Flight Safety Information November 11, 2014 - No. 229 In This Issue Former FSF Leader Recognized with President's Citation Helicopter Safety Visionary Recognized with Air Safety Award FSF, EUROCONTROL Partner on SKYBrary Azul may cancel, delay Embraer orders on Brazil aviation change NASA tests 'revolutionary' shapeshifting wings for nextgen aircraft A Russian Military Plane Nearly Collided With A Swedish Passenger Jet Last March China's Comac Gets More C919 Jet Orders PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA AIRCON3 - Pre-Conference Workshop Upcoming Events Former FSF Leader Recognized with President's Citation Abu Dhabi, UAE - In recognition of his work as the former CEO, the Flight Safety Foundation announced today that Capt. Kevin Hiatt was presented with the President's Citation at the 67th annual International Air Safety Summit in Abu Dhabi. The FSF President's Citation was established in 1988 by the FSF Board of Governors to recognize individuals and groups for aviation safety accomplishments outside the criteria for other awards. The award honors those who have displayed "outstanding service on behalf of safety, whether it be valor, professionalism or service above and beyond normal expectations. "During Kevin's tenure as FSF CEO, he recognized the vital role that collaboration and partnership should play in advancing safety. He positioned FSF as a key player through partnerships and joint ventures among aviation stakeholders from throughout the industry and the world," stated FSF President and CEO, Jon L. Beatty. "Kevin also served as an expert voice of reason and calm in the highly charged aftermath of an aviation accident," Beatty continued. "His willingness to share his safety expertise and work with reporters from around the world to explain often-complex aviation issues made FSF an important call for the media and emphasized the importance of FSF's voice on the world stage." Capt. Hiatt stepped down as FSF president and CEO in December 2013 to become the Vice President of Safety at the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Flight Safety Foundation is an independent, non-profit, international organization engaged in research, education, advocacy and publishing to improve aviation safety. The Foundation's mission is to be the leading voice of safety for the global aerospace community. www.flightsafety.org Back to Top Helicopter Safety Visionary Recognized with Air Safety Award Abu Dhabi, UAE - In a presentation ceremony during the Flight Safety Foundation's 67th annual International Air Safety Summit (IASS), William E. Chiles, CEO Emeritus of Bristow Group, was presented with the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award. Mr. Chiles was selected to receive this award in recognition of his leadership and personal commitment, along with his visionary approach to safety in the offshore helicopter industry. "In the great tradition of the aviation safety community, Mr. Chiles developed best practices for his company and then shared that knowledge with the offshore helicopter industry as a whole," stated FSF President and CEO Jon L. Beatty. "In addition, he gave his time to so many important helicopter safety groups in order to address risks facing the industry." Mr. Chiles created the TARGET ZERO Culture of Safety which consisted of best practices for achieving zero accidents, zero injuries and zero harm to the environment in all activities. "I would like to share this recognition with all those in the industry who understand our sacred responsibility to operate every flight home safely every day," said Mr. Chiles. "We will reach 'target zero' as we continue to break down the walls and collaborate best safety practices with one another." The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award was established in memory of Ms. Barbour in order to recognize outstanding achievement in the field of aviation safety, in method, design, invention, study or other improvement. Flight Safety Foundation is an independent, non-profit, international organization engaged in research, education, advocacy and publishing to improve aviation safety. The Foundation's mission is to be the leading voice of safety for the global aerospace community. www.flightsafety.org Back to Top FSF, EUROCONTROL Partner on SKYBrary Abu Dhabi, UAE - The Flight Safety Foundation announced today that it had entered into a partnership agreement with EUROCONTROL to jointly manage SKYbrary, more closely aligning the single largest online repository of aviation safety knowledge with the world's only international organization dedicated solely to the advancement of aviation safety. Under terms of the partnership agreement, a SKYbrary Supervisory Board will be created and is expected to be operational by the end of the year. Co-chairs of the board will be Frank Brenner, Director General of EUROCONTROL, and Jon L. Beatty, president and CEO of Flight Safety Foundation. Tzvetomir Blajev, coordinator of operational safety at EUROCONTROL and