Flight Safety Information January 1, 2015 - No. 001 In This Issue Bad Weather Again Slows Search for AirAsia Jet Search for AirAsia jet's black box recorders could 'take a week' FAA Internal Report Finds Pilots in Philly US Airways Crash Didn't Properly Set Flight Computer Pilots Hurt When Police Helicopter Crashes in Las Vegas Missing planes and air disasters: How bad was 2014? How AirAsia flight compares to Air France 447 crash Woman IAS officer to head DGCA for the first time (India) PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA FAA Poised To Miss Deadline For Drone Regulations Incident: American B763 at Rio de Janeiro on Dec 30th 2014, blew all right main tyres on landing ERAU NextGen 101 Seminar - Washington, D.C. Upcoming Events Bad Weather Again Slows Search for AirAsia Jet Indonesian members of search-and-rescue team carry a victim of AirAsia Flight 8501 that crashed in the Java Sea, in Kumai, Dec. 31, 2014. Bad weather is again slowing the search for a crashed AirAsia jet in the Java Sea, with one Indonesian official warning it could take at least a week before the plane is located. Authorities had been hopeful a break in the weather early Thursday would speed up the search. But by the afternoon, another rush of heavy rains and wind grounded helicopters searching for bodies and wreckage. So far, only seven bodies of the 162 passengers and crew have been pulled from the Java Sea near Borneo island, where the Airbus A320 crashed Sunday during bad weather. Officials said Thursday at least one of those bodies has been identified, but did not release a name. Indonesian air safety investigator Toos Sanitiyoso says the main priority is locating the main crash site, but warned it could take at least a week before the black box is found. Investigators are especially interested in combing an area where aerial searches on Wednesday spotted what appeared to be a large shadow in the relatively shallow section of the sea. But officials have stressed there is no confirmation the shadow is the main body of the plane, as some have speculated. Many bodies are expected to be found in the main fuselage of the plane. Another priority is finding the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, which are crucial for determining the cause of the crash. Before takeoff and during the last moments of the flight, the pilots requested to fly at a higher altitude to avoid a storm cloud. The request was not approved because other planes were in the area. The twin-engine jet disappeared from radar, without a distress call, about half an hour into what was supposed to be a two-hour flight from Surabaya to Singapore. http://www.voanews.com/content/bad-weather-again-slows-search-for-airasia- jet/2581664.html Back to Top Search for AirAsia jet's black box recorders could 'take a week' (Reuters) - Heavy seas held back divers waiting to inspect the possible wreck of an AirAsia Indonesia jet off Borneo on Thursday and an aviation official said it could be a week before the black box flight recorders are found. Five crews among 47 divers were on standby to investigate a large shadow sighted by a search and rescue pilot. Rescuers believe it may be the Airbus (AIR.PA) A320-200, which was carrying 162 people when it crashed on Sunday en route from the city of Surabaya to Singapore. "I am hoping that the latest information is correct and aircraft has been found," airline boss Tony Fernandes tweeted on Thursday. "Please all hope together. This is so important." But Toos Sanitiyoso, an air safety investigator with the National Committee for Transportation Safety, said it could take a week to find the black box, suggesting there was still doubt over the plane's location. "The main thing is to find the main area of the wreckage and then the black box," he told reporters. Committee head Tatang Kurniadi said the focus of the search, once the waters had calmed as expected in five days, was around the shadow and that rescuers would use five ping locators - two from Indonesia, two from Singapore and one from Britain. "We are backtracking from where the wreckage was found to where the plane had its last reading and that is the focus of our search," Kurniadi said. "The depth around here is 50 meters. No specialist equipment (is required). Divers can go get it." But officials made clear there had been no confirmation that the sighted object was the missing plane. Frogman commander Lieutenant Edi Tirkayasa said the weather was making the operation extra hard. "What is most difficult is finding the location where the plane fell - checking whether the aircraft is really there," he told Reuters. "This is very difficult even with sophisticated equipment. With weather like this, who knows? We are still hopeful and optimistic that they'll find it. They must." Investigators are working on a theory that the plane stalled as it climbed steeply to avoid a storm about 40 minutes into the flight. So far, at least seven bodies have been recovered from