December 10, 2009
Washington Post: FAA Head Testifies in Senate,
Evoking Heavy Criticism From Family Victims’ Group
During his testimony before the Senate aviation subcommittee on Thursday, FAA administrator Randolph J. Babbitt made remarks which have angered the families of the victims of Continental Flight 3407, which crashed near Buffalo in February, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the fatal crash, has focused on pilot error as well as the pilots’ lack of experience as probable causes of the accident. During his testimony to the Senate, Babbitt said the FAA was more interested in enhancing its existing pilot certificate system than increasing the number of flight-time hours for entry-level pilots.
Babbitt’s remarks have stirred heavy criticism amongst the family victims’ group, who say the FAA stands in the way of legislation that would order higher flight-time requirements for airline pilots. Presently, entry-level pilots are required to have 250 hours of flight time, a number that is recklessly low according to some aviation experts. A bill passed in the House in October will mandate that requirement be pushed up to 1,500 hours of flight time for entry-level pilots. The bill is awaiting its turn on the Senate floor after delays due to the focus on health care reform.
December 8, 2009
ABC News: TSA Contractor Inadvertently Posts Airport Security Manual in Massive Security Breach
A private contract for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) accidentally posted the airport screening procedures manual on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site on Tuesday. Among the sensitive security information released were sample CIA, Congressional and law enforcement credentials as well as detailed airport screening procedures. State officials are calling this security breach a possible “road map” for terrorists who could use the information to evade airport security screening systems. The TSA said they are conducting a full investigation into the security breach, adding that they are taking the release of the 93-page manual seriously.
December 1, 2009
Lawyers and Settlements: Aviation Attorney Ron Goldman Explains
Coordination of Clarence Center Crash Lawsuits
According to Baum Hedlund attorney Ron Goldman, wrongful death lawsuits are still being filed on behalf of the families of the Clarence Center plane crash victims. Cases are in the process of being transferred to be heard by one judge.
"The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has ruled that a multidistrict litigation court be appointed in the Western District of New York," Goldman says. "No matter where a passenger lawsuit is filed as a result of this crash, it will be transferred to the Western District of New York, where it will be joined with the other cases for coordination and management for purposes of discovery and other pretrial proceedings.
"The plaintiffs believe that there are grounds for a charge of willful and reckless misconduct, which lays the groundwork for punitive damages," Goldman says. "Until the discovery takes place and there is proof one way or the other, it is difficult to settle cases. If punitive damages are in play, then settlements will look different because the awards will be higher than if punitive damages are not in play."
For people who were affected by the plane crash, there is still time to contact an attorney and file a lawsuit.
November 23, 2009
Wall Street Journal: FAA Moves to Retrofit Smaller Commuter Planes with De-Icing Systems
A proposed rule by the Federal Aviation Administration will require small commuter airplanes be retrofitted with improved ice-protection systems. The proposed rule comes after a decade of debate over the installment of enhanced ice-protection systems in smaller turboprops and regional jets. The new rule will cover 1,866 planes (weighing less than 60,000 pounds at takeoff) and is expected to cost operators $5.5 million to implement.
November 13, 2009
NTSB: Experimental Plane Involved in Another Fatal Crash
Should Have Been Grounded, NTSB Says
On November 6th an experimental airplane called the Zodiac CH-601XL crashed near Agnos, Arkansas, killing the pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft. The NTSB has now released an advisory regarding the same type of aircraft which has been linked to six previous accidents and ten deaths. According to the advisory, The NTSB had urged the Federal Aviation Association to ground all Zodiac aircraft seven months ago after a flight control problem was linked with the fatal accidents.
November 3, 2009
CBS News: Lawmakers Move to Ban Personal Laptops in Airline Cockpits
Lawmakers are working on a bill that would ban the use of personal laptops among other personal electronic devices in airline cockpits. The legislation is a reaction to an Oct. 21 incident in which two pilots at the helm of Northwest Flight 188 overshot a Minneapolis airport by over 150 miles because they were distracted by their personal laptops. The bill is expected to be introduced in about a week.
Oct 14, 2009
CBS Channel 4 Denver: House Passes Airline Safety and Pilot Training Act of 2009
The House passed a bill on Wednesday that will toughen rules on pilot training, qualifications and work schedules. The Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009 was passed 409-11 by the House and has now moved on to the Senate. The bill, which will require more experienced entry-level pilots behind the helm of aircrafts, was introduced in the wake of the fatal crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407. Fifty people were killed when the passenger flight crashed into a home in Buffalo, New York. Apparently, a series of critical errors made by the flight’s captain and first officer lead to the tragic accident. If the bill passes the Senate it will then go to the President for approval.
September 16, 2009
San Francisco Examiner: Air France Crash: Industry Documents Show
Airbus Knew of Faulty Sensors Since 2002
New documents show that Airbus knew since at least 2002 about flaws in the type of airspeed sensor that experts believe may have caused an Air France passenger plane to crash into the Atlantic back in June, killing all 228 people aboard. The exact role the sensors played in the fatal crash is not known but the pitot tubes have proven to be vulnerable to blockage from water and icing, causing false speed readings. A 2002 Airbus memo warned that the particular sensor used in the doomed Air France flight displayed risks of drainage holes and in 2007 Airbus recommended they be replaced with a newer model but did not make it an urgent priority. Airbus has now come under scathing criticism since the sensors were not replaced until after the Air France plane had gone down.
August 8, 2009
Tour Helicopter and Single-Engine Piper Collide over the Hudson River
Nine people are dead following a mid-air collision between a single-engine Piper PA-32 airplane and a sight-seeing helicopter over the Hudson River near lower Manhattan. According to witnesses, a wing of the small plane was sheared after it clipped the helicopter's propeller, separating it from its body. Both aircraft plummeted into the Hudson. Officials do not believe the crash was survivable.
Aboard the Piper were two passengers, one of which was a child, and the pilot. It is believed that there were five Italian tourists and a pilot aboard the LIberty Helicopters sight-seeing tour. Two bodies have already been recovered by rescue divers and other bodies are visible in the floating debris.
June 2, 2009
Air France Crash Debris Spotted by Brazilian Military in Atlantic Ocean
Brazilian military jets discovered jet debris on June 2 in the Atlantic Ocean, 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of the jet’s expected flight path, according to officials from the Brazilian Air Force. Three commercial ships are heading to the location in order to conduct the recovery operation. The Airbus A330 encountered heavy turbulence on Monday, about three hours after beginning its 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, France.
June 1, 2009
Missing Jetliner Carried Six American Passengers, Authorities Say
Americans were on board an Air France airplane that went missing over the Atlantic ocean (250 miles south of the equator) on Sunday, May 31. The missing jetliner, an airbus A330-200 carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, disappeared from radar after encountering stormy weather and "strong turbulence", authorities said on Monday. The Airbus, operating as Air France flight 447, lost contact with the Brazil air traffic control after entering a zone notorious for its stormy weather, leading experts to believe that weather could be a leading factor for the disappearance. One spokesman said the aircraft could have been hit by lightning, although other aviation experts doubt a lightning hit would have downed a modern Jet.
Investigators continued to scramble for information about the missing flight on Monday. Besides stormy weather, a circuit failure is also being considered as a possible cause for the disappearance. Brazilian and French military jets have been conducting an urgent search for any signs of the aircraft or its remains and France has officially listed the plane as missing. Some flight experts fear the aircraft might never be found in the vastness of the Atlantic.
May 31, 2009
Seattle Times: Experts Scramble to Find Answers After a Jet Disappears Over the Atlantic
On Sunday, May 31, 2009, Air France Flight 447 abruptly and mysteriously disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft, an Airbus A330-200 was carrying 228 people on their way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Aviation authorities scrambled on Monday to find information on the missing jetliner as Brazilian and French military jets combed the Atlantic looking for clues. As of now, experts speculate that weather could have played a big role in the disappearance. Data shows that the aircraft had flown into an area with stormy weather and "high turbulence" before losing contact with Brazil air traffic control.
Some experts doubt lightning could have caused a modern Airbus jet to crash and point rather to a possible circuit failure. As the investigation and search continues, experts fear that finding any remains would be very difficult in the vast ocean. Six Americans were aboard the missing flight.
May 13, 2009
NY Daily News: NTSB Hearing on Air Crew Fatigue
Reveals Shocking Details About Crew of Doomed Buffalo Crash
On Wednesday, May 13th, the NTSB held a hearing that focused on air crew fatigue and low pay as possible factors in aircraft accidents. According to air safety officials the co-pilot of Colgan Air flight 3407, which crashed on Feb. 12 near Buffalo, New York killing all 49 aboard and one on the ground, was a sleep-deprived 24-year old making $16,000 a year. Rebecca Lynn Shaw also slept at her parent’s house near Seattle, a cross-country commute from her home-base airport. Also discussed during a NTSB hearing on the crash was the pilot of that doomed flight, Capt. Marvin Renslow, who apparently omitted two FAA flight certification tests he had failed, when applying for a job at Colgan Air.
