Emirates airlines’ to hire cabin crew on November 5th: The recruitment team to host Open Day in Egypt

Here’s news for job-seekers residing out of the UAE who wish to pursue a career with Emirates airlines.

The Dubai-based carrier will be looking to hire cabin crew members next month in Cairo, Egypt.

The recruitment process will take place on November 5, 2013, at 9am at the Fairmont Heliopolis & Towers, Uruba Street, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt.

“Our recruitment team will be hosting an Open Day to meet potential applicants in person. Please bring with you an updated CV along with passport-size and full-length photos,” reads an advert by the airline.

To be eligible as a candidate, you should be at least 21 years old, have an arm reach of at least 212cm (on tip toes) in order to reach emergency equipment on all aircraft and be medically fit to meet air crew requirements, the ad specifies.

On the education front, you should have studied at least until high-school level and be able to demonstrate strong problem-solving skills. You should also be fluent in spoken and written English (additional languages are desirable). Besides this basic criteria, the airline seeks candidates with positive attitude with a natural ability to provide excellent service in a team environment and when dealing with people from many cultures.

“We are looking for exceptional people to join our award-winning team. You should share our unlimited curiosity, embrace other cultures and have a passion for customer satisfaction,” adds the airline.

Pay packages have not been specified by the airline but normally an Emirates cabin crew member gets a fixed monthly cash payment (related to the position and based on the knowledge and competencies of the individual).

Besides this, Emirates provides shared cabin crew accommodation with own bedroom. Profit sharing schemes, exchange rate protection scheme, professional specialist allowances also make up a part of the package. However, these benefits depend upon the role and/or applicant’s unique personal circumstance.

Source:   http://www.emirates247.com

Air travelers warned of ‘naked’ security checks

Travelers to South Korea may be asked to receive a “naked” security check at the Incheon airport, the Shanghai Airport Authority said yesterday after a Korean newspaper reported it was secretly X-raying passengers believed to be a security risk.

The X-ray machine scans the whole body to check whether an individual is carrying restricted items such as knives. The machines are faster than a manual check.

But since the scan also reveals the shape of a person’s private parts, it was nicknamed the “naked check” machine and criticized by air travelers around the world.

The airport will scan those who are regarded as “having a potential threat to the aircraft and other passengers onboard,” according to a list from the US Transportation Security Administration will have to undergo the special check.

“Some 40,000 passengers were scanned with the machines in three years, and many locals might be among them,” the Shanghai Airport Authority said.

The Incheon airport marks “SSSS” on a passenger’s boarding card to suggest security staff carry out the full body X-ray, the authority said.

The machine costs about 120,000 euros (US$164,000) and is mainly being used at airports in the US, UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

The “naked” security check was criticized by some Chinese who said it was an invasion of privacy.

“I will never travel to South Korea because of this sick inspection, a traveler surname Tan said. “I am not even willing to transfer at Incheon in the future.”

Incheon International Airport, which serves Seoul and the surrounding area, is a major air traffic hub for flights to North America and Pacific regions.

The Incheon airport completed full body X-ray checks on some 40,000 passengers since 2010 without the knowledge of passengers, the South Korean AJU Business Daily reported, citing a senior official with the national land and traffic commission.

The Incheon airport authority said they were simply following regulations.

Source:  http://english.peopledaily.com.cn

Airport drainage fix discussed: Price County (KPBH), Phillips, Wisconsin

At the Wednesday, Oct. 9 meeting of the Transportation and Highway Committee, Price County Airport Manager Brian Ernst discussed a change in plans to correct a drainage problem on the airport’s south end.

An infiltration basin designed to collect runoff and drain within 24 to 48 hours was modified in the process of removing materials from the area to provide base material for a hangar space. It had been assumed that the depression would continue to drain as it had previously, but after the work was completed, the depression began collecting water much like a pond, only evaporating very slowly, as Ernst explained.

As a temporary fix, Ernst has been running a pump to keep the water level down whenever he’s at the airport, he said.  

The geese that had been congregating there seem to have moved on, in Ernst’s observations.

He reported that he had been creating noise to scare away the geese, which present a potential strike danger at airports.

Rather than move forward with the original plan of putting a new drainage point in the nearby city storm sewer, it looks like construction contractors will be recontouring the ground and pulling the topsoil back. Corrective steps are set to take place in the week ahead, Ernst reported.

The initial estimate for that work came in at $11,500 and should be factored into the total cost of the current Airport Improvement Project through a change order.

Ernst said that he approached the Bureau of Aeronautics about the matter, feeling that it seemed like an engineering mistake and that someone should be held at least somewhat accountable for the extra expense.

The response from the Bureau was that there are things that can’t be foreseen when moving forward with such projects, according to Ernst, who noted that this kind of issue is something of “an odd duck,” and hasn’t come up in a lot of similar projects.

Since the topsoil seems to be acting like a seal for the basin, Ernst said that he’s going to request it be left off once it’s removed.

Committee member and Price County Supervisor Jim Hintz suggested that the simplest fix might be creating a French drain about the size of the table they were gathered around with layers of easily infiltrated materials like sand and rock.

Construction aspects of the Airport Improvement Project (AIP) have come to a standstill in order to give subgrade and soft spots on surfaces a chance to firm up.

The electrical contractor is still working at the airport off and on, Ernst said.

Tree clearing work on properties where easements have been successfully negotiated is set to go ahead in November, according to Ernst.

The overall project contractor will likely get estimates from other contractors and if figures look good, tree clearing will be handled through a change order without putting the work out for a separate bid, as Ernst explained.

For the stretch of land along Elk Lake Drive, an arborist is working with the city to establish a report on how the cutting will need to be done in order to be in line with a municipal tree ordinance.

Negotiations for an easement continue on parcel 39. The owners have decided to seek out their own appraisal to compare with the one that came in from Bureau negotiators, as Ernst explained.

He said that officially time probably ran out for the second appraisal, though the Bureau appears to be making an exception to try and work through the deal with the property owners without having to resort to condemnation in the courts.

Ernst reported that he hasn’t been able to get a drop-dead date from the Bureau in regards to when the negotiation has to be settled.

Committee Chairman Larry Palecek said that sooner or later, they need to stop delaying the inevitable and settle the matter.

Ernst discussed major topics coming out of the dialogue at an airport and land use seminar he had attended along with the airport operations technician in the end of September. One big topic centered on the arrival of visits to assess potential wildlife dangers at airports in 2015. Airports where potential wildlife interactions are identified will be required to individually bring in biologists and work out a plan for mitigating hazards. For the sake of not only cost savings but efficiency and consistency, Ernst and other airport managers are trying to get the Bureau on board with a statewide program to supply expert guidance rather than leaving it up to airports to find it.

Committee members gave the okay for the airport to bring back the air show and fly-in event held each 4th of July weekend so long as Harbor View is on board with it and again co-sponsoring it.

In business items, committee members approved renewing the five-year lease on Marquip’s hangar space and changing the name on the lease to 4 Seasons Community Development LLC, which is managing the rental agreement for the corporation.

Read more:   http://www.pricecountydaily.com

Airbus chief executive officer says politics in Japan influences aircraft orders

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Airbus chief executive Fabrice Bregier said on Monday that politics in Japan can influence new aircraft purchases by the nation's airlines.

"It is clear the political environment has some influence on business as we can see here in Japan, or in Europe and the United States," Bregier said on Monday during a speech at the Nikkei Global Management Forum in Tokyo.

Bregier was speaking two weeks after Japan Airlines ordered dozens of Airbus A350s, its first jets from the European company. Bregier cited the Japan Airlines order as a decision based on business concerns.

The Japan Airlines order cracked Boeing Co's half-century dominance in Japan, where it boasts an 80 percent market share.

Source:    http://www.reuters.com

McDonald’s to BlackRock Jet Upgrades Show Rebound for Big Planes

U.S. corporations including McDonald’s Corp. and BlackRock Inc. are starting to return to the business-jet market after putting off aircraft upgrades since the recession five years ago.

Buyers are opting for larger, longer-range planes even with global shipments poised to fall in 2013, Honeywell International Inc. said in its annual industry forecast today. Jet deliveries in North America, anchored by the U.S., also will increase as a share of the world’s total, the study found.

The U.S. comeback marks a turnabout from recent years, when chief executive officers deferred fleet renewals as the worst slump since the Great Depression crimped profits and made corporate aircraft a low priority -- and potential public-relations embarrassment. Now Fortune 500 CEOs are shopping again and hunting for the most luxurious models.

“They just basically went dormant during the downturn and now they’re coming back on,” said CEO Larry Flynn at Gulfstream Aerospace, the General Dynamics Corp. unit that makes the new G650 jet. “It’s a significant market opportunity.”

Global deliveries in the so-called super-midsize segment and larger will rise more than 10 percent this year and by less than 10 percent in 2014, according to Morris Township, New Jersey-based Honeywell, whose products include business-jet engines. It released the forecast at the National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas.

Biggest Cabins

The category includes planes such as Bombardier Inc.’s Challenger 300 and Gulfstream’s G280, each seating about 10 people, on up to models such as the G550 and the G650, which is able to seat as many as 19 people. Planes in the super-midsize class and bigger will account for more than 80 percent of business-jet spending “in the near term,” Honeywell said.

They’re a bright spot in a market that continues to dwindle. Global deliveries in 2013 will be in a range of 600 to 625 aircraft after last year’s 649, according to Honeywell’s survey, which is based on a survey of 1,500 corporate flight departments.

Once seen as a coveted corporate perk, business jets became symbols of business arrogance in 2008 when U.S. automaker CEOs flew to Washington in private aircraft to lobby Congress for federal assistance to the industry.

“The stigma attached to bizjets during the recent recession and a focus on cost cutting among corporate customers are two reasons we see demand lagging corporate profit growth,” Joseph Nadol, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst in New York, said in an Oct. 14 report.

North America

Honeywell projects that North America will make up 61 percent of global deliveries during the next five years, up from 53 percent in the 2012 forecast for the first increase “in recent history.” Companies plan purchases equal to 28 percent of the region’s jet fleet in that span, according to the survey, up from about 25 percent and matching the world average.

Europe, Asia and the Middle East will all see a smaller share of shipments, while Latin America was unchanged at 18 percent, according to the forecast, which didn’t give raw numbers.

“The biggest installed base of corporate jets is in the U.S., and a fair amount of those are with the Fortune 500 companies,” Gulfstream’s Flynn said in a telephone interview ahead of the NBAA expo. “They’re not new to business aviation, so there’s a fleet replacement opportunity.”

McDonald’s, BlackRock

Upgraded planes are beginning to appear in U.S. corporate fleets. McDonald’s, the world’s largest restaurant chain, purchased a Bombardier Challenger 605, which carries as many as 13 passengers, in February to replace an existing jet, said Rebecca Hary, a spokeswoman for the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company.

BlackRock, the world’s biggest money manager, bought a Gulfstream G550 in December, according to Federal Aviation Administration registry records. Starbucks Corp. purchased a G550 in June, and health-care products maker Johnson & Johnson, bought one in August, the FAA records show.

Jim Olson, a Starbucks spokesman, didn’t respond to e-mail and telephone messages seeking comment about the plane for the world’s largest coffee-shop operator. Ernie Knewitz, a Johnson & Johnson spokesman, referred questions back to the FAA document, and Brian Beades, a BlackRock spokesman, declined to discuss the company’s jet.

Even with Honeywell paring its 10-year forecast for business-jet deliveries to 9,250, down from 10,000 in 2012, large aircraft have an important niche, said Rob Wilson, president of the company’s general aviation unit.

“You have companies that need to do more business over longer distances and with more people,” Wilson said. “If you superimpose on that lower interest rates and company access to debt markets, you have all the ingredients for a steady, robust demand increase.”

That shift toward bigger planes is paying off for Gulfstream, which began delivering the G650, its newest jet, in December. CEO Flynn said demand is so great that buyers have a four-year wait. Its range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,100 kilometers) is almost twice that of a Boeing Co. 737-800 jet.

“My phone rings off the wall with customers who want it sooner,” Flynn said.

Source:   http://www.businessweek.com

Bell Helicopter sees increase in production

OZARK—Bell Helicopter’s work with Northrop Grumman on an unmanned helicopter program has elevated the Ozark facility’s production numbers this year, and workers have completed more than 600,000 hours without a reportable injury, according to the company.

Barry Ford, general manager for Bell Helicopter in Ozark, said the facility is working with Northrop Grumman on the Fire Scout program, which is an unmanned helicopter that supports special operations for ship-based unmanned systems  for the U.S. Navy.

Ford said the workforce has remained consistent over the past year with more than 120 employees. He said facility workers have completed four U.S. Air Force TH-1H aircraft for use in the training command at Fort Rucker and refurbished a UH-1H aircraft for the Maine Department of Forestry.

Ford said the facility, which performs maintenance, repair and overhaul for the full light and medium Bell Helicopter product line, is likely best known for its Huey II program.

“We take the airframe of the UH-1H and update the drive train system, increase the max grow weight and complete other modifications as necessary to upgrade the aircraft into a Huey II,” Ford said.

“This program is the only OEM recognized and supported UH-1H modification on the market today.”

According to its website, Bell Helicopter is a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron and produces commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical-lift aircraft and revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft.

In addition to Ozark’s operations in Alabama, Ford said Bell operates a spare parts distribution center in Daleville that supports Fort Rucker and Pensacola flight training operations and a research facility in Huntsville for unmanned aerial vehicle operations.

The company is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

Ford said the Ozark facility has received both federal and company awards. He said the facility was the only Part 145 repair station in the state to be awarded the Federal Aviation Administration Maintenance Technician Program Award of Excellence “Gold Award” for demonstrating a commitment to aviation safety with a minimum of 50 percent of Ozark’s eligible employees receiving an individual AMT certificate for the calendar year.

Ford said Bell Ozark also received the Bell Helicopter President's Award for a perfect safety record this year.

As of Oct. 15, Ford said the facility worked three calendar years and more than 600,000 hours without a single reportable injury.

Ford said the company worked swiftly to mitigate the impacts of the partial government shutdown on its customers and business.

“Our challenges are not dissimilar to the challenges of other OEMS. ... The uncertainty in Washington certainly is a factor in managing our business,” he said.

Story and Photo:  http://www.dothaneagle.com

Columbia Regional Airport (KCOU) Wants to Add Morning Flight to Chicago

COLUMBIA - Columbia Regional Airport wants to add a morning flight to Chicago. The Columbia Regional Airport Advisory Board Chair Greg Cecil said this fits right into the airport's strategic plan.

"The plan is to have multiple flights to multiple hubs, so we'll have two flights to Chicago and two flights to Dallas," Cecil said. "We were originally hoping that we would have an early morning flight to Chicago, but when the deal was put together we had an afternoon flight to Chicago and two flights Dallas, so this will help round that out."

Cecil said flights to Chicago are one of the most profitable flights that American has. He also said an early morning flight would be tremendously beneficial to everyone in Columbia and the surrounding areas.

"A number of folks do business in Chicago so this would enable them to catch an early morning flight, conduct business, come back to Columbia that evening, or they could connect with other flights going various places around the country or the world, Cecil said. "Chicago is the major hub for American so this is a real big plus for us."

The consordum of people that put the funding together for the original project would cover the costs of adding another flight to Chicago and it would not have to come out of the revenue guarantee. Cecil said it is more of a backstop for American. According to Cecil, the airport has paid $20,000. Manhattan and Kansas did a program similar to this one and they had to pay $180,000.

"So far everything has been very, very successful with American," Cecil said. "We are very pleased with our relationship. They are doing some things with the athletic department over at the university. We have not had that kind of participation with an airline before, so that is very positive. They are also working with some of the local restaurants where you can get American Airline points."

Adding a morning flight to Chicago would not only benefit Columbia residents.

"The folks out of Columbia only represent half of the equation," Cecil said. "There are a plane load of people trying to get in Columbia, so having another flight early in the morning would allow someone to arrive in Chicago late at night and then they can catch an early flight into Columbia, and that would really be beneficial for them."

Cecil said American is on board with the plan, but it has to be approved by Columbia City Council.

"It is my hope that they will [approve the plan]," Cecil said. "This is in line with the strategic plan of Columbia Regional Airport and that is something that the airport board has endorsed, and this is just another step in that process, so hopefully the city council approves. "

Cecil said one of the things that is really important for Columbia is to be able to be a destination for people that only have one stop. He said, for example, if someone comes in from Europe and they land in Chicago the next stop is Columbia they would not have to change planes a bunch of times.

If the council approves the morning flight to Chicago Cecil hopes Columbia Regional Airport will gain more airlines.

"I hope that Delta comes back, and I think that that is an important component to our SEC relationship," Cecil said. "I think that it is going to be important for us to have flights to Atlanta. We are interested in having more than one airline, certainly we do not want to damage our relationship with American, but maybe Frontier might come back too."

The goal is to have two planes at the airport overnight so they will be able to leave early in the morning. Cecil said the flight would leave between 6-7 a.m.

"It is my understanding that the flight back from Chicago will be late afternoon, evening so that's going to be a real plus because if someone justs goes to Chicago and they want to get back the same day then they have that flexibility of getting back to Columbia."

Cecil said city council should vote on the issue at one of the upcoming meetings. He is expecting them to vote in favor of a morning flight. If so, the flights will begin in February.

Source:   http://www.komu.com

Fixed-base operator goes out of business: High Mountain Aviation at Grant County Airport (KSVC), Silver City, New Mexico

The Grant County Airport fixed-base operator, High Mountain Aviation, which provided fuel to private pilots and the Forest Service, went out of business on Oct. 13.

Larry Anderson, airport manager, said, at this point, he didn't know what would happen to the service. "We are still looking at options."

Pilots of the about 22 private planes at the airport will have to travel to Deming or Lordsburg for fuel in the interim.

"For sure, we need to get someone in before fire season," Anderson said.

A private pilot, who wished to remain anonymous, said due to the cost of fuel, which is close to $6 a gallon and high maintenance costs of aircraft, "there is not much private activity at the airport."

South Aero, the contractor for UPS, continues to make flights into the airport. Great Lakes Airlines operates between Phoenix and the Grant County Airport, but does not refuel locally, and Anderson said the lack of fuel service would not impact the airline.


Source:   http://www.grantcountybeat.com

Associated Airline Plane Crash, One Disaster Too Many

By: GEORGE OKOJIE on October 20, 2013 - 4:39am
 
Just hours after marking the country’s 53rd Independence anniversary, Nigerians were jolted by the sad news of the crash of an aircraft shortly after take off from the Murtala Muhammed Airport, lagos. GEORGE OKOJIE, writes that the October 3 crash which involved an airplane belonging to Associated Airlines is a case of one air disaster to many

 

It takes a twinkle of an eye for disasters to occur, but when they do the impact is always profound, leaving the victims to suck their wounds and reel in pains for a very long time.

 Thus, in climes where human lives are accorded value, conscious efforts are made on constant basis to ensure that safety standards are not compromised.

 But in Nigeria such measures that would ensure safety of lives and property are treated with kid gloves. Not even the DANA air plane disaster that left unforgettable pains in many household could nip the problem in the bud.

 Overtime, the results have been evidenced in the series of building collapses, violent killings, road and plane crashes claiming many innocent lives on regular basis.

 The trend is so worrisome because this is happening at a time other developed countries of the world fill their skyline with many aircraft at the same time like the birds of the air, affirming that it is the safest form of transportation, even as they take buildings to the skies.

The latest in the series of aircraft tragedy struck again in Lagos on Wednesday, October 2,  when an Embraer 120 plane belonging to Associated Airlines conveying the remains of late former Governor of Ondo State, Chief Olusegun Agagu crashed killing at least 13 people who had woken up hail and hearty assuring their wards that they would go and attend the funeral and come back.

 Unfortunately their lives were cut short as the aircraft crash landed within two minutes after take off from the Murtala  Muhhammed Airport in Lagos.

 To underscore the high level of moral decadence in the country, as people and government agencies made frantic efforts to save lives of the victims, some hoodlums swooped on the smouldering plane, carting away huge sums of  money and other valuable items belonging to the victims.

Lamenting the trend, a security guard identified as Sunday Hameed working at the Joint Users Hydrant Installation depot located very close  to where the plane crashed told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the hoodlums rushed into the premises and robbed the victims.

According to him, “I was about going home when the plane crashed here at the back of our depot. Some people were crying please help, please help, but instead of assisting us to help the victims, these area boys rushed in and started collecting their money, phones and wrist watches. This kind of attitude we have in this country is not good.”

Worst still observers have been afraid that the death toll will rise because of the poor medical facilities in the country and incessant strikes often embarked upon by the health officials in the country. But so far so good the nation’s health sector has managed to live above board.

  Allaying fears of relatives, the President of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) chapter, Dr Jimi Sodipo told LEADERSHIP Sunday that his colleagues are in the hospital to save the lives of the crash victims.

Sodipo maintained that resident doctors have been on ground which made it possible for them to mobilise them to assist the consultant doctors who are treating the crash victims.

 According to him, “We don’t want patients to lose their lives and we don’t want the total breakdown of the system.

 “We have spoken with the National President of the association and he’s very happy with our efforts so far and he has also asked us to intensify it to ensure that all emergencies are covered and that is why you can see that we are in the hospital at this point.

 “We were on ground yesterday and we are still on ground now to ensure no life is lost as a result of the on-going strike action. Doctors are working to ensure that everyone that has been brought in alive, leaves the hospital alive.”

 A doctor who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity said,” You know this is a national issue and it is sensitive. But I can tell you we worked throughout the night to keep them in a stable condition here in LASUTH. The Lagos State Commissioner of Health Dr Jide Idris was actively involved. In fact he was communicating with the governor regularly and consultants were also brought in to stabilize the patients.”

 For the relatives, the process of identifying their loved ones lost in the tragic incident has not been easy, given the Lagos state government directives that a DNA test be conducted on the 13 charred bodies to ascertain their true owners.

 Speaking with LEADERSHIP Sunday, Mr Eugene Duru, elder brother of Duru Chijoke who lost his life in the crash said, “my brother I know is dead I have been here with his wife and little child since morning they are throwing us here and there. They did not allow us to see even his corpse.”

 The process is too cumbersome and there is bound to be delays. We want to go back to bury and mourn my brother. I was told my brother was not totally burnt he is my brother from the same womb I spent all my money to bring him up, I will know him, even if it remains his fingers”.

The older Duru who sobbed thereafter like a baby added, “Chijoke was my hope for good things but cruel death snatched him so that we will continue to suffer.”

For Ebolonu Eugene a brother of Kingsley Amaechi a staff of MIC that also lost his life, his demise is irreplaceable.

He said, “Kingsley’s death is big blow to us. He was a very nice brother to us using everything he had to help us. My life can never be the same again. He was supporting me financially but now he’s no more.”

As expected, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has come out to say that the crashed plane had a subsisting Air Operators Certificate, AOC, and had a current Certificate of Airworthiness, known as (C of A) which was supposed to expire on 22 October, 2013.

 Adamu Ahmed Abdullahi, the Director of Consumer Protection at NCAA said Associated Aviation Limited last operated their aircraft on August 30, before it crashed yesterday, killing 13 people.

 He said the airline only conducts chartered operations.

 According to him, the Brazilian made Embraer 120 aircraft marked 5N-BJY could carry up to 30 passengers and was registered in Nigeria on May 22, 2007.

 The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority added that the Embraer 120 propeller aircraft had a current certificate of airworthiness valid till twenty-second of October 2013.

 Abdullahi added that the aircraft has an active insurance policy valid till fourteenth of June 2013, and also disclosed that the aircraft was certified fit for flying by one of the airline’s maintenance engineers who unfortunately was also killed in the crash.

 All these claims informed stakeholder who are skeptical of the outcome of the probe ordered by the Federal Government as saying the crash should be thoroughly investigated to unravel the cause.

 More so that there are fundamental posers that the ill-fated aircraft which was registered in Nigeria on the twenty-second of May 2007 was already twenty-three years old as at the time of the crash.

 Like the former Lagos State Governor and National leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu remarked on Saturday when he returned to the country, three months after successfully undergoing knee surgery, it was high time the Federal Government sanitized the aviation sector.

He said “it is a lesson to the government; unfortunately we are talking to deaf ears. Nigeria’s aviation sector is a risk. We have never allowed professionals to run the aviation industry. We created so much bureaucracy and kinsmanship, ethnicity, mediocrity to intervene in our decisions; we play with the lives of Nigeria.

“This runway that I landed on is one of the worst in the world, it doesn’t meet world standard. You allow non-professionals, fraudsters, corrupt persons to dominate the ministry; we have to remove corruption that is a cancer in our society.”

Source:   http://leadership.ng

Colorado Springs: Helicopter training will bring noise

Colorado Springs residents might notice a noisy start to this week: A battalion of Army helicopters will blast away on a Fort Carson training range starting Monday.

The post said AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from Fort Carson's 1st Battalion of the 25th Aviation Regiment will hone gunnery skills from Monday to Halloween.

The Apache is essentially a flying tank that can take out targets with a chain gun on its nose, free-flight rockets and Hellfire missiles. Fort Carson has a training range that allows helicopter crews to use every weapon in their arsenal while flying in high-altitude conditions that mimic Afghanistan.

But it can get loud and dusty, the post warned.

"Noise complaints should be directed to the Fort Carson Public Affairs Office at (719) 526-5996," the post said in a news release.

Source:  http://gazette.com

Assam Flying Club to approach North Eastern Council for funds

 GUWAHATI, Oct 20 – The Assam Flying Club is planning to seek financial assistance from the North Eastern Council (NEC) to bring the Club back on the rails. However, it will take some time before the Club resumes training as several other issues will have to be dealt with before that.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, Bikrom Singha Lahkar, who has recently been appointed the secretary of the Club, said that at present the Club has two aircraft, one Cessna and one Pushpak. However, the Pushpak is not in a serviceable condition and the Cessna would have to be repaired to start training with the same.

Lahkar said that after a thorough check up of the engine of the Cessna, the company was informed about the present condition of the LYCO series engine of the aircraft and necessary steps would be taken to repair the same after receiving suggestions from the French company. He said that according to preliminary assessment, about Rs 30 lakh would be required to repair the aircraft and to bring the Club back on the rails.

At present, the Assam Flying Club has only one employee, who is an accountant, and a number of persons, both technical and non-technical, will have to be appointed to resume functioning of the Club. Lahkar said that they would be able to bring test pilots from other flying clubs of the country after the Cessna aircraft is repaired. But to resume training, at least one flying instructor in charge and one assistant flying instructor along with a maintenance engineer would have to be appointed.

It is a fact that a Club cannot function with only one aircraft and Lahkar said that the Aero Club of India had allotted two aircraft for the Assam Flying Club way back in 2008, which were not brought to the State due to reasons best known to the people at the helm of affairs. Efforts would be made to persuade the Aero Club of India to re-allot the aircraft.

http://www.assamtribune.com

Fire at Hawke's Bay Airport

 Hawke's Bay Airport was evacuated this morning after a small fire resulted in smoke billowing through the terminal.

Airport chief executive Nick Story said the fire started in the Air New Zealand staff room about 7am but a quick response from the Fire Service and on-site staff meant it was put out before spreading.

''Smoke just billowed straight through the terminal,'' he said.

The airport, with about 50 people inside, was evacuated. An Air New Zealand plane to Wellington was delayed by up to 45 minutes after passengers were asked to disembark. It could could not take off because fire crews were on the runway apron.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

The fire broke out in a lunch room of the airport terminal in Westshore, shortly before 7am, a Fire Service spokesman said.

There were no reported injuries and the cause was not immediately known.

Three fire engines attended.

There was a strong smell of smoke through the terminal, but this was dissipating this morning.

Tukituki MP Craig Foss tweeted a photo of passengers disembarking on to the tarmac at the airport.

He then wrote: "Emergency over. Getting back on plane now. No more smoke from terminal."

Rod Drury, chief executive of accounting software firm Xero, was one of those asked to leave a plane but said on Twitter that everyone was fine.

The airport's website is not notifying any delays this morning. 

Sources: 

http://tvnz.co.nz

http://www.stuff.co.nz

Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six, Star Marianas, N4089W: Accident occurred October 06, 2013 -- Tinian Island, Northern Mariana Islands

NTSB Identification: WPR14LA007  
 Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Sunday, October 06, 2013 in Tinian Island, MP
Aircraft: PIPER PA 32-300, registration: N4089W
Injuries: 3 Fatal,4 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On October 6, 2013, at 1624 coordinated universal time, a Piper PA-32-300, N4089W, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain at the northern end of Tinian Island. The commercial pilot and two passengers were fatally injured; four passengers were seriously injured. The airplane was being operated by Star Marianas Air, Inc., under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. A company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the 15-minute cross-country flight from Tinian Island to Saipan Island; both islands are part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marian Islands. The weather conditions were a very dark night with scattered rain.

The pilot had made radio contact with the tower controller at Saipan International Airport and made it known that he was returning to the Tinian Airport due to bad weather conditions. A witness said the airplane passed over him at approximately 500 feet and moments later he heard the crash. There was no postimpact fire. 
=======

American Red Cross-NMI Chapter got a lot of kudos from the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, California, for helping survivors of the Oct. 7 Star Marianas on Tinian.

ARC-NMI Chapter executive director John Hirsh said they welcome the gratitude of consul Yu Xiong and vice consul Hongming Wang but they were actually just doing there job.

“We’re flattered that they said such nice things about us. But this is always what we do. This is not something that is out of the ordinary. This was par for the course. Whenever there is a disaster here in the Commonwealth, the Red Cross is there. It’s that simple. We were there and we worked with the families and we worked with the professional first responders,” he said following last week’s Rotary Club of Saipan meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan where he served as guest speaker.

Hirsh said one of gestures the Chinese consul and vice consul probably appreciated the most from the ARC-NMI Chapter was when their mental health volunteers went out and bought four blankets for families of the survivors as well as the victims at the hospital.

“He bought them those blankets because it was cold at the hospital. It really meant a lot to the family members of the survivors and the victims. It’s such a small thing but it meant a lot to them.”

Hirsh’s staff also bought new clothes and shoes for the youngest survivor of the Star Marianas crash.

“For the 3-year-old girl we went out and bought all new clothes and shoes because she lost everything from the crash. She was ambulatory right away as she only needed to stay at the hospital for only a couple of days. We also got her teddy bears.”

Aside from looking after the needs of survivors and their families at the Commonwealth Health Center, Hirsh said they were also active in assessing and treating not only the mental health of survivors and their family