Flight Safety Information September 8, 2014 - No. 184 In This Issue Eternal Mystery? MH370 Hunt Takes New Course After Six Months Rescuers search for traces of plane that crashed off Jamaica China Says 2 Pilots Died in Aircraft Carrier Tests Ten victims confirmed dead in Colombia plane crash PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA Air-Safety Officials Consider Further Restrictions on Batteries Mountain Air Cargo in trouble for not following FAA safety rules ISASI 2014 - Annual Seminar, October 13-16, 2014 - Early Bird Registration Deadline Upcoming Events Employment Eternal Mystery? MH370 Hunt Takes New Course After Six Months Not since the American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart disappeared without a trace over the Pacific 77 years ago has there been a mystery like it. And in so many respects the disappearance of Flight MH370 exactly six months ago today is a far more profound puzzle. When Earhart went missing her plane was equipped with radio navigation systems, a Morse code receiver and a voice transmission system, all of which she used until her plane vanished into the sea. But this is rudimentary equipment compared to the highly sophisticated location devices on board the modern Malaysian Airlines jet. Earhart's last known position was searched by American Navy ships and naval planes until, at a cost of $4 million, the most intensive search in U.S. history was called off without finding any trace of her or her plane. But this is a drop in the ocean compared to the tens of millions of dollars (the exact figure isn't known) spent by a dozen countries scouring a vast area of ocean for the missing Malaysian plane. Hundreds of men working thousands of hours have, for six months now, come up with precisely nothing. And this bears repeating. In six months, they have found not a single piece of debris that can be linked to the missing plane. Not a piece of clothing, nor a fragment of a body. Not a slick of oil. Not the slightest trace of a modern passenger jet, manned by an experienced crew, whose path was tracked by the most sophisticated radar equipment modern man has developed. In our hi-tech, inter-connected, satellite-covered world, it is a staggering failure. But it's not for want of trying. Experts from more than a dozen countries have searched for Flight MH370 with satellites from space, with planes from the air and with ships on the sea. They've scoured the ocean floor. On land, they've analyzed and re-analyzed the radar data and worked day and night to try to find the missing plane. The batteries of the plane's flight recorders, the black boxes, began to fade and die after 30 days; since then, submarines and ships have been all but blind in their search. After a few weeks of searching, U.S. Navy Captain Mark Matthews suggested it could take years to find the plane because of the lack of information about where to go and the size of an ocean that could take "an untenable amount of time to search." He pointed out that the search for the Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009 recovered debris within days, yet it still took two years to find the black box and the plane. And yet the search for MH370 goes on, and in the coming weeks it will enter a new phase. For months now, ships have been mapping out tens of thousands of square miles at the bottom of the Southern Indian Ocean, an area more unknown to man than the surface of the moon. This has been the preparatory work to a search using submarines that will begin in earnest in October. It will be focused on a 40,000 square mile "priority area" and will last up to a year. Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is overseeing the underwater search, says "we remain fully committed to finding the missing aircraft, and although it's taken us a long time to get there, we're at a point where we've completed almost all the planning work and can move to the operation phase of the underwater search". There can be no doubting their best intentions; every nation involved, every one of the thousands of people who've searched for the plane, has done his and her best. But try telling that to the distraught relatives of the 239 people who were on board the plane. It's no comfort. The families of the 227 passengers have suffered unimaginable anguish; from the early days of mixed messages and media glare, to the silence and indifference of today. They have no idea how their loved ones died, why, when or where. The relatives of the 12 crew members have fared little better. At first, some of the crew were suspected of causing the crash. The families of the pilot and co-pilot were questioned about their political beliefs, the theory being that one, or both, had determined to crash the plane deliberately. Thieves tried to rob the bank accounts of missing passengers. Flying on Malaysian Airlines became the subject of online and water-cooler comment worldwide, along the lines of "you're flying Malaysian? Pack a parachute!" Until a second Malaysian plane fell out of the sky, this one shot down by missile fire in Ukraine. No one's joking any more. But the heartbreak hasn't ended. Or the puzzlement. As I flew on two search planes, skimming just 100 feet above the waves, I thought how amazing it was that there are some things modern man just can't work out; man-made mysteries that are beyond our modern knowledge. Soon, six months on, another set of vessels will head for the horizon off Western Australia, sailing with the glimmer of hope that they may solve one of the greatest mysteries of our time. http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/eternal-mystery-mh370-hunt-takes- new-course-after-six-months-n196936 Back to Top Rescuers search for traces of plane that crashed off Jamaica A plane belonging to a prominent New York real estate developer and his wife crashed in the ocean north of Jamaica after flying unresponsive for hours and being escorted by U.S. fighter jets, according to federal officials. The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for the wreckage, as are a Jamaican military helicopter and search-and-rescue team. Jamaica rescuers said they have located an oil slick in waters where they suspect the plane went down. The single-engine turbo-prop is registered to Rochester developer Larry Glazer. "We understand that there are many questions yet to be answered about today's events, and we too are awaiting answers. At this time, we would appreciate the ability to mourn privately.""We are devastated by the tragic and sudden loss of our parents, Jane and Larry Glazer," the statement read. "They loved and appreciated the opportunity to help build the community of Rochester, and we thank everyone in the community for their expressions of support.In a prepared statement, their children, Mindy, Rick and Ken Glazer, said they were awaiting answers as to what went wrong. The North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled two F-16 fighter jets from South Carolina at 10:40 a.m. to intercept the Socata TBM-900 headed from Rochester, N.Y., to Naples, Fla. Those planes handed off the escort to two F-15 fighters from Florida at 11:30 a.m. Military pilots weren't able to communicate with the plane's occupants, but saw that the plane's windows were frosted, according to Army Maj. Beth Smith, a NORAD spokeswoman. Authorities have not confirmed who was on the plane. But within minutes of the crash, New York officials offered public condolences to the Glazer family. FlightAware identified the plane's tail number as N900KN. FAA records show the plane, a model that sells new for $3.5 million in its standard version, is owned by a company based at the same address as a real estate firm in Rochester. The firm, Buckingham Properties, is owned by developer Larry Glazer, who also is president of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association."I join the residents of Rochester during this difficult week in mourning the loss of Larry and Jane Glazer in today's tragic plane crash," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "The Glazers were innovative and generous people who were committed to revitalizing downtown Rochester and making the city they loved a better place for all." According to Buckingham's website, "Larry spends some of his spare time on the ground - gardening around his house with his wife, Jane; and some in the sky - flying his plane." Joseph Rowley Jr., director of leasing and marketing at Buckingham Properties, which is owned by Glazer, declined to comment. The company closed early Friday. A woman answering the phone at QCI Direct, a catalog company owned by Glazer's wife, Jane Glazer, at 2:15 p.m., said the company was not making any public statements. Moments later, a voice recording at QCI said the company was closed. The plane took off at 8:26 a.m. and was scheduled to land in Naples about noon, according to FlightAware.com, a flight-tracking service. The plane crashed at 2:15 p.m., about 14 miles off the coast of Port Antonio, Jamaica, according to NORAD. On a recording made by LiveATC, a website that monitors and posts air traffic control audio recordings, the pilot can be heard saying, "We need to descend down to about (18,000 feet). We have an indication that's not correct in the plane." A controller replied, "Stand by." After a pause, the controller told the pilot to fly at 25,000 feet. "We need to get lower," the pilot responded. "Working on that," the controller said Controllers then cleared the plane to descend to 20,000 feet, a command which the pilot acknowledged. A couple minutes later, a controller radioed the plane by its tail number: "900 Kilo November, if you hear this transmission, ident" - identify yourself. There was no response. According to FlightAware, the plane never carried out the last descent to 20,000 feet. Fighter pilots observed the Socata's pilot slumped over before the turboprop's windows became frosted over, Schlachter said. On LiveATC recordings, the fighter pilots can be heard discussing the Socata pilot's condition. "I can see his chest rising and falling right before I left," said one of the fighter pilots. "It was the first time we could see that he was actually breathing. It may be a deal where, depending on how fast they meet them, he may regain consciousness once the aircraft starts descending for fuel ..." the fighter pilot said. The pilot was speculating that the Socata pilot was suffering from hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, but Schlachter said the Air Force doesn't know for certain that was the case. The incident is the second time in less than a week that private pilot has become unresponsive during a