Flight Safety Information September 19, 2013 - No. 194 In This Issue Stunt pilot cited in Nevada plane crash believed dead in China crash Plane crashes at Geraldton 4 Dallas-Fort Worth area airports in running to land aviation history group Commemorative Air Force Big Bucks for NextGen Aviation and Alternative Jet Fuels Aviation emissions deal in doubt despite EU offer Think ARGUS PROS Why would anyone watch Air Crash Investigation? Aviation Celebration to highlight Millville's WWII history 'Sky Girls' drama about female WWII pilots opens MSU Studio Season Stunt pilot cited in Nevada plane crash believed dead in China crash Stunt pilot David Glen Riggs, whose Federal Aviation Administration license was revoked after his partner and a passenger were killed in a Boulder City crash last year, is missing and believed dead after his plane crashed this week while practicing for an air show in China. A woman translator who was onboard the home-built, single-engine Lancair 320 also died in the crash, which happened Tuesday outside Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, according to China's Xinhua News Agency. Riggs had been flying the high-performance Lancair plane over a lake. The plane was transported to China as a kit and assembled at a local airport, the news agency reported. It said rescuers were still searching for Riggs while an investigation into the crash was underway. Riggs' civilian airmen certificates had been revoked twice by the FAA. The first time was for a year after he buzzed a crowded Santa Monica, Calif., pier in 2008. The second time was in November for illegally selling rides to the public in a Czech-built L-39 trainer jet, a charge that stemmed from the fatal May 18, 2012, crash in the desert near Boulder City of another L-39 that killed a veteran pilot and his passenger. Authorities determined that Riggs had been flying next to the second plane before it crashed. FAA investigators found that Riggs and the pilot who was killed, Douglas Edward Gilliss, had sold several rides to people at Boulder City Municipal Airport in violation of FAA regulations. After the Boulder City crash, the FAA took an emergency action to revoke Riggs' commercial pilot certificate and any other FAA-issued pilot certificates. Two weeks before the 2012 crash, Riggs had met with FAA safety inspectors in Van Nuys, Calif., and assured them he wouldn't take passengers on flights for compensation. Despite the assurance, FAA investigators found that Riggs did take passengers on three flights for money from the Boulder City Airport and had a fourth lined up when the crash occurred. "Your deliberate operation as pilot in command on the three ... flights when you knew such flights were contrary to the Federal Aviation Regulations was reckless so as to endanger the life or property of another," states the FAA's emergency revocation order. According to media accounts citing witnesses of Tuesday's fatal crash in China and unconfirmed reports posted Wednesday on the website, aviationcriminal.com, Riggs was attempting a water-skimming stunt over a lake in the rain when the landing gear or another part of his Lancair 320 got caught in the water and it went down, killing a woman passenger whose body was recovered. The aviationcriminal website reported that American pilots hired for the air show were fired after Tuesday's crash and ordered to pack up their planes and leave China in two days. Jim Campbell, founder and CEO of Aero-News Network, an internationally syndicated aviation industry news service based in St. Augustine, Fla., said Riggs' attempt to re-enact the water-skimming stunt was the last of many of his dangerous operations that have been documented over the years. "As usual, his bravado outweighed his skills, and in China he finally met a situation he could not recover from," Campbell said in a telephone interview late Wednesday. "This is a guy who has come close to getting killed a number of times," said Campbell, who has flown more than 1,100 different aircraft and reconfigurations to evaluate them for Aero-News.net. He said Transport Canada officials had been investigating Riggs for falsifying information to obtain a Canadian private pilot certificate after his FAA certificate had been revoked. "While he had the (Canadian) paperwork, it wouldn't be worth a damn," Campbell said. Riggs' website listed him as a Hollywood stunt pilot and movie producer. It said he became the first American to fly from a Chinese military base since World War II during the 2010 China International Air Races. Calls by The Associated Press to Riggs' Mach One Aviation Inc. offices at Studio City, Calif., were answered by a message saying it was unable to connect to voice mail. http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/stunt-pilot-cited-nevada-plane-crash-believed-dead-china-crash Back to Top Plane crashes at Geraldton A pilot has serious injuries after the small plane he was flying crashed and burst into flames at Geraldton Airport. The Cessna plane crashed at about 3.55pm this afternoon and was on fire on the ground before being extinguished by fire fighters at about 4.15pm. The 50-year-old pilot, who is from Geraldton, is in a critical condition at Geraldton Regional Hospital with third degree burns to 50 or 60 per cent of his body, according to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. He was trapped in the wreckage before being rescued by police and fire fighters. The RFDS will fly him to Royal Perth Hospital tonight, arriving in Perth by about 8.30pm. A male staff member at Geraldton Airport is also being treated for smoke inhalation and burns after helping at the crash scene. It is believed he is also going to be flown to Perth via RFDS for further treatment this evening. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the crash. An ATSB spokesman told thewest.com.au the cause of the crash or phase of flight of the six-seater Cessna was unknown. It is also not known what model of Cessna but it is thought to be a single engine plane. Initially it was reported that there were also three passengers aboard but the ATSB said that was incorrect. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/18994871/plane-crashes-at-geraldton/ Back to Top 4 Dallas-Fort Worth area airports in running to land aviation history group Commemorative Air Force Four north Texas airports are under consideration to be the new headquarters of the Commemorative Air Force, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of American military aviation. The CAF has been based in Midland since 1991, but recently announced plans to relocate their headquarters. The sites under consideration are Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Collin County Airport in McKinney, Dallas Executive Airport, and the North Texas Regional Airport in the Sherman-Denison area. Ellington Field in Houston and Lackland/Kelly Airport in San Antonio are also in the running. The CAF keeps 10-15 aircraft on display at the CAF Airpower Museum in Midland and more than 140 other aircraft at museums or other locations around the country. The group's decision to find a larger metropolitan area for its headquarters has created considerable anxiety in west Texas, which has supported the organization since it relocated from its previous location in Harlingen. Autumn Vest, CAF Airpower museum director, said the group plans to leave the Midland museum intact, but would also build a national airbase at its new home. The new base would be "the premier home of the CAF where some aircraft will be based, some displays and attractions and things like that." Members of the CAF will vote on the relocation in October. http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20130918-4-dallas-fort-worth-area-airports-in-running-to-land-aviation-history-group-commemorative-air- force.ece Back to Top Big Bucks for NextGen Aviation and Alternative Jet Fuels Maybe it's time to get serious about the development of alternative jet fuels as a way to aid both the airline industry and the environment, or at least throw more barrels of money at it. That is the American way, isn't it? The Federal Aviation Administration last week selected a group of universities to run a new Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for alternate jet fuels and the environment. The COE, with Washington State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the lead universities, will explore ways to meet the environmental and energy goals that make up a large part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, known as NextGen. The FAA says NextGen is the "transformation of how airplanes traverse the sky," affecting pilots, passengers, air controllers and the aircraft. The government-university partnership supports President Obama's plan to address climate change, said Anthony Foxx, secretary of transportation. "The Center of Excellence will tap talented universities to help us take environmentally friendly, alternative jet fuel technology to the next level," he said. "Airlines and their customers will both benefit from their work developing cleaner fuel that supports the environment and continued aviation growth." COE partners include Boston University, Oregon State University, Purdue University, the University of Dayton, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Washington, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, the University of Hawaii, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Tennessee. Their R&D efforts will focus on NextGen environmental goals for noise, air quality, climate change and energy, including new aircraft technologies and sustainable alternative aviation jet fuels. FAA targets include improvement of National Airspace System energy efficiency by at least 2 percent per year and to "develop and deploy" alternative jet fuels for commercial aviation to the tune of one billion gallons in use by 2018, according to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. The COE program is a cost-sharing research partnership among academia, industry and the federal government, with the FAA funding the COE with $4 million a year over the life of the 10-year program. COE industry and other organizational partners include: Aerodyne Research, Airbus/EADS, Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Cathay Pacific Airways, Clean Energy Trust, CSSI, Delta Air Lines, General Electric Aircraft Engines, Gevo, Gulfstream, Harris Miller Miller & Hanson, Honeywell UOP, InnovaTek, KiOr, LanzaTech, Metron Aviation, NREL - National Bioenergy Center, PNNL, Rolls Royce, SAFRAN, U.S. DoD - AFRL (Wright Patterson Air Force Base), UTRC (Pratt and Whitney), Weyerhaeuser, Wyle Laboratories and ZeaChem. Since 1990, the FAA has teamed with more than 75 universities to establish COEs in other aviation areas focusing on commercial space transportation, airliner cabin environment and intermodal research, aircraft noise and aviation emissions mitigation, advanced materials, general aviation, airworthiness assurance, operations research, airport pavement and airport technology, and