Flight Safety Information May 6, 2014 - No. 092 In This Issue Airliner Engine Failure Closes Australian Airport (Australia) Two Canadians dead after aircraft crashes in Colombia Europe plans tougher rules for aircraft black boxes in wake of MH370 disaster Jet with wing flap problem lands safely in Springfield Chinese pilots demand same pay as foreigners FAA OKs drone flights at Alaska testing range Airplane Landing Gear Collapse (Santa Barbara, CA) PRISM SMS Sumwalt Looks at Safety Leadership FAA says Friday incident involved Gulfstream G-III, Boeing 737 (Las Vegas, NV) Graduate Research Survey Upcoming Events Airliner Engine Failure Closes Australian Airport (Australia) MELBOURNE, Australia May 6, 2014 (AP) - An explosive engine failure on a Vietnamese airliner showered fiery debris across a runway at Australia's second busiest airport on Tuesday, preventing planes landing and taking off for 40 minutes, an official said. The malfunction happened as Vietnam Airlines Flight 780 was taxiing to take off on a flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Melbourne Airport spokeswoman Anna Gillett said. The twin-engine Airbus A330 came to rest at the intersection of the airport's two runways, blocking all traffic for 40 minutes until 11:30 a.m. local time (01:30 GMT), she said. No one was injured. "The issue also resulted in some debris from the plane causing some spot fires on the runaway and surrounding area," Gillett said. "There are some rumors that the aircraft itself was ablaze with fire - that's not the case," she added. A passenger, who identified himself only as Peter, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio that the jet's nose had begun lifting for takeoff when the engine failed, forcing the pilots to abort the flight. He was unsure how many people were aboard, but said the plane was three-quarters full. An airline official in Melbourne declined to comment. Gillett said the cause of the engine failure was under investigation. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/airliner-engine-failure-closes-australian-airport-23600039 **************** Date: 06-MAY-2014 Time: 11:00 a.m. Type: Airbus A330 Owner/operator: Vietnam Airlines Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Unknown Location: Melbourne Airport - Australia Phase: Take off Nature: International Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Melbourne Airport Destination airport: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Narrative: When the nose of the plane had already lifted the runway, the takeoff was aborted by the pilot because of an engine malfunction. The plane stayed stuck on the runway and sustained unreported damage. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Two Canadians dead after aircraft crashes in Colombia A map of Colombia is shown in this screen grab from Google Maps. (Google) REGINA -- One of two Canadians identified as the victims of a plane crash in northeastern Colombia was described Monday as a smart guy with a passion for the outdoors. The civil aviation authority in Columbia says the registry of a plane that crashed high in the Andes on Saturday matches one belonging to Regina-based Oracle Geoscience International, which does aerial surveys for mining companies. Two people aboard, both Canadians, were killed. The authority identified the dead as Peter Moore, a co-founder of the company, and Neville Ribeiro, who was registered as the plane's pilot. Jack Richardson, who says he knew Moore for about 25 years, was shocked to hear about the crash. "His geophysics, doing the flying, analyzing the anomalies -- he knew that stuff very well. We talked about it a lot," Richardson said in a phone interview from Blind River, Ont. "Peter is a good guy. He is very focused on his work, very focused on enjoying life." Richardson says Moore ran an outfitting service for many years on the Great Lakes. Moore used to take charters out salmon fishing and worked very hard at it, said Richardson. "He loved fishing. He was an excellent fisherman," said Richardson. "And he built his own place on Lake Huron. You know he's that kind of guy -- very resourceful, very independent." According to Oracle Geoscience's website, Moore graduated from the Haileybury School of Mines in Haileybury, Ont. The site says Moore started his survey career as an airborne operator for Dighem Surveys in 1987 and that he worked in more than 15 countries over the last 20 years. "Most of his work was (in) northern Canada. He did all the diamond mine exploration when that was hot," said Richardson, who last spoke with his friend at the end of January when Moore arrived in South America. "He'd go wherever the work took him." Rescue workers struggled over the weekend to reach the twin-engine Piper PA-31 Navajo because of poor visibility at the remote site. Col. Carlos Silva, director of the Colombian air force command and control centre, said the plane was seen from the air upside down on the ground. It was not clear what led to the accident. http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/two-canadians-dead-after-aircraft-crashes-in-colombia- 1.1806966#ixzz30w88yL2q ************** Date: 04-MAY-2014 Time: Type: Piper PA-31 Navajo Owner/operator: Oracle Geoscience International Registration: C-GSVM C/n / msn: 31-109 Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Coromoro region, Andes mountains - Colombia Phase: En route Nature: Survey Departure airport: SKBG Destination airport: SKBG Narrative: CAA Colombia reported that radio contact was lost with PA-31 C-GSVM at noon, while on geodesic work on the Coromoro region 50 miles south of the city of Bucaramanga SKBG, Department of Santander. The plane has a crew of two foreigners. The search and rescue team together with the Colombian Air Force are trying to find the aircraft. On Monday 5 May 2014 the wreckage of the plane was located in the Andes mountains at an altitude of about 14,700 feet (4,500 meters). Rescue operations are hampered due to a difficult accessible terrain and bad weather conditions. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Europe plans tougher rules for aircraft black boxes in wake of MH370 disaster PARIS - Reuters - The European Aviation Safety Agency has drawn up proposals to make it easier to find black boxes from missing aircraft, in the strongest official reaction so far to the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jet, sources familiar with the matter said. The proposals will bring into force some recommendations that were put forward by France after the loss of an Air France jet in the Atlantic in 2009, but which were never implemented. These include the addition of a new pinger frequency, making it easier to locate the recording devices under water. An opinion due to be published by the agency also calls for an increase in the minimum amount of recording time on cockpit voice recorders to make it easier to understand plane crashes. Flight MH370 is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean some seven hours after it went missing on March 8, meaning the standard two-hour recording loop would not cover conversations during the crucial early stages of the flight. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/europe-plans-tougher-rules-for-aircraft-black-boxes-in- wake-of-mh370-disaster/article18477809/ Back to Top Jet with wing flap problem lands safely in Springfield SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A Delta regional jet with reported wing flap problems landed safely at Springfield- Branson National Airport about 10:35 a.m. Monday. Before the landing, the jet circled the airport for 45 minutes to burn off fuel. If flaps do not come down, it could make for a longer landing. The flaps produce drag to slow a plane when it's landing. They produce lift when it is taking off. The pilots noticed the problem right after the jet took off from Springfield and returned. The jet was en route for Atlanta. Firefighters and other emergency crews stood by until the jet was safely on the ground. After passengers were inside, mechanics inspected the jet to see if they could find the problem. The jet holds up to 50 passengers. One passenger said afterwards that the pilot kept them well informed about what was going on, lessening the anxiety for people on the flight. http://www.ky3.com/news/local/jet-with-wing-flap-problem-lands-safely-in- springfield/21048998_25815200 Back to Top Chinese pilots demand same pay as foreigners Headquartered in Beijing, Air China operates more than a thousand flights on peak travel days. (CNN) -- Given the country's aviation boom and pilot shortage, you might think this would be a good time to be a pilot in China. According to an open letter from pilots making the rounds on Chinese media, however, major issues within China's cockpits may eventually "threaten flight safety." Signed by dozens of Air China pilots last month, the letter criticizes unfair salary structures between Chinese and foreign pilots and complains about what the pilots call the airline's "blind expansion" policy and a "destructive usage" of pilots. The letter, whose authenticity CNN has not been able to independently verify, says that overwhelming demands on local pilots and more favorable treatment of foreign pilots is leading to extreme friction among flight crews and an unbearable work environment. The Chinese pilots say they're hoping a new leave policy will be implemented, given that the current workload has left their physical and mental health "severely damaged." Headquartered in Beijing, China's national flag carrier operates more than a thousand flights on peak travel days according to the airline's official company profile, and employs 3,700 flight crew, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. Demanding equal pay Unequal pay and unfavorable treatment of local employees compared with expat hires is a major point of contention in the letter. "[Foreign pilots] do not have a higher skill or standard compared to us, and are not able to enhance the overall technical skill of the airline," says the letter, claiming foreign pilots enjoy more days off, easier flight routes and much larger salaries than their Chinese counterparts. "The sense of superiority in the bones of white people, plus unfair payments, has made the relationship between Chinese and foreign pilots intense, extremely unhelpful to cockpit management and will eventually threaten flight safety," says the letter, which has since mostly disappeared from Chinese news and social media web sites. The letter was initially picked up by local newspapers, but has not been featured in the national (state-run) media. While Boeing and Airbus have established pilot training schools in China and other Asian countries, the demand for pilots is so high that it's difficult for many Asian airlines to keep up. A Boeing report published in August 2013 predicted that the global explosion in demand for air travel -- mostly in the Asia Pacific region -- will require 192,300 new pilots by 2032. The report forecast that a staggering 40% of that demand -- 77,400 pilots -- will come from China. In recent years, Chinese airlines seeking quick solutions to pilot shortages have recruited foreign pilots with high salaries and enticing benefits packages. Although Air China declined to comment to CNN for this story, current job postings appear to confirm a wide discrepancy between salaries paid to Chinese and foreign pilots. A current recruitment posting on Aviationjobsearch.com by Air China for a foreign A330 captain lists a starting salary of $204,000. Meanwhile, Chinese financial news site Yicai (link in Chinese) reports that a local Air China pilot makes approximately $96,000. Can't quit The report states that Air China pilots receive the lowest salary in China among nationalized and private airlines in terms of hourly wage. It's not just salary discrepancy that Air China pilots are unhappy with. Even when they wish to resign, Chinese pilots are prohibited from quitting, say Air China pilots in the letter. In China, pilots resignations must be approved by airlines, as pilots are considered assets too expensive to lose due to expensive training paid for by airlines. Chinese courts typically side with the airlines in such disputes, sometimes forcing pilots to pay exorbitant fines in order to resign. http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/05/travel/air-china-pilots-letter/ Back to Top FAA OKs drone flights at Alaska testing range Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Michael Huerta and Pan Pacific Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Range Complex director Ro Bailey answer questions at a press conference at the University of Alaska Anchorage on Monday, May 5, 2014, in Anchorage, Alaska. Huerta announced that the FAA has authorized unmanned aircraft test flights at UA Fairbanks. The university is one of six locations picked for research into into integrating drones into U.S. airspace ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday it has granted authorization to the University of Alaska to begin test flights of unmanned aircraft as part of its research into the challenges of integrating drones into U.S. air space. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta at a press conference said his agency is not concerned with how drones will be used but how they will be flown safely in the air space now used by pilots with passengers. "The overriding priority needs to be safe integration," he said. The FAA announced in December that it had picked the University of Alaska as one of six testing sites in the nation for drone research. The six were picked to give the FAA a wide range of geography, climate, infrastructure and airspace use. The University of Alaska's Pan-Pacific Unmanned Aircraft System Test Range Complex will have testing sites at two small airports in Oregon and a coast location in Hawaii. Within Alaska, test sites are planned at UA Fairbanks, the Poker Flat Rocket Range, and sites near Barrow, Kodiak and Homer, said Ro Bailey the complex director. The university marked Monday's announcement with a quick flight of an Aeryon Scout, a roughly 5-pound unmanned aircraft that flew for five minutes over the UA Fairbanks Large Animal Research Station just two miles from Fairbanks International Airport. The camera-packing drone flew at under 200 feet to predetermined way points and beamed back live images. It will be tested for suitability of use in a persistent challenge facing Alaska scientists and wildlife managers: counting populations of caribou, moose, bear and other animals in the country's largest and wildest state. The FAA's mandate from Congress is to demonstrate safe integration of unmanned by September 2015. "We need to think about this as an evolutionary process, that we're able to demonstrate the conditions, the qualifications of the operator, the systems that support them, that if certain conditions are met, it is in fact safe," Huerta said. Among the challenges will be coming up with safety rules for flying drones in areas where aircraft is governed my Visual Flight Rules, and where pilots rely on seeing other aircraft to avoid. "VFR conditions are premised on a doctrine of 'see and avoid,'" he said. "Can they see it? Are they able to interact with each other? And are things different as a result of the operator being remote?" In the Fairbanks demonstration Monday, there was the added element of interacting with air traffic controllers in controlled air space, Huerta said. Eventual rules might change from "see and avoid" to "sense and avoid" through a requirement for drones to send a signal that can be detected by other aircraft, Huerta said. Among the other challenges: what to do when there's a "loss of link" between the drone and the operator on the ground and drones are suddenly flying on their own. The research at Alaska and the five other national test sites is critical because of the rapidly expanding uses for unmanned aircraft. "It's a big deal," Huerta said. "It's a very big deal." http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/FAA-OKs-drone-flights-at-Alaska-testing-range-5454704.php Back to Top Airplane Landing Gear Collapse (Santa Barbara, CA) At 12:23 pm, an inbound aircraft to the Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) alerted the control tower of a possible landing gear malfunction. Santa Barbara City Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting (ARFF) units responded to Runway 15R to await the arrival of the aircraft which was indicated to be 10 minutes out. With the pilot as the lone occupant of the twin engine Piper PA23-250, the aircraft had diverted from its original destination of Oceano. On approach to the Oceano County Airport, the pilot noticed that his landing gear light did not indicate that all gear was down and locked. At this point a conversation with the Santa Barbara tower took place. With emergency response equipment and personnel unavailable at the smaller Oceano Airport, SBA tower recommended the pilot return to the Santa Barbara Airport where aircraft rescue and firefighting equipment would be standing by upon arrival. As the pilot approached SBA, he initiated two backup landing gear deployment procedures. The first procedure involves a manual pump to move the gear into landing position. When the landing gear again failed to light to indicate the gear was locked, the pilot activated a CO2 cartridge in a last attempt to secure the gear. At this point, and with fire crews standing by, the pilot initiated a tower fly-by. FAA tower personnel observed that the gear was down but not aligned, as in a locked position. ARFF equipment was moved into position and