SafeSkies Newsletter Vol. 1 No. 4
SAFESKIES NEWSLETTER
Volume 1, No. 4
*******************************************************************
*******************************************************************
September 15, 2009
In this Issue
- Latest News from SafeSkies
- Industry News
- At Issue: Lighthouses to be Unmanned
LATEST NEWS FROM SAFESKIES
-----------------------------------------
Welcome to the fourth issue of the SafeSkies Newsletter.
We hope you have a had a chance to visit the website recently. As changes and edits are ongoing, we count on our visitors to let us know if they encounter any problems. Please contact webmaster@safeskies.ca if you do.
As we have been unable to find enough translation volunteers to help us produce an official French version of the website, we have added a link to a Google Translation, as we had with the "old" site. Although this system has its imperfections, we feel it is important to make the information available to our French speaking visitors. If any of our readers have ideas or can offer assistance with this aspect of the site it would be greatly appreciated.
Yesterday's Globe & Mail reported "Transport Canada Fictitiously Expensing Millions" (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/transport-canada-fictitiously-expensing-millions/article1286306/). Today, this article was followed up with a call from Transportation Opposition Critics Joe Volpe and Dennis Bevington for a probe into air safety by the Auditor General, Sheila Fraser. (See: http://safeskies.ca/news/air_safety_probe_sought). We, at SafeSkies, support this plea and encourage the Minister of Transport and the Auditor General to act immediately.
Finally, there is a possibility that you will receive a Special Update before the next newsletter. Please watch your inboxes.
Please continue to send your comments, questions and story ideas to Kirsten.stevens@safeskies.ca.
*******************************************************************
INDUSTRY NEWS
-----------------------------------------
We are pleased to report there have been no fatal occurrences since the last SafeSkies Newsletter. There have, however, been several accidents without injury of both commercial and business aircraft, as well as an Air Cadet glider accident which did result in serious injury to both pilot and passenger. All these occurrences are currently classed "5", or remain unclassed, by the TSB.
On the 9th of September, the Transportation Safety Board released its report A08O0189 (http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2008/a08o0189/a08o0189.asp). This report was released with the article "Pilots Need More Training, says TSB". According to the release, "In its investigation, the TSB found that while the aircraft manufacturer's manual contained guidance on what to do if the plane bounced on landing, the pilots had never practiced this manoeuvre or received training to safely control and land a plane under these circumstances ... Without training to improve crew awareness and skills, an unacceptable risk to crews and the travelling public will continue to exist." http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?m=/index&nid=480369.
In other news, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that "A Winnipeg-based corporate, charter and medevac air service has been fined $213,500 and its president charged by Transport Canada for allegedly failing to follow maintenance regulations". The article can be read at this link: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/air-service-fined-president-charged-for-alleged-violations-56871827.html
On September 13th, The Ottawa Citizen questioned why "The Federal Government Has Not Explained Silence on Airline Terror Plot", in relation to the 2006 foiled plans to "blast transatlantic airliners out of the sky", which included Air Canada flights. The article can be found here: http://www.canada.com/news/Federal+government+explained+silence+airline+terror+plot/1990089/story.html
As always, we like to keep a close eye on what happens south of the border, in case anything can be learned from the experience of our neighbours. It is believed the following articles will be of interest to our readers.
==>FAA Forum Promotes Safety Through Sharing Information, Best Practices<==
A wealth of information is available on aviation safety, but improvement is needed in coordinating and sharing the best safety practices that could benefit the entire industry, ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin said yesterday at the annual FAA International Aviation Safety Forum in Washington.
"There's no need for anyone not to have access to safety-critical information," Benjamin said. "We need a global safety information exchange." Such an exchange would lead to more "targeted regulations" and provide data and information on best practices, he argued. "It's truly an idea whose time has come."
Read the whole article here: http://atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=17830
==>FAA, Congress Ignore Pilots' Many Safety Warnings<==
For at least six years, Congress and the FAA have been warned about shoddy maintenance and pilot fatigue by former commercial airline pilots with sterling safety records, such as former United Airlines Captain Dan Hanley, now head of the Whistleblowing Airline Employees Association.
Many pilots like Hanley were forced out of the cockpit after they filed federally mandated safety complaints. Other airline employees are also trying to get the FAA to do something about toxic cabin air they say has left many of them chronically ill.
