News
01 SEP - Swiss publishes airline blacklist and whitelist 01 SEP - French judge wants Continental, EADS and DGAC employees to appear in Concorde ca
07 SEP - NTSB issues recommendations to minimize risk of precipitation induced engine fla
07 SEP - Wrong fuel quantity indicator possible cause of Tuninter ATR-72 accident
07 SEP - Italy bans Tuninter following accident
07 SEP - FAA probes oversight of Northwest
08 SEP - East African countries to adopt uniform aviation standards
08 SEP - Woman killed in evacuation of Saudi 747 after bomb scare
09 SEP - IATA Warns of dangers of temporary runway closures in Mumbai
10 SEP - D.R. Congo ground 33 airlines
11 SEP - Indonesia grounds four Boeing 737-200s after Mandala crash
11 SEP - Phuket Air YS-11 skids off runway at Mae Sot
15 SEP - FAA wants to withdraw Service Difficulty Reporting NPRM
18 SEP - Cameroon Airlines temporarily banned from France
21 SEP - Rum Air TriStar fakes fuel emergency so passengers can watch soccer game
22 SEP - Japan to set up a database on aviation problems
26 SEP - NTSB issues recommendations on bounced landing techniques
29 SEP - US supports aviation safety oversight project in Ukraine
01 SEP 2005 Swiss publishes airline blacklist and whitelist [to table of contents]
The Swiss aviation authorities published a list of airlines that are allowed to operate on flights to Switzerland. They also released a list of two blacklisted airlines. One is Flash Airlines from Egypt, which has already suspended operations a year ago and Air Van Airlines from Armenia. (BAZL)
press release
A French judge has issued an international arrest warrant for a Continental Airlines welder wanted for questioning in connection with the 2000 Concorde crash. He is wanted for questioning over the replacement of a titanium alloy strip that fell off a DC-10 in Paris, after which the Concorde ran over the strip. The judge also summoned seven officials from EADS the French DGAC to hearings into the case in September and October. (AAP) 07 SEP 2005 NTSB issues recommendations to minimize risk of precipitation induced engine fla [to table of contents]
In the wake of the January 2002 accident of a Garuda B737 in Indonesia, the U.S. NTSB issued two safety recommendations. The accident involved a dual-engine flameout while descending through in heavy precipitation. This accident was preceded by three similar occurrences in 1987 and 1988. The NTSB recommends the FAA to complete the review of the current turbofan engine certification standards for rain and hail ingestion. The FAA should also make sure that there are effective operational strategies and related guidance materials to minimize the chance of a dual-engine power loss. (NTSB)
Safety recommendations A05-19/-20
07 SEP 2005 Wrong fuel quantity indicator possible cause of Tuninter ATR-72 accident [to table of contents] The Italian accident invesigation board ANSV reported that the ill-fated ATR-72 that crashed off Sicily in August had the Fuel Quantity Indicator (FQI) of an ATR-42 installed on the flightdeck. The normal operation of the FQI is to processes the signal coming from the capacitance probes installed in the tanks with an algorithm typical for each aircraft, depending on tank shape, size and number of probes installed. The indications of the amount of fuel on board the airplane were thuse unreliable. The ANSV recommended that the European Aviation Safety Agency, should require an ATR-72 and ATR-42 fleet inspection in order to verify the installation of the applicable Fuel Quantity Indicator, and should consider the possibility to mandate a modification of the Fuel Quantity Indicator installation in order to prevent any incorrect fitting. (ANSV) 07 SEP 2005 Italy bans Tuninter following accident [to table of contents]
Italy suspended the landing rights of Tunisian airline Tuninter. The decision was made after the preliminary results of the investigation into the August 6 accident off Sicily were released by the ANSV. It became known that a wrong fuel quantity indicator had been installed on the plane. (ANSA) 07 SEP 2005 FAA probes oversight of Northwest [to table of contents]
The U.S. FAA is probing claims by one of its inspectors that it didn`t adequately boost oversight of Northwest Airlines after mechanics went on strike. The FAA failed to enter into a database 470 inspector reports, at least 58% of which cited defects, according to the inspector. As many as 90% of these reports filed from Aug. 20 to Aug. 31 cited defects, compared with a 3% to 5% rate prior to Aug. 20. (LA Times) 08 SEP 2005 East African countries to adopt uniform aviation standards [to table of contents]
East African countries, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania are finalizing a set of regulations that will lead to the adoption of uniform aviation standards, a Uganda government official has said. The air traffic and air navigation regulations would lead to the creation of the East African Community (EAC) Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Organization. (Xinhua) 08 SEP 2005 Woman killed in evacuation of Saudi 747 after bomb scare [to table of contents]
A Sri Lankan woman passenger was killed and 70 injured during an emergency evacuation of a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-300 following a bomb scare, at the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport. Flight SV 781 was taxiing for take-off to Jeddah when the airport received an anonymous telephone call warning of a bomb threat. The captain decided to evacuate the airplane. The ensuing panic among the 430 passengers to scramble onto the sliding liferafts caused a stampede, which claimed the woman's life. The bomb threat later appeared to be a hoax. (Daily News) 09 SEP 2005 IATA Warns of dangers of temporary runway closures in Mumbai [to table of contents]
IATA has issued a Safety Circular to its member airlines concerning the planned temporary closure of runway 09/27 at Mumbai Shivaji International Airport. Extensive upgrade works are planned for February of 2006. IATA warns that the 14/32 runway system is unable to support existing traffic. A.o. aircraft with long wheel-bases (like the B777-300) will not be able to do 180 degree turns on the runway after landing in order to vacate this runway. Also, the airport`s control tower is located in conflict with runway 14/32. The control tower penetrates runway 14/32`s transitional obstacle limitation surfaces approaches by over 50 metres for instrument approaches,and in excess of 40 metres for visuals. (IFALPA)
safety bulletin
10 SEP 2005 D.R. Congo ground 33 airlines [to table of contents] The Ministry of Transport from the Democratic Republic of Congo revoked the Air Operator Certificates (AOC) of 33 of the countries airlines. Some of the airlines flew cargo planes fitted with plastic chairs in the hold for passengers. (AP) 11 SEP 2005 Indonesia grounds four Boeing 737-200s after Mandala crash [to table of contents]
Indonesian air transport authorities have grounded four Boeing 737-200s belonging to four unnamed private airlines in the wake of the Mandala 737 accident on September 5. The planes will be grounded until the problems that were discovered are rectified. Among the problems was a damaged nose landing gear wheel. (AFP) 11 SEP 2005 Phuket Air YS-11 skids off runway at Mae Sot [to table of contents]
Phuket Air flight 236 from Bangkok landed long at Mae Sot and skidded off the runway, coming to rest on a small embankment. None of the 24 passengers and four crew were injured and the airplane, a NAMC YS-11, did not suffer much damage. The airport was closed for almost two days. Mae Sot has a single 1500 metre asphalt runway (09/27). (Bangkok Post) 15 SEP 2005 FAA wants to withdraw Service Difficulty Reporting NPRM [to table of contents]
The FAA is proposing to withdraw a final rule published on September 15, 2000 that would have amended the Service Difficulty (SDR) reporting requirements. The industry comments uniformly feared a great increase in costs. The FAA now wants to re-examine the SDR program based on comments received and other developments since the final rule was published, and proposes several amendments to improve the existing SDR program. (FAA)
Document FAA-2000-7952-64
18 SEP 2005 Cameroon Airlines temporarily banned from France [to table of contents] Cameroon Airlines (Camair) announced that the flights to France will resume after French authorities lifted a ban that was announced on September 16. The DGAC banned the airline after SAFA checks earlier this year revealed `several failures to meet international norms notably in the fields of loading, transport of dangerous materials, navigation documentation and tyre maintenance.` Camair later reported that the DGAC agreed that Camair could resume flights to France with a chartered aircraft. (AFP) 21 SEP 2005 Rum Air TriStar fakes fuel emergency so passengers can watch soccer game [to table of contents]
Reportedly, a Rum Air L-1011 TriStar carrying 12 crew members and 289 Gambian passengers, faked a fuel emergency to land in time for a football match in a youth tournament in Peru. The plane was on its way to Lima but when the fans realised they would be late for the game, the crew radioed ATC to say the plane was low on fuel. An emergency landing was carried out in Piura, where the game was taking place. (BBC, AP) 22 SEP 2005 Japan to set up a database on aviation problems [to table of contents]
The Japanses transport ministry will eliminate the muddle concerning aviation-accident information and establish a database to strengthen air-traffic safety and restore confidence in the domestic industry. The database will be available via the Internet and other means as early as spring 2007 and will collect and analyze information about aviation accidents and problems in Japan and abroad. (Asahi Shimbun) 26 SEP 2005 NTSB issues recommendations on bounced landing techniques [to table of contents]
Following the investigation into the May 2004 bounced landing of an ATR-72 at San Juan, the NTSB issued three safety recommendations to the FAA: To require air carriers to incorporate bounced landing recovery techniques in their flight manuals and to teach these techniques during initial and recurrent training; To Require the replacement of certain aileron surface position sensors with more reliable aileron surface position sensors; To conduct a review of certain FDR systems to determine the reliability of all sensors used as flight control surface position sensors. (NTSB)
Safety Recommendations A-05-30 through -32
29 SEP 2005 US supports aviation safety oversight project in Ukraine [to table of contents] The United States Ambassador to Ukraine and the First Deputy Chairman of the State Administration of Ukraine for Aviation Safety Oversight signed a grant agreement on with a view of improving aviation safety in Ukraine. The 625,000 USD-grant will serve to finance technical assistance in improving aviation safety supervision functions in Ukraine in compliance with international standards. (ForUm)
