Citing “a built-in conflict of interest” in the Brazilian military’s accident investigation report for the 2006 collision of a Boeing 737 airliner and an Embraer Legacy 600, one of the attorneys representing the business jet pilots against manslaughter charges claims the document “manufactures and exaggerates liability on the part of the pilots.”
Diamond Aircraft Industries has received a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certificate for its turbo-diesel AE300 engine to power its DA42 NG, DA40 and DA50 models. Diamond created its own subsidiary — Austro Engine — after Thielert Aircraft Engines went into insolvency in April 2008. Diamond said it invested $61.4 million in the project. “The complete program developed into one that was significantly more complex than originally anticipated,” CEO Christian Dries said.
Million Air Tucson, located on the Campbell/Valencia General Aviation Aeroplex at the Tucson International Airport, the company’s first executive terminal in Arizona, opened in January. The nearly $5 million, two-story facility has more than 54,000 square feet of combined terminal, office and hangar space, including 20,000 square feet of Class A office space for lease. .
Acting FAA Administrator Lynne Osmus, a 30-year executive veteran of the agency, testifying before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Aviation virtually pleaded for “a robust, multiyear [reauthorization] bill that will help ensure the safety of the flying public and efficiency of the National Airspace System.” She emphasized, “There is a consensus in the aviation community, and certainly in the FAA, that multiple, short-term extensions as we have had in the last 18 months are burdensome and disruptive, and do not permit the careful p
When I explained the game of “paper, rock, scissors” to my oldest son many years ago, he argued strenuously that paper can’t beat rock. When I learned the game as a kid, the explanation was that the “paper” is sandpaper and it wears down the rock. Anyone who has paged through reams of conflicting interpretations of the FARs knows that paper can wear down anything or anyone. If you operate under Part 91, then the FAR game of paper, rock and scissors, with extensions, goes like this: U.S.
Gama Aviation , Stratford, Conn., announced the appointment of Floriano Bove to the post of manager, client relations, in the company’s Aircraft Management Services Group.
Both the general aviation and airline industries cheered the installation of Ray LaHood as Transportation secretary. A former 14-year congressman from Illinois and one of two Republicans named to the Obama cabinet, LaHood was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. During his House tenure, he opposed user fees as an FAA funding mechanism, pleasing GAMA, the NBAA and AOPA.
Eurocopter , France, announced that Olivier Blain has been appointed vice president of corporate communications reporting to Lutz Bertling, CEO.FlightWorks, Kennesaw, Ga., has promoted Larry Hecht to vice president of operations. He will be based in Kennesaw.
I’d been yelling at the television and pounding on the newspapers day after day. The business jet had suddenly become the whipping boy for all the world’s ills, and the righteous blather emanating from Washington, talking heads, columnists and editorial pages around the country was myopic, one sided and unchallenged. I was fed up with the quick, thoughtless castigation, the posturing pols hoping for sound bites on CNN, and the rampant hypocrisy that was doing real damage to good people in a vital transportation segment. This was madness. It was fight back.
Starlink Aviation, Inc. , Montreal, announced that Luc Masse has joined the company as vice president and chief operating officer. Zoran Bratuijavic has been promoted to vice president of sales and will oversee the sales team and direct overall sales initiative for FBOs, aircraft charter and aircraft maintenance. Dan Paquet has been promoted to vice president, business development, responsible for the overall development of new routes for the company’s regional airline service.
The Air Transportation Association’s SmartBrief e-mail the last week in January said the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative is one of the key drivers in the search for commercially viable new fuels. The ATA’s environmental chief, Nancy Young, stated the association’s position in a letter to Biodiesel magazine. A CAAFI-developed timeline calls for the certification of a 50-percent synthetic jet fuel by the middle of this year, and a 50-percent biofuel in 2010. “With jet fuel as our No.
Dassault Falcon , Saint-Cloud, France, recently named Jean Kayanakis vice president, Falcon Worldwide Spares. He replaces Frank Youngkin, who was promoted to vice president, Western Hemisphere Customer Service.
Since the earliest days of aviation, pilots have been staring at gauges to help ascertain the condition of their machines and the world around them. Orville and Wilbur had three instruments on their first Flyer: a stopwatch, an anemometer for measuring wind speed and a tachometer. Subsequently and especially since the introduction of instrument flight and the development of the standard T cluster, engineers managed to cover every available inch of cockpit real estate with some type of instrument, button or switch.
— At about 1215 PST, a Beech 95-A55 (N9694Y) departed the runway during takeoff and collided with two parked airplanes and a hangar at Corona Municipal Airport (AJO), Corona, Calif. The certificated private pilot was not injured but the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight was departing Corona with a planned destination of Phoenix. It was VFR and no flight plan was filed.
Piaggio Aero Industries is finalizing the sale of its industrial plant in Liguria, Northern Italy, to raise cash to invest in a new plant in nearby Villanova d’Albenga. Company officials maintain that Piaggio plans to launch the development of a new business jet, a $1 billion venture, but say they will not rush into a launch decision. According to preliminary data, Piaggio closed 2008 with revenues up 27 percent to €218 million, with an aircraft order backlog of about €460 million.
Pilatus Aircraft has designated Pro-Star Aviation of Londonderry, N.H., as its dealer for the Northeast U.S. Pro-Star will be responsible for PC-12 NG sales, marketing and service in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Michigan. Pro-Star operates several facilities throughout the Northeast, including ones in Caldwell, N.J., and Portland, Maine.
A drop in business jet orders will force some 1,000 layoffs at Pratt & Whitney Canada, the company announced Feb. 11. Spokesman Pierre Boisseau said the layoffs, which will start in a few months, represent about 10 percent of the company’s global workforce. Pratt & Whitney Canada, based in Longueuil, Quebec, outside Montreal, is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
Piper Aircraft PA-46-350P and PA-46R-350T airplanes — Conduct an inspection to verify that the 35-amp and 250-amp current limiters are installed in the proper locations. If the limiters are not installed in the appropriate spots, then reinstall them in the proper locations. In addition, limit operation of the aircraft to daytime VFR conditions until the limiter installations are inspected and corrected.
Name withheld by request (Universal Avionics Systems Corp.)
I read with interest your January Viewpoint on the negative spin placed on business aircraft by the Congress, and of course the lapdog media with its pile-on mentality, during the hearings on the automotive industry bailout proposal (“Without Apology,” page 7). The fat, stupid cats running Detroit deserve an Oscar for sheer arrogance. However, you raise a very interesting issue once again — business aircraft as a sign of noblesse oblige.
— At 0200 EST, a Cessna 550 (N815MA) was substantially damaged when it impacted the runway during a forced landing, with the landing gear retracted, at the Wilmington International Airport (KILM), Wilmington, N. C. The airplane departed the La Isabela Airport (MDJB), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Jan. 3 about 2300. The certificated airline transport pilot captain, certificated commercial pilot first officer and five passengers received no injuries. It was IFR at the time and the crew had filed an IFR flight plan for the international flight.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association estimates more than one million people are employed manufacturing, servicing, flying and managing business aircraft, and in the doing contribute $150 billion to the U.S. economy annually. In addition to keeping legions at work in top-paying jobs, business aircraft facilitate and expand commerce for their users, and contribute mightily to reducing America’s trade imbalance.
“There were no serious runway incursions in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 — not a single Category A or B event during 12.8 million aircraft operations,” testified Lynne Osmus, acting FAA Administrator before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Aviation. Category A and B runway incursions are the most serious, in which a collision was narrowly avoided or where there is a significant potential for a collision. Category C and D incidents present no immediate safety consequences to the public.
