06 NOV 2008 _______________________________________ *Mexico asks for U.S. help in plane crash probe *NTSB SENDS TEAM TO MEXICO TO ASSIST WITH LEARJET ACCIDENT *Gulf Helicopters to sponsor international symposium *Mooney Halts Production, Lays Off 229 Workers *China unveils new turbofan engine *Orlando First On List For Runway Status Lights *Europe To Require ADS-B Avionics Five Years Sooner than FAA *************************************** Mexico asks for U.S. help in plane crash probe Two high-level officials among 13 people killed A forensics team surveys the scene Wednesday of a jet crash in Mexico City that claimed Interior Minister Camilo Mouriño and anti-drug prosecutor Jose Louis Santiago Vasconcelos. MEXICO CITY — Mexican officials asked U.S. and British experts to aid in the investigation of a Mexico City plane crash that killed the government's second-ranking official and a high-level lawman. The officials said the crash appeared to be an accident, but they were not ruling anything out. Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mouriño and longtime anti-drug prosecutor Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos were among the 13 people killed Tuesday night when an executive jet crashed into rush-hour traffic. All eight people aboard the plane died in the fiery crash, as well as five more on the ground. Some 40 other people were injured, a half-dozen of them critically. There have been no indications the crash was anything other than an accident, said Transportation Secretary Luis Tellez. "But," he said, "it will be investigated until all possibilities are exhausted." Violence from drug-gang wars and the deployment of thousands of troops and federal police has killed more than 3,000 people this year alone. Sabotage suspected Speculation was rampant Wednesday that the plane had been sabotaged. The crash was the first of its kind in Mexico City. Experts from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Mexico City on Wednesday to help with the investigation. Three British government investigators also were taking part. "The United States will do all it can to assist in the investigation," said Tony Garza, the American ambassador. Mexico City's media Tuesday night reported that the jet's pilots had issued a distress call shortly before the crash. But Tellez played conversations from the plane's flight recorder that suggested there were no indications of danger. Radio went silent After routine discussion about the doomed plane's impending landing, communication suddenly went silent. The corporate jet slammed to earth under clear skies about 7 p.m. next to one of Mexico City's busiest intersections. The scene was near a major expressway and about a mile from President Felipe Calderon's offices and residence. Dozens of cars were damaged in the crash, some bursting into flame with their occupants inside. Officials evacuated about 1,200 people from the scene as police, firefighters and soldiers searched charred hulks of vehicles for the remains of bodies, many of which were burned beyond recognition. The crash tore a gaping hole in Calderon's administration as he fights the drug syndicates and tries to shield Mexico from a global economic crisis, political analyst Federico Estevez said. Mouriño, 37, was one of Calderon's closest aides and friends. He was the equivalent of Mexico's vice president. He served as the president's point man with Congress, especially the legislators from the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, whose votes are needed by Calderon to get legislation passed. Mouriño also headed Calderon's National Security Cabinet — composed of the attorney general, senior military commanders and the head of the federal Public Security Ministry. "It's a blow to Calderon, who likes to govern with a tight inner circle," Estevez said. "He has to fill the gap quickly." Santiago, who served in the Mexican attorney general's office since the early 1990s, led Mexico's efforts against organized crime under former President Vicente Fox. One of Mexico's foremost experts on the country's criminal gangs and their protection networks among officials, Santiago had only recently joined the presidential staff as a legal adviser. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6097369.html *************** NTSB SENDS TEAM TO MEXICO TO ASSIST WITH LEARJET AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators to Mexico City, Mexico, to assist in the investigation of yesterday's accident in which a Learjet L45 (XC-VMC), crashed into a mixed, residential/commercial neighborhood. It has been reported that all 9 persons on board, including Mexican Interior Secretary, Juan Camillo Mourino, were fatally injured. NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker has designated senior aviation accident investigator Joe Sedor as the U.S. Accredited Representative. The U.S. team will also include technical advisors from the NTSB, FAA, Learjet, and Honeywell International. # # # Media contact: Keith Holloway 202.314.6100 hollowk@ntsb.gov *************** Gulf Helicopters to sponsor international symposium DOHA • A Doha-based aviation company will be among the host in a symposium that tackles an alarming rate of helicopter accidents worldwide and the need to bring down such incidents during the Dubai Helishow 2008 from November 11 to 13. Capt Duleep Nachia, safety manager of Gulf Helicopters, said their company will be one of the sponsors of the symposium on International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST), a significant event that serves as one of the highlights in the three-day Dubai Helishow 2008. Gulf Helicopters in association with LifeFlight Qatar will be participating in the Helishow at the East Hall, Airport Expo in Dubai where they will be exhibiting at Booth No. N 131. Aside from exhibition, LifeFlight Qatar will participate in the Air Medical and Rescue Show. Malcolm Perry who will speak in behalf of Qatar Helicopter Emergency Services will discuss their programme which is already fully integrated into the "999" National Emergency Communications and Dispatch System. Nachia said there have been at least six helicopter accidents per 100,000 flight hours worldwide of which such cases he considers an alarming proportion that needs to be reduced by 80 percent in the next 10 years. Nachia however noted their company had never incurred any accident since it was established 30 years ago. During the discussion at the symposium, Nachia said the panelists will present factors of that causes the alarming incidents and the safety measures that will be addressed on it. Authorities and experts from IHST will serve as panelists. Formed in 2005 during a meeting in Montreal, Canada, IHST is led by representatives of the American Helicopter Society, the Helicopter Association International, the Federal Aviation Administration, Transport Canada, the European Aviation Safety Agency and other stakeholders in the helicopter manufacture, regulation and operators community. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Business_News&subsection=Local+Business&month=November2008&file=Business_News200811067011.xml *************** Mooney Halts Production, Lays Off 229 Workers Latest Company To Feel Effects Of Economic Slump The latest stop by The Recession Fairy is Kerrville, TX. Mooney Aircraft announced Wednesday it will cut production as it tries to sell excess inventory into a slumping marketplace... and fewer planes in production means fewer workers will be needed to build them. The San Antonio Business Journal reports Mooney laid off 229 employees in Kerrville. Company spokesman Dave Franson said the cutbacks are needed to "balance its finished airplane inventory with current demand. "These are temporary adjustments and they only affect our manufacturing operations," Franson added. "So our (other operations) will continue to operate normally and be staffed at the normal level. There will not be any change to existing or potential customers and we will deliver airplanes as scheduled." Mooney CEO Bob Gowens told state employment officials the company couldn't have seen the latest round of layoffs coming. "These unexpected and unforeseeable conditions are beyond Mooney Airplane Company's control," Gowens wrote in a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission. "It was impossible for Mooney Airplane Company to predict this sudden collapse in demand at the time when notice would have been required." As ANN reported, Mooney laid off 80 workers in June, leaving about 320 workers at its plant at Schreiner Field (ERV). Mooney's normal production has been running at about a hundred planes a year. The production cut comes in a week which has already seen Grob Aerospace enter full insolvency, and Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft announce production and workforce cuts. Franson said the latest layoffs were effective immediately, and will leave about 91 employees at Mooney. The company hopes to start building airplanes again when the economy rebounds and demand increases, he added. FMI: www.mooney.com aero-news.net *************** China unveils new turbofan engine China has unveiled a turbofan engine that it is developing in a further sign the country is putting more emphasis on systems development. Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow a turbofan that its business unit, Aviation Engine Industry Corporation, is developing. It is "a high bypass-ratio turbofan engine" that can power commercial aircraft, says AVIC, adding that "the engine consists of a one-stage fan, a three-stage pressurizing compressor, a seven-stage HP compressor, a short annular combustor, a single-stage HP turbine, a three-stage LP turbine, a simple convergent nozzle and full authority digital electronic control". AVIC says Aviation Engine Industry Corporation is responsible for design and research for the yet-to-be named engine while AVIC subsidiary Shenyang Liming Aero Engine (SLAE) is responsible for manufacturing, sales and service. This approach reflects AVIC's new structure and approach to product development, it adds. Previously SLAE would have developed the engine but under AVIC's new company structure AVIC's engine development capabilities are grouped under Aviation Engine Industry Corporation. China in the past has often relied on engines from Russia and the USA to power its high-performance military and commercial aircraft respectively but AVIC in more recent times has been telling overseas suppliers it wants to be more involved in the development of aircraft engines, avionics and other important systems. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** Orlando First On List For Runway Status Lights Orlando Airport is expected to be the first to get runway status lights (RSLs) under Sensis Corp.’s contract with FAA, say Sensis officials. A few U.S. airports already have already trialed prototype RSLs, but Orlando will be the first of the 22 in the main deployment. Sensis is meeting with FAA officials to determine the remainder of the schedule. All 22 are to be completed by 2011. RSLs are seen as a crucial tool to help prevent runway incursions. http://www.aviationweek.com *************** Europe To Require ADS-B Avionics Five Years Sooner than FAA With new mandate, Europeans press ahead with key aircraft surveillance tool The European Commission is proposing that ADS-B “out” avionics be installed on airline aircraft and business jets five years earlier than the FAA’s plan. Full airborne coverage in Europe will let any nation there move ahead with ground infrastructure at will. The directive on Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast—scheduled for release on Oct. 31—calls for aircraft to have the extended squitter feature on Mode S transponders for ADS-B “out” transmission by 2015, says Alex Wandels, Eurocontrol’s manager of the Cascade program, which is leading the implementation of ADS-B. This Thales ADS-B sensor is installed at the Diagoras Airport near Rhodes, Greece.Credit: EUROCONTROL Europe already requires airliners to have Mode S, so most aircraft will need only a software upgrade. In contrast, the FAA’s proposed mandate for ADS-B “out” doesn’t require avionics until 2020. In the U.S., an industry-government committee that reviewed the ADS-B mandate, and recommended 36 changes, did not take issue with the FAA’s 2020 target date (AW&ST Oct. 6, p. 62). The Air Transport Assn. says the U.S. requirement alone will cost its airline members nearly $700 million. During the next three months, airlines and other operators will be able to comment on the proposed EC rule, says Wandels. The mandate is expected to call for all aircraft weighing more than 5,700 kg. (12,540 lb.) to have the extended squitter function so they can transmit ADS-B position data to ground controllers over 1090 MHz. The FAA’s mandate specifies that airliners and business jets use 1090 MHz., while general aviation aircraft would use the Universal Access Transceiver on 978 MHz. Ironically, U.S.-registered airliners and bizjets operating to Europe will have to have ADS-B “out” capability by 2015—a requirement that should accelerate the adoption rate in the U.S. However, in terms of ADS-B ground infrastructure, the European ATC community has taken a less aggressive approach than the U.S., Canada or Australia. The FAA, for example, has set up in southern Florida the first prototype of a new nation-wide ground receiver network. Australia has rolled out ADS-B nationwide, while Canada is moving ahead with its ground-based network. Europe has no plan in effect yet to provide continental coverage with ADS-B systems on the ground, even by 2020, when the single-sky project to modernize ATC is due to be completed. But the EC wants the airborne equipment in place so construction of ground-based networks can proceed. European nations have 13 ADS-B trials underway; several involve airports with no radar surveillance coverage. ADS-B ground networks have been built at these facilities to accommodate growing traffic from low-cost carriers. These include Trabzon Airport in Turkey, near the Black Sea, Alghero Airport in Sardinia, Italy’s Pescara International Airport and Kiruna Airport in northern Sweden. The Swedish project is using the VHF Mode 4 data link instead of 1090 MHz. as the ADS-B link. In addition, an ADS-B network covers three Greek airfields close to one another: Diagoras, Karpathos Island National and Kos International airports. As confidence grows with regard to using ADS-B at these airports that have no radar coverage, other air navigation service providers in Europe will likely start to look seriously at replacing radar with ADS-B, says Wandels. Other organizations involved in ADS-B projects include the U.K., German, Austrian, Spanish and French air navigation service providers. Meanwhile, Eurocontrol is working with 18 aircraft operators and is providing seed money to help them install new avionics now, instead of waiting for the mandate to take effect. Three of these ADS-B “pioneers”—Air France, Air One and Volkswagen—have just received European Aviation Safety Agency approval to use ADS-B in airspace not covered by radar surveillance. Other carriers involved include SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Ryanair, Air Europa, British Airways, Lufthansa and United Airlines. Air France has 50 A320 family aircraft in the program, according to Wandels. Air One has 20, and Volkswagen has two Falcon 2000s that it uses for executive transportation. Nav Canada also agreed to accept these EASA approvals as valid for aircraft flying over the Hudson Bay, where an ADS-B ground-based network will become operational this month. http://www.aviationweek.com ****************