Flight Safety Information May 6, 2011 - No. 092 In This Issue Air Force grounds F-22s over oxygen system concerns Brazil court raises damage award for flight victim An-124 in-flight upset after passing A380 led to 747 conflict Seven states agree single Central European airspace block TSA Studies Elements Of A Risk-Based Security Approach Crash of Comair Flight 5191 Pinnacle close to naming new CEO FAA chief worried about funding FAA - EASA Sign Maintenance Annex Guidance Cases of Mesothelioma Reported Among Italian Aircraft Mechanics Qatar Airways negotiates mega Airbus order Air Force grounds F-22s over oxygen system concerns Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Air Force has grounded its entire F-22 Raptor fleet amidst continuing concern over how the fighter jet provides oxygen to the pilot, according Capt. Jennifer Faerrau, a spokesperson for the Air Force's Air Combat Command. The stand-down order was made Tuesday but is just now becoming public. It's unclear how long the stand down will last. There are about 165 Raptors in the fleet. Since January, the aircraft already had been kept at altitudes under 25,000 feet during an ongoing investigation into a November crash. Flying above that altitude could cause a pilot to black out from lack of oxygen and lose control. The stand-down affects all routine training and other missions, Faerrau said. The Air Force is looking at all the systems on this new-generation fighter jet, but one area of focus is the On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS), according to Ferrau. The order came from Gen. William Fraser, commander of Air Combat Command, which is based at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Back to Top Brazil court raises damage award for flight victim RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - A Brazilian court has again rejected an appeal by Air France and raised the damage award the French airline company must pay to the family of a Brazilian victim of Flight 447. The Air France jet went down on flight from Rio to Paris on June 1, 2009, killing all 288 people on board, the worst crash in Air France history. The Rio State court told AFP that the court had unanimously rejected Air France's appeal and upped the compensation it must pay to 1.4 million reals ($868,000), up from the previous sum of 1.2 million reals ($744,000). "The 11th Rio Tribunal on Wednesday unanimously rejected an appeal by Air France, and raised the amount of the damage award which had first been set in December," said a court spokesperson. The airline is being sued by the family of Luciana Clarkson Seba, a 31-year-old Brazilian who died along with her husband and stepparents in the crash. A spokesperson for the airline in Brazil had no comment, noting that the court case was ongoing. The airline, through its insurers, had made compensation payments to the relatives of the passengers and crew, but continues to defend itself from litigation in Brazil. Both Airbus and Air France are being probed for manslaughter by a French investigating magistrate. The crash has been partly blamed on malfunctioning speed sensors used by Airbus, with Air France accused of not responding quickly enough to reports that they might be faulty. The airline has denied the allegations. French police said Thursday that an undersea recovery team had retrieved the first body from the depths of the wreckage, still attached to a seat in the aircraft. The remains of some of the passengers were found floating in the ocean after the crash, but scores more are still missing. It is thought that some of the victims could be in the wreckage two-and-half miles (4 kilometers) below the surface. Earlier this week, the two black box flight data recorders, which might provide clues as to why flight AF447 went down, were recovered. Relatives for the victims have demanded that all the bodies be recovered from the wreck, but the police have warned that the deep-water operation faces "highly complex and unprecedented conditions." The BEA, the French agency charged with investigating air accidents, will start trying to decipher the two black boxes in the next few days in Paris. Back to Top An-124 in-flight upset after passing A380 led to 747 conflict German investigators have disclosed preliminary details of a three-way encounter between an Airbus A380, an Antonov An-124 and a Boeing 747-400 near Frankfurt. The An-124 suffered an in-flight disturbance moments after passing the A380, which subsequently placed the heavy freighter in conflict with the 747. German investigation agency BFU has not identified the operators involved but states that the A380 and An-124 had been on opposing adjacent tracks. The An-124 had been flying westward at flight level 320, below the A380 which was travelling at flight level 330 in the opposite direction. One minute after passing the A380, says the BFU, the An-124 lost 200ft in height over the course of 15s. It then rose by 700ft over another 15s period, subsequently coming into conflict with the 747-400 which had been trailing the A380 by 20nm. The BFU says the An-124 crew received a resolution advisory from its collision-avoidance system, instructing the crew to adjust vertical speed. It has not specified whether the disturbance was caused by the A380's wake. "All three flights continued according to plan," it adds. The incident, disclosed in the BFU's latest incident bulletin, occurred on 10 February. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Seven states agree single Central European airspace block Seven Central European states have agreed to create a new, combined block of airspace, under the latest pact to restructure the continent's air traffic control. The countries involved - Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia - will bring their airspace under a single functional block. It will be known as Functional Airspace Block Central Europe and enable the individual states' air navigation services to concentrate on operational efficiency rather than being constrained by territorial boundaries. The block is the fourth airspace group in Europe to be formally agreed. "In view of the location of the [block] on the south-east axis and the forecasted growth in traffic in this area, its success will depend on the efficient implementation of the co- operation structures and optimisation of the air navigation service provision," says European transport commissioner Siim Kallas. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top TSA Studies Elements Of A Risk-Based Security Approach Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is exploring a variety of approaches toward a risk-based security system, including a trusted traveler program that could lead to an easier walk through airport checkpoints for some passengers. "At this point, these concepts remain under discussion," says TSA Administrator John Pistole. "We continue to evaluate a variety of measures to support TSA's risk-based, intelligence-driven approach that will strengthen security while improving the screening experience." Use of airline frequent flyer membership information could serve as a starting point to identify travelers, but the process also is likely to include other forms of identification, such as biometrics, according to security experts. A trusted traveler program, similar to those developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), would represent a significant step for TSA in its plan to move away from a "one-size-fits-all" approach that treats all passengers the same. Tests are scheduled to start this summer to allow pilots and flight attendants to undergo a separate and less-intrusive screening. A trusted traveler program for passengers would permit TSA to focus on and clear travelers who are unknown and therefore pose potential risks. The agency would continue its layered approach to security and also implement random and unpredictable interventions as a normal procedure, as well as applying intelligence in real time. CBP on Thursday said its trusted traveler programs, including Global Entry, Nexus, Sentri and Fast, have reached 1 million members. Global Entry is a fee-based system in which travelers apply to the government and must complete an interview and be fingerprinted in person at one of 20 airports where the international passenger program is in place. Nexus is in place for transborder flights between the U.S. and Canada, Sentri applies to Mexico and Fast offers dedicated traffic lanes for transborder vehicles. http://www.aviationweek.com Back to Top Crash of Comair Flight 5191 Business & Commercial Aviation May 01 , 2011 , p. 71 By: Kent S. Jackson Did ASAP take off in the wrong direction? In the litigation following the crash of Comair Flight 5191 on Aug. 27, 2006, a federal court allowed into evidence some of the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) reports prepared by the two pilots involved in the crash. Some opponents of Safety Management Systems (SMS) point to this fact as evidence that such programs should not be implemented because they create documentation that can be used against an operation after an accident. Of course, no one argues that the Comair ASAP caused or contributed to two pilots attempting to take off on the wrong runway, resulting in the death of 49 people. The implication is that the existence of the ASAP records hurt Comair in the subsequent litigation. There is no doubt that the existence of the records added complexity and cost to the litigation. Comair made valid legal and safety arguments for excluding the ASAP information. Comair made numerous valid arguments that existing law should protect ASAP records from disclosure, but admitted that "Congress did not create a statutory privilege specifically for ASAP or other voluntary safety reports." The Air Line Pilots Association and the Regional Airline Association filed amicus briefs detailing the serious safety implications of undermining ASAP and similar programs by disclosing the ASAP reports to the public. Comair, as well as ALPA and the RAA argued that the court should interpret existing legal protections broadly because "ASAP will whither and die if this Court does not offer protection." The court sarcastically responded: "Comair's brief brings to mind cymbals banging together very loudly, foretelling the destruction of the ASAP program and unsafe skies for the public if ASAP reports are not withheld from litigants on the basis of confidentiality. This Court has certainly heard Comair's policy arguments and concerns and those of the amici. Their problem is that these policy arguments are being made in the wrong forum. If disclosure of ASAP reports to litigants under a confidentiality order presents a serious danger to aviation safety, Comair and the amici should implore the FAA or Congress to change the regulations or statute to preclude disclosure to litigants, rather than authorizing disclosure pursuant to a court order as the regulations do now." The judge who made these snide comments is apparently unaware of the many instances where U.S. courts have used their power of interpretation to effect positive changes in the law. Nevertheless, the NBAA and other aviation associations are actively imploring Congress and the FAA to obtain the legal protections that the judge found lacking. However, ultimately, Comair's ASAP program helped Comair avoid punitive damages in the crash litigation. Plaintiffs in the Comair crash claimed that Comair exhibited a "cavalier attitude toward safety" as evidenced by the fact that reports of Comair pilots being involved in flight incidents including runway incursions were steadily increasing for the two years preceding the crash. In rejecting the claim for punitive damages, the court noted: "There were no Comair wrong runway takeoffs after 2003 until the crash of Flight 5191. Comair also initiated ASAP reporting in 2004, which encouraged pilots to report incidents to provide the FAA and the carrier with knowledge of safety issues. Reporting increased significantly as a result, but the increased reporting reflects efforts to improve safety, rather than the opposite." The dire warnings that Comair, ALPA and the RAA made have come true. Companies are afraid to implement these programs because of the Comair case. Legislation is needed to protect ASAP, SMS and other similar records from discovery in civil litigation because this type of litigation deters other operators from adopting these programs. For these programs to work effectively, pilots, mechanics and management personnel must all believe that the records will not be leaked or used outside the company. But it is also true that Comair's ASAP program was compelling evidence that helped to avoid punitive damages. In today's world, there are many sources of information that could be used against an operator after an accident. Comair did win a motion to exclude evidence from Internet chat rooms, blogs and ALPA's WebBoard regarding the crash. The document contained a number of blog comments by various pilots employed by the airline and was purported to show animosity between the airline and its pilots. In today's world, plaintiffs' attorneys can look at Twitter, Facebook and any number of sources to find careless comments from a company employee. Having an ASAP or SMS program can counter more damage than it will create. http://www.aviationweek.com Back to Top Pinnacle close to naming new CEO US regional operator Pinnacle Airlines should have a new chief executive in place by June, says acting CEO Don Breeding. Long-time CEO Phil Trenary announced his intention to step down in May after spending 14 years at the helm of the company. During a earnings discussion on 5 May, Breeding stated Pinnacle has been engaged in a formalised search for Trenary's replacement for two months, starting off with 64 eligible candidates. That was eventually whittled to eight, and now Breeding says three internal candidates are being interviewed this week and three external contenders on 9 May. Breeding believes Pinnacle will be in position to extend an offer early next week. "All the people we've talked to at this point have a strong aviation background," says Breeding. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top FAA chief worried about funding The Federal Aviation Administration's chief said in Atlanta Thursday that he's worried that Congress will pass a funding bill "well below" what President Barack Obama proposed for his agency. "Funding at these levels would degrade the safe and efficient movement of air traffic today and in the future," FAA administrator Randy Babbitt said. Babbitt's remarks to the Atlanta Aero Club came as the agency awaits funding from Congress. The House and Senate have passed FAA reauthorization bills. But political wrangling has slowed progress on a final version. House bill supporters say that chamber's version saves $4 billion and requires the FAA to find savings without negatively impacting aviation safety. http://www.ajc.com/business/faa-chief-worried-about-936462.html Back to Top FAA - EASA Sign Maintenance Annex Guidance Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) The Maintenance Annex Guidance (MAG), www.faa.gov/aircraft/repair/media/MAG.pdf similar to the various maintenance implementation procedures (MIP) between the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency, became effective on May 3, 2011. While the widely reported Safety Agreement (www.faa.gov/aircraft/repair/media/Safety_Agreement_Between_US_and_EC.pdf) between the U.S. and EC, commonly referred to as a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, is an important document, the MAG is the document that specifies when, where and how the BASA will be utilized for maintenance operations. The MAG contains three sections: · Section B - Certification process for U.S.-based repair stations. · Section C - Certification process for EC-based maintenance organizations. The MAG details EASA, FAA and applicant actions required to be taken in order for an FAA-certificated 14 CFR Part 145 repair station primarily located in the U.S. to be approved to EASA Part 145; and for an EASA Part 145 approved maintenance organization to be approved to 14 CFR Part 145, in accordance with the agreement between the U.S. and the European Community on cooperation in the Regulation of Civil Aviation Safety (the agreement). AEA COMMENTARY: The AEA appreciates the efforts of the EASA and FAA personnel in completing this monumental task. The association will brief on the impact of the BASA, as well as the MAG to the membership, at the AEA Europe Regional Meeting, May 11-13, in Copenhagen, Denmark, and all other AEA regional meetings in 2011. A schedule of the regulatory briefings at the AEA regional meetings can be found at: www.aea.net/regional. http://www.amtonline.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=13423 Back to Top Cases of Mesothelioma Reported Among Italian Aircraft Mechanics The hazard of asbestos exposure among automobile and truck mechanics is well established. Auto and diesel mechanics are among the occupations at higher risk of developing mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos which was used in brake linings, clutches and other heat generating moving parts. Are aircraft mechanics also at risk? Asbestos has been used in various airplane components such as airplane brakes. That suggests that mechanics who serviced planes and repaired aircraft may have been exposed to asbestos and be at risk of developing asbestos-related disease. Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung and abdomen, is strongly associated with inhaling asbestos dust. Handling parts that contain asbestos can spread asbestos dust into the air. Writing in the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Italian researchers at the Italian League Against Cancer reported a case of a 63-year-old man who was an aeronautical engineer and was involved in aircraft maintenance and overhaul from 1963-2003 in Naples and Rose. The man was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma and underwent surgery in 2003, but died of the disease 11 months later when it recurred. The cancer researchers also noted the case of a 62-year-old man who worked as an aircraft mechanic at the Rome airport for 35 years and was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. Two other cases of mesothelioma also have been reported in aircraft mechanics who worked at the Naples airport. Some studies have suggested an increased mortality for pleural mesothelioma among people in the aircraft industry. But additional research is needed on the asbestos cancer incidence among airline industry service personnel. A 2009 study conducted by Bureau Veritas Laboratories, a Georgia consulting lab that works with the aerospace industry, reported no measurable amount of asbestos fibers during a brake replacement on a light aircraft. The Bureau Veritas researchers said the findings suggests that normal brake change practices on aircraft with brakes that contain asbestos do not expose aircraft mechanics to a harmful level of asbestos. But the Italian researchers countered that the results of the Georgia study are unlikely to reflect past asbestos handling practices or even current work practices in many parts of the world. The symptoms of mesothelioma typically don't appear for 20 to 40 years after exposure so an aircraft mechanic who inhaled asbestos dust in the 1960s or 1970s may only recently have started noticing symptoms of asbestos-related disease. Considering the large number of people employed in aircraft maintenance throughout the world, the Italian cancer researchers say that mesothelioma could represent a considerable problem for the industry. http://www.aboutmesothelioma.net/2011/05/cases-of-mesothelioma-reported-among- italian-aircraft-mechanics.asp Back to Top Qatar Airways negotiates mega Airbus order: report PARIS (AFP) - Qatar Airways is in advanced negotiations to place a giant order for 60 airliners built by the European firm Airbus, the Les Echos newspaper reported on Friday. The order, which would be announced at the Le Bourget air show in June, would be for 50 A320 NEO aircraft, the re-engined version of the medium-range A320, and for 10 to 20 A380 superjumbo jets. The airline would also place an additional 50 options to buy A320 NEO aircraft and options to buy an additional 10-20 A380 planes, the report said. Until now, Qatar Airlines has ordered five of the superjumbo aircraft but has signalled that it intends to buy more. Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC