SafeSkies Newsletter Vol. 1, No. 7
SAFESKIES NEWSLETTER
Volume 1, No. 7
*******************************************************************
*******************************************************************
November 1, 2009
In this Issue
- Latest News from SafeSkies
- Industry News
LATEST NEWS FROM SAFESKIES
-----------------------------------------
Welcome to the seventh issue of the SafeSkies Newsletter.
On October 2nd, the Union Of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE) announced that it is in discussions with the Assistant Deputy Minister, Marc Grégoire, who indicates that Transport Canada is "ready to listen". (See http://safeskies.ca/news/UCTE_TC_Listen). This was further reiterated on October 29th, when the National President of the UCTE, Christine Collins, testified before the Standing Committee on Finance. Ms. Collins' presentation included criticism of Transport Canada's implementation of Safety Management Systems (SMS), while acknowledging Transport Canada's promised willingness to reform SMS implementation and realign funding. (More at http://safeskies.ca/news/UCTE-FINA)
As you will recall, NDP Transport Critic Dennis Bevington's Motion to the Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities for a review of air safety oversight was heard on October 19th. While the members seemed to agree that some study was warranted, the Motion was referred to Subcommittee for further refining before a vote. See http://safeskies.ca/news/SCOTIC-Motion for more information.
On October 16th, NDP MP Peter Julian added a slightly altered version of our petition to his website. PDF versions are available in English and French from this page: http://safeskies.ca/news/NDP-petition. Note that various unions are also or will be circulating this version of the petition. If you belong to a union, please ask about it at your local.
Please continue visiting the website frequently and sending your comments, questions and story ideas to Kirsten.stevens@safeskies.ca.
*******************************************************************
INDUSTRY NEWS
---------------------------------------
FROM CANADA
While there have been no fatal occurrences on Canadian soil since the last newsletter, there are two Canadian fatalities to report.
First, sympathies to the family of the pilot in the October 10th crash in Quebec (see http://safeskies.ca/content/2009Q2124) who, according to a recent CADORS update, succumbed to his injuries on October 15th.
Condolences also go out to the family of James Wilton, a resort owner from Bracebridge, Ontario, who was killed when his Beechcraft A36TC crashed shortly after takeoff from Kalamazoo, MI, on October 27th. The NTSB is investigating this accident. News article here: http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-36/1256962813240750.xml&coll=7.
On October 19th the Offshore Safety Helicopter Inquiry (Official website from the government of Newfoundland and Labrador here: http://www.oshsi.ca/?Content=Home) began into the fatal March 12th Cougar helicopter crash. Please read "Helicopter inquiry hears that workers raised concerns about pressure on pilots" from the Canadian Press, found here: http://www.amherstdaily.com/index.cfm?sid=296513&sc=508.
Also first reported on October 19th, was the story of John Daniel Sweeney, a janitor at Trudeau Airport in Montreal who lost his job after blowing the whistle on what he believed to be unsafe practices. Read the story from The Gazette: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Trudeau+Airport+whistle+blower+suspended/2120493/story.html.
Finally, we were pleased to learn that there is such great interest in the upcoming Transport Canada Safety Management Systems Information Session, being held in Vancouver on November 25th and 26th, that registration closed early. Fortunately, some SafeSkies representatives managed to register in time and will be in attendance. We look forward to providing our views of the event.
FROM THE UNITED STATES
==>Audit Announcement: Inspector General US DOT<==
Large, commercial air carriers have maintained an unprecedented safety record over the last several years, but regional carriers are still a safety concern as they have been involved in the last six fatal commercial accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board cited pilot performance as a potential contributory factor in four of these incidents.
'Accordingly, we plan to begin a review to identify and assess trends in commercial aviation accidents including any correlations between pilot experience and compensation. We will announce our work on pilot training and fatigue separately'.
See http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2550 for a link to the official announcement.
==>FAA reportedly investigating AA MD-80s; issues new parts standards<==
US FAA is investigating American Airlines' maintenance of MD-80s, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing preliminary agency findings that "have identified as many as 16 [AA MD-80s] that were operated for months despite allegedly substandard bulkhead repairs."
Investigators reportedly are examining claims by pilots that one or more aircraft were flown at low altitudes without passengers to AA's Tulsa MRO facility because they were feared to be in too poor a condition to withstand the stress of operating at higher altitudes.
Read the whole article here: http://atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=18229
==>Flight Mechanics: The Business of Airline Repairs<==
Recent maintenance mistakes raise questions about a growing practice at U.S. airlines: Since an economic crisis began shaking the industry in 2002, most major airlines have stopped repairing and overhauling most of their own planes. Instead, they are sending the planes to be fixed for less money by private repair companies — often in developing countries.
*To Cut Costs, Airlines Send Repairs Abroad: Recent malfunctions affecting US Airways planes raise questions about a controversial and growing practice at most U.S. airlines: The industry is sending almost 1 out of every 5 planes needing overhaul or repair to developing countries, from Central America to Asia.
*Crossed Wires, Flaws In Airline Repairs Abroad: Mechanics have made some mistakes fixing US Airways planes at an FAA-approved facility in El Salvador. Industry executives and the FAA say the maintenance work is just as safe as any work done in the U.S. But airlines and the FAA don't make maintenance problems public.
*Bucking Trend, Airline Keeps Repairs In-House: As many major U.S. airlines shift their repair and maintenance work to outside firms, American Airlines is taking a different approach. The airline has its own crew of 6,000 mechanics based in Tulsa, Okla., who service its fleet and even contract for outside business.
The three part article and radio series is available here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113945453.
==>Public Submissions to FAA's SMS Proposal<==
As SafeSkies reported, the FAA recently called for public submissions to its proposed rulemaking under docket FAA-2009-0671 Notice No.09-06 AC120-92 (Safety Management Systems). The proposal and public submissions, which were due by October 21st, can be found by searching for this docket at http://regulations.gov.
Among the noteworthy submissions found, we suggest reading both that of the Aircraft Electronics Association (also found here: http://www.aea.net/governmentaffairs/regulatoryupdates.asp?ID=28) as well as the submission from the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE).
The UCTE submission includes the research document, Implementation of the Transport Canada Aviation Safety Management System (TCASMS): What's Not Right and Why Change is Necessary. Along with recommendations and other commentary, a comparison of Transport Canada's SMS implementation with that of the UK, the US, Australia and the ICAO directions is included. The submission has been copied to http://safeskies.ca/files/safeskies/docs/UCTE_TCASMS.pdf for your convenience.
FROM OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
==>European Commission Adopts New Rules To Govern Investigations of Air Crashes<==
OCT 29 The European Commission today adopted a proposal for a Regulation on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation. More efficient and independent inquiries into the causes of air accidents are essential to enhance the safety of air traffic. The Commission also aims to strengthen the rights of the victims of air accidents.
Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Transport Commissioner said: "One of the main priorities of European air transport policy is to increase air passenger safety. I believe that the new rules we propose today will improve the quality of accident investigations and the implementation of safety recommendations. Accident investigations help us gain valuable information that can prevent the reoccurrence of such mishaps, which, regretfully, sometimes have tragic consequences. Lives can therefore be saved through improved investigation. These new rules will also better protect the rights of the victims of air accidents".
Official release: http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/30248
*******************************************************************
CONTACT US
--------------------
Send comments, questions and story ideas to kirsten.stevens@safeskies.ca .
Report problems to webmaster@safeskies.ca .
