27 FEB 2008 _______________________________________   *FAA certified Weather Radar System for the Eclipse 500 Jet *NTSB Interviews Pilots Who May Have Fallen Asleep *Heli-Expo 2008: FAA's Sturgell Pitches ADS-B To Helo Pilots *FAA still reviewing 737 wing flaps *FAA sets safety upgrades for LAX ****************************************   FAA certified Weather Radar System for the Eclipse 500 Jet     Eclipse Aviation announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified the new Eclipse Aviation Weather Radar System. The advanced color radar was designed by Eclipse and Japan Radio Co., Ltd. (JRC). Moving forward, JRC, a leader in developing wireless and radar technologies, will manufacture and supply all radar components for the Eclipse 500 Jet.   The first Eclipse 500 jet to feature the new Eclipse Aviation Weather Radar System received certification of airworthiness on February 23, 2008. http://jets.ru/news/2008/02/27/eclipse_aviation **************   NTSB Interviews Pilots Who May Have Fallen Asleep           KGMB9 News has learned NTSB investigators have interviewed one of the two pilots who may have fallen asleep on a go! Airlines flight two weeks ago.   The National Transportation Safety Board will talk to the other pilot Friday.   Investigators have also listened to the air traffic control recordings, but won't say yet what they revealed.   As we first reported, the crew on Flight 1002 didn't respond to controllers for 25 minutes, and overshot the Hilo runway by 15 miles before turning around and landing safely back on Feb. 13. http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/4399/40/ ***************   Heli-Expo 2008: FAA's Sturgell Pitches ADS-B To Helo Pilots   Says First Phase To Be Implemented By December '09 Editor's Note: Below is the text of a speech given Tuesday at Heli-Expo 2008 in Houston, TX by Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell, in which he updated attendees on the progress of a program of significant importance to all general aviation pilots -- but particularly to offshore helicopter operations.   Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcasting, or ADS-B, is a key part of the agency's much-touted "NextGen" air traffic control system... and Sturgell says it can't come soon enough for helicopter operators:   I've been to my fair share of fly-ins. I've sat in enough cockpits and seen enough "next big things" to last a lifetime. But I couldn't wait to come to the Heli-Expo to see what the buzz is all about. Did I say buzz? Maybe whir is more like it. Anyway, I took a quick stroll through the exhibition hall a minute ago, and I have to admit -- it's enough to make a fighter pilot envious.   This afternoon, our focus is on ADS-B. It's a transformational technology that'll create a brand new NAS. It'll be the go-to system for anyone and everyone who operates in remote areas at low levels.   And, I want to say right off the bat, that the FAA is fully committed to this program.   Yours is an industry on the go. You don't have time to wait. Some of you have gone ahead and made your own investments for a range of services. These include communications, weather and satellite-based surveillance.   I'm proud of the fact that the FAA will now be able to provide these services that many of you have been paying for -- services that are available to the rest of the NAS. And I have to say, we're charging ahead on a number of fronts to make it all a reality. The key to making it all come together, of course, has been industry partnerships.   The first wave of the ADS-B rollout, VHF air-to-ground communications, is already under way. My FAA colleagues up here will elaborate a little more on that in just a bit.   But I just want to point out a major milestone we're hitting this week. The FAA is conducting a design review of ITT's ADS-B system. Once that's done, it'll clear the way for the company to begin sending equipment out to the platforms. This is the equipment that'll be used for air traffic separation services.   What this all means is that by December of '09, the FAA will, for the first time, be providing communications, weather and surveillance to helicopter operators in the Gulf.   Picture that. Houston center will now have the ability to separate ADS-B surveilled targets by next year.   Let me take a moment here to personally thank a few of the operators for their valuable assistance. ERA Helicopters, Petroleum Helicopters, Air Logistics, and Chevron. You flew our teams out to the platforms for free. In addition, British Petroleum and Chevron, among others, gave us valuable space for the equipment and power to support our systems.   This is the kind of productive partnership we envisioned when we signed the joint agreement back in '06. That was key. Quite frankly, what it's going to accomplish is extraordinary.   We're essentially improving procedural NAS and creating something extremely beneficial out of it. We're stretching the airspace—extending it to the altitudes and the areas that you operate in.   Others may be able to benefit from what we're doing too, like EMS, or the air tour industry. With ADS-B, the possibilities are all there.   At the top of that list, of course, is safety.   There's been a steady improvement in the overall accident rate and fatal accident rate in the past few years. In '06, helicopters flew over one million hours in the Gulf. And in that time, the rate was 1.48 accidents for every 100,000 hours flown. Of the 1.48 accidents, 0.25 were fatal.   While this isn't on par with the commercial safety record, it's important to keep in mind the kinds of operations in the Gulf—brief trips from one elevated helipad to another, that take place all day long.   With that kind of work, the margin for error is small because of the operational hazards. But ADS-B can not only stretch the boundaries of the NAS. It can stretch the net of safety too.   All in all, we're making great strides. And I think much of the credit goes to the International Helicopter Safety Team. Their goal is to reduce the worldwide military and civil helicopter accident rate by 80 percent by 2016.   With members like HAI, FAA, Transport Canada, and ICAO, I don't see how the IHST can't hit that goal.   Now, since safety is the language that transcends all borders, I have an announcement to make. Last Thursday, I signed out a final rule for rotorcraft performance and handling. It'll raise the safety bar another notch higher. And more importantly, it reflects the evolution of rotorcraft capabilities.   The rule harmonizes U.S. and European airworthiness standards for rotorcraft. And, it represents the first changes to performance and handling regulations in almost two decades. Many of you here today provided technical expertise to the FAA, and I want to thank you for your contributions.   Let me bring this to a close by stating what we all know. That this is an exciting time in the rotor industry. And I'm proud of the work that the FAA is doing to hit our ADS-B milestones. Like I said a minute ago, we are committed to this program.   All of us up here from the FAA, we're looking forward to working with Matt and Patrick Corr and the rest of the HAI team to see it all the way through to completion.   Thanks very much for having me, and thanks for writing the next chapter in rotorcraft history. aero-news.net **************   FAA still reviewing 737 wing flaps   Four emergency landings; Boeing, Alaska not at fault   Federal regulators said Tuesday that four similar problems in one month aboard Alaska Airlines 747-300s, each requiring an emergency landing, were not caused by faulty maintenance or operations.   And earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration concluded it will require no changes to Boeing's 737-400 fleet to remedy the problem, which kept the Alaska Airlines planes' trailing wing flaps from extending fully.   Tuesday's FAA statement leaves unclear what caused three Boeing 737-400s operated by the Seattle-based carrier to declare emergency landings in Alaska on Jan. 10, 11, 20 and 26.   No property damage or injuries resulted.   In such precautionary emergency landings, planes must increase their speed to maintain lift, increasing the odds they might roll off the runway's end. Emergency equipment is called out, and the flight receives priority treatment.   Alaska Airlines' operation and maintenance complied with federal regulations, according to two spokespeople with the FAA. The investigation, promised and completed within 30 days of the last of the four incidents, was performed by the FAA's Alaska Airlines Certificate Management Offices. Those offices "specialize in the certification, surveillance and inspection of major air carriers," according to the FAA's Web site.   Earlier this month, FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the FAA had concluded it will require no changes to Boeing's 737-400 fleet to remedy the problem.   Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Amanda Bielawski wrote in e-mails Tuesday that the airline has completed inspections of all 40 of its 737-400s. But, she said, the airline has "not yet come to any conclusions" about the cause of the incidents and is continuing to review with Boeing "a host of factors that can impact wing-flap performance."   She said the airline has removed the doors normally covering the trailing flaps from all those planes.   "The review involves looking at a host of factors (including the functioning of wing-flap doors) that can impact wing-flap performance," she said.   She also said no other, similar incidents have occurred.   Boeing spokeswoman Liz Verdier said in an e-mail Tuesday, "We continue to collaborate with Alaska Airlines by providing them technical assistance during their review of 737-400 wing flaps."   The FAA's Kenitzer has stressed that the agency doesn't regard the failure of flaps to operate properly to be a safety hazard. In his e-mail Tuesday, he wrote, "I want to re-emphasize that flaps are not necessary to safely land an airplane."   "But," he added, "when the flaps don't deploy and are expected, this is not handled as routine."   Mike Fergus, another FAA spokesman, described the problem as a "flap-panel failure."   Samuel Nelson, 50, a resident of Metlakatla, Alaska, said nearby Ketchikan airport, where at least two of the incidents occurred, is served only by Alaska Airlines. A fan of scanning radios, which cover police, fire and aircraft radio traffic, he said the incidents were dramatic and alarming to hear.   Told of the latest developments in the FAA and airline investigations, he said Tuesday: "I would definitely be watching and questioning. I would be kind of apprehensive." http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/352813_alaska27.html **************   FAA sets safety upgrades for LAX   A series of safety upgrades are coming to Los Angeles International Airport over the next year, including a $6 million runway-stoplight system and the addition of 10 air traffic controllers, the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday.   Robert A. Sturgell also said he supported the idea of separating the airport's parallel northern runways to make room for a centerline taxiway to allow aircraft more room to safely maneuver on the ground.   "These new runway lights will be one more layer of defense, but they will not be the first line of defense," Sturgell said during a news conference at LAX.   "The ultimate aim for LAX is to reconfigure the runways," he said. "They're just too close."   The runway status lights system is expected to start working by the beginning of next year on four taxiway intersections and the inner runway on the north airfield, while the southern airfield will have lights at three taxiways.   The red lights, embedded in pavement, will switch on any time it's unsafe for a pilot to cross a runway or take off from the airport, according to the FAA.   "Drivers have stoplights to guide them, so why not pilots?" Sturgell said. "Well, now they will."   The lighting system is expected to help decrease the number of close calls between aircraft maneuvering on the ground at LAX, which has reported the highest number of runway incursions among the nation's busiest airports since 2000.   The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners will formally decide Monday whether to pay for the high-tech warning system. "Runway status lights are fantastic and we've been waiting for them to come, but I'm concerned about what (Sturgell) said about the runways," said Airport Commissioner Valeria Velasco, who lives just north of LAX in Playa del Rey.   "I'm hoping he doesn't advocate moving the northern runways farther north," Velasco said. "If we move the runways, I want to move the inner runway toward the south and rip out terminals one through three."   The FAA approved such a plan three years ago, when it was presented as part of former Mayor James Hahn's failed $11 billion modernization effort. More recently, the airport commission ordered an $8.7 million study last month re-examining how the parallel north runways should be reconfigured.   The FAA also hopes to heighten safety at LAX by hiring 10 more air traffic controllers this year, only three of which will have worked at other airports. With up to six veteran controllers expected to retire this year from LAX Tower, the total net gain will be four new controllers at the airport.   Currently, LAX has 36 certified air traffic controllers and nine trainees. A congressional report released last year found that most air traffic controllers suffer from fatigue due to a lack of proper staffing at the nation's airports.   "We're way short on controllers right now," said Michael Foote, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association at LAX.   "Just because you hire a new trainee doesn't mean that they can come in and start working right away," Foote said. "A net gain of four controllers is not a good number."   The Los Angeles City Council has also called on the FAA to staff LAX with 47 certified controllers, arguing that the extra staff is needed as a safety measure.   "It's a step in the right direction, but it's not enough," said Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose 11th District includes LAX.   "Granted, this is better than not responding to the issue at all," he said. "But 47 is what I consider to be a full staff in that control tower." http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8374568 ************