A widely accepted cause of accidents attributed to pilot error in the past two decades has been poor cockpit resource management (CRM). It has become well established that deficient or flawed attitude and knowledge components of pilot performance have been a major factor in CRM performance break downs.
Metro Business Aviation at London's Luton Airport has expanded its general aviation parking area by 47,000 square feet. Located at Stands 18 and 19 just off taxiway Alpha, the space ``will easily accommodate a number of large aircraft at any one time,'' says Claire Lynam, Metro's marketing manager. The additional parking will enable quicker transfers and more immediate FBO services. London Luton is the United Kingdom's fastest growing airport, according to CAA statistics. Over four million passengers passed through it in 1998, a 27.8-percent increase over 1997.
If you want a tie-breaker when it's neck and neck between two front runners for your piloting job, or if you've decided that pen-and-pencil testing is not for you, there is still a way to use some psychology to find the right crewmember to fit your operation. Maybe you've been doing it all along. The technique is called behavioral interviewing, ``asking your job candidates how they would behave in certain situations,'' said Benjamin Schneider, professor of industrial and organizational psychology at the University of Maryland.
Edited By Paul RichfieldMike Vines, in Birmingham, England Airshare Fractional Takes Off
A consortium of private investors in the United Kingdom has launched Airshare, a fractional ownership operation formed around two used Cessna CitationJets. The West Sussex-based company says it plans to use its first six-seat jet as a ``core fleet aircraft,'' and the second, due this month, as the nucleus of its fractional ownership business.
Lino Garcia joined the full-service FBO as manager of sales and support. Additionally, the FAA has named Marilyn Feigl, the company's director of engineering, as one of its designated engineering representatives in the state.
Few generations are given the opportunity to live through a transition from one paradigm to another. But pilots who routinely fly international trips are participating in a fundamental evolution in oceanic air traffic control from the archaic manual system of pilot-radioed position reporting to an automated system based on satellite communication and navigation and computerized near real-time surveillance (CNS).
The 1999 Directory of State Aviation Officials is available from the National Association of State Aviation Officials for $30 by calling (301) 588-0587
Delta Air Lines' pilots have filed suit in federal court in a bid to keep the airline from using a code-share partner's regional jets to expand its East Coast Shuttle service. Delta wants Comair to fly up to three roundtrip flights per day at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA), using the commuter airline's slot exemptions. Since Comair's pilots are not Delta employees, operating these flights under the ``Delta Shuttle'' brand constitutes a contract violation, the pilots say.
SkyWest Airlines has converted options for 10 Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs), bringing its firm CRJ orders to 45 aircraft, 10 of which have been delivered. The St. George, Utah-based airline was the U.S. launch customer for the 50-seat CRJ in 1989, and retains the option to buy 35 more of the General Electric-powered aircraft. SkyWest has expanded rapidly since it assumed the West Coast United Express feeder routes vacated by Mesa Air Group in 1998.
US Airways Express regional Piedmont Airlines has ordered nine Bombardier de Havilland Dash-8Q-200 aircraft (37 seats), bringing the Salisbury, Md.-based airline's Dash-8 fleet to 93 aircraft. Separately, Jersey European Airways (JEA) of Exeter, United Kingdom will acquire 17 Bombardier regional aircraft, including three Dash-8Q-200s, four 50-seat Q-300s, four 78-seat Q-400s, four 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) Series 200s (50-seats) and two leased Q-300s. With the order, JEA becomes the U.K. launch customer for the Q-400.
Weather Services International (WSI) has upgraded its PILOTbrief Vector preflight weather briefing system to portray sigmets, airmets and other weather advisories in graphic form. WSI says the new system allows pilots to ``assess projected weather hazards without having to decipher National Weather Service text messages.'' The upgrade is free to the 2,000 current Vector users, which include corporate flight departments, flight schools, EMS operators and military installations, the Litton-owned company says.
Columbia Air Services has received FAA approval to fly charters throughout the United States with a single owned Piper Cheyenne II aircraft. The Groton, Conn.-based company also is seeking permission to fly in Canada, and hopes to add three managed aircraft -- a Cheyenne, a Cessna Citation and a Pilatus PC-12 -- to its charter operation in the coming months. ``Becoming an FAR Part 135 operator is a logical step, since it complements the company's aircraft sales and maintenance divisions while creating an entirely new customer base,'' says Columbia President Harry Holt.
