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Weekly UpdatesMay 24, 2009
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a USD 1.3 million civil penalty from Florida-based Gulfstream International Airlines, Inc. for violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The alleged violations include improper scheduling of flight crew duty time, and the installation of unapproved air conditioner compressors and improperly maintained vent blowers on the airline's fleet of 27 BE-1900-D aircraft. An FAA review of the airline's electronic record-keeping system for tracking crew duty and rest time revealed that Gulfstream International did not accurately input the proper data from its manually generated hard-copy aircraft logbook records into the electronic system. The discrepancies resulted in scheduling crewmembers in excess of daily and weekly flight time limitations. www.faa.gov. May 22, 2009
Despite fears of the potential impact of the swine flu virus, statistics from OAG (http://www.oagaviation.com), the world's leading aviation data business, reveal the year-on-year decline in global airline capacity has not accelerated for May 2009 compared to figures for April when the outbreak began. The world's airlines have scheduled 5 percent (127,000) fewer flights for May 2009 compared with the same month last year, with a 2.7 percent drop in seat capacity of 8.3 million fewer seats. Last month, the year-on-year global frequency and capacity figures were down by 5.5 percent and 3 percent respectively. The total number of flights scheduled to operate worldwide this month is 2.43 million, offering 298.6 million seats to travelers around the globe. David Beckerman, vice president OAG Market Intelligence, said, "The airline community is understandably cautious, especially with memories of the devastating effect which the SARS virus had on the airline industry in 2003. So far, our figures are not showing a dramatic downturn in seat capacity; however that's not to say that airlines and passengers are complacent - far from it. We will need to wait a while until we can see some clear trends and gain some perspective on the situation." The figures are revealed in the May 2009 edition of OAG FACTS (Frequency & Capacity Trend Statistics), the dynamic monthly market intelligence tool providing the latest data on current passenger airline activity around the world. This is the tenth successive month of declines in airline capacity; however the rate of decline is showing signs of flattening, after a dramatic downturn in February this year. Global capacity reductions have remained at 3 percent for the last 3 months compared to figures for the same months in 2008. At a regional level, OAG statistics for May show the trends of recent months continuing. The only region with worsening airline seat capacity figures compared to those reported last month is Asia Pacific, although the difference is slight. May 20, 2009 5/20/2009
Aggressive steps are being pursued to accelerate the production of seasonal flu vaccines, which could be shifted into pandemic flu injections "if that is necessary", the top U.S. health official said on Tuesday. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a news briefing that the United States has not yet placed orders for H1N1 flu vaccines that are now being researched by several companies. May 19, 2009
Despite fears of the potential impact of the swine flu virus, statistics from OAG (http://www.oagaviation.com), the world's leading aviation data business, reveal the year-on-year decline in global airline capacity has not accelerated for May 2009 compared to figures for April when the outbreak began. The world's airlines have scheduled 5 percent (127,000) fewer flights for May 2009 compared with the same month last year, with a 2.7 percent drop in seat capacity of 8.3 million fewer seats. Last month, the year-on-year global frequency and capacity figures were down by 5.5 percent and 3 percent respectively. The total number of flights scheduled to operate worldwide this month is 2.43 million, offering 298.6 million seats to travelers around the globe. May 19, 2009
American Airlines
US federal safety regulators advised American Airlines to fix problems in its internal safety procedures revealed in 2007 when a jet crashed in St. Louis after catching fire. The National Transportation Safety Board also urged the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday to consider mandating a safety system on jets similar to the American Airlines MD-82. The safety board also advised the FAA to offer more training for pilots and crew on emergency evacuation procedures. In late September 2007, the engine on American Airlines flight 1400 caught fire during departure from Lambert-St. Louis Airport. None of the 138 people on board were hurt during the emergency landing, but the plane was badly damaged. The safety board determined that the cause of the accident was American Airlines' maintenance personnel's use of an incorrect manual engine-start procedure, which led to a fire in the left engine. May 22, 2009
American Airlines
