Flight Safety Information March 24, 2016 - No. 059 In This Issue Australia says Mozambique debris likely from missing MH370 Brit Leads New Commercial General Aviation Consortium at Lloyd's Torqued: Hallmarks of Aviation Safety Remain Education and Individual Responsibility Air safety concerns widen rift between CAAN and civil aviation ministry (Nepal) Airbus to establish pilot training centre in Delhi, India Wind Shear Eyed in FlyDubai 737 Crash France urges new medical rules for pilots after Germanwings crash Fantastic Tech Is Making Pilot Fatigue Even More Perplexing Off-duty Buffalo officer removed from Jet Blue flight NEW AIRBUS PATENT WANTS TO PUT JET ENGINES IN YOUR FACE EAAP Human Factors in Flight Safety: SMS, Risk Management...and Safety Investigation - Training Hangar Rash Research Request ISASI Military Air Safety Workshop - 19-21APR (ISASI) Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter (MARC) Meeting/Dinner - 05MAY Australia says Mozambique debris likely from missing MH370 Australia said on Thursday debris recovered this month in Mozambique was highly likely to be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, while Malaysia called for a stepped up search of Africa's coast for clues to the plane's fate. Official analysis found two pieces of debris were "almost certainly from MH370", Australian infrastructure and transport minister Darren Chester said in a statement, referring to the Boeing Co 777 that vanished in March 2014 with 239 people on board. "That such debris has been found on the east coast of Africa is consistent with drift modeling ... and further affirms our search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean," Chester said. The flight disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, creating one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation history. Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off the plane's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles off course, out over the Indian Ocean. A search, led by Australia and one of the most expensive ever conducted, has focused on a 120,000-sq- km (46,330-sq-mile) band of sea floor in the remote southern Indian Ocean. In 2015, French authorities said a wing part found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion was part of the plane. The Mozambique debris was examined by investigators from Australia and Malaysia, as well as specialists from Boeing, Geoscience Australia and the Australian National University in Canberra. 'SOLVE THIS MYSTERY' The discovery is likely to add to pressure from the public for the search to go on beyond a mid-2016 schedule for it to be wound up. Most of those on board were from China. "If they don't find the plane in the area where they're searching now, they and others need to continue to look," said U.S. adventurer Blaine Alan Gibson, who found one of the new pieces of debris this month on his own independent search. "They've got to solve this mystery. We can't give up after the current search area is completed," Gibson added in a telephone interview, shortly after being told by the authorities that his discovery matched the plane. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the coasts of South Africa and Mozambique should be searched and Malaysia wanted to send a team. "We are currently awaiting approval from the South African authorities," Liow said. "The coastal search will be by a Malaysian team and focused around South Africa and Mozambique." Liow, however, said the location of the underwater search need not be changed. The piece of debris that Gibson found is a white, meter-long chunk of metal with "No Step" printed on it. It arrived in Australia for testing this week, along with another piece of debris found in Mozambique soon after. "I can't use the word happy to describe how I feel, because that means that the plane crashed, and that the plane crashed in a forceful impact," Gibson said. "I'd use the word 'hopeful'." http://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-airlines-idUSKCN0WQ041 Back to Top Brit Leads New Commercial General Aviation Consortium at Lloyd's Brit Ltd., the global specialty insurer, has launched a Lloyd's consortium for commercial general aviation. Now quoting business, the consortium is being led by Brit with capacity also being provided by Kiln, Hiscox, Apollo and Pritchard, and is the only Lloyd's consortium set up purely for commercial general aviation. "The consortium is unique in the aviation space in being able to offer a 100 percent placement solution in Lloyd's," Brit said in a statement. In response to market demands for increasing efficiency, the facility allows brokers to fully bind through just one underwriter, with Brit as the lead member. The consortium will write hull risks of up to $10 million, covering liabilities of up to $150 million. The commercial general aviation class covers a wide range of specialty business, from firefighting helicopters to regional aircraft carriers. The consortium is broadly global in the general aviation risks it writes, a company spokesman said. "We are seeing increasing appetite for efficiency from both brokers and underwriters and launching this consortium enables us to deliver on this demand," commented Matt Langmead, divisional director of aviation at Brit. "We're proud of the consortium's differentiated approach, particularly in streamlining the binding process through one underwriter. This is especially attractive for a complex class, such as commercial GA, where Lloyd's ability to write specialty business is already a strong advantage," he added. "In a competitive market, we believe it is essential to respond effectively to the needs of both brokers and our underwriting peers to create more efficient ways of delivering solutions," according to Matthew Wilson, group deputy CEO and global specialty CEO. "This consortium is a great example of this, demonstrating not only our strong capabilities within the aviation space but also our willingness to work with the market to develop offerings that truly add value in a changing and competitive landscape," Wilson went on to say. http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2016/03/23/402800.htm Back to Top Torqued: Hallmarks of Aviation Safety Remain Education and Individual Responsibility by John Goglia The NTSB's 2016 Most Wanted list of transportation safety improvements makes it clear to me how many of the recommendations come back to individual accountability and responsibility, especially the importance of keeping up-to-date with the latest safety information and taking responsibility for one's own decisions. This is true for every level of aviation, from GA to the largest airlines, repair stations and manufacturers. It is especially true for general aviation because there is no corporate structure to share responsibility for, say, training or scheduling. For GA pilots and mechanics-including pilots and mechanics at small corporate operations-it's really all up to you to seek out the education you need to operate safely and to hold yourselves personally responsible. Some recommendations show up on the top-ten list year after year. That's OK; sometimes the problems are difficult to deal with. But that doesn't mean we don't keep trying. Seven of the NTSB's 10 recommendations this year are applicable to aviation and can be implemented, at least to some extent, by aircraft owners and individual pilots. The recommendations are: Reduce fatigue-related accidents Disconnect from deadly distractions Require medical fitness for duty Strengthen occupant protection Prevent loss of control in flight in general aviation End substance impairment in transportation and Enhance use of recorders to improve transportation safety Several of the recommendations cross occupational lines and are as applicable to mechanics, air traffic controllers and dispatchers as they are to pilots, even if the NTSB doesn't specifically call out all those occupations. The two most insidious issues have the broadest applicability across aviation: fatigue and unintentional substance impairment. PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FATIGUE MANAGEMENT Although the Board does not officially rank the importance of its recommendations, I don't think it's happenstance that fatigue is number one on the list. Not only does it affect safety across transportation modes and across occupations, but it is also one of the most difficult issues to deal with in our 24/7 world. Add to that the research finding that fatigue masks fatigue; as the NTSB points out, "Fatigue actually impairs our ability to judge just how fatigued we really are." While the focus of this recommendation is on vehicle operators, the need to stay awake, alert and attentive is critical across safety disciplines. The Board notes, "Human fatigue is both a symptom of poor sleep and health management and an enabler of other impairments, such as poor judgment and decision making, slowed reaction times and loss of situational awareness and control. Fatigue degrades a person's ability to stay awake, alert and attentive to the demands of controlling their vehicle safely." While the NTSB recommends additional research, "sleep experts say most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night for optimum performance, health and safety." While many factors can influence fatigue-including environmental factors such as temperature, noise, light and even vibration- individuals can at least focus on getting enough sleep each day. And they can read up on fatigue and fatigue management. This might involve making tough decisions about how we spend our free time, but they are decisions that are ultimately critical to our own safety and the safety of others. The NTSB cites the 2013 UPS crash in Birmingham, Ala., as support for the importance of this recommendation. In its accident report, the NTSB highlights the issue of personal accountability for off- duty time management, as well as fatigue awareness: "Review of the first officer's use of her off-duty time indicated that she was likely experiencing fatigue, primarily as a result of improper off-duty time management. Even though the first officer was aware that she was very tired, she did not call in and report that she was fatigued, contrary to the UPS fatigue policy." The first officer apparently used her time off to visit a friend instead of sleeping. Although the NTSB's example is an air carrier flight, GA pilots would do well to add fatigue to their preflight checklist: at a minimum did they get seven to nine hours of sleep the night before? Maintenance workers can affect aviation safety (and their own) just as much when they work fatigued. Hangars and ramps are dangerous places, even more so when you're working tired. A recent UK accident investigation highlighted the impact of fatigue in a catastrophic engine failure on a British Airways Airbus A319 on takeoff from London Heathrow Airport. In this accident, the precipitating factor was that the engine fan cowl doors detached on takeoff because they had not been properly closed and latched after routine overnight