RAYTHEON Beech Model 58 airplanes (Docket No. 2000-CE-42-AD) - proposes to require inspection of the rudder bellcrank interconnect tube for damage; replacement or refinish of the interconnect tube, if necessary; and modification of the floorboard. Four reports of damage to the interconnect tube prompted the proposed action. The actions specified by the proposed AD are intended to correct the wrong use of screws and consequent wear in the pilot/copilot pedal interconnect tube, which could result in loss of rudder control.
FAA completed work this month on a bill to establish uniform safety standards for air tour operators and sent it to the Office of Management and Budget for review. OMB received the national air tour safety standards notice of proposed rulemaking Sept. 8.
AEROSPATIALE Model ATR 42 and ATR 72 series airplanes (Docket No. 99-NM-183-AD; Amdt. 39-11890; AD 2000-18-05) - requires modification of the alerting capability of the anti-icing advisory system to improve crew awareness of icing conditions, replacement of the median wing de-icing boots with extended de-icing boots, and installation of de-icing boots on the metallic wing leading edge. This amendment is prompted by issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information by a foreign civil airworthiness authority.
ANOTHER INDICATION that nothing happens quickly in official Washington: nearly four years after Congress passed the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 1996 - which called for creation of a Management Advisory Council to advise the FAA Administrator - the first members of the MAC are scheduled to be sworn in this week at FAA headquarters.
KAMAN Model K-1200 helicopters (Docket No. 2000-SW-32-AD; Amdt. 39-11895; AD 2000-18-10-AD) - requires replacing certain unairworthy sprag clutches with airworthy sprag clutches. This amendment is prompted by two incidents of sprag clutch failure during external load operations. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent a malfunctioning transmission clutch, loss of drive to the main rotor system, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. FAA estimates that four helicopters will be affected by this AD at a cost of $68,960.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION plans to allow pilots to make air traffic control slot reservations - when required - via the Internet beginning Sept. 18, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association announced. AOPA, which has been pushing FAA to provide more services through the Internet, said FAA agreed to accept Web reservations under the Special Traffic Management Program, which takes effect during events that attract high volumes of aircraft traffic.
ROBERTO QUARTA, chief executive of British holding company BBA Group, will become a partner early next year in Clayton, Dubilier&Rice, the investment banking firm that controls Fairchild Dornier. BBA, which owns the Signature Flight Support chain of fixed-base operations and maintenance facilities, said Quarta will step down as chief executive in March and will serve as deputy chairman until then. In March, BBA said Quarta will assume the role of non-executive chairman of BBA following the company's next annual general meeting.
Model S-76 series helicopters (Docket No. 2000-SW-26-AD; Amdt. 39-11861; AD 2000-11-52) - publishes an amendment adopting an AD previously sent to all known U.S. owners and operators of S-76 series helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires determining the serial number (S/N) of each main rotor blade and removing certain serial-numbered main rotor blades. This AD also requires visually inspecting and replacing, if necessary, other certain serial-numbered main rotor blades.
AT LEAST two other accidents have involved decompression in turboprops, according to Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. On Sept. 25, 1979 the crew of a British-registered King Air 200 said they were going to practice decompression at FL310. No further contact was made and the plane flew for several hours until it ran out of fuel and crashed in France. The cause was determined to be that the crew had donned oxygen masks, but the masks were not properly connected to oxygen. On Jan.
Model 328-100 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-112-AD) - proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires revising the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) to provide the flight crew with additional information regarding procedures to ensure complete pressurization of the hydraulic lines for the flaps. This action would require revising the existing AFM revision to include a flap system test to be performed prior to the first flight of the day.
OGDEN AVIATION FUELING CO. of Virginia pleaded guilty to dumping spent jet fuel into a waterway at Dulles International Airport, the Justice Department said last week. Ogden, which operated the fuel storage and distribution system at Dulles from 1988 to 1998, agreed to pay a $200,000 penalty and sentencing is set for Nov. 28. The charge resulted from an incident in October 1996. The government said that as part of Ogden's fueling business at Dulles it collected storm water contaminated with jet fuel and stored it in a large tank on-site.
Aviation Partners Boeing, the joint effort between Aviation Partners Inc. and The Boeing Company, last week won supplemental type certificate approval for its blended winglets on the Boeing Business Jet. Approval follows a flight-testing program that began more than two years ago with a proof-of-concept prototype mounted on a production 737-800, the sister aircraft of the BBJ. "This is the first time our blended winglet technology has ever been certified on a large jetliner," said Joe Clark, chief executive of Seattle-based Aviation Partners Inc.
GALAXY AEROSPACE appointed Castagnet&Associates as its exclusive representative in Argentina. Castagnet will market both the Astra SPX midsize and Galaxy super-midsize business jets. The firm was founded in 1996 by Carlos Castagnet, who formerly spent 20 years with Tursol, a commercial representative for a number of aerospace companies. In addition to Galaxy, Castagnet represents SOCATA-Aerospatiale Group and Cirrus.
JEFF BORDELON was named program manager for Dallas Airmotive's regional turbine center network. Bordelon, a former manager of the Dallas Airmotive North Carolina regional turbine center, has a 20-year aviation background.
PACIFIC AEROSPACE&ELECTRONICS won a contract from Honeywell to provide navigational electronic packaging modules with initial orders for 8,800 devices. Pacific Aerospace&Electronics, Wenatchee, Wash., will make precision electronic ring laser gyro modules for systems using the GPS satellite constellation.
Model BO-105A, BO-105C, BO-105 C-2, BO-105 CB-2, BO-105 CB-4, BO-105S, BO-105 CS-2, BO-105 CBS-2, BO-105 CBS-4, and BO-105LS A-1 helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-66-AD; Amendment 39-11882; AD 2000-17-08) - supersedes an existing AD that requires creating a component log card or equivalent record and determining the calendar age and number of flights on each tension-torsion (TT) strap. That AD also requires inspecting and removing, as necessary, certain unairworthy TT straps. This amendment establishes a life limit for certain main rotor TT straps.
The House Armed Services Committee has agreed to change a controversial proposal in a military authorization bill, H.R.4205, calling for demilitarization of surplus military equipment, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said last week. AOPA and the Experimental Aircraft Association opposed the provision as written because their members feared that the language effectively would ground former military aircraft (warbirds) that are crowd pleasers at air shows (BA, Aug. 28/98).
(Jetstream) Model 4101 airplanes (Docket No. 99-NM-348-AD) - proposes to require inspection of certain components, and corrective action, if necessary. This action is necessary to prevent loosening of the locknut holding the main landing gear (MLG) piston to the ramrod, which could result in detachment of the MLG piston from the ramrod and loss of hydraulic control of the MLG. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition. FAA estimates that 59 airplanes on the U.S.
National Air Transportation Association expressed dismay that the Federal Aviation Administration dismissed its request to give U.S. commenters priority in assessing new rules. NATA made that suggestion in comments on FAA's "plain language" proposal, an agency effort to write its regulations more simply and clearly. First proposed late last year (BA, Dec.
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION, which has expended considerable effort over the years in helping members justify the operation of individual corporate flight departments, has hired Arthur Andersen Consulting "to develop a universally applicable methodology template that companies may use to measure the value-added contribution their flight departments make to their companies." The association wants to develop a methodology that will "quantify in dollars, to a degree not previously seen, all the benefits of business aircraft use." NBAA believes the final product w
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency airworthiness directive Thursday calling for inspections of the full authority digital electronic control (FADEC) units on Rolls-Royce Allison AE 3007A and AE 3007C turbofan engines that power Embraer regional jets and Citation X business jets because of concern defective components could result in a dual engine shutdown.
Model EMB-120 series airplanes (Docket No. 2000-NM-131-AD) - proposes to require installation of an additional drain at the fuselage aft section. This action is necessary to prevent mechanical blockage of the elevator control cables due to the freezing of water collected inside the fuselage between the rear pressure bulkhead and the fire wall of the auxiliary power unit. Such cable blockage could reduce controllability of the airplane. This action is intended to address the identified unsafe condition. FAA estimates that 200 airplanes on the U.S.
JOHN HODSKINS was promoted to divisional vice president for the Eastern U.S. for Galaxy Aerospace. Hodskins, who previously was regional sales manager for the Upper Midwest, will be responsible for Galaxy Aerospace's five sales regions east of the Mississippi. Before joining Galaxy Aerospace, he was vice president of marketing and sales for KAL-AERO.
SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT expects to complete a $12.4 million construction project at its Baltimore/Washington International facility shortly and move into the new terminal and hangar space beginning this month. The project includes a new 10,000-square-foot terminal, two new 20,000-square-foot hangars and a fuel farm for the mid-field cargo complex. Signature also expanded the ramp by 300,000 square feet, turned the current terminal building into offices, moved the existing T-hangars and improved the parking lot and roads.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport launched its $2.5 billion capital improvement program with a groundbreaking ceremony marking the beginning of construction on International Terminal D. Other elements of the plan include an automated people mover system, a new, eighth runway, and extension of two other runways. The eighth runway should enable four simultaneous ILS landings.