Raytheon is displaying a mockup of its new Premier I business jet in eight European cities on a tour that began in Madrid on April 6, and ends in Farnborough, England on June 29. In between, the six-seat mockup will visit the EBAA show in Brussels; the Aero 99 show in Friedrichshafen, Germany; ATBA in Dusseldorf; and the Paris Air Show. In some locations, Raytheon also will display a Beechjet 400A and a King Air 200. Raytheon claims more than 150 orders for the Premier, which is now in flight test.
Rifton Aviation and Wings Associates will partner in the acquisition, sale and management of used business jets. The two companies plan to purchase ``top quality'' aircraft and offer them for resale at Rifton's Stewart International Airport headquarters in Newburgh, N.Y. ``Now with Rifton as our partner, we can provide complete turnkey service under one roof,'' says Michael O'Kane, president of White Plains, N.Y.-based Wings Associates. The partnership says it will focus on aircraft ranging from the CitationJet to Gulfstreams, Falcons and Challengers.
AlliedSignal has fielded several new features on its FAA-mandated enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS). The system now displays man-made obstacles, mountain peaks and ``geometric altitude,'' which gives a more accurate readout than barometric altitude in cold weather and other pressure conditions. An updated terrain/obstacle database covers North America for now, and an expanded one is expected soon.
AlliedSignal Inc. (Phoenix) -- James D. Taiclet, Jr. was named president of the company's Aerospace Services unit. AOPA Air Safety Foundation (Frederick, Md.) -- Richard Hiner has been appointed vice president of training in charge of the ASF's safety seminar program. ARINC (Annapolis, Md.) -- Tricia G. Kirk has been selected as staff vice president of operations. Austin Jet International (Horseshoe Bay, Texas) -- Thomas Trejo joined the company as sales pilot and aircraft sales researcher.
FAA, Boeing and Boeing subcontractors are reviewing an NTSB recommendation for a new study of Boeing 737 rudder systems. The Safety Board wants a review that starts from scratch and is to be accomplished without regard to present flight control certification standards. The review was one of several recommendations made by the Board after finding that a rudder reversal was probably the cause of at least two catastrophic 737 accidents -- USAir Flight 427 at Aliquippa, Pa. in 1994 and United Airlines Flight 585 at Colorado Springs in 1991.
Inflight entertainment provider Airshow Inc. has acquired Flight Tech, a Hillsboro, Ore.-based company specializing in entertainment systems for corporate aircraft. The acquisition marks Airshow's entry into the light-jet marketplace; the company previously had targeted small aircraft owners. Airshow President Dennis Ferguson says the deal ``provides a technical platform for developing future integrated cabin systems.''
Photograph: SR20 production will continue. Cirrus Cirrus Design's SR20 prototype crashed near Duluth International Airport on March 23, killing pilot Scott Anderson, 33, director of the company's flight test program. The cause of the crash is unknown, and the aircraft was not equipped with a ballistic parachute recovery system designed to float it to the ground in the event of an emergency. ``Words cannot describe the loss we feel at Cirrus,'' says Alan Klapmeier, the company's president.
When USAir Flight 427, a Boeing 737-300, crashed in September 1994 while maneuvering to land at Pittsburgh International Airport, the NTSB began the longest investigation in its history -- a four-and-one-half year study that concluded in March with a call for a reengineering of the world's most-popular airline transport along with significant changes to pilot training and transport aircraft certification standards.
The U.S. government has placed a firm order for two additional Gulfstream C-37A (G-V) aircraft worth around $77 million. The order will bring the U.S. C-37A fleet to six aircraft; the latest two will be used for counter-terrorism and disaster relief missions by the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force placed an order for two firm and four optional C-37As in April 1997, and has since ordered one additional aircraft for Army use, and one for the Defense Department's ``regional commander-in-chief'' support mission. One unexercised option remains on the Air Force contract.
Banyan Air Service received the Achievement in Community Service Award from the city of Fort Lauderdale and Executive Airport. The FBO captured the honor for ``outstanding commitment'' to NATA's Executive Airport Noise Abatement Program.
