Travel Safety Update.

Feb 4, 2008

Some inspectors say they face pressure not to recommend large repairs. Some FAA inspectors say they walk a difficult line when reporting safety problems to carriers and the FAA. One inspector who recommended costly repairs for several commercial jetliners said he was reassigned and later reinstated at his previous job. The FAA disputes the allegations and noted that the fatal accident rate in the U.S. has steadily declined. Jan 31, 2008

Innovative system uses magnetic field to track planes. European scientists have developed a system for locating aircraft at airports based on monitoring fluctuations in the earth's magnetic field. Scientists say the system relies on inexpensive sensors that monitor the "magnetic fingerprint" of planes. The goal of the system is to increase airport safety. ICT Results (1/29) Jan 29, 2008

Air traffic control upgrades may solve flight delays. There are practical strategies to improve the flying experience, according to a recent article in Popular Mechanics magazine. Suggestions include upgrading the nation's air traffic control to a GPS-based system that would allow for more precise positioning of planes and greater system capacity. The article also suggests making corporate jets contribute more to funding the FAA than they currently do, which would help to fund system upgrades. Jan 28, 2008

Flight delays cost billions in lost productivity. Travelers say it often takes days to recover from extensive flight delays, and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters recently estimated that flight delays cost the U.S. economy $15 billion a year. Airlines say the nation's aging air traffic control system is responsible for many of the delays. The government is now developing a satellite-based air traffic control system that would help increase capacity. Jan 28, 2008

Air Canada

Air Canada pilot removed from plane, update. The co-pilot at the controls of the Air Canada Boeing 767-300 passenger jet bound for London Heathrow was forcibly removed from the cockpit and bound hand and foot after he began asking for God 30,000 feet over the Atlantic. Passengers aboard Air Canada s Flight AC848 from Toronto to London on Monday said the flight officer started shouting and crying at the controls when they were less than an hour from Heathrow. Jan 30, 2008

Air Canada

Sick pilot forces impromptu Ireland stop. An Air Canada flight between Toronto and London had to make an unscheduled stop in Ireland when the co-pilot fell ill and began acting strangely, reports said today. Flight 848 with 146 passengers on board was forced to land in Shannon today "for medical reasons", an Air Canada spokeswoman said. "The co-pilot fell ill during the course of the flight," spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said, stressing the correct procedures had been followed. She would not confirm what ailed the co-pilot. But CBC television news said he had begun acting oddly, talking aloud to himself. He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital on arrival in Ireland, it added. "The passengers were never in any danger," Arthur said, adding they were later flown to London on another plane. Jan 29, 2008

Alaska Airlines, Boeing

Alaska Airlines to check Boeing 737-400s for wing-flap problems. Recent emergency landings have prompted Alaska Airlines to inspect all 40 of its Boeing 737-400s for possible wing-flap problems. The airline said it will not ground the planes. Jan 29, 2008

American Airlines, Boeing

Safety board: No FAA action on cockpit smoke problems. The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to implement recommendations stemming from several instances in which smoke was reported in the cockpit of a Boeing 757 aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday. In response, the FAA said that Boeing has already notified carriers of the problem and how to fix it. On Wednesday, an American Airlines Boeing 757-200 flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Philadelphia made an emergency landing in West Palm Beach, Fla., because of cockpit smoke. Several of those aboard the flight carried 139 passengers and seven crew members were treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation, the NTSB said. Feb 3, 2008

American Airlines, Boeing

Jet makes emergency landing in Fla. after smoke fills cockpit. Smoke filled the cockpit of an American Airlines Boeing 757 flight from Puerto Rico on Wednesday, forcing an emergency landing, an airport official said. Seven people the pilot, co-pilot, three flight attendants and two passengers were taken to a hospital, but none of the injuries was life-threatening, The Palm Beach Post reported. The plane had left San Juan for Philadelphia and landed safely at Palm Beach International Airport, said Casandra Davis, an airport spokeswoman. American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said the captain reported smoke in the cockpit about two hours into the trip of Flight 1738. As the plane made its descent into the airport in Palm Beach, the inner window pane cracked and sprayed glass into the cockpit. The outer window pane was not damaged and the plane did not lose cabin pressure, she said. She said a passenger and the first officer on the plane were taken to the hospital initially. Later, the captain and three flight attendants were also taken to the hospital. The plane, a Boeing 757, carried 139 passengers and a crew of seven. Fagan said another plane was being brought in from Fort Lauderdale to complete the flight to Philadelphia on Wednesday night. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. Jan 30, 2008

LAB Airlines , Boeing

Bolivian LAB Airlines plane crash-lands, all survive. A plane carrying more than 150 people crash-landed in a bog in eastern Bolivia on Friday after fierce storms turned it away from its destination and it tried to reach another airport hundreds of miles away, according to officials and news reports. All on board survived. Photographs by local media showed the charter Boeing 727, flown by a local airline, in a flooded forest clearing, stripped of at least one wing. A set of landing gear was in the water nearby. Feb 3, 2008

LAB Airlines , Boeing

Lloyd Aereo Boliviano 727-200 en route from La Paz to Cobija crash-landed approximately 2 mi. short of an airport in Trinidad, Bolivia, where it was attempting to divert owing to poor weather. All 159 passengers and crew survived the hard landing in a jungle clearing but the aircraft sustained serious damage, according to reports. Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network said "fuel exhaustion" was a possible reason the 727 was forced to land so far short of the airport. Feb 3, 2008

Northrop Grumman

Defense contractors join consortium for managing nuclear facility. A new company formed by Northrop Grumman and four other companies last week began work on a contract to manage a federal Department of Energy nuclear facility in South Carolina. Other members of the consortium are Honeywell International, Fluor, Lockheed Martin and Nuclear Fuel Services. Observers say Northrop's entry into other industries could improve prospects for future growth. Jan 28, 2008

Qantas Airways, Boeing

Qantas Airways Boeing 767 flight ground to a halt. Pilot given grounds for concern. A Qantas pilot refused to fly a Boeing 767 jet out of Sydney until a sink blocked by coffee grounds had been cleared. The pilot's action came after a water spill on a Qantas 747 flying into Bangkok last month led to the plane losing all electrical power and having to land on back-up batteries. An investigation is under way into what caused the leak. Initial reports indicate that on the January 7 Bangkok flight electrical power was lost after water from what is believed to have been a blocked sink leaked through a cracked drip tray on to the main generators. Two weeks ago, a Qantas pilot refused to fly a Boeing 767 from Sydney after discovering that a galley sink had been blocked with coffee grounds. On the pilot's insistence, maintenance staff checked the plane and are believed to have found the drip tray was cracked in exactly the same place as the troubled QF2 flight into Bangkok. Feb 3, 2008

SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Bombardier

SAS Scandinavian Airlines says that its technical department has found problems in a large majority of its Bombardier DHC-8-Q400 fleet. SAS withdrew its entire 27-strong Q400 fleet (including four from partner carrier, Wideroe) late last year following three landing gear incidents, although the manufacturer insists it is standing by its aircraft. The carrier is waiting for the Danish Accident Investigation Board s final conclusion, but the body has previously said that an actuator construction error was the cause of the first two incidents involving the Dash Q400. Jan 28, 2008

Southwest Airlines, Boeing

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 jet that skidded off a snow-covered taxiway Sunday afternoon after safely landing at Spokane International Airport will be removed from service for routine inspection to make sure it wasn't damaged and that mechanical failure did not play a role in the incident, King said. Several airport lights were damaged in the incident, Woodard said. An initial inspection of the plane didn't reveal any immediate damage, but Southwest suspended its operations in Spokane for the rest of the night, King said. The plane originated in Albuquerque, then flew to San Diego, Sacramento, and Portland, Ore., before heading to Spokane. Jan 28, 2008

Southwest Airlines, Boeing

Southwest Airlines flight skids off taxiway in Washington. A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 jet with 118 passengers on board skidded off a snow-covered taxiway Sunday afternoon after safely landing at Spokane International Airport, the airline said.No one was injured, but flights didn't resume for more than three hours. The pilot of Southwest Flight 485, which took off from Portland, Ore. after making stops in San Diego and Sacramento, was slowly taxiing to the gate when the front wheels of the plane slid off the taxiway around 1:40 p.m., said Brandy King, a spokeswoman for the Dallas-based carrier. Heavy snow had been falling on Spokane and the surrounding region since Saturday afternoon. There was up to a half-inch of wet, heavy snow on the ground, but we don't have any ice on the runway; we were pretty vigilant about that, Airport spokesman Todd Woodard told The Spokesman-Review newspaper. The airport shut down operations until crews could move the Boeing 737, which was obstructing a taxiway, King said. The plane was moved at about 4:30 p.m., and flights resumed shortly after 5 p.m., the airport said. Southwest used buses to shuttle the plane's passengers and five crew members to the terminal. Jan 28, 2008

ZZ

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