AeroSafety World March 2011

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Entire Issue
 

AeroSafety World March 2011
68 pages. [PDF 5.2M]

After repairs or heavy maintenance and before returning an aircraft to service, the next step may be a functional check flight (FCF) — making sure that normal and emergency systems work correctly. That can mean pushing the flight parameters beyond normal limits, and extra risk. For instance, in 2008, an A320 crashed during an end-of-lease demonstration flight in the process of being returned to the owner.

Flight Safety Foundation sponsored an international meeting to explore the many issues raised by FCFs and how to reduce the risks they entail. Mark Lacagnina reports from the meeting — including controversies that arose.

Also in the March AeroSafety World: the safety benefits of reduced-thrust takeoffs; the inadvertent nighttime taxiway landing of a 767, involving confusion between runway edge lights and more-conspicuous taxiway lights; the World Food Programme’s take-charge safety measures for its humanitarian aid flights in difficult areas; widespread fatigue damage on aging aircraft; and much else pertinent to everyone interested in aviation risk management.

Features
 

When Less is More (Text only)

Engine and airframe manufacturers for decades have cited the direct relationship between engine wear and high exhaust gas temperature in recommending that operators use less than maximum takeoff thrust whenever possible. While the cost benefits of reduced-thrust takeoffs are thoroughly documented, the safety benefits are not as well understood. [Download PDF 3 pages. 131K]

Check Flight Checkup (Text only)

There is a variety of names for the types of ad hoc nonrevenue flights that aircraft operators perform, which include postmaintenance, airworthiness, aircraft-acceptance and end-of-lease check flights. However, a recent fatal accident and a rash of serious incidents have made one thing clear: The risks involved in these flight activities are higher than in normal operations. [Download PDF 5 pages. 286K]

Running on Empty (Text only)

A “complex web” of factors, including a total loss of oil in the transmission’s main gearbox, led to the fatal crash of a Cougar Helicopters Sikorsky S-92A in the Atlantic Ocean off Canada’s east coast, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada says. [Download PDF 5 pages. 467K]

Safety on the Frontier (Text only)

The United Nations World Food Programme and Flight Safety Foundation, after several years of informal collaboration, in February signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing the partnership between the Foundation and one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations. [Download PDF 4 pages. 320K]

Seat Belt Signs (Text only)

Turbulence is the leading cause of in-flight injuries involving American air carriers, based on a recent review of data by analysts within the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Flight Standards Service. [Download PDF 2 pages. 277K]

TEM’s Unspoken Language (Text only)

There is an unspoken language, although sometimes it ripens into discussion, associated with the threat and error management (TEM) process. It is a simple language of just three “words.” Commonly known and widely used, these words have a connection to the world of TEM that has gone unnoticed. [Download PDF 5 pages. 780K]

Crackdown on Fatigue (Text only)

Culminating years of work aimed at preventing aging airliners from being flown with widespread fatigue damage, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has issued a rule requiring the development of an inspection program for transport category airplanes. [Download PDF 5 pages. 287K]

Blue Edge Lights (Text only)

New proposals to augment airport surface detection equipment, model X (ASDE-X), and tighten airfield lighting practices have lengthened the list of safety recommendations inspired by a nighttime taxiway-landing incident. The landing involved a Boeing 767-300ER at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. [Download PDF 4 pages. 370K]

Great Shakes (Text Only)

Pilots confronting smoke and burning odor, a frequent reason for aircraft diversions, gain a decision-making advantage if electric cooling fans can be ruled out as the source, a U.S. manufacturer of cooling fan monitors has concluded. [Download PDF 2 pages. 239K]

**Web Exclusive** Great Shakes (Expanded version of original article) Text Only

Departments
 

Executive’s Message | Protecting Safety Data (Text only)

The focus of our recent efforts has been on the legal protection of safety information. Increasingly, voluntarily provided safety information is being used in court cases, sometimes even trivial cases, and surrendered to the general news media under freedom of information requests. [Download PDF 1 page. 76K]

Editorial Page | Misdirected Safety (Text only)

More than 80 years after air travel became widely available, the general public remains profoundly ignorant about aviation, viewing it with fear, suspicion and a distrust of those in the system. [Download PDF 1 page. 67K]

Safety Calendar | Industry Events (Text only)

A listing of aviation safety-related conferences, seminars and meetings. [Download PDF 1 page. 78K]

In Brief | Safety News (Text only)

Citing three fatal accidents involving collisions of aircraft with unmarked meteorological evaluation towers (METs), the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has issued a safety alert warning pilots of dangers associated with the towers. [Download PDF 3 pages. 145K]

Leaders Log | Paths to Proficiency (Text only)

The International Association of Flight Training Professionals has been organized to facilitate the identification, recognition and timely communication of demonstrable global pilot training best practices. [Download PDF 2 pages. 120K]

Data Link | Business Jet Paradox (Text only)

Over a 10-year period, U.K. operators had the highest reportable accident rate but the lowest serious incident rate. [Download PDF 4 pages. 471K]

Info Scan | Cracking the Microburst Code (Text only)

“From 1964 to 1985, a number of microburst-related plane crashes in the United States killed hundreds of people at a time,” Smith says. “Today, this type of fatal airline accident has practically been eliminated.” [Download PDF 4 pages. 90K]

On Record | Faulty Altimeter Spurs Near Collision (Text only)

The following information provides an awareness of problems in the hope that they can be avoided in the future. The information is based on final reports by official investigative authorities on aircraft accidents and incidents. [Download PDF 8 pages. 233K]

Smoke Fire Fumes | Selected Events in the U.S., December 2010–February 2010

Selected Smoke, Fire and Fumes Events in the United States, December 2010–February 2010 [Download PDF 1 page. 94K]

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