May 13, 2009
Fox News: Pilot Fatigue, Long Commutes and Pay Rate Under Fire
in Crash Probe of Deadly Buffalo Crash
Testimony heard in a three-day public probe held by the NTSB ignited questions about the lack of experience held by the two pilots operating a Continental Connection flight that crashed into a neighborhood in Buffalo on February 12th, killing 50 people. Pay rates, fatigue and long commutes are being factored as possible causes leading to the deadly crash. During testimony, NTSB member Kitty Higgins commented that these factors created a “recipe for an accident.” Also discussed was the conversation between the two pilots captured by the cockpit voice recorder. Transcripts of the flight’s final moments show that they were casually chatting even after they noticed a buildup of ice on the windshield of the aircraft.
Fox News interviewed Aviation Attorney and Former Airline Captain, John Greaves about the Colgan Air crash. He said that the attitude of these smaller air carriers like Colgan Air, that are paying pilots such small salaries but offering flight experience to move on to the major airlines, is not safe and the public deserves more. His alternative would be to “pay regional pilots good salaries just like you do the majors and you keep the pilots...you don’t have them for a stepping stone; you keep the pilots. They get their experience there; they stay there; they make careers there. You’re going to have a much safer airline that way.”
May 12, 2009
NBC Los Angeles: 747 Engine Draws in Luggage Container in Runway Mishap
The FAA is looking into a mishap that occurred at the Japan Airlines terminal at LAX on Monday, May 11th. Federal inspectors conducted follow-up interviews the day after a 200-pound metal luggage cart was sucked into the front end of a JAL 747 jet’s engine. The aircraft, JAL Flight 61, was preparing for takeoff and was headed for Narita Airport, Japan. It carried 249 passengers and 18 crew. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But it could have very easily been a deadly and catastrophic accident. According to aviation attorney Paul Hedlund, "Fuel-air mixture and ignition source is all you need," he said. "(It would) take out that whole airplane. Real quick."
April 27, 2009
NBC Los Angeles: The Department of Transportation Inspector General Report Expresses
Concerns Over Staffing at the Nation’s Most Active Air Traffic Control Facility in Southern California
The Department of Transportation inspector general report showed concern that the nation’s most active air traffic control facility in Southern California is expected to have more than 40 percent of all controllers be inexperienced trainees by later this year. The national average or trainees in radar facilities is about 27 percent of the total workforce. The report, released Monday, expressed concern regarding the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Facility and the Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Facility, which handle approaching and departing flights from California airports. According to the report, the Southern California TRACON currently employees 76 trainee controllers, totaling 32 percent of the workforce. The FAA, however, is planning to hire another 26 trainees, raising the ratio to more than 40 percent trainee controllers. The report recommended that the FAA address these staffing issues especially since controllers’ workload and overtime has significantly increased in the past 20 years.
April 24, 2009
CBS News: Data on Aircraft and Wildlife Collisions
Released by FAA Shows Rise in Bird Strikes Since 2000
Bird strike incidents have more than doubled since the year 2000 at 13 major U.S. airports, according to a list of wildlife strikes posted on the Internet by the Federal Aviation Administration. The airports reporting the most wildlife strike incidents were Denver, with the most reported incidents, and Houston, Chicago O’Hare and New York’s Kennedy airport. According to the list, 2007 was the worst year on record with a total of 9,897 wildlife strikes. Experts believe that most wildlife strike incidents are under-reported with even the FAA admitting that only about 20 percent of strikes were voluntarily reported to their system. The data was released amidst pressure after a US Airways jet dramatically ditched in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, after both engines were severely damaged by bird strikes. The data shows that since 1990, a total of 11 people have died in airplane collisions with wildlife.
April 23, 2009
Souteast Texas Record: Continental asks Texas Judicial Panel
to Consolidate Suits Over December Runway Fire
On April 1, 2009, Continental Airlines asked the Texas Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation to consolidate claims of 13 passengers in six pending Harris County lawsuits as well as future cases over a flight that caught fire on a Denver Runway on Dec. 20, 2008. Continental Flight 1404, a Boeing 727 scheduled to take 114 passengers from Denver to Houston, erupted in flames after skidding off a runway at Denver International Airport. Thirty eight people were injured.
