The pilot of a Part 135 air tour operation failed to lower the gear on a flight to Canyonlands Field Airport (CNY) in Moab, Utah after he had taken time to show passengers a point of interest shortly before landing. Operated by Arrow West Aviation, the Cessna T210L, N367N, landed gear up and slid 1,300 feet down the runway of CNY at about 1230 Mountain Daylight Time April 20. The undercarriage and fuselage were substantially damaged, but the pilot and five passengers were not injured.
PILATUS AIRCRAFT received a contract valued at 22.5 million euros from the Finnish Air Force Command for six PC-12NG aircraft to replace Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain aircraft in the Air Force fleet. Delivery of the aircraft is slated for late 2010. The contract marks the first fleet sale of the PC-12 to a European air force. The Piper aircraft have been in the Finnish Air Force fleet since 1983.
FAA, responding to National Transportation Safety Board recommendations, Friday proposed requiring Part 135 operators to incorporate crew resource management (CRM) in training programs for pilots and flight attendants. The proposed rule would cover Part 135 airplane and helicopter operators conducting single- and dual-pilot operations – which translates to 1,625 operators that employ 24,447 pilots and 586 flight attendants, by FAA’s estimate.
BARRY AYLWARD, president of Kitchener Aero and Mid-Canada Mod Center, was appointed chairman of the board of directors for the Aircraft Electronics Association. Aylward, an active participant on the AEA board for more than 20 years, previously was vice chairman for the association.
BOMBARDIER DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2009-0361; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-046-AD; Amendment 39-15888; AD 2009-09-02] – Inspect the main landing gear forward stabilizer brace assemblies for signs of excessive wear, corrosion, foreign object damage and cracking. If any damage is found, repair, rework or replace the assemblies as needed, following the instructions of Goodrich Service Concession Request 026-09, Rev. B (dated March 10, 2009).
GENERAL ELECTRIC CF34-1A, -3A, -3A1, -3A2, -3B and -3B1 engines [Docket No. FAA-2007-27687; Directorate Identifier 2000-NE-42-AD] – This revision of an earlier proposed directive would require operators to conduct a variety of repetitive inspections of Tier 1, 2 and 3 fan disks for electrical arc-out indications and remove from service fan disks that show any evidence of electrical arc-out indications. FAA issued this revised proposal after an updated manufacturer’s risk analysis indicated that more stringent corrective actions are required than were originally proposed.
Abu Dhabi-based private jet charter company Royal Jet will offer personal chefs on its charter flights, providing some of the “best culinary offerings in the air,” spokeswoman Sarah Walker said. “Our qualified chefs are more capable of preparing and presenting food than a cabin crew member would be able to,” she noted.
PIPER AIRCRAFT is offering the Garmin G1000 system as an option on the Meridian, following the recent certification of the all-glass, fully integrated avionics suite on the six-seat, cabin-class turboprop. Initial deliveries of Meridians fitted with G1000s began this month. The unit displays data digitally on three large-format, high-resolution displays – a 15-inch multifunction display and two 10.4-inch primary flight displays. Garmin’s Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT) also will be offered as standard on the Piper Meridian when equipped with the G1000 option.
TWC AVIATION, a Los Angeles-based Part 135 operator, has earned certification to the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), a code of best practices developed by the International Business Aviation Council and acknowledged worldwide as the benchmark for safety, professionalism and efficiency in business aircraft operations. “Only 16 Part 135 air charter operators in the world have earned IS-BAO certification, so we are extremely proud of this achievement,” TWC Aviation President Andrew Richmond said.
Avidyne Corporation has developed a cockpit retrofit for Piper Meridian, Mirage and Matrix aircraft that are equipped with the avionics maker’s Entegra integrated flight deck system.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has granted its type certificate to Embraer’s Phenom 100 very light jet. The type certificate approves operations of the Phenom 100 not just in the European Union, but also in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Embraer, which secured Brazilian and U.S. approvals in December (BA, Dec. 15/271), has been working with European safety regulators since November 2005.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON CANADA Model 206A, B and L; 407; and 427 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2009-0350; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-07-AD; Amendment 39-15885; AD 2009-07-52] – This new directive, which supersedes emergency AD 2009-07-51, requires operators, before further flight, to inspect each cyclic control lever assembly and determine if the bearing is correctly installed and properly staked in the lever assembly.
EUROPE’S LARGEST REGIONAL AIRLINE, Flybe, has taken delivery of its 50th Bombardier Q400, making the carrier the world’s largest operator of the twin-turboprop airliner. Flybe, previously known as British European, placed its initial order for four Q400s in March 1999 and announced follow-on orders in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Flybe now operates 190 routes in 13 countries.
