Swissair Flight 111 memorial, Whalesback.
Looking southwest toward the crash site.
Photographed on 25 August 2003
Located on the west side of Highway 333
GPS location: 44°30'23"N 63°55'59"W
Google map
Photographed on 25 August 2003
Photographed on 25 August 2003
Photographed on 15 November 2002
Photographed on 10 November 2002
Photographed on 15 November 2002
Photographed on 15 November 2002
Photographed on 10 November 2002
Links to Relevant Websites
Swissair 111 Investigation Report: Executive Summary Transportation Safety Board
Transportation Safety Board of Canada: Official Report on Swiss Air Flight 111
Transportation Safety Board of Canada: Official Report on Swiss Air Flight 111
Brief history of the disaster On 2 September 1998 at 2118 ADT
Information and discussion of the crash, investigation, victims and
Lost at Sea: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Transcript 3 Sep 1998
PBS NOVA: Crash of Swissair Flight 111
Photograph: Swissair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 HB-IWB
Air Traffic Control Preliminary Transcript of Swissair Flight 111 2 Sep 1998
Swissair Flight 111 Nationmaster Encyclopedia
Before Swissair Flight 111 crashed, the pilot reported an in-flight fire.
Swissair flight 111
Fact Sheet: State Department on Swissair/Delta 111 Crash
Bill No. 115: Flight 111 Special Places Memorial Act
Swissair Crash Tests Relations With Insurers Wall Street Journal
Swissair's Drama – SR111 Aircraft Crashes Record Office, Geneva
Swissair 111 Reconsidered by William Henry, AirLiners.net
How to crash an in-flight entertainment system 2007 Feb 09
ISASI; International Society of Air Safety Investigators
Swissair Flight 111: The Accident that redefined CRM
Speech by Mr Jeffrey G. Katz President and CEO, Swissair
Swissair 111 Memorials To Carry Airline Name And Flight Number
Jack Gallagher, Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, 3 Sep 1999
List of Mayday episodes (TV series)
List: Swissair historical McDonnell Douglas MD-11s
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 production list
ABC Evening News for Thursday, Sep 03, 1998
NBC Evening News for Sunday, Sep 06, 1998
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania:
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Swissair stopped flying on 31 March 2002
Farewell Swissair
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Halifax Chronicle-HeraldSwissair Flight 111 Archive
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The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this website:
Archived: 2001 June 13 Special Reports
Archived: 2001 Jun 13 Special Reports
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Archived: 2002 Dec 24 Swiss jet crashes near Peggys Cove, 229 aboard, no survivors
Archived: 1999 Oct 05 Transcript of the final minutes of Swissair Flight 111
Archived: 2000 Aug 16 Transcript of the final minutes of Swissair Flight 111
Archived: 1999 Oct 05 Swissair Flight 111: Final minutes expanded transcript
Archived: 1999 Nov 04 Swissair Flight 111: Final minutes expanded transcript
Archived: 2000 Aug 16 Swissair Flight 111: Photos One
Archived: 2000 Oct 05 Swissair Flight 111: Photos Two
Archived: 2001 June 21 Swissair Flight 111: Photos Two
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The Wayback Machine has archived copies of these documents:
Archived: 1998 Dec 02 Index to archived Swissair press releases
Archived: 1998 Dec 05 Index to archived Swissair press releases
Archived: 1999 Feb 03 Index to archived Swissair press releases
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Zurich, 3 September 1998 9:30am: Swissair aircraft involved in accident
Zurich, 3 September 1998 12:30pm: Update on Swissair accident
Zurich, 3 September 1998 5:30pm: No survivors
Zurich, 3 September 1998 8:30pm: Swissair offers immediate compensation to families
Zurich, 4 September 1998 12:50pm: Relatives en route to the accident site
Zurich, 4 September 1998 6:45pm: Few new details in crash of SR 111
Halifax, 5 September 1998 9:30am: Jeffrey Katz: "An emotional day for all concerned"
Zurich, 5 September 1998 11:00pm: Transcript of last radio contact...
Zurich, 6 September 1998 12:15pm: Direct approach to Halifax could not have been flown
Zurich, 6 September 1998 11:30pm: Flight data recorder of SR 111 recovered
Zurich, 7 September 1998 12:30am: Statement from Swissair's President and CEO
Zurich, 7 September 1998 11:00pm: No legible flight-data-recorder information...
Zurich, 14 September 1998 23:00pm: Last six minutes missing on second black box, too
Zurich, 16 September 1998 5:00pm: SR 111 news update – Wednesday, September 16
Zurich, 17 September 1998 11:00pm: Analysis isolates DNA patterns for 142 victims
Zurich, 18 September 1998 5:45pm: SR 111 news update – News update Friday, September 18
Zurich, 15 October 1998 6:00pm: Swissair supports FAA endeavours on new insulation materials
These links were accessed and found to be valid on 5 August 2008. Table of Contents |
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The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this document:
Archived: 2002 April 01
Archived: 2002 May 28
These links were accessed and found to be valid on 4 January 2008. |
Jul 23, 1999 — It was announced July 22 that memorials for the 229 people who died in the crash of Swissair Flight 111 in the Atlantic off Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada in September 1998 will bear the airline's name and flight number. The memorials will be unveiled on the first anniversary of the crash.
The two memorials will read:
"In memory of the 229 men, women and children aboard Swissair Flight 111 who perished off these shores September 2, 1998. They have been joined to the sea and the sky. May they rest in peace. In grateful recognition of all those who worked tirelessly to provide assistance in the recovery operations and comfort to the families and their friends during a time of distress."
The memorials and a marker on navigation maps pinpointing the crash site itself will form a triangle that faces directly out to where the plane went down.
At one site in the beach-side community of Bayswater, a stone wall will list most of the names of Flight 111's crew and passengers. Three family members have asked that their relatives' names be left off the memorials. About 29 coffins of unidentified human remains will also be buried there in a mass grave.
Benches and a monument made out of a boulder will be erected at the other site in Whalesback, a rocky outstretch of land near Peggy's Cove, where grieving families flocked after the crash.
Both sites will include memorials bearing the text that will be in English and French.
"People wanted to have memorials that are modest," said Lorne Clarke, head of the memorial committee. "The memorial wording keeps with this concept while remaining honest with historical fact."
The issue of what to include on crash memorials has become an issue in recent years, with some airlines being accused of trying to deflect negative publicity by leaving their names off monuments.
The Valujet memorial, established after a plane for the discount airline crashed into a Florida swamp in 1996 killing more than 100 people, doesn't mention the carrier's name.
A memorial for the victims of TWA Flight 800 in New York also doesn't mention the airline, but states it is in memory of the people "who perished aboard flight 800."
Source: http://news.airwise.com/stories/99/07/932731976.html
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Archived: 2001 July 07
Archived: 2001 September 20
Archived: 2002 August 22
Archived: 2002 November 10
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CBC
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The Wayback Machine has archived copies of:
Archived: 2000 August 16
Archived: 2001 January 26
Archived: 2001 April 24
Archived: 2001 August 27
Archived: 2002 February 14
Archived: 2002 October 24
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Archived: 2000 August 16
Archived: 2001 July 01
Archived: 2002 October 22
Archived: 2004 November 25
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New York TimesSwissair Flight 111 ArchiveSixty stories New York Times, 1987 March 20 Swissair Orders 6 MD-11's http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFDC163EF933A15750C0A961948260 New York Times, 1988 June 26 Practical Traveler; How Airlines Pick the Movies http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6D61331F935A15755C0A96E948260 New York Times, 1989 March 17 Delta and Swissair To Form Venture http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4D8173FF934A25750C0A96F948260 New York Times, 1989 September 29 Swissair and S.A.S. Announce Pact http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3DB103AF93AA1575AC0A96F948260 New York Times, 1993 May 13 Citing Safety, Airline Curbs CD and Computer Use http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE2DF113DF930A25756C0A965958260 New York Times, 1994 September 18 Swissair Plies the Unfriendly Skies of United Europe http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03EEDE103BF93BA2575AC0A962958260 New York Times, 1995 September 14 First-Half Losses Wider for Swissair http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7D6113DF937A2575AC0A963958260 New York Times, 1996 May 08 Business Travel; A casino operator's dream: potential gamblers who may be bored and are unable to walk away http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E1DE1539F93BA35756C0A960958260 New York Times, 1997 October 29 For many, a fancy chauffeured limousine has been replaced by a sedan and driver. ...Swissair is now equipping its entire long-haul fleet – 16 MD-11's and five Boeing 747's – with video gambling at every seat in all three cabin classes... http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E4DC1231F93AA15753C1A961958260 New York Times, 1998 September 03 Plane From J.F.K. Crashes Off Canada http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7DD113FF930A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 04 Experts Seek the Cause of Swissair Crash Fatal to 229 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01EEDE1F3FF937A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 04 The Crash of Flight 111: List of 229 Was a Kaleidoscope of Nations http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EEDE1F3FF937A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 04 The Crash of Flight 111: A Timeless Fishing Village Is Transformed in a Moment http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E4DE1F3FF937A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 04 The Crash of Flight 111: At Airports, Echoes of Earlier Crash http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFDE1F3FF937A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 04 The Crash of Flight 111: Focus on Finding Bodies, Not Flight Recorders http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEFDE1F3FF937A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 05 Crew of Swiss Jet Seemed in Control http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403EEDB173EF936A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 05 Families' Last, Grim Task Is Just to Identify the Bodies http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EFDB173EF936A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 05 In Crash Landings, Ocean Surface Can Be Less Forgiving Than Runway http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE2DB173EF936A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 05 The Crash of Flight 111: A Mostly Reliable Plane, But With Flaws in Its Past http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DEEDB173EF936A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 06 The Crash of Flight 111: Inquiry Shows Jet Crew Went Silent Before Crash http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE2D9143EF935A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 06 Pilots Are Sometimes Unprepared for the Hazards of Operating a Smoky Plane http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E4DA143EF935A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 06 Mourners of Flight's Victims, Seeking Solace, Are Drawn to a Lighthouse http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E5DB143EF935A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 07 Data Recorder Is Found, Raising Hopes for Clues to Swissair Crash http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E2DA153EF934A3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 08 Data Recorder Missed Swissair Flight's Final Minutes, Investigator Says http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E3D8123EF93BA3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 09 Urgent Messages as Swissair Flight Systems Failed http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E5DA103EF93AA3575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 10 Clues Found to Fire's Location on Swiss Jet http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407EEDF1E3EF933A2575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 10 Swissair's Web Site Inundated Following Crash of Flight 111 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DC1E3EF933A2575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 11 Crash Investigators Focus on Electrical Part http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E1DD1631F932A2575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 12 Flight 111's Voice Recorder Is Recovered From Sea Floor http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DEEDA1731F931A2575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 13 Swissair Pilots Got Bad Data, Officials Say http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E6DA1531F930A2575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 15 Swissair Jet's Cargo Had Painting By Picasso and Other Valuables http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01E4D61331F936A2575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 16 Both 'Black Boxes' Stopped Recording 6 Minutes Before Swissair Jet Crashed http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06EED61031F935A2575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 17 Swissair Jet Was Holding Museum Gem http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904EEDB1F31F934A2575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 19 Jet Crash Divers Confront Deep Perils, and Emotions, in Grim Search http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E2DE1530F93AA2575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 20 Jet Crash Raises Question: Are Cockpit Crews Large Enough? http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DC1230F933A1575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 September 25 Peggy's Cove Journal; On Nova Scotia's Shore, Will Sadness Be Forever? http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E2D91739F936A1575AC0A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 October 02 F.A.A. Asks, Can Airliners Get Too Old To Fly Safely? http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E0D91538F931A35753C1A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 October 15 F.A.A. Recommends Airlines Replace Insulation in Jets http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CE5DC133AF936A25753C1A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 October 16 Jet Insulation Urged by F.A.A. Is Not Ready Yet, Maker Says http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E5D9103AF935A25753C1A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 October 30 Heat Damage Is Found in Wires of Swissair Video System http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1DA163FF933A05753C1A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 November 13 Smoke Risk Prompts F.A.A. to Order Inspections of MD-11's http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0CE0DC1531F930A25752C1A96E958260 New York Times, 1998 November 19 For Air Crash Victims, Solace Comes on Line http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E5DD1730F93AA25752C1A96E958260 New York Times, 1999 January 12 Threat of Fire Leads to Request For Wiring Checks on Planes http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E5DB1431F931A25752C0A96F958260 New York Times, 1999 May 20 Swissair's Parent Buys Airline Caterer for $780 Million http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E1DC1E3EF933A15756C0A96F958260 New York Times, 1999 August 06 Swissair and Boeing to Split Payment of Damages in Crash http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03EFD91530F935A3575BC0A96F958260 New York Times, 1999 August 12 F.A.A. Will Propose Removing Flammable Insulation From Big Jets http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E1DA1739F931A2575BC0A96F958260 New York Times, 1999 August 22 Ideas & Trends; A Back Door View Of Airline Safety http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E3D81238F931A1575BC0A96F958260 New York Times, 1999 August 29 New Technology Brings New Layers of Grief http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9501E2D9123BF93AA1575BC0A96F958260 New York Times, 1999 September 03 'A Bit of Peace' for Swissair Crash Families http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E5DE153AF930A3575AC0A96F958260 New York Times, 1999 November 13 A Support Group Helps to Repair Lives Shattered by Plane Crashes http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E2DC143DF930A25752C1A96F958260 New York Times, 1999 December 16 Safety Changes Advised In the MD-11 Jetliner http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E1D71730F935A25751C1A96F958260 New York Times, 2000 March 18 '98 Swissair Crash Inquiry Sees Cockpit Map Light as Spark Source http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07EFDB153AF93BA25750C0A9669C8B63 New York Times, 2000 August 26 Smoke Forces Plane Down http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E3DE1331F935A1575BC0A9669C8B63 New York Times Magazine, 2000 October 15 What became of the money Swissair paid out after the tragedy of Flight 111? http://partners.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20001015mag-salientfacts.html?scp=28 New York Times, 2000 November 19 Professor Scarry Has a Theory http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9506E3DA1138F93AA25752C1A9669C8B63 New York Times, 2001 April 03 Parent of Swissair Posts $1.7 Billion Loss http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E6D7113FF930A35757C0A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 June 15 Stakes in Weak French Carriers Add to Swissair Woes http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07EED91631F936A25755C0A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 July 04 Brussels Sues Swissair In Move to Aid Sabena http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E3D91E39F937A35754C0A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 August 31 Deep in Debt, Swissair to Cut Back http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04E1D61230F932A0575BC0A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 October 02 Much of Swissair Seeks Bankruptcy http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DE7DB123DF931A35753C1A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 October 03 Lacking Cash, Swissair Grounds All Its Flights http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4DC103DF930A35753C1A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 October 04 Governments Intervene to Prop Up Ailing Airlines http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE5DA1E3DF937A35753C1A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 October 05 Swissair Returns to the Skies After a 48-Hour Halt http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E0DB163CF936A35753C1A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 October 09 Amid Financial Wrangling, Swissair Gets Half Its Flights Into the Air http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E7D9103CF93AA35753C1A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 October 18 Europe Agrees to Belgian Rescue of Sabena http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E1DD143EF93BA25753C1A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2001 November 06 Swissair Makes Deal With E.D.S. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE5D61539F935A35752C1A9679C8B63 New York Times, 2002 March 02 Switzerland: Airline Protects Name http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E2DD1E31F931A35750C0A9649C8B63 New York Times, 2002 July 13 Their Watchword Efficiency, Swiss Recoil at Air Disasters http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE5DD1E30F930A25754C0A9649C8B63 New York Times, 2002 November 06 European Airlines Are Profitable, Despite Problems http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E7D9133EF935A35752C1A9649C8B63 New York Times, 2003 March 28 Panel Links Faulty Wiring To '98 Crash Of Swiss Jet http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07EFDE1F30F93BA15750C0A9659C8B63 New York Times, 2003 April 16 Travel Slump Imperils Swissair's Successor http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804E6D7113BF935A25757C0A9659C8B63 New York Times, 2005 April 02 Fire Risk Found in Some Boeing Insulation; F.A.A. Seeks Substitute http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CE3DF113FF931A35757C0A9639C8B63 New York Times, 2008 August 13 The Flight 31 Evacuation: An Overreaction?
