Flight Safety Information December 10, 2015 - No. 247 In This Issue Raise safety standards to avoid aviation disasters Thailand spared from EU's blacklist of airlines New Yorker pleads guilty to disrupting Jet Blue flight on way to PBIA ISIL cyberattack on airplane unlikely, federal intelligence analysts reported Singapore, land of the world's best airport, will soon manage a few in India. Honda Aircraft receives type certification for HondaJet Boeing delivers fourth 737 radar jet to Turkey. Boeing Debuts Major Upgrade To Its Most Popular Jet Airbus patented new designs for a jet that could fly from London to New York in 1 hour Free snacks are back at United Airlines. Yes, in economy Research Survey Upcoming Events JOBS AVAILABLE (New Positions) Raise safety standards to avoid aviation disasters The combination of a mechanical fault and pilot miscommunication that lay behind the crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 last December represents the worst of two worlds in aviation: technical failure and human error. The investigative report, released by Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, notes that the pilots' inability to deal with a midair technical fault led them to lose control of the aircraft. A chilling fact that has emerged is that the rudder system of the jet used for the doomed flight showed a problem 23 times in 12 months and, in fact, the faulty component got worse in the three months that preceded the crash. The fault occurred four times within 40 minutes of takeoff. The pilots dealt with the first three, but their attempt to correct the last was fatally futile. The plane, which was flying from Surabaya to Singapore, crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 162 people on board. Evidently, the fault involving the rudder was crucial to the chain of events that ended in disaster. The trend of mechanical malfunctions should have caught the sustained attention of the maintenance authorities. Although there were apparently other factors as well that contributed to the crash - such as the inability of the pilots to handle the plane in upset conditions, or during a violent roll - the maintenance regime needs to be scrutinized closely to establish the role it could have played. Moving beyond the particular causes of the AirAsia crash, every accident leaves behind lessons which, if learned and remembered, could help prevent the next tragedy. The main lesson is the critical importance of safety based on a robust maintenance regime and the rigorous and continuous training of pilots to handle contingencies. Whether airlines abide by these standards depends in turn on a national regulatory framework that makes it impossible for operators to get away with substandard safety practices. That framework is likely to be a resilient one if aviation watchdogs in other countries maintain consistent scrutiny. Indonesia's air safety record and now Thailand's standards as well have drawn unfavorable international attention. Countries must step up efforts to improve standards. For airlines, particularly low-cost carriers, the pressures of staying profitable in a competitive market must not result in cutting corners to reduce costs. Turnaround times are a matter of concern, given that budget airlines tend to use their aircraft more intensively than full-service carriers. A British newspaper reported air traffic controllers as saying that pilots from some low-cost airlines are under such pressure to meet tight deadlines that they disobey air traffic control instructions. Such dangerous practices are likely to be stamped out if passengers make their displeasure clear by avoiding the offending airlines. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20151210001083 Back to Top Thailand spared from EU's blacklist of airlines BRUSSELS - The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) did not put any Thai airlines on its list of carriers banned from flying into the EU on Thursday, an EU official said, 10 days after the U.S. aviation body downgraded Thailand. EASA, in cooperation with the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, regularly updates the list of airlines banned from flying into the 28-member European Union because of safety concerns. Indonesian carriers Lion Air remained on the blacklist, the EU official said. The fact that no Thai airlines appeared on the list will be a boon for Thai Airways International, the only major airline flying into Europe from the Asian country. The result of EASA audit came a week after U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Dec 1 downgraded Thailand's safety ratings because its civil aviation body failed to tackle flaws in its commercial aviation standards. EASA visited Thailand earlier this year and on Wednesday Thailand's Directorate General of Civil Aviation signed an agreement with the European body in which EASA would help Thailand improve its air safety oversight. Europe is Thailand's second largest tourism market, with the number of European tourists accounting for about 18 percent of total international visitors this year. Europe contributes about 30 percent of Thai Airways'revenue, analysts said. About four million European visitors travel to Thailand every year, of whom one million fly with Thai Airways, according to data from the Thai tourism council. http://news.asiaone.com/news/world/thailand-spared-eus-blacklist-airlines Back to Top New Yorker pleads guilty to disrupting Jet Blue flight on way to PBIA WEST PALM BEACH - A 29-year-old New York City man who punched a flight attendant on a Jet Blue flight to Palm Beach International Airport pleaded guilty Wednesday to interference with a flight attendant. Wearing a navy blue polo shirt and jeans, Alija Kucuk admitted in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach that he shoved two flight attendants, then punched another one shortly after the Jet Blue flight took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport on Oct. 15. While he was initially also charged with threatening to destroy an aircraft, a federal grand jury declined to indict him on that charge. Kucuk, who has been living with cousins who own a used car dealership in Fort Lauderdale, faces a maximum 20-year prison term and possible $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Feb. 12. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Ryskamp allowed him to remain free on $50,000 bond. He and his attorney declined comment after the brief hearing. The flight attendants were beginning food and beverage service when Kucuk ran down the aisle of the aircraft, according to a report by an FBI agent. After pushing two flight attendants out of his way, Kucuk punched a male flight attendant who was trying to calm him down. As the two tussled, Kucuk hurled racial slurs at the flight attendant and threatened to "blow up the plane," the agent wrote. Kucuk was eventually restrained and the flight continued to PBIA without further interruptions. Prosecutors initially recommended a $20,000 bond but increased the amount after they discovered Kucuk had failed to appear in court in New York on minor drug charges and traffic violations. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/new-yorker-pleads-guilty-to-disrupting-jet-blue- fl/npgDM/ Back to Top ISIL cyberattack on airplane unlikely, federal intelligence analysts reported OTTAWA - The prospect of a terrorist cyberattack on an airplane struck federal intelligence analysts as more pie-in-the-sky than a real possibility, newly released documents show. The modern airliner's reliance on digital flight-control systems make some believe planes are vulnerable to malware that could be uploaded either online or through a direct connection, notes an assessment by Transport Canada's security intelligence assessment branch. Although there are no confirmed cases of malware being used to hijack an aircraft's flight systems, it is "theoretically possible to do so," says the November 2014 assessment, recently obtained under the Access to Information Act. "Changing flight control settings at critical times (landing or takeoff) could be catastrophic," the note allowed, but added: "The likelihood of such an event is assessed as very low." There were suggestions that a 2010 Spanair crash could have been caused by a cyberattack because the plane's flaps and wing slats were in the wrong position, but this had not been communicated electronically to the flight crew, the analysts pointed out. "Investigators were unable to determine if malware was the cause of the system fault." British researchers were working to limit the effects of a possible attack by adding software that recognizes a malicious bug and routes around it, Transport Canada added. The issue emerged again in January when messages posted on a forum related to the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant suggested a virtual attack on western aviation. Hacking air-traffic control computers and jamming communications with aircraft could trigger hundreds or even thousands of accidents, one poster commented. Tampering with the computers "would be like a nuclear bomb exploded in the centre of the White House," the individual wrote. A three-page Transport Canada assessment, parts of which remain secret, played down the online boasts, saying "there was no mention of how to cause such a shutdown or what was required to do so." The federal analysts acknowledged that, according to expert hackers, it is possible to create non-existent ghost aircraft signals that would create confusion for air-traffic controllers and pilots, who would not know which ones were real. However, the tests were all performed in a laboratory setting, the assessment says. In addition, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has pointed to multiple levels of redundancy and cross-checking of data with radar to ensure aircraft would never be endangered by spoofed signals. As a result, the "jihadi statement that any malfunction or hack into the system is guaranteed to cause an aircraft collision is simply not the case," the Transport Canada assessment concluded. The department also expressed skepticism about another potential vulnerability cited by experts - infiltration of a plane's satellite communication system (SATCOM) through the in-flight entertainment console. "The entertainment system is electronically separate from the other aircraft systems and only shares a power source. Currently there are no routes with which a passenger could infect the aircraft SATCOM or navigation systems via the entertainment console," the intelligence assessment says. "Therefore, the possibility of a terrorist being able to directly influence the flight via the entertainment system is assessed as very low." A few months later, court documents revealed the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was probing a man's claim that he had made a plane move sideways by executing a hack via the entertainment system. A Transport Canada spokeswoman had nothing immediate to add to the department's assessments. Safe air travel is a critical priority for Canadians, and vital to national security generally, said Marc-Andre O'Rourke, executive director of the National Airlines Council of Canada, which represents major carriers including Air Canada. "Given the security nature of this issue, we are unable to comment further." http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2015/12/10/isil-cyberattack-on-airplane-unlikely-federal- intelligence-analysts-reported.html Back to Top Singapore, land of the world's best airport, will soon manage a few in India Changi Airport in Singapore consistently wins international accolades. Ranked No. 1 in the Skytrax World Airport Awards for the past three years, it's particularly noted for its 500,000 plants and many gardens, which are overseen by a team of dedicated horticulturalists. Now, the same company that manages Changi looks set to take over management and operations of two airports in India. A Singapore government agency has signed an agreement with the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) under which Changi Airports International will manage the airports in Ahmedabad and Jaipur. The news follows a visit to Singapore in late November by India prime minister Narendra Modi. The decision was a government-to-government one with no bidding for the contract, details of which are yet to be finalized, AAI chairman RK Srivastava told the Economic Times. Under the arrangement, Changi would be paid a fee (rather than enter a concessional arrangement) to manage the terminal operations and parking at the two airports, responsibilities currently handled by AAI, according to the Press Trust of India. In 2014-15 the Ahmedabad airport handled about 5 million passengers, out of which 1.2 million were international travelers, according to the news agency. By 2023-24, those figures will be 6.8 million and 3.7 million, respectively. (Jaipur's smaller airport handled 2.2 million in 2014-15.) By contrast, last year Changi Airport handled more than 54 million passengers (pdf). India, with its outdated airports and fast-growing air traffic, presents a promising scenario for airport operators. In a November report (pdf, p. 19) PricewaterhouseCoopers wrote that India has one of the world's highest forecasts for airport infrastructure investment, amounting to about $14 billion over the next decade. Srivastava estimates India needs 200 operational airports, compared to today's 125. (Many airports simply need to be made operational, as India currently has a significant number of eerie "ghost airports.") In late October the country's civil aviation ministry proposed a slew of measures that could lower the cost of flying within Asia's third-largest economy and boost regional connectivity, which would lead to significant jumps in traffic in the years to follow. The nation is currently the world's 10th-largest aviation market and aims to be in the top three. Ahmedabad is the nation's fifth-largest city and has a population of about 7 million. Set to receive both Singaporean airport management and Japanese bullet trains, the city has a powerful friend in the prime minister. Before winning the job in May 2014, Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat-the largest city of which is Ahmedabad. http://qz.com/569521/singapore-land-of-the-worlds-best-airport-will-soon-manage-a-few-in-india/ Back to Top Honda Aircraft receives type certification for HondaJet * Federal Aviation Administration approval allows for deliveries of the jet to begin * It also creates new competition in the business jet market for Textron Aviation and Learjet * HondaJet is likely the first of more business jets to come Customers examine Honda Aircraft Co.'s HondaJet, on display at Henderson Executive Airport as part of the National Business Aviation Association Convention in November in Las Vegas. Honda Aircraft has been awarded final type certification for the HondaJet, allowing deliveries of the light business jet to begin. The certification also means that the full effect of Honda Aircraft's first aircraft offering will begin to be felt in the business jet market and by competing aircraft makers, including Wichita's Textron Aviation and Bombardier Learjet. While the single-pilot HondaJet - with seating for up to six passengers and a $4.5 million price tag - comes in at the low end of the business jet market, one expert thinks the jet is only the company's first offering. "I think you have to look at the Honda investment as a long-term investment," aviation forecaster Rolland Vincent said Wednesday. "They've made a bet on business aviation ... This is the beginning. This is not the end." Honda Aircraft said in a news release Wednesday evening that the certification was awarded Tuesday. It said it will begin to ramp up production of the airplane, 25 of which are on its final assembly line. FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said in an e-mail to The Eagle that the type certificate had been awarded, but referred details of it to Honda Aircraft. $4.5 million Price tag for a new HondaJet The awarding of the certificate comes 12 years after a proof-of-concept HondaJet took flight on Dec. 3, 2003. In 2006, the company made application for type certification. In March, it was awarded provisional type certification by the FAA. "We established Honda Aircraft as a new aerospace company and introduced our first product - an advanced light jet with technologies developed from serious research activities," Honda Aircraft CEO Michimasa Fujino said in Wednesday's release. "We designed, tested, and have now certified this clean- sheet design aircraft - an unprecedented challenge for Honda." Vincent said while the development and certification process has been a "very long process," Honda Aircraft has "done things very well and very carefully." "The build quality is impressive," he said. "The composite fuselage is very, very clean." Vincent added the performance of the jet, including its fuel burn and speed, "sets a new, high watermark." More importantly, he thinks the more than 500,000 square feet of facilities the company has built at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C., has the capacity to produce more than just one type of jet. "They have sized and scaled the business to go up market," he said. That said, Honda Aircraft will have to validate itself to the business jet market. It can't do it by simply staking itself on the reputation of its automaker parent. "Honda, of course, is a magical brand," Vincent said. "And in this segment they'll have to prove themselves." The proof will come not only in Honda Aircraft's ability to sell the new jets, but also the ability to service and support them all over the world, Vincent said. Vincent said the biggest difference in Honda Aircraft's business plan compared with other business jet manufacturers is its distribution network. Instead of selling directly to the buyer, in some parts of the U.S. it has created a network of dealers that will sell the jets to buyers. "You see it in the turboprop market, but not in the jet market," he said. "We'll see where that all goes," Vincent added. "I think the distribution model, where they have dealers, is untested." http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article48919530.html#storylink=cpy Back to Top Boeing delivers fourth 737 radar jet to Turkey Boeing (NYSE: BA) delivered a fourth 737-based airborne command center to Turkey on Wednesday, reflecting the continued success of one of the planemaker's lesser-known military derivatives of a commercial jet. The other two derivatives are the 737-based P-8 submarine hunter, and the 767-based airborne tanker. All three of them are bringing significant amounts of work to the Puget Sound region. That includes Renton, where the 737 airframes are built, and Everett where the 767 are assembled. It also includes Boeing Field, where the military equipment is integrated. The Turkish version of the 737-based command and control center jet, known as the Peace Eagle, features a large radar array above its fuselage. The 737-based computer and radar-packed airborne command center jets are called Peace Eagles by the Turkish government. Their purpose is to watch over operations of an enemy on the ground and in the air, and help direct ground and air movements against that enemy. The jets come equipped with 10 consoles, from which operators on board can monitor the information from their surveillance equipment. The jets are technically called "airborne early warning and control" (AEW&C) aircraft. Purchasing countries have tended to avoid that mouthful by giving more evocative names. Australia calls its jets Wedgetails; Turkey uses Peace Eagle; and Korea calls its planes Peace Eyes. The most recent buyer, Qatar, ordered three of the jets in 2014 worth $1.8 billion, according to IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. The just-delivered Turkish Peace Eagle was flown to Konya Air Base in Turkey. It featured upgraded software, which is to be also added to the previous three jets. So far Boeing has delivered 14 of the jets. http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2015/12/09/boeing-delivers-fourth-737-radar-jet-to- turkey.html Back to Top Boeing Debuts Major Upgrade To Its Most Popular Jet The Boeing 737 MAX is now available. The upgraded version of the company's most popular jetliner is 40% quieter than its predecessor, and also about 20% more fuel efficient. Boeing plans to test fly the jet in early 2016 and deliver the first commercial ready jets by 2017. The 737 first debuted in 1967 and is by far the most common plane in the world. In fact, it's the only plane used by some airlines, notably Southwest. Boeing has produced and delivered more than 9,000 737's over the last 50 years. The company already has 3,000 orders for the 737 MAX. The company will continue to produce older versions of the 737, which it will deliver over the next five years. The 737 MAX is being built at an unionized Boeing plant in the Seattle metro area. The company has been praised for making sure the first 737 Max was completed on schedule, an issue that has plagued other jets in its lineup, notably the 787 Dreamliner, which was delayed by several years. http://www.businesspundit.com/boeing-debuts-major-upgrade-to-its-most-popular-jet/ Back to Top Airbus patented new designs for a jet that could fly from London to New York in 1 hour Airbus on Wednesday filed a second patent for a plane that can fly from London to New York in less than one hour, Patent Yogi first reported. The patent includes a huge rocket engine that would enable the jet to travel at more than four times the speed of sound, which means it could cross the Atlantic in less time that it takes to cross London on a bus. Plans for a supersonic jet were first released by Airbus in July this year, but it looks as though the company has gone back to the drawing board to make improvements to their initial design. The two designs have clear differences. Here's a graphic of the original July design, which looks very different to a traditional passenger jet: And this is what the new design looks like in the patent images. It's far more conventional: Airbus supersonic jet US Patent Office The airplane is described by the company as "a space aircraft capable of taking off from the ground in the usual manner, reaching an altitude of at least a hundred kilometres, flying at a transsonic or even supersonic speed, and then landing in the usual manner of an aircraft." The plane would have a huge rocket engine at the back of the body, with two turbojet engines on either side of it. The turbojets would fly the plane up to a certain altitude, before the rocket engine ignites, sending the plane vertically upwards to its final altitude. At first ignition, the rocket engine would make a huge supersonic boom, creating enormous drag on the aircraft, which Airbus says it would counter this with anti-drag flaps. airbus patent flaps US Patent Office When it released the original designs back in July, Airbus said that the hypersonic jet could have both civilian and military applications. In civilian trim, the craft could serve as private jet or as an airliner with room for 20 passengers. When used by the military, the jet could serve as transport for soldiers or as a reconnaissance plane. Patent Yogi has released a great video showing just how