Flight Safety Information July 18, 2016 - No. 139 In This Issue Emergency landing closes runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport Voice recorder indicates fire broke out on EgyptAir flight MH17 crash: Malaysia Airlines 'strikes deal on damages', says lawyer Serious Allegiant Airlines safety issues revealed in FAA reports Smoke detected on AI aircraft with 130 persons on board Airplane damaged after Air Nunavut training flight lands wheels up Tanzania: Oman Air Flight Suffers Tyre Burst At JNIA FAA Bans Turkish Airlines From Flying to the United States Possible Malaysia Airlines MH370 Debris Found on Pemba Island Boeing is using Google Glass for building aircraft Wizz Air Registers Under International Operational Safety Audit Airlines' Hiring Could Negatively Affect Number of Military Pilots Why Airlines Should Look to Asia and the Middle East for Growth Ministry: New Civil Aviation Act will be tabled at Cabinet by Oct (NEPAL) Thousands of jobs expected in UAE aviation sector - manpower firm Can Israeli-type security measures work at LAX and other U.S. airports? How a NASA Engineer Created the Modern Airplane Wing ISASI 2016, Reykjavik, Iceland...17 to 20 October, 2016 Graduate Research Request Emergency landing closes runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport A runway was closed at one of Tokyo's main airports Monday after a Hawaiian Airlines jet punctured its tires while making an emergency landing, forcing the cancellation of some domestic Japanese flights. A Hawaiian Airlines jet is seen on tarmac after making an emergency landing at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Monday, July 18, 2016. A runway is closed at the Tokyo's main airport after the jet punctured tires while making an emergency landing. Japanese media report that eight tires blew out when the Airbus A330 returned to Haneda Airport early Monday morning after a display indicated a problem in the hydraulic system. A Hawaiian Airlines jet is seen on tarmac after making an emergency landing at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Monday, July 18, 2016. A runway is closed at the Tokyo's main airport after the jet punctured tires while making an emergency landing. Japanese media report that eight tires blew out when the Airbus A330 returned to Haneda Airport early Monday morning after a display indicated a problem in the hydraulic system. (Hiroki Yamauchi/Kyodo News via AP) A runway was closed at one of Tokyo's main airports Monday after a Hawaiian Airlines jet punctured its tires while making an emergency landing, forcing the cancellation of some domestic Japanese flights. Eight tires blew out when the Airbus A330 returned to Haneda Airport after a display indicated a problem in the hydraulic system, Japanese media reported. None of the 293 passengers and crew on board were injured, the reports said, but the plane remained on the runway after daybreak as workers replaced the tires. Japan Airlines cancelled some domestic flights, and warned of the possibility of other flight disruptions. Haneda Airport said in a statement on its website that international flights had not been affected. An aviation expert told Japanese public broadcaster NHK that the brakes may not have functioned properly if there were a hydraulic system problem, causing the blowouts. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article90210542.html?hl=1&noRedirect=1#storylink=cpy Back to Top Voice recorder indicates fire broke out on EgyptAir flight An analysis of the data recorder of EgyptAir flight MS804 has confirmed that smoke alarms were activated on board before the crash. Audio from the recorder of EgyptAir flight MS804 suggests there was a fire on board the plane in its final moments, the investigation committee said on Saturday. The word "fire" is heard in the cockpit voice recording from the plane before it crashed into the Mediterranean in May. The investigators had earlier said that the other black box retrieved from the crash site, the data recorder, confirmed that smoke alarms had sounded on board, while soot in the wreckage indicates a fire. EgyptAir hostesses line up during a candlelight vigil for the victims of EgyptAir flight 804 in Cairo on May 26, 2016. "The committee had started listening to the cockpit voice recordings before the occurrence of the accident; where the existence of 'fire' was mentioned," the investigation committee said in a statement. "Still it is too early to determine the reason or the place where that fire started," it said. The data recorder points to smoke signals indicating fires in the lavatory and avionics section of the plane, according to the committee. The data on the voice recorder had been downloaded earlier this month after the recorder was repaired. The flight had set off from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean. All 66 people onboard were killed in the crash. Egyptian investigators have confirmed the aircraft made a 90-degree left turn followed by a 360-degree turn to the right before hitting the sea. The latest committee statement said the search for the remains of passengers has ended. The ship conducting the search "reached the port of Alexandria today after the end of its mission, which had been extended for the second time, after making sure of the recovery of all human remains at the site of the accident," it said. People perform prayers for the dead for victims of EgyptAir flight 804 at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo on May 20, 2016. Both the Egyptian and French judiciary have opened investigations into the mysterious incident, without ruling out a terrorist attack. Egypt's aviation minister had initially said an attack was the more likely explanation, but President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said there was no theory being favoured yet. EgyptAir said last week that advance compensation payments of $25,000 will be offered to the families of the 66 people killed in the crash. The payments are separate to those expected from insurance companies on behalf of various parties which will depend on the investigation into the disaster. http://www.trtworld.com/mea/voice-recorder-indicates-fire-broke-out-on-egyptair-flight-145608 Back to Top MH17 crash: Malaysia Airlines 'strikes deal on damages', says lawyer The wreckage of flight MH17, shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 There were 298 passengers and crew on board MH17 when it was struck by a missile in July 2014 MH17 crash Malaysia Airlines has settled damages with the relatives of most victims of the MH17 crash, the lawyer representing the victims, Veeru Mewa, says. Flight MH17 was shot down exactly two years ago over territory held by pro-Russian separatists, killing all 298 people on board, most of them Dutch. Dutch media say there are no further details because both parties have agreed to secrecy. A memorial service was held for the victims on Sunday near Schiphol. Under the Montreal Convention, which regulates air travel, airlines must pay damages of up to about $145,000 (£109,000) to victims' families, regardless of the circumstances of a crash. Exactly how much each individual is awarded depends on the circumstances. Sunday's anniversary was also the deadline for submitting damages claims. Now an agreement has been reached, a long process for the relatives has come to an end. Ongoing cases Dutch prosecutors say they are still waiting for Russia to provide information on the downing of Flight MH17. The West and Ukraine say Russian-backed rebels were responsible but Russia accuses Ukrainian forces. Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in July 2014 at the height of the conflict between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian separatists. MH17 route Last year, a Dutch report concluded it was downed by a Russian-made Buk missile, but did not say who fired it. Some families of the victims are suing Russia and its President Vladimir Putin in the European Court of Human Rights. Separately, families of six Malaysia Airlines crew members who were killed filed a lawsuit on Thursday blaming the carrier for the tragedy. They accuse the company of negligence and breach of contract. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36822028 Back to Top Serious Allegiant Airlines safety issues revealed in FAA reports A series of serious safety incidents involving Allegiant Airlines at Jacksonville International Airport has led to a 90-day Federal Aviation Administration review, reports say. Engine failure, loss of navigation, diverted flights: We have thousands of pages detailing problems with Allegiant Airlines flights. These revelations come as Allegiant Air continues to expand services out of JIA. It took three months, but through a public records request, Action News Jax obtained 2,400 pages of incident reports for Allegiant flights to and from Florida. Some of the findings are disturbing to industry insiders who say they could be a sign of an airline in trouble. "We lost an engine, we're declaring an emergency." It's what you don't hear the pilot say over the intercom. "Allegiant 737, okay, we need to declare an emergency. We have an engine failure." Sometimes, the pilot doesn't even realize the danger. "Allegiant 746, it appears you got some flames coming out of the left engine." Last October, a similar incident: an Allegiant Air pilot aborted takeoff in Las Vegas after the tower spotted the plane's right engine on fire. It was the second aborted takeoff at that airport in two days. "In my first three years flying with American, I had three precautionary shutdowns on an older airplane and after that nothing," said aviation expert Wayne Ziskal. Ziskal flew for American Airlines for 35 years. He said he knows what Allegiant Air pilots ask themselves every day: "Is this airplane safe to fly?" Ziskal said. We dug through thousands of pages of FAA incident reports and found 61 aborted takeoffs and diverted flights and a host of air and ground incidents. "It's high. It is high," Ziskal said. Over the past two years, 76 flights to and from Florida had an issue that warranted an FAA report. Ten engine issues, two engine fires and three incidents where navigational or electrical systems failed during flight. "Those are nightmares for pilots. Especially if you're in the weather. It's not where you want to be. Electrical power is what runs these modern airplanes," Ziskal said. Just one week ago, July 8, an Allegiant flight diverted to Jacksonville for an emergency landing, the crew reporting smoke in the cockpit. Ziskal said there's a reason Allegiant Air has mechanical issues. "The average fleet age of Allegiant Air is about 27-28 years old," Ziskal said. "They didn't pay very much for the airplanes so they can have a low cost model when they charge fees." In March, passengers headed to Michigan from Sanford were forced off three separate planes because of mechanical issues. "It was crazy, three different planes they all broke down," passenger Chris Sloan said. The number of incidents has prompted a 90 day FAA review of Allegiant Air. The pilot's union, Teamsters Local 1224, called the FAA review long overdue, saying: "It's clear that Allegiant's bare-minimum approach to its operation isn't working ... With an emergency occurring virtually every week due to a preventable maintenance issue ... " "I will say this, the pilots obviously seem to be doing the correct job here. What I mean by that is we haven't had any fatal accidents with this. They're doing what they need to do to protect and maintain the trust of their passengers," Ziskal said. Recently, Allegiant Air added four new Jacksonville routes: Indianapolis, Columbus, Asheville and St. Louis. That makes for a total of nine different routes to and from JIA. The CEO of Allegiant Air wouldn't go on camera, but the company said it's doing everything it can to cooperate with the FAA. It's promising to share the results of the FAA review, which should come down within days. http://www.wftv.com/news/9-investigates/serious-allegiant-airlines-safety-issues-revealed-in-faa-reports/402203329 Back to Top Smoke detected on AI aircraft with 130 persons on board Over 130 persons onboard an Imphal-bound Air India aircraft had a narrow escape on Saturday after the pilot detected smoke in one of the engines just when the plane was about to touch the runway. The incident took place at 12:15 pm when the aircraft, operating Air India flight AI 713, after the push back was about to enter the runway when the smoke was detected in one of the engines of the plane, forcing the pilot to abort the journey. The Airbus A319 with 125 passengers has been towed away to the secondary runway, where it is being inspected by Air India