Aviation safety and law enforcement officials have improved their working relationship, but they are still sorting out their marching orders for crash probes. The SabreTech prosecution that resulted from the ValuJet accident in the Everglades was a textbook example of how prosecutors and accident investigators can and should work together, Daniel Campbell, managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the House aviation subcommittee last week. In that case, the board's probe went first; then prosecutors relied on NTSB fact-gathering.
Boeing and Khrunichev plan to launch the second FGB module that the Russian company built, as a commercial space module attached to the International Space Station (ISS), the pair said today. The so-called FGB 2 would offer about 20 cubic meters (26.2 cubic yards) of pressurized space for living, storage or science work, said Brewster Shaw, Boeing's ISS vice president and general manager. Finishing and launching the module would cost about $200 million, depending on customer requirements.
Italy's Finmeccanica and GKN of the U.K. have finally sealed a deal to merge their respective helicopter businesses--Agusta and Westland--and expect the new entity to be operational this fall.
The U.S. Marine Corps, stopping short of attributing the Apr. 8 crash of an MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor that killed all 19 on board to pilot error, released the final word on the investigation late last week, saying a ``combination of human factors'' caused the crash. The investigation ``found that deviations from the scheduled flight plan, an unexpected tail wind and the pilot's extremely rapid rate of descent into the landing zone created the conditions that led to the accident.''
Aermacchi plans to develop an advanced trainer that could displace the Mako as the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.'s next-generation training system.
Northrop Grumman and EADS have agreed to cooperate in developing a high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The companies will jointly evaluate UAV approaches capable of meeting an urgent European requirement for airborne standoff intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.
An independent analysis says the U.S. still enjoys an advantageous position in East Asia, despite tensions with China over Taiwan and the dangers of North Korean missile proliferation. By maintaining about 100,000 troops in the region--funded mostly by host nations--the U.S. retains low-cost influence there, according to the Commission on America's National Interests. That is in sharp contrast with modern U.S. experience in Asia, the commission notes. About 100,000 U.S. troops combined were lost in Korea and Vietnam.
Thomson-CSF Sextant and Astrium have agreed to jointly offer aircraft makers and the airline industry a full line of broadband onboard communications services, mirroring a trend toward ``Internet-in-the-sky'' already established by several manufacturers in recent months.
Spacecraft sent to Mars have had a disturbing tendency to not reappear after communications were intentionally shut off, but Mars Global Surveyor broke the curse earlier this month when it emerged from behind the Sun. The solar conjunction occurs every 26 months and lasted several weeks. To celebrate its revival, the Mars Orbital Camera sent back this picture (right) on July 15 of the layered wall of a meteor crater in Noachis Terra at 32.9 deg. S. Lat., 357.6 deg. W. Long. The picture is 3 km. (1.9 mi.) wide with a resolution of 6 meters per pixel.
Takeoff performance of the Concorde was fully certified by British and French civil aviation authorities in 1975 to the normal rules that applied to four-engine transports.
Strategic experts suggest restructuring U.S. national security interests so only the ``vital'' ones come out on top. The objective is to whittle down the multiplying number of U.S. military commitments overseas. This can only be achieved if Washington has a clear idea of what really matters, outside strategists and security experts contend. Hence their call for a hierarchy that distinguishes four or five supreme national interests from all others.
The Boeing Co. has selected Lockheed Martin Control Systems of Johnson City, N.Y., to produce controllers and cockpit indicators for the U.S. Air Force's C-17 Globemaster 3 transport. Total potential business approaches $100 million. Control Systems will manufacture 27 line-replaceable units for onboard technologies that detect and display the status of various systems including environmental, electrical, hydraulic, loadmaster, auxiliary power and fuel. Boeing's parts supply facility system at El Paso, Tex., produced the controllers and cockpit indicators previously.
American Airlines and the Allied Pilots Assn. (APA) have reached a key tentative agreement that would extend their existing labor contract for one year and relax restrictions on the number of regional jets operated by American Eagle.
In the ``event-driven'' world of satellite communications, where investors can be as fickle as they are skittish, beating analysts' expectations--even by a wide margin--may not count for very much. Perception, it seems, is everything.
Virgin Blue Airlines' anticipated Aug. 3 launch date has been postponed. Announcement of a rescheduled date hinges on the progress of the airline's certification process, which is still underway by Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Without certification in hand so close to the planned start of service between Brisbane and Sydney, Virgin Blue pushed back the date.
NASA's $363-million Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) is being deactivated after seven years in geosynchronous orbit testing Ka-band technology designed to reduce frequency overcrowding. The Glenn Research Center spacecraft, launched in 1993 on board shuttle mission STS-51, far exceeded its formal 24-month demonstration mission, but it remains to be seen if Ka-band services will take off as envisioned when ACTS was first planned more than 10 years ago.
Russia remains America's major potential strategic adversary in Europe, but Washington can reap important international gains from cooperation with Moscow on high-priority issues, according to the independent Commission on America's National Interests. The panel says Russian disillusionment over NATO's air campaign last year against Serbia has spurred increased efforts to blunt American international leadership.
British Airways last week temporarily grounded its Concorde ``Alpha Echo'' after an ultrasonic check detected a growing crack in the the left rear wing spar. Cracks averaging 60 mm. long were discovered several months ago in all seven British Airways' Concordes in the same wing area outboard the engines during standard ultrasonic testing, according to an airline spokesperson. (In BA's Concorde fleet of seven aircraft, only six are in operation at any one time.)
Aviation Partners Inc. of Seattle has begun flight tests of a winglet retrofit for ``classic'' 747-200 and -300 models. Initial results indicate a 6-7% drag reduction, according to CEO Joe Clark. In 4 hr. of flight testing to date, the company ``cleared all flutter issues'' and obtained pressure data, Clark said. The test envelope reached speeds of Mach 0.89 at an altitude of 41,000 ft. The test aircraft, a leased 747-200F, flew from the former George AFB outside of Los Angeles. Cargo airlines are expected to be prime customers for the retrofits.
The U.K. government has decided to forge ahead with plans to privatize the bulk of the Defense Research and Evaluation Agency, with a proposed stock market flotation in 2001. Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon said the most sensitive parts of DERA, which is headquartered here and employs 12,000, would be retained under government control. The remainder, about three quarters, would be split off by year-end and subsequently sold to the private sector. The government will initially retain a 30-40% stake that eventually would be relinquished.
Following months of delay, Turkey moved ahead with its $4-billion attack helicopter project by selecting Bell Helicopter's KingCobra as its preferred supplier, with the Russian-Israeli Ka-50-2 as a backup in the event a suitable deal cannot be reached with the U.S. company. Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit invited Bell to begin detailed pricing and contract negotiations for an initial batch of 50 aircraft at a cost of approximately $1.5 billion. Turkey plans to subsequently acquire 95 more attack helicopters in two further batches for a total of 145.
The Air Force Research Laboratory is having three small satellites built that will fly in formation and act in concert as the dispersed points of a single antenna. The lab's Space Vehicles Directorate awarded a $35-million contract to ITN Energy Systems in Denver to build three TechSat 21 spacecraft, each weighing about 120 kg. (265 lb.). They will have X-band transmitters and receivers that form a large, sparse aperture system--a scheme that has been supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Linda Barker, vice president/owner of Business Aviation Services, Sioux Falls, S.D., has been elected chair of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Assn.
