Flight Safety Information

March 22, 2010  No.059

In This Issue

Airplane crashes near Moscow-report
NTSB seeks better communications after NWA
FAA plan charts modernization through 2018
Carry-On Baggage Endangers
Eurocontrol Launches Aircraft Identification Program

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Airplane crashes near Moscow-report


Example of TU-204

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 09:56:00 03/22/2010
Filed Under: Accidents
(general),
Air Transport
MOSCOW, Russia-An airplane with eight crew on board crashed down not far
from Moscow's Domodedovo international airport, Russian news agencies reported
Monday quoting airport officials.
The Tu-204 aircraft was bound from Egypt, officials quoted by
Interfax said, adding that it was not immediately clear how many of its
crewmembers survived.
The RIA Novosti news agency quoted a police source as saying that the
airplane made an emergency landing.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103219993073&s=6053&e=0016e8jyU09LT5ufCBQXSkir09R8mzfd_q_UkVYKVByjTa6837nqwVNsmQ52Qd1e3TBxJ5ukv7A5yXXSzjhbvmf1bYcNAVt7VtuC4T0trpSP_jAroZx-vcY5JP7H9yB1nSTLoygaDvT6DbZ24YySttP-rXG2w2Do4JLsKzLuArnVgI7YHxbfzlTObSzTEgQy7CgJtQKAABtXvPOqrZOwxwzfKnvnhucli2OW63e3Bekk8M=]
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NTSB seeks better communications after NWA mishap
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 21, 2010 | 12:25 a.m.
Federal safety officials recommended
Thursday that better communications procedures be adopted in the wake of a
fatal Montana plane crash and a Northwest Airlines flight that overshot the
Minneapolis airport by more than 100 miles last year.
The National Transportation Safety
Board issued its recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration, which
runs the nation's air traffic control system. The report comes after the board
investigated the Northwest flight, whose pilots failed to talk to air traffic
controllers for more than an hour, and the Montana crash that killed 14 people.
One recommendation called for
controllers to better document their communication with pilots to ensure that
critical information gets passed from one controller to another. The board also
said controllers should always begin transmissions on emergency frequencies by
saying "on guard." Although a common practice, the phrasing isn't
required.
Doug Church, a spokesman for the
National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said the union declined immediate
comment because officials had not had a chance to closely review the report.
The pilots of Northwest Flight 188
failed to communicate with controllers for about 77 minutes before discovering
they were over Wisconsin in October. The pilots, whose licenses were revoked,
said they became distracted while working on laptop computers.
Although the NTSB officially ruled
Thursday that the probable cause of the incident was "the flight crew's
failure to monitor the airplane's radio and instruments," it found room
for improvement on the ground.
The crew lost contact when a
controller in Denver told them to change frequencies as the plane moved into
different airspace. The handoff came during a shift change, and the plane's
crew failed to contact controllers on the new frequency. A Minneapolis controller
tried unsuccessfully to contact the plane on the emergency frequency.
Both the Denver and Minneapolis
control facilities used automated systems to track and hand off flights between
controllers, but they weren't required to document that the flight crew had
been told _ but failed _ to contact the next sector, the NTSB report said.
Had a standardized procedure been in
place, the controller who was coming on duty likely would have quickly
discovered that the plane was out of radio contact, the report said. It also
suggested that an explicit identification of emergency transmissions may have
broken the pilots' distraction.
In the Montana crash, the report
said documentation procedure deficiencies likely did not cause the accident but
the investigation indicated that controllers were not documenting _ and thus
not ensuring _ that pilots obtained critical weather and safety information for
destination airports. There was a controller shift change during the incident.
The private flight from Oroville,
Calif., was destined for Bozeman but the pilot requested clearance to divert to
Butte. The NTSB hasn't determined why the pilot wanted to divert or why the
Pilatus PC-12/45 crashed into a cemetery near the Butte airport's runway on
March 22, 2009. The preliminary accident report indicates weather conditions at
both airports were satisfactory.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/21/ntsb-seeks-better-communications-after-nwa-mishap
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103219993073&s=6053&e=0016e8jyU09LT6ikT7MwmSKzkd2F05MAdiqgi32OzYcbessEAedvXJJeHBg-98SFD-htZY1UWXMOiXqSXzoSvvHP7KViH5Oif_Ta-yvzBFlhLPTnb5yb0MU6usFp3pqK2YVAEE7I5z4pcAFczEgo70vRpWJSDtlwdc6UCWgOZpKd-C5dYC11ZV8jTxT_SHuWYWfDvknE8ij0PkAK1Goz1Gjgg==]/
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FAA plan charts modernization through 2018
21-Mar-2010
By Sarah Brown
The FAA released its updated implementation plan for the transition to a
modernized air transportation system March 8. The plan outlines how the agency
will act on recommendations from industry and continue to expand
satellite-based navigation and surveillance.
The 2010 NextGen Implementation Plan includes increased access to non-radar
airspace and small airports, recommendations for which AOPA advocated during
its participation in a government-industry NextGen task force. The association
has emphasized the importance of providing near-term benefits for general
aviation as the FAA builds the foundation for mid-term improvements.
In the plan, which projects the FAA's intentions through 2018, the FAA cites
testimony from AOPA President Craig Fuller before the House aviation
subcommittee in October 2009. "In order to work, NextGen will require the
implementation of new technology, both in terms of cockpit equipage and
infrastructure. General aviation pilots have always been quick to adopt new
technology, particularly when the safety and utility of that technology is
evident," Fuller said.
Infrastructure and procedures implemented over the past year have laid some
groundwork for pilots to benefit from NextGen technology. Over the past year,
the FAA developed more than 500 LPV approaches--satellite-based precision-like
approaches enabled by Wide Area Augmentation System. There are now nearly 1,100
LPV procedures available at runways where no ILS is present. In addition, there
are now more than 90 Q and T routes (low-altitude RNAV routes) in the United
States.
Moving forward, the FAA said it will increase its workforce and continue to
deploy LPV approaches at a rate of at least 300 per year. It also said it will
provide radar-like services for non-radar airspace at low altitudes using
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). From 2010 to 2013, the FAA
will continue to deploy ADS-B ground infrastructure while exploring state and
local cost-sharing partnerships. In 2011, it will pursue an expansion of the
ADS-B program. ADS-B will be an important part of the modernization process,
and the FAA is expected to release the final rule this spring about a mandate
for equipage with the technology.
Throughout the planning process, AOPA has advocated for making the most of
existing capabilities in the airspace system. Modernization plans should make
the most of equipment that already exists in today's cockpit, and new
technology should build on established equipment, policies, and procedures,
said AOPA senior director of airspace and modernization Heidi Williams. "We
cannot afford to equip aircraft if the proper tools are not in place to realize
the benefits of our investments."
The implementation plan describes leveraging existing capabilities by continuing
the transition from conventional instrument flight operations to those based on
performance based navigation, which includes Area Navigation (RNAV) and
Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures. Many aircraft are already
RNAV equipped.
AOPA remains committed to working with the FAA and industry to ensure that
NextGen remains affordable for GA users and provides safety and efficiency
benefits at a reasonable cost.
http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=6281 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103219993073&s=6053&e=0016e8jyU09LT73RRQoUKBXi4C6r-ypZ5Kx6eXY5ur00VQScaozxht41Itb17a1P5392fduUF1sIfjIwwmS5-jrGTHwRHH-EgFh-X2RROBAqy07cJi_2SOtScqPvPkoNN_lOZq0e75qXMe3xnsIn6drWq-YsQevTn4M]
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Carry-On Baggage Endangers
The (AFA) has released the results of a recent membership survey in which one out
of two flight attendants witnessed carry-on items falling from overhead bins in
the previous 60 days. The union says the survey validates anecdotal reports
that carry-on baggage is "out of control" and mostly the result of new fees on
check luggage.
"We now have compelling evidence that flight attendants and passengers are
being injured by excess amounts of oversized carry-on items," said Patricia
Friend, AFA president. "AFA has been urging Congress, government agencies, and
carriers to establish reasonable carry-on limitations that will improve the
overall safety, health and security of crew and passengers inside the aircraft
cabin. These limits will reduce injuries and distractions caused by
carry-ons and allow flight attendants to devote more attention to the critical
task of ensuring the safest and most secure flight possible."
According to the survey, over 80 percent of flight attendants sustained
injuries over the past year due to dealing with carry-ons in overhead bins. The
most common injury being strained and pulled muscles in the neck, arms and
upper back. The survey was compiled from a representative sample of the 50,000
AFA members at 22 U.S. airlines.
Currently, there is a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that
offers to set one standard for all bags carried on board U.S. commercial
aircraft. The Securing Carry-On Baggage Act, H.R. 2870, would create a
universal size for carry-on bags, instead of allowing each carrier to determine
its own size requirements and requires the Transportation Security
Administration to enforce the rules.
http://www.aviationtoday.com/asw/topstories/Carry-On-Baggage-Endangers_67166.html
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103219993073&s=6053&e=0016e8jyU09LT6GdGoY9KAJXcKTyNab-75vkX6MnoPOvKQFcZbsS8Ac2rhhvdTBZPThg1vPXViPQenpIGpumBYL_NHaCksMGp1GBLqx-0vwnwj2oBd4jhLOdkP8T35C5o2TjkmdWh-eV0mK-WUl82QoNo7eRIZIp87QCHLuaV9-cd1cy2zAb1KZmJ9f3ZzdZ0mL]
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Eurocontrol Launches Aircraft Identification Program has initiated an Aircraft
Identification Program to assign a unique identifier to all flights to be used
continually by Feb. 9, 2012.
According to the agency, the shortage of available secondary surveillance radar
(SSR) codes has been causing increasing problems for individual air-traffic
control units and for the European air-traffic management system as a whole.
The shortage causes code conflicts with potential loss of identification, or
frequent changes of SSR codes.
To reach the target date of 2012, the program will implement the operational
use of Mode S Elementary Surveillance (ELS) and the Centralized Code Assignment
and Management System within their respective airspace regions. To support
these developments, a reform of the Originating Region Code Assignment Method (ORCAM)
will also be implemented, Eurocontrol said.
"Direct recognition of an aircraft's identity on radar displays is a
fundamental need of a modern air-traffic control system. The Aircraft
Identification Program will ensure that this vital yet complex part of the
European network will work seamlessly across the region, eliminating the
shortcomings of the current ORCAM and bringing ELS into full operational
use," stated Thierry Liabastres, chairman of the program's Steering Group.
http://www.aviationtoday.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103219993073&s=6053&e=0016e8jyU09LT6qXHUk8zgcGKfyRn3-UyxMXb3Up_9M4rHczOsWjoZM5uWVi-PjhKFIg9BBsrsPNMDJrjwQBHPwpnKjygOBB63vvpqrOSo4NY_46Xf3QO7xIOZUVzFCzTZIeWbyH6C7o1H0Y0hp0Kz2IZyYuW_Az65YiIFVVY6Rjc_NACip9AqhSMBwM_t2eGmUIKikln4DWOSW1yAMAhh-u8fejKGKHU_zHyKsz4hZNw0=]
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Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP
CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC