DELAY PREDICTED FOR AIR FORCE'S PERSONNEL RECOVERY VEHICLE - A key congressional panel is predicting that the U.S. Air Force's Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV) program will not meet its goal to pick a prime contractor by February.
Concerned about Rothman's response, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and National Air Transportation Association have been working to ward off any such legislative attempts. GAMA is concerned that such action would encourage other lawmakers to introduce bills calling for restrictions at other airports. NATA officials, joined by Jet Aviation executives, met with Rothman last week to discuss Teterboro but were rebuffed in their attempts to convince him that the recent spate of accidents there was coincidental.
DASSAULT Model Mystere-Falcon 50 and 900 series airplanes, and Model Falcon 2000 and 900EX series airplanes [Docket No. 2002-NM-244-AD; Amendment 39-14116; AD 2005-11-14] - requires temporary changes to the Airplane Flight Manual to prohibit the use of certain functions depending on whether or not the operator chooses to deactivate the global positioning system. For airplanes on which the GPS is deactivated, this proposal requires installing a deactivation locking collar on certain circuit breakers.
FLORIDA JURY SAYS MANUFACTURER NOT AT FAULT IN PAYNE STEWART CRASH -A jury of six women found that Learjet and its parent company Bombardier were not at fault for the Oct. 25, 1999 crash of a Model 35 Learjet that killed professional golfer Payne Stewart, his agent Robert Fraley and four other persons on board.
William Lipinski, the former Democratic representative from Illinois who held leadership positions on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has affiliated with Dykema Gossett PLC, a Chicago-based law firm. The firm said it plans to "tap Lipinski's extensive transportation knowledge and distinguished congressional background to expand the depth and breadth of its government policy services in Illinois and Washington, D.C."
LAW JUDGE REJECTS PART OF CESSNA 150 PILOT'S APPEAL - A National Transportation Safety Board law judge rejected a request to overturn FAA's emergency revocation of the airman certificate of Hayden L. Shaeffer, the pilot of a Cessna 150 who flew into restricted airspace around Washington, D.C. last month. Attorneys representing Shaeffer disputed the "emergency" nature of the revocation in their appeal to NTSB (BA, May 30/245), but Law Judge William Pope rejected their arguments.
KING SEEKING HOUSE Homeland Security COMMITTEE CHAIR - Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee's subcommittee on emergency preparedness, will seek chairmanship of the full committee after Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.) moves to his new post as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. If named chair, King has said he would work with airlines to strengthen security without imposing too much burden on the industry. Meanwhile Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has named Col.
Duncan Aviation-Battle Creek was named an authorized service facility (ASF) for Bombardier Aerospace, the 12th facility to receive such approval from Bombardier. The ASF network provides warranty work, engine and airframe inspections and repair, service bulletin installations and related service and support for current production Bombardier Challenger 604 business jets as well as the Challenger 600 and 601 models.
HAC GIVES NASA $16.5B, AERONAUTICS MANDATE - The House Appropriations Committee has funded NASA at $16.5 billion in fiscal 2006, or $14.7 million more than President Bush's request and $274.7 million above the enacted FY '05 level, including supplemental funding. The committee supported a push by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chairman of the panel's science subcommittee, to restore the agency's aeronautics research efforts at the FY '05 level of $906 million.
Department of Transportation last week denied a request from JetBlue for an exemption from regulations requiring carriers operating aircraft with 100 or more seats to provide in-cabin storage for at least one wheelchair. JetBlue sought the exemption for its fleet of Embraer 190 aircraft that is on order.
Elliott Aviation added a Citation II, King Air 200 and King Air 90 to its charter fleet based at Flying Cloud Airport near Minneapolis, Minn. The Citation II and King Air 200 are configured to carry eight passengers and the King Air 90 can carry six passengers.
FLYBE TO ADD 14 EMBRAER 195 JETS TO FLEET - Brazilian plane-maker Embraer nearly doubled its Embraer 195 orderbook with a contract from European low-cost carrier Flybe for 14 of the jets valued at $470 million. The order, which calls for the airliners to be delivered between August 2006 and November 2007, includes options for up to 12 more, which could boost the contract value to $870 million. The 195s, the largest of Embraer's new family of 70- to 110-passenger aircraft, will replace BAE 146s on Flybe's routes.
Elliott Aviation won FAA supplemental type certificate approval to install the Honeywell Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS) aboard the Beechjet 400A. The system is designed to improve situational awareness to prevent runway incursions. RAAS uses GPS data and Honeywell's Mark V Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System runway database information to monitor the aircraft's position on the runway and taxiways. It provides an aural warning in the event of a deviation.
GENERAL ATOMICS MERGES AERONAUTICAL, RECONNAISSANCE SYSTEMS - General Atomics merged its Aeronautical Systems and Reconnaissance Systems, a move the San Diego, Calif.-based company described as "the seamless integration of aircraft with sensor and weapons systems."
AAR won a five-year agreement from Air FRAM-KLM subsidiary Regional to provide logistics support and component repair for the carrier's 11 Embraer Brasilia EMB-120 aircraft. AAR Aircraft Component Services in Amsterdam will coordinate services with support from AAR Allen Aircraft, AAR Distribution and AAR Landing Gear Services.
BAE SYSTEMS Model BAe 146 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20724; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-233-AD; Amendment 39-14115; AD 2005-11-13] - requires repetitive inspections for cracks of the fuselage pressure skin above the left and right main landing gear (MLG) bay. This AD also requires corrective action, if leaks are found. This AD is prompted by reports of cracks in the fuselage pressure skin above the left and right MLG bay.
General Aviation advocates have become increasingly concerned that Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) plans to draft a measure for the fiscal 2006 transportation appropriations bill that would impose limits on flights at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey. Rothman, a member of the transportation appropriations subcommittee, has included Teterboro provisions in past appropriations bills, including one reinforcing a ban on the Boeing Business Jet at the airport.
TIM KING was promoted to manager, planning and control, for Midcoast Aviation. King joined Sabreliner in 1990 and moved to Sabreliner's Midcoast subsidiary in 1997. King formerly was a specialist within Midcoast's integrated product team, which is tasked with ensuring that aircraft completion and modification projects remain on schedule and on budget.
