søndag 31. mars 2013

UAV - testes av NLA

 
På Dagsrevyen nå så jeg en 6-rotors liten dings som kan gjør en jobb i søk- og redningsøymed. Dersom du har fulgt med på bloggen min, så vet du at dette er gammelt nytt for meg, men ganske nytt for de som elsker å tenke på UAV`er som droner som dreper sivile i militære konflikter. Det gjelder media generelt. Jeg er veldig glad over å se at det etter hvert kommer institusjoner som ser på disse som hjelpemidler til fredelige formål. Teknologirådet uttrykker at disse hjelpemidlene krever piloter med kompetanse og forståelse for faremomentene. Luftfartstilsynet uttaler seg ikke til NRK i kveld, men de har en plan om å ile langsomt.

Det er ganske pussig at det sjelden er Luftambulanstjenesten ANS som tenker innovativt, det er oftest de enkelte selskapene som er underlagt kontrakt med Staten som tenker.....

Luftambulansetjenesten i Norge drives av hovedsakelig av Luftambulansetjenesten ANS, et statlig selskap etablert i 2004. Luftambulansetjenesten ANS er et felles datterselskap for de regionale helseforetakene. Selskapet har det operative ansvaret nasjonalt for luftambulansetjeneste. Helseforetakene har det medisinske ansvaret og stiller med medisinsk personell. Luftambulansetjenesten ANS har hovedkontor i Bodø (administrasjonen). Tjenesten holder i tillegg til i Trondheim (medisinsk tekniske tjenester) og Tromsø (Flykoordineringssentralen). Operasjonene settes ut på anbud. Luftambulansetjenesten ANS har i dag kontrakt med to operatører (Norsk luftambulanse AS og Lufttransport AS) for ambulansefly og ambulansehelikoptre. Pr 2010 har vi baser for ambulansefly på syv steder (Kirkenes, Alta, Tromsø, Bodø, Brønnøysund, Ålesund og Gardermoen) med til sammen ni fly i tjeneste. Basene Alta og Gardermoen har to fly hver. Baser for ambulansehelikoptre er på 11 steder (Tromsø, Brønnøysund, Trondheim, Ålesund, Førde, Bergen, Stavanger, Arendal, Ål, Lørenskog og Dombås) med til sammen 12 helikoptre i tjeneste. Lørenskog har to helikoptre i drift. Helse- og omsorgsdepartementet har avtale med Justis- og politidepartementet om at redningshelikoptrene også kan benyttes til luftambulanseoppdrag dersom ikke søk- og redningsoppdrag må prioriteres foran. Basene for redningshelikopter er på seks steder (Banak, Bodø, Ørland, Florø, Sola og Rygge).
De regionale helseforetakene betaler alle kostnader knyttet til luftambulansetjenesten. Dette skjer i henhold til eierandel. Luftambulansetjenesten ANS sitt budsjett for 2010 viser samlede kostnader på 703 MNOK. Selskapet har 22 ansatte fordelt på 17,5 årsverk. Operatørene har til sammen 191,5 årsverk knyttet til luftambulansetjenesten.

Helikopterhavari i Krugerparken



South Africa helicopter crash kills five in Kruger park

Map




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Five members of the South African military have died in a helicopter crash, officials said.

The aircraft was patrolling the Kruger National Park on Saturday evening looking for rhino poachers.

The patrol was routine and an investigation is under way.

The poaching of rhinos is rampant in South Africa. Their horns are sold in Asia, where some believe they have medicinal purposes, although there is no evidence to support it.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation quoted Brig Gen Xolani Mabanga as saying that the Agusta A1-0-9 light utility helicopter had come down at around 19:00 GMT on Saturday, killing all five people on board.

Gen Mabanga said the ministry of defence extended condolences to the families of the deceased, all members of the South African National Defence Force.

Five members of the South African military have died in a helicopter crash, officials said.
The aircraft was patrolling the Kruger National Park on Saturday evening looking for rhino poachers.
The patrol was routine and an investigation is under way.
The poaching of rhinos is rampant in South Africa. Their horns are sold in Asia, where some believe they have medicinal purposes, although there is no evidence to support it.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation quoted Brig Gen Xolani Mabanga as saying that the Agusta A109 light utility helicopter had come down at around 19:00 GMT on Saturday, killing all five people on board.
Gen Mabanga said the ministry of defence extended condolences to the families of the deceased, all members of the South African National Defence Force.

lørdag 30. mars 2013

Sydenfast


STRANDED I SYDEN: Et 50-talls sydenturister fra Troms sitter fast på Gran Canaria etter at flyet som skulle frakte dem hjem ble parkert på grunn av trykkfeil. Illustrasjonsfoto: Colourvbox.com

Kommer seg ikke hjem

Rundt 50 norske sydenturister nektes å fly hjem fra Gran Canaria etter at flyet deres ble innstilt.

Et stort antall sydenturister, de fleste fra Tromsø, er fraktet til et hotell på Gran Canaria etter at flyet som skulle frakte dem hjem ble innstilt på grunn av feil med trykket om bord.
Flyet, som er chartret av reiseselskapene Ving, Star Tour og Apollo, er så langt ikke erstattet med et nytt.
Det jobbes med saken, men selskapene har til nå ikke lykkes med å få et annet fly på plass, melder VG Nett.
– Vi prøvde å skaffe et nytt, men så viste det seg at det flyet likevel ikke kunne komme. Vi forsøker nå å få tak i et nytt erstatningsfly for å få passasjerene hjem, sier Zachrisson i Ving til VG Nett.
Passasjerene er innkvartert på et hotell i området, men er ikke spesielt fornøyd med situasjonen.
– Foreløpig er vi innkvartert på et hotell hvor de forsøker å dysse ned den ampre stemningen med mat. Vi har fått mange ulike unnskyldninger, som at surstoffmaskene ikke fungerte og at det var noe feil med setene i flyet. Men jeg tror egentlig det er snakk om en overbooking, sier en av de sydenfaste passasjerene, Stein-Åge Midttun, til VG.no.

fredag 29. mars 2013

Heli-Expo 2013

Resyme:
The Heli-Expo Post Show Wrap-Up issue features:

  • Sizeable Orders, New Engines Front & Center at Heli-Expo
    HAI's Heli-Expo played host to 60 helicopters and 736 exhibitors in Las Vegas while attracting 20,393 during the three-day event in early March. The oil and gas sector was a principle beneficiary of many of the orders signed with the major OEMs during this year's show.
  • Bell Submits 3G Tiltrotor for JMR Technology Demonstrator
    During an exclusive interview with Rotor & Wing, Bell Helicopter President & CEO John Garrison detailed the manufacturer's plans for the future of tiltrotor technology.
  • Turbomeca Reveals TM800 Name: Arrano
    In an unveiling that featured an almost Cirque de Soleil-style introduction with acrobats fitting for Las Vegas, Turbomeca took the wraps off its latest engine during Heli-Expo.
  • EC135 T3/P3 to Feature Upgraded Engines
    Eurocopter uncovered its EC135 T3 and P3 variants at Heli-Expo. The helicopters will come equipped with two new engine options-Turbomeca's Arrius 2B2 "Plus" for the T3 and Pratt & Whitney Canada's PWC206B3 for the P3. 

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Sizeable Fleet Orders, New Engines Front and Center at Heli-Expo

By Editor-in-Chief Andrew Parker and International Bureau Chief Andrew Drwiega
HAI’s Heli-Expo played host to 60 helicopters and 736 exhibitors in Las Vegas while attracting 20,393 visitors during the three-day event in early March. The oil and gas sector was a principle beneficiary of many of the orders signed with the major OEMs during this year’s show.
The first official customer for Eurocopter’s new EC175 helicopter was revealed to be Bristow Group, with an agreement for 12 aircraft and provisions for further options. Eurocopter, which reported a total of 69 bookings at the show, has stated that it has firm orders for 29 EC175s. Bristow also purchased 10 Pratt & Whitney PW210S-powered S-76Ds from Sikorsky, with an option for another 16 of the type.

Commemorative Sikorsky S-92. Photo by Ernie Stephens

Alongside that, Milestone Aviation Group placed an order for 30 helicopters from Sikorsky, comprised of 23 S-92s and seven S-76Ds. The leasing firm also bought 14 EC225s and 5 EC175s—which, according to Eurocopter, increased its order backlog from Milestone to nearly $1 billion. An agreement to market Milestone’s portfolio supported by Eurocopter’s Parts-by-the-Hour (PBH) support services was also announced. Milestone has also teamed with Turbomeca to establish a Support-by-the-Hour (SBH) engine program.
Three separate customers announced orders for the debut of the mid-size, multipurpose twin-engine EC135 T3/P3. Air Methods and Norsk Luftambulanse ordered six each for EMS missions, while Aiut Alpin Dolomites was specified for mountain rescue.

AgustaWestland AW119Kx at Heli-Expo. Photo by Frank Lombardi

Bell Helicopter announced a total of 50 helicopter sales during the show, including an order for 30 aircraft—24 Bell 407s and six Bell 206L4—from Air Medical Group Holdings, which follows a December 2012 Air Methods order for 20 helicopters. Bell also reported purchases for 20 aircraft from international operators, and unveiled the 412EPI and 407GT, an armed version of the 407GX with Garmin avionics.

Tail rotor of the Metro Aviation-completed Life Line Eurocopter EC135. Photo by Frank Lombardi

During the annual “Russian Hour,” a briefing introduced two recently unveiled aircraft from Russian Helicopters, the Mi-171A2 and the Ka-62. At the outset of the briefing Helicopter Association International President Matt Zuccaro, welcomed the Russian helicopter industry to HAI by saying all helicopter operators share the same issues: “Our commonality is much closer than many people realize.” Mikhail Dubrovin then said: “Russian Helicopters has an order book for 820 helicopters with a combined value of over $12 billion. That is more than three times the amount of helicopters we delivered in 2011.”

Robinson CEO Kurt Robinson reported strong sales in 2012 during the company's Heli-Expo press conference, days before the certification of the R66 in Russia. Photo by Andrew Parker

Potential is seen in the BRIC countries, as well as southeast Asia. He said that “customers want more than sales; they want a comprehensive service, including training.” He pointed to expanding relationships with international OEMs, including an agreement to develop a 2.5-ton helicopter with AgustaWestland. The first test flight of this new helicopter took place at the end of last year, he added.

MD Helicopters CEO Lynn Tilton takes a question from Rotor & Wing's Andrew Drwiega (bottom right) during the company's Heli-Expo press briefing. Photo by Andrew Parker

Turbomecca unveiled its new Arrano 1,100-hp turboshaft engine on the floor at HAI, after a preliminary display by a team of acrobats. Its 3D graphic video also added a touch of the “wow” factor and many crowded around the display cabinet. Arrano (in the Basque language it means Eagle), otherwise known as the TM800, will power Eurocopter’s X4 next generation helicopter.
Rolls-Royce introduced its M250-C47E engine along with a new smartphone application and additional services for RR300 operators. The U.S. Navy is the military launch customer for the M250-C47E, and will incorporate it into the MQ-8C Fire Scout.

Rolls-Royce RR300 at the company's booth. Photo by Barry Schwartz

Honeywell’s 15th Turbine-Powered Civil Helicopter Purchase Outlook, released at the show, forecasts a market for 4,900-5,600 new civil helicopters from 2013 to 2017. The report identifies strong demand over the next three years from all regions of the world, with delivery rates expected to reach 1,000 units per year.

Instrument panel of a Pima County Sheriff's Office AS350B3EPhoto by Ernie Stephens

Erickson Air-Crane President and CEO Udo Rieder inked an agreement to purchase the Aerial Services business of Brazilian oil & gas company HRT, Air Amazonia, which currently operates seven Sikorsky S-61s; five Bell 212s; and two Eurocopter AS350s.
This heralds Erickson’s entry into the medium helicopter market. Once the operational routine is established there is a possibility to widen the service to Petrobras, Brazil’s international energy corporation.

Solar Impulse angriper USA


Friday, March 29, 2013

Solar-Powered Airplane Ready for Coast-to-Coast U.S. Flight

Woodrow Bellamy III
Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, founders of the Solar Impulse project, on Thursday announced a schedule for their coast-to-coast U.S. flight with their aircraft powered exclusively by solar energy.


Piccard and Borschberg first debuted the Solar Impulse aircraft with a successful 26-hour solar powered flight over Switzerland in2010. Now the team is ready for a flight from California to New York City with stops Arizona, Texas and Washington D.C. beginning in early May. The aircraft is scheduled to reach its final destination at New York’s JFK airport in early July.

The Solar Impulse team has said that it can’t foresee commercial flights powered by solar energy in the near future, but that its goal is to promote clean technologies.

The aircraft has a wingspan of 208 ft and is powered by the 12,000 solar cells that rest below the solar panels on the upper part of the wings. The cells capture the energy of the sun and transform it into electricity, simultaneously powering the aircraft's four engines and lithium ion batteries. While the airplane is in flight, it is powered by the energy of the sun, storing excess energy in the batteries, which can than be used at night or whenever sunlight is unavailable.

“A flying laboratory for clean technologies, this prototype is the result of seven years of intense work in the fields of materials science, energy management and man-machine interface. Many of these technologies can also be applied to sectors beyond aviation,” said Borschberg.

Following the cross-country flight this year, the Solar Impulse team plans to attempt to circumnavigate the globe with its aircraft in 2015 using no jet fuel. 

Fallskjermulykke

Fallskjermhopper døde etter fallulykke

Mannen i 40-årene som ble alvorlig skadet i en fallskjermulykke ved Skien lufthavn Geiteryggen fredag, døde av skadene, opplyser politiet. Mannen kom i spinn og falt rundt 100 meter.

Politiet opplyser at mannen, som er fra Skien, er en erfaren fallskjermhopper. Etter at hovedskjermen tvinnet seg, skal den ha blitt koblet fra før reserveskjermen ble utløst. Dette skjedde nær bakken.
Ifølge lokalavisen TA ble det gitt livreddende førstehjelp på stedet. Like etter klokken 18.30 ble den skadde mannen fraktet bort med luftambulanse, og to timer senere opplyser politiet at mannens liv ikke sto til å redde.
Grenland fallskjermklubb, som holder til der ulykken skjedde, en av landets største. Mange av klubbens medlemmer samlet seg fredag kveld i klubbhuset.
Årsaken til ulykken er ikke kjent ennå, men Jan Wang i Norges Luftsportforbund tror ikke teknisk feil på utstyret er grunnen.
– Jeg har hoppet i fallskjerm siden 1973 og bare to ganger har jeg hørt om teknisk svikt ved denne typen ulykke. Sist gang det skjedde var i 1982, forteller Wang til TA.
Forbundet vil trolig samarbeide med politiet i den tekniske kontrollen av utstyret den forulykkede hopperen brukte.

