state of the traffic on the ground, priority flights, industrial action, accidents, weather conditions on the ground, ground equipment failure, airport installations, ground services, curfew, approach procedures
Activities on the field
change of runway and pattern, ramp vehicles, snow clearing, sweeping, mowing, harvesting, closure, opening of runway access roads, runway inspection
Procedures
noise abatement, departure, approach, all-weather take-off and landing, go-around, holding procedures, land use, curfew, local residents
The crew of American Airlines Flight 2, a Boeing 767 out of Los Angeles for New York, ultimately declared an emergency while trying to land in strong crosswinds at JFK, May 4, after apparently being denied their runway of choice. Speaking for the JFK Controller union, Steve Abraham told ABC news the pilot "had no choice. He couldn't land 22L, it would have been illegal for him," due to the crosswind. Wind was 320 at 23 gusting to 35, at the time. JFK's main runway, 31 Left, has been closed for upgrades for about eight weeks, and controllers say that maintaining the flow of traffic at the airport has led to some less than ideal clearances. FAA spokesman Arlene Sarlac told AVweb Thursday that the agency studied the situation "for over a year" prior to closing the runway and worked with airlines who "agreed to reduce their schedules during this closure time." The FAA says the situation at JFK is safe. After receiving their clearance, the crew of American Flight 2 said, "We can't land on 22," adding, "We're breaking off approach and if you don't give us to Runway 31R, we're going to declare an emergency." The controller responded "alright, I'll pass it along, fly runway heading for now." At that point, things got more serious.
The pilots immediately responded, "OK we've declared an emergency, we're going to land 31 Right. We're going to the left and then we're coming around." The controller acknowledged the call and told the crew to "just fly runway heading." Exchanges followed and the crew ultimately announced, "Remove everybody from our way. We've declared an emergency." At that point, the controller cleared American Flight 2 for the landing on 31 Right. JFK's 14,572 foot-long 13R/31L, was closed in March to undergo a four-month-long facelift that includes widening and repaving. The closure is expected to last through June and means that traffic must be diverted to the airport's three remaining runways. Controllers say the American Airlines event shows that maintaining the traffic flow, without incurring delays, has presented challenges. According to the FAA, the situation was studied ahead of time, the airlines are flying on reduced schedules and operations at the airport are safe. The FAA is investigating the incident and will "look into all of the air traffic procedures and operations at the time of the incident, as well as the actions of the crew."
The most plausible sequence of events seems to be a normal approach, slight undershoot and main gear being snapped off by the kerb at the end of the runway.
A Cessna 172 and an SUV crashed into one another at Northwest Regional Airport (52F) as the Skyhawk prepared to land at the private airfield in Roanoke, Texas.
As seen in the footage – captured by the Skyhawk pilot’s onlooking wife – the 172’s undercarriage sliced through the top of the Volvo SUV as it drove into the airplane while on a private road that runs perpendicular to Runway 17 – which lies just feet away.
A Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) is one which provides differential corrections and integrity monitoring of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) data using as input data either three or four GNSS satellite signals received at three of four antennae. The differential correction message computed from this data is then continually broadcast omni-directionally (twice every second) by a ground transmitter using a VHF frequency broadcast (VDB) which is effective within an approximate 23 nm radius of the host airport. GBAS is used primarily used to facilitate GNSS-based precision approaches which are more flexible in design than is possible with ILS. Whilst the main goal of GBAS is to provide signal integrity, it also increases signal accuracy, with demonstrated position errors of less than one meter in both the horizontal and vertical plane. One GBAS Ground Station at an airport supports aircraft approach and landing to multiple runway ends as well as departures from multiple runways and surface movement for all GBAS-equipped aircraft.
Augmentation of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is a method of improving –“augmenting”– the navigation system's performances, such as integrity, continuity, accuracy or availability thanks to the use of external information to the GNSS into the user position solution[1][2].
A Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) is a civil-aviation safety-critical system that supports local augmentation –at airport level– of the primary GNSS constellation(s) by providing enhanced levels of service that support all phases of approach, landing, departure and surface operations. While the main goal of GBAS is to provide integrity assurance, it also increases the accuracy with position errors below 1 m (1 sigma).
The FBI is offering up to a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of any individual engaged in laser illuminations of aircraft in the United States.”
Reports of aircraft laser illuminations in the United States have increased sharply over the past few years—from 2,836 in 2010 to 3,960 in 2013. ALPA successfully urged lawmakers to make laser illuminations of aircraft a specific federal crime, and it is now punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and up to five years’ imprisonment. In addition to these criminal penalties, the FAA also has the ability to impose civil fines of up to $11,000 per laser incident.
The campaign will raise awareness of aircraft laser-illumination threats via public service announcements, billboards, and press releases. A number of these events will also feature ALPA pilots and law enforcement officials. You can view several publications related to this issue at ALPA’s laser threat awareness campaign website here.
A 26-year-old California man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for pointing a laser at a police helicopter that was responding to a report of his previous attack on a medevac helicopter. Defense lawyers argued Sergio Patrick Rodriquez, of Clovis in central California, was just goofing around with his kids when he shined the laser at the aircraft. Prosecutors argued he did it on purpose. "This is not a game," U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner is quoted by The Associated Press as saying. "It is dangerous and it is a felony." Rodriquez's girlfriend, 23-year-old Jennifer Coleman, has also been convicted of felony charges and could end up in jail for five years when she is sentenced in May.
The Air Line Pilots Association applauded the stiff sentence, noting that emergency responders are more vulnerable to laser attacks because they fly at low altitudes. “ALPA applauds the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), The Eastern District of California U.S. District Court, and the Clovis and Fresno Police Departments for their vigilance in the investigation and conviction of this case," the union said in a news release. "ALPA has collaborated with the FBI and local law enforcement to launch a nationwide campaign that raises awareness about the severity of illegal laser attacks on aircraft." There were 3,960 reported incidents of laser attacks on aircraft in 2013.
Airbus will be testing a film said to reflect laser light, from Halifax-area manufacturer Lamda Guard. The announcement came at a June 4 2014 press conference jointly held by the two companies.
Lamda Guard’s “metaAir” film uses metamaterials, also called nano-composites, to reflect one or more laser colors without interfering with normal visibility. According to the company, the film can protect from beam angles up to +/- 50 degrees away from head-on. This has benefits when protecting cockpits against laser strikes, which can come from any angle.
It can be adhesively applied to glass or clear plastic; applications include eyewear, protective goggles and windscreens. Lamda Guard says that the Airbus tests on windscreens will mark the first time an optical metamaterial nano-composite has been applied on a large-scale surface.
FULL EMERGENCY LANDING at LHR. This 747F was onroute to Germany when one engine was shut down due to fire. A second engine then began to run rough so a full emergency "any runway landing" was declared. A spectacular approach was made as the aircraft did an S type manouvre dropping from almost double the glidepath.. A superb display from the pilot and the plane landed safely !!!! 27R EGLL (Fuji Finepix S7000)
Learjet G-MURI departed Farnborugh at 11:22 GMT for a flight to Nice. At 12:22 GMT, during cruise flight at FL390, no. 1 engine problems forced the crew to shut it down. The captain then radioed: "Mayday Mayday Mayday Nex four Bravo we’ve lost an engine at flight level three nine zero and we’re in the descent". Air traffic control suggested a diversion to Lyon-Satolas. The aircraft was positioned for a runway 36L ILS approach. At the end of the unstabilized final approach, the airplane descended a little bit below the glide slope. Significant power was then added on the no. 2 engine, following which the aircraft banked to the left causing the wing to touch the ground. The aircraft crashed next to the runway and caught fire. PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident resulted from a loss of yaw and then roll control which appears to be due to the failure to monitor flight symmetry at the time of the thrust increase on the right engine. The hastiness exhibited by the captain and his difficulty in coping with the stress following the engine failure, contributed to this situation."
They're supposed to be the action a pilot takes to avoid an unsafe condition, but missed approaches and go-arounds too often result in accidents. The Flight Safety Foundation is trying to find out why, and AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with the foundation's Kevin Hiatt.
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