flight. On Saturday, a pilot lost consciousness and his plane drifted into restricted airspace over the nation's capital. Fighter jets were also launched in that case and stayed with the small aircraft until it ran out of fuel and crashed Saturday into the Atlantic. Cases of pilots becoming unresponsive while their planes wander the sky are unusual, with probably not much more than a handful of such incidents over the last decade, said aviation safety expert John Goglia. Sometimes the incidents are due to a pilot becoming incapacitated by a heart attack or stroke, but more often the problem is insufficient cabin pressurization that causes the pilot and any passengers to pass out, he said. Pilots are supposed to check that the cabin pressurization is correctly set before takeoff, but there have been cases where they have forgotten to do that or the pressurization level has been improperly set, said Goglia, a former National Transportation Safety Board member. If cabin pressure drops too low, there won't be enough oxygen per cubic foot in the cabin and any people aboard will lose consciousness, he said. In such cases, it's likely that those on board will die from loss of oxygen before the plane runs out of fuel and crashes, he said. Mechanical problems or a window or fuselage leak can also lead to rapid cabin depressurization. When that happens, the time of useful consciousness a pilot has in which to react is measured in seconds, Goglia said. In 1999, the pilots of a Learjet carrying professional golfer Payne Stewart from Orlando, Florida, to Texas became unresponsive. The plane took a turn and wandered all the way to South Dakota before running out of fuel and crashing into a field west if Aberdeen. Stewart and five others on board were killed. An NTSB investigation blamed the accident on depressurization. The military routinely responds to unknown aviation activity, with heightened security after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. But the incidents are often accidents rather than terrorist incidents. Two F-16 fighter jets followed a general-aviation plane Monday that had taken off from Waukesha Airport in Wisconsin and was on its way to Manassas Airport in Virginia, before it crashed in the Atlantic. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/05/military-tracking-plane- socata-rochester-naples/15133111/ Back to Top China Says 2 Pilots Died in Aircraft Carrier Tests Two Chinese test pilots were killed during development of the country's first aircraft carrier fighter wing, state media said, in a rare admission of problems with the hugely popular naval program. The admission came in a report by the official Xinhua News Agency saying President Xi Jinping had signed an order awarding honorary titles to all pilots in the first squadron to conduct take-off and landing tests aboard the Liaoning, China's only aircraft carrier. "Two test pilots of the squadron sacrificed their lives during the tests," the report said. No details were given. The original Xinhua report ran Aug. 28, but went largely overlooked at the time. It was picked up by U.S. defense blogs and linked Friday to the blog of the U.S. Naval Institute. Carrier flight operations are inherently risky, and the loss of two pilots is far from unusual. However, China's military still operates under a shroud of secrecy and no deadly accidents relating to the carrier had been reported at the time. China announced it had begun flight tests on the Liaoning in late 2012, spurring a wave of patriotic pride in the country's growing capabilities. State television ran hours of footage of planes landing and taking off, while Internet users across the country posted photos of themselves recreating the carrier flight crews' "all-clear" signal to the pilot. Chinese carrier pilots fly the J-15 fighter-bomber, a copy of Russia's Sukhoi Su-33. China spent a decade refurbishing a derelict Soviet-era carrier bought from Ukraine before commissioning it as the Liaoning in 2012. It is part of a major expansion of the Chinese navy that includes sophisticated new surface ships and submarines. The ship is slower and smaller than U.S. aircraft carriers and doesn't carry as many aircraft. The Liaoning is still conducting sea trials and Chinese defense officials haven't said when, or even if, it will receive its full complement of aircraft. On Dec. 5, 2013, a Chinese ship accompanying the Liaoning was involved in a near collision with a U.S. Navy cruiser, the USS Cowpens, when it was operating in international waters in the South China Sea. U.S. Navy officials said the Cowpens maneuvered to avoid the collision, but it marked the two nations' most serious sea confrontation in years. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-pilots-died-aircraft-carrier-tests- 25308196 Back to Top Ten victims confirmed dead in Colombia plane crash BOGOTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- All 10 people aboard a plane which crashed Saturday in the Amazon jungle were confirmed dead, local authorities on Sunday. Gustavo Ortega, Risk Management Coordinator of Colombia's southern department of Caqueta, said there were no survivors among the two crew members and eight passengers on the plane which crashed en route from Araracuara to Florencia. "The 10 people died on impact," Ortega told local media. A young girl was among the dead, he said. Ortega said that rescue teams have been trying to reach the site to retrieve the victims' bodies. The wreck of the plane was located about 10 km from the urban center of the town of Puerto Santanderm, according to local media report. The plane with registration number HK-4755PA 34 Navajo crashed after taking off from Araracuara's airport in the Colombian Amazon rainforest, Colombia's Civil Aviation authority said Saturday. The cause of the accident was still under investigation. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-09/08/c_126962917.htm Back to Top Back to Top Air-Safety Officials Consider Further Restrictions on Batteries Pilots' Union Steps Up Campaign for Stricter Regulation, Citing Potential Hazard By ANDY PASZTOR International air-safety officials are considering further restrictions on lithium batteries carried in the bellies of cargo and passenger airliners, highlighting escalating concerns about potential fire hazards. A group of industry and government experts convened by the aviation arm of the United Nations is slated to take up the topic this week. Barely four months ago, the same U.N. agency imposed a world-wide ban on bulk shipments of lithium metal batteries-the most fire-prone type of lithium power cells-in the cargo holds of passenger jets. But now the debate appears to be shifting to controversial proposals, advocated by pilot unions and outside experts, to possibly extend a version of that prohibition to some or all cargo aircraft. Expected to be an important issue at the sessions beginning in Cologne on Tuesday, the heightened discussion comes in the wake of new research by U.S. regulators emphasizing the risks of transporting all types of lithium batteries. Tests by the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that lithium metal batteries, which aren't rechargeable and power consumer devices such as cameras and calculators, can erupt in flames much faster than other versions. In some cases, according to FAA results, lithium metal versions are more dangerous than previously believed because they can reach temperatures above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and couldn't be extinguished using existing firefighting chemicals. Lithium ion batteries, meanwhile, were prone to explode, spewing burning remnants some 150 feet. One consultant study prepared years ago for U.S. and Canadian authorities-but disputed to this day by parts of industry-projected crashes of several big cargo planes by the end of the decade unless airlines or regulators embraced new safeguards. It isn't clear what recommendations will come from the latest deliberations, and a final decision is months away. So far, much of the focus has been on lithium metal batteries. But this week's discussion, according to people familiar with the preparations, also is slated to cover potential limits on the number of rechargeable, lithium ion batteries carried by a single passenger aircraft. Such power cells, ubiquitous inside cellphones, laptops and other portable digital devices, account for the bulk of the estimated 1.3 billion rechargeable lithium batteries manufactured annually around the globe. The discussions involve bulk shipments of batteries, not batteries carried by individual travelers, although some airlines provide information warning passengers to take precautions with the batteries they carry. The ICAO documents mention placing the "least possible burden" on battery manufacturers while still providing "the international aviation community with "an acceptable risk" level. Battery-makers are expected to launch a major effort to head off any new restrictions that might be imposed by the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization. They contend that existing packaging and labeling requirements-combined with ICAO-mandated quality controls at factories-are adequate to safeguard commercial aviation. But increasingly, experts at ICAO, the FAA and pilot unions argue more needs to be done. In the letter setting up the meeting, Nancy Graham, ICAO's top safety official, specifically cited "concerns with the risks all lithium batteries present...on both passenger and cargo aircraft." "The more testing we do, the more concerned we are about these dangers," Gus Sarko, manager of the FAA's fire safety branch, told a conference in Washington last month. The Air Line Pilots Association, the largest North American pilot union, is stepping up its campaign for more-stringent standards and regulations. ALPA eventually seeks to outlaw bulk shipments of lithium metal batteries for all cargo carriers. Meanwhile, the union wants to ensure pilots have detailed information about the precise location and size of any battery shipments on a plane, and that cargo crews can get access to certain areas in the event of a blaze. No matter what happens this week, many academics and battery industry officials anticipate tighter restrictions in coming years. "There are a lot of things that can go wrong in manufacturing and during use" of lithium batteries, according to Michael Pecht, a battery-reliability expert who teaches at the University of Maryland. "Events are rare, but they can cause fires." "Rules for what you ship and how you ship it are bound to get tougher," according to Brian Morin, chief operating officer of closely held