engineers, a source said. An Air India spokesperson in New Delhi said all passengers were safe, adding the aircraft has been declared airworthy by its engineers and the flight is expected to take off for its destination soon. An alert fire department personnel soon contained the situation, the source said. - PTI http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/smoke-detected-on-ai-aircraft-with-130-persons-on-board/article8860973.ece Back to Top Airplane damaged after Air Nunavut training flight lands wheels up A King Air 200 made a belly landing around 1 p.m. ET Sunday. Here the plane is being strapped in as crews remove it from the runway about 1.5 hours later. A pilot training with Air Nunavut in Iqaluit Sunday had an unwelcome surprise during a test flight - the plane had to make a belly landing, which means its wheels didn't help land the plane. The King Air 200 was part of a training flight, according to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). The incident happened around 1 p.m. ET on the runway at the Iqaluit Airport, delaying some departing flights for up to two hours. Two forklifts came in to help remove the plane from the runway, which delayed some departing flights for two hours Sunday afternoon. (Patrick Nagle/CBC) The TSB says the plane was damaged, though they can't say exactly how or where. Officials are interviewing the pilots of the plane later Sunday, which is when they will find out exactly what went wrong during the flight. The airport's runway was temporarily closed for about 1.5 hours while crews hustled to get the plane off the airstrip. The plane was finally removed around 2:30 p.m. ET with the help of two forklifts. The TSB says it will have more information about the incident Monday. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/air-nunavut-plane-belly-landing-july-17-1.368302 Back to Top Tanzania: Oman Air Flight Suffers Tyre Burst At JNIA An Oman Air plane with 158 passengers and six crew members on board from Muscat, suffered a tyre burst during landing at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam on Saturday. The airline said there were no injuries in the incident on flight WY 707, a Boeing aircraft. There were 158 passengers and six crew members on board. Initial investigations showed that the tyre burst was caused by identified object on the runway. A full investigation is under way. "We would like to confirm that flight WY707 from Muscat to Dar es Salaam suffered a tyre burst while landing at Dar Airport on July 16," Oman Air announced on twitter. "All the passengers, however, were deplaned safely without any injuries. The airline has ordered a probe into the incident. The flight departed from Muscat International Airport at 7:15pm on Saturday." In April, an Oman Air flight from Muscat experienced two burst tyres while landing at Abu Dhabi Airport. The flight took off from Muscat with 150 passengers and seven crew members on board. There were no injuries. The JNIA Acting Director, Vedastus Fabian, told the 'Daily News' yesterday that he had not yet received reports of investigation on the incident. He said however he doubted reported findings of initial investigation by Omani Air officials which said the incident was caused by an identified object on the runway. He said the runway was under constant inspection to identify and clear objects so as to ensure safety of airplanes and the airport and installed facilities at the airport. "Possibility of an object on the runway is very little, almost nil because we inspect the runways in mornings, afternoons and evenings. We are watchful for anything on the runways," he said. He said safety standards at the airport confirmed with international standards set by global aviation bodies. Oman Air is the national airline of Oman. Based on the grounds of Muscat International Airport in Seeb, Muscat, it operates scheduled domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and charter flights. http://allafrica.com/stories/201607180604.html Back to Top FAA Bans Turkish Airlines From Flying to the United States A Turkish Airlines plane prepares to take off at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport. The airline has been temporarily banned from flying to the U.S. Osman Orsal / Reuters No airlines may fly from Turkey to the United States due to a Federal Aviation Administration order, U.S. government officials said Saturday. "All airline carriers, regardless of country of registry, are prohibited from flying into the United States from Turkey either directly or via third country," the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said. In a message on its website, the Embassy warned travelers that "security at [Istanbul's] Ataturk airport is significantly diminished." It is, however, is open, and Turkish Airlines, the main carrier there, said Saturday that "the airport is now back to normal and flights have begun." The FAA has also banned any U.S. registered aircraft from flying into Turkey but that's less of an issue for most people, as Delta, the last U.S. carrier that considered flying to Istanbul, recently suspended the service it had planned to start in May. The FAA's ban also includes private aircraft, and that may affect some travelers. The FAA did not say how long its ban would last. "The FAA is monitoring the situation in Turkey in coordination with our partners in the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security and will update the restrictions as the situation evolves," the FAA said in a statement. The FAA's decision is likely a bigger problem for Turkish Airlines, the global behemoth that had made U.S. flights a key part of its strategy. Like Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, Turkish tries to capitalize on its unique location to sell Americans one-stop itineraries to hard-to-reach places, especially in Africa, the Middle East and India. Turkish flies nonstop to Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Houston, San Francisco, Washington Dulles and Chicago. On social media, passengers posted pictures of chaos at the airport, as hundreds tried to speak with airline employees. The airline, however, said it was doing what it could. It released a statement asking passengers to go to special airline counters it was setting up in nearby hotels. https://skift.com/2016/07/16/faa-bans-turkish-airlines-from-flying-to-the-united-states/ Back to Top Possible Malaysia Airlines MH370 Debris Found on Pemba Island Experts are examining a large piece of debris found on an Indian Ocean island to see if it came from missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, officials said Monday. The object - thought to be a wing flap - washed up on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania on June 23 and has now arrived for examination in Australia, the country coordinating the search. Image: The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that disappeared is seen on Nov. 15, 2013 The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that vanished is seen in a photo taken at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 15, 2013. Jonathan Morgan, file The Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation confirmed in a statement that the debris piece had arrived in the Australian capital of Canberra, where it will be analyzed by investigators to see if it came from MH370. In the 28 months since the Boeing 777 vanished from radar while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, officials have found one confirmed piece of debris and four more that almost certainly came from the aircraft. A multi-million dollar underwater search by ships in the Indian Ocean has found no trace of the aircraft's fuselage or any of the 239 people on board. Ninety percent of the search area has been covered and was due to be completed by July or August this year until officials recently warned bad weather has set them back months. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/possible-malaysia-airlines-mh370-debris-found-pemba-island-n611421 Back to Top Boeing is using Google Glass for building aircraft Boeing has reduced the time taken by technicians to build wire harnesses for its aircraft by incorporating Google Glass into its workflow, according to a report in CIO. The aircrafts have complex wiring, and the workers would refer to PDF documents on a computer screen, and then manually work with the wiring. The complex and intricate wiring used in aircraft requires human hands to do the work. Referring to a computer screen constantly meant that the technicians would have to switch attention from the screen to the wires. Technicians would also have to search for specific instructions in the PDF documents on their machines. Boeing used a custom app with Google Glass, which allows the technicians to search for instructions using voice commands. The use of Google Glass benefits the technicians in other ways as well. If there is a problem, the technician can stream video from the glass to an expert in another location. Instructional videos on the wiring can be accessed as well. Boeing has been testing out implementing augmented reality for over twenty years. So far, battery life and size were limiting factors, but this is not the case with Google Glass. The Google Glass implementation has reduced the time taken by Boeing workers by twenty five per cent. Google Glass is no longer available to consumers, but the product is still available for industrial customers. http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/boeing-is-using-google-glass-for-building-aircrafts-325512.html Back to Top Wizz Air Registers Under International Operational Safety Audit LONDON (Alliance News) - Central and Eastern European-focused low-cost airline Wizz Air PLC on Monday said it has been registered under the International Air Transport Assocation's Operational Safety Audit. The IOSA programme is the worldwide standard in airline safety evaluation and assesses an airline's safety management and control systems and processes. "Wizz Air is dedicated to achieving the highest standards in all areas of our operation. We are proud to receive the IOSA registration which reaffirms the safety culture we have established within the company. Safety is our number one priority, and our customers can enjoy Wizz's low fares and great on-board experience knowing that they are in safe hands," Chief Executive Jozsef Varadi said in a statement. http://www.lse.co.uk/AllNews.asp?code=kns4oomg&headline=Wizz_Air_Registers_Under_International_Operational_Safety_Audit Back to Top Airlines' Hiring Could Negatively Affect Number of Military Pilots A Rand Corp. study has found the Air Force could lose more pilots in coming years amid a hiring surge and salary increases by the nation's largest airlines. Military pilots are a likely target as American, Delta and United all boost pilot hiring during the next 20 years to replace their aging workforces, the California-based military issues think tank said in a study released Tuesday. Trisha Guillebeau, an Air Force spokeswoman in Virginia, said Thursday in an email that the pilot retention in the Air Force has declined for three consecutive years and resulted in a shortage of qualified pilots, which is most acute for fighter aircraft. As a result, she said, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein in September ordered a redesign of the service's fighter aircraft operations to "focus on developing a strategy and implementation plan to ensure the Air Force has an enduring, proficient and sufficient fighter pilot force." Guillebeau said the Air Force this year came up with and is putting into practice recommendations that include making deployments more efficient, adding administrative support in flying squadrons, adding maintenance staff to utilize aircraft better and increasing assignment flexibility. She said the service also has asked Congress to increase all aviation retention pay in response to less than half of fighter pilots accepting retention bonuses last year and that percentage declining again this year. The airlines' recruiting push, which includes increasing pilot pay by more than 20 percent since 2014, is expected to produce a shortage of qualified military pilots unless the Department of Defense nearly doubles the extra pay it gives to pilots. "Former military pilots aren't the only hiring pool for commercial airlines, but our research shows that when commercial airlines hire more pilots, the number of Air Force pilots leaving military service tends to rise," Michael Mattock, lead author of the study, said in a news release. The best opportunities for salary growth for military pilots are when they leave at the end of their active-duty service commitment of 10 years, rather than after a full 20-year military career that earns them a pension, the study found. Those pilots would still be valuable to the Air Force if they remained in the military, but they can earn a salary of more than $180,000 annually within five years of leaving the service, Mattock said. To avoid a shortage, the Department of Defense would have to increase pilot retention pay from a maximum of $25,000 annually to between $38,500 and $62,500, Rand calculated. The study, "Retaining Air Force Pilots When the Civilian Demand for Pilots is Growing," is available at www.rand.org. http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/07/18/airlines-hiring-push-could-have-negative-effect-number-military.html Back to Top Why Airlines Should Look to Asia and the Middle East for Growth Bangkok Thailand's airport is among the world's most underserved, according to a new study. The Forces Shaping Business Travel Data Deck paints a picture of the business travel landscape and the trends impacting the business traveler of the future through a curation of charts, stats, and data. Major global airlines searching for growth opportunities may want to expand to less developed markets in Asia and the Middle East according to a new report from OAG, an aviation intelligence firm. OAG analyzed 50 of the world's most underserved nonstop international routes, and it found many touch cities in developing countries, such as Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Fuzhou, China, Chennai, India and Bangkok. Almost 20 of the 50 routes start or end in the United States, suggesting U.S. carriers might have some intriguing options if they're looking to add new flights to emerging, far-flung destinations. In total, 10 of the 50 routes touch Thailand, while nine start or end in Saudi Arabia. It is not clear, however, how many of OAG's suggestions can be served profitably by any new entrant. According to OAG, the world's most underserved nonstop route is Jakarta, Indonesia to Jeddah. Others in the top five include New York JFK to Tel Aviv, Bangkok to Paris, Bangkok to London, and Los Angeles to Ho Chi Minh City. All those routes except L.A. to Ho Chi Minh City already have non-stops, but OAG says each could support far more flights, as hundreds of thousands of people each year buy one-stop itineraries. Between New York JFK and Tel Aviv, for example, airlines sell almost 240,000 connecting itineraries annually, OAG said. Many of the top 50 opportunities pose potential challenges for airlines, especially routes no airline is flying today. First, some of them, including any flights from the U.S. into Southeast Asia, would test the range of all but the most modern, capable aircraft. Unserved routes such as Los Angeles to Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City can be done, but likely would perform best with newer, longer range aircraft. And many of those aircraft, such as the Boeing 787, are already deployed on more promising business- oriented routes, such as San Francisco to Singapore. The other concern is average fares. Consumers flying to and from developing countries tend to be unusually price sensitive, and often are willing to add a stop or two to save money. On a route like Los Angeles to Manila - No. 7 on OAG's list - it is not clear that people annually who now buy connecting itineraries would switch to a new nonstop. Today, Philippine Airlines is the only airline flying the route nonstop, and that might be enough for the market, as long as many passengers refuse to pay a major premium for a nonstop flight. In addition to Los Angeles-Ho Chi Minh City, OAG identified three other promising long-haul U.S. routes no airline currently serves - Dhaka to New York, Bangkok to New York and San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City. In each case, airlines sell more than 100,000 connecting itineraries annually between the cities. Biman Bangladesh Airlines has repeatedly said it hopes to someday fly between Dhaka and New York, but there's no indication the airline is close to doing so. The other routes, while possible, seem unlikely - at least in the short term. https://skift.com/2016/07/18/why-airlines-should-look-to-asia-and-the-middle-east-for-growth/ Back to Top Ministry: New Civil Aviation Act will be tabled at Cabinet by Oct (NEPAL) Jul 17, 2016- The Tourism Ministry has assured the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that it will tabled the new Civil Aviation Act at the Cabinet by October. The new Act will split the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) into two entities-regulator and service provider. Splitting of the Caan, which is among the components of the Air Transport Enhancement Project under $4.2 million ADB funding, is aimed at facilitating stringent enforcement of safety measures. Caan has been functioning both as a regulator and a service provider from the same office, and there is no clear demarcation between its duties and organisational structure. "Delay in approving the new Act has been hampering improvements to address current safety issues and capacity constraints," said Kenichi Yokoyama, ADB Country Director for Nepal, speaking at the second 2016 Tripartite Portfolio Review Meeting held here on Thursday. "The ministry should fast-track the process to pass the new Act." According to the ADB, the capacity development support is to ensure clear functioning air transport regulations and operations entities to be established through the bifurcation of the Caan for self-sustained improvement of air transport. "The amended bill will be tabled at the Parliament after the Cabinet's go-ahead," said Suresh Acharya, joint-secretary at the ministry. The government has been working on the new law for the last seven years. Ministry officials said if things go as planned, the new Act will come into effect by early 2017. The new Act will replace two existing Acts-Civil Aviation Act 1959 and Nepal Civil Aviation Authority Act 1996. The International Civil Aviation Organisation's (Icao) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme has recommended that Caan be split to make the aviation sector more efficient. The new Act will integrate the previous Acts to eliminate conflicts and contradictions between the Caan and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation-a situation that has been