Flight Safety Information October 18, 2012 - No. 210 In This Issue Helicopter pilot flies firefighter to safety in water bucket FAA needs data policy changes to better address accidents, finds GAO NTSB Announces Final Rules on Appeals Procedures and Requests Public Comment Tourist in China Detained for 5 Days After Using Mobile Phone MRO Europe: Flight Safety Foundation details scope of MAC PROS IOSA Audit Experts F-35 fighter jet drops 2,000-pound bomb in test flight Boeing Begins Assembly Work on Stretched Dreamliner Jet Makani Kai Helicopters Gains International Safety Accreditation Half of world's commercial aircraft fleet managed from Ireland Position Available:...Plant Senior Environmental, Health and Safety Specialist Helicopter pilot flies firefighter to safety in water bucket An incident report submitted to the US Aviation Safety Communiqué (SAFECOM) database reveals a dramatic story of a firefighter who was flown to safety in a helicopter water bucket to escape a fast-moving wildfire. The pilot was performing water drops for the US Forest Service from a Bell 205 A1++ helicopter at the Pole Creek Fire in Oregon on 28 September. During the drops, he was in contact with a firefighter on the ground who was walking along the three-mile fire line, pointing out where water should be dropped. Initially, winds were light and the fire was slow moving, but the pilot became concerned as the firefighter had walked to the centre of the fire line and had not left himself an escape route. Later, the wind shifted and became stronger, and a second fire line developed behind the first, re-igniting a previously burned area. With fuel running low, the pilot located the firefighter, who did not realise he was within 500 ft (150 m) of a raging fire that was hidden from him by smoke and trees. The pilot described the scene: "I urged him to start moving quickly north away from the fire, which he did, and when I circled again the fire was 50-per-cent closer to his position. The fire was moving in waves of heat toward his position: the air between them was actually shimmering! A 200 to 300-yard-wide wall of trees would instantly ignite, and this in turn was igniting the next row of trees in front of it. My ground contact was centred in this wall, with the fingers on either side." He continued: "I felt that he was in grave danger. The fire was moving much faster than he was: there was no way out to the southeast or to the northwest, because he was in the centre of a crescent between the two fingers of fire." The firefighter could have deployed his fireshelter, but the pilot determined that the speed at which the flames were moving meant there was not enough time to refill the helicopter water bucket and make a drop on the man's position before he was overtaken by the blaze. The pilot explained: "In front of him, to the north, there was a small opening in the trees, and I was able to determine that I could hover into it without damage to the helicopter. I lowered the helicopter until the bucket was on the ground. I hovered and watch the speed he was moving and the speed of the fire coming towards us. The fire was moving very quickly, so I strongly suggested that he climb into the bucket so that I could haul him out. I felt that there were very few options and vigorously urged him. I honestly felt that we had only seconds or a minute before the fire was [at] the spot. I am sure he could feel the fire, because I could certainly feel the heat. He climbed into the bucket and wrapped his arms around the wires as I slowly lifted the bucket vertical. We were in radio contact during this time. Once I was sure he was secure in the bucket I flew to the north, perhaps a quarter mile [0.4 km] to an open area where I felt he could walk to safety. I carefully lowered the bucket to the ground and he got out and walked to the trail." Looking back at the area the firefighter was extracted from, the pilot said it was 'fully torched' with a carpet of dead trees burning intensely. In his opinion, a fire shelter would have been unlikely to have protected the man, and the airlift was the only option. http://www.waypointmagazine.com/story426 Back to Top FAA needs data policy changes to better address accidents, finds GAO The number of general aviation accidents has decreased from 1999 through 2011, but fatal accidents have never totaled fewer than 200 annually, meaning the Federal Aviation Administration needs to undertake steps to reduce accident rates and improve related data collection, says a report from the Government Accountability Office. In a report (.pdf) dated Oct. 4, auditors note that most general aviation accidents are a result of pilot error. Aircraft within the U.S. general aviation fleet are on average 40 years and old and typically consist of a single- engine piston plane, such as the Cessna 172. The FAA bases some its accident-reduction goals and efforts on defined accident rates and annual flight hours- -such as a goal to reduce the fatal accident rate per 100,000 flight hours by 10 percent from 2009 to 2018-- but the GAO warns that "shortcomings in flight activity data" will make it difficult to achieve reductions in fatality rates among the riskier segments. Currently, says the GAO, the FAA needs more specific performance measurements for each program in its accident reduction strategy to better determine if goals are being met or if more actions are needed, which is important because current operations "may not meet the overall goal by 2018." This goal and others fall under several FAA initiatives including the renewal of the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee and the implementation of the Flight Standards Service's 5-year strategy. The GAJSC, a government and industry partnership, focuses mainly on analyzing accident information to develop intervention strategies. The GAO noted that the GAJSC is built on an approach already "deemed successful" in helping to reduce fatal commercial accidents. The 5-year plan involves a series of efforts around risk management, outreach, training, and safety promotion, but, says the GAO, "has shortcomings that jeopardize its potential for success." The key piece the GAO feels should be addressed is the lack of "specific performance goals or measures for the activities under the 5-year strategy." The GAO's recommendations comprise of a series of changes to the FAA's data policies, not the accident- reduction practices themselves. It recommends expanding available data to include each certificated pilot's recurrent training, with a mandate to update that information at regular intervals, along with other information for "root cause analyses" of accidents. To strengthen measurements and better evaluate program goals, the GAO also suggests the FAA explore new ways to collect flight hours more often with methods that "minimize the impact on the general aviation community." This would allow the FAA to establish accident-reduction goals for each individual industry segment, making better use of its existing data and making the goals easier to manage and achieve. For more: -download the full report, GAO-13-36 (.pdf) http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/faa-needs-data-policy-changes-better-address-accidents-finds- gao/2012-10-17 Back to Top NTSB Announces Final Rules on Appeals Procedures and Requests Public Comment National Transportation Safety Board 490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, DC, 20594 USA WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board today issued a set of new rules addressing the review of aviation enforcement cases. The changes allow appeals to a federal district court, apply federal rules of evidence and civil procedure to NTSB proceedings and allow parties to move to dismiss a complaint if the FAA fails to disclose its enforcement investigative report. The NTSB, in addition to its accident investigation and safety advocacy work, serves as the "court of appeals" for airmen, mechanics and mariners when they appeal FAA or U.S. Coast Guard certificate actions. The changes are included in a new final rule and an interim final rule. Although the interim final rule, prompted by the Pilot's Bill of Rights (P.L. 112-53), is effective immediately, the Board is requesting public comment concerning the changes. The 60-day comment period concludes on Dec. 17. More information on the interim final rule and the comment period can be found at go.usa.gov/YNbm. While the interim final rule is being issued as a result of the enactment of P.L. 112-53, the NTSB had been examining its rules of practice and other procedures beginning with an ANPRM published in December 2010 and an NPRM published in February 2012. As a result of that process, the NTSB today also announced it would allow parties to file documents electronically. The final rule is effective Nov. 15 and is available at go.usa.gov/YNjY. Contact Information Office of Public Affairs L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, DC 20594 Eric M. Weiss (202) 314-6100 eric.weiss@ntsb.gov Back to Top Tourist in China Detained for 5 Days After Using Mobile Phone on Don't do this in China. Chinese airlines don't care about your phone's "airplane mode." Using a mobile phone, even one with airplane mode, at any point during a flight in China is illegal. One Mr. Du learned this lesson the hard way recently when police arrested him and detained him for five days upon his arrival at the Beijing airport after an Air China flight from Vancouver. During the flight, Mr. Du was using his phone to take photos and listen to music which, again, is not permitted on Chinese airlines. Airline staff on the flight asked him repeatedly to stop, but he refused, saying they were making a big fuss over nothing. After the flight landed in Beijing, Du was accosted by police who, unimpressed with his attitude, opted to detain him for five days, as is permitted under Chinese law. As someone who has tried to use phones (only in airplane mode, of course) on Chinese flights before, I do understand Du's frustration given that if airplane-mode phones caused crashes, the rest of the world would all be dead by now. But when reminded of the law, I always turn my phone off, because not being able to listen to music for a few hours is preferable to spending five days in a PSB detention cell. I have a feeling many of our readers travel to China and around for business every now and then, so consider this a public service announcement: turn off your phones unless you're really curious about what the inside of PSB jail cells look like. Interestingly, though, in Japan it seems that far worse behavior on planes is going unpunished. Recently a Japanese man who used a pen camera to take upskirt photos of a flight attendant was arrested and admitted guilt but was ultimately let off the hook after prosecutors failed to determine which prefecture the plane had been flying over when the incident occurred. http://www.techinasia.com/tourist-china-detained-5-days-mobile-phone-airplane/ Back to Top MRO Europe: Flight Safety Foundation details scope of MAC US-based Flight Safety Foundation has identified four key areas for its newly formed Maintenance Advisory Committee (MAC) to tackle. MAC was established in August to extend the foundation's work beyond its historic focus on flight operations and crew training to the MRO sector. It met for the second time in early October to define its scope. Failure to follow maintenance procedures is the first area of focus, says Rodolfo Quevedo, deputy