Airbus' new design might look if it ever actually goes into production. Airbus, like many technology companies, files hundreds of patents a year to protect its intellectual property. It doesn't mean all of these ideas will become reality. Two weeks ago, for example, it patented a crazy new way of loading passengers onto planes. The vast majority of patents never get off the drawing board, but the fact that the company has filed two separate patents for the same device suggests that it may seriously be considering trying to make the supersonic jet in the coming years. The full patent filing can be viewed on Patent Yogi's website, or check out the site's full video below: http://www.businessinsider.com/airbus-patented-new-designs-for-supersonic-transatlantic-jet-2015- 12?r=UK&IR=T Back to Top Free snacks are back at United Airlines. Yes, in economy The 'stroopwafel' will be among United's free breakfast snack offerings for economy class passengers. (Photo: United Airlines) The Chicago-based carrier announced Wednesday that it's restoring that once-common airline perk beginning in February. "We're refocusing on the big and little things that we know matter to our customers and shape how they feel about their travel experience," Jimmy Samartzis, United's vice president of food services and United Clubs, says in a statement. "We're bringing back complimentary snacks that are a nod to our global presence. They also add that extra level of service our employees will be proud to deliver and will make a big difference for our customers." The free snacks will be offered on all of United's flights in North America, the Caribbean and between Honolulu and Guam that did not already have a complimentary meal or snack option in coach class. The move comes as new United CEO Oscar Munoz has tried to put customer service in the spotlight at the carrier, acknowledging earlier this fall that "the implementation of the United and Continental merger has been rocky for customers and employees." As for the reintroduction of free snacks, United says coach-class customers on flights that depart before 9:45 a.m. will receive a morning stroopwafel, which the carrier describes as "a Dutch, caramel-filled waffle that pairs perfectly with coffee or tea." For flights that depart after 9:45 a.m., economy customers will get "packaged savory snacks, such as an Asian-style snack mix of rice crackers, sesame sticks and wasabi peas or a zesty-ranch mix of mini pretzel sticks, Cajun corn sticks and ranch soy nuts." The free snacks will be offered in tandem with United's for-pay "Choice Menu" items. Those items range from small snacks like Chex Mex ($3.99) and Pringles ($3.99) to more robust breakfast, lunch and dinner options that cost up to $9.99. The availability of the Choice Menu options varies by flight. United's Latin America flights that already had free meals in coach will not receive the new snacks since the airline will retain its current complimentary offerings in those markets. http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2015/12/09/free-snacks--back--united- airlines-yes--economy/77035196/ Back to Top Research Survey Dear Aviation Colleagues, ***Survey Link https://purdue.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8nOzSNWYbDGqIsJ ***(copy directly into web browser if link does not work).*** My name is Tyler Spence. I am a PhD student at Purdue University working with Dr. Mary Johnson in the Purdue School of Aviation and Transportation Technology. In the survey that follows, we are seeking input on flight data analysis that may be derived from aircraft with flight data monitoring capabilities like the Garmin G1000, Avidyne Entegra, or Aspen Evolution 1000. We are seeking your input on how we can use metrics, methods, and prototype graphs to improve safety from GA pilots' perspectives. This effort is a part of an FAA-sponsored research project that is exploring ways to improve General Aviation safety performance using flight data. More specifically, our goal is to develop innovative techniques to analyze and present flight data in ways that are useful and meaningful to GA pilots and operators. We are seeking feedback from anyone who uses the GA system including pilots, maintenance personnel, flight instructors, pilot examiners, aircraft owners (individual or fleet), flight data analysts, and administrators. The survey comprises two main sections: 1) Opinions of flight data monitoring and the use of a national database. This part of the survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. 2) Potential flight analysis graphs and figures that could be included in the application tool. This part of the survey should take about 30 minutes to complete. You are free to not answer any questions, and stop participation in the survey at any time. No personally identifiable information will be collected. All answers reported in analysis will only be in aggregate without any connection to you on any response you may provide. Thank you very much for your participation on this survey. Your responses are greatly appreciated and will hopefully help the aviation industry improve the GA safety record. If you have any questions regarding this survey or the information contained within, please feel free to contact the researchers directly at either spence5@purdue.edu or mejohnson@purdue.edu. Back to Top Upcoming Events: 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 | Back to Basics: Prioritizing Safety in a Challenging Economy 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: Deputy Director of Flight Operations & Technical Services Helicopter Association International https://www.rotor.org/AboutHAI/Employment.aspx Position Available: Airline Safety Manager - Investigation (Engineering) Cathay Pacific https://career10.successfactors.com/career?_s.crb=Q%252ffWkAOt5SsrsXlBnG3GK%252bmGYsU%253d Curt Lewis