Flight Safety Information November 26, 2014 - No. 240 In This Issue Flight forced to land after lightning strike Gulfstream III Runway Excursion Airport -London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) Drone pilot wanted: Starting salary $100,000 Russian warplanes risking safety of European airliners, says Nato chief Aircraft passengers 'push-start' frozen plane in Russia's Arctic PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA Bio-Electric-Hybrid-Aircraft concept aims to quietly rule the skies AIRCON3 - Pre-Conference Workshop GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Pilot Health Survey Upcoming Events Flight forced to land after lightning strike A flight that left Tampa International Airport had to be rerouted to Fort Lauderdale after it was hit by lightning. Spirit Airlines Flight 348 had been headed to Atlantic City after taking off at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday night when it was hit by lightning during heavy storms that blanketed the Bay area, FOX 13 said. The plane had to land due to protocol, but no damage was found on the plane. "The worst part was looking out the windows and seeing a lightning strike and a flash. Once we saw that flash, it was followed by turbulence and a big 'boom.' Then we looked out the window and a very, very bright flash and that's when we got hit, and apparently we got hit twice," said passenger Ryan Madej of St. Petersburg. An emergency was never declared and the passengers and crew were never in jeopardy, a spokesman for Spirit Airlines told the SunSentinel. http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/blog/morning-edition/2014/11/flight-forced-to-land- after-lightning-strike.html Back to Top Gulfstream III Runway Excursion Airport -London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) Narrative: A Gulfstream III corporate jet was damaged in a runway excursion accident during takeoff from London-Biggin Hill Airport (BQH). It's unclear what went wrong as the airplane was attempting takeoff from runway 03. The airplane came to rest in the grass next to the runway in a position perpendicular to the runway. The nose gear had collapsed. Runway 03 is 1802 m long with a TODA (Takeoff Distance Available) of 2174 m. Classification: Runway excursion Sources: » BBC METAR Weather report: 20:20 UTC / 20:20 local time: EGKB 242020Z 00000KT 9999 BCFG NSC 05/04 Q1027 Winds: calm; Visibility: 10+ km; Patches of fog, No significant clouds; Temperature: 5°C; Dewpoint: 4°C; Pressure: 1027 mb www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Drone pilot wanted: Starting salary $100,000 University of North Dakota has a bachelor's degree course in unmanned aircraft systems and trains students in operating drones. Drone jobs are in high demand. Big companies, such as Amazon and Facebook, are looking for pilots who fly drones and engineers with experience in building the unmanned aircraft. And they are willing to pay top dollar for the right stuff. Federal regulations currently prohibit the use of drones for commercial purposes. But all that will change soon, with the Federal Aviation Administration expected to soften rules next year to allow certain light-weight drones to make commercial flights up to 400 feet. Enter drone industry jobs. As many as 100,000 new jobs will be created in the first 10 years after unmanned aircraft are cleared for takeoff in U.S. airspace, according to a 2013 report from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. Large employers are already paying up for drone pilots -- about $50 an hour, or over $100,000 a year -- according to Al Palmer, director of the center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems at the University of North Dakota. The university is gearing up to meet the hot demand and Palmer expects the drone industry to grow exponentially as companies discover new uses for drones. And the tech companies are excited at the prospect. Facebook is bulking up its drone team. Amazon has said it wants to use drones to deliver small packages over short distances. And Google acquired Titan Aerospace, which makes high- altitude, solar-powered drones. At the University of North Dakota, most of the first 61 drone pilots who graduated have gone to work at major drone manufactures, such as Northrup Grumman (NOC), Lockheed Martin (LMT), General Atomics and Boeing (BA). Palmer expects drones to be used in agriculture, public safety, oil and gas exploration, and even in the film industry, among others. University donors are getting excited too. The University of North Dakota, which started its bachelor's degree course in unmanned aircraft systems in 2008, recently received a $25 million endowment (it's largest ever) to build a new drone research and training facility. http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/25/news/drone-pilot-degree/ Back to Top Russian warplanes risking safety of European airliners, says Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg, the new secretary general of Nato, tells the Telegraph that more Russian military jets are flying over Europe without contacting air traffic control, raising the risk of mid-air collisions Russia is placing civilian flights at risk by dispatching jet fighters and bombers into European airspace without following safety procedures, according