technical director, because it causes around 80% of all maintenance-related aircraft accidents. The second issue covers training and management skills. Quevedo says that MRO personnel typically do not receive training in areas like team or project management. While staff members become highly skilled in their technical capabilities, they usually have to rely on their personal abilities to organise their work and teams on the shop floor. Quevedo adds that individuals with particular organisational talents might be taken out by employers to take over more managerial roles in the company's offices, reducing the individual's chances of developing front-line skills. The third area focuses on professionalism and standards. This include, for example, how young technicians are mentored during their training. While in the past apprentices were typically trained by experienced engineers, Quevedo says nowadays instructors may only have few years of experience themselves. This is partly driven by a shortage of technicians in the MRO industry, he adds. MAC's final areas of focus are quality and oversight. As operators outsource more maintenance, the foundation wants to determine whether the existing rules and regulations are adequate for today's airline environment. http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/mro-europe-flight-safety-foundation-details-scope-of-mac-377512/ Back to Top Back to Top F-35 fighter jet drops 2,000-pound bomb in test flight First F-35A Weapons Release High above the Mojave Desert, the military's next-generation fighter jet dropped a 2,000-pound bomb for the first time in its latest test flight. It's a key milestone for the stealthy, supersonic F-35, built by Lockheed Martin Corp., which has been undergoing tests since its first flight in late 2006. The F-35, piloted by Air Force Maj. Eric "Doc" Schultz, jettisoned the smart bomb Wednesday from the belly of the aircraft over the Naval Air Weapons Station test range at China Lake. Take a look at Lockheed Martin-produced video above for the weapon release or here. (There is no explosion, but there is plenty of rock music.) The F-35, known as the Joint Strike Fighter, will be used by the Navy, Marines and Air Force. Three versions of the F-35 are being built -- one that can operate off aircraft carriers, one capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings, and a conventional fighter jet. The Air Force's F-35 is designed to carry a payload of up to 18,000 pounds using 10 weapon stations. All three F-35 variants will be built on the same production line at Lockheed's plant in Fort Worth. The center fuselage sections will be made by Northrop Grumman Corp. in Palmdale. Lockheed has said the F-35 program will pump an estimated $6 billion into the state's economy and create 27,000 jobs. At a time when federal spending is under a microscope, the F-35 program is the Pentagon's costliest program going. The Defense Department has plans to buy 2,443 of the aircraft at a cost of $382 billion, which is hundreds of billions of dollars over budget. http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-f-35-lockheed-martin-20121017,0,6197167.story Back to Top Boeing Begins Assembly Work on Stretched Dreamliner Jet Co. (BA) said work has begun on the new 787-9 jet, a stretched version of the 787-8 Dreamliner, as Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (7012) began installing door frames in part of the fuselage. Final assembly will be completed next year at Boeing's main wide-body jet plant in Everett, Washington, Randy Tinseth, the planemaker's marketing chief, said in a blog post on the company website. The first flight will be next year as well, and the plane will be delivered to the first customer in 2014, Tinseth wrote. The 787-9 is 20 feet (6 meters) longer than the 787-8 and will carry 16 percent more passengers as far as 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 kilometers), he wrote. The 787-8, the first version of the plane, carries as many as 250 people on routes of up to 8,200 nautical miles. The Dreamliner is the world's first composite-plastic airliner. It was 3 1/2 years late when it entered service last year, after Boeing struggled with the new materials and manufacturing processes it developed for the plane. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-17/boeing-begins-assembly-work-on-stretched-dreamliner- jet.html Back to Top Makani Kai Helicopters Gains International Safety Accreditation Honolulu - Schuman Aviation Company, Ltd., announces that it has been accredited by the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO). IS-BAO is a code of best practices designed to help flight departments worldwide achieve the highest level of safety and professionalism. IS-BAO safety certification is awarded to flight departments that have successfully met the rigorous IS-BAO standards as verified by an accredited IS-BAO auditor. Schuman Aviation is the parent company of Makani Kai Helicopters, an Oahu helicopter airtour company, and Makani Kai Air, an FAA Part 135 fixed-wing on-demand and scheduled air carrier operating between Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Lanai. From left to right: Robert "Mac" Smith, instructor pilot and check airman; Richard Schuman, president and owner; Bruce Mayes, chief pilot and SMS coordinator. "The IS-BAO accreditation for Makani Kai is unique as it is the only company in the country, out of 478 operators so certified, with multiple types of flight operations, spanning air tour to airline, to achieve such a high safety rating," according to Richard Schuman, president. "Although preparing for the safety audit was a lengthy and arduous process, this accreditation demonstrates that we value safety above all." The IS-BAO safety program includes instituting a Safety Management System (SMS). SMS programs require higher safety standards, call for improving both the organization and personnel, standard operating procedures, training programs, flight operations, aircraft equipment requirements, aircraft maintenance requirements, company operations manual, emergency response plan, environmental management, occupational health and safety, transportation of dangerous goods, and security. The IS-BAO Safety and Compliance Audits examine an aircraft operator's systems, processes, practices and documentation. The comprehensive Safety Audits determine whether the operations and maintenance activities of an airline, charter operator or flight department are in compliance with regulatory requirements as well as with internal standards, policies and procedures and industry best practices. Typical benefits from a Safety Audit include: * Assessment of compliance with applicable regulations (such as the U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations), requirements, and standards. * Early identification of deviations in compliance, enabling the operator to take corrective action. This is particularly helpful in preparation for a regulatory inspection, such as a National Aviation Safety Inspection Program (NASIP) Inspection conducted by the FAA. * Assessment of the viability and effectiveness of existing programs and processes. * Identification of deviations from internal policies and procedures before the deviations become significant safety issues. * Financial savings from timely correction of existing problems, avoidance of potential problems, and avoidance of civil penalties. As a result of the intensive IS-BAO certification process, the company is now better focused on risk assessment and mitigation, says Schuman, identifying risks before they become hazards and preventing potential accidents and incidents. "Being IS-BAO certified truly means that our work has just begun," says Bruce Mayes, SMS manager for Schuman Aviation and the individual who spearheaded the effort. "Achieving compliance is tantamount to getting a pilot's license: now the organization can begin to learn best practices and develop a safety culture second to none." About Schuman Aviation Schuman Aviation Company, Ltd., established in 1996 and located at 130 Iolana Place at the Honolulu International Airport, operates Eurocopter AS-350 A-Stars, a Hughes 500, two Piper Chieftain twin-engine airplanes and two Cessna Grand Caravan turbine aircraft. An FAA Part 135 carrier, Makani Kai Helicopters also is an FAA certified 145 Repair Station. Makani Kai Air Charters is an FAA Part 141 scheduled air carrier. http://www.rotor.com/Publications/RotorNewssupregsup/tabid/177/newsid1237/76872/mid/1237/Default.aspx Back to Top Half of world's commercial aircraft fleet managed from Ireland; 1,000 direct Irish jobs in aviation leasing The International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), Dublin. About half of world's commercial aircraft fleet is managed from Ireland, according to IDA Ireland. There are 1,000 direct jobs in aviation leasing and the more than 3,000 commercial aircraft managed from Dublin have a value of more than €80bn -- about half Ireland's GDP (gross domestic product). SMBC Aviation Capital is being officially launched today in Dublin. The new company comes into existence following the €5.8bn acquisition of the RBS Aviation Capital business by a Japanese consortium led by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). The consortium also includes Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing, and Sumitomo Corporation. SMBC Aviation Capital is the world's fourth largest aircraft leasing firm by owned and managed fleet and its presence here adds significantly to Ireland's cluster of aircraft leasing companies. RBS Aviation Capital (a unit of the British government controlled Royal Bank of Scotland) was established in 2001 and had become the fourth biggest aircraft leaser in the world, according to RBS. It had a staff of 69 and a fleet of 206 jets which were leased to 65 airlines in 24 countries. The acquisition announcement was made in January 2012. Separately, IDA Ireland has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SMBC to promote communication and business exchange between Ireland and Japan. SMBC has had a presence in Ireland since 1989 through its subsidiary, Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Dublin Ltd. This presence has been further enhanced with the acquisition of SMBC Aviation Capital and the recent opening of a Technology Development Centre of Japan Research Institute- America (JRIA) in Tralee ahead of the launch, Michael Noonan, minister for finance, said, 'Today's launch of SMBC Aviation Capital here in Dublin is excellent news for Ireland's International Financial Services Sector. As a result of the acquisition the company will remain headquartered here and now has an extremely strong foundation from which to grow the number of its employees, the size of its portfolio of aircraft, and its customer base of airlines and investors around the world. I wish SMBC every success with this venture and offer the continued support of the Irish Government into the future.' http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1025058.shtml Back to Top Position Available: Plant Senior Environmental, Health and Safety Specialist The opportunity available in the EastTexas area with a focus on safety and health initiatives for a very large, non-union heavy manufacturing plant. Must have at least 4 years of industrial safety experience, a bachelor's degree offering a salary range up to $82,000 (based on experience) plus bonus potential. Forward Resume/CV to staff@curt-lewis.com Curt Lewis