Flight Safety Information November 13, 2015 - No. 228 In This Issue PROS 2015 TRAINING Board: Crashed jet's voice recorder captured sound of impact Allegiant pilot sues after he was FIRED for evacuating 141 passengers VT researchers study jet engines ingesting drones Air safety expert tells court: 'A decision could have been made to go around to try and land again' AAPA: Transport chief warns Indonesian airlines on safety & competition Laser strikes on aircraft hit record pace Unmanned aircraft makes history in New Mexico Holloman F-16s first in Air Force for aircraft purification Plane diverted to Burlington International Airport Safety foundation studies data collection, urges data sharing KLM UK Engineering Announced as Winners of Baines Simmons Performance in Aviation Safety Award First High School Aviation Symposium a success TSA: We're vetting aviation workers NBAA Meritorious Service to Aviation Award goes to Joe Clark Egypt to lose $280mn a month from Russia & UK flight bans Space Debris To Collide With Earth On Friday The 13th NASA is Hiring Astronauts for Future Deep Space Missions Upcoming Events JOBS AVAILABLE (New Positions) Back to Top Board: Crashed jet's voice recorder captured sound of impact CLEVELAND (AP) By MARK GILLISPIE -A cockpit voice recorder on the small jet that crashed into an apartment house and killed the nine people on board captured the pilot and co-pilot discussing weather and landing conditions and the sound of impact, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. The recorder recovered from the wreckage in Akron contained 30 minutes of poor-quality audio, NTSB vice chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr said during a briefing. She didn't elaborate on what pilots might have said just before the crash, and she said investigators will more carefully review the recording before releasing details about it. They are searching for the twin-engine jet's engine data recorder and its ground proximity system, which alerts pilots if they are flying too low. "Our objective is not just to find out what happened, but why it happened, so we can prevent it from happening again," Dinh-Zarr said. The NTSB said that another pilot who had just landed at the airport reported hearing no distress calls despite being on the same communications frequency as the aircraft that went down. The crashed plane's pilots had the Federal Aviation Administration's highest level of certification, Dinh-Zarr said. Investigators said there is no indication that the plane wasn't intact as it approached the small Akron airport where it was to land Tuesday on a breezy, misty, overcast afternoon. Investigators have surveillance video from a nearby construction company that shows the plane coming in along treetops, banking to the left, crashing and exploding into flames and a cloud of black smoke. The pilots were killed, along with seven associates from Pebb Enterprises, a real estate investment company in Boca Raton, Florida. They were on the second day of a multicity Midwestern trip to look at property for potential shopping centers. No one was home at the apartments that were struck, and there were no other injuries. Officials at the crash site have been helped by a forensics team from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania, that specializes in recovering human remains at crime scenes and crash sites. Officials haven't officially released the victims' names, but relatives at the crash scene said the dead included 50-year-old Diane Smoot, who was with the group from Pebb Enterprises, her sister told Cleveland.com. http://www.wlwt.com/news/Board-Crashed-jet-s-voice-recorder-captured-sound-of- impact/36420436 Back to Top Allegiant pilot sues after he was FIRED for evacuating 141 passengers from a plane that had smoke coming from an engine * The pilot of an Allegiant Air flight, Jason Kinzer, evacuated the 141 passengers on board after smoke was detected coming from an engine * Kinzer was fired for 'unwarranted' evacuation that resulted in several people getting hurt * He is now suing the company for wrongful-termination, saying that the airline has minimum safety standards A pilot who ordered an emergency evacuation after smoke was detected coming from one of the jet's engines is suing Allegiant Air for firing him. The 43-year-old pilot says Allegiant is putting profits above safety. Allegiant says the evacuation was unnecessary and put passengers at risk - several were injured sliding down inflatable escape chutes. The incident in June was one of many over the summer that brought unflattering attention to Allegiant. The Teamsters union, which is trying to negotiate Allegiant pilots' first union contract, has publicized the events and accused the airline of cutting corners on safety. Allegiant Air flight from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Hagerstown, Maryland, was evacuated after smoke was detected coming from the jet's engines. The pilot, Jason Kizner, was fired and is now suing for wrongful-termination of contract The case highlights a natural tension in the airline industry: Captains are responsible for safety on the plane, but airlines can and do judge their work. On June 8, Jason Kinzer was the captain of an Allegiant Air jet with 141 passengers scheduled to fly from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Hagerstown, Maryland. Minutes after takeoff, Kinzer says, flight attendants called the cockpit to report smelling smoke, so he declared an emergency and returned to the airport. Kinzer said he rolled to the end of the runway, where the plane was met by emergency vehicles. According to a transcript of airport radio transmissions, a fire-and-rescue worker detected smoke coming from one of the two engines on the McDonnell Douglas MD-80. The Allegiant jet with 141 passengers on board took off from St. Pete-Clearwater Airport but was forced go back minutes later because one of the engines reportedly started smoking Kinzer told airport officials he planned to evacuate the plane. On the recording, someone can be heard telling the pilot to wait, but the person didn't identify himself or give a reason for the delay. Kinzer then ordered passengers to evacuate. Several passengers and one flight attendant were injured, Allegiant reported at the time. In a July 23 termination letter, Allegiant chief pilot Mark Grock told Kinzer that he "ordered an evacuation that was entirely unwarranted and ... compromised the safety of your crew and your passengers and led directly to the injuries." Five people were 'slightly' injured. Allegiant Air fired the pilot, Jason Kizner, for the 'unnecessary' evacuation. He is now suing the company for wrongful-termination Kinzer said he first learned of his dismissal in an earlier phone call during which a personnel staffer said he was being fired because the flight was one of several incidents that brought negative attention to Allegiant. He did not record the call, and Allegiant spokeswoman Kimberly Schaefer disputed that the airline would fire someone over an issue of "public perception." She said terminations are made only after thorough investigations. The company "values the safety of our passengers and crew above all else," Schaefer said. "Allegiant is a safe airline." Evacuations are expensive for airlines. Allegiant declined to say how much it cost to reinstall the emergency chutes on Kinser's plane, but after a JetBlue flight attendant intentionally deployed a slide in 2010, a police report said replacing the chute cost more than $25,000 - that was one slide on a much smaller plane than Kinser's MD-80, which had four slides. In an interview this week, Kinzer, who joined Allegiant in January 2013, said the airline's own operations manual calls for evacuation in case of a potential fire. "I have not had a moment of remorse over this," he said. "No aviator should ever feel the fear of retribution ... (for) doing something in the interest of safety." Bryan Dougherty, a passenger, said once the captain gave the evacuation order, "It was pure mayhem. Everybody was pushing everybody." He said an older woman who was pushed down a chute by a flight attendant wound up going to the hospital. Dougherty said he didn't smell smoke before the evacuation but that others sitting in the back of the plane did. He didn't think it was necessary to use emergency slides, but added, "I'm no airline expert." The wrongful-termination lawsuit was filed Tuesday in state court in Las Vegas, where parent Allegiant Travel Co. is based. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315963/Allegiant-pilot-says-wrongly-fired- evacuation.html#ixzz3rN3YeZ66 Back to Top VT researchers study jet engines ingesting drones In all of 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration recorded 238 possible drone sightings and near-misses by aircraft. Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 20 of 2015, the agency reported 678. Many in the aviation industry have expressed concern about unmanned aerial vehicles - including drones - impacting aircraft. New research from members of Virginia Tech's Department of Mechanical Engineering shows how a drone getting sucked into a turbofan jet engine can lead to catastrophic engine damage. Now, Tech researchers are looking into how to lessen the danger to aircraft. The research began with Javid Bayandor, associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of VT's Crashworthiness for Aerospace Structures and Hybrids Laboratory. He had previously led research into modeling the ingestion of birds into jet engines, a scenario the FAA already requires engine manufacturers to prepare for. As part of this research, his team developed a complex computer model of an advanced turbofan jet engine that could simulate damage caused by foreign objects entering the engine. But in the last few years, numerous news reports have surfaced of pilots spotting drones flying dangerously close to airports. These reports inspired Bayandor and his team to change the direction of their research. "We've done all of this work and we're comfortable with calculating the progressive failure effects of any other type of foreign object," Bayandor said. "We said, why don't we just try to model a drone?" Bayandor is working with Walter O'Brien, the J. Bernard Jones professor of mechanical engineering. The research team also includes mechanical engineering doctoral students and CRASH Lab members Kevin Schroeder and Yangkun Song. The results of their research were striking. In one simulation, researchers modeled an eight-pound quadcopter impacting a turbofan engine. The drone breaks one blade of the turbofan at the intake of the engine immediately on impact. The resulting debris and vibrations destroy many of the fan blades in the rapidly spinning engine in milliseconds. Debris from the drone and fan blades, traveling as fast as 715 miles per hour, wreaks havoc on the rest of the engine. The resulting damage could lead to catastrophic engine failure or, in extreme circumstances, jeopardize the structural integrity of the engine. "Because (I've) only invested ... $200 in a drone, I might not really care what's happening. But the implications are absolutely drastic," Bayandor said. "The drone will be sucked in if it's anywhere near the effective intake area of the engine." Now, Bayandor and his team are turning their attention to how to lessen the danger posed by drones. "The research question is, can we do research that will reduce the possibility of this happening?" O'Brien said. "Can we categorize the kind of damage that small and large drones would produce? And I suppose ultimately, can we define how engines could be resistant to this sort of thing?" VT researchers are not alone in looking at this problem. The FAA is working on new comprehensive regulations to govern the use of UAVs. In October, the FAA announced that it will require all UAV owners to register their devices. "I think the most important step was what the FAA has taken," Bayandor said. "This was something that we had suggested, that the anonymity of drone users can cause a lot of problems because they can do anything without any responsibility." Engine manufacturers are trying to develop solutions as well. According to a statement provided to the Collegiate Times by GE Aviation, a manufacturer of jet engines, the company has started several initiatives to work on this problem. It has launched an internal program to categorize UAVs and their components to help identify specific threats to engines. The company has also partnered with the FAA and several universities to establish a process for evaluating the threats that different UAVs pose. However, it appears likely that some of the responsibility will fall on drone operators. "The burden is going to be on the unmanned aircraft to see and avoid the other airplanes because the pilot is not going to see the drone until it's too late," said Craig Woolsey, professor of aerospace and ocean engineering. "Even if he or she did, they may not be able to maneuver quickly enough to avoid it." Bayandor hopes that the results of this research and the attention it has received from media outlets such as WSLS and Aerospace America will help. According to him, more awareness of the rules and dangers will keep well-intentioned drone operators from causing problems. "We try to, by studies like this, bring a little bit of public awareness. (Operators) know that, in their right conscience, they shouldn't do this," Bayandor said. "Hopefully, with public awareness, (impacts) become less and less likely." http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news/vt-researchers-study-jet-engines-ingesting- drones/article_ea3d74ca-88e2-11e5-84b5-8b9962e1a922.html Back to Top Air safety expert tells court: 'A decision could have been made to go around to try and land again' AN air safety expert has said the approach of a flight involved in an alleged heavy landing - over which a former flight attendant is suing for injuries - was unstable from six seconds before it touched down. Former pilot, Captain Fintan Ryan, told the High Court in those six seconds a decision could have been made to go around to try and land again. He was giving evidence in the third day of the action where it is claimed an Aer Lingus flight from Malaga to Dublin in landed in a heavy, dramatic fashion with an alleged inappropriate and excessive rate of descent. Cassandra Reddin (33), Woodlands Manor, Ratoath, Co Meath, has sued Aer Lingus over the back and neck injuries she claimed she suffered in the incident on November 19, 2009. She claims she suffered soft tissue neck and back injury and whiplash and that afterwards had nightmares where she woke up screaming. Aer Lingus has denied the claims. Captain Ryan told the court today when the plane bounced it was the second opportunity to make the decision to go around to attempt to land again. He said there is a cross wind phenomenon at Dublin Airport and, when it is turbulent, it is a full time job to manage an aeroplane. Given the conditions with gusty wind, the plane should have had a rate of descent of about 500 to 600 feet per minute. But 16 feet above the runway the rate of descent was 1,400 feet per minute when it should have been reducing to 300 to 400 feet per minute. "It was inevitable it was going to be a firm landing," he added. The court also heard the pilot of the plane, in her air safety report 19 days afterwards, referred to a heavy landing and said the aircraft bounced on landing and settled back on the runway. The court was told Aer Lingus contends the plane did not bounce and the rate of descent was "a momentary blip". It was a sudden gust of wind as it landed which gave the plane its unusual landing, it is claimed. http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/air-safety-expert-tells-court-a-decision- could-have-been-made-to-go-around-to-try-and-land-again-34195240.html Back to Top AAPA: Transport chief warns Indonesian airlines on safety & competition Indonesia's airlines must up their game on safety and expect more international competition if they are not ready to serve new routes, the country's head of transport warned Friday. In a hard-hitting keynote address at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) annual assembly, Indonesia Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan said he had talked with airlines like Emirates and Etihad Airways. Jonan said he told them that if Indonesia's airlines were ready to offer new international routes, they would get them ... "but if they are not ready, we will offer them to international airlines." Jonan, who became Transport Minister 13 months ago after overseeing the country's rail sector, said Indonesia "aspired to increase tourism". "I like competition and I think that through competition airlines operate even better," he said. On safety, Jonan also gave a stern warning, saying there would be "no compromise". There has been a spate of accidents in Indonesia or involving Indonesia airlines, most recently the crash of a Jakarta-based Trigana Air Service ATR 42 in Papua New Guinea in August. Jonan said the ministry was putting $1 billion into helping improve safety in Indonesia's public transportation sectors - including air and rail. In aviation, this will go towards programs like improving runways and ATC system and airport operations. But Jonan stressed that while most Indonesia airlines were losing money, safety must still be their top priority. "My job is to impose the safety program," Jonan said. In a presentation that followed the minister's speech, AAPA DG Andrew Herdman said he did not agree with the view that airlines prioritized revenue over safety. "I do not see this as a case of checks and balances.[Air safety] is a collective effort and collective success and it's a role model for other industries," Herdman said. He pointed out that the trend in global commercial air transport safety performance was one of a dramatic improvement, with the annual accident rate now approaching the one in 4-5 million flights per year on a global basis. However, he also acknowledged that in the Asia-Pacific region, the safety rate trend was now flat. "We must ensure that the quality and consistent of safety oversight are commensurate with [air travel] growth," he said. http://atwonline.com/regulation/aapa-transport-chief-warns-indonesian-airlines-safety- competition Back to Top Laser strikes on aircraft hit record pace Laser strikes on planes are growing even as the federal government enacts tougher penalties for people caught shining the devices. From Wednesday night through Thursday morning, federal authorities fielded reports of 20 laser strikes on aircraft, adding to an already record-breaking number of strikes this year. The Federal Aviation Administration recorded 5,352 laser strikes through Oct. 16, up from 2,837 for all of 2010. Such strikes can temporarily blind pilots at critical times when they are taking off and landing. People convicted of pointing a laser at a plane can be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Pilots and airports reported three laser strikes in the New York City area to the Federal Aviation Administration. Jet crews landing at Dallas Love Field reported another three. Other airports reporting strikes included Jamestown, N.Y.; Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, Palm Springs and Ontario, Calif.; Covington and Danville, Ky.; Salt Lake City; Albuquerque; Detroit; St. Petersburg, Fla., Springfield, Ill., and San Juan, Puerto Rico. "None of the pilots reported injuries," Lynn Lunsford, an FAA spokeswoman, said. "Nevertheless, shining a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime that the U.S. vigorously pursues." Some airports have reported more than 100 laser strikes this year: Los Angeles had 197; Phoenix had 183; Houston had 151; Las Vegas had 132, and Dallas-Fort Worth had 115. On July 15, during a 90-minute period, 11 airliners and one military aircraft reported laser strikes near New York City-area airports. Those incidents remain under investigation by the FAA, FBI and New Jersey state police. In 2011, the FAA began imposing civil penalties on people who pointed lasers at planes. Then, the maximum fine was $11,000. Congress upped the penalties in 2012 and made it a federal crime to point lasers at an aircraft. From February 2012 through 2013, the FAA investigated 152 cases and took action in 96. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged the Food and Drug Administration in June to ban the sale of high-powered, long-range lasers, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to buy. His recommendation came after five flights were targeted heading to New York's JFK Airport. The Air Line Pilots Association, a union representing 50,000 pilots, has worked with the FAA and FBI on educational campaigns to discourage people from pointing lasers at planes, including the phrase "Don't let a prank lead to prison." "We will need to do more to fully engage in a solution that combines education, reporting, enforcement and technology to protect North American air transportation," association President Tim Canoll said. The latest incidents included Chopper 4 of New York's NBC affiliate while it flew over Prospect Heights. The helicopter pinpointed the source of the laser from 1,500 feet, and police detained two people, the station reported. The helicopter for New York's ABC affiliate was struck near Newark airport, and the FBI had a suspect in custody, the station reported. The Dallas incidents involved a Southwest Airlines jet, a Virgin America jet and a private business jet, each about 11 miles southeast of the city and flying about 3,000 to 4,000 feet in the air, the FAA said. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/11/12/laser-strikes-aircraft-record-pace- another-flurry-overnight/75649430/ Back to Top Unmanned aircraft makes history in New Mexico ScanEagle makes America's first-ever 'over the horizon' commercial UAS flight in lower 48 states NEAR VAUGHN, N.M.(KRQE) - The first-ever commercial 'unmanned aircraft' flights to travel long distance "over the horizon" within the lower 48 states are now in the record books. An Insitu ScanEagle flew several railroad track inspection flights over central New Mexico in the last week of October. Previously, the FAA had allowed commercial UAS (unmanned aircraft system) flights that travel out of a remote control pilot's 'line of sight" - only in the remote northern Arctic, off the coast of Alaska. Those flights were for ConocoPhillips. The Arctic and New Mexico flights are part of an FAA program called "Pathfinders" that seeks ways to safely integrate unmanned aircraft into regular airspace with manned aircraft. "It's all stepping stones to integration into the national airspace," said Insitu Commercial UAS Manager Charlton Evans. Launching from Near Vaughn, New Mexico, the ScanEagle was commissioned by BNSF Railway to look at more than 60 miles of track between Vaughn and Mountainair, New Mexico. BNSF said its UAS technology would primarily target large railway problems like washouts and bridge damage. BNSF often conducts daily inspections on many of its thousands of miles of track and hopes to expand its already comprehensive inspection program. "The capabilities these aircraft have to gather additional intelligence that can then be fed in real-time to track inspectors on the ground will fundamentally enhance our program and the safety of the our railroad while helping to keep our people safe in harsh and extreme conditions," said Greg Fox, a BNSF vice-president, in a prepared statement. The ScanEagle has a wingspan of about 10 feet and can fly up to 80 miles per hour. Depending on payloads, it remain aloft for as much as 24 hours. For the New Mexico missions it flew about 1,000 feet above the ground. Remote control operators control its flight from a mobile command center and can use various cameras and sensors to capture images and readings. Data is beamed back in real time to the command center. ScanEagles have been serving for more than a decade in military units around the world, including in Afghanistan and Iraq. The original aircraft was actually designed to be launched via catapult from Tuna boats so crews could spot schools of fish from the air. The catapult launchers remain a key feature of the system today, helping keep the aircraft mobile. "And we continue to refine it to operate it in even more remote ways with even less ground support infrastructure," said Evans. The ScanEagle also successfully used infrared systems in the summer of 2015 to detect hotspots at the Paradise fire in Washington state's Olympic National Park. After each flight is completed, the aircraft is captured using a tall collapsible mast equipped with shock-absorber cords that snag a wing of the aircraft as it passes by. No runway is needed for either launch or landing. Insitu, a Boeing company, equips ScanEagles with radio transponders that help air traffic controllers and some other aircraft to detect the unmanned aircraft. However, ScanEagles cannot yet detect other traffic. That kind of detect and avoid technology is something the FAA is requiring the UAS industry to develop and prove, before large scale unmanned operations are allowed alongside manned aircraft. The aircraft that conducted the New Mexico flights is a veteran trail blazer. "That airplane that flew the first flight down there was actually also the one that flew the first flights for ConocoPhillips up in the arctic," said Evans. "So, we have our John Hancocks in that one and we expect it to go to the Smithsonian here in not too long." http://krqe.com/2015/11/12/unmanned-aircraft-makes-history-in-new-mexico/ Back to Top Holloman F-16s first in Air Force for aircraft purification HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE - The F-16 Fighting Falcons at Holloman Air Force Base are clean and pure - at least as far as their hydraulic fluid is concerned thanks to new test stands. "Aircraft purification is removing all the moisture, air and particles out of the hydraulic fluid in the systems of the aircraft," said Senior Master Sgt. Ian Hall, the 54th Aircraft Maintenance Air Ground Equipment flight chief. "It's important because it will increase the system reliability on the aircraft, and it will greatly reduce the long-term maintenance costs." Although this process isn't new, it's the first time it has been used on F-16s, and the 54th AMXS received the first three hydraulic test stands equipped with onboard purification systems. The new stands will save money and resources. According to Hall, the system can save up to 230 gallons of hydraulic fluid compared to a standard flush. "Previously, every time we had dirty fluid we had to do a drain-and-flush," Hall said. "That included all of our [aerospace ground equipment] as well. So, if our old hydraulic test stands were contaminated, we had to drain and flush the system three times and change the filters. Now, we can just run it through the new hydraulic test stand and purify our equipment. It's the same for the jets. We cycle their fluid through the hydraulic test stand, and it's as good as new." With each flush taking as many as eight hours, the savings in time is an added bonus. "In the big picture, you'd never have to do a drain-and-flush again," Hall said. "As long as you're hooking up that system when doing routine maintenance, it is still purifying that fluid." Staff Sgt. Brian Cormier, a crew chief with the 54th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Holloman, prepares an F-16 Fighting Falcon for aircraft purification Nov. 4. Holloman Airmen performed this process for the first time on an F-16 on Nov. 3. The goal of Aircraft Purification is to increase aircraft system reliability, reduce maintenance costs and reduce the waste associated with standard fluid changes. (Photo: U.S. Air Force Photo/Airman 1st Class Emily A. Kenney) http://www.alamogordonews.com/story/news/local/holloman/2015/11/12/holloman-f- 16s-first-air-force-aircraft-purification/75472210/ Back to Top Plane diverted to Burlington International Airport Plane ran low on fuel while circling Boston, officials said SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -A Delta flight that ran low on fuel while circling Boston's Logan International Airport had to be diverted to Burlington International Airport Thursday night. The plane, which originated from Raleigh-Durham, N.C. changed pilots and refueled while at Burlington International, according to the airport's director of Aviation, Gene Richards. He said 80 people were on board -- 76 passengers and four crew members. They left the plane for light refreshments while it was refueling. The plane was cleared to take off again Thursday night and land in Boston. http://www.wptz.com/news/plane-diverted-to-burlington-international-airport/36417100 Back to Top Safety foundation studies data collection, urges data sharing Peter Stein, chairman of the Flight Safety Foundation Business Advisory Committee. Business aviation is contributing to an unprecedented effort by Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) to understand how operators collect and process safety information. The foundation considers the Global Safety Information Project (GSIP), which is funded through a cooperative agreement with the FAA, a first step toward developing a global standard for aviation data collection and analysis. Earlier this year, the foundation (Booth C13205) held focus groups in the Asia-Pacific and North and South America regions, the two regions chosen for the project. It plans to conduct workshops in the same locations next spring to develop actual toolkits and products based on the information gathered. "Business aviation has been participating in the focus groups," said Peter Stein, chairman of the FSF Business Advisory Committee. "Similar to the air carriers, we see data-sharing as an essential and vital tool to driving business aviation to better and better levels of safety." Aircraft operators can now take a more proactive approach to risk mitigation through traditional safety reports and technology, including quick access recorders that measure and store hundreds of flight parameters for easy download and analysis. The GSIP is not collecting data "per se," Stein explained. "We want to know what you're doing with your data," he said. "It's not a data collection program, it's how you manage it all and (identifying) the potentials for data sharing." More so than Part 121 air carriers, business aviation is challenged in reaping the benefits of data sharing and analysis because corporate flight departments do not generate nearly as much data as airlines that fly thousands of flights each day. "I think it underscores the importance for data-sharing within the business aviation community. We do have some opportunities to aggregate," said Stein, a corporate pilot whose own company participates in a flight-data analysis service offered by Austin Digital. A decade ago, FSF helped introduce the business aviation community to the voluntary Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) program, which uses flight recorded data to improve aviation safety. More recently, it has encouraged greater participation by business aviation in the semi-official Aviation Safety Information Analysis & Sharing (ASIAS) program, a data-sharing effort involving the FAA and industry partners. There are presently 17 business aviation operators participating in ASIAS, along with 45 airlines. "We're encouraging business aviation operators who already have the ability to do the digital downloads to also take a long hard look at becoming a participant in the ASIAS program," said Stein. "There's a huge benefit in that we can not only see our business aviation aggregate data, but we're also able to see airline data." While sharing data benefits safety analysis by contributing to a greater pool of operational information, the risk of legal liability may prevent some operators from participating. Protecting operators from legal proceedings is a focus of the GSIP project, Stein said. "What we're talking about when we talk about safety information protection is the availability of all of this data to be used in a civil and potentially criminal proceeding, a civil lawsuit for damages," he explained. "There's essentially little or no protection around the world. This is another finding that came out of these focus groups." http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2015-11-13/safety- foundation-studies-data-collection-urges-data-sharing Back to Top KLM UK Engineering Announced as Winners of Baines Simmons Performance in Aviation Safety Award Paris, Amstelveen, Norwich - 13 November 2015 - KLM UK Engineering is delighted to announce that they have been awarded overall winners of Performance in Aviation Safety at the Baines Simmons Fourth European Aviation Safety Symposium on Tuesday 3rd November. The awards showcased the importance of moving beyond compliance to safety performance by illustrating practical examples of safety implementation and improvement from across the aviation industry KLM UK Engineering (KLMUKE) was nominated for these awards by Alex Segens, Safety & Compliance Manager, who has been instrumental in the implementation of KLMUKE's Safety Management System. KLMUKE started development of its Safety Management System in 2007 and over the last two years KLMUKE has put dedicated resource in place to embed its safety vision, values and behaviours across the business, with an internal brand recognisable by all "Accountable in everything we do". Alex Segens comments, "Removing barriers, challenging cultural 'norms' and making risk based decisions is at the heart of KLM UK Engineering's safety strategy". About KLM UK Engineering KLM UK Engineering Limited is a leading regional aircraft and narrow body MRO, wholly owned by KLM and member of the AFI KLM E&M Network. Services include base maintenance, line maintenance, and component sales, technical training and disassembly of Boeing 737's, Airbus A320's, Fokker 70/100 and BAe146/Avro RJ's. KLM UK Engineering has been based at Norwich International Airport for 40 years and employs over 400 people, plus has a complete network of UK line stations. KLM UK Engineering prides itself on having an experienced and skilled work force, delivering a superior service and high quality product at a competitive price. www.klmukengineering.com / www.linkedin.com/company/klm-uk-engineering-limited About Baines Simmons, World Leaders in Aviation Regulations, Compliance and Safety: http://www.bainessimmons.com/ http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12138283/klm-uk-engineering-announced- as-winners-of-baines-simmons-performance-in-aviation-safety-award Back to Top First High School Aviation Symposium a success Attendees tour an avionics lab at the Central Florida Aerospace Academy. More than 150 educators, administrators, pilots, and aviation industry leaders came together to share ideas in Lakeland, Florida, Nov. 9 during AOPA's inaugural High School Aviation Symposium. The meeting was the kick off of AOPA's plan to support STEM education programs (science, technology, engineering, and math) around the country. Leaders and teachers from programs as diverse as aviation-centric high schools to small, local after-school clubs came together to network, learn about why aviation STEM education is important, and how they could start or improve their own programs. "I got my start in a ground school class in high school," AOPA President Mark Baker said in his opening remarks. He stressed that supporting students in high school will result in long-term industry growth, and that AOPA is committed to the cause. Attendees toured the Central Florida Aerospace Academy, the host school of the event. The public high school career academy is associated with Lakeland's Kathleen High School. Students come from all over the area to learn about avionics, maintenance, aviation, and engineering. More than 40 students have earned a private pilot certificate through the school. To give high school education leaders an opportunity to learn from each other, AOPA formed the National High School Aviation Leadership Alliance, whose charter members will be aviation high school principals, CEOs, superintendents, program leaders, and guidance counselors. A meeting of the alliance will be held each year at a different aviation high school to give the leaders a chance to share best practices and learn first- hand from one another about the variety of aviation education programs, curricula, and formats. Patrick Cwayna, CEO of the West Michigan Aviation Academy in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been tapped by AOPA to head up the leadership alliance as one part of the association's three-part plan to strengthen high school aviation education nationwide. The other two prongs of AOPA's plan to support STEM education are a nationwide group of high school aviation career clubs, and a support structure that will help fund various STEM programs and their students with grants and other backing. http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/November/12/first-high-school- meeting Back to Top TSA: We're vetting aviation workers Peter Neffenger As we approach the busiest holiday travel season in recent history, I assure the public that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is taking every measure to protect the millions of air travelers and our aviation system. Recently, several news media reports have included inaccurate accounts of how TSA assesses aviation security at our airports in the vetting of airport and airline workers. TSA has long recognized the importance of vetting airport workers and flight crews, among others. In fact, TSA vets millions of transportation workers daily, including aviation workers who have access to secure areas of airports and airplanes. Earlier this year, a Department of Homeland Security inspector general report stated that 73 airport workers vetted by TSA should have been flagged for having ties to known or suspected terrorists. After review, in collaboration with the FBI, TSA determined that none of the vetted individuals met the standards for watchlisting and are not known or suspected terrorists. That same report points out that TSA does have access to government watchlists, as well as the government databases used by our intelligence community in identifying threats to our nation. We continue to work with other federal government agencies to improve the effectiveness by which we access this information. Airport operators also play a crucial part in ensuring the integrity of their workforce. Using the government's Terrorist Screening Database, TSA continuously vets individuals from their initial airport application throughout the time they have airport access. We receive a real-time feed of this information from the Terrorist Screening Center. We know instantly when a person has been added or when his or her status has changed. These workers also are subject to immigration and criminal checks. Suggestions to the contrary are inaccurate. The world remains a dangerous place with terrorists intent on doing harm to the American people, demanding our continued vigilance in keeping the traveling public safe. At TSA, that is our core mission. Peter Neffenger is administrator of the Transportation Security Administration. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/11/12/peter-neffenger-transportation- security-administration-editorials-debates/75678028/ Back to Top NBAA Meritorious Service to Aviation Award goes to Joe Clark API co-founder Joe Clark received NBAA's Meritorious Service to Aviation Award for his work on super efficient winglet technologies. It is something when you can look at a trophy on the mantelpiece and know that you share the honor with the likes of Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle and Bill Lear. This week that honor, the NBAA Meritorious Service to Aviation Award, given to those who have advanced aviation with their extraordinary contributions, was awarded to aerospace innovator Joe Clark, chairman and CEO of Aviation Partners, Inc. (API) and chairman of the Aviation Partners Boeing joint venture, for his pioneering of blended winglet and, more recently, split scimitar winglet technology. Blended winglet modifications on jets have saved operators more than 5 billion gallons of fuel according to API, all while enhancing aircraft performance. Clark is accepting the 2015 NBAA Meritorious Service to Aviation Award this week in Las Vegas, Nevada, during NBAA 2015. "Joe Clark is an aviation visionary and a true entrepreneur," said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. Clark started flying lessons in college. He was lucky to have a friend in Clay Lacy, who invited him to travel to the Reno Air Races aboard a Lear Jet in 1964. That may have sealed Clark's fate in aviation (it certainly fueled his passion). By 1966, he'd founded Jet Air, the first Lear dealership in the Northwest. He was subsequently named vice president of sales for aircraft modification specialist Raisbeck Engineering. By the1980s he moved into airlines, teaming up with Milt Kuolt to form regional carrier Horizon Air, which later became part of Alaska Airlines. Clark didn't forget his business aviation roots, however, forming Avstar to market used military business jets as general aviation aircraft. Efficiency and speed were always on Clark's mind. He cofounded API in 1991 with Dennis Washington and hired Dr. Bernie Gratzer to lead a phalanx of noted retired Boeing and Lockheed aerospace engineers to develop and market winglet modifications for business and commercial aircraft. The idea of winglets reducing drag caused by wingtip vortices had been around for a long time, according to Gratzer, but it took the team at API three years of collaboration to crack the code on an efficient, lightweight design that made economical sense for retrofitting, a huge part of API's initial market for the product. It worked. By 1995 and 1996, Clay Lacy and Clark were proving it, setting records for speed and performance in Lacy's API winglet-equipped Gulfstream II. The company has supplied blended winglets to thousands of aircraft since then, including GIIs, Boeing Business Jets, a dozen types of Boeing airliners, Hawker 800s and 800XPs and several Falcon Jet models. Eventually API formed a joint venture with Boeing as Aviation Partners Boeing to retrofit the entire Boeing fleet with blended winglets. "In founding API, Clark brought together the brightest minds in aerospace engineering and helped develop advanced technology to improve aircraft performance and minimize aviation's impact on the environment," said Bolen. "We're proud to recognize him with NBAA's highest honor, the Meritorious Service to Aviation Award," he said. "Like past recipients, his achievements have advanced the technology of flight." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2015-11-12/nbaa- meritorious-service-aviation-award-goes-joe-clark Back to Top Egypt to lose $280mn a month from Russia & UK flight bans Cairo will lose hundreds of millions of dollars every month until Moscow and London lift flight suspensions, Egypt's Tourism Minister Hisham Zazou said on Wednesday. Several countries have imposed flight bans over fears terrorists were responsible for the October 31 airplane crash in the Sinai Peninsula that killed 224 Russian tourists and crew. Russian and British tourists accounted for two-thirds of tourism traffic to Sharm al- Sheikh, while Russians made up half the tourists visiting another Red Sea destination - Hurghada, Zazou told Reuters. Zazou blamed the Western media for the negative coverage of the plane crash, saying he planned a $5 million public relations campaign to promote Egypt in the UK and Russia. Kremlin's Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov said on Tuesday that flights to Egypt were halted for at least several months. According to him, it's impossible for Egypt to radically change the security system in a short time. Ivanov said security needed to be improved not only in the tourism hub of Sharm al- Sheikh but also in Hurghada and Cairo - "in those places where Russian planes fly." Many Russian tour operators are facing bankruptcy over refunds to tens of thousands of tourists. Money has already been spent to charter aircraft which can no longer fly to Egypt, according to a spokeswoman for the Russian tourism industry union Irina Tyurina. The industry estimates the potential losses as 1.5 billion rubles (more than $23 million), she added. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has instructed the government to help tour operators survive the flight suspension. Even before the Egypt crash, the Russian tourism industry had been hit hard by the ruble depreciation. https://www.rt.com/business/321594-egypt-losses-sinai-crash-russia/ Back to Top Space Debris To Collide With Earth On Friday The 13th But don't worry. According to the European Space Agency, something is going to fall to Earth on Friday, 13 November. A mysterious piece of space debris named WT1190F is predicted to re- enter the Earth's atmosphere at around 06:20 GMT in the skies above the Indian Ocean. While it's expected to burn up in the atmosphere about 100km off the south coast of Sri Lanka, it is not impossible that smaller fragments could crash onto the surface. The object must be the remains from a previous space mission, most likely a spent rocket from one of the recent robotic moon missions or even a relic from the Apollo era. But while it may seem like a bad omen, scientists are excited. It is notoriously difficult to predict exactly where debris that fall to the Earth will hit, so the opportunity to study the trajectory of WT1190F could help improve current methods. A display of fireballs The object was first spotted by the Catalina Sky Survey in 2013, swinging within 250,000km of the Earth before plunging back out into space to a distance of around half a million kilometers, twice as far away as the moon. But its elliptical orbit is unstable and the altitude of the object's closest approach to the Earth has been falling. On Friday, this will cause it to dip into the atmosphere while moving at a speed of several kilometers per second. When this happens, atmospheric drag will slow it down and cause it to fall from orbit while the frictional effect of the air rushing past will pummel, heat and vaporize the object. EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY Object WT1190F, the fast-moving white spot in the middle. According to astronomers who have estimated its size and density, the object is about 1- 2 meters in diameter and hollow. Luckily that means it is too small and fragile to be likely to make it to the surface. As it disintegrates, the smaller fragments will rapidly burn up creating a brilliant display of fireballs that may be visible streaking across the midday sky to the south of Sri Lanka. Only very small fragments, if anything, will splashdown in the Indian Ocean. There simply isn't enough mass involved for this to be a cause for too much concern. We know this because it is by no means the first human-made object to fall from orbit, nor is it the largest. When the 135-tonne Russian Mir space station came to end of its life in 2001, most of the massive station vaporized during re-entry, some fragments fell harmlessly into the South Pacific Ocean. The difficulty in predicting a crash site However, it is not always easy to predict. When it became clear that NASA's 75-tonne Skylab space station was going to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere in July 1979, NASA estimated that the chances of a human being hit