Flight Safety Information February 11, 2016 - No. 030 In This Issue PROS 2016 TRAINING Small plane goes off runway at Cleveland Hopkins Airport Flight cancelled after van crashes into plane on LaGuardia tarmac California Plane Crash Kills Two Tulare Sheriff's Department Employees Orenair Flight R2554 makes emergency landing after taking off in Punta Cana NBAA Chief: Don't Hand U.S. ATC Monopoly To Airlines FAA bill ensures safe, efficient air travel...By Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) The devolution of aviation safety...By Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) Aircraft market takes hitsU.S. aircraft production steady (more or less) Bring a rusty pilot into the AOPA community Boeing set to cut jobs at commercial jet unit in Seattle EU airlines to launch flights to Iran soon ISASI Military Air Safety Workshop - Deadline extended for abstract submittal Fractional Pilots needed for PhD Research GRADUATE RESEARCH REQUEST The International Society of Air Safety Investigators SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR THE JEROME F. LEDERER Back to Top Small plane goes off runway at Cleveland Hopkins Airport Cleveland Hopkins International Airport was dealing with poor weather conditions Wednesday night. CLEVELAND, Ohio - A small private plane went off the runway Wednesday night at Hopkins International Airport, closing a runway. The pilot was the only person on the plane and was uninjured, airport spokeswoman Michele Dynia said. The incident happened just before 10 p.m. Dynia did not have information on what type of plane was involved. Heavy snow was falling at the time and there was low visibility, Dynia said, although she added that the runway's surface condition was "within acceptable limits." The airport was fined $735,000 last year by the Federal Aviation Administration, which said Hopkins did not have adequate staffing for snow removal and de-icing of runways. The airport denied the FAA's accusations that low staffing created runway hazards but pledged to create a new plan for snow removal and to hire more snowplow operators. The poor weather Wednesday night resulted in several commercial flights being diverted or delayed, according to the airport's website. Nearly 4 inches of snow fell at Hopkins on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/02/small_plane_goes_off_runway_at.html Back to Top Flight cancelled after van crashes into plane on LaGuardia tarmac A Delta flight out of LaGuardia was cancelled this afternoon when a van that was driving around the tarmac crashed into the wing of the plane. The incident happened at about 3 pm today, according to the flight's passengers. "It's fascinating listening to 40 people all telling the same story on the phone to different people... "No, a VAN hit the plane!" passenger Rachel Zucker wrote on Twitter moments after the crash. Port Authority officials confirmed the crash and said that there were no injuries and no significant damage to the plane. The flight was headed to Pittsburgh. http://nypost.com/2016/02/10/flight-cancelled-after-van-crashes-into-plane-on-laguardia- tarmac/ Back to Top California Plane Crash Kills Two Tulare Sheriff's Department Employees Date: 10-FEB-2016 Time: 16:15 Type: Flight Design CTLS Owner/operator: County of Tulare Sheriffs Office Registration: N911TS C/n / msn: F-11-02-05 Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Visalia Municipal Airport (KVIS), Visalia, CA - United States of America Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) Nature: - Departure airport: Visalia Muni (KVIS) Destination airport: Visalia Muni (KVIS) Narrative: The aircraft impacted mountainous foothill terrain in Tulare County east of Lake Success, northeast of Porterville, California, while engaged in law enforcement operations. The airplane sustained substantial damage and was partially consumed by the post impact fire. The two law enforcement personnel onboard the aircraft received fatal injuries. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=184368 Back to Top Orenair Flight R2554 makes emergency landing after taking off in Punta Cana Orenair Flight 2554, which was scheduled to fly to the Russian capital of Moscow, declared an emergency after taking off from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Details about the emergency were not immediately known. Flight 2554, a Boeing 777 aircraft, took off from Punta Cana International Airport at 6:47 p.m. local time on Wednesday and was due to fly to Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow. It declared an emergency several minutes later. Flight trackers showed that the aircraft climbed steadily during the first 7 minutes of the flight, until the aircraft changed its course back to the island and began to descend. It reached an altitude just under 4,000 feet at 7:01 p.m. The aircraft made a safe emergency landing in Punta Cana at 7:24 p.m. local time, and there were no reports of any injuries. The cause of the emergency remains unknown but is believed to have been a mechanical problem. It is also unknown how many people are on board the aircraft, but a Boeing 777 can carry several hundred passengers. http://bnonews.com/news/index.php/news/id3604 Back to Top NBAA Chief: Don't Hand U.S. ATC Monopoly To Airlines In testimony today before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I), NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen warned that the creation of a privatized air traffic control system funded by user fees, as proposed in the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R.4441), would yield "unbridled authority" for the airlines. "Our nation's ATC system is a monopoly, and will always remain a monopoly," he told the committee. "So the question on the table is who will control that monopoly-the public's elected representatives or a board dominated by big airlines? H.R.4441 is proposing to give away our monopoly ATC system, free of charge, to the nation's big airlines. That is a fundamentally flawed idea." He said that some have asked NBAA and others in general aviation what "protections" would be needed to prevent a system dominated by the airlines so that GA can go along with the plan. "The very question itself is a tacit acknowledgement that real dangers exist," Bolen noted. "The turnover of our ATC monopoly to the airlines represents a serious threat to the future of general aviation, and the citizens, companies and communities that depend on it. It is a poison pill, and no sugar-coating can change that." Acknowledging that the "status quo is not acceptable" for U.S. air traffic modernization, Bolen said NBAA supports a "third way forward that would implement targeted solutions to identified problems to ensure America's aviation system remains the world's best in all aspects, for the next five years, 10 years, 25 years and beyond." Immediately after the release of H.R.4441 last week, NBAA issued a "Call to Action" encouraging those in the business aviation community to contact their members of Congress and "make their voices heard against ATC privatization." http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2016-02-10/nbaa-chief-dont- hand-us-atc-monopoly-airlines Back to Top FAA bill ensures safe, efficient air travel By Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) America's aviation system is safe, but it is not efficient, cost-effective or technologically advanced. The good news is Congress has an opportunity to ensure our aviation system can embody all of these qualities for the foreseeable future. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), chairman of the Transportation subcommittee on aviation, and I have introduced legislation that will provide transformational reform of the U.S. aviation system to make it both safe and efficient, modernize our antiquated air traffic control technology and position America to lead the world in aviation. After holding a hearing on the legislation Wednesday, the committee is marking up the bill today. A central reform of the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act moves the responsibility of modernizing and operating air traffic control out of the federal bureaucracy and establishes an independent, not-for-profit corporation to provide that service. Under this structure, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) isn't going anywhere. The aviation regulatory agency remains responsible for safety and rules for operating the aviation system. There are clear reasons why this reform is necessary and what the benefits will be. According to the FAA, delays and inefficiency cost our economy more than $30 billion a year. Delays at two-thirds of the largest U.S. airports are up, and when there's a problem at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport or the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, you can be certain the effects are felt throughout the system. By the end of the next decade, the FAA expects the number of passengers annually crisscrossing American skies to grow to 1 billion. We're bound for more delays and their associated costs unless we can modernize the system. The FAA has been trying to do this for over three decades; its only success has been demonstrating it isn't up to task. Government watchdog reports about cost overruns and delays in the FAA's air traffic control modernization efforts would fill a bookcase. In 2014, the Department of Transportation's inspector general provided sobering testimony about the latest FAA modernization program, called NextGen, on which the agency has spent approximately $6 billion thus far. The inspector general stated, "We are probably also looking at total expenditures in an order of magnitude two to three times that of the initial $40 billion estimate to achieve the original plan." The watchdog also stated that, with all the setbacks, we may not see NextGen until at least 2035. Clearly, there's a long way to go. The basic problem is this: The FAA is an enormous bureaucracy struggling to provide a high-tech communications service - a modern air traffic control system. In years past, Congress tried to loosen the FAA's bureaucratic reins with procurement and personnel reforms to help the agency act with more agility. The FAA's efforts to implement them have failed. More piecemeal reforms would simply be rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It's time for the bold action necessary to finally modernize our air traffic control system. Under the AIRR Act, air traffic services will transition to an independent air traffic control corporation over three years. America's skilled air traffic controllers, who already do an excellent job despite being forced to work with outdated technology, will also transfer. The corporation will be governed by a board representing the system's various users and the public interest, and it will be self-financed. This is not a government corporation or quasi-government entity dependent on taxpayers and federal appropriations. The federal government will not back the corporation's financial obligations. The corporation will focus exclusively on providing modern, technologically advanced air traffic service. The legislation does not give the airspace to the corporation; that remains in the public trust. The FAA will focus exclusively on what it does best: regulating the airspace, aircraft and aviation equipment for safety. This new structure inoculates air traffic control from the volatile budget process and counterproductive political decision making that has contributed to the FAA's inability to improve the system. In addition, the corporation will have access to private markets to finance modernization and long-term capital projects - something the FAA cannot do. Proposals from previous presidents to separate air traffic services from the FAA were never enacted, but since that time, an independent air traffic control provider has become the global standard. More than 50 countries have adopted some form of this model. Numerous studies that have examined other countries' efforts have found that air traffic control systems have been modernized, service quality has improved and costs have been reduced. Most importantly, they've found that safety levels have been either maintained or improved. Newfound operational efficiencies, a modernized air traffic control system, a bureaucracy no longer wasting billions of dollars: All of this adds up to benefits for the consumer and the system's users. Americans will see more effective use of their airspace, increased capacity in the aviation system, more direct routes, shorter flight times, reduced delays and cancellations, and reductions in aircraft pollution and noise. It's no more complicated than that. A cutting edge, more efficient air traffic control system will ensure taxpayers stop throwing money away and passengers spend far less time staring in frustration at the arrivals and departures board wondering why their flights are delayed. America can have the safest aviation system in the world, as well as the most efficient, cost-effective and advanced system. We don't have that today, but under the AIRR Act, we can. Shuster has represented Pennsylvania's 9th Congressional District since 2001. He is chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and sits on the Armed Services Committee. http://thehill.com/special-reports/269048-faa-bill-ensures-safe-efficient-air-travel Back to Top The devolution of aviation safety By Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) In 1958, after a series of deadly mid-air collisions and near misses, Congress eliminated the patchwork system of airline-run and federal control facilities and created the predecessor of today's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), tasking it with establishing a coast-to-coast system to keep air travelers safe. In the 58 years since, the FAA has been the model for aviation systems around the world, and it has set the gold standard for aviation safety. This week, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will consider the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act, legislation that would shift air traffic operations to a private corporation and leave the FAA's critical safety functions subject to congressional appropriations. This legislation devolves federal responsibility for our air traffic control system by handing it over to a private corporation, ATC Corp., which would be run by an 11-person board of industry representatives. Large commercial airlines would have the largest presence on the corporation's board, with four members. Despite claims from proponents of privatization of the air traffic control system, this legislation is a terrible deal for taxpayers and the traveling public, and it raises significant questions about the safety oversight of our national airspace system. Privatization supporters point to examples of private air traffic control systems in other countries as evidence that privatization could work in the United States. However, only two countries have privatized systems similar to what the AIRR Act proposes: Canada (NavCanada) and the United Kingdom (NATS). NavCanada and NATS manage airspaces that are vastly different from that of the U.S., which is by far the busiest and most complex airspace in the world. According to the Department of Transportation inspector general, U.S. airspace is 2.5 times larger than that of the U.K. and more than four times larger than Canadian airspace. Air traffic controllers in the U.S. are responsible for tracking and coordinating 15.5 million instrument flight movements per day, compared to about one-third of that in Canada and the U.K. combined. In addition, there are nearly 210,000 general aviation aircraft based in the U.S., compared to 35,000 in Canada and 20,000 in the U.K. Even with smaller, more manageable systems, Canada and the U.K. had serious issues after moving to privatized air traffic control - with taxpayers bearing the brunt of the pain. The Canadian government was paid $1.5 billion for the public facilities and equipment taken by NavCanada; after the transition, audits found that NavCanada had undervalued these