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NTSB INVESTIGATING NEAR COLLISION OF SOUTHWEST 737 AND NEWS HELICOPTER OVER HOUSTON HOBBY AIRPORT

The NTSB has launched an investigation into the near collision of a Southwest Airlines jetliner and a news helicopter over a runway at Houston’s Hobby Airport last week.

At about 12:25 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, April 28, a Southwest Airlines 737, flight 1322 (N242WN) and a Bell 207 news gathering helicopter (N6YJ), came within an estimated 125 feet vertically and 100 feet laterally from each other as both were departing the airport.

The Baltimore-bound 737 with 135 passengers and a crew of five had been cleared to depart from runway 12R. At about the same time the helicopter was cleared to depart from another part of the airport. The near-collision occurred as the helicopter converged into the flight path of the 737 shortly after the jetliner lifted off from the runway. Both crews took evasive maneuvers to avoid colliding.

NTSB investigator Betty Koschig, an air traffic control specialist based in Washington, is traveling to Houston tomorrow to begin the investigation.

This is the second runway safety incident that the NTSB has investigated in the last two weeks. On April 19, a 737 and a small private plane came within about 200 feet of colliding over the airport in Burbank, Calif.

Improving runway safety has been on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List of Safety Improvements since 1990:
http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/mostwanted/runways.htm

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    NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATION

    National Transportation Safety Board
    Washington, DC 20594

    July 7, 2011
    http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/2011/A-11-056-059.pdf
    The National Transportation Safety Board makes the following recommendations to the Airborne Law Enforcement Association:

    Revise your standards to define pilot rest and ensure that pilots receive protected rest periods that are sufficient to minimize the likelihood of pilot fatigue during aviation operations. (A-11-56)

    Revise your accreditation standards to require that all pilots receive training in methods for safely exiting inadvertently encountered instrument meteorological conditions for all aircraft categories in which they operate. (A-11-57)

    Encourage your members to install 406-megahertz emergency locator transmitters on all of their aircraft. (A-11-58)

    Encourage your members to install flight-tracking equipment on all public aircraft that would allow for near-continuous flight tracking during missions. (A-11-59)

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    Fourth Investigative Update on Boeing 787 Battery Fire


    NTSB Provides Fourth Investigative Update on Boeing 787 Battery Fire in Boston

    January 27, 2013
    WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board today released a fourth update on its investigation into the Jan. 7 fire aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston. The fire occurred after the airplane had landed and no passengers or crew were onboard.

    The event airplane, JA829J was delivered to JAL on December 20, 2012. At the time of the battery fire, the aircraft had logged 169 flight hours with 22 cycles. The auxiliary power unit battery was manufactured by GS Yuasa in September 2012.

    NTSB investigators have continued disassembling the internal components of the APU battery in its Materials Laboratory in Washington, and disassembly of the last of eight cells has begun. Examinations of the cell elements with a scanning-electron microscope and energy-dispersive spectroscopy are ongoing.

    A cursory comparative exam has been conducted on the undamaged main battery. No obvious anomalies were found. More detailed examination will be conducted as the main battery undergoes a thorough tear down and test sequence series of non-destructive examinations.

    In addition to the activities at the NTSB lab, members of the investigative team continue working in Seattle and Japan and have completed work in Arizona. Their activities are detailed below.

    ARIZONA
    The airworthiness group completed testing of the APU start power unit at Securaplane in Tucson and the APU controller at UTC Aerospace Systems in Phoenix. Both units operated normally with no significant findings.

    SEATTLE
    Two additional NTSB investigators were sent to Seattle to take part in FAA’s comprehensive review. One of the investigators will focus on testing efforts associated with Boeing’s root cause corrective action efforts, which FAA is helping to lead. The other will take part in the FAA’s ongoing review of the battery and battery system special conditions compliance documentation.

    JAPAN
    The NTSB-led team completed component examination of the JAL APU battery monitoring unit at Kanto Aircraft Instrument Company, Ltd., in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan. The team cleaned and examined both battery monitoring unit circuit boards, which were housed in the APU battery case. The circuit boards were damaged, which limited the information that could be obtained from tests, however the team found no significant discoveries.

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    AerCap Opens Representative Office in Abu Dhabi

    AMSTERDAM, Jan. 19, 2011 – AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE: AER) today announced the opening of a representative office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

    AerCap’s new Abu Dhabi office will be managed by a team of highly skilled aviation industry professionals with extensive experience in the region and will be led by Simon McLean, previously Chief Operating Officer of Waha Leasing PJSC.

    The Abu Dhabi team will help expand AerCap’s activities in the Middle East/North Africa region, which is one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets. AerCap has a total fleet of 350 aircraft including fourteen aircraft on lease to seven airlines in the Middle East/North Africa region.

    About AerCap
    AerCap is the world’s leading independent aircraft leasing company. AerCap also provides engine leasing, aircraft management services, aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services and aircraft disassemblies. The company has over $10 billion of total assets including committed purchases and focuses on new, fuel-efficient narrowbody and small widebody aircraft. AerCap is headquartered in The Netherlands and has offices in Ireland, the United States, China, Singapore, the United Kingdom and in The United Arab Emirates.

