CESSNA AIRCRAFT handed over a Citation X to Bangkok-based MJets Limited. The Citation X is the second to operate in Thailand. The MJets fleet also includes a Citation CJ3.
The National Transportation Safety Board last week recommended that FAA ensure offshore helicopter operators in the Gulf of Mexico are complying with their communications contingency plan after a hurricane or other major event. The recommendation stemmed from the Sept. 6, 2005 crash of a Houston Helicopters, Inc. (HHI) Sikorsky S-76A into the Gulf of Mexico. Separately, the NTSB also last week released details emerging from its investigation of the Jan. 4, 2009 crash of a PHI Inc.-operated Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter in Louisiana swampland.
Hawker Beechcraft Chairman and CEO Jim Schuster blamed a number of factors – the eroding economy, tight credit markets and the negative portrayal of general aviation – for spurring the Wichita, Kan. manufacturer to eliminate up to 2,300 more positions by year’s end. Schuster last week wrote another letter to employees further detailing layoff plans, following up on an earlier letter that warned cuts were on the horizon (BA, Jan. 12/16).
February 19 – Wings Club Luncheon featuring Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association; Yale Club, New York; (212) 867-1770; [email protected] February 26-28 – Women in Aviation, International 20th Anniversary Conference, Atlanta Hyatt Regency. For more information call (937) 839-4647, fax (937) 839-4645, www.wai.org March 3 – AVIATION WEEK Laureate Awards, Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, Washington, D.C., www.aviationweek.com/conferences
The federal government has indicted six people associated with the 2005 accident in which a chartered Bombardier Challenger business jet failed to take off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and instead ran off the runway, through a fence, across a highway and slammed into a building, seriously injuring four people.
MELISSA RUDINGER was appointed vice president and assistant to the president for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Rudinger will oversee the operation of the Office of the President. An 18-year AOPA veteran, Rudinger most recently was vice president of regulatory affairs, overseeing activities ranging from aircraft certification to airspace and pilot issues. She has commercial pilot experience and has run a local airport business. She also has served as an FAA accident prevention counselor.
Piaggio Aero Industries is finalizing the sale of its industrial plant in Liguria, Northern Italy, to raise an estimated 100 million euros for a new plant being built in nearby Villanova d’Albenga. The company also appointed Alberto Galassi as the new chief executive. Galassi replaces Josè di Mase, who has been at the helm of the Italian aeronautics company since 1998 and remains on the board. Galassi has served on the board since 2000.
A new Web site – JamesList.com – was launched Friday for buyers and sellers of high-end goods, including jets and helicopters. The Stockholm-based company calls itself a marketplace connecting buyers and sellers. It does not take commissions for sales, instead funding the operation through classified and brand advertising.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL obtained FAA Level D qualification for its first Gulfstream G450/550 interchangeable simulator equipped with synthetic vision-primary flight display. FSI developed the interchangeable simulators after FAA ruled in May 2004 that the G450 and G350 shared the same pilot type rating with the G550 and G500. The G550 and GV already share the same type rating, which means GV pilots can be authorized to fly G500 and G350 aircraft after completion of a difference course that focuses on the PlaneView flight deck.
EMBRAER and Petroecuador, a state-owned Ecuadorian company that operates an ERJ 145 jet, signed a 10-year service contract for a replacement parts pool program. The special customer-service program provides optimized inventory control and reduces the initial investment in replacement parts and infrastructure. Petroecuador has been flying its 50-seat ERJ 145 since last September, transporting company employees between Quito (Ecuador’s capital city) and Lago Agrio and El Coca, both of which are located in the country’s Amazon region.
PENTASTAR AVIATION received Class 3 and 4 airframe ratings from the FAA. These ratings replace Pentastar’s previous limited airframe ratings and authorize the Waterford, Mich.-based aircraft service organization’s FAR Part 145 repair station to maintain all models of small and large aircraft of all-metal construction. Pentastar, which has been in business for 45 years, was originally approved by the FAA as a repair station in 1974.