slammed in safety audits conducted by global aviation bodies. "A new Act has also become necessary as per the changing context as the old laws do not cover all critical safety oversight issues," said a Caan official, adding they do not provide a clear legal basis for inspection, regulation and certification in Nepal's civil aviation industry as pointed out by the Icao and other aviation bodies. The Icao has expressed grave concerns about Nepal's air safety, and has placed it among the 12 worst performing nations in the world, which are Botswana, Kazakhstan, Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola, Djibouti, Eritrea, Haiti, Lebanon, Malawi and Papua New Guinea, according to an Icao report. Nepal has been red-flagged on "operations" among the eight critical elements. In August 2013, Icao identified a significant safety concern with respect to Nepal's ability to properly oversee the airlines under its jurisdiction. On December 5, 2013, the European Commission had put Nepal on the European Union air safety list as it found it lacking the ability to oversee aviation safety issues. http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2016-07-17/ministry-new-civil-aviation-act-will-be-tabled-at-cabinet-by-oct.html Back to Top Thousands of jobs expected in UAE aviation sector - manpower firm Jobs that will be up for grabs include receptionists, cabin crew, airport services agents, pilots, ground staff Dubai: The airport expansion programmes and continued growth in the UAE's aviation and tourism industries will create thousands of vacancies for jobseekers in the country between 2025 and 2026, according to a company specializing in manpower supply. Jobs that will be up for grabs include receptionists, cabin crew, airport services agents, pilots, technical and ground staff, engineers, architects and project managers, among many others, according to Abbas Ali, vice president, TASC Outsourcing. Based on the current hiring requirements from several companies in the aviation sector, as well as "discussions with aviation experts" Ali estimated that the UAE will witness massive employment opportunities that will be equivalent to approximately 1.2 million and 1.3 million jobs between 2025 and 2026. A quick look at the job postings by carriers based in the UAE would show that a number of jobs are currently being offered in the UAE. Emirates is looking to fill several positions, including service support manager, e-commerce manager for dnata Travel, maintenance technician, security agent, (UAE nationals only), contracts admin officer, Etihad has also recently posted openings for cabin crew, administration officer/personal assistant, contact centre agent, demand manager, project manager, workshop supervisor, engineering communications controller, manager data scientist, inflight chef, food and beverage manager and first officer (co-pilot). According to Oxford Economics, the aviation sector as of 2014 provides a total of 416,500 jobs in Dubai, accounting for 21 per cent of the emirate's labour force. The industry plays a key economic role contributing about $26.7 billion to the Dubai economy, which is almost 27 per cent of the emirate's gross domestic product (GDP). Luke Eley, vice president of TASC outsourcing, said he believes that the airport expansion programmes, fuelled by growing international passenger and cargo traffic, will open up "enormous opportunities" in the aviation sector. The UAE's home-grown carrier, Emirates is forecast to fly 70 million passengers by 2020. During the same year, around 20 million visitors are expected to travel to Dubai just for the Expo 2020, while the Dubai International Airport is estimated to welcome a total of 126.5 million passengers, about 30 per cent higher than previous numbers. Projects to support the historic event in Dubai, which include the expansion of airport capacity, are also already underway. With the various projects and expansion plans being undertaken, Ali said they're already seeing an increase in manpower requirements in the aviation industry, with the number of jobs available going up from 7,500 in the third quarter of 2015 to 7,820 in the last three months of the same year, up by about 4 per cent. He said most of the companies looking to hire right now include staffing and online travel agencies. He, however, noted that the major airlines are outsourcing their roles to suppliers in the region as part of their business expansion, adding that these companies are looking forward for "cost-effective models of hiring." Looking forward, Ali said he expects more companies to hire additional contract staff, especially when filling positions like receptionists, secretaries, administrative staff, document controllers and promoters on a temporary basis. "The businesses are also in need of additional skilled and unskilled manpower in the blue-collar segment," Ali told Gulf News. "The start of 2016 was very promising (when it comes to hiring), with continuing increase in the technology contract staff. However, non-core areas like functional, administration, human resources are little slow," he said. He also foresees hiring of contract staff for cabin crew, airport services and flight operations positions. http://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/employment/thousands-of-jobs-expected-in-uae-aviation-sector-manpower-firm- 1.1864342 Back to Top Can Israeli-type security measures work at LAX and other U.S. airports? A TSA agent keeps an eye on travelers going through security at LAX. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) In the wake of two grisly attacks on European airports, one name has been on the lips of U.S. lawmakers and airport executives: Ben Gurion International Airport. The airport near Tel Aviv, named for Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, has a reputation as one of the world's most secure airports, where layers of security measures have kept the facility free of hijackings and terrorist attacks since the 1970s. U.S. airport executives and lawmakers have increasingly debated whether the security measures used at Ben Gurion could prevent the kind of bloodshed that took place in the Brussels and Istanbul airports this year. Those measures include widely accepted passenger profiling based on appearance and behavior, multiple security screenings in the terminal and checkpoints in the general vicinity of the airport. Ben Gurion hosted a conference last month attended by airport officials from more than 40 countries to learn about the airport's security tactics, and former Ben Gurion security officials have testified several times at U.S. congressional hearings over the last few years. "A lot of what the Israelis are doing has informed what we're doing," Peter Neffenger, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, said during a senate committee hearing on airport security last month. But to adopt most or all of Ben Gurion's security measures at a facility like Los Angeles International Airport likely would mean higher ticket prices to pay for extra screening measures and longer wait times for more intense questioning by security agents, aviation experts say. At Ben Gurion, travelers are told to arrive at least three hours before any flight, while U.S. officials recommend fliers arrive two hours before a domestic flight. As it is, even a two-hour wait for security screening raises protests among U.S. travelers. "In Israel, they have a security mentality," said John Halinski, a security consultant and former deputy administrator at the TSA. "They are willing to accept a lot of things that American travelers are not willing to accept." Several polls, including the annual JD Power airline satisfaction survey, show that passenger satisfaction levels drop significantly if travelers must wait 15 minutes or longer for a boarding pass. "It would be ideal to adopt the Israeli process for security, but it's about risk versus return on investment," said Johnathan Tal, a former anti-terrorism security specialist for the Israeli government and president and chief executive of Tal Global, a San Jose- based security firm. Another problem is sheer size: LAX served 74 million passengers last year, while 16 million travelers passed through Ben Gurion. Still, huge passenger numbers are not a barrier to adopting sound security measures, said Rafi Ron, president of New Age Security Solutions and former director of security at Ben Gurion airport. "That is one of the typical excuses that people use when they don't want to go into greater investment or adopt a more far- reaching approach to security," he said. "It's not a valid excuse." Oversight of airport security measures also differ. In the U.S., the responsibility for airport security is shared by local airport police and the TSA. At Ben Gurion, the responsibility for security falls under the airport manager and the airport's security director, eliminating bureaucratic red tape when changes are needed and finger-pointing when problems arise. "Everything goes under that umbrella," Ron said. Travelers also are questioned more often, starting more than a mile outside of the Israeli airport, where all incoming vehicles are stopped and inspected for car bombs and other weapons. The drivers and passengers also are questioned. At LAX, police sometimes operate a vehicle checkpoint on the ramp leading into the airport but the dates, times and duration of the checkpoint operation are determined randomly by a computer program to ensure terrorists don't know when to expect the checkpoint. At Ben Gurion, armed security agents patrol the airport property and terminals with the authority to stop and question any passenger and demand to see identification and other documents. The security agents are typically former members of the Israeli military who have been known to ask travelers to show hotel receipts or even open their email accounts to prove they are who they say they are. Since 2007, the TSA has operated a similar program staffed by "behavior detection officers," specially trained TSA agents who question passengers acting suspicious or looking nervous. But the program has been under attack by civil rights groups and members of Congress who question whether the tactics are effective and whether the officers target minorities. TSA officials defend the program, saying it does not profile travelers based on race or ethnicity. In the face of such criticism, the TSA reduced the number of behavior detection officers to 2,660 from 3,130 in the last year and cut the number of airports where they serve to 87 from 122. The program is still in place at LAX. But in Ben Gurion, security experts say race and ethnicity are among several factors used to determine who should undergo extra questioning. "It is absolutely true that you are profiling on risk factors, and appearances are one of those factors," Tal said. After questioning travelers at Ben Gurion, security agents affix a yellow sticker on each traveler's passport, showing 10 numbers, with the first digit ranging from 1 to a 6. A "1" represents a low-risk traveler, and "6" represents an extreme threat. The higher the number, the greater scrutiny a passenger can expect, according to several travelers who have flown through Ben Gurion. Tal declined to comment on the 10-digit number system. Ben Gurion also puts luggage through extra screening. Passenger luggage at Ben Gurion is screened when travelers enter the terminal, even before getting a boarding pass, and again after travelers get their boarding passes and go through the security checkpoints. At LAX, luggage is screened only once, after passengers get their boarding passes. Adopting the Israeli-style security measures would increase the time it takes passengers to clear security screening in the U.S. unless airport fees are raised to pay for extra screening agents to perform the added measures, aviation experts say. Instead, the TSA has cut back on screeners in the last year, which explains why the wait times at airports surged at the start of the busy summer travel season, said J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA agents. The TSA now employs about 42,000 screeners, down from 47,000 in 2013. Meanwhile, the number of passengers flying through U.S. airports has jumped 15%, to 740 million a year from 643 million, in that same period. Congress has approved funding to speed up the hiring of 600 new TSA agents and convert hundreds more officers from part-time to full-time employees. "If you increase the security, you are going to have to increase the staff," Cox said. "It goes hand in hand." http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lax-israeli-airport-security-20160718-snap-story.html Back to Top How a NASA Engineer