Flight Safety Information April 29, 2016 - No. 084 In This Issue Delta jet aborts takeoff as plane crosses runway Helicopter carrying more than 12 crashes in Norway Embraer EMJ-190 Runway Over-Run (Ecuador) FAA Investigating 2 Emergency Landings at Philadelphia International Airport American Airlines flight attendant, 2 passengers injured in beverage cart mishap FAA reviews Allegiant Air operations FAA confirms it is reviewing Allegiant Air operations PAL, Airbus seal purchase deal for six aircraft Anger as passengers are denied air safety information McCain continues criticism of F-35 fighter jet program New Simulations Can Help Make Quieter Jet Engines PhD Research Request Delta jet aborts takeoff as plane crosses runway Two Delta flights avoid crossing paths at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Aircraft were separated by a little more than a mile when the takeoff was aborted (CNN)The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a Miami-bound Delta Air Lines flight aborted takeoff Wednesday to avoid another aircraft at Atlanta's airport, the FAA said. The departing plane had to execute a "high-speed slowdown," according to the airline. Flight 873 was cleared for departure at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as Delta flight 749 crossed the runway around 10:30 a.m. The aircraft were separated by a little more than a mile when the departing jet was instructed to abort takeoff by air traffic controllers, the FAA said. Delta 873 returned to the gate, where its brakes were checked. It departed for Miami shortly before noon, the airline said. Among those on the flight was University of Georgia men's basketball coach Mark Fox, who tweeted about the incident and lauded the pilot. http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/27/us/delta-jet-aborts-takeoff/ Back to Top Helicopter carrying more than 12 crashes in Norway COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- A helicopter carrying at least 14 crashed Friday near the western Norwegian city of Bergen, police said. Police spokesman Morten Kronen says the helicopter "has crashed, it is totally smashed." Kronen says there were "reports of an explosion and thick smoke" and that there were people in the sea. The crash took place on the island of Turoey, near Bergen, Kronen said. He did not explain why people had ended up in the water. He could not say what kind of helicopter was involved. Norwegian media posted photos of huge billows of smoke. Eyewitness Rebecca Andersen told the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that the helicopter's "rotor blades came rushing toward us." "Then we heard a violent explosion," Andersen was quoted as saying. The Stavanger Aftenblad daily said the helicopter was on its way to an offshore oil field in the North Sea, some 74 miles northwest of Bergen. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/norway-helicopter-crash-near-bergen-after-violent- explosion/ **************** Date: 29-APR-2016 Time: 11.50 Type: Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma Owner/operator: CHC Helicopterservice Registration: LN-OJF C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 13 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Turøy just west of Sotra - Norway Phase: En route Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Gullfaks B Oilrigg Destination airport: Bergen - Flesland Narrative: It seems like the main rotor detached in midair and and helicopter fell immediately to the ground and hit a rock on the shore. A huge explosion was heard at impact. The wreck is completely shattered. Bodies are observed floating about in the water. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=186855 Back to Top Embraer EMJ-190 Runway Over-Run (Ecuador) Date: 28-APR-2016 Time: 08:00 Type: Embraer ERJ-190-100 IGW Owner/operator: TAME (Transportes Aéreos Militares Ecuatorianos) Registration: HC-COX C/n / msn: 19000372 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 93 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Mariscal Lamar International Airport (SECU), Cuenca - Ecuador Phase: Landing Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Mariscal Sucre Int'l (UIO/SEQM) Destination airport: Mariscal Lamar Int'l (CUE/SECU) Narrative: An Embraer ERJ-190, registration HC-COX, operated by TAME as Flight EQ-173 from Quito's Mariscal Sucre International Airport experienced an apparent intentional emergency ground-loop during a runway overrun in light rain weather conditions at Mariscal Lamar International Airport (SECU), in Cuenca, Equador. The airplane sustained substantial damage and there were no reported injuries among the 6 crew and 87 passengers onboard. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=186849 Back to Top FAA Investigating 2 Emergency Landings at Philadelphia International Airport The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating two emergency landings this morning at Philadelphia International Airport. Both incidents occurred just after 8 a.m. ET, according to an FAA spokesperson. Republic Airlines 4518, on its way to Philadelphia from Toronto, reported steering problems while in flight. Piedmont Airlines 4801 was also on its way to Philadelphia when it reported smoke in the cockpit and cabin. An FAA spokesperson said passengers evacuated the aircraft on the runway via emergency slides. The airport has returned to full operations, with residual delays. http://abcnews.go.com/US/faa-issues-ground-stop-philadelphia-aircraft- emergency/story?id=38757669 Back to Top American Airlines flight attendant, 2 passengers injured in beverage cart mishap during takeoff from Bradley Three people including two passengers were injured Thursday morning on a flight out of Bradley when an unsecured beverage cart struck them during takeoff, according to reports. (Photo by Aero Icarus / Flickr) WINDSOR LOCKS - Three people on a flight out of Bradley International Airport were injured Thursday morning when an unsecured beverage cart barreled down the aisle during takeoff, according to reports. WFSB Channel 3 in Hartford reports the three people, including two passengers, were treated for injuries in the mishap on board American Airlines flight 1941. The aircraft left Bradley at about 6 a.m. and was headed for Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina. The cart was secured, and the injured parties were treated when the plane arrived at Charlotte Douglas. The Windsor Locks - East Windsor Patch cites a statement issued by airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein that read: "During takeoff for American Airlines flight 1941 from Hartford Bradley Airport to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), a beverage cart came loose. The cart was secured and the flight continued, landing without incident at CLT. Our Care Team is assisting two passengers and one flight attendant who requested medical evaluation when they arrived in CLT." A beverage cart, loaded with coffee, water and cans of soda, can weigh more than 200 pounds. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/04/american_airlines_flight_atten_1.html Back to Top FAA reviews Allegiant Air operations Review comes 2 years earlier than expected SANFORD, Fla. - The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting a detailed inspection of Allegiant Air, nearly two years ahead of schedule. The low cost carrier has been plagued by problems for months, including dozens of emergency landings and even more canceled and delayed flights. The FAA says the review was prompted by two flights in particular. One involved a near crash in Las Vegas last year after a critical part of the plane failed during takeoff. The other involved a flight that flew to a partially closed airport and did not have enough fuel on board to wait 20 minutes to come in and land. "This was absolutely irresponsibility at the highest level. On all parts, to put passengers in this situation, when you are making a normal flight you have no diversions, you have no odd weather and to be coming into an airport with bingo fuel -- very very dangerous," said former FAA spokesperson Scott Brenner. The FAA normally does inspections of every airline's operations every five years, but Allegiant's was moved up by nearly two years because of all the recent problems. The airline has not issued a statement on the moved up inspections. Allegiant Air is the largest carrier at Orlando Sanford International Airport. http://www.clickorlando.com/travel/faa-reviewing-allegiant-air-operations Back to Top FAA confirms it is reviewing Allegiant Air operations The FAA has confirmed that it is reviewing Allegiant Air's operations. Here, a passenger aircraft with Allegiant Air's fleet is parked on the tarmac at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. Allegiant's traffic accounts for 95 percent of customer traffic at the airport. [Times]Maurice Gallagher Jr. is CEO of Allegiant. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Wednesday that it is conducting a detailed, 90-day inspection of Allegiant Air's operations in response to "various internal issues" tied to maintenance and safety. Such a comprehensive review is normally conducted at all airlines every five years. But the FAA said it moved up its review of Allegiant by nearly two years to ensure the airline has remedied problems in operations. The review began about April 1 and continues through June. The FAA provided little detail about the reasons for the review, but said the issues were related to two flights last summer. One involved a near-crash of an aircraft in Las Vegas that suffered a jammed elevator on its tail during a takeoff that was aborted. The second involved an emergency landing in Fargo, N.D., due to low fuel at an