Flight Safety Information January 18, 2016 - No. 012 In This Issue PROS 2016 TRAINING U.S. Marine helicopter collision Smithsonian bird sleuth uses 'snarge' to track jet hit rise Flight attendant, passengers hurt when jet hits turbulence How to Not Fly an Airplane AI pilots to be penalised for reporting late Air India clears IATA's enhanced operational safety audit Allegiant Air's COO Steps Down Following Training and Safety Concerns Iran Plans to Buy 114 Civilian Aircraft From Airbus Report questions the safety of NASA's plan to get to Mars by 2030s CALL FOR PAPERS Military Aviation Safety Workshop Graduate Research Surveys. Graduate Research Survey Upcoming Events Jobs Available Back to Top U.S. Marine helicopter collision A US Marine CH-53E Super Stallion, similar to the two missing helicopters Date January 15, 2016 Place Off Oahu, Hawaii, USA Cause Mid-air collision Result Both helicopters lost, 12 crew members missing The 2016 U.S. Marine helicopter collision occurred in the early morning hours of January 15, 2016, when two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters piloted by members of the United States Marine Corps reportedly collided over the Pacific Ocean, off Oahu's North Shore, in Hawaii. Each helicopter had six U.S. Marines aboard, all of whom are missing. A search and rescue operation is underway, and although a debris field from the two craft has been located, no sign of the twelve missing crew members has been found. Accident and rescue operation The two aircraft departed in the early morning hours on a routine training mission, from the Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, and flew over the North Shore, in the vicinity of Haleiwa when local residents reported hearing two distinct explosions. A massive search and rescue operation was undertaken, involving the United States Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy, along with the Honolulu Fire Department. The two helicopters belonged to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. The twelve Marines on board were all from the contiguous United States. Two each were from Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Texas; and one each were from Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, and South Carolina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_U.S._Marine_helicopter_collision ************** Date: 15-JAN-2016 Time: 00:10LT Type: Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion Owner/operator: US Marine Corps (USMC) Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: / Occupants: 6 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: off Oahu, HI - United States of America Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) Nature: Military Departure airport: Kaneohe Bay US Marine Corps Air Station Destination airport: Kaneohe Bay US Marine Corps Air Station Narrative: According to first reports, two USMC helicopters have collided near Oahu and crashed into the sea during nightime training. Search operations are being conducted. Debris spotted. The aircraft were the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. The missing air crew were identified. Coast Guard and other aircraft and ships spent a second day searching for the missing Marines, but weather and high swells were hampering the effort. http://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=183569 Back to Top Smithsonian bird sleuth uses 'snarge' to track jet hit rise Forensic ornithologist Carla Dove inspects the remains of a bird at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington.Forensic ornithologist Carla Dove inspects the remains of a bird at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington. As the number of incidents involving birds striking airlines rises, she is getting more requests to identify avian remains. By Alan Levin Bloomberg News From a drab warehouse beneath the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, one of the world's foremost avian sleuths is trying to solve a mystery. Working with just a fragment of a black feather found after a jet slammed into a bird in California, Carla Dove tries to identify its species. Based on its size and color, she heads straight to the cabinet holding a preserved 3-foot-tall golden eagle. "This is a huge bird," Dove said. Golden eagles average at least 8.6 pounds, more than enough to tear an engine apart or blast a hole through an airliner's fuselage. She sifts through its black plumage with one hand, holding the broken feather nearby for comparison. Sure enough, the sample is a match. She's getting such avian forensics requests more often these days. Seven years after a flock of Canada geese forced a US Airways Airbus Group A320 down on the Hudson River, the number of cases of birds striking planes has risen sharply and some safety advocates say the government isn't doing enough to prevent what they see as an inevitable catastrophe. Collisions between airliners and large birds - those most capable of crippling a plane - rose 37 percent between 2000 and 2014, the most recent year statistics are available, according to a Bloomberg analysis of U.S. data. There were 284 such cases in 2014, the most since FAA began collecting records in 1990. One reasons is bird populations have boomed due to conservation efforts and the elimination of the pesticide DDT, particularly large species that travel in flocks - inherently more dangerous because they can inflict damage to multiple engines. Canada geese have grown from about 2.6 million in North America in 1990 to 5.7 million last year, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates. The geese are thriving in urban and suburban areas where there are bans on hunting, few predators, abundance of mowed lawns for habitat and a year-round supply of food and water, according to the service. Dove, a forensic ornithologist with a doctorate from George Mason University, sees that every day from her perch at the Smithsonian where she receives feathers and bird remains recovered from planes and runways. In fiscal 2008, her lab received 787 samples from civilian aviation. Last year it got 3,412. Even with a few wisps of feather, Dove can usually identify at least the class of bird by examining it under a microscope. The Smithsonian now has a DNA library of bird species so it can identify the victim from just tissue samples, known in her trade as "snarge." Identifying the species can help authorities direct efforts to target certain bird populations and develop other strategies to cut risk. Dove, 53, who speaks with a trace of drawl betraying her Virginia roots, has a utilitarian office adorned with a microscope, file drawers of specimens and souvenirs from the trade, such as a paperweight made from a business jet's windscreen. She apprenticed under her predecessor, Roxie Laybourne. It was Laybourne who invented feather forensics after a flock of starlings took down an Eastern Airlines plane in Boston in 1960, killing 62. After working by Laybourne's side, Dove earned a Ph.D. in 1998 and took over after Laybourne died in 2003. Watching the surge in her caseload has left her frustrated. "To the industry, this is becoming business as usual," Dove said. "It's an accepted risk because they think there is nothing they can do about it. That's completely wrong." The government has acknowledged the threat. New regulations to protect aircraft may be needed to combat the risks, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a June 25 public notice. "The bird strike threat has increased, especially the threat due to larger birds," the agency said in a notice asking for industry suggestions. "The risk of bird strikes is increasing everywhere around the world," Valter Battistoni, an Italian consultant who works with companies on bird strikes, said in an email. He also operates the website birdstrike.it, which collects such news as a Singapore Airlines plane that hit a flock of migrating storks Aug. 17 in Istanbul. The takeoff was aborted and one engine had to be replaced. While deaths caused by plane crashes involving birds are rare, there have been several close calls in recent years. Among the most famous was the one that came to be known as the "Miracle on the Hudson." After geese snuffed out both of US Airways Flight 1549's engines just after leaving New York's LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 15, 2009, only luck and fast action by the pilots, including Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, kept it from crashing, according to U.S. National Transportation Safety Board findings. They managed to ditch the plane in the Hudson alongside Manhattan where a flotilla of ferries and other boats rescued the 155 people on board. No one died and only five people suffered serious injuries. Dove's lab used hydrogen isotopes to determine that the geese that hit the plane were migrating birds, not from the growing population of yearlong New York residents. From 2012 through 2014, there were 305 cases in the U.S. in which birds caused "substantial" damage to a commercial aircraft, according to FAA records. In 2014, for example, a Southwest Airlines plane struck a flock of Canada geese while preparing to land at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The Boeing 737- 700 was hit on its nose, left wing and in both engines. While the pilots landed safely, passengers reported the right engine was on fire as it neared the runway. Some think the increase in strikes may be due to better reporting. Richard Dolbeer, a wildlife biologist who has consulted with the Department of Agriculture and the FAA, said airports are doing a better job controlling wildlife. The FAA has said it is considering whether to require stronger aircraft structures and lower speed limits at low altitudes for airliners. It also is considering whether helicopters, which fly at lower altitudes where flocks are present, should be hardened against birds. Some safety advocates say the agency should be doing more, perhaps halting flights when bird activity is high and revising flight paths to avoid known danger areas, they said. "I don't know how many of these high risk-threats you have to go through before people wake up," Paul Eschenfelder, a former airline pilot who is an adjunct professor at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, said in an interview. From her office at the Smithsonian last month, Dove recounts the serious cases she's gotten in the most recent two-week span, including collisions with airliners in Las Vegas, Denver and Kansas City. "I don't even know what to say," she said. "Are we lucky?" http://www.telegram.com/article/20160116/NEWS/160119307 Back to Top Flight attendant, passengers hurt when jet hits turbulence MIAMI (AP) - A flight attendant has been hospitalized and five passengers suffered apparently minor injuries after an American Airlines jet ran into turbulence over Florida. The airline said the plane that took off from New York's LaGuardia Airport was less than hour from landing Friday in Miami when it hit rough air. Airline spokesman Casey Norton said passengers' seatbelt lights were on at the time. Flight 1410 was carrying 159 passengers and six crew members. Norton said that after the Boeing 737 landed, paramedics checked five passengers, who were released. He said the flight attendant asked to be taken to a hospital to have an injury to her nose checked out. http://www.seattletimes.com/business/flight-attendant-passengers-hurt-when-jet-hits-turbulence/ Back to Top How to Not Fly an Airplane One of the most challenging parts of being a pilot can be knowing when to keep a plane out of the sky. SHIRLEY PHILLIPS Eight out of nine passengers, and the flight attendant, were throwing up-whether from the turbulence itself or from fear, I couldn't tell. We'd already been thrashing around for an hour and a half on what was ordinarily a 30-minute trip, rain pelting the windows as the flight captain and I struggled to make it through a thunderstorm. And then, as if to reinforce my guilt over letting us take off in the first place, we got struck by lightening. The flight was one of my first as a new employee of a small regional airline based in Burlington, Vermont. I was the first officer on a Saab 340, a twin-engine propeller driven aircraft. Before joining the airline, I'd taught crew-resource management to aspiring commercial pilots, helping them learn how to effectively communicate and share piloting duties over the course of a flight. Two pilots don't make better decisions than one, I'd told my students, unless both are actively involved in the process and communicate any concerns. Crew-resource management has been required training at most airlines since 1972, when Boeing-727 crashed into the Everglades with two pilots and a flight engineer at the controls. No one was paying attention to flying the plane-all three pilots were so distracted with changing a light bulb for the landing-gear indicator that no one noticed the autopilot had been disengaged. The Boeing made a slow descent into the alligator- infested swamp. Sitting in the Saab's cockpit as the violent wind shook the plane, I cursed myself for not heeding the same lesson I'd taught so many times: If you have a concern, voice it to your co-pilot. The captain thought we could beat the line of thunderstorms, known as a squall line, between Hartford, Connecticut, and Albany, New York. I was positive we wouldn't. Was he sure he didn't want to wait it out? I asked as we prepared to take off. The storm looked like it was coming in fast, and we'd already experienced some pretty bad turbulence coming in from the previous leg of the flight. It was a short flight, he assured me, and we'd most likely reach our destination before the storm could catch up with us-and if not, we'd just fly around it. I could barely hear the captain over the pelting of the rain and the whacking of the windshield wipers as we taxied forward. As we approached the runway, it became clear that everyone else was waiting out the storms: The normally congested radio frequency was eerily quiet, and the taxiways were empty except for the puddles and us. Because we were still in the relatively calm downpour before the storm hit at full force, the control tower cleared us for takeoff. The first 10 minutes of the flight were bumpy but tolerable. Then the turbulence started in earnest. In extreme circumstances, turbulence can break an airplane apart in midair. The turbulence associated with thunderstorms is composed of strong updrafts and downdrafts, and rapidly changing wind conditions known as wind shear. It feels like a giant hand clutching the airplane, shaking it until pieces come off. From the colorful radar screen, with its reds and yellows, and the greenish color of more clouds to the west, I knew we were not going to beat the squall line. As soon as we landed, the flight attendant quit. "Could you ask for a block altitude?" I yelled at the captain, struggling to make my voice heard over the sound of the rain. A block altitude would give us a range of altitudes to fly- with the strong updrafts and downdrafts, it was impossible for us to stick to just one. The reply that came back over the radio from air traffic control was revealing: "You're the only plane in the area. You can have any altitude you want." No one else, it seemed, had been stupid enough to take to the skies in this weather. When the lightning hit us, the two computer screens in front of me-the screens containing all the flight information, including airspeed, altitude, and navigation-went black. I had to use a few small and awkwardly located backup instruments to fly the plane. Fortunately, everything turned back on after a few seconds, and we were eventually able to break out of the clouds. The incident had left its mark, though: As soon as we landed in Albany, the flight attendant quit. On the way to the hotel where we were staying for the night, the captain conceded that waiting out the storms probably would have been a better idea. But his words didn't do much to lift my spirits. It was my job-a job I'd trained so many other people to do!-to advocate for the safest course of action. The captain was a congenial kind of guy. He probably would have been fine with staying on the ground, if only I had made my case more effectively. I had to stop myself from quitting along with the flight attendant. * * * Over the course of my first year at the airline, I moved up in seniority; by springtime, I was assigned more favorable schedules, which eventually meant that I found myself flying with the most senior captain at the airline. The opportunity can be hit-or-miss for newer pilots-some senior captains are eager to share their expertise with first officers, while others use the disparity in authority to make sure their decisions are never questioned. I didn't know which scenario I would encounter as we began our first flight together, a four- day trip through upstate New York. Extreme turbulence feels like a giant hand clutching the airplane, shaking it until pieces come off. On the third day of the trip, we found ourselves behind schedule. We were supposed to end up in Ithaca at 11 p.m., but it was after midnight and we were still on a leg into Binghamton. It was a frustrating trip-the captain was close to the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots, and the later it got, the more he seemed to be falling behind. He missed radio calls from air-traffic control, forgot to call our company operations center to tell them we were inbound, and had to be reminded repeatedly to finish our required checklists. It was as if he was asleep with his eyes open. So when we landed in Binghamton, I was relieved to learn that fog had moved into Ithaca, which would ground us for the night and give us both a chance to rest. Flight regulations known as landing minimums dictated that for every landing, the forecast needed to show that we would have enough visibility to see the runway. Usually that meant that we needed a forecast that said we could see half a mile, but some runways had higher requirements for various reasons; for Ithaca, the landing minimum was three- quarters of a mile, but the forecast showed that visibility would be half a mile until sunrise. It was simple: We'd have to spend the night in Binghamton. The captain, though, didn't realize that Ithaca's runways had a higher landing minimum, and the company dispatcher who provided us with the weather hadn't told us to stay grounded. If we had taken off on the next leg of the trip that night, we would have been in the precarious position of looking for the runway in fog and darkness. If we didn't see the runway, then we would have to abort the approach, a fast-paced maneuver that required several different tasks to be completed in a short period of time. It was also something that rarely happened, which meant both of us were rusty; the last time either of us had practiced was in our last training session. Trying to absorb the approach would be like throwing a fourth ball to a juggler who had spent months practicing with only three. Besides, even if we'd been on track for a perfectly smooth landing, the captain wasn't up to par at this late hour. I told the captain to contact operations and inform them that we wouldn't be flying, but unaware of the need for greater visibility-and of his own dwindling focus-he assured me that we were good to go. Twice I asked him to call; twice, he tried to quell my anxiety. In crew-resource management, I had stressed the importance of collaboration, of two pilots working together as a team to ensure that everything went smoothly. For the second time, I ignored one of my own lessons. "I'm going to get the rental car and head to the hotel," I told the captain. The flight attendant was standing next to me, seemingly bewildered at this conflict between the two pilots who were supposed to be working together. I looked at her and said, "We can't go. I am going to the hotel. Care to join me?" Without hesitation, she said yes. The captain looked dismayed, but now he was paying attention. "We can't go. It's below minimums. We need three-quarters of a mile," I repeated. The captain called the company dispatcher again and confirmed that I was right. "Let's go to the hotel," he told us when he returned. He then went on to explain in detail why we couldn't go, as if it were new information to the flight attendant and me. I didn't care. I had learned one of the most important lessons for a pilot: how not to fly. http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/airplane-pilot-storm- training/424407/ Back to Top AI pilots to be penalised for reporting late As a part of AI's turnaround plan, the Union government has been continuously infusing capital into the loss-making national carrier since 2010-11. Now, a pilot will have to fly a minimum of 40 hours to get allowance Come February, Air India passengers may face lesser delays as the Union government has approved a plan to penalise the national carrier's pilots for reporting late for flights, along with incentives for those who fly more. According to the new pay structure, in order to claim their salaries, the Air India pilots will have to fly minimum 40 hours. At present, irrespective of a minimum threshold, pilots get a fixed allowance for up to 70 hours of flying. "Now, a pilot will have to fly a minimum of 40 hours to get allowance. Earlier, those flying up to 70 hours would get it. Even pilots who didn't fly would get their pays," said a senior AI official. The new pay structure was approved by the Civil Aviation Ministry in January this year and will be effective from February this year, the official added. Also, pilots reporting late for flights will be penalised in the form of deduction from their flying hours. According to the rule, 2.33 hours of flying will be deducted from the pilot's total monthly flying hours if he or she reports an hour late for the flight, a senior AI official said. There have been instances in the past when AI pilots would report sick before the flight leading to delays, another AI official said. The official added the overtime allowance for the pilots was increased by 25 per cent. The national carrier has sought Rs. 4,277 crore as budgetary support from the government, senior AI officials said. Out of this, Rs.3,300 crore is part of the AI's turnaround plan and Rs.977 crore is additional demand due to fall in the value of rupee. As a part of AI's turnaround plan, the government has been continuously infusing capital into the loss-making national carrier since 2010-11. It has already infused Rs. 22,000 crore out of the planned Rs. 30,231 crore. http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/ai-pilots-to-be-penalised-for-reporting- late/article8114455.ece Back to Top Air India clears IATA's enhanced operational safety audit The national carrier says it has been giving increased emphasis to safety of operations New Delhi: National carrier Air India on Sunday said it has cleared an enhanced operational safety audit, carried out by global airlines body International Air Transport Association (IATA), with an extended validation of up to two years. The carrier, in a statement, claimed that it has become the first domestic airline to have cleared the E-IOSA (E-IATA operational safety audit) programme with an extended validation till January 2018. The IATA board of governors had, in June 2013, mandated the enhanced IOSA process for all registration renewal audits, taking place in or after September 2015. Air India has been giving an increased emphasis to the safety of its operations and taken a raft of measures to enhance it, the airline said, adding, E-IOSA is the result of such measures. The carrier had last year become the first airline to get the IOSA certification. According to the statement, Air India has established a cohesive and integrated corporate safety and quality management system, besides the flight safety department, to constantly monitor, review and address safety issues. Through an open reporting system, employees are encouraged to report any safety concern proactively, Air India said, adding that such a practice helps in capturing latent conditions and carrying out safety risk assessments, followed by recommended preventive and corrective action. The importance to safety can be seen from the increased safety spot checks, the statement said. Air India was also the first and only airline in the country to obtain ISAGO (IATA safety audit of ground operations). Besides, its engineering and ground handling subsidiaries-AIATSL and AI SATS-have also obtained the ISAG station certifications, the statement added. http://www.livemint.com/Companies/5rU1Az62kKbSgrgtHFvdsO/Air-India-clears-IATAs- enhanced-operational-safety-audit.html Back to Top Allegiant Air's COO Steps Down Following Training and Safety Concerns Two Allegiant Air jets taxi at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. The chief operating officer of Allegiant Air is resigning. KTNV-TV reports that 52-year-old Steve Harfts is leaving after serving in the position for about a year. He first joined Allegiant in December 2014. His resignation follows questions about the airline's safety record and several incidents involving emergency landings and mechanical issues. The airline recently ordered additional training for pilots and dispatchers after a plane had to land because it was low on fuel. A former pilot is also suing the airline for firing him after he ordered an emergency evacuation when he saw smoke was detected in a jet engine. Allegiant says in a statement that the leadership change will allow the airline to refocus on operational needs. The Las Vegas-based airline offers nonstop flights to 52 destinations. http://skift.com/2016/01/17/allegiant-airs-coo-steps-down-following-training-and-safety- concerns/ Back to Top Iran Plans to Buy 114 Civilian Aircraft From Airbus Purchase would be first step in refitting national carrier Iran Air's aging fleet Iran will buy 114 civilian aircraft from Airbus Group SE after the removal of sanctions on the country, Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi told state media on Saturday. Tehran has for months signaled it buy aircraft after implementation of last year's landmark nuclear deal between it and six world powers. Later Saturday, the U.N. atomic agency said the country had indeed completed all steps needed to implement last July's nuclear deal, triggering a process that would lead within hours to relief from years of tight international sanctions. Iran had agreed to scale back its nuclear development activities under that deal with six world powers, in exchange for the easing of international sanctions that have crippled its economy. Iran's airlines have been targeted by sanctions for decades, contributing to poor maintenance of their aging 