News
03 SEP - Nigeria bans aged aircraft from hajj operations 05 SEP - Runway incursion incident at Rome-Ciampino
05 SEP - Russia takes action against bogus parts
06 SEP - Canadian regulations amended to make low visibility landings safer
09 SEP - Transport Canada to require TCAS on Canadian aircraft
10 SEP - Biman pilot sacked over DC-10 crash
12 SEP - Electrical fault causes Air NZ Boeing 737 emergency landing
19 SEP - Preliminary tests start for non-hijackable aircraft
21 SEP - Jet Airways 737 and fighter jets nearly collide over India
23 SEP - African Development Bank: USD 244 mln to support aviation safety in Africa
25 SEP - NTSB issues recommendation on ATC runway change clearances
30 SEP - Ajet (Cyprus) license to land in Cat II and III conditions revoked
30 SEP - EC detects serious deficiencies in Bulgarian aviation safety
03 SEP 2006 Nigeria bans aged aircraft from hajj operations [to table of contents]
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has issued guidelines concerning the forthcoming Hajj operations, banning the use of aged aircraft to fly Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. The agency listed Boenig 747-100, 727, 737-100, 737-200, 707, DC-8, Tupolev 154, Yakovlev 42 and
other inactive aircraft parked for extended periods and other older generation aircraft as planes that would not be allowed to operate the Hajj flights. NCAA added that aircraft to be used for the pilgrims’ airlift must not be
due for major check within three months of commencement of the exercise, just as it made aid and medical kits mandatory for operating airlines. Also, the approved carriers must have TCAS-II, GPS and HF radio among other navigational aids on board. (Nigerian Tribune)
A runway incursion at Rome-Ciampino (CIA), Italy caused a potentialy dangerous situation on August 31, according to infromation from the Italian Air Safety Board (ANSV). A Let 410 (OK-WDT) taxied onto the active runway 15 at intersection AC, although controllers had told the flight to hold short. Controllers instructed an Airbus A.300 on finals to go around. (ANSV)
Ciampino (CIA/LIRA) map
05 SEP 2006 Russia takes action against bogus parts [to table of contents] Russian prosecutors and officials with the Transportation Ministry said they have discovered many violations of safety regulations in the work of air carriers, and serious drawbacks in the activities of regulatory bodies. Airplane parts produced by unofficial sources were used in a number of aircraft, possibly leading to in-flight emergencies. Recently an engineer was charged with a fraudulent attempt to sell airplane parts with expired service-life dates by writing down false information on their overhauling in technical documentation. (RIA Novosti) 06 SEP 2006 Canadian regulations amended to make low visibility landings safer [to table of contents]
Aviation regulations have been amended to prohibit commercial air operators from beginning an approach when visibility is so poor that a successful approach to a landing is unlikely. The regulations will increase the minimum visibility to at least 1,600 feet (500 metres) depending on the type of instrument approach, as well as on flight crew, aircraft and airport requirements. The amendments will also extend the requirements to runways where conditions are reported by a qualified person rather than a sensor. In addition, the regulations will help harmonize Canadian regulations with international standards and respond to recommendations from the Transportation Safety Board. (TC)
News release
09 SEP 2006 Transport Canada to require TCAS on Canadian aircraft [to table of contents] Transport Canada is proposing to amend regulations to help reduce the risk of mid-air collisions by requiring aircraft in Canada to install collision avoidance equipment. The proposed amendment to the Canadian Aviation Regulations would require the immediate installation of appropriate collision awareness equipment on all recently manufactured aircraft. Operators of large commercial aircraft would have two years to comply with the new requirement for all aircraft currently in operation. (Transport Canada)
News release
10 SEP 2006 Biman pilot sacked over DC-10 crash [to table of contents] Biman Bangladesh Airlines has sacked a pilot from service as an inquiry found him responsible for the DC-10 aircraft accident last year at Chittagong. An official of Biman said the inquiry did not find any technical fault of the aircraft, and attributed the accident to inefficiency of the pilot. (The Daily Star) 12 SEP 2006 Electrical fault causes Air NZ Boeing 737 emergency landing [to table of contents]
