Flight Safety Information November 29, 2011 - No. 242 In This Issue NTSB: Plane carrying OSU passengers flying low, making turns before fatal crash Superstition Mountains plane crash renews debate Blowing a Circuit Over Everybody's Expertise Civil Air Patrol approaches 70th anniversary Pilot licensing tests to go online next month (INDIA) Safety oversight of gov't aircraft lacking Georgia Hospital Lands Airline Pilot to Lead Patient Safety American Airlines Parent AMR Files for Chapter 11 Protection ATA Changing Name To 'Airlines For America' Pilots' shortage: Campus recruitment drive in China Qantas Pilot Faces Ouster Over 'Scandalous In-Flight Affair' NTSB: Plane carrying OSU passengers flying low, making turns before fatal crash A single-engine plane that crashed this month killing four people associated with Oklahoma State University was flying low and making turns shortly before it crashed into a heavily wooded area in central Arkansas, according to an investigative report released Monday. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, which took the lives of OSU women's head basketball coach Kurt Budke, 50; assistant coach Miranda Serna, 36; former state Sen. Olin Branstetter, 82, and his wife, Paula Branstetter, 79. They all died Nov. 17 when their plane went down on the way to a recruiting trip in Little Rock, Ark. Olin Branstetter was the pilot of the Piper PA-28-180. The report reveals additional details about the fatal crash, which is the second fatal aviation accident in the past 10 years involving OSU. In 2001, an air crash killed 10 men associated with OSU's men's basketball team, including two student athletes. In the most recent crash, the NTSB report states that Branstetter's plane was making turns and flying low shortly before it crashed, according to eyewitnesses. The airplane disappeared from radar without communication with the traffic controller, the report states. The preliminary report states: "Radar data showed the airplane level at 7,000 feet mean sea level on a southeasterly heading. At 1610:49, (4:10 p.m.) the airplane entered a right turn and began descending. The airplane disappeared from radar shortly after. There were no reported air traffic control communications with the airplane. Witnesses who were in the vicinity of the accident site reported that the airplane was flying at a low altitude and making turns." Eyewitnesses also stated that the plane "nose-dived" into a heavily wooded area, the report states. "An impact crater, about 10 feet in diameter and about 3.5 feet deep contained most of the airplane," the report states. Ground scars and markings surrounding the accident site were consistent with the airplane being in a steep nose-low altitude at the time of impact, according to the report. "The initial ground-impact scar was consistent with the airplane's right wing leading edge contacting the ground first." The accident site was located in Ouachita National Forest, about eight miles southeast of Perryville, Ark. Branstetter was a certificated flight instructor pilot. The OSU flight originated from Stillwater Regional Airport about 2:15 p.m. and was destined for North Little Rock Municipal Airport. Employees at the Stillwater airport stated the plane landed about 1:45 p.m., picked up two passengers and departed for Arkansas. The airplane did not receive any services at the Stillwater airport, according to the report. http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20111129_11_A1_CUTLIN911437 Back to Top Superstition Mountains plane crash renews debate The deaths of six people aboard a plane that slammed into the Superstition Mountains the night before Thanksgiving is rekindling an airspace-safety debate between federal authorities and local pilots. James Timm, executive director of the Arizona Pilots Association, said he warned in 2006 that such an accident could happen when the Federal Aviation Administration redesigned the airspace on the far eastern edge of metro Phoenix to separate commercial jetliners from general-aviation aircraft. The change effectively put the floor altitude for commercial traffic at almost the same height as the tallest peak in the Superstitions, which is 5,057 feet. That means planes heading east from Mesa's Falcon Field municipal airport must either go around the peak or request permission to enter commercial airspace to fly above it. "You expect (an accident) to happen, and you hope it never will. It has come to pass," Timm said. "We were concerned about it from the very beginning. We pushed very hard to get more space." Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman, said he cannot comment on specific crashes but said general-aviation pilots can request clearance from control towers to enter the so-called Class Bravo airspace when necessary. He said that pilots on visual flight rules, as was the case in the Superstition tragedy, are responsible for seeing other planes and potential obstacles in a "see-and-avoid concept" and that most pilots choose to fly around the mountain. Mike Huhn, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator, said he is examining the airspace- redesign issue as one of many potential contributing factors in the collision. "They are all correct statements. Therein lies the fingerpointing," Huhn said. Huhn said radar data shows the plane flew southeast in a straight line from Falcon Field at an elevation of 4,500 feet. According to newly released transcripts from 911 calls on the night of the crash, one of several residents who called the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said that "it looked like they didn't know Ship Rock was there." Ship Rock is a rock formation near Flat Iron, a popular hiking spot in the rugged area. "It blew up when it hit the freakin' mountain," the male caller said. As the investigation progresses, friends and loved ones are comforting Karen Perry, the mother of the three children killed in the crash. "Karen Perry is heartbroken and grieving deeply as any mother would after losing all three of her precious children. She is choosing to smile even in the midst of the deep pain she is suffering," family members and friends wrote in a statement. "We do not want the darkness of this tragedy to overshadow the children's light, love, beauty and legacy they have left behind." Services for Morgan Perry, 9; Logan, 8; and Luke, 6, are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 9 at Foothills Baptist Church, 6338 S. Kings Ranch Road, Gold Canyon. The mourning also reaches Safford, where residents of a city 10,000 are also devastated by the victims' deaths. Russel Hardy, 31, Shawn Perry, 39, and Joseph Hardwick, 22, all from the southeastern Arizona community, also died in crash. The three had flown to Mesa to get Perry's children and bring them back to Safford for the holiday. Hardy, a highly experienced pilot, is believed to have been flying the plane when the crash occurred while Perry sat in the back with his children. Huhn said he had determined the location of all victims and will include that in his preliminary report in a few days. http://tucsoncitizen.com/arizona-news/2011/11/28/superstition-mountains-plane-crash-renews-debate/ Back to Top Blowing a Circuit Over Everybody's Expertise By: Christine Negroni I'll be the first to say that all those people who know about circuit boards and microprocessors are pretty darned clever. But don't let them wander too far from their field of expertise or they wind up making statements that make them sound, well...stupid. I'm referring to an item that ran in the Bits blog of The New York Times online on Sunday headlined, Flyers Must Turn Off Devices, But its Not Clear Why, in which the author, Nick Bilton, disses the safety hazards associated with the use of personal electronic devices on airplanes and cites as the expert, the association representing wireless device manufacturers. What fries me about the hew and cry that accompanies this issue each time it is brought up is that people smart enough to be downright boring at a dinner party explaining digital complexities can lift up their eyes from the screen of their iPad and see something like commercial aviation in such starkly simplistic terms. Bilton's story boots up with the argument that people routinely do not turn off their devices on airplanes and no planes have crashed. Therefore, no problem exists. There are two problems with that. The first, is that it is wrong. The history of the study of the effect of EMI on airplanes begins with a spectacular mid-air collision - over New York no less - in 1960. At that time it was thought that radio interference caused the pilots of a United DC-8 to believe their VOR receiver was not working, resulting in the plane being off course and colliding with a TWA Super Constellation. Since then there have been other accidents studied by the members of the RTCA committee which has been investigating the potential for gadgets to interfere with airplane systems. When I wrote about this for the Times in January of this year, one of the members mentioned several accidents (some of them quite well known) in which EMI was considered a likely contributing factor. Electromagnetic interference, unlike bent metal or broken parts, leaves no trace. Still, there have been many reports of pilots experiencing problems in the cockpit that did not lead to disaster that were were tracked back to a passenger using an electronic device. You can read more about them here. But the second and larger problem with the story is that it is another rallying cry for air travelers who don't get that aviation accidents aren't an A-follows-B sort of thing, like plugging a fork into a wall outlet and watching the fireworks begin. Absent a plane-spiraling-to-earth-event, everyone armed with a Google-equipped iPod (forgive me, Android) now feels that is perfectly appropriate to to make their own decision about whether to heed the flight attendant's plea to kindly power down anything with an ON/OFF switch. A lack of accidents is not evidence of air safety and its frightening that passengers feel equipped to make safety decisions on their own with this yardstick as measuring device. Bilton brings his argument on home by quoting an executive of the International Association for Wireless Communications, a trade group representing the device manufacturers, hardly an unbiased source. The executive reassures Times readers that aircraft wiring is shielded. Well, yeah. We know that. He does not suggest the impact of 200-400 plus passengers, each with 2 to 3 devices all powered up and ready to go may be slightly beyond what any airplane designer may have had in mind a decade or more ago when the PED wasn't SOP for everyone over the age of 3. We're not even talking about the thousands of airplanes in service around the world that were designed prior to the 1990s. Anyway, I'm not feeling so good about the integrity of all that communications gear or even the robustness of the shielding of airplane wiring, which will always be one or two digital generations behind the device manufacturers. (I say this having spent five years on an F.A.A. committee on aging aircraft wiring. See me later.) So when I get on an airplane and I am mildly tempted to keep my Kindle on, or squeeze a few more photos on my digital camera, I resist that temptation. To steel my spine I need only remember the what Boeing had to say about the matter. "Operators of commercial airplanes have reported numerous cases of portable electronic devices affecting airplane systems during flight. These devices, including laptop and palmtop computers, audio players/recorders, electronic games, cell phones, compact-disc players, electronic toys, and laser pointers, have been suspected of causing such anomalous events as autopilot disconnects, erratic flight deck indications, airplanes turning off course, and uncommanded turns. Boeing has recommended that devices suspected of causing these anomalies be turned off during critical stages of flight." http://christinenegroni.blogspot.com/2011/11/blowing-circuit-over-everybodys.html Back to Top Civil Air Patrol approaches 70th anniversary, looks to honor World War II's 'unsung heroes' MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. - On Dec. 1, Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, observes 70 years of vigilant service. But the celebration won't be complete until CAP's earliest members - now in their eighties and nineties - are "rightly honored" with the Congressional Gold Medal. CAP, an all-volunteer service of more than 61,000 members, was founded 70 years ago on Dec. 1, 1941, less than a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to America's involvement in World War II. Known at the time as the Coastal Patrol, members soon proved their worth by conducting aerial missions at the request of the Office of Civilian Defense, displaying heroism that discouraged and eventually stopped deadly German U-boat attacks on supply ships leaving American ports headed to support the Allied war effort. The "subchasers" flew at great personal risk. In all, 90 CAP planes were forced to ditch at sea. Of the 59 CAP pilots killed during World War II, 26 were lost while on Coastal Patrol duty and seven others were seriously injured while carrying out the missions. Their wartime service was highly unusual because they were civilian volunteers flying combat missions in their own aircraft at a time when the military could not adequately respond the U-boat threat. The military decided to arm their aircraft soon after the patrols began and, all told, they sank or damaged two or more submarines and attacked 57. Legislation has been introduced and is pending in both houses of the U.S. Congress, H.R. 719 and S. 418, that would award CAP a Congressional Gold Medal for its World War II service. It will be a diminished victory, however, if none of the World War II-era CAP members are alive to see this law's passage. "These members from our earliest days as an organization helped save lives and preserve our nation's freedom," said Maj. Gen. Chuck Carr, CAP's national commander. "They were truly unsung heroes of the war, using their small private aircraft to search for enemy submarines close to America's shores, towing targets for military practice, transporting critical supplies within the country and conducting general airborne reconnaissance. They provided selfless service, without fanfare, in defense of their homeland." Time, instead of a German submarine, is now the enemy of the roughly 60,000 CAP volunteers from World War II. Only a few hundred of them are still alive today. "Each week, each month, others are lost," said Carr. "We want to make sure those who remain, and those who have passed, are rightly honored for their great service to America." These early CAP heroes included men like 94-year-old Charles Compton, the father of ABC News Radio White House correspondent Ann Compton. He was in his early 20s when he left dual jobs in Chicago - one as an advertising salesman for the Daily News, the other working in a plant that manufactured aircraft parts - to go to the East Coast as a CAP citizen volunteer based on "a desire to be more actively engaged in the war effort." There he was part of the flight staff of Coastal Patrol Base 1 in Atlantic City, N.J., flying missions to search for enemy submarines or to provide an escort for American convoys as they sailed along the Eastern Seaboard. During the war, CAP operated 21 such units up and down the Eastern Seaboard and into the Gulf of Mexico. The duty was dangerous, Charles Compton recalled. "There was nothing like GPS," he said, as he told about using partially sunken American merchant ships, which were plentiful, as a navigational tool. Wylie Apte Sr., who died in 1970, was a seasoned pilot, having flown with the Army Air Corps during World War I and later owning and operating White Mountain Airport in North Conway, N.H. As a CAP member, Apte was assigned to a unit of the Coastal Patrol based in Portland, Maine, to search for enemy subs off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Flying his own Waco YKS-7 biplane, Apte trailed an antenna, longer than 100 yards, for communication back to his land base, which would in turn be used to notify the military to dispatch fighters and bombers in the event a sub was spotted. Propelled by duty and love of country, Joseph W. Leonard joined CAP the day it was established, six days before Pearl Harbor. Leonard, who remained a CAP member until his death in March of this year, was a member of the Pennsylvania Wing's Chester Squadron. He flew out of Coastal Patrol Base 2 at Rehoboth Beach, Del. Base 2 was populated by such CAP heroes as Eddie Edwards, who received the first Air Medal of World War II from President Franklin D. Roosevelt for his daring all-night rescue of a downed CAP pilot from the Atlantic waters. In a journal he left behind, Leonard wrote: "On my day off I was in the habit of going surfing. There I had a close encounter with a torpedo that was fired at a convoy a few miles offshore and missed. I was about a half mile beyond the breakers, watching a convoy heading north. I was focusing on the ships and didn't notice the bubble trail approaching me until it was pretty close. I rolled the surfboard to one side, and the German torpedo slid by me." To support CAP's Congressional Gold Medal legislation, contact federal legislators, both senators and representatives, and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 719 and S. 418. In both houses, two-thirds of the membership must sponsor a bill before it can be brought up for a vote. Sample letters and other details, including a list of current cosponsors, are available at www.capmembers.com/goldmedal. Meanwhile, anyone with information on adult CAP members who served the organization during World War II is encouraged to upload their information into the World War II Congressional Gold Medal database at www.capmembers.com/goldmedal. Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 54 lives in fiscal year 2011. Its unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to nearly 27,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 70 years. It is a major partner of Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com for more information on CAP. Back to Top Pilot licensing tests to go online next month (INDIA) ISTCHENNAI: In a bid to plug loopholes and prevent malpractice, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to conduct online exams for commercial, private and air transport pilot licences from December 3. DGCA had found that malpractice and corruption were rampant in the paper-based test. In March, the body had revoked a woman pilot's licence alleging that she used forged papers to get her airline transport pilot licence (ATPL), which is mandatory for an aircraft captain. More than 24 people were arrested and 14 commercial pilot licences revoked in connection with pilots obtaining licences by forging marksheets and answersheets in the following months. In March, DGCA revoked 14 commercial pilot licences (CPL) as the pilots had submitted fake training records from Rajasthan State Flying School to procure them. Online examinations are expected to be foolproof because the questions and answers can be accessed by authorized persons only. It will also cut out agents, who charge Rs 80,000 to Rs 3 lakh to help obtain licences.turns from here. Sources said that more than 2,000 candidates will be taking the tests online to qualify to become commercial pilots at examination centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Most candidates applied in October and roll numbers and examination dates have been issued. Tests for general papers -- composite, air navigation, aviation metrology, radio aids & instruments and air regulation -- will be held on different dates throughout the month. "For the first time pilot licensing tests are going to be held online across the country. It will be held online hereafter. We faced a few problems when it was held for the first time on a trial basis. The errors have been sorted out," said Bharat Bhushan, DGCA, on the sidelines of a working group meeting to implement Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B), a new surveillance system, in the city on Monday. Students who have completed 50 hours of flying are eligible for a private pilot licence, while those with 200 hours of flying experience can take the commercial pilot licence exam. Pilots who have clocked 1,500 hours are eligible for ATPL. Pilots are upbeat about the online examinations as they feel it will put an end to corruption. "It was quite easy to track an answer sheet and change marks under pen and paper method," said a pilot. "Technical troubles are part of any new system. The candidates who lost their paper because of a server or software problem got more time to complete the examinations last year. DGCA should also ensure that results are declared early. Now, there is a delay of more than a month," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Pilot-licensing-tests-to-go-online-next- month/articleshow/10912833.cms Back to Top Safety oversight of gov't aircraft lacking By JOAN LOWY WASHINGTON (AP) - Nonmilitary government agencies operate more aircraft than the world's largest airline but are subject to little federal safety oversight - a situation accident investigators say has contributed to air crashes and deaths. Federal, state and local agencies own or lease more than 2,400 nonmilitary planes and helicopters for fighting forest fires, chasing crooks, conducting scientific research and other tasks. By comparison, the world's largest airline - created by the merger of United and Continental - and its regional carriers operate fewer than 1,300 planes. But unlike United, Continental and other commercial airlines, government agencies are mostly left to police the safety of their flight operations themselves. The Federal Aviation Administration has long said it doesn't have the authority to apply regulations to other government agencies. From 2000 through the first eight months of this year, the National Transportation Safety Board investigated at least 349 accidents, resulting in 135 deaths, involving aircraft owned by or operated under contract for government agencies. Problems