Created the Modern Airplane Wing NASA engineer Richard T. Whitcomb relied on a combination of intuition and visualization more than calculations when working out new designs, and his insights revolutionized modern aeronautics. Image courtesy NASA. Once dubbed "the man who could see air," NASA engineer Richard T. Whitcomb used a combination of visualization and intuition to revolutionize modern aviation - by turning the shape of the airplane wing on its head. For decades, Whitcomb had been working on getting aircraft to move faster and more efficiently. By the time he was 34, he had already won the most prestigious honor in aviation, the National Aeronautic Association's 1954 Collier Trophy, for his critical work to overcome the aviation challenge of the day - the sound barrier. Sixteen years later, he was working on improving flight efficiency at speeds just below that barrier. "Most people have to see through testing how air moves on a model," Roy Harris, former aeronautics director at NASA's Langley Research Center, told the Washington Post in Whitcomb's 2009 obituary. "But he had this uncanny ability to accurately sense how air molecules reacted over a surface before he even built the models." Conquering Drag The problem facing aviation engineers was that, as an airplane approached the speed of sound, the air molecules around the wings created drag, forcing the plane to work harder to maintain its speed. "As an object moves through air, it collides with the air molecules, creating a disturbance," forming what are essentially sound waves, explains Robert Gregg, chief aerodynamicist for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "As the object moves faster, approaching the speed of sound, these disturbances that travel at the speed of sound cannot work their way forward and instead coalesce to form a shock wave." That was the sound barrier, which aeronautical engineers figured out how to breach in 1947. However, flying near the speed of sound - around 660 mph at cruising altitudes, depending on air pressure and humidity - remained highly inefficient because of the drag caused by these standing shock waves. Whitcomb set out to conquer the drag. And his bosses at NASA were eager to help him lend his particular brand of genius to the problem. "Though he had a conservative, shy personality, he was a radical in the laboratory," NASA historian James Hansen wrote of Whitcomb in his history of Langley. "In some respects, management did not know exactly how to deal with him. The best idea any of his supervisors came up with was to leave him alone" and take care of any administrative details slowing him down. Winging It Obsessed with the aerodynamics of flight since his childhood, Whitcomb was famous for his single-track focus. He never married, and he often worked two shifts per day, sleeping on a cot at the high-speed wind tunnel facility. His nephew, David Whitcomb, told the New York Times that NASA accountants scolded his uncle more than once for letting his paychecks expire while he used them as bookmarks. Unlike many engineers, Whitcomb skipped the calculations and went straight to a physical model. He started with a conventional wing design and, relying on intuition, used auto body putty to add bulk to some areas while filing away others, testing and retesting his models in Langley's high-speed wind tunnel. He came up with something he called the "supercritical" airfoil. The end result almost looked upside-down compared with standard wings of the day, because it was nearly flat on top and rounded on the bottom. It was also thicker than the norm, especially on its blunt leading edge. Around the speed of sound, the flatter top minimized the effect of the standing shock wave that formed on the wing, while a downward-curving underside compensated with additional lift. The added thickness also provided a sturdier attachment to the fuselage, allowing for less reinforcing structure and, hence, a lighter wing. Early testing showed the supercritical wing increased a plane's efficiency by as much as 15 percent. And it turned out that the wings were more efficient at subsonic speeds as well. Today, Whitcomb's supercritical wing design is the industry standard, used in commercial, business and military aircraft all over the world. Its increased efficiency has saved the airline industry billions of dollars in fuel every year, which also means significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/How_a_NASA_Engineer_Created_the_Modern_Airplane_Wing_999.html Back to Top ISASI 2016, Reykjavik, Iceland 17 to 20 October, 2016 The International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) will hold their 47th annual seminar at the Grand Hotel Reykjavik, Iceland, from the 17 to 20 October 2016. The seminar theme is: "Every link is important" Papers will address this theme in conjunction with other contemporary matters on aviation safety investigation, including recent case studies, new investigation methods and aviation safety trends or developments. Registration and details of the main seminar, tutorial and companion programmes are available at www.esasi.eu/isasi-2016. We look forward to seeing you in Iceland Back to Top Graduate Research Request You are being invited to consider taking part in a research survey on the influence of the psychological contract (the unwritten expectations between an employee and their employer) on a pilot's safety behaviours. I am seeking to understand if this part of the employment relationship has an influence on the safety behaviours of pilots. My focus is primarily on the European aviation environment. This survey is being undertaken as part of my Master of Science (MSc) in Air Safety Management at City University, London. I am undertaking this research in a purely independent capacity for my own personally funded studies. The results of this survey will only be used to support my dissertation. All data will be kept anonymous. No personally identifiable information will be collected. All answers reported in the analysis of the survey will be made without any connection to you. If you have experience working as a pilot, preferably for a European commercial air transport operator, and wish to take part please click on the link below. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/pilotspsycon Thank you for your support Kathryn Jones Curt Lewis