07 FEB 2008 _______________________________________ *Plane diverted to Logan, 'unruly' passenger held *Pilot Sentenced To Six Months In Jail For 2004 Fatal *FAA Says New Tower Simulators Will Improve Controller Training *Air Traffic Controller Staffing Crisis Jeopardizes Air Safety *FAA Budget Provides Needed Boost to NextGen *US FAA: No Safety Problem On Boeing 737-400s Wing Flap Doors *FAA Nominee Sturgell To Face Senate Hearing This Week *INDIA'S TATA MOTORS SUBSIDIARY TAL TO BUILD FLOOR BEAM OF BOEING 787 *Jet Airways, American Airlines launch code share partnership *Alabama Aircraft forgives loan to CEO *Airline Safety Position Available **************************************** Plane diverted to Logan, 'unruly' passenger held An American Airlines [AMR] flight was forced to make an emergency landing last night at Logan International Airport after a passenger struck a flight attendant on board. American Airlines Flight 44, originating from New York and en route to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, was diverted to Logan's runway 4-R at approximately 8:10 p.m, according to Phil Orlandella of the Massachusetts Port Authority. "An unruly passenger struck a flight attendant while on board, but no one was injured," Orlandella said. "The unruly passenger has been identified as 21-year-old Conde Ansoumane, a French citizen who has been taken into custody," said Lt. Eric Anderson of the state police's Office of Media Relations. The 767-model plane was carrying 136 passengers. http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1071888 &srvc=home&position=also *************** Pilot Sentenced To Six Months In Jail For 2004 Fatal Mark Strub's Saga Reaches Its End A Wisconsin pilot has been sentenced to six months in jail, with five of those months to be spent outside of prison, for an August 2004 crash that claimed the life of a passenger. ANN has reported extensively on the case of Mark Strub, who offered to take passengers on 10-minute rides in his 1941 PT-13 Stearman biplane (file photo of type below) during a Children's Miracle Network Balloon Rally in Wisconsin Rapids, for a suggested donation of $10. While giving Kimberly Reed a ride in the vintage aircraft, the plane struck power lines, and came to rest inverted in the Wisconsin River. Strub survived the accident, but he wasn't able to free Reed, who suffered a broken neck. According to the NTSB Probable Cause report on the crash, Strub said he had given three people free rides prior to the accident flight. Reed has asked for an aerobatic flight, so with both persons wearing parachutes the plane departed, and climbed to 3,000 feet AGL. After performing one Cuban eight, a loop, and two hammerhead stalls, Strub and Reed were heading back to the airport, at an altitude of about 50 feet over the water when the aircraft struck the lines, and flipped into the Nepco Lake. Strub accepted a plea deal last month, in exchange for a reduced jail sentence. On Tuesday, Portage County Circuit Court Judge Frederic Fleishauer sentenced the man to six months of incarceration, with the first 30 days to be served in prison with work release. Strub will be released after that, reports The Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, to serve the next 60 days at home under electronic surveillance. Strub may then perform 1,000 hours of community service in place of the final 90 days of the sentence. "There is no way I or anyone doing what I'm doing can impose a sentence that will bring Kim (Reed) back or soften the grief," Fleishauer said in his ruling. As part of the sentence, the judge also ordered Strub to write a letter of apology to Reed's family, within the next 30 days. Strub must also participate in, and pay for, victim mediation counseling, if Reed's family agrees. That's unlikely to happen, however... as the wounds still run deep for Kimberly Reed's family. Kevin Reed, Kimberly's husband, said he did not oppose the plea agreement last month not because of any sense of forgiveness for the pilot's mistakes... but because he didn't want to relive the nightmare in a court trial. "I do not ever want to see the face or have my children have to look in the eye of the man who killed their mother again," he said Tuesday. Nicholas Borkowski, Kimberly's father, told the paper he opposed the plea deal. "It is incomprehensible to me that the charges had been reduced to a misdemeanor when my daughter, my baby is dead," Borkowski said. About 40 people showed up at the sentencing hearing to support Strub. Six testified on his behalf, while many others wrote letters of support for the grief-stricken pilot. "He was so distraught," recalled fellow pilot Daniel Steckbauer, who visited with Strub the night following the accident. FMI: Read The NTSB Probable Cause Report: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20040901X01341&key=1 aero-news.net ************** FAA Says New Tower Simulators Will Improve Controller Training Will Deploy Sims To 19 Airports, OKC Training Center The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Wednesday it will deploy new air traffic tower simulators to 19 locations around the country to help train thousands of new air traffic controllers in an operational environment that is interactive and provides realistic scenarios. The new simulators will be deployed over the next 18 months at the following towers: John F. Kennedy (JFK); Los Angeles (LAX); Oakland (OAK); Washington Reagan National (DCA); Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW); Atlanta (ATL); Denver (DEN); Philadelphia (PHL); Cincinnati (CVG); Cleveland (CLE); San Antonio (SAT); Memphis (MEM); Honolulu (HNL); Orlando (MCO); Charlotte (CLT); Minneapolis (MSP); Boston (BOS); and Newport News (PHF). The FAA will install an additional six simulators at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City (OKC). "We're making sure that the latest technology is part of the training regimen," said Bobby Sturgell, the FAA's acting administrator. "Controlling traffic is a demanding job, and experience tells us that real-life training scenarios make a critical difference. Deploying simulators to such key locations as JFK will help us maximize our training program." The FAA has been using tower simulators for training in Chicago, Miami, Phoenix and Ontario, CA since 2006. In late December 2007, the FAA awarded a contract to Adacel Systems, Incorporated of Orlando, FL to provide another 24 simulators. Adacel, Inc. developed the FAA's original four prototype systems. The Tower Simulation System (TSS) includes a large, graphic depiction of the airfield and the area around the airport and can be adjusted to depict different weather conditions and times of the day. The screen showing the airfield wraps around the student's position to replicate windows of an actual air traffic tower. The simulator provides synthetic voice response and voice recognition to allow the student to direct and receive responses as they would in the tower. At the same time, the voice recognition system interprets the student's commands and translates them into actual aircraft movements depicted on the screen of the airfield layout. The simulator system does not interact with actual air traffic control operational systems and poses no threat to service interruption. The system creates an entirely new environment that operates away from and independently of ongoing air traffic operations. It realistically replicates operations that enable training in an absolutely safe environment. aero-news.net ************** Air Traffic Controller Staffing Crisis Jeopardizes Air Safety In a state of neglect, oblivion, denial and arrogance, the Federal Aviation Administration continues to turn its bureaucratic head away from serious aviation safety issues arising out of critical understaffing levels of certified professional controllers (CPCs). According to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the FAA's attempt to replace experienced air traffic controllers has failed. "The nation's air traffic controllers have declared a staffing emergency; controllers across the country are retiring at a record rate," the NATCA said. The bottom line is that from Oct. 1, 2007, the beginning of fiscal year 2008, through Jan. 5, 603 controllers have left the towers and radar scopes--twice the number of controllers who've left in the first three months of the current fiscal year than the FAA predicted. As of Jan. 5, the FAA employed 11,077 CPCs; after the next pay period, it's likely the employment rate of CPCs will drop. The number of employed CPCs has hit an all-time low in more than 15 years; on Sept. 30, 1992, 10,696 CPCs were employed; on Sept. 30, 2002, 12,801 CPCs were employed--the highest level of employed CPCs in the last seven years. With today's increased air traffic and demands placed on the dwindling pool of CPCs, serious safety issues both on the ground and in the air continue to escalate, which the FAA has failed to remedy. Making up for the FAA's shortfall of employed CPCs, its remaining workforce has been forced to work brutal 10-hour, six-day shifts. New hires suffer, too, as the remaining CPCs don't have time to mentor them and handle increased traffic. It takes about three years before a developmental controller is qualified, competent to work traffic positions alone. New Hires Abandon The FAA's Sinking Ship The FAA's mandated pay cut of 30 percent is a main factor for new hires resigning. Also, the agency's attempt to ramrod trainees through the process of becoming CPCs, too, has proven to be dangerous, according to trainees and representatives of the NATCA. Industry Headline News obtained a resignation letter from Bristy Jones, an experienced military air traffic controller, who on Monday resigned as a controller trainee at Lakefront Airport (KNEW) tower in New Orleans. Jones said that a veteran FAA employee during the hiring process told her the job paid a salary of $36,383, a 12.64 percent locality and the cap was $70,000, after she became a CPC. Harsh reality set in when Jones learned that the cap working at KNEW was only about $42,000. She said the pay scale doesn't match the current cost of living in New Orleans. Frankly, the FAA's current pay scale doesn't match the cost of living anywhere in the U.S. People who work dangerous jobs, such as climbing telephone polls make much more than controllers. "People who are flipping burgers or driving dump trucks, and there's nothing wrong with those fields, are making the same if not more than someone working up in a control tower, where there's intense stress--making life or death decisions," Jones said. Jones calculated her actual pay. During training she'd make $17 an hour; after becoming a CPC, she'd get a $3 raise. "I'd end up making $20/hr.--going from training, with no responsibility--to having people's lives in my hands being the controller in charge" she said. Doug Church, NATCA spokesperson, pointed out that the tower at KNEW was reopened last year due to the association's efforts, along with pressure from members of Congress. "The FAA initially balked at making improvements and keeping it open after Hurricane Katrina," he said. "The tower had mold and other health hazards. It's a very important tower in a city trying to rebuild." NATCA's Facts: What's Happening To The Controller Workforce Of the 603-controller attrition for FY08, as of Jan. 5, there were 316 retirements; only eight CPCs retired because they reached the mandatory age of 56. In other words, 308 of those controllers could've stayed on the job, but because the FAA has refused to give CPCs incentives for staying, they're quitting the second they become eligible to do so. Ninety-three controllers turned in resignations; most of which were new hires. One died and 62 controllers were fired or failed training. An additional 131 controllers were promoted or transferred out of the controller workforce. Most of 131 controllers moved to supervisory positions within the FAA, which left the air traffic workforce with unqualified, untrained controllers to replace CPCs handling traffic positions. With current attrition of 6.2 controllers per day, if things remain the same within the FAA, you're looking at a 2,269 total attrition by the end of FY2008, which ends Sept. 30. The FAA projects a 1,276-controller attrition for FY2008. Considering it's only February, the FAA's predictions seem unrealistic. As of Jan. 5, the FAA had 3,744 new hires; however, 1,619 of new hires haven't completed the first of four training stages. And if you look at the recent resignations by new hires, there's no indication that current trainees will go on to become CPCs--years down the road--a road the nation can't afford to start paving tomorrow. The FAA needs to provide a reasonable working agreement, which would be accepted by the NATCA. The FAA knows aviation safety is at risk. In fact, the FAA halted on-the-job training of new hires at a busy facility, because it knows there aren't enough CPCs left to take on the burden of mentoring new hires. In the best interest of air safety, to ensure that the flying public is safe, the FAA must act now in order stop more of the nation's experienced controllers from retiring early. The FAA needs to pay new hires what they're worth, and especially offer them more money once they become fully certified. If the FAA continues to ignore a crisis it created, the American public will end up paying for its ignorant and arrogant polices. http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=3163 **************** FAA Budget Provides Needed Boost to NextGen ARLINGTON, Va., Feb 05, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The administration's FAA budget request for fiscal 2009 provides a major step forward in air transportation modernization, and Congress should support the effort, AIA President and CEO Marion Blakey said. The request significantly increases funding for development and implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, known as NextGen. The increase will go largely to advanced satellite-based air traffic management technologies like Automatic Dependent Surveillance -- Broadcast, or ADS-B. "This investment will boost ongoing efforts to advance NextGen and deal with the daunting challenges posed by the ever-increasing demand for air travel," Blakey said. The funding increases come as planning for NextGen is maturing and the need moves to developing and implementing the technologies involved. AIA believes it is important for the FAA to take these tangible steps forward toward implementing the new air transportation system. Founded in 1919, the Aerospace Industries Association represents the nation's leading manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, space systems, aircraft engines, materiel, and related components, equipment services, and information technology. SOURCE Aerospace Industries Association http://www.aia-aerospace.org ************** US FAA: No Safety Problem On Boeing 737-400s Wing Flap Doors SEATTLE (AP)--The Federal Aviation Administration said there is no safety problem with wing flap doors on Boeing 737-400s, despite three emergency landings last month by Alaska Airlines planes. The agency said it's still working with Boeing Co. (BA) and the airline to eliminate problems with the doors that prevented the trailing wing flaps to fully extend before landing. An airline spokeswoman, Amanda Bielawski, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Tuesday that those doors have been removed from all 40 of its 737-400s. She says they'll be reinstalled after the problem is identified. FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the