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    Series of Operational Errors by Pilot Led to 2009 Airplane Crash in Montana

    The National Transportation Safety Board determined today that the cause of the March 2009 deadly crash of a Pilatus airplane was a series of operational errors made by the pilot. The pilot failed to ensure that a fuel system icing inhibitor (FSII), commonly referenced by the brand name “Prist”, was added to the fuel prior to the accident flight.

    The pilot also failed to take appropriate remedial actions, including diverting to a suitable airport, after the airplane warning systems indicated a low fuel pressure state that ultimately resulted in a significant lateral fuel imbalance. And, the pilot lost control while maneuvering the left-wing heavy airplane near the approach end of the runway.

    “The pilot’s pattern of poor decision making set in motion a series of events that culminated in the deadly crash,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman. “Humans will make mistakes, but that is why following procedures, using checklists and always ensuring that a safety margin exists are so essential – aviation is not forgiving when it comes to errors.”

    On March 22, 2009, at about 2:32 pm (MDT), a Pilatus PC-12/45, N128CM, crashed about 2,100 feet west of runway 33 at Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) in Butte, Montana. The flight departed Oroville Municipal Airport in Oroville, California, en route to Gallatin Field in Bozeman, Montana but the pilot diverted to Butte for unknown reasons. The pilot and the 13 passengers were fatally injured and the aircraft was substantially damaged by impact forces and a post-crash fire. The airplane was owned by Eagle Cap Leasing of Enterprise, Oregon, and was operating as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

    During the investigation, the NTSB determined that the pilot did not add a fuel system icing inhibitor when the airplane was fueled on the day of the accident. The Pilatus flight manual states that a fuel system icing inhibitor must be used for all flight operations in ambient temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius to prevent ice formation in the fuel system. The NTSB concluded that the airplane experienced icing in the fuel system which resulted in a left-wing-heavy fuel imbalance. The increasing fuel level in the left tank and the depletion of the fuel from the right tank should have been apparent to the pilot because that information was presented on the fuel quantity indicator. This should have prompted the pilot to divert the airplane to an airport earlier in the flight as specified by the airplane manufacturer.

    The NTSB issued recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency, to require fuel filler placards and guidance on fuel system icing prevention.

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    QBE Forms U.S. General Aviation Underwriting Group

    NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — QBE the Americas has announced the creation of a U.S.-based general aviation underwriting operation.

    Headquartered in Atlanta, QBE the Americas’ Aviation Team is designed to expand the company’s global aviation activities. QBE is already a major aviation insurance writer in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific.

    The new team of seasoned aviation insurance professionals with a proven track record consists of William P. McGloin, Roger M. Ridings, Michael Clark and Russell Walker.

    “The U.S. is the largest market for general aviation in the world,” says QBE’s Chief Executive Officer for the Americas, John Rumpler. “We’re pleased to start this operation that will offer a broad range of coverage and bring our company full circle as a true worldwide provider for general aviation insurance services. The aviation team that has been created will work in collaboration with QBE Aviation European Operations.”

    General aviation insurance includes all types of aircraft except for military and major airlines. QBE the Americas’ Aviation Team of seasoned aviation professionals will work with personal-use aircraft owners, as well as corporations and airports to provide physical damage, liability and workers’ compensation coverage.

    QBE Insurance Group Limited is one of the top 25 insurers and reinsurers worldwide. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 49 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. The Americas Division, headquartered in New York, conducts business through various property and casualty insurance subsidiaries in 10 countries. QBE’s Americas Division produced $4 billion in gross written premium in 2009 and an 89.7 percent combined operating ratio. QBE Insurance companies are rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best and “A+” by Standard and Poor’s. For more information, visit qbe.com.

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    Boeing Press Release: High-Speed Broadband System Certified on Boeing Business Jet

    ATLANTA, Oct. 20 — Boeing Business Jets today announced the first certification and installation of Panasonic Avionics Corporation’s in-flight wireless high-speed broadband service, eXConnect, on a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) 737 aircraft.

    As part of the installation agreement, Panasonic will use the privately owned BBJ for ongoing testing and validation, as well as for live demonstrations. The system supports a wide range of passenger and crew applications including very high-speed internet access to passengers anywhere in the world at speeds of up to 50 Mbps to the aircraft. That’s about 100 times the speed of the fastest Internet currently available on airplanes.

    “The eXConnect system installed on the Boeing 737 continues to exceed our expectations, and we are very excited to show customers, OEMs and other groups the true broadband experience made possible by our Ku solution,” said Paul Margis, Chief Executive Officer, Panasonic Avionics Corporation.

    The fuselage-mounted antenna communicates through a global network of satellites and provides higher data rates than tail-mounted antennas traditionally used on business aviation aircraft. The BBJ is ideally suited for carrying a larger and more capable antenna than traditional sized business jets so global coverage is possible.

    “Since its introduction to the market, the Boeing Business Jet has always provided something more than the traditional corporate jet manufacturers have been able to provide – more space, more comfort, more productivity and more utility,” said Boeing Business Jets president Steve Taylor.

    “Panasonic’s new high-speed data system opens up a new capability to our customers that will help satisfy the growing need for passengers to be connected all the time, including in the air,” said Taylor.

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