Flight Safety Information November 7, 2011 - No. 227 In This Issue Airbus Tries to Exploit Training Time Needed for ANA Pilots on Boeing 787 FAA Investigates Lasers Shined On Planes At LaGuardia Pilot who had been drinking gets six months in prison UAE Civil Aviation Authority goes after air safety violators Incident: Allegiant MD83 at Medford on Nov 3rd 2011, rejected takeoff Jet carrying Rick Hendrick had landing gear collapse in runway crash Qantas A380 diverted after Trent 900 engine oil problem A Clear-Headed Response to Dizzying Flight Cranfield University proposes action over toxic cabin air Saudi aviation sector changes could help speed up airline sale Boeing chooses engine size for fuel-efficient 737 MAX Industry Research Survey...Management of unexpected situations by air transport pilots Airbus Tries to Exploit Training Time Needed for ANA Pilots on Boeing 787 By ANDY PASZTOR And DAVID KESMODEL TOKYO (WSJ)-All Nippon Airways Co. is taking significantly longer to train pilots for its new Boeing 787 jets than the aircraft maker and aviation-safety experts had expected, a surprise that Boeing Co. rival Airbus is trying to exploit. ANA's training program for initial groups of pilots flying the twin-engine 787 Dreamliner takes about five weeks, ANA officials said. By contrast, Chicago-based Boeing for years has promised airlines that one of the new aircraft's major advantages would be short and relatively simple training requirements, typically lasting a week or less for many pilots. The difference poses important cost and safety implications for ANA and other airlines waiting to take delivery of hundreds of 787 jetliners. Typically, the longer it takes an airline to run pilots through mandatory training, the higher its costs. Minimizing the length of pilot training has become a major point of competition between Boeing and Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. At many airlines in Europe and elsewhere, only two or three days of training are required for pilots to shift between certain Airbus models. Boeing has been marketing the 787 by stressing that Boeing 777 pilots switching to fly the latest model typically should require no more than five days of training. Officials at Airbus are trying to use ANA's 787 training time as a way to promote their own planes, arguing in recent sales pitches that Airbus planes are a better choice partly because pilot training is faster and therefore less costly, according to industry officials. An Airbus spokeswoman wouldn't comment on whether Airbus is using ANA's long training time for the 787 to market Airbus jets. Roei Ganzarski, chief customer officer for Boeing's flight-training organization, said ANA opted for "a few extra steps." That's the "choice they made along with the Japanese regulator," he said, to "introduce this brand new airplane." Mr Ganzarski declined to comment on training periods adopted by other carriers. Boeing makes recommendations, but individual carriers and national regulators have the ultimate say about the content and length of training programs. ANA, the launch customer for the Dreamliner, has taken delivery of two of the jets so far. Other carriers around the world are scheduled to start flying the 787 over the next year as Boeing speeds up its production of the plane. In an interview last week, the head of ANA's 787 flight-training office said that Boeing's original plan for training duration had some "important shortcomings," prompting the carrier to substantially expand the length of training. "We added what we thought was necessary," said Capt. Hideaki Hayakawa. The airline has no plan to shorten the training time, he said. "At this point, we have no intention of changing." In the future, he said, "we will be adjusting the content of the training, rather than its duration." Aviation-safety experts said Japanese carriers are widely known for being cautious when introducing new models, so the five-week interval may not be embraced by airlines in other regions. Officials at United Continental Holdings Inc., for example, have said they are planning 11 days of training for many of their new 787 cockpit crews. The length of ANA-designed training has surprised many safety experts and industry officials. Since the 787's cockpit is close to that of a Boeing 777-and the two planes were specifically designed to have similar handling characteristics-industry officials expected ANA's training to set the pace by emphasizing those common points. But ANA, according to Capt. Hayakawa, opted to spend more time concentrating on the use of extra cockpit aids in the 787. Called heads-up displays, they provide pilots with improved visibility in bad weather while also allowing them to see critical flight- control information at eye level, without having to glance down at instrument screens. "Getting accustomed to landing with this new technology is a big focus of our training," he said. Back to Top FAA Investigates Lasers Shined On Planes At LaGuardia The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after lasers were pointed at two airplanes on the same runway at LaGuardia Airport on Saturday night. The Federal Aviation Administration was investigating Sunday after lasers were pointed at two airplanes on the same runway at LaGuardia Airport the previous night. Officials say a laser was pointed at a Jetlink flight that was landing around 6 p.m. Saturday and another was pointed at a United plane about an hour later. Both planes were approaching the same runway at LaGuardia. FAA officials said they were trying to determine where the lasers came from. The agency said laser beams can temporarily blind or distract pilots, and federal law prohibits any interference with an aircraft pilot. http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/150295/faa-investigates-lasers-shined-on- planes-at-laguardia Back to Top Pilot who had been drinking gets six months in prison A United Express pilot caught flying a plane under the influence of alcohol was sentenced Friday to six months in federal prison. Aaron Jason Cope, 33, of Norfolk, Va., also will serve six months of home detention, three of those months on electronic monitoring, once his prison sentence is completed. Cope must report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons by Jan. 3. After a two-day bench trial in June, he was convicted of operating an aircraft under the influence of alcohol. Cope was the co-pilot on a flight from Austin, Texas, to Denver on Dec. 8, 2009, when another pilot smelled alcohol in the cockpit. When the flight landed at Denver International Airport, Cope's co-pilot "took a big whiff" and realized Cope had been drinking, according to the Colorado U.S. attorney's office. Cope went to a bar with a friend and purchased beer from a gas station near his hotel before his flight. His blood-alcohol level was 0.084 percent. Federal aviation regulations prohibit anyone from acting as a crew member of a civil aircraft with a blood-alcohol level of 0.04 percent or more or within eight hours after the consumption of any alcohol beverage. "The public rightly expects that airline pilots will not drink and fly," Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh said in a news release. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19269324 Back to Top UAE Civil Aviation Authority goes after air safety violators UAE General Civil Aviation Authority Director General Saif Al Suwaidi The number of airlines operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) registered with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority totalled 768 operators with 595 aircraft registered aircraft, according to UAE General Civil Aviation Authority Director General Saif Al Suwaidi. During the current year 83 aircraft have been registered. While the total for 2010 was 512 aircraft and 409 for 2009. The majority of which are operated by Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, Fly Dubai and RAK Airways. The statistics indicate the number of airline personnel working for the national airlines totalled 8,184 cockpit crew, 3,093 maintenance engineers, and 31,268 cabin crew. The UAE authorities banned 10 foreign air operators (permitting only two this year), compared to banning 19 in 2010 and 22 n 2009, bringing the number of operators banned 51 air operators during the past three years. It suspended the work of 13 non-local pilots, engineers and air traffic controllers this year, compared with 14 last year, bringing the number suspended to 27 people during the past two years. Al Suwaidi emphasized the UAE has been transformed into a regional hub and leader in the airline industry globally, attracting talent worldwide. While there are many challenges, most notably the failure to meet the need of recruiting locally trained staff based on operational cost, security and integrity factors of this sector. Al Suwaidi mentioned there is a complete absence of any clear policy or legislation despite the sensitivity of the sole dependence on foreign labor. Source: arabaviation.com Back to Top Incident: Allegiant MD83 at Medford on Nov 3rd 2011, rejected takeoff An Allegiant Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration N864GA performing flight G4-357 from Medford,OR to Las Vegas,NV (USA), was accelerating for takeoff from Medford when a loud bang was heard from an engine (JT8D) prompting the crew to reject takeoff at high speed. The aircraft slowed safely and returned to the apron. The FAA reported a subsequent runway inspection needed to remove metallic debris of a blown engine from the runway. A replacement MD-83 has been dispatched to Medford and is estimated to reach Las Vegas with a delay of 6 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4458c07c&opt=0 Back to Top Jet carrying Rick Hendrick had landing gear collapse in runway crash CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - The plane carrying Rick Hendrick and his wife Linda went nearly 1000 feet off the runway in Key West after the brakes failed during landing Monday night. A report released by the NTSB classified Hendrick's injuries as "serious" and said that the front landing gear also collapsed. The plane also suffered structural damage as it left the runway, crossed a 600-foot overrun, hit the far side of a ditch, crossed a dirt road, cleared another ditch and then hit a berm. Hendrick suffered some broken ribs and a broken clavicle and was first hospitalized in Key West. He is still in a medical facility in Charlotte, where he was taken when he returned to Charlotte on Tuesday afternoon. The pilot of the plane hit the brakes twice to try to get them to work. He finally applied the thrust reversers, but they weren't completely successful. Here is the full text of the NTSB preliminary report: On October 31, 2011, at about 1940 eastern daylight time, an Israel Aircraft Industries G150, N480JJ, went off the end of the runway on landing roll out. The nose landing gear collapsed and the airframe sustained structural damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules (IFR), flight plan was filed. The certificated airline transport rated pilot-in-command (PIC), airline transport rated co- pilot and one passenger reported minor injuries. One passenger sustained serious injuries. The flight departed from Witham Field Airport (SUA), Stuart, Florida at 1900. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Examination of the crash site revealed the airplane departed the runway, crossed a 600-foot overrun, impacted the far side of a ditch, crossed a dirt road, cleared another ditch, and came to a stop 820 feet from the departure end of the runway. The PIC stated the airplane touched down on the runway just past the 1,000 foot marker. He applied brakes and was going to activate the thrust reversers when he realized the brakes were not operating. He took his feet off the brakes and then reapplied brakes with no braking response. The co-pilot (CP) also applied brakes with no response. The PIC activated the thrust reversers and the airplane continued off the end of the runway colliding with a gravel berm. The airplane was recovered from the runway and will undergo further investigation. Back to Top Qantas A380 diverted after Trent 900 engine oil problem A Qantas Airways Airbus A380 on the Singapore-London route was forced to divert to Dubai after an oil-related problem caused a shutdown of its number four engine. Ninety minutes after takeoff from Singapore, the crew of QF31 detected "an engine oil quantity defect" in one of the A380's Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines and shut it down, said Qantas. The aircraft departed Changi airport at about 00:53 on 4 November, according to the airport's website. It diverted to Dubai where it landed without further incident. Qantas said the aircraft had 258 passengers and 25 crew aboard, all of whom disembarked safely. Qantas was unable to provide the aircraft's registration number. It said engineers in Dubai are inspecting the aircraft. This is not the first time Qantas has experienced oil-related issues with the Trent 900. An oil leak in a Trent 900 engine was identified as the cause behind a partial power loss on a Qantas Airbus A380 this February. The leak, which led to a gradual decrease in oil quantity in the number four engine, prompted the aircraft's flight crew to reduce the powerplant to idle thrust during a Singapore-London flight on 15 February. The aircraft, registration VH-OQC, did not experience a further oil level variation during the rest of the flight. Inspections after the incident showed that there was an oil leak from an external high pressure/intermediate pressure (HP/IP) oil tube at its connection to the engine case, said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). In November 2010, a fault in a Trent 900 oil feed tube caused the number two engine of a Qantas A380 to suffer an uncontained failure, resulting in an emergency landing in Singapore. The incident prompted Rolls-Royce to remove 53 Trent 900 engines from service. On 18 May, the ATSB said the engines were removed because of concerns over the wall thickness of the engines' oil feed pipes. Investigations into the uncontained engine failure have so far showed that it was caused by a manufacturing defect in an oil feed pipe, which caused a section of the pipe to thin and subsequently crack. The crack led to an oil leak and internal oil fire that weakened the engine's IP turbine disk, which separated from the turbine shaft and punctured the engine case and wing structure. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top A Clear-Headed Response to Dizzying Flight Passengers on Frontier Airlines Flight 787 were startled when the oxygen masks dropped as the airplane was cruising above the Rocky Mountains at 36,000 feet last month. But just how confused they were by an apparent shortage of oxygen masks is just becoming clear from a story reported by Rick Sallinger of the CBS television station in Denver. As the pilots began a quick descent and a return to the airport in Denver that day, passenger Kevin McClung noticed that not everyone had oxygen masks. "All of the masks did not deploy," he told Sallinger. "There are two rows that were ahead of me that did not have masks." Further, McClung said while his wife's mask was providing her with a stream of oxygen-dense air, his was not working at all and he thought others were having the same trouble. Photos and a video show a man without a mask struggling with the air vent above his head. These images are being reviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration to determine if Frontier's oxygen system was defective, Sallinger said. Peter Kowalchuk, a spokesman for the airline told Sallinger there were no problems with the emergency oxygen system on the Airbus A319 saying, "If all the masks dropped, the only way that there could be unused masks or people without a mask is if there was a mask that was unused, because somebody used the wrong mask and we believe that is what happened." Well if Frontier can follow that, good for them. As for me, say what Mr. Kowalchuk? Several years ago I wrote a lengthy article about issues with hypoxia (If you've got an hour to spend, be my guest.) Here's the condensed version: You can quibble all you like about how long it takes to get really sick when an airplane loses pressurization but you can take it to the bank that there's an immediate diminution of cognitive skills; judgment and comprehension. Since we're all presumably breathing at ground level now, here's a quick quiz. How important is it that emergency oxygen masks be easy to find and ready to don? Answer: Pretty darn important. Whether the McClungs were confused about the number and serviceability of the oxygen masks because they were already feeling the effects of oxygen deprivation, their story is valuable because it reveals potential problems. Is the deployment of the masks confusing? Are the overhead oxygen compartments likely to create disputes among passengers who cannot tell which masks go to which seats? Don't think decompression events are mere customer service blips, requiring re- booking of passengers and a heartfelt apology for the inconvenience. Alarm bells should start ringing because the danger is real. One hundred and twenty-one people died in the crash of Helios Flight 522 in 2005. In that accident, a Boeing 737 crashed near Athens after the pilots succumbed to hypoxia on ascent and the plane kept flying on autopilot until it ran out of fuel. The passengers died hours earlier having run through the 12-15 minute oxygen supply at their seats. Another hypoxia related event worth reviewing is the 1996 decompression aboard American Trans Air Flight 406 which you can find here. The McClungs and everyone else aboard Flight 787 have put Frontier and the A319 through a real-time test run of the emergency oxygen system. How well did it fare? If safety professionals are clear-headed they'll follow Sallinger's example and investigate this event further. http://christinenegroni.blogspot.com/2011/11/clear-headed-response-to-dizzying.html Back to Top Cranfield University proposes action over toxic cabin air A Cranfield University workshop reviewing measures to deal with contaminated cabin air has concluded that onboard contaminant detection systems are vital for the safety of aircraft, and work to eliminate the toxins from the cabin environment should be accelerated. This flies in the face of recent Cranfield research carried out for the UK Department for Transport that suggested any toxins were at low levels. Prof Jeremy Ramsden, chairman of the 11 October Cranfield seminar on "Inhalable Toxic Chemicals in Aircraft Cabin Air" and the current head of nanotechnology at the university, commented on the earlier study: "This report actually found significant concentrations of organophosphate neurotoxins and other noxious substances in cabin air even under normal flying conditions. "Unfortunately," said Ramsden, "the final conclusion of the report is the statement: 'With respect to the conditions of flight that were experienced during the study, there was no evidence for target pollutants occurring in the cabin at levels exceeding available health and safety standards and guidelines.' "The first phrase underlines the fact that the study failed to achieve measurement of a 'fume event', even though that was one of its principal objectives. Even for 'normal flying conditions' the purported conclusion is irrelevant because no standards are available for some of the most problematical substances. Nevertheless, despite the fact that this 'conclusion' is neither sound nor justified by the actual work carried out, it has been carelessly and uncritically quoted, including by the UK Minister for Transport Theresa Villiers, and widely used to infer that there is no safety and health problem." The Cranfield seminar assembled a multi-disciplinary, international group of presenters, backed by the independent Swiss research organisation Collegium Basilea. Ramsden said that the most obvious solution is to eliminate the source of the worst neurotoxic contaminants, namely engine oil additives, but since the additive is a highly effective anti-wear ingredient he suggested that a more realistic method would be the retrofitting of contaminant detection systems and bleed air filtration. In the meantime, effective treatment of crew and passengers who have suffered neurological damage might now be practical. "Highly encouragingly, successful biochemical treatments are being developed and are already available," said Ramsden. But treatment can only be provided if the patients are informed of contamination events, because, as Ramsden points out, misdiagnosis is frequent. Ramsden pointed out that the Boeing 787 will be free of this problem because it does not use engine bleed air for cabin ventilation and pressurisation. For most aircraft types this is not the case, and Ramsden remarked: "The mandatory inclusion of a health warning on air tickets, as on cigarette packets, would seem to be the alternative in the face of technical inaction." Ramsden said that the assembled papers will be published by the University for peer review. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news Back to Top Saudi aviation sector changes could help speed up airline sale DUBAI Nov 5 (Reuters) - Saudi King Abdullah on Saturday ordered the establishment of an independent civil aviation authority and put its head in charge of the board of Saudi Arabian Airlines, a move that could help speed up privatisation of the national carrier. The decision came as part of a series of royal decrees published on state media that separated civil aviation from the Ministry of Defence and Aviation following the death of Crown Prince Sultan, who was also in charge of the ministry. The decree ordered all duties and responsibilities of civil aviation be transferred from the Defence Ministry to the General Authority for Civil Aviation, which comes directly under the king in his capacity as prime minister. King Abdullah, who had spear headed economic reforms in the world's top oil exporter, named Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Saud as head of the new aviation body, which is likely to oversee the eventual privatisation of the airline and will report directly to the king. "He's been in the sector for some time as assistant to the former crown prince," said Hossein Shobokshi, a Saudi columnist. "He's familiar with the sector. Now that he's officially in control of it, he will be handling the privatisation of the airline, the liberalisation of the skies, allowing competition and probably developing the airports into profit centres on their own." The king also ordered restructuring of the board of Saudi Arabian Airlines but names of the new board are not yet known. The Saudi government has been trying to privatise the airline, one of the largest in the Middle East, for many years. It launched the process in 2006 by dividing up the company into six units, with a view to selling each separately. These include catering, cargo, maintenance, airlines, flight academy and ground handling. "It is becoming economically a burden on the government to carry the file of the aviation sector while it needs to be reformed and restructured. It has to be done in a separate platform," Shobokshi said. Saudi Airlines Cargo has been privatised, with 30 percent now owned by Tarabut Air Freight Service, while the ground handling services unit was merged last year with National Handling Services and Attar Travel Company. The airline, which has 137 aircraft in its fleet, said earlier this year it hopes to hold a much-delayed initial public offer of its catering unit estimated to be worth up to $540 million by end of 2011. The catering unit was first to be privatised, by selling 49 percent to investors in 2008 and is now completing requirements to offer 30 percent to the public. French bank Credit Agricole is advising on the planned IPO. The maintenance unit will start making arrangements to sell a stake later in 2011, officials have said. The chairman of the board, has said that the company was trying to restructure the airline unit before selling it, which he said will take some time before it can be privatised. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/05/saudi-airline-idUKL6E7M50P720111105 Back to Top Boeing chooses engine size for fuel-efficient 737 MAX orders for company's newest jet exceed 600 SEATTLE, 6 Nov. 2011. Designers of Boeing's newest passenger jetliner, the fuel- efficient 737 MAX, are choosing a 68-inch fan diameter for the new aircraft's engine that will provide efficient fuel burn and operating costs for the single-aisle passenger jet, which is scheduled to enter service in 2017 as a direct competitor to the rival Airbus A320neo. Meanwhile, the Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) Commercial Airplanes segment in Seattle has taken more than 600 order commitments for the future 737 MAX from eight airlines, up from 496 airplanes from five airlines when the program launched in August, Boeing officials say. The new-engine, fuel-efficient variant of the company's venerable 737 narrow-body passenger jet will have LEAP-1B engines from CFM International S.A. in Aérodrome de Villaroche, France -- a joint venture of General Electric in the U.S. and Snecma in France. Firm configuration for the 737 MAX airplane is scheduled for 2013, flight is scheduled in 2016, and first deliveries will be in 2017. The Boeing 737 MAX family will consist of three models -- the MAX 7, MAX 8, and MAX 9 -- that will have different lengths and different seating configurations. The new jets will feature the 737 Boeing Sky Interior with spacious cabin headroom, overhead bins that disappear into the ceiling yet carry more bags that previous interior configurations, and light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. Like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Boeing 737 Max has serrated edges called chevrons for the back of the engine nacelle and the engine exhaust nozzle to reduce jet blast noise by controlling the way the air mixes after passing through and around the engine. Boeing officials claim that when compared to a fleet of 100 of today's most fuel- efficient airplanes, the 737 MAX will emit 277,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide and save nearly 175 million pounds of fuel per year. Worldwide demand for single-aisle passenger jets over the next two decades will be 23,000 aircraft, worth about $2 trillion, Boeing officials predict. For more information contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes online at www.boeing.com/commercial. Industry Research Survey Management of unexpected situations by air transport pilots Continuous aviation improvement has damatically reduced the number of unexpected situations pilots will encounter in their professional lives. Nevertheless, the unexpected is and will always be present, with possibly dangerous consequences. Like human error, it cannot be eradicated. Having said that, what can we do better today to prepare for these rare situations ? You probably have an opinion which we would like you to share by clicking on the following link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KPNNHWX Your answers will bring key inputs to the Paris conference "The Air Transport Pilots Facing the unexpected" hosted in Paris by the Air and Space Academy on the 29th and 30th of November 2011. More information about this conference could be obtain on the Air & Space Academy Web site : www.academie-air-espace.com/ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC