Indian business aircraft operators are facing a headwind after the country’s aviation regulator banned them from international flights until they demonstrate compliance with new safety standards.
An offshore safety committee that called for the grounding of all variants of the Super Puma helicopter following the loss of a CHC-operated aircraft in the Shetland Islands has lifted the suspension. The Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) came to the decision following a two-day meeting of helicopter operators, trade unions and regulators in Aberdeen, Scotland, on Aug. 29.
Garmin is jumping into the competitive market for retrofitting Beechjets with a new flight deck modernization program. Garmin is developing a supplemental type certificate to install the G5000 avionics suite in Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP aircraft. The company hopes to have the STC complete by 2015 and offer the upgrade through its dealer network.
DAVID BJELLOS was appointed special liaison to the president and CEO for Flight Safety Foundation. Bjellos is aviation manager for the flight department at Florida Crystals Corporation. He takes the newly created position to serve as a direct liaison to the safety team at the Helicopter Association International.
BELL Model 407 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0574; Directorate Identifier 2008-SW-22-AD] – proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires preflight checking and repetitively inspecting for a crack in certain tailbooms that have been redesigned, replacing the tailboom if there is a crack, modifying and reidentifying certain tailbooms, installing an improved horizontal stabilizer assembly, and assigning a 5,000-hr. time-in-service (TIS) limit. Since FAA issued that AD, the agency received several additional reports of cracked tailboom skins.
NASA, in an effort to demonstrate that unmanned aircraft can be integrated into civil airspace, is planning a competition next year that will challenge contestants to complete a series of missions while ensuring their UAVs remain well clear of other aircraft and obey the same rules as other air traffic. The agency has released for comment draft rules for the UAS Airspace Operations Challenge (AOC), which comprises two competitions.
BELL Model 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3, and 206L- 4 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0603; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-079-AD] – proposes, for helicopters with a certain tailboom upper left attachment fitting, inspecting the fitting for a crack and other conditions. This proposed AD is prompted by the manufacturer revising and extending the 100-hr. time-in-service (TIS) inspection requirements for the fitting.
LEARJET Model 45 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0213; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-207-AD; Amendment 39-17512; AD 2013-14-07] – requires modifying the fire seal on the baggage door, including doing inspections of the fire seal for correct contact and corrective action if necessary. This AD was prompted by a report that the fire barrier seal on the external baggage door does not seal the surrounding door structure due to incorrect positioning of the barrier.
Cessna is still assessing whether a problem that surfaced during a test flight of its diesel Turbo Skylane JT-A will push back the timeline of the aircraft’s certification. The aircraft, N9008H, was forced to make an emergency landing on Aug. 21 in a field in Kingman County, west of Cheney Lake, Kan., apparently after losing power. The pilot successfully landed the aircraft, which did not sustain any notable damage.
The FAA’s updated policy on cabin workplace safety—opposed by most commercial operators—is even broader than many lined up against it feared, information released by the agency shows. The policy, which replaces a 1975 notice and is effective Sept. 26, requires operators to apply Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards in three areas—hazardous chemical communications, exposure to blood-borne pathogens, and a hearing conservation program—to aircraft cabins.
AGUSTA Model AB139 and AW139 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0604; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-110-AD] – proposes to require inspecting the nose landing gear (NLG) pin installations for incorrect assembly. This proposed AD is prompted by reports of incorrectly installed pins discovered on in-service aircraft. The proposed actions are intended to detect incorrectly installed pins, which could result in collapse of the NLG during taxi or landing. FAA estimates that the proposed AD would affect 102 helicopters on the U.S.
Jet Aviation Specialists invested in a vacuum furnace that allows it to keep more repair work in-house, which is dropping turnaround times on parts by four-five days. The Miami-based engine MRO is using the vacuum furnace to complete a heat treatment process for GE LM2500 and LM600s, as well as honeycomb repairs for CFM56 and GE CF6 engines. This is the first time the MRO has been able to repair honeycomb in-house.
BEECHCRAFT Models 1900, 1900C and 1900D airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0611; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-019-AD] – supersedes an AD that requires inspecting the elevator bob-weight and attaching linkage for correct installation and for damage or deformation to the weight and/or weight bracket with corrective action as necessary. Since FAA issued AD 2011-27-51, a secondary elevator bob-weight stop bolt has been designed. This proposed AD would require installation of the secondary elevator bob-weight stop bolt.
Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry Co., (HEAI), Embraer’s joint venture with Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), successfully flew the first Legacy 650 business jet assembled in China. Embraer test pilots flew the aircraft for 2 hr. and 30 min., evaluating handling and performance characteristics along with the flight control, communication and navigation systems.
A revised Federal Communications Commission plan to phase out 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters is failing to sway the Department of Transportation and the FAA that the ban should be implemented.
The National Parks Overflights Advisory Group Aviation Rulemaking Committee (NPOAG) will continue its review of new air tour reporting requirements and the status of voluntary agreement efforts during the next scheduled meeting on Sept. 19. NPOAG first formed under the directive of the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 to provide a balanced forum of issues affecting air tours over national parks, including quiet aircraft technology, measures that could accommodate interests of national parks visitors, environmental concerns and safety concerns.
West Star Aviation was appointed as authorized installation dealer for the Jetcraft Corp.’s enhanced flight vision system (EFVS), HUD Vision Access system for the Challenger 604 business jets. The approval follows FAA’s grant of “lower landing credit” for approved EFVS in June. The Jetcraft HUD Vision Access system improves visibility during taxi, takeoff and landing in darkness, fog, rain, snow, and smog.
LISA SASSE was named vice chair of Flight Safety Foundation’s Business Advisory Committee. Sasse, a longtime member of the committee, serves as director, corporate strategies for VisionSafe Corporation.
MARK BRADENHOFF was named global director of sales for Donaldson Aerospace & Defense. Bradenhoff has served with Donaldson for 13 years, joining the company in 2000 as an engineer in the Gas Turbines Systems unit. In 2008 he became director of engineering for the Gas Turbine Systems unit and later sales director. In his new role, he will help unify sales efforts of recently acquired business units, including the former companies Aerospace Filtration Systems of St. Louis, Le Bozec Filtration & Systems of Paris and Western Filter Corp. of Valencia, Calif.
Duncan Aviation has secured a supplemental type certificate to install Wi-Fi on Cessna Citation CJ2+ aircraft. The STC covers 525A series – both the CJ2 and CJ2+ – along with the CJ3 aircraft. Duncan has installed Wi-Fi upgrades, including Aircell Gogo Biz and SwiftBroadband systems, on nearly 400 aircraft. Duncan Aviation has invested heavily in the market, obtaining 13 STCs for broadband with Wi-Fi. The STCs cover a range of Hawker, Falcon, Citation, Challenger, Learjet, Embraer and Gulfstream aircraft.
DASSAULT Model Fan Jet Falcon, Mystere-Falcon 200 and Model 20-C5, 20-D5, 20-E5, and 20-F5 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2013-0626; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-180-AD] – proposes to require checking manufacturing references of pyrotechnical cartridges for batch number and date, repetitive checking of cartridges for electrical continuity, and replacing defective pyrotechnical cartridges if necessary. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of defective fire extinguisher bottle cartridges.
A Chapter 7 trustee, beginning to search through the records of Avantair for potential wrongdoing, has moved to halt an employee lawsuit against the company’s executives for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The trustee, Beth Ann Sharrer, sought an injunction against the litigation, saying the employees’ action could potentially interfere with the bankruptcy action. Sharrer further filed a notification that FAA has issued emergency orders of suspension of most of the Avantair fleet.
Signature Flight Support, which recently signed a deal to become a dominant presence at Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, N.Y., has struck an accord with Maguire Aviation Group that will make it the single largest entity at another major business aviation airport – Van Nuys Airport (VNY) in California.
Dallas-based fractional ownership provider Flexjet is seeing the first signs of sustained growth since the downturn, with new customers buying shares and flight hours increasing, the company says. As a result, the fractional ownership provider is beginning to expand its workforce for the first time since the downturn began.
