Flight Safety Information September 26, 2014 - No. 198 In This Issue Ag Plane Crash Leads to $6.7 Million Wrongful Death Verdict Private plane crashes into dispatch center Pilots Union Plans New Lufthansa Strikes Czech airline CSA to fire a third of its pilots Japan Airlines customers' data leaked PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA US team breaks Guinness World Record for highest paper airplane flight ICAEA-ANAC-CIPE Aviation English Workshop Project Dixon: Quant Survey for respondents from Aircraft MRO companies ISASI 2014 - Annual Seminar, October 13-16, 2014 - Early Bird Registration Deadline Upcoming Events Employment Ag Plane Crash Leads to $6.7 Million Wrongful Death Verdict When Steve Allen, a highly respected Northern California ag pilot with 26,000 accident free hours, crashed his Rockwell S-2R into a whisper-thin, barely visible galvanized steel wind observation tower on January 11, 2011, a dark and sickening secret about personal greed and avarice was exposed for all the world to see. The $6.7 million wrongful death settlement the aviator's family was awarded this month will hopefully help ensure other similar tragedies won't happen in the future. The tower, measuring just inches under 200 feet, was hastily erected in 2009 by wind energy interests "prospecting" for the perfect site for a new wind farm in Contra Costa County east of San Francisco. The odd height of the tower is central to the case - any tower under 200 feet doesn't need to be lighted or reported to the FAA. But because these towers can pop up almost anywhere and are nearly impossible to see in flight, they pose a special danger to aerial application aircraft. Allen, 58, was spreading winter wheat for a local farm when he flew his single-engine turboprop into the unlit, unmarked tower. According to the National Transportation Safety Board accident report, the pilot was never told about its existence and never saw it. The meteorological evaluation towers, known as METs and equipped with small wind anemometers, have been cropping up all across the country as investors seek to cash in on the wind energy craze. By keeping them just below 200 feet, wind farm entrepreneurs save the money, time and hassle of registering them with the FAA - while putting ag pilot's lives at risk. "No amount of money is ever going to compensate the Allen family for the loss of Mr. Allen," said Roger Dreyer, the family's lawyer. "He was an exceptional pilot, father and husband. We can only hope that those individuals in the wind industry, agricultural field and those who manufacture and install these MET towers understand that their failure to mark them adequately with lights and obstruction warning devices puts aviators, like Mr. Allen, at risk of losing their lives when there is absolutely no reason for taking that risk." http://www.flyingmag.com/news/ag-plane-crash-leads-67-million-wrongful-death-verdict Back to Top Private plane crashes into dispatch center ELKO - Gusty winds caused a small plane to crash as it was landing at Elko Regional Airport on Thursday afternoon. Scott Stewart of Tucson, Arizona, was trying to land his private Cirrus-brand airplane on Runway 12 when a 20 to 30 mile per hour gust of wind from the west caught his wing and blew him off course, according to Airport Security Manager Rick Hofheins. "It's dangerous for small aircraft to fly in this wind," Hofheins said. His plane crashed and hit the back of the Elko Dispatch Center. The plane was totaled, said Airport Director Mark Gibbs. However, Stewart, the only occupant, was not injured. The building was not damaged although a power grid box was slightly damaged. Gibbs said the response from emergency personnel was fast and appropriate. Elko Fire Department and airport personnel responded to the incident. Elko bomb technicians assisted by disabling the parachute attached to the plane. "There was good coordination between police, fire, medical and airport components," Elko Police Chief Ben Reed said. Hofheins said the last crash in Elko where a plane was totaled was in 2005 under similar conditions. High winds caused a plane to crash in the Save-On Pharmacy parking lot, now the location of CVS Pharmacy. The pilot and occupant in that crash had minor injuries. http://elkodaily.com/news/private-plane-crashes-into-dispatch-center/article_49c18ba2-44fb-11e4-a04c- 8ba9a77c5fdd.html Back to Top Pilots Union Plans New Lufthansa Strikes FRANKFURT-European airline passengers could face further disruption in their travel plans after the union representing pilots at Deutsche Lufthansa AG said Thursday that it was planning a new round of strikes. The airline's management and pilots union have been embroiled in a row over retirement benefits for more than two years. The Vereinigung Cockpit union said the latest breakdown in negotiations will lead to industrial action. Strike dates will be announced soon, the union said. A spokeswoman for the German airline called on the union to refrain from walkouts. "The airline has shown willingness to compromise and offered to negotiate further on the issues of dispute," she said. Last week, Lufthansa pilots called off plans to strike at the Frankfurt airport after the company published details of the retirement package it proposed to their union. The current dispute focuses on shifts in retirement benefits stemming from changes in mandatory retirement ages. Currently, pilots can retire and continue to receive 60% of their wages as of age 55. Lufthansa has said this early retirement benefits plan is antiquated, given recent changes in European Union laws, which now allow pilots to fly until age 65. The airline has said it needs to raise its early retirement age to cut costs and ensure it remains competitive over time. A strike at Lufthansa would add to the misery of European air travelers, who are already facing disruptions from a walkout by Air France-KLM pilots over the fate of Transavia, Air France's budget carrier. http://online.wsj.com/articles/pilots-union-plan-new-lufthansa-strikes-1411644712 Back to Top Czech airline CSA to fire a third of its pilots PRAGUE (AP) - Czech national carrier CSA says it is planning to fire a third of its pilots this year after passenger numbers from Russia and other former Soviet republics have declined due to the crisis in Ukraine. CSA spokesman Daniel Sabik says the airline also plans to sell six Airbus A-320 planes for which it has no use. CSA pilots have protested, saying in a statement Wednesday that the plan to eliminate 77 pilots, 172 flight attendants and 66 administration workers threaten the airline's very existence. Seeking a strategic partner for the struggling carrier after it underwent a restructuring process, the government sold a minority 44 percent stake to Korean Airlines last year. Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said Wednesday he was worried by the plan, the local CTK news agency said. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/sep/24/czech-airline-csa-to-fire-a-third-of-its-pilots/ Back to Top Japan Airlines customers' data leaked Japan Airlines, or JAL, says personal information of up to 750,000 customers of its miles program had been leaked due to a cyber attack, without confirming if banking details had also been affected. The leak was due to an "unauthorised access" to JAL's database by an external server, an airline official told the local news agency Kyodo on Wednesday. The attack affects the data of between 110,000 and 750,000 members of the airlines' miles club that grants passengers points for flying with the airlines and gives them discounts on subsequent flights. JAL has not yet confirmed if the customers' passwords or banking account and card details have also been leaked. http://www.zdnet.com/japan-airlines-customers-data-leaked-7000034027/ Back to Top Back to Top US team breaks Guinness World Record for highest paper airplane flight (A view of Earth captured from the paper airplane at 96,563 feet (Photo: 1st Lt Gary Brown)) For most people, paper airplanes are something you launched across school classrooms as a kid. A team of US Air Force auxiliary volunteers, however, has been taking it far more seriously. The team launched a paper airplane from a high-altitude balloon at 96,563 ft (29,432 m), taking the world record in the process. In a press release on its website, the US Fox Valley Composite Squadron, Illinois Wing, Civil Air Patrol, reports that the paper airplane was launched from Kankakee, Illinois, and landed 82 miles (132 km) away, Southwest of Rochester, Indiana. The flight took just under 2 hours and 7 minutes. The paper airplane, designed by the cadets themselves, is said to have a traditional shape and is made out of paper board. It is 30 inches (76 cm) long with a wingspan of 14.5 in (36.8 cm). It weighs in at 424 g (15 oz). The plane was fitted with a GPS tracking system, temperature sensors, barometric pressure sensor, flight computer, batteries, solar panel and HD video camera for recording its flight. In order to launch the plane, it was attached to a large helium balloon that carried it up to altitude before bursting. When the balloon burst, the plane's flight computer cut itself away in order to begin its descent. Assuming the record is verified by Guinness, the Fox Valley Composite Squadron will claim the title from the UK-based PARIS team and its Vulture 1 paper airplane. The PARIS team set the existing record in October 2010, having met and organized its project through tech blog The Register, which has reported the news and hinted that the PARIS team may seek to reclaim the title. http://www.gizmag.com/fox-valley-composite-squadron-worlds-highest-paper-airplane/33939/ Back to Top ICAEA-ANAC-CIPE Aviation English Workshop Buenos Aires, Argentina. International Civil Aviation English Association Workshop, hosted by Argentina ANAC and CIPE. "Skills and competencies needed in aviation communications: The Latin American Challenge." Open to anyone interested in aviation English. Nov. 20-21, 2014. www.icaea.aero Back to Top Want to make a quick 100 bucks??? Complete this 15 min online survey... Optimal Strategix Group Inc. invites you to complete a 15 minute survey offering feedback on 3 product concepts targeted at protecting you from harmful chemicals and solvents while working on your tasks. Complete this survey before September 30,2014 and earn a cool $100. If you are interested, please click on the below link - http://survey.confirmit.com/wix/p3070608493.aspx 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: 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 SMS Seminars Daytona Beach, FL Nov. 17-18 & 19-21, 2014 www.erau.edu/sms ICAEA-ANAC-CIPE Aviation English Workshop. Buenos Aires, Argentina. International Civil Aviation English Association Workshop, hosted by Argentina ANAC and CIPE. "Skills and competencies needed in aviation communications: The Latin American Challenge." Open to anyone interested in aviation English. Nov. 20-21, 2014. www.icaea.aero 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: Positions Available: Pilots (India) TATA SIA Airlines Limited pilots@airvistara.com www.airvistara.com Curt Lewis