Air Safety

Air Safety

  • | | |

    Sandy Bulletin

    Sandy:
    Thousands of flights cancelled due to Tropical Storm Sandy


    National Weather Service

    ..HURRICANE FORCE WINDS GUSTS REPORTED OVER LONG ISLAND AND THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN AREAS…

    Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook

    000
    ABNT20 KNHC 292329
    TWOAT

    TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
    NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
    800 PM EDT MON OCT 29 2012

    FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC…CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO…

    POST-TROPICAL CYCLONE SANDY IS ABOUT TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE
    SOUTH NEW JERSEY COAST. AT 1100 PM EDT…THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
    CENTER WILL ISSUE ITS LAST ADVISORY ON SANDY. THE
    HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER…HPC…WILL BEGIN ISSUING
    PUBLIC ADVISORIES ON SANDY AT 500 AM EDT TUESDAY. HPC PUBLIC
    ADVISORIES WILL BE ISSUED UNDER THE SAME WMO AND AWIPS HEADERS AS
    THE NHC PUBLIC ADVISORIES…AND WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE VIA THE NHC
    WEBSITE.

    9:00 PM EDT Mon Oct 29
    Location: 39.6°N 74.6°W
    Moving: WNW at 21 mph
    Min pressure: 947 mb
    Max sustained: 80 mph

    AVSEC World 2012 Postponed

    Due to Hurricane Sandy and impending severe weather that has the potential to inflict enormous and unprecedented damage on the East Coast, and specifically the New York metropolitan region, the decision has been made to postpone AVSEC World 2012 and associated meetings and events. This decision was not made lightly but in the interest of the safety and security of our attendees.

    Any reservations made at the below hotels through the conference registration system will be considered cancelled for arrival dates beginning on Sunday, 28 October unless we are otherwise notified.

    The New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
    The Sheraton Brooklyn New York
    The NU Hotel
    Any reservations made outside of the conference registration site will need to be attended to on your own accord.

    Thank you for your understanding and we will continue to provide updates to you in a timely manner.

  • | | |

    Flight Attendant Shakedown at OK Corral (Read on a Stolen iPad)

    Flight attendants made the news this weekend with one flight attendant bringing her gun to work even though it was not Bring Your GUn to Work day. (Note: It is NEVER bring your gun to work day for a flight attendant, even if you have a valid Chester County permit to carry a concealed weapon as Republic Airlines FA Jaclyn Luby did.) The .38 caliber Smith and Wesson Airweight was in her purse. After it was confiscated when it showed up at checkpoint, a police officer was attempting to unload it and discharged it into the wall. Oops. I guess the wall was judged guilty, and it didn’t away. Bad wall. The Flight Attendant is being charged with disorderly conduct, and the police officer is on desk duty.

    There’s also Horizon Air flight attendant Wendy Ronelle Dye who said that a passenger brought her an iPad he found on a seat, and she never used it, honest, even though the owner used an ap to track it to her house, and police say they found some of her personal information on it.

  • |

    Safeland Technology

    U.S. carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc are testing Aviation Safety Technologies LLC’s SafeLand concept, a new technology which is designed to provide numerical scores relaying accurate information about conditions on the tarmac. The system is still in development.

    The website touts AST’s SafeLand software as “the first-ever technology designed to leverage the availability of real time data to monitor and measure aircraft systems such as speed brakes, spoilers, flaps and hydraulic and mechanical braking systems and many physical parameters such as speed, deceleration, temperature, pressure and wind in order to accurately report true aircraft runway surface characteristics, true braking friction, cornering friction and tire and brake wear.”


    Click to view the Information Flow Diagram on AST’s website

  • | | | |

    Foreign Airliner Leasing & Financing Un-Deserving Operators

    Arik Air Ltd., and Aero Contractors Co. of Nigeria Ltd., Nigeria’s top two airlines, have been banned from getting loans by Nigeria’s Central Bank due to the massive debt they have accrued. Arik Air owes Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria more than $534 million. Aero Contractors owes more than $203 million. A bank that loans money to these airlines will face “serious fines from the government.” Air Nigeria recently collapsed owing crew a debt of four months’ pay, in addition to $175 million in loans to Nicon Investments Ltd..

    Only three Nigerian airlines remain in operation. Arik Air has not published a date when it will resume flying.

    Officially, according to the BBC, the carrier resumed domestic flights on Sunday Sept 24. However we did get anonymous input from Monrovia that as of Saturday, Sept 22nd, Arik Air was flying.

    In George’s Point of View

    Before making a loan, banks need to look past the uncertainties in airline survival, aircraft value, interest rates and the airline’s credit worthiness.

    This is what the aircraft leasing companies should do:

    Stop leasing planes to operators that are careless in their maintenance and pilot training.

    Leasing companies should not look only at credit worthiness. Yes, that is one factor, but it is only part of the picture. Leasing companies must also make judgements based on the history of the airline operator performance, and maintenance.

    If credit and performance history all checks out, the oversight is not over. The leasing company should monitor every single plane they have leased out to foreign operators.

    If monitoring reveals any problems whatsoever, that pilots are not being trained, that they are not getting enough sleep, that the operator or aircraft goes on a black list, that the operator is shown to be negligent in any way, then the lessor should endeavor immediately to pickup/repossess that plane.

    Maintaining every aspect of the plane’s maintenance, flight operations, crew resource management, and crew training is as crucial to the contract agreement as payments. Failure to keep everything up to date is as much a breach of contract and cause for action as is failure to pay.

  • | |

    ENHANCING SAFETY, EFFICIENCY AND REDUCing AIRCRAFT EMISSIONS Over Florida

    ORLANDO, Fl. – Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta today announced a collaborative NextGen effort that will increase safety and efficiency while reducing aircraft emissions for the passengers, air traffic controllers and airlines flying into and out of many of Florida’s major airports.

    The announcement was made at JetBlue University, the carrier’s training center, where simulators demonstrated examples of NextGen procedures and routes. CEO and president of JetBlue Airways Dave Barger joined Acting Administrator Huerta for the announcement, and is chair of the NextGen Advisory Committee, an industry advisory group that works with the FAA as part of NextGen.

    “The NextGen Metroplex initiative demonstrates the progress that can be made when the public and private sectors collaborate to deliver benefits for the flying public, the aviation community and the national economy,” said Huerta. “We’re excited about the improvements NextGen is bringing to Florida. The end result for travelers will be fewer delays, quicker flights and an even safer, greener flying experience.”

    As part of the FAA’s NextGen modernization program, the Metroplex initiative will improve the flow of air traffic into and out of airports in the Miami, Orlando and Tampa metropolitan areas. A metroplex is a region with several airports serving major metropolitan areas where heavy airport activity and environmental constraints combine to hinder the efficient movement of air traffic. Metroplex initiatives are underway or planned in numerous metropolitan areas across the country and will help airlines improve on-time performance and reduce emissions generated by aircraft.

    The Metroplex initiative is based on satellite navigation, which the FAA calls Performance-Based Navigation (PBN), also a key component of NextGen. PBN enables pilots to fly aircraft using satellite coverage or by utilizing the on-board flight management system.

    PBN allows shorter, more direct routes that reduce flight time and fuel consumption, and result in fewer carbon emissions.

    “As the largest domestic airline based in New York, the busiest airspace in the world, JetBlue will continue to take an active leadership role in advancing the next generation of airspace management in partnership with the FAA,” said Dave Barger, CEO and president of JetBlue Airways. “These new procedures will increase traffic flow predictability while reducing our environmental impact, allowing us to provide more efficient travel for customers.”

    The FAA estimates that more direct routings and more efficient aircraft descents into the Florida Metroplex will save eight million gallons of fuel annually, which equates to a reduction in carbon emissions by nearly 80,000 metric tons and an estimated $23.0 million saved in fuel costs. In addition, the FAA estimates that 5.4 million fewer nautical miles will be flown in and out of Florida based on current flight plan miles filed.
    This collaborative partnership includes the FAA, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, US Airways, NetJets and other aviation stakeholders including business and general aviation interests. The Florida Metroplex study area includes six airports: Orlando International, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers. Satellite airports, including Boca Raton, Daytona Beach, Kissimmee, Marco Island, Naples, Orlando Executive, Orlando Sanford, Sarasota Bradenton and Stuart (Witham Field), are also part of this NextGen initiative.