assets, and Canadian taxpayers lost at least $1 billion on the deal. According to Delta Air Lines, after transitioning to the private system, Canadian travelers also felt the sting of a 59 percent increase in air traffic control user fees. Travelers in the United Kingdom didn't fare any better. After air traffic plummeted in 2001, British taxpayers paid $112.8 million to prevent an interruption in air traffic control services. In the years that followed the bailout, NATS hiked airline passenger user fees by 30 percent. Under the AIRR Act, American taxpayers would get a deal that is far worse. The bill gives the FAA's air traffic control assets, worth tens of billions of dollars and paid for by taxpayers, to the private ATC Corp. for free. Over the last 20 years alone, taxpayers have invested more than $53 billion into air traffic control facilities and equipment. Many of those assets are handed over to ATC Corp. if the AIRR Act is passed. Taxpayers also have no protections if ATC Corp. runs into financial trouble and can't afford to manage air traffic control operations - meaning taxpayers would be on the hook to bail it out. Like NavCanada and NATS, ATC Corp. would determine policy for the whole industry, including flight routes, schedules and airplane noise issues. The corporation also would have the power to shift operational costs to passengers, general aviation and other users with increased taxes and fees. Today, passengers have influence through their elected representatives regarding aviation taxes, which are set by Congress and pay for the system. Under the AIRR Act, ATC Corp. has the power to shift operational costs to passenger, general aviation and other users of the national airspace system with increased taxes and fees. Under this proposal an unelected private corporation, including the airlines that charge $25-40 per passenger bag, would determine how much consumers should pay for air traffic control. Advocates for privatization argue that our air traffic control system has suffered under years of congressional mismanagement. I agree that the Republican Congress has failed in its role of keeping the government open and maintaining a predictable funding stream. However, the AIRR Act would tear the FAA in two and leaves remaining functions, including safety oversight and certification programs, vulnerable to future budget cuts, sequestration and government shutdowns. By shifting existing trust fund revenue to airports, it leaves safety programs completely reliant on general fund appropriations dished out by Congress. The AIRR Act also severs ties between the Department of Defense and the FAA, a collaboration that has protected the national airspace system during national emergencies. As a non-voting member of the corporation, the Department of Defense will have little control over changes made to the national airspace system. The FAA needs reform, and there are areas of the agency that are crying out for transformation. Procurement and personnel management are prime examples. Shutdowns and sequestration have made it impossible for the FAA to plan and make the major long- term investments it needs to implement new technology. We should not ignore these problems. As an alternative to privatization, I will offer amendments that target the areas of the FAA that need reform and protect funding from congressional dysfunction. We cannot jeopardize aviation safety by devolving that responsibility to private interests with eyes trained on balance sheets. We should not hand over a public asset worth tens of billions of dollars to a private corporation for free, and we cannot give a private corporation the power to tax the American public to pay for a traditionally governmental function. The AIRR Act will not fix the real problems plaguing the FAA. I urge support for the targeted solutions, not a radical privatization scheme that gambles with aviation safety. DeFazio has represented Oregon's 4th Congressional District since 1987. He is ranking member on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. http://thehill.com/special-reports/269046-the-devolution-of-aviation-safety Back to Top Aircraft market takes hitsU.S. aircraft production steady (more or less) By Jim Moore AOPA file photo with graphics based on GAMA data. General aviation airplane makers in the U.S. posted a steady year, not gaining or losing much ground as a group, but it was a different story in the rest of the world. It has been a tough year for many airplane makers. As for helicopters, the piston end did well in terms of units sold (an 8.6-percent increase in shipments) but revenue slipped; and the turbine end of the helicopter market may have been tempted toward autorotation by an 8.9-percent decline attributed to tumbling oil prices that tightened belts across the energy sector. General Aviation Manufacturers Association Chairman Aaron Hilkemann breezed through the not-so-rosy and still incomplete numbers in about five minutes, noting that the turbine helicopter decline was "related to the oil and gas segment, where a lot of those shipments have gone." There are asterisks in GAMA's report, since Finmeccanica Helicopters has not yet provided fourth-quarter data. The same is true of beleaguered Bombardier, Inc., the business jet market leader in 2012 that has since fallen on hard times. The Canadian firm has had a tumultuous couple of years of