Flight Safety Information April 4, 2016 - No. 065 In This Issue Cambodian airplane slides off runway at Ho Chi Minh City airport British Airways passenger bites another passenger during flight Parts from an airplane found in Mauritius may come from MH370 The FAA Relaxes Some Rules For Commercial Drone Pilots Travel Boom Forces Asia's Airlines to Seek More Women Pilots Alaska Air Agrees to Buy Virgin America in $2.6 Billion Deal GIG insures four aircraft owned by Nile Air for $1.2m annually NBAA Compensation Survey Now Underway MEDALLION FOUNDATION EXPANDS INTO HAWAII AND WESTERN PACIFIC REGION FAA NEXTGEN UPDATES Hangar Rash Research Request Survey Invitation (ISASI) Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter (MARC) Meeting/Dinner - 05MAY Cambodian airplane slides off runway at Ho Chi Minh City airport A plane operated by a Cambodian carrier went off the track upon landing at an international airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday evening. At around 5:40 pm, the ATR 72 aircraft of Cambodia Angkor Air slid off the runway during its arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. According to a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper source, the plane, which was carrying 21 passengers from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, was blown off the landing strip 07R by strong crosswinds. Operators of the airdrome ordered an emergency shutdown of the runway after the incident for rescue procedures to be carried out. Rescuers and fire trucks were quickly dispatched to the scene to help the passengers and members of the flight crew, all of whom were unharmed. The airplane was also towed to the airport hangar for an inspection. Operations of the runway 07R were resumed at 7:48 pm the same day. Lai Xuan Thanh, chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), confirmed the details to Tuoi Tre during an interview. The CAAV will work with Cambodia Angkor Air and competent agencies to further probe the incident, Thanh said. According to a representative of the Cambodian airline, the flight captain has had 6,600 hours of flying time while the first officer has accumulated 1,700 hours. The ATR 72, whose registration number is XU-235, was built in January 2010 and last underwent a maintenance check on March 23 this year, the representative added. http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/34077/cambodian-airplane-slides-off-runway-at-ho-chi- minh-city-airport Back to Top British Airways passenger bites another passenger during flight Christopher McNerlin was bitten on a BA flight from DubaiIMAGE: PA WIRE/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES LONDON - A passenger on a London-bound British Airways flight from Dubai has been bitten on the arm as he rushed to help flight attendants who were struggling to restrain a "violent passenger". Christopher McNerlin, from Stratford-Upon-Avon, tweeted photos of the bite mark and had to go to hospital for a check-up, PA reported. At A&E after helping the @British_Airways stewardesses restrain a violent passenger on board yesterdays BA0104. pic.twitter.com/6lbXlA8a0y - Christopher McNerlin (@Chris_McNerlin) April 2, 2016 @British_Airways Incredible team on the flight, especially Hayley, who put her self in harms way to protect passengers. #BA0104 #Heathrow - Christopher McNerlin (@Chris_McNerlin) April 2, 2016 Thanks to @British_Airways Captain Kendal for showing me the cockpit. The bite & A&E were almost worth it! #BA #LHR pic.twitter.com/WgseJOuowV - Christopher McNerlin (@Chris_McNerlin) April 2, 2016 British Airways thanked McNerlin, who works for "trend-forecasting" company WGSN Stratford-upon-Avon: The airline told Mashable: "Our customers and crews deserve to enjoy their flights, and not to suffer any form of abuse. Appropriate action will always be taken." It added the matter was now being dealt with by police. A Metropolitan police spokeswoman said: "Officers attended and found a 21-year-old man who had assaulted a passenger. The man was arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm and being drunk on board an aircraft. "He was taken to a west London police station and has been bailed to a date in late May. The injured passenger received medical assistance for a minor injury at the scene." http://mashable.com/2016/04/04/man-bitten-british-airways-flight/#Q45xbJF8.SqV Back to Top Parts from an airplane found in Mauritius may come from MH370 Tourists found remains of an airplane while on vacation that could be part of the missing flight MH370. At the moment, they were staying at a hotel in the island nation Mauritius. They showed the remains to the hotel owner and told him they had found the debris about 560 km east of the main island. William Auguste is the owner of the Mourouk Ebony Hotel and he told the press the remains "sure looked like part of an airplane". He even said they were from the inside part of an aircraft based on wallpaper found in the pieces. Tourists found remains of an airplane while on vacation that could be part of the missing flight MH370. Photo credit: News Crown Australia is leading the search for the missing Boeing 777 and the 238 people who were on board when it disappeared in March 2014. The efforts searching efforts have focused on the Southern Indian Ocean. According to the schedule, the investigation will finish in June when they are supposed to have covered the whole area. Australian authorities still have not analyzed the debris, but Darren Chester who is the Australian transport minister said that it was "an item of interest". After 2 years, there is still nothing concrete Every time there's a catastrophe, conspiracy theories arise, especially when there isn't enough information to prove them wrong. Regarding MH370, there are many of those. The most common is the terrorist attack theory which claims the airplane was hijacked and flown to Afghanistan where the people are being held against their will. Another one but very unlikely believe is that the United States government took the airplane to question 22 Chinese specialist about stealth technology. One theory stands out for its implications, some people think that the airplane was shut- down by military forces and governments are covering it up. In response, many international officials have denied these accusations, but even though there is no proof, the unrest among the people grows. The families of the victims feel authorities are hiding something from them. The feeling is further fed by the delay in the investigation and the fact that some official reports have been proved shady by independent investigators. http://www.pulseheadlines.com/parts-airplane-mauritius-mh370/23847/ Back to Top The FAA Relaxes Some Rules For Commercial Drone Pilots Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration issued updated rules for commercial unmanned aircraft, doubling their operational ceiling and streamlined the online application process for pilots registering their drones. The first update applies to Section 333-exempt aircraft - aircraft which the Secretary of Transportation has determined doesn't need an airworthiness certificate to operate commercially. The FAA has announced that they're doubling the "blanket" altitude authorization for these drones - from 200 feet to 400 feet. The new COA policy allows small unmanned aircraft-operated as other than model aircraft (i.e. commercial use)-to fly up to 400 feet anywhere in the country except restricted airspace and other areas, such as major cities, where the agency prohibits UAS operations. There's still a whole lot of restrictions that haven't been lifted. Pilots still have to fly during the daytime, keep their drones within visual range and stay several miles away from airports. The second update concerns the licensing of drones: starting earlier this week, drone pilots can use the FAA's web-based registration form, which will run them the same amount as model airplane pilots: $5. Previously, pilots of Section-333 exempt aircraft to register with the Administration's offices in Oklahoma City. Anyone who's already started the process under the old rules are don't need to restart the process, but they should start using the system hobby drone (ie, non-commercial) pilots used beginning at the end of 2015. http://gizmodo.com/the-faa-relaxes-some-rules-for-commercial-drone-pilots-1768692392 Back to Top Travel Boom Forces Asia's Airlines to Seek More Women Pilots First Officer Sophia Kuo inside the cockpit of an EVA Airways Boeing 747. Source: EVA Airlines Corp Sophia Kuo says she still hears the whispers as she walks through international airports in her EVA Airways Corp. pilot's uniform: "'Wow, we have female pilots.' 'How does she fly an airplane?' 'She must be really smart!"' More than eight decades after Amelia Earhart's solo flight across the Atlantic, women like Kuo, a 35-year-old co-pilot on the Taiwanese carrier's Boeing 747s, remain the exception in the cockpit. Only about 5 percent of pilots globally are female, according to Liz Jennings Clark, chairwoman of the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. And just "a tiny" percentage of them are captains. Now, airlines are being forced to balance the scale because a rapid escalation in air travel in Asia may leave the industry desperately short of pilots. The region is transporting 100 million new passengers every year, said Sherry Carbary, vice president of flight services for Boeing Co., which assists airlines in training new pilots. To fly all those aspiring new middle class, Asia is going to need another 226,000 pilots in the next two decades, according to Boeing. "There is such an enormous demand to meet the growth that the gender bias will have to be pushed aside," Carbary said. Some carriers are trying. Vietnam Airlines Corp., based in what the International Air Transport Association forecasts will be one of the world's 10 fastest-growing aviation markets, is creating work schedules that take into account demands of family life. U.K.-based EasyJet Plc has set up a scholarship with the British Women Pilots Association to underwrite the costs of training women pilots. Recruitment advertisements increasingly feature women. British Airways Plc has a photo of a female pilot on its hiring website, while EVA Air, which has about 50 women among its 1,200 pilots, has recruited from universities in Taiwan with ads showing Kuo. Even so, it takes a long time for someone to gain the training, knowledge and experience to fly an airliner. Most major carriers require flight captains to have 3,000 hours or more of commercial flying experience, not including the time taken to qualify from flight school. Women recruited today on legacy carriers wouldn't be ready to take charge of a plane for 12 to 15 years, said Clark, a captain with Transavia, a subsidiary of Air France-KLM Group. "Finding capable flight crews isn't easy," said Richard Yeh, who oversees pilot training at EVA Air, which is trying to hire 100 pilots a year to meet demand. "We have to try to find more pilots like Sophia." Asia isn't the only place that will have to find and train thousands of new pilots. Seven of the 10 fastest-growing aviation markets in percentage terms are in Africa. Globally, the number of air travelers is expected to double to seven billion by 2034, according to the International Air Transport Association. Training Shortcuts The need to add pilots quickly has led to some flight schools to take shortcuts or issue licenses to pilots who haven't flown the required number of hours. A lawsuit last year in India accused one school of granting a license to a trainee who had spent only 35 minutes in the air. Even at bona fide training colleges in Asia, the number of female students remains low. Frequently less than 10 percent of the 200 cadets at Malaysian Flying Academy Sdn Bhd are female, said Stephen Terry, the school's principal. The two-year program costs about $77,000. "Some carriers in Asia won't even consider hiring women pilots," he said, while others prohibit mixed crew from sharing bunk compartments on long-haul flights. Part of the gender bias is due to the traditional division of roles on a plane, with men -- typically white men -- up front, and women at the back serving drinks and handing out blankets. Mireille Goyer, founder of the Vancouver-based Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide, says society has done little to encourage women to seek careers in the cockpit. That attitude has reduced an already small pool of potential pilots. To qualify for a license to captain a plane, you need to read, write and speak English fluently, have thousands of hours of flight time, no criminal record or history of alcohol abuse and are free of a long list of medical conditions including color blindness and diabetes that requires medication. Ideally, you need to be the sort of person who doesn't panic easily. "Pilot personality traits and aptitudes are rare within the human population regardless of gender or race," Goyer said. "Arbitrarily reducing the potential pool to mostly white males has strangled growth and led to today's situation. Now there is pressure and momentum to change." Family Support For women, there are additional hurdles beyond the attitude of co-workers and society, including an historical lack of support for those who want to fly planes and raise a family. "Flying time for female pilots may be limited due to maternity leave or the fact they need time to take care of their kids," Luu Hoang Minh, a Vietnam Airlines flight crew deputy director said in an e-mail. He said his company takes these factors into account and tries to arrange flying schedules that help women. The carrier, which has 11 female pilots out of 1,058, expects to fly 19.2 million passengers this year, 2 million more than in 2015. In regions like Asia, where traditional attitudes toward a woman's role are stronger, it's even harder for women to make the step to the pilot's role, said Kit Darby, a former United Continental Holdings Inc. captain who works as a consultant. Being a commercial pilot is still viewed "as a single man's game," he said. Vietnam Airlines Captain Huynh Ly Dong Phuong Photographer: Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich Vietnam Airlines Captain Huynh Ly Dong Phuong says her mother was initially reluctant to approve of her career choice and even now she is sometimes treated differently from male colleagues. "My difficulty is making people accept the fact I am a pilot first and a female second, not the other way around," she said in an e-mail. Yet commercial jets don't need the cocky fighter-pilot attitude featured in the 1986 Hollywood movie "Top Gun," starring Tom Cruise, said Graham Hunt, head of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Asia in Singapore. Flying an airliner "is not about being a gung-ho fighter pilot, it's about monitoring complex systems, decision-making, collaboration," he said. Still, the romance of the fighter pilot endures. First officer Kuo fell in love with flying as a child when she saw a fighter jet take off. "I love to fly," Kuo said. As she speeds down the runway and the plane noses skyward, "everything in front of you becomes very small. Your view of life changes." http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-03/female-top-guns-wanted-to-solve- pilot-crisis-at-asia-s-airlines Back to Top Alaska Air Agrees to Buy Virgin America in $2.6 Billion Deal Alaska Air Group Inc. agreed to buy Richard Branson-backed Virgin America Inc. for $2.6 billion, according to a statement Monday. Alaska Air will pay $57 a share for Virgin America stock, with the deal worth about $4 billion including debt and capitalized aircraft operating leases, it said. Virgin America's market value was $1.37 billion on March 22, a day before Bloomberg News reported that the Burlingame, California-based company was reaching out to potential buyers. The combination will expand the footprint of Alaska Airlines in California and boost its ability to compete with the top four U.S. carriers, the Seattle-based company said. It will also enhance Alaska's access to slot-constrained East Coast hubs including John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia in New York and Ronald Reagan Washington National. Alaska Air had been competing with New York-based JetBlue Airways Corp. for Virgin America after the Branson company put itself up for sale, people familiar with the matter have said. The combination extends a consolidation wave that began in 2005 and eventually swept up five of the 10 biggest U.S. carriers. Four operators -- American Airlines Group Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. -- now control 80 percent of the U.S. market. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-04/alaska-air-agrees-to-buy-virgin- america-in-4-billion-deal Back to Top GIG insures four aircraft owned by Nile Air for $1.2m annually Managing Director of Al-Tayyar Hamdi Abdel-Meguid said that Willis Tower Watson, the third largest reinsurance brokerage firm in the world, has assigned reinsurance on aircraft from GIG to Lloyd's insurance market in Britain Al-Tayyar Insurance Broker has assigned insurance contracts to four aircraft owned by Nile Air Company to Arab Misr Insurance Group (GIG) for annual installments of $1.2m. Managing Director of Al-Tayyar Hamdi Abdel-Meguid said that Willis Tower Watson, the third largest reinsurance brokerage firm in the world, has assigned reinsurance on aircraft from GIG to Lloyd's insurance market in Britain. He told Daily News Egypt that the contract covers damages related to the body of the aircraft, as well as other risks including wars through a separate contract for military risks that may affect the body of the aircraft due to any military act or hijacking of the plane. Abdel-Meguid explained that the insurance contract also covers the safety of passengers, bags, and cargo on board. These responsibilities come into effect when the operation of the aircraft includes this information on the plane ticket. He added that the coverage includes the company's responsibility towards the other party, which includes property or people outside of the plane. Abdel Meguid said Al-Tayyar has assigned medical insurance contracts to about 6,000 workers of Nile Air for annual installments of EGP 2m. This contract, which includes medical services, would be provided and managed by Prime Healthcare Services. Nile Air was officially launched in 2008, and started its operations in mid-2010 as a private Egyptian company. It is owned by Al-Tayyar which operates in tourism and is owned by Saudi businessman Nasser Al-Tayyar. Nile Air earlier announced its intention to purchase two Airbus 320 to add them to the company's fleet by 2017. http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/04/03/gig-insures-four-aircraft-owned-nile-air-1- 2m-annually/ Back to Top NBAA Compensation Survey Now Underway The 2016 NBAA Compensation Survey - the business aviation industry's leading and most reliable review of Part-91 flight department salary and benefit information - is currently underway. NBAA Members operating aircraft are encouraged to participate in the survey and will receive free access to the published results. Last year's survey results represented over 3,600 salaries across 755 operating companies. Submitted data is confidentially protected and audited, and results are presented in the aggregate. The survey remains open until Friday, April 8, 2016. NBAA's Compensation Survey is a valuable tool which enables Member companies to benchmark their flight department salaries against industry peers. This year, NBAA is upgrading survey auditing practices to ensure the data continues to be valid and representative of the entire business aviation industry. As part of the enhanced audit, NBAA will contact a greater portion of the survey participants to verify the accuracy of the information provided, holding that data to a specified margin of error. "The survey provides a comprehensive view of current aviation department personnel salaries and benefits to help member companies make important compensation decisions," said Peter Korns, NBAA's manager of operations. "It's the leading and most reliable salary survey for Part 91 flight departments, and we want to further strengthen the value and integrity of the data to help companies remain efficient and competitive in the marketplace." The 2016 survey will remain open until Friday, April 8. NBAA Members are invited to participate by logging into the website and completing the eight-page survey. Results will be compiled and released this summer. This year's survey will capture flight department salary information for 17 positions and job descriptions, ranging from aviation department manager to line service personnel. It also will gather data on benefits and retirement benefits, including insurance benefits, medical coverage, stock options and days worked. In addition, the survey will capture information on flight department policies and training, such as training budgets and how often recurrent training is provided. To provide a reasonable approximation of the marketplace, the survey will include flight departments of all sizes, from across the country and which operate a variety of aircraft types. Last year's survey amassed data from 755 aviation departments with more than 3,600 total employees. The survey results remain free of charge to participants, and cost $250 for non- participants. Only NBAA members can participate in the survey or buy access to the results. www.nbaa.org/survey https://www.nbaa.org/admin/compensation-survey/20160316-nbaas-enhanced- compensation-survey-now-open.php Back to Top MEDALLION FOUNDATION EXPANDS INTO HAWAII AND WESTERN PACIFIC REGION ANCHORAGE, ALASKA. After improving aviation safety within the Alaska for the past 14 years, the Medallion Foundation recently announced it would be expanding its core services into Hawaii and Western Pacific Region. Medallion will be working with the Hawaiian and Western Pacific aviation communities to build strong and viable Safety Management Systems as part of an everyday business practice. Hawaii can soon expect to have aircraft training devices available to train pilots in decision-making skills when faced with the challenges of rapidly changing weather, mountainous terrain and management of tour routes occupied by other operators at the same time. Founded on the premise of reducing accidents, the Medallion's Shield Program and unique approach to the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) improves aviation safety risk management. Using a combination of actively seeking information from employees about the hazards within the organization, managing the risks associated with those hazards, and building up the safety communication lines within the company, Medallion participants see a significant reduction in near misses and close calls, but more importantly, in accidents throughout their business. Medallion provides mentoring, training and oversight through audits to support all the programs it offers its members. The mission of the Medallion Foundation is to reduce aviation accidents by fostering a proactive safety culture and promoting higher safety standards through one-on-one mentoring, research, education, training, auditing and advocacy. The Medallion Foundation is a premier leader in advancing aviation safety practices throughout the industry. Inquiries can be sent to info@medallionfoundation.org. 1520 Post Road ? Anchorage Alaska 99501 Reducing aviation accidents by fostering 907.743.8050 ? medallionfoundation.org a new safety culture and promoting higher safety standards through research, education,auditing and advocacy. Back to Top FAA NEXTGEN Updates http://www.faa.gov/nextgen/update/progress_and_plans/safety/ 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 Survey Invitation Hello: You are invited to participate in a research study that is designed to examine the relationship between pilot attitudes and the execution of flight safety checklists. Your participation is of great value because of your unique perspective as a pilot that will help in understanding why pilots choose to execute flight safety checklists or not. The survey will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete. A status bar is provided at the top that tracks your progress as you complete the survey. Please note this survey is part of a doctoral dissertation study being conducted at Northcentral University. Before clicking on the link below, it is important for you to know the following: 1. Your responses will be confidential and will be accessible only to my professor and me. 2. Your responses will remain completely anonymous and no identifying information will be collected. 3. No reference will be made in oral or written reports that could connect you in any way to this study. 4. Your participation is completely voluntarily and you are not required to participate in the study. 5. If you begin completing the survey and opt not to continue, you may simply close your browser's window to close your session. This action will eliminate you as a participant. 6. By clicking on the link below you are indicating that you are a licensed pilot and are at least 18 years old and have agreed to voluntarily participate in this study. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Barry Hyde at B.Hyde0394@email.ncu.edu. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bhyde_ncuresearchstudy 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