Egyptian-led investigators of the EgyptAir Flight 990 accident have produced a scenario for mechanical failure of the Boeing 767 elevator control and note that such a failure occurred on another 767 on the ground. Meanwhile, some of the evidence originally cited by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board as pointing to a suicide theory is now being downplayed.
Jay Wurts has been appointed president/CEO of the OuterLink Corp., Concord, Mass., formerly known as Newcomb Communications Inc. He succeeds Joseph Simmons, who has resigned. Wurts was president/CEO of the GreatWay Technology Corp.
The U.S. and Canada committed to the further enhancement of air safety between the two countries in an agreement signed last week by U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater and Canadian Transport Minister David Collenette at the Millennium Transportation Conference in Toronto.
Ernest Schweizer, co-founder of Schweizer Aircraft, died on June 11 in Elmira, N.Y. He was 88. His first project was the design and building of a primary glider, in 1930. Elmira-based Schweizer Air-craft was incorporated in 1939, and has built a total of 5,700 sailplanes, agricultural and reconnaissance aircraft and light helicopters during the past 60 years.
Kirk Rowe (see photo) has been appointed executive vice president/chief operating officer of the Innotech-Execaire Aviation Group of Montreal. Rowe was vice president-commercial services. Rowe succeeds Dave Miller, who is now an executive at the GE/Garrett Jet Center, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Kevin Cavanaugh (see photo) has been named chief operating officer of Qualtech Systems, Wethersfield, Conn. He was an associate technical fellow at Boeing.
THE FAA HAS COMPLETED ABOUT 90% of its certification rules for tiltrotor aircraft, such as the Bell/Agusta BA-609, tentatively scheduled to make its first flight next year (AW&ST June 5, p. 52). The agency is combining sections from FAR Part 29 airworthiness standards for Transport Category Rotorcraft with selected paragraphs from FAR Part 25, governing the airworthiness of Transport Category Airplanes. In addition, the FAA has made major changes to FAR Part 61 regarding training and experience requirements to certify tiltrotor pilots.
Boeing, a 40% partner in Sea Launch, has endorsed the White House decision to eliminate commercial space launch quotas with Ukraine. ``Ukraine has been a solid business partner in our Sea Launch program, and we look forward to continuing our commercial collaboration,'' according to Jim Albaugh, Boeing Space&Communications group president. Ukraine provides the two-stage Zenit booster for Sea Launch. Administration officials said the move was made as a result of Ukraine's good record on nonproliferation, especially regarding missile technology.
Marshall Greenspan, director of technology/system architect/senior technical staff member at the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Norden Systems, Norwalk, Conn., is the first recipient of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Warren D. White Award for Excellence in Radar Engineering. The award recognizes Greenspan ``for significantly advancing the art in ground moving target indication airborne tactical radars through the implementation of multiple phase center interferometric processing.''
Wendy Burt and Jennifer Bagdade, who were public information officers for the Metropolitan Airports Commission of Minneapolis/St. Paul, have formed B2 Public Relations Inc.
Nonstop train services between downtown Paris and Roissy/ Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) are tentatively scheduled to start in 2006. Trains operating every 15 min. between Gare de l'Est and CDG are to carry an estimated 5-6 million passengers per year. In preparation for the long-waited initiative, ADP Paris airports authority, SNCF French railways and RFF--which owns the French track system--last week formed a joint venture, dubbed CDG Express, to invest an estimated $570 million in the new train line. A one-way ticket for the 20-min. journey will cost about $14.
Strong opposition from Italy and Germany threatens to sink two propulsion projects that are scheduled to be decided this week by the European Space Agency Council.
Horizon Air increased its firm orders for 70-seat Bombardier CRJ700 Series regional jets to 30 from 25 last week. The five aircraft are worth approximately $130 million (U.S.) at list price. High fuel prices also prompted the Seattle-based carrier to accelerate its CRJ700 delivery schedule. It now will receive 14 of the jets between December 2000 and October 2001, simultaneously phasing out its 69-passenger Fokker F28 fleet.
Martin Halliwell has been appointed director of communications technology and a member of the management committee of Societe Europeenne des Satellites. He was general manager of Global Multimedia Networks.
The congressional auditors also chide the FAA for failing to comply with its own computer security guidelines. The GAO says the agency has yet to figure out who among its contractors' employees with access to computers in the ATC system needs a background check. House Science Committee honchos F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Ralph Hall (D-Tex.) say the culture at the FAA is not sufficiently attentive to the possibility of cyber-terrorist strikes.
Leading members of Congress are convinced the merger of United Airlines and US Airways would sap competition, jack up fares, blight service and culminate in a triple-megacarrier imperium that would span 85% or more of domestic air travel.
The split of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) indicates that nuclear warheads for India's armed forces are in production, according to a senior official of the Dept. of Atomic Energy (DAE).
Wayne (Skip) Knoll has been promoted to director of procurement and distribution from purchasing manager, Larry Gauerke to director of system operations from dispatch manager and Ed Baranowski to maintenance operations manager from maintenance control manager, all for Air Wisconsin. Gregg Garvey has been appointed director of taxes and risk management.
NASA and Boeing have tested to destruction the first full-scale, stitched carbon-fiber wing structure, a process that has the potential to transform the manufacture of advanced commercial transports.
Galaxy Aerospace's new corporate jet offers operators a large-cabin aircraft with good range and payload flexibility at relatively low acquisition and direct-operating costs. The twin-engine aircraft, now flying with four operators, joins Galaxy Aerospace President/CEO Brian Barents' marketing expertise with Israel Aircraft Industries' technical know-how. The Pritzer Corp. provided financial backing.
Despite a robust traffic growth, Crossair's net profits are declining and financial predictions for 2000 are surrounded by serious concerns. Last year, the Swiss regional carrier's net profit decreased to $30.9 million, down from $38.7 million in 1998, although revenues increased by 14.6% to $709 million. ``A worse [financial] result is expected for the current year,'' company executives said, citing soaring fuel prices, the Swiss franc's unfavorable exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and lower yields as major causes for such a negative trend.
FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP OPERATOR Raytheon Travel Air is expanding its customer base. The program has enrolled nearly 500 shareowners and flown 77,000 hr. on 53,000 flights since operations began in June 1997. The company is averaging about 113 trips per day and has achieved an on-time average of 98.5%. More than 30% of shareowner sales in the first quarter of this year have come through referrals. The operation uses 74 airplanes, including 20 Hawker 800XPs, 37 Beechjet 400As and 17 turboprop-powered Beechcraft Super King Air B200s.
Boeing's Long Beach Div. is conducting phased development of a continuously moving production line for 717 final assembly aimed ultimately at cutting span-time for the twinjet by more than 50% compared with previous MD-80 production. The changes are borrowed to a large extent from Japanese automotive production techniques used by manufacturers such as Toyota. Reducing 717 costs is key to being competitive in the extremely price-sensitive 100-seat civil transport market, according to program officials.
United Technologies and Honeywell International Inc. are on track to begin rolling out MyAircraft.com services at the end of this month, but it appears UTC and Honeywell initially will be the only users of the Web-based exchange (AW&ST Feb. 21, p. 126). They have yet to sign up any subscribers other than their own aerospace businesses, although the joint venture partners are in ``advanced discussions'' with would-be participants, including airlines.
United Airlines is offering $100,000 in travel vouchers to 200 Boeing 777 passengers who spent more than 8 hr. on a Chicago runway earlier this month as a wall of stormy weather virtually shut down the air traffic control system. Flight 1806 bound for Washington pushed back at 1:23 p.m. (CDT) on June 3 at O'Hare International Airport. The wheels-up liftoff was at 9:36 p.m.
