Flight Safety Information November 20, 2014 - No. 236 In This Issue FAA LOOKING INTO CLOSE CALLS WITH DRONES AND PLANES AT KENNEDY AIRPORT FAA could be working on SpaceX's launch site application Microsoft Surface tablets issued to Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines pilots Skinnier Seats on More Crowded Planes PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA Virgin America Pilots Look to Join Air Line Pilots Association AIRCON3 - Pre-Conference Workshop Upcoming Events FAA LOOKING INTO CLOSE CALLS WITH DRONES AND PLANES AT KENNEDY AIRPORT NEW YORK (WABC) -- The FBI and FAA are investigating incidents involving three passenger planes that reported sightings of drones in and around the Kennedy Airport approach air space this week. The incidents occurred Sunday and Wednesday. Officials say a Virgin Atlantic flight was landing at the airport on Sunday night when the crew spotted red and white flashing lights at 3,000 feet. They said it was a slow quad copter drone. A minute later, a Delta flight noticed the same thing, and said the craft was within feet of its wing. Wednesday, a Jet Blue flight reported a drone at 400 feet over Nassau County. No pilots took evasive action. All three flights landed safely. http://7online.com/travel/faa-investigating-close-calls-with-drones-and-planes-at-jfk-airport/402976/ Back to Top FAA could be working on SpaceX's launch site application A notice from the Federal Aviation Administration in Wednesday's Federal Register suggests that the agency could be working on the final leg of SpaceX's plans to develop the world's first commercial and vertical orbital launch complex at Boca Chica Beach. Already, incentives have been secured by Elon Musk's SpaceX and a groundbreaking ceremony has been held. In complying with federal regulations, FAA provided notice that it would be requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget to gather information relative to license requirements for operation of a launch site. The notice further points out that the launch site license would be valid for five years, and that the "respondents" that would be contacted in collecting information would be "approximately 1 applicant." "The information is needed in order to demonstrate to the FAA office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) that the proposed activity meets applicable public safety, national security, and foreign policy interest of the United States," the notice also states. This would be FAA's renewed request to the Office of Management and Budget. Notice of the first request was published in the Sept. 9 Federal Register this year, and it also listed the number of respondents at "approximately 1 applicant." This would coincide with an estimated timetable suggested in July after FAA approved SpaceX's proposal when the federal agency issued its Record of Decision, a critical step that paved the way for building a launch site. That clearance allowed SpaceX to apply for licenses from the FAA to launch the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital vertical launch rockets - which also could carry the Dragon capsule - and a variety of smaller, reusable suborbital launch vehicles from the Boca Chica site. The site is near the end of State Highway 4, about three miles north of the United States-Mexico border, 17 miles east-northeast of the Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport, and five miles south of South Padre Island. Officials said in July that SpaceX would have to submit an application for a license in continuing with the proposal, and would have to meet other requirements and reviews regarding several matters, including safety and national security. Officials said in July that if and after an application is submitted, it could take FAA up to 180 days to approve or deny it. FAA and SpaceX were not immediately available to comment. At present there are nine launch site operator licenses, according to the FAA. The operators are the Midland International Airport in Texas, Mojave Air & Space Port in California, New Mexico Spaceflight Authority in New Mexico, Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation in Alaska, Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority in Virginia, Spaceport Systems International in California, Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority in Oklahoma, Space Florida in Florida, and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority in Florida. http://www.valleymorningstar.com/premium/article_748fc586-705e-11e4-b149-5f6ce767a5c8.html Back to Top Microsoft Surface tablets issued to Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines pilots Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 tablet is now the gadget of choice for Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines' pilots. According to a post on Microsoft's official blog published Wednesday, pilots hired by both Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines will be equipped with the devices. Lufthansa has purchased more than 5,000 Surface Pro 3 tablets, which will be rolled out to pilots worldwide in February and March 2015. Austrian Airlines has already deployed 650 of the tablets, with another 1,000 expected to be issued by the end of the year. Delta Airlines previously adopted the tablet range for its pilots. In September last year, the airline provided 11,000 pilots with Microsoft Surface 2 tablets, joining