NTSB TO RELEASE FACTUAL REPORTS ON FATAL 2009 HELICOPTER ACCIDENT IN LOUISIANA

The National Transportation Safety Board will open its public docket Thursday on a January 2009 helicopter accident that killed 8 persons.

On January 4, 2009, a Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter (N748P), operated by PHI, Inc., crashed into swampy terrain just north of the Gulf of Mexico coastline near Morgan City, Louisiana. The aircraft was on a Part 135 revenue flight to an oil platform when it crashed about 7 minutes after takeoff. Eight of the nine persons aboard lost their lives.

The docket will contain factual reports prepared by the investigative team, including reports on aircraft structures, aircraft systems, the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder, and toxicology reports. A comprehensive materials laboratory report on the windscreen structure and a report on the flight data recorder information will be added to the docket in the next several weeks.

The docket will be published on the Board’s website at www.ntsb.gov, under “Accident Dockets” on the home page, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Thursday, January 7. No determination of cause will be rendered at this time. This is a factual release only; no interviews will be conducted by NTSB personnel.

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    LUNAR AND PLANETARY CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION

    HOUSTON — NASA researchers and other scientists will present findings that provide new insights into the evolution of the solar system during the 42nd annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

    The conference will run March 7-11 at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, 1601 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands, Texas.

    Key events include the unveiling of future planetary science strategy; early science results from a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency mission, called Hayabusa, that returned the first particle samples from an asteroid; presentations about the recent comet Hartley 2 flyby; and the upcoming MESSENGER mission, the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury.

    The conference also will include a briefing about the Planetary Decadal Survey at 5:30 p.m. CST on March 7. The survey is a strategy released by the National Research Council in Washington to prioritize missions, research areas and observations ten or more years into the future. The briefing’s featured speaker will be Steve Squyres of Cornell University. He is the survey’s chair and principal investigator for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers.

    News media representatives interested in registering or obtaining more information should visit:

    http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/

    The conference is hosted by the Lunar and Planetary Institute in . The institute is managed by the Universities Space Research Association, a national, nonprofit consortium of universities chartered in 1969 by the National Academy of Sciences at NASA’s request.

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    Boeing Statement on C-17 Globemaster III Airlifter Crash at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska


    ST. LOUIS, July 29, 2010 — A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III airlifter crashed on the evening of July 28 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Four crewmembers are reported to have been killed in the crash. The Boeing Company today released the following statement:

    “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the four crewmembers who were lost aboard the Pacific Air Forces C-17 that crashed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, last night. Boeing stands ready to provide technical assistance to the U.S. Air Force with the investigation into this tragedy.”

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    Pratt & Whitney’s JT8D Engine Receives FAA Certification for Engine Enhancements

    EAST HARTFORD, Conn., Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company, today announced the certification of several enhancements for the JT8D-219 engine. These enhancements successfully completed 150 hours of endurance testing in May, clearing the way for Federal Aviation Administration certification of the upgrades in early November.

    “The JT8D is a major part of Pratt & Whitney’s history; improving its reliability and modernizing its capability will keep it a viable engine for years to come,” says Rick Krueger, chief engineer for Pratt & Whitney’s Operational Commercial Engines.

    The overall project includes several configuration updates: a nickel high-pressure compressor rotor system that provides enhanced corrosion resistance, external changes to accommodate mounting the engine under the wing, an enhanced bleed override system, and higher load-carrying towershaft and gearbox elements to accommodate increased power extraction.

    The JT8D-219 engine will be offered to support B707 re-engining via the Supplemental Type Certificate approved by the FAA for Pratt & Whitney’s Joint Venture partner, Seven Q Seven, on July 20, 2010. Seven Q Seven is a San Antonio, Texas-based company that converts and upgrades aircraft, primarily Boeing 707s, for commercial and military support applications.

    The first enhanced JT8D-219 engine is on track to be delivered to Northrop Grumman in February, in support of re-engining the USAF E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft. The E-8C is a modified B707-300.

    “Pratt & Whitney is excited to provide the enhanced JT8D-219 configuration, which will provide improved mission capability to the Joint STARS platform,” says Bev Deachin, vice president Military Engines and Customer Support. “Joint STARS will benefit from the significantly reduced fuel consumption and additional thrust. Joint STARS is the only all weather, long-range, real-time Wide Area Surveillance (WAS) and Battle Management System. The fleet operates out of Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and plays a significant role in supporting ground and airborne forces.”