    The Florida Metroplex work teams will explore and develop proposed strategies to streamline airspace to help reduce airspace complexity for air traffic controllers and flight crews. The strategies include:

    • Creating separate flight tracks for departures and arrivals to allow aircraft to climb and descend more efficiently.
    • Expanding the development of Optimized Profile Descent (OPD) procedures into the airports. OPDs allow pilots to almost idle the engines while the aircraft descends, using the on-board Flight Management System to fly a continuous, descending path without leveling off. OPDs reduce fuel consumption, carbon emissions and noise.
    • Shortening flight tracks by making them more direct.
    • Designing new satellite-based procedures for reliever airports.
    • Developing routes that will enable general aviation traffic to fly more efficient routes through congested airspace.

    NextGen is the transformation of the radar-based air traffic control system of today to a satellite-based system of the future. New procedures and technologies will significantly improve safety, capacity and efficiency and will reduce fuel burn, carbon emissions and environmental impacts.

  • | | | | | | | | | | |

    Ryanair under the eye of Spanish and Irish Authorities


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Joachim Eichner

    What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 en route from Bristol to Reus
    Where: Barcelona
    When: Sept 15, 2012
    Who: 171
    Why: On Sept 15, the Bristol-Reus flight diverted to Barcelona after developing an engine problem. Passengers disembarked in Barcelona and were provided alternative transportation.

    This is one of the events that caught the eye of Spanish and Irish aviation bodies. They are initializing an investigation into Ryanair after a number of diversions occurred recently in Spanish airspace.

    The investigation was initiated after a diversion to Madrid during a Paris-tenerife flight, and three landings in Valencia on July 26.

    There are fears that Ryanair is courting disaster by flying with minimal fuel requirements.

    Read the official statement below:

  • A Little Bit of Safety Research

    Worried about where to sit on a plane? It’s safer in the back, not on the window, and closer to an exit. Do I consider where I sit on a plane? You bet I do. This is what the research says on plane safety:

    • The cheap seats are the safer seats. Sit at the rear of the plane if you want to have better odds in surviving a plane crash. New York Post

    • The United States General Accounting Office report on aviation safety (Advancements Being Pursued to Improve Airliner Cabin Occupant Safety and Health) indicates that floor retention— the ability of the aircraft cabin floor to remain intact and hold the passenger’s seat and restraint system during a crash—as critical to increasing the passenger’s chances of survival” but the same report says “The front part of the airplane was destroyed, including the floor; most of these seats separated from the airplane, killing or seriously injuring the occupants” and does not outrightly indicate that a safer location is farther from the cockpit. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0433.pdf

    • Popular Mechanics considered 36 years’ worth of NTSB reports and seating charts and concluded it’s safer in the back of the plane.

    • Greenwich University (London) Professor Ed Galea, Director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group suggests survival can depend on proximity to an exit, aisle seating, and getting off the plane within 90 seconds. University of Greenwich

    • As plane crashes are classic “unpredictable events” theoretically the best location is unpredictable. However more aviation crashes have forward impact, which necessarily makes front proximity less safe. This MSN article leans on Galea’s research. MSN Travel
  • | | | |

    ICAO Assists Blacklisted Airlines

    After an ICAO audit that put Kazakhstan’s airlines on the EU Blacklist, the ICAO has just signed an agreement to assist Kazakhstan’s Informational-Managerial Services

    The agreement promises to:

    • Create an operational structure
    • Train qualified technical personnel
    • Detail certification
    • Monitor
    • Render technical assistance

    Kazakhstan Treaty Status

    Kazaeronavigatsia, the Republic of Kazakhstan’s National Air Navigation Services Provider (ANSP), intends to render safe service over Kazakhstan’s airspace, and is planning three consolidated ATC centers in Astana, Aktobe and Almaty; and 15 remote control towers which will be a part of ATC Centers, forming seamless airspace over entire Kazakhstan territory on a single hardware and software.

  • |

    Is a Four Year Prescription a Bandaid for the Airbus Glass Cockpit? Not Shatterproof

    According to the NTSB, “on January 25, 2008, a United Airbus A320, registration N462UA, experienced multiple avionics and electrical failures, including loss of all communications, shortly after rotation while departing Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark (EWR), New Jersey. The flight returned for landing at EWR and electrical power was restored to the cockpit after landing when the flight crew selected the AC Essential Bus button. There were no injuries to the 107 passengers and crew aboard the airplane and no damage to the airplane. The airplane was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 and was a regularly scheduled passenger flight to Denver International Airport, Denver, Colorado.”

