Flight Safety Information July 21, 2014 - No. 149 In This Issue Pressure Grows on Putin as Forensics Experts Reach Ukraine Crash Site U.N. Air-Safety Arm Seeks Control of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17's Black Boxes Experts: Whoever brought down Malaysian jet had extensive training Liability issues unanswered in Malaysia Flight 17 crash Lawmaker wants missile countermeasures on civilian aircraft Air Canada Flight AC1174 mayday ends in safe landing Southwest Jet Turns Back After Smoke Reported in Cabin Gulf Air aircraft diverts after problems with flight controls PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA NASA PILOTS FLY U-2 'SPY PLANE' CIVIL VARIANT FOR POLAR DATA COLLECTION Upcoming Events Employment (New Position) Pressure Grows on Putin as Forensics Experts Reach Ukraine Crash Site Ukraine plane crash KIEV, Ukraine - A pair of Dutch forensics experts finally gained access on Monday to the remains of the victims from the downed Malaysia Airlines jet in eastern Ukraine after days of standoffs over access to the site and growing pressure on President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to clear the way for a full international investigation. European leaders threatened new sanctions on Russia as soon as Tuesday, suggesting they were increasingly open to the harder line being taken against Moscow by the United States, which has accused Russia of providing the surface-to-air missile system that brought down the jetliner, training rebels in how to use it, and perhaps even supplying experts who helped to fire it. Mr. Putin issued a brief statement early on Monday saying that Russia would work to ensure that the conflict in eastern Ukraine moved from the battlefield to the negotiating table. He said that a robust international investigating team must have secure access to the crash site, but also accused unspecified nations of exploiting the disaster in pursuit of "mercenary political goals." The slow pace at which the bodies have been recovered and the destruction or removal of potential evidence of what happened has generated growing anger at the separatist rebels and at Mr. Putin. Even as the pair of Dutch forensic experts arrived on Monday in the town of Torez in eastern Ukraine, where the bodies of the victims have been collected in refrigerated rail cars, the Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, said that pro-Russian rebels who control the area were preventing the train from leaving. The body identification experts, wearing shirts bearing the insignia of the forensics unit of the Dutch national police, donned blue latex gloves and put masks over their mouths and noses, and one asked for a flashlight, as they made an initial inspection of bodies that lay in black trash bags piled toward the back of one wagon. They repeated the process in two other train cars. The Dutch experts were accompanied by representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has been conducting an international monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine and quickly sent observers at the plane wreckage site, where they said their efforts were limited by rebels until Sunday, when they were granted broader access. As the experts began their work, heavy fighting, including mortar shelling, was underway between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military, in the nearby regional capital of Donetsk, a rebel stronghold about 50 miles form the crash site. A spokesman for the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, Sergei Vladimirovich, said that the government forces had begun pushing into the city from the northwest, near a market by the main train station, and a witness reported seeing heavy shelling in the area including damage at a children's hospital. "A fight is going on," he said by telephone. "There are casualties but we don't know how many. We are still trying to figure out what is happening." A Ukrainian military spokesman, Vladislav Seleznyov, would not provide give details, citing military secrecy, but confirmed the fighting, calling it "an active phase of the antiterrorist operation." Caught between the twin challenges of pressuring Mr. Putin over his backing for the insurgents and securing the Russian president's support in gaining access to the crash site, European leaders on Monday maneuvered to overcome longstanding divisions about imposing significantly tighter sanctions on Moscow. Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, whose country bore the brunt of the casualties, told Parliament that "all political, economic and financial options" were available as the European Union prepared to debate measures further isolating the Russian leader. "It is clear that Russia must use her influence on the separatists to improve the situation on the ground," Mr. Rutte said, according to Reuters. "If in the coming days access to the disaster area remains inadequate, then all political, economic and financial options are on the table against those who are directly or indirectly responsible for that," he said. His words found an echo from George Osborne, the British chancellor of the Exchequer, who said Britain was prepared to tighten sanctions even if that meant losing Russian business in London's economically vital financial services