29 APR 2009
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*THY 737 altimeter fault occurred several times before crash
*Boeing unveils new 737 upgrades
*Pilots responsible for swine flu alerts (Australia)
*Dallas/Fort Worth Airport high on FAA's bird strike list
*Swine and Avian Flu Protection Kits
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THY 737 altimeter fault occurred several times before crash
Dutch accident investigators have determined that the radio-altimeter fault
that is the focus of their probe into the fatal loss of a THY Turkish
Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Amsterdam Schiphol had occurred on several of the
nine previous flights by the aircraft.
On two of the flights, which were retained on the digital flight data
recorder (DFDR), the fault caused the autothrottle to enter retard mode and
the throttles to close as they did on the accident flight.
The investigators note that Boeing guidance is that the autopilot and
autothrottle should not be used on approach, as they were on the accident
flight, if the radio altimeter malfunctioned on the previous flight. It is
not stated whether a malfunction was in fact identified on the previous
flight.
In their preliminary report they also describe how the aircraft entered the
glidepath from above rather than below, and only decelerated to the correct
approach speed of 144kt at an altitude of 770ft. With the throttles at idle,
the aircraft's speed subsequently fell to 110kt at 420ft and a last-ditch
attempt by the crew to recover was unsuccessful.
The report relates how, in daytime and good weather on 25 February, the
aircraft (TC-JGE), which was otherwise found to be fault-free, was flown
from Istanbul to Amsterdam by the crew consisting of a line-training
captain, a first officer performing a "line flight under supervision
(LFUS)", and another first officer in the jump seat required as a safety
pilot during a LFUS. All three died, as well as a flight attendant and five
passengers.
The left-hand radio altimeter, which feeds the autopilot and autothrottle,
recorded its maximum permissible altitude of 8,191ft until the aircraft
descended to an actual altitude of about 1,950ft when the recorded value
"suddenly changed to -8ft and remained at that value up until shortly before
impact".
Cockpit voice recorder data shows that "several aural landing configuration
warnings" - for flaps and landing-gear - sounded at altitude and then again
while on the approach, when they were triggered by the low radio-altitude
reading. The warnings and the crew's reaction are still being examined.
The investigators say the standard procedure for runway 18R at Amsterdam is
for air traffic control to line up aircraft at 8nm and 2,000ft altitude, but
a line-up of 5-8nm may be offered. The Turkish flight lined up at 6nm and
2,000ft and descended to onto the glidepath from above, the crew selecting
vertical-speed mode to attain the glidepath at 1,330ft. They reduced speed
from their initial 165kt to the correct 144kt by 770ft, selecting 40° flap
at 900ft.
At the same time the autothrottle "entered the retard mode" normally engaged
during the landing flare and the thrust levers went to idle. The speed
continued to decay and the autopilot steadily commanded nose-up to try to
maintain the glideslope.
Eventually the stick-shaker, warning of an imminent stall, triggered at
about 460ft. The report says the thrust levers were immediately advanced but
"moved back to idle" and the autothrottle disengaged, either by the crew or
automatically. Speed by then was 110kt, the aircraft 11° nose-up, and the
angle of attack at about 20°.
At 420ft the crew disengaged the autopilot and attempted to recover,
reaching 8° nose-down at 310ft with full-power then generating a slight
climb, but it eventually reached a 22° nose-up attiude with 10° left bank
before crashing 1.5km from the threshold. The fuselage broke in two places
and the cockpit and cabin were severely damaged. Eighty-six occupants were
injured, in addition to the nine fatalities.
The report states: "The door between the cabin and the cockpit was found
partly opened."
It concludes: "The Dutch Safety Board has issued a warning to Boeing in
which extra attention is asked for a part of one of the manuals (737
dispatch deviations guide) of the Boeing 737. In this guide it is stated
that if, [during the] preceding flight, the radio altimeters are
malfunctioning, the associated automatic pilots and autothrottle systems
cannot be used for approach and landing. The board has given Boeing into
consideration to investigate if these procedures should also be valid during
all phases of a flight.
"Boeing has issued a multi-operator message the same day concerning
malfunction of the radio altimeters."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
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Boeing unveils new 737 upgrades
RENTON, Wash. -- Whatever happened to the magic of flight? That's the
question Boeing has been working to answer.
On Tuesday Boeing Co. unveiled the upgraded version of its 737 model, which
is equipped with new features inspired by research.
Countless people fly every day, but it appears the thrill is gone. After
fighting through a crowded airport, getting through security and lugging
heavy bags around, few travelers are left excited about piling into an
aircraft like sardines in a can.
To figure out ways to dissolve passenger anxiety, Boeing hired a
psychologist and cultural anthropologist.
"We learned massive amounts of how the passenger experience really affected
people's experience of flying," said Kent Craver of Boeing's Passenger
Satisfaction and Revenue.
In addition, Boeing took the lessons learned from the Dreamliner, and are
now upgrading its 737 model accordingly.
The new version's interior uses LED lighting to mimic the sky, and its new
easier-to-load overhead bins also leave more headroom.
And Boeing's not stopping at the interior. The company is also making
changes to the 737's engine and braking system -- a move Boeing hopes will
cut costs for both the company and its customers.
The new engines cut fuel consumption by more than 2 percent, which can save
an airline nearly $150,000 per aircraft per year.
"Make the customer happier, prolong the life of the product and for the
green environment," said Robyn Brands of CFM.
"I think we're going to see more airlines want to choose this airplane going
forward," said John Hamilton, chief project engineer of the 737.
That's what Boeing is counting on as it gets ready to roll out the new
737-800.
The new interior package is currently an option on Boeing's existing 737s,
but it will be the standard on all new orders.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/43923987.html
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Pilots responsible for swine flu alerts
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced the measure at a press
conference to outline Australia's response the worldwide outbreak of swine
flu, saying it "can be in place by late this afternoon''.
It was unclear how quickly additional clinical treatments would be available
at airports.
Four million health declaration cards will be distributed to airports around
the country.
Arrangements are also in place to deploy thermal scanners to eight of
Australia's international airports.
"They are in transit to airports today and all arrangements are in place for
AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) to be standing by to
receive that equipment and to use it if that becomes necessary,'' Ms Roxon
said.
Ms Roxon said the number of Australians aboard a flight from Mexico to New
Zealand with three schoolchildren who contracted the swine flu has been
revised down to 15 from 22.
The Australian, 29 Apr 2009 Of those, only two showed any flu-like symptoms
but had been cleared by their doctor.
"The reason this number is different is that the authorities couldn't
ascertain from the names provided by the New Zealand authorities which were
families and which were individuals," she said.
The Australian passengers included four people from NSW, three from
Victoria, one from South Australia and seven Queenslanders.
"Two of the passengers in Queensland were showing some flu symptoms but have
subsequently been cleared by their GP,'' Ms Roxon said.
"My advice is none of the other passengers that have been contacted so far
are showing any flu symptoms but obviously this process is ... still ongoing
and a number of people are receiving anti-virals as a precautionary
measure.''
Ms Roxon said there were no confirmed cases of swine flu in Australia.
There are 31 suspected cases in Queensland; 19 in Victoria; 14 in South
Australia; 10 in New South Wales; eight in WA; four in the ACT; three in
Tasmania, and one in the Northern Territory.
The Government had taken additional steps to make swine flu a quarantinable
disease, Ms Roxon said.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25404010-29277,00.html
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Dallas/Fort Worth Airport high on FAA's bird strike list
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport ranks second among the country's
airfields for reports of planes colliding with birds and fifth for
collisions in which planes sustained serious damage, according to an
analysis of newly released federal data from 2000 to 2008.
Since 2000, a total of 1,529 wildlife strikes, usually birds, were reported
at D/FW, second only to Denver International Airport. And at least 19
airplanes leaving or arriving at D/FW were seriously damaged or could not be
repaired – placing D/FW among the top five airports experiencing such
accidents.
At Dallas Love Field, 243 bird strikes were reported, of which two were
considered serious.
No injuries were reported in any of the D/FW and Love Field incidents, which
sometimes resulted in aborted takeoffs, precautionary landings or engine
shutdowns.
Across the country, reported bird strikes have increased by nearly 20
percent, from 6,014 in 2000 to 7,185 in 2008. But in the same period,
serious incidents fell from 178 to 85.
The presence of wildlife is a growing threat to aviation safety as bird
populations grow and adapt to living in more urban areas, air traffic
increases, and birds fail to avoid modern engines that are quieter,
according to a Federal Aviation Administration report. The FAA, U.S.
Department of Agriculture and the Air Force expect "the risk, frequency, and
potential severity of wildlife-aircraft collisions to grow over the next
decade," the report says.
North Texas-based Southwest Airlines and American Airlines were among the
U.S. commercial carriers most affected by reported wildlife strikes.
Southwest reported 4,192 collisions since 2000, 56 of them serious. American
had 2,585 collisions, 41 of them serious. Both airlines require pilots to
report strikes to the FAA.
"We really feel that we report these at probably a greater rate than a lot
of other carriers," said Paul Flaningan, a spokesman for Southwest Airlines.
"While bird strikes have attracted a lot of attention, they are, of course,
rare events," according to the Airline Transport Association of America, an
airline industry trade group. "The vast majority of cases result in little
or no aircraft damage. We will continue to support airlines in reporting
bird strikes and work with airports to refine wildlife management plans."
It's impossible to know the exact number of such incidents, because
reporting to the program is voluntary.
The data provide a glimpse into records the FAA sought to keep from the
public. The Dallas Morning News and other media organizations sought the
data under the Freedom of Information Act after a US Airways jet was struck
by birds and made an emergency landing in the Hudson River in January.
The FAA resisted release, proposing a federal rule to make it inaccessible
to the public. Agency officials ignored repeated e-mails from The News
seeking updates on when the agency would release the data.
The FAA released the data after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood scrapped
the proposal to keep the records secret. LaHood also favors making reporting
mandatory, a move the National Transportation Safety Board first advocated
in 1999. The FAA refused at the time, arguing in a February 2000 response
that requiring reporting would not solve the problem and would be difficult
to enforce.
"The approach that we are taking for the near term is we're going to
continue with voluntary reporting," said Les Door, spokesman for the FAA.
"We plan to get a group of experts together during the summer, check what
the situation is, and discuss possible actions, including making it
mandatory."
Eugene LeBoeuf, chief of the Air Force team that studies ways to mitigate
bird strikes, said it would be difficult for the public to identify
nationwide trends through the data because the voluntary reporting system
captures only 20 percent of occurrences. An FAA spokeswoman confirmed that
estimate.
LeBoeuf, who previously worked for the FAA, favors making the data public.
He said the agency began to assemble its database in 1989. The people
reporting "the strikes you see in that database are the ones trying to work
the issue and [make things] more safe," said LeBoeuf, a wildlife biologist.
Pilots say most strikes occur during the approach to an airport "because
it's on approach where you spend a long amount of time at lower altitude,"
said Scott Shankland, an American Airlines pilot and a spokesman for its
pilots union. He said bird strikes don't occur often but remain a risk. Last
year, an American Airlines MD-80 struck a "fairly large bird" on approach.
The collision left a crater "a foot-and-a-half in diameter in the nose of
the airplane," he said.
"In most cases the damage is fairly minor, but the potential for serious
damage to the airplane certainly exists," Shankland said.
Bird strikes at D/FW occur hundreds of times a year, but they generally do
less damage than at some other airfields, according to pilots and airport
officials. That's because the birds that cross the airfield or try to roost
near the terminals are smaller species, such as doves and meadowlarks, said
Cathy Boyles, wildlife administrator for D/FW. But the area also has larger
birds such as black vultures and turkey vultures, she said.
"We're out here on the grounds all the time watching out for birds and other
wildlife," she said. The staff of 30 also deals with coyotes, stray dogs,
rodents and even the occasional turtle that wanders across a runway, she
said.
Her team uses several methods to try to reduce bird strikes. In the fall, a
falconer is brought in to deal with birds roosting in the live oaks. The
falcon scares away birds that otherwise would fly around the airport grounds
looking for food. Her staff also uses hand-held noisemakers, sirens mounted
on airport vehicles and propane cannons that produce booming sounds.
If staff members spot a coyote, they'll chase it off the property, she said.
Concrete strips are being installed under cyclone fences to prevent coyotes
and other animals from slipping through.
Another part of her job involves education of airport staff to ensure that
all bird strikes are reported. Any bird remains, including feathers, are
sent to the Bird Strike Identification Program at the Smithsonian
Institution. That information is used to refine the airport's bird strike
prevention program, Boyles said.
"I want to know what's going on out there," she said
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-birdst
rike_25ent.ART.State.Edition2.4a5267a.html
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