chair of the Foundation's International Advisory Committee, will be the SKYbrary Supervisory Board's executive secretary. Blajev has been a driving force behind the development of SKYbrary. "SKYBrary is an excellent repository of aviation knowledge and partnering with FSF makes a great deal of sense," stated Jon L. Beatty, president and CEO of FSF. "With the creation of a Supervisory Board, we'll see a wider ownership of the content and a standard procedure for information to flow into SkyBrary." "SKYbrary is the key resource for aviation safety knowledge," said Frank Brenner, Director General of EUROCONTROL. "We are delighted to be strengthening our partnership with FSF to ensure that this important tool can continue to develop and provide the validated safety knowledge that the aviation community needs." SKYbrary was launched in 2008 and has seen its usage grow steadily. The scope of what is contained in SKYbrary has steadily evolved and grown to cover operational risk issues and risk mitigation strategies. SKYbrary serves as an electronic repository of safety knowledge related to flight operations, air traffic management and aviation safety in general, and also serves as a portal through which users can access safety data held on website around the world. Flight Safety Foundation is an independent, non-profit, international organization engaged in research, education, advocacy and publishing to improve aviation safety. The Foundation's mission is to be the leading voice of safety for the global aerospace community. www.flightsafety.org Back to Top Azul may cancel, delay Embraer orders on Brazil aviation change Nov 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's third-biggest airline will cancel or postpone deliveries of Embraer regional jets if lawmakers do not drop a change in a new aviation law, the chief executive of Azul Linhas Aereas told Reuters on Monday. The proposed change to a bill drawn up by President Dilma Rousseff would remove the competitive advantage of jets made by Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA on less profitable regional routes the government wants to expand. "What's happening is a distortion of the plan so that it's more attractive to fly bigger planes," said Azul Chief Executive Officer Antonoaldo Neves in a telephone interview. He said he would look to add bigger aircraft made by Boeing Co or Airbus Group NV. Neves said an order for 30 of Embraer's next-generation E195-E2 aircraft, which enter service in 2019, hangs in the balance. He would also have no need for eight of the current generation E195s due for delivery in 2015. The regional aviation plan is turning into one of the first big legislative fights since Rousseff's narrow reelection last month, as she confronts lawmakers emboldened by opposition victories. Senator Fernando de Souza Flexa Ribeiro, the opposition lawmaker overseeing the bill, will meet ministers on Tuesday ahead of a key committee vote. Flexa Ribeiro told Reuters he was pushing to remove a limit of 60 subsidized seats on regional flights and instead subsidize 50 percent of passengers on flights to smaller cities. Neves complained that would tilt the playing field toward larger aircraft and discourage airlines from adding more routes to Brazil's most under-served airports. "If the plan is approved without a seat limit, I'll pull out of 20 cities next year," he said. "I'll take those resources and put them into cities where I can fly bigger planes." Embraer CEO Frederico Curado also expressed concerns last week. "We are hoping that, in Congress, they do not distort the bill sent by the executive branch, but now it's really down to the basic politics in Congress," he said on an earnings call on Thursday. Rivals Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA and the TAM unit of Latam Airlines Group SA have said they were considering buying Embraer jets under the new regional aviation plan. Neither airline responded immediately to requests for comment. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/10/brazil-aerospace-idUSL2N0T023C20141110 Back to Top NASA tests 'revolutionary' shapeshifting wings for nextgen aircraft In a joint project with the US Air Force, NASA has for the first time tested in a real flight its new technological marvel - a shape-shifting wing flap that can potentially reduce noise and improve aerodynamic and fuel efficiency of aircraft. NASA has successfully conducted the first test of a "revolutionary shape changing aircraft flap" as part of the green aviation project flown at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the agency said in a statement. The new flaps designed and built by FlexSys, Inc, were commissioned on behalf of the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) project, a combined research of NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). FlexFoil Adaptive Trailing Edge on a Gulfstream GIII Wing The experiment is being carried out on a modified Gulfstream III business aircraft. The project involved replacement of both of the G-III's conventional 19-foot-long aluminum flaps with shape-changing flaps that form continuous flexible surfaces. "FlexSys developed a variable geometry airfoil system called FlexFoil that can be retrofitted to existing airplane wings or integrated into brand new airframes," NASA said in a press release. Currently on traditional airplanes when flaps are lowered, gaps appears between the edge and sides of the flaps as well as the wing surface. The new flaps are gapless thus should eliminate a major source of airframe noise generation. "This flight test is one of the NASA Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project's eight large-scale integrated technology demonstrations to show design improvements in drag, weight, noise, emission and fuel reductions," said Fay Collier, ERA project manager at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Photo by NASAPhoto by NASA NASA expects the new technology to make future aircraft lighter, more efficient, and quieter, while it also has the potential to save hundreds of millions of dollars annually in fuel costs. "This past summer researchers replaced an airplane's conventional aluminum flaps with advanced, shape- changing assemblies that form seamless bendable and twistable surfaces. Flight testing will determine whether flexible trailing-edge wing flaps are a viable approach to improve aerodynamic efficiency and reduce noise generated during takeoffs and landings," NASA said in a press release. In the first test, however, the experimental flaps were locked at one position and different settings will be tested on subsequent flights over the next months. "We have progressed from an innovative idea and matured the concept through multiple designs and wind tunnel tests, to a final demonstration that should prove to the aerospace industry that this technology is ready to dramatically improve aircraft efficiency," said AFRL Program Manager Pete Flick. http://rt.com/usa/203603-nasa-plane-shapeshifting-flaps/ Back to Top A Russian Military Plane Nearly Collided With A Swedish Passenger Jet Last March High risk incidents are shown in red; serious in yellow; near-routine in blue; miscellaneous in green. The London-based European Leadership Network released a report today on the "dangerous brinkmanship" between Russia and the West, one instance of which could have resulted in a passenger plane crash. The report collates 40 incidents over the past eight months, the most alarming of which was a near- collision in March between a Russian military aircraft and a Scandinavian Airlines plane carrying 132 passengers. The Russian plane wasn't transmitting its position at the time and a potential disaster "was apparently avoided thanks only to good visibility and the alertness of the passenger plane pilots." Swedish television reported two months later that the country's authorities found reasons to forego opening an investigation - though this perhaps would not have been the case had the incident occurred after the shoot-down of MH17 over Ukraine on July 17, which killed 298 people. Either way, it seems that Russia narrowly avoided an MH17-like disaster during the opening weeks of the still-ongoing Ukraine crisis. The report categorized two other incidents as high risk: the abduction of Estonian operative Eston Kohver from a border post, and the likely presence of a Russian submarine in Swedish territorial waters (though the hunt for the sub was inconclusive). NATO pilots have scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft more than 100 times this year, the report cites, about three times more than in 2013. But this year has also seen a series of escalations between Russia and the west, including the annexation of Crimea, and Moscow's assistance to pro-Russian separatists fighting in Ukraine's still-restive east. Swedish minesweeper HMS Koster patrols the waters of the Stockholm archipelago, on Oct. 19, 2014. "This mix of beefed-up military postures along the NATO-Russia border, more aggressive Russian activities, and the readiness of Western forces to show resolve in the face of the challenge, is ripe with potential for escalation," the report states. Yesterday, the investigative journalism site Bellingcat also posted an article presenting additional evidence that the weapon responsible for downing the airliner may have been Russian-supplied. The Swedish near-miss further demonstrates that the strategic and tactical recklessness which caused the Malaysian plane's destruction was hardly an isolated phenomena. http://www.businessinsider.com/a-russian-fighter-plane-nearly-collided-with-a-swedish-passenger-jet- last-march-2014-11#ixzz3IlT401Me Back to Top China's Comac Gets More C919 Jet Orders Thirty More C919 Commercial Jets on Order Despite Repeated Production Delays Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) sits in the cockpit of a model of a C919 passenger jet as he visits the design and research center of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China in