    Note that this was a glass cockpit. (A glass cockpit has digital instrument displays rather than analog.)

    In case of electrical failure, new Airbus models have backup systems and backups for the backups for their glass cockpits, but 50 episodes of multiple electrical failure have been recorded in the Airbus A320 (A318, A319, A320 and A321) according to AP. Obviously not all Airbus models are new.

    In 2009, the EU issued an order giving airlines four years to make the fixes so that pilots don’t end up losing all their electrical systems. The FAA issued the order in 2010. France reported 48 failures of 5 of 6 displays in 2008.

    The NTSB has suggested to the FAA that the optional fix be mandatory, but currentlyAirlines are not required to tell the Federal Aviation Administration when the repairs are made, and they can’t afford to automatically immediately ground planes when a bulletin is issued. Is this safety Russian-Roulette style?

  • | | | |

    US FIghter Splashes Down off Japanese Coast

    What: US F-16 Fighter Falcon en route from Misawa Air Base in Aomori
    Where: 200 miles northeast of Hokkaido in the Pacific Ocean off Japanese Coast
    When: July 22, 2012
    Who: pilot
    Why: After a U.S. fighter jet splashed down in the Pacific Ocean 200 miles northeast of Hokkaido Japan, the pilot was retrieved from the water. THe rescue occurred six hours after the crash around 6 p.m. when the pilot was pulled aboard a U.S. container ship.

    The name of the pilot has not been released.

  • | |

    AOPA Places Blame on Holes in System Not Flight Schools

    Update to Should Illegal Aliens Attend Flight School Owned by Illegal Alien?

    The AOPA believes it is a breakdown in government communication that is why foreign students in the United States were able to receive flight training and some even earn their pilot certificate though they had entered the country illegally or had overstayed their authorized period.

    Flight training providers were in compliance, but government was suffering from a lack of communication, in AOPA opinion.

    Only that’s an oxymoron, isn’t it? Government Communication?

    The report says “As of January 2012, inspection results show that the rate of compliance with AFSP requirements increased from 89 percent in fiscal year 2005 to 96 percent in fiscal year 2011,”

    Currently the TSA has limited ability to get information from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to determine whether someone is in the country legally. This is a situation which should obviously be corrected. When this vetting process is transparent, the problem will cease to exist.

  • |

    Should Illegal Aliens Attend Flight School Owned by Illegal Alien?

    How is it that an illegal alien who owned a Boston flight school taught foreign nationals how to fly planes, and some of them got their licenses?

    25 foreign nationals received approval by TSA to begin flight training. Eight students had entered the country illegally and seventeen had overstayed their allowed period. Six actually got their licenses. The flight school owner had not undergone TSA security threat assessment, had not been approved for flight training by TSA, but held two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot licenses (FAA certificates.)

    See Video below:

  • |

    TSA Draws a Zero Tolerance Line in the Sand


    A group of air marshals which included one supervisor, went to lunch at a restaurant, and eight of them drank alcohol. Some of the marshals were armed. The incident was reported by an Air Marshal who witnessed the incident. The eight who were drinking were fired. Seven of the agents will have a chance to appeal. Six were suspended for not reporting the drinking.

    TSA also fired eight Newark security screeners for allegedly sleeping while on duty.

    TSA said:

    “TSA holds all of its employees to the highest professional and ethical standards and has zero tolerance for misconduct in the workplace,” said Nico Melendez, an agency spokesman. “TSA’s decision to remove the individuals involved in the misconduct affirms our strong commitment to the highest standards of conduct and accountability.”

  • | | | | | |

    Commission of Inquiry to Begin

    What: Kenya Police Air Wing Eurocopter AS 350B3e Ecureuil
    Where: Ngong Hills, near Nairobi Kenya
    When: June 10, 2012
    Who: 6 aboard
    Update: The Kenyan Commission of Inquiry established to look into the June 10 helicopter crash in the Kibiku Forest in Kenya is set to hold its first formal session on July 16. The container holding the wreckage will be stored at the Kenya Police Air-Wing facility at the Wilson Airport.

    The Kenya Police Airwing Unit Commandant Rodgers Mbithi will be appearing as the first witness.

