Flight Safety Information November 8, 2016 - No. 221 In This Issue GE: Engine part that failed in AA flight had flaw FAA: Too early to write commercial space flight regulations Aviation regulator looks to crack down on pilots feigning illness to miss work (India) Aviation safety system ineffective: lawmakers (Taiwan) Government says no to 'air safety' tax (Portugal) Snake on a Plane: Reptile Gives Passengers Mid-Flight Scare Controversial Propellentless EmDrive is said to be undergoing tests in space FAA Safety Briefing - November/December 2016 GE: Engine part that failed in AA flight had flaw An engine disk that failed aboard American Airlines flight 383 at Chicago's O'Hare airport on Oct. 28, 2016. (Photo: NTSB) The engine disk that fell apart and caused a fire aboard an American Airlines jet revealed a problem with a common alloy that hadn't been detected in 30 years, the manufacturer GE Aviation told airlines on Friday. Only one plane is still in operation with a disk from the same batch of alloy, called Inconel 718, and GE said in its letter to airlines that it is working with the unidentified airline to remove that part from service. Investigators must determine whether the microscopic manufacturing flaw could affect other engines. "GE Aviation has not experienced a failure from an engine component caused by an anomaly in Inconel 718 material in more than 30 years," said Rick Kennedy, a company spokesman. "What the investigation will do now is move forward to determine if there is a suspect population of engines that need to be addressed, to make sure the fleet is fully protected." The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the incident Oct. 28 involving American flight 383 at Chicago's O'Hare airport. The pilots aborted a takeoff and all 161 passengers and nine crew members evacuated from the plane before a fuel leak from the broken engine caused a fire. Investigators revealed Friday that a turbine disk failed in the right engine of the Boeing 767-300, hurling at least four parts up to a half-mile away. The disk showed signs of fatigue despite having gone through only about 11,000 flights of its life-limit of 15,000, investigators said. The disk's metallurgy is being evaluated because the microscopic problem during manufacturing might not have been evident in inspections during the 19 years the plane was flying. The anomaly has been identified and is being further evaluated, according to the GE Aviation letter. An American Airlines flight bound for Miami caught fire on a runway at O'Hare International Airport Friday afternoon as it was taking off, officials said. American Airlines said the plane aborted takeoff due to an "engine-related mechanical issue." USA TODAY NETWORK The engine was a CF6-80C2. GE said the CF6 engines have been a workhorse of the industry since the 1970s, powering seven types of wide-body jets. More than 4,000 of the engines in the family are in service and they have accumulated more than 400 million flight hours. The NTSB's investigation could take months longer to determine what caused the problem and for recommendations to avoid a recurrence. "As the investigation progresses, if there is a determination that additional action is required, GE will provide periodic updates to operators," GE said in the letter. http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2016/11/07/ge-engine- flaw/93414946/ Back to Top FAA: Too early to write commercial space flight regulations The prospect of commercial space flight could become a reality within the next two decades, but US Federal Aviation Administration officials are saying it's still too early to write regulations to protect crew and passengers aboard space flights. Congress has directed the FAA to put off creating those regulations now, instead encouraging the agency to develop standards with industry, FAA commercial space transportation associate administrator George Nield told a commercial space industry audience in Washington on Monday. "If we start too early and say this is how you have to do everything, you're going to get it wrong," Nield says. Once regulations are formulated, they still won't be as stringent as commercial aviation rules. Such strict requirements would prevent commercial space operations from getting off the ground, according to Nield. Both the FAA and industry also don't want to certify commercial space vehicles the same way the agency certifies aircraft. While the "un- involved public" on the ground will be protected from the risks of commercial space flight, Congress has told the FAA to inform passengers of the potentially fatal risks of a rocket trip. Blue Origin intends to launch its first human passenger flight aboard its New Shepard space vehicle by the end of 2017 and its first paid flight in 2018, but its director of business development says it's too early to write rules. "From a regulatory framework, we definitely don't want new certification prematurely," Brett Alexander says. "We have not yet even begun to have human flights." Although the agency is not diving into regulations yet, the FAA is working through how to integrate commercial space operations into the national airspace system to help them operate safely. That would improve current operations, which involves temporary flight restrictions to segregate aircraft from rockets throughout the entire launch window, which can often last hours, Nield says. But the greatest challenge for the FAA at the moment is grasping how it will regulate commercial space operations that don't yet exist. The agency is well acquainted with commercial launches such as telecommunications satellites, but several companies are now proposing operations of commercial space stations, satellite service missions, moon landings and asteroid mining. The FAA is willing to take on that role if the White House and Congress agree, but current policy does not spell out which agency regulates nontraditional missions, Nield says. "They're coming to Washington and knocking on doors with questions like, 'Who do I talk to, to get permission to land this commercial spacecraft on mars?'" he says. "And unfortunately there is no good answer to that question right now." Nield also argues his office is the best suited to handle space situational awareness information. Today, the US Air Force oversees the sharing of information among civil, commercial and international users, but senior military leadership do not want their role to devolve into space traffic control, Nield says. Recently, the US secretary of transportation sent Congress a report supporting the transition of that role to a civil office, such as the FAA's commercial space transportation office. "We think it's a transition that could be accomplished in a surprisingly short period of time and with a relatively modest income in terms of resources," Nield says. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/faa-too-early-to-write-commercial-space- flight-reg-431259/ Back to Top Aviation regulator looks to crack down on pilots feigning illness to miss work (India) More than 100 Jet Airways flights were either delayed or cancelled over the long Diwali weekend owing to mass sick leave by pilots. (Bloomberg File Photo) The aviation regulator has decided to crack down on pilots feigning illness to miss work, less than a week after Jet Airways passengers suffered long waits and cancellations due to a shortage of pilots. A draft proposal by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday asked airlines to prepare a list of pilots calling in sick on weekends, during festivals and industrial protests. The DGCA will then send these pilots for medical check-ups and ground them if the reports indicate that they were faking the illness, according to the proposal. "Flight operations are among essential services. Planned disruptions by faking illness is against public interest," said a senior DGCA official requesting anonymity. The official added that the safety regulator will collect feedback on the proposal for at least a month before it becomes a rule. More than 100 Jet Airways flights were either delayed or cancelled over the long Diwali weekend owing to mass sick leave by pilots. The stir, which apparently stemmed from the induction of new automated roster, ended on November 2. A section of the pilots felt the new roster didn't adequately account for travel fatigue. "Often our last flights in a day are to critical airfields such as Leh or Kathmandu (where it is critical for pilots to be extra careful)," said a senior pilot who did not want to be named. "It is unfair to expect that a pilot would be fresh after four flights." Many pilots fear that the move might jeopardise flight safety. "Does the DGCA want pilots to be scared of stating their illness? The draft is a catastrophe," said a retired Airbus pilot requesting anonymity. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/aviation-regulator-looks-to-crack-down-on- pilots-feigning-illness-to-miss-work/story-XmxQLxDL5HH4oLHR90ZTNI.html Back to Top Aviation safety system ineffective: lawmakers (Taiwan) The Taiwan Confidential Aviation Safety Reporting System (TCASRS) has proven to be ineffective in improving safety as only a few people voluntarily report safety issues they have experienced on the job to the Aviation Safety Council, lawmakers on the legislature's Transportation Committee said yesterday in Taipei. The criticism of the system arose at a committee meeting as lawmakers reviewed the council's budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-tse (???) said the US receives about 90,000 aviation safety reports from pilots and other airline industry workers per year, but Taiwan has only received 20 reports this year. He questioned why the system has such a low usage rate and asked if people would be punished for voluntarily reporting safety issues. Lee said that the number of aviation safety reports filed through the TCASRS never exceeded 50 per year between 2011 and last year, and the number recorded pales in comparison with those filed in the US. He questioned if the council is addressing the issues contained in the reports. The TCASRS in April received complaints from flight attendants who said that they had been overworked, three months before the nation's first flight attendants strike in June. There was also a complaint in March specifying that the ground crew at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport were working in an environment with low visibility before one worker was reportedly injured this month in the airport's restricted area when his car hit a pallet tractor, he said. Lee said that a complaint was received in August alleging that when an EVA Air plane was forced to land at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport because of Typhoon Soudelor, the pilots called out "Mayday." The airline is facing a penalty from the Civil Aeronautics Administration for overworking its flight attendants and landing aircraft in unfavorable weather conditions when Typhoon Megi hit the nation last month, he said. "Does the council merely function after major aviation accidents happen?" Lee asked, adding that both the council and the Civil Aeronautics Administration need to work in tandem. Aviation Safety Council Executive Director Thomas Wang (???) said that the US receives so many reports because it has special legislation protecting people who voluntarily report safety issues by which they are not held accountable for any mistakes they make. "Our system allows people to report aviation safety problems anonymously so that there will be no recriminations," Wang said. Civil Aeronautics Administration Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (???) said that people would either be exempt from being held responsible for their error or get a reduced penalty if they voluntarily report safety issues. Agency statistics showed that approximately 1,200 mandatory and voluntary reports of safety problems had been received. Council data showed that the nation's turbine propeller hull loss rate was 3.09 times per million departures in the past 10 years, higher than the global average of 1.76 times per million departures. The high hull loss rate was caused by two TransAsia Airways flights crashing in 2014 and last year. DPP Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (???) proposed an amendment to the Act of the Organization of the Aviation Safety Council (???????) that would require the council's commissioners to have experience in aviation safety issues. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2016/10/28/2003658091 Back to Top Government says no to 'air safety' tax (Portugal) The State Secretary for Infrastructures has refuted the possibility of adding a 20-cent- per-ticket tax onto airline bookings as proposed by the head of Portugal's cash-strapped air safety bureau, to aid that entity with its work. Government says no to 'air safety' tax In comments to radio station TSF, State Secretary Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins rejected the idea, saying the government is committed to "investing in reinforcing means of investigation, prevention and safety" but without creating additional taxes.He also stressed that the government has boosted its means for air safety prevention in recent years. The head of the Bureau for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft Accidents (GPIAA) had suggested the surcharge on each flight ticket after denouncing a lack of means within the bureau. But, State Secretary Martins explained, "More than creating taxes, the government is dedicated to investing in creating funds for reinforcing means of investigation, prevention and safety. We are not creating additional taxes to help the needs of an organism, but within a bigger framework of prevention and safety." He further refuted that air prevention and safety is compromised by the Bureau's lack of means. In an interview with TSF, the head of the GPIAA, Álvaro Neves, bemoaned the entity's current financial situation and said the prevention of air accidents could be compromised if the problem is not solved. "Strangled by a noose until inoperable" was how the GPIAA president termed the situation, adding it has become "even more complicated" this year. Mr. Neves said in his opinion the creation of a 20-cent per ticket tax is "urgently" needed, and it is "fundamental to also create a reserve fund for the state in the event of a serious accident." State Secretary Martins stressed that "in recent years there has been reinforcement in safety and the prevention of accidents through an integrated safety programme by the Portuguese State." He added that last year there was also a rise in the number of airlines being audited, and recalled that a measure was implemented to ensure two crew members are in cockpits at all times as further means of safety and prevention. http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/government-says-no-to-air-safety-tax/39923 Back to Top Snake on a Plane: Reptile Gives Passengers Mid-Flight Scare A snake gave passengers on a commercial flight in Mexico quite the s-s-scare on Sunday. Video captured by Indalecio Medina shows the serpent slithering from the ceiling near an overhead luggage compartment before partially dropping into the cabin of the Aeroméxico flight. The scene garnered plenty of comparisons to the Hollywood thriller and action movie, "Snakes on a Plane," starring Samuel L. Jackson. Medina told ABC News today that he "controlled the snake with a blanket" before the plane landed in Mexico City and animal control personnel arrived. Aeroméxico said in a statement that "due to the presence of the animal and following security protocols, the flight was given priority to land" at Mexico City International Airport. Once the plane landed, airport personnel "secured the reptile." "The procedures carried out for this flight are currently being evaluated to determine how the animal entered the cabin and measures have been taken to avoid such incidents in the future," Aeroméxico added. "For Aeroméxico, the security of its passengers and crew is of the highest priority and it always works to meet the highest quality standards." https://gma.yahoo.com/snake-plane-reptile-gives-passengers-mid-flight-scare- 234102428--abc-news-topstories.html Back to Top Controversial Propellentless EmDrive is said to be undergoing tests in space on the Tiangong-2 station and US Air Force X-37B plane The US Air Force and the Chinese government are presently trialling the controversial EmDrive space propulsion technology on spacecraft, according to sources in the international space industry. IBTimes UK has been informed that the US Air Force is currently testing out a version of the EmDrive electromagnetic microwave thruster on the X-37B unmanned military space plane, while the Chinese government has made sure to include the EmDrive on its orbital space laboratory Tiangong-2. A NASA report on the EMdrive leaked which concludes a force generation of 1.2mn/kw after errors measurement is accounted for. A low thrust pendulum at the NASA Johnson space center was used. The best conventional Hall thruster can produce 60 millinewtons per kilowatt which is an order of magnitude more than the emdrive that was tested. Light sails and photon propulsion (zero propellant propulsion) produces two orders of magnitude less the emdrive. 3.33-6.67 micronewtons per kilowatt. This appears to conclusively prove that emdrive works for propulsion in terms of lab work. The other final thing is to put one into space and see it go a serious distance. Testing for propulsion in space would be conclusive if EMdrive works. AThe Tiangong-2 is a space laboratory that China launched into space on 15 September aboard a Long March 2F rocket. It is not designed to be a permanent orbital station, but is instead a testbed for key technologies that China wants to use on its large modular space station, which is set to launch in 2023. The Tiangong-2 is big enough for two astronauts to carry out experiments in it and carries 30 days of life support resources aboard it. The space laboratory measures 10.4m in length and has a diameter of 4.2m. On 18 October, the Shenzhou 11 manned spaceflight carrying Commander Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong docked with the Tiangong-2 on 18 October at an altitude of 393km. Jing and Chen will spend 30 days in space conducting various experiments using the Tiangong-2 Scientists from the Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU) in Xi'an, China were one of the first in the world to try to build their own version of the EmDrive in 2008, and between 2012 and 2014 they published a series of papers reporting that they had measured net thrust. However in 2014, they found that the thrust measured was a false positive experimental error due to a power cable, and when they revised the study with an improved EmDrive prototype, they found that any possible thrust being emitted by the device was far too small for their laboratory setup to measure. In October EmDrive inventor Roger Shawyer confirmed that the UK Ministry of Defence and the US Department of Defense are interested in using the EmDrive to power space satellites, because a propellant-less rocket engine would enable the military to get close to a target without anyone knowing it was there. In the meantime Roger Shawyer is patenting a new EmDrive thruster that features a single flat superconducting plate on one end, while the other end is a unique shaped plate that is non-superconducting. He plans to manufacture thousands of the devices as part of his joint venture with UK aerospace firm Gilo Industries Group, and hopes that the EmDrive can be used to reduce the cost and time to space, as well as powering flying cars and helping to solve the global energy crisis. http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/11/controversial-propellentless-emdrive-is.html Curt Lewis