maintenance. The A319 was substantially damaged and the crew had to make an emergency landing. The accident report details not only the obvious failures to comply with maintenance manual procedures but also less obvious contributing factors that left the cowling doors unlatched, including the mechanics' schedules and likely effects of fatigue. RESPONSIBILITY FOR LEARNING ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS OF LEGAL DRUGS The NTSB's research of drug use among pilots killed in crashes found "the prevalence of potentially impairing drugs increased from an average of 11 percent of fatally injured accident pilots during the period from 1990 to 1997 to an average of 23 percent of accident pilots during the period between 2008 and 2012. During the same time frame, positive marijuana results increased to 3 percent from 1.6 percent. But the most commonly found impairing substance in fatal crashes was diphenhydramine, a sedating antihistamine found in over-the-counter medications." As more states legalize marijuana, pilots-and others performing safety-critical functions-need to remember that it remains a prohibited substance in aviation. But aviation workers need to be cautious about any medications they take. For prescription drugs, pilots need to specifically ask their doctors about any effects on flying. Mechanics and others need to ask about effects on handling machinery. With non-prescription drugs, it's important to read the label for the presence of diphenhydramine, which can cause sleepiness. When planning for a flight, adding medications to your checklist might be a start. And while the NTSB doesn't specifically mention mechanics and other aviation workers, drugs for common ailments such as allergies or colds can affect the work that they do. These are just two areas of the NTSB's Most Wanted list of transportation safety improvements. But every day, aviation workers make decisions that can affect their own lives and the lives of others. Aviation safety hinges on continuing education and responsible decision-making, and nowhere is that responsibility more personal than in general aviation. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/blogs/torqued-hallmarks-aviation-safety-remain-education-and- individual-responsibility Back to Top Air safety concerns widen rift between CAAN and civil aviation ministry Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC)'s plane in Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu. A government committee should not take more than two-three working days to start its initial work but in the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation in Nepal, a high-level committee exists only on paper and did nothing for several months. The seven-member panel formed by MoCTCA under the leadership of former director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Rajesh Raj Dali on September 28 to study the gap between words and actions in addressing the significant safety concerns about the country's aviation sector has not started its work, according to a member of the committee. The dysfunctional status of the committee for nearly six months also reveals that neither the line ministry nor the regulatory authority are serious about the SSCs designated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, subsequently leading the European Union to blacklist all Nepal's air carriers in 2013, as a major setback to the country's aviation and tourism industry. The committee, which was given three months to submit a comprehensive study report to the government after thoroughly studying the actions taken by the stakeholders, mainly the CAAN, to remove the safety concerns and blacklist, had been gathering dust, as CAAN strongly protested MoCTCA's move. CAAN claimed the formation of such a committee would only hamper its day to day work. The minister-level decision and CAAN's protest letter obtained by this daily clearly show that the tug of war between the ministry and aviation regulatory body has further widened. In a 10-point clarification, CAAN's Director General Sanjiv Gautam questioned the ministry's move, saying that the government study would have an adverse impact on CAAN's activities. "As CAAN is doing its bit to ensure air safety in close coordination with the international experts and institutions, there is no need of any government committee to study the findings of the ICAO-Coordinated Validation Mission," Gautam wrote. According to him, committee can look at other matters rather than SSCs related issues, as ICAO-Asia Pacific will soon evaluate the progress made by CAAN in this regard. Earlier, ICAO audit showed that CAAN was not capable of ensuring effective implementation of international safety standards in the areas of air operations, airworthiness and accident investigation. MoCTCA's Joint Secretary Suresh Acharya, who is also the member secretary of the panel, admitted that the committee failed to begin its work as authorised by the government. A member of the committee said CAAN and the ministry were not serious about the improvement of air safety, as CAAN officials wished to use country's poor air safety record to bag safety improvement projects worth multi-million dollars while the ministry officials also seem to be waiting for the incidents/accidents to get themselves involved with the lucrative probe jobs. https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/air-safety-concerns-widen-rift-caan-civil-aviation-ministry/ Back to Top Airbus to establish pilot training centre in Delhi, India Airbus is