Flight Safety Information March 19, 2014 - No. 058 In This Issue Helicopter Crashes Near Seattle Space Needle, Killing Two Three victims rescued in Carter County plane crash 2 men walk away from aircraft crash in Greenwood Plane crashes at Arau, one seriously injured The simplest and most plausible Flight 370 theory yet - from an actual pilot Official: Vegas planes had 'bad' fuel PRISM SMS Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar, 21-22 May 2014, Bangkok, Thailand ERAU Research Survey Upcoming Events Helicopter Crashes Near Seattle Space Needle, Killing Two Two people were killed and another injured this morning when a helicopter crashed in Seattle just yards away from the iconic Space Needle. The helicopter was a news chopper owned by ABC News affiliate KOMO. The chopper crashed moments after lift-off and quickly became engulfed in flames, killing two and sending a third victim to the hospital in critical condition, according to the Seattle Fire Department. The two people that were killed were pilot Gary Pfitzner and photographer Bill Strothman, a recently- retired staffer who now works part-time, the station said. The other person who was injured was only identified as a 38-year-old man who was inside a car at the time. The crash site was just 50 feet away from the Space Needle, authorities said. The helicopter did not hit the landmark. The news station said the helicopter was lifting off from its roof when it hit the side of the building and crashed into several cars. Two cars were also on fire when firefighters arrived to douse the flames. Plumes of smoke quickly filled the skies near Space Needle shortly after the crash. The Seattle Fire Department said they do not know what caused the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is en route to the scene to investigate the crash. http://abcnews.go.com/US/helicopter-crashes-seattle-space-needle/story?id=22954771 Back to Top Three victims rescued in Carter County plane crash CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. - All three victims from have been rescued from the crash site and are currently at the Johnson City Medical Center. Carter County authorities tell our crews on the scene, the victims are two adults and a teenager. They are identified as a mother, her teenage son, and an adult male family friend. The two adults were flown to the hospital in critical condition. The teenager was able to walk to the ambulance. The teen told our Johnathan Radford on the scene he was "lucky to be alive." The rescue operation lasted more than 8 hours in very difficult terrain. At time rescue crews had to rely on bulldozers and chain saws to reach the remote crash site. There is still no word on what caused the Ohio bound plane to crash. We have learned the plane landed at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport to refuel around 6:30. The plane reported trouble in the air between 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Emergency officials will be on the scene for several more hours. UPDATE 1:30am: News 5 crews on the scene said the first of three victims in the plane crash has been rescued. When asked how he felt, he told us he feels good and is glad to be off the mountain. No word on how long before the other victims will be brought down the mountain. News 5 will continue to update this story. PREVIOUS STORY: Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes said a plane crashed on Holston Mountain Tuesday evening. Deputies set up a command post at Unaka High School. They used ATVs in order to locate the wrecked plane. The Stoney Creek Fire Department said a search helicopter located the wreckage of the Cessna 172 plane. Authorities at the scene said they were working to rescue three people on the plane. The Stoney Creek Fire Department told News 5, three victims are in critical condition. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane belongs to Skypark, Incorporated. The aircraft registration is N46603. The plane was headed from Charleston, South Carolina back to Skypark in Wadsworth, Ohio when it went down on Tuesday around 7:30 p.m. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the cause of the crash. http://www.wcyb.com/news/carter-county-deputies-searching-for-crashed-plane/25043682 Back to Top 2 men walk away from aircraft crash in Greenwood Two men managed to escape with non-life-threatening injures after a plane crash today in Johnson County. The aircraft, a 1976 single-engine Cessna, came down about 10:43 a.m. in a field near County Line Road and North Combs Road, according to Assistant Chief Matthew Fillenwarth of the Greenwood Police Department. The plane was being piloted by 65-year-old Dennis Rumley of Greenwood, Fillenwarth said. Also in the plane was Rumley's flight student Brent Abshier, 38, Indianapolis. Rumley, a flight instructor for Jeff Air Pilot Services, told police that the plane began experiencing mechanical problems before the crash landing. Fillenwarth said both men were exiting the plane as officers arrived. Police said after the crash, Rumley was hospitalized for a laceration to the head. Abshier was hospitalized for complaints of pain. Fillenwarth said a representative from the Federal Aviation Administration was called to the scene to investigate. http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2014/03/18/small-aircraft-crashes-in-greenwood/6560647/ Back to Top Plane crashes at Arau, one seriously injured Transport Minister Robeson Benn has confirmed that a privately-owned aircraft crashed at Arau in Region Seven this morning and four persons were injured. This newspaper was told that the Cessna aircraft crashed around 11.30 am and according to Benn, the GDF's special forces have been deployed to the scene. It is believed that the craft might be owned by a miner. A statement from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority said that a rescue team has been dispatched to Arau where the single-engine light aircraft crashed after takeoff at approximately 11:14 am. It said that the aircraft is privately owned. One person has been seriously injured. The pilot is in constant contact with the Rescue Coordination Centre, Timehri Control tower, the GCAA said. The GCAA this afternoon issued the following update: Army medical personnel were flown on a Britten Norman Islander from Ogle to Kaikan, Region 7 to assist the injured passengers involved in a crash at Arau airstrip, Region 7 this morning, March 18, 2014. Accompanying them were investigators from the GCAA who will remain at the crash site to comb through the wreckage for possible clues for the crash. Kaikan is the most suitable aerodrome closest to the crash site. The privately owned Piper aircraft N87619 owned and operated by Bernard Singh crashed after takeoff from Arau airstrip around 11:14 am with four persons on board. It was reported that three persons received minor injuries while the injury to the fourth person is considered serious. A Guyana Defence Force helicopter was able to locate the crash site almost immediately after private operator Emile Jahan of Hinterland Aviation Inc. who was flying in the vicinity was able to pinpoint its Global Positioning System (GPS) location. GCAA activated the Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) on receipt of a distress message via satellite telephone from the pilot of the downed aircraft. Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn along with key personnel from relevant agencies are being updated continuously at the RCC. http://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/news/stories/03/18/plane-crashes-arau-three-injured/ Back to Top The simplest and most plausible Flight 370 theory yet - from an actual pilot The latest speculation over the whereabouts of missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 - from an experienced pilot - is easily the most plausible, and a far step away from hijacking, terrorism, or meteors. Chris Goodfellow, a pilot with more than 20 years of experience on multi-engine planes, wrote on Google+ that a fire aboard the plane - and a pilot's standard operating procedure in such a scenario - could account for almost all of the evidence surrounding the missing plane. "I tend to look for a simpler explanation, and I find it with the 13,000-foot runway at Pulau Langkawi," Goodfellow wrote in a post that was later edited and published by Wired Tuesday. After the Boeing 777 took off from Kuala Lumpur en-route to Beijing around midnight March 8, the plane lost communication with air traffic control and disappeared from radar along with its transponder tracking ping. Radar evidence from the Malaysian military discovered days later picked up what could possibly have been Flight 370 turning around and heading back toward the western coast of Malaysia, specifically the Strait of Malacca. "When I heard this I immediately brought up Google Earth and searched for airports in proximity to the track toward the southwest," Goodfellow said. According to the former pilot, the necessary left turn to head back toward Malaysia by pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah - a captain with 18,000 hours of flight time - is strongly indicative of a pilot's instinct in an emergency situation. "We old pilots were drilled to know what is the closest airport of safe harbor while in cruise. Airports behind us, airports abeam us, and airports ahead of us. They're always in our head. Always," Goodfellow said. "If something happens, you don't want to be thinking about what are you going to do - you already know what you are going to do." The most likely explanation for the turn was to make an emergency landing at a nearby airport - in this case, Palau Langkawi, a 13,000-foot airstrip approachable by water and free of obstacles. Shah would have avoided heading back to Kuala Lumpur with a damaged plane due to the 8,000-foot ridges crossed on approach. "The pilot did all the right things," Goodfellow said. "He was confronted by some major event onboard that made him make an immediate turn to the closest, safest airport." Losing transponder and communications could easily have occurred from an electrical fire, after which a pilot would shut off all electrical buses and turn them back on one at a time in order to isolate the troubled circuit. "It probably was a serious event and the flight crew was occupied with