planes are safe to fly without the wing flap doors, whose purpose is to increase fuel efficiency. ************** FAA Nominee Sturgell To Face Senate Hearing This Week More than three months have gone by since President Bush nominated Bobby Sturgell to take over Marion Blakey's job as head of the FAA, but the Senate needs to confirm that choice, and so far they haven't taken action. This Thursday, Sturgell will at least get a hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. His nomination has been controversial, with most of the established user groups (including NBAA, AOPA, and EAA) willing to work with him, but an assortment of noisy advocacy groups, as well as NATCA, vehemently opposed. Senators in the Northeast have been lobbied heavily by constituents who are unhappy with the FAA's ongoing redesign of busy airspace in the region and opposed to Sturgell. http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/FAANominee_BobbySturgell_SenateHearing_ 197078-1.html ************* INDIA'S TATA MOTORS SUBSIDIARY TAL TO BUILD FLOOR BEAM OF BOEING 787 Floor beams will be built using composite materials. Finished product to be Shipped to Japan, U.S, for further assembly NEW DELHI: Boeing Company and TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd. (TALMSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors, on Wednesday said they had entered into an agreement for manufacturing structural components for the American aerospace major's 787 Dreamliner airplane programme. Under the agreement, TALMSL will build floor beams for the 787, using new technology with advanced titanium and composite materials, the companies said in a joint statement without disclosing the financial terms of the agreement. The floor beams will be used on the 787 Dreamliner and provide for a best-value solution and significant weight savings, it added. "We are confident that this partnership will help Boeing and the Tatas leverage mutual best-value capabilities," said Carolyn Corvi, Vice-President and General Manager of Airplane Programs for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. ' 'This partnership between Boeing and the Tatas will further increase the value of the 787 to our customers, helping make it the world's leading commercial airplane," she added. The floor beams for the 787 airplane will be produced at the TAL's new facility in Nagpur and then transported to Boeing partners in Japan, Italy and the U.S. for further assembly. "We believe that this agreement has the potential to develop into a more broad-based alliance that would enable both organisations to utilise the best and most competitive resources within themselves and thereby offer greater value to customers," said Ravi Kant, Chairman, TAL and Managing Director, Tata Motors Ltd. - PTI http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/07/stories/2008020759202000.htm ************* Jet Airways, American Airlines launch code share partnership NEW DELHI: Jet Airways and American Airlines today launched their code share partnership which would benefit passengers and frequent flier members of both airlines. The frequent flier members of both carriers would have the benefit of earning points as they travel on these code share flights, Jet Airways said in a statement. They would be able to redeem these points on the route network of either airline. "With this partnership, Jet Airways and American Airlines will offer their passengers enhanced connectivity and seamless travel from key Indian cities to Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas (Fort Worth), Raleigh-Durham and Washington and vice-versa," Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said. Jet Airways would market American Airline tickets and vice versa. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/Jet_Airways_American_Ai rlines_launch_code_share_partnership_/articleshow/2762448.cms *************** Alabama Aircraft forgives loan to CEO Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc., formerly Pemco Aviation Group Inc., has forgiven a $425,000 loan to its CEO Ronald A. Aramini. In a regulatory filing, the company credited Aramini for his "services and contributions" in 2007, including his dual role as CEO and president and his critical part in selling the company's subsidiary Pemco World Air Services Inc. to investors for $43 million in September. The company also sold off the Pemco name. The sale provided an infusion of cash the company needed after losing a $1 billion federal plane maintenance contract to former partner-turned competitor Boeing. However, the Birmingham-based Alabama Aircraft could win the contract back in a re-bidding process approved by the federal government. Because of Aramini's efforts, the audit committee and compensation committee of the board of directors decided he would not be responsible for paying back a promissory note given in April 2002 - including the accrued and unpaid interest to date. Other key employees who assisted in the sale of Pemco World Air Services were given bonuses, the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said. http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2008/02/04/daily25.html ****************