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NTSB: CREW ACTIONS AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT CREDITED WITH SAVING LIVES

National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 4, 2010
SB-10-16

Washington, DC — In addition to the decisions and actions of
the flight crewmembers, overwater safety equipment likely
saved lives that might have otherwise been lost to drowning,
the NTSB said.

Today the Safety Board met to conclude its 15-month
investigation into the January 15, 2009, accident in which a
US Airways A320 jetliner bound for Charlotte was ditched
into the Hudson River after striking a flock of Canada geese
shortly after departing New York’s LaGuardia Airport. All of
the 150 passengers and five crewmembers survived.

Investigators said that had the airplane not been equipped
with forward slide/rafts, many of the 64 occupants of those
rafts would likely have been submerged in the 41-degree
Hudson River, potentially causing a phenomenon called “cold
shock,” which can lead to drowning in as little as five
minutes.

The accident flight had the additional safety equipment
available only because the particular aircraft operated that
day happened to be certified for extended overwater (EOW)
operations even though current FAA regulations did not
require the flight from New York to Charlotte to be so
equipped.

Good visibility, calm waters, and proximity of passenger
ferries, which rescued everyone on flight 1549 within 20
minutes, were other post-accident factors the Safety Board
credited with the survival of all aboard the aircraft.

“Once the birds and the airplane collided and the accident
became inevitable, so many things went right,” said NTSB
Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. “This is a great example of
the professionalism of the crewmembers, air traffic
controllers and emergency responders who all played a role
in preserving the safety of everyone aboard.”

The Safety Board said that the probable cause of the
accident was the ingestion of large birds into each engine,
resulting in an almost total loss of engine power.
Contributing to the severity of the fuselage damage and
resulting unavailability of the aft slide/rafts, the Board
cited the FAA’s inadequate ditching certification standards,
lack of industry training on ditching techniques, and the
captain’s resulting difficulty maintaining his intended
airspeed on final approach due to task saturation resulting
from the emergency situation.

The report adopted by the Safety Board today validated the
Captain’s decision to ditch into the Hudson River saying
that it “provided the highest probability that the accident
would be survivable.” Contributing to the survivability of
the accident was the crew resource management between the
captain and first officer, which allowed them to maintain
control of the airplane, increasing the survivability of the
impact with the water.

In addressing the hazards that birds pose to aircraft of all
sizes, the report noted that most bird strike events occur
within 500 feet of the ground while flight 1549 struck geese
at 2700 feet. Investigators said that this difference
demonstrates that “bird strike hazards to commercial
aircraft are not limited to any predictable scenario.”

Concluding that engine screens or changes to design would
not be a viable solution to protect against bird ingestion
events on commercial jetliners, the Board made it clear that
the potential for significant damage from encounters with
birds remains a challenge to the aviation community.

As part of its extensive examination into the behavior of
the passengers and crewmembers from the time the plane left
the gate at LaGuardia to the moment the last person was
rescued in the river, the Board noted that since most of the
passengers indicated that they had not paid attention to the
preflight oral safety briefing, “more creative and effective
methods of conveying safety information to passengers” was
needed. Survival factors investigators also found that
passengers had significant problems in donning the life
vests that were stowed under each seat.

The Board made 35 safety recommendations on engine and
aircraft certification standards, checklist design, flight
crew training, airport wildlife mitigation, cabin safety
equipment, and preflight passenger briefings.

“I believe the safety recommendations that have come out of
this investigation have an extraordinary origin — a very
serious accident in which everyone survived,” said Chairman
Hersman. “Even in an accident where everyone survives, there
are lessons learned and areas that could use improvement.
Our report today takes these lessons learned so that, if our
recommendations are implemented, every passenger and
crewmember may have the opportunity to benefit from the
advances in safety.”

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    Adoption of Security Roadmap Key Step In Countering Terrorism

    MONTRÉAL, 15 February 2011 – The adoption of a roadmap by 14 ICAO Member States to further protect global air transport from terrorist and other security threats was praised today by the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Raymond Benjamin, at the conclusion of a two-day regional aviation security conference in New Delhi.

