DAVID SCHAFFER, chief counsel for the House aviation subcommittee, is leaving his post at the end of February. Schaffer has served with Congress for 26 years, including 20 with the subcommittee. Schaffer indicated he plans to continue working on aviation issues in some capacity.
Title II - FAA ORGANIZATION Subtitle A - FAA Reform Section 201. Narrows the membership of the Management Advisory Council from 18 to 13 and calls for the secretary of transportation to fill the remaining slots. Reduction in membership reflects reorganization of the Air Traffic Services Subcommittee Section 202. Air Traffic Services Committee Reorganization * Establishes a new Air Traffic Services Committee that is separate from the MAC.
AERO CLUB OF WASHINGTON named Henry Ogrodzinski president for 2004. Ogrodzinski, who has held positions at the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Gulfstream Aerospace, is president of the National Association of State Aviation Officials.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY AIRPORT in White Plains, N.Y. was shut down for several hours last Thursday afternoon and evening because President Bush was in the area attending a campaign fund-raising dinner. That scenario can be expected to repeat itself at other airports all over the country through the November elections as Bush travels to campaign events and the Secret Service tells FAA to enact Temporary Flight Restrictions to restrict non-airline flights
MESA INCREASES BOMBARDIER CRJ FLEET WITH $637 MILLION ORDER - Regional carrier Mesa Air Group ordered 20 Bombardier CRJ700 and CRJ900 regional jets in a follow-on contract that will increase its Bombardier CRJ fleet to 114 jets. The order, valued at $637 million, converts 20 of 40 options that Mesa holds for the CRJ700 and CRJ900. The mix of CRJ700s and CRJ900s to be delivered has not yet been finalized. Mesa currently operates 69 CRJ200s, CRJ700s and CRJ900s and continues to take delivery of aircraft from an earlier order.
Section 143. Repeals an outdated "Sense of Senate" that FAA should work with law enforcement agencies to help air carriers develop computer-assisted passenger profiling systems Section 144. Makes technical amendments to grant assurance language, including eliminating certain requirements for audit opinions Section 145. Makes eligible for funding the costs of moving federal facilities, such as control towers and navigation aids, that otherwise would impede an AIP project Section 146.
Two Principals in Tyler Jet, LLC of Tyler, Texas entered guilty pleas last week to engaging in a monetary transaction with the proceeds of criminal activity. According to a multi-count indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Timothy J. Beverley, 47, president and manager of Tyler Jet, and Gregory A. Hopper, 49, the former chief financial officer of the company, were engaged in wire fraud and bank fraud in connection with the aircraft sales and refurbishment company.
Aircraft Electronics Association has sold out more than 90 percent of the booth space available at its 47th Annual International Convention and Trade Show scheduled March 29-April 1 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. The show is expected to attract more than 125 exhibitors and hundreds of attendees. For more information about the trade show, contact AEA at (816) 373-6565.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11491 Petitioner: Cessna Aircraft Company Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 91.9(a) and 91.531(a)(1) and (2) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Cessna to allow certain qualified pilots of Cessna Citation Model 550, S550, 552, or 560 aircraft to operate those aircraft without a pilot who is designated as second-in-command. Grant, Dec. 2, 2003, Exemption No. 4050M
DASSAULT Model Falcon 2000 and 900EX, and Model Mystere-Falcon 900 series airplanes (Docket No. 2002-NM-231-AD; Amendment 39-13419; AD 2004-01-05) -- requires measuring the paint thickness on the upper and lower surfaces of the left and right sides of the horizontal stabilizer, performing corrective actions if necessary, and installing maintenance caution placards on the upper surface of the left and right sides of the horizontal stabilizer.
AVCRAFT PREPARES FOR PRODUCTION RESTART - AvCraft Aviation has begun gradually rebuilding the work force in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, in preparation for restarting the production line for the 30-seat 328Jet regional aircraft. AvCraft, the new owner of the former Fairchild Dornier 328JET, said in December that production would begin soon (BA, Dec. 15/269), and last week announced that work would re-start this quarter with the first completed aircraft rolling off the production line by the fourth quarter.
TRANSPORT CANADA SUSPENDS OPERATING CERTIFICATE OF CARAVAN OPERATOR - Transport Canada Thursday suspended the Air Operator's Certificate of Georgian Express Ltd., the carrier whose Cessna Grand Caravan was involved in a fatal accident less than a week before. The agency said it decided to suspend the carrier's certificate "based on the review of the company's documentation and the department's assessment of the preliminary information" from the accident. Transport Canada said its action "does not preclude" further regulatory action later.
SUMMARY: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
MONIKA NEIL joined the Aerospace Industries Association as director of electronic enterprise integration. Neil has more than 20 years of commercial aviation industry experience. Most recently she coordinated the international SPEC2000 program for the Air Transport Association. She also was SPEC2000 coordinator in Materials Management for American Airlines and was a systems/business analyst for Douglas Aircraft Company.
VON MEANS was promoted to director of learning and development for SkyWest Airlines. Means, who will be based at corporate headquarters in St. George, Utah, will oversee SkyWest's curriculum and multimedia development for all airline training. He will continue the implementation of an online learning system. Means has worked for SkyWest since 1995, joining the airline as a flight attendant. In 2000 he became manager of corporate development, responsible for internal and external web sites as well as the introduction of online learning and training courses.
FAA ADDING CHALLENGER 604 TO NAVAID INSPECTION FLEET - The Federal Aviation Administration signed a purchase agreement to acquire a new Challenger 604 business jet from Bombardier, and has taken options on two more 604s, which will be used by the agency and the U.S. Air Force to check the accuracy and performance of navigation aids both in the U.S. and around the world.
Aircraft Electronics Association has sold out more than 90 percent of the booth space available at its 47th Annual International Convention and Trade Show scheduled March 29-April 1 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. The show is expected to attract more than 125 exhibitors and hundreds of attendees. For more information about the trade show, contact AEA at (816) 373-6565.
GULFSTREAM POSTS BEST QUARTER FOR AIRCRAFT ORDERS - Gulfstream Aerospace logged orders for 34 new business jets in the fourth quarter, the best three-month period in the company's history, according to Nicholas Chabraja, chairman and CEO of parent company General Dynamics.
While Oberstar wants major airports to beef up their perimeter security, he said he hasn't been overly concerned about general aviation airport security. "I think perimeter security [at those airports] is being carried out the best it can," he said, adding that he sees little threat coming from a Beech King Air. The focus instead should be on the intelligence community and finding the people who are the threats, he said, adding that there has been too much emphasis on the minutiae and not enough attention paid to the bigger security picture. See article below.
Shell Aviation teamed with Servisair/GlobeGround in a joint venture to pursue new airport fueling service contracts at major airports in North America. Shell supplies aviation fuels, lubricants and services, and Servisair/GlobeGround is a worldwide company specializing in airport ground services.