industry. "Any sanctions will have an economic impact, and we are prepared to undertake further sanctions," he said in a BBC radio interview. His remarks followed a telephone conversation over the weekend between the leaders of Britain. France and Germany who were reported to have agreed that their countries should be ready to use a meeting of the 28-nation European Union's foreign ministers on Tuesday to introduce tougher sanctions. But some European governments are cautious about supporting sanctions that would provoke reprisals from Russia - a key source of energy supplies to many European nations. Mr. Yatsenyuk said that the emergency services and hundreds of volunteers had gathered 272 bodies from fields near the village of Grabovo. He added, however, that the area, including the rail station, remained under the control of rebels and that the train carrying the bodies was not being allowed to leave. "These bloody guerrillas do not allow the train to leave the area," he said at a news conference in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Mr. Putin's statement did not directly address the allegations that Russia supplied the weapon system and expertise needed to shoot down the plane. In Kiev, Mr. Yatsenyuk condemned Russia and the rebels in harsh terms and said Ukraine wanted an international investigation to hold the separatists and their patrons accountable. "Those who committed this international crime, those responsible will be held accountable," Mr. Yatsenyuk, wearing a black suit and black tie, said, his faced hardened in a stony glare at the Kiev news conference. "Together with the entire international community, we will bring to justice everyone responsible," he said, speaking in English, "including the country which is behind the scene, but supplied the illegal weapon, provided the financial support, trained these bastards and supported and even orchestrated this kind of despicable crime." Mr. Yatsenyuk demanded that Russia and its president address the allegations. "I urge the Russian government to respond to all questions that have been raised," he said, adding later, "President Putin needs to understand, enough is enough" Mr. Yatsenyuk said Ukraine was prepared to turn over control of the investigation to the Netherlands. Mr. Yatsenyuk cited a litany of evidence pointing to Russia's complicity including photos of SA-11 missile systems in rebel territory, and communications between rebels and Russian security officials intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/22/world/europe/putin-calls-for-talks-in-ukraine-and- a-robust-crash-investigation.html?_r=0 Back to Top U.N. Air-Safety Arm Seeks Control of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17's Black Boxes Vladimir Putin Puts His Weight Behind ICAO Role in Investigation By ANDY PASZTOR Officials from the air-safety arm of the United Nations are proposing to take possession of Malaysia Airlines 3786.KU 0.00% Flight 17's black boxes from the pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine who are believed to have the devices, according to people familiar with the details. A team of investigators from the International Civil Aviation Organization arrived in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday night, these people said, and began discussions to be designated as the impartial organization that will safeguard the flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders, or black boxes. No final agreement has been reached, they said, as ICAO works with other international groups and Ukrainian officials to develop a strategy. Early Monday in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin put his weight behind such a deal. "It's essential for a robust team of experts to work on the site of the crash under the auspices of ICAO, the relevant international commission," Mr. Putin said in a statement on the Kremlin website posted early Monday. "Everything must be done to ensure it's full and absolute security and guarantee the humanitarian corridors necessary for it's work." "It's essential for a robust team of experts to work on the site of the crash under the auspices of ICAO, the relevant international commission," Mr. Putin said in a statement on the Kremlin website posted early Monday. "Everything must be done to ensure it's full and absolute security and guarantee the humanitarian corridors necessary for it's work." On Sunday, the separatist leader of the self-proclaimed Donestsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodai, said the black boxes had been located and were being stored in Donetsk. He said he was ready to hand them over to international aviation experts. Such an outcome could be a breakthrough after three days of confusion at the site and refusal of those in command there to allow unfettered access to outside investigators. The development comes amid growing international outrage over lack of security at the site, and repeated reports that aircraft wreckage and other pieces of evidence are being moved or disturbed by outsiders. In response, governments and industry officials have been urging ICAO, behind the scenes, to adopt a more aggressive stance and perhaps even take direct control over the entire investigation. The latest move stops short of that, according to people familiar with the matter. But at the beginning, at least, ICAO and its supporters "are trying to work out a strategy that will ensure the safety of the staff and secure the boxes," according to one person close to the talks. Another person familiar with the details said Kiev reached out to ICAO on Thursday for help, and the U.N. agency agreed to assemble a team to tackle the issue of gaining control of the black boxes. The team includes representatives of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the U.K.'s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, this person said. On top of Ukraine's request for help, the U.N. Security Council could formally call for ICAO to take a direct leadership role in the probe. The ICAO delegation, according to several people close to the developments, is led by Marcus Costa, the agency's chief accident investigator. After securing the black boxes, the team of experts working under ICAO's purview are expected to coordinate efforts to secure the wreckage. In addition, according to one person familiar with the plan, the team's broader responsibilities are slated to extend to overseeing retrieval of information from the black boxes, analyzing radar data and satellite imagery, and setting up further teams of structural experts and other investigators to look for and analyze missile fragments. It is unusual for ICAO to take such an active role in a specific probe, but it isn't unprecedented. The agency, for example, oversaw an independent, U.N.-mandated inquiry into the 1983 Soviet Union shootdown of a Korean Air Lines jet. For now, ICAO is taking steps to encourage and support an impartial probe that legally remains under the direction of Kiev. But officials of the U.N. agency may do much of the coordination, supervise working groups and potentially even end up as the public face of the probe. In light of the conflict roiling Ukraine, air-safety experts recognize that findings by the country's embattled government are bound to be suspect. "Any conclusions from an investigation by only Ukrainian authorities are going to be tainted, " according to Kenneth Quinn, a partner at the Washington law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP who has extensive experience working with ICAO. "It's only natural to want and need independent ICAO leadership," according to Mr. Quinn. Even if ICAO succeeds in its bid to organize and shape the probe, criminal aspects of the investigation will be handled and supervised separately. Arrangements for that effort are still being worked out, partly through diplomatic channels, according to one person close to the matter. With the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol already looking into the jet's downing, law-enforcement officials will be focused on preserving evidence and searching for launch vehicles and operators, with an eye toward potential criminal prosecutions. http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-n-air-safety-arm-seeks-control-of-malaysia-flight-17s- black-boxes-1405898556 Back to Top Experts: Whoever brought down Malaysian jet had extensive training A Russian air defense missile system SA-11 launcher is on display at the 2013 MAKS Air Show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow. (Ivan Sekretarev / Associated Press) Whoever filed missile at Malaysian Airlines flight over Ukraine had plenty of training, experts say SA-11 surface-to-air missile, which brought down a jet over Ukraine, 'is a hard system to use,' expert says Missile that brought down Malaysia Airlines jet isn't designed to hit a plane, but to explode close by Whoever fired the surface-to-air missile that brought down a passenger jet over eastern Ukraine would have needed extensive training to execute the mission, according to military experts. Taking down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, traveling about 600 mph at an altitude of 33,000 feet, required vastly more expertise than, say, firing a shoulder-braced rocket- propelled grenade at a slow-moving helicopter. A crew of at least four would have been needed to accurately fire the truck-mounted Russian-made SA-11 missile, also known as a Buk missile system. "You've got to have people who are technically competent," said retired Army Maj. Gen. Stephen V. Reeves, who served as an intelligence officer in Western Europe. The SA-11 is a 1972-era weapon system, and is not as technologically advanced or easy to operate as more modern weaponry. "This is a hard system to use, in today's terms," said retired Army Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O'Reilly, a former director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, who estimated that each of the SA-11 crew members would have needed at least six months of training. Putin under scrutiny after downing of Malaysia Airlines jet "You don't just take some folks off the street, and 30 days later they're trained," he said. The SA-11 system is designed to identify a target with radar before and throughout the flight of the missile. The radar data is transmitted continuously to the missile, guiding it toward the target. However, O'Reilly said that while the SA-11 can find and follow targets at altitudes up to 70,000 feet, the system is unable to distinguish between a military transport plane and a large passenger aircraft. Given the Malaysian jetliner's altitude and cruising speed, O'Reilly said, the SA-11 probably was fired within 25 miles of the crash site. Whoever did this wasn't someone that had a little bit of training.... These people were trained on it for a long time. - Retired Army Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O'Reilly Those who fired at the Malaysian jetliner Thursday "knew they were shooting a large aircraft," O'Reilly said. "It's such an old technology, it could very conceivably be they thought they were shooting down a military cargo plane or a large tanker. It is not unlikely they really thought that they were shooting down a military aircraft." The SA-11 missile is an explosive warhead armed with a "proximity fuse" that detonates within 110 yards of a target. This means, O'Reilly said, that Flight 17 was downed by the force of the blast, not by a direct collision with the missile. "It's not designed to hit the plane," he said. "It's designed to get close, and the proximity fuse automatically goes off." Debris from the wreckage, particularly chunks of the jetliner, probably will contain tell- tale fragments of the SA-11. However, the forensic work of verifying the type of weapon would still fall short of identifying who fired it because of the SA-11's ubiquity in the region, both O'Reilly and Reeves said. Senior U.S. officials have said the missile appears to have been fired from an area of eastern Ukraine held by Russia-backed separatists, some of whom were spotted with an SA-11 launcher shortly before the missile was fired. O'Reilly and Reeves noted that both the Russian and Ukrainian armies possess SA-11s. They also said it was possible that the Russia-aligned militants possess them. The crash occurred in an area of eastern Ukraine held by the separatists. "That's the [missile] system that you pick to do the very thing that it did," O'Reilly said. "So that there's some deniability. Both the Ukrainians have it and the Russian army has it." It's possible, Reeves said, that specialized Russian military personnel-"Spetsnaz"-were directly or indirectly involved with the crew that fired the missile. "Whoever did this wasn't someone that had a little bit of training and some Russian advisors told him how to do it. These people were trained on it - for a long time. The fact is, they shot one [missile] and they hit. They're pretty proficient, O'Reilly said. "If it wasn't Russians or Russian advisors, it had to be former Russian air-defense personnel. Someone had to be formally trained in order to use it.'' http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-ukraine-malaysia-jet-training-20140719- story.html Back to Top Liability issues unanswered in Malaysia Flight 17 crash Crash investigators have been met with challenging circumstances at the scene of last week's downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in the Ukraine. Determining liability in the incident - let alone achieving reparations for the victims' families - will likely be just as arduous, experts say. The flight, which originated in Amsterdam and was bound for Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday was hit by a surface-to-air missile and crashed in a battle zone held by pro- Russian militants rebelling against Ukrainian troops. All 298 on board, including 80 children, died in the crash. The location of the crash, the ongoing conflict and the potential for Russian culpability will likely frustrate the process of investigating and reaching a definitive outcome in regards to liability, says Mark Dombroff, an aviation and transportation attorney and partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge, a Washington, D.C., law firm. Rebels reportedly forced investigators to hand over the remains of victims on Sunday and denied them access to the site. As many as 100 bodies remained unaccounted for. "It's a big damn mess, and it's a tragedy on any number of levels," says Dombroff. Some attorneys have speculated that the total liability could approach $1 billion. But payouts to victims' families will more likely be in the tens of millions, said Dombroff, who was involved in legal proceedings after the 1983 shooting down by the Soviets of Korean flight 007 and the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. Under international law, airlines are responsible for about $154,000 for each passenger, regardless of whether the airline is found to be at fault. Even if courts double or triple the airline's liability, he said, the total would be less than $140 million. In the case of the lone American, Quinn Lucas Schansman, who had dual U.S.-Dutch citizenship, a U.S. court might award additional damages in the millions. "It is much too early to comment on reports of this tragic incident while details are still being confirmed, except to extend our deepest sympathy to all those affected by this crash," said insurance firm Allianz, which provides Malaysia Airlines' liability and aviation hull coverage, in a statement. The firm, it said, "stands by to support our client as fully and quickly as possible." A third party, if found to have caused the crash, could be sued, too. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday cited mounting evidence of Russian assistance to Ukranian separatists who allegedly shot the plane down. Even if the separatists or Russians are found to be at fault, that doesn't mean reparations will be forthcoming. It's unlikely that plaintiffs would collect any money from the separatists, Dombroff said, and the Russians probably wouldn't even show up in court. "Anybody can sue anybody they want, but that gets you some headlines for a day or two and then frustration for years," he said. In the case of the bombing of the 1988 Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, it took 20 years before families of the victims were compensated by Libya, he noted. Investigators at the crash site in eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border, face threatening conditions. "You are basically on a battlefield," Dombroff said. "You make the best of it." http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/07/20/malaysian-airline-crash- insurance-liability/12915723/ Back to Top Lawmaker wants missile countermeasures on civilian aircraft A Ukrainian military aircraft flies as flares are set off near Slaviansk earlier this month. (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich) Following the Thursday shootdown of a Malaysia Airlines aircraft over Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R.-Ill.) wants to petition the Federal Aviation Administration to install missile defense systems on commercial airliners. "I think they should actively look into mounting active defenses on civil aircraft that are carrying hundreds of people," Kirk, a former Navy intelligence officer, told our colleague Ashley Halsey. "It's not too technically difficult to add a radar warning system on an aircraft, where a pilot in command could dispense chaff to defeat a radar-guided missile." While the lawmaker's claim might sound a little like science fiction, a number of airlines have already installed warning devices and countermeasures to deal with man portable surface-to-air missiles, or MANPADS. In September 2003, two shoulder-fired missiles were fired at an Israeli charter aircraft. The Boeing 757 had more than 250 people aboard and it was nearly hit by the rockets just after taking off from Mombasa, Kenya. The near-miss prompted the Israeli airline, El Al, to equip its aircraft with "Flight Guard", an anti-missile system that uses a combination of flares and warning devices to help avoid ground-fired, heat-seeking rockets. The flare countermeasure confuses the rocket, which is designed to track a heat source such as the airplane's engines. When the flares are jettisoned, the rocket no longer has a proper heat source to acquire and is usually thrown off course. Kirk's comments about chaff addressed a different type of countermeasure used specifically to confuse radar-seeking missiles such as the kind believed to have been used to shoot down MH17 ,which was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. A chaff canister is the size of a soda can and explodes when launched from the aircraft. The ensuing steel shower is composed of radar-reflective metal that confuses the missile. "There's a lot of challenges using chaff," an experienced Marine Corps fighter pilot said. "It's a military thing." Since chaff is launched, in some ways like a weapon, it would have to be armed and disarmed by people on the ground with extensive training, he added. "Chaff is used to confuse the missile," said the pilot who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. "Chaff doesn't defeat the threat, it merely buys you time." A fighter pilot uses chaff to out-maneuver the missile; an airliner however, moving more slowly and at 30,000 feet would be unable to maneuver in the same manner. If it did, it would probably endanger the passengers. For this reason, the Marine Corps pilot said he doesn't believe MH17 could have defeated the SA-11 with chaff. "To be entirely safe you'd have to be jettisoning chaff the entire time over that part of Ukraine," he said. For reference, the average amount of time a regular fighter can eject chaff is for about a minute. "You'd have to turn the airliner into a giant chaff can for it to work," he said. "It doesn't make sense." http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/07/18/lawmaker-wants- missile-countermeasures-on-civilian-aircraft/ Back to Top Air Canada Flight AC1174 mayday ends in safe landing None of the 93 people on board were injured on flight to Toronto from Edmonton An Air Canada flight from Edmonton to Toronto on Sunday morning landed safely after the pilot declared a mayday. The aircraft was on its final approach to Toronto's Pearson airport when the pilot told air traffic control that he had to abandon the planned landing because of "flight control" issues. Police were alerted at 6:30 a.m. ET., and set up a staging area with officers and ambulance on standby, according to Const. Fiona Thivierge with Peel Regional Police. The plane circled over Lake Ontario until it was determined that it was safe to land. "They landed without incident, fortunately," Thivierge said. None of the 93 people on board were injured, the airline and police said. The aircraft was carrying 87 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants, Air Canada said. A flight control indication light came on upon arrival in Toronto, the airline said. "Our crew are well trained to handle these events