Dreamwater International Inc., which makes battery components. Lithium batteries are suspected of contributing to two fiery crashes of Boeing 747 cargo planes in the past four years. Within a few minutes of receiving a fire warning, pilots of a United Parcel Service Inc. UPS +0.40% jumbo jet couldn't see their instruments because of smoke and the captain's emergency oxygen system didn't work properly. When pilots train for fire emergencies in simulators, they typically are exposed to relatively small amounts of wispy white smoke. But in many real fire events, the smoke is much more intense, black and filled with a combination of sooty particles and toxins, according to David Lawrence, a senior investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. It can be "completely debilitating in the cockpit, and it happens rapidly," Mr. Lawrence said during the same safety conference in Washington. "You have literally seconds" to don smoke goggles and an oxygen mask, Mr. Lawrence told pilots in the audience, with perhaps "only one chance to do it right." Faced with such potentially catastrophic scenarios, some airlines are voluntarily acting to reduce risks. UPS and FedEx Inc. which operate the world's two largest cargo fleets, have opted to install enhanced fire-suppression equipment. Though the two systems are different, they both are designed to control flames and temperatures long enough for pilots to safely land. Delta Air Lines Inc. on its own, about two years ago stopped accepting all types of lithium batteries as cargo, according to a spokesman. In addition, the carrier has taken steps to prevent lithium ion batteries from ending up in checked luggage, where they can potentially cause a blaze. If overhead bins get full during aircraft boarding and passengers end up having to check carry-on bags, gate agents remind travelers to remove spare lithium batteries. Over the years, U.S. regulators have mandated improved fire-resistant cargo liners and insulation for commercial aircraft, along with a decades-old ban against U.S. passenger planes shipping lithium metal batteries. Earlier this summer, the Department of Transportation finalized rules essentially bringing the U.S. in line with ICAO packaging and labeling requirements. But with the rechargeable-battery industry, makers of electronic devices and even trade groups representing retailers are strongly opposed to further limits on lithium ion shipments, FAA and DOT officials years ago abandoned plans for tougher overall U.S. regulations. Congress, for its part, has passed legislation blocking the FAA from revisiting those earlier proposals, barring conclusive proof that burning lithium batteries directly caused a major plane crash. http://online.wsj.com/articles/air-safety-officials-consider-further-restrictions-on- batteries-1410126972 Back to Top Mountain Air Cargo in trouble for not following FAA safety rules The US Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Mountain Air Cargo based in Denver, NC, failed to follow its FAA-approved aircraft maintenance program, which required it to report the damage to the aircraft manufacturer along with a repair plan, and obtain the manufacturer's approval for the repairs. The dent exceeded the allowable limits for the kind of repair that was done, the FAA alleges. A civil penalty of $132,425 may be imposed for operating an ATR-42 airplane when it was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The FAA alleges Mountain Air Cargo mechanics improperly repaired a dent in a cargo door at the rear of the aircraft in August 2012. Mountain Air Cargo operated the ATR-42 aircraft on 115 flights between August 7 and October 29, 2012 when it was not in an airworthy condition due to the improper repair, the FAA alleges. Mountain Air Cargo is scheduled to meet with the FAA in mid-September to discuss the case. http://www.eturbonews.com/49986/mountain-air-cargo-trouble-not-following-faa- safety-rules Back to Top INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATORS ISASI 2014 45TH ANNUAL SEMINAR "Investigations and Safety Management Systems" This year's seminar will take place at the Stamford Hotel in Glenelg, near Adelaide, Australia, from 13 -16 October, 2014. All current information regarding seminar registration, hotel reservations and speakers can be found on the official seminar website at www.asasi.org. Please note the deadline for Early Bird Registration and the discounted rate at the hotel is midnight September 4. Questions can be directed to: Mr. Lindsay Naylor ISASI 2014 Seminar Chair lindsaynaylor77@gmail.com or Ms.Barbara Dunn International Seminar Chair - ISASI avsafe@shaw.ca Back to Top Upcoming Events: Small UAS CHALLENGE September 11-14, 2014 Reno, NV 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 ISASI 2014 - Annual Seminar October 13-16, 2014 Adelaide, Australia www.isasi.org IASS 2014 Abu Dhabi, UAE November 11-13, 2014 http://flightsafety.org/meeting/iass-2014 ERAU UAS FUNDAMENTALS COURSE December 9 - 11, 2014 ERAU Daytona Beach Campus, FL www.daytonabeach.erau.edu/uas FAA Helicopter Safety Effort three-day safety forum April 21-23, 2015 Hurst, Texas eugene.trainor@faa.gov www.faahelisafety.org Back to Top Employment: ARGUS PROS CHEQ Manager Please submit your cover letter and resume at: https://home2.eease.adp.com/recruit/?id=13469062 Curt Lewis