18 FEB 2009 _______________________________________ *FAA to airline pilots: Turn cell phones off *NY plane crash probe turns to plane, pilots, ice *Tail-plane stalls, icing, airplane accidents and NASA *In Buffalo, a reminder of lingering air safety issues *Aviation authorities defend safety of turboprops **************************************** FAA to airline pilots: Turn cell phones off The US FAA has issued an alert to airlines following an inspector's report that a first officer's cell phone began ringing at a critical phase of a takeoff recently, an incident the agency says was "a potentially serious hazard". According to the FAA air safety inspector who was riding along on an unnamed airline's flight from the jump seat, just prior to reaching V1, the speed after which pilots generally are committed to taking off rather than aborting on the runway, a rather loud "warbling" sound was "detected" by both crewmembers. "It was later determined that the sound came from the first officer's cellular phone, which had been left in the ON position," the Safety Alerts For Operators (SAFO) note reads. "As a result the ring tone caused a distraction between the crewmembers during the takeoff phase and could have led the to crew to initiate an unnecessary rejected takeoff," the letter continues. Once on the ground, the crew revealed that their airline's general operations manual (GOM) did not address procedures prohibiting the crew, unlike the passengers, from having their cell phones on while at their "duty stations". The GOM would appear to contradict federal regulations and FAA advisory circulars, which state that a cell phone "will not be authorized for use while the aircraft is being taxied for departure after leaving the gate". Further, one AC recommends that cell phones be turned off "and properly stowed to prepare the aircraft for takeoff as per the operator's procedures". The FAA in the SAFO is recommending that the director of operations for airlines and air taxi operators "perform a review of their respective GOM to determine if appropriate procedures are in place to remind crewmembers to turn off their cellular phones in preparation for departure". The agency says jump seat rider checklists should also state the prohibition. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** NY plane crash probe turns to plane, pilots, ice CLARENCE, N.Y. (AP) — Investigators finished gathering human remains at the site of last week's catastrophic plane crash outside Buffalo and turned their attention to analyzing the weather, data from the scene and black-box recorders, the crew and accounts from other pilots who flew nearby on the night of the accident. The pilot's actions are being scrutinized to determine whether he could have acted differently to prevent Continental Connection Flight 3407 from crashing onto a home on Thursday. All 49 people on board the aircraft and one person on the ground were killed. So far, the National Transportation Safety Board has not found anything mechanically wrong with the plane or that the pilot violated any flying regulations. However, the pilot did not disengage the autopilot after encountering what was noted to be "significant ice" — disregarding recommendations from the NTSB and his own airline. In addition, as in every crash, Capt. Marvin Renslow's experience and training will be closely studied. Renslow had amassed 110 hours of flying experience on the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400. He also had thousands of hours flying a similar, smaller turboprop plane, which experts say would have prepared him for handling the aircraft in icy weather. The NTSB will look into the type of training the pilots received, how they performed, how many hours they flew in the seven days before the crash, how much rest they had and what they did in the 72 hours before the accident, said board member Steve Chealander. That includes a look at whether they drank any alcohol or took drugs. Another NTSB investigator will study whether the wintry weather played a role in the crash, while still others will interview pilots who recently flew with Renslow, 47, of Tampa, Fla., and the first officer, Rebecca Lynne Shaw, 24, of Seattle. The full investigation is expected to last at least a year. The flight, operated by Colgan Air, was about six miles from Buffalo Niagara International Airport and on autopilot when it became uncontrollable, pitching sharply up and down and side to side before smashing into the home and bursting into flames. NTSB investigators have focused on the icy conditions in which the plane was flying, noting the crew took a cautious approach by engaging deicing equipment 11 minutes after leaving Newark, N.J. However, investigators have stopped short of saying ice caused the crash, noting there are endless possibilities. Colgan Air, based in Manassas, Va., did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment on training procedures. Renslow had 3,000 hours of flying experience with Colgan over 3 1/2 years, which is nearly the maximum a pilot can fly over that period of time under government regulations. Johnny Summers, a pilot on a Boeing 737 who also has flown turboprop planes, said flying in ice is fairly routine. Planes are designed for it, and pilots train for it. Summers recalled that a few years ago, while flying a Twin Otter into Colorado Springs, he was forced to land because of severe ice. The ice made the plane too heavy to climb to a higher altitude to escape the bad weather, he said. He could not remember whether the crew turned off the autopilot but said all deicing and anti-icing equipment was immediately turned on. That aircraft was a twin-engine turboprop that seats eight, while the Dash 8 seats 74. "I wasn't nervous about it," Summers said. "It's not that spooky of a thing." ***************** Tail-plane stalls, icing, airplane accidents and NASA It will be a long time before the National Transportation Safety Board issues its probable-cause findings for the Buffalo crash Feb.13. So let's not jump to any conclusions about anything, including the part that icing may have played in the accident. But an American Airlines pilot has sent me a very interesting training video from the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland about the dangers of tail-plane icing on aircraft, particularly commuter aircraft that fly at lower altitudes than the bigger, faster, higher-flying jets. We think of stalling as a problem for wings. But the NASA video warns of the issue of tail-plane stalling and how ice accretion on the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer can put an aircraft out of control. Testing at NASA Lewis found that the sharper edges of the horizontal stabilizer collects more ice than the rounded edges of the wings. "This means if there's any ice on the wing, there may significantly more ice on the horizontal stabilizer," the narrator warns. If a pilot notices ice anywhere on the airplane, he should be aware that ice may already be accumulating on horizontal stabilizer. However, pilots can't see the horizontal stabilizer from the cockpit. The ice can disturb the flow of air over the tail plane, the horizontal stabilizer. The horizontal stabilizer acts as an upside-down wing, pushing the tail down to counterbalance the lift provided by the wings, which are usually behind the aircraft's center of gravity. If the smooth flow of air is disturbed over the tail plane, the horizontal stabilizer isn't providing the necessary downforce and the nose of the aircraft may pitch downward, the video warns. Says our narrator: "Tail plane stall due to ice accretion is rarely a problem in cruise flight. During this part of the flight, the horizontal stabilizer is not working anywhere near its performance limits. Consequently, flight crews may not have any aerodynamic clues that ice may be building up on the tail plane until the aircraft configuration is changed. "The effects of ice contamination on the horizontal stabilizer are typically noticed during an approach after flaps are extended and when the aircraft is near the ground. During this part of the flight, the horizontal stabilizer is working near its performance limits. "If the tail stalls at this point, recovery is very difficult." The NTSB has said the pilots had commented on a significant build-up of ice on the windshield and elsewhere on the airplane shortly before the airplane went out of control as it was approaching the Buffalo airport. Investigators have said the Colgan Air aircraft seemed to be flying okay to the moment that the pilots lowered the wing flaps in preparation for final approach as the airplane dropped below 2,000 feet. In short order, the autopilot disengaged, the airplane's nose pitched downward, then upward, before a final pitch downward. The aircraft rolled left, rolled right, dove sharply and hit the ground, in short order. The NASA Lewis video cites four warning signs of ice build-up on the horizontal stabilizer: a lightening of the controls, particularly stick lightening in forward direction; a difficulty trimming the airplane; the onset of pilot-induced oscillation; and buffeting felt in the controls, but not the airframe. "Individual pilots may perceive these warning signs at different times depending upon the pilot's experience, the icing conditions, the workload in the cockpit and the intensity of the situation. Now, it should be noted that if you are flying on autopilot you would almost certainly miss these symptoms because you would not get any tactile feedback from the controls." The Colgan pilots were operating on autopilot until the autopilot disengaged. Said NASA: "Remember, many times, these symptoms are encountered when flaps are at full extension. In extreme cases there may be a sudden pulse forward stick movement, possibly very strong. The nose of the aircraft may sudden pitch down, and it is very possible that this may not be recoverable on final approach because of the low altitude of the aircraft." Tail-plane stall caused by icing often is first noticed when the pilot increases the flaps, the power or the speed, NASA said. In the Buffalo crash, investigators said the pilots had increased the flaps. When it began going out of control, the Colgan pilots increased the airplane engines on full throttle. On a normal wing stall, pilots usually should increase power and relax back pressure on the yoke or push the yoke forward. On a tail-plane stall, they should pull back on the yoke, return the flaps to their former position and, depending on the aircraft type, ease off on power. In other words, the remedy for a wing stall in some cases is the opposite of the remedy for a tail-plane stall, NASA warned. "The pilot must first correctly diagnosis the situation," it said. http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/02/tail-plane-stalls-airpla ne-acc.html **************** In Buffalo, a reminder of lingering air safety issues By Alan Levin, USA TODAY Before Thursday, airlines had made more than 25 million flights in the United States during the past 2½ years without a passenger being killed. There were close calls recently: a jet running off a runway in Denver and catching fire as all 115 aboard escaped in December; the miraculous, fatality-free landing in New York's Hudson River last month by a jet that had lost power in both of its engines. So how safe are we? Thursday's crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 into a house in suburban Buffalo killed 50 people, ended the longest period in U.S. aviation history without a major crash — and was a vivid reminder that although air safety has improved dramatically in the past several years, some long-recognized risks remain. Investigators said Sunday that they have not zeroed in on what suddenly brought down Flight 3407 as it approached Buffalo. But they are examining how ice on the wings of the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 might have affected the pilots' ability to control it, as well as the actions of the pilots. FIND MORE STORIES IN: United States | New York | Kentucky | Denver | Federal Aviation Administration | National Transportation Safety Board | Lexington | US Airways | Hudson River | Comair | Buffalo Niagara International Airport | Steven Chealander | Continental Connection Flight | Bombardier Dash | Clarence Center | Rebecca Shaw The investigators said the turboprop, which was carrying 49 people, gyrated wildly in the seconds before it hit a house and burst into flames, killing resident Doug Wielenski, 61. As pilots had prepared for landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, the plane's nose suddenly rocked up and down as if it was a roller coaster, said National Transportation Safety Board member Steven Chealander. The plane banked sharply left, then even more steeply to the right, nearly turning upside down. The plane plunged rapidly, falling from 1,800 feet to 1,000 feet in five seconds, before it crashed on its belly into Wielenski's house in Clarence Center, N.Y. It was traveling about 115 mph just before it crashed, Chealander said. The shock over the crash continues to resonate in the Buffalo area, where there were memorial services Sunday in the victims' honor. For American travelers, it was the latest in a series of incidents to cast a spotlight on aviation safety at a time when aviation experts, the U.S. government and crash data indicated that improved technology and training have virtually wiped out entire classes of accidents — mid-air collisions and wind shear-related crashes, for example. The crash near Buffalo — as well as the incidents in Denver and New York, in which passengers were fortunate to escape — all appear to fall into areas that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and safety advocates have identified as risks that need more attention: • Ice that forms on wings or other areas can cause a plane to suddenly lose control, particularly on smaller turboprops such as the Continental Connection plane. Despite several fatal crashes and years of research, pilots often don't know how to prevent icing, and aviation regulators have not acted on possible improvements that have been suggested by investigators. • Flocks of birds can instantly snuff out jet engines, as occurred in the "Miracle on the Hudson" landing of the US Airways jet last month. Crash investigators are trying to determine whether the risks from birds are increasing and whether protections against them — which include rules for designing bird-resistant engines — are adequate. • Perhaps the most dangerous place for a plane is on a runway. Large jets come close to colliding on runways several times each year. The decision by two Comair pilots to take off on the wrong runway triggered the nation's previous fatal crash in Lexington, Ky., in 2006, an incident in which 49 of the 50 people aboard were killed. Thirty-two people were injured when the Continental jet skidded off the runway in Denver runway on Dec. 20. Bernard Loeb, who retired from the NTSB after overseeing aviation investigations for most of the 1990s, fought for stiffer icing rules after several major accidents. The NTSB's recommendations during that period were met with fierce opposition by regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), who argued that planes were adequately protected against icing. Many of those recommendations, which have no legal authority, still have not been accomplished by federal aviation regulators. Thursday's accident "leaves me with a sick feeling, but it doesn't surprise me," Loeb said. Tension over de-icing rules As Flight 3407 approached Buffalo late Thursday, the pilots faced routine weather for planes operating in the northern climes: light precipitation and temperatures around freezing. Such conditions often cause ice to form on an aircraft, just as freezing rain or snow can cause a buildup on cars. Unlike vehicles on the ground, however, such ice can prove deadly if it gets on wings or other critical surfaces. If airflow over a wing is disrupted by the ice, it can cause a sudden loss of lift and throw a plane out of control in an instant. Capt. Marvin Renslow and copilot Rebecca Shaw had commented to each other that "significant" ice was building up on the plane's windshield and wings, according to preliminary information from the plane's crash-proof cockpit recorder. They had activated the plane's de-icing system, which inflates rubber boots that periodically expand and break off ice on the wings, tail and engine air intakes, the NTSB's Chealander said. (On jets, de-icing systems typically blast the wings and other surfaces with hot air.) The pilots' awareness of icing conditions and the equipment on the plane should have protected them, but in several accident investigations in the 1990s, the NTSB found that the icing prevention rules are not always adequate. After an American Eagle ATR-72 turboprop crashed because of ice in Roselawn, Ind., on Oct. 31, 1994, the NTSB discovered the plane had not been tested in all icing conditions, even though it had been certified as safe to fly in such weather. The crash killed 68 people. The NTSB, which has no power to regulate and can only issue recommended safety improvements, voted in 1996 to urge the FAA to toughen the icing certification rules for aircraft. After icing caused a Comair EMB-120 turboprop to crash on Jan. 9, 1997, in Monroe, Mich., killing 29 people, the safety board reissued the recommendations. In response, the FAA mandated that newly designed aircraft receive improved testing in icing conditions. But the agency has not required that existing models receive the new testing. "The pace of the FAA's activities in response to all of these recommendations remains unacceptably slow," the NTSB said in a release last fall. "Before another accident or serious incident occurs, the FAA should evaluate all existing turbo propeller-driven airplanes in service." Several other icing-related recommendations by the NTSB have not been acted on by the FAA. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown defended the agency, saying it had issued more than 100 emergency directives on icing since 1994 and is planning to add tougher guidelines soon. The threat from birds The threat that birds pose to aircraft has received relatively little attention because birds haven't triggered an airline fatality since 1960. But the Jan. 15 episode in New York has drawn attention to the issue. And the US Airways jet's dramatic splashdown in the Hudson wasn't the only near-tragedy caused by birds in recent months. A Ryanair 737-800 crashed at Rome's Ciampino Airport on Nov. 10 after it struck a massive flock of starlings and lost most of its engine power, according to the ANSV, the Italian accident investigation agency, and the airline. Planes are supposed to be designed with enough backups and protections so that they never lose power. For it to happen twice in such a short time has rattled the small community of aviation experts who study risks from birds, said Paul Eschenfelder, an airline pilot who has worked with Bird Strike Committee USA, which tries to raise awareness about the issue. Recommendations by the NTSB after a cargo jet was heavily damaged by birds in 1999 have not been acted on by the FAA. Eschenfelder, who teaches wildlife control at airports, said that more needs to be done. "But we have not had the commitment from government and industry," Eschenfelder said. Dangers on runways The last major crash in the United States, the 2006 incident at Kentucky's Bluegrass Airport, occurred when the pilots tried to take off on a closed runway that was too short. The Bombardier CRJ-100 clipped a row of trees and burst into flames on Aug. 27, 2006. That accident — and the fiery crash at the Denver airport in December — highlight the risks to planes on the ground. In recent years, the FAA has logged 20-30 incidents a year in which planes almost collided on runways. Most of those involved private planes, but several serious near-collisions have occurred between airliners. The NTSB lists runway safety as one of its "most wanted" safety improvements. The FAA has been accused of not taking runway safety seriously enough. A Government Accountability Office study in 2007 found that the aviation agency had left its runway safety chief position unfilled for two years. Since that report, the FAA has pushed airlines to adopt new pilot procedures to reduce risks and the creation of better warning systems for pilots. But the technology that will be used in the warning system will not be required until 2020. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-02-15-air-crash_N.htm *************** Aviation authorities defend safety of turboprops BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board has called for authorities to ground all turboprop planes like the one that crashed last week in icy conditions, at least until the accident investigation is complete. But federal aviation officials insisted Sunday that the planes are just as safe in winter weather as any other aircraft. The 74-seat Q400 Bombardier aircraft "has an excellent record in icing conditions," said Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. "If we thought that these planes were unsafe, we wouldn't let them operate." Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a home late Thursday, killing all 49 people aboard the plane and one man on the ground. It went down in light snow and mist just six miles from the Buffalo airport. The crew had discussed significant ice buildup on their windshield and wings shortly before the crash, according to the NTSB. The crash has raised questions about the safety of small regional aircraft, which have grown in use since the 2001 terrorist attacks, when airlines found it economical to substitute smaller aircraft for some routes where they previously had used larger planes. Jim Hall, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board from 1994 through 2001, told The Buffalo News that the FAA should "ground all aircraft of this type until the NTSB investigation is completed and it is clear they can be operated safely." Hall questioned the safety of turboprops because they fly at slower speeds than jets, making it easier for ice to accumulate. And he was critical of the air-filled deicing "boots" like those on Flight 3407 that inflate to crack ice off. Hall said that technology was invented in the 1930s and has improved little. He said heated wing systems used in jets are more effective. Hall did not return a telephone message seeking comment left by The Associated Press. Brown said the FAA had no reason so far to act. "I don't think we've seen anything to date that would lead us to make any recommendations about this plane," she said. The flight was operated by Colgan Air of Manassas, Va. A spokesman for Colgan's parent company, Pinnacle Airlines of Memphis, Tenn., did not return a phone message. NTSB board member Steve Chealander said all planes must meet the same federal safety requirements before they are certified to fly. "Are turboprops more unsafe than jets? The answer is no," he said Sunday. "They are all certified by the governing agencies of the country that they're manufactured in. They all play by the same rules." Chealander said the airlines know it's in their best interest to be safe. "They're not going to go out there and operate unsafe," he said. Brown said many airlines have switched from turboprops to regional jets for a variety of reasons, including fuel efficiency and financial considerations. On Sunday, representatives of Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines and FedEx declined to say whether they were considering any changes in the use of turboprops in winter conditions, such as flying different routes or using larger jets that fly at higher altitudes. "We continue to review our procedures to be sure they are as safe as possible," said Maury Lane, a spokesman for Memphis-based FedEx. "It's premature to say if changes might be necessary." http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTEZdaqiPtlvQsNgNJBDKAnXM_ DAD96CBHM80 *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC