|
|
|
Previous Articles...
Wine Country Airport Gets Airline Service
-Article posted Aprill 26th, 2006
Santa Rosa, Calif. - Horizon Air will provide nonstop service from Seattle and Los Angeles International Airport to Sonoma County starting March 20, 2007, the airline said Wednesday at a press conference held at Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport.
Service from Los Angeles will be twice daily Sunday through Friday and once on Saturdays, and service from Seattle will be once daily.
Flight times and fares for the new service are expected to be finalized and available for sale in the next 45 days. Fares are planned to be competitive with the cost of flying into a Bay Area airport and making the 75-mile drive to Sonoma County, which can often take two hours in normal traffic.
"Horizon's new service will strengthen business ties between Southern California, the Pacific Northwest and Sonoma County, while expanding tourism opportunities among the three regions," said Patrick Zachwieja, Horizon's vice president of marketing and planning.
Sonoma County and nearby Napa Valley and Mendocino County are world-renowned wine-growing regions that draw millions of tourists each year. Horizon and its sister company Alaska Airlines already offer wine country vacation packages to Sonoma County via flights into the Bay Area. Interest in wine country tourism from Los Angeles and Seattle is expected to soar with the new, more-direct flights.
Sonoma County Airport has been without scheduled air service since another carrier discontinued service to San Francisco in 2001. Statistics show that among the airports that travelers fly to and from the five-county Sonoma County Airport region, Los Angeles International Airport ranks No. 2 and Seattle-Tacoma International No. 5. When all Los Angeles-area airports are included, Southern California ranks as the No. 1 destination for travelers from the Sonoma County Airport region.
Founded in 1981 and celebrating its 25th anniversary on Sept. 1, 2006, Horizon today serves 46 cities throughout California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and British Columbia and Alberta. In 2005, Horizon flew 6.5 million passengers, a portion of these on flights operated as Frontier JetExpress under contract to Denver-based Frontier Airlines. Together, Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines serve more than 80 cities and are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALK).
For more information on Horizon Air, go to www.horizonair.com.
Legendary Test Pilot Killed In Crash
-Article posted Aprill 21st, 2006
Scott Crossfield, a legendary test pilot who became the first man to fly at twice the speed of sound in 1953 and later flew and helped design the X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft, was found dead Thursday in the wreckage of his single-engine plane in mountains near Ranger, Ga. He was 84.
Crossfield's plane, a Cessna 210A, was found about 50 miles northwest of Atlanta a day after it dropped off radar screens during a flight from Alabama to Virginia, authorities said Thursday. There were thunderstorms in the area when radar contact was lost; the cause of the crash was under investigation.
Crossfield, who lived in Herndon, Va., was thought to be the only person aboard the plane.
"He was one of the greatest test pilots in the heroic days of test flying in the '50s and '60s at places like Edwards Air Force Base," said Peter Jakab, chairman of the aeronautics division at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
"But Crossfield wasn't just a great pilot," Jakab told The Times on Thursday. "He really was an enormous contributor to aerospace in many ways during the second half of the 20th century, as a technical advisor and policy advisor."
NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin said in a statement that Crossfield "was a true pioneer whose daring X-15 flights helped pave the way for the space shuttle."
As a civilian test pilot, Crossfield had what writer Tom Wolfe, in his famous history of early American rocket flight, called "the right stuff": "the ability to go up in a hurtling piece of machinery and put his hide on the line and then have the moxie, the reflexes, the experience, the coolness, to pull back in the last yawning moment — and then to go up again the next day, and the next day, and every day."
"Crossfield is the great man who nobody knows anymore," Wolfe told The Times on Thursday, adding that the original Mercury astronauts overshadowed test pilots such as Crossfield who helped make the manned space program possible.
"Here they were at the very leading edge of flight tests in these rocket airplanes, and when the astronauts were selected and it was determined that they just had to shoot somebody into space like a human cannonball, all the attention went to the astronauts.
"Otherwise, Crossfield would be on the Mount Rushmore for pilots."
A former Navy flight instructor during World War II, Crossfield joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics — the predecessor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration — at its High Speed Flight Research Station at Edwards Air Force Base as a research pilot in 1950.
Over the next five years, he flew most of the experimental aircraft being tested at Edwards.
It was on Nov. 20, 1953, that Crossfield became the first person to fly at twice the speed of sound — in a the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket.
Crossfield, who was battling the flu, and the Skyrocket were carried aloft by a B-29 bomber and dropped clear of the bomber at 32,000 feet. After climbing to 72,000 feet, he dove to 62,000 feet, where he broke Mach 2 at a speed of 1,290 mph.
The Skyrocket was never designed to go Mach 2, Crossfield told the Washington Post in 2000, and test pilots like him were not supposed to set records.
Crossfield downplayed his aviation milestone, which came six years after Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947.
Mach 2 "wasn't a very big deal," Crossfield told the Post. "It was made more of by the media than we did. I'd been flying around Mach 1.9, 1.96, 1.97. We were running into all the typical problems that go with those speeds in airplanes that aren't designed [to go that fast.] We were way over designed speed on that airplane."
But 1953 was the 50th anniversary year of the Wright brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., and, he recalled, "the Air Force was grooming Charlie Yeager to make Mach 2 and have that be the 50th anniversary celebration."
With a chuckle, he added, "I thought it would be kind of interesting to beat him."
In his book "Yeager: An Autobiography," Yeager said Crossfield "was a proficient pilot, but also among the most arrogant I've met…. None of us blue suiters [in the Air Force] was thrilled to see a NACA guy bust Mach 2."
Article written by Dennis McLellan from The Los Angeles Times.
Airshow Star Sean Tucker Misses His Crashed Plane
-Article posted Aprill 15th, 2006
If pilot and plane are like dance partners, Sean Tucker and his Oracle Challenger, a souped-up Pitts S-2S, were like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. They zoomed into the troposphere and defied gravity, tumbling and twirling across the sky.
But on April 4, Tucker and the custom-built aerobatics plane, which he'd flown for 11 years, danced their last airborne dance. An elevator controlling the plane's tail failed during a practice flight.
Soon after, high above farmland outside Shreveport, La., Tucker bailed out, pulling his parachute at 5,000 feet.
Tucker landed unscathed, but Oracle Challenger crashed nearby.
Tucker, 53, and his plane have been regulars at the Air & Sea Show in Fort Lauderdale for many years, where his high-speed rolls and drops thrilled spectators and churned more than a few stomachs.
Tucker will be back in the air for this year's show, but instead of Oracle Challenger, he'll perform a safety demonstration in a Columbia 400, a four-passenger general-aviation plane.
For fans of Tucker's high-energy aerobatics, the spectacle will be technically exciting but somewhat limited -- the equivalent of the world's most talented tango dancer taking the floor with your mother-in-law.
There will be rolls and loops, but "we don't get to dance it," Tucker said.
On the message boards of aerobatics fan sites such as flightlevel350.com, messages of relief at Tucker's safety mixed with heartfelt eulogies for the biplane.
One person wrote: "If you have ever seen or heard of this guy, you know he is quite possibly the best aerobatic performer on Earth. Oh the horrid sight of that crumpled Pitts..."
As Tucker prepared to bail out from 5,000 feet, he stood up on the seat and steadied himself.
Moving at 120 mph along with the plane, Tucker grasped the tail as he dropped. For one brief moment, the two hung in an eerie ballet. No panic, their last moment.
"See ya later, girl," he said, and pushed off into nothing.
Even now, Tucker says the memory brings tears to his eyes.
''We were so close. She was my dream machine,'' he said.
He steered to a field where sheriff's deputies were waiting and fearing the worst. He stumbled as he hit the ground, and his beloved plane crashed nearby.
A backup airplane nearly identical to Oracle Challenger is being tuned up and will be ready to fly next month, but Karl Koeppen, a fellow member of Team Oracle, said it won't be the same. "There's not much love for that airplane," he said.
But Air & Sea Show fans can look forward to next year, when a new, rebuilt Challenger will take to the skies.
Not long after Tucker's safe landing in Louisiana, Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle, the team's sponsor, called with good wishes and vowed to build Tucker a new plane, with the same craftsmen and engineers who built it the first time around.
"All those memories of passion for flight and love for creativity, it's humbling," Tucker said. "The same people are going to put it back together. And we're going to make it better."
Article written by Nikki Waller from The Miami Herald.
Trees Cut for Airport Safety
-Article posted Aprill 12th, 2006
GREER, SC - Tall trees and airplanes are not often a good mix.
Officials at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina said Monday up to 45 acres of pine trees would be clear-cut because the 95-foot tall trees are interfering with navigational radar signals.
The affected area runs along I-85 between Brockman-McClimon Road and the airport exit at Aviation Drive.
Larry Holcombe, the airport's deputy director, said workers would initially leave a 300-foot buffer zone of trees along I-85, but if that doesn't do the trick, more would be cut.
Already air traffic controllers have reported one incident in which a general-aviation aircraft temporarily dropped off the controllers' radar screens because the pine trees cut off contact, Holcombe said.
"We do not want to jeopardize safety," he said.
Piedmont Pulp of Laurens is cutting the trees and will sell the timber to a paper mill. The project will not cost the airport any money because Piedmont Pulp will be paid with proceeds from the timber sales, Holcombe said.
This is not the first time the airport has clear-cut or thinned trees, Holcombe said.
Just last year, the airport clear-cut about 30 acres near Highway 101 and the Verne Smith Parkway. In that case, Holcombe said, the trees were so tall that they were starting to obstruct planes' approach to the runway.
The current project will likely draw attention because it will be so visible to motorists on I-85.
"This one, you'll be able to see from the interstate. It'll be real obvious," Holcombe said.
The clear-cut areas won't stay bare for too long. Holcombe said the airport would plant new trees to replace the mature ones.
Article written by Susan Orr from The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
Airport Gets 24-Hour Automated Fuel System
-Article posted Aprill 8th, 2006
Bay City Municipal Airport will become Texas' first automated 24-hour gas station for pilots thanks to a state grant.
The Texas Transportation Commission approved a $472,891 grant for an automated fuel-delivery system to be installed at the airport, according to a statement released by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) March 31.
Necessary contracts between TxDOT and the City of Bay City should be completed in two to three weeks, said Airport Manager Rory Hafernick.
"This is going to be a great asset for the airport," Hafernick said. "It will give pilots 24-hour service for aviation gas and jet fuel."
This will be the first site in Texas where pilots can land at the airport, taxi to the pump and use a credit card to refuel, Hafernick said.
The funds are provided through TxDOT's Aviation Facilities Grant Program, which boosts projects that preserve and improve the state’s general aviation system.
Flights from community airports account for more than three million flight hours per year and provide facilities for agricultural, medical, business and commuter use.
The Bay City airport’s fuel sales totaled $221,508 last year.
The airport brings in another $49,000 in T-hangar leases and $18,408 through a contract with the fixed base operator.
Hafernick said all T-hangars are leased.
Another airport goal is expanding hangar space and giving the contractors greater separation.
Article written by Valerie Reddell from the Bay City Tribune
Acclaimed Airshow Pilot Forced To Bail-Out
-Posted April 7th, 2006
Floating to the ground, a white parachute above his head, Sean D. Tucker touched ground safely about a mile from where the single-engine biplane he was piloting crashed in a plowed cotton field in south Red River Parish.
The nationally known aerobatics pilot who performed at the Barksdale Air Show in 2000 was practicing for an air show to be held this weekend in Lakeland, Fla., when he parachuted out of his plane about 10:25 a.m. Tuesday after steering controls broke, authorities said.
Tucker was checked out by paramedics at the scene and released, Red River sheriff's Deputy Scott Phillips said.
The plane crashed near state Highway 1 just north of Natchitoches Parish. No one on the ground was injured, Phillips said.
Tucker has logged more than 20,000 hours in flight time -- about two years' worth -- according to his Web site.
Based in California, Tucker was in the area after landing a few days earlier due to inclement weather.
The red biplane with "Oracle" painted on it crashed on the property of Michael Simpson, said Red River Sheriff Johnny Ray Norman.
Tucker was quite calm when he touched ground, the sheriff said. "He was a lot better than I would've been. He didn't have scratch on him."
Tucker began experiencing problems when the stick used to control the plane's rudder broke, Norman said. The pilot was communicating with folks on the ground, letting them know he was in trouble.
Tucker flew the plane around until he burned up all of the fuel then found an unpopulated area for the plane to crash.
"I've talked to several pilots, and they said he was the only one who could fly that plane without rudder control," Norman said.
Emergency workers on the ground were aware of the situation and were on the scene when Tucker landed.
"If he hadn't been such an experienced pilot, who knows," the sheriff said.
Norman contacted the Federal Aviation Administration about the crash but was told no investigation would take place. "They said since no one was injured and there was no damage other than to the plane there was no need to," Norman said.
Tucker probably already has left the area so he can get to Florida for the show, Norman said.
Article written by Francis McCabe from the Shreveport Times
Jet Fires Prompt Urgent Recommendations
Washington, D.C. - A series of fires aboard Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft
has prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to issue seven
recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration. Four of the
recommendations are classified "Urgent" by the Safety Board.
The recommendations follow seven fires aboard CRJ-200 aircraft,
six of them within the last 6 months. Although none of them has resulted
in loss of life, "the potential exists for an uncontained fire to compromise
the oxygen line, which could develop into an even more critical situation,"
the Board stated in its letter to the FAA.
All the fires have involved the
Ultem 2200 surface material of the 1K4XD contactors aboard the planes
(The contactor is a switching device for three-phase AC electrical power
generated by each of the two engine-mounted 30KVA electrical
generators.). Four of the fires resulted in at least temporary loss of all
Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS) displays, preventing the
pilots from using their primary flight instruments and increasing their
workload during an emergency situation.
"The problems identified in the Board's letter must be corrected as
soon as possible," NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said. "The
potential consequences of these fires can be catastrophic."
The NTSB wants the FAA to require CRJ-200 operators to provide
separation of electrical power sources to prevent the simultaneous loss of
all EFIS displays, require Bombardier to develop a means of protecting
electrical terminals on these contactors from moisture-induced short
circuits, require operators to install that protection once developed, and
require Bombardier immediately to evaluate existing abnormal and
emergency procedures for the CRJ-200 airplane to determine whether they
adequately address these fire hazards. All four of these recommendations
were classified by the Board as urgent.
Safety Board investigators found the cause of these contactor
failures and fires. Various forms of precipitation were present before the
departure of each incident flight and when the main cabin door is open on
the CRJ-200, the forward cabin floor is exposed to the weather. Water on
the floor can then seep into the avionics compartment below, where the
contactor is located. Pulling the main entry door into the closed position
may also result in water draining into the cabin area and subsequently into
the avionics compartment. The Board found that there are two versions of
the 1K4XD contactor approved for the CRJ-200 airplanes; only the newer
version, which uses Ultem 2200 material, has exhibited this fire problem
and is the subject of these recommendations.
Aside from the four urgent recommendations, the other
recommendations contained in the same letter deal with replacement of
these contactors and other components manufactured with Ultem 2200
(polyetherimide) or similar material, and with ensuring the safety from fire
risk for any other electrical components on Bombardier aircraft.
For more information, visit the NTSB website
NC Pilots Block Airport Fees
ASHEVILLE - A group of private pilots on Monday temporarily blocked an Asheville Regional Airport plan to charge new business and fuel fees, a move the group said could push some small businesses from the airport.
Chris Garnett, deputy airport director, proposed a set of new fees to the airport's board during a standing-room-only meeting at the Holiday Inn Airport.
Part of the proposed 2006-07 airport budget, the proposal called for a new 7-cents-per-gallon tax on general aviation fuel and a new 2 percent charge on services like flight training and aircraft rental.
"This is the lifeblood of our business they're playing with," Angi Neal, who owns the helicopter service Falcon AirLink Inc. with her husband, Brian, said before the meeting. She joined more than 70 others in opposing the fees, which targeted general aviation, or hobby pilots and aviation-related small businesses.
Some said new fees could push businesses out and threaten the future of general aviation, the spot where many commercial pilots gain their wings.
The seven-member board listened and unanimously agreed to reconsider the fees later, though they passed an increase in long- and short-term parking fees for passengers.
The board will discuss the proposal in 60 days, allowing time for airport staff to answer speakers' questions.
Charles Thomas, who owns the flight school WNC Aviation with his wife, Amy, questioned whether the body had the authority to levy a tax, arguing that the plan also would violate some Federal Aviation Administration policies.
Airport director Dave Edwards said removing the new fuel fees from the 2006/2007 proposed budget would cost the airport at least $105,000 alone. He said the board did not project revenues from the 2 percent fees, so it is hard to determine this impact to the airport budget, which calls for nearly $5 million in operating costs.
But airport spokeswoman Patti Michel said the fees are in line with those charged at other airports across the Southeast. Airport staff recently surveyed airports from Knoxville, Tenn. to Greenville, S.C. and found that those airports charged similar fees.
"It's just something that will help us continue to operate in a professional manner at the Asheville Regional Airport," she said.
The authority must deliver the budget to Buncombe County by April 30. Both the county and Asheville city government have some oversight of the airport.
"This is the lifeblood of our business they're playing with," Angi Neal, who owns the helicopter service Falcon AirLink Inc. with her husband, Brian, said before the meeting. She joined more than 70 others in opposing the fees, which targeted general aviation, or hobby pilots and aviation-related small businesses.
Some said new fees could push businesses out and threaten the future of general aviation, the spot where many commercial pilots gain their wings.
The seven-member board listened and unanimously agreed to reconsider the fees later, though they passed an increase in long- and short-term parking fees for passengers.
The board will discuss the proposal in 60 days, allowing time for airport staff to answer speakers' questions.
Charles Thomas, who owns the flight school WNC Aviation with his wife, Amy, questioned whether the body had the authority to levy a tax, arguing that the plan also would violate some Federal Aviation Administration policies.
Airport director Dave Edwards said removing the new fuel fees from the 2006/2007 proposed budget would cost the airport at least $105,000 alone. He said the board did not project revenues from the 2 percent fees, so it is hard to determine this impact to the airport budget, which calls for nearly $5 million in operating costs.
But airport spokeswoman Patti Michel said the fees are in line with those charged at other airports across the Southeast. Airport staff recently surveyed airports from Knoxville, Tenn. to Greenville, S.C. and found that those airports charged similar fees.
"It's just something that will help us continue to operate in a professional manner at the Asheville Regional Airport," she said.
The authority must deliver the budget to Buncombe County by April 30. Both the county and Asheville city government have some oversight of the airport.
Article from the Asheville Citizen-Times
Young Airshow Pilot Killed During Practice
GREENFIELD, Calif. (AP) -- A San Martin pilot practicing
aerobatic routines was killed Tuesday when his single-engine plane
crashed at a private airstrip, authorities said.
Nicholas David Nilmeyer, 23, was piloting his Extra 300S when it
went down shortly after 10:30 a.m. about 20 feet east of the runway
near Greenfield, about 40 miles southeast of Monterey.
Witnesses to the crash pulled Nilmeyer from the wreckage and
were trying to perform CPR him when authorities arrived, but he was
pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Monterey County
Sheriff's Department.
No one on the ground was injured, and no property damage on the
ground was reported.
The cause of the crash was under investigation by the Federal
Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety
Board.
Article from the Associated Press.
NTSB Sees Slight Rise In Accidents
Washington, D.C. - The National Transportation Safety Board
today released preliminary statistics for 2005 showing an
overall increase in civil aviation accidents for both
scheduled airline and general aviation operations.
U.S. civil aviation accidents increased from 1,717 in 2004
to 1,779 in 2005. However, total fatalities decreased from
636 to 600, and most of these occurred in general aviation
and air taxi operations.
"The increase in accidents is disappointing," said NTSB
Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker, "but the decrease in total
fatalities is a hopeful sign. Overall, it is clear that we
need to maintain a strong focus on safety in all segments of
the aviation community," he said.
General aviation accidents increased from 1,617 in 2004 to
1,669 in 2005. Of these, 321 were fatal accidents, up from
314 in 2004. The general aviation accident rate increased
from 6.49 per 100,000 flight hours in 2004 to 6.83 in 2005.
The fatal accident rate increased from 1.26 to 1.31. The
number of fatalities rose slightly from 558 to 562.
In 2005, 32 accidents were recorded for Part 121 scheduled
airline operations, including three that resulted in 22
fatalities. In June, the driver of a mobile belt baggage
loader at Washington Reagan National Airport was fatally
injured when the vehicle struck a US Airways Express EMB-170
being prepared for flight. In December, a Southwest
Airlines Boeing 737 slid off the runway at Chicago's Midway
Airport, went through a barrier fence and onto a roadway,
killing a passenger in a passing automobile. Also in
December, a Chalk's Ocean Airways Grumman G73T experienced
an in-flight breakup shortly after takeoff in Miami,
resulting in 20 fatalities.
Air taxi operations reported 66 accidents in 2005, the same
number as reported in 2004. The accident rate for this
category showed a slight decrease from 2.04 per 100,000
flight hours in 2004 to 2.02 in 2005, with fatalities
dropping markedly from 64 in 2004 to 18 in 2005.
Boom In China May Extend to GA
General aviation has big potential of development in China as the current general aviation services can not meet the soaring demand from many sectors, said a Chinese engineering expert.
"The development of general aviation in China has lagged behind fast economic growth," said Liu Daxiang, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
He said police, traffic, forestry and firefighting departments, news media and many other sectors need general aviation services to better fulfill their jobs.
Road accidents killed 98,738 people in China in 2005. "If helicopters had been used in emergency rescue operations, more than 10,000 people could have been saved," Liu said.
"General aviation will be particularly useful in security work, traffic control, organization of events and medical assistance during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing," said Liu, who is also a deputy to the National People's Congress, the national legislature.
Liu said China had only 335 general-purpose planes in 2002, while the United States had 206,530 in 2000.
He called on the government to promulgate policies to support the development of general aviation as soon as possible, predicting that general aviation will become a new field of economic growth in China.
Article from Xinhua.
Mineta Hints at No User-Fees for GA
WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Tuesday ruled out sweeping user fees on general aviation to help maintain the U.S. air traffic control system and help pay for new runways and other aviation programs.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta told a House of Representatives hearing that a yet-to-be announced proposal on funding future Federal Aviation Administration priorities does not include user fees for at least some operations by private aircraft.
He would not elaborate, saying he had probably said more than he should have about the long-awaited funding proposal currently under review by the White House budget office.
Mineta and his deputies have concluded that the current system of funding most FAA programs through fuel taxes and other fees -- primarily on airlines and their passengers -- is inadequate to meet future commercial and private aviation needs. This includes operating the air traffic control system, modernizing air traffic equipment and helping to fund airport improvements.
Domestic airlines are cutting capacity -- available seats -- and fares, meaning less overall revenue to support aviation infrastructure requirements.
The proposed FAA budget for 2007 is $13.7 billion.
Marion Blakey, the FAA administrator, has said changes in the overall funding formula would be dramatic. Aviation sources expect a mix of options, including some shift toward user fees. Financing will likely include continued taxation and possibly new bonding initiatives.
The biggest airlines are united behind a user-fee plan for everyone that would make operators of smaller planes, including corporate jets, pay more. This is partly aimed at the expected surge in small jet traffic in coming years.
Interests representing private operators say their operations do not tax the air traffic system like the airlines and favor continued fuel tax assessments as a fairer way to gauge the impact of private flying.
Article from Reuters.
NTSB: Certain Choppers Need Terrain Awareness System
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Transportation Safety Board
today called on the Federal Aviation Administration to
require all U.S.-registered turbine-powered helicopters
certificated to carry at least 6 passengers to be equipped
with a terrain awareness and warning system. The
recommendation is one of five contained in the final report
of a fatal helicopter accident in the Gulf of Mexico.
On March 23, 2004, an Era Aviation Sikorsky S-76A++
helicopter, N579EH, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico at about
7:18 p.m., 70 nautical miles south-southeast of Galveston,
Texas. Although visual meteorological conditions existed,
it was a dark night with very few external visual cues. The
aircraft was transporting eight oil service personnel to the
Transocean drilling ship Discoverer Spirit; they and the two
pilots perished in the crash.
The Board determined that the probable cause of the
accident was the flight crew's failure to identify and
arrest the helicopter's descent for undetermined reasons,
which resulted in controlled flight into the water.
"A terrain warning system would have given the pilots
enough time to arrest their descent and save the lives of
all aboard," NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said.
"It is well past time for the benefits from these standard
safety devices to be made available to passengers on
helicopter transports as they are on fixed wing planes.
More than 2 million passengers are carried on Gulf of Mexico
oil industry operations alone."
The aircraft was not equipped with a flight data
recorder, and the cockpit voice recorder was improperly
installed, rendering the recording almost unusable. The
Board, therefore, could not determine the sequence of events
that led to the helicopter's inadvertent descent. However,
since cockpit instrumentation was available to the pilots,
the Board concluded that the flight crew was not adequately
monitoring the helicopter's altitude and missed numerous
cues to indicate that the aircraft was descending toward the
water.
The Board noted that when the FAA required TAWS
(terrain awareness and warning system) for airplanes having
6 or more passengers in 2000, the technology had not been
developed for the unique characteristics of helicopter
flight. However, TAWS technology is now available for
helicopter flight and should be required, the Board said.
In 2003, the FAA exempted S-76A and several other
helicopter models from its requirement that they be equipped
with flight data recorders. In an earlier letter to Era,
the FAA had stated that exempting the helicopters from the
FDR requirement "would be in the public interest and would
not adversely affect safety."
The Board disagreed with that assessment, stating,
"because the information that investigators learn from FDR
data can help prevent accidents and incidents from
recurring, the lack of FDRs aboard helicopters undoubtedly
affects safety." The NTSB noted that it had participated in
the investigation of another S-76 helicopter crash in
Estonia. This was the first accident known to involve a
large helicopter for which FDR data was available. Those
data were extremely valuable to investigators, the Board
said. The lack of FDR data significantly hampered the Era
investigation, the Board said, and it urged the FAA to
require FDRs on commercial helicopters such as the one
involved in the Gulf of Mexico crash.
The Board also recommended that cockpit voice
recorders on aircraft be functionally checked before the
first flight of each day and that a periodic maintenance
check be accomplished as part of the approved maintenance
check of the aircraft.
Other recommendations to the FAA dealt with expedited
implementation of an initiative to improve flight following
where traditional radar coverage doesn't exist, such as in
portions of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, and with proper
training for certain flight control systems.
A summary of the Board's findings is available on the
Board's website, www.ntsb.gov, under "Publications." The
entire accident report will appear on the website in several
weeks.
Jet Crashes While Filming Movie
CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (AP) -- A jet plane that was filming
scenes for a movie crashed into a mountain, killing the two men
aboard, authorities said.
"Nobody survived," said Cmdr. Dave Nelson of the Kern County
Sheriff's Department's Search & Rescue division.
Skip Robertson, 43, of Klamath Falls, Ore., and Terry Fregly,
60, of Tallahassee, Fla., died when the L-39 jet crashed and
exploded at about 8:30 a.m. last Sunday, authorities said.
"The aircraft was destroyed," said Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman
for the Federal Aviation Administration in Seattle.
The jet was with two other planes out of the California City
airport when the pilot lost control and slammed into the mountain
about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, the coroner's office said.
The plane may have clipped a ridge before crashing 13 miles
north of the town of Mojave, authorities said.
Reached in Tallahassee on Monday, Fregly's wife said the Florida
real estate developer was a passenger in the two-seat aircraft,
which was owned by a friend, and was not handling pilot or
photographic duties.
He is survived by his wife, Joan, and two sons, Terence Jr. and
Kawai, all of Tallahassee.
The jet was registered to Mach1 Aviation, a Universal City firm
that supplies military aircraft to the movie industry, Kenitzer
said. A call and an e-mail to the company seeking comment were not
immediately answered last Monday.
The L-39 Albatros is a single-engine jet that can fly at nearly
500 mph and originally was built as a trainer for Soviet-era
fighter pilots.
Employees at the Mojave Airport told KERO-TV that the plane was
called "Wild Child."
Mach 1 Aviation's Web site said the plane was used as a stand-in
in a scene filmed for the movie "Jarhead."
The crash was under investigation by the National Transportation
Safety Board.
Article from the Associated Press.
"Angel Flight" Pilot Among Dead In Foggy Crash
FREDERICKSBURG - The pilot of a small plane that crashed in Stafford County this week, killing all four aboard, was an experienced aviator who had also volunteered for medical-relief flights.
"He went above and beyond," Steve Patterson, executive director of Angel Flight America's Mid-Atlantic office in Virginia Beach, said yesterday of Richard L. Potter.
Potter, 49, and three friends were killed when his single-engine plane crashed in foggy weather at Stafford Regional Airport late Wednesday night, as the group returned from a Wake Forest University basketball game in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Patterson estimated that Potter had already accrued at least 300 hours when he joined Angel Flight America in May. The Texas-based organization, which provides flights for patients who cannot afford transportation, requires a minimum 250 hours of flight time.
Forty hours is the normal minimum to earn a private pilot's license. Potter also was an instrument-rated pilot, which means he was qualified to fly in poor weather.
