SafeSkies Newsletter Vol. 1, No. 9
December 1, 2009
In this Issue
- Latest News from SafeSkies
- Industry News
LATEST NEWS FROM SAFESKIES
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Welcome to the ninth issue of the SafeSkies Newsletter.
In case you missed the November 21st Special Update, please be advised that on November 19th, Member of Parliament Peter Julian tabled a petition calling upon the Government of Canada to initiate "a judicial review into Canada’s state of national aviation safety and government oversight of the aviation industry, to be followed by further reviews at defined intervals." Please see http://safeskies.ca/news/Petition_tabled for the transcript of this and tablings by other MPs, and a link to the full text of the petition.
According to the rules of the House of Commons, the government is required to reply to the petition within 45 days of its presentation. If the petition remains without a response at the expiration of this time, a Committee of the House, designated by the Member presenting the petition, is required to look into the Ministry's failure to respond.
On November 22nd, Kirsten Stevens was featured on an air safety special aired by CFRA (CHUM) Radio in Ottawa. The program can be heard here: http://safeskies.ca/news/CFRA_radio .
On November 30th, the Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities heard testimony to Mr. Bevington's motion of October 19th (http://safeskies.ca/news/SCOTIC-Motion ). Witnesses included Assistant Deputy Minister Marc Grégoire, Director General Civil Aviation Martin Eley, Christine Collins of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, Daniel Slunder of the Canadian Federal Pilots Association and Carlos DaCosta of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in Canada.
It was a heated session. One of many news articles, as well as a link to the audio of the session is available here: http://safeskies.ca/news/Pushing_paper . The transcript will be posted when available.
Also on November 30th, Kirsten Stevens was featured on an ATV News Segment. The segment can be viewed here: http://safeskies.ca/news/ATV_Stevens .
On December 1st, Mr. Bevington kept the pressure up during Question Period. The response from Minister of Transport John Baird included the statement, "I do not support outsourcing safety testing or safety monitoring". Video and transcript can be found here: http://safeskies.ca/news/QP_after_SCOTIC .
Safeskies has recently received several submissions for use in our Whistleblower Project. The submissions are currently being de-identified, and we hope to begin featuring them in our next issue in order to provide some measure of relief to these souls who have seen the worst of the industry. We thank participants for their trust.
There have also been a large number of requests to participate in the Tragedy and Loss Project, and several requesters have expressed how grateful they were to have found us. We hope we have been able to provide at least a small amount of solace.
For more information on these projects, and ways you can help, please see http://safeskies.ca/content/how_you_can_help .
Please note that Kirsten Stevens had intended to provide an editorial on her experience at the November 25/26th Transport Canada Information Session in Vancouver. Unfortunately, time and health issues have interfered. The piece will instead appear in our next Newsletter.
Please continue visiting the website frequently and sending your comments, questions and story ideas to Kirsten.stevens@safeskies.ca .
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INDUSTRY NEWS
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FROM CANADA
We begin with our deepest condolences to all those who have been affected by the November 29th Seair Seaplanes' DHC2 Beaver accident off Saturna Island, BC. Although the pilot and one female passenger managed to escape and were swiftly rescued from the water, six passengers, including an infant, did not survive. The wreckage was recovered on December 1st. The CADORs indicates the Transportation Safety Board will be investigating this accident as a Class 3 Occurrence (http://tsb.gc.ca/eng/normes-standards/evenements-occurrences.asp ). Please see http://safeskies.ca/content/2009P1808 for more information.
On November 27th, the TSB released its report into the Labrador Air Safari float-equipped DHC2 Beaver accident at Schefferville, PQ, on July 14, 2008, in which the pilot and some passengers sustained serious injuries. Although there are no recommendations associated with the report, found at http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2008/a08a0095/a08a009... , it serves as a reminder to use shoulder harnesses when available.
The TSB report into the May 13th, 2008 fatal Bighorn Helicopter Bell 206B (operated for BC Hydro) accident is due to be released on December 3rd. Please see http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2009/02/c7102.html&ct... .
November 19th, the same day that Peter Julian tabled the air safety petition, was the International Civil Aviation Organization's deadline for a new directive on fatigue. As Transport Canada declined to file a difference, there was an outcry from pilot representatives. Please see http://safeskies.ca/news/too_tired_takeoff for related articles.
The last few weeks have also seen a continuation of the Public Inquiry into the fatal Cougar helicopter crash off the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador on March 12th 2009. Transcripts of the proceedings are available here: http://www.oshsi.ca/?Content=Transcripts_and_Exhibits .
FROM THE UNITED STATES
==>Fired Air Marshall Can Almost Taste Redemption<==
He’s been warned that judges can be kindly Dr. Jekylls in the courtroom, and terrifying Mr. Hydes when they write their decisions in the quiet of their chambers.
He’s been warned that fired federal employees who fight their terminations get their jobs back less than 5 percent of the time.
But, dang it, for the first time in years, fired federal air marshal Robert MacLean of Ladera Ranch is feeling a little - dare we say it? - optimistic.
It’s not just that the judge who heard his appeal allowed testimony that the government tried to block. And it’s not just that the man who actually did the firing was finally there in the hot seat, admitting that MacLean was a tip-top employee until the single transgression that ruined his career.
It’s that even if MacLean loses - again! - the truly final arbiters of whether he is hero or villain, of whether he endangered the flying public or helped protect it, are no longer Bush appointees. They are, instead, newly-installed, and far more whistleblower-friendly, Obama appointees.
See http://taxdollars.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/16/ for the full editorial. For extensive information on aviation whistleblowers in the United States, please visit http://www.airline-whistleblowers.org/ .
==>Promises, Promises: Six Years and Still No Rules<==
Eight years after the 9/11 attacks brought a new focus on security at airplane maintenance facilities, and six years after Congress first required action, the government still hasn't tightened its vigilance.
Concerned that terrorists might use a repair station to sabotage airliners, Congress in 2003 passed a law ordering the Transportation Security Administration to come up with security requirements for repair facilities, and gave the agency eight months to do it.
In 2007, after no rule had materialized, Congress again passed a law ordering TSA to put security requirements in place within one year. That deadline expired in August 2008.
This week, faced with a congressional hearing Wednesday on the issue, TSA finally posted a proposed rule to its Web site rather than wait for publication in the Federal Register. Officials acknowledged they wanted to get it out ahead of the hearing.
It's still not a done deal.
Please visit http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9109222 for the full article.
==>Bill Seeks to Allow Airlines Access to Cockpit Conversations<==
Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, plans to introduce a bill that would break a taboo in the airline industry: allowing airlines to use information from cockpit voice recorders in cases against pilots they want to discipline or fire.
Current labor contracts effectively bar major U.S. carriers from relying on information gathered from cockpit-recorders, or, in some cases, flight-data recorders to punish pilots or monitor their performance during trips. But the proposed legislation seeks to overturn those longstanding restrictions in both areas, which is already riling pilot union leaders.
The move also shines a spotlight on privacy and other complex legal questions surrounding the use of such information by airlines to make personnel decisions.
Please see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125866886792856401.html for the full story.
==>Recent Crashes Fuel Push for More Regulation of Medical Helicopter Industry<==
Changes are circling for the emergency medical helicopter industry, which saw a disturbing number of fatal crashes last year.
Twenty-nine deaths in 2008 – compared with seven killed in 2007 – spurred calls for regulators to impose new rules for helicopter operators. But some feel that's not been enough; Congress is now poised to pass a series of new rules governing the nation's fleet of medical helicopters.
Three recent crashes of medical helicopters have reinforced concerns that the flights often put pilots, medical crew and injured patients in danger.
Full article found at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-helicoptersaf... .
==>New Pilot Fatigue Rule Faces Delay, FAA Says<==
A new federal proposal for combating pilot fatigue may still allow pilots to commute on red-eye flights the night before going to work — just as the co-pilot of the doomed Continental Connection Flight 3407 did.
And release of that pilot fatigue proposal, which originally was set to take place by the end of this year, has been pushed back to early 2010.
The Federal Aviation Administration's top safety official revealed those details of the agency's anti-fatigue effort at a Senate hearing Tuesday.
And the chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees aviation safety was enraged to hear that the agency wasn't moving more quickly and decisively in response to the crash of Flight 3407 in Clarence Center in February, which claimed 50 lives.
Please visit http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/879779.html for the full article. An FAA Fact Sheet is also available here: http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=6762 .
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CONTACT US
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Send comments, questions and story ideas to kirsten.stevens@safeskies.ca .
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