Runway excursions, such as this Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER veer-off in Munich in 2011, continue to dominate non-fatal accident statistics, while loss-of-control-in-flight remains the deadliest type of accident. A special report starting on page 36 examines new, proactive interventions by regulators and the airline industry to reduce the impact of both. Photo courtesy of German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU). Also highlighted on the cover are photos and highlights from Aviation Week's 57th Laureate Awards (page 44).
Paul H. Jona has been appointed senior vice president of U.K.-based Cobham Satcom. He succeeds Walther Thygesen, who plans to retire in June. Jona was chairman/CEO of CoActive Technologies in the Netherlands and had been senior vice president of the Cable Systems Group at the Amphenol Corp.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's move to annex the Crimean Peninsula is a “wake-up call,” says NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who urged Europe to increase defense spending—particularly in the missile defense, cyber and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance arenas. “Developments in Ukraine are a stark reminder that security in Europe cannot be taken for granted,” he said last week. Russia's actions must have consequences, he warned.
The U.S. Navy/Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) team broke a barrier in 2013, proving that a stealthy, unmanned aircraft can operate on and around the aircraft carrier deck and clinching the Laureate for Aeronautics and Propulsion.
AgustaWestland has begun flying the first fully configured HH-101 Caesar combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) helicopter destined for the Italian air force (AMI). The first AMI HH-101 flew in a green configuration in February and underwent a short test flight at Yeovil, England, on March 17 (see photo). AMI has 12 of the helicopters on order. Company officials say the aircraft are the most advanced versions of the AW101 flying.
Italy's long-struggling aerospace and defense giant, Finmeccanica, is changing shape as it works to overcome debt and the effects of reduced government spending.
In late 2012, Dassault Aviation and the French defense armaments agency (DGA) made history, sending Neuron, Europe's first stealthy unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) into flight. The feat, which required political finesse and helped establish Europe as a place for unmanned technology, earned the Neuron team Aviation Week's 2014 Defense Laureate.
There is good news and bad news for the airline industry in Indonesia. On the upside, the country is experiencing an unprecedented growth of passengers, airlines and aircraft orders. But its civil aviation regulators are concerned that there will not be enough skilled personnel to handle the increase. Herry Bakti, head of the country's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DJPU), says: “There are too many aircraft coming in [to Indonesia]. It is easy to buy aircraft—but our job is to consider who will run and operate them.”
Conducting operations in bitter Arctic winters is a part of everyday life for the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) search-and-rescue helicopter crews. Every year, RCAF SAR crews pluck hundreds of people from dangerous situations on sea and land across the vast Canadian wilderness. But one operation particularly resonated with Aviation Week's Laureate judges. The mission, on Feb. 9, 2013, tested the crew in challenging conditions, but their courage, resourcefulness and quick thinking prevailed and has won them plaudits on both sides of the Atlantic.
One sentence probably best sums up what makes Willie Walsh tick: “I guess the difference between me and many other airline CEOs is that I have the determination to tackle these issues and some others don't,” he told Aviation Week last year. When others pull back to avoid conflicts, he chooses to aggressively fight for what he believes is crucial. His remarkable success record bears out this particular style of corporate leadership.
David W. Miller (see photo) has been named NASA's chief technologist. He has been a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and director of its Space Systems Laboratory. He succeeds Mason Peck, who has returned to his teaching position at Cornell University. Miller also has been principal investigator for NASA for the Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer for the Osiris-REx asteroid sample return mission.
General Electric has long been big in big engines, specializing in turbofans for airliners and fighters. But the company wants to compete across the power range, and the man leading its move into small engines is the 2014 laureate for business and general aviation.
The Indian air force (IAF) has decided to “urgently” buy 106 PC-7 Mk. 2 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) from Pilatus, pulling the plug yet again on state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), which is also building an aircraft for training junior pilots. India is already taking delivery of PC-7 Mk. 2 aircraft from Pilatus under a contract for 75 signed in 2012. Under the “Buy & Make (Indian)” contracting category, Pilatus will have to form a joint venture or establish a production arrangement with an Indian company to execute the contract.
The aerospace industry is replete with innovators, but occasionally there comes someone whose ideas and accomplishments make the term “innovator” seem not broad enough. Harold Rosen is that sort of innovator. A team led by Rosen produced breakthroughs that kick-started an entire sector of the aerospace industry. That sector remains the most important commercial application of space technology. More than anyone, Rosen deserves to be called the father of the communications satellite.
The Pentagon is increasingly looking at first-tier subcontractors and their deals with prime providers of major weapons and systems, and all of them are being judged on what they do to lower costs for the Defense Department, according to Shay Assad, director of defense pricing and acquisition policy. “We're looking at them as closely as we're looking at the prime in any major business deal,” he says of so-called Tier 1 subs, which regularly involve companies that could be primes on other contracts.
John C. McNellis has become president of New York-based L-3 Communications' Aerospace Systems, which is part of a realignment of the company's divisions. John S. Mega has been named president of Communication Systems. Continuing as presidents of their divisions are: Steve Kantor, Electronic Systems; and Les A. Rose, National Security Solutions.
Preliminary airline accident statistics from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for 2013 are cause for optimism, as accident numbers and fatalities declined and the air transport industry is addressing key trouble areas with a host of safety initiatives.
Capt. Sean P. McDonald Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l. (Washington, D.C. )
It is disappointing that the media, including Aviation Week, elected to engage in a public debate on the aviating capabilities of the crew onboard the fatal UPS Flight 1354 that crashed short of Birmingham, Ala., on Aug. 13, 2103.
Don J. Chavez (see photo) has been named vice president/associate general counsel/sector counsel for the Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Technical Services. He has been counsel in the Electronics Systems sector's Navigation and Maritime Systems.
Many of the advances in aerospace can be traced to those who serve or once served in their country's military. The fact is that national defense has been a key impetus to technological achievement throughout the industry's history, and its practitioners have helped provide welcome security from external threats as well as inspiration for the people under their protection.
The date of the departure of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur was incorrectly stated in the March 17 edition (page 38). The aircraft veered from course and disappeared from most tracking screens on March 8.
