GROWING DISSATISFACTION by passengers with airline service led Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to introduce the Air Travelers' Fair Treatment Act, which would require airlines to give passengers accurate and timely explanations for flight delays and cancellations. A second Reid initiative, the Airline Competition Preservation Bill, would give DOT the authority to intervene in a market and roll back fares if three or fewer airlines account for more than 70 percent of the scheduled air traffic.
EVERGREEN INTERNATIONAL AVIATION tapped Trevor Van Horn as president of Evergreen Air Center, an FAA-certified unlimited repair station in Marana, Ariz. Van Horn has 20 years of management experience, most recently as vice president and general manager at Agrimond L.L.C. He also has served at USA Parking Systems, APCOA, Inc., Western Pacific Airlines, San Bernardino International Airport Authority, Lockheed Air Terminal, PVH Enterprises and Stateswest Airlines.
DAVID L. TAYLOR was named senior vice president and chief operating officer of Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. He was previously vice president of the company's commercial space operations business unit.
AERO TWIN, Anchorage, Alaska, won supplemental type certificate approval for installation of folding utility seats and a floor structure modification on the Cessna 206 Caravan. The modifications allow easy installation or removal of the seats and a net useful load increase of 22 pounds. Aero Twin said up to four seats could be installed in a variety of configurations for mission adaptability. Aero Twin, a designated alteration station, has developed and certified more than 25 modifications for utility airplanes.
150, 172, 175, 180, 182, 185, 206, 210, and 336 series airplanes (Docket No. 98-CE-57-AD) - extended the comment period on a proposal to require, on aircraft equipped with 0513166 series plastic control wheels, repetitive inspections of the wheels for cracks, conducting a pull test on these wheels, and replacement of any control wheels that are cracked or that do not pass the pull test. Replacement of the control wheels would be with ones that are FAA-approved and are not 0513166 series plastic control wheels.
NASA is expected to release in the next few weeks an NRA (NASA Research Announcement) requesting proposals from companies and other organizations for participation in its Small Aircraft Transport System (SATS) program. The NRA will seek one-year demonstration projects that advance the goals of SATS, designed to increase availability of low-cost general aviation aircraft and access to small airports. The NRA is expected to draw more than just aviation companies, the states of Florida and Oklahoma, in particular, have expressed substantial interest in participating.
QUALIMETRICS, INC. won a contract from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to provide, install and train local technicians on Automated Weather Observing Systems (AWOS) for two airports in Colombia - San Jose del Guaviare and Puerto Inirida. The AWOS systems provide information on surface weather conditions by measuring and reporting wind speed and wind direction, altimeter setting, barometric pressure, temperature and relative humidity. The systems are to be installed by March.
GLEN GOLDEN was appointed vice president of product services for Aerospace Products International. Golden has served with API since its inception in 1988 and has been operations manager, director of sales, director of inventory and logistics and senior director of product supply.
DUANE DAMIANI was appointed regional sales manager for Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Western Pennsylvania for Galaxy Aerospace. Damiani most recently was senior sales executive for Gulfstream's completion center in Savannah, Ga., and also spent eight years as the company's regional vice president for Asia and the Pacific. Damiani also has served as a chief of engineering for Hudson Bay Oil & Gas.
German regional carrier Eurowings placed an order for 15 50-seat CRJ200 regional jets plus 30 options. The order is linked to Lufthansa's 24.9 percent investment in the carrier. Eurowings intends to build up a stronger regional presence for Lufthansa in western Germany. Orders by other regional carriers associated with Lufthansa are likely to follow as the aviation concern is currently discussing a revamped regional strategy with its partners. Augsburg Airways expects to make a decision on a jet order within three to six months.
LARRY POWELL was promoted to material leader for the airframes and engines center of excellence for Garrett Aviation Services. Powell has more than 20 years of experience in materials management, previously as the corporate materials manager for Honeywell engines consignment material in the Garrett corporate offices in Tempe, Ariz.
Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) executives were unsuccessful in their latest attempt to convince Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials to raise aircraft weight limits at Teterboro Airport, N.J. (TEB). "There's no change in status as a result of the meeting," said a Port Authority spokesman.
Canadian investment partnership ONCAP L.P. struck an agreement to buy the outstanding shares of high-technology electronics innovator BAE Systems Canada Inc. for $25.25 (Canadian) per in share in cash in a deal with an expected value of $594 million. Majority shareholder BAE Systems p.l.c., with a 54 percent stake in the former Canadian Marconi company, has signed off on the deal, and if the initial transaction is not completed, then BAE Systems agreed to sell to ONCAP shares that represent 49 percent of the outstanding shares at a price of $25.25 each.
FAA, tackling one of the core airline delay factors, presented four "concepts" last week it will introduce to the public at a year-long series of meetings aimed at relieving airspace congestion and aircraft noise generated by Newark, New York Kennedy and LaGuardia, Philadelphia and several regional and general aviation airports in the New York metropolitan area. Frank Hatfield, Eastern Region air traffic division manager, said a fifth option of "doing nothing" is not under serious consideration. Public meetings begin this month.
Docket No.: 30081 Section of the 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Sec. 61.133(b)(1) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit KEI to conduct passenger-carrying operations on cross-country flights in excess of 50 nautical miles without holding an instrument rating in the same category and class of aircraft listed on the commercial pilot certificate. Denial, Dec. 18, 2000, Exemption No. 7407
Circumstances surrounding the Jan. 27 crash of a King Air 200 that claimed eight students and officials from Oklahoma State University indicate the aircraft may have encountered icing conditions shortly after takeoff from Denver's Jeffco Airport (BJC). The aircraft, with two pilots, was carrying eight passengers - part of a contingent that included OSU basketball players, university officials, a student manager and broadcasters. Other members of the OSU men's basketball team and officials were traveling on two other aircraft.
LUFTHANSA TECHNIK is offering an adjustable control system for cabin lighting and call system for its corporate aircraft customers. The company said its own engineers developed the new cabin lighting control system (CLCS) because "systems available on the market do not possess the desired features." Lufthansa Technik said the bus-based design significantly reduces cabling costs and thereby lowers installation costs compared with conventional systems that require a separate cable for each switching function.
Docket No.: FAA-2000-8179 Section of 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Sec. 91.531(a)(3) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit Fairchild to conduct production and experimental test flights in SA227-CC and SA227-DC Metro 23 airplanes without a pilot designated as second-in-command. Grant, Nov. 28, 2000, Exemption No. 5367F
Docket No.: 30052 Section of the 14 CFR Affected: 14 CFR Sec. 25.807(f)(4) Description of Relief Sought/Disposition: To permit an interior arrangement on an Airbus Model A340-600 that does not provide 60 feet or less between passenger emergency exits in the side of the fuselage. Denial, Dec. 11, 2000, Exemption No. 7404
ADMINISTRATOR GARVEY, FAA's Management Advisory Committee and the Air Traffic Services Subcommittee are wrestling with finding a chief operating officer to head FAA's air traffic operations. AIR-21 set the COO's salary at the same level as the Administrator's, $145,000 plus a possible 30 percent performance bonus. Garvey told the U.S.
BIFS TECHNOLOGIES CORP. of Sarasota, Fla., is acquiring controlling interest in GPS Integrators Inc., which specializes in providing management and operational information systems to airports and military establishments worldwide. The company maintains systems in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea and Germany.
Pursuant to FAA's rulemaking provisions governing the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for exemption (14 CFR Part 11), this notice contains a summary of certain petitions seeking relief from specified requirements of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Chapter I), dispositions of certain petitions previously received, and corrections. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities.
JET AVIATION BASEL is completing a Boeing Business Jet for use by Boeing as a customer demonstrator and for travel by company officials. The aircraft, which will be Boeing's second BBJ demonstrator, will incorporate a design concept developed by Donald Thompson Industrial Design of New York in conjunction with a group of leading U.S. interior designers. The cabin will have internet data ports at each seat and a satellite-based telecommunications system consisting of two phased-array antennas housed in a low-profile enclosure mounted on top of the fuselage.
