Flight Safety Information April 1, 2013 - No. 067 In This Issue Rescue Helicopter Crashes in Alaska FAA to Hold Virtual Town Hall on Drones NetJets is the First and Only Private Aviation Company to Achieve Level IV SMS Leasing companies cautious towards Indian aircraft carriers Fatal flaws: Boeing 787 issues illustrate certification problems for new aircraft PLA fighter jet crashes in Shandong, two pilots dead PROS IOSA Audit Experts Private aircraft stores opening across China Westchester Aviation Association Rescue Helicopter Crashes in Alaska An Alaska state-trooper helicopter had just rescued a stranded snowmobiler near the town of Talkeetna- north of Anchorage-when it crashed Saturday night, potentially leaving the snowmobiler, the pilot, and a trooper dead. The downed aircraft was discovered Sunday, but no survivors have been found. Still, the state trooper's office isn't giving up hope: they've not officially declared those on board the helicopter dead. The state troopers' spokeswoman said that the helicopter had inexplicably caught fire. http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2013/04/01/rescue-helicopter-crashes-in-alaska.html ************ Date: 30-MAR-2013 Time: 10:00 pm Type: Eurocopter AS 350B3 AStar Operator: Alaska State Troopers Registration: N911AA C/n / msn: 3611 Fatalities: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: 7 miles east of Talkeetna, Alaska - United States of America Phase: Unknown Nature: Ambulance Departure airport: near Larson Lake, AK Destination airport: Talkeetna, AK Narrative: Two Alaska State Troopers and a rescued snowmobiler died in the crash of a search and rescue helicopter about 7 miles east of Talkeetna, Alaska about 10:00 PM Saturday night. Authorities became concerned when the helicopter did not return from the rescue. The crash sight was discovered Sunday morning by another helicopter. No survivors were located. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top FAA to Hold Virtual Town Hall on Drones The FAA announced they will be holding a virtual townhall (technically "an online public engagement session") on Wednesday, April 3rd from 12 noon until 2p.m. EST to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the privacy policy for drones (Unmanned Aircraft Systems). The townhall will focus mostly on the FAA's test site program. The official announcement states: " The FAA will provide a brief overview of the UAS test site program and proposed privacy policy and then take comments from participants. Each participant will have three minutes for comments. The FAA encourages the public to provide comments to the docket. The FAA will listen and record all comments, but will not answer any questions during the session. The FAA anticipates that test site operator privacy practices will help inform the dialogue among policymakers, privacy advocates, and the industry on broader questions about the use of UAS technologies. The privacy requirements the FAA has proposed are specifically designed for the operation of the UAS test sites. They are not intended to pre-determine the long-term policy and regulatory framework under which commercial UASs would operate. Rather, they aim to assure maximum transparency of privacy policies associated with UAS test site operations in order to engage all stakeholders in discussion about which privacy issues are raised by UAS operations and how law, public policy, and the industry practices should respond to those issues in the long run. Based on the information provided by the FAA, there is a possibility that they will not get through all of the public comments. They have two hours to provide a brief overview, and then allow comments that last up to three minutes. Even without the brief overview, if each public commentator were to take their full three minutes, the FAA would only be able to hear from forty people. For those who end up being unable to publicly comment in this forum, the FAA's rule is open for public commentary here. http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2013/03/31/faa-to-hold-virtual-town-hall-on-drones/ Back to Top NetJets is the First and Only Private Aviation Company to Achieve Level IV of the FAA's Safety Management System Pilot Program NetJets® Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company and the worldwide leader in private aviation, announced today that the company achieved a new safety milestone in entering Level IV of the FAA's Safety Management System (SMS) Pilot Program. "The achievement of SMS Level IV underscores NetJets' commitment to safety and enhances NetJets' overall compliance-plus aviation safety management system," said Shane Eyer, president of NetJets Aviation. "NetJets is dedicated to providing the most stringent operational, maintenance and training procedures in the industry and we are proud to reach this important safety milestone." NetJets is the first and only private aviation company to achieve Level IV as well as the first fixed-wing 14 CFR 135 operator and the first combined 14 CFR 135 / 91K operator to enter this level. The FAA Safety Management System Pilot Program provides a four-level system to acknowledge development of a formal SMS according to FAA expectations and international standards. The overall objective of the program is to guide operators with developing and implementing an integrated, comprehensive Safety Management System for their organization. To accomplish this safety