24 AUG 2009 _______________________________________ *Five killed in small plane crash in S France *Plane hit by 3 cars after Calif. freeway landing *National Magazine Ranks Embry-Riddle Best In Nation For 10th Straight Year *Southwest CEO says still eyeing acquisitions *EU names airlines that could face Europe ban *US Air Force training more drone operators than pilots *French find six bodies from Yemeni crash *Tourist plane skids off runway at Manila airport *Flight attendant arrested after she was allegedly drunk on plane *4 killed in western Germany after helicopter collides with small plane Module body **************************************** Five killed in small plane crash in S France PARIS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A small tourist plane crashed in the town of Callas in southern France on Sunday, with all five passengers killed, local emergency services said. The victims' identities remained unclear. The plane burst into flames immediately after it crashed into a wooded area, said local police. Local fire department has sent some 40 firefighters to put out the blaze. A possible engine failure has been suggested since the plane seemed to be gliding before its crash, said some eyewitnesses. The plane took off from the Mediterranean city of Cannes. ***** Date: 23-AUG-2009 Time: 09:30LT Type: SOCATA TB9 "Tampico" Operator: Registration: C/n / msn: Fatalities: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Callas - France Phase: En route Nature: Private Departure airport: LFMN - Cannes-Mandelieu Destination airport: LFMR - Ales-Deaux Narrative: Aircraft crashed into hilled woods near Callas. Sadly all 5 occupants didn't survive. (aviation-safety.net) ******************** Plane hit by 3 cars after Calif. freeway landing SANTA BARBARA, Calif.(AP) - Authorities say a small airplane was struck by three vehicles just after it made an emergency landing on a California freeway. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the Piper PA-24 Comanche with two people on board was bound for Santa Barbara Airport Sunday when the pilot told air traffic controllers he had no fuel remaining and landed on the southbound side of U.S. Highway 101, about one mile northeast of the airport. California Highway Patrol Officer James Richards says three cars were unable to avoid the plane and crashed into it. He says the occupants of the plane and the cars were not injured. Richards says traffic briefly backed up for miles while crews shut down the freeway to remove the plane. *************** National Magazine Ranks Embry-Riddle Best In Nation For 10th Straight Year U.S. News & World Report Ranks Aerospace Engineering Programs For the 10th year in a row, the annual "America's Best Colleges" guide published by U.S. News & World Report has ranked Embry-Riddle's aerospace engineering program #1 in the nation and has placed the University in the top tier of all schools granting master's degrees. In the specialty category of "Best Undergraduate Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering Programs at Schools Whose Highest Degree is a Bachelor's or Master's," Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus took first place and the Prescott, AZ, campus was honored with a third-place ranking. Additionally, in the broader category of "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs at Schools Whose Highest Degree is a Bachelor's or Master's," Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus was ranked #12. Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach In the category of "Best Universities - Master's (South)," Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus was ranked #12 among 56 master's degree-granting institutions in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. "I commend the College of Engineering faculty at our Daytona Beach and Prescott campuses for their outstanding showing in this year's rankings," said Embry-Riddle President John P. Johnson. "Our success is the direct result of their daily accomplishments in the University's classrooms and laboratories." Embry-Riddle offers the following bachelor's degrees in engineering: aerospace engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical and systems engineering, engineering physics, mechanical engineering, and software engineering. Master's degrees are offered in aerospace engineering, engineering physics, mechanical engineering, and software engineering. Embry-Riddle Prescott Arizona The University was recently authorized by its accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, to offer its first two Ph.D. degree programs, in aviation and engineering physics, with both programs launching in 2010. The U.S. News & World Report rankings for the "Best University" category are based on reputation (25%), graduation and retention rates (25%), faculty resources (20%), student selectivity (15%), financial resources (10%), and alumni giving rate (5%). The rankings for the engineering programs are based on the judgments of deans and senior faculty who rated each program with which they are familiar. FMI: www.usnews.com, www.erau.edu/index.html aero-news.net *************** Southwest CEO says still eyeing acquisitions (Reuters) - U.S. low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), which lost a bid to buy Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc (FRNTQ.PK), may look for another acquisition but would continue to carry conditions with any bid, its chief executive Gary Kelly told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. "Even Tiger Woods doesn't win every tournament," Kelly told the paper. Kelly told the paper that Southwest would likely limit any potential future acquisition to an airline going through a bankruptcy restructuring, and wants to keep an all-737 fleet. Southwest lost its bid to buy Denver-based Frontier in a bankruptcy court auction last week. Disagreements over seniority between Southwest and Frontier pilots played a major role in unraveling the deal. Southwest's bid required that the pilots' unions reach an accord. *************** EU names airlines that could face Europe ban BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Union on Saturday published a list of nearly 4,000 airlines that it says should reduce their impact on the environment from 2012 or face being banned from European airports. Pollution from aircraft emissions currently represent three percent of European emissions. The EU adopted the policy in January despite opposition from the majority of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) member countries and companies belonging