30 JAN 2008
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*Air Canada flight makes emergency landing 
    in Ireland after co-pilot falls ill
*Philippines: Congress Approves Creation Of 
    Civil Aviation Authority
*Continental to Add Wi-Fi
*Bulgarian President Lands in the Azores in Emergency
*Eclipse Partner Earns Training Certification From FAA 

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Air Canada flight makes emergency landing in Ireland after co-pilot falls ill
Toronto - The co-pilot of an Air Canada flight from Pearson International Airport bound for London, England "fell ill" during the flight, which forced an emergency landing in Shannon, Ireland.
Air Canada officials did not confirm exactly what happened to one of the co-pilots on the flight from Pearson to London's Heathrow airport.
Reports from Irish newspapers said the pilot was seen talking to himself, acting peculiar, and had to be restrained.
The flight, with more than 100 passengers, landed about an hour short of its final destination.
Medical officials greeted crew members and an off-duty Canadian soldier on the tarmac taking the man to a psychiatric hospital.
Air Canada officials said passenger safety was never an issue, something that aviation expert, Ross Aimer, said is most likely accurate.
"There are checks and balances, plus the fact that there is another pilot in the cockpit...who will normally take over and bring that aircraft safely to a landing," he said.
Aimer said pilots face extreme pressure every day, but go through rigorous medical testing to ensure they are mentally fit for the position.
"Airline pilots go through rigorous checks, medical and operational, every so often, so usually cases like that are detected," he said.
An Air Canada replacement crew took over operations in Ireland after the emergency landing, with travellers arriving at Heathrow seven hours late.
http://680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20080129_073059_1956
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Philippines: Congress Approves Creation Of Civil Aviation Authority
Manila, Philippines - Philippine Congress approved a bill authorizing the creation of a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as part of efforts to improve the Philippines' aviation safety standards. 
With the passage of the measure at the bicameral committee composed of members from the House of Representatives and the Senate, government officials and legislators are hoping that the Philippines' will soon improve its aviation safety rating. 
Senator Edgardo Angara, co-author of the civil aviation bill in the Senate, said he is "optimistic" that the Philippines will recover from the downgrade of its avaiation ratings. Angara noted that the crucial reason for the downgrade has already been resolved through legislation. 
"One of the reasons why our safety aviation rating has been downgraded is because we lack a centralized aviation body. We have an Air Transportation Office (ATO) that does not meet the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) standards. Congress has already responded to that by prioritizing the bill creating a centralized civil aviation authority," said Angara.
In its recent International Aviation Safety Assessment report (IASA), the United States Federal Administration reclassified the Philippines as Category 2, which means the country is non-compliant with international standards.
Angara said the new CAA will function as a regulatory agency, charged with creating and implenting rules that will promote the aviation industry in the Philippines while emphasizing aviation safety at all times.
"Further, it now enjoys fiscal autonomy subject to Congress oversight, allowing it to be more flexible in performing its duties," said Angara.
The downgrade had forced flag carrier Philippine Airlines to halt its plans to add more flights to the U.S.
Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had called on Congress to prioritize House Bill 2454 or the Civil Aviation Authority Bill.
http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=19733&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1718&hn=pacificnewscenter&he=.com
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Continental to Add Wi-Fi, 
Satellite TV to Some Planes
Continental Airlines Inc. said it will offer in-flight satellite television and Wi-Fi Internet access beginning in January 2009 through an agreement with LiveTV LLC, a unit of JetBlue Airways Corp.
The Houston-based airline said the programming will be available on U.S. flights at every seat on next-generation aircraft. Satellite television will be free in first-class, and will be available to economy-class customers for a $6 fee.
In addition, Continental said LiveTV is testing Wi-Fi connectivity services that will allow access to email and instant messaging. LiveTV's Wi-Fi service would give customers the ability to use Wi-Fi enabled smartphones, BlackBerrys and laptops. Unlike the satellite television service, Internet access will be free for all passengers, said Continental public-relations director Julie King.
"Customers have been asking for more entertainment and connectivity options," said Ms. King. She added that Continental hoped to differentiate itself from other airlines that don't offer a similar entertainment package.   
Terms of the deal with LiveTV weren't disclosed.
LiveTV services are already being used on JetBlue's aircraft, and are also available on WestJet, Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc., Virgin Blue and AirTran. Also, Southwest Airlines Co. said earlier this month it would test Internet connectivity on four aircraft this summer.
Continental will offer various channels from DirectTV Group Inc. that are expected to include CBS, NBC, FOX News, CNN Headline News, ESPN, Animal Planet, The History Channel, Food Network, Nickelodeon and MTV. The inflight entertainment system will also offer a moving map and other stored informational and entertainment content.
Continental will continue to install satellite television and Wi-Fi equipment on aircraft through 2009, and expects to have 225 aircraft able to provide the entertainment package by the end of 2010.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120163432394626073.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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Bulgarian President Lands in the Azores in Emergency
The airplane of the Bulgarian president “TU 154” landed in emergency this night at the Azores. 
None of the passengers is injured.
The crew was forced to fly back because of a technical problem – damage in the gear. The plane has circled in the air for more than 4 hours in order to land again at the Azores.
Parvanov and the delegation escorting him were flying for an official visit to Mexico. 
The presidential airplane has taken off at the “Lajes” airport after reloading fuel there. A little after the technical problem appeared and the plane had to land in emergency. The landing was successful and nobody is injured”, claimed from the press service of the president. 
It is believed that a bird has hit the landing gear thus preventing it from closing. Despite the incident there was no panic on the airplane and everything was calm. 
President Parvanov canceled his visit to Mexico and he is expected to arrive in Bulgaria later today with a “Bulgaria air” flight. 
http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_1151315494
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Eclipse Partner Earns Training Certification From FAA 
Simulator-Based Training Approved Under Part 142
Eclipse Aviation announced Tuesday the FAA has awarded the planemaker's training provider, Higher Power Aviation (HPA), authorization to conduct Eclipse 500 Type Training under HPA's Part 142 Training Certificate. During the Part 142 certification process, the FAA examined Eclipse's training curriculum and analyzed how Eclipse will use its simulator to train and type-rate customer pilots prior to an aircraft delivery.
The authorization should increase Eclipse's training capacity dramatically... as it enables the company to type-rate customers in a Level D full-motion simulator before they take delivery of their planes, instead of waiting to use the customer's completed aircraft.
The milestone marks the FAA's final approval of Eclipse's training program, and comes just shy of 11 months after Eclipse announced the termination of its original training contract with United Airlines. The certification also comes two weeks after the FAA certified Eclipse's first flight simulator as a Level D Full Motion device, as ANN reported.
"Using a simulator for a customer's entire type rating means we no longer have to schedule training around aircraft availability or weather conditions," said Eclipse president and CEO Vern Raburn. "We also will bring two additional Level D simulators online very soon and all will be operated about 20 hours per day, seven days a week. This additional simulator capacity will enable us to move customers through our type rating program faster, and also allow the start of recurrent flight training for our customers who have been operating their Eclipse 500s for a year."
Eclipse says the first class of customer pilots began their flight training in the Level D simulator this week, with subsequent classes beginning every two weeks. By April 2008, Eclipse Aviation expects to have three Level D Full Motion simulators in operation, which the company hopes will allow the training and type-rating of 60 customers per month.
The certification was accomplished through a successful partnership between Eclipse Aviation and its joint venture training providers: HPA of Dallas, TX; Opinicus of Lutz, FL; and Flight Simulation Company (FSC) of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  
FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com, www.jetcrew.com, www.opinicus.com
aero-news.net
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