Flight Safety Information July 17, 2014 - No. 143 In This Issue How 3D Printing Is Delivering Airplane Parts On Demand Volcanic ash radar will assist aircraft Aviation expert wins the Brownlow Award Teething Troubles Beset New UK Military Air Safety Regime FAA Investigates American Airline's Refusal To Allow Use Of Kid Seat On Flight Plane Crash Survivor Fights for Lap Children Ban 5 Dead After Helicopter Crash in South Korea Turbulence Ahead: The Coming Pilot Shortage and How It Came to Be PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA F-35 a No-Show (So Far) at Big Air Show AF fighting - with cash - to keep fighter pilots Airbus gets commitments for 496 aircraft in best-ever Farnborough performance IS-BAO Training In Jeddah THE ALPA 60TH AIR SAFETY FORUM Upcoming Events Employment How 3D Printing Is Delivering Airplane Parts On Demand By The AirbusVoice Team 3D printing has popped up on the cutting-edge of some surprisingly diverse industries: food, healthcare, retail, and now aerospace. The aerospace business is driven by the following factors: weight, cost, environmental impact and load. Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM), the technical name for 3D printing, is revolutionary in that it impacts all four aspects of the business. The technology is proving to be a true game changer for aircraft design and manufacturing. ALM offers a completely new approach to manufacturing. Instead of obtaining a part by cutting away a solid block of material, it works from the inside out, building the part layer by layer. Products are created via computer-aided design (CAD) and then constructed by adding thin successive layers, made from fine powder or melted plastics, until a solid fully formed product emerges. The 3D printing method removes a lot of traditional manufacturing constraints. Costly dyes, form tools or molds used in traditional manufacturing are no longer required. Complex designs do not cost any extra to produce as the laser technology can fabricate complex shapes as easily as simple ones. It reduces manufacturing time to days from months and provides the design freedom to minimize weight, without losing any inherent strength. Additionally, ALM uses significantly less raw material for any given component than traditional subtractive machining, and produces negligible levels of waste in comparison to traditional machining processes - the use of raw materials may reduce by up to 90 percent. On average, ALM generates only 5% to 10% waste material (which can be recycled and reused), instead of the 90 - 95% from current machining. Testing the waters In 2012, the teams working to install systems on the first Airbus A350 XWB realized that they were short of the removable brackets needed to place between the aircraft's systems and structure. This would cause a real risk of time slippage. Fortunately, clever thinking and 'off-the-shelf' technology made sure that work could go ahead as planned. "The brackets we needed were mostly of loads and sizes that were compatible with 3D printers that were commercially available but weren't in use at Airbus," says Pierre-Alain Boeuf, 3D printing project leader. The team presented their idea to Fabrice Brégier, CEO of Airbus. "We explained that, as we had the 3D design for the brackets, we could make our own if we bought a printer that was big enough to make them," Boeuf adds. "Fabrice approved the funding almost immediately." The first printer reached Airbus's plant in April, 2012, and soon produced its first parts. The brackets rapidly gained qualification for flight use, with some taking to the air on a flight-test aircraft. The team was understandably delighted that their idea had only taken two months to go from being a proposal to inclusion on an aircraft. By July 2013, 1,300 parts had been printed saving an average of 44 days on the bracket supply lead time and even more than 100 days for some of them. Costs and supply lead time on tooling also dropped by 70%. "This technique is ideally suited to producing low volume parts and is fantastic for prototyping. We're looking at where else it can be applied by mapping missing parts across programs and the potential looks huge," Bouef says. First flight Two years later, a component made using 3D printing made its first flight on a commercially operated Airbus aircraft. The small plastic part, which took off in early February on an Air Transat A310, could herald revolutionary changes in the spare parts business. The varnished hard plastic component is a panel installed behind the crew seat, to keep the seat belt in place, measuring roughly 10 by 40 cm. This rather unremarkable panel is causing a small sensation: it represents a long-term paradigm shift in spare parts provisioning for aircraft. "3D printing offers us the ability to produce spares of parts where only small quantities are needed on an 'on demand' basis cost effectively, and to provide them to our customers fast," explains Mareike Boeger, the head of additive manufacturing solutions at Satiar Group. Spare parts are prime candidates for 3D printing. Demand is traditionally hard to calculate; most spares for the Airbus fleet are requested rarely or very rarely. Parts that are ordered on average as little as five times in two years are considered 'high runners'. Airbus must, however, keep every component in stock or at least be able to procure it at short notice - even after production is discontinued, as long as at least five aircraft of a given type remain in service. The A300/A310 aircraft, for example, is expected to require spares until 2050. Today, there are still 415 widebodies flying. "Currently, we have about 3.5 million spares in stock," says Boeger. "That requires gigantic storage space and binds capital." Reason enough to explore the possibilities of 3D printing in greater depth. "We're delighted that our idea boosted the A350 XWB program, but I have to emphasize the role of the wider work on this technology across the company," concludes Boeuf. "3D Printing has already delivered huge savings but future is even more promising." The AirbusVoice Team is a group of aviation experts and leaders covering industry topics ranging from the best practices in aircraft manufacturing to the latest innovations in air travel. http://www.forbes.com/sites/airbus/2014/07/15/how-adding-a-new-dimension-to-airplanes-is-delivering-parts-on- demand/ Back to Top Volcanic ash radar will assist aircraft Technology to help aircraft detect volcanic ash is to go into commercial production, with easyJet planning to be the first airline to use it. Effectively a weather radar for ash, the Avoid system has been supported by easyJet and should reduce the chances of a repeat of the Icelandic volcanic ash-cloud crisis of spring 2010. The crisis came following the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull and led to days of no flights into and out of the UK in April and May 2010, with the whole of Europe affected. Created by Dr Fred Prata, of Nicarnica Aviation, the system utilises infrared technology fitted to aircraft to supply images to pilots and an airline's operations control centre. The images will enable pilots to see an ash cloud up to 60 miles ahead of the aircraft and at altitudes between 5,000 and 50,000ft, thus allowing them to make small adjustments to the plane's flight path to avoid any ash cloud. The concept is very similar to weather radars which are standard on commercial airliners today. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/volcanic-ash-radar-will-assist-aircraft-30437377.html Back to Top Aviation expert wins the Brownlow Award BANGALORE: The first-ever Indian to win the International Aviation Safety Award, Captain Samir Kohli was recently presented the Cecil A Brownlow Award by Flight Safety Foundation at the Farnborough Air Show. Capt Kohli is an accomplished pilot and air accident investigator who made an independent investigation on behalf of the relatives of the victims of the horrendous crash of Air India Express Flight IX812 on May 22, 2010 at Mangalore. He penned down the reasons behind the crash in his book Waiting to Happen. This was an insightful look into a crash that resulted in 158 fatalities among the 166 passengers and crew. According to Flight Safety Foundation, Captain Kohli had focussed on understanding and explaining the causal factors of the crash rather than sensationalising it or assigning blame. Foundation president and CEO Jon Beatty stated, "He highlighted areas of improvement in the hope of preventing the next air accident and for these reasons, it was a privilege to present him with the award." The Brownlow Award is presented every year in recognition of significant contribution to aviation safety in the form of published works. Capt Kohli's book painstakingly explained the complexity of modern commercial air transport operations as well as all the interrelated functions performed in support. Captain Sam, with his vast experience in military combat operations, air accident investigations, airport design, construction and management and aviation support to the oil and gas industry, has come out with a book that packs very interesting factual details and provides information that is so vital for safe air travel today. The Flight Safety Foundation is an independent, non-profit, international organisation engaged in research, education, advocacy and publishing to improve aviation safety. The foundation's mission is to be the leading voice of safety for the global aerospace community. Captain Kohli is a familiar figure around the airports and airfields worldwide and till date, he has investigated 12 air accidents. With 30 years of experience in flying different kinds of aircraft, he joined the Bangalore International Airport Limited as a civil aviation expert after quitting from the Indian Navy. At BIAL, he was responsible for building and designing runways, formulating safety standards and operating procedures for Bangalore. "I worked in BIAL from 2006-09 and everybody here recognises my contribution to the development of this airport," he adds. Currently based in Ecuador, Kohli has designed and built a flight academy and also re-designed the Thumamah Airport near Riyadh. But now, he is serving as an aviation adviser to Agip Oil Ecuador Company in Quito. He is the only ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) certified air accident investigator from India. A decorated officer of the Indian Navy, Kohli has won the Nausena Medal for Gallantry, Commendation for Chief of Naval Staff, President's Silver Medal First in Order of Merit in Naval Training, the Chief of Air Staff Trophy for best in Air Traffic Management Training and a host of other awards. http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bangalore/2014/07/17/Aviation-expert-wins-the-Brownlow- Award/article2333782.ece Back to Top Teething Troubles Beset New UK Military Air Safety Regime A Voyager tanker refuels a Typhoon and a Tornado. The entry into RAF service of this version of the Airbus A330MRTT was delayed while the MAA sought additional assurance to that provided by the aircraft's existing civil certifications. The UK's new military air safety regime has contributed to the delayed entry into British service of some new platforms, such as the Airbus A330MRTT Voyager tanker, the Thales Watchkeeper UAS and the L-3 Integrated Systems Airseeker (the UK version of the USAF's RC-135 Rivet Joint SIGINT aircraft). As a result, some UK aerospace industry managers have expressed dissatisfaction with the Military Aviation Authority (MAA), in off-the-record comments to this editor and others. But the senior Royal Air Force officers that currently lead the MAA are unapologetic about the increased scrutiny that they have imposed. In his first media interview since becoming director general of the MAA, Air Marshal Dick Garwood told AIN earlier this year, "The Haddon-Cave review called for an independent regulator that fosters continual improvement in safety culture, regulation and practice." The Hon. Mr. Justice Haddon-Cave QC is the senior judge who led an independent inquiry into the crash of an RAF Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft in 2006. He found a fundamental failure of leadership, culture and priorities, and a dilution of responsibility and accountability.Among other failings, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) had outsourced the Nimrod safety case to the manufacturer, the QC noted. The MAA was established in early 2010 to put things right. It employs 250 people, 70 who filled new posts created as a result of the Haddon-Cave review (the remainder filled safety positions transferred from elsewhere in the MoD). Garwood and his staff still take their marching orders from that review. For instance, "it's not acceptable for industry to have sole intellectual ownership of airworthiness, for aircraft on the military register," MAA technical director Air Vice- Marshal Martin Clark told AIN. Implementing Haddon-Cave's recommendations has not "always been without short-term challenges to the DE&S (Defence Equipment and Support), frontline commands and the defense industry but the long- term result is that Defence will operate more safely and understand the risks that it takes much better," commented Garwood. DE&S is the MoD's procurement agency. To outsiders, the relationship between it and the MAA has sometimes seemed dysfunctional. But during the procurement process, the DE&S must submit evidence to the MAA to enable the latter to issue either a military type certificate (MTC), an approved design change certificate (ADCC) or a statement of type design assurance (STDA). Once that is done, the DE&S proceeds to the point where it is ready to recommend the release to service (RTS). The MAA then audits this work. "We mark their homework," AM Garwood said. Finally, the DE&S sends the case to the relevant RTS Authority in the RAF, Army or Royal Navy, which makes the final judgment. This doesn't sound like the optimum process. Garwood told AIN that the UK Defence Secretary at the time did not accept Haddon-Cave's recommendation that the MAA assume responsibility for issuing RTS for new or modified aircraft or systems. The MAA is keen to explain why an aircraft that is already certified by civilian authorities must undergo further scrutiny before it is approved for use by the UK military. The introduction of the Beechcraft King Air 350ER (to train the Royal Navy's rear crew) and the Airbus A330MRTT were both delayed as the MAA sought additional assurance. In the latter case, this was despite Airbus Military having obtained from the civil certification authorities, two supplemental type certificates (STCs) covering the military modifications to the basic A330 airliner. "We don't repeat work that has already been done [by the civil authority]," Garwood claimed. But according to one source close to Airbus Military, the MAA initially proposed to do just that, by ignoring the A330MRTT's two STCs. Garwood told AIN that those STCs "did not cover the full extent of the military modifications or their operation." The operating environment for a military aircraft is very different, the MAA notes. (The table below) lists the differences.) Further, the civil certification of an aircraft is a one-time event, whereas a military aircraft may be introduced in a phased manner, from initial to full operating capability. Nevertheless, the MAA says its certification process is "heavily based" on EASA regulations. Garwood told AIN that he had consulted with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on this matter. "We've got better with experience," admitted Garwood, with reference to civil versus military certification. AVM Clark also conceded that there had been an "evolution" in the way that the MAA approaches this issue. Nevertheless, he added, "We do require the project teams [at the DE&S] to understand and 'own' what has previously been accomplished." Design Standards Defence Aircraft Design Standard 00-970 is at issue here. It has a long lineage, and benefits from 95 years' of UK experience in operating military aircraft. It has been adopted by some other nations. All UK military aircraft are supposed to comply with this standard. "We didn't make this stuff up," noted Garwood. But most aircraft-such as the King Air and the A330-aren't designed to 00-970. AVM Clark admitted that this had been "a source of friction." He added, "It must be understood how a new aircraft type 'sits alongside' the standard. Make the argument, we've said!" The MAA has now begun work to further update and harmonize the standard with other codes. The Watchkeeper remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) posed a unique set of problems. Regulators worldwide are wrestling with how to certify and regulate RPASs or UAVs. The MAA has a small multi-disciplinary team examining whether current UK regulations are appropriate for RPASs. The Watchkeeper's entry into service with the British Army was delayed three years, partly because of the MAA's concerns, especially over the aircraft's software. Two years ago, a military officer with knowledge of the matter told AIN that Thales had not been able to obtain basic airworthiness data from Elbit Systems, the Israeli designer of the UAV. Thales declined to comment. The MAA eventually granted an STDA for the system last October. "We may eventually know enough to issue a type certificate," commented AVM Clark. The RAF's acquisition of 50-year-old airframes for SIGINT brought a different challenge to the MAA (and the DE&S). Three KC-135 tanker aircraft are being converted to the same RC-135 Rivet Joint configuration that is already flying with the USAF. L-3 Integrated Systems is the contractor, having gained huge experience in the overhaul, care and maintenance of the RJ fleet over many years at its Greenville, Texas facility. Called the Airseeker by the RAF, the aircraft are being acquired via the U.S. foreign military sales (FMS) process and the USAF's Big Safari acquisition program office, which manages the RJ fleet. In its latest annual report, dated last August but not released to the public until April, the MAA notes that the MoD was aware about potential aging aircraft concerns before the Airseeker buy was confirmed. From U.S. sources, AIN became aware of mounting frustration at Big Safari, as the DE&S sought type design assurance and an audit trail for the airframes. Repeated questions were sent from the UK, and proprietary information was sought from Boeing. One particular area of interest was the aircraft's fuel system, since the Nimrod crash was caused by a fuel fire. Meanwhile, progress in converting the first aircraft was running ahead of schedule, and the U.S. side sought to make delivery six months early. The first Airseeker duly arrived at RAF Waddington last November, but did not fly again until May, as the DE&S continued to examine the safety case. The DE&S had engaged QinetiQ to do an "independent technical evaluation" (ITE) of the aircraft. The privatized former MoD-owned company has worked for the DE&S on some other acquisitions. The U.S. found this ironic, since QinetiQ was severely criticized by Haddon-Cave for its performance in a safety review of the Nimrod. A senior UK aerospace industry manager told AIN, "QinetiQ gets paid by the number of questions it asks-there's no incentive to get the job done." "QinetiQ is often, but not always, employed by the DE&S," noted AVM Clark. "The more we see the procurement team and the designers doing ITE, the less assurance we may do ourselves," he added. "We had problems articulating our own processes over the Airseeker," AM Garwood admitted. "The Americans won't go back and retrospectively check the whole design life of an aircraft that's been in their inventory for 50 years. There's lots of complex work to do. We are looking at an alternative airworthiness strategy," he told AIN last January. The MAA recently told AIN that as a result of the "alternative approach" to certification, it has provided advice to the RTS Authority (for example, the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff) to enable RAF crews to begin flying the Airseeker. The MAA is now evaluating the safety of two major platforms that will soon enter RAF service-the A400M airlifter and the F-35 stealth fighter. The A400M has already achieved EASA civil certification and entered service with the French air force. AVM Clark said theMAAis "reasonably confident" that it will be able to issue a military type certificate for theA400M in due course. The Authority recently issued an STDA to support the initial operating capability (IOC) configuration of the aircraft. "The F-35 is really challenging, but the (DE&S) procurement team is 'in the right place,'" he added. Harmonized Requirements In the future, an MAA initiative should help pan-European programs like the A400M. The authority is taking a leading role in a forum that aims to harmonize requirements within Europe for military airworthiness. The European Defence Agency (EDA) is supporting the effort. But although the forum is basing the requirements framework on EASA regulations, there is no intention to create a pan-European regulatory agency for military aircraft, according to Clark, theMAA's technical director. "Regulation will remain a national responsibility," he toldAIN. The certification of new military aircraft is only one of the MAA's responsibilities. It also audits the operational military flying community; the contractors who fly military aircraft either for test purposes, or under the various contracts that the MoD has let for the privatized provision of services; and maintenance facilities. It is the keeper of the rulebooks for flying and air traffic management, including airfield operation. It approves training organizations, and also holds its own training courses. It also conducts the military air accident investigations. It may be licensing aviation technicians in the future. Garwood emphasized the independence of the MAA. "I report directly to the permanent undersecretary at the MoD, but I have access to the Defence Secretary (for example, the senior defense minister). I'm independent of the service chiefs," he added. The main responsibility for complying with the military air safety regime lies with "operating duty holders" (ODHs) at two- star level. This was another Haddon-Cave recommendation-that those "holding risk" be clearly identified. These risk holders are personally liable in the event of an accident. The DH chain is not the same as the UK military command chain, Garwood noted. This deliberately provides "tension" in the system, he explained. "Haddon-Cave wanted leadership, accountability and simplicity; for example, 'who 'owns' this machine?'" he added. "There's no Crown immunity," Garwood confirmed. But, he said, if a duty-holder feels he cannot hold a particular risk, he can "elevate" it to a higher level-for example, the "senior duty holders" who are the four-star chiefs of the three British armed services. But even they can pass on specified risks. In the annual report, the MAA suggests that the Defence Secretary will likely have "to release DE&S from compliance with the Military Air Certification Process" with respect to the Airseeker. Collision Risk The MAA describes the risk of mid-air collision as "the highest operating risk." It was highlighted by the fatal collision of two of the RAF's Tornado combat aircraft in July 2012. Even though the out-of-service date for the Tornado is only five years away, a collision warning system is being procured for the jet. "I have given a pledge to the Commander of Joint Operations that our work will not be a hindrance to operational freedoms," AM Garwood told AIN. The MAA's mission statement requires it "to enhance the delivery of operational capability." It's a difficult balancing act, of course. The desired philosophy is demonstrated in an acronym favored by the MAA, which says that air safety risks should be driven "as low as reasonably practical" (ALARP). In recent times, the ODHs have temporarily grounded six British military aircraft types to reassess the risk to air safety. The MAA has been rewriting all the military air safety regulations to make them "concise, unambiguous and readily accessible." They were previously of "byzantine complexity," according to Haddon-Cave. AVM Clark told AIN that the exercise had, to date, been essentially a "repackaging exercise...only five percent of the regulations are new." Now the MAA is reviewing the regulations "to make them better," he added. There is broad agreement that they already read much better than before, Clark claimed. In the annual report, the MAA warned that "the lack of suitable qualified and experienced personnel...is a strategic risk to a self-sustaining safety system and culture." It painted a rather alarming picture of "air safety being undermined by work that is left incomplete; safety modification work not being progressed; poor supervision; latent risks that remain unqualified, and inappropriate normalization of low standards and behaviors." There is a well-advertised shortage of qualified personnel at the DE&S, but the MAA says the problem extends "across all disciplines and commands." Military vs Civil Ops, according to the MAA Military: Hazardous envelope is normal Deployable maintainers Aircrew lead, manage and plan Maintenance locations may move, and may be threatened Passengers may be armed, and Passengers may be armed and may leave during the flight Civil: Safe envelope is the preferred mode More mature and static maintainers Aircrew only fly Maintenance locations are predictable and safe Passengers are screened and scheduled What They Say About the MAA "We've asked some difficult questions. That's why we were created." Air Vice-Marshal Martin Clark "The RAF is running scared of prosecution and the civil servants of being fired."-UK aerospace industry leader "I don't see a culture of 'running scared.' Our commanders are comfortable with the clarity, and they are empowered to make the right decisions that impact on their people."-Air Marshal Dick Garwood "Actually, I found the MAA's review process to be intellectually stimulating and thought-provoking."-an RAF Air Commodore responsible for delivering a major operational capability It's hard to measure an air safety culture, but it's definitely improved-I see that as I get out and about."-Air Marshal Dick Garwood http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/farnborough-air-show/2014-07-13/teething-troubles-beset-new-uk-military-air- safety-regime Back to Top FAA Investigates American Airline's Refusal To Allow Use Of Kid Seat On Flight Contributor - John Goglia The FAA has confirmed to Forbes that it is investigating American Airline's June 9 refusal to allow a passenger on an American Eagle flight to use an approved kid's seat when the parent had paid for a seat for the child. According to FAA spokesperson, Alison Duquette, "a parent should be able to use an approved-child restraint system that is appropriate for the child's weight." In a troubling incident I wrote about last month, a parent was forced to take off with his 14-month old son as a lap child, even after he had bought a seat for the child and brought an FAA-approved car seat for use on the flight. The incident was brought to my attention by the child's mother, Amy Harsch, who was understandably upset that her son was forced to take off with none of the safety restraint protections afforded all the other passengers and crew in the event of an emergency. According to American Airlines spokesperson, Martha Thomas, in an email discussing American's investigation of the incident "properly securing the seat at that time would have been time consuming and delayed the flight's departure." Time-consuming, perhaps, but required by the Federal Aviation Regulations which prohibit an airline from preventing a child from using an approved restraint system that is weight-appropriate when the parents have purchased a seat for the child. The incident occurred on June 9 on an American Eagle flight operated by a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines, Envoy Air, which departed from LaGuardia Airport en route to Columbus, Ohio. As I previously wrote, American's spokesperson disputed some of the details of what Ms. Harsch reported but agreed with the substance of her allegations regarding use of the car seat on takeoff - which are that the child was not allowed to sit in an approved car seat and was forced to takeoff as a lap child. According to Ms. Thomas, American's spokesperson, "during the final cabin check before takeoff, the flight attendant noticed the seatbelt was underneath the seat bottom cushion and the baby car seat was not secure enough to ensure the safety of the infant during takeoff." However, rather than take the time to secure the seat, American chose to force the father to hold the infant on his lap. According to Ms. Duquette, the FAA spokesperson, a complaint was forwarded to the FAA and "we are investigating the incident." http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoglia/2014/07/16/faa-investigates-american-airlines-refusal-to-allow-use-of-kid-seat- on-flight/ Back to Top Plane Crash Survivor Fights for Lap Children Ban Former flight attendant Jan Brown wants the FAA to require all children to be belted into seats on commercial airliners For three decades, former flight attendant Jan Brown has been on a mission, attempting to force the FAA to require all children to be belted into seats on commercial airliners. Years after retiring from United Airlines, Brown is still haunted by a single moment: a July 1989 confrontation, tinged with the scent of burning jet fuel, in the shadow of a flaming aircraft she and 183 others had just escaped. "The first person I met was the mother of a 22-month-old boy. I knew she was headed back to the wreckage, and I blocked her way," Brown said. That wreckage, was all that remained of United Airlines flight 232. The aircraft, a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10, had suffered a catastrophic explosion in its tail-mounted number two engine. The fan disc of that engine had sliced thru the plane's hydraulic lines, rendering its rudders, flaps, and ailerons inoperable. Captain Al Haynes and his crew discovered the only way they could steer, or even maintain altitude, was by varying thrust to the two remaining engines. But the work-around was imprecise at best. And when Haynes managed to guide the plane to a runway in Sioux City, Iowa, it descended at twice the normal speed. In the final moments, Brown advised the passengers to assume crash positions, including very specific instructions for the parents of the four lap children on board. "Parents with lap children, place them on the floor at this time, and hold them," Brown recalled telling them. "And I just could not believe I was saying those words. It was the most ludicrous thing I've ever said in my life." As the plane touched down, its left wingtip touched first, the wing tearing loose as the aircraft began cartwheeling down the runway. "I could hear the screeching metal noises, just the shrieking metal," Brown recalled. "And then I realized we were starting to tip over." The aircraft's cockpit and tail separated, with the main fuselage coming to rest, upside down in an adjacent cornfield. Miraculously, 184 passengers survived, some so unscathed their clothes were not even torn. Standing in a gaping hole in the fuselage, Brown held control cables aside as the survivors filed out. And moments later, standing in the cornfield, she found herself face to face with Sylvia Tsao, whose 22 month old son Evan had been one of those four lap children. "She just looked up at me and said, 'you told me to put my baby on the floor and he would be ok, and now he's gone,'" Brown recalled. From that very moment, her life changed. Starting on that hot summer day in Sioux City, Brown embarked on a crusade to stop the practice of permitting lap children on commercial airliners. But 25 years later, the FAA still allows it, with children under two flying free if they are held by their parents. "The FAA's an impenetrable obstacle to safety," she says. "As one FAA official said to me years ago when I asked how long it will take to get this done, he said, 'when there are enough deaths!'" The agency argues that allowing parents to hold their children actually promotes safety. Their prevailing wisdom is that if families were forced to buy tickets for their toddlers, they would drive instead, exposing those same children to the dangers of highway crashes. "Entire families would be subject to far higher fatality rates," the FAA said in a statement, "which would produce a net increase in overall transportation fatalities." But elsewhere, on its own website, the agency warns parents about the dangers. "The safest place for your child on an airplane is in a government-approved child safety restraint system, not on your lap," the FAA says. "Your arms aren't capable of holding your child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence." Critics argue that the agency is trying to have it both ways: warning parents about the danger, while declaring that its safer to hold their children on an airplane rather than securing them in government-approved child seats in a car. "I think it's unacceptable," Brown says. "I think it's criminal." The FAA suggests in its statement that math and history favor their argument. "The use of child restraint systems would have prevented three infant deaths in the past 32 years," the statement says. "There have been no preventable infant deaths on airline flights in 17 years." The agency insists that same math suggests that had parents been required to buy tickets for their children, enough would have diverted to car travel and been involved in accidents, that 72 more people would have died over 10 years, and 115 over 15 years. The National Transportation Safety Board disagrees. The agency, frequently at odds with the FAA on issues of safety, says its own studies on periods of decreased air travel, show there were no commensurate increases in the number of infant deaths on the nation's highways. Indeed, during the largest drop in passenger traffic in history, after 9/11, fatal injuries to children under 5 decreased 12.4%, and total injuries decreased 11.9%. "(The FAA argument) is contrary to all reasonable safety practices," the authors of the NTSB study write. "Passengers are now required to securely stow all carry-on baggage during takeoff and landing because of the potential risk of injury to other passengers. However, the same passengers are permitted to hold a child of equal size and weight in their lap." Former NTSB member John Goglia echoed that argument. "The parent can't hold the child, so that child becomes a flying object in the cabin," he said. "It drives me nuts that we haven't been able to get the restraints that are needed." Goglia cautioned parents that they should not believe the practice of holding their children is safe, just because it is permitted by the FAA. "The cost of a ticket is far less than the pain and suffering that they're going to experience if something bad happens," he said. "There's no question that regulations are written in blood, and Flight 232 certainly should have changed it." One of the survivors of flight 232, Rod Vetter, says he can attest to the impossibility of holding a child in a tumbling aircraft. "I remember thinking that's just crazy," he said. "It broke my neck. How would an infant be able to live through that pressure?" Brown has met to face to face with FAA officials, has lectured on the topic across the country, and is now preparing to attend a 25th anniversary reunion of crew, passengers, and first responders in Sioux City. And she says she will continue arguing for all children to be buckled-in, for the sake of the most vulnerable passengers. "I will keep at it until it is done," she says. "I will never give up." Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Plane-Crash-Survivor-Fights-for-Lap-Children-Ban- 267443051.html#ixzz37jMi6Tzi Back to Top 5 Dead After Helicopter Crash in South Korea SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - A firefighting helicopter crashed Thursday near an apartment complex and school in the southern South Korean city of Gwangju, killing five people, officials said. The helicopter was returning to headquarters in the eastern provincial firefighting agency after participating in search operations for 11 people still missing after a ferry sinking that killed more than 290 in April, fire officials in Gwangju said speaking on condition of anonymity because of office rules. The crash killed all five fire officers aboard the helicopter, while a female high school student on the ground received a minor injury, the officials said. An official at the firefighting agency in the eastern Gwangwon province said the five dead officers took the helicopter Monday when they left for search operations for the missing people from the ferry disaster. He also spoke on condition of anonymity line with department rules. TV images showed the burning helicopter and a plume of black smoke rising up above buildings. The ferry sinking caused widespread worry about South Korea's lax safety culture. Most of the dead were high school students. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/media-dead-helicopter-crash-24593659 Back to Top Turbulence Ahead: The Coming Pilot Shortage and How It Came to Be Steep training costs and underwhelming wages might be pushing the industry toward even more flight cancellations. There are few professions that command respect like that of an airline pilot. Maybe it's the faux military uniform. Maybe it's the clipped, modulated voice that asks you to fasten your seat belt, promising to rise above momentary turbulence. Maybe it's because passengers want to have faith in the human being responsible for their lives from takeoff to touchdown. The people I was speaking to at Proteus Air Services-a civilian flight school in Santa Monica, California-were just like you'd expect: level-headed and focused. As part of another writing assignment, I was waiting to try my nerves in the cockpit, but the reporter in me couldn't help but ask my instructors how they fell into teaching, as opposed to serving as commercial pilots. "How much will ... passengers suffer with fewer flight options when the shortage hits?" My coach for the day was young and former military. His partner, who was holding down the fort back at the office, was a few years older and civilian-trained. The tales of how they both came to this small school at Santa Monica's tiny airport were the same: They loved flying, but they couldn't make a living wage as airline pilots. That had to be impossible. These two professional pilots couldn't make more money flying passenger airliners than they were giving lessons in Cessnas? My instructor was reluctant to go into detail in front of a reporter for fear that the airlines would get wind of his comments. "I'm not afraid that I'll never be able to get a job as a pilot, because I'm not looking for one. I just got my real estate license," he said. "I have friends who are still struggling to get into the business. I wouldn't want something I say to hurt them." He went on: "The bottom line is, to work as a commercial pilot, I'd have to start out with a regional carrier for short hops. I'd end up making maybe $19 or $20 an hour. And I would only be paid for the time I spent in the seat with the cabin door closed. There's a good chance the flight attendant would be making more money than me." I peppered him with questions, trying to figure out if he was just bitter because he was struggling to find a job. But I couldn't shake him from that line. He insisted that aspiring pilots spend years, not to mention thousands of dollars, training for entry-level jobs with regional carriers, which offer hourly pay and minimal benefits. How could airline pilots face compensation levels that are merely in the neighborhood of a living wage? The nosedive in recent years of pilot salaries resulted from a mix of common economic woes. Neil Roghair, vice president of the Allied Pilots Association, said that these issues have been slowly mounting for a couple decades. "When you factor in airline deregulation with the reduction in the number of carriers due to mergers, pilots face fewer opportunities as they enter the industry," Roghair said. "Since there are still men and women out there who love to fly and want to pursue that as a career, you saw a labor surplus." After the Airline Deregulation Act passed in 1978, the government no longer controlled the industry's fares, scheduling, or staffing. While the FAA remained in charge of flight safety, the many airlines in the consumer market were now in charge of whom they hired and how much they paid them. "The industry expanded quickly throughout the 1980s," Roghair explained. "That growth slowed some in the 1990s, but 9/11 was obviously devastating to the airline industry. We faced a decade of bankruptcies and mergers throughout the industry. We went from a booming labor market to a shrinking employment pool relatively quickly." Todd Simoneau is one pilot who rode out many of those changes. He trained at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University before going on to serve as a pilot with seven different airlines: Northeast Express, Precision Airlines, Atlantic, TWA, North American, American Eagle and American Airlines-most of which have been absorbed into a larger airline or no longer exist. "I was furloughed by AA in 2003 and went to work for North American Airlines, based at JFK," Simoneau said. "After a year there I was given the opportunity to fly at American Eagle. Six years later, I was finally recalled to AA. I am now very junior again at AA, after being hired at a major airline 17 years ago." "The First Officers I flew with at American Eagle came there with over $200,000 in debt for a job that pays $22,914 per year, to start." Roghair said all pilots struggle at the beginning of their careers. Current FAA regulations require 1,500 hours of in-air training before a pilot can work for an airline. "It also costs pilots thousands of dollars to gain the education they need," Roghair added. "New pilots can come into the industry in significant debt. When you consider the wages they'll make if they enter the industry, more would-be pilots are simply choosing another path." "Unless they come from a wealthy family, the problem every new pilot has is debt," Simoneau said. "The First Officers I flew with at American Eagle came there with over $200,000 in debt for a job that pays $22,914 per year, to start. It took me about 10 years to pay it back. If anything, the situation for new pilots is much worse." Simoneau clarifies that not all pilots are hurting: If you're a senior pilot flying sought-after coast-to-coast or international routes, you can make good money. Otherwise, for the estimated 18,000 pilots working for smaller, regional carriers, the job can bring financial struggles that passengers wouldn't expect. In other industries, employees facing unsatisfactory wages would strike, but pilots don't have that option. While they might be able to organize a short-term walkout on or boycott of an individual airline, a long-term, industry-wide stoppage would almost certainly draw federal intervention. Edgar James, a labor attorney with James & Hoffman, specializes in the issues currently bedeviling the airline industry. Advocates like he and Roghair are limited by the fact that pilots can engage in collective bargaining with the airlines but are unable to strike by law. "The result are negotiations [like those] the pilots had with American Eagle," James said. "They asked the pilots to take concessions instead of offering any kind of increase. The pilots refused. You end up with pilots working without a collective bargaining agreement." But, for many pilots, the job has its appeal even so. As Simoneau puts it, "Flying is all I ever wanted to do. My father was a maintenance supervisor for TWA, and he would take me to work as a kid. I was just hooked." Of the regional and major airlines I contacted for comment, Emirates was the only one that agreed to respond. Alison Ward, the airline's vice president of human resources and recruitment, said that larger carriers like Emirates have no influence over the wages paid by regional carriers. Even the smaller airlines that partner with the majors to run short-hop flights set their own prices without direct interference from their bigger partners. Ward pointed out that in order to make it easier for new pilots to enter the field without assuming such heavy educational debt, Emirates invested heavily in the construction of a flight academy in Dubai. The school will initially serve as the dedicated training center for Emirates pilots, but will eventually expand to include pilots from other carriers. Simoneau, however, indicated that Emirates's plan is a notable exception to the practices of other major airlines. Emirates's efforts were launched in part to fend off a potential pilot shortage, something that James, the labor lawyer, also mentioned. "To delay a possible shortage, the FAA extended the retirement age from 60 to 65. They can't extend any further," James explained. On top of that, fewer and fewer younger pilots can afford to enter the industry. "The result is we're already seeing flights cancelled because the airlines can't find pilots to crew them." Helane Becker, an airline-industry analyst at the financial advisory firm Cowen and Company, agrees. After Republic Airlines pilots voted down a new contract that didn't increase wages, she said, 27 routes had to be grounded. "Without a new pilot contract in place, we'd expect new business to be somewhat difficult to procure unless [Republic] lowered their return objectives," Becker said. "The company is losing 30 pilots a month and has currently been able to recruit to offset that attrition but could run into operational issues during the peak summer travel season." Republic did not respond to requests for comment. However, at Emirates, Ward acknowledged the threat of the pilot shortage: "The looming shortage, as it has been called for years, has become more about the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation of pilots," she said. Ward added that Emirates is trying to protect its current schedule from shortages by improving their pilots' compensation. All Emirates pilots, Ward noted, receive medical benefits for them and their families, education allowances for their children, and even chauffeur service to and from work. Improved compensation packages for pilots might result from any shortage that happens to arise. Both Roghair and James hope any potential staffing crises would sweeten the pot for the pilots they represent. "It would obviously be much easier to negotiate higher pay for pilots if the airlines are looking at not being able to crew their flights," Roghair said. "But how many flights are we going to see cancelled before we get to that point? How much will the consumer passengers suffer with fewer flight options when the shortage hits?" But it's not necessarily the case that airlines will have to increase pilots' pay in the face of a shrinking labor pool. Consumer inconvenience is another potential outcome, as airlines could cut back service or terminate routes. Back at Proteus, as my car service arrived to run me back to LAX and the airline pilot who would fly me home, I took my flight instructor's business card and promised to protect the identities of him and his airborne comrades. As we said our goodbyes, my instructor said one last thing. "I still love flying," he said. "I'll probably always be around it one way or another. But, for now, wish me luck. I'm trying to sell a house today." http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/turbulence-ahead-the-looming-pilot-shortage-and-its-decades- long-history/374171/ Back to Top Back to Top F-35 a No-Show (So Far) at Big Air Show An F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter takes off on a training sortie at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in 2012. The star attraction at Farnborough International Air Show failed to appear on opening day Farnborough's star attraction-the F-35 Lightning II, a fifth-generation fighter jet also known as the Joint Strike Fighter- was due to make its international air show debut this month. Unfortunately for both the air show organizers and F-35 developers, the fighter jet failed to make its scheduled appearance at Farnborough, in Hampshire, England, after the entire F-35 fleet was grounded in the U.S. last month after the engine on one of the jet's caught fire. Yet Farnborough organizers, Lockheed Martin (which manufactures the jet), and the U.S. military are all hopeful the F-35 will still be able to make an appearance. Farnborough announced the fighter jet would be missing the show's opening on July 13 in a statement, saying, "The aircraft is still awaiting US [Department of Defense] clearance but we are hopeful that it will fly at the air show by the end of the week." "Everyone involved in the project is working towards a positive result for attendance at the air show [later] this week," the statement added. The fire took place on June 23, in a single jet's Pratt & Whitney engine at the Eglin Air Force base in Florida. No one was harmed, but the fire prompted the Pentagon to ground the entire fleet of jets until the matter had been investigated. The fire was caused by excessive rubbing of fan blades in the engine, according to F-35 developers and Lockheed executives, who held a news conference at Farnborough on Monday. The fire is also believed to be an isolated incident. "There's a growing body of evidence that this is not a systemic problem," said the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Frank Kendall, while also emphasizing the need to conduct a thorough investigation and put "safety first." Yet the failure to make the much-hyped appearance at the opening of the air show-while also missing appearances earlier this month at the naming ceremony of HMS Queen Elizabeth, in Scotland, and the Royal International Air Tattoo show in Fairford, England-is another blow to the F-35 program, which has come under fire for being both overdue and over- budget. The F-35 is a major project for the American military, with three variants of the jet being developed for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. And with estimated development costs of almost $400 billion, the F-35 is also the most expensive weapon ever built. As the Farnborough International Air Show marks one of the world's biggest aviation events of the year-where industry experts, buyers and aviation fans all gather-the F-35s absence is bound to be noted by potential customers. (Foreign buyers of the aircraft already include Italy, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Israel, Norway, Japan, and the Netherlands.) In particular, the U.K. is a major customer for the fighter jet, but the New York Times reports that the country, which originally said it would buy 138 jets, has only committed to purchasing 48 so far. And if the F-35 fails to appear at all before the Farnborough Air Show draws to an end on Sunday? "It's not ideal," said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst who works for the Teal Group. "This could delay efforts to ramp up production." But Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the Program Executive Officer for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office, insisted Monday that a cancellation wouldn't be "a setback to the program." "It would have been wonderful for the rest of the world to see it's not just a paper airplane. It's a technological marvel," he said, before adding that the jets were ready to fly across the Atlantic to Farnborough as soon as they were given clearance. "We're not giving up yet." http://time.com/2981338/f35-farnborough-international-air-show/ Back to Top AF fighting - with cash - to keep fighter pilots Brig. Gen. Brian Kelly says two major factors threaten pilot retention: The high operations tempo of recent years and the lure of private- sector jobs. (Rob Curtis/Staff) The Air Force is afraid the commercial airline industry's long-awaited hiring boom is right around the corner. And for the second year in a row, the service is planning to pay big to keep airlines from poaching their fighter pilots. Eligible fighter pilots who agree to serve for nine more years can receive $225,000 in Aviator Retention Pay, the Air Force said June 25 - a hefty bonus that was first offered last year. Fighter pilots and other valuable pilots and combat systems officers who sign up for five more years can also get a bonus of $125,000. The Air Force is turning to such generous bonuses to ensure it doesn't lose its cadre of pilots and CSOs after spending years and millions of dollars training them, Brig. Gen. Brian Kelly, director of force management policy, said in a July 1 interview at the Pentagon. "We want a predictable, stable inventory of rated officers who are well-trained, experienced and seasoned in the midpoints of their career," Kelly said. If "we can have 500 people sign up for a period of time that we know and can predict, [it] takes out some of the dynamic nature of choice for separation or retirement at different points in time. Those can be very dynamic. If we don't have a predictor on how those are going to happen, we could, all of a sudden, one year have large [amounts of] folks separating out of the force." Kelly said the Air Force is facing two major factors threatening pilot retention: The high operations tempo of recent years and the lure of private-sector jobs. There's not much the Air Force can do about operations tempo, he said, so his office is focusing on enticing pilots to pass up job offers from the private sector. Air Force studies and other industry studies have concluded that airlines are on the cusp of a major pilot hiring boom, Kelly said. Beginning as early as next year, airlines are expected to start a decade-long hiring wave for between 25,000 and 50,000 new pilots. "We're just beginning to see that uptick start," Kelly said. "It hasn't gone to the high levels yet, but we certainly predict all the models are going to be right." The airline industry is coming out of a period of consolidations, Kelly said. And now that the industry's turmoil of the last few years is settling, he expects they will turn their attention toward hiring again. What's more, a generation of airline pilots who earned their wings in the waning days of the Vietnam War and then went to fly for the private sector are now approaching the mandatory retirement age of 65. Those pilots must be replaced, and airlines are bound to look to the Air Force's ranks. The Federal Aviation Administration in 2011 updated rules that limited the maximum amount of time airline pilots can be scheduled on duty, to keep them from getting fatigued and potentially causing deadly crashes. But if pilots can't work as many hours, Kelly said, that requires the airlines to hire more pilots to meet the same schedules, increasing their need to lure Air Force aviators. "Military aviators are, of course, a great draw for them," Kelly said. "The training bill becomes far less, and they get a very seasoned aviator who they can bring right in." About 843 airmen are eligible for the bonuses, including 245 fighter pilots. The Air Force hopes around 500 airmen in all will take the bonuses this year, and expects about 115 of those will be fighter pilots. Kelly expects that roughly 80 percent to 85 percent of fighter pilots taking a bonus will sign on for the nine-year, $225,000 bonus. Last year, 132 fighter pilots signed up for Aviator Retention Pay, Kelly said. Of those, 108, or 82 percent, took the $225,000 bonus. Another 483 pilots took the $125,000, five-year bonus. These bonus programs typically have a take rate in the mid- to high-60 percent range. For the first time this year, the Air Force is allowing airmen to sign up for Aviator Retention Pay before their undergraduate flying training active-duty service commitments have expired. Previously, airmen would only be able to sign up in the year their ADSC expires. But now, airmen whose ADSC will expire in fiscal 2015 can sign up for a bonus a year ahead of time. They will start to receive their bonuses next year, Kelly said. "The opportunity to get into the program a year ahead of time guarantees them a line at the stand next year," Kelly said. In the past, Air Force officials have said the high operations tempo has limited the pipeline of new pilots who can be trained. In 2012, Gen. Hawk Carlisle said instructor pilots had been needed for combat missions, leaving them unavailable to train other pilots. Kelly said the Air Force now is not facing a shortage of instructor pilots. The Air Force can only produce about 950 new pilots a year due to factors such as how many training airplanes are available, Kelly said, but the amount or availability of instructor pilots has not been a problem. By the time airmen who sign up for this year's bonuses have finished their five- to nine-year commitments, the Air Force will have spent nearly $74 million on their bonuses. The first round of bonuses for airmen signing up in 2014 will total $23 million. The Air Force will spend another roughly $40 million on this year's round of annual payments for airmen who signed up in previous years, Kelly said. Spending $63 million on bonuses in a single year "is no small chunk of change," Kelly said. But since it takes $9 million to train a single new pilot, he said, the bonus pay to hold onto existing pilots ends up being a good return on investment. If approved, pilots and CSOs can either have the bonus paid out in $25,000 installments over the period of their commitments, or take half the money up-front in a lump-sum payment and have the rest paid out over the remainder of their commitment. http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20140709/BENEFITS02/307090058/AF-fighting-cash-keep-fighter-pilots Back to Top Airbus gets commitments for 496 aircraft in best-ever Farnborough performance Airbus COO-customers John Leahy Airbus president and CEO Fabrice Brégier said the European manufacturer had one its most successful air show performances ever at the 2014 Farnborough Airshow, where it won commitments for 496 aircraft worth more than $75 billion over four days. "This is the best Farnborough Airshow in Airbus history and the third biggest [air show] ever if you include the Paris Air Show," Brégier told reporters in a Thursday Farnborough wrap-up press conference. The week started with Airbus launching the re-engined A330neo powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. Airbus COO- customers John Leahy noted the manufacturer secured 121 commitments in four days for the A330neo worth $33.2 billion at list prices. "We think that's really a record and it ought to be a record for any air show," Leahy said. Airbus surpassed 3,000 firm orders for A320neo family aircraft during the show with commitments for 317 worth $34.4 billion at list prices. Brégier said Airbus is "getting closer to certification" on the A350 XWB. "We will be ready for delivery of the first aircraft by the end of this year," he said. He noted Airbus "always took a cautious" approach on the A350 to avoid the "turbulence" experienced on the A380 program. Brégier said Airbus expects to be building 10 A350s per month by end of 2018. http://atwonline.com/manufacturers/airbus-gets-commitments-496-aircraft-best-ever-farnborough- performance?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AtwDailyNews+(ATW+Daily+News) Back to Top The International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) comprises a series of international standards and best practices designed to help Business Aviation Operators worldwide achieve high levels of safety, professionalism and effectiveness. NEXUS Flight Operations Services is pleased to host the IBAC/IS-BAO Fundamentals and/or IS-BAO Auditor Workshops to be held 4th - 5th August 2014 in our Jeddah Headquarters The program consists of: Fully integrated Safety Management System, Organizational essentials Training program/tracking system, Regulations/requirements tracking system, Standard Operating Procedures, Maintenance Control system, Operations and Maintenance Manuals, International operations procedures and equipment requirements checklist, Administrative organization, Emergency response plan. At the core of IS-BAO is a comprehensive Safety Management System (SMS) designed to integrate all activities of a flight department or charter organization so they are operated in the most risk-averse manner possible. To register, please click on the links below for online registration and payment directly with IBAC. 4th August 2014 | Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Fundamentals of IS-BAO Workshop There is a $500 per person registration fee for this full day course 5th August 2014 | Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia IS-BAO Auditing Workshop for Internal Auditors and Support Services Affiliates There is a $750 per person registration fee for this full day course (this includes the IS-BAO Audit Procedures Manual) This course does not provide auditor accreditation. If you wish to become an accredited IS-BAO auditor click here for prerequisite details and registration fees For more information please see www.ibac.org/is_bao Back to Top THE ALPA 60TH AIR SAFETY FORUM A Celebration of Pilots Helping Get the Job Done Safely & Securely August 4-7, 2014 | Washington Hilton | Washington, DC SPONSORSHIP & EXHIBITING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE Contact Tina Long at tina.long@alpa.org for more information or click here to download the sponsorship brochure. AGENDA AT A GLANCE Visit http://safetyforum.alpa.org for full agendas MONDAY - AUGUST 4, 2014 8:30-9:00 General Session-ALPA Air Safety Organization Update (Open to all ALPA Members Only) 9:30-6:00 ALPA ASO Group Workshops & Council Meetings - (invitation only) 9:30-4:30 Jumpseat Forum (invitation only) 12:00-5:00 Aviation Security Forum (invitation only) TUESDAY - AUGUST 5, 2014 8:00-6:00 ALPA ASO Group Workshops & Council Meetings - (invitation only) 9:00-5:00 Joint Aviation/Security Forum - (invitation only) WEDNESDAY - AUGUST 6, 2014 - 60TH AIR SAFETY FORUM 8:30-9:00 Opening Ceremony 9:00-10:30 Panel: Surviving a Main Deck Lithium Battery Fire: New Technological Solutions 10:30-11:00 Break with the Exhibitors 11:00-12:30 Panel: Smoke In the Cockpit-Where Seconds Matter 12:30-1:45 Keynote Luncheon-100 Years of Commercial Aviation Mr. Paul Rinaldi - President, National Air Traffic Controllers Association 1:45-3:15 Panel: Finding the Runway with a Smoke-Filled Cockpit-Using All the Tools 3:15-3:45 Break With the Exhibitors 3:45-5:15 Panel: Landing A Distressed Airliner-What's Waiting at the Airport? 5:15-5:25 Presentation of the ALPA Airport Safety Liaison and ALPA Airport Awards 5:25-5:30 Closing Remarks 5:30-6:30 Hospitality Reception (Sponsored by Boeing) THURSDAY - AUGUST 7, 2014 - 60TH AIR SAFETY FORUM 8:30- 10:00 Panel - Current Security Threats and Countermeasures 10:00-10:30 Break with the Exhibitors 10:30-11:30 Panel: A Discussion With Key Regulators 11:30-11:40 Presentation of the ALPA Presidential Citation Awards 11:40-1:00 Lunch (on your own) 1:00-2:30 Panel: Pilot Health & Occupational Safety 2:30-3:00 Break with the Exhibitors 3:00-4:30 Panel: Modernizing Our National Airspace System: The Flight Path, The Potholes and the Promise 4:30-5:00 Closing Ceremony 6:00-7:00 Awards Reception (Sponsored by Airbus) 7:00-10:00 Awards Dinner 10:00-11:00 Post Awards Reception Back to Top Upcoming Events: International System Safety Society Annual Symposium 04-08AUG2014 - St. Louis, MO http://issc2014.system-safety.org ACI-NA Annual Conference and Exhibition Atlanta, GA September 7 - 10, 2014 http://annual.aci-na.org/ IFA - Maintaining Airworthiness Standards and Investing in the Most Important Asset 'The Human Element' 17 - 18 September, 2014 Emirates Eng Facility, Dubai www.ifairworthy.com Public Safety and Security Fall Conference Arlington, VA October 6 - 9, 2014 http://aci-na.org/event/4309 IASS 2014 Abu Dhabi, UAE November 11-13, 2014 http://flightsafety.org/meeting/iass-2014 Back to Top Employment: Position Available - Safety Investigator Etihad Airways www.etihad.com/careers NTSB Position Available - Electronics Engineer https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/374545600 Curt Lewis