federal aviation administration

Nov 1 2010

Flight Simulator Efficiency

The use of airline simulators have been employed inside the aviation market for years within the education of pilots of all levels. With flight software package the pilot is capable of get fingers on experience, put together for emergencies and is a expense efficient solution. In this article I will cover all from the causes and significance of airline flight simulation.

With using a simulation system pilots of all amounts are capable of get far more air time and allowed to train in a very wide selection of environments and weather conditions with out ever leaving the ground. To be able to adequately prepare the pilot will likely be much more competent and comfy when he or she makes the transition to an true aircraft.

If you occur to be a private pilot who’s looking to add an Instrument Rating to your certificate, then you may already be aware with the truth that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) means that you can apply up to a maximum of 20 instructor-led hours of time in training in an instrument airline simulator to be applied as credit toward your instrument rating.

Of course it is possible to devote much more than 20 several hours instruction on a simulator, but only the initial 20 hrs will apply, and all of those twenty need to be spent with an instructor and not solo, utilizing an FAA approved flight simulation program. (You are needless to say free to expend as much time as you would like on a home-based simulator for the PC to maximize the amount of time you get to practice and excellent your techniques.)

There are many factors why the FAA allows you to use a flight simulator to log instrument coaching time in lieu of time spent in an actual aircraft.

Most pilots will say that there peers earn their money on the subject of emergencies and how well they’re in a position to respond. A pilot can not prepare for emergency cases while within the air as a result of risk involved so a air travel simulator is the closest they can come for the authentic thing. By spending enough time employing a realistic computer software the pilot will understand how you can manage harmful situations so if the true point does take place they will know what to do and will reply correctly for the problem.

You may want to find additional information on my site about Mash Helicopter as well as Helicopter Flight Simulators.

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Flight Simulator Efficiency

By MyAt_013 • Uncategorized • • Tags: airline simulator, aviation market, FAA, federal aviation administration, flight, time

Sep 2 2010

Continental, United lay out plan for merging FAA certificates

When we talk about a merger between United Airlines and Continental Airlines, we tend to think of it as a simple marriage of two parties.

But in fact, between the two of them, the carriers hold five different operating certificates that must be dealt with as the two consummate their coupling.

Continental has separate air carrier operating certificates for itself and its Continental Micronesia unit. United has an air carrier operating certificate. The certificates are issued under Part 121 of the federal aviation regulations, FARs.

In addition, United and Continental both hold Part 145 repair station certificates that allow them to work on airplanes.

In a memo emailed to Continental employees Wednesday, Continental laid out the sequence it and United will take after their legal merger, expected to close on Oct. 1:

1. Continental and Continental Micronesia will combine their air carrier operating certificates.

2. Continental and United will combine their operating certificates.

3. The two carriers will combine their repair station certificates.

It didn’t set target dates for the actions, which require Federal Aviation Administration approval. Getting the approvals is “a long-term process that will follow a series of steps to be outlined in a transition plan to be submitted to the FAA later this month,” the email message said.

In United’s similar message to its employees Wednesday, United vice president Michael Quiello explained:

“We have decided that the merged airline will retain the legacy Continental operating certificate and the legacy United repair station certificate. This was a technical decision based on a variety of factors.

“In addition, the Continental Micronesia operation will be combined with Continental’s in advance of the integration between the Continental and United operations. This will allow us to avoid delaying the larger, more complicated integration of the United and Continental operations and will simplify some of the later integration steps between the two carriers.”

Quiello told employees that the process “is expected to take more than a year. Certain processes and procedures may remain separate or parallel and partitioned for some time even after SOC, pending final integration.”

On a separate matter, Continental chairman, president and CEO Jeff Smisek put out an angry statement denying that its Cleveland hub will be seriously downsized post-merger.

He was reacting to an internal analysis that came out in a San Francisco lawsuit that challenges the United-Continental merger. That analysis, which showed Cleveland losing a lot of flights, was just one of many simulations, Smisek said.

“We consider Cleveland an important hub and one of our hometowns and resent this attempt to cause concern among our customers and employees,” Smisek said.

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Continental, United lay out plan for merging FAA certificates

By admin • Around the World Flights • 0 • Tags: certificate, faa certificates, federal aviation administration, federal aviation regulations, integration, operating

Aug 22 2010

A Guidebook For Patient Transport

Ailing person transport allows for easy, often life saving, transport for those sick or hurt. It can be also called an medevac. The support of an air ambulance are widely-used in a number of instances. It usually is chosen if you find no roads for getting in and out of your location or crash scene. Additionally it is utilized every time a patient must have immediate transportation since travel by air is substantially swifter as compared to choosing a traditional ambulance. More often than not person’s family will be asked to provide permission or maybe to pick the individual transport company. There are plenty of facts to consider in choosing medical patient transport for a family member.

