Module 4.3 Aviation Security

As we all know, there are many threats to Aviation. I remember the days of walking up and standing at the gate to watch loved ones come off the aircraft.  Customer service and comfort were of the utmost importance. Now we can’t even get near the gates without having a ticket, or an escort pass, you always have to go through security and forget about comfort. Over the last 30 years, commercial flying has changed dramatically.

Life in Aviation forever changed on September 11, 2001, as we all watched 4 aircraft crash, and thousands die at the hands of 19 terrorists. In November 2001 the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was signed in to law by President George H.W. Bush, and the Aviation Security Administration (TSA) was created to manage all forms of transportation. (TSA, 2017) As the years have gone by, the TSA has changed and adapted to the many terrorists who have tried to continue to cause devastation. Such as the shoe bomber, in December 2001. The terrorists who plotted to use liquid explosives on at least 10 flights, in August 2006. And my favorite the Underwear Bomber in December 2009. All of these have led to more and more security measures, such as removing our shoes, limiting our liquids to 3.4 oz. and advanced Imaging machines. (TSA, 2017)

Even with the constant change to security, we will continue to have new threats. One threat that is hard to detect is an insider threat. From the people who scan the luggage to the pilots, how do we really know who has bad intentions. In March 2015, Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 in to the French Alps killing all 150 souls on board. (Levs, 2015). Crew vetting, behavior detection, intelligence and passengers are our best defense against cases like this.

Crew vetting would help eliminate prospective pilots or other crew members from ever being hired. Behavior detection could help bring attention to someone who acts or seems suspicious, this could even be someone who is just acting out of their norm. These combined with Intelligence, which would watch for patterns, such as internet searches, phone conversations and even places traveled to. Last but certainly not least, passengers. Because even as a passenger, you can notice something out of the ordinary. It takes all of us to remain aware of what is going on to help prevent Aviation threats and help TSA do their job.

Transportation Safety Administration. (2017). Timeline. Retrieved from https://www.tsa.gov/timeline

Levs, Smith-Spark &Yan (2015, March 26) Germanwings Flight 9525 co-pilot deliberately crashed plane, officials say. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com

Module 3.2 Aircraft Systems and Flight: Fuel Management

Module 3.2 Aircraft Systems and Flight: Fuel Management

Why would an aircraft ever need to make an emergency landing or even crash due to fuel starvation? When flying an aircraft, as demonstrated in the presentations about fuel systems, most aircraft have 2 or more fuel tanks. This means the fuel selector typically has at least 3 positions. The fuel tanks are usually located in the wings, and you can usually select left wing, right wing, both or off.  Normally, while in flight the pilot will keep the fuel selector set to both tanks. However, there is occasionally a need to or a type of aircraft that will require you to select an individual tank, and/or have you switch back and forth between tanks during the flight. This could be for weight distribution.    

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) website. (”NTSB Safety Alert Addresses Poor Fuel Management". 8/29/2017) between 2011 and 2015 the 6^th leading cause of general aviation accidents was fuel management. This includes fuel starvation and fuel exhaustion. There were more than 50 instances in each of those years. 35% of those accidents were due to fuel starvation. The difference between fuel starvation and fuel exhaustion is that with fuel starvation, you still have fuel on board the aircraft, however, something is preventing the fuel from getting to the engine. With fuel exhaustion, there is no fuel left in the tanks. Fuel exhaustion accounted for 56% of those accidents.

With everything we know today and with the pilot checklists, continuous maintenance inspections as well as additional training, it is hard to believe that an aircraft can still have a fuel management issue in the air. Nevertheless in November 2016, it happened to LaMia Flight 2933, killing 71 people from a Brazilian soccer team. (“Colombian plane crash: Jet without fuel, crew member said”. 12/01/2016) according to the article air traffic controllers were told by a crew member on the flight that “The plane is in total electric failure and without fuel”. This made sense to investigators on the ground, who said they would have expected an explosion or a fire, had there been fuel on the aircraft.

I believe the only way to prevent this from happening again, is continuous training. We just have to keep the conversation going.

Reference:

(8/29/2017) NTSB Safety Alert Addresses Poor Fuel Management. Retrieved from https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/pr20170829.aspx

Ostrower, Jon (12/01/2016) Columbian plane crash: Jet without fuel, crew member said. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/30/americas/colombia-plane-crash-investigation-fuel/

2.3 The Operating Environment and Aircraft Performance

When talking about environmental factors and aircraft performance, I remember being a passenger on a Southwest 737 taking off out of Amarillo Texas in 1995 during a tornado. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. The aircraft dropped several times during take off. People were screaming. Storms, such as tornadoes, are constantly being studied so that we can understand them better. According to Adam Daum with NYC Aviation, “Understanding how we detect these storms is almost more important than how they work.” (“Aviation Weather Hazards: Understanding Tornadoes”. 2014, July14). It is very important for the safe operation of an aircraft to know when and where storms, that could possibly produce high winds or tornadoes, may be.  Living in Kansas, we have our share of Tornadoes. However with the technology today to detect tornadoes and even high winds, pilots are more prepared prior to take off and typically it is the aircraft on the ground that end up with the most damage from high winds and tornadoes.  

Daum, Adam (2014, July 14) Aviation Weather Hazards: Understanding Tornadoes. NYC Aviation. Retrieved from http://www.nycaviation.com