Flight Safety Information April 5, 2011 - No. 069 In This Issue 32 killed in U.N. plane crash in Congo, official says Q&A: Will the mystery of Flight 447 be solved? FAA to issue directive demanding inspections of older 737s United Airlines jet landed after losing primary flight instruments African no longer plane dumping ground Pilot 'quit flight deck' in UAE plane crash Arik Air gets IATA operational safety certificate (Nigeria) Las Vegas airport goes "temporary out-of-service" ARJ21 undergoes flutter testing Masters Degree Survey 32 killed in U.N. plane crash in Congo, official says (CNN) -- One person survived the crash of a U.N. plane that killed 32 others in the Congo on Monday, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said. The aircraft, which carried 33 people, belonged to MONUSCO, the U.N. mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a Congo Transportation Ministry official. The plane crashed early Monday afternoon while attempting to land at the Kinshasa airport after a flight from Goma in the eastern part of the vast nation in central Africa, the official said. The Kinshasa airport reported strong thunderstorms and sustained winds of 37 kph (23 mph) at the time. U.N. Peacekeeping Director Alain Le Roy said the aircraft missed the airstrip likely because of the wind, but he cautioned the investigation was in its early stages. Most of those on board were U.N. personnel; five worked for other agencies, Le Roy told reporters. Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said America "stands ready to assist the U.N. in the aftermath of this terrible accident." "As we know well, a stable and prosperous future for the DRC must begin with peace for its people, and U.N. personnel have worked courageously to strengthen the protection of the nation's women, men and children after years of strife," Rice said. ********** Status: Preliminary Date: 04 APR 2011 Time: ca 13:30 Type: Canadair CL-600-2B19 Regional Jet CRJ-100ER Operating for: United Nations - UN Leased from: Georgian Airways Registration: 4L-GAE C/n / msn: 7070 First flight: 1995 Engines: 2 General Electric CF34-3A1 Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants: 4 Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants: 29 Total: Fatalities: 32 / Occupants: 33 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport (FIH) (Congo (Democratic Republic)) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Kisangani-Bangoka International Airport (FKI) (FKI/FZIC), Congo (Democratic Republic) Destination airport: Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport (FIH) (FIH/FZAA), Congo (Democratic Republic) Flightnumber: 834 Narrative: A CRJ-100ER passenger plane was destroyed in an accident at Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport (FIH). The airplane carried 29 passengers and four crew members. One occupant survived the accident. The airplane operated on behalf of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) on flight UNO834 from Kinshasa- N'Djili Airport (FIH) to Kisangani (FKI) and Entebbe (EBB), Uganda and return. The airplane was operating on the final leg of the flight when it crashed in rainy weather. The weather reported about one hour after the accident (15:00 local / 14:00 UTC): METAR FZAA 041400Z 34004KT 9000 TS SCT020 FEW028CB BKN110 24/23 Q1008 CB SECT NE-NW BECMG NSW= [Wind: 340 degrees at 4 knots; visibility: 9000m; thunderstorm; scattered clouds at 2000 ft; few clouds with cumulonimbus at 2,800 ft; broken clouds at 11,000 ft; Temperature: 24°C; Dewpoint: 23°C; pressure: 1008 hPa; cumulonimbus to the NE-NW, becoming No Significant Weather] www.aviation-safety.net ************ It has been reported from a source that: "Due to maintenance issues, this airplane was actually grounded on 18th November, 2010 by the Georgian Civil Aviation Authorities. See the following brief text:- Dear Colleagues, Georgian registered CL-600-2B19 Reg:4L-GAE operated in Republic of Congo by A/C "Georgian Airways" flight operation has been prohibited from 18.11.2010 due to suspension of certificate of airworthiness. Please inform relevant Aviation Authorities to ground above mention aircraft until additional official permission from the United Transport Administration of Georgia. Shalva Kiknadze Head of Flight Standards, Certification and Inspection Division" ******** Back to Top Q&A: Will the mystery of Flight 447 be solved? (CNN) -- Almost two years after Air France Flight 447 plunged into the southern Atlantic Ocean killing all 228 people aboard, search teams have located what they believe to be the actual wreck site. Investigators have not yet determined what caused the airliner -- which was en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro -- to crash. Large parts of the plane, including both flight recorders, have never been found, despite an extensive search operation that included a French navy submarine. When did Flight 447 go down? Flight 447 made its last contact with Brazil's Atlantic Control Center (ACC) at around 01:33 GMT on June 1, 2009, informing the center of the plane's position as it crossed the Atlantic. Minister: Bodies found 2 years after air crash Soon after, Brazil's air control contacted Dakar's control center in North Africa and reported that AF 447 was entering an area on its route known for constant bands of severe turbulence, officials said. There was no further contact with the plane. Why has it taken so long to find the wreckage? 2009: Air France jet fell vertically 2009: Plane's final moments 2009: What caused Air France crash? Map: Air France Flight 447 The area where the Airbus A330 went down is in the mid- Atlantic -- two to four days for ships to reach from the nearest ports in Brazil or Senegal in West Africa. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates the ocean depth in the area at 3,000 meters (about 9,840 feet) to 7,500 meters (24,600 feet). Brazilian officials have said the sea depth in the area is around 2,000 to 3,000 meters (6,562 to 9,842 feet). The latest search covered a 46-mile (75-kilometer) radius around the last known position of Flight 447, investigators said. According to the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA), the underwater terrain in this area is rough with underwater mountains and valleys. "It is a mountain range as big as the Alps," David Learmount of Flight International told CNN. "There was always the possibility that the wreckage from the aircraft disappeared down a crevasse. This is not a flat-bottom environment like the North Sea is." "Therefore it is an unprecedented search in terms of depth and sub-sea terrain." What would happen to the wreckage at these depths? The aircraft's "black box" data recorder -- a vital device for crash investigators which records any instructions sent to the aircraft's electronic systems -- remains missing but even if it is recovered, it is not certain whether it would still work, according to Learmount. "Pressure and corrosion have likely damaged the wreckage, especially as it has been down there for so long. Flight recorders are not designed to withstand pressures of the depths that this aircraft actually went to." But he warned that flight recorders recovered from other crash sites have not worked when they should have, with the reverse also true. Do we know why Flight 447 crashed? No cause has been determined. Studies of the debris and bodies that were found soon after the crash led the BEA to conclude the plane hit the water belly first, essentially intact. Oxygen masks were not deployed, indicating that the cabin did not depressurize, the BEA said in a 2009 report. Tests have already brought into question the performance of pitot tubes, which measure the pressure exerted on the plane as it flies through the air, and are part of a system used to determine air speed. Before it crashed, Flight 447 sent out 24 automated error messages that suggested the plane may have been flying too fast or too slow through the thunderstorms, officials have said. The European Aviation Safety Agency issued a directive in late August requiring airlines to replace pitot tubes manufactured by Thales Avionics on Airbus A330s and A340s. It said airlines should replace them with other Thales tubes and those manufactured by Goodrich. The lack of speed, wind or direction information also prevented the Autopilot system from functioning, said air accident investigator Alain Bouillard said at the time of the crash. "This tells us that the plane has to be, in this case, directed by the pilot," he said. Flight recorders are not designed to withstand pressures of the depths that this aircraft actually went to. --David Learmount, aviation expert However investigators have subsequently cautioned that these factors alone would not have been enough to cause the disaster. What about the weather? Flight 447 was passing through an area prone to volatile and dangerous weather known as the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), when it went down. The ITCZ is a belt of low pressure that wraps around the planet. Clouds and storms form along it because it is literally where the winds of the world's hemispheres meet. Here, air and water temperatures are typically in the mid-80s. The warm, moist air is heated further by the blazing tropical sun. Steamy air, coming off the ocean, rises until it hits cooler, drier air aloft, forming clouds and thunderstorms. These gigantic storms contain volatile updrafts and downdrafts that can move at speeds of 100 mph. The height of these storms also can tower to more than 10 miles in the air. Even if you stacked two dozen of the world's tallest skyscrapers on top of each other, they still wouldn't reach the tops of the biggest thunderstorms of the ITCZ. However Learmount pointed out that hundreds of airliners pass through the ITCZ every day without incident. "There was another Air France flight 30 minutes behind Flight 447 that night and it encountered no problems," he said. Any other theories? According to Learmount, many aviation experts have yet to rule out the human factor. "The crash happened at around 2 am on a dark night when the error messages suddenly appeared and the autopilot tripped out." He said the crew, possibly at their deepest circadian low at this point, suddenly have this problem and they "fixate" on it. "This is a syndrome," he said. "There have been lots of accidents where pilots have fixated on correcting a relatively minor problem and lose sight of the macro problem. Now we don't know that, but we do know the aircraft acted as if it was not being controlled purposefully. "Whether it was out of control -- and I doubt this -- it was not being controlled. Imagine it is 2 am and two sleepy pilots encounter a problem. They don't have much to do so they decide to troubleshoot this problem. They fixate on it and forget the autopilot has tripped. "The airplane meanwhile goes into a lazy spiral descent -- the pilots don't notice as it is all very gentle. And when they look up they don't believe what their instruments tell them and they get disorientated and can't recover." He highlighted a similar case in 2004 when pilot disorientation and loss of control caused a Flash Airlines Boeing 737-300 to crash in the Red Sea shortly after take off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh. Though Egyptian authorities disputed the claim, aviation safety officials in France and the U.S. cited "spatial disorientation" as the likely cause based on evidence available, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Back to Top FAA to issue directive demanding inspections of older 737s (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration plans to issue a directive Tuesday mandating operators of about 175 older Boeing 737s to conduct inspections for wear and tear. The "emergency directive" comes just days after a Boeing 737 flown by Southwest Airlines made an emergency landing with a hole in its fuselage. The FAA mandate would affect about 80 U.S.-registered 737-300s, 737-400s and 737- 500s, mostly operated by Southwest. The remaining 95 or so aircraft are registered outside the United States. Each of the 175 or so planes in question have taken off and landed more than 30,000 times and will receive repetitive electromagnetic inspections at regular intervals for fatigue damage. In a separate statement, Boeing said it was working with the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and Southwest, and it was preparing a service bulletin to recommend lap joint inspections on certain 737 models. Hole forces a Boeing 737 to land NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt said Monday that inspectors have visually checked lap joints in the past, but haven't used high-tech monitoring, because no one thought that part of the plane was susceptible to cracks. Moving forward, inspectors will test the joints with an electromagnetic process. The chairman on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation said in a statement that the American public wants answers to retain confidence in commercial air travel. "As the details of this unusual incident unfold, we will get a better understanding of what caused the plane's fuselage to tear open," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia. "I expect the FAA to be painstakingly diligent in reviewing the safety of all aircraft, and to conduct a careful investigation into what caused the cracks that have been discovered on the bodies of these planes." After Southwest canceled about 600 flights over the weekend to accommodate inspections, the airline said it canceled another 70 flights on Monday. By Monday afternoon, the company had checked out 67 of the 79 planes it had grounded for inspection. Southwest said 64 of the 737-300s were being returned to service, while inspectors had discovered subsurface cracks on three jets. Those three will remain out of service "until Boeing recommends an appropriate repair," Southwest said. As planes are cleared, they will be put back into service, Southwest said. Inspections are expected to be completed by late Tuesday. Eighteen minutes into Flight 812 from Phoenix to Sacramento, California, on Friday, a hole 5 feet long and 1 foot wide opened in the fuselage, causing the cabin to lose pressure, the NTSB said. One flight attendant received minor injuries, the agency said. The pilot initially planned to return to Phoenix, but he made an emergency landing at a military base in Yuma, Arizona, after flight attendants reported seeing blue sky through the jet's roof, Sumwalt told reporters. Sumwalt said the 737 used for Flight 812 had a maintenance check in March at Southwest's Dallas facility, and the jet had no outstanding maintenance issues at the time of the accident, with all its records "positive, up to date, (and) with no discrepancies." The plane's flight data recorders had no noteworthy information on them, Sumwalt said. Back to Top United Airlines jet landed after losing primary flight instruments None of the 100 passengers or five crew members aboard Flight 497 was seriously injured when the plane landed at about 7:20 a.m., 13 minutes after taking off. But the aircraft reportedly blew a tire, causing the plane to veer off the left side of the runway. Passengers exited using the emergency slides. Some received minor cuts and scrapes. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. "It's too early to really talk about what happened or why it happened," FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said. "Both flight crews and air traffic controllers spend a great deal of time training to handle emergencies like this." Co-pilot Ronald Lee Young told an Associated Press reporter that the plane landed on backup systems with minimal steering and braking ability, after losing all electronics. "When things go wrong, there's always a system ... we can go back to," he said. P assengers said they gave the crew a round of applause after the plane touched down. "What he did was amazing," said Hope Burns, 48, of San Francisco. The Airbus a320 left Louis Armstrong Airport about 7:07 a.m., taking off toward the south, airport spokeswoman Michelle Wilcut said. Within minutes, one of the pilots radioed Armstrong's traffic controllers requesting a vector back to the airport because of a "smoke issue with the airplane," according to an audio recording of the radio traffic provided by the website LiveATC.net. Safety Board officials said the crew received a smoke warning at about 4,000 feet. A short time later, the pilot, by now circling back northward, declared an emergency and asked controllers to "roll equipment for a landing." On the ground, airport crews were trying to clear construction vehicles that had been performing shoulder work on the east- west runway, the longer of the two main landing strips. As air traffic controllers guided the plane back to the airport, the pilot reported the loss of the jet's instruments and requested more precise directions using radar location. The plane, which was carrying 32,400 pounds of fuel, eventually landed in a southerly direction on the north-south runway, because the construction vehicles could not clear the other strip in time, Wilcut said. During the landing, the pilot reportedly lost anti-skid braking and steering in the nose wheel, causing it to veer into the grass, the Safety Board said. The aircraft came to a stop about 2,000 feet from the southern end of the 7,000-foot runway. The passengers were bused to the Hilton Hotel across Airline Drive. They spent the rest of the morning there recovering and recounting their brief trip, while waiting to be reunited with their luggage. Passengers reported an unusual amount of turbulence during the short time they were in the air. Dani Marano, 22, and Peter Maroni, 23, of Queensland, Australia, were headed to San Francisco, then to Reno, Nev., after spending a week of vacation in New Orleans. From his seat near the back of the plane, Maroni noticed at takeoff that something seemed odd. "It didn't feel right. The plane was waving about in the wind," he said. The interior lighting went dark minutes after they were off the ground. Hope Burns, an elementary school social worker, was headed home to San Francisco with her son, Neil Pützer, 13. He was seated in the first class section while she was in an emergency exit row in coach. As she dozed off, Burns said an announcement about the in-flight movie was abruptly cut off mid-sentence. She thought nothing of that or the turbulence. But her son, seated a few feet from the attendant, said he realized the electrical power had gone out and thought something was wrong. He said he neither smelled nor saw any smoke from the cockpit. As the plane made its way over Lake Pontchartrain, Maroni and Marano said they noticed the aircraft no longer seemed to be ascending, despite the laboring engines. "It didn't want to go any higher," Marano said. "I was looking around," Maroni said, "and everybody was looking out of the window. We were way too low for what we should have been at that point." The turbulence continued as the plane turned back toward the New Orleans airport. Burns, Marano and Maroni said the crew did not announce an emergency to passengers. "I was thinking, 'It's cool. We landed OK.' And then the tire popped and we veered off the runway," Marano said. Flight attendants opened the doors at the front of the plane, extended the emergency slides and ordered passengers off the aircraft, yelling, "Leave everything. Get out." The two slides at the rear of the plane were opened later, said Maroni, who scraped his knee while exiting. Burns said her first concern was her son. The two were reunited as soon as she was on the ground. United Airlines was making accommodations for the passengers, spokesman Mike Trevino said. They had the options of flying out later in the day or rebooking on a Tuesday morning flight. Burns and her son said they would more than likely head home as soon as possible. Their time spent in New Orleans was fun, she said, but "nothing as exciting as this." ······· TRANSCRIPT OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER, PILOT CONVERSATION UA 497: Clear for takeoff runway 19, thank for you very much. UA 497: We need to vector back to the airport, we got a smoke issue with the airplane. N.O. Approach: Turn right 030 (degrees) and maintain 4,000 (feet.) UA 497: 030 4,000. And we'd like the longest runway please. N.O. Approach: There are men and equipment on the runway - they're going to try to get them off now. Descend at pilot's discretion. Maintain 2,000. UA 497: We are declaring an emergency and please roll equipment for our landing please. N.O. Approach: We are unable for (runway) 10, can you take (runway) 19? UA 497: ..no.. N.O. Approach: Roger, we are clearing the runway now. Airport operations: How much time do we have? New Orleans Tower: I'd say they are about 11 miles to the west. Airport operations: Tower, we can start trying to pull them off, but I don't think we will get them all off in time. N.O. Approach: United 497, Say souls on board and fuel remaining. UA 497: 106 souls on board, fuel remaining 32,400 pounds. N.O. Approach: They are still trying to get all the vehicles off the runway and 19 is still available if you like.... New Orleans Tower: ... working as fast as they can (unintelligible) There is a bunch of equipment on there they're tying to get off now. UA 497: You need to clear it for us. New Orleans Tower: I understand, sir. We're getting them off as fast as we can. N.O. Approach: Turn right heading 140, main 2,000 ....cleared ILS runway 10 approach. New Orleans Tower: Can you verify the vehicles are exiting? Airport operations: We are attempting to get the vehicles off right now, I'm removing the cones also. New Orleans Tower: OK, cause I haven't seen any of the vehicles move and the aircraft is ten to the northwest and they have to have runway 100. N.O. Approach: United 497, Turn right heading 180. UA 497: um.... We only have one... um ... (Alarms sounding in background.) N.O. Approach: United 497 say again sir? New Orleans Tower: We need three minutes to get the runway clear. UA 497: (alarms blaring) We've lost all our instruments right now and we're going to need (directions) N.O. Approach: United turn left heading, 20 degrees left N.O. Approach: Just continue left turn, I'll tell you when to stop. UA 497: (unintelligible) What vector are we from the airport? N.O. Approach: Right now sir you are on the 330 degree heading from the airport. Northwest of the airport for runway 19er. If you continue on this present heading you'll set up on the shoreline for 19. UA 497: Shoreline for 19. N.O. Approach: I can set u up there or I can vector you, what'd you need? UA 497: That's fine. N.O. Approach: (unintelligible...)You got the water, right? UA 497: Yeah, we got the water and we're going to stop here about 600 feet. N.O. Approach: Roger that. The airport's currently at your 1 o'clock and five miles. UA 497: 1 o'clock and five miles roger. New Orleans Tower to fire crews: Fox-6, next arrival runway 19er is our aircraft. And the aircraft is approximately 3 miles northwest runway 19er. N.O. Approach: If you start your right turn now I can set you up on final. UA 497: Start turn on final. New Orleans Tower to fire crews: The aircraft is over the shoreline around two miles out. You do have permission to proceed on to the runway after he lands. N.O. Approach: Make a right turn. The airport is off to yoru right side, N.O. Approach: 497, clear to land 19er. You'll be able to make it sir? Winds 180 at 16, gusts to 20, Clear to land. Runway 19er. New Orleans Tower to fire trucks: Fox-5, this is our aircraft touvh ing down bow. New Orleans Tower: Follow the aircraft down the runway. New Orleans Tower: We're going to need runway 10 operational. Runway 19er is fouled at this time. Fox-5: The aircraft is off the runway. http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2011/04/united_airlines_jet_landed_aft.html Back to Top African no longer plane dumping ground Bloomberg - The days when ageing, fuel-guzzling aircraft could be sold to African airlines are over, according to Robert Gentile, the president and chief executive of the services division of General Electric Capital Aviation Services (Gecas). Like the rest of the industry, African airlines are acquiring fuel-efficient new generation aircraft to cope with the soaring price of oil. As a result, demand in Africa for leased aircraft and spare parts is so heavy that Gecas is opening a regional headquarters in southern Africa for the first time, headed by the first chief executive for the continent, Jay Ireland. Gentile, who is responsible for leasing aircraft and the sale of spare parts, said his company had "never been busier" as airlines worldwide recovered from the recession but battled with the rising cost of jet fuel, which represented 35 percent of their costs. Gecas's newest aircraft engines cut fuel consumption by as much as 15 percent, which meant multimillion-rand savings. Demand for spare parts had risen by 20 percent as passenger numbers rose with the recovery of international air travel. He said: "When the industry is healthy and carrying more passengers it leaves less time for maintenance and pushes up the demand for parts." He said the new engines now being installed in the popular Airbus A320 and in Boeing's new technologically advanced Dreamliner long distance aircraft - the first of which was due to be delivered in October or November this year - cut fuel consumption by 15 percent. Meanwhile, the industry was experimenting with new types of fuel and was already able to use "significant amounts of alternative fuels" in conjunction with those based on fossil fuels. "We see great progress in that. But I don't know if we will ever be able to replace fossil fuels entirely. We are achieving fuel economy through better combustion systems, lighter materials and more aerodynamic structures." Gentile said most of the orders for new aircraft were for long-haul routes and there was now more international interest in flying to Africa. But, he pointed out, although the African fleet was being modernised, the infrastructure in most of the continent was lagging behind. This put South Africa "ahead of the game". However, Gecas's new regional headquarters are being set up in Nairobi and not in South Africa. "We already have a presence in South Africa and this is being strengthened." Meanwhile, Gecas said at the weekend that it had finalised an order for 10 Boeing 777- 300 Extended Range aircraft, worth $2.8 billion (R19bn) at list prices. It said the order would help meet growing demand from airlines to lease long-haul aircraft. The new order brings the total number of new Boeing 777 aircraft Gecas has ordered to 53. The new aircraft saved fuel by being 19 percent lighter than its closest competitor, "greatly reducing its fuel requirement", produced 22 percent less polluting carbon dioxide for each seat and cost 20 percent less to operate per seat. Back to Top Pilot 'quit flight deck' in UAE plane crash: probe DUBAI (AFP) - The pilot of a US Boeing 747 cargo plane in flames was starved of oxygen and had to quit the flight deck in last September's deadly crash near Dubai airport, Emirati investigators said Monday. "A fire ignited onboard the aircraft?s main cargo deck after departure from Dubai," said the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates in what it termed an updated preliminary report. "Smoke and fumes in the flight deck... hindered the crew from managing the aircraft and the emergency situation," it said. "There were failures of the aircraft?s air conditioning, oxygen and flight controls systems." Shortly after takeoff, the crew lost control of an attempted emergency landing because of their "inability to view flight instruments," it said, leading to the crash in which the two crew members were killed. "The captain experienced problems with the supply of oxygen to the oxygen mask which required the captain to leave his position on the flight deck," the report said. "To date the investigation has identified several areas to pursue in relation to identifying the root cause, the associated causal factors and the probable cause of this accident," it said. T he United Parcel Service Boeing 747-400 caught fire shortly after takeoff from Dubai on September 3 and crashed. US federal aviation authorities in September said lithium batteries carried on the aircraft may have played a role in the crash, while UAE investigators ruled out an onboard explosion that could be linked to a terror attack. The GCAA has said "investigations carried out after recovery of all the information in the two black boxes showed that there was no evidence, either from conversations or data, of an explosion on board the airplane." Both pilots were killed when the aircraft crashed at a military base on the outskirts of Dubai. Back to Top Arik Air gets IATA operational safety certificate (Nigeria) Arik Air has passed the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). The international evaluation system is a requirement and precursor to full IATA membership. Membership of IATA accords an airline a range of operational benefits such as enhanced opportunities for code-share. The airline, according to a statement, is only the second Nigerian carrier to receive the certificate, although it is the only one currently on the IOSA registration that is fully operational under its own AOC with over 150 flights daily from its hub in Lagos, Nigeria. For an airline to pass all requirements, it must comply with eight varying criteria including Flight Operations, Engineering and Maintenance, Flight Dispatch, Cabin Operations, Security, Ground Handling, Cargo and Organisation & Management. The IOSA was conducted in September 2010 by an independent auditing group. Arik Air is now on the IOSA register until October 1, 2012 before being required to undertake the audit again to register for a further two years. Dr Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & President of Arik Air, commented on the IOSA registration: "The significance of this accreditation cannot be overstated; this is a major milestone in Arik Air's relatively short history of operations and is a testament to the rapidity with which we have developed as an airline. It is now important to ensure that we continue to maintain the very high standards that we have attained, and been recognised for, through this certification. From day one we set out to establish an airline that would be an IATA member and with the IOSA registration we are nearly there, which is a remarkable achievement having only launched in October 2006." After about two years of spadework, and the requisite preliminary technical and safety audits, Arik Air, has received its IATA certificate from the global airlines body having passed the International Operations Audit (IOSA), carried out on the airline . With the receipt of the IATA certificate, Arik Air, will now be admitted into the global airlines clearing house, a prerequisite that will qualify the airline to negotiate interlining agreements as well as code share agreements with mega carriers across the globe in Europe and America. Arik Air will be the second carrier currently in operation in Nigeria to receive an IATA certificate after Virgin Nigeria Airways, now Air Nigeria about two years ago," the statement said. The accomplishment by Arik Air comes on the heels of the 2014 deadline given by the aviation minister, Mrs Fidelia Njeze to encourage Nigerian carriers to complete their International Operations Safety Audit. IOSA certification for global airlines is renewed every two years through a certified audit carried out by IATA to ascertain the quality of any airline's safety measures across all aspects of its operations. With its admission into IATA clearing house, Arik Air passengers could travel beyond points that the carrier flies to, as it will have to partner with other global carriers to routes across the globe. According to the Media Relations Officer of Arik Air, Banji Ola, Arik Air will receive the certificate at a regional conference to be held at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos. http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/business/aviation/32784.html Back to Top Las Vegas airport goes "temporary out-of-service" If it wasn't bad enough that Spirit Airlines flight 124 from Chicago O'Hare International to Las Vegas' McCarran International was delayed an hour then was held waiting at the tarmac in Las Vegas because "another plane using our gate," the power system at Las Vegas' international airport failed completely just short of few inches before the plane reached the jet-bridge. The flight's head flight attendant, who refused to be named in this story, announced the power outage immediately, but not before she could inject a little humor in the incident. "Who knows we could he here for days," she said. Her remark elicited a few laughs from the already-exhausted passengers. That humor quickly turned into agitation, as passengers had already endured a delay in Chicago then another delay after landing in Las Vegas because, as the flight captain remarked, "another airplane is using our gate." From the vantage view of being on the Spirit Airlines aircraft, the airport was completely black. It seemed like the airport had no contingency plan for such a situation because no emergency lights came on and it was clear that the airport was operating in the dark. It was later confirmed by McCarran International spokesperson Michael Alanza that they had no idea why the back-up generators did not come on and did not rule out the possibility of a terror attack. Approximately 50 minutes after the power outage, emergency power came on and passengers were allowed to disembark. Upon arrival at the gate, I asked a TSA agent if the entire airport had been pitch-black the entire time. Her answer was an alarming, "yes." http://www.eturbonews.com/22147/dramatic-footage-las-vegas-airport-goes- temporary-out-service Back to Top ARJ21 undergoes flutter testing The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) ARJ21 regional jet has begun flutter testing in Xian, as the programme ramps up its flight testing schedule ahead of its first delivery at year-end. Aircraft 101, one of the four in the ARJ21 test fleet, began preparations for the tests yesterday, says Comac. Meanwhile, aircraft 104 is still undergoing icing tests in Urumqi, it adds. The airframer is scheduled to deliver the ARJ21 to launch operator Chengdu Airlines by the end of this year, following several delays. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Masters Degree Survey My name is Cheryl Wright and I am fulfilling my requirements for a Master of Science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. One of my degree requirements is the completion of a Graduate Research Project. This survey is the research instrument I am using to gather data for this project. Your assistance in completing this survey will provide invaluable, anonymous data pertinent to this research topic. The information from the survey will be used to develop a new body of knowledge on whether the American flying public feels that passengers with disability should fly with a safety assistant. The survey is located at the site below. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/68HLPDH Thank you for your participation. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC