UPI Intelligence Watch:"Throttles-only airliner pilot training"
UPI Intelligence Watch
By JOHN C.K. DALY
UPI International Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- In light of the increased threat of terrorist missile attack NASA, United Airlines and the Department of Homeland Security are reviving throttles-only airliner pilot training.
NASA first studied the issue in the 1990s in an attempt to develop training for airliner flight crews to cope with catastrophic aerial flight-control system failures.
The projected training will encompass developing guidelines for flight crews to operate damaged aircraft using "throttles-only control." The homeland security-led propulsion-controlled aircraft recovery project is using data from the 1990s NASA study.
A significant difference between the decade-old guidelines and the new research is that the new program requires no hardware or software modifications.
Flightglobal.com reported on Aug. 29 that NASA developed the original propulsion-controlled aircraft concept after a 1989 Sioux City crash in which a United McDonnell Douglas DC-10 lost all hydraulic power. The disaster resulted in the development of a computer-based control system to fly aircraft solely using engine thrust.
Homeland security's renewed interest in training pilots to use throttles-only control of damaged or disabled aircraft stems from their concerns about attacks on civilian airliners from shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles.
In pursuing its global war on terror the U.S. Department of Defense is prioritizing many areas that were previously of little interest.
Stars and Stripes reported Thursday that Defense Department spokesman Eric Ruff said Pentagon officials are giving "increased consideration" to creating a specific Africa Command.
Ruff added that while Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is considering creating the African Command he has yet to make a formal recommendation to President George W. Bush.
Ruff commented that specific details of the projected African Command have yet to be worked out, including where the command would be headquartered or whether troops would be stationed permanently in Africa. Pentagon officials are considering drawing the majority of troops for the African from United States' European Command.
According to the Pentagon's current Unified Command Plan, most of sub-Saharan Africa is covered by European Command. The United States' Central Command is responsible for Horn of Africa nations, while Pacific Command is responsible for Madagascar and other East African islands in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.
Defense Department spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said that thus far the Unified Command Plan has not been altered, adding that the Unified Command Plan is reviewed every two years.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks U.S. officials have begun to recognize the increasing strategic importance Africa plays. The continent is rich in natural resources and is an increasing source of U.S. oil imports. Officials also worry that Africa's impoverished Muslim populations might be influenced by terrorist extremists.
On Aug. 7, 1998, truck bombs planted by al-Qaida terrorists exploded simultaneously outside the U. S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than 220 people, including 12 Americans, and wounding 4,000 more.
There are currently few American troops stationed in Africa but joint anti-terrorist operations have been held, most recently last month's Natural Fire 2006, a 10-day multilateral exercise that involved U.S. troops alongside approximately 1,000 military personnel from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Natural Fire 2006 was the first joint exercise between the United States and East Africa Community member states since 2000.
Kenyan army Brig. Gen. Leonard Ngondi commanded Natural Fire 2006 forces along with a joint military staff of Kenyan, Tanzanian, Ugandan and U.S. officers.
The largest U.S. military base in Africa is currently Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, headquarters of the Combined Joint Task Force -- Horn of Africa. Two months ago the Pentagon reached agreement with the government of Djibouti to expand Camp Lemonier to 500 acres after signing a five-year lease.
The Kenya Ports Authority is increasing Mombassa port security measures to comply with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks the United States was instrumental in pressing the International Maritime Organization to ratify the International Ship and Port Security Code, or ISPFSC.
The East African Standard reported Thursday that the Kenya Ports Authority is bringing Mombassa up to ISPFSC standards due to concerns over port security in light of terrorist threats and to ensure that Kenyan shipping complies with the code so its ships can visit U.S. ports.
The Kenya Ports Authority has already embarked on implementing maritime security measures based on the recommendations of its 2005 "Port Facility Assessment."
Kenya Ports Authority managing director Abdalla Mwaruwa said that the new measures are designed not only to thwart terrorist activities in and around the port but reduce theft and crime.
Terrorism experts commented that in light of increased international efforts to improve aviation security, terrorists are expected to shift their attention to maritime targets, particularly commercial shipping.
Mwaruwa said, "We can confirm that since the beginning of this year we have not lost any container and have had only two attempted cases of pilferage at the Mombassa port."
The authority has also assigned two swift pilot boats to patrol Mombassa, which has reported a 2.6 percent growth in traffic in the first half of the of the year to 6.9 million tons of cargo.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
By JOHN C.K. DALY
UPI International Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- In light of the increased threat of terrorist missile attack NASA, United Airlines and the Department of Homeland Security are reviving throttles-only airliner pilot training.
NASA first studied the issue in the 1990s in an attempt to develop training for airliner flight crews to cope with catastrophic aerial flight-control system failures.
The projected training will encompass developing guidelines for flight crews to operate damaged aircraft using "throttles-only control." The homeland security-led propulsion-controlled aircraft recovery project is using data from the 1990s NASA study.
A significant difference between the decade-old guidelines and the new research is that the new program requires no hardware or software modifications.
Flightglobal.com reported on Aug. 29 that NASA developed the original propulsion-controlled aircraft concept after a 1989 Sioux City crash in which a United McDonnell Douglas DC-10 lost all hydraulic power. The disaster resulted in the development of a computer-based control system to fly aircraft solely using engine thrust.
Homeland security's renewed interest in training pilots to use throttles-only control of damaged or disabled aircraft stems from their concerns about attacks on civilian airliners from shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles.
In pursuing its global war on terror the U.S. Department of Defense is prioritizing many areas that were previously of little interest.
Stars and Stripes reported Thursday that Defense Department spokesman Eric Ruff said Pentagon officials are giving "increased consideration" to creating a specific Africa Command.
Ruff added that while Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is considering creating the African Command he has yet to make a formal recommendation to President George W. Bush.
Ruff commented that specific details of the projected African Command have yet to be worked out, including where the command would be headquartered or whether troops would be stationed permanently in Africa. Pentagon officials are considering drawing the majority of troops for the African from United States' European Command.
According to the Pentagon's current Unified Command Plan, most of sub-Saharan Africa is covered by European Command. The United States' Central Command is responsible for Horn of Africa nations, while Pacific Command is responsible for Madagascar and other East African islands in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.
Defense Department spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said that thus far the Unified Command Plan has not been altered, adding that the Unified Command Plan is reviewed every two years.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks U.S. officials have begun to recognize the increasing strategic importance Africa plays. The continent is rich in natural resources and is an increasing source of U.S. oil imports. Officials also worry that Africa's impoverished Muslim populations might be influenced by terrorist extremists.
On Aug. 7, 1998, truck bombs planted by al-Qaida terrorists exploded simultaneously outside the U. S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than 220 people, including 12 Americans, and wounding 4,000 more.
There are currently few American troops stationed in Africa but joint anti-terrorist operations have been held, most recently last month's Natural Fire 2006, a 10-day multilateral exercise that involved U.S. troops alongside approximately 1,000 military personnel from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Natural Fire 2006 was the first joint exercise between the United States and East Africa Community member states since 2000.
Kenyan army Brig. Gen. Leonard Ngondi commanded Natural Fire 2006 forces along with a joint military staff of Kenyan, Tanzanian, Ugandan and U.S. officers.
The largest U.S. military base in Africa is currently Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, headquarters of the Combined Joint Task Force -- Horn of Africa. Two months ago the Pentagon reached agreement with the government of Djibouti to expand Camp Lemonier to 500 acres after signing a five-year lease.
The Kenya Ports Authority is increasing Mombassa port security measures to comply with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks the United States was instrumental in pressing the International Maritime Organization to ratify the International Ship and Port Security Code, or ISPFSC.
The East African Standard reported Thursday that the Kenya Ports Authority is bringing Mombassa up to ISPFSC standards due to concerns over port security in light of terrorist threats and to ensure that Kenyan shipping complies with the code so its ships can visit U.S. ports.
The Kenya Ports Authority has already embarked on implementing maritime security measures based on the recommendations of its 2005 "Port Facility Assessment."
Kenya Ports Authority managing director Abdalla Mwaruwa said that the new measures are designed not only to thwart terrorist activities in and around the port but reduce theft and crime.
Terrorism experts commented that in light of increased international efforts to improve aviation security, terrorists are expected to shift their attention to maritime targets, particularly commercial shipping.
Mwaruwa said, "We can confirm that since the beginning of this year we have not lost any container and have had only two attempted cases of pilferage at the Mombassa port."
The authority has also assigned two swift pilot boats to patrol Mombassa, which has reported a 2.6 percent growth in traffic in the first half of the of the year to 6.9 million tons of cargo.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
posted by Gabrielle Flora Marie Cusumano | 10:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home