April 22, 2009
Bloomberg.com: Federally Mandated Collision-Warning Devices
to be Installed on Medical Helicopters by 2011
Collision-warning devices, which warn pilots when they are too close to any obstructions, will be federally mandated on medical evacuation helicopters, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday. The federal rule, which will be proposed as early as this year and take effect in 2011, will require the pricey equipment (which costs about $100,000) as well as cockpit voice and data recorders to be installed on each medevac helicopter. Medical helicopters accounted for 13 crashes and 29 deaths in 2008.
April 8, 2009
Seattle Times: Government Records Show FAA Overlooked Potential Evidence During Investigation
Newly disclosed government records show that Federal Aviation Administration inspectors overlooked potential evidence before clearing an Alaska Airlines contractor of air-safety violations alleged by a whistle blower. An FAA investigation into the allegations of American Power began in late 2007, after a former employee said she was laid-off after she accused the company of ignoring federal air-safety standards regarding their work with Alaska Airlines. The FAA failed to interview some people with additional information, prompting the federal Occupation Safety & Health Administration to separately examine the case and ultimately send the FAA a letter regarding neglected potential evidence in their investigation. The FAA has yet to respond to the letter.
April 1, 2009
MSNBC: ASA Grounds 40 Percent of its Fleet Due to Safety Concerns
Sixty of 112 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 jets were grounded by Atlantic Southeast Airlines after an internal audit raised safety concerns regarding proper inspection of the jet’s engines. Atlantic Southeast Airlines is a unit of SkyWest Inc., and one of nine regional carriers for Delta Air Lines Inc. The groundings represent nearly 40 percent of ASA’s total fleet. Some flight delays are expected for passengers flying with the airlines involved.
March 25, 2009
National Transportation Safety Board: NTSB to Hold Hearing on
Ongoing Colgan Air Buffalo Crash Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board has released an update on its investigation into the February 12 Colgan Air/Continental Connection Flight 3407 crash near Buffalo, New York, that killed all 49 people aboard and another on the ground. The NTSB voted to conduct a public hearing regarding this accident that will be held on May 12 - 14, 2009 at the NTSB’s Board Room and Conference Center in Washington, D.C. The hearing will cover a wide range of safety issues including icing effects, cold weather operations, stall recovery training and crew experience, among others. All members of the NTSB will sit on the Board of Inquiry during the hearing. Parties that will participate in the hearing will be announced at a later time.
March 23, 2009
Turboprop Plane Crashes in Butte, Montana. 14 Dead Including Seven Children
Fourteen people were killed when a single-engine turboprop plane from California crashed in a cemetery in Butte, Montana, on Sunday afternoon, March 23, 2009. The aircraft, a Pilatus PC-12, wasen route from Oroville, California to Bozeman, Montana when the pilot changed course to Butte for unknown reasons. The plane then nosedived into a cemetery 500 feet short of Bert Mooney Airport in Butte, bursting into flames on impact. All aboard the aircraft,14 people, including seven children, were killed.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board offered few details at a press conference held hours after the crash. No cause for the crash has been given but FAA spokesman, Les Dorr, has said that the Pilatus PC-12 is usually built to carry 11 people. It is still unclear if extra weight was a factor in the crash, since seven of the 14 people aboard were small children.
February 28, 2009
eTN Global Travel Industry News: Four Passengers in Denver Jet Runway Crash
File Lawsuits Against Boeing Co.
Lawsuits have been filed in federal court in Denver on behalf of four passengers on a Continental Airlines jet that veered off a Denver runway on December 20, 2008. The lawsuit alleges that Boeing Co. was negligent in the design and manufacture of certain parts of the aircraft, including “directional control mechanisms,” which made it difficult for the pilots to maintain runway heading while taking off in high crosswinds. Back in December, the Houston-bound Boeing 737 swerved sharply off the runway of the Denver International Airport and stopped at a ravine, where the plane caught fire. Inside the aircraft were 110 passengers and five crew members. Thirty eight people were injured.
February 12, 2009
50 Killed in Continental Connection Crash at Clarence Center, NY
On February 12, 2009, at around 10:20 p.m. ET, 50 people were killed when Continental Connection Flight 3407, serving as a commuter flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, New York, plummeted into a suburban house in Clarence Center, about five miles from Buffalo Niagara International Airport. All 45 passengers and four crew members aboard were killed.The owner of the house was also killed in the fiery crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the tragic accident, which is the deadliest aircraft accident on U.S. soil since 2006. Evidence so far has pointed to ice build-up as well as pilot error as contributing factors to the accident, but the NTSB has not confirmed if either or both were the cause of the crash. The NTSB did confirm, however, that the autopilot was engaged at the time of impact, which, if significant ice-buildup was present, would have been against the recommendations of both the NTSB and the airline.
The Continental Connection flight, a 74-seater Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop aircraft, was operated by Colgan Air, based in Manassas, Virginia. Colgan’s parent company is Pinnacle Airlines of Memphis, Tennessee.
This is Continental’s second serious crash since 38 people were injured when a Continental Airlines plane veered off a runway and slid into a snowy field at the Denver Airport on Dec. 20, 2008.
February 8, 2009
Airport Business: Charter jet crash throws spotlight on unfit FAA regulations
The federal criminal investigation of a corporate jet that crashed into a warehouse at Teterboro Airport on Feb. 2, 2005 has uncovered a flaw in FAA rules. Executives from the now-defunct company responsible for the 2005 Teterboro jet crash, Platinum Jet Management LLC of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., were indicted Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009, on federal criminal charges. They have been accused of a scheme to operate an air charter operation by falsifying flight logs and other records as well as deliberately overloading planes with fuel at airports where it was cheap to top off tanks. This incident has brought to light a dangerous practice allowed by the FAA called "piggybacking" in which a company unable to meet certain requirements imposed by the agency may reach a sharing agreement with a certified air carrier. Platinum Jet, which did not have a license to fly paying passengers, had such a "piggyback" deal with Darby Aviation of Muscle Shoals, Ala. In the case of Platinum, the charter company simply disregarded all the safety requirements and did not properly train their pilots to fly paying passengers. Critics of the FAA maintain that piggybacking has led to numerous tragedies and close calls and are now concerned that aviation regulators are unaware of how many other charter companies are going into piggyback deals without proper regulation.
February 4, 2009
Yahoo News: Boeing Co. Warns of Ice in 777 Engines
Rolls Royce Trent engines in more than 200 777s could be susceptible to ice problems, according to the Boeing Co. A notice sent Thursday, January 29, warns of the potential problem and suggests in-flight precautions to avoid ice buildups. The notice also cites two episodes involving 777 aircrafts that experienced engine problems due to ice, one of which resulted in passenger injuries. The notice covers roughly 30 percent of the 700 777s in use.
January 28, 2009
Los Angeles Times: Fatal airplane crash in Santa Monica Airport claims two lives
Two people died when their two-seat Marchetti SF-260 airplane crashed shortly after takeoff from Santa Monica Airport in California on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at about 5 p.m.. The single engine aerobatic plane experienced trouble shortly after takeoff and crashed at the west end of the runway before bursting into flames. The aircraft was registered to Malibu-based Wingspan Inc. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.
January 14, 2009
Three Ground Victims File Personal Injury Lawsuit Against Cessna Owner and Pilot
after The Aircraft Crashed Into Their Home
Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman are filing a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of three people who suffered serious physical and mental injuries when a Cessna crashed into their home in Compton, California on April 12, 2008. The injured, Regina Hosley, her boyfriend Darryl Irvin and her daughter, are seeking an unspecified amount of damages against pilot Charles Reece and Eureka International Inc., the owner of the Cessna. The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to issue a probable cause report on the cause of this crash.
January 5, 2009
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Three People Injured after their small plane crashes in Indiana County
Three people were injured, one critically, when their four-seater Piper Cherokee aircraft crashed as it attempted to land at an airport in Indiana County. The aircraft missed the runway on its approach and crashed at a wooded area north of the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified of the accident. The identities of the injured are currently not being released.
January 5, 2009
Jackson Sun: Eight dead and one critically injured after helicopter crashes in Louisiana
On Sunday, a helicopter bound for an offshore oil platform crashed in a southern Louisiana marsh shortly after take-off killing eight people and critically injuring another. The helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76C, was operated by PHI Inc. Authorities were at the scene on Monday, gathering evidence from the wreckage that could eventually help investigators find the cause of this fatal accident. Investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to arrive on Tuesday.
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