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.

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

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

"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

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

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

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