FirstFlight, Inc., the aviation services company that had grown steadily in recent years, has decided to sell its West Coast division, a move the company said will free up resources for its East Coast operation. Richard Hodkinson, who had served as president of the division, acquired the unit and relaunched the business as JetCore, Inc. Hodkinson had joined FirstFlight last summer to develop the West Coast base at the Castle & Cooke facility in Van Nuys, Calif.
The U.S. Treasury Department Wednesday unveiled a series of restrictions on executive compensation for companies receiving exceptional assistance from the federal government and called for more transparency with the use of “luxury expenditures,” including aviation services.
The former aircraft sales unit of Landmark Aviation has been resurrected under the Piedmont Aircraft Company banner. Tom Mekis, who has long been affiliated with the operation, will head the newly established Piedmont Aircraft as president and CEO. Piedmont was originally part of the 2004 merger of three companies – Piedmont-Hawthorne Aviation, Garrett Aviation Services and Associated Air Center – to form Landmark Aviation. Encore Aviation last year acquired the Landmark Aviation FBO and used aircraft sales businesses, but decided to focus on the FBOs.
REP. JASON ALTMIRE (D-Pa.) last week expressed concern that the lack of state jurisdiction over helicopter emergency medical operations is contributing to recent increases in medical helicopter accidents. Altmire authored a bill, the Helicopter Medical Services Patient Safety, Protection and Coordination Act, which he said would protect the ability of the states to regulate air ambulance services. He noted that operators have increasingly used the Airline Deregulation Act to challenge state regulations.
Bombardier plans to deliver 10 percent fewer business jets in its fiscal 2009/10, blaming the global economic slowdown for an “unusual level” of order deferrals and cancellations. Learjet and Challenger production rates will be reduced, resulting in the loss of 1,360 jobs, or 4.5 percent of the company’s total worldwide labor force of 30,000 employees.
MARK NEELY joined ATR North America as vice president of sales. Neely formerly was regional vice president of sales for Embraer. He also served in similar capacities for Fairchild-Dornier and British Aerospace. He began his career holding analysis and marketing positions with USAir and People Express Airlines.
DESPITE THE sagging economy, Jet Aviation attracted some 1,500 attendees to its La Bella Macchina event that was held last month in conjunction with the Cavallino Classic and featured collector Ferraris, business aircraft and motorcycles at the Jet Aviation Palm Beach, Fla. fixed-base operation. A silent auction at the event raised $15,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. Able Flight, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships for people with disabilities, displayed an Italian-destined Sky Arrow 600 LSA that is equipped for disabled pilots.
JOHN RAHILLY took on the responsibilities of product specialist for Alto Aviation, a Leominster, Mass. manufacturer of high-end in-flight entertainment audio equipment. Rahilly, a veteran business aviation executive, is the principal of his own firm, Rahilly Aviation Associates. He formerly was vice president of sales and marketing for Dassault Falcon Jet North American Service Centers. He also was president of KC Aviation Inc., which is now owned by General Dynamics. Rahilly further has held posts with Signature Flight Support and Dallas Airmotive.
KIT CATLIN added flightcrew IOE duties to his role with Northern Jet Management. Catlin remains a captain for the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based corporate aviation management company. He has 15 years of aviation experience.
DAPHNE FALLETTI was appointed president of Goodrich Corporation’s Engine Components business unit. Formerly vice president of Airbus programs for the Goodrich Aerostructures unit, Falletti has held operations, engineering and program management roles during her 22 years with Goodrich. She joined the Aerostructures team in 1987.
CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING the proposed Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) has captured the attention of new Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. In one of her first meetings with Transportation Security Administration officials, Napolitano stressed that the department must “continue to work and improve.” She mentioned the LASP rulemaking and said the department must balance the need for a secure transportation system with “the legitimate impact on consumers.”
Thanks in part to strong sales to business aviation and general aviation original equipment customers, Honeywell International posted positive financial numbers for 2008. Full-year sales at the $37 billion diversified technology and manufacturing company increased 6 percent to $36.6 billion, and earnings per share rose 19 percent to $3.76. Fourth-quarter earnings per share even grew 7 percent at the Morris Township, N.J. company despite the rapidly deteriorating economic environment.
