Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is hoping the investigation into the Sept. 29 crash of a Cessna Citation CJ2+, N194SJ, at Santa Monica Airport (SMO) will lead to a much larger look at the safety of the airport’s layout. SMO critics have long pushed for curbs on the use of the airport or closure of it altogether, arguing that the layout does not provide enough safety buffers to protect neighboring residents.

Brazilian airframer Embraer believes the next notable pickup in the market will be for midsize jets, but cautions that improvement will require consumer confidence to grow. Embraer, which keeps a rolling forecast of the market, sees a shift, with midsize jets playing a much greater role in the next few years than they have recently.

Atlantic Aviation is facing a few mostly procedural hearings as the company continues its effort to halt development of a Signature Flight Support fixed-base operation at Mineta San Jose Airport in California. The two sides are meeting Sept. 27 for a settlement conference required under California law when a petition is filed citing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Santa Clara County Court on Oct. 3 will then follow with a hearing on objections to the lawsuit.

The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority will conduct a review of offshore helicopter operations in the North Sea following a fatal accident off the Shetland Islands last month. Four oil workers died Aug. 23 when a CHC-operated Eurocopter AS332L2 Super Puma ditched into the North Sea just minutes before it was due to land at Sumburgh Airport. Twelve passengers and the two pilots escaped, but one crewmember was seriously injured.

Quest Aircraft is reaching a “critical decision” point on whether to boost production of its single-turboprop Kodiak from two to three aircraft per month, a move that comes as the Sandpoint, Idaho-based manufacturer reaches a milestone delivery mark. Quest this month celebrated the handing over of the its 100th aircraft, six years after it received type certification and 12 years after the company was formally established. The 100th aircraft went to Phoenix-based Sunstate Aviation.

Business aviation leaders are backing an emissions proposal that the full International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly is set to consider, saying it could lead to a global compromise on aviation emissions. The ICAO Council earlier this month agreed to a proposal to implement global market-based measures by 2020 to help curb aviation emissions. The assembly is expected to take action on the proposal during its meeting from Sept. 24-Oct. 4.

While Redbird Skyport’s $1-per-gal. aviation gasoline trial does not begin until Oct. 1, the fuel price sensitivity experiment is already gaining substantial attention from would-be customers, company executives say. The San Marco, Texas-based fixed-base operator announced in August that it was working with more than a dozen general aviation companies and organizations on a $1-per-gal. avgas experiment to gather data on the price sensitivity of operators.

I began my career in the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry as an export sales manager for a European missile manufacturer (now MBDA). It was a somewhat unusual career move for a business school graduate with no engineering background. Today, even fewer graduates have A&D high on their lists when they look for jobs as sales or marketing managers. This is, after all, an industry built by engineers, and its reputation is based primarily on products and the technological innovations that underpin them.