Flight Safety Information May 12, 2015 - No. 092 In This Issue Black Boxes Found After Airbus Crash in Spain United SkyWest Jet Makes Emergency Landing At LAX Stuck American regional jet halts air traffic at Missouri airport Increasingly cramped airline seats raise health and safety concerns Joy Air MA60 skids off runway at Fuzhou airport The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award PROS 2015 TRAINING GE Engineers 3D-Printed A Working, Mini Jet Engine Embraer to move Phenom executive jet production to U.S. Upcoming Events JOBS AVAILABLE (New Position) Black Boxes Found After Airbus Crash in Spain Accident comes during a difficult period for the A400M program The wreckage of an Airbus A400 military plane that crashed near Seville, southern Spain, on Saturday. Investigators have recovered the black boxes from the plane, the Spanish government said Sunday. Investigators probing the crash of an Airbus Group NV military transport plane in Spain that killed four people onboard have recovered the black boxes, which could provide vital clues into the accident of an aircraft the European company has struggled to develop. The A400M airlifter crashed soon after takeoff on Saturday while an Airbus crew attempted to return to the Seville airport after making an emergency distress call, the Spanish government said. Four of six Airbus workers that were on board died in the accident, while the remaining two were sent to the hospital with serious injuries. It was the first flight for that particular aircraft since Airbus completed assembling the plane. Investigators will be closely examining whether a system failure occurred, suggesting a manufacturing problem or a design issue not seen in the 5½ years since A400M transport planes began flying. Crew actions also will be closely reviewed. The crash comes during a difficult period for a program that already has run billions of dollars over budget. Airbus has suffered years of delays in developing and producing the four-engine turbo-propeller plane, turning the project into a loss-maker. The aircraft had begun a descent shortly after taking off from the Seville airport on Saturday and came down in a field about a mile north of Seville's airport, hitting a power transmission tower and catching fire upon impact, according to a Spanish government official. In a statement Sunday, Spain's public-works ministry said the two black boxes of the airlifter were located Sunday morning and have been handed over to the judge in charge of the investigation. Like commercial airlines, the A400M is equipped with black boxes that record conversations between pilots and the functioning of systems. Those two recording devices, which are designed to be able to withstand crashes and fires, should have a full audio recording of the communications between the crew and of thousands of data points about how systems performed. A government official said the recording devices sustained damage during the crash. Investigators typically can extract data stored on the black boxes even in such circumstances. Investigators will draw on information from air-traffic control to reconstruct what happened. Plane-tracking website Flightradar24 said the aircraft crashed at 12:57 p.m. local time in Spain after reaching a maximum altitude of 1,725 feet and then descending at a constant speed of about 160 knots, or 184 miles an hour. The aircraft, which was due for delivery to the Turkish air force in June, took off at 12:45 p.m. local time, according to Airbus. The crash is the first for an A400M airlifter, which Airbus assembles at a plant in Seville located by the airport. The global fleet of these cargo planes, the biggest built in western Europe, has logged almost 10,000 flight hours at Airbus and with military customers, the plane maker said. Spain's air-accident authority, CIAIAC, which is overseen by the public-works ministry, is leading the probe into the cause of the crash. Airbus said it would aid the investigation, and the Spanish Defense Ministry is also taking part, the public-works ministry said Sunday. "We will do all it takes to support the authorities in their investigation," Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said on Saturday. The U.K. Defense Ministry said it had temporarily stopped flying its two A400M transport planes as a precautionary measure until more is known about why the aircraft went down. The German air force, which has one such plane, late Saturday followed suit. Malaysia and Turkey also grounded their planes, though France said it was waiting for more information. An Airbus spokesman said the company had "no intention" of suspending flights of the plane and that production also wouldn't be affected pending further information from the crash probe. Airbus is under pressure to keep the program moving apace. The Toulouse, France-based plane maker in January replaced the head of the military aircraft unit because of sustained delays in building A400M aircraft and meeting technical requirements. At the time, Mr. Enders apologized for the problems with the plane. The company's 2014 full-year results included a charge of €551 million ($618 million) related to problems building the plane. Airbus has sold 174 of the military cargo planes, which cost about $170 million each, with orders from eight countries. The first was delivered to the French air force in 2013, a decade after its development began. Turkey, the U.K. and Germany are among the countries to have received A400M planes. The plane maker was starting to aggressively promote the plane, developed cooperatively for seven countries, in export markets around the world in the hope of securing more orders. Malaysia is the sole export customer at this point. Airbus officials have said the company won't make money on the plane unless it secures additional deals, after the development program ran billions of dollars over budget. Airbus at one point considered abandoning the program before governments buying the aircraft provided relief on some contractual terms. Airbus also has had to contend with recent accidents in its civil airplane unit, after an AirAsia A320 jetliner crashed in December and a similar plane operated by Deutsche Lufthansa AG 's budget arm, Germanwings, went down in March. Neither crash has been linked to faults at Airbus. Investigators into the Germanwings crash suspect the co-pilot of deliberately crashing the plane. An accident report on the AirAsia crash in Indonesia is pending. http://www.wsj.com/articles/black-boxes-found-after-air-crash-in-spain-1431267113 Back to Top United SkyWest Jet Makes Emergency Landing At LAX LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) - A jetliner landed safely Monday at Los Angeles International Airport after its landing gear failed to fully deploy, according to reports. The left wing of the United SkyWest regional jet scraped the ground on Runway 24 Left around 8:23 a.m. after its left landing gear failed to fully deploy, according the FAA. Officials said 40 passengers and three crew members were on board the aircraft, which took off from Monterey at 7:14 a.m., the Associated Press reported. Live video appeared to show the Bombardier CRJ200's left landing gear didn't deploy as it came down. Smoke could be seen coming from that side of the aircraft as it dragged along the runway and skidded to a stop. Passengers exited the aircraft upon landing and were being placed on buses to be taken to the United terminal, according to LAFD spokesman Erik Scott. "We were a little nervous, it was very fast," said passenger Dennis Thanass. "Soon as we missed the airport the first time, we knew they were gonna dump the fuel, and they flew by the tower to make sure the wheels were up or down." Passenger Traci Reid said she was surprised, however, the landing wasn't more violent, and credited the pilot's expertise. "Actually, this is what was amazing about the pilot was it was an incredibly smooth landing. I would say it was actually smoother than some of the landings I've had with all of the landing gear down," Reid said. "If you take a look at the aerial photos, you can actually see the plane tilting a little bit, but our airport response firefighter vehicles were there, ready for it," LAX spokeswoman Mary Grady said. "A SkyWest regional jet was unable to extend its left main landing gear and landed on Runway 24L with the gear retracted," said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration in a statement. SkyWest Airlines released the following statement: "SkyWest Flight 5316 operating as United Express from Monterey to Los Angeles safely conducted an emergency landing in Los Angeles after the left main landing gear failed to extend. All 40 passengers and three crew members safely deplaned. Mechanics will inspect the aircraft to determine what may have caused the issue." LAX says six flights cancelled delayed or diverted because of the emergency landing. LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles said there were "no significant impacts to LAX operations" following the incident. The plane has been moved into a hanger at the airport, where it will be inspected by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the airline. http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/05/11/jet-makes-hard-landing-at-lax/ Back to Top Stuck American regional jet halts air traffic at Missouri airport All flights at the Columbia Regional Airport in mid-Missouri have been suspended after an American Airlines regional flight became stuck in the mud near the runway. The incident happened Monday afternoon. As AA Flight 3305 was taxiing, part of the aircraft's rear landing gear left the paved taxiway and became stuck in a grassy area, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune. The aircraft was a Bombardier CRJ 700 regional jet operating for Envoy Air, a regional affiliate of American Airlines. Airport officials say passengers were safely taken off the plane and that no one was hurt. But the incident forced the airport to halt all flights because of the stranded aircraft's proximity to the runway, KRCG TV of Missouri reports. All of the airport's flights have been canceled through early Tuesday morning. The airport says in an online statement that "it is unknown when COU will reopen for air traffic." "He cut it too sharp," Flight 3305 Randy West passenger speculated to the Missourian about the turn by the pilot that took part of the landing gear off the pavement. The newspaper also noted it's the second time in about a month that an aircraft has become stuck in the mud at Columbia. The most recent incident came April 4. No photos of the most-recent incident were available as of 7:30 p.m. ET. American is the only carrier serving the airport, which is located near the college city of Columbia (the University of Missouri) and the Missouri state capital of Jefferson City. From Columbia, American flies to its hubs at Chicago O'Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth. Airport officials told the Daily Tribune late Monday afternoon that crews were evaluating the stranded aircraft and would remove it from the taxiway sometime Monday evening or Tuesday. They urged passengers ticketed to fly out of Columbia on Monday evening or Tuesday evening to check with American about alternative options or to inquire about when flights might resume. http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2015/05/11/stuck-american-regional-jet-halts-air-traffic- at-missouri-airport/27146173/ Back to Top Increasingly cramped airline seats raise health and safety concerns BERLIN - Reuters - Airlines are packing ever more seats into economy class to protect profit margins from falling ticket prices, prompting concerns over health and safety from travelers and crew. Slim-line designs, extra emergency exits and creative placing of galleys and toilets are all playing their part in the great seat squeeze, say industry watchers. "If you're a dog, you have very specific rules, but if you're a human being there are no specific rules as to what is humane," Charlie Leocha, the head of consumer group Travelers United, told a U.S. government advisory committee examining the issue in Washington D.C. this week. Seat pitch, the distance from one seat to the same spot on the one in front or behind, has shrunk to as little as 28 inches on some flights, against the more common 31 or 32 inches for economy, according to seat makers. Aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus are increasing the number of places that can be squeezed in per row. Making things even tighter for passengers, airlines have got better at managing ticket sales and filling planes, meaning the middle seat is rarely left free. The economic factors are clear. Average ticket prices are expected to fall by 5 per cent this year, according to industry body IATA, while airlines are expected to make a their best net profit margin in five years, albeit at just 3.2 per cent. But the health and safety impacts are still being debated. Air rage The lack of space has triggered more outbreaks of air rage, Julie Frederick from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants told the Washington D.C. hearing of the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections. Several flights had to divert after passengers got into fights over reclining seats and lack of leg room last year. It was also making it harder for crew to treat anyone needing medical help, Frederick added. The number of passengers a type of aircraft is allowed to carry is mainly defined by how quickly people can exit in an emergency, hence the extra exits. Keith Hansen, director of facilities at low-cost carrier Allegiant, told the hearing he did not think higher seat density was increasing risks in the event of an evacuation. "We don't believe there's any increased safety risk whatsoever in an emergency evacuation ... These aircraft are all approved and certified by the FAA," he said. Some low-cost airlines such as Ryanair, Spirit and Allegiant have already found one way round the reclining seat problem - the fixed shell of their non-reclining seats also makes them cheaper to construct. Zodiac and other seat makers have tried bringing in compensations for economy passengers, extras from tablet holders to in-seat power were on show at this week's Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. Germany's Recaro showed economy seats with foot rests, in-seat USB and power outlets, a mouldable head-rest, a 13.3 inch Panasonic monitor and mood lighting. Panasonic Avionics has worked with seat maker B/E Aerospace on a new economy class seat called Jazz that includes a discreet 'do not disturb' light, inductive charging for devices and an HDMI slot. "Economy seats are on a downward trend, but airlines are adding in perks to make you forget more quickly just how squeezed in you are," said Jason Rabinowitz, data research manager at Routehappy, which rates flight cabins. "The more seats are shrinking, the more technology they're packing in," Rabinowitz added. "The jury is still out as to whether passengers will forget though." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/increasingly- cramped-airline-seats-raise-health-and-safety-concerns/article23994387/ Back to Top Joy Air MA60 skids off runway at Fuzhou airport A Xi'an-based Joy Air MA60 skidded off the runway while landing at Fuzhou Changle International Airport May 10, resulting in a wings and fuselage junction fracture phenomena. According to Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network, the wings of the aircraft were twisted, causing the engines to strike the ground. Joy Air said there were 45 passengers and seven crew members onboard; five passengers suffered minor injuries. The aircraft, which is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW100-127J engines, was operating as flight JR1529 on the Yiwu-Fuzhou route when the runway excursion occurred. Fuzhou airport was closed until 17:30, while more than 20 flights were delayed or canceled. The cause of the incident is still under investigation. Joy Air operates a single fleet of eight MA60s on more than 30 domestic routes. AVIC, which produces the MA60, is the controlling stakeholder and owns a 95% stake. The MA60 has received more than 270 orders; nearly 100 aircraft have been delivered to 27 carriers in the developing countries, mainly in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. The MA60 has been refused airworthiness certification in New Zealand, Australia, several European states and the US. In February 2014, a Joy Air Xian MA60 crashed while landing at China's Zhengzhou-Xinzheng Airport, significantly damaging the aircraft. There were 37 passengers and seven cabin crew onboard; no injuries were reported. In March 2014, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) grounded 15 MA60s after safety incidents involving landing gear last year. http://atwonline.com/safety/joy-air-ma60-skids-runway-fuzhou-airport Back to Top The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award It's time to honor individuals or groups that have made significant contributions to aviation safety-either in the past year or over a longer period of time. Nominations for the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award are being accepted through June 1, 2015. The release contains detailed instructions, but the basics are simple. The award's recipient is selected for a "significant individual or group effort contributing to improving aviation safety, with emphasis on original contributions," and a "significant individual or group effort performed above and beyond normal responsibilities." To nominate someone or a group, fill out the form available at the following links and provide a 1-2-page narrative. Submit nominations at the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award website via http://ltbaward.org/the-award/nomination-form/ ...or the Flight Safety Foundation website at http://flightsafety.org/aviation-awards/laura-taber-barbour-air-safety-award Remember--this year's nominations are due on or before June 1. Thank you in advance for your nomination! Sincerely, The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award Board www.ltbaward.org Back to Top Back to Top GE Engineers 3D-Printed A Working, Mini Jet Engine As a tech demonstration, researchers at GE recently built a miniature, backpack-sized jet engine that they made entirely from 3D-printed parts. And not just for looks, either. They were able to fire it up and get it moving to 33,000 rpms. The engine was built over the course of several years, using a 3D printing technique that melted thin layers of metal power one on top of each other to build each individual part of the engine. Once all the parts were manufactured, the engine was then assembled. The final product was about eight inches tall and a foot long. Once the engine was completed, the engine was placed into a test cell that would be used for any other jet engine and fired up. The engine before assembly. (Credit: GE Reports) It's worth noting that this isn't just a cool thing that GE has put together. It goes to demonstrate just how far 3D printing has come in the aerospace industry. "This is much more that a stunt," said Terry Wohlers, a 3D-printing analyst for Wohler's and Associates. "It shows what's possible with additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing technology, especially for very demanding applications. GE Aircraft will be producing tens of thousands of fuel nozzles by AM for its new- generation LEAP engine in the coming months and years. Airbus has also produced complex metal AM parts that have flown on the new A350." You can check out a video of the engine from GE Reports below: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2015/05/11/ge-engineers-3d-printed-a-working-mini-jet-engine/ Back to Top Embraer to move Phenom executive jet production to U.S. -union SAO PAULO - May 11 Brazil's Embraer SA , the world's third-largest commercial planemaker, plans to move production of its Phenom executive jets to its factory in the United States next year, a Brazilian union said on Monday. The Metalworkers' Union of São José dos Campos said in a statement that the company informed it on Friday that the move was part of a marketing strategy and plans to expand the Embraer factory in Brazil. Embraer officials could not immediately be reached for comment. A strike by the union over salaries led to a rare work stoppage at the Brazilian plant last year. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/11/embraer-idUSL1N0Y22RO20150511 Back to Top Upcoming Events: Aircraft Accident Investigation - Fire and Material Failures New course offered by BlazeTech Corp. Woburn MA USA 19-21 May 2015 www.blazetech.com Fundamentals of IS-BAH June 15, 2015 St. Hubert, Quebec Canada https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659069 IS-BAH Auditing June 16, 2015 St. Hubert, Quebec Canada https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659079 6th Pan American Aviation Safety Summit June 22-26th Medellin, Colombia http://www.alta.aero/safety/2015/home.php Safety Management Systems Training & Workshop Course offered by ATC Vantage Inc. Tampa, FL August 6-7, 2015 www.atcvantage.com/training Back to Top JOBS AVAILABLE: Operations Director www.helioffshore.org contact: info@helioffshore.org Managing Director, Safety Airlines for America http://airlines.org/careers/ Curt Lewis