Summary: Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
THE REGIONAL AIRLINE ASSOCIATION said traffic soared for regional carriers during the first quarter. Revenue passenger miles jumped more than 19 percent to 4.4 billion, enplanements rose 10.1 percent, from 15.6 million in the first quarter of 1998 to 17.1 million this year, and available seat miles jumped by more than one billion - from just over 7 billion a year ago to 8.07 billion in the period just ended. The figures include the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Docket No.: 29534 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 91.323(b)(4) Description of Relief Sought: To permit FWA to operate its Grumman Goose G-21A amphibian aircraft at a weight that is in excess of that airplane's maximum certificated weight.
The thousands of air traffic controllers hired in 1981-1992, the recovery period from the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike of 1981, will retire during just as short a period, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). President Ronald Reagan fired 11,350 controllers in 1981 after they staged an illegal strike. High rates of retirement will begin in 2003, according to a comprehensive survey of its members, NATCA said.
Cirrus Design Corp. is making a number of design modifications in its SR20 single-engine aircraft because investigation of the crash of the first production model indicates an aileron may have jammed due to interference with the wing. The National Transportation Safety Board found evidence that the right aileron of a Cirrus SR20 aircraft may have jammed against the wing structure before the plane crashed March 23, fatally injuring the company test pilot on board.
ROBERT T. LOHNE, acting manager of Jefferson County Airport in Broomfield, Colo., resigned June 25 to accept a position with the Division of Aeronautics in the Colorado Department of Transportation. Lohne had been assistant airport manager at Jeffco for 16 years and was named acting airport manager in 1998 following the resignation of Dave Gordon. Lohne previously managed Steamboat and Hayden Airports in Routt County, Colo.
British Aerospace will take a pretax charge of $395 million as part of a restructuring of its manufacturing operations that will result in the "voluntary" loss of 1,400 jobs, the company said last week. The exceptional charge is $300.5 million after tax, $229.4 million of which will be taken this year and $71.2 million in 2000, BAe said. The cash cost of the actions will total $237.3 million after tax, of which about $158.2 million will be incurred this year.
CHRIS HERZBERG was named vice president of crew services for Flight Options, the Cleveland-based fractional aircraft ownership program. A 26-year aviation industry veteran, Herzberg joined Flight Options' parent company, Corporate Wings, in 1991 as general manager. He subsequently was promoted to vice president of facility operations at the Cuyahoga County Airport. In his new post, Herzberg will be responsible for crew management, recruiting, hiring, training and scheduling.
REP. BUD SHUSTER (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced the appointment of Darrell Wilson as his new congressional chief of staff. Wilson had been Shuster's special assistant for transportation issues. Wilson will replace Tim Hugo, who has been chief of staff for Shuster for the past three years. Hugo recently was named executive director of CAPNET, a high-technology trade association in Washington, D.C. Wilson has worked for the Transportation Committee or been on Shuster's staff since 1990.
ERA AVIATION CENTER in Anchorage, Alaska, joined Avfuel Corporation's dealer network. Era is a 24-hour, full-service, fixed-base operation and certified repair station. Era opened the FBO in 1979.
A special meeting of General Dynamics shareholders will be held July 30 to vote on a proposal to increase the number of shares of common stock outstanding to 300 million from the currently authorized 200 million and to issue shares to accomplish the merger of Gulfstream Aerospce. GD announced plans last month to pay up to $5.3 billion in stock for the Savannah, Ga.-based business jet manufacturer (BA, May 24/235). The GD stockholders will meet at 9 a.m. at the Fairview Park Marriott Hotel in Falls Church, Va.
PPG Industries expects to conclude the purchase of PRC-DeSoto International, Inc., a Glendale, Calif.-based manufacturer of sealants and coatings, by the end of July. PPG said it will pay $512.5 million for the Glendale firm, formerly known at Courtaulds Aerospace, Inc., which is owned by Akzo Nobel N.V.
A NASA TEAM led by Rockwell Collins is developing a synthetic vision information system to give civil flightcrews clear views in bad weather and darkness. The system will offer enhanced situational awareness, real-time guidance and predictive alerting before terrain awareness warnings become necessary.
DASSAULT Model Mystere-Falcon 50 and 900 series airplanes, Falcon 900EX series airplanes, and Falcon 2000 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-NM-266-AD) - proposes to require revising the airplane flight manual to provide the flight crew with certain instructions associated with the onset of stall warning. This proposal also would require repetitive inspections to detect discrepancies of the hinge pin assemblies of the rear horizontal stabilizer, and corrective actions, if necessary.
DENNIS DUKE was named general manager-engine services, Indianapolis, for Rolls-Royce North America. Duke will lead the repair and overhaul team in a program, based on the company's Better Performance Faster agenda, to upgrade the facility's capabilities and expand its range of products and services. Duke most recently spent two years with the Rolls-Royce aftermarket strategy team, developing aftermarket strategies including acquisitions, establishment of joint ventures and other market activities.
TIM ROELS joined Galaxy Aerospace as vice president of product support and customer service. He will be responsible for all areas of product support, including Galaxy's field service network and service center organization. He most recently was director of F-16 customer requirements for Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Ft. Worth, Texas. An Air Force veteran, Roels joined General Dynamics in 1975 and later moved to Lockheed Martin when it acquired the F-16 program from General Dynamics.
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD is scheduled to discuss findings this week from its investigation of the fatal crash of a Scenic Airlines Cessna 208B Caravan near Montrose, Colo. on Oct. 8, 1997. The crash claimed the lives of the pilot and eight passengers, all of whom were Department of Interior employees being transported from Montrose to Page, Ariz. (BA, Oct. 13, 1997/162).
Docket No.: 26936 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 91.9(a) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit WAF to operate certain aircraft without complying with the zero fuel and landing weight requirements of the operating limitations prescribed for the aircraft in the FAA-approved flight manual. Grant, May 7, 1999, Exemption No. 6892
The House last week adopted 429-3 the Department of Transportation fiscal 2000 appropriations bill, but only after a procedural maneuver stripped out $5.9 billion slated to pay for the Federal Aviation Administration's operations next year. FAA's fiscal 2000 operations budget is expected to be restored once the Senate finishes action on its own transportation appropriations bill and both versions head to a House/Senate conference.
THE PILOT of a Cessna 402 and 50 people on two school buses narrowly avoided a catastrophe last week - and the aviation community avoided a public relations disaster - when the aircraft slammed into two buses filled with children while the pilot was attempting to make an emergency landing. See article below.
Docket No.: 29517 Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 121.343(e) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To allow UPS to operate its Boeing B767-300F aircraft with an approved flight data recorder without the digital data bus complying with the flight recorder altitude parameters of Appendix B to Part 121 until the affected aircraft are in compliance with the digital flight data recorder requirements of Sec. 121.344. Grant, May 12, 1999, Exemption No. 6894
SINO SWEARINGEN appointed Soytay Aviation as its distributor and authorized service center for the SJ30-2 entry-level jet in Turkey. Soytay agreed to purchase two SJ30-2 aircraft with delivery of the first scheduled for late 2002 with the second in late 2003. The order increases the SJ30-2 backlog to 142. Soytay, of Izmir, will service the aircraft at Soylu Aviation in Ankara and Santay Air in Izmir.
Docket No.: 29551 Petitioner: Wings of Denver Flying Club, Inc. Section of the FAR Affected: 14 CFR 121 Appendices I&J, 135.251, 135.255&135.353 Description of Relief Sought: To permit Wings of Denver Flying Club to operate flights for its annual open house/fly-in for compensation or hire without having a drug testing program as required under Parts 121 and 135. Grant, May 7, 1999, Exemption No. 6891
DASSAULT won French Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC) approval for its Falcon 900C, the successor to the Falcon 900B. The aircraft, which has a 4,000-nautical-mile range and the avionics of the 900EX, is expected to win U.S. FAA certification this summer with deliveries in late 1999.
Air traffic delays "worsened in the first months of this year, expectations for the future are dismal, and even greater difficulties can be anticipated in the medium term," European Union Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock told EU transport ministers meeting this month in Luxembourg. In a resolution adopted at this month's meeting, the ministers "agreed to return to the issue of air traffic delays in Europe." But it will be too late to avoid this summer's expected chaos.
