The wealthy pilot of a Cessna CitationJet and her young son were killed Feb. 1 when the airplane crashed shortly after taking off from the Augusta State Airport in Augusta, Maine - in freezing precipitation that had convinced the regional airline serving Augusta to suspend flight operations. The pilot of the 2001 Model 525 CitationJet was identified as Jeanette Symons, 45. Symons had been a pilot for nearly two decades, according to friends. She was the founder of Ascend Communication in 1989, a company she later sold to Lucent Technologies for $24 billion.
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. won FAA certification for the company's new King Air C90GTi, the latest evolution of the twin-turboprop. The C90GTi is equipped with the fully-integrated Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite that also is used on a number of other King Air and Hawker models. The company delivered 10 C90GTi models in December. In addition to FAA approval, the new model has won certification from Brazilian airworthiness authorities. HBC is seeking C90GTi certification from authorities in Europe, Mexico, Canada, Venezuela and Guatemala.
Mike Shih, a veteran of nearly 20 years with Cessna Aircraft in Wichita, Kan., was named director of Cessna China Operations. The aircraft manufacturer announced plans late last year to have its SkyCatcher Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) built by Shenyang Aircraft Corp. in China (BA, Dec. 3/251). Shih will oversee production of the Model 162 SkyCatcher and support business development opportunities for Cessna in China.
AVJET CORPORATION moved its East Coast offices to the Dulles Jet Center corporate hangar complex at Dulles International Airport (IAD) outside Washington, D.C. Avjet Corp. provides a range of aircraft sales, acquisitions, charter and management services, including oversight of aircraft completions and refurbishments. The company's new East Coast office address is: 3800 Wind Sock Drive, Suite 250, Dulles, Va. 20166. The new telephone number is (703) 661-4848; the fax number is (703) 661-4949.
Virgin USA, the North American affiliate of British-based Virgin Group, is slated to enter the charter market next month with a new online booking service. Virgin unveiled plans for Virgin Charter in June, saying its service will provide a centralized marketplace that "will revolutionize private aviation by providing tremendous efficiencies to what has been a highly fragmented industry," (BA, June 18/271).
Named staff vice president, external communications, for the American Association of Airport Executives, which is based in Alexandria, Va. Broderick has been involved in the aviation industry for 16 years, including 11 years as a reporter/editor for various aviation trade publications, including several owned by McGraw-Hill. Most recently, Broderick served as editor of AAAE's Airport Magazine and product manager for the ANTN Digicast, the association's Web-based training and video content delivery.
Named director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City. Maxson most recently was a research pilot with the National Science Foundation in Boulder, Colo. The Aviation Weather Center issues warnings, forecasts, and advisories of hazardous weather for aircraft in flight. Maxson has 30 years of aviation weather experience as a NOAA Corps officer and pilot. He joined NOAA in 1978 in Kings Point, N.Y.
Model 525, 525A and 525B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2007-28956; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-068-AD; Amendment 39-15360; AD 2008-03-10] - Requires inspection of the lower wing skin structure, forward wing spar, lower fuselage skin, fairings and the external fairing frames for corrosion. Repair any damage found and apply a corrosion-inhibiting sealant to the fuselage fairings before reinstalling. Also, disable the cockpit-mounted pilot relief tube. This AD resulted from leaks of the cockpit-mounted pilot relief tube, which caused corrosion of the airplane structure.
THE FIRST MEETING of NATA's newly formed Environmental Committee late last month drew nearly three dozen NATA members from a cross-section of industry. The committee agreed to move forward with a carbon offset program and hopes to have initial details in time for the next meeting in March. The committee also wants to establish a set of industry best practices and explore joint partnership possibilities with the Environmental Protection Agency.
SOLOY AVIATION SOLUTIONS won approval from Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) for conversion of AS350BA and B2 helicopters with Honeywell engines. Soloy has supplied more than 75 conversion kits to customers in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. over the past 24 months. The latest approval clears the way for installation of the kits for Brazilian customers. The kit involves installation of LTS101-600A-3A engines on the AS350BA and the LTS101-700D-2 on the B2.
BRIAN RILEY, vice president of government affairs, for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, is joining Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. this week as director of federal and state affairs. Riley, 41, will continue to be based in Washington, D.C., but will be doing a lot of traveling to deal with the issues in the eight states where Goodyear has major facilities.
GKN AEROSPACE delivered the first blended winglet for the Boeing 737-300/500 under an agreement with Aviation Partners Boeing (APB). GKN will provide 200 of the winglets, which are seven feet long, under the multi-year agreement. APB is a joint venture between The Boeing Company and Aviation Partners, Inc., which developed the winglet technology for the 737 and a number of business jet aircraft.
EMBRAER won an order from JJH Capital for six Embraer 195 jets with purchase rights for another six. Embraer valued the firm order at $237 million. The aircraft will be operated by Spanish start-up Universal Airlines for domestic and intra-European routes. Deliveries of the 122-passenger aircraft are scheduled to begin in May.
Model TFE731-2C, -3B, -3BR, -3C, -3CR, -3D, -3DR, -4R, -5AR, -5BR, -5R, -20R, -20AR, -20BR, -40, -40AR, -40R and -60 series engines [Docket No. FAA-2007-27891; Directorate Identifier 2007-NE-14-AD; Amendment 39-15349; AD 2008-02-19] - Requires removing from service certain high-pressure (HP) turbine rotor assemblies and returning them to Honeywell for curvic root radius inspection.
AS 355 F2 and AS 355 N helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2008-0043; Directorate Identifier 2007-SW-31-AD; Amendment 39-15340; AD 2008-02-10] - Following the instructions of Eurocopter AS 355 Emergency Alert Service Bulletin No. 67.00.29, Revision 1 (dated April 27, 2007), inspect the aircraft to determine if the correct load compensator lever and hydraulic actuator assembly are installed. Replace them if incompatible parts are found.
THE NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION last week praised FAA for working with the industry to address MU-2B safety concerns, and noted the agency changed language in a Special Federal Aviation Regulation to address compliance time with a new required training regimen. But NATA added that the MU-2B SFAR released last week retained training requirements that will cause significant increases in costs that could devalue and result in early retirement of the MU-2 fleet. See article on Page 49.
French engine manufacturer Snecma is 35 hours into core testing of its planned Silvercrest family of turbine engines, "achieving all expected performance objectives" to date, officials said during a press conference last week.
HP.137 Jetstream Mk.1, Jetstream Series 200, Jetstream Series 3101 and Jetstream 3201 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2008-0035; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-103-AD] - Proposes to require installation of a serviceable steering jack that has been modified per the instructions of British Aerospace Jetstream Series 3100 and 3200 Service Bulletin 32-JM5417 (dated March 22, 2005).
Was promoted to the newly created position of chief of staff for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Government Affairs Division. Kenagy will work with association vice president on all aspects of government affairs, including FAA funding, security, air traffic, airports, certification and technology.
BOMBARDIER FLEXJET selected Team One of Los Angeles to create a new marketing flight plan for the fractional aircraft ownership company. A division of Saatchi & Saatchi, Team One has served a range of clients, including Lexus, The Ritz-Carlton, Proctor & Gamble, American Express, Whole Foods, Big Dog Motorcycles, LATimes.com, National Resources Defense Council, and Partnership for a Drug Free America, among others.
THALES said its Eurocat air traffic management system is fully operational in Denmark. Thales won a contract from Naviair, the Danish air navigation service provider, in 2002 to provide an integrated ATM system for Copenhagen, Roskilde and Billund. The new centers have nearly 80 controller working positions and will provide en route and terminal control capability. The Naviair system includes advanced capabilities such as trajectory profile and Medium Term Conflict Detection working in four dimensions.
Joined United Rotorcraft Solutions (URS) as general manager. Batman has more than 38 years of aviation experience serving as a helicopter maintenance technician, inspector, director of maintenance and vice president of operations. An FAA-approved repair station, URS provides aircraft completions and refurbishment services, systems integration, maintenance, component overhaul, customized interior installations and exterior finishing on most model helicopters and some fixed-wing aircraft.
