Brit 777 crash still a mystery 31 January
Mystery still surrounds the cause of the crash of a Boeing 777 on late final at Heathrow in mid-January. Considerable speculation has surrounded the condition of the fuel, which some believe may have cooled to a dangerous point during the long straight-in glide approach to the runway.
However the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in the UK is not entering into the debate, releasing this statement:
Whilst the aircraft was stabilised on an ILS approach with the autopilot engaged, the autothrust system commanded an increase in thrust from both engines. The engines both initially responded but after about 3 seconds the thrust of the right engine reduced. Some eight seconds later the thrust reduced on the left engine to a similar level. The engines did not shut down and both engines continued to produce thrust at an engine speed above flight idle, but less than the commanded thrust.
Recorded data indicates that an adequate fuel quantity was on board the aircraft and that the autothrottle and engine control commands were performing as expected prior to, and after, the reduction in thrust.
All possible scenarios that could explain the thrust reduction and continued lack of response of the engines to throttle lever inputs are being examined, in close cooperation with Boeing, Rolls Royce and British Airways. This work includes a detailed analysis and examination of the complete fuel flow path from the aircraft tanks to the engine fuel nozzles. More from the Branch
Seasprite likely to go
There is increasing speculation that the Australian Super Seasprite helicopter program will be the first existing defence contract to be given the chop by the new Federal Government.
Run by US-based Kaman Aerospace, the program is reported to be running six years late and well over budget. So far $1 billion is said to be spent (up from an initial estimate of $667 million) and the entire fleet is grounded.
The craft are based on 1960s airframes, which were to be fitted out with state-of-the-art combat systems.
An alternative is off-the-shelf aircraft offered by Sikorsky. (Pic: defence.gov.au)
Video of the week
Closer to God The Independent: A transatlantic flight had to make an unscheduled landing in Ireland after one of its pilots began behaving strangely and had to be restrained by fellow crew members.
Passengers said the co-pilot of Air Canada Flight 848 from Toronto to Heathrow was forcibly removed from the cockpit as the plane was diverted to Shannon airport. He was carried from the aircraft shouting, swearing and "asking for God". More
Random testing soon
CASA will oversee a random testing regime covering more than 120,000 safety sensitive personnel, which will also include private pilots.
The organisation is contracting a service provider to make sure the sample collection and testing is run to the highest possible standards. The blood alcohol level will be set at below 0.02 per cent, with testing conducted on-site using a breath analyser. Drug testing will be conducted using an oral fluid specimen and results will be reported by an accredited laboratory. The random testing is expected to start by the middle of 2008. More at CASA
Also…
Australian pilots who fly overseas need to start planning to obtain their English language proficiency rating. New language proficiency requirements will come into force from 5 March.
This is the result of an International Civil Aviation Organization standard that aims to improve safety by ensuring all air crew and air traffic controllers are competent in radiotelephony communications. In Australia, pilots with an existing licence who fly domestically do not need to take any action as they will be deemed to be competent in English. However, Australian pilots who fly overseas will require an operational language rating. More
And…
All holders of Air Operators' certificates will be sent a new CASA questionnaire from February 2008. Every air operator will be required to fill in the on-line questionnaire and return it to CASA. It is the first of what will become a regular survey of air operators designed to give CASA up-to-date information on aviation activity. More
Quotes of the week 18 January
"I didn't speak to the pilot, but I saw him, and he looked very pale."
“This man deserves a medal as big as a frying pan. He’s done a fantastic job, he really has."
Passengers on the British Airways flight which lost power on late final approach to Heathrow and crash-landed just short of the southern runway. Story at The Age; UK Telegraph report
Fancy a sightseer?
From the Seeker crew: Seabird Aviation Australia is currently investigating the feasibility of a variant of their Seeker SB7L-360 airborne observation aircraft. Designated the Sight-Seer, the Seeker variant provides a novel seating arrangement where two passengers are positioned in the forward seats of the helicopter-like forward cabin and the pilot positioned centrally aft. The aim is to provide the passenger with a unique and memorable experience and adventure not available from other fixed or rotary wing aircraft.
Aimed at the joy-flight and tourism market and with operational cost much less than a helicopter, Seabird Aviation considers there is a market for such an aircraft worldwide. Tourism these days is all about experience.
It is expected the first Sight-Seer would be used for whale–watching over Hervey Bay, Queensland Australia.
Although there are no external changes there are considerable changes within the cabin. The Seeker’s central instrument console is removed and the dual controls replaced with a single set of controls with side stick behind the passenger seats.
Assuming engineering and regulatory issues can be overcome, it is expected the proof of concept Sight-Seer will be operational mid-2008. Website
150 years of ballooning
The Balloon Association of Victoria and the Richmond Historical Society will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first flight of a hot air balloon in Australia, on 1 February with a breakfast in suburban Richmond.
British balloonists Charles Brown and Joseph Dean were enticed to Melbourne to do the flight, by businessman George Coppin. Callen the Australasian, the 18-metre muslin balloon was a home-made affair.
The first flight went well enough, after a shaky start, but the second some two weeks later ended poorly when the hapless pilot was bashed on landing by superstitious locals who felt humans were not meant to fly.
(Venue: Citizens Park, in Church Street, Richmond, Melbourne, 6.00-9.00am.) Balloon Association of Vic
Good year for Airbus
From the Airbus PR bunker: In 2007 Airbus delivered 453 aircraft, 19 more than in 2006, on time and to customer satisfaction. The deliveries include 367 A320 Family aircraft, six A300 Freighters, 79 A330/A340 aircraft, and the first all new eco-efficient A380 to Singapore Airlines. Entry into service of the A380 was smooth, with a very high technical dispatch reliability rate. Airbus achieved 1,341 net orders valued at US$ 157.1 billion at catalogue prices (1,458 new gross orders valued at US $ 181.1 billion). They include 913 A320-Family aircraft, 405 A330/A340/A350s, and 23 A380s. This demonstrates the strong demand for Airbus aircraft, with all members of the product family doing extremely well. In particular the newly launched A350 XWB has achieved 292 new firm orders. More
Anti-missile tests for airliners
Up to three American Airlines jetliners will be outfitted this spring with laser technology being developed and tested to protect planes from missiles fired by terrorists. Officials said the antimissile systems would not be tested on passenger flights.
More: New York Times
Surprise solo for Prince William The Times: Much to his own surprise Prince William reached a personal landmark today after flying solo for the first time, only eight days into his RAF course. More
Adam in trouble?
Bizjournals: Adam Aircraft has suspended operations at its Ogden, Utah, facility and laid off 300 employees companywide due to lack of financing, forcing the company to seek additional capital to continue producing its carbon composite airplanes. More
Dreamliner delayed
In a situation which echoes the troubles experienced by the giant Airbus A380, Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has been delayed at least a few months, while the company struggles to co-ordinate suppliers and meet testing schedules. (The aircraft shown at the launch some months ago was in fact a shell.)
The company says: Boeing announced that first
flight of the 787 has been moved from the end of the first quarter of
this year to around the end of the second quarter to provide additional
time to complete assembly of the first airplane. Deliveries are now
expected to begin in early 2009, rather than late 2008.
"The fundamental design and technologies of the 787 remain sound," said
Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
"However, we continue to be challenged by start-up issues in our factory
and in our extended global supply-chain."
Carson said that while solid progress has been made on the assembly of
Airplane #1, the rate at which jobs are being completed has not improved
sufficiently to maintain the current schedule.
"Our revised schedule is based upon updated assessments from the 787
management team of the progress we have made and the lessons we have
learned to date. This includes our experience on the factory floor
completing production work on the airplane that was originally intended
to be done by our suppliers," Carson said. Full release at Boeing
Plus
Jetstar intends to focus on expanding short-haul international routes through Perth and Darwin as it waits for its delayed Boeing 787s to arrive.
More: The Australian
Baby Cirrus for sale
Cirrus is now taking orders in the USA for its new Rotax-powered two-seater, the SRS. See this link
DIY chopper draws a crowd
The home of a farmer surnamed Ruan has become an attraction since he started building a helicopter in his courtyard in the city of Wenchang, Hainan province.
Many curious neighbors, friends and relatives have stopped by to check out the helicopter, which is almost complete.
Ruan expects to carry out a test flight before the lunar new year on February 7.
The 4m-long, 2m-high, helicopter cost Ruan more than 70,000 yuan ($9600). He has been working on it for a month. Source: China Daily
Bell acquires management firm
Trading Markets: Bell helicopter has acquired aviation management solutions company Skybooks to enhance its footprint in the aviation segment. More
Eurocopter learns Espanol
News-ticker: Eurocopter España bade farewell to 2007 with the sale of eleven new helicopters earmarked for various bodies within the Spanish Interior and Defence Ministries. More
US Prez helo program in strife -- still
Evidently the multi-billion dollar helicopter program for the US President and staff is still in trouble:
Recent meetings among top Pentagon, Navy and Lockheed Martin Corp officials helped narrow the options for restructuring the $6.1 billion VH-71 (pictured) presidential helicopter program. (Pic: Lockheed) More at Reuters
First Oz Antarctic flight returns 11 January
The first official flight between Australia and the Antarctic is making its return trip to Tasmania after landing at Wilkins Runway, 70 kilometres from Casey Station. More: ABC; Antarctic Division web
Eagle hired by airport
The airport operator in the southern Italian port city of Bari has recruited a golden eagle to help keep the runway free of wildlife. More: BBC
Euro show goes annual
Germany’s highly successful Aero-Friedrichshafen air show for light aircraft will go annual from April 2009, thanks to a huge response from last year’s event. Event home page
747 power-out woes spread
Qantas has found more problems with cracked drip trays in its jumbo jet fleet, suggesting the potentially disastrous problem is more widespread than first thought. More: Herald-Sun
Hornet crash clouds local future
Two F/A-18 fighter aircraft from the US navy's fifth fleet have crashed in the Persian Gulf, further clouding the future of the Super Hornet's role in Australia's air strike force.
More: The Age
Hornets could be ditched 2 January The Age: The $6.6 billion purchase of 24 Super Hornets as a stop-gap fighter jet could be jettisoned by the Rudd Government as it reviews all aspects of the program to give Australia an edge in air-combat capability in the region. (Pic: Boeing) More
Pilot error drops -- US study
The number of airline mishaps attributed to pilot error significantly declined between 1983 and 2002, according to an analysis conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (USA). While the overall rate of airline mishaps remained stable during that time, the proportion of mishaps involving pilot error decreased 40 percent. The rate of mishaps related to a pilot’s poor decision-making declined 71 percent. The researchers attribute the decline to better training and improvements in technology that aid pilot decision-making. The findings are published in the January 2008 edition of Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine.
“A 40 percent decline in pilot error-related mishaps is very impressive. Pilot error has long been considered the most prominent contributor to aviation crashes,” said the study’s lead author,Susan P. Baker, MPH, a professor with the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management.
Research pilot retires at 71
NASA: Long-time NASA Dryden research pilot and former astronaut C Gordon Fullerton capped an almost 50-year flying career, including more than 38 years with NASA, with a final flight in a NASA F/A-18 on Dec. 21, 2007. Fullerton and Dryden research pilot Jim Smolka flew a 90-minute pilot proficiency formation aerobatics flight with another Dryden F/A-18 and a Dryden T-38 before concluding with two low-level formation flyovers of Dryden before landing. More
NASA grudgingly releases safety report
BBC: A survey of air safety by the US space agency, Nasa, has come in for criticism from members of Congress. The 16,000-page document has been presented in a way that makes it difficult to analyse, members of Congress have said. More
New CASA staffer
CASA’s monthly briefing: CASA's new deputy CEO Operations, Mick Quinn, has started work. Mick Quinn began his aviation career as a commercial pilot at Bankstown in the early 1980s, and went on to work for Qantas as manager of Air Safety Investigation. Later he joined the Emirates group, becoming senor vice president Safety. This job included being investigator-in-charge of incidents, managing safety audits and operational surveillance, analysing safety data and developing and implementing human factors and risk management programs. Over the last two years Mick Quinn has been the executive director, Rail Safety Regulation, in the NSW Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulation body. CASA
Bigger range of charts
CASA: Pilots will have a greater choice in which aeronautical maps and charts they use following a series of approvals by CASA. Under the rules pilots can only use authorised maps and charts and for the last 20-30 years this has limited the choice to those provided by Airservices Australia or Jeppesen. Now, following an extensive safety assessment process, three new companies have been added to the approved map and chart list. They are Swedish company Navtech, Swiss company Lufthansa Systems and Singapore-based Aerostratos. The change came after CASA was approached by the companies seeking formal approval. A CASA officer visited the companies, assessed their processes and safety management and quality systems and reviewed a sample of their products. Each provider was able to demonstrate their products met CASA safety requirements. This offers a greater choice to airlines and pilots and opens up this area of aviation to competition.
New training rules proposed
CASA: CASA has proposed a range of changes to the Day Visual Flight Rules Syllabuses for aeroplanes and helicopters. These syllabuses specify the flying training and aeronautical knowledge requirements for student, private and commercial pilot licences. Three new standards are to be added to the syllabuses to meet International Civil Aviation Organisation requirements. These are: English communication and the aviation environment, single pilot human factors management and threat and error management requirements. The aeroplane syllabus will contain simpler-to-use flight standards, presented in a new format. Achievement records have also been updated. The helicopter syllabus introduces flight standards in competency-based training terms and includes achievement records.
The proposed changes to the Day VFR training syllabuses are available for comment, with CASA planning to publish the final versions early in 2008. This will be Issue 4 of the syllabuses. More
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