    Among the measures included in the roadmap are actions that States will take to strengthen security screening procedures by ensuring that professionals are appropriately trained and equipped. Air cargo security will be enhanced through working with Customs authorities on common goals. Capacity-building assistance to States in need in cooperation with ICAO, other States and the aviation industry is emphasized in the roadmap.

    The conference was the first in a series on implementing the ICAO Declaration on Aviation Security, unanimously adopted by the Organization’s Assembly last October to deal with known, new and emerging threats to civil aviation.

    “The challenge, OUR challenge, is to turn commitment into action. Terrorism is a global problem that requires global solutions,” Mr. Benjamin emphasized when urging participants to develop the roadmap during the opening of the conference.

    “This roadmap is a key step in addressing the security challenge and can serve as a model for other regional aviation security conferences, culminating in a global security conference planned for next year at ICAO Headquarters in Montréal,” Mr. Benjamin indicated.

    In support of the roadmap’s initiatives, Mr. Benjamin pointed to ICAO’s ongoing collaboration with the air transport industry on a security checkpoint of the future concept to improve the effectiveness of passenger and carry-on baggage screening at airports. ICAO is also working with the World Customs Organization to establish best practices for air cargo security.

    The Government of India, through the Minister of Civil Aviation, is to play a leading role in the implementation of the roadmap in the region through technical cooperation and other initiatives.
    Attachments
    EN.pdf

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    Airbus Press Release: Airbus opens new supplier village extension in Beijing

    The Hua-Ou Aviation Support Centre in Beijing, a joint venture between Airbus and China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS), has opened a new extension at its supplier village to provide enhanced and more efficient support for operators of Airbus aircraft in China – including information and communications technology (ICT) and other logistics support.

    The extension provides 500 square metres of additional office space, along with a new workshop area and office for the ICT team – which can offer bilingual 24-hour support to suppliers. An inauguration ceremony marking its formal opening was held today, which was followed by a Supplier Village Business Forum.

    “As a part of the Airbus global support network, the Hua-Ou Aviation Support Centre has played an important role in supporting the operators of Airbus aircraft in China,” said Laurence Barron, President of Airbus China and Vice Chairman of the Hua-Ou Aviation Support Centre Board. “We appreciate the strong support from the suppliers and we are sure that by working together more closely with them, we will offer more efficient support to operators.”

    Over the past decade, the in-service fleet of Airbus aircraft in mainland China has grown on average by more than 20 per cent annually. To date, more than 620 Airbus aircraft are operated in China, with continued growth projected during the coming years.

    “The new extension, which is funded by the Hua-Ou joint venture itself, is a demonstration of the success story of the joint venture and the cooperation between Airbus and CAS,” said Li Hai, President of the China Aviation Supplies Holding Company, and Chairman of the Hua-Ou Board. “CAS will continue to provide strong support to the further development of the centre, which will contribute more to the development of China’s aviation industry.”

    The Hua-Ou Aviation Support Centre, which is China’s first maintenance training facility, offers door-to-door delivery services to several Chinese airlines. A total of 44 companies from Europe and the United States have committed to establishing a presence at the centre.

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    Boeing Statement Regarding USDA-FAA Partnership on Aviation Biofuels

    CHICAGO, Oct. 21 Boeing Vice President, Environment and Aviation Policy, Billy M Glover, issued the following statement in the wake of today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Aviation Administration that the two agencies have agreed to work together to bring sustainable biofuels into production for the aviation industry.

    “Today’s announcement is welcome news for the commercial aviation industry, which sees sustainable biofuels as a key element of its plan to lower its carbon emissions. Through test flights with a number of our customers, we have proven that fuels made from plant matter and algae can power jet aircraft safely and efficiently, and we look forward in the months ahead to the approval of these fuels for commercial use. The challenge then will be to prime the production pump, and bring biofuels to an attractive price point for airlines.

