AIRPORT FIRE-RESCUE USA 5th International Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Conference & Exhibits program is being held on May 5-7th at the Crown Reef Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. For a speakers/topics list: AFJ2008ConfenceSpeakers.pdf can be viewed on the website...
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AIRPORT FIRE-RESCUE USA 5th International Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Conference & Exhibits program is being held on May 5-7th at the Crown Reef Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. For a speakers/topics list:
ATC Maastricht, ATC Global is an event for ATM professionals worldwide attracting over 4200 visitors from over 80 countries to the event last year. Taking place at Amsterdam RAI Convention Center, Netherlands, on 11-13 March, with full support and backing of influential industry organizations including CANSO and EUROCONTROL, the event offers over 200 exhibitors, live product demonstrations, 30 free seminars, interactive workshops, and the prestigious industry awards gala. On display will be technologies aimed at achieving the higher levels of capacity and safety that the performance based ATM systems of the future demand - such as Avionics, Consoles, Voice & Data-Link Communications, Surveillance Systems, GPS, Lighting, Navigational Aids, Data Networks, Training Equipment. For more see: tinyurl.com/2codss
The annual SMU Air Law Symposium is the largest and oldest gathering of aviation attorneys and consultants. This year's event is scheduled for February 21-22, 2008. See the symposium web site at http://www.smuairlawsymposium.com/
Air Carrier, Turbine Powered & Large Aircraft Accident recent reports are accessible at tinyurl.com/2gffvs (pdf format)
Detailed information on flight delays and their causes is available on the (Bureau of TransportStaistics) BTS internet site at http://www.bts.gov The Air Travel Consumer Report can be found on DOT's World Wide Web site at tinyurl.com/3ytlwl (includes problems & complaints)
Date
Incident
14 Feb
A GAO report has found that serious runway incidents increased substantially in the last three months of 2007. Ten incidents were reported in 2007, compared with two in the same quarter of 2006. The total number of runway incursions in 2007 was 370, a new record and a 12% increase from 2006. Meanwhile, witnesses testifying before a House subcommittee said that the FAA is taking steps to address the issue. Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Aviation on February 13th, Hank Krakowski, the FAA's Air Traffic Organization's chief operating officer, reviewed the agency's major initiatives to improve runway safety, including the use of new technology. "...An aggressive and effective FAA runway safety program has reduced the number of serious runway incursions by 55 percent since 2001. In Fiscal Year 2007, we saw a 25 percent reduction in serious runway incursions from 2006. There were 24 serious runway incursions -- that's Category A and B incursions -- during 61 million aircraft operations, a significant reduction from the 31 incursions in FY 2006, and the 53 incursions in FY 2001. Only 8 of the 24 serious incursions involved a commercial airline flight, and none of the 370 incursions resulted in a collision. While most of these incursions are Category C and D incidents, which pose little or no risk to the public, the increase in incursions and the fact that serious incursions are still occurring, has now prompted the FAA Administrator to issue a "Call to Action" on runway safety. Whether or not this will affect the next accident (that some see as being inevitable) is in the lap of the gotchas. As a new FAA reauthorization bill has not yet been passed by Congress, contract authority for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) expired on September 30, 2007. Congress, in a series of continuing resolutions, provided temporary AIP contract authority, but only through December 31, 2007. Without contract authority, FAA has not issued any new AIP grants, limiting the ability of small and large airports to complete safety and capacity projects. FAA's increased runway safety proposal: tinyurl.com/2vb663
12 Feb
Retired chief air accident investigator Mr Ronald Chippendale, who led the inquiry into Air New Zealand's Mt Erebus disaster, was killed this morning after being struck by a car in Wellington New Zealand. Ron Chippendale was the chief air accident investigator who reported on the DC10 crash on Mt Erebus in 1979. Mr Chippendale, 75, was returning to his Aotea home from his usual early morning walk when he was struck by a car which went out of control. Mr Chippendale began investigating aircraft accidents with the Royal New Zealand Airforce before transferring to the Transport Ministry. He was appointed chief investigator of accidents when the Transport Accident Investigation Commission was set up in 1990. Chippendale led many high profile aircraft crash inquiries, and in doing so became a familiar face in television clips of aircraft crash scenes for almost a decade. During his eight years in the role, Chippendale led investigations into more than 400 accidents and incidents, becoming a familiar face in television clips of aircraft crash scenes for almost a decade. He retired in November 1998. He was currently a lecturer in accident investigation at Massey University.
10 Feb
A Thai-based committee responsible for investigating the cause of last September's air crash in the southern Thai resort island of Phuket will now begin working after the US government's National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) said it was unable to find causes of the crash because so much of the ill-fated plane were badly burned, a senior Transport Ministry official said Saturday. Aviation Department director-general Wuthichai Singhamanee said the NTSB recently notified his department saying that it was unable to determine the cause of the accident because parts of the plane were destroyed by fire. The NTSB had earlier requested the department to help to determine the cause of the accident involving the One-Two-Go aircraft crash at Phuket International Airport which killed 89 of the 130 persons on board. The accident occurred September 16 when the budget carrier which left Bangkok for Phuket came down hard on the runway at Phuket airport amid heavy rain and strong crosswinds and skidded into a wooded embankment. The aircraft broke into two sections, caught fire almost immediately and was completely destroyed.
10 Feb
Unofficially, investigators believe the crash-landing of a British Airways Boeing 777 at Heathrow last month may have been caused by ice clogging its fuel supply, according to a leaked memo to US regulators. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is examining whether water leaked into fuel tanks and froze on the 101/2hour flight from Beijing. The discovery, if confirmed by laboratory tests, may force airlines to review safeguards and integrity checks on fuel and tanks before long-haul flights, when planes on some polar routes are exposed to temperatures as low as -75C. Pilots say, however, that heating systems and friction from air passing over the wings should keep the fuel warm. The BA jet landed 1,000ft short of the runway after both engines failed. There were no obvious computer malfunctions or problems with the engines, and tests on fuel recovered from the jet and other planes that refueled in Beijing in the same period show that it met specifications. Boeing said: "The 777 has been in service for 12 years and has flown around 3.6m flight hours, during which there have been no fatalities. It would be inappropriate to comment at this stage." The "behind the scenes" analysis (and some history) of the physical cause is at the 04 Feb entry at the bottom here.
10 Feb
The FAA recently asked U.S. carriers that fly Boeing 777 aircraft to comb through their engine logs to identify instances when engines were slow to respond to pilot commands, or may have reduced thrust on their own. An internal Federal Aviation Administration memo, referring to the crashed (and now written off) BA 777 jet (G- YMMM) last month said "a maintenance message indicating excessive water in the center tank was set during taxi on the two previous flight legs, although it cleared itself both times." Water can be drained from Boeing 777 fuel tanks only on the ground, so part of the puzzle is what BA's mechanics did to ensure the fuel system wasn't contaminated (or whether they were simply satisfied that it had "cleared itself"). United's routine procedures call for removing excess water after every several hundred flight hours. British investigators are focusing on whether ice crystals may have clogged the plane's dual oil-cooler systems. The radiator-like devices use fuel flow from each of the wing tanks to cool engine oil, and fuel then flows from there to the nearby engine during flight. American Airlines is looking at whether a differently constituted fuel would be better for trans-Polar routes.
09 Feb
A major upgrade of Australia's remote airports is underway, with the Federal Government committing $1 million to improve safety and access to 25 airstrips across Australia. Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese said the Remote Aerodrome Safety Program was extremely important for country regions. "People living in remote Australia deserve safe and well-maintained airstrips because they are a vital link to food, medical supplies, mail and essential personnel like teachers, doctors and nurses in remote Australia," the minister said. The funding includes $250,000 to improve lighting and fencing at three airports in Bourke Shire, in far western NSW, $50,500 for solar lighting at Ramingining Aerodrome in the Northern Territory and almost $45,000 for fencing at the King Island Aerodrome in Tasmania. The funding will improve safety and help provide year-round, all-weather access for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. "Remote Australia is a crucial part of the Australian economy and injects billions of dollars in agriculture and mining exports, jobs and infrastructure," Minister Albanese said.
08 Feb
The FAA Runway Safety HF hand book from 2001. This booklet tells pilots and controllers what they can do to help prevent runway incursions. It alerts them to situations where extra vigilance is required. Example incidents are included solely to highlight conditions that can lead even the most skilled professionals into making life-threatening mistakes. tinyurl.com/2suh2s Many carriers are also directing pilots to review the ALPA/AOPA online Runway Safety course. At: tinyurl.com/2n27x9
08 Feb
An FAA (AFS) initiative for reducing PD's (pilot deviations such as runway incursions and level busts) is available at tinyurl.com/2zn4q2 (warning: it's large - so it's a click and save to your hard-drive - not an "open online")
08 Feb
Israel's air force is considering giving its combat pilots Viagra to improve their performance in the air. A recent study conducted by Israeli doctors among mountain climbers in Africa found a link between erectile dysfunction drugs and improved performance in high altitudes. The active ingredient in the drugs was found to make climbers perform better in an environment with less oxygen, which causes fatigue and dizziness. This has led army doctors to consider giving jet fighter pilots -- who can fly at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet the same drug, the report said. "The Viagra family of drugs is considered effective in these conditions because when there is a long shortage in oxygen it leads to high blood pressure in the lungs, and the drugs help fight that," the report quoted military medical sources as saying.
08 Feb
Rapidly growing regional airlines have suffered a growing share of crashes in recent years. Since 2003, there have been four fatal accidents out of more than 24 million regional airline flights. There were no fatal accidents on regionals in the five years prior to 2003. That's prompted several top aviation experts and federal officials to call for upgraded safety programs. Regional carriers had four fatal crashes that killed 85 people over the past five years, according to federal data. Over the same period, one person died in a major airline crash. Regional airlines with lesser-known names such as Mesa, Shuttle America and Atlantic Southeast account for nearly half of all airline flights and carry more than 20% of passengers. "This is where the accidents are occurring," said NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt in a speech he delivered on the subject. In December 1994, after the third fatal crash of the year involving what were then known as "commuter airlines," then Transportation Secretary Federico Pena announced that the government would step up regulation of carriers using turbo-prop planes to ferry passengers from small communities to central hubs. At the time, pilots on commuter airlines could work longer hours and had fewer training requirements than their counterparts at major airlines. The smaller carriers also got less scrutiny from federal regulators. A study by the NTSB found accident rates on commuter flights were twice as high as larger airlines. On Feb 18 2007 a regional jet carrying 71 passengers skidded off a snowy runway in Cleveland, severely damaging the aircraft and injuring three people. The captain said he was not at the "best of his game" because of lack of sleep, he told investigators. A key area of the investigation into last year's Shuttle America crash has focused on airline policies concerned with training, fatigue and adequate rest.
08 Feb
Two New Jersey senators said Thursday they would block President Bush's choice to head the FAA, saying they are unhappy with the government's handling of widespread flight delays that often begin in their East Coast airspace. Democrats Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg said they would use a procedural device called a "hold" to block the nomination of Robert Sturgell from coming to the Senate floor for a vote. The move will not have any immediate effect on the agency, because Sturgell is already the acting administrator, but it reflects ongoing disputes between congressional Democrats and the administration over the best way to solve the flight delays that have plagued U.S. air travelers in the past year, as well as runway safety issues and air controller staffing. The government has announced new limits for takeoffs and landings at New York area airports, where many of the national delays begin. The agency is also redesigning airspace routes, which angers some communities worried about increased noise from jets. "It's time for President Bush to nominate an administrator who solves transportation problems, rather than creating more of them," said Lautenberg.
07 Feb
Rumor Control - the problems inherent in acquiring your old converted freighters from one source.... 737F VH-XML has serious problem. Heard from the QANTAS facility in Avalon, Victoria (S of Melbourne) that VH-XML has serious fwd bulkhead cracking which has involved Boeing trying to sort it out. Understand that rest of AAE 737F fleet may be subject to same inspection in an upcoming AD which could ground them. With one of their last two 727's leaving the fleet next week or so, AAE could well have a capacity problem - pity, as the old 727 workhorse is built like a tank (RIP VH-RMV).
06 Feb
An Icy Blast from the Past: (spurred by SWA Flt 438) tinyurl.com/2jb6mf (imagery at tinyurl.com/2azp77) NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter A-75-22, 23 & 24 Link : tinyurl.com/2vybq4 CF6-50 engine "Prolonged Exposure to Icing", page 2 "During a General Electric engine icing certification test and during a French A-300B icing test flight, fan blade tips on CF6-50 engines were damaged. The CF6-50 test engine was damaged when 12 Lbs, of ice was released. The ice had accumulated on the unheated fan spinner during a hold pattern certification test at the Peebles Proving Ground..... ". French authorities believed that ice shed from the fan spinner was responsible for the damage to five fan blades in the left engine and two blades in the right engine."
06 Feb
The FAA will deploy new air traffic tower simulators to 19 locations around the country to help train thousands of new ATCO's in an operational environment that is interactive and provides realistic scenarios. The new simulators will be deployed over the next 18 months at the following towers: John F. Kennedy (NY); Los Angeles; Oakland (CA); Washington Reagan National; Dallas Fort-Worth; Atlanta; Denver; Philadelphia; Cincinnati; Cleveland; San Antonio; Memphis (TN); Honolulu; Orlando (FL); Charlotte (NC); Minneapolis; Boston; and Newport News (VA.). The FAA will install an additional six simulators at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. "We're making sure that the latest technology is part of the training regimen," said Bobby Sturgell, the FAA's acting administrator. "Controlling traffic is a demanding job, and experience tells us that real-life training scenarios make a critical difference. Deploying simulators to such key locations as JFK will help us maximize our training program." The FAA has been using tower simulators for training in Chicago, Miami, Phoenix and Ontario, CA since 2006. In late December 2007, the FAA awarded a contract to Adacel Systems, Incorporated of Orlando, FL to provide another 24 simulators. Adacel, Inc. developed the FAA's original four prototype systems. The Tower Simulation System (TSS) includes a large, graphic depiction of the airfield and the area around the airport and can be adjusted to depict different weather conditions and times of the day. The screen showing the airfield wraps around the student's position to replicate windows of an actual air traffic tower. The simulator provides synthetic voice response and voice recognition to allow the student to direct and receive responses as they would in the tower. At the same time, the voice recognition system interprets the student's commands and translates them into actual aircraft movements depicted on the screen of the airfield layout.
05 Feb
Congress on Monday told the Government Accountability Office to use its experts to analyze a NASA study on air safety. The review will allow the GAO to compare rates of events reported by the pilots to information collected in other ways by the Federal Aviation Administration. The NASA "NOAMS" study involved interviews with pilots that covered numerous safety incidents.
05 Feb
Alaska's governor is proposing to provide low-interest loans to help GA (general aviation) aircraft owners equip their aircraft with ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) equipment. According to the Alaska Journal of Commerce, Governor Sarah Palin's initiative resulted from a letter (tinyurl.com/2phojk) she received from the FAA asking for her support on the equipage issue, and because a group of aviation industry officials approached her and other state officials with a request for support. The program would allow for about 400 ADS-B equipage loans, according to Greg Winegar, the director of Alaska' Division of Investments. "We are using a figure of $15,000 for the hardware and installation at 4 percent interest. At that rate the annual payment would be $1,480, or $122 monthly," Mr. Winegar said. The program will have a sunset date of 2020 and money paid on the loans will go back into an Alaskan revolving fund.
04 Feb
Back in 1972, a survey of thirty-four aircraft instrument repair facilities in Los Angeles County was made to determine the degree of radiation hazard associated with the use and/or handling of radium instruments and dials. Facilities were visited by health physicists and the survey revealed a wide range of findings relative to the use and handling of aircraft instruments containing "glow in the dark" radium. Investigation included findings in relation to number of personnel, quantity and type of radioactive instruments on the premise, external radiation levels in work areas, amount of removable alpha contamination and the nature of activity associated with radium dials. None of the facilities had developed a program for the purpose of radiation safety, while some were unaware that they had radioactive material on instruments on the premises. It was concluded that seven of the thirty-four facilities surveyed had sufficient radioactive material on the premises and used in such a manner to require obtaining a California Radioactive Material License. On 25 Dec 07 the Department of Environmental Protection finally formally requested that the EPA take action including "removal and remediation duties" at seven facilities that house radium dial instruments. The facilities, owned by Strube Inc. and located in Lancaster Country, Pa., had been the subject of visits and inspections by the DEP, which found Strube uncommitted to meeting previously outlined cleanup deadlines. Deemed "hazardous materials," the aged instruments that may no longer be used in aircraft must be "identified and properly disposed of" because Strube had "improperly stored" them, according to the EPA. Strube's warehouses may contain an estimated 20,000 of the instruments hidden among some 58 million aircraft components, according to Strube. The instruments may have been there since the 1950s.
04 Feb
Swedish airport officials prevented a Russian cargo plane from departing after two of its crew members were found to be under the influence of alcohol. The Antonov AN-12 aircraft was ordered to remain on the ground at Malmo Airport, Sweden after tests determined that its radio operator and a flight engineer were not fit to travel.
04 Feb
Company was Karair, a one-time charter subsidiary of Finnair, and they had two A300's, with highest known utilization of the type, basically flying non-stop between Finland and the Canary Islands, achieving about 18 hours airborne per day per aircraft. At some point, it was discovered that there was a huge chunk of ice floating in the fuel tank of one of the aircraft, as the (thereby) condensed water never had time to melt, and thus had never been drained from the system between its flights. The aircraft had actually been very close to fuel starvation because of this. Of course, about 20 years have passed, lessons had been learnt, and this could never happen again... yet about 10 years ago Continental had an issue with their early 777s in that, during winter ops from NWK (Newark Liberty), the fuel temp never climbed sufficiently to allow any suspended/solid water to thaw and therefore be drained during normal routine checks. Result was a very large, thick sheet of ice in the base of the fuel tanks which would often give erroneous tank quantity readings. The overnight temperature in Beijing before BA038's departure was below freezing. It might be a fair guess that the water warnings that G- YMMM had on its two prior flights disappeared ("self-cleared") because the water then "went frozen", defeating the (ultrasonic) water detectors, and could neither be drained nor detected in a fuel sampling. On descent into warmer climes at Heathrow (with far less overall fuel at super cold temps - ie fewer sub-zero calories to keep the water in ice format), that sheet of ice then "unfroze", formed an icy slush and blocked the higher flow-rates through fuel/oil heat exchangers...... just when high fuel-flows were called for on finals. The aircraft had been directed into the hold at Lambourne (near Heathrow) on arrival - which would have allowed the unfreezing of any large volumes of ice to proceed apace..... and quickly gather near/at tank bottom as an icy slush. The wing tanks have both fuel/oil heat-exchangers and hydfluid coolers. The specific gravity of frozen water (ice) is .92, so it's still a lot more dense than fuel (and once the fuel levels dropped, would tend to drift to the bottom of the tank); so perhaps the heat exchangers located at tank-bottom would then quickly break up any expansive sheet ice and allow it to sink in a slush to the very bottom of the tanks. Airplane attitude may have put the fwd and aft pump inlets at the same levels, too, adding to the probability that both inlets might get blocked with slush/ice? All the post BA038 work now being done by American Airlines and United are predicated upon detecting and minimizing this tank-water threat. Boeing is looking at the physics of tank ice formation and break-up and its effect upon subsequent thrust demand calls. American: Looking at a different constituency/composition/mix for trans-polar re-fuelling United: Looking hard at quality control in respect of detection and deletion of water in their fuel uplifts, particularly at foreign airports.
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