Security

You will find stringent ordinances for air ambulances and other types of patient transport. The Federal aviation administration demands all airplane to be scrutinized and to meet certain minimal criteria. What you should want to search for is a service that goes further than this minimal requirement. You want them to have a solid reputation for aircrafts which are maintained to the highest specifications which will always be in high-quality standing. It is possible to take a look at safety reviews to see for yourself precisely how properly preserved the planes happen to be along with if they’re achieving high air evac expectations.

Equipment

While on the medical patient transport the one you love must have continual medical treatment. In the example of a major ailment or accident there is absolutely no assurance that the patient will remain stable over the transfer. That’s why the air ambulance you end up picking should be well outfitted. You ought to expect it to be equally as outfitted as an Intensive Care Unit inside a medical center. This way if perhaps something goes wrong, the staff within the aircraft can provide a person’s family member or friend the suitable care and attention. Don’t let yourself be afraid to request information about the staff’s qualifications.

Staff

The employees in the air ambulance is very important. You Want To check out who’s on board and see that they have the mandatory expertise. You ought to be expecting to have properly skilled and seasoned employees within the aircraft. You additionally need a team which has precise education as flight paramedics. Caring for a affected individual in the air is not like caring for an individual on land.

Reaction Time

With patient transport reaction time frame is crucial. You need a company that’ll be there after getting contacted. You don’t want to experience waiting or maybe other challenges. Search for a provider which has first rate reaction times and a reputation for always being on time.

No one at any time likes thinking about having a loved one in critical condition and in need of serious medical attention. When it takes place, however, it is always excellent to always be completely ready and well prepared for exactly what you need to do. Having a good sense regarding patient transport is required. Who knows when the need may arise so when it does time is actually of the essence. You want to work quickly and to make your choice at once. Recognizing what you should consider when searching for a great air ambulance beforehand could genuinely enable you to make these kinds of choices promptly.

Jess M. Bugg writes about recreations & leisure with a special focus on air travel for medical purposes. You can learn more by visiting her site.

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A Guidebook For Patient Transport

By MyAt_013 • Uncategorized • 0 • Tags: air ambulances, federal aviation administration, intensive care unit

Aug 19 2010

NTSB issues report on Southwest Airlines sunroof incident

The National Transportation Safety Board can now tell us what happened to that Southwest Airlines airplane that developed a hole in its ceiling last year:

“Fuselage skin failure due to preexisting fatigue at a chemically milled step.”

The NTSB rarely issues a report without blaming someone. In this one, it just says the hole happened because of fatigue cracks.

Boeing called for more inspections of that area of Boeing 737s last September. In January, the Federal Aviation Administration made such inspections mandatory in an airworthiness directive.

The hole had developed shortly after the Southwest flight took off July 13, 2009, from Nashville on its way to Baltimore, in a 15-year-old Boeing 737-300. The airplane made an emergency landing in Charleston, W.Va.

Here’s the synopsis from NTSB, released Wednesday:

Flight data recorder data revealed that the airplane took off and climbed for about 25 minutes to an altitude of approximately 35,000 feet, at which point the cabin altitude warning activated, and the captain disengaged the autopilot. Postincident examination of the airplane revealed fatigue cracking of the fuselage skin near the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer adjacent to the rupture. The fatigue cracking penetrated the fuselage skin and created an approximate 18-inch by 12-inch flap in the skin that depressurized the airplane.

The fuselage skin assembly near the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer was manufactured by bonding two full aluminum sheets together, then selectively chemically milling away pockets (bays) of the inner sheet. Continuous fatigue cracks initiated from multiple origins on the inner surface of the skin adjacent to the step formed at the edge of the chemically milled area and propagated outward.

Following the Southwest Airlines (SWA) flight 2294 event, on September 3, 2009, Boeing issued Service Bulletin (SB) 737-53A1301, calling for repetitive external inspections to detect cracks in the fuselage skin along the chemically milled step at stringers S-1 and S-2 right and between BS 827 and BS 847. (The hole from the SWA event was within those boundaries.) If cracks are detected, operators are to contact Boeing for repair instructions. On January 12, 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration issued Airworthiness Directive 2010-01-09, which mandated the inspection requirements in SB 737-53A1301.

Southwest quickly issued this response:

“We are in full compliance with all new Safety regulations developed by Boeing and the FAA and we thank the NTSB for its thorough investigation. We worked closely with investigators throughout this process and we concur with their conclusions.

“We’ve taken aggressive measures to incorporate additional maintenance inspections, additive to existing programs, in response to what was learned from flight 2294. Immediately after the accident, we increased our ongoing maintenance inspections in the impacted area to include recurring detailed visual inspections and non-destructive tests (NDT) – with a goal to not only meet but exceed known Safety standards.

“At Southwest Airlines, everything is secondary to Safety, which is the core of our operation. Southwest continues to improve its maintenance program for the continued Safety of U.S. air travel and our own excellent Safety record.”

We’ve reprinted the full NTSB report below.

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NTSB issues report on Southwest Airlines sunroof incident

By admin • Around the World Flights • 0 • Tags: airplane, boeing, federal aviation administration, flight data recorder, national transportation safety board, NTSB

Jul 27 2010

FAA proposes fine against Continental

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aims to levy a $230,000 fine against Continental Airlines for operating a single Boeing 767 that was not in…

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FAA proposes fine against Continental

By admin • Around the World Flights • 0 • Tags: aviation, boeing, boeing 767, continental airlines, FAA, federal aviation administration

Jul 24 2010

FAA didnt oversee Northwest Airlines as it should have, report says

In 2008, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector alleged that the FAA wasn’t overseeing Northwest Airlines properly, and wasn’t making Northwest comply with airworthiness directives.

On Thursday, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel sent President Obama a letter saying that the whistleblower was right.

In its announcement, the OCS said:

The investigation revealed that, despite Northwest’s history of AD non-compliance for more than a decade and current trends reflecting an increase in incidents of non-compliance, FAA inspectors continued to work collaboratively with Northwest to resolve deficiencies, allowing the carrier to submit numerous voluntary disclosures of non-compliance, and closing enforcement cases primarily by issuing letters of correction rather than seeking civil penalties.

The report found that these actions were “not adequate,” and in many instances were contrary to FAA guidance. The report further concluded that, given that AD non-compliance issues were continuing, the status of Northwest’s compliance with more than 1,000 ADs was unknown.

FAA administrator Randy Babbitt subsequently formed an internal team to make sure the reviews and audits were completed, the OCS said. As part of that, the FAA “proposed disciplinary action” against two FAA chief maintenance office managers who handled the Northwest oversight.

The OCS in 2008 referred the complaint from inspector Mark Lund to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which assigned the case to its Office of Inspector General.

This was all happening around the time the FAA was under intense scrutiny because of various whistleblower complaints involving other carriers, including Southwest Airlines and American Airlines.

Under fire, the FAA ordered a national “special emphasis review” to check carriers for compliance with airworthiness directives and the FAA’s oversight of the process.

The OIG probe found that during that 2008 review, the FAA office in Minnesota found 14 “instances of non-compliance” at Northwest, the letter to Obama stated:

OIG noted that this number, which was one of the highest of all airlines reviewed, was significantly higher than the eight items of non-compliance identified by NWA CMO [chief maintenance office] over the previous four years.

OIG found that NWA CMO’s inability to identify these weaknesses during a safety attribute inspection conducted just one month prior to the national special emphasis review “indicates serious deficiencies in FAA’s regular oversight.”

It also detailed a number of other failures of oversight by the FAA office overseeing Northwest.

Northwest merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008 and is now under the same operating certificate. Lund alleges that the FAA’s oversight of Delta is also inadequate.

For those of you who want to read the original documents, here’s a list:

OSC letter to President Obama, July 22, 2010.

Press release announcing the findings and letter to the president, July 22, 2010.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s letter and report from OIG to the Office of Special Council, Dec. 9, 2009.

Letter from whistleblower Mark Lund to president, U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Babbitt, Feb. 16, 2010

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FAA didnt oversee Northwest Airlines as it should have, report says

By admin • Around the World Flights • 0 • Tags: faa guidance, federal aviation administration, Northwest, northwest airlines, OCS, office

Jul 3 2010

Delta, US Airways to challenge ruling on LaGuardia and Washington slots

Delta Air Lines and US Airways want to swap slots and assets at New York LaGuardia and Washington National. The federal government said okay, but you got to give up more slots to competitors than you planned, and you can’t pick who gets them.

No deal, the two carriers officially informed the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday. And we’re going to court.

Here’s what US Airways said in a filing Friday afternoon with the Securities and Exchange Commission:

On July 2, 2010, Delta and US Airways jointly advised the FAA that they did not intend to proceed with the transaction under the conditions imposed by the FAA, and that Delta and US Airways are prepared to complete the transaction without those conditions.

Also on July 2, 2010, Delta and US Airways jointly filed with the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit a notice of appeal of the FAA’s order seeking to set the FAA’s order aside.

Friday, July 2, was the deadline for Delta and US Airways to inform the FAA whether they accepted the terms of the FAA’s order, issued May 4.

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