to Nato's secretary general. Jens Stoltenberg told the Telegraph that Nato fighters had intercepted Russian military aircraft over 100 times so far this year, compared with 30 such incidents in 2013. Russia's long-range bombers and spy planes usually stay in international airspace, but they deliberately ignore safeguards designed to reduce the risk of collision with civilian flights. In particular, they switch off the "transponders" that allow aircraft to detect one another. "They have increased their military air activity along Nato's borders," said Mr Stoltenberg. "We have done what we are supposed to do: we have intercepted them, partly because of increased air policing." He added: "The problem is that many of the Russian pilots don't turn on their transponders, they don't file their flight plans and they don't communicate with civilian air traffic control. This poses a risk to civilian air traffic and therefore this is a problem, especially when the Russian activity increases - because they have more Russian military planes in the air." Jens Stoltenberg...NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to NATO soldiers at German NATO base, Camp Marmal, during his first visit as head of NATO, in Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014. The head of NATO said Friday that Afghan security forces are dying in record numbers because they have assumed a leading role in the fight against Taliban insurgents as foreign forces shift from combat to training and support. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini) In March, a Boeing 737 from Scandinavian Airlines came within a split second of colliding with a Russian spy plane. The airliner, carrying 132 passengers, had just taken off from Copenhagen on a routine flight to Rome when it passed within 300 feet of a Russian IL-20 surveillance aircraft. The intruder had switched off its transponders and failed to contact air traffic control. Only the quick reaction of the Scandinavian Airlines pilot - and the fact that the incident occurred in daylight and in good visibility - prevented a near miss from becoming a disaster. Mr Stoltenberg urged Russia to obey the "norms" of flying in crowded airspace. "It's not illegal to fly military planes in international airspace," he said. "But it's not in accordance with good norms to do it without communicating with civilian air traffic control." "They are posing a risk and that's the reason why we would like them to turn on their transponders, to file their flight plans and to communicate with civilian air traffic control, especially since the number of Russian planes has increased." Almost every week, formations of Russian bombers probe the borders of European countries, testing the reaction times of their potential adversaries and, on occasion, carrying out mock attacks. Britain is responsible for policing thousands of square miles of airspace over the Atlantic and the North Sea. The most recent known incident occurred on Oct 29 when RAF Typhoon fighters intercepted two Russian TU-95 Bear bombers approaching over the North Sea. Both turned back before reaching British airspace. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11233349/Russian-warplanes- risking-safety-of-European-airliners-says-Nato-chief.html Back to Top Aircraft passengers 'push-start' frozen plane in Russia's Arctic Shift workers put muscle behind the wings of a plane in Russia's Arctic as lubricant reportedly freezes in aircraft chassis Biting winds and a temperature of -52C proved no deterrent for a group of shift workers in Russia's Arctic - who decided to get out and push when their plane froze to the ground. Oil in the aircraft's chassis reportedly iced up, seizing its brakes, so the burly men climbed out of their seats and put some muscle behind the wings. A video filmed on a mobile phone shows the passengers crying "Davay, davay!" ("Come on! Come on!") as they help guide the plane toward a runway in Igarka, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle. "It's -52C here," an employee at Igarka airport told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. "The oil froze in the chassis bearings. These temperatures are the limit at which an aircraft can be used, it's very cold." The employee said the plane was towed onto the runway but the passengers, who had been asked to disembark to make it lighter, were determined to lend a hand: "There were about 70 of them, they leaned on the wing." The Tu-134 plane was chartered for Arctic workers flying south to warmer climes. Many people working in mines and the oil and gas industry in Russia's Far North do so on shift patterns of several weeks on and then several weeks off. The video - titled "Shift workers want to get home!" - spread quickly across news sites and social media on Wednesday. However, prosecutors were not amused and said a probe had been launched to establish whether health and safety rules were violated. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11254894/Aircraft-passengers- push-start-frozen-plane-in-Russias-Arctic.html Back to Top Back to Top Bio-Electric-Hybrid-Aircraft concept aims to quietly rule the skies The Faradair BEHA concept is intended to be one of the world's quietest, most efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft ever created (Image: Faradair) Touted as the world's first true hybrid aircraft, the Faradair BEHA (Bio-Electric-Hybrid-Aircraft) is a triple box-wing design concept that combines electric motors and a bio-diesel engine. Fitted with a range of energy conservation and recovery technologies, including solar panels on all flight surfaces and high-lift, low-speed flight capabilities, the BEHA is intended to be one of the world's most environmentally friendly aircraft. The BEHA has electric ducted fans, Solar panels are on the topside of all lifting surfaces. The BEHA has triple box wings . The Faradair BEHA concept has a large rear ducted pusher propeller. Aimed at the traditional multi-role light aircraft market, the BEHA concept is premised for a range of operations with lower cost overheads and minimal environmental effect. Included in a potential list of users are those who are engaged in inter-city travel, operate flight schools, run observation and emergency services, or simply want a low running cost aircraft for recreational use. To this end, the designers of the BEHA claim that their concept electric design offers true "hybrid" dual-fuel capability with a combined bio-diesel/electric propulsion combination that will put it into a different league from currently available electric aircraft, by no longer requiring ground-based recharging. As such, it is intended that the Faradair craft also employ such energy recovery technologies as all flight surfaces being skinned with solar panels, along with wind-turbine technology to allow battery-charging for the vehicle whilst it is in-flight or on the ground. The plan is to equip the BEHA concept with twin electric fan motors (from the company's renderings, somewhat similar in appearance to those used on the recently flown Airbus E-Fan electric aircraft) that deliver some 200 hp (150 kW) each, in combination with a similarly powerful bio-diesel generator incorporating a ducted pusher propeller. Designed to take off and land using electric power, the bio-diesel engine is intended to recharge the batteries whilst the craft is cruising to increase the overall performance and flying time. "Markets will be opened up as this lightweight, state-of-the-art, carbon fiber, high-lift designed aircraft will negate night flight restrictions and pollution concerns," says Neil Cloughley, Managing Director of Faradair Aerospace Limited. "Its truly radical and futuristic design aims to follow in the footsteps of other great aviation achievements by becoming a game changing aircraft that helps transform aviation as we know it today." Solar panels are on the topside of all lifting surfaces (Image: Faradair) A three-wing design, the inspiration for the BEHA was the de Havilland Dragon Rapide, an iconic British design from the 1930s. With a large surface area from its three lift surfaces, combined with an efficiency-enhancing box wing design that reduces turbulent airflow, the makers of the BEHA also hope to emulate the popularity and success of their design's inspiration as a comfortable, smooth flying model of light commercial transport. A range of active and passive safety features are promised, including a ballistic parachute recovery system, high-impact capability crash protection (apparently modeled on Formula One motor racing technology), the ability to run on fewer than its full complement of engines, and a high-efficiency glide capability that allows longer unpowered flight in the unlikely event that all engines fail. And - perhaps most interesting of all - the ultimate safety feature: If anything should happen to the pilot and he is unable to fly the plane, Faradair also plan to outfit the BEHA with a remote control system so that the aircraft can be flown and landed by a pilot in control from the ground. Despite the fact that no such system has yet had approval on any aircraft, the designers believe that being able to remotely control the craft in times of emergency would boost passenger confidence and safety immensely. "This aircraft will be one of the most eco-friendly and safest aircraft in the world, costing somewhere close to $1m US Dollars per aircraft," says Cloughley. "Plus our production facility will be equally environmentally focused." Recently launched on Kickstarter, the company intends to spend the next 12 months through 2015 on Research and Development, with a specific aim to complete specifications and fabrication of prototype parts, provided its £20,000 Kickstarter aspirations are met. The video below shows the company's Kickstarter pitch and some animations of the concept. Source: Faradair http://www.gizmag.com/faradair-beha-bio-electric-hybrid-aircraft-concept/34920/ 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 GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Dear fellow pilots: By way of introduction, my name is Adrian Aliyuddin and I am currently pursuing my Masters of Science in Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and as part of my final assignment I need to conduct a research paper. I have chosen the topic of the interaction between airline pilots and ground-based operational control personnel from the airline, commonly known by several different titles such as, Operations Controller, Flight Dispatchers, Network Controllers or Duty Controllers. These personnel have the capability of sending messages to aircraft in flight and having pilots react to them. The topic of interest is the influence these ground-based personnel have on the decision-making of the pilots. In order to gather the data on this topic, I have set up a short survey in order to solicit feedback from the target audience. The survey should not take much more than 10 minutes to complete and only requires the participant to answer a number of questions in the survey. None of the survey questions are framed in a manner that could identify the participant and the data from this survey will be kept confidentially. There is also no obligation for you to complete this survey. The target audience is airline pilots who work in organizations that have the capability for messages from their ground-based personnel to reach the aircraft while in flight. If you meet the criteria of the target audience, you can access the survey using this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6CTH5WN I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time out to fill up this survey. Back to Top Pilot Health Survey Harvard School of Public Health/Department of Environmental Health Survey: Pilots are exposed to a multitude of occupational health hazards, including fatigue, respiratory symptoms, radiation exposure, and much more, on a daily basis. Noise exposure has been associated with increased fatigue, cardiovascular effects, adverse cognitive functioning, increased stress, and hearing loss. Crewmembers could have significant exposure during flights, leading to an increase in these effects and health issues. The impact of environmental noise, such as aircraft noise, where exposures are sustained over the entire flight has not been studied for airline pilots. Harvard School of Public Health has conducted a large survey of over 4000 flight attendants, and found higher rates of fatigue, headaches, and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases, compared to the general population, which may be due to exposure to noise and other environmental factors on the aircraft. Occupational noise in the aircraft is not regulated. As a result, exposure monitoring is rare and pilots are not aware of the increased fatigue and additional health issues related to noise exposure, especially over a given duration. This also includes exposure from preflight to all phases of flight. As such, airline pilots represent a potential high risk exposure group with respect to occupational noise during flight. U.S. airline pilots are also an aging population, with the mandatory retirement age now being increased from 60 years old to 65 years old. Age is a risk factor for hearing loss, as well as fatigue and other chronic conditions that are associated to noise exposure and age. Longer flight and duty times, also increase the fatigue and also additional chronic conditions associated with noise exposure. This survey would be the first conducted for airline pilots, and would evaluate noise health related effects, such as fatigue and additional chronic conditions. It would also be used to compare pilots against flight attendants and a greater male population versus female population, of flight attendants. The results of this survey would be of value in advancing the level of understanding of the impact of noise exposures in airline pilots, especially fatigue and the effects. The flight attendant survey was conducted in conjunction with the Association of Flight Attendants, the FAA sponsored National Air Transportation Center for Excellence in the Intermodal Transport Environment (RITE) and the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute. The Harvard School of Public Health sponsored the survey and analyzed the data. The questionnaires include detailed inquires relating to the crewmember's personal characteristics, work history, and health status. The potential association of noise exposure with fatigue and hearing loss, could have significant implications for the safety of air travel and crewmembers. Please find the website for the flight attendant survey: www.FAhealth.org. A similar website would be created and administered by Harvard for the pilot group. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. This survey would be administered electronically, at no cost , by Harvard School of Public Health. The data would be analyzed and each response is anonymous and the airline would also be de-identified for Harvard data. This important data can be used to address the issue of fatigue and the working environment. Key points: -This would be the first group of airline pilots participating in this Harvard survey and/or data collection -This survey and data collection can also be offered to other industry pilot groups. -This data will be of exceptional use to the pilot group. -You would be at the forefront of this industry research and could also lead to new developments . -There is no cost and workload is minimal (sending an email with survey/follow up communications). -Please contact Deborah Donnelly-McLay (UPS pilot/Harvard Faculty Research Assistant) for more information at ddonnelly@ipapilot.org or 561-537-0046 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 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 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