Flight Safety Information April 8, 2011 - No. 072 In This Issue Gulfstream Jet Crashed Testing Engine Failure UPS to Become First Global Carrier to Add "EVAS" Safety Gear In airline ads, safety is off-limits Air Wisconsin Pilots Withdraw from ASAP Program Southwest starts lap joint repairs on five aircraft Delta Air Lines stops flying bulldogs FAA mandates tough inspection regime for older Boeing 737s Report: No Signs Of Burning On UA Flight 497 Crashed 747F returned to Dubai despite Doha being closer Gulfstream Jet Crashed Testing Engine Failure, Agency Says April 7 (Bloomberg) -- The Gulfstream G650 jet that crashed April 2, killing all four crew members, was simulating an engine failure during takeoff when the accident occurred, the National Transportation Safety Board said. In a preliminary report issued today and posted on its website, the safety agency said the jet was "performing a takeoff with a simulated engine failure to determine takeoff distance requirements at minimum flap setting." The crash occurred in Roswell, New Mexico. Witnesses saw the jet "sliding on the ground with sparks and smoke coming from the bottom of the wing, and described the airplane being fully involved in fire while still moving across the ground," the agency report said. The runway showed wingtip scrape marks for about 3,800 feet before the jet came to a halt, the report said. Determining the cause of the accident may take 12 months to 18 months, the safety agency said. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which is responsible for certifying the airplane for commercial use, is in talks with Gulfstream about resuming test flights, Alison Duquette, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in a phone interview. No decisions have been reached about continuing flights, she said. NTSB Probe Gulfstream, a unit of Falls Church, Virginia-based General Dynamics Corp., is cooperating in the NTSB investigation and will resume flying only when "we and the Federal Aviation Administration" are satisfied it is safe, Pres Henne, senior vice president for programs, engineering and test, said in a statement. The $64 million G650, equipped with two Rolls Royce Plc- made engines, is a large- cabin, long-range business jet that can fly at nearly the speed of sound, according to Gulfstream, which is based in Savannah, Georgia. The plane has about 200 orders from customers, General Dynamics has said. General Dynamics rose 21 cents to $74.95 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Shares fell 5.2 percent, the most in more than two years, on April 4, the first trading day after the crash. Back to Top UPS to Become First Global Carrier to Add "EVAS" Safety Gear Company Adopts Joint Task Force Recommendation; Pilots and UPS Continue Research into Tiered Solutions LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced it would equip its air fleet with the Emergency Vision Assurance System™ (EVAS), becoming the first international air carrier to take such a step. Installation of the enhanced safety equipment comes at the recommendation of the Joint UPS-Independent Pilots Association (IPA) Safety Task Force. "It's a real safety enhancement and we're very pleased to be working with UPS Airlines." . "Safety ownership is a core value at UPS," said UPS Airlines President Mitch Nichols. "We have long been committed to protecting our employees, aircraft and customers' shipments and this new equipment will add yet another layer of safety." "Since forming the safety task force last fall, the IPA and UPS have mobilized quickly to research and recommend fire safety enhancements," said IPA and Safety Task Force member Capt. Bob Brown, lauding the level of cooperation between union and company. "EVAS is an important step forward." In the event of smoke in the cockpit, EVAS helps maintain a pilot's critical field of vision by displacing the smoke with a transparent Inflatable Vision Unit (IVU). "EVAS allows pilots to see their flight path, vital instruments and perform the key tasks of flying in dense-smoke situations," said Bertil Werjefelt, the president of Vision Safe, which manufactures the device. "It's a real safety enhancement and we're very pleased to be working with UPS Airlines." Installation is expected to begin with UPS's B-767 fleet, after which the equipment will be added to the primary over-water aircraft, the B-747-400 and MD-11. Full fleet equipage will be a multi-year process as the company works to obtain proper certifications and cycle aircraft through modification. UPS and the IPA will continue their joint safety and fire mitigation efforts, evaluating current and emerging types of technology and equipment. Back to Top In airline ads, safety is off-limits The five-foot tear in the roof of a Southwest Airlines Co. jet carrying 118 passengers a week ago highlights why airlines never tout their safety records in advertising or marketing. The Boeing 737 made an emergency landing at a military base in the Arizona desert, and no one was hurt. Though the image of aluminum peeling at 30,000 feet is scary, aviation observers say air travel statistically has never been safer - in 2010 there were no fatal accidents of scheduled U.S. commercial flights. Still, airlines do not boast about safety because there is an element of randomness to crashes, and small problems can become serious. Tragedy may never be far away. Airlines do not jinx themselves - or remind the public - by hinting that being aloft poses some risk. Instead, they brag about on-time performance, baggage handling, new onboard offerings, and customer service. "It's hard to say why airlines don't boast about their