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Press Release: ICAO ASSESSES SITUATION

ICAO ASSESSES SITUATION OF AIR TRANSPORT FOLLOWING ERUPTION OF EYJAFJALLAJOKULL VOLCANO IN ICELAND

he Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) met yesterday to review the current situation and welcomed the decision by the Ministers of Transport of the European Union (EU) to gradually reopen the European airspace, in a safe and coordinated manner.

Today, the Organization’s Air Navigation Commission considered near-term initiatives to advance the science of aviation safety and airspace contaminated by volcanic ash.

Both meetings included participation by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The International Airways Volcano Watch (IAVW) system, established by ICAO in coordination with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), is providing critical information to States, allowing them to exercise their responsibility as regards the use of their airspace.

No incidents or accidents have been reported due to volcanic ash as a result of the smooth operation of the IAVW system that was established in 1987 to detect and track the movement of volcanic ash in the atmosphere and to warn States and aviation users. To this end, continuously updated information concerning the area affected by volcanic ash has been issued by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (London) as required by the ICAO provisions.

In light of the unprecedented disruptions to air traffic, however, it is clear that more effort needs to be undertaken to establish a global safety risk framework for routinely determining safe levels of operation in airspace contaminated by volcanic ash. ICAO invites States, the scientific community, aviation safety professionals, manufacturers, airports and airlines to provide valuable input to the development of such a framework.

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    Dreamliner Weather Testing

    787 Dreamliner Undergoing Extreme Weather Testing in Florida

    VALPARAISO, Fla., April 22 — The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has begun a series of extreme-weather tests at Valparaiso, Fla. A special hangar at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base allows the airplane to experience heat as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) and as low as minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 43 Celsius).

    After the airplane is stabilized at either the hot or cold temperatures, flight test technicians will follow the Airplane Maintenance Manual to perform the steps required to prepare the airplane for flight release and operate under these conditions. Sensors and monitors will allow the test team to determine if all systems hardware and software operate as expected.

    Cold-weather testing is being conducted first, with preliminary hot-weather testing to follow. Additional extreme-weather testing will be conducted later in the flight test program.

    “We have Dreamliner customers who will operate the 787 in a wide variety of environments throughout the world,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “This testing is about ensuring that the airplane meets the expectations of our customers.”

    A crew of approximately 100 people traveled from Seattle to support the test operations on ZA003, the third 787 airplane to be built.

    The McKinley Climatic Laboratory is the second remote testing location for the 787 Dreamliner. The second airplane in the fleet, ZA002, performed a variety of tests in Victorville, Calif., last month. The testing in Florida is expected to last nearly two weeks.

    About the Boeing 787 Dreamliner
    The 787 Dreamliner is an all-new twinjet designed to meet the needs of airlines around the world in providing nonstop service between mid-size cities with new levels of efficiency. The airplane will bring improved levels of comfort to passengers with larger windows, bigger baggage bins and advances in the cabin environment, including lower cabin altitude, higher humidity and cleaner air. Delivery of the first 787 is planned for the fourth quarter of 2010.

    Fifty-seven customers around the world have ordered 866 787s since the program was launched in April 2004, making the Dreamliner the fastest-selling new commercial jetliner in history. Delivery of the first 787 is planned for the fourth quarter of 2010.

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    Safety Enhancements for Private Aircraft

    Interested in making your aircraft safer? Check out the latest issue of FAA Safety Briefing. In her article, “Small Cost, Big Benefit: A Look at Lifesaving Aircraft Safety Enhancements,” FAA aerospace engineer Della Swartz offers a variety of improvements that can have a positive effect on your safety and well-being without an undue strain on the wallet. Among the enhancements described are inflatable restraints, or air bags, whose safety benefits the NTSB recently highlighted. According to Swartz, inflatable restraint kits are available for about $1,000 per seat plus the cost of installation. The kit includes a shoulder harness, another inexpensive yet key life-saving device. Swartz also writes about helmets and emergency locator transmitters (ELT). For more on how to outfit your aircraft with low-cost and high-value safety enhancements, see the article on page 18 of the January/February 2011 issue of FAA Safety Briefing at www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/.

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    Egyptair Flight MS804 Almost A Year Later

    Elements of this image are furnished by NASA

    Egyptair Flight MS804 (AKA EgyptAir Flight 804) was a Paris to Cairo flight that ended in the Mediterranean on May 19, 2016. Sixty-six people lost their lives: three security crew, fifty-six passengers, seven crew.

    Egyptian authorities published a progress report on 28/06/16 that the BEA repaired the recorders. On 17/06 that the Technical Investigation Committee of the A320 accident studied FDR data as well as performing time correlation between FDR and CVR data and cockpit voice recordings before the occurrence of the accident where the existence of a “fire” was mentioned. That report did not determine the reason or location where that fire occurred. Smoke was reported during the flight in the bathroom and the avionics bay.

    The investigation has been fraught with controversy. On 22 May, 2016, M6 (French TV) reported that a pilot told Cairo air traffic control about smoke in the cabin, and the pilot consequently made an emergency descent.

    On May 20th 2016 The Aviation Herald received information from three independent channels, that ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) messages with following content were received from the aircraft:

    • 00:26Z 3044 ANTI ICE R WINDOW
    • 00:26Z 561200 R SLIDING WINDOW SENSOR
    • 00:26Z 2600 SMOKE LAVATORY SMOKE
    • 00:27Z 2600 AVIONICS SMOKE
    • 00:28Z 561100 R FIXED WINDOW SENSOR
    • 00:29Z 2200 AUTO FLT FCU 2 FAULT
    • 00:29Z 2700 F/CTL SEC 3 FAULT
    • no further ACARS messages were received.

    No sooner did the report come out that the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry dismissed it as false.

    One truism I have found in accident investigation is that it takes time to find the truth. Another is that facts can be misleading. Reportage from official sources moves slowly; reportage from commercial, so-called “news,” or social sources is frequently speculative, unsourced, or purely imaginary. Sometimes it is actually correct. It is difficult to tell the difference. Contradictions are a frequent finding, such as this:

    • Le Figaro reported that no explosives were found on Egyptair flight MS804 French victims’ bodies. The flight crashed in the Mediterranean in 2016.
    • On Dec 15th 2016 Egypt’s Civil Aviation Authority announced that forensic examination on behalf of the Accident Investigation Commission found traces of explosives with some of the human remains recovered. In accordance with Egypt law, the states prosecutor was informed, and a technical commission formed by the prosecution office opened their investigation into the crime.

    How does a close reader respond to a statement that “traces of explosives were found WITH human remains?” A close reader finds more questions. With the remains is not ON the remains. But it could be either way since we are dealing with languages. In English, WITH the remains could mean a bomb was floating in the water near the bodies, or ashes, or gasoline or TNT residue. And what constitutes near? Inches? Miles? It all is relative. Or if the original report is loosely translated, did the original document use a preposition such as ON the remains? And then, there are the forensic questions. Were explosive remains washed off of bodies that were submerged in the ocean?

    If the case goes to court, the court will want to know if something failed on the plane, and if so, what it was. Manufacturers of failed components are considered responsible parties. No matter what the cause, international treaty determines carrier responsibility to the victims of the crash.

    The determination of failed components provides additional responsible parties. The discovery of a bomb would make airport security one of the potential responsible parties. In addition, international treaty provides guidelines for what carriers owe to the families. (Which treaty is involved depends on which treaty/treaties the involved country/countries are signatory to. If it sounds like it can get complicated, you are correct.)

    It has been nearly a year since the accident, and though some things may be believed in the court of public opinion to be one way or another, questions remain unanswered. How grievous and how difficult for the families that must wait so long to find out what brought about this tragedy that took their loved ones.

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    Boeing Projects $700 Billion Commercial Airplanes Market in North America

    – Strong demand seen for new, more fuel efficient single-aisle airplanes
    – Modest growth predicted for region’s passenger traffic
    MONTREAL, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) forecasts that air carriers in North America will take delivery of about 7,200 new airplanes over the next 20 years at an investment of $700 billion.

