29 NOV 2007 _______________________________________ *Man arrested in disturbance aboard Alaska Airlines flight *EU lifts restrictions on PIA and lifts ban on Blue Wing Airlines *USAF Once Again Orders F-15s Grounded *Flight aborts landing over gear scare *AMR Plans To Sell Off American Eagle *Cessna Confirms It Will Purchase Columbia Assets *Hawaiian orders Airbus jets worth $2.2 bln *Cessna's New Plane to Be Built in China *University to turn out air-traffic controllers **************************************** Man arrested in disturbance aboard Alaska Airlines flight ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A 38-year-old Wyoming man accused of causing a disturbance on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Anchorage has been arrested. FBI spokesman Eric Gonzalez says Kirk Frederick Forest of Cheyenne, Wyo., was arrested for interfering with a flight crew. A court appearance was scheduled Thursday. Gonzalez says the man made a threat against the plane. The FBI spokesman says the nature of the threat is still being investigated, but Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Amanda Tobin Bielawski says the man allegedly said the word "bomb." The incident happened about 20 minutes before the flight was to land at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The flight deck was locked, and the man was restrained. The plane landed at 2:47 p.m. Wednesday, and was taken a remote area of the airport. All 156 passengers and the flight crew got off the plane and took an airport bus to the terminal. *************** EU lifts restrictions on PIA and lifts ban on Blue Wing Airlines The European Commission adopted today the sixth update of the Community`s list of airlines banned in the European Union. With this update the Commission is lifting the ban imposed upon Blue Wing Airlines from Surinam together with the operating restrictions imposed on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Blue Wing Airlines and PIA have successfully completed the implementation of a corrective action plan following their inclusion in the list. Their oversight authorities have produced evidence that they verified the measures taken by the airlines and that these measures provide for long-lasting sustainable solutions to avoid the same problems recurring in the future. (aviation-safety.net) ************** USAF Once Again Orders F-15s Grounded 452 Planes Must Be Inspected Well, that didn't last long. One week after the US Air Force lifted its grounding of the oldest F-15 Eagle fighters in its fleet, on Wednesday the jets were grounded once again -- due to what officials termed "possible fleet-wide airworthiness problems." As ANN reported, the Air Force grounded all F-15s, including newer F-15E Strike Eagles, following the November 2 downing of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C. Investigators say in-flight structural failure was the cause of that crash; the single pilot onboard was able to eject, suffering non-life-threatening injuries in the process. Air Force officials allowed F-15Es to resume active duty assignements in Iraq and Afghanistan November 14; older models were allowed to resume flying November 21... but now, officials say the ongoing investigation into what brought the Missouri ANG Eagle down has revealed a potential problem through the F-15 fleet. Investigators are concerned with longerons -- or metal rails -- that hold the F-15 fuselage together. Those parts were flagged by investigators early on, as officials ordered the entire fleet of F-15s inspected for possible air frame fatigue damage. The latest grounding applies to 452 older F-15s -- more than 60 percent of the USAF Eagle fleet -- until each is inspected, and possibly repaired. FMI: www.af.mil aero-news.net *************** Flight aborts landing over gear scare Victoria-bound passengers cheer as plane makes safe landing in Vancouver Passengers inside a Pacific Coastal plane destined for Victoria, sitting with their heads in their laps and braced for a crash, burst into applause yesterday after the flight made a safe emergency landing at Vancouver International Airport. The flight, en route from Vancouver, first reported trouble at around 4 p.m. when a cockpit light showed a problem with the landing gear. The pilot flew the plane, a Shorts 360, by the Victoria airport control tower so a visual check could be made on whether the landing gear was down. "I could see clearly that the gear was down but you can't guarantee that it's engaged," said Terry Stewart, assistant manager to the airport, who used binoculars while standing in the control tower to try to assess the aircraft. "It could very well have been a critical circumstance," he said. The crew opted to return to Vancouver International Airport because Pacific Coastal's maintenance base is there. Inside the aircraft, 27 passengers listened to an explanation from the pilot and flight attendant as to what might have gone wrong. They were given instructions on what to do in case the plane crashed and then told to assume the emergency landing position by putting their heads between their legs, said passenger Rob Malatest. "We were all a little tense," said Malatest, who lives in Victoria, and