uncovered in some of those accidents have prompted the board to host a forum beginning Wednesday aimed at getting the FAA and other government officials to discuss ways to address the problem. "The issue for us is who is responsible (for safety). We have cases now where we ask that question and no one seems to know," said Tom Haueter, director of NTSB's office of aviation safety. The NTSB isn't the only one confused. John Allen, the head of the FAA's flight standards, told a gathering of private and public aviation officials earlier this year that even his inspectors are sometimes uncertain of their role. FAA officials have asked Congress to clarify the situation but the request "isn't a high priority," Allen said. Part of the problem is that safety regulations written with commercial and private aviation in mind don't address government operations that are sometimes inherently risky. "They're landing on dirt strips out in the middle of nowhere. They're shooting coyotes from the air. ... Some of the stuff is really kind of intense flying. If you're down low enough for a guy to shoot a coyote, that's pretty low," Haueter said. Assigning responsibility for safety oversight becomes even murkier when private contractors operate flights for government agencies, an increasingly common occurrence. The FAA published new guidance for government agencies and contractors in March, but safety investigators and contractors said there are still many gray areas. The NTSB forum was spurred in part by the agency's two-year investigation of the August 2008 crash of a firefighting helicopter near Weaverville in Northern California. Nine people were killed and four others injured. The company that operated the flight misrepresented the performance capabilities of its helicopters in order to win a U.S. Forest Service firefighting contract, and then gave misinformation to its own pilots, causing them to underestimate the aircraft's weight, NTSB's investigation found. The board faulted the Forest Service for not ensuring the helicopter operator was following safety regulations as promised in its contract. It also faulted the FAA, whose inspectors checked the safety of aircraft the contractor used for nongovernment work, but ignored helicopters used for government assignments. Other accidents that have raised concern: - A New Mexico state police helicopter crashed while attempting to rescue a lost hiker near Santa Fe, N.M., in June 2009. The pilot and the hiker were killed and a highway patrolman seriously injured. State police placed greater importance on completing missions than on making certain they were carried out safely, the board said. The agency also didn't employ enough pilots to safely operate around the clock, which indirectly put pressure on pilots to fly missions despite not having had enough rest. - A Maryland state police medical evacuation helicopter crashed at night in poor weather while attempting to transport two auto accident victims in September 2008. The pilot, two medical workers and one of the accident victims were killed. The second accident victim was severely injured. The board questioned the agency's decision to dispatch the helicopter, saying police should have assessed the potential risks first. Cases like the Weaverville accident involving a deliberate disregard for safety are rare, said Matt Zucarro, president of Helicopter Association International, whose members include government contractors. "If you look at (contractor) aircraft performing government operations, the civilian ones, as well as government-operated aircraft, they have a very good safety record," Zucarro said. "Generally the operators have their standards and they aren't going to mitigate or diminish them because they get a request from a government agency for something." FAA inspectors may not have the authority to demand safety information from contractors whose work for the Defense Department is classified secret, Allen told contractors at the meeting, which was hosted by the helicopter association. "You are seeing more and more contracting in support of government services," he said. "The regulatory framework is slow to catch up." Allen cited the example of a contractor transporting special forces troops in Afghanistan who was asked by the military to carry cargo containing ammunition on the plane as well. FAA regulations don't permit ammunition on passenger-carrying aircraft. "You need to educate your air crews not to be enticed to operate outside the regulations in the heat of battle," he warned. Back to Top Georgia Hospital Lands Airline Pilot to Lead Patient Safety Northeast Georgia Health System hires Michael Appel, M.D., both an anesthesiologist and commercial pilot, as Chief Patient Safety Officer. Safety is not intuitive. Improvements require a sustained effort in partnership with the right people. Gainesville, GA (PRWEB) November 29, 2011 Northeast Georgia Health System, Inc. (NGHS) is pleased to announce it has hired Michael Appel, M.D. as Chief Patient Safety Officer. Combining his expertise in the cockpit with more than 20 years experience in healthcare, Dr. Appel brings the right recipe for innovative improvements in patient safety. "You don't often get the chance to work with a person who has been an Ivy League professor, has flown thousands of hours for Delta Airlines and continues to practice anesthesiology," says Carol Burrell, President and CEO of NGHS. "We're excited by the ideas Dr. Appel brings to the table and proud of how he's already helped make NGMC a safer place for patients." Dr. Appel credits his expertise in aviation safety as the foundation for his passion to improve healthcare. "I began reading aircraft accident reports at a young age, and couldn't afford to fly real airplanes" says Dr. Appel. "So I learned about aviation from a safety perspective first...long before I touched the controls of a real airplane. I read every accident report I could get my hands on." Appel's deep understanding of aviation safety is what set the stage for his huge disappointment with the healthcare system. "It was chaos...what I witnessed when I first stepped foot into a hospital as a medical student. It was at that moment that I realized my mission in life was to make healthcare systems safer for patients." During the next few years, Dr. Appel completed his medical degree at Columbia University while also becoming a private pilot. He eventually merged the two careers as a traveling anesthesiologist who flew himself to each facility. Finally in December of 2000, his lifelong dream to be an airline pilot came true when he accepted a position with Delta Connection. "It was truly a dream come true," says Dr. Appel. "To see, from the inside, how a system extracts the best possible outcomes from hazardous work." It is precisely that level of performance that Dr. Appel expects from healthcare. "It can be done, but safety is not intuitive," says Appel. "Improvements require a sustained effort in partnership with the right people." When Dr. Appel first came to NGHS in 2008, he took an immediate interest in patient safety initiatives at NGMC. In speaking with other doctors and hospital employees about his experiences in aviation, he was always sure to relate them back to health care. Administration quickly took notice. "Sometimes it's easy to get numb to terms and tools you use every day, and forget the real meaning behind those terms and the true reason for using those specific tools," says Sam Johnson, MD, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of NGHS. "Dr. Appel's experiences help us all look at our jobs from a fresh perspective and ask ourselves what we can do to improve human performance." Having considered other offers from around the country, Dr. Appel chose Northeast Georgia Medical Center because "the climate is right at this hospital to be real pioneers in patient safety," says Appel. He credits a team of world-class physicians, a supportive administration, an involved and progressive board of directors, but most importantly the employees of the 5,000 staff referral center who, he says, "create a unique environment, ripe for groundbreaking improvements in patient safety." Among the many patient safety projects at NGHS, several encompass techniques borrowed directly from aviation. One example uses "root cause analysis" in a way similar to aircraft accident investigations performed by the National Transportation Safety Board. By identifying a patient safety concern and working backward to fix the process itself, Dr. Appel's team makes errors less likely to be repeated. Another approach inspired by aviation is the use of standard phraseology. Like aviation, healthcare needs a glossary of sacred terms which have specific meaning. "The word 'STAT' has been so abused as to be rendered meaningless", says Appel. In 2012, NGHS will launch a 'Minutes Count' campaign to tap into the efficiency that comes from using standard words with specific meanings. "When lives are at stake, communication needs to be crisp and concise," says Appel. "Listen to the exchanges between air traffic control and pilots. They speak a language created with safety at its core." But Dr. Appel, who is frequently invited to speak nationally on patient safety, will be the first to tell you there are no short cuts. "No lecture is going to do anything for patient safety. The change we're after is one of culture, and that will take decades of hard work." Back to Top American Airlines Parent AMR Files for Chapter 11 Protection (WSJ) - AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York, a process that will allow the carrier to continue normal business operations as it restructures its debt. The company also named Thomas Horton as chairman and chief executive, succeeding Gerard Arpey, who will retire. "This was a difficult decision, but it is the necessary and right path for us to take-and take now-to become a more efficient, financially stronger, and competitive airline," Mr. Horton said. The company has about $4.1 billion in unrestricted cash and short-term investments, which is expected to be sufficient to pay vendors, suppliers and other business partners during the Chapter 11 process. AMR doesn't expect to need debtor-in-possession financing. Last month, AMR said it swung to a third-quarter loss as it again suffered under surging fuel expenses, which have been a particularly acute challenge for AMR in recent quarters. For the latest period, the company said aircraft fuel expenses jumped 40% from a year earlier. Earlier this fall, AMR repeatedly defended itself against speculation of an impending bankruptcy, and the company had stressed it has no plans to restructure in court. American Airlines was the only major carrier not to turn a profit last year and looks set for another full-year loss in 2011. AMR's lead counsel is Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and its financial adviser is Rothschild Inc. Back to Top ATA Changing Name To 'Airlines For America' The largest trade organization for U.S. airlines is changing its name from Air Transport Association of America to Airlines For America, a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shows. The association has scheduled an event for Nov. 30 to unveil and explain the change. It filed its application for the trademark on Sept. 28. It also has registered the domain name airlinesforamerica.org, according to Godaddy.com, which shows the creation date as Sept. 6. The association came under new leadership this year, with Nicholas Calio succeeding James May as president and CEO on Jan. 1. With the benefit of hindsight, one can see that Calio floated the idea Aug. 29, during a speech at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit, in which he lamented the industry's inability to drive home with policymakers its points on overregulation and overtaxation- and the boost that airline service provides to economic growth and job creation. "The U.S. carriers are in reality Airlines for America: We connect the world; the businesses, passengers and packages of thousands to thousands of destinations, both domestically and internationally," Calio said then. "Our strategy is to drive home the point that our carriers are Airlines for America, connecting the world and facilitating economic growth and jobs. It will be a long-term process but it is startling, if you talk to policymakers, how little they really know or understand about the industry." http://www.aviationweek.com Back to Top Pilots' shortage: Campus recruitment drive in China The rise in passenger planes in China has led to demand far beyond what the academies can supply. Having been hit by an acute shortage of pilots , China's civil airlines are approaching university graduates through campus recruitment drive. The step to massively recruit and train pilots has been taken in the wake of pilot shortages that have hindered Chinese airlines' development. One such campus recruitment campaign was launched on Monday by Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University to recruit over 100 pilots from among graduates from local universities. "The graduates will become the reserve force for the airline's pilot team with an increasing number of passenger planes," said a human resource official of China Eastern surnamed Ding. Domestic civil airlines usually recruit pilots from the seven professional flight academies across the country, including the Civil Aviation Flight University of China, the country's major training facility in Sichuan province that provides 90% of civil airline pilots. The consistent rise in passenger planes in China has led to demand for pilots far beyond what the academies can supply. China's domestic airlines will require about 3,000 new pilots every year, while training schools in the country can supply only 2,000 annually, say analysts. China Eastern wants to recruit 500 pilots, half of them coming from the universities, he said. The pilot shortage turned more acute after the Chinese civil aviation authority tightened recruitment of foreign pilots after a South Korean pilot refused to give way to a jet running low on fuel over Shanghai in August. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/pilots-shortage-campus-recruitment-drive-in-china/1/162052.html Back to Top Qantas Pilot Faces Ouster Over 'Scandalous In-Flight Affair' Qantas Airways has launched a probe on the alleged scandalous 'encounter' between one of its pilots and a female passenger during a long-haul flight that originated from London and landed in Sydney Friday night. In a statement, a Qantas spokeswoman acknowledged on Tuesday that the reported incident, which shocked passengers seated on QF32's business section, has reached the airline management and a probe is now underway to determine possible sanctions. Qantas has admitted that the pilot involved is in the active roll of the company though he was reportedly off-duty at the time of the incident. "Qantas is aware of an incident involving a travelling crew member on board QF32. The matter is being investigated internally in line with Qantas policy," the Qantas statement said as reported by The Herald Sun. The company spokeswoman also stressed that "interaction of that nature is something that wouldn't be sanctioned," in anyway by airline officials. According to the Herald Sun, the pilot in subject and his unidentified female companion were observed by co-passengers in intimate moments seemingly unmindful of the aircraft's quite public environment. Sources quoted by the publication have suggested that the two, who were partly hidden by partitions separating the business section seats, were engaged in 'steamy interactions' that rubbed on the sensibilities of those around them. A number of passengers called the attention of flight crews, who then approached the couple about the matter, prompting the Qantas pilot to transfer to the economy section until his female friend departed from the plane during a stop in Singapore. Reports said that the controversial couple may have been a bit drunk, which is quite likely as wine and beer are served on Qantas' luxury section. Once found guilty of wrongdoing, the Qantas pilot, experts said, could face separation that will cost him a pay of $240,000 each year. However, the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) has already indicated that it will vigorously defend the rights of its member, with AIPA vice-president Captain Richard Woodward stressing that "the rights of this member, like any other, will be defended by AIPA should the need arise." http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/257522/20111129/qantas-pilot-faces-ouster-scandalous-flight-affair.htm Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC