Flight Safety Information June 9, 2015 - No. 112 In This Issue Smoke in cabin forces emergency landing at St. Pete-Clearwater airport Coast Guard's Dornier aircraft with 3 crew members missing off Chennai (India) Pilots need adequate loss of licence insurance: Lufthansa CEO American Airlines Jet Met With Emergency Crews At SJC FAA Updates Instrument Procedures Handbook Tupolev TU-95MS Accident (Russia) PROS 2015 TRAINING Mitsubishi Regional Jet Starts Taxiing Tests Boeing to Offer Aircraft Financing If Trade Bank Shuts Scientists have figured out how to engineer jet fuel from sugarcane United Airlines CFO: Airbus A380 superjumbo 'doesn't work' for us U.S. Navy Tests Electromagnetic Jet Fighter Catapult Harvard University Pilot Health Study Graduate Research - Pilot Survey UNITED NATIONS Position Announcement Upcoming Events Smoke in cabin forces emergency landing at St. Pete-Clearwater airport CLEARWATER - Smoke appeared in the cabin of an Allegiant Air plane just eight minutes after takeoff Monday afternoon, forcing pilots to return to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport for an emergency landing. Twenty-four minutes after the 4:28 p.m. takeoff, passengers on flight 864 were evacuated on emergency slides, the airline said in a statement. Passengers then were bussed to the terminal, airport spokeswoman Yvette Aehle said. Three passengers and one flight attendant had reported injuries to Allegiant as of 7 p.m., according to the airline. The airline said it had no reports of anyone being taken to the hospital or treated on scene. All 141 passengers will receive vouchers for $200 and a full refund for the flight to Hagerstown Regional Airport in Maryland, which Allegiant has rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The airline said it will provide hotels for passengers who don't live in the area. http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/smoke-in-cabin-forces-emergency-landing-at-st-pete- clearwater-airport/2232838 Back to Top Coast Guard's Dornier aircraft with 3 crew members missing off Chennai (India) Search and rescue operations are underway to locate Coast Guard's Dornier aircraft which went missing with 3 crew members on board off Chennai. (Via Indian Coast Guard website) Indian warships and planes mounted a massive search operation on Tuesday for a Dornier aircraft that went missing overnight with three crew members on board. The Coast Guard aircraft went missing more than three hours after taking off from Chennai airport at 6 pm on Monday for a surveillance sortie. Its crew comprised two pilots and a navigator. This is the second incident this year involving a Dornier aircraft of the armed forces. In March, two crew members of a Dornier aircraft of the navy were killed when it crashed off the Goa coast. Defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said in a series of tweets that the Dornier was on a routine surveillance sortie over the sea. The last contact with the aircraft was at 9 pm and the radar at Tiruchirappalli tracked it till 9.23 pm, when it was 95 nautical miles south of Chennai, he said. The Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Tamil Nadu Coast Security Group are involved in an "intense" search and rescue operation though nothing had been found so far, officials said. Five Coast Guard vessels, four naval ships and several aircraft, including a long-range P81 maritime surveillance aircraft, are participating in the search in the waters off Chennai. Fishing communities along the coast were alerted and requested to inform authorities if they spot the aircraft. The missing Dornier is a new aircraft inducted in the Coast Guard in 2014 and was being flown by a "highly experienced crew", defence ministry spokesman Kar said. Dorniers cannot fly above 10,000 feet and are mainly used for low altitude maritime surveillance. While the aircraft has parachutes and other life-saving gear, the low altitude at which the plane was flying could make an escape challenging, officials told PTI. On March 24, a Dornier aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed off the Goa coast. While its pilot, Commander Nikhil Kuldip Joshi, was rescued by a fishing boat, two other crew members - Lieutenants Kiran Shekhawat and Abhinav Nagori - were killed in the accident. Shekhawat, 27, was the first woman officer of the armed forces to die in the line of duty. She was training to be an observer and was part of the women's contingent from the navy that marched in the Republic Day parade this year. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard use Dornier aircraft for surveillance and patrolling the waters off the coast. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/coast-guard-s-dornier-aircraft-with-3-crew-members-missing- since-last-night-officials/article1-1356516.aspx Back to Top Pilots need adequate loss of licence insurance: Lufthansa CEO Pilots need to be provided with adequate loss of licence insurance that will allow them to remain financially secure if they are mentally unfit to fly, Lufthansa Group chief executive Carsten Spohr has said in the wake of the tragic Germanwings A320 crash in March. Germanwings is the budget arm of Lufthansa, and French prosecutors have accused Germanwings first officer Andreas Lubitz of deliberately crashing the aircraft into the French Alps, killing all 150 passengers and crew members on board. Mr Lubitz had a history of mental health issues before the crash. Unlike in most other jobs, pilots that report medical issues such as depression can be declared unfit to fly and risk losing their income source. Some loss of licence insurance policies cover mental health issues but others, like the one offered by Qantas Airways, make payouts - which can reach nearly $1 million depending on the pilot's age - discretionary in such cases. Mr Spohr, himself a former A320 pilot, told a forum at the International Air Transport Association annual meeting in Miami that the potential to lose a licence made it tricky for pilots to report mental health issues, so ensuring insurance was adequate was "the highest measure we can have." "All airlines should work on that," he said, without divulging details of the policies available to Lufthansa and Germanwings pilots. Etihad Airways chief executive James Hogan agreed the potential of losing income was a serious concern that could lead pilots to fail to report health problems. "One of the biggest challenges for pilots is loss of licence insurance and what do they do next," he said. Alaska Airlines chief executive Brad Tilden said an industry-wide solution was needed to deal with the issue of future careers for pilots grounded due to health issues. "I think the industry needs to work together," he said. "It is a problem all of us in the industry share." Mr Spohr said the Germanwings crash had raised very difficult issues for his airline group and for the industry as a whole. "Maybe there is no 100 per cent safety in aviation no matter how hard we work on it," he said. "Maybe it is something in the industry we have to live with." In the Germanwings case, the captain was locked out of the cockpit by Mr Lubitz and could not reenter because the door was too secure as a result of post-September 11th security measures. "It makes us realise we always thought of the threat coming from outside the cabin not inside the cabin," said Claudia Sender, the chief executive of Brazilian carrier TAM. "Part of the systems to protect the aircraft worked the other way around in this case. How you create redundancies like always making sure there is a second crew member in the cabin." Qantas and Virgin Australia both put in place a policy of having two people on the flight deck at all times after the Germanwings crash. Mr Spohr said when discussing the Germanwings crash, it was important that the public recognised this was not a simple issue of pilot depression. "Depression is a very common disease and depression doesn't cause people to do what our pilot did," he said. "There is more than a depressive problem here when someone acts that way. We shouldn't put all people who have depression in this basket as this individual. That is very important. Depression is a common disease and there is a way to heal it." The reporter travelled to Miami as a guest of IATA and Qantas. http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/pilots-need-adequate-loss-of-licence-insurance-lufthansa-ceo- 20150609-ghjgpz Back to Top American Airlines Jet Met With Emergency Crews At SJC American Airlines flight 1067 landed safely in San Jose after passengers described a "strange noise" upon takeoff out of Dallas. While the crew of the flight never declared an emergency, several of the 140 passengers, especially in the rear of the plane described what they felt was a "strange noise" coming from the rear of the plane as they took off from Dallas Fort-Worth Airport. Crews at DFW combed the runway, but found no debris. Out of an abundance of caution, San Jose International rolled out their emergency response plan, which included fire trucks and other first responder vehicles, but they were not needed. No one was injured. An American Airlines spokesperson says that maintenance crews will be checking the aircraft tonight before it is put back into service. The aircraft involved is an McDonnell Douglas MD-83, a plane the airline is in the process of retiring, after being introduced into the fleet over thirty years ago. http://www.kliv.com/2015/06/09/american-airlines-jet-met-with-emergency-crews-at-sjc/ Back to Top FAA Updates Instrument Procedures Handbook The FAA released an updated draft version of its Instrument Procedures Handbook (FAA-H-8083-ISA) last week, a guide that functions as the technical reference on IFR procedures used everywhere in the National Airspace System. Among the more important changes in the new version is a deeper explanation of surface movement guidance and control systems that better reflects advancements in the way these ground-radar systems operate, as well as policy changes related to diverse vector areas. There are also updates to sections covering sector and altitude references used throughout the guide, as well as vertical descent angles, visual descent points and GLS approaches, along with their associated minimums. Another chapter highlights alerting functions germane to the performance-based navigation concept and associated systems. In addition, there are changes to RNP approach naming convention issues and updates focused directly on Rnav and GPS approach procedures. The handbook also supplements instrument flying for pilots with safety information on runway incursions, land and hold short operations, controlled flight into terrain and a variety of human factors issues. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2015-06-07/faa-updates-instrument- procedures-handbook Back to Top Tupolev TU-95MS Accident (Russia) Date: 08-JUN-2015 Time: 17:00 Type: Tupolev TU-95MS Owner/operator: Russian Air Force Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 7 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Ukrainka, Amurskaya oblast - Russia Phase: Take off Nature: Military Departure airport: Ukrainka (air base) Destination airport: Ukrainka (air base) Narrative: The engine of the plane caught fire on takeoff. The plane skidded off the runway. Several crew members were injured, one crew member died according to the Russian military. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Back to Top Mitsubishi Regional Jet Starts Taxiing Tests The Mitsubishi Regional Jet is seen conducting taxiing tests at an airport in Nagoya on Monday. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp./Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Japan's first commercial airliner in 50 years is one step closer to takeoff. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. and parent Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, which can carry 70 to 90 passengers, conducted its first taxiing tests on Monday at an airport in Nagoya to examine its low-speed brakes and steering on the ground. The first flight of the aircraft is scheduled for September or October this year. The jets will be the first domestically built airplane in Japan since the YS-11, which were developed by Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing beginning in the 1960s. Mitsubishi Aircraft and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said the plane offers high fuel-efficiency and low noise. They said they have received 407 orders from 223 companies. They are aiming to grab a 50% share of the global market for regional jets in the next two years, although they face tough competition from established players such as Embraer SA of Brazil. The planes are expected to be priced between $40 million and $50 million. http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015/06/09/video-mitsubishi-regional-jet-starts-taxiing-tests/ Back to Top Boeing to Offer Aircraft Financing If Trade Bank Shuts Plane maker may offer temporary funding to back sales; customers are biggest users of Export-Import Bank Workers assemble Boeing 787 Dreamliners at the company's massive assembly plant in North Charleston, S.C. Boeing Co. said it may temporarily provide financing for some aircraft purchases by airlines caught up in the uncertain future of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. if Congress fails to extend the bank's mandate before it expires at the end of June. The plane maker's customers are the biggest users of Ex-Im Bank, whose guarantees secure billions of dollars in commercial funding. And Boeing, as one of the most vocal proponents of reauthorizing the government-backed corporation, would have no option because rival Airbus Group SE is able to rely on European export credit agencies to support some of its jet sales. Still, Boeing says that if it needs to, its finance arm could temporarily fill in the gap if Ex-Im Bank funding is halted. "We do provide some customer financing, and if there's a short-term shutdown of Ex-Im, we will work with customers who are scheduled for deliveries to ensure they get the financing they need, even if we have to provide it ourselves," said Tim Neale, a Boeing spokesman. Boeing's willingness to use its own balance sheet to help airlines could provide ammunition to critics of Ex- Im Bank, who say the bank is unnecessary. The Chicago-based company said it wants to reassure customers but doesn't want to tie up capital permanently that it said would be better used to develop new planes. "Customers of ours are concerned about whether the bank will be there for them if they need it, when it comes time to secure financing for deliveries," said Mr. Neale. "The uncertainty is a risk for them and therefore could become a factor in who wins some of the campaigns currently under way." Airlines and leasing customers typically line up funding several months before jets are delivered, and questions over Ex-Im Bank's fate could leave some airlines unable to secure alternatives. Boeing plans to deliver around 750 jets this year and said 15% were expected to be covered by deals backed by Ex-Im Bank, well below the 30% at the height of the financial crisis, when many banks stopped funding aircraft deals. Bankers said that of that total, around 50 Boeing jets due for delivery in the second half of the year are slated to involve Ex-Im Bank support. They said Boeing could opt to retain some of those on its own balance sheet and rent them to airlines until alternative funding could be secured. Leasing companies could also step in and buy the planes, and rent them to carriers. Plane makers long have provided funding and guarantees to support their sales, but have stepped back over the past decade as new funding sources emerged, mainly renting out older jets that are tough to finance. Boeing Capital, the company's finance arm, had customer-finance assets of $3.4 billion at the end of March, according to regulatory filings, less than a third of its level a decade ago. Ex-Im Bank said it's continuing to process applications. China Eastern Airlines Co. this week closed a loan to buy a Boeing 777-300ER with Ex-Im Bank funding. Emirates Airline, Taag Angola Airlines Co. and Cargolux Airlines International SA in recent weeks also have applied for Ex-Im Bank support, according to regulatory filings. Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney has said he expects Ex-Im Bank to be reauthorized, though in lobbying for it also has warned that the company may look to shift some production overseas to countries with export credit agencies if Ex-Im is dissolved. http://www.wsj.com/articles/boeing-would-provide-more-jet-finance-if-ex-im-bank-shut-1433528462 Back to Top Scientists have figured out how to engineer jet fuel from sugarcane Cane this be the fuel of the future? (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) Greenhouse gases from cars and planes could one day be drastically reduced. In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of scientists from the University of California at Berkeley outlined a new method for creating jet fuel and diesel that doesn't require burning any fossil fuels. Instead, it uses only sugar factory waste. The research team, led by Alexis Bell, figured out how to create fuels that produce only a fifth of the greenhouse gases that burning standard fossil fuels or ethanol-based biofuels would produce. "All of the carbon and any hydrogen required for the fuel are derived from biomass, rather than fossil fuels," Bell tells Quartz. Some of the most expensive ingredients in creating ethanol out of sugar, Bell says, are the enzymes required to break down sugarcane's cell walls. While effective, these enzymes are needed in large quantities and manufacturing them is costly. Bell's team instead used hot water along with a cheaper, renewable catalyst. A catalyst is a substance that gets a reaction going without directly participating in it. For this reason, only tiny quantities of a catalyst are necessary. (For the nerds, the catalysts are magnesium oxide and niobium pentoxide.) Hot-water treatment is usually used to separate sugar from sugarcane anyway. Bell's method takes one extra step, employing renewable catalysts to convert the leftover sugarcane biomass into fuel. The process is simple. First, fermentation breaks down the biomass into chemicals containing only a handful of carbon atoms, such as in ethanol, acetone, or butanol. Next, Bell's catalyst kicks off a chemical reaction that joins up smaller molecules to make chemicals that are comprised of longer chains of carbon atoms that can be used as diesel, jet fuel, or a lubricant. Bell says burning this fuel puts no additional burden on to the environment, because the carbon comes from plants, rather than fossils that were dug up, burned, and added to the atmosphere. "It's a closed loop," he says. But it's unlikely that oil companies are going to be dismantling their rigs any time soon. This work is still in the research phase, and it's uncertain how cost-effective it would be to make fuel from sugarcane on a large scale. The team's work, Bell says, is sponsored by BP, which has large sugarcane plantations in Brazil that produce ethanol for flex-fuel cars. While Bell can't confirm the economic viability of his team's fuel, he says that BP were encouraged enough by what they saw to keep funding the research. BP was not immediately available for comment on its involvement in the research. http://qz.com/422497/scientists-have-figured-out-how-to-engineer-green-jet-fuel-out-from-sugarcane/ Back to Top United Airlines CFO: Airbus A380 superjumbo 'doesn't work' for us As Airbus continues its search for new A380 customers, one carrier that won't be joining the select club of superjumbo owners is United Airlines. In an interview with Flightglobal's Edward Russell, United Airlines CFO John Rainey said the mammoth Airbus jet "doesn't work" for the airline's network. Instead of the A380, United has concentrated its resources on cheaper and smaller wide-body jets, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350XWB. According to Rainey, the A380's higher trip costs make the plane less competitive against smaller rivals such as the Dreamliner. This is despite the fact that the superjumbo returns similar per-seat costs as the smaller jets. The A380 may offer great value to those who are looking to move huge numbers of people to and from their global hubs - carriers such as Emirates, Singapore, and Etihad. But for United, the preference is to offer as many flights as possible throughout the day. Instead of "one flight a day and fill up an A380, we'd rather serve [a market] with a couple widebodies if the demand was there, because business passengers certainly like that," Rainey told Flightglobal. According to Rainey, high frequency is the name of the game for important moneymaking routes, such as New York to London. United's long-haul fleet is one the world's largest operators of the Boeing 777 and will depend on the Boeing Dreamliner and the Airbus XWB for the bulk of its future operations. United Airlines Boeing 787-8 DreamlinerFlickr/Yuxi3200United Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. Airbus is in middle of a sales push for the A380. The double-decker airliner is used by a dozen or so carriers around the world, but the manufacturer has struggled to find new customers willing to take on the aircraft. Of the 317 A380s ever ordered, 140 have been ordered by Emirates. And of the 154 aircraft that have been delivered, 58 have gone to the Dubai-based carrier. In fact, Airbus hasn't sold an A380 to an airline in two years, and none of the 20 superjumbos ordered by leasing coming Amedeo in 2014 have found homes. http://www.businessinsider.com/united-airlines-cfo-airbus-a380-superjumbo-doesnt-work-for-us-2015- 6#ixzz3cYy4cxZf Back to Top U.S. Navy Tests Electromagnetic Jet Fighter Catapult The United States Navy has been working on a new method to launch fighter jets off of aircraft carriers, not that the old method doesn't work, but there's no harm in making things better and more efficient than they already are. It's working on a next-generation electromagnetic catapult that will one day be deployed on the Navy's aircraft carriers for the purpose of launching jets, one recent test of the system has proven that it can easily handle up to 80,000 pounds of steel. U.S. Navy's electromagnetic catapult system is called the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System or EMALS, it has been testing the system aboard the Gerald R. Ford carrier. This was actually the first time that it has tested a dead-load with this system. A dead-load is simply a wheeled steel sled which weighs as much as a fighter jet, and it makes much more sense to use this for the purpose of testing, because obviously you wouldn't want to damage jets that cost hundreds of millions of dollars by running such tests. The test shows that the electromagnetic catapult provides much smoother acceleration and also happens to place less stress on the aircraft, not to mention the fact that this system has been designed to work with the more advanced aircraft carriers that the Navy plans on using in the future. For now the dead-load launches will continue to be tested, and it's going to take a while before this system is tested with a live jet, but the progress appears to be encouraging so far. http://www.ubergizmo.com/2015/06/u-s-navy-tests-electromagnetic-jet-fighter-catapult/ Back to Top Harvard University Pilot Health Study Researchers at Harvard University, are conducting the largest anonymous airline pilot health study to date.