07 JAN 2010 _________________________________________ *F-15s Escort Hawaiian Air Jet Back To Portland *Pilots in AA Kingston overrun were advised to use a different approach *American Airlines Jet Landed Halfway Down Jamaican Runway *Jamaica CAA Releases Factual Report On AA 737 Overrun *Passenger Jets Still Carry Unscreened Cargo *Boeing creates new VP structure *UK CAA recruits new safety chief from NATS ****************************************** F-15s Escort Hawaiian Air Jet Back To Portland http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/images/content/Hawaiian_Airlines_boosts_interi sland_fleet/Hawaiian%20Airlines.jpg Plane Allowed To Fly On To Maui After Incident HONOLULU -- Two F-15 fighter jets escorted a flight bound for Hawaii back to Portland International Airport after a passenger became disruptive, an Oregon TV station reported. Flight 39 had 231 people aboard left at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, but got turned around about 90 minutes later and headed back, Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Keoni Wagner said. A passenger was acting "uncooperative," he said. A 56-year-old man refused to stow his carry-on luggage and made threatening remarks, the Transportation Security Administration said. Wagner said it was a very "low level" incident involving one passenger. The plane landed safely and departed for Kahului, Maui, again at 12:40 p.m., Wagner said. Two people got off the plane and the crew flew on to Kahului, Maui, officials said. The man from Salem, Ore., was released without charges, officials said. http://www.kitv.com/news/22166359/detail.html **************** Pilots in AA Kingston overrun were advised to use a different approach Controllers at Norman Manley International airport in Kingston, Jamaica offered the crew of an American Airlines Boeing 737-800 that overran a runway on 23 December a circling approach to the opposite runway end in order to avoid tailwind conditions prevalent at the time, according to a preliminary report released today by the civil aviation authority of Jamaica. During a landing in heavy rain the aircraft exited the runway, went through a perimeter fence, crossed a road and came to rest 53m (175ft) beyond the end of runway 12, which was 12m (40ft) from the water line. Officials say the controllers on duty at the time advised the American crew of tailwind conditions on runway 12. The airport has a single runway designated 12/30. In the report Jamaican authorities explained air traffic control offered the crew a circling approach for landing on runway 30. "The crew repeated their request for runway 12 and were subsequently cleared to land on that runway, with the controller further advising the crew that the runway was wet," the report states. The captain was operating the aircraft at the time, and reported he was using the 737's head-up display during approach and landing. After descending through cloud cover the crew made visual contact with the runway between 305m (1000ft) and 213m (700ft) above ground level. The flight data recorder (FDR) indicates the landing speed was 148kt (268 km/h), with a ground speed of 162kt (300 km/h) and a tailwind component of 14kt (25 km/h). The 737 made initial contact at 1,220m (4,000ft) down the 2,714m (8,900ft) runway. FDR data show that the aircraft bounced once and settled into the runway. The autobrakes then engaged, and reverse thrust and spoilers were deployed. Jamaican authorities say the crew reported at that point they felt the aircraft did not decelerate normally, and applied maximum breaking. During the landing rollout, the FDR shows the aircraft veered to the left of centreline and departed the end of the runway at a groundspeed of 63kt (116 km/h). The reports states the FDR did not indicate any anomalies or malfunction with the operation of the brakes, spoilers or thrust reversers. The runway at Kingston was rehabilitated in 1997-1998 with a mixture of asphalt and concrete that meets internationally accepted specifications and standards, said Jamaican officials during a press briefing today. Those officials also said the fact that many aircraft have landed at the airport for years in heavy rains is "not outside the envelope of normality". Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************** American Airlines Jet Landed Halfway Down Jamaican Runway Officials examine the remains of American Airlines Flight AA331 at the Kingston airport KINGSTON, Jamaica - An American Airlines jet that overshot a Jamaican runway and split apart last month touched down nearly halfway down the runway, well past its target, investigators said Wednesday. Oscar Derby, director-general of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, said it was not yet clear if that point of landing was a factor in an accident that injured dozens of passengers. The plane's wheels made contact at around the 4,000-foot mark and the plane bounced once on the wet runway before the brakes engaged, Derby said. The target mark for the Boeing 737-800 was within the first 1,500 feet of the 8,910-foot runway. Investigators said they are still considering potential factors including pilot error or mechanical failure. "We will be going to the analysis phase to rule out those things that are not factors and narrow down further to what is the probable cause," Derby said. A call to American Airlines for reaction was not immediately returned. Flight 331, which took off from Washington's Reagan National Airport and had stopped in Miami, skidded off the runway as it landed in Kingston in heavy rain on the night of Dec. 22. The fuselage cracked open in two places, the left main landing gear collapsed and the nose was crushed as the plane lurched to a halt on a rocky beach 40 feet from the Caribbean Sea. All 154 people aboard survived. Ninety-two were hurt, none of them with injuries considered life-threatening. A controller at Norman Manley International Airport advised the flight crew of a tail wind and offered an alternative runway, but the crew was cleared for landing after repeating its request for the first runway, according to the preliminary investigation. Derby said the tail wind was not unusually strong. There is no indication the captain or co-pilot had any concerns about the approach, said Christopher Bickford, the chief investigator for the island's aviation authority. After descending through the cloud cover, the crew saw the runway when the plane was between 700 feet and 1,000 feet. The plane was traveling at 186 miles per hour when the wheels made first contact. It sped off the edge of the runway at 72 miles per hour before plowing through a perimeter fence, according to data from a flight recorder. Bickford said the tires, braking system and the rest of the wreckage will be sent to the United States for further examination. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,582234,00.html **************** Jamaica CAA Releases Factual Report On AA 737 Overrun The American Airlines Boeing 737-800 (N977AN) involved in the Dec. 22 runway overrun at Kingston, Jamaica, attempted to land with tailwinds and in heavy rain, according to the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority's preliminary factual report released Jan. 6 The flight originated at Miami Airport at about 8:22 p.m. EST and was en route to Kingston airport with 154 people on board. Instrument Meteorological Conditions prevailed in the area during the aircraft's approach to Runway 12. Air traffic control advised the flight crew of tailwind conditions and offered a circling approach for landing on Runway 30 instead. The pilots repeated their initial request and were cleared to land on Runway 12 with the advisory that the runway surface was wet. The crew said they made visual contact with the runway between 1,000 feet and 700 feet above ground level. The captain, the pilot flying, said he used the Heads Up Display during approach and landing. When the 737's wheels made initial contact 4,000 feet down the 8,900-foot runway, the aircraft was traveling at 148 knots landing airspeed, 162 knots groundspeed and with a 14-knot tailwind component, according to flight data recorder information. The aircraft bounced once and settled to the runway when the autobrakes engaged and reverse thrust and spoilers were deployed, The crew subsequently applied maximum manual braking because the aircraft was not decelerating normally. The aircraft veered to left of centerline and departed the end of the runway at 63 knots groundspeed. At about 10:22 p.m. EST, the 737 went through a perimeter fence, crossed a roadway and came to rest 175 feet beyond the departure end of Runway 12 on a rocky beach about 40 feet from the water line. The fuselage broke into three pieces during the overrun. Numerous injuries were reported among those on board, but there were no fatalities. http://www.aviationweek.com **************** Passenger Jets Still Carry Unscreened Cargo A dog inspected cargo at Washington's Dulles International Airport in 2007. While a lot of attention has been paid in recent days to the need to find better ways to screen passengers and their luggage, as aviation security officials try to keep terrorists - or Slovak security officials - from smuggling explosives onto passenger jets, it remains an uncomfortable fact that entirely unscreened packages are still routinely loaded into the cargo holds of those same airplanes. According to the Transportation Security Administration, it currently screens "at least 50 percent" of the packages loaded into the cargo holds of passenger jets alongside travelers' suitcases. Last February, the security administration announced that it had "issued security directives to all air carriers requiring that they screen 50 per cent of cargo placed on passenger aircraft," and was working to meet an August, 2010 deadline set by Congress in 2007 to ensure the screening of every package that flies on these planes. The following month a report by the Government Accountability Office explained that "TSA's approach relies on the voluntary participation of shippers and freight forwarders," in a program where most of the screening is to be done by private companies at the locations where goods are loaded into boxes. Last month, though, a follow-up report by the GAO noted that "TSA and the industry face a number of challenges including the voluntary nature of the program, and ensuring that approved technologies are effective with air cargo." The GAO also noted that "TSA also does not expect to meet the mandated 100 percent screening deadline as it applies to air cargo transported into the U.S., in part due to existing screening exemptions for this type of cargo and challenges in harmonizing security standards with other nations." On Tuesday, Lauren Gaches, a press officer for the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed to The Lede that passenger jets continue to fly with unscreened packages on board. Ms. Gauches wrote in an e-mail message: While much remains to be done to fulfill this requirement, TSA is confident that the industry is currently screening at least 50 percent of air cargo transported on passenger aircraft on flights originating in the United States and anticipates that the 100 percent screening requirement will be met by August 2010 for domestic cargo. [...] However, the requirement in the 9/11 Act to also screen 100 percent of inbound air cargo continues to present significant challenges. Although it is unlikely that TSA can develop a system to meet the ambitious timetable set by Congress, work continues with international partners to address the many challenges. TSA expects to continue to see significant improvements in the level of security for inbound air cargo on passenger aircraft as these discussions continue. A 787 under construction at a Boeing plant in 2007. Passengers fly on top, cargo below.After the GAO's December report was released, Representative Edward J. Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat who wrote the 100 percent screening mandate into the 2007 law intended to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, pressed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who has oversight on the security administration, to make sure the August deadline would be met. Mr. Markey wrote, "The potential threats borne of unscreened cargo are all too real." As a blogger for the Transportation Security Administration explained in 2008, when the government announced that it was deploying 85 sniffer dogs to help screen the cargo loaded onto passenger planes at American airports, cargo loaded onto passenger planes is an important part of the global economy: [S]ome of you may not realize just how immense an operation it is to ship air cargo around the world. Commerce and customers have come to expect that millions of packages will fly around the world, arriving at their destination with amazing efficiency and accuracy. The volume is so large that, in addition to the cargo company's trains, planes and automobiles, many packages often fly with your luggage in the belly of commercial passenger aircraft. Care packages sent to Billy in his dorm room or fruitcakes from your grandmother are sometimes stored below passenger's feet, right next to suitcases. This is an important source of revenue for the airlines as well as a means for customers to get their packages on-time. Some less popular commercial flight routes survive solely as a result of the money brought in by transporting cargo. In 2007, as Congress debated the mandatory screening of all packages flying beneath the feet of passengers, my colleague Eric Lipton reported that the size of the air cargo business made it very important to the airlines: Twenty-two percent of domestic air cargo travels on passenger aircraft, or about 2.8 million tons a year, producing $4.7 billion a year in revenue for the airlines. And this steady stream of air cargo - most of it promised for delivery in one or two days - is often what makes the difference between a profitable route and one that loses money. Industry officials fear that tougher standards may force cargo off passenger planes and onto flights reserved just for cargo, or cause huge delays. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/passenger-jets-still-carry-unscr eened-cargo/ **************** Boeing creates new VP structure Boeing has established nine new vice president-level engineering positions, continuing its focus on "engineering excellence" in the wake of major technical delays on both the commercial and defence programmes in recent years. Of the nine, four will support Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) and five will support Integrated Defence Systems (IDS). The executives are tasked to "work closely with programme managers and chief engineers to help ensure the technical integrity of their products by providing technical guidance in their various areas of expertise," says John Tracy, chief technology officer and senior vice president of engineering, operations and technology (EO&T). These positions are structured outside of BCA and IDS to create a single engineering support structure as Boeing works to move beyond high-profile delays on projects within its two major business units. Three of the four executives promoted to vice president of engineering played direct roles in the 787 programme in the lead up to its first flight on 15 December. Mike Delaney will be responsible for aircraft performance and product architecture, and previously served as chief project engineer for the 787 programme. Keith Leverkuhn will oversee propulsion systems and previously was vice president/general manager of propulsion systems for BCA. Jim Ogonowski will be responsible for aircraft structures, previously serving as chief structures engineer for the 787 programme. Lastly, Mike Sinnett will oversee aircraft systems after serving as vice president and systems chief engineer for the 787 programme. Boeing says Delaney, Ogonowski and Sinnett will "continue to focus on the 787 programme, which is currently the most important challenge for Boeing Commercial Airplanes". In support of IDS, Bill Carrier will be responsible for structures, and was previously director of mechanical/structural engineering. Laurette Lahey will oversee flight and controls, after serving as director of flight engineering. Jack Murphy will be responsible for systems development and will continue in his current role as vice president of mission assurance. Darrell Uchima, will be responsible for mission systems payload and sensors, and was formerly director of the satellite development centre for Boeing space and intelligence systems. Lastly, James Farricker will head up networks and communications, and as a senior technical fellow was most recently chief engineer of Boeing's enterprise network organisation in the company's engineering, operations and technology division. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news ************** UK CAA recruits new safety chief from NATS UK air navigation service NATS' group director of safety, Gretchen Burrett, is to take over as the Civil Aviation Authority's safety regulation chief. She will become group director of safety regulation at the CAA from 1 April, says the UK transport secretary. Burrett has held her current position at NATS since April 2006. Her CAA appointment will initially be for a four-year term. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC