Flight Safety Information December 1, 2014 - No. 243 In This Issue Nigeria: Overland Aircraft With 59 Passengers Escapes Crash Chicago air travelers faced a mile-long TSA line on Sunday Honda Flies High...The firm's light jet is faster, quieter, and roomier than the competition Operators Urge FG to Upgrade Navaids for Improved Air Safety (Nigeria) 30-Year Aviation Veteran Joins Inmarsat Aviation as Head of Safety Services Plane Evacuated at Kennedy Airport After Bomb Threat 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 Nigeria: Overland Aircraft With 59 Passengers Escapes Crash Lagos - What would have been a disaster was averted on Saturday when an aircraft belonging to Overland Airways, with 59 passengers and four crew on board, veered off Ilorin Airport runway. According to the General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Frank Ndubuoke, the ATR 72 aircraft flight 1186, with registration number 5N-BPG, coming from Abuja to Ilorin, veered off the runway at low speed, after a normal landing at the Ilorin Airport. Ndubuoke said that the incident, which occurred at about 4.45pm, did not record any casualty. He said the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) has commenced investigation into the cause of the incident. The NCAA spokesman assured Nigerians that safety of the traveling public is still paramount and cannot be compromised. Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Overland Airways, Capt Edward Boyo, could not be reached for the airline's official reaction. http://allafrica.com/stories/201412010080.html Back to Top Chicago air travelers faced a mile-long TSA line on Sunday Midway isn't Chicago's busiest airport (that would be O'Hare), but on Sunday, it probably felt like it. The Sunday at the end of the four-day Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest travel days of the year, and the TSA security line that greeted air passengers yesterday morning was reportedly 1.2 miles long, snaking from the security gate down the hall, out the door, all the way to the subway station, and back inside the airport. This is what that looks like in grainy stop-motion, from Paige Southard and the Chicago Sun-Times: Some passengers missed their flights, but the TSA apparently moved the line through with impressive speed, all things considered: Midway Airport security line time lapse The airport authorities were philosophical about the ridiculously long line. "This happens sometimes," Chicago Aviation Department spokeswoman Karen Pride told the Chicago Sun-Times. The lines were long for a two-hour period on Sunday morning "because that is when most people are traveling for the holiday period." - - Peter Weber http://theweek.com/article/index/272804/chicago-air-travelers-faced-a-mile-long-tsa-line-on-sunday Back to Top Honda Flies High The firm's light jet is faster, quieter, and roomier than the competition. The $4.5 million HondaJet is expected to win FAA approval shortly. Photo: Courtesy of Honda Aircraft Company Honda Motor has long been a crowd pleaser. Its cars, motorcycles, and lawnmowers are consumer favorites around the world. Now the Japanese giant is about to try its hand at producing a light jet, and by all indications, the plane will be another winner. The unusually light and speedy HondaJet, priced at $4.5 million and capable of carrying four to six passengers, looks set to win Federal Aviation Administration certification by first-quarter 2015. It will be the most expensive aircraft in its class, but buyers already are lining up. The company claims that its first two years of production are sold out, though it refuses to disclose exactly how many jets it is capable of producing per year. Honda has been quietly laying the groundwork for this since 1986. Back then, wanting to better understand aircraft design, Honda sent Michimasa Fujino, now 54, to Mississippi State University's Raspet Flight Research Lab. It was at Raspet that the young Honda engineer eventually designed and built two research aircraft. The second of these, the MH02, was an all-composite, 8,000-pound, high-wing twin jet with the engines mounted atop the wings, which Fujino would later enhance and dub Otwem, for over-the-wing engine mount, since that was the key distinguishing feature of the plane. He figured that this aesthetically challenged configuration -- which looked vaguely like a giant attacking insect from a 1950s horror movie -- would allow for bigger cabins and improved aerodynamics. After Honda green-lighted a move into the light-jet market, Fujino set about converting his MHO2 research into a commercially viable aircraft. As Fujino and his team refined the jet over nearly a decade, they also built a massive, state-of-the-art manufacturing, engineering, and service center in Greensboro, N.C. -- for an estimated $140 million. This is now Honda Aircraft, where Fujino serves as CEO and oversees more than 1,200 employees. The HA-420 HondaJet will have lightweight and fuel-efficient engines built by a Honda-General Electric partnership. Honda plans to market its plane and create a customer experience similar to what it provides for buyers of its Acura line of luxury automobiles, with Fujino telling us that the company will be "very focused on the customer." The HondaJet cabin, at over 300 cubic feet, is nearly 20% larger than cabins in competing planes; passengers in the "club four" seats no longer have to play footsie. Photo: Courtesy of Honda Aircraft Company The last attempt at developing a jet in this class while simultaneously creating a new company was Eclipse, the firm that made the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet. Eclipse headed off to bankruptcy with total liabilities of over $1 billion. But Honda seems prepared to pay the price, perhaps revving ambitions for bigger airplanes further down the runway. The HA-420 project has already faced several costly delays, including an engine redesign deep into the flight test program. But it now appears that the HondaJet is nearly ready for takeoff. Customer orders already moving down the assembly line could eventually add up to 100 airplanes a year. With a top speed of 483 miles per hour, this jet is the fastest and most fuel-efficient in its class, which includes planes such