In today’s litigious society, it’s a given that lawyers representing accident victims will try to access a company’s safety data in order to show that it failed to take all prudent steps to prevent the mishap. Obviously there needs to be a balance between the protection of accident data and the administration of justice, regulatory action and the public’s right to know.
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.
It's one of your worst nightmares. You’ve captained a trip to a remote area of an African country, and your first officer and one of the executive passengers have contracted a local disease — maybe dengue fever, but you’re not sure. The trip came up fast, and researching disease hazards and health care infrastructure was definitely not on your mind. But it sure is now, as you scramble to cope with a situation you never had time to envision.
Aviation Management Systems (AMS), Portsmouth, N.H., announced that Jeffrey J. Troccolo has joined the company as senior vice president. He will be based in Connecticut.
Dart Aerospace, Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada, named Rick Golob as director of Aftermarket Support and Services responsible for aligning and managing Dart’s repair and overhaul network.
A Dassault Falcon 7X has set a new trans-Atlantic speed record May 2, flying between Teterboro, N.J., Airport (TEB) and London City Airport (LCY) at an average speed of Mach 0.88. The aircraft transited the 3,465 nm (6,452 km) distance in 5:54 hr. The mission was flown by Dassault Chief Test Pilot Philippe Deleume and Dassault operational pilot Olivier Froment. There were three passengers aboard, including Aviation Week Engagement Director Rupa Haria.
While the 8X is essentially an iteration of the three-engine model one digit removed, its additional cabin space and increased fuel load make it the French planemaker’s most comfortable long-ranger.
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.
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.
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.
Air Culinaire Worldwide, a Universal Weather and Aviation company, is now operating an inflight kitchen at Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC). The kitchen is located within the Atlantic Aviation FBO and is the only inflight kitchen based on the field. The new facility is the fourth kitchen based in California (Los Angeles, San Francisco and Van Nuys). Air Culinaire Tampa, Fla. (813) 449-6000 www.airculinaireworldwide.com
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.
Universal Avionics, Tucson, Ariz., announced the Corey Wilkinson has been appointed to the newly created position of sales manager for the Latin America sales region. He will be responsible for developing the business aviation market for the company in Latin American, including Mexico. He will be based in St. Louis, Mo.
