Flight Safety Information March 22, 2017 - No. 059 Incident: Airblue A320 at Multan on Mar 21st 2017, rejected takeoff due to bird strike Britain and U.S. ban most electronic devices in cabins on flights from several Muslim-majority countries UM basketball team jet crashed after 'rejected takeoff Small plane lands hard on belly at MacArthur Airport FAA investigates close calls at Orlando Sanford International Airport Gulf airlines worry electronics ban will hurt them Snake left behind on flight in Alaska Passed-out pilot in Canada pleads guilty to being impaired Spirit Airlines pilot may not have been drug tested in years Bombardier's Wichita jet center receives FAA award Research Survey Flight Safety Foundation Releases Global Safety Information Project Report, Toolkits Incident: Airblue A320 at Multan on Mar 21st 2017, rejected takeoff due to bird strike An Airblue Airbus A320-200, registration AP-EDH performing flight PA-872 from Multan (Pakistan) to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), was accelerating for takeoff from runway 36 when the left hand engine (CFM56) ingested a bird prompting the crew to reject takeoff at high speed (about 110 knots over ground). The aircraft slowed safely and returned to the apron. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground about 7 hours after the rejected takeoff. http://avherald.com/h?article=4a6856e1&opt=0 Back to Top Britain and U.S. ban most electronic devices in cabins on flights from several Muslim-majority countries Britain joined the U.S. in creating new restrictions for passengers traveling on flights from airports in several Muslim-majority countries. Here's what you need to know. (Monica Akhtar, Dani Player/The Washington Post) LONDON - Britain joined the United States on Tuesday in barring passengers traveling from airports in several Muslim-majority countries from bringing laptops, tablets and other portable electronic devices on board with them when they fly. The U.K. ban applies to six countries, while the U.S. ban covers 10 airports in eight Muslim-majority countries. Fliers can still travel with these items, but they must be packed in their checked baggage on U.S.- and U.K.-bound flights from airports across the countries, including busy hubs in Istanbul, Dubai and Doha, Qatar. The British ban also includes some cellphones and is expected to apply to all airports in the six nations. The countries included in the British ban are Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. restrictions were prompted by a growing concern within the government that terrorists who have long sought to develop hard-to-detect bombs hidden inside electronic devices may have put renewed effort into that work, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about it. U.S. officials have been discussing whether to issue new security restrictions for some flights for the past two weeks, they said. Officials have said that in 2014, U.S. authorities were increasingly worried that suspected bombmaker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, who was allegedly instrumental to al-Qaeda's Yemen branch in several bomb plots, might be helping terrorists in Syria develop new, harder-to-detect explosive devices. [Al-Qaeda bombmaker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri has tried to attack the U.S. three times, officials say] John Pistole, a former senior FBI official who also led the Transportation Security Administration during the Obama administration, said Asiri is a major concern for U.S. counterterrorism officials. "To my knowledge, he's still out there, and he shares his recipes with a number of people,'' Pistole said. Restrictions like those announced this week, he said, "are a way of trying to be as tailored as much as possible to reduce the risk.'' When it comes to their first home, millennials have different needs from their parents and grandparents. Learn what matters most to them and see how you stack up. Pistole, now president of Anderson University in Indiana, said aviation security officials are particularly concerned about explosive devices built with non-metallic materials, because most of the world's airports lack the screening measures to detect such bombs. New limitations on carry-on items "are both an actual physical deterrent and an overall deterrent so the bad guys see this and say, 'They're onto us.' That's a win for the good guys," Pistole said, "because then you have time to push the terrorists off to another location, another time, another type of attack. It gives law enforcement and security services more opportunity to identify and disrupt plots." So why not ban electronic devices from planes entirely? People familiar with the discussions said the restrictions were designed to defeat the particular type of threat that is of greatest concern: the possibility that terrorists could smuggle explosives inside electronics and manually detonate them once on a plane. In the case of the "underwear bomber'' plot of 2009, for example, the would-be attacker had to mix two chemicals to create the explosive once he was on board the airliner. Federal officials initially described the ban as indefinite. But David Lapan, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the directive runs until Oct. 14 and could be extended for another year "should the evaluation of the threat remain the same." [Second federal judge blocks revised Trump travel ban] James Norton, who was a ranking official at the Department of Homeland Security when a ban on liquids went into effect just over a decade ago, said a sudden change such as this signals a significant threat. "It seems fairly urgent," said Norton, who now runs a homeland security consulting firm. "My initial reaction is this is based on some sort of information that the intelligence community came across as a whole. They are trying to address it working with the airlines and the countries directly, trying to implement some sort of a plan." The ban on liquids was implemented Aug. 10, 2006, after British and U.S. intelligence uncovered a plot to simultaneously blow up as many as 10 U.S.