Flight Safety Information June 10, 2014 - No. 117 In This Issue Student pilot, instructor killed in plane crash in Daytona Beach Cambridge Airport safety concerns highlighted in leaked emails Airliner leaving Logan gate scrapes neighbor PRISM SMS Florida Tech Launches New Graduate Aviation Degree Upcoming Events Student pilot, instructor killed in plane crash in Daytona Beach DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A student pilot and instructor were killed Monday night when a plane crashed while taking off from Daytona Beach International Airport, according to officials. The Cessna 172 aircraft crashed around 10 p.m. as, according to officials, the student was practicing takeoffs and landings. The names of the deceased have not been released, but the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said they were a man and a woman. "I came out of the shop to see what was going on and saw the fire burning," said Jesse Akins, who works near the airport and heard an explosion. "We thought maybe it was a brush fire and we got closer and we saw the black smoke and we realized it the material burning the tires or something, and that's when we figured out it was a plane crash." Akins said he often sees student pilots practicing in the air. "This is usually a pretty safe place. It always has been, even with the students flying. I never expected to see this," he said. The Cessna is registered to Phoenix East Aviation, a nationally accredited flight school in Daytona Beach. According to its website, the school has been around for 40 years and trains students from all over the world. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. The crash occurred about 90 minutes after another plane went down in the backyard of a Merritt Island home, killing two people. http://www.clickorlando.com/news/plane-crashes-at-daytona-beach-international-airport/26410966 Back to Top Cambridge Airport safety concerns highlighted in leaked emails Cambridge Airport control tower Cambridge Airport has 10,000 commercial passengers a year A BBC investigation has found evidence of safety concerns at Cambridge Airport. Leaked management emails, and the evidence of two whistle-blowers, have highlighted concerns about equipment failures and the state of the runway. Documents and evidence also suggest air traffic controllers have been working excessive hours and under- qualified staff have been used due to shortages. Aviation consultant Chris Yates said the BBC evidence was "deeply worrying". Between May and September last year, an airport manager warned his bosses that air traffic controllers were having to "bend the rules" and resort to "dodgy" practices to cope with "chronic staff shortages". One email talks of "times when planes should have been diverted". A former airport worker told the BBC the problems had been going on for several years. Continue reading the main story " Start Quote The tar that lifted and stuck to an aircraft taking off was a repair to the runway surface and was dealt with straight away" CAA Spokesman "I tell my friends and family not to fly from Cambridge in the summer," he said. Radar operation fears The airspace around Cambridge is busy and in the past four years, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has undertaken investigations, known as Air Proximity Reports, into 14 near misses in the skies around the city. In one incident a helicopter came within feet of hitting a vintage aircraft at 1,500ft, and in another incident two jets were described as "very very very close to a collision". The pilot of a Boeing 737 taking off from Cambridge feared a collision with a light aircraft, which was flying in uncontrolled air space. Air traffic control was not found to be at fault in any of these cases. However, the investigations did highlight underlying concerns within the CAA that the radar was not operating and it issued urgent recommendations to the airport. The airport is part of the Marshall Group, an aerospace company which has an annual turnover of £1bn and is currently working on a £1.5bn government contract to service RAF Hercules aircraft. Last year, the airport made a loss of £4.8m and was due to offer for tender a new £16m runway contract last year. The project is now due for completion in 2015. However, in leaked emails, a manager complains about "underfunding since year dot" and that landing aids including radar are "all antique and fail frequently". Pilot shocked by debris "When you saw a large aircraft taking off you could see parts of the runway lifting up behind it," he said. "I noticed it had a large chunk of debris stuck to one of its main wheels. Staff in silhouette in air traffic control room Staff in the control room are working excessive hours due to shortages, the BBC found "The pilot was really quite shocked when he saw the object for himself. "He was extremely grateful that we were able to intervene and prevent him from taking off." Independent consultant Chris Yates, a former aviation security editor, was shown the BBC's findings. "I've never in the 20-plus years I've been doing this job heard anything quite so dramatic," he said. Cambridge Airport managing director Steve Jones told the BBC: "We utterly refute the implied allegation that safety has been compromised at Cambridge Airport. "Cambridge International Airport has undertaken a significant and ongoing programme of investment in the facilities and operations of the Airport, ensuring that the highest standards are maintained." Mr Jones said there had only been three unforeseen circumstances in 2013, when formal reports for longer hours had been submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and no member of staff had reported concerns. CAA considers allegations The CAA told the BBC it had not found evidence to substantiate any of the allegations, and added that the airport met all the required levels of safety. "Air traffic controllers had not breached CAA regulations," it added. Chris Yates Aviation consultant Chris Yates told the BBC he had never heard anything "quite so dramatic" "They have been allowed limited extensions of working time under very strict conditions. "Safety is not compromised by this extension and constant monitoring ensures that controllers do not become fatigued. "We were aware of one incident of tar being lifted off the runway. "This tar was a repair to the runway surface and was dealt with straight away." The CAA said it would consider further specific allegations but had not received whistle-blowing reports about Cambridge Airport in the past two years. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-27730700 Back to Top Airliner leaving Logan gate scrapes neighbor The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a minor accident involving a Southwest Airlines jet and a parked JetBlue aircraft at Logan International Airport that tore a piece from one of the departing plane's wings Monday morning. Flight 4552 was pushing back from the gate just after 7 a.m. when its left winglet clipped the right horizontal stabilizer of a JetBlue A-320 aircraft sitting at a neighboring gate, officials said. The Southwest plane was being pushed back from its gate before departure to Kansas City when it collided with a JetBlue plane sitting nearby. The Southwest plane was being pushed back from its gate before departure to Kansas City when it collided with a JetBlue plane sittingnearby. None of the 108 passengers on board the Southwest Airlines flight to Kansas City were injured. The Boeing 737 was taken out of service for repairs and inspection, the airline said. Passenger Aubin Dubois said that she felt a jolt when the plane struck the parked aircraft and that the jet appeared to become stuck. "It felt like we weren't able to move," she told reporters at Logan Airport. Dubois posted a picture of the damage on Twitter. The JetBlue aircraft, which was parked at Gate 11 in Terminal C, was empty and did not sustain any damage, airport officials said. Southwest Airline officials said they rerouted the passengers. The accident did not affect other operations at the airport, officials said. Another passenger said the accident felt like a "little bump." "I was glad it happened on the ground and not in flight,'' Marcia Mitchell Cardello told WBZ-AM radio. http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/09/two-planes-bump-each-other-logan-airport-injuries- reported/OZ15VksGUeYe79WwbbRs4L/story.html Back to Top Back to Top Florida Tech Launches New Graduate Aviation Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AVIATION MANAGEMENT F.I.T. Aviation's training aircraft sit near the university's Emil Buehler Center for Aviation Training and Research. (Florida Tech image) BREVARD COUNTY * MELBOURNE - Florida Institute of Technology is launching a new online graduate degree program in Fall 2014 that is designed for adult working professionals in public, private or military aviation-related professions where advanced, graduate-level knowledge of aviation management concepts is a key to success. The Aviation Management degree prepares individuals for advanced leadership positions in the public, private, or military aviation sectors through specific skills and competencies training in aviation management. (Florida Tech image) The new degree, Master of Science in Aviation - Aviation Management, is offered by Florida Tech's College of Aeronautics and is a companion degree to the college's Master's in Aviation Safety and Master's in Human Factors in Aeronautics degrees, which are also available online. The Aviation Management degree prepares individuals for advanced leadership positions in the public, private, or military aviation sectors through specific skills and competencies training in aviation management. People interested in a wide range of aviation management applications, including airport managers, airport operations officers, and those in corporate investigative positions in government or private organizations, would find this degree meaningful. The program benefits of this 30-credit, non-thesis program include its online convenience and access to experienced, professional faculty, said Korhan Oyman, dean of the College of Aeronautics. "This online master's degree provides an outstanding opportunity for aviation professionals worldwide to benefit from Florida Tech's superior online delivery expertise and unsurpassed aviation management curricula," Oyman said. For information on admission requirements and curriculum information, please visit fit.edu/programs and click on "Aviation-Aviation Management Online." For information about graduation admissions, please contact the Florida Tech Graduate Admissions Office of Online Learning at gradadm-olocp@fit.edu or by calling 321-674-8271. For academic program information, please visit the College of Aeronautics at coa.fit.edu or call 321-674-8120. http://spacecoastdaily.com/2014/06/florida-tech-launches-new-graduate-aviation-degree/ Back to Top Upcoming Events: Gulf Flight Safety Council Doha, Qatar 22nd of June 2014 membership@gfsc.aero 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