News
01 MAY - CAA UK publishes Safety Plan 2009/11 19 MAY - Audit: FAA not realizing the full benefits of the Aviation Safety Action Program
26 MAY - FAA proposes $1.3 Million civil penalty for Gulfstream International Airlines
26 MAY - AAIB: final report on Boeing 737-300 stall during a go-around
29 MAY - Nigeria CAA downgrades Kaduna Airport due to inadequate fire services
30 MAY - Iran defuses homemade bomb on Kish Air plane
01 MAY 2009 CAA UK publishes Safety Plan 2009/11 [to table of contents]
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) published a Safety Plan. It presents CAA's strategies and actions to be taken to achieve a continuous improvement in safety over the next two years.
(CAA)
CAA Safety Plan 2009/11
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General (DoT, OIG) carried out an audit to assess FAA’s implementation of the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) and identify any improvements that will help FAA to maximize the program’s safety benefits. While ASAP is a potentially valuable safety tool, OIG found that FAA’s ineffective implementation and inadequate guidance have allowed inconsistent use and potential abuse of the program. Further, FAA has not devised a method to fully compile data reported through ASAP for analysis on a national level. Therefore, little is understood about nationwide trends in the types of violations reported under ASAP, and ASAP reports do not help FAA determine whether systemic, nationwide causes of those violations are identified and addressed. As a result of these issues, ASAP, as currently implemented, is a missed opportunity for FAA to enhance the national margin of safety. To realize the full benefits of ASAP, FAA must improve the program in the following areas: (1) revising ASAP guidance to clarify which incidents should be excluded from the program, (2) emphasizing to employees that ASAP is not an amnesty program, (3) clarifying the Event Review Committee (ERC)’s authority and role in ASAP and ensuring ERC members are unbiased, (4) requiring inspectors to examine repetitive reports of ASAP–related safety concerns and enhancements to ensure effective corrective actions, and (5) developing a central database of all air carriers’ ASAP reports that FAA can use for trend analysis at a national level. (DoT, OIG)
final report
26 MAY 2009 FAA proposes $1.3 Million civil penalty for Gulfstream International Airlines [to table of contents] The U.S. FAA has proposed a $1.3 million civil penalty from Florida-based Gulfstream International Airlines, Inc. for violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The alleged violations include improper scheduling of flight crew duty time, and the installation of unapproved air conditioner compressors and improperly maintained vent blowers on the airline's fleet of 27 Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. An FAA review of the airline's electronic record-keeping system for tracking crew duty and rest time revealed that Gulfstream International did not accurately input the proper data from its manually generated hard-copy aircraft logbook records into the electronic system. The discrepancies resulted in scheduling crew members in excess of daily and weekly flight time limitations. During a June 2008 inspection, the FAA determined that the airline had installed unapproved automotive air conditioner compressors on its aircraft between September 2006 and May 2008. Following the FAA inspection, the airline grounded all of the affected aircraft and replaced the units with approved aircraft air conditioner compressors. In the course of a July 2008 inspection of Gulfstream International avionics and component shops in Fort Lauderdale, the FAA discovered that the airline had installed improperly maintained vent blowers on six planes between January 2008 and June 2008. Following that inspection, the airline replaced the blowers with properly maintained units. Gulfstream International Airlines has 30 days from the receipt of the civil penalty letter to respond to the FAA. (FAA)
press release
26 MAY 2009 AAIB: final report on Boeing 737-300 stall during a go-around [to table of contents] The U.K. AAIB released the final report of their investigation into a serious incident involving a Boeing 737-300 in September 2007. The Boeing 737-300 was on approach to Bournemouth Airport following a routine passenger flight from Faro, Portugal. Early in the ILS approach the auto-throttle disengaged with the thrust levers in the idle thrust position. The disengagement was neither commanded nor recognised by the crew and the thrust levers remained at idle throughout the approach. Because the aircraft was fully configured for landing, the air speed decayed rapidly to a value below that appropriate for the approach. The commander took control and initiated a go-around. During the go-around the aircraft pitched up excessively; flight crew attempts to reduce the aircraft’s pitch were largely ineffective. The aircraft reached a maximum pitch of 44º nose-up and the indicated airspeed reduced to 82 kt. The flight crew, however, were able to recover control of the aircraft and complete a subsequent approach and landing at Bournemouth without further incident. Although the commander reported the event to the operator the following morning, his initial Air Safety Report (ASR) contained limited information and the seriousness of the event was not appreciated until the Quick Access Recorder (QAR) data was inspected on 4 October 2007. G-THOF was not subjected to an engineering examination to ensure its continued airworthiness and remained in service throughout this period. (AAIB)
AAIB Report 3/2009
29 MAY 2009 Nigeria CAA downgrades Kaduna Airport due to inadequate fire services [to table of contents] Following the brief closure of Kaduna Airport(KAD) two days earlier due to inadequate fire services cover, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) downgraded the airport and restricted aircraft movement to the airport. Critical aircraft that are allowed to operate to the airport shall not exceed the size of HS-125-300 category aircraft. Director-General of NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, said that the action was taken due to inadequate fire cover at the Kaduna airport, stressing that the Agency had no option than to downgrade the airport’s status of fire service from category seven to category three. (This Day) 30 MAY 2009 Iran defuses homemade bomb on Kish Air plane [to table of contents]
An Iranian Kish Air plane made an emergency landing in Ahvaz after a bomb was found on board shortly after takeoff. Security personnel defused the homemade bomb. The airplane was en route to Tehran. (Reuters)