Shanghai, May 23, 2014. HONG KONG-The finance leasing arm of China Merchants Bank Co. has placed orders to buy 30 C919 passenger jets from state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac, the first order this year for China's first homegrown commercial jet as the Chinese aircraft maker struggles with repeated production delays. The Chinese jet maker said Tuesday it signed an agreement to sell China's first locally produced single- aisle C919 jets to CMB Financial Leasing Co., a unit of China Merchants Bank and one of China's financial lessors. The Chinese aircraft maker didn't disclose details on pricing or the date of delivery. China Merchants Bank declined to comment. The purchase by a unit of midsize lender China Merchants Bank comes more than a year after Comac in October 2013 signed a deal to sell 20 C919 passenger jets to the finance leasing arm of China's Industrial Bank Co. The latest deal will bring the total orders for China's first homegrown commercial jetliner to 430 since its unveiling in 2010 with orders for 100 jets from four major Chinese airlines, a Chinese leasing firm and GE Capital Aviation Services, Comac said. The development of the multibillion-dollar C919 underscores China's ambition to showcase its technological progress in the world's commercial aviation industry, which is largely dominated by the Airbus Group and Boeing Co. aviation duopoly. However, deliveries of the nation's first locally produced commercial jetliner will be delayed until 2018 at the earliest, a setback in the country's bid to become a global force in the aerospace industry. Comac initially had aimed for the 150-seat narrow-body jet to take its first flight in 2014, with deliveries starting in 2016. The aircraft maker unveiled a mock-up of the aircraft in 2010, but has yet to complete production of the plane. Including CMB Financial Leasing, Comac has secured orders for the C919 jets from 17 customers, mostly from Chinese airlines and other aircraft-leasing firms. GE Capital Aviation Services, the world's biggest aircraft lessor by fleet value and the aircraft-financing arm of U.S.-based GE Capital Co., is the only foreign buyer, with an order for 20 jets. Separately, Comac said it signed deal with Comsys (Tianjin) Aviation Leasing Co., to sell 20 ARJ21 regional jets. Total orders of the 75-90-seat ARJ21 regional jet amounted to 278, most of which were placed by Chinese customers. A spokesman at Comac said the company expects to deliver the first ARJ21 jet-a 78-to-90-seat turbofan short- and medium-range jet that had its maiden flight in 2008-to launch customer Chengdu Airlines in the first half of next year, years behind its original 2010 delivery schedule. It said it expects to receive an airworthiness certificate from China's aviation regulator by the end of this year. Despite lackluster interest from foreign airlines and companies over delays, China is eager to develop commercial jets amid the nation's rapidly growing demand for air travel. Consulting firm AlixPartners expects China's air passenger traffic will grow by 8% annually from 2013 to 2032, compared with an expected global annual growth rate of 4.8%, as more affluent Chinese take to the skies. http://online.wsj.com/articles/chinas-comac-gets-more-c919-jet-orders-1415693564 Back to Top Back to Top Pre-Conference Workshop: Thursday, January 15th: Investigations in support of Safety Management Systems (SMS): The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines SMS as "A systematic approach to managing safety, including the necessary organizational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures." Most Civil Aviation Authorities support the implementation of SMS in aviation training organizations and service providers. Many also include the provisions for a Safety Manager within those safety programs. This workshop will investigate the attributes of a supportive Safety Culture along with the competencies and skill-sets required of the Safety Manager to appropriately collect, analyze and take actions on safety information. The outcomes of this workshop will be assembled and distributed to participants in order for their consideration for inclusion into existing and future aviation programs and curricula. Workshop Leaders: Stewart Schreckengast, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Aviation Department, University of South Australia & Douglas Drury, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Aviation Department, University of South Australia are hosting. Free conference add on- but space is limited. Sponsored by the Robertson Safety Institute Registration Back to Top Upcoming Events: 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 Event: "The Future of Regulation of SMS and QA" Symposium. Keynote: Mr. Martin Eley, Director General Transport Canada. Location: Coronado Resort Hotel @ Disney World, Orlando Florida. Date: Jan 4-6, 2015 info: http://www.dtiatlanta.com/symposium.html 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 Curt Lewis