[simpits-chat] Fwd: Fw: Flight Safety Information (04JAN03-004) (fwd)

[Gene Buckle]

>Flight Safety Information (04JAN03-004)
>_________________________________
>
>*2 Pilots Leave Lufthansa on Alcohol Test
>*Worker disabled jet, officials say
>*Frontier mechanic charged for disabling 737 jetliner
>*2 People Killed in Louisiana Plane Crash
>*Ultralight fatality fueling rule push
>*Australia Plans 1-Km High Structure
>*Taiwan's EVA Air Submitted Shanghai Charter Plan To China
>*Brazil Government May Use $700 Million Military Fund To End Hunger
>*2002 safest year for civil aviation since 1946
>*Today in History
>**********************************************
>
>2 Pilots Leave Lufthansa on Alcohol Test
>
>HELSINKI, Finland (AP) - Two Lufthansa pilots who tested positive for
>alcohol just before they were to take off have left the company, the
airline
>said Friday.
>
>The Boeing 737 was scheduled to leave Helsinki-Vantaa International
Airport
>for Frankfurt, Germany, the morning of Dec. 20 when airport police asked
the
>two pilots, who were in the cockpit, to take an alcohol test.
>
>``There were people at the airport - I don't know if it was Lufthansa or
>airport staff at the airport in Helsinki - who saw the two pilots and
>noticed something was wrong with them,'' Lufthansa spokeswoman Sandra
Kraft
>said.
>
>Prosecutor Juha-Mikko Hamalainen said the two tested positive for
alcohol
>but would not say what their blood-alcohol level was.
>
>``We did not fire them, but they are no longer working for Lufthansa,''
>Kraft said. ``We made an agreement with them, which was a quicker
solution
>legally. It was an agreement of both sides.''
>
>Police are investigating the case, and the pilots could face up to two
years
>in prison if found guilty. Hamalainen said he may file charges after he
>receives a report from the Finnish Civil Aviation Administration.
>
>Like U.S. regulations, European aviation rules prohibit pilots from
using
>any alcohol eight hours before flying an airplane. Some airlines,
including
>Lufthansa, enforce a 12-hour, zero-tolerance limit.
>
>Routine testing is not enforced at the airport, but is done if police
are
>prompted.
>
>On the Net:
>
>http://www.lufthansa.com
>
>http://www.finnair.com
>**************
>
>Worker disabled jet, officials say
>
>Frontier mechanic believed plane was unsafe, affidavit says
>(Rocky Mountain News)
>
>A Frontier Airlines mechanic threw a wheel chock into an engine of a jet
>carrying 130 passengers on New Year's Day, forcing the pilot to return
the
>plane to its gate at DIA, federal authorities said Thursday.
>
>The mechanic, Corydon Van Dyke Cochran, 44, allegedly told an FBI agent
that
>he threw the chock into the No. 1 engine of the Boeing 737 aircraft
because
>he believed Flight 136 to Dallas was unsafe to fly, according to a
federal
>affidavit.
>
>Cochran agreed to answer questions without an attorney and told the FBI
that
>the jet needed a lightning strike inspection before its departure from
>Denver International Airport, the agent wrote in court documents.
>
>Federal prosecutors charged Cochran on Thursday with one count of
>destruction of an aircraft.
>
>"I have no comment, thank you," Cochran said Thursday from his
Westminster
>home after spending the night in a detention facility and being released
>from custody.
>
>Elise Eberwein, Frontier vice president of communications, said the
airline
>has removed Cochran from his position as mechanic pending an
investigation.
>She did not know how long Cochran has worked for Frontier.
>
>The FBI and U.S. attorney's office alleged that Cochran could have
prevented
>the Frontier jet from flying through other less-dangerous means. He
could
>have made a log entry showing that he felt it was unsafe. He could have
told
>the pilot that it was too dangerous to fly the aircraft.
>
>The pilot, federal authorities and Frontier officials said, would have
been
>forced to abandon takeoff.
>
>"The mechanic had other legitimate, lawful ways of keeping that plane on
the
>ground," Jeffrey Dorschner, U.S. attorney spokesman in the Colorado
>district, said Thursday. "He did not have to commit a criminal act to
keep
>that plane on the ground."
>
>The plane was hit by lightning Tuesday evening while flying to Tampa,
Fla. A
>Frontier maintenance supervisor said he told Cochran that mechanics in
Tampa
>had inspected the jet and made appropriate entries in the log book,
>according to the FBI.
>
>Eberwein said mechanics in Tampa actually conducted two lightning strike
>inspections overnight and found the plane suitable for flying, so it was
>flown back to Denver on New Year's Day.
>
>Cochran told the FBI he was concerned about a light bulb that was burned
out
>on the wing tip and thought it might have been missed during the
inspection
>done in Tampa.
>
>The Frontier Airlines maintenance supervisor replaced the bulb and
approved
>the plane for flying, the agent said. The supervisor and the lead
mechanic
>then inspected the 737 again and informed the pilot that Flight 136 was
>fine.
>
>Cochran complained that he felt that his supervisors and other
maintenance
>workers were not listening to him.
>
>He told the FBI that as the aircraft was being pushed back from the
gate, he
>decided the only way to keep it from taking off was to disable it, so he
>threw a wheel chock into the No. 1 engine.
>
>Cochran said he then used his radio to notify the airline's maintenance
>control that the engine had swallowed the device.
>
>The chock is a mechanical device placed in front of and behind the
plane's
>tires to keep the aircraft from rolling.
>
>Frontier Airlines officials said the chock hurled into the engine was
made
>of rubber.
>
>The flight crew of five and the 130 passengers boarded another Frontier
>plane shortly after the incident, Eberwein said. The pilot eventually
>announced to the passengers what had occurred.
>
>The engine sustained minor damage and was not suitable for flying
Wednesday,
>Eberwein said.
>
>Mechanics and maintenance workers repaired the engine for service and
the
>plane was able to fly on Thursday.
>
>Maintenance crews conducted another lightning strike inspection and
found
>the plane safe.
>
>"I think it sends signals that this person may have some issues, and our
>hearts go out to him," Eberwein said. "It's very scary. We've never had
an
>incident like this at Frontier before, and it's a very close-knit
company."
>***************
>
>Frontier mechanic charged for disabling 737 jetliner.
>
>DENVER (Reuters) - A Frontier Airlines Inc. mechanic was charged in
federal
>court in Denver on Thursday with sabotaging a Dallas-bound jet to
prevent it
>from taking off because he thought the aircraft was not safe. Corydon
Van
>Dyke Cochran, 44, allegedly threw a rubber wheel chock into the running
>engine of a Boeing 737 after deciding that was the only way to prevent
>Frontier flight 136 from taking off on New Year's Day.
>
>Cochran, who has been suspended by Frontier pending an investigation,
faces
>up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, prosecutors
said.
>According to an affidavit filed with the court by FBI Special Agent Nick
>Vanicelli, the incident occurred about 12:40 p.m. on New Year's Day as
>Frontier flight 136 was preparing to depart on a flight to Dallas-Fort
>Worth. David Davidson, the pilot of the Boeing 737, was in the cockpit
>preparing to depart, when he saw Cochran, walk toward the aircraft and
throw
>a wheel chock into the number one engine, which was running, the
affidavit
>said. Davidson shut down the aircraft, and it was towed back to the
gate. A
>ramp supervisor told the FBI that he also saw Cochran throw the rubber
block
>into the engine. Cochran had seen a burned-out light on the wing of the
jet
>and was concerned that an inspection that had been done in Tampa the
>previous day was "probably suspect," Vanicelli told the court. "Cochran
>explained that he felt aircraft 313 was unsafe and should have a
lightning
>strike inspection performed on it prior to departing," the affidavit
said.
>"Cochran stated that as the aircraft was being pushed back from the
gate, he
>decided that the only way to keep it from flying was to disable it."
>
>A representative for Cochran, who was released on his own recognizance
after
>the court appearance, could not be immediately reached for comment. Said
>Frontier spokeswoman Elise Eberwein, "There certainly were other options
he
>probably could have taken to prevent the flight from departing,"
including
>notifying the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane had been
inspected
>twice in Tampa on Tuesday night, flown uneventfully to Denver and had
been
>checked out again there for possible damage, Eberwein said. After the
>alleged incident, a wheel chock, about two feet long, was removed from
the
>engine during overnight repairs and the plane put back in service. The
130
>passengers aboard the flight were sent on to Dallas on another airplane,
>Eberwein said.vice
>*************
>
>2 People Killed in Louisiana Plane Crash
>
>SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - The crash of a small plane that killed a man and
a
>13-year-old girl was witnessed by the girl's father, who was flying
nearby
>in a second aircraft, authorities said.
>
>The single-engine plane went down about 2 p.m. Thursday, about four
miles
>north of Shreveport's Downtown Airport, authorities said.
>
>The father, William Ledger, made an emergency landing after seeing the
>crash, said spokeswoman Cindy Chadwick, of the Caddo Parish Sheriff's
>Office.
>
>Officials said pilot John Jordan, 48, of Bossier City, was found dead at
the
>scene. Passenger Erika Ledger, of St. Amant, was pronounced dead at LSU
>Hospital in Shreveport.
>
>``Erika was up here visiting her dad and he said she wanted to ride with
Mr.
>Jordan because he had a new plane,'' Chadwick said.
>
>The girl's father arrived at the crash site about the same time as
deputies,
>officials said.
>****************
>
>Ultralight fatality fueling rule push
>
>Concerned about the accident rate of gyroplanes, helicopter-like craft
such
>as the one that crashed New Year's Day killing a Joliet man, a national
>aviation recreation group has called for specialized training and
licensing
>of their pilots.
>
>In a September report, the national Popular Rotorcraft Association, an
>umbrella group of 4,000 gyroplane enthusiasts, addressed what it called
the
>"continuing poor gyroplane accident record" in the United States.
>
>The report, being reviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board
and
>the Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites), blames the
vehicles'
>aerodynamics and pilot training as the main causes of 44 crashes and 17
>deaths between January 1999 and August 2002.
>
>There likely have been more accidents and deaths that have gone
unrecorded,
>according to the Indiana-based recreation organization.
>****************
>
>Australia Plans 1-Km High Structure, Taller Than CN Tower
>
>MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The world's tallest man-made structure could soon
be
>towering over the Australian outback as part of a plan to capitalize on
the
>global push for greater use of renewable energy.
>
>By 2006, Australian power company EnviroMission Ltd hopes to build a
1,000 m
>(3,300 feet) solar tower in southwest New South Wales state, a structure
>that would be more than twice the height of Malaysia's Petronas Towers,
the
>world's tallest buildings.
>
>Currently, the world's tallest free-standing structure is the Canadian
>National Tower in Toronto at 553 meters.
>
>The 200 megawatt solar tower, which will cost A$ 1 billion ($563
million) to
>build, will be of a similar width to a football field and will stand in
the
>center of a massive glass roof spanning seven kilometers in diameter.
>
>Despite its size, the technology is simple -- the sun heats air under
the
>glass roof, which slopes upwards from three meters at its outer
perimeter to
>25 meters at the tower base.
>
>As the hot air rises, a powerful updraft is also created by the tower
that
>allows air to be continually sucked through 32 turbines, which spin to
>generate power 24 hours a day.
>
>"Initially people told me 'you're a dreamer', there's no way anything
that
>high can be built, there's no way it can work," EnviroMission chief
>executive officer Roger Davey told Reuters.
>
>"But now we have got to the point where it's not if it can be built, but
>when it can be built."
>
>EnviroMission hopes to begin construction on the solar tower before the
end
>of the year and be generating enough electricity to supply 200,000 homes
>around the beginning of 2006.
>
>The company also hopes the project will save more than 700,000 tonnes of
>greenhouse gases a year that might otherwise have been emitted through
coal
>or oil-fired power stations.
>
>The company has signed agreements with Australian-listed Leighton
Holdings
>Ltd and U.S.-listed Energen Corp to determine the commercial feasibility
of
>the solar tower, which Time Magazine recently voted among the "Best
>Inventions of the Year."
>
>The tower has received the support of the Australian and New South Wales
>governments, which have defined it as a project of national
significance.
>
>EnviroMission plans to build the tower in remote Buronga district in New
>South Wales. The district is near the border with Victoria state and is
25
>km (15 miles) northeast of Mildura town.
>
>It will generate about 650 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year toward
Australia's
>mandated renewable energy target, which requires electricity retailers
to
>supply 9,500 GWh of renewable energy a year by 2010.
>
>The Electricity Supply Association has said A$48 billion needs to be
>invested in electricity infrastructure during the next two decades to
meet
>the country's growing demand. Davey said he is keen to keep the tower's
>costs as low as possible to ensure its success.
>
>"We have proved that it does work and that it can be built, but what we
have
>got to get a handle on is the cost and we are working very strongly
through
>that now," Davey said.
>
>The tower -- originally known as the solar chimney -- is the invention
of
>German structural engineers Schlaich Bergerman, who constructed a 200
meter
>high demonstration power plant in Manzanares, Spain, in 1982.
>
>The 50 kilowatt plant produced electricity for seven years and then
closed
>down after having proved the technology worked. Schlaich Bergerman now
work
>with EnviroMission.
>
>The project has already been given clearance by the Civil Aviation
Safety
>Authority of Australia and will be fitted with high intensity obstacle
>lights to warn aircraft in the area.
>
>($1 = A$1.77)
>*****************
>
>Taiwan's EVA Air Submitted Shanghai Charter Plan To China
>
>TAIPEI (Dow Jones)--EVA Airways Corp. , Taiwan's second largest airline,
>said Friday it has applied to China for an indirect charter service
during
>the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.
>In a proposal submitted to China authorities Thursday for approval, EVA
>plans to fly an empty Boeing B747-400 plane to Shanghai Jan. 26 and
ferry
>passengers back to Taipei on the same day, said Nieh Kuo-wei, EVA's
>spokesman.
>
>EVA will fly the passengers back to Shanghai on Feb. 8 and come back to
>Taipei with an empty flight, he added.
>
>Nieh added that the flight schedule is subject to adjustments, pending
final
>approval.
>
>EVA is the fourth Taiwanese carrier to apply to China for the indirect
>charter service.
>
>Far Eastern Air Transport Corp. , Taiwan's largest air carrier China
>Airlines Ltd. , and Mandarin Airlines put in their applications last
month,
>the China Daily reported in late December.
>
>However, China hasn't approved any applications yet.
>
>If the applications are approved, it will be the first time Taiwanese
>airlines are allowed in more than five decades to fly into China.
>
>Taiwan's former ruling Nationalist party banned direct travel, trade and
>communications with mainland China after its retreat to the island when
Mao
>Zedong's Communists swept to power in 1949.
>
>Taiwan approved the plan for indirect charter flights in early December
>under certain conditions: Only Taiwanese airlines - not Chinese planes -
>could operate the charter flights, which can fly in and out of only
Shanghai
>and that must land for a stopover in Hong Kong or Macau enroute both
ways.
>
>According to the Taiwanese plan, charter flights would start Jan. 26 and
end
>Feb. 10.
>*******************
>
>Brazil Government May Use $700 Million Military Fund To End Hunger
>
>SAO PAULO -(Dow Jones)- Brazil's new Workers' Party government is
studying
>the possibility of calling off a $700 million jet fighter contract - and
>instead using the money to try and end hunger in the nation.
>Andre Singer, spokesman for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said
late
>Thursday that no decision had yet been made about the spending of the
money,
>but added the money could be better used to fight hunger.
>
>This will likely disappoint executives at U.K. and Swedish aerospace
groups
>BAE Systems PLC and Saab AB . The companies were tipped as likely
winners of
>the contract last August.
>
>Lula Thursday met a host of foreign heads of state including Swedish
Prime
>Minister Goran Persson. According to a local report, Lula told Persson
that
>perhaps such a military purchase wasn't really appropriate for Brazil at
>this point in time, given the nation's current social woes.
>
>Some 54 million people out of a total 170 million are unable to feed
>themselves properly on a daily basis in Brazil.
>
>The Workers' Party has a social development and reforms program in the
>works, but its stated top priority is ending hunger. As a part of this,
the
>party also says it will work to improve social inclusion and reduce
income
>inequality.
>
>BAE Systems and Saab's joint JAS-39 Gripen package carries the best
price
>and best conditions of bidders, according to industry talk. The
companies
>also said they would build a parts plant here, a move that would
reportedly
>involve an investment of $2 billion.
>
>Despite this edge, the companies could still lose out if the contract
were
>eventually awarded. Lula's party is highly nationalistic and favors
local
>industry to foreign bidders.
>
>Such a contract may instead go to a French-Brazilian consortium made up
of
>Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA , or Embraer, and its Dassault
Aviation
>SA , which makes Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 planes.
>
>The $700 million contract is part of a larger $3.4 billion overhaul of
>Brazil's air defense. The program is aimed at shoring up its
surveillance of
>Brazil's porous borders with Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru to
>prevent drug, arms and log smuggling.
>
>Other bidders for the contract are Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT -
News) ;
>Russian Aircraft Corporation's MiG-29; Sukhoi's Brazilian partner and
Latin
>America's biggest arms provider, Avibras Aeroespacial.
>******************
>
>2002 safest year for civil aviation since 1946
>
>Date: 3 January 2003
>The Aviation Safety Network / Harro Ranter
>
>The Aviation Safety Network today released the 2002 airliner accident
>statistics showing that, from a passenger's perspective, 2002 was the
safest
>year for civil aviation since 1946.
>
>The number of fatal passenger flight accidents (20) was never so low.
>Africa was relatively the most unsafe continent.
>
>In the year 2002 a total of 37 fatal multi-engine airliner accidents
caused
>fatal injuries to 1098 occupants. An estimated 78 people on the ground
were
>killed.
>
>Focusing on just passenger flights, 2002 achieved an all-time low of 20
>fatal accidents.
>
>The total number of 37 fatal accidents, which includes a.o. cargo and
ferry
>flights, makes 2002 the sixth safest year since 1946. The average number
of
>fatal accidents over the 1992-2001 period is 47 accidents per year.
>
>The 2002 fatality rate (percentage of occupants killed in fatal airliner
>accidents) of 82% was down from last year, but still much higher than
the
>1992-2001 average of 73%.
>
>Trends show a decrease in the number of fatal accidents for Europe,
North-,
>South-, and Central America over the past five years. Africa on the
other
>hand shows an continuous increase from a 10-year average of 5,1
accidents in
>1993 to 7,6 accidents in 2002.
>
>Last year's accidents again highlighted the four aviation safety
priorities,
>identified by the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF):
>
>* Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)
>CFIT occurs when an airworthy aircraft under the control of the flight
crew
>is flown unintentionally into terrain (mostly mountains/hills),
obstacles or
>water, usually with no prior awareness by the crew.
>Preliminary investigation result show that CFIT accidents in 2002 were
>responsible for almost 30% of all fatal accidents. Some 11 accidents
were
>CFIT-related, totalling 410 fatalities.
>
>* Approach and landing
>2002 did show a rise in the number of approach and landing accidents. In
>2002 they accounted for 54% of all accidents, compared to 38% in 2001.
>
>* Loss of control
>Approximately ten accidents last year can be attributed to a loss of
control
>of some kind. On July 28 for instance, an Ilyushin 86 crashed when the
>horizontal stabilizer spontaneously shifted to the full down position
two
>seconds after takeoff.
>
>* Human factors
>It's too early to tell in what cases aviation personnel were a causal
factor
>in accidents in 2002. However, the July 1 collision over Germany seems
an
>interesting case from a human factors point of view. A Boeing 757 and a
>Tupolev 154 collided over Germany when the Tupolev-crew complied with
ATC
>instructions to descend instead of following their TCAS Resolution
Advisory
>(RA) instruction to climb.
>
>Please bear in mind that human factors does not mean "pilot error"; in
human
>factors it is important to determine which mistakes were made, why,
under
>what circumstances etc.
>
>The figures have been compiled using the airliner accident database of
the
>Aviation Safety Network, the Internet leader in aviation safety
information.
>The Aviation Safety Network uses information from authoritative and
official
>sources like NTSB, ICAO etc.
>
>The goal of the Aviation Safety Network is to provide everyone with a
>(professional) interest in aviation with up-to-date, complete and
reliable
>authoritative information on airliner accidents and safety issues.
>
>More information
>http://aviation-safety.net
>http://aviation-safety.net/pubs/2002.pdf (ASN Statistical Summary 2002)
>
>Harro Ranter
>the Aviation Safety Network
>e-mail: harro@aviation-safety.net
>****************
>
>Today in History:
>
>Date of Accident: 04 January 1999
>Airline: Regionair
>Aircraft: Beechcraft B1900C
>Location: St. Augustine River, Canada
>Registration: C-FGOI
>Fatalities: 0:11
>Year of Delivery: 1989
>Accident Description: The aircraft crashed approximately 1 nautical mile
>short of runway 20 while attempting to land at St. Augustine. Visibility
was
>reduced by heavy snow, with the temperature hovering at just below
>freezing.
>