Flight Safety Information February 16, 2010 No.036 In This Issue White Paper: Vendor Management FAA: Plane crash kills 5 in New Jersey Cessna Skymaster Down In New Jersey Accident Status Bird Strike Forces Jet To Return To Ft. Lauderdale Delta passengers receive luggage soaked in jet fuel Aviation body defends cabin crew cutbacks (Australia) Airport tells child to remove leg braces Romney Assaulted on Flight Leaving Olympics Man pulled off Lansing flight; panic attack suspected Investigation: Runway safety at JFK Airport ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ White Paper: Vendor Management A couple of decades ago the phrase "Vendor Management" would have met with glazed expressions, and Approved Supplier Lists were scarce if not non-existent. Jump forward a decade and "Preferred Suppliers Lists" were evolving. These, however, were based more on established relationships between buyer and supplier than on the credentials of the vendors concerned. Self-audits were distributed for completion and return but the system was a loose one, often with no procedures for guidance, and orders were placed regardless. Further development of the regulatory authorities and the control of bogus parts mean that, these days, a company is rarely without an Approved Suppliers List, and failure to produce one when requested by auditors can land the company in question in deep water. So, knowing there is now a requirement for vendor management and an approved suppliers list, the question arises as to where the responsibility and the accountability for vendor management reside within an organisation. Should the Purchasing department take responsibility and, if so, are they accountable? Does accountability always rest with the Quality department? The answer isn't as clear cut as might be hoped and companies conduct the task in different ways. What is clear is that the Accountable Manager is answerable to the regulatory authorities and must ensure that, through the Quality Department (an independent voice for the Accountable Manager), policies and procedures are put in place to ensure control over the business. In the case of vendor management, internal audits and supplier audits. Without these he has no control over the business. Any organisation that does not manage their vendors puts the Accountable Manager at risk. There is a distinction that must be made between vendor management and actual physical auditing of a supplier. The initial vendor requirement is determined by purchasing, who may send out the self-audit, the approval of this self-audit and addition to the approved supplier list is a function of Quality who will then add the supplier to the on-site audit schedule. It is the policing of the vendor where clear processes will ensure nothing is missed. Goods-in and shipping departments should be trained to look for signs of incorrect paperwork, deteriorating quality or attempts to ignore the requirements of the company, and be provided with the tools to communicate such misdemeanors to the Quality department for corrective action. Only by all departments working together for the benefit of the whole can it be ensured that nothing falls between the cracks. This can be achieved by having clearly defined procedures in place, and by having customized quality training for individual unit managers. This will make certain all short falls are detected, recorded and pursued with the vendor to keep their quality to the highest standard. Jackie Bailey-Tucker Approved 4 Business Ltd. www.approved4business.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg9hoAioPBrJW1f9Kfi79G6_0YnH49oNAhHxBDGDS3yvREtkXN1Gl1xYXbGPONWUQapyGVnz55M9s4czbawFoPSZuImVABhCfj8zkpPmwMln535dVup-c_05] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA: Plane crash kills 5 in New Jersey By Nicole Bliman, CNN February 15, 2010 9:49 p.m. EST STORY HIGHLIGHTS * The crash took place at Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall Township * The plane was a Cessna Skymaster 337, according to the FAA * Identities of the victims have not been released (CNN) -- Five people were killed Monday when a small plane crashed in Monmouth County, New Jersey, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said. All five victims were males, according to the Wall Township Police Department. Names and ages were not released, but the police department said the victims included the pilot, two adult passengers, a teenager and a younger boy. The crash at Monmouth Executive Airport -- formerly Allaire Airport -- in Wall Township was reported at 3:44 p.m. ET, according to Allison Duquette of the FAA. The plane was a Cessna Skymaster 337, according to the FAA. Witnesses told the Asbury Park Press newspaper that the plane appeared to be on a landing approach when the crash occurred. The airport is about 50 miles south of New York City, on the New Jersey coast. The area around the airport is sparsely populated and surrounded by highways, strip malls, and wooded areas. The FAA and NTSB will be handling the investigation. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cessna Skymaster Down In New Jersey Tue, 16 Feb '10 Witnesses Said Plane Came Apart Five people were reportedly killed Monday when a Cessna 337 Skymaster went down at Monmouth Executive Airport (KBLM) in New Jersey. A helicopter pilot who witnessed the accident said the airplane did a high-speed low pass of the runway, then rolled and impacted the ground. Other witnesses say they saw parts coming off the airplane before it went down, however their accounts describe different things. One witness who was sledding near the airport said she saw what she thought was a piece of the wing come off the aircraft, but another told a newspaper reporter she saw part of the tail come off the Skymaster. A third, the chef at the airport restaurant, said the airplane approached the runway from the north, but then "popped back up" and "it broke apart." Multiple media sources, including Fox television station WNYW and ABC News report that the aircraft had landed at the airport prior to the accident. The Skymaster was registered to Jack Air LLC in Delaware, but was reportedly based at Monmouth Executive. Screen Grab From Fox News Authorities recovered the bodies of three adult men, a teenager, and a young child from the wreckage of the plane. None have been identified pending notification of relatives. The incident is being investigated by the FAA and NTSB. FMI: www.ntsb.gov [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg_ZVHX2jh8WHsLI7WswM9jkFljW4vApzhw4tvFZ21Tauu94Q2tLRJacbE7_FtJkBsiAZlnlCqEOr12oSTzK4Nb55jjkSipjea8=], www.faa.gov [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg-CO7x1sGWvufuk301IL5yH-m1GyDWTzABMlfgx643M5jU728FZAmstG_nbyTVrxSaVXGhoL0wP6oNdPqfkHqrIxjtdh5pO1s4=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Date: 15-FEB-2010 Time: 4 pm Type: Cessna T337G Turbo Super Skymaster Operator: Jack Air LLC Registration: N12NA C/n / msn: P3370020 Fatalities: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Monmouth Executive Airport (KBLM), New Jersey - United States of America Phase: Approach Nature: Private Departure airport: Destination airport: KBLM Narrative: The aircraft was approaching the runway when something went wrong and the aircraft crashed upside down beside the runway. All five occupants reported killed. The aircraft was destroyed. According to witnesses, a part of the aircraft broke off and landed on the runway just before the aircraft crashed. (aviation-safety.net [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg8P_6k2tRfhnMArvuTxI7lNguewkcSYaS4lg4SKcuoGxwtDrKoqbNpf79sL-9mzneeA37Asqf-CHgthGMTiqHQnioAeTBG3eH_CxfLLjzstYw==]) Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bird Strike Forces Jet To Return To Ft. Lauderdale Ground workers point at the nose of a Spirit Airlines jetliner that returned to Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after a birds struck the plane's radome. The plane returned safely and nobody was hurt. A Spirit Airlines flight to New York returned to Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport on Monday after having a run in with a bird. Flight 758 took off from Ft. Lauderdale's airport at 11 a.m. A short time later a bird struck the weatherproof enclosure on the nose of the plane called the radome which protects the plane's radar, according to FAA. As a precaution the pilot returned to Ft. Lauderdale. After circling for 20 to 30 minutes to burn off fuel, the plane landed without incident. No one on board was injured and the plane appeared not be damaged. All of the passengers were put on another plane bound for La Guardia. The plane that was hit was inspected and put back into the flight mix later in the afternoon. Last year there were more than 25 hundred incidents of birds hitting planes in the U.S., most occurred near airports which provide lots of grass and a natural habitat, according to The Sun-Sentinel. In 2008, 19 bird strikes were recorded at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International. Source: The Sun-Sentinel Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg9cbSb02x3C2dzZfQ3A8bMjGHn6FoURfnUJhKInHM0UcxdNTwoNG3IBp_7QW6BYoL6FkJHh0ryrPw==] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Delta passengers receive luggage soaked in jet fuel posted by Dan Boniface Corey Rose DENVER - We've all had problems when it comes to airline baggage claim but this takes the cake. On Sunday, a group of friends were returning home from a vacation in Puerto Rico. Shortly after landing at Denver International Airport, they retrieved their bags to find out they had been drenched in jet fuel. Delta Airlines Representatives had them fill out a complaint and sent them home with their bags smelling of fumes. They told them to wash everything they could and for everything else submit a reimbursement form within 24 hours. "I'm not sure what to do with baggage that smells like jet fuel because to me that seems like a hazard and I should just dump it in my trash can. I don't really know how to handle it," Kathy Shoemaker, a Delta passenger, said. 9NEWS Aviation Expert, Greg Feith, says the contaminated luggage could be a serious fire hazard on the airplane, at the airport, and at the passengers' home. A Delta representative told the passengers the soaking probably happened on the ground in Puerto Rico, meaning the bags flew with them all the way to Denver. That didn't sit well with Kathy. "I don't think anyone wants luggage that's been soaked in fuel in the luggage compartment of their flight. I don't ever want to think that would ever happen again cause it seems to me there was enough luggage that was soaked that any kind of spark would have blown up our plane. " Feith says the possibility of fuel leaking from an aircraft fuel tank into the cargo pit during flight is virtually impossible. But he says the airline should always try to find the source of any fuel contamination. 9NEWS tried to contact Delta representatives for comment but our messages weren't returned. http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=132835&catid=339 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg_7kWOj6VL6k61XKE9M7TUROsTuiygy-R8nwKW4dO6-5w4rjIg0uKXT1yld80WdesKfUIb0hcS_hBLpjmX79ljx3IKvhL-NZHgks7rHTfanhiUCbzf7OT2EzCjebt2ui_Zg_fygqoskwF6gsaSZoiFh-5WCd-m-rPkNnIw04Qpw2w==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aviation body defends cabin crew cutbacks (Australia) The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says its move to reduce the number of cabin crew on aircraft will not compromise safety. It has changed the allowable ratio of flight attendants to passengers from 1:36 to 1:50. The air safety watchdog has been criticised by the flight attendants' union, which says passengers will be put at a greater risk in emergencies. But CASA spokesman Peter Gibson says the change is bringing Australia into line with other countries such as the US, Britain and New Zealand. "Cabin crew are obviously essential for emergency situations such as evacuations," he said. "The point here is that the manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus test their aircraft so they can be evacuated in the minimum amount of required time, with a ratio of 1:50. "That's an international standard; that's where Australia is going." http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/16/2821178.htm?section=justin [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg-nYnsZZ4DpVFz3znFUPmRiepCz5yQ152KsUdswXQaJiGvSltynDBIGwuiUPi7BMKKpZFTAwRUYAi9tT4ibHxJoG5-8sYncp8m-Vfqz56ZR4g36Yxt5lPtrTbsF7FWLovu1zGaAyQCg74rZFcOyk7LRyJ10Mwt8lt4bUgXdcpC4PoR0IGIWhbJ5IgrTj7e_McM=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Airport tells child to remove leg braces By Kate Schneider From: news.com.au February 16, 2010 12:39PM SECURITY officers at a US airport have come under fire for forcing a disabled boy to remove his leg braces and walk through a checkpoint. Four-year-old Ryan Thomas was flying from Philadelphia to Disney World in Orlando with his parents Bob and Leona when the incident occurred. At the time Ryan, born 16 weeks prematurely with malformed ankles and low muscle tone in his legs, had only just begun to walk. His parents wheeled his stroller to the security checkpoint then broke it down and put it on the conveyor belt. They then walked Ryan through the metal detector. The alarm went off and the screener told them to take off the boy's braces. "I told them he can't walk without them on his own," Bob Thomas told the Philadelphia News. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. Related Coverage "I said this is overkill. He's 4 years old. I don't think he's a terrorist." Security also demanded Ryan walk through on his own. Spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration Ann Davis said the boy should not have been told to remove his braces. Instead he should have been taken to a private screening area to be swabbed for traces of explosive materials. The family have received an apology. http://www.theaustralian.com.au [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg94bRirP3q4rNVEUQW60BB1wLE2RABfpd9hg1HPeQIHOhXl4ferK5v2BwHH-RrKogwWCnR8fXAGP2MbJw8ZpaTvwTb7VwhKmS_mwUdhqZOA9A==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Romney Assaulted on Flight Leaving Olympics passenger became "physically violent" when the former Massachusetts governor asked him to move his seat upright for take-off. Feb. 14: Mitt Romney and his wife Ann attend the short program figure skating pairs competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Mitt Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, was physically assaulted Monday by a fellow passenger on a flight from Vancouver, Canada, to Los Angeles. Romney, a 2008 presidential candidate, asked a passenger who was seated and reclining in front of his wife, Ann, to move his seat upright during take off. "The passenger became physically violent. Governor Romney did not retaliate, but instead let the airline crew respond to the incident." Said Romney Spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. Romney was not injured, but those familiar with the incident tell Fox News, "there was physical contact with Governor Romney." Ann Romney was not touched in the incident. The plane returned to the gate and the passenger was arrested by the police. The Romneys have been in Vancouver since Friday for the Olympic Games. Mitt Romney was the former president and CEO of the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Romneys were guests of honor at these games. There is speculation that Romney, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, is preparing for another bid in 2012. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/15/report-romney-threatened-flight-vancouver/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg84S8cbmGqeojipdY84LM3o0wBeoZoOO8EJCxmzMPVeywvzjRl4n3ZWs5J96smSmoZquaZlW8pJYZV7wQQeX0VHfZtxdypf0ozHvojhx7H7pNr_UPo5tJJEwDo20MgHhDUsI9PZ74ebsVGIMtNcNx97xw-36aDiUQZttn20b7wHfOeuDOE5nWid6W8MUpLLbubBbozeZrTfBA==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Man pulled off Lansing flight; panic attack suspected BY MATT HELMS FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER A man believed to have been suffering a panic attack on a jet as it awaited a flight from Lansing to Detroit Metro Airport on Sunday night had to be subdued by other passengers when he tried to exit the plane, an official said today. Joe Williams, a spokesman for Pinnacle Airlines, a regional jet operator based in Memphis, Tenn., with a hub at Metro Airport, said Pinnacle Flight 3679, operating as a connector flight for Delta Airlines, was delayed by 45 minutes because of weather, although exact reasons weren't immediately clear. While the plane was taxiing after the delay at Capitol Region International Airport, a male passenger "had what was described to me as a panic attack and tried to exit through the passenger door," Williams said. "But he was restrained by other passengers. The flight returned to the gate." Williams said no injuries were reported among the six passengers and three crew on the 50-seat plane. The man appears to have been detained but not arrested by local police at the Lansing airport. Williams said he had no additional information. Nicole Noll-Williams, spokeswoman for the Lansing airport, said she had no other details about the incident, which happened around 6:15 p.m. Sunday. Williams said the flight resumed and landed at Metro Airport around 9:15 p.m. http://www.freep.com/article/20100215/NEWS06/100215009/1318/Panic-suspected-in-flight-skirmish [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg-QupLpXsyzoSkT5jFyO5QJqKbOrzwOBgLaSBNKvpwDPvDqD_3_UrdG94_OPpIdi3CLEjdNdY6j3ylXYrX-2LAxO5_w8rjfDTArNKZgZRxwG9dJ1q5veY-1rGIPl9XAdXYRPLJpdDM4dQrJZm41207BTKJs3qxsByu0GcjqJeiYmdDRppMASA1eEAJo1DcQ0qpZppE3XXsF-4__jpE6pC8X] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Investigation: Runway safety at JFK Airport Friday, February 12, 2010 Jim Hoffer New York (WABC) -- Government inspections at New York's largest airport reveal serious safety problems. These runway hazards at JFK were uncovered by an Eyewitness News 4-month investigation. The FAA had earlier warned the Port Authority of possible enforcement action if safety deficiencies at JFK did not improve. Yet, our investigation has found problems with broken runway lights, poor signage, and inadequate training getting worse. Airport lights reflect a beautiful mosaic, but they are also critical to safety. In an analysis of documents, interviews, and undercover video, a portrait emerges of New York's largest airport, JFK struggling to keep up with maintenance. A video [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg-GCEwHKeS-Rdu659P8Xh6D7iBl9fgvYK_FTmW8dFT5tzYo8B69YGnvRYGNSj9XjG5eTWXrR5ck9_CIqzDqdfH891zELJuD0noe1Ee64IHKLH97i7PI-f9_HtAyyl8o40DyzqhUNfkrww==]shows a major taxiway where the green centerline lights suddenly end, leaving a quarter-mile stretch of darkness: "Those lights are there to guide the aircraft from point A to Point B," explained former JFK controller, Barrett Byrnes. The recently retired JFK air traffic controller says poor maintenance of airport lights and signs has been a problem for awhile and often leads to pilot confusion. "You would have 30-40 a night, pilots turning off stopping on exit or runway exit just stopping, because taxiway lights would end, so they'd be confused," said Byrnes. A look at JFK'S latest annual FAA inspection shows an unusually high number of safety deficiencies, 38 to be exact from taxiway and runway lights that "Need to be repaired", to runway markings painted in the wrong direction, to broken lenses, and lights that were OTS: out of service. "That to me is a real concern," said pilot and aviation attorney, Justin Green. "To have all these violations, all these problems with how the runways and taxiways are marked is a little surprising to me," said Green. For perspective, we obtained the latest FAA inspection report for O'Hare airport in Chicago. Although much larger than Kennedy, it had only 8 deficiencies, compared to Kennedy's 38. Perhaps most troubling in 2008, the F-A-A put the Port Authority on notice saying if problems are not corrected "Enforcement action may be necessary". Yet in the next inspection, deficiencies shot up by 60% and the FAA did nothing. "If your just going to pencil whip stuff and say you have errors but never really correct them, then you really have safety issues," said Barrett. Pilots getting lost on the runway can lead to deadly accidents. In 2006, at a Kentucky airport, 47 passengers were killed when a Delta commuter flight tried to take off on an unlit runway . In 2005 at JFK, a pilot of a jumbo jet filled with passengers got lost in fog and mistakenly crossed a runway as a cargo plane was lifting off. They missed colliding by just a few feet, the fear obvious in the pilot's voice. Pilot: "He's taking off." Controller: "Are you clear?" Pilot: "We are clear now of runway, we crossed the runway." Controller: "You crossed the runway?" Pilot: "We crossed the runway by mistake." On any night, let alone a foggy one, a stretch of taxiway unlit and dark can add an element of danger at an already busy and challenging airport like JFK. "Any confusion out on the runway or taxiway can ultimately lead to an accident," said Byrnes. http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/investigators&id=7272799 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103050957896&s=6053&e=001v_CB8COpKg8wFvjAgL6B-9LgunggkLdOO7_Znp0U8gEYMkIvRjNBgFWB5EHO60fG96r5jq61tmnQ6Nd7tvstr3CTt3lH6302CeefEChs83qjxgnQsjWWBqC2C9qlWvVPw1ZgBCuqUPO6S5PqW1-7GiRfjuJDKwtOx-Ef_cRD0zMkd9IrW3ivr9WzysWszl9i] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC