A 1968 Sikorsky S-61L Helicopter crashed Aug. 8 about 50 nautical miles southeast of Prince George, British Columbia. One of the pilots was killed and the other seriously injured. The aircraft was registered as N346AA.
AIR TRACTOR Models AT-802 and AT-802A airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-76-AD; Amendment 39-12834; AD 2002-15-06) - requires replacement of the rudder control cables and fairleads with parts of improved design. This AD is the result of a report that a rudder control cable broke because of wear at the aft fairlead. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent the rudder control cable from breaking because of the rudder control cables wearing in the fairlead area. Broken rudder control cables could result in loss of rudder control.
Model 222, 222B, 222U, and 230 helicopters (Docket No. 2002-SW-22-AD; Amendment 39-12835; AD 2002-08-54) - publishes an amendment adopting Emergency AD 2002-08-54, which was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of the specified Bell Helicopter model aircraft by individual letters. This AD requires a visual check of each main rotor grip assembly and pitch horn at specified intervals and a visual inspection using a 10-power or higher magnifying glass of each affected grip and pitch horn for a crack at specified intervals.
Doris E. Hastings was named vice president-human resources at Dallas Airmotive. She will develop and implement human resources policy for the company's employees. Hastings was most recently national director of labor relations at Corporate Express.
AVIATION GENERAL IMPROVES FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN FIRST SIX MONTHS - Despite the sluggish marketplace, Commander Aircraft parent Aviation General, Inc. reported modest sales improvements and said all sectors of the company have strengthened. Sales for the six months ended June 30 were $6.2 million, compared with $5.8 million in the first six months of 2001. The company reported a net loss of $40,174 in the first half of 2002, but that compared with a net loss of just over $1 million a year ago.
PRATT & WHITNEY EXPANDS PARTS WAREHOUSE - Pratt & Whitney Component Solutions, Inc. (PWCS) has more than doubled the amount of space at its Muskegon, Mich. warehouse facility with the construction of a 15,328-square-foot addition to the existing facility.
Woodland Aviation added a Cessna 525 CitationJet to its charter fleet. In addition to the CitationJet, Woodland operates a Citation II, two King Air 200s, a King Air F90, six King Air C90s and two Beech Barons. Based at the Woodland Turbine facility near Sacramento, Calif., the six-seat CitationJet has a 1,200-nautical-mile range at speeds of up to 360 knots.
Aviation Innovator LeRoy (Roy) LoPresti died Wednesday in Vero Beach, Fla., at the age of 73. LoPresti's aviation career spanned more than 50 years as a pilot, engineer and manager. LoPresti's work in aviation began as a student at New York University, where he won the Chance Vought Design award for best student light airplane design. After graduating in 1950, he spent 16 years with Grumman Aircraft, where he was a designer and consulting pilot on the Lunar Module used in NASA's Apollo program. He took leave from Grumman for six years while he served in U.S.
The Haskell Company won a contract from GE Aircraft Engines to build a new aircraft hangar at South California Logistics Airport in Victorville, Calif. The 163,000-square-foot hangar will house the GEAE Flight Test Operation's Boeing 747 flying test bed. Construction is slated to begin in the fall and be complete in summer 2003. Based in Jacksonville, Fla., the Haskell Company is a design and construction management firm that has operations throughout the U.S. and Latin America.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-11900 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 21.325(b)(3) Descriptioncription of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit AMSAFE to issue export airworthiness approvals for Class II and Class III products manufactured by AMSAFE Aviation UK in the United Kingdom under AMSAFE's technical standard order authorizations. Grant, July 19, 2002, Exemption No. 7354A
National Transportation Safety Board investigators are trying to determine what caused engine problems in a Piper PA-46-350P Malibu that crashed Aug. 4 near Benton Harbor, Mich., killing all three people aboard. The owner pilot and his passengers were attempting to fly from Joe Foss Field Airport (FSD) in Sioux Falls, S.D. to Toledo Express Airport (TOL) in Toledo, Ohio. The aircraft departed at 1000 CDT. The pilot had filed an instrument flight plan, but VFR conditions prevailed along the route of flight.
MILLION AIR TETERBORO ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS - Five employees of Million Air Teterboro were promoted last month by Ken Forester, chief executive officer of the fixed-base operation.
Model 204B, 205A, A-1, and B helicopters (Docket No. 2002-SW-24-AD; Amendment 39-12839; AD 2002-09-51) - publishes an amendment adopting Emergency AD 2002-09-51, sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of specified Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. model helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires cleaning and inspecting the tail rotor (T/R) grip to determine if the grip is made of steel and replacing any grip not made of steel with an airworthy, steel TR grip.
DFW International Airport opened its newly extended Runway 18L Aug. 8, two months ahead of schedule and under budget, the airport said. The runway was extended 2,012 feet to permit operations by aircraft making nonstop flights to destinations in the Asia-Pacific region. The project began Oct. 9, 2000 and was scheduled to be finished by Oct. 5, 2002. The work cost $44.3 million, $2.7 million under the $47 million estimate, the airport said.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-12402 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 145.47(b) Descriptioncription of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit VARIG to use the calibration standards of the Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Normalizaoe Qualidade Industrial, Brazil's national standards laboratory, in lieu of the calibration standards of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, formerly the National Bureau of Standards, to test its inspection and test equipment. Grant, July 16, 2002, Exemption No. 7837
TRIUMPH ADDS TWO NEW COMPANIES TO ITS HOLDINGS - Triumph Group, the Wayne, Pa. company whose subsidiaries manufacture a wide range of aircraft and engine components, acquired two additional subsidiaries in recent weeks. Triumph bought Furst Aircraft and Instrument of Teterboro, N.J. from Reliance Aerotech, the aviation services management consulting and merchant banking practice headquarterd in Toronto, Canada. Furst, which has slightly more than 20 employees, will continue to operate under the same name as part of Triumph's Aftermarket Services Group.
Aviation Innovator LeRoy (Roy) LoPresti died Wednesday in Vero Beach, Fla., at the age of 73. LoPresti's aviation career spanned more than 50 years as a pilot, engineer and manager. LoPresti's work in aviation began as a student at New York University, where he won the Chance Vought Design award for best student light airplane design. After graduating in 1950, he spent 16 years with Grumman Aircraft, where he was a designer and consulting pilot on the Lunar Module used in NASA's Apollo program. He took leave from Grumman for six years while he served in U.S.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION plans to solicit a five-year, best-value contract for aircraft shuttle services between Atlantic City International Airport and Ronald Reagan National Airport. The agency initially intends to award a three-month, single-source contract valued at about $275,000 to Ronson Aviation for the service. The competitive contract will be issued after the three-month contract expires. For more information, contact Chris Gallagher at (609) 485-6324 or e-mail [email protected].
Lawyer Pilot Bar Association (LPBA) honored Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Phil Boyer with its first Aviation Advocacy Award. LPBA recognized Boyer for his responsiveness in the aftermath of Sept. 11. "At a time when there was very little solid information, and a lot of misinformation, AOPA made sure not only its members but all GA pilots knew what was happening," said William Wimsatt, LPBA president.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-12246 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 145.45(f) Descriptioncription of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Midcoast to place copies of its IPM in strategic locations throughout its repair station rather than giving a copy of the IPM to each of its supervisory and inspection personnel. Grant, June 13, 2002, Exemption No. 7277A
Models AT-802 and AT-802A airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-76-AD; Amendment 39-12834; AD 2002-15-06) - requires replacement of the rudder control cables and fairleads with parts of improved design. This AD is the result of a report that a rudder control cable broke because of wear at the aft fairlead. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent the rudder control cable from breaking because of the rudder control cables wearing in the fairlead area. Broken rudder control cables could result in loss of rudder control.
CAE, Inc. named Lt. Gen. Ellis D. "Don" Parker, U.S. Army, chairman of CAE USA. The company also named retired Air Force Gen. Michael E. Ryan and retired Navy Adm. Leighton W. "Snuffy" Smith, Jr. to CAE USA's board as outside directors. Parker has served as an outside director on the board since 1992. The CAE USA board has the primary responsibility to oversee the implementation and compliance with the special security agreement between CAE and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Triumph Group, the Wayne, Pa. company whose subsidiaries manufacture a wide range of aircraft and engine components, acquired two additional subsidiaries in recent weeks. Triumph bought Furst Aircraft and Instrument of Teterboro, N.J. from Reliance Aerotech, the aviation services management consulting and merchant banking practice headquarterd in Toronto, Canada. Furst, which has slightly more than 20 employees, will continue to operate under the same name as part of Triumph's Aftermarket Services Group.
