News
07 MAY - Auditor General of Canada: new approach to oversight needs to be better managed 07 MAY - Kyrgyzstan bans old aircraft
07 MAY - FAA NPRM: Removal of regulations allowing for polished frost on wings of airplan
08 MAY - Nigeria acts on Senate Committee on Aviation recommendations
09 MAY - EASA issues emergency AD for Dornier 328 wing crack inspection
12 MAY - AAIB: BA Boeing 777 had low pressure in fuel pumps when it crashed
16 MAY - Flight attendant set fire to plane in anger at work schedule
20 MAY - Japan: Missing bolt led to DHC-8-400 nosegear-up landing
20 MAY - U.S. DoT calls for better FAA - airline coordination on AD compliance
23 MAY - NTSB issues recommendations for Boeing 757 wing panels
23 MAY - British coroner says Nimrod plane is not airworthy
31 MAY - Air Trek AOC suspended by FAA
07 MAY 2008 Auditor General of Canada: new approach to oversight needs to be better managed [to table of contents]
There are several weaknesses in how Transport Canada has managed the transition to a new approach for overseeing air transportation safety, says the Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, in her report tabled in the House of Commons.
Under the new approach—a requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organization for all member countries by 2009—aviation companies must have their own systems for managing safety risks. This means that like other civil aviation authorities, Transport Canada will shift its primary focus from traditional oversight such as conducting inspections and audits to assessing the safety systems that companies have in place.
The audit found that in the first stages of the transition, affecting 74 airlines and aircraft maintenance companies, the Department carried out pilot projects and made adjustments as needed. However, in planning the transition, it did not formally assess the risks involved in the change or forecast the overall costs of managing it. Nor has it measured the impact of shifting resources from traditional oversight activities to the new approach.
The audit also found that Transport Canada has not yet identified how many inspectors it needs both during and after the transition, and what competencies they should have. (Office of the Auditor General of Canada)
press release
The Government Kyrgyzstan has taken measures to improve aviation safety in the country. Prime minister Igor Chudinov signed a decree, banning old aircraft from the civil aircraft register of Kyrgyzstan. As of May 1, 2008 aircraft older than 30 years may not be registered in Kyrgyzstan. Starting from January 1, 2010 this rule will apply for aircraft older than 25 years. Also, carriage of passengers is not allowed on board aircraft, previously included in the Register of Civil Aircraft Kyrgyz Republic, older than 40 years. The decision has been taken following audits of the Kyrgyz aviation authority by EU and ICAO experts. They noted a discrepancy between the number of inspectors and the number of Kyrgyz aircraft. In order to maintain the airworthiness of aircraft over 30 years of age considerable material costs have to be made. Unscrupulous operators sometimes conceal part of the work required or knowingly provide false documents. The limited supervisory staff of the Department of Civil Aviation is not able to thoroughly check these documents. (Government Kyrgyzstan)
press release
07 MAY 2008 FAA NPRM: Removal of regulations allowing for polished frost on wings of airplan [to table of contents] The U.S. FAA issued a Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), proposing to remove provisions in its regulations that allow for operations with 'polished frost' (i.e., frost polished to make it smooth) on the wings of airplanes operated under parts 125, 135, and certain airplanes operated under part 91. The rule would increase safety by not allowing operations with polished frost, which the FAA has determined increases the risk of unsafe flight. (FAA)
NPRM
08 MAY 2008 Nigeria acts on Senate Committee on Aviation recommendations [to table of contents] The Nigerian Senate Committee on Aviation presented recommendations on aviation safety in Nigeria. The Senate has approved an investigation into the disbursement and utilisation of N19.5 billion intervention fund released by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration in 2006 for the rehabilitation and development of infrastructure in the aviation sector. The Senate also resolved that the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should be empowered with a legislation to remove grounded serviceable aircraft in the nation's airports which constitute danger to air travellers. The Senate said the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) should hasten the installation of radar communication equipment and other high level facilities at all airports to enhance safety in the nation's airspace. It also stated that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should encourage local airlines to replace their old aircraft with modern ones. The Upper House resolved that NAMA, NCAA, Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) should "as a matter of urgency put in place a well-structured and implementable pension and gratuity policy for their staff. "The Federal Government should urgently come out with a strategic master plan for the development and growth of Aviation Industry. The master plan should cover physical development of Nigerian airports to avoid more aviation disasters in the country," the Senate further resolved. (This Day) 09 MAY 2008 EASA issues emergency AD for Dornier 328 wing crack inspection [to table of contents]
During a routine inspection, cracks have been found on a Dornier 328 aircraft at the lower wing panel rear trailing edge inboard of flap lever arm 1 (rib 5). A subsequent inspection of the other aircraft in that operator’s fleet revealed several more aircraft with cracks at the same location. EASA issued an Emergency AD requiring detailed visual inspections (DVI) of both the left (LH) and right (RH) wing panel rear trailing edge around rib 3 and rib 5 and a subsequent Eddy Current inspection (NDI) of the same area to detect cracks, follow-up repair actions when cracks are found, and the reporting of all findings to the TC holder. (EASA)
AD 2008-0087-E
12 MAY 2008 AAIB: BA Boeing 777 had low pressure in fuel pumps when it crashed [to table of contents] The U.K. AAIB issued special bulletin, describing their progress in the investigation into the Boeing 777 accident at London-Heathrow in January, 2008. The report states: "The high pressure (HP) fuel pumps from both engines have unusual and fresh cavitation damage to the outlet ports consistent with operation at low inlet pressure. The evidence to date indicates that both engines had low fuel pressure at the inlet to the HP pump. Restrictions in the fuel system between the aircraft fuel tanks and each of the engine HP pumps, resulting in reduced fuel flows, is suspected." (AAIB)
AAIB Special Bulletin: 3/2008
16 MAY 2008 Flight attendant set fire to plane in anger at work schedule [to table of contents] A 19-year-old flight attendant charged with allegedly setting a fire in a restroom during a Northwest/Compass Airlines flight from Minneapolis to Regina, Saskatchewan said he did it because he was mad at the airline for making him work that route. On May 7, 2008 the Embraer 175 made an emergency landing at Fargo, ND. None of the 72 passengers and four crew members aboard flight 2040 was injured. (Star Tribune) 20 MAY 2008 Japan: Missing bolt led to DHC-8-400 nosegear-up landing [to table of contents]
Failure to insert a bolt during maintenance work led to an accident in which an All Nippon Airways DHC-8 plane skidded onto a runway on its belly in March 2007. The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission found that failure to insert a bolt into a part that was replaced before the plane was delivered to ANA led to the accident at Kochi Airport. The commission has decided to issue a safety recommendation to aviation authorities in Canada, requesting that authorities instruct Canada's Bombardier company to strengthen quality control. (Mainichi Daily News)
Accident Description
20 MAY 2008 U.S. DoT calls for better FAA - airline coordination on AD compliance [to table of contents] Citing lessons learned from reports submitted by the Federal Aviation Administration and American Airlines in response to last month’s grounding of hundreds of MD-80 aircraft, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation called on the FAA and airlines to better ensure mutual understanding of what constitutes compliance with an Aviation Directive. Secretary Peters added that the FAA and airlines need to review and improve procedures for understanding the process, timing and criteria for requesting and approving alternative solutions for safety directives, known as Alternate Means of Compliance. The Secretary also said she is calling on airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review existing protocols for communications to make sure that significant safety decisions are made using a clearly documented process. "When situations of this magnitude evolve, it is critical that all parties have the right information so the right decisions can be made," Secretary Peters noted. She said the reports make clear that the FAA is the ultimate arbiter of what constitutes a safety of flight issue and that safety deadlines must always be met on time. "It’s important to note that both American and the FAA agree when it comes to aviation safety, there are no soft deadlines." (U.S. Department of Transportation)
DoT press release
23 MAY 2008 NTSB issues recommendations for Boeing 757 wing panels [to table of contents] Following an occurrence in March 2008 when a Boeing 757 experienced an in-flight separation of a wing panel in cruis flight, the NTSB issued three recommendations to the FAA: Require operators of Boeing 757 airplanes to conduct a one-time visual inspection of the upper wing fixed trailing edge panel support beam clips for cracks, proper orientation, and spacers, and to replace cracked clips and reinstall any clips that are improperly oriented or that lack spacers, in accordance with Boeing Service Bulletin 757-57-0027, Revision 2, dated November 14, 1991. (A-08-22) Require operators to report any cracked clips found during the one-time inspection, as requested in Safety Recommendation A-08-22, as well as the part number and orientation of the clips relative to the wing rear sparvertical stiffeners and whether spacers were present; thenanalyze this information to determine if repetitiveinspections are required. (A-08-23) Require Boeing to issue more explicit instructions and figures that clearly illustrate the correct orientation of the clips and spacers that attach the Boeing 757 panel support beam to the wing rear spar vertical stiffeners. (A-08-24) (NTSB)
Safety recommendations A-08-22-24
23 MAY 2008 British coroner says Nimrod plane is not airworthy [to table of contents] A British coroner investigating the in-flight fire and crash of an RAF Nimrod plane in Afghanistan said the Royal Air Force should ground its Nimrods. The entire RAF Nimrod fleet has "never been airworthy from the first time it was released to service" nearly 40 years ago and should be grounded immediately, the assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire said. The RAF responded by noting that they "have stopped air-to-air refuelling and no longer use the very hot air systems in flight. This eradicates any dangers from the serious design failures noted by the Coroner that have been present in this aircraft since the 1980s. These measures have been supplemented with enhanced aircraft maintenance and inspection procedures to ensure the aircraft, as it is today, is safe to fly." (The Times, Ministry of Defence) 31 MAY 2008 Air Trek AOC suspended by FAA [to table of contents]
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration made an emergency decision to suspend the AOC of air ambulence operator Air Trek. According to the FAA's emergency order, the company failed to abide by guidelines regulating weight on aircraft; allowed unqualified pilots to command international flights; did not give pilots proper rest and training; did not maintain equipment on time; and did not perform timely inspections. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports a statement by the company which confirmed that it had not kept proper records, but followed federal safety guidelines and fixed the "clerical" errors that prompted the suspension. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
Air Trek profile