and followed procedures by declaring an emergency," Air Canada spokesperson Isabelle Arthur said in an email statement to CBC News. "We are currently taking care of our customers and maintenance is inspecting the aircraft." Flight AC1174 left Edmonton at 1:10 a.m. MT and arrived in Toronto at 7 a.m. ET. Passengers took to social media to share their scary experiences. "The captain and crew of @AirCanada flight AC 1174 from Edmonton to Toronto were amazing... Calm cool and collected. Thank you to all," Twitter user Monique Auffrey said. "I actually thought I might die today. I said a few prayers. #grateful Thanking God and the amazing @AirCanada crew," Auffrey continued. "Thanks to the amazing crew of flight AC1174 @AirCanada and ground crew My 1st and hopefully my only emergency landing. Still a little shaky," Twitter user Debbie Williams said. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/air-canada-flight-ac1174-mayday-ends-in-safe- landing-1.2712504 Back to Top Southwest Jet Turns Back After Smoke Reported in Cabin A Dallas-bound Southwest Airlines flight returned to Austin, Texas, minutes after takeoff Sunday because of a report of smoke in the cabin, the airline said. Flight 4625 left Austin at 9:18 p.m. Central Time. The smoke was reported after takeoff and the plane turned back, landing after 9:30 p.m., according to FlightAware. Firefighters responded to Austin Bergstrom International Airport after the plane landed, ABC affiliate KVUE reported. According to Southwest Airlines, passengers boarded a new plane and arrived in Dallas about two hours behind schedule. The aircraft, a Boeing 737, was taken out of service for inspection. No one was injured, and the cause of the situation remained under investigation. http://abcnews.go.com/US/southwest-jet-turns-back-smoke-reported- cabin/story?id=24643279 Back to Top Gulf Air aircraft diverts after problems with flight controls A Gulf Air aircraft enroute from Bahrain to Paris diverted to the Hungarian capital of Budapest after crew reported a problem with the flight controls. "A Gulf Air Airbus A320-200, registration A9C-AO performing flight GF-19 from Bahrain (Bahrain) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France), was enroute at FL380 about 90nm east of Budapest (Hungary) when the crew decided to divert to Budapest reporting a problem with the flight controls," The Aviation Herald reported. The incident took place on July 16 and resulted in the aircraft remaining on the ground in Budapest for 4.5 hours while the Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC) was replaced. The aircraft reached Paris with a delay of five hours, the report added. http://www.arabianbusiness.com/gulf-air-aircraft-diverts-after-problems-with-flight- controls-558696.html Back to Top Back to Top NASA PILOTS FLY U-2 'SPY PLANE' CIVIL VARIANT FOR POLAR DATA COLLECTION Two NASA research pilots separately flew a civil variant of the U-2 military reconnaissance aircraft this week to study diminishing sea-ice levels in the Arctic region, Alaska Dispatch News reported Thursday. Dermot Cole writes that pilots Tim Williams and Daniel Steele took turns flying the ER-2 jet to 60,000 feet and providing assistance from the ground for NASA's polar climate change research project. The Lockheed Martin-built aircraft will aim to complete up to 48 hours of environmental flight missions through the end of this month. ER-2 is built with a Multiple Altimeter Beam Experimental Lidar instrument that works to record observations on water, ice and forests, according to ADN. Cole reports that NASA intends to use Lidar data to build technology that could handle ice and water surface elevation studies. NASA glaciologist Kelly Brunt told the publication that the agency wants to develop computer programs to aid a 2017 satellite-based analysis of polar ice shelves. "Now we want to see what the summer ice looks like in our laser signal, what water looks like on the surface of ice in our laser return," Brunt said, according to ADN. "We're trying to see if there's any penetration of the signal in the melt ponds or if it just bounces off the surface," she added. http://www.executivegov.com/2014/07/nasa-pilots-fly-u-2-spy-plane-civil-variant-for- polar-data-collection/#sthash.eJiCwChi.dpuf Back to Top Upcoming Events: International System Safety Society Annual Symposium 04-08AUG2014 - St. Louis, MO http://issc2014.system-safety.org ACI-NA Annual Conference and Exhibition Atlanta, GA September 7 - 10, 2014 http://annual.aci-na.org/ IFA - Maintaining Airworthiness Standards and Investing in the Most Important Asset 'The Human Element' 17 - 18 September, 2014 Emirates Eng Facility, Dubai www.ifairworthy.com Public Safety and Security Fall Conference Arlington, VA October 6 - 9, 2014 http://aci-na.org/event/4309 IASS 2014 Abu Dhabi, UAE November 11-13, 2014 http://flightsafety.org/meeting/iass-2014 Back to Top Employment: NTSB Position Available - Mechanical or Aerospace Engineer https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/375124300 or https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/375127300 Position Available - Safety Investigator Etihad Airways www.etihad.com/careers NTSB Position Available - Electronics Engineer https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/374545600 Curt Lewis