Flight Safety Information June 24, 2014 - No. 127 In This Issue Malaysian Jet Was in Controlled Flight After Contact Was Lost, Officials Suspect Military's pricey F-35 fighter jet catches fire during takeoff in Florida Lear Jet crashes after colliding mid-air with Typhoon combat plane over Germany Asiana Crash Debate Goes Beyond Pilots to Automation In 16 days, 5 air misses in Mumbai (India) PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA Second Saudi woman gets pilot's license Upcoming Events Malaysian Jet Was in Controlled Flight After Contact Was Lost, Officials Suspect CANBERRA, Australia - Investigators have concluded that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which veered off course and disappeared on March 8, was probably not seriously damaged in the air and remained in controlled flight for hours after contact with it was lost, until it ran out of fuel over the southern Indian Ocean. Their conclusion, reached in the past few weeks, helped prompt the decision to move the focus of the search hundreds of miles to the southwest. The main evidence for the conclusion lies in a re-examination of Malaysian military radar data and in a more detailed analysis of electronic "handshakes," or pings, that the aircraft exchanged with an Inmarsat satellite over the Equator, senior officials involved in the investigation said. The altitude readings from the radar now appear to have been inaccurate, officials said. The radar tracked the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200 with 239 people aboard, as it turned sharply off its scheduled northeastward flight path over the Gulf of Thailand and flew west across Peninsular Malaysia and the Strait of Malacca. The plane then passed beyond radar range near the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Initial reports about the radar readings suggested that along the way, the plane soared as high as 45,000 feet, above its certified maximum altitude of 43,100 feet, and then zoomed down low over the mountains of Malaysia before climbing back to 23,000 feet or higher over the Strait of Malacca. But a comprehensive international review has found that the Malaysian radar equipment had not been calibrated with enough precision to draw any conclusions about the aircraft's true altitude. "The primary radar data pertaining to altitude is regarded as unreliable," said Angus Houston, the retired head of the Australian military who is now coordinating the search. Mr. Houston said in a telephone interview that it was clearly possible that at some point during the tracked part of the flight, the plane flew at 23,000 feet. But he said he doubted whether anyone could prove that the plane had soared and swooped the way the initial reports suggested. Martin Dolan, the chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, agreed with Mr. Houston. "There's nothing reliable about height," he said in an interview in his office here in the Australian capital. Radar systems generally give accurate readings of an aircraft's location, speed and direction without difficulty. Many military radar systems can also detect altitude, but in order to yield reliable readings, the equipment must be regularly and carefully recalibrated to fit local atmospheric conditions. Mr. Houston and Mr. Dolan declined to discuss any details about the Malaysian radar readings, nor would they speculate about why the missing plane would have been in controlled flight across the Indian Ocean. Other officials involved in the crash investigation have suggested that either of the plane's pilots might have commandeered the aircraft in order to commit suicide, or that a smoke from a fire in the fuselage might have overcome the pilots and passengers but left the engines and autopilot working normally. Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story Some investigators are convinced that one of the pilots was involved, saying that no credible evidence has appeared for another explanation. But others say that the evidence suggesting pilot involvement is inconclusive and contradictory. Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's defense minister and acting transport minister, publicly denied British and Australian news reports on Monday that the pilot had been identified as the prime suspect. If the plane did not soar and swoop, but maintained a steadier altitude, its fuel would have lasted longer, letting it fly farther south across the Indian Ocean before its tanks ran dry. So the dismissal of the radar altitude data prompted a change in the focus of the search. Data from the electronic handshakes led investigators to conclude that the aircraft came down in the ocean west of Australia along what is called the seventh arc, the area of the final handshake with the plane. "Everyone agrees that is where the aircraft ran out of fuel," Mr. Dolan said. The Australian government started by searching near the northeast end of the seventh arc, partly because that location was consistent with an aircraft that was limping slowly through the sky because it was damaged, or one that had burned a great deal of fuel in altitude changes. Undersea sounds that were initially thought to be from the plane's locator beacons also pointed to that area, though investigators later decided they were false clues. Now the search will move hundreds of miles southwest along the arc, consistent with an aircraft flying steadily at a high cruising speed, officials said. Private telecommunications analysts who reviewed the handshakes also concluded that the more likely location of the plane was farther to the southwest. The specifics are still being finalized, but the new search zone is likely to be a band roughly 400 miles long and about 60 miles wide, straddling the arc. The width of the band is based on a crucial assumption: that when it ran out of fuel, the plane was being flown by its autopilot, which was unable to control the plane when the engines stopped. In that case, the plane would have stalled and fallen quickly into the ocean. If a skilled pilot was conscious and still at the controls, however, the plane could have glided more than 100 miles before it hit the water. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/24/world/asia/new-search-plan-for-malaysia-airlines- flight-370-is-based-on-farther-controlled-flying.html?_r=0 Back to Top Military's pricey F-35 fighter jet catches fire during takeoff in Florida Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II lifts off during testing at Edwards Air Force Base in March 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) The F-35 fighter jet program is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. The F-35 is supposed to take off and land on runways and aircraft carriers and hover like a helicopter. A fire broke out on a F-35 Joint Strike Fighter after an attempted takeoff at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The radar-evading, supersonic fighter jet, a nearly $400-billion weapons program under development for more than a decade, experienced the emergency on the ground Monday at 7:15 a.m. Pacific time. The aircraft was preparing to take off on a training mission, but aborted due to flames that appeared in the back end of the aircraft. Emergency responders then moved in and extinguished the fire with foam, according to an Air Force statement. The pilot left the aircraft uninjured, officials said. It's the latest setback for the F-35 program, which is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. The per-plane cost estimates have gone from $78 million in 2001 to $135 million today, according to the Government Accountability Office. Testing the F-35 is key to the Pentagon's ultimate plan to build 2,457 of the planes. Known as the Joint Strike Fighter, the program centered around a plan to develop one basic fighter plane that could - with a few manufacturing tweaks - be used by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The idea is that it can take off and land on runways and aircraft carriers, as well as hover like a helicopter. No one stealthy fighter aircraft has had all these capabilities. From an engineering standpoint, it's a challenging task for plane maker Lockheed Martin Corp. because the requirements of the different services vary so much. Problems repeatedly crop up in flight testing. On June 13, test flights were temporarily halted and mandatory inspections were ordered for all versions of the jets after a Marine F-35 suffered an in-flight emergency with its engine. At Eglin, the Air Force has not yet uncovered a reason for the fire. But the military said additional details will be provided as they become available. The 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin provides F-35 pilot and maintainer training for the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. Nothing to see here..new planes always have problems..that engine is most powerful ever put in a fighter plane..runs and has an exhaust hotter than any plane, I understand,, It is not yet clear how the event will affect the more than 100 F-35s that are flying at various bases around the country. However, all F-35 flight operations for the Air Force at Eglin have been temporarily suspended as the military investigates the cause of the incident. "The pilot followed the appropriate procedures which allowed for the safe abort of the mission, engine shutdown, and egress," Navy Capt. Paul Haas, 33rd Fighter Wing vice commander, said in a statement. "We take all ground emergencies seriously." http://www.latimes.com/business/aerospace/la-fi-f35-fighter-jet-fire-20140623- story.html Back to Top Lear Jet crashes after colliding mid-air with Typhoon combat plane over Germany German Air Force Typhoon and private Lear Jet involved in a mid-air in Germany. A Lear Jet with two people on board has crashed after colliding mid-air with a German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon over Olsberg, in Germany. The Learjet was a target plane operated by the "Gesellschaft für Flugzieldarstellung" (GFD), a civilian company cooperating with the German Air Force for air targeting exercises. The Eurofighter involved in the collision was operating with another aircraft of the same type within a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) training, in which the Eurofighters intercepted the Learjet. The military jet reportedly safely landed at Nörvenich air base whereas the private owned plane crashed in an unpopulated area. The two on board the Lear Jet are feared dead. http://theaviationist.com/2014/06/23/gaf-typhoon-midair/ ************* Learjet 35A Operator: GFD Gesellschaft für Flugzieldarstellung Registration: D-CGFI C/n / msn: 35A-612 First flight: 1985 Engines: 2 Garrett TFE731-2-2B Crew: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: near Elpe ( Germany) Phase: En route (ENR) Nature: Military Departure airport: ? Destination airport: ? Narrative: A Learjet was destroyed in an accident following a mid-air collision with a Luftwaffe (German Air Force) Eurofighter Typhoon jet over Elpe, Germany. The civilian Learjet and two Typhoon jets were involved in an interception exercise when the collision occurred. The Learjet, operated by GFD Gesellschaft für Flugzieldarstellung, crashed. A post crash fire erupted. One crew member from the Learjet was found dead near the wreckage, one person is missing at this time. The damaged Eurofighter performed an emergency landing at Nörvenich Air Base. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Asiana Crash Debate Goes Beyond Pilots to Automation By Alan Levin U.S. investigators are debating whether to blame a Boeing Co. (BA) jetliner's design for helping cause a cascade of pilot mistakes in last year's Asiana Airlines Inc. crash in in San Francisco that killed three teenagers. The sticking point within the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board ahead of its final decision has been the extent to which Boeing's automatic throttle contributed to the plane's loss of speed before it slammed into a seawall on July 6, said three people with knowledge of the discussions. They asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak. The safety board tomorrow will decide on the probable cause and other factors leading to the crash, the first in the U.S. with passenger deaths in more than four years. While there's little doubt the pilots made multiple mistakes, a finding that equipment on the 777-200 jet confused them could open Boeing to greater liability in lawsuits and shade public opinion. "There's quite a flurry of activity" in the days leading up to the NTSB's findings in a major accident, Peter Goelz, who served as managing director of the agency during the 1990s, said in an interview. Such debate is consistent with prior investigations as the NTSB's five-member board and staff hammer out nuances of what caused tragedies, Goelz said. The NTSB has several options to address the role of the auto-throttle design. It can include it as part of the cause, list it as a "contributing factor," or make recommendations for safety improvements that mention the equipment's role. Pilot Error The plane crashed after the Asiana pilots allowed it to get almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour slower than the target speed as they neared the runway. Both Boeing and Asiana, which gave their recommended conclusions to the NTSB in March, laid primary responsibility for the accident on the pilots. The Seoul-based airline and Chicago-based planemaker differ over whether other issues were at play. Boeing maintains the accident was solely the crew's fault and would have been avoided if the pilots had aborted the landing, as required under airline procedures, Miles Kotay, a spokesman, said in a June 20 e-mail. "The airplane and all airplane systems were functioning as expected prior to impact and did not contribute to the accident," Boeing said in its submission to the NTSB earlier this year. Automated Systems Asiana urged the safety board in its March submission to find that the auto-throttle was a cause of the pilots' mistakes. It also said the NTSB should recommend that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration require Boeing to add a cockpit warning when speeds get too slow. Groups with a stake in the outcome have met with the safety board's politically appointed members in recent weeks in an attempt to influence the process, as is often the case before conclusions are announced on major accidents, one person familiar with the proceedings said. The 777, like Boeing's 737 and 787, has a suite of computer-driven tools in the cockpit to help reduce pilots' workload. Such automation, which has also been adopted in similar ways by Airbus Group NV, is credited with helping reduce accidents and improve efficiency. At the same time, pilot misunderstandings about automation have been studied for 20 years and linked to accidents, David Woods, a systems engineering professor at Ohio State University, said in an interview. "This is an old story," Woods said. Fatal Descent Recent accidents, such as the Feb. 25, 2009, crash of a Turkish Airlines Inc. Boeing 737- 800 on approach to Amsterdam that killed nine, have been linked to confusion over automation, he said. Woods called it the "creeping complexity" of the cockpit. An FAA study released last year found that pilots' reliance on cockpit automation systems has led to occasional confusion and new safety risks. In the San Francisco accident, Captain Lee Kang Kuk, a veteran with Asiana who was being trained on the 777 wide-body, accidentally switched off the jetliner's automatic speed control as he was trying to descend, according to NTSB documents. The plane's tail broke loose as it hit the seawall, and the fuselage then bounced and spun down the runway. The three girls who died may have been flung from the jet because they weren't wearing seatbelts, according to statements to investigators by unidentified witnesses traveling with them. Minimum Speed More than 200 people were taken to hospitals. The plane held 291 passengers, 12 flight attendants and four pilots. In almost all settings, the plane's auto-throttle will prevent it from getting too slow, even if it's switched off. Lee, 45, didn't realize he'd put the jet into a rare mode that disabled this safety measure by making a series of changes to the auto pilot and throttles. He "believed the auto-throttle should have come out of the idle position to prevent the airplane going below the minimum speed" for landing, the NTSB said in a summary of an interview with him. "That was the theory at least, as he understood it." Another Asiana captain, Lee Jung Min, 49, an instructor, was seated in the co-pilot's seat. First Fatalities Among the questions the NTSB also may decide are whether the pilots were adequately trained in the auto-throttle and whether Boeing's documentation was sufficient to explain it. The FAA required Boeing to add a note to the then-new 787's documentation warning pilots they could lose speed protection under the same circumstances, according to NTSB documents. An FAA test pilot flying the 787 in 2010 said he was surprised to learn that the plane's speed protection could be lost in some cases. The changes weren't required for the 777. The Asiana pilots neglected to notice a runway light system showing they were too low, didn't monitor their speed and didn't follow airline procedures to abort a landing if they weren't properly lined up for touchdown, according to information released already by the NTSB. The 777, the world's largest twin-engine jetliner, entered commercial service in 1995. Last year's accident was the first involving fatalities, and only the third serious enough to destroy a 777. A fourth 777 presumed destroyed is the missing Malaysian Air 777-200ER model, the same as the Asiana jet. Boeing designed the auto-throttle to aid crews while not replacing them, John Cashman, the company's chief pilot on the 777 program, told an NTSB board of inquiry on Dec. 11. The crew is "ultimately responsible for the safe conduct of the flight," Cashman said. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-23/asiana-crash-debate-goes-beyond-pilots- to-automation.html Back to Top In 16 days, 5 air misses in Mumbai (India) An increase in near miss incidents over the congested Mumbai skies is primarily the organization's concern. MUMBAI: In sixteen days during the second and third week of May, five "air miss incidents" took place over Mumbai skies as aircraft came in close proximity of each other, said a source. However, the topmost Airports Authority of India (AAI) official (western region) tasked with monitoring aviation safety was kept in the dark about the cases. The air traffic control services in the country are provided by the AAI. An increase in near miss incidents over the congested Mumbai skies is primarily the organization's concern. The authority investigates and finds solutions to remedy such situations, but the job function has not been taking place as mandated. "AAI officials have been suppressing from me air miss incident reports since last year. They are being aided and abetted by the higher-ups in AAI headquarters," stated a letter sent on April 30 by S Mangala, AAI deputy general manager (aviation safety) of the western region to A K Sharma, regional AAI executive director. Mangala being the western region's top aviation safety official is one of the administrators who should be mandatorily informed about such incidents as soon as they take place. "It is high time that air safety is given more attention, especially in view of the downgrade by aviation regulator in the US last year," the letter mentioned. On May 1, AAI's vigilance officer made a noting on the letter calling for appropriate action. On May 5, Sharma sought an explanation on the matter. There has been no progress since then. "Mangala has been vociferous in criticizing several controversial decisions taken by the AAI in the past. But by keeping her out of the loop, the AAI officials have hindered the job function of the top aviation safety official in Mumbai at a time when air miss incidents are on the rise," said an aviation source. AAI chairman was not available for comment. Between 2013 and 2014, 13 air traffic control incidents were registered. On May 6, a serious incident took place when an IndiGo Mumbai-Jaipur flight, which was to take off from Mumbai airport's runway 14, delayed its departure because of which a Jet Airways aircraft that had been descending and cleared to land on the same runway was forced to do a go-around at the last moment. In a few seconds, the air traffic controllers and the pilots of both aircraft faced tense moments because the IndiGo A320 lifted off only to find the Jet Airways Boeing 737, which had aborted its landing a few seconds ago also tracking a climb along the same direction, a few hundred feet over it. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/In-16-days-5-air-misses-in- Mumbai/articleshow/37038081.cms Back to Top Back to Top Second Saudi woman gets pilot's license Yasmeen Muhammad al-Maimani has become the second Saudi woman to obtain a commercial pilot license from the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). Hanadi Zakaria Al-Hindi was the first Saudi woman to become a commercial airline pilot, getting a license to fly within Saudi Arabia earlier this year. Capt. Al-Maimani got the private pilot license in 2010 from Jordan. "My dream is to fly an airplane in the Kingdom. I hope the Saudi Arabian Airlines gives me this chance now that I've been properly licensed by the GACA," Al-Maimani said. In 2010, Al-Maimani returned to the Kingdom and worked for Rabigh Wings Aviation Academy for a year. She got an offer later from Aerosim Flight Academy in US to be their ambassador to the Middle East. The academy also gave her a scholarship to study and obtain the auto commercial pilot license. She accepted the offer and traveled to Florida. Later she returned to the Kingdom and worked for Nexus Company for flight operation services. She passed the GACA examination. Aviation industry is growing rapidly in the Middle East. With an expected delivery of 5,000 aircraft, in the coming years, many experts forecast a global shortage of pilots. Most of them believe that nearly twice as many pilots will be required in the next 15 years. There are currently two flying academies in Saudi Arabia. Rabigh Wings Aviation Academy located in the Western Province in the northwest of Jeddah. It is close to the coast of Red Sea and minutes away from King Abdullah Economic city, and the Saudi Aviation Flight Academy (SAFA) located at the Thumamah Airport near King Khaled International Airport, Riyadh. Both academies provide training to their students and teach them to fly commercial airplanes, too. The cost of obtaining a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) is approximately SR 300,000. Some students believe that these fees are relatively higher than those of some flying academies abroad. However, training inside the Kingdom saves travel and accommodation costs apart from being close to trainees' families and friends. For safety reasons major airlines require pilots to have at least flown 1500 to 2000 hours; they do not consider an applicant holding a Commercial Pilot License with only 300 hours of flying. As soon as new pilots obtain their Commercial Pilot License they need to start building hours. This is usually done in a number of ways such as flying tourists around, doing air surveys for different organizations or becoming a flight instructor. Pilots who have completed the stipulated required hours have more options, and major airlines feel comfortable in employing them. So, with patience, persistence and determination, one can sit in the cockpit of an aircraft, which is by far the best office in the world. http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/06/23/Second-Saudi-woman- gets-pilot-s-license.html Back to Top Upcoming Events: 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