well-documented struggles, with airline customers fleeing from the C Series commuter jet to which Bombardier tied much of its future. The company has spent a pile of cash on developing the new airliner and not taken a firm order for it since 2014. The Canadian press reports that the company now hopes to sell turboprop airliners to stay afloat while the search for C Series customers continues. Bombardier is expected to report its 2015 financial data Feb. 17, and investors do not expect that to be pretty. Hilkemann said GAMA would update its overall numbers when Bombardier provides its business jet sales data, which the organization plans to release Feb. 18. That data will significantly impact GAMA's reported totals and year-over-year percentage calculations for the jet and overall GA market, since the company, while trailing Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., still held 28 percent of the world business jet market in 2014. (GAMA excluded Bombardier sales for both years to make the 2015 comparisons announced Feb. 10.) All participating manufacturers provided piston data in time for the Feb. 10 release. That part of the report showed continued piston market dominance by a handful of U.S. airplane makers, with Textron Aviation passing Cirrus Aircraft for the overall lead. While piston airplane shipments slipped 6.5 percent worldwide, U.S. piston airplane shipments declined less than 1 percent. Cirrus posted a slight decline in airplanes sold (down to 301 from 308), but increased billing slightly to $221 million. Textron, owner of the Cessna and Beechcraft brands, pushed past Cirrus (taken as a whole) with 312 piston airplanes sold between those brands. Piper Aircraft piston sales slid nearly 14 percent, leaving it fifth in world piston airplane production, trailing foreign makers Diamond Aircraft Industries, Inc. and Tecnam, which showed strength in a declining market by selling one more airplane (for a total of 191) and boosting revenue by 18 percent, which also happens to be Tecnam's share of the world piston market. Next on that list is Diamond Aircraft Industries, Inc., which posted declines of nearly 30 percent in sales and billing for 2015 leaving it with just under 14 percent of the piston market. In 2014, Piper and Flight Design, the German maker of light sport aircraft, each shipped 88 piston airplanes (Piper's overall total was 172 aircraft shipped). In 2015, Piper's piston shipments declined to 75, while Flight Design, which suffered the effects of fighting in Ukraine disrupting supply lines and delaying deliveries, saw deliveries drop to 59, down by a third, along with revenue. (Flight Design USA, the distributor for North America, recently announced a deal to produce aircraft for the U.S. market in Taiwan, in addition to the factory in Ukraine. Cirrus, Textron, and Piper together account for two-thirds of world piston airplane production, and 87 percent of U.S. piston airplane production (though sales data for Aviat Aircraft has not been included in GAMA reports issued to date, so those numbers might bear slight adjustment). Turboprop sales slumped just about everywhere, down 10.3 percent among U.S. airplane makers and down 7.3 percent worldwide. (GAMA reported a 7.6-percent worldwide decline, but there appears to be an arithmetic error in GAMA's 2014 turboprop count that boosted 2014 total sales by two airplanes, accounting for the slightly different percentage decline). Air Tractor and Thrush Aircraft, makers of turboprop airplanes for agriculture, continued to see double-digit percentage declines in units sold in 2015, enough to account for much of the overall (and ongoing) softness of the sector. (Each company managed a slight increase in revenue despite shipping fewer airplanes.) In the larger turboprop segment, high-end sales slipped more than the lower end, explaining the 10.8-percent decline in turboprop market value to $1.65 billion, Hilkemann said. GAMA President Pete Bunce directed most of his state-of-the-industry remarks at the FAA reauthorization bill a week after it first landed in Congress. The bill, and more so the law that will eventually come of it, stands to affect general aviation in many significant ways. Bunce said that the bill contains many elements manufacturers welcome, including "strong language" to reform and streamline the aircraft certification process. "This is our lifeblood," Bunce said. "We are wasting too much time and effort, as well as the regulatory authorities, to have engineers checking engineers." That phrase, "engineers checking engineers," was repeated in reference to ongoing international efforts to increase reciprocity in matters of certification, maintenance, and aircraft modifications. Bunce praised congressional efforts toward pilot medical certification reform: "There's some really good language in this bill that we as manufacturers, as well as our sister associations, feel very passionate about," Bunce said. Bunce said proposed user fees for charter and airline operators were problematic, but that the process of making the new law had only just begun. He also said the proposal to split air traffic control from the rest of the FAA would require the creation of a new bureaucracy within the U.S. Department of Transportation to manage the new ATC manager, since few DOT employees (other than those who work for the FAA) know the intricacies of the National Airspace System. "Suffice to say, just in the House, there are many quarters to play in this game before we get over to the Senate," Bunce said. http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2016/February/10/Aircraft-market-takes-hits Back to Top Bring a rusty pilot into the AOPA community Invite a rusty pilot into the AOPA community.Whether you have friends who aren't flying as much as they'd like or know pilots who have stopped flying for a while, you can help them get back in the air as active pilots by bringing them into the AOPA community. AOPA offers resources and programs for pilots who want to fly more and for pilots who want to start flying after a period of time away. And, just for sharing AOPA with those friends, you can earn points toward Amazon gift cards through AOPA Rewards that you can use for aviation-related or other purchases. Through AOPA's Rusty Pilots program, the association has helped more than 1,200 pilots return to active flying status since 2014. In 2015, more than 3,500 inactive pilots attended Rusty Pilots seminars to meet the ground requirements for the flight review, and 26 percent of them have said they are actively flying now. By bringing your friends who are inactive pilots into the AOPA community, you can help the association get them back in the air-so that they can experience the joy of flight once again. For your friends who want to fly more than they are currently able to do, AOPA offers other programs, such as the Flying Clubs Initiative to help lower the cost of flying so that pilots can spend more time in the air. With your encouragement, and AOPA's free resources, we can work together to strengthen the general aviation community and get more pilots back in the air. As a thank you for doing your part to share AOPA's content with them via social media and email or by recruiting them to become members, you will get rewarded with points toward Amazon gift cards ranging from $5 to $60. http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2016/February/09/Bring-a-rusty-pilot-into- the-AOPA-community Back to Top Boeing set to cut jobs at commercial jet unit in Seattle The 787 Dreamliner is close to the point where it is no longer losing money on each jet delivered, but it won't be making significant profits for a long time. (The Associated Press ) SEATTLE - The Boeing Co. says it will be eliminating commercial airplane jobs as part of a cost-cutting effort. No details were given on the timing or scale of the job cuts, but the tone of the announcement suggests a significant impact across the Seattle-based unit. "We will start reducing employment levels beginning with executives and managers first," said company spokesman Doug Alder. Alder said the reductions would ultimately affect "employment levels across all" of the commercial airplane unit. Attrition and voluntary layoffs would be used at first. However Alder said "involuntary layoffs may be necessary." The Seattle Times reports that Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Ray Conner announced the job action in a webcast to all employees. At the beginning of this year, Boeing employment in Washington state stood at 79,238, The Times reported. That's a 7,800 job drop from the most recent peak in the fall of 2012 of 87,023. Boeing approached the International Association of Machinists union last week to discuss a voluntary layoff program. Union spokesman Bryan Corliss told the newspaper the company has provided no details. European rival Airbus has been putting significant financial pressure on Chicago-based Boeing, pressure that is likely to increase through the end of the decade. Boeing's 737 and 777 jet programs have been the two cash cows for the commercial airplane unit for years. But last year, the Airbus A320 won a 60 percent share in the narrowbody market against the 737, forcing Boeing to reduce pricing and profit margins on that program. Boeing's highly anticipated 787 Dreamliner, now delivering 10 airplanes a month, is far from making up the difference in incoming cash, The Times reported. Though the 787 is close to the break-even point, it is not expected to make significant profits for a long time. http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest- news/index.ssf/2016/02/boeing_set_to_cut_jobs_at_comm.html Back to Top EU airlines to launch flights to Iran soon Iran says several leading European airlines including KLM, Air France and British Airways will start making flights to its Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) from late March. Iran said on Thursday that several leading European airlines have presented plans to start making extraordinary trips to its Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) in late March. The announcement has been made by Iran's Ministry of Transportation and Urban Development which says the European flights will start to land in IKIA in late March. The airlines have been named as British Airways, KLM and Air France. Hamid-Reza Seyyedi, a board member of IKIA Airport City, has been quoted by the media as saying that the three airlines have presented their flight plans to Iran for late March and that their plans have been finalized. Seyyedi said the extraordinary flights are meant to answer the surge in the number of flights to Iran when the country is marking the new calendar year (to start 21 March 2016). He also said Lufthansa that has already