Flight Safety Information October 19, 2016 - No. 206 In This Issue Mismanaged Approach Caused Charter Plane Crash Robot Pilots May Someday Fly Passenger and Cargo Planes Cockpit smoke prompts Lufthansa aircraft to land in eastern Canada Ornge to host first-ever Canadian air medical safety conference Baldwin Aviation Introduces New QuickRisk Safety Profile India to become 3rd largest aviation The Very First Dassault Falcon 8X Jet Is Ready for Takeoff Lockheed proposes stealth fighter project with Mitsubishi Heavy The Pentagon Is Planning a New Super Rival to the Troubled F-35 Chinese astronauts enter space station following docking BOOK SIGNING:...The Crash Detectives Investigating GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY (2) Stop By and Visit At NBAA - BACE 2016 Mismanaged Approach Caused Charter Plane Crash WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board determined Tuesday that the flight crew's mismanagement of the approach and multiple deviations from standard operating procedures caused the Nov. 10, 2015, crash of a Part 135 on-demand charter flight in Akron, Ohio. The charter company's casual attitude toward compliance with standards was a contributing factor in the accident. Execuflight flight 1526, en route to Akron Fulton International Airport, was on a non-precision approach and descended below the minimum descent altitude, even though the pilots did not have the runway in sight. When the first officer attempted to arrest the descent, the airplane, a British Aerospace HS 125-700A (Hawker 700A), entered an aerodynamic stall and crashed into a four-unit apartment building, killing all nine persons on board the airplane. There were no fatalities on the ground. "Execuflight's casual attitude toward safety likely led its pilots to believe that strict adherence to standard operating procedures was not required," said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart. "Following standard operating procedures is critical to flight safety. Adhering to these procedures could have prevented this accident and saved lives." The NTSB investigation revealed that the crew deviated from numerous standard operating procedures. For example, contrary to the company's practice of having the captain fly the airplane with revenue passengers on board, the first officer was flying, and the captain was monitoring. Also, the captain's approach briefing was unstructured, inconsistent, and incomplete, and, as a result, the flight crew had no shared understanding of how the approach was to be conducted. When it became apparent that the approach was unstabilized, the captain, who was ultimately responsible for the safety of the flight, did not take control of the airplane or call for a missed approach. Based upon the findings from the NTSB's investigation of this accident, the Board issued nine safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration, two to Textron Aviation, and two to Hawker 700- and 800-series training centers. These recommendations include requiring flight data monitoring and safety management systems for Part 135 operators and improving pilot training on non-precision approaches. To view the findings, probable cause and recommendations from this investigation, click on the following link: http://go.usa.gov/xkdBr. www.ntsb.gov Back to Top Robot Pilots May Someday Fly Passenger and Cargo Planes By JOAN LOWY, ASSOCIATED PRESS Think of it as the airborne cousin to the self-driving car: a robot in the cockpit to help human pilots fly passengers and cargo - and eventually even replace them. The government and industry are collaborating on a program that seeks to replace the second human pilot in two- person flight crews with a robot co-pilot that never tires, gets bored, feels stressed out or gets distracted. The program is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon's arm for development of emerging technologies, and run by Aurora Flight Sciences, a private contractor. With both the military and airlines struggling with shortages of trained pilots, officials say they see an advantage to reducing the number of pilots required to fly large aircraft while at the same time increasing safety and efficiency by having a robot pick up the mundane tasks of flying. The idea is to have the robot free the human pilot, especially in emergencies and demanding situations, to think strategically. "It's really about a spectrum of increasing autonomy and how humans and robots work together so that each can be doing the thing that it's best at," said John Langford, Aurora's chairman and CEO. Langford even envisions a day when a single pilot on the ground will control multiple airliners in the skies, and people will go about their daily travels in self-flying planes. At a demonstration of the technology at a small airport in Manassas, Virginia, on Monday, a robot with spindly metal tubes and rods for arms and legs and a claw hand grasping the throttle was in the right seat of a single- engine Cessna Caravan. In the left seat, a human pilot tapped commands to his mute colleague on an electronic tablet. The robot did the flying. Sophisticated computers flying planes aren't new. In today's airliners, the autopilot is on nearly the entire time the plane is in the air. Airline pilots do most of their flying for brief minutes during takeoffs and landings, and even those critical phases of flight could be handled by the autopilot. This program, known as Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System, or ALIAS, goes steps further. For example, an array of cameras allows the robot to see all the cockpit instruments and read the gauges. It can recognize whether switches are in the on or off position, and can flip them to the desired position. And it learns not only from its experience flying the plane, but also from the entire history of flight in that type of plane. The ALIAS robot "can do everything a human can do" except look out the window, Langford said. Give the program time and maybe the robot can do that, too, he said. In other ways, the robot is better than the human pilot, reacting faster and instantaneously calling up every emergency checklist for a possible situation, officials said. In some ways, it will be like flying with a "co-pilot genius," Langford said. "The robot carries in them the DNA of every flight hour in that (aircraft) system, every accident," he said. "It's like having a human pilot with 600,000 hours of experience." The robot is designed to be a "drop-in" technology, ready for use in any plane or helicopter, even 1950s vintage aircraft built before electronics. But the robot faces a lot of hurdles before it's ready to start replacing human pilots, not the least of which is that it would require a massive rewrite of Federal Aviation Administration safety regulations. Even small changes to FAA regulations often take years. Elements of the ALIAS technology could be adopted within the next five years, officials said, much the way automakers are gradually adding automated safety features that are the building blocks of self-driving technology. Dan Patt, DARPA's ALIAS program manager, said replacing human pilots with robots is still a couple of decades away, but Langford said he believes the transition will happen sooner than that. Pilot unions are skeptical that robots can replace humans. Keith Hagy, the Air Line Pilots Association's director of engineering and safety, pointed to instances of multiple system failures during flights where only the heroic efforts of improvising pilots saved lives. In 2010, for example, an engine on a jumbo Qantas airliner with 469 people on board blew up, firing shrapnel that damaged other critical aircraft systems and the plane's landing gear. The plane's overloaded flight management system responded with a cascading series of emergency messages for which there was no time to respond. By chance, there were five experienced pilots on board - including three captains - who, working together, were able to land the plane. But it was a close call. "Those are the kind of abnormal situations when you really need a pilot on board with that judgment and experience and to make decisions," Hagy said. "A robot just isn't going to have that kind of capability." Follow Joan Lowy at http://twitter.com/AP-Joan-Lowy. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/joan-lowy http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/pilot-cockpit-someday-robot-42873691 Back to Top Cockpit smoke prompts Lufthansa aircraft to land in eastern Canada Smoke in the cockpit has prompted a Lufthansa crew to don oxygen masks and land in Newfoundland, Canada. The 747-400 Jumbo-jet was on a flight from Frankfurt to Orlando with 345 passengers on board. The German news agency DPA and "Die Welt" newspaper reported Wednesday that the source of the smoke could not be identified after a safe landing. Lufthansa, like other airlines, recently banned the use of a new model mobile phone, the Galaxy Note 7, on its flights after Samsung recalled several million of its devices on fears that faulty batteries could catch fire. Lufthansa said the crew of 18 landed the airliner while wearing breathing masks at Gander on Canada's east coast. "Due to the smoke, the cockpit crew decided to re-route the plane to Newfoundland and landed there safely," a spokesman said. Destination Florida Tuesday's trans-Atlantic flight LH 464 from Frankfurt was en route to Orlando in the southern state of Florida. "Die Welt" said emergency exits were not activated and it quoted passengers as saying the pilots had kept them well briefed during the landing, described by Lufthansa as "precautionary." A substitute aircraft was provided to forward passengers to their destination, Lufthansa said. Leave Samsung at home! Lufthansa issued a pointed Twitter message on Tuesday, telling customers that "Samsung Note 7 smart phones are not permitted on any of our flights. Please leave them at home!" DPA said there were "serious conflicts" with passengers last weekend in the United States because they refused to leave their devices behind without receiving substitutes. At German airports, Samsung had positioned employees to offer substitute devices to departing passengers. http://www.dw.com/en/cockpit-smoke-prompts-lufthansa-aircraft-to-land-in-eastern-canada/a-36085144 Back to Top Ornge to host first-ever Canadian air medical safety conference Ornge has announced the first All Canada Aeromedical Transport (ACAT) Safety Conference. The conference is taking place Oct. 18 and 19, 2016, in Mississauga, Ont. Ornge to host first-ever Canadian air medical safety conference Guest speakers attending ACAT will cover a variety of aviation safety topics unique to the aeromedical transport community, including night vision goggles usage in the scene flight environment, air to ground communications and more. Mike Reyno Photo ACAT aims to continue to enhance safety within the Canadian air ambulance industry by sharing and discussing potential safety hazards and concerns, new trending risks and other ongoing aeromedical industry issues. Guest speakers will cover a variety of aviation safety topics unique to the aeromedical transport community, including night vision goggles usage in the scene flight environment, air to ground communications and more. "The first All Canada Aeromedical Transport Safety Conference strengthens and positions Ornge as a leader to crew and operational safety for air ambulance providers across Canada," says Rob Giguere, chief operating officer for Ornge. "We look forward to working with our air ambulance colleagues from across Canada to enhance safety within the Canadian air ambulance industry." The first ACAT conference anticipates representation from more than 20 delegates representing eight fixed- and rotor-wing air ambulance operators from across Canada. "Ornge believes working together with other air ambulance operators will help to ensure enhanced safety in the Canadian Air Ambulance transportation while improving by learning from our common experiences," said David Huntzinger, director of aviation safety for Ornge. "This safety conference is unique to Canada and the first of its kind in North America." http://skiesmag.com/press-releases/ornge-host-first-ever-canadian-air-medical-safety-conference/ Back to Top Baldwin Aviation Introduces New QuickRisk Safety Profile Hilton Head Island, SC - October 17, 2016 - Baldwin Aviation, a world leader in providing safety management and support programs for commercial and non-commercial aviation is introducing its QuickRisk™ SAFETY PROFILE. This comprehensive tool is based on a proprietary algorithm, which identifies common critical risk factors, sets safety goals, measures exposure to hazards and potential areas of vulnerability, and provides a snapshot of overall performance in one easy-easy-to-use feature. "Safety is all about information and being able to easily understand and interpret it properly," said Don Baldwin, President and CEO of Baldwin Aviation. "In business aviation there's a list of risk exposures that are pretty common to the industry. Our team has identified a range of tools and created ways to monitor and measure the hazards and risks anywhere in the system and set targets and safety goals. The result is a dashboard or quick reference profile of information that a safety manager, department leaders and all users can employ to track how well the operation responds to hazardous situations or identifies and mitigates potential risk," Mr. Baldwin added. "The QuickRisk™ SAFETY PROFILE is a straightforward tool that not only tracks ongoing performance and readily identifies potential areas of concern, it can be a valuable measurement for comparing safety behaviors and results against previous benchmarks. We will also utilize it with similar operators to provide a composite profile which may be useful as a predictive or preventive aid," Baldwin noted. Baldwin Aviation's progressive, proprietary tool directly addresses the vague industry Safety Performance Indicators (SPI), Safety Risk Profile (SRP), Hazard-Risk Register (HRR) and tracking of data. "We have automated this process and let technology do the tedious work so safety professionals can focus on Safety," Baldwin added. Baldwin Aviation continually responds to the needs and changing requirements of its extensive list of business aviation, commercial, government and vertical lift clients by offering a variety of industry leading intuitive tools and programs such as the Safety Co-Op™, FDM/FOQA and ASAP/ASIAS support programs. Baldwin Aviation's safety and related programs provide the flexibility and scalability required not only for commercial & non-commercial aviation, but also for ground, UAS, airport and FBO/MRO applications, as well. Baldwin Aviation will be presenting the QuickRiskTM SAFETY PROFILE at the 2016 NBAA BACE in Orlando, Booth 2639. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12270001/baldwin-aviation-introduces-new-quickrisk-safety-profile Back to Top India to become 3rd largest aviation NEW DELHI: India will become the third largest aviation market in the world by displacing the UK in 2026, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a passenger forecast issued today. The 20year forecast also says that China will displace the US as the world's largest aviation market (defined by traffic to, from and within the country) around 2029. "... the biggest driver of demand will be the AsiaPacific region, which is expected to be the source of more than half the new passengers over the next 20 years. China will displace the US as the world's largest aviation market (defined by traffic to, from and within the country) around 2029. India will displace the UK for third place in 2026, while Indonesia enters the top ten at the expense of Italy," said the IATA forecast. India is currently the ninth largest aviation market in the world in terms of passengers. Growth will also increasingly be driven within developing markets. Over the past decade the developing world's share of total passenger traffic has risen from 24% to nearly 40%, and this trend is set to continue, it further said. The aviation body also expects air passengers to double in 2035 to 7.2 billion from 3.8 billion air travelers in 2016. The prediction is based on a 3.7% annual Compound Average Growth Rate (CAGR) noted in the release of the latest update to the association's 20Year Air Passenger Forecast, IATA said. "People want to fly. Demand for air travel over the next two decades is set to double. Enabling people and nations to trade, explore, and share the benefits of innovation and http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/india-to-become-3rd-largest- aviation-market-by-2026-iata/articleshow/54919114.cms Back to Top The Very First Dassault Falcon 8X Jet Is Ready for Takeoff The very first example of the Dassault Falcon 8X, the French