AeroSafety World December 2010–January 2011 68 pages. [PDF 4.6M]

Most accidents are variants on many that have happened before. Occasionally, however, the causal factors are so unusual or hard to understand immediately that they provoke speculation. One such event was the depressurization of a Qantas Boeing 747-400, cruising at 29,000 ft above the South China Sea on July 25, 2008. In its final report, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau concluded that an emergency oxygen cylinder had burst and tore a hole through the cargo hold.

Investigators found no evidence of similar oxygen cylinder failures. The ATSB called it "a unique event and highly unlikely to happen again." Mark Lacagnina summarizes the important points of the accident report in the December–January AeroSafety World.

Other articles discuss a significant new study of cabin crew fatigue, a fatal Sikorsky S-76 accident caused by a bird strike that interfered with the fuel flow to the engines and the surprising evolution of the International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program.

Feature articles and departments are now available in text only format as well as Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF) format.

Cover Story

Delving Into IOSA (Text only)

IATA’s global airline audit program evolves in ways not envisioned by U.S. accident investigators. IATA’s position is that IOSA offers possibilities for civil aviation authorities to “complement regulatory oversight (i.e., access to audit reports),” citing as an example the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s acceptance of IOSA registration as equivalent to a U.S. airline’s own audit of a non-U.S. code-share partner. [Download PDF 6 pages. 353K]

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Safety Culture

Co-Responsible for Safety (Text only)

Passengers and aviation departments must close the gap between safety expectations and actual performance. Who is responsible for this gap? The data clearly show that the aviation manager has the greatest influence on safety. [Download PDF 5 pages. 200K]

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Safety Regulation

New Proposal, Old Resistance (Text only)

Airlines fault latest U.S. attempt to revise rules designed to combat fatigue. The crux of the proposal is to establish a unified set of duty, flight and rest requirements for airline pilots in a new body of U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations called Part 117. [Download PDF 3 pages. 180K]

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Human Factors

Too Tired (Text only)

Less-than-optimal fatigue and alertness levels prevail among U.S. flight attendants even before they report for duty, says a new report. Left for future research, however, was the question of exactly how the newly measured impairments of vigilant attention and neurocognitive performance induced by fatigue — the so-called functional consequences — affect everyday cabin safety. [Download PDF 4 pages. 274K]

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Flight Tech

New Approach (Text only)

Transponder landing systems are designed for airports in areas with insufficient space for an ILS. “There are many airports that would love to have an instrument landing system (ILS) but can’t for a variety of reasons, usually because of the surrounding terrain or runway length,” Mains said. “These make up 80 to 90 percent of the world’s airports.” [Download PDF 4 pages. 292K]

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Helicopter safety

Windshield Weakness (Text only)

A Sikorsky S-76C++ that crashed into a Louisiana marsh after an en route bird strike was equipped with lightweight acrylic windshields — installed in place of the original bird-strike-resistant laminated glass, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report on the Jan. 4, 2009, accident. [Download PDF 5 pages. 313K]

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Safety Regulation

Speak Up (Text only)

The International Civil Aviation Organization, while refusing to extend its official March deadline for compliance with English language proficiency requirements for pilots and air traffic controllers, is nevertheless urging a “flexible approach” toward governments that have yet to comply. [Download PDF 5 pages. 215K]

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Cover Story

Rapid Depressurization (Text only)

The Boeing 747-400 was cruising 29,000 ft over the South China Sea the morning of July 25, 2008, when an emergency oxygen cylinder burst and ripped a hole through the right side of the forward cargo hold, causing a rapid depressurization of the aircraft.
[Download PDF 5 pages. 257K]

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Executive’s Message

To-Do List (Text only)

I have been saying we need the modern equivalent of the “dead foot, dead engine” quick guide to flying through an engine failure; this simple recommendation from Airbus sounds like a good start.
[Download PDF 1 page. 89K]

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Editorial Page

Fatigue Progress (Text only)

Judging the recent notice of proposed rule making on flight and duty-time rules by this dual-aggravation standard, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration did a pretty good job in coming up with something that will move the issue forward. [Download PDF 1 page. 70K]

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Air Mail

Letters From Our Readers (Text only)

I read both of Mr. Pechau’s solutions and thought I’d add a suggestion of my own: Why not use the computer provided on board? The flight management computer does all the calculations and takes inputs for those from various sensors.
[Download PDF 1 page. 189K]

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Safety Calendar

Industry Events (Text only)

A listing of aviation safety-related conferences, seminars and meetings. [Download PDF 1 page. 72K]

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In Brief

Safety News (Text only)

“The safest place for children younger than age 2 traveling on airplanes is in an appropriate child safety seat,” Hersman said. “The era of the lap child on airplanes should come to an end.”
[Download PDF 3 pages. 154K]

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Data Link

Ground Effect (Text only)

Although workload is commonly associated with flight time, a recent study suggests that pilot workload on the ground may contribute more to fatigue than workload during flight. [Download PDF 4 pages. 270K]

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Info Scan

ATOSpheric Conditions (Text only)

Auditors call the FAA air carrier oversight system conceptually sound but flawed in execution.
[Download PDF 4 pages. 141K]

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On Record

‘Unprofessional Behavior’ Cited in Overrun (Text only)

The following information provides an awareness of problems in the hope that they can be avoided in the future. The information is based on final reports by official investigative authorities on aircraft accidents and incidents. [Download PDF 8 pages. 291K]

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Smoke Fire Fumes

Selected Events in the U.S. and Canada

Selected Smoke, Fire and Fumes Events in the United States and Canada, September–October 2010
[Download PDF 1 page. 52K]

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