Decades ago, the hangar was a much more dangerous place than it is today. Safety equipment was a set of hearing protectors, and it was not uncommon to see a technician wobbling precariously from a too-short ladder or perched precariously on the top of the fuseage. Technicians would routinely crawl into fuel bunkers, or hell holes with open containers of solvent and oily rags. Back then this wasn’t considered risky, just part of the job description.
Russ Lawton at the Air Charter Safety Foundation has two favorite risk management authors from whom he likes to quote. Here’s Lawton, citing some quotes from one and considering some thoughts from the other.
— At approximately 1420 CST, a Robinson R22 (N226AP), piloted by a commercial-certificated flight instructor, and a North American T-6G (N51KT), piloted by a commercial pilot, collided in midair over Weiser Air Park, Houston. It was VFR at the time of the accident. The R22 was on an instructional flight and the T-6G was on a sightseeing flight. Both flights were being conducted without flight plans. The flight instructor and student pilot aboard the R22 sustained minor injuries, and the pilot and passenger aboard the T-6G were not injured.
The Feb. 16 crash near Lock Haven, Pa., of the prototype Piper Aztec that claimed the life of test pilot Robert Piggott occurred after the tail parted from the aircraft during a high-speed dive during FAA certification testing. Piper reports it has fixed the problem generating the flutter that caused the failure and expects deliveries to begin in August. Bell Helicopter received the largest commercial North American order in its history when Autair Helicopter Services of Montreal signed for 12 Bell 47G-2 Troopers.
Even single-person operations can benefit from an SMS, according to NBAA Vice President Doug Carr. “What [the SMS] does is put a basic process in place so that operational safety is not dependant on a single person — everyone becomes part of the safety program,” Carr, who oversees safety, security and regulatory issues at the NBAA, told Business & Commercial Aviation.
— At 0810 CST, a twin-engine Cessna 421C (N345JB) was substantially damaged during a forced landing following the loss of power in both engines. The airline transport pilot and two passengers on board sustained minor injuries during the emergency landing. The airplane departed Colonel James Jabara Airport (AAO), Wichita, at approximately 0808 with the intended destination of Millard Airport (MLE), Omaha, Neb. It was VFR.According to the pilot, they had landed the night before with 100 gallons of fuel on board.
Cessna said March 12 that it has gained several international certifications for various Citation models. The Citation Mustang gained certification in China and the U.K. Isle of Mann. The Citation XLS+ received EASA certification, and the Citation X has been certified in Nigeria. “The entry into service for the Citation Mustang has been nothing short of phenomenal, and interest from the market continues to grow,” said Roger Whyte, senior vice president, sales and marketing for Cessna.
The mayor and city council of Wichita have invited President Barack Obama to their town to see firsthand the important role played by general aviation in the local economy, according to the March 11 issue of Aviation eBrief. “It would be a national economic tragedy if this essential business fundamental was lost amid the sensational news coverage of ill-advised corporate-jet travel by a tiny percentage of corporate America,” says a resolution passed by the council.
During the five days of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (Jan. 28-Feb. 1), ExecuJet says it handled a record number of jet movements carrying VIPs into and out of Zurich. The company reported an 8-percent increase over 2008’s event, with much of that in the heavy jet category. Slot restrictions proved no problem for the company as it planned ahead for runway slots and pre-arranged parking at nearby Dübendorf military airfield.
Business aircraft activity continued to decline in January, down 22.2 percent from December 2008, according to statistics from Aviation Research Group/US. ARG/US estimated flight activity dropped an average of 3.58 percent per month for the last 12 months, with total flight activity declining 19.07 percent year over year. In general, a combination of economic factors and unfavorable media coverage of the business aviation industry have negatively impacted overall flight activity, ARG/US said. Benet Wilson
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works also has a composite project with interesting implications for business jet makers. The Skunk Works expects to conduct the first flight of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft (ACCA) X-plane demonstrator by June. The ACCA is a heavily modified Dornier 328JET, which operates in both regional airliner and business jet applications, with a composite cargo fuselage and vertical tail fabricated using low-cost “out-of-autoclave” bonding techniques.
John Clark, chairman of Airports Council International-North America, in testifying before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently called for airport infrastructure stimulus money to be channeled through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) since such projects must be approved by the FAA and that vetting would meet the stringent transparency and accountability standards Congress is expected to require of stimulus projects.
If your company uses charter to supplement the fleet, check out Jet Edge, a division of Western Air Charter, which is focusing its operations on Gulfstream heavy jet aircraft. The company claims it has grown to become the largest operator in Asia, and it also manages a number of Gulfstream IV and V aircraft, claiming owner returns of more than $10 million per year in a January announcement.
The Italian aircraft investigative agency ANSV claimed a criminal inquiry into the Feb. 7 crash of a Cessna 650 Citation III outside Rome is impeding its own investigation into the accident. Italian law authorizes criminal prosecutors to take precedence in accident investigations, and they have seized the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. The ANSV said it fears that continuing delays in its investigation would have serious repercussions on aviation safety efforts both on a national and international level. The U.S.
Is Air Force One the only accepted business aircraft? Is President Obama the only man with an important job? The shortsightedness of blaming all that is wrong with the financial ethics, markets and human greed on an effective, safe and job-creating industry is a sincere disappointment to all in the aviation business (Viewpoint, March, page 6).
India, a place of breathtaking beauty, opulent in resources and a center of spirituality, is also scarred by wrenching squalor and periodic eruptions of bloody violence. It was the crown jewel of the British Empire and since gaining its independence in 1947, has emerged as a formidable entity on the world stage. The latter occurred by design as leaders within this, the world’s largest democracy, invested heavily in education and technology.
Many in our industry jeered at Brazil’s imprisonment of American ExcelAire pilots after the Sept. 29, 2006, midair collision over the Amazon that killed 154. Many of the same people cheered when the U.S. Department of Justice recently announced arrests and criminal charges in connection with the Feb. 2, 2005, crash of a Challenger at Teterboro. So, why do the same people have different reactions to these two events? Is it OK for our government to arrest people after an accident, but not OK for other governments to do the same thing?
Gulfstream Aerospace has delivered more than 65 G150 airplanes since its entry into service in late 2005, establishing the new model as a strong contender in the midsize business jet class. Operators say that it delivers a nearly unbeatable blend of price and operating economics, runway and cruise performance, cabin comfort and reliability.
Sikorsky announced that Polish operator Aircom SP Z.O.O. is the launch customer for the first commercial S-434 helicopter, a four-blade, more-powerful upgrade version of the S-333 single-turbine rotorcraft. Aircom plans to take delivery of its S-434 in 2011.
Sierra Industries has delivered its 50th Williams International FJ44-powered Cessna Citation since the Uvalde, Texas-based company won its original FJ44 Eagle II STC to upgrade the light jet’s engines in 2002. The 50th aircraft delivered by Sierra Industries was a Sierra Stallion SP, which features FJ44-2A engines that can be installed in either a Cessna Citation 500 or 501SP.
A footnote on page 129 of the fiscal 2010 U.S. budget overview calls for “repealing some aviation excise taxes and replacing these taxes with direct user charges,” beginning in 2011. The budget did not provide specifics, but the charges would appear to raise about $7 billion, the same amount sought by the Bush administration user-fee proposal. This has drawn strong reactions from industry associations and congressional legislators.
Michael Garvey, son of the editor of this magazine, flies a helicopter for the U.S. Coast Guard out of a base in Alaska and knows all about operations in low visibility. NVGs are a routine part of his life, and the USCG has extensive experience with the devices.
True to its word, Bombardier is maintaining its commitment to the all-composite Learjet 85. Since announcing in September 2008 it was dropping composite-expert Grob from the program, Bombardier has brought the project completely in-house — transferring detail design, structural certification, prototype manufacture and initial production from the German firm to its own plants and even starting from scratch with a different composite lay-up process.
With only the Pacific Ocean portion to be completed, Inmarsat finally moved its third I-4 satellite into its assigned permanent geosynchronous station, thereby establishing exclusive broadband mobile communications coverage around the world. The final move completed a complex ballet of satellite movements as the three newest generation satellites entered service in stages without interruption to voice and data traffic as well as safety of flight services.
“Jet sales are no longer in a cool-down mode. This industry has been pickled,” declared Carl Janssens, author of the Aircraft Bluebook’s Marketline newsletter. Values for virtually all jets and turboprops are declining or, at best, stable, according to the spring 2009 edition of the publication.
