Air
India bombing suspects cleared
Two Canadian residents born in India have been
acquitted of the deadliest-ever attack on an airliner
— the 1985 bombing of an Air India 747 that killed
all 329 people on board — and a related bombing
that killed two at Tokyo’s Narita Airport. The
acquittal, which ends a 17-year investigation
and two-year trial, left families of the victims
“devastated.” The investigation cost US$108 million
— including the cost of a high-security courtroom
built specially for the trial — but in the end
the judge said evidence against the suspects had
“fallen markedly short” and that he could not
find them guilty if there remained any doubt.
Following the verdict, families of the victims
called for an inquiry into how Canada’s police
and intelligence agencies handled the case. Police
are continuing with their investigation of the
bombing.
FAA Investigating
How Immigrants Got Licenses
GREENSBORO -- The Federal Aviation Administration
wants to know how five people arrested on immigration
charges were able to take licensing tests for
the agency's high-level repair licenses.
An agency spokeswoman says FAA administrators
are looking into documents used by the five in
seeking the right to test for Airframe and Powerplant
certification. The A&P license allows mechanics
to work on the more complex parts of a plane.
Spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen says it's permissible
for foreigners to test for an A-and-P license
as long as they provide valid proof of training
and experience, which can come from their home
country and is then verified by the U.S. State
Department.
The five were arrested two weeks ago at TIMCO,
an aviation-maintenance company at Piedmont Triad
International Airport. Federal agents detained
27 workers at TIMCO, 24 of whom are charged with
being in the United States illegally.
from
this link
NTSB: Who Will Lead?
Still No Word From White House On Replacing NTSB
Chairman
Come Sunday, the NTSB could be in an unusual
spot -- without a chief when the current chairman,
Ellen Engleman-Conners, is forced to step down.
Conners' term is up on Sunday. So you might
figure, no problem -- there's always Vice Chairman
Mark Rosenker. But his term is up on April 2nd.
Heard this song before? You bet you have. Two
years ago, the Bush administration waited until
the last hour before naming Conners to replace
Acting Chairman Carol Carmody as her term came
to an end.
In the meantime, Engleman-Conners is not winning
many friends in DC. ANN has already reported
on a number of internal issues that have arisen
among NTSB staffers over her conduct and management
style, while the public comments (as to cause...
long before any real data is collected) she
has made shortly after high-profile accidents
have angered several high-profile aviation officials.
As a result, several pundits on the hill see
the Engleman-Conners scenario as having "little
future at the NTSB."
Space station suffers second broken
gyro
The
second of four gyroscopes aboard the
International Space Station has broken
down again after a circuit breaker
failed on Wednesday. Ground controllers
believe the problem was caused by
a tripped circuit breaker.
No
Rush to Fix Space Station Circuit Breaker
Astronauts
will have to replace a failed circuit
breaker outside the International
Space Station, but the work can be
put off for a few months because the
orbiting complex is holding steady,
a NASA official said.
The Whistleblower Protection
Program provides protection
from discrimination for
air carrier industry employees
who report information
related to air carrier
safety or participate
in other protected activities.
Employees of air carriers,
their contractors, and
their subcontractors,
are protected from retaliation,
discharge or otherwise
being discriminated against
for providing information
relating to air carrier
safety violations to their
employer or to the Federal
Government, or filed,
testified, or assisted
in a proceeding against
the employer relating
to any violation or alleged
violation of any order,
regulation, or standard
of the Federal Aviation
Administration or any
other Federal law relating
to air carrier safety,
or because they are about
to engage in any of these
actions.
To qualify for protection
under the Whistleblower
Protection Program, you
must:
Be or have been an
employee mentioned
above,
Be or have been engaged
in an activity mentioned
above, and
Believe you are being
or have been discriminated
against by your employer
for engaging in an
activity mentioned
above.
For more information,
you may call the
FAA Whistleblower Hotline
at:
1-800-255-1111 (Press
1 for Main Menu, then
press 5)
Engine Fails
On BA Jet Twice In A Week
March 4, 2005
A British Airways Boeing 747-400
was forced to shut down one of
its engines in mid-flight twice
in one week after a replacement
engine failed, the airline said
on Friday.
In what BA described as a bizarre
coincidence, the number two engine
on the 747 flying from Singapore
to London was shut down last month
after the pilot received an oil
pressure warning.
The aircraft, carrying 356 passengers,
arrived safely in London after
flying for more than 10 hours
on three of its four engines.
The 747-400 is designed to fly
safely on three engines.
The same jet was forced to fly
on three engines from Los Angeles
to London less than a week earlier
after the previous number two
engine stopped mid-way into the
flight after a fuel surge.
The plane made an emergency landing
at Manchester Airport after fuel
ran low. The faulty engine was
replaced with a new engine fresh
off the production line.
"It looks like one of those
freaky coincidences. It is perfectly
safe to fly on three engines,
and the 747 can fly on two engines,"
a BA spokesman said.
Britain's Civil Aviation Authority
said it was monitoring the BA
investigation into the incident
but said it saw no reason to issue
any operational guidance on engine
failure to carriers.
"It is not a common event
but it happens from time to time,"
an aviation source said.
BA has rejected any suggestion
the decision to fly on only three
engines was linked to new rules
which force airlines to compensate
passengers for major delays.
NTSB
Issues Preliminary Report On Fatal
Air-Evac Crash
Pilot Says Lack
Of Airspeed Caused Helicopter To Spin,
Descend
UPDATED: 11:23 am CST March
3, 2005
FAYETTEVILLE,
Ark. -- National Transportation
Safety Board investigators released
a preliminary report Thursday morning
that provided more information about
a fatal Air-Evac helicopter crash.
A 71-year-old Texas man died in the
crash, which happened Feb. 21 near
Cherokee City in west Benton County.
Paramedics had just retrieved the
man from the scene of a rollover car
accident when the crash happened.
The NTSB released witness and pilot
accounts, but a specific cause for
the crash has not been determined.
According to the preliminary report,
the Air-Evac helicopter began to
spin and eventually crashed after
the pilot was unable to gain airspeed
during takeoff. The pilot, Dennis
Enders, stated that the aircraft
began an uninitiated turn to the
right shortly after takeoff.
As he tried to fly out of the turn,
Enders said, he was unable to gain
airspeed. He said this caused the
aircraft to spin to the right and
descend.
All three Air-Evac employees who
were on board at the time survived
and were transported to are hospitals
with serious injuries.
Enders and paramedic Clayton Bratt
are still hospitalized at Northwest
Medical Center in Springdale. Flight
nurse Dee Ann Miller is still hospitalized
at Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville.
A final NTSB report will not be
finished until later this year,
officials said.
Posted
on Wed, Mar. 02, 2005
US Airways employee hurt, plane emptied in
mishap
A US Airways employee was injured and 111 passengers
were evacuated from one of the airline's wide-bodied
jets late Monday at Philadelphia International
Airport after a mishap involving aircraft-deicing
equipment, airline and airport officials said
yesterday.
The accident occurred about 11:30 p.m. at the
airport's deicing station near the west end
of the field. A boom used to spray deicing fluid
on airplane wings collapsed on the wing of the
Airbus A330 jet, pulling the cab of the equipment,
which is similar to a construction crane, to
the ground. The injured employee was operating
the boom from the cab.
The airline did not release the name of the
employee, who officials said was kept overnight
at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
No passengers were injured in the incident,
which forced the cancellation of the plane's
scheduled flight to London while the airline
assessed the damage, US Airways said. The airline
and the airport are investigating the cause
of the mishap, the officials said.
What Happens When You Challenge
The TSA
Woman Mouths Off To Screener, Luggage Blown Up
You see the signs every time you pass through
the airport security
checkpoint: Don't even joke about bombs or guns
or knives. Don't even think of protesting the
foolishness of it all... as the TSA has a weird
way of getting even.
The problem was, 46-year old psychiatrist Esha
Khoshnu wasn't joking. Not in the least. Apparently
more-than-miffed at the long line ahead of her
as she made her way through security at Sky Harbor
Airport in Phoenix, AZ, Dr.
Khoshnu snapped. Police say she told the screener,
"if there was an item in my baggage, the
security screeners probably couldn't find it."
Oops. On further contemplation, that may not have
been the wisest thing the good doctor could have
said (no matter how true it may have been).
She was detained, but her bag made it onto her
America West flight, according to police. The
commuter aircraft landed in San Diego a short
time later and its crew was instructed to taxi
to a remote area at Lindbergh Field.
After the 35 or so passengers and crew were carted
away by airport bus, the San Diego Fire Department
Bomb Squad moved in. They found no explosives
on board the aircraft. They then located Dr. Khoshnu's
bag and determined there was nothing suspicious
about it. Still, as a precaution (or revenge),
they blew it up, then -- to be extra-sure -- they
soaked it with water from a fire hose.
After getting the all clear from Lindbergh Field,
Phoenix Police freed the good doctor and sent
her on the next flight to San Diego, where she
was scheduled to attend a conference. Phoenix
officers said they would forego charges against
her (Felony Frustration? Misdemeanor Mouthing
Off?).
Of course, Dr. Khoshnu's ordeal makes us wonder,
who counsels those who counsel?
How
old is that plane, anyway?
Northwest carefully maintains a fleet of aging
DC-9s. If you remember when LBJ was president,
you might have seen them; they first flew in
1965. Analysts
say Northwest's 1995 decision to gut and refurbish
those planes rather than replace them helps
it weather high fuel prices and low-fare competition.
For one thing, Northwest owns much of its fleet.