140-plane fleet, though in recent months the U.S. has permitted the sale of some aircraft parts and training documents. The European Union, citing safety concerns, had also imposed limits on Iranian planes landing within its borders. The purchase of Airbus planes would be the first step in a renovation of national carrier Iran Air, Mr. Akhoundi told the semiofficial Tasnim news agency, more than tripling the size of its fleet. Airbus on Saturday said that once sanctions are eased, it could enter into business with Iranian airlines in compliance with all international laws. It wouldn't address whether it was negotiating with Iran about potentially striking a deal, citing its policy not to discuss talks with existing or potentially new customers. Iran plans to buy 114 commercial aircraft from European plane maker Airbus re renovate its aging fleet of aircraft. Above a picture from 2013 shows an Iran Air Boeing 747 passenger plane on the tarmac of Mehrabad airport in the Iranian capital Tehran. Mr. Akhoundi promised to invest more than $20 billion in new planes in the next decade during a visit to the Paris Air Show last year. In April, Iran's Civil Aviation Organization had said the country would need up to 500 new planes in that period. But many of the most-popular Airbus jet models are sold out years in advance, and if Iran has placed an order, it may have to wait some time to receive its planes. http://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-plans-to-buy-114-civilian-aircraft-from-airbus-once- sanctions-removed-1452975657 Back to Top Report questions the safety of NASA's plan to get to Mars by 2030s There's concern over the lack of detail. Last year, NASA announced its three-step plan to land humans on Mars by the 2030s, and as you might expect, it was pretty ambitious. But now an annual report from the US Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) has cast doubt over whether the US space agency will actually be capable of pulling the mission off with an acceptable level of risk. The main issues centre around NASA's limited budget, the amount of technology it needs to develop to get to Mars, as well as the tight deadline the space agency has set for itself. More broadly, the ASAP expressed concern over a lack of detail laid out in the agency's Journey to Mars report, released in October last year. "Unfortunately, the level of detail in the report ... does not really validate whether NASA would be capable of achieving such an ambitious objective in a reasonable time period, with realistically attainable technologies, and with budgetary requirements that are consistent with the current economic environment," the report explains. So what is the ASAP? The panel was established in 1968, and its role is to make yearly safety recommendations to the NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden. This year, a large part of that involved looking into the Journey to Mars, which currently is made up of three key stages: Earth Reliant, Proving Ground, and Earth Independent. The Earth Reliant phase involves a lot of longer missions on board the ISS, "and we're already well into it," we reported last year. The second stage involves NASA putting humans into deep space environments that will allow crews to return to Earth in a matter of days, such as the area around the Moon. And, finally, the Earth Independent stage will see humans reach the vicinity of Mars, including the planet's moons, and will involve missions that last two to three years. "Although the document does identify a few specific technologies that will be needed to accomplish the overall mission, including Solar Electric Propulsion and a Deep Space Habitat, it lacks a top-level architecture and/or design reference missions," the report states. "Without these elements, it will be difficult to properly scope and sequence the needed technology development efforts to ensure that they will be available at the appropriate time." The report also questions NASA's reluctance to lead further human missions to the Moon. "It is unclear how NASA will develop low-gravity surface experience and technology without lunar surface experience," the panel writes. When asked to go into more detail, ASAP says NASA has replied that it's too early to set the plans in stone given today's limited technologies - the hope is that within the next two decades, improvements will be made that will radically change the way we build these types of systems. "They may also be concerned that spelling out a particular plan for reaching Mars today would somehow subject it to criticism by future administrations," says the report. But the ASAP questions that logic. "The ASAP believes that a well-designed mission, with anticipated rewards that are expected to outweigh the risks, would go a long way toward gaining the needed support from future administrations, the Congress, and the general public," they conclude. "If not, then perhaps NASA should be working on a different mission, or at least using a different approach for the current mission ... The NASA 'can- do' attitude, while commendable, must be guarded against so as not to compromise safety in this case." http://www.sciencealert.com/report-questions-the-safety-of-nasa-s-plans-to-get-to-mars- by-2030 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: 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