09 DEC 2008 _______________________________________ *F/A-18D Impacts San Diego Neighborhood *Military jet crash in San Diego kills 3 on ground *Radar tapes of planes' collision over Everglades to be checked by investigators *Alaska Air Group Announces Changes to Strengthen Senior Leadership *Reid Pushes Senate Aide For FAA Post *Continental set for first biofuel flight *EU begins developing new air traffic system *What's In A Name? (Secretary of Transportation???) *Nigeria's Arik Receives its First A340-500 *Second Mexican government plane crashes in a month **************************************** F/A-18D Impacts San Diego Neighborhood Aircraft Departed Aircraft Carrier, Heading For Miramar Local authorities say three people on the ground were killed when an F/A-18D Hornet impacted a neighborhood two miles northwest of MCAS Miramar late Monday morning. News 10 San Diego reports the bodies of two adults and one infant were found inside one of University City-area two homes destroyed by the resulting post-impact fire. Another child remained unaccounted for as of late Monday. Officials say the pilot was the only person onboard the two-seat F/A-18. The unidentified student pilot was able to eject from the plane seconds before impact, and landed on a bluff near a local high school. "He was a little shaken up," said witness Jason Widmer, who came to the pilot's aid. "The first thing he said to me, even before he said, 'I'm OK,' he said, 'I hope I didn't kill anybody."' Widmer added the pilot told him the aircraft lost an engine while on approach to land at Miramar, with the second apparently flaming out over the neighboorhood. Original Report A US Marines F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet has crashed in a residential neighborhood roughly two miles from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego, CA. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor told The Associated Press the jet's pilot was able to eject before the aircraft impacted near Interstate 805 just before noon local time. The crash sparked at least one house fire, and images show two nearby cars burning as well. The Los Angeles Times reports two people on the ground were killed, with "a grandmother and two small children" who lived in the burning home still missing. The pilot's condition is unknown, though witnesses saw the pilot walking around "in a daze" after the accident. Witness John Kreischer told the Times he saw and heard the jet laboring as it approached to land at MCAS Miramar. "It was must mushing through the air," Kreischer said. "It was chugging along with what seemed like one engine. Then I heard a roar of engine and all of a sudden, woop, dead silence. "This guy could have turned it around and put it in the ocean," he continued. "He was never going to make it to Miramar." Officials at the base told the paper the F/A-18 had taken off from the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast. The plane's pilot belongs to the Vertical Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 101 from Marine Aircraft Group 11. "When I first heard the noise, I thought it was a gunshot," said nearby resident Ed Costa. "I could see black smoke going up. Then we heard a secondary blast. Flames were shooting as high as the light pole." Costa's son Dean added he saw two homes on fire, and heard several cars 'explode.' "It was just crazy," he said. "There was debris everywhere." The accident prompted a lockdown at a nearby high school. Personnel from Miramar are on their way to the scene of the crash. FMI: www.marines.mil aero-news.net ************** Military jet crash in San Diego kills 3 on ground SAN DIEGO: (AP) A fighter jet returning to a Marine base after a training exercise crashed in flames in a San Diego neighborhood Monday, killing three people on the ground, leaving one missing and destroying two homes. The pilot of the F/A-18D Hornet jet ejected safely just before the crash around noon at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Explosions rocked a neighborhood of half-million-dollar homes, sending flames and plumes of smoke skyward. "The house shook; the ground shook. It was like I was frozen in my place," said Steve Krasner, who lives a few blocks from the crash. "It was bigger than any earthquake I ever felt." Three people were killed in a house where two children, a mother and a grandmother were believed to be at the time of the crash, but fire officials did not immediately know who died. Another person remained missing, and officials said the search was suspended until Tuesday morning. "We just know that four people were inside, and three of them have been accounted for," Fire Department spokesman Maurice Luque said. Putnam had no details on a possible cause. Investigators will review information from a flight data recorder, and there was no indication the pilot was using alcohol or drugs, she said. The Navy recently inspected hundreds of F/A-18 Hornets built by Boeing Co. after discovering "fatigue cracks" on more than a dozen aircraft. The Navy announced last month it had grounded 10 of the jets and placed flight restrictions on another 20 until repairs could be made. The inspectors checked the Hornets for cracks in a hinge that connects the aileron - flaps that help stabilize the jet in flight - to the wing. An F-18, a supersonic jet used widely in the Marine Corps and Navy and by the stunt-flying Blue Angels, costs about $57 million. An F-18 crashed at Miramar - known as the setting for the movie "Top Gun" - in November 2006, and that pilot also ejected safely. Authorities said smoke rising from the wreckage was toxic and evacuated about 20 homes. By Monday night only six homes remained evacuated because they were uninhabitable, said San Diego police spokeswoman Monica Munoz. There was little sign of the plane in the smoking ruins, but a piece of cockpit sat on the roof of one home, and a charred jet engine lay on a street near a parked camper. A parachute was visible in the canyon below a row of houses. The neighborhood in the University City section of San Diego smelled of jet fuel and smoke. Ambulances, fire trucks and police cars choked the streets. A Marine Corps bomb disposal truck was there, although police assured residents there was no ordnance aboard the jet. Neighbors described chaos after the jet tore into the houses and flames erupted. "It was pandemonium," said Paulette Glauser, 49, who lived six houses away. "Neighbors were running down toward us in a panic, of course." Jets frequently streak over the neighborhood, two miles from the base, but residents said the imperiled aircraft was flying extremely low. Jordan Houston was looking out his back window three blocks from the crash when the plane passed by. A parachute ejected from the craft, followed by a loud explosion and a mushroom-shaped cloud. Houston, 25, said a truck exploded after the driver backed over flaming debris and then jumped from the cab yelling, "I just filled up my gas tank." The crash was near University City High School, where students were kept locked in classrooms after the crash. Barbara Prince, a school secretary, said there was no damage to the campus and no one was injured. Neighbors jolted by the crash said they initially thought it was the sound of gunshots, a train derailment or tractor-trailer trucks colliding. "It was quite violent," said Ben Dishman, 55, who was resting on his couch after having back surgery. "I hear the jets from Miramar all the time. I often worry that one of them will hit one of these homes. It was inevitable. I feel very lucky." http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/09/america/Military-Jet-Crash.php ************** Radar tapes of planes' collision over Everglades to be checked by investigators Radar tapes of collision over Everglades that killed four to be checked by investigators Air safety investigators will study radar tapes to determine why two small planes collided in sunny, clear conditions over the Everglades on Saturday, killing four. Both planes had been on training missions and that could be a major factor in the accident, aviation experts said. "Even in good visibility, pilots have to look out for one another," Robert Breiling, an aviation accident analyst based in Boca Raton Click here for restaurant inspection reports, said Monday. It was South Florida's deadliest in-flight accident since June 2003, when five people died in a collision between two small planes over Deerfield Beach, and the fifth one in-flight in the past eight years. Victim Stuart Brown Photo The dead included flight instructor Stuart Brown, 25, of Pembroke Pines, and student Edson Jefferson, 30, of Miramar. They were in a Cessna 172 operated by Pelican Flight Training, a flight school at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines. Also killed were flight instructor Andrew Rossignol, 21, of Stuart, and student Bryan Sax, 37, of Aspen, Colo. They were flying a twin-engine Piper operated by ATP Flight School at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Eric Alleyne, a National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator, said the two planes were found about 300 yards apart in a marshy area in far west Broward County Click here for restaurant inspection reports. The bodies of the victims were found in the cockpits, he said. On Monday, a salvage company hauled pieces of wreckage from the swamp to land via airboat. Alleyne said investigators will examine all aspects of the accident, from the mechanical condition of the planes to the weather. The radar tapes likely will provide the most crucial evidence, as they should show the paths of the two planes before the accident. They also should reveal the specific angle they merged. Both planes had taken off from their respective airports at about 3:30 p.m. and apparently headed toward a flight training area west of U.S. 27. The exact time of the accident wasn't immediately known, Alleyne said. Both aircraft were operating under visual flight rules, meaning it was the pilots' responsibility to see and avoid each other. The visibility in that area that afternoon was "likely better than 10 miles," said meteorologist Roberto Garcia of the National Weather Service in Miami. Because planes were on training flights, it's possible the pilots were distracted, Breiling said. On board the Cessna 172, Brown was helping Jefferson prepare to take his instrument rating flight test. When students fly on instruments, they concentrate on the instrument panel and frequently wear a hood to prevent them from looking outside. "Even if he's not under the hood, even in clear weather, he's looking at his instruments," Breiling said. "That puts the burden on the flight instructor; the flight instructor should be looking out." The other plane was a more complex twin-engine aircraft, which requires attention inside the cockpit whenever pilots perform maneuvers, Breiling said. Another possible factor: A late afternoon sun might have created vision problems. "The glare could very well be a contributing in factor," Breiling said. "When you look into sun, it can be very difficult to see another airplane." Yet another possible factor: The Cessna's wing was above the cockpit while the Piper's wing was below. That would make it difficult for the pilots to see each other if the Piper was above the Cessna. Meg Fensome, vice president of Pelican Flight Training, said Brown, the flight instructor in the Cessna, was from Jamaica and hoped to fly for Air Jamaica. "He was a very professional instructor and one of our favorite people," she said. Jefferson also was from Jamaica, Fensome said. "He was just in the final steps of preparing for his check ride, which is when he gets together with an FAA-designated examiner," she said. Sax, the student in the Piper, was undergoing advance training and a business partner in a flight school, according to the Vail Daily. He also was a bartender in Aspen, the co-owner of Saxy's Cafe in Basalt and Boulder and at one time was a national ski racing champion, the paper said. Rossignol, the flight instructor in the Piper, had been flying since he was 17 years old and hoped to land an airline job, said his brother, Matt Rossignol, 23, of Biddeford, Maine. He said their father, Richard Rossignol, is a Continental Airlines pilot. "He loved flying because my father's a pilot," Matt Rossignol said of his brother. "He wanted to become a commercial airline pilot and sit next to my dad, as co-pilot." http://www.sun-sentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/local/sfl-flbmid air1209sbdec09,0,4737060.story *************** Alaska Air Group Announces Changes to Strengthen Senior Leadership Brad Tilden elected Alaska Airlines' president; Glenn Johnson becomes Alaska Air Group CFO; Ben Minicucci assumes new COO role at Alaska SEATTLE, Dec 08, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- The Alaska Air Group board of directors and Bill Ayer, chairman and chief executive officer, today announced a realignment to strengthen the company's senior leadership. As part of the changes, Brad Tilden has been elected president of Alaska Airlines, reporting to Ayer. Previously Alaska Air Group's chief financial officer and executive vice president of finance and planning, Tilden will oversee the airline's operating divisions and marketing, in addition to retaining responsibility for network planning and revenue management. "Brad's engaging leadership style and strong values, coupled with his financial judgment and commitment to ongoing process improvement, make him the right person to take on expanded responsibility for our operations, marketing, planning and customer experience as we continue to improve our long-term competitiveness," Ayer said. Tilden joined Alaska Airlines as controller in 1991 and was promoted to chief financial officer in 2000. Prior to joining Alaska, he spent eight years with the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse at its offices in Seattle and Melbourne, Australia. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration and is a private pilot. Replacing Tilden as chief financial officer and executive vice president of finance for Alaska Air Group and Alaska Airlines is Glenn Johnson, formerly Alaska Airlines' executive vice president of customer service -- airports and maintenance and engineering. In addition to leading the company's finance organization, he will oversee information technology, strategic planning and corporate real estate. Johnson has had a long career at Alaska Airlines and sister carrier Horizon Air in a variety of finance and customer service roles, including vice president of finance and treasurer at both carriers. "Glenn's extensive background in finance, as well as his operational and customer service expertise, makes him uniquely qualified to lead our finance, real estate, IT and strategic planning efforts at this critical time," Ayer said. The company also announced the election of Ben Minicucci as Alaska Airlines' chief operating officer and executive vice president of operations. Previously vice president of Seattle operations, Minicucci will report to Tilden in this new position, and will lead flight operations and maintenance and engineering, in addition to airport customer service. "In the year since Ben assumed leadership of our Seattle operation, he has re-engineered a host of operational functions, resulting in dramatic improvements to our on-time performance and baggage handling. Through this promotion, he will be more directly positioned to drive similar improvements throughout our network," Ayer said. Minicucci was Alaska Airlines' staff vice president of maintenance and engineering before overseeing the airline's Seattle operations. He came to Alaska from Air Canada and a 14-year career in the Canadian Armed Forces, where he was responsible for aircraft maintenance. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering. Stepping into a vice president role leading Alaska Air Group's planning and revenue management, reporting to Tilden, will be Andrew Harrison. Formerly managing director of planning, Harrison joined Alaska Airlines after a 16-year career in public accounting. As part of the leadership changes, Gregg Saretsky, formerly Alaska Airlines' executive vice president of flight and marketing, will leave the company. "Gregg is a highly respected leader who guided our transcontinental expansion and built a strong marketing organization that has helped us fend off relentless competition," Ayer said. "We appreciate his many contributions during his 10 years at Alaska." Alaska Airlines and sister carrier Horizon Air together serve more than 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Traditional Network Carriers (tie)" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North America Airline Satisfaction Study(SM). For reservations, visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom. SOURCE Alaska Air Group ************* Reid Pushes Senate Aide For FAA Post Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) is urging President-elect Barack Obama to appoint longtime aide Robert T. Herbert to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, people close to the process say. Herbert appears to be in a heated contest with Duane E. Woerth, a former pilots union president who has the backing of labor groups, including the AFL-CIO. Herbert, an experienced civilian and military pilot, advised Reid on transportation, defense and homeland security issues. Reid has sent a letter backing Herbert to the Obama transition team, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified because the selection process is ongoing. Herbert has also been seeking meetings with leaders of aviation-related unions in recent days. Herbert has worked for Reid since 2001. His past roles include director of Reid's southern Nevada office and legislative assistant. It isn't clear whether Obama's senior transition leaders have fully turned to the question of who should lead the FAA. Others mentioned include Neil Planzer, Boeing's vice president for air traffic management. Obama has yet to name a secretary of transportation, who will oversee the FAA chief. Obama's transition team officials did not return requests for comment. In the close-knit Washington aviation community, Woerth's name has generated the most interest. From 1999 to 2007, he was president of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents most of the nation's commercial airline pilots. He was a high-profile advocate, appearing regularly before congressional committees on a range of aviation issues. People close to the process on the labor side have said they view Woerth as best able to resolve the series of ongoing contract disputes between the FAA and its unions that have piled up during the Bush administration. The agency's two largest labor unions, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, have battled the FAA over pay and work rules. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/05/AR2008120503 320.html ************* Continental set for first biofuel flight Continental Airlines Inc. says it will conduct the first biofuel-powered demonstration flight of a U.S. commercial airliner in Houston on Jan. 7. The flight will carry no passengers, and the aircraft will be partially powered by a fuel blend derived partly from the algae and jatropha plants. The Houston airline has partnered on the project with Chicago-based The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA); Cincinnati-based CFM International Inc., a joint venture company of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and French engine maker Snecma, a subsidiary of Safran Group; refining technology developer UOP (NYSE: HON), a Honeywell company; and oil providers Washington-based Sapphire Energy (algae) and Terrasol (jatropha). The demonstration flight will be the first biofuel-powered flight by a commercial carrier using algae as a fuel source and the first using a two-engine aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 equipped with CFM International CFM56-7B engines, according to Continental (NYSE: CAL). The fuel used in one of the two engines will be a blend of 50 percent traditional jet fuel and 50 percent biofuel from algae and jatropha, while the other will have just jet fuel. Continental said it has worked for nine months with the other groups on research, production and testing of the biofuel. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/12/08/daily4.html ************** EU begins developing new air traffic system BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union launched a program Monday to develop a new air traffic management system to help cope with an increasing number of flights over Europe. Europe's air space has reached its limit with 28,000 flights a day, but that number is nevertheless expected to double by 2020, according to the Eurocontrol air traffic management agency. The EU is developing the euro2.1 billion ($2.7 billion) "SESAR" system using satellite navigation and data links that would transmit digital messages directly to cockpit displays. The new system is expected to be up and running by 2020, replacing the radar and radio-based system that dates back to World War II. The current system forces planes to take longer, zigzagging routes that cost airlines about euro4 billion ($5 billion) annually in wasted fuel. The EU said the new system should make flights safer, shorter and less polluting by helping air traffic controllers direct planes more efficiently. In addition, the EU hopes the new system will enable a tripling of capacity, cut air traffic management costs by 50 percent, curb greenhouse gas emissions and achieve an overall punctuality rate of 95 percent, officials said. "This is one of the most complex research and development programs ever launched in (Europe)," said Antonio Tajani, vice president of the European Commission, the EU head office. Its impact will include fewer delays and increased airport capacity, he added. The new program will enable so-called "continuous-descent approaches" to the runway - effectively coasting down from cruising altitudes with the throttle on idle - thus decreasing fuel consumption and minimizing CO2 emissions. "Compared with today's way of managing aircraft, SESAR represents a paradigm shift," said Eurocontrol's director general David McMillan. "We will change the way we manage air traffic - no more skyways, just the most efficient trajectory to save fuel and time." The planned system will be similar to the new NextGen network being set up in the United States by the Federal Aviation Administration. NextGen also aims to replace the obsolete method of air traffic management where jetliners move in single-file lines along narrow highways in the sky marked by radio beacons. The European project, like NextGen, has been planned for years but faced repeated delays due to funding shortages and the complexities of the switch-over to the new technology. *************** What's In A Name? (Secretary of Transportation???) President-Elect Barack Obama is giving no clear indications yet on who he may choose as Dept. of Transportation Secretary. A new name to surface is former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk. Air Transport Association President and CEO James May expects a nomination before Christmas. http://www.aviationweek.com ************* Nigeria's Arik Receives its First A340-500 Lagos, Nigeria-based Arik Air has taken delivery of its first of three Airbus A340-500s it has on order. The aircraft, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 500s, will seat passengers in a two-class configuration. The private carrier plans to link Nigeria with U.S. and U.K. destinations, according to Arik Chairman Arumemi-Johnson. http://www.aviationweek.com ************** Second Mexican government plane crashes in a month MEXICO CITY (AP) - A government Learjet plunged into a lake in central Mexico, killing two pilots in the second deadly crash in a month involving a federally owned plane, officials said Monday. The Learjet 23 lost contact with the control tower shortly before crashing into Atlangatepec lake Sunday night, said Tlaxcala state government spokesman Domingo Fernandez. Rescuers recovered the body of the pilot and were trying to extract the copilot's body from the wreckage Monday, state officials said. Federal investigators were trying to determine the cause. Sunday night's crash came just over a month after Mexican Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino and 14 other people were killed when a Learjet 45 plowed into a Mexico City neighborhood. Fernandez said the Learjet 23 was owned by a federal agency that manages government property but was being used by the Tlaxcala government when it crashed. Tlaxcala Gov. Hector Israel Ortiz sometimes traveled in the plane but the purpose of Sunday's flight was unclear, Fernandez said. The pilots had been making a short trip between two airports east of Mexico City. The state government had been using the plane since 2006, according to the federal agency that owns it. Mexican investigators blamed last month's Learjet crash on the turbulence from a larger plane flying ahead. The investigation found that the pilots were slow to follow the control tower's instructions to reduce speed and appeared to be nearly one nautical mile too close behind a Boeing 767-300 on the same flight path to Mexico City's international airport. Officials also said the pilots appeared to be unfamiliar with the Learjet 45, although one had 15 years flying experience and the other had 37 years. One of the pilots had renewed his license through "irregular" procedures, according to the Transportation Department. ****************