"Putting a plane down is much different
when you own it than when you're paying $330,000
per month" in debt payments for a new airplane,
Tom Bach, Northwest VP tells The Associated
Press. Northwest's DC-9s account for more than
a third of its 432-plane fleet, giving the carrier
an average plane age of about 18 years, according
to BACK Aviation Solutions. By contrast, the
average plane age of the other five U.S. major
carriers is about 10 years. Safety isn't an
issue because of federal rules, according to
Ed Greenslet, publisher of the Airline Monitor
trade journal. At the Federal Aviation Administration,
it's not the age but the number of times a plane
flies, determined by how often it pressurizes
and depressurizes — generally, once a flight.
The DC-9 is approved for 105,000 of these cycles.
Bach said some of Northwest's are nearing that
limit and being retired.
Armed
Pilots: Fourth Biggest Law Enforcement Agency
In America
More than 4,000 Now Armed Flight Deck Officers
Although less than two years old, the Federal
Flight Deck Officers Program, which arms cockpit
crew members in hopes of providing commercial
flights with a last-ditch protection system, has
grown to become the nation's fourth-largest law
enforcement organization. And to hear it told
in Washington, the program is much more of a success
than even the TSA's air marshal operation.
But, as with any federal program, there have been
some glitches.
Take, for instance, the case of an armed pilot
pulled from a flight last month and accused of
trying to fly drunk. Or the FDOP pilot who was
arrested for carrying government-issued ammunition
in his luggage while flying off-duty.
There are also complaints from pilot union executives
that the pilots aren't getting any pertinent intelligence
from Washington. They aren't on the distribution
list for items like the government's report on
suspicious incidents, which is issued every week.
"The government wants it both ways,"
said one pilot quoted by Time Magazine in its
Monday editions. "They want us to protect
aircraft, but they don't want to pay much for
it, cover us for injuries or even really treat
us as law-enforcement officers."
Washington (AP) - The
National Transportation Safety Board is out with
a possible cause for the deadly helicopter crash
in the Potomac River earlier this month.
Two crew members died and a third was critically
injured when the medical chopper plunged into
the icy water near the Wilson Bridge on January
10th.
A preliminary report issued Friday says investigators
suspect that air wake turbulence caused by a larger
aircraft may have been responsible for the deadly
accident.
The report says that radar from Reagan National
Airport (website
-
news) showed that a 70-passenger jet passed
over the Wilson Bridge about a minute and 45 seconds
before the helicopter passed over the bridge at
a lower altitude. Investigators say that plane
may have created a wave of unstable air, and the
helicopter ran into that air, causing the pilot
to lose control.
The report rules out mechanical failure and a
collision with one of the construction cranes
near the bridge as possible causes.
Some US Airlines Outsource Maintenance
to Central America
There's more outsourcing of jobs -- now
it's the airlines industry.
The latest, preferred location for
airline maintenance? El Salvador.
The Wall Street Journal reports at least
two airlines -- Jet Blue and America
West -- send their planes to El Salvador
for "long distance" maintenance,
outsourcing the work to cut costs.
Air safety experts are said be concerned
that it jeopardizes safety and makes
scrutiny by regulatory agencies more
difficult.
link
Report: Hong Kong aviation panel backs report blaming
China Airlines pilot for 1999 crash
(AP) A Hong Kong aviation panel has backed investigators' findings that blamed a
China Airlines pilot for a 1999 plane crash in the territory that killed three,
a newspaper reported on Sunday.
Flight CI642 from Bangkok flipped over while landing in Hong Kong during a
tropical storm on Aug. 22, 1999. The MD-11 jet burst into flames. Three died in
the accident, but more than 300 passengers and crew members survived.
Hong Kong's official report blamed pilot error, but Taiwan-based China Airlines
challenged it, saying pilot Gerardo Lettich had no time to respond to sudden
wind changes that caused the crash.
However, a three-member review panel upheld the original report, the South China
Morning Post reported Sunday, citing anonymous sources.
The panel rejected evidence presented by a China Airlines expert witness because
it was too biased, according to the Post.
A China Airlines spokesman who refused to give his name declined comment.
The Post reported the review panel last month submitted its report to Hong
Kong's leader Tung Chee-hwa, who has not released it. A government spokeswoman
didn't have immediate comment.
China Airlines has one of the worst safety records in the world. It has recorded
10 fatal crashes since 1970.
Inflight broadband
to fight hijacks Correspondents in Paris JANUARY 13, 2005
US aircraft maker
Boeing has patented a system that would use broadband satellite
connections, now being installed on airliners to provide
passengers with internet access, to help respond to a hijacking.
Its patent suggests hiding tiny microchip-based cameras and
microphones around the cockpit and passenger cabin, the British
weekly New Scientist reports in next Saturday's issue.
In a hijack, a crewmember would discreetly press a button
that orders the broadband connection to start transmitting
whatever images and sound the cameras and microphones are
capturing to controllers on the ground.
The controllers can then monitor what the hijackers are doing
and saying, which would be a boon for responding to the crisis.
link
2 commercial planes grounded for safety
(Jakarta)
The Ministry of Transportation has
grounded two aircraft that failed to
comply with proper safety requirements,
a senior official says.
Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa
said on Tuesday his department had
completed an audit of the country's
operating airlines -- including their
financial reports, aircraft and
maintenance procedures.
"We found two aircraft (that did not
follow proper safety measures). They
were immediately grounded," said Hatta
without elaborating.
The audit was conducted following the
deadly crash of a Lion Air plane in
Surakarta, Central Java less than two
months ago, which, according to critics,
exposed a lack of supervision on part of
the government over the industry's
safety measures.
Hatta said several airlines had been
also given warnings to provide the
necessary equipment required by standard
safety regulations.
"We give them time (to comply) and we'll
check them again. If they still have not
complied, we'll ground them as well,"
warned Hatta.
Lion Air spokesman Hasyim Arsal Alhabsi
said none of its fleet had been
grounded.
"In fact, we have 10 new aircraft coming
in," he said.
link
Safest year for airline passengers since 1984
AIRLINES enjoyed their safest year for 20 years in 2004, according to crash statistics out today.
A total of 466 people were killed in airliner flights last year, the figures from Flight International magazine showed.
There were 28 fatal accidents involving airliners last year. This compares with 27 fatal accidents in 2003 in which 702 people died.
Flight International said the only year in the jet era that comes close to the 2004 safety record was 1984, when 448 people died in 29 fatal airline accidents.
That year, however, was extraordinarily safe by the standards of its time, and the accident rate - the number of fatal accidents per million flights - was almost three times what it is now because there were far fewer flights in 1984.
Continuing a record that has held since 2001, there were no fatal accidents involving European, North American or Australasian-registered large jets in 2004. There were five fatal accidents involving big jets, and these involved two aircraft registered in Africa and Asia.
The number of fatal accidents last year, which increased by one over 2003, was inflated by an unusually high proportion of non-passenger aircraft crashes, mostly involving pure cargo operators.
Seventeen of the fatal accidents involved non-passenger flights, and these accounted for 49 fatalities.
S. Korean
Airlines Make it
Five Years Without
Accidents
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap)
-- South Korea's
two flag
carriers have
accomplished
five years of
accident-free
flights, the
Ministry of
Construction and
Transportation
said Thursday.
It said the
record is the
result of
continuous
efforts by
Korean Air and
Asiana Airlines
to increase
training of
maintenance
crews, which in
turn has
improved the
level of
checkups they
give the planes.
Regulations
governing
maintenance
personnel have
also been
strengthened to
fully meet
international
standards, while
the two airlines
contributed by
recruiting
foreign safety
inspectors and
adopting a
"safety first"
management
posture.
In the 1990s,
South Korea's
flag carriers
were involved in
seven major
accidents, or
0.21 cases for
every 100,000
flights. This
was twice the
global average
of 0.11 at the
time.
No South Korean
flag carriers
have been
involved in a
serious accident
since 1999, when
Korean Air lost
two cargo
aircraft in
Shanghai and
London.
"Things have
improved since
the 1997 Guam
Korean Air
crash, and at
the present rate
the country's
airlines will be
able to reach
accident rates
of 0.05 cases
per 100,000
flights in
2010," a
transportation
ministry
official said.
The Importance
of Earthing during Refuelling Operations
December 21, 2004
Explosion Rocks Jackson, TN Plant
Jackson, TN - Two people are being
airlifted to the Med in Memphis after an
explosion this morning at Tennessee
Aircraft Services. Authorities say the
accident happened around 8:15 a.m. while
the men were refueling a plane. At first
report it appears static electricity
caused a flash fire that burned one
person on the arms and another person on
the face. The explosion triggered a
secondary explosion and other planes
were damaged. A third person is also
reportedly injured. There were no
fatalities.
Tennessee Aircraft Service is located
near the Tennessee Technical Center on
Tech Center Drive in Jackson.
Tulips
Protect Amsterdam Airport
December
15, 2004
Fields of tulips and daffodils
being planted around Amsterdam's
Schiphol Airport will not only add
more color in the spring but also
make it safer for planes to land,
the airport said on Wednesday.
A spokesman for Schiphol -- one
of Europe's busiest airports -- said
the vibrant blooms were a deterrent
to birds damaging planes after being
sucked into jet engines during
landing or take off.
He said the mice and other
rodents that some birds hunt were
repulsed by the scent of tulip and
daffodil bulbs and that without
their prey, the winged predators
would have little reason to frequent
the area around the airport.
"It's a known fact that this
works and it is certainly a more
friendly way of getting rid of the
birds than some other airports have
employed," the spokesman said.
The airport reports approximately
three bird strikes for every 10,000
landings and take-offs.
Aviation Safety
Agency Moves
The European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) has officially opened its new
headquarters in the German city of
Cologne.
The agency certifies aircraft
and compiles regulations for civil
air travel in Europe. The agency was
launched back in September last year
from its temporary location in
Brussels. Günter Verheugen, Vice
President of the EU Commission
described the aviation sector as an
important part of the European
economy. "Of all modes of transport,
aviation has experienced the
greatest growth over the past
decades," he said. He added that the
EASA was the answer to the
development in the European aviation
industry, which has long since
exceeded its national boundaries.
link
New System Would
Help Pilots Avoid Ground
Obstacles
Lights are fine for
marking towers,
except when they're
not working, and
those big orange
balls help in
spotting power
lines, except when
visibility is poor.
To help prevent
collisions, the FAA
in Fort Worth,
Texas, is testing a
radar system that
would continually
scan the area around
power lines or
antennae for nearby
aircraft, and
trigger a strobe
light to warn pilots
(as opposed to just
having a strobe
running all the time
on every tower),
The Dallas Morning
News reported
last week. The
Obstacle Collision
Avoidance System
could also broadcast
a warning over the
aircraft's radio.
Two recent accidents
highlighted the
dangers of low-level
obstacles -- a
Gulfstream jet
in Houston that hit
a light pole on
approach, and an
Army helicopter
that hit the support
cables of an unlit
tower in Texas. In
Australia,
helicopters were
grounded
recently, after
three separate
incidents of power
line strikes. There
have been more than
1,000 aviation
accidents in the
U.S. involving power
lines since 1990,
including more than
300 that have caused
a fatality,
according to the
FAA, the Morning
News said. The radar
system would be
solar-powered,
making it more
reliable and less
likely to be
affected by storms
or power failures,
and could be
available as early
as next year.
The FAA
needs to
change its
rules to
encourage
pilots to
totally
clean frost
from their
aircraft's
wings before
takeoff,
rather than
just smooth
it out to
remove the
bumps,
according to
a safety
recommendation
from
Britain's
Department
for
Transport.
The
recommendation
was prompted
by the
investigation
into the
crash of a
U.S.-owned
and operated
Bombardier
CL-600 that
crashed in
the U.K. in
2002, under
circumstances
similar to
last week's
crash of a
CL-600 in
Colorado
that killed
three
people. FAR
Part 91.527
says pilots
must remove
frost from
the wings
and other
aerodynamic
surfaces
"unless that
frost has
been
polished to
make it
smooth." The
British
report says
it's not
clear
exactly how
pilots
should
"polish" the
frost, and
that the
rule may
give the
pilots the
impression
that some
amount of
frost is
acceptable.
"The concept
of 'Polished
Frost' is
particularly
inappropriate
and
potentially
dangerous to
modern
aircraft
types and
detracts
from the
importance
of strictly
observing
the clean
wing
principle,"
the report
says. A
safety
recommendation
was issued
to the FAA,
suggesting
that they
should
delete all
reference to
"Polished
Frost" in
the regs and
ensure that
the term is
expunged
from
operations
manuals.
Meanwhile,
the
publicity
from last
week's
Colorado
accident has
apparently
alerted not
only pilots
but
commercial
air
passengers
to the
dangers of
icing. An
American
Connection
flight out
of Columbia,
S.C., was
delayed last
week when
passengers
complained
to the
flight crew
that they
could still
see ice on
the wings,
after a crew
had finished
cleaning
them and the
airplane was
preparing to
depart. The
wings were
re-cleaned
before the
flight took
off.
December
3, 2004
A Canadian judge said on
Friday he will rule in March
2005 on whether two Sikh
militants are responsible
for the 1985 bombing of Air
India Flight 182 over the
Atlantic Ocean, a disaster
that killed 329 people.
Arguments wrapped up on
Friday afternoon in the
trial of Ripudaman Singh
Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri,
who are charged with murder
and conspiracy in connection
with two bomb attacks,
including the one on Flight
182, which is history's
deadliest bombing of a
civilian airliner.
Police allege the June
1985 bombings were the work
of Vancouver-based Sikh
militants who wanted revenge
for the Indian Army's 1984
attack on the Golden Temple
in Amritsar, Sikhism's
holiest shrine.
The second bomb was
intended for an Air India
jet over the Pacific but
exploded prematurely at
Tokyo's Narita Airport,
killing two luggage
handlers, investigators say.
Bagri, a Kamloops,
British Columbia, sawmill
worker, and Malik, a wealthy
Vancouver businessman, deny
they were part of the
conspiracy and say the
prosecution's case is based
on circumstantial evidence
and untruthful witnesses.
The trial in British
Columbia Supreme Court in
Vancouver took testimony
from 115 witnesses over 19
months of hearings, and
included a tour of the
partially reconstructed
wreckage of Flight 182's
Boeing 747 aircraft.
The court's ruling in the
case will be made by a judge
and not by a jury.
A third defendant in the
case, Inderjit Singh Reyat,
pleaded guilty to reduced
charges last year before the
trial started.
Date of Accident:
26 November 1979
Airline:
Pakistan International Airlines
Aircraft:
Boeing 707-340C
Location: At
Ta'if, Saudi Arabia
Registration:
AP-AWZ
Previous
Registrations: AP-AWB, G-AZPW
Flight Number:
740
Fatalities:
156:156
MSN: 20275
Line Number:
844
Engine Manufacturer:
Pratt & Whitney
Engine Model:
JT3D-3B
Year of Delivery:
1970
Accident Description:
The
aircraft crashed shortly after the crew
reported an in-flight fire. Crew
incapacitation due to smoke.
United Airlines
Maintenance Division Wins FAA Diamond Award
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- United Services, United's aircraft
maintenance division, has won the Federal
Aviation Administrations prestigious Diamond
Certificate of Excellence Award for its
mechanics training program. The FAA award is
the highest honor an aviation maintenance
employer can receive for its training
program.
AMT (aviation maintenance technician)
training at the maintenance base and on the
line -- including all U.S. domestic and
international stations -- contributed to our
industry-leading performance," says
United Services Senior Vice President Greg
Hall. "This award affirms that United
Services mechanics are among the most
qualified in the industry and are ideally
positioned to insource work from other
carriers in its most competitive areas --
engines, high-tech components--including
avionics, landing gear and line maintenance"
To qualify for the FAA award, 25 percent of
an organizations eligible employees must
have earned individual technical training
awards in 2004.
United Services exceeded the qualification
by 50 percent; 57 percent of United
Services; AMTs have completed eligible
training requirements.
Additionally, to qualify for any individual
AMT award, all mechanics must have attended
a minimum of 2 hours of training on FAA
regulations and policy. "The AMT award
program was initiated in 1991 as an
incentive to encourage AMTs and employers to
participate aggressively in available
initial and recurrent maintenance training
courses. It has produced a win - win
situation where the mechanic gains knowledge
to make his or her job easier which
increases safety" said Robert P.
Bauer, FAA Fleet Program Manager - San
Francisco.
link
NTSB calls for
modification of A300-600/A310 rudder system
US National Transportation Safety Board
in a letter to the DGAC has recommended that
the French aviation regulator "review the
options for modifying the A300-600 and the
A310 to provide increased protection from
potentially hazardous rudder inputs at high
airspeeds," and on the basis of the review,
require modifications to the rudder control
system on the aircraft. NTSB issued a
similar recommendation to FAA. The action
flows out of the Safety Board's
investigation of the Nov. 12, 2001, crash of
an American Airlines A300-600R that killed
all 260 persons onboard as well as five
people on the ground. Although NTSB
determined that excessive rudder pedal
inputs by the first officer led to the
separation of the vertical stabilizer and
the crash of the aircraft, it also found
that the A300-600 rudder design was a
contributing factor to the catastrophe.
"Because of its high sensitivity…the
A300-600 rudder control system is
susceptible to potentially hazardous rudder
pedal inputs at higher airspeed," the board
stated.--
Overloading ruled out
in Halifax cargo jet crash
Halifax -- Investigators in the fatal crash
of a massive cargo jet near Halifax have
ruled out overloading as the cause and are
instead probing why the engines were
underpowered at takeoff.
Bill Fowler, lead investigator with the
Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said
the flight data recorder shows the MK
Airlines 747 jet's weight at takeoff was
"fairly close to" 352,400 kilograms.
That was the maximum the plane was allowed
to weigh for the runway at Halifax
International Airport on Oct. 14.
link
TSA Orders Air Carrier Passenger Information
Order Clears Way
For Testing Of "Secure Flight"
The TSA last week announced the issuance of
the Final Order in the Federal Register on
Monday, requiring air carriers to provide
historical passenger name record (PNR)
information to TSA for testing. The 30-day
block of PNR data will be used to test TSA’s
new passenger pre-screening program, Secure
Flight, which will work to prevent
terrorists and others who pose a threat from
boarding aircraft. The deadline for airlines
to submit the data to TSA is November 23.
"TSA has created Secure Flight as another
tool to further our mission to combat
terrorism and protect the nation's air
travelers," said Rear Admiral David M.
Stone, USN (Ret.), Assistant Secretary of
Homeland Security for TSA. "The data from
the airlines will enable us to test the
program's operating capacity and fine-tune
it. This process will also provide an
opportunity to ensure that privacy
safeguards are appropriately addressed
before moving to implementation."
TSA is requesting PNR data for domestic
flight segments flown between June 1, 2004
and June 30, 2004. Air carriers may elect to
exclude PNRs that contain information about
flight segments between the European Union
and the United States.
Under Secure Flight, TSA will take over from
the air carriers, comparison of domestic
airline Passenger Name Record (PNR)
information against records contained in the
consolidated Terrorist Screening Center
Database (TSDB), to include the expanded
No-Fly and Selectee lists.
Testing will be governed by strict privacy
and data security protections.
Historical passenger information provided
for testing will be used in a limited test
with commercial data to determine if
passenger information is incorrect or
inaccurate, and to help resolve false
positive matches against TSDB records. TSA
is firmly committed to maintaining robust
privacy protections during the testing of
these procedures.
FMI: www.tsa.gov
Dateline: Friday November 12, 2004
NTSB calls for modification of
A300-600/A310 rudder system
US National Transportation Safety Board
in a letter to the DGAC has recommended that
the French aviation regulator "review the
options for modifying the A300-600 and the
A310 to provide increased protection from
potentially hazardous rudder inputs at high
airspeeds," and on the basis of the review,
require modifications to the rudder control
system on the aircraft. NTSB issued a
similar recommendation to FAA. The action
flows out of the Safety Board's
investigation of the Nov. 12, 2001, crash of
an American Airlines A300-600R that killed
all 260 persons onboard as well as five
people on the ground (ATWOnline, Oct.
27). Although NTSB determined that excessive
rudder pedal inputs by the first officer led
to the separation of the vertical stabilizer
and the crash of the aircraft, it also found
that the A300-600 rudder design was a
contributing factor to the catastrophe.
"Because of its high sensitivity…the
A300-600 rudder control system is
susceptible to potentially hazardous rudder
pedal inputs at higher airspeed," the board
stated.--
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A volcano erupted
under Iceland's biggest glacier, spewing
thick black ash into the air and
disrupting flights over eastern regions
but posing little threat to people or
property, officials said on Tuesday.
The eruption began on Monday evening
under the Vatnajokull glacier in eastern
Iceland. Authorities issued a warning
and directed all flights away from the
column of smoke, which was 13 km (8
miles) high.
"Flying into a cloud of volcanic ash
is extremely dangerous," said Bergthor
Bergthorsson of the Civil Aviation
Administration. "It has been known to
stop all four engines of an aircraft."
Bergthorsson said the cloud of smoke
was expected to drift 500 miles over the
North Atlantic, and might move closer to
the Norwegian coast.
The eruption was not expected to
threaten lives or homes as the area
around Vatnajokull is scarcely
populated.
But the floods of water from melting
glacial ice might damage roads south of
the volcano, said Hjorleifur
Sveinbjornsson, geologist at the
Meteorological Office.
"The eruption is stable, but we don't
know yet how big it is, or how long it's
going to last. It might last for a few
days, or stretch into weeks," he said.
Sveinbjornsson said the eruption was
not expected to threaten the dam site at
Karahnjukar, where Iceland is building a
power plant for a new Alcoa aluminum
smelter.
"They could see the eruption from
there though, and other places in
eastern Iceland," he said. "They said it
was quite a show, with lightning and
everything - an incredible sight."
The volcano is a part of Iceland's
Grimsvotn volcanic system. Iceland's
last eruption was in 2000 at one of its
major volcanoes, Hekla.
Add cosmic
radiation to
the
confirmed
list of
threats to
the health
of long-haul
flight
crews,
although we
don't know
where it
ranks along
with deep
vein
thrombosis,
boredom or
the food. A
British
study has
confirmed
what pilots
and flight
attendants
(and other
studies)
have been
saying for
decades.
Spending too
much time in
the rarified
air up there
can be
hazardous to
your health.
The study of
411 British
Airways
pilots
showed
increased
rates of
melanoma,
colon and
brain
cancers
attributable
to cosmic
rays.
There's also
a risk to
the unborn
children of
pregnant
crew
members.
"There's
more data
coming out
about the
risks,"
Michael
Mijatov, of
the
Australian
Flight
Attendants
Association,
told The
Age.
"There's
evidence
that the
higher you
are, the
more
exposure you
have to
cosmic rays.
He said
female crew
members more
than 16
months
pregnant are
already
prevented
from
working.
Cosmic rays
are made up
of neutrons,
gamma and
alpha rays
put out by
the sun. The
atmosphere
filters most
of them out
before they
reach earth
but most
airliners
fly above
much of that
protective
layer.
October 25, 2004 -
777 Blaze Sparked By Loose Screw
CHURCHILL, Canada - A loose screw caused a
cockpit fire that forced an Air France
flight to make an emergency landing in
Churchill two years ago. The Transportation
Safety Board of Canada released its report
earlier this week about the Oct. 17, 2002,
incident.
The Air France Boeing 777 -- with 172
passengers, 17 crew and one pet chimpanzee
on board -- was en route from Paris to Los
Angeles when passengers and cabin crew
smelled a funny odour in the cabin.
The captain of the plane went to investigate
the smell, and while he was gone a fire
broke out in the cockpit. The fire, which
burned for about two minutes before being
extinguished by crew members, cracked the
windshield -- forcing the plane to make an
emergency landing in Churchill. No one on
board was hurt, but many of the passengers
got in some unexpected polar bear
sightseeing. The TSB's report shows the fire
started when a polysulphide adhesive in a
terminal block of the windshield's built-in
anti-fog and anti-ice system was ignited.
The report stated a connector screw that was
supposed to have been torqued to between 25
and 30 inch-pounds was only tightened to
five inch-pounds, causing the terminal to
overheat two months prior to the Churchill
incident.
At the time, the plane had only been in
service for a month. The report stated the
plane was likely delivered to Air France
with the loose screw. Air France put off
repairing the terminal because a computer
glitch indicated the parts weren't available
when in fact they were, according to the
report. During the first incident, the
solder joint at the connector degraded as a
result of resistive heating due to the loose
screw. Because the solder connection was
compromised, electrical arcing occurred
during the Churchill flight, which created
enough heat to spark the fire, said the
report.
Safety doubts on
crashed aircraft at Halifax
A GIANT cargo plane which crashed in Canada
yesterday killing its seven crew, including
four Britons, was owned by a British-based
company which had been singled out for
urgent safety inspections.
The crew died when the Boeing 747 crashed
and exploded into flames at the end of a
runway seconds after taking off from
Halifax, Nova Scotia, shortly before dawn.
It was the fourth crash in 12 years for a
plane belonging to MK Airlines, a company
which is based in East Sussex but has safety
certificates from Ghana for its 16 ageing
aircraft. The airline is used by Tesco, Asda
and Marks & Spencer to fly in fruit and
vegetables.
In August the Department for Transport
ordered the Civil Aviation Authority to
carry out unannounced safety inspections of
MK Airlines aircraft. But the authority has
been unable to do so because, a week after
the order, the company shifted its
operations from Kent to Belgium.
Yesterday’s crash involved a 20-year-old
plane loaded with lobsters and tractors
bound for Spain. Witnesses told police that
the tail of the jet appeared to have hit the
runway on takeoff and snapped off.
link
Pinnacle Airlines
Aircraft Accident
Further Update
MEMPHIS, TN --
(MARKET WIRE) --
10/15/2004 -- A Pinnacle
Airlines (NASDAQ:
PNCL) repositioning
flight was involved in
an accident last night
at 10:30 p.m. Central
Time. The incident
occurred just outside
Jefferson City, MO. The
flight departed Little
Rock, AR at
approximately 9:21 p.m.
Central Time and was
enroute to Minneapolis -
St. Paul, MN. There were
no passengers or flight
attendant on board. The
two pilots on board the
aircraft did not survive
the incident.
"I am greatly
saddened by the loss of
our crew," said Philip
H. Trenary, President &
CEO of Pinnacle
Airlines. "My prayers
and the prayers of all
Pinnacle People are with
their family and loved
ones."
The flight was
operated with a Canadair
Regional Jet. This
aircraft has a capacity
of 50 passengers, two
pilots and one flight
attendant. The aircraft
operating this specific
flight was delivered to
Pinnacle on May 18,
2000, and was new at the
time of delivery. The
aircraft had flown
10,161 hours and had
been inspected in accord
with FAA regulations and
manufacturer
specifications. The
major inspections
revealed no major
findings.
The pilots were
Captain Jesse Rhodes and
First Officer Richard
Peter Cesarz. Captain
Rhodes joined Pinnacle
in February 2003.
Previously, he had been
a Captain at another
regional airline and had
accumulated over 6,700
flight hours. First
Officer Cesarz joined
Pinnacle in June 2004.
Pinnacle Airlines is
cooperating with the
National Transportation
Safety Board on this
investigation.
Pinnacle Airlines,
Inc., operates under the
name Northwest Airlink
and provides service to
destinations in the
United States and
Canada. Pinnacle
operates an all-jet
fleet of Canadair 44-
and 50-seat Regional
Jets from Northwest hubs
at Detroit, Memphis and
Minneapolis - St. Paul.
Pinnacle Airlines
maintains its
headquarters in Memphis,
Tenn., and employs more
than 2,800 People. For
further information,
please contact Philip
Reed, Vice-President,
Marketing at
901-348-4257, or visit
our web-site at
www.nwairlink.com.
ICAO Ready For
A Crackdown - Will Start Publishing Info On
Safety Slackards.
The ICAO says it's just unacceptable for
countries to continue putting millions of
air passengers at risk by neglecting or ignoring
altogether safety standards. So the UN agency
is going to start talking about which countries
are guilty of what violations.
The ICAO general assembly, meeting in Montreal
last week,
heard that only a third of its standards on
pilot training, equipment operation and navigation
have been put into effect around the world.
The French news agency AFP reports 50
countries around the globe have ignored the
standards altogether.
But even the ICAO admits, keeping track of
violators is one tough job. Commercial passenger
aircraft can be registered in one country,
leased out
to a company in another country, used by a
company registered in a third country and
get its operating permits in a fourth, according
to the AFP.
The French news agency cites as an example
a UTA 727 that went down in Benin Christmas
day (below). The aircraft reportedly had been
poorly maintained, was loaded by a poorly
trained ground crew, and tried to take off
from a runway that was too short. The result:
the 727 went down in the sea, killing 139
of the 161 people on board. In the year before
its demise, that aircraft had been registered
in three different countries.