over 19,000 flight attendants who were issued Windows Phone-based smartphones. Microsoft says that as with Delta, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines' devices will use flight-based apps built for the Windows 8.1 platform. Flight crews will have access to tools including weather reports, dynamic charts and navigation utilities. The tablets also take the place of heavy flight bags, consolidating vast flight manuals -- which can weigh up to 15kg -- into a digital format. Dr. Philipp Haller, B777 pilot at Austrian Airlines said: "Starting in the late 1990s with the arrival of the first laptops in the flight deck, the dream of a completely paperless cockpit is now actually becoming a reality thanks to the Surface tablets from Microsoft. We have been using laptops for 15 years to replace most of the paper on board but they could not be used during takeoff and landing." The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is certified for Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) usage on commercial airlines by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as well as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). By replacing bulky manuals with tablets, airlines can expect to save a fortune each year in fuel costs. Cyril Belikoff, Microsoft's senior director of the Microsoft Surface project, commented: "We have been clear on Microsoft's commitment to Surface in business and with this move adopting Surface in their cockpit, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines join the growing number of commercial airlines using Surface Pro 3 to help give their pilots the best, most efficient and productive in-flight experience." http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-surface-tablets-issued-to-lufthansa-austrian-airlines-pilots-7000036003/ Back to Top Skinnier Seats on More Crowded Planes Skinny is all the rage on the runway right now. Delta, United, American, Southwest and other airlines around the world have installed seats with trim metal frames and ultrathin cushions, squeezing rows closer together to pack more people on each flight. Three-quarters of Delta's domestic fleet and one-quarter of United's now have the new slim-line seating. The lightweight seats-and even some new, skinnier bathrooms-improve airlines' bottom line, with less fuel burned per passenger and more tickets sold per flight. But passengers can feel the pinch: Some complain about stiff padding and knee-knocking issues, and liken flying in the new seat to squeezing next to strangers on a crowded park bench. Putting the squeeze on seat pitch used to be only for ultracheap and charter operators. It's becoming more widespread now and getting worse. Each row of coach seats used to have 32 or 33 inches of space front to back for a seated passenger between seat backs-a measurement the airline industry calls seat pitch. But now many big airlines are down to 31 inches of seat pitch. United goes as tight as 30 inches on some of its Boeing 737s. And at some airlines, it's going to get worse. In September, Boeing announced the launch of new, denser seating on 737s called 737 MAX 200, aimed at low-cost airlines. The new MAX 200 version will be built with additional emergency exits and fitted with 200 seats. The current version of the same plane typically has 160 seats and is capped at a maximum 189 for safety reasons. Seat pitch on the new version will be as tight as 28 inches, the company says. But with thinner materials, new seat designs are "giving passengers more leg room than the previous generation of seat designs'' and making high-density planes possible, a Boeing spokeswoman says. Regulators deal with seat space in tests of safety, not comfort. When planes are certified, manufacturers set a seating limit and are required to demonstrate that the maximum number of people can make an emergency evacuation within time limits. That limits how tightly rows can be pushed together. In Europe, the European Aviation Safety Agency says the distance from the seat to the back of the seat in front has to be at least 66 centimeters, or about 26 inches, equal to a seat pitch of about 28 inches. More rows result in more passengers competing for limited space in overhead bins. And tighter confines make the cabin feel more crowded or even more claustrophobic. Some passengers complain about sardine-can conditions in coach and opt to pay added fees for extra legroom or even first-class upgrades. One version of United's reconfigured 737-800 has 54 Economy Plus seats, available for an extra fee, and 96 regular economy seats. An older reconfiguration had 18 Economy Plus and 114 regular economy seats. On a recent United flight from West Palm Beach, Fla., to Newark, N.J., frequent flier Steve Landes fidgeted nervously and even worried about the Ebola virus as the man seated next to him sneezed continuously. "Putting you closer to your neighbor does increase the threat of germs if the person does have a cold," Mr. Landes says. A survey by TripAdvisor of 1,391 travelers who had tried the new seats found 83% said they were less comfortable than traditional seats. Even Sen. John McCain has complained, tweeting in January during a Phoenix-to-Washington trip, "Are you as frustrated as I am that the airlines keep moving the rows of seats closer and closer together?" United began installing slim-line seats in 2013. Recent changes include slim-line