Flight Safety Information September 8, 2016 - No. 177 In This Issue A Jet Ended Up in Melbourne Instead of Malaysia After the Pilot Entered the Wrong Navigation Code Puerto Rican woman arrested after 'using a lighter to set multiple blankets and a control panel on fire 3 Airlines Are Banning Passengers From Using the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Jet crashes at NAS Meridian ICAO tells states to form air accident probe unit (Nepal) QANTAS' air safety spiel warns not to try finding lost phones Virgin Galactic to restart its flight test program for space tourism Russian fighter jet makes 'unsafe' intercept of US aircraft Real-Life Investigators Object to Portrayal in 'Sully' Movie Supersonic jet startup eyes Washington as potential manufacturing site A Jet Ended Up in Melbourne Instead of Malaysia After the Pilot Entered the Wrong Navigation Code An aircraft operated by AirAsia X taxis at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, on July 6, 2013 The error was due to the omission of a single digit in position coordinates An AirAsia X flight from Sydney to Malaysia last year landed instead in Melbourne after the plane's navigational system started going haywire, all because its captain accidentally omitted a single zero when he entered the destination's coordinates. The plane took off without a hitch just before noon on March 10, 2015, but the crew noticed something was amiss when it turned and started heading in the wrong direction. The incident was revealed Wednesday in a report by Australia's Air Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), cited by the Sydney Morning Herald. The report said the typo "knocked out" several key navigational systems. The single erroneous digit had the system convinced that the plane was near the South African city of Cape Town - nearly 7,000 miles away. The plane's autopilot and auto-thrust features were disabled, the Herald reports, and the pilot was guided to Melbourne by air-traffic controllers. Once the problem was diagnosed, the plane was able to continue to Malaysia as planned, albeit a few hours late. The ATSB said that "position initialization" errors happen approximately twice a year. http://time.com/4483384/airasia-plane-malaysia-melbourne-sydney-gps/ Back to Top Puerto Rican woman arrested after 'using a lighter to set multiple blankets and a control panel on fire' during jetBlue flight Arrest of Idializ Gomez for Destruction of Aircraft or Aircraft Facilities Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Leff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), San Juan Field Office, announced the arrest of Idializ Gomez. On September 6, 2016, the FBI charged and arrested Gomez for destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities, in violation of Title 18 USC Section 32(a)(1). On September 6, 2016, at approximately 12:43 a.m., Gomez boarded jetBlue flight 745 originating from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, New York and terminating in Mercedita International Airport (PCE) in Ponce, Puerto Rico. During the flight, Gomez utilized a lighter to ignite and successfully damage two blankets and a portion of the in-flight control panel of the seat next to hers. At approximately 4:31 a.m., flight 745 landed at Mercedita Airport in Ponce and Gomez was detained by agents of the Police of Puerto Rico. Gomez was later placed in FBI custody. If convicted, the defendant faces up to 25 years' imprisonment. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth A. Erbe, and investigated by the FBI. The public is reminded a criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty. The U.S. government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sanjuan/news/press-releases/arrest-of-idializ- gomez-for-destruction-of-aircraft-or-aircraft-facilities Back to Top 3 Airlines Are Banning Passengers From Using the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Over concerns that the batteries will start fires. Three Australian airlines have banned passengers from using or charging Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 smartphones during flights due to concerns over the phone's fire- prone batteries. Qantas QUBSF 0.00% , its budget unit Jetstar, and Virgin Australia VBHLF -4.80% said they had not been directed to ban the use of the phone by aviation authorities, but did so as a precaution following Samsung's recall of the phones in 10 markets. Although customers will still be able to bring the phones on flights, the ban extends to the phones being plugged in to flight entertainment systems where USB ports are available. The recall follows reports of the 988,900 won ($885) phone igniting while charging - an embarrassing blow to Samsung, which prides itself on its manufacturing prowess and had been banking on the devices to add momentum to a recovery in its mobile business. Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone vendor, has sold 2.5 million of the premium devices so far. "Following Samsung Australia's recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 personal electronic device we are requesting that passengers who own them do not switch on or charge them in flight," a Qantas spokesman said in an emailed statement. Samsung SSNLF 2.46% Australia said in a statement that it had liaised with Qantas and Virgin Australia following the recall. See also: Samsung Officially Recalls the Galaxy Note 7 After Finding Battery Problems The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is considering its response to the Samsung recall and "working on guidance related to this issue," according to a FAA statement quoted by technology website Gizmodo. Airlines have previously banned hoverboards from planes due to battery-fire risks. In February the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations' agency, banned lithium-ion batteries from checked luggage following concerns from pilots and plane makers that they are a fire risk. http://fortune.com/2016/09/08/samsung-galaxy-note-7-airlines-ban/ Back to Top Jet crashes at NAS Meridian A T-45C Goshawk jet crashed at NAS Meridian Wednesday afternoon. An aircraft crashed Wednesday afternoon at Naval Air Station Meridian, with the student and instructor pilot ejecting before the crash. Metro Ambulance received a call around 2 p.m. that two people were ejected out of an airplane while training, Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler said. One complained of neck pain and the other with leg pain. NAS officials said in a new release the plane, a T-45 jet aircraft assigned to Training Air Wing One, crashed in a heavily wooded area around 1:15 while conducting a training flight. The student and instructor pilot were able to eject safely near the airfield. NAS first responders were dispatched to the scene and both pilots were taken to a local medical facility. The aircraft is used for intermediate and advanced portions of the Navy/Marine Corps pilot training program for jet carrier aviation and tactical strike missions, according to the U.S. Navy FactFile website. The aircraft was valued in 2009 at $17.2 million, according to the Navy Fact File website. http://www.meridianstar.com/news/jet-crashes-at-nas-meridian/article_55e86f9e-7538- 11e6-8229-f7ed6af73d15.html Back to Top ICAO tells states to form air accident probe unit (Nepal) A file photo shows security personnel and locals at an airplane crash site in Chilkhaya, Kalikot. Post Photo Sep 8, 2016- The International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) has urged its contracting states, including Nepal, to constitute a separate authority to investigate air accidents or serious incidents involving public air transport within November 10. The fourth meeting of the Asia Pacific Accident Investigation Group that concluded in Tokyo, Japan recently advised its member states to form an independent investigation unit as per Amendment 15 to Icao Annex 13. "Setting up an independent bureau or commission is a necessity and a requirement of the global aviation watchdog," said Suresh Acharya, joint secretary at the Aviation Safety Division of the Tourism Ministry. "We will be trying to create a proper aircraft accident investigation body; but as it will take some time, we have to make a commitment to Icao within the stipulated time," said Acharya who participated in the meeting. An independent body has become an urgent need. "Our safety situation has become alarming amid the spate of air crashes and accidents," he said. This authority must be independent from any entity whose interests could conflict with or influence the safety investigation authority's task. The sole objective of accident investigation is to prevent future accidents and incidents. Acharya said that they would submit a report of the meeting to the tourism minister and move ahead accordingly. He said that Brunei was the latest country to set up an independent investigation unit and it started with a small unit. "In Nepal's context, it will take at least two years to constitute a fully functional independent body. But like Brunei, we can start with a small unit," he said. The current practice in Nepal is to form an ad hoc investigation committee immediately after an accident occurs, but the reports produced by such government panels are often criticized for hiding shortcomings. "Obviously, if a permanent independent body is set up, it will be headed by a group of experts, and this will ensure a high level of efficiency and quality of investigation which is vital to improve aviation safety in Nepal." Icao has also promised to help Nepal to form an investigation body following glaring safety issues that are often discussed in different forums. Nepal has been red-flagged on 'operations' among the eight critical elements of safety oversight by Icao due to a large number of aircraft accidents and incidents between 2009 and 2012, with at least two passenger aircraft crashing annually. Nepali airlines have been declared unsafe by Icao and banned by the European Commission for the past three years for significant safety deficiencies. There have been four plane crashes in six months this year. The frequent crashes have spurred the government to address air safety issues after regulatory shortcomings became glaringly apparent. India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh among South Asian countries have established separate independent investigation