Flight Safety Information June 7, 2016 - No. 028 In This Issue PROS 2016 TRAINING Incident: Virgin Atlantic B789 over Atlantic on Feb 2nd 2017, pilot becomes ill Deadly helicopter crash offshore in Galveston Incident: SAS A343 near Copenhagen on Feb 4th 2017, cargo smoke indication. Errant pushback tug damages aircraft at Benazir Bhutto International Airport. Uber Recruits NASA Engineer To Develop Aircraft Trump directive stalls FAA safety warnings EAA Teaming Up With Seaplane Pilots Association on New Agreement United Airlines pilots pressure President Trump over Norwegian Air DEJA VU: THE NIGHT FLIGHT FROM PARIS...A FSI COMMENTARY FATIGUE MANAGEMENT NBAA COMPENSATION SURVEY. Incident: Virgin Atlantic B789 over Atlantic on Feb 2nd 2017, pilot becomes ill A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-900, registration G-VOWS performing flight VS-2 (dep Feb 1st) from Newark,NJ (USA) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was enroute at FL380 about 450nm east of St. John's,NL (Canada) when one of the pilots became ill and left the flight deck. The other pilot declared medical emergency (without reporting a pilot incapacitation), descended the aircraft to FL280, turned around and diverted to St. John's for a safe landing about 90 minutes later. Medical staff provided assistance to the ill pilot. The crew reported on Gander Center, St. John's Approach and Tower a medical emergency only, there was never any mention of a pilot incapacitation. The Canadian TSB reported one of the pilots was unable to continue duties. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/VIR2/history/20170202/0220Z/KEWR/EGLL http://avherald.com/h?article=4a48cf38&opt=0 Back to Top Deadly helicopter crash offshore in Galveston GALVESTON, Texas -- A helicopter with three people on board crashed offshore near Jamaica Beach in Galveston on Monday night, the Coast Guard said. Two were rescued, but one person died in the crash. According to the Coast Guard, they lost communication with the helicopter around 7 p.m. and it crashed about 2.5 miles in the West Bay offshore from Jamaica Beach. The Coast Guard said it was a private helicopter with a pilot and two passengers on board. The Houston Chronicle reports the chopper was being used to transport workers to and from an oil tanker in the Gulf. The two passengers were rescued and transported to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. It's believed the person who died was the pilot. http://www.khou.com/news/local/coast-guard-helicopter-crashes-offshore-of-galveston/401631682 Back to Top Incident: SAS A343 near Copenhagen on Feb 4th 2017, cargo smoke indication A SAS Scandinavian Airlines Airbus A340-300, registration OY-KBC performing flight SK-995 from Copenhagen (Denmark) to Beijing (China) with 56 people on board, was climbing out of Copenhagen when the crew stopped the climb at FL260 reporting a forward cargo smoke indication. The crew reported their equipment contained Lithium Metal Batteries, they were having 34 tons of fuel on board. The aircraft returned for a CATIII ILS approach to runway 22L and landed safely back about 75 minutes after departure. A replacement Airbus A340-300 registration OY-KBI reached Beijing with a delay of 4:15 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground 48 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a48d6e1&opt=0 Back to Top Errant pushback tug damages aircraft at Benazir Bhutto International Airport A Serene Air plane was damaged by a tug. RAWALPINDI: An errant pushback tug rammed into a waiting plane at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Monday, damaging the aircraft and rendering it unfit for flying. An official of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that Serene Air flight ER-500 had landed at the airport from Karachi at around 10am. Soon after, a pushback tug which was coming to take the brand-new Boeing 737-800 to the parking bay rammed into the aircraft's hull. It was still unclear what the cause of the accident was at the time this report was filed. Serene Air jet grounded after accident at Islamabad airport The CAA official added that initial reports suggested that the aircraft was damaged from the front, near its landing gear. He added that the aircraft may not be able to fly until repairs are made. The tug was operated by Royal Airport Services and the shift on duty was reportedly suspended after the accident. CAA Spokesperson Fariha Shah said the authority would hold an inquiry into the accident. She added that the CAA, as a regulator, had a duty to establish the reason of the accident. Meanwhile, a Serene Air spokesperson confirmed the incident and added that its flight schedule would undergo a partial disruption. "A few of the immediate flights have been cancelled due to the incident," the spokesperson said. "It may take around a week to repair the damaged section of the plane and bring it back into service," he said. PIA rubbishes reports of technical fault in international flight The aircraft damaged on Monday morning is one of the three aircraft operated by the domestic airline, which started operations on January 29 after the CAA granted it a licence in October 2016. "It [the damaged aircraft] is a brand new Boeing [737-800] which we acquired a few weeks ago at a cost of $50 million," the Serene Air spokesperson said. The airline official, however, added that the two remaining aircraft are operational. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1318922/bbia-errant-pushback-tug-damages-aircraft/ Back to Top Uber Recruits NASA Engineer To Develop Aircraft Uber has hired a veteran engineer from NASA to lead the ride-hailing company's flying car program dubbed Uber Elevate. Mark Moore is an advanced aircraft engineer with 30 years of experience at NASA and in 2010, made waves after publishing a paper about the feasibility of electric aircraft. This paper inspired Google chief executive Larry Page to invest in two aircraft startups in Silicon Valley and now, Moore has been appointed as the director of engineering for aviation at Uber. The company imagines that in the future, road-going Ubers could be used to transport users from their homes to so-called 'vertiports'. At these vertiports would be a number of VTOL (vertical take-off and landing aircraft) that can transport passengers to their desired location. In a statement, Uber's head of product for advanced programs Nikhail Goel said "Uber continues to see its role as an accelerant-catalyst to the entire ecosystem, and we are excited to have Mark joining us to work with manufacturers and stakeholders as we continue to explore the use case described in our whitepaper." Uber believes that the solution to urban gridlock is to turn towards the sky. Unlike trains, buses and cars which are forced to use fixed routes, Uber's VTOL can travel independently of a specific path to maximize efficiency. The company says that when traveling from San Francisco's marina to downtown San Jose, a drive can take up to 2 hours. By comparison, a VTOL trip could take just 15 minutes. Uber has published a 98-page white paper about the future of air mobility which can be viewed here. http://www.carscoops.com/2017/02/uber-recruits-nasa-engineer-to-develop.html Back to Top Trump directive stalls FAA safety warnings President Donald Trump's executive directive to restrict or postpone new government regulations for 60 days has hampered the ability of the Federal Aviation Administration to issue safety orders about aircraft. The instructions, known as "airworthiness directives," are issued frequently, and formalize mandated inspections or modifications to correct unsafe conditions on U.S. aircraft. The stalled directives do not mean that airlines and aircraft operators are unaware of serious safety problems. The directives are typically the last step in the safety regulatory process. The aircraft operators first receive manufacturer bulletins about the problems, but in some instances wait for final FAA notices to act, according to two industry officials. The lack of directives from the FAA are a sign of the unintended consequences of the Trump administration's rapid efforts to halt or roll back what it sees as burdensome regulations on business, says one of the officials. Incoming appointees to the Department of Transportation and FAA have tried not to get in the way of safety directives, say the officials, but the executive order has meant an extra layer of bureaucracy for them. The FAA said in a statement that it has "worked to ensure no airworthiness directives are being held." The White House communications office did not respond to a request for comment. The agency has issued a total of 53 airworthiness directives in the last 60 days, but it hasn't issued any finalized directives in the more than two weeks the Trump administration has been in office. The most recent came out on Jan. 18, including one that warned about the risk of an axle rupturing on the main landing gear of some Airbus single-aisle jets, and mandated inspections within three months. The officials tell CNNMoney that the agency is working to get airworthiness directives moving again and expects to start posting the increasing backlog of between 15 and 20 orders on the Federal Register soon. Related: American, Delta and United promise full refunds to those hit by travel ban Trump has made it an early priority of his administration to streamline and reduce federal regulations that he says hamper businesses. Shortly after Trump was sworn into office on Jan. 20, he signed an executive order putting all new and pending regulations on hold for 60 days. The order did note that some regulations could be exempt from the order due to "emergency situations or other urgent circumstances relating to health, safety, financial, or national security matters." The action is a fairly standard move for a new administration taking over from the previous party. In 2009, after he was inaugurated, former president Obama issued similar directives. Then on Jan. 30, he signed a directive that blocked federal agencies from issuing any regulation that would cost businesses or members of the public any more money than they're already spending. It also required that every time an agency issues a new regulation, it has to repeal at least two existing regulations. This order has exemptions for issues of health, safety and national security. The White House move on regulation has not only held up pending directives, it has also withdrawn any Obama administration directives that were finalized, but published after the inauguration. Four days after Trump was sworn in, the FAA withdrew two final directives that had been issued in the weeks before Trump took office. http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/06/news/companies/trump-faa-air-safety/ Back to Top EAA Teaming Up With Seaplane Pilots Association on New Agreement The EAA and SPA will also be creating a joint working group that will explore different possibilities for joint programs and activities that will serve to inspire both youth and adults to get involved with aviation and flying. The agreement outlines a number of areas the EAA and SPA plan on working together. The EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) and SPA (Seaplane Pilots Association) recently signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at expanding joint efforts between the two organizations to bring the possibilities of flight to more people. According to EAA CEO and Chairman Jack J. Pelton, the two organizations share both a common passion for flying and a significant number of members. "This memo of understanding sets the stage of the next step of cooperation between our associations, as we must work together to sustain and grow interest in all forms of aviation." For the Seaplane Pilots Association, the main focus is to promote safe seaplane operation and protect the privilege aviators currently enjoy of sharing the nation's waterways with other recreational, governmental and commercial operators. According to SPA Executive Director Steven McCaughey, "The SPA and its members are excited to explore a closer relationship with EAA and begin work on how both organizations will, in a mutual way, promote and increase aviation participation across all age groups." He adds that the two groups share so many fundamental principles that working together will not only benefit members of both groups but recreational aviation overall. Additional Details on the Agreement According to the groups, the new agreement outlines a number of specific areas where EAA and SPA will work together, including: Support of mutual membership goals. Collaboration on advocacy issues. Creating joint opportunities where both organizations can be promoted to the public. The EAA's continued support of seaplane base operations during the annual EAA AirVenture fly-in. An increased visibility for each organization in the other's outreach and different communication channels. The EAA and SPA will also be creating a joint working group that will explore different possibilities for joint programs and activities that will serve to inspire both youth and adults to get involved with aviation and flying, particularly with seaplane flying. https://disciplesofflight.com/eaa-seaplane-pilots-association-joint-agreement/ Back to Top United Airlines pilots pressure President Trump over Norwegian Air United Airlines pilots want tough action from President Donald Trump. Captain Todd Insler, chairman of the United Airlines pilots' Master Executive Council, fired off a letter to Trump late last week asking him to make good on what 12,500 United pilots who belong to the Air LIne Pilots Association maintain were grossly wrongheaded moves made by the Obama administration. Todd Insler, chairman of the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, fired off a letter to President Donald Trump late last week. Specifically, Insler requested that Trump immediately set about strictly enforcing the text of the Open Skies agreement with the European Union that was inked in 2007 during the George W. Bush presidency presumably to create a level playing field among United States-based and European airlines. In particular, United wants to squelch growth in the United States by upstart Norwegian Air Shuttle, a fast- growing, Norway-based carrier that United pilots argue has circumvented the Open Skies agreement with low-ball labor contracts not available to U.S. carriers. Those Norwegian Air labor contracts, as United pilots know all too well, have allowed Norwegian to substantially undercut trans-Atlantic fares available on United, as well as other U.S.-based competitors and most European carriers. The former Obama administration apparently did not see things the way United pilots do, and allowed Norwegian to gain a foothold in the United States. Norwegian already operates between Europe and a handful of U.S. cities, including Boston, New York City, Oakland/San Francisco and Los Angeles. Norwegian Air, which operates trans-Atlantic flights on modern Boeing Dreamliner aircraft, has not yet announced service from Chicago. Insler believes Trump's campaign message trumpeting his desire to represent American workers and U.S.- based companies in trade policies will help the president see the Norwegian Air threat in a different light than did Obama. Insler in his letter said of Obama's decision to greenlight Norwegian Air operations in the U.S.: "Over time this decision will destroy our U.S. airline industry and all of the jobs associated with it. I am reaching out to you to ask for attention to this issue and your support for overcoming this terrible, policy-setting decision from a lame duck president." A spokesman for the United Airlines Master Executive Council this afternoon said no response from Trump had yet been received. http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2017/02/06/united-airlines-pilots-pressure-president- trump.html Back to Top Neptune sends firefighting jet to Chile Neptune Aviation Tanker 3 in Chile Neptune Aviation tanker 03 rests on the runway Monday in Concepcion, Chile, next to a line of water tanks in preparation for firefighting duties. The Missoula-based jet was deployed to help Chile battle hundreds of wildfires that have burned close to 1.5 million acres in the past three weeks. While its Montana home base braced for record-breaking snow, one of Neptune Aviation's jet air tankers began firefighting missions in the drought-parched mountains of Chile. "They're using us for initial attack, and right now, their mail problem is arson fires," Neptune Chief Executive Officer Ron Hooper said on Monday. "In the last two or three weeks, the situation was so severe their president declared a national emergency. That was just lifted this weekend. Their seasons are opposite of ours, and right now it's like southern California during drought conditions, when the fuels are dry, there's lots of wind and no precipitation." Neptune Tanker 03 departed Missoula on Friday and arrived in Concepcion, Chile, on Saturday. That's about 200 miles south of the capital, Santiago, and north of the main fire areas. The fires have killed at least four firefighters, one air tanker pilot and numerous civilians since starting in mid-January. One fire destroyed much of the town of Santa Olga, burning 1,000 homes and forcing the evacuation of 6,000 residents. "This is the equivalent of the fires of 1988 here," said Missoula resident Graeme Shaw, who regularly visits Chile and advised Neptune's crew on government and customs rules before they departed. "Yellowstone Park is 2 million acres, and they've burned about 1.5 million acres of Chile. The situation is so bad, that if you have matches in your pocket, you'll be arrested on sight." Shaw said Chilean government officials report that arsonists may be starting fires to make insurance claims on lost crops or livestock because drought conditions have so damaged the agricultural economy there. He said Chilean news reported at least 40 people have been arrested in investigations of fire activity. The Neptune crews will be dropping water instead of fire retardant on the Chilean fires. While the red clouds of retardant are considered more effective, Hooper said the jet will be able to fly low enough to get good use from plain water drops. "Water disperses faster and if the fire is too hot, it just evaporates," Hooper said. "But we're hitting the fires when they're still small, so we can get down low - 150 feet above the fuel. We get on the fires quickly, knock them down and let the ground forces finish the job. They're spread thin now because of all of the fire activity." *** While the Chilean government directs the firefighting operations, Hooper said private business owners in the country have financed the large air tanker fleet. The country has a small force of single-engine air tankers and helicopters, but no large air tankers like Neptune's BAe-146 jets or very large air tankers like Boeing 747s and Russian-made IL-76 jets, which other foreign firefighting companies have sent to Chile. Neptune fields nine BAe-146s, which it has brought on to replace its Korean War-era P2-V bombers. One advantage of moving to the civilian-made jets, Hooper said, was the opportunity to work in international fire situations. Federal law prohibits civilians from using military planes outside the United States, even if they are decommissioned and civilian-owned. http://missoulian.com/news/local/neptune-sends-firefighting-jet-to-chile/article_7dc14383-61b5-5ae1- aaac-20a15ecdf3dc.html Back to Top FATIGUE MANAGEMENT Fatigue Management Workshop by A. Fletcher in San Diego, March 19th, 2017 http://fatigueconference2017.com/workshop.html 10th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in San Diego, March 20-23rd, 2017 http://fatigueconference2017.com/index.html FRMS Forum Regional Meeting in San Diego, March 24th, 2017 https://www.frmsforum.org/regional-conference-san-diego-march-24th-2017/ Back to Top NBAA COMPENSATION SURVEY 2017 NBAA Compensation Survey Now Open, Members Encouraged to Participate Feb. 3, 2017 Making informed decisions regarding the hiring and retention of flight department personnel requires a clear understanding of the highly competitive job market. By participating in NBAA's annual Compensation Survey, it's easy for members to acquire this critical salary and benefit data. "The NBAA Compensation Survey is a key resource for any U.S.-based flight department that wants to remain competitive in this changing labor market," said Peter Korns, NBAA's manager of operations. "Department budgeting and employee retention are growing challenges for many business aircraft operators, so the need for a trusted and respected benchmark resource is high." Participating in this industry survey by sharing salary and benefit information is the first step in getting the valuable data necessary to run an efficient department. For instance, the NBAA Compensation Survey has shown over the last five years that salaries across all surveyed flight department positions have increased 11.5 percent. The 2017 survey is now open, and NBAA is collecting this vital data by inviting operating member companies to submit salary and essential benefit information for 16 aviation job descriptions: * Aviation Department Manager (does not fly) * Aviation Department Manager (flies) * Chief Pilot * Senior Captain * Captain * Copilot * Director of Maintenance * Manager of Maintenance * Maintenance Foreman * A&P Maintenance Technician * Maintenance Technician Helper * Avionics Technician * Scheduler * Licensed Dispatcher * Flight Attendant * Line Service Personnel Data for these positions will be collected and compiled over the next few weeks, after which NBAA will follow a newly adopted internal audit, where submitted information will be validated to ensure quality and accuracy. Final survey results will be published early this summer, and will be available free of charge to companies that participate in the survey. The results will cost $250 for non-participating NBAA members. NBAA member companies that fly at least one business aircraft and have full-time employees are encouraged to participate by providing salary and benefit information via a secure online form. The deadline to complete the 2017 survey is Friday, Feb. 24. Beginning in the late 1960s, NBAA has conducted annual salary surveys to give aviation managers benchmarks for employee compensation. Each year, the association and its committee leaders evaluate the survey questionnaire and develop new methods to streamline the submission process for participating companies while focusing on essential compensation information. The 2017 survey includes questions related to deferred contribution plans, such as 401Ks, in an effort to consider the totality of what goes into current compensation packages for business aviation professionals. View the NBAA Compensation Survey. Curt Lewis