So now the ICAO will start publishing what
had been confidential reports on companies
and countries that disregard safety standards
both in the air and
on the ground. It's something the organization
hasn't been willing to do in the past -- but
officials say they have few choices if they
want to keep
passengers and crewmembers safe. www.icao.int
Aircraft Company
Layoffs
Layoffs at Raytheon Aircraft Company in
Wichita are expected next month.
The
layoffs are caused by the shifting of wire
harness work from Wichita to Mexico.
Raytheon Aircraft has given layoff notices
to 75 people who work in its wire harness
operations in Wichita. The company
says their last day will be November 19th.
In all, about 300 jobs will be eliminated in
the division. The company announced its
intentions to move the work last November.
Company officials say
moving the work will mean significant
savings to the company, which has been
working to improve its financial
performance.
The wire harness
division in Wichita makes the wiring systems
that operate electrical components on
Raytheon aircraft.
Studies show more rest
periods benefit pilots on ultra-long range
flights
SINGAPORE : Singapore's pilots may have made
yet another contribution to the global
aviation industry.
Their experience on Ultra Long Range (ULR)
flights may lead more airlines to consider
doubling the number of rest periods pilots
get on other long-haul flights.
When the 18-hour non-stop flight took off
from Singapore to New York in June,
Singapore pilots not only made aviation
history.
They also helped set global industry
aviation standards on practices - like
flight route and what is the optimum amount
of rest pilots need to stay alert.
Now, pilots the world over are modelling
their ultra-long range flight practices
after benchmarks set by Singapore.
Singapore's ULR experience also has spin-off
impact on other long range flights.
Studies showed that for flights longer than
10 hours, such as the Singapore-London
route, two rest periods would be better,
where pilots can use one to get some
shut-eye.
Dr Jarnail Singh, Chairman of CAAS Ultra
Long Range Task Force, said: "One of the
things we have seen in the ultra-long range
flights is that the availability of two rest
periods inflight seems to be better than one
rest period.
"And there is a possibility that this data
may be relevant to current long-range
flights as well. And we will have to see if
this will actually be useful. Some other
airlines, I cannot comment on whom, seem to
be of the opinion that even in current
long-range flights, two rest periods would
also be beneficial." - CNA http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/110788/1/.htm
l
Egypt
investigators still undecided on
cause of Flash Airlines crash
CAIRO, Oct 7 (AFP) -
Investigators trying to find out
the cause of the crash early
this year of a Flash Airlines
aircraft off the Red Sea resort
of Sharm el-Sheikh have
simulated the crash, an Egyptian
official said Thursday.
The official from the civil
aviation ministry said the
exercise was carried out
recently at a Boeing Co.
facility in the United States,
but insisted it was still too
early to determine the cause of
the crash.
The Egyptian-operated aircraft
plunged into the Red Sea in
January, killing all 148 people
on board, including 135 French
holiday-makers.
A team comprised of Egyptian,
French and American experts
investigating the crash, and
from Boeing, the manufacturer of
the aircraft, were present
during the procedure, said the
official.
The aim of simulating the flight
was to test theories based on
information recovered from the
airplane's cockpit voice
recorder and its technical data
recorder.
He added that the joint
investigating team would meet on
December 15 to analyze the
results of the simulation, but
could not say when a final
report was expected.
Time
is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 30 September
2004 2343 hrs
Singapore launches
SINCAIR Programme to
enhance aviation
safety
By
Asha Popatlal,
Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE :
In a bid to
boost
aviation
safety,
individuals
can now
report
aviation
incidents
and safety
deficiencies
anonymously.
This was
announced by
Minister of
State for
Transport
Lim Hwee Hua
at an
aviation
safety
seminar on
Thursday.
The
information
provided
will be
gathered
into a
database.
The
aviation community
can then get
extracts of such
cases through
periodic
publications.
Called the Singapore
Confidential
Aviation Incident
Reporting or SINCAIR
Programme, it is
meant to prevent
accidents.
The programme is in
line with the
International Civil
Aviation
Organisations'
recommendation for a
non-punitive
reporting system
which offers
protection to the
sources of
information.
It also complements
mandatory incident
reporting systems.
The programme,
established by the
Air Accident Bureau
of Singapore, starts
from Friday.
The bureau is
responsible to the
Transport Ministry
for local and
overseas air
accident
investigations. -
CNA
Civil aviation safety record for
2003 lauded
(Canadian Press)
MONTREAL -- The international agency
that governs civil aviation says
last year was the safest in nearly
60 years.
"One measure of our collective
success is the safety record
achieved in 2003, when the number of
accidents involving fatalities on
the world's scheduled operations was
the lowest since 1945," Assad
Kotaite, president of the
Montreal-based International Civil
Aviation Organization, said
yesterday.
"Even with the quantum leap in the
number of flights and passengers
over six decades, aviation safety in
2003 was safer than when ICAO was
created."
There were no successful hijackings
on international flights and no loss
of life on the three domestic
hijackings that occurred, he told
the opening of the organization's
35th session assembly.
Another official said civil aviation
was 100 times safer in 2003 than
when the organization was created in
1945. The assessment was based on
the number of flights and passengers
and the number of passenger-kilometres
travelled.
Federal Transport Minister Jean
Lapierre told the assembly that
government has no greater
responsibility than protecting
citizens from harm. He said Ottawa
has spent nearly $8-billion since
2001, primarily to prevent terrorist
attacks.
ANA jet hijacker faces life behind
bars
Prosecutors on
Wednesday demanded life imprisonment
for a hijacker who fatally stabbed a
pilot on an All Nippon Airways jumbo
jet.
Tokyo prosecutors called the
crime committed by Yuji Nishizawa,
34, cruel but they showed leniency
in not requesting capital
punishment.
"It was the first hijacking case
that left someone dead in Japan,"
one of the prosecutors told the
Tokyo District Court. "We thought
capital punishment would be
appropriate for this crime, however,
we have considered the fact that he
was in a confused state of mind
after taking anti-depression drugs."
Prosecutors added that Nishizawa
should be held responsible for the
crime because he had grown up
normally and it was premeditated.
On July 23, 1999, Nishizawa
thrust a knife at a flight attendant
and stormed into the cockpit of the
ANA jet that took off from Tokyo's
Haneda airport for Sapporo.
He fatally stabbed captain
Naoyuki Nagashima in the chest and
neck and took control of the plane,
according to the indictment.
After he was subdued by
crewmembers and arrested, Nishizawa
made strange remarks, saying that he
wanted to fly the airplane under the
Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo.
Nishizawa had carefully planned
the hijacking by exploiting a
security lapse at Haneda airport.
(Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Sept. 29,
2004)
NTSB Chastises FAA
For Not Acting On Lap Children
Board recommended long ago that the FAA ban
children travelling on parents' laps, and
the agency does not act. We all know the
drill. Before an airliner can take off or
land, passengers must stow their bags, place
tray tables and seats in the full upright
and locked position and buckle up. There are
some very good reasons for this, not the
least of which is restraint in case of a
crash or other accident. However, these same
passengers are allowed to hold infants or
toddlers below age 2 on their laps.
Unrestrained. The NTSB is mad about this,
and rightly so.
The five member National Transportation
Safety Board voted unanimously last month to
issue a statement that the FAA's lack of
action on earlier recommendations on infants
and small chidren being restrained properly
during landings, takeoffs and turbulence is
unacceptable. In fact, the Board has put the
requirement to bar "lap children" on
airliners on their "Ten Most Wanted"
improvements for the airline industry.
Apparently, the FAA agrees, but doesn't want
to act. Spokeswoman Alison Duquette told the
Boston Globe, "We want children off laps and
into child-safety seats," but the
Administration flatly refuses to issue new
rules to make that happen. Their concern?
That families will reject being forced to
buy another airline ticket for the infant or
toddler, and instead will drive. This, says
the agency, would put the entire family in
greater risk of an accident.
Duquette also said the FAA is reviewing the
recommendation, but for now all it will do
is urge parents to voluntarily buy a ticket
for the infant or toddler and use a child
safety restraint approved for airline use.
She also added that some airlines allow
parents to put their children in empty seats
in order to use the safety restraints.
According to FAA estimates, infants and
toddlers traveling on parents' laps
represent about one percent of all airline
passengers. In years past, because seat
restraints could not accommodate small
childrens, they were allowed to travel on
their parents laps. However, these days all
states require children to be restrained in
safety seats when their parents take them
with them on automobile trips. Most of the
seat restraints usable on cars are also
certified for use in airplanes.
EPA Makes Passenger Aircraft Water
Testing Information Available
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)
(Washington, D.C. - September 20, 2004)
The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) today is informing the American
public of results from initial testing
of drinking water onboard 158 randomly
selected passenger airplanes.
Preliminary data released by EPA today
shows that in the recent tests, most of
the aircraft tested (87.4%) met EPA
drinking water quality standards.
However, 12.6 percent of domestic and
international passenger aircraft tested
in the U. S. carried water that did not
meet EPA standards.
As part of enforcement activities, EPA,
during August and September 2004,
randomly tested the water supplies on
158 aircraft. Aircraft tank water is
used in the galleys and lavatory sinks.
Initial testing of onboard water supply
revealed 20 aircraft with positive
results for total coliform bacteria; two
of these aircraft (1.3 percent) also
tested positive for E.coli. Both total
coliform and E.coli are indicators that
other disease-causing organisms
(pathogens) may be present in the water
and could potentially affect public
health. When sampling identified total
coliform in the water, the aircraft was
retested. In repeat testing on 11
aircraft, the Agency confirmed that
water from eight of the aircraft tested
still did not meet EPA's water quality
standards.
A significant part of aircraft travel
includes international flights.
According to the Air Transport
Association (ATA), about 90 percent of
ATA member aircraft have the potential
to travel internationally. These
aircraft may board water from foreign
sources that are not subject to EPA
drinking water standards.