waters near the suspected crash site, along with debris such a suitcase, an emergency slide and a life jacket. The bodies are being taken in numbered coffins to Surabaya, where relatives of the victims have gathered, for identification. Authorities have been collecting DNA from relatives to help identify the bodies. "We are asking universities to work with us - from the whole country," said Anton Castilani, executive director at Indonesia's disaster victims identification committee. Most of those on board were Indonesians. No survivors have been found. Relatives, many of whom collapsed in grief when they saw the first grim television pictures confirming their fears on Tuesday, held prayers at a crisis center at Surabaya airport. "UNBELIEVABLY" STEEP CLIMB The plane was traveling at 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet to avoid bad weather. When air traffic controllers granted permission for a rise to 34,000 feet a few minutes later, they received no response. A source close to the probe into what happened said radar data appeared to show that the aircraft made an "unbelievably" steep climb before it crashed, possibly pushing it beyond the Airbus A320's limits. "It appears to be beyond the performance envelope of the aircraft," he said. The source, who declined to be identified, added that more information was needed to come to a firm conclusion. Online discussion among pilots has centered on unconfirmed secondary radar data from Malaysia that suggested the aircraft was climbing at a speed of 353 knots, about 100 knots too slow, and that it might have stalled. The Indonesian captain, a former air force fighter pilot, had 6,100 flying hours under his belt and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, according to AirAsia Indonesia, which is 49-percent owned by Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia (AIRA.KL). Three airline disasters involving Malaysian-affiliated carriers in less than a year have dented confidence in the country's aviation industry and spooked travelers. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared in March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew and has not been found. On July 17, the same airline's Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. On board Flight QZ8501 were 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans, and one person each from Singapore, Malaysia and Britain. The co-pilot was French. The AirAsia group, including affiliates in Thailand, the Philippines and India, had not suffered a crash since its Malaysian budget operations began in 2002. Separately, an AirAsia Indonesia pilot was taken off flying duties on the route from Jakarta to the holiday island of Bali on Thursday after a urine test indicated traces of morphine. "From our early interview with the pilot, he said he was hospitalized for typhus and was infused from Dec 26-29," airline CEO Sunu Widyatmoko told reporters. "Until today, he still consumes medication. One of them is Actifed (a cough syrup). In a narcotics test, cough medication could cause the false alarm of drug intake." http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/01/us-indonesia-airplane-idUSKBN0K900D20150101 Back to Top FAA Internal Report Finds Pilots in Philly US Airways Crash Didn't Properly Set Flight Computer A report published by the FAA says that a crash at Philadelphia International Airport was caused by the pilot having drugs in his system. (Published Wednesday, Dec 31, 2014) Wednesday, Dec 31, 2014 * Updated at 9:20 PM EST The pilots behind the controls of a US Airways flight that crashed at Philadelphia International Airport in March failed to properly prepare the aircraft for takeoff, a Federal Aviation Administration report obtained by NBC10 concluded. Officials also found the plane's captain had prescription drugs in his system that should have disqualified him from flying. Initial findings by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) blamed the crash on wind sheer, but the internal FAA report points to pilot error. The incident report, provided to NBC10 Investigative Reporter Harry Hairston through a Freedom of Information request, states the flight crew of US Airways flight 1702 did not enter velocity speeds needed for departure into the Airbus A320's flight computer. Once the pilot throttled up for takeoff along Runway 27 Left on March 13, an alarm sounded warning that cockpit levers were not set, the report said. The co-pilot relayed part of a written message prompting the pilot to move the levers to the "Take Off Go Around" position, according to the report. RAW: Passengers Run from Evacuated Flight[NATL-V-PHI] RAW: Passengers Run from Evacuated Flight Passengers were forced to flee a US Airways flight at Philadelphia International Airport after a mechanical failure. (Published Thursday, Mar 13, 2014) However, the pilot only put the throttle in the Flexible Take-Off position and once the jet reached a speed of 92 mph, another