SUMMARY: FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain
Model MD-11 and MD-11F airplanes. This AD requires a one-time
inspection to determine if wires touch the upper surface of the center
upper auxiliary fuel tank and marking the location, if necessary; a
one-time inspection of all wire bundles above the center upper
auxiliary fuel tank for splices and damage; a one-time inspection for
damage to the fuel vapor barrier seal and upper surface of the center
upper auxiliary fuel tank; and corrective actions, if necessary. This
AD also requires installation of nonmetallic barrier/shield sleeving,
new clamps, new attaching hardware, and a new extruded channel. This AD
results from fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. We are
issuing this AD to reduce the potential of ignition sources inside fuel
tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result
in fuel tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane.
Similar Posts
FAA Takes Aim at Icing with New Ice Protection Proposal
For Immediate Release
November 23, 2009
Contact: Les Dorr, Jr. or Alison Duquette
Phone: (202) 267-3883
WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a rule requiring scheduled airlines to either retrofit their existing fleet with ice-detection equipment or make sure the ice protection system activates at the proper time.
For aircraft with an ice-detection system, the FAA proposes that the system alert the crew each time they should activate the ice protection system. The system would either turn on automatically or pilots would manually activate it.
For aircraft without ice-detection equipment, the crew would activate the protection system based on cues listed in their airplane’s flight manual during climb and descent, and at the first sign of icing when at cruising altitude.
“This is the latest action in our aggressive 15-year effort to address the safety of flight in icing conditions,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “We want to make sure all classes of aircraft in scheduled service remain safe when they encounter icing.”
The FAA estimates the rule would cost operators about $5.5 million to implement. Operators would have two years after the final rule is effective to make these changes.
The proposed rule would apply only to in-service aircraft with a takeoff weight less than 60,000 pounds, because most larger airplanes already have equipment that meets the requirements. In addition, studies show that smaller planes are more susceptible to problems caused by undetected icing or late activation of the ice protection system. The rule technically affects 1,866 airplanes, but all turbojet airliners and many turboprops covered under the rule already have equipment that satisfies the requirements, and the FAA believes others will be retired before the projected compliance date in 2012.
In August 2009, the FAA changed its certification standards for new transport category airplane designs to require either the automatic activation of ice protection systems or a method to tell pilots when they should be activated.
Since 1994, the FAA has issued more than 100 airworthiness directives to address icing safety issues on more than 50 specific aircraft types. These orders cover safety issues ranging from crew operating procedures in the icing environment to direct design changes. We also have changed airplane flight manuals and other operating documents to address icing safety, and issued bulletins and alerts to operators emphasizing icing safety issues.
The latest proposed rule on activation of ice protection systems is at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-28036.htm
NTSB | Official Report | press release | USA
DETERIORATED PARTS ALLOWED FLUTTER WHICH LED TO FATAL CRASH AT 2011 RENO AIR RACES
August 27, 2012
WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board determined today that deteriorated locknut inserts found in the highly modified North American P-51D airplane that crashed during the 2011 National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, allowed the trim tab attachment screws to become loose, and even initiated fatigue cracking in one screw. This condition, which resulted in reduced stiffness in the elevator trim system, ultimately led to aerodynamic flutter at racing speed that broke the trim tab linkages, resulting in a loss of controllability and the eventual crash.
On September 16, 2011, as the experimental single-seat P-51D airplane “The Galloping Ghost,” traveling about 445 knots, or 512 mph, in the third lap of the six-lap race, passed pylon 8, it experienced a left-roll upset and high-G pitch up. During the upset sequence, the airplane’s vertical acceleration peaked at 17.3 G, causing incapacitation of the pilot. Seconds later, a section of the left elevator trim tab separated in flight. The airplane descended and impacted the ramp in the spectator box seating area, killing the pilot and 10 spectators and injuring more than 60 others.
“In Reno, the fine line between observing risk and being impacted by the consequences when something goes wrong was crossed,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman. “The pilots understood the risks they assumed; the spectators assumed their safety had been assessed and addressed.”
Contributing to the accident were the undocumented and untested major modifications made to the airplane, as well as the pilot’s operation of the airplane in the unique air racing environment without adequate flight testing.
The nearly 70-year-old airplane had undergone numerous undocumented modifications. The modifications, designed to increase speed, included shortening of the wings, installation of a boil-off cooling system for the engine, increasing the elevator counterweights, modification of the pitch trim system, and changing the incidence of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers.
Although the Federal Aviation Administration required that a flight standards district office be notified in writing of any major changes made to The Galloping Ghost before it could be flown, investigators could find no records that such notifications were made except for the installation of the boil-off cooling system. The undocumented major modifications were identified through wreckage examinations, photographic evidence, and interviews with ground crewmembers.
In April, while the investigation was ongoing and after the NTSB’s investigative hearing in January on air race and air show safety, the NTSB issued 10 safety recommendations to the Reno Air Racing Association, the National Air racing Group Unlimited Division, and the FAA. These recommendations addressed:
- requiring engineering evaluations for aircraft with major modifications;
- raising the level of safety for spectators and personnel near the race course;
- improving FAA guidance for air race and course design;
- providing race pilots with high-G training and evaluating the feasibility of G-suit requirements for race pilots; and
- tracking the resolution of race aircraft discrepancies identified during prerace technical inspections.
Although no additional safety recommendations were issued today, the Board reclassified nine existing recommendations as described below:
- Eligibility Requirements for Aircraft with Major Modifications – recommendations A 12 9 and A-12-13 classified “Open—Acceptable Response”
- Prerace Technical Inspection Discrepancy Tracking – recommendation A 12 10, classified “Closed—Acceptable Action”
- Spectator Safety – recommendations A 12 14 and 15, classified “Closed—Acceptable Action”
- High G Training, G-Suit Feasibility for Pilots – recommendations A 12 11, -12, -16, and -17, classified “Closed—Acceptable Action”
A tenth safety recommendation, issued to the FAA, which addressed air race and course design guidance was reclassified as “Open—Acceptable Response” on July 25, 2012.
“It’s good news for the air races that so many of our recommendations have been addressed,” said Chairman Hersman. “We will continue to push for the full implementation of all of our safety recommendations.”
- Public Meeting
- NTSB opens docket on Reno Air Races crash
http://www.ntsb.gov/news/2012/120821b.html - NTSB to issue safety recommendations on air races and provide investigative update on 2011 crash at the Reno Air Races http://www.ntsb.gov/news/2012/120405.html
- NTSB January 10, 2012, hearing on Air Race and Air Show Safety http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/2012/air_show/index.html
- NTSB Provides Investigative Update and Issues Recommendations to Increase Safety at Air Races
http://www.ntsb.gov/news/2012/120410.html
Qatar Airways Takes Delivery of Boeing 777 Freighter
EVERETT, Wash., May 19 / — The first Boeing (NYSE: BA) 777 Freighter to enter Qatar Airways’ fleet completed a 16-hour flight from Boeing’s Everett, Wash., Delivery Center to Doha, Qatar, and has been placed into service. The airplane was delivered May 14.
“The 777 Freighter will expand on the great track record that Qatar Airways’ 777 passenger airplanes have established,” said Marlin Dailey, vice president of Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “The airplane’s proven economics and efficiencies will provide Qatar, already a respected leader in the aviation industry, with a significant advantage in the air cargo market.”
Qatar Airways ordered three 777 Freighters in May 2006, for deployment on Far East and European routes.
The 777 Freighter’s entry into service has been very successful, with a dispatch reliability of 99.1 percent since entering service in February 2009. Qatar Airways’ 777 Freighter is the 23rd delivery overall.
The 777 Freighter is the world’s longest-range twin-engine freighter and features the lowest trip cost of any large freighter. It features a payload capability of 225,200 pounds (102 metric tons), a range of 4,900 nautical miles (9,070 kilometers) and 10-foot (3.1-meter) interior height capability.
The 777 Freighter is powered by General Electric’s GE90-110B1L/115BL and meets QC2 noise standards. Twelve customers have ordered a total of 73 777 Freighters.
Qatar Airways currently operates 17 passenger 777s.
FAA | NextGen | press release
Press Release: FAA Installs Equipment for NextGen Aircraft Tracking System
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration today announced the completion of a nationwide infrastructure upgrade that will enable air traffic controllers to track aircraft with greater accuracy and reliability, while giving pilots more information in the cockpit. This upgrade is a key improvement in the Next Generation Air Transportation System.
“This upgrade is an important step in laying the foundation for the NextGen system, which provides controllers a much more precise view of the airspace, gives pilots much more awareness and information, and as a result strengthens the safety and efficiency of our system,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This state-of-the-art satellite system is already providing controllers with visibility in places not previously covered by radar.”
The nationwide installation of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) radio network supports a satellite-based surveillance system that tracks aircraft with the help of GPS. This provides more accurate aircraft location information than the current radar system.
NextGen refers to a set of initiatives being implemented by the FAA in collaboration with the aviation community to ensure that the United States has the safest, most efficient airspace possible for decades to come. In addition to ADS-B, NextGen improvements are already delivering benefits that include more efficient air traffic procedures that save time and fuel and reduce emissions.
“The installation of this radio network clears the way for air traffic controllers to begin using ADS-B to separate equipped aircraft nationwide,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said. “It will also provide pilots flying aircraft equipped with the proper avionics with traffic information, weather data and other flight information.”
Of the 230 air traffic facilities across the country, 100 are currently using this system to separate traffic. It is expected to be connected and operating at all 230 facilities by 2019. All aircraft operating in controlled airspace must be equipped with ADS-B Out avionics that broadcast the plane’s location, by Jan. 1, 2020.
With the upgraded surveillance and broadcast system and aircraft equipped with ADS-B Out transponders, aircraft positions on controller screens update almost continuously, compared to every 4.7 seconds or longer with radar.
ADS-B also enables more accurate tracking of airplanes and airport vehicles on runways and taxiways, increasing safety and efficiency. The new system significantly improves surveillance capability in areas with geographic challenges like mountains or over water. Airplanes equipped with ADS-B In, which is not currently mandated, will give pilots information through cockpit displays about location in relation to other aircraft, bad weather and terrain, and temporary flight restrictions.
In addition to the operational benefits of ADS-B, each one of the 634 ground stations installed by Exelis of McLean, Va., is substantially smaller than a radar installation – resulting in less impact to the environment and less cost to maintain.