Potter flew his first Angel Flight mission in June, from Tangier Island to Melfa on Virginia's Eastern Shore. He logged six more missions - including to North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland - and was scheduled to fly another one next week, from Maryland to South Carolina. By comparison, Angel Flight volunteers fly an average 1.8 missions per year.
Patterson said Potter insisted on being the first person called if a volunteer from the Fredericksburg area was needed. "We were, and are, devastated by the loss," he said.
All four crash victims were well-known Fredericksburg-area businessmen. Potter, who lived in Spotsylvania County, owned Potter Homes. State police identified his passengers as Graham Green III, 57, a Stafford real estate broker; Albert "Buck" Jacoby, 49, a Stafford lawyer; and Michael Gus Pappas, 47, a Fredericksburg real estate investor who also owned a power-washing company.
State police say Potter might have been aborting the landing in Stafford by circling to the left, as normal procedure dictated, when his four-seater plane struck trees around 11:40 p.m. Wednesday.
The wreckage was found about 9 a.m. Thursday, about 500 yards to the side of the end of the east-west runway, which is near Interstate 95. Early-morning fog had hindered search efforts.
The group had originally departed from Shannon Airport in Spotsylvania on Wednesday afternoon and planned to return there. Potter made a return approach at Shannon but diverted the plane to Stafford because of poor weather conditions, including fog.
Stafford's airport, about 10 miles north of Shannon, has more precise approach navigation systems, as well as a brighter and more sophisticated approach-light system. Stafford's runway is also 5,000 feet long, compared with about 3,000 feet at Shannon.
National Transportation Safety Board officials said Friday that they had no preliminary information to release on the cause of the crash.
Article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Small FL Airport Hoping For Control Tower
Charlotte County Airport is looking to the state to fund a control tower that officials hope would one day open the small airport to a commercial airline.
The airport needs the tower for safety and to expand, Charlotte County Airport Authority members said. It would cost about $1.2 million, said Gary Quill, the airport's executive director.
Charlotte County Airport is the site of about 80,000 takeoffs and landings per year, Quill said. The control tower would help the facility come closer to its capacity of more than 200,000 takeoffs and landings per year.
"There are restrictions on aircraft flying into non-towered airports, so there would be an increase on the amount of traffic," Quill said.
State Rep. Michael Grant, a Port Charlotte Republican who formerly served on the airport authority, said funding the airport is a priority for Charlotte's legislators during this year's session, which begins March 7 in Tallahassee.
The tower would allow the airport to host an air traffic controller education program, Grant said.
"They've been working with Edison College over the last few years about doing some training, and having that tower would certainly enhance that," he said.
Charlotte County Airport, which opened during World War II as a training base, is on Airport Road east of Punta Gorda.
Plans for the airport property include a building to house the Military Heritage and Aviation Museum. The airport has also been working on a new lease with FedEx, where the company plans to expand to a 25,000-square-foot building.
The tower project has been in the works for a few years, but was dealt a setback by Hurricane Charley, which took a heavy toll on the airport.
If the state provides enough money to build the control tower, the airport will still need Federal Aviation Administration approval.
That means the tower could easily be 18 months from opening, Quill said.
Airport Authority members say hosting a commercial airline would be unsafe without a control tower.
Airport Authority member Gary Stasko described the current safety situation at the airport as "everybody's on their own, watch out for the other guy."
That's not good enough, said airport commissioner Pam Seay.
"Keeping safety in the air for flying pilots, keeping safety on the ground for taxiing pilots, is essential," she said.
Article from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Near-Miss at LAX
Two planes came within a few hundred feet of each other last week when a controller at Los Angeles International Airport mistakenly cleared three planes for the same runway, officials said.
"It was pretty close," said Les Dorr, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, said. "We'll be looking to find out what all happened, and how we can prevent it in the future."
Friday's episode began when the controller directed a departing Skywest turboprop to taxi onto the same runway on which he had cleared a Southwest Airlines jet to land. He also told an Air Canada jet that it could cross the same runway on its way to the terminals.
The Skywest pilot saw the incoming Southwest jet and stopped short of the runway. The jet roared past about 275 feet away and 50 feet above the smaller plane. It landed without incident and never got closer than about 5,600 feet to the Air Canada jet, Dorr said.
The FAA has not determined why the controller put the planes so close together or switched the Southwest jet to a different runway as it came in to land.
The airport has had one of the worst runway safety violation records in the nation in recent years. The city's airport agency is spending $328 million to give planes on the ground more room to maneuver.
Article from the Associated Press.
Cessna 172 Crashes During DC Snowstorm
Two men were killed and a woman was injured Wednesday when their small plane crashed while preparing to land at a suburban airport near Washington, D.C., during a brief snowstorm.
The plane, a single engine Cessna 172 S-Model Skyhawk plane that had taken off from Warrenton, Va., was making its second approach to Freeway Airport using a global positioning system.
Mark Brady, spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department, said two men in the front of the plane were killed. Freeway's chief flight instructor, Marcel Bernard, said a woman in the rear seat suffered serious injuries to her upper body and was later taken to a hospital.
The crash site is about a quarter mile from the runway. Bernard said it was snowing heavily with low clouds when the plane crashed just before 10 a.m.
County officials said visibility in the area, about 18 miles east of Washington, D.C., was between zero and 500 feet at the time with a cloud ceiling of less than 500 feet.
Authorities said the National Transportation Safety Board was sending investigators to the scene.
According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane's registered owner is the Tracey Corp. of Midland, Va. A woman answering the phone at Skyworld Aviation, also known as the Tracey Corp., declined immediate comment.
Freeway Airport handles about 200 takeoff and landings a day. Small planes often land to refuel or pick up passengers at the facility, which is adjacent to U.S. 50, a major commuter route from the Prince George's County suburbs to the nation's capital.
Article from the Associated Press.
Flight School: Plane That Crashed On Chigago Expressway Was Out Of Gas
The Federal Aviation Administration has started its investigation into why a small plane had to crash land Sunday on the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway. A flight school official said the plane was out of gas, a claim the flight instructor disputes.
The owner of the flight school tells WLS-TV that the plane was out of fuel when it crash landed on the expressway, which would explain why there was no explosion when one of the wings that houses a fuel tank was ripped off by a light pole. The plane's flight instructor, John Vashko, disputes that claim and said there was sufficient fuel upon take-off. Now, FAA officials will determine what led to the crash.
The 21-year-old Piper Warrior has two fuel tanks --one in each wing. One of them is manually selected by the pilot. Sunday at Schaumburg Airport, veteran flight instructor John Vashko was responsible for checking fuel tank levels before taking up student pilot Casey Mattuck. But the fuel gauge is in front of where the student pilot was seated and the tank selection switch was located down below the student pilot.
FAA investigators will be looking at whether that contributed to Sunday's crash landing on the eastbound Elgin-O'Hare Expressway shortly after takeoff from Schaumburg. There may have been some fuel in the wing that remained attached to the fuselage, but for some reason, that fuel tank did not appear to have been in use at the time of the crash.
The FAA will also focus on when the engine was last overhauled, which was October, according to what we're told.
WLS-TV has also learned that it has been 700 hours since the last major inspection, well within the 2,000 hour recommendation.
The FAA will also examine whether Northwest Aviation had an adequate parts supply and the license status of its mechanics.
"Under no circumstances does anybody perform any action or any maintenance on the airplane if they're not approved by the FAA to perform," said Mark Clements, Northwest Aviation owner.
