Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga., named John Liotta, director of Product Support Sales for the East Coast of the U.S. He is responsible for maintenance sales to Gulfstream operators and reports to Mike West, vice president, Product Support and New Business Development. Tony Swift is the company’s first field service representative in Africa and will be based in South Africa.
Cabin Innovations, Lewisville, Texas, named Gary Stephens Engineering manager. He will be responsible for leading the engineering team and advancing the design and development capabilities for VIP galleys and interiors.
A return-to-service flight, also known as a post-maintenance check flight, can be one of the most hazardous missions undertaken by a business aircraft operator. Some flight departments rate them as their highest risk missions. Often, aviation managers personally take active roles in planning, executing and debriefing the flights.
One of the Aviation Safety Action Program’s most important goals is to address problems at the company level, particularly conditions that might cause further incidents. This requires Event Review Committee members who are motivated to search out the underlying causes and smart enough to recognize them when found. Unfortunately, too often committee members lack sufficient understanding of human factors.
FlightSafety International, La Guardia Airport, N.Y., announced that Otto Gambrel has been promoted to assistant manager of the West Palm Beach, Fla., Learning Center. Paul Statskey succeeds Gambrel as program manager of FSI’s Hong Kong Learning Center.
Supercooling fog so it disperses as snow, increasing visibility, has been tried with some success at Orly Airport, France. One problem is the reaction of nearby residents to the resulting light snow fall.
National Business Aviation Association, Washington, announced that Greg Voos is the new regional representative for the Southeast U.S. He succeeds Harry Houckes who retired in February. Voos is an NBAA Certified Aviation Manager as well as an IS-BAO auditor. He has held positions at Home Depot flight department and Delta Airlines.
NationAir Aviation, West Chicago, Ill., added Dirk Olsen to its team of aviation insurance professionals as director of business insurance. Olsen is based at the company’s headquarters at DuPage Airport in suburban Chicago.
JetSuite, Irvine, Calif., named Frank Buratti as its vice president Technical and System Operations. He worked as director of System Operations at JetBlue Airways for over 14 years and has held positions at El Al Israel and Pan American Airlines.
Bombardier handed over the first Mexico-bound Global 6000 to Aero Angeles S.A de C.V. The delivery comes as Bombardier anticipates growth in the Latin America market, forecasting 2,300 business jet deliveries to the region over the next 20 years. The company sees an uptick driven by economic growth, globalization and an increase in the number of billionaires in the region.
Embraer’s Phenom 100 surpassed the 300-delivery mark. The company handed over the 300th Phenom 100 to Brazilian agribusiness Laticínios Bela Vista. Embraer announced the very light jet in 2005 and delivered the first 100 in December 2008. The aircraft is powered by two P&WC PW 617F-E engines, rated at 1,695 shp ea. The current B&CA equipped price for the Phenom 100E is $4,161,000.The aircraft is operating in more than 25 countries.