computational modeling of aircraft structures. In 2010, U.S. airlines used 47.4 million gallons of fuel a day, and that total rose to 48.3 million gallons per day through November 2011, at a cost of nearly $50 billion. That's about 17.6 billion gallons per year. So the goal of using one billion gallons of alternate jet fuels by 2018 is pretty much a drop in the barrel; but if it happens it will be a very good start. http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/09/big-bucks-nextgen-aviation-alternative-jet-fuels/ Back to Top Aviation emissions deal in doubt despite EU offer The European Union's legislation to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from air transport will be severely tested next week when the member countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) meet in Montreal. The EU's decision to extend its emissions trading scheme (ETS) to aviation - agreed in 2008 - will come under fierce criticism. Ten months ago, in the face of complaints from many countries outside the EU, particularly China, India and the United States, the European Commission froze - for flights beginning or ending outside EU airspace - the requirement that airlines should pay for their emissions. The Commission said that it was giving ICAO time to come up with a global deal. In a further concession, EU negotiators said earlier this month that if ICAO agreed a resolution committing itself to eventually devising a global mechanism, this would be enough for the EU to apply the ETS in future only to those portions of flights within EU airspace. But with the ICAO meeting imminent, the chances of achieving such a global deal hang in the balance. The ICAO's executive council has drafted a resolution promising a deal by 2016, to take effect from 2020, to reduce aviation emissions. But whether that draft will be backed by the full general assembly is unclear. A familiar division has re-opened, with China and India saying that developing countries should not be under the same obligation to fight climate change as developed ones, while the US is loath to sign any resolution that contains this differentiation, for fear that it would set a precedent for the UN-sponsored climate talks. In the draft ICAO text, countries that represent less than 1% of global air traffic would not have to take part in the global mechanism. But this would cover wealthy developed countries including Norway. Developing countries, including a bloc of African countries, are now insisting that the 1% exemption should apply only to developing countries - an idea that is unacceptable to the US. China and India dispute the EU's right to charge for emissions within its own airspace, arguing that only individual national airspace should be recognised. To put pressure on Chinese airlines, which have refused to buy emissions allowances even for flights wholly within the EU, European negotiators are pressing for the EU's right to charge within its regional airspace to be recognised in the ICAO text, though this is already established under international law. An EU official said that a successful outcome would consist of "a clear signal on a global market-based mechanism" and "a signal from ICAO enabling us to keep acting on emissions in our own airspace". He added: "We are saying going into this, we think the text agreed is a fair and balanced text. There's very strong EU unity on this." Siim Kallas, the European commissioner for transport, will be attending the negotiations along with Connie Hedegaard, the European commissioner for climate action. He said: "In Europe we have already shown flexibility when we took the difficult decision to 'stop the clock' on our emissions trading scheme, and by doing this we averted a probable and unnecessary trade war. A truly global deal is long overdue and the world now justifiably expects an agreement." The EU's negotiating line was uniformly backed at a meeting of ambassadors from the member states yesterday. However, the Commission was warned, particularly by France and Poland, not to go any further in its demands. A Polish official said yesterday that a perception that the EU is making threats on the aviation issue could hurt the UN climate-change negotiations, taking place this year in Warsaw. "We've had a number of bilaterals with ministers from all over the world, and in India, in South Africa, this topic came up." http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/aviation-emissions-deal-in-doubt-despite-eu-offer/78229.aspx Back to Top Back to Top Why would anyone watch Air Crash Investigation? Who in their right mind would watch a television program called Air Crash Investigation? Quite a few people, it seems. Ninety-eight episodes of the harrowing Canadian docu-drama series, which forensically examines the causes of plane crashes, have been screened in 144 countries and in 26 languages and its continuing popularity means there are another 11 episodes in production. It has spawned clones such as Britain's Air Crash Confidential and the Smithsonian's Air Disasters. There's actually a greater chance of Miley Cyrus becoming Amish. That's a few million viewers who regularly enjoy being scared out of their wits. I suspect lots of the audience are people who are nervous of flying. Advertisement It's like having a headache and finding yourself trawling the internet for articles about brain tumours: it's human nature to imagine the worst. "It's strangely comforting," says a much-travelled friend who is a member of the White Knuckle Brigade but who watches Air Crash Investigation religiously. I have an awful little secret. I'm a nervous flyer too. You'd think that would be very rare for a travel writer but in fact it's not. I've been surprised to find many of my colleagues are anxious in the air, especially in lurching turbulence. So I'm not such a freak. Flying is, after all, the most unnatural thing a human can do. It isn't that we travel writers have any inside information that would make us anxious. We know the statistics are on our side - only one fatality per 4.03 million scheduled flight hours during 1998-2007. And the odds are better recently. There's actually a greater chance of Miley Cyrus becoming Amish. And even if your plane does crash, there's a 95 per cent chance you'll survive. Really. When Asiana 214 so spectacularly belly-flopped short of the runway in San Francisco in July, 305 passengers survived. Of the two killed, one was run over by a rescue truck. In my case, and I suspect in the case of other writers, my illogical anxiety about flying is driven by an overactive imagination. The slightly burnt smell of brewed coffee in the galley might be the sign of a full-on engine fire. An unrestrained child running down the aisle might work out a way to open the emergency door. That flight attendant smiling rigidly as she tries to serve lunch in a storm knows we're all going to die. There are dozens of little scenarios an active mind can create on a 14-hour flight. I should say here that I am also illogically afraid of chair lifts and of River Cave rides at fairgrounds, thinking I might fall off and drown in 30 centimetres of water. Don't get me started on glass elevators! I'm the Woody Allen of Australian travel writers. But years ago I decided I wanted to go places. And that meant, from Australia, that I had to fly, unless I spent a few weeks on a ship (and I don't like waves much either). The more I've flown, the less anxious I've become. I haven't done any of the courses airlines offer. I've simply taken myself in hand and talked myself out of it. Mostly. I'm quite blase these days, although I study pre-flight weather reports obsessively - a pointless exercise if ever there was one. I do find, though, that when things get rough, as with an aborted landing once in Sydney, I'm the one calming the passenger next to me and trying not to look worried as I hand out the sick bags. The last thing I need, however, is Air Crash Investigation. I don't need to know a swarm of wasps in the petrol tank might bring down a plane, that hundreds of deaths were caused by something the size of a paperclip, or that there's such a thing as Distance Measuring Equipment and inexperienced pilots can be misled by it. In the world of ACI, known problems in aircraft design remain unfixed, cockpit windshields blow out and air traffic controllers take bathroom breaks, leaving circling aircraft above on a collision course. All this happens against a soundtrack of dramatic music, lots of realistic shuddering of gear sticks and the sweaty brows of flight crews who know they are doomed. Flying in commercial aircraft is an act of trust. Once I'm on the plane, I've made that pact of trust. I really don't need to be worrying about whether our landing will be a "non precision approach" or not. http://www.smh.com.au/travel/why-would-anyone-watch-air-crash-investigation-20130911-2tk47.html Back to Top Aviation Celebration to highlight Millville's WWII history as 'America's First Defense Airport' MILLVILLE - The Millville Army Air Field Museum (MAAFM) will present its 6th Annual Aviation Celebration 2013 on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a rain date of Sunday, Sept. 29. The static aircraft display event will commemorate Millville Airport's important WWII aviation history as "America's First Defense Airport." Rare WWII warbirds, military aircraft, classic airplanes and homebuilts will be featured as the museum celebrates aviation at this one-day aircraft fly-in event dedicated to honoring the history and technology of flight. Admission is a $5 donation at the gate, with children six and under free. Donations will benefit the Millville Army Air Field Museum. "We are again proud to present this extensive collection of extremely rare, classic WWII airplanes to the community," says Chuck Wyble, MAAFM president. "We invite young and old to spend a few hours at Millville Airport. In addition, visitors will be able to see and tour through a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, one of those being retrofitted at the Boeing Millville Airport site and that are often seen in the skies over southern New Jersey! "Our airplane enthusiasts, young and old, will have an opportunity to see more than 20 extremely rare WWII airplanes as well as experimental and classic aircraft - all up close on the ramps at Millville Airport. "This year our event will include a classic car show display presented by the Garden State 50s Auto Club," adds Wyble. In addition, Aviation Celebration 2013 will include other great aviation displays, helicopter rides, food vendors, and an area with "bouncies" for children, all available on the airport ramps. Anyone who wishes to be a vendor should contact Lisa Jester, MAAFM executive director, at 856-327-2347 or email ljester@p47millville.org. "Many of the rare WWII planes are being shown by Tom Duffy, a warbird collector, who keeps them here at the airport," continues Wyble, "and we thank him for his continued support of the museum which he continues to demonstrate by displaying his warbird collection for the public to enjoy." Highlighting the display is Duffy's P-47 Thunderbolt "No Guts, No Glory," which has special significance because of its valued history at the Millville Air Base during WWII. Dozens of P-47 fighter/pursuit planes flew in our skies from 1941 through 1945 as pilots received flight training, doing air and ground gunnery training while awaiting orders for deployment. "There are only 10 original Thunderbolts still flying today and we are proud to have this one at Millville Airport to commemorate its history," adds Wyble. "And since our Aviation Celebration last year, Tom Duffy has added a P-40 Warhawk to his collection. P-40s were at the Millville Army Air Field prior to the arrival of the P-47 Thunderbolts. We are happy to showcase this plane as well." Along with the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-40 Warhawk, there will be four B-25 Mitchell Bombers on display: "Take-Off Time," "Briefing Time," "Panchito" and "Georgie's Gal." Also featured will be the Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX, the P-51 Mustang Kwitcherbitchin, several North American AT-6/SNJ Texans, a U.S. Coast Guard Widgeon, and a Piper L-4H Grasshopper, along with several other L-Birds (L-16, L-6, L-2), a Vultee BT13 Valiant, and a number of Primary Trainers (PT-17, PT-19, Pt-23, PT-26), among many others - all fully restored and flying in for the event. This year's Aviation Celebration will also feature a World War II veterans tent, where visitors may meet these heroes and ask them about their experiences. "We invite the public to come see and enjoy our salute to aviation while experiencing the unique ambiance of the historic airport itself. Everyone is encouraged to visit the museum which will be open to the public all day," adds Wyble. http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2013/09/aviation_celebration_to_celebrate_millvilles_important_wwii_history_as_americas_first_defense_airpor.html Back to Top 'Sky Girls' drama about female WWII pilots opens MSU Studio Season Several years ago, Matthew Caron was in the audience during an acting competition at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. On stage was a scene from New York playwright Jenny Laird's "Sky Girls," a historical drama juxtaposing the experiences of five women training to become Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) against the efforts of aviation pioneer Jackie Cochran to get full military recognition for the organization. Finding himself compelled by the intersection of history and personal drama, Caron jotted down the name of the play and its author in a notebook. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Superior with a master's in communication arts (previously attending Bethany Lutheran College and Minnesota State University for his undergraduate work), Caron returned to MSU to obtain a master's degree in directing theatre. Like other candidates in the program, Caron submitted a list of plays he was interested in directing. Though it had been years since he'd seen the play, Caron include "Sky Girls" on his list. "Of course, we all know about World War II - but what I find really fascinating is to fill in the details of the war," said the Mapleton native who is directing the play that opened MSU's Studio Season on Wednesday and continues through Saturday. "The WASPs just sort of captured my imagination. The more I researched, the more fascinated I became." Caron spent months researching the organization that, from 1943-44, gave military training to female pilots in order to conduct non-combat missions such as ferrying new planes from factories, towing aerial targets for gunnery training and transporting cargo. After disbanding in 1944, it wasn't until the women pilots' military records were unsealed in 1977 that the they were granted full status as World War II veterans. To get a first-hand look at the airplanes flown by the WASPs (who piloted every military aircraft in production during the war), Caron attended the Wings of Freedom Tour that brought a series of period war birds to the Mankato Regional Airport in July. He also visited the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls. When he presented his research at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in January 2013, he received the top regional award for dramaturgy. "This is all happening at a time when very few women even had a driver's license," Caron said. "These women are trying to figure out how to fit into this changing culture. The place where a lot of these characters feel the most at home is in the sky." As Caron notes, however, "Sky Girls" isn't meant to be a "museum piece." Rather, the interplay and dialogue between five WASP trainees grounds the piece at the human level. For these five women - who are not historical figures themselves, but composite characters distilled through regional archetypes - becoming a pilot is a chance to give back to their country, protect their sons and husbands and prove the abilities of women in times of hardship. "It's a tricky balance," the director said. "It's important to understand the history, but it's not an historical reenactment." In addition, MSU's productions represents the first since a recent batch of revisions to the script by the playwright. "Sky Girls" debuted in Chicago in 2003 before a string of performances at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. http://mankatofreepress.com/features/x1612842780/Sky-Girls-drama-about-female-WWII-pilots-opens-MSU-Studio-Season Curt Lewis