safety record, because as an industry we have a great safety record," said Kenneth Byrnes, chairman of the flight department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. "Working with industry, and working with the airlines, I can tell you that all major airlines, everybody I come in contact with, has a very strong safety program," Byrnes said. "Safety is definitely something airlines put a lot of time and effort into, and, you're right, they don't publicize that." Even after Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger managed a textbook-perfect landing in the Hudson River in January 2009 after birds knocked out both engines, US Airways Group Inc. did not tout the incident in advertisements. Nor did management appear on television talk shows to boast. "You don't want to tempt fate," said Robert Mann, aviation consultant with R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, N.Y. "These are very low-probability events, but, on the other hand, they do happen occasionally, so airlines don't tend to advertise safety." "If you have to convince somebody that you are safe, it's already bottom of the ninth and two strikes and two outs," Mann said. "It isn't a good thing to talk about safety because it raises the issue to a level that we would prefer it not to be, either as customers and certainly as airlines." William R. Voss, president and chief executive officer of the Flight Safety Foundation in Alexandria, Va., said fatal crashes of scheduled U.S. flights had dropped about 70 percent in recent years. The push began with a "safety summit" in 1996 after the TWA Flight 800 disaster off Long Island and the Valujet crash in the Florida Everglades. "There have been improvements in engineering and technologies," he said. "There's also been a serious overhaul of how airlines deal with safety and the regulator," Voss said. "Instead of waiting for accidents to happen, and then solving the puzzle, we actively now collect data of the minor events and act upon them before a chain of events come together to cause a major fatal accident," he said. The last fatal crash of a commercial U.S. airline was Colgan Air Flight 3407 in February 2009, which stalled on approach to Buffalo, N.Y., and crashed into a house, killing 49 passengers and crew and one person on the ground. In a time of unparalleled aviation safety in the United States, "airlines are extremely reluctant to make safety a competitive issue," Voss said. "It's just not within the culture of aviation. I think it's worry about raising concern with the public. They don't want to put it in people's minds." The Southwest incident, which raised questions about the effectiveness of airplane inspections in hundreds of older Boeing 737s, was a reminder that keeping "an inherently risky system safe is an active pursuit," Voss said. "If there's risk out there to the industry, it's that you start taking this safety record for granted." http://www.philly.com/philly/business/119458669.html Back to Top Air Wisconsin Pilots Withdraw from ASAP Program, Citing Management Program Breach BLOOMINGTON, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pilot leaders of Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation (AWAC) will no longer support or participate in the airline's Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) effective April 7. Representatives for the pilots' union made this difficult decision following recent actions by the AWAC flight department, which interfered with the conduct and integrity of the program. The goal of the ASAP is to enhance aviation safety through the prevention of accidents and incidents by using reports voluntarily submitted by pilots in a pro-active, non-punitive environment. "The ARW MEC believes that management's refusal to follow the processes outlined in the program that lead to safety enhancements indicates the company does not value the program." "The recent actions by Air Wisconsin management to circumvent the program have led the Air Wisconsin pilots to question the integrity of the company's ASAP program and its commitment to the employees of the company and the traveling public," said Capt. Joe Ellis, chairman of the Air Wisconsin Master Executive Council (MEC). "The ARW MEC believes that management's refusal to follow the processes outlined in the program that lead to safety enhancements indicates the company does not value the program. "This decision was not taken lightly, and after extensive research and discussion, the MEC decided that withdrawal was the only appropriate option at this time. While this is a situation we have worked hard to avoid, we will work equally hard to rebuild the program and reinstate a stronger ASAP program that will provide real safety benefits to our pilots, coworkers, and passengers," Ellis continued. The ASAP program encourages air carrier employees to voluntarily report safety information that may be critical to identifying potential precursors to accidents. These reports are made in a non-punitive environment that protects employees who voluntarily submit reports. The goal of the ASAP is to enhance aviation safety through the prevention of accidents and incidents. Its focus is to encourage voluntary reporting of safety issues and events that come to the attention of employees of certain certificate holders. ASAP is based on a safety partnership that includes the FAA and Air Wisconsin, and must include any third party such as the employee's labor organization. Founded in 1931, the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l is the world's largest pilot union, representing nearly 53,000 pilots at 38 airlines in the United States and Canada. The Air Wisconsin pilot's 12-man MEC represents the 665 pilots at Air Wisconsin. Back to Top Southwest starts lap joint repairs on five aircraft Southwest Airlines has started repairs on the lap joints of five Boeing 737s after finding minor subsurface cracking on the aircraft. The repairs stem from a decompression event on a 737-300 Classic on 1 April, which forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona. In the aftermath, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive requiring inspections of certain Classic 737s at every 500 cycles. Boeing has provided repair instructions to Southwest for the five aircraft, which includes the removal and replacement of an 18in section of the lap joint, with a completion time of 8-16 hours. Pending FAA approvals, Southwest anticipates returning four of the five aircraft to service on 9 April, with one aircraft remaining in previously scheduled maintenance. Southwest has no repair update for the aircraft involved in the incident at this time, but N632SW has been released from the onsite investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Southwest states that Boeing asked operators of 737 Classics with line numbers 2553 and 3132 inclusive, which were delivered between 1993 and the end of the Classic's production run in 2000, with above 30,000 cycles to inspect certain lap joints. "Although Southwest does operate a small number of 737-500 aircraft, the FAA's Airworthiness Directive focuses on a particular set of 737-500 airplanes which are not included in the Southwest fleet," the carrier states. Continental has previously told ATI its 32 737-500s are newer models with less than 25,000 cycles. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/04/07/355330/southwest-starts-lap-joint- repairs-on-five-aircraft.html Back to Top Delta Air Lines stops flying bulldogs Your bulldog is no longer welcome on Delta Air Lines, and it's for their own good. As we reported last summer, short-snouted dogs run a far higher risk of death when it comes to air travel, with bulldogs heading the list of cargo hold fatalities, according to federal government statistics. Bulldogs, pugs and other snub-nosed breeds for whom its harder to take in oxygen accounted for about half of the purebred dog deaths on airplanes in the past five years, the data showed. Since then two air lines have stop accepting bulldogs as passengers, most recently Delta, which based on its review of animal incidents last year, has opted to no longer carry American, English and French bulldogs. Of the 16 pets that died on Delta flights in 2010, six were bulldogs. Animal advocates are praising the decision, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. "We're pleased that Delta is being attentive and responsive to the particular animal welfare concerns with bulldogs," said Michael Markarian, chief operating officer of the Humane Society of the United States. Shipping pets in cargo holds "really should only be a last resort, when absolutely necessary," he said. Other major carriers have restrictions on bulldogs and some other breeds, or decline to carry any pets in their cargo holds. AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines only accept pets that fit in under-seat carriers. American Airlines stopped carrying snub-nosed dogs and cats last November. Delta had already restricted a wide range of snub-nosed breeds from flying in hot weather, including pit bulls, pugs and Persian cats. U.S. Department of Transportation data shows that 122 dogs died on airlines from May 2005 to May 2010. Of those, 25 were English bulldogs and six were French bulldogs. http://www.ohmidog.com/2011/04/08/delta-air-lines-stops-flying-bulldogs/ Back to Top FAA mandates tough inspection regime for older Boeing 737s Airlines that operate Boeing 737s face a rigorous new emergency inspection regime following the fuselage rupture of a Southwest Airlines 737-300 over Arizona on 1 April. The new requirement will see each aircraft undergo an 8h inspection every 500 cycles. Within three days of the incident, Boeing issued a service bulletin covering the operators of about 175 737-300/400/500s, requiring inspections of fuselage structure to begin within five days for aircraft with more than 35,000 cycles, and within 20 days for those with 30,000 to 34,999 cycles. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency airworthiness directive requiring repeated examinations every 500 cycles. The inspection will search for sub-surface cracks in the lap-joint of a subset of 737 Classic aircraft. The cracks have been found to develop far earlier in the aircraft's service life than had been anticipated, says Boeing's 737 Classic chief project engineer Paul Richter. The US airframer issued the service bulletin late on 4 April, requiring dial frequency Eddy-current inspections on the lower row of fasteners in the fuselage lap-joint, along the left- and right-hand side of the crown of the aircraft at stringer four between Station 360 - just aft of the forward passenger door - and Station 908 - a few frames ahead of the rear passenger door. This covers about 15.2m (50ft) - almost the entire length of the passenger cabin. The service bulletin applies only to 737 Classic aircraft with line numbers 2553 and 3132 inclusive, which were delivered between 1993 and the end of the Classic's production run in 2000. Paired with the 30,000-cycle requirement, a total of 175 aircraft worldwide meet this criterion, with 80 operated within the USA, almost exclusively by Southwest Airlines. Most of the others operate in Europe and Asia, says Boeing. What distinguishes