Flight Safety Information June 20, 2014 - No. 125 In This Issue Search for Malaysian jet to move '800 kilometres' southwest Airbus Shifts Pilot-Training Focus to Emphasize Manual Flying U.N. Panel Moves to Shield Voluntary Air-Safety Data from Prosecutors Garmin tackles 'misinformation' on hacking aircraft avionics Flock of Birds Hit by Southwest Airplane Australia Introduces Safety Regulation Reforms PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA Brazil World Cup team flies high on sustainable jet fuel BA to Acquire 72 Aircraft to Boost Flight Operations in Nigeria Pilots aim for first solar-powered aircraft circumnavigation of globe Panasonic to Bring Satellite Connectivity to Pacific Aircraft Routes Upcoming Events Search for Malaysian jet to move '800 kilometres' southwest The ongoing search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will shift to an area 800 kilometres southwest of the previous search area following a new assessment of satellite data on the plane's likely flight path, media reports said Friday. Citing US sources, the "West Australian" newspaper said the hunt would target an area 800 kilometres southwest from where the search was previously focused when the underwater probe resumes in August. The new underwater search will focus on an area of ocean that lies 1,800 kilometres (1,100 miles) west of the city of Perth, Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief Martin Dolan said. When the search first shifted to the southern Indian Ocean on March 18, investigators targeted a location 2,500 kilometres southwest of Perth. Investigators reanalysed the initial satellite data to draw up the new location, which was previously the subject of an aerial search. Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said Friday that the revised search zone, based on an intensive study of satellite communications from the jet and other data, would be announced next week. Scientists from British company Inmarsat told the BBC earlier this week that the search had yet to target the most likely crash site after investigators became distracted by "pings" thought at the time to have originated from the plane's black boxes. An intensive undersea search for the plane in the area where the pings were detected failed to find any sign of the jet. The source of the noises remains unknown. It was not clear from the West Australian report whether the new search area overlaps with what Inmarsat believes is the most likely crash site. Final 'handshake' The jet vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Malaysia on March 8 with 239 passengers on board. Australian officials have said repeatedly that the revised search zone will be in the area of the seventh arc, or the final satellite "handshake" from the plane. This final communication is believed to have occured when the aircraft had run out of fuel and was in descent. "Located along the seventh arc, that area is consistent with provisional analysis of satellite and other data that is being used to determine the future search area," the JACC said. The Fugro Equator ship is already searching this zone, the centre said. Australian officials announced earlier this week that a survey of the sea bed, mostly unmapped and crucial to the success of the underwater search, had resumed. Two ships - China's Zhu Kezhen as well as the Fugro Equator - will survey an area up to 6,000 metres deep and covering up to 60,000 square kilometres before a contractor begins an intensive undersea probe looking for debris. (FRANCE 24 with AFP) http://www.france24.com/en/20140620-search-malaysian-jet-shift-hundreds-kilometres-south-perth/ Back to Top Airbus Shifts Pilot-Training Focus to Emphasize Manual Flying Change Is a Marked Shift From Traditional Principles That Relied on Automated Systems By ANDY PASZTOR BETHESDA, Md.- Airbus Group EADSY is significantly revising its pilot-training policies to focus more attention than ever before on manual flying skills. Discussed at an international safety conference here on Wednesday, the change marks a marked shift from traditional Airbus principles that for decades relied heavily on automated aircraft systems and basically taught pilots to use them to fly out of trouble in nearly all circumstances. But now, the European plane maker is emphasizing the importance of pilots practicing hand flying, and urging that they do so as early as possible when beginning to learn how to handle a new aircraft. William Tauzin, director of international regulatory affairs for Airbus, told the conference those principles are an essential part of the training program under development for the A350 widebody jet, which is slated to begin service with lead customer Qatar Airways around the end of the year. In proposing the training sequence for the A350, Mr. Tauzin said "we decided to put manual flying much earlier in the curriculum," before pilots are taught to perform normal procedures using automation. The program still must be approved by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. In an interview after his presentation, Mr. Tauzin said pilots will experience manual flying in the simulator after only a brief introduction to the A350. In the past, they would have spent more than a dozen sessions learning about the plane's various automated systems, and then started flying simulator sessions with the automation turned on. The goal is to first "just have them feel the plane, and how it behaves without" turning on automation or presenting any complicated system failures or emergencies, according to Mr. Tauzin. Experts say it is a way to make pilots feel more comfortable and confident about their ability to revert to manual flying in an emergency. Eventually, Airbus seeks to expand the revamped training approach to other models. "There is no reason why we wouldn't apply it to the rest of the fleet," Mr. Tauzin said. The new focus is the strongest sign yet of industrywide concern about the hazards of excessive reliance on automated cockpits, and worries about pilots who may be reluctant to take over manual control when necessary. The result could be to accelerate the movement of airlines toward training programs highlighting manual flight maneuvers. The A350 training changes are prompted by "the growing realization that pilots are losing their manual skills, and it's part of the industry's risk-management focus," according to Joachim Wirths, head of operations for Qatar's aviation regulator. Increasingly sophisticated automation has played a big part in making flying safer than ever in the U.S. and globally, but more recently regulators, pilot unions and outside safety experts have highlighted potential downsides. A comprehensive study prepared for the FAA and released last November found that some pilots "lack sufficient or in-depth knowledge and skills" to properly control their plane's trajectory. The study found that is partly because "current training methods, training devices and the time allotted for training" may be inadequate to fully master advanced automated systems. Among the accidents and certain categories of incidents examined in that report, roughly two-thirds of the pilots either had difficulty manually flying planes or made mistakes using flight computers. Airbus began making limited adjustments to its training philosophy in the wake of the 2009 crash of an Air France A330 in the Atlantic. The crew failed to recognize the plane was in a stall and was confused by cockpit instruments. Initial changes Airbus introduced after that crash started training pilots how to avoid and recover from such high-altitude stalls. But the training program being developed for the A350 goes substantially further in explicitly emphasizing hand flying at various altitudes and across a wide range of maneuvers. Some airlines already are far down that path. John Tovani, managing director of flight training for Delta Air Lines Inc., told the conference that pilots "are exploring this manual flight stuff in the simulator more and more," when instructors deliberately turn off computerized systems. "There are times when you have to take over manually," according to Mr. Tovani, because even the most sophisticated automated systems can get planes into situations and "places from where the pilots are going to have to fly out." http://online.wsj.com/articles/airbus-shifts-pilot-training-focus-to-emphasize-manual-flying-1403208685 Back to Top U.N. Panel Moves to Shield Voluntary Air-Safety Data from Prosecutors International Civil Aviation Organization Recommends Adopting Global Standards By ANDY PASZTOR International air-safety officials have taken a big step toward blocking voluntary incident reports from being used by criminal prosecutors or plaintiffs' lawyers. A policy-making panel of the International Civil Aviation Organization, an arm of the United Nations, on Wednesday recommended adoption of global standards intended to shield voluntarily collected safety data from criminal proceedings and civil litigation stemming from an accident or incident. The move is still subject to comment, possible changes and formal approval by the more than 160 countries that are members of ICAO. Industry officials anticipate that process could take years. The standards would become binding at that point, with many countries likely passing legislation to lock them in. Still, the package approved Wednesday is the most concrete step yet by ICAO to support mandatory international standards in this arena. Proponents argue that when voluntary safety data is used as evidence in criminal or civil proceedings, it discourages airlines, pilots and other groups from continuing to freely provide such information. Currently, standards protecting such aviation data vary widely from country to country, depending on local customs and laws. France, Italy, the U.K., Brazil and South Korea are among the nations where air-safety experts complain the actions of prosecutors have had a chilling effect on voluntary data programs. In a few countries, even transcripts of cockpit-voice recorders-which are supposed to be among the most closely guarded parts of safety investigations-have been used and sometimes made public by prosecutors or judges. In the U.S., Congress has explicitly protected certain safety data from Freedom of Information Act requests, and judges typically have refrained from demanding unfettered access to data. But there aren't any binding legal protections to ensure that continues. For the first time, the proposal provides detailed language and a road map to protect incident reports and voluntary safety data world-wide, according to Ken Quinn, a Washington aviation lawyer and co-chairman of an ICAO-sponsored task force that took nearly four years to draft the recommendations. Now, the industry has "guidance that is specific" and offers protections "far greater than we have