EPA is committed to keeping the American
public well informed of further testing
and actions taken, reviewing existing
guidance to determine areas where it
might be strengthened, concluding water
quality protection agreements with the
airlines and taking enforcement actions
where warranted.
We believe the information released
today will help the traveling public
make informed decisions. Passengers with
compromised immune systems or others
concerned may want to request canned or
bottled beverages. EPA will update its
information and advice to the traveling
public as soon as new information is
available.
EPA is working actively with ATA, which
represents a number of major airlines,
as well as with non-ATA members, on
agreements regarding steps the airlines
will take to ensure acceptable drinking
water quality. The Agency is also
discussing how airlines would provide
the necessary additional testing to
determine the nature and extent of the
problem. If the parties are unable to
reach an agreement or agreements
promptly, EPA will exercise its
enforcement authorities to achieve these
goals. EPA anticipates an agreement with
U.S. airlines shortly.
EPA began a review of existing guidance
in 2002. In response to the aircraft
test results, EPA has accelerated its
priority review of existing regulations
and guidance. The Agency is placing
specific emphasis on preventive
measures, adequate monitoring, and sound
maintenance practices such as flushing
and disinfection of aircraft water
systems.
For more information on the regulation
of water supplies on airplanes and to
view publicly available testing data, go
to: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/airlinewater/
.
Conference looks at ways to reduce expensive
and damaging mid-air collisions between
planes and birds
BALTIMORE - As demand for flights has grown
in the United States, so has the number of
planes in the air - and the collisions with
birds that cannot always manoeuvre around
the fast and quiet modern jets.
Fowl play: 3 incidents
•An American Airlines plane made an
emergency landing on Thursday at Chicago's
O'Hare International Airport because of a
malfunction that appeared to be caused by
birds being sucked into an engine. The
plane, carrying 107 people, landed safely
and there were no injuries.
•A Boeing 737 was climbing after takeoff
from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
last December when it struck three snow
geese. The aircraft sustained US$502,000
(S$849,000) in damages to its nose, wing and
tail and was out of service for more than a
week. There were no injuries.
•A plane approaching New Jersey's Newark
Airport last November was struck by snow
geese, causing an engine to shut down. It
landed safely.
But after about a decade of effort, aviation
and wildlife experts believe they are
pecking away at the costly and sometimes
tragic problem that has caused hundreds of
millions of dollars in damages annually and
almost 200 deaths since 1990.
Innovations beyond shooting migrating Canada
geese and other feathered, and some furry,
wildlife are being shared here this week at
an international conference on bird
'strikes'.
'We're making airports as unattractive and
uncomfortable for wildlife as possible,'
said Mr Richard Dolbeer, national
coordinator for the US Department of
Agriculture's wildlife programme in Ohio,
and chairman of the conference sponsor, Bird
Strike Committee USA, a group of government
and aviation officials.
Mr Dolbeer said officials appear to have
stemmed the upward trend in strikes in 2004
after years of effort.
In 1990, 2,175 strikes were reported
nationwide to the Federal Aviation
Administration. By 2003, the number had
grown to 6,819. But the number appears to be
down significantly this year - with 2,237
strikes reported so far. (Up to 80 per cent
of strikes are not reported, officials
said.)
Mr Dolbeer said there is no 'silver bullet'
for the fowl problem. Compounding efforts
are federal and state environmental laws to
protect wetlands that draw birds near
runways. Further, migratory birds such as
geese and herons that are particularly large
and threatening to airplanes are protected
by law.
Besides quieter airplanes and growing bird
populations, the larger number of commercial
and military flights may be the biggest
culprit in the increase in strikes through
2003: The number of flights rose from 17.8
million in 1980 to 28.1 million in 2003.
Few airplanes are destroyed by birds but
about 15 per cent are damaged.
Sometimes the birds leave a streak of blood
or feathers, which are sent to laboratories
to determine their kind. The data may help
in getting the strikes' downward trend to
continue, Mr Dolbeer said.
link
September 16, 2004
- NTSB to Announce Crash Probe Findings
WASHINGTON (USA) - The National
Transportation Safety Board will announce
within two months the findings of its
investigation into the crash of American
Airlines Flight 587, which killed 265 people
on Nov. 12, 2001.
NTSB Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners told
The Associated Press on Wednesday that the
investigation has been completed and a
hearing to discuss the probable cause will
be held before the third anniversary of the
accident.
"We're very close," said Engleman Conners,
who did not discuss any findings.
Flight 587 plunged into a New York
neighborhood 103 seconds after takeoff from
John F. Kennedy International Airport,
killing all 260 passengers and five people
on the ground.
Investigators believe a series of sharp
rudder movements caused the Airbus
A300-600's tailfin to break off shortly
after takeoff for a flight headed to the
Dominican Republic.
The investigation's central question has
been whether the pilot used the rudder
improperly or if the movements were caused
by a flaw in the flight controls' design.
The probe has been characterized by
fingerpointing between American Airlines and
Airbus. The airline has accused Airbus of
withholding information about similar
incidents; Airbus has said the pilots
operated the plane improperly.
Engleman Conners said that back-and-forth
has not hampered the investigation. "We are
very focused on our investigation," she
said. "The goal is to find the probable
cause."
Bribery,
Negligence Cited in Russian Jet Sabotage
MOSCOW, Sept. 15 -- Bribery and negligence
by officials helped Chechen suicide bombers
board two passenger planes last month and blow
them up, Russia's chief prosecutor said in an
interview published Wednesday. The bombers were
initially detained by police after arriving
at the airport, but were then released without
being checked, he said.
Ninety people were killed when the two planes
crashed nearly simultaneously on Aug. 24, the
start of a wave of attacks in Russia attributed
to Chechen separatists.
A week later, a suicide bombing outside a Moscow
subway station killed 10. That was followed
by the school siege in southern Russia in which
at least 338 people were killed, about half
of them children.
Investigators on Wednesday confirmed that the
planes, which took off from Moscow's Domodedovo
International Airport, had been destroyed in
midair by explosions on board. Prosecutor General
Vladimir Ustinov drew a picture of security
negligence that led to the air crashes.
In an interview published by the Interfax news
agency and posted on the Web site of the government
daily newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, he said
two Chechen women blamed for the blasts and
their companions had been detained by a police
patrol soon after arriving at the airport from
the southern town of Makhachkala, near Chechnya.
"The patrol identified them" as suspicious
persons, then "withdrew their passports
and handed [them] over to the officer in charge
of counterterrorism in the airport," Ustinov
said. "But the captain let them go without
any checks, and the group started hastily trying
to buy air tickets in the same airport building."
Ustinov said they later paid 5,000 rubles (about
$170) to a black market dealer, who sold them
tickets for the flights and helped at least
one of them to bribe her way onto the plane,
bypassing security checks.
President Vladimir Putin on Monday gave his
government two weeks to work out tough measures
to tighten up security across the nation.
Ustinov said official negligence
and corruption had become a major threat to
national security. "We recently checked
how regional officials adhere to anti-corruption
laws. . . . Almost everywhere, officials are
involved in commercial activities, occupy executive
posts in different structures, abuse their powers
in other ways," he said.
September 15, 2004
- Algeria Plane Crash Due to Technical, Human
Error
ALGIERS, Algeria - Human and technical error
caused an Air Algerie Boeing 737 to crash in
the Sahara desert last year killing 102 people,
an official inquiry into Algeria's worst air
disaster showed on Tuesday.
The state-owned plane had been heading for Algiers
on the Mediterranean coast when it crashed near
Tamanrasset, 1,920 km (1,200 miles) from the
capital in the far south of the country last
March. Some French nationals were among the
dead.
"There are three key reasons behind the
crash -- losing the engine during takeoff, failure
of the wheels to fold in, and the pilot being
unaware of engine problems (before takeoff),"
Hasane Afane, head of the government commission,
told a news conference.
He gave no explanation as to why the left engine
fell off,
nor why the wheels did not fold back into the
Boeing body, but Afane said the pilot failed
to check the engines prior to departure.
The commission called for more training for
Algerian pilots, particularly on emergency situations.
It said French and US experts were also involved
in the investigation.
Initially, the commission believed the crash
was due to an engine glitch. It was the worst
air accident in Algeria since the North African
country gained independence from France in 1962.
NORTH LAS VEGAS,
NV, September
2 Near-collisions
down at NLV Airport
The number
of planes nearly
colliding with
other aircraft
or objects on
runways at the
oft-criticized
North Las Vegas
Airport continued
to drop last
fiscal year.
That's according
to a new Federal
Aviation Administration
report.
In the 2003
fiscal year,
North Las Vegas
had two such
incidents, called
runway incursions
by the FAA,
down from seven
the year before.
But in 2003
the general
aviation airport
was also one
of only two
accidents last
year in the
nation involving
aircraft colliding.
The FAA has
found that nearly
two-thirds of
the near-collisions
nationwide are
caused by pilot
error, or by
the error of
someone driving
another vehicle
on the runways.
Nationally
there were 324
near collisions
in 2003, down
from 339 in
2002 and from
405 in 2000.
Air Safety Week’s David
Evans Wins International Aerospace Journalist
of the Year Award
(POTOMAC, MD, July 22, 2004) — David Evans,
editor of Air Safety Week, this week won the
Royal Aeronautical Society’s (RAeS) prestigious
2004 Aerospace Journalist of the Year Award
in the maintenance category. He accepted the
award at a gala dinner in London on July 19.
Evans’ May 26, 2003, Air Safety Week article,
“Air Midwest Crash Exposes Systemic Shortcomings,”
garnered top honors this year in the Maintenance
Category -- one of 15 categories in the Awards
program. This is Evans’
fourth RAeS award.
