Travel Safety Update.

Feb 25, 2008

Storm causes extensive delays at East Coast airports. A severe snowstorm that hit the Northeast has created extensive airport delays and traffic problems. Some flights arriving into John F. Kennedy International Airport were delayed by as much as five hours, according to the FAA. Feb 22, 2008

The International Air Transport Association said on Friday that the Indonesian government is considering adopting IATA's operational safety audit for all its airline operators in a bid to improve standards. Indonesia's airline industry has grown rapidly in the past decade following liberalization, with the launch of several new players and a wider choice of routes across the sprawling archipelago. However, the world's fourth-most populous country has suffered a string of airline disasters in recent years, raising concerns about safety standards and prompting the European Union to ban all Indonesian airlines from its airspace. The Indonesian government has said it is addressing these safety issues and wants the EU to lift the ban. Feb 22, 2008

Air-travel delays to worsen, controllers union says. Airline passengers can expect longer delays this summer because the US Federal Aviation Administration won't address the staffing shortage of air traffic controllers, representatives from a local air traffic control union said Tuesday. The warning comes as airlines such as JetBlue Airways, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines plan to add more flights out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Air traffic controllers say those additional flights, coupled with the FAA's refusal to keep veteran air traffic controllers, could lead to even more frustrating waits and possibly compromise safety during the region's peak flying season. Feb 20, 2008

Ireland's air traffic controllers threaten 24-hour strike Feb. 28. Ireland's air traffic controllers threatened Wednesday to strike nationwide, a protest that could shut the country's three major airports and bar international flights from Irish airspace. The controllers' union, Impact, said the one-day protest Feb. 28 was necessary because the Irish Aviation Authority has banned recruitment of new controllers since 2001 and forced the existing 300 controllers to work too much overtime. The aviation authority denied those claims and accused the union of turning its back on Ireland's industrial relations laws, which require mediators and a government-appointed Labor Court to adjudicate disputes before they descend into a strike. Feb 20, 2008

Airbus, Singapore Airlines

Fuel pump problem forces airline to cancel Airbus A380 flight. A fuel pump defect forced Singapore Airlines to cancel an A380 flight. The airline detected the problem, the first major technical glitch with the plane, when the plane's engine was started before a flight from Singapore to Sydney. Feb 19, 2008

American Airlines

American Airlines airliner with 138 people on board landed safely at Miami Airport on Friday Feb. 22 after being diverted because of a problem with its nose gear, officials said. The single-aisle Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) MD-80 will be taken out of service for checks, but the rest of American Airlines' 275-strong active fleet of MD-80s will continue flying, said a spokesman for the airline. The aircraft was American flight 862 from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Chicago's O'Hare Airport, airport spokesman Greg Chin said. The plane circled the airport to burn off fuel before landing safely. Problems with retracting front landing gear are rare, but not unprecedented, said American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith. The 133 passengers on the flight will be put on a Boeing 737 flight to Chicago around 6 p.m. EST tonight, Smith said. Boeing's 737 is the usual single-aisle plane American operates out of Miami. The MD-80, the workhorse of American Airlines' domestic fleet, was originally made by McDonnell Douglas, which is now part of Boeing. The plane type entered service in 1980 and was last produced in 1999. Feb 22, 2008

ATR

A Venezuelan ATR42 turboprop aircraft crashed into the sheer face of a foggy Andean mountain after veering off course after takeoff, all 46 people on board died officials said on Friday Feb. 22. Rescuers rappelled from helicopters to search for remains in the shattered wreckage lodged 13,000 feet (4,000 metres) above sea level on a craggy, rock wall known as "Indian Face." The blue-and-white tail of the twin-engine plane rested on the mountainside, which was charred by flames. Pieces of white fuselage and other remains from the crash littered the area, images from a video shot by searchers showed. Feb 22, 2008

ATR

A Venezuelan commercial plane carrying up to 46 people went missing in the west of the South American nation on Thursday soon after taking off, Venezuelan authorities said. Local media said the plane crashed in the Andean mountain state of Merida. The state capital, also named Merida, is 680 km (422 miles) southwest of Caracas. Gladys Herrera of the Venezuelan aviation authority, INAC, said in a phone interview the agency could not confirm the plane had crashed but that it had registered the aircraft as missing while it was flying in the state of Merida. A civilian defense official Noel Marquez told the station that rescue teams would have to search for the plane in daylight on Friday because the rugged terrain in the region made it too difficult to try on Thursday night. The plane took off from Merida airport before dusk but soon lost contact with air traffic controllers, an airport official said. Feb 21, 2008

British Airways, Boeing, London Heathrow

UK investigators cite 'abnormal cavitation' in British Airways Boeing 777 fuel pumps. UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch released a Special Bulletin indicating that its investigation into last month's accident involving a British Airways 777-200 at London Heathrow is centered on the fuel pumps and not the engines. AAIB said examination of both the left and right high-pressure fuel pumps "revealed signs of abnormal cavitation on the pressure-side bearings and the outlet parts" that could indicate either a restriction of the fuel supply or "excessive aeration" of the fuel. It said Boeing confirmed that both pumps remained capable of delivering full flow. Flight data recorders revealed no other defects. The agency said it now is attempting to replicate the damage found in the fuel pumps and match it to data recorded during the flight. It also expressed concerns that the fuel supply was not cut off following the crash, which led to leakage that could have caught fire. Feb 20, 2008

British Airways, Boeing, London Heathrow

UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch released a Special Bulletin indicating that its investigation into last month's accident involving a British Airways Boeing 777-200 at London Heathrow is centered on the fuel pumps and not the engines. AAIB said examination of both the left and right high-pressure fuel pumps "revealed signs of abnormal cavitation on the pressure-side bearings and the outlet parts" that could indicate either a restriction of the fuel supply or "excessive aeration" of the fuel. It said Boeing confirmed that both pumps remained capable of delivering full flow. Flight data recorders revealed no other defects. The agency said it now is attempting to replicate the damage found in the fuel pumps and match it to data recorded during the flight. It also expressed concerns that the fuel supply was not cut off following the crash, which led to leakage that could have caught fire. Feb 19, 2008

Comair

Comair must produce confidential safety reports that detail safety violations and wrong-runway incidents by its pilots, a federal judge has ruled. Airlines and pilot unions oppose the ruling, which they say could weaken efforts to improve safety. Feb 21, 2008

Milan Linate Airport

Italy's most senior court on Wednesday upheld five manslaughter convictions handed down over the deaths of 118 people in 2001 in the country's worst air disaster. The Cassation Court, Italy's top tribunal, also confirmed the acquittal of two senior airport officials who also stood trial for the crash at Milan's Linate Airport. The court upheld a July 2006 Milan appeals court finding of multiple manslaughter as well as negligent disaster. Feb 21, 2008

Seattle Tacoma International

Union says staffing shortage will lead to more delays. An air traffic controller staffing shortage could cause more delays and affect safety at Sea-Tac Airport and other airports in the U.S., according to the union representing the controllers. FAA officials say the airport is staffed at appropriate levels. Feb 20, 2008

Singapore Airlines, Airbus

Singapore Airlines canceled an Airbus A380 flight to Sydney Monday night owing to a fuel pump defect, according to a statement provided to the Associated Press. A replacement pump did not solve the problem and a Boeing 747-400 was used on the flight as Singapore Air's other A380 was undergoing maintenance. "Airbus and our own engineers have dedicated teams to try to address these issues quickly, but last night's fuel pump defect took much longer to fix," SIA told AP. "The delay was most unfortunate because to date, the aircraft has been operating with very high reliability, the highest of any aircraft type to enter service. It is, of course, to be expected that technical issues will occur from time to time." Feb 20, 2008

Singapore Airlines, Airbus