airport that was partly closed. The FAA's review comes as Allegiant officials recently have confirmed problems with operations after a year of steadfastly insisting all was well with the airline. Allegiant CEO Maurice Gallagher Jr. last week conceded the airline had a "bad summer" in 2015, with several emergency landings at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. The airline carried about 95 percent of the airport's record 1.6 million passengers in 2015. Gallagher announced the airline's local management team had been replaced and Allegiant would hire five mechanics to work out of Pinellas County. The airline also held a "media day" earlier this month at which officials emphasized increased spending on safety. One intent of the event was to generate positive press to counter continued reports about problems, the airline told financial analysts Wednesday as it announced quarterly earnings. "We've been proactive trying to make sure the message gets out," Gallagher said. "We certainly want to be ahead of (negative reports) and do the proper thing. It's just part of our maturation process." The Allegiant pilots union, involved in bitter contract negotiations, said Allegiant's recent comments on problems are overdue. "It's clear that Allegiant's bare-minimum approach to its operation isn't working," said Dan Wells, president of Teamsters Local 1224. "The federal government is conducting a high- profile investigation, and with an emergency occurring virtually every week due to a preventable maintenance issue, passengers are increasingly saying it isn't worth the risk to fly Allegiant." Allegiant officials declined to comment. The FAA's decision to move up the safety and operations review comes as the Las Vegas- headquartered airline continues to suffer apparent operational problems. On Monday, the airline canceled 10 flights, rescheduling all a day later. None of the flights was tied to St. Pete-Clearwater. Over the weekend, two Allegiant flights suffered maintenance problems. On Saturday, Allegiant technicians discovered during an overnight maintenance check that an aircraft's outer window panel was missing and that it had hit the engine where it damaged a front engine fan blade. The panel would either have fallen off in flight or as the plane taxied, the FAA said. The inner portion of the window held firm, so the cabin did not lose pressure. The FAA did not identify that flight's destination or where it originated. On Sunday, Flight 633 from Sanford, near Orlando, bound for West Virginia made an emergency landing after a low oil pressure reading led the pilots to shut down an engine, an internal Allegiant memo shows. It turned out the engine actually had adequate pressure and a sensor system had malfunctioned. By airline standards, it was a relatively minor event, even though it caused an unscheduled landing. All airlines encounter such problems. But this incident elicited a swift response from top Allegiant executives. "A comprehensive investigation is under way," according to the memo to Allegiant's maintenance and operations teams by the airline's vice president of maintenance and engineering, Kurt Carpenter, and Eric Gust, vice president of operations. Allegiant officials told analysts that stories about Allegiant's well-publicized maintenance issues are still not affecting ticket sales. The airline reported $71.9 million in net income for the first quarter, up 11 percent from the same period last year. That was on $348 million in operating revenue, up 5.9 percent from 2015. The airline flew 2.59 million passengers in the quarter, up 15 percent from 2.25 million. http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/faa-confirms-it-is-reviewing-allegiant- air-operations/2274997 Back to Top PAL, Airbus seal purchase deal for six aircraft Philippine Airlines (PAL) has finalized a purchase agreement with Airbus for the firm order of six A350 XWBs, plus six options, the aircraft maker said on Friday. This development comes on the heels of a memorandum of understanding between the airline and Airbus earlier this year at the Singapore Airshow. "We are... now defining the final layout for the aircraft," said Jaime J. Bautista, President and COO of PAL. "With the A350 we will introduce a whole new level of comfort for long haul flights, with more personal space in all classes, a quieter cabin and the very latest on-board amenities. "At the same time we will benefit from the A350's enhanced efficiency and ability to fly non-stop on even our longest sector from New York to Manila, all year round," Bautista added. The aircraft will be the flagship of PAL's future long haul fleet and will be configured with a premium three class layout. The airline will operate the aircraft on non-stop flights to the US, as well as on services to new destinations in Europe. "The order from Philippine Airlines underscores A350 XWB's position as the aircraft of choice in the larger twin aisle category," said, Customers. "The A350 XWB has set new standards, combining extra-long range capability with the lowest operating costs of any aircraft in its class," said John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer. Airbus has recorded 783 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 42 customers worldwide. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/564439/money/pal-airbus-seal-purchase-deal- for-six-aircraft#sthash.1Uw735UG.dpuf Back to Top Anger as passengers are denied air safety information BRITAIN'S air safety watchdog has been banned from revealing details of "air rage" incidents. The Sunday Post asked for information on violent attacks on planes over the past year under Freedom Of Information laws. But our request was refused by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on the grounds there was not a "genuine safety-related need" for us to have it. This is despite increased public concern at the number of cases of drunken louts lashing out at stewards and passengers. Aviation safety consultant Paul Beaver said: "The information should be made available to the public. "It is part of the judgement you make when deciding which airline to travel with. But this is more about reputational risk. "With a lot of European airlines the state has an interest and anything which could cause them an issue, such as safety, they would rather the public didn't know." UK pilots must tell the CAA of any potential safety breaches on planes, including aggressive behaviour by violent and often drunken passengers. The details were previously available to the public, but secrecy rules introduced in November now prevent the CAA from releasing the information. The public will also be kept in the dark about incidents such as loss of control, plane malfunctions, bird or drone strikes. Dr Andrew Thomas, author of Air Rage: Crisis In The Skies, said: "The authorities have historically been reluctant to report on this problem. "These incidents are pervasive and a major security risk. "The British authorities have been more upfront than anybody else, until recently." Figures released before the rules were introduced revealed 156 air rage cases logged by UK airlines in the first eight months of last year, compared to 114 in 2014 and just 39 in 2011. Only last week it emerged a jet carrying 132 passengers and five crew was hit by a drone while flying at 1,700ft as it was just minutes away from Heathrow. A CAA spokeswoman said there now needs to be "strict application of rules of confidentiality" on the reporting of air safety records. She added: "The regulation requires appropriate measures ensure information collected is kept confidential, and the information should be used strictly for the purpose of maintaining or improving aviation safety." https://www.sundaypost.com/news/anger-as-passengers-are-denied-air-safety- information/ Back to Top McCain continues criticism of F-35 fighter jet program Senator John McCain continues to criticize the F-35 fighter jet. The Arizona republican called out the F-35 joint strike stealth fighter's troubled history Thursday during a hearing on the program. The program's price tag is nearly $400 billion for nearly 2,500 planes. That's almost twice the original estimate. "At the same time, the F-35 program's record of performance has been both a scandal and a tragedy with respect to cost, schedule and performance. And it's a textbook example of why this Committee has placed such a high priority on reforming the broken defense acquisition system," said McCain. McCain noted that the program promised to deliver over a thousand of the highly advanced stealth fighter jets by this year but has finished just 179 planes. Vermont's Air National Guard will be among the first units in the country to get the jets expected in 2019. http://www.wcax.com/story/31845519/mccain-continues-criticism-of-f-35-fighter-jet- program Back to Top New Simulations Can Help Make Quieter Jet Engines Contours of the real part of normalized output pressure fluctuations for a supersonic jet at Mach = 1.5 for a forcing frequency of St =0.33. (a) n=1. (b) n=2. (c) n=3. (d) n= 4, where n is defined as the output mode. According to these images, small disturbances near the jet can trigger the propagation of an instability wave downstream which generates noise. (Image courtesy of Jinah Jeun, et. al, 2016) Noise is everywhere in our modern society. Sounds come from our aircraft, commuter vehicles and structures. Despite continued research in aeroacoustics and turbulence, they both still baffle researchers. This lack of understanding can be a challenge for engineers tasked with reducing the noise of loud jet engines. Turbulence is often considered a random phenomenon. However, aeroacoustic fields originating from turbulent flow structures