US
Safety Agency Urges 777 Cargo Hold Fix
August
30, 2004
US safety investigators on Monday urged
quick replacement of light bulbs in the
cargo holds of Boeing 777 aircraft after
an Emirates flight experienced a fire warning
last year.
The heat of a halogen light bulb was found
to have ignited a bag when the September
28 flight from Dubai to Singapore diverted
to Chennai, India, after discharging a fire
extinguishing agent into the cargo hold
of the wide-bodied twin jet.
The National Transportation Safety Board
said the Federal Aviation Administration
planned within six to 12 months to make
mandatory a Boeing service bulletin advising
operators of the 777 to use cooler incandescent
bulbs in the cargo hold.
"The Safety Board agrees with Boeing's
and the FAA's planned actions but is concerned
that during the time needed for the FAA
to issue an (airworthiness directive), a
fire risk exists in 777 cargo compartments
that warrants more urgent action,"
the NTSB wrote in a letter to the FAA.
The safety board said the incandescent
bulbs could be placed in the existing light
fixtures and the work should be done on
an "expedited schedule."
It further urged that 777 operators avoid
placing material near the cargo compartment
ceiling until the halogen bulbs are replaced.
Arc
Fault CBs Available from Eaton
Eaton Aerospace's new arc fault circuit interrupter
circuit breakers are now available in single-
and three-phase AC and 28-volt DC applications
for military and civil aircraft. Arc fault
circuit interrupter technology allows immediate
detection of arcing events in wiring, reducing
the chance the wires might catch fire and
generate toxic smoke or cause a larger inflight
fire. According to Eaton, the new arc fault
circuit breakers are compatible with existing
circuit breaker designs or they can be custom-designed
for specific applications. Phone: 941-751-7112,
www.eaton.com.
Hamilton System To Prevent Fuel Tank
Explosions On 7E7
Boeing
picked Hamilton Sundstrand to supply
the nitrogen generation system
(NGS) on the 7E7, the sixth system
win for the United Technologies subsidiary.
The system reduces oxygen levels in
fuel tanks to prevent explosions similar
to the accident that occurred on TWA
800 in 1996.
Unlike existing NGS systems, Hamilton's
won't use bleed air from the aircraft's
engines because the 7E7 systems will
be all electric. Donald Stein, Hamilton
Sundstrand 7E7 program manager for air
management system, said the system would
use air generated by an electric compressor
located close to the plane's air conditioning
system for the NGS. Hamilton Sundstrand
is partnering with two divisions of
Cobham -- FR HiTemp and Carlton Life
Support Systems -- to deliver the NGS
into one integrated package, the air
separation module, compressor and heat
exchanger valves.
FAA plans to issue a proposed rule next
fall that would require passenger jets
to have NGSs, and said the rule would
most likely require installation of
the systems on the 7E7, as well as the
Airbus A380. Stein said that Hamilton
Sundstrand would work with Boeing on
the system's certification and that
the details were still being worked
out with FAA.
Boeing is working with Honeywell on
NGS systems for its existing aircraft
designs. It has completed tests on a
737-700, and could use those results
to refine its 747 NGS designs. Boeing
worked with FAA to test a NGS on a 747-400
test bed last year. The airframer aims
to certify the 747 NGS in the first
quarter 2005, followed by certification
for the 737 and 777 in the first quarter
2006.
In addition to the NGS, Boeing picked
Hamilton to supply the 7E7's environmental
control system, electric power generating
and start system, remote and primary
power distribution systems and the auxiliary
power unit.
Boeing tapped FR-HiTemp to supply pumps
on the 7E7 for engine fuel feed, fuel
override and jettison, auxiliary power
unit, center fuel tank and water scavenging.
http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_aviationdaily_story.jsp?id=news/ham07064.xml
The accident report on
the crash of the Twin Otter DHC 6-300 Transmaldivian
Airways flight been released in a press conference.
TVM 15-08-2004
The accident report on the crash of the Twin
Otter DHC 6-300 Transmaldivian Airways flight
on 17th May this year, has been released in
a press conference held today.
The investigation was carried out by the Accident
Investigation Coordinating Committee, the Civil
Aviation Department of the Ministry of Transport
and Civil Aviation, the flight operator and
technical personnel from the manufacturer of
the aircraft engine, Fret and Witney.
The incident took place soon after take off
from the Male’ International Airport’s water
runway, heading for Velaavaru Island. 14 passengers
and 3 crew members were in the aircraft at that
instant.
The causes for the crash as identified by the
Accident Investigation Coordinating Committee,
were revealed in the press conference by the
Director General of Civil Aviation, Mr.Mahmood
Raazee.
Factors that contributed to the incident were,
failure on the part of the crew to select the
flaps to the standard 20 degrees, as required
and to abort the take-off and failure from the
part of the pilot-in -Command in not taking
any action to abort the take-off as the aircraft
approached the sea wall.
The recommendations of the investigations were
to amend the checklist to repeat vital checks
before every stage, review the performance of
DHC-6 sea planes and the re-examination of criteria
by the CAD for the carriage of flight recorders
by aircraft.
Rockwell Collins and NASA conduct synthetic
and enhanced vision flight tests
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (August 17, 2004) - Rockwell
Collins, in conjunction with the National Aeronautic
and Space Administration (NASA), recently conducted
a synthetic and enhanced vision flight test
on a Gulfstream GV aircraft.
The flight test demonstrated how the synthetic
and enhanced vision concepts may be used to
conduct complex visual approaches at night or
during inclement weather. The flight test was
conducted in Reno, Nev., an area known for mountainous
terrain and a difficult noise abatement procedure
arrival for pilots.
Pilots flew SVS and EVS approaches using Rockwell
Collins' Flight Dynamics Head up Guidance System
(HGS™) and head down cockpit displays with computer-generated
images of the terrain with and without integrated
sensor information. Sensor data was provided
by the Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 MultiScan weather
radar, additional advanced sensors and a voice-recognition
system.
The demonstration was part of NASA's Aviation
Safety and Security Program, which researches
and evaluates new onboard systems that improve
a pilot's situational awareness, resulting in
reduced incidents of controlled flight into
terrain (CFIT) and runway incursions.
Synthetic vision technology provides intuitive
guidance cues to reduce pilot workload while
raising the crew's situational awareness so
potential dangers are avoided before traditional
warning systems become necessary.
link
Paris grounds Jordanian charter flight over
safety fears
PARIS, Aug 15 (AFP) - A group of passengers,
stranded at Paris' main airport
this weekend after French authorities grounded
a flight by a Jordanian
charter airline for security reasons, were likely
to leave for Ivory Coast
by Monday night, an airport spokesman said.
A representative of the charter airline Jordan
Aviation, banned by French
officials Friday from flying to and from France
after authorities found
serious security lapses, told passengers that
a solution would be found so
they could leave for Abidjan by late Monday,
the spokesman for Charles de
Gaulle airport said.
Most of the 150 passengers were accommodated
at an airport hotel paid by
airport operator Aeroport de Paris.
The airport authority had said earlier it was
trying to find a substitute
flight as quickly as possible.
The French civil aviation authority said in
a statement Friday security
checks by the French and Italian authorities
on aircraft belonging to Jordan
Aviation during stops on European territory
had "brought to light serious
security lapses."
"These checks led the French and Italian
authorities to ban flights in and
out of France as from today."
In Amman, the head of the airline Mohammad Khashaman
on Friday strongly
denied the security claims, saying it all came
down to a problem with
paperwork.
"This has nothing to do with security,"
Khashaman told AFP. He said the
problem was linked to "operation documents"
requested by the Italian civil
aviation authorities, which he said is denying
Jordan Aviation landing
rights in Italy.
Duma
to pass amendments to Aviation Code
Interfax. Thursday,
Aug. 26, 2004, 5:29 PM Moscow Time
MOSCOW.
Aug 26 (Interfax) - Russian State Duma Speaker
Boris Gryzlov said the Duma will pass amendments
to the Russian Aviation Code during its fall
session to hand over security functions at
the country's airports to the Interior Ministry.
"During the next session, the State Duma
plans to debate a number of amendments to
existing legislation aimed at transferring
security functions at Russia's airports to
police officers. Among other responsibilities,
they will carry out pre-flight checks of passengers,"
Gryzlov said
08/31/04 FAA says
IT reduces airport runway hazards By
Mary Mosquera
GCN Staff Runway incursions
at the nation’s airports dropped 20
percent over a four-year period, due
in part to technology, said an FAA
report released today.
U.S. airports recorded 324 incursions
last year, 15 fewer than in 2002.
Last year, 32 of the incidents were
characterized as high risk, five fewer
than in 2002 and a 50 percent drop
since 2000. For the second consecutive
year, none of the most serious incursions
involved two large commercial jets.
“Pilot awareness programs and new
technology continue to pay real safety
dividends on the nation’s runways,”
said FAA administrator Marion Blakey.
To prevent runway accidents, FAA has
delivered to 34 airports new technology
called the Airport Movement Area Safety
System, which warns air traffic controllers
of potential runway accidents, and
is deploying the new Airport Surface
Detection Equipment Model X to another
25. ASDE-X creates up-to-the-minute
maps of all airport operations that
controllers oversee. It is especially
helpful at night or in bad weather,
when visibility is poor, FAA has said.
(GCN
story)
A runway incursion is when an aircraft,
vehicle, person, or object on the
ground creates a collision hazard
or is too close to an aircraft taking
off, intending to take off, landing
or intending to land. The incursion
rate per million takeoffs and landings
was 5.2, unchanged from 2002.
link
FAA Cites Fewer
Mistakes on Runways
WASHINGTON (AP)- Runways at U.S. airports
were slightly safer last year than
they were the year before, the Federal
Aviation Administration said Tuesday.