resumed its flights to Iran has requested to increase its flights to seven sorties per week throughout the new Iranian year holidays that end on 1 April 2016. The official further emphasized that Iran expects an increase of at least 20 percent in the number of flights to IKIA during the holidays for the new Iranian year - known as the Norouz. http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/11/449731/EU-airlines-to-launch-flights-to-Iran-soon Back to Top Back to Top Fractional Pilots needed for PhD Research Dear Fractional Jet Pilot, Fractional jet pilots have achieved an amazing safety record over the last 25 years. Research shows that your pilot group has achieved significantly better safety results when compared with similar jet pilot groups. This research investigates why are fractional jet pilots better than these other pilot groups? Is it due to training/skills, safety culture, union or company leadership? Safety culture has been studied for over a decade at the commercial airline level, and has consistently demonstrated a predictive capability. In recent years, safety culture has been concluded to predict safety performance. Safety culture is an important factor to investigate. My name is Kevin O'Leary and I am a Ph.D. candidate at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I am completing my dissertation by researching the safety culture of fractional jet pilots. This research has the potential to begin the understanding of why fractional pilots have a superior safety record. Due to the nature of this research, the survey respondents have been required to be pre- qualified to participate in this survey. Please follow the link below and fill out the pre-qualification form so that your pilot status can be verified. After verification, an untraceable survey link will be emailed to your email address. This link will be completely separate and remain separate from your pilot verification data. Your identity will never be disclosed and is not connected with the survey answers you provide. The research survey you will receive after completing the pre-qualification form will not include any identifiable data about the pilot, pilot's place of employment or the aircraft primarily flown. The research survey will take about 11 minutes. Please note that these responses will generate a donation to the Corporate Angel Network and potentially improve general aviation safety. https://www.research.net/r/Curt-Lewis-PreQual Thank you very much for your help! Principal Researcher Kevin O'Leary Ph.D. Candidate Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 617-600-6868 Olearyk1@my.erau.edu Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH REQUEST I am originally from South Africa where I worked as a Multimedia Designer and Lecturer for over a decade. I moved to Dubai, UAE in 2013 and am currently pursuing a career in Aviation Safety. My father is in aviation, my wife is in aviation along with all our friends. I finally got the hint. 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 The International Society of Air Safety Investigators SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR THE JEROME F. LEDERER AWARD CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS. No nominations for the award were received this past year. Usually we get one to three nominations per year. Surely there are some deserving investigators among us. Therefore, I urge ISASI members to nominate a person or persons who you believe deserves consideration for this award. The ISASI Awards Committee is seeking nominations for the 2016 Jerome F. Lederer Award. To be considered this year, your nomination letter must be received by May 31, 2016 The purpose of the Jerome F. Lederer Award is to recognize outstanding contributions to technical excellence in accident investigation. The Award is presented each year during our annual seminar to a recipient who is recognized for positive advancements in the art and science of air safety investigation. The nomination process is quite simple. Any member of ISASI may submit a nomination. The nominee may be an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization. The nominee is not required to be an ISASI member. The nomination may be for a single event, a series of events or a lifetime of achievement. The ISASI Awards Committee considers such traits as duration and persistence, standing among peers, manner and techniques of operating, and of course achievements. Once nominated, a nominee is considered for the next three years and then dropped. After an intervening year, the candidate may be nominated for another three-year period. The nomination letter for the Lederer Award should be limited to a single page. This award is one of the most significant honors an accident investigator can receive; therefore, considerable care is given in determining the recipient. Each ISASI member should thoughtfully review his or her association with fellow investigators, and submit a nomination when they identify someone who has been outstanding in increasing the technical quality of accident investigation. Additional information regarding the award can be found on the ISASI website. Nominations should be mailed, or e-mailed to the ISASI office or directly to the Awards Committee Chairman, Gale Braden, 13805 Edmond Gardens Drive Edmond, OK 73013 USA, email address, galebraden@cox.net www.isasi.org Curt Lewis