had been in Vancouver on business. "Everyone was relieved when the plane landed. We all clapped." The plane landed safely at 4:24 p.m., surrounded by emergency crews. "Once the plane landed and the wheels didn't fall off, we realized it would be OK," said Malatest. Passengers were put on other two other flights, and arrived in Victoria by 5:30 p.m. Passengers who spoke to the Times Colonist at Victoria airport last night said it was surprisingly calm inside the aircraft, and that Pacific Coastal handled the emergency well by offering to take care of them in Vancouver or fly them back to Victoria on the next flight. Many did not know that the incident had been breaking news on dinner-time television newscasts. "Better to be a small news story than a large news story," said Malatest. Meanwhile, Pacific Coastal president Quentin Smith defended the safety of his airline. "Our record speaks for itself," he said. "We went through standard operating procedures." Pacific Coastal Airlines is a family owned company, and operates flights to a variety of locations on the Island and around B.C., including about seven daily between Victoria and Vancouver. The Shorts 360 is a 33-passenger commuter aircraft built by Short Brothers of Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is now a division of Bombardier Inc., based in Montreal. The planes were built between 1981 and 1991. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=cc92337d-80b1-4943-9944-da64d16af34f&k=32432 **************** AMR Plans To Sell Off American Eagle Anyone Wanna Buy A Regional Airline? In a move met with strong approval on Wall Street, on Wednesday AMR Corp. -- parent of American Airlines -- announced it plans to sell off regional carrier American Eagle. "The decision comes after a careful and deliberate evaluation of the strategy that will best enable us to continue to create value for our shareholders," said AMR Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey. "We have worked hard over the years to build a regional airline that is fully capable of standing on its own and is well positioned to pursue growth opportunities outside of the AMR corporate structure." Shareholders have pressured American for months to boost earnings, in part by divesting itself of its less-profitable operations. Other candidates for possible spinoff down the line include investment advisory subsidiary American Beacon Advisors, as well as the airline's maintenance unit, and its repair and overhaul operations. Shares in AMR rose eight percent Wednesday on the news, to $22.19, reports The Wall Street Journal. The move is also intended to help the carrier focus on its mainline operations, with regional services provided at competitive prices -- meaning, AMR wants the chance to assign regional routes to the lowest bidder. "Earlier this year, American and American Eagle entered into a new regional flying agreement between the airlines that reflects market-based rates, which ensures that American continues to have access to quality feed on competitive terms," the airline said. The company expects to complete the sale next year, though completion of any transaction and its timing will depend on a number of factors, including general economic, industry and financial market conditions, as well as the ultimate form of the divestiture. Arpey noted American Eagle already functions with an independent management structure, separate from mainline operations, and handles its own financial reporting. The planned sale includes both American Eagle, which feeds American Airlines hubs throughout North America, and affiliate Executive Airlines, Inc. -- which carries the American Eagle name throughout the Bahamas and the Caribbean from bases in Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico. FMI: www.aa.com aero-news.net *************** Cessna Confirms It Will Purchase Columbia Assets Say Hello To The Cessna 350 And 400 Columbia Aircraft is officially no more. Tuesday evening, Cessna confirmed news that surfaced early that afternoon... that the planemaker was the high bidder for select assets of Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Company. Calling the purchase "a move to further broaden its single engine product portfolio," Cessna confirmed its bid of $26.4 million was the high bid in the Tuesday auction before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon. "This is a significant day as it brings together two top aircraft design and production companies to offer the global general aviation community the widest range of propeller aircraft, along with world-class product support, all under the Cessna brand – one of the most trusted names in aviation," said Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack. J. Pelton. "I would like to thank the 400-plus Columbia employees for their continued hard work and dedication during the bankruptcy process. We look forward to welcoming them to the Cessna family." Cessna is the world’s largest general aviation manufacturer in terms of annual unit sales, producing single-engine piston aircraft, turboprops and the world’s best-selling line of business jets, the Cessna Citation. Columbia has produced more than 600 aircraft in its 10-year