Fewer people, vehicles and airplanes
entered runways by mistake, thus reducing
the chance of collisions, the FAA
said.
The FAA reported 324 so-called runway
incursions between Oct. 1, 2002, and
Sept. 30, 2003, a 4 percent decrease
from 339 in the previous 12 months.
The number of most serious incidents
- when a collision was avoided only
because a plane or vehicle quicly
moved out of the way - fell 50 percent
over the last four years, from 67
to 32.
The agency credited new technology
and an education campaign for the
safety improvement.
One of the worst aviation disasters
in history happened on a runway, when
two jumbo jets collided at the airport
in Tenerife in the Canary Islands
in 1977, killing 582 people.
AIRBUS
said it is collaborating with the
German aerospace centre DLR, to
try and come up with a system which
would allow passengers to use their
mobile phones in-flight without
interfering with the plane's navigation
systems.
Airbus
and DLR were "working very
intensively" to try and develop
such a system, spokesman David Voskuhl
said.
But he refused to confirm or
deny a report in the Thursday
edition of the Financial Times
Deutschland which said the
first tests would be carried out
on September 3.
"That depends on the weather
and a number of other factors,"
he said.
By coming up with such a system,
Airbus is trying to out-do arch
rival Boeing which has come up
with a system allowing high-speed
internet access on board its aircraft,
enabling passengers to consult
their email and surf the world
wide web in-flight.
Agence
France-Presse
United reinforces cockpit
United Airlines has taken cockpit security
a step further by adding a second fence
barrier to the cockpit door.
---
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- United Airlines
plans to install steel cable barriers on
its planes to block access from the passenger
cabin to the flight deck when the cockpit
door is open, government and airline officials
said Wednesday.
It is the first voluntary move by a major
U.S. carrier to take structural steps to
restrict cockpit access beyond a post September
11 requirement by the government for airlines
to install stronger cockpit doors.
Bankrupt United, the No. 2 airline, lost
two planes in the 2001 hijack attacks.
Jeff Green, a United spokesman, said the
secondary barrier resembles a fence that
blocks the forward crew corridor from the
passenger cabin. It can be locked into place
when pilots leave the cockpit to use the
restroom or receive meals.
The airline has been using wheeled beverage
carts to block the cockpit entrance while
the door is open.
"That was a short-term solution. The
cart is not secured," Green said.
While its use is more likely on longer flights,
the airline plans to install the barrier
on all 500 of its planes. United tested
the device on its Boeing 757 aircraft.
Green would not say how much the change
will cost the company but said the project
has been in the works for some time.
The Federal Aviation Administration recently
approved the modification. U.S. transportation
security officials have no authority over
its installation or use but said they were
aware of United's plans.
Iridium
News
NetJets Inc., Woodbridge,
N.J., a fractional
business aircraft
provider, has placed
an order for 50 AirCell
ST 3100 Iridium satellite
communications systems
for its fleet of Raytheon
Hawker 400XPs. The
AirCell system provides
airborne, worldwide
access to voice and
data services through
the Iridium network.
The systems will be
installed in the aircraft
prior to retail delivery.
In more Iridium news,
Aloha
Airlines, Honolulu,
has outfitted three
Boeing 737-200 aircraft
and nine 737-700 aircraft
with automated flight
information reporting
systems (AFIRS) from
AeroMechanical Services
Ltd. (AMS), Calgary,
Canada. AFIRS
uses the Iridium network
to transmit operational
data from the aircraft
through AMS' Uptime
near real-time data
service. Visit
www.iridium.com.
Technical
news from the nation's capital
NASA
reaches milestone in quest for
'all-electric' planes
By Walter
Wingo Design
News January
19, 1998
NASA
engineers have completed tests
on a device that opens the path
for development of "all-electric"
aircraft. Called the Electro-Hydrostatic
Actuator, the device eliminates
or minimizes airborne dependence
on hydraulic, pneumatic, and
mechanical systems. NASA tested
the device on the left aileron
of its F/A-18 Systems Research
Aircraft without using the plane's
central hydraulics. Taking its
signals from the aircraft's
flight-control computers, the
device uses its electronics
to trick aircraft computers
into thinking a standard actuator
is on board.
Although the
device contains a small amount
of hydraulic fluid, it uses
an electric motor to drive
its pump. The force created
moves the aileron. For many
years, NASA, the Air Force,
and the Navy have sought to
eliminate heavy hydraulic
systems in aircraft in favor
of electrical "power-by-wire"
systems for operating flight
controls. The new device results
from the Electrically Powered
Actuation Design program of
the Air Force.
Rat's dinner
blacks out airport
Washington, DC, Sep. 5 (UPI) -- A
rat brought Washington's Dulles International
Airport to a standstill Saturday,
causing a power outage and forcing
flight cancellations.
The busy terminal building at Washington's
main international airport was suddenly
blacked out at 7.27 p.m. Passengers
were left to blunder around in darkness
for nearly 40 minutes before the airport's
emergency generators kicked in, eyewitnesses
said.
A spokeswoman for the Washington Airport
Authority said there were no security
concerns because the cause of the
power failure was quickly identified
as a rodent.
"The speculation is that a
rat had gnawed through the power cable
that went to the fueling system, and
shorted the airport's entire power
grid," Tara Hamilton said
Sunday. The rat was found dead near
the damaged cable, she added.
Security inspections and passenger
check-in stopped when the terminal
blacked out and resumed when emergency
power came on.
However, for many, that was just the
beginning of their ordeal. Flights
were delayed and eventually canceled
because of damage to the airport fuel
distribution system.
UPI Editor-at-large Arnaud de Borchgrave,
who boarded British Airways flight
BA 292 for London on schedule at 9.30
p.m., reports sitting in the plane
until 3 a.m. waiting for a fuel truck
to arrive.
By the time the plane was refueled
the BA crew had reached their maximum
working time, and the flight had to
be canceled. Full power was restored
at Dulles Airport at 4 a.m.
It's thought that work on expanding
Dulles International facilities had
caused the fuel cable to be exposed
and made it a rat's dinner.
Air NZ wins
DVT case
Auckland: Air New Zealand has won
a precedent-setting case in the
United States after an American
woman sued it over deep vein thrombosis
(DVT).
Adriene Rodriguez, who flew with
Air New Zealand from Los Angeles
to Auckland in 2000, sued the airline,
claiming it had not done enough
to warn passengers over the dangers
of DVT.
The Federal Appeals Court has ruled
the airline was not responsible
for the potentially fatal blood
clot Ms Rodriguez developed.
American commentators say the Federal
Appeals Court ruling dealt a blow
to scores of lawsuits by passengers
seeking compensation from airlines.
The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals
in San Francisco ruled in a 3-0
decision the condition was not an
accident, but instead the result
of Ms Rodriguez's reaction to the
aircraft's normal operations.
Had it been an accident the airline
could have been liable for damages.
The court also said there was no
evidence the airline violated its
own policy or an industry standard
by allegedly failing to provide
an adequate warning of the risk
of blood clots.
Air New Zealand communications manager
Glen Sowry said yesterday the airline
had been educating passengers for
years in a programme which began
long before the woman flew. There
was little more it could do.
The case would not lead to a change
in its programme to educate passengers
about the risk of DVT, he said.
"Already on board the aircraft
in our pre-flight video briefing
there is quite a detailed bit. We
advise customers to exercise, to
move their feet around, to walk
around the aisles."
Mr Sowry said Air New Zealand's
economy class seats on its Boeing
747 aircraft had more space between
them than any other airline.
Ms Rodriguez's lawyer, Clay Robbins,
has been reported as saying in the
San Francisco Chronicle on the weekend
he would ask the full appeals court
for a rehearing.
Ms Rodriguez collapsed after her
12-hour flight to Auckland and when
she regained consciousness, could
not speak or control her right arm.
She was taken to hospital, but recovered
and flew to Australia. - NZPA
Slideshow:
Air-Evac Helicopter Crash 
Lights are fine for
marking towers,
except when they're
not working, and
those big orange
balls help in
spotting power
lines, except when
visibility is poor.
To help prevent
collisions, the FAA
in Fort Worth,
Texas, is testing a
radar system that
would continually
scan the area around
power lines or
antennae for nearby
aircraft, and
trigger a strobe
light to warn pilots
(as opposed to just
having a strobe
running all the time
on every tower),
The FAA
needs to
change its
rules to
encourage
pilots to
totally
clean frost
from their
aircraft's
wings before
takeoff,
rather than
just smooth
it out to
remove the
bumps,
according to
a safety
recommendation
from
Britain's
Department
for
Transport.
The
recommendation
was prompted
by the
Add cosmic
radiation to
the
confirmed
list of
threats to
the health
of long-haul
flight
crews,
although we
don't know
where it
ranks along
with deep
vein
thrombosis,
boredom or
the food. A
British
study has
confirmed
what pilots
and flight
attendants
(and other
studies)
have been
saying for
decades.
Spending too
much time in
the rarified
air up there
can be
hazardous to
your health.
The study of
411 British
Airways
pilots
showed
increased
rates of
melanoma,
colon and
brain
cancers
attributable
to cosmic
rays.
There's also
a risk to
the unborn
children of
pregnant
crew
members.
"There's
more data
coming out
about the
risks,"
Michael
Mijatov, of
the
Australian
Flight
Attendants
Association,
told The
Age.
"There's
evidence
that the
higher you
are, the
more
exposure you
have to
cosmic rays.
He said
female crew
members more
than 16
months
pregnant are
already
prevented
from
working.
Cosmic rays
are made up
of neutrons,
gamma and
alpha rays
put out by
the sun. The
atmosphere
filters most
of them out
before they
reach earth
but most
airliners
fly above
much of that
protective
layer. 