    New airplane deliveries in Canada and the United States will be driven largely by the need to retire older, less fuel-efficient single-aisle airplanes and regional jets, as airlines replace them with new-generation, more fuel-efficient models. (For the purposes of the Boeing forecast, the North America market consists of the U.S. and Canada. Mexico is included in Boeing’s forecast for Latin America.)
    “North America is a large, mature market, and we expect passenger traffic for the region to grow at a modest rate of 3.4 percent,” said Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, who released Boeing’s 2010 North America market outlook today in Montreal. “The fast-paced lifestyles in Canada and the U.S. require rapid, frequent and reliable coast-to-coast and interregional transportation. Driven by this demand, nearly three-quarters of the new deliveries over the next 20 years will be single-aisle airplanes.”

    Taking retirements of airplanes into account, the North America fleet will grow from 6,590 airplanes today to about 9,000 airplanes by 2029.

    Boeing forecasts that single-aisle airplanes will grow from 56 percent of the total North America fleet today to 71 percent of the fleet by 2029. Airlines are increasingly focusing on airplane age as fuel-thirsty, older airplanes weigh increasingly on earnings. Increased attention to aviation’s impact on global climate change also will be a factor in selecting airplanes that produce lower carbon emissions.

    Newer airplane types such as the Next-Generation 737 offer significant advantages in environmental performance as well as improved capabilities, fuel efficiency and maintenance costs.

    “After several years of losses among the region’s air carriers, we’re seeing signs of improvement and airlines are beginning to implement fleet renewal plans as they look to the future,” Tinseth said. “To help meet this demand, Boeing Commercial Airplanes will continue to work closely with our more than 500 suppliers and partners in Canada. Boeing imports parts and services from Canada amounting to more than a billion U.S. dollars a year, more than $625 million of which is associated with Boeing Commercial Airplanes.”

    Twin-aisle fleets will evolve in the region as airlines continue to expand international point-to-point services to a wider range of airport pairs and frequencies. Small- and mid-sized twin-aisle airplanes will grow to represent 19 percent of the North America fleet by 2029.

    Within the North America market, Boeing sees a demand for 1,180 new, efficient twin-aisle airplanes such as the 787 Dreamliner. Twin-aisles will account for only 16 percent of total airplane demand in the region over 20 years but will have a proportionally higher share of delivery cost, at 37 percent of the overall investment.

    Large airplanes (747-size and larger) will not see significant demand in North America, with only about 40 units (all freighters), or one percent of the total investment.

    Boeing also forecasts declining demand for regional jets in North America as airlines shift to more fuel-efficient turboprops or larger jetliner models. High fuel prices, intensified competition and the superior efficiencies of larger single-aisles will take a toll on the economics of small regional jets. This category will account for just 4 percent of the total investment for new airplanes, with only 800 new regional jet deliveries over the next 20 years, nearly all for replacement.

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    Symposium Announced: Airline Code-Sharing Arrangements and Their Role in Aviation Safety


    Date and Location:
    October 26 – 27, 2010
    NTSB Conference Center

    Short Description:
    The goals of the symposium are to (1) elicit information on the structures, practices, and oversight of domestic and international code-sharing arrangements; (2) gain insight into best practices regarding the sharing of safety information between airlines and their code-sharing partners; and (3) to explore the role that a major airline would have in the family disaster assistance response for an accident involving a code-sharing partner. These areas will be explored through presentations from major and regional airlines, industry organizations, and representatives of the traveling public.

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    NTSB SENDING TEAM TO ASSIST GOVERNMENT OF COLUMBIA WITH TODAY’S 737 ACCIDENT

    National Transportation Safety Board
    Washington, DC 20594

    August 16, 2010

    The National Transportation Safety Board is dispatching a
    team of investigators to assist the government of Columbia
    with its investigation of today’s airplane accident on San
    Andreas Island.

    At about 1:50 a.m. local time today, an Aires Airlines B737-
    700 (HK-4682), crashed during landing at the San Andreas
    Island airport. Flight #8250 originated in Bogota.

    NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman has designated Senior Air
    Safety Investigator Lorenda Ward as the U.S. Accredited
    Representative. The U.S. team will also include three other
    NTSB investigators (specialists in flight operations, human
    performance, and airworthiness) and technical advisors from
    the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.

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