But the owner tells us he didn't know about a 1992 accident that the very same plane had been in, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The accident occurred at the Lake in the Hills Airport the day after Christmas, 1992. At the controls was a student pilot attempting his second solo landing. The accident report obtained by WLS-TV reveals that the plane ran off the runway; the landing gear collapsed and the damage to the plane was reported as "substantial."
Whether that history played any role in Sunday's dramatic expressway landing is something that the FAA will also examine.
No one was killed in Sunday's crash landing, and remarkably not a car was hit, nor was anyone on the ground hurt. The flight instructor suffered some head lacerations and the student pilot walked away from the incident.
Northwest Aviation is one of the largest private flight schools in Illinois. Regardless, if the company owner is correct and the plane took off with barely any fuel, both he and his flight instructor will have to answer to the FAA.
Article from WLS-TV.
New Witness Account, Details in SD Mid-Air Crash
EL CAJON - New details are emerging, but federal aviation investigators still don't know what caused two small airplanes to collide over El Cajon last Wednesday, killing three people and scattering burning debris over neighborhoods in La Mesa and El Cajon.
A preliminary report issued Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board said the two planes collided at an altitude of about 2,300 feet, about three miles south of Gillespie Field.
A professional airline pilot told investigators he saw the Feb. 8 crash from his uncle's Mount Helix backyard. The witness said he saw an eastbound airplane strike the right side of a plane that was headed southwest.
However, the report does not make it clear which plane - the Cessna 172RG, which was flown by two Swedish men, or the Cessna 182Q, which was flown by La Jolla orthodontist William Kupiec, 68 - was traveling east and which was traveling southwest.
"We have to continue our investigation to determine what happened and see what actually struck what," said Keith Holloway, a NTSB spokesman.
Holloway said more information will be gathered and analyzed before a factual report can be issued, possibly in six to nine months. It typically takes 12 to 18 months for the NTSB to issue a report determining the cause of an accident, Holloway said.
"We may have a better idea at that point," Holloway said.
The Swedish Consulate in Los Angeles has identified the two victims as Michael Rangeby, 23, and Anders Sigurdsson, 22. Rangeby and Sigurdsson were on a training flight with a school called the Scandinavian Aviation Academy. It isn't known which was the instructor and which was the student.
According to the report, Rangeby and Sigurdsson, in the Cessna 172, took off from Gillespie Field at 4:37 p.m. and were followed by Kupiec in the Cessna 182 about a minute later. Both were planning to fly to Brown Field.
The report does give quite a bit of detail about where specific pieces of the airplanes landed after the collision.
Much of the Cessna 172 landed in a grassy area of Harry Griffen Park and smaller pieces scattered throughout a nearby neighborhood. Much of the Cessna 182 crashed through a mulberry tree in a home's back yard, with the top portion of the plane's vertical stabilizer found about 1,180 feet away and its left wing in the park, the report said.
Article from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Students Sue Flight Instructor Over Landing
DUBUQUE, Iowa Two student pilots have filed a lawsuit over a plane crash in Dubuque nearly two years ago.
The lawsuit blames the flight instructor for flying into icing conditions that resulted in a crash-landing in March 2004.
The lawsuit was filed this week in Dubuque County by William Ranguette and Paul Gilbertson, both of Waunakee, Wisconsin. It names the pilot, Paul Vanderbloemen of Dane County, Wisconsin, and the owner of the plane, Wisconsin Aviation-Four Lakes of Madison, Wisconsin.
The plane was flying from Des Moines to Madison. Vanderbloemen made an unplanned landing in Dubuque to remove ice and evaluate the weather.
According to the lawsuit, the plane shuddered and stalled before crashing near the runway. All three men walked away from the crash.
The N-T-S-B determined the probable cause of the accident was the flight instructor's inadequate planning and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed.
Can You See Me Now? Rocky Mountain Radar Coming
Pilots have long dealt with frustrating traffic jams in the air around Colorado's small mountain airports, but soon they'll have some relief.
Colorado Division of Aeronautics director Travis Vallin is in Washington this week to finalize plans with the Federal Aviation Administration for a $30 million radarlike system that would help land planes at mountain airports more quickly and more efficiently.
Without the system, air-traffic controllers are less certain of where aircraft are in the air, and must keep them spaced apart more widely, slowing the flow of traffic. Using the new system, called wide-area multilateration, they can "see" where aircraft are, even if they are blocked by a mountain.
"It's being able to see," said Greg Dyer, airspace manager for the FAA's Denver Air Traffic Control Center. "Every place where terrain can block a radar site from seeing in an area, you have a challenge." Officials say it could increase the rate of takeoffs and landings in poor weather at some locations from about three or four per hour to as many as 14 an hour.
"There are lots of people frustrated that they can't get into the mountain airports when they want to," Dyer said. "There are still going to be some really busy days during the ski season," but the new system will help.
The first phase would be installed over about 18 months. The full system's cost includes $20 million for installation and $10.5 million to operate and maintain it over its 15-year life.
The airports that would benefit from the system are at Hayden, Craig, Steamboat Springs, Rifle, Gunnison, Montrose, Telluride, Cortez, Durango and Alamosa. Aspen already has a radar system, and Eagle County is planning to get its own.
State and local governments would be responsible for installation. The FAA would operate and maintain the system.
"We've realized that this is a problem that Colorado faces, but it's also an enhancement to the national air system," Vallin said.
It would be the first time such a system has been used for this purpose in the Lower 48 states.
"We hope it will prove to be beneficial to the mountain regions of Colorado," Rep. John Salazar said.
Article from the Denver Post.
FAA Considers Lowering Class Bravo Airspace in AZ
Driven by more air traffic, higher fuel prices and safety concerns, the Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to redirect where and how high aircraft fly over the Valley.
Aviation officials want to ensure more space between large commercial jets and smaller general-aviation aircraft.
But the changes could mean some neighborhoods will hear more aircraft noise and private pilots will be more restricted, especially as they fly closer to Sky Harbor International Airport.
The changes could take effect within a year.
Warren Meehan, the FAA's air traffic manager at Sky Harbor, said the redesign should improve safety by cutting down on "separation incidents," or close encounters between commercial jets and private aircraft.
To accomplish this, the airspace known as Class Bravo, the envelope through which commercial airliners land and take off, will be lowered, while the space below it where private pilots fly will get smaller, forcing general-aviation pilots to fly lower.
"They are going to be bringing aircraft closer to the ground and adding to the noisy environment that has already been created," said Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman, a longtime critic of Sky Harbor.
Sky Harbor Director David Krietor said the proposed changes are part of a national redesign of the airspace surrounding major airports.
Sky Harbor passenger traffic increased by 1.7 million passengers last year, or just under 5 percent, a growth rate in keeping with the Valley's population surge.
Among the 30 largest airports in the nation, Sky Harbor was No. 1 for on-time arrivals in November and No. 2 in December.
"So, obviously, the FAA is doing a good job managing the traffic coming into Sky Harbor," Krietor said.
Phil Gee, spokesman for Tempe-based US Airways (formerly America West), said his airline strongly supports the redesign.
"It gives the FAA better control of the airspace in and out of Phoenix," Gee said.
For the past year, the proposed redesign has quietly made the rounds among an ad hoc group of industry professionals and military officials who have evaluated the plan.
"We strenuously oppose it," said Chris Dancy, representative of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the nation's and world's largest and most influential aviation association with a membership that includes two-thirds of all pilots in the United States.
Besides fighting additional airspace restrictions, Dancy said the boundaries for private pilots would no longer be aligned with key reference points, such as easily identifiable highways.
Jim Timm, executive director of the Arizona Pilots Association, said he is concerned about the safety of private pilots forced to fly closer to the ground.
One proposed change in particular near Mesa's Falcon Field would be to lower the level for private pilots to 2,700 feet above sea level, down from 3,000 feet.
"Pilots need to be high enough that they have gliding room in an emergency for a safe landing," Timm said. "And, obviously, this will put some general-aviation airplanes closer to residents."
John Hoeppner, a Cave Creek activist, led a failed federal lawsuit against the FAA in 2002 to stop Northwest 2000, the last area air-traffic redesign. Hoeppner said the fallout from the new plan is not surprising.
"The experts we retained to study the Northwest 2000 routing included former FAA top management and air-traffic controllers," Hoeppner said. "They all predicted that Northwest 2000 would make things worse in the skies over Phoenix."
Meehan said commercial-airline routes would not change in this redesign.
However, Meehan said Northwest 2000 has required continual adjustments to the Phoenix airspace. He said the flip-flopping of the routes put some commercial arrivals outside their designated Class Bravo airspace.
"This should have been addressed during the Northwest 2000 redesign," Meehan said.
The problem with close calls is especially acute near Falcon Field, where some jetliners have been as close as 100 feet above private aircraft, even though both were in properly designated airspace, Meehan said.
"It may be legit, but I think that's an unconscionable decision on the part of the general-aviation pilot," Meehan said.
Airlines want to do everything possible to avoid close calls, especially with fuel prices continuing to rise.
When instruments aboard commercial jets warn of a possible close encounter, pilots perform a diversion maneuver, which means extra fuel is burned and extended flight time for crews.
To make up for the lower ceilings for general-aviation pilots, the FAA would lower the ceiling for the commercial jets' Class Bravo airspace to 9,000 feet from 10,000 feet. This would allow general-aviation aircraft to fly above the commercial jets at a slightly lower altitude.
Meehan said the disenchantment over the proposed redesign doesn't surprise him.
"The only thing I can guarantee you is that everyone will not be satisfied," Meehan said.
The FAA will hold public meetings, starting in April.
"That's when the painful part really begins," Timm said.
Article by Thomas Ropp, The Arizona Republic.
We Care About GA Too, says NTSB
Washington, D.C. - National Transportation Safety Board
Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker today reiterated the Safety
Board's commitment to the safety of the general aviation
community.
"Having a safe and efficient aviation transportation
network is essential for the commercial viability, economic
stability and security of the nation, said Acting Chairman
Rosenker, at the General Aviation Manufactures Association
(GAMA) executive meeting.
In his speech he stated, that general aviation (GA) is
a leading force in transportation and the economy and too
important to be overlooked. "We are all partners in the
quest to make safe skies even safer," said Rosenker.
According to GAMA's statistics, GA directly
contributes more than $41 billion annually to the U. S.
economy. Over 200,000 aircraft, ranging from two-seat
trainers to intercontinental business jets, fly nearly twice
the airlines' flight hours, and carry 166 million passengers
annually.
Rosenker acknowledged GA's impact on the commercial
airline industry, saying that, GA can be a proving ground
for new technologies and designs that eventually migrate
into commercial and airline aircraft. Advanced avionics and
composite materials are examples of this technology
migration. GA also provides a vehicle by which professional
pilots are trained so that they can enter into the ranks of
commercial airline pilots.
The Safety Board will continue to work closely with
GAMA and its members to aggressively pursue initiatives to
increase general aviation safety, Rosenker said.
Bodies Recovered After Plane Crashes Into CA Home
ROSEVILLE, Calif. (AP) -- Rescue crews found three bodies Monday
in the charred remains of a house where a small airplane crashed a
day earlier, a city spokesman said.
Two people aboard the single-engine plane were reported killed
Sunday when it crashed into the home. Witnesses said the pilot was
performing aerobatic stunts over the suburban neighborhood just
northeast of Sacramento.
A 19-year-old man who lived at the home was reported missing and
had not been located Monday.
William Boyer, a spokesman for the city of Roseville, could not
confirm the identities of any of the victims nor say whether the
third body was that of the missing teen.
The bodies were being taken to the Placer County coroner's
office in Auburn, but autopsies were not expected to be completed
on Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration took over the investigation
and directed a salvage crew in removing parts of the airplane and
its engine, Boyer said.
The plane, a two-seat Glasair II, was built in 1996 and
registered to Patrick O'Brien of the Orange County coastal
community of San Clemente. Attempts to reach O'Brien's residence
were not immediately successful.
The 11:24 a.m. crash left a gaping, smoldering hole in the
two-story house and set fire to an adjacent home, which is likely
uninhabitable, Boyer said.
Article from the Associated Press.
Emergency Landing For Fossett; Still Breaks Record
It wasn't pretty, but he made it. Adventurer Steve Fossett has broken the world record for the longest ever flight in history, but it ended with a dramatic emergency landing in Southern England.
He travelled 26,389.3 miles and had a flight duration of 76 hours 45 minutes.
Just miles from his destination at Kent International Airport, Fossett's generator failed, which meant a total electrical breakdown, according to the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer website.
He was forced to make an emergency Mayday call through to Bournemouth Airport, and was given a short window through which to land.
Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic, Steve Ridgeway said: "If we didn’t get him down in fifteen minutes, he would have had to have ditched the plane."
The major problem occurred just after Sir Richard Branson had called Fossett to congratulate him on his world record, which he actually broke when be flew over Shannon after covering the 26,000 miles required.
According to the website, on landing, Fossett burst two tires, and his windscreen was iced up so much that he couldn't see even a few feet in front of him. Not only all that, but he had only 200 pounds of fuel left.
Branson, along with Fossett's wife Peggy, were with him at Bournemouth. After health checks, Fossett will make the journey to Kent International Airport to celebrate his amazing adventure.
For pictures and blogs from Steve Fossett's flight, go to the Global Flyer website.
Student, Instructor & 3rd Pilot Killed Over San Diego
EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) -- An aircraft carrying a student and his
instructor collided with a small plane whose pilot was on a solo
pleasure flight, killing all three men and scattering debris over a
square mile, investigators said Thursday.
The two Cessnas took off about a minute apart from Gillespie
Field, a small airport in the east San Diego suburb of El Cajon,
and collided about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday about three miles from the
airport at an altitude of 2,300 feet, according to the National
Transportation Safety Board, which was investigating the crash.
Authorities declined to release the identities of the three men
killed in the collision. The San Diego Medical Examiner's office
said it was trying to use fingerprints to confirm the victims'
identities, a process investigators said they hoped to complete
Thursday.
The student and instructor were aboard a Cessna 172RG that
crashed in a park, El Cajon Fire Chief Mike Scott said. The other
plane, a Cessna 182Q, crashed into a home, igniting a small attic
fire that was quickly extinguished.
No one was inside the home and no one on the ground was injured,
Scott said.
The registered owner of Cessna 172RG was Scandinavian Aviation
Academy Inc. of San Diego, according to the Federal Aviation
Administration. The Cessna 182Q was registered to Signal Mountain
Aviation Inc. of Wilmington, Del., according to the FAA.
A message left at the offices of Scandinavian Aviation Academy
was not immediately returned. No phone listing could be found for
Signal Mountain Aviation in San Diego or Delaware.
NTSB investigators were gathering pieces of wreckage and planned
to reassemble the plane at a private facility in Littlerock, north
of Los Angeles, said agency spokeswoman Kristi Dunks.
Dunks said the Scandinavian Aviation Academy training flight
took off first from Gillespie Field, followed a minute later by the
other Cessna. The student on board the training flight was a pilot
with flying experience and was familiarizing himself with the San
Diego area, Dunks said.
Bryce Segaux, an 18-year-old senior at Grossmont High School,
was working in the school's auto shop when he saw a small plane
sputter, lose altitude and crash into another aircraft.
"There was a big old fireball," Segaux said.
Chris Rohan, 29, of El Cajon was walking his dog at the park
when he heard a loud explosion. Rohan said he looked up and saw
three or four pieces of flaming debris falling from the sky. A wing
landed about a foot away from his car, he said.
"Everyone was panicking," Rohan said.
Article by the Associated Press.
NASCAR Plane Crash Clues Revealed
It was a huge loss to the world of NASCAR. A Beech King Air carrying members of the Hendrick Motorsports team crashes on a foggy October morning on its way to a race, killing all 10 aboard.
Now, the National Transportation Safety Board has determined the crash was a result of pilot error, just as a lawsuit is reportedly filed by a surviving family member.
On October 12, 2004, a Beech King Air aircraft transporting
eight passengers, including Hendrick Motorsports employees,
and two flight crewmembers collided with mountainous terrain
during a missed approach to Martinsville/Blue Ridge Airport,
Martinsville, Virginia. All 10 persons aboard the airplane
died and the aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a
post crash fire.
The NTSB says the crash was due to the flight crew's failure to properly execute the published instrument approach procedure. The Board also says the crew failed to use all navigational aids to confirm and monitor the airplane's
position during the approach.
The flight departed Concord Regional Airport, Concord, North
Carolina, operating on instrument flight rules. Radar data
shows that, after the plane was cleared for landing for a
localizer runway 30 approach at Martinsville Airport, the
plane did not descend at the proper point. About seven
miles beyond the airport, the airplane initiated a straight-
ahead climb. The airplane's radar target was lost.
The missed approach should have occurred over the
Martinsville Airport by executing a climbing right turn.
The airplane was not equipped with a ground proximity
warning system.
"The approach and missed approach procedures provide for
safe operation in instrument weather conditions," said NTSB
Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. "It is imperative that
pilots use all available navigational aids to ensure that
the approach is properly flown."
A synopsis of the report can be found on the Board's
website, www.ntsb.gov.
A woman whose husband was among 10 people killed has reportedly filed a lawsuit against the racing company and two pilots' estates.
According to the television station WCNC, the lawsuit was filed by Randy Dorton's widow Dianne Dorton, and claims that Hendrick Motorsports and the pilots were negligent in allowing the plane to fly to and try to land.
Randy Dorton was head of Hendrick Motorsports' engine program and lived in Lincoln County. Dianne Dorton still lives in the county and filed the lawsuit there in December.
In addition to negligence by Hendrick Motorsports and the pilots, Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison, the lawsuit alleges that the company and pilots engaged in "willful, wanton and/or reckless" conduct related to the Oct. 24 flight.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages of more than $10,000 from the defendants, as well as punitive damages from Hendrick Motorsports.
Article compiled on 2/8/06 by Chris Archer; Send him an email
A synopsis of the report can be found on the NTSB Website.
For a link to WCNC-TV, click here.
Diamond Thief?
Salt Lake City authorities are remaining tight-lipped in their investigation of how a small plane ended-up away from its tie-down and on the side of a runway at Airport #2 Monday morning, with no one in it.
Salt Lake City Department of Airports spokeswoman Barbara Gann did confirm Tuesday that the FBI is involved in the investigation. Gann earlier told KSL-TV, the plane "was still running, so it looks like someone either tried to take it for a joy ride, or maybe attempted to steal it."
The Diamond DA-20 is registered to Belfort Aviation in Park City. It was reported missing at about 7:00am, according to the television station.
Article updated 2/7/06 by Chris Archer; Send him an email
To see the story and pictures on KSL's website, click here.
D-Day For ADIZ
Time's up. February 6th is the deadline for pilots to file comments against the proposal to make the Washington Air Defense Identification Zone, known as ADIZ, permanent.
According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, more than 20,000 pilots have already given their thoughts to the FAA, which extended the original deadline by 90 days because of the huge influx of comments.
The ADIZ was created in February 2003 as part of a "heightened" terror alert level. Many pilots, and even air traffic controllers, fear that a permanent ADIZ will severely disrupt the flow of traffic, not just around Baltimore and Washington, DC, but all up and down the East Coast.
AOPA has made filing your comments easy. To do it now, click here and you'll be directed to their site.
Article written 2/5/06 by Chris Archer; Send him an email
Super TFR, For Super Bowl
It didn't take a coin flip. General Aviation knew this was coming. The FAA is telling pilots to stay away from Detroit's Ford Field before and during Super Bowl XL this Sunday, February 5th.
A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) will be in place within a 30-mile radius from the stadium from 4 p.m. until midnight local time. The TFR will include an inner ring surrounding Ford Field with a radius of 10 nautical miles and up to 18,000 feet.
The FAA says the TFR doesn't include Canada. However, AOPA President Phil Boyer revealed this week on his organization's website, "AOPA has learned that, while Canada's security officials won't request a security-related notam for the Super Bowl, U.S. officials have requested through diplomatic channels that Transport Canada extend the TFR into their airspace, completing the 30-nautical-mile circle around Ford Field. And we understand that Canada granted the request for reasons not directly related to any real threat to the Super Bowl from general aviation."
100,000 fans are expected to flock to Detroit for the game. The stadium seats 65,000 people.
In general, flights are prohibited within the inner ring except for authorized law enforcement, emergency medical and military operations.
The TFR also will include an outer ring surrounding Ford Field with a radius of 30 nautical miles and up to 18,000 feet. All aircraft entering or exiting this outer ring must be on an active IFR or VFR flight plan, and must remain in two-way radio communication with air traffic control.
The restrictions will ground flights at Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport (DET) and Windsor Airport (CYQG) in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Visit the FAA website and the AOPA website for more information.
Article written 2/3/06 by Chris Archer; Send him an email
Oakland Airport Unveils Long Term Plans
California's Oakland International Airport gave us a look into the future Tuesday night. The rapidly expanding airport released its Master Plan Project through the year 2025.
Most of the changes will be to the South Field, a part of the airport used primarily for commercial and cargo operations on Runway 29-11. The plans show growth for general aviation, as well, which uses the North Field runways.
South Field Highlights:
-By 2012: add a new passenger facility, which may include a new terminal, north of the existing terminal
-By 2012: add new taxiways, including a high-speed taxiway exit from Runway 29 to minimize runway occupancy time after landing
-By 2025: add to the passenger facility (possibly a new terminal) north of the current terminal
-No new runway is recommended due to environmental/financial concerns
North Field (GA) Highlights:
-By 2012: add new land use for general aviation ramps and/or hangers
-By 2025: add new general aviation land use designation
Airport officials say they anticipate that the master plan will be reviewed and
recommended by the aviation committee of the Board of Port Commissioners on
Feb. 27 and approved by the board on March 7.
However, they stress that both dates are tentative.
Community members are invited to attend these meetings as well.
Visit the Oakland Airport web page for more information.
Article written 1/31/06 by Chris Archer; Send him an email
|
|
|