Havarirapport - Særdeles vemmelig behandling lokalt


Airblue crash re-investigation: ATC staff failed to navigate plane to safety, reveals CAA report (Pakistan)

 
The Airblue plane crash site.

PESHAWAR:  The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) admitted on Thursday for the first time that the pilot and the air traffic control staff were responsible for the 2010 Air Blue crash.

In the re-investigation report of the crash submitted to the Peshawar High Court (PHC), CAA maintained that responsibility for the incident also lay with the air traffic control staff for failing to guide the aircraft out of the crisis. It revealed that the air traffic controller guiding Airblue flight ED202 was inexperienced and as such was unable to discharge his duty.

"Weather forecasts (at the time of the flight) indicated rain, poor visibility and low clouds around the airport. The information regarding the prevalent weather and the type of approach on arrival was in the knowledge of aircrew," the report submitted before the court reads. It adds that the flight captain violated the prescribed flight discipline for the weather conditions and placed the aircraft in an unsafe situation.

"The air traffic services (both the radar and the control tower), which could have helped the flight out of this situation, also failed to avert a 'controlled flight into terrain' (CFIT) due to lack of knowledge and training, and ambiguous procedures in the sort of scenario the aircraft was flying in during the last phase of the flight," the report further notes.

CAA legal counsel Obaidur Rehman Abbasi, meanwhile, told the bench they will present their recommendations on safety measures at the next hearing, after which the hearing was adjourned.

The summary of the re-investigation report was submitted in response to PHC's directives issued on February 19. In the previous hearing, the CAA had produced the transcript of the Cockpit Voice Recorder recovered from the crash site. The bench subsequently asked Safety Investigation Board president Air Commodore Muhammad Abdul Basit to summarise the transcript in simple terms due to technical jargon.

Airblue flight ED202, bound for Islamabad, crashed into the Margalla Hills on July 28, 2010, killing all passengers and flight crew on-board.

On November 9, 2012, investigation experts of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) completed their reinvestigation into the Airblue crash and concluded, among other things, that aviation body's initial investigation report into the incident lacked vital information. The information missing from CAA's report, according to ICAO experts, included the details on the weather conditions during the flight and the maintenance of navigational aids. The ICAO report also noted that while communication between the flight and the air traffic controllers was mentioned, no section in the final report was dedicated to it.

The foreign experts also maintained that the draft of the first report had more details, but claimed they were omitted after it was reviewed by the CAA director general in March, 2011. They, as such, expressed concern over the possibility of a conflict of interest.

F-35 strandet på Lubbock Intl. i Texas


AdTech Ad

More Problems For F35 Jet Diverted To Lubbock International Airport

By: Allison Morrison
Updated: March 29, 2013
A new problem for the F35 fighter jet that made an emergency landing in Lubbock two weeks ago.

Lockheed Martin officials tell us the jet tried to leave Lubbock and fly back to Ft. Worth this week, but experienced a problem with a communications channel of the flight control system and couldn't leave.

The jet has been at Lubbock International Airport since March 11th, when a warning light forced the pilot to land here instead of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

The fighter jet remains at Lubbock International Airport this morning.

Ryanair - Storebrand nekter sine ansatte å fly på tjenestereise


Storebrand nekter sine vel 2.000 ansatte å fly med Ryanair i jobbsammenheng. Foto: NTB scanpix.

Storebrand boikotter Ryanair

Storebrand nekter sine vel 2.000 ansatte å fly med Ryanair i jobbsammenheng. I tillegg er flyselskapet fjernet fra konsernets investeringsportefølje.
Ifølge E24 vil ikke selskapet ikke opplyse når ekskluderingen ble vedtatt.
– Totalt 120 selskaper har vi valgt å ikke investere i. Vi har utelukket de verste fordi de driver business vi ikke kan stå inne for. De har med andre ord ikke forstått hva det vil si å styre selskapet på en bærekraftig måte. I tråd med Storebrands verdier utelukker vi disse, sier Storebrands bærekraftsjef Stina Billinger til nettavisa.
Billinger forklarer at det ville fremstått dobbeltmoralsk om de ansatte fortsatte å benytte seg av Ryanair til jobbreiser, når flyselskapet er svartelistet av arbeidsgiveren.
– Vi vil ikke på noen som helst måte handle med selskap vi har utelukket fra vår investeringsportefølje, sier hun.
Kommunikasjonssjef i Ryanair, Robin Kiely, vil ikke kommentere saken.
Fra før har blant andre LO, Fagforbundet og Norsk Transportarbeiderforbund sluttet seg til boikotten, som er en protest mot arbeidsvilkårene i det irske flyselskapet.

UAV - US Navy


US Navy Plans to Place Four UCLASS Development Contracts







The US Navy has announced its intention to fund four companies to design new unmanned aircraft as part of its unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (UCLASS) programme.

Boeing, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman “have credible, existing, comprehensive UCLASS design solutions, and associated production capabilities and facilities” to design UAS through the preliminary design review phase, the Navy says.
The presolicitation, announced on 26 March, is the first step towards securing funding for the carrier-based strike and surveillance aircraft. A full solicitation is likely to go out “in the summer timeframe,” says the Navy.
The first UCLASS aircraft are planned for production beginning in fiscal year 2016, following a likely downselect to a single manufacturer.
None of the involved companies had immediate comment, and all declined to share details of their proposals. All four have been working towards a UCLASS-capable aircraft for over a decade. In recent years, Northrop has won a navy contract to demonstrate the X-47B (above) onboard a carrier. General Atomics has developed and flown the jet-powered Avenger, while Lockheed has shown off a concept of a stealthy UAS for the requirement. Boeing has retired its Phantom Ray demonstrator, but has said it is prepared to compete for the contract.
Photo:Northrop Grumman

Krigsveteraner - Spitfire, i kveld

Norske Spitfire-flygere - 70 år senere
      

Norske Spitfire-flygere - 70 år senere   

Norsk dokumentar. Sju norske veteraner som tjente i det britiske luftforsvaret under den andre verdenskrig, besøker flyplassene de opererte fra. Wilhelm Mohr (95 år) og Anton Wang (92 år) forteller om sine opplevelser fra luften og bakken mellom 1942 og 1944. Skvadronenes meritter var imponerende. 75 norske flygere omkom. Veteranene blir hyllet i en rekke seremonier.
Tilgjengelig til:
Planlagt sendt:
NRK2 29.03.2013 20:35


UAV - Lovende utsikter over hele verden

Thursday, March 28, 2013

NPCA Study Advocates for Exploring Civilian, Commercial Use of UAS

The integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace system (NAS) byFAA’s 2015 deadline has the potential to create jobs and new technological applications for the civilian, commercial and scientific use of UAS, a new study from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NPCA) says.


NPCA said the negative connotation associated with unmanned aircraft resulting from the drone strikes carried out by the U.S. military in the Middle East have created public hostility towards UAS integration. FAA has projected 30,000 unmanned aircraft to be flying in the NAS by 2020, which has raised privacy concerns from groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who claim the integration could give law enforcement and government the right to spy on citizens in violation of the fourth amendment.

“While the regulatory and technical hurdles may delay the eventual date of full integration, public hostility towards drones will continue as long as transparency issues damage the government’s credibility. With substantial economic growth at stake, proper safeguards must be established to provide protection from overzealous government.” writes Evan Baldwin Carr, a research associate for NCPA.

FAA has issued a total of 413 certificates of authorization that currently allow federal, state and local entities operate unmanned aircraft domestically for uses like fighting forest fires, aerial photography and university research. While these certificates have demonstrated the versatility of unmanned technology, NPCA said public hostility remains largely because of speculation over privacy concerns.

According to aerospace market intelligence firm the Teal Group, global spending on unmanned technology will grow from $5.9 billion to $11.3 billion in 2021.

In its study, NPCA said there are still several developments that must occur before the widespread use of unmanned aircraft can occur, including; technology that enables unmanned aircraft to “see and avoid” manned aircraft, ability to produce secure data and video links that connect UAS with ground control operators, encryption of GPS signals to prevent “spoofing” from hackers and establishment of “lost link protocols” in case the link between the UAS and ground control station is lost.

torsdag 28. mars 2013

NH90 på tur



Germany to Deploy NH90s to Afghanistan

Posted by Nicholas Fiorenza 10:34 AM on Mar 27, 2013
Germany is deploying four NH90 helicopters in the forward air medical evacuation (FAM) role to Afghanistan in April. Sixty-five air crew and medics of Transporthubschrauberregiment (Transport Helicopter Regiment) 10, based in Faßberg on the Lüneburg Heath, have left for Afghanistan, to be followed by their helicopters next month.


Decisive Dragon 2013 photo: German army/Frank Zinn
The NH90s will conduct FAM in Afghanistan beginning in May, operating in pairs, with the second helicopter's board gunner providing protection of the medical evacuation helicopter. It will be the first time the Bundeswehr deploys its new FAM capability.
To prepare for the mission, the regiment conducted exercise Decisive Dragon 2013 in Hesse and Bavaria in February. Bundeswehr TV has produced a video of the exercise

B787 - Setifisering generelt og Dreamliner spesielt

Null-visjonen er en floskel. Den kan ikke oppnås bl.a. fordi sertifiseringskriterier er basert på antakelser.

Dreamliner Flaw Escaping FAA No Surprise in Certification


Failures to spot and anticipate safety flaws during certification of new aircraft have been linked to 70 percent of U.S. airline-crash deaths in the past 20 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Boeing Co. (BA)'s tests concluding the lithium-ion batteries in its 787 Dreamliner couldn't catch fire are renewing questions about whether complexity of new aircraft can outpace manufacturers' and regulators' ability to spot shortcomings during design and certification.

"We don't know what we don't know," Bernard Loeb, who retired as head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board's aviation division in 2001, said in an interview. "We're still highly dependent on the knowledge and capability of the human being, and human beings are fallible."

Improved certification standards have been one reason there hasn't been a fatal U.S. crash involving a major airline since 2001, NTSB Chairman Debbie Hersman said in an interview.

"But there are occasions where those assumptions are incorrect or not conservative enough," she said. Hersman declined to comment on the current investigation.

In the absence of regulations for planes and components using new technology, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration creates rules known as "special conditions," as it did in certifying the Dreamliner's batteries in 2007.

That approval, which the NTSB will examine at a hearing next month, illustrates the need to modernize standards for approving new aircraft, Kevin Hiatt, president of the Alexandria, Virginia-based non-profit Flight Safety Foundation, said in an interview.

Deadliest Crashes
Boeing shares fell 4.3 percent in two weeks after the Dreamliner was grounded, closing Jan. 29 at $73.65, the low for this year. They closed March 26 at $86.62, the highest since May 2008 and 17.6 percent above the recent low, before falling 42 cents yesterday.

The rise included increases of 2.1 percent on March 12, when Boeing's plan to redesign the batteries was approved by the FAA, and March 15, the day the company said it expected the 787 back in the air within weeks.

The history of airline accidents since 1993 is dominated by cases in which manufacturers and aviation regulators didn't foresee how a plane might fail, according to NTSB accident findings and its 2006 report on the issue.

Five such U.S. crashes occurred in that period, according to NTSB findings, including the three most deadly of the era: USAir Flight 427 on Sept. 8, 1994, killing 132; Trans World Airlines Inc. (TWAIQ) Flight 800 on July 17, 1996, killing 230; and American Airlines Inc. (AMR1) Flight 587 on Nov. 12, 2001, killing 265 people.

Out of 1,123 deaths in the past 20 years on U.S. carriers investigated by the NTSB, 783 occurred in those five accidents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

'Failsafe' Design
Investigators in those cases discovered a hidden flaw in a hydraulic device that could send a plane plunging out of control, explosive fuel tanks that were exposed to sparking electrical equipment during routine operation, and vulnerability to icing in a plane approved to fly in weather conditions conducive to ice formation.

For almost two years after the crash near Pittsburgh of a Boeing 737-300 operated by USAir, now a part of US Airways Group Inc. (LCC), investigators couldn't explain why a functioning plane dove nose-first into the ground.

Only then did they discover a hydraulic device that moved the plane's rudder, a vertical panel on the tail, could swing it in the direction opposite from what pilots intended. In the accident, the rudder had moved unexpectedly, making the plane uncontrollable, the NTSB ruled in 1999.

The device was certified in the 1960s as failsafe.

Rigorous Standards
"We've seen it time and time again," Tom Haueter, who served as NTSB's chief accident investigator before retiring last year, said in an interview. "Certification has been a big issue in a number of accidents."

The FAA, which announced a review of the 787's design on Jan. 11, "takes very seriously" its responsibility for overseeing new aircraft, the agency said in an e-mailed statement.

"Some have asked the question whether the FAA has the expertise needed to oversee the Dreamliner's cutting edge technology," the agency said. "The answer is yes, we have the ability to establish rigorous safety standards and to make sure that aircraft meet them."

More recently, the NTSB blamed an April 2, 2011, crash of a General Dynamics Corp. (GD)'s Gulfstream business jet on miscalculations of takeoff speeds during certification flights. The crash killed four Gulfstream employees.

Airbus SAS last year was forced to make repairs that have cost $319 million (250 million euros) to its latest model, the double-decker A380, because the wings are prone to cracking, a condition missed during certification tests.

'Assumptions Kill'
The FAA and aviation authorities in other nations can't match the engineering resources at companies like Boeing and Airbus, Haueter said. U.S. regulators must rely on Boeing employees for much of the certification testing, he said.

Boeing's engineers signed off on most elements of the Dreamliner battery made by Kyoto-based GS Yuasa Corp (6674)., leaving final approval to the agency, according to the NTSB. No matter how honest those engineers are, they're subject to subtle conflicts of interest that could cloud their judgment, Haueter said.

"It's the assumptions that kill you," Haueter said. "If things don't work out the way you planned, things can go very bad, very fast."

Billion Hours
Boeing's tests and analysis of the 787 batteries, outlined March 7 in NTSB preliminary reports, concluded the odds of a battery catching fire were one in a billion hours of flight, making it essentially impossible.

The 787's batteries are mostly used for ground operations, such as starting auxiliary power units and providing brake power when the plane is in tow.

A Japan Airlines (9201) 787's battery caught fire Jan. 7 in Boston after the plane had been in commercial service less than 52,000 hours. An internal short-circuit triggered the fire, according to preliminary findings.

When a battery on an All Nippon (9202)flight in Japan overheated and smoked Jan. 16, the FAA grounded the plane. Customers of the 49 Dreamliner in service, including United Continental Holdings Inc., (UAL) Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co., were forced to juggle schedules and shift planes.

Boeing, which has a backlog of more than 800 Dreamliners with a list price starting at about $207 million, has halted deliveries until commercial service resumes.

The FAA gave initial approval for Boeing's proposed redesign of the battery system March 12, and the Chicago-based company has said it's confident tests needed to get the plane back in the air will be completed within weeks.

Improving Safety
So far, neither the NTSB nor the FAA has said whether the batteries failed the nine safety conditions imposed on them in 2007.

Among the conditions was an assurance that the batteries must never have "self-sustaining, uncontrolled increases in temperature or pressure." The battery in Boston had "thermal runaway," a condition in which a cell increasingly overheats, and that spread to other cells, Hersman said Jan. 24.

Boeing's 787 chief project engineer, Mike Sinnett, said March 14 that damage outside the batteries in both incidents was limited and "the airplane responded exactly as we had designed and intended."

Not Perfect
Boeing declined to discuss the battery's certification because it's part of the NTSB review, spokesman Miles Kotay said in an e-mail. Certification works well, as evidenced by the lack of airline accidents in the past decade, he said.

The aircraft industry and the FAA have learned from earlier accidents, helping each generation of planes to be safer than the last, said John Cox, a former pilot who participated in the Pittsburgh accident investigation as a union representative.

In response to NTSB recommendations and its own internal review of certification, the FAA made numerous improvements, such as focusing resources in certification on "safety critical" systems, it said in correspondence with the safety board.

"When you look at the data, it shows the process is pretty sound," Cox said in an interview. "Is it perfect? No."

B-2 på tur

 

U.S. says it sent B-2 stealth bombers over South Korea


By Jethro Mullen, CNN
March 28, 2013 -- Updated 0634 GMT (1434 HKT)


B-2 Spirit Foto: Wikipedia

Abbotsford, B.C. Canada 1997 Foto: Per Gram
Dette var flyets første besøk utenfor USA
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The planes flew to South Korea and back in one mission, the U.S. says
  • It says the flights show its ability "to conduct precision strikes quickly"
  • A previous announcement about B-52 flights over South Korea angered the North
(CNN) -- The United States said Thursday it sent stealth bombers to South Korea to participate in annual military exercises amid spiking tensions with North Korea.
The B-2 Spirit bombers flew more than 6,500 miles from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to South Korea, dropping inert munitions there as part of the exercises, before returning to the U.S. mainland, the U.S Forces in Korea said in a statement.
The mission by the planes, which can carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, "demonstrates the United States' ability to conduct long range, precision strikes quickly and at will," the statement said.

U.S. response to North Korea threats
The U.S. military's announcement earlier this month that it was flying B-52 bombers over South Korea to participate in the routine exercises prompted an angry reaction from the North, which has unleashed a torrent of threats in the past few weeks.
There was no immediate reaction to the U.S. statement Thursday from the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The disclosure of the B-2 flights comes a day after North Korea said it was cutting off military communications with South Korea, provoking fresh expressions of concern from U.S. officials about Pyongyang's recent rhetoric.

onsdag 27. mars 2013

B787 - Nytt problem, tillatelse til å fly lange avstander over vann


RPT-Boeing 787 faces new risk: limits on extended range-sources



Wed Mar 27, 2013 6:59am EDT
By Andrea Shalal-Esa and Mari Saito
(Reuters) - As Boeing works to regain permission for its 787 Dreamliner to resume flights, the company faces what could be a costly new challenge: a temporary ban on some of the long-distance, trans-ocean journeys that the jet was intended to fly.
Aviation experts and government officials say the Federal Aviation Administration may shorten the permitted flying time of the 787 on certain routes when it approves a revamped battery system. The plane was grounded worldwide two months ago after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two separate aircraft.
Losing extended operations, or ETOPS, would deal a blow to Boeing and its airline customers by limiting use of the fuel-saving jet, designed to lower costs on long-distance routes that don't require the capacity of the larger Boeing 777. Such a loss could even lead to cancellation of some routes.
"If the FAA approves (only) over-land operations it would be a very damaging blow to the 787 program," said Scott Hamilton, an aviation analyst with Leeham Co in Seattle.
"Depending on how long that restriction remains in place, it would completely undermine the business case for the airplane, which was to be able to do these long, thin intercontinental routes" over water, he said.
Grounding the 787 already has cost Boeing an estimated $450 million in lost income and compensation payments to airlines. Further restrictions on the 787's range could send the airlines' claims - and Boeing's costs - higher.
Until it was grounded on Jan. 16, the 787 was permitted to fly routes that ranged as much as three hours away from an airport. Boeing has asked the FAA to extend that range to 5-1/2 hours. That change would enableairlines to fly many more routes across remote areas such as the North Pole.
Now the jet faces the potential temporary loss of its ETOPS approval or a roll-back to two hours, according to government officials and aviation experts.
"It is completely within expectations for FAA to limit ETOPS for the 787," one regulatory source in Japan told Reuters. He said that reducing the range to two hours would force Japanese airlines to fly more circuitous routes, burning up more fuel and cutting efficiency.
A former senior U.S. government official said there was "a distinct possibility" that Boeing could win the battle over FAA flight certification for the battery only to lose permission for extended operations - at least temporarily.
An FAA spokesperson said it was too early to discuss ETOPS approval since Boeing's battery fix was still being tested.
"It's really premature to talk about what ETOPS certification we would give them right now," said the spokesperson. "We'll be in a better position to answer questions like that after we get through all this battery testing."
Boeing referred questions to the FAA. During a recent news conference in Japan, Boeing executives said there had not been any conversations with regulators about extended range operations. They said the proposed certification plan did not foresee further limitations once the plane was allowed to resume flight operations.
The issue is heating up as Boeing nears the end of testing the new battery system, designed to prevent the meltdowns that occurred in January. Boeing executives say the FAA could approve the new battery system within weeks. The first flight test of the system took place Monday, and a second, final test flight is expected in coming days, Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said.
Analysts and industry executives say any decision to limit the flying time of the new aircraft would have serious consequences.
The change would not rule out all international routes, but some specific routes, such as JapanAirlines Co's Tokyo-to-Boston flight, might have to be canceled, said the Japanese regulatory source.
The 787's biggest customers so far include All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, which fly extended routes to the United States and Europe, and Qatar Airways. In the U.S., United Airlines is the only carrier to have taken delivery of 787s. The airlines declined requests for comment on how loss of ETOPS could affect operations.
A step-by-step return to full, extended flight would give regulators more time to study the effectiveness of Boeing's battery fix, and could help the Obama administration prove that it was making good on Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's promise to ensure the plane was "1,000-percent" safe, some experts said.
It would also address concerns voiced by Japanese aviation regulatory authorities in recent weeks.
Nor is it without precedent. Until the late 1980s, the FAA required airlines to fly a certain number of hours over land before it approved extended-range operations over water or remote areas. It started granting permission for those flights in tandem with flight certification when engine safety improved.
But the highly electrical nature of the 787 has raised new questions, said another former U.S. official, noting that the importance of the lithium-ion batteries for the plane's operation made it a bigger risk factor than past batteries.
"In the past, if you lost a battery, or a battery malfunctioned, it wasn't that big of a deal," said that former U.S. official.
"But if Boeing's battery is needed to start the engine - and that battery is susceptible to fire - isn't that a turn back condition? Isn't that something you have to go land at an airport to address? That's the question."

Overvektige pax - Siste nytt fra Norge


Airline 'fat tax': Should heavy passengers pay more?


Should overweight passengers be charged more? One economics professor says yes.

An economics scholar in Norway has recommended that air ticket costs be calculated according to a passenger's weight.

Dr. Bharat P. Bhatta, associate professor of economics at Sogn og Fjordane University College, Norway, is proposing three models that he says, "may provide significant benefits to airlines, passengers and society at large."

In his paper, published in the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Dr. Bhatta noted "a reduction of 1 kilo weight of a plane will result in fuel savings worth US$3,000 a year and a reduction of CO2 emissions by the same token."

He cited a move by Air Canada, which removed life vests from its planes to make each flight 25 kilos lighter, and other initiatives by low-cost carriers such as charging for excess luggage and making oversized passengers book two seats.

"Charging according to weight and space is a universally accepted principle, not only in transportation, but also in other services," Bhatta says. "As weight and space are far more important in aviation than other modes of transport, airlines should take this into account when pricing their tickets."

His three "pay as you weigh" models are:

Total weight: A passenger's luggage and body weight is calculated, with the fare comprising a per kilo cost. In this scenario a passenger weighing 100 kilos with 20 kilos of luggage (120 kilos total) would pay twice that of a passenger of 50 kilos with 10 kilos of luggage (60 kilos total).

Base fare +/- extra: A base fare is set, with a per-kilo discount applying for "underweight" passengers and a per-kilo surcharge applying to "overweight" passengers.

High/Average/Low: A base fare is set, with a predetermined discount applying for those below a certain weight threshold and a predetermined surcharge applying for those above a certain weight threshold.

Bhatta prefers the third of these options. He goes on to say that weight could be ascertained through passenger self-declaration, with one in five passengers randomly selected and weighed to dissuade cheats (with penalties for cheaters) or by weighing all passengers at check in.

This latter option however would "incur huge transaction costs" and "would require a passenger to arrive a couple of hours early to have time to get through weigh-in, security and passport control."

A350 nærmer seg testflyging


Airbus Installs Engines, APU on First A350 XWB

Airbus has installed the two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines on its first flight-test A350 XWB, as it prepares for the aircraft for its maiden flight this summer.

The A350 team is also installing the new Honeywell HGT1700 auxiliary power unit (APU) on the aircraft at the company’s production facilities in Toulouse, France this week. Airbus said the APU features a greater power density and higher efficiency than previous generation APUs.

Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB engines received engine type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency last month, and have undergone a series of flight tests on an A380 test bed aircraft since February 2012.

The A350 will continue undergoing ground tests before moving on to painting in April, leading up to its maiden flight later this year. Airbus plans on delivering the first A350 to its launch customer, Qatar Airways, in early 2014.