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NTSB Meets

NTSB TO MEET ON BUSINESS JET RUNWAY EXCURSION ACCIDENT THAT KILLED FOUR AND INJURED TWO IN SOUTH CAROLINA

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public Board meeting on its investigation into an accident in which a chartered business jet crashed during a rejected takeoff in Columbia, South Carolina, 18 months ago.

The purpose of the meeting will be to determine the probable cause of the accident and to consider proposed safety recommendations to reduce the likelihood of future such mishaps.

On September 19, 2008, at 11:53 p.m. EDT, a Bombardier Learjet Model 60 (N999LJ) operated by Global Exec Aviation and destined for Van Nuys, California, overran runway 11 during a rejected takeoff at Columbia Metropolitan Airport. The captain, the first officer, and two passengers were killed; two other passengers were seriously injured.

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  • NTSB TRANSFERS CONTROL OF INVESTIGATION OF AUSTIN PLANE CRASH TO FBI

    NTSB Advisory : NTSB NTSB TRANSFERS CONTROL OF INVESTIGATION OF AUSTIN PLANE CRASH TO FBI

    The National Transportation Safety Board has transferred control of the investigation into yesterday’s crash of a small aircraft into an office building in Austin, Texas to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    On the morning of February 18, 2010, a Piper PA-28 struck a 7-story building housing federal offices in Austin, Texas. The NTSB immediately initiated an investigation and dispatched a team of investigators to the scene. Information developed about the circumstances of the crash since that time point toward an intentional act rather than an accident.

    Last night, NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman consulted with the United States Attorney General, Eric Holder. They agreed that given the apparent criminal nature of the event, the primacy of this investigation should be transferred to the FBI. NTSB investigators will remain at the scene to assist the FBI.

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    NTSB PRESS RELEASE: NTSB CITES LACK OF BIRD STRIKE RESISTANT WINDSHIELD REQUIREMENTS IN FATAL CRASH OF HELICOPTER IN LOUISIANA

    National Transportation Safety Board
    Washington, DC 20594

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 24, 2010
    SB-10-45

    The National Transportation Safety Board today released a
    final report on a fatal crash involving a transport-category
    helicopter caused by a bird strike. The Board said the lack
    of requirements for bird strike-resistant windshields
    contributed to the crash, and called on the FAA to develop
    such requirements.

    On January 4, 2009, a dual-engine Sikorsky S-76C++
    helicopter (N748P), registered to and operated by PHI, Inc.,
    crashed into marshy terrain near Morgan City, Louisiana
    approximately 7 minutes after takeoff from Amelie,
    Louisiana, on a charter flight to an oil rig in the Gulf of
    Mexico. Both pilots and 6 of the 7 passengers were killed
    in the crash.

    The aircraft had reached level cruise flight at 850 feet
    mean sea level and 135 knots when the cockpit voice recorder
    recorded a loud bang, followed by sounds consistent with
    rushing wind and a power reduction on both engines. The
    aircraft crashed several seconds later. Feathers and other
    bird debris were collected from the canopy and windshield of
    the aircraft. Laboratory analysis identified the remains as
    coming from a female red-tailed hawk; the average weight of
    such a bird is 2.4 pounds.

    The investigation revealed that the impact of the bird on
    the canopy just above the windshield near the engine control
    quadrant likely jarred the fire extinguisher T-handles out
    of their detents and moved them aft, pushing both engine
    control levers into or near the flight idle position,
    reducing fuel to both engines. The pilots were probably
    disoriented from the broken windshield and rushing air and
    were unable to react in time to maintain control of the
    helicopter.

    The helicopter was originally equipped with laminated glass
    windshields that complied with European bird-strike
    resistance standards. PHI replaced the windshields with
    lighter-weight, aftermarket cast acrylic windshields that
    did not have any bird-strike resistance standards.

    The NTSB determined that the helicopter crashed because of
    the sudden loss of power to both engines following the bird
    strike and the subsequent disorientation of the crewmembers.
    Contributing to the accident, the Board said, were the lack
    of FAA regulations and guidance requiring helicopter
    windshields to be resistant to bird strikes, the lack of
    protections that would prevent the T-handles from
    inadvertently dislodging out of their detents, and the lack
    of a master warning light and audible system to alert the
    flight crew of a low-rotor speed condition.

    Recommendations were issued to the FAA dealing with, among
    other things, the design of S-76C++ fire extinguisher T-
    handles and engine control quadrants, and similar designs of
    other helicopters, and of audible low-rotor alarm systems;
    certification standards for helicopter windshields; and
    simultaneous dual-engine power loss training for helicopter
    pilots.

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  • | |

    Fraport Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Lima Airport Concession

    Win-win Privatization Project: Over $270 Million in Airport Investments and Over $700 Million in Payments to Peru Since 2001 – Passenger Traffic Surges 17 Percent in 2010 – Skytrax “Best Airport in South America” 2009 & 2010

    FRANKFURT, Germany, February 3, 2011 — Last night in the Peruvian capital, Fraport AG and its majority-owned Lima Airport Partners (LAP) joint venture company celebrated the 10th anniversary of the successful Jorge Chavez International Airport Lima concession, which began in February 2001. The event was attended by Peru’s first vice president Luis Giampietri and other high-ranking business and political leaders — underscoring the airport’s significance as a key gateway for the country. Speaking at the event, Fraport AG’s executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte said: “We are proud of this win-win airport privatization concession which benefits not only travelers worldwide but serves as a strategic aviation gateway for Peru and the region.”

    “We have demonstrated our dedication and long-term commitment to this project. Traffic has grown from less than 4 million passengers in 2001 to more than 10 million in 2010. Jorge Chavez was the first airport to achieve investment grade status in the region. Lima Airport has won numerous awards because of its commitment to quality and high service standards. And, Lima Airport Partners has transferred more than $700 million to the Peruvian government since the beginning of the concession,” Schulte added.

    Lima Airport (LIM) welcomed about 10.3 million passengers in 2010, surging by 17.0 percent year-on-year. Since Fraport took over operations a decade ago, LIM has recorded a 10.8 percent compounded annual rate of growth in passenger traffic. Last year, passenger growth was driven, in particular, by additional frequencies on domestic routes. LIM handles well over 90 percent of the country’s international traffic. More international routes are expected in 2011, including several European destinations. Cargo throughput also advanced last year by 17.0 percent to nearly 272,000 metric tons, while aircraft movements climbed by 14.8 percent to more than 120,000 takeoffs and landings. Thus, LIM continues to strengthen its position as a regional air transportation hub for Latin America.

    LAP took over the operation of Lima Airport on February 14, 2001. Fraport has a 70.01 percent shareholding in Lima Airport Partners, followed by International Finance Corporation (IFC) with 19.99 percent and AC Capitales Safi of Peru (Fondo de Inversion en Infrastructura, Servicios Publicos y Recursos Naturales) with 10.0 percent. Under the 30-year airport concession (with a 10-year option to extend) Fraport assumed the contractual role of airport manager and is responsible for operations, security, planning, maintenance and other activities.

    Since 2001, Lima Airport Partners (LAP) has invested $272.5 million in modernizing and expanding the passenger terminal as well as improving airside infrastructure, computer and communications systems, and enhancing customer service. Milestones have included redevelopment of the terminal complex, the new Peru Plaza shopping mall in 2005, new gates and passenger loading bridges, various other airside improvements, implementation of SAP computer applications and Red Gigabit – an advanced computer communications network for LAP and other users of the airport community.

    “For the future, we see further growth and development. Jorge Chavez International Airport will continue to be a very important part of the Fraport Group family, and we will continue to develop the airport’s capacity – as the main gateway to Peru and the leading gateway to the region,” added Schulte.

    Fraport AG’s know-how has played a significant role in modernizing and expanding Peru’s international air transportation gateway during the past decade. Along with implementing high international aviation standards, LAP offers passengers a world-class and economically successful airport. LIM http://www.lima-airport.com) serves as an attractive calling card for this fascinating Andean country and the surrounding region. Peru’s vast tourism and economic potential and its strategic geographic location are important advantages for further developing Lima as a leading Latin American gateway.

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    Cleveland ATC: A Close Call

    What: Expressjet Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Cleveland to Kansas City Missouri
    Where: Cleveland Ohio
    When: June 26 2009
    Who: not available
    Why: Runway Incursion aborted. While at the controls, an air traffic control trainee scheduled the Expressjet and a CommutAir de Havilland Dash 8-200 on a collision course. The Expressjet pilot perceived the danger in time to avert the incident.

    The same trainee caused a similar incident between an Expressjet and a Southwest flight on June 3.

    George’s Point of View

    The trainee in question had very little experience. I am more critical of the training process than the trainee. What preparation was there ahead of time? That question is not answered for us. Perhaps this incident is proof that a training system is working, since a collision did not happen. Or perhaps it is an indicator that training methodology needs to be revamped. (Do air traffic controllers train on simulators? I don’t know.)

    What will we learn from this event? What will the ATC trainers learn?

    If I had been a fly on that console, I’d have quizzed that trainee on what he learned from his mistakes. One does not have to make mistakes to learn, but to progress, one must learn from ones mistakes.

    Skill, like character is forged like steel from iron, in trial by fire. How else does an expert become one without the benefit of experience?

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  • | |

    53 Trent Engines Removed from Service

    Rolls-Royce removed 53 Trent Engines from service over pipe thickness problems in the oil feed pipes. Thinned pipe walls and cracking from a manufacturing defect led to an internal oil fire on a Qantas Airways Airbus A380, which made an emergency landing in Singapore in 2010. This is the flaw that led to Qantas grounding its entire A380 fleet, and other carriers like Singapore Airlines. Several modification standards were published: FW48020, FW59326, and FW64481.

    The ATSB does not expect a complete analysis of the data it is gathering on these engines until May 2012.

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    INVESTIGATION OF BOEING 787 BATTERY FIRE IN BOSTON

    NTSB CHAIRMAN SAYS ‘WE HAVE NOT RULED ANYTHING OUT’ IN INVESTIGATION OF BOEING 787 BATTERY FIRE IN BOSTON
    WASHINGTON – In a press conference today, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman released preliminary findings from the NTSB’s ongoing investigation into the Jan. 7, 2013, Boeing 787 battery fire in Boston. “We have not ruled anything out as a potential factor in the battery fire; there are still many questions to be answered,” Hersman said.

    Noting that there was a B-787 battery incident in Japan on Jan. 16, 2013, which is being investigated by the Japan Transport Safety Board, Hersman said, “One of these events alone is serious; two of them in close proximity, especially in an airplane model with only about 100,000 flight hours, underscores the importance of getting to the root cause of these incidents.”

    The investigation revealed that the battery in the B-787 fire in Boston showed signs of short circuiting, and had indications of thermal runaway, a situation in which a significant temperature increase can initiate a destructive chain reaction.

    Chairman Hersman also expressed concerns about the adequacy of the systems to prevent such a fire from occurring. “The investigation will include an evaluation of how a fault that resulted in a battery fire could have defeated the safeguards in place to guard against that,” said Hersman. “As we learn more in this investigation, we will make recommendations for needed improvements to prevent a recurrence.”

    Investigators developed the following timeline of the events on Jan. 7, which was released at today’s briefing:

    10:06 am EST – Aircraft arrived at gate in Boston from Narita, Japan
    10:32 am – Cleaning and maintenance crew noticed smoke in cabin
    10:35 am – Mechanic noted flames coming from APU battery in aft electronics bay
    10:37 am – Airport Rescue & Fire Fighting notified
    10:40 am – Fire and rescue personnel arrive on scene
    12:19 pm – Fire and rescue personnel report event was “controlled”

    The batteries were manufactured by GS Yuasa for the Thales electrical installation and are unique to the Boeing 787. The same battery model is used for the main airplane battery and for the battery that is used to start the auxiliary power unit, which is the one that caught fire in Boston.

    Radiographic examinations of the incident battery and an exemplar battery were conducted at an independent test facility. The digital radiographs, or computed tomography (CT) scans, generated from these examinations allowed NTSB investigators to document the internal condition of the battery prior to disassembling it.

    Ongoing lab work includes an examination of the battery elements with a scanning-electron microscope and energy-dispersive spectroscopy to analyze the elemental constituents of the electrodes to identify contaminants or defects.
    NTSB INVESTIGATIVE TEAMS

    In addition to the activities at the NTSB lab in Washington, members of the investigative team have been conducting work in Arizona, Seattle and Japan. Their activities are detailed below.

    ARIZONA
    – The acceptance test procedure of the APU battery charging unit was conducted at Securaplane in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 21.
    – The battery charging unit passed all significant tests and no anomalies were detected.
    – Members of the airworthiness group examined the APU start power unit at Securaplane in Tucson. The same team traveled to Phoenix to conduct an examination of the APU controller at UTC Aerospace Systems.

    SEATTLE
    – NTSB investigators are working with Boeing teams as part of root cause analysis activities related to the design and manufacturing of the electrical battery system.
    – The two JAL B-787 general purpose module units, which record airplane maintenance data are being downloaded at Boeing to obtain information that was recorded after the airplane’s electrical power was interrupted.

    JAPAN
    – The NTSB-led team conducted component examination of the JAL B-787 APU battery monitoring unit at Kanto Aircraft Instrument Company, Ltd., in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan.
    – The team cleaned and examined both battery monitoring unit circuit boards, which were housed in the APU battery case. The circuit boards were damaged, which limited the information that could be obtained from tests.

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