often produce highly coherent acoustic fields-so much so that researchers hope that an increased understanding of one of these phenomena will create a greater understanding of the other. New Research Can Help Engineers Understand Aeroacoustics and Turbulence A research team of the University of Minnesota has recently carried out a study investigating noise generation associated with jets. The goal of the study was to understand "how forcing the velocity equations inside the jet produces sounds in the far- field." Simply put, the study aimed to understand the link between fluid turbulence and noise generation for the engineering community. The study involved the analysis of small perturbations for subsonic and supersonic isothermal jets using a modified k-? model and large eddy simulation (LES) solver over a range of Mach numbers. Application of input-output analysis was used to understand the sound generation mechanisms associated with turbulent jets and the conversion of near-field aerodynamics fluctuations into far-field acoustic structures. Traditionally, most aeroacoustic modeling for jets is carried out using high-fidelity models such as LES, as it is difficult to capture noise data experimentally due to extreme operating environments. This study has used both Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and LES techniques to investigate the generation of noise. Noise is generated from fluid disturbances, but in order to capture these disturbances, high-fidelity solvers are needed, which are computationally expensive. The work carried out by the University of Minnesota has shown that lower-fidelity solvers can be used to generate accurate results and can be more advantageous. One example is to consider where LES predictions of optimal gain were larger than those predicted by RANS simulations. The difference was attributed to small residual errors and the emergence of laminar shear layers from the nozzle within the LES model. As the RANS model is less computationally expensive than the LES model, engineers can simulate the fluid dynamics to a higher convergence value. Though the residual errors for the LES model were quite small, they still were large in comparison to the RANS simulation which was one cause for the over predicted optimal gain values. Additionally, the initially laminar shear layers near the nozzle resulted in large gradients being present in this area which resulted in higher fluctuation levels near the nozzle tip in comparison to experimental data. Large fluctuations resulted in increased wave instabilities and in the higher levels of gain recorded. The most striking aspect of the study was the analysis of recovered acoustic energy as a function of retained output modes. When using an input-output model, retaining 24 output modes or less seemed to satisfy the simulation of the acoustic field. The study noted that this information could then be used to "obtain reduced-order models of noise generation." The above study has shed light on a new methodology for acoustic analysis. It has shown that there is a possibility to construct an accurate yet reduced-order model for noise generation analysis, which would be highly beneficial for the industry as research could move away from the constraint of requiring computationally expensive simulations for accurate simulation data. To learn more about the discovery, read: Input-output analysis of high-speed axisymmetric isothermal jet noise. http://www.engineering.com/DesignSoftware/DesignSoftwareArticles/ArticleID/11970/New- Simulations-Can-Help-Make-Quieter-Jet-Engines.aspx Back to Top PhD Research Request Helicopter Pilots, This is a request for you to participate in a research study for my doctoral degree. The purpose is to study the relationship between safety management systems, incidents and accidents, and company performance for small helicopter companies with less than 5 aircraft and in the last 10 years. This research is in conjunction with safety efforts by the US Helicopter Safety Team and the Helicopter Association International. There are series of questions regarding safety management systems, incidents and accidents, and company performance. To participate, you must be between age 21 to 60, had some aircrew experience with any type of small civil helicopter organization (5 aircraft and under) and in the United States in last 10 years. Current helicopter student pilots can participate. Please follow the link below and fill but if you start, please finish the survey. It will only take about 12 minutes to complete. The survey does not include any identifiable data about the crewmember, places of employment, or OEM. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5VPCZZ5 Thank you very much for your participation! Principal Investigator Scott Burgess Doctoral student at Northcentral University S.Burgess4793@email.ncu.edu Curt Lewis