Flight Safety Information October 1, 2014 - No. 201 In This Issue Pilots went for medical help after being blinded by laser near YOW FAA Orders Replacement of Pilot Displays on Boeing Jet NTSB report on Birmingham UPS cargo jet crash shows probable cause of crash Canada extends life of fighter jet fleet as it mulls replacements PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA Airbus wins European approval for its new A350 jet ICAEA-ANAC-CIPE Aviation English Workshop Project Dixon: Quant Survey for respondents from Aircraft MRO companies ISASI 2014 - Annual Seminar, October 13-16, 2014 Upcoming Events Employment Pilots went for medical help after being blinded by laser near YOW Transport Canada has revealed more information about a laser light strike that resulted in two pilots needing medical attention as they tried to land at Ottawa Airport. A report released Monday says a green laser shot into the cockpit of a Westjet 737 on September 23rd, leaving the pilots temporarily blinded. The laser shone for about four minutes, which one pilot says left a slight burning sensation in his left eye. The plane landed safely. This follows a report from September 5th where a green laser flashed a Porter Airlines flight inbound from Toronto. http://www.cfra.com/news/2014/09/30/pilots-went-for-medical-help-after-being-blinded-by-laser-near- yow Back to Top FAA Orders Replacement of Pilot Displays on Boeing Jets Safety Directive Aims to Prevent Possible Interference From Wi-Fi Devices in Cockpits By ANDY PASZTOR CONNECT The affected displays are susceptible to interference from Wi-Fi devices intended for routine use by many pilots during flights, according to the FAA document. Getty Images Federal regulators have ordered replacement of pilot displays on more than 1,300 Boeing Co. BA jets, including some of the newest 737 models, to prevent possible interference from Wi-Fi devices used in cockpits. The Federal Aviation Administration's safety directive, released Tuesday, aims to ensure that essential information such as airspeed, altitude and heading doesn't temporarily disappear from certain instrument displays manufactured by Honeywell International Inc. The affected displays are susceptible to interference from Wi-Fi devices intended for routine use by many pilots during flights, according to the FAA document. But the agency said the displays also are vulnerable to radio frequency transmissions from satellite-communications systems, cellphones and other signals. The latest FAA move highlighting such potential dangers comes as passenger use of portable electronic devices-from tablets to laptops to cellphones-is expanding. Meanwhile, U.S. airlines increasingly are outfitting pilots with company-issued devices to help them do their job. U.S. airlines will have five years to swap out the displays on Boeing 777 and 737 models, which can cost thousands of dollars apiece. Each aircraft has multiple screens. Supported by updated data collected by the FAA, the final directive applies to nearly 10 times the number of planes covered under the agency's proposal last fall.Foreign carriers and regulators are expected to embrace the U.S. requirements. Despite requests from Honeywell and various carriers to reduce or delay the impact of the final order, FAA officials said they concluded the action was necessary based on separate safety analyses conducted by the agency and Boeing. In extreme cases, Wi-Fi devices in the cockpits of certain commercial jets can cause cockpit displays to flicker or temporarily blank out. FAA tests on the ground resulted in one outage lasting about six minutes. Though industry groups argued the FAA was going too far because no display incidents have occurred in flight, the FAA said Boeing's own tests determined that display "blanking was a safety issue." If a screen went dark during takeoff or a landing approach, according to the FAA, the result could be "loss of control of the airplane." Even relying on standby instruments could lead to planes flying into natural or man-made obstacles, according to the FAA, or pilots trying to regain control "at an altitude insufficient for recovery." The Chicago plane maker and Honeywell took voluntary action earlier to replace some of the units. Replacement screens have enhanced shielding and upgraded software, and those versions are now being installed on new jets in the factory. A Boeing spokesman said the FAA is ordering fixes the company recommended to airlines in 2012. On Tuesday, a Honeywell spokesman reiterated that "no display units have ever blinked in flight due to Wi-Fi interference." In the past, Honeywell called the testing issue an "isolated incident" involving frequencies and signals that it said were much stronger than typical Wi-Fi signals. In comments submitted to the FAA on the initial rule, Honeywell said the potential for interference fell "well within the FAA's acceptable risk zone." As part of its comments, Southwest Airlines Co. told the FAA that more than 400 of its 737 jets have flown more than 2.3 million hours with Wi-Fi systems operating in the cabin. There wasn't a single display incident related to Wi-Fi signals, according to the carrier's submission, which Southwest said "indicates a negligible level of risk." As a makeshift step, the FAA initially ordered placards placed in the cockpits of some planes prohibiting use of Wi-Fi devices. The agency later gave Delta Air Lines Inc. a waiver to allow specially trained pilots to use such devices during trips carrying passengers. But in the final rule, slated to be published Wednesday in the Federal Register, the FAA concluded that such interim safeguards were inadequate as "corrective action for the unsafe condition" identified by testing and formal risk analyses. Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com http://online.wsj.com/articles/faa-orders-replacement-of-pilot-displays-on-boeing-jets-1412112661 Back to Top NTSB report on Birmingham UPS cargo jet crash shows probable cause of crash BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A report obtained by WHNT News 19 from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows more information on a UPS cargo jet crash that happened in August 2013. A UPS plane crashed less than a mile away from the Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport on August 14, 2013. The two-member flight crew died in the crash of the Airbus cargo plane. The NTSB report states the probable cause of the crash was due to the flight crew's "continuation of an unstabilized approach and their failure to monitor the aircraft's altitude during the approach, which led to an inadvertent descent below the minimum approach altitude and subsequently into terrain." The report listed the following factors as contributing to the crash: The flight crew's failure to properly configure and verify the flight management computer for the profile approach, The captain's failure to communicate his intentions to the first officer once it became apparent the vertical profile was not captured, The flight crew's expectation that they would break out of the clouds at 1,000 feet above ground level due to incomplete weather information The first officer's failure to make the required minimums callouts, The captain's performance deficiencies likely due to factors including, but not limited to, fatigue, distraction, or confusion, consistent with performance deficiencies exhibited during training, The first officer's fatigue due to acute sleep loss resulting from her ineffective off-duty time management and circadian factors. http://whnt.com/2014/09/30/ntsb-report-on-birmingham-ups-cargo-jet-crash-shows-probable-cause-of- crash/ Back to Top Canada extends life of fighter jet fleet as it mulls replacements (Reuters) - Canada, faced with a politically controversial decision over how best to upgrade its fleet of fighter jets, will extend the life of the existing planes to 2025, an official said on Tuesday. Canada's ageing 80 or so CF-18s had been marked for retirement around 2020, but Ottawa's difficulty in making up its mind means they must now fly for longer. Some of the jets are more than 30 years old. "We will be extending the life of our CF-18 fleet to 2025 to ensure that Canada has a multi-role, fighter- jet capability throughout the next decade," said a spokeswoman for Defence Minister Rob Nicholson. She did not say how much the upgrade would cost. In 2010, Canada's Conservative government announced a sole-source contract for 65 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35s but changed its mind in 2012 after a parliamentary watchdog roundly criticized the decision. Ottawa then launched a more thorough study of the four most likely replacements and is in the process of deciding whether to hold an open competition or confirm the original decision to buy the F-35s. The replacement file is particularly sensitive for the Conservatives, and critics suspect the government will put off its decision until after the next federal election, set for October 2015. A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters in early September that Canada would likely choose between the F-35 and Boeing Co's F-18 E/F Super Hornet. That would mean the elimination of Dassault Aviation SA's Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon, jointly made by BAE Systems PLC, Finmeccanica SpA and Airbus Group NV. The $400 billion F-35 program, the largest in Pentagon history, is already late and well over budget. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/30/canada-defense-fighters-idUSL2N0RV25G20140930 Back to Top Back to Top Airbus wins European approval for its new A350 jet PARIS - Planemaker Airbus won European safety approval on Tuesday for the A350, clearing the main regulatory hurdle before its newest and most technically advanced jet can start flying passengers. The European Aviation Safety Agency said Airbus, the planemaking unit of Airbus Group, had proved the jet's airworthiness in more than 60,000 hours of certification work including 250 hours spent with safety inspectors in the air. "We dealt with a very mature aircraft," EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said. The version of the jet certified by EASA on Tuesday, the A350-900, is designed to seat 314 passengers and is due to enter service with Qatar Airways before the end of the year in direct competition with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. A larger model, the 350-seat A350-1000, which targets the "mini-jumbo" market occupied by the Boeing 777, is due to enter service in 2017 after a separate safety certification process. Development of a smaller model, the A350-800, has been effectively halted due to weak demand, prompting Airbus recently to upgrade its older A330 to address the 250-300-seat market. Asked how long it would take to deliver the first A350 to Qatar Airways, which recently delayed taking delivery of its first A380 in a dispute over cabin fittings, program chief Didier Evrard said the airline's first jet was ready to start pre-delivery trials, but declined to give a precise estimate. "It is a very cooperative phase with our customer and we are going to address it together," Evrard said. "It will be before the end of the year for sure," he said, referring to the planemaker's target for first delivery. "It is a question of execution. There is no outstanding 'unknown'," he added. Both Airbus and Boeing say their latest generation of long-distance mid-sized aircraft will cut fuel costs by at least 20 percent compared with traditional metallic aircraft. The A350 is the result of eight years of design and development work costing an estimated $15 billion and involving 213 suppliers. It went through several design changes as Airbus sought to counter its rival's lead in deliveries of wide- body aircraft, but Airbus says it is confident it has the right plane. Airbus has sold 750 of the A350 jets, worth $295 million to $340 million each at list prices, since their launch in 2006. That compares with 1,048 orders for the Dreamliner, which has been on the market longer, having been launched in 2004 and entered service in 2011. WAITING FOR ETOPS Although the A350 is ready for service, it will not be able to fly on the longest oceanic routes for which it was designed until Airbus also receives clearance for extended operations, which its executives expect to happen within days or weeks. A European safety official said the aircraft would be authorized to fly on virtually any world route. Airbus is also waiting for certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, but question marks remain over how quickly and extensively the U.S. regulator will grant extended operations after problems with the entry to service of the 787. The ability to fly long routes over water is determined by the amount of time an aircraft is allowed to operate on one engine in the event that the other engine fails. Industry sources said Airbus had asked European authorities to clear the A350 to fly for up to 370 minutes on one engine, exceeding the so-called ETOPS limit of 330 minutes on the 787. The global 787 fleet was grounded from January to April last year after two lithium-ion batteries burned out in separate incidents in Japan and the United States. Airbus had intended to use lithium-ion batteries, which weigh less than traditional power packs, for the A350 but switched back to traditional nickel-cadmium in the face of the 787 problems to prevent its own schedule slipping. Evrard said Airbus had agreed with EASA how to return to the lithium-ion technology and that this would happen in 2016. "We have flown the lithium battery for all development aircraft except the last one and we have accumulated experience in flight," he told reporters, adding he was "absolutely" certain they would be safe. Japan's transport authority said last week said it was unable to find the root cause of the overheating of a battery on a 787 owned by ANA Holdings in January 2103. Boeing says its reinforced battery system ensures the safety of the 787 Dreamliner. http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/airbus-wins-european-approval-for-its-new-a350-jet/ar- BB6BJKU 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. 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 Curt Lewis