Public Statement

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    PR: FAA Proposes $13.57 Million Civil Penality Against Boeing

    SEATTLE – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a civil penalty of $13.57 million against The Boeing Company for failing to meet a deadline to submit service instructions that would enable airlines to further reduce the risk of fuel tank explosions on more than 380 Boeing jetliners.

    “We are committed to ensuring the safety of the flying public,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Manufacturers must provide the necessary instructions so the airlines can comply with this important safety regulation.”

    “We take this matter very seriously,” said Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We have issued hundreds of directives to eliminate fuel ignition sources over the past 16 years, and this step will add another layer of safety.”

    Following the TWA 800 accident in July 1996, the FAA has issued 283 directives to prevent the ignition of vapors in and around commercial aircraft fuel tanks. On July 21, 2008, the FAA published the Fuel Tank Flammability Rule, which required manufacturers to develop design changes and service instructions for installing systems to further reduce fuel tank flammability.

    The rule gave the two companies that design affected aircraft until Dec. 27, 2010, to submit service instructions for FAA approval. The FAA alleges that in January 2010, Boeing committed to provide the instructions by the deadline. The instructions were to explain how to install systems that would replace the oxygen in airplane fuel tanks with non-flammable nitrogen gas, reducing the risk of explosion.

    Boeing missed the deadline for submitting service instructions for the 747s by 301 days, delivering them to the FAA on Oct. 24, 2011. The company was 406 days late in submitting service instructions for the 757s. In total, 383 U.S.-registered Boeing aircraft are affected by these delays.

    Airbus, the other manufacturer required to develop instructions for retrofitting certain models of its airplanes, met the Dec. 27, 2010, deadline.

    The Fuel Tank Flammability Rule requires airlines to retrofit half of its fleet by 2014, and complete the retrofit by 2017. An airline trade group has proposed an extension of those two dates because of the service instruction delay for certain Boeing aircraft.

    The FAA expects that most, if not all, operators will meet both the 2014 and 2017 deadlines, even if they received service instructions later than anticipated. The FAA has advised the trade group that the agency is not considering any extensions to the 2017 deadline for completing the fleet retrofit. However, the agency will consider extending the 2014 deadline if necessary, based on the specific circumstances for a particular operator.

    The total amount of the proposed civil penalty against Boeing is $13,574,400.

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    PR: FAA Proposes $185,750 Civil Penalty Against Kingfisher Air

    ATLANTA – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a civil penalty of $185,750 against Kingfisher Air Services Air Safari, Inc., of San Juan, P.R., for allegedly operating a Cessna 208B on 44 flights between June 2 and June 11, 2010, when it was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations.

    The FAA alleges that three pilots reported that the aircraft’s engine temperature exceeded the take-off limits before the carrier took the required maintenance action and had the engine repaired. The engine maintenance manual requires the operator to send the engine to an overhaul facility for a light overhaul when such problems are reported. The carrier failed to send the engine for overhaul after the first and second pilot reports.

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    PR: FAA Proposes $987,500 in Civil Penalties Against Delta Air Lines

    ATLANTA – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing two civil penalties totaling $987,500 against Delta Air Lines of Atlanta, for allegedly operating an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 737-800 on flights when they were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations.

    In the first case, the FAA alleges Delta failed to repair a chip in the nose radome, or nose cone, on the B-737 after an FAA inspector conducted a pre-flight inspection and informed Delta he had observed chip damage. Delta’s structural repair manual requires the airline to seal radome chip damage before further flight. The enroute inspection took place Feb. 25, 2010, and the airline operated the plane on 20 additional flights between that date and March 1 while the aircraft was not in compliance.

    The FAA further alleges Delta again failed to repair the radome during layover inspections of the aircraft on Feb. 25 and 28. The proposed civil penalty is $687,500.

    “Safety is our highest priority,” said FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta. “Operators must follow the proper procedures to maintain their aircraft.”

    The FAA also proposes a civil penalty of $300,000 against Delta for allegedly operating an Airbus A320 on 884 flights between May 25, 2010 and Jan. 3, 2011, when it was not in compliance with FAA regulations.

    The FAA alleges the carrier incorrectly deferred repair of a broken cockpit floodlight socket at the first officer’s position. Maintenance procedures allow the airline to defer repairs on a dome light for no more than 10 days before repairing or replacing it. The FAA discovered the alleged violation during a routine inspection.

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    Dana Air Preliminary Report


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Peter Tonna
    What: Dana Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83 en route from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria
    Where: Iju neighborhood, Lagos
    When: June 3, 2012
    Who: 153 passengers
    Why: According to the Dana Crash Preliminary report, the captain and the first officer were in a discussion of a non-normal condition regarding the correlation between the engine throttle setting and an engine power indication. They did not voice concerns then that the condition would affect the continuation of the flight.

    The report included records of visual examination of the aircraft wreckage, review maintenance records and other historical information of the aircraft, documentation of the training and experience of the flight crew, determination of the chronology of the flight, review of recorded data, reconstructing the aircraft refueling, and collection of related fuel samples and interview of related personnel.

    See report below:

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    The BEA releases the “Final report” on Air France Flight 447


    The BEA report (pp 200-201) concluded:

    • The crew possessed the licenses and ratings required to undertake the flight.
    • The aeroplane possessed a valid Certificate of Airworthiness, and had been
      maintained in accordance with the regulations.
    • The aeroplane’s weight and balance were within operational limits.
    • The aeroplane had taken off from Rio de Janeiro without any known technical
      problems, except on one of the three radio management panels.
    • The composition of the crew was in accordance with the operator’s procedures.
    • The meteorological situation was not exceptional for the month of June in the
      inter-tropical convergence zone.
    • There were powerful cumulonimbus clusters on the route of AF 447. Some of
      them could have been the centre of some notable turbulence.
    • An additional meteorological analysis showed the presence of strong
      condensation towards AF 447’s flight level, probably associated with convection
      phenomena.
    • The precise composition of the cloud masses above 30,000 feet is little known,
      in particular with regard to the super-cooled water/ice crystal divide, especially
      with regard to the size of the latter.
    • Several aeroplanes that were flying before and after AF 447, at about the same
      altitude, altered their routes in order to avoid cloud masses.
    • The crew had identified some returns on the weather radar and made a heading
      change of 12° to the left of their route.
    • At the time of the autopilot disconnection, the Captain was taking a rest.
    • The departure of the Captain was done without leaving any specific instructions
      for crossing the ITCZ.
    • There was an implicit designation of a pilot as relief Captain.
    • There was an inconsistency between the speeds measured, likely following the
      blockage of the Pitot probes by ice crystals.
    • The AP then the A/THR disconnected while the aeroplane was flying at the upper
      limit of a slightly turbulent cloud layer.
    • The aeroplane systems detected an inconsistency in the measured airspeeds. The
      flight control law was reconfigured to alternate 2B.
    • No failure message on the ECAM clearly indicates the detection by the system of
      an inconsistency in measured airspeeds.
    • The pilots detected an anomaly through the autopilot disconnection warning
      that surprised them.
    • The engines functioned normally and always responded to the crew’s inputs.
    • The PNF called out imprecise flight path corrections. They were however essential
      and sufficient for short-term management of the situation.
    • The last recorded values were a pitch attitude of 16.2 degrees nose-up, roll of
      5.3#degrees to the left and a vertical speed of -10,912 ft/min.
    • The Pitot probes installed on F-GZCP met requirements that were stricter than
      the certification standards.
    • Analysis of the events related to the loss of airspeed indications had led Airbus
      and Air France to replace C16195AA Pitot probes by the C16195BA model. The
      first aeroplane had been modified on 30 May#2009.
    • EASA had analyzed Pitot probe icing events; it had confirmed the severity of the
      failure and had decided not to make the probe change mandatory.
    • The flight was not transferred between the Brazilian and Senegalese control
      centres.
    • Between 8 h 22 and 9 h 09, the first emergency alert messages were sent by the
      Madrid and Brest control centres.
    • The crew was not able to use the ADS-C and CPDLC functions with DAKAR Oceanic.
      If the connection had been established, the loss of altitude would have generated
      an alert on the controller’s screen.
    • The first floating aeroplane parts were found 5 days after the accident.
    • The flight recorders were recovered 23 months after the accident.

    The accident occurred after the following events:

    1. Temporary inconsistency between the airspeed measurements, likely following
      the obstruction of the Pitot probes by ice crystals that, in particular, caused the
      autopilot disconnection and the reconfiguration to alternate law;
    2. Inappropriate control inputs that destabilized the flight path;
    3. The lack of any link by the crew between the loss of indicated speeds called out
      and the appropriate procedure;
    4. The late identification by the PNF of the deviation from the flight path and the
      insufficient correction applied by the PF;
    5. The crew not identifying the approach to stall, their lack of immediate response
      and the exit from the flight envelope;
    6. The crew’s failure to diagnose the stall situation and consequently a lack of inputs
      that would have made it possible to recover from it.

    Download the complete final report here:

    BEA FINAL REPORT on AF 447

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    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.

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    Hunan Airlines Crash Report Released; Captain and 19 Others Blamed

    The report of the Henan Airlines crash suggests that Henan Airlines be fiend $795,000 due to safety issues and suggests the chief pilot should have his pilot’s license revoked, be removed from his post and expelled from the Communist Party, and should also face criminal charges.

    The report says “says chief pilot Qi Quanjun did not locate the runway before landing.” The jet crashed 2260 feet short of the runway. The pilot crash landed under conditions of poor visibility, then left the plane, failed to evacuate the passengers and rescue the injured. The report names 19 people in all as contributing to the accident. Airline officials and local civil aviation authorities are also cited in the report and may be subject to “disciplinary penalties, be demoted or dismissed.”


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

    What: Shenzhen Airlines/Kunpeng/Henan Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Harbin to Yichun China
    Where: Yichun China
    When: Aug 24th 2010
    Who: 91 passengers (including 5 children) and 5 crew; 43 immediate deaths, 3 serious injuries and 50 minor injuries
    Why: The plane overran the runway—and departed the runway on landing—at Lindu airport in Yichun city in Heilongjiang province at 10:10 p.m, split on impact, exploded, and burst into flames. 53 people were rescued, three of whom with serious injuries.

    An investigation in 2008 revealed 100 pilots employed by Henan Airlines’ parent company had falsified their flying credentials; and about a hundred pilots flying for other airlines were found to have done the same thing.

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    PR: FAA Proposal of $206,550 Penalty Against Martinaire Aviation

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $206,550 civil penalty against Martinaire Aviation, of Addison, Texas, for violating U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.

    The FAA conducted a comprehensive hazardous materials inspection at the company’s headquarters on July 8, 2011. As a result of that inspection, the FAA alleges the airline routinely failed to complete documents properly and comply with the requirements for notifying pilots in command about hazardous materials transported as cargo.

    The allegations involve 17 shipments of hazardous materials Martinaire accepted for transportation by air on 12 flights between April 1 and June 22, 2011. Martinaire is a scheduled air cargo and cargo charter company. The flights operated between various cities across the country.

    Martinaire has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the Agency.

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    NTSB Safety Recommendation


    The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration:

    Require that Avions de Transport Régional (ATR)42-seriesairplanes operating in the United States incorporate a revised stickpusher activation angle of attack(AOA), such that the stick pusher activates before the stall AOA in the presence of airframe ice accretions. (A-12-24)

    Evaluate all U.S.-certificated transport-category airplanes equipped with stick pushers to ensure that the stick pusher
    activates at an angle of attack that will provide adequate stall protection in the presence of airframe ice accretions.(A-12-25)

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    NTSB Warns Old Weather Data on Pilot Displays Can Contribute to Plane Crashes

    The NTSB has sent out a safety alert concerning weather information that is up to twenty minutes old, although it may be advertised as real time data. The discrepancy in time can be fatal when weather conditions are in rapid flux. The NTSB has related this old weather information to two recent crashes that occurred at night:

    • March 2010 med-evac helicopter Tennessee crash where the pilot was racing to home base trying to beat a storm
    • December 2011 Piper PA-32 Bryan Texas where the plane broke up in stormy weather.

    In both these crashes, “the time stamps indicated the one-minute time interval used to create the image, and not the actual age of the data used to create the image.”

    The Tennessee crash involved information five minutes old; the Texas crash involved information six to eight minutes old.

    The night crashes in particular are affected by old data. Pilots need to be aware that the data can be old, and not use the weather display to navigate around bad weather.

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    Ekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport hosts CIS Event

    The second Routes CIS event will open in just 4 days time in Ekaterinburg, Russia hosted by Ekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport at the angelo Airport Hotel Ekaterinburg which is connected to the Airport.

    The number of delegates registered to attend the event has already surpassed the expected number of 200 and for several of the companies registered so far, Routes CIS 2012 will be the first time they have attended any of the Routes events. Airlines such as Yakutia Airlines, VIM Airlines and Tartastan Airlines will make their inaugural Routes appearance in Ekaterinburg alongside Kazan Airport, International Airport Barnaul, Belgorod International Airport and Koeln Tourismus Gmbh.

    Airlines currently registered to attend the event contain an, unsurprisingly, strong participation from the CIS based airlines. Attendees so far include S7 Airlines, Rossiya, Aerosvit, Air Astana, VIM, Yakutia, Tartastan, and Ural Airlines with more expected to confirm soon.

    Interest from the Middle East carriers comes in the shape Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways along with FlyDubai and Pegasus which have strong respective networks into the CIS region. Air Baltic will also be present and there will be a senior representation from Czech Airlines which operates 11 routes in Russia and the Ukraine combined from Prague.

    Other out of region attendees include European leading Low Cost Carrier Ryanair and SkyTeam member China Southern who also recently confirmed their attendance.
    Nigel Mayes, Vice President & Commercial for UBM Aviation Routes commented: “The unique location of Ekaterinburg makes it the ideal place for delegates from all over the CIS region to meet and we are delighted that this second event attracts the key decision makers from the region and plays an important role in shaping future networks within the CIS,” Mayes continued: “We expect the event to grow and develop in line with the expected market growth in the CIS region.”

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    Engineered Material Arresting System Fact Sheet

    Background

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires that commercial service airports, regulated under Part 139 safety rules and federally obligated, have a standard Runway Safety Area (RSA) where possible. The RSA is typically 500 feet wide and extends 1,000 feet beyond each end of the runway. The FAA has this requirement in the event that an aircraft overruns, undershoots, or veers off the side of the runway. Many airports were built before the 1,000-foot RSA length was adopted some 20 years ago, and it is not practicable to achieve the full standard RSA. This is due to obstacles such as bodies of water, highways, railroads, and populated areas or severe drop-off of terrain.

    The FAA began conducting research in the 1990s to determine how to ensure maximum safety at airports where the full RSA cannot be obtained. Working in concert with the University of Dayton, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the Engineered Arresting Systems Corporation (ESCO) of Logan Township, NJ, a new technology emerged to safely arrest overrunning aircraft. EMAS uses crushable concrete placed at the end of a runway to stop an aircraft that overruns the runway. The tires of the aircraft sink into the lightweight concrete and the aircraft is decelerated as it rolls through the material.

    Benefits of the EMAS Technology

    The EMAS technology improves safety benefits in cases where land is not available, or not possible to have the standard 1,000-foot overrun. A standard EMAS installation extends 600 feet from the end of the runway. An EMAS arrestor bed can be installed to help slow or stop an aircraft that overruns the runway, even if less than 600 feet of land is available.

    Current FAA Initiatives

    The Office of Airports prepared an RSA improvement plan for the runways at approximately 575 commercial airports in 2005. This plan allows the agency to track the progress and to direct federal funds for making all practicable improvements, including the use of EMAS technology. Of the approximately 1,000 RSAs at these airports, an estimated 65 percent have been improved to full standards, and an estimated 90 percent have been improved to the extent practicable, not including the relocation of FAA-owned navigational equipment.

    Presently, the EMAS system developed by ESCO using crushable concrete is the only system that meets the FAA standard. The FAA has conducted research through the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) that examined a number of alternatives to the existing approved system. ACRP Report 29, Developing Improved Civil Aircraft Arresting Systems, is available at the Transportation Research Board.

    Many of the EMAS beds installed prior to 2006 need periodic re-painting to maintain the integrity and functionality of the bed. The EMAS manufacturer has developed improved plastic seal coating for EMAS beds. This new coasting should eliminate the need for the periodic re-painting.

    EMAS Arrestments

    To date, there have been eight incidents where EMAS has safely stopped overrunning aircraft with a total of 235 crew and passengers aboard those flights.

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    Simplified drug and alcohol management plans

    Small aviation organisations will be able to use a new simplified and streamlined process to comply with important drug and alcohol management requirements.
    The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is introducing the simplified drug and alcohol management processes for aviation organisations with seven or fewer employees engaged in safety sensitive activities.


    The new simplified processes do not apply to any aviation organisation engaged in or providing services to regular public transport operations.

    Aviation organisations eligible to use the new drug and alcohol compliance processes will use a standard drug and alcohol management plan provided by CASA. Full details of eligibility requirements are on CASA’s web site.

    Organisations will also use a CASA e-learning package to educate and train their employees in drug and alcohol responsibilities.

    CASA’s Director of Aviation Safety, John McCormick, said the new drug and alcohol compliance processes for small organisations recognised that the existing requirements could be unnecessarily onerous for these operations.

    “We are making life easier for small aviation organisations by streamlining the process of drug and alcohol management while maintaining high safety standards,” Mr McCormick said.

    “Small aviation organisations will no longer have to develop their own drug and alcohol management plans.”

    “By using CASA’s new drug and alcohol management plan and new on-line training small aviation organisations will save time and resources and still be confident they are meeting all the regulatory requirements.

    “CASA has listened to the concerns of the aviation industry about the impact of drug and alcohol management plans on small organisations and found a solution that is simpler and protects safety.”

    Small aviation organisations using the new processes will still be required to report to CASA every six months on their drug and alcohol management performance and CASA will continue to check on compliance.

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    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

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    Alligator Airways is Suspended

    The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Australia) suspended Alligator Airways’ air operator’s certificate and certificate of approval on 3 May 2012 because the company’s conduct of operational and maintenance-related activities was seen to pose a serious and imminent risk to air safety.

    On 18 May 2012, the Federal Court granted CASA’s application for an order to prohibit Alligator Airways from operating until 4 June 2012.

    This prohibition order allowed CASA to finalise its investigations into a range of safety issues, including two recent serious incidents involving aircraft operated by Alligator Airways.

    Under the Civil Aviation Act, once investigations are completed, CASA has up to an additional five working days from 5 June 2012 to issue a show case notice if CASA believes there would still be a serious and imminent risk to air safety if Alligator Airways was to resume operations.

    If CASA does issue a show case notice the suspension will continue while the matters raised in that notice are addressed and a final decision made whether to vary, suspend or cancel the certificates. This could take up to 33 days.

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    NTSB Assisting Dana Air Crash Investigation


    The NTSB is dispatching an investigator to assist the government of Nigeria in its investigation of the crash of a Dana Air Boeing MD-83 airplane, Flight # 0992.

    On June 3, 2012 at about 11:51 a.m. local time, the airplane, en route from Abuja to Lagos Nigeria, crashed outside the airport into a two story building. All 153 passengers and crew onboard were fatally injured, and an undetermined number of ground fatalities and injuries also occurred.

    As the state of design and manufacture of the Boeing MD-83, the NTSB has designated Senior Aviation Accident Investigator, Mr. Dennis Jones, as the traveling U.S. Accredited Representative. Mr. Jones will be assisted from NTSB headquarters by investigative staff specializing in operational factors, powerplants, and airworthiness as well as advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing, and Pratt & Whitney.

    The investigation is being conducted by the Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau.

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    NTSB To Meet over Jackson Hole Airport Incident

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold a meeting to determine the probable cause and consider safety recommendations for a highway collision and an aviation incident.
    The first item the Board will discuss will be the March 12, 2011, crash in New York City of a World Wide Tours-operated motorcoach. Fifteen passengers died in the collision.
    The second item is a December 29, 2010, incident in which an American Airlines B-757 ran off the departure end of the runway into deep snow after landing at Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Airport. None of the 185 passengers and crew onboard were injured; the aircraft sustained minor damage.
    Event: Board Meeting
    Date/Time: Tuesday, June 5, 9:30 a.m. (ET)
    Location: NTSB Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC
    Participants: NTSB Board Members

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    New head of NTSB Aviation Safety


    National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman announced the selection of John DeLisi as the new Director of the Office of Aviation Safety (OAS). Mr. DeLisi will assume his new position on June 2, 2012 following the retirement of Tom Haueter, the current director.

    “It gives me great pleasure to announce John’s selection to lead OAS,” said Chairman Hersman. “With more than two decades of outstanding accident investigation experience, John has made significant contributions to safety and to the NTSB. I look forward to continuing to work with him to further improve the safety of air travel.”

    DeLisi has been serving as the Deputy Director of OAS since 2007. During his 20 years with the NTSB, he has overseen numerous major investigations, including the January 2009 ditching of US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River and the February 2009 Colgan Air accident in Buffalo, New York.

    Beginning as an Aircraft Systems Engineer, DeLisi has been an on-scene investigator for 20 major domestic aviation accidents and 6 international investigations. And later serving as the Chief of the Major Investigations Division for the NTSB, he oversaw the development of more than a dozen other major airline accident investigations, including the investigation of the August 2006 Comair flight 5191 accident in Lexington, Kentucky.

    DeLisi is a cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, and has done graduate work in Engineering Management at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He holds a private pilot certificate.

    Haueter, who is retiring after 28 years of Federal service, has served the NTSB as a technical expert in charge of major accidents and as an ambassador for aviation safety all over the world. His portfolio of investigative work has encompassed everything from small general aviation crashes to some of our nation’s largest and most complex accidents involving major air carriers.

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    NTSB to Present Findings of Safety Study


    The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a Board meeting on May 22, 2012, to consider the findings of a draft safety study on experimental amateur-built (E-AB) aircraft.

    Of the approximately 224,000 general aviation (GA) aircraft in the U.S., about 33,000 of them are classified as E-AB. This includes a wide variety of aircraft, which can be built from a prefabricated kit, existing plans, or a builder’s unique design. Unfortunately, this group of aircraft has, for several years, experienced accident rates greater than those of other comparable segments of GA.

    The NTSB, with the assistance and input from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and its many members, undertook the study to identify areas that could be addressed to improve the safety record of this growing and innovative segment of GA.

    The meeting will be webcast live at bit.ly/fzFiOW

    Event: Board Meeting

    Date/Time: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 9:30 am (EST)

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    PR: FAA Proposes $395,850 Civil Penalty Against US Airways

    NEW YORK—The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $395,850 civil penalty against US Airways Inc., of Tempe, Ariz., for allegedly violating U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.

    The FAA conducted a periodic dangerous goods inspection of US Airways’ facilities at Hartford’s Bradley International Airport (BDL), May 10-18, 2010. As a result of the inspection, the FAA alleges the airline committed various violations between Feb. 26 and May 12, 2010. The alleged violations involve 12 flights to or from BDL.

    In one instance, the Transportation Security Administration discovered, while inspecting passenger checked baggage, that US Airways had accepted an undeclared shipment containing ten disposable cigarette lighters filled with flammable gas. The FAA alleged the airline failed to notify the FAA of this discrepancy.

    In another instance, US Airways offered an improperly packaged shipment containing wet cell batteries filled with alkali, a corrosive, for transportation by air on a US Airways passenger-carrying flight.

    The FAA also alleged the airline failed to provide pilots with the required "accurate and legible written information" regarding 23 shipments of hazardous materials it accepted for transportation by air.

    US Airways has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.

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    PR: Enforcement of Laser Penalties

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has directed its investigators and staff to pursue stiffer penalties for individuals who purposefully point laser devices at aircraft.

    “Shining a laser at an airplane is not a laughing matter. It’s dangerous for both pilots and passengers, and we will not tolerate it,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We will pursue the toughest penalties against anyone caught putting the safety of the flying public at risk.”

    The number of reported laser incidents nationwide rose from 2,836 in 2010, to 3,592 in 2011. Laser incident reports have increased steadily since the FAA created a formal reporting system in 2005 to collect information from pilots.

    The FAA supports the Department of Justice in its efforts to seek stern punishment for anyone who intentionally points a laser device into the cockpit of an aircraft.

    “We will continue to fine people who do this, and we applaud our colleagues at the Justice Department who have aggressively prosecuted laser incidents under a new law that makes this a specific federal crime,” said FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta.

    The FAA has initiated enforcement action against 28 people charged with aiming a laser device at an aircraft since June 2011, and this week the agency directed FAA investigators and attorneys to pursue the stiffest possible sanctions for deliberate violations. The FAA has opened investigations in dozens of additional cases.

    The FAA announced last June it would begin to impose civil penalties against individuals who point a laser device at an aircraft. The maximum penalty for one laser strike is $11,000, and the FAA has proposed civil penalties against individuals for multiple laser incidents, with $30,800 the highest penalty proposed to date. In many of these cases, pilots have reported temporary blindness or had to take evasive measures to avoid the intense laser light.

    The guidance for FAA investigators and attorneys indicates laser violations should not be addressed through warning notices or counseling. It also directs moderately high civil penalties for inadvertent violations, but maximum penalties for deliberate violations. Violators who are pilots or mechanics face revocation of their FAA certificates, as well as civil penalties.

    Local, state and federal prosecutors also have sentenced laser violators to jail time, community service, probation and additional financial penalties for court costs and restitution.

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    PR: FAA Taps ITT Corp. and GE’s Naverus to Develop NextGen

    WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding a contract to ITT Exelis and GE’s Naverus to help accelerate the development of satellite-based procedures that will allow aircraft to fly more directly to their destinations.

    “NextGen will help deliver an environmentally friendly, more efficient traveling experience for the flying public,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

    Under the $2.77 million contract, ITT Exelis, the prime contractor, and GE’s Naverus, the sub-contractor, will develop Required Navigation Performance (RNP) approach procedures into five airports: Ted Stevens Anchorage International, James M. Cox Dayton International, Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (Kansas City), General Mitchell International (Milwaukee) and Syracuse Hancock International. ITT Exelis and GE’s Naverus will be responsible for designing, implementing and maintaining a total of 10 procedures – two for each airport. The FAA will closely monitor the work to make sure all safety and environmental steps are conducted properly. This effort will supplement the FAA’s work to develop RNP procedures for airports across the country. The FAA has developed 305 RNP procedures.

    “If you imagine highways in the sky, then these are high-speed off ramps,” said Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “Aircraft using RNP approaches make a more direct and efficient approach into the airport, also decreasing fuel burn.”

    The FAA awarded the contract to ITT Exelis and GE’s Naverus through a competitive process under the System Engineering 2020 contract, a portfolio of work designed to help the agency roll out NextGen. Fiscal year 2012 appropriations included funding for a contractor to develop and deliver NextGen procedures, and the FAA reauthorization bill called for the agency to demonstrate the ability of a contractor to design, implement and maintain these procedures.

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    $445,125 Civil Penalty Against Horizon Air

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $445,125 civil penalty against Horizon Air of Seattle for allegedly operating a Bombardier Dash-8-400 aircraft on 45 flights when it was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The FAA alleges Horizon failed to comply with an airworthiness directive (AD) that required the airline to inspect for cracked or corroded engine nacelle fittings on its Dash-8-400 aircraft. The AD, with an effective date of March 17, 2011, ordered inspections of the nacelles every 300 operating hours, and repairs as needed.Between March 17 and 23, 2011, Horizon operated the aircraft on at least 45 revenue passenger flights when it had accumulated more than 300 hours of flight time since its last inspection.
    Horizon has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.

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    $210,000 Civil Penalty Against Alaska Airlines

    The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a civil penalty of $210,000 against Alaska Airlines of Seattle for allegedly failing to properly document and tag deactivated systems and equipment before making repairs.
    The FAA alleged that on 10 occasions between June 19, 2010, and January 13, 2011, Alaska performed maintenance on six of its Boeing 737 airplanes but failed to comply with the required alternative deactivation procedures. Specifically, the airline allegedly failed to document the alternative actions it took, and failed to install the appropriate danger tag. These requirements are safety measures designed to reduce hazards to technicians during maintenance and to prevent potential damage to the aircraft and onboard systems. Alaska Airlines has 30 days from receipt of the civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.