Martha May has been named senior VP-human resources and corporate officer of Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Rockwell Collins, effective April 8. She will succeed Ron Kirchenbauer, who will retire at the end of April. May was senior VP and chief human resources officer of Bell Helicopter.

After cutting its workforce nearly in half in recent years, Cessna Aircraft is now looking at expansion: it wants to increase its sales force by 50%. The move comes as the Wichita airframer is in the throes of bringing six new or upgraded aircraft to market this year. The first of which, the more powerful Caravan, has already entered service.

While the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) early March 15 hadn’t yet acknowledged its receipt of the long-overdue repair station security rule, Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole says the rule has been forwarded to OMB for the beginning of a 60- to 90-day review. OMB review is usually the final hurdle before a rule can be issued. “For the first time in a while, we are making progress,” Pistole told the House transportation security subcommittee during a March 14 hearing when asked for an update on the rule.

Embraer is remaining cautious about the outlook for the executive jet market, even as the company’s revenues from the segment grew 15.5% last year. Embraer has been encouraged by the growth of American corporate profits and the number of millionaires worldwide. But the company says slow growth of some economies and uncertainty in Europe, as well as lower utilization of business jets are factors “that jeopardize a full recovery of the demand for business jets.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is releasing five safety alerts for general aviation pilots and mechanics, warning of the need to improve decision-making, risk assessment and maintenance errors. The alerts, adopted during a March 12 board meeting, is part of the NTSB’s effort to raise visibility on one of its “Most Wanted” safety issues – general aviation safety.

Dassault is prepping the next two members of its Falcon 2000 family – the S and LXS – for initial deliveries after both received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification last week. The March 11 certification puts the 2000LXS ahead of schedule. It was originally anticipated to enter the market in 2014, but Dassault now expects the aircraft to enter service in the second half of this year. The 2000S, meanwhile, is slated for first deliveries in the second quarter.

The emergence and strong sales of Frank Robinson’s R66 Turbine is causing helicopter manufacturers to think again about the light single-turbine market. For years, Robinson’s piston R22 and R44s were considered to be in a league of their own. But the development and certification of the R66—nearly 200 of which were delivered in 2012—has raised eyebrows, as it begins to impinge on markets that were previously strongholds of models produced by Bell, MD, Enstrom and to some extent Eurocopter.

Airlines rarely have sufficient spare staff that are expert in both MRO and IT to manage a major IT transformation.