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BEA release: Human Factors Committee


The BEA has just formed the « Human Factors » working group whose creation was announced at the time of the publication of the third Interim Report on the investigation into the accident to the Rio-Paris flight on 1st June 2009.

This working group’s objective is to analyze all aspects connected to the conduct of the flight:

Crew actions and reactions during the last three phases of the flight described in the third Interim Report, in particular in relation to the stall warning;
Cockpit ergonomics;
Man-machine interfaces.
This working group is made up of seven experts:
Three BEA investigators specializing in human factors;
A psychiatrist specializing in risk analysis;
A human factors aviation consultant;
A type-rated A330 pilot;
An A330 test pilot.

The BEA may call on other experts from time to time and will consult Airbus and Air France when required.

The group’s work will begin very soon and should be completed by the end of December 2011. Its thinking will take into account input from both the «Operations» and the «Airplane Systems» groups.

All of the work carried out will be included in the Final Report, which will establish the causes of the accident, whose publication is planned for the first half of 2012.

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    Boeing News Across the board

    • CEO Jim McNerney said that the 5-foot rip in the roof of a Boeing 737 was due to a “workmanship issue” in a single plane. “The initial data that I think we’re all seeing is suggesting a possible workmanship issue on an airplane rather than a design issue across a fleet of airplanes.” It appears that the holes drilled in the plane’s skin were too big for the rivets and were not properly lined up. Other experts do not agree, and believe the problem is unlikely to be a single plane, and more likely to be more widespread.

    • Boeing reports that its Vigilare network centric command and control system has passed its last formal operational test. Testing of the system took place at Royal Australian Air Force Base Williamtown’s Eastern Regional Operations Centre from March 28 to April 8.

    • In other Boeing news, Piloted by Captains Keith Otsuka and Ron Johnston, with Ralph Chaffin serving as system operator and Greg Lichneckert as flight analyst, the second Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental RC021made a three-hour, twenty-minute flight. This was its first flight, the beginning of 600 hours of flight testing.

    • In response to today’s ruling by Federal District Court in the Central District of California, overturning California Senate Bill 990, a state law governing the cleanup of Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a former federal government rocket engine and energy testing facility in southern California:

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    FAA Announces Improvements

    Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the completion of the expansion and renovation of the passenger terminal at the Pitt-Greenville Airport in Greenville, N.C. The project was paid for with $7.9 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

    “Investing in projects like this is critically important to helping us compete in the global economy,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “These improvements at Pitt-Greenville Airport will result in business and employment opportunities in North Carolina that will strengthen America’s future economic competitiveness.”

    The Pitt-Greenville Airport terminal was expanded to a two-story structure that meets current floodplain standards. The airport was severely flooded during Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Improvements include a departure waiting area for passengers, two additional gates and a security checkpoint.

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    Bell Boeing V-22 Program Delivers 6th Osprey Trainer to US Marines

    ST. LOUIS, Sept. 27, 2010 — The Bell Boeing V-22 Program, a strategic alliance between Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Bell Helicopter, has delivered the sixth and final MV-22 Osprey Containerized Flight Training Device (CFTD) to the U.S. Marines. In the past year, the team has delivered five CFTDs to the Marines, as well as upgrades to two trainers delivered previously.

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    Press Release – FAA Celebrates Recovery Act Funded Airfield Upgrades at Kentucky’s Georgetown-Scott County Regional Airport

    For Immediate Release
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    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration celebrated the completion of an airfield upgrade at Georgetown-Scott County Regional Airport in Kentucky, paid for with $3 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.

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    Fill your pockets, only not too much.

    George’s Point of View

    What is a pocket for if not for putting something in?

    The FAA says no more than 3 lbs worth. But yeah, you can use it for small stuff, and you don’t have to sweat it.

    So if some zealous flight attendant has been lock-stepping down the aisle, forcing you to remove your glasses, your contact lens solution, or wrapped airport leftovers from the back pocket of the seat in front of you, you can now feel vindicated.

    Now, if those airport leftovers are as big as that Fred Flintstones rack of ribs that tilted his stone-aged car sideways, you’re on your own.

    But I’m going to print this FAA letter and carry it with me the next time I fly.

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    FAA Proposes $2.4 Million Civil Penalty Against Cessna Aircraft

    KANSAS CITY – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $2,425,000 civil penalty against Cessna Aircraft Co., of Wichita, Kan., after carbon composite parts of the wing of one of its aircraft came apart during flight.

    On Dec. 6, 2010, an FAA test pilot performing a production audit test flight in a Cessna Corvalis experienced a failure of the skin on the left wing. About seven feet of the left wing skin separated from the forward spar and damaged a fuel tank. A spar is a beam-like structure inside the wing and is a principal load-bearing component. The pilot made an emergency landing at the Independence, Kan., airport.

    Subsequently, the FAA issued emergency airworthiness directives grounding 13 specific Corvalis aircraft that used wings and parts produced in Cessna’s Chihuahua, Mexico, plant between Dec. 17, 2009, and Dec. 16, 2010. FAA investigators determined that the wing skin separated from the spar due to excessive humidity in the factory that prevented the bonded materials from curing properly.

    The FAA alleges that Cessna failed to follow its FAA-approved quality control system when it manufactured the wings on the damaged airplane, as well as 82 additional parts, in the Chihuahua factory. The manufacturer has since made improvements to the plant.
    “Safety is our highest priority,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We want to ensure that manufacturers are vigilant when it comes to aviation safety. There can be no exceptions.”

    “Quality control is a critical part of the aircraft manufacturing process and has to detect problems before planes leave the factory,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “Manufacturers have to ensure that all the details are followed all of the time.”
    The Corvalis is a high-performance four-seat single-engine general aviation aircraft. It uses a significant number of composite parts and structures.

    Cessna has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond.

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