Flight Safety Information July 12, 2010 - No. 136 In This Issue French jet lands after bomb threat. Human body found on Saudi plane tyre Jet lands at RDU to boot family off FAA Pulled Ocala's Part 139 Certificate For Months Due To Violations FAA Issues Cockpit-Window Safety Mandates Indian DGCA misses own deadline on Mangalore crash report Putin pressures Aeroflot to take Russian-built aircraft Firefighters tackling cargo blaze at Heathrow EU ratchets up safety checks on Air Algerie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ French jet lands after bomb threat (UKPA) An Air France passenger jet from Rio to Paris that made an emergency landing in north-eastern Brazil with 405 passengers aboard due to a bomb threat is back in service after no explosive was found on board. The delay in the plane's departure from the north-eastern city of Recife was necessary because regulations require that the crew receive a certain amount of rest, an Air France spokesman in Brazil said. Solange Argenta, a spokeswoman with the Brazilian government's airport authority, Infraero, said authorities inspected the plane and its luggage "and no explosive was found". All 405 passengers and 18 crew members were safely evacuated from Air France Flight 443 on Saturday night, said Infraero spokesman Jorge Andrade. The bomb threat was phoned in to Rio's international airport by a female voice about 30 minutes after the plane took off, the Air France spokesman said. The control tower contacted the jet and the decision was made to land in Recife, he said. In Paris, Air France spokesman Jerome N'Guyen confirmed a full inspection of the plane had been completed and nothing suspicious had been found. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Human body found on Saudi plane tyre JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) - Airport workers in Riyadh found a human body on the landing gear of a flight from Beirut early Saturday, after a man apparently tried to hitch a ride on the Saudi-owned Nas Air jet, aviation authorities said. The body was discovered when a maintenance worker went to inspect the right rear landing gear of the Airbus 320 after it landed at Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport on the flight from Lebanon, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement. "When approaching the aircraft he discovered the body of a person who had tried to hide in the wheel bay while the plane took off from Beirut International Airport," the Jeddah-based authority said. The unidentified body was sent to forensic medical experts for further examination, they said. Nas Air flight XY 720 took off from Beirut airport late Friday and landed Saturday morning in the Saudi capital. "A man who has not yet been identified somehow managed to grab hold of a (wheel) of the jet in Beirut without the control tower noticing before takeoff," a Lebanon airport official told AFP. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said passengers on the plane reported seeing a man in a baseball cap with a backpack make a dash for plane as it prepared to taxi. He stumbled once and then continued towards the plane. "The passengers and flight attendants informed the pilot, but he did not take any action and continued takeoff without informing the Beirut control tower" that anything was amiss, according to the NNA. In Riyadh, Nas Air declined to comment on the report. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jet lands at RDU to boot family off RALEIGH -- An intoxicated passenger who became unruly when flight attendants cut her off caused a Southwest airline flight to make an impromptu landing Saturday night atRaleigh-Durham International Airport to boot her off, an RDU official said. The woman, her husband and daughter boarded Southwest 1924 in Orlando and were bound for Providence, R.I., when she became too much for attendants to handle. The flight landed at RDU about 8:30 p.m., and the family was escorted off the plane, said Bob Rogers, who works in airport operations. The plane left for Providence about 30 minutes later. Rogers said the family would be booked on a later flight. http://www.newsobserver.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103558344514&s=6053&e=001pyEa_qDQktw5CStf_DszhmusuFAePZUG18df7iTeeCmSlt4mMV9Nf2m0nbayX35HhCNakKbDISbQLPO0M_kaWcSqJcHuQcBCyohqvzg9hxTzW6rWgFwnpw==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA Pulled Ocala's Part 139 Certificate For Months Due To Violations City Government, Public Were Not Notified For a period of time earlier this year, Ocala International Airport (KOCF) in central Florida was operating without an Airport Operating Certificate allowing part 139 operations. The FAA pulled the ticket when it found numerous safety violations ranging from inoperable taxiway edge lighting and faded hold position signs to failure to address wildlife hazards and depressions in one of the airport's runways. But airport management, and the city manager, failed to notify the city government, and the airport ran without its Part 139 operating certificate from February 17th to June 25. The airport avoided problems during that period because not a single Part 139 flight, an unscheduled aircraft with at least 31 passenger seats operating for hire, attempted to land or take off from the airport during that time. The issue was finally brought up on a City Council agenda on July 6th. The Ocala Star-Banner reports that a written statement from City Manager Ricky Horst appeared on the agenda informing the council that the violations had been addressed. The council's reaction was "what violations?" No regularly-scheduled airlines serve the airport, and GA was not affected by the ruling from the FAA, so the issue literally slipped under the radar. Assistant City Manger of development Services John Zoblar told the paper that there were only two Part 139 flights at KOCF last year. Council members seemed to be mostly forgiving of the oversight. Most said that while they should have been informed, it wasn't a major concern. However one, John Priester, said he thought Horst had deliberately covered up the problem. Most wondered how it escaped attention when the airport's new control tower opened May 17th. The City of Ocala is working hard to develop the airport property with new roads and other infrastructure, and it is considered a key to the city's overall redevelopment efforts. FMI: www.ocalafl.org Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA Issues Cockpit-Window Safety Mandates By ANDY PASZTOR Federal air-safety regulators ordered stepped-up inspections or replacement of certain cockpit windows that-since the 1980s-have caused at least 11 fires or smoke incidents on widely-used Boeing Co. jet models. The directive, made public Friday by the Federal Aviation Administration, affects more than 1,200 jets manufactured by Boeing and flown by U.S. airlines. It covers Boeing 757, 767 and 777 models, all of which have similar window-heater designs prone to electrical shorts or other malfunctions that can lead to smoke or fire. Hundreds of Boeing jets operated by foreign carriers eventually are expected to be subject to the same rules. The agency also said it plans to mandate similar enhanced maintenance procedures for Boeing 747 jumbo jets. Originally proposed more than a year ago, the move had been widely anticipated since the FAA's announcement earlier this year that it was speeding up work on the directive. Some airlines already have voluntarily shortened inspection intervals for the suspect parts, while AMR Corp.'s American Airlines is close to finishing voluntary replacement of certain cockpit windows on a large portion of its overall fleet. The latest FAA order, however, doesn't go as far as some pilot groups advocated in mandating swift, across-the-board replacement of certain cockpit windows. The heating systems are used to prevent ice from building up on cockpit windows. Earlier Fire Hazard in Some Boeing Jets Prompts Concern (06/20/10) Worries Emerge on Boeing Cockpit-Oxygen Systems (06/20/10) The safety issue moved back into the public spotlight after a United Airlines Boeing 757 was forced to make an emergency landing in May at Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C. after a window-heating element malfunctioned and caused a fire in the cockpit. Boeing in the past has identified more than two dozen smoke or fire incidents traced to defective or malfunctioning cockpit window heating systems. The latest FAA directive covers only forward-looking cockpit windows, not side cockpit windows. Boeing has issued a string of service bulletins warning airlines about the hazards, and urging various changes in inspection procedures. http://online.wsj.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103558344514&s=6053&e=001pyEa_qDQktyIOdNBV8KrjbWqzGGFxE_sf7NK4jMabxI26F9R_bcBVh103BMPc16FrgvEdjcsMtzI9O92y_yQYeo3HFXt5jPjOoTV225ZZy7xzDVFlOdegQ==] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103558344514&s=6053&e=001pyEa_qDQktyKPsY2MKIC63ViK4HkO7qSTyRyhh08febKVgRuUkkfomE65oBuUL3u7CuIoMXOCVi1ZOQ8-pKPxRqS23qSxJCP] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Indian DGCA misses own deadline on Mangalore crash report MUMBAI: What happens when Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials violate their own rules? Nothing. It's been over a month and a half after Mangalore air crash and no preliminary investigation report has been released yet, though the country has a rule that puts a 10-day deadline for filing one. Little wonder, then that the rule concerning accident/incident investigation is hardly known in the aviation industry as it has almost always been violated. According to Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 5 (Air Safety), Series C, Part I issued on 13 October 2006, "preliminary report by the inspector of accidents/inquiry officer should be finalized within 10 days of the accident." The CAR says the preliminary report should be in the format provided by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Going by CAR, the deadline for submitting the preliminary investigation report for the May 22 Air India Express Mangalore aircrash was June 2. On Friday, S N Dwivedi, secretary to the court of inquiry formed to investigate the Mangalore air tragedy, who is also director of airworthiness, DGCA, said the information uploaded on the ministry of civil aviation's website under the title "initial investigation report" was not the preliminary investigation report. "It was only put up to keep the public informed about the progress of the investigation," he said. It is not known when the country will see a preliminary report on Mangalore tragedy. There is a strong reason why ICAO puts an early deadline for such a report. "The preliminary report should say whether any safety hazard, either human factor, aircraft factor and/or any other relevant factor is prima facie evident during the early stages of investigation," says the 2006 DGCA CAR. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103558344514&s=6053&e=001pyEa_qDQktz7Z8aZ75NW2x72F0hGj7yADUU16I80vVuSk2u8161xjb_UQ9IfZu8mB0ZoaJmzhnYPiEcgzfHiSL7zFu5nH1EhZTU71FoB5UBLrTMwt0d88p31IkwPHIwr] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Putin pressures Aeroflot to take Russian-built aircraft Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has put pressure on flag-carrier Aeroflot to acquire domestically-built aircraft during the renewal of its expanding fleet. During a meeting Putin told Aeroflot chief Vitaly Savelyev that it was unacceptable for the flag-carrier, with its aim to dominate the Russian market, not to support its own country's aircraft industry. Aeroflot is taking over management control of six other Russian airlines, including Rossiya and Vladivostok Avia, and is turning its attention to modernising their aircraft. Putin has questioned Aeroflot chief Vitaly Savelyev over the process, who told the prime minister that the fleets of the six carriers was "severely outdated" and needs renovation and "unification". Just six aircraft in Aeroflot's mainline fleet, all Ilyushin Il-96s, were Russian-built, he said, although he added that the jets - which had just undergone heavy maintenance over the winter - were "profitable". Savelyev stated that the rest of Aeroflot's fleet - comprising 11 Boeing 767s, 10 Airbus A330s and another 64 A320-family aircraft - were imported, added that the airline was also acquiring 22 Boeing 787s and 22 Airbus 350s. He told Putin that Aeroflot's strategy was to take first place in the Russian market and "occupy a dominant position at home". But Putin wanted to understand the extent to which Aeroflot would purchase Russian-built aircraft, countering: "You want todominate the domestic market, but do not want to buy domestic equipment. That will not do." Savelyev pointed out that Aeroflot was a customer for 30 Sukhoi Superjets, and had signed a lease agreement covering 10 of these. He added that Aeroflot was working with Rostekhnologii and, under a memorandum between the two companies, was formulating a marketing strategy to determine how many aircraft were needed to modernise the carriers being consolidated. Putin mentioned the United Aircraft MS-21 project, as an example of upcoming Russian-built aircraft, and told Savelyev: "The modernisation of the fleet should still focus primarily on domestic equipment." Savelyev said that Rossiya would be acquiring Boeing 737-800s through industrial firm Rostekhnologii but had already started introducing Antonov An-148s manufactured in Russia. Decisions still had to be made, he added, on fleet renewal for the other carriers, including Vladivostok Avia and Sakhalin's SAT. "We believe, of course, that we will use domestic equipment," said Savelyev, adding that Russian-built types did not require payment of import taxes and were less expensive to acquire. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Firefighters tackling cargo blaze at Heathrow Firefighters are attending a serious blaze in the cargo area at London Heathrow Airport. Twenty fire engines and around 100 firefighters are tackling the fire in a warehouse, located on the southern perimeter of the airport, west of Terminal 4. A spokeswoman for Heathrow says that the fire is located in a Servisair building but is "not affecting [flight] operations". The London Fire Brigade states that it was alerted at 13:16, and that crews from both the airport and surrounding fire stations are attending. "The cause of the fire is not known at this stage," it adds. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EU ratchets up safety checks on Air Algerie European Commission regulators have disclosed that Air Algerie is being subjected to closer examination following analysis of ramp inspections on its aircraft. Inspectors have been scrutinising the flag-carrier for more than a year, and started discussing findings with the Algerian authorities about seven months ago. Concerns have centred on the safety of on-board cargo, airworthiness and operation of aircraft, and flight-crew licensing, says the Commission. It says that Air Algerie's progress with implementing corrective action will be monitored through "intensified" ramp inspections in Europe, and the airline's case will be reassessed during an air safety committee meeting in November. Air Algerie has also requested French assistance to provide appropriate awareness and training regarding the ramp-inspection programme. While the Commission disclosed the discussions in the wake of its recent 'blacklist' revision, it has not suggested that Air Algerie is at risk of being banned from European airspace. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2001 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103558344514&s=6053&e=001pyEa_qDQktx3mVnuLKho3arOiG_C6BNjf39seffy4-Caao_LcssKjMtvqc21WHxnfq7JU_nSztt5e081ZAr3dA-njZJGnGEsob_ABzAOAyQG3kJX4es3Ww==] Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC