Flight Safety Information May 24, 2010 - No. 102 In This Issue NTSB Sending Team To Assist Indian Gov't With Air India Express Accident Air India Probe May Take Two Weeks to Unlock Fatal Crash Data Small jet makes emergency landing in Calif.... 'India needs to set up flight safety watchdog' Crashed Indian 737 touched down 'slightly' long NTSB asks for better bird-proofing Fine reportedly sought for Continental in Concorde crash Are Traditional "Black Boxes" Obsolete?... Africa needs to invest in aviation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB Sending Team To Assist Indian Gov't With Air India Express Accident 158 Reported Dead In Landing Accident The NTSB has dispatched a team of investigators to assist the government of India with its investigation of yesterday's airplane accident in Mangalore. At about 6:10 a.m. local time, Saturday, an Air India Express B737-800 (VT-AXV), overran the runway during landing at Mangalore International Airport. Preliminary reports indicate that 158 of the 166 passengers and crew onboard were fatally injured. Flight #182 originated in Dubai. NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman has designated Senior Air Safety Investigator Joe Sedor as the U.S. Accredited Representative. The U.S. team will also include an NTSB flight operations specialist, an NTSB aircraft systems specialist, and technical advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing. The team is expected to arrive in Mangalore on Tuesday morning (local time). The investigation is being conducted by India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which will release all information on the progress of the investigation. N ews reports indicate that one survivor of the accident reported that there was 'a loud bang,' and then the plane caught fire. Another said the airplane split in two, and he was able to jump out of the wreckage before an explosion set off a much larger fire. The pilot was reportedly a British citizen with over 10,000 hours, which included 26 landings at the Bajpe Airport about 19 miles from Mangalore. The Indian co-pilot reportedly had 66 landings there amongst his 3,750 hours. The runway, which sits on top of a mesa and has a steep drop into a valley, is 8,000 feet long, and has a spillover area of about 300 feet constructed of sand designed to stop or slow a plane which overshoots the runway. FMI: www.ntsb.gov Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Air India Probe May Take Two Weeks to Unlock Fatal Crash Data May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Investigators may spend as long as two weeks analyzing data before they can say what caused India's deadliest air disaster in 14 years. The fire-damaged cockpit voice recorder recovered from the hillside crash site yesterday should yield the necessary clues, the government said in a statement. The aviation regulator will seek to determine how a 2-1/2 year old Air India Express Boeing Co. 737-800 flown by experienced pilots overshot the runway and burst into flames, killing 158 passengers and crew. Air travel has doubled in the past six years as rising disposable incomes in the world's second-fastest growing major economy encourage people to shun trains and take a plane for long-distance journeys. The government plans to spend as much as $2.6 billion on modernizing the nation's airports and aviation infrastructure, including 35 facilities in smaller cities. "Before clearing aircraft orders, we need to think whether we have the infrastructure," said A. Ranganathan, a Chennai, south India-based aviation consultant and a former commercial pilot. "Proper planning is required for infrastructure development." India needs 1,030 aircraft worth $138 billion over the next 20 years, and will be the fastest-growing air travel market for the next decade, Airbus SAS, the world's largest planemaker, said in March. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said the same month that India needs to more than quadruple the number of airports from the current 90 to meet the increased traffic. Traffic Jumps Domestic air traffic in India jumped to more than 35 million passengers in the year ended in March 2009 from less than 15 million six years ago, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Seven carriers operate 11 different brands in India, compared with four airlines in 2003, it said. "When you have such high levels of growth, it creates enormous stress on the system," said Peter Harbison, chairman of the industry consultancy. "It is going to be a big issue for India because the traffic potential is so vast." India's airports reported as many as 70 "near misses" in the last three years, according to minister Patel. The reasons include "co-ordination failures" and stress and fatigue due to heavy traffic, he told Parliament in March. Flight IX-812 from Dubai to Mangalore crashed at about 6:05 a.m. on May 22. All the bodies of the dead have been removed from the wreckage of the Boeing 737-800, Harpreet Singh, Air India's emergency response coordinator, said yesterday in Mumbai. Of those, 87 have been identified. There were eight survivors. Investigators from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation are leading the probe into the crash. Refinance Loans National Aviation Co. of India Ltd., Air India's owner, is seeking to raise as much as $1.15 billion to refinance loans that funded the purchase of 21 Airbus SAS planes. The accident was the worst in India in 14 years, according to the Aviation Safety Network website. Houston, Texas-based disaster management company Kenyon International Emergency Services has been asked to assist in the rescue operation, Air India's Singh said. The airline will also conduct an internal inquiry. The airline and India's aviation regulator have declined to comment on what may have caused the accident. Since India's last major air disaster in 2000, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd., SpiceJet Ltd., IndiGo, GoAirlines (India) Pvt. and Paramount Airways Ltd. have started services, as the world's fastest expanding major economy after China saw demand surge. Technical Assistance Boeing is sending a team to provide technical assistance to the investigation at the invitation of Indian authorities, the Chicago-based manufacturer said in a statement. Air India said the crashed 737 was about 2 1/2 years old. Both pilots were experienced and had flown into Mangalore together on May 17, Air India's director for personnel, Anup Srivastava, told reporters in Mumbai May 22. The civil aviation ministry said in a statement the plane had landed "slightly beyond" the runway's "touchdown" zone at a time when visibility was about six kilometers (four miles). Both the pilots were "well rested" before the flight, Air India Chairman and Managing Director Arvind Jadhav said yesterday in Mangalore. The crash on May 22 was the worst in India since a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided with a Kazakhstan Airlines jet in November, 1996, killing all 349 on board. In the South Asian country's last major air disaster, a Boeing 737-200 crashed into a residential area while approaching Patna airport in the eastern Bihar in July 2000. International air travel has rebounded from last year's slump as the global economy expanded. Indian airlines carried 16.82 million passengers between January and April this year, 22 percent more than a year earlier, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Small jet makes emergency landing in Calif. ONTARIO, Calif.(AP) - A small jet carrying 24 passengers from San Francisco made an emergency landing at a Southern California airport after its front landing gear failed to deploy. Ontario International Airport spokesman Harold Johnson says nobody was hurt Sunday when the SkyWest Airlines aircraft was forced to land with its nose gear up. Three crew members were on board. Johnson says the jet is a Bombardier-manufactured CL601R, which seats about 50 people. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'India needs to set up flight safety watchdog' MUMBAI: How independent can an air crash investigation be if it is carried out by the same agency whose job is to prevent the accident? That is the question Air Passengers' Association of India, a consumer rights body, is asking. "A court of inquiry should be appointed which is independent and not under the purview of any government body, leave alone the ministry of civil aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)," said Sudhakara Reddy, president of APAI. The government had appointed a court of inquiry after A-320 Bangalore crash in 1990. "It revealed truths about the fly-by-wire aircraft and how cockpit crew were managing change in technology. Justice (retd) Shiv Shanker Bhatt was appointed commissioner of inquiry and APAI impleaded as one of the respondents," he added. In India, air accidents or incidents are investigated by the DGCA, the regulatory authority. The team inquiring into the AI Express crash will comprise top officials from the DGCA and officials from aircraft manufacturer Boeing and US' National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), who will be providing technical assistance. For long, aviation observers have demanded an independent investigation authority, like the NTSB. It's an independent body which investigates aircrashes in US. In fact, it puts Federal Aviation Administration under the scanner for failing to prevent the accident. "In India, the Commission of Railway Safety, which looks into rail accidents for the sake of impartiality, is part of the ministry of civil aviation. The aviation industry, too, should have an independent body for its accident investigations," said a senior commander. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India-needs-to-set-up-flight-safety-watchdog/articleshow/5966647.cms Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Crashed Indian 737 touched down 'slightly' long: ministry Indian authorities have recovered the cockpit-voice recorder of an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 that crashed in southern India on 22 May, but are still searching for the flight-data recorder. The CVR "is expected to yield the desired information" even though it was burnt in the crash, says India's civil aviation ministry. Analysis of the CVR and other records will take about a fortnight, says the ministry, which has started an inquiry into the incident. An Air India team will assist India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation with the inquiry. The 737-800, registration VT-AXV, crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore International Airport in the southern state of Karnataka after it overshot the runway while landing. There were 160 passengers and six crew members on the aircraft, which had departed from Dubai. Only eight people survived the crash, says the ministry. "[The] aircraft touched down at runway 24 slightly beyond the touchdown zone, overshot the runway and went in the valley beyond the runway," says the ministry. Landing clearance was given by air traffic controllers at about four miles from touchdown, it adds. The 737-800 was acquired in the last quarter of 2007 and "had no history of defects and malfunction", says the ministry. Weather conditions at the time of landing were "normal", it adds. Visibility was 6km, there were calm winds and it was not raining. The flight's captain had 10,200 hours of flying experience and had last flown from Mangalore in November 2009, says the ministry. The co-pilot was based at Mangalore and had 3,650 hours of flying experience, of which 3,350 hours were on 737 aircraft, it adds. Both flight crew died in the incident. Authorities say the instrument landing system at the runway was "operating normally" at the time of the incident. "No problem was reported by the pilot," says the ministry. Mangalore's 2,450m-long runway has a runway end safety area of 90m. "This runway was commissioned in 2006 and remained operational since then," says the ministry. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103430386858&s=6053&e=001rIGGLa57miYoS9qB4Gq5pyhwez-l5O0ulmO3ySCzfIgZGzY1kZTvblP9bA2IOCDRvutsKXmnGooCUSxlIJNwthUX85c1VgyS] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB asks for better bird-proofing Recommendations for new engine certification procedures, emergency checklists, aircraft equipage and pilot training are included the 34 safety recommendations the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued to the FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency and others as a result of the investigation of US Airways Flight 1549. All 155 passengers and crew survived the 15 January 2009 ditching of the Airbus A320 in the Hudson River after the CFM56-powered twinjet struck a flock of Canada geese less than two minutes after departure from LaGuardia airport, a result the NTSB attributed to decision-making and crew resource management skills of the crew and availability of forward slide rafts on the aircraft. Despite the success of ditching an aircraft that could not remain aloft due to severe core damage in both engines from ingesting an 8lb bird in each powerplant, NTSB believes FAA's ditching certification lacks guidance for pilots to determine "ditching parameters without engine thrust". The board says that lack of information, coupled with no industry standard for flight crew training and guidance on ditching techniques contributed to rear fuselage damage that prevented use of rear slides/rafts on the Airbus narrowbody. Passengers evacuated into the forward rafts and the wing surfaces until help arrived. The NTSB says that if passengers had been forced into the water there would likely have been "serious injuries and/or fatalities" due to the low temperature. US Airways was not required to use an aircraft with rafts for the route, a turn of events the NTSB called "fortuitous". As such, the NTSB is recommending that the FAA require all airline and air taxi operators to provide floatation seat cushions and life vests for all occupants, regardless of route. For engine certification, the NTSB, among other actions, is requesting a change to engine speed from 100% fan speed to the lowest expected fan speed for the small and medium flocking bird ingestion certification test, a change that will expose the engine to a larger amount of bird material. The NTSB is also asking FAA to re-evaluate whether only engines with an inlet size of 2.5m2 (27ft2) or greater, an inlet size larger than the CFM56 inlet, should be required to undergo certification testing for large birds. The FAA will have to require airframers to develop checklists and procedures for dual engine failures at low altitudes, an aid that is currently not available. In addition to working with NASA to develop "technology capable of informing pilots about the continuing operational status of an engine" and requiring the installation of the resultant products on all FADEC-equipped transport aircraft, the NTSB wants the FAA to work with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to "develop and implement innovative technologies that can be installed on aircraft that would reduce the likelihood of a bird strike". The USDA has been investigating whether the effects of pulsating lights, lasers and other methods that could be used to repel birds. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fine reportedly sought for Continental in Concorde crash News agency Reuters is reporting that prosecutors involved in litigation related to the July 2000 Air France BAC-Aerospatiale Concorde crash are seeking a fine for Continental Airlines. The proposed fine is ?175,000 ($218,000), according to the reports. Investigators have previously said a titanium strip that detached from a Continental McDonnell Douglas DC-10 that took off from the same runway prior to the accident aircraft caused a tyre to burst on the Concorde, which led to a fuel tank breach and resulting fire. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Are Traditional "Black Boxes" Obsolete? Canada's Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. has created TerraStar, a real-time in-flight safety monitoring system that could make the post-crash search for cockpit voice and flight data recorders -- as well as some crashes -- obsolete. TerraStar tracks, and can continuously encrypt and transmit to ground-based monitoring systems, up to 18,000-plus aircraft parameters per minute. The system filters "out of spec" indications as "alert notifications," which are prioritized in remote aircraft monitoring data feeds that can be accessed in real time, online. In practice, that means that operators on the ground could know about problems with an aircraft before the plane's pilots, or (in the case of distracted or incapacitated pilots) air traffic controllers observe any symptoms. The company believes that capability could not only vastly improve scheduling and maintenance, but also provide operators with the necessary data to break some accident chains before the crash. And, in the case of Air France 447 and the recent Air India crash, it could have provided more information to investigators, immediately, says the company. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Africa needs to invest in aviation THE report about the plane crash into Lake Victoria of the Russian Ilyushin shortly after take-off from Entebbe on March 9 (The New Vision of March 29) raises the issue of Africa's air safety record. The fact that Africa's aviation safety record is the worst in the world compared to other regions is no secret. For example, despite 2009 recording the lowest levels of crashes globally, Africa's rate of accidents increased from 2.12 to 9.94 accidents per 1.4 million flights compared to the global rate that stood at one accident for every 1.4 million flights. The reason for the increased air accidents in Africa is the use of ageing aircrafts, lack of maintenance and technical faults. Take for example the crash of the Airbus A310-300 belonging to Yemen in June 2009. The flight was on its way from Sanaa to Moroni when it crashed in the Indian Ocean with more than 150 people on board. The crashed aircraft had been cited for technical faults earlier, according to France transport minister Dominique Bussereau, and "banned" from French airspace. However, it could still fly over African airspace. Also according to a United Nations report, the average age of an aircraft in Africa is 20 years as opposed to 10 years for the rest of the world. Added to that is the fact that a significant number of Africa's airports do not meet ICAO (International Civil Aviation Authority) standards and recommended practices. Runways, taxiways, parking spaces, passenger and freight terminals are in such a poor condition that they require a major rehabilitation and upgrading. What is the solution? African states need to establish effective safety oversight systems. This includes qualified staff to exercise safety oversight in accordance with international standards. More money also needs to be invested in aviation infrastructure including buying more modern aircrafts and getting rid of ageing aircrafts. Operating regulations aligned to international standards need to be put in place and strictly adhered to. As a last resort, there may be need to blacklist or ban aircrafts that do not meet safety requirements from operation. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/720454 Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC