Honeywell signed an agreement with Airservices Australia under which the avionics manufacturer will develop, certify and commercialize a Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) and Ground-based Regional Augmentation System (GRAS) to provide navigation and landing guidance for aircraft flying over the continent.
Named manager of FlightSafety International's London Farnborough learning center. Hewett joined FSI as assistant manager of the London Farnborough facility in 2004. He has 25 years of aviation experience, previously serving as the flight department manager and chief pilot for a division of the Motorola Company in Europe. He also has held management, pilot and instructor positions and spent 13 years with Electronic Data Systems. He has multi-engine FAA and CAA ratings and Bermuda certification.
A CESSNA CARAVAN registered to Atesa Aero Taxis Ecuatorianos S.A. of Quito, Ecuador "crashed following a loss of engine power" while departing from the Cuenca, Ecuador Airport (CUE) March 24, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed during the 11 a.m. local time takeoff.
Model ATR 42 airplanes and Model ATR 72 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-23635; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-245-AD; Amendment 39-14546; AD 2006-07-19] - requires installing protective ramps on trim panel 110VU; and inspecting the protective guard of the standby pitch trim switch to determine if it is missing, damaged, or ineffective, and taking the corrective action if necessary. This AD results from a finding that the protective guard of the standby pitch trim switch, which is installed on the center pedestal, could be damaged or missing.
Models 208 and 208B airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-23648; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-07-AD; Amendment 39-14514; AD 2006-06-06] - corrects AD 2006-06-06, published in the March 16 Federal Register, that requires incorporation of information into the applicable section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) and Pilots Operating Handbook (POH) and requires installation of placards (BA March 20/127).
Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2006-24365; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-022-AD] - proposes to require repetitive inspections for cracks of the first fuel access panel outboard of the nacelle on the left- and right-hand wings, and related investigative/corrective actions, if necessary. This proposed AD also would require eventual replacement of each access panel with a new access panel having a new part number. The replacement would terminate the repetitive inspection requirements.
Appointed chief financial and reinsurance officer for AIG Aviation. Jarrett has served as chief reinsurance officer of AIG since 2003. His new role will include the management of the financial as well as the reinsurance operations of AIG Aviation's U.S. and London offices. Jarrett joined AIG Companies in 1979 in Bermuda and became assistant comptroller of AIG Aviation in 1986. He also has served as American International Domestic Brokerage Group Southeast region operation manager and executive vice president/general manager of AIG Truck Insurance Group.
MEANWHILE, speculation in Washington has been growing about whether the FAA proposal can win OMB approval this year. With former OMB Director Josh Bolten taking over as White House chief of staff, some question whether the turnover at OMB will slow the vetting of a lot of pending proposals. One source said OMB officials are asking why the FAA's Air Traffic Organization needs a new funding system before agency officials have identified what new technologies will be needed for NAS modernization or what the cost will be.
LIBERTY AEROSPACE was cleared for FAA production certification approval after an agency unit evaluated the company's Melbourne, Fla. facility. The FAA's PC Board determined that Liberty had met all the requirements for issuance of the PC and will recommend the PC be issued within the next few weeks, the company said. Liberty Aerospace produces the two-seat XL2 piston aircraft. The aircraft is built with a carbon fiber composite fuselage and is powered by a Continental IOF 240-B engine with a PowerLink full authority digital engine control system.
FAA'S PROPOSAL for a new system to finance the Airport and Airway Trust Fund has been sitting at the White House Office of Management and Budget for "some weeks," Blakey acknowledged, but she still hopes to be able to announce the details this spring. "It takes time" to win OMB approval because "there are some big ideas in this [proposal] and it takes a lot of discussion to get this through," she said.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD is investigating a March 30 incident in which a Diamond Aircraft Industries DA 20-C1, N346DC, lost all engine power, necessitating a forced landing. The aircraft, which NTSB said was piloted by a Diamond Aircraft sales representative, had departed from a small airport near Butler, Pa. and was headed for Meadville, Pa. About five minutes after takeoff, at an altitude of 800 feet AGL, engine RPMs dropped from 2,000 to idle. The pilot applied full throttle and rich fuel mixture, but the engine remained at idle.
THE METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON AIRPORTS AUTHORITY signed an agreement to take over operation of the Washington Dulles Toll Road and use the revenues from the road to pay for a $4 billion project to extend the Metrorail subway system to the airport. The authority will oversee a two-phase plan to build a 23.1-mile extension of Metrorail to Dulles and beyond. Phase I is scheduled for completion in 2011; Phase II, which includes the Dulles Metro stop, will be finished in 2015.
Named program chief pilot for CJ Systems Aviation Group. Lhote will manage contracts at 17 base sites operated by STAT MedEvac Systems. He has served with CJ Systems for eight years as site manager, pilot and assistant chief pilot.
ROCKWELL COLLINS named Jeff Moore senior vice president of operations, replacing Kent Statler, who took over as vice president and general manager of Rockwell Collins Services in November 2005. Moore has a 30-year career with Rockwell Collins in a number of management and operational positions. Most recently, he was vice president of manufacturing operations for Government Systems.
Eclipse Aviation broke ground last week at the Gainesville, Fla. Regional Airport (GNV) for a new service center, the first of seven service centers the company is building to support its Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet aircraft.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION was pleased that FAA last week agreed to extend for six months the deadline for complying with new drug and alcohol testing rules. The extension came at the request of nine associations, including GAMA, which said the rules need to be clarified before they can be properly followed. One of the sticking points is the extent to which the rules apply to original equipment manufacturers and the companies to which they subcontract maintenance.
AFRICAN CARRIERS dominate the list of 92 airlines the European Commission recently banned from operating in European Union countries. All carriers registered in Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are excluded from the EU as they "have an inadequate system for regulatory oversight," the EC said. To review the complete list of banned carriers, visit: http://europa/eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/doc/flywell/2006_03_22_f….
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION is expected to task a government/industry group shortly to draft recommendations on equipment requirements for large-scale implementation of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B). ADS-B, which enables aircraft tracking via satellite, has been tested in Alaska (the Capstone program) as well as with cargo carriers. Industry groups are enthusiastic about the potential for ADS-B to save FAA billions of dollars because it will enable the agency to turn off most, if not all, ground radars.
Rick Voorhis, a former board member of the National Air Transportation Association, was killed March 29 in a Cessna Caravan accident in a mountainous area near Yucaipa, Calif., about 25 miles west of Palm Springs.
Accidents involving turbine-powered business aircraft dropped substantially from the first quarter of 2005 to the quarter just ended, according to information compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla.
A UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS doctoral student was honored as FAA's Air Transportation Centers of Excellence "Outstanding Student of the Year" for his research into airport concrete. Zachary Grasley is a doctoral student in civil engineering at the university's main campus at Urbana-Champaign, where he is researching the behavior and characteristics of concrete used in airport pavements and structures.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association called the creation of temporary flight restrictions the wrong way to manage unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and urged the Federal Aviation Administration to move forward on regulations that ensure UAVs operate to the same level of safety as manned aircraft. Security agencies have increased the use of UAVs before FAA has had an opportunity to regulate them, Andrew Cebula, executive vice president of government affairs, testified before the House aviation subcommittee late last month.