somewhere on the planet was one in 152. Ultimately, instead of re-entering over the ocean south-east of South Africa while speeding eastwards, Skylab burned up slightly later than expected and fragments fell to Earth south-east of Perth, in Western Australia. While nobody was injured, Skylab's demise highlighted uncertainties in the re-entry estimates of the day. Skylab turned out to be sturdier than expected, meaning the drag of the tumbling space station had been miscalculated. The 82 tonne Skylab space station re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on 11th July 1979 and parts of it hit the Earth in Western Australia. Many large pieces were retrieved. Skylab also highlighted the important effect that mother nature has on such orbits. It had originally been thought that the space station, launched in May 1973, would remain in orbit for around nine years. But greater than expected solar activity in the 1970s resulted in increased heating and expansion of the Earth's upper atmosphere. The resulting extra drag on the space station slowed it and caused its orbit to descend more quickly than predicted. Nowadays, the influence of solar activity of the near-Earth space environment is dubbed "space weather" and its impact on low-Earth orbiting objects is the focus of considerable research. As well as studying how it can increase the atmospheric drag on satellites and manned spacecraft, there is considerable interest in how it can alter the trajectory of space debris - a catch-all description that includes everything from rocket boosters and long-dead satellites to nuts and bolts. Surveys using ground-based radar have revealed more than 21,000 objects larger than 10cm in Earth orbit. Meanwhile, the estimated number of particles between 1cm and 10cm in diameter is about 500,000, while the number of particles smaller than 1cm runs into many millions. Being able to predict how the orbits of these objects will evolve is important to avoid future high-speed collisions between space debris and orbiting satellites or manned spacecraft. It is also vital to national defense agencies, who need to be able to discriminate between incoming space debris and inter-continental ballistic missiles. But having filled the space surrounding our planet with an orbiting cloud of junk, best practice is now to design an end-of-life "exit strategy" into modern satellites. Typically this involves a planned and controlled de-orbit, usually resulting in the complete destruction of the satellite in the upper atmosphere, or a planned maneuver into a stable graveyard orbit, tucked safely out of harm's ways beyond geostationary orbit. So should we be worried about WT1190F? No. Friday the 13th is going to be a bad day for that particular piece of space junk, but for researchers it's a piece of good fortune. Simulations and predictions have come a long way since Skylab's day and if the measurements made so far are correct, this is a relatively lightweight piece of debris and is very likely to burn up in a predictable fashion over in a well-defined area. Nevertheless, scientists will be monitoring WT1190F's predicted re-entry zone carefully to gather data in an effort to improve our understanding of the physics of re-entry even further. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/space-debris-friday-the- 13th_56453ba7e4b08cda3488415d Back to Top NASA is Hiring Astronauts for Future Deep Space Missions Do you want to head to Mars? If you have ever dreamed of piloting a rocket into deep space, this is your opportunity: This week, NASA announced that it is looking to recruit new astronauts. With a little luck, you could be one of the lucky few that makes it into space. Over the last month, NASA announced plans for several new missions into deep space and to Mars. This will be the first time humans have traveled further than low-Earth orbit since the Apollo 17 moon mission in 1972, and NASA needs new recruits. "This next group of American space explorers will inspire the Mars generation to reach for new heights, and help us realize the goal of putting boot prints on the Red Planet," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says in a statement. These new astronauts will have the chance to "advance critical science and research aboard the International Space Station, and help push the boundaries of technology in the proving ground of deep space." Here's the good news: There are far fewer strict requirements for becoming an astronaut than it may seem. At the minimum, NASA requires candidates to have a Bachelor's degree in a field like engineering, math, biology or physics, three or more years of related experience, and the ability to pass the official astronaut physical. But just meeting the minimum requirements isn't likely enough to get you there.To stand out from the crowd, you'll probably want to beef up your resume with a couple of small things, like an advanced degree or two and at least 1,000 hours of piloting experience in a jet. There have only ever been 300 astronauts in the history of American space flight and the last time NASA put out an open call for astronaut applications in 2011, they chose only eight finalists out of a pool of over 6,100 applicants, Rachel Feltman reports for The Washington Post. But if you do apply and become one of the lucky few accepted into NASA-and for many people, that's probably a big 'but'-you could have the much anticipated opportunity to set foot on the dusty Red Planet. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasa-hiring-astronauts-future-deep- space-missions-180957182/#3mHIkO7V5eU5wWz6.99 Back to Top Upcoming Events: Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) Seminar (ERAU) Nov. 17-19, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/sms Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Seminar (ERAU) Dec. 8-10, 2015 Daytona Beach, FL www.erau.edu/uas Gulf Flight Safety Council(GFSC) - Safety Summit December 9-10, 2016 Dubai, UAE www.gfsc.aero New HFACS workshop Las Vegas December 15 & 16 www.hfacs.com 2016 DTI SMS/QA Symposium January 3, 4, & 5 2016 Disney World, FL 1-866-870-5490 www.dtiatlanta.com 6th European Business Aviation Safety Conference 2016 February 23-24, 2016 Frankfurt, Germany www.ebascon.eu 2016 Air Charter Safety Symposium | Safety: A Small Investment for a Rich Future March 8-9, 2016 | NTSB Training Center | Ashburn, VA http://www.acsf.aero/events/acsf-symposium/ CHC Safety & Quality Summit Press Releases and Save the Date April 4-6, 2016 Vancouver, BC www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com BARS Auditor Training Washington DC? Tuesday-Thursday 5-7 April http://flightsafety.org/bars/auditor-training Back to Top JOBS AVAILABLE: Flight Data Analyst Air New Zealand https://careers.airnz.co.nz/jobdetails/ajid/Q3W3g/Flight-Data-Analyst,111690 Curt Lewis