Flight Safety Information November 28, 2014 - No. 242 In This Issue Federal safety board to investigate causes of alarming number of fatal air-taxi crashes in Canada NTSB Decision Defining "Aircraft" as Anything That Flies Lacks Common Sense European Space Agency Contracts Inmarsat to Develop Space-based Aviation Data Link for European Airspace Bolivia and Peru seize two planes, arrest pilots on drug charges PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA AIRCON3 - Pre-Conference Workshop THE AVIATION INVESTIGATION BUREAU OF THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA TO SPONSOR A SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM COURSE GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Pilot Health Survey Upcoming Events Federal safety board to investigate causes of alarming number of fatal air-taxi crashes in Canada The federal transportation safety board will conduct a safety issues investigation into the causes of a troubling number of fatal crashes in Canada involving air-taxi operations - commercial flights with fewer than 10 passengers. The board noted that 175 people - 59 in B.C. - have died in the air-taxi sector during the past decade, representing 65 per cent of all commercial aviation fatalities. Rather than investigate the cause of an isolated crash, as it usually does, the board will address a range of underlying issues that contribute to air-taxi accidents, including inadequate risk analysis, pilot decision making and weather. While commercial air travel is widely recognized as the safest mode of travel, the risks do increase when flying with smaller operators. Transport Canada reports that the air-taxi sector was responsible for 18 of 39 accidents involving commercial aircraft in 2013, and five of seven deaths. Bill Yearwood, the safety board's regional manager, said in an interview Wednesday that the air-taxi sector often operates in remote areas without access to the same services - including weather information and air traffic controllers - as large passenger planes. "It will look at all the issues, all the accidents involving this group," he said of the study, noting the terms of reference have not yet been determined. Although 2014 has been a quiet year for accidents within B.C.'s air-taxi sector, a pilot and two passengers died in an Air Cab Cessna 185 float plane crash near Potts Lagoon off Port McNeill last Oct. 24, 2013. A pilot and passenger also died when an Air Nootka de Havilland Beaver float plane crashed on Aug. 15, 2013, on the Hesquiat Peninsula. "If you look back beyond the year, air-taxi does rear its head as the community that contributes more fatal accidents," Yearwood said. In a speech to the Air Transport Association of Canada, Kathy Fox, chairwoman of the safety board, said only 61 per cent of 253 air recommendations made by the board since 1990 have been fully adopted by Transport Canada. "That's barely a passing grade on a pilot licensing exam ... Much more needs to be done." She said the study will analyze historical data and case studies as well as occurrences from other countries. "We'll also be engaging industry, the regulator and other stakeholders in the coming months to gain a full understanding of the issues affecting air-taxi operations." The B.C. coroners office has reported that 202 people died in 111 fatal aviation accidents from January 2000 through December 2009. Commercial flights were involved in 34 per cent of the incidents, accounting for 42 per cent of the deaths. The largest percentage of commercial aviation deaths resulted from crashes involving transport of workers to remote work sites or camps. The safety board announcement comes almost five years after the Nov. 29, 2009 crash of a Seair Beaver float plane in Lyall Harbour, off Saturna Island, that killed six passengers, including a doctor and her infant daughter. The pilot and one other passenger survived. A total of 22 people died in four commercial float plane crashes in B.C. - two on water and two on land - between August 2008 and May 2010. Since then, several float plane companies voluntarily introduced safety measures including the mandatory wearing of life vests by passengers - notably, not Harbour Air, the largest operator - as well as pop-out emergency windows and improved door latches, and created the Floatplane Operators Association. Transport Canada is proposing laws that would require passengers and crew to wear a flotation device when boarding a seaplane or when operating on or over water and would require mandatory emergency underwater egress training for pilots of fixed-wing commercial seaplanes. In 1994, the federal Transportation Safety Board released a detailed report into float plane safety based on 1,432 accidents in which 452 people were killed during a period of 15 years, including 168 deaths in water. From January to October this year, there were about 35,000 float plane movements in Vancouver Harbour and another 25,000 at Vancouver airport. http://www.vancouversun.com/ Back to Top NTSB Decision Defining "Aircraft" as Anything That Flies Lacks Common Sense That paper airplane is technically an aircraft and subject to federal aircraft regulations. Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board, a U.S. agency better known for investigating aircraft accidents, overturned an early decision in a much-publicized case involving drone operator Raphael Pirker. The previous ruling threw out the US $10,000 fine the Federal Aviation Administration imposed on Pirker for operating his camera-equipped drone in what the FAA considered a careless and reckless manner. In its recent deliberations, the NTSB didn't weigh whether Pirker had been careless or reckless. But it affirmed that the operator of a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-or indeed of any aerial device used carelessly or recklessly-was subject to FAA fines. Wait. Any device? That's indeed what the recent NTSB decision argues. "An aircraft is 'any' 'device' that is 'used for flight.' We acknowledge the definitions are as broad as they are clear, but they are clear nonetheless," says the NTSB. Model aircraft enthusiasts and supporters of commercial small UAV technology found the decision puzzling. Helen Greiner, founder and CEO of CyPhy Works, in Danvers, Mass., tweeted: Yet the FAA has never fined someone for recklessly throwing a Frisbee or other kind of flying disc, which have genuinely injured people. Just last year a woman lost most of the sight in one eye when she was struck at a park in Manhattan Beach, Calif. No doubt, the thrower was careless, and unlike Pirker, caused a significant injury. But the NTSB and FAA never acted. Why not? After all, the statute governing the NTSB's responsibilities is as broad as it is clear: "The National Transportation Safety Board shall investigate - (A) each accident involving a civil aircraft." I'm no lawyer, but I can read plain English. That statement comes from Title 49, Subtitle II, Chapter 11, Subchapter 3, Section 1132 of the U.S. Code. Title 49 defines "aircraft" as "any contrivance invented, used, or designed to navigate, or fly in, the air." You don't find a lot of people playing with Frisbees without flying them through the air, so logically they must be included if you want to follow the letter rather than spirit of the law. Clearly the NTSB is doing some selective interpretation of federal statutes here. When it comes to the FAA's authority to issue fines, it says, "Aircraft means a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air," interprets that language literally, and seeks to include model aircraft of all types. Yet when it comes to its own responsibility to investigate aircraft incidents, the same word, defined in the law similarly (" 'aircraft' means any contrivance invented, used, or designed to navigate, or fly in, the air") is afforded a much narrower, and more sensible, interpretation. When he overturned the fine against Pirker, NTSB administrative law judge Patrick Geraghty referred to the "risable argument" that the FAA should be in the business of policing folks flying "a paper aircraft, or a toy balsa wood glider." Yet NTSB has embraced that very position, while accepting that "certain" aircraft regulations "may not be logically applicable" to all flying devices. I'd say most aircraft regulations are not logically applicable. For example, the very same part of the law the FAA is using to fine Pirker (Title 14, Chapter I, Subchapter F, Part 91) holds that "aircraft" must maintain certain minimum altitudes-either 500 feet or 1000 feet, depending on whether the area is congested. Such a law can't possibly apply to model aircraft (or Frisbees). Indeed, since 1981, the FAA has specifically urged modelers to voluntarily fly below 400 feet. So defining "aircraft" to include model aircraft creates a great muddle. What to do is obvious: Keep your models below 400 feet. Stay clear of full-scale aircraft. And operate your model plane or helicopter as safely as you know how. But also be on notice now with the NTSB's recent decision that no matter how responsibly you fly-even if it's a paper airplane or balsa-wood glider-you are, technically, violating the law. http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/aerospace/aviation/anything-that-flies-is-an-aircraft Back to Top European Space Agency Contracts Inmarsat to Develop Space-based Aviation Data Link for European Airspace London, 26 November 2014 - Inmarsat, (LSE:ISAT.L), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, has today announced that SwiftBroadband Safety will play an integral part in the future European air traffic management (ATM) infrastructure. The announcement follows the signing of a contract between Inmarsat and the European Space Agency (ESA) for the Iris Precursor partnership at the House of Commons in London. The Iris Precursor partnership will upgrade SwiftBroadband to meet the demanding standards set for ground-based VHF data links. This will enable Single European Skies ATM Research (SESAR) flight management concepts, where flight plans can be continually updated during flight to maintain an optimal trajectory to destination. These trajectory management concepts allow air traffic control to offer better routings, sequence aircraft far in advance and maximise airport and airspace capacity. This benefits air operators by reducing flight time and airborne holding. It also supports other concepts such as continuous descent operations. The combined effect is less fuel burn, reduced delays and lower CO2 emissions. Using SwiftBroadband to enable Iris is an extension of Inmarsat's more than 20 year experience as the leading provider of safety communications to 98% of airlines. This partnership is the next step in developing SwiftBroadband Safety, which has recently begun flight trials for oceanic operational approvals. It is being developed in coordination with a dedicated project in the frame of the SESAR programme, P15.02.05 (also named "Iris Precursor") that results in pre-operational flight trials during 2016. The Iris Precursor partnership results from a major funding commitment approved at ESA's 2012 Ministerial Council, with the UK as the main contributor; followed by Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Ireland and Portugal. Under the ESA Iris Precursor partnership, SwiftBroadband will be upgraded to provide a satellite overlay to terrestrial VHF networks. While the initial focus will be on Europe, the capabilities developed will open opportunities for deployment in North America, Asia Pacific and other regions, where the growth of air traffic is placing strain on ground-based VHF networks. Inmarsat was the logical partner for this partnership given its long history of being at the forefront of safety communications. The partnership consists of an Industrial team with 16 companies from eight ESA Member States. These companies have long-standing working relationships and a proven heritage of successfully delivered, high quality, aeronautical safety solutions. The Minister for Universities, Science and Cities, Greg Clark said: "One in five telecommunication satellites are built in the UK and today's €15 million contract between ESA and UK satellite operator Inmarsat is further proof that the UK is a global leader in the telecommunications field. From mapping West Africa to combat Ebola to landing a satellite on a comet, British engineers are pushing through scientific boundaries on a daily basis. "This partnership will see Britain's technological expertise play a crucial role in revolutionising global air travel through modern communications - making aviation safer, more efficient and lowering costs and emissions." Inmarsat supports aviation safety services to nearly 10,000 aircraft, delivering Automatic Dependent Surveillance Contract (ADS-C) and Controller Pilot Data link Communications (CPDLC) FANS service on a worldwide basis. "Inmarsat was the first operator to meet ICAO safety communications requirements and our innovation has not stood still", said Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat. "Today's announcement cements our role in providing aviation safety services. We have been committed since the launch of Future Air Navigation Systems in the 1990s to support safety communications for the world's airlines. Our aim, and the purpose of this partnership, is to continue to provide airlines across the globe with improved safety services, aircraft routing, and environmental and cost efficiency benefits." Magali Vaissiere, ESA's Director of Telecommunications and integrated Applications, said: "Iris Precursor is a project within the framework of ESA's Iris Programme, born in 2008 to provide a satellite system as part of a wider initiative driven by the European Commission for the modernisation of the air traffic management. It represents a first milestone of a fruitful collaboration in the long-term modernisation of air traffic management: a challenge that we can only do it if we join forces, ready to tackle step by step." http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12022736/european-space-agency-contracts- inmarsat-to-develop-space-based-aviation-data-link-for-european-airspace Back to Top Bolivia and Peru seize two planes, arrest pilots on drug charges LA PAZ: The Bolivian drug enforcement agency FELCN seized two small planes in northern Bolivia and arrested the pilots on drug charges in a joint operation with Peruvian authorities, media reports said today. Bolivia and Peru recently renewed an agreement covering the sharing of intelligence on the illegal drug trade, FELCN director Mario Centellas told the press. The planes were at two ranches in the Amazonian province of Beni and were awaiting a shipment of 356 kilos of cocaine from Peru, but the drugs never arrived because the plane carrying them crashed on Nov. 22. The cocaine was bound for other countries in the region, officials said. The suspects were identified by Centellas only as Peruvian national Raul R. and Brazilian citizen Sebastao B. One of the Cessna 210s is registered in Paraguay and the other in Brazil. Bolivian authorities have seized 27 small planes used in drug smuggling this year, the FELCN said. http://www.nst.com.my/node/57332 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 THE AVIATION INVESTIGATION BUREAU OF THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA TO SPONSOR A SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM COURSE FOR INVESTIGATORS From 14 to 18 December 2014, the Aviation Investigation Bureau of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will sponsor a course titled "Safety Management Systems (SMS) for investigators". This course will be attended by its investigators, safety analysts and aircraft accident prevention specialists as well as other aviation safety professionals from within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The course is part of an ongoing strategy in continual employee development in aviation safety practices, which includes a focus on approaches to safety utilizing proactive and predictive methods rather than traditional reactive methods. Captain Ibrahim S Al Koshy, the Director General of the Aviation Investigation Bureau of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stated that: "SMS is defined as a systematic approach to managing safety including the necessary organizational structures, accountabilities, policies and procedures. Throughout aviation: world airlines, regulators, operators, airports, maintenance providers and air traffic control are all working toward implementing SMS. This course is designed to provide our investigators and aviation professionals with the knowledge and skill to approach an investigation with the understanding of the SMS components". The list of invitees will include the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the Royal Saudi Air Force, Saudi Arabian Airlines, NAS, and senior management personnel from the major airports within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 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