Flight Safety Information July 27, 2017 - No. 150 In This Issue Accident: Alaska B738 near Spokane on Jul 24th 2017, burning odour on board Incident: Tahiti AT72 near Raiatea on Jul 24th 2017, smoke on board EVAS - Cockpit Smoke Protection Flight Safety Foundation Accepting Nominations for FSF-Boeing Aviation Safety Lifetime Achievement Award. Ali Bahrami Returns To FAA To Lead Aviation Safety Queenstown aviation pioneer designs 'black box' for light aircraft Navy announces fix to Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System Air Force, firm looking to hire 638 fighter jet mechanics ISASI 2017, San Diego CA...August 22 - 24. 2017 GRADUATE RESEARCH REQUEST (SURVEY) Accident: Alaska B738 near Spokane on Jul 24th 2017, burning odour on board An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N523AS performing flight AS-792 from Seattle,WA to Detroit,MI (USA), was enroute at FL370 about 10nm south of Spokane when the crew reported a burning odour on board and diverted to Spokane for a safe landing on runway 03 about 25 minutes later. A passenger reported a number of fellow passengers were taken away by ambulances. The remainder of the flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto other flights. The FAA reported they are looking into the occurrence. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ASA792/history/20170724/1520Z/KSEA/KDTW http://avherald.com/h?article=4ac249a1&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Tahiti AT72 near Raiatea on Jul 24th 2017, smoke on board An Air Tahiti Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A, flight VT-418 from Bora Bora to Papeete (French Polynesia) with 60 passengers and 4 crew, was climbing out of Bora Bora when a burning odour followed by smoke was observed on board of the aircraft. The aircraft diverted to Raiatea (French Polynesia), about 23nm southeast of Bora Bora, for a safe landing. Emergency services did not find any trace of fire or heat. The airline reported a short circuit caused the odour and smoke. The passengers, mainly destined to catch connecting international flights at Papeete, were taken to hotels at Raiatea for the night and rebooked onto other flights the following day. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ac24899&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Flight Safety Foundation Accepting Nominations for FSF-Boeing Aviation Safety Lifetime Achievement Award ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Flight Safety Foundation is accepting nominations for the FSF-Boeing Aviation Safety Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes an individual for his or her lifetime commitment and contributions to enhancing aviation safety. The award will be presented during Flight Safety Foundation's 70th annual International Air Safety Summit, Oct. 23-25, 2017, in Dublin, Ireland. The award was established by the Foundation and The Boeing Co. in 2002. More information on the award is available on the Foundation's website. To nominate someone for the award, please download the nomination form and follow the instructions. The deadline for submitting nominations is Aug. 21, 2017. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12354880/flight-safety-foundation-accepting- nominations-for-fsf-boeing-aviation-safety-lifetime-achievement-award Back to Top Ali Bahrami Returns To FAA To Lead Aviation Safety Ali Bahrami, a long-time industry executive who most recently was vice president for civil aviation at the Aerospace Industries Association, took the helm of the FAA's Aviation Safety Organization this month. Bahrami succeeds Margaret "Peggy" Gilligan, who retired as associate administrator of aviation safety in March. In that role, he leads an organization staffed by 7,400 employees based at Washington headquarters, regional and directorate offices and 125 field offices internationally. The organization, with a $1.4 billion annual budget, sets standards and oversees all aspects of the aviation industry from operators, to manufacturers, repair stations, pilots, air traffic controllers and flight attendants, among others. In accepting the position, Bahrami returns to the FAA, where he served for 24 years, beginning as an engineer and rising to the position of manager of the Transport Airplane Directorate. During that time, he steered the U.S. validation of the Airbus A380 and directed the FAA certification of the Boeing 787 and the 747-8 passenger and freighter models. Before joining the agency in 1989, he spent 10 years at Douglas Aircraft as a senior engineer, holding responsibilities that included aerodynamic and structural loads analysis on large commercial airplanes, such as the MD-80 and the MD-11. The appointment was welcomed by a key FAA constituency, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which said in a statement that Bahrami's background "is a great foundation for him to thrive...We are fully committed to working with Mr. Bahrami and all stakeholders to take our safety record to an even higher level." http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-07-25/ali-bahrami-returns-faa- lead-aviation-safety Back to Top Queenstown aviation pioneer designs 'black box' for light aircraft Light aircraft look likely to be fitted with a small scale version of an airliner's black box. The Civil Aviation Authority favours the idea, as does the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, but some legal issues remain to be resolved. A plane's black box has multiple recording devices inside a fortified container and, once recovered from a crash site, can provide invaluable information on what caused an accident. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission called for similar recorders to be installed in light aircraft last year. Queenstown aviation pioneer Louisa Patterson, whose son died in a helicopter crash in 2015, has developed a version smaller than those used in jets - about the size of a pocket camera. "It is a high definition video mounted in the cockpit," she said. "It will show you the instrument panel around a scope of 160 degrees and will have audio input. "It is called the 'Eye in the Sky' for obvious reasons. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but a video is priceless and that is what this is." Ms Patterson hoped devices like this would make it easier to understand crashes and make aviation safer. Her business partner Tom McCready, a former air accident inspector, said the technology might improve the imprecise business of accident investigations. "I went to a lot of accidents and quite often your information is limited," he said. "So you get possible and probable causes and all the rest of it. "If you have a video you can get reasonably confirmed information of what has occurred." They are working with the Civil Aviation Authority to develop the project further but the matter isn't yet settled. There are strict limits on legal liability for accident investigations and black box material, intended to encourage witnesses speak freely without fearing prosecution. Don McCracken, chief executive of Oceania Aviation, said similar protection would be needed for Eye in the Sky. "The most important thing is that the data is used for safety purposes only, and is not taken and used as evidence," he said. "There are always a lot of reasons why accidents happen and it is important to make sure that all the appropriate processes are followed for accident investigations." Ms Patterson pointed out that the Transport Accident Investigation Commission itself wanted devices like these installed in aircraft to help its inquiries. She has the system in her own craft and it had already proven valuable in diagnosing a rattling sound in the engine of a helicopter. Legal and practical matters regarding the system were still under discussion. Civil Aviation Staff said the process was well under way but did not know when it would be finished. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/335931/queenstown-aviation-pioneer-designs-black-box- for-light-aircraft Back to Top Navy announces fix to Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System An F/A-18E Super Hornet is launched during a test of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) at Naval Air Systems Command, Lakehurst, N.J., on Dec. 18, 2010. (Navy) The recently commissioned supercarrier Gerald R. Ford has been widely criticized for having a myriad of mechanical issues, but the U.S. Navy can scratch the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System off that list, according to a Naval Air Systems Command release. The Navy says it performed 71 successful test launches this summer to confirm that the launch system is finally working correctly. While EMALS has always been able to safely launch aircraft at the desired speed, engineers discovered in 2014 that the system was putting an inordinate amount of stress on the planes, according to the release. "We were confident since the day that the issue was uncovered that it was solvable," George Sulich, EMALS integrated program team lead, said in the release. "The beauty of the system is that issues such as these can be accomplished with software updates instead of major hardware changes to machinery." Carrier Ford CO discusses new EMALS catapult? Play It turns out all the EMALS team needed to do was fine-tune the launch system's algorithm. The Navy identified the fix in 2015, but wasn't finished testing it until this summer, according to the release. During that time, however, the faulty launch system drew widespread criticism, prompting even President Donald Trump to recommend scrapping the system and going back to traditional steam launch capabilities. "It sounded bad to me. Digital. They have digital. What is digital? And it's very complicated. You have to be Albert Einstein to figure it out," Trump said in a May interview with TIME. "And I said - and now they want to buy more aircraft carriers. I said what system are you going to be - 'Sir, we're staying with digital.' I said no you're not. You going to goddamned steam, the digital costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it's no good." Regardless of Trump's recommendation, EMALS, which is not actually digital, is up and running and will be installed on the carrier Ford in 2019, according to the release. https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2017/07/26/navy-announces-fix-to-electromagnetic- aircraft-launch-system/ Back to Top Air Force, firm looking to hire 638 fighter jet mechanics ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) - Holloman Air Force Base and engineering firm AECOM are hosting a hiring event to fill 638 fighter jets maintenance jobs. The Alamogordo Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/2w0CBCW ) the workers will maintain two F-16 squadrons from the base in southern New Mexico. AECOM, who was awarded the contract to maintain the planes, is looking to hire experienced fighter aircraft mechanics. Candidates with prior F-16 experience are highly preferred but candidates with any fighter experience will be considered for employment. AECOM Senior Technical Recruiter Scott Cain says if the firm can hire about 100 people it would be a great start for its aircraft maintenance contract. http://www.dailyprogress.com/air-force-firm-looking-to-hire-fighter-jet- mechanics/article_2938b4e0-1bc3-5737-8d7d-b16d37c3ffa8.html Back to Top ISASI 2017, San Diego CA August 22 - 24. 2017 The International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) will hold their 48th annual seminar at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina from August 22 - 24, 2017. This year's theme is: "Investigations - Do They Really Make a Difference?" All up to date information including the link for registration and hotel reservations can be found at www.isasi.org. Dates to Remember Early Registration rate cut off is midnight July 5, 2017 PDT Seminar rate at the hotel will end on July 27. After that date there will be no guarantee that rooms will be available. We look forward to seeing many of you in San Diego Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH REQUEST (SURVEY) Pavement Management Research Request Hello, my name is Mary Popko and I am a student as San Diego State University currently working towards a B.S. in Statistics. I would like to request your participation in my survey regarding pavement management through the use of advanced technology. The survey is less than ten questions long. Thank you so much for your assistance. Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WJ8T9M6 Mary Popko San Diego State University Department of Mathematics and Statistics Curt Lewis