EUROCOPTER Model SA330F, G, J, and AS332C, L, and L1 helicopters (Docket No. 2002-SW-34-AD; Amendment 39-12786; AD 2002-12-14) - supersedes an existing AD that currently requires inserting statements into the Limitations section of the Rotorcraft Flight Manual prohibiting flight under certain atmospheric conditions. This amendment contains the same requirements but corrects, expands, and updates the applicability.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Wednesday approved by voice vote a bill that would create a two-year trial program allowing a limited number of airline pilots to carry guns in aircraft cockpits. The bill, a compromise of the version that the House aviation subcommittee passed in mid-June, would allow the Transportation Security Administration to train and deputize up to two percent of the total pilot work force, estimated at about 1,400 pilots, to carry guns in the cockpit.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week approved a bill to secure an agreement struck between Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (D) and Illinois Gov. George Ryan (R) to expand Chicago O'Hare International Airport and ensure the continued operation of Meigs Field. A companion bill in the Senate already has won Senate Commerce Committee approval and is awaiting consideration on the Senate floor.
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) last week stepped up his efforts to ensure that charter operators meet more stringent security requirements. Kohl sent letters to his colleagues in the Senate as well as to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta urging them to support requiring pre-boarding screening of passengers and their luggage for charter flights involving aircraft that weigh 12,500 pounds or more. "I am stunned that we have managed to overlook the threat posed by large charter aircraft," Kohl told Senate colleagues.
The full House, meanwhile, approved the Small Airport Safety, Security and Air Service Improvement Act, H.R.1979, which would permit the use of Airport Improvement Program funds to build air traffic control towers at small airports. The bill, introduced by Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), would enable expansion of FAA's contract tower program.
Executive Jet Management, Inc. added nine aircraft to its charter fleet in the first quarter, bringing to 91 the number of aircraft it has available for charter. The new additions include Gulfstream IV-SPs in San Jose, Calif. and St. Paul, Minn., Citation Vs in Watsonville, Calif. and near Chicago, a Hawker 800XP in Reno, Nev. and a Hawker 700A in Seattle, Wash., a Falcon 900B in Wausau, Wis., a Gulfstream 200 in Cincinnati, Ohio and a Falcon 50 in Teterboro, N.J.
Nearly 10 months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, FAA canceled the temporary flight restriction barring flight below 8,000 feet within a two-nautical-mile radius of the World Trade Center site. While FAA eased the TFR over that New York site, it added several restrictions over landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association also expressed concerns about possible government discussions about expanding the TFR over Washington, D.C. from 15 nautical miles to up to 40 nm.
Innotech-Execair Aviation Group opened an authorized Cessna Citation service center at Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport. The 35,000-square-foot facility will provide complete technical services, including maintenance, inspections, parts, repairs, modifications, refurbishment and non-destructive testing. The new facility is one of 24 authorized Citation service centers worldwide, but the only one in Canada.
Cessna Aircraft Company, facing decreased aircraft orders due to the slumping economy, launched a "voluntary separation" program designed to pare its work force by about 900 positions by the end of the year. A brief announcement noted Cessna's "16 years of revenue and employment growth, the longest in our 75-year history.
The U.S. aerospace industry is heading toward a labor shortage in the next decade as mounting layoffs, coupled with a dwindling interest among students, continues to shrink the work force, the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry, warned last week. Chartered to assess the overall health of the U.S. aerospace industry, the commission Wednesday released its third interim report with a series of recommendations on boosting space infrastructure, the aerospace industrial base and the future work force.
The International Business Aviation Council has developed a new International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), codifying best practices of the industry. IS-BAO is the culmination of two years of development that included input from flight department representatives worldwide.
The Department of Transportation announced June 25 it awarded a multibillion-dollar contract to a team led by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to modernize the Coast Guard's ships, aircraft and communications systems. The $11 billion contract, which could be extended up to three decades, includes $5.91 billion for operation, maintenance and sustainment for a total cost of $16.95 billion.
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.
Fulfilling another mandate from the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, the U.S. Customs Service last week ordered air carriers to provide the agency with electronic access to passenger name record (PNR) information upon request. The interim final rule, published in the June 25 Federal Register, provides the Customs Data Center direct access to "the carrier's automated reservation system and/or departure control system that sets forth the identity and travel plans of any passenger(s) on flights in foreign air transportation either to or from the U.S."
Craig Bevington was named vice president-sales and marketing, new engine programs, at Superior Air Parts. He will be responsible for sales and marketing for sport aviation, new aircraft production and supplemental type certificate customers. Bevington has more than 15 years of experience in sales and marketing and was most recently marketing and sales manager at Teledyne Continental Motors.
Bombardier selected CaseBank Technologies to provide its SpotLight maintenance diagnostic software/system to CRJ regional jet and Q400 turboprop operators. Under the long-term agreement, SpotLight will collect and share diagnostic experiences among operators of the CRJ100, CRJ200, CRJ700, CRJ900 and Q400 aircraft. The service is provided on an annual subscription basis.
FAA's controller hiring plans are inadequate, and the widely publicized problem of controller retirements is going to be even worse than the agency predicts, the General Accounting Office concluded. Congressional aviation leaders and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association called for the FAA to take action to prevent controller shortages causing disruption to air traffic.
SEN. HERB KOHL (D-Wis.) last week stepped up his efforts to ensure that charter operators meet more stringent security requirements.Kohl sent letters to his colleagues in the Senate as well as to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta urging them to support requiring pre-boarding screening of passengers and their luggage for charter flights involving aircraft that weigh 12,500 pounds or more. "I am stunned that we have managed to overlook the threat posed by large charter aircraft," Kohl told Senate colleagues.
Signature Flight Support, which already operates the only fixed-base operation at Boston's Logan International Airport, expanded its reach in the Boston-area market last week with the acquisition of Mercury Air Center's Bedford, Mass. facility at Hanscom Field (BED). Signature paid Mercury $15.5 million in cash, plus payment for certain inventories for the BED facility (BA, June 10/274), where it will compete against an FBO operated by Jet Aviation, an entity whose owners are seeking bids for the entire company.
Docket No.: FAA-2002-12349 Petitioner: Bombardier Aerospace Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR 25.815 Description of Relief Sought: To allow relief from the aisle width requirement at the forward inboard aft-facing seat on the BD-700-1A10 Global Express corporate airplane. A seat placard will state "not for use during taxi, takeoff, or landing."
Akridge Aircraft Interiors teamed with IFR Avionics to establish an IFR Avionics satellite facility at Akridge's Dallas Executive Airport site. Akridge and IFR Avionics will partner on a number of projects such as installation of an Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, a SatCom and a cabin information and entertainment system on a Gulfstream IV undergoing an interior redesign. IFR Avionics also will offer complete avionics installation and upgrade services independently at the Dallas location.
Superior Air Parts, Inc., Coppell, Texas, signed a new $10 million financing agreement with PNC Business Credit, a member of the PNC Financial Services Group. The three-year facility is in the form of a revolving credit line secured primarily by working capital. It replaces a similar agreement with General Electric Capital Corp.
Akridge Aircraft Interiors teamed with IFR Avionics to establish an IFR Avionics satellite facility at Akridge's Dallas Executive Airport site. Akridge and IFR Avionics will partner on a number of projects such as installation of an Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, a SatCom and a cabin information and entertainment system on a Gulfstream IV undergoing an interior redesign. IFR Avionics also will offer complete avionics installation and upgrade services independently at the Dallas location.