lavatories in 737-900s and an extra row of those more-slender seats. A plane that began flying for Continental Airlines with 167 seats has steadily crept up in seat count and now has 179 seats. United uses different seat manufacturers for different types of aircraft, but a commonly used seat is the Recaro BL3520, a standard coach seat that has won industry design awards and is also used by Lufthansa , Alaska and many other airlines. Three seats together weigh just over 24 pounds per passenger, or 30% less than comparable traditional models, Recaro says. The seat also maximizes knee space by moving the seat-back pocket above the tray table. A newer version with an even-slimmer backrest is almost 2 pounds per passenger lighter and adds more knee room. United has shrunk to 30 inches of seat pitch in economy with slim seats on Airbus A319 and A320 jets, in part with that seat-back pocket change. Along with the narrower backrest, that creates an additional 1.8 inches of knee room for passengers, United says. Even with rows reduced 1 inch, passengers get more space. "The frame of the seat is that much narrower," spokesman Rahsaan Johnson says. United customer surveys show lower scores for new slim seats in both Airbus and Boeing planes. But once the leather in the seats gets broken in and loosens up after 12 weeks or more, Mr. Johnson says, "the net satisfaction score is basically the same." One seat that definitely scores lower: exit-row seats on Airbus A319 and A320 planes. Although the new Recaro seats United installed have a flexible diaphragm for the seat bottom, the Federal Aviation Administration requires hard seat-bottoms on exit-row seats that people could stand on in an emergency. United, Delta and others say other coach improvements such as video on-demand and Wi-Fi help compensate for tighter seating. "Seats need to be comfortable. But other aspects are important, too, including entertainment, appearance and service," says Mike Henny, Delta's director of customer experience. Delta, which has about three-quarters of its fleet equipped with skinny seats, says it is continuing to test passenger comfort with the new seats and found that ones with flexible seat bottoms are more comfortable. With future purchases, the airline may move to greater preference for flexible seat bottoms, Mr. Henny says. American, still working through its merger with US Airways, says it is "playing catch-up" on slim seating. The airline only recently began retrofitting 737-800s with 160 seats, up from 150. The new layouts will have 31 inches of space for each economy row, but seats will pivot on the bottom, articulating forward when a passenger reclines to provide slightly more knee space to the person behind. Boeing 777-200s are already being expanded from 247 seats up to 289 seats. One big change on the 777: American is installing 10 seats across each coach row, up from nine. That shrinks the width of each seat to 17 inches, down from 18 and 18.5 inches. Emirates, Air France , Air Canada , Air New Zealand and others have all made that change; Delta and United so far have refused, deeming 17 inches too tight for very long trips overseas. American has estimated that adding more seats to planes and better matching the size of the aircraft to each trip flown will create about $600 million for the merged airline by 2015. It says new seating will meet comfort standards. "If people don't like it, they won't buy it," a spokesman says. Corrections & Amplifications One-quarter of United's domestic fleet now has the new slim-line seating. A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that a majority of United's domestic fleet has the seating. http://online.wsj.com/articles/skinnier-seats-on-more-crowded-planes-1414602406 Back to Top Back to Top Virgin America Pilots Look to Join Air Line Pilots Association NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Virgin America (VA) pilots have approached the Air Line Pilots Association about unionization, ALPA President Lee Moak said Wednesday. "We are working with them in the same manner we worked with the JetBlue (JBLU) organizing committee," Moak said in an interview. "We are confident we will have a positive outcome." JetBlue pilots voted to join ALPA in April, with 71% of voters backing the union. Two earlier organizing campaigns failed. "The win shows the strong desire of JetBlue pilots to gain a meaningful voice in their future, the certainty of a collective bargaining agreement, and the resources needed to be relevant," ALPA said in a prepared statement following the April election. "These objectives motivated the overwhelming grass roots effort by JetBlue pilots which led to today's vote." A Virgin America spokeswoman declined to comment on Wednesday. In August, Virgin America flight attendants voted to join the Transport Workers Union after rejecting the same union in a 2011 vote. Of 737 flight attendants who voted, 58% backed the union. Virgin America shares have been gaining ground rapidly since they began trading Friday following an initial public offering that raised $306 million. The offering price was $23 a share. In mid-morning trading on Wednesday, shares were down 49 cents to $36.56. http://www.thestreet.com/story/12960111/1/virgin-america-pilots-look-to-join-air-line-pilots- association.html 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: 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 Curt Lewis