Safety & Technology Trends

Air Safety Week, Oct 20, 2008

Indonesia Grounds More Airlines

AAP reports that Indonesia has grounded four small airlines, giving them three months to improve safety standards or face a ban, a transport ministry spokesman said Oct. 14.

The country's quarterly safety audit found that Pura Wisata Baruna, Sampoerna Air Nusantara, Dabi Air Nusantara and Atlas Deltasatya failed to meet minimum standards in several safety categories, spokesman Bambang Ervan said. The air carriers have been given the government's lowest safety ranking and have had their Air Operator's Certificates (AOC) suspended. Four out of five Indonesia airlines that had their AOCs suspended in July have been allowed to resume flights after improving their safety standards. The fifth airline suspended from flying in July, Helizona, failed to meet its three-month deadline and has had its AOC revoked. The airline now has six months to fix standards before being deregistered as a business. All are small and relatively unknown airlines that operate mostly domestic charter flights. Indonesia has been conducting quarterly safety audits of air operators in an effort to improve air safety.

Vaisala Provides Weather Gear to FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Vaisala a $6.9 million contract to deliver weather radar signal processors and software for the FAA Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) network. The upgrade is a radar data acquisition and signal processor, the RVP-9, which performs the signal processing functions of the FAA's TDWR. After receiving radar signals, the system digitizes and removes clutter from the data, allowing the radar information to be processed by aviation safety professionals as clear, concise meteorological data. Geoff Bing, director of North American Aviation Sales and Marketing for Vaisala, said "these upgraded processors and software will augment the extensive safety network at the FAA, which currently also includes Vaisala's AWOS and runway visual range systems." This contract supports the FAA's upgrade of TDWR at major airports throughout the United States. The FAA upgrades include Radar Data Acquisition (RDA) and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) for the TDWR system used at most major airports. Deliveries of the weather radars are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter 2008 and be complete in early 2009.

Thales on Abu Dhabi ATC Tower Contract

Abu Dhabi Airports Company says Thales will fit out Abu Dhabi International Airport's new air traffic control centre tower (ATCC). With the construction of the tower already underway and due for completion in 2009, Thales will start integrating the systems and command center over the coming year. ADAC Chairman and Managing Director Khalifa Al Mazrouei said: "We look forward to Thales delivering this contract which will help us take a further step in our quest to become a world class gateway airport". The Thales systems will integrate the most advanced ATM automation features needed for world leading air traffic control as well as airport ground control systems and aeronautical information systems (AIS) and messages switching (AFTN/AMHS). The new tower will be situated in between the existing and the new second runway, which went operational on 12 October 2008, and will take over the role as the nerve centre of the new airport development from the existing tower that stands over Terminal 1.

South Africa Passes Safety Audit

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) says South Africa's Category 1 status has been reconfirmed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This follows the visit by the FAA on July 30 to review the work accomplished by the SACAA since the re-audit conducted on the Authority in December 2007. The news was delivered in writing to the SACAA. "I am pleased to advise you that, as a result of the extensive work completed by your government and the positive results from our July 30 visit, we have determined that the SACAA continues to meet the applicable requirements in regard to safety oversight under the international standards of the Chicago Convention. As such, the International Aviation Safety Assessment category for South Africa shall continue to be released to the public as Category 1," said Nicholas Sabatini, the FAA's associate administrator for aviation safety.

Single European Sky and EASA

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has a key role to play in the development of the Single European Sky (SES). Acting as a strong independent safety regulator, it will ensure that any technical solution, equipment, personnel or organization involved in the SES works safely. Speaking at a European Commission seminar in Brussels, Patrick Goudou, EASA Executive Director, said: "The eventual extension of the EASA system to all aspects of aviation safety is logical and technically consistent. It will guarantee safety across the aviation system and a level-playing field for European industry. The Agency will work in partnership with EUROCONTROL and SESAR, in order to avoid any overlap or gap in the regulatory system". As part of the 2nd package of the Single European Sky (SES II), the European Commission proposed in June the extension of EASA's competences in the areas of aerodromes, Air Navigation Services (ANS) and Air Traffic Management (ATM). The Agency is already preparing to take up these new responsibilities. To ensure continuity, EASA will base its future Implementing Rules for ATM/ANS on existing legislation, namely the SES provisions, and will design transitional mechanisms. The Agency's objective is also to adapt the rules to the needs of small and medium sized organizations.