alarm sounded warning the crew to move the engines into an Idle position, the report said. This is used during landing. According to the report, the captain asked his co-pilot whether she had ever heard such an alarm on takeoff before. She answered "No." Possible Measles Exposure at Please Touch Museum Despite the alarms, the crew continued with takeoff. "We'll get that straight when we get airborne," officials quoted the pilot as saying. Audio Recordings Obtained from Philly Plane Crash[PHI] Audio Recordings Obtained from Philly Plane Crash These audio recordings obtained by NBC10.com through a Freedom of Information request via the FAA details the moments during and after the March 13 crash at Philadelphia International. Long periods of silence between recordings has been removed for time purposes. (Published Thursday, May 29, 2014) The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-bound airliner, carrying 149 passengers and five crew, reached a speed of about 183 mph and 70 feet off the ground when the pilot felt "the aircraft was unsafe to fly," the report stated. He moved the throttle into the Idle position and the plane's tail smashed into the runway, followed by the middle landing gear, the report said. The hard landing forced the plane's nose into the ground, causing the landing gear to collapse and sent the jet skidding 2,000 feet across a grass field. As it was sliding, the plane's left engine sucked up runway lights and dirt causing it to smoke as passengers ran away to safety. Two passengers suffered minor injuries and had to be taken to the hospital. "They should have never commenced to take off," aviation expert Arthur Wolk said after reviewing the report with the NBC10 Investigators. "When they applied takeoff power, they got warnings the system was not properly set and the information they needed was not there." "That could have been a horribly fatal accident," he added. The report also says that the plane's captain should not have even walked into the cockpit. He underwent a stress test two days before the crash and was given two drugs - the sedative Midazolam and narcotic Fentanyl, the report said. Based on how the body processes these drugs, the pilot would not be fit to fly until 60 hours after taking them. He returned 45 hours later and did not inform US Airways about his condition, officials said. "These drugs have the ability impair one's attention and now we have an incident that relates to one's failure to attend to the business at hand which was to make sure the airplane was properly configure for taken off," Wolk said. A US Airways spokesperson declined to comment until the NTSB finishes its investigation. The internal FAA report will be provided to the NTSB and a final report is expected to be released in Spring 2015. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/FAA-Internal-Report-Finds-Pilots-in-Philly-US- Airways-Crash-Didnt-Properly-Set-Flight-Computer-287248391.html#ixzz3NZddOAWG Back to Top Pilots Hurt When Police Helicopter Crashes in Las Vegas Two Las Vegas police pilots were injured when their helicopter crashed northeast of downtown Wednesday afternoon. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Laura Meltzer told NBC station KSNV the crash occurred at 1:30 p.m., and that it landed in the street. Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie told the station that he visited both pilots at the hospital, and that both would be "fine." Photos taken by a resident of the street where the helicopter came down showed the chopper intact, and down in a street next to parked cars. The last time a Metro helicopter went down was September 2012 during a training flight at North Las Vegas Airport. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pilots-hurt-when-police-helicopter-crashes-las- vegas-n277781 Back to Top Missing planes and air disasters: How bad was 2014? 2014 has actually had the lowest number of plane crashes in over 80 years, the BAAA says But 2014 could have the most aviation deaths since 2005 Aviation expert: The disappearance of two planes in Asia in the same year is "eerie" Statistics show flying is still far safer than driving (CNN) -- MH370. MH17. Air Algerie 5017. And now AirAsia QZ8501. The disappearance of AirAsia Flight 8501 between Indonesia and Singapore over the weekend caps a bizarre year in aviation, marred by a series of missing planes and air disasters. But could 2014 be the worst year in recent aviation history? Yes and no. Depends on how you define "worst." Crashes In terms of crashes, 2014 has seen the lowest number in more than 80 years, the Geneva- based Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives says. The organization counts the AirAsia disappearance as a crash, bringing this year's number to 111. The last time the world had 111 crashes was in 1927. "If you consider sheer numbers of aircraft crashes, flying today is safer," says Kane Ray, an analyst with the International Bureau of Aviation, a