GAC UPDATE ISSUE 58 - FEBRUARY 2016
By Vivienne Sandercock
1. Message from the Managing Director
2. A small matter of knowledge
3. Africa's 2015's Hazards, Incidents, Accidents and Safety Occurrences
4. Emergency Response Planning
5. Henley Global Safety and Quality Training
6. European Aviation boss calls for reforms 1.5 years after MH17
7. How to prevent air, ground collision incidents (Africa) 8. Bomb proof bag could supress explosions on aircraft
9. FAA orders checks on a handful of 777 engines
10. News from the Johannesburg Airports
11. Safety and Security
12. SAAFA donations
13. Finale
1. MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
For some years now the problem with passengers not listening to Safety Briefings prior to departure has been of some concern to both commercial and general aviation operators. For those of us who fly as a passenger regularly we know the words off by heart but none the less as aviation professionals we listen, check where the emergency exits are and review the safety briefing card in the seat pocket in front of us. So all crew members should do all they can to ensure that the passengers listen to the briefing - cabin crew members are able to identify those passengers who did not listen to the briefing and maybe they should speak to the passengers who were on their cell phones or reading their newspapers.
Vivienne
2. A SMALL MATTER OF KNOWLEDGE
Airlines aren't learning enough from near misses - Near misses with less obvious signs of risk getting ignored
When it comes to flight safety, U.S. airlines are pretty good at learning from accidents. But new research shows airlines should be learning more from accidents that never happen.
A new study led by BYU organizational behaviour professor Peter Madsen finds that airlines are flying past an opportunity to increase safety by ignoring too many "near misses."
"Studies show pilots or crew members make at least one potentially hazardous error on 68 percent of commercial airline flights, but very few of these errors lead to an accident," Madsen said. "Airlines need to institute policies that encourage learning from these seemingly innocuous near misses."
To be clear, Madsen is not talking about the near misses you see on the news. He and researchers from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business poured over the safety data of 64 U.S. commercial airlines from 1990 to 2007 to determine where less obvious near-miss incidents were being ignored.
As expected, their study (published in Risk Analysis) found airlines improve their safety performance in response to their own accidents and accidents experienced by other airlines. However, airlines only learn from near misses when there are obvious signs of risk.
Specifically, airlines pay attention to near misses that have led to accidents in the past (fire on the plane, ice build-up on wings), but don't look closely at near misses that have yet to cause an accident (airplane rolling on the runway when it should be stopped).
"We're not saying airlines aren't doing a good job--they are paying attention to near misses more than any other industry in the world," Madsen said. "That said, near misses that are considered benign might be slipping through the cracks."
Examples of "benign" near misses identified by researchers are:
# Incapacitation of a flight crew member
# Software or mechanical problems with cockpit displays
# Poor handling of aircraft while decelerating on the runway after touch down
# Traffic congestion on the taxiway during aircraft taxiing
# Nuisance warnings and false alarms
The researchers suggest airlines can improve in two ways:
# Continue successful data-collection efforts, but expand which near misses are reported.
# Remain vigilant toward deviations from normal and uncover root causes of the deviations.
Madsen said that one way airline personnel can improve on the second point is by focusing on events the industry once considered unacceptable but now occur so often that they've come to be accepted as normal.
"It can be hard to learn from near misses because we're wired to ignore them," Madsen said. "But the difference between a near miss and a larger failure may only be good fortune."
Funding for the study came in part from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.
3. AFRICA'S 2015 HAZARDS, INCIDENTS, ACCIDENTS AND SAFETY OCCURENCES
ACCIDENTS INVOLVING FIXED WING AIRCRAFT IN AFRICA DURING 2016
Date A/C Type Fatalities Location
2 Jan 16 Cessna182 0 Uhuru Gardens, Nr. Wilson Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
27 Jan 16 F16 2 near Fayed, Ismailia, Egypt
29 Jan 16 Cessna 425 Conquest 3 3km outside the Hosea Kotuku International Airport boundary, Namibia
03 Feb 16 PA32-300 3 Watville, Benoni, GP, RSA
Source, amongst others, PlaneCrash info.com; News24, Aviation Herald, Flight Safety Information
ACCIDENTS INVOLVING ROTOR WING AIRCRAFT IN AFRICA DURING 2016
Date A/C Type Fatalities Location
02 Jan 16 EC130 B4 0 Nr. Parys, Free State, RSA
29 Jan 16 RH44 1 Maswa Game Reserve, Tanzania (shot down)
HAZARDS & INCIDENTS INVOLVING FIXED WING AIRCRAFT DURING JAN 2016
Haz Inc Date A/C Type Location Fatalities Circumstances Op Type Haz
11 Jan UNK RWY35 at Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Fuel cap found on the runway UNK HAZ
11 Jan Piper 181 Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Flat tyre TRNG HAZ
12 Jan Cessna 172 Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Flat tyre TRNG INC
14 Jan A319-100 On approach into Windhoek International Airport, Namibia 0 Bird strike
COM INC
14 Jan B747-800 On approach into Frankfurt, Germany 0 After performing flight from Johannesburg (South Africa) to Frankfurt/Main (Germany), a/c was descending towards Frankfurt when the crew reported the failure of the #1 hydraulic system. The a/c continued for a safe landing on runway 25C and stopped at the end of the runway. The aircraft was towed to the apron. COM INC
16 Jan Piper 181 Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Radio Communications Failure
TRNG INC
19 Jan TBA Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Electrical failure - engine would not shut down REG INC
22 Jan B737-400 En-route Johannesburg-Cape Town 0 Depressurisation required a/c to return to O R Tambo COM INC
23 Jan Cessna 172 Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Radio Communications failure PVT INC
25 Jan B737-400 En-route O R Tambo (GP) to Cape Town (WC), RSA 0 Depressurisation required a/c to return to O R Tambo, GP, RSA COM INC
26 Jan B747-400 En-route London Heathrow (UK) to Cape Town (RSA) diverted to Abuja 0 Smoke in the cabin COM INC
28 Jan Scale Spitfire Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Nose over during high speed taxi PVT
HAZARDS & INCIDENTS INVOLVING ROTOR WING AIRCRAFT DURING JAN 2016
Haz Inc Date A/C Type Location Fatalities Circumstances Op Type Inc
30 Jan Tecnam Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Radio Communications Failure TRNG
AERODROME HAZARDS
Goma, DRC
Construction Hazards Unmanned aircraft. Very poor ATC. Possible volcanic activity. Ground based Navaids serviceable but not calibrated. Birds
Libreville, Gabon
Poor ATC coupled with inadequate navaids. Poor Marshalling combined with inappropriate behaviour of drivers on the ramp and taxiways.
Kadugli, Sudan
Poor ATC control of aircraft in the area. The runway is breaking up with only small areas in use for safe landing.
Juba, Sudan
Very poor ATC. Crews must be on the lookout for other aircraft in their vicinity. Vehicular traffic not obeying any regulations in terms of overtaking aircraft on taxiways and weaving in and out of aircraft on the apron.
Bunia, DRC
Adverse weather caused by the ITCZ.
Kisangani, DRC
Birds
Rand Airport, GP, RSA
Birds
4. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING
Blake Emergency Services is the International Crisis Management and Contingency Planning Consultancy who, although based in the UK, have serious experience in Africa having handled accidents, incidents, counselling, repatriation, DNA sampling and confirmation, in amongst others Lagos, Nigeria; Fez, Morocco; Pointe Noire, Congo; Moroni, Comores; Maputo, Mozambique and more recently Ukraine for MH017, Air Asia and Mali for Air Algerie. Please go to www.blakeemergency.com or contact rethea.mitchell@blakeemergency.com
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Blake Emergency Services please contact Rethea at the address given above.
An Emergency Response Plan is a required section of your SMS and may also be added to your Operations Manual.
5. HENLEY/GLOBAL AVIATION TRAINING
Should you wish to make a booking for any of these courses please contact Candice on 011 024 5446 or by email to candice@gaconsultants.net
Dates Course Lecturer Cost Excl. Vat Per Delegate
08-09 Feb 2016 Human Factors - AME and CRM Initial Dr. Joel Hughes R 2,720-00
17 Feb 2016 CRM - Refresher Verity Wallace R 1,150-00
17 Feb 2016 DG - Refresher Verity Wallace R 935-00
22-23 Feb 2016 Quality Assurance Auditor Course Dan Drew R 2,720-00
02 March 2016 CRM Refresher Verity Wallace R 1,150-00
02 March 2016 DG - Refresher Verity Wallace R 935-00
07-08 Mar 2016 Safety Management Systems (SMS) Various R 2,720-00
07-11 Mar 2016 Integrated Safety Management Course Various R 6,800-00
14 & 15 March 2016 Human Factors - AME and CRM initial Dr. Joel Hughes R 2,720-00
30 & 31 March 2016 Quality Assurance Auditor Course Dan Drew R 2,720-00
30 March 2016 CRM - Refresher Verity Wallace R 1,150-00
30 March 2016 DG - Refresher Verity Wallace R 935-00
Notes:
Cost per delegate includes all training materials, refreshments and lunch.
Attendees paying in cash on the day are eligible for a 10% discount
Both Recurrent CRM and Dangerous Goods Training Courses are available upon request - even at short notice.
On request we also offer -
Air Cargo Security (Part 108)
Health and Safety (Medical)
Cargo and Warehouse Security
Risk Management & Investigations
First Aid and the Law
Emergency Response, Incident Response, Operations Control, Emergency Response and Family Assistance training together with the writing of Emergency Response Plans and Procedures training is now offered through Blake Emergency Services. For more information, please contact Rethea on rethea.mitchell@blakeemergency.com
6. EUROPE AVIATION BOSS CALLS FOR REFORMS 1.5 YEARS AFTER MH17
MH17 wreckage - Dutch Safety Board report (Photo: NL Times/Zachary Newmark)
Patrick Ky of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is calling for an institute with the responsibility of warning airlines about dangerous flight routes to be set up. It should be one that can prevent disasters like with flight MH17 happening in the future. EASA is willing to take that responsibility upon themselves. "Because if they don't do it, who will?" Ky said to broadcaster NOS.
Flying over conflict zones was one of the topics discussed at a major two-day European aviation conference, held at Schiphol airport in January. A number of those involved in the MH17 disaster are becoming impatient, because a year and a half later nothing has changed, they feel.
It is still up to countries and airlines themselves to figure out what risks there are in certain air spaces. They mostly do so by getting information from military and national security services, information that is typically not shared with other countries.
EASA wants this to change. "Security services must give use the results of their analysis. We will then spread the information in the form of warnings or bulletins", Ky said to the broadcaster. EASA does not want to forbid airlines from flying certain routes - "That assessment they have to make themselves" - but believes it must be an informed decision.
Tour operator Corendon thinks an authority that can impose mandatory routes is a good idea. "It would be good if there is an independent body institution in Europe that says where you can and cannot fly, and at what altitude. "Director Steven van Heijden said to NOS. "Like the Federal Aviation Authority in the United States imposes on American airlines."
7. 'HOW TO PREVENT AIR, GROUND AIRCRAFT COLLISION' (AFRICA)
Overland aircraft that veered off the Ilorin airport on landing on Saturday 30 Jan 16
Global aviation bodies are worried over the contribution of air accidents associated with runway operations. Amid calls for collaboration and introduction of safety initiatives, experts at a forum in Lagos set timelines for Nigeria to reduce runway incursion and related threats to air safety, KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.
There is growing concern over air safety across the globe, following recurring incidents and accidents of runway operations. According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), about one-third of aviation accidents are associated with runway operations.
Sequel to the development, ICAO introduced some safety initiatives to reduce the accidents. They were endorsed last year by ICAO partners, including Flight Safety Foundation, at the first meeting of the ICAO Global Runway Safety Symposium in Montreal, Canada.
The global civil aviation regulator, ICAO, has called for compilation and further development of best practices and greater sharing of information among member states.
One of the first requirements, it said, would be the development of common definitions, metrics and methods of analysis to enable more complete information sharing, as well as the improved reporting of operational hazards.
ICAO data showed that over the past five years, one-third of all aviation accidents have been linked to runway operations.
Last week, five aviation agencies namely, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) , Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) in collaborating with ICAO, Airport Council International (ACI) and International Air Transport Association (IATA), organised a forum in Lagos to address runway incursion and its attendant effects on air safety.
Speaking at the forum, NAMA Managing Director, Ibrahim Adbulsalam, said the establishment of Runway Safety Teams at the four major airports of Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt and the training on the use of Runway Safety Tool Kits, as well as the development and implementation of Runway Safety Action Plan, would further enhance safety of air navigation in the country.
He said NAMA has concluded plans to install surface movement radar systems at Lagos and Abuja airports for the effective surveillance and control of aircraft, vehicle and personnel on ground at these airports. He said the system would ensure that aircraft and vehicles operating within the airside are equipped with transponders for effective detection by radar or automated data surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) systems.
He said runway safety remains the most critical aspect of air safety, not only because the most critical phases of flight operations occur within the runway strip, but because of the multiplicity of sensitive activities that take place within the airside.
These activities include, take-off and landing of aircraft, surface movement of aircraft, movement of operational vehicles, security personnel, Jet A1 vehicles and construction vehicles.
He listed others to include, airfield lighting maintenance personnel, navigational aids maintenance personnel, aerodrome rescue and fire fighting vehicles, ATC vehicles on runway inspection.
Others are wildlife, vegetation and bird control, search and rescue vehicles, as well as various other stakeholders operating therein.
Abdulsalam explained that it is in view of the multiplicity of operations associated with the runway that the ICAO initiated a multi-disciplinary runway safety programme that requires collaboration among aviation stakeholders. Abdulsalam identified runway safety as consisting of three key components: runway incursion, excursion and confusion.
Runway incursion, he defined, is the unauthorised presence of an aircraft, vehicle, person, animal or object on a runway or associated runway strip that constitutes a hazard to aircraft landing, taking off or taxiing within the movement area of an aerodrome.
He said: "Runway excursion is the unintentional presence of an aircraft outside the runway as a result of overshooting, undershooting or running off the runway during take-off or landing roll.
"These occurrences can be attributed to severe weather, technical failures, human errors, loss of situational awareness, inadequate, or lack of appropriate approach and landing or visual aids. Runway confusion is the misidentification of a runway by flight crew as a result of poor visibility, loss of situational awareness, inadequate visual aids, inadequate approach and landing aids, and parallel or near parallel runways. "
He highlighted some of the steps the organisation had taken to prevent runway incidents. He said the agency in 2013 introduced surface movement and ground control services in Lagos and Abuja on May 6, 2015.
The Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Mukhtar Usman, represented by the Director of Operations and Training, Capt. Sidi Abdullahi, lamented that runway incidents have been on the increase and hoped that the workshop would go a long way in mitigating runway incidents. He noted that the large number of people working on the runway particularly exposes it to danger.
The Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma described runway safety as a significant challenge to airport operators.
"It presents some of the greatest problems in the aviation sector," Dunoma warned. Represented by the agency's Director of Operations, Capt. Henry Omoegwu, he said the authority had made runway safety its top priority by, among other measures, forming a runway safety team to advise on the prevailing condition on the runways, issues of concerns and confusion, and training airside personnel.
According to Richie Takunde from the ACI, "Safety on the runway is very important to aerodrome operators who want to avoid or mitigate accidents or incidents.
"Though Africa has the least record of flights operation compared to other continents, especially Europe, the continent is also notorious for runway incidents and accidents, according to ICAO statistics''.
The ICAO Regional Officer Air Traffic Management, Mr Albert Aidoo Taylor, said: "The problems with the runways are not critical issues that cannot be addressed and Nigeria has the capacity to do that. We will be going to the airports to see things critically to see what needs to be done." Investigations revealed that aircraft ground collision has become a recurring decimal in Nigerian airports, especially at some of the busy international airports in the country. The problem even took a more worrisome dimension in 2015 following the spate of ground collision involving many airlines.
The first major incident of ground collision was in 2012 when an Arik Air aircraft collided with another aircraft on ground in Jos.
On Monday, July 6, last year, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, a Dubai-bound Emirates aircraft Boeing 777-200R also collided with a stationary Boeing 737 aircraft belonging to Hak Air at the airport's apron, leading to a substantial damage on the parked plane. This happened when the Emirates aircraft was taxing for take-off.
Twelve days after, also at the same MMA in Lagos, another tragedy was averted when two Airbus A319 airplanes belonging to the First Nation Airways, a domestic carrier, collided at the apron of the MMA2 private terminal. Incidents like ground collision and others on the runway, according to experts, elicit safety concerns in the aviation industry.
Though Nigeria is not the only country said to be deficient in terms of putting in place appropriate safety measures on the runways, statistics have shown that the problem is more prevalent in the African continent, despite its low rate of flights.
8. BOMB-PROOF BAG COULD SUPPRESS EXPLOSION ON AIRCRAFT
A controlled explosion in the luggage hold of an aircraft was successfully contained by a bomb-proof lining developed by an international team of scientists. The technology shows how a plane's luggage hold may be able to contain the force of an explosion if a device hidden in an item of luggage detonates.
The Fly-Bag is made from multiple layers of fabrics and composites that have high strength and impact, and heat resistance. The fabrics include Aramid, a heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibre used in the aerospace industry, as well as in ballistic body armour. The lining's flexibility increases its resilience in containing an explosion and any blast fragments, said Dr. Andrew Tyas, of the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, who is leading the research at the University of Sheffield. The Fly-Bag, he added, acts as a pliable membrane instead of a rigid-walled container that could shatter on impact.
Laboratory-based blast testing had successfully proved that the Fly-Bag prototypes could withstand explosions. But it was real-life controlled explosions in the luggage hold of a Boeing 747 and an Airbus 321 that put the technology to the ultimate test.
One controlled explosion was conducted in a luggage hold not lined with the Fly-Bag. The blast ripped a gaping hole in the fuselage that could have proved fatal if the plane was traveling at altitude. For the second test the bomb was placed in a suitcase and then in a luggage hold lined with the Fly-Bag. Slow motion camera footage of the bag at the moment of detonation showed it expands and contracts but does not tear. The structural integrity of the fuselage was maintained.
Leading British security consultant Matthew Finn said the Fly-Bag could be an ideal fail-safe in the event that somebody is able to smuggle an explosive device aboard an aircraft.
"The risk that we always have in aviation security is can someone get something on board an aircraft. So a lot of our time and attention has been focused on mitigating the risk of people getting things on an aircraft. What the Fly-Bag does is it actually accepts that there maybe an instance where somebody is successful in getting something on board an aircraft. And therefore, the next question becomes how can we mitigate the effect of an explosive device detonating at altitude in an aircraft," he said.
The need for some way of mitigating an explosive device on an aircraft was heightened on October 31 when a bomb ripped apart a Russian passenger jet over Egypt, killing all 224 people on board. Islamic State claimed they were responsible for the attack, releasing a photograph of a Schweppes soft drink can it said was used to make an improvised bomb that brought down the Russian airliner. The attack drew parallels with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 by Libyan nationals over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. An investigation showed a palm-sized explosive in a cassette recorder in a bag in the luggage hold had ripped a 50 centimetre hole in the fuselage and decompression caused the plane to break up in mid-air.
Finn, managing director for security consultants Augmentiq, which offers advice to enhance security at airports, ports and international borders, said the Fly-Bag deserves to be seriously considered as a way to mitigate such explosives on aircraft.
"I think it has the capacity to transform how we look at hold baggage. We've spent a lot of time thinking about the reconciliation of passengers and their bags; since 1988, since the Lockerbie Disaster, that's been a big focus of the airline industry. What the Fly-Bag does is look to those situations where there may be the device on board and how do we contain that. I think it's a really interesting development and I'd like to see it deployed more widely" he said.
The Fly-Bag is being developed by a European consortium including Blastech, a spin out company from the University of Sheffield, as well as partners from Greece, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.
9. FAA ORDERS CHECKS ON A HANDFUL OF 777 ENGINES
Following an uncontained engine failure and fire as a Boeing-built British Airways 777 jet took off in Las Vegas last September, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is initially mandating inspections of just six specific engines of similar age, configuration and usage flying in the U.S.
The FAA airworthiness directive, set to be published Tuesday (12 Jan 16) in the Federal Register, requires an inspection of three metal disks in the innards of the six GE-90 engines, and replacement of the parts if any anomaly is found.
GE spokesman Rick Kennedy said only one of the six engines listed by the FAA remains to be inspected and that one will be done this week. Kennedy said GE anticipates inspecting a second small set of engines once the first set of inspections is complete, and it expects another FAA airworthiness directive to make this mandatory.
The required ultrasonic inspections are conducted without removing the engines from the wings of the jets.
In the Sept. 8 incident, a metal disk in the high pressure compressor section of the engine core broke apart explosively on take-off, shooting out hot metal fragments that pierced the engine, the pod surrounding the engine and the wing of the airplane and igniting a serious engine fire.
The pilot aborted the take-off, slammed on the brakes and ordered an evacuation. All 157 passengers and 13 crew on board were able to exit safely on emergency-escape slides from the right side of the aircraft as fire engulfed the left side.
The engine involved in this first uncontained failure of any GE-90 was one of the first built for the initial 777s after 1995. About 400 engines of this early GE-90 type are now in service on 167 airplanes. More recently built 777s have a different configuration.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is in charge of the accident investigation, has not released any information on whether the initial inspections turned up any anomalies.
A pre-publication copy of the FAA mandate states that the root cause of the initial crack in the disk that broke apart is still unknown but that once this is determined, "we might consider additional rulemaking."
10. NEWS FROM THE JOHANNESBURG AIRPORTS
Users of the Johannesburg aerodromes must be aware of the fact that they all take Aviation Safety and AVSEC seriously. If you want to use these airports as a Pilot or are employed in any way on them, then we would recommend that you make yourself aware of Part 139 in the SACARs and the Rules and Regulations applicable to that particular aerodrome. Be prepared for fines being levied if you breach any of the SARPs.
RAND AIRPORT, GERMISTON - www.randairport.co,za
Next Safety Meeting - Tuesday 1st March 2016 at 09.00 in the Old Customs Hall
# The wearing of high visibility jackets/waistcoats is mandatory for all persons, excepting for passengers under escort, on airside. (SA CAR 139.02.22(6))
# Drivers found to be speeding on airside will have their access remote taken from them.
# Vehicles being driven on airside must carry proper mandatory insurance cover
# All delivery vehicles and visiting vehicles requiring access to airside MUST be escorted from the access gate to the premises and then after closure of their business back to the gate for egress.
# Cranes are not allowed onto Rand Airport unless their use has been specifically authorised by airport management
# All operators are required to report Bird Strikes to the Safety Office even if there has been no structural damage to the aircraft as a result of the strike.
# Fuel must not be "trucked" into Rand Airport from other sources. Should there be a special requirement permission must be sought from the Airport Manager. The previous "block" method of charging landing fees will now cease with a discount being given to Rand Airport Air BP Customers which will amount to the same charges being levied as under the block system.
LANSERIA AIRPORT - www.lanseriaairport.co.za
Next Safety, Security and Stakeholders Meeting will be held on Tuesday 11th February 2016 at 12.00 in the LIA Training School.
# The wearing of high visibility jackets/waistcoats is mandatory for all persons, excepting for passengers under escort, on airside. (SA CAR 139.02.22(6))
# Drivers shall obey the published speed limits which are 30 on airside and 40 on landside - these have been enforced as from 1st May 2015
GRAND CENTRAL AIRPORT, MIDRAND
Next Safety Meeting will be held on Tuesday 1st March 2016 at 12.00 in the Boardroom
# The wearing of high visibility jackets/waistcoats is mandatory for all persons, excepting for passengers under escort, on airside. (SA CAR 139.02.22(6))
# Drivers found to be speeding on airside will have their access revoked
1. SAFETY AND SECURITY
WE HERE IN GAUTENG ARE EXPERIENCING VERY HIGH TEMPERATURES SO A REMINDER TO PLEASE CHECK DENSITY ALTITUDE WITH THE TOWER BEFORE DEPARTURE.
DISEASE OUTBREAKS ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
Cape Verde - Zika Virus Infection
Ghana - H5N1
Madagascar - Bubonic Plague
Mauritius - Dengue Fever
Nigeria - Bird Flu in Edo and Lassa Fever in Taraba and Kano
Sierra Leone - Ebola (again)
South Africa - Typhoid Fever
Tanzania - Cholera in Mwanza
Zimbabwe - Anthrax in Umzingwane District
Passengers hold onto their boarding passes (like their lives depend on it), before boarding as they know that without it they are not getting on that plane. Once they have boarded, passengers become more careless about their boarding pass' location as they slip it in the seat pocket in front of them or stick it in a magazine, or just chuck it. Carelessness with the boarding pass had the potential to land its owner in a ton of trouble as there is personal information frequently encrypted on the pass in the mag strip. All that an unscrupulous person has to do is get a screen shot of the bar code on the boarding pass, and feed it into a bar code reader on "Inlite's" site. Forensic expert for CBS, Winston Krone, recently stated that it is possible for the encrypted information on the bar code to contain personal email addresses, home addresses and phone numbers. Access to personal financial information is just a step away.
12. SAAFA DONATIONS
Should you wish to make a donation to this more than worthy cause then please pay it (via EFT or as a deposit) into;
Standard Bank Bedford Gardens; Bank Code 018 305; Account Name: SA Air Force Association (JHB Branch); Account Number: 022 605 568. You may use either your Company or Individual name along with the word donation as the reference.
13. FINALE
Aviation Safety Update 2016: After MH370, MH17 and Russian Passenger Plane, Death Toll Climbs
The leading cause of aviation deaths in 2015 was "unlawful interference," not technical failures, for the second year running, said Dutch safety consultancy firm To70, the Independent reported Sunday. With more than 900 airline deaths in the past two years, attacks have outweighed any other cause of plane accidents.
"Unlawful interference on board by passengers is reasonably well-covered around the world," Adrian Young, an aviation consultant for To70, told the Independent. "My main concerns are centred on the way airport and airline staff get airside," he said, adding, "There are many airports that have weak systems to control who goes airside and with what."
Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine - allegedly by pro-Russian separatists - in 2014, killing 283 people. In the same year, Malaysian Airlines flight 370 disappeared somewhere over the Indian Ocean with little evidence as to what occurred.
Developments in the MH370 case continued in July after a flaperon confirmed to be from the flight was found on Ile de la Reunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. Investigators in the case have not yet determined what exactly caused the flight to disappear from radar in March 2014, and experts said they would need to find the black box, a data recorder, from the flight to understand what exactly had happened to the crew and its passengers.
The Islamic militant group known as ISIS took credit for blowing up a Russian passenger plane over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in November, killing all 224 people on board. The group said the attack was retribution for Russian airstrikes in Syria.
The second highest death toll for a plane crash in 2015 for "unlawful interference" was the Germanwings crash in the Alps in March 2015. The co-pilot of the plane allegedly purposefully crashed the plane, killing all 150 people on board.
SITUATIONS VACANT. If you are interested and qualified please send your CV to global@gaconsultants.net
Part Time Consultant Air Safety Officers required who comply with the requirements of SA CARS Part 135, Part 121, Part 127, Part 140, Part 141 and Part 145 - must have had appropriate SMS training, previous experience and preferably been approved by the South African Air Services Licencing Council.
Part Time Quality Assurance Consultants required who are appropriately qualified and comply with the requirements of Part 135, Part 121, Part 127, Part 140, Part 141 and Part 145.
Part Time Aviation Security Consultant required who is appropriately qualified for RSA and International Operations
Can we help you with your aviation safety and / or quality requirements?
Under SA CAR 140.01.2 if you and your organisation hold one of the following
# a category 4 or higher aerodrome licence;
# an ATO approval;
# an aircraft maintenance organisation approval;
# a manufacturing organisation approval ;
# an ATSU approval;
# a design organisation approval;
# an AOC issued in terms of Part 121, 127, 135, 141;
# a procedure design organisation approval; and
# an electronic services organisation approval,
then you shall establish a Safety Management System for the control and supervision of the services rendered or to be rendered by that organisation.
If you do not already have an approved Air Safety Officer and an approved Safety Management System then please contact us for assistance.
We, at Global Aviation Consultants, deliver the following SA CAA Approved training courses for Air Safety Officers at Rand Airport;
# Safety Management Systems
# Integrated Safety Officer Course
# Quality Assurance Auditor
# Crew Resource Management (Initial and Recurrent)
# Dangerous Goods
# Human Factors for AME's
Should your operation be of a size whereby the full time employment of an Air Safety Officer and/or Quality Assurance Officer is not financially viable then we can provide you with Consultants who have previously held Air Services Licensing Council approval. We can also provide you with a tailor made SA CAA approved Safety Management System and all SA CAA required Manuals for your operation.
For further information on how we can help you please contact Rethea or Candice in Hanger 6, Rand Airport, Germiston on 011-024-5446/7 or e-mail global@gaconsultants.net
Global Aviation Consultants accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited.
2. A small matter of knowledge
3. Africa's 2015's Hazards, Incidents, Accidents and Safety Occurrences
4. Emergency Response Planning
5. Henley Global Safety and Quality Training
6. European Aviation boss calls for reforms 1.5 years after MH17
7. How to prevent air, ground collision incidents (Africa) 8. Bomb proof bag could supress explosions on aircraft
9. FAA orders checks on a handful of 777 engines
10. News from the Johannesburg Airports
11. Safety and Security
12. SAAFA donations
13. Finale
1. MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
For some years now the problem with passengers not listening to Safety Briefings prior to departure has been of some concern to both commercial and general aviation operators. For those of us who fly as a passenger regularly we know the words off by heart but none the less as aviation professionals we listen, check where the emergency exits are and review the safety briefing card in the seat pocket in front of us. So all crew members should do all they can to ensure that the passengers listen to the briefing - cabin crew members are able to identify those passengers who did not listen to the briefing and maybe they should speak to the passengers who were on their cell phones or reading their newspapers.
Vivienne
2. A SMALL MATTER OF KNOWLEDGE
A new study led by BYU organizational behaviour professor Peter Madsen finds that airlines are flying past an opportunity to increase safety by ignoring too many "near misses."
"Studies show pilots or crew members make at least one potentially hazardous error on 68 percent of commercial airline flights, but very few of these errors lead to an accident," Madsen said. "Airlines need to institute policies that encourage learning from these seemingly innocuous near misses."
To be clear, Madsen is not talking about the near misses you see on the news. He and researchers from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business poured over the safety data of 64 U.S. commercial airlines from 1990 to 2007 to determine where less obvious near-miss incidents were being ignored.
As expected, their study (published in Risk Analysis) found airlines improve their safety performance in response to their own accidents and accidents experienced by other airlines. However, airlines only learn from near misses when there are obvious signs of risk.
Specifically, airlines pay attention to near misses that have led to accidents in the past (fire on the plane, ice build-up on wings), but don't look closely at near misses that have yet to cause an accident (airplane rolling on the runway when it should be stopped).
"We're not saying airlines aren't doing a good job--they are paying attention to near misses more than any other industry in the world," Madsen said. "That said, near misses that are considered benign might be slipping through the cracks."
Examples of "benign" near misses identified by researchers are:
# Incapacitation of a flight crew member
# Software or mechanical problems with cockpit displays
# Poor handling of aircraft while decelerating on the runway after touch down
# Traffic congestion on the taxiway during aircraft taxiing
# Nuisance warnings and false alarms
The researchers suggest airlines can improve in two ways:
# Continue successful data-collection efforts, but expand which near misses are reported.
# Remain vigilant toward deviations from normal and uncover root causes of the deviations.
Madsen said that one way airline personnel can improve on the second point is by focusing on events the industry once considered unacceptable but now occur so often that they've come to be accepted as normal.
"It can be hard to learn from near misses because we're wired to ignore them," Madsen said. "But the difference between a near miss and a larger failure may only be good fortune."
Funding for the study came in part from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.
3. AFRICA'S 2015 HAZARDS, INCIDENTS, ACCIDENTS AND SAFETY OCCURENCES
2 Jan 16 Cessna182 0 Uhuru Gardens, Nr. Wilson Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
27 Jan 16 F16 2 near Fayed, Ismailia, Egypt
29 Jan 16 Cessna 425 Conquest 3 3km outside the Hosea Kotuku International Airport boundary, Namibia
03 Feb 16 PA32-300 3 Watville, Benoni, GP, RSA
Source, amongst others, PlaneCrash info.com; News24, Aviation Herald, Flight Safety Information
02 Jan 16 EC130 B4 0 Nr. Parys, Free State, RSA
29 Jan 16 RH44 1 Maswa Game Reserve, Tanzania (shot down)
11 Jan UNK RWY35 at Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Fuel cap found on the runway UNK HAZ
11 Jan Piper 181 Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Flat tyre TRNG HAZ
12 Jan Cessna 172 Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Flat tyre TRNG INC
14 Jan A319-100 On approach into Windhoek International Airport, Namibia 0 Bird strike
COM INC
14 Jan B747-800 On approach into Frankfurt, Germany 0 After performing flight from Johannesburg (South Africa) to Frankfurt/Main (Germany), a/c was descending towards Frankfurt when the crew reported the failure of the #1 hydraulic system. The a/c continued for a safe landing on runway 25C and stopped at the end of the runway. The aircraft was towed to the apron. COM INC
16 Jan Piper 181 Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Radio Communications Failure
TRNG INC
19 Jan TBA Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Electrical failure - engine would not shut down REG INC
22 Jan B737-400 En-route Johannesburg-Cape Town 0 Depressurisation required a/c to return to O R Tambo COM INC
23 Jan Cessna 172 Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Radio Communications failure PVT INC
25 Jan B737-400 En-route O R Tambo (GP) to Cape Town (WC), RSA 0 Depressurisation required a/c to return to O R Tambo, GP, RSA COM INC
26 Jan B747-400 En-route London Heathrow (UK) to Cape Town (RSA) diverted to Abuja 0 Smoke in the cabin COM INC
28 Jan Scale Spitfire Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Nose over during high speed taxi PVT
30 Jan Tecnam Rand Airport, Germiston, GP, RSA 0 Radio Communications Failure TRNG
Construction Hazards Unmanned aircraft. Very poor ATC. Possible volcanic activity. Ground based Navaids serviceable but not calibrated. Birds
Libreville, Gabon
Poor ATC coupled with inadequate navaids. Poor Marshalling combined with inappropriate behaviour of drivers on the ramp and taxiways.
Kadugli, Sudan
Poor ATC control of aircraft in the area. The runway is breaking up with only small areas in use for safe landing.
Juba, Sudan
Very poor ATC. Crews must be on the lookout for other aircraft in their vicinity. Vehicular traffic not obeying any regulations in terms of overtaking aircraft on taxiways and weaving in and out of aircraft on the apron.
Bunia, DRC
Adverse weather caused by the ITCZ.
Kisangani, DRC
Birds
Rand Airport, GP, RSA
Birds
4. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING
Blake Emergency Services is the International Crisis Management and Contingency Planning Consultancy who, although based in the UK, have serious experience in Africa having handled accidents, incidents, counselling, repatriation, DNA sampling and confirmation, in amongst others Lagos, Nigeria; Fez, Morocco; Pointe Noire, Congo; Moroni, Comores; Maputo, Mozambique and more recently Ukraine for MH017, Air Asia and Mali for Air Algerie. Please go to www.blakeemergency.com or contact rethea.mitchell@blakeemergency.com
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Blake Emergency Services please contact Rethea at the address given above.
An Emergency Response Plan is a required section of your SMS and may also be added to your Operations Manual.
5. HENLEY/GLOBAL AVIATION TRAINING
Should you wish to make a booking for any of these courses please contact Candice on 011 024 5446 or by email to candice@gaconsultants.net
Dates Course Lecturer Cost Excl. Vat Per Delegate
08-09 Feb 2016 Human Factors - AME and CRM Initial Dr. Joel Hughes R 2,720-00
17 Feb 2016 CRM - Refresher Verity Wallace R 1,150-00
17 Feb 2016 DG - Refresher Verity Wallace R 935-00
22-23 Feb 2016 Quality Assurance Auditor Course Dan Drew R 2,720-00
02 March 2016 CRM Refresher Verity Wallace R 1,150-00
02 March 2016 DG - Refresher Verity Wallace R 935-00
07-08 Mar 2016 Safety Management Systems (SMS) Various R 2,720-00
07-11 Mar 2016 Integrated Safety Management Course Various R 6,800-00
14 & 15 March 2016 Human Factors - AME and CRM initial Dr. Joel Hughes R 2,720-00
30 & 31 March 2016 Quality Assurance Auditor Course Dan Drew R 2,720-00
30 March 2016 CRM - Refresher Verity Wallace R 1,150-00
30 March 2016 DG - Refresher Verity Wallace R 935-00
Notes:
Cost per delegate includes all training materials, refreshments and lunch.
Attendees paying in cash on the day are eligible for a 10% discount
Both Recurrent CRM and Dangerous Goods Training Courses are available upon request - even at short notice.
On request we also offer -
Air Cargo Security (Part 108)
Health and Safety (Medical)
Cargo and Warehouse Security
Risk Management & Investigations
First Aid and the Law
Emergency Response, Incident Response, Operations Control, Emergency Response and Family Assistance training together with the writing of Emergency Response Plans and Procedures training is now offered through Blake Emergency Services. For more information, please contact Rethea on rethea.mitchell@blakeemergency.com
6. EUROPE AVIATION BOSS CALLS FOR REFORMS 1.5 YEARS AFTER MH17
Patrick Ky of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is calling for an institute with the responsibility of warning airlines about dangerous flight routes to be set up. It should be one that can prevent disasters like with flight MH17 happening in the future. EASA is willing to take that responsibility upon themselves. "Because if they don't do it, who will?" Ky said to broadcaster NOS.
Flying over conflict zones was one of the topics discussed at a major two-day European aviation conference, held at Schiphol airport in January. A number of those involved in the MH17 disaster are becoming impatient, because a year and a half later nothing has changed, they feel.
It is still up to countries and airlines themselves to figure out what risks there are in certain air spaces. They mostly do so by getting information from military and national security services, information that is typically not shared with other countries.
EASA wants this to change. "Security services must give use the results of their analysis. We will then spread the information in the form of warnings or bulletins", Ky said to the broadcaster. EASA does not want to forbid airlines from flying certain routes - "That assessment they have to make themselves" - but believes it must be an informed decision.
Tour operator Corendon thinks an authority that can impose mandatory routes is a good idea. "It would be good if there is an independent body institution in Europe that says where you can and cannot fly, and at what altitude. "Director Steven van Heijden said to NOS. "Like the Federal Aviation Authority in the United States imposes on American airlines."
7. 'HOW TO PREVENT AIR, GROUND AIRCRAFT COLLISION' (AFRICA)
Global aviation bodies are worried over the contribution of air accidents associated with runway operations. Amid calls for collaboration and introduction of safety initiatives, experts at a forum in Lagos set timelines for Nigeria to reduce runway incursion and related threats to air safety, KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.
There is growing concern over air safety across the globe, following recurring incidents and accidents of runway operations. According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), about one-third of aviation accidents are associated with runway operations.
Sequel to the development, ICAO introduced some safety initiatives to reduce the accidents. They were endorsed last year by ICAO partners, including Flight Safety Foundation, at the first meeting of the ICAO Global Runway Safety Symposium in Montreal, Canada.
The global civil aviation regulator, ICAO, has called for compilation and further development of best practices and greater sharing of information among member states.
One of the first requirements, it said, would be the development of common definitions, metrics and methods of analysis to enable more complete information sharing, as well as the improved reporting of operational hazards.
ICAO data showed that over the past five years, one-third of all aviation accidents have been linked to runway operations.
Last week, five aviation agencies namely, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) , Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) in collaborating with ICAO, Airport Council International (ACI) and International Air Transport Association (IATA), organised a forum in Lagos to address runway incursion and its attendant effects on air safety.
Speaking at the forum, NAMA Managing Director, Ibrahim Adbulsalam, said the establishment of Runway Safety Teams at the four major airports of Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt and the training on the use of Runway Safety Tool Kits, as well as the development and implementation of Runway Safety Action Plan, would further enhance safety of air navigation in the country.
He said NAMA has concluded plans to install surface movement radar systems at Lagos and Abuja airports for the effective surveillance and control of aircraft, vehicle and personnel on ground at these airports. He said the system would ensure that aircraft and vehicles operating within the airside are equipped with transponders for effective detection by radar or automated data surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) systems.
He said runway safety remains the most critical aspect of air safety, not only because the most critical phases of flight operations occur within the runway strip, but because of the multiplicity of sensitive activities that take place within the airside.
These activities include, take-off and landing of aircraft, surface movement of aircraft, movement of operational vehicles, security personnel, Jet A1 vehicles and construction vehicles.
He listed others to include, airfield lighting maintenance personnel, navigational aids maintenance personnel, aerodrome rescue and fire fighting vehicles, ATC vehicles on runway inspection.
Others are wildlife, vegetation and bird control, search and rescue vehicles, as well as various other stakeholders operating therein.
Abdulsalam explained that it is in view of the multiplicity of operations associated with the runway that the ICAO initiated a multi-disciplinary runway safety programme that requires collaboration among aviation stakeholders. Abdulsalam identified runway safety as consisting of three key components: runway incursion, excursion and confusion.
Runway incursion, he defined, is the unauthorised presence of an aircraft, vehicle, person, animal or object on a runway or associated runway strip that constitutes a hazard to aircraft landing, taking off or taxiing within the movement area of an aerodrome.
He said: "Runway excursion is the unintentional presence of an aircraft outside the runway as a result of overshooting, undershooting or running off the runway during take-off or landing roll.
"These occurrences can be attributed to severe weather, technical failures, human errors, loss of situational awareness, inadequate, or lack of appropriate approach and landing or visual aids. Runway confusion is the misidentification of a runway by flight crew as a result of poor visibility, loss of situational awareness, inadequate visual aids, inadequate approach and landing aids, and parallel or near parallel runways. "
He highlighted some of the steps the organisation had taken to prevent runway incidents. He said the agency in 2013 introduced surface movement and ground control services in Lagos and Abuja on May 6, 2015.
The Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Mukhtar Usman, represented by the Director of Operations and Training, Capt. Sidi Abdullahi, lamented that runway incidents have been on the increase and hoped that the workshop would go a long way in mitigating runway incidents. He noted that the large number of people working on the runway particularly exposes it to danger.
The Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma described runway safety as a significant challenge to airport operators.
"It presents some of the greatest problems in the aviation sector," Dunoma warned. Represented by the agency's Director of Operations, Capt. Henry Omoegwu, he said the authority had made runway safety its top priority by, among other measures, forming a runway safety team to advise on the prevailing condition on the runways, issues of concerns and confusion, and training airside personnel.
According to Richie Takunde from the ACI, "Safety on the runway is very important to aerodrome operators who want to avoid or mitigate accidents or incidents.
"Though Africa has the least record of flights operation compared to other continents, especially Europe, the continent is also notorious for runway incidents and accidents, according to ICAO statistics''.
The ICAO Regional Officer Air Traffic Management, Mr Albert Aidoo Taylor, said: "The problems with the runways are not critical issues that cannot be addressed and Nigeria has the capacity to do that. We will be going to the airports to see things critically to see what needs to be done." Investigations revealed that aircraft ground collision has become a recurring decimal in Nigerian airports, especially at some of the busy international airports in the country. The problem even took a more worrisome dimension in 2015 following the spate of ground collision involving many airlines.
The first major incident of ground collision was in 2012 when an Arik Air aircraft collided with another aircraft on ground in Jos.
On Monday, July 6, last year, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, a Dubai-bound Emirates aircraft Boeing 777-200R also collided with a stationary Boeing 737 aircraft belonging to Hak Air at the airport's apron, leading to a substantial damage on the parked plane. This happened when the Emirates aircraft was taxing for take-off.
Twelve days after, also at the same MMA in Lagos, another tragedy was averted when two Airbus A319 airplanes belonging to the First Nation Airways, a domestic carrier, collided at the apron of the MMA2 private terminal. Incidents like ground collision and others on the runway, according to experts, elicit safety concerns in the aviation industry.
Though Nigeria is not the only country said to be deficient in terms of putting in place appropriate safety measures on the runways, statistics have shown that the problem is more prevalent in the African continent, despite its low rate of flights.
8. BOMB-PROOF BAG COULD SUPPRESS EXPLOSION ON AIRCRAFT
A controlled explosion in the luggage hold of an aircraft was successfully contained by a bomb-proof lining developed by an international team of scientists. The technology shows how a plane's luggage hold may be able to contain the force of an explosion if a device hidden in an item of luggage detonates.
The Fly-Bag is made from multiple layers of fabrics and composites that have high strength and impact, and heat resistance. The fabrics include Aramid, a heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibre used in the aerospace industry, as well as in ballistic body armour. The lining's flexibility increases its resilience in containing an explosion and any blast fragments, said Dr. Andrew Tyas, of the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, who is leading the research at the University of Sheffield. The Fly-Bag, he added, acts as a pliable membrane instead of a rigid-walled container that could shatter on impact.
Laboratory-based blast testing had successfully proved that the Fly-Bag prototypes could withstand explosions. But it was real-life controlled explosions in the luggage hold of a Boeing 747 and an Airbus 321 that put the technology to the ultimate test.
One controlled explosion was conducted in a luggage hold not lined with the Fly-Bag. The blast ripped a gaping hole in the fuselage that could have proved fatal if the plane was traveling at altitude. For the second test the bomb was placed in a suitcase and then in a luggage hold lined with the Fly-Bag. Slow motion camera footage of the bag at the moment of detonation showed it expands and contracts but does not tear. The structural integrity of the fuselage was maintained.
Leading British security consultant Matthew Finn said the Fly-Bag could be an ideal fail-safe in the event that somebody is able to smuggle an explosive device aboard an aircraft.
"The risk that we always have in aviation security is can someone get something on board an aircraft. So a lot of our time and attention has been focused on mitigating the risk of people getting things on an aircraft. What the Fly-Bag does is it actually accepts that there maybe an instance where somebody is successful in getting something on board an aircraft. And therefore, the next question becomes how can we mitigate the effect of an explosive device detonating at altitude in an aircraft," he said.
The need for some way of mitigating an explosive device on an aircraft was heightened on October 31 when a bomb ripped apart a Russian passenger jet over Egypt, killing all 224 people on board. Islamic State claimed they were responsible for the attack, releasing a photograph of a Schweppes soft drink can it said was used to make an improvised bomb that brought down the Russian airliner. The attack drew parallels with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 by Libyan nationals over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. An investigation showed a palm-sized explosive in a cassette recorder in a bag in the luggage hold had ripped a 50 centimetre hole in the fuselage and decompression caused the plane to break up in mid-air.
Finn, managing director for security consultants Augmentiq, which offers advice to enhance security at airports, ports and international borders, said the Fly-Bag deserves to be seriously considered as a way to mitigate such explosives on aircraft.
"I think it has the capacity to transform how we look at hold baggage. We've spent a lot of time thinking about the reconciliation of passengers and their bags; since 1988, since the Lockerbie Disaster, that's been a big focus of the airline industry. What the Fly-Bag does is look to those situations where there may be the device on board and how do we contain that. I think it's a really interesting development and I'd like to see it deployed more widely" he said.
The Fly-Bag is being developed by a European consortium including Blastech, a spin out company from the University of Sheffield, as well as partners from Greece, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.
9. FAA ORDERS CHECKS ON A HANDFUL OF 777 ENGINES
Following an uncontained engine failure and fire as a Boeing-built British Airways 777 jet took off in Las Vegas last September, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is initially mandating inspections of just six specific engines of similar age, configuration and usage flying in the U.S.
The FAA airworthiness directive, set to be published Tuesday (12 Jan 16) in the Federal Register, requires an inspection of three metal disks in the innards of the six GE-90 engines, and replacement of the parts if any anomaly is found.
GE spokesman Rick Kennedy said only one of the six engines listed by the FAA remains to be inspected and that one will be done this week. Kennedy said GE anticipates inspecting a second small set of engines once the first set of inspections is complete, and it expects another FAA airworthiness directive to make this mandatory.
The required ultrasonic inspections are conducted without removing the engines from the wings of the jets.
In the Sept. 8 incident, a metal disk in the high pressure compressor section of the engine core broke apart explosively on take-off, shooting out hot metal fragments that pierced the engine, the pod surrounding the engine and the wing of the airplane and igniting a serious engine fire.
The pilot aborted the take-off, slammed on the brakes and ordered an evacuation. All 157 passengers and 13 crew on board were able to exit safely on emergency-escape slides from the right side of the aircraft as fire engulfed the left side.
The engine involved in this first uncontained failure of any GE-90 was one of the first built for the initial 777s after 1995. About 400 engines of this early GE-90 type are now in service on 167 airplanes. More recently built 777s have a different configuration.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is in charge of the accident investigation, has not released any information on whether the initial inspections turned up any anomalies.
A pre-publication copy of the FAA mandate states that the root cause of the initial crack in the disk that broke apart is still unknown but that once this is determined, "we might consider additional rulemaking."
10. NEWS FROM THE JOHANNESBURG AIRPORTS
Users of the Johannesburg aerodromes must be aware of the fact that they all take Aviation Safety and AVSEC seriously. If you want to use these airports as a Pilot or are employed in any way on them, then we would recommend that you make yourself aware of Part 139 in the SACARs and the Rules and Regulations applicable to that particular aerodrome. Be prepared for fines being levied if you breach any of the SARPs.
RAND AIRPORT, GERMISTON - www.randairport.co,za
Next Safety Meeting - Tuesday 1st March 2016 at 09.00 in the Old Customs Hall
# The wearing of high visibility jackets/waistcoats is mandatory for all persons, excepting for passengers under escort, on airside. (SA CAR 139.02.22(6))
# Drivers found to be speeding on airside will have their access remote taken from them.
# Vehicles being driven on airside must carry proper mandatory insurance cover
# All delivery vehicles and visiting vehicles requiring access to airside MUST be escorted from the access gate to the premises and then after closure of their business back to the gate for egress.
# Cranes are not allowed onto Rand Airport unless their use has been specifically authorised by airport management
# All operators are required to report Bird Strikes to the Safety Office even if there has been no structural damage to the aircraft as a result of the strike.
# Fuel must not be "trucked" into Rand Airport from other sources. Should there be a special requirement permission must be sought from the Airport Manager. The previous "block" method of charging landing fees will now cease with a discount being given to Rand Airport Air BP Customers which will amount to the same charges being levied as under the block system.
LANSERIA AIRPORT - www.lanseriaairport.co.za
Next Safety, Security and Stakeholders Meeting will be held on Tuesday 11th February 2016 at 12.00 in the LIA Training School.
# The wearing of high visibility jackets/waistcoats is mandatory for all persons, excepting for passengers under escort, on airside. (SA CAR 139.02.22(6))
# Drivers shall obey the published speed limits which are 30 on airside and 40 on landside - these have been enforced as from 1st May 2015
GRAND CENTRAL AIRPORT, MIDRAND
Next Safety Meeting will be held on Tuesday 1st March 2016 at 12.00 in the Boardroom
# The wearing of high visibility jackets/waistcoats is mandatory for all persons, excepting for passengers under escort, on airside. (SA CAR 139.02.22(6))
# Drivers found to be speeding on airside will have their access revoked
1. SAFETY AND SECURITY
Cape Verde - Zika Virus Infection
Ghana - H5N1
Madagascar - Bubonic Plague
Mauritius - Dengue Fever
Nigeria - Bird Flu in Edo and Lassa Fever in Taraba and Kano
Sierra Leone - Ebola (again)
South Africa - Typhoid Fever
Tanzania - Cholera in Mwanza
Zimbabwe - Anthrax in Umzingwane District
Passengers hold onto their boarding passes (like their lives depend on it), before boarding as they know that without it they are not getting on that plane. Once they have boarded, passengers become more careless about their boarding pass' location as they slip it in the seat pocket in front of them or stick it in a magazine, or just chuck it. Carelessness with the boarding pass had the potential to land its owner in a ton of trouble as there is personal information frequently encrypted on the pass in the mag strip. All that an unscrupulous person has to do is get a screen shot of the bar code on the boarding pass, and feed it into a bar code reader on "Inlite's" site. Forensic expert for CBS, Winston Krone, recently stated that it is possible for the encrypted information on the bar code to contain personal email addresses, home addresses and phone numbers. Access to personal financial information is just a step away.
12. SAAFA DONATIONS
Should you wish to make a donation to this more than worthy cause then please pay it (via EFT or as a deposit) into;
Standard Bank Bedford Gardens; Bank Code 018 305; Account Name: SA Air Force Association (JHB Branch); Account Number: 022 605 568. You may use either your Company or Individual name along with the word donation as the reference.
13. FINALE
The leading cause of aviation deaths in 2015 was "unlawful interference," not technical failures, for the second year running, said Dutch safety consultancy firm To70, the Independent reported Sunday. With more than 900 airline deaths in the past two years, attacks have outweighed any other cause of plane accidents.
"Unlawful interference on board by passengers is reasonably well-covered around the world," Adrian Young, an aviation consultant for To70, told the Independent. "My main concerns are centred on the way airport and airline staff get airside," he said, adding, "There are many airports that have weak systems to control who goes airside and with what."
Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine - allegedly by pro-Russian separatists - in 2014, killing 283 people. In the same year, Malaysian Airlines flight 370 disappeared somewhere over the Indian Ocean with little evidence as to what occurred.
Developments in the MH370 case continued in July after a flaperon confirmed to be from the flight was found on Ile de la Reunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. Investigators in the case have not yet determined what exactly caused the flight to disappear from radar in March 2014, and experts said they would need to find the black box, a data recorder, from the flight to understand what exactly had happened to the crew and its passengers.
The Islamic militant group known as ISIS took credit for blowing up a Russian passenger plane over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in November, killing all 224 people on board. The group said the attack was retribution for Russian airstrikes in Syria.
The second highest death toll for a plane crash in 2015 for "unlawful interference" was the Germanwings crash in the Alps in March 2015. The co-pilot of the plane allegedly purposefully crashed the plane, killing all 150 people on board.
SITUATIONS VACANT. If you are interested and qualified please send your CV to global@gaconsultants.net
Part Time Consultant Air Safety Officers required who comply with the requirements of SA CARS Part 135, Part 121, Part 127, Part 140, Part 141 and Part 145 - must have had appropriate SMS training, previous experience and preferably been approved by the South African Air Services Licencing Council.
Part Time Quality Assurance Consultants required who are appropriately qualified and comply with the requirements of Part 135, Part 121, Part 127, Part 140, Part 141 and Part 145.
Part Time Aviation Security Consultant required who is appropriately qualified for RSA and International Operations
Can we help you with your aviation safety and / or quality requirements?
Under SA CAR 140.01.2 if you and your organisation hold one of the following
# a category 4 or higher aerodrome licence;
# an ATO approval;
# an aircraft maintenance organisation approval;
# a manufacturing organisation approval ;
# an ATSU approval;
# a design organisation approval;
# an AOC issued in terms of Part 121, 127, 135, 141;
# a procedure design organisation approval; and
# an electronic services organisation approval,
then you shall establish a Safety Management System for the control and supervision of the services rendered or to be rendered by that organisation.
If you do not already have an approved Air Safety Officer and an approved Safety Management System then please contact us for assistance.
We, at Global Aviation Consultants, deliver the following SA CAA Approved training courses for Air Safety Officers at Rand Airport;
# Safety Management Systems
# Integrated Safety Officer Course
# Quality Assurance Auditor
# Crew Resource Management (Initial and Recurrent)
# Dangerous Goods
# Human Factors for AME's
Should your operation be of a size whereby the full time employment of an Air Safety Officer and/or Quality Assurance Officer is not financially viable then we can provide you with Consultants who have previously held Air Services Licensing Council approval. We can also provide you with a tailor made SA CAA approved Safety Management System and all SA CAA required Manuals for your operation.
Global Aviation Consultants accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited.
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