Flight Safety Information December 18, 2014 - No. 255 In This Issue Sukhoi-30s ejecting out pilots without warning Flying an Airplane for an Hour Exposes Pilots to as Much Radiation as a Tanning Bed 4 Egyptian, UAE officers killed in military jet crash SpiceJet resumes operation, pays cash to buy jet fuel PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA Airbus reshuffle prepares planemaker for record jet output Boeing to make 754 commercial jet deliveries in 2015 ERAU NextGen 101 Seminar - Washington, D.C. New...GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship Upcoming Events Sukhoi-30s ejecting out pilots without warning Bengaluru: The high-end Sukhoi-30 multi-role fighters are certainly the pride of Indian Air Force fleet, but an unusual problem of pilots being ejected out of the cockpit of these jets, without any warning, has left IAF's air warriors edgy. The IAF lost a Su-30 because of this problem - automatic ejection of the seats-soon after the pilots began descending for touchdown at Lohegaon air base near Pune, recently. The pilots-Wing Commander Sidharth Vishwas Munje and Flying Officer Anup Singh-survived but not only were they taken off flying duty pending an inquiry, the entire fleet of Su-30s was grounded. "One Su-30 fighter of the Indian Air Force was involved in an accident on October 14 in which, both ejection seats had fired whilst the aircraft was coming in to land. The pilots were safe, but the aircraft crashed about 20 km short of the runway. No loss of life or damage to property was reported," the ministry of defence said in a statement. Sources in IAF said this was not an isolated incident, nor was it reported only by the Indian air strike wing. The Royal Malaysian Air Force lost a Su-30 because of a similar snag a couple of years ago. Earlier this year, two IAF pilots were thrown out a Su-30 just as they started taxing for take off at the airbase in Jodhpur. As the military jet was moving slowly on the runway, the ground crew rushed to stop it and thus prevent any damage. In another accident, an airman was killed as he hit the ceiling while carrying out pre-flight checks. Sources said as Irkut Corporation imports pilot seats from a Russian firm NPP Zvezda, both these firms and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd were informed about this unusual problem, coupled with complaints about mid-air engine failures prompting Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha to visit the overhaul facility at HAL, Koraput, last month. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141218/nation-current-affairs/article/sukhoi-30s-ejecting- out-pilots-without-warning Back to Top Flying an Airplane for an Hour Exposes Pilots to as Much Radiation as a Tanning Bed Airplane windshields allow UV radiation to enter the cockpit, giving pilots a dose similar to dangerous levels found in tanning beds. The daily commute for airline pilots could be the equivalent of riding to work in a tanning bed, suggests a new study. Airplane windshields can block some ultraviolet (UV) radiation found in sunlight, but a significant amount passes directly into the cockpit. This puts the crew at risk of developing melanoma, which is the most serious form of skin cancer. In the study, published in JAMA Dermatology, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, compared the level of UV radiation in the cockpit of a general aviation turboprop airplane with the dose produced by a standard tanning bed. Almost an Hour of Flying Equals 20 Minutes of Tanning The researchers took measurements in a plane at several elevations in San Jose, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. While the plane's windshield blocked most of the UV-B radiation, it allowed UV-A radiation, which is the same type produced by the tanning bed tested, to pass through. "Pilots flying for 56.6 minutes at 30,000 feet receive the same amount of UV-A [cancer- causing] effective radiation as that from a 20-minute tanning bed session," the authors write in the paper. Most commercial aircraft fly at this altitude, where the level of UV radiation is double that found at ground level. UV radiation reaching the cockpit can also increase when the plane flies over thick cloud cover or snow fields, which can reflect up to 85 percent of the UV radiation. The greater UV-A radiation exposure in the cockpit results from the design of the airplane's windshield. Tests have shown that plastic and glass windshields can block most of the UV-B radiation. However, up to 54 percent of UV-A radiation is able to get through the windshields, with plastic blocking more of this type. Strong Link Between UV Rays and Melanoma The link between UV-A radiation and melanoma is well established. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, one in 50 Americans will develop melanoma in their lifetime. Excessive exposure to UV radiation is a preventable cause of melanoma. People who live closer to the equator, where the sun is more intense, and those who use tanning beds are at an increased risk. Skin Cancer In previous research, published in JAMA Dermatology, an analysis of 19 studies showed that pilots are twice as likely as the general population to develop melanoma and 42 percent more likely to die from it. Additional research has found that this increased risk exists even when taking into account the pilots' other sun exposure, including their history of sunburns, use of tanning beds, and numbers of sunny vacations. The new study, however, is the first one to directly test the level of UV radiation that pilots are exposed to in the cockpit. Because only one plane was tested, though, the researchers suggest future studies be conducted on more types of aircraft. This could establish safety guidelines that would limit UV exposure for pilots. "We believe that better UV protection on aircraft windshields is necessary to offer cabin crew a hazard-free work environment," the authors write. "We strongly recommend the use of sunscreens and periodical skin checks for pilots and cabin crew." http://www.healthline.com/health-news/pilots-exposed-to-as-much-radiation-as-a-tanning- bed-121714 Back to Top 4 Egyptian, UAE officers killed in military jet crash Two Egyptian military officers and two from the United Arab Emirates were killed when their plane crashed during a joint exercise in Egypt, official reports said. Four army officers from both Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were killed Wednesday when a military plane crashed during a joint military drill in Egypt. The crash took place at 17:00 GMT and was caused by a "technical problem", Egypt's army spokesman Mohamed Samir said in a Facebook statement. He said two of the victims were Egyptian, while the other two were from the United Arab Emirates, noting that an investigation had been opened into the crash. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates started a joint military drill on December 11, the latest in a series of training between the two countries. The United Arab Emirates was among the first Arab countries to welcome the ouster by the military of elected president Mohamed Morsi last year. http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/151053/4-egyptian-uae-officers-killed-in-military-jet-crash Back to Top SpiceJet resumes operation, pays cash to buy jet fuel Troubled airline SpiceJet resumed operations on Wednesday after being forced to cancel over 150 flights with oil marketing companies refusing to refuel its planes forcing the budget carrier to pay Rs 3 crore last evening to buy jet fuel. "So far, the operations are going as scheduled," airport sources said, as the airline flew at least five flights out of Delhi till 10:00 am to Mumbai, Jaipur, Port Blair, Kochi and Varanasi. The airline came out of the brink on Thursday after all its flights were grounded for about ten hours on day before it made part payment of Rs. three crore to oil companies enabling it to partly resume operations. Of the 243 listed flights, it claimed to have operated 75 across the country after 04:00 pm on Wednesday. Ajay Singh, one of the original promoters of SpiceJet, met with civil aviation secretary V Somasundaran fuelling speculation about the former planning to invest in the carrier once again. Singh refused to reply to questions on whether he would invest, but said SpiceJet had a "lot of potential". S L Narayanan, CFO of the airline's parent company Sun Group, told PTI, "We need some breathing time...if we get a reprieve from the banks and Mr (Kalanithi) Maran is ready to give guarantee we can restart the engine. Once the collection starts coming in, we will pay (the dues)." Maran has already invested around Rs. 820 crore in the last three years and he has invested whenever the airline has needed money, he said. The civil aviation ministry's decision not to allow SpiceJet to take bookings beyond 30 days turned counter-productive, affecting its daily earnings. This forced the ministry to put on hold its decision. It had also asked oil companies and airport operators to extend a 15-day credit facility to SpiceJet to save the airline from shutting down. The ministry's intervention, however, came with a rider that the beleaguered airline will commit capital infusion at the earliest. The airline has total liabilities of Rs. 2,000 crore which include dues to the public sector oil firms and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The last time an airline to stop operations under mounting losses was two years ago when Kingfisher, which had outstanding of around Rs. 6,000 crore, shut down. http://zeenews.india.com/business/news/companies/spicejet-resumes-operation-pays-cash- to-buy-jet-fuel_114492.html Back to Top Back to Top Airbus reshuffle prepares planemaker for record jet output Airbus's company logo is pictured at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, December 4, 2014. REUTERS/ Regis Duvignau (Reuters) - A management reshuffle at Airbus (AIR.PA) this week marks another step towards focusing Europe's biggest aerospace company on industrial performance rather than the political interests of key shareholders France and Germany, industry sources said. But Tuesday's announcement also includes a nod towards national sensitivities, while not letting these dominate the choice of industrial leadership as Airbus prepares to crank up production to meet an 8-year waiting list, they said. The Airbus Group (AIR.PA) jetmaking subsidiary's appointment of British aerospace veteran Tom Williams as chief operating officer, with a seat on the group executive committee, marks the first time a Briton has reached that level. It