Aviation News

Epic Air will enter bankruptcy; aircraft owners want to revive company

Peter Sachs — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:14:42 +0000

A federal court action has Bend, Ore.-based Epic Air moving one step closer to bankruptcy, now that a separate organization known as a receiver has been named to take charge of Epic’s assets. Epic quietly laid off all of its workers in two waves earlier this year, shutting its doors this month when it fell behind on lease payments for its building, the Bend Bulletin reported. Epic’s owners have not spoken publicly since earlier this summer, after one buyer of an Epic LT sued after his plane was not completed on time. At the time, the company’s management insisted that it had enough cash on hand to keep operating. But Epic has gotten no new orders in the last year, former employees said. Owners of the Epic LT single engine turboprop, an experimental aircraft, say the design is viable and they want to find a way to get the company up on its feet again. There are about 35 registered Epic LTs in operation, according to the FAA’s aircraft registry database.

FAA plans to eliminate 154 non-precision VOR and NDB approaches

Peter Sachs — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:13:22 +0000

As part of its ongoing process of phasing out obsolete approaches at airports with new GPS approaches, the FAA has released a new list of instrument procedures that it plans to decommission. The list includes 154 VOR and NDB approaches, including some early GPS overlay approaches, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association reported. All of the GPS approaches and most of the VOR approaches are circling procedures that do not guide planes in to a specific runway. And nearly all of the airports are served by more precise ILS or GPS approaches. Even still, AOPA wants pilots to review the list for their local airports to ensure that needed procedures aren’t being cut. As the FAA has cut old non-precision approaches over the last few years, it has created nearly 1,700 precision WAAS approaches that use GPS to provide lower minimums without having to install or maintain ground-based approach equipment at each airport. But to take advantage of those approaches, pilots must install newer and more costly GPS units in their planes.

Maine air ambulance company could be model for safer operations

Peter Sachs — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:12:14 +0000

A small nonprofit air ambulance service in Maine that has been accident-free could provide an alterative model for such operations across the nation. LifeFlight of Maine, which operates two Agusta A109E helicopters, has outfitted the aircraft with hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment to improve flight safety, and in the process has adopted nearly every safety recommendation that the National Transportation Safety Board has made for air ambulances, the Washington Post reported. LifeFlight spent $275,000 on night vision goggles, spare parts and monthly training sessions on using the equipment. Both helicopters are equipped with three-axis autopilots, radar altimeters and onboard weather radar, allowing them to fly under instrument flight rules. The program, created in 1998 by two Maine hospitals but operated as a separate nonprofit organization, has never had an accident. Its helicopters respond to about one-half of 1 percent of all emergency medical calls in the state, or 1,400 last year. That’s a far smaller proportion than for many other air ambulance services, most of which are for-profit businesses.

Dreamliner to fly by end of year; Boeing moves on S. Carolina assembly plant

Peter Sachs — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:11:24 +0000

Boeing has released a new testing and production schedule for its 787 jet program, which is now two years behind schedule. The 787’s first flight will happen by the end of this year and deliveries will begin in late 2010, but investors are skeptical the company will stick to that timeline, the Seattle Times reported. The latest delays, announced in June, came when engineers discovered weaknesses in the joints that connect the wings with the fuselage. The first three test planes have been so extensively modified to correct those flaws that customers don’t want to buy them once flight tests are complete, so Boeing is taking a $2.5 billion loss on those aircraft. The losses will climb higher as some airlines will seek compensation for the delays. All Nippon Airways, the Dreamliner’s first customer, has said it will seek an unspecified amount from Boeing, likely in the form of discounts on new planes. ANA has ordered 55 Dreamliners and was once slated to start getting them in late 2008, Bloomberg reported. Because of the delays, it ordered several Boeing 767s instead. Other airlines may also follow suit, and 75 orders for the 787 have been cancelled this year, leaving Boeing with what remains a record 850 orders for the plane. To help it speed up production once the plane gets off the ground, Boeing may convert a facility it recently purchased in South Carolina. That plant, which was previously owned by a company that made the 787’s rear fuselage assembly, would be the first such final assembly facility outside of the Seattle region. Washington state is also vying to have a second Dreamliner final assembly line located there, and Boeing has not yet made its decision.

NTSB wants planes, helicopters at different altitudes over Hudson

Peter Sachs — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:10:32 +0000

The NTSB wants the FAA to take quick action that could prevent another mid-air collision over the Hudson River like the one earlier this month that killed nine people. Establishing mandatory altitudes for airplanes and helicopters to fly at while in the congested river corridor is one move that could help, the board said in a letter to the FAA. Requiring all aircraft to monitor and transmit on a common traffic advisory frequency could also make a difference, the letter says. The NTSB wants changes to air traffic control procedures so that controllers would be required to either tell aircraft to switch to the advisory frequency or else clear aircraft to enter the Class B airspace above the river corridor. At the time of the collision, the Piper Lance that was involved had asked for flight following and was being handed off from one controller to another, while the sightseeing helicopter was making position reports on the existing common frequency. The FAA has said it will wait to act until it sees the report from a working group of controllers and safety experts that it convened two weeks ago. That group is expected to complete its work this week, the New York Times reported.

300 more jobs cut at Hawker Beechcraft

Peter Sachs — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:09:01 +0000

Citing a weak business jet market where financing is hard to get and buyers are leery, Hawker Beechcraft last week laid off 300 more employees and has stopped matching 401(k) retirement contributions for the next year. The latest round of layoffs brings to 3,100 the number of positions Hawker Beechcraft has cut since November, a 32-percent reduction, the Wichita Eagle reported. Hawker is also shuffling some of its management, with three vice presidents resigning last week. About half of the most recent layoffs affect union production line employees, while the rest are spread throughout the rest of the company.

Klapmeier’s bid to buy Vision jet collapses

Peter Sachs — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:06:21 +0000

Former Cirrus Aircraft CEO Alan Klapmeier’s bid to buy the company’s jet program has failed after the two sides could not agree on a purchase price. Details of the negotiation have not been released, so it is not known how far apart the sides were, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association reported. Klapmeier, who stepped down as CEO in February, said in June he wanted to buy the Vision SJ-50 single-engine jet program and start his own company to finish developing the jet and start producing it. That would have left Cirrus with just its piston line of aircraft. Cirrus CEO Brent Wouters said last week the company is moving forward with detailed design of the jet, a prototype of which has completed about 200 hours of testing. Wouters said other investors interested in getting a stake in the jet program have approached Cirrus since Klapmeier’s public effort fell apart. As of this month, Klapmeier will also be losing his post as Cirrus’ board chairman, the Experimental Aircraft Association reported. That will leave the company’s co-founder with few official ties to it.

AirVenture: Babbitt says he’ll bring GA’s security concerns to TSA

Peter Sachs — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:05:07 +0000

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt told about 200 pilots at AirVenture that he’d heard their concerns about a government security directive that would mean background checks and paperwork for general aviation pilots who use busy airports. Babbitt said he would talk with the TSA’s chief once that person has been confirmed and installed in the post, AOPA reported. Safety and NextGen were also big topics in Babbitt’s address. Serious runway incursions have dropped by about 70 percent in the last year and fatal accidents are down 12 percent in that same amount of time, he said. But he emphasized the need for continued training on runway safety issues and said the FAA was looking for low-cost runway status lights that could be installed at small airports. On NextGen, Babbitt sounded an optimistic tone that cockpit devices would decrease in price in the coming years. By 2020, planes that use airspace where transponders are required will have to be equipped with ADS-B gear, he said.

NTSB makes more bird strike recommendations after 2008 Oklahoma crash

Peter Sachs — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:04:06 +0000

The National Transportation Safety Board is seeking stricter and more thorough regulations that would protect airframes of all sizes from bird strikes. The new recommendation comes as the board released its report into the March 2008 collision of a Cessna 500 jet with a pelican near Oklahoma City. The jet lost control and crashed, killing all five people on board. Similar to recommendations the NTSB made after the ditching of a US Airways flight in the Hudson River earlier this year, the board also wants better reporting and data on aircraft bird strikes. The FAA also should do a better job making sure airports in wildlife areas stick to published plans to deter birds and other animals, the NTSB said. In the Oklahoma City crash, the pelican struck one wing, causing extensive damage to it. The NTSB said it wants to see more published guidance for how pilots should respond in such incidents.

Hersman takes over as NTSB chair; Rosenker steps down after 6 years on board

Peter Sachs — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:02:20 +0000

The NTSB’s newest chairwoman, five-year board member Deborah Hersman, was sworn in last week, replacing Mark Rosenker at the top post. Hersman’s background includes five years working as a staffer on a U.S. Senate committee that dealt with transportation issues. In the aviation field, she chaired the NTSB’s recent public hearings on the 2006 crash of a regional jet in Jefferson City, Mo. Also in 2006, she was also on the scene of the Delta Connection crash in Lexington, Ky., and the crash of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle’s Cirrus SR-22 into a Manhattan high-rise. Rosenker leaves the NTSB after six years on the board, serving as acting chairman or chairman for most of that time. During Rosenker’s time as chairman, the board removed one of its “Most Wanted” recommendations, for systems to suppress explosive vapors in aircraft fuel tanks. He also oversaw the Board’s involvement in issues like runway incursions, unmanned aerial vehicle safety emergency medical helicopter safety.