establishing a world-class pilot and maintenance training centre in the National Capital Region of Delhi, to support the county's need for new Airbus pilots. According to Airbus' latest global market forecast, India requires over 1,600 passenger and freighter aircraft in the next 20 years to 2034, with an accompanying demand for new pilots and maintenance engineers. This investment in a training centre is a key strategic Airbus initiative in line with the country's "Skill India" programme launched in 2015 by the Indian government to develop a wide range of advanced competencies. Airbus is committed to offering the best-in-class training skills comparable anywhere worldwide. The centre will be fully owned by Airbus Group India with training to be delivered by Airbus' specialised training instructors. The centre will be built in a modular concept in order to accommodate four A320 full-flight simulators, with potential to expand. "Our new training centre underscores Airbus' long term vision to equip pilots and engineers with superior flying and maintenance skills to operate and maintain contemporary and next-generation Airbus aircraft to be delivered to the airlines of India," said Kiran Rao, Airbus executive vice president strategy and marketing. Airbus has been providing maintenance training from its existing centre in Bangalore since 2007, and has so far trained over 2,750 maintenance engineers. The new centre will accelerate the pace of training to help match the A320neo deliveries to India. Staffed by Airbus trainers, the new pilot training centre will have the capacity to train over 8,000 pilots and 2,000 maintenance engineers over ten years from 2018 onwards. Airbus has shortlisted suitable sites near the airport area of Delhi, and will soon work towards finalising the agreements for land, construction and simulator installation in 2017. Airbus operates similar centres in the Americas, Europe and Asia covering Airbus' range of aircraft. The India centre will join this existing network and will welcome its customer pilots and engineers in 2018. http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/airbus-to-establish-pilot-training-centre-in-delhi-india/ Back to Top Wind Shear Eyed in FlyDubai 737 Crash Controllers issued a warning to the pilots moments before the jetliner crashed in Russia. Officials believe wind shear is to blame for the recent crash of a FlyDubai 737 in Russia. Pilots of the FlyDubai Boeing 737 that crashed in Russia on Saturday after a second attempt to land in high winds were warned by controllers of wind shear moments before the jetliner descended rapidly and exploded in a fireball next to the runway. Both flight recorders have been recovered, and experts from the United Arab Emirates, United States and France are assisting with the investigation, according to the Interstate Aviation Committee, Russia's civil aviation authority. According to flight tracking website data, the 737 with 62 aboard made a missed approach and entered a hold, circling for a lengthy period of time before making another landing attempt at Rostov-on-Don Airport. A Russian Aeroflot flight scheduled to land around the same time made three landing attempts but then diverted to another airport, according to published reports. "By all appearances, the cause of the air crash was the strongly gusting wind, approaching a hurricane level," said Rostov Regional Governor Vasily Golubev, according to news reports. The winds at the time were reportedly blowing at 34 mph gusting to 50 mph. Just before the crash, the tower advised the FlyDubai crew of "moderate wind shear," according to ATC tapes of the crash. http://www.flyingmag.com/wind-shear-eyed-in-flydubai-737-crash Back to Top France urges new medical rules for pilots after Germanwings crash French investigators urged new rules for the medical screenings of pilots earlier this month, after a report found that a doctor had recommended the hospitalization of Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz two weeks before he deliberately downed a passenger plane. March 13--PARIS -- French investigators urged new rules for the medical screenings of pilots on Sunday, after a report found that a doctor had recommended the hospitalization of Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz two weeks before he deliberately downed a passenger plane. The French aviation investigators (BAE) said rules were needed, both to set requirements for doctors to inform authorities, as well as to lay guidelines for pilot screenings when they are on antidepressant medication. The Paris-based probe found that a physician had recommended hospital treatment for Lubitz two weeks before the crash, but did not inform the aviation authorities. While it stopped short of recommending regular psychiatric tests for all pilots, the investigation stressed that follow-up checks should be carried out for any pilots with a history of mental illness. The BEA believes that Lubitz locked himself alone in the cockpit and deliberately steered the plane into a mountainside in the French Alps on March 24, 2015, killing all 150 on board. Investigators have based this on data retrieved from the black box recovered from the crash site. Lubitz, who had been flying for Germanwings since 2014, had been the owner of a class 1 medical certificate, which had been revalidated or renewed annually since its issue in 2008, the report said. It added that a waiver had been introduced to the medical certificate "because of a severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms that had lasted