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/
New York Times, 2008 September 13 Internet in the Sky: Surf but Don't Call The nice thing about a long-haul flight is you've got time to do a lot of different things... You can read. You can watch the movie or, on a few airlines, enjoy live satellite television. You can work, eat, drink or sleep. And now, thanks to new technology, you can get broadband Internet service on your laptop... But one thing you may not do is use that Internet hookup for VoIP, the voice over Internet protocol services provided by companies like Skype... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/business/14essay.html Table of Contents |
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RCMPSwissair Flight 111 ArchiveRCMP, 1998 September 17RCMP establishes DNA patterns for more than 142 victims of Swissair crash http://web.archive.org/web/20030719172646/www.rcmp.ca/news/1998/nr-98-12.htm
These links were accessed and found to be valid on 7 September 2008. Table of Contents |
Air Safety WeekSwissair Flight 111 Archivenewsletter on air safety and security issues... — WashingtonPost.com 13 February 2004 discussion: PBS NOVA: Crash of Flight 111, Aviation Crash Investigation 290 stories Air Safety Week, 1998 September 07 News Briefs Reports of the crash of Swissair Flight 111 triggered massive news coverage just as we were going to press... • Sources relate that the electrical system on this MD-11, delivered new in 1991, was wired principally with an aromatic polyimide tape insulated wire... This type of wire insulation burns violently when electrical arcing occurs. When ignited, this type of insulation creates more smoke than several other types of common aircraft wire insulation... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_36_12/ai_50342688 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 14 The Final Minutes Of Swissair Flight 111 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_37_12/ai_50350269 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 14 News Briefs A bad experience: Polyimid tape insulated wire (Kapton) of the kind used on the Swissair MD-11 that crashed recently has not performed well for the U.S. military – so poorly, in fact, that it is being removed... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_37_12/ai_50350271 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 14 Wiring Woes Can Be Predicted, Offering Potential To Prevent Accidents Caused By Electrical System Malfunctions ...aircraft wiring is a hot topic in the wake of the crash of Swissair Flight 111, where more evidence is surfacing that the crew was faced with a massive electrical malfunction, perhaps aggravated by wiring with a record of substandard in-service durability... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_37_12/ai_50350266 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 14 Proclaimed Reliability & Safety of MD-11 Not Supported by Data http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_37_12/ai_50350268 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 21 Industry-wide Assessment of Aircraft Wiring to be Announced Soon ...A massive electrical failure is the scenario now under closest scrutiny by investigators of the Swissair crash. The aromatic polyimide (Kapton) wiring on the aircraft, although resistant to burning at lower temperatures, flares brilliantly under the intense 10,000 degrees F heat of an electrical short circuit... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_38_12/ai_50355134 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 21 Battery Backup Can Prevent Gaps In Data Collection http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_38_12/ai_50355162 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 21 Orders for Emergency Vision Equipment Pouring in After Report of 'Smoke in the Cockpit' From Swissair Flight 111 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_38_12/ai_50355130 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 28 An Item That May Bear on the Crash of Swissair Flight 111 ...Between 1993 and 1995, a number of incidents involving flame propagation on thermal acoustical insulation blankets have been reported... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_39_12/ai_50359558 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 28 MD-11 Among Highest With Reported Fuel Dump Problems Shortly before Swissair Flight 111 crashed, the pilots were laboring intensely to dump fuel... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_39_12/ai_50359563 Air Safety Week, 1998 September 28 News Briefs ...emergency back-up battery power for flight data and cockpit voice recorders... problems with data lost in the crucial moments before the crash... ValuJet 592, TWA 800, SilkAir 185 and Swissair 111.... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_39_12/ai_50359545 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 05 Carriers Commit to Aiding Families of Aviation Disasters http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_12/ai_50364472 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 05 Swissair-Delta Get High Marks For Disaster Response http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_12/ai_50364482 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 05 Model-by-Model Wiring Inspections Needed To Assure Safety of Aging Electrical Systems http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_12/ai_5036447 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 05 News Briefs Thermal acoustical insulation: ...One, known as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) more commonly referred to by the trade name Mylar, resists tearing and is resistant to low heat. But it also can burn readily in a fully-developed fire. This type of liner is believed to have been installed in the MD-11 involved in the Swissair crash... The front face of the PET blanket sample was totally consumed when subjected to the cotton swab test... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_12/ai_50364476 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 12 Concerns About Kapton Wiring Raised Two Decades Ago http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_41_12/ai_53086607 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 12 All Versions of DC-10 Under Scrutiny for Potential Electrical Fire Problem http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_41_12/ai_53086609 in 1990, was a successor to the Douglas DC-10 that began commercial service in 1971. Air Safety Week, 1998 October 12 Smoke in Cockpits and Cabins Causing Weekly Rate of Precautionary Landings http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_41_12/ai_53086605 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 19 News Briefs Batteries not included: Rudolf Kapustin relates that the idea of back-up battery power for flight data and cockpit voice recorders (FDRs and CVRs) has been knocked around for twenty years or more... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_42_12/ai_53104233 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 19 Insulation Versus Wiring: Multiple Hull Teardowns? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_42_12/ai_53104229 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 26 Smoke and Fire Awareness Self-Test http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_43_12/ai_53140716 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 26 Vulnerability of Avionics Bays To Runaway Fires A Growing Concern http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_43_12/ai_53140721 Air Safety Week, 1998 October 26 News Briefs Safer materials: The MD-11 now infamous as the Swissair Flight 111 accident aircraft was built with Kapton wiring insulation and metalized Mylar film on its thermal/acoustic insulation blankets. Since the Sept. 2 crash, the fire safety of both materials has been challenged by various sources... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_43_12/ai_53140720 Air Safety Week, 1998 November 02 Entertainment System Electrical Problems Uncommon, But Do Occur http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_44_12/ai_53174131 Air Safety Week, 1998 November 02 News Briefs Precautionary shut-down: The discovery of heat-damaged wire in the recovered cockpit remains of Swissair Flight 111 prompted the carrier to announce last Thursday that it was de-activating the individual in-flight entertainment systems on its fifteen MD-11 and its three B747 jets as a precautionary measure... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_44_12/ai_53174134 Air Safety Week, 1998 November 09 Cause of Electrical Anomalies Two Years Ago Still Eludes Experts Software, Flight Manual Changes For All 757/767s Coming Early in 1999 ...Unlike the electrical failures on Swissair Flight 111, which led to the loss of all 229 aboard, the Martinair case had a happy ending. With a relief captain aboard for the long flight, a third crewmember was available (unlike the case on the Swissair MD-11) to assume from his jumpseat position part of the intense workload the crew experienced managing the increasingly erratic pattern of electrical failures... The case is relevant to some of the controversy surrounding the Swissair 111 tragedy. It took a 3-man crew to bring the Martinair emergency to a happy conclusion (in daylight, in good weather, with no smoke in the cockpit or an out-of-control fire). Just as cockpit voice and flight data recorder (CVR and FDR) information was lost on the Swissair MD-11, the power interruptions on the Martinair 767 caused the loss of FDR data and, after the landing, the CVR was left running for 30 minutes, which erased all the cockpit conversation for the final critical moments of the flight... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_45_12/ai_53202006 Air Safety Week, 1998 November 09 Barrier Could Enhance Fire Safety on Commercial Aircraft ...The spectacular flammability of Mylar-lined blankets, which may have contributed to the Sept. 2 crash of Swissair Flight 111, is believed to have been a major factor in the FAA's recent announcement... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_45_12/ai_53202008 Air Safety Week, 1998 November 16 Swissair Flight 111 Accident Puts Spotlight on Wiring Practices Decision to Connect Entertainment System to Essential Electrics Questioned http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_46_12/ai_53230618 Air Safety Week, 1998 November 16 Swissair Flight 111 Captain Made The Right Call http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_46_12/ai_53230619 Air Safety Week, 1998 November 16 Faulty Installation Causes An Electrical Fire http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_46_12/ai_53230623 Air Safety Week, 1998 November 16 An Option for Combating Electrical Fires: The Virgin Bus ...The action of the ADG coming up to speed and assuming its generator load would automatically kick out all the normal busses. The aircraft would then be on a stand-alone virgin bus with about a 65% load of get-home items... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_46_12/ai_53230620 Air Safety Week, 1998 November 23 Cruel Lessons of Aircraft Fires Mandate More, Not Marginal Capability ...He had no idea if it is a false warning (the false alarm rate is about 160:1), or if a fire is raging down below that could soon burn through the belly compartment and spread through the aircraft... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_47_12/ai_53262106 Air Safety Week, 1998 December 07 Swissair Coping With Another MD-11 Emergency http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_48_12/ai_53375247 Air Safety Week, 1998 December 07 News Briefs The "grandfathering" policy stands: At the recent Aircraft Fire & Cabin Safety Conference, considerable concern was generated among attendees when FAA officials appeared to be waffling on the issue of "grandfathering" certain types of thermal acoustic insulation. In mid-October, the FAA announced an accelerated program to remove blankets featuring metalized Mylar film... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_48_12/ai_53375237 Air Safety Week, 1998 December 14 News Briefs More Swissair Flight 111 fallout: The FAA issued an airworthiness directive (AD 98-25-11) Dec. 10 calling on all MD-11 operators to inspect the area around the forward left and right passenger doors for frayed, chafed wiring. Inspections and any needed repairs must be accomplished within ten days of the effective date of the AD, which is Dec. 28th. The situation presents the potential danger for an electrical fire... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_49_12/ai_53414780 Air Safety Week, 1998 December 21 Danger of Continuous Smoke Not Tested for Certification ...The presence of smoke in a fire emergency also underscores a fundamental tenet of aviation: to effect an emergency landing, the pilot must be able to read vital instruments and to see outside. Yet testing for the worst-case condition remains inadequate... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_50_12/ai_53455291 Air Safety Week, 1999 January 04 "Within Seconds Something Very Serious Must Have Happened" Swissair's Chief Safety Pilot Says of Flight 111 Crash Interview Reveals New Details http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_1_13/ai_53518400 Air Safety Week, 1999 January 04 Numerous Safety Issues To Characterize 1999 The high-profile crash of Swissair Flight 111 will bring to the fore a host of topics that Canadian investigators and their U.S. counterparts must address... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_1_13/ai_53518399 Air Safety Week, 1999 January 18 "Expedited" Action Urged To Fix MD-11 Wiring Safety Deficiencies http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_3_13/ai_53605596 Air Safety Week, 1999 January 25 Fall-back System Seen as Means of Bypassing Disabling Electrical Fires http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_4_13/ai_53646343 Air Safety Week, 1999 January 25 News Briefs The Ostriches Anonymous Association, a group dedicated to promoting aviation safety and risk awareness... • Aviation Axioms of Oliver Ostrich, If you need an accident to recognize a flight safety problem, you are part of the problem... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_4_13/ai_53646347 Air Safety Week, 1999 January 25 Catastrophes Start Small The Swissair MD-11 accident has opened a lot of eyes about many different aspects of coping with fire in the cockpit. Of course, the investigation is as yet incomplete but enough is known for us to make some reasonable assumptions: The pilots were not sufficiently alarmed at the outset for them to try and rush to land... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_4_13/ai_53646344 Air Safety Week, 1999 February 01 More Action, Less Talk on Cabin Safety Urged ...Cabin fires: A piecemeal approach has been the norm. Fire-blocking seat fabrics have been introduced, but other cabin materials feature flammability and smoke or toxic emission hazards that have not been addressed. "We need look no further than the recent (Swissair) MD-11 tragedy near Halifax to see that a holistic approach to this subject is needed," declared Ken Smart, AAIB... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_5_13/ai_53691141 Air Safety Week, 1999 February 01 News Briefs Going back into the water: Speaking at the conference, Benoit Bouchard, chairman of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, described the TSB's investigation into the Sep. 2 crash of Swissair Flight 111 as an "extremely complex, multi-layered investigation." Recovery has been more difficult than U.S. investigators experienced with TWA Flight 800, where the wreckage was strewn across a sandy bottom. At Halifax, the ocean bottom is littered with rocks. Benoit showed a video clip of investigators literally picking parts out of piles of rocks hauled up from the bottom. "We don't yet have what we need to perform a wiring and electrical system analysis," he said. Accordingly, divers will resume their efforts in March, when the ocean surface is calmer... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_5_13/ai_53691140 Air Safety Week, 1999 February 08 "Nasty Threats" Seen In Recent MD-11 Airworthiness Directives ..."The FAA is waking up to the wiring problem, even though they are officially denying it"... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_6_13/ai_53739488 Air Safety Week, 1999 February 22 News Briefs In the wake of the Swissair Flight 111 disaster, the Aviation Consumer Action Project launched a letter to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey making three sweeping recommendations: • 1. Immediately restrict MD-11s to flights where they can make emergency landings within ten minutes. • 2. Require that all fly-by-wire airliners have manual controls that will allow pilots to control and land the aircraft in case of failure of electronic controls, through retrofit and in new production. • 3. Require fire suppression and detection systems in all parts of airliners by the end of 1999. A few observations are in order... Regarding point #3, ACAP pointed out in its letter to Administrator Garvey that "current modern airliner designs generally have less fire detection and suppression than is required in a restaurant kitchen." http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_8_13/ai_53951160 Air Safety Week, 1999 February 22 News Briefs Observations on institutions: In a recent interview, consumer advocate Ralph Nader offered a few thoughts on the culture and performance of the two top agencies charged with safety: • On the Federal Aviation Administration: "The institutional history of the FAA is to be very protective and very indentured to the aircraft manufacturers and the airlines. That's their culture... So the image abroad of the FAA as an arms-length regulatory agency with extraordinary resources and expertise, and that's not the case." Nader described the FAA as "your paradigm captive regulatory agency"... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_8_13/ai_53951160/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 1999 February 22 News Briefs Who's aboard in the event of a crash: Since last October, all domestic airlines flying overseas and all foreign flag carriers flying out of U.S. airports have been required to maintain a list of contact names and telephone numbers for all passengers for speedy notification in the event of an accident. The list, along with the passenger manifest, must be submitted to the U.S. Department of State within one hour after the carrier is aware of an accident... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_8_13/ai_53951160 Air Safety Week, 1999 March 01 News Briefs Missing pieces of the puzzle: Canadian investigators into the crash of Swissair Flight 111 plan to send divers back into the waters off Halifax in an attempt to find the cockpit smoke/electrical switch, which has various positions allowing the flight crew to turn off one-third of the airplane's electrical systems in sequence, as part of the process of locating the system in which an electrical problem is occurring and killing the power to that system as a means of stanching an electrical fire. The final position of the switch can reveal much... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_9_13/ai_54000636/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 1999 March 08 Swissair Action Sets Precedent for Liability http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_10_13/ai_54060188 Air Safety Week, 1999 March 08 Tougher Insulation Blanket Flammability Standards Could Take a Decade To Implement in the Fleet http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_10_13/ai_54060181 Air Safety Week, 1999 March 08 New Recommendations Coming Soon from Canadian Safety Board http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_10_13/ai_54060184 Air Safety Week, 1999 March 22 Regulatory Action To Exceed Recent Flight Recorder Recommendations http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_12_13/ai_54190612 Air Safety Week, 1999 March 29 News Briefs Flight data recorders, the sequel: Safety Board Member George Black pretty much summed up the NTSB's prevailing frustration with the history of dilatory FAA responses to pleas for improved flight data recording capability: "I fail to understand how something so good can be so sluggishly responded to." http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_13_13/ai_54247112 Air Safety Week, 1999 April 05 Industry Ready to Fill 'Appalling' Inflight Recording Gap http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_14_13/ai_54306485 Air Safety Week, 1999 April 12 News Briefs 13-minute gap: Canadian investigators announced last week they are trying to determine the significance of a gap in radio communications between Swissair Flight 111 and U.S. air traffic controllers at Boston. After the aircraft was assigned a frequency change, the Boston Center was unable to contact the airplane for about 13 minutes (although the aircraft was tracked on radar throughout this time). Eleven minutes after radio contact was re-established, the aircraft was handed over to Canadian controllers. Because the accident aircraft was equipped with only a 30-minute cockpit voice recorder, any cockpit communications, or attempts to transmit on the radio during the 13-minute gap, were recorded over. That is another reason, Canadian officials declared, they recommended a 2-hour capability for all CVRs. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_15_13/ai_54365245 Air Safety Week, 1999 April 19 Airline Industry Can Benefit from Military Onboard Fire Experience http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_16_13/ai_54428998 Air Safety Week, 1999 April 19 News Briefs Emergency inspection: Evidence of a below-deck electrical fire that melted adjacent thermal-acoustic insulation blanketing prompted the FAA to order immediate inspections of some 62 MD-11 aircraft. When maintenance personnel at Santa Barbara Aerospace in San Bernardino, California, opened up an MD-11 freighter for a maintenance "C" check March 29 they found evidence that the Kapton wiring had arced. The intense heat had completely melted away a 60 by 20-inch section of metalized mylar thermal acoustic insulation blanketing. Kapton wiring and metalized mylar blankets also were installed in the Swissair MD-11 that crashed last September (in Nova Scotia)... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_16_13/ai_54429002/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 1999 May 10 News Briefs Mixing wire types: This item from an internal Boeing document, a Fleet Issues Summary Report of March 1998, illustrates the kind of wiring problems that can occur with wiring, even in the relatively protected cabin area. It concerns chafing and arcing of passenger seat wiring for ACESS (advanced cabin entertainment and service system), the standard passenger service/entertainment system offered on the Boeing 747-400: "...Kapton wiring can chafe, short and arc"... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_19_13/ai_54615537 Air Safety Week, 1999 May 10 Advanced Recorders Can Help Understand and Prevent Accidents http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_19_13/ai_54615534 Air Safety Week, 1999 May 17 Safest Pilots, Mechanics and Heart Surgeons Share Common Coping Skills http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_20_13/ai_54665079 Air Safety Week, 1999 May 17 Forgetting Precedent the Most Significant Human Error in Aviation http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_20_13/ai_54665096 Air Safety Week, 1999 May 24 News Briefs Media hit: The influence of the press on aviation safety policy is not new... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_21_13/ai_54721692/pg_1 Air Safety Week, 1999 May 24 New Statistics Show Need To Improve Air Safety Record http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_21_13/ai_54721693 Air Safety Week, 1999 June 07 Immediate Response a Model to Emulate http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_23_13/ai_54827310 Air Safety Week, 1999 June 14 Recently Translated German Investigation of Inflight Fire Underscores Need to Land and Evacuate http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_24_13/ai_54890278 Air Safety Week, 1999 June 14 News Briefs Not off the hook: In its $100 million lawsuit against Swissair, the manufacturer of the interactive inflight entertainment system installed in the accident airplane, Interactive Flight Technologies, declared that the wiring connecting its system to the accident aircraft had been exonerated by Canadian investigators of the Flight 111 crash. The assertion may be a bit premature... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_24_13/ai_54890277/pg_3 Air Safety Week, 1999 June 21 Modernized Warsaw System Gives Passengers More Legal Clout New Convention also equalizes liability exposure for carriers http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_25_13/ai_54964874 Air Safety Week, 1999 June 21 News Briefs Seeing through smoke: On June 16th the FAA certified the Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS), manufactured by VisionSafe Corp. of Hawaii... In the wake of the 1998 crash of Swissair flight 111, the company's order book for EVAS has swelled. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_25_13/ai_54964878 Air Safety Week, 1999 June 28 Inflight Fire Procedures Bulletin Sparks Sharp Reactions http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_26_13/ai_55024312 Air Safety Week, 1999 July 05 Investigators Plan Electrical Component Tests In Search for Cause of Swissair MD-11 Fire http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_27_13/ai_55092382 Air Safety Week, 1999 July 05 News Briefs New emergency procedure: In the wake of the Swissair Flight 111 tragedy, more pilots seem prone to landing quickly in the event of an inflight electrical fire. For some two months now, pilots with one major carrier in Germany reportedly have adopted an unofficial new procedure. It's called "Zack, Rum, Rein." Roughly translated, it means "Quick, (turn) around, land (into the field)." The procedure is being passed along by word-of-mouth... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_27_13/ai_55092386 Air Safety Week, 1999 July 05 News Briefs ...wire insulation comprises about 40 percent of the weight of wire, and as a weight-saving measure the tendency in the industry has been to use the least thickness that will get the job done. Aircraft wiring insulation can be as thin as four mils, roughly the thickness of four human hairs laid side by side. This very thin insulation makes the wire susceptible to chafing and nicking, exposing the conductor and creating the potential for dangerous electrical arcing. By one estimate, doubling the thickness of the insulation probably would not add much more than 100 pounds or so to the weight of the aircraft while vastly improving durability.... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_27_13/ai_55092386 Note (re item above): The wire insulation thickness of "four mils" (four thousandths of an inch) is one-tenth of a millimetre. Corrections Urged to Safety Inspections http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_28_13/ai_55145855 Air Safety Week, 1999 July 12 Near-Tragedy Illustrates Shortcomings in Combating In-flight Fires http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_28_13/ai_55145856 Air Safety Week, 1999 July 12 A Terrifying Tale of In-flight Fire http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_28_13/ai_55145857 Air Safety Week, 1999 July 19 Safety of Aging Aircraft Electrical Systems Under Unprecedented Examination http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_29_13/ai_55209911 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 02 Cockpit Smoke Brings Widebody Close to Ditching Over Atlantic http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_31_13/ai_55349676 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 09 News Briefs Sniff test: Three weeks before the Sept. 2 crash of Swissair flight 111, the purser on the same airplane reported a strange acid-like smell in the cabin after a flight from Zurich to Hong Kong... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_32_13/ai_55418469 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 09 News Briefs Open to negotiation: Boeing and Swissair announced last week an agreement to jointly assume responsibility for damage payments to families of the victims of Swissair Flight 111. The proposal was announced during an Aug. 5 pretrial hearing at a U.S. federal court in Philadelphia, Pa. The apportionment formula was not disclosed, nor was the impact on the various insurance companies. However, the proposed arrangement is estimated to cost the insurers somewhere in the range of $500 million to $800 million... The offer is significant; it represents the first time that liability has been agreed upon before legal action has even started, sources say... The carriers admit nothing but have relieved plaintiffs of the burden of having to prove negligence, a costly process that can take years... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_32_13/ai_55418469 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 16 A Brief History of In-Flight Insulation Blanket Fires http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_33_13/ai_55493381 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 16 Metalized Mylar Insulation Must Be Replaced http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_33_13/ai_55493385 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 16 News Briefs Not satisfied; go further: The program to replace metalized Mylar insulation does not go far enough, argues Transport 2000 Canada, a non-profit multi-modal passenger interest group. With Canadian passengers exposed to "an unnecessary risk" for the next four years while the insulation is replaced, Transport Canada, the equivalent of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, should take a number of additional steps, the group argues. Among them: • Provide public notice of foreign airlines flying into Canada that have this type of insulation. • Develop improved test standards for aircraft electrical wiring... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_33_13/ai_55493384 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 23 News Briefs A question of timing: ...FAA officials suspected last fall that the metalized Mylar in the Swissair MD-11 that crashed in Sept. 1998 may have contributed to the flame spread of the in-flight fire that is widely believed to have caused the crash. What took the Canadians so long to make their recommendations? After all, they had expressed their concerns about the wiring on the MD-11 last December, which led to a flurry of corrective activity... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_34_13/ai_55550140 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 23 News Briefs Paper weight: Occasionally, one hears that the downside of adding a particular safety feature to an airplane is the added weight (for example, the 50-100 lbs. that would be added to the DC-9 by retrofitting fire detection and suppression equipment in the belly hold). One industry source recently suggested that such arguments should viewed in the context of the weight of items provided for the amusement of the passengers, as opposed to adding to their safety. For example, what is the total weight of magazines and mail-order catalogues contained in the seat-back pockets?... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_34_13/ai_55550140 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 30 Safety Concerns Buffet Industry on Anniversary of Crash at Halifax http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_35_13/ai_55624480 Air Safety Week, 1999 August 30 Crash Anniversary Marks Significant Improvement In Disaster Response... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_35_13/ai_55624481 Air Safety Week, 1999 September 06 A Pilot Perspective on Maintenance and Safety http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_36_13/ai_55694279 Air Safety Week, 1999 September 13 Wires and Fires http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_37_13/ai_55745842 Air Safety Week, 1999 September 13 In-Flight Entertainment System Installation Found Deficient http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_37_13/ai_55745831 Air Safety Week, 1999 September 20 Competent To Comment A new checklist is needed for coping with in-flight smoke and fires along the lines hinted at, but not endorsed, in Boeing's MD-11 supplemental bulletin of last June... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_38_13/ai_55813713 Air Safety Week, 1999 September 20 Hazard Posed by Bad Aircraft Wiring Under Congressional Scrutiny http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_38_13/ai_55813705 Air Safety Week, 1999 September 20 Major Carriers Agree To Share Post-Crash Costs http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_38_13/ai_55813718 Air Safety Week, 1999 September 20 One Tough Test After the Federal Aviation Administration announced its new radiant heat and propane flame test for thermal/acoustic insulation blankets, we received a number of messages suggesting that this test was not sufficiently demanding... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_38_13/ai_55813709 Air Safety Week, 1999 September 27 Aging Aircraft Conference Focuses on Electrical Systems http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_39_13/ai_55909844 Air Safety Week, 1999 September 27 News Briefs A different approach: Traditionally, the airline industry has routed wires in bundles, shielding different types of wires in the same bundle. Raytheon Systems Co. of Indianapolis, Indiana, offers an approach that replaces bundles with ribbons of wire. The technology, known as Ribbonized, Organized, Integrated (ROI) wiring, is considered particularly appropriate for low-voltage, low-current signals such as those found in current avionics and flight control systems.... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_39_13/ai_55909847/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 04 No Longer Valid More than a year after Swissair Flight 111 crashed... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_13/ai_56001790/pg_1 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 04 Prototype First ...Swissair will change out the insulation in a prototype effort commencing Oct. 18, 1999, on one of its MD-11s, with work slated to conclude Sept. 12... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_13/ai_56001783 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 04 Significant Relationship ...the industry does not know how many bare wires are flying today, and on which aircraft... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_13/ai_56001793 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 04 Kapton Wire Replacement in Jetliners Could Dwarf Military Efforts http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_13/ai_56001785 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 04 A Perspective on the Aging Wire Problem http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_13/ai_56001797 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 04 Thrice Burned Three fires occurred over a 2-year period... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_40_13/ai_56001789 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 18 Now It Gets Serious ...a wire welded itself to a screw... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_42_13/ai_56644108 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 18 Confession ...the circuit breakers in your house are more advanced than those in commercial aircraft... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_42_13/ai_56644109 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 18 Healthy Circuits Don't Trip http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_42_13/ai_56644110 Air Safety Week, 1999 October 25 New gear ...The upgraded gear Delta is purchasing does not guarantee a successful outcome in an emergency. The emergency kit for the pilots of Swissair Flight 111 aircraft that crashed in 1998 included fullface, one-piece masks and goggles... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_43_13/ai_56910625 Air Safety Week, 1999 November 01 A New Approach to Cockpit and Cabin Fire Safety http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_44_13/ai_57165106 Air Safety Week, 1999 November 08 Promising Results More than 20,000 additional pounds of the remains of the Swissair Flight 111 MD-11 have been sucked up from the bottom of the crash site at Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia... A suction dredge was used in an effort to retrieve more pieces of the wreckage, especially of the cockpit and forward area of the airplane... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_45_13/ai_57439976 Air Safety Week, 1999 November 22 Meeting ...Did the Navy know something about electrical wiring that was not effectively transferred to commercial aviation? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_47_13/ai_57788794 Air Safety Week, 1999 December 06 Famous First Words A highly-pertinent example...of hazardous infringements...and the need for competent and rigorous regulatory oversight, involves the installation of the interactive in-flight entertainment network in the Swissair MD-11 that crashed in Halifax, Canada, Sept. 2, 1998. While the source of the electrical fire has not yet been determined, the IFEN was among the earliest suspects... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_48_13/ai_58058532 Air Safety Week, 1999 December 13 More Wiring Woes http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_49_13/ai_58237913 Air Safety Week, 1999 December 20 Severe Environment Electrical Cabling Can Add Durability and Safety http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_50_13/ai_58323732 Air Safety Week, 1999 December 20 Incandescent Three cases of fire or significant heat damage on MD-11 aircraft have prompted the NTSB to recommend... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_50_13/ai_58323728 Air Safety Week, 1999 December 20 Coincidental Development ...The effort features two overall thrusts: to assess the hazard posed by wiring (smoke, overheats, electrical system design, etc.) and to improve crew capability for coping with in-flight fire... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_50_13/ai_58323729 Air Safety Week, 2000 January 24 Airflow tests ...Fire development is influenced by airflow... To determine how a fire may have spread... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_4_14/ai_58946883 Air Safety Week, 2000 January 24 Discrepancies Discovered in Visual Inspections of Aging Aircraft Electrical Systems ...the report did not outline the nature of the 3,000 items, such as the number or percent involving chafed wire, inadequately supported wire bundles, inadequate grounding, etc. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_4_14/ai_58946880 Air Safety Week, 2000 January 31 Major Electrical System Modifications Slated for MD-11 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_5_14/ai_59115928 Air Safety Week, 2000 January 31 Wire degradation is age related http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_59115933 Air Safety Week, 2000 January 31 More on the MD-11 airflow tests ...As one pilot quipped, the smell of burning wire insulation may well alert the cockpit crew to the dismaying fact that the rest of the day is not likely to go according to plan... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_59115939 Air Safety Week, 2000 February 07 Six Reasons http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_5_14/ai_59242924 Air Safety Week, 2000 February 07 Head In The Sand Award ...Ostriches Anonymous Association... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_59242931 Air Safety Week, 2000 March 06 Flurry of Actions to Improve Safety of MD-11's http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_59816779 Air Safety Week, 2000 March 06 If Temped to Reset Circuit Breakers - Don't Pilots Union Urges New Policy http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_59816783 Air Safety Week, 2000 March 20 Remove Data Before Impact http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_60475900 Air Safety Week, 2000 March 27 Cockpit Map Light Possible Culprit in Swissair MD-11 Crash http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_12_14/ai_60835447 Air Safety Week, 2000 April 10 Electrical arcing - orientation matters http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_61433675 Air Safety Week, 2000 April 17 Safety Board Calls for Cameras in the Cockpit http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_61565144 Air Safety Week, 2000 April 17 Maintenance Errors Appear to Contribute to More Accidents http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_65027271 Air Safety Week, 2000 April 24 Potential In-Flight Fire Events Occur Daily; Many in Inaccessible Areas http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_61655312 Air Safety Week, 2000 April 24 April Shower of Directives Suggests Electrical Design Flaws for MD-11 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_61655313 Air Safety Week, 2000 April 24 Report Falls Short in Assessment of "Supreme Court of Aviation Safety" http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_61655316 Aviation Today Preliminary Commentary on the RAND Corporation Study: "Safety in the Skies - Personnel and Parties in NTSB Aviation Accident Investigations" by C. O. Miller, Sedona, Arizona 27 March 2000 Solution to camera controversy? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_61867493 Air Safety Week, 2000 May 01 Rising Tide of Criminal Prosecutions Threatens Flow of Vital Safety Information http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_61867491 Air Safety Week, 2000 May 29 Directives to Keep MD-11 Flying Safe to Top the Century Mark ...The avalanche of airworthiness directives far exceeds the number of directives issued on other airliners, particularly in the relatively short interval of some 18 months since the program was launched. The activity is a direct outgrowth of the September 1998 crash of a Swissair MD-11 in Canada... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_63018893 Air Safety Week, 2000 May 29 AD's a Go-Go A number of questions were posed to the Federal Aviation Administration about the growing list of MD-11 airworthiness directives (AD's)... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_63018894 Air Safety Week, 2000 May 29 Still looking for a map light http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_63018899 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 05 Burning Blankets: A Chronology of Fire Hardening http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_23_14/ai_62558692 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 05 Industry Given Five Years to Root Out and Replace Insulation http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62558691 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 12 More than first reported http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62714295 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 12 Airline Given Choice: Reform or Face Incremental Grounding ...threat of corporate death by slow strangulation... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62714289 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 12 "Show Cause" Letter Reveals Concern About Internal Controls You have seven days... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62714296 Note: The next item has nothing to do with Swissair 111, but it is an irresistible gem. Props To Jets Airplanes can be designed to go high and fast or low and slow, but not both... ... Slightly over 40 years ago we began the move from piston engines and propeller-driven air transports to jets...Cruising speed, altitude and range were all doubled. Flying time was halved. A miserable twelve-hour flight in bumpy air across the Atlantic Ocean became a tolerable six-hour flight in the smooth air of high altitude. Safety was significantly improved because of the reliability of the jet engine and the opportunity to fly in a much better weather regime. Unfortunately, these benefits came at a price. We designed ourselves into some problems that we never had before. Takeoff and landing speeds were also doubled along with runway lengths. As speeds increased, crash survival became significantly more difficult... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62714290 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 19 Why air crashes are different http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62833862 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 19 Another perspective on air crashes ...Airline crashes are always big news because they are such rare events... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62833863 Note: At the end of the item above, this appears: For the full text, see the NTSB website: http://www.ntsb.gov/speeches/jhc000406.htm This text is no longer available there. It has been moved to: Remarks by Jim Hall, Chairman, NTSB before the Aviation Safety Alliance Media Seminar Washington, D.C., April 6, 2000 Wiring Matters: An Overview of the Aircraft Wiring Issue ...New jets feature more wiring carrying more current. The cabin area of a new-production jet, for example, features wiring for such things as in-flight entertainment systems... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62833854 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 19 Electrical & Fuel System Problems Dominate Douglas Aircraft Airworthiness Directives http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62833864 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 19 Video Cameras in the Cockpits? ...We really don't have to store the recorded data on the plane itself. We could electronically dump all those bits and bytes via satellite or radio and store them any place we like. We could even rig the system to automatically destroy the data in 24 hours if no one asks for it. This technology has existed for a number of years and Boeing will sell it as a maintenance option. Lauda Air of Austria bought it with their B-767s and it was very useful in the investigation of their plane that crashed near Bangkok in 1991. The FDR was never recovered and was probably stolen by looters who were first on the wreckage scene. The airplane had already transmitted significant data to the airline headquarters in Vienna and the Lauda Air representative brought it with him. Why don't we do that?... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62833855 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 19 Submitted on time A seven day deadline was met on the seventh day... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62833857 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 26 New Technologies Demonstrate Ability to Defeat Aircraft Fires http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62990720 Air Safety Week, 2000 June 26 Deferred Maintenance: More Attention is Needed to the Safety Implications http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_62990721 Air Safety Week, 2000 July 10 Case in point ...As always in matters electrical, a convoluted complex emergency occurred. Coincidental multiple warnings won't always happen as a result of an arc-tracking incident but might play "follow the leader" and cause a merry chase as wires in a packed bundle are torched. Because it can burn through anything, high temperature arcing has ample scope for mischief... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_63302378 Air Safety Week, 2000 July 10 Airline leader wanted ...So far in the discussion of aging effect on aircraft wire, the focus has been on defects/damage that might cause a short circuit and an arcing event and/or a fire. Damage to 'signal' (low energy) circuits is discounted. However, there are high impedance/high gain circuits that can be disturbed by very small leakage currents... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_63302379 Air Safety Week, 2000 July 10 Downsizing the circuit breakers http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_63302360 Air Safety Week, 2000 July 31 Reversal of 'No Prosecution' Tradition Could Undermine Air Safety, Experts Fear ...All truthful statements should be inadmissible in a criminal proceeding... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_63805243 Air Safety Week, 2000 August 07 Falling Like Snow ...horrified at seeing "swarf falling like snow" on the wiring... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_63944427 Air Safety Week, 2000 August 07 Wiring Diagram The hazard posed by bad wiring increasingly is being recognized... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_63944428 Air Safety Week, 2000 September 04 Carriers Absorbing Lessons as Swissair 111 Investigation Continues http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_36_14/ai_65026084 Air Safety Week, 2000 September 04 Smoke In The Cockpit http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_65026080 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 02 Military Efforts to Cope with Wiring Woes in Aging Aircraft Promise Relief for Commercial Geriatric Jets http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_65700576 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 09 Documenting His Case http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_41_14/ai_66007400 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 09 A "Silver Bullet" Against Arcing http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66007402 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 09 A More Complete Definition of Aircraft Age ...the wiring was tested only for 50,000 hours... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66007392 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 09 Don't Get Wiped Out ...an active program to develop an arc fault circuit interrupter suitable for aircraft installation that can deal with ticking faults... You don't want to be pulsed by a radar and have all your breakers trip... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66007393 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 09 Oral Examination ...Given the problems associated with wiring and electrical systems in geriatric jets, a number of pertinent questions were suggested at the recent U.S. Navy-sponsored aircraft wiring working group... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66007397 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 09 Stronger Effort Needed to Assure Safety of Aircraft Electrical Systems ..."Is it time to reduce the number of functions in order to reduce the exposure?" he asked, referring to the proliferation of wiring-intensive in-flight entertainment systems, power ports for laptop computers, etc., which are installed for marketing purposes but which add little to the safety of the airplane. For example, there are about 26 miles [42 km] of wiring in the B737 (entered service 1968), and more than 88 miles [140 km] of wiring in the newer-design B767 (entered service 1982)... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66007388 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 09 Smokers Regarding electrical system safety, two recent events illustrate precisely what should not be happening out in the fleet... one of the most frightening near-crashes in recent memory... the Captain and First Officer smelled smoke shortly after takeoff... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66007398 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 09 Looks Familiar ...There is an aging wire issue here... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66007399 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 09 Re-energize at Your Peril "There is a latent danger in resetting circuit breakers tripped by an unknown cause, because the tripped condition is a signal that something may be wrong in the related circuit," advises the FAA with bland understatement... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66007391 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 16 Aircraft Thermal Acoustic Insulation: An Update http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66162942 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 16 An Operator's Survival Guide to Existing and Proposed Thermal Acoustic Insulation Requirements ...Thermal acoustic blanketing consists of an insulating material contained inside a form-fitting "film" similar to the way a pillowcase contains feathers or foam. In a modern jetliner, the number of such form-fitting bags providing fire (thermal) resistance and noise (acoustic) reduction can run into the hundreds. There are some 1,200 fitted blankets in an MD-80 and 3,400 in an MD-11. The thermal protection takes two forms: resistance to ignition in the presence of a fire inside the airplane, and resistance to "burnthrough" in the event of a post-crash fire outside the fuselage; that is, a fire fed by spilled fuel... The issue lay dormant until the fatal 1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111. The accident airplane, an MD-11, was outfitted with metalized Mylar thermal acoustic insulation film, which can burn when ignited by, say, the intense heat of electrical arcing. Canadian investigators found clear evidence of heat damage to the material... The alarm sounded by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada galvanized the FAA into action... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66162945 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 16 Japanese Carrier Leads the Trend to Put Safety Data on the Internet http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66162943 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 16 Dramatic turnaround needed ...Perception of the public is that it took an accident for the FAA to find something out... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66162931 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 23 Law of unintended consequences ...After the emergency landing, investigators found four 50-ampere circuit breakers popped and "several" heavy gage electrical wires severed and welded together... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66297432 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 23 Heavy burden ...as one industry observer quipped, the plating on this "silver bullet" may not be that thick. Electrical system design and installation problems, as well as problems associated with wire insulation type, will still remain... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66297433 Air Safety Week, 2000 October 23 Surprise finding ...inspections of six retired aircraft... were conducted for two purposes... One was to assess the adequacy of visual inspections. The second was to assess the state of wire in aged aircraft... In the wire bundles that were disassembled for these intrusive inspections, "We found a number of wires cut off in the bundles." They were not capped, just cut off. "Though not a degradation issue, the frequency of this finding is worth noting. We found a lot more than we'd expect"... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66297434 Air Safety Week, 2000 November 06 Safety Board Chairman Continues Push for Cockpit Video Recorders ...This recommendation was made because we didn't have adequate information about the cockpit environment in several recent major investigations, including... the Swissair flight 111 investigation. In each of these investigations, crucial information about the circumstances and physical conditions in the cockpit was simply not available to investigators, despite the availability of good data from the FDRs and CVRs... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66673169 Air Safety Week, 2000 November 13 News Briefs ...a cockpit video recorder would have helped to show the development of smoke and fire, as well as the instrument displays, in the doomed jet... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_46_14/ai_66921152/pg_1 Air Safety Week, 2000 November 13 Swarf Catcher ..."Swarf" is the term used to describe drilling chips and other debris resulting from metalwork that can fall into wire bundles. The swarf lodged in the wires can grind away under vibration, abrading insulation and leading to electrical short circuits and fires... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_66921153 Air Safety Week, 2000 November 20 Report Cites Inadequacy of 'Fit and Forget' Approach to Wiring ...Knowledge about how wire systems age and how they fail is limited... Wire systems are becoming more complex with increasing computerization of operations... Wire system maintenance is very expensive... The report focuses on additional research into such things as arc fault circuit breakers and advanced, more robust types of wire insulation – as an example, some materials exhibit a "Lazarus effect," in that their mechanical properties improve dramatically in high temperature conditions... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_67185322 Air Safety Week, 2000 November 20 Detectable degradation ...as wire ages in service, anomalies can be detected short of complete loss of function... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_67185321 Air Safety Week, 2000 December 11 Improved Fire Protection Needed for Airliners http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_49_14/ai_67871650/pg_1 Air Safety Week, 2001 January 08 Lifesaving advice ...concerned about the hazard of resetting circuit breakers more than once... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_2_15/ai_68928326 Note: In the seventh paragraph of the item above, there is a reference to: FAA information bulletin (FSAW 00-08A) The elusive Bulletin FSAW 00-08A does not now appear in the FAA website, but the New (2000) FAA Bulletin FSAW 00-08 Resetting Tripped Circuit Breakers is available – a copy has been archived in Australia. ...There is a latent danger in resetting a circuit breaker tripped by an unknown cause because the tripped condition is a signal that something may be wrong in the related circuit. Until it is determined what has caused a trip to occur, a flight-crew, maintenance, or airplane ground servicing personnel usually have no way of knowing the consequences of resetting a tripped circuit breaker. Resetting a circuit breaker tripped by an unknown cause should normally be a maintenance function conducted on the ground... [boldface emphasis added] Air Safety Week, 2001 April 30 A Pop Means a Problem ...A popped circuit breaker is telling you that something is wrong – that there has been a serious electrical event. The old rule of thumb to automatically try one reset is not prudent... Operator policies should reflect the new recognition of the inherent hazard in resetting circuit breakers... ALPA argued that the FAA's extant policy, which allowed one reset, should be modified to discourage resets... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_73890343 Air Safety Week, 2001 January 08 Three amigos ...Experiencing multiple and conflicting electrical system anomalies high over the Atlantic, the airplane made an emergency flaps-up landing at Boston's Logan airport using standby instruments. It took the full effort of a three man crew to bring the Martinair emergency to a happy conclusion (in daylight, in good weather, with no smoke in the cockpit)... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_68928327 Air Safety Week, 2001 January 15 Aviation Safety: Are We Getting Better or Worse? http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_69259223 Air Safety Week, 2001 January 15 Expanded Service Difficulty Reporting Requirement Seen as Boon For Safety Analysis There are more problems with the MD-11 than with other aircraft of the same vintage... The available data suggests that the problems associated with the MD-11 are more widespread than the many fixes mandated for the airplane's troubled electrical systems... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_69259219 Air Safety Week, 2001 March 12 Swissair to Undertake Major Modifications to MD-11 Fleet http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_11_15/ai_71627519 Air Safety Week, 2001 March 19 Courageous Action ...The MD-11 Modification Plus program Swissair is undertaking to better fire-harden its MD-11 fleet is being hailed in some quarters as a courageous action on the part of an operator that sets a mark for others to emulate... Swissair has 19 MD-11s... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_71880183 Air Safety Week, 2001 March 19 Wire System Task Force Expands Scope of Activity ...Required changes to wiring that may be improperly installed, poorly maintained or eroded by age appear to be years away... There have been six aircraft electrical fires from various causes in the past five months, at a cost of two aircrew fatalities and one hull written off as a loss. These events involve U.S. aircraft only... These recent events are not a smoking gun, but rather "cannons firing" to wake up all concerned about the hazard... Current maintenance practices are not adequate to detect degraded and damaged wire... No amount of false categorization, obscure definitions, or the scattering techniques used throughout this report can diminish the safety of flight issues... [boldface emphasis added] http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_71880179 Air Safety Week, 2001 March 19 No Detectors, No Departures, Part II ...March 19 is the deadline set three years ago to retrofit all Class D cargo holds with smoke/fire detection and suppression equipment... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_71880181 Air Safety Week, 2001 March 26 Hazards Penetrated Supplemental Certification Process ...In-flight entertainment (IFE) systems that cannot be turned off unless pilots pull circuit breakers must be modified, disconnected or removed outright... The directives stem from a wider investigative net cast by the FAA after the fiasco over the IFE installed in Swissair MD-11 and B747 aircraft. When one of the MD-11s crashed at Halifax, Canada, in 1998, and burned Kapton wires were recovered from the IFE, Swissair officials immediately ordered the same IFE installations disconnected on remaining aircraft. Circuit breakers were pulled and power cables literally were cut and capped, pursuant to complete removal at a more deliberate pace... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_13_15/ai_72329444 Air Safety Week, 2001 April 02 Interim Policy ...The IFE (in-flight entertainment) system should be connected to an electrical bus that does not supply power to airplane systems that are necessary for continued safe flight and landing... The listing of sins not to be repeated is contained in FAA bulletin 00-111-160: Interim Policy Guidance for Certification of In-Flight Entertainment Systems http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_72791891 Air Safety Week, 2001 April 23 Contingency Plan ...What about a more dire scenario, where the pilots face the real prospect of having to ditch the airplane in the ocean? Not just from engine loss, but perhaps an even more threatening specter: in-flight fire. The message now being preached at many carriers (in the wake of the Swissair Flight 111 disaster) is to get the airplane down ASAP, be it over land or water. But there's a problem: Flight crews do not train to ditch. Simulators are not programmed to reproduce a ditching, and aircraft operating manuals are discreetly silent on the procedures for ditching. Nothing seems to be written about how to ditch an aircraft even in the perfect conditions shown on the seat-back emergency cards: flat, calm water, in daylight (with the implicit assumption that engines were running and no raging electrical fire was eating the airplane's innards). The airplane's ditching checklist usually provides a couple of helpful suggestions: land along the swell; aim for a ship... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_73578133 Air Safety Week, 2001 April 30 More Coming ... MD-11 operators can expect more actions to correct wiring problems on the aircraft, according to documents recently obtained that lay out the five-phase action plan formulated by the Federal Aviation Administration in the wake of the fatal crash of a Swissair MD-11 at Halifax, Canada. Phase 5C, the last step, is to be launched this coming May, according to the overall plan; it features nine service bulletins. These documents may well become mandatory airworthiness directives... The plan reveals that the FAA determined just three months after the September 1998 Swissair crash that major work was necessary to assure the safety of MD-11 electrical systems and their installation... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_73890345 Air Safety Week, 2001 June 11 Modification Plus Program Proceeds ...The first Swissair MD-11 will undergo the carrier's proposed "Modification Plus" program during heavy maintenance next month. Changes include improved smoke detection, fire fighting, changes to certain wire routing to improve separation and redundancy... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_75476240 Air Safety Week, 2001 July 30 Modification Plus 'A moral obligation' ...At Swissair, we believe we have a responsibility and a moral obligation to do this for the Flight 111 victims and their families, and certainly for our customers and crews... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_30_15/ai_76868036 Air Safety Week, 2001 July 30 'A huge step forward' Q: In your study in the aftermath of the Flight 111 accident, you found the problems that occurred in the accident scenario were not unique to the MD-11. A: Absolutely true! It would be completely wrong to say, 'This is only an MD-11 problem...if that is solved we are all happy again.' That attitude would not be wise and it would not be fair for our crews and passengers. It is absolutely an airplane problem, whether it's an Airbus, a Boeing or a former Douglas model. In every airplane you have wires, you have computers, and that is why we are going to study the problem in the other fleets after these modifications... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_30_15/ai_76868037 Air Safety Week, 2001 July 30 Hidden Surveillance Cameras to Help Detect In-Flight Fires on Swissair Jets http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_30_15/ai_76868035 Air Safety Week, 2001 July 30 Regulators Chided for Glacial Pace of Safety Rulemaking ...To cite a few examples: (1) passenger emergency exit rules took 10 years, (2) flight simulator rules took 13 years, and (3) a revision to pilot medical standards took 14 years... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_76728561 Air Safety Week, 2001 August 20 Held forth ...While cruising at 33,000 feet, they suddenly were struck with a cascading series of electrical failures. They lost the autopilot, altimeter, engine gauges, navigational displays, and emergency lighting. They also lost electric horizontal trim. The only way they could restore power was by resetting the left generator breaker and physically holding it in place. Manually lowering the landing gear and flaps, they made an emergency landing... "This was a successful failure," recounted Capt. Edwards. "I had two thoughts: Keep it right side up and get it on the ground." http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_77355352 Air Safety Week, 2001 September 10 Canadians Call for Tougher Certification Standards Flammable materials should not be allowed in aircraft construction. Transport category airplanes are unacceptably vulnerable to the dangers of in-flight fire the day they leave the factory because of inadequate standards for determining the fire resistance of many of the materials used in their construction. Canadian officials investigating the fatal 1998 crash of a Swissair MD-11 issued a sweeping call for tougher standards at an August 28 press conference. "Combustible materials definitely contributed to this crash"... How those flammable materials were allowed to be used in the manufacture of the accident aircraft has turned into a major focus of the investigation... If arcing aromatic polyimide (Kapton) wiring bundles are in contact with or in close proximity to the flight deck's stainless steel oxygen lines, you have essentially the equivalent of an arc welder at work. Temperatures far in excess of the melting point of most (if not all) alloys of stainless steel are easily achievable... Because of the many miles of wiring in a modern airliner and the possibility of a hidden electrical fault quickly turning into a blazing inferno, the sensible solution MUST BE that the power should quickly be disconnected from the wire... [boldface emphasis added] http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_78044274 Air Safety Week, 2001 September 10 News Briefs ...All power was lost to the flight data and the cockpit voice recorders (FDR/CVR). As a result, no data was captured for the final twenty minutes of the flight, which will no doubt complicate reconstruction of the sequence of events... The need for assured electrical power, particularly to the CVR, was urged in one of the TSB's earliest recommendations from the Swissair Flight 111 investigation; in that case, nothing was recorded by the FDR/CVR in the last six minutes of the doomed airplane's flight, leaving investigators with a "black hole" of missing data. It appears that, two and half years later, this TSB recommendation, strongly supported by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), has not yet been implemented in the fleet... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_78044276 Note: In the weeks after 11 September 2001, Air Safety Week allocated most of its space to security issues such as cockpit doors, baggage searches, and traveler identification, thus diverting attention away from aging wiring and in-flight entertainment systems. That's why there is only one item here, over the next four months. Corporate culture Start-up carrier JetBlue Airways is among the minority of airlines to address safety in its website... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_79968007 Air Safety Week, 2002 January 14 News Briefs ..."'Kapton' wiring should be banned from civil as well as military aircraft"... Kapton was the general-purpose wiring installed on the Swissair MD-11 that crashed in Halifax three years ago, and the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada recently criticized test standards used to certify electrical wiring for use in aircraft. The U.S. Air Force plans to remove Kapton wiring from its fleet of B-1 bombers, and to replace all Kapton wiring with Tefzel. Reflecting the concern expressed by the TSB, an internal Air Force document declared, "Kapton has been identified as a flammable substance. Electrical wiring reliability will continue to impact safety and mission reliability." Accordingly, the Air Logistics Command "is authorized to substitute Tefzel for Kapton on any wiring harness they make"... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_2_16/ai_81771128/pg_5 Air Safety Week, 2002 February 04 Similar Safety Issues Spur Differing Responses In Commercial And Military Aviation Sectors ... Aromatic polyimide insulation: Sometimes referred to by its trade name, Kapton, the military services have restricted its use, as in the U.S. Air Force, removed it from moisture-prone areas, as in the case of the U.S. Navy, or undertaken costly programs to remove it entirely from aircraft, as did the U.S. Coast Guard in the case of its H-65 helicopters. The U.S. Army is removing this wire type gradually from its aircraft to counter a chafing problem. According to the GAO report, "As of June 2001, aromatic polyimide had been removed from 1,389 of the 1,523 Blackhawk helicopters in the Army's fleet." Even though aromatic polyimide dominated findings of the Aging Transport Systems Rulemaking Advisory Committee, the FAA has not mandated its removal... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_82493543 Air Safety Week, 2002 February 18 News Briefs ...Readers will recall that a Swissair MD-11 crashed in 1998, most likely from an in-flight electrical fire. The aircraft was equipped with metalized Mylar insulation (which is being removed and replaced with a more flame- resistant material), and with aromatic polyimide (Kapton) wiring. Given this wire's explosive nature under arcing conditions, the wiring/insulation combination may be likened to a match and tinder... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_7_16/ai_83055363/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 2002 February 25 'Immediate and Aggressive' Action Needed to Combat In-Flight Fires ...Current training requirements for combating in-flight fires are inadequate, and aircrews need a means of gaining access to the areas behind internal panels where fire may be spreading, the NTSB declared. In this respect, the safety board's recommendations mirror those of Capt. Ken Adams. A safety activist for many years, Capt. Adams participated in the Swissair Flight 111 crash postmortem as lead investigator for the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA). The Swissair jet was lost as a consequence of runaway fire in inaccessible areas behind interior panels... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_83256940 Air Safety Week, 2002 March 04 Volume of Airworthiness Directives Has Doubled in Past Decade ...Much of this AD activity relates to the MD-11, as the electrical system alone on this aircraft accounts for nearly 70 ADs issued n the past two years... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_83456229 Air Safety Week, 2002 April 08 Study Highlights High Price of Lessons Not Learned from Disasters ...The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada proclaimed last year that airliners are unacceptably vulnerable to the dangers of in-flight fire the day they leave the factory because of inadequate standards for determining the fire resistance of many of the materials used in their construction. The TSB's call for tougher standards was an outgrowth of its investigation into the fatal 1998 crash of a Swissair MD-11, most probably from a runaway fire caused by electrical arcing... [boldface emphasis added] http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_84590225 Air Safety Week, 2002 April 08 Inaction, Not Lack of Information, Is the Central Certification Problem Q: Are adequate checks and balances in place for the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) process? A: I do not believe so. The Swissair MD-11 crash in 1998 demonstrates that. Its in-flight entertainment network was installed in a way that was incompatible with the electrical design philosophy of that aircraft. But the installation received an FAA-approved STC... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_14_16/ai_84590226/pg_3 Air Safety Week, 2002 April 15 Simple Suggestion ...A straightforward idea for determining the severity of an in-flight smoke event – put smoke/fire detectors in the air conditioning ducts. Locate the detectors in the ducts at the point where the air exits the air conditioning pack on its way to the cockpit/cabin. With such detectors, aircrews would have a ready means of determining if you've got smoke coming from the pack. Delta technicians presently are fighting a plague of in-flight smoke events with their MD-88 fleet. The challenge is to locate the source of unnerving smoke. "More than 80 percent of our in-flight diverts [precautionary landings] are caused by smoke from the air conditioning packs." If crews had the means to determine which pack is generating smoke, they could simply shut down the pack... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_84811776 Air Safety Week, 2002 April 29 Expression of the week A tolerance of "risk creep" was the telling term used to describe an inadequate corporate safety culture during a recent aviation safety symposium... Examples abound of "risk creep" (as distinct from risk-taking) in the airline industry... One is: • Hard-to-read, unclear and/or time-consuming checklists for smoke in the cockpit. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_85180071 Air Safety Week, 2002 April 22 Universal Standard for Safety Audits in Final Development http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_16_16/ai_84985137 Air Safety Week, 2003 January 13 Procedures Proposed to Protect Safety of Long Range Flights You're on fire: Consider the danger of in-flight smoke and fire. The effects can compound rapidly, leading to total loss of control. In many cases, the time from initial detection of smoke to loss of the aircraft is in the range of tens of minutes, not the 3-4 hours to a divert airfield envisioned for ETOPS flights. Because of the rapidity of dire consequence, following the fatal 1998 in-flight fire of a Swissair MD-11 pilots throughout the industry were enjoined to land immediately in the event of smoke and/or fire. .. http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/1933.html Air Safety Week, 2003 February 17 Risky Business ...The ETOPS report does not address a scenario like the 1998 loss of a Swissair MD-11 from an electrically initiated fire in the ceiling area of the forward cabin and cockpit. PRA can illustrate the dependencies among system failures... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2083.html Air Safety Week, 2003 February 23 Digital Averaging - The Smoking Gun Behind 'No Fault Found' ...At testing time, when one would like to know if a connector, crimp, splice, wire, solder joint, circuit breaker or other connectivity component is working properly, the unwanted spurious noise that under the right conditions could precipitate a full-blown system failure is simply filtered out by the technology and sometimes even the test programs. Especially in the early developing stages, digital measurement equipment simply cannot see all of these age-related failure modes. Technicians and test engineers, relying on the higher accuracy of digital instruments, walk away from the problem with a false belief in the safety and reliability of the systems they are testing... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2120.html Air Safety Week, 2003 March 03 Experts Debate Solutions to 'No Fault Found' Conundrum http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2147.html Air Safety Week, 2003 April 07 Compendium of Complacency TSB's SR 111 report: • What was not being done or required before the accident... • The paucity of progress since the accident... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/2322.html Air Safety Week, 2003 April 07 Canadian Investigators Decry Lack of Preparedness for In-Flight Fire http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_14_17/ai_99726586/pg_1 Air Safety Week, 2003 April 07 The Investigators Speak http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2323.html Air Safety Week, 2003 April 14 A Perverse Case of Battery Backup ...The in-flight entertainment network installed in the Swissair MD-11 that crashed in 1998 was not the only one in which pilots could not completely deactivate the system with a single main power switch... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2354.html Air Safety Week, 2003 April 14 That's Not All, Folks Independent aviation data specialist John King has found more than 50 cases of significant system failures, smoke or fires involving cabin entertainment from 1988-2001, for an average incident rate of about four per year.. http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2355.html Air Safety Week, 2003 April 21 Precursor Events Point to System-Wide Shortcomings Before Crash http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2394.html Air Safety Week, 2003 April 21 New Fitting Can Help Fight Hidden Fires http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2395.html Air Safety Week, 2003 April 28 Pages From History A 1986 study of cabin air quality and safety by the National Research Council bears directly on issues of cabin air quality and in-flight fire discussed recently: "The use of materials that have high resistance to burning, that will not propagate a flame, and that will not generate toxic products when subjected to head loads sufficient to cause currently used materials to degenerate would constitute a distinct improvement in passenger safety and air quality in the event of an in-flight, post-crash or landing fire..." http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2422.html Air Safety Week, 2003 April 28 Conflict Of Interest http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2423.html Air Safety Week, 2003 April 28 Fire Issues Excerpts from minutes of the March 26-27, 2003, meeting in Phoenix of the International Aircraft Systems Fire Protection Working Group... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2426.html Air Safety Week, 2003 May 05 Task Force Backs Training to Improve Aircraft Wiring Safety http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2452.html Air Safety Week, 2003 June 02 Beyond Conflict Of Interest http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2587.html Air Safety Week, 2003 June 02 Bad Breakers ...Although circuit breakers are supposed to prevent or cut off dangerous electrical arcing, it appears that worn and overheating breakers can themselves become vulnerable to arcing, according to the NPRM. The result, according to the NPRM, which referred to several instances, is "smoke and fire in the flight compartment and main cabin." This characterization may understate the hazard... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/2589.html Air Safety Week, 2003 June 09 Cameras Being Deployed on Aircraft to Improve Safety, Security http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/2616.html Air Safety Week, 2003 June 09 Cameras Being Deployed on Aircraft to Improve Safety, Security ...the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has also called forcockpit video recording as a result of its investigation into the 1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2616.html Air Safety Week, 2003 July 14 Wishful Thinking ...Once is not often, but it may be intolerable. For example, smoke in the cockpit events – mostly from air conditioning glitches – rarely cause accidents, but occasionally – in the case of Swissair Flight 111 – smoke in the cockpit is the telltale of an electrically stoked fire... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2748.html Air Safety Week, 2003 July 28 U.S. Lawmakers Push Plan to Upgrade 'Black Boxes' http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/2814.html Air Safety Week, 2003 July 28 Setting Standards for aircraft wiring... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/bga/2820.html Air Safety Week, 2003 August 04 In the Spotlight Again ...The Airworthiness Directive is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of problems with in-flight entertainment systems... Alex Richman of AlgoPlus Consulting has compiled from the service difficulty report (SDR) database at least twelve reports of various problems this year with in-flight entertainment systems and associated hardwire/wiring. Given gaps in SDR reporting, the list is probably partial... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2849.html Air Safety Week, 2003 September 08 A Complacent Safety Culture Can Kill, Investigation Concludes ...It took the 1998 crash of a Swissair MD-11 to stimulate the FAA to undertake testing to produce a more demanding flammability test for insulation blankets... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/2984.html Air Safety Week, 2003 September 22 In-Flight Fires Wreak Havoc With Systems Reliability There is nothing like the whiff of something burning to have an effect on a pilot akin to a jolt of chilled water to the heart... Fire in an airplane is fundamentally different from fire in a building on the ground because the airborne occupants cannot get out. Buildings can be evacuated. Airplanes must descend and land, oftentimes with fire raging, or smoldering dangerously, with power to key systems shut off... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/3033.html Air Safety Week, 2003 September 29 Still Interfering 17 Years Later Recall those recent reports from pilots faced with smoke in the cockpit and the inefficient emergency breathing equipment that muffled effective communications... Here's a 1986 incident... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/3071.html Air Safety Week, 2003 September 29 Time's Running Out http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/3074.html Air Safety Week, 2003 October 13 Thought Provoking On the arcing/smoking events involving in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems: IFE systems mounted on the back of every seat are going to have planes making emergency landings with massive electrical problems as soon as those systems have been in service long enough to have accumulated condensation, chafing, insulation embrittlement, some maintenance jiggling, and so forth. And how many of these aircraft in service still have aromatic polyimide as the general purpose wiring insulation? http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/3141.html Air Safety Week, 2003 October 20 Smoke Triggers More Diverted Flights Than Engine Problems http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/3162.html Air Safety Week, 2003 October 27 Canadian Accident Investigations Take Too Long, Survey Says http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/3186.html Air Safety Week, 2003 December 08 Harmonizing up ...The intent of these regulatory requirements is to ensure that the same level of protection from the results of in-flight fires is provided to passengers on Canadian-operated commercial transport aeroplanes as on those operated by their U.S. counterparts and expected to be required of European operators in future. These regulatory requirements will correct a potentially unsafe condition... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/3285.html Air Safety Week, 2004 January 05 Current Regulatory Activity MD-11 electrical deficiencies, again, bringing the number of electrically-related ADs for the MD-11 series to nearly 90 since the 1998 crash of a Swissair MD-11... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/1892.html Air Safety Week, 2004 January 26 Current Regulatory Activity Fresh from the electrical shop of horrors, DC-10 and MD-11 again. Since the 1998 crash of the Swissair Flight 111 MD-11 from an electrically-stoked fire... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/1981.html Air Safety Week, 2004 February 16 Avalanche of ADs (AD: Airworthiness Directive) – Speaking of mandatory corrections to unsafe conditions, more ADs are coming on the MD-11. Recall that five were issued recently, all dealing with electrical system problems. These actions are part of a five-phase "corrective action program" that began shortly after the September 1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111, an MD-11... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2077.html Airworthiness Directives FAA This database provides you with all Airworthiness Directives (ADs) issued by the FAA which are still in effect – some date back to the 1940s... Integrated Preparation to Combat In-Flight Fires Still Needed http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2171.html Air Safety Week, 2004 March 15 Pilots Claim New Checklists Could Compound Emergencies http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2202.html Air Safety Week, 2004 March 15 The Smoke, Fire and Fumes Checklist Imbroglio Hard and fast long-winded trouble-shooting checklists are what helped ensure that Swissair Flight 111 would go down... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2203.html Air Safety Week, 2004 March 22 Vulnerability to Uncontrollable Smoke & Fire Can be Reduced http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2244.html Goglia Receives First Air Safety Week Aviation Safety Advocate of the Year Award 31 March 2004 In-Flight Firefighting Guidance Needs Improvement, Experts Declare http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_15_18/ai_115276083 Air Safety Week, 2004 April 26 Fuselage Airflow Concept Could Aid in Airborne Fire-Fighting http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2412.html Air Safety Week, 2004 June 21 Horror Stories Surface From Unheeded Calls For Improved Wiring Safety ...wiring-related accidents and incidents continue to occur apace... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2673.html Air Safety Week, 2004 August 02 Varying Views on Video Recorders ...Video imaging has been installed to monitor wiring conditions in some MD-11 airplanes operated by Swiss International Airlines (formerly Swissair) in the aftermath of the Swissair Flight 111 electrical fire... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_30_18/ai_n6268912 Air Safety Week, 2004 November 22 Study: Design Shortcomings Play A Prominent Role in Accidents http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/3260.html Air Safety Week, 2004 November 22 Significant Regulatory Activity Hall of Flame: The MD-11 is center stage of what might be called the "Hall of Flame," with more airworthiness directives than any other transport category aircraft to our knowledge addressing electrical wiring problems and electrically-stoked smoke and fire threats... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/3263.html Air Safety Week, 2004 December 13 MD-11 Corrective Action Plan: A Case Study in Reactive Safety http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/3301.html Air Safety Week, 2004 December 20 Report: Regulatory Response to Fire Incident is Too Limited ...fate and fortune discriminate this event from the deadly outcome involving Swissair Flight 111, which was downed by fire raging in an inaccessible space... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/3327.html Air Safety Week, 2005 February 07 Flight Data Analysis: A Process in Progress After the crash of Swissair 111, it emerged that the MD-11 FDR (flight data recorder) sourced approximately 250 parameters, whereas the QAR recorded about 1,500 parameters... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/2034.html Air Safety Week, 2005 March 14 Deadline To Replace Mylar Insulation Blankets Looms http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2196.html Air Safety Week, 2005 March 14 Timeline of Insulation Blanket Fires http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_10_19/ai_n12941246 Air Safety Week, 2005 March 28 A Bit Of History About 15 years ago the FAA investigated the concept of adding smoke detectors through the aircraft. After investigation, the FAA elected not to pursue this approach. Part of the problem then, and now, is that fire detection devices average 200 false detections for each valid detection... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2272.html Air Safety Week, 2005 April 11 Monitor Can Help Point to Serious Electrical Problems ...A perfect illustration of the problem comes from Swissair Flight 111, which crashed in 1998 from a runaway electrical fire... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2333.html Air Safety Week, 2005 April 11 Background On Blankets After Swissair Flight 111 caught fire during flight prior to an emergency landing approach at Halifax in September 1998, killing all on board, the Canadian Transportation Safety Board found quite quickly that the fire was due in large part to the ease with which the electrical fire was propagated sight unseen behind the cabin and cockpit linings... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2333.html Air Safety Week, 2005 April 18 The Real Threat The FAA is refining its tests of thermal acoustic insulation blanketing, but the terms "arc, electrical, electric or wiring" do not appear... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2368.html Air Safety Week, 2005 April 18 Another Flight Recorder Failure http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2369.html Air Safety Week, 2005 April 25 Automation: Pilots As Machine-Minders Or As Professional Aviators? http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2406.html Air Safety Week, 2005 April 25 The Airline Machine-Minder: Only a Role For Pilots Willing To Subordinate Themselves http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2407.html Air Safety Week, 2005 July 25 Deployable Recorders http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2791.html Air Safety Week, 2005 October 17 Minimum Wiring Tolerances Eschewed In Favor of General Principles http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/maintenance/3142.html Air Safety Week, 2005 October 17 A Brief History of the Debate Over Wire Separation http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/3143.html Air Safety Week, 2005 October 17 Significant Regulatory Activity ... The intent of the proposed action is to enhance the safety of commercial airliners by improving the design, installation and maintenance of wiring systems. The document says, "The FAA believes that traditional ways of addressing wiring are no longer enough." Improved awareness of wiring system design and maintenance will be accomplished through a variety of means. First, it proposes that certification requirements for wiring be consolidated... Second, it introduces a new term, electrical wire interconnection system (EWIS), to acknowledge the fact that wiring is just one of many components. "The term EWIS means any wire, wiring device, or combination of these, including termination devices, installed in the airplane for transmitting electrical energy"... The rule is an outgrowth of the TWA Flight 800 and Swissair Flight 111 accidents... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/3149.html Advisory Circular 25-YY: Development of Standard Wiring Practices Documentation "This advisory circular provides guidance for developing an electrical system standard wiring practices document for air carriers, air operators... maintenance providers, and repair stations." Name and Shame http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/3176.html Air Safety Week, 2005 October 31 Significant Regulatory Activity ...This is significant because STCs traditionally have not considered EWIS as a separate item warranting safety analysis, as evidenced by the in- flight entertainment system on the Swissair MD-11 accident airplane that crashed as a result of a runaway electrically-stoked fire. The wires in that installation were poorly supported and/or were not integrated into existing bundles, leading to all sorts of potentially hazardous situations, e.g., chafing, arc tracking, etc... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/3209.html Air Safety Week, 2005 November 07 Advance Payments to Air Crash Victims' Relatives Need Revision http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_2005_Nov_7/ai_n15801320 Air Safety Week, 2006 July 24 Cloaking the Arc with a Coat of Many Colors http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/2785.html Air Safety Week, 2006 October 02 Nimrod Accident Highlights Common Safety Problems http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/5287.html Air Safety Week, 2006 November 20 Is A Picture Worth A Thousand Lives? http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/6773.html Air Safety Week, 2007 January 08 CRM: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly ...The 1998 Swissair Flight 111 disaster provides a good illustration of how the prioritization of emergency checklists (and associated restriction of attention) may cause obvious solutions to be overlooked. In the case of Flight 111, crew intuition and initiative were, for a major portion of the developing emergency, subordinated to compliance. The flight crew's implementation of an elaborate Swissair check-list procedure wasted so much time that when they finally understood what they had to do – land immediately – the window of opportunity had closed. An uncontrollable in-flight fire constitutes a serious and complicated emergency. A fire...can propagate rapidly. Time is critical... The timeline for the Swissair 111 disaster emphasizes the problem with elaborate checklist procedures... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_1_21/ai_n27107481/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 2007 January 29 Behind Closed Doors ...The investigation revealed a lack of knowledge of the communications system's deficiencies under degraded electrical power... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27128349 Air Safety Week, 2007 January 29 The End Of Immobilized Cells ...an electromagnetically tight Faraday Cage...In light of these developments, air rage will assuredly be coming to a seat near you. Many passengers subjected to obnoxious inflight cell phone conversations will be tempted to...just Dial M for Murder... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27128350 Air Safety Week, 2007 February 12 Make Mine A BLT ...On Oct. 14, 2004, MK Airlines Flight 1602, heading for Spain, careened off the end of Runway 24 in Halifax Nova Scotia and burst into flames at around 4:00 a.m., killing all seven aboard... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27145548 Air Safety Week, 2007 April 09 Deadly Switches ...pilots are faced with a myriad of switches. If in the wrong position, these switches can kill... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n18792912 Air Safety Week, 2007 April 23 The Fire Next Time ...the fire had centered upon the RGCB and RBTB, parts of which had melted and vaporized. Molten metal had dripped down on the insulation blankets beneath the panel, causing extensive fire damage... The failure had obviously occurred within either the RBTB or RGCB... You may recall that Swissair 111 had had a bus-tie short-out the day prior to its accident flight, after it had been replaced and rewired incorrectly... If the fire had broken out mid-Atlantic, a repeat of Swissair 111 would have been a most likely outcome, given the very short period in which the extensive N768UA fire damage occurred... The aircraft was carrying 185 passengers and 20 crew... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/10722.html Air Safety Week, 2007 May 14 Coffee on the Center Console ...an electrical fire broke out in the cockpit during a flight... Evidence was earlier found of electrical arcing in the 737's cockpit door locking switch solenoid...The pilots couldn't get a "gear down" indication after extending the undercarriage... It took them another circuit to get that sorted out... It's always interesting when the pilot comes on and says "we have a problem and I have to put this plane down as quickly as I can..." Fried electrics do tend to cascade your emergency into ongoing crises... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n19096852 Air Safety Week, 2007 May 21 When Air Safety Is Deemed Optional He can show you the difference between life and death when thick smoke fills the cockpit and you can't even see the flight instrument panel... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/military/11767.html Air Safety Week, 2007 May 23 Swissair 111 ATC Tape Recordings to be Released http://www.avtoday.com/asw/topstories/11845.html Air Safety Week, 2007 May 30 Swissair 111 Cockpit Audio Release Sets Precedent http://www.avtoday.com/asw/topstories/12068.html Air Safety Week, 2007 June 04 Safety News In Brief ...A lightweight material made from carbon nanotubes that is stronger than steel, and conducts almost as well as aluminum, has been unveiled by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It will lead to more efficient electric power transmission lines, and lighter wiring for aircraft. Aircraft weight may be reduced significantly by replacing conventional wiring with nanotube threads... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27261737 Air Safety Week, 2007 July 02 Misusing, Confusing and Disabusing the MEL ...In the cruise at Flt Lvl 320, the crew heard a clunk and lost multiple services and systems. These included all the captain's flight instruments: Primary Flight Display, Upper Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitoring display, and the Multi-purpose Control and Display Unit. The autopilot kicked out... The distribution system has an AC Essential Bus (AC ESS) with all the stuff you'd never want to lose on it, and that's normally powered from AC1. It has two DC busbars (1 & 2) powered from AC1 and AC2 via transformer rectifiers. A DC Essential Busbar, powering similarly vital stuff, normally sucks its power from DC1 via a DC Battery Busbar (DC BAT). Each ESS busbar supplies an ESS SHED busbar. Thus, a loss of AC1 kills the AC ESS busbar and the flow-on (or rather, OFF) effect is the death of AC ESS SHED, DC ESS and DC ESS SHED. DC1 busbar is also lost but after five seconds it auto-transfers to feed from DC2 via DC BAT. However, it will not then supply the DC ESS busbar... Luckily, the Flight Data Recorder just happened to be on the AC2 busbar and remained powered. It recorded the point at which AC1, AC ESS and DC ESS had lost power... The system losses were all caused by the one triggering event... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n19332286 Air Safety Week, 2007 July 02 On Becoming Electrically Inert: Switches That Kill ...There was no data recorder and the CVR had been overwritten... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n19332287 Air Safety Week, 2007 July 16 Safety Board Wants FAA to Speed Action on "Most Wanted" List ...The Safety Board and the FAA agree on the need for CVRs that record a minimum of two hours of audio... Both parties also agree on the need for a 10-minute independent power source for CVRs (Recorder Independent Power Supply or RIPS) that takes over when normal power to the CVR is lost. However, this requirement would only apply to newly manufactured aircraft... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_27_21/ai_n27310976/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 2007 August 06 Safety News in Brief ...inspections have found wiring deficiencies and stapled wiring in its aircraft. The heavy maintenance company continues to deny responsibility. The operator will be allowed to continue flying the aircraft with some of the wiring still stapled after the airline agreed to regular checks to ensure the emergency lighting was still working... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27333946 Air Safety Week, 2007 November 12 New Safety Steps Ordered for Airliner Wiring ...The mandate greatly enhances the safety requirements for design, installation and maintenance of electrical wiring in new and existing aircraft... Safety concerns about wiring systems in airplanes... Swissair Flight 111, an MD-11, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Nova Scotia, Canada, killing all 229 people aboard. Although an exact cause could not be determined, the presence of resolidified copper on a portion of a wire of the in-flight entertainment system cable indicated that wire arcing had occurred in the area where the fire most likely originated... "We've gained enormous knowledge about aircraft wiring issues over the last decade..." http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/17128.html Air Safety Week, 2007 November 19 Significant Regulatory Activity 737 operators based in the US must now install new circuit breakers, relays, wiring and switches in the cabin to give flightcrews the ability to remove electrical power from their in-flight entertainment systems. The NPRM is based upon prior Service Bulletins that were produced after an audit of 180 IFE systems on various aircraft. That audit in turn had stemmed from the TSB of Canada finding that the Sep 98 crash of Swissair 111 had been related to a wiring fire and the MD-11's poorly installed power-hungry IFEN... http://www.avtoday.com/asw/categories/commercial/17281.html Air Safety Week, 2007 December 03 NTSB to Examine Safety Issues Surrounding Cargo Flight Fires http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27461425 Air Safety Week, 2007 December 12 Safety News in Brief ...The new final rule on wiring safety... The wiring insulation types aspect was ruled "out of order" from the word go – simply because it would prove too contentious. Yet it was really what it was all about, some wiring insulation being proven to be much more risky and life-limited than others. You don't set out to have all dogs banned just because pit-bulls and rottweilers are unpredictably anti-social. However with wiring, the "system" has declared it all to be anti-social and in need of strict discipline... so it's neatly avoided the whole question of agonizing over dubious insulation types... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27477064 Air Safety Week, 2008 January 14 Safety News in Brief ...Although data can pass between the networks, "there are protections in place" to ensure that the passenger Internet service doesn't access the maintenance data or the navigation system "under any circumstance"... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_2_22/ai_n21194259/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 2008 January 14 Beyond the Black Box http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n21194257 Air Safety Week, 2008 January 21 Boeing Has a Bad Week ...A Qantas Boeing 747-400 lost main power on its descent into Bangkok, Thailand on Jan. 7 and was forced to land on battery backup. There were no injuries and no damage to the jumbo jet. Flight QF2 with 344 passengers on board was about 15 minutes from Bang kok when the highly unusual failure occurred. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Qantas said that the primary power loss was the result of faulty drainage in the first-class galley, which resulted in water entering the generator control unit. Water from the blocked drain collected in a drip tray under the floor. A crack in the tray allowed the water to leak into electrical wiring, shorting out the aircraft's primary power supply... Qantas is investigating ways to better protect the plane from leaks... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n24269622 Air Safety Week, 2008 January 28 Safety News in Brief ...Because of limitations of recorded parameters and the arcane nature of the glitch, UKAAIB investigators were unable to pin down the exact cause of a major electrical failure aboard a BA A319 enroute to Budapest from Heathrow in 2005... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_4_22/ai_n24269863/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 2008 February 11 NTSB Probing Smoke in Boeing Cockpits ...making an emergency landing after the cockpit filled with smoke... The NTSB is "very concerned" that airworthiness directives originally scheduled to be issued as early as September 2004 still have not been issued. "The Board considers any kind of fire and/or smoke in the cockpit to be a serious issue that could affect other aircraft systems, lead to a loss of visibility, provide a distraction, or incapacitate the crew and possibly lead to an accident..." http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n24270668 Air Safety Week, 2008 February 11 Safety News in Brief ...Two weeks ago a Qantas pilot refused to fly a Boeing 767 from Sydney after discovering that a galley sink had been blocked with coffee grounds. On the pilot's insistence the maintenance staff checked the plane and are understood to have found the drip tray on the plane was cracked in exactly the same place as the one on the troubled QF2 flight into Bangkok. That's the flight that lost all its electrics due to water immersion of bus controllers in the main electrical load center... (See January 21 item above) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_6_22/ai_n24270674/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 2008 March 17 Upgrades for Aircraft "Black Boxes" ...A new FAA rule requires...that all voice recorders must capture the last two hours of cockpit audio instead of the current 15 to 30 minutes. The new rule also requires an independent backup power source for the voice recorders to allow continued recording for nine to 11 minutes if all aircraft power sources are lost or interrupted. Voice recorders also must use solid state technology instead of magnetic tape, which is vulnerable to damage and loss of reliability... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n24929377 Air Safety Week, 2008 June 23 Safety & Technology Trends ...EVAS Worldwide says the Gulfstream G650, due to enter service in the second half of 2012, will have the Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS) as standard equipment. EVAS allows pilots to see in continuous dense smoke. With EVAS protection included as standard equipment, the G-650 will be the first factory delivered aircraft to meet FAA recommended standards for cockpit smoke... The Air Line Pilots Association in-flight fire project report concluded that there were more than 1,100 in-flight smoke and fire incidents in a ten-month period, causing 360 emergency unscheduled landings, due to smoke, fumes, or fire on board aircraft. The numbers of smoke related emergencies aboard aircraft have continued to rise, numbering about three to four emergency diversions and landings a day within North America alone... [boldface emphasis added] http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27508894 Air Safety Week, 2008 June 23 Safety & Technology Trends ...AVSI's Wireless Sensor Networks pProject aims to remove wires from airplanes, which in turn would make the vehicles lighter. This would help reduce fuel consumption as well as reduce the costs associated with manufacturing new aircraft. Additionally, there would be increased reliability of operational systems and the risk of wire corrosion, loosening or short-circuiting due to vibration would be eliminated, thus making air travel safer... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_25_22/ai_n27508894/pg_2 Air Safety Week, 2008 August 11 NTSB Urges Fixes to Airbus Cockpit Displays ...Preliminary findings indicate that a fault occurred in the airplane's AC 1 electrical bus, one of the two primary electrical distribution systems for the airplane, which in turn caused a number of other electrical busses on the aircraft to lose power. The loss of this electrical power led to the loss of a number of aircraft displays and systems... The Board is especially concerned about a failure under such circumstances because of the increased pilot workload and potential for crew distraction associated with managing the failure... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27990833 Air Safety Week, 2008 August 11 Safety & Technology Trends ...An American Airlines Boeing 757 made an emergency landing and was evacuated at Los Angeles International on Aug. 5 after indications of a fire in the passenger cabin... The flight deck crew elected to turn around after someone smelled smoke in the cabin, but no sign of fire was found on the jetliner using thermal imaging cameras that scanned the cabin and cargo hold. The captain elected to declare an emergency... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n27990837 Air Safety Week, 2008 August 18 American Joins Southwest in FAA Dog House ...Wiring in the wheel well was one area where carriers failed to comply with airworthiness directives... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n28013074 Air Safety Week, 2008 August 18 American Says Heated Oil Caused Smoke on Flight http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n28013075 Air Safety Week, 2008 August 25 Surfing the Web While Airborne Now a Reality http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n28032768 Air Safety Week, 2008 September 08 NTSB Provides a 'Crash' Course The NTSB is offering a two-day course on how public relations personnel can most effectively manage emergency communications following a major aircraft accident... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0UBT/is_/ai_n28077343 These links were accessed and found to be valid Aug-Sep 2008. Table of Contents |
Transportation Safety BoardSwissair Flight 111 ArchiveIn-Flight Fire Leading to Collision with Water Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, five nautical miles SW 2 September 1998 TSB Press Release, 1998 September 03 The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is sending investigators to the site of the accident south of Halifax, Nova Scotia Involving a Swissair MD-11 flying from New York to Geneva on the night of 02 September 1998
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 September 03 Statement by the Chairman of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada concerning the investigation into the accident south of Halifax involving a Swissair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 on the night of 02 September 1998
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 September 11 Cockpit Voice Recorder of Swissair Flight 111 Retrieved
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 September 15 Swissair Flight Recorders Stopped at the Same Time
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 September 17 The challenging state of the primary wreckage site and update on the ongoing investigation of Swissair Flight 111
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 02 Heavy-Lift equipment to join Swissair Flight 111 recovery effort
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 21 About 27% of the aircraft, by weight, has been recovered to date
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 21 Investigation Update A98H0003: Swissair Flight 111
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 22 Estimated that 48% of the aircraft by weight has now been recovered
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 23 The EARL GREY came in today with loose material, 9 nets, 5 containers
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 24 The SEA SORCERESS heavy-lift operation ended today at 1430
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 26 The scallop dragger ANNE S. PIERCE will start tomorrow morning
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 27 Today's dragging operation took place on the edge of the debris field
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Speech, 1998 October 27 1:30pm Speaking Notes for the TSB Chairman TSB News Conference, CFB Shearwater ...One day, early in September, more than 2000 individuals were involved – in some capacity or another – contending with the wake of Swissair 111...
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 28 The scallop dragger made 18 passes today, recovered useful quantities of material
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 October 29 Some of the cockpit wiring and structure shows signs of heat damage, some of this wiring is associated with In Flight Entertainment system
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 November 02 There is now close to 200,000 lbs of wreckage recovered
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 November 04 Fact Sheet on Nose Section Reconstruction Jig for Swissair Flight 111, MD-11
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 November 08 The EARL GREY has completed the latest series of ROV inspections of the debris field - there is still considerable debris
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 November 11 Dragging operation suspended because of adverse weather
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 November 17 Examination of wires and wire bundles is continuing, some of the recovered material shows heat distress
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 November 20 Approximately 80 per cent of the aircraft by weight has now been recovered
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1998 December 21 About 85% of the aircraft by weight has been recovered including about 60 % of the forward fuselage
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Advisory, 1998 December 22 Safety Advisory Letter issued by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to Mr. Bernard Loeb of the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States provides information on MD-11 wiring to that agency, which is the representative of the State of Manufacture on the Swissair 111 investigation...
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/1998/a98h0003/02sti/
TSB Press Release, 1999 January 24 Work continues on the identification, examination, heat analysis, documentation, and matching of nose section pieces
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1999 January 28 Work in Hangar A at Shearwater, Nova Scotia, on the identification, examination, heat damage analysis, documentation, and matching of aircraft nose section pieces is continuing
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1999 March 05 To date, about 88 per cent of the aircraft structure, by weight, has been recovered
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1999 March 09 TSB Issues Aviation Safety Recommendations for Flight Recorder Duration and Power Supply
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1999 April 08 The research vessel CFAV ENDEAVOUR has been retained by the TSB for the continuing recovery operation
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1999 August 11 TSB issues Aviation Safety Recommendations for Thermal Acoustical Insulation materials and Flammability Test Criteria
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/
TSB Press Release, 1999 August 27 Between early May and the end of July, aircraft wreckage was recovered: about 5,100 lbs [2300kg] of wire, portions of the aircraft skin and interior pieces. Some of the recovered pieces were from the forward ceiling area, and showed heat damage
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1999 November 01 Exclusion Zone at the Swissair 111 crash site has been lifted
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1999 November 18 Location of Debris Field
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Press Release, 1999 December 15 Swissair Flight 111 Wreckage Recovery Completed
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/
TSB Advisory, 2000 March 02 Aviation Safety Advisory A000008-1: MD-11 Flight Crew Reading Light (Map Light) Installations Safety Advisory Letter issued by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to Mr. Bernard Loeb of the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States provides information on MD-11 cockpit map light installation to that agency...
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/1998/a98h0003/
TSB Advisory, 2000 March 03 Safety Advisory Letter issued by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to Mr. Bernard Loeb of the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States provides information on MD-11 cockpit map light installation to that agency, which is the representative of the State of Manufacture on the Swissair 111 investigation...
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/sur-safe/
TSB Press Release, 2000 May 24 20 arced electrical wires have been found, analysis of the airflow testing in the space above the ceiling in the forward section
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/
TSB Press Release, 2000 August 29 Investigation Update A98H0003 Swissair Flight 111 - August 2000
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/
TSB Press Release, 2000 December 04 Interim Aviation Safety Recommendations In-Flight Firefighting ...In the case of SR 111, approximately 20 minutes elapsed from the time the crew detected an unusual odour until the aircraft crashed, and about 11 minutes elapsed between the time the presence of smoke was confirmed by the crew and the time that the fire is known to have begun to adversely affect aircraft systems...
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/
TSB Recommendation, 2000 December 04 Interim Aviation Safety Recommendations In-Flight Firefighting ...When confronted with an in-flight fire, an aircraft crew must be prepared to rely solely on their experience and training, and on the aircraft equipment at hand. Therefore, effective in-flight firefighting measures should allow an aircraft crew to quickly detect, analyse and suppress any in-flight fire...
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/sur-safe/
TSB Speech, 2000 December 04 Chairman's (Benoit Bouchard) speech at the public release of interim safety recommendations from the investigation of the crash of Swissair Flight 111 ...It has now been 27 months since Flight 111 crashed into the sea near Peggy's Cove, taking the lives of all 229 people on board. We cannot, and will not, forget these people. And, though their fate was a tragedy that we cannot undo, we can, as part of an international community, try our best to learn from it – to learn what we can about what went wrong, and what can be done to reduce the risk of this ever happening again... http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/discours-speeches/2000/pres-chair_dec1200.asp TSB Press Release, 2001 August 28 Aviation Safety Recommendations Material Flammability Standards Investigation into the Swissair Flight 111 Accident http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/aviation/2001/swissair_2308.asp TSB Speech, 2001 August 28 Notes for Remarks by The Hon. Benoit Bouchard, Chairperson of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada at the release of recommendations on materials flammability standards related to the crash of Swissair Flight 111 ...In the case of Flight 111, we faced a puzzle of astounding magnitude. With the cooperative effort of many people, over two million pieces of the plane and its components have been brought up from the ocean floor, and examined by our investigative team. It is a painstaking task. We know, for instance, that the in-flight fire could have been ignited by an electrical arc from a wire, but here's a sobering fact: an aircraft of this type contains about 250 kilometres of electrical wire, and it would take only a few millimetres of damage to potentially cause a wire to fail and spark a flame... http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/discours-speeches/2001/cs_0828.asp TSB Fact Sheet, 2001 September 01 Aircraft Flight Recorders ...The information from flight recorders is paramount in determining the sequence of events and understanding the circumstances leading up to an accident... http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/fiches-facts/A98H0003/vol-flight.asp TSB Photograph, 2001 September 01 SR Flight 111 - Flight Recorders 
Photograph: Magnetic tape recovered from Swissair Flight 111 Source: http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/photos/aviation/A98H0003/vol-flight/qar.asp TSB Fact Sheet, 2003 March 25 Swissair Flight 111 Abbreviated Investigation Chronology
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/fiches-facts/
TSB Fact Sheet, 2003 March 27 TSB Background and Fact Sheet ...Approximately 3500 transportation occurrences (accidents and incidents) are reported to the TSB each year in Canada. The TSB investigates between two and three per cent of annual reported occurrences by considering whether an investigation is likely to lead to reduced risk to persons, property or the environment... The TSB is the lead agency responsible for investigating the Swissair Flight 111 accident according to International Civil Aviation Organization regulations (Annex 13), that assign primary investigative responsibility for aircraft accidents to the country in which the accident took place....
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/fiches-facts/
TSB Press Release, 2003 March 27 Transportation Safety Board of Canada Releases Final Report on Swissair 111, Makes Nine Additional Safety Recommendations, Bringing Total to 23
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/
TSB Report, 2003 March 27 Swissair 111 Investigation Report - Synopsis
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/
TSB Fact Sheet, 2003 March 27 Swissair 111 Investigation Report - Executive Summary
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/fiches-facts/
TSB Report, 2003 March 27 Transportation Safety Board of Canada: Official Report on Swiss Air Flight 111 (Copy archived in Canada)
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/
TSB Report, 2003 March 27 Transportation Safety Board of Canada: Official Report on Swiss Air Flight 111 (Copy archived in Switzerland) PDF: 32 megabytes http://www.bfu.admin.ch/common/pdf/1762_en.pdf TSB Speech, 2003 March 27 Notes for an Address by Mr. Camille Theriault Chairman of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada For the release of the Final Report of the Investigation into the crash of Swissair Flight 111 World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia ...our investigation took more than four years to complete. Consider its complexity: millions of pieces of shattered aircraft needed to be recovered from the sea; of the more than 250 kilometres of electrical wire, much was recovered and it all needed to be identified and examined; extensive series of flight and laboratory tests had to be conducted; and, an exhaustive analysis of events – even when little information existed – needed to be carried out. This accident tested the investigation team in many different ways. But all challenges were overcome by their ingenuity. For example, we were able to retrieve 98 percent of the airplane, in terms of weight, despite the wreckage resting 55 metres [180 feet] down on the ocean floor. An amazing technical feat. The sheer complexity of this type of investigation has demanded significant resources. The recovery and investigation cost approximately $57 million. This has been the largest, most complex safety investigation the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has ever undertaken...
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/discours-speeches/
TSB Speech, 2003 August 21 Notes for remarks by Mr. Charles Simpson Board Member of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to the Air Line Pilots Association - Air Safety Forum Washington, D.C. ...This year marked the conclusion of the Swissair Flight 111 investigation – the most complex and exhaustive investigation ever conducted by our organization. In fact, one of the most complex conducted by any organization. It was a tragic air disaster, but some good has resulted from our investigation. In total, 23 Aviation Safety Recommendations were made. I'm proud to say that many improved safety measures are now in effect, such as the upgrading of flammability standards of aircraft materials and in-flight firefighting procedures. And, of special interest to pilots, are the proposed rule changes affecting CVR and FDR independent power sources and recording times...
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/discours-speeches/
TSB Speech, 2004 April 28 Notes for an address by Mr. Terry Burtch Director General of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to the International Airline Passengers Association (IAPA) Annual Conference, Toronto, Ontario ...The crash of Swissair Flight 111 into the waters southwest of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia resulted in the loss of the 229 passengers and crew members. Determining the facts about this terrible tragedy was a lengthy and complex process. Time was needed to sift through and examine millions of pieces of shattered aircraft recovered from the ocean floor; as well as the 250 kilometres of electrical wiring – much of it no longer than an index finger. We also needed to conduct an extensive array of flight and laboratory tests and analyze the series of events that led to the plane's demise as well as work alongside a wide range of dedicated and determined stakeholders, international regulators, airline operators, manufacturers, unions. All together, the investigation spanned five years...
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/discours-speeches/
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Ten Years Later, Where Are We?further action is still needed to mitigate the significant risks identified in 18 of 23 recommendations. It is easy to lose sight of what this is all about. In the final analysis, it is not about the minutia, nor the arcane. It is about preserving lives. It is about the safety of crew and passengers. And, in this case, it is about the 229 men, women and children who lost their lives on 2 September 1998. TSB Speech, 2008 April 29 Canadian Aviation Safety Seminar 2008 Opening Remarks by Jonathan Seymour Board Member Transportation Safety Board of Canada at the Canadian Aviation Safety Seminar 2008, Calgary The second of September this year will mark the tenth anniversary of the destruction of Swissair 111 off Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia; with the tragic loss of everyone on board – 215 passengers and 14 crew. Late last year, the Board made a conscious decision to mark this tenth year by placing the investigation and its results in the context of what has been achieved, what remains outstanding, what has happened since, and how the identified issues and safety deficiencies have subsequently developed... Four categories are used to assess responses: • fully satisfactory, • satisfactory intent, • satisfactory in part and • unsatisfactory... We publish our recommendations on our website...
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/discours-speeches/
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TSB Featured ArticlesTSB Featured Articles, 2008 JulyThis article was published in Wings Magazine, July/August 2008 The Transportation Safety Board Taking centre stage to advance aviation safety by Blair Watson ...Some of the more prominent aircraft disasters investigated by the TSB during the past 18 years include the August 2, 2005 runway overrun and crash and fire of Air France Flight 358 at Toronto International Airport, the October 14, 2004 crash of MK Airlines Flight 1602 at Halifax International Airport, and the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off the coast near Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia on September 2, 1998... The largest TSB investigation to date occurred after the crash of Swissair Flight 111; it lasted 4.5 years and cost $57 million. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and its occupants and cargo sustained an impact force "in the order of at least 350 g," breaking apart into millions of pieces, which made the investigation significantly more difficult. DNA-testing of human remains was required. For weeks after the accident, debris washed ashore and was added to what had already been collected. After the flight data recorder was recovered from the seabed, TSB investigators discovered that the last five minutes and 37 seconds of the flight were not recorded because the aircrew had turned off the airplane's electrical power in its attempt to isolate and fight the fire. Reconstructing what happened to SR-111 during its last few minutes was a major challenge for the investigators. More than 350 specialists from the TSB, National Transportation Safety Board (U.S.), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)(U.S.), Air Accidents Investigation Branch (U.K.), Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and other organizations such as the Nova Scotia Coroner's Office were involved. Part of the laboratory work done by the TSB revealed to the surprise of investigators that the airplane's thermal insulation blankets, which had passed an FAA test for fire safety, readily ignited... [boldface emphasis added] http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/articles/aviation/2008/ht_20080701.asp TSB Featured Articles, 2009 February 9 This article was published in The Hill Times (Ottawa) Policy Briefing, Transportation & Infrastructure, 9 Feb 2009 Safe Transportation is a Right by Wendy A. Tadros, Chair, Transportation Safety Board of Canada ...TSB investigators need to learn everything they can and that is why the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board (CTAISB) Act, allows for searches, the seizure of evidence, and the gathering of human evidence through witness statements and on-board recordings. The task of assembling physical evidence differs from the challenge of gathering evidence from individuals who know about the circumstances of an accident. The TSB takes great pains to explain that our role is not to find fault, to lay blame or to seek reprisals. Rather, we are investigating to uncover safety lessons with the aim of ensuring it will never happen again. As more is understood about the TSB, those involved almost always feel they can tell investigators what they know... http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/articles/multimodal/2009/ht_20090209.asp TSB Featured Articles, 2009 May This article was published in The Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law, v2 n3, May 2009 No Fault, No Blame: Protecting Evidence in Transportation Accident Investigations by Wendy A. Tadros, Chair, Transportation Safety Board of Canada and Allen C. Harding, General Counsel, Transportation Safety Board of Canada ...it's important to understand the role of the Board. The TSB is an independent body that investigates selected transportation accidents in the federal system. The sole purpose of these investigations is to make transportation safer. The TSB accomplishes this purpose by determining what happened; why it happened; and what needs to be done to ensure it never happens again... Three examples will help to explain the key court rulings in this area. The first relates to cockpit voice recorders, or CVRs. CVRs allow investigators to understand what was happening in the cockpit and in turn with the aircraft. Legislation states that it cannot be knowingly communicated or used in legal, disciplinary or other proceedings. This protection was designed to ensure crews will continue to support the recording of their workplace for safety purposes but it is not absolute. A Coroner or Court may allow for the production of CVR if it determines "the public interest in the proper administration of justice outweighs in importance the privilege." CVR recordings and transcripts have rarely been released to litigation counsel... The second example relates to witness statements. Clearly, complete and detailed statements from witnesses are invaluable in understanding the factors that led to an accident. Parliament addressed this public policy goal by stating no person shall knowingly communicate or permit a witness statement to be communicated. Protections in the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board (CTAISB) Act ensure witnesses can be forthright with investigators. And, the Board believes, there is a cumulative effect to honouring these protections thereby ensuring human evidence will be there for future investigations. This privilege has been upheld across the country in the courts of British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Ontario and Nova Scotia... http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/articles/multimodal/2009//ht_200905.asp TSB Featured Articles, 2009 September This article was published in Esquire Magazine, September 2009 v152 n3 The End of Mystery by Chris Jones ...Allan Chaulk joined the TSB in 1999, after beginning his career in aircraft maintenance. Now his job was to reverse-engineer what he once did: Instead of figuring out how to keep planes in the sky, he was charged with explaining why they fell out of it. In September 1998, Swissair 111 crashed off Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, shortly before Chaulk began his new job, and his first assignment was to help with the massive effort to reconstruct the plane, an MD-11, piece by tiny piece. The work had made an impression on him. In some ways, a plane that hits water can be more damaged than a plane that hits land, or at least it can be damaged differently. A plane that crashes into the ground crumples and folds into itself, the way cars accordion through their impact zones; a plane that crashes into water usually explodes instead, blown apart from the inside out by the column of water that surges through the fuselage. During the Swissair rebuild, Chaulk would lift a small fragment of wreckage out of the seemingly endless piles in the hangar, identify it, return it to its original shape, and "fracture match" it back into place. The puzzle was eventually finished, but not before Chaulk was repeatedly reminded about the tenderness of our flying machines. The most robust part of them is frequently the bodies they carry... http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/articles/aviation/2009/ht_2009esquire.asp TSB Featured Articles, 2009 September This article was published in Wings Magazine, Sep/Oct 2009 v50 i5 Air Accident Investigation By Chris Krepski, Transportation Safety Board of Canada ...During the Swissair investigation, TSB investigators found that both the CVR and the FDR on Swissair 111 ceased to function some five and a half minutes before impact. Consequently, the lack of quality data severely hampered our efforts to validate some of the primary safety deficiencies. This is why the Board made eight flight recorder-related recommendations, including increasing recording time and providing independent power sources. While progress is still required in some areas, the FAA issued new regulations requiring that by 2012, flight recorders have 2-hour recording capacities, independent power supplies capable of providing 10 minutes of power and ensuring that a single electrical failure does not result in the disabling of both flight recorders... http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/articles/aviation/2009/ht_2009wings.asp |
TSB RecommendationsTSB Recommendation, 1999 March 09Flight Recorder Duration and Power Supply
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/urgence-emergency/
TSB Recommendation, 1999 August 11 Thermal Acoustical Insulation Materials
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/
TSB Recommendation, 2000 December 04 In-Flight Firefighting
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/
TSB Recommendation, 2001 August 28 Material Flammability Standards
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/communiques/
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TSB PhotographsTSB Photo Gallery (no date)SR Flight 111 - Wreckage Recovery (28 photographs)
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/photos/
TSB Photo Gallery (no date) SR Flight 111 - Wreckage Reconstruction (16 photographs)
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/photos/
TSB Photo Gallery (no date) SR Flight 111 - Flight Recorders (13 photographs)
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/photos/
TSB Photo Gallery (no date) SR Flight 111 - Engines (3 photographs)
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/photos/
TSB Photo Gallery (no date) SR Flight 111 - MD-11 (3 photographs)
http://bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/photos/
These links were accessed and found to be valid on 7 October 2010. Note: A Google search on the keywords "Canadian Air Safety Board" (with the quotes as shown) will turn up some interesting information about the Canadian Air Safety Board, the predecessor of the Transportation Safety Board. Table of Contents |
IFALPA
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NewsweekSwissair Flight 111 ArchiveNewsweek, 1995 April 24How Safe Is This Flight? ...Each plane crash also vividly reminds us of how vulnerable are – hurtling at 500 miles per hour, seven miles above the earth, sealed in a pressurized metal can. Flying requires faith that the technology is reliable and the humans won't make errors – and that faith is tested anew each time a plane goes down.... http://www.newsweek.com/id/110266/page/3 Newsweek, 1998 September 14 Death On Flight 111 Smoke Was The First Sign Of Trouble. Then, A Harrowing Half Hour Later, The Swissair Jet Crashed Into The Sea, Killing All 229 On Board. What Happened? http://www.newsweek.com/id/113377 Newsweek, 1998 September 14 Shattered Lives: The Faces Of A Tragic Flight http://www.newsweek.com/id/113378/page/3 Newsweek, 1998 October 12 A Descent Into The Depths ...The air-traffic controllers watched helplessly as their radar screens tracked the MD-11 jet circling slowly downward toward the Atlantic... http://www.newsweek.com/id/93431 Newsweek, 1998 November 09 Electronic Overload? ...Investigators want to know if a new computer-entertainment system, recently installed on Swissair Flight 111, sparked the mysterious fire that caused pilots to lose control of the plane... http://www.newsweek.com/id/93719 Newsweek, 1998 November 09 Did Gadgets Go Awry? Probing Swissair's Entertainment System... http://www.newsweek.com/id/93750 Newsweek, 2005 December 12 Air Safety: Cockpit Smoke Concerns http://www.newsweek.com/id/51554 Newsweek, 2008 March 17 Why U.S. Airlines Can't Compete ..."The live-or-die decision is more quick and brutal in the rest of the world," says John Leahy, an American who is COO for Airbus. "After 9/11, Swissair filed for bankruptcy on a Saturday and was liquidated over the weekend"... http://www.newsweek.com/id/120105
These links were accessed and
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United States NavySwissair Flight 111 ArchiveUnited States Navy, 1998 September 10U.S. Navy assists with recovery of Swissair Flight 111 http://www.navy.mil/navydata/navy_legacy_hr.asp?id=286 United States Navy, 1998 September 11 U.S. Navy sends new underwater detection system to Halifax http://www.navy.mil/navydata/navy_legacy_hr.asp?id=285 United States Navy, 1998 September 14 USS Grapple continues assistance to Canadian authorities http://www.navy.mil/navydata/navy_legacy_hr.asp?id=287 United States Navy (no date) Lieutenant Commander David E. Davis, United States Navy http://www.navy.mil/navydata/oceanography/ars53_co.html United States Navy photograph, 1998 September 14 United States Navy photograph, debris recovery operations Canadian Coast Guard Cutter CCGV Hudson (foreground) conducts Laser Line Scanning (LLS) operations with the latest U.S. Navy high-tech underwater search equipment at the crash site of Swissair Flight 111. http://www.navy.mil/navydata/oceanography/hud0914.jpg These links were accessed and found to be valid on 30 September 2010. Table of Contents |
The Daily TelegraphSwissair Flight 111 ArchiveDaily Telegraph, 1998 September 04 Disaster on the 'UN airbus' http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/09/04/wcra04.html Daily Telegraph, 1998 September 04 Tears for the victims of Flight 111 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/09/04/wcra104.html Daily Telegraph, 1998 September 04 Aids expert and wife are among the dead http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/09/04/wcra304.html Daily Telegraph, 1998 September 04 Briton died after visiting her daughter http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/09/04/wcra404.html Daily Telegraph, 1998 September 05 Submarine seeks Swissair 'black boxes' http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/09/05/wjet05.html Daily Telegraph, 1998 September 07 Sub detects Swissair flight black boxes http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/09/07/wswi07.html Daily Telegraph, 2001 June 19 Watchdog tells of risk at airport ...A crash off the Canadian coast involving a Swissair MD11, which killed all 229 on board, has also been blamed on arc-tracking that slowly deprived the plane of its power, radio, and controls... The majority of the world's passenger fleet contains Kapton wiring, including all Airbuses, most Boeings built before 1993 and the BAe 146, three of which are used to fly the Royal Family and the Prime Minister... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1372280/Watchdog-tells-of-risk-at-airport.html Daily Telegraph, 2001 July 13 Fear for masterpieces http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2001/07/13/dt08.xml Daily Telegraph, 2001 September 29 Swissair teeters on the brink ...Switzerland does not have any laws that would enable Swissair to go into a Chapter 11-style position to protect itself from creditors. If it fails to meet its liabilities it will almost certainly be forced into bankruptcy.... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2001/09/30/cnswiss30.xml Daily Telegraph, 2001 October 02 Swissair files for bankruptcy http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2001/10/02/cnswiss02.xml Daily Telegraph, 2001 October 04 Swiss fury over airline grounding
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/switzerland/
Daily Telegraph, 2002 November 20 The greatest art should not be moving ...Planes and lorries crash, ships sink. Canova's Three Graces developed a crack when it was transported to Madrid in 1998. When a Swiss-Air jet carrying Picasso's Le Peintre fell out of the sky off Nova Scotia, that was the end of the painting as well as everyone on board... Serious damage during transport is much more frequent than museums admit... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/09/16/do1608.xml Daily Telegraph, 2006 June 16 Why has Airbus hit turbulence? ...the electrical system was coming under intense scrutiny from the certifying authorities after a Swiss Air crash in 1998, traced to faulty wiring.... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/06/15/ccairb15.xml Daily Telegraph, 2007 September 16 The greatest art should not be moving http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/09/16/do1608.xml These links were accessed and found to be valid on 26 August 2008. Table of Contents |
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The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this website:
Archived: 2000 April 08 Press Release, Index 1998 September
Archived: 2000 April 08 Press Release, 1998 Sep 08: Exclusion Zone
Archived: 2000 April 08 Press Release, 1998 Sep 04: Focus shifts from Rescue to Recovery
These links were accessed and found to be valid on 25 August 2008. Table of Contents |
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The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this website:
Archived: 2002 December 01
Archived: 2003 August 07
Archived: 2004 June 03
Archived: 2005 April 09
Archived: 2006 August 24
These links were accessed and found to be valid on 7 August 2008. Table of Contents |
BAZL
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Swiss National Aerospace Laboratory, 2003 June Aviation Safety Management in Switzerland Recovering from the Myth of Perfection (pdf) 266 pages Swiss Federal Department of Environment, Traffic, Energy & Communication (DETEC)... http://www.nlr-atsi.nl/eCache/ATS/13/417.pdf Over the last five years the Swiss aviation sector has been struck by a number of severe aviation accidents. The tragic sequence of accidents started with the crash of a SwissAir MD-11, in Halifax, in 1998. This was followed by a fatal accident with a Crossair Saab 340 near Nassenwil in January of 2000, and a Crossair Avro 146 RJ 100 near Bassersdorf in November of 2001. Finally, on July 1, 2002, two large civil aircraft crashed near Üeberlingen (Germany) after a mid-air collision in airspace, controlled by Skyguide. In the same timeframe the Swiss National Bureau of Accident Investigation (AAIB) reported various cases of near accidents and the identification of shortcomings in Air Traffic Control equipment. These events have led to the perception that there might be structural causes, leading to an overall adverse safety trend in the Swiss air transportation system. In response, the Swiss Confederation, represented by the "Department for Environment, Traffic, Energy and Communication" (DETEC), has commissioned NLR to conduct an extensive evaluation of the safety of air transport in Switzerland. The main objective of this investigation is to show, in particular, whether the current structures for ensuring aviation safety within Switzerland are appropriate (i.e. effective and efficient). In accordance with this objective the investigation follows a safety management approach, because aviation safety can only be ensured if it is managed properly... The main finding of the study is that in Switzerland a number of essential safety management processes and associated responsibilities has been institutionalised such that effective safety management is not achieved. The study has also established that public air transport remains extremely safe and Swiss aviation is no exception... Nevertheless, this study has found that the policy outcome, as reflected in the safety statistics of Swiss aviation over the last decade is unsatisfactory as the safety performance of Swiss aviation is declining whereas that of the comparable European states is improving. Where Switzerland was clearly ahead of these states in terms of safety before the nineties, this lead has been lost. To reverse the negative trend and to restore the exemplary safety performance of Swiss aviation measures are required. These measures concern the removal of institutional barriers, and the implementation of a number of organisational changes at the level of DETEC, FOCA (BAZL) and the AAIB. Moreover it is required to take a number of national and sector-wide safety initiatives... This study has shown that the lingering sense of perfection of Swiss aviation safety is no longer warranted in view of the safety performance over recent years. The study has also established that many initiatives are being initiated in various orgnisations in Swiss aviation to improve safety management. For these reasons, this report carries the subtitle "recovering from the myth of perfection". It is hoped that the many recommendations of this report will help to restore the safety of Swiss aviation to their previous exemplary levels... § 1.1.1 Study motive (page 13) ..The tragic sequence of events started with the crash of a SwissAir MD-11, in Halifax, in 1998... one of the most visible and shocking symptoms of the changing aviation environment in Switzerland has been the bankruptcy of SwissAir, in 2002... § 6 The output of the aviation safety policy – the role of FOCA [BAZL] aviation safety policy: § 6.1 Introduction (page 57) § 6.2 Safety Management at FOCA (page 58) § 6.2.1 The safety organisation of FOCA (page 58) § 6.2.2 The safety management system of FOCA (page 71) § 6.2.3 Evaluation of Safety Management at FOCA (page 95) § 6.2.1 The safety organisation of FOCA (BAZL) (page 58) FOCA was founded in 1920, and is a special office of the Federal Department of Environment Transport, Energy and Communication. FOCA has been reorganised several times to adapt to developments in the Swiss aviation sector. The most recent reorganisation came into effect in January 2001. This reorganisation transformed FOCA into a process-oriented organisation... One of the objectives of the reorganisation was to create more clarity in the assignment of tasks and responsibilities within FOCA. A second objective was to make FOCA more manageable, creating a small management team of the director, the deputy director to whom all processes report, and a vice-director, to whom all competence centers report. This set-up has proven to be much more efficient than the previous arrangement... § 6.2.2.5 Safety Actions (page 79) As a general impression it can be stated that FOCA is rather active and thorough in their responses to external recommendations or concerns such as the BFU recommendations and the findings of the ICAO audit report. The responses of FOCA (BAZL) to the SR-111 investigation findings are quite comprehensive and reflect an active attitude towards safety action... § 6.2.2.5.2 Regulating the airlines & aircrew (page 88) ...This finding is particularly relevant in view of the SR-111 report that states: "The similar nature of various FOCA audit finding indicates that they concentrated on ensuring that the QA [Quality Assurance] programme had the required elements. The findings tended to identify symptoms, rather than the underlying factors manifested in recurring findings... The FOCA accepted SR Technics' corrective actions, but made similar findings on subsequent audits.". § 11.3.1.4.2 Timeliness (page 164) ...The effort involved with these foreign cases varies from full participation, such as with Swissair 111, to very minor involvement... Footnote 16 (page 164): This accident occurred near Halifax, Canada on 2 September 1998. While the Canadian Transportation Safety Board therefore led the investigation, a significant effort was made by AAIB [Swiss National Bureau of Accident Investigation] in assisting the Canadian Authorities in accordance with Annex 13. The final accident investigation report of Swissair Flight 111 was made public in February of 2003, more than four years after the accident date. Appendix F: Improving safety feedback in Switzerland (page 259) § 3. Confidential Incident Reporting (page 261) § 3.1. Current situation ...Experience has shown that mandatory reporting is relatively successful at collecting information on technical defects and other incidents, which do not involve the responsibility of reporters. On the opposite side, human errors, even if they are induced for example by wrong cockpit design or complicated procedures, are seldom reported and there is little chance they will surface spontaneously. Knowing that human factors are involved to a certain extent in about eighty percent of the accidents, reporting system providing for the confidentiality of reporters are essential tools for accident prevention. In September 1999, ICAO held an Accident Investigation and Prevention Divisional Meeting in Montreal where aviation safety experts from 83 contracting states and 11 observer organisations reviewed the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices, in particular those of Annex 13. They concluded... These links were accessed and found to be valid on 29 August 2008. Table of Contents |
Journal of Air TransportationSwissair Flight 111 ArchiveJournal of Air Transportation, 2004 January 01 Swissair 111 Human Factors: Checklists and Cockpit Communication ...problems with the MD-11 checklist were uncovered during the TSB's investigation of the Swissair 111 accident. Past research indicates that Flight Officers may have difficulty communicating with captains and that this difficulty increases during times of high stress... One of the criticisms of the pilots and Swissair culture was an overreliance on checklists. Captain John Nance, pilot, author, attorney, and ABC Television Network safety analyst, believed that Swissair's culture emphasized the checklist causing the pilots to spend precious time going through a logic tree rather than preparing to land... More troublesome for the TSB was the location of landing preparations on the checklists. Neither the Swissair nor the McDonnell-Douglas Smoke of Unknown Origin Checklist stated that preparations for an emergency landing should be considered immediately. In fact, landing was the last item on the checklist. With Swissair 111, the TSB found that even if landing had been first on the list, the aircraft would not have had enough time to land safely at Halifax. Also, as noted above, the pilots did begin preparations for landing before initiating any checklists. While inconsequential for Swissair 111, however, placement on the checklist could endanger future flights. The Smoke of Unknown Origin Checklist could take more than 30 minutes to complete...the TBS warned that for ongoing in-flight fires 30 minutes may be too long... The MD-11 checklists and the smoke switch used in the procedure were developed to replace the multiple steps a flight engineer carried out for many years on the DC-10. While it is true that the procedures and the development of a single switch in some respects simplified smoke troubleshooting, it also placed the workload previously handled by three crew members onto the shoulders of only two crew members... There is one final note on checklists. Checklists and simulator training tended to reinforce the idea that actions taken by pilots would result in the smoke quickly dissipating. The premise was that isolating the source could kill potential ignition sources. In the case of Swissair 111, the fire was fully realized by the time the smoke appeared in the cockpit. The insulation was already on fire, and eliminating the initial ignition source would have been inconsequential. Starting a checklist immediately would have had no effect. The possibility of an ongoing fire was not emphasized in the checklists... Subordinate crewmembers can be conditioned to limit their speech after encountering insensitive or intimidating captains... FOs have a difficult time both deciding the captain has made an incorrect decision and choosing the correct time to question that decision. An FO may be concerned that the correction will be interpreted as a challenge to the captain's authority... Tarnow illustrated these four elements, including excessive obedience and hesitant communications, using an aircraft accident CVR transcript. Finally, Tarnow concluded that excessive obedience may cause as many as 25% of all airplane accidents... One of the most controversial moments in the flight came when the aircraft changed course away from Halifax and out to sea to dump fuel. The TSB emphasized in the TSB Final that the pilots did not know, and could not have known, how far the problem had already developed... Multiple failures are extremely improbable considering the highly automated and redundant systems found in modern passenger aircraft. They do happen, however, as illustrated by Swissair 111. While the checklists did not play a role in the outcome of Swissair 111, conflicts did arise between two of the checklists. This, along with the placement of emergency descent considerations on the checklists, indicates why it is in the aviation industry's best interest to standardize and rationalize checklists and checklist procedures... The TSB preliminary summary of the CVR transcript was paraphrased and formed the basis of a WSJ (Wall Street Journal) article, and the conclusions of the article were published in newspapers and magazines around the world. The TSB's Swissair 111 final aviation accident report from the TSB received much less press attention... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5467/is_200401/ai_n21358044/pg_1 Journal of Air Transportation, 2006 Another Approach to Enhance Airline Safety: Using Management Safety Tools ...Historically, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for fostering and encouraging civil air commerce and simultaneously auditing aviation safety. However, the FAA's "dual-mandate" responsibility has resulted in criticism in terms of the lack of a sufficient ability to accomplish safety surveillance... despite a tightened airport, security, aircraft accidents that endanger aviation passengers still occur periodically... http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5467/is_200605/ai_n21399852/pg_1 These links were accessed and found to be valid on 31 August 2008. Table of Contents |
U.S. News & World ReportSwissair Flight 111 ArchiveU.S. News & World Report, 1996 December 23 Flying? Consider the Odds: As gambling fever hits the friendly skies... ...Ready or not, gambling fever has reached the friendly skies. Foreign carriers like Swissair, British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Alitalia are currently pouring tens of millions of dollars into state-of-the-art, personalized video screens, which will offer keno, slots, blackjack, poker and other games. Later this month, Swissair plans to unveil in-flight gambling on its long-haul flights from Zurich... http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/961223/archive_009966.htm U.S. News & World Report, 1998 September 14 The Crash of Flight 111: Smoke in the cockpit, then calls for help ...Swissair moved quickly to deal with the relatives of passengers in the crash. Forty specially trained employees worked with family members. Officials held frequent briefings. The airline flew survivors to Halifax... http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/980914/archive_004734.htm U.S. News & World Report, 1998 September 28 Checking Up on Kapton: Airplane wiring is a source of suspicion ...When the wire is subjected to chafing, vibration, and moisture, the insulation may crack, allowing the current to jump to other wires in the bundle, which become fuel for a fire. The Navy and Air Force no longer use Kapton as a primary wire insulation... http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/980928/archive_004821.htm U.S. News & World Report, 1998 October 18 Swissair Crash Sparks Change ...Although the cause of the Swissair crash has not been pinpointed, experts suspect that metalized Mylar insulation shrouding electronic equipment in the Swissair MD-11 jet may have been set ablaze by short circuit... The same insulation has been implicated in at least three earlier aircraft fires... http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/981026/archive_005015.htm U.S. News & World Report, 2001 December 23 Shrinking a Disaster ...summoned to Kennedy airport after the crash of Swissair Flight 111... http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/011231/archive_019978.htm These links were accessed and found to be valid on 10 September 2008. Table of Contents |
Other
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Fire in the Sky
http://web.archive.org/web/20021005012310/http://www.geocities.com/
Feds Urge MD-11 Wiring Inspections Evidence of Kapton wire arcing found
http://web.archive.org/web/20010422165340/http://www.geocities.com/
Swissair Timeline, Incorporating R/T Transcript
http://web.archive.org/web/20010423122452/www.geocities.com/
Some more detailed SR111 Background for you
http://web.archive.org/web/20010530075359/http://www.geocities.com/
It is a World-Wide Wiring Problem
http://web.archive.org/web/20010424213641/http://www.geocities.com/
Wiring Flaw May Have Nullified Pilot Action
http://web.archive.org/web/20010526142520/www.geocities.com/
Descriptions of High-Temperature Aircraft Electrical Wire Types
http://web.archive.org/web/20030726121533/http://www.geocities.com/
The FAA's Five Percent Solution
http://web.archive.org/web/20030731204811/http://www.geocities.com/
U.S. Airlines' "Handoffs" Raise Safety Concerns: Foreign Partners Come Under Scrutiny Every day, thousands of Americans board planes holding a ticket imprinted with the name of a familiar U.S. airline, but take off in a jet operated by an unfamiliar foreign carrier. That means some passengers unwittingly fly on airlines with safety records that fall short of standards set in the United States and Europe...
http://web.archive.org/web/20010425095304/www.geocities.com/
Crash Sparks Fear, Search for Safer Flight
http://web.archive.org/web/20041115122715/http://www.geocities.com/
SR111 Emergency Procedures ... this style of checklist should not be acceptable in the 21st century. It has killed enough people already... ...The checklists as they stand are abysmally optimistic and lethally time-consuming...
http://web.archive.org/web/20050301181815/http://www.geocities.com/
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11: What kind of accident history does it have? The MD-11, manufactured by the McDonnell Douglas Company, is a derivative of the DC-10. Only 180 MD-11s were built...
http://web.archive.org/web/20030530025454/http://www.geocities.com/
The MD-11 Gestation On the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, computers perform everything from checklist tasks to stall recovery in an aircraft where the flight engineer's duties are accomplished by a bank of automatic controllers that run the aircraft's systems. The cockpit design distills the experience of 19 years and more than 16 million hours of DC-10 commercial airline operation into computerized system controllers that operate hydraulic, electrical, air (pneumatic) and fuel systems...
http://web.archive.org/web/20020318021301/http://www.geocities.com/
Aging Aircraft In Our Skies
http://web.archive.org/web/20010425162320/www.geocities.com/
Is it a Practicable Solution (for Wiring Defects)? ...Many aircraft crews luck out by having their cockpit or cabin fires in relatively benign environments (i.e. good weather, day-time with a visual horizon to fly by, close to an emergency alternate airport, electrical design-friendly airframe, etc). That means that 90% of crews get away with it and don't become a statistic. If there are no statistics, just incidents, then FAA can get away with such statements as: "To date we know of no passengers in the last ten years that have died because of a wiring fault etc." Statistics, when finely tuned, are true deviltry in the hands of a bureaucrat... The Canadian TSB will write the final report; it may be more honest than you would expect from an FAA massaged NTSB report...
http://web.archive.org/web/20020318142013/http://www.geocities.com/
The History and Death of EVAS (Smoke Vision Devices): An FAA Kill ...The 1970 tower-to-Swissair flight 330 transcript echo the words of that Swissair flight 111 crew twenty-eight years later as each crew tried to deal with dense continuous smoke in the cockpit...
http://web.archive.org/web/20020319140918/http://www.geocities.com/
IFE System: It was a gamble but it didn't pay off ..."The cardinal rule at Boeing is that you cannot bend a wire over 90 degrees, period." Price said it's also evident installers - the job was subcontracted by Interactive Flight Technologies of Phoenix - used pliers to bend the wires, another faux pas. He said it doesn't matter whether it was Kapton or Tefzel. "You don't dare do that with insulation material - you might damage it," said Price. "Any time you use pliers to make a bend on wire, that's a no-no. I saw a couple of examples of that in routing..."
http://web.archive.org/web/20030726155845/www.geocities.com/Eureka/
The SWISSAIR Flight 111 Accident: Cockpit (CREW) Resource Management in Airline Long-Haul Flights
http://web.archive.org/web/20030719075406/http://www.geocities.com/
MD-11 Insulation Fire Investigated
http://web.archive.org/web/20020321231210/http://www.geocities.com/
New CVR and DFDR Rules Proposed – and they Stink ...Aircraft that disappear enroute beyond radar range may never be located. If SR111's fire had happened 90 minutes further on down track it would have simply vanished...
http://web.archive.org/web/20030722063626/http://www.geocities.com/
Systemic Redundancy: Press Button A, or was it B? ...when the unthinkable happens and our aircraft's Machiavellian electronic system fails catastrophically, it is highly likely to do so with toxic smoke and a distracting inferno - not just a simple computer crash. What's worse we cannot simply pull the plug. We've got to ride it out...
http://web.archive.org/web/20020323064142/http://www.geocities.com/
Edward Block on Aircraft Wiring ...In 1977, TWA had asked Boeing not to put this insulation (Kapton) in any more of their aircraft, and by 1984, the FAA's own internal documentation showed the problems being experienced with this material. In 1987, the military finally banned Kapton from further use, and in 1988 the FAA conducted their own experiments on arc-tracking... however political issues have remained in the equation to this day...
http://web.archive.org/web/20030801063748/www.geocities.com/Eureka/
US Senate Hearings – Smoke in the Cockpit ...Would it surprise you to learn that since 1994 (this was written in 1998) just in the FAA publicly available internet data bases there are 783 reports of smoke in the cockpit, with about half of the reports concerning commercial carriers?...
http://web.archive.org/web/20030728113553/www.geocities.com/Eureka/
B737 Total Electric Power Loss on Approach A Kaptonitis smoking gun?
http://web.archive.org/web/20020326183048/http://www.geocities.com/
Frayed wiring caused $1 billion explosion of spy satellite
http://web.archive.org/web/20010423201505/http://www.geocities.com/
These links were accessed and found to be valid on 28 September 2010. |
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WireFacts, 2008 August 07 FAA's Reported Wire Incidents ...the wire incidents reported in the FAA's July 2008 Advisory Circular 43-16A... http://www.wirefacts.com/Article65.php WireFacts, 2006 June Newsletter, June 2006: Wire Chafing on Aircraft ...In spite of the fact that wire chafing is a known problem and the tools to resolve the issue are available, analysis of data from years 2000-2004 wire failures modes on U.S. Navy aircraft showed that chafing remained the leader of all wire failure modes. Though the commercial aviation industry experiences many of the same problems as the armed services, much of the data from commercial aircraft are not recorded and/or reported publicly... http://www.wirefacts.com/Article49.php WireFacts, 2005 November Newsletter, Nov. 2005: Entanglement of Separation Standards ...In the final report of the Swissair Flight 111 crash (caused by electrical arcing), the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada found, "...that there are limitations... In aircraft design, it is not always possible to maintain physical separation between wires, especially in the cockpit area where, typically, space available for installations is confined..." http://www.wirefacts.com/Article47.php WireFacts, 2004 August Newsletter, Aug. 2004: Commandments of Wire Maintenance ...Splicing of wire should be kept to a minimum and avoided entirely in locations subject to high vibration... ...circuit breaker failures are latent in nature, so you won't know they have failed until you need them... http://www.wirefacts.com/Article42.php WireFacts, 2004 February Newsletter, Feb. 2004: The Life of a Wire ...Wire Maintenance Programs are as important for new aircraft as they are for older, aging aircraft... http://www.wirefacts.com/Article39.php |
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Journal of System Safety, 2006 May-June A Short History of System Safety ...Safety must be designed and built into airplanes, just as are performance, stability, and structural integrity. A safety group must be just as important a part of a manufacturer's organization as a stress, aerodynamics, or a weights group... Safety is a specialized subject just as are aerodynamics and structures... http://www.system-safety.org/ejss/past/novdec2006ejss/clifs.php |
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Wired, 1998 September 04 Swissair Update http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/1998/09/14847 Wired, 1998 September 04 Crash News 'Unfiltered' ...Swissair is also flying relatives of victims to the crash site from the United States and Europe at no cost, and announced that it will pay families US$20,000 "to help meet the immediate financial need that may be experienced." Upon arrival in Nova Scotia, relatives are invited to speak with Red Cross counselors, clergy, and Swissair officials, including the president of the airline, who arrived in Halifax Friday... http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/1998/09/14848 Wired, 2000 June 30 Airlines Check Laptop Wiring ...More electronics are likely to be installed on aircraft in coming years as airlines seek to offer inflight entertainment and communications, including Internet access. But such moves will be subject to rigorous safety procedures... Any time a domestic aircraft is retrofitted with additional wiring it must be recertified by the FAA... http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2000/06/37355 Wired, 2001 May 11 Sky High E-Mail? Not So Fast http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2001/05/43557 These links were accessed and found to be valid on 28 September 2010. |
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Fire Safety Engineering Group
School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences University of Greenwich (no date) Investigating the Swissair Flight 111 In-flight Fire using the SMARTFIRE CFD fire simulation software ...Reconstruction of the wreckage disclosed that the fire pattern was extensive and complex in nature. The fire damage created significant challenges to identify the origin of the fire and to appropriately explain the heat damage observed. The SMARTFIRE CFD software was used to predict the possible behaviour of airflow as well as the spread of fire and smoke within SR 111... http://fseg.gre.ac.uk/fire/smartfire_MD11Proj.html The Fifth Triennial International Fire & Cabin Safety Research Conference Atlantic City, New Jersey 2007 October 29 – November 1 Cabin and Hidden Area Fire Protection An Examination of the Effectiveness of Handheld Extinguishers Against Hidden Fires in the Cabin Overhead Areas of Standard and Widebody Transport Aircraft Tim Marker, FAA Technical Center, Atlantic City Intl. Airport, NJ Twenty handheld extinguisher tests were performed in the overhead space of both narrow and wide body aircraft. The tests simulated a typical hidden fire in the inaccessible area above the cabin ceiling... Testing of Fire Ports to Discharge Handheld Extinguishers into Inaccessible Areas on Aircraft, 2007 October 31 Abstract (pdf) Presentation (pdf 10M) |
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IAG's Blog, 2005 July 26 Live TV on Singapore Airlines ...The airline is proceeding with plans to bring TV to seat-back IFE (in-flight entertainment) by 2006. The four international channels to be beamed live are BBC World, EuroNews, Eurosportnews and CNBC.... http://iagblog.blogspot.com/2005/07/live-tv-on-singapore-airlines.html IAG's Blog, 2006 January 31 Inmarsat-based inflight email service ...Giving two-way access to corporate networks and public Webmail services such as AOL, Hotmail and Yahoo, the service is available via passengers' own laptops supported by an in-seat RJ-45 LAN (local area network) connector and a 110V AC power supply. Users may view the headers of incoming emails before electing to view them by committing to a price plan: $4.95 for four hours or $9.95 for the duration of a longer flight... Users can send and receive an unlimited number of emails of any length, with attachments charged at a rate of ten cents per kilobyte... The service uses Inmarsat's 3rd generation satellites... http://iagblog.blogspot.com/2006/01/inmarsat-based-email-service.html |
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New York Times, 2008 April 19 Airline Faults Shifting Rules About Safety ...something as simple as the direction of a bolt could be crucial. "It may appear to be a minor detail, but in fact is considered to be safety-related, because an airworthiness directive is based on a known unsafe condition," he said. Any change from the directive must be analyzed and approved by the FAA, "no matter how minor those details appear," he added. The airworthiness directive behind the groundings last week addressed how to protect a cable from chafing against bolts on the airplane frame, rubbing off the insulation and creating sparks. A backward bolt could provide a rough edge that would cause damage, he said. The order called for sheathing the cable bundle and securing it precisely... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/business/19inspect.html Washington Post, 2008 May 17 American Accused of Shoddy Maintenance ...Maintenance work by American Airlines on hundreds of jets was so sloppy that it posed a safety risk – a lapse that forced the carrier to ground many of its planes and strand hundreds of thousands of passengers last month, according to a report by federal regulators released yesterday. "Left uncorrected, the workmanship errors would have increased the odds that [a plane] would have experienced arcing, smoke, or fire problems that have caused serious incidents and fatal accidents in the past," the FAA said in the report...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
Table of Contents |
NADA
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Swissair Flight 111 Memorial, Bayswater
S.S. Atlantic 1873: memorial at Sandy Cove Terence Bay
S.S. Atlantic 1873: memorial at Star of the Sea cemetery Lower Prospect
Hubbards war memorial
Chester war memorial
Norwegian war memorial at Chester
Chester volunteer firemen memorial
Hits per calendar month
2014 Dec 698
2014 Nov 899
2014 Oct 1135
2014 Sep 1296
2014 Aug 1332
2014 Jul 2015
2014 Jun 1245
2014 May 877
2014 Apr 719
2014 Mar 985
2014 Feb 1086
2014 Jan 1558
2013 Dec 1175
2013 Nov 609
2013 Oct 669
2013 Sep 633
2013 Aug 530
2033 Jul 595
2013 Jun 888
2013 May 618
2013 Apr 496
2013 Mar 465
2013 Feb 484
2013 Jan 881
2012 Dec 1110
2012 Nov 1171
2012 Oct 1257
2012 Sep 872
2012 Aug 809
2012 Jul 777
2012 Jun 493
2012 May 556
2012 Apr 606
2012 Mar 626
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2011 Dec 580
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2011 May 492
2011 Apr 476
2011 Mar 418
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2011 Jan 443
2010 Dec 277
2010 Nov 369
2010 Oct 496
2010 Sep 548
2010 Aug 521
2010 Jul 485
2010 Jun 458
2010 May -
2010 Apr -
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2010 Jan 297
2009 Dec 245
2009 Nov 311
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2009 Aug 281
2009 Jul 327
2009 Jun 783
2009 May 350
2009 Apr 367
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2008 Sep 975
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2007 Dec 249
2007 Nov 205
2007 Oct 263
2007 Sep 436
2007 Aug 462
2007 Jul 391
2007 Jun 330
2007 May 501
2007 Apr 241
2007 Mar 174
2007 Feb 160
2007 Jan 182
2006 Dec 111
2006 Nov 73
2006 Oct -
2006 Sep -
2006 Aug -
2006 Jul -
2006 Jun -
2006 May -
2006 Apr -
2006 Mar -
2006 Feb -
2006 Jan -
"-" means data are not available
2005 Dec -
2005 Nov 336
2005 Oct 390
2005 Sep 438
2005 Aug 483
2005 Jul 280
2005 Jun 339
2005 May 231
2005 Apr 231
2005 Mar 324
2005 Feb 237
2005 Jan 168
2004 Dec 146
2004 Nov 120
2004 Oct 238
2004 Sep 246
2004 Aug 254
2004 Jul 240
2004 Jun 207
2004 May 186
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2004 Mar 174
2004 Feb 223
2004 Jan 129
2003 Dec 78
2003 Nov 164
2003 Oct 93
2003 Sep 224
2003 Aug 94
2003 Jul 72
2003 Jun 103
2003 May 80
2003 Apr 67
First uploaded to the Internet: 2003 February 01
New photographs installed: 2003 August 27
Added Google Map link: 2007 December 09
Latest update: 2015 January 04