Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/649869
ByJoanLowy The Associated Press WASHINGTON Airline- safety standards are chang- ing in the wake of the dis- appearance of Malaysia Air- lines Flight 370 nearly two years ago, but the head of one of the world's top air crash investigation agen- cies says it's not happening fast enough. On Wednesday, the In- ternational Civil Aviation Organization, the U.N. agency that sets global avi- ation standards, moved to address some of the more glaring safety gaps. Planes in "distress" will have to automatically report their position and other critical information at least every minute to help searchers find the wreckage. But the requirement will only ap- ply to planes built six years from now or later. It could take even lon- ger to implement another ICAO change requiring new planes have a reliable means to recover informa- tion stored in "black box" data and cockpit voice re- corders, rather than scour- ing the ocean floor for the boxes. Several exist- ing technologies could do that, but ICAO's timeline means it could be a de- cade or more before planes equipped with those tech- nologies begin entering service. Chris Hart, chairman of the U.S. National Trans- portation Safety Board, told The Associated Press that more should be done to put available technologies to use quickly. "We are concerned about the slow pace of progress at both the national and inter- national levels," Hart said. "We believe this is long overdue." Here's a look at what has changed, what has not and what is in the works. Flighttracking As a result of MH370, ICAO has approved a re- quirement that all airliners report their position about every 15 minutes over open ocean by November 2018. Pilots of planes flying over open ocean have typically reported their position about every 30 minutes. Inmarsat, a provider of satellite flight tracking ser- vices, has offered free track- ing to all long-haul carri- ers. But there are gaps in Inmarsat's coverage of the globe. Another aircraft-track- ing provider, Aireon LLC, has partnered with Iridium Communications, which has a network of 66 low- orbit satellites, and says it plans to offer flight tracking of virtually all of the world's airspace beginning in 2018. In order to use the system, planes must be equipped with special satellite com- munications technology known as ADS-B. Besides flight tracking, ADS-B can be used to pre- vent collisions and allow planes to fly closer together. Aircraft manufacturers are already including the tech- nology in new planes, but airlines are still in the pro- cess of equipping older planes, which is expensive. The United States has set a deadline of 2020 for air- lines operating in its air- space to equip their planes. There is no international deadline. Finding wreckage Flight tracking is help- ful, but may not narrow a search area enough to reli- ably find a plane. Instead, aviation officials want planes to automatically send out position reports at least once per minute when they are trouble. At normal flight speeds, minute-by-minute reports would provide authorities with a search area of a lit- tle over 100 square miles. If reports are less frequent, the search area grows much larger. ICAO's newly adopted requirement for automatic, minute-by-minute reports by planes in distress ap- plies only to planes made after Jan. 1, 2021. Many planes are already equipped to send periodic short automatic messages to ground stations via VFR radio or satellite using a digital datalink system. In 2009, a burst of such brief messages from Air France flight 447 provided search- ers enough information to find wreckage from the plane just days after it dis- appeared over the Atlantic Ocean. However, it still took two years before the plane's black boxes were recov- ered. In the case of MH370, the Boeing 777 was also equipped with the technol- ogy to send such messages, but the service wasn't in use. Airlines typically use the systems to relay infor- mation on how the plane and its engines are func- tioning so that maintenance personnel and equipment can be positioned at its next destination if needed. Flight recorders MH370's flight data re- corder was equipped with an underwater locator bea- con designed to last 30 days. ICAO standards ad- opted before the plane's dis- appearance require the bea- cons to last 90 days begin- ning in 2018. This week, ICAO ap- proved a requirement that new aircraft designs ap- proved after Jan. 1, 2021, have some means for re- trieving a plane's record- ers, or the information con- tained in them, before the recorder sinks to the ocean floor. One possibility is a deployable recorder that automatically ejects from a plane upon impact and floats to the ocean's sur- face. They're widely used in military aircraft, but Boeing says cases where they'll be needed are likely to be fewer than instances in which they accidently deploy, potentially causing injuries and property dam- age. An alternative is to have planes in distress auto- matically relay the data via satellite to ground sta- tions, eliminating the need to search for the box. But there are many unan- swered questions about se- curity and custody of the information. Even then, it might be 2028 or later before planes with either deployable re- corders or a means to trans- mit the recorder's data be- fore a crash enter service because of the time lag be- tween the approval of new plane designs and when they are ready to fly. MISSING JETLINER Ai rl in es s lo w to a do pt s af et y technologies a er MH370 JOSHUAPAUL—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A man views a fleet of Malaysia Airline planes on the tarmac of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Malaysia. AHN YOUNG-JOON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS People walk by a TV news program showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Seoul, South Korea, on Friday. By Hyung-Jin Kim The Associated Press SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to be ready to launch nuclear strikes at any time, state media re- ported Friday, an escala- tion in rhetoric targeting Seoul and Washington that may not reflect the country's actual nuclear capacity. The threats are part of the authoritarian gov- ernment's ramped-up propaganda push to sig- nal strength at home and abroad in the face of what it portrays as an ef- fort by South Korea and the United States to over- throw its leadership. In North Korea's first official response to the U.N.'s recent adoption of harsh sanctions over its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, the North also warned Friday it will bolster its nuclear arsenal and make unspecified "strong and merciless physical" measures. A government statement called the U.N. sanctions the "most hei- nous international crimi- nal act" aimed at isolating and stifling the country. "The only way for de- fending the sovereignty of our nation and its right to existence under the present extreme situ- ation is to bolster up nu- clear force both in quality and quantity," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said, para- phrasing Kim. It said Kim stressed "the need to get the nuclear warheads de- ployed for national de- fense always on standby so as to be fired any mo- ment." North Korea has threat- ened nuclear war in the past, but it is unclear just how advanced the coun- try's nuclear program re- ally is. It is thought to have a handful of crude atomic bombs, but there is considerable outside de- bate about the state of its arsenal. Most experts say it's highly unlikely that North Korea currently has a reli- able intercontinental bal- listic missile capable of reaching U.S. shores, let alone the ability to arm it with a miniaturized nu- clear warhead. But North Korea can probably place nuclear warheads on its shorter-range Scuds and its 1,300-kilometer- range Rodong missiles, which can strike targets in South Korea and Japan, said Lee Choon Geun, an analyst from South Ko- rea's state-funded Science and Technology Policy In- stitute. Other analysts, however, question this. Kim issued the nuclear threat while guiding the test-firing of a new large- caliber multiple launch rocket system, in a likely reference to six short- range projectiles that Seoul says North Korea fired on Thursday. South Korea's Defense Ministry said the pro- jectiles, fired from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan, flew about 60 to 90 miles and landed in the sea. Ministry of- ficials said they couldn't confirm whether they were fired by the weap- ons system referred to by the North Korean news agency. The report did not say when the test-fir- ing occurred. NKorea, on defensive a er sanctions, makes bold nuclear threat TENSIONS Construction Burrows Construction Remodel, New Additions, Siding Repair and Replacement, Water and Dryrot New Construction Foundation to Finish Ph:(530) 515-9779 Residential•Commerical PATIOS•DECKS REFRENCES Lic#824770 InPrintEvery Tues. - Thurs. - Sat. Online:Publishes24/7 www.redbluffdailynews.com Threeadditionalonline locations at no extra cost! Print and On-Line HOME SERVICES DIRECTORY Full Size $ 117 .50 Per Month No early cancellation, non-refundable TWO SIZES TO CHOOSE FROM Half Size $ 70 .00 Per Month Roofing Call for Estimates! Residential, Commercial & Mobiles www.harbertroofing.com HARBERT ROOFING, INC. 530-223-3251 Lic# 696974 Time To Roof? Blinds Need Blinds? C A L L P A U L 527-0842 North State Blinds & Draperies www.nsbd.biz Lic.#906022 Paul Stubbs Lawn Service (530) 566-7951 ★ LAWN SERVICE ★ WEED EATING ★ HEADING ★ GUTTER CLEANING ★ FULL TREE SERVICE ★ FIRE BREAKS ScottWest HONEST& DEPENDABLE Green again landscaping Construction A l l en s C o n s t r u c t i o n FREE ESTIMATES 530 949-6162 CA LIC#914460 Advertisement Ifthiswasyour Service Directory ad customers would be reading it right now!! Call us at 527-2151 For more information Clock Repair 20910 Pebblestone Dr. Red Bluff 530-736-7079 Grandpa's Clocks Jim Paul Call for appt. Your Clock Repair Shop Member NAWCC Mechanical, Battery and Electrical clocks Landscape/Fence Steve's Tractor & Landscape Service www.stevestractorandlandscape.com • Fence Building • Landscaping • Trenching • Rototilling • Disking • Mowing • Ridging • Post Hole Digging • Blade Work • Sprinkler Installation • Concrete Work Cont. Lic. #703511 SteveDyke 385-1783 Landscape Contractors David P. McFann Office (530) 527-3163 visit us @ dpm-landscaping.com Cont. Lic #560133 Est. 1979 Experts in: * Custom Landscaping * Irrigation Systems * Xeriscape *Hardscape * Landscape Maintenance Tree Service CROWDER TREE SPECIALIST TRIMMING STUMP GRINDING REMOVAL YARD CLEAN UP $50 OFF ALL SERVICES OVER $200 24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE COMMERCIAL GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE WOOD FOR SALE (530) 899-1853 FREE ESTIMATES CA.S.L.#979193 Serving you since 1947 We accept credit cards EXP. 3/31/2016 Lawn Care A L L L A W N C A R E • Mowing • Edging • Weedeating • Clean-ups • Free Consultation Commercial • Residential (530) 529-3689 Serving The Greater Tehama County Area Since 1994 Professional Lawn Care Lic # 6478 www.alllawncare.net Flooring Carpet/Linoleum Installation/Restretch/Repair Vinyl/Laminate/Tile Installation Sub-Floor Installation and Repair 530-200-3821 License #558476 Tractor Service Tractor and Weed Control Rotary, Flail Mowing Rototilling, Disking Dump Trailer Call Dennis Conner 530-200-1040 Tree Service Eric Eslinger Owner Phone: 530-416-0425 Voted Best Tree Service 2011, 2012, 2013, & 2014 Lic#987325 Workers Comp Insured & Bonded • Shape • Trim • Lot Clearing • Fire Breaks • Hazard Tree Removal • Stump Grinding 10% Discount to Seniors Pool Service AndersonPool Service PumpandFilterRepair Spring Clean-Ups Serving Red Bluff and Cottonwood for over 30 years Dependable Pool Service (530) 365-9012 George Dunn | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2016 10 B