Flight Safety Information November 2, 2016 - No. 217 In This Issue MH370: Report suggests flight was not preparing for landing Alaska Airlines flight grounded after e-cig batteries ignite ICAO seen to conduct air safety audit in 2017 Turkish air force pulls student, instructor pilots from ENJJPT Aerion's plans for supersonic business jet hit engine snag China Teams Up With Russia in Bid to Break Airbus-Boeing Duopoly Lufthansa says auf wiedersehen to the Boeing 737 CEFA Aviation and USC Aviation Safety combine to present eight days of flight data analysis and visualization training GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY MH370: Report suggests flight was not preparing for landing Investigators continue to search for M370 nearly two years after it disappeared Wreckage analysis suggests Flight MH370 did not make a controlled descent into the Indian Ocean, says a new report. The Boeing 777 disappeared while flying to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board in March 2014. The report from Australian investigators suggests the aircraft's wing flaps were in a "cruise" position when it hit the ocean surface. It casts further doubt on the theory supported by some analysts that someone was in control of the plane's descent. MH370: What we know Among more than 20 items of debris, investigators focused their attention on the recovered right outboard wing flap section. "The purpose of the examination was to inform the end-of-flight scenarios being considered by the search team," the report said. "The right flaperon was probably at, or close to, the neutral position at the time it separated from the wing." The release of the report comes as a team of international aviation and communications experts gather in Canberra to discuss the next stage of the search process. The report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is co-ordinating the search, is based on satellite data, flight simulations and a comprehensive analysis of debris which had drifted from the suspected crash site. Debris map "Findings of the review will be released after the meeting," Transport Minister Darren Chester said in a statement. "Australia, Malaysia, and China continue to work together to find MH370." The search effort for MH370 has been combing a 120,000sq km area of seabed using underwater drones and sonar equipment deployed from specialist ships. It is expected to draw to a close by the end of the year if it does not find credible new evidence. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37843752 Back to Top Alaska Airlines flight grounded after e-cig batteries ignite Passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Anchorage on Sunday were delayed for more than five hours after a passenger's backpack started burning. Batteries for an e-cigarette are the likely culprit. Flight 67 had just made a scheduled stop in Ketchikan, and about half the passengers had deplaned when the incident occurred at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Andrew Hames was seated just a few rows behind the passenger. "And I heard sort of a whooshing sound, like a quick hiss of air, and I looked up and about three rows in front of me a guy's backpack started smoking and burst into orange and blue flame. He quickly got it off and hit it to the ground and some other passengers got up and started stomping on it." Hames said the man thought the source of the fire might have been an e-cigarette, but that wasn't the complete answer. After all passengers had stepped off into the Ketchikan airport, Hames spoke briefly with the man as he emptied out his pack. "And he said it was this device. And he held up the charger itself," Hames said. "And it looked like there were some coins in the bottom and somehow made contact with that. And he also had several charred quarters sitting on the table as well." Hames also said the man appeared quite chagrined, and cooperated fully with authorities in the airport. In a prepared statement, Alaska Airlines confirmed that freshly charged batteries were to blame. Spokesperson Ann Zaninovich also didn't call the event a fire. "Technical experts believe that when the batteries came in contact with metal keys and coins it caused a spark. There was visible smoke, and a set of keys and candy fell to the ground through a burnt hole in the backpack," Zaninovich wrote. "While there was not fire, there was sparking, which prompted the flight attendants to take swift action and use the fire extinguisher." Zaninovich said that "out of an abundance of caution," the aircraft's first officer put "the device" in a fire containment bag, which is carried on all of the airline's planes. She offered no comment on whether the incident would affect rules regarding the transport of e-cigarettes or battery chargers on aircraft. Hames, however, considers the event an eye-opener. "I imagine if those items had been underneath the airplane in the luggage compartment and somehow that same event had happened, it absolutely could have been more exciting than it already was," he said. Another aircraft was sent to take passengers on to Juneau and Anchorage. Hames and his family arrived in Sitka about five hours behind schedule. The original aircraft used for Flight 67 was returned to service about six hours later. A 12-inch square of burned carpet had been replaced. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2016/11/01/alaska-airlines-flight-grounded-after-e-cig-batteries- ignite/ Back to Top ICAO seen to conduct air safety audit in 2017 The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is scheduled to conduct an audit on the Philippines' air safety regulations in the middle of next year, a senior government official said. The audit is undertaken regularly and is meant to determine whether a country meets global air safety standards set by the Montreal, Canada-based specialized agency of the United Nations. Failing the ICAO inspection could lead to blacklisting by other jurisdictions, such as the European Union. Nevertheless, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is confident it will pass the next ICAO audit, to be conducted sometime in May 2017, CAAP deputy director general Manuel Antonio Tamayo said. He said the country was still showing "weakness" in three out of eight audit points. These mainly involved inadequate manpower and the lack of an independent air accident investigation board. All these are already being addressed, he said. "We are confident, and we have time to improve still," Tamayo said. He noted that international consultants that assisted the Philippines in getting out of the EU blacklist in 2013 were being tapped to assist the CAAP. Manpower inadequacy at the CAAP was mainly because of low pay, Tamayo said. Regulatory constraints also prevented them from immediately addressing those issues. He was more optimistic on the timing of the separation of airline accident investigations from the CAAP into an independent body. Transportation undersecretary for aviation Roberto Lim said separately that a draft proposal for this measure would be ready for President Duterte before the end of 2016. http://business.inquirer.net/218101/icao-seen-to-conduct-air-safety-audit-in-2017#ixzz4OrJ79iTF Back to Top Turkish air force pulls student, instructor pilots from ENJJPT The Turkish air force will not participate in pilot training in Sheppard Air Force Base's Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, a base official confirmed. George Woodward, base public affairs director, said the NATO ally will not send student and instructor pilots during this fiscal year. He didn't indicate why Turkish leadership made the decision, but other countries participating in the program in recent years have done the same thing. "Turkey, which has been a partner nation since 1981, has decided to adjust its level of participation in the program for fiscal year 2017, and will not send any students or instructor pilots to ENJJPT," he said. "This is not unusual for the program; in fact, it mirrors the current level of involvement of other partner nations, including the United Kingdom and Portugal." Woodward said the partner will continue to participate in the decision-making process as a member of the ENJJPT steering committee. They could return to the program at the 80th Flying Training Wing as early as Fiscal Year 2018. While a reason for decision wasn't made known, the Turkish government was in turmoil earlier this year when a military coup attempt on July 15 was put down. A group called the Peace at Home Council, made up of members of the Turkish Armed Forces, sought to capture important cities such as Istanbul and Ankara. Video footage from international media showed military tanks rolling through streets and aircraft flying over Ankara, as reported at the time. The coup attempt was defeated relatively quickly, ending with more than 300 killed and another 2,100 wounded. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an Aug. 10 statement condemned the attempted coup and voiced the Alliance's continued support of its government. "Turkey is a valued Ally, making substantial contributions to NATO's joint efforts. Turkey takes full part in the Alliance's consensus-based decisions as we confront the biggest security challenges in a generation. Turkey's NATO membership is not in question," he said. "Our Alliance is committed to collective defence and founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty, human rights and the rule of law. NATO counts on the continued contributions of Turkey and Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of NATO." http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/local/turkish-air-force-pulls-student-instructor-pilots-from-enjjpt- 403ecd82-a563-1142-e053-0100007f7dde-399503511.html Back to Top Aerion's plans for supersonic business jet hit engine snag The selection of an engine supplier for the plane, which the company once said would occur in the first half of this year, is now expected to come in 2017. Aerion, backed by Texas billionaire Robert Bass, has hit a snag in one of the most crucial milestones toward building the first business jet able to fly faster than the speed of sound. The selection of an engine supplier for the plane, which Bass once said would occur in the first half of this year, is now expected to come in 2017, said Jeff Miller, a spokesman for the Reno, Nev.-based company. Aerion is "making good progress,'' Miller said Tuesday in an interview during the National Business Aviation Association conference in Orlando, Fla. "We're taking the time to get to the best decision for all parties.'' Chief Executive Officer Doug Nichols declined to comment. Falling short of the engine goal underscores the difficulty of Aerion's challenge. The aircraft, known as the AS2, would be the first supersonic civilian plane since Concorde flights were halted in 2003. Aerion's efforts gained momentum when Airbus Group agreed in 2014 to help design and produce the plane, and a fractional-jet ownership company last year ordered 20. Aerion has considered two dozen engines from various manufacturers, including for civil and military aircraft. The choice is narrowing to a derivative of a civil aircraft power plant that's already in use, Miller said. He declined to say with whom Aerion is holding discussions. Supersonic travel isn't allowed over the U.S. and many other countries because of disruption from sonic booms, which occur when a craft exceeds the speed of sound. Aerion plans to operate the jet just below supersonic levels over land and increase velocity over the ocean to Mach 1.5, or 1.5 times the speed of sound. Initial fleet purchaser Flexjet, the fractional aircraft operator that announced an order for 20 AS2s at last year's business aviation conference, said it wasn't privy to the engine negotiations. Kenneth Ricci, principal of Flexjet owner Directional Aviation, said he hoped Aerion would announce an engine choice soon. According to an industry adage, time kills deals. "The longer these things take to come to fruition the less likely they become,'' Ricci said in an interview last week. "We're hoping they move along." Information in this article, originally published Nov. 1, 2016, was corrected the same day. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Aerion was considering Washington state as a location to manufacture its aircraft. But it's actually another company - Spike Aerospace, which is desiging a supersonic commercial jet - that is considering Washington state as a manufacturing location. http://www.seattletimes.com/business/aerions-plans-for-supersonic-business-jet-hit-engine-snag/ Back to Top China Teams Up With Russia in Bid to Break Airbus-Boeing Duopoly The tail fin of a model of a Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (Comac) C919. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg Widebody jet to be developed with Russia's United Aircraft New aircraft would be able to fly 12,000 kilometers, seat 280 Even before China's domestically made C919 single-aisle jet takes flight, the nation already has its sights set on producing a much larger aircraft within a decade. Executives of state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd. unveiled plans Wednesday to make a twin-aisle jet that can fly as far as 12,000 kilometers -- roughly the distance between Beijing and New York. The company, known as Comac, is forming a joint venture with Russia's United Aircraft Corp. to research on and manufacture the aircraft. The announcement at a biennial airshow in southern Zhuhai city marks the first time China has given details of the widebody aircraft since the planned Russian partnership was flagged two years ago and comes amid delays to the maiden flight of the C919. The new plane would be able to seat 280 people, posing a direct challenge to jetliners from Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE such as their current B777, B787, A330 and A350 models. Comac is targeting the maiden flight of the new aircraft to take place about seven years from now, and the first delivery three years after that. An assembly line will be set up in Shanghai, with an eye to exporting the plane to other markets in the future, said Guo Bozhi, an assistant president at Comac who's in charge of the widebody-jet project. "Developing an aircraft is an arduous journey and we have to overcome a lot of technical difficulties," Guo said at a briefing. But the timeframe "is a definite target," he said. He declined to provide financial figures on the joint venture and development of the twin-engine plane. Comac said Tuesday that China Eastern Airlines Corp. will be the first carrier to take delivery of the locally made C919, a day after Wu Guanghui, Comac's chief designer, said the narrowbody jet's test flight would take place later this year or in early 2017. The plane's maiden flight has been pushed back at least twice since 2014. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-02/china-teams-up-with-russia-in-bid-to-break-airbus- boeing-duopoly Back to Top Lufthansa says auf wiedersehen to the Boeing 737 Lufthansa said goodbye to its fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft at a ceremony held in Hamburg. (Photo: Lufthansa) It served them well for 48 years but on Monday, at a ceremony held in Hamburg after special flight LH9922 arrived from Frankfurt, German carrier Lufthansa officially said goodbye to its fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft. After the ceremony, the B737-300, with registration D-ABEC ("Karlsruhe") flew back to Frankfurt. Since taking delivery of the first Boeing 737-100 in 1968, Lufthansa has had a total of 148 B737s of various generations in its fleet. But the carrier says it will now offer continental service with a fleet of around 150 planes from the Airbus A320 family, including four new-generation A320neo aircraft. "Lufthansa has always taken innovative approaches to cater customers' needs and to take advantage of market opportunities, which is why we played a key role in the B737's creation and development," said Harry Hohmeister, a