the pilot touched down on runway 15R. The nose and left landing gear held, with the right gear collapsing. Santa Barbara City Firefighters assisted the pilot from the cockpit and assessed the aircraft for damage. Shortly after the landing, fuel began to leak from the right wing. ARFF crews began to blanket the fuel with foam to eliminate possible ignition. The pilot suffered a minor injury to his hand as a result of the accident. Runway 15R was closed for several hours while the plane was hoisted back onto its gear and towed to a repair facility. Standard operating procedures were followed to absorb the spilled fuel, clean the contaminated area, and dispose of the contaminates per strict environmental protocols. http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=133688 Back to Top Back to Top Sumwalt Looks at Safety Leadership NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt warned business aviation operators not to rest on their laurels when it comes to safety. Business aviation's strong accident record is no reason for operators to rest on their laurels, NTSB member Robert Sumwalt reminded attendees at the recent FSF business aviation safety summit (BASS). Sumwalt, former manager of aviation for Scana and a retired US Airways pilot, is a man obsessed with the pursuit of improving aviation safety. He reminded the audience that leadership is about influencing others. "Your job as leaders in business aviation is to make sure accidents don't happen on your watch. You must also be constantly trying to improve. You need a leadership obsession." According to Sumwalt, a real danger to continued safe operations is that some people interpret the absence of an accident to mean everyone is doing everything right. "If you are on the right track, with a good safety record, pat yourself on the back, but don't get too smug, too complacent," he said. He asked the audience: "Is safety the top priority at your company? Priorities come and go, but your [company's] values are the heart of the organization. Those should not change. So do you want safety to be a priority or a value? That chronic unease [about all things safety] is what keeps us on our toes." http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainsafety/2014-05-05/sumwalt-looks-safety-leadership Back to Top FAA says Friday incident involved Gulfstream G-III, Boeing 737 (Las Vegas, NV) A Gulfstream G-111 aircraft, similar to the one that was involved in a Friday "operational" event at McCarran that caused a Delta Airlines Boeing 737 to abort a takeoff. A Gulfstream G-111 aircraft, similar to the one that was involved in a Friday "operational" event at McCarran that caused a Delta Airlines Boeing 737 to abort a takeoff. LAS VEGAS (KSNV MyNews3.com) -- A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said a Gulfstream G-III private jet was involved in an "operational event" at McCarran International Airport on Friday afternoon that caused a Delta Airlines 737 to abort a takeoff with 166 people aboard. "It would not be termed a potential near-collision," the FAA's Lynn Lunsford wrote in an email to News 3. "It would be classified as an operational event. If you look at the two runways on a map, the Delta jet would have been airborne well before the intersection. The issue has more to do with internal FAA procedures that ensure a wide margin of safety." Lunsford said the Delta plane aborted a takeoff on Runway 25-Right while the private jet was on final approach on 19-Right. A Gulfstream G-III can carry up to eight passengers depending on user specifications and travel close to the speed of sound. It is about 41 feet long. Lunsford wrote that the FAA "routinely review events such as this to verify details. It's all part of our ongoing safety program. We don't assign error on this type of thing. We analyze the event for the purpose of learning safety lessons, should there be some." The spokesman wrote that a preliminary review of radar data showed that safety standards were maintained. He said the takeoff clearance for the Delta flight was canceled as a precaution and the private jet landed on 19-Right. Delta Flight 2483 was bound for Atlanta with 160 passengers and six crew members about had to stop its takeoff roll shortly before 3 p.m., according to Morgan Durrant, a Delta Airlines spokesman. "I don't know the speed the plane was at, but the wheels locked up because of friction and two tires deflated," Durrant told News 3. Durrant said the passengers and crew were taken by bus to the terminal, received food and drink and were put on a different plane and left about four hours late for Atlanta. http://www.mynews3.com/mostpopular/story/McCarran-Delta-Gulfstream- FAA/0MnHz6__z0ux0EfHSdDGDg.cspx Back to Top Graduate Research Survey I am doing a MSc course at Cranfield University (England) in "Human Factors & Safety Assessment in Aeronautics." As part of my Thesis I am doing a survey related to the degradation of manual flying skills and looking at pilot attitudes towards manual flight. I am trying to get as large and varied background of airline/biz jet pilots from all over the world to take part in it. The main aim of my research is to get data from current line pilots about the issues they face regarding manual flying. Issues such as airline policies, fatigue, workload, training and display design. I am looking to gather data from pilots in many countries. The survey should only take about 10-15 minutes hopefully and it is totally anonymous. Here is the link to the survey https://cranfielduniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_1Tf2GY6mkpyR8Il Many thanks Pete Wilson MSc Student and Airline Training Captain 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 www.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 SMS & Risk Management Training Tampa, FL June 4-5, 2014 http://atcvantage.com 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