US National Transportation Safety Board wrote to American Airlines this week recommending that the carrier evaluate its maintenance program's Continuing Analysis and Surveillance System "to determine why it failed," contributing to a September 2007 MD-82 inflight engine fire during a departure climb from St. Louis. "Then, make necessary modifications to the program to correct these shortcomings," NTSB told American. The board's investigation into the 2007 incident led it to conclude "that American Airlines' maintenance personnel were using maintenance procedures that were not in accordance with written manuals and guidelines and that its CASS program did not adequately detect and correct these performance deficiencies before they contributed to an accident." The board added, "Although these findings alone do not suggest that American Airlines' CASS program is wholly inadequate, the NTSB is concerned that maintenance personnel could be using other unapproved procedures and/or that other recurring problems with [AA] airplanes could occur without detection and that this could affect safety." AA has said it already has made changes driven by lessons learned from the 2007 incident. May 21, 2009
American Airlines
Federal safety regulators advised American Airlines to fix problems in its internal safety program revealed in 2007 when a jetliner crashed in St. Louis after catching fire. The National Transportation Safety Board also urged the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday to consider mandating a safety system on jets similar to the American Airlines MD-82. The safety board also advised the FAA to offer more training for pilots and crew on emergency evacuation procedures. In late September 2007, the engine on American Airlines flight 1400 caught fire during departure from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. None of the 138 people on board were hurt during the emergency landing, but the plane was badly damaged. The safety board determined that the cause of the accident was American Airlines' maintenance personnel's use of an incorrect manual engine-start procedure, which led to a fire in the left engine reported Reuters. May 20, 2009
American Airlines
American Airlines customer service manager fell from a lift at Miami International Airport early yesterday morning and was killed, the airline confirmed in a statement cited by The Miami Herald. May 20, 2009
Colgan Air, Bombardier
In a closed-door session at the Regional Airline Assn. annual conference in Salt Lake City that extended late into Tuesday evening, CEOs of a number of US regionals focused primarily on safety issues raised after the Feb. 12 Colgan Air Q400 crash that killed 50 people outside Buffalo, while the US Senate promised to conduct its own examination of regional safety. Yesterday, RAA President Roger Cohen said the industry will be assessing its systems and procedures to ensure that the highest standards of safety are met and maintained. "The advanced technology of our airplanes and systems has evolved to such a high point, become so sophisticated and incredibly reliable, that perhaps everyone, from flight crews to line managers to the CEOs themselves, have become too reliant on them, that we're not keeping our heads in the game at all times," he admitted. "We need to consider the psychological factors. Why do highly trained professionals fail to follow their training and experience when faced with unusual situations?" The conciliatory tone was a change from earlier in the week, when RAA noted its "perfect safety record" over the 2.5 years preceding the Colgan disaster. Industry safety expert John Nance told the RAA board of directors and Presidents' Council that it is "necessary to test all assumptions all the time. . .it's time to ramp up." RAA Chairman and Trans States Airlines President Rick Leach said, "You have to learn from what goes on around you, talk about these things--crew resource management, fatigue, sterile cockpit." Cohen said board members believe safety is a shared responsibility and will be reaching out immediately "to expand their dialogue with FAA, NTSB, network carriers, safety experts and our labor groups to identify airline industry best practices that are fundamental to the absolute gold standard of safety culture." In Washington, the Senate aviation operations, safety and security subcommittee led by Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced plans to hold hearings on the issue starting June 10. It released a letter to US Dept. of Transportation Inspector General Calvin Scovel stating that evidence suggesting inadequate training and fatigue has "raised broader concerns about [FAA's] regulations. . .industry practices. . .pilot training programs, the ability of the airlines to verify pilot qualifications and the FAA's oversight of industry compliance with relevant safety regulations." The letter asked DOT to review FAA standards, regulations and program oversight as well as airline/air carrier policies, including those regarding fatigue issues and crew rest requirements, along with "any relationship between commercial aviation accidents, pilot experience and pilot compensation." May 22, 2009
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