News
02 FEB - Human factors analysis of Australian air accidents and comparison with the US 05 FEB - Bulgaria grounds 160 planes amid EU safety concerns
06 FEB - Australian study on the impact of ageing aircraft on aviation safety
06 FEB - NTSB investigating runway incursion involving airliner and snowplow in Denver
06 FEB - Runway incursion incident at Düsseldorf
06 FEB - JAL to adopt policy not to punish pilots liable for fatal accidents
08 FEB - FAA boosts safety for air tours
11 FEB - NTSB won`t overturn 1967 midair collision findings
15 FEB - India sends home pilots for poor English
16 FEB - GAO: FAA needs to shore up data-driven safety programs
16 FEB - Russian aviation regulators suspend several charter flights to EU countries
16 FEB - FAA issues emergency AD on certain GE CF34 egines
18 FEB - AIB Finland: Caravan crash at Helsinki due to icing
18 FEB - Windshields of 13 planes crack in Denver, CO
19 FEB - Serious airprox over France
21 FEB - TSB concerned about Canadair Regional Jet flap failures
27 FEB - Bulgaria bans five freight carriers in bid to avoid EU aviation safety blacklist
02 FEB 2007 Human factors analysis of Australian air accidents and comparison with the US [to table of contents]
The ATSB published a study, providing a systematic analysis of the types of human error occurring in Australian civil aviation accidents. It also compares these results against a larger sample of accidents occurring in the United States. While the types of accidents and flying operations varied slightly between Australia and the US, the pattern of aircrew errors were remarkably similar. Skill-based errors were the most prevalent type of aircrew unsafe act, followed by decision errors, violations and perceptual errors in both Australian and US accidents. Skill-based errors were also the most common error type irrespective of the severity of the accident. In Australia, decision errors and violations were more common in fatal accidents. (ATSB)
ATSB report b20040321
Bulgaria`s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) cancelled the certificate of airworthiness of some 160 planes and helicopters due to European Union safety concerns. Safety concerns prompted the European Commission to partially exclude Bulgaria from the community's aviation market when the country joined the EU last month. (EU Business) 06 FEB 2007 Australian study on the impact of ageing aircraft on aviation safety [to table of contents]
An ATSB report shows that the average age of many aircraft in Australia is increasing but that this should not reduce safety if quality maintenance systems are in place. The report found that the average age of Australia`s turbofan aircraft used in regular passenger transport is very low. The ATSB report also examined the age trend for turboprop aircraft, mostly used in low capacity airline services. The turboprop fleet had an average age of 18 years by the end of 2005, which was 2 years older than was the case in 1995. With few new aircraft being manufactured in this category, additional and specific maintenance will be the key strategy to ensure these aircraft meet the necessary airworthiness standards for passenger operations. Managing the consequences of an ageing aircraft population requires cooperative approaches by operators, manufacturers and national regulators to ensure that any defects identified by one operator are notified quickly and efficiently within the industry. If quality maintenance systems are in place, ageing aircraft need not lead to reduced safety. (ATSB)
ATSB Research and Analysis Report - B20050205
06 FEB 2007 NTSB investigating runway incursion involving airliner and snowplow in Denver [to table of contents] The NTSB is investigating a runway incursion incident at Denver. At about 5:38 p.m. on February 2, a United Airlines Boeing 737, operating as flight 1193 from Billings, Montana, landed on runway 26 at Denver International Airport (DEN). One of the pilots noticed a snowplow on the runway and the crew used maximum braking power and full use of the thrust reversers to bring the aircraft to a complete stop. The plane missed the snowplow by about 200 feet. There were no injuries to the 101 persons aboard or the operator of the snowplow. The plow was being escorted by an airport operations vehicle that was in radio communications with the air traffic control tower, but the vehicles had become separated, with the escort vehicle already having cleared the runway. It is unclear if the snowplow was in radio communications with either the escort vehicle or the tower. Visibility at the time of the incident was about 10 miles. (NTSB) 06 FEB 2007 Runway incursion incident at Düsseldorf [to table of contents]
The German BFU is investigating a serious incident at Düsseldorf (DUS). An Altitalia Embraer 145 jet crossed the active runway despite being told by a controller to hold short. A BAe-146 operated by Eurowings was taking off at that moment. (DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung) 06 FEB 2007 JAL to adopt policy not to punish pilots liable for fatal accidents [to table of contents]
Japan Airlines Corp has decided to introduce a watershed policy in the Japanese transport industry that will exempt pilots and maintenance workers from punishment even if their errors result in a fatal accident, company officials said. The officials said the Japanese airline puts priority on investigating the cause of a serious accident and believes that the new policy would foster confidence between the company and its employees and help produce swift and accurate reports on any trouble. (Japan Today) 08 FEB 2007 FAA boosts safety for air tours [to table of contents]
Commercial air tours will be safer thanks to new regulations issued by the FAA. Air tour operators will now have to meet the safety requirements in the expanded National Air Tour Safety Standards of the Federal Aviation Regulations, including some operators who were not previously covered by those standards. The new regulations include requirements for enhanced passenger briefings before takeoff, life preservers and helicopter floats for certain overwater operations and helicopter performance plans. The new rules establish better oversight of the commercial air tour industry, especially flights previously conducted under the general operating and flight rules section of the regulations. In the past, the FAA has found it difficult to track where some commercial air tours were conducted and how many there were. The reporting requirements in these regulations will let the FAA develop a data base of these flights so the agency can ensure operators are complying with the applicable regulations. (FAA)
press release
11 FEB 2007 NTSB won`t overturn 1967 midair collision findings [to table of contents] After looking at an amateur historian`s work, the NTSB will stand by its findings from a 1967 midair crash near Hendersonville, NC. Paul Houle of Spartanburg had studied the crash between a Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727 and a Cessna that killed 82 people. He has said the NTSB wrongly said the Cessna pilot was at fault. Houle argued that air traffic controllers had given confusing instructions, the 737 pilot had strayed from his specified course, and that the plane`s crew was distracted by a fire in a cockpit ashtray less than a minute before the collision. Houle also noted that the NTSB`s chief investigator at the time was the brother of a Piedmont vice president. The NTSB said there was no evidence the connection affected the case. It also said the fire was deemed inconsequential and that it isn`t clear what the Cessna pilot told the control tower because the tape was garbled. (AP) 15 FEB 2007 India sends home pilots for poor English [to table of contents]
India has sent home at least 20 foreign pilots flying for its airlines in the past year as their poor English posed safety concerns, the country`s civil aviation regulator said. Around 20-25 have been sent back, mainly from former Soviet states and eastern European countries. (Reuters) 16 FEB 2007 GAO: FAA needs to shore up data-driven safety programs [to table of contents]
The FAA needs to implement more efficient and effective processes to use data to spot potential hazards that can lead to accidents, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). FAA has moved to risk-based, data-driven programs to oversee the aviation industry and to identify and respond to safety problems in the U.S. airspace system. But challenges in data and staffing affect FAA`s ability to implement these programs. (FCW)
GAO-07-490T
16 FEB 2007 Russian aviation regulators suspend several charter flights to EU countries [to table of contents] Two state Russian aviation regulators have suspended the charter and non-regular flights of several Russian air carriers to the European Union. The ruling will affect Aero Rent, Tatarstan, Atlant-Soyuz, Aviacon Zitotrans, Centre Avia, Gazpromavia, LUKoil, Russian Sky and UTair. Inspections conducted by the European Commission in 2004-2006 of these carriers revealed numerous violations of air traffic and safety regulations that have yet to be corrected. The aviation ministry said all the companies had been informed of the results of the inspections, but failed to submit plans to state regulators on correcting the violations. The companies risk being placed on the so-called EU aviation safety blacklist. (RIA Novosti) 16 FEB 2007 FAA issues emergency AD on certain GE CF34 egines [to table of contents]
The FAA issued an emergency AD following the uncontained fan disk failure on a GE CF34-3B1 on a RegionalJet. The FAA has identified an unsafe condition that is likely to exist or develop on certain other GE CF34-3 A1/-3B/-3B1 turbofan engines of this same type design. This AD requires a onetime visual and tactile inspection of certain areas of certain SN fan disks, within 20 engine flight hours after receipt of this emergency AD. (FAA)
AD 2007-04-51
18 FEB 2007 AIB Finland: Caravan crash at Helsinki due to icing [to table of contents] The primary cause of the Jan. 2005 accident of a Cessna Caravan was that the pilot executed a takeoff with an aircraft whose aerodynamic properties were fundamentally degraded due to the accumulated ice and snow on the upper surface of the wing. During the initial climb and immediately after flap retraction, airflow separated from the surface of the wing and the pilot did not manage to regain control of the aircraft. The pilot did not recognize the stall and did not act in the manner required to recover from one or, it might be that he had not received sufficient training for such situations. (Accident Investigation Board Finland)
B2/2005L
18 FEB 2007 Windshields of 13 planes crack in Denver, CO [to table of contents] Airlines are investigating why windshields on at least 13 planes cracked at Denver International Airport. Weather was poor withwinds of up to 100 mph. SkyWest Airlines reported cracked windshields on eight planes that were taking off or landing on February 16. One plane`s windshield cracked while it was airborne. Two Frontier Airlines Airbus planes had their windshields crack while in the air, while two other windshields cracked while at the gate. (AP) 19 FEB 2007 Serious airprox over France [to table of contents]
A report by the Swiss BFU indicated that a serious airprox happened over Lac d’Annecy, on February 8. A Berkut Tupolev 154 (UN-85173) was en route from Grenoble to Almaty and had been cleared to climb from FL240 to FL260. At the same time an Air Algérie Lockheed Hercules (7T-WHB) was en route from Pardubice to Boufarik at FL250. Both planes were on a collision course near the KOGAS beacon. The controllers at Geneva received a short term conflict alert (STCA) and the student controller instructed the Tupolev to halt their climb at FL250. The instructor controller intervened and ordered the Tupolev to climb to FL300 as fast as possible. The minimum distance was 100 feet vertical and 0,4nm horizontal. (BFU)
BFU press release
21 FEB 2007 TSB concerned about Canadair Regional Jet flap failures [to table of contents] The Canadian TSB is concerned that, despite best efforts by the industry and regulators alike to reduce the number of flap failures in the Canadair CRJ fleet, that number is increasing. It has been shown that a CRJ flap failure has the potential to lead to a much more serious incident or an accident. The Board requests that the Canadian Minister of Transport advise the Board of its action plan, both short and long term, to substantially decrease the number of flap failures on CRJ aircraft. The Board will continue to monitor this safety issue. (TSB)
Board Concern A06Q0188-D1-C1
27 FEB 2007 Bulgaria bans five freight carriers in bid to avoid EU aviation safety blacklist [to table of contents] Bulgarian aviation authorities have withdrawn permission for five freight carriers to operate to the European Union and a number of other states, in a bid to avoid its airlines being included on the European Commission`s blacklist. The Bulgarian ministry of transport has taken action against Vega Airlines, Heli Air, Air Sofia, Bright Aviation Services and Scorpion Air. (Flight International)
