Flight Safety Information January 14, 2016 - No. 010 In This Issue PROS 2016 TRAINING Does autopilot dull the skills of U.S. airline pilots? Final MH17 crash report 'unsubstantiated, inaccurate,' new Russian probe says NTSB targets GA as safety improves NTSB Releases Wish List for Transportation Improvements Duluth man charged in Canada with making threats on airplane Hawaiian Airlines flight makes emergency landing after e-cigarette scare These Airlines Have the Best Wi-Fi in the World Quest aircraft to get $10 million investment from Mitsui. CALL FOR PAPERS Military Aviation Safety Workshop Graduate Research Surveys. Graduate Research Survey Upcoming Events Jobs Available Does autopilot dull the skills of U.S. airline pilots? The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilots of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 were confused by the plane's technology, which directly resulted in the 2013 crash as the plane landed in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Pilots are so used to using automation technology in the cockpit that experts are worried that some of them lack the skills to manually fly planes. That concern was summarized by the inspector general at the U.S. Department of Transportation, who took the Federal Aviation Administration to task this month, saying the agency does not know how many pilots are capable of actually taking the controls if their electronic systems go dark. "While airlines have long used automation safely to improve efficiency and reduce pilot workload, several recent accidents, including the July 2013 crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214, have shown that pilots who typically fly with automation can make errors when confronted with an unexpected event or transitioning to manual flying," the inspector general said in a letter to the FAA. Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed while the pilots were attempting a landing at San Francisco International Airport. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the crew's reliance on automation was a contributing factor. "We've recommended that pilots have more opportunity to practice manually flying the aircraft," said Robert L. Sumwalt, who spent 32 years as an airline pilot before joining the NTSB in 2006, pointing to the issues raised by his own agency. The FAA responded to the inspector general's letter with a commitment to enhance training requirements. "A well-trained flight crew is the single most important safety asset on any flight," the Air Line Pilots Association said in response to the inspector general's letter. "Airline pilots' skills are continuously monitored throughout their careers. ALPA supports the Federal Aviation Administration's proven effectiveness in its oversight of pilot training." The autopilot, developed by Sperry Corp. in 1912, is so ubiquitous that pilots commonly refer to it as "George." It is a safe bet that even before the captain turns off the seat-belt sign, George is flying the plane. Twentieth-century pilots had to enter much of the data needed for their autopilot systems, but now much of it is electronically uploaded into the plane's flight management system. Cockpits are so loaded with electronics that planes virtually fly themselves, although the FAA requires pilots to be hands-on for takeoffs and landings while a plane is below 500 feet. In addition to the autopilot, pilots use a new system known as En Route Automation Modernization, which governs their routing and helps them get around congested airspace and bad weather. "The changes that have been made in the past decade have been monumental," Sumwalt said. But there are situations in which a pilot's skill at the controls will determine the fate of the airplane. When pilots respond successfully, the event makes no news. When they do not, however, their failure can make for gruesome reading. In 2009, a Colgan Air flight from Newark to Buffalo crashed after its pilots fumbled when a stall warning went off. The crash killed 50 . [Pilots spoke of ice on wings before deadly crash in N.Y.] The same year, an Air France plane en route from Brazil to Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after the autopilot malfunctioned and crew error caused the plane to stall. All 228 aboard died. And in 2014, an AirAsia plane crashed into the Java Sea after the autopilot kicked off in bad weather and the pilot's bad decision put the plane into a stall that led to 162 deaths. In the 2013 Asiana Airlines crash, the plane clipped a sea wall while landing in San Francisco, killing three and injuring 187. "We talked about the pilot's overreliance on the auto throttle system" in the NTSB report on the crash, said Sumwalt, who flew for Piedmont Airlines and US Airways, logging 14,000 flight hours. "The general rule of thumb is that any time you're not sure what the automation is doing, you should disconnect and fly manually," he said. Well aware that gadgetry had overtaken the role of the pilot in the cockpit, the FAA in 2013 told airlines that they needed to promote hands-on flying to be sure that pilots keep their skills up. But the inspector general, in a letter to the FAA, said the agency had not followed up to make sure they did. "FAA has not determined whether air carriers have increased manual flying opportunities as a result of issuing its recommendation to the industry," the inspector general's letter said. "FAA has not ensured that air carrier training programs adequately focus on manual flying skills." In responding to the letter, the FAA said it would develop guidance for the airlines on appropriate training and set standards to ensure pilots demonstrate that they have maintained their hands-on skills. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/does-using-an-autopilot- dull-the-skills-of-us-commercial-pilots/2016/01/13/00e458fe-ba13-11e5-829c- 26ffb874a18d_story.html Back to Top Final MH17 crash report 'unsubstantiated, inaccurate,' new Russian probe says The reconstructed airplane serves as a backdrop during the presentation of the final report into the crash of July 2014 of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, in Gilze Rijen, the Netherlands, October 13, 2015. © Michael Kooren Some of the key conclusions of the Dutch Safety Board's final report on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash were 'unsubstantiated and inaccurate,' Russia's aviation agency said in a letter to its counterpart in the Netherlands, citing new research. Since the final report, released on October 13, 2015, did not reflect many important facts mentioned by the Russian side, the country's experts continued their investigation into the reasons for the crash, Oleg Storchevoy, deputy head of Rosaviatsiya, wrote in a letter addressed to leadership of the Dutch Safety Board (DSB). Flight MH17 crashed in the war-torn Donetsk Region in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board. According to the DSB's findings, the Boeing 777 was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile with a 9N314M warhead. However, the Dutch experts were unable to determine which side in the conflict - the Ukrainian government forces or the rebels - was responsible for firing the missile. In the letter, the Rosaviatsiya official stresses that the final DSB report "unfairly obscures the issue of liability" for ensuring flight safety over the war-zone in Donbass, "shifting the blame from Ukraine to airlines and international aviation organizations, e.g. the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization]." Kiev should have closed the airspace in the area as soon hostilities broke out between government forces and the rebels in eastern Ukraine in April 2014, the letter says. The DSB report provides no explanation for Ukraine's failure to close the airspace over the conflict zone, it adds. "Thus, the Ukrainian authorities deliberately concealed or distorted information on real threats to the safety of civil flights arising from the military activities... As a result, other states and airlines (including Malaysia Airlines) did not have sufficient official information for making a decision to suspend flights over Ukraine," Storchevoy writes. "The statements by US and NATO officials presented in the final report are limited to speculations on whether Russian troops or the Russian Army's weapons were present in Ukraine," the letter said, adding that those claims were "not true." According to the letter, the Dutch report provides no facts proving "the presence or the use of Buk surface-to-air missiles in the region," only saying that the downing of an An-26 and Su-25 in the area shortly before the MH17 tragedy does not rule out such a possibility. "Even assuming the aircraft was brought down by a Buk surface-to-air missile, the description of fragments provided in the report does not match the strike elements used in the 9N314M warhead," Storchevoy stresses. In the DSB's final report, the shape of the fragments is examined separately from their mass. However, Russian tests revealed that the chemical composition of the shards does not match that of a 9N314M warhead. Storchevoy also pointed out that the "penetration holes on the aircraft wreckage are not consistent with those normally created by the detonation of a 9N314M warhead." In addition, the final report did not mention several fragments of the alleged Buk missile found on the Malaysian plane's crash site that had been shown by the Dutch experts to their Russian colleagues. One of them - the Section 3 encasing - "does not match the appearance of fragments of the same encasing normally resulting from the detonation of a 9M38-series (9M38M1) missile," the letter stressed. During a full-scale experiment conducted by the Russian side, the missile "disintegrated into large shapeless fragments," while the fragments from the MH17 crash site were "only slightly damaged... not deformed," it added. Another important point, according to Storchevoy, is that "the location of the missile in relation to the aircraft at the moment of detonation as provided in the final report does not match the fragmentation spray area on the aircraft wreckage." The possible launch area of the missile, which allegedly hit the MH17 was also "calculated incorrectly," he stressed. "Dimensions and boundary of damage, the number and density of penetration holes on the wreckage and especially the nature of damage to the frame of the Boeing 777 aircraft are not consistent with the warhead detonation point and missile orientation as presented in the final report," the letter explained. The Dutch investigators said the missile came from somewhere within a 320 square kilometer area within eastern Ukraine, which would mean it couldn't establish the side of the conflict which had controlled that launch site. However, a comprehensive experiment conducted by Russian arms producer Almaz-Antey demonstrated that the aircraft could only have been hit by a Buk missile if it had come from the village of Zaroshchenskoye, Storchevoy said. The letter concludes that the Dutch report is inaccurate and flawed in its reasoning. The evidence the Dutch side cites matches neither the 9N314M warhead, which they believe had caused the crash of MH17, nor any of the 9M38 series of BUK missiles, which the Dutch believe delivered the warhead. The scenario of how the missile approached its target does not match the fragment spray area of the wreckage, it added. It also stressed Ukraine's responsibility to close its airspace to civilian aviation in the area of hostilities in the east of the country, which it failed to observe, and challenged the Dutch report's assessment that two Ukrainian military aircraft downed before MH17 may have been destroyed by heavy anti-aircraft weapons. https://www.rt.com/news/328883-mh17-dutch-report-inaccurate/ Back to Top NTSB targets GA as safety improves Amidst unprecedented new lows in the annual general aviation accident toll, the NTSB continued its call Jan. 13 for more effort to prevent loss of control by GA pilots. Releasing the 2016 edition of the agency's Most Wanted list of safety improvements, NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart emphasized the losses rather than gains in light aviation safety, and compared personal aviation unfavorably to other types of general aviation, including business travel. Hart, speaking to AOPA Live after the event, said the agency differentiates between personal flights made for business, or strictly personal. The combined total, Hart said, has remained nearly unchanged. NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart. "The business-personal flying is actually getting better, which means that the personal- personal flying is actually getting worse," Hart said, using nonstandard terminology. It was not immediately clear if the NTSB analysis of "personal personal" flights was based on commonly used data sets and distinctions. "We're concerned that that number is as high as it is," Hart said. "It's been that way for far too long." AOPA, and particularly the AOPA Air Safety Institute, has long been working to improve safety and joined the NTSB in appealing for increased use of angle of attack indicators, among other measures. The high cost of certifying and bringing these systems to market had been a significant barrier that eased in 2014. The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee, which AOPA co-chairs, studied 2,472 accidents and concluded in 2013 that AOA indicators are an effective tool for reducing the likelihood of loss of control. The FAA responded the following year with various steps to promote AOA installations, and equipment is now available at reasonable cost for most aircraft in the GA fleet. The FAA has updated guidance for flight instructors to include the use of AOA indicators in training and flight reviews, also among the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee's recommendations. There is evidence that efforts made in recent years have begun to bear fruit: The GA fatal accident numbers hit all-time lows in 2013, remained comparable in 2014, and preliminary evidence suggests 2015 will prove little different. The Air Safety Institute has provided free pilot education and tracked accident data for decades, and noted that 2013 and 2014 were the first years in the past half century with fewer than 200 fatal light aircraft accidents. Accident rates, a measure of accidents divided by (estimated) hours flown, fell to the lowest levels seen in 25 years. The Air Safety Institute has joined the FAA, NTSB, and other organizations in seeking further improvement, participating in an NTSB forum on loss of control in September. The twenty-fourth edition of the Nall Report noted unprecedented declines in noncommercial fixed-wing accidents, and the Air Safety Institute has produced several videos, courses, and other materials that can help pilots improve their safety-all at no charge, many focused specifically on aircraft control and technique. "Safety is the top priority for every pilot on every flight, and that's reflected in the steady decline in GA accident rates," AOPA President Mark Baker said in January 2015, when the NTSB released its previous Most Wanted list, also targeting loss of control. "By putting loss-of-control accidents on its Most Wanted list, the NTSB is sustaining the focus on an issue that has been at the forefront of safety efforts by AOPA, the aviation industry, and the FAA for some time." The Air Safety Institute staff noted that analyzing the available data to get a true picture of the safety of one type of aviation or another, even within Part 91, is difficult. Making valid comparisons between the different types of missions and their safety records is fraught with potential pitfalls that may mislead. "Loss of control makes up about 40 percent of the total number, or about 150 fatal accidents in GA aircraft," noted Air Safety Institute Senior Vice President George Perry. "By any national measure this is a pretty small number, small enough that small variation in the number of accidents from year to year produces a large swing in percentages. Even so, at AOPA we believe that even one preventable accident is too many." The Air Safety Institute will continue to work with the NTSB and other organizations toward improving the numbers, and, more importantly, saving lives. http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2016/January/13/NTSB-targets-GA-as- safety-improves Back to Top NTSB Releases Wish List for Transportation Improvements The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board released its annual list of "most wanted" transportation improvements, but for the first time in recent memory none of the priorities relate specifically to reducing commercial aviation hazards. Wednesday's announcement reflects years of steady gains in airline safety, with the last fatal crash of a U.S. scheduled passenger flight occurring nearly seven years ago. Some aviation experts said it was the first time in decades that commercial air-safety wasn't explicitly singled out in the agency's annual rankings as one of the high-priority areas for needed improvements. The 2016 list emphasizes various potential dangers that cut across all modes of transportation, including fatigue- related accidents, the need for enhanced occupant protection and hazards related to distractions from cellphones or other portable electronic devices. Other topics focus on specifics technologies such as automated braking or collision- avoidance systems on cars, trucks and trains. Some of the latest recommendations touch on overall aviation safety, including one item that calls for enhanced efforts to reduce what are called "loss of control" accidents-often stemming from pilot confusion-affecting small private aircraft. But highlighting many years of steadily improving safety statistics for passenger airlines in the U.S., the safety board didn't embrace a single topic focused entirely on raising the bar for commercial aviation in this country. Last year's list included a topic calling for commercial pilots to strictly follow flight-safety procedures. Over the years, the NTSB's annual wish list was studded with needed improvements for airlines, carriers and aircraft makers. But as airline safety statistics have continued to improve in the U.S.-as well as in nearly every region of the world-the safety board's "most wanted" improvements have increasingly shifted to target other transportation arenas. Improving the safety of urban mass transit systems, railroads and helicopters, for example, gained greater prominence. In its 2016 version, the NTSB also features the importance of various highway safety technologies, from greater adoption of automatic braking and collision-avoidance hardware on cars to adaptive headlights to systems designed to help drivers avoid dangerous lane changes. Deborah Hersman, a former NTSB chairman and currently president and CEO of the National Safety Council, praised the safety board for adding highway collision-avoidance technology back to the 2016 list. "Our cars are safer and smarter than ever before, yet we continue to lose 35,000 people each year in car crashes," Ms. Hersman said in a statement. The NTSB's list, she said, amounts to "a roadmap guiding us toward zero deaths on our roads." Created in 1974 as an independent safety watchdog, the NTSB has no regulatory or enforcement authority. But it has issued some 13,000 safety recommendations over the years, and its views are closely followed by regulators, operators and lawmakers. http://www.nasdaq.com/article/ntsb-releases-wish-list-for-transportation-improvements- 20160113-00700 Back to Top Duluth man charged in Canada with making threats on airplane DULUTH, Minn. -- A northern Minnesota man accused of making threats on a flight from Alaska to Colorado faces two charges in Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police says 54-year-old Nicholas Aliksyuk of Duluth is charged with one count of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and one count of mischief to property over $5,000. WDIO-TV reports that the incident happened early Saturday morning on a United Airlines flight from Anchorage to Denver. Aliksyuk was arrested when the airplane made an unscheduled landing in Vancouver, British Columbia. He remains in custody in Canada. It wasn't immediately known whether Aliksyuk has an attorney who can comment on his behalf. http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_29381066/duluth-man-charged-canada-making- threats-airplane Back to Top Hawaiian Airlines flight makes emergency landing after e-cigarette scare There was a scare in the air for 128 passengers aboard a Hawaiian Airlines flight when a light indicated there was smoke in the cargo area. The plane was on the way to Maui from Honolulu. It made a safe landing on Maui yesterday. A spokesperson for the airline says when firefighters checked the cargo area, two bags appeared to be damaged by an e-cigarette in a passenger's checked luggage. According to the Department of Transportation, vaping is a ground activity only! You can't do it on a plane. You can't even check an e-cigarette in your luggage! The DOT changed the rule late last year calling e-cigs a safety risk. "I think it is a smart rule. It's better to be safe than sorry," said Ed Ka'anehe. Kan'anehe has smoked e-cigarettes for about a year. He and his wife Kiki are flying to Vegas and before they board their flight, they are taking one last puff at Honolulu International. Kiki didn't know the flying rules about e-cigarettes. When she called the airport, they explained that she could bring them, but she had to board with them. The U.S Department of Transportation used several examples when they changed the rule, including this one: On August 9, 2014, at Boston's Logan Airport, an e-cigarette in a passenger's checked bag caused a fire on a plane that forced an evacuation of the plane. Also, on January 4, 2015, at LAX, a checked bag was found to be on fire in a baggage area. The cause? An overheated e-cigarette. Justin Grider has used e-cigarettes for more than five years. He didn't know the rules about flying with e-cigarettes but agrees with the change. "Safety first, especially when you are in the air because we can't have emergency landings when we are over the ocean," he said. Kan'anehe and his wife are also in favor of the new flying rule. The two don't mind taking a final drag before they board their flight. "Oh, I think they are definitely dangerous," he said. "We heard the battery can short circuit. It can explode! Yeah, it's dangerous." http://www.kitv.com/story/30961500/hawaiian-airlines-flight-makes-emergency-landing- after-e-cigarette-scare Back to Top These Airlines Have the Best Wi-Fi in the World Three American airlines come out on a top in a new study. Three American airlines offer the most onboard wireless Internet connections worldwide, according to new research. Delta Air Lines DAL -4.30% topped the list of the most connected airlines, as measured by available seat-miles with at least a chance of getting a wireless connection, according to the survey by Routehappy.com, a site that evaluates in-flight amenities. More than 500 million of Delta's available seat-miles are covered. It's closely followed by United Airlines UAL -5.51% (500 million miles) and American AAL -4.52% (more than 400 million miles). Available seat miles is an airline term for an airline's passenger carrying capacity. It's equal to the number of seats available multiplied by the number of miles flown. Measuring wireless availability against this metric "is a really fair way of saying which airlines have Wi-Fi, and which ones don't," says Jason Rabinowitz, Routehappy's data research manager. Routehappy is known for its online scoring system that evaluates an airline seat based on its amenities, including seat width, legroom, power ports and Internet connections. The company's research concluded that demand for Wi-Fi increased "dramatically" in 2015, as did the quality of the connections. Top Airlines By Millions of Available Seat Miles With The Option Of Wi-Fi 552.3 Delta 501.0 United 476.8 American 437.7 Emirates 336.6 Southwest 154.5 Etihad 151.0 Lufthansa 98.1 Singapore 97.1 JetBlue 96.3 Qatar 83.1 Japan (JAL) 78.5 Alaska 75.7 Turkish 69.8 Aeroflot 58.2 Norwegian 51.2 ANA 42.9 Iberia 42.7 Saudia 39.3 Air Canada 37.1 Virgin Atlantic Source: Routehappy A year ago, when Routehappy conducted its last report, many airlines still didn't have firm plans in place for fleet-wide in-flight Wi-Fi. (Its previous report used a different methodology that doesn't allow it to precisely