Ruben D. Gomez has been named senior financial associate for Miami-based AvGroup (Aviation Management Services). He was president/CEO of the International Finance Bank in Miami.
Canadian Forces Rear Adm. (ret.) Ken Summers has been appointed to the board of directors of Northstar Electronics Inc. of Vancouver. Summers was chief of staff to the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in Norfolk, Va.
Taiwanese carriers would be the target of boycotts by foreign pilots should their government decide to prosecute the three Singapore Airlines pilots of the Boeing 747-400 that crashed on takeoff at Chiang Kai-Shek Airport in Taipei last month.
John P. Schreitmueller has joined the industrial poducts and aviation practice of Ray and Berndtson of Atlanta. He was senior vice president/partner of Reedie and Co. of Dallas.
Royal Navy GKN Westland Sea King helicopters of the 846th Naval Air Sqdn. participated in the U.N.'s Operation Silkman peacekeeping mission in war-ravaged Sierra Leone.
Capt. John E. Darrah has been elected president of the Allied Pilots Assn., which represents American Airlines' pilots. Darrah succeeds Richard LaVoy, who resigned on Oct. 28 along with the vice president and secretary-treasurer. Capt. Robert Ames was elected vice president and First Officer John Bury secretary-treasurer.
The U.S. last week reached multilateral open skies agreements with New Zealand, Singapore, Chile and Brunei during a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Group in Brunei. U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater said the pact moves beyond the existing system of bilateral agreements toward one in which groups of nations agree to free trade in aviation services.
Timothy R. Beard and John W. Brooks have been named directors of business development/integrated product team leaders for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, respectively, for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Integrated Systems Sector in Dallas. Beard, a retired USN rear admiral, was commander of the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center in Fallon, Nev. Brooks, a retired USAF major general, was special assistant to the chief of staff.
Scott Kalister has been named chief operating officer of Kellstrom Industries Inc., Sunrise, Fla. He was vice president-customer support at Raytheon Aircraft.
Scaled Composites' Proteus has tentatively set three world altitude records, with pilots wearing pressure suits for safety backup in the experimental aircraft's pressurized cabin. The Proteus has also successfully completed several science missions for NASA, testing the next generation of atmospheric sensors for spacecraft. The aircraft is funded for about 280 hr. of further science flights in Fiscal 2001.
Augburg Airways and Pratt&Whitney Canada have concluded a three-year agreement covering the maintenance and overhaul of the PW123 turboprop engines that power the German carrier's Dash 8 regional aircraft.
John Mark Garrett has become branch manager at Washington Dulles International Airport for Sage Parts Plus, Farmingdale, N.Y. He was director of aftermarket sales for the TUG division of Stewart and Stevenson.
Two teams led by Hochtief and IVG have agreed to make a joint offer for Berlin's new international airport that is scheduled to open in 2007. The Hochtief team, which includes Frankfurt Airport, was removed from the competition earlier this year because of bidding irregularities (AW&ST Mar. 6, p. 17). German courts, however, would look favorably on collaboration between Hochtief and IVG.
William H. Cunningham, former chancellor of the University of Texas, has been named to the board of directors of Southwest Airlines. He succeeds Walter Mischer, Sr., who has retired. Rhonda Cronk has been appointed station manager at Tucson, Ariz. She was manager of staff planning. Christina Nation has become marketing manager for the Baltimore/Washington area. She was base coordinator there.
Georgetta A. Wolff has become vice president/assistant general counsel and counsel for the Northrop Grumman Corp. Integrated Systems Sector in Dallas. She was associate sector counsel for Air Combat Systems. She succeeds W. Burks Terry, who has been promoted to corporate vice president/general counsel.
Another criticism of program underfunding was leveled last week against NASA's Mars Surveyor Program for the loss of the Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter last year (AW&ST Apr. 3, p. 40). The space agency's inspector general said NASA is not properly using its own office of Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) in Fairfax, Va., to run outside assessments of software development programs through full-mission life cycles.
While many other carriers are struggling to stay in the black, or swimming in red ink, Lufthansa is enjoying one of its most profitable years. After posting an operating profit last week of 794 million euros ($681 million) for the first nine months--a 50.7% jump over the same period last year--the German airline revised its estimate sharply upward for the full year. Operating earnings are now expected to grow 40% in 2000-01, which is substantially more than the 10% increase that was forecast at the beginning of the fiscal year (AW&ST May 15, p. 40).
After considerable soul-searching, Russia will take the 14-year-old Mir space station out of service. Following a recommendation from industry specialists, and approved by the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, the spacecraft will be permitted to fall into the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 26-28. The government has allocated 750 million rubles (about $27 million). A Progress M supply ship will be launched in December to deliver fuel to keep Mir in correct orbit until February.
Teresa B. Vanhooser has been appointed manager of payload operations and integration for the Flight Projects Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. She was manager of the Multiuse Payload Group in the directorate's Payload Operations and Integration Dept.
An Antonov An-24 twin-turboprop slammed into a field and exploded 2 mi. from Luanda International Airport in Angola shortly after takeoff on Nov. 15, killing at least 34 passengers and five crewmembers. No explanation has yet been given for the crash, which killed all on board. The Ukrainian-built aircraft was registered in Angola and chartered by the Angolan company Asa Pesada for a domestic flight. The crew consisted of four Ukrainians and an Angolan. Two weeks ago, on Oct. 31, an Antonov An-26 crash- ed in northeastern Angola, killing 48 people on board.
Fearful the U.S. may be losing its edge in intelligence satellites, a congressionally mandated panel is urging Presidential-level attention to the situation and the establishment of a new office to champion and execute advanced technology projects.
Theresa A. Smith has become project manager and Wendy L. Wilke director of projects for the transportation services business of Ross and Baruzzini of St. Louis.
An F-16 collided with a small civilian aircraft about 20 mi. from MacDill AFB, Fla., on Nov. 16. The Air Force pilot ejected and survived, but one person was killed in the light aircraft. The civil aircraft fell in pieces onto a golf course, while the F-16 crashed into woods a few miles away and started fires.
