Flight Safety Information October 7, 2010 - No. 206 In This Issue Jury selection in Flight 3407 trial to start in March 2012 Phoenix East Aviation: First Flight School To Acquire ADS-B Safety System Aviation school looks at Houston ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jury selection in Flight 3407 trial to start in March 2012 Jury selection for the wrongful death trial from the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 will begin in March 2012, U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny ruled today. Skretny disclosed the trial date during a status conference with lawyers involved in litigation over the Feb. 12, 2009, airliner crash that killed 50 people in Clarence Center. While many of the victims' families would like the trial to start much sooner, March 2012 "seems like a realistic date," said Hugh M. Russ III, a Buffalo attorney who represents some of the families. "The plaintiffs were pushing for an earlier date, but given the magnitude of the issues we have to address, I think it's realistic," Russ said after today's court session. In recent months, attorneys for the airline have turned over "hundreds of thousands of pages" of documents to lawyers for the victim families, Russ said. The trial is expected to be lengthy and hard-fought, focusing on issues such as pilot training, allegations of pilots flying with insufficient rest, and allegations that airlines provide less safety on regional flights than they do on national and international flights. If jurors find fault with the airline, the plane's manufacturer or other parties, they will then have to determine the amount of damages that should be paid to each of the victims' survivors. So far, 39 lawsuits have been filed in connection with the crash, and five lawsuits have been settled with out-of-court agreements, said James P. Kreindler, a New York City lawyer who represents some of the victims. It's possible that other families will settle their cases before the case goes to trial, and also possible that more lawsuits will be filed, said Kreindler, who specializes in representing air crash victims. Families could ask for anywhere from "an unspecified amount" to "tens of millions" to settle their cases, Russ said. One of the dozens of pretrial issues that Skretny will have to rule on is whether jurors will be allowed to hear the full, unedited cockpit tape that was uncovered from the airliner after the crash. A transcript of cockpit conversations was released last year, but the victims' attorneys say only the unedited tape will show how loose and unprofessional the dialogue really was between the pilot and co-pilot in the plane. The cockpit conversation between Capt. Marvin D. Renslow, the pilot, and co-pilot Rebecca M. Shaw has been a subject of controversy in the case. Officials of the National Transportation Safety Board have said the transcript shows that Renslow and Shaw violated flight safety regulations by engaging in extraneous conversation when the aircraft was less than 10,000 feet off the ground. Such conversations are supposed to be confined only to what is happening with the flight. Jurors would benefit from hearing the tape because it will shed light on the pilots' demeanor and emotions during the last moments of the flight, and it is also possible that the screams of victims would be heard, Russ said. Attorneys for the defendants, including Colgan Air, operators of the fatal flight, argued that the transcript is "accurate and complete." "The purpose of the [cockpit] recording is to gather information needed to increase aviation safety and assist authorities in an investigation after an aviation accident," Colgan lawyers said in court papers. "These recordings were never intended to serve as common devices in litigation." So far, the tape has only been heard by a handful of people, including aviation safety investigators. It was not played at any public hearings on the crash. Skretny will listen to the tape and will decide on the issue soon, probably within the next month or so, the judge said today. http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article212248.ece Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Phoenix East Aviation: First Flight School To Acquire ADS-B Safety System Daytona Beach, Florida, USA -- Phoenix East Aviation, Inc. (PEA) announces the acquisition of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) systems on its fleet of training aircraft. (I-Newswire) October 6, 2010 - Daytona Beach, Florida, USA -- Phoenix East Aviation, Inc. (PEA) announces the acquisition of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) systems on its fleet of training aircraft. Phoenix East Aviation is the first independent flight training academy in the U.S. to have such a system. This technology is a crucial part of the nation's Next-Generation Air Transportation System. ADS-B-equipped aircraft determine and then broadcast their positions to ground stations and other aircraft. Position data is derived from a global navigation satellite system or an aircraft's inertial reference system. ADS-B provides accurate information and updates to airspace users and air traffic controllers and is an important safety and efficiency enhancement. This system is the latest advancement in Phoenix East Aviation's training safety and security program; ADS-B will be an augmentation to safe operation and pilot instruction. The system gives students and instructors real-time information on potential air traffic threats. With ADS-B, pilots and air traffic controllers see radar-like displays with highly accurate traffic data from satellites. It provides flight monitoring in both radar and non-radar environments. The system consists of a network of Ground-Based Transmitter (GBTs), Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and electronic equipment in the aircraft. The aircraft transmits its position continuously to the nearest GBT; the GBT then transmits information to the aircraft providing positional information of other aircraft in the area. With ADS-B, pilots also have access to weather and flight information services and terrain maps. Phoenix East Aviation Chief Executive Officer, Ghassan Reslan, said "We are proud to be the first independent flight training academy in the U.S. to take the lead and implement the ADS-B system. Flight training students will learn to utilize this technology, which will make them better prepared for careers as professional pilots. Without a doubt, as the worldwide aviation system evolves and grows, ADS-B will play an important role in overall flight safety and air traffic control efficiencies." Phoenix East Aviation, Inc. provides comprehensive pilot training, specializing in professional flight instruction. FAR Part 141, private, commercial and multi-engine professional programs and FAR Part 61 courses are offered. The school is nationally accredited and is approved to offer Veteran Benefits under the G.I. Bill. Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, where the climate permits flight operations 350+ days/year, the school has been in continuous operation since 1972. http://www.i-newswire.com/ [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=gqvqzbdab&et=1103754953702&s=6053&e=001ldgk1uVd_pj7hhQ3amPGFgpdbwHpNp7YGMK_FjbxbZn_kf8jyBmLQDnjHMN2sJCpvoIifElvZigmGNehx6HzO5MlF9A1royK-PH5m0mvcaN-AIkY6T3yIw==] Back to Top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aviation school looks at Houston Embry-Riddle narrows its list to two cities Houston is vying with a northern Illinois city for the home of the next aeronautical university campus, with its 60,000-square-foot academic center and a hangar. Last month, the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University announced plans to build its third residential campus. The prestigious university that teaches aviation and aerospace is deciding between the Ellington Airport area and Rockford, Ill., which is nearly 90 miles northwest of Chicago. It had considered other cities, including Los Angeles, before shortening its list. "This is a university that would provide education in a specialized field that would bring even more prestige to Houston, which is why we hope to be their final choice," Mayor Annise Parker said. Houston already has an established aviation and aeronautical industry, with NASA and three major airports, and officials hope that will help to attract the school. An incentives package to bring the university here is still being worked out by city leaders. "It would definitely be a tremendous boost and a real benefit to having Embry- Riddle to be part of the aviation and aeronautics community in Houston," said Mario Diaz, aviation director for the Houston Airport System. On Tuesday, University President John Johnson will tour the Ellington area and hear from community leaders about Houston's advantages. "We are going to be extremely aggressive in pursuing this project," said Dan Seal, executive director of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership. In Daytona Beach, the university teaches about 5,000 students. The university also runs a campus in Prescott, Ariz., where up to 1,700 students attend. It provides instruction through more than 130 campuses in the U.S., Europe, Canada and the Middle East, and offers online teaching. In Clear Lake, for example, it employs six full-time instructors. It also employs four full-time instructors in San Antonio. "The big reason for this initiative is we've outgrown or are very close to outgrowing our two campuses," said Mark Friend, Embry-Riddle's dean of the central region, which is operated out of San Antonio. "In order to reach out more to the aerospace and aviation community, we have to look elsewhere." Within five years, the new campus would teach 1,000 to 2,000 students, Friend said. The campus would include a 5,000-square-foot hangar, big enough for 10 small aircraft, a 20,000-square-foot administration complex and student housing in addition to the 60,000 square feet of classrooms and labs. The last time Houston went head to head with Illinois was in May, when then-Chicago-based United Airlines and Houston-based Continental Airlines announced they would merge. The new United is now based in Chicago. With job cuts expected in the local airline industry as well as at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the new campus could attract more students who want to train for other aviation and aeronautical careers, Seal said. www.erau.edu [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=gqvqzbdab&et=1103754953702&s=6053&e=001ldgk1uVd_piRqbXwh2k-po3FqimGKiT6XumcQYfXkB9_je1zmxMnlnXST5aKLWrhUsV7k_o4-r3I1mZtz83E3BEpP_N9CAqIh6k304-eL1E=] Back to Top [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=gqvqzbdab&et=1103754953702&s=6053&e=001ldgk1uVd_pgUD2oeUb9jItpl33AHF_7wmgIAyzHacAjN2n9LdDTijcZx7X9hKdJ2AMgJ95XgxnHtIAp2MuVRXEVNQ1S1LLUR] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC