Flight Safety Information September 10, 2010 - No. 189 In This Issue US weighed shooting down runaway robotic helicopter U.S. FAA to unveil new pilot fatigue rules FAA Revokes Phoenix Heliparts Certificate Border-patrolling drones to call Texas base home NTSB TO HOLD BOARD MEETING ON MID-AIR COLLISION Star Navigation Offers In-flight Safety Monitoring Comair names Gumm as VP of aircraft operations Curt Lewis & Associates, LLC FSI Advertising ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ US weighed shooting down runaway robotic helicopter: admiral WASHINGTON (AFP) - US commanders considered shooting down an unmanned navy helicopter that flew out of control towards the US capital last month before communications were restored, a top US officer said Thursday. Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, who oversees the country's air defenses, said the August 2 incident presented senior officers with an unprecedented dilemma, as a robotic Fire Scout helicopter strayed off course after losing ground communications. "We were watching this very closely," said Winnefeld, head of US Northern Command and NORAD, the joint US-Canadian air defense command. "It's headed right for the heart of the national capital region," he told defense reporters. "Do you let it run out of gas and hopefully crash in a farmer's field or do you actually take action to shoot it down?" "You certainly don't want to shoot it down over a populated area if you can avoid it." The North American Aerospace Defense Command was on the verge of scrambling F-16 fighter jets to intercept the helicopter when operators regained control of the chopper after 20 minutes. The MQ-8B Fire Scout had taken off from Webster Field at the Patuxent River testing ground in Maryland and broached Washington's restricted air space, but the US Navy said the helicopter never got closer than 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the capital. The admiral said the military was "not close" to shooting down the helicopter but commanders had reviewed possible options. "So we were going through all that decision calculus and then fortunately got the word that they'd gotten control of it," he said. The episode came as the military presses civilian officials at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ease restrictions on the use of unmanned aircraft over the United States. Winnefeld acknowledged that last month's incident with the runaway Firescout would only reinforce worries about introducing more unmanned aircraft in US airspace. "It certainly doesn't help our case anytime there's a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that wanders around a little bit outside of what's controlled air space," he said. FAA officials have pushed for assurances that sensor systems aboard drones are sufficiently reliable to detect and avoid other planes. The admiral said at the moment he has no unmanned aircraft at his disposal due to the FAA restrictions and that robotic drones will be increasingly in demand to help respond to natural disasters and other needs. "I share the FAA's goal that air space operations in the United States be conducted safely," he said, but added that it was important to move quickly to resolve the safety concerns. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. FAA to unveil new pilot fatigue rules - WSJ WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Federal aviation regulators are expected to unveil long-awaited proposals to combat pilot fatigue on Friday, replacing decades-old work rules, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Federal Aviation Administration aims to have flexible, more scientifically based safety standards spelling out maximum periods commercial pilots can be on duty or sit behind the controls each workday, the Journal said citing people familiar with the issue. Pilots now can be scheduled to fly for a maximum of eight hours a workday, regardless of the type of operation. They need to be assured of rest after 16 consecutive hours on duty, which can involve responsibilities other than flying, the report said. The proposals also say that total duty time for most pilots may be cut to between 13 and 15 hours, WSJ said. Prompted by the crash of a commuter airline flight in 2009 near Buffalo, New York that killed 49 people, the U.S. Senate approved legislation in July that toughens airline pilot training requirements and aims to reduce pilot fatigue. Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAA Revokes Phoenix Heliparts Certificate Inspectors Found A "Variety" Of FAA Violations The FAA has revoked the air agency certificate of Phoenix Heliparts, Inc., (PHI) of Mesa, AZ, for allegedly performing improper repairs and deliberately falsifying maintenance records. PHI must surrender its certificate to the FAA, as required under the terms of the emergency revocation. The FAA alleges that PHI mechanics failed to follow its repair station and/or quality control manuals when repairing aircraft, and used incorrect parts. The FAA also alleges that on at least four occasions, the company made intentionally false entries in the aircraft maintenance records. "Safety is not optional for aviation companies. Whether repairing airplanes or helicopters, repair stations are required to follow maintenance rules and procedures," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. Inspectors from the FAA's Scottsdale Flight Service District Office inspected PHI August 27, 2008, and found a variety of violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations. They included unauthorized use of an electronic recordkeeping system, failure to operate the maintenance shop according to its approved repair station and quality control manuals, and using unqualified people to perform the work. FAA inspectors reinspected PHI's facility on September 15 and 16, 2008, and discovered hundreds of additional discrepancies. These included identifying unserviceable parts as serviceable and retaining them for reuse; failure to document maintenance work and inspections; and failure to have and use approved data to guide major repairs and alterations. Hughes 369 File Photo PHI performed major restoration work on a damaged Hughes 369 helicopter for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but the department retained another company to inspect the helicopter before it returned to service. That inspection turned up more than 30 airworthiness discrepancies. The FAA also alleges company employees deliberately falsified maintenance forms, including a return-to-service authorization, when more than 100 items had not been inspected according to the company's quality control manual. The FAA offered PHI numerous opportunities to correct its problems after the August 27, 2008 inspection, but PHI was unable to bring the company into compliance. PHI can appeal the emergency nature of the revocation to the NTSB. FMI: www.faa.gov Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Border-patrolling drones to call Texas base home Crafts can spot drug smugglers, illegal crossings CORPUS CHRISTI - Flanked by two area congressmen, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin on Wednesday cut the ribbon for the launch of the nation's fourth base for operating border surveillance drones. On hand for the event was one of the drones: a sleek gray MQ-9 Predator B. Thirty-nine feet in length and weighing just less than 5 tons, the unmanned aircraft system, or UAS, is a $10 million investment equipped with cameras capable of detecting a backpacker with a drug load from a point 19,000 feet in the sky and 8 miles away. CBP officials credit the drones with helping interdict 39,000 pounds of narcotics and capture more than 7,000 illegal border crossers since their debut with the agency five years ago. "I'm humbled by the power of this technology," Bersin said. "It's a powerful force multiplier." Congressmen on hand U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, said they lobbied hard to assure the equipment proving valuable in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was put to use on the Texas border. "With this little baby here, I think that communities on both sides of the border will be able to sleep more comfortably," Ortiz said. Cuellar said he envisioned four to five drones based in Texas, with as many as 24 patrolling the nation's northern and southern land and sea borders, even assisting Mexico and Latin American countries under the approval of their respective governments. He said the nation's current Homeland Security budget calls for two drones for Texas, but it wasn't immediately clear when those new drones will actually start logging flight time. The remote-controlled aircraft on display Wednesday was on loan from its docking site in Arizona, and the scheduled takeoff to wow media and dignitaries was canceled because of conflicts with Naval training exercises. Firsthand accounts David Gasho, head of operations for the drones at the CBP's drone base in Sierra Vista, Ariz., and the drone pilot, said the same machine can go back and forth along the border while being maneuvered from any of the UAS air bases. He regaled reporters with tales of how the drone's radar can penetrate clouds, see a vehicle under a tarp or detect a breach in the border fence. A group of drug smugglers that used to take Border Patrol agents a whole day to track can now be rounded up in a matter of minutes, with a second group tracked within the hour. One tank of fuel buys 20 flying hours, he said, and if needed, the thing can hover. "Nobody even suspects the thing is watching," he said. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7192354.html [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=gqvqzbdab&et=1103674490685&s=6053&e=001zoyRX3YOgTPoSaGX0hO-LtOECRW7_PIQyDPzOkpBruFTMb0FJ_m5Z3c_Qev9CFe_TtGGxaUEHcCQki2O2HFSngsfJdS6UJ9gIdt8OBfez_UxpbF4KldKaDZN4bS-dVQCl4bLXCMVX1AEGgWS_zn7YFtpAJGAuh6-mc56V5LxVRk=] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NTSB TO HOLD BOARD MEETING ON MID-AIR COLLISION OVER HUDSON RIVER NEAR HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY National Transportation Safety Board Washington, DC 20594 September 9, 2010 NTSB TO HOLD BOARD MEETING ON MID-AIR COLLISION OVER HUDSON RIVER NEAR HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public Board meeting on Tuesday, September 14, at 9:30 a.m., in its Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, DC. On August 8, 2009, a Piper PA-32R-300 airplane, N71MC, and a Eurocopter AS350BA helicopter, N401LH, operated by Liberty Helicopters, collided over the Hudson River near Hoboken, New Jersey. All 9 people aboard the two aircraft died in the accident. The airplane flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, and the helicopter flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Parts 135 and 136. No flight plans were filed or were required for either flight, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. A live and archived webcast of the proceedings will be available on the Board's website at www.ntsb.gov/Events/Boardmeeting.htm. Technical support details are available under "Board Meetings." To report any problems, please call 703-993-3100 and ask for Webcast Technical Support. A summary of the Board's final report, which will include findings, probable cause and safety recommendations, will appear on the website shortly after the conclusion of the meeting. The entire report will appear on the website several weeks later. Directions to Board Room: Front door located on Lower 10th Street, directly below L'Enfant Plaza. From Metro, exit L'Enfant Plaza station at 9th and D Streets escalator, walk through shopping mall, at CVS store take escalator down one level. Board room will be to your left. Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=gqvqzbdab&et=1103674490685&s=6053&e=001zoyRX3YOgTN34HGfuHRBt_ttHOoDpr8FLM_s5InPyhrgKS5zMf3P6NC06XoKLuu1NtQJBBLW7rUQn1ZelaF6BmsqRxmsq8Dh] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Star Navigation Offers In-flight Safety Monitoring Maintenance and Modifications Toronto-based Star Navigation Systems offers business jets something better than the airline black box: the Star In-flight Safety Monitoring System (Star-ism). "Our original system, introduced in 2005, provided current information to pilots and ground controllers, giving them the ability to note anomalies and nip problems in the bud," said Viraf Kapadia, CEO of Star Navigation Systems Group. "While it was a significant safety improvement, it didn't do quite what we wanted," Kapadia told AIN. "The original system measured 4,000 parameters per minute but we can now measure as many as 18,000 per minute," he said. The system gathers information from the aircraft's data buses, analyzing anything on the aircraft that puts out a digital signal. Kapadia cautions that the limiting factor is the age and the sophistication of the avionics. The new Star-ism system includes GPS tracking, and within the limits of the avionics it can provide both real-time and after-landing reports, intelligent flight data transmission, and detailed live flight data alerts to ground operators using satellite-based technology. "It acts as an early warning system, detecting the earliest signs of potential problems in real time," he said. http://www.ainonline.com// Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Comair names Gumm as VP of aircraft operations Delta's wholly-owned regional subsidiary Comair has appointed Ryan Gumm as vice president of aircraft operations. Gumm will be responsible for flight operations, inflight and the company's systems operation control centre. He has held several management positions at Freedom Airlines. Comair recently unveiled a drastic down sizing through the reduction of its fleet from 97 aircraft to 44 by the end of 2012. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC