The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team of specialists to investigate a ground fire that erupted aboard a parked B-767 cargo jet last night at the San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California.
About 10:00 p.m. PDT, the flight crew of a Boeing B-767 (N799AX) operated by Airborne Express as cargo flight 1611, reported smoke and fire just aft of cockpit while preparing to start the engines.
The airplane was parked at the time, and all cargo had been loaded. Both flight crewmembers exited the airplane safely via cockpit window. The airport rescue and fire-fighting unit extinguished the fire; however, a hole had been burned through the crown of the aircraft above the forward galley area.
NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has designated investigator Lorenda Ward as the Investigator-in-Charge. An aviation systems specialist, survival factors specialist, and fire/explosion specialist will accompany her. The team is expected to arrive on scene this evening.
Fonte: NTSB Press Release 30/06/2008.
segunda-feira, 30 de junho de 2008
NTSB SENDS GO TEAM TO INVESTIGATE EMS HELICOPTER MIDAIR COLLISION IN ARIZONA
The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a Go Team to investigate yesterday's mid-air collision of two emergency medical service (EMS) helicoptersin Flagstaff, Arizona.
At about 3:48 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on June 29, two Bell 407 EMS helicopters (N407GA) operated by Air Methods, and N407MJ operated by Classic Helicopters) collided less than a mile from the Flagstaff Medical Center while both approached the hospital for landing.
There are reports of 6 fatalities.
NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Aaron Sauer has been designated as Investigator-in-Charge and will lead a team of four investigators. NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenkeris accompanying the team and will serve as principal spokesman for the on-scene investigation.
Keith Holloway has accompanied the team as press officer, and three representatives of the Board's Transportation Disaster Assistance office are also accompanying the team.
Fonte: NTSB Press Release 30/06/2008.
At about 3:48 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on June 29, two Bell 407 EMS helicopters (N407GA) operated by Air Methods, and N407MJ operated by Classic Helicopters) collided less than a mile from the Flagstaff Medical Center while both approached the hospital for landing.
There are reports of 6 fatalities.
NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Aaron Sauer has been designated as Investigator-in-Charge and will lead a team of four investigators. NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenkeris accompanying the team and will serve as principal spokesman for the on-scene investigation.
Keith Holloway has accompanied the team as press officer, and three representatives of the Board's Transportation Disaster Assistance office are also accompanying the team.
Fonte: NTSB Press Release 30/06/2008.
Runway safety system installed at N.H. airport
MANCHESTER, N.H.—The finishing touches have been completed on a new runway safety system at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
The Engineered Material Arresting System installed at the end of the airport's secondary runway includes a checkerboard of compressible concrete blocks that can slow and stop an aircraft that overshoots the runway. The system has been in use since November, but the last pieces of construction related to the project weren't completed until spring, and a new service road around the system just opened.
The secondary runway is used for about 25 percent of the airport's takeoffs and landings.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/06/29/runway_safety_system_installed_at_nh_airport/
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
The Engineered Material Arresting System installed at the end of the airport's secondary runway includes a checkerboard of compressible concrete blocks that can slow and stop an aircraft that overshoots the runway. The system has been in use since November, but the last pieces of construction related to the project weren't completed until spring, and a new service road around the system just opened.
The secondary runway is used for about 25 percent of the airport's takeoffs and landings.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/06/29/runway_safety_system_installed_at_nh_airport/
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
L.A. boosts safety
Los Angeles International has opened a new center taxiway, a key component in its quest to cut down on runway incursions.
A runway incursion occurs when an aircraft or other object gets in the way of an aircraft landing or taking off, creating a potential for collision. From 2000 to 2003, LAX experienced the highest number of runway incursions of any U.S. commercial airport. In 2006-2007, LAX experienced 16 runway incursions, four of them deemed serious.
The $83 million taxiway runs between the two parallel runways in the south airfield. It will be used for parking aircraft that land on the southernmost runway until they're cleared to cross the adjacent runway on their way to the terminal. It also marks the end of the airport's $333 million program to reduce incursions by realigning the south side of the terminal. "The center taxiway is one of the most critical safety improvements to be implemented at LAX," said Wes Timmons, the FAA's runway safety director, in a statement.
Since 2006, the airport has also built shorter taxiways and moved its southernmost runway 55 feet farther south for further separation. City officials are still debating whether to make similar improvements to the terminal's north side.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-06-29-airport-checkin_N.htm
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
A runway incursion occurs when an aircraft or other object gets in the way of an aircraft landing or taking off, creating a potential for collision. From 2000 to 2003, LAX experienced the highest number of runway incursions of any U.S. commercial airport. In 2006-2007, LAX experienced 16 runway incursions, four of them deemed serious.
The $83 million taxiway runs between the two parallel runways in the south airfield. It will be used for parking aircraft that land on the southernmost runway until they're cleared to cross the adjacent runway on their way to the terminal. It also marks the end of the airport's $333 million program to reduce incursions by realigning the south side of the terminal. "The center taxiway is one of the most critical safety improvements to be implemented at LAX," said Wes Timmons, the FAA's runway safety director, in a statement.
Since 2006, the airport has also built shorter taxiways and moved its southernmost runway 55 feet farther south for further separation. City officials are still debating whether to make similar improvements to the terminal's north side.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-06-29-airport-checkin_N.htm
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
Cargo plane crash in Sudan kills 4
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — A cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff Monday from Khartoum's airport, killing all four Russian crew members aboard.
It was the second plane crash in Sudan in a week and the third this month.
The plane hit an electricity pole shortly after takeoff and then crashed into an empty field, bursting into flames, said Sudan's state Omdurman radio.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, said Abdel Hafez Abdel Rahim, a spokesman for the country's civil aviation authority. The plane hit the electricity pole as it was already crashing, he said.
The plane's blackened tail landed just a few yards from a group of apartment buildings. Youssef Yacoub, a security guard at a nearby building, said the plane was already on fire as it plunged down.
"There was smoke at its tail. It crashed and then blew up about 10 minutes later," Yacoub said.
Sudan, Africa's largest country, has a poor aviation safety record and many small airlines that crisscross its sprawling terrain. Three years ago, the government said it planned to build a new airport in Khartoum by 2010 but that remains in the planning phase.
The head of Sudanese police, Gen. Mohammad Najib, told The Associated Press there should be an inquiry into the recurring plane crashes.
"This is something that must be looked at closely," he said.
The four crew members were believed to be Russian, said Abdel Rahim. The plane was headed for the south Sudanese capital of Juba. Its cargo was not immediately known.
UN-operated Miraya Radio said the Ilyushin 76 plane belonged to a private Sudanese company, Ababiel.
On Saturday, seven people were killed and one survived when a Russian-made Antonov plane operated by Juba Cargo crashed in southern Sudan. Earlier in June, an Airbus A310 caught fire after touching down at Khartoum's airport, killing 30 people on board. Another 178 escaped.
Status: Preliminary
Date: 30 JUN 2008
Type: Ilyushin 76TD
Operator: Ababeel Aviation
Registration: ST-WTB ?
C/n / msn: 1003499994
First flight:
Crew: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Airplane damage: Destroyed
Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: 1 km (0.6 mls) S of Khartoum-Civil Airport (KRT) (Sudan)
Phase: Takeoff (TOF)
Nature: Cargo
Departure airport: Khartoum-Civil Airport (KRT/HSSS), Sudan
Destination airport: Juba Airport (JUB/HSSJ), Sudan
Narrative:
Crashed on takeoff. Witnesses reported seeing an engine on fire.
(aviation-safety.net)
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
It was the second plane crash in Sudan in a week and the third this month.
The plane hit an electricity pole shortly after takeoff and then crashed into an empty field, bursting into flames, said Sudan's state Omdurman radio.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, said Abdel Hafez Abdel Rahim, a spokesman for the country's civil aviation authority. The plane hit the electricity pole as it was already crashing, he said.
The plane's blackened tail landed just a few yards from a group of apartment buildings. Youssef Yacoub, a security guard at a nearby building, said the plane was already on fire as it plunged down.
"There was smoke at its tail. It crashed and then blew up about 10 minutes later," Yacoub said.
Sudan, Africa's largest country, has a poor aviation safety record and many small airlines that crisscross its sprawling terrain. Three years ago, the government said it planned to build a new airport in Khartoum by 2010 but that remains in the planning phase.
The head of Sudanese police, Gen. Mohammad Najib, told The Associated Press there should be an inquiry into the recurring plane crashes.
"This is something that must be looked at closely," he said.
The four crew members were believed to be Russian, said Abdel Rahim. The plane was headed for the south Sudanese capital of Juba. Its cargo was not immediately known.
UN-operated Miraya Radio said the Ilyushin 76 plane belonged to a private Sudanese company, Ababiel.
On Saturday, seven people were killed and one survived when a Russian-made Antonov plane operated by Juba Cargo crashed in southern Sudan. Earlier in June, an Airbus A310 caught fire after touching down at Khartoum's airport, killing 30 people on board. Another 178 escaped.
Status: Preliminary
Date: 30 JUN 2008
Type: Ilyushin 76TD
Operator: Ababeel Aviation
Registration: ST-WTB ?
C/n / msn: 1003499994
First flight:
Crew: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Airplane damage: Destroyed
Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: 1 km (0.6 mls) S of Khartoum-Civil Airport (KRT) (Sudan)
Phase: Takeoff (TOF)
Nature: Cargo
Departure airport: Khartoum-Civil Airport (KRT/HSSS), Sudan
Destination airport: Juba Airport (JUB/HSSJ), Sudan
Narrative:
Crashed on takeoff. Witnesses reported seeing an engine on fire.
(aviation-safety.net)
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
Parked Boeing 767 Freighter Catches Fire At SFO Saturday Evening
Aircraft Seriously Damaged, No Injuries Reported
The pilot and co-pilot aboard an Airborne Express Boeing 767 freighter escaped injury Saturday evening when the cockpit of the aircraft caught fire while parked at San Francisco International Airport.
The aircraft was parked in a hangar near a mail processing facility when the fire started just after 2200 Saturday evening.
According to Duty Manager Lilly Wang, people began pointing to heavy black smoke coming out of an area behind the cockpit. Neither the pilot or the co-pilot aboard were injured, though the co-pilot did go to the hospital.
According to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Bruce Nelson, the hangar is located in a part of the airport "far away from regular traffic" though officials temporarily closed roads into the airport for about ten minutes while emergency crews responded to the scene.
The fire forced more than 100 people to evacuate from a nearby building as black smoke billowed into the air from the intense flames that seriously damaged the aircraft.
"You can actually see through the top of the aircraft. It spread all the way through," said Wang.
It took firefighters two hours to fully extinguish the blaze. Landings and takeoffs of passenger airplanes at the airport were not affected by the incident.
FMI: www.faa.gov, www.flysfo.com
aero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
The pilot and co-pilot aboard an Airborne Express Boeing 767 freighter escaped injury Saturday evening when the cockpit of the aircraft caught fire while parked at San Francisco International Airport.
The aircraft was parked in a hangar near a mail processing facility when the fire started just after 2200 Saturday evening.
According to Duty Manager Lilly Wang, people began pointing to heavy black smoke coming out of an area behind the cockpit. Neither the pilot or the co-pilot aboard were injured, though the co-pilot did go to the hospital.
According to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Bruce Nelson, the hangar is located in a part of the airport "far away from regular traffic" though officials temporarily closed roads into the airport for about ten minutes while emergency crews responded to the scene.
The fire forced more than 100 people to evacuate from a nearby building as black smoke billowed into the air from the intense flames that seriously damaged the aircraft.
"You can actually see through the top of the aircraft. It spread all the way through," said Wang.
It took firefighters two hours to fully extinguish the blaze. Landings and takeoffs of passenger airplanes at the airport were not affected by the incident.
FMI: www.faa.gov, www.flysfo.com
aero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
Two Medical Helicopters Collide Sunday In AZ: Seven Lost
Three Others Critical After Accident Near Flagstaff Hospital
Tragic news from Flagstaff, AZ, 130 miles north of Phoenix, as a midair collision involving two medical helicopters occurred Sunday afternoon with at least seven reported lost.
The Associated Press reports all three people aboard one of the helicopters were lost including a patient and the pilot. Four others are reported killed and three critically wounded though there has been no confirmation of they were all on the second helicopter or whether some were on the ground.
According Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Los Angeles, the collision occurred at 1545 local time. Both aircraft were Bell 407 commercial helicopters, one owned by Air Methods of Englewood, CO and the other by Classic Helicopters of Woods Cross, UT.
The collision occurred near Flagstaff Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Starla Addair said she did not have any information to release.
Coconino County sheriff's spokesman Gerry Blair added the crash started a 10-acre brush fire that authorities were able to extinguish.
FMI: www.faa.gov
aero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
Tragic news from Flagstaff, AZ, 130 miles north of Phoenix, as a midair collision involving two medical helicopters occurred Sunday afternoon with at least seven reported lost.
The Associated Press reports all three people aboard one of the helicopters were lost including a patient and the pilot. Four others are reported killed and three critically wounded though there has been no confirmation of they were all on the second helicopter or whether some were on the ground.
According Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Los Angeles, the collision occurred at 1545 local time. Both aircraft were Bell 407 commercial helicopters, one owned by Air Methods of Englewood, CO and the other by Classic Helicopters of Woods Cross, UT.
The collision occurred near Flagstaff Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Starla Addair said she did not have any information to release.
Coconino County sheriff's spokesman Gerry Blair added the crash started a 10-acre brush fire that authorities were able to extinguish.
FMI: www.faa.gov
aero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/06/2008
sexta-feira, 27 de junho de 2008
NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATION
National Transportation Safety BoardWashington, DC 20594June 27, 2008
Safety Recommendations A-08-16 through -20
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the Federal Aviation Administration:
Require 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators to include, in their initial, upgrade, transition, and recurrent simulator training for turbojet airplanes, (1) decision-making for rejected landings below 50 feet along with a rapid reduction in visual cues and (2) practice in executing this maneuver. (A-08-16).
Require 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators to include, in their initial, upgrade, transition, and recurrent simulator training for turbojet airplanes, practice for pilots in accomplishing maximum performance landings on contaminated runways. (A-08-17)
Require 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators to have a written policy emphasizing that either pilot can make a go-around callout and that the response to the callout is an immediate missed approach. (A-08-18)
In cooperation with pilot unions, the Regional Airline Association, and the Air Transport Association, develop a specific, standardized policy for 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators that would allow flight crewmembers to decline assignments or remove themselves from duty if they were impaired by a lack of sleep. (A-08-19)
Once the fatigue policy described in Safety Recommendation A-08-19 has been developed, require 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators to adopt this policy and provide, in writing, details of the policy to their flight crewmembers, including the administrative implications of fatigue calls. (A-08-20)
Also, the following previously issued recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration is classified unacceptable response. Immediately require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and 91 subpart K operators to conduct arrival landing distance assessments before every landing based on existing performance data, actual conditions, and incorporating a minimum safety margin of 15 percent. (A-07-57) (Urgent) 14
In addition, the following previously issued recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration are classified Acceptable Response:
Require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 certificated airports to upgrade all runway safety areas that could, with feasible improvements, be made to meet the minimum standards established by Advisory Circular 150/5300-13, Airport Design. The upgrades should be made proactively, not only as part of other runway improvement projects. (A-03-11)
Require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 certificated airports to install engineered materials arresting systems in each runway safety area available for air carrier use that could not, with feasible improvements, be made to meet the minimum standards established by Advisory Circular 150/5300-13, Airport Design. The systems should be installed proactively, not only as part of other runway improvement projects. (A-03-12)
Require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and 91 subpart K operators to accomplish arrival landing distance assessments before every landing based on a standardized methodology involving approved performance data, actual arrival conditions, a means of correlating the airplanes braking ability with runway surface conditions using the most conservative interpretation available, and including a minimum safety margin of 15 percent. (A-07-61)
Fonte: NTSB Safety Information 27/06/2008.
Safety Recommendations A-08-16 through -20
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the Federal Aviation Administration:
Require 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators to include, in their initial, upgrade, transition, and recurrent simulator training for turbojet airplanes, (1) decision-making for rejected landings below 50 feet along with a rapid reduction in visual cues and (2) practice in executing this maneuver. (A-08-16).
Require 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators to include, in their initial, upgrade, transition, and recurrent simulator training for turbojet airplanes, practice for pilots in accomplishing maximum performance landings on contaminated runways. (A-08-17)
Require 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators to have a written policy emphasizing that either pilot can make a go-around callout and that the response to the callout is an immediate missed approach. (A-08-18)
In cooperation with pilot unions, the Regional Airline Association, and the Air Transport Association, develop a specific, standardized policy for 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators that would allow flight crewmembers to decline assignments or remove themselves from duty if they were impaired by a lack of sleep. (A-08-19)
Once the fatigue policy described in Safety Recommendation A-08-19 has been developed, require 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and Part 91 subpart K operators to adopt this policy and provide, in writing, details of the policy to their flight crewmembers, including the administrative implications of fatigue calls. (A-08-20)
Also, the following previously issued recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration is classified unacceptable response. Immediately require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and 91 subpart K operators to conduct arrival landing distance assessments before every landing based on existing performance data, actual conditions, and incorporating a minimum safety margin of 15 percent. (A-07-57) (Urgent) 14
In addition, the following previously issued recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration are classified Acceptable Response:
Require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 certificated airports to upgrade all runway safety areas that could, with feasible improvements, be made to meet the minimum standards established by Advisory Circular 150/5300-13, Airport Design. The upgrades should be made proactively, not only as part of other runway improvement projects. (A-03-11)
Require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 certificated airports to install engineered materials arresting systems in each runway safety area available for air carrier use that could not, with feasible improvements, be made to meet the minimum standards established by Advisory Circular 150/5300-13, Airport Design. The systems should be installed proactively, not only as part of other runway improvement projects. (A-03-12)
Require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, 135, and 91 subpart K operators to accomplish arrival landing distance assessments before every landing based on a standardized methodology involving approved performance data, actual arrival conditions, a means of correlating the airplanes braking ability with runway surface conditions using the most conservative interpretation available, and including a minimum safety margin of 15 percent. (A-07-61)
Fonte: NTSB Safety Information 27/06/2008.
Air Traffic Control System on the Verge of Collapse?
Help Wanted: FAA Posts Jobs, With Big Bonuses, to Lure Veteran Controllers
The Federal Aviation Administration is offering high incentive bonuses to attract veteran air traffic controllers to several of its facilities.
The Federal Aviation Administration is offering higher incentive bonuses to attract veteran controllers to move to facilities in Westbury, N.Y.; Aspen, Colo.; Nantucket, Mass.; Anchorage and Fairbanks in Alaska, among other locales.
How many jobs need to be filled? "Vacancies: Many," according to employment notices posted by the FAA.
Although the FAA said this week that it is offering higher incentives due to the high cost of living in these areas, others said the hefty bonuses, of differing amounts, are due to critical staffing shortages in the nation's air traffic control towers.
The FAA is scurrying to retain seasoned employees and hire and train new controllers as those who started working after the air traffic controllers strike in the early 1980s approach retirement. The FAA expects to replace nearly its entire workforce over the course of the next decade.
Related Many Air Traffic Controllers Are TraineesDenied 4th Drink, Man Gropes StewardessWill Rookies Be Running Control Towers?But the National Air Traffic Controllers Association insists that the turnover means too many inexperienced employees will be directing traffic, perhaps dangerously, across the skies.
The union said the FAA job openings illustrate just how dire the situation is to appeal to those with more experience. Controllers also are locked in a fierce contract dispute with the FAA, and they see these new incentives as yet another example of an air traffic control system on the verge of collapse.
"It's a sign of desperation that staffing is so bad at these facilities that the FAA has to offer such an outrageously high sum of money instead of negotiating a reasonable and logical solution to the mess it has created," said Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controller's Association in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the FAA, the agency has offered incentives for transfers to a total of 25 air traffic control facilities around the country since January. It has increased those bonuses or added facilities to its list on four occasions since the winter to appeal to potential hires.
Take New York as an example. According to the FAA, in January, the agency was offering air traffic controllers $27,000 for relocation, as well as a bonus up to $25,000 for committing to three years of work. The perks have gotten far better. Now, if you apply by July 8 to work at the high-stress approach control facility and get hired, you'll still receive $27,000 to transfer there from another facility, but if you also agree to commit to four years, you'll receive up to $75,000 over four years as an incentive bonus.
According to the FAA job posting, the salary for air traffic controller specialists in the New York area who are responsible for ensuring "the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic" ranges from $98,814 to $137,732 per year.
The NATCA union said the New York facility has lost 13 percent of its certified controllers in the past two years and has not brought on any certified controllers since September 2006.
Passengers, too, could feel the effects of a shortage of air traffic controllers. Fewer people in control towers could mean controllers will have to slow down traffic, which could lead to more delays.
Are Americans Safe on Airplanes?WATCH: Danger In the Skies?Airplane Games of Chicken? FAA Gets ToughIn Reno, Nevada, a shortage of air traffic controllers has sparked particular concern this week. NATCA Reno facility representative Rich Ferris said in a Tuesday statement, "The FAA has left us in a position where we cannot provide the level of service that Reno needs."
With one of the facility's veteran controllers retiring tomorrow, 11 fully certified controllers will continue to work there, as well as eight trainees and three supervisors. In ideal circumstances, the facility would have a staff of 23 to 28 people.
A health emergency on Monday also illuminated the problem when one of the fully certified controllers suffered a debilitating medical problem while working alone on radar, or handling airborne traffic around Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Feeling ill, the controller called up to the tower and someone came down to help him. Another tower controller took over the radar position from the tower itself.
Ian Gregor, FAA communications manager for the Western-Pacific region, said it was standard to have only one controller in the radar room at that time because "we staff to traffic." He said there were only a handful of planes the controller was working.
Though Gregor said it's tight in terms of staff, he added that "we're still running a very safe and efficient operation there and there have been no incidents or delays related to staffing."
The FAA has been discussing closing the radar room in the middle of the night, during which time a facility in Oakland, Calif., will handle Reno's traffic. Gregor said Thursday the FAA has not yet made that decision.
A report released earlier this month from the Department of the Transportation Inspector-General found that nearly a quarter of that nation's 15,000 controllers have recently started their careers and are still in some stage of their three-year training period. The report also found that more than 20 percent of facilities don't adhere to the FAA's caps that limit the number of controllers who can be in training at any given site.
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Story?id=5252773&page=1
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 27/06/2008.
The Federal Aviation Administration is offering high incentive bonuses to attract veteran air traffic controllers to several of its facilities.
The Federal Aviation Administration is offering higher incentive bonuses to attract veteran controllers to move to facilities in Westbury, N.Y.; Aspen, Colo.; Nantucket, Mass.; Anchorage and Fairbanks in Alaska, among other locales.
How many jobs need to be filled? "Vacancies: Many," according to employment notices posted by the FAA.
Although the FAA said this week that it is offering higher incentives due to the high cost of living in these areas, others said the hefty bonuses, of differing amounts, are due to critical staffing shortages in the nation's air traffic control towers.
The FAA is scurrying to retain seasoned employees and hire and train new controllers as those who started working after the air traffic controllers strike in the early 1980s approach retirement. The FAA expects to replace nearly its entire workforce over the course of the next decade.
Related Many Air Traffic Controllers Are TraineesDenied 4th Drink, Man Gropes StewardessWill Rookies Be Running Control Towers?But the National Air Traffic Controllers Association insists that the turnover means too many inexperienced employees will be directing traffic, perhaps dangerously, across the skies.
The union said the FAA job openings illustrate just how dire the situation is to appeal to those with more experience. Controllers also are locked in a fierce contract dispute with the FAA, and they see these new incentives as yet another example of an air traffic control system on the verge of collapse.
"It's a sign of desperation that staffing is so bad at these facilities that the FAA has to offer such an outrageously high sum of money instead of negotiating a reasonable and logical solution to the mess it has created," said Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controller's Association in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the FAA, the agency has offered incentives for transfers to a total of 25 air traffic control facilities around the country since January. It has increased those bonuses or added facilities to its list on four occasions since the winter to appeal to potential hires.
Take New York as an example. According to the FAA, in January, the agency was offering air traffic controllers $27,000 for relocation, as well as a bonus up to $25,000 for committing to three years of work. The perks have gotten far better. Now, if you apply by July 8 to work at the high-stress approach control facility and get hired, you'll still receive $27,000 to transfer there from another facility, but if you also agree to commit to four years, you'll receive up to $75,000 over four years as an incentive bonus.
According to the FAA job posting, the salary for air traffic controller specialists in the New York area who are responsible for ensuring "the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic" ranges from $98,814 to $137,732 per year.
The NATCA union said the New York facility has lost 13 percent of its certified controllers in the past two years and has not brought on any certified controllers since September 2006.
Passengers, too, could feel the effects of a shortage of air traffic controllers. Fewer people in control towers could mean controllers will have to slow down traffic, which could lead to more delays.
Are Americans Safe on Airplanes?WATCH: Danger In the Skies?Airplane Games of Chicken? FAA Gets ToughIn Reno, Nevada, a shortage of air traffic controllers has sparked particular concern this week. NATCA Reno facility representative Rich Ferris said in a Tuesday statement, "The FAA has left us in a position where we cannot provide the level of service that Reno needs."
With one of the facility's veteran controllers retiring tomorrow, 11 fully certified controllers will continue to work there, as well as eight trainees and three supervisors. In ideal circumstances, the facility would have a staff of 23 to 28 people.
A health emergency on Monday also illuminated the problem when one of the fully certified controllers suffered a debilitating medical problem while working alone on radar, or handling airborne traffic around Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Feeling ill, the controller called up to the tower and someone came down to help him. Another tower controller took over the radar position from the tower itself.
Ian Gregor, FAA communications manager for the Western-Pacific region, said it was standard to have only one controller in the radar room at that time because "we staff to traffic." He said there were only a handful of planes the controller was working.
Though Gregor said it's tight in terms of staff, he added that "we're still running a very safe and efficient operation there and there have been no incidents or delays related to staffing."
The FAA has been discussing closing the radar room in the middle of the night, during which time a facility in Oakland, Calif., will handle Reno's traffic. Gregor said Thursday the FAA has not yet made that decision.
A report released earlier this month from the Department of the Transportation Inspector-General found that nearly a quarter of that nation's 15,000 controllers have recently started their careers and are still in some stage of their three-year training period. The report also found that more than 20 percent of facilities don't adhere to the FAA's caps that limit the number of controllers who can be in training at any given site.
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Story?id=5252773&page=1
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 27/06/2008.
Indonesian military airplane crashes in Mt. Salak, West Java
An Indonesian military airplane with 18 people on board crashed Thursday in Mount Salak, West Java. But the fate of the people remained unknown, Antara news agency reported on Friday.
The wreck of the Air Force Casa-212 which had been declared lost at 11 a.m. on Thursday, was eventually located in the Curug Nangka tourist resort at the foot of Mt. Salak, Sukajadi village, Tamansari subdistrict, Bogor regency, said the report.
A national searching team from Jakarta with the support of security personnel and the local villagers, had been combing the foot of Mt. Salak to locate the wreck.
Villagers heard a loud explosion above the forest at 11.30 a.m., but wandered what it was, a security guard of the Curug Nangka camping site in Tamansari, Bogor, was quoted as saying.
The ill-fated Casa-212, belonging to Squadron 4 of the Indonesian Air Force based in Subang, was on a flight testing its aerial camera. But it lost contact with its control tower when flying around Bogor.
Source:Xinhua
Date: 26 JUN 2008
Type: CASA NC-212 Aviocar 200M
Operator: Tentara Nasional Indonesia-AU (Air Force)
Registration: A-2106
C/n / msn: 228/N68
First flight:
Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: 5
Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: 13
Total: Fatalities: / Occupants: 18
Airplane damage: Unknown
Location: near Salak Mountain (Indonesia)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature: Military
Departure airport: Jakarta-Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport (HLP/WIHH), Indonesia
Destination airport: ?
Narrative:
Missing over Java.
(aviation-safety.net)
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 27/06/2008.
The wreck of the Air Force Casa-212 which had been declared lost at 11 a.m. on Thursday, was eventually located in the Curug Nangka tourist resort at the foot of Mt. Salak, Sukajadi village, Tamansari subdistrict, Bogor regency, said the report.
A national searching team from Jakarta with the support of security personnel and the local villagers, had been combing the foot of Mt. Salak to locate the wreck.
Villagers heard a loud explosion above the forest at 11.30 a.m., but wandered what it was, a security guard of the Curug Nangka camping site in Tamansari, Bogor, was quoted as saying.
The ill-fated Casa-212, belonging to Squadron 4 of the Indonesian Air Force based in Subang, was on a flight testing its aerial camera. But it lost contact with its control tower when flying around Bogor.
Source:Xinhua
Date: 26 JUN 2008
Type: CASA NC-212 Aviocar 200M
Operator: Tentara Nasional Indonesia-AU (Air Force)
Registration: A-2106
C/n / msn: 228/N68
First flight:
Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: 5
Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: 13
Total: Fatalities: / Occupants: 18
Airplane damage: Unknown
Location: near Salak Mountain (Indonesia)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature: Military
Departure airport: Jakarta-Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport (HLP/WIHH), Indonesia
Destination airport: ?
Narrative:
Missing over Java.
(aviation-safety.net)
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 27/06/2008.
Pilots say drunken Ron White nearly caused crash
Texas comedian Ron White often jokes about nearly crashing while on planes, but this one might have been for real.
Federal Aviation Administration officials are investigating a claim made by two of the comedian's former pilots who say a drunken White nearly caused them to crash over New York City on May 11.
Scott Wolcott and Chris LaPlante, both veteran pilots who live near Atlanta, said White burst into the private jet's cockpit and threatened to fight them and crash the plane.
"He was there, and he wasn't real happy. In fact, he was real angry," Wolcott said.
White's plane, enroute from Ithaca, N.Y., to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, was flying 28,000 feet above New York City when both pilots requested to divert the aircraft to the nearest airport for safety reasons, Wolcott said.
"I wanted to get the airplane on the ground because it was a threat at that point. The safety of the airplane was being jeopardized," Wolcott said.
Lawrenceville attorney Terry Lloyd, representing White, said the pilots' statements were false and a case of disgruntled ex-employees who didn't get paid what they asked for.
White, the owner of the airplane, fired both pilots the day after the incident.
According to FAA spokesperson Les Dorr, any person who physically assaults a flight crew member or threatens to do so is subject to a $25,000 penalty.
Both pilots said FAA officials on the ground heard and taped the entire conversation because White burst in while they were talking to controllers in the New York air traffic control center.
Kerry R. Lane, an FAA safety officer at New York Center, said the tapes no longer exist – they were erased after 15 days. The deletion, he said, is normal procedure.
Lloyd said the FAA will quickly close the case once the pilot's claims are investigated. "The allegations will not withstand scrutiny," he said.
http://www.accessatlanta.com/entertainment/content/entertainment/stories/2008/06/26/white_ron_atlanta_pilots_comedy_plane.html?imw=Y
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 27/06/2008
Federal Aviation Administration officials are investigating a claim made by two of the comedian's former pilots who say a drunken White nearly caused them to crash over New York City on May 11.
Scott Wolcott and Chris LaPlante, both veteran pilots who live near Atlanta, said White burst into the private jet's cockpit and threatened to fight them and crash the plane.
"He was there, and he wasn't real happy. In fact, he was real angry," Wolcott said.
White's plane, enroute from Ithaca, N.Y., to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, was flying 28,000 feet above New York City when both pilots requested to divert the aircraft to the nearest airport for safety reasons, Wolcott said.
"I wanted to get the airplane on the ground because it was a threat at that point. The safety of the airplane was being jeopardized," Wolcott said.
Lawrenceville attorney Terry Lloyd, representing White, said the pilots' statements were false and a case of disgruntled ex-employees who didn't get paid what they asked for.
White, the owner of the airplane, fired both pilots the day after the incident.
According to FAA spokesperson Les Dorr, any person who physically assaults a flight crew member or threatens to do so is subject to a $25,000 penalty.
Both pilots said FAA officials on the ground heard and taped the entire conversation because White burst in while they were talking to controllers in the New York air traffic control center.
Kerry R. Lane, an FAA safety officer at New York Center, said the tapes no longer exist – they were erased after 15 days. The deletion, he said, is normal procedure.
Lloyd said the FAA will quickly close the case once the pilot's claims are investigated. "The allegations will not withstand scrutiny," he said.
http://www.accessatlanta.com/entertainment/content/entertainment/stories/2008/06/26/white_ron_atlanta_pilots_comedy_plane.html?imw=Y
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 27/06/2008
quinta-feira, 26 de junho de 2008
Eclipse to Modify FADEC Logic to Cure Dead Throttle Problem
In the wake of the June 5, 2008 incident during which a pilot of an Eclipse 500 experienced loss of throttle response during a windshear escape maneuver, Eclipse Aviation announced Tuesday evening that it’s working with Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) and FAA to develop and certify an upgrade to the FADEC software that will prevent recurrence of the engine control problem.
Strain-gauge testing at Eclipse indicated that the FADECs could sense a throttle position fault if both throttles were pushed against the stops simultaneously with more than 30 pounds force on each throttle. The excessive force doesn’t cause a mechanical failure of components within the throttle quadrant. Instead, it results in an electronic glitch. Pairs of potentiometers, linked to each throttle, send electrical signals to the FADECs in proportion to throttle lever movement. The FADECs are programmed to detect a throttle position fault if the potentiometers sense more than 75 degrees of throttle lever travel. That can happen if each throttle is pushed forward with more than 30 pounds of force.
If the FADECs detect such a throttle lever position fault, the result is loss of throttle response, accompanied by a L (R) ENG CONTROL FAIL CAS message. Revised AFM procedures published by Eclipse in response to FAA’s emergency AD 2008-13-51 enable pilots to reset throttle lever position sensing in flight by means of shutting down and restarting an engine or pulling and resetting the appropriate engine control electronic circuit breakers. Either remedial action restores normal throttle response, according to the AFM revision.
To decrease the likelihood of such occurrences, Eclipse and PWC are modifying the FADEC software to increase the maximum allowable travel limit of the potentiometers by four degrees to 79 degrees. Reaching the new limit will require pushing each throttle forward with more than 75 pounds of hand force at the same time, 2.5 times the current level of force required to exceed the allowable maximum travel limits of the potentiometers. This will make the FADECs considerably more tolerant of robust throttle handling.
Eclipse and PWC expect to have approval for the FADEC software revision within ten to 12 weeks. No hardware changes will be required. But factory replacements for current-production throttle quadrants that have failed the operational test required by AD 2008-13-51 are in short supply, some operators report.
http://www.aviationweek.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/search/AvnowSearchResult.do?reference=xml/awx_xml/2008/06/25/awx_06_25_2008_p0-62216.xml
Fonte: Flight Safety Informantion 26/06/2008
Strain-gauge testing at Eclipse indicated that the FADECs could sense a throttle position fault if both throttles were pushed against the stops simultaneously with more than 30 pounds force on each throttle. The excessive force doesn’t cause a mechanical failure of components within the throttle quadrant. Instead, it results in an electronic glitch. Pairs of potentiometers, linked to each throttle, send electrical signals to the FADECs in proportion to throttle lever movement. The FADECs are programmed to detect a throttle position fault if the potentiometers sense more than 75 degrees of throttle lever travel. That can happen if each throttle is pushed forward with more than 30 pounds of force.
If the FADECs detect such a throttle lever position fault, the result is loss of throttle response, accompanied by a L (R) ENG CONTROL FAIL CAS message. Revised AFM procedures published by Eclipse in response to FAA’s emergency AD 2008-13-51 enable pilots to reset throttle lever position sensing in flight by means of shutting down and restarting an engine or pulling and resetting the appropriate engine control electronic circuit breakers. Either remedial action restores normal throttle response, according to the AFM revision.
To decrease the likelihood of such occurrences, Eclipse and PWC are modifying the FADEC software to increase the maximum allowable travel limit of the potentiometers by four degrees to 79 degrees. Reaching the new limit will require pushing each throttle forward with more than 75 pounds of hand force at the same time, 2.5 times the current level of force required to exceed the allowable maximum travel limits of the potentiometers. This will make the FADECs considerably more tolerant of robust throttle handling.
Eclipse and PWC expect to have approval for the FADEC software revision within ten to 12 weeks. No hardware changes will be required. But factory replacements for current-production throttle quadrants that have failed the operational test required by AD 2008-13-51 are in short supply, some operators report.
http://www.aviationweek.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/search/AvnowSearchResult.do?reference=xml/awx_xml/2008/06/25/awx_06_25_2008_p0-62216.xml
Fonte: Flight Safety Informantion 26/06/2008
FBI: Man charged after icy flight to Charlotte
(AP) A passenger on an American Airlines flight from Texas to North Carolina has been charged after authorities say he got drunk, grabbed a flight attendant's buttocks and threw ice at other passengers.
Jacob Kline, whose hometown was not listed on federal court documents filed Tuesday, was flying Tuesday on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Charlotte.
An affidavit from an FBI agent says Kline's behavior led the pilot to request expedited clearance and a quick descent to land.
Kline was flying with his wife and two children and was sitting next to one of them when he began drinking rum-and-cokes and became disruptive, according to the affidavit.
When flight attendants refused to give him a fourth drink, he took a cup of ice and began throwing it at other passengers. He was also accused of moving around the plane, using profanity and whistling.
Flight attendants repeatedly tried to get him to behave, and he grabbed one of them. A passenger described as "very large in size" helped the flight crew by sitting next to Kline, telling him to be quiet and sit still.
Kline was charged with being intoxicated and disruptive in public and resisting a public officer. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney.
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 26/06/2008
Jacob Kline, whose hometown was not listed on federal court documents filed Tuesday, was flying Tuesday on an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Charlotte.
An affidavit from an FBI agent says Kline's behavior led the pilot to request expedited clearance and a quick descent to land.
Kline was flying with his wife and two children and was sitting next to one of them when he began drinking rum-and-cokes and became disruptive, according to the affidavit.
When flight attendants refused to give him a fourth drink, he took a cup of ice and began throwing it at other passengers. He was also accused of moving around the plane, using profanity and whistling.
Flight attendants repeatedly tried to get him to behave, and he grabbed one of them. A passenger described as "very large in size" helped the flight crew by sitting next to Kline, telling him to be quiet and sit still.
Kline was charged with being intoxicated and disruptive in public and resisting a public officer. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney.
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 26/06/2008
In a plane crash safest seats are in aisle
Study suggests the best location to get out alive from a burning aircraft
It is the question that most nervous flyers ask themselves whenever they board an aircraft: where is the safest place to sit? The answer is now much clearer after an exhaustive study of 105 accidents and personal accounts from almost 2,000 survivors of how they managed to escape from crash landings and onboard fires.
For the best chance of getting out alive from a burning aircraft, people should choose an aisle seat near the front within five rows of an emergency exit.
Commissioned by the Civil Aviation Authority and carried out by Greenwich University, the study found that the seats with the best survival rate were in the emergency exit row and the row in front or behind it. Between two and five rows from the exit, passengers still have a better than even chance of escaping in a fire but “the difference between surviving and perishing is greatly reduced”.
The most dangerous seats are those six or more rows from an exit. The study says: “Here, the chances of perishing far outweigh those of surviving.”
Passengers sitting towards the front of the aircraft had a 65 per cent chance of escaping a fire, while the survival rate for those at the rear was 53 per cent. The survival rate in aisle seats was 64 per cent, compared with 58 per cent for other passengers.
A transport safety group said that the findings called into question the increasing trend among airlines for charging passengers extra for exit seats, which have more legroom, or allowing people to select seats online.
One of the fatal accidents analyzed in the study was the disaster at Manchester airport in 1985, when 55 people died on a British Air tours Boeing 737 after it caught fire. The majority of those who died were sitting well away from a usable exit. The fire, caused by an exploding engine that punctured a fuel tank in the wing, engulfed one side of the aircraft and prevented escape from several exits.
The study found that the passengers who died were on average sitting more than twice as far away from a usable exit as those who survived. Some of the dead, most of whom were killed by toxic fumes, were sitting 15 rows from the nearest usable exit.
Under international air safety regulations, aircraft must undergo an evacuation test to demonstrate that everyone on board can escape within 90 seconds when half the exits are blocked.
But the study found that this test was flawed because it failed to take sufficient account of people's behavior in an emergency. It said the tests assumed that no one on board had any “social bonds” with other passengers. Analysis of behavior in real emergencies showed that many passengers delayed their escape to help friends or relatives. People traveling with colleagues, however, appeared to focus on their own survival and head straight for the exit.
Another flaw with the tests was that people were much more willing to comply with directions from cabin crew under experimental conditions than in real danger. Crew are trained to prevent congestion at exits by directing people to a less busy exit. The study said: “In real emergency situations, where passengers may have a choice of directions in which to escape, they may ultimately ignore crew commands and attempt to use their nearest exit.” The survival instinct also tended to result in selfish acts that could delay evacuation, such as people climbing over seats to jump the queue for the exit.
Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said the study “shows your choice of seat on a plane really can be a matter of life or death. Your chance of survival should not be based on your ability to pay for an emergency exit seat or to reserve your seat online.”
Mr Gifford said airlines should consider putting families and elderly people near the exits. They might not be allowed to sit in the exit row, however, because regulations require passengers in those seats to be fit enough to help to open the door.
Virgin Atlantic charges £50 or £75 one way for a seat in an exit row, but they can only be booked at the airport once the passenger has been seen by airline staff.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4214998.ece
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 26/06/2008
It is the question that most nervous flyers ask themselves whenever they board an aircraft: where is the safest place to sit? The answer is now much clearer after an exhaustive study of 105 accidents and personal accounts from almost 2,000 survivors of how they managed to escape from crash landings and onboard fires.
For the best chance of getting out alive from a burning aircraft, people should choose an aisle seat near the front within five rows of an emergency exit.
Commissioned by the Civil Aviation Authority and carried out by Greenwich University, the study found that the seats with the best survival rate were in the emergency exit row and the row in front or behind it. Between two and five rows from the exit, passengers still have a better than even chance of escaping in a fire but “the difference between surviving and perishing is greatly reduced”.
The most dangerous seats are those six or more rows from an exit. The study says: “Here, the chances of perishing far outweigh those of surviving.”
Passengers sitting towards the front of the aircraft had a 65 per cent chance of escaping a fire, while the survival rate for those at the rear was 53 per cent. The survival rate in aisle seats was 64 per cent, compared with 58 per cent for other passengers.
A transport safety group said that the findings called into question the increasing trend among airlines for charging passengers extra for exit seats, which have more legroom, or allowing people to select seats online.
One of the fatal accidents analyzed in the study was the disaster at Manchester airport in 1985, when 55 people died on a British Air tours Boeing 737 after it caught fire. The majority of those who died were sitting well away from a usable exit. The fire, caused by an exploding engine that punctured a fuel tank in the wing, engulfed one side of the aircraft and prevented escape from several exits.
The study found that the passengers who died were on average sitting more than twice as far away from a usable exit as those who survived. Some of the dead, most of whom were killed by toxic fumes, were sitting 15 rows from the nearest usable exit.
Under international air safety regulations, aircraft must undergo an evacuation test to demonstrate that everyone on board can escape within 90 seconds when half the exits are blocked.
But the study found that this test was flawed because it failed to take sufficient account of people's behavior in an emergency. It said the tests assumed that no one on board had any “social bonds” with other passengers. Analysis of behavior in real emergencies showed that many passengers delayed their escape to help friends or relatives. People traveling with colleagues, however, appeared to focus on their own survival and head straight for the exit.
Another flaw with the tests was that people were much more willing to comply with directions from cabin crew under experimental conditions than in real danger. Crew are trained to prevent congestion at exits by directing people to a less busy exit. The study said: “In real emergency situations, where passengers may have a choice of directions in which to escape, they may ultimately ignore crew commands and attempt to use their nearest exit.” The survival instinct also tended to result in selfish acts that could delay evacuation, such as people climbing over seats to jump the queue for the exit.
Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said the study “shows your choice of seat on a plane really can be a matter of life or death. Your chance of survival should not be based on your ability to pay for an emergency exit seat or to reserve your seat online.”
Mr Gifford said airlines should consider putting families and elderly people near the exits. They might not be allowed to sit in the exit row, however, because regulations require passengers in those seats to be fit enough to help to open the door.
Virgin Atlantic charges £50 or £75 one way for a seat in an exit row, but they can only be booked at the airport once the passenger has been seen by airline staff.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4214998.ece
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 26/06/2008
Plane soar past destination as pilots doze: report
NEW DELHI (AFP) — An Air India flight headed for Mumbai overshot its destination and was halfway to Goa before its dozing pilots were woken out of a deep slumber by air traffic control, a report said.
The high altitude nap took place approximately two weeks ago, the Times of India reported Thursday.
Some 100 passengers were on board the state-run flight that originated from Dubai and flew to the western Indian city of Jaipur before heading south to Mumbai when both pilots fell asleep, a source told the paper.
"After operating an overnight flight, fatigue levels peak -- and so the pilots dozed off after taking off from Jaipur," the source, who was not identified in the report, said.
The plane flew to Mumbai on autopilot, but when air traffic there tried to help the aircraft land, the plane ignored their instructions and carried on at full speed towards Goa.
"It was only after the aircraft reached Mumbai airspace that air traffic control realized it was not responding to any instructions and was carrying on its own course," the source said.
"The aircraft should have begun its descent about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Mumbai, but here it was still at cruising altitude. We checked for hijack."
Finally air traffic control buzzed the cockpit and woke up the pilots, who turned the plane around, the report said.
When contacted by the newspaper, Air India said it was gathering information on the incident.
The manager of Mumbai's airport insisted the aircraft had suffered a "communications failure" and that no napping had taken place.
But sources told the daily that authorities were trying to hush up the matter.
Indian papers reported this week that a flight operated by private airline Jetlite to the central Indian city of Patna was grounded after the pilot was found to be drunk.
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 26/06/2008
The high altitude nap took place approximately two weeks ago, the Times of India reported Thursday.
Some 100 passengers were on board the state-run flight that originated from Dubai and flew to the western Indian city of Jaipur before heading south to Mumbai when both pilots fell asleep, a source told the paper.
"After operating an overnight flight, fatigue levels peak -- and so the pilots dozed off after taking off from Jaipur," the source, who was not identified in the report, said.
The plane flew to Mumbai on autopilot, but when air traffic there tried to help the aircraft land, the plane ignored their instructions and carried on at full speed towards Goa.
"It was only after the aircraft reached Mumbai airspace that air traffic control realized it was not responding to any instructions and was carrying on its own course," the source said.
"The aircraft should have begun its descent about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Mumbai, but here it was still at cruising altitude. We checked for hijack."
Finally air traffic control buzzed the cockpit and woke up the pilots, who turned the plane around, the report said.
When contacted by the newspaper, Air India said it was gathering information on the incident.
The manager of Mumbai's airport insisted the aircraft had suffered a "communications failure" and that no napping had taken place.
But sources told the daily that authorities were trying to hush up the matter.
Indian papers reported this week that a flight operated by private airline Jetlite to the central Indian city of Patna was grounded after the pilot was found to be drunk.
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 26/06/2008
Eclipse jet certified to fly in icy conditions
The Federal Aviation Administration has granted certification for the Eclipse 500 jet to fly in icy conditions.
Eclipse Aviation Corp. has done extensive testing since last year on its six-seat, twin-engine, very light jet to achieve the FAA's stamp of approval, called Flight Into Known Icing certification, said CEO Vern Raburn.
"This certification process is one of the most difficult things to put a new model of aircraft through," Raburn said. "We tested the aircraft in some of the most severe weather conditions we could find, wherever we could find it. By receiving the FAA certification, we proved that the aircraft can withstand known icing conditions in a real-world operating environment with no structural changes required of the air frame."
Eclipse, based in Albuquerque, conducted its first test flight with an artificial ice shape in August 2007. Since then, more than 300 flight hours on three test aircraft have been recorded, including more than 60 hours in natural icing conditions in many locations in the U.S. and Canada.
This year, Eclipse Aviation opened its northeast service center at Albany International Airport for its new Eclipse 500. The Albany, N.Y., location is one of three service centers for the small passenger jet, a new generation of aircraft known as very light jets, which sell for $1.5 million.
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/06/23/daily27.html
Fonte: Filght Safety Information 26/06/2008
Eclipse Aviation Corp. has done extensive testing since last year on its six-seat, twin-engine, very light jet to achieve the FAA's stamp of approval, called Flight Into Known Icing certification, said CEO Vern Raburn.
"This certification process is one of the most difficult things to put a new model of aircraft through," Raburn said. "We tested the aircraft in some of the most severe weather conditions we could find, wherever we could find it. By receiving the FAA certification, we proved that the aircraft can withstand known icing conditions in a real-world operating environment with no structural changes required of the air frame."
Eclipse, based in Albuquerque, conducted its first test flight with an artificial ice shape in August 2007. Since then, more than 300 flight hours on three test aircraft have been recorded, including more than 60 hours in natural icing conditions in many locations in the U.S. and Canada.
This year, Eclipse Aviation opened its northeast service center at Albany International Airport for its new Eclipse 500. The Albany, N.Y., location is one of three service centers for the small passenger jet, a new generation of aircraft known as very light jets, which sell for $1.5 million.
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/06/23/daily27.html
Fonte: Filght Safety Information 26/06/2008
Study: Analysis, causality and proof in safety investigations
The Australian ATSB released a study on the analysis, causality and proof in safety investigations.
The quality of a safety investigation's analysis activities plays a critical role in determining whether the investigation is successful in enhancing safety. However, safety investigations require analysis of complex sets of data and situations where the available data can be vague, incomplete and misleading. Despite its importance, complexity, and reliance on investigators' judgments, analysis has been a neglected area in terms of standards, guidance and training of investigators in most organizations that conduct safety investigations.
To address this situation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) developed a comprehensive investigation analysis framework. The report provides an overview of the ATSB investigation analysis framework and concepts such as the determination of contribution and standard of proof. The report concludes by examining the nature of concerns that have been raised regarding the ATSB analysis framework and the ATSB's consideration of these concerns.
The ATSB believes that its investigation analysis framework is well suited to its role as an independent, no-blame safety investigation body. It is hoped and expected that ongoing development and provision of information about the framework can help the safety investigation field as a whole consider some important issues and help develop the best means of conducting safety investigations to enhance future safety. (ATSB)
(aviation-safety.net)
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 26/06/2008
The quality of a safety investigation's analysis activities plays a critical role in determining whether the investigation is successful in enhancing safety. However, safety investigations require analysis of complex sets of data and situations where the available data can be vague, incomplete and misleading. Despite its importance, complexity, and reliance on investigators' judgments, analysis has been a neglected area in terms of standards, guidance and training of investigators in most organizations that conduct safety investigations.
To address this situation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) developed a comprehensive investigation analysis framework. The report provides an overview of the ATSB investigation analysis framework and concepts such as the determination of contribution and standard of proof. The report concludes by examining the nature of concerns that have been raised regarding the ATSB analysis framework and the ATSB's consideration of these concerns.
The ATSB believes that its investigation analysis framework is well suited to its role as an independent, no-blame safety investigation body. It is hoped and expected that ongoing development and provision of information about the framework can help the safety investigation field as a whole consider some important issues and help develop the best means of conducting safety investigations to enhance future safety. (ATSB)
(aviation-safety.net)
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 26/06/2008
quarta-feira, 25 de junho de 2008
Accelerating More Efficient Flight Departures
The FAA is speeding up implementation of more efficient airport departure procedures that cut down on aviation fuel burn.Area navigation (RNAV) procedures increase the number of departure routes, allowing air traffic controllers to disperse aircraft more efficiently.
This reduces taxi time, ground delays and miles flown.An RNAV procedure's headings, turns, altitudes and speeds can be programmed into a plane's avionics system, reducing controller-pilot communications and increasing fuel efficiencies.
Due to a new software program, these RNAV procedures are being put into place much faster than usual. Just a few years ago, designing the 50 RNAV procedures the FAA plans to publish this year would have been a tedious task involving compasses, drafting boards and multiple erasers.
But today, the Terminal Area Route Generation Evaluation and Traffic Simulation Tool, or TARGETS for short, makes drafting a new procedure a relatively short and simple process.
FAA specialists can draft a procedure in a matter of minutes, make changes to it instantly, and quickly run a low-fidelity simulation to make sure that planes will be able to fly it.TARGETS can save weeks during the design stage of developing new RNAV procedures.
And thanks to the flyability and FAA criteria checks provided by the software's simulator tool, numerous revisions can be avoided, extending the potential time savings to months.
With TARGETS, specialists can also attach speeds to navigational points, or fixes. That way a plane will automatically slow to a certain speed as it crosses a fix, making their movements easier to predict for controllers.
With the procedure drawn, a specialist can turn to TARGETS’s simulation feature to check to see that the route is flyable. The simulator tests the route based on the capabilities of generic small, medium and large jets.
But if a procedure were being designed for a specific aircraft, such as a Boeing 757, a specialist could enter the jet’s performance characteristics into TARGETS, and the program would check to see if a 757 could fly the route.
At a time when fuel oil prices are at all-time highs, saving fuel helps the environment and saves money. RNAV is just one of many efforts FAA is undertaking that achieves both goals.
Fonte: FAA 25/06/2008
This reduces taxi time, ground delays and miles flown.An RNAV procedure's headings, turns, altitudes and speeds can be programmed into a plane's avionics system, reducing controller-pilot communications and increasing fuel efficiencies.
Due to a new software program, these RNAV procedures are being put into place much faster than usual. Just a few years ago, designing the 50 RNAV procedures the FAA plans to publish this year would have been a tedious task involving compasses, drafting boards and multiple erasers.
But today, the Terminal Area Route Generation Evaluation and Traffic Simulation Tool, or TARGETS for short, makes drafting a new procedure a relatively short and simple process.
FAA specialists can draft a procedure in a matter of minutes, make changes to it instantly, and quickly run a low-fidelity simulation to make sure that planes will be able to fly it.TARGETS can save weeks during the design stage of developing new RNAV procedures.
And thanks to the flyability and FAA criteria checks provided by the software's simulator tool, numerous revisions can be avoided, extending the potential time savings to months.
With TARGETS, specialists can also attach speeds to navigational points, or fixes. That way a plane will automatically slow to a certain speed as it crosses a fix, making their movements easier to predict for controllers.
With the procedure drawn, a specialist can turn to TARGETS’s simulation feature to check to see that the route is flyable. The simulator tests the route based on the capabilities of generic small, medium and large jets.
But if a procedure were being designed for a specific aircraft, such as a Boeing 757, a specialist could enter the jet’s performance characteristics into TARGETS, and the program would check to see if a 757 could fly the route.
At a time when fuel oil prices are at all-time highs, saving fuel helps the environment and saves money. RNAV is just one of many efforts FAA is undertaking that achieves both goals.
Fonte: FAA 25/06/2008
FAA Studies Aim To Boost Airliner Wiring Safety
Self-repair technologies and new regulations bloom from FAA-sponsored research
Increased inspections of wire bundles in airliners that resulted in recent flight cancellations are an outgrowth of more than a decade’s worth of FAA research into the safe transmission of electrical power and new technology developments such as self-repairing wire.
This work has led to stricter regulations for airlines to maintain and inspect wires. The FAA offers a variety of technologies that can be used to meet the new obligations. Hardware from the research includes innovative circuit breakers, connectors and wiring bundle clamps and new methods to mitigate potential hazards.
The FAA has designed a set of tools for carriers to assess risks of operating older aircraft. In the aging process, wiring becomes vulnerable to insulation cracking and chafing, which can lead to electrical shorts and a fire hazard. A risk assessment model is available through the William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City, N.J., where a wiring testbed is offered to airlines without cost.
“No one technology solves all problems,” says Michael Walz, the FAA’s aircraft electrical systems program manager for research and development at the Hughes center. “We’ve done extensive research into how wires fail and the reasons why they fail, and we have gotten beyond that into tough insulation, self-healing wires and repair techniques.”
Repair to an exposed and positively charged wire appears as a green cover on the wire after application of a polyvinyl alcohol spray from a hand-held device. Polyimide is the material used for insulating wire.Credit: UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON RESEARCH INSTITUTE
A key researcher in self-repairing wire, Robert E. Kauffman, is launching the application as a commercial enterprise. A chemist and fluids analyst at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), Kauffman has applied for a patent on a spray of nontoxic polyvinyl alcohol that can be applied to bare wires in a frayed bundle as a temporary fix or as a preventative coating on wiring at the point of manufacture. Kauffman devised the concept under an FAA grant totaling $1.3 million, $240,000 of which was for self-repairing wire studies.
The latest grant through 2008 also allows Kauffman and his team to explore whether the use of a listening device planted near runways—or anywhere between landing points and the gate—could pick up radio-frequency signals from wet, exposed conductors in aircraft and help mechanics locate problem areas.
Kauffman has decided on the commercial course, where he expects the fix will be more easily accepted for household and industrial uses, which may enhance its chances for adoption later by aviation.
The FAA has not approved the self-healing wire for aviation, saying that more research is required. “It is necessary to understand the long-term ramification of the material and to ensure the treated wire is as stable as the original installation,” according to officials at the agency’s transport directorate.
In its response, the FAA further said UDRI envisions the self-healing wire treatment as a repair to wire breaches that would allow an aircraft to travel safely to a maintenance facility for a permanent repair. Research will focus on arc and abrasion testing of a pre-treated wire to be produced by a manufacturer.
“Once approved for aviation use, this technology, along with other developments such as arc fault devices, may provide additional protection against faults in aircraft wiring,” the agency said.
Aging wiring has been under intense study since the center wing tank explosion that caused the 1996 loss of TWA Flight 800. Kauffman was one of the original researchers and part of a team from the university and SRI International. They concluded that fuel tank residues that form near low-sulfur jet fuel, water and silver-coated surfaces are conductive and can ignite fuel if exposed to electrical power even as low as a radio battery output. But the NTSB, based on available evidence, could not identify the energy-release mechanism or the location of the ignition.
In 1999, the FAA widened the study of electrical systems research with two programs co-sponsored by the Defense Dept.—a project with the Navy to develop an arc-fault circuit breaker and another with the Air Force for wire testing equipment. The agency’s Aging Transport Systems Rulemaking Advisory Committee launched a review of wiring on recently retired aircraft.
The FAA has identified technologies and approaches airlines can adopt to inspect for wiring defects. These are presented on a spreadsheet on the FAA web site and include costs of each inspection. Last fall, the agency issued Advisory Circular AC 25-27 that described inspection and maintenance procedures, one of 12 ACs growing out of the Enhanced Airworthiness Program for Airplane Safety/Fuel Tank Safety Final Rule issued last November.
Since 2004, research has focused on proof-of-concept studies and how to mitigate and prevent hazards including self-repairing wire. Kauffman’s research is one of two proof-of-concept studies.
The other, a NASA program, proposed using a chemical additive to insulation that would repair a damaged area when heat was applied. The study showed some progress, but funding has been exhausted.
Walz says the Boeing 787 is being equipped with solid-state versions of arc-fault circuit breakers. These contain an electronic board that seeks an arc signature and shuts down automatically if it finds one. It’s a smart version of the electro-thermal circuit breaker, which trips by heat.
Research has focused on a wire bundle smart clamp. It sends a signal when it’s not properly installed or when it no longer functions and could allow wires to sway and possibly be damaged.
Walz is leading studies into another preventative method called fault current management, which involves limiting electrical current on a power line, possibly using resistors. He says fault current management would apply to many pieces of avionics equipment that do not require strong currents. By limiting power on a line, “the most destructive power from arcs goes away.”
http://www.aviationweek.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/publication/awst/loggedin/AvnowStoryDisplay.do?fromChannel=awst&pubKey=awst&issueDate=2008-06-23&story=xml/awst_xml/2008/06/23/AW_06_23_2008_p65-50862.xml&headline=FAA+Studies+Aim+To+Boost+Airliner+Wiring+Safety
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 25/06/2008
Increased inspections of wire bundles in airliners that resulted in recent flight cancellations are an outgrowth of more than a decade’s worth of FAA research into the safe transmission of electrical power and new technology developments such as self-repairing wire.
This work has led to stricter regulations for airlines to maintain and inspect wires. The FAA offers a variety of technologies that can be used to meet the new obligations. Hardware from the research includes innovative circuit breakers, connectors and wiring bundle clamps and new methods to mitigate potential hazards.
The FAA has designed a set of tools for carriers to assess risks of operating older aircraft. In the aging process, wiring becomes vulnerable to insulation cracking and chafing, which can lead to electrical shorts and a fire hazard. A risk assessment model is available through the William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City, N.J., where a wiring testbed is offered to airlines without cost.
“No one technology solves all problems,” says Michael Walz, the FAA’s aircraft electrical systems program manager for research and development at the Hughes center. “We’ve done extensive research into how wires fail and the reasons why they fail, and we have gotten beyond that into tough insulation, self-healing wires and repair techniques.”
Repair to an exposed and positively charged wire appears as a green cover on the wire after application of a polyvinyl alcohol spray from a hand-held device. Polyimide is the material used for insulating wire.Credit: UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON RESEARCH INSTITUTE
A key researcher in self-repairing wire, Robert E. Kauffman, is launching the application as a commercial enterprise. A chemist and fluids analyst at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), Kauffman has applied for a patent on a spray of nontoxic polyvinyl alcohol that can be applied to bare wires in a frayed bundle as a temporary fix or as a preventative coating on wiring at the point of manufacture. Kauffman devised the concept under an FAA grant totaling $1.3 million, $240,000 of which was for self-repairing wire studies.
The latest grant through 2008 also allows Kauffman and his team to explore whether the use of a listening device planted near runways—or anywhere between landing points and the gate—could pick up radio-frequency signals from wet, exposed conductors in aircraft and help mechanics locate problem areas.
Kauffman has decided on the commercial course, where he expects the fix will be more easily accepted for household and industrial uses, which may enhance its chances for adoption later by aviation.
The FAA has not approved the self-healing wire for aviation, saying that more research is required. “It is necessary to understand the long-term ramification of the material and to ensure the treated wire is as stable as the original installation,” according to officials at the agency’s transport directorate.
In its response, the FAA further said UDRI envisions the self-healing wire treatment as a repair to wire breaches that would allow an aircraft to travel safely to a maintenance facility for a permanent repair. Research will focus on arc and abrasion testing of a pre-treated wire to be produced by a manufacturer.
“Once approved for aviation use, this technology, along with other developments such as arc fault devices, may provide additional protection against faults in aircraft wiring,” the agency said.
Aging wiring has been under intense study since the center wing tank explosion that caused the 1996 loss of TWA Flight 800. Kauffman was one of the original researchers and part of a team from the university and SRI International. They concluded that fuel tank residues that form near low-sulfur jet fuel, water and silver-coated surfaces are conductive and can ignite fuel if exposed to electrical power even as low as a radio battery output. But the NTSB, based on available evidence, could not identify the energy-release mechanism or the location of the ignition.
In 1999, the FAA widened the study of electrical systems research with two programs co-sponsored by the Defense Dept.—a project with the Navy to develop an arc-fault circuit breaker and another with the Air Force for wire testing equipment. The agency’s Aging Transport Systems Rulemaking Advisory Committee launched a review of wiring on recently retired aircraft.
The FAA has identified technologies and approaches airlines can adopt to inspect for wiring defects. These are presented on a spreadsheet on the FAA web site and include costs of each inspection. Last fall, the agency issued Advisory Circular AC 25-27 that described inspection and maintenance procedures, one of 12 ACs growing out of the Enhanced Airworthiness Program for Airplane Safety/Fuel Tank Safety Final Rule issued last November.
Since 2004, research has focused on proof-of-concept studies and how to mitigate and prevent hazards including self-repairing wire. Kauffman’s research is one of two proof-of-concept studies.
The other, a NASA program, proposed using a chemical additive to insulation that would repair a damaged area when heat was applied. The study showed some progress, but funding has been exhausted.
Walz says the Boeing 787 is being equipped with solid-state versions of arc-fault circuit breakers. These contain an electronic board that seeks an arc signature and shuts down automatically if it finds one. It’s a smart version of the electro-thermal circuit breaker, which trips by heat.
Research has focused on a wire bundle smart clamp. It sends a signal when it’s not properly installed or when it no longer functions and could allow wires to sway and possibly be damaged.
Walz is leading studies into another preventative method called fault current management, which involves limiting electrical current on a power line, possibly using resistors. He says fault current management would apply to many pieces of avionics equipment that do not require strong currents. By limiting power on a line, “the most destructive power from arcs goes away.”
http://www.aviationweek.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/publication/awst/loggedin/AvnowStoryDisplay.do?fromChannel=awst&pubKey=awst&issueDate=2008-06-23&story=xml/awst_xml/2008/06/23/AW_06_23_2008_p65-50862.xml&headline=FAA+Studies+Aim+To+Boost+Airliner+Wiring+Safety
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 25/06/2008
FAA Researching Firefighting Requirements for New Large Aircraft
New large aircraft pose serious challenges to airport firefighting, rescue capabilities
The FAA is investigating how the combination of super large-size jet transports with multiple decks, massive fuel loads and composite airframes will affect the ability of airport firefighters to extinguish flames and rescue passengers.
The agency’s current procedures do not address these and other considerations, necessitating a fresh look at what will be required for airport firefighting teams in terms of technologies and strategies to respond effectively to a post-crash conflagration.
Transports such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8I/8F qualify for the FAA’s Design Group 6 known as New Large Aircraft (NLA). These jets are capable of carrying more than 450 passengers and up to 80,000 gal. of jet fuel, and also feature multiple deck levels, larger fuselage surface areas, a higher tail and extensive use of composite materials in their airframes. The A380 has entered scheduled service with Singapore Airlines, and the 747-8I is scheduled for delivery to Lufthansa late in 2010.
“The FAA is looking closely at four primary areas—how much agent [firefighting foam] is required, challenges to firefighting crews posed by the size of NLAs, developing strategies to fight fires, and development of specialized vehicles,” says Jim Patterson, airport safety specialist at the agency’s William J. Hughes Technical Center here. He says a majority of large U.S. airports are “over-indexed” regarding Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) equipment and capabilities and exceed the FAA’s minimum requirements, but none of these facilities are prepared for NLAs. “We are in dialogue with fire chiefs at airports where the A380 and 747-8I/8F will be operating regularly” and they are asking lots of questions,” Patterson says.
To more accurately assess NLAs, the agency is partnering with the Air Force Research Lab at Tyndall AFB in Panama City Beach, Fla., and the University of Florida.
In further support of the program, SRA International is researching agent quantities, firefighting strategies, specialized vehicles and how to fight composite fires. Hughes Associates is conducting historical research into how much foam has been used in past fires. Airbus and Boeing are also supporting the FAA’s work, says Patterson.
Current FAA requirements governing ARFF capabilities at major airports where NLAs will be operating are being reviewed to determine if training, foam and equipment are adequate to combat post-crash fires in these airplanes, according to Patterson.
To address these key issues, the FAA has built a full-scale, accurate mockup of an A380 fuselage section representing the area forward of the wing root. A wing stub—with one engine attached—is included. The fuselage features two passenger levels and a lower cargo deck, three evacuation slides (made of metal), and three replaceable panels to allow firefighting booms with extendable turrets to pierce and penetrate the upper decks to distribute foam.
A full-scale mockup of an A380 forward fuselage has been built at Tyndall AFB, Fla., to be used by the FAA to investigate post-crash fire procedures in New Large Aircraft. Credit: LAURIE ZALESKI/ART-Z GRAPHICS
In addition, the FAA is concerned that existing ARFF vehicles will not be able to reach or penetrate the upper passenger decks of NLAs to inject foam. Patterson says the goal is to develop vehicles with the ability to adequately attack upper decks with foam and insert firefighters to evacuate trapped passengers if slides fail to operate. The A380 mockup has been equipped with “dry slides” to facilitate testing, and the FAA has placed a Request for Information on the Internet to solicit concepts and demonstrate potential new technologies for use against fires in the fuselage section.
The mockup is installed in a special fire pit 100 ft. in diameter that can be filled with up to 1,000 gal. of jet fuel for ignition. “The mockup will help us find answers to what tools, strategies and agents will be needed to extinguish fires involving NLAs,” Patterson asserts.
To determine how much foam would be required, research is focusing on development of new methodologies used to calculate quantities, discharge rates per minute, fuselage geometry and fuel tank locations. Initial work has been done on the A380, and the Boeing 777 and 787 to help understand how flames travel over, around and across the airframe. The mockup has been set ablaze using 250-, 750- and 1,000-gal. increments of fuel to help calibrate computational models.
“Our current formulas for agent quantities do not account for the size of NLAs and the agency needs to know how much additional foam will be required,” Patterson says. “We are doing extensive research to figure out what that factor is.” He is optimistic that preliminary results will be available by the end of this year.
The research also is addressing how to capture the physical dimensions of NLAs, including the size of second level passenger decks, length of evacuation slides and the longer wheel base as well as determining how these characteristics should be integrated into existing equations. In addition, the FAA needs to develop new strategies to train ARFF personnel in fighting fires aboard NLAs, especially how best to deal with burning composite materials. “There is no great concern” about composites but “we need to look closer at that issue,” Patterson admits.
http://www.aviationweek.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/publication/awst/loggedin/AvnowStoryDisplay.do?fromChannel=awst&pubKey=awst&issueDate=2008-06-23&story=xml/awst_xml/2008/06/23/AW_06_23_2008_p64-52691.xml&headline=FAA+Researching+Firefighting+Requirements+for+New+Large+Aircraft
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 25/06/2008
The FAA is investigating how the combination of super large-size jet transports with multiple decks, massive fuel loads and composite airframes will affect the ability of airport firefighters to extinguish flames and rescue passengers.
The agency’s current procedures do not address these and other considerations, necessitating a fresh look at what will be required for airport firefighting teams in terms of technologies and strategies to respond effectively to a post-crash conflagration.
Transports such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8I/8F qualify for the FAA’s Design Group 6 known as New Large Aircraft (NLA). These jets are capable of carrying more than 450 passengers and up to 80,000 gal. of jet fuel, and also feature multiple deck levels, larger fuselage surface areas, a higher tail and extensive use of composite materials in their airframes. The A380 has entered scheduled service with Singapore Airlines, and the 747-8I is scheduled for delivery to Lufthansa late in 2010.
“The FAA is looking closely at four primary areas—how much agent [firefighting foam] is required, challenges to firefighting crews posed by the size of NLAs, developing strategies to fight fires, and development of specialized vehicles,” says Jim Patterson, airport safety specialist at the agency’s William J. Hughes Technical Center here. He says a majority of large U.S. airports are “over-indexed” regarding Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) equipment and capabilities and exceed the FAA’s minimum requirements, but none of these facilities are prepared for NLAs. “We are in dialogue with fire chiefs at airports where the A380 and 747-8I/8F will be operating regularly” and they are asking lots of questions,” Patterson says.
To more accurately assess NLAs, the agency is partnering with the Air Force Research Lab at Tyndall AFB in Panama City Beach, Fla., and the University of Florida.
In further support of the program, SRA International is researching agent quantities, firefighting strategies, specialized vehicles and how to fight composite fires. Hughes Associates is conducting historical research into how much foam has been used in past fires. Airbus and Boeing are also supporting the FAA’s work, says Patterson.
Current FAA requirements governing ARFF capabilities at major airports where NLAs will be operating are being reviewed to determine if training, foam and equipment are adequate to combat post-crash fires in these airplanes, according to Patterson.
To address these key issues, the FAA has built a full-scale, accurate mockup of an A380 fuselage section representing the area forward of the wing root. A wing stub—with one engine attached—is included. The fuselage features two passenger levels and a lower cargo deck, three evacuation slides (made of metal), and three replaceable panels to allow firefighting booms with extendable turrets to pierce and penetrate the upper decks to distribute foam.
A full-scale mockup of an A380 forward fuselage has been built at Tyndall AFB, Fla., to be used by the FAA to investigate post-crash fire procedures in New Large Aircraft. Credit: LAURIE ZALESKI/ART-Z GRAPHICS
In addition, the FAA is concerned that existing ARFF vehicles will not be able to reach or penetrate the upper passenger decks of NLAs to inject foam. Patterson says the goal is to develop vehicles with the ability to adequately attack upper decks with foam and insert firefighters to evacuate trapped passengers if slides fail to operate. The A380 mockup has been equipped with “dry slides” to facilitate testing, and the FAA has placed a Request for Information on the Internet to solicit concepts and demonstrate potential new technologies for use against fires in the fuselage section.
The mockup is installed in a special fire pit 100 ft. in diameter that can be filled with up to 1,000 gal. of jet fuel for ignition. “The mockup will help us find answers to what tools, strategies and agents will be needed to extinguish fires involving NLAs,” Patterson asserts.
To determine how much foam would be required, research is focusing on development of new methodologies used to calculate quantities, discharge rates per minute, fuselage geometry and fuel tank locations. Initial work has been done on the A380, and the Boeing 777 and 787 to help understand how flames travel over, around and across the airframe. The mockup has been set ablaze using 250-, 750- and 1,000-gal. increments of fuel to help calibrate computational models.
“Our current formulas for agent quantities do not account for the size of NLAs and the agency needs to know how much additional foam will be required,” Patterson says. “We are doing extensive research to figure out what that factor is.” He is optimistic that preliminary results will be available by the end of this year.
The research also is addressing how to capture the physical dimensions of NLAs, including the size of second level passenger decks, length of evacuation slides and the longer wheel base as well as determining how these characteristics should be integrated into existing equations. In addition, the FAA needs to develop new strategies to train ARFF personnel in fighting fires aboard NLAs, especially how best to deal with burning composite materials. “There is no great concern” about composites but “we need to look closer at that issue,” Patterson admits.
http://www.aviationweek.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/publication/awst/loggedin/AvnowStoryDisplay.do?fromChannel=awst&pubKey=awst&issueDate=2008-06-23&story=xml/awst_xml/2008/06/23/AW_06_23_2008_p64-52691.xml&headline=FAA+Researching+Firefighting+Requirements+for+New+Large+Aircraft
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 25/06/2008
terça-feira, 24 de junho de 2008
FAA Fatigue Management Symposium
"Partnerships for Solutions" Nicholas A. Sabatini, Vienna, VA June 19, 2008
Good morning. What a week this has been! As Dr. Mallis told us on Tuesday morning, we have 325 aviation safety professionals from eight countries here this week. We have the world’s leading experts on sleep, fatigue, performance measurement, mitigation and aviation safety. We have people who have known each other, who have worked with each other, and who have wrestled with these issues for years.
When John Allen opened it up on Tuesday, he said this was the first fatigue conference, and, yes, Vern [Ellingstad], we know it is not the first fatigue conference — it is the first one this decade, this is the first FAA Fatigue Management Symposium.
And, what a symposium it has been! Yet, hasn’t it been a study in contrasts — to be at a conference on fatigue, and to feel so much energy in the room! What do you think — has it been a productive week for you?
Conferences like this do not just happen. Any conference takes a lot of planning and coordination and work. Good conferences take even more planning and coordination and participation. Great conferences take work, yes, but they also require planning by experts and participation by professionals. To our conference planners, speakers, and participants: This has been a GREAT conference. For me, I can tell you that this has been an outstanding professional and personal experience.
Thank you all and I will single out the dynamic duo of FAA’s Rick Huss and Dr. Melissa Mallis of the Institutes for Behavioral Resources for their A-plus work on this symposium and for all their work fostering the “collegial energy” here this week.
For this symposium, we, at the FAA, set out to accomplish three things:
Provide the most current information on fatigue physiology, management, and mitigation alternatives;
Share information and perspectives among decision makers and scientists about fatigue management; and
Discuss fatigue mitigation concepts and best practices.
We accomplished all three. Tuesday, we immediately got off to a great start with our keynote speakers.
Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell put the issue right on the table when he said, “Fatigue can kill.” That is why we are here. He said that “even with an outstanding safety record, we’re not where we need to be when it comes to understanding and managing fatigue.”
Then, we had a great history presentation from NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt. Looking at those early air mail letters was a powerful reminder of why we are here this week. Why we do what we do. And, how fatigue is a timeless, yet timely, issue. As Mr. Sumwalt reminded us, “Fatigue is real and it does affect safety.”
Next, we turned to the science and we got an excellent state–of–the–science snapshot from Dr. David Dinges. The easy way to sum up his fact-filled presentation can be done in six words: Sleep is good. Everyone needs more.
Yet, those six words do not begin to do justice to this presentation from one of the world’s leading authorities on sleep and human performance. Dr. Dinges rightly pointed out that fatigue is not an aviation issue, nor is it limited to transportation. Fatigue risk management is a universal issue and, as he said, with our modern society, it will remain so.
Dr. Dinges reminded us, “We are biological creatures …” and “our ability and desire to go further than our biology can lead to disaster” if we don’t take steps to properly manage and mitigate it.
One thing this week’s session has made very clear:
We have science and technology on our side. We can use technology to predict and detect vulnerabilities.
We can use data and technology to be proactive and take preventive measures, and we can use them to help with interventions and mitigation strategies.
Three things that Dr. Dinges said really resonated:
One, he urged us to leverage what has already been done for other federal agencies — such as the Air Force, NASA, and NHTSA.
Two, the U.S. must come to grips with novel and creative ways to manage fatigue.
And, three, our children will make change happen.
I’ll come back to those points. They are important.
Next, we heard from the NTSB and we heard very clearly in a data-rich presentation why the Board has recommended actions on fatigue.
On the panel on Fatigue Risk Management Systems and SMS, Boeing’s Curt Graeber gave his own history lesson about the work that has been done on fatigue management. Yes, Curt, research and data are available, and the time is now to determine the best way to apply existing science and knowledge to operations. Yes, indeed, it is time to “stop thinking about tomorrow.”
And, as Captain New reminded us: Safety management begins from the top down.
Just as illuminating as the panels were the sidebar conversations, with their intensity and passion. With our current work on data sharing and analysis, I appreciated Mary McMillan’s comment that, “Fatigue is the advertisement for the effectiveness of ASAP.”
Yesterday, day two, was rich in mitigation strategies and best practices. Across the globe, many are putting the science to work for their organizations. We heard from NAV CANADA about its science-based comprehensive approach, which includes education, alertness strategies, and scheduling practices.
We heard from EasyJet and United Airlines about their understanding of fatigue risk management and the controls they put in place. Mitigation is the key word here. Which brings me to one of the most important points raised this week: measurement.
Aviation has come so far. Across the board, we have a much greater appreciation that you cannot manage what you do not measure. With measurement comes evaluation and evaluation enables continuous improvement. And, in aviation’s dynamic environment continuous improvement is essential.
FAA’s Greg Kirkland provided a rulemaking overview. While rulemaking in this area may be in the future, rulemaking is tough. And, it takes a long time.
We need to start now, working together, to address and mitigate risk. Yes, we need to balance science with safety and with operational realities. Not everyone can travel, or work, on 9-to-5 schedules. And, we are a global economy with 24 time zones. I think everyone understands after this week that domestic short legs, as well as shift work, present challenges as — or more — difficult than long-haul flying.
As you heard yesterday, we will make the proceedings available in six to eight weeks. This morning’s report-outs captured the work of the discussion groups on identifying challenges, barriers, and potential mitigation concepts.
As for challenges, I have to agree with the multi-leg/short-haul group: “12 hours in Detroit is not the same as 12 hours in Palm Beach.”
The challenges are many. As you heard, rulemaking is tough. Gary Thompson of Delta Air Lines summed it up for the TransCon discussion group: “Under the current rules, you can be legal, but not safe, and safe, but not legal.”
The International Long-Haul Group and the Multi-leg/Short-haul Group came to the same conclusion: About the paramount importance of education across all the stakeholders. Knowledge and understanding are key.
The Maintenance/Ramp Operations/Dispatch group agreed that counter-measures to fatigue must consider both individual responsibilities as well as organizational responsibilities, and “organization” includes employer, union, and professional organization.
Ken Myers of the ATC/Tech Ops group said they “would not rest until they solved this fatigue issue.” Seriously, this group was energized by the challenge to address the significant human performance differences between controllers and technicians and to develop fatigue mitigation strategies.
We just heard from a panel of experts, and to a one, they reinforced the wisdom of our conference planners in naming this symposium: partnership for solutions.
Together we can address — we can manage — this.
Alone, we cannot.
In that regard, I would like to add my sincere thanks to our Discussion Group facilitators, panel leaders, and scribes. They invested their time and their impressive leadership to prepare for, and lead, productive discussions. These discussions have expanded and clarified our understanding of issues, which built on the outstanding scientific presentations that we have heard this week. Their hard work has delivered to us the product of this landmark event. To each of you — thank you.
After a week like this, it is really important, no, it is imperative, that no one go back to our workplace next Monday to “business as usual.” As if there is ever “business as usual” in aviation!
This week, we wanted to have a conversation. We wanted to share the science and best practices. We also want to maintain momentum. As Acting Administrator Sturgell urged us, we wanted you to think outside the box this week. And, we got a great start with the discussion groups to come up with novel and creative ways to manage fatigue.
Look beyond aviation; we do not have all the answers. And, as you build and expand your Fatigue Risk Management Programs, develop younger talent. As Dr. Dinges said, “Our children will make change happen.”
In closing, on Tuesday morning Vice Chairman Sumwalt was eloquent in his evocation of Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic crossing. I will close by repeating one of the Lindbergh quotations that we heard on Tuesday. Lindbergh wrote: “Nothing that life can attain is quite so desirable as sleep.”
I agree! And, after this intense week of hard science, of hard work, and of hard discussions, we are all rightfully fatigued. I urge you all to go home, say hello to your families, and get some sleep — deep, restorative sleep.
Then, on Monday, after you have paid your sleep debt in full, it is back to work. Use the facts and science, the networks and the resources you gained this week.
Take what you learned to make aviation safer for all those people who depend on us.
Thank you, again, for your participation, your passion, and for everything that you do for aviation safety.
Fonte: FAA
Good morning. What a week this has been! As Dr. Mallis told us on Tuesday morning, we have 325 aviation safety professionals from eight countries here this week. We have the world’s leading experts on sleep, fatigue, performance measurement, mitigation and aviation safety. We have people who have known each other, who have worked with each other, and who have wrestled with these issues for years.
When John Allen opened it up on Tuesday, he said this was the first fatigue conference, and, yes, Vern [Ellingstad], we know it is not the first fatigue conference — it is the first one this decade, this is the first FAA Fatigue Management Symposium.
And, what a symposium it has been! Yet, hasn’t it been a study in contrasts — to be at a conference on fatigue, and to feel so much energy in the room! What do you think — has it been a productive week for you?
Conferences like this do not just happen. Any conference takes a lot of planning and coordination and work. Good conferences take even more planning and coordination and participation. Great conferences take work, yes, but they also require planning by experts and participation by professionals. To our conference planners, speakers, and participants: This has been a GREAT conference. For me, I can tell you that this has been an outstanding professional and personal experience.
Thank you all and I will single out the dynamic duo of FAA’s Rick Huss and Dr. Melissa Mallis of the Institutes for Behavioral Resources for their A-plus work on this symposium and for all their work fostering the “collegial energy” here this week.
For this symposium, we, at the FAA, set out to accomplish three things:
Provide the most current information on fatigue physiology, management, and mitigation alternatives;
Share information and perspectives among decision makers and scientists about fatigue management; and
Discuss fatigue mitigation concepts and best practices.
We accomplished all three. Tuesday, we immediately got off to a great start with our keynote speakers.
Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell put the issue right on the table when he said, “Fatigue can kill.” That is why we are here. He said that “even with an outstanding safety record, we’re not where we need to be when it comes to understanding and managing fatigue.”
Then, we had a great history presentation from NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt. Looking at those early air mail letters was a powerful reminder of why we are here this week. Why we do what we do. And, how fatigue is a timeless, yet timely, issue. As Mr. Sumwalt reminded us, “Fatigue is real and it does affect safety.”
Next, we turned to the science and we got an excellent state–of–the–science snapshot from Dr. David Dinges. The easy way to sum up his fact-filled presentation can be done in six words: Sleep is good. Everyone needs more.
Yet, those six words do not begin to do justice to this presentation from one of the world’s leading authorities on sleep and human performance. Dr. Dinges rightly pointed out that fatigue is not an aviation issue, nor is it limited to transportation. Fatigue risk management is a universal issue and, as he said, with our modern society, it will remain so.
Dr. Dinges reminded us, “We are biological creatures …” and “our ability and desire to go further than our biology can lead to disaster” if we don’t take steps to properly manage and mitigate it.
One thing this week’s session has made very clear:
We have science and technology on our side. We can use technology to predict and detect vulnerabilities.
We can use data and technology to be proactive and take preventive measures, and we can use them to help with interventions and mitigation strategies.
Three things that Dr. Dinges said really resonated:
One, he urged us to leverage what has already been done for other federal agencies — such as the Air Force, NASA, and NHTSA.
Two, the U.S. must come to grips with novel and creative ways to manage fatigue.
And, three, our children will make change happen.
I’ll come back to those points. They are important.
Next, we heard from the NTSB and we heard very clearly in a data-rich presentation why the Board has recommended actions on fatigue.
On the panel on Fatigue Risk Management Systems and SMS, Boeing’s Curt Graeber gave his own history lesson about the work that has been done on fatigue management. Yes, Curt, research and data are available, and the time is now to determine the best way to apply existing science and knowledge to operations. Yes, indeed, it is time to “stop thinking about tomorrow.”
And, as Captain New reminded us: Safety management begins from the top down.
Just as illuminating as the panels were the sidebar conversations, with their intensity and passion. With our current work on data sharing and analysis, I appreciated Mary McMillan’s comment that, “Fatigue is the advertisement for the effectiveness of ASAP.”
Yesterday, day two, was rich in mitigation strategies and best practices. Across the globe, many are putting the science to work for their organizations. We heard from NAV CANADA about its science-based comprehensive approach, which includes education, alertness strategies, and scheduling practices.
We heard from EasyJet and United Airlines about their understanding of fatigue risk management and the controls they put in place. Mitigation is the key word here. Which brings me to one of the most important points raised this week: measurement.
Aviation has come so far. Across the board, we have a much greater appreciation that you cannot manage what you do not measure. With measurement comes evaluation and evaluation enables continuous improvement. And, in aviation’s dynamic environment continuous improvement is essential.
FAA’s Greg Kirkland provided a rulemaking overview. While rulemaking in this area may be in the future, rulemaking is tough. And, it takes a long time.
We need to start now, working together, to address and mitigate risk. Yes, we need to balance science with safety and with operational realities. Not everyone can travel, or work, on 9-to-5 schedules. And, we are a global economy with 24 time zones. I think everyone understands after this week that domestic short legs, as well as shift work, present challenges as — or more — difficult than long-haul flying.
As you heard yesterday, we will make the proceedings available in six to eight weeks. This morning’s report-outs captured the work of the discussion groups on identifying challenges, barriers, and potential mitigation concepts.
As for challenges, I have to agree with the multi-leg/short-haul group: “12 hours in Detroit is not the same as 12 hours in Palm Beach.”
The challenges are many. As you heard, rulemaking is tough. Gary Thompson of Delta Air Lines summed it up for the TransCon discussion group: “Under the current rules, you can be legal, but not safe, and safe, but not legal.”
The International Long-Haul Group and the Multi-leg/Short-haul Group came to the same conclusion: About the paramount importance of education across all the stakeholders. Knowledge and understanding are key.
The Maintenance/Ramp Operations/Dispatch group agreed that counter-measures to fatigue must consider both individual responsibilities as well as organizational responsibilities, and “organization” includes employer, union, and professional organization.
Ken Myers of the ATC/Tech Ops group said they “would not rest until they solved this fatigue issue.” Seriously, this group was energized by the challenge to address the significant human performance differences between controllers and technicians and to develop fatigue mitigation strategies.
We just heard from a panel of experts, and to a one, they reinforced the wisdom of our conference planners in naming this symposium: partnership for solutions.
Together we can address — we can manage — this.
Alone, we cannot.
In that regard, I would like to add my sincere thanks to our Discussion Group facilitators, panel leaders, and scribes. They invested their time and their impressive leadership to prepare for, and lead, productive discussions. These discussions have expanded and clarified our understanding of issues, which built on the outstanding scientific presentations that we have heard this week. Their hard work has delivered to us the product of this landmark event. To each of you — thank you.
After a week like this, it is really important, no, it is imperative, that no one go back to our workplace next Monday to “business as usual.” As if there is ever “business as usual” in aviation!
This week, we wanted to have a conversation. We wanted to share the science and best practices. We also want to maintain momentum. As Acting Administrator Sturgell urged us, we wanted you to think outside the box this week. And, we got a great start with the discussion groups to come up with novel and creative ways to manage fatigue.
Look beyond aviation; we do not have all the answers. And, as you build and expand your Fatigue Risk Management Programs, develop younger talent. As Dr. Dinges said, “Our children will make change happen.”
In closing, on Tuesday morning Vice Chairman Sumwalt was eloquent in his evocation of Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic crossing. I will close by repeating one of the Lindbergh quotations that we heard on Tuesday. Lindbergh wrote: “Nothing that life can attain is quite so desirable as sleep.”
I agree! And, after this intense week of hard science, of hard work, and of hard discussions, we are all rightfully fatigued. I urge you all to go home, say hello to your families, and get some sleep — deep, restorative sleep.
Then, on Monday, after you have paid your sleep debt in full, it is back to work. Use the facts and science, the networks and the resources you gained this week.
Take what you learned to make aviation safer for all those people who depend on us.
Thank you, again, for your participation, your passion, and for everything that you do for aviation safety.
Fonte: FAA
Emergency averted on L.A. flight into Boston
A United Airlines pilot declared an emergency after his Boeing 757 windshield was cracked as he approached Boston from Los Angeles this afternoon, but the plane has landed safely.
Flight 162, carrying 188 passengers, called in the emergency to Logan International Airport at about 3 p.m.
Ground emergency crews were placed on standby but Massport, which runs the airport, said the incident was not as serious as first believed.
“It was a cracked windshield. The pilot called back to say there was no emergency,” said spokesman Phil Orlandella.
The plane landed safely at about 3:30 p.m. without incident.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view/2008_06_23_Emergency_averted_on_L_A__flight_into_Boston/srvc=home&position=recent
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 24/06/2008
Flight 162, carrying 188 passengers, called in the emergency to Logan International Airport at about 3 p.m.
Ground emergency crews were placed on standby but Massport, which runs the airport, said the incident was not as serious as first believed.
“It was a cracked windshield. The pilot called back to say there was no emergency,” said spokesman Phil Orlandella.
The plane landed safely at about 3:30 p.m. without incident.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view/2008_06_23_Emergency_averted_on_L_A__flight_into_Boston/srvc=home&position=recent
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 24/06/2008
Jet makes safe emergency landing at L.A. airport
LOS ANGELES (AP) – An American Airlines jet made a safe emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday after the pilot reported smoke and the smell of fuel in the cockpit, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.
American Flight 442 was en route from San Francisco to Miami when the pilot declared an emergency, diverted to Los Angeles and landed shortly after 2 p.m., said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.
There was no fire on the plane, which carried 180 passengers, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies.
The passengers were taken off the Boeing 757 while the incident was being investigated, said airline spokesman Tim Wagner.
Firefighters responded because the plane was carrying hazardous material in its forward cargo area, said Gregor.
The jet was carrying an aircraft part from San Francisco to Miami for a repair, and such parts are classified as hazardous because they may contain residual oil, jet fuel or other chemicals, Wagner said.
Wagner said maintenance crews recently worked on a hydraulic unit aboard the airliner, which sometimes causes excess fluid to spill in flight.
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 24/06/2008
American Flight 442 was en route from San Francisco to Miami when the pilot declared an emergency, diverted to Los Angeles and landed shortly after 2 p.m., said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.
There was no fire on the plane, which carried 180 passengers, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies.
The passengers were taken off the Boeing 757 while the incident was being investigated, said airline spokesman Tim Wagner.
Firefighters responded because the plane was carrying hazardous material in its forward cargo area, said Gregor.
The jet was carrying an aircraft part from San Francisco to Miami for a repair, and such parts are classified as hazardous because they may contain residual oil, jet fuel or other chemicals, Wagner said.
Wagner said maintenance crews recently worked on a hydraulic unit aboard the airliner, which sometimes causes excess fluid to spill in flight.
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 24/06/2008
BALÕES SÃO RISCOS PARA A SEGURANÇA DE VÔOS.
As festas juninas estão chegando e com elas o risco de acidentes provocados por balões. Correm perigo não só as florestas e o ambiente urbano, como o setor aeroviário. Um dos riscos é a possibilidade de um choque entre balões e aeronaves em fase de pouso e decolagem.
No início de maio aconteceu a primeira queda de um balão junino de grande porte no pátio do Aeroporto de Guarulhos, em São Paulo (SP). Apesar do risco, felizmente, a ação de combate ao incêndio foi imediata e evitou qualquer tipo de danos a pessoas ou equipamentos próximos ao local.
A Infraero informa que em abril resgataram 4 balões. Em 2007 caíram no total de 35 balões, só no mês de maio foram 19.
As campanhas, alertas e monitoramento de balões que envolvem risco para aeronaves são desenvolvidos por toda comunidade aeroviária: Infraero, Aeronáutica, Polícia Militar, Bombeiros urbanos e aeroportuários e companhias aéreas. Já houve também campanhas em parceria com as secretarias de Segurança Pública e com a Defesa Civil, devido ao perigo de incêndio em matas e residências. Ainda assim é necessária a participação de toda sociedade para o combate à prática ilegal de soltar balões juninos.
De acordo com a Lei 9.605/98, o artigo 42 prevê que ações como estas são consideradas crimes ambientais, com pena de até três anos de prisão.
By O Globo.
segunda-feira, 23 de junho de 2008
Air Ambulance Pilot Arrested Before Departing From LEX Thursday
Patient, Wife Reported Smelling Alcohol On His Breath
An air ambulance pilot was arrested Thursday in Lexington, KY before a flight to transport a quadriplegic man and his wife from Blue Grass Airport to St. Louis.
Pilots charged the pilot, Stephen Ray Lynn, 51, with violating a state law on alcohol use. He told authorities he worked for James Flying Service, based in St. Louis.
Blue Grass Airport police arrested Lynn after passenger Polly DeWitt reported smelling alcohol on his breath just before he was to fly DeWitt and husband, Kevin, to a spinal cord treatment center in St. Louis.
In a Breathalyzer test administered by authorities, Lynn blew 0.007 blood-alcohol levels before he was brought into the Fayette County Detention Center, said Capt. Darin Kelly, a jail spokesman.
The Kentucky state statute states it is illegal to operate or attempt to operate a civil aircraft if a person has consumed alcohol in the previous eight hours; is under the influence of alcohol; is using any substance that affects faculties in any way contrary to safety; or has a blood-alcohol level of 0.04 or higher.
Lynn told an airport public safety officer that he had had two, maybe four, drinks before 11 PM Wednesday evening. Authorities were called to the scene just before 0900 Thursday, and Lynn was arrested at 0940, according to a police report.
Officers reported Lynn was unsteady on his feet, more notably so when walking, and his eyes were bloodshot.
The events precipitating the arrest started once Kevin DeWitt already had been loaded onto the plane.
Kevin DeWitt, an Iraq combat veteran paralyzed in May in a swimming pool accident, was at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital, but the Department of Veterans Affairs wanted him sent to the St. Louis treatment center, which treats veterans, Polly DeWitt said.
Mrs. DeWitt said her husband was the first to notice the pilots behavior and smell. "He said, 'Lean down and give me a hug,'" her husband told her. When she did, she said, "he said, 'Get me off this plane.'"
She reported the air ambulance had no medical supplies on board and a woman who she thought was a nurse was sitting nervously, smoking a cigarette, inside the plane when she and her husband left.
A ground ambulance took Kevin DeWitt to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Later he was moved back to Cardinal Hill.
Lynn was released from jail on a $3,000 full cash bond Thursday afternoon. He pleaded not guilty Friday in Fayette District Court and is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on July 9. Lynn is a resident of Mena, AR, where his employer, James Flying Service also has facilities.
According to state law, a person convicted of a first offense of this nature in Kentucky faces up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine of $200 to $500, Assistant Fayette County Attorney Lee Turpin said.
Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration southern region, said the agency is conducting its own investigation into the matter.
FAA regulations are similar to state laws pertaining to alcohol or drug use by an aircraft crewmember.
Penalties from the FAA range from a warning letter, or letter of correction, to a fine, to suspension or revocation of a pilot's license, she said.
"We have to do a thorough investigation. We have to have proof," she said. "Everyone's entitled to due process."
The VA Medical Center arranged for another air ambulance flight for Kevin DeWitt later in the day, but his wife who is also a nurse, said, "He wasn't medically stable to fly at this point." He had pneumonia and a fever, she said.
Lynn’s employer, James Flying Service, also operating as Federal Air Ambulance, has been in business for 29 years.
"We may have used this particular company once in the past, and we do not plan to use them in the future," VA Medical Center spokeswoman Desti Stimes said.
FMI: www.faa.gov
aero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/06/2008
An air ambulance pilot was arrested Thursday in Lexington, KY before a flight to transport a quadriplegic man and his wife from Blue Grass Airport to St. Louis.
Pilots charged the pilot, Stephen Ray Lynn, 51, with violating a state law on alcohol use. He told authorities he worked for James Flying Service, based in St. Louis.
Blue Grass Airport police arrested Lynn after passenger Polly DeWitt reported smelling alcohol on his breath just before he was to fly DeWitt and husband, Kevin, to a spinal cord treatment center in St. Louis.
In a Breathalyzer test administered by authorities, Lynn blew 0.007 blood-alcohol levels before he was brought into the Fayette County Detention Center, said Capt. Darin Kelly, a jail spokesman.
The Kentucky state statute states it is illegal to operate or attempt to operate a civil aircraft if a person has consumed alcohol in the previous eight hours; is under the influence of alcohol; is using any substance that affects faculties in any way contrary to safety; or has a blood-alcohol level of 0.04 or higher.
Lynn told an airport public safety officer that he had had two, maybe four, drinks before 11 PM Wednesday evening. Authorities were called to the scene just before 0900 Thursday, and Lynn was arrested at 0940, according to a police report.
Officers reported Lynn was unsteady on his feet, more notably so when walking, and his eyes were bloodshot.
The events precipitating the arrest started once Kevin DeWitt already had been loaded onto the plane.
Kevin DeWitt, an Iraq combat veteran paralyzed in May in a swimming pool accident, was at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital, but the Department of Veterans Affairs wanted him sent to the St. Louis treatment center, which treats veterans, Polly DeWitt said.
Mrs. DeWitt said her husband was the first to notice the pilots behavior and smell. "He said, 'Lean down and give me a hug,'" her husband told her. When she did, she said, "he said, 'Get me off this plane.'"
She reported the air ambulance had no medical supplies on board and a woman who she thought was a nurse was sitting nervously, smoking a cigarette, inside the plane when she and her husband left.
A ground ambulance took Kevin DeWitt to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Later he was moved back to Cardinal Hill.
Lynn was released from jail on a $3,000 full cash bond Thursday afternoon. He pleaded not guilty Friday in Fayette District Court and is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on July 9. Lynn is a resident of Mena, AR, where his employer, James Flying Service also has facilities.
According to state law, a person convicted of a first offense of this nature in Kentucky faces up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine of $200 to $500, Assistant Fayette County Attorney Lee Turpin said.
Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration southern region, said the agency is conducting its own investigation into the matter.
FAA regulations are similar to state laws pertaining to alcohol or drug use by an aircraft crewmember.
Penalties from the FAA range from a warning letter, or letter of correction, to a fine, to suspension or revocation of a pilot's license, she said.
"We have to do a thorough investigation. We have to have proof," she said. "Everyone's entitled to due process."
The VA Medical Center arranged for another air ambulance flight for Kevin DeWitt later in the day, but his wife who is also a nurse, said, "He wasn't medically stable to fly at this point." He had pneumonia and a fever, she said.
Lynn’s employer, James Flying Service, also operating as Federal Air Ambulance, has been in business for 29 years.
"We may have used this particular company once in the past, and we do not plan to use them in the future," VA Medical Center spokeswoman Desti Stimes said.
FMI: www.faa.gov
aero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/06/2008
L-29 Down In NJ: Two Lost
Witnesses Report Possible Loss Of Power On Takeoff
A Czechoslovakian-made Aero L-29 Delfin crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday morning in Millville, NJ. The Cold War-era jet trainer went down in a wooded area a half-mile northwest of the Millville Municipal Airport, according to FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker.
The aircraft (type shown above) departed MIV at 0800 local time, and went down shortly after. Pilot William Crean, 65, and passenger Fredrick Gault, 57, were killed, according to The Star-Ledger.
Jim Salmon, a spokesman for the Delaware River and Bay Authority which leases and manages the airport spoke to witnesses at the scene.
According to their reports he summarized, "once airborne, the aircraft's engine went silent, and the aircraft subsequently descended into a forested area."
The wreckage was difficult for rescue workers to find and even more difficult for them to reach.
"There's no roadways back into the area where the plane is. So at this point, they had to have a bulldozer cut a road back in there, almost a mile into the woods," said Sgt. Stephen Jones of New Jersey State Police.
The region had a forecast of heavy showers and high winds in effect however Salmon said conditions were favorable for flying when the aircraft took off. "There wasn't too much wind. It was sunny, a little hazy," he said. "You could fly in it."
Authorities said cause of the crash is under investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation assisted by State Police in New Jersey, along with the FAA.
FMI: http://www.faa.gov/
aero-news.net
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/06/2008
sexta-feira, 20 de junho de 2008
"No Rumble Strips"
Robert A. Sturgell, Washington, D.C. June 17, 2008
Fatigue Safety Forum
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” That was Vince Lombardi’s motto. He won 105 games that way. But while he very well may be the greatest football coach of all time, he’s not going to score any points in this room.
We like to think that not getting enough sleep, working tired, being a little drowsy — that they’re just all part of how Americans live. If you’re like me, you think, “I’ll catch up on Saturday.” We don’t like to think that fatigue can be linked to catastrophe, but there’s some truth in that. I wish that our biggest worry were dropping a pass or missing a tackle. We know better.
In aviation, there are no rumble strips like there are on the trip back from the Outer Banks. In aviation, speaking generally, we don’t understand the science of fatigue the way we need to. By “we,” I mean all of us — all the players — the regulators, the industry, the academics, the controllers, the pilots, the dispatchers, flight attendants, technicians.
What we need is the knowledge to determine the right thing to do. The will is already there.
I think we all acknowledge that even with an outstanding safety record, we’re not where we need to be when it comes to understanding and dealing with fatigue. This meeting aims to put us on a level playing field with what we know, with what we understand. We have international fatigue experts and eight countries here. At this conference, I want to look at new ways to manage fatigue for all personnel in this industry.
Specifically, let’s provide the most current information on fatigue physiology, management and mitigation alternatives. Let’s share information and perspectives among aviation industry decision makers. Let’s discuss the science regarding fatigue management. Let’s hear fatigue mitigation initiatives and best practices.
Perhaps we can get agreement in the form of proposals for data collection — agreements for studies, for oversight, for steering.
And while we’re at it, I encourage you to leave your day job at the door. Think outside the box. Specifically, black ones.
So, where are we? We know that adequate sleep is only half of it. We know time of day of sleep affects performance just as much. Right now, the rules only address sleep opportunities. Even small restrictions on sleep can lead to a sleep debt that causes continuous degradation in performance.
As we move forward, we need to define what is an acceptable level of fatigue risk and what levels of fatigue must be minimized. We need to come to agreement on what studies or data would be needed to provide those definitions.
I’m not talking necessarily about adopting prescriptive criteria for fatigue risk abatement. All options will be considered. I think we need to address all levels of fatigue and put appropriate mitigations in place — mitigations that are proportionate to the risk. Endurance shouldn’t be a Vince Lombardi thing. This isn’t a test of how close we can get to the edge.
In closing, let me remind us all that we share in this issue together. And it’s not just at the organizational level. Every person in every line of work bears the personal responsibility to report for work rested. All modes of the transportation system depend on that. Everyone knows that fatigue affects memory, attention to detail, communication ability, decision making. It affects our situational awareness. We’ve all long thought — and Richard Sumwalt and Dr. Dinges are about to tell us — that while fatigue may have not been called out by name, it’s been there lurking in many of the accidents we’ve faced over the years.
We’re trying to do something innovative here with a topic that generates a lot of emotion and anecdotal claims. My hope is that the conversations we’re about to have will bring some clarity to the issue and help us decide where to go using a data-driven approach. This isn’t a venue for arguments about economics, and it’s not about contract negotiations. But it is a chance for us to give a boost to safety where one is needed.
Thanks for being here.
Fonte: FAA Press Release 19/06/2008
Fatigue Safety Forum
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” That was Vince Lombardi’s motto. He won 105 games that way. But while he very well may be the greatest football coach of all time, he’s not going to score any points in this room.
We like to think that not getting enough sleep, working tired, being a little drowsy — that they’re just all part of how Americans live. If you’re like me, you think, “I’ll catch up on Saturday.” We don’t like to think that fatigue can be linked to catastrophe, but there’s some truth in that. I wish that our biggest worry were dropping a pass or missing a tackle. We know better.
In aviation, there are no rumble strips like there are on the trip back from the Outer Banks. In aviation, speaking generally, we don’t understand the science of fatigue the way we need to. By “we,” I mean all of us — all the players — the regulators, the industry, the academics, the controllers, the pilots, the dispatchers, flight attendants, technicians.
What we need is the knowledge to determine the right thing to do. The will is already there.
I think we all acknowledge that even with an outstanding safety record, we’re not where we need to be when it comes to understanding and dealing with fatigue. This meeting aims to put us on a level playing field with what we know, with what we understand. We have international fatigue experts and eight countries here. At this conference, I want to look at new ways to manage fatigue for all personnel in this industry.
Specifically, let’s provide the most current information on fatigue physiology, management and mitigation alternatives. Let’s share information and perspectives among aviation industry decision makers. Let’s discuss the science regarding fatigue management. Let’s hear fatigue mitigation initiatives and best practices.
Perhaps we can get agreement in the form of proposals for data collection — agreements for studies, for oversight, for steering.
And while we’re at it, I encourage you to leave your day job at the door. Think outside the box. Specifically, black ones.
So, where are we? We know that adequate sleep is only half of it. We know time of day of sleep affects performance just as much. Right now, the rules only address sleep opportunities. Even small restrictions on sleep can lead to a sleep debt that causes continuous degradation in performance.
As we move forward, we need to define what is an acceptable level of fatigue risk and what levels of fatigue must be minimized. We need to come to agreement on what studies or data would be needed to provide those definitions.
I’m not talking necessarily about adopting prescriptive criteria for fatigue risk abatement. All options will be considered. I think we need to address all levels of fatigue and put appropriate mitigations in place — mitigations that are proportionate to the risk. Endurance shouldn’t be a Vince Lombardi thing. This isn’t a test of how close we can get to the edge.
In closing, let me remind us all that we share in this issue together. And it’s not just at the organizational level. Every person in every line of work bears the personal responsibility to report for work rested. All modes of the transportation system depend on that. Everyone knows that fatigue affects memory, attention to detail, communication ability, decision making. It affects our situational awareness. We’ve all long thought — and Richard Sumwalt and Dr. Dinges are about to tell us — that while fatigue may have not been called out by name, it’s been there lurking in many of the accidents we’ve faced over the years.
We’re trying to do something innovative here with a topic that generates a lot of emotion and anecdotal claims. My hope is that the conversations we’re about to have will bring some clarity to the issue and help us decide where to go using a data-driven approach. This isn’t a venue for arguments about economics, and it’s not about contract negotiations. But it is a chance for us to give a boost to safety where one is needed.
Thanks for being here.
Fonte: FAA Press Release 19/06/2008
NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATION
National Transportation Safety BoardWashington, DC 20594 June 17, 2008
NTSB Safety Recommendations A-08-40 through -43
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that theFederal Aviation Administration: Emphasize with principal operations inspectors the importance of conducting timely post accident drug and alcohol testing. (A-08-40)
As part of the Takeoff/Landing Performance Assessment Aviation Rulemaking Committee, address the need for initial training on the rationale for and criticality of conducting landing distance assessments before landing on contaminated runways. (A-08-41)
Issue a Cert Alert to all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part139 certificated airports that describes the circumstances of this accident, emphasizes the importance of specific and decisive radio communications, and urges airports to ensurethat those criteria are being met in all airfield radio communications. (A-08-42)
Require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 certificated airport operators to include in their airport's snow and ice control plan absolute criteria for type and depth of contamination and runway friction assessments that, when met, would trigger immediate closure of the affected runway to air carrier operations. Friction assessments should be based on pilot braking action reports, values obtained from ground friction measuring equipment, or estimates provided by airport ground personnel. (A-08-43)
The following previously issued recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration are reiterated: Evaluate crash detection and location technologies, select the most promising candidate(s) for ensuring that emergency responders could expeditiously arrive at an accident scene, and implement a requirement to install and use the equipment. (A-01-66)
Immediately require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part121, 135, and 91 subpart K operators to conduct arrival landing distance assessments before every landing based on existing performance data, actual conditions, and incorporating a minimum safety margin of 15 percent. (A-07-57) (Urgent).
Modify and simplify the flight crew hours-of-service regulations to take into consideration factors such as length of duty day, starting time, workload, and other factors shown by recent research, scientific evidence, and current industry experience to affect crew alertness. (A-06-10)
Para consulta completa acesse:
http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/2008/A08_40_43.pdf
Fonte: NTSB SAFETY INFORMATION 19/06/2008
NTSB Safety Recommendations A-08-40 through -43
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that theFederal Aviation Administration: Emphasize with principal operations inspectors the importance of conducting timely post accident drug and alcohol testing. (A-08-40)
As part of the Takeoff/Landing Performance Assessment Aviation Rulemaking Committee, address the need for initial training on the rationale for and criticality of conducting landing distance assessments before landing on contaminated runways. (A-08-41)
Issue a Cert Alert to all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part139 certificated airports that describes the circumstances of this accident, emphasizes the importance of specific and decisive radio communications, and urges airports to ensurethat those criteria are being met in all airfield radio communications. (A-08-42)
Require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 certificated airport operators to include in their airport's snow and ice control plan absolute criteria for type and depth of contamination and runway friction assessments that, when met, would trigger immediate closure of the affected runway to air carrier operations. Friction assessments should be based on pilot braking action reports, values obtained from ground friction measuring equipment, or estimates provided by airport ground personnel. (A-08-43)
The following previously issued recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration are reiterated: Evaluate crash detection and location technologies, select the most promising candidate(s) for ensuring that emergency responders could expeditiously arrive at an accident scene, and implement a requirement to install and use the equipment. (A-01-66)
Immediately require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part121, 135, and 91 subpart K operators to conduct arrival landing distance assessments before every landing based on existing performance data, actual conditions, and incorporating a minimum safety margin of 15 percent. (A-07-57) (Urgent).
Modify and simplify the flight crew hours-of-service regulations to take into consideration factors such as length of duty day, starting time, workload, and other factors shown by recent research, scientific evidence, and current industry experience to affect crew alertness. (A-06-10)
Para consulta completa acesse:
http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/2008/A08_40_43.pdf
Fonte: NTSB SAFETY INFORMATION 19/06/2008
Aircraft Accident
Accident description:
Status:
Preliminary
Date:
18 JUN 2008
Time:
10:03
Type:
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100
Operator:
Wiggins Airways
Registration:
N656WA
C/n / msn:
47
First flight:
1967
Crew:
Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:
Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:
Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Airplane damage:
Destroyed
Location:
Hyannis-Barnstable Airport, MA (HYA) (United States of America)
Phase:
Takeoff
Nature:
Cargo
Departure airport:
Hyannis-Barnstable Airport, MA (HYA/KHYA), United States of America
Destination airport:
Nantucket Memorial Airport, MA (ACK/KACK), United States of America
Flightnumber:
6601
Narrative: Wiggins Airways has a twice daily flight to the island carrying UPS and Federal Express packages. It was carrying about 200 pounds of cargo for the morning flight. The airplane taxied to runway 24 for departure. A Wiggins Airways spokesman told the Cape Cod Times that the plane "..lifted off and got to about 200 feet in the air and rolled. It continued to roll and went right over and impacted the ground nose first."
Sources: » Pilot killed in Hyannis air crash identified (Cape Cod Times, 18-6-2008)
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20080618-0
Fonte: Flight Safety Foundation 19/06/2008
Status:
Preliminary
Date:
18 JUN 2008
Time:
10:03
Type:
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 100
Operator:
Wiggins Airways
Registration:
N656WA
C/n / msn:
47
First flight:
1967
Crew:
Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:
Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:
Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Airplane damage:
Destroyed
Location:
Hyannis-Barnstable Airport, MA (HYA) (United States of America)
Phase:
Takeoff
Nature:
Cargo
Departure airport:
Hyannis-Barnstable Airport, MA (HYA/KHYA), United States of America
Destination airport:
Nantucket Memorial Airport, MA (ACK/KACK), United States of America
Flightnumber:
6601
Narrative: Wiggins Airways has a twice daily flight to the island carrying UPS and Federal Express packages. It was carrying about 200 pounds of cargo for the morning flight. The airplane taxied to runway 24 for departure. A Wiggins Airways spokesman told the Cape Cod Times that the plane "..lifted off and got to about 200 feet in the air and rolled. It continued to roll and went right over and impacted the ground nose first."
Sources: » Pilot killed in Hyannis air crash identified (Cape Cod Times, 18-6-2008)
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20080618-0
Fonte: Flight Safety Foundation 19/06/2008
Navigation Errors a Key Business Jet Safety Concern By Blair Watson, Special to Aviation.com
The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), a leading business aviation organization, is very concerned about the high incidence of navigation errors made by business jet pilots on oceanic flights.
IBAC is also concerned that business-aviation pilots allow their airplanes to stray from assigned altitudes, that there are more than 90 accidents each year involving business aircraft, and that there is a growing global shortage of experienced pilots and mechanics.
Business aviation has experienced unprecedented growth this decade. In 2000, there were approximately 10,000 business aircraft operators worldwide. Today, there are 17,000. The global business aircraft fleet consists of 27,000 turbine airplanes (jets and turboprops), of which 68 percent belong to U.S. operators.
Errors and accidents
“IBAC is very concerned about the number of errors committed by pilots flying on oceanic routes,” said Donald Spruston, IBAC’s Director General, in an interview on Tuesday.
Most of the navigation errors have occurred over the North Atlantic, the busiest region of oceanic airspace in the world. There are hundreds of airliners and dozens of business jets flying between North America and Europe each day.
In a safety document published last year, IBAC expressed concern that business aircraft operations over the North Atlantic "have a disproportionately high number of gross navigation errors (GNEs) and significant height deviations."
Asked about the pilot errors, Spruston said, "We encourage training for crews that are flying internationally." He explained that while airline pilots fly oceanic routes on a regular basis, some business aviation pilots do so infrequently because the companies for which they fly send personnel overseas on corporate aircraft only a few times each year.
Pilot training for oceanic flights
International flight-operations training is provided by companies in the U.S. and other countries. A typical course lasts two to three days. Spruston said that IBAC has distributed a checklist to business aircraft operators that fly over oceanic areas to ensure that pilots are properly trained.
Pilot training includes checking the navigation data entered into the airplane’s flight management system. The training includes a procedure where one pilot enters the data and the other checks it for accuracy. Pilots have entered incorrect latitude and/or longitude information, resulting in their aircraft flying to a navigation point not on their assigned route.
An even more worrying trend than navigation errors, which modern air traffic control systems detect, is the fact that 53 percent of accidents involving business jets occur while landing. Some 18 percent of business jet accidents happen on takeoff and 10 percent on approach.
"The relatively high percentage of accidents during landing compared to other phases of flight is of significant concern to us," Spruston said. IBAC has been working with the National Business Aviation Association in the U.S. and other organizations to determine how to reduce the number of business aircraft accidents.
According to the IBAC document 'Business Aviation Safety Strategy: A Blueprint for Making a Safe System Safer,' published last year, between 2001 and 2005 there were 510 accidents worldwide involving business aircraft, 160 of them fatal. The total number of business aircraft departures for the period was just under 32.2 million.
"The accident rate trend for business aviation over the past five years, using a running five year average, has no statistically significant change," according to the IBAC publication.
Spruston emphasized that the safety record of business aviation — which is comprised of corporate aviation, on-demand air taxi/charter operators and owner-operated airplanes — is as good as that of the airlines.
Pilot and aircraft mechanic shortage
Aircraft operators around the world, including some in business aviation, have been affected by a shortage of aircrew and aircraft mechanics during the past few years. Large numbers of retiring pilots and aircraft maintenance personnel have coincided with substantial growth in airline and business jet travel in Asia, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Because the demand for such travel continues to rise, there are more job vacancies globally than experienced pilots and aircraft mechanics to fill them.
"Business aviation operators are indeed generally finding that there is a shortage of both pilots and maintenance personnel. It is not reaching crisis stage yet but we are definitely seeing an increase in the level of concern by our operators," Spruston wrote in an e-mail.
"The extension of the retirement age for commercial airline pilots (in the U.S.) will likely help in the short term but the problem will not go away," he added. "We will be working with the Flight Safety Foundation and IATA (International Air Transport Association) to try to find solutions."
http://www.aviation.com/safety/080529-business-aviation-safety-concerns.html
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 19/06/2008
IBAC is also concerned that business-aviation pilots allow their airplanes to stray from assigned altitudes, that there are more than 90 accidents each year involving business aircraft, and that there is a growing global shortage of experienced pilots and mechanics.
Business aviation has experienced unprecedented growth this decade. In 2000, there were approximately 10,000 business aircraft operators worldwide. Today, there are 17,000. The global business aircraft fleet consists of 27,000 turbine airplanes (jets and turboprops), of which 68 percent belong to U.S. operators.
Errors and accidents
“IBAC is very concerned about the number of errors committed by pilots flying on oceanic routes,” said Donald Spruston, IBAC’s Director General, in an interview on Tuesday.
Most of the navigation errors have occurred over the North Atlantic, the busiest region of oceanic airspace in the world. There are hundreds of airliners and dozens of business jets flying between North America and Europe each day.
In a safety document published last year, IBAC expressed concern that business aircraft operations over the North Atlantic "have a disproportionately high number of gross navigation errors (GNEs) and significant height deviations."
Asked about the pilot errors, Spruston said, "We encourage training for crews that are flying internationally." He explained that while airline pilots fly oceanic routes on a regular basis, some business aviation pilots do so infrequently because the companies for which they fly send personnel overseas on corporate aircraft only a few times each year.
Pilot training for oceanic flights
International flight-operations training is provided by companies in the U.S. and other countries. A typical course lasts two to three days. Spruston said that IBAC has distributed a checklist to business aircraft operators that fly over oceanic areas to ensure that pilots are properly trained.
Pilot training includes checking the navigation data entered into the airplane’s flight management system. The training includes a procedure where one pilot enters the data and the other checks it for accuracy. Pilots have entered incorrect latitude and/or longitude information, resulting in their aircraft flying to a navigation point not on their assigned route.
An even more worrying trend than navigation errors, which modern air traffic control systems detect, is the fact that 53 percent of accidents involving business jets occur while landing. Some 18 percent of business jet accidents happen on takeoff and 10 percent on approach.
"The relatively high percentage of accidents during landing compared to other phases of flight is of significant concern to us," Spruston said. IBAC has been working with the National Business Aviation Association in the U.S. and other organizations to determine how to reduce the number of business aircraft accidents.
According to the IBAC document 'Business Aviation Safety Strategy: A Blueprint for Making a Safe System Safer,' published last year, between 2001 and 2005 there were 510 accidents worldwide involving business aircraft, 160 of them fatal. The total number of business aircraft departures for the period was just under 32.2 million.
"The accident rate trend for business aviation over the past five years, using a running five year average, has no statistically significant change," according to the IBAC publication.
Spruston emphasized that the safety record of business aviation — which is comprised of corporate aviation, on-demand air taxi/charter operators and owner-operated airplanes — is as good as that of the airlines.
Pilot and aircraft mechanic shortage
Aircraft operators around the world, including some in business aviation, have been affected by a shortage of aircrew and aircraft mechanics during the past few years. Large numbers of retiring pilots and aircraft maintenance personnel have coincided with substantial growth in airline and business jet travel in Asia, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Because the demand for such travel continues to rise, there are more job vacancies globally than experienced pilots and aircraft mechanics to fill them.
"Business aviation operators are indeed generally finding that there is a shortage of both pilots and maintenance personnel. It is not reaching crisis stage yet but we are definitely seeing an increase in the level of concern by our operators," Spruston wrote in an e-mail.
"The extension of the retirement age for commercial airline pilots (in the U.S.) will likely help in the short term but the problem will not go away," he added. "We will be working with the Flight Safety Foundation and IATA (International Air Transport Association) to try to find solutions."
http://www.aviation.com/safety/080529-business-aviation-safety-concerns.html
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 19/06/2008
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