Flight Safety Information December 30, 2016 - No. 261 In This Issue Russia says malfunction, not bomb, probably caused deadly crash of military jet Hong Kong airlines Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon cut aircraft deep cleaning frequency 6 missing after small plane disappears in Ohio Updated: Egypt to hand over EgyptAir MS804 victims' remains next week RESEARCH STUDY SURVEY Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship Russia says malfunction, not bomb, probably caused deadly crash of military jet A diver lifts a fragment of a plane outside in Sochi, Russia on Dec. 28, 2016. (Emergency Situations Ministry Photo via AP) MOSCOW - Russian investigators said Thursday that there was probably no bomb blast aboard a military jet that crashed Sunday off the Black Sea coast, as they revealed new details from flight recorders recently retrieved from the wreckage. The three-engine Tu-154, flying to Syria from the southern Russian city of Sochi, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 92 aboard. Why it went down remains a mystery, although Russian officials are leaning toward accidental causes, such as mechanical problems or pilot error, rather than an act of sabotage. "It is clear that there was a technical malfunction," Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said during a briefing in Moscow. "What caused it remains to be explained by the experts." [The Russian aid worker and 'saint' who died on the military flight] More than a year after Russia first deployed military aircraft and special forces in Syria, blowback in the form of a terrorist attack has become a growing concern. Investigators said Thursday that the information revealed by the flight recorders has not eliminated the possibility the crash was caused by a terrorist attack, although it has made it less likely. "We arrived at the conclusion that there was no explosion aboard," Sergei Bainetov, head of the Russian armed forces' flight safety service, said at a briefing in Moscow. "However, a terror attack does not have to be an explosion. Other causes are possible. Hence, we have not ruled out this theory for now." Bainetov also said that an analysis of the pilots' remarks before the crash indicated an "emergency situation" on board, but he did not elaborate. Earlier, the Russian tabloid Life, which is close to the security services and regularly obtains surveillance camera footage after accidents, said the captain yelled "the flaps!" and a string of profanities shortly before the plane crashed. The flight was in the air for a total of 70 seconds and reached an altitude of 820 feet, Bainetov said Thursday. Sokolov said 19 bodies, along with 230 body parts, have been retrieved by divers at the crash site. Tu-154 jets, which have been in service for 33 years, were once the workhorse of the commercial airline industry here and are still widely used by government ministries. It has been involved in serious crashes in Russia and abroad in recent years. Most significantly, a Tu-154 carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and other senior Polish officials crashed in 2010. No one survived. Russia's intervention in the Syrian conflict has made the country a target for terrorism. An Islamic State affiliate in Egypt asserted responsibility for a bombing aboard a Russian passenger jet in 2015 that killed 224 people, mostly vacationers returning from resorts in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Last week, Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was fatally shot at a public event in an art gallery in downtown Ankara. The assassin, a 22-year-old police officer named Mevlut Mert Altintas, shouted, "Don't forget Aleppo, don't forget Syria," moments after the killing. The attacks have done little to change Russia's policy in Syria or cause a rollback of its military deployment there. Russia has sought to strengthen its cooperation with Turkey in Syria despite Karlov's killing as the Kremlin hammers out a coalition without the United States that can determine the fate of the conflict. Since the attack on the jet in Egypt, Russia has widened its footprint in Syria, deploying new aircraft, special forces ground troops and the country's sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, to the region. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/russia-says-no-bomb-blast-likely-malfunctionin- military-jet-crash-that-killed-92/2016/12/29/c706b78a-cdb7-11e6-a747- d03044780a02_story.html?utm_term=.18e4db4877b3 Back to Top Hong Kong airlines Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon cut aircraft deep cleaning frequency A Boeing 777-300 aircraft operated by Cathay Pacific Airways sitting on the tarmac at the Hong Kong International Airport. HONG KONG - Hong Kong airlines Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon are reportedly "deep cleaning" their aircraft less frequently. The thorough cleaning operation, which currently takes three to four hours, has been cut from once per fortnight to once in three to four weeks, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday (Dec 30). Parts of the aircraft most used by passengers, such as seats and toilets, are usually cleaned in between flights, but deep cleaning goes into the hard-to-reach areas such as under seat cushions. Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon told SCMP they had faced challenges trying to adhere to their fixed 14-day cleaning schedule due to individual aircraft taking unplanned maintenance breaks or planes being swapped between short- and long-haul flights. A Cathay Pacific passenger, who did not give his name, told SCMP that he used a hot towel to wipe all the surfaces on his business class seat on a flight to Singapore this year. The wipe-down blackened the towel, he said, and he now does it for every flight. An SIA spokesman told The Straits Times on Friday that deep cleaning for its aircraft takes place monthly. "This involves maintaining and cleaning technical areas such as air vents as well as nuts and bolts," said the spokesman. A 2014 study presented at the American Society for Microbiology showed that bacteria that cause vomiting and potent infections may be able to survive on aircraft surfaces for up to a week. http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/hong-kong-airlines-cathay-pacific-cathay- dragon-cut-aircraft-deep-cleaning-frequency Back to Top 6 missing after small plane disappears in Ohio Three adults and three children were on board a plane that went missing on it's way to the Ohio State University airport. The Coast Guard says weather conditions are making search efforts difficult. CLEVELAND - As search and rescue crews searched Lake Erie for a small plane that disappeared overnight shortly after takeoff from Cleveland, Coast Guard officials are hopeful the six passengers could be found alive, the agency said Friday. The Cessna Citation 525 aircraft departed Burke Lakefront Airport in Ohio at 10:50 p.m. ET on Thursday. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, its intended destination was Ohio State University in Columbus, but the plane was not visible on radar. The plane disappeared shortly after takeoff about 2 miles over Lake Erie. At a morning news conference, Capt. Michael Mullen, the chief of response for the Ninth Coast Guard District, said the crews searching for the plane are in search-and-rescue mode, not recovery mode, as they ply waters that are about 50 feet deep. National Park Service: 3 dead in Smokies plane crash "We're very hopeful. We will be very hopeful up until the point that we have to turn the search off and we switch over to assisting with recovery," he said. Authorities have "faint hints" but no strong pulse from an emergency locating transmitter, a beacon that could help find the plane, Mullen said. Burke Lakefront Airport officials confirmed there were six passengers on board the plane, including three adults and three children. The passengers went to the Cleveland Cavaliers game at Quicken Loans Arena. "We're very hopeful. We will be very hopeful up until the point that we have to turn the search off and we switch over to assisting with recovery." Capt. Michael Mullen, chief of response for the Ninth Coast Guard District Searchers found no signs of debris Friday, but it is still unknown why the plane vanished from radar. The Coast Guard said it was notified about the missing plane by air traffic control sometime after 11 p.m. Coast Guard official James Cox in Buffalo said the plane is kept in a hangar at the Ohio State University airfield, but those aboard the aircraft aren't affiliated with the university. The plane is registered to Maverick Air and operated by Superior Beverage Group. Authorities haven't publicly identified the pilot or the passengers, but the Columbus Dispatch identified the pilot as the chief executive of a Columbus beverage company, citing the CEO's father. The newspaper reported the plane's pilot was Superior Beverage Group CEO John T. Fleming, 46, of Dublin, Ohio, said Fleming's father, John W. Fleming. The Dispatch also said John T. Fleming's wife, Suzanne, 46, and their two sons, John R., 15, and Andrew, 14, were on board with a neighbor and a neighbor's daughter. The Coast Guard said an air crew from Detroit and an air crew from Canada were aiding in the search. A helicopter was used overnight to search because the weather - including snow squalls and high seas - prevented a boat search. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/12/30/search-underway-missing- plane-ohio/95991432/ ******************* Status: Preliminary Date: Thursday 29 December 2016 Time: ca 23:00 Type: Cessna 525C Citation CJ4 Operator: Superior Beverage Group Registration: N614SB C/n / msn: 525C0072 First flight: 2012 Engines: 2 Williams International FJ44-4A Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: Total: Fatalities: / Occupants: 6 Airplane damage: Missing Airplane fate: Presumed damaged beyond repair Location: 3 km (1.9 mls) N off Cleveland-Burke Lakefront Airport, OH (BKL) ( United States of America) Phase: Initial climb (ICL) Nature: Unknown Departure airport: Cleveland-Burke Lakefront Airport, OH (BKL/KBKL), United States of America Destination airport: Columbus-Ohio State University Airport, OH (OSU/KOSU), United States of America Narrative: A Cessna 525C Citation CJ4 corporate jet, registered to Maverick Air and operated on behalf of the Superior Beverage Group, went missing shortly after takeoff from Cleveland- Burke Lakefront Airport, Ohio, USA. After takeoff from runway 24L or 24R at Burke Lakefront Airport, the aircraft made a right hand turn over Lake Erie. Flight tracking website Flightaware registered three datapoints after takeoff. The last point shows the aircraft in a high speed descent from 3100 feet at a descent rate of -3750 ft/min. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20161229-0 Back to Top Updated: Egypt to hand over EgyptAir MS804 victims' remains next week Recovered debris of the EgyptAir jet that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea is seen with the Arabic caption 'life jacket.' (Photo: Egyptian military) Remains of victims of EgyptAir MS804 crash to be handed over to families French experts at Egypt disposal in EgyptAir MS804 crash investigation: France foreign ministry Egypt is to transfer the victims' remains from the EgyptAir MS804 crash to relatives next week, state news agency MENA reported on Thursday, citing an EgyptAir hospitality official. The Airbus A320 plunged into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19 while en route from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 people on board, among them 40 Egyptians and 15 French nationals. Procedures to hand over the remains of the plane crew from the main state morgue will be completed on Saturday morning and a funeral prayer will be held at various mosques in the afternoon, captain Osama Abdel Baset was quoted by MENA as saying. The remains of the rest of the passengers will be handed over on Sunday, he added. Civil aviation ministry sources told Al-Ahram Arabic news website that the remains of Egyptians will be handed over starting Sunday until Tuesday, while the remains of foreign passengers to be handed over on Friday. It is expected that France will send a private jet to receive the remains of the French victims. Earlier in December, Egypt's aviation ministry announced that traces of explosives had been found on the victims' remains. But France's BEA air crash investigation agency said it is not possible to determine what might have caused the crash. It said no detailed information has been provided on how the samples were taken leading to the detection of traces of explosives. http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/254127/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-to-hand- over-EgyptAir-MS-victims-remains-nex.aspx Back to Top RESEARCH STUDY SURVEY Hello, I'm Dr. Tim Holt and I'm currently the Program Chair for Aeronautics and an Associate Professor with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ. In this position I'm responsible for faculty, curriculum, course updates, course alignment, etc... Furthermore, I teach undergraduate courses in aeronautics, safety, unmanned systems, and airport management for the Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics program. To this day, there are no reported statistics of general aviation pilots that have survived hypoxia during normal flight operations. More often than not there are tales of pilots getting themselves into a hypoxic situation and not surviving; rarely do people hear of those that survive. This leaves the aviation community unsure of the common circumstances that these pilots find themselves that create a hypoxic state, as well as whether or not that reported the occurrence to the proper establishments. The data collected from this survey issued to general aviation pilots, will hopefully give insight as to how best to prevent these occurrences from happening, as well as promote a healthy safety culture to report these events. It is with this in mind that we decided to embark on this research study. This survey is completely anonymous and individual responses will not be recorded. It should only take 5-10 minutes to complete. The link to the survey will provide you the Informed Consent and contact information of the researchers involved in the study. Thank you in advance, it's truly appreciated. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GAHYPOXIA Back to Top Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship The Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship was established by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to shape the next generation of aviation researchers, honoring the late Najeeb Elias Halaby, an eminent aviator and administrator, for his vision and more than five decades of extraordinary contributions to aviation (http://www.ral.ucar.edu/halabyfellowship.pdf). The Fellowship The recipient of a Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship will spend three months (in 2017 or early 2018) in residence with NCAR's Aviation Weather Research Program, which Mr. Halaby was instrumental in establishing in the 1980s. As the nation's leader in addressing aviation weather research, NCAR plays a unique role in meeting user needs by transferring research results to operations through its Research Application Laboratory (http://www.ral.ucar.edu/). The Fellow will conduct research broadly aimed at improving the integration of weather into decision support tools for enhanced mitigation of weather sensitivities (e.g., weather impact avoidance) and management of air traffic. The Fellowship will provide: * a monthly stipend for three months, including temporary living expenses * round-trip travel expenses to and from Boulder, CO * travel to a conference to present results * page charges for one publication of key results Eligibility and Application The Halaby Fellowship targets graduate students (late Masters or early PhD level) enrolled in an aviation-relevant department or program of a domestic or international university. Interested candidates should have advanced research skills, far-reaching vision, and dedication to get things accomplished. Consideration for this Fellowship will be given to candidates based on the following submitted material: * Curriculum vitae * Proposal (maximum five pages) presenting the research to be conducted at NCAR, the anticipated outcome of that, and how the proposed effort ties into the candidate's ongoing graduate research project(s) * Contact information for three references (one of which should be the student's primary advisor) NCAR will accept applications for the Halaby Fellowship each year. Email Applications by February 28, 2017 to halabyfellowship@ucar.edu Curt Lewis