| In
This Issue |
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Brazil
Court Orders Release of Passports to U.S. Pilots |
| • |
Age
60 Panel Issues a Split Decision |
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Approach
Limits Raised in Canada |
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Eclipse
Aviation Reveals Design Changes |
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NetJets
Europe Alters Pilot Pay and Contracts |
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Operational
Alert
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TCAS
Safety Bulletin
Some important safety information about TCAS equipment
and its use is now available in the form of an FAA
Safety Bulletin. “We are encouraging all
operators of such equipment to download this bulletin
for review,” said the agency. The bulletin advises
all operators of aircraft equipped with TCAS II that
there have been events in which the crew responded
incorrectly to the RA announced as “Adjust Vertical
Speed Adjust” by “increasing vertical speed
rather than reducing vertical speed.”
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Also
Noted...
The Civil Aviation Medical Association, an independent
organization of aviation medical examiners, provided one
of the more than 5,700 comments submitted to the FAA recommending
the agency abandon the Age 60 rule.
Leonard Greene, founder of Safe Flight Instrument
in 1946, co-founder in 1981 of the Corporate Angel Network
and developer of the angle-of-attack indicator, died last
Thursday at the age of 88.
Release of a new air-taxi operations specification
(OpSpec A008) to replace interim Notice 8400.83, published
last June, has been delayed from the end of last month to
this month. It’s expected that operators will have 60 days
from its release to comply.
Pratt & Whitney Canada opened a parts-distribution
center in Amsterdam for its engine customers in Europe,
the Middle East and Africa. The Amsterdam facility will
assume responsibility for parts orders previously processed
by P&WC’s Southampton, UK-based operation.
Following a risk-assessment of lighting conditions on the
general aviation Bravo ramp at Ireland’s Dublin
Airport, ExxonMobil Aviation has suspended night
fueling operations on that ramp. GA aircraft must use the
commercial ramp for fueling during darkness, from about
4 p.m. to 8 a.m. ExxonMobil and Dublin FBO Signature
Flight Support are working with the airport owner to
upgrade the ramp lighting.
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Brazil Court Orders Release of Passports to U.S. Pilots
A Federal Court in Brazil today ordered the release of the passports
of the two U.S. pilots of the Embraer Legacy 600 involved in the
September 29 collision with a Gol Airlines 737 over the Amazon.
The Federal Regional Court of the First Region of Brazil said that
it had unanimously agreed to return the passports of Joseph Lepore,
42, of Bay Shore, N.Y., and Jan Paladino, 34, of Westhampton Beach,
N.Y. effective in 72 hours. All 154 people on board the Gol flight
were killed, while none of the seven people on board the Legacy
was injured. The new corporate jet was on a delivery flight to the
headquarters of its buyer, charter operator ExcelAire of Ronkonkoma,
N.Y., when the midair occurred. Investigators continue to study
the accident to determine cause and assign blame. ExcelAire’s
lawyers in Brazil said in a statement that the decision “corrects
the discriminatory effect of the passport seizure and travel restrictions.”
The lawyers also said that the pilots “will continue to cooperate
with the investigation.” 
Age
60 Panel Issues a Split Decision
In what many observers predicted, the FAA/Industry Age 60
Aviation Rulemaking Committee was unable to reach consensus
on whether to raise the mandatory retirement age of 60 for
airline pilots. Bloomberg News reported it obtained
a copy of the report, which the FAA is studying but has not
yet released. According to Bloomberg, four panelists
representing the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and two
from American Airlines’ Allied Pilots Association opposed
any change. The four who favored raising the age were from
Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, the independent Southwest
Airlines Pilots Association and a group called Airline Pilots
Against Age Discrimination. Co-chairs Duane Woerth, president
of ALPA, and Jim May, president of the Air Transport Association,
didn’t endorse either position. The group’s only
recommendation is that the FAA not change the age retroactively.
Under recently implemented international rules, a pilot can
fly until reaching age 65 if the other required pilot is under
age 60. Two bills raising the retirement age to 65 are pending
in Congress. Meanwhile, the vast majority of more than 5,700
comments submitted in a request
by the FAA supported the change.
Approach
Limits Raised in Canada
Responding to recommendations from Canada’s Transportation
Safety Board after at least two low-visibility landing accidents,
Transport Canada increased the minimum
visibility required before beginning an approach from
the previous 1,200 feet to 1,600 feet, effective December
1. The visibility measurement can be made by a sensor or by
a qualified observer if a visibility sensor has not been installed
or is out of service. Transport Canada amended the regulations
to prohibit commercial operators, including air-taxi services,
from beginning an approach under conditions in which a successful
landing is unlikely. However, the rule will not apply to operators
and crews already approved to lower visibility limits at specified
runways. Transport Canada stated that the new rule will help
harmonize Canadian regulations with international standards,
including those in the U.S.
Eclipse
Aviation Reveals Design Changes
In a letter sent yesterday to Eclipse 500 buyers, Eclipse
Aviation outlined design changes to help the very light
twinjet achieve promised performance goals. Changes
include larger metal tip tanks, which add three gallons
to the previously announced 16.5 per side, for a total
of 19.5 gallons per tank. Total fuel capacity will be
1,668 pounds, while mtow will remain 5,920 pounds, for
a decrease in useful load of 40 pounds. Aerodynamic
mods will help the aircraft achieve a 370-knot cruise
speed and 1,125-nm IFR range, and software changes will
allow the P&WC engines to deliver more power above
25,000 feet. All aircraft will be modified at Eclipse’s
expense. Eclipse expects certification of these changes
by April. Pending modifications, the aircraft has a
360-knot cruise speed and 1,055-nm range. Eclipse also
published a purchase agreement addendum where buyers
scheduled for delivery through September 30 who have
paid 60 percent of the purchase price will receive a
0.5-percent refund “of the additional deposit amount
from the final payment due at aircraft delivery”
for each month of delivery delay.
NetJets
Europe Alters Pilot Pay and Contracts
NetJets Europe has offered its pilots more pay and new
contracts as it seeks to retain existing flight crew
and hire 180 more personnel next year. Annual starting
salaries will increase by between 12 and 35 percent,
with first officers getting €56,500 ($73,450) and
captains being offered €95,000 ($123,500). The
fractional ownership group also says it will stop employing
pilots under “offshore” contracts in places
like the Isle of Man that have created tax problems
for employees, as well as excluding flight crew from
European Union employment rights. All flight crew will
now be employed under contracts in either the UK or
Portugal (where the company’s air operating certificate-holder
NetJets Transportes Aéreos is based). However,
sources familiar with NetJets employment practices have
told AIN that some staff fear they will actually
earn less under the UK and Portugal tax structure, and
the company’s Gulfstream and Dassault Falcon pilots
are disgruntled about revisions to crew roster arrangements.
AINalerts
is a publication of The Convention News Co., Inc., 214 Franklin Avenue,
Midland Park, NJ 07432. Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part without permission from The Convention News Co.,
Inc., is strictly prohibited. The Convention News Co., Inc., also
publishes Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, NBAA
Convention News, HAI Convention News, EBACE Convention News,
Paris
2007, Dubai 2007, Asian
Aerospace 2008 and Farnborough
2008.
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