WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it is proposing a $300,000 civil penalty on American Airlines for a maintenance violation.

The FAA alleges that on Feb. 2, 2009, American Airlines mechanics deferred maintenance on a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 under the airline's DC-9 Minimum Equipment List (MEL) by noting that the "pitot/stall heater light off" light on the aircraft's annunciator panel was inoperative.

However, maintenance personnel determined the next day that the inoperative part was actually the captain's pitot probe heater. Pitot probes are mounted on the exterior surfaces of an airplane and are used in measuring airspeed. Because they can be affected by a build-up of ice, these devices are equipped with heaters. The airplane's MEL allows for maintenance on the pitot probe heater to be deferred, but it restricts flights to daytime only, in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC). I prohibits flights into known or forecast icing or visible moisture.

Because mechanics logged the discrepancy as an inoperative panel light, the flight crew was unaware that the daytime, VMC restrictions applied to further flights. The aircraft was operated on five passenger revenue flights, in violation of Federal Aviation Regulations.

"We expect full compliance with all of our maintenance standards," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "Safety is our top concern. Maintenance personnel must pay attention to every detail when they are working on an aircraft."

American Airlines has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA's civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.

Source: FAA

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For two days the Polish capital has become a hub of discussion on NATO's new Strategic Concept - a document that, once agreed by all Allies, will shape the organisation's future direction.

The Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, began his first official visit to Poland on 12 March by taking part in the international conference "NATO's New Strategic Concept - Global, Transatlantic and Regional Challenges and Tasks".

The seminar - organised by the Warsaw Centre for International Relations and the Polish Ministry of Defence, with the support of NATO's Public Diplomacy Division - brought together at the Royal Castle in Warsaw the Polish Foreign and Defence Ministers, members of the Group of Experts on the new Strategic Concept, as well as numerous local and international practitioners, academics and media representatives. Participants discussed the new security environment, security perceptions in Central and Eastern Europe and NATO's partnerships.

In his keynote speech, the Secretary General outlined his vision of territorial defence for the Alliance. He stressed that while NATO's core task was, is, and will remain, the defence of our territory and our populations, the meaning of territorial defence is changing.

"If we want to keep NATO's territorial defence effective, affordable and credible, we must push ahead with the Alliance's transformation," he told the audience in Warsaw. "We need more flexible, mobile and deployable armed forces. If our military is stationary, if our armed forces can't be moved beyond the borders of each individual member state, the defence of Allied territory will not be effective."

Earlier the same day, Mr. Rasmussen met briefly with staff and young academics from the University of Warsaw's Institute of International Relations and the Institute of Strategic Studies from Krakow. He was presented with a paper developed by the two analytical centres outlining comprehensive proposals for the new Strategic Concept.

On 11 March, hundreds of students attended the Warsaw Transatlantic Forum 2010 at the University of Warsaw, organised by the Polish Euro-Atlantic Association with support from, among others, NATO's Public Diplomacy Division. The event was opened by Polish Defence Minister Bogdan Klich.

Members of the Group of Experts, former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and other high-level guests contributed to a wide-ranging debate on NATO's new Strategic Concept, operation in Afghanistan and relations with Russia.

Source: NATO News

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WASHINGTON - NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate is inviting teams of undergraduate and graduate students throughout the country to participate in the fourth annual Systems Engineering Paper Competition. Participants in the competition will submit a paper on an Exploration Systems mission topic.

The deadline to register for the competition is April 16. Papers are due April 23. The winning teams will be announced in May. Awards include up to $3,500 in cash scholarships and VIP invitations to attend a future space shuttle or rocket launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The competition is designed to engage students in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, disciplines critical to NASA's missions.

For information about the competition and how to apply, visit: http://education.ksc.nasa.gov/esmdspacegrant/SystemsEngineering.htm

For information about NASA's education programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education

Source: NASA

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