A Delta Airlines flight from LA to Salt Lake City was advised to make a climb and turn because of a small aircraft which had departed a local airport and was climbing towards the airliners path. Apparently the pilot of the small aircraft was not in touch with ATC, so the crew of the airliner were asked to climb and turn to avoid any possible conflict with the smaller aircraft.

Here is the strange part. I assume the turn and climb would not be interpreted by the passengers as strange or particularly unsual, but the crew felt compelled to tell the cabin that they had made the maneuver to avoid another plane.

Now I have to ask - why would they do that?  The crew did not report anything to the FAA, but a passenger on the airliner did. And no one from Air Traffic Control filed any report either.

I am left to wonder if perhaps the crew were trying to malign small aircraft and pleasure pilots once again, getting in the way of the big, bad airliner and causing them some inconvenience. Sob.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.

— Socrates

ps: This blog will be moved to http://www.all-things-aviation.com this weekend.

All of us who fly always are curious about and follow accident reports. After all, if we can figure out what the last guy did wrong, perhaps we can avoid the same fate. Having followed many accidents over a lot of years I can tell you that the NTSB almost always finds pilot error in any accident.

Truth be known, Hersch - you bust it you get blamed.

However, in this case the true culprit is probably not the pilot, but the company he flew for. While the aircraft captained had trouble passing his check rides, both FAA and airline, he did finally complete the proper training and was qualified to fly the Q400 aircraft.

One fact uncovered was that the airline, Colgan, showed its pilots a video of an unusual type of icing that causes aircraft to plunge nose down into the ground. Now we have an aircraft with known icing and the stick pusher attempting to lower the nose of the aircraft while the captain pulls the nose upward.  The result: clearly the aircraft stalled close to the ground.

Once again the only people who really know what happened aren't with us any more. And the lives they were entrusted with aren't either. A very sad affair.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

If a woman wants to fly, first of all she must, of course, abandon skirts and don a knickerbocker uniform.

— Harriet Quimby, first lady in the U.S. to receive a pilots license, 1911.

ps: This blog will move to http://all-things-aviation.com the coming weekend.

While the economy remains sluggish, and airlines continue to downsize and reduce costs, the search for more revenue has led some of the airlines to invest in installing wi-fi on their aircraft.  Delta and United have both begun installing wi-fi on their aircraft, and Delta plans on having 300+ aircraft equipped with wi-fi by the end of the year.

However, this service will not be free, nor come cheaply.  The investment by the airlines is significant, and it is expected to result in charges to passengers who want to email, blog and surf the net from the comfort of their seats.  I don't know if the $ 13.00 charge for six hours of acess will be considered expensive, but apparently reception so far has been good.

I wonder whatever happened to the peace of being incomunicado for a period of time? Is there nowhere we can hide from our Blackberrys and email? 

Oh well, doesn't matter much to me, I don't use the airlines anyway.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

— Georges Chavez, last words after crashing his Bleriot airplane on his trailblazing flight over the Alps, September 1910. His words became the motto of the Peruvian Air Force.

"Sacrifices must be made."

ps: Please note that this Saturday this blog will move to http://all-things-aviation.com

A 19 year old decided to shine a green laser at the cockpit of a commercial airliner attempting to land at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, AZ, but wasn't looking for the police helicopter that spotted him and sent a patrol car with officers who arrested him.

It seems this wasn't the first time he tried this, and with police and local pilots on alert they spotted the man and quickly arrested him.  It turns out the culprit was a student from France on a visa, and he was apprehended by police while surrounded by a group of people and under the police helicopter spotlight.

So much for better relations with France, eh?  I wonder why he was targeting aircraft.  Apparently the laser was purchased from Radio Shack, and while not lethal was certainly adequate to distract the attention of crew members during the landing phase.

Perhaps he was celebrating earth day.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

A commercial aircraft is a vehicle capable of supporting itself aerodynamically and economically at the same time.

— William B. Stout, designer of the Ford Tri-Motor

Cessna Aircraft, a division of Textron, continues to drag earnings for Textron down as the company continues its efforts to restructure.  So far over 4,600 of the 6,200 persons laid off by Textron have been at Cessna Aircraft as demand for its aircraft continues to decline.

If memory serves me right general aviation has usually been the last to feel the effects of an economic slowdown, and the last to recover.  I would guess that this is because of the long lead time between aircraft sales and aircraft deliveries. Aircraft manufacturers are not able to produce vehicles as quickly as say an automobile manufacturer.

Sales at Cessna have fallen by some 38% while the Bell helicopter unit of Textron continues to experience growth, in large part because of military helicopter acquisitions. 

In the meantime the CEO for Piper Aircraft, James Bass, said the effect of the U.S. government’s “assault” on general aviation will linger much longer. His remarks, made Tuesday at the Sun ’n’ Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Fla., were a biting criticism of government officials and media outlets that are spreading the off-base message that “private aircraft equal corporate excess…that’s the new equation, and Washington has made it a sound bite that no politician seems able to resist.

Given the excesses by our government and its leaders it is difficult to swallow the criticism of a critical part of our transportation system. Political retoric to curry favor with an unsuspecting public to carry out the redistribution of wealth in the United States by an out of control administration is leading our country down a path which many believe will result in the United States losing its leading role in the world economy.

Just last night President Obama stated again that this is "the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression", a statement which is completely false.  Unemployment is no where near where it was in the Great Depression, and while economic growth is negative interest rates are no where near where they were under Carter.

It is time for more conversation about facts and less false statements to further frighten an already frightened public.  Someone please stand up and tell the truth!  We need general aviation, and so do the airlines. There are not enought pilots in the military to replace all of the retirements coming, so don't be surprised if the new wave of pilots for the airlines are not Americans.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

In interesting news I see that three aircraft were struck by lightning in Philadelphia on Wednesday, April 22nd.  The aircraft struck were:

1. An AirTran Airways Boeing 717 was struck by lightning, declared an emergency and then landed on runway 27R at Philadelphia.  The landing was uneventful, and there were no injuries.
2. An Embraer 170 regional jet flown by Republic Airlines reported a lightning strike over Philadelphia and made an uneventful landing on runway 27L in Philadelphia.
3. A Boeing 757 flown by America West reported a lightning strike 3 minutes after the Embraer lightning strike, declared an emergency and landed on runway 27L at Philadelphia. The landing was uneventful.

The FAA inspectors will examine all three aircraft for damage. Apparently the Embraer had no damage, the AirTran aircraft was struck on the nose and the America West aircraft had "some" damage.

On the other side of the world three aircraft were struck by lightning landing in Melbourne, Australia. One was a Virgin Blue aircraft and the other two were Qantas aircraft. 

Earlier in the month another Virgin Atlantic aircraft on its way to Heathrow on April 19th had smoke in the upper deck of a 747, then shortly thereafter was struck by lightning and the pilot landed the darkened aircraft at Halifax without warning as the aircraft jolted onto the runway at Halifax - the pilot only then revealing they had been hit by lightning and admitting he only saw the runway at the last minute.

Apparently there are a lot more lightning strikes to aircraft than the public has been made aware of, but most cause minor, if any, damage to the aircraft involved. Still, it can be a frightning experience.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

An Airman Grace

Lord of thunderhead and sky
Who place in man the will to fly
Who taught his hand speed, skill and grace
To soar beyond man's dwelling place
You shared with him the Eagle's view
The right to soar, as Eagles do
The right to call the clouds his home
And grateful, through your heavens roam
May all assembled here tonight
And all who love the thrill of flight
Recall with twofold gratitude
Your gift of Wings, Your gift of Food.

— Father John MacGillivary, Royal Canadian Air Force

A friend of mine from my college days works in the aviation business, and he buys and sells airline parts.  We both did a lot flying together at Michigan State University (sob - we lost to UNC) at the Winged Spartans flying club. Our careers took different paths as I went into the aviation insurance business after a stint as a chief pilot, and he went into the airline parts business after a stint selling Cessna Citation trade-ins.

Recently he sent me the two photographs you see in this post.

   
Generally speaking lightning strikes are no big deal. I recall having a lightning strike on the radome of a DC-3 I was flying, and watched a blue ball shoot down the center aisle of the airplane exiting at the vertical stabilizer. Upon examination we finally found the exit point which was pinhole sized.  The radome, however, suffered a lot more damage, along with the radar antenna.

An article on how an airplane is protected from lightning strikes says "Since the outer skin of most airplanes is primarily aluminum, which is a very good conductor of electricity; the secret to safe lightning hits is to allow the current to flow through the skin from the point of impact to some other point without interruption or diversion to the interior of the aircraft.

Estimates show that each commercial airliner averages one lighting hit per year but the last crash that was attributed to lightning was in 1967 when the fuel tank exploded, causing the plane to crash. Generally, the first contact with lightning is at an extremity...the nose or a wingtip. As the plane continues to fly through the areas of opposite charges, the lightning transits through the aircraft skin and exits through another extremity point, frequently the tail (as shown by Gauss's Law)."

The lightning strike to this ASA regional jet for Delta Airlines certainly had a different experience than we are all used to.  Moral of the post - flying can be dangerous - never forget!

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

While overall aviation accidents and fatalities have been down since 1994, the NTSB has noted an increase in general aviation accidents, and in particular Part 135 charter operations.  Within that category med evac helicopters have shown a sharp increase in both accidents and deaths, causing concern for these operators.

NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker, commenting on Part 135 fatalities, stated that "There's a lot of room for improvement in this area."  The interesting thing is, though, that rearely does the FAA take action on the NTSB recommendations, relying instead on its own internal facts to determine what and how it should enforce the regs.

Accidents on air taxi Part 135 flights killed 66 people in the United States last year, the highest total since 2000, transportation safety officials said yesterday. The air charter category includes medical helicopters, tour flights and Part 135 "on demand" air taxi operators.

Airlines in the United States had been having an uncommonly quiet period, as measured by aviation deaths, for the past two years, but that ended with two high-profile accidents this year. In February, a commuter turboprop crashed into a home outside Buffalo, killing 50 people. Last month, a small plane crashed in Butte, Mont., resulting in 14 deaths, including several children.

All of this proves that aviation is still a dangerous business, and as pilots we need to always be alert and aware of what is happening in the aircraft we fly.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

The Aeroplane

I sweep the skies with fire and steel
My highway is the cloud
I swoop, I soar, aloft I wheel
My engine laughing loud
I fight with gleaming blades the wind
That dares dispute my path
I leave the howling storm behind
I ride upon it's wrath.

I laugh to see your tiny world
Your toys of ships, your cars
I rove an endless road unfurled
Where the mile stones are the stars
And far below, men wait and peer
For what my coming brings
I fill their quaking hearts with fear
For death...is in my wings.

— Gordon Boshell, written after watching Battle of Britain dogfights

E- Weapons, ELECTROMAGNETIC pulse weapons, apparently can be easily built using current technology and information currently available on the world wide web.  Components are also widely available on the net, and all it would take to bring a plane down would be a single but highly energetic microwave radio pulse. This could be accomplished either from a device inside a plane, or a weapon on the ground and trained at a landing aircraft.

All of us have heard of green lasers being aimed at the cockpits of aircraft, imagining that the culprits were attempting to blind the pilots. A pulse weapon is different, the radio pulse creates an electric field of  hundreds of thousands volts per meter, which then induces a current that burns out electrical systems such as microchips found in car and aircraft electronics.

As a result some aviation safety groups feel that with more and more composite structures in aircraft it is important to protect the wiring from emp (electro magnetic pulse) weapons.  For the time being the risk may be minimal.

Douglas Beason, a director at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, says it may be straightforward to build a do-it-yourself EMP weapon, but more difficult to make one that can be stowed in an aircraft. "A lot of work would need to go into dramatically decreasing the weight, shrinking the power supply and antenna," he says.

In any case governments are aware of the risks and are working to make sure these weapons are not used against civilian aircraft.

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It's too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came,
and he pushed,
and they flew.

— Christopher Logu

Yesterday was an incredible day here in the United States.  The government decided that the head of GM, Rick Wagner, had to go before the government would agree to give GM an additional 60 days to come up with a restructuring plan.  So, after forcing one of the oldest flight departments in the US to close because Congress was pissed that the execs used business jets to come to Washington to plead their case, now the government is going to tell GM how to restructure itself.

One question - can anyone out there tell me anything that the government runs well (other than the military)? What in the name of heaven gives these people in Washington that they have the knowledge to fix these companies? But there is more, read on.

AIG, American International Group, has a subsidiary called International Lease Finance Corporation, which is one of the world's largest purchasers of airliners.  The parent unit has been loaning this company millions of dollars, and yesterday the New York Federal Reserve approved yet another $ 900 million dollar loan to this aircraft leasing unit, and AIG states it will continue to do so until March of 2010 or until the unit is sold.

I don't know about you, but these are scary times.  If Obama is right the economy will recover, but Big Brother will truly be here in our lives.  If he is wrong, we still wind up with Big Brother but a sick economy. 

It always bothers me when someone thinks they are so smart they are the only one with the answers to a problem.  I don't know what a young man whose claim to fame was being a community organizer has acquired in his lifetime that gives him such great insight into business. 

Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

JetAviator7

    There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying.
    The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
    Pick a nice day, it suggests, and try it.
    The first part is easy.
    All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and willingness not to mind that it's going to hurt.
    That is, it's going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground.
    Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard.
    Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties.

— Douglas Adams, 'The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy,'