member of Lufthansa's executive board and head of hub management, in a statement. "We will continue to pursue this innovative approach with the latest generation of aircraft." Lufthansa ended its 737 flights with the start of the winter schedule and on Saturday, Oct. 29, the six remaining Boeing 727-300s took their last commercial flights. The planes will now head to Florida to be resold. In saying goodbye to the B737, Lufthansa reviewed the aircraft's role in the carrier's history, noting that aviation fans and airline employees have long referred to the aircraft as "Bobby," thanks to a 1960s children's book that suggested the Boeing 707 was the new jet's father and the B727 its mother. Other milestones mentioned include the delivery of the first B737-300 model to Lufthansa in 1986, the fact that the first female co-pilots were trained to fly the B737 in May 1988, and that the B737 was the first aircraft to witness the reunification of the two Germanys, as it was the first aircraft to land in the former GDR at Leipzig Airport. http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2016/11/01/lufthansa-boeing- 737/93104524/?ref=yfp Back to Top If you cannot see this page correctly, please click here. CEFA Aviation and USC Aviation Safety combine to present eight days of flight data analysis and visualization training We are pleased to announce that CEFA Aviation and University of Southern California will be offering a joint training session at USC this December. CEFA's 3 days' session will focus on how to utilize flight data and CEFA's leading technology to create training/safety materials to help pilots brief on new and challenging airports, debrief on unusual flights and SOP deviations, help management gather more insight about the operational risk areas and will assist the safety professionals to better investigate the root cause of operational incidents/events. The course combines instruction, real-life examples and hands-on exercises so that students walk away with the knowledge they need to get the most out of their CEFA's visualization solutions. This course will run 7-9 December, 2016. The USC's 'Data for Safety Management' course will provide first-hand experience in the collection and analysis of safety critical flight data. To create an understanding of the basics of Flight Data Analysis, how Flight Data Analysis contributes to a SMS, and how Flight Data Analysis can result in positive improvements in aviation safety performance. This five day course will present the basics of flight data analysis based upon real-time flight information. It will present opportunities to analyze collective flight data as would be utilized by a commercial aircraft operator. The course will present CEFA's latest animation technology to depict flight profiles and examine other sources of data including video and air traffic control data that may be used in creating a data- based safety case. This course will run 12-16 December, 2016. Course Outline * Flight Data Recorders, types, capabilities and history * Evolution of Flight Data Analysis * Relationship to Aircraft Accident Investigation * Cases Studies * International Regulatory Standards * Relationship to SMS * FOQA, ASAP, ASRS * Cockpit Voice Recorders * Video Data * Technical Standards and Performance * Recovery of CV's and FDR's * Air Traffic Control Data * Components with Non Volatile Memory * Commercial Safety Data Services * Animation of Flight Data * ADS-B Practical Exercise CEFA Session: CEFA FAS Visualization Technology and Application Dates: December 7th - December 9th Location: USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Los Angeles, California, United States Fees and registration: Click here USC Session: Data for Safety Management Dates: December 12th - December 16th Location: USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Los Angeles, California, United States Fees: Please contact scalese@usc.edu Class sizes are limited, providing a highly interactive educational experience, so don't wait and register now for this training session! GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY SURVEY FOR UNIVERSITY PROJECT My name is Eleonora Orlandi, I spent the past 12 years in the sky initially as an airline pilot and then as a corporate pilot. At the moment I am working on the final project for completing a Msc in Aviation Safety Management with City University of London. The provisional title for my project is "RISK MITIGATION MANAGEMENT IN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY AND THE ANIMAL KINGDOM". As we all know Risk management is a substantial factor in aviation safety and various variants of risk management models exist. The risk model proposed by the university during the course of my study has been developedwithout using observations from animal behavior related torisk and risk mitigation. Can this model be complemented byunderstanding how certain animals manage risk? And if yeshow and to what extend? As part of the research I have developed a very short survey (it takes max 2 minutes). I would love to hear opinions of professional pilots from everywhere in world. If you have been flying as an airline, corporate or cargo pilot for more than one year, can you please spare two minutes of your time and complete the following survey https://it.surveymonkey.com/r/YZY375S Thank you for your help! Curt Lewis