Flight Safety Information January 5, 2015 - No. 003 In This Issue Better weather allowing plane crash search to continue 7-Year-Old Girl Survives Kentucky Plane Crash That Killed 4 Nairobi flights halted after plane crash Indonesia Suspends Aviation Officials, Requires New Briefings After AirAsia Crash American Airlines, Pilots Union Reach Labor Deal Indian airports on hijack alert Catch me if you can: More drones break into France's nuclear air space PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA Elvis Presley's airplanes up for auction FAA says 'no date' for rules on commercial drone use ERAU NextGen 101 Seminar - Washington, D.C. Upcoming Events Better weather allowing plane crash search to continue SURABAYA, Indonesia - The weather improved Monday and divers will attempt again to locate large objects on the ocean floor believed to be the fuselage of the AirAsia flight that crashed more than one week ago, killing all 162 on board. At least five ships with equipment that can detect the plane's black boxes have been deployed to the area where the suspected plane parts were spotted, said Suryadi B. Supriyadi, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue director of operations. "If it cannot be done by divers, we will use sophisticated equipment with capabilities of tracking underwater objects and then will lift them up," Supriyadi said. Five large objects - the biggest measuring 18 meters (59 feet) long and 5.4 meters (18 feet) wide and believed to be the fuselage - have been detected, and Supriyadi repeated that officials expect that many passengers and crew will be found trapped inside. "But today's searching mission is still, once again, depend on the weather," he said. Divers tried to reach the site on Sunday, but rolling seas stirred up silt and mud, leaving them with zero visibility. Also Sunday, emotionally exhausted family members sang and cried at a tiny chapel in Surabaya, the city where Flight 8501 departed from Dec. 28. The Rev. Philip Mantofa, who heads the congregation at Mawar Sharon Church - where more than a quarter of the victims were members - urged those gathered to find comfort in their faith. "If God has called your child, allow me to say this: Your child is not to be pitied," Mantofa said, locking eyes with a grieving father seated in the front row. "Your child is already in God's arms. One day, your family will be reunited in heaven." It is not known what caused the Singapore-bound plane to crash into the Java Sea 42 minutes after taking off on what was supposed to be a two-hour flight. Just before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control that he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic. Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, has been gripped by grief as bodies, one by one, continue arriving in simple, numbered coffins after being painstakingly pulled from the water. Four more bodies were brought to shore on Sunday, raising the total to 34. The crash of Flight 8501 has triggered an intensive international search-and-recovery operation involving 20 planes and helicopters along with 27 ships from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. All have been desperately searching for the all-important black boxes, pieces of the Airbus A320 and corpses. The investigation got a boost over the weekend when sonar equipment identified five large objects on the seabed in the search area, but no images have been captured confirming they are part of the aircraft. Suspected plane parts also were seen scattered on beaches during an aerial survey. While it remains unclear what caused the plane crash, bad weather appears to have been a factor, according to a report by Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. Indonesian authorities have also announced the grounding of AirAsia flights from Surabaya to Singapore, with the Transport Ministry saying the airline did not have a permit to fly on Sundays. However, Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority said that from its end, the airline had been approved to fly the route daily. AirAsia, which began operations in 2001 and quickly became one of the region's most popular low-cost carriers, said it was reviewing the suspension. The crash was the airline's first. While Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, many of the plane's passengers were Christians of Chinese descent. The Rev. Mantofa's congregation was hit particularly hard, with 45 of the crash victims - from 13 families - belonging to his large Pentecostal church. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/better-weather-allowing-plane-crash-search-to-continue/ Back to Top 7-Year-Old Girl Survives Kentucky Plane Crash That Killed 4 KUTTAWA, Ky. (AP) - Bleeding and alone, 7-year-old Sailor Gutzler had just survived a plane crash that killed her family. She walked through about a mile of woods and thick briar patches, wearing a short- sleeve shirt, shorts and no shoes in near-freezing temperatures when she saw a light in the distance. The beacon led her to Larry Wilkins' home, police said, and she knocked on the door. Wilkins answered to find a thin, black-haired girl, whimpering and trembling. "I come to the door and there's a little girl, 7 years old, bloody nose, bloody arms, bloody legs, one sock, no shoes, crying," Wilkins, 71, told The Associated Press on Saturday. "She told