today," Mr. Quinn told an international safety conference on Thursday. He described the move as "considerable progress," and urged countries to implement changes in advance of final ICAO action. The proposal, among other things, includes language emphasizing that prosecutors and judges could demand to see data only after determining that the need for such access would significantly outweigh the continued safety benefits of voluntary collection. If some data ends up released to a court or criminal proceeding, the proposal requires maintaining confidentiality by keeping the material out of public files and sharply restricting who has access, according Mr. Quinn In addition, Mr. Quinn said the package envisions setting up programs to train prosecutors and judges about the potential setbacks to safety resulting from using voluntary data for purposes it was never intended to serve. John Hickey, the Federal Aviation Administration's No. 2 safety official, said the latest ICAO move highlights the importance of proactive collection and sharing of voluntary safety data. "This is going to be the basis of how we improve safety" in coming decades, Mr. Hickey told the conference. http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-n-panel-moves-to-shield-voluntary-air-safety-data-from-prosecutors- 1403211845 Back to Top Garmin tackles 'misinformation' on hacking aircraft avionics Garmin tackles misinformation about the security of avionics and hacking. With much publicity the past several months focusing on hacking and security breaches-in the media, TV shows, and movies-Garmin is setting the record straight on the myths around one such possible breach: hacking aircraft avionics. Garmin, an industry leader in aviation avionics, said in a blog posted June 17 that avionics manufacturers take numerous measures to ensure that avionics are safe and secure for pilots to use. Garmin said that its software runs on proprietary operating systems "that would make it much more difficult to successfully accomplish an attack," and that "proprietary protocols, data input validations, and other mitigations are in place to prevent viruses or malware from infecting, or affecting, our equipment." In addition, avionics manufacturers perform safety assessments on what could happen in an aircraft if the avionics data were corrupted, deliberately or not, and then develop mitigations for those possibilities before they go through equipment certification. And, all avionics are able to be overridden by the pilot, if he or she determines the aircraft is not doing what was intended. In many cases, pilots also must validate that their flight plan information is uploaded correctly and accept it before using it for active navigation. These actions help prevent input mistakes by the pilot as well as enhance security. Certified avionics manufacturers also are required "to analyze field reports for potential safety issues and provide information to our customers about issues that may lead to unsafe flight conditions as well as fielding necessary equipment updates," Garmin said. Because of these multiple safeguards, the company encouraged pilots (and aircraft passengers) to "rest assured that Garmin, and other avionics manufacturers, apply rigorous processes to ensure threat sources are adequately mitigated so that you can trust both the safety and the security of the information the avionics provide." http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2014/June/18/Garmin-tackles-misinformation-on- hacking-aircraft-avionics.aspx Back to Top Flock of Birds Hit by Southwest Airplane TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A Southwest Airlines flight from Tampa to Houston returned to Tampa International Airport after apparently striking a flock of birds. Officials say a little piece of the plane's left wing came off after hitting the birds about four miles north of the airport on Wednesday morning. Tampa's airport spokeswoman Emily Nipps says the pilots didn't feel comfortable staying on course. No one was injured and everyone was booked on another flight. Nipps told reporters that officials suspect the plane hit either egrets or seagulls. She says the plane is in a Tampa airport maintenance hangar, where it will be repaired. http://www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/Southwest-Airplane-Hit-by-Birds-263813311.html Back to Top Australia Introduces Safety Regulation Reforms Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) last week announced a set of regulatory reforms intended to streamline governing aviation through improved continuity in the areas of engineering, pilot licensing, flight training and operations, maintenance and fatigue risk management, as well as improving standards for navigation, sport aviation and aerial work. The agency released the reforms almost simultaneously with the publication of an aviation safety regulatory report called for by Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss after both the CASA and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) came under fire for taking an excessively adversarial approach with the industry. The reforms the CASA unveiled are designed to align the safety agency with international best practices developed in conjunction with the industry while also offering longer lead times before implementation. Many of the updated regulations have already taken effect. The CASA says it will implement other new rules, including those covering general aviation pilot licensing and maintenance operations, after closer consultation with that segment of the industry. CASA director of aviation safety John McCormick recently announced plans to leave his position. The industry has called for a replacement with leadership experience, rather than just aviation knowledge. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainsafety/2014-06-16/australia-introduces-safety-regulation- reforms Back to Top Back to Top Brazil World Cup team flies high on sustainable jet fuel Brazil is off to a flying start at the World Cup fueled by Neymar, Oscar and used cooking oil. GOL Airlines, which is transporting the Seleção, is using Honeywell Green Jet Fuel made from inedible corn oil and used cooking oil blended with 50 percent petroleum-based jet fuel to power 200 commercial flights during the competition, including those carrying the national team to games across Brazil. UOP LLC, the Honeywell-owned company that developed the process behind the fuel, has supplied nearly 92,000 liters to GOL and says it will reduce greenhouse gases by 185 metric tonnes of CO2 over the course of the event. The fuel, which Honeywell claims produces 65 to 85 percent lower emissions than purely petroleum-based fuels, was also used on flights to the Rio+20 UN Conference in 2012. Around 30 million tonnes (114 million liters) is expected to be produced when the first fully commercial production of renewable jet fuel in the United States starts up this year, of which United Airlines is due to purchase 15 million gallons (57 million liters). "Honeywell Green Jet Fuel offers lower emissions than traditional petroleum-derived jet fuel and can be made from a variety of non-edible feedstocks, providing a flexible, renewable solution to meeting the current and future needs of Latin America and elsewhere," said Veronica May, vice president and general manager of UOP's Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit. In related news, Richard Branson has revealed Delta Airlines has joined his Carbon War Room initiative to accelerate the airline industry's transition to renewable jet fuels. Branson said the program's aim is to overcome the "chicken-or-egg" situation preventing widespread adoption of renewable jet fuel whereby producers struggle for finance without proof of a market and airlines cannot create the market without reliable, affordable and sustainable supplies. "Delta recognizes that our commitment and responsibility extends well beyond our customers and includes being good global corporate citizens," added John Laughter, Delta's senior vice president for corporate safety, security and compliance. "Supporting the Carbon War Room is a great step forward as we strive to lead the industry in innovation and sustainability." http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/06/19/brazil-world-cup-team-flying-high-sustainable-jet-fuel Back to Top BA to Acquire 72 Aircraft to Boost Flight Operations in Nigeria, Others British Airways (BA), yesterday said it would soon I acquire 72 new aircraft, to boost its flight operations in Africa, particularly in Nigeria. BA Country Commercial Manager for West Africa, Kola Olayinka, told journalists at a news briefing that the new aircraft would be acquired before the end of this year. He said the acquisition of the aircraft would enable the airline expand its existing route network in Africa. Olayinka, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), added that with the aircraft, the airline would be able to open up new routes in the continent. He said BA operates 85 flights a week to 14 African destinations which includes Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya. He stated that the airline had ordered for 12 Airbus 380s, 24 Boeing 787s, six Boeing 777-300 ERs and 10 Airbus 320s aircraft. The Country Commercial Manager for West Africa added that some of the aircraft had been delivered. According to him, no fewer than 20 modern aircraft will also join the growing fleet of the airline by the end of 2014. "These modern aircraft will gradually replace some of the older, less fuel-efficient aircraft in the BA fleet and allow the management to add new destinations and improve schedules. "In West Africa, we increased our services to Ghana to 10 a week, and in October 2014, flights to Ghana are scheduled to increase to 11 per week. "We have increased capacity to Kenya by introducing Boeing 747-400s on the route. "Using larger aircraft provides over 780 additional seats every week," he said. Olayinka added that the new acquisition was good news for business travellers in the continent. http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ba-to-acquire-72-aircraft-to-boost-flight-operations-in-nigeria- others/181420/ Back to Top Pilots aim for first solar-powered aircraft circumnavigation of globe Solar Impulse 2 is a solar-powered aircraft.Photo: Rezo With a top speed of a mere 69km/h, it's not going to revolutionise the aviation industry at large, but the planned journey of Solar Impulse 2 is sure to make us all think twice about just how much energy it takes to fly. Scheduled to traverse the globe over a period of about 20 days next year, the adventure by two Swiss pilots will cover a staggering 35,000km in a daring attempt to become the first to fly around the world without carrying fuel. The only aircraft able to fly day and night without polluting, if