-bound passenger jets with liquid explosives hidden in carry-on luggage. Authorities arrested 24 suspects that day and launched new security measures that snarled air traffic. Travelers had to undergo special inspections after drinks and most other liquids and gels were banned as carry-on items (later rules allowed small amounts of liquids and gels, but with tight restrictions). "That happened overnight based on a bunch of arrests on an incredible threat," Norton said. This week's new rules suggest an urgency to bar devices from U.S.-bound aircraft from those specific countries. "Evidence can be anything," Norton said. "It is hard to know until they make some sort of announcement in terms of why they are doing this - why they picked those countries and those flights. My guess is, just like with the liquid ban, that they came across a potential threat." The decision to announce the British ban was made during a meeting on aviation security measures Tuesday by British Prime Minister Theresa May, who had chaired similar meetings over the past few weeks. British authorities said they contacted U.S. officials before the announcement. It's unclear when the British ban will take effect. "The affected airlines have already been informed, and we expect the measures to be in place in the next couple of days," a government spokesman said. He added that six British and eight foreign carriers will be affected. [Travel groups say they support enhanced security measures but want to hear justification for electronics ban] A spokesman for the prime minister's office said the measures were based on the "same intelligence the U.S. relies on." British terrorism experts were baffled by the move, however, and said the differing specifics of the American and British bans seemed contradictory, especially in regard to the selection of countries. The U.S. ban includes airports from several nations that are not affected by the British restrictions. This "may be linked to the Trump administration's emphasis on displaying an abundance of caution when addressing the threat of terrorism to the U.S., regardless of the potential impact this may have on relations with partners and allies," said Daniel Falkiner, a London-based security analyst. "In contrast, the U.K. has very close political and security ties with the gulf states, for example, which may mean London is more content than Washington is with the security protocols at major regional hubs like Dubai," Falkiner said. Lapan, the DHS spokesman, said it would be up to British officials to explain why they included flights from countries not covered by the U.S. ban. "Outside of intel or threat assessments, governments make decisions on various factors affecting their countries and residents," Lapan said via email. Security experts also said it would be extremely unusual for the British government to announce such extensive restrictions - affecting flights from locales favored by British tourists, such as Tunisia and Egypt - without the emergence of new details in recent weeks. But another U.S. security expert questioned how the ban was implemented. "Why should I feel safer if the laptop is stowed in the belly of the plane and the perpetrator can use his iPhone to set if off?" asked a senior official with an international travel organization. "I'm not personally privy to what [information] the TSA or DHS has, but I just don't get it." The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he works in the industry, said the logistics of enforcing the ban will be daunting, particularly in instances where passengers take connecting flights elsewhere in the world before boarding a plane bound for the United States. "You've got to wonder, if somebody's connecting and doesn't have access to his checked bag to put his laptop in, what does he do?" the official asked. "I guess people will figure out that if you're connecting in Casablanca, you'd better have your laptop in your checked bag." Some civil rights activists raised concerns about the intelligence behind the ban. "The administration hasn't provided a security rationale that makes sense for this measure targeting travelers from airports in Muslim-majority countries," said Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project. "Given the administration's already poor track record, this policy sends a signal of discriminatory targeting and must be heavily scrutinized." Under the restrictions, travelers to the United States from 10 mostly Middle Eastern airports will be required to put all personal electronic devices larger than a cellphone or smartphone in their checked baggage. U.S. airlines are not affected by the ban because none offer direct U.S.-bound flights from the affected airports. Ten airports in eight countries - Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - are affected. Officials said the airports were selected based on the "current threat picture." Officials said airlines will have 96 hours to comply with the restrictions. Carriers that fail to do so risk losing their authorization to operate in the United States. The airports are: Queen Alia International Airport (AMM) in Jordan, Cairo International Airport (CAI) in Egypt, Istanbul Ataturk Airport (IST) in Turkey, King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) and King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait International Airport (KWI) in Kuwait, Mohammed V International Airport (CMN) in Morocco, Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Qatar, and Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) in the United Arab Emirates. Officials said the change will affect passengers who travel on about 50 daily flights. Neither the U.S. nor British ban includes crew members. Turkey's transport minister, Ahmet Arslan, criticized the ban, telling reporters in Ankara that it was not "beneficial" for passengers and that Turkey already has stringent security measures in place, according to Turkey's semiofficial Anadolu news agency. He added that Turkish officials had spoken about the regulations with their American counterparts and were discussing whether the Trump administration should "step back." The ban was first made public Monday afternoon - not by administration officials but in a tweet sent by Royal Jordanian Airlines. Initially, U.S. officials declined to comment on the report, saying only that they would provide an update "when appropriate." The official announcement came early Tuesday. U.S. officials began outlining the new rules to carriers Sunday. The International Air Transport Association, which represents international carriers, issued a statement Tuesday saying a number of airlines had been contacted by the TSA in regard to the new U.S. restrictions. "IATA is working with its members and the TSA to achieve greater clarity on required actions," the statement said. The group asked travelers going through the affected airports to add extra time to their travels. "Safety and security is the top priority of everyone involved in aviation," the statement said. "Airlines comply with government requirements and they can do this most effectively when measures are well coordinated." https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/us-unveils-new-restrictions-on-travelers- from-eight-muslim-majority-countries/2017/03/21/d4efd080-0dcb-11e7-9d5a- a83e627dc120_story.html?utm_term=.64c72b0b77ea Back to Top UM basketball team jet crashed after 'rejected takeoff,' report says Crews continue work to remove an MD-83 Aircraft from Tyler Rd. ford days after the plane skidded off the runway at Willow Run Airport on Saturday, March 11, 2017. Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, MI - A preliminary report sheds little light on circumstances of the crash during takeoff of a plane carrying the University of Michigan basketball team on March 8. The charter jet went off a runway, through an airport security fence, across a service road and crashed into a field about 3 p.m. that day at Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, as the team attempted to make its way to Washington, D.C., for the Big Ten Tournament. Though a full report on the incident may not be available for up to or more than a year, the preliminary report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday, March 21 shows the plane, which was flown in two days prior, ran off the end of the runway "after executing a rejected takeoff." Witnesses recall Michigan basketball's plane wreck; the pilot 'saved our lives' There were screams and tears. Multiple people had bumps and bruises. Those aboard then exited the MD83 operated by Ameristar Jet Charter Inc. - called Ameristar Air Cargo Inc. in the report - using emergency escape slides, according to the report. The plane was substantially damaged according to the report and, though officials previously said some of the 109 passengers and seven crew members aboard the aircraft sustained minor injuries, the report indicates only one passenger was injured. It was learned after the crash that UM player Derrick Walton Jr. needed stitches following the incident, though that didn't keep him or the rest of the Wolverines from winning the Big Ten basketball tournament. The report shows the skies were clear, the temperature was 11 degrees Celsius and there was visibility of 10 miles at the time of the incident. There was a wind speed of 35 knots and winds gusts up to 50 knots at the time. The report made no mention of the high winds that caused the air traffic control tower at the airport to evacuate and send control to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. It also made no mention of a reported power outage in part of the airport, that one official for Ameristar said delayed takeoff. http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2017/03/plane_with_um_basketball_team.html Back to Top Small plane lands hard on belly at MacArthur Airport, officials say A twin-engine plane landed hard on its belly at Long Island MacArthur Airport on Tuesday night, March 21, 2017, when its landing gear collapsed, authorities said. Photo Credit: Christopher Sabella A twin-engine plane landed hard on its belly at a Long Island airport Tuesday night when its landing gear collapsed, authorities said. The pilot was practicing landings and takeoffs at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma when air traffic controllers received a report just before 9 p.m. that the plane had a landing gear problem, authorities said. The pilot, the sole occupant of the six-seat Beech Baron 55, was not injured in the incident, which shut the airport down for two hours, said the FAA and Islip Town officials. "The gear collapsed during the landing, and it slid onto the intersection" of two runways, including the airport's primary and longest runways, airport Commissioner Shelley LaRose-Arken said. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. The fixed-wing plane is registered to LS Express LLC in Syosset, according to online FAA records. LaRose-Arken said the aircraft is based at MacArthur and sustained damage to the belly and gear. A flight due to land at 10:10 p.m. was held until workers made sure the airport's four runways were clear of any debris, the commissioner said. It landed after the Baron 55 was towed to the ramp area and the airport reopened about 11 p.m., authorities said. http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/small-plane-lands-hard-on-belly-at-li-airport-officials-say- 1.13299268 Back to Top FAA investigates close calls at Orlando Sanford International Airport SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - The Federal Aviation Authority said close calls between planes are happening too often at the Orlando Sanford International Airport. Channel 9's Field Sutton learned the close calls have happened 151 times since 2001. Eyewitness News found out federal regulators are targeting the airport for safety improvements. Fifteen years worth of data says flying out of Orlando-Sanford International is safe, but the FAA said it could be safer. Two runway intersections showed at least three near misses in a single year. That is enough to land the airport on a list of major airports that need safety improvements. "You go, you know, with one thought. That you're going to travel and see your family and have a good time and all those other things really don't affect you until it happens," said traveler Lucy Marvaez. Passengers told Eyewitness News that they'd never thought about the airport equivalent of someone cutting you off in traffic. "I think about it a little, but I just, I've been very fortunate, and I expect everybody's taking the precautions," said traveler Ann Rapp. The 151 close calls involved a plane or a truck turning out in front of another plane during takeoff or landing. There have been three times that planes have passed within feet of each other and been ranked among the most serious of runway incursions without actually resulting in a collision. Airport officials told Eyewitness News that they're wrapping up a plan for construction and other changes designed to stop the mistakes. Airport planners are aiming to meet the latest federal safety guidelines and minimize the kind of pilot error that puts passengers in harm's way. Eyewitness News reported about near collisions earlier this month at Orlando Executive Airport. Back to Top Gulf airlines worry electronics ban will hurt them Richard Quest: Large electronics ban will be 'chaotic' Tough new security restrictions on flights to the U.S. could deal a major blow to big Middle Eastern airlines already reeling from President Trump's travel ban. Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways are among 10 airlines which must now prevent passengers flying from the Middle East to the United States from carrying almost all types of electronic devices in the cabin. Smartphones will still be allowed but any larger items -- such as iPads, Kindles and laptops -- will have to be checked in before passengers clear security and board their flight. The rules come into force on March 25. The big three Gulf airlines said they would comply with the directive but declined to comment publicly on its impact. The trio will not be affected, however, by similar restrictions announced by the U.K. on Tuesday that also omitted their home airports of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha. But the carriers are clearly worried about the measures imposed by the U.S. A senior executive at one of the Gulf carriers told CNNMoney that he was watching bookings closely, and expected them to fall away once news of the electronics ban spread. He described the decision by the Trump administration as "very unfair" and unwarranted. There's a huge amount at stake given the rapid growth Gulf carriers have enjoyed recently in the U.S. Costs will rise Earlier this year, Emirates announced a new service between Dubai and Newark, with a stop in Greece, giving the airline its 12th American destination. Qatar Airways will service 11 destinations in the U.S. once its new Doha-Las Vegas service starts in 2018. The airlines will have to figure out how to apply the new restrictions, and bear the additional cost or pass it onto passengers. "The cost of added security measures, delays in flights because of passenger compliance or check in delays... will add to their costs and have a roll over effect where someone has to pick up that tab," said Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research. Passengers may choose other carriers They also risk losing frustrated passengers to other carriers not affected by the ban. Syed Hussain flies regularly between the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates on business and spends about 10 hours of the 16-hour flight on his laptop. "I'm going to be seriously impaired in my ability to work without a laptop," he told CNN. The electronics ban -- introduced because of terrorism concerns, according to senior officials in the Trump administration -- comes at a tricky time for the region's carriers. Trump's travel ban in January, which temporarily barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., caused a huge headache for the airlines after its chaotic roll out. Emirates said the rate of bookings to the U.S. dropped 35% overnight following the ban. That ban was blocked by U.S. courts and has since been superseded by a revised version. But many people are still thinking twice about visiting the U.S. Fierce competition For years, Gulf carriers have been at odds with their American rivals, who have accused them of benefiting from subsidies. The CEOs of Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Airlines and American Airlines (AAL) wrote to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last month to complain about the "massive subsidization" their Gulf rivals. They urged Trump to review agreements that allow Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad to fly from the UAE and Qatar to any U.S. destination. Both nations are "abusing the agreements, and our government has done nothing to stop them," the CEOs wrote. A senior U.S. official denied the latest measure was in response to alleged unfair practices by the Gulf carriers. The electronics ban was based on intelligence that "indicates terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation" by "smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items," senior U.S. officials said. They declined to provide specific information on the threat or why particular airlines or airports were selected. "The ban is probably based on risk factors that Department of Homeland Security uses in its risk management program for countries and their operators," said Michael Daniel, managing director at Aviation Insight and a former Federal Aviation Administration senior manager. "As it seems to be targeted certain operators, it appears to me that DHS may may be reviewing safety and/or security data that is not available to the general public." http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/21/investing/electronics-ban-gulf-airlines/ Back to Top Snake left behind on flight in Alaska In this Sunday, March 19, 2017 photo, a flight attendant holds a snake found on a Ravn Alaska flight between Aniak, Alaska and Anchorage. ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Anna McConnaughy was flying to Alaska's largest city when the announcement came over the intercom: a passenger on a previous flight had brought a pet snake on board. The passenger had gotten off the plane. The snake had not. "The pilot came, and said, 'Guys, we have some loose snake on the plane, but we don't know where it is,'" McConnaughy said Tuesday. Unlike the movie "Snakes On A Plane," this one wasn't venomous. Mostly, it was sleepy. A little boy, one of seven passengers on the Ravn Alaska commuter flight Sunday from the Alaska village of Aniak to Anchorage, was climbing on his seat when he spotted the slumbering snake. It was lying partially covered by a duffel bag near the back of the plane. "He said, 'Oh, Mom, look at this. What's that?'" McConnaughy said. "That's how we figured out there was a snake sleeping in the corner." There was no panic. McConnaughy said. Mostly people wanted to see the snake. A pilot came back to help, she said, leading to a short discussion with a flight attendant on how best to capture it. "He said, 'I'll hold the bag, and you grab the snake,'" McConnaughy said. "Quite a gentleman." The flight attendant grabbed the snake by the belly and dropped it into a plastic trash bag. It spent the rest of the flight in an overhead storage bin, and the plane reached Anchorage on schedule. Anchorage television station KTVA first reported the incident. McConnaughy's photos show a pale snake about 4 to 5 feet long. She said it appeared to want only to go back to sleep. A spokesman for the airline, William Walsh, said in a statement that the snake owner had not registered the pet for travel in the cabin of the Ravn Alaska flight. After arriving in Aniak, he reported that his snake was missing and likely on the return trip to Anchorage. The airline was thankful for the heads-up, Walsh said. However, it has specific requirements for carrying on reptiles. Ravn Alaska does not allow any large animal that's not a dog to be used as a service animal. McConnaughy said there are plenty of snakes where she grew up in the Russian Far East. However, there are no wild snakes in most of Alaska, and she's not crazy about them, she said. "Here in Alaska, it's kind of weird," she said. http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/03/21/snake-left-behind-on-flight-in-alaska.html Back to Top Passed-out pilot in Canada pleads guilty to being impaired CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - A pilot who passed out in a cockpit before a scheduled flight in Canada pleaded guilty on Tuesday to being impaired while in control of an aircraft. Miroslav Gronych was employed by Sunwing Airlines on a work visa from Slovakia. His flight was to leave Calgary, Alberta, on Dec. 31 with stops in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, before continuing to Cancun, Mexico. Gronych was found slumped over in his seat and escorted off the plane. "I can't even describe how ashamed I am," he told court. "My kids will be punished for my mistakes." A statement of facts agreed to by the prosecution and defense and read in court said police saw his pilot's wings were attached upside down on his uniform and a maid discovered an empty bottle of vodka in his hotel room. It also said he was an hour late for check-in and that he explained his tardiness by saying he had become lost going through security Gronych struggled to hang up his coat when he got on the plane, was slurring his words and was staggering, according to the statement, and passengers on the plane were told the pilot had suddenly become ill and needed to leave, but some had already seen him and suspected he was drunk. The prosecution asked the judge for a one-year sentence and pointed to a similar case in the United States where the pilot received five years. "Mr. Gronych put the lives of 105 people at risk," prosecutor Rose Greenwood said. "Hopefully he will never be permitted to fly again." Defense lawyer Susan Karpa said that Gronych, who lost his job, has been in treatment while out on bail, has abstained from alcohol and wants to refrain from drinking for the rest of his life. "He wants his children to be proud of him," Karpa said. "He wants to do everything he can to conquer his addiction." She said Gronych is the sole breadwinner for his family, including for his elderly parents, and is living off his savings. Gronych was taken into custody while the judge mulls over his sentence. He is due back in court April 3. Members of a flight crew are prohibited under Canadian aviation regulations from working within eight hours of consuming alcohol or while under the influence of alcohol. Sunwing, a low-cost Canadian carrier, has said it has a zero-tolerance policy on crew members consuming alcohol within 12 hours of going on duty. It said it also trains all employees to report any unusual behavior. After Gronych was charged, the Canadian Federal Pilots Association said Transport Canada should be responsible for checking the credentials of foreign pilots instead of leaving it to air operators. http://wfla.com/2017/03/21/passed-out-pilot-in-canada-pleads-guilty-to-being-impaired/ Back to Top Spirit Airlines pilot may not have been drug tested in years Spirit Airlines Captain Brian Halye, 36, died last week from a suspected drug overdose. The Spirit Airlines pilot whose death authorities call a likely overdose may not have been drug tested in years, because while federal regulations require airlines to drug test under certain conditions, airline pilots are not drug tested during yearly physical exams. Centerville police have not indicated whether they believe Brian Halye, 36, had used drugs on occasions prior to his March 16 death alongside his wife, Courtney Halye, 34, who had a history of drug use, according to police reports. Nor has Spirit Airlines said whether and when its 9-year veteran pilot was drug tested, though the company said it follows the law. "I'd be surprised if he went through there nine years and never got tested, but it could happen," said Shawn Pruchnicki, an Ohio State University Center for Aviation Studies lecturer, former Comair Airlines pilot and pharmacist who is trained in toxicology. "It's a numbers game." Federal regulations require airlines to administer pre-employment, reasonable suspicion, random, post- accident, reasonable cause and follow-up testing for drugs and alcohol, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said. "In other words, there are several times during a pilot's air transport career when he or she will be tested," said Elizabeth Cory, an FAA spokeswoman, by email. But the exact operating specifications that cover each airline's operations, including crew training, testing, and oversight are proprietary, Cory said, and cannot be released under the federal Freedom of Information Act. A Centerville police spokesman said the department reached out to Spirit Airlines as part of the investigation, but could not elaborate on the nature of contact. Officer John Davis, the department spokesman, said whether the pilot used drugs during his time as an airline pilot is not the main focus of the death investigation. "That's a whole other issue for people to worry about," Davis said. "Right now we're trying to get a full picture of what led up to (the deaths) and how things occurred." Spirit Airlines said the carrier operates "with the highest degree of safety" and is "fully compliant" with FAA and U.S. Department of Transportation regulations regarding drug use and testing on "safety-sensitive employees," including pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and dispatchers. "In the event that someone in a safety sensitive position tests positive, they would be immediately removed from their position," airline spokesman Paul Berry said in an email statement. The airline has not addressed the newspaper's requests for the dates and results of Halye's drug tests. Pilot medical exams required by law might not detect drug use either, experts said. Pilots must possess valid medical certificates to fly. For pilots under age 40, the first-class medical certificate must be updated every 12 months. In Halye's case, his last medical certificate was issued in September 2016, at which time he would have been required to undergo a medical exam. But the corresponding medical exam would not have required a drug test, Pruchnicki and other experts said, as urine collected during the exam isn't tested to detect drugs, but diseases. The OSU lecturer said the cost of drug testing is cost prohibitive and burdensome to pilots who may be victim to false positive results. "Just because someone tests positive for a drug does not mean you're under the influence of it," said Pruchnicki. "There are thousands and thousands of these (medical exams) done per day ... (drug tests) would completely bog down the medical systems." "From what we've seen, drug abuse of medication, illicit medication, is quite small," he said. "Just sitting in the cockpit, if you smell alcohol, everything comes to a screeching halt. A lot of times, not all the time, you can tell if someone is under the influence of alcohol or heroin or Vicodin." Pruchnicki also said all pilots who die in crashes are screened for drugs, but with the exception of some over-the-counter medications "we've just never had an accident where someone has tested positive for anything." http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/national/spirit-airlines-pilot-may-not-have-been-drug-tested- years/jEez2aDwc1ld16nWRHst4L/ Back to Top Bombardier's Wichita jet center receives FAA award Bombardier Business Aircraft's Wichita Service Center at Wichita Eisenhower National Airport. Bombardier Business Aircraft Courtesy photo Bombardier Business Aircraft's Wichita Service Center has received the FAA's highest award for maintenance for a 16th consecutive year. The Montreal-based planemaker said the Wichita center, which services Bombardier's Learjet, Challenger and Global business jets, was among five of its centers in the U.S. to receive the FAA's Aviation Maintenance Technician Diamond Award of Excellence. The other centers are in Hartford, Conn.; Dallas; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Tucson, Ariz. All five centers have received the Diamond Award for seven consecutive years, Bombardier said. Bombardier recorded a 20 percent increase year-over-year in maintenance events in 2016. It said it has increased overall employment at its U.S. service centers by 200 workers in the past four months. It also has a fleet of 17 customer response trucks that provide limited mobile service to Bombardier customers in the U.S. http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article139878123.html#storylink=cpy Back to Top Research Survey Dear Aviation Colleague, my name is Arjun Rao. I am research associate at the Center for Aviation Studies at the Ohio State University. My colleagues and I would greatly appreciate your response to a short survey to better understand pilots's use of weather information products during flight. Participation in this survey is voluntary. All answers reported in the analysis will not bear any connection to you or any response that you might provide. Thank you very much in advance for your participation on this survey. Your responses are greatly appreciated and will help our efforts to improve GA safety. The link to the survey is : https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3yJ3oNLMYh4lO17 Please let me know if you have any questions/would like me to provide additional information. Once again, we appreciate your help. Regards, Arjun ************************************************** Arjun H. Rao, Ph.D. Research Specialist The Ohio State University Center for Aviation Studies Room 125, 140 West 19th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 614-688-2634 rao.119@osu.edu https://aviation.osu.edu/ Back to Top Flight Safety Foundation Releases Global Safety Information Project Report, Toolkits ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Flight Safety Foundation has released its Global Safety Information Project (GSIP) Year Two Report and initial GSIP toolkits, which are intended to help aviation organizations develop their safety data collection, analysis and sharing capabilities. GSIP was launched in October 2014 to study how aviation safety data are used in the Pan America and Asia-Pacific regions, and to produce toolkits that can be used by aircraft operators and other aviation stakeholders around the world to mitigate risk through more effective safety data collection, processing and sharing. "Safety management systems are becoming more widespread, and 65 percent of the organizations surveyed as part of GSIP already are using safety performance indicators linked to the critical International Civil Aviation Organization accident categories," said Mark Millam, the Foundation's vice president, technical, and GSIP project leader. "But at the same time, there are many challenges in assuring that safety data are used consistently in trying to manage risk." The Year Two Report details what Foundation researchers and staff learned at focus group sessions and subsequent workshops across the Pan America and Asia-Pacific regions. The information gathered during those events was used in the development of the toolkits, which describe the fundamentals of using risk management in aviation and of how to assess and evaluate risk in ways that might not be apparent within an individual organization. Work on the toolkits is continuing. The Foundation is collaborating with its members and GSIP workshop participants to further refine the toolkits and add detail. "The aviation industry has accomplished remarkable improvements in safety over the decades," Millam said. "The safety data inside organizations will be crucial to continuing to make safety improvements. It may be that safety data - properly and consistently collected, analyzed, shared and protected - that identifies how to avoid the next accident." Flight Safety Foundation is an independent, non-profit, international organization engaged in research, education, advocacy and publishing to improve aviation safety. The Foundation's mission is to be the leading voice of safety for the global aerospace community. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12316869/flight-safety-foundation-releases-global-safety-information-project-report-toolkits Curt Lewis