me that her mom and dad were dead, and she had been in a plane crash, and the plane was upside down." Federal Aviation Administration officials arrived at the crash scene Saturday to try to determine why the small Piper PA-34 crashed on Friday evening, killing four people, including the girl's parents, Marty Gutzler, 48, and his wife, Kimberly Gutzler, 46, authorities said. Also killed were Sailor's sister Piper Gutzler, 9; and cousin Sierra Wilder, 14. All were from Nashville, Illinois. The bodies have been sent to Louisville for autopsies. The plane reported engine trouble and lost contact with air traffic controllers around 5:55 p.m. CST, authorities said. Controllers had been trying to direct the pilot to an airport about 5 to 7 miles from the crash scene, authorities said. About 40 minutes later, 911 dispatchers received a call from Wilkins, who reported that a girl who had been involved in a plane crash had walked to his home. Wilkins told the AP he brought the girl inside, got a washcloth and "washed her little face off and her legs." "Brave little girl, outstanding little girl," he said. "I feel real bad for her." The girl had a broken wrist, but was coherent and calm when interviewed by authorities, Kentucky State Police Lt. Brent White said. White and Wilkins described the terrain she walked through as heavily wooded with thick brush. White said the girl traversed two embankments, a hill and a creek bed. The temperatures were below 40 degrees when the girl showed up at Wilkins' door. "She literally fell out of the sky into a dark hole and didn't have anybody but her own will to live and get help for her family," White said. "Absolutely amazing." The girl was treated at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky, and released early Saturday to a relative, Kentucky State Police said. In Nashville, a man stepped outside the family's white, split-level home on Saturday and politely waved off a reporter. "Not now," he said, his head lowered, before he stepped back inside. Neighbors said Marty and Kim Gutzler had lifelong roots in the largely rural southern Illinois town about 50 miles east of St. Louis. Marty ran the furniture store that his father started, and the couple was well-known and well-liked, said neighbor Carla Povolish. With two basketball hoops in the driveway, the Gutzlers' home was the center of neighborhood fun on a block full of children. "All the kids in the neighborhood are just so upset about this," she said. Povolish said the two sisters - Sailor and Piper - were together constantly. "That's what's going to be so devastating for the little one," she said. The FAA said late Friday that the plane had taken off from Tallahassee Regional Airport, Florida, and was bound for Mount Vernon, Illinois. Kentucky State Police Sgt. Dean Patterson said the girl indicated that the plane had left from Key West, Florida. Attorney Kent Plotner, who was serving as family spokesman, said the Gutzler family was devastated by the loss. "We ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time. Please pray for us, especially for Sailor Gutzler," the family said in a statement. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/03/kentucky-plane-crash_n_6409902.html Back to Top Nairobi flights halted after plane crash Flights into Kenya's main airport have been suspended after a passenger plane crash-landed on the runway in the capital Nairobi. No deaths or injuries have been reported at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Sunday. The Kenyan Airports Authority said the Fokker 50 turboprop plane carrying six people had touched down on its belly after the landing gear failed. All flights into Nairobi were being diverted to the port city of Mombasa. Later on Sunday, airport officials said that the plane had been removed and the runway reopened. The aircraft had been flying from the north-eastern town of Wajir when it made the emergency landing. The Jomo Kenyatta airport is one of the busiest airports in east and central Africa, acting as an important transport hub for both passengers and goods across the continent. It serves a daily average of 19,000 passengers from Africa, Europe and Asia, according to the Kenyan Airports Authority. A huge fire caused by an electrical fault forced it to close for several days in August 2013. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30672963 Back to Top Indonesia Suspends Aviation Officials, Requires New Briefings After AirAsia Crash JAKARTA, Indonesia-Indonesian transport authorities cracked down Monday in the wake of the AirAsia crash, suspending aviation officials and saying that airlines will be forced to comply with more stringent pre-departure regulations and require pilots to undergo direct weather briefings with dispatchers. Djoko Murjatmodjo, the Transportation Ministry's acting director-general of civil aviation, said that the ministry has issued a circular requiring airlines to directly brief their pilots on weather before departure and that an official rule will follow. The circular was issued Dec. 31, three days after the crash. Mr. Murjatmodjo also said that the ministry has ordered agencies at the Surabaya airport to suspend officials from air-traffic control, the airport operator and the airport aviation office who were on duty at the time of Flight 8501's crash. The national police chief meanwhile announced that police