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Monday, May 21, 2007

Safety News In Brief

Argentine authorities are breaking international air safety norms and putting passengers at risk because they haven't fixed the country's only air traffic radar which was hit by lightning on 01 March. The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA) representing 50,000 controllers worldwide have condemned the lapse. The International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations has backed this by advising its 100,000 members to "exercise extreme vigilance" when flying in Argentine airspace. All control is now procedural and subject to holding and delays.
Date Incident
14 May The safety of people on board aircraft is the focus of a new key-stone policy issued this day by Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Under the policy, aviation operations that carry paying passengers are given the highest safety priority, standards and regulatory oversight. CASA will allocate the majority of its resources to the safety of passenger-carrying flights, including safety audits and surveillance. The focus on passengers is contained in CASA's Industry Sector Priorities and Classification of Civil Aviation Activities policy. The new rules are at tinyurl.com/ywvtkb
11 May The International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) 2007 International Seminar will be held in Singapore, August 27-30, 2007. Registration and Program Information can be found on the ISASI 2007 website at: http://www.isasi07.org/
10 May The Very Model of a Modern Major Insecurity ? a fast and loose article ( tinyurl.com/35dj2z ) (NB the last 10 seconds after the short blackout)
10 May Blood Borne Pathogen annual training is a requirement for aircraft accident investigators attending an aviation crash-site where people have been injured. Meeting that annual requirement can be difficult. The Canadian Society of Air Safety Investigators (a non-profit association affiliated with the International Society of Air Safety Investigators - ISASI) has produced a training package (a 16 minute VHS - NTSC North American standard - video tape, and a companion CD with PowerPoint presentation and instructor notes) that allows companies to meet this legal requirement. For $40.00 Canadian funds (including shipping and handling) this "cost only package" is available to the industry. ( tinyurl.com/2c8wv7 )
09 May The Kenya 737-800 that crashed in Douala was ADS-B transponder equipped and "pointlessly" transmitting its GPS ground and flight coordinates every second into the dark African night on 1090 MHz. A simple ADS-B receiver (commercially available for less than $800 plus a laptop) at Douala airport's tower would have recorded its flight path to a text log until it was down, i.e. position coordinates, altitude, ground speed, vertical velocity, true track. A quick review of that text log after radio comms were lost would have led searchers to the crash-site - within mere minutes. Food for thought in Darkest Africa.
09 May Pilots of a Pakistan International Airlines F27 plane that crashed last year, killing all 45 people on board, took off despite knowing the right engine was not working properly, a senior government official told Parliament. 45 died soon after takeoff on a domestic flight from the eastern city of Multan on July 10, 2006. Engineers had fitted a bearing in the turbine manually by hammering it in, instead of using the special pressing equipment designed for its installation.

 

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