Solar Impulse 2 does make it round the globe, it will become the first ever round-the-world solar flight. It will be piloted by psychiatrist, balloonist and explorer Bertrand Piccard, and engineer and entrepreneur André Borschberg, who flew the first incarnation - Solar Impulse 1 - from California to New York City in 2012. "It has taken 12 years of calculations, simulations, construction and testing to arrive at the launch of Solar Impulse 2 - the most revolutionary aircraft of our time," they say in a statement. Not surprisingly, Solar Impulse 2 is little more than a huge solar panel. Its enormous 72-metre wings - longer even than those of a Boeing 747 - harvest energy from the sun using an incredible 17,000 solar cells. They provide four 17.5 CV electric motors with enough renewable energy to propel the Solar Impulse 2, which weighs about the same as an average car at 2,300kg. During the flight, those solar cells recharge on-board lithium batteries that add a further 633kg. Thankfully, the Solar Impulse 2 is made from carbon fibre and is one of the most aerodynamic and energy efficient planes ever designed. Test flights are already under way for next March's attempt, which will head east from Switzerland to the Arabian Sea then across India, Myanmar, China, the Pacific Ocean, the US, the Atlantic Ocean and then either Southern Europe or North Africa, before returning to Borschberg and Piccard's native Switzerland. It won't be much fun. A 3.8 square metre cockpit is all Borschberg and Piccard will have for up to five days at a time, though they'll take turns to fly, so will be alone; Solar Impulse 2 is a single-seater aircraft. Worse, the cabin is neither heated nor pressurised in order to conserve energy, so the journey's longest stretches - five days over both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans - could get cold. "Solar Impulse 2 will have virtually unlimited autonomy, and now we need to make sure the pilot is as sustainable as his aircraft," Borschberg says. "This is why the round-the-world flight will be as much a human as a technological feat." But the pilots will get a break. Solar Impulse 2 will travel about 1,610km each day in its 20-day circumnavigation, but it's a feat that will be performed in stages over three months. In between flights Borschberg and Piccard will attend outreach events. Even when it's flying, Solar Impulse 2 will be trying to inspire people. Search engine Google is Solar Impulse's official Internet Technology Partner, and during the solar circumnavigation the aircraft will have its Google+ URL google.com/+solarimpulse painted on the side. "This partnership is a unique occasion to promote mutually shared values like pioneering spirit, innovation, engineering excellence and clean technologies allowing to protect natural resource," Piccard and Borschberg say. "With Google on board, our reach with the public, younger generations, media and political and business decision makers will be significantly enhanced." Expect some activity on YouTube, Google+, Google Glass and Google Earth, with Google Hangouts already confirmed to broadcast live during flights. http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/technology/article/1536228/pilots-aim-first-solar-powered-aircraft-circumnavigation- globe Back to Top Panasonic to Bring Satellite Connectivity to Pacific Aircraft Routes Panasonic Avionics, an in-flight entertainment and communications systems provider, is looking to bring satellite- based In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) to aircraft flying on high traffic routes between the West Coast of North America and the Asia-Pacific region. The company announced a new agreement with communications satellite operator Eutelsat to offer connectivity to airlines and operators flying within that region of its global network. Under the agreement, Panasonic signaled its belief that satellite-based connectivity can provide the highest bandwidth at the lowest possible cost for airlines, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. As passengers continue to demand higher in-flight connection speeds and airlines look to keep their flight crews connected with ground-based operational teams, the use of high throughput satellites will continue to be the focus of Panasonic and its IFC competitors. "Demand for in-flight connectivity is increasing exponentially, especially in Asia," said Paul Margis, president and CEO of Panasonic Avionics. The deal validates the views of analysts covering one of Panasonic's largest competitors, Gogo. After attending Gogo's first ever analyst meeting this week, Andrew Spinola, a senior analyst for Wells Fargo Securities, said that Gogo's long term commercial strategy is based on satellite technology because of the "superior bandwidth economics, coverage and ability of satellite to support video." According to Panasonic, the Eutelsat 172B will enable "four times more bandwidth than its nearest competitor" at up to 200 megabytes per spot beam. This is opposed to the legacy Air to Ground (ATG) networks that most airlines use while flying over land, that deliver the relatively slow connection speeds that most passengers are using on commercial flights today. http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/commercial/Panasonic-to-Bring-Satellite-Connectivity-to-Pacific-Aircraft- Routes_82438.html#.U6QjE_ldV8E 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