as the Embraer Phenom 100E and the Cessna Citation M2. The HondaJet's sophisticated Garmin G3000 avionics marries GPS signals to real-time moving maps in the cockpit that display and alert pilots to runways, terrain, and hazards. The avionics, meanwhile, significantly reduce cockpit workload, allowing the aircraft to be operated by a single pilot. The composite fuselage doesn't require traditional ribs and stringers -- frames that hold aluminum skins in place on conventional aircraft fuselages. This yields more cabin space, and the plane's carbon-fiber composite is considerably lighter and stronger than metal. The HondaJet cabin is five feet wide and nearly five feet tall -- generous dimensions for an aircraft in this category. While still not a stand-up cabin, it offers noticeably more head, shoulder, and leg room than in competing light jets, and there is, miraculously, no need to do a limbo dance to get to or from your seat. In the HondaJet cockpit, real-time moving maps and GPS alert pilots to runways and dangerous terrain, reducing workload so the jet can be flown by a single pilot. Photo: Courtesy of Honda Aircraft Company Furthermore, the unusual over-wing engine positioning not only provides aerodynamic benefits but also results in a quieter cabin with less vibration. Pretty neat. The cabin has been designed with 60 cubic feet per passenger and a 43-inch seat pitch, after ergonomic studies showed such dimensions would accommodate 98% of the population; passengers in facing "club four" seats no longer have to play footsie with one another. The cabin, at over 300 cubic feet, is nearly 20% larger than those of its competitors. Customers, when ordering their planes, can opt for several different cabin layouts that range from four single reclining executive seats to various cabinetry/refreshment-center options in place of a side-facing seat. Cabin windows can be electrically dimmed. Passengers can control the windows, cabin lighting, and in-flight entertainment and information system via personal electronic devices. The entertainment system features audio/video on demand, an interactive 3-D moving map, an exterior camera, and optional SiriusXM satellite radio. The HondaJet aft lavatory has a privacy door -- a feature mostly absent in light aircraft, much to the chagrin of many customers. Even the luggage space, at 66 cubic feet, is generous. This summer, Honda triumphantly flew the first production HondaJet to the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture gathering in Oshkosh, Wis., where Fujino was greeted like a rock star by cheering fans. Looks to us as if Honda doesn't just have a light jet on its hands -- it has a rocket. http://online.barrons.com/articles/hondas-new-jet-flies-high-1417229806 Back to Top Operators Urge FG to Upgrade Navaids for Improved Air Safety (Nigeria) Industry operators have called on the federal government to upgrade navigational facilities, including airfield lighting in order to consolidate on improved safety standard the country has achieved so far. The call was made by industry stakeholders including officials of airlines and aviation agencies under the aegis of Women in Aviation, Nigerian who spoke to journalists at the end of their week-long programme in Lagos. The women professionals said it takes a lot of efforts and cooperation among various departments in the industry to ensure that safety was adhered to at all times, noting that despite the fact that Nigeria has attained the Category One safety status, some airports in the country do not have the Instrument Landing System (ILS) which is very critical in flight operation. One of the speakers who identified herself as Captain Faith said when these navigational facilities are in place they make it easier for pilots to get their bearing and overall make flight operations safer. "Well, I believe that government can improve on airport facilities so that they can be available for airlines to use for landing and all of that. Some of the airports don't have Instrument Landing System (ILS)'' Captain Faith said. She said that many Nigerians do not travel by air because of the high fares, which are partly occasioned by the high taxes paid by the airlines. The pilot said if these taxes could be reviewed downwards, airlines would bring down their fares, which in turn, would attract more Nigerians to travel by air. Commenting on multiple entries by foreign airlines into the country, Faith said the practice is killing domestic airline operations in the country. "Local airlines should be able to have the market to go into, in Europe, you cannot have a foreigner coming to fly from London to Amsterdam for example but here in Nigeria we can see almost all the foreign airlines flying into Lagos, flying into Abuja then you have taken away the Lagos - Abuja market from the local operators, this is not how it should be'' Also speaking, Senior Supervisor, Ticketing and Reservation Department of Dana Airline, Mrs. Patience Umunnaehila, tasked the government to embark on the expansion of the tarmac and the boarding area of the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), noting that the place was always choked up as it hardly accommodate passengers. Umunnaehila said: ''The tarmac is not big enough so we need expansion of the tarmac and the boarding area because these places at the airport are choked up so we still believe that government will come to our rescue and do something about it.'' She further commended the government for improving air safety in the country, noting that safety has greatly improved in the aviation sector in Nigeria. President of Women in Aviation Mrs. Rejoice Ndudinachi noted that women in aviation are inspiring the next generation by investing more in female aviation professionals. She said the group decided to honour outstanding female professionals to reward them for their contribution to the sector. The high point of the event was the presentation of awards to different categories of female professionals, including female pilots from Aero Contractors and Arik Air. http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/operators-urge-fg-to-upgrade-navaids-for-improved-air- safety/195463/ Back to Top 30-Year Aviation Veteran Joins Inmarsat Aviation as Head of Safety Services 28 November 2014 - Inmarsat (LSE: ISAT.L), a leader in global satellite connectivity for the aviation industry, has announced the appointment of Captain Mary I. McMillan as Vice President, Aviation Safety and Operational Services. A 30-year veteran of the aviation industry, Captain McMillan has recorded over 12,000 hours flight time in aircraft ranging from B747, B767 and Airbus 320. "The appointment of Captain Mary McMillan to head up our aviation safety services is a real coup for Inmarsat," said Leo Mondale, President, Inmarsat Aviation."Mary brings a unique combination of airline, air traffic, regulatory, and international aviation experience, which will be of great benefit our partners, airlines and Inmarsat as we continue to see the introduction of new satcom aviation services, driven by an unprecedented investment programme in our aviation business. "With live trials of SwiftBroadband safety services underway, the continuing roll-out of our world leading GX Aviation satellite constellation and the development of a unique European Aviation Network, Inmarsat Aviation is strengthening its position as the world leader in mobile satellite-based aviation connectivity services.Inmarsat is supporting airlines from flight deck to cabin by enhancing safety and operational capabilities for flight crews and bringing a new dimension to passenger connectivity." Prior to joining Inmarsat Aviation, Captain McMillan was Senior Vice President, Aerospace Safety and Environment at Tetra Tech AMT.In this role, Captain McMillan was responsible for the development of safety risk strategies and safety management systems for air navigation service providers, airports and airlines, and subject matter expertise in the area of aviation safety reporting and data analysis. In parallel with her role at Tetra Tech AMT, Captain McMillan was, from 2010, the independent safety advisor to the Airservices Australia's Board of Directors, the Canberra-based air navigation services provider. From 2008 to 2011, Captain McMillan was engaged by CSSI, Inc., a Washington D.C. based engineering, technology and applied research firm, to provide development expertise and support for the creation of the FAA's Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP).ATSAP is the largest voluntary safety reporting system in the world and is providing key qualitative safety input to the U. S. National Airspace System. For almost 20 years, Captain McMillan was a pilot, standards captain and flight operations duty manager with United Airlines.As flight operations duty manager, Captain McMillan was responsible for overall tactical management of flight operations for United's worldwide system.Additionally, she authored the first edition of the United Airlines Flight Safety Manual. During her career, Captain McMillan served in a number of capacities for the Airline Pilots Association, International. This included roles as both Chairman of United Airlines Central Air Safety Committee and Chairman of the President's Aviation Environmental and Energy Task Force.In August 2008, Captain McMillan received a Presidential Citation for developing and fostering ALPA aviation environmental policy at the Airline Pilots Association, International. About Inmarsat Inmarsat plc is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services. Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other organizations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or in the air. Inmarsat employs around 1,600 staff in more than 60 locations around the world, with a presence in the major ports and centres of commerce on every continent. Inmarsat is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:ISAT.L). For more information, please visit www.inmarsat.com. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12022996/30-year-aviation-veteran-joins-inmarsat-aviation- as-head-of-safety-services Back to Top Plane Evacuated at Kennedy Airport After Bomb Threat Passengers on the tarmac after an American Airlines flight was evacuated on Sunday at Kennedy International Airport. A plane was evacuated at Kennedy International Airport on Sunday amid an investigation into a bomb threat, the authorities said. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, said the flight, American Airlines Flight 67, had originated in Barcelona. More than 200 people were onboard, including crew members, said a Port Authority spokesman, Joseph Pentangelo. The threat, he said, had been delivered by telephone and the evacuation began before 1 p.m. Shortly after 2 p.m., Mr. Pentangelo said the authorities had found no evidence of any danger after inspecting the plane, including the cargo area. The episode was being investigated by the Port Authority Police Department, the New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Pentangelo said. Two passengers, Teresa Dietrich, 37, and her husband, Jacob Rosenberg,were returning to New York after a week in Spain. The plane landed early, she said, but instead of heading for a gate, it taxied away from the terminal and stopped without explanation. Soon, passengers looking out the windows saw small groups of emergency vehicles rolling up to the plane, causing murmurs of confusion and worry, she said. Finally, a member of the flight's crew announced on the intercom that there had been a bomb threat against American Airlines, and "this was just a precaution," Ms. Dietrich recalled. But other flights could be seen taking off and landing as usual. "It's a little nerve-racking, because you're not quite sure exactly what's going on," she said. Soon, flight attendants ushered passengers off the plane. They were allowed to take their carry-on luggage. Emergency personnel were waiting for them on the ground, and directed them to a grassy area on the side of the runway. "It never seemed rushed; it never seemed panicked; it was fairly orderly," Ms. Dietrich said. Emergency vehicles surrounded the plane with their lights on, she said, but the scene was not chaotic. About 15 minutes after the passengers and crew left the plane, they boarded buses away from the area. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/nyregion/plane-evacuated-at-kennedy-airport.html?_r=0 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