    The JT8D-219 engines will be assembled and tested in Pratt & Whitney’s Middletown, Conn., facility. If the U.S. Air Force chose to retrofit its entire Joint STARS fleet, production quantities could result in excess of 80 engines.
    Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, CT, is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries.

    This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities and operational engine performance. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in funding related to the JSTARS aircraft and JT8D engines, changes in government procurement priorities and practices or in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

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    SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS TO CONNECT WITH CENTRAL FLORIDA STUDENTS

    WASHINGTON — International Space Station residents Scott Kelly, Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli will speak on Tuesday, Jan. 11, to 150 students from Kathleen High School’s Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) in Lakeland, Fla.

    The CFAA prepares students to go into advanced aerospace education or the aerospace industry. In 2009, the academy received an agency grant to develop a NASA-based science, technology, engineering and , or STEM, curriculum.

    The station astronauts will answer student questions on Jan. 11, from 11-11:20 a.m. EST. In preparation for the conversation with astronauts in space, the students have been participating in science activities, exploring careers in science with local scientists and engineers, studying a floor plan of the International Space Station and learning about experiments in microgravity.

    The event will air live on NASA Television and on the agency’s website. Media interested in attending this event should contact Obie Young at 407-341-3072 by 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10.

    The live downlink will be shared with other students through the Florida Aviation Network, the Federal Aviation Administration Training Network and the Government Educational Training Network. This will give approximately 93,000 students in Polk County’s K-12 classrooms the opportunity to watch the event.

    NASA astronauts Kelly and Coleman and Nespoli of the European Space Agency are conducting science experiments aboard the space station. Kelly serves as the Expedition 26 commander until March when he returns home. Coleman and Nespoli will complete their station mission in May.

    This live, in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in STEM subjects. It is an integral component of Teaching From Space, a NASA education program. Teaching From Space promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA’s human spaceflight program.

    For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

    http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

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    Dutch Safety Board (DSB) Issues Accident Report on February 25, 2009 Accident of a Boeing 737-800 at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (EHAM)

    The National Transportation Safety Board assisted in the investigation of the accident of Turkish Airlines flight 1951, a Boeing 737-800, registration TC-JGE, which occurred on February 25, 2009, while on approach to runway 18R at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (EHAM), Amsterdam, Netherlands.

    Under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13, the investigation was conducted under the authority of the Dutch Safety Board ( – DSB) as the State of Occurrence. The United States, as State of Manufacture and Design of the Boeing 737, appointed an accredited representative from the NTSB’s Major Investigations Division to participate in the investigation and lead the U.S. investigative team. The U.S. team included NTSB technical advisors in flight crew operations, systems, powerplants, flight recorders, and survival factors. In addition, technical advisors from the FAA, Boeing, Honeywell, and CFM International were part of the team.

    The accredited representative and advisors participated throughout the investigation in the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. On December 16, 2009, the DSB provided a copy of the draft final report to the U.S. team for review and comment.

    In accordance with ICAO Annex 13, the U.S. accredited representative provided the team’s comments to the DSB on February 13, 2010. The U.S. comments have been appended to the final version of the DSB report and consist of 1) a brief analysis of the factual data collected during the investigation; 2) detailed comments related to specific sections of the draft report; and 3) a summary of the findings from the engineering simulator testing conducted by the investigation.

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    Press Release: HELIPROPS

    Bell Helicopter Professional Pilots Safety Program or HELIPROPS
    Notice Number: NOTC2236
    Bell Helicopter, Textron Inc. safety publication, Helicopter Professional Pilots Safety Program or HELIPROPS, designed for helicopter pilots is now available electronically online. Bell ’s newsletter Human AD Airworthiness for Humans is published quarterly in English and Spanish and is distributed to readers in approximately 121 countries.

    A popular feature of the newsletter are articles from helicopter pilot’s own experiences flying in “unusual situations;” all for the purpose of exchanging safety information, best practices, etc, pilot to pilot.

    The web site, www.heliprops.com is a free resource for pilots, mechanics, owners – operators, students and enthusiasts. From the web site readers are able to download the Human AD newsletter, HELIPROPS Safety Posters. The FAAST program is committed to the reduction of helicopter accidents and encourages FAAST members as well as other airmen to review this valuable source of safety information.

    For more information visit the following links:

    English: http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/training/pdf/heliprops_21_3.pdf”>http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/training/pdf/heliprops_21_3.pd”>http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/training/pdf/heliprops_21_3.pdf
    Spanish: http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/training/pdf/heliprops_21_3_span.pdf

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