Travel Safety Update.

For more safety & security news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm Jun 26, 2006

Europe adds four to blacklist, calling it an 'effective incentive'. In the first quarterly update since the March launch of its aviation blacklist, the European Commission added four carriers.Three airlines were added because of "national measures notified by the member states." Surinam-based Blue Wing, notified by France, and Sky Gate International, licensed in Kyrgyzstan and notified by the UK, are subject to a total ban. Air West, based in Sudan and notified by Germany, is subject to operating restrictions. Jun 21, 2006

European Commission said it has made available additional resources to nations confronting safety issues and has received support from donors such as the World Bank; the European Civil Aviation Conference, which wants to extend the blacklist to non-EU European nations; Eurocontrol, which has established a warning system identifying flight plans for banned carriers; ICAO, which has discussed producing its own blacklist, and IATA. Jun 21, 2006

Airbus, Armavia

Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee said yesterday that it had decoded the flight data recorder of the Armavia A320 that crashed into the Black Sea early last month but the analysis uncovered no anomaly that could have caused the accident that killed all 113 passengers and crew onboard. The aircraft originating from Yerevan crashed in heavy rain and low visibility as it attempted a second approach to its intended destination of Sochi Airport. According to the IAC, the recording revealed that the aircraft was not destroyed until it hit the water. Engines were functioning normally until impact and there was enough fuel onboard to complete the flight. The Russian Transport Ministry said it plans a more detailed analysis in which an A320 simulator will be used to help recreate the crash. The IAC completed an initial analysis of the cockpit voice recorder earlier this month but has declined to release details. Jun 20, 2006

Boeing, Southwest Airlines

National Transportation Safety Board hearing issue was Midway's lack of an RSA, which at standard length should be 1,000 ft. But David Bennett, director of FAA's Office of Airport Safety and Standards, told NTSB that RSAs are not required. "We consider [an RSA to be] a very important and valuable enhancement for safety but there is no operational requirement," he said. FAA's rule regarding RSAs states that airports should install them "to the extent practicable," which means they "may be technically possible but not feasible or reasonable for some reason," Bennett explained. Chicago officials have determined that there is no practical way to build standard RSAs at Midway, he said. Jun 22, 2006

Boeing, Southwest Airlines

National Transportation Safety Board hearings into the Southwest Airlines 737-700 that overran a runway at Chicago Midway last December concluded yesterday with attention focused on the pilots' calculation of stopping distance before landing and their decision to land in deteriorating winter conditions rather than divert to another airport, an option they discussed during flight. "There are certainly a lot of variables," Capt. Denny Mosseller, Southwest's senior director-pilot training and standards, testified regarding the decision to land. The aircraft ended up on a street corner beyond the airport perimeter where it hit two cars, killing a six-year-old child. The aircraft did not have enough room to stop on a runway on which conditions were deemed "fair-to-poor" and which lacks a standard safety area to act as buffer. The pilots did not deploy thrust reversers until 18 sec. after the aircraft touched down. Mosseller said Southwest pilots are given guidance that includes using "maximum thrust reversers and maximum manual breaking" in conditions where stopping margins decrease due to poor weather. Jun 22, 2006

Boeing, Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines 737 scheduled to land at Chicago Midway 9 min. prior to the 737-700 that overran the runway last December diverted after its crew determined that the wintry conditions were too unsafe for landing, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed yesterday. The NTSB started a two-day hearing on the Dec. 8 accident in which the Southwest aircraft overran a slushy runway, burst through a blast fence and continued through a perimeter fence and onto a roadway where it struck two cars, killing a six-year-old passenger. The Southwest Airlines hearing focused on why the pilots of the aircraft decided to land even though part of the runway was in "poor" condition, why they were not informed that another Southwest plane had diverted less than 10 min. earlier, and the tight conditions at Midway, where no standard runway safety area--a 1,000-ft. buffer at the end of the runway--exists. A transcript of the cockpit voice recorder also was released. It included the first officer, in assessing the tough landing conditions, saying he had "picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue," a reference to the 1980 comedy movie Airplane that may prove embarrassing given the fatal incident that followed. Jun 21, 2006

Bombardier, Yeti Airlines

Twin Otter operated by Yeti Airlines crashed in Nepal June 21 while apparently attempting a go-around near Jumla. All nine persons onboard were killed, according to the Aviation Safety Network. The aircraft was en route to Jumla from Nepalganj after an intermediate stop in Surkhet. Jumla is situated in the mountains at an elevation of 9,400 ft. (2,875 m.). The crash occurred on a mountainside to the east of the airport. Jun 23, 2006