Safety & Technology Trends

Air Safety Week, Dec 8, 2008

EU-US Civil Aviation Safety Pact

The European Union (EU) Transport Committee has unanimously approved an agreement with the USA on cooperation in the regulation of civil aviation safety. Streamlining various certification procedures should contribute to greater efficiency in airline operations. Negotiations, which started in 2004, have recently been concluded by an agreement, which settles the reciprocal acceptance of certifications in the field of civil aviation safety and environmental compatibility. The agreement focuses mainly on two areas: airline products designed, manufactured, modified or repaired under the regulatory control of the EU or US can be easily issued the necessary approvals to be registered or operated under the regularly control of the other side; and, aircraft registered or operated under the regulatory control of the EU or US can be maintained by organizations under the regulatory control of the other side. It is stipulated that each party shall respect the other's findings on compliance with the rules. The EU thinks that its implementation will improve the high degree of confidence in the airworthiness system on both sides.

Air Safety Info Session in Zambia

In a first for Africa, the AviAssist Foundation held an information session on State Safety Programs (SSP) in Zambia, providing a first introduction to the concept of SSP. More than 30 staff members from the Zambian Department of Civil Aviation attended the session. The information session is preparing Zambia for the ICAO audit at the end of January 2009. At the same time, the information session helps Zambia prepare for its work on implementing a SSP. The program is the equivalent of the Safety Management System (SMS). An SSP maps critical safety concerns. Safety data collection and analysis measures the aviation department's effectiveness in dealing with the issues surrounding and supporting safety concerns. AviAssist Director Tom Kok said "a move towards a just culture in Africa simply requires that such critical sessions and workshops are not only available to senior management at workshops abroad but are also made available in country. The AviAssist Foundation is building a toolkit to assist in the implementation of State Safety Programs. The toolkit can be applied in other countries in the region through its regional representation in Zambia." AviAssist Foundation is an independent, non-governmental organization, providing safety support to African countries and companies.

Research Park Set for FAA Tech Center

The FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center, Atlantic City, NJ, has entered into a lease and memorandum of understanding with the South Jersey Economic Development District to build an aviation research and technology park adjacent to the existing technical center. The lease transfers control of 55 acres of property for construction of the complex. The park will offer a central location for FAA's industry partners to perform research, development, testing, integration and verification of the technologies, concepts and procedures required by NextGen. The park will be built at no direct cost to the aviation agency. The park might include 400,000 square feet of technology-oriented space where 2,000 new workers might work.

New ATC Command Center

Management of the nation's air traffic control system will move to a permanent home in a state-of-the-art facility near Warrenton, VA in 2011, when a new Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control System Command Center is completed. The existing command center near Washington Dulles International will close when its lease expires in 2011. The 63,000-square-foot building that will house the FAA's new command center will share its site with the FAA's Potomac TRACON, a consolidated approach and departure control facility serving Washington, Baltimore and Richmond-area airports.

About 300 controllers, managers and support staff members will move from the existing facility to the command center.

GE's Integrated Corrosion Monitoring

GE Aviation has been selected by the U.S. Army to partner with Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) to research, develop and apply technology behind an integrated corrosion health monitoring system (I-CHMS) towards rotorcraft. The $2 million contract covers two years of R&D. GE's team includes Luna Innovations due to the concurrent work they are executing in corrosion detection science and management. The research activity is focused on eliminating costly inspections and providing safety and operational readiness benefit to the US Army's rotorcraft fleets. The Army is looking to reduce maintenance cost of corrosion within its fleet estimated at $1.28 billion per year. The research is being performed by GE facilities in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Southampton, UK.

Cologne Bonn Airport Acquires Surface Surveillance

Cologne Bonn Airport will install the Searidge Technologies IntelliDAR, a non-cooperative surveillance system (NCSS). The initial deployment involves installation of Searidge camera sensors in multiple zones covering the apron areas and taxiways. The system will output both "radar-like" track data as well as video data, directly into the air traffic control tower providing controllers with real-time situational awareness of the monitored zones. Once deployed, Cologne Bonn Airport will have full advantage of the benefits of tool-supported surface movement guidance and control. The IntelliDAR system will assist the air traffic controllers to safely manage ground traffic movement in the monitored zones. The Cologne Bonn Airport is the second largest German airport for cargo, IntelliDAR uses digital camera sensors coupled with advanced video analytics to provide detection, tracking and positional references of any target on the airport surface. The system output a 'radar track' of target similar to data provided by surface movement radar (SMR). Each monitored zone is installed with a dual camera sensors set for redundancy and maximizes reliability in obtaining a target's positional accuracy.