NATA TAKES EXCEPTION TO NTSB COMMENT ABOUT AIR TAXI SAFETY - The National Air Transportation Association disagreed last week with remarks by NTSB Chair Ellen Engleman criticizing the safety record of air taxi operators. In a press release accompanying the board's report on the King Air 100 crash that claimed the life of Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) and members of his family last year, Engleman said the "tragic accident...shocked us all. It sadly and starkly points out the need for more aggressive action to improve safety in the on-demand charter industry."
FLIGHTSAFETY VETERAN BRUCE WHITMAN NAMED PRESIDENT - Bruce N. Whitman, who joined FlightSafety International in 1961 as assistant to the president, was named president of the New York-based company Friday. A.L. Ueltschi, founder of the simulator training company, will retain the title of chairman.
Dassault Falcon Jet established the Ed Allen Memorial Aviation Scholarship Endowment to honor the memory of the company's former director of flight, who died in 2001. The $20,000 endowment will be invested and the interest used to provide scholarships to qualified students enrolled in aviation programs at Georgia Aviation Technical College. Gene E. (Ed) Allen was born in Eastman, Ga. in 1937. He served as a KC-135 tanker pilot in the U.S. Air Force.
GD FORMS NEW C4 UNIT, APPOINTS PRESIDENT - General Dynamics has integrated two business units to form a new division to provide command and control products and services for its military customers. GD integrated its Decision Systems and C4 Systems to form the new C4 (Command, Control, Communication and Computers) Systems division. Mark A. Fried, 57, who had been president of GD Decision Systems, was named president of C4 Systems. He will report to Gerard J. DeMuro, executive vice president of GD's Information Systems and Technology Group.
ACQUISITION OF AHI WILL RESULT IN DOUBLING OMNI HELICOPTER FLEET - Omni Energy Services, Carencro, La., completed the acquisition of American Helicopters, Inc., a deal that will approximately double the size of Omni's fleet. Under terms of the agreement, valued at $4.5 million in cash and long-term debt, Omni will get AHI's fleet of 17 helicopters based in Texas and Louisiana that primarily serve oil and gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico. AHI, based in Angleton, Texas, has about 70 employees, including pilots, mechanics and administrative personnel.
The Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association will hold its annual spring conference May 17-19, 2004, at the Radisson Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. In addition to presentations from aviation industry leaders, the conference will have speakers from the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Congress. To register for the event, log on to www.raccaonline.org or contact RACCA President Stan Bernstein at (508) 778-7788.
GA AIRPORT SECURITY RECOMMENDATIONS APPROVED BY TSA COMMITTEE - The Transportation Security Administration's Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) approved last week general aviation airport security recommendations developed by a working group made up of industry stakeholders.
FlightSafety International will provide pilot, maintenance technician and dispatcher training for FedEx Express' new fleet of ATR 42 aircraft, a pressurized high-wing twin turboprop. The training programs will include initial, recurrent and upgrade training for pilots, airline troubleshooting for technicians and an ATR 42 type specific program for dispatchers. FedEx Express started to build its ATR fleet earlier this year and chose two contractors, Mountain Air Cargo and Empire Airlines, to operate the fleet.
The 38th Annual Southern Methodist University Air Law Symposium will take place Feb. 26-27, 2004 at the Hotel InterContinental in Addison, Texas. David G. Leitch, deputy counsel to the President of the United States, will be the keynote speaker at the Friday luncheon. For more information, visit www.smu.edu/lra/als.
FRENCH FIRM SELECTED TO DEVELOP BIOMETRIC ID PROGRAM FOR AIRPORT - French high-technology company Sagem has been selected to undertake one of Europe's largest airport staff identity control projects at Roissy Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports. Sagem announced late last month that it had been chosen by airports operator Aéroports De Paris (ADP) to install a biometric identity control system for 90,000 personnel entitled to access the airports' apron security areas.
January 11-15, 2004 - AAAE Aviation Issues Conference; Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort, Kauai, Hawaii, (703) 820-1395 March 2-3, 2004 - ASME International (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Aero Engine Life Management Conference, Thistle Royal Horseguards Hotel, London, England, (404) 847-0072; [email protected] or www.asme.org.igti March 15-17, 2004 - Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo 2004, Las Vegas, Nev., (703) 683-4646
AMERICAN EAGLE TO OPEN ARKANSAS MAINTENANCE BASE - American Eagle Airlines will open a new maintenance facility at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) near Fayetteville to perform line maintenance on regional jet aircraft. The new facility will employ about 60 mechanics who will provide overnight service on the carrier's fleet of Canadair CRJ-700 regional jets. Eagle is scheduled to take occupancy of the new facility in mid-January 2004, with the first maintenance to be performed in March.
Rolls-Royce North America pledged $250,000 last week to the construction of the new Millennium Engineering Center at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The center will be the new home of Purdue's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Materials Engineering, Department of Freshman Engineering, Division of Interdisciplinary Engineering and Engineering Projects in Community Service. The donation will be made over five years starting in 2004, the 100th anniversary year for Rolls-Royce.
The Federal Aviation Administration has begun the formal process of transforming its air traffic control management and operations functions into a "performance-based organization" (PBO), a dramatic and sweeping change that will directly affect nearly 80 percent of the agency's 48,000 employees.
AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGIES OF AUSTRALIA PTY LTD. Models N22B and N24A airplanes (Docket No. 2003-CE-21-AD; Amendment 39-13361; AD 2003-22-13) - adopts a new AD that requires visual inspection of the ailerons for damage and replace if necessary; adjust the engine power levers aural warning microswitches; set flap extension and flap-down operation limitations; and fabricate and install cockpit flap extension and flap down operation restriction placards. This AD is the result of mandatory continuing airworthiness information issued by the airworthiness authority for Australia.
Bombardier named Jose Boisjoli president of the company's Recreational Products unit. The company said it was making the announcement "with the agreement of the purchasers of Bombardier Recreational Products," adding that Boisjoli's "numerous years of experience and his knowledge of the business make him the ideal candidate for ensuring a harmonious transition." Boisjoli joined the company in 1989 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of procurement and management.
Bird strikes have been a significant problem for business aviation operators this fall, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. There have been nine bird strikes reported since the beginning of October, Breiling said, which involved five business jets and four turboprops. Two of the aircraft were substantially damaged, and one, a Model 24D Learjet that ingested birds and lost power while climbing out after takeoff from St. Louis Downtown Airport, was destroyed (BA, Nov. 17/219).
NEW REAUTHORIZATION AGREEMENT AWAITS WHITE HOUSE APPROVAL - The Senate is waiting for a go-ahead from the Administration on a new bipartisan agreement for the FAA reauthorization bill, which involves a commitment that FAA will not privatize air traffic control for a year.
Aircraft Brokers Vance & Engles, headquartered in Annapolis, Md., say they helped facilitate issuance of FAA supplemental type certificates for installation of an Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System and Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums systems on Hawker 800 aircraft. The Model 800 used for the FAA approvals was purchased through Vance & Engles from BAe Systems by San Services, Inc., a waste management company based in Chattanooga, Tenn., with the expectation the FAA approvals could be obtained quickly.
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.
Congress was expected to vote on the conference report of the Transportation and Treasury funding bill late last week. The bill ran into some roadblocks over a provision that restricted outsourcing, which drew a veto threat from the Administration. That issue since has been resolved with an agreement from the Administration that Congress may address outsourcing in the omnibus bill.
Raytheon won certification from the Civil Aviation Authority in China for the Beechcraft Premier I. The aircraft will enter service later this year with Hainan Airlines of Haikou, China. The airline plans to operate the Premier I through its charter business, Deerjet Company Ltd., based in Beijing. Raytheon said that Hainan has multiple orders for the Beechcraft Premier I as well as the new Hawker Horizon.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS) reached a new, five-year collective bargaining agreement. A tentative agreement was made in September and the deal was finally ratified last week by 86 percent of union members. The new contract includes pay banding, pay-for-performance and training initiatives as well as the required federal employee pay raises. NAATS represents more than 2,200 employees who work at FAA's 80 flight service stations and auxiliary and seasonal facilities across the U.S.
Mooney Aerospace Group said it had revenues of more than $6.3 million during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, an increase of 480 percent from the $1.3 million in sales recorded in the third quarter of 2002. Mooney delivered 14 aircraft during the most recent quarter and revenues from parts and service amounted to about $600,000 of the $6.3 million total. The company also said it received a $5 million loan from BLX Commercial Capital LLC that is guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program.
