Flight Safety Information May 16, 2016 - No. 095 In This Issue SAFETY QUESTIONS: Flight halted after smoke smell U.K. Investigators Uncover Flight-Data Issue Involving Airbus Jetliners New safety recommendations after Dublin flight incident Biman sacks four including pilot over faulty aircraft door Behavior' in A400M Military Aircraft Airplane lifted while still connected to gate sleeve Heathrow Airport attack: Al-Qaeda boss paid ex-Mcdonald's worker £5K to blow himself up The Airplane As A Microcosm Of Class Divisions ZODIAC ARRESTING SYSTEMS AMERICA NATA Launches Free Aircraft Operator Safety Resource Call for Nominations For 2016 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY REQUEST SAFETY QUESTIONS: Flight halted after smoke smell Christina Sonsire was expecting a relaxing family vacation in Florida during spring break last week. The vacation went as planned, but the return trip to Elmira got off to a scary start, Sonsire said. The Elmira attorney flew from the Elmira Corning Regional Airport to St. Petersburg, Florida, on Allegiant Airlines, along with her husband, Damian Sonsire, their two children, and her parents, Tom and Pat Bruner. The flight down was uneventful, but only a few minutes into the return flight Thursday morning, alarms started sounding and passengers didn't know what was going "The alarm started going off and there were flashing emergency lights. We started to smell what seemed like electrical smoke as if wires were burning," she said. "The flight attendants were not doing anything. They weren't panicking, but their faces looked concerned. We weren't getting information. "We could feel the plane descend and we went out over the water. We went in a circle," Sonsire said. "Then the flight attendant came on and said 'Obviously we're experiencing a problem. We're cleared for an emergency landing back to St. Petersburg. Please pay attention as the pilot may have evacuation plans.' It was very terrifying at that time." Passengers were not informed what the problem was, and there was a three-hour delay before another flight was provided, Sonsire said. She wouldn't have given the incident much more thought until she learned Allegiant has been cited for other safety issues and the Federal Aviation Administration is conducting a safety evaluation of the airline that wasn't due for another two years. That early evaluation was reportedly spurred by incidents including an aborted takeoff and a plane that landed low on fuel. The FAA routinely evaluates airlines every five years but started Allegiant's review in April, even though it wasn't due until 2018. ? United Airlines to pull out of Elmira Corning airport ? Fast-growing Allegiant adds 3 new cities, 22 new routes ? Ask the Captain: When passengers see something strange FAA spokesman Ian Gregor confirmed that the Allegiant flight from Florida to Elmira last week turned around, but said the FAA's accelerated evaluation isn't necessarily due to heightened safety concerns. "Allegiant 822, an MD-83, departed from St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport and requested to return to the airport. The plane landed safely at about 8 a.m. on April 28. The pilot didn't give a reason for the return," Gregor said in an email. "The FAA is conducting a routine National Certificate Holder Evaluation of Allegiant Air. We typically do these evaluations on each U.S.-certificated airline every five years," he said. "We moved up the date for Allegiant's evaluation from 2018 to 2016 to ensure that work the carrier is doing to address various internal issues has resulted in the desired improvements. We expect to have the evaluation done by late June." It's not uncommon for the FAA to move up the dates of the airline evaluations, based on factors including management changes, labor disputes, incidents and fleet changes, Gregor said. He was not aware of reports of smoke on the plane involved in Thursday's incident. Even though the pilot did not give a reason for turning the plane around, the FAA does require a variety of incidents - including fires, false fire warnings and engine shutdowns - to be reported. Allegiant Airlines is one of three carriers at the Elmira Corning Regional Airport and accounts for 33 percent of the passenger business at the facility, according to Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli. The county operates the airport. Christina Sonsire contacted Santulli on Friday to tell him about Thursday's incident. Santulli said he is looking into it. " I fly (Allegiant). I really would like to get some answers," Santulli said. "The question is - is Allegiant having more problems than other airlines? I find it hard to believe that the FAA would just turn a blind eye to this. I don't want to start putting panic out there. All airlines have problems. They (Allegiant) are a big piece of the airport. They love it here. If something is wrong, it needs to be talked about." "I fly (Allegiant). I really would like to get some answers. The question is - is Allegiant having more problems than other airlines?" Tom Santulli, Chemung County Executive Santulli said Bill DeGraw, who heads up operations at the Elmira Corning Airport, talked directly to someone at Allegiant about the Thursday incident. That person told DeGraw the crew smelled smoke in the cockpit, turned around and was back on the ground within five minutes, Santulli said. "We have every confidence in our operation, and commit to sharing a summary of the FAA's review after it is concluded," the statement said. Allegiant officials couldn't be reached for comment Monday, but the airline did release a statement regarding the FAA evaluation. The union that