17 AUG 2009 _______________________________________ *Boeing to bolster 737 windscreens for bird protection *NTSB Updates Hudson River Mid-Air Investigation *Britain To Loan Airbus $563 Million To Develop A350 *Sir Richard Branson Cautions President Obama Against BA, AA Agreement *Beech 99 Accident (Portugal) *Commuter Airline Aims Higher *2 Russian jet fighters collide *New company to get Eclipse Aviation assets *American Wins Approval To Create RNP Routes **************************************** Boeing to bolster 737 windscreens for bird protection Boeing will increase the bird strike tolerance of its newly remodeled next-generation Boeing 737. According to a statement issued by windscreen manufacturer PPG Aerospace, Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems has awarded the company a contract to design a new windshield that will keep loose glass from entering the flight deck in a bird strike event. The airframer announced changes to the 737 performance and cabin design at this year's Paris Air Show, with scheduled entry into service of the model by mid-2011. The issue of bird strike protection was highlighted in the January ditching of a US Airways A320 after hitting a flock of Canada geese on departure from New York's LaGuardia airport. Part 25 certification rules require that air transport aircraft be able to withstand impact at cruise speeds of a 4lb (1.8kg) bird on front part of the aircraft, including the windshields and wings, and an 8lb bird on the empennage. Bird experts say Canada geese typically weigh from 6 - 10lb. For the windshield, manufacturers must either show by analysis or tests that the likelihood of the glass fragmenting as a result of the impact and hitting the pilots during the event is "of low order" or they must "have a means to minimize the danger to the pilots from flying windshield fragments due to bird impact," the regulations state. In the case of the newest 737, Boeing appears to be taking the latter route. According to PPG, the redesigned laminated glass windshield will be "slightly smaller" and will include an inboard "antispall liner to prevent broken glass from entering the flight deck during a bird strike event". "Boeing has asked for an alternate approach to bird-strike performance for the windshields that works structurally with the 737 airframe," says Art Scott, PPG Aerospace global sales director for commercial original-equipment transparencies. "Adding an antispall liner to the windshields for Next-Generation 737 airplanes enables Boeing to keep the structural airframe design while incorporating newer technology." Scott says PPG expects certification of the new design for the windshields in the second quarter of 2010. The windshields will be designed and manufactured at PPG's Huntsville, Alabama, facility for delivery to Wichita, where Spirit makes the fuselage for Boeing. PPG will be the sole source of the redesigned windshields for production and aftermarket applications, says the company. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** NTSB Updates Hudson River Mid-Air Investigation Role Of ATC Will Be Examined When Determining Cause In its continuing investigation of the midair collision of an air tour helicopter and a small plane over the Hudson River on Saturday, the National Transportation Safety Board has developed the following factual information: On August 8, 2009, at 11:53 a.m. EDT, a Eurocopter AS 350 BA (N401LH) operated by Liberty Helicopters and a Piper PA-32R-300 (N71MC) operated by a private pilot, collided in midair over the Hudson River near Hoboken, New Jersey. The certificated commercial pilot and five passengers onboard the helicopter were killed. The certificated private pilot and two passengers onboard the airplane were also killed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plans were filed for either flight. The local sightseeing helicopter flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 136. The personal airplane flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The helicopter departed West 30th Street Heliport (JRA), New York, New York, for a sightseeing tour at 11:52 a.m. The airplane departed Teterboro Airport (TEB), Teterboro, New Jersey, at 11:49 a.m.; destined for Ocean City Municipal Airport (26N), Ocean City, New Jersey. The airplane pilot requested an en route altitude of 3500 feet. According to preliminary radar data, the helicopter turned south from JRA and climbed to 1,100 feet, with a transponder code of 1200. According to witnesses, the pilot of the helicopter had transmitted a position report of "Stevens Point" (Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey) on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), 123.05. On the day of the accident, Teterboro Air Traffic Control Tower staff consisted of five controllers. At the time of the accident, the tower was staffed with two controllers: one controller was working ground control, local control, and arrival radar, and was also acting as the controller in charge of the facility. The second controller was working the flight data/clearance delivery position. Two other controllers were on break and the front line manager had left the facility at about 1145. At 1148:30, the Teterboro tower controller cleared the airplane for takeoff on frequency 119.50. The first radar target for the airplane was recorded at 1149:55 as the flight departed runway 19. The tower controller advised the airplane and the pilot of another helicopter operating in the area of each other and instructed the pilot of the airplane to remain at or below 1,100 feet. At this time, the tower controller initiated a non-business-related phone call to Teterboro Airport Operations. The airplane flew southbound until the controller instructed its pilot to turn left to join the Hudson River. At 1152:20 the Teterboro controller instructed the pilot to contact Newark on a frequency of 127.85; the airplane reached the Hudson River just north of Hoboken about 40 seconds later. At that time there were several aircraft detected by radar in the area immediately ahead of the airplane, including the accident helicopter, all of which were potential traffic conflicts for the airplane. The Teterboro tower controller, who was engaged in a phone call at the time, did not advise the pilot of the potential traffic conflicts. The Newark tower controller observed air traffic over the Hudson River and called Teterboro to ask that the controller instruct the pilot of the airplane to turn toward the southwest to resolve the potential conflicts. The Teterboro controller then attempted to contact the airplane but the pilot did not respond. The collision occurred shortly thereafter. A review of recorded air traffic control communications showed that the pilot did not call Newark before the accident occurred. The helicopter departed from the 30th Street Heliport at 1152 for what was planned to be a 12-minute tour. The initial part of the tour was to be flown outside class B airspace, so the pilot was not required to contact air traffic control before or after departure. The first radar target for the helicopter was detected by Newark radar at about 1152:27, when the helicopter was approximately mid-river west of the heliport and climbing through 400 feet. According to recorded radar data, the helicopter flew to the west side of the river, and then turned southbound to follow the Hudson. According to Liberty Helicopters management, this was the expected path for the tour flight. The helicopter continued climbing southbound until 1153:14, when it and the airplane collided at 1,100 feet. As noted above, immediately after the Teterboro tower controller instructed the airplane to contact Newark tower on frequency 127.85, the Newark controller called the Teterboro controller to request that they turn the airplane to a heading of 220 degrees (southwest) and transfer communications on the aircraft. As the Newark controller was providing the suggested heading to the Teterboro controller, the pilot of the airplane was acknowledging the frequency change to the Teterboro controller. The Teterboro controller made two unsuccessful attempts to reach the pilot, with the second attempt occurring at 1152:50. At 1152:54, 20 seconds prior to the collision, the radar data processing system detected a conflict between the airplane and the helicopter, which set off aural alarms and a caused a "conflict alert" indication to appear on the radar displays at both Teterboro and Newark towers. During interviews both controllers stated that they did not recall seeing or hearing the conflict alert. At 1153:19, five seconds after the collision, the Teterboro controller contacted the Newark controller to ask about the airplane, and was told that the pilot had not called. There were no further air traffic control contacts with either aircraft. The role that air traffic control might have played in this accident will be determined by the NTSB as the investigation progresses. Any opinions rendered at this time are speculative and premature. Radar data and witness statements indicate that the aircraft collided at 1,100 feet in the vicinity of Stevens Point. Most of the wreckage fell in to the Hudson River; however, some small debris from the airplane, including the right main landing gear wheel, fell on land within the city limits of Hoboken. The collision was witnessed by numerous people in the area of the accident and was immediately reported to local emergency responders. The helicopter was recovered on August 9, 2009. Most of the helicopter components were accounted for at the scene, with the exception of the main rotor and transmission. The airplane was recovered on August 11, 2009. Most of the airplane components were accounted for at the scene, with the exception of both wings. The wreckages were subsequently transported to a secure facility in Delaware. The pilot of the airplane, age 60, held a private pilot certificate, with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multiengine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on May 14, 2009. At that time he reported a total flight experience of 1,020 hours. The pilot of the helicopter, age 32, held a commercial pilot certificate, with ratings for rotorcraft helicopter and instrument helicopter. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on June 16, 2009. At that time he reported a total flight experience of 3,010 hours. Digital photographs and a video recording taken by witnesses to the accident have been provided to the NTSB. In addition, a digital camera was recovered from the helicopter. All of these were sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, DC for further examination. Global Positioning System units were recovered from both aircraft and also forwarded to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory. The recorded weather at TEB at 1151 was wind variable at 3 knots, visibility 10 miles, sky clear. FMI: www.ntsb.gov aero-news.net *************** Britain To Loan Airbus $563 Million To Develop A350 France And Germany Have Also Pledged Financial Support Britain on Friday agreed to lend Airbus $563 million to develop its A350 long-haul passenger aircraft in a move to create jobs and boost the struggling aerospace sector. The British government said in a statement that it would loan Airbus the equivalent of 394 million Euros ahead of the A350's launch in 2013. It added that the move would create and sustain more than 1,200 jobs at Airbus's British plants as well as over 5,000 positions within the supply chain across Britain. The move is a boost for the aviation sector, which has been badly hit by a deep global recession, with airlines cancelling orders as demand for air travel weakens. "We welcome the UK government's decision to invest in the A350 XWB," Airbus president Tom Enders said in a joint statement with the government. "This partnership with the UK government means that the UK taxpayer can expect a sound return on their investment," he added. Airbus, a division of the European aerospace giant EADS, intends to launch the A350 as a rival to Boeing's 787, which is planned to come onto the market in 2009. Britain's Business Secretary Peter Mandelson described Friday's announcement as "excellent news for the UK aerospace sector and for the thousands of British workers within Airbus and its UK-based supply chain". The Airbus A350 XWB is described by the company as an eco-friendly passenger aircraft that can seat between 270 and 350 passengers. Able to run on less fuel than current planes, its development is supported by four partner nations -- Britain France, Germany and Spain. France has announced support of 1.4 billion Euros for the program, Germany has proposed support totalling 1.1 billion Euros, while the Spanish government remains in discussions with Airbus over its funding offer. Airbus last week reported 118 confirmed new orders, after cancellations or postponements, for all its aircraft in the first seven months of 2009. The company's stated target for 2009 is to achieve 300 new orders. The latest figures put it ahead of US rival Boeing, which as at August 4 had achieved 40 confirmed new orders. The number of cancelled or postponed orders has become a key measure of airliner manufacturers' health during the global economic crisis. Airbus lost 22 orders to cancellations in the first seven months whereas Boeing lost 89 orders including 73 for its flagship long-haul 787 Dreamliners. In June, Boeing delayed the maiden test-flight for the Dreamliner, which is already two years behind schedule. FMI: www.airbus.com www.eads.com aero-news.net *************** Sir Richard Branson Cautions President Obama Against BA, AA Agreement The Two Airlines Applied To Share Market Data, Fix Schedules One Year Ago Sir Richard Branson, the founder and President of Virgin Atlantic, has written to the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to warn of what he says are dangers to consumers if British Airways and American Airlines are allowed to effectively merge. Friday marks the first anniversary since troubled carriers British Airways and American Airlines applied to regulators for permission to fix prices and schedules, and share marketing and operational data. Regulators in the U.S. and Europe have been studying crucial data relating to the application and assessing the dominant market shares which BA and AA would have on some of the most popular and profitable routes between London Heathrow and the U.S. In his letter to President Obama, Sir Richard Branson said: "Your Administration is nearing a defining moment in U.S. airline competition policy. The choice is a stark one that could last for decades: whether to side with the consumer and competition or whether to approve the virtual merger of BA and AA." "Never before has the U.S. Government approved an anti-trust immunity application where barriers to entry are so significant that any new meaningful competitive entry is virtually impossible. Take-off and landing slots at London's Heathrow Airport are scarce and virtually impossible to obtain at times required for competitive transatlantic services. In the rare instances that slots become available, they are prohibitively expensive for airlines in good economic times and out-of-reach in challenging ones." "BA and AA are seeking anti-trust immunity because it will enable them to squeeze existing Heathrow-U.S. competitors off key routes. If BA/AA win, it will be an unprecedented loss for consumers - prices will increase as the monopolists wield their power without competitive pricing pressure and reduced competition inevitably leads to worse customer service." "BA and AA are opportunistically suggesting your Administration should suspend rigorous competition analysis due to the current economic downturn. You should reject this self-serving sympathy ploy. Every carrier faces financial challenges and should be adjusting their business plans and costs without a free meal ticket from government." "Mr. President, I am optimistic that your Administration will stand on principle, rigorously subject BA/AA to exacting competition analysis and ultimately choose to stand on the side of consumers and competition by rejecting BA/AA's anti-trust application. Now, more than ever, consumers are counting on you to put their interests first." If allowed to proceed, BA/AA would have highly dominant market shares on key routes, such as Heathrow-Boston 80%; Heathrow-Miami 70%; Heathrow-Chicago 68%; Heathrow-JFK 62%; Heathrow-LAX 48%. It would also have 100% share on Heathrow-Dallas Fort Worth. FMI: www.virginatlantic.com aero-news.net *************** Beech 99 Accident (Portugal) Status: Preliminary Date: 14 AUG 2009 Time: 19:08 Type: Beechcraft 99 Operator: Skydive Portugal Registration: F-BTME ? C/n / msn: U-79 First flight: Crew: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Airplane damage: Written off Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Bairro de Almeirim, Évora (Portugal) Phase: Approach (APR) Nature: Parachuting Departure airport: Évora Airport (LPEV), Portugal Destination airport: Évora Airport (LPEV), Portugal Narrative: The plane was landing when it passed over the runway did a 180 turn to land in the oposite runway when it crashed in the Almeirim Neighborhood. (aviation-safety.net) *************** Commuter Airline Aims Higher Little-known commuter airline parent Republic Airways Holdings Inc. -- surprising victor in a bankruptcy-court auction to buy discounter Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. -- is on a risky acquisition spree aimed at shrinking its dependence on the slow-growth business of flying for major airlines. Republic last week beat Southwest Airlines Co. in the contest to take Denver-based discounter Frontier out of court protection. The deal followed Republic's $31 million purchase last month of Midwest Air Group Inc., a struggling Milwaukee airline. For Republic, a thinly capitalized but profitable company that had revenue of $1.5 billion last year, the acquisitions come as the airline industry is bludgeoned by the recession and a steep decline in revenues. Big airlines have been cutting both the rates they pay their commuter partners and the numbers of regional airplanes in their employ. The carriers Republic is buying compete with some of its major partners, particularly UAL Corp.'s United Airlines in Denver, while facing growing low-cost competition. Southwest is the No. 3 airline in Denver, after United and Frontier, and plans to start service to Milwaukee in November. Another budget carrier, AirTran Holdings Inc., is expanding in Milwaukee. A traveler checks in at the counter of Frontier Airlines at the Los Angeles International Airport. Frontier said it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection but plans to continue normal business operations throughout its reorganization. Republic's chief executive officer, Bryan Bedford, said in an interview that the acquisitions will create growth opportunities for Republic at a time when contract flying for major airlines is becoming less profitable. The Southwest threat in Denver "is what it is," he said. Mr. Bedford, whose company had $97 million in cash on June 30 and long-term debt of $2.2 billion, said Republic will disclose this week results of a revenue-raising effort to attract $120 million in fresh capital. He said the new funds won't dilute current shareholders. "We think we have ample liquidity," he said, adding that Republic will assume Frontier's $1 billion in debt and aircraft-lease obligations. Indianapolis-based Republic intends to operate Frontier and Midwest as separate units, retaining their brands and operations. Mr. Bedford said he'll seek cost savings by consolidating back-office jobs, real estate and airport gates. Frontier and Midwest are slated to begin a code-sharing relationship this summer, meaning they will be able to sell each other's flights as their own. Republic has had to be creative before in finding