will support the ministry and the National Transportation Safety Committee's crash investigation and look into possible violations of Indonesia's aviation laws. The move will bring more manpower into the probe and will look at the flight from takeoff to aftermath of the crash, Police Gen. Sutarman said. AirAsia declined to comment. The aviation directorate general at the international airport in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city where the flight originated, was found to have used incorrect information in making its decision to allow AirAsia a takeoff slot for the flight, said Mr. Murjatmodjo. Over the weekend, ministry officials said that AirAsia lacked a permit to fly the Singapore-Surabaya route on Sundays, the day of the flight. Hadi Mustofa Djuraid, staff expert at the Transportation Ministry, said that Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan Monday issued an instruction for an internal investigation at the ministry's civil aviation office to find if any officials gave a green light for AirAsia to fly outside its permitted days. "This is a significant step [showing] that the minister doesn't solely put the blame on AirAsia," Mr. Djuraid added. Currently many airlines directly brief their pilots on the weather but it hasn't been a formal requirement. Following the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 on Dec. 28, the carrier revealed that the pilot had undergone a "self-briefing" of weather conditions reported by the country's meteorological agency. After the crash, Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan criticized self-briefings as being insufficient to fully prepare for inclement weather. The Airbus 320 disappeared over the Java Sea on a flight from Surabaya to Singapore with 162 passengers in an area of intense storm clouds. The ministry Monday told local air carriers that pilots should be briefed by a flight operations officer, or FOO. Capt. Didit Soerjadi, operations manager with Indonesia's chartered flight operator PT Gatari Air Service said that the new requirement will boost airliners' operational costs as some will need to hire more FOOs. He acknowledged that some local air carriers' pilots self-briefed on weather. "Can you imagine what will happen if an airline company has 15 flights from a certain airport at the same time and all pilots must be briefed?" he said. With new technology, weather forecasts can be uploaded to a pilot's iPad, he added. Capt. Soerjadi said that FOOs don't have to be ex-pilots, but they do need certification from training schools in Indonesia. He said 75% of lessons taught in the schools are similar to those taught to pilots. No investigators have yet blamed weather conditions for the airplane's crash, although the meteorological agency released a report suggesting that it was a major factor through possible icing. Other airlines passed over the Java Sea that morning without incident. http://www.wsj.com/articles/indonesia-suspends-aviation-officials-requires-new-briefings-after-airasia- crash-1420446799 Back to Top American Airlines, Pilots Union Reach Labor Deal The pilots union at American Airlines has agreed to put up for a vote a five-year contract proposal that would boost pay by more than 26 percent and offer smaller raises in later years. The board of the Allied Pilots Association agreed late Saturday, just before a midnight deadline set by the company, to accept the basic terms of the deal before the offer was pulled and negotiations moved to arbitration. The proposal's language must be completed and voted on by pilots, according to a statement on the union's website. "Our goal was to conclude negotiations promptly and deliver the best possible result for our pilots," the statement said. American Airlines Group Inc., based in Fort Worth, Texas, is pushing to reach agreements with its labor unions as part of its 14-month effort to combine operations with merger partner US Airways. American CEO Doug Parker issued additional 4 percent raises last month to unions that had already accepted labor deals and offered to sweeten its offer to pilots by that much if they agreed to a deal by Saturday. Airline profits have been soaring to record highs in recent months because planes have been packed and the price of jet fuel ? airlines' biggest expense ? has plummeted along with the global price of crude oil. The deal, including the 4 percent sweetener, would increase pilot pay by 23 percent retroactive to Dec. 2 if pilots agree to the deal by mid-January. Pay would increase by an additional 3 percent as of Jan. 1 of this year, and be followed by annual 3 percent raises through 2019. It would cover 15,000 American and US Airways pilots. "We are pleased our pilots will have a chance to vote on a contract that provides an immediate 23 percent pay increase and recognizes their contributions at American," Casey Norton, an American spokesman, said in a statement Sunday. The company says the deal would mean American pilots would be paid 7 percent more on average than rival Delta Air Lines pilots. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/american-airlines-pilots-union-reach-labor-deal-27994226 Back to Top Indian airports on hijack alert Indian airports are on high alert after local intelligence reports warned security officials of a possible attempt to hijack an Indian airliner. Security had been tightened at airports on the basis of the intelligence. Reports say the Delhi-Kabul flight of the state-run Air India could be targeted by militant Islamist groups. The alert comes ahead of India's annual Republic Day celebrations on 26 January, at which US President Barack Obama will be the chief guest. India has issued a number of terror alerts in recent years. Reports say Air India received an anonymous telephone call threatening that its flight would be hijacked. "Security around all the airports has been strengthened and we have taken all the measures that are required in the wake of the alert from intelligence agencies," officials told news agencies on Sunday. Passengers will now be subjected to extra screening before they board an aircraft while armed sky marshals will be deployed on certain flights, reports say. An Air India official told the Hindustan Times newspaper that the airline was "conducting a second security check of passengers before they enter the aircraft". "Once the passengers are seated in the plane, our crew has been instructed to get the cabin baggage verified with the passengers again." In November India's navy withdrew two warships from the eastern port of Calcutta after intelligence agencies warned of a terror attack plot. The move came two days after a suicide attack close to Pakistan's only border crossing with India killed 50 people. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30677659 Back to Top Catch me if you can: More drones break into France's nuclear air space Two aircraft - presumably drones - were spotted flying over a French nuclear power plant on Saturday. The incident happened amid the country's efforts aimed at detecting and intercepting such flying objects above nuclear facilities. The latest intrusion happened at a nuclear power plant in Nogent-sur-Seine in north-central France, AFP reported on Sunday. "Around 6:40 p.m., site safety officers observed two flying objects that flew over the land reserve located on the perimeter of the nuclear plant," a spokesman for the power station told AFP. The objects were believed to be drones, and the gendarmerie has been alerted. Last year, French authorities revealed that between early October and late November unidentified drones were spotted over 13 of France's 19 nuclear power plants. Unauthorized access to the area around and above such facilities is strictly prohibited by law. The restricted airspace - up to 1,000 meters above plants - is monitored by the air force, but most radar equipment is not capable of detecting small, low-flying objects. Although officials previously said drones do not pose any direct threat to nuclear safety, repeated incidents over past three months have caused the French National Research Agency to launch a tender for systems to detect, intercept and neutralize offensive drones. According to the country's authorities, the state plans to invest 1 million euro ($1.2 mn) into development of such program, which it promises to share with other European countries. In November, three people - two men and a young woman - were arrested close to a nuclear power station in central France, with police saying the suspects were about to launch a drone. The device used by those arrested was a simple and relatively cheap one, while a series of previous drone invasions is believed to have been carried out with the use of more elaborate aircraft. Previously, drones have been spotted by the site protection teams mainly at night or early morning, with several flights having been presumably coordinated. Complex devices costing several thousand euros are believed to have been circling the area above nuclear facilities, causing concerns of the sites' vulnerability. Almost 80 percent of electricity in France comes from nuclear generators, with the power being produced at the country's 58 reactors. Drones that breach the highly-guarded plants' area could potentially be used for gathering information that might pose a security threat: the unmanned flying objects can take pictures of film the nuclear facilities, collecting information, or even drop explosives to damage power or communications networks. http://rt.com/news/219775-france-drones-nuclear-plant/ Back to Top Back to Top Elvis Presley's airplanes up for auction Elvis Presley's pair of personal jets, one complete with gilded wash basin and plush sleeping quarters, will go under the hammer in a sealed-bid auction for a piece of mile-high rock and roll memorabilia, Julien's Auctions said on Friday. Jets "Lisa Marie" and "Hound Dog II" that the late King of Rock and Roll designed himself will be offered together to bidders and are expected to fetch between $10 million and $15 million, the Beverly Hills, California, auction house said. http://www.emirates247.com/entertainment/elvis-presley-s-airplanes-up-for-auction-2015-01-05- 1.575472 Back to Top FAA says 'no date' for rules on commercial drone use INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - While the Obama Administration could release proposed rules for the commercial use of drones any day, a Federal Aviation Administration official told I-Team 8 Friday that she could not provide a date. "We are continuing to work with our administration colleagues to finish the rule. I am sorry to say I do not have a date for you," FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory wrote in an email to I-Team 8. The highly anticipated rules were expected to be published before the end of 2014, but that didn't happen. While Cory's email did not elaborate, it did seem to indicate that the FAA and the Obama Administration are still tinkering with the details. Currently, the commercial use of drones is banned in the United States, which has left professional photographers, filmmakers, real estates agents, farmers and others angling for space in a highly restricted yet largely uncharted marketplace. While some would-be drone professionals have tested the waters by creating websites or offering aerial photography for hire, the FAA has cracked down on some, targeting people in nine states and issuing fines and a total of 17 cease and desist letters to those operating drones for a commercial purpose. The issue is - those are only the people the FAA has caught. It's hard to know the true number of would-be drone professionals jockeying for position before commercial rules are made public. "If I am out in the field and I want to take a video - a 360 degree video - of a piece of machinery doing, I don't see why I would feel the need not to do that, especially if I feel it's going to enhance my marketing effort," said Brad Zingre, an Avon, Indiana man who also works as marketing representative for Caterpillar. Zingre is not a commercial drone pilot. He's a hobbyist, and a novice hobbyist at that. His wife bought him his first drone for Christmas. He has only had a weeks worth of flying under his belt. "I've flown it every day just because it's new and fun," he said in an interview Friday. When asked what he's learned, he said, "that you crash a lot and the video is not that great." The FAA already has proposed guidelines for drone hobbyists, including rules that limit the hobbyists to flying within sight and below a 400 foot ceiling. But with the federal government lagging behind on creating proposed rules and drone sales growing among online retailers, it could soon become hard to differentiate between the hobbyist and the would-be drone professional. Recently, the FAA and the Academy of Model Aeronautics, the Small UAV coalition and other drone groups worked together to put together a website. The website spells out different safety techniques hobbyists should know in order to fly a drone safely. Indiana's drone laws While Indiana passed a drone law this summer, it largely targeted law enforcement agencies, requiring that police have a search warrant before using a drone unless it involves "exigent circumstances" that would threaten life or public safety. That new law - House Enrolled Act 1009 - requires police agencies obtain a search warrant before using a drone, with some exceptions. Among them: police may use a drone if there are "exigent circumstances," if officers gain permission from a property owner, if there's a natural disaster, or if it's used for a geographical survey - so long as it's not for criminal justice purposes. Exigent circumstances are situations in which officers have sufficient probable cause but do not have time to get a warrant before someone's life may be in danger or evidence may be destroyed. Indiana is only one of five states in the U.S. to pass a law either defining or restricting the use of drones, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This summer, an I-Team 8 analysis of more than 400 law enforcement agencies across the state found that only four police agencies admitted to having or operating a drone. I-Team 8's investigation found it's not just law enforcement agencies that have found limited access to the use of mini drones. Aaron Sheller and Matt Minnes were among a group of Indiana farmers interviewed this summer who created the start-up company Precision Drone. "It's very exciting. A very exciting time for drone technology," Sheller said. The company, which manufacturers drones ranging in price from $4,500 to $17,000, hopes to sell them to farmers to provide them with clearer picture of crop conditions. "Once we started using drone technology we could see areas of the field that we never would have thought had problems - had problems," Sheller said. While the commercial use of drones continues to be banned, the FAA has granted special waivers to several filmmakers and two production companies filming an Alaskan oil pipeline. Indianapolis councillor weighs drone resolution Indianapolis Councillor Zach Adamson is toying with the idea of creating a resolution that would ban drone flight in Indianapolis until concrete federal rules are established. "There have to be some guidelines and that's all were saying is - maybe we shouldn't allow this free-for- all until someone comes up with these regulations," said Councillor Adamson. http://wishtv.com/2015/01/02/faa-says-no-date-for-rules-on-commercial-drone-use/ 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 Upcoming Events: IS-BAO Workshop Information and Registration 13 - 14 Jan. 2015 Baltimore, MD USA https://www.regonline.com/CalendarNET/EventCalendar.aspx?EventID=1592658&view=Month 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 ERAU NextGen 101 Seminar April 21-22, 2015. Washington D.C. http://proed.erau.edu/programs/specialized-industry-training/nextgen-101-seminar/index.html FAA Helicopter Safety Effort three-day safety forum April 21-23, 2015 Hurst, Texas eugene.trainor@faa.gov www.faahelisafety.org Curt Lewis