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Two-Hour Delay Follows Tow Bar Break At BOS
By John Goglia - Tuesday June 18, 2013
The sudden bang on pushback was unmistakable – at least to a former airport worker. As soon as I heard that sound, I knew the tow bar had broken or otherwise become disconnected from the aircraft. Tow bars break – perhaps all too often because in the rush of departures and arrivals, and reductions in staff, attending to routine preventive maintenance can frequently fall by the wayside. Usually a broken tow bar is not too big a deal – you just replace the tow bar, and a few minutes later the aircraft is back on its way. Unfortunately, the sound that followed this tow bar break was disconcerting. It sounded to me as though the nose landing gear had taken a solid hit when the bar broke. At a minimum, maintenance was going to have... -
BDOs – Watching the Watchers Watching You
By Art Kosatka - Wednesday June 12, 2013The DHS Inspector General’s office recently issued a 41-page audit of the TSA Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT) program, [ OIG-13-91 ], the intent of which is to observe passenger behavior that may be indicative of stress, fear, or deception in order to detect potential high-risk travelers. SPOT is right up there - #8 on the ubiquitous rainbow chart depicting TSA’s “20 Layers of Aviation Security”, and while the disappointing results of the audit come as no surprise to most security experts, one of the more curious statements is this admission by DHS: This audit did not include work to determine the extent to which the SPOT program is based on valid scientific principles for use as an effective layer... -
Moving Beyond Sameness
By ServiceElements, Christine Hill - Wednesday June 12, 2013Product Parity is when there is not much difference in products, price/cost or location. Many organizations fall into the trap of being ‘just like everyone else’ unless they can differentiate and create a competitive advantage. In our experience, we hear from many business and aviation professionals that “it is all about price” especially on big tag items such as fuel for an aircraft. They say, “We buy from the lowest price provider”. Or many may buy products based on the location of the service/product provider. Those consumers say, “I buy from that provider because it is convenient” or “the only one around”. Many products/services fall into these qualifications, but think for a minute how an organization might win... -
Who Woulda Ever Thought It?
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday June 12, 2013A great source of info is the online aviation forum, AVSIG. It is astounding what you can learn on AVSIG. Ask any question—and I do mean any—and you will probably have the correct answer within 24 hours, max. One of the current “threads” on AVSIG in recent days asks if you would ride an airliner with only one pilot. Also much discussed is the area of unmanned aircraft. In my wildest dreams I never imagined aircraft flying around with no pilots aboard. Today, however, thousands of such craft fly worldwide. Fire departments use them (there’s a video of that on AVSIG), the military uses them with dramatic success, and now there is much discussion of their use for freight and even passenger airlines. One big question... -
Justice For Swissport?
By Steve Smith - Tuesday June 11, 2013
As we write this, Swissport has already had its day in court – or, at the very least, its first day in the Highest Economic Court in Ukraine. Today the court heard Swissport’s appeal of a lower court decision that stripped the ground handling service provider of its affiliate, Swissport Ukraine. We wrote about that decision in our May issue (“Swissport Loses Out In Ukraine … For Now”) that allowed its former joint venture partner, which held a minority stake in the business, to take over a $30 million operation for a mere $400,000. To recap, Ukraine International Airlines and its main shareholder, Aaron Mayberg, took Swissport to court after Swissport may … or may not … have mentioned a plan to increase its capital... -
What Happened Here?
By Ronald Donner - Wednesday June 5, 2013Recent news pointed toward maintenance staff as the reason for the fan cowl doors departing the aircraft on takeoff. The report said, "Subsequent investigation revealed that the fan cowl doors on both engines were left unlatched during maintenance and this was not identified prior to aircraft departure." The report goes on to say the aircraft had undergone scheduled maintenance overnight which required opening the fan cowl doors on both engines to check oil levels. The report did not cite specific factors that led to this event, but it does clearly indicate some type of maintenance error. So what happened here? Did the same technician service both engines and fail to secure the doors on both engines? Was this a case of work interruption... -
Leadership Skills – The Samurai Leader
By ServiceElements, Christine Hill - Wednesday June 5, 2013The Samurai were considered the ultimate warriors for over 700 years in Japan. Their code, Bushido , which means “to serve”, was a value system that defined their core values and how they lived. The Samurai became known for their rigid adherence to the Samurai code, in fact, their lives depended on it. The characteristics that made a good Samurai warrior in the 17th century can be applied to good leaders in the 21 st century. Here are just a few: Good Warriors are made, not born Good Leaders are made, not born – Just as the Samurai learned their code day in and day out, so must good leaders. Leaders learn by observing other leaders, by training in management training programs, by experiences on the job, by trial and error. It... -
A New Piece Of Equipment For The Tarmac?
By Steve Smith - Tuesday June 4, 2013
We received an interesting press release about a new unmanned ground vehicle currently being tested at Quebec City’s Jean Lesage International Airport. The unusual six-wheeled vehicle is built low to the ground and appears to have the world’s largest dust pan mounted on the front. The Remote Package Handling System is the first commercial version of a new family of remote-controlled ground vehicles created by a partnership of three Canadian companies after 10 years of R&D. Although Lesage is not counted among Canada’s largest airport, its security staff prides itself in exploring the newest and best methods of protecting its passengers and staff. Laurent Giroux, chief of security and assistant director of operations, contacted the... -
There's No Such Thing As 'One' Fluid Spill
By John Goglia - Tuesday June 4, 2013
With so much rain these past couple of weeks in Massachusetts, walking the ramp area can be pretty slick. It’s hard to miss the rainbow – sheen from fluid drips and leaks that accumulate on the ground from all the aircraft and various types of GSE that use the airport. Some of these fluids are leaking from the equipment itself and some the result of rushed or sloppy servicing procedures. Many people dismiss these small leaks as being “no big deal” or an unavoidable part of doing business with vehicles that consume or dispense fluids. Well, I disagree. They may not be a big deal individually, but they share can add up. These liquids eventually get washed away in rain and snow storms and end up, if the airport has them, in... -
A Prediction That Came True!
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday May 29, 2013How many years—decades, even—have the pundits predicted that the global economy is coming? It’s no longer coming, folks. It’s here. Nowhere is this truer than aviation. Airplanes, engines and avionics are built all over. China is—according to all the experts—the biggest market and, at the same time, the biggest competitor. Airlines partner with each other worldwide. I get “invitations” to aviation trade shows all over the world. (I’d go to all of them, but they want me to pay my own way.) It is rare, these days, to buy anything in aviation—from basic to highly sophisticated—that is made totally in the U.S.A, or, indeed, any other single country. Being a devout believer in the free market, I think a global...