bodies. http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2016-09-08/icao-tells-states-to-form-air- accident-probe-unit.html Back to Top QANTAS' air safety spiel warns not to try finding lost phones Australian carrier has already had one Lithium-Ion fire after seat crushed a mobe Pic Your correspondent noted something odd during his flight to VMworld 2016 aboard Australian airline QANTAS: during the pre-flight safety briefing passengers were told to ask the crew for help if they lost their phones aboard the A380 and not, repeat not, to try to find it themselves. The Register asked QANTAS why it now makes that announcement and was told the reason is this Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation into a May 2016 fire aboard an A380 caused by "a crushed personal electronic device (PED) wedged tightly in the seat mechanism." The incident took place in seat 19F, a business class seat that uses some mechanical jiggery- pokery to extend into a flat bed (or so we're told: your correspondent seldom cracks Premium Economy. The ATSB report doesn't explain how the phone made it into the seat, but says a passenger on the flight "alerted the cabin crew to the presence of smoke in the cabin." "Two of the cabin crew proceeded to the source of the smoke with fire extinguishers. At the same time, the customer services manager (CSM) made an all stations emergency call on the aircraft interphone to alert flight crew and other cabin crew to the presence of smoke." Once the crew figured where the smoke was coming from, they "removed the seat cushions and covers from seat 19F while the CSM turned off the power to the centre column of the seats. When the seat was further dismantled." "The cabin crew assessed that the crushed PED contained a lithium battery." The crushed personal electronic device (PED) wedged tightly in the seat mechanism found on QF 7 For what it is worth, the ATSB says the QANTAS crew's response to the smoking phone "provides an excellent example of an effective response to an emergency situation." So excellent that the flight made it to Dallas as planned about two hours after the incident. ® http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/09/06/airline_safety_spiel_prohibits_finding_lost_phones/ Back to Top Virgin Galactic to restart its flight test program for space tourism Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo at a taxi test Aug. 1 in Mojave. (Virgin Galactic via Asociated Press) Samantha Masunaga Aerospace start-up Virgin Galactic's new spaceship will start flight tests in Mojave in the "near future," the company said Wednesday. The first test for SpaceShipTwo, dubbed VSS Unity at its unveiling in February, will be what the Long Beach firm calls a "captive carry," in which the spaceship will stay attached to its carrier WhiteKnightTwo aircraft for the entire flight. That test is intended to gather aerodynamic performance data on the vehicle, as well as testing one of the "abort modes" - when SpaceShipTwo stays "mated" to the carrier aircraft in case of a problem and returns to the airport. Later, Virgin Galactic will progress to glide tests in which SpaceShipTwo will be released from its carrier aircraft and fly on its own. SpaceShipTwo eventually will be in the business of carrying tourists, who have paid up to $250,000, into space. The sleek spaceship will be released at about 50,000 feet by its carrier aircraft, then propelled by rocket to more than 50 miles above the Earth - past the point where NASA and the U.S. Air Force consider a passenger to be an astronaut. 'It's deeper than just mourning a celebrity': Juan Gabriel fans pay tribute to the Mexican singer The flight will be the first since the October 2014 crash of the original SpaceShipTwo, which killed one of two test pilots over the Mojave Desert. Last summer, the National Transportation Safety Board said that spaceship broke apart because the copilot had opened the aircraft's movable tail, or "feather system," too early. The system is intended to help the craft slow down after its descent from the Earth's atmosphere. The NTSB placed most of the blame on the plane's builder, Mojave-based Scaled Composites, which is owned by Northrop Grumman Corp. The agency said the plane's design should have protected against the possibility of this human error. The NTSB also faulted the Federal Aviation Administration for not realizing this gap in Scaled's hazard analysis. The new SpaceShipTwo is built by the Spaceship Co., Virgin Galactic's manufacturing arm. In its statement, Virgin Galactic said the first SpaceShipTwo flew 54 times before the accident, which provided an "enormous volume" of data to incorporate safety improvements into the new craft. As all flight tests are crewed by at least two pilots, the company said that "even for relatively more simple and brief flights, we need to be prepared to run a full abort scenario to bring our pilots home safely." http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-virgin-galactic-20160907-snap-story.html Back to Top Russian fighter jet makes 'unsafe' intercept of US aircraft Washington (CNN)A Russian fighter jet made an "unsafe close-range intercept" of a US aircraft over the Black Sea Wednesday, coming within 10 feet of the American plane. Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said the potentially dangerous incident, involving a Russian SU-27 jet and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon plane, lasted 19 minutes. A US official told CNN's Barbara Starr that the Russian plane came within 10 feet of the P-8 at one point. Davis added that the US plane was conducting routine operations in international airspace at the time. "These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions, and could result in a miscalculation or accident," Davis said in a statement. The US has long protested Russian intercepts of its aircraft; there have been several this year. On two separate occasions in April, Russian SU-27 fighters performed "barrel rolls" over American KC-135 planes flying above the Baltic Sea. Russian officials have defended the actions of their pilots in the past, but have yet to comment on the most recent incident. Tensions have been ratcheted up in the Black Sea recently as Russia began five days of military exercises Monday involving 12,500 personnel and its Black Sea fleet based in Crimea, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 an event that has subjected Russia to international sanctions. The Russian Defense Ministry posted a video Thursday on its Facebook page showing Russian fighter crews based in Crimea conducting an intercept drill. The latest incident also comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are due to meet Thursday to discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria. http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/07/politics/russia-us-jet-intercept/ Back to Top Real-Life Investigators Object to Portrayal in 'Sully' Movie By JOAN LOWY FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2009 file photo, passengers in an inflatable raft move away from an Airbus 320 US Airways aircraft that has gone down in the Hudson River in New York. Accident investigators say they object to their portrayal in a new movie based on the "Miracle on the Hudson" river ditching of airliner seven years ago after striking geese. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File) Losing thrust in both engines but still managing to land an airliner full of people in the Hudson River without the loss of a single life is plenty dramatic. But the drama in 'Sully,' the movie about the "Miracle on the Hudson" ditching of U.S. Airways Flight 1549, doesn't stop there. And that's a problem, say the former government accident investigators involved in the real- life investigation into the 2009 accident. The public, as well as pilots and others in the aviation industry, who see the movie may get the wrong impression that investigators were trying to smear the pilot, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, they said. "We're not the KGB. We're not the Gestapo," said Robert Benzon, who led the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation. "We're the guys with the white hats on." The film, scheduled for release in theaters on Friday, portrays investigators as more like prosecutors looking for any excuse to blame Sullenberger for the mishap. Could the plane have made it back to LaGuardia Airport if Sullenberger, portrayed by actor Tom Hanks, had turned it around? Did the thrust in both engines quit after the plane struck a flock of geese or was there still some power in one? Was the US Airways captain's performance affected by other factors? When was his last alcoholic drink? Was he having problems at home? It's true that those questions were asked, and many more, over the course of the 18-month investigation, but that's just part of NTSB's meticulous investigation process that is intended to find all possible flaws that contribute to a crash, investigators said. That way the board can make safety recommendations to the government, industry, labor unions, aircraft makers and others in an effort to prevent future accidents. Thirty-five safety recommendations were ultimately issued as a result of the Flight 1549 investigation. Investigators recalled Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeff Skiles, portrayed by actor Aaron Eckhart, as comfortable and cooperative. Pilot union officials representing them were present during all the interviews and at later public forums. "These guys were already national heroes," said Benzon, who is now retired. "We weren't out to embarrass anybody at all." But that's not how it comes across in the film, directed by Clint Eastwood. "Until I read the script, I didn't know the investigative board was trying to paint the picture that he (Sullenberger) had done the wrong thing. They were kind of railroading him into 'it was his fault,'" Eastwood said in a publicity video for the Warner Bros. film. Hanks told The Associated Press in an interview that a draft script included the names of real- life NTSB officials, but Sullenberger - who is an adviser on the film - requested they be taken out. "He said, 'These are people who are not prosecutors. They are doing a very important job, and if, for editorial purposes, we want to make it more of a prosecutorial process, it ain't fair to them,' " said Hanks. "That's an easy thing to change." Malcolm Brenner, a human factors expert who was among the investigators who interviewed