RAYTHEON Beech Models 65-90, 65-A90, 65-A90-1, 65-A90-4, B90, C90, C90A, E90, and H-90 airplanes (Docket No. 99-CE-80-AD; Amendment 39-12602; AD 2002-01-10) - requires repetitive inspection of the main landing gear upper torque knees and lower torque knees for evidence of fatigue cracks; and replacement of any torque knee with evidence of fatigue cracks. This AD is the result of reports of many incidents of main landing gear torque knees cracking or breaking on the above-referenced airplanes.
A Britten-Norman Islander aircraft operated by a Virgin Islands air taxi company was damaged last month when the pilot was forced to ditch in the ocean. The aircraft, N616GL, was operated under Part 135 of the FARs by Fly BVI, Inc. It was on a sightseeing flight about 1440 EST Jan. 18 when the pilot said he lost power on both engines simultaneously. He contacted the Beef Island control tower, declared an emergency and reported his position. He then ditched the aircraft in about six feet of water near the shoreline.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION'S proposal to develop identification cards with biometric data for employees at an airport as well as for "trusted travelers" is gaining support from Congress (BA, Nov. 19/238). Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) urged colleagues Tuesday to sign a letter to Under Secretary for Transportation Security John Magaw to implement such a program.
Fairchild Dornier reached an agreement with Lufthansa Technik Logistik GmbH to establish new spare parts distribution centers in Munich, Germany and near Dulles International Airport (IAD) outside Washington, D.C. to support Fairchild Dornier and Dornier aircraft. The agreement is part of its commitment to enhance customer service, Fairchild Dornier said.
U.S. business and corporate aircraft operators were involved in significantly more accidents, and more fatal accidents that resulted in a higher number of fatalities, in 2001 than in 2000, according to data compiled by Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. There were 64 accidents last year, including 23 fatal accidents, that resulted in 76 passenger and crew fatalities. That compares with 52 accidents in 2000 that included 16 fatal mishaps and 56 fatalities.
MICHAEL PISCATELLA was named group president, aerostructures and aviation technical services, at Goodrich. He started his career at Textron Lycoming and has more than 26 years of aviation industry experience. Piscatella was most recently group president of electronic systems at Goodrich and succeeds Graydon Wetzler in his new position.
MICHIKO LISA LINDSEY was appointed in-house associate counsel at Advanced Aerodynamics&Structures. She was formerly an associate at AASI's legal counsel, Luce, Forward, Hamilton&Scripps in San Diego, Calif.
PENTASTAR AVIATION, Waterford, Mich., announced several promotions as a result of the company's recent acquisition by Edsel B. Ford. Kellie R. Rittenhouse was promoted from charter specialist to director-aviation services with responsibility for all aviation service functions including flight coordination, flight following and scheduling, along with charter aircraft sales and customer service for Automotive Air Center.
SOUTHWEST JET AVIATION added a Hawker 400 to its charter fleet. The aircraft will be based at Tucson International Airport in Arizona. "This Hawker gets Southwest Jet Aviation back into the mid-size product range for charter service," said Jeff Schlueter, SJA president. Charter rate for the Hawker, which has a range of up to 2,100 nautical miles, will be $2,250 per flight hour.
THE SENATE confirmed John Magaw as under secretary of transportation for security for a five-year term. President Bush signed a recess appointment for Magaw in January. Magaw is the former director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Secret Service.
LORD CORPORATION finished an initial ground test of a new propeller technology that will "minimize vibration during typical flight cycles," the mechanical products manufacturer said. Active balancing was tested on the NP2000 Hamilton Sundstrand propeller, which will replace the 54H60 series of propellers on the E-2, C-2, C-130 and P-3 series aircraft. The company claims that active balancing "instantaneously corrects an imbalance in rotating equipment while in operation."
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION is negotiating the sale of three Sikorsky S-92 helicopters to the Republic of Ireland for the Irish Air Corps. The helicopters would be used for search and rescue missions. The deal also would include "an option for two more aircraft for general-purpose military transport," Sikorsky said. Pending a contract agreement, the three aircraft and support services will be sold for about $62 million. Ireland is Sikorsky's first government customer for the S-92.
Both people aboard a 1980 model Cessna 441 Conquest turboprop were killed Wednesday evening when their aircraft crashed after the pilot reported his autopilot was not operating. The aircraft had departed Springdale, Ark. that evening on a flight to Rifle, Colo. FAA officials said they did not know if the pilot had obtained a weather briefing, but there was freezing rain in the area that evening. The aircraft, N441AR, was operating under an IFR flight plan.
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY Norman Mineta underwent hip replacement surgery Jan. 31 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. where doctors replaced his left hip with a titanium joint. Mineta's return to work is dependent on how "Robo-Sec...gets along with his new parts," DOT spokesman Chet Lunner told BA affiliate Aviation Daily. An industry source said Mineta has told some colleagues he plans to be back in the office this month, but that schedule may be optimistic.
BELL HELICOPTER Model 407 helicopters (Docket No. 2001-SW-53-AD) - proposes superseding an existing AD for Bell Helicopter Textron Canada (BHTC) Model 407 helicopters. That AD currently requires preflight checking and repetitively inspecting the tailboom for a crack and replacing the tailboom if a crack is found. This action would require increasing the area of inspection for certain tailbooms and changing the applicability to restrict the inspection requirements to certain tailbooms that have not been redesigned.
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE is expected to publish a revised regulation this week removing a barrier for foreign pilots who need to visit the U.S. to conduct recurrent flight training. The DOJ notice is expected to clear the way for any foreign national who holds a certificate and ratings as a pilot-in-command, second-in-command or flight engineer recognized by the U.S. government to enter the country for training. Training for foreign nationals has been restricted by regulations adopted in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks (BA, Jan. 28/48).
HONEYWELL Part Number HG1075AB05 and HG1075GB05 inertial reference units (Docket No. 2001-CE-28-AD) - proposes to require an inspection of the affected IRUs for proper function and removal of the IRU either immediately or at a certain time depending on the result of the inspection. This proposed AD is the result of a report that these IRUs may not function when using backup battery power in certain installations. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended to ensure the correct transition of the IRU to backup battery power upon the loss of primary power.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION said it believes 4,500 to 5,000 individuals have applied for Olympics credentials packages to permit them to conduct flights into the Salt Lake City area during the upcoming winter Olympics there. NBAA said government security officials were supposed to have started putting those packages in the mail late last Monday or early Tuesday, and the association was waiting anxiously Friday to learn if any of its members had received the necessary credentials.
WOODLAND AVIATION added a Cessna Citation S/II to its charter fleet. The Woodland, Calif. air charter operator's fleet also includes a Hawker 800, a Citation II, CitationJet CJ1, nine King Airs, three Beech Barons and a Bonanza.
CINCINNATI MACHINE named two veteran executives of the company to new positions. Ron Hoffman and John Wiese were named vice presidents of the company's Advanced Systems and Services Business, responsible for field sales and sales support, with particular focus on strategic alliances and customer relationship management. Hoffman, a 33-year veteran of the machinery manufacturer, will manage activities in the western U.S. and Canada, South America and Asia. Wiese, who has been with Cincinnati Machine for 23 years, will manage the eastern U.S. and Canada.
PRECISE FLIGHT of Bend, Ore. won supplemental type certification from FAA for its Pulselite 3060 Starlight system. The Pulselite 3060 allows rotorcraft pilots to pulse two lamps at up to 500 watts each, compared to most existing recognition systems that are limited to 250 watts per channel or four channels at 600 watts each. The Pulselite 3060 has a patented TCAS/TCAD tie-in that automatically activates the Pulselite when traffic advisories are issued by the TCAS system.
Federal Aviation Administration last week released a proposal that provides a series of certification, operation and maintenance requirements for a new category of aircraft - "light-sport." The long-anticipated proposal, which will be published in Tuesday's Federal Register, fills in the gap for regulating aircraft and pilot operations that do not fall neatly into other certification requirements.
RAYTHEON Model DH.125, HS.125, BH.125, and BAe.125 (U-125 and C-29A) series airplanes; Model Hawker 800, Hawker 800 (U-125A), Hawker 800XP, and Hawker 1000 airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-373-AD; Amendment 39-12619; AD 2001-17-26 R1) - corrects and clarifies information in an existing airworthiness directive that applies to certain Raytheon Model DH.125, HS.125, BH.125, and BAe.125 (U-125 and C-29A) series airplanes; Model Hawker 800, Hawker 800 (U-125A), Hawker 800XP, and Hawker 1000 airplanes.
PRIVATAIR added a Citation X and a Learjet 45 to its Part 135 charter fleet. The eight-seat Citation will be based in Charlotte, N.C. and the Learjet, which also can seat eight, will be based in Stratford, Conn.
ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST AIRLINES took delivery of its first 70-passenger Bombardier CRJ700 airliner last week during ceremonies at the manufacturer's new CRJ700/CRJ900 assembly facility at Montreal's Mirabel Airport. ASA, a Delta Connection carrier, also took delivery of a CRJ200, Serial Number 600, the 165th CRJ100/200 in the carrier's fleet. ASA and fellow Delta Connection carrier Comair have ordered 57 CRJ700s between them.