STANDARDAERO named Jack Lawless president of Associated Air Center (AAC) in Dallas. Lawless will continue as chief operating officer of StandardAero in addition to his new duties. Lawless formerly has served as executive vice president, global supply chain for Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Manufacturing and Engineering. DAE is the parent company of StandardAero and AAC.
May 4 – Greater Washington Aviation Open 21st Annual Charity Golf Tournament at the Lansdowne Golf Resort, [email protected] MAY 4-7 – Aging Aircraft 2009 Conference, Kansas City, Mo. Convention Center, (937) 426-2808, fax 937-426-8755, www.agingaircraft2009.com May 7 – Greater Washington Business Aviation Association Safety Standard, NTSB Training Academy in Ashburn, Va.; contact Jim Lumley, GWBAA Safety Chairman, (443) 534-1219, [email protected], www.gwbaa.com
The new Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s $1.5 million advocacy campaign – General Aviation Serves America – is designed to show the benefits of GA to those who have a negative image of using private aircraft for business, President and CEO Craig Fuller said. “There’s an old adage around Washington – if you don’t define yourself, others will define you,” he noted at a press conference last week.
The new General Aviation Caucus in the House of Representatives has been created to help improve the image of GA. Rep. Vern Elhers (R-Mich.) said he co-founded the caucus with Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) because he was unhappy with the furor of congressional attacks on business people flying on jets. “General aviation has been neglected as other aviation issues have been on the forefront,” Elhers, who is a pilot, told BA. “I have nothing but good feelings about general aviation, so I felt I had to speak up.”
JAKOB STRAUB joined Jet Aviation as general manager of the Zurich facility. Straub formerly was vice president and chief operating officer of SR Technics Ireland in Dublin, where he oversaw line and base maintenance, planning, and commercial and engineering services. In his new role, he will oversee maintenance and refurbishment operations, as well as the fuel and fixed-base operation business. He has 31 years of industry experience beginning as an aircraft mechanic at Swissair in 1978.
THE WICHITA AERO CLUB, working with the United Way of the Plains, is hosting an evening gala and silent auction June 6 that will raise funds to benefit the more than 10,000 aviation workers in the Wichita area who have been laid off or displaced in recent months. Experimental Aircraft Association Chairman Tom Poberezny will be the keynote speaker. The event will be an annual gala that in the future will present a Wichita Aero Club trophy to a person or organization with ties to the local community who has contributed significantly to the advancement of aviation.
PHIL MINTON was named a CAD designer with the aviation team of Mead & Hunt. He has more than a decade of design experience for civil engineering, planning, and environmental projects covering office parks, restaurants, fire stations, schools, housing developments, and planned master communities.
TURBOMECA Arrius 1A engines [Docket No. FAA-2009-0348; Directorate Identifier 2008-NE-39-AD] – This proposed AD would require Eurocopter AS355N helicopter operators to remove powerplants from service before the balancing piston accumulates 16,000 cycles since new. This proposal, which resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, was prompted by the manufacturer’s reduction of the balancing piston life limit from 40,000 to 16,000 cycles.
MELISSA MCCOY was appointed public affairs and communications manager for the Salina Airport Authority in Salina, Kan. McCoy previously spent four years with the Marine Corps, where she served as a public relations and media relations noncommissioned officer.
EMBRAER will hold its 2009 Executive Operators Conference (EEOC) for customers based in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on April 22-23 at the California Hotel in Paris. The gathering focuses on the Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet support, with representatives of operators from different countries of the EMEA region and Embraer authorized service centers network in attendance.
ULTRA ELECTRONICS has delivered its 1,000th aircraft active noise control system, and the unit has been installed on a Bombardier Q400 regional turboprop operated by Flybe, the Exeter, U.K.-based carrier. Ultra’s noise control systems also have been fitted on Bombardier Q200 and Q300 regional turboprops, Bombardier Challenger 604 business jets, Hawker Beechcraft King Air business turboprops, Saab 340 and 2000 regional turboprops, and, most recently, on Lockheed Martin C-130 military transports.
THE LAYOFFS, however, are not limited to just the manufacturing segment. NetJets pilots are incorporating a “Joint Preventive Measures Campaign” that will include options for “early outs,” long-term leave, personal leave and reduced schedules. The campaign is an effort to prevent forced layoffs at the company. The early-out option would provide pilots “incentive” pay from anywhere between 15 months to up to three years, depending on length of service. Pilots can begin bidding on the options beginning May 11.
