If you ask maintainers what’s their most unpleasant, even disgusting, job the response is invariably working on lavatory systems. They’d prefer cleaning out the nastiest, fungus-lined fuel tank to wearing the “blue stain of courage.”
Tom Hendricks, National Air Transportation Association, President & CEO discusses his objective “to focus on areas of agreement” within the aviation community.
Handling waste material is unpleasant, but mishandling it can be even worse. You can receive heavy fines from federal, state and local government units for improper discharge and mishaps i nvolving exposure to your technicians. To learn more about waste handling safety in the U.S., go to: www.epa.gov and www.osha.gov
NextGen, the FAA’s much ballyhooed satellite-based air traffic control system, is not generating much love. Or action, at least on the part of aircraft owners and operators. While most aircraft being delivered are either equipped or provisioned for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out, a key element in NextGen, the existing U.S. fleet of general aviation and turbine-powered business aircraft, along with airliners — that’s 200,000+ aircraft, by the FAA’s estimate — are not.
At the time, I’d do anything to get 1,000 hr. of turbine PIC to qualify for the airlines,” said a young first officer who now flies jetliners for a commuter air carrier. “Everyone who flies for them is hungry for turbine flight time.” So, when offered a job as a twin-turboprop captain flying freight on an inter-island carrier, he jumped at the opportunity. It was a big step up from his previous assignment as a copilot in an Embraer Brasilia.
A passenger leans into the cockpit and says, “Captain, there is smoke pouring from behind the lav. It’s getting hard to see and breathe.” As you turn to look, another voice shouts, “Fire!” These words may be the most chilling you will ever hear in flight and they are your clarion call to battle. Dealing with a cabin fire is the worst kind of aerial combat you will ever face, and to prevail, you need a plan. Fire is a deadly adversary.
