This afternoon, just before I left work, I spent a few minutes on Twitter asking a question of fellow foreigners in China when I saw a tweet about a possible air plane crash on the Thai island of Koh Samui. I know this island well as I spent Chinese New Year there two years ago and my father flew in and out of the island every month for work back in the late 1990s.

The tweet directed me to a forum, Thai Visa, where every time I hit refresh I could read new posts, which turned out to be mostly rumor. Still, the whole experience was very interesting, and soon enough, breaking news reports started showing up on BBC and Thai newspapers. Now it is all over the Internet. Here is a time line of how it spread. I tuned into Twitter and retweeted about the crash at about 1550 (Beijing time, which would be 1450 Thai time).  Here are some photos detailing the aftermath of what happened. A Bangkok Airways ATR 72 (a very nice airplane, btw) skidded off the runway in heavy rain and plowed into an old air traffic control tower. Evidently the pilot went down with this ship and the co-pilot remains trapped. No other fatalities have been reported.

Braking action on an airplane is severely retarded with water or snow on the runway and it takes much less water than you think to throw everything out of whack. Once you are hydroplaning on water or even just skidding on the runway surface, maintaining directional control – the mantra every pilot knows – can be very difficult. The airplane had just touched down and was traveling at a very high rate of speed. It is unfortunate that there were buildings in the path of this aircraft. It is fortunate there was no fire.

As an aviation ground instructor – what can I take from this to teach my students? I am reminded of the 2005 Air France crash at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, when the A340 overran the end of the runway and burst into flames due to heavy rain and gusting winds. Weather can be a mighty foe, as passengers on a Continental aircraft diverted to Miami for severe turbulence yesterday could surely tell you.

As a pilot’s wife, my heart goes out to the family of the deceased pilot.

En Español:

Este tarde estaba buscando información en Twitter cuando ví noticias de un accidente aérea en la isla Tailandesa de Koh Samui. Conozco la isla bastante bien – fuimos alli al año pasado para las fiestas del nuevo año Chino y mi padre trabajaba alli en los 90.

Desde Twitter, fue dirigido a un foro, Thai Visa, donde alguna de los gente local hablaba del incidente. Había muchos rumores, pero lo más interesante fue que todo estaba ocurriendo en esos momentos. Cada vez que yo tocaba el botón del “reload” (como se dice?) nuevo información/rumores apareció. Aqui hay una interesante cronología de como pasó. (En ingles.) Yo empezó a mandar tweets sobre la tema a las 1550 local, 1450 en Bangkok, unos 20 minutos despues del accidente.

Lo que pasó es un ATR 72, un avion potente y muy bueno, de Bangkok Airways, salió de la pista despues de aterrizar en fuertes lluvias. El avion chocó contra un antiguo torre del control aérea. El piloto (capitán) murió y algunos pasajeros resultaron heridos. Aqui hay unas fotos del avion.

Con agua o nieve en la pista, puede ser muy dificil para un avion frenar y el piloto puede perder el control direccional – una cosa fundamental que los pilots aprenden. Desafortunadamente, había edificios en el camino del avion. Fortunadamente, no había fuego.

Miro éste accidente como una profesora de la teoría de aviación. Que puedo aprender para enseñar mejor mis estudiantes? Me recuerdo mucho del accidente de Air France en Toronto en 2005. El avion aterrizó en fuertes lluvias y viento y no podía frenar. Repartó en llamas despues de salir del fin de la pista. El tiempo no es el amigo del aviación, como pueden decir los pasajeros del Continental que tenía que desviar a Miami por culpa de turbulencias muy fuertes ayer.

Miro éste accidente como la mujer de un piloto y solo puedo pensar en la familia del capitán fallecido. Mis condolencias a la familia.

Since moving to China, aviation has become a big part of my life. I’ve learned more than I ever wanted about engines, airfoils and flight controls. Were I to be stuck in an airplane with a dead pilot, (like that guy in Florida), I think I might be able to land the thing, with a lot of help, and it definitely would not be pretty.

I came to China with the DH to support the growth of general aviation. (Well, okay, maybe I came for the thrill, adventure and food, but the other sounds more lofty, doesn’t it?) All we want is for this business to be successful. We want to see airplanes in the sky and pilots enjoying flight as much as we do in the West. I think, ultimately, China wants this, too, but they’ve got a long road ahead of them. General aviation is a relative unknown in China and there are many challenges.

I’m no expert. Hell, I’m a nurse/librarian, but working at two flight schools over the last 3 1/2 years has taught me a few things about aviation in China.

What are the top 5 challenges in fight training here?

1. The Military and Their Control of Airspace

Probably the biggest challenge to general aviation and flight training is the PLA, the People’s Liberation Army. The PLA, as any good military does, controls, controls, controls. In this case. they control the airspace, deciding who has permission to fly and when and where this flying can take place. Commercial flights are assigned slots and routes and they have no problems flying – as long as they stick to their flight plans. Deviate from the plan and the pilots will likely find a punishment awaiting them on the ground.

General aviation (GA) has far more serious issues. The PLA is not as cooperative with the GA community as they are with the money making and often state-owned commercial airliners. Our instructors and students might be scheduled for a flight to one of three training areas around Linyi, a cross-country flight from Linyi to Jinan, or a flight in the traffic pattern (a rectangular circuit around the airport teaching takeoff, departure, go-around, approach and landing procedures), but the PLA can call up at any time and deny permission for these flights. Denials usually occur because military aircraft are going to be in the area, but we’ve never actually seen a single military aircraft. Sometimes we wonder if the military just dislikes the thought of a bunch of foreign pilots flying around.

This is certainly their right as the controlling body to restrict flight, but ultimately they are hurting China. We are training China’s future pilots AND doing it within the country, keeping millions of RMB inside China. Open the skies!

2. Air Traffic Control Procedures

Another challenge is getting local Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) to understand the needs of flight training. Since controlling commercial air traffic is all they’ve ever known, ATC generally do not understand how a Cessna 172 differs from a Boeing 737. They give directions that are somewhat inefficient and overly cautious, like requiring all flight training aircraft to land 30 minutes before an airliner is due at the airport. This is done to lessen the risk of mid-air collision, but with proper separation (the vertical and horizontal distance between aircraft in the air), communication and standard operating procedures regarding airplane position in the traffic pattern or training areas, it is also completely unnecessary. 

                                 Cessna 172                           Boeing 737

In addition, and this is purely my opinion, I think that some ATC just don’t like the additional work required to control small airplanes. Controlling commercial airliners is straightforward – they approach and land and then leave again. Training aircraft stay in the area and require constant contact with the air traffic control tower. We are changing their routines and they might not appreciated the invasion of their turf.

3. Language Barriers

This leads to a third challenge, which is exacerbated by the fact that China has a flight instructor shortage. Qualified flight instructors have been imported from other countries and use English as the mode of communication. English has been recognized as the international language of aviation, but English proficiency is not required of ATC and pilots working domestically, not yet anyway. Misunderstandings can happen when either the flight instructor or the ATC is unsure of the language used on the radio. Standard phraseology use diminishes the problem, but not completely.

Misunderstandings can also happen between Chinese students and foreign flight instructors, due to language or cultural barriers. Generally these challenges are quickly overcome once the two get to know each other, but they can persist in some cases.

4. Sky Conditions

One challenge that is mostly out of our hands is the weather. And by weather, of course, I’m really talking about pollution here. Student pilots start out flying the airplane just like we drive a car – by looking out the windows. This is known as VFR for Visual Flight Rules. The students must be able to see a minimum of 2km (this might vary according to flight school, training area and altitude) and they cannot fly into any clouds. What to do when the sky looks like this: 

That’s about 100 meters visibility in Shijiazhuang 2006

Many flights are cancelled and valuable hours lost due to poor visibility. The main culprit in China is the smoke of factories and coal burning. The air quality in Linyi is better than other areas, but the city has its share of gray and gritty days. If there is a silver lining to this, it might be that our students become quite skilled at IFR or instrument flight, which is the kind of flying they will be doing when they return to their sponsoring airlines. 

5. Other Random Challenges

What else can be challenging? Finding the right kind of fuel for the airplane, believe it or not! Flight training usually begins on small aircraft with piston engines. That’s the same kind of engine you’ve got in your car. Piston engines take Avgas – aviation gas, similar to the gas you put in that car. Since GA is so uncommon in China, Avgas is not produced or readily available. Commercial airliners use Jet fuel – kerosene – which is not compatible with most small aircraft engines. Lack of fuel, or use of old fuel, which can be contaminated, will lead to airplane groundings, or worse, engine failure.

Overall, maintenance can be an issue due to lack of proper tools and/or access to replacement parts. This problem can be overcome in most situations, but not always. I’ll give you an example that could theoretically occur. Let’s say a business imports a Beechcraft airplane, such as the King Air. Until recently, Beechcraft was owned by  Raytheon, a company banned from business on the Mainland due to their dealings with a certain military across the strait, getting parts for this engine could be difficult. One would hope a company would do their research and not end up in such situations, but it could happen, just as delay or unavailability of a part due to cost, shipping, etc. could ground operations for a period of time.

And last, but not least, I will quickly mention something that has proven challenging to all business endeavors in China, and that is the presence of corruption. It’s here and it is difficult to avoid, as it is an unfortunate part of the business culture at the moment.

Individually or as a whole, these challenges are quite formidable to the supporters of GA. This is bad news for the rich businessman who wants a luxury jet, the enthusiast who wants to play pilot on the weekends, or the entrepreneur who wants to market skydiving clubs across the country. It will take more time, I believe, but our very presence here, working in a flight school, is evidence that China’s skies could be getting friendlier. 

For further reading on why challenges exist, visit this previous post. For an overview of the flight training market in China, visit this post.

If you read Chinese, this PDF, provided by China Civil Aviation Report, discusses general aviation in more detail.

Like any good pilot’s wife, I am learning about airplanes and how they fly… with the help of my Paper Airplane a Day Calender…

Oh yes, they really do fly!

There are orange ones…

Blue ones…

And even green ones.

I feel my aviation education is very well-rounded. Either that or I need more hobbies.

Even though aviation seems more and more depressing by the day, I thought I would share some Chinese planespotting with you.

Chinese Y-5

When I first saw this airplane parked at Linyi’s airport, I was pretty surprised. Being an airplane ignoramus, I believed that biplanes, (airplanes with two sets of wings), had gone out with World War I. While it is true the design is best known for that time period, there are modern biplanes out there. Like the Chinese Y-5.

The Chinese Y-5 started out life as the Russian Antonov An-2, which is the largest single-engine biplane ever built. An-2 aircraft were used primarily for transport and agricultural flying. In the 1950s or 1970s (I’ve got conflicting info), the Chinese began building An-2s using Soviet blueprints (with help from Soviet engineers) and renamed it the Y-5. Y-5s are still manufactured today by the Shijiazhuang Aircraft Manufacturing Company in our former city of Shijiazhuang. Funny how we never saw one there.

The Y-5 landing in Linyi

The Y-5 parked in Linyi appears to be doing some sort of aerial survey work, as there is sonar equipment perched on each wingtip. (I’m guessing they’re looking for mineral deposits?) Sometimes I fear I’m giving away Chinese state secrets when I blog about aircraft here, but at the moment it is the most exciting thing I could come up with!

This is not the first Y-5 here. Back in early 2007 we spotted a green version, through the fog:

What’s amazing to me is the calm and professional tone both Captain Sully and the ATC use here. I just read that the controller believed the Hudson ditching was doomed. You’d never guess that from the audio! This is such a great teaching tool! And is it just me or did this all happen in just a flash of time?!

I realize this blog has degenerated into a collection of rants on my recent flying experiences, but I can’t help myself. The saga continues. Last Saturday I flew from Tulsa to Houston and then on to Victoria, Texas. It was probably the most unpleasant flight I’ve ever had in my life. (And I am blogging about it on Thursday morning because I have been feeling blog laziness… )

I should have known something was up when I boarded the Saab 340b, a twin turboprop capable of holding ~36 passengers, and found we were just 3 for the flight from Houston to Victoria. That couldn’t have been very profitable for Colgan Air…

Things started off well enough as we climbed away from Houston, but all the clouds above had me a little concerned. An airliner can climb quickly and smoothly through all that turbulent air. A Saab 340b will take a considerably longer time and we were only climbing to 6,000 feet anyway. Lordy-lordy was that air turbulent. I was indeed very nerbulent. One of the other passengers was an off-duty flight attendant and the other had observed me reading a Flying magazine that I bought for the DH. When he asked if I was a pilot, I told him no, but that I taught in a flight school. At that point I felt I needed to maintain a nonchalant attitude, so I sat there, silently freaking out while calmly attempting to drink from a water bottle. (Not a good idea.) 

Have you seen Almost Famous? You know the part where the band experiences a crazy, out of control airplane ride and they all end up confessing their secrets to each other? Well, I might be exaggerating, but I think it was more or less like that. 

The airplane bobbed up and down and jerked side to side pretty much nonstop. Occasionally we’d pop up above the clouds and feel a moment or two of calm air before being rocked around and around again. I started to wonder if those other 33 passengers knew something we didn’t. The most amazing thing is that although I was thoroughly uncomfortable, I knew that this was okay. It seems I can handle rocky conditions in a small airplane much better than a big one. Hey, I never said I was logical.

Learning more about pilots and flying airplanes, I realize that although we were in the back terrified, the two pilots in the cockpit were probably enjoying themselves immensely. Either that or they were reading a newspaper, immune to the mild pummeling we were receiving. And that is what I always forget. No matter how horrendous I think the turbulence is, it is almost always considered “light” on the severity scale. When I once inquired of the DH what “severe” turbulence might be like, he swiftly informed me that it was not something that anyone wanted to experience, ever, under any circumstances. Great. I regularly prepare myself for in-flight breakup during conditions that are only considered light? Good times.

/ˈnɜrbyələnt/

-adjective

1. Being in a state of anxiety, especially over the possibility of turbulence. 2. Scared to fly.

My new contribution to the English language!

By now I am sure you have all heard about the US Airways A320 that “landed” in the Hudson River. What a fantastic example of how to ditch an airplane in a very densely populated city! I talk to my students about bird strikes and I have a pretty good collection of bird strike photos – damage to windows, nose cones, engine intake fan blades, leading edges of the wings, etc. This is one that will go straight into my lesson plans. (And am I the only one wondering if they’re gonna get their luggage back? When that Air France flight crashed off the end of the runway in Toronto back in 2005 a lot of people lost their passports. This is something I actually think about when flying! I think I should get one of those passport holders to wear around my neck.)

Of course, I not only look at this accident from the ground instructor’s perspective, but also from the scaredy-cat perspective. I don’t like to fly. I’m skeered. I always sit in the window seat at the trailing edge of the wing – right wing if at all possible. I sit there so I can supervise extension of the wing flaps for takeoff. I also like being able to observe aileron and spoiler movements. This comforts me. I like being over the wings. You feel movements less and I’m assured being only a few steps from the emergency exit. I freak over the slightest turbulence even though I know perfectly well it’s no big deal. I’m always afraid something like what happened to Flight 1549 will happen to me. I can only hope it would end so well!

Before our flight on Monday from Shanghai to Vancouver, I wanted to share my anxiety with DH. I wanted to say, “I’m nervous about turbulence.” What came out was, “I’m nerbulent!” You’re welcome, ladies and gentlemen, for this necessary contribution to the English language.

Did I mention I have two flights tomorrow?

*Update* Unfortunately, when I first posted this article I did not include a link to the original. I apologize for that oversight. It was originally published in the South China Morning Post on 29 August 2007 and written by Joey Liu. Access to the article online is restricted to subscribers, thus the article is presented here in full. 

Working at a flight school in China that isn’t yet flying is frustrating. Here’s a clue as to why we are not in the skies:

Clipped Wings
Wealthy mainlanders want to fly in their own aircraft but the growth of private aviation is shackled by prohibitive rules and lack of facilities, writes Joey Liu – South China Morning Post 29 August 2007

Zhejiang businessman Wang Bin had it all worked out when he decided to buy a helicopter from France last December. It would relieve him of the tedium of a six-hour drive from his building materials company in Yiwu city to factories in Shaowu, in neighbouring Fujian province. It would also impress clients and help win more contracts if he offered them a whirl. And when not in use, he could charter it out to make extra money.

Wang forked out 12 million yuan for his Eurocopter EC120B, 6 million yuan for related equipment and another 2 million yuan for maintenance and operating fees. But the helicopter turned out to be a white elephant. It was used fewer than 20 hours during the past eight months, and never flew outside Zhejiang province. Most of the time, the helicopter was parked at an airfield in Dongyang city, the nearest approved site, about two hours’ drive from his head office. “It’s too hard to get a flying permit, especially to fly in a different province,” he says.

The businessman is so fed up he advertised in the Zhejiang Daily last month to sell it, but has yet to find a buyer. The adverse publicity surrounding his purchase was another reason to sell the helicopter. “[The media reports] made it sound like I was showing off,” Wang says. “People were talking about how rich I was and turning to me for help. It’s a lot of pressure.”

Wang’s woes are typical among the few owners of private aircraft on the mainland. Although there are a growing number of people in the country who can afford to have their own aircraft, tight control of airspace and inadequate airport facilities are hampering the development of private aviation.

According to official statistics, the mainland had fewer than 70 private or corporate aircraft in 2005, while Brazil, whose GDP is half that of China’s, has more than 700. The US has about 200,000 private jets, the largest number in the world. “The problem of developing the private jet industry in China lies more in the policy than the funding,” says He Chi, vice-president of Beijing Jingong Flying Club.

Military control over all airspace on the mainland makes for a lot of red tape. For a private jet to secure a landing slot at a civil airport within a flight area that may encompass three or four adjoining provinces, the pilot must submit a flight plan 24 hours in advance. That compares with a couple of hours in the US or Europe. To land at an airport in a different flight area, the plan must be submitted anywhere from a few days to a week in advance, He says. Before the Regulations for General Aviation Control came into effect in May 2003, pilots had to apply at least 10 days ahead for the right to fly between two civil airports.

The hold-up is due partly to disagreements within the government. In April, Beijing Business Today reported the chief pilot of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Yu Zhenfa, as saying it had drafted a plan to open up low-altitude airspace. But this was immediately contradicted by an anonymous top official from the CAAC, who told the Legal Daily that the military controls all mainland airspace and the administration can’t make unilateral decisions.

Political considerations weigh heavily on decision makers. “The CAAC has been looking into the issue of opening up low-altitude airspace for years and even made some plans. But after 9/11, all these moves stopped,” says an industry insider who requested anonymity. “In fact, in places like Beijing, the airspace control is becoming more restricted.”

For instance, flying clubs in Beijing have been ordered to stop flights in March, when the two key annual political meetings, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, are held.

In Wang’s case, he couldn’t get permission to fly from Zhejiang to his factories in Fujian because the two provinces come under different flight areas, and Fujian is under tight control due to its proximity to Taiwan. “Fujian is a sensitive place, where a lot of airspace is out of bounds,” Wang says.

Technical limitations also hinder the expansion of private flight. The radar systems in some regions aren’t advanced enough to identify small planes, so the military decided the simplest and safest step was to prohibit private flights, says the industry insider.

The lack of suitable airstrips for private use is another barrier. Wang earmarked some land near his Yiwu office and Shaowu factories and applied to aviation authorities to use the plots as helicopter landing sites, but has had no response. “We’ve submitted applications for months, but didn’t get any feedback,” he says.

Although most of the mainland’s 156 airports are accessible to private jets, many lack suitable ground-handling facilities. In some cases, the refuelling nozzles or battery recharging couplers are incompatible with some types of aircraft. Only Beijing Capital Airport and Shanghai International Airport have separate facilities for private jets. But traffic at both places is so heavy they can’t handle many private jets. “Beijing Capital Airport can only manage private jets for VIPs like state leaders. Corporate jets often have to wait for hours for landing or taking off,” He says.

The mainland also lists 68 airfields for general aviation and 329 temporary airstrips, but most are located far from urban centres, which means they’re inconvenient for aircraft owners such as Wang, who wants to use his helicopter as a flying taxi.

Beijing businessman Xing Jizhu loves to fly. After receiving his pilot’s licence for fixed-wing aircraft in 2001, he considered buying a plane but dropped the idea when he learned about the tough restrictions on flight and the types of aircraft he could buy.

Individual purchase is restricted to the domestically produced Bee series, and small planes from three CAAC-approved manufacturers – Cessna, Diamond and Cirrus.

The safety of locally made planes is also a concern for potential buyers such as Xing. In April, Tan Chengnian, dubbed by the media as the mainland’s first peasant pilot, died when the Bee-4 that he was flying crashed into a hillside in Shandong province.

“[The Bee] is no fun. I can’t fly it over long distances. The most common use is to fly it over the golf course to study the holes,” Xing says.

He shares that view: the mainland’s nouveau riche is only interested in advanced, imported aircraft, he says. “Rich men despise the cheap planes.”

That’s why he started the Jingong, a high-end flying club with its own airfield at Badaling, near the Great Wall. It will open next month after taking delivery of four new Cessna-172 planes. It’s also expecting four helicopters at the end of the year: two Sikorskys and two Robinson R2s.

He anticipates a big demand for use of club aircraft within adjacent Hebei province, but says it’s hard to offer flights to other provinces, which businessmen such as Wang want, although he’s negotiating with airfields in Shandong and Inner Mongolia.

Despite the high concentration of rich Chinese and expats in Beijing, its status as the seat of power means the authorities are unlikely to loosen their grip on surrounding airspace anytime soon.

The regions where private aviation will first develop are the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta, most experts say. “There’s stronger demand for private jets and less control,” He says.