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Aviation News
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Confused Jetstar pilots forgot to lower the wheels and had to abort a landing in Singapore just 150 metres above the ground, after the captain became distracted by his mobile phone, an investigation has found.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report on the May 27, 2010 incident on Flight JQ57, from Darwin to Singapore, reconstructed a scene of cockpit chaos.
The captain, of more than 13,000 hours flying experience, was distracted by incoming text messages on his phone, while the first officer, of more than 4000 hours experience, was probably fatigued, the report said.
The pair had lost their “situational awareness”, leading to poor decision-making and hampered communications, investigators found.
The problems aboard JQ57 began when the co-pilot, the first officer, switched off the autopilot on the 220-seat Airbus A320 to make preparations to land.
Somewhere between 2500 feet and 2000 feet, the captain’s mobile phone started beeping with incoming text messages, and the captain twice did not respond to the co-pilot’s requests.
The co-pilot looked over and saw the captain “preoccupied with his mobile phone”, investigators said. The captain told investigators he was trying to unlock the phone to turn it off, after having forgotten to do so before take-off.
At 1000 feet, the co-pilot scanned the instruments and felt “something was not quite right” but could not spot what it was.
At this stage the captain still did not realise the landing gear had not been lowered, and neither pilot went through their landing checklist.
At 720 feet, a cockpit alert flashed and sounded to warn that the wheels still hadn’t been lowered.
At 650 feet, the captain moved the undercarriage lever “instinctively” but then a “too low” ground-warning alarm sounded as the plane sunk through 500 feet, indicating the landing gear was not fully extended and locked.
The co-pilot was confused by the captain’s action in lowering the wheels, as he was getting ready to do quite the opposite — to abort the landing and re-ascend to the skies, investigators said.
Neither spoke to each other about their intentions.
At 392 feet, the crew aborted the landing and powered up the thrust.
At this time the pilots had lost track of their altitude, thinking they were much higher, at about 800 feet.
A further piloting error occurred, with the wrong flap setting during the ascent.
When the mistakes were recreated in a simulator, investigators determined there were two minutes of descent, from 2800 feet to 1000 feet, where the pilots failed to take any necessary actions, including putting the wheels down.
Jetstar said it had incorporated the the lessons learned from the incident in its pilot training.
“Pilot distraction meant all the landing checklist items weren’t completed before the aircraft passed an altitude of 500 feet, at which point a go-around was required under our operating procedures,” said Jetstar’s Chief Pilot, Captain Mark Rindfleish.
“The combination of factors on JQ57 has provided new learnings and the opportunity to add to these safeguards, which we take very seriously.”
Changes introduced included completing landing checklists before 1000 feet and a reminder to pilots to ensure their mobile phones are switched off before take-off, he said.
Air Canada
A terrifying incident on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Zurich last year took place because a pilot abruptly pushed the Boeing 767 into a dive shortly after waking up from an approved nap, says a report released today by Canada’s Transportation Safety Board.
The report details what happened on Air Canada Flight 878 several hours after it left Toronto for Zurich on Jan 13, 2011. The report also finds several factors, including pilot fatigue, contributed to the incident that sent seven passengers to hospital in Switzerland.
The disruption in the middle of the flight, at night over the Atlantic Ocean, was described by Air Canada at the time as severe turbulence.
Instead, the TSB report says the first officer, who had just woken up from a nap in the cockpit, initially mistook the planet Venus for a U.S. air force C-17 military plane in the vicinity, and later decreased altitude abruptly after being “confused” and believing they were on an “imminent collision course” with another aircraft.
In this still image taken from a passenger’s video uploaded to YouTube, Air Canada crew members inspect damage on the panels of the cabin after a violent mid-flight disturbance on Jan. 14, 2011. (YouTube)The captain counter-reacted by pulling the plane up. The moves shook the aircraft violently and caused several passengers not wearing their seatbelts in economy class to be thrown up in the air and then slammed into their seats and the aisles of the cabin.
Fourteen passengers and two crew members on board the flight suffered various injuries, and seven were sent to hospital after the plane touched down in Zurich.
Pilots are allowed to take “controlled rests” of up to 40 minutes in the cockpit to improve alertness during critical phases of flight, the TSB says. However, the flight attendant in charge must be alerted and instructed to call the flight deck at a specific time.
The TSB report into Flight 878 said the pilots did not inform the assigned flight attendant that the first officer was going to take a rest.
Flight quickly went from ‘mellow’ to chaotic’
The pilots had turned on the warning lights instructing passengers to fasten their seatbelts before the incident because of reports of turbulence in the area, the report said.
Louisa Pickering, a passenger on the flight, said the experience went from a “mellow, normal flight” to “chaotic” in an instant, as passengers, laptop computers and glasses were thrown into the air.
Passenger Louisa Pickering says she initially thought the plane had hit a mountain or another aircraft. (CBC)“I was sleeping and I was literally violently thrown out of my seat and slammed into the ceiling — I was in a window seat — so I hit the top of the ceiling and fell back to the ground,” Pickering told CBC News in an interview from San Francisco.
“After that, it was just kind of chaotic.”
As passengers around her screamed, Pickering said her initial thought was that the plane had hit a mountain or another aircraft.
“I thought we were going to crash, and I [felt] hopelessness because there’s no way to contact people outside the flight to let them know what’s happening,” she said.
When the airplane stabilized, she said many passengers were either crying or appeared in shock as the cabin crew began assessing injuries.
“The woman behind me reached her hand through the seats and asked if I would hold her hand, and all I remember is everyone repeating the same questions: ‘Are you OK? Are you OK? Are you OK?’”
‘The plane just dropped’
Ashlyn O’Mara, who was also on the flight, was returning to her exchange program at the University of Geneva after spending the Christmas holiday at home in Toronto. She told CBC News she had settled in to watch a movie when “all of a sudden out of nowhere the plane just dropped, like free-fell, nose-dived.”
“I’ve experienced strong turbulence, big time,” she said. “This was out of nowhere, it was free-falling, like you are free-falling at Drop Zone at Canada’s Wonderland. Nose-dive, very strong force.”
As soon as the plane levelled, O’Mara said one of the flight attendants shouted, “Seatbelts now! Seatbelts now!” over the aircraft’s public address system.
“No one came on for an announcement and said, ‘This is what happened, but everything’s OK, or there might be some more turbulence up ahead,’” she said. “We didn’t know if it was going to happen again, and we thought, ‘Is this drop going to happen at any minute? Maybe in another hour?’”
Pickering said she remembers the flight attendants asking whether there were any doctors on board, but doesn’t recall any of the crew mentioning what caused the disturbance.
“I don’t remember any explanation,” she said. “Basically, ‘Put your seatbelts on,’ and the lights went into an emergency sort of pattern where they were changing colour inside the cabin.”
But Pickering also praised the flight attendants for their composure in the aftermath of the incident.
“There were two women on the flight that had sustained injuries as well, and they went above and beyond to help the passengers,” she said.
Canada’s pilot fatigue measures questioned
The report is expected to renew the debate over whether Canada’s regulations governing pilot schedules do enough to prevent pilot fatigue.
Controlled rests
A “controlled rest” is a recommended “operational fatigue countermeasure” for pilots that improves on-the-job performance and alertness through “strategic napping” on the flight deck “to improve crew alertness during critical phases of flight,” according to the Air Canada flight operations manual.
“The rest periods are a maximum of 40 minutes in length (periods to be reviewed prior to resting) and must be completed 30 minutes prior to the top of descent. The in–charge flight attendant must be advised that controlled rest will be taking place and instructed to call the flight deck at a specific time. Upon conclusion of the rest period, unless required due to an abnormal or emergency situation, the awakened pilot should be provided at least 15 minutes without any flight duties to become fully awake before resuming normal duties. An operational briefing shall follow.” Source: Transportation Safety Board
Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told CBC News that the airline has already taken action to enhance safety in the wake of its preliminary findings, and would study the final report to determine whether additional measures can be brought in.
“We sincerely regret that some of our customers were injured and we have taken measures to prevent a reoccurrence of this type of event and improve safety overall,” Fitzpatrick wrote in an email.
The Air Canada Pilots Association and other unions, representing almost 7,000 pilots, have been calling for Transport Canada to change flight and pilot scheduling regulations.
Under Canadian regulations, pilots can be on duty for 14 hours, or up to 17 hours if there are unforeseen circumstances.
Capt. Barry Wiszniowski, safety chairman of the Air Canada Pilots Association, told CBC News Network that his organization began collecting its own data on pilot fatigue several years ago as part of a public push to get the regulations changed to recognize scientific findings on fatigue.
“I think the problem is that he’s sleeping in the cockpit in the first place,” Wiszniowski said.
“In Canada, we have the worst rules in the planet. We are working with the regulator trying to move forward and bringing our regulations in line so they are based on the science of fatigue.”
3rd pilot in cabin
The TSB report also revealed that a third Air Canada pilot was on board “dead-heading” to Zurich to serve as a relief pilot for the return flight, but was seated in a regular seat so he wouldn’t be paid.
After the captain was informed of the injuries in the cabin, the third pilot was called in to sit on the flight deck to monitor the flight and assist as needed, the report said. The remainder of the flight was described as “uneventful.”
In December, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued new rules aimed at preventing airline pilots from flying while dangerously fatigued.
U.S. airlines flying routes of similar duration to the Toronto-Zurich flight require three pilots on duty, Wiszniowski noted.
“I believe personally that safety trumps politics, commerce and competition, so if you’re doing it on a cost-dollar value, that’s one thing,” he said. “But what more proof do we need that when a pilot operates in a fatigued state there’s risk of an accident? And that’s what we have in this case.”
Air Canada’s Fitzpatrick said the airline has rules for duty days and rest periods that are “more conservative than what Transport Canada requires,” and also requires pilots who feel they are too tired to fly or otherwise not capable of flying safely to report this as part of a “non-punitive system.”
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Whizzes when it comes to kids
There’s more than one way to keep an in-transit family happy, as this year’s finalists for the family-friendly airline award demonstrate.
WHETHER it’s your first time or you’ve had plenty of experience, choosing an airline for a family trip is not an easy task.
Things that didn’t matter when you were young and single become vital when travelling with children, especially young ones who have the potential to scream or nag half the way to London.
There are so many things to consider: flight times, seating arrangements, meals, entertainment and even the logistics of getting small children from one end of an airport to the other.
The family-friendly airline award 2012 has named three airlines as being the most “family-friendly” in the world, including our very own Virgin Australia.
The award, which is run by the Kids First Fund (kidsfirstfund.org), brought together a panel of high-profile travel industry executives to choose the finalists, which were Virgin Australia, American Airlines and Gulf Air.
So what are the factors that helped secure the airlines a place in the top three?
Virgin Australia was recognised for its efforts through its Velocity frequent flyer program, which the Kids First Fund panel found provided “real and tangible benefits” such as families being able to pool their points and combine status credits to earn elite benefits more easily.
Under the program, new parents are also given the option to pause their membership for six months to avoid the loss of status when they find themselves flying less.
“Within weeks of launching the family benefits, elite members increased their flying behaviour with Virgin Australia by 20 per cent,” the Kids First Fund says.
Gulf Air was recognised for a “comprehensive approach to serving families” through a range of services on the ground and in the air.
The airline has Sky Nannies, who are there to help parents with children on-board the aircraft; it provides video games on portable media players and has special check-in counters that bring children up to the eye level of the check-in staff.
American Airlines was recognised not for its on-board children’s facilities but for its Kids in Need program, which provides worldwide support for children and families in need, as well as organisations that improve the quality of life for children.
Last year, members of the airline’s frequent flyer program donated about 117 million frequent flyer miles, helping more than 270 children and their families.
With such a mixed bag of attributes among these carriers, are we any the wiser about what makes an airline “family-friendly”?
Do we care about our frequent flyer status and charitable standing, or do we really just want a peaceful flight?
A Lonely Planet author and mother, Jayne D’Arcy, says there are only two things that are really important when travelling with children: guaranteed bassinets for infants and in-seat televisions for older children.
“My son gets really upset if there’s no television in the seat … that’s the one thing that I would check before booking,” she says. “And with an infant, getting a confirmed bassinet is really important.”
D’Arcy says another thing that can make a big difference to families is airlines allowing strollers to be taken to the boarding gate and then making sure they’re delivered quickly at the other end.
“It’s horrible standing there waiting for your pusher, when everyone else has gone,” she says.
On-board the plane, D’Arcy believes crews on many airlines could do a lot more to assist parents.
“There are always one or two kids who just won’t stop crying and I rarely see flight attendants going and helping and offering advice,” she says.
“I think they should be a bit more proactive in helping parents, especially if the child is screaming because their ears hurt and the parents need some advice.
“Parents shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help, especially if they’re travelling solo.”
D’Arcy says she has tried on-board nannies but found them to be little help.
Her best experiences, in terms of the most helpful cabin crew, have been on Jetstar.
D’Arcy says she puts little value in the children’s activity packs handed out by airlines, saying they “always seem to be in the same state when we arrive as when they were given out”.
Nor is she a fan of children’s meals, which she says are usually overly packaged and less interesting than the adult meals.
An expert’s travel tip
Lonely Planet author Jayne D’Arcy recommends parents always put children in the window seat — and not just for the view.
D’Arcy, who has done countless flights with her son, says she recently had something heavy fall out of an overhead locker onto her son, who was sitting in the aisle seat.
Having flight attendants going up and down the aisle with hot food and drinks is another reason to make sure kids are safe and sound in the window seat, she says.
Japan Airlines
TOKYO – Asian airlines said they will divert planes from the intended flight path of North Korea’s rocket as shipping in the area was warned Tuesday to beware of falling debris.
Japan’s two largest carriers, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways said they will alter the route of flights between Tokyo and Southeast Asian cities including Manila, Jakarta and Singapore during the planned rocket launch window.
Philippine Airlines said it “plans to reroute some of its flights in view of the possible effects on a portion of Philippine territory of the satellite launch of North Korea within the month.”
The moves came as Philippine air control authorities declared a no fly zone in airspace where North Korea’s rocket was projected to pass, a Japanese transport ministry official told AFP.
The Philippine-flag carrier said in a statement yesterday that the splashdown area for the rocket’s second stage was expected to be “just east of Luzon”.
It said yesterday that it will divert a dozen flights from the United States, Japan and South Korea to steer clear of the rocket’s possible path to ensure its passengers’ safety. However, the airline has no plans to cancel any flights, reported BBC News.
“The Japanese side are also preparing to issue a ‘notice to airmen’ that warns them not to enter a no fly zone set by the Philippine authorities,” he said.
“These no fly zone-related notices should apply to all international carriers,” he added.
JAL will have four flights a day on expected rocket launch dates. Airline official Norio Higashimine said each flight will carry more fuel in case of an unexpected route change. Flight time is also expected to be added by five to 20 minutes.
Passengers on the affected international flights may change their reservations if they wish. Domestic flights will not be affected.
ANA announced changes to five flights but said that flight schedules will not be affected.
The re-routing comes as North Korea ramps up its preparations for what it says is a peaceful satellite launch, but what Japan and its Western allies claim is a disguised missile test.
Pyongyang insists the launch, which is planned for some time between April 12 and 16 to mark the centenary of the birth of late founding president Kim Il-Sung, is its right.
But countries around the globe have condemned the plan, which they say will contravene UN resolutions.
South Korea has vowed to shoot down the rocket if it strays into its territory. Japan has said it may do likewise.
The South’s military plans to deploy destroyers armed with missiles to the Yellow Sea to track the rocket.
The transport ministry in Seoul said it would provide up-to-date information to shipping on the rocket launch.
All 15 maritime traffic control centres will be placed on alert from Wednesday, issuing navigation warnings every two hours to protect vessels operating in the Yellow Sea, it said.
The first stage of the rocket is expected to fall in waters 170 kilometres (100 miles) west of Gunsan in the southwest of South Korea, it said.
Japan’s coast guard on Tuesday began issuing warnings to ships in the area to be on the lookout for falling debris from the rocket.
“We are announcing by radio the expected time and places where falling objects could appear,” coast guard spokesman Yoshiyuki Terakado said.
Coast guard officials will issue the warning every day in Japanese and English until the launch is confirmed, he said.
In the Philippines, commercial fishing vessels have been told to remain in port during the launch window.
Office of Civil Defence chief Benito Ramos said evacuation plans had also been put in place in case debris fell on the Philippines’ island of Luzon.
“Our concern is that in a worst case scenario the trajectory (of the rocket) deviates by even a few degrees, it could jettison its booster over mainland Luzon and there could be a lot of people affected,” he said.
The Philippine navy has deployed ships northeast of Luzon.
Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said: “I don’t think there is anyone who can exactly say where the rocket (debris) will land, so we are working in the context of estimates. Our naval forces have already been given heads up to be on alert.”
“As we speak now, plans are being put in place relative to contingencies that could happen. The ships are going to be there in case there is a need for assistance just in case vessels get hit,” he said.
-AFP
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