to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). A new European law is due to come into force soon. Under the new law, from January 1, 2012 all airlines -- both European and non-European -- operating within Europe would have to limit CO2 emissions or face penalties. Airlines will have to start monitoring their emissions from January 2010, in line with plans submitted this year. Carbon dioxide is widely considered a major greenhouse gas which is seen as contributing to climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a scientific body which assesses climate change, says air transport produces two percent of all carbon dioxide emissions from humans and 13 percent of CO2 from transport. **************** US Air Force training more drone operators than pilots As part of an expanding programme of battlefield automation, the American Air Force has said it is now training more drone operators than fighter and bomber pilots. In a controversial shift in military thinking - one encouraged by the death of Pakistani Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a drone strike on August 5 - the Air Force is looking to hugely expand its fleet of unmanned aircraft by 2047. Three years ago, the service was able to fly just 12 drones at a time; now it can fly more than 50. At a trade conference outside Washington last week, military contractors presented a future vision in which pilotless drones serve as fighters, bombers and transports, even automatic mini-drones which attack in swarms. Five thousand robotic vehicles and drones are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. By 2015, the Pentagon's US$230 billion ($339 billion) arms procurement programme Future Combat Systems expects 15 per cent of America's armed forces to be robotic. A recent study, The Unmanned Aircraft System Flight Plan 2020-2047, predicted a boom in drone funding to US$55 billion by 2020 with the greatest changes coming in the 2040s. "The capability provided by the unmanned aircraft is game-changing," said General Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff. "We can have eyes 24/7 on our adversaries." Currently airborne drones are directed by trained pilots who then return to their assigned aircraft. This year, the service started training drone operators with no airborne experience. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10592735&re f=rss **************** French find six bodies from Yemeni crash MORONI, Comoros, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The crew of a French ship found the bodies six of the 152 people who died in a plane crash in the Indian Ocean June 30, investigators said Sunday. The French vessel EDT ARES started an attempt to retrieve the Yemenia Airways plane's flight recorders Aug. 20, Radio France International reported. The black boxes were located Aug. 6, beneath about 4,000 feet of water. During an attempt at retrieval Sunday, the ship located the bodies and pieces of wreckage, the head of the investigation commission said. Ali Abdou Mohamed said the search for the black boxes, more bodies and wreckage continues. The Yemeni plane was en route to the Comoros islands from France, through Yemen. Most of the passengers were Comorian and French. Investigators from Comoros, Yemen and France are still trying to find the cause of the crash. Only one person survived. A group of protesters denounced Yemenia, alleging safety violations. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/08/23/French-find-six-bodies-from-Yemeni-cr ash/UPI-56161251074255/ **************** Tourist plane skids off runway at Manila airport MANILA (AFP) - A plane carrying 32 people from the Philippines resort island of Boracay skidded off the runway after landing at Manila's main international airport on Sunday, officials said. The small plane belonging to SEAIR, a local airline mainly serving tourist routes, was hit by crosswinds as it came in to land but no one was hurt in the incident, said airport official Harold Balucatin. The plane got stuck in the grass at the side of the runway, he said. The runway was temporarily closed while repair crews tried to move the plane, which suffered damage to its landing gear. The plane was returning from Caticlan, the town that serves the island of Boracay, one of the country's leading beach resorts, airport officials said. Neither airport nor airline officials were able to say if there were any foreign tourists aboard the plane. The accident came less than a month after a hard landing by a SEAIR plane at Caticlan airport forced flights there to be briefly suspended. In January, at least two passengers were seriously injured when a small plane operated by Zest Airways missed the runway on landing and smashed into a concrete wall at the Caticlan airport. **************** Flight attendant arrested after she was allegedly drunk on plane (AP) The airport confirmed Monday that its public safety officers arrested Sarah Mills, 26, of Atlanta, on charges of terroristic threatening, alcohol intoxication and violating a law against being a crew member of an airplane while drunk. That charge was subject to a review by the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency was investigating and had no comment. The Fayette County Detention Center listed Mills as an inmate who was being held without bond on the FAA charge. Mills was scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon in Fayette District Court. Delta officials canceled the Sunday flight to Atlanta because there weren't enough crew members, but passengers were allowed to board other flights, said Kate Modolo, spokeswoman for Atlantic Southeast Airlines, the carrier operating the Delta flight. "We haven't encountered this particular situation before," Modolo said. "Fortunately, we have more than 900 flight attendants who perform their duties at an extremely high level every day with the safety and best interest of passengers at the top of their mind." **************** 4 killed in western Germany after helicopter collides with small plane Module body BERLIN AP) - Police say four people have been killed after a helicopter and small plane collided in western Germany. Police say the two aircraft collided near the town of Ellwangen, east of Stuttgart, on Sunday afternoon. Police say the helicopter crashed to the ground after the collision, bursting into flames and killing all four people aboard. The plane's motor went out, but the pilot was able to glide it in for an emergency landing. The pilot was the only person aboard, and survived with serious injuries. *************** Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC