dec. 14, 2013 A month after airlines thought they were about to receive the almost $4 billion in revenue trapped in Venezuela, the government has been seeking meetings with carriers to try to negotiate discounts on how much of the money it will repay. Two dozen airlines are waiting for the proceeds of tickets sold locally in Venezuelan bolivars while the money is blocked by tight currency controls, according to the International Air Transport Association. Venezuela's government has failed to authorize the repatriation of the cash for more than a year, and at least 11 airlines have curtailed flights, including the cancellation last month of three weekly flights from Toronto to Caracas on Air Canada. Irritation from the airline trade group-in which IATA Chief Executive Tony Tyler griped that airlines "cannot sustain operations indefinitely if they can't get paid"- comes one month after the officials in President Nicolás Maduro's administration pledged to release the money at the official exchange rate from the time of the ticket sale. Venezuela's currency has fluctuated from between 4.3 and 6.3 bolivars per dollar when the tickets were issued to the current official rate of nearly 11 bolivars. STORY: Venezuela Agrees to Pay Airlines the Billions They're Owed In recent weeks, however, Venezuela's Air Transport Ministry summoned several airlines to meetings at which government officials have suggested steep discounts, says IATA spokesman Jason Sinclair. When airlines declined, ministry officials sought a counteroffer and, according to Sinclair, talks reached an impasse. "The money has never belonged to the government," Sinclair says. "There really aren't any other countries in the world that have put airlines in a bind like this." The transport ministry did not return messages left Tuesday by Bloomberg News. American Airlines (AAL), the U.S. carrier with the most service to Venezuela, has $750 million in cash awaiting repatriation. Panama's Copa (CPA) has almost $500 million there, and Avianca of Colombia has about $300 million. American and Copa carried the most passengers from Venezuela in February, according to IATA data. For the airlines, the next likely step is further service cuts to Venezuela, a large country with ample wealthy and middle- class travelers. The market distortions caused by the currency controls-as well as the sharp divergence between the official and black-market exchange rates-have produced unprecedented demand for airfares in Venezuela over the past year. That windfall, even with money that is trapped, makes the market difficult for a frustrated airline to quit entirely. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-30/foreign-airlines-wont-haggle-over-4-billion-trapped-inside-venezuela Back to Top China Carrier Juneyao Airlines Plans Shanghai IPO A Spring Airlines Co. aircraft, top, and a Juneyao Airlines Co. jet at Shanghai Pudong International Airport last year. HONG KONG-China's Juneyao Airlines Co. plans raise around 2 billion Chinese yuan (US$325 million) in an initial public offering in Shanghai, as it seeks to expand its fleet to capture the nation's booming demand for air travel. The move by the privately run carrier comes as Spring Airlines Co., the nation's biggest low-cost carrier, proceeds with a plan to raise about 2.53 billion yuan via an IPO in Shanghai. Juneyao Airlines proposes to offer up to 200 million shares, or 28.6% of its total capital after the IPO, according to a draft prospectus published Tuesday by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The proceeds will be used to buy seven Airbus A320 jets and two aircraft engines, and to supplement working capital, it said. The Shanghai-based carrier also plans to set up a budget carrier unit in Guangzhou to tap thriving air travel demand between the southern Chinese city and countries in Southeast Asia, it added. Competition in China's airline industry is intensifying after the government's decision to liberalize the domestic market and promote the growth of budget airlines for the first time. The government this year unveiled long-awaited guidelines to jump-start the budget market, including pledges of financial support, to help existing budget carriers expand. Unlike its Shanghai-based rival Spring Air, Juneyao targets premium and business travelers with a fleet of 34 Airbus 320 aircraft. The carrier launched flights in 2006 and now operates more than 60 domestic and international routes. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303948104579533141119720228 Back to Top Embry-Riddle to offer SMS Workshop for Aviation Executives May 20-22 Daytona Beach, Fla. - Aviation professionals seeking to enhance their knowledge in Safety Management Systems (SMS) concepts and implementation of SMS within their organization can take advantage of a three day course being offered on the Daytona Beach Campus from May 20-22. Topics will include: safety risk management (hazards, risks, and controls); human factors; reactive, proactive, and predictive safety management tools and methods; positive safety culture; and SMS implementation overview. Attendees will be able to explain the theory, principles and application of SMS and will understand the ICAO requirements for implementation as well as the current FAA guidance for operators and organizations. All participants will receive a signed copy of Safety Management Systems in Aviation, authored in part by Dr. Alan Stolzer, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, College of Aviation, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. For more information, click here or email case@erau.edu About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 60 baccalaureate, master's and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., and through the Worldwide Campus with more than 150 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real- world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. Back to Top DO NOT MISS THIS KEY AVIATION EVENT, REGISTER NOW! Although Loss of Control In-flight (LOCI) accidents are rare, they have accounted for one third of all fatalities in scheduled commercial aviation over the last ten years, more than any other category of accident. Addressing LOCI has therefore become a priority for the aviation industry. ICAO will convene a Loss of Control In-flight (LOCI) Symposium on 20-22 May 2014 in Montreal to share information and experiences of professionals from a wide variety of aviation disciplines to address this safety priority. Our List of Speakers includes: - Bertrand de Courville, Consultant to IATA, Co-chair of the European Commercial Aviation Safety Team. - Peggy Gilligan, Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, FAA. - Kevin Hiatt, Senior VP for Safety and Flight Operations, IATA. - Jules Kneepkens, Rulemaking Director, European Aviation Safety Authority. - Terry McVenes, Director, Operational Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Boeing. - Harry Nelson, Executive Operational Advisor to Product Safety, Airbus. Click here to see the full list of our confirmed speakers >> Who Should Attend: The Symposium will attract aviation professionals from regulatory authorities, accident investigation bodies, manufacturers, airlines, training schools, international organisations, and members of the research and academic community. Sponsorship and Exhibition Opportunities: Industry stakeholders with relevant products and services are invited to exhibit and/or sponsor at this event in order to gain visibility with government and aviation industry audiences. For more information please contact: Ms. Enza Brizzi. ENGAGE. SHARE. MAKE A DIFFERENCE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER For more information go to:www.icao.int/meetings/loci Follow us at: Back to Top Upcoming Events: Airport Show Dubai May 11-13, 2014 Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) www.theairportshow.com/portal/home.aspx International Humanitarian Aviation Summit 12-14MAY Toledo, Spain wfp.org National Safety Council Aviation Safety Committee Annual Conference Savanah, GA - May 14-15, 2014 Contact: tammy.washington@nsc.org http://cwp.marriott.com/savdt/artexmeeting/ Embry-Riddle to offer Aviation SMS Workshop Daytona Beach, FL May 20-22, 2014 www.erau.edu/case ICAO Loss of Control In-Flight Symposium 20-22 May 2014 - Montreal www.icao.int/meetings/loci Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar 21-22 May 2014, Bangkok, Thailand http://bit.ly/APASS2014 6th Annual Aviation Human Factors & SMS Seminar June 24th & 25th 2014 Dallas, TX www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1384474 21st Century Pilot Reliability Certification Workshop June 30th and July 1st, 2014 Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07605 Please contact Kacy Schwartz kacy@convergentperformance.com 719-481-0530 International System Safety Society Annual Symposium 04-08AUG2014 - St. Louis, MO http://issc2014.system-safety.org Curt Lewis