is the first time, too, that someone without a French or German passport has occupied the no.2 slot at the Airbus subsidiary, a post formerly reserved for the main shareholder countries under a power-sharing scheme only recently abandoned. People familiar with the company said Williams, 62, is the ultimate safe pair of hands and the obvious industrial successor to Gunter Butschek, who has resigned. Airbus has said it no longer matters what nationality its executives are, in contrast to in- fighting that marred the first decade after it was founded as EADS in 2000. But analysts say Airbus remains conscious of national sensitivities and changes announced to staff by Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier, "in agreement with (group CEO) Tom Enders," reflect this without dropping the message that the once politically tarnished group has become a "normal" company. A miscue last week by the finance director Harald Wilhelm over the future of the A380, mentioning scenarios including cancellation, raised political eyebrows and prompted some analysts to ask whether Airbus divisions were resurfacing. The company strongly denied this. The pre-planned management changes elevate a trio of French, German and British industrial heavyweights as Airbus faces its biggest challenge: changing to a new version of A320 without slowing production and ramping up the A350 at a record rate. Williams, Frenchman Didier Evrard who has completed the A350 development and German procurement chief Klaus Richter will have key roles as the main battle with Boeing (BA.N) shifts towards supply chain and production strategies. The reshuffle also confirms the increasing importance of Airbus chief of staff Marc Fontaine, 48, a close aide to Bregier who joins the Toulouse management team with an expanded role. Richter's appointment to the main group executive board reflects a recent increased focus on supplier risks, but also offsets any disappointment Airbus's vocal German contingent may have about losing the no.2 role, industry sources said. Richter becomes the chief Airbus representative for Germany, a politically sensitive role with 20,000 jobs involved. Richter, who used to run BMW's (BMWG.DE) supply chain, has outlined greater use of standardised carmaking strategies as Airbus shifts towards 'series' output at higher volumes, albeit far below those of the auto industry. His new position reflects this. "A procurement executive-board member is common in automotive; it is unheard of in aerospace," a senior aerospace industry source said. Airbus declined further comment on the changes. "The big long-term challenge is volume. It is conceivable that a decade out Airbus could be delivering close to 100 aircraft a month," Sash Tusa, aerospace analyst at Edison Investment Research, said. Airbus currently delivers 40-50 aircraft a month. "Automotives will be something they are keen to look at." At Boeing, group supplier management falls under the broad responsibility of Chief Technology Officer John Tracy, a spokesman said, but there is no 'chief procurement officer'. Boeing pioneered the use in aerospace of "Lean" production techniques imported from Toyota in the 1990s, but U.S. aerospace executives trained in auto firms remain a relatively rare sight. Suppliers say Boeing recently, however, began searching for auto industry talent. "The auto industry is 10-15 years ahead of aerospace in visibility and understanding the supplier and supplier's supplier," but is not a catch-all solution for jetmakers, Kevin Michaels, vice president at consultancy ICF International, said. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/17/us-airbus-management- idUSKBN0JV2GU20141217 Back to Top Boeing to make 754 commercial jet deliveries in 2015 Boeing Co will deliver a record 754 commercial aircraft in 2015, an increase of up to 5.5 percent, the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association forecast on Wednesday, reflecting expectations of steadily rising production at the world's biggest plane maker. The Washington, D.C.-based trade group said its forecast is based on information supplied by Boeing, and comes amid concern that Boeing may have to cut production of some models to keep the assembly lines from running out of orders. The AIA forecast of 754 aircraft next year, contained in the group's 2014 annual report, is in line with Boeing's current production plans, which call for about 752 deliveries in 2015. That suggest no reductions or major increases are in Boeing's sights. Boeing has targeted 715 to 725 deliveries in 2014. However, Boeing told Reuters the AIA report does not preclude the Chicago-based company providing a different forecast when it gives its 2015 outlook in late January. Boeing said last week that it will cut the production rate of the 747-8 jumbo jet to 1.3 a month in September 2015 from 1.5 a month currently due to weak sales. Analysts have suggested that Boeing also may have to cut production of 777 "mini-jumbo" jetliners to keep that line operating as it transitions to the next-generation 777X model toward the end of the decade. At the same time, Boeing has been increasing output of 737 and 787 models. It is making 42 737s a month, and plans to increase production to 47 a month in 2017 and 52 a month in 2018. Boeing makes 10 787s a month and plans to increase output to 12 a month in 2016 and 14 a month by 2020. Investors closely watch Boeing's deliveries as a key measure of the aerospace company's ability to generate cash flow and profits. Boeing shares were up 0.01 percent at $124.26 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The AIA also forecast a 6 percent rise in overall U.S. civil aircraft sales in 2015, which would be slower than the 8 percent increase in 2014. The figure includes both commercial aircraft and private planes. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-boeing-aircraft-forecast-20141217- story.html Back to Top ERAU NextGen 101 Seminar - Washington, D.C. "The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide Office of Professional Education is pleased to announce a two-day seminar entitled NextGen 101. The course is designed to identify the key concepts, attributes, and challenges of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Government and industry employees with an interest in NextGen, aviation stakeholders and members of the military transitioning to a career in civilian education should attend. The course will take place in Washington D.C. on April 21-22, 2015. Course fee is $750 per person or $675 per person with five or more people registering from the same group. For more information and to register, please visit us online at http://proed.erau.edu/programs/specialized-industry-training/nextgen-101- seminar/index.html" Back to Top New GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Below please find the introduction paragraph and link for my graduate research survey. Thank you for your help! My name is John Betson Uku. I am an airline pilot. I am a graduate student studying Air Safety Management at City University, London. As part of my dissertation I am conducting a survey of pilots' perception of Just Culture and the effect on safety management. If you work as a pilot your participation in this survey would be greatly appreciated. The survey is completely anonymous and should take about ten minutes to complete. Please contact me if you have any questions. The survey can be accessed via the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JBU1431BHX Thank you for your help, John B Uku John.Uku.1@city.ac.uk Back to Top Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship The Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship was established by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to shape the next generation of researchers in aviation weather, honoring the late Najeeb Elias Halaby, an eminent aviator and administrator, for his vision and more than five decades of extraordinary contributions to aviation (http://www.ral.ucar.edu/halabyfellowship.pdf). The Fellowship The recipient of a Najeeb E. Halaby Graduate Student Fellowship will spend three months (in 2015 or early 2016) in residence with NCAR's Aviation Weather Research Program, which Mr. Halaby was instrumental in establishing in the 1980s. As the nation's leader in addressing aviation weather research, NCAR plays a unique role in meeting user needs by transferring research results to operations through its Research Application Laboratory (http://www.ral.ucar.edu/). The Fellow will conduct research broadly aimed at improving the integration of weather into decision support tools for improved weather avoidance and air traffic management. The Fellowship will provide: * a monthly stipend for three months, including temporary living expenses * round-trip travel expenses to and from Boulder, CO * travel to a conference to present results * page charges for one publication of key results Eligibility and Application The Halaby Fellowship targets graduate students (late Masters or early PhD level) enrolled in an aviation-relevant department or program of a domestic or international university. Interested candidates should have advanced research skills, far-reaching vision, and dedication to get things accomplished. Consideration for this Fellowship will be given to candidates based on the following submitted material: * Curriculum vitae * Proposal (maximum five pages) presenting the research to be conducted at NCAR, the anticipated outcome of that, and how the proposed effort ties into the candidate's ongoing graduate research project(s) * Contact information for three references (one of which should be the student's primary advisor) NCAR will accept applications for the Halaby Fellowship each year. Email Applications by February 28, 2015 to halabyfellowship@ucar.edu Back to Top Upcoming Events: Event: "The Future of Regulation of SMS and QA" Symposium. Keynote: Mr. Martin Eley, Director General Transport Canada. Location: Coronado Resort Hotel @ Disney World, Orlando Florida. Date: Jan 4-6, 2015 info: http://www.dtiatlanta.com/symposium.html A3IR CON 2015 January 16-17, 2015 Phoenix, AZ http://commons.erau.edu/aircon/2015/ Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) NTSB Training Center, Ashburn, VA March 10-11, 2015 www.acsf.aero/symposium FAA Helicopter Safety Effort three-day safety forum April 21-23, 2015 Hurst, Texas eugene.trainor@faa.gov www.faahelisafety.org IS-BAO Workshop Information and Registration 13 - 14 Jan. 2015 Baltimore, MD USA https://www.regonline.com/CalendarNET/EventCalendar.aspx?EventID=1592658&view=Month Curt Lewis