compare the growth of onboard wireless connections to 2014.) Over the past year, more airlines than ever have begun or planned for major fleet-wide rollouts, it noted. In fact, some airlines are almost entirely Wi-Fi equipped. Singapore-based Scoot, a low- cost long-haul airline owned by Singapore Airlines SINGY -0.72% that operates a fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, offers wireless coverage in 100% of its aircraft. Virgin America VA - 3.83% and Icelandair are approaching full adoption rates. Only a few Virgin America flights operating to and from Hawaii don't have Wi-Fi yet. Among the findings: 60 airlines worldwide now offer in-flight Wi-Fi in most regions of the globe. Passengers have at least "some" chance of Wi-Fi on about 36% of available seat miles worldwide. U.S. airlines offering at least a chance of Wi-Fi on 78% of their seat miles systemwide and non-U.S. airlines offering at least a chance on 24% of their seat miles systemwide. The research raises two questions: how fast are the connections and what difference does it make? Although the study didn't measure connection speeds, it noted that the core technology behind in-flight Wi-Fi has also developed to allow for faster and more reliable connections. Broadband quality elusive Passengers now demand a home broadband-like experience, but so far only a few airlines meet that standard. JetBlue JBLU -4.31% is nearing completion of a fleet-wide, true broadband rollout, which would allow passengers to access to Netflix NFLX -8.60% and other streaming services with no access charges. Virgin America has about five aircraft upgraded to at-home broadband standards. Among the major airlines, United's Boeing 737s have real high-speed wireless access. The only thing worse than slow wireless access? Having none, says Rabinowitz. "When customers get on a flight that doesn't have Wi-Fi, they get angry," he says. "I've seen it." Airlines know that passengers expect a wireless connection, and they are eager to offer it. There are two main benefits to an airline, according to the study's authors. It's a source of revenue, with passengers paying anywhere from $8 to upward of $40 to connect, depending on the airline and the length of the flight. But it also distracts passengers from the other discomforts of flying. "Wi-Fi takes your mind off those the smaller seats," says Rabinowitz. http://fortune.com/2016/01/14/airlines-wifi-internet/ Back to Top Quest aircraft to get $10 million investment from Mitsui. Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Tatsuo Yasunaga) has agreed with Setouchi Holdings, Inc. ("Setouchi Holdings", Head Office: Hiroshima Prefecture, Chairman: Katsushige Kambara) to acquire a third party share allocation in Quest Aircraft Company, L.L.C. ("Quest"), an American light aircraft company under the umbrella of the Setouchi Holdings group. Within January 2016, Mitsui will acquire a 12.5% equity stake in Quest for an investment of US$10 million Quest is a light aircraft manufacturer, which was founded in Sandpoint, Idaho, U.S.A. in 2001 for the purpose of manufacturing aircraft for use in international humanitarian activities. In February 2015 it became part of the Setouchi Holdings group. Quest manufactures and sells the Kodiak 100 10-seater propeller aircraft. First introduced in 2007, the Kodiak 100 has gained a steadily expanding share of the market thanks to its fuel efficiency, power performance and versatility. To date Quest has manufactured over 150 of these aircraft and sold them to buyers throughout the world. It is working to achieve further business expansion by combining the track record that it has built since its founding as an aircraft manufacturer, with the accumulated manufacturing and human resources development know-how of the Setouchi Holdings group. Light aircraft are used mainly in the agriculture and mining sectors, and as transport for people and supplies in disaster situations. Moreover, as a convenient and readily accessible form of high-speed transportation infrastructure, the light aircraft market is expected to expand not only in Europe and North America, but also in Asian countries, including Japan, because of future rising demand from wealthy people and tourism operators. Setouchi Holdings is responding to these market trends by actively working to create demand through its light aircraft sales and aviation business in Japan and overseas. Mitsui will with its capital participation in Quest, use its global networks to support the expansion of sales channels for the Kodiak 100 in previously uncultivated markets with the potential for demand growth and work to further enhance Quest's corporate value. http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/news/business_and_financial/article_f1141caa- ba3c-11e5-b78b-9f39495ba33c.html Back to Top CALL FOR PAPERS Military Aviation Safety Workshop "Sharing Safety Lessons to Preserve Military Readiness" April 19 - 21, 2016 Albuquerque, New Mexico USA Hosted by the Rocky Mountain Regional Chapter of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) Representatives of military forces, associated contractors, educators, and researchers of all nationalities are invited to participate in a three-day ISASI Military Aviation Safety Workshop. The workshop will include presentations of selected technical papers on military aviation safety topics along with tutorials targeting unique military aspects of aviation safety such as ejection system investigations and Unmanned Aerial System investigations. Presentations are solicited related to safety management, human factors, proactive detection of hazards, accident prevention, and safety culture, in addition to more traditional accident investigation case studies. The 2016 MASW is open to all interested participants and will be particularly valuable for military air safety investigators, manufacturers of military aircraft and equipment, support contractors engaged in military operations, safety program managers and safety educators. If you are interested in presenting a paper at the 2016 Military Air Safety Workshop, please submit a summary abstract (150 - 300 words) to MilitaryAirSafety@gmail.com before February 8, 2016. Back to Top Graduate Research Surveys Barbara Schaffner is - since 11 years - a ground-facilities inspector at the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Switzerland. As an expert in Ground Handling she is taking part in the ISAGO GOC. She co-chaired the ECAST Ground Safety Work Group and participated in the development and promotion of the RRM Syllabus (Ramp Resource Management). She is currently writing her Msc Thesis in Aviation Safety Management at City University, London. For her thesis "An Effective and Efficient Oversight of the Non-Commercial Complex Domain" - she would greatly appreciate your support by taking part in this Survey. Please note that "Survey 1 - NCC_NAA" (see below) is for National Aviation Authorities experts and "Survey 2 - NCC_Operation" (see below) is for all operational-specialists in the NCC domain (aircraft owners, flight crews, management-companies of NCC Aircraft). Thank you for your support! Survey 1 - NCC_NAA https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/Survey_NCC_NAA Survey 2 - NCC_Operation https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/Survey_NCC_Operation Back to Top Graduate Research Survey I am currently pursuing a career in Aviation Safety. I will be completing a MSc. in Aviation Safety with this final research project. The scope of the research is: 'Evaluating the perception of stress among air traffic controllers in the United Arab Emirates as a safety risk to operational performance'. I am interested in the views of ATC operators from around the world to help establish a baseline for the research and gain further insight into the ramifications of stress in this sector on a global scale. The link to the survey is as follows: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/InternationalATCStress I look forward to the feedback. Kind Regards, Gary Peck MSc Aviation Safety Emirates Aviation University Back to Top Upcoming Events: Embry-Riddle A³IRCON January 14-17, 2016 Phoenix, AZ http://commons.erau.edu/aircon/2016/ Fundamentals of IS-BAO February 10, 2016 Phoenix, AZ USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1730209 IS-BAO Auditing February 11, 2016 Phoenix, AZ USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1730222 6th European Business Aviation Safety Conference 2016 February 23-24, 2016 Frankfurt, Germany www.ebascon.eu Fundamentals of IS-BAO March 2, 2016 Long Beach, CA USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1740682 IS-BAO Auditing March 3, 2016 Long Beach, CA USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1740683 Fundamentals of IS-BAO March 3, 2016 HAI HeliExpo - Louisville, KY USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1770508 IS-BAO Auditing March 4, 2016 HAI HeliExpo - Louisville, KY USA https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=1770509 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/ 50th Annual SMU Air Law Symposium March 31 - April 1, Dallas, TX http://smulawreview.law.smu.edu/Symposia/Air-Law.aspx 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 IATA OPS Conference April 18-20, 2016 Copenhagen, Denmark http://www.iata.org/events/Pages/ops-conference.aspx 3rd International Accident Investigation Forum 19-21 April 2016, Singapore Aviation Academy http://www.saa.com.sg/iaif2016/ ICAEA Workshop: Aviation English Training for Operational Personnel April 29-30, 2016 Santa Maria Island, The Azores, Portugal www.icaea.aero Back to Top Jobs Available: Director of Safety www.aviationsearchgroup.com Deputy Director of Flight Operations & Technical Services Helicopter Association International https://www.rotor.org/AboutHAI/Employment.aspx Curt Lewis