global aviation consulting group. "However, there are more aircraft in the sky, so naturally the overall number may appear similar to previous decades and, in some categories of disaster, higher." In terms of fatalities, the numbers paint a grimmer picture. So far, aviation disasters this year have claimed 1,158 lives. If we can track phones, why not planes? The AirAsia flight was carrying 162 people. If all of them perished, this year would have the most aviation deaths -- 1,320 -- since 2005, according to the organization. Already, 2014 has put an end to a steadily improving global aviation safety record. "Every ten years or so, we have a year that is less safe than others. Unfortunately this year was one of those," said Ronan Hubert with the Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives. Last year, 265 people were killed in flight incidents, marking the safest year in aviation since 1945, the Aviation Safety Network said. The Aviation Safety Network and the BAAA track their numbers differently. The Aviation Safety Network says its figures on fatal aircraft accidents include only civil aircraft of which the basic model has been certified for carrying 14 or more passengers. The BAAA includes accidents of aircraft capable of carrying at least six passengers, besides the crew. Another key difference: The Aviation Safety Network doesn't include fatalities from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 because it does not count shootdowns or acts of sabotage in its safety indicator numbers. The BAAA statistics count "any event where aircraft suffered such damage that it is not in a position to be used anymore." Bad year for Asia Urgent plane search in shipping corridor Seasonal weather a 'factor' for planes Asia has endured a particularly brutal year. Prior to 2014, Malaysia Airlines had an excellent safety record. Then in March, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 aboard. Officials believe that plane is somewhere in the Indian Ocean. But, nine months later, MH370 still hasn't been found. In July, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 aboard. While AirAsia is based in Malaysia, the flight that disappeared Sunday was operated by AirAsia Indonesia, an affiliate with hubs in Jakarta and Surabaya. AirAsia has a near flawless safety record, with no previous fatal accidents. But now that record has changed. "This is my worse nightmare," AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes tweeted as crews searched for AirAsia QZ8501. (Two other disasters claimed dozens of lives, both in July. TransAsia Airways Flight 222 killed 48 in Taiwan. The cause of that crash is unclear. The crash of Air Algerie Flight 5017 killed 116 people while en route from Burkina Faso to Algeria. The plane went down in Mali. The cause of that crash is also uncertain, but the plane changed flight paths due to bad weather.) Experts stumped AirAsia jet missing off Indonesia coast Families distraught over missing plane How can we lose a plane in 2014? With all the advances in aviation technology, it can seem unfathomable how two planes could just fall off the map. And in the same year. And in the same region. Even experts are befuddled. "It's eerie, it's unusual or just kind of spooky that this would happen in this area, but we don't know the facts yet," said Peter Goelz, former managing director of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Still safe When air disasters happen, they make big news. But on the whole, far fewer people die in plane crashes than in cars. About 1.24 million people die each year on the world's roads, the World Health Organization said last year. By contrast, the deadliest year in aviation had 3,346 deaths, the BAAA said. That was in 1972. Since then, technology has improved and airlines, insurance companies and regulators have worked to increase aviation safety levels to get closer to zero risk, said Hubert. "Accidents are not always avoidable," he said, but "with each accident, we learn something new and improve." And according to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the number of commercial flight departures has grown in recent years to 30 million in 2011. Despite the fatalities from this year, Goelz said, "that's a relatively low rate when you compare it to the massive numbers of people who are flying today." http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/29/travel/aviation-year-in-review/ Back to Top How AirAsia flight compares to Air France 447 crash By Bill Palmer Bill Palmer: AirAsia crash bears similarities in terms of weather, other factors, to AF447 He says storms in the Intertropical Convergence Zone can grow to great height, intensity Palmer: Real causes won't be known until more of the plane is recovered, analyzed Editor's note: Bill Palmer, an Airbus A330 captain for a major airline, is the author of "Understanding Air France 447," an explanation of the details and lessons of the crash of that aircraft in June 2009. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. (CNN) -- On Sunday, all contact with AirAsia Flight 8501 was lost over the Java Sea as a wide area of thunderstorms covered the area. The discovery of floating debris on Tuesday about 100 miles from its last known position, in combination with an analysis of ocean currents, will give investigators clues where to search for the remainder of the aircraft. From its cruise altitude, the airplane's gliding distance would also be about 100 miles, but consider that for the debris to drift that same 100 miles it would only take a drift rate of 2 knots, yielding a wide range of possibilities as to the nature of the aircraft's descent to the water below. Many parallels between AirAsia 8501 and Air France 447 in June 2009 are obvious. Both aircraft were lost in thunderstorm areas of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Both crashed at sea where floating debris drifted for days from the point of contact with the sea before being discovered, and both were sophisticated fly-by-wire Airbus aircraft (though different models). While flying into a thunderstorm is always to be avoided, it was not likely the sole cause of the accident. The reported requests by the crew to deviate course and change altitude seeking to avoided thunderstorm cells and turbulence are completely normal. The weather in the ITCZ has some unique qualities compared to your average thunderstorm over land. The storms are driven by the convergence of airflow patterns between the northern and southern hemispheres of the Earth, in addition to the usual factors of warm moist air and unstable atmospheric conditions. The height of the stratosphere --- which tends to put a cap on the height of thunderstorm growth -- averages about 35,000 feet over the mid latitudes (such as that of mainland USA), but reaches to 50,000 feet or more in the ITCZ, providing for the growth of thunderstorms to great heights and accompanying intensity. These features can lead to some unusual conditions such as icing or heavy rain within those storms where it may not normally be expected, as was the case with AF 447 when its airspeed-sensing probes became clogged. In the aftermath of the Air France crash, in addition to an improved design of the probes, significant emphasis has been placed on pilot training on the prevention and recovery from similar scenarios -- such as loss of airspeed indications and high altitude stall recovery. I would say all pilots, especially of Airbus aircraft, would be aware of AF447's lessons, including QZ8501's captain, given his reported experience. Is air travel in Asia growing too quickly? The faces of AirAsia flight 8501 There is a recent development however that relates to Airbus A320 series aircraft. A December 10, 2014, Airworthiness Directive (AD 2014-25-51) describes how control of the aircraft could be lost in flight as a consequence of icing of the angle-of-attack probes and an interaction with the airplane's stall protection function. Those probes act like small weather vanes on the side of the aircraft and measure the angle at which the airplane moves through the air -- the angle of attack. If the angle is too high the air can no longer flow smoothly around the wings, resulting in an aerodynamic stall. The acceptable range of angles of attack is fairly small, and gets considerably smaller at higher speeds, such as cruise speed. Simply put, depending on the position of the angle-of-attack probes when freezing occurs and the subsequent speed of the aircraft, the system may be fooled into thinking that the aircraft is approaching a stalled condition -- even when it isn't. In response, the airplane's stall protections pitch the aircraft's nose down to recover. This erroneous pitch down cannot be overridden by the pilots unless an emergency procedure in the Airworthiness Directive is followed. All pilots flying this model airplane should be aware of this. The procedure instructs the pilots to shut down two of the three air data computers to render the usual stall protection inoperative and allow recovery of the aircraft. Of course, there is no way, at this stage of the investigation, to know if this played a part, but investigators will certainly be looking for evidence of this phenomenon. Another obvious question is the apparent lack of transmitted position and altitude data after its last known position in cruise. This data is transmitted throughout the flight by a system known as ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast). This system transmits the airplane's position and other basic data to ground stations. Though its position is GPS-satellite derived, it is not transmitted to satellites, only to ground stations -- so the range to the nearest receiving ground station is a factor in the availability of that data. The apparent sudden loss of this data at cruise could be explained by failures in flight such as an electrical failure, in-flight breakup of the aircraft, or the pilots switching off required data to operate the system such as that outlined in the emergency procedure above. However, it could also be that the aircraft simply flew out of range of the ground stations. Flight tracking websites indicate that this routinely occurs in the general area where QZ8501's last ADS-B transmission was made. I think that is the most likely cause of the end of the data stream and is not necessarily an indication of catastrophic failure in flight. In the case of Air France 447, the aircraft came down in the Atlantic Ocean where the sea depth exceeded 12,000 feet. While some floating wreckage and a number of bodies were discovered within a few days on the surface, the extreme depth and rough terrain on the ocean bottom delayed discovery of the remainder of the aircraft and recovery of the flight recorders for two years. Fortunately, the 100-foot depth of the Java Sea in the area where evidence of QZ8501 was found will almost certainly result in the relatively rapid location of the aircraft and recovery of the two flight recorders. Consideration of ocean currents during the two days between the aircraft's disappearance and the discovery of floating debris will help lead investigators to find the remainder of the aircraft and its passengers. We should not be subjected to long period of uncertainty such as with AF447 -- or the continuing lack of information on MH370. While any accident investigation will take months to complete, I would expect more information to be available as the search and recovery continues. Clues from the way in which airplane parts were damaged on impact and the flight data and voice recorder contents will provide answers. But like any aircraft accident, the cause is likely to be the result of a chain of events and conditions, the absence of any one of which would have avoided this tragic accident. At this time, we can only guess what some of those events and conditions are. http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/31/opinion/palmer-airasia-air-france-disasters/ Back to Top Woman IAS officer to head DGCA for the first time (India) M Sathiyavathy, an Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Civil Aviation Ministry, will head Directorate General of Civil Aviation at a time when the aviation regulator's safety mechanism has been downgraded. M Sathiyavathy was today appointed as DGCA in place of Prabhat Kumar 56-year-old Sathiyavathy, who will succeed Prabhat Kumar, will be the first woman to become the chief aviation regulator, official sources said, adding that the formal order is likely to be issued tomorrow. Sathiyavathi, a 1982-batch UT cadre IAS officer, will remain at the helm of DGCA for three years till 2017, they said. Kumar, a 1985-batch UP cadre IAS officer, was appointed only this January as DGCA by the erstwhile UPA regime for a three-year tenure. He had earlier served in the Civil Aviation Ministry from 2012 as a Joint Secretary. Kumar has completed his central deputation period and is slated to revert to his parent UP cadre unless decided otherwise by the government. Sathiyavathy was appointed as Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry in place of S Machendranathan this February. The change of guard at DGCA comes at a time when India's aviation safety ranking has been downgraded and is up for review in early 2015. The US aviation watchdog, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had downgraded the safety ranking from top category-I to category-II and brought it below Pakistan and on par with countries like Ghana, Barbados and Bangladesh on January 31, this year. An FAA team visited India early this month to reassess the safety mechanism. The team is likely to submit a report by January 15, next year. A final decision on whether India would get back its top class ranking is expected to be taken up by March. The Airports Authority of India and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security are also awaiting full-time heads. The government is looking for a new Air India Chairman as incumbent Rohit Nandan has completed his tenure and is currently on extension. http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/woman-ias-officer-to-head-dgca-for- the-first-time-114123100817_1.html Back to Top Back to Top FAA Poised To Miss Deadline For Drone Regulations After months of delay, the Federal Aviation Administration may miss its self-imposed deadline for issuing rules and regulations governing commercial use of drones. CBS News reported on Monday that "it is evident" that the agency will fail to meet the deadline it imposed on itself, leaving the commercial ban on drones in place for the time being. According to CBS, "Congress ordered the FAA to develop and implement these rules by late 2015, and now it is nearly certain that the FAA will not meet that deadline," and will most likely not issue regulations until 2017. (RELATED: Sen. Markey: We Need Protection Before Commercial Drones Take Off) The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, an industry trade group, claims that, "the U.S. loses $27.6 million a day-or $10 billion each year," because of the lack of a regulatory structure for commercial drone use. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, media executive L. Gordon Crovitz noted that Amazon is the company with the most at stake, and argues that the popularity of drones as holiday gifts this year "is a reminder that the Grinch of federal regulators stole Christmas from [Amazon CEO] Jeff Bezos." (RELATED: FAA Tells Amazon 'No Drones!') "More than a year ago," Crovitz wrote. "The Amazon CEO made the surprise announcement ... that his company was investing whatever research and development it took to design and build delivery drones," which Bezos claimed "would deliver packages directly to consumers within 30 minutes, faster and cheaper than by trucks." However, "bureaucrats at the FAA prohibit the commercial use of drones," forcing Amazon to do both research and testing outside the U.S. During a recent Business Insider conference, Bezos claimed regulations were the major hurdle remaining before the implementation of drone technology, saying "I think it is sad but possible that the U.S. could be late" to benefiting from drones. (RELATED: Drone Ban Will Stifle Research, Professors Warn) Commercial drones have already taken off in other countries, Crovitz says, and thousands are now being used "to deliver emergency medications; to monitor farms, drilling areas, and construction sites; and to film movies and news" in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. In the U.S., though, he claims, "the FAA has approved a mere 10 commercial drone operators ... [and] the Obama administration has missed numerous congressional deadlines for decriminalizing the business use of drones." "Members of Congress are keenly aware of what's riding on this drone rule," CBS reported, and South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune "is among those who would like to try to use the FAA authorization as leverage to push the FAA to speed up its development of the commercial drone rules." The FAA, however, contends that the task is complicated by the fact that the U.S. has the busiest airspace in the world, and says it is eager "to make sure we get it right the first time." The agency says it gets about 25 calls per month about close calls between drones and manned aircraft. http://dailycaller.com/2014/12/29/faa-poised-to-miss-deadline-for-drone-regulations/ Back to Top Incident: American B763 at Rio de Janeiro on Dec 30th 2014, blew all right main tyres on landing and taxied to gate An American Airlines Boeing 767-300, registration N380AN performing flight AA-251 (dep Dec 29th) from Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA) to Rio de Janeiro,RJ (Brazil), landed on Galeao Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport's runway 15 but blew all 4 right main gear tyres. The aircraft did not stop but taxied to the gate at high engine power with smoke trailing the right main gear. Runway, taxiway and apron surfaces received scratches. The airline reported the aircraft landed normally and taxied to the gate. It was then discovered that the tyres had blown. The onward flight AA-974 to New York JFK,NY (USA) was cancelled. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Rio de Janeiro 28 hours after landing. 767 da AA estoura pneus do trem de pouso direito no GaleĆ£o The aircraft taxiing in (Video: Jose Nonato Coutinho) http://avherald.com/h?article=47f968b7&opt=0 Back to Top ERAU NextGen 101 Seminar - Washington, D.C. "The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide Office of Professional Education is pleased to announce a two-day seminar entitled NextGen 101. The course is designed to identify the key concepts, attributes, and challenges of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Government and industry employees with an interest in NextGen, aviation stakeholders and members of the military transitioning to a career in civilian education should attend. The course will take place in Washington D.C. on April 21-22, 2015. Course fee is $750 per person or $675 per person with five or more people registering from the same group. For more information and to register, please visit us online at http://proed.erau.edu/programs/specialized-industry-training/nextgen-101- seminar/index.html" Back to Top Upcoming Events: IS-BAO Workshop Information and Registration 13 - 14 Jan. 2015 Baltimore, MD USA https://www.regonline.com/CalendarNET/EventCalendar.aspx?EventID=1592658&view=Month 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 ERAU NextGen 101 Seminar April 21-22, 2015. Washington D.C. http://proed.erau.edu/programs/specialized-industry-training/nextgen-101- seminar/index.html FAA Helicopter Safety Effort three-day safety forum April 21-23, 2015 Hurst, Texas eugene.trainor@faa.gov www.faahelisafety.org Curt Lewis