from August 2008 until July 2009. "The waiver stated that it would become invalid if there was a relapse into depression." Lubitz sought medical help in late 2014 after he began experiencing "symptoms that could be consistent with a psychotic depressive episode," according to the report. The co-pilot, however, did not speak to his employer about his mental health issues. Of the two physicians that treated him in February 2015 -- one of whom recommended Lubitz's admission to a psychiatric hospital -- "neither ... informed any aviation authority, nor any other authority about the co-pilot's mental state." A flight training school for Lufthansa, Germanwings' parent company, had said earlier it was aware Lubitz struggled with depression. Scrutiny has turned mostly on why a man with known health problems was allowed to be at the helm of a commercial jet. Christof Wellens, a German lawyer for some of the victims' families, cited one widow saying, "I wonder, since the crash, how such a sick pilot could be alone in the cockpit." However, the report concluded that nothing could have been done by the aviation authorities or Germanwings to prevent the tragedy, because information on the man's deteriorating health had not been available to them. Investigators have found evidence that Lubitz researched suicide methods and cockpit door-locking mechanisms online during the week before the crash. French investigators referred to a "lack of clear guidelines in German regulations" on when the interests of public safety should overrule medical confidentiality. A prosecutor in Marseille leading the criminal investigation has said that, even while some of Lubitz's doctors knew he was unfit to fly, German privacy laws prohibited them from disclosing personal medical details to his employer. The task of the BEA is to issue safety recommendations. It worked together with aviation authorities from a number of countries -- including those of Germany, Spain, Britain and the United States -- to conduct the investigation. The outcome of its findings do not imply criminal liability. A separate investigation was launched by French prosecutors. The BEA recommendations have been addressed to the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the European Union's executive branch and other international aviation safety agencies. http://www.securityinfowatch.com/news/12185694/france-urges-new-medical-rules-for-pilots-after- germanwings-crash Back to Top Fantastic Tech Is Making Pilot Fatigue Even More Perplexing DURING A MID-AUGUST afternoon in 1993, American International Airways Flight 808 prepared to land in Guantanamo Bay. Procedures required that the pilot execute a visual approach over the sea that included a late right turn toward the runway, to avoid entering Cuban airspace, less than a mile to the west. The crew, who had been awake for over 19 hours continuously, overbanked the Douglas DC-8-61 freighter, lost control, and crashed. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the impaired decision-making demonstrated by the three crew members, all of whom were injured, was due to the debilitating effects of fatigue. Today, fatigue remains a problem for pilots and a risk to the flying public, but incomplete science and the positive effect of aviation technology make the best solutions hard to see. Managing fatigue hasn't always been about preventing accidents. During the Industrial Revolution, long workdays prompted calls by social reformers for a more equal distribution between work, recreation and rest, calls that eventually led to the establishment of an eight-hour workday. A century later, fatigue came under the scrutiny of scientists. NASA dedicated a research program to understanding the phenomenon amongst pilots. The effort was groundbreaking for its time, as researchers studied the effects of sleep loss and interruption on muscle activity and brain function. They found that when it came to alertness in the cockpit, the conditions in which pilots flew mattered as much as the time they spent at the controls. These findings facilitated a major change in how fatigue was managed on the flight deck. Achieving the type of deep restorative sleep necessary to avoid fatigue requires that muscles relax, body temperature fall, and brain activity drop. Longer periods of rest between shifts gives the body the chance to do that. Limiting the total amount of flying required of pilots each month also reduces the chances of fatigue building up over consecutive work cycles. In 2011, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) placed its strictest limits to date on night flying by commercial airline pilots, because working when the sun's down is more fatiguing than doing the same during the day. US carriers must give their pilots longer rest opportunities prior to flying (ten hours compared to eight previously) and provide them 25 percent more continuous time off each month. Advocates contend that today's rules improve safety. The Air Line Pilot's Association, the world's largest pilot union, lauded the new FAA rules as "a significant victory for safety and the traveling public." Such rules may seem great when it comes to keeping the skies safe, but it's hard to know they are adequate. One problem is the lack of agreement among scientists as to what fatigue actually is. Some call it a process, others a state. Some treat it as being synonymous with sleepiness, others see it as a "moral disorder" that weakens willpower and leads to physical exhaustion. Modern tools aren't a perfect solution. New psychometrics tests can measure how alert a pilot is. "Actiwatches," small wrist-worn devices, can record a flight engineer's sleeping patterns for months at a time. Questionnaires gauge how tired crew members believe themselves to be. Yet, Dr. Atul Khullar, a fellow at the American Academy of Sleep Sciences points out, points out, "the extent to which these techniques accurately predict how safely an airplane is flown is less clear." It's hard to be sure we're addressing fatigue properly, because-ironically-commercial aviation's remarkable safety record makes the answer hard to find. More than 37.6 million commercial flights took to the skies in 2015, a new record. The global accident rate-measured as the number of aircraft lost per one million flights-was just 0.32, one of the lowest in history. Long-term trend data suggests flying is getting even safer. This rarity of accidents is a testament to technological progress, especially improvements in airframe construction, propulsion mechanics, and avionics design. It also means proving that fatigue reduces safety is difficult, because those technologies lessen the potential fallout. The highly automated nature of flying today means aircraft flown by weary pilots will almost certainly still reach their destinations safely. Addressing these issues will not be easy, but it is necessary, because fatigue can make flying more dangerous. In its report on the 2007 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407, which killed all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground, the NTSB found a variety of causes, and concluded that "the pilots' performance was likely impaired because of fatigue." Even with better information on how to manage fatigue, those efforts face opposition from the industry because they add expenses to airline balance sheets that are already in the red. The 2011 FAA rules for example, forced carriers to hire more crew and place extra staff on reserve, to the tune of $300 million. That's hardly chump change for an industry that saw a mere four percent profit (or $8.27 per passenger) the year the rules went into effect. As long as this continues, managing fatigue will continue being a prickly affair. http://www.wired.com/2016/03/fantastic-tech-making-pilot-fatigue-even-perplexing/ Back to Top Off-duty Buffalo officer removed from Jet Blue flight An intoxicated off-duty Buffalo police officer was removed from a Jet Blue flight just prior to takeoff by transit police earlier this month in Cheektowaga, according to authorities. The female officer, who had been drinking alcohol, became combative and was handcuffed before being transported from Buffalo Niagara International Airport to Erie County Medical Center for treatment, police said. No criminal charges were placed against her and the plane took off without further incident. Buffalo Police Department internal affairs investigators are reviewing the incident. The officer remains on active duty with the department, pending the outcome of the investigation. The Buffalo News is withholding her name because she was not criminally charged. http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/police-courts/off-duty-buffalo-officer-removed-from-jet-blue- flight-20160323 Back to Top NEW AIRBUS PATENT WANTS TO PUT JET ENGINES IN YOUR FACE JUST COVER THE AIRPLANE WITH ENGINES, SURE Airbus Engine Figure Yes, this is a good design with no problems at all. After an interminable wait in three security checkpoints, you finally make it to the terminal and settle in for a little bite of pre-flight food. Flying always gives you butterflies, so you skip the Cricket Bistro and instead grab a Soylent greenshake, chugging it as you make your way to the gate. After putting your hand through the biometric scanner, and hoverboard your way down the gangway before sliding in the new Airbus A720. As you make your way to your seat, you hope for a window. The last time you flew south was in 2030, and you want to see how much the coastline has changed since then. Plunking down in the furthest interior seat, you look to the window, and let out an exhausted sigh: there's no window here. Instead, you'll have the dull hum of three jet engines just inches from your face for the entire flight. Okay, most of that is pure fiction for the moment. But the jets in your face is at least within the realm of possibility. Last week, Airbus was granted a patent for "Multi-fan engine with an enhanced power transmission," which is a dull way to describe "designing jet engines so more can be crammed onto one plane." Here's how Aeropatent described it: In the ongoing drive to increase propulsive efficiency, perhaps the most obvious solution is to increase the engine fan diameter, but of course there are physical limits involved when engines are mounted underneath the wing. Unless you turn the landing gear into stilts, then you'll have to find another way. And that's exactly what several leading aerospace companies are doing. Today we bring you this intriguing concept from Airbus for a multi-fan aero-engine that comprises a gas turbine, an engine casing and multiple fans which are encased and connected to each other by geared rings, such that the rotation of one fan drives the others. Putting the engines alongside the plane is just one possible permutation of this technology. Another is longer, joined engine-pods below the wings, who produce more power more efficiently by channelling excess airflow into smaller, supporting engines. For decades, the standard way to improve airflow through jet engines has been increasing the diameter of their intake, but at some point the engine is so big that it's sitting on the ground, which simply won't do. That's good news for engineers exploring the frontiers of modern design. And it's bad news for anyone who gets stuck next to a noisy engine, where a window once was. http://www.popsci.com/weird-new-airbus-patent-wants-more-jet-engines-in-new-places Back to Top EAAP Human Factors in Flight Safety: SMS, Risk Management and Safety Investigation - Initial Training Course, Barcelona, 23-27 May 2016 Special Note: An Early Bird discount of 200 EUR will apply to all registrations received by 15 April 2016. The course will be kindly hosted by the Barcelona-based airline Vueling, at their modern airline headquarters and ?ight training facility close to Barcelona El Prat Airport, just 12 kilometres from the centre of Barcelona. Full details of the course, including the Registration Form, are contained in the 2016 Course Information Brochure, which is available from the EAAP website: http://www.eaap.net/read/2981/initial-human- factors-in-flight-safety.html Please note that completion of this training course is recognised by EAAP (the European Association for Aviation Psychology) as contributing towards certification requirements for those wishing to become an EAAP-certified Aviation Psychologist or Human Factors Specialist. The experienced team of Dr Rob Lee, Kristina Pollack and Brent Hayward will conduct the course on behalf of EAAP. The first of these courses was conducted by the same team at Ispra, Italy in 1999, and since then the course has been held regularly in locations including Luxembourg, Stockholm, Madrid, Lisbon, Interlaken, Dublin, Dubai and Barcelona, with more than 400 participants attending to date. Each year the course is updated to reflect the latest thinking and developments in human factors and safety management in civil and military aviation. As detailed in the Course Registration Brochure, EAAP members are offered reduced registration fees for the course, and there is also a significant additional "Early Bird" discount for those who register by 15 April 2016. Course participant numbers are limited, so those wishing to attend are encouraged to register as soon as possible. Those with any questions about the course, please email Brent Hayward: bhayward@dedale.net Back to Top Hangar Rash Research Request Hello, my name is Mary Popko and I am a student as San Diego State University currently working towards a B.S. in Statistics. I would like to request your participation in my survey regarding 'hangar rash', a term commonly used to describe the unecessary damage that many aircraft sustain on the ground, while being maneuvered in the airport environment. The survey takes less than thirty seconds to complete. I hope to shed some light on this subject and would be happy to share my paper with anyone who is interested. Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TLW5KZ6 Back to Top FSI Twitter Feed - Flight Safety Information can be found on a daily Twitter feed at: curtllewis01 https://twitter.com/curtllewis01 Back to Top Back to Top The International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter (MARC) Cordially invites you to attendour spring 2016 Dinner/Meeting Location: Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport Hotel Herndon, Virginia, 20170. Date/Time: Thursday, May 5, 2016, 6:00 - 9:30 pm Guest Speaker Honorable T. Bella Dinh-Zarr, Vice Chair, National Transportation Safety Board To: ISASI Members, Associates, and Guests: Please plan to attend this important annual event. We anticipate a large turnout for this event because our distinguished guest speaker. Please make your reservations early; as space will be limited and I must confirm the dinner numbers with the hotel by Thursday, April 21st. Don't forget that companions and other guests are most welcome. From: Ron Schleede President, MARC; Vice President, ISASI (H) 1-703-455-3766; (Cell) 571-212-4255; Email: RonSchleede@aol.com Date: Thursday, May 5, 2016 Times: 6:00 pm-Reception with cash bar 7:00 to 8:00 pm-Full buffet dinner ********************************************************** RESERVATION FORM The International Society of Air Safety Investigators Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter (MARC) Spring 2016 Dinner/Meeting Thursday, May 5, 2016, 6:00 pm Crowne Plaza Dulles Airport Hotel There will be a "networking" cash bar beginning at 6:00 pm, followed by a full buffet dinner beginning at 7:00 pm. The program will begin about 8:00 pm. Adjournment anticipated about 9:30 pm. Yes, I will be attending: Name__________________________ Telephone___________________ Email Yes, I will be bringing a guest (s): Name__________________________Telephone____________________ Email Name__________________________Telephone____________________ Email Payment Method: Check, or Credit Card. Badge Name Company Name______________________________________ If paying by check, please make checks payable to ISASI-MARC, in the amount of $50.00 per person, if paid before April 21, 2016. The cost after April 21, 2016, will be $55.00, if space is available. This includes dinner, taxes, gratuity, and routine function expenses. Please mail checks to: Ms. Ann Schull, ISASI International Office, 107 E. Holly Avenue, Suite 11, Sterling, VA, 20164. (Telephone: 703-430-9668; FAX: 703-430-4970) If paying by credit card, please provide your reservation information, along with the following credit card information directly to Ms. Ann Schull by telephone, FAX, email, or regular mail. Curt Lewis