15 FEB 2008 _______________________________________ *False alarm forces jet to land in Halifax *US Pilots Charged In Brazil Crash Want To Testify In US *Qantas safety record under threat *INTERNATIONAL AVIATION WOMENS ASSOCIATION 2008 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNOUNCEMENT **************************************** False alarm forces jet to land in Halifax A Boeing 727 made an emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport at 12:05 p.m. today. The cargo jet, en route from St. John's to Hamilton was diverted to Halifax when an indicator in the cockpit warned crew of smoke in the hold. The airport scrambled its emergency response unit when it was alerted of the diversion at about 11:50 a.m., said airport spokesman Peter Spurway. The plane, operated by Hamilton-based Cargojet, landed without incident. Despite the indicator, investigators determined there never was smoke on the airplane, Cargojet vice-president Pauline Dhillon said Thursday afternoon. There were three crew members and about 27,000 pounds of fuel on board. Mr. Spurway said the jet's cargo was not hazardous, but he did not know exactly what it was carrying. Mr. Spurway said airport security officers searched the plane and found nothing unusual. Emergency Health Services sent one ambulance as well as a support vehicle to the airport, where they met up with airport fire crews, said spokesman Paul Maynard. They remained on the scene for about half an hour before being sent away without having to treat anyone, Mr. Maynard said. The airport's fire services were also dismissed after about half an hour. The Cargojet plane was given priority landing clearance, but no other flights were affected by the emergency landing, Mr. Spurway said. http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9005547.html ************** US Pilots Charged In Brazil Crash Want To Testify In US SAO PAULO (AFP)--Two U.S. pilots charged over the 2006 deadly crash of a Brazilian passenger plane have asked for their testimony be taken in the U.S. rather than in a Brazilian court, the G1 news Web site reported Thursday. Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino lodged a motion with Brazil's supreme court Feb. 1 requesting the move under a judicial assistance agreement between the U.S. and Brazil, their lawyer, Theo Dias, told the site. The two pilots, both U.S. citizens, have been charged in Brazil with endangering an aircraft over the Sept. 29, 2006 collision between the Embraer Legacy business jet they were flying and the Boeing, owned by Brazilian airline GOL (GOL). The Brazilian plane crashed in the Amazon jungle after the collision, killing all 154 passengers and crew on board. The Embraer managed to land at a nearby airport with damage to a wing and its tail. An investigation underway is determining whether the Embraer pilots were following air controllers' instructions correctly, as they assert, and whether their use of the jet's transponder - which was not functioning at the moment of the collision - contributed to the tragedy. Lepore and Paladino, who were allowed to leave Brazil after the accident on condition they return to answer legal proceedings, face up to 12 years in prison if convicted. Four Brazilian air traffic controllers on duty at the time have also been charged. Dias told G1 that the testimony request was lodged "so that their right to be heard in the United States is recognized." The two pilots have already been questioned early this month by Brazilian air accident officials in Washington, in the headquarters of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. According to G1, they denied having turned off their jet's transponder. **************** Qantas safety record under threat QANTAS'S jealously guarded reputation for never having lost a jet aircraft is under threat following an accident involving a Boeing 717. The Qantaslink jet carrying 84 passengers from Nhulunbuy, in Arnhem Land, was substantially damaged when it landed heavily after a sudden loss of altitude as it came into land in Darwin last Thursday. The heavy landing produced wrinkling in the aircraft's skin at the rear of the fuselage, suggesting possible damage to the airframe and prompting speculation that the plane is a write-off. Although the leased aircraft was operated for Qantaslink by National Jet Systems, a write-off would be the first under Qantas colours. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is investigating, yesterday described the damage to the aircraft as "substantial". Related Sections An ATSB spokesman was unable to say last night whether the aircraft could be repaired. "There have been engineers called to inspect the aircraft, but whether it's a write-off or whether it's reparable I don't think is known," he said. Qantaslink issued a short statement confirming the Boeing 717 operating from Cairns via Nhulunbuy to Darwin was involved in a heavy landing. It said there were no injuries, and passengers disembarked normally. "The incident is being investigated in consultation with Boeing (and) National Jet Systems, which operates the aircraft on behalf of Qantaslink," Qantas group general manager regional airlines Narendra Kumar said. "As required, the incident has been reported to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the ATSB." Asked whether the aircraft would be written off, a spokeswoman said: "The investigation is under way and we've got to await the outcome." The airline has an enviable reputation for air safety. A move to repair a Boeing 747-400, which ran off a runway in Bangkok in 1999 costing about $100m, was widely seen as a move to protect that record. http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,23199917-5014090,00.html ************** Three flights diverted from San Diego after brief radio failure SAN DIEGO (AP) -Flight departures were halted at San Diego's Lindbergh Field after a Federal Aviation Administration's radar facility briefly lost some of its radio communication capabilities. Airport officials say the outage at the Terminal Radar Approach Control center, known as TRACON, near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar forced the diversion of two flights to Phoenix and one to Los Angeles. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says the outage lasted from 11:45 a.m. to shortly after noon and affected 18 departing flights. The FAA is investigating the cause of the outage. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8262687 *************** INTERNATIONAL AVIATION WOMENS ASSOCIATION 2008 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNOUNCEMENT The International Aviation Womens Association (IAWA), an organization of business and professional women who hold senior positions in the aviation and aerospace industries, announces it's newly elected Board of Directors for 2008. Heading the board as President in her first year of a two-year term is Debra Fowler, a Senior Aviation Counsel for the U. S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC. President-Elect and Vice President Annual Conference is Katherine A. Staton, Partner, Jackson Walker L.L.P., Dallas, Texas. Other Officers and Board Members elected for the 2008 are: Secretary: Connie Lewis Lensing, Vice President, FedEx Express, Memphis, TN; Treasurer: Kathy Guilfoyle, Attorney, Campbell Edwards & Conroy, PC, Boston, MA; Vice President, Membership: Lisa Piccione, Senior Vice President Government Affairs, National Business Aviation Association, Washington, D.C.; Vice President, Public Relations/Communications: Mylene Scholnick, Senior Vice President, SkyWorks Capital LLC, Greenwich, CT; Vice President, Scholarship: Cecile Hatfield, Principal, Law Office of Cecile Hatfield, Miami, FL; Vice Presidents, Annual Conference: Ann Thornton Field, Cozen O'Connor, Philadelphia, PA and Katherine A. Staton, Partner, Jackson Walker L.L.P., Dallas, Texas; Vice Presidents, International Affairs: Ulla Norrhall, Claims Manager, Legal Counsel, International Insurance Co. of Hanover, Ltd., Stockholm, Sweden, Peng Lim, Partner, Beaumont & Son-Aviation at Clyde & Co., Singapore, and Elizabeth M. Freidenberg, Freidenberg, Freidenberg & Lifsic, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Vice President Industry Liaison-Insurance and General Aviation, Ellyn Slow, Sr. Vice President, Netjets, Inc., Woodbridge, NJ; Vice President International Affairs and Annual Conference-Brussels, Marianne Barnabo, CEO, PRISMA, Brussels, Belgium; Industry Liaison-Airlines and Airports, Abby Bried, Senior Attorney, Continental Airlines, Inc., Houston, TX; and Industry Liaison-Manufacturers, Susan Walsh, Director, Commercial & International Programs, Pratt & Whitney, Washington, D.C. Chair, Advisory Board: Patricia A. Moores, Principal, Integro Insurance Brokers, New York, NY. Advisory Board: Marion Blakey, Arlington, VA, Katherine Poser, New York, NY, Dr. Liu Fang, Beijing, China, Kris Fellrath, Renton, WA, Suzon Franzke, Vero Beach, FL, and Renee Martin-Nagle, Herndon, VA. Past Presidents: Julie Ellis, Partner, Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada, PLLC Crescent Center, Memphis, TN, Joanne Young, Managing Partner, Kirstein & Young PLLC, Washington, DC; Patricia A. Moores, Principal, Integro Insurance Brokers, New York, NY. *************