Flight Safety Information May 12, 2011 - No. 098 In This Issue Air France 447: Flight Box Recorders Could Unlock Crash Mystery FAA may require real-world emergency pilot testing NTSB Names Pilot Error As Cause Of Florida EMS Helo Accident Witness: Passenger 'tugged' at jet door mid-flight Makeup repair causes a scare in the air at Binghamton Airport Flight from Atlanta slides off runway during emergency landing in Louisville Honeywell NextGen Traffic Collision Avoidance System Makes Flying Safer Overweight DC-8's tailstrike influenced Afghan ban Crashed Merpati MA60 recorders sent to China Air France 447: Flight Box Recorders Could Unlock Crash Mystery One of the two flight recorders of the Air France flight 447, who crashed in 2009, is displayed to reporters during a press conference at the French investigators' headquarters in Le Bourget, near Paris, May 12, 2011. Authorities may be step closer to unlocking the cause of a 2009 Air France crash after two flight box recorders recovered from deep beneath the sea arrived in France this morning. Air France flight 447 was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on May 31, 2009 when the Airbus A330 jet when down in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 people aboard. Its last known communication was about four hours into the flight. Officials are now investigating whether they can extract information from the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. "If the card is in good shape it can be read in a couple hours," Christophe Menez with BEA's engineering department told the Associated Press. Mendez said it's unclear what the timeline would be if the memory cards were damaged. Before the crash, the pilot had sent an electronic text message to the airline to say that the plane was heading to an area known for stormy weather - Intertropical Convergence Zone. One of the two flight recorders of the Air France flight 447, who crashed in 2009, is displayed to reporters during a press conference at the French investigators' headquarters in Le Bourget, near Paris, May 12, 2011. Air France Crash Questions Sensor Safety Watch Video About 24 automated messages during four minutes were sent from the plane before it disappeared from radar. The messages recorded system failures and variable speed readings. Last month, a team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution discovered the plane's wreckage using remote underwater submarines some four kilometers deep. "Overall feelings were bittersweet. We were happy we had found it, and a little sad that we were witnessing this tragedy," said Mike Purcell, senior research engineer, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Of those who died, 51 bodies were found following the crash but 177 bodies are still missing. Two bodies were brought to the surface and the remains are in a lab to determine if officials can extract DNA from them, officials said at Thursday news conference. If no DNA can be pulled, other bodies will remain at the bottom of the sea, officials said. Authorities said recovering the bodies took three hours to go down and up from the ocean. Crash Theories Since the crash, several theories have emerged on what brought down the jet liner including problems with the plane's speed sensors called pitot tubes - which officials believe may have malfunctioned. "We cannot, however, assume any link between the sensors and the causes of the accident," Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Air France-KLM managing director, said in 2009. Reports of possible terrorism emerged after passengers on board the flight had the same names as radical Muslims on a watch list in France. But officials since then have discounted that as a possible cause. http://abcnews.go.com/US/air-france-447-flight-box-recorders-unlock- crash/story?id=13585146 Back to Top FAA may require real-world emergency pilot testing By Alan Levin WASHINGTON - Federal aviation regulators would require dramatically expanded simulator training for airline pilots under a proposal released Wednesday that is designed to prevent crashes such as the one that killed 50 people two years ago near Buffalo. In this Feb. 12, 2009, file photo, the wreckage of Colgan Air Flight 3407 lies amid smoke after crashing into a suburban Buffalo home. In what officials called the most significant update of training requirements in 20 years, the Federal Aviation Administration would require that pilots be tested on more real- world emergencies that have triggered accidents in the past, which is made possible by increasingly realistic flight simulators. "This is a major effort to strengthen the performance of pilots, flight attendants and dispatchers all through better and enhanced training," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said. While the FAA had begun attempts to broaden simulator training more than two years ago, the proposal was reworked to include recommended safety enhancements and congressional mandates as a result of the Feb. 12, 2009, crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407. The captain of the turboprop flying from Newark to Buffalo made a series of mistakes as he neared the airport, culminating in an overreaction to a cockpit warning that slowed the plane so much that it plunged to the ground, the National Transportation Safety Board found. As a result, pilots would be given more realistic training in how to recover from aerodynamic stalls, caused when a plane gets too slow and the wings can no longer hold a plane aloft. Despite training on stall recovery that begins before a pilot gets a license, airline crews have repeatedly mishandled similar emergencies, NTSB case files show. One key to preventing such accidents in the future will be more realistic training in simulators, Babbitt said. Currently, pilots are trained to avoid entering a stall at all costs but are never shown how to recover once they have entered a stall. When the FAA initially proposed enhanced simulator training in January 2009, it met with stiff resistance from carriers, who said that it was too costly. The agency said that the economic impact of the new simulator training in the revised proposal would be "minimal." Some large airlines already provide pilots simulator training that is similar to what would be required under the rule. The proposal also addresses another issue that arose during the Buffalo crash investigation. The captain had failed seven piloting skill tests prior to the accident, which raised concerns about his abilities during the NTSB's investigation. The proposal does not contain any limit on the number of failed tests that a pilot may have, but it would require airlines to better monitor training failures and to provide struggling pilots with remedial training. The FAA will give airlines and others until July 19 to offer comments on the proposal. Because it could be amended, there is no date for when it will take effect. http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/story/2011/05/FAA-may-require-real-world- emergency-pilot-testing/47062016/1 Back to Top NTSB Names Pilot Error As Cause Of Florida EMS Helo Accident Fortunately, All Three Aboard The Helicopter Survived The NTSB has determined that pilot error caused an Emergency Medical Services helicopter to go down in the Gulf of Mexico near Captiva Island on August 17th, 2009. The good news is, all three people who were on board at the time of the accident were able to exit the aircraft and survived. In this case, a cockpit distraction resulted in "controlled flight into terrain." NTSB Identification: ERA09LA464 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation Accident occurred Monday, August 17, 2009 in North Captiva Island, FL Probable Cause Approval Date: 04/28/2011 Aircraft: EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND GMBH EC-145, registration: N911LZ Injuries: 3 Uninjured. The emergency medical services (EMS) helicopter was on a night, over-water flight in visual meteorological conditions when the accident occurred. The pilot and two medical crewmembers were en route to pick up a patient on a barrier island. The pilot flew over the water with the autopilot engaged (altitude acquisition mode), at an altitude of 1,000 feet. While en route, the pilot unsuccessfully attempted to contact the fire department on the island to obtain landing zone information. When the helicopter was approximately 3 minutes from landing, the pilot selected 500 feet using the autopilot and the helicopter initiated a descent to that altitude. Unable to contact the fire department, the pilot likely became preoccupied with the task as well as the visual acquisition of the landing. The descent-power setting, which was manually controlled by the pilot, was not adequate to capture the selected altitude, and maintain 60 knots. As designed, the helicopter likely continued its descent with the autopilot engaged until it impacted the water. The pilot observed an amber indication on the primary flight display just before impact, which indicated the autopilot was engaged, and confirmed this most likely scenario. A post-accident examination of the helicopter revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies. After the impact, the dispatcher initiated a re-boot of her computer, rather than a search for the helicopter, when the helicopter's movement stopped on her screen. However, the fire department on scene initiated a search, and the crewmembers were rescued within a short timeframe. Had the crewmembers sustained serious injuries during the accident, the dispatcher's failure to initiate a search may have reduced the survivability of the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be the pilot's failure to arrest the helicopter's descent, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain. FMI: www.ntsb.gov Back to Top Witness: Passenger 'tugged' at jet door mid-flight A passenger from Arlington on a Delta jet inbound to Boston last night "tugged" on an emergency door he was sitting next to setting off an alert, witnesses and officials said. A flight attendant on Flight 1102 from Orlando to Boston confronted the man and ordered he sit in the back of the jet next to an off-duty cop, one passenger at Logan International Airport said last night. The man spoke to the Herald just after the jet landed safely. State police boarded the plane and arrested Robert Hersey, 43, who was ordered held on $1,000 bail today at his arraignment in East Boston District Court on one count of interfering with an aircraft. Prosecutors allege Hersey removed the cover to the emergency exit latch on the exit door. After removing the cover to the lever, Hersey put the cover back on said his defense attorney, Ronald Wayland. Prosecutors said a light went off in the cockpit when the exit door was tampered with. Flight attendants approached Hersey and moved him to another seat where he was placed next to an off duty Weymouth Police officer. Wayland said it was just a coincidence he was seated next to the officer. "It's a non event," Wayland said. "It was an accident. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer O'Keefe said Hersey has a record from the 1980s. She also said he had been drinking before the incident. Wayland said flight attendants countered that Hersey did not pose any problems after he was seated next to the off duty officer. Logan officials said they were first told of a passenger who may have attempted to open a door mid-flight. Phil Tigh from Plympton was seated next to the suspect. He said the man "screwed up" when he reached for the handle. "He knew he messed up," Tigh told the Herald. "He sat at the bar and had too much to drink. He screwed up." http://news.bostonherald.com Back to Top Makeup repair causes a scare in the air at Binghamton Airport Lighting matches on planes not a good idea MAINE -- Attention passengers: Don't use a lit match to warm up eye makeup if you're on an airplane. That's what Broome County Sheriff's deputies and officials said happened Wednesday on United Express Flight 7825 shortly before the aircraft landed at 2 p.m. at Greater Binghamton Airport in the Town of Maine. A unidentified 24-year-old woman from Florida had fallen asleep on the flight to Binghamton from Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., airport officials said. During her nap, the woman's eye makeup became smeared, she told police. Still groggy from her nap, she went into the airplane's restroom to repair her makeup shortly before the plane landed. She told deputies she lit a match, heated up her eyeliner pencil and then blew out the flame, said sheriff's Deputy Daniel Balmer. This was a mistake, the deputy said. However, according to at least one website, applying a candle or lit match to an eyeliner pencil will soften the makeup and make it more user-friendly, according to Associated Content at Yahoo. The website tells users to pass the pencil tip through the flame to give deeper color. The burning smell didn't go unnoticed, however, and the aircraft's crew notified officials at Greater Binghamton Airport, said Carl Beardsley, aviation commissioner for Broome County. Emergency procedures were followed and deputies arrived at the airport. Beardsley didn't know how many passengers were on board the 34-passenger turbo- prop aircraft. After the incident, the flight took on passengers and returned to Dulles, as scheduled, Beardsley said. There was only a slight delay. The woman, whom police declined to name, was escorted into the airport and questioned by deputies and Broome Security, which polices the airport. She was released and no charges were filed, Balmer said. http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20110511/NEWS01/105110388/Makeup-repair- causes-scare-air-Binghamton-Airport?odyssey=nav%7Chead Back to Top Flight from Atlanta slides off runway during emergency landing in Louisville LOUISVILLE, Ky.(AP) - An airport spokeswoman says a Vision Airlines flight from Atlanta making an emergency landing at Louisville International Airport slid off the runway. Trish Burke says none of the 21 people aboard was seriously injured. She says the plane contacted the tower at 7:27 p.m. EDT Wednesday to report an emergency due to hydraulic problems. According to Vision Airlines' website, Flight 304 was scheduled to fly from Atlanta to Louisville. Burke says the runway remained closed Wednesday night. A photo on WAVE-TV's website shows the turboprop Dornier 328 with its nose resting off the runway with no visible damage. The station says there was no fire. Vision Airlines operates commercial and charter flights and is based in Suwanee, Ga. A call to the airline was not immediately returned. Back to Top Honeywell NextGen Traffic Collision Avoidance System Makes Flying Safer, Saves Airlines Millions in Fuel Costs Airbus First OEM to Certify New Honeywell SmartTraffic System Annually Each Cent of Increase in Fuel Price Costs U.S. Airlines $175 Million PHOENIX, May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Addressing the needs of airlines around the world to maximize safety, reduce operating costs and gain efficiencies, Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced industry-first certification and immediate availability of its advanced traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) with SmartTraffic. TCAS with Honeywell SmartTraffic improves traffic situational awareness and increases flight safety and efficiency, leading to significant cost savings for airlines. Airbus is the first to certify the new system and plans to offer these advanced functions on its A320, A330 and A340 models. "The new TCAS system is a significant step towards worldwide Air Traffic Management (ATM) modernization, which is designed to make flights safer, more environmentally friendly and more affordable," said John Bolton, president of Honeywell's Air Transport and Regional business. "Airlines that use TCAS with SmartTraffic will be flying planes equipped with the most advanced collision avoidance in the world. This will considerably increase their flight efficiency and routing, and in so doing, reduce their costs substantially." Leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, TCAS with SmartTraffic encapsulates and delivers super-advanced Hybrid Surveillance and Airborne Traffic Situational Awareness (ATSAW) functionality, which provides a much more intuitive display of what is in a plane's airspace. Taking advantage of the improved system requires a simple software upgrade to airlines' current TCAS systems with no need to replace or overhaul existing equipment. Unique to Honeywell, and a key differentiator, is that the system is the only such offering that does not require new TCAS hardware, saving airlines more than $25,000 per aircraft upgrade compared to competitors' traditional products. ATSAW Reduces Cost of Operations for Airlines The spiking cost of fuel is the number one threat to an airline's business. For instance, every penny increase costs airlines $175 million, according to the Air Transport Association. To reduce those costs and maintain profitability, airlines have to find ways to be more efficient. TCAS with SmartTraffic gives them a big solution to this vexing problem, enabling airlines to substantially reduce operational costs while enhancing flight safety. For example, TCAS with SmartTraffic enables an airline to incorporate the In Trail Procedure (ITP) on a trans-oceanic flight. ITP is designed to reduce oceanic and remote area aircraft separation by allowing planes to obtain a more efficient routing while maintaining a safe, yet reduced distant from neighboring traffic. With the system, pilots can choose a more efficient altitude during transoceanic flight routing and move to adopt that route more quickly than with traditional TCAS systems. Just the ability to simply change routes can enable annual fuel savings of up to $100,000 per aircraft, adding up to millions of dollars across an average airline's operational fleet. TCAS with SmartTraffic also enhances visual separation on approach so that more aircraft can land safely in a tighter timeframe. This can substantially improve on-time efficiency and turn-around performance, benefitting both passengers and airlines. Improving Flight Safety and Situational Awareness TCAS with SmartTraffic uses ADS-B, a highly accurate satellite-based system that provides more information than TCAS-only systems. It improves overall flight safety and increases airspace capacity by automatically broadcasting aircraft position and other relevant information periodically to ground stations and other aircraft without pilot interaction. Honeywell's TCAS system meets standards recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization and reinforced by the Association of European Airlines as a global safety update for all TCAS systems. The system complies with the proposed European mandate of Change 7.1 and includes a unique hybrid surveillance technology that improves long-range situational awareness, and mitigates the risk of a potential mid-air collision by addressing key safety hazards and providing a clear course of action. Honeywell has pioneered TCAS developments since the mid-1950s. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Honeywell's aerospace business is a leading global provider of integrated avionics, engines, systems and service solutions for aircraft manufacturers, airlines, business and general aviation, military, space and airport operations. Honeywell International (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com. Honeywell and the Honeywell logo are the exclusive properties of Honeywell International, Inc., are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other Honeywell product names, technology names, trademarks, service marks, and logos may be registered or pending registration in the U.S. or in other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2011 Honeywell. SOURCE Honeywell Aerospace Back to Top Overweight DC-8's tailstrike influenced Afghan ban Slack operational oversight allowed an Afghan McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63 freighter to take off from a UK runway while nearly 12t above weight limits, resulting in its overrunning and striking its tail. The incident, involving operator Kam Air, notably contributed to the European Commission's decision to impose a blanket blacklisting on Afghan carriers last November. Investigators stated that the DC-8 had been transporting 36 ponies from Manston airport, near London, to Buenos Aires via Cape Verde. The flight engineer prepared a load form showing a take-off weight of 152.5t - calculated using a pony weight of 350kg, rather than the 450kg shown on the cargo manifest - but also prepared a take-off data card with a different weight of 155.9t. "No crosscheck of the flight engineer's calculations or take-off performance figures was made by any other crew member," said the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch. It says the crew had "ample time" to follow correct checking procedures. Analysis shows the data card accurately reflected the DC-8's weight, but the aircraft was 11.7t above the runway-limited take-off weight of 144.2t. The crew, pre-occupied by demands of the Cape Verde-Buenos Aires leg, had worsened the situation by uplifting "significantly more" fuel than required. "It is likely that their concerns over the next sector occupied the crew to the extent that they were diverted from the immediate task of ensuring safe take-off performance at Manston," the AAIB said in its report into the 11 August 2010 event. As it attempted to depart Manston's runway 28, which is 2,752m (9,030ft) long, it over-rotated, striking its tail 35m before the end of the paved surface and continuing onto soft ground, running over an approach light. The DC-8's tail skid scored a 117m- long mark before the jet became airborne. The AAIB says the DC-8 will hit its tail at a pitch of 8.95° but the "instinctive reaction" of the captain to the "rapidly approaching runway end" probably resulted in incorrect rotation technique. Despite the tailstrike and overrun, the aircraft did not sustain serious damage and continued its flight. None of the three crew members had operated a DC-8 for eight months. They had not been interviewed for their post or gone through a selection process, and the operator had not required further training or checks before releasing them to line operations. Afghanistan's civil aviaiton ministry told the operator, two months after the incident, that the crew members' licences would be revoked. Both of its DC-8s were also removed from the carrier's air operator's certificate. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Crashed Merpati MA60 recorders sent to China Indonesian investigators have sent the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the crashed Xian Aircraft MA60 operated by Indonesia's Merpati Nusantara Airlines to China for analysis. Xian Aircraft will assist in the investigations, says an Indonesian investigator into the incident. "Two Indonesian investigators are accompanying the black boxes to China," he says. The turboprop aircraft was trying to land at Kaimana Airport on 7 May when it crashed in poor weather. All 25 people on board were killed. It is not clear yet what caused the crash, says the investigator. In the meantime, Indonesian authorities are conducting a safety audit of the airline following the incident, says a Merpati official. "All the personnel responsible for operations safety are being investigated," he adds. The airline, which still operates 12 MA60s, has not grounded the aircraft and flights are operating normally, says the official. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC