All Nippon Airways has suspended a captain who dozed in flight, while it investigates his claim that he suffers from sleep apnea. The 50-year-old pilot, who has logged 12,700 flight hours, dozed off twice during a Mar. 23 flight from Tokyo to Ube. Coincidentally, a transport ministry official was in the cockpit providing routine oversight of crew operations when he noticed the captain asleep. The captain complained that the cockpit was warm, sunny and sleep-inducing. He had had 7 hr.
Zakaullah Khogyani has been promoted to vice president-flight operations for the Air Midwest subsidiary of the Mesa Air Group from director of system operation control for Mesa Airlines, Troy Lambeth to senior director of the System Operation Center from director of inventory control and John Baker to senior director of crew resources from director of financial planning and analysis. Bob Ramirez has been named director of quality assurance at Air Midwest. He was director of maintenance for Mesa's Freedom Airlines subsidiary.
Donald H. Bunker has become counsel in the Montreal office of the law firm Stikeman Elliott. He was founder of the aviation law firm Donald H. Bunker and Associates.
Scientists speculate that big solar storms may have gradually stripped away the water on Mars, judging by measurements of the impact of last year's solar storms on the planet's atmosphere (see preceding item). In images generated by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (Themis) on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, researchers in France believe they have found more evidence that liquid water once flowed on the Red Planet's surface, and flowed longer than previously believed.
Alfred Grasso has been promoted to senior vice president/director of the Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) Federally Funded Research and Development Center operated by the Mitre Corp., McLean, Va., for the U.S. Defense Dept. He succeeds John Quilty, who has retired. Grasso was senior vice president/general manager of the Washington C3I Center. Grasso, in turn, has been succeeded by Raymond Haller, who was promoted from vice president.
All pilots need to perform some type of math calculation in their head while flying. Ron McElroy's Mental Math for Pilots can help sharpen those skills, according to the publisher. Quick recall and retention aids are provided for calculating temperature conversions, crosswind components, time-speed-distance problems, reciprocal headings, visual descent points and many more. Complex equations are dealt with in straightforward terms. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc., 7005 132nd Place SE, Newcastle, Wash. 98059-3153. 215 on www.AviationNow.com/oic
Anthony Falcone has been named president of the Covina, Calif.-based Society for the Advancement of Material and Processing Engineering for the 2004-05 year. He is associate technical fellow at the Boeing Phantom Works, Materials and Process Technology Organization. Other members of the Sampe cabinet include: executive vice president, Tia Benson Tolle, who is chief of the Structural Materials Branch in the Non-Metallic Materials Div. at the U.S.
Albert V. Casey, former chairman and CEO of AMR Corp., died of a heart attack July 10 at home in Dallas. He was 84. In 1985, Casey retired from AMR after 11 years but remained a member of the board of directors until 1991. He was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 as president and chief executive of the Resolution Trust Corp., which oversaw failed savings and loan associations, and in 2002 President George W. Bush appointed Casey to a nine-year term on the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors.
Azizan Zainul Abidin, chairman of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Petronas, Malaysia's national oil company, died at home near Kuala Lumpur on July 14 of an unknown cause. He was 69. Named MAS chairman in early 2001, Azizan helped restructure the carrier's operations while it was struggling with continuining losses. His leadership is credited with allowing the carrier in May 2003 to announce its first profit in six years.
Mark Rigolle has become chief financial officer of Luxembourg-based SES Global. He succeeds Jurgen Schulte, who will be retiring. Rigolle was a financial executive at Belgacom.
Aved Electronics is introducing a full line of standard and custom fabricated lithium batteries suitable for a range of military and industrial applications. The lithium primary batteries can be supplied individually or custom made to the energy density, discharge rate and life requirements of the application. The company ensures that all testing and shipping methods conform to UN3090.
Cass Polymers' PolyMax PM210, a zero VOC floor coating, is a 100% solid pigmented epoxy coating meeting all VOC regulations. It resists damage from fuel and chemicals and is not affected by Skydrol, gasoline or motor oil, according to the company. With keen color stability and gloss retention, the coating has good impact and abrasion resistance. It also bonds well to concrete. Designed for heavy traffic, PM210 is suitable for hangars, repair shops and industrial plants. It can be installed as a smooth finish or with an 8-20-mil. slip-resistant texture.
Robert J. Kuntz, president of the California Engineering Foundation, has been named a fellow of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Society of Professional Engineers.
Of all the CEOs who have lined up to champion the cause of competition and taxpayer risk, to dissuade the Air Transportation Stabilization Board from co-signing a loan for United Airlines, AirTran's Joe Leonard has been the most self-serving, at least as shown by his recent Viewpoint (AW&ST June 21, p. 86).
Look for a bill to streamline FAA licensing of commercial suborbital space flights carrying passengers to get moving again. The bill (H.R. 3752) passed the House with only one dissenting vote in March. But then one space launch startup, Oklahoma-based Rocketplane Limited Inc., became concerned that its hybrid vehicle combining aircraft systems and rocket propulsion might not be covered by the legislation's definition of a suborbital launch vehicle. So Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) put a hold on the bill.
A new crush-proof and drag-resistant all-thermoplastic polyurethane reinforced hose, designed for removing lavatory waste from aircraft or trains, has been introduced by Hi-Tech Hose Inc. The CPU hose has a urethane helix that withstands vehicular traffic and dragging over asphalt and similar surfaces, according to the company. It features thermally bonded cuffs to provide tight seals and is available from stock for standard sizes. It can also be manufactured to specific sizes and lengths.
World News Roundup 50 JSF pre-production process begins 52 First Falcon 7X: Assembly continues 52 Initial flight for Aermacchi M-346 53 T-50 starts high AOA tests World News & Analysis 58 U.S. space propulsion industry looking to retool and reorganize 59 Transition to new exploration program will depend on shuttle phaseout 60 ESA kicks off ambitious ISS operations phase 62 Hubble panel urges NASA to keep service options open
Primary assembly of the first Airbus A380 mega-transport has been completed recently at Toulouse in southwest France, and will be equipped in the next few months with flight controls and systems. Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofans will be installed while flight-test equipment will be placed on the main deck.
Jeff Thornburg has been named director of propulsion technology for Exquadrum Inc., Adelanto, Calif. He was project manager for the Integrated Powerhead Demonstration program at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards AFB, Calif., and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
In reference to the letter "S-3 Is the Right Stuff" (AW&ST June 28, p. 6), the aircraft is an excellent choice for the U.S. Coast Guard for use in air/sea rescue. With the collapsing support for airtankers to fight the U.S.' seasonal forest fires, let's look into using the S-3 Viking as a replacement. She can carry her own weight in firefighting suppressant and deliver it better than the now-proposed Boeing 747.
Regent Manufacturing has introduced a Universal Bead Breaker designed to meet the needs of all existing narrow- and wide-body commercial aircraft tire beads, for both bias and radial tires, according to the company. The product services tires without the need to change heavy adapter rings or lift heavy wheel assemblies into place.
Honeywell is unveiling a new weather radar for transport aircraft that captures storm cell and terrain data so pilots can scroll through multiple views of what's ahead. A 3D volumetric scanning technique makes it possible for the RDR-4000 radar to capture and update rain and turbulence data up to 320 naut. mi. ahead of the aircraft, from the surface to 60,000 ft. This information, which is stored in a database, can then be extracted as needed to provide multiple views of storm cells to facilitate analysis.
