A collision between a Cessna 172 and a CitationJet April 4 in the Atlanta area claimed the lives of all five people aboard the two aircraft, including four attorneys in the light business jet. The jet, N111LR, S/N 525-0222, was registered to Alpha Wolf Enterprises, LLC of Atlanta and was carrying four lawyers - all members of the firm of Dow, Lohnes&Albertson - on a business trip to Pennsylvania.
DIRECTV, the digital television entertainment provider, signed an agreement with Airshow TV under which corporate jet passengers will be able to tune into live broadcasts of television programs while in flight. Programming provided by DIRECTV will appear on the Airshow TV system this month and can be picked up by aircraft equipped with the proper satellite dish technology.
The Government of Ontario, one of Bombardier's best customers for the Canadair CL-215 water bomber, signed a deal to replace its fleet of nine piston-powered aircraft with a like number of new turbine-powered CL-415s, a transaction valued at $225 million (Canadian) by the manufacturer. Deliveries of the new aircraft are to begin this month to Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and continue through December. As part of the agreement, Bombardier will buy back the nine CL-215s over a three-year period and will sell or lease them to other operators.
Bombardier's Global Express business jet is in the final stages of its certification program and is scheduled to begin function and reliability (F&R) testing this month, company officials told the European Business Aircraft Association conference in Brussels, Belgium last week.
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.
BARRY VALENTINE, former top FAA executive, is joining Zuckert, Scoutt&Rasenberger's consulting affiliate, Farragut International, where he will be director of aviation technical services. Valentine joined FAA in March 1994 as assistant administrator for policy, planning and international aviation, and later served as both acting administrator and acting deputy administrator before leaving the agency at the end of 1997 (BA, Dec. 22/270).
The ability to return to service helicopters that have been damaged by floods or water landings depends on the rapid recovery and cleaning of those aircraft, Bell Helicopter Textron told its operators in the latest edition of the company's Rotorbreeze newsletter.
Superior Air Parts, the Dallas-Texas-based manufacturer and distributor of products for the piston-powered general aviation fleet, completed the acquisition March 31 of Aircraft Technology Corp./Spirit Air of Addison, Texas. Superior, which emerged from bankruptcy protection last year with some new, well-heeled owners, "is in the acquisition mode" these days, according to Bernie Coleman, president and chief executive of Superior. Aircraft Technology Corp. (ATC) was Superior's No.
CONGRESS approved FAA's request to transfer nearly $25 million in fiscal 1998 funds from other programs into the Year 2000 Program, recognizing the priority of the computer upgrade effort. The House Appropriations Committee approved the request March 24 and the Senate Appropriations Committee followed suit this month.
Triumph Group, Inc, Wayne, Pa., sold the assets of its Deluxe Specialties division in Hutchinson, Kan., to a newly formed affiliate of Allied Lubrication Equipment&Services, Inc., Rock Falls, Ill. Deluxe Specialties, one of four companies in Triumph's Metals Group, manufactures fuel tanks and hydraulic reservoirs. It had revenues of approximately $10 million in 1997. Richard C.
JET AVIATION signed a long-term contract with FlightSafety International for training of its pilots and maintenance technicians from around the world. Jet Aviation said the integrated training program will make use of the diverse range of FlightSafety courses at FSI learning centers or selected Jet Aviation locations. Jet Aviation added that its maintenance technicians "will use most of the more than 200 training courses regularly offered in the FSI annual training schedule. Jet Aviation fly more than 145 different aircraft managed by the company.
WYMAN-GORDON CORP., North Grafton, Mass., reported net income of $23.9 million for the nine months ended Feb. 28, compared with $29.9 million for the same period a year earlier. Revenues totaled $551.1 million, up 29.3 percent.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE was awarded the ICAS-Von Karman Award for International Cooperation in Aeronautics for the Global Express business jet program, the Canadian manufacturer said last week.
Model 4101 airplanes (Docket No. 97-NM-199-AD) - proposes to require replacement of certain wheel tie bolts with new bolts and placing a life limit on the bolts. This proposal is prompted by the issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to prevent metal fatigue failure of the wheel tie bolts, which could result in a tire burst or loss of the main wheel/tire assembly and reduce controllability of the airplane.
ALLIEDSIGNAL AEROSPACE was awarded a contract by the U.S. Army to help find a fix for a problem that caused the Army and Air Force to ground their fleet of more than 900 UH-1 Huey helicopters because of excessive engine vibrations. The vibrations cause failure of the T-53-L-13 engine's N2 spur gear. AlliedSignal Aerospace, which manufactures the engine, was awarded a not-to-exceed contract to help fix the high-cycle fatigue problem.
MARK DANIN, a former Marine Corps officer, was named vice president-charter and flight operations for Raytheon Aircraft Services. Danin is responsible for all charter and flight management functions at RAS and reports to John Willis, president of RAS. Danin, who attained the rank of colonel in the Marine Corps, joined Raytheon in 1994 as a demonstration pilot and safety officer. Most recently he had been chief pilot-propeller aircraft demonstrations.
AMERICAN EAGLE will introduce jet service May 15 between Chicago O'Hare and Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee. Eagle will use 50-seat Embraer RJ145s on six roundtrips to Cleveland, five to Cincinnati and one to Milwaukee.
Model 407 helicopters (Docket No. 97- SW-67-AD; Amdt. 39-10428; AD 97-24-17) - publishes an AD previously sent by priority mail to all known U.S. owners and operators requiring inspections of components in the tail rotor drive system for scratches, cracks, fretting, corrosion and proper torquing, lubrication of the oil cooler blower shaft hanger bearings and oil cooler hanger bearings (hanger bearings), and removal of corrosion inhibitive adhesive barrier tape (barrier tape) from the tail rotor gearbox and the tail rotor grearbox support assembly faying surfaces.
A new organization dedicated to addressing the needs of Michigan's airports has been formed and Tom Davis, president of Chrysler Pentastar Aviation, will serve as first president of the Michigan Business Aviation Association.
SCOTT R. KLAVON, an aerospace engineer, was named to the Aerospace Standards program of the Society of Automotive Engineers, which is headquartered in Warrendale, Pa. outside Pittsburgh. Klavon's appointment is part of a restructuring of SAE's Technical Standards and Research Group. As aerospace program manager, Klavon will head a team responsible for development of Aerospace Materials Standards (SAE AMS) and all aerospace standards and recommended practices.
The House Rules Committee, under heavy lobbying pressure by airport advocates, won back most of the $275 million in fiscal 1998 Airport Improvement Program spending cut earlier by the House Appropriations Committee. The House passed legislation by a 220-199 vote at the end of March that restores $243.6 million in AIP funding.
PETER J. PINTER was appointed director of sales/marketing for Aviation Systems International, Inc. A licensed professional engineer who has been employed in the aviation industry for more than 12 years, Pinter most recently was senior sales manager for AAR Allen Group.
Model SA 330F, G and J helicopters (Docket No. 97-SW-06-AD) - proposes to require verifying the torque on the nut that secures the two transformer-rectifiers' common ground and subsequently installing a modification to separate the grounds of the two transformer-rectifiers. This proposal is prompted by a report from the airworthiness authority of France about an unsafe condition resulting from the loss of common ground of the two transformer-rectifiers.
ADMINISTRATOR GARVEY is optimistic about the prospects for progress with European Joint Airworthiness Authority officials regarding their recently adopted restrictions on flight training. The rules, scheduled to take effect in June 1999, would require flight training schools to locate their principal place of business in a JAA-member country for that country to recognize the training as valid.
The Transportation Department's proposed guidelines on unfair pricing and capacity practices against new-entrant airlines, announced Monday for a 60-day comment period, is an effort "to ensure that deregulation works for another 20 years," not an attempt to reregulate, Secretary Rodney Slater told reporters in Washington. DOT, the Justice Department, Congress and the General Accounting Office are examining major carriers' responses to the entry of startup or low-cost carriers in a market.