history. "The Columbia models are a good fit with our existing product line," Pelton said. "We look forward to providing existing Columbia owners with improved levels of service and support and introducing new customers to these outstanding aircraft." "We plan to make significant investments in Bend, in people and operations, to bolster customer satisfaction and business profitability. We will continue to improve quality, reliability and performance as we strive to deliver customer value and fulfill our commitments," Pelton said. Once the transaction is completed -- which Cessna expects to occur by December 4, 2007 -- the Bend operation will take on the Cessna name and be one of six Cessna manufacturing facilities. Cessna intends to rename the current Columbia product line to become the Cessna 350 and the Cessna 400. Cessna and its network of authorized dealers and service centers plan to integrate sales and support of the former Columbia aircraft, and Cessna Parts Distribution is expected to become the source for parts. Cessna also intends to develop direct communications with current owners. "We feel it’s very important for Cessna customers to enjoy a seamless, high-quality experience throughout our entire product line -- from the SkyCatcher all the way up to the Citation X. It only makes sense that we fully embrace these two new aircraft and their owners as members of the Cessna family," Pelton said. "Current Columbia aircraft owners should feel very secure knowing their investment will now be supported through our vast global customer sales and service network." Cessna currently offers eight single-engine piston models, beginning with the recently launched Cessna 162 SkyCatcher light sport aircraft. The SkyCatcher joins seven other high-wing piston models – the 172R, the more powerful 172SP, the new diesel-powered 172TD, standard models 182 and 206, and turbo-charged 182 and 206 models. The new Cessna 350 and Cessna 400 models add low-wing, high-performance and turbocharged piston aircraft options to the top end of the Cessna piston product line. The Cessna 350 sports an all-composite airframe, Garmin G1000 avionics and GFC700 flight control system, and Teledyne Continental TSIO-550-C engine, while the Cessna 400 will offer the same features with dual turbochargers for the engine. The 400 is one of the fastest piston aircraft in the world with a top speed of 270 miles per hour -- more than 235 knots. FMI: www.cessna.com, www.flycolumbia.com (still active, for now) aero-news.net *************** Hawaiian orders Airbus jets worth $2.2 bln PARIS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Hawaiian Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding to buy six Airbus A330-200 and six A350-800 XWB wide-bodied aircraft as part of a fleet replacement and expansion plan, the companies said on Thursday. The initial deal is worth $2.2 billion at list prices. The aircraft will all be powered by Rolls Royce (RR.L: Quote, Profile , Research) engines. Hawaiian has the option to double the order to an extra six aircraft of each type, it said. *************** Cessna's New Plane to Be Built in China Textron Inc.'s Cessna Aircraft Co. will become the first U.S. manufacturer to turn over complete production of an airplane to a Chinese partner, a move intended to cut production costs and foster a nascent private-aviation market in China. Cessna officials said China's state-owned Shenyang Aircraft Corp. will build the new Cessna 162 SkyCatcher at its factory in Shenyang, China. The planned single-engine, two-seat airplane will be the smallest in Cessna's product line. It is designed for training and what is known as the light-sport market, for recreational fliers. WHY CHINA? • Starter Plane: Cessna hopes building the SkyCatcher in China will help keep prices low enough to attract buyers. • Fill Cockpits? Cessna hopes it will appeal to flight schools and new fliers amid a tight global market for pilots. • Shrinking Base: It also hopes the plane will help counter the dwindling number of U.S. pilots, who face rising costs to own and fly planes.Cessna hopes manufacturing in China will help keep the price of the plane low enough to attract new pilots to counter the dwindling ranks of U.S. recreational fliers. It also could lower the cost barrier for training new pilots amid surging demand for airline pilots world-wide. The deal is scheduled to be announced this morning in China at a news conference in Beijing. Cessna, which said this summer that it would build the plane, estimates it will be available by late 2009. Lewis Campbell, Textron's chairman and chief executive, said in an interview that lower manufacturing costs in China would allow Cessna to sell the airplane for $71,000 less than it would if it had built the plane at its factories in Wichita, Kan. The move also positions Cessna to play a larger role in the developing private- and corporate-aviation market in China. "This will give us a foothold into a market that will expand over the next 10 to 20 years," Mr. Campbell said. (Mr. Campbell is also a director of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.) Some training schools in China already have ordered the airplane, Cessna said. Boeing Co. and Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., have used Chinese manufacturers for years to build parts for their planes. Neither of them has been willing to rely on outsiders to produce an entire product line, as Cessna plans. Cessna says it will design the airplane and build the first prototypes in the U.S., but all of the production airplanes will be fabricated in China. Items such as engines and electronics will be supplied by Teledyne Continental Motors Inc. and Garmin Ltd. in the U.S. and shipped to China for installation and test flights. Airplanes destined for delivery in the U.S. and elsewhere will be partially dismantled for shipping and reassembled at approved Cessna locations, the company said. Cessna will provide on-site personnel to oversee manufacturing and quality assurance. China has been home for component work for Western aircraft, but that involves less technical know-how than building a plane from scratch. In the 1990s, McDonnell Douglas Corp. attempted to build an assembly line in China for its single-aisle MD-80 jetliner, but the reception for the planes outside China was lukewarm, and the venture was abandoned in 1998 after only a handful were assembled. Airbus is working with China to build a secondary assembly line for its A320 jet in Tianjin, but that factory will put together large assemblies from existing Airbus plants in Europe. Mr. Campbell said Textron, of Providence, R.I., chose to partner with Shenyang because of the Chinese manufacturer's history of producing Chinese military and civil airplanes, as well as components for most of the world's big names in aerospace. Shenyang Aircraft Corp. is a unit of China Aviation Industry Corp. I, commonly known as AVIC I. Luo Yang, chairman and president of Shenyang Aircraft, wrote in a release that the company "sees Cessna as a significant partner." Lin Zouming, president of AVIC I, said the government consortium "has placed strategic importance on general aviation development and will strongly support and promote the business." Cessna said it will be able to deliver the first 1,000 planes for sale at $109,500 each, with subsequent planes costing $111,500 each. By comparison, the four-seat Cessna 172, Cessna's next-cheapest model, carries a base price of almost $220,000. The company said customers have preordered almost 900 SkyCatchers. Cessna President Jack Pelton said that without China's participation, Cessna probably wouldn't have started the SkyCatcher program. "If you are going to field a low-end product, this is about the only way you can do it," Mr. Pelton said. He said the move won't result in a loss of jobs at Cessna's main plants, adding that Cessna has unfilled orders valued at $11.9 billion, with plans to expand its profitable business-jet line. Manufacturers of small, propeller-driven airplanes have faced increasing pressure in recent years to make their products more affordable. The equation has become especially complicated during the past couple of years as oil prices have driven the price of aviation gasoline above $5 a gallon in many metropolitan areas. Government officials and pilot groups say the rising cost of airplane ownership has contributed to an almost 30% drop in the number of licensed pilots in the U.S. since 1980, to about 579,100. Despite the drop, the light-sport niche has attracted new manufacturers and models in recent years as remaining pilots upgrade to advanced planes. Growing demand for air travel also has led to a tight market for pilots world-wide, which threatens to stifle the industry's growth. The problem is particularly acute in China and India, both of which have ordered hundreds of new jetliners to meet an explosion in demand for domestic and international air travel. In recent years, the Chinese government has loosened some of the many restrictions on private aviation and encouraged the development of an indigenous flight-training industry. Yet, according to industry groups, there are about 70 business jets in all of China, although that number is growing. "It took us 20 years to put the first 10 jets into China; then, last year alone, we delivered 10," said Roger Whyte, Cessna's senior vice president for sales and marketing. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country had 12,840 nonmilitary pilots in January 2006, the last date for which figures were available. About 27,000 students were enrolled among five civilian flight schools, two scientific-research centers and 11 scientific-research bases. One of the most prominent, the Civil Aviation Flight University of China, has tripled its yearly capacity to 1,200 students and now operates one of the largest fleets of training planes in the world. By the end of the year, the university will have 117 Cessna 172s and six Cessna CJ1 jets in its fleet of 233 airplanes. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119621169217505989.html?mod=googlenews_wsj **************** University to turn out air-traffic controllers As current force gets set to retire, college recruiting and training take on importance Lewis University on Tuesday joined the ranks of almost two dozen U.S. schools that offer a major in air-traffic control as part of a college degree. Lewis, in southwest suburban Romeoville, is the only Illinois college participating in the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative. Students learn that it is a tough profession, marked by high stress levels, bad work hours, little glory and the fear never far from a controller's thoughts that one mistake could kill a lot of people. But there are also rewards, starting with something that many college graduates cannot count on -- immediate job openings. About 90 percent of the nearly 15,000 controllers in the U.S., many of whom got their start in the military, are expected to retire over the next decade. Some 828 veteran controllers retired in fiscal 2007, and the FAA expects retirements to increase every year through 2012. Even a novice controller can earn a six-figure income after five years and still retire with a good pension as a relatively young person. Under federal law, controllers cannot work beyond age 56. Lewis, a small Catholic university that has offered an aviation curriculum for about 75 years, will introduce air-traffic control classes in the fall 2008 semester, officials said. The announcement on Tuesday prompted some Lewis aviation students -- already working toward degrees in fields such as commercial piloting, aircraft maintenance and airport management -- to learn more about the air-traffic opportunity during a news conference held between classes. "My lifetime goal is to own my own private airline company. Managing an airport is definitely an option along the way," said Andre Williams, 21, of Chicago, a senior at Lewis majoring in aviation administration. Williams said learning about air-traffic control would be a great advantage and "maybe a career to fall back on." Martin Stadnicki, 22, a senior studying to become a commercial pilot, said he is fascinated by how air-traffic controllers choreograph the movement of planes at busy airports like O'Hare International. But Stadnicki's first love is flying, he said. "My goal is to become a professional pilot, hopefully for a major airline or," he said with a smile, "Andre's airline." Lewis recently received approval from the FAA to participate in the college training program, which supplements the FAA's recruitment and training of controllers. In fiscal 2007, the FAA hired 1,815 new controllers, and 800 of them were from colleges participating in the program, said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro. The rest came from the military or applied directly to the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. The courses at Lewis will be taught at the White Aviation Center, on campus and near Lewis University Airport. About 50 to 100 students are expected to enroll in the new major in the fall, said Bill Brogan, chairman of aviation and transportation studies at Lewis. Lewis' participation is welcomed because the demand for experienced, full-performance controllers is outpacing the FAA's ability to recruit and train applicants, officials said. Twenty-three colleges and universities are accredited to teach air-traffic control, which requires at least two years of coursework and additional training at the FAA Academy before the students can be hired as controllers, when additional training is needed to become a full-performance controller. The median annual salary for a controller hired in 2007 is almost $50,000 a year, increasing to about $94,000 by the end of the fifth year, the FAA said. But the stress that goes along with that paycheck requires a special temperament, a mind that works in 3-D and reflexes that would make a video-game wizard envious. Part of the attraction of the Lewis program is the potential for students from the Chicago area to work at FAA facilities in the region. In earlier years, controllers generally started their careers at small airports or radar facilities handling relatively lighter traffic levels than at the top-tier air-traffic centers in areas such as Atlanta and Chicago, which are home to the two busiest U.S. airports, respectively. Graduates of the Lewis program can look forward to being hired at the FAA's radar facility in Elgin that handles planes approaching and departing Chicago-area airports; at the FAA's Chicago Center in Aurora, which directs high-altitude traffic in parts of the Midwest; or at any of the numerous satellite airports in the suburbs, officials said. As they gain experience, controllers could later step up to O'Hare or Midway Airport. The FAA's challenge to balance the number of veteran controllers and controllers-in-training is getting more difficult due to the wave of retirements. Meanwhile, controllers for Midwest airspace are directing record numbers of flights each year, the FAA said. Accompanying that increase in flight volume is a rise in serious incidents in which controller mistakes have led to violations of the required minimum spacing between planes, causing dangerous situations. Several recent near-misses have occurred, including a close call this month in which a controller error caused one airliner to descend into the path of another bound for O'Hare. The two planes came within seconds of a midair collision, the FAA said. http://www.chicagotribune.com/ *****************