this tranche of 579 737s is a design modification that was intended to eliminate the requirement for a lap-joint modification programme already in effect for line numbers 292 to 2552 inclusive, which were required above 50,000 cycles. Richter, who is chief project engineer for Boeing's out-of-production aircraft, including 737 Classics, says Boeing had anticipated some level of structural cracking in the relevant area, but had expected it to occur around 60,000 cycles, far later than the 39,871 cycles of the aircraft involved in the 1 April incident. The design change increased the spacing of the tear strap frames from 250mm to 500mm (10in to 20in) inside the fuselage, which are intended to prevent fuselage damage from propagating across structural frames in the event of a failure. Ultimately, the updated design on the newer 737 Classics was intended to increase the fatigue life of the lower row of the lap-joint. Richter says the service bulletin "currently does not have a repetitive inspections listed in it", but the FAA mandates a 500-cycle repeat interval under its emergency airworthiness directive as a precautionary measure. Richter says the requirement will be reviewed "through the course of our analysis for adjustments as required down the road". He says 500 cycles is a "rare interval to impose - it is quite frequent and has been used before with similar concerns". He adds that Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board have suggested a precautionary and conservative interval until the root cause of the 1 April structural failure is established. The examinations, which will look for disruptions in a magnetic field, indicating signatures for cracks in the base metal, will take about 8h per airframe with two mechanics in a maintenance environment, taking a further 8-16h to repair any cracks, says Richter. Following the 1 April incident and emergency landing at Yuma, Southwest removed 79 other 737-300s from service and conducted Eddy-current structural inspections on them. Apart from the event aircraft, five other 737s have been removed from service after cracks were discovered in the lap-joints. Richter says Boeing has not yet issued guidance to airlines on how to repair the lap- joints if they are found to be cracking, pointing out that later revisions of the service bulletin will address this, along with any preventive measures. He says Boeing is "completely confident" that no such lower-row cracking issue exists with the lap-joints on any 737 Next Generation models that have been in service since 1997. In November 2010, the FAA required airframers to set life limits for almost 4,200 transport aircraft, giving them between 18 and 60 months to determine how many cycles or hours an aircraft type can safely accumulate. FAA administrator Randy Babbit said in a 6 April US congressional testimony that the FAA would take a more active role in incorporating the Southwest accident into its rule- making. "I want to make absolutely certain that what we learn from this accident gets incorporated into our requirements for reviewing ageing aircraft," he said. "I am asking my team to review our ageing aircraft programme to ensure we are asking the right questions and taking full advantage of all available data." http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/04/08/355320/faa-mandates-tough- inspection-regime-for-older-boeing.html Back to Top Report: No Signs Of Burning On UA Flight 497 NEW ORLEANS -- Investigators reported the results of tests run on the United Airlines jet that made an emergency landing earlier this week at Armstrong International Airport. The investigation results did not reveal any signs of burning. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, flight attendants said they didn't see any smoke in the cabin. United Airlines Flight 497 made a sudden return to New Orleans after alarms signaled there was smoke inside part of the jet. Certain systems on board stopped working, as well. There were no serious injuries when the Airbus A-320 came to a stop just off the runway. Passengers evacuated the craft through emergency exits. http://www.wdsu.com/r/27472422/detail.html Back to Top Crashed 747F returned to Dubai despite Doha being closer Pilots of a UPS Boeing 747-400 freighter which caught fire and crashed while attempting to return to Dubai had been offered Doha International Airport, some 50nm nearer. The crew received a fire warning shortly after crossing the BALUS into Bahraini airspace, just below 32,000ft, en route to Cologne on 3 September last year. United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority investigators state that the crew informed Bahraini air traffic control that "they needed to land as soon as possible". The GCAA adds that the pilots were advised that Doha was 100nm distant, on a left- hand bearing. "[Doha] was the nearest airport at the time the emergency was declared," it states, adding that Dubai was 148nm away and required turning the aircraft around. "The captain elected to return to [Dubai] and, following the request to land as soon as possible to [Bahrain controllers], the crew declared an emergency." In order to turn the 747 back to Dubai, the GCAA says, controllers cleared it for a series of right-hand heading changes. The distance to Dubai, including the turns and straight- line return sector, amounted to about 150nm. Although the crippled aircraft managed to reach Dubai, despite smoke in the cockpit and deterioration in control capability, the jet was unable to carry out a stable approach to the airport and crashed south of the city. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC