Five killed in New Mexico medevac crash identified

A Beechcraft King Air E90 aircraft operated by Southwest Medevac crashed shortly after take-off from Ruidoso, New Mexico on August 5, 2007. All five people on board were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed. The cause of the crash is unknown at this time.

A Houston Chronicle article about the medevac accident reports:

The plane arrived at the Sierra Blanca Regional Airport near Ruidoso about 8:30 p.m. Sunday after a short flight from Roswell, according to FlightAware.com, a flight-tracking Web site. Earlier in the day, the plane had flown roundtrip between Roswell and Lubbock, Texas.

The plane left the airport later on a flight to University of New Mexico Hospital, and crashed almost immediately in Devil's Canyon in the Lincoln National Forest, said Peter Olson, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.

The search began early Monday, and the plane was spotted about 5:15 a.m., Olson said,

New Mexico National Guard and state police helicopters helped locate the wreckage.

A memorial page on the Southwest Medevac website identifies the pilot of the aircraft as Ricky Byers, 56, of Dimmitt, Texas. The two other crew members were nurse Brian Miller, 44, of Roswell, NM, and paramedic Deanna Palmer, 40, of Prescott Valley, AZ.

The two passengers, who also perished, were the patient, 15-month-old Lilly Smith, and her mother Tracy Smith.

Condolences to the families of the crew and passengers who were lost in this accident.

[Photo Source]

Piaggio P180 Avanti lands gear up at White Plains

On the morning of August 3, 2007, an Avantair Piaggio P180 Avanti aircraft landed gear up at Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York. According to the preliminary incident data filed today by the FAA, crew reported that the aircraft's main gear could not be extended. No one was injured, and damage to the twin turboprop aircraft was listed as "minor."

An article about the Piaggio incident on the Lower Hudson Online news website says that trouble with the aircraft's landing gear was reported at around 08:00 AM local time. The aircraft landed safely about a half hour later, but then blocked the main runway for several hours.

The HPN main runway remained closed until about 11:30 AM, when the aircraft was towed away. The runway closure caused a number of commercial flights to be delayed.

Earlier this year, the main gear of another Piaggio P180 Avanti collapsed during the aircraft's landing roll at Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport.

UPDATE August 11, 2007: The EMTBravo Network has posted a set of photos of the gear up landing of this Piaggio P180 Avanti at HPN. Congratulations to the photographer for catching that spectacular series real-time of shots.

[Photo Source]

U.S. Dept. of Transportation reports decline in airline performance

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a discouraging airline performance report today. The report says that recent on-time performance among the nation's largest air carriers is the worst in years.

The 20 airlines reporting to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) had an overall on-time arrival rate of 68.1 percent in June, down from both June 2006’s 72.8 percent and May 2007’s 77.9 percent. In other words, in June, nearly a third of domestic flights on major U.S. airlines were late.

Reasons for flight delays in June, cited in the DOT report:

• 10.04% - late-arriving aircraft
• 9.13% - aviation system delays
• 8.13% - factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems
• 1.42% - extreme weather
• 0.09% - security reasons

The DOT acknowledges that weather "is a factor in both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category."

This includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with the carriers involved.

Weather is also a factor in delays attributed to late-arriving aircraft, although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.

Data collected by BTS also shows the percentage of late flights delayed by weather, including those reported in either the category of extreme weather or included in National Aviation System delays.

In June, 44.97 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, up 6.92 percent from June 2006, when 42.06 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and up 14.78 percent from May when 39.18 percent of late flights were delayed by weather.

The same 20 airlines reported that they canceled 2.7 percent of their domestic scheduled flights in June, up from both June 2006’s cancellation rate of 1.7 percent and May 2007’s 1.1 percent.

The rate of mishandled baggage also grew: The airlines posted a mishandled baggage rate of 7.92 reports per 1,000 passengers in June, compared to 6.30 per 1,000 passengers in June of 2006, and 5.93 in May of this year.

Here's a link to the latest Air Travel Consumer Report (63 page 'pdf' file) from which the above statistics were drawn. Links to earlier reports can be found on the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division website.

For another interesting read, check out the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports on Taxi-Out Times. BTS statistics show that airlines reported 462 flights with taxi-out times of more than three hours in June.

Unhappy Mesa pilots jumping ship

Pilots at Mesa Air Group are jumping ship to go to work for other carriers. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union representing the Mesa pilots, blames the mass exodus on "pilot staffing and morale issues that are reaching critical levels and negatively impacting Mesa operations." As an expression of their displeasure, the pilots put up billboards across the country this week imploring management to address these issues.

In a news release issued a few days ago about the billboards ALPA said:

Mesa management’s unwillingness to follow the pilots’ contract has caused a mass exodus of skilled pilots making unprecedented lateral moves to other regional carriers. So far this year, nearly 400 pilots have left Mesa Air Group, creating pilot shortages which, among other things have led to flight delays and cancellations.

“Our airline has been bleeding pilots for many months but unfortunately management has been unwilling to make any significant changes to retain the kind of skilled, professional crews that are needed to service our numerous operations,” said Captain Michael Jayson, a 14-year employee and chairman of the ALPA unit at Mesa.

With increasingly low morale and unrest within the pilot group, union leaders are publicly expressing their growing concerns about the long-term viability of Mesa Air Group via billboards in its major hub cities and near corporate headquarters in Phoenix. With the following message appearing in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Phoenix, the Mesa pilots hope that management will take their concerns seriously and work with them on solutions for attracting and retaining their professional pilot force.

Mesa pilots have been leaving recently for other jobs with higher pay and benefits, and better pilot work rules. ALPA contends that on-going contract violations on the part of Mesa's management, coupled with the opportunities for better pay and working conditions at other carriers, "will continue to drive pilot attrition and discourage new pilots from joining Mesa’s operation."

Mesa Air Group pilots fly as Delta Connection, US Airways Express, United Express, Go Airlines and Mesa Airlines.

Update on TAM crash in Sao Paulo

Over the past few days, there has been a lot of speculation in the press that pilot error was to blame for the crash of TAM Airlines Flight 3054 at São Paulo's Congonhas airport last month. The speculation began after it was revealed that the crew retarded the thrust lever for the number one engine during touchdown, but left the throttle for the number two engine in its forward position.

Some news media not specialized in aviation matters seem to have concluded that this was an illustration of pilot error. Aviation industry insiders are not so quick to assume that pilot error was the reason that a throttle was in the wrong position, noting that it was possible the pilots had shifted the throttle lever correctly but that the plane's computer had failed to respond due to a mechanical failure.

According to a report on Flight Global.com that quotes industry sources:

For reasons yet to be explained, the pilot, in the final moments before touchdown, retarded only the thrust lever for the left-hand engine – first into the ‘idle’ position, then into ‘reverse’. This action disconnected the auto-thrust, as per its design. The failure to move the right-hand engine’s thrust lever to the reverse position runs contrary to the standard operating procedure which calls for both levers to be set to ‘idle’ and then 'reverse' – even with a thruster reverser inoperative.

It is unclear why the right-hand engine thrust lever was left in position. Newly-released cockpit-voice transcripts have notably highlighted the crew’s awareness that only the left-hand engine had an operable thrust-reverser; the right-hand reverser had been deactivated. This, however, should not have made a difference to the thrust retardation procedure.

As the aircraft began to slow after touchdown the thrust being produced by the right-hand engine remained at the level it was at when the auto-thrust had disconnected. With the thrust lever forward the spoilers would not have deployed, and the auto-brake would have similarly been inhibited.

In the cockpit transcript the co-pilot appears to state that the A320’s spoilers did not activate on touchdown and, as the situation develops, the pilots are heard to say that they cannot slow the aircraft. Flight-data recorder information indicates that the pilots repeatedly pressed on the brakes in a bid to stop the jet but did not retard the right-hand thrust lever.

Officials at Brazil's aviation accident investigation agency, CENIPA, have pledged to keep an open mind about the cause of the accident, saying that the investigation will cover mechanical or system failures and pilot error as well as airport infrastructure.

An English translation of the TAM Flight 3054 CVR transcript has been posted on the FlightGlobal.com website, along with an interpretation of the clues to possible causes of the crash that the transcript provides.

Related: Click here to view all posts on this blog about the TAM Flt 3054 accident.

Survey findings: Air Canada pilots' morale extremely low

A researcher from the John Molson School of Business at Montreal's Concordia University who conducted a survey of nearly a thousand Air Canada pilots last year found a climate characterized by extremely low morale. Dr. Martin L. Martens found that "the pilots' sense of fairness, justice and trust in executive management were unusually low and points to very poor morale and a negative working environment."

"There are hundreds of published studies that have examined justice and fairness and we're not aware of any research out there that has produced scores this low, it's extremely unusual," says Dr. Martens, whose survey polled the attitudes of 900 Air Canada pilots. "The numbers that we have are a very strong indication that the people responding (to the survey) on average do not trust the company or do not trust the senior management for whatever reason."

"This study proves what we knew all along; now we see that it's even worse than we thought," says Capt. Serge Beaulieu, spokesperson for the Air Canada Pilots Association. "Our pilots are committed to do a safe and professional job, but when we're not treated fairly, that has to affect the airline's performance."

Problems, says Beaulieu, range from day-to-day contract violations by Air Canada to a general lack of respect for employees. Beaulieu also points to problems stemming from the company's recent bankruptcy where employees gave up $6-billion in concessions over six years to stave off liquidation. Now that the company is financially healthy, he says, shareholders and executives are, "Not sharing the gain with those who shared the pain."

Dr. Martens will present his findings at an Academy of Management conference in Philadelphia on Monday, Aug. 6. For a preview of what he will present, have a look at the Backgrounder - Air Canada Pilot Workplace Climate Study.

Northwest Airlines tries to fix its pilot shortage

Looks like Northwest Airlines (NWA) is getting proactive about addressing its pilot shortage. The airline has reached an agreement with its pilots' union on issues related to the understaffing problems that have led to so many flight cancellations this summer. In addition, NWA is recalling the rest of its furloughees and recruiting new pilots.

Yesterday ALPA's Northwest MEC released a statement to announce that the pilots and NWA management had reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) "in an effort to address the staffing problem and the heavy work load NWA pilots have experienced since the signing of the bankruptcy contract."

Among other items, the TA permanently establishes a rate of 150 percent pay for every hour flown above 80 hours which encourages management to lower monthly maximums and to hire additional pilots. The TA also provides incentives for instructors, allowing additional training capacity for returning furloughees and new hires. In addition, ALPA granted the company relief in regards to the 757 crew bunk requirement for international flights.

Speaking of returning furloughees and new hires, Northwest also announced this week that it is recalling all of the rest of its laid-off pilots. Furthermore, the pilot career page on the NWA website says that the airline is now accepting pilot resumes and plans to hire approximately 250-350 pilots in the next 12 months. Here's the link to the NWA pilot position listing, with instructions for applying.

UPDATE AUGUST 10, 2007: An article in the International Herald Tribune says that more than 1,400 pilots have applied for jobs at Northwest since it began a "hiring push" on July 24.

[Photo Source]

Legislation will expedite crew access at U.S. airports

Today leaders of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives signed a bill that has important implications for aviation security. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signed H.R. 1, titled Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, which includes provisions that will expedite airport access through screening check points at U. S. airports for airline pilots and flight attendants.

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is one of several industry-related organizations to applaud the Congress for passing this bill. ALPA has come up with a proposal for a system that could be used to implement the new legislation. The union intends to work actively with the Transportation Security Administration on aspects of the new legislation related to airport screening of crews:

The measure includes an ALPA-backed provision which requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a process that would give flight deck and cabin crew members expedited airport access through screening check points.

“This bill, upon the President’s signature, starts a 180-day clock for the TSA to consult with airlines, airports, and flight crew unions on how to improve airport access,” said ALPA President Capt. John Prater. “ALPA has prepared for this opportunity. We have a proposal that provides a low-cost and effective process to leverage existing technology to screen crew members, saving TSA time and money.”

Developed by a small industry working group in February 2007, ALPA’s proposal, called Crew Personnel Advanced Screening System (CrewPASS), is based on the TSA’s highly successful Cockpit Access Security System (CASS). CASS uses employee databases of participating airlines to electronically confirm the identity and employment status of pilots so that they may gain access to the jumpseats of airplanes belonging to companies other than their own.

CrewPASS would extend the CASS concept to crew portals and security screening checkpoints to electronically screen flight crew members quickly, efficiently, and effectively, thereby fixing the current security deficiency. CrewPASS would not require purchasing or issuing new identification cards, saving the industry money during the implementation process.

“ALPA's National Security Committee (NSC) and industry are moving forward with a CrewPASS prototype program and we are in the process of identifying airports with established crew portals to test the program,” Prater said. “The group is also looking at how long the prototype phase should last, how many airports should be part of the prototype program, and what infrastructure would be needed at each test site.”

ALPA's prototype CrewPASS program is a biometric-based flight crew security screening system, described in an 18-page ALPA white paper issued in May of this year.

Sections of the legislation that are aimed at strengthening aviation security include:

• Installation of in-line baggage screening equipment
• Aviation security capital fund
• Airport checkpoint screening explosive detection
• Strengthening explosive detection at airport screening checkpoints
• Extension of authorization of aviation security funding
• Inspection of cargo carried aboard passenger aircraft
• Appeal and redress process for passengers wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight
• Transportation Security Administration personnel management
• Strategic plan to test and implement advanced passenger
  prescreening system

Congressional leaders have been calling for implementation of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission for some time. The bill now awaits the President's signature.

For those who may be interested, here is a link to H.R. 1, Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 in its entirety (276 page 'pdf' file).