    The pilots involved, Captain Nancy Gituanja and Luke Oyugi, underwent pilot training in the Ukraine in April 2009.

    According to commission members, the intent of the commission is “…not to apportion blame, but to prevent occurrence.”

    Fatalities included Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security George Saitoti and his permanent secretary Orwa Ojode, pilots Luke Oyugi and Nancy Gituanja and bodyguards Inspector Joshua Tonkei and Sergeant Thomas Murimi.

  • |

    Aviation Fatigue Regulation should Obey the Law of Common Sense


    In George’s Point of View

    I noticed today that Bloomberg’s Andre Zajac posted an article referencing William Voss, chief executive officer of the Alexandria, Virginia-based Flight Safety Foundation, who said “If anyone wants to advance safety through regulation, it can’t be done without further loss of life.”

    The point he was making is in reference the peculiar mechanism of aviation safety law.

    To go into effect, an aviation safety law must pass a cost-benefit analysis. This analysis is based on how much benefits outweigh cost (i.e. the cost of human lives). Where the problem occurs the recent fatigue rules exempt freight carriers. All-cargo operations are not required to abide by part rule p. 5-6, 15, 259. This is why IPA filed a Petition for Review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in order to challenge FAA?s exclusion of cargo operations from the final flight and duty time rule.

    Although the “FAA generally acknowledges that “factors that lead to fatigue are universal” (Rule p. 259) and that night-time operations (during pilots circadian lows) and operations that cross multiple time zones warrant stricter measures to guard against fatigue” cargo carriers are exempt.”

    Surely the FAA realizes that cargo pilots get just as tired as commercial jet pilots–perhaps more so because so many cargo flights are overnight flights.

    Does it really make sense to exempt all-cargo carrier pilots from fatigue regulations for financial reasons? Shouldn’t a rule governing pilot safety cover all pilots? Is an Airbus, Fokker, Antonov, Boeing 737 or 747 less destructive if it falls from the sky if it only has a payload and crew but no passengers?

    IPA Points.pdf

    Flight Member Duty Requirements.pdf

    FRMP Checklist.pdf

  • | |

    Aviation Dominoes

    Jet Airways is suspending its Mumbai and Johannesburg route, leaving the field open for South African Airways, which is increasing flights between those cities by an additional weekly flight, beginning June 16th.

    However, other sources report that South African Airways is canceling direct flights between London and Cape Town. Will British Airways and Emirates be filling in the gap?

    Business Day asks if Cape Town can realise the dream of using its global location to take advantage of growing international trade. Cape Town International is South Africa’s second-largest airport and was named Africa’s leading airport in the 2012 World Airport Awards.

  • |

    Virtual Airport


    At smaller airports, the controllers direct traffic and manage the airfield. Currently, pilots using the Beckley-area airport talk among themselves to advise themselves of traffic.

    An actual, physical tower would cost between $2 million and $3 million, with an ongoing annual expense of $450,000 for maintenance. A virtual tower would be far less expensive.

    Quadrex Aviation LLC, based in Melbourne, Fla. is developing a plan for a computer-driven control tower for Raleigh County Airport Authority. The report will be out in September. “If this does work as advertised, or even better than we imagined, then that holds the promise out to a lot of airports that could never afford to justify a control tower in the first place, and to provide that level of safety in an environment where you’ve got a lot of people trying to occupy the same air space.” according to Dr. David Byers, senior development professional for Quadrex Aviation LLC. And, regarding the Beckley area airport, “It’s kind of like an airport graduating from a two-way stop at an intersection to a four-way stop, and you reach a certain point say, at a four-way stop, and if you’ve ever been in that situation, well, who’s next? You may decide, ‘Well, you’re next,’ and somebody has the same opinion and attitude, and the next thing you know, there’s a conflict there. The concept at Beckley is to explore the opportunity of actually setting up a facility where they can test the technologies, to see ‘here’s what we think it’s going to do,’ and to put it in a facility where it can be managed and monitored to see if it’s doing what it’s advertised to do and get some feedback from the pilots and essentially be a prototype of other systems that could go up around the country.”

    Read More

  • | | | |

    Nigerian Aviation Under Scrutiny

    The numbers for the Dana Air crash may be as high as 222: 153 passengers and crew and a possible 69 ground casualties. The Voice of America puts the Nigerian death toll from 110 recorded crashes since 1943 with a total of 1500 fatalities. AllAfrica puts that number at 162 fatalities and 16 crashes.

