Bombardier Aerospace appointed OceanAir as an authorized service facility for Bombardier Learjet aircraft. OceanAir's service facility, based at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, won Brazilian Department of Civil Aviation approval and will begin operating this spring. Bombardier previously appointed OceanAir Taxi Aero Ltd. an aircraft sales representative for Bombardier business jets in Brazil.
Gulfstream Aerospace won FAA supplemental type certificate approval permitting the installation of the manufacturer's new ultra-high-speed Broad Band Multi-Link TM (BBML) data system in G550 and G500 business jets.
CURTIS HELMS was named director of safety for American Jet International. Helms joined AJI in 2003 and formerly was crew leader. He has nine years of aviation experience.
EMBRAER Model EMB-135 and -145 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20733; Directorate Identifier 2005-NM-004-AD] - proposes to require inspecting to determine the part number of the left and right engine fire handles; and replacing the engine fire handles with engine fire handles having different part numbers if necessary. This proposed AD is prompted by cases of the internal circuit of the engine fire handle failing.
DONALD (DRENT) SARAULT was promoted to vice president at American Jet International. Formerly charter sales manager for AJI, Sarault will manage daily office operations and coordinate support activities for the company's aircraft management business. Sarault has served with AJI for six years.
GULFSTREAM SECURES EASA VALIDATION FOR THE G350 - Gulfstream Aerospace received European Aviation Safety Agency validation for the Gulfstream G350 business jet. The validation follows Federal Aviation Administration type approval for the 350 in November. The G350 was announced in February 2004 as the successor to the G300/GIV-SP. Gulfstream designed the G350 to have commonality with the longer-range G450, G500 and G550 business jets. The four aircraft share several systems, including the PlaneView cockpit avionics suite, and have the same pilot type rating.
Jet Aviation Engineering Services, which holds a multiple FAA supplemental type certificate for installation of the Bendix/King Integrated Hazard Avoidance System (IHAS 8000) in Cessna Citation 500, 550, S550 and 560 series aircraft, is offering the STC for purchase. As an option, Jet Aviation is offering a complete turnkey installation at one of its maintenance facilities.
FOKKER Model F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 series airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20870; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-180-AD] - proposes to require repetitive inspections for damage of the drive rod assembly of the aileron tab on each aileron actuator; repetitive measurements of the clearance between the aileron hydraulic lines and the drive rod; and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary.
AirNet completed the first unattended coast-to-coast transfer of a kidney destined for transplant with the help of a new device that protected the organ en route, the company said. The LifePort Kidney Transporter, developed by Organ Recovery Systems, preserved the kidney during a 2,700-mile flight from its donor in Miami to the recipient in San Diego. The company is developing similar devices for shipping other organs, such as the heart and pancreas. AirNet operates a fleet of 130 aircraft throughout the U.S.
National Transportation Safety Board said Sino-Swearingen's "incomplete high-Mach design research, which resulted in the airplane becoming unstable and diverging into a lateral upset," was the probable cause of an SJ30-2 test flight that claimed the life of test pilot Carroll Beeler, 59, nearly two years ago (BA, May 5, 2003/203). Beeler was in a descent attempting to attain a Mach 0.884 target speed during a flutter test.
ANDREAS MEISEL was appointed senior vice president in charge of the Aircraft Overhaul and VIP Jet Services department for Lufthansa Technik. Meisel will oversee the Overhaul, VIP and Government Jet Maintenance, Airframe Related Components and Aircraft Paint business units. He joined Lufthansa in 1989 and most recently was vice president of marketing and sales for Lufthansa Technik.
PETER BUNCE TAKES OVER AS GAMA PRESIDENT - Fresh from six years working closely with members of Congress on behalf of the U.S. Air Force, Col. Peter Bunce (USAF-Ret.) took over Friday as president and chief executive of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Bunce succeeds Ed Bolen, who left GAMA last year to become president of the National Business Aviation Association (BA, Aug. 9/59). Ron Swanda, GAMA's senior vice president of operations, served as interim president following Bolen's departure.
New Piper Friday delivered the 200th Malibu Meridian to Ontario, Canada customers Don and Jane Lockhard. The aircraft is the second Meridian shipped to the Lockhards, who also have owned two Piper Mirages and a Piper Malibu.
If the long-term trend continues, 2005 could be the first year since 1944 with fewer than 300 fatal general aviation accidents in the U.S. There were 312 fatal accidents last year, which represents a 37.3 percent drop over the past 20 years. See NTSB charts and article below.
The agreement will not affect the protest NAATS filed last month contesting FAA's decision to award the flight service station contract to Lockheed Martin. NAATS joins the employee-based Most Efficient Organization (MEO) in contesting the decision. FAA has until April 29 to respond to the protests. NAATS also last month filed an age discrimination suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that the process infringes upon employees' rights and benefits.
TERRY WESLEY-SMITH was named general manager of Jeppesen's newly opened facility at the Boeing offices in Canberra, Australia. Wesley-Smith has both military and civil aviation experience. A helicopter pilot in the Australian Army, he retired from the service in 1987 after a 20-year career. He also has served as general manager of Pilatus Australia Pty. Ltd and is chairman of the board for the Regional Aviation Association of Australia.
CESSNA Models 172R, 172S, 182T, and T182T airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20587; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-10-AD; Amendment 39-14021; AD 2005-05-53 R1] - Revises emergency AD 2005-05-53 for Cessna Models 172R, 172S, 182T, and T182T airplanes. This AD contains the same information as emergency AD 2005-05-53 R1 and publishes the action in the Federal Register. It requires a one-time detailed inspection of the flight control system, correction of installations that do not conform to type design, and repair of any damage.
NATA SEEKS MORE TIME ON TRAINING DIRECTIVE - The National Air Transportation Association last week appealed to the Federal Aviation Administration to give commercial and fractional aircraft operators more time to comply with a directive to audit training centers, saying many operators are just now finding out about the mandate. FAA issued a notice to principal operations inspectors Feb.
Pilatus Aircraft appointed OceanAir Taxi Aereo Ltda. an exclusive factory-authorized sales and service representative in Brazil. OceanAir Taxi began operating in 1998 and in 2003 was named the exclusive representative for Bombardier Business Jets in Brazil. Through a partnership with Target Company, OceanAir Taxi opened a maintenance center at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo. OceanAir said the Pilatus agreement "opens huge possibilities for the PC-12 since the Brazilian market has a great demand for sophisticated small business aircraft."
CESSNA Models 172R, 172S, 182T, T182T, 206H, and T206H airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20438; Directorate Identifier 2005-CE-03-AD] - proposes to require inspecting any MC01-3A I.C. 9 or MC01-3A I.C. 10 main electrical power junction box circuit breakers for correct amperage (amp) (a correct 40-amp circuit breaker) and replacing any incorrect amp circuit breaker with the correct 40-amp circuit breaker.
Commonwealth Business Media completed its purchase of aviation and air transportation information supplier BACK Aviation Solutions. BACK, headquartered in New Haven, Conn., provides aviation information and analytical tools to the air transport industry, including traffic data, airline schedules, financials, operating statistics, fleet data, and route mapping.
BOMBARDIER Model DHC-8-101, -102, -103, -106, -201, -202, -301, -311, and -315 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2005-20730; Directorate Identifier 2004-NM-68-AD] - proposes to supersede an existing AD that requires installation of a placard on the instrument panel of the cockpit to advise the flight crew that positioning of the power levers below the flight idle stop during flight is prohibited. Additionally, the existing AD requires eventual installation of an FAA-approved system that would prevent such positioning of the power levers during flight.
SENIOR FAA OFFICIAL WARNS OF CERTIFICATION DELAYS THROUGH 2006 - Delays in the certification process are expected to continue for the foreseeable future because FAA will be down some 300 Aviation Safety positions this year and has plans to fill only about 100 of those positions in fiscal 2006, Peggy Gilligan, deputy associate administrator for Aviation Safety, said last week.
