All eight persons aboard a Hawker 800 were killed about 1000 CDT Thursday morning when the crew apparently experienced control problems while attempting to land at the Owatonna, Minn. Airport. The airplane ran off the end of the 5,500-foot runway and crashed, resulting in massive destruction that left the tail and part of the empennage largely intact, but reducing the rest of the twin-engine aircraft to small pieces.
A Beech King Air A200 operated by the Federal Aviation Administration landed gear up July 21 at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) in Utah after the landing gear would not lock in the down position. The two airline transport pilots were not injured in the Part 91 public-use flight, but the aircraft, N11, sustained substantial damage on the lower fuselage. After takeoff from SLC, the pilot-in-command noted that the red “gear transit” light illuminated, and the landing gear had not retracted
MONDAY’S PRESS EVENT at EAA had been expected to focus on the sales outlook for the company’s single-engine EA-400 personal jet, but instead Raburn, the company’s founder and CEO, announced that he was stepping down. He then introduced Pieper, who is taking over as interim CEO of Eclipse. Raburn said Eclipse had received orders for about 110 EA-400s from existing EA-500 customers before last week. A spokeswoman told BA Friday that “several more” EA-400 orders were received during the EAA show. See article below.
B/E AEROSPACE completed the previously announced acquisition of Honeywell’s Consumables Solutions (HCS) distribution business. The Wellington, Fla.-based maker of aircraft cabin interior products and aftermarket distributor of aerospace fasteners purchased HCS for $901.4 million in cash, plus 6 million shares of the company’s common stock.
A missed Transportation Security Administration deadline is forcing the Federal Aviation Administration to put a hold on all newly filed applications for foreign repair station certificates. A provision in the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 bars approval of new foreign repair station applications after Aug. 3 unless TSA issues final repair station security rules. But TSA has yet to release even a proposal.
FOKKER F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0676; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-280-AD] – This proposed rule would require operators to modify the main landing gear by replacing the upper torque link pin with a new fuse pin in accordance with Fokker Service Bulletin SBF100-32-148, Rev. 1 (dated Feb. 26, 2007).
AMETEK’S Power & Data Systems Group was selected to supply primary power distribution and integrated generator control functions for the new HondaJet business aircraft. Ametek also is supplying circuit breaker panels and interior cabin load control. The HondaJet will be equipped with Ametek’s 325A DC starter generators to distribute DC electrical power. The HondaJet is Honda’s first commercial aircraft and is scheduled for delivery beginning in late 2010.
EADS SOCATA selected the Garmin Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT) as an option for the TBM 850. The single-turboprop aircraft is equipped with Garmin’s G1000 all-glass integrated flight deck. The SVT upgrade provides a three-dimensional depiction of terrain, obstacles and traffic on the G1000 primary flight display, replicating a clear-day view of outside surrounding. SVT combines aircraft position information with topographic databases to project real-time images.
A Raytheon Cobra unmanned aircraft system (UAS) was destroyed July 28 when it crashed into an athletic field light tower at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. during a demonstration flight for academy officials.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CF34-1A, -3A, -3A1, -3A2, -3B and -3B1 engines [Docket No. FAA-2007-0419; Directorate Identifier 2007-NE-52-AD] – Under this proposal, operators would need to remove the high-pressure (HP) rotor four-step air balance piston stationary seals, replacing them with eight-step seals. This proposed AD resulted from the investigation of an accident in which both engines experienced high-altitude flameouts, rotation of the HP rotors was not maintained during the descent and the engines could not be restarted.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT Model 175 and 175A airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-29240; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-076-AD; Amendment 39-15618; AD 2008-15-06] – Check the airplane logbook to determine if the original engine mounting brackets have been replaced. If the original brackets are still installed, repetitively inspect them for cracks and replace any cracked bracket, per the instructions of Cessna Single Engine Service Bulletin SEB07-2, Rev. 2 (dated June 18, 2007). This AD was prompted by a report that an engine became detached from a firewall during a landing.
JAMES STEWART was elected to the board of directors for Aerion Corp. Stewart has served as a senior financial advisor for the company since 2006. He formerly held a number of senior financial positions for Bombardier, including chief financial officer of Bombardier Aerospace. He will be taking a senior financial post with maintenance, repair and overhaul specialist SR Technics, but will remain active as a resource to Aerion.
MATTHEW DOYLE rejoined Avantair, Inc., the Clearwater, Fla. fractional aircraft provider, as senior executive vice president of sales and marketing. Doyle was with Avantair in 2002 as vice president of sales and marketing. Since then he was an area sales manager for Cessna Aircraft. Avantair operates a fleet of nearly 50 Piaggio Avanti P.180 aircraft, and has another 60 Avanti IIs on order through 2013.
AN ECLIPSE 500 lost part of a wing-to-fuselage fairing during a July 17 flight near Rockford, Ill. and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating to determine the cause of the problem. In a preliminary report NTSB said the aircraft, N875NA, “sustained minor damage during an in-flight separation of the aft, lower, left hand side wing to body fairing, during cruise flight” at about 1655 CDT. The flight, with two pilots aboard, had departed from Pinedale, Wyo. and was en route to Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, Ill.
EMBRAER finalized a contract with Nigerian charter operator DanaJets for a Legacy 600 executive Jet. The aircraft is slated for delivery in late 2009 in a 13-seat configuration. The order follows an earlier deal from DanaJets for two Phenom 100s and one Phenom 300. Delivery of those aircraft is expected to begin in 2011.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION scheduled two seminars to discuss taxes and environmental compliance. The Tax Seminar for Air Charter Operations will be held Aug. 12 at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis in Indiana to explain the various taxes that apply to Part 135 flight operations. The seminar will cover federal excise taxes and exemptions, state taxes, international user fees, common tax errors, IRS forms, the fuel tax credit, aircraft management agreements and charter brokering.
The National Transportation Safety Board has issued three recommendations – two to the FAA and one to Transport Canada – designed to prevent a repeat of the February 2005 Challenger 600 overrun accident at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport.
DAVID CHESMORE was named product engineer for Flight Display Systems, an Alpharetta, Ga. manufacturer of in-flight entertainment systems. Chesmore will oversee engineering standards and new product development. He has 23 years of experience in avionics and electrical maintenance, aerospace and manufacturing engineering. He formerly was an electrical engineer with Bombardier Aerospace/Learjet in Wichita, Kan., where he was responsible for electrical manufacturing processes for the Learjet 40/45/60/60XR and Challenger 300.
AGUSTA S.P.A. AB 139 and AW 139 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-0256; Directorate Identifier 2007-SW-01-AD; Amendment 39-15597; AD 2008-14-02] – This AD requires repetitive inspections for cracks in Fuselage Frame 5700 middle section, per the instructions of Agusta Bollettino Tecnico No. 139-018, Rev. B (dated Oct. 18, 2006). If cracks are found, repair them before further flight. This AD, which resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, is intended to prevent structural failure of the fuselage frame structure.
Diamond Aircraft launched a program Thursday designed to help its DA42 aircraft customers manage the transition from the original equipment Thielert Aircraft Engine Centurion engine to an Austro Engine AE 300 powerplant. Existing owners of TAE Centurion engines have complained of lack of support and warranty coverage from Thielert since that company entered insolvency this spring (BA, April 28/191). Diamond is working with Austro Engine and hopes to win European Aviation Safety Agency type certification for the 170-horsepower turbo-diesel engine this fall.
JET AVIATION in Dusseldorf, Germany was appointed an authorized service center for Piaggio P.180 Avanti/Avanti II turboprop aircraft. The center has performed maintenance work on P.180s for more than 10 years, but the most recent designation covers maintenance services up to and including D-Check inspections. Jet Aviation personnel also will attend recurring annual training courses at the Piaggio factory in Genoa, Italy.
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Cessna Aircraft, which is boosting business jet production to meet demand, continues to be a star player in Textron’s array of companies, according to second-quarter financial results.
