The Aspiring Pilot

FAA eases reporting of lasers being shined into cockpits

As the number of dangerous laser incidents around the country continues to rise, the FAA has rolled out a new website to make it easier for pilots and the public to report laser incidents. The website also includes a knowledge base of articles and information on the subject, highlighting the dangers of shining a laser at the cockpit of any aircraft. 

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said that the 'safety of the traveling public is our absolute number-one priority. We will do everything we can to get the word out about how dangerous it is to point a laser at an aircraft. These incidents must stop.'

The website, http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/report/laserinfo/, contains a collection of a wide array of laser information, links to reporting laser incidents, laser statistics, FAA press releases and FAA and industry research on the dangers these laser events pose to pilots. The site even includes downloadable videos. 

Read the rest of my article here. 

Now, this is definitely a good thing, but will it really do anything to decrease the number of incidents? Initially, I think it will make the numbers continue to increase, easier reporting means more incidents brought to the attention of the FAA. It won't necessarily mean there were more actual incidents, just more reported to be included in the stats. 

I forwarded the article to the ORD Airport Watch group as well, so they know how to report anything they may see. Who better to spot and report something like this than airplane spotters in and around the areas/villages surrounding the airport?! In cooperation with the Bensenville Police and area municipalites the ORD Airport Watch has already been a great addition to anti-crime in the area and provides a way for airplane geeks like myself to enjoy watching and photographing planes without the hassle that used to come from the police. 

Now, with an easy way to notify the FAA, we can easily report any suspicious activity or incidents that appear to involve lasers and airplanes. I've been 'lazed' on the ground once, while at a supermarket by a bunch of kids in the parking lot, and I will vouch that it really was uncomfortable and definitely effected my eyesight for at least 5 minutes. 

That's the main issue though here is that I think the majority of these incidents are just that, KIDS. These laser pointers are easy to get, and the more powerful ones are getting cheaper. I will bet that the majority of these kids don't really realize just how dangerous their actions are! It will eventually lead to an incident/accident and, I'm sure they won't be prepared for the onslaught of criminal charges and civil lawsuits that they'd face. 

I think it may be time to not only get the mainstream media to focus more on the dangers of the laser incidents (not just that they're occuring) but also look at having the aviation organizations like AOPA, EAA, ALPA, the airlines, etc. come together and get something into the schools to bring the actual dangers forth. It won't stop it, but I'm sure it will lead to a decrease in some of the events at least.

A look into the ANA 737 roll event and possibly how it happened

As has been plastered all over the main stream media sights, an ANA Boeing 737-700 travelling from Okinawa to Tokyo had an inflight 'upset' that resulted in two flight attendants being injured and a few passengers complaints. The incident itself took place on September 6th but wasn't brought to the airlines attention until the next day and was just recently reported to the public this weekend. 

What happened was that the pilot of the airplane left the cockpit to utilize the lavatory. The co-pilot was in command and secured the door per safety requirements. When the captain tried to re-enter the flight deck and the first officer reached for the door lock controls, it appears that he accidentally turned the wrong knob. This caused the plane to eventually enter a descending roll. According to reports the plane descended 6,200 feet in less than 30 seconds and rolled 130 degrees, or 50 degrees short of being fully inverted.  The Japan Transport Safety Board released a computer animation of the event and can be watched (.wmv file) here. (http://www.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/video/JA16AN-movie1.wmv)

The first officer and captain were able to regain control of the airplane and continue the rest of the flight uneventfully (though I'm sure there was some interesting conversation on the flight deck after that as well as in the cabin.) The pilot was reported to be near or at 60 years of age with over 16,000 hours of flight time and the first officer was 38 years old with 2,400 hours of flight time. 

Now, how could this happen? If you look at the cockpit layout of the 737-700, the Flight Deck Lock knob and the Rudder Trim knob are located in the same section, and one right above the other. They ARE different sizes; however, if not really paying attention and reaching over blindly, you can see how they MAY be mistaken. I have added the following picture of a KLM 737-700 cockpit for reference. The two knobs are located at the bottom of the center console, in the middle. You can see the words, 'Flt Dk Door' above the bottom one that controls the lock on the door.  I've included the link to the photo at Airliners.net so you can see the large version and the respective switches more easily. 

Click Here to view the photo (click on large for full detail) 

Another photo from a different airlines B737-700 shows the same knobs, but in a different location: 

Click Here to view the photo.  

Some closer pics of the same knobs, but on older models of the Boeing 737 when the knobs were actually a little farther apart. You can see they are still they same design in regards to shape and size.  

Now, watching the video animation of the actual movement of the airplane, I'm still having a bit a trouble visualizing this ONLY being a rudder trim issue, and I've spoken with two Boeing 737 pilots for other airlines and it seems there had to be more at play. Both knobs are twist and hold, with a spring-return mechanism. So once you release, the knob should return to the neutral position. If this is accurate, than the first officer had to twist and hold the rudder control knob long enough to cause a significant enough trim move that the autopilot disconnected. If you watch the animation video, it seems like the plane started some motion to the right, compensated back to straight and level, and then snapped into the left roll and dive. 

Now, this is ONLY my assumption and speculation, it would appear that the pilot probably reached over blindly to open the flight deck door. He accidentally twisted and held the rudder trim, and continued to hold it as the captain tried to open the door. The autopilot tried to compensate, resulting in the initial correction to back left as shown in the animation. Once the deflection in the trim caused enough motion, the autopilot disengaged, allowing the plane to snap into the roll/dive. It's amazing the pilot (not sure if the captain was back on the flight deck by that point) recovered in less than 30 seconds. Remember, this occurred at 1030 PM local time, and apparently over water, which could easily lead to further spatial disorientation. (The darkness and lack of ground reference could be why the initial yaw was not noted by visual cues outside the windows.)

The cause could be a combination of any factor, but fatigue (given the late hour of the flight) as well as even complacency that resulted in the pilot simply reaching over blindly to activate the door lock knob. 

As for what happened behind the flight deck, the articles in other media have quoted the safety board as saying that the forces resulting from the roll and concurrent dive would actually have resulted in the passengers not feeling the full effects of a 12,000 FPM drop or 130 degree inversion. At first I was a little hesitant to believe it, but this is actually plausible as only two flight attendants suffered minor injuries and a couple of passengers complained of 'feeling strange' (you think?!). 

I hope that the safety board releases a detailed report, with CVR and FDR transcripts to see exactly WHAT occurred aboard the flight that night. It's should be utilized as a great learning experience not only for the pilot's involved or ANA pilots, but all pilot's in any airplane. 

Remember, the Air France Flight 447 was allegedly a result of pilot error resulting from spatial disorientation after the autopilot shut off following erroneous instrument readings. (Not saying this is related at ALL, but shows the need for pilots to always be aware of all circumstances surrounding the flight at each moment.) 

If you are a B737, please provide your comments, opinions and thoughts below. I would love to have more first hand accounts on this issue. 

Blue Angels relieve Cmdr. Koss of his command of the team.

To go along with my prior post, and my new Article in Chicago General Aviation Examiner, the Blue Angels will now be appearing at Rockford's 2011 Airfest.  The show will still be great; however. I have at least one more article coming with another exciting addition to the show. With 60+ aircraft on static display and over a dozen acts scheduled to perform, it's still worth a visit! 

Blue Angel's press release:

Blue Angels C.O. Relieved 

Chief of Naval Air Training, Rear Adm. Bill Sizemore, relieved Cmdr. Dave Koss, Commanding Officer of the Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron Friday, May 27, at his request following a lower-than-normal maneuver during the team’s last performance at the Lynchburg Regional Air Show May 22. 

“With deep personal regret I shared with my command today that I will be voluntarily leaving the greatest flight demonstration team. I performed a maneuver that had an unacceptably low minimum altitude,” said Koss. “This maneuver, combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is, led to my decision to step down. I have the utmost respect for the Sailors and Marines of the Blue Angels organization and all that they embody. The reason this team is so successful, brings thrills to millions of fans across America, and represents the U.S. Navy so superbly is because of the absolute commitment to safety and perfection by every member of the team. I am honored to have been a part of this organization and I look forward to watching its success in the future.” 

Koss will be replaced by Capt. Greg McWherter, who was the previous Blue Angels’ Commanding Officer, for the duration of the season. 

This move requires the cancellation of the Blue Angels’ scheduled performances at the Rockford Airfest June 4-5 and the Evansville Freedom Festival Air Show June 11-12. The Blue Angels will remain in Pensacola for additional training and air show demonstration practice. Any potential changes to the team's future schedule will be announced at a later date. 

The Blue Angels regret any inconvenience and look forward to continuing to represent the Navy and Marine Corps service members serving around the world. 

-CNAF- 

 

Close call at O'Hare, media hops on fact it occurred shortly after Air Force Two arrival

Again, there was another ATC error on Monday (this time at KORD, O'Hare), and even though it DIDN'T involve Air Force Two, the mainstream media had to include it in the story. Air Force Two's mention seems almost to add sensationalism, as some news organizations then reference the close call with Michelle Obama's plane a few weeks back. 

In this instance, Air Force Two wasn't part of the reason for the close call; however, the increased traffic congestion as a result led to a much higher workload and may have led to the lapse.  Just prior to the incident, traffic began to back up as departures and arrivals were held during the landing of Air Force Two. Then, controllers had to deal with the helicopters hovering over, then escorting the vice-president's motorcade to downtown, off the departure paths for the East/West runways. 

The incident had an ExpressJet flight departing 32L with a Skywest flight cleared for landing on 9R. (View .pdf of the ORD Airport Diagram here.) You can see that the approach end 9R is just east of the midpoint of 32L.  So a regional jet departing on 32L will lift off across the path of any incoming aircraft into 9R, which is what happened in this instance.

The controller handling the arrival saw the conflict as an alert sounded notifying them of the loss of separation. That controller proceeded to immediately order the Skywest flight to go-around. Some news reports have stated the distance was less than 300' vertical and 200' horizontal between the two aircraft. 

You can't hear the go-around call, but you can hear one controller notify the secret service helicopter ('Hunstman 1') of the plane going on a missed approach and then clearing the departing Skywest jet to 4,000', (Skywest 6958). Audio courtest of LiveATC.net. 

KORD-Twr-May-16-2011-1430Z_edit

The departing ExpressJet flight is believed to have delayed it's rotation off the runway due to seeing the approaching aircraft about to cross the runway which possibly helped to avoid a collision as well.  

According to reports, a few choice words were issued by the departing pilot, and the controller apologized for the error.  The Skywest flight made a second approach without incident after being vectored back around for a landing. 

Also, reports are the the controller in error was also just recently certified, with some reports saying as recently as 2 weeks ago. There will obviously be discussions on if such a new controller should have been at the scope during such a hectic, busy, time as a VIP arrival at a peak traffic period for ORD. 

Finally, some people have called for the FAA to increase the required separation between landing aircraft on 9R, when 32L is in use for departures , to 10 miles, to allow ATC more time to get planes spaced for landings and takeoff and avoid close calls such as this. So far, nothing has come of this, but we'll have to wait and see how the new and additional runways play into the mix once the O'Hare modernization program is complete in a few years. 

Anyway, just another close call, another ATC PR issue in the public eye and another story sensationalized further by the media by bringing Air Force Two, a plane not involved in the incident, into the story.  Further proof as well of the need for the new runway's and configuration at O'Hare to limit the number of operations that cross as they do in these instances. 

Cool Air Safety Institute seminar in Illinois next week

AOPA's ASI is bringing the 'Close Calls, Lessons Learned' seminar to Illinios next week. Not sure I'll be able to attend but it does sound like a pretty interesting seminar. The nearest one to me in Bolingbrook is the same night as my mandatory paramedic continuing education so I won' t be able to attend that one. I may try for the Northbrook one. 

ASI's description: 

All of us have made mistakes, some more harrowing than others. The key is learning from those mistakes. 

"Close Calls, Lessons Learned" is the new seminar from the Air Safety Institute that features real pilots telling their real stories. Some are familiar stories, others are unique. 

You'll see a CFI and his student tell the story of losing a prop in flight. A Mooney pilot talks of surviving a crash in Oregon. One pilot shares how he lost control in the too-often-repeated event of going VFR into IMC. And one pilot shares how getting distracted can result in mistakes.

Article and locations/times can be found here in my Chicago General Aviation column. 

178 seconds to live...

We hear about it all the time, a small airplane crash due inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions during VFR flight.  I had heard a similar audio recording during my training at Delta Connection Academy and haven't been able to locate it since.  It appears that the AOPA has made a public service announcement (PSA) of sorts for pilots with a similar audio track.  it describes how quickly a pilot can experience spatial disorientation.  Without being trained properly for flight 'in the soup' or full IMC, it's easy to go by your seat of the pants feel, rather than the instruments.  Your body WILL LIE to you when you have no reference to the horizon or ground.  I HIGHLY encourage ALL aspiring and private pilots to consider pursuing an instrument rating for  your license.  

The ASF did a study years back that showed that our of 20 pilots that were non-instrument rated, 19 of them entered the 'graveyard spiral' after entering inadvertant IMC.  The 20th pilot actually also lost control, but with a different manuever and not the graveyard sprial.  The average time from entering IMC to full loss of control as 178 seconds, therefore, the title of the clip.   At the end of the clip, there is also a sobering statistic, in addition to the 95% chance of entering a graveyard spiral, 90% of accidents resulting from inadvertent flight into IMC are fatal.  

So, if you are not instrument rated, or even well out of instrument currency or experience in real IFR, think twice before pushing it and suffering from 'get-there-itis.' Don't fly into IMC, if you do, fly the instruments, and TURN AROUND!  the best way to exit inadvertent IMC in most cases, is to go back the same way to came.  

Watch the video and share this to all your pilot friends.  It was sobering listening to it in my private pilot course.  

 

EU vote on new EASA aviation rules today or tomorrow

During a hearing beginning today through October 14th, the European Union Commission will vote on the adoption of a new set of EU-wide rules pertaining to pilot certification and airplane registrations.  The AOPA and the IAOPA have both been vocal with their opposition of the new rules and the negative worldwide impact they will have on the international aviation community.  

The new regulations being proposed were introduced in 2008 by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).  During the public comment period, ending February 28, 2009, the EASA received over 11,000 comments on the proposal.  After reviewing the comments, the EASA submitted the final proposal to the EU commission for a vote, which is taking place today and tomorrow.

The proposal, if a vote is successful, will lead to drastic changes in how general aviation and pilots operate within EU countries with the effects truly being felt globally.  Read the full details and the impact the proposal would have at my General Aviation column.

Ryanair's one pilot idea? Captain dies on Qatar airways flight...

Remember a few weeks ago, my article on Ryanair and all their cost cutting?  Well, one of Mr O'Leary's ideas was to get rid of the first officer (co-pilot) and train flight attendants to assist in case of an emergency.  I wonder how his plan would have worked out in this case.  In the modern world of locked cockpits, extra security, how would the trained flight attendant get into the cockpit to be able to save the Qatar flight yesterday?  While on a flight from Manila in the Philippines to Doha, Qatar, the captain of the plane collapsed while flying and died.  The plane successfully diverted to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and a new crew came aboard and completed the flight. 

Now, imagine the captain having been the only one in the plane.  He collapses and dies prior to activating autopilot, or with the AP on and he falls on the control column.  This tragic death of the captain helps to enforce the need for two pilots in the cockpit of modern airliners, even with all the automation, there is still a need for two pilots.  

RIP to the Qatar captain.  

Runway incursions decline by 50% over last year

Excerpt from my General Aviation Examiner column:

During a press conference today, the FAA announced that serious runway incursions for the 2010 fiscal year, ending September 2010, were down 50% over the 2009 fiscal year. In total, 2010 had 6 reported runway incursions versus 12 in 2009. These figures do not include minor incursions and 3 of the 6 did not include commercial aircraft. As a comparison, in 2000, there were 67 serious runway incursions.  

The FAA has adopted the ICAO definition of a runway incursion. ICAO defines it as "Any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft."

For more of the story, read the whole article at General Aviation Examiner.

Don't get caught on the runway when you shouldn't be.  Just because there were only six (6) 'SERIOUS' incursions, doesn't mean that all the rest not classified as serious mean any less.  Any runway incursion can become a serious incursion.  I've included FREE resources at the end of the examiner.com article offered by the FAA and AOPA's ASF.  One is an online safety course on runway operations and the other is a recording of a live webinar on taxi operations and conflicts/incursions. 

As pilot's let's keep out safety skills up and keep learning.  If you think you know everything, it may be time to re-analyze your thinking.  

FAA addressing recent EMS helicopter accidents and incidents

From my General Aviation Examiner column:

The FAA today released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), the first step in establishing new rules and regulations, regarding commercial and EMS helicopter operations.  The NPRM is the first step in addressing the concerns and recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board over the past few years after multiple, highly publicized helicopter accidents involving EMS services, most of them fatal.  

According to the FAA press release, helicopters would be required to be outfitted with a Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System as well as a light-weight aircraft recording system (LARS).  The LARS would be similar to the flight recorders on commercial airliners but made specifically for small aircraft.  

For full story and FAA press release, click here.