A Short Brothers Skyvan SC7 operated by an air carrier crashed just after takeoff Nov. 8, killing a flight attendant and one passenger and injuring the pilots and three other passengers. The aircraft, 8R-GMC, was taking off from Georgetown, Guyana, under visual meteorological conditions. The flight was a charter that was carrying workers to a mining operation. Within a minute after takeoff, at an altitude of 200 to 300 feet, the pilot declared an emergency and said he was going to attempt to land in a cane field.
Technicians need clearly defined goals that allow them to move up the chain of command. What follows is one ``blue chip'' flight department's guidelines of duties and expectations for technician advancement. Technician Responsibilities (1) Perform aircraft inspections on schedule. (2) Monitor aircraft, equipment and computer maintenance programs. (3) Perform all necessary troubleshooting, repairs and servicing of aircraft and equipment. (4) Prepare aircraft to meet flight schedule. (5) Dispatch, recover and tow aircraft.
During an ICAO safety audit, the United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) found that some U.S. corporate jet copilots are flying into the United Kingdom without the relevant aircraft type ratings. The ICAO and JAA rules require both pilots of ``commercial'' aircraft with MTOW of more than 12,500 pounds to hold a type rating. According to the U.K.'s Department for Transport, ``At least two U.S.-registered corporate jets were found to be operating with non-type-rated copilots'' during spot checks at London Luton Airport in October.
The Embraer 170 commercial airliner received provisional type certification from the Brazilian airworthiness authority, Centro Tecnico Aeroespacial (CTA), on Nov. 13.
Born to wealth and influence -- the family fortune from papermaking dated back to the colonial era -- Paul Butler became an accomplished horseman and photographer as a youngster. Both skills stood him in good stead when the Guns of August sounded the opening of World War I, and young Butler embarked for Europe with the American expeditionary forces, first serving as a cavalry officer and later transferring to a photographic reconnaissance unit. The latter group used airplanes as its platforms, which the junior officer from Chicago was soon piloting.
AS I WRITE, MY BRIDE IS in the basement happily and fully engaged in slathering the walls with a double dose of Benjamin Moore Flamingo Flower something or other latex paint -- and no aid is expected or requested. This indefatigable woman has amazing qualities: She ably mothers two teens and an 11-year-old, writes books, can make a wedding cake for 100, feeds an unappreciative brood nightly, and picks up after me, occasionally without complaint. That said, some of her proclivities do give pause.
DOT Secretary Norman Mineta named six new members to the FAA's Management Advisory Council (MAC). The MAC advises FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and other senior agency officials on matters of management, policy, spending and regulations. Members are volunteers who retain their private sector positions. The new members are: Angela Gittens, director of the Miami, Fla., International Airport; Alan R. Mulally, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes; David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue Airways; Robert L. Crandall, retired CEO of American Airlines; Paul E.
Jet Partners' UltraJet division ordered 100 Avocet ProJets. UltraJet is the private jet club membership arm of Jet Partners. The ProJet is a new 6- to 8-place, twin turbojet developed specifically for the air taxi and charter business, officials say. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in January 2007.
Aviation Research Group/U.S. has launched its Safety Officer Support Program (ASOS), which provides an Internet-enabled solution for operators that need to set up and run a fully functional flight safety program. ASOS offers business aircraft operators safety materials and articles for distribution to crews, maintenance personnel and management. Members receive progressive, monthly audit checklists, procedures, research briefs, event tracking and industry benchmarking of enforcement actions, accidents and incidents.
AvantAir (formerly Skyline Aviation) has exercised its last two Avanti options, bringing the fractional operator's Piaggio P-180 Avanti fleet to 12. This order extends Piaggio's order backlog for the Avanti into 2006. Piaggio America announced at the NBAA convention that the AvantAir order is the second major transaction between the companies in the past 13 months.
Stevens Aviation Dayton has two new STCs, covering the installation of a Honeywell MK VI Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) and a Honeywell CAS-67 Traffic Collision Avoidance System II in King Air 200s and B200s. The EGPWS uses GPS and a terrain database to give pilots a clear picture of terrain or obstacles ahead of and below the aircraft that may pose a collision threat. The TCAS-II displays air traffic information and conflict advisories.
Taking a cue from Marquis Jet Card, CitationShares has introduced ``Vector,'' its own jet card program. Vector is aimed at the ``concept customer'' who has no aviation background and no interest in the complexities of aircraft ownership and operations. The Vector card provides 25 hours of prepaid flight time operated under FAR Part 135. The card will carry the same benefits and access to the CitationShares fleet as fractional shares without the ownership details.
BAe Systems Regional Aircraft has delivered a Jetstream 32, s.n. 835, to Rompetrol Logistics SA of Bucharest, Romania, for its newly created flight division. The aircraft has been reconfigured from a 19-seat airliner interior into a 12-seat corporate layout and will be used as an executive shuttle for Rompetrol Logistics and for local charter services.
The FAA approved Horizon Air Bombardier Q400s equipped with Rockwell Collins' Flight Dynamics HGS-4200 head up guidance systems to make single-engine approaches to CAT III airports with ceilings as low as 200 feet and 1,800 feet RVR. Steve Bush, Q400 technical pilot at Horizon Air, commented, ``This is a great advantage in selecting more desirable alternate airports, simplifying fuel planning and increasing payload capability when many of our destinations have low visibility.
Operators of Williams International/Rolls-Royce FJ44 turbofans can now use Jet-Care International's engine performance monitoring program, which officials say can improve long-term efficiency and maintenance management of the engines. The FJ44, whose thrust ratings range from 1,900 pounds to 2,400 pounds, provides power for a variety of business aircraft, including Cessna's Citation CJ1 and CJ2, the Raytheon Premier I and the Sino Swearingen SJ30-2. There are now approximately 1,200 Williams-Rolls engines flying in the corporate fleet.
-- Keep safety a priority, even when schedules are tight. -- When available, fly an instrument approach rather than a visual, especially for a night arrival. Doing so improves instrument proficiency (especially for non-precision approaches) and heightens safety. -- When making a VFR approach, abide by the IFR circling minimums and procedures. -- When possible, choose a straight-in instrument approach rather than a circling maneuver.
Nice Truck! There's no mistaking Avitat Westchester's mobile commissary with its eye-catching graphics when it rolls up to restock aircraft galleys on Avitat's HPN ramp with everything from ``diet root beer to miniature Tabasco bottles.'' Special Services Director Todd Dolphin says Avitat aims to provide complete one-stop shopping for hungry crews and passengers, asserting, ``We've got everything,'' in the truck's 200-plus item inventory, ranging from catering to newspapers to toiletries.
The DOT has released its five-year strategic plan. Among its safety goals is reducing fatal commercial accidents to 0.01 per 100,000 departures by 2008. The plan emphasizes operational errors and runway incursions, noting that the DOT Office of Inspector General believes the FAA should improve its efforts in these areas. Another goal is to develop a three-year plan for operational error prevention, and a National Runway Safety Plan.
ElectronicFlight Solutions, Inc. has released its latest Windows-based training module for general aviation autopilot systems. The CD-ROM software now covers the operation of the Bendix/King KAP140, KFC225 and the S-TEC 55/55X. The theory, function, operation and procedures also encompass the Bendix/King KFC150/200/250 autopilots as well as the entire line of S-TEC general aviation autopilots. As an integral part of the software program, the package comes with access to KEFS -- ElectronicFlight Solutions CompleteLearning Airpark.
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. (ASA) has introduced a line of International Pilot Logbooks, which comply with both FAA and ICAO/JAA record-keeping requirements. Two sizes of the international logbooks are available. The Master Log is designed for professional aviators or those who fly frequently. There are columns on each page for date, aircraft, departure and arrival airports, aircraft category, operational conditions and pilot function. The standard pilot log is a more compact version of the Master Log, with most of the same tools.
When Linden Blue, then president of Beech Aircraft, announced the coming of the Starship at the 1983 NBAA Convention in Dallas, the radical canard-configured airplane took the aviation industry by storm. And why not? Designed by Burt Rutan, of ``Voyager'' fame, the Starship looked like a harbinger of the next millennium, and Blue promised it would establish a new paradigm for business aircraft: a turboprop that would run with the big dogs, exhibiting ``jet-like performance'' while burning 40-percent less fuel.
Blue Sky Network of La Jolla, Calif., has STC approval for its Iridium satellite-based fixed installation C1000 voice and data terminal for aircraft. At the same time, the company announced its D1000 terminal for GPS-based position reporting and tracking through its SkyRouter packet data network. Users can log onto SykRouter.com and instantly track their D1000-equipped aircraft, and exchange e-mail and text messages. The D1000 is designed for fixed installation or full portability.
