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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Entries for the Tag:Faa

FAA Revokes Licensces of NWA 188 Pilots

Crew on wayward jet said that they lost track of time while using personal laptops in the cockpit

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I purposely waited to blog about Northwest Flight 188 overflying it’s destination until more information had come to light, but now that the NTSB has announced some details of their investigation, I wish to comment.  I’m not 100% sure I believe the laptop story.  I’m a pilot and can tell you from experience that despite conversations in the cockpit, navigating the aircraft, and other distractions inside or outside of the airplane, when ATC calls your tail or flight number, your attention is immediately refocused.  It is rare that ATC would have to call the aircraft more than twice to get the pilot’s attention.  Listen to the ATC feeds found here for an hour and count how many times the controller has to repeat an instruction more than twice – it almost never happens!  I find it hard to believe that both pilots could have been so engrossed as to have missed over an hour’s worth of radio calls and communication requests.
 
Flying any aircraft is complex and is surrounded by inherent risks.  Obviously as the aircraft becomes more sophisticated the potential of a systems breakdown increases.  At 500mph and 35000’ it would only take a few seconds of distraction during a critical period to miss the opportunity to keep the aircraft from entering an unsafe situation.  The outcome of this story could have been much worse.  Imagine if their distraction lasted longer, and the jet ran out of fuel.  Or if there had been severe weather such as the Air France jet from Brazil experienced a few months back.  Imagine how differently the “Miracle on the Hudson” might have ended if Capt. Sullenberger and First Officer Skiles were not ready to immediately analyze the situation, communicate the problem, and quickly determine the best resolution for a successful ditching.  If they had to spend any extra time bringing their focus back to the cockpit to regain situational awareness, hundreds of people might have died.  The airline industry, FAA, DOT, and NTSB do a great job of monitoring, self-monitoring, training, and reacting to help increase passenger safety.

I believe that FAA acted appropriately in this situation by revoking the licenses of two pilots who demonstrated a total deriliction of their duties to their passengers. 

Posted by Kevin in • News
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Tags: news, faa, ntsb, air france, cnn, commercial aviaition, captain sullenberger, northwest airlines flight 188

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Entries for the Tag:Faa

FAA Mandates B737 Inspections

Following Incident Aboard SWA 812, Agency Acts In Public Interest

imageThis, in my opinion, is a rational reaction to the metal fatigue fracture incident experienced by Southwest Airlines Flight 812.  Southwest had already voluntarily taken over 80 737s out of service for immediate inspections of their fuselage causing delays and cancellations on Sunday/Monday.  Boeing then recommended that all operators inspect their earliest production models 737s.  Yesterday the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive mandating that all 737-300/400/500 series aircraft undergo structural inspections before they can be returned to service.  This will no doubt cause delays and cancellations during the week of April 5-12, but it really is the prudent thing to do.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CABIN DECOMPRESSES AT ALTITUDE
First it is important to note that pressurized aircraft are designed in such a way that if there is a significant structural failure, only the local area will be compromised while the rest of the structure remains solid and effective.  SW 812 was an example of this, a 3-foot hole opened up, but despite flying along at cruising speed and altitude the rupture did not get any larger or affect the pilots’ ability to control the aircraft. 
There’s a misconception that oxygen is pumped into aircraft cabins because there isn’t enough oxygen for us to breathe at high altitude. In reality, the same percentage of oxygen exists at high altitude as at sea level. But as altitude is increased, there is less pressure, which in effect leads to less oxygen available in a given breath.  Because of this, aircraft are pressurized to simulate a lower altitude inside the cabin. As an aircraft climbs to a high altitude, the cabin is pressurized, and as it descends for landing, it is gradually de-pressurized. This is similar to inflating a balloon, followed by slowly letting the air out.
If a sudden loss of cabin pressure does occur, the balloon deflates rapidly (or all at once) expelling the breathable air very quickly.  Sensors in the cabin detect the pressure loss, releasing oxygen masks above each passenger. An explosive loss of pressurization is an emergency that pilots simulate and engrain into their minds many times in training.
Some emergencies allow for a slow and methodical response, but this particular situation requires an instinctive reaction from memory. Priority No. 1 is restoring the ability of the pilots to breathe properly. In the cockpit, pilots have quick access to emergency oxygen masks, and are trained to put them on in mere seconds. Priority No. 2 is quickly and safely descending the aircraft to a lower altitude. At the lower altitude (below 10-12000’) the air pressure is sufficient to sustain consciousness.

Posted by Kevin in
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Tags: private jet charter, business jet charter, boston jet charter, new york jet charter, florida jet charter, boston private jets, faa, private jets new york, southwest airlines, new york private jet
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