controlling the plane and trying to fight the fire," Goodfellow said. "Aviate, navigate, and lastly, communicate is the mantra in such situations." A landing gear fire is also entirely possible, especially on under-inflated tires (common on large airliners) during a hot night on a long runway. If the blowout occurred during takeoff, the resulting fire would burn slowly but eventually produce "horrific, incapacitating smoke." "What I think happened is the flight crew was overcome by smoke and the plane continued on the heading, probably on George (autopilot), until it ran out of fuel or the fire destroyed the control surfaces and it crashed," Goodfellow said. "You will find it along that route-looking elsewhere is pointless." http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/18/the-simplest-and-most-plausible-flight-370-theory-yet-from-an-actual- pilot/ Back to Top Official: Vegas planes had 'bad' fuel A batch of "bad" jet fuel at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas forced several planes to make unscheduled stops at nearby airports to gas up. A Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport official said a few of those planes landings in Phoenix on Tuesday in order to obtain enough standard-grade fuel to be able to stop in Las Vegas before moving on to other destinations. Passengers stayed on board while the planes tanked up. Testing indicated the fuel at McCarran airport was unuseable and new fuel was expected to be brought in from California. Airport officials did not specify why the fuel did not pass muster. The exact number of planes that made unscheduled stops was not immediately available. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/03/19/official-vegas-planes-bad-fuel/6594953/ Back to Top Back to Top Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar, 21-22 May 2014, Bangkok, Thailand The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) is holding the next Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar (APASS) on 21-22 May 2014 in Bangkok. The seminar, hosted by THAI Airways International, is organised by the AAPA Flight Operations & Safety Working Group. This seminar is designed to create a common meeting place for all airlines from the Asia Pacific region, airports, aircraft manufacturers, regulators, insurers, ground handlers, MROs, service providers and suppliers to discuss and to be updated on the latest developments in aviation safety. Why attend? * Excellent networking opportunities for all safety stakeholders to exchange ideas on the important fundamentals and applications of aviation safety best practices, in-service experience and lessons-learned with like-minded aviation safety experts. * Topic-specific workshops in Cabin Safety, Flight Operations Safety and Safety Performance Indicators will enable participants to exchange views and debate on the practical approaches in managing some of the leading safety issues facing the region. Click here to find out more >> http://bit.ly/APASS2014 Back to Top ERAU Research Survey Researchers with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide are requesting that Aircraft Maintenance Technicians and Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics participate in their research study titled "Prevention of Back Injuries in Technicians and Mechanics". The purpose of the study is to identify protective factors and risk factors associated with back pain and back injury. The ultimate goal is to identify factors that are protective so that they can be implemented within organizations to curtail back pain and back injuries and to identify factors that can be improved to enhance safety for aircraft maintenance technicians and airframe and powerplant mechanics. Participation in the study is strictly voluntary. You will briefly answer questions about your work activities, perceptions of your workplace and your health. This questionnaire takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous as no personally identifiable information is collected. To participate in this important study please access the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CT8G2LH Thank you, Todd. D. Smith, PhD, CSP, ARM Principal Researcher Program Chair - Master of Science in Occupational Safety Management Program todd.smith2@erau.edu Back to Top Upcoming Events: WATS 2014 April 1-3, 2014 Orlando, FL http://halldale.com/wats#.UymQ_vldWSo North Texas Business Aviation Safety Show-Down is set for April 3rd http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/11327425/north-texas-business-aviation-safety-show-down- is-set-for-april-3rd Middle East Air Cargo and Logistics Exhibition & Conference 2014 April 9-10, 2014 Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) http://cargomiddleeast.com Airport Show Dubai May 11-13, 2014 Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) www.theairportshow.com/portal/home.aspx National Safety Council Aviation Safety Committee Annual Conference Savanah, GA - May 14-15, 2014 Contact: tammy.washington@nsc.org http://cwp.marriott.com/savdt/artexmeeting/ Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar 21-22 May 2014, Bangkok, Thailand http://bit.ly/APASS2014 Curt Lewis