While numerous industry and congressional leaders have decried the Clinton Administration's failure to name a new FAA Administrator, concern also has been building about the growing list of other key vacancies within the agency. In addition to the administrator's position, now left open for more than six months, and the deputy administrator's post, open since the end of January, the agency lost a number of its senior managers in the Flight Standards Service.
GARY DELUCA was appointed general manager-JT8D engines for Greenwich Air Services. DeLuca previously served with Miami Air International as manager-engines, APUs and landing gear. Before joining Miami Air, DeLuca spent 12 years with Eastern Airlines, where he started as an aircraft cleaner and was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility, including shift manager-JT8D production and manager-engine service center component shops.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR42 and ATR72 series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM- 141-AD; 39-10007; AD 97-09-11) - requires modification of the handle of the passenger/crew door to change the "down-to-open" configuration of the handle to an "up-to-open" configuration. This amendment is prompted by a report indicating that, immediately after takeoff, the passenger/crew door opened and separated from the airplane due to the inadvertent operation of the door handle.
REFLECTONE, INC., will hold a special shareholders meeting May 20 for a vote on a merger proposal that would combine Reflectone, British Aerospace Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of British Aerospace, and a newly formed subsidiary of British Aerospace Holdings. If approved, shareholders of Reflectone would receive $24 cash per share as of the effective date of the merger.
LUCAS AEROSPACE won a contract to supply couplings for production units of the Bell/Boeing V-22 tiltrotor. The Lucas couplings, fabricated at the company's Utica, N.Y. plant, are designed to distribute power between the engines and proprotors as part of the cross wing drive system. Lucas will provide four different coupling types that incorporate flexible diaphragms and welded construction to permit continued operation under severe conditions without lubrication.
AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGIES OF AUSTRALIA Models N22S, N22B and N24A airplanes (Docket No. 95-CE-31-AD; Amdt. 39-10004; AD 97-09-08) - supersedes AD 82-25-09, which requires repetitive inspections of the pilot and co-pilot control wheel subassemblies for cracks and modification of cracked parts. This action retains the requirements, but also includes a modification that would terminate the repetitive inspections by replacing or reworking the control wheel subassembly.
National Transportation Safety Board issued data and group investigation summaries Wednesday for the continuing inquiry on Comair Flight 3272, an Embraer Brasilia that crashed near Detroit Jan. 9 on a flight from Cincinnati. The cockpit voice recorder transcript suggests only about 20 seconds elapsed between the crew's first mention of trouble and the tape's end, the likely moment of impact. At 1553:25, controllers gave the crew a heading change and instructed the pilots to reduce their speed from 170 knots to 150 knots.
Unison Industries expects to complete the purchase of the BFGoodrich Engine Electrical Systems Division (EESD) in Norwich, N.Y. by mid-year, a move that will give Jacksonville, Fla.-based Unison a bigger share of the market for aircraft electrical systems.
NORTHEASTERN AVIATION CORP. completed a new $2.5 million corporate aircraft hangar and office facility at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, N.Y. and plans grand opening ceremonies May 22. The new facility has 17,000 square feet of hangar space and another 6,000 square feet of office space.
KAREN TRIPP, who left avionics manufacturer Collins last year to join the advertising and public relations firm of Sullivan, Higdon&Sink in Wichita, Kan., has returned to the Cedar Rapids, Iowa manufacturer as vice president-communications for Rockwell Collins Avionics and Communications. Her responsibilities include activities in the company's general aviation, air transport, military and systems divisions.
Kaynar Technologies, Inc., announced an initial public offering of two million shares of its common stock at $14.50 per share. Of the two million shares, 1.8 million are being offered by the company and 200,000 by a selling stockholder. Kaynar, headquartered in Orange, Calif., manufactures specialty fasteners, fastening systems and related components for original equipment manufacturers and their subcontractors for use in production of commercial aircraft and defense products. The company also manufactures fasteners for the automotive and electrical industries.
The initial balanced budget agreement struck between the White House and congressional leaders would include a five-year extension of the aviation excise taxes and about $8 billion to $10 billion more in transportation budget authority than the Clinton Administration budget had planned. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Dominici (R-N.M.), who called the President's transportation budget "way too low," said the agreement provides for "a rather substantial increase....I can't give you the numbers, but surely it is $8 to $10 billion over the President's numbers."
JOHN J. SHEEHAN, who spent 10 years with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association before getting into the consulting business, was named secretary general of the International Council of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations. He succeeds Steven J. Brown, who left the post in December to become president of the National Aeronautic Association. Sheehan was at AOPA from 1980-1990, serving as senior vice president government and technical affairs and executive vice president.
KARL A. KERSCHER, a former United Air Lines pilot, is the new regional representative for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Kerscher has flown 22,000 hours since 1960, has owned eight general aviation airplanes and served as the airport manager of the Land O' Lakes, Wis. Airport for a number of years to help revitalize that facility when it was threatened with being closed. Kerscher will continue to reside in Land O' Lakes.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT and Executive Jet International promise "a significant announcement" at a press conference Tuesday in New York. EJI is operating 20 Hawker 1000s it began buying four years ago in its NetJets fractional ownership program (BA, June 14, 1993/233) and is expected to announce plans to acquire 25 Hawker 800XPs as it continues to grow the program.
KEN KANTOLA was appointed general manager of Cessna Aircraft's Sacramento Citation Service Center. Kantola joined Cessna in September 1984 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, including inspector, lead mechanic, maintenance supervisor and sales supervisor. Before joining Cessna, he was director of turbine aircraft maintenance for Patterson Aircraft in Sacramento.
JEFF RYMAN was named aerospace specialist for Cadillac Plastic. Ryman, who previously worked for Nordam Manufacturing Division in Seattle, will be responsible for Cadillac Plastic's customer base of aircraft manufacturers and subcontractors.
American Eurocopter expects to receive approval this week for a modification to the vertical stabilizer of the tail boom of BK117 helicopters, the latest in a series of actions following a fatal accident involving a BK117 operated by Colgate-Palmolive Corp. (BA, April 21/176).
THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE directed FAA to exempt general aviation operations from fees the agency is charging for services for flights that transit through U.S. airspace without either taking off or landing in the U.S. The committee, which included the measure in an emergency supplemental appropriations bill it approved Wednesday, said a GA exemption is "consistent with the assurance that the committee received from FAA" when Congress authorized the collection of international overflight fees.
KENT SCOTT was named vice president and chief operating officer of Emery Worldwide Airlines. Scott, a former Boeing 747 captain, formerly was chief executive officer of the start-up AirSpace International Airlines of Carson, Calif.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION will hold a flight attendant conference June 6-7 in Chicago, Ill. The conference will discuss issues facing corporate flight attendants and include presentations from the National Transportation Safety Board, Department of Defense, flight department management and safety experts. For more information, contact NBAA at (202) 783-9000.
SINO SWEARINGEN AIRCRAFT COMPANY had logged 75 flight hours as of last week with its stretched proto-type SJ30-2 aircraft. The company reconfigured the original SJ30-1 prototype by stretching the fuselage nearly five feet and adding three feet to the wing span. The prototype currently is powered by the original 1,900-pound- thrust Williams FJ44-1 powerplants, but flight testing will be suspended briefly next month for installation of the 2,300- pound-thrust FJ44-2 engines that will power production models of the SJ30- 2.
SAAB Model 2000 series airplanes (Docket No. 96-NM-221-AD) - proposes to require replacing the Abex alternating current electric motor with a new modified Abex AC electric motor having an improved fan. This proposal is prompted by reports indicating that the integrated hydraulic package stopped functioning during flight because the fan on the AC electric motor came into contact with the housing of the motor due to inadequate clearances.
FRANK HOPKINS was appointed avionics/modification coordinator, Aircraft Services Division for Atlantic Aviation. Hopkins has 16 years of aviation experience, holding positions with Alliance Avionics, Page Avjet and KC Aviation.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT Chairman Art Wegner told an audience at the SAE "top management" panel in Wichita last week that adoption of a bunch of new user fees "will seriously hurt general aviation" and warned that such a system "will create a whole new bureaucracy to collect fees." Wegner also took aim at a proposal by European officials to impose a 120-minute ETOPS limitation on commercial business jet operations. The idea "makes no sense," Wegner said, adding that "FAA must put a stop to this nonsense." See related article on Page 202 of the hard copy of this issue.