aerospace firm's new $58 million ultralong-range business jet, was delivered to European charter company Amjet Executive earlier this month. The Greek charter service, which manages a fleet of planes that includes Falcon 50s and Falcon 7Xs, is the first company to offer charters aboard the Falcon 8X. Billed as the next generation of the Falcon 7X, the newly unveiled airplane has a longer range and a bigger cabin with 30 potential layouts to choose from. Capable of traveling up to 7,422 miles nonstop and reaching speeds of up to 425 mph, the jet was cleared for take-off after receiving its EASA and FAA certification in June. The Falcon 8X is entering service right on schedule, exactly two years after it was initially announced. Additional deliveries are planned for customers in a dozen countries, including India, Brazil, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. (dassaultfalcon.com) http://robbreport.com/aviation/very-first-dassault-falcon-8x-jet-ready-takeoff Back to Top Lockheed proposes stealth fighter project with Mitsubishi Heavy Lockheed Martin has proposed developing a new Japanese stealth fighter with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the U.S. defense giant's president told The Nikkei. Lockheed Martin's proposal was made in response to a call from Japan's Ministry of Defense, which is weighing options to boost Japan's defensive capabilities in the face of rising regional tensions. Japan is looking to replace its aging fleet of around 90 F-2 fighters and is mulling three possibilities. The first would be for Japan to develop a new jet domestically. The second would be co-development with foreign defense contractors, such as Lockheed Martin. The third would be to buy more existing aircraft -- say, Lockheed Martin's F- 35 stealth jet. The Japanese ministry's deliberations are ongoing, with a second round of information requests to be made by the end of next March. "We will definitely respond [to this request], we will be a part of that process," Hewson said. A final decision is expected in fiscal 2018. Lockheed Martin rival Boeing has also proposed working with MHI on a replacement for the F-2. Alternatively, the Japanese contractor could opt to go it alone with its experimental stealth fighter, which made its maiden flight in April. Japan has already purchased 42 F-35s from Lockheed Martin to replace its F-4 fleet. The F-35 was originally developed by the U.S. and eight other countries, including the U.K. and Italy, in what has been described as the world's largest weapons program. http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/10/lockheed-proposes-stealth-fighter.html Back to Top The Pentagon Is Planning a New Super Rival to the Troubled F-35 After years of missteps and ghastly cost overruns, the $1 trillion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is finally coming on line and generating relatively positive reviews by the military and erstwhile critics. Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning system is a stealthy state-of-the art jet fighter designed to span the military services for the U.S. and its allies. There are three distinct models that take off and land in conventional ways, do short takeoffs and vertical landings, and that are launched from air craft carriers using a catapult. Related: After Years of Bad News, the F-35 Proves a Double Threat from the Sky Last year, a squadron of F-35B fighters tailor made for the Marines was first declared ready for deployment, and this summer those aircraft withstood intensive testing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Also last August, the Air Force declared its F-35A Lightning II fighter jet "combat ready," marking another important milestone for the controversial aircraft. "It has been trash-talked a lot, but this is one mean machine and it will prove its combat value," Rebecca Grant, president of the Washington-based firm IRIS Independent Research and a consultant to the Air Force, told FoxNews.com. "It's ready to go to war, it's ready to keep the peace." Ironically, just as the F-35 is getting up to speed, the Air Force and Navy have begun preliminary planning for a long-term successor to the single seat F-35 jet fighter - one that includes futuristic features that once seemed out of reach. Twenty years from now, fighter jets likely will contain the latest breakthroughs in stealth technology, sophisticated computer processing and algorithms, hypersonic weapons and "smart-skins." Those smart-skins are sensors that would be built into the aircraft itself to reduce drag assure maximum connectivity with battle field intelligence- gathering technology. Writing last weekend in the on-line defense systems publication Scout Warrior, managing editor Kris Osborn observed that some of these unique characteristic may already have been on display early this year when Northrop Grumman aired a commercial during the Super Bowl revealing "a flashy first look" at its concept of a new sixth- generation fighter jet. Northrop Grumman is almost certain to be competing with Boeing-Lockheed and other major defense manufacturer for the contract to build the next generation of fighter jets when the time is ripe. "Maximum connectivity would mean massively increased communications and sensor technology such as having an ability to achieve real-time connectivity with satellites, other aircraft and anything that could provide relevant battlefield information," Osborn wrote in assessing the evolving design. He said that the new aircraft might be equipped to fire hypersonic weapons, although such a design breakthrough would hinge on "successful progress with yet-to-be proven technologies such as scramjets traveling at hypersonic speeds." So far, early testing of this technology has been a mixed bag. The Air Force and Navy reportedly are holding joint conceptual talks about the technologies and capabilities of the future sixth-generation fighter aircraft, according to Scout Warrior. While the Air Force has not yet identified a platform for the new aircraft, the Navy's new aircraft will at least partly replace the existing inventory of F/A-18 Super Hornets, which will be retired beginning in 2035, according to Navy officials. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/pentagon-planning-super-rival-troubled-091500950.html Back to Top Chinese astronauts enter space station following docking In this image taken off the screen at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 and released by Xinhua News Agency, two Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng, left and Chen Dong salute in the space lab Tiangong 2. A pair of Chinese astronauts entered the country's orbiting space station for a month-long stay early Wednesday, as China's sixth and longest crewed mission gets underway in earnest. The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft that blasted off Monday morning docked with the Tiangong 2 station using an automated maneuver worked out during missions to an earlier experimental station. Having changed from his space suit into blue overalls, veteran mission commander Jing Haipeng opened the hatch and entered the station shortly after 6 a.m. Beijing time (2200 GMT), followed by astronaut Chen Dong, who is making his first journey into space, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. "The two astronauts extended greetings to all the people of the nation in the space lab, and checked the status of the space complex," Xinhua said. The space station launched Sept. 15 is orbiting about 393 kilometers (244 miles) above the earth. The mission displays the growing sophistication of the country's manned program that first launched a human into space 13 years ago. During their 30-day stay, the astronauts will conduct experiments in medicine and space-related technologies, and test systems and processes in preparation for the launching of the station's core module in 2018. A fully functioning space station is on course to begin full operations six years from now and slated to run for at least a decade. China's manned space program has also conducted a spacewalk, while the lunar program recently decommissioned its Yutu rover and is considering sending a crew to the moon. The Tiangong, or "Heavenly Palace," space stations are considered stepping stones to a mission to send a rover to Mars by the end of the decade. Communications with the disused Tiangong 1 station have been cut and it is expected to burn up on entering the atmosphere next year. China was excluded from the International Space Station mainly due to U.S. legislation barring such cooperation and concerns over the Chinese space program's strongly military character. Chinese officials are now looking to internationalize their own program by offering to help finance other countries' missions to Tiangong 2, which, at 60 tons when completed, would still be considerably smaller than the 420-ton ISS. http://phys.org/news/2016-10-chinese-astronauts-space-station-docking.html#jCp Back to Top BOOK SIGNING: The Crash Detectives Investigating the World's Most Mysterious Air Disasters Book signing and general aviation-safety-geek mingle after the Wednesday (19OCT) presentations at the ISASI conference in the lobby bar of the Grand Hotel Reykjavik SIGTÚN 38, 105 REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND European and Asian attendees, this will be your first opportunity to get The Crash Detectives as it does not go on sale in Europe until March 2017. Christine Negroni author of The Crash Detectives Investigating the World's Most Mysterious Air Disasters Published by Penguin Books Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Dear colleague in the aircraft ground handling industry My name is Mario Pierobon and I am conducting a doctoral study on aircraft ground handling safety at Cranfield University. As part of my research I have developed a survey that requires you to consider the degree of implementation of the IATA Ground Operations Manual (IGOM) chapter 4 ramp safety provisions and various management practices in place in your organisation to ensure that safety provisions are implemented. The survey will take approximately 13 minutes to complete. In order to participate to this survey you are required to have a management role in the aircraft ground handling industry and be familiar with IGOM chapter 4 ramp safety provisions. The survey may be accessed at the following link https://cranfielduniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8c5FmAf0bLFJ39P Earlier in the summer I sent out another survey concerning the categorisation of 40 different hazards that are peculiar to the aircraft ground handling environment. If you have not filled in this survey may I kindly ask you to please do so and go to the other following link https://cranfielduniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3abRtXF0f6D7oEJ Thank you in advance for your kind support, if you need any additional information you may reach me at m.pierobon@cranfield.ac.uk. Kind regards Mario Pierobon PhD Candidate (air safety), Cranfield University Back to Top Stop By and Visit At NBAA - BACE 2016 DATE November 1-3, 2016 LOCATION Booth 1482 Orange County Convention Center Orlando Executive Airport Orlando, FL Curt Lewis