represents Allegiant pilots doesn't have the same level of confidence in the company's safety record, however. Daniel Wells is president of Teamsters Local 1224, which represents pilots who fly with 11 airlines, including Allegiant. All airlines can run into safety problems, but Allegiant has incidents on a more regular basis than other carriers, Wells said. Wells wasn't aware of the St. Petersburg incident, but he said it's part of a pattern. "It's all too common with Allegiant. They have an extraordinarily high rate of turn backs, failures, etc., far above anything we've ever seen before. They aren't even in same universe," Wells said. "This is what we've been speaking about for years, trying to raise a flag due to a complete lack of safety culture at the airline. People are intimidated or fired when they raise concerns. Mechanics are not properly trained. It's an entire system waiting for a catastrophe to happen. We are trying to raise attention so we can get the company to recognize it needs to fix its problems." Elmira attorney Mike Mustico was on the same flight as Sonsire and her family. He and his wife and three children were returning from a visit with his parents and other relatives. Mustico said the children and teenagers seemed calm, while many adults were crying and hysterical. Mustico can laugh about it now, but said at the time, the experience was frightening. "We were on the flight and fire alarms were going off. We smelled smoke in the cabin, and so we knew something was wrong," Mustico said. "I'm a nervous flier to begin with. Our three kids were in the row next to us. They are ages 11, 13 and 16, so I'm thinking I need to keep a calm face for my kids," he said. "I look over and smile and give a thumbs-up. A woman near them was crying hysterically. The funny part is my two oldest seemed to be fine with it. My 11-year-was starting to get anxious because the adults were very upset around her." Mustico said after a three-hour delay, the family was able to board another flight and returned home safely. He visits his parents in Florida at least once a year and doesn't plan on driving next time. But Mustico said he may shop around more before deciding what airline to book for his next trip. "Before I schedule a flight, I'll do some research on which airlines have the best safety records," he said. "After this happened, people were sending me articles that brought up concerns about safety of Allegiant flights. I thought it would have been nice to see that before I booked my flight." http://www.stargazette.com/story/news/local/2016/05/02/allegiant-incident-creates- scare-elmira-passengers/83845114/ Go to Top U.K. Investigators Uncover Flight-Data Issue Involving Airbus Jetliners Pilots unintentionally altered some settings on an electronic flight-data calculator By ANDY PASZTOR British air-crash investigators looking into an incident last year involving an easyJet PLC flight have documented how a bug in an electronic flight-data calculator on many Airbus Group SE jetliners could lead to takeoff problems. The potential hazard and steps to eliminate it were disclosed in a report released last week by Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Pilots of an easyJet Airbus A319 unintentionally altered some touchscreen settings on a computerized takeoff calculator -- called an electronic flight bag -- but failed to recognize the changes until after takeoff from Belfast International Airport last June, according to the report. Investigators determined that as a result of the data confusion, the crew set engine thrust so that the jet carrying 161 people used up all but the last roughly 650 feet of the strip before becoming airborne, a significantly smaller safety margin than normal. Airbus and easyJet participated in the investigation, agreed with its main conclusions and have taken steps to prevent a repeat of the incident. There were no injuries and the jet wasn't damaged, but the event highlighted the broader danger of pilots mistakenly entering the wrong takeoff parameters into such computers. Data-integrity issues and potential pilot distractions resulting in programming slip-ups prior to takeoff have long been identified as major hazards for all types of commercial aircraft, including models made by Boeing Co. and other manufacturers. The AAIB report, which indicated European air-safety regulators and Airbus are pursuing various initiatives to reduce those risks, further highlights the work remaining to be done. Pilots typically double-check parameters before takeoff, but in the easyJet incident company rules didn't require that specific safeguard. The AAIB previously investigated two other easyJet takeoff incidents in 2015 in which crews relied on incorrect computerized takeoff-performance data. Neither of those events resulted in damage or injuries. Still, last week's report emphasized the importance of each pilot cross-checking data entered into such electronic flight bags prior to takeoff. The report notes that Airbus has made some adjustments and is studying software revisions and other changes intended to catch pilot errors that can introduce incorrect data into such computers. One of the major changes was available to airlines prior to the Belfast incident, but investigators determined that easyJet hadn't installed the updated software nor adopted Airbus's recommendations regarding pilot cross-checking. EasyJet is evaluating a number of procedural changes, according to the British report. And prompted by the Belfast incident, Airbus last October urged operators to catch data-entry mistakes by requiring "an independent computation made by both pilots" prior to the takeoff roll. Also according to the AAIB, the European Aviation Safety Agency recently determined that when it comes to pre-takeoff data hazards, the "risk level and its trend need to be monitored continuously." Long before the June 2015 mix-up, numerous other airlines world-wide suffered a series of data-input problems prior to takeoff, some involving larger aircraft and more-hazardous incidents or accidents. In March 2014, a US Airways Airbus A320 struck its tail on a Philadelphia runway after the crew rejected takeoff following a computer glitch caused by mistaken data input. The captain initially opted to try to become airborne despite the loss of critical speed measurements and an automated warning he didn't understand. During the next several seconds, the captain commanded the nose of the plane to move sharply up and down three times, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. The jet bounced on the runway, climbed to an altitude of 15 feet and then slammed back down, collapsing the nose gear, according to investigators. There were no injuries. One of the most harrowing events occurred five years earlier in Melbourne, Australia, when the co-pilot of an Emirates Airline Airbus A340 mistakenly entered a takeoff weight into the electronic flight bag, or cockpit computer, that was 100 tons less than the plane's actual weight. Calculations for engine thrust and takeoff distance were based on the erroneous weight data, which the captain also overlooked. The jet initially failed to become airborne when the control stick was used to try to raise the nose and climb. The captain applied full power and then the four-engine jet, carrying 275 people and bound for Dubai, hit some lights and antennas at the end of the strip. It rolled past the paved runway for about four seconds before starting to noticeably climb, according to Australian investigators. It took the pilots five minutes to realize their computational error, and investigators also found significant damage to the underside of the fuselage. After dumping fuel, the plane landed back at the airport about an hour later without any injuries. http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-investigators-uncover-flight-data-issue-involving-airbus- jetliners-1463277986 Back to Top New safety recommendations after Dublin flight incident The incident involved a United Airlines flight Several safety recommendations have been issued following an incident on board a flight from the US to Dublin when 15 passengers and crew were injured. The Air Accident Investigation Unit report issued today reveals several flight attendants and passengers on board the flight were lifted off the floor and seats, hitting the ceiling of the aircraft during the incident. The United Airlines Boeing 757-200, with 131 passengers and eight crew, was en route from Newark to Dublin in October 2013. It had begun its descent into Dublin when it was hit by severe turbulence 80 autical miles southwest of Dublin. The co-pilot believed the aircraft was then starting to stall due to a false air speed indicator. Twice he put the plane into a dive to recover air speed before it emerged the captain's air speed indicator was giving an accurate reading. The flight resumed normally and the aircraft landed in Dublin. Eight passengers and two attendants received treatment for minor injuries at the airport. One passenger subsequently went to hospital for further treatment. The AAIU report reveals that several days later another passenger came forward claiming he was in the toilet at the time and was injured when he hit his head on the ceiling. Four more passengers later also said they were injured. The report said that the aircraft had "sustained significant damage" during the incident. Analysis of the flight data recorders by the AAIU showed that the passenger aircraft had exceeded its maximum certified airspeed by thirty knots during the incident. Following its investigation the AAIU concluded that the probable cause of the false instrument reading was icing of the pitot tube which the co-pilot used to gauge the speed of the aircraft. However, the report also said the crew responded in a "non standard" way to the airspeed warning and that the "startle effect" by the flight crew was a contributory cause. The report makes a total of eight recommendations to United Airlines generally referring to changes to flight training as well as Boeing and the Federal Aviation Authority about the dangers of protection from icing and instruction material for flight crews when instruments give conflicting readings. http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0510/787420-flight-safety-recommendations/ Back to Top Biman sacks four including pilot over faulty aircraft door Bangladesh Biman Airlines has sacked four officials including the pilot of a flight that was cancelled over a faulty airplane door. Biman's Chittagong-Muscat flight cancelled for technical snag An official of the civil aviation ministry confirmed their removal to bdnews24.com on Sunday, but did not name them. Flight BG-123 was supposed to leave Chittagong's Shah Amanat Airport for Oman's Muscat at 9:30am Saturday but could not take off due to technical setbacks. The aircraft's door was found jammed when the aircraft was taxiing away from the boarding bridge. The grounded passengers were put on another Biman flight at noon. The flag carrier could not clarify the decision when contacted. "The public relations will comment on this," said Biman's General Manager (Admin) Hasan Ahmed. Public Relations Assistant Director Taslima Akhter said, "I do not know if someone has been officially dismissed." Khan Mosharraf Hossain, a public relations director, was unavailable with his phone switched off. "Sir is in an important meeting," said Akhter. Shaifur Rahman, a director (admin) also had his phone switched off. "He, too, is an important meeting with the Biman chairman," said 'Sima', a woman who answered the office phone and claimed to be his personal assistant. http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2016/05/15/biman-sacks-four-including-pilot-over- faulty-aircraft-door Back to Top Behavior' in A400M Military Aircraft An Airbus A400M military aircraft operated by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) stands on display at the Singapore Airshow. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg Airbus Group SE disclosed a cracking issue in its A400M military transport aircraft Friday and said its government customers must inspect the planes and make fixes if necessary. The issue doesn't impact flight safety, the European planemaker said. The issue was first identified in 2011 in tests before the plane went into service, Airbus said in an e-mailed statement. The company has agreed with the European Air Safety Agency and A400M customers on solutions that are currently being implemented. "As part of the normal quality control processes in the A400M fleet we have identified a material issue," Airbus said in a statement late Friday. "It concerns a previously unknown cracking behavior of an aluminum alloys material. The issue is not impacting flight safety and does not require any immediate measures beyond a program of inspections and repairs that can be incorporated into the normal maintenance and upgrades schedules." The cracking issue adds to a chain of woes that have emerged since Airbus began developing the plane for seven European customers and Turkey more than a decade ago. It also raises questions about how much more money must be spent getting the plane into shape in order to satisfy customers. The military transport has been Airbus's most consistent bugbear over the last decade, with repeated delays causing it to enter service five years late. The defense program has cost the company and governments 25 billion euros ($28 billion), about a quarter more than originally planned, though military customers from the U.K., France and Germany are eager to get their hands on a modern transport plane to replace aging equipment. About a year ago, one of the planes crashed near the A400M plant in Seville, Spain, killing four people. Airbus said three of the engines experienced power freezes and stopped responding normally to the crew's commands after liftoff. Earlier this year, Airbus discovered issues affecting the gearbox of the aircraft's turboprop engines and said original plans to deliver 20 planes this year may be compromised. The materials issue was first publicly identified last month by the German newspaper Die Welt. The German government said a swap of airframe components in the country's A400M planes could take as long as seven months to complete, Reuters reported Friday. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-13/airbus-identifies-cracking- behavior-in-a400m-military-aircraft Back to Top Airplane lifted while still connected to gate sleeve Damage inflicted to a Boeing 737 after its nose lifted while still connected to the gate sleeve at Ben-Gurion Airport. No injuries reported. Shortly after passengers left a Boeing 737 airplane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines, the nose lifted while still attached to the gate sleeve at Ben-Gurion Airport's Terminal 3. No injuries were caused by the incident and the only damage inflicted was to the aircraft. An initial investigation indicated that the cause of the tilt was due to imbalance in the cargo hold as it was incorrectly loaded in Kiev. After the incident the aircraft was towed to the parking area and examined. "Last night after midnight a plane arrived from Ukraine and landed at Ben-Gurion Airport. Cargo was loaded in an unequal distribution of weight and after the plane connected to the sleeve and the passengers left, the weight in the back caused the front to rise. The plane was damaged and examined this morning," read a statement by the Israel Airports Authority. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212332#.Vzmu0_krLIU Back to Top Heathrow Airport attack: Al-Qaeda boss paid ex-Mcdonald's worker £5K to blow himself up A former McDonald's employee from South London was personally schooled by a senior Al-Qaeda boss on how to carry out a deadly suicide attack at Heathrow Airport, targeting passengers arriving from the US and Israel, US court papers reportedly reveal. Minh Quang Pham, a 33-year-old Muslim convert from New Cross, is facing a possible 50- year sentence after pleading guilty to joining Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the terrorist group's Yemen offshoot. According to court documents seen by the Sunday Times, Anwar al-Awlaki, an Al-Qaeda boss reportedly credited with radicalizing a generation of terrorists through his internet sermons, gave almost £5,000 and a "clean" laptop to Pham to plan the alleged attack. Pham, a former member of the banned al-Muhajiroun group, planned on using the money to rent a house in the UK to construct the explosive device, and to purchase the chemicals and other materials needed for the alleged attack, the court documents reportedly state. The Al-Qaeda chief, who was later killed by a US drone strike, allegedly told Pham to tape metal bolts around the bomb to cause maximum fatalities. The documents of the alleged Heathrow scenario are based on transcripts of FBI interviews with Pham, filed by US prosecutors to a federal court in Manhattan before his sentencing. Pham left his pregnant wife to join Awlaki, a US citizen, in Yemen for eight months in 2010. He was questioned by police after his return to the UK, and extradited to the US last year to face trial. The FBI statement reportedly reveals that Awlaki spent a day training Pham in bomb- making. Awlaki was killed in Yemen in September 2011. One FBI transcript, based on Pham's interview, reportedly states: "Pham approached Awlaki and offered to conduct a suicide attack and 'sacrifice himself' on behalf of Al-Qaeda upon his return to the United Kingdom. "Awlaki instructed Pham to target the arrivals section of Heathrow international airport. In particular, Pham was to target arrivals from the United States or Israel . . . Pham intended to conduct the attack by concealing the explosive device in a backpack." It is believed that the airport bomb would have been made from TATP, a compound used by the Brussels attackers who killed 35 people in three attacks on March 22. The FBI transcript refers to acetone, a chemical found in nail polish remover, which Pham could have accessed "through the nail shop that his sister operated." Pham denied that he planned to carry out the Heathrow attack, but pleaded guilty to three separate counts of terrorism, including providing "material support" to AQAP. His defense lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim, reportedly told the court that any statements made by Pham regarding allegations of violence were "a ruse so Pham would be allowed to leave the [AQAP] safe house and Yemen to return home to his family in London and obtain medical treatment for a severe case of scabies." According to the Sunday Times, some crucial evidence comes from Ahmed Warsame, a former conduit between AQAP and an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, Al-Shabaab. In a statement to Scotland Yard, Warsame, who was captured in 2011, reportedly described meeting Pham and Awlak in Yemen. Warsame identified him in a photo of armed jihadists published in AQAP's propaganda magazine, for which Pham had allegedly worked. https://www.rt.com/news/343154-al-qaeda-heathrow-mcdonalds/ Back to Top The Airplane As A Microcosm Of Class Divisions A new study suggests that the act of walking by first class increases incidents of air rage by economy passengers. The familiar truism that "good people perform good deeds" has come under robust attack in the social sciences in the last few decades. The best predictor of how a person will act is not character but, rather, the situation in which he or she finds him or herself. Like water seeking its path to the sea, human action is governed by landscape. The best way to be faithful is to keep yourself out of the way of temptation. And the best way to make a society of socially minded, considerate people is to create, or design, the conditions most conducive to that outcome. (For a great book on this, see John Doris's Lack of Character.) A study published online last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences came to this same conclusion. It looked at the factors predicting air rage - that is, outbursts of anger and other strong emotions by airplane passengers. The study, conducted by Katherine A. DeCelles of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School, looked at data from millions of reported incidents from a major international airline and found that passengers in economy were almost four times as likely to lash out at a flight attendant or another passenger if there was a first class section on the flight. In addition, passengers were two times as likely to have an air rage incident if they boarded the craft at the front and were made to walk past the luxury seating on their way to their own more limited accommodation in economy. The implication would seem to be clear: inequality causes injury. Being made, very literally, to confront one's inferior class position may cause one to freak out. Indeed, the study finds that the physical presence of first class on board is the psychological equivalent of a delay of more than nine hours! This suggests a simple way to intervene. Get rid of inequality on board. The authors write: "We show that physical design that highlights inequality can trigger antisocial behavior on airplanes." And if that's not feasible, you can go a long way toward having happier, more compliant customers if you simply don't flaunt the inequality quite so much: "More broadly, these results point to the importance of considering the design of environments - from airplanes to office layouts to stadium seating - in understanding both the form and emergence of antisocial behavior." It's important to realize, that the authors are not saying that people freak out on airplanes because they resent that they aren't up in first. The point, rather, is that passengers are more like to feel bad, to experience themselves as mistreated, or to have anxiety, when there is a first class cabin. They don't feel bad about their sorry lot. Their sorry lot makes them feel bad. Remarkably, and tellingly, it isn't only the hordes in economy who are more likely to freak out when there is a first class cabin. Passengers in first are themselves 12 times more likely to get angry and act in a belligerent manner when passengers board at the front of the plane rather than in the middle. It is as if the experience of their own social superiority primes passengers in first to be more critical and to demand and expect that they be accorded special treatment. It's also worth noticing that the way air rage manifests differs statistically depending on class. Passengers in economy, when they freak, are more likely to have emotional outbursts that are not belligerent. The authors write: "We posit that the modern airplane is a social microcosm of class- based society, and that the increasing incidence of "air rage" can be understood through the lens of inequality." This research makes a pretty compelling case that anti-social misbehavior - anger, violence and panic - are a by-product of inequality. The hypothesis for further testing is clear: Inequality, its very existence as well as its salience, may adversely affect how we, rich and poor, act and feel throughout our lives. http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/05/13/477896463/the-airplane-as-a-microcosm- of-class-divisions Back to Top NATA Launches Free Aircraft Operator Safety Resource Washington, DC, May 10, 2016 - Today, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) unveiled the FBO Status Map - a web-based resource to assist aircraft operators in locating FBOs and ground handlers that are Safety 1st qualified and IS-BAH registered. NATA created the map to supplement the existing processes used by aircraft operators when selecting an FBO. "Safety is a vital consideration in the flight planning process. NATA's FBO Status Map provides operators and pilots a free, easy to use tool to locate Safety 1st qualified and IS- BAH registered FBOs throughout the world," stated NATA President and CEO Thomas L. Hendricks. "Safety 1st and IS-BAH are not competing programs, but rather complementary tools that help assure ground handlers are utilizing industry best practices and gold standard training," added NATA Managing Director of Safety and Training Michael France. "Now aircraft operators can verify the status of potential handlers from their tablets, PCs or smartphones in seconds." The map is searchable by airport ID, company name, address and allows for additional details for each FBO. To view the FBO Status Map, please visit www.fbostatus.com or www.groundhandlerstatus.com. NATA, the voice of aviation business for 75 years, is the public policy group representing the interests of aviation businesses before Congress and the federal agencies. For more information about NATA, please visit www.nata.aero, www.twitter.com/nataaero or www.facebook.com/nataaero. Back to Top Call for Nominations For 2016 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation and Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) are now accepting nominations for the 2016 Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award, honoring a leader in aviation safety. The award will be presented during the 69th Annual International Air Safety Summit, taking place Nov. 14-16 in Dubai, UAE. Presented since 1956, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award recognizes notable achievement in the field of civil or military aviation safety in method, design, invention, study or other improvement. The award's recipient is selected for a "significant individual or group effort contributing to improving aviation safety, with emphasis on original contributions," and a "significant individual or group effort performed above and beyond normal responsibilities." Mechanics, engineers and others outside of top administrative or research positions should be especially considered. The contribution need not be recent, especially if the nominee has not received adequate recognition. Nominations that were not selected as past winners of the Award can be submitted one additional time for consideration. Please note that self-nominations will not be considered. The Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award's story dates back 70 years. On April 14, 1945, after visiting family in Pittsburgh, Laura Taber Barbour was aboard a Pennsylvania Central Airlines DC-3 when it crashed into the rugged terrain of Cheat Mountain near Morgantown, West Virginia. All passengers and crew were killed. In the years following, her husband, Dr. Clifford E. Barbour and son, Clifford E. Barbour, Jr., established the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award in her honor. The Award Board, composed of leaders in the field of aviation, meets in June of each year to conduct a final review of nominees and selection of the current year's recipient. Please help us honor this year's most deserving recipient. Nominations, including a 1-2- page narrative, can be submitted via the Laura Taber Barbour Foundation website at http://ltbaward.org/the-award/nomination-form/ or the Flight Safety Foundation website at http://flightsafety.org/aviation-awards/laura-taber-barbour-air-safety-award. Nominations will be accepted until June 1, 2016. For more information, including a complete history of Award recipients, see www.ltbaward.com. ABOUT THE LAURA TABER BARBOUR AIR SAFETY AWARD: The Award was established in 1956 through early association with the Flight Safety Foundation and from its founding has enjoyed a rich history of Award Board members, nominees and Award recipients. In 2013, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Foundation was formed from members of the Award Board, the aviation community and the Barbour family. As the foundation plans to broaden the scope of its intent, with great purpose, the Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award will continue to spotlight those champions who pioneer breakthroughs in flight safety. Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY REQUEST: I am a Masters student at City University London and write my dissertation about Aircraft Engine Selection Process. Would you kindly take 10 minutes of your time to help me with a survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Engine_selection_process Curt Lewis