(www.pilothealthstudy.org) This study is open to current, retired, and airline and corporate pilots. It will be used to research the environmental effects of the unique cockpit environment. Including fatigue, air quality, radiation, noise, and additional areas. To date, the study has pilots from over 23 countries participating. We would like you to participate and pass it on to your fellow pilots. Safety is enhanced through knowledge! Back to Top Graduate Research - Pilot Survey Dear pilot This survey is part of a research for master degree in safety engineering. In this survey we would like to have your opinion on parameters regarding workload during the following flight phases: approach, landing and missed approach. It is important for us to get your perspective on these parameters according to your own professional experience. This survey is appointed to Air Carrier "GLASS COCKPIT" trained pilots. However, Air Carrier Non "GLASS COCKPIT" pilots are welcome to answer this survey as well. Please note that this survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Kind regards Jack Limor https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1E24NQIZrPQM7tFOCAFz0y4uQvell44TZ2d0ZfSc4Skw/viewform?c=0&w=1 Back to Top UNITED NATIONS Position Announcement Ref. No.: TJO/2015/014 TEMPORARY JOB OPENING ANNOUNCEMENT P-2 Associate Aviation Safety Officer TJO Grade Level1 Functional Title Aviation Safety Unit Department/Office/Division/ Service/Section Management & Operations Support / Logistics Deadline June 15, 2015 Duty Station: El Fasher (Sudan) Estimated Start Date: 1 July 2015 Duration of need: 6 months Open to External Candidates? YES DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The Aviation Safety Unit is responsible for providing recommendations to the Mission's management on all aviation safety related matters, promoting aviation safety awareness and implementing the mission aviation safety programs. The Aviation Safety Unit is also responsible for identification of aviation hazards and participation in the risk evaluation and risk mitigation processes. The Unit is also responsible for processing occurrence and hazard reports, and identification of trends. It may participate in the investigation of incidents and accidents. The Aviation Safety Unit also coordinates and provides aviation safety related training/exercises such as hazard identification and awareness, aviation emergency response plan exercises and drills, and prepares and distributes aviation safety awareness materials. Under the direct supervision of the Mission's Chief Aviation Safety Officer (CASO), the Associate Aviation Safety Officer will be responsible for the following duties: * As directed, assists in the implementation of the mission's Aviation Safety Programme, which includes but is not limited to promoting safety and safety awareness in the Mission. * Identifies aviation safety hazards and provides guidance on Aviation Risk Management activities. * Carries out safety inspections, assessments and surveys. * Identifies safety trends and conducts site inspections. * Compiles aviation safety statistics, maintains and processes aircraft occurrence reports. * Distributes safety literature, newsletters and consolidated reports to appropriate areas. * Organizes safety briefings and training. * Performing other duties as required. Apply to: habil@un.org https://careers.un.org/lbw/Home.aspx Back to Top Upcoming Events: IS-BAO Auditing June 10, 2015 Toluca, Mexico https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1710550 Fundamentals of IS-BAO June 15, 2015 CBAA 2015: St. Hubert, Quebec Canada https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659064 IS-BAO Auditing June 16, 2015 CBAA 2015: St. Hubert, Quebec Canada https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1659075 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 Aircraft Fire Hazards, Protection & Investigation Course 9-11 Sept. 2015 Hotel Ibis Nanterre La Defense (near Paris) France http://blazetech.com/resources/pro_services/FireCourse-France_2015.pdf Back to Top JOBS AVAILABLE: Director of Safety Haverfield Aviation Submit Resume to: hr@haverfield.com NTSB Aviation Accident Investigator (Air Carrier Operations) NTSB https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/392318400 https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/398022200 Manager Flight Safety JetBlue APPLY HERE Deputy Director of Flight Operations & Technical Services Helicopter Association International APPLY HERE Manager Safety & Compliance Maintenance and Continued Airworthiness Air Astana APPLY HERE Curt Lewis