Flight Safety Information October 27, 2014 - No. 218 In This Issue French Aviation Safety Agency Sends Experts to Moscow Over Fatal Plane Crash UN aviation body urges Saudi Arabia to improve safety Drone safeguards urged by UK pilots' association Balpa 350 commercial pilots flying skies with invalid licences (India) Drivable plane meets safety rules for both air, ground, company says Flight delays plague Air India, furious passengers take to Twitter, FB PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA This Is The Worst Airport In The World Embry-Riddle UAS Challenge Upcoming Events Employment French Aviation Safety Agency Sends Experts to Moscow Over Fatal Plane Crash The French authority responsible for safety probes into civil aviation incidents explained that according to international regulations, it would take part in an investigation, launched by Russian aviation safety authorities, representing the nation where the aircraft was constructed and registered. PARIS, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - The French authority responsible for safety probes into civil aviation incidents (BEA) is sending three experts to Moscow to take part in an inquiry into a plane crash that killed the chief executive of French energy giant Total, BEA said in a Tuesday press release. "A team of three BEA investigators is getting ready to leave for Moscow today," the statement read. BEA explained that according to international regulations, it would take part in an investigation, launched by Russian aviation safety authorities, representing the nation where the aircraft was constructed and registered. French energy giant Total CEO Christophe de Margerie died late Monday night as his business jet crashed in the Vnukovo-3 Airport in Moscow after hitting a snowplow on takeoff. The plane was flying from Moscow to Paris with de Margerie as the only passenger on board besides three crew members, also French citizens. Russia's Investigative Committee is considering four causes of the crash. It could have been the pilot's fault, the fault of air traffic control, the snowplow driver, or bad weather conditions. Russian investigators have confirmed that the driver of the snowplow was drunk. French authorities have launched manslaughter charges. http://en.ria.ru/world/20141021/194377628/French-Aviation-Safety-Agency-Sends-Experts-to-Moscow- Over-Fatal.html Back to Top UN aviation body urges Saudi Arabia to improve safety The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has urged Saudi authorities to upgrade some of its systems to reduce the risk of a mid-air crash. It was revealed last week that Saudi airspace is one of the most potentially dangerous areas to fly in the world, with the rate of near-crashes surpassing seven times the global average. There are an average of 20 near mid-air crashes in Saudi air space each year, compared to one-three worldwide, a source from the kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) told Makkah Daily. An early warning system that detects when aircraft are coming near each other has not been working for four years, the source said. At the same time, the number of air traffic controllers had decreased while the number of flights had increased. Assistant air controllers also were still yet to be appointed despite a GACA ruling in 2009. The ICAO, a United Nations agency, has officially asked GACA to bring its On-Line Data Interchange and Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) systems into line with international standards, Makkah Daily reported on Monday. The ICAO said the upgrades would greatly reduce risks associated with overcrowding in the kingdom's airspace. During a periodic meeting in June it also asked GACA to implement more precautionary mechanisms to reduce the distance between air paths over the kingdom's airspace, the newspaper said. Air traffic controllers in the kingdom claim they have warned of air safety risks for more than a decade. http://www.arabianbusiness.com/un-aviation-body-urges-saudi-arabia-improve-safety-569550.html Back to Top Drone safeguards urged by UK pilots' association Balpa Strict regulations will need to be introduced before large drones are allowed to appear in the UK's skies, pilots association Balpa has said. It says the public must be protected against remotely-controlled drones sharing airspace with regular aircraft. Current rules on small drones could not apply to commercial operators, such as those carrying cargo, Balpa's chief is to tell a House of Lords committee. The government says "robust safety measures" will remain in place. Drones, which are officially known as Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), range in size from small craft operated by enthusiasts, TV companies, police forces and surveyors and weighing a few kilograms, to larger military devices. Balpa says remote aircraft the same size as small passenger planes could be operated commercially in the UK within 10 years. It says they must meet the same safety standards as piloted aircraft and tough security measures at ground level be in place to ensure they cannot be seized or their computer systems hacked. A full public consultation should also be carried out before government rules on larger commercial drones are introduced. 'Safe drone zone' Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan said: "The UK should become a 'safe drone zone' so we can make the most of the major business and leisure opportunities offered by remotely piloted aircraft, while protecting passengers, pilots and residents. "Large unmanned aircraft, when they come, should be as safe as manned aircraft and the British public should be fully consulted before companies fly large, remotely-piloted aircraft over their homes alongside passenger planes." Current Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules prohibit the flying of drones over or within 150m of built-up areas and require operators to have permission and demonstrate basic flying skills. But dozens of clips appear on the internet showing the aircraft, which can be bought for £300, over populated areas of the UK. A Department for Transport spokesman said: "Civilian RPAS are closely regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority and are treated in the same manner as equivalent manned aircraft. "Robust safety measures are currently in place to ensure that large RPAS are segregated from other airspace users. We will not allow the integration of RPAS with other air traffic until RPAS can demonstrate that this can be done safely. "The UK is at the forefront of efforts to develop Europe-wide regulations on unmanned aircraft to become a global leader in this field. We are currently looking at how we can further engage with the public on this issue." http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29781931 Back to Top 350 commercial pilots flying skies with invalid licences (India) This test is required to be given every six months and Pilots are not supposed to fly without a valid PPC. The action will be decided when the data from all airlines comes in. NEW DELHI: Indian airlines currently have almost 350 commercial pilots flying the skies with lapsed or invalid licences due to their failure to appear in exams that have to be given after every few months to remain eligible to operate in the cockpit. Senior Air India pilot shows up for flight with expired licence Hijacking call sparks alert on AI flights to Mumbai, Ahmedabad The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is now contemplating action against the heads of training department of these airlines, while asking the carriers to complete the required training of pilots in a time- bound manner. "All Indian carriers - Jet, Air India, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo (in this order)-have some pilots who have not completed all checks required to keep their flying licences valid. While Jet and AI have 131 and over 100 such pilots, respectively, the three low cost have almost 100 cases. Now, we have written to AirAsia India and Air Costa to tell us if they too have any such pilots," said a senior official, adding that in all there would be over 350 pilots with invalid licences. DGCA chief Prabhat Kumar is learnt to be contemplating action against the training heads of airlines, just like he had ordered removal of Jet's training chief last month after 131 pilots of that airline were found to be flying even after expiry of validity of their last pilot proficiency check (PPC). This test is required to be given every six months and Pilots are not supposed to fly without a valid PPC. The action will be decided when the data from all airlines comes in. "It is not possible to ground so many pilots in one go, else flights will be grounded in the ongoing peak travel season and travellers will be left stranded. We may take action against the heads of training of these airlines," said a senior official. On its part, AI said that the issue arose after the DGCA last September made it mandatory for pilots to give the PPC every six months. This check was earlier also required to be given bi-annually but the first one in first eight months of the year and the second in last four. "This new six-monthly check would have required us to renew nearly 800 licences overnight, which was not possible. All licences valid before this CAR has been renewed uptil October 2014 as per the old rule by DGCA," the AI statement said. AI added that all the licences have been renewed till date. "At present, therefore, there are no pilots flying without a valid licence," the airline statement said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/350-commercial-pilots-flying-skies-with-invalid- licences/articleshow/44943937.cms Back to Top Drivable plane meets safety rules for both air, ground, company says The Terrafugia Transition, which the company considers a street-legal airplane capable of driving safely on roads, is shown in an undated handout photo. Standard equipment for the $279,000 plane/car will include both airbags and a parachute. Let's be honest: it's 2014, and the automotive industry has utterly disappointed a generation of science- fiction lovers and futurists. Where are our flying cars? Stepping into the void is Terrafugia, which bills itself as a "the flying car company." It has announced an upcoming model called the "Transition," which sports foldable wings that let the vehicle go from car to plane in about 20 seconds with the flip of a switch. Talk about a convertible. The upcoming Terrafugia Transition is not