BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE received a contract from Grupo SATA (Sociedade Acoriana de Transportes Aereos, S.A.) of Ponta Delgada, Portugal for four Q400 NextGen aircraft. The aircraft, valued at $113 million, will be operated by SATA Air Acores regional airline.
THE U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT in Denver was set to auction Adam Aircraft Friday to bidders vying to buy the entire company. A minimum bid of $10 million was required and sources said at least one bid was received. That bid was said to involve a group that included individuals with ties to Adam Aircraft as well as Russian investors. The sale is not scheduled to close until April 15, and other parties would have until April 7 to object. If the bulk auction fails, the court scheduled an April 30 date for a second auction of individual assets of Adam.
April 8-14 – Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In, Inc., Lakeland, Fla., (863) 644-2431 April 23-26 – Aircraft Electronics Association, 51st Annual Convention & Trade Show, Washington, D.C. Contact Debbie McFarland at (816) 373-6565. April 24 – National Business Aviation Association Regional Forum, Henderson Executive Airport (HND), Las Vegas, Nev. For more information, contact NBAA at (202) 783-9000 April 29-May 1 – Flight Safety Foundation, 53rd Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar, Palm Harbor, Fla., (703) 739-6700
AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION President and CEO James May last week defended commercial aviation, characterizing the industry’s contributions to greenhouse gas emissions as much lower than other transportation segments. “Within the aviation sector, it is important to remember that different types of commercial aircraft have vastly different impacts on the environment,” May said in testimony presented to the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
KEVIN GLEESON was appointed chief pilot, charter and management, for PremiAir, one of the largest helicopter operators in the United Kingdom. He had been serving as a senior pilot since joining the company in 1998. Previously Gleeson was a Lynx pilot in the Royal Marines, and flew Bell 214ST and Aerospatiale AS332L helicopters at Bristow Helicopters for seven years before joining the Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit in 1993.
TODD P. LAZAR was promoted to the position of vice president – quality assurance with responsibility for maintaining quality standards in all five business units of M7 Aerospace in San Antonio, Texas. Lazar had been director – quality assurance for M7 since the company’s inception in 2003. He previously worked with Fairchild Dornier, an M7 predecessor company, and before that held quality control posts with General Dynamics, Lockheed and Lockheed Martin.
Swiss manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. won certification Friday from European Aviation Safety Agency and Federal Aviation Administration officials for the Next Generation PC-12, which will be designated as the PC-12 NG.
THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION is believed to have completed its rework of a proposal to establish a security program for large private aircraft. TSA withdrew the proposed rule from Office of Management and Budget earlier this year after OMB raised questions about the proposal and its accompanying regulatory analysis (BA, Jan. 31/23). TSA is now hoping to be able to secure OMB approval and publish the proposal at the end of May.
All five persons aboard a Cessna Citation were killed March 30 when the aircraft crashed into a large home at Farnborough in Kent shortly after taking off from Biggin Hill Airport south of London. Moments after takeoff, the pilot issued a “Mayday” call. Unconfirmed accounts said he radioed controllers to report “serious engine vibrations.” Both crew members and all three passengers were killed in the crash, but no one on the ground was injured.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. officials are hoping to receive FAA Type Certification of the Hawker 4000 business jet “soon” following completion of yet another round of Function & Reliability (F&R) testing that wrapped up the week of March 16. The aircraft won FAA approval for basic flight in late 2004, then received a “provisional” TC from FAA in late 2006 that expanded the flight envelope but left a number of requirements unaccomplished (BA, Nov. 27, 2006/241). The paperwork from the latest round of flight tests is currently under review by FAA.
BRITISH AEROSPACE REGIONAL AIRCRAFT HP. 137 Jetstream MK 1, Jetstream Series 200, 3100 and 3200 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0369; Directorate Identifier 2008-CE-015-AD] – Mandates repetitive inspections of the nose landing gear to ensure that the wheels are correctly retained and, depending on findings, replace any worn parts, per the instructions of British Aerospace Jetstream Series 3100 and 3200 Service Bulletin 32-JA070241 (dated July 13, 2007).
BOMBARDIER CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701, & 702) and CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0300; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-019-AD] – Requires replacement of fuel tube couplings inside the wing and center fuel tanks with redesigned couplings, per the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 670BA-28-014, Rev. A (dated May 7, 2007). For airplanes on which Bombardier Service Bulletin 670BA-28-014 (dated Jan.
JOSEPH MALO was named deputy chief engineer of CH2M Hill’s Aviation business unit in Houston. He has 25 years of engineering and project management experience, working on projects at more than 30 airports in the U.S.
DASSAULT Model Falcon 900 and 900EX airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0365; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-274-AD] – This proposal would require operators to inspect certain electrical feeder cables for damage, repair any damaged cable found, install a protective Teflon tube over the cable bundle and modify the partition wall that separates the cabin and the lavatory at Frames 22/23.
The FAA has proposed a rule that would require rewiring EASy displays in Dassault Falcon 900EX and 2000EX airplanes to prevent the display of erroneous flight data.
Eclipse Aviation said it will add dual Garmin GPS 400W units in the Avio NG system in the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet, providing long-range IFR navigation capability to the E500.
SAAB/SAAB-FAIRCHILD SF340A and 340B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0017; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-268-AD; Amendment 39-15444; AD 2008-07-03] – This AD, which resulted from an MCAI issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency, requires installation of extra protection for wiring installed in fuel tank conduits. Specifically, operators need to install Modification No. 3164 (right-hand wing) and Modification No. 3165 (left-hand wing) in accordance with Saab Service Bulletin 340-28-026 (dated July 5, 2007).
Operators of gliders should be required to install and activate battery-powered transponders during flight to help prevent midair collisions with other aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board said last week, citing the circumstances of an Aug. 28, 2006 collision between a glider and a NetJets Hawker 800XP as the business jet was approaching Reno, Nev.
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U.S. AVIATION INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS paid significantly higher business jet hull losses for accidents in the U.S. and Canada last year, according to information compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. While accident rates have remained stable or improved, Breiling said the introduction of significantly more expensive aircraft into the fleet is driving up loss totals.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Pratt & Whitney have launched the MRJ regional jet and its GTF geared turbofan engine, marking a renewed Japanese attempt to break into commercial aircraft and the arrival of a potentially revolutionary engine. First delivery is planned in 2013, as previously stated by All Nippon when it ordered the 90-seat MRJ90 version of the aircraft, although the airline thinks it might get its first unit in early 2014. A shorter version with about 70 seats, the MRJ70, is also offered.
AGUSTA S.P.A. A109E and A119 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-0327; Directorate Identifier 2007-SW-21-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to inspect for interference between the hydraulic lines and the tail-rotor control rod assembly, per the instructions contained in Agusta Technical Bulletin No. 109EP-73 (dated Dec. 4, 2006) or 119-22 (dated July 11, 2007). If interference is found, operators would need to replace the hydraulic lines with new ones.
The Federal Aviation Administration last week announced a series of measures to improve its inspection and personnel policies after a congressional investigation and a proposed enforcement action against Southwest Airlines (SWA) highlighted deep schisms within FAA’s inspector corps and called into question the agency’s reliance upon voluntary safety reporting programs with industry.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to release an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) this spring to solicit comments on a petition from environmentalists seeking regulations curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from aircraft engines, a key EPA official told a congressional panel last week.