homes for its airplanes. With 210 regional jets and 4,500 workers, the carrier flies for the five largest network airlines, which set schedules, buy fuel and sell tickets. Those bigger airlines in some cases are cutting back on commuter service. For a time, Republic was Frontier's regional partner. Frontier rescinded its contract with Republic after filing for Chapter 11 in early 2008. That left Republic with 17 airplanes with nowhere to fly and a big bankruptcy claim against Frontier. Republic shifted some of the planes into the feeder service for Midwest, owned by private-equity firm TPG. Concerned that ailing Midwest wasn't prepared to face growing discounter competition, Mr. Bedford said Republic decided to buy it, keeping its planes there occupied and creating a chance to add more. To defend its interests at Frontier, Republic provided a $40 million debtor-in-possession loan and then agreed to sponsor Frontier's planned September exit from bankruptcy. The bankruptcy judge overseeing the case last month approved Republic's $109 million offer for Frontier's new equity, subject to an auction. Southwest jumped in with a $174 million bid, saying it planned to trim Frontier's fleet and gradually absorb its operations. But the offer was contingent on pilot unions of Frontier and Southwest agreeing on how to integrate their seniority rosters. When the two couldn't reach on accord last week, Southwest withdrew. Republic had sweetened its bid by waiving its claims of nearly $14 million, half the funds destined to be paid to Frontier's unsecured creditors. That raised the payout to the others to 18 cents on the dollar, above Southwest's offer of 12 cents and double Republic's earlier offer. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125046693998435413.html ************** 2 Russian jet fighters collide MOSCOW (AP) — Two Russian air force fighter jets collided Sunday as they were rehearsing for a major air show outside of Moscow, sending one of the jets crashing into houses below, a military official said. Russian media reported one of the pilots was killed. The Su-27 fighters were part of elite flying group the Russian Knights that were scheduled to perform at the MAKS-2009 air show, the largest and most important exhibition for Russia's aerospace industry, which opens Tuesday. Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik, an air force spokesman, said in televised comments that the jets collided not far from the Zhukovo airfield, east of Moscow, where the air show will be held. He said the three pilots who ejected from the jets after the collision were found in satisfactory condition. However, the RIA-Novosti and Interfax news agencies reported that one pilot — the commander of the flying group — had been found dead. Drik said investigators were looking into the cause of the collision. RIA-Novosti also said a woman was seriously injured when one of the jets crashed into a house not from the airfield, and as many as four other people may have been also injured. In recent years, Russian air force jets have seen a series of mishaps, many blamed on the aging condition of the Soviet-era planes. Earlier this year, officials grounded the air force's entire fleet of Su-24s after two crashes in three days. Two crashes of MiG-29 jets in 2008 prompted the grounding of the entire fleet as well. A subsequent investigation showed that a large number had become unsafe to fly and had to be scrapped. **************** New company to get Eclipse Aviation assets Eclipse Aviation Corp., which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last March, is about to be resurrected under the new name Eclipse Aerospace. The new company, headed by Mason Holland Jr., chairman of insurance benefits software company Benefitfocus of Charleston, S.C. ­ was the sole bidder on Eclipse's assets when the deadline for bids came due at noon on Friday, Aug. 4. "That means Eclipse Aerospace is the successful bidder," Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez told the New Mexico Business Weekly. "Itąs now a done deal. Eclipse is back." Eclipse Aerospace, which includes three other investors in addition to Holland, will pay $40 million for the former Eclipse Aviation assets. The old company filed for Chapter 11 protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware last November. In March, however, the Court granted a motion to convert the proceedings to a Chapter 7 liquidation. More than half a dozen potential bidders surfaced in the last few months, but only Eclipse Aerospace actually submitted a bid to acquire the old company, which made very light jets at a factory at the Albuquerque International Sunport. Chávez said the final sale will close on Aug. 20, after which the new company will start gradually hiring workers. At one point, the former company employed nearly 2,000 people. The new firm will service existing Eclipse jets and make new planes, but it's only expected to employ a few hundred workers. Still, Chávez said the company's resurrection is a "major deal" for Albuquerque. "Eclipse has always been more important to us than the jobs it provides," Chávez said. "It represents a symbol of progress for the city. That it's now coming back is a huge victory for Albuquerque." http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2009/08/10/daily57.html ************* World's parked aircraft fleet reaches record level The world's idle jet fleet has spiralled up to a record 2,860 airliners as operators slash capacity in the wake of the downturn and a fall in demand. Data compiled from Flightglobal's ACAS database for its annual airliner census reveals that the parked fleet of Western-built jets has increased by almost 30% over the past 12 months, or 637 aircraft. It is now at its highest-ever proportion, 13.1%, of the total fleet, which as of July stood at 21,739. The scale of the growth in stored aircraft is evidenced by the fact that over the past 12 months, the number of active Western-built jets has only increased by 165 units - despite the fact that the airframers' output is heading to record levels and 1,048 new jet airliners were delivered during that period. Between July last year and March this year the active fleet contracted from 18,719 units to 18,674. It has subsequently increased to 18,884 aircraft. In addition to the stored fleet growth, ACAS records at least 230 Western-built jet retirements over the last 12 months - a 15% increase on the previous year. It is unclear how many more of the 2,900 jets that are idle have, in reality, flown their last service. Teal Group vice-president of analysis Richard Aboulafia predicts that "somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 are permanent residents". Reasons for this include high fuel prices and the availability of sales financing for new airliners: "With governments ramping up financing support, they are helping to obsolete middle-aged jets," he says. "It's like governments' cash-for-clunkers car financing programmes, except that in this case the jets being rendered obsolete are far from clunkers." The US desert storage sites such as Marana in Arizona and Mojave and Victorville in California have seen their stockpiles of unwanted airliners balloon, as is traditional in a downturn. During 2002-03, in the wake of the post-September 2001 downturn, the idle fleet soared by more than 50% to just over 2,100 aircraft, or 12.5% of the total fleet. Financial analyst UBS Research reports that North America and Europe's share of the parked airliner fleet has increased by 10 percentage points over the past year. In July 2008, both regions accounted for 58% of the total parked fleet, but this has now increased to 68%. "While all regions are parking aircraft, we have found North American and European operators to have parked the most, including a majority of the parked in-production aircraft," says UBS. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news *************** American Wins Approval To Create RNP Routes American has been certified by the FAA to design its own required navigation performance (RNP) approaches, and the carrier has begun developing these procedures for selected airports. The airline has already designed and demonstrated RNP approaches at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, where American has one of its major maintenance facilities. It used non-revenue flights between Alliance and its nearby Dallas/Fort Worth hub to complete the RNP approach certification process. “We wanted to cut our teeth on something close to home,” said Brian Will, head of American’s Boeing 737 and 777 programs. Now the carrier is authorized to create and publish RNP approaches elsewhere. RNP approaches have significant safety and efficiency benefits for carriers. Some airlines, such as Southwest, are contracting with third parties to design RNP approaches for their own use. American, however, wanted to design them itself – “we felt we had the expertise in-house,” Will said. Next, American plans to introduce an RNP approach at its Tulsa maintenance base. And after that, it will begin to look for scheduled airports where RNP procedures will produce the greatest efficiency gains. Will said smaller airports in mountainous areas, particularly those with no instrument landing systems, will be the first considered. Parallel to the work airlines are doing on special-use approaches, FAA is rolling out public-use RNP approaches at several airports. However, airlines and the U.S. Transportation Dept.’s Inspector General have faulted the agency for focusing too heavily on overlays of existing approaches that do not provide the benefits of completely new RNP approaches. http://www.aviationweek.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/search/AvnowSearchR esult.do?reference=xml/awx_xml/2009/08/13/awx_08_13_2009_p0-161766.xml&pubKe y=awx&channel=comm&issueDate=2009-08-13&headline=American+Wins+Approval+To+C reate+RNP+Routes **************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC