Six persons, including the deputy foreign minister of Greece, were killed Sept. 14 when the Falcon 900 in which they were riding encountered severe turbulence and abruptly plunged thousands of feet before the pilots could regain control. Five other passengers aboard the aircraft sustained injuries.
Docket No.: 29583 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 25.785(b) Description of Relief Sought: To allow installation of one or more side-facing divans on Falcon Model 2000 airplanes.
The Federal Aviation Administration's latest proposed restrictions on air tour operators at Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) provoked howls of protest from affected operators who claim the regulations would force air tour providers out of business while resulting in little or no measurable public benefit.
Docket No.: 29621 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 135.251, 135.255, 135.353, Appendices I&J of Part 121 Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit RAS to conduct sightseeing rides at Genesee County Airport for a pancake breakfast on July 18, 1999, for compensation or hire, without complying with the drug testing and alcohol abuse prevention requirements of Part 135. Grant, July 15, 1999, Exemption No. 6923
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL named Richard Yeatter manager of the company's new maintenance technician training center in Little Rock, Ark. The facility, which is under construction, is adjacent to Dassault Aviation's principal completion center for Falcon business jets and will be devoted entirely to training of technicians for that fleet. The center will hold its first classes in the first quarter of next year. Yeatter joins FSI from US Airways, where he was director of technical training.
The Senate last week unanimously approved the fiscal 2000 appropriations bill that provides nearly $10 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration. The Senate began consideration of the bill after Senate transportation appropriations subcommittee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) agreed to drop controversial transit language that had stalled the bill (BA, Sept. 13/119). Like the House bill, the Senate bill calls for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to completely pay for FAA operations in fiscal 2000.
ROCKWELL COLLINS said its Flight Dynamics Head-up Guidance System (HGS) made the first customer flight on a Boeing Business Jet Sept. 4. Collins recently won FAA Category IIIa supplemental type certification for the HGS on the BBJ, where it is standard equipment and installed during the aircraft's production process. "The Head-up Guidance System brings a new level of situational awareness to the cockpit of the Boeing Business Jet," said Larry Brandt, manager of corporate aviation for the avionics manufacturer.
THE SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVAL COMMITTEE was among those calling on President Clinton last week to sign the tax cut bill passed by Congress. "The vast majority of Americans will benefit under the tax bill being sent to President Clinton," said SBSC President Christopher Wysocki. "This bill accomplishes many things, not the least of which is a significant reduction in the death tax and the marriage penalty.
National Air Transportation Association received a mixed reception last week when it appealed to Congress to support flexibility for on-demand air charters when new flight and duty time regulations are drafted. NATA President James Coyne, noting that the Federal Aviation Administration is developing a new flight and duty time proposal for carriers, testified before the House aviation subcommittee Thursday, "Part 135 certificate holders must have versatility to comply with the on-demand nature of unscheduled FAR Part 135 operations.
Docket No.: 29603 Sections of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 43.3(g) Description of Relief Sought: To permit Atkins and pilots employed by him to perform certain preven-tive maintenance functions listed in Paragraph (c) of Appendix A to Part 43 on an aircraft operating under 14 CFR Part 135 without holding a me-chanic certificate.
Docket No.: 26474 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 21.197(a)(1) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Deere to operate its Cessna Model CE-650 aircraft (Registration Nos. N400JD, N600JD and N900JD, Serial Nos. 650-0035, 650-0236 and 650-0213, respectively) without obtaining a special flight permit when the flaps fail in the up position. Grant, July 26, 1999, Exemption No. 6581C
FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY set an Oct. 19 hearing date to consider petitions of four groups within FAA to conduct a vote to organize and be represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (BA, Sept. 6/105). Such hearings are usually scheduled when employers contest petitions for union organization, although FAA officially maintains that it has not formed its position yet.
MOONEY AIRCRAFT CORP. Chairman Paul Dopp said his son, Chris, will assume the title and responsibilities of chief executive officer Oct. 1. "The timing of the transition, anticipated for many months, is appropriate given the success of the turnaround at Mooney over the past 18 months," the company said in a statement, adding that Mooney is "now profitable and poised to enter the next millennium." Gen.
JOHN AMES joined Jetcraft Corporation's management and sales team in the Raleigh-Durham, N.C. area. Ames has 15 years of business aviation industry experience with Dassault Falcon Jet and Boston JetSearch. Most recently he was with TAG Aviation (formerly Aviation Methods).
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE resumed aircraft production Friday after the Savannah, Ga. plant was closed for two and one-half days because of the mandatory evacuation of Savannah due to Hurricane Floyd. There was no significant damage to the plant during the storm and some workers were scheduled to work overtime during the weekend to catch up on work delayed by the shutdown. A Gulfstream spokesman said all workers will be paid for the time missed because of the storm evacuation.
WHILE SUPPORTIVE of a full Senate vote on S.82, general aviation leaders have become increasingly wary of a recent movement to include language to "corporatize" the nation's air traffic control system. Such language could come before S.82 hits the Senate floor or in a House/Senate conference. White House officials met with GA leaders earlier this month to gain approval for such a provision, but received little support.
General Dynamics realigned senior management responsibilities, in part because Senior Vice President Michael W. Wynne, 55, decided to take early retirement. Wynne has been responsible for the company's international, planning and development activities since 1997.
DORNIER Model 328-100 series airplanes 2(Docket No. 99-NM-01-AD)- proposes to require repetitive inspections of the left and right roll spoiler actuators to check for signs of leakage and deformation of the housing, repetitive inspections of the gap between the left roll spoiler actuator housing cap and the actuator housing, repetitive torque checks of the left roll spoiler actuator housing cap attachment screws, and corrective action, if necessary.
IN-FLIGHT TURBULENCE caused the upset of a Falcon 900 last week over Europe, resulting in the deaths of six of the 11 passengers. See article on Page 131.
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER TRENT LOTT (R-Miss.) is hoping to bring up Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill, S.82, in the last week of September. The decision to try to bring the full reauthorization bill to the floor comes after Lott was unsuccessful in naming members to a House/Senate conference on a short-term extension of Airport Improvement Program authorization. The Democrats, led by Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), apparently blocked that effort.
AIRCRAFT TECHNICAL PUBLISHERS said the latest version of its Maintenance Director program makes it easier to update aircraft maintenance records at remote locations. The new Version 2.4 transfers files for an aircraft or logbook component to a floppy disk, eliminating the need for printing out the aircraft's part history for use away from base. "We received numerous requests from customers asking for the ability to electronically transport records," said Bob Jones, ATP's Maintenance Director product manager.
Ogden Corp., a major provider of aviation fuel and services that was in the midst of expanding those lines of business, announced an abrupt change of direction and the immediate departure of the company's chairman and chief executive Friday.
Docket No.: 29619 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 135.143(c)(2) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit HEI to operate certain aircraft under Part 135 without a TSO-C112 (Mode S) transponder installed in each aircraft. Grant, July 30, 1999, Exemption No. 6933
BELL Model 206L, L-1, L-3, and L-4 helicopters (Docket No. 99-SW-30-AD; Amdt. 39-11265; AD 99-17-19) - supersedes an existing AD that requires the creation of a component history card or equivalent record using the Retirement Index Number (RIN) system for certain masts and trunnions and a system for tracking increases to the accumulated RIN. That AD also establishes retirement lives for the mast and trunnion. This amendment requires the same actions required by the existing AD but increases the RIN multiplier for the mast and corrects a helicopter model number.
