Flight Safety Information September 9, 2014 - No. 185 In This Issue Malaysian Airliner Was Downed by 'High-Energy Objects,' Dutch Investigators Say NTSB Report on 2013 UPS Cargo Plane Crash to Focus on Pilot Errors NTSB to investigate Glazers' plane crash Unmanned aircraft prohibited over White Sands National Monument PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA ISASI 2014 - Annual Seminar, October 13-16, 2014 - Early Bird Registration Deadline Upcoming Events Employment Malaysian Airliner Was Downed by 'High-Energy Objects,' Dutch Investigators Say PARIS - A Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that went down over a war zone in eastern Ukraine in July was struck by "high-energy objects from outside the aircraft," Dutch officials leading the investigation of the crash said in a preliminary report published on Tuesday. The finding is consistent with theories that the jetliner was brought down by a missile. The objects struck the cockpit and front fuselage of the eastbound plane, investigators for the Dutch Safety Board reported, strongly suggesting that they were fired from eastern Ukraine or western Russia. The investigators did not identify the source of the fragments that struck the aircraft or who was responsible for launching them. The investigation team, which is based in The Hague, also said a review of the plane's on-board flight recorders, or "black boxes," found no evidence of mechanical failure or pilot error that could have been responsible for the crash. "A full listening of the communications among the crew members in the cockpit recorded on the cockpit voice recorder revealed no signs of any technical faults or an emergency situation," the summary said. "Neither were any warning tones heard in the cockpit that might have pointed to technical problems." Flight 17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when it was blown out of the sky on July 17 over territory controlled by pro-Russian rebels, killing all 298 people on board, of whom two-thirds were Dutch citizens. The United States and Ukraine have accused the separatists of downing the plane with a powerful surface-to-air missile provided by the Russian military. Moscow has publicly denied those claims, however, and some Russian officials have gone so far as to suggest the plane was brought down by the Ukrainian military. Because of intense fighting in the area where the plane, a Boeing 777-200, went down, the investigators' access to the wreckage site was extremely limited in the immediate aftermath of the crash. For days, bodies and debris were strewn across fields near the village of Grabavo, a separatist-controlled area not far from the border with Russia. Much of the wreckage was left unguarded and accessible to journalists, mourners and curiosity-seekers, raising concerns that important evidence may have been tampered with. While dismayed about the unsafe conditions that have complicated their work, the Dutch investigators were provided with a trove of on-site photo and video evidence, as well as data from military satellites and radar, to supplement the information gleaned from the plane's flight recorders. The plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders were recovered by rebel forces in the days after the crash and handed over to Malaysian officials, who in turn transferred them to the Dutch board. Analysis of the data they contained was conducted in Britain by that country's Air Accidents Investigations Branch and presented to the Dutch team in The Hague last month. The Dutch board stressed that the report published on Tuesday was only a preliminary snapshot of the evidence uncovered and said further analysis and investigation would continue over the coming months. A final report was not expected to be published before next summer. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/world/europe/malaysian-airliner- ukraine.html?_r=0 Back to Top NTSB Report on 2013 UPS Cargo Plane Crash to Focus on Pilot Errors National Transportation Safety Board Likely to Stop Short of Citing Crew Fatigue as Contributing Factor By ANDY PASZTOR An investigator looks through the debris of a UPS cargo plane in August 2013 after it crashed in Alabama. Hal Yeager/Associated Press Federal investigators on Tuesday are expected to officially conclude that pilot mistakes and deviations from company safety rules caused the crash of a United Parcel Service Inc. UPS -0.45% cargo plane in Alabama last year, according to people familiar with the probe. But the National Transportation Safety Board's final report, these people said, likely will stop short of citing crew fatigue as a contributing factor in the accident that killed both pilots. The safety board previously disclosed the sequence of events as the widebody Airbus A300 jet plowed into a hill in August 2013 during its final approach to Birmingham. At a hearing in February, investigators disclosed that the cockpit crew exceeded the maximum vertical descent rate for an appropriate approach, failed to verbalize critical altitude changes and violated basic safeguards by continuing the final phase of a descent using limited navigation aids even though the runway lights weren't visible. The accident has been a flash point for debates over cargo pilot fatigue. According to reports, interview transcripts and other data previously released by the board, the plane's crew had complained about chronic fatigue in the days and hours leading up to the fiery accident. The captain told one fellow pilot that the string of late-night and early- morning shifts was "killing" him, according to investigators. During an early portion of the accident flight, the cockpit voice recorder captured the co- pilot telling the captain that "when my alarm went off" following a rest break during the duty period, she was upset. "I mean, I'm thinking, 'I'm so tired,'" she recalled according to the transcript. A safety board spokeswoman declined to comment. The board still could change course at the last minute. But as of late Monday, according to one person familiar with the probe, only one of the NTSB's four members was inclined to support fatigue as a contributing factor. The safety board hasn't been able to definitively determine how long each of the pilots slept during a predawn layover before the flight. Nevertheless, pilot union leaders and outside safety experts have urged the board to emphasize fatigue as part of its formal findings. UPS has said that the flight-time and rest schedules of the crew complied with Federal Aviation Administration rest rules that apply to pilots flying for passenger carriers. The agency mandates less-stringent fatigue prevention rules for cargo pilots. The February hearing also underscored lax discipline and apparent confusion in the cockpit during roughly the final two minutes of the early-morning approach. Safety experts from UPS and the plane's manufacturer testified that the crew improperly used the flight-management computer to try to set up a safe approach path. When that didn't work, they said, the captain violated UPS rules by abruptly switching to a different type of approach and then commanding the autopilot to maintain an excessively steep descent. UPS officials testified that both of those events should have prompted pilots to initiate an immediate climb away from the airport. Instead, the crew continued the approach below the safe altitude for making such a decision. Christopher Hart, the safety board's acting chairman, in August took the unusual step of expelling both company and pilot union representatives from the investigation, citing unauthorized public comments about fatigue-related aspects of the probe. http://online.wsj.com/articles/ntsb-report-on-2013-ups-cargo-plane-crash-to-focus-on- pilot-errors-1410232681 Back to Top NTSB to investigate Glazers' plane crash The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday it will lead an investigation into the Friday plane crash that presumably killed Rochester business leaders Larry and Jane Glazer. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Jamaica Defense Force scoured waters off the northeast coastal town of Port Antonio, Jamaica, on Sunday looking for wreckage of the single- engine plane, but both called off the search. On Sunday afternoon, the Jamaica Defense Force said its decision was made based on a reassessment of the situation, noting a highly reduced probability of finding any survivors or floating debris. Thunderstorms were churning up white-crested waves and a military spokesman said early Sunday morning that searchers were losing hope of having any success. "I must admit it looks very discouraging," said Maj. Basil Jarrett early Sunday. "We haven't recovered anything as yet." The next steps, if any, for locating the couple's bodies or plane debris are not immediately clear. If wreckage is located on the sea floor, Jamaica civil aviation officials have said French authorities have volunteered help and equipment in raising it from the depths since the plane was made in France. Authorities said the Glazers were on a turboprop Socata TBM 900 that flew on its own for 1,700 miles before running out of fuel and slamming into the sea off Jamaica's northeast coast on Friday. The couple apparently was incapacitated. While the U.S. Coast Guard initially reported three people had been aboard the plane, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said Sunday that the agency had confirmed that there were only two. The Jamaican military earlier said debris spotted Friday roughly 24 miles off Port Antonio may have sunk in a stretch where the water is more than a mile deep. If plane debris is found on the sea floor, Jamaica civil aviation officials say French authorities have volunteered help in raising the wreckage from the depths since the plane was made in France. Air traffic controllers were last able to contact the pilot of the Glazers' plane at 10 a.m. Friday, about 75 minutes after it took off from the Greater Rochester International Airport. U.S. fighter pilots sent to shadow the plane saw its windows frosting over and the pilot slumped over but breathing. One of the fighter pilots speculated that the Socata pilot was suffering from hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. Cases of unresponsive pilots are unusual and often attributed to insufficient cabin pressurization that causes the pilot to pass out, aviation safety expert John Goglia said. A 1999 Learjet crash that killed professional golfer Payne Stewart and five others was attributed to cabin depressurized that caused all aboard to lose consciousness. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/09/07/searchers-losing-hope- finding-glazers-plane/15247817/ Back to Top Unmanned aircraft prohibited over White Sands National Monument LAS CRUCES >> Unmanned aircraft will not be allowed to fly above White Sands National Monument. A new policy that went into effect June 20 directs National Park Service superintendents across the U.S. to prohibit launching, landing, or operations of unmanned aircraft on lands and waters administered by the federal agency. Aircraft of any kind, including remote control, are prohibited at White Sands National Monument due to the restricted military airspace administered by White Sands Missile Range. The restriction applies from ground level upward. The term "unmanned aircraft" means a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the device, and the associated operational elements and components that are required for the pilot or system operator in command to operate or control the device, such as cameras, sensors, or communication links. It also includes all types of devices that meet the definition, including model airplanes, quadcopters, and drones that are used for any purpose, including recreation or commerce. For more information, call White Sands National Monument, 575-479-6124, extension 236. http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_26493034/unmanned-aircraft- prohibited-over-white-sands-national-monument Back to Top 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