SAFE WINGS. This issue DRONES: AN EMERGING THREAT TO CIVIL AVIATION. La Mia FLIGHT * For Internal Circulation Only

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1 * For Internal Circulation Only SAFE WINGS Flight Safety Magazine of Air India, Air India Express and Alliance Air Issue 55, DECEMBER 2016 This issue DRONES: AN EMERGING THREAT TO CIVIL AVIATION La Mia FLIGHT 2933

2 SAFE WINGS December Edition 55 Intentionally left blank 1 P a g e

3 December Edition 55 SAFE WINGS EDITORIAL The improvement in technology and easy availability of drones have given everyone access to Drones/ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. There have been various instances when such Drones/ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle have posed risk to Civilian aircrafts. In this Edition of our magazine we have featured an article on Threat of Drones to civil aviation and a recent accident due to Fuel Starvation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The posting of stories, reports and documents in this magazine does not in any way, imply or necessarily express or suggest that all the information is correct. It is based on details gathered from various sources and is for information purpose only. The Flight Safety Department is making this material available in its efforts to advance the understanding of safety. It is in no way responsible for any errors, omissions or deletions in the reports. 2 P a g e

SAFE WINGS December Edition 55 DRONES: AN EMERGING THREAT TO CIVIL AVIATION Recently after sighting of a drone in Dubai airspace, the airspace over Dubai and Sharjah was shut down among wide spread

4 SAFE WINGS December Edition 55 DRONES: AN EMERGING THREAT TO CIVIL AVIATION Recently after sighting of a drone in Dubai airspace, the airspace over Dubai and Sharjah was shut down among wide spread disruption & diversions. There have been plenty of pilot reports of drones where they were not expected particularly at low altitudes around airports. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being openly sold all over the world and a number of private companies use them for different purposes. Indian regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a public notice in October 2014, banning non-government agencies, organisations or individuals from launching a UAV or UAS (unmanned aerial system) in the Indian civil air space for any purpose. Safety reports from a number of civil aviation and safety authorities all over the world have revealed a significant number of near-collisions. With the 3 P a g e

December Edition 55 SAFE WINGS number of incidents increasing at a great rate, the potential for collisions between manned and unmanned aircraft is growing alarmingly.

5 December Edition 55 SAFE WINGS number of incidents increasing at a great rate, the potential for collisions between manned and unmanned aircraft is growing alarmingly. There is insufficient scientific data regarding the specific damages likely to be caused by these collisions on manned aircraft of all types, but even low mass drones can pose a safety hazard. Many of the unmanned aircraft operators are new to the field of aviation. The hazards involving manned and unmanned aircraft operating together in the same airspace requires education of the drone operators. Unmanned aircraft operating in non-segregated airspace need to operate in accordance with the same tried-and-tested concepts as manned aircraft: they will need to operate in accordance with air traffic control instructions and have compatible communications and navigation capabilities and be able to be seen by air traffic controllers and manned aircraft. Where companies and military forces operate in segregated airspace, measures will have to be in place to ensure that they remain within that airspace. 4 P a g e

SAFE WINGS December Edition 55 LAMIA FLIGHT 2933 LaMia Flight 2933 was a charter flight of an Avro RJ85, operated by LaMia, that crashed in Colombia shortly after 10:00 pm local time on 28 November

6 SAFE WINGS December Edition 55 LAMIA FLIGHT 2933 LaMia Flight 2933 was a charter flight of an Avro RJ85, operated by LaMia, that crashed in Colombia shortly after 10:00 pm local time on 28 November 2016, killing 71 of the 77 people on board. The aircraft was transporting the Brazilian Chapecoense football squad, including 22 players, 23 coaching and other club staff, 2 guests and 21 journalists, from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Medellin in Colombia. The team was en route to play the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals in Medellín, against Colombian team Atlético Nacional. Two of the nine crewmembers, three of the players and one journalist survived. Originally the flight was planned to have a fuel stop at the city of Cobija, on Bolivia's border with Brazil, but the flight's late departure meant the aircraft would not arrive at Cobija prior to the airport's closing time. An officer of Bolivia's Airports and Air Navigation Services Administration reportedly rejected the crew's flight plan for a direct flight to Medellín several times despite pressure from the aircraft's captain, because of the aircraft's range being almost the same as the flight distance. Then the flight plan was reportedly altered to include a refueling stop in Bogotá instead and was 5 P a g e

December Edition 55 SAFE WINGS approved by another AASANA officer. The distance between Santa Cruz and Medellín airports is 1,598 nautical miles.

7 December Edition 55 SAFE WINGS approved by another AASANA officer. The distance between Santa Cruz and Medellín airports is 1,598 nautical miles. A fuel stop in Cobija would have broken the flight into two segments: an initial segment of 514 nautical miles to Cobija followed by a flight of 1,101 nautical miles to Medellín, a 6 P a g e

8 SAFE WINGS December Edition 55 total of 1,615 nautical miles. Bogota's airport is 1,486 nautical miles from Santa Cruz's airport and 116 nautical miles from Medellín's. Under standard conditions, the RJ85 has a range of approximately 1,600 nautical miles with a payload of 7,800 kilograms. While the investigation into the crash of the LaMia RJ-85 airliner in Colombia is still ongoing, it is becoming apparent that the aircraft ran out of fuel. Investigators at the crash site noted that there was no post-crash fire or fuel spillage. Other evidence suggesting fuel starvation is that photos of the fan blades on the engines appear to show them to be mostly intact. A spinning engine often throws its blades upon impact suggesting that the engines were not operating. Other significant factors affecting this flight were the length of the leg, an arrival delay imposed due to another emergency aircraft, and the status of the pilot as a part owner of the charter airline. Also of note is that the first officer was on her first flight as a commercial pilot. ICAO rules state that an aircraft must have enough fuel to travel to its destination and any alternate airport plus an additional 30 minutes for reserve. The first and perhaps most common way to run out of fuel is due to simple human error. This can result in an aircraft being mis-fueled or having an erroneous fuel reading due to a bad gauge. An erroneous fuel guage will surprise the pilots the most when it suddenly gets quiet while still airborne,. This can take multiple errors by fuel-ers, engineers, or pilots who may circumvent procedures designed to catch fuel errors, but it has been known to happen. The second way to run out of fuel is to have a lapse of judgement, or what is called airmanship in aviation. 7 P a g e

9 December Edition 55 SAFE WINGS Part of the essence of being a pilot in command of a commercial aircraft means internalizing the fact that 1) you're on your own and 2) that everyone aboard is depending on you. Of course the PIC is not literally on his/her own as s/he has resources such as the copilot, air traffic control, and flight dispatch. But once airborne no one will be there to hold the PIC s hand if things go wrong. The nature of the pilots job means that s/he will be made, in some way or another, to own the decisions s/he makes Keeping your eye on your fuel state is one of those things that every pilot gets pounded into them from day one. Running out of fuel is something you are just not supposed to do, and it is rare but it happens. In 1978, a United Airlines DC-8 crashed outside of Portland, Oregon after running out of fuel. The pilots had become preoccupied with a bad gear indication and flew around until the fuel ran out. The crew was not assertive enough to communicate the plane's dire fuel state to a distracted captain. In 1990, an Avianca Boeing 707 crashed after running out of fuel on approach to New York's JFK airport killing 74 passengers and crew. The cause was determined to be a language barrier and misunderstanding by the crew in communicating their fuel state to air traffic control. Specifically, air traffic controllers will not give priority handling to any aircraft unless the word "emergency" is used. The Avianca crew did not use that term and ran out of fuel after extensive traffic delays. In both of these cases, the pilot in command failed to take appropriate actions to land before the fuel ran out. It really doesn't matter what the air traffic control says, it is better to declare an emergency and land instead of running out of fuel and crashing. Making uncomfortable choices between two potentially unpleasant options is a big part of being a pilot. 8 P a g e

10 SAFE WINGS December Edition 55 While the investigation is far from complete, a picture is beginning to emerge. LaMia, which only owned this aircraft, was known to be one of the cheapest charter operators available for hire in the region. A takeoff delay also meant that a potential refuelling stop was not available due to the closure of that field. It also turns out that the pilot in command was a part owner of the company who may have let financial concerns cloud his judgement. Lastly, his copilot, was on her first ever commercial flight as a pilot. This is important because with this level of experience, she may not have been aware of the fuel situation nor was she likely to intervene even if she was. 9 P a g e

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12 We give utmost importance to your valuable comments and feedback. Please do mail us at or PROMISING A SAFER SKY, AIR INDIA, AIR INDIA EXPRESS & ALLIANCE AIR Editorial: Capt V Kulkarni, Bhavish B S Designed by Bhavish BS

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