An electrical fault in the cockpit forced the crew of Air New Zealand flight NZ503 (AKL-CHC) to return to Auckland for an emergency landing. Passengers of the Boeing 737-300 (ZK-NGJ) were evacuated using the escape slides after smoke became apparent in the cabin and cockpit. There were no injuries and no damage to the aircraft resulting from the landing. (TAIC) 19 SEP 2006 Preliminary tests start for non-hijackable aircraft [to table of contents]
Researchers are beginning preliminary tests on a futuristic onboard aircraft threat detection system at BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre. The Security of Aircraft in the Future European Environment (SAFEE) project is said to create a non-hijackable aircraft. The four-year EUR 35.8m project is funded by the European Commission and industrial partners including Airbus, EADS, SAGEM Défense Sécurité, Thales Avionics, NLR, and Siemens. BAE Systems is creating an Onboard Threat Detection System (OTDS) to spot erratic passenger behaviour using data from cabin video and audio sensors. Other features of the aircraft include a collision avoidance system to avoid it being steered into a building or a mountain. An onboard computer could use biometrics to identify a hijacker then guide the aircraft to the nearest airport. (The Engineer) 21 SEP 2006 Jet Airways 737 and fighter jets nearly collide over India [to table of contents]
A Jet Airways Boeing 737-700 suffered a near miss en route from Mumbai, India. Flight 9W-345 had descended to 22,500 feet when it came within 500 feet of a formation of Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets participating in the Gagan Shakti air exercise around 08:30. The Jet Airways flight bound for Rajkot made a safe landing there. (Central Chronicle) 23 SEP 2006 African Development Bank: USD 244 mln to support aviation safety in Africa [to table of contents]
The African Development Bank will support the air transport sector in Africa with USD 244 million. In an address at the African Aviation Conference on Safety and Security in Abuja, a representative said the intervention by the bank "is part of efforts to ensure safety and security in the industry, under a NEPAD initiative." (Xinhua) 25 SEP 2006 NTSB issues recommendation on ATC runway change clearances [to table of contents]
The NTSB issued a safety recommendation to the FAA in the course of the investigation into the on-board fire of a UPS DC-8-70 at PHL in February 2006. AT initially cleared the flight to land on runway 27R; however, in accordance with emergency procedures at PHL, ATC changed the clearance to runway 27L after the flight crew reported the emergency. Although the pilot acknowledged the change in landing clearance, he continued for runway 27R. The controller ultimately cleared the flight to land on runway 27R when it was apparent that the flight crew had not understood the change in landing clearance. The NTSB recommends to amend FAA Order 7110.65, "Air Traffic Control," to require that, when amending a runway assignment, controllers provide a specific instruction to the pilot advising of the runway change. For example, "UPS 1307, change to runway 27L, cleared to land." (NTSB)
NTSB Safety Recommendation A-06-65
30 SEP 2006 Ajet (Cyprus) license to land in Cat II and III conditions revoked [to table of contents] Ajet, formerly Helios Airways of Cyprus, has been barred from landing in fog after authorities deemed the airline could not guarantee safety in such conditions. Cyprus authorities revoked the airline`s licence to land in Cat II and III conditions as of last week. According to the Phileleftheros newspaper the airline lacked the adequate equipment, pilot training and experience to prove it could operate its jets in fog. (Cyprus Mail) 30 SEP 2006 EC detects serious deficiencies in Bulgarian aviation safety [to table of contents]
Bulgaria may face restricted access to EU`s internal aviation market due to serious deficiencies, an EC monitoring report has warned. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) have detected serious deficiencies in the area of aviation safety. The EC report singled out airworthiness, maintenance, operations and flight crew licensing as the areas where corrective measures must be taken immediately. (Sofia News Agency)