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    Rita Report: Long Tarmac Delays in September Down From Last Year

    Tuesday, November 9, 2010 – The
    nation’s largest airlines reported four flights in September with tarmac delays
    of more than three hours, down from six flights in September 2009, with only a
    slight increase in the rate of canceled flights, according to the Air Travel
    Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation
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    Data filed with
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    longer than three hours reported in September by the 18 airlines that file
    on-time performance data with DOT involved delays caused by weather in New York
    and Philadelphia on Sept. 22. September was the fifth full month of data
    since the new aviation consumer rule went into effect on April 29. There have
    been only 12 total tarmac delays of more than three hours reported from May
    through September this year, compared to 535 during the same five-month period
    of 2009. BTS is a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology
    Administration (RITA).

    The largest
    carriers canceled 0.9 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in September,
    up from the 0.6 percent cancellation rate of September 2009. They posted
    a 1.0 percent cancellation rate in August 2010.

    The new tarmac
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    passengers, with exceptions allowed only for safety or security or if air
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    would disrupt airport operations. The Department will investigate tarmac
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    The monthly
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    flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays filed with the Department
    by the reporting carriers. In addition, it has information on airline
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    reports of incidents involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed
    by U.S. carriers.

    On-Time Performance

    The reporting carriers recorded an overall on-time arrival
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    Tarmac Delays

    In September, the carriers filing
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    had tarmac delays of two hours or more, up from .0400 percent in August.
    There were four flights with tarmac delays of more than three hours in September.

    Chronically Delayed Flights

    At the end of September, there was only one flight that was
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    time – for two consecutive months. There were no chronically delayed
    flights for three consecutive months or more. A list of flights that were
    chronically delayed for a single month is available from BTS (www.bts.gov).

    Causes of Flight Delays

    In September, the carriers filing
    on-time performance data reported that 4.81 percent of their flights were
    delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 5.07 percent in August; 4.60
    percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 6.42 percent in August, 3.99 percent
    by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared
    to 5.16 percent in August; 0.41 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.46 percent
    in August; and 0.02 percent for security reasons, compared to 0.04 percent in August. Weather is a factor in both the
    extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This includes delays
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    although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.

    Data collected by BTS also show the
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    either the category of extreme weather or included in National Aviation System
    delays. In September, 34.53 percent of late flights were delayed by weather,
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    delayed by weather, and down 1.54 percent from August when 35.07 percent of
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    Detailed information on flight
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    Mishandled Baggage

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    Bumping

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    Incidents Involving Pets

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    Complaints
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    In September, the Department received 755
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    in August 2010. For the first
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    32.0 percent from the total of 6,676 filed during the first nine months of
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    Complaints About Treatment of Disabled
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    regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 41
    disability-related complaints in September, up from the total of 28 filed in September
    2009 but down from the 71 complaints received in August 2010. For the first nine months of this year, the
    Department received 440 disability-related complaints, up 13.7 percent from the
    total of 387 filed during the first nine months of 2009.

    Complaints
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    In
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    airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion,
    national origin or sex – down from both the total of 11 recorded in September 2009
    and 17 recorded in August 2010. For the
    first nine months of this year, the Department received 111 complaints about
    discrimination, up 12.1 percent from the total of 99 filed during the first
    nine months of 2009.

    Consumers may
    file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection
    Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590;
    by voice mail at (202) 366-2220 or by TTY at (202) 366-0511; or on the web at http://airconsumer.dot.gov.

    Consumers who
    want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their airline’s reservation
    number or their travel agent. This
    information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these
    agents. The information is also
    available on the appropriate carrier’s website.

    The Air Travel
    Consumer Report can be found on DOT’s World Wide Web site at http://airconsumer.dot.gov. It is available in “pdf” and Microsoft Word format.

    Air Travel Consumer Report September 2010
    Key On-Time Performance and Flight Cancellation Statistics

    Based on Data Filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the 18 Reporting Carriers

    Overall

    85.1 percent on-time arrivals

    Highest On-Time Arrival Rates

    1. Hawaiian Airlines – 95.8 percent

    2. AirTran Airways – 90.7 percent

    3. Alaska Airlines – 90.5 percent

    Lowest On-Time
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    1. Comair – 78.2 percent

    2. JetBlue
    Airways – 78.8 percent

    3. Delta Air Lines – 81.5 percent

    Flights with Longest Tarmac
    Delays

    1. Southwest
    Airlines flight 337 from Philadelphia to St. Louis, 9/22/10 – delayed on
    tarmac 199 minutes

    2. US
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    tarmac 197 minutes

    3. Pinnacle
    Airlines flight 3968 from New York JFK to Chicago O’Hare, 9/22/10 –
    delayed on tarmac 185 minutes

    4. Delta
    Air Lines flight 2189 from Philadelphia to Detroit, 9/22/10 – delayed on
    tarmac 183 minutes

    (There were only four flights with tarmac delays of more
    than three hours in September)

    Highest Rates of
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    1. Comair – 2.0 percent

    2. Pinnacle Airlines – 2.0 percent

    3. American Eagle Airlines – 1.7 percent

    Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights

    1. Hawaiian Airlines – 0.0 percent*

    2. Frontier Airlines – 0.2 percent

    3. AirTran Airways – 0.2 percent

    *Hawaiian Airlines had two canceled flights in September.

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    IATA Partnership Boosts SMS Development

    George’s Point of View

    SMS development is a good thing, but we shouldn’t abandon black boxes.

    Airbus wants to replace black boxes with “a more secure system” of real time satellite transmission.

    The thing is we HAVE black box technology now. We should keep using it.

    Aviation authorities should mandate the usage of both–keep what’s in place as a backup, and go for the real time data relay also. Not everything works as expected, all of the time, so all possible fail-safes should be employed. It’s not just that all that record-keeping keeps everyone honest; in the case of aviation, all those records will keep people alive.

    Real time is not fail-proof, but a FANTASTIC idea. The question of cockpit recordings that infringe on the pilots privacy is going to hang in the air unanswered for now while the real time system is tested and perfected.

    The privacy issue is an interesting factor. Some real time conversation in a cockpit is simple camaraderie–a workplace environment thing that makes a working environment comfortable. Plus it works better than coffee to keep the pilots awake and generally on task.

    No one likes to work with someone looking over their shoulder. Eventually this may become an issue as authorities will inevitably over-regulate the degree of cockpit conversation–bound to be a factor when one considers the Hudson river crash where air traffic control (not pilots) were discussing cat bbq rather than doing their jobs; and the Colgan Air/Pinnacle cockpit recordings that exposed training deficits just before the icing crash in Buffalo .

    The point is that we have the technology; we should use it. It will help save lives.

    The IATA is the sixty year old international trade body of aviation, which represents, leads and serves the airline industry in general and is made up of about 230 airlines (93% of international air traffic.) The Superstructure Group has become an IATA partner. The Superstructure Group is developing the STEADES exchange system, provides technology and consultancy services to meet information needs and is bringing realtime SMS software to the aviation industry.

    IATA Partners are listed here:
    http://www.iata.org/sp/partners_all.htm

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    FAA Dedicates New Airport Traffic Control Tower for LaGuardia Airport

    For Immediate Release
    January 21, 2011

    NEW YORK–The Federal Aviation Administration today dedicated a new airport traffic control tower for LaGuardia Airport (LGA) that will replace the one that has served the airport since 1964. In 2010, air traffic controllers at LGA handled nearly 400,000 takeoffs and landings.

    “LaGuardia Airport plays an important role in our country’s aviation infrastructure,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This modern tower will help enhance the safety and efficiency of air travel in and out of the New York metropolitan area.”

    The tower will be equipped with the latest aviation technology, including the Airport Surface Detection System Model X (ASDE-X), which allows controllers to track surface movement of aircraft and vehicles. Controllers will also be using the Integrated Control and Monitoring System (ICMS), which consolidates information including navigational aid displays into one screen.

    “Today marks a culmination of years of hard work by many people both inside and outside the FAA,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “This tower symbolizes the direction the FAA is taking by transforming the future of aviation with new technology.”

    The new 233-foot high tower is 82 feet higher than the previous tower and has an 850 square foot tower cab. The total cost to design, equip, and construct the new tower was approximately $100 million.

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