But if Congress and the FAA have so far managed to ignore repeated safety warnings from veteran pilots and flight attendants in planes that carry hundreds of passengers, there's little hope that they will pay the slightest bit of attention to pilots who ferry cargo to and fro.
Read the whole article here: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/FAA_-Congress-ignore-pilots_-many-safety-warnings-8210129-57654682.html
==>DOT Aims to Step Up Commuter-Airline Safety<==
Enhancing training and oversight of commuter-airline pilots is the Obama administration's top aviation-safety priority, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told an aviation conference Thursday.
Speaking at the Federal Aviation Administration's annual safety forum, Mr. LaHood said most passengers "were astounded" by the preliminary findings of training lapses and other safety shortcomings uncovered after the fatal February crash of a Colgan Air turboprop near Buffalo, N.Y.
"I don't think the flying public understood" those issues, he said, and "we think it's our role at DOT to step up quickly" and show that "this is our No. 1 concern".
Read the whole article here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125261092387100499.html
==>FAA Gives Southwest More Time to Repair Planes<==
Federal officials are giving Southwest Airlines until Dec. 24 to replace unapproved parts on about 50 airplanes.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that the parts do not prevent safe operation of the planes. The jets' manufacturer, Boeing, had reached the same conclusion.
Read the whole article here: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/02/repair_deadline_extended/ . (Background material and links can be found in our September 1st, 2009 Newsletter at http://safeskies.ca/newsletter_1-3
==>Pilot Handling Skills Under Threat, Says Airbus<==
Airbus is urging the aviation industry to confront the issue of how to ensure long-haul airline pilots maintain basic flying skills in the face of ever-increasing aircraft reliability and cockpit automation.
Read the whole article here: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/09/09/331991/aa09-pilot-handling-skills-under-threat-says-airbus.html
*******************************************************************
AT ISSUE: LIGHTHOUSES TO BE UNMANNED
-----------------------------------------------------------
It has recently been brought to our attention that the Canadian Coast Guard intends to finalize automation of lighthouses on the east and west coasts of Canada, bringing to an end a rich history of invaluable service provided by live Lightkeepers.
As advocates for the safety of workers transported by air, this decision brings us great distress. As far back as 1990, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada recommended improved, manned, weather services in remote locations in their Report of a Safety Study of VFR Flight into Adverse Weather (Report No. 90-SP002: http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/etudes-studies/90sp002/90sp002.asp) The importance of such services was further reiterated in Transport Canada's 1998 Safety of Air Taxi Operations Task Force Report (see SATOPS: Weather at http://www.tc.gc.ca/civilaviation/systemsafety/pubs/tp13158/Commentary/weather.htm
The following is an excerpt.
"The closing of lighthouse stations by the Canadian Coast Guard has reduced the weather information available to pilots flying on the west coast of British Columbia. Lighthouse keepers aren't accredited aviation weather observers, but the information they provide is essential for west coast VFR pilots since it is the only local weather information available. The Pacific coast is a unique operating environment where the weather conditions change quickly and vary dramatically over short distances due to localized weather phenomena.
"Aviation weather reporting was thought to be inadequate even prior to the decommissioning of lighthouses. Weather information is perceived to be geared to IFR aircraft and not appropriate for VFR operations since the information is often not valid within a few miles of the reporting source. VFR pilots on the west coast need to know weather conditions at and below 1000 feet ASL."
There was a time when the Coast Guard and lighthouses were under the authority of the Ministry of Transport, but for many years now this portfolio has been under the purview of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It is unknown if this decision by the DFO was made after consultation with Transport Canada whose marine and aviation sectors depend on the services of live lightkeepers.
Adequate weather services remain a huge problem for VFR aviators, especially in the coastal regions. As a result, we wish to encourage our readers to write to the Minister of Transport to ensure he has been made aware of this move and to request that the information in the TSB Safety Study mentioned above, as well as the weather recommendations from SATOPS be reviewed as perhaps it has been overlooked.
Please see the OPEN LETTER TO ALL CANADIANS FROM LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS at http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article/235930680-unmanning-lighthouses-spells-danger-for-coastal-travellers, and the Campbell River Mirror article "Lightkeepers Jobs to be Snuffed" at http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_north/campbellrivermirror/breaking_news/59076022.html?success .
*******************************************************************
CONTACT US
Send comments, questions and story ideas to kirsten.stevens@safeskies.ca .
Report problems to webmaster@safeskies.ca .
