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Air Safety Week, Feb 18, 2008
The European Aviation Safety Agency has handed the Finnish Civil Aviation Authority 26 notices of deficiencies, based on inspections carried out last November. Two of the warnings are for serious incidents. The Finnish Civil Aviation Authority emphasizes that passenger safety was never at risk. "Actually, they address small details which have already been fixed," says the head of the Aviation Authority's Technical Division, Ari Vahtera. "Of course we take the notices very seriously, and that is why they were corrected so quickly." The European Agency's report also criticized the fact that the Aviation Authority's responsibilities and authority were not outlined specifically in Finnish law. The Ministry of Transport and Communications says it is working to address that problem. The report comes right as investigators in Lappeenranta are looking into the second landing accident there in as many weeks. Officials have confirmed that brake failure caused a 34-seater plane used by the company Fly Lappeenranta to strike the corner of an airport building while landing. No one was injured. Investigators say that a brake line was severed, so that two out of the plane's four wheel's brakes were completely inoperable. Investigators are still looking into the possibility that the plane was too close to the terminal even before the brakes gave out. The same plane was slightly damaged when it struck a snow bank at the airport nearly two weeks ago.
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Federal oversight of Southwest Airlines Co. is under investigation after a lawmaker received evidence that a plane was allowed to fly without being properly inspected. Rep. Jim Oberstar requested the audit after whistleblowers sent him documentation showing that the FAA inspector for Southwest "demonstrated extremely poor judgment by allowing the carrier to operate aircraft in revenue service without properly inspecting the aircraft for fuselage cracks," according to a letter from the Transportation Department inspector general's office to the FAA. The House Transportation Committee has scheduled an oversight hearing for March 12 that will include findings of an investigation by congressional staffers and the Transportation Department of the FAA's oversight of aircraft maintenance. Oberstar, D-Minn., chairs the committee. Some lawmakers have expressed concern about the FAA's inspector staffing levels.
Background: In cooperation with the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and several industry participants, the FAA has provided response to an industry- developed list of questions (Q&As) pertaining to 14CFR part 135 operational control issues. This list of Q&As can be viewed on the FAAs Part 135 Air Carrier Operations (AFS-250) website at: tinyurl.com/32houf
Recommended action: Directors of Operations, Chief Pilots, Directors of Maintenance, Company Check Airmen, Training Managers, and pilots of part 135 air carriers should review the operational control Q&As to ensure operational control is maintained during all phases of Part 135 operations.
The FAA is accelerating the certification process for some cockpit electronic displays that provide commercial pilots with detailed runway and taxiway information. It expects to certify a Boeing system that uses global positioning technology soon. FAA says a device from a Boeing Co. unit that uses global positioning technology on a moving map to show pilots their actual position at the airport should be certified soon. At least one other company is also expected to file for certification, the agency said. An application from Jeppesen, a subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, is expected to soon complete the certification process. Devices vary in sophistication from "Electronic Flight Bags," (laptop devices) to permanently installed units in the cockpit consoles.
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