quite a flying Jetsons-esque car. The Terrafugia Transition is, more accurately, a plane you can drive rather than a car you can fly. That means you're not going to be able to hover away from a bad traffic jam. But while it's unlikely that you'll see the plane/car combo replace the minivan, the company is trying to set an early standard for how regulators can deal with vehicles that operate both on the ground and in the air. "It's a first practical step," said Terrafugia chief executive Carl Dietrich. "It's what we can do today with today's existing infrastructure." From a regulation standpoint, Terrafugia has built in safety measures mandated by both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. So, for example, the Transition has both a parachute and airbags. To take care of the fact that it doesn't have a traditional rear windshield, the Transition has a camera in the back, allowing drivers to see what's behind them through a screen on the dash. No one wants to get into a lane-changing accident with a plane, after all. It also has all the things you'd expect in a car, such as standard seatbelts and side-view mirrors that can see around the massive wings when in car mode and can be removed altogether for flight. Despite being street legal (with the wings up), the Transition is not exactly what you'd call a general purpose vehicle. To use both the flying and driving functions - and, if you're going to drop an anticipated $279,000 on a vehicle, why wouldn't you? - you must have at least a sports pilot license. You're also going to need a runway: The Transition still needs a lot of room and a wide berth to take off, which it can do once it gets to a speed of about 70 mph. And that runway can't be just anywhere, because you can't just roll up to Reagan National Airport or Chicago's O'Hare and expect to take off. You'll need to head instead to one of the nation's approximately 5,000 general aviation airports. One thing you won't need, however, is a hangar. Wings folded, the Transition is roughly the size of a Cadillac Escalade or a Ford F-350, Terrafugia executives said. So it should fit in a standard single-car garage. It also runs on normal premium unleaded gasoline and gets roughly 35 miles to the gallon on the ground. In the air, it gets slightly less - about 20 miles to the gallon if you're flying 100 mph. The vehicle has a steering wheel for ground navigation, which pilot-drivers can then switch out for a steering stick in the air. It has four pedals on the ground - gas and brake pedals for driving and two rudder pedals for flying. For the future, Terrafugia is planning a flying car that won't need a runway - but you'll have to wait a while. The development process alone for that model, called the TF-X, is expected to take eight to 12 years. http://www.buffalonews.com/news-wire-services/drivable-plane-meets-safety-rules-for-both-air-ground- company-says-20141025 Back to Top Flight delays plague Air India, furious passengers take to Twitter, FB New Delhi: Passengers travelling on the Air India network faced difficulties all of last week as many flights got delayed - some beyond two hours - or were clubbed with other flights. This also lead to offloading of some pre-booked passengers. Social media was flooded with angry reactions from passengers - instances of flight delays were largely on the Delhi-Mumbai route, the busiest domestic route for airlines, and the worst delays were seen over the weekend. This morning, a Delhi-Lucknow flight was delayed beyond two hours and a passenger tweeted: "Monday morning blues. Air India delays departure of 7 am flight to Lucknow by 2 hours. Airline staff have no answer when asked why". Another harried passenger took to Facebook last night, saying her flight, AI 688 Delhi-Mumbai, was scheduled for 6.30 am but was later clubbed with a 7 am flight. "When I was coming from Mumbai to Delhi, my 9 pm flight was re-scheduled twice to 11.40 pm". Five flights were rescheduled/clubbed with other flights from Delhi yesterday, six each were re-scheduled or clubbed on Saturday and Friday. A source said the weekend was particularly bad since many flights did not have required loads and needed to be clubbed with other flights. He also said the Delhi-Lucknow flight this morning got delayed because it was overbooked as many people were returning home after the holidays. Some passengers had to be offloaded, delaying this flight beyond two hours. So why have Air India flights been getting delayed for the whole of last week? Well, Air India has been facing serious issues with GE Engines which power its Airbus 320 fleet for domestic and short haul international operations. Another source said that this has meant at least seven aircraft have been on ground, creating severe capacity shortage. Added to this, was the unprecedented festival rush and some reluctance from crew (cabin crew as well as cockpit crew) to operate flights on Diwali. All these factors combined to get flights across the network delayed. Engine trouble is serious business for an airline which is trying its best to get back to profitability. The source quoted earlier said GE engines were taken on the premise that they will work for 20,000 hours but many have conked off after working for just 8,000-12,000 hours. It seems trouble begins when the narrow body fleet is operating in the Gulf region - dust and general weather conditions there harm engines which then fail in less than half the mandated time, leading to present troubles of Air India. Now, engine repairs are in full swing and by October 31, three engines are expected back after repairs. This means AI will have 48 aircraft for operations by October 31 against just 45 now when its narrow body fleet size is 52. All 52 should be back in operations by February next year. But aircraft engine trouble alone has not lead Air India to delay/club so many flights. There are other issues too. For one, maximum delays have been seen in flights originating from Mumbai because adding to capacity shortage is the fact that the Mumbai Airport itself is quite congested with cross runways. On any given day, almost all airlines manage just about 70% OTP (on-time performance) from Mumbai airport. Air India's aircraft shortage and related issues just made matters worse for flights originating from Mumbai. An AI official said OTP for the last one week varied between 62-89%, which meant that on some days flights were flying almost 90% on time. But then, some days the OTP was almost 60% which means close to 4 in 10 flights were getting delayed. He also pointed out that AI's OTP should be compared to other legacy carriers, not with airlines like IndiGo which do point-to-point operations and are therefore not facing issues which airlines like AI do with connecting flights etc. http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/corporate/flight-delays-plague-air-india-furious-passengers-take-to-twitter-fb- 106134.html Back to Top Back to Top This Is The Worst Airport In The World The flight information board at Benazir Bhutto Airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. The winner of the unfortunate title for the world's worst airport is Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto International Airport. It says something - and not a good something - when your airport is named the world's worst at a time when commercial air travel is considered by many to be an unsatisfying experience. The travel website The Guide To Sleeping In Airports conducted a survey in which it asked the site's readers to submit ratings and comments. The site then evaluated numerous airport terminals across the world on their comfort, cleanliness, conveniences, and customer service. Although many facilities fared quite well, others failed miserably. Benazir Bhutto International Airport, serving the country's capital of Islamabad, is one of the busiest in Pakistan and is home to the country national airline - PIA. That it was named world's worst should prove to be a welcome sigh of relief for last year's winner, Manila's Ninoy Aquino Airport. Benazir Bhutto International finished fourth last year. So what makes Benazir Bhutto Airport so bad? According to the survey, passengers, "likened [ the airport] to a central prison, criticized it for the crowds (and absence of crowd control), the pervasive corruption, the aggressive-yet-inconsistent security checks, and the overall lack of cleanliness and technology." Amenities at the airport include only four restaurants - none are open 24 hours - and no car-rental facilities. Fortunately for flyers headed to Pakistan's capital, a brand new international airport is set to come online within the next few years. In case you were wondering, New York's LaGuardia Airport made the list as well. Its 10th place finish makes the airport the worst in North America, according to the survey. http://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-the-worst-airport-in-the-world-2014-10#ixzz3HLiAd4In Back to Top Embry-Riddle UAS Challenge We're holding another Challenge at the Wings Over Houston Airshow, 1-2 Nov 14 and would appreciate any publicity you would offer. Below is our official press release and the registration/rule info is located at: http://worldwide.erau.edu/Assets/worldwide/data/Houston%20UAS%20Challenge.pdf Back to Top Upcoming Events: ERAU UAS Challenge November 1-2, 2014 Houston, TX http://worldwide.erau.edu/Assets/worldwide/data/Houston%20UAS%20Challenge.pdf 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 2014 Global FOD Prevention Conference Birds, Bolts, Budgets - Tracking the Dangers of Foreign Objects and What We Can Do About It Reagan National Airport 2 December 2014 www.stopfod.com ERAU UAS FUNDAMENTALS COURSE December 9 - 11, 2014 ERAU Daytona Beach Campus, FL www.daytonabeach.erau.edu/uas A3IR CON 2015 January 16-17, 2015 Phoenix, AZ http://commons.erau.edu/aircon/2015/ Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) NTSB Training Center, Ashburn, VA March 10-11, 2015 www.acsf.aero/symposium FAA Helicopter Safety Effort three-day safety forum April 21-23, 2015 Hurst, Texas eugene.trainor@faa.gov www.faahelisafety.org IS-BAO Workshop Information and Registration 12 - 13 Nov. 2014 Omaha, Nebraska USA 18 - 19 Nov. 2014 Houston, TX USA 2 - 3 Dec. 2014 Orlando, FL USA 6 - 7 Dec. 2014 Dubai, UAE 13 - 14 Jan. 2015 Baltimore, MD USA https://www.regonline.com/CalendarNET/EventCalendar.aspx?EventID=1592658&view=Month Back to Top Employment: Position Available: Flight and Maintenance Safety Manager www.piedmont-airlines.com/careers/ Curt Lewis