Sullenberger the day after the ditching, said he recalls being extraordinarily impressed at the time with both pilots and how well they worked together in the midst of the crisis. He said he's also been impressed since then with how Sullenberger has used his fame to promote aviation safety. "I think there is a real integrity there," said Brenner, now an aviation consultant. "I happen to be a big fan of the man." Tom Haueter, who was the NTSB's head of major accident investigations at the time and is now a consultant, said he fears the movie will discourage pilots and others from fully cooperating with the board in the future. "There is a very good chance," said Haueter, "that there is a segment of the population that will take this as proof of government incompetence and it will make things worse." http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/real-life-investigators-object-portrayal- sully-movie-41942214 Back to Top Supersonic jet startup eyes Washington as potential manufacturing site Illustration of concept for Spike Aerospace jet, designed to cruise at Mach 1.6 (1,100 mph) that could go from New York to Los Angeles in 3 hours. (Spike Aerospace) Spike Aerospace, in the early stages of designing an 18-passenger jet that would cruise at Mach 1.6, is considering a half-dozen locations, says Chief Executive Vik Kachoria. A privately funded, Boston-based aerospace startup is considering Washington state as a location to manufacture a sleek supersonic commercial jet now in the early stages of development. Spike Aerospace is designing an 18-passenger jet that would cruise at Mach 1.6(1,100 miles per hour) and could fly with a low sonic boom from New York to Los Angeles in three hours. Spike has been working on preliminary designs for three years and now employs about 45 engineers, said Chief Executive Vik Kachoria in a phone interview. He said he envisages flying a two-third-scale prototype late in 2018 and to deliver the first full-scale jet to a customer in 2022 or 2023. Kachoria said the company is talking to "five or six states" and that Washington is "one of the top contenders." "Washington state has a lot of appeal. It has a huge aerospace industry," he said. "A big consideration is what is the availability of workforce and infrastructure, and what will be the business cost to be located there." A person with knowledge of Spike's discussions with the state Department of Commerce said the company has suggested it could provide about 200 jobs to begin with and as many as 1,000 jobs later. Other states under consideration include Oregon, California and Texas, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details are confidential. John Thornquist, who directs Gov. Jay Inslee's aerospace office, said state officials are "excited" at the possibility of landing a new airplane manufacturer. He said they put together a package of information for Spike that includes details on potential sites in various counties. One of those will certainly be Everett, where the state earlier developed plans for an aerospace business park on approximately 80 acres on the west side of the runway at Paine Field that could accommodate a building as large as 1.2 million square feet. Kachoria said he's interested in sites in Western Washington and also potentially in Spokane. He's coming to speak at the governor's annual aerospace conference in Lynnwood next month, and said he plans to check out a couple of locations while here. Spike will shorten its list to a few states by January and pick its manufacturing site six to eight months later, Kachoria said. The possibility of Spike locating here was first reported online Tuesday by the Puget Sound Business Journal. No supersonic commercial passenger jets have flown since 2003 when the economically unsuccessful British-French Concorde airliner went out of service after a deadly crash in Paris three years earlier. Spike is one of three U.S. startups with supersonic jet plans, all focused on passenger aircraft smaller than today's commercial jets and aimed at premium business travelers. Last year, Washington was pitching itself to Aerion, the Reno, Nev.-based supersonic-jet company that has a partnership with Airbus and is financed by Texas billionaire Robert Bass. Aerion is expected to announce its manufacturing location this year, but Washington is no longer in the running. In Colorado, another startup, Boom, has proposed a 40-seat supersonic jet. It plans to fly its first prototype in late 2017 and has 25 orders already, including 10 for Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Kachoria said he's talking to two engine makers as potential suppliers and to other possible partners. Spike's Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Anutosh Moitra, worked at both NASA and Boeing specifically on the design of supersonic aircraft. Kachoria said he couldn't discuss whether Boeing might be a potential partner. Spike's proposed jet will be built largely from carbon-fiber composites. Kachoria said it will sell for about $100 million, with airlines as the primary target customers. http://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/supersonic-jet-start-up-eyes- washington-as-potential-manufacturing-site/ Curt Lewis