Legislature(1997 - 1998)
02/18/1997 03:37 PM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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SENATE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
February 18, 1997
3:37 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Lyda Green, Chairman
Senator Jerry Ward, Vice-chair
Senator Jerry Mackie
Senator Mike Miller
Senator Jim Duncan
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 64
"An Act naming a new maritime vessel for the Alaska Marine Highway
System; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED HB 64 OUT OF COMMITTEE
ALASKA AIRLINES OVERVIEW
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
HB 64 - State Affairs Committee minutes dated 2/18/97.
WITNESS REGISTER
Mike Swanigan
Vice President of Flight Operations
Alaska Airlines
P.O. Box 68900
Seattle, WA 98168
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented Alaska Airlines Overview
Douglas Wahto
Alaska Airlines
10497 Fox Farm Trail
Juneau, Alaska 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information on Alaska Airlines
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 97-4, SIDE A
Number 000
CHAIRMAN LYDA GREEN called the Senate State Affairs Committee
meeting to order at 3:37 p.m. Senators Green, Miller and Duncan
were present. CHAIRMAN GREEN announced HB 64 would be the first
order of business.
HB 64 NEW FERRY NAMED M.V. KENNICOTT
CHAIRMAN GREEN explained HB 64 is identical to SB 46 which the
committee heard last week and pertains to the naming of the new
ferry the M/V Kennicott.
SENATOR MILLER moved HB 64 out of committee with individual
recommendations and any accompanying fiscal notes. There being no
objection to the motion, it was so ordered.
CHAIRMAN GREEN announced a brief at-ease to allow staff time to set
up equipment. She called the meeting back to order at 3:43 p.m.
and announced the arrival of Senators Mackie and Ward.
ALASKA AIRLINES OVERVIEW
MIKE SWANIGAN, Vice President of Flight Operations for Alaska
Airlines (AA), informed committee members of his background and
involvement with AA for 17 years. The Flight Operations Division
oversees all pilots, flight simulation, fuel administration, hotel
administration, audio production facilities, and flight crew
payroll. He gave the following presentation to update legislative
members on AA's efforts to use technology to solve some of the
operational problems encountered at the Juneau Airport.
The Juneau Airport is surrounded by high terrain in all quadrants.
The combination of high terrain and weather systems that work their
way in and out of this portion of the world create significant
periods of low ceilings and low visibility. The high terrain also
makes it very difficult for conventional navigation aids to guide
airplanes in and out of the airport. Most traditional navigation
aids use a VHF frequency to send navigational signals to airplanes
to compute their positions. Those systems are not nearly as
effective because VHF navigation is line of sight, therefore a
mountain between the airplane and the VHF transmitter prevents
reception of an adequate signal to use for precise navigation.
To compensate for navigation limitations, a lot of areas use radar
to guide airplanes in and out of airports, but radar also relies on
line of sight. Whenever an airplane descends below the peaks and
radar antennas, it drops off the radar screens. To compensate for
such problems, a patchwork of navigation aids is used to bring
airplanes into the Juneau Airport; consequently, the Juneau Airport
has higher minimums than other airports. The flight profiles into
Juneau are difficult and complex. AA feels pilots are not
qualified until they can fly in and out of Juneau.
MR. SWANIGAN REFERRED TO SLIDES DURING THIS PORTION OF THE
PRESENTATION.
The LDA approach to Runway 8 at the Juneau Airport requires a
1,000' ceiling at 2 miles of visibility for the jet to be able to
commence the approach, whereas the Seattle airport requires a 200'
ceiling and 1/2 mile of visibility. There are many days when a
city has an 800' or 500' ceiling: at Juneau it's a problem, whereas
at Anchorage, Fairbanks, Sitka, or Seattle it's not because the
airplanes can get below the cloud layer and press on into the
airport.
A second problem is the visibility requirement. This slide is
representative of the differences in requirements between the two
types of facilities, comparing Seattle and Juneau. An airplane can
get much lower to the ground and runway in Seattle, than in Juneau.
AA's pilots must be able to pick up the runway coming into Juneau
at 2 miles from the end of the runway. If they don't have good
visibility to see beyond two miles, they cannot land. This problem
has an enormous impact on the AA route system as well as Juneau.
In the rotation of an AA flight 62, a plane departs from Anchorage,
stops in Juneau, then goes to Sitka, Ketchikan, Seattle, Oakland,
turns around at the John Wayne Airport in Southern California,
stops in Oakland, and returns to Seattle. Problems encountered in
Juneau affect the entire route system. A review of 193 Juneau
disruptions caused 1,061 down-line flights to be disrupted. When
multiplied by 140 passengers per flight segment, an enormous number
of people are affected.
AA decided to turn to technology to fix the problems occurring in
Juneau. In 1985, Seattle was shut down for several days by a dense
fog that sat at the airport, which devastated AA's entire
operation. AA turned to a technology named "Heads-Up Guidance
System" which used fighter aircraft technology to provide improved
navigation capability for the aircraft to allow them to fly in the
densest fog possible. The program proved successful and fog is no
longer a problem at AA's major airports. In AA's flight operations
division, there is a group of people known as the "skunkworks."
This group focusses on investigating emerging technologies for
possible application to improve operations at AA. They came up
with the concept, watching the Gulf War, to use the Global
Positioning System (GPS) used to navigate cruise missiles to hit
targets with precision. The GPS is a series of 24 satellites in
constant orbit around the Earth that transmit radio signals. A GPS
receiver picks up the signals and triangulates that information to
determine an aircraft's precise location on the face of the Earth.
After researching the GPS to operate jets in and out of Juneau, AA
then investigated Differential GPS, a ground station that sends out
a correction signal. During the Gulf War, the U.S. military built
an error rate into their signal so that it could not be
intercepted. The codes to the error rate were kept secret and put
in missiles and military aircraft. AA began looking at a
Differential GPS to put out a local signal at the Juneau Airport to
provide a higher precision signal to operate by. The technology
was advancing so rapidly, AA decided to come at the problem from a
different perspective, and tied the GPS signal together with the
Flight Management System (FMS) that comes aboard the 737-400s. The
FMS is a navigation computer which is generally accurate to 1/4 to
1/2 mile, but not accurate enough to navigate in and out of Juneau
at the lower minimums. AA then designed a system with two separate
FMS computers and two GPS receivers, so that there are four
independent navigation systems aboard the aircraft.
The FMS is very reliable, and is the latest generation of
navigation computers on the aircraft. The first generation was
installed on DC 10s and 747s in the late 1960's and used a series
of gyroscopes that tilted with longitudinal or latitudinal
acceleration or deceleration and would send signals to a computer
to translate distance. Those systems were good, but the gyroscopes
wore out as they aged, and the system became less accurate. In
the 1980's a system named the ring-laser gyro was developed. It is
a ring, with a light transmitter facing one direction, and a light
receiver behind it facing the other direction. It sent laser
pulses around the ring to the pick-up unit facing the other way.
Every time there is movement in the plane, the amount of time
required to send the light around the ring shifts by millionths of
a second. By measuring those shifts, one could determine speed,
location, and the direction it was turning.
AA then tied all systems together to create four independent
navigation systems. These four systems talk to each other and
compare notes on location. The biggest difference between any four
units is called "Actual Navigation Performance." If the greatest
difference between the location determined by each system is 200',
the system is performing with the confidence the maximum error
possible is 200'.
With the four independent systems AA came up with three major
bullet points of improvement in navigation. The first was
accuracy: the ring laser gyros and the GPS satellite receivers are
extremely accurate. Second, integrity exists because all four
systems are comparing information with each other to determine the
largest possible error in position. Third, availability is
constant since pilots will rely on satellites rather than on ground
systems which are vulnerable to power failures.
With this new system, AA can design approaches that it could not
consider before. An example is a GPS approach down Gastineau
Channel, over the Douglas Island bridge, heading toward Fred Meyer,
making a left turn, and landing on Runway 26. AA can now determine
the maximum navigation error possible to fly that route into the
Juneau Airport. That navigational tolerance is 3/10 per mile. If,
at Marmion Island, the actual navigation performance is less than
3/10 of a mile, the flight can continue the approach to Juneau.
When the system is fully up and running, and fully certified, it
will allow reduced minimums for the Juneau Airport. Right now, to
land on Runway 8 at the Juneau Airport, pilots need 1000' ceilings
and 2 miles of visibility. With GPS, the required ceiling is 750'
and 1 mile of visibility. That may not sound like a substantial
improvement, but in actuality it is enormous. Many times there is
a cloud layer hanging between 800' and 100' on the approach course
of Runway 8 which prevents landing. With a 750' ceiling, the plane
can get much closer to the airport before the decision to land is
made. The other benefit is that pilots will be able to approach
through a "back door" on Runway 26 which will have a minimum of a
350' ceiling and 1 mile visibility. Pilots will be abeam Fred
Meyer when they have to make the decision to land. Oftentimes, the
problem of fog and clouds is north of the airport. AA will also be
able to depart Runway 8 over downtown Juneau with 1600' of runway
visual range (RVR). This will create an enormous improvement to
the operational capability of the Juneau Airport.
Right now, all approaches in and out of airports in the United
States are designed by the FAA. Those approaches are designed to
fit any type of aircraft. With the new system, AA will be able to
design its own approaches in and out of the area for specific
aircraft which will shave flight time and make more efficient use
of the Juneau Airport. Often AA flights have to hold on the ground
until another AA flight lands. AA will also see operational money
saving benefits by determining the most precise path between
airports.
AA added another feature for safety reasons alone, the Enhanced
Ground Proximity Warning System. Presently AA has a ground
proximity warning system in its aircraft. That system alerts the
crew to inadvertent penetration to terrain. In its present
configuration, ground proximity warning sends a radio signal
directly below the airplane that measures distance from the ground.
It compares that distance to the configuration of the airplane. If
the airplane is descending to 1000' above ground the ground
proximity warning system checks the flaps to determine if the plane
is preparing for landing before sending out an alarm. The system
rechecks at 500' for landing gear. If the landing gear is not
down, the alarm system kicks in. The only problem with the system
is it does not send out a signal straight ahead.
The new system will involve cruise missile technology. It will
take the precise GPS position from another computer on the
airplane, and transmit that information to a computer that contains
a database of the world's terrain, developed by satellite imaging.
It then sends a picture of that terrain to the flight deck. If the
plane is at a safe distance from the terrain, the screen displays
in a green color. Danger areas are displayed in yellow, then red,
as the aircraft gets closer.
AA is the very first airline in the world to use this system and
have it certified. This is an enormous enhancement to the safety
of AA's operations everywhere, but the main payoff will be in
operations in Alaska. The FAA is so impressed with this system,
it is giving serious consideration to mandating it on all jetliners
in the United States.
MR. SWANIGAN discussed a video taken on board an AA aircraft with
a weather radar screen and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System
as it approached Runway 26 at the Juneau Airport. The plane was
equipped with a mapping radar screen and an Enhanced Ground
Proximity screen. The approach was purposely "botched" to show how
the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System worked. The plane
came within 1 mile of land, at which time the system alerted the
pilot and the potentially dangerous terrain turned from a green to
yellow color on the Enhanced Ground Proximity map. As the plane
neared the yellow area, the computer cautioned the pilot to pull up
and the area turned red on the screen. As the pilot pulled up and
turned the jet away, the screen returned to green, and the warning
signal stopped.
MR. SWANIGAN continued. The approach to the Juneau runway still
requires a 1000' ceiling and 2 mile visibility at this time, but
the GPS can get the aircraft 3/4 of a mile closer to the airport
than the existing LDA approach now. On February 14, the FAA
notified AA that they lowered the current minimums from 5000' to
3000' for Runway 26 and AA anticipates those minimums to be
decreased to the new system's capabilities by the end of the
summer. AA is in the process of retrofitting its jets with the new
equipment, and has new jets on order. Boeing was so impressed with
AA's new system, it now offers the system as an option on their
737-400s. The new generation 737-600, 700, and 800 designs were
modified based on the work AA has done.
The Juneau Airport is on the leading edge of aviation safety for
the entire world. This technology was developed here for Juneau,
at Juneau. This technology has been so successful and so
impressive, FAA is now writing the rule books for the future of air
navigation based on what AA has learned here. What is happening
right here in Juneau is how airliners are going to navigate in the
next century throughout the United States and the world.
SENATOR DUNCAN asked if AA has projected how many overflights might
be eliminated by the new system. MR. SWANIGAN said AA will be able
to reduce overflights by over 90 percent.
SENATOR DUNCAN asked if the certification is scheduled to occur by
late summer. MR. SWANIGAN said it is and explained AA will have
enough aircraft retrofitted in the next few weeks to cover Juneau
operations. AA is now starting to train its crews. As more
airplanes are retrofitted, AA's ability to train crews will
increase exponentially.
SENATOR DUNCAN inquired about new wind monitoring equipment
installed at the Juneau Airport. MR. SWANIGAN said there was some
concern about the amount of turbulence and possibility for wind
shear raised by a study team out of Washington, D.C.. As a result,
AA, the Alaska Committee, the state and federal governments, and
CBJ have invested an enormous amount into new technology to provide
wind readout stations throughout the area. There is a network of
anemometers to measure velocity and direction, as well as dopler
wind profilers that are being tied together into a computer
network. AA is working with the National Center for Atmospheric
Research in Boulder to design predictive wind shear and turbulence
models that have not been available anywhere up until now. Again,
that puts Juneau on the leading edge of technology for aviation
safety.
CHAIRMAN GREEN noted Juneau could become a training field for
pilots statewide. MR. SWANIGAN agreed, and repeated Juneau is a
model or laboratory that will be watched by people from all over
the world. Other airlines and government agencies are just waking
up to the fact that this technology exists.
SENATOR DUNCAN described Runway 26 as the runway used for down-
channel approaches, and noted with GPS, the minimums will be a 350'
ceiling and 1 mile visibility. MR. SWANIGAN said the existing
approaches were designed for aircraft performing with all engines
running. If an airplane lost an engine, performance would degrade
substantially, but that was not accounted for in arrival and
departure approaches throughout the country. With the use of the
GPS, AA's custom designed approaches are designed for engine-out
performance, or planes flying on one engine. That creates an
enormous leap in safety.
SENATOR MACKIE said he has been a passenger on flights approaching
Juneau when the aircraft will suddenly pull up and abort a landing
even though the airport is in sight. He questioned why the pilot
does not attempt a different approach. MR. SWANIGAN answered the
weather report determines the approach profile to attempt. Even
though the weather may be better than reported, the pilot must fly
the approach profile based on the report. Changing the approach
course would violate federal rules governing commercial airline
traffic.
TAPE 97-4, SIDE B
SENATOR MACKIE asked if AA has a policy requiring pilots to brief
passengers about the possibility a landing may be aborted. MR.
SWANIGAN answered AA has put out guidelines to pilots and will do
so again, however sometimes an aborted landing comes as a surprise
to the pilots. As a pilot, he generally forewarned passengers if
the chance of a missed approached was 50/50. He added with the GPS
to Runway 8, if AA has a missed approach, the plane will not make
a right turn but will head over Lemon Creek and downtown. SENATOR
MACKIE felt it is important to forewarn passengers.
Number 547
CHAIRMAN GREEN mentioned over the weekend many flights overheaded
Juneau. She was awaiting a flight and never questioned AA's
decisions, however, she found it very difficult to get valid
information from the airline about what was going on in Juneau.
She was only able to talk to an airline representative in Phoenix,
and found that more frustrating than waiting in the airport. She
believed with good information, most people would not be upset
about delays. She requested a local number or an improved
communication system for stranded passengers be made available.
MR. SWANIGAN agreed AA needs to work on communications and said he
would make that a focus item.
MR. DOUG WAHTO, Senior Captain for Alaska Airlines, discussed his
background as a pilot in Alaska. One of his special projects is
the wind shear program in Juneau. He noted he passed out packets
to committee members on that program which AA has invested a lot of
money into. With the help of Senator Stevens, AA has funding for
$1 million and those funds are projected to continue through the
year 2001. That same project is in place in Anchorage to determine
wind shear. This project ties in with the GPS system. He offered
himself as a local contact to provide information or discuss
concerns.
SENATOR MACKIE clarified he believes Alaska Airlines is the safest
airline in the world, and he did not want his comments to be taken
the wrong way. He suggested AA work more closely with the Marine
Highway System and in assisting disenfranchised passengers to
improve public relations. MR. SWANIGAN noted he did not take
anyone's comments as criticism and believes the only way to improve
service is to get input from passengers.
CHAIRMAN GREEN thanked Mr. Swanigan and adjourned the meeting at
4:40 p.m.
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