    Can we say there has been improvement when there were three crashes in 2005-2006 that killed a whopping 320 people? Regardless of the exact recorded figures, the list of Nigerian plane crashes makes a long, sad story. Carriers have a history of financing problems or corruption.

    Prior to Dana Air, the last big crash was Oct. 29, 2006, when an Aviation Development Co. flight from Abuja to Sokoto crashed, killing 96 people after two minutes in the air. There was also the Bellview Airlines Crash in 2005, and Sosoliso Airlines–a plane full of children.

    On Wednesday Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council established a nine-man Technical and Administrative Review Panel headed by Group Captain John Obakpolor to “determine the remote and immediate causes of the crash.” But here’s the problem–studies have already been made, and findings found. But where is the implementation of concrete reform?

    Is Nigerian aviation industry in a tailspin? We can only hope that progress is being made in this country where governmental corruption has rendered airline regulation ineffective. We have seen time and again in aviation safety, when corners are cut, lives are lost.

    After looking at the November 2006 ICAO audit here, we can only hope that Nigeria will redouble its efforts at aviation safety reform.

    NTSB Investigation Arrives in Lagos
    Questions follow Dana Air
    Dana Air Semantic Wars
    Husband Files Dana Air Flight 992 Lawsuit
    Dana Air’s license Suspended
    Witnesses of the Dana Air Crash Recount What they Saw
    First Report of Dana Air Crash in Lagos

  • |

    Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council Postscript

    Indian safety experts are worried now that the dissolution date of Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council (CASAC), has passed.

    CASAC, made up of senior pilots, air traffic managers, airfield experts, retired Air Force officials and aviation doctors has no future. CASAC members have disagreed with actions made by the DGCA, and the DGCA has dropped complaints by the CASAC such as when the CASAC registered a complaint against an airline operating without mandatory safety checks. See the safety program.

  • | | | | | |

    Agricultural Accident-two cropdusters collide


    What: Miles Flying Service AT80 AIR TRACTOR AT-802A
    Where: Paragould Arkansas
    When: May 23, 2012, 11:35 a.m
    Who: 1 severe injury, 1 fatality
    Why: Two agricultural planes, a Beech Grove Grumman G164C and a Miles Flying Service AIR TRACTOR AT-802A collided in midair during an aerial application (crop-dusting) activity. The planes flew from Craighead and Greene county airstrips. One plane was flying S-N, the other was flying E-W. The planes turned into one another at the field’s corner and they impacted ground separated by 300 yards near County Road 322 and Highway 168 in Greene County.

    One person on the Gurmman was fatally injured; one person on the Air tractor had serious injuries. The accident occurred sixteen miles from Paragould arkansas. A medical helicopter evacuated the injured pilot.

  • | |

    Fuss over Nothing Desensitizes: Bomb cries wolf

    What: Air Mauritius A340 en route from Melbourne to Perth
    Where: Melbourne
    When: May 22, 2012, 2.55pm
    Who: 181 passengers, 13 crew
    Why: While flying north of Millicent, a soft drink can with a spelling similar to BOMB was found on a drink tray. Initially police said the can was wrapped with paper apparently scribed with the word “bomb” and taped with masking tape; but later it was revealed the mixup concerned foreign lettering directly on the can.

    Pilots returned to Melbourne and made an emergency landing. Passengers were questioned about the can, then were provided overnight accommodations in Melbourne.

    At 11.30am after the aircraft was cleared, the passengers were able to board the plane and continue their flight.

    In George’s Point of View


    My concern here is that a rash of fake bomb scares could precede an event. Paranoia vs Vigilance. Foolish or not?

  • Alligator Airways Suspended

    After Australia’s CASA suspended Alligator Airways over safety risks, Alligator’s legal representative told the media that the suspension was costing the airline tens of thousands of dollars and that they believe the grounding is unwarranted.

    CASA is concerned over “aircraft maintenance, failure to report incidents, inadequate pilot training records, a deficient safety culture, an inability of key personnel to carry out their safety obligations and key positions unoccupied or not functional.”

    Alligator flies charter flights from both Kununurra, Broome, and Kimberley.

  • |

    Air Blue Families Safety Activists

    As long as we’re talking about efforts made toward safer skies in Pakistan, we should mention Hans Ephraimson-Abt, the Air Crash Victims Families Group and the Air Blue Families which have been instrumental in:

  • Obtaining interesting progressive and unprecedented rulings from the Peshwar High Court;
  • Obtaining from the Government and Parliament, with the input of the Air Blue 202 families, a new progressive new Air Law;
  • “Lessons Learned” from past experiences;
  • 118 victims in BOJAH B4-123 were positively identified within 24 hours (in the fastest proceedings of other tragedies substantial ID took 4 days in Comair 191 (Lexington, KY);
  • The first 18 burials took place within 24 hours (Saturday);
  • 35 more burials and services could be conducted on Sunday;
  • The Government mandated the inspection of all commercial planes with the exception of PIA that had already been inspected previously.

    I can not emphasize too much how important the Family Association can be. A strong Family Association meets regularly and develops strategies to make sure that their voice is heard. They have a forum to express valid criticisms of flying conditions, the investigation, or other concerns that may develop. What is more important is that sometimes they have the strength to affect change to avoid future tragedies—as they are working to do in Pakistan. And when one Family Association has successes, it can be “catching”.

    In a recent case in Brazil, the Family Association pressured not only the airline company but the military, federal aviation department, and the airport commission all of whom were suspected to have contributed to the accident. The association pushed for criminal prosecution of those who were negligent, as well as against those who allowed wrongdoing to occur. And they didn’t stop there. Leaders like the secretary of Associação Brasileira de Parentes e Amigos das Vítimas de Acidentes Aéreo Christophe Haddad—who lost his fourteen year old daughter to the Tam crash—lend their experience and passion for justice—to other families struck down by tragedy. As Christophe recently told me “Again and again we see the same picture. Pain, sorrow, tragedy, families broken…Hard to comment about but here we are again.”

    With help from men like Christophe Haddad and Hans Ephraimson-ABT, the Air Blue Family Association is developing its own teachers, leaders, and power of influence. In Pakistan, we look forward to when the Air Blue Family Association may become equally as instrumental a force for change in Pakistan as the Brazil group is in Brazil. There is power in right. There is strength in numbers.

    Since 1985, Hans Ephraimson-ABT has been the Chairman of “The American Association for Families of KAL007 Victims.” Since 2000 he has been the spokesman for the “Air Crash Victims Families Group” and is also an invited observer delegate at the “International Civil Aviation Organization.” His group is a model for other groups, and he is a frequent spokesman. He has stakeholder status at the European Union. During the past 26 years, he has participated and served in various capacities in workgroups at the National Security Council, the National Economic Council, two Presidential Commissions, the Task Force that implemented the “Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996” and subsequently the ICAO “Guide on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families” of 2001. He has been invited to testify before Committees of the US Senate and the House of Representatives. He was one of the original members of the air carrier focus groups that developed and subsequently implemented post-crash crisis management plans in the United States. Since 1996, he has been asked to assist airlines and governments with the resolution of air transportation tragedies, including the “September 11, 2001 Victims Compensation Fund” and as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the “Families of September 11th Association.” He is often invited to participate and speak at international conferences and he is a published author. He is not a disinterested observer in the fight for aviation safety. He is a survivor. In 1983, his daughter Alice Ephraimson-Abt was aboard Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by a Soviet pilot.

  • | | | | |

    Airport Locator Being Doctored

    This weekend, Aspen-Pitkin County Airport experienced failure in its localizer device, the equipment that guides planes making instrument landings, and as a result a number of American Eagle planes were diverted to other airports.

    The problem which was detected by the guidance system’s self-diagnostic tests, was described as an “electronic glitch” in the localizer. It is located at the south end of the runway. Skywest and Frontier Airlines also diverted on Sunday, but because of high winds, not because of the localizer.

  • | | |

    News: Safety Agreement

    Enhancement of safety and efficiency are what is on the table between Boeing and Embraer who have signed an agreement to work toward safety, efficiency of aircraft operations and productivity in manufacturing. The passenger benefits that will trickle down will be in the areas of research and technological development in narrow body jets.

    They have already made progress in “drop-in” biofuels along with Airbus and the Sao Paulo State Research Foundation on long-term aviation biofuels research.