milestone, NetJets conducted thousands of hours of additional safety training for its employee group, along with the creation of new management review procedures to ensure the highest levels of safety are always maintained. When it comes to safety, NetJets never compromises. NetJets' safety standards meet and in most cases exceed FAA regulatory requirements. From NetJets' FAA-type-rated pilots for every aircraft type, dual- release system, biannual simulator sessions, superior flight attendant training, FAA-approved in-house meteorologists, international flight planners to the state-of-the-art aircraft and FAA Diamond award winning maintenance program, NetJets leads the industry in every aspect of flight safety. About NetJets® Inc. NetJets® Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway® company, is the worldwide leader in private aviation with the largest and most diverse private jet fleet in the world. NetJets began in 1964 as the first aircraft charter and management company in the world. In 1986, NetJets pioneered the concept of fractional aircraft ownership - offering individuals and businesses all of the benefits of whole aircraft ownership and more, at a fraction of the cost. Today, NetJets offers a full range of private aviation solutions through its fractional programs in North America and Europe, including NetJets Shares, NetJets Leases and the Marquis Jet Card®, which provides access to NetJets though a 25-hour jet card. The North America program is managed and operated by NetJets' subsidiary NetJets Aviation, Inc., and the European program is managed and operated by NetJets Transportes Aéreos, SA, a Portuguese/EU Air Carrier. In the United States, NetJets also offers aircraft management and on-demand charter services through its subsidiary, Executive Jet® Management, Inc. The NetJets companies offer worldwide flight operations. More information on NetJets, NetJets Europe, the Marquis Jet Card, and Executive Jet Management is available at www.netjets.com . Back to Top Leasing companies cautious towards Indian aircraft carriers Some major aircraft leasing companies and financers have even threatened to pull out of India. New Delhi: The court battle among airport operators, tax authorities and Kingfisher Airlines' lessors over repossession of its planes may have a negative impact on other Indian carriers leasing aircraft from global leasing companies, a leading aviation consultancy firm has said. Major aircraft leasing companies and financers have started adopting a cautious approach towards Indian carriers, with some even threatening to pull out of India, it said. Keeping this in mind, the Civil Aviation Ministry is contemplating issuing some guidelines to airport operators and government agencies not to hold on to or seize aircraft as security for unpaid dues of an airline, official sources said. The primary aim of these guidelines would be to prevent foreign lessors from avoiding the Indian market by telling the airport operators and other agencies not to take aircraft as collateral from an airline company, they said. In the latest report, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said, "There is a real danger that this (situation) could add a further cost element to the already high-cost operating environment through increased leasing and financing costs. Some lessors and financiers have threatened to withdraw from the market entirely." The lessors were also contemplating to attach "a higher risk premium to the Indian market amid concerns they will continue to face challenges recovering their assets in the event of a default". Leasing firms like US-based ILFC and aviation financer Germany's DVB Bank have been the most vocal about the challenges in the market, with both encountering ongoing and costly problems in repossessing aircraft so far operated by Kingfisher, it said. Some leasing companies, including the German aviation bank, had moved the Delhi High Court, which recently ordered that the lessors had a right over these aircraft. An Airbus A-321 plane of Kingfisher, leased by ILFC, was released after the court order. The lessors had moved court after the Airports Authority of India seized several aircraft of the liquor baron Vijay Mallya-owned carrier and decided not to release them till Kingfisher cleared its dues. The current situation presents "potential challenges" for other Indian airlines which rely heavily on financing from foreign banks for purchase and lease of aircraft, the CAPA report said. "Lessors have also been acting more cautiously in the market, with some reportedly demanding rental payments six months in advance, in reaction to recent market developments." The "continued delays by the Indian government" to de- register Kingfisher's aircraft since it suspended operations in October 2012 was expected to hurt other Indian carriers while "also creating the impression that India is not adhering to the Cape Town Convention, of which it is a signatory", thereby "eroding" their international credibility, it said. The DVB Bank representatives recently met DGCA chief Arun Mishra here to get the aviation regulator to de-register two Kingfisher planes it had leased, so that the bank could repossess them. Earlier this week, DGCA deregistered 15 aircraft of Kingfisher to enable the leasing companies to take them back on grounds of default on their lease rentals by the grounded carrier. CAPA said for Indian carriers which were competing with some of the world's most efficient airlines, the current dispute between lessors and the government could have a real and lasting impact on their bottom- line. "Already burdened by a host of uniquely unfriendly national and state taxes, India's airlines hardly need the unnecessary added burden of having to pay more for financing their aircraft," it said. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/leasing-companies-cautious-towards-indian-aircraft-carriers-report/382183- 7.html Back to Top Fatal flaws: Boeing 787 issues illustrate certification problems for new aircraft Boeing Co.'s tests on the 787 Dreamliner's lithium-ion batteries are renewing questions about whether complexity of new aircraft can outpace the ability to spot shortcomings. By ALAN LEVIN Bloomberg News Failures to spot and anticipate safety flaws during certification of new aircraft have been linked to 70 percent of U.S. airline-crash deaths in the past 20 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Boeing Co.'s tests concluding the lithium-ion batteries in its 787 Dreamliner couldn't catch fire are renewing questions about whether complexity of new aircraft can outpace manufacturers' and regulators' ability to spot shortcomings during design and certification. "We don't know what we don't know," said Bernard Loeb, who retired as head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board's aviation division in 2001. "We're still highly dependent on the knowledge and capability of the human being, and human beings are fallible." Improved certification standards have been one reason there hasn't been a fatal U.S. crash involving a major airline since 2001, NTSB Chairman Debbie Hersman said. "But there are occasions where those assumptions are incorrect or not conservative enough," she said. Hersman declined to comment on the current investigation. In the absence of regulations for planes and components using new technology, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration creates rules known as "special conditions," as it did in certifying the Dreamliner's batteries in 2007. That approval, which the NTSB will examine at a hearing next month, illustrates the need to modernize standards for approving new aircraft, said Kevin Hiatt, president of the Alexandria, Virginia-based nonprofit Flight Safety Foundation. The manufacturer is confident in its 787 battery fix proposal and expects the plane to resume flights soon, Boeing Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney said at a conference Thursday in Washington. Boeing's plan to redesign the batteries was approved by the FAA on March 12, and within three days the company said it expected the 787 back in the air within weeks. Deadly flaws The history of airline accidents since 1993 is dominated by cases in which manufacturers and aviation regulators didn't foresee how a plane might fail, according to NTSB accident findings and its 2006 report on the issue. Five such U.S. crashes occurred in that period, according to NTSB findings, including the three most deadly of the era: USAir Flight 427 on Sept. 8, 1994, killing 132; Trans World Airlines Inc. Flight 800 on July 17, 1996, killing 230; and American Airlines Inc. Flight 587 on Nov. 12, 2001, killing 265 people. Out of 1,123 deaths in the past 20 years on U.S. carriers investigated by the NTSB, 783 occurred in those five accidents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investigators in those cases discovered a hidden flaw in a hydraulic device that could send a plane plunging out of control, explosive fuel tanks that were exposed to sparking electrical equipment during routine operation, and vulnerability to icing in a plane approved to fly in weather conditions conducive to ice formation. For almost two years after the crash near Pittsburgh of a Boeing 737-300 operated by USAir, now a part of US Airways Group Inc., investigators couldn't explain why a functioning plane dove nose-first into the ground. Only then did they discover a hydraulic device that moved the plane's rudder, a vertical panel on the tail, could swing it in the direction opposite from what pilots intended. In the accident, the rudder had moved unexpectedly, making the plane uncontrollable, the NTSB ruled in 1999. The device was certified in the 1960s as fail-safe. "We've seen it time and time again," Tom Haueter, who served as NTSB's chief accident investigator before retiring last year, said in an interview. "Certification has been a big issue in a number of accidents." The FAA and aviation authorities in other nations can't match the engineering resources at companies like Boeing and Airbus, Haueter said. U.S. regulators must rely on Boeing employees for much of the certification testing, he said. Boeing's engineers signed off on most elements of the Dreamliner battery made by Kyoto-based GS Yuasa Corp., leaving final approval to the agency, according to the NTSB. No matter how honest those engineers are, they're subject to subtle conflicts of interest that could cloud their judgment, Haueter said. "It's the assumptions that kill you," Haueter said. "If things don't work out the way you planned, things can go very bad, very fast." Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=45&articleid=20130331_46_E1_CUTLIN784797 http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=45&articleid=20130331_46_E1_CUTLIN784797 Back to Top PLA fighter jet crashes in Shandong, two pilots dead Chinese military authorities confirmed on Monday that two pilots had died over the weekend after the plane they were flying crashed during a drill in Shandong province on Sunday afternoon. The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) said a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter plane crashed on mudflats in Rongcheng city, Shandong province, during a drill, on Sunday afternoon. The official announcement was only made after photos and video of the crash were uploaded on Weibo and shared widely. According to Xinhua, both pilots died in the accident. The cause of the crash remains unknown, as does the cause of the pilots' deaths as both had ejected from the plane before it struck the ground, according to the Global Times. The twin-engine, Russian-made, Soviet-era fighter aircraft was introduced to China's military in the 1990s. The PLAAF now has about 300 Su-27s in different versions. The Su-27 fighters have given the Chinese air force "strong capabilities in both long-range air combat and dog-fights", the Global Times quoted a military expert as saying. http://shanghaiist.com/2013/04/01/pla_fighter_jet_crashes_in_shandong.php Back to Top Back to Top Private aircraft stores opening across China Private aircraft stores are springing up across China, with Beijing opening its first on Friday. Yet industry insiders say it does not signal maturity in the general aviation market. A visitor checks a helicopter on sale at a private aircraft store in Beijing on Saturday. "Low-altitude airspace (under 3,000 meters) is still restricted in China and the infrastructure for take off and landing is rather poor," an engineer surnamed Xu at Beijing Capital Helicopter Co said on Sunday. Besides policy and infrastructure shortages, buying a private aircraft is not as easy as purchasing a car. "A private aircraft buyer must have an independent licensed aviation company to manage the plane," Xu said. If the aircraft is used for commercial flights, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has strict requirements, he said. For noncommercial flights, pilots must submit detailed flight plans, such as time and route, and wait for the administration's approval. Despite all these barriers, Beijing's first private aircraft store still attracted some people's attention. Three planes were ordered during the first three days the store was open. A businessman named Ma from Shandong province, who received his pilot's license several months ago, bought a 17 million yuan ($2.7 million) helicopter and a 2 million yuan helicopter, China Radio International reported on Sunday. Wuhan Morning Post reported that it costs at least 200,000 yuan to get a pilot's license in China. "If clients buy our aircraft, we can offer free training for them to become licensed pilots," said Zhang Changyi, manager of the Beijing International United Flight and pilot coach of the store. Zhang said a small airport for aircraft storage, taking off and landing will be built in Chicheng, neighboring Hebei province. Yang Hongyan, director of Fenghuangshan High-Tech Industry Park in Weifang, Shandong province, said his park will consider launching similar programs. While Beijing's first private jet dealer opened on Friday, Wuhan also opened a store on Saturday. Liu Xianlu, customer service manager, said besides jet sales the store also provides services such as maintenance, repairs, pilot training, aircraft management and rentals. On Saturday, three helicopters were ordered by two aviation companies in Hubei and Henan provinces. Each plane cost around 20 million yuan. The high costs don't bother rich Chinese people. Hurun Report, a Shanghai-based magazine that documents wealth, estimated China has 63,500 yuan billionaires and about a million people with assets valued at more than 10 million yuan. Cai Gangjun, owner of Zhejiang Rongsheng Private Jet Sales and Services, has said that China's private aircraft market will become competitive if regulations are loosened. In 2011, about 502,700 hours of flight were recorded in the country's general aviation. The number is expected to soar to 2 million by 2020, according to the aviation administration. A recent CAAC report showed at the end of 2011 there were 70 airports and 216 landing points for general aviation and the country had about 132 private jets. Gao Yuanyang, a professor at the School of Economics and Management of the Beihang University, said in 2010 the State Council and the Central Military Commission issued a circular on extending changes to rules on the use of the country's low-altitude airspace, a strong policy signal that low-altitude general aviation will be opened up. The low-altitude airspace management reform has been piloted in Guangdong, Hubei and Guangxi, according to the National Air Traffic Control Committee. But the timetable for opening low-level flying across the country is still unclear. http://www.china.org.cn/china/2013-04/01/content_28413265.htm Back to Top Westchester Aviation Association Westchester Aviation Association is a not-for-profit organization which promotes aviation education and understanding on the part of government authorities and the public. Its members include a growing number of individuals and businesses who value the presence of good air transportation facilities in Westchester County. Westchester Aviation Association Main P.O. Box 447 Purchase, NY, 10577-0447 http://www.westchesteraviation.org/ Curt Lewis