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FAA Asks for Public Input on UAS Test Site

WASHINGTON– The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today asked for public input on the agency’s selection process for six unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test sites. Once the pilot program is established, the agency expects it will provide valuable data to help the FAA safely and efficiently integrate UAS into the same airspace with manned airplanes.

“Unmanned aircraft can help us meet a number of challenges, from spotting wildfires to assessing natural disasters,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “But these test sites will help us ensure that our high safety standards are maintained as the use of these aircraft becomes more widespread.”

Through the National Defense Authorization Act and the 2012 FAA Reauthorization bill, Congress mandated that the FAA establish UAS test sites. In order to ensure that all factors are taken into consideration when choosing the six sites, the FAA has asked for comments from the UAS user community and the public at large. Specifically, the request for comment asks for input on several important questions, such as public versus private management of the sites, research activities and capabilities of the test areas, the requirements for test site operators, and the geographic and climate factors that should influence site selection.

The feedback obtained through this transparent process will help the FAA develop UAS test site requirements, designation standards and oversight activity. This will help the FAA design the process and criteria prior to issuing a request for proposals to select UAS test areas that will allow integration of these innovative aircraft into the National Airspace System by 2015. The FAA will accept comments for the next 60 days.

“The FAA has a proven track record of safely introducing new technology and aircraft into the NAS, and I am confident we will successfully meet the challenges posed by UAS technology,” said FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta.
The UAS pilot program mandates the FAA select six test sites to do the following:
Safely designate airspace for integrated manned and unmanned flight operations in the national airspace system

  • Develop certification standards and air traffic requirements for unmanned flight operations at test ranges
  • Coordinate with and leverage the resources of the NASA and the Department of Defense
  • Address both civil and public unmanned aircraft systems
  • Ensure that the program is coordinated with the Next Generation Air Transportation System
  • Ensure the safety of unmanned aircraft systems and related navigation procedures before they are integrated into the national airspace system.

As part of the process, the FAA will consult with the Defense Department and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which already operate their own test ranges. The Defense and FAA reauthorizations do not provide any funding for these test sites.

Since 2005, the FAA has completed more than 50 research studies on UAS. The agency has access to hands-on experience with the various types of UAS and has partnerships with other government agencies, industry, and academia.

The FAA is working toward publication of a proposed rule on small UAS this year. The agency also has convened an Aviation Rulemaking Committee that includes a number of aviation and industry experts studying a wide range of UAS integration issues.

The request for comments, including instructions for filing comments, will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, March 9.

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  • Virginia, NASA keep eyes on skies for air quality


    Virginia, NASA keep eyes on skies for air quality

    HAMPTON, Va. – Air quality in the skies above Hampton Roads will be monitored daily under a new partnership between NASA’s Langley Research Center and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

    The agreement relocates the state agency’s air-quality measurement operation to Langley following closure of the Hampton organization where it had been located, the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. The DEQ’s new site is expected to open in May, said Margaret Pippin, the scientist coordinating the move at Langley.

    “This site will bring together the partnership of NASA, DEQ, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a coordinated effort to assess the relationship between space-based observations and surface observations of air quality,” Pippin said.

    The federal and state agencies are both interested in generating a comprehensive data record of pollution from industrial processes and vehicles.

    The DEQ station will be located at Langley’s Chemistry and Physics of the Boundary Layer Experiment site (CAPABLE), which will measure ozone and nitrogen dioxide. The DEQ will measure ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter.

    The partnership will be mutually beneficial, said Pippin. The DEQ will have a bigger pool of data and a larger location to add to its statewide network of air-quality monitoring sites. And NASA scientists will be able to use the combined measurements to enhance a future satellite mission to measure air quality from space.

    Since the early 1970s, the DEQ has worked with the EPA to uphold the standards of U.S. Clean Air Act. That includes taking widespread air quality measurements in Virginia and keeping a data record.

    NASA Langley’s Science Directorate has a legacy in atmospheric science as well, leading early discoveries about the ozone hole and improving knowledge of human-created pollution on air quality and the atmosphere.
    Last week at the new Langley site, NASA and DEQ began monitoring what the U.S. EPA calls “criteria pollutants.” These are the emissions from factories, power plants and cars that can damage human health, plants, the environment and infrastructure. They include ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and other airborne particulates.

    “For NASA Langley and the DEQ, I see this as a win-win situation where we can work together, share air-quality data and monitoring information and learn from each other,” said Tom Jennings of the DEQ Office of Air Quality Monitoring.
    The DEQ’s transition to Langley will occur over the next two months and result in two identical environmental shelters positioned in a mirror image to one another – one for NASA’s instruments and the other for DEQ’s.

    The partnership was formalized in what is called a Space Act Agreement, which was signed last week. The agreement calls for a five-year partnership at the Langley site.

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    FAA and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Reach Agreement on Airport Safety Violations

    WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) have reached a settlement agreement about aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) violations from December 2010 to June 2012 at four New York area airports owned and operated by the PANYNJ — John F. Kennedy, Teterboro, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty International.

    “We expect all airports to comply with our safety regulations and to correct any deficiencies immediately,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “These violations were egregious, and they will not be tolerated.”

    Under the agreement, the PANYNJ agrees to pay a $3.5 million fine within 30 days. If there is a violation of the settlement agreement, the FAA will impose an additional fine of $1.5 million and will assess an additional $27,500 daily for each violation. In addition to the fine, the PANYNJ has agreed to take the following actions, with FAA approval, to address the underlying problems that led to systemic noncompliance with ARFF requirements at the four airports:

    • The Port Authority will create a dedicated ARFF force to carry out airport-related ARFF functions with no collateral police officer duties.
    • The staff will report directly to the Department of Aviation and be operational no later than March 31, 2014.
    • The Port Authority will hire an ARFF fire chief and facility captains as soon as possible, but no later than March 31, 2014.
    • The Port Authority will submit a curriculum for training to the FAA on or before December 31, 2013, which includes at least 75 hours of initial ARFF training and 40 hours of annual recurrent firefighting training in addition to Part 139 training, pertaining to an airport’s operational and safety standards and providing for such things as firefighting and rescue.
    • The ARFF personnel will work a 12-hour shift.
    • The Port Authority will amend the airport certification manuals for the four airports to include: an organizational chart; a process to maintain ARFF training records; and a description of ARFF operations, including shift assignments, personnel training records management, and Department of Aviation oversight.
    • The Port Authority will conduct monthly internal audits of ARFF training and shift assignments and annual external audits to ensure that all ARFF personnel assigned to a shift are trained.

    “We expect the Port Authority to have trained safety personnel to ensure the safety of the travelling public and airport personnel, just like we have at all airports in the United States,” said FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta.

    The FAA became aware of ARFF violations as a result of an annual airport certification safety inspection of JFK in December 2011. The FAA also discovered similar violations at Teterboro, which prompted a full review of training at LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, and Stewart International Airports. The review of ARFF training revealed violations at LaGuardia and Newark, with no violations at Stewart.

    The FAA believes the settlement agreement provides the best long-term solution to ensure ARFF compliance, given the systemic nature of the PANYNJ airport problems.

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    Intra-Agency UAS Surveillance Drone-Detecting Testing at JFK

    http://nuairalliance.org/media/album/14
    ©NUAIR Alliance drone test April 19, 2016
    The FY 2016 Appropriations law mandates that the FAA continue research into detection of UAS in airport environments.

    Because the FAA has received reports about unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, or “drones”) around JFK, the FAA is developing drone detecting technology. FAA Senior Advisor on UAS Integration, Marke “Hoot” Gibson, said “This effort at JFK reflects everyone’s commitment to safety.” The FAA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice, Queens District Attorney’s Office and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey participated in recent tests. U.S. Government is expanding on efforts to identify and deploy countermeasures to neutralize any threat posed by rogue UASs.

    At JFK, five rotorcraft and fixed wing UAS participated in system evaluations this May. Approximately 40 tests took place. The JFK tests follow up on research performed at Atlantic City International Airport. Griffiss International Airport test site in Rome, NY, provided the flight commander, and expertise in planning the individual tests.

    The NUAIR Alliance was part of the largest test of NASA’s UAS traffic management (UTM) research platform on April 19, 2016. That test consisted of 22 drones flying simultaneously at six different FAA UAS test site locations around the country.

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  • SAID released

    EASA Distributes FAA Recommendation: Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin


    FAA Aviation Safety
    SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS INFORMATION BULLETIN
    SAIB: NM-10-12
    SUBJ: Navigation: Flight Management System Date: January 7, 2009
    This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory.
    Introduction
    This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) advises registered owners and operators of
    the transmission of incorrect information from the Honeywell NZ-2000 Primus Epic Flight
    Management System (FMS) software having part number (P/N) VAR9XX, VAR10XX, or
    VAR11XX and installed on Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (Type Certificate Previously Held
    by Raytheon Aircraft Company) Model 4000 airplanes, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
    Model G-IV, GIV-X, and GV-SP airplanes, Agusta AW-139 helicopters, and Cessna Aircraft
    Company Model 680 airplanes.

    Background
    During an RNAV approach an airplane programmed with NZ-2000 FMS software (version 5.2), flew
    the WATTS THREE ARRIVAL (RNAV) Standard Terminal Arrival Route (STAR). A different
    runway was selected in the FMS during the STAR, and resulted in the FMS navigating the airplane
    toward the initial STAR waypoint instead of the next sequential STAR waypoint. As a result of this
    incident, Honeywell International Inc. issued Service Information Letter, D200909000044, dated
    October 15, 2009, to provide operators with guidelines for flight plan modifications made on the
    ARRIVAL page, including a destination runway change. This SAIB addresses the Primus Epic FMS
    because its software was a derivative of the NZ-2000 FMS software. At this time, the airworthiness
    concern is not an unsafe condition that would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title
    14 of the Code of Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR) part 39.

    Recommendations
    The FAA recommends that all owners and operators of Model 4000 airplanes, Model G-IV, GIV-X,
    and GV-SP airplanes, Agusta AW-139 helicopters, and Model 680 airplanes with NZ-2000 Primus
    Epic Flight Management System software ensure their flight crews are familiar with the procedures
    outlined in Honeywell Service Information Letter, D200909000044, dated October 15, 2009.
    For Further Information Contact

    Daniel Bui, Aerospace Engineer, Systems and Equipment Branch, ANM-130L, FAA, Los
    Angeles Aircraft Certification Office, 3960 Paramount Boulevard, Lakewood, California
    90712-4137; telephone (562) 627-5339; fax (562) 627-5210.
    For Related Service Information Contact
    Technical Publications and Distribution, 21111 N. 19th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85027-2708;
    telephone (800)601-3099; fax 602-365-5577; Internet http://portal.honeywell.com/wps/portal/aero.

    See Also the Service Information Letter: http://ad.easa.europa.eu/ad/NM-10-13 pdf

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  • | |

    Aviation Industry: Time for a Black Box Upgrade

    Woodland Hills, CA — (ReleaseWire) — 07/07/2016 –No one is saying that aircraft tracking doesn’t need an overhaul. It does. Examination of plane crash events demands it.

    Aviation experts have been asking for pinger battery improvements since a month after the crash of Air France 447 on 1 June 2009, when the pinger battery ran down in July. Air France 447 was not recovered from the ocean floor until May 2011, nearly two years after it was lost. Debris from the accident was recovered in the interim, but if the pinger had been louder, or the battery designed to last longer, then there’s a good chance that the plane would have been discovered sooner. One of the outcomes of this terrible event was a determination to design a pinger system with longer lasting batteries. EASA amended requirements for flight recorders and underwater locating devices in its 2013-26 amendment(RMT.0400 & RMT.0401 (OPS.090(A) & OPS.090(B)) — 20.12.2013) but implementing these requirements takes a prohibitively long time.

    Aviation experts have been asking for better tracking technology since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia, to Beijing Capital International Airport in China. Because this plane departed from its planned route, finding where it came down has been a unique challenge. Inmarsat’s satellite communications network concluded that the flight continued until at least 08:19 and flew south into the southern Indian Ocean. Triangulation of Inmarsat’s satellite communications has been the only credible source searchers depend on to develop the search area.

    Aviation experts have been suggesting the blackbox be water-activated (or have water-activated duplicates) with flotation of some kind so the blackbox can be found faster. More recently, aviation experts have wondered about EgyptAir Flight 804 which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on 19 May 2016. It was known fairly precisely where it came down, and yet salvage and rescue units were unable to be on the scene in time to help any survivors—if survivors there had been. We will never know because no one was there. And while tracking the location of the blackbox fell within the thirty day battery limit, if the technology had more power, it could have been located sooner. Finding the wreckage sooner means less money spent on the search, and a shorter time for the families agonizing over their losses.

    So here is what is new: Inmarsat provides SwiftBroadband service for plane’s inflight Wi-Fi on many aircraft. Immarsat is developing a streaming system described as a “blackbox in the cloud.” This streaming system they are working on will allow crucial data to be streamed off a plane on the occasion of specified trigger events like a course deviation or disappearance from radar.

    One only need consider a few factors to realize that a cloud-based system is a crucial development that current technology can easily handle. We need only to look at the cost of the search for a missing plane. According to France and Brazil, those two countries spent more than $40 million over two years to recover the black boxes from Air France Flight 447. Bloomberg reported the recovery cost of Air France 447 was $100 million. According to the South China Post, the cost of the (as yet unfound) MH370 will be as much as ten times more than AF447. Like the expense of MH370’s search, the cost of finding EgyptAir Flight 804 is still ongoing.

    Even when Inmarsat’s streaming system will be available, the aviation industry is going to be resistant, mostly because it is going to be costly. Is this a cost that we must afford? I think it is.

    Let me know your thoughts on this crucial topic at https://twitter.com/GeorgeHatcher

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  • NTSB OFFERING ROTORCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION COURSE AT TRAINING CENTER NEAR WASHINGTON

    The National Transportation Safety Board has developed a
    five-day course in rotorcraft accident investigation that
    will be delivered at its training center near Washington in
    August.

    The course, which has been in development for more than a
    year, was designed to provide investigators from regulatory
    authorities, investigative agencies, private industry, and
    potential parties to an NTSB investigation, an overview of
    the procedures, methods and skills required to perform a
    comprehensive rotorcraft accident investigation.

    The training will be offered August 16-20, 2010, at the NTSB
    Training Center in Ashburn, Virginia.

    Examples from recently concluded investigations will be used
    to illustrate particular aspects of the investigative
    process. Case studies may include midair collisions, in-
    flight fires, in-flight break-ups, and weather-related
    accidents.

    Those interested in learning more should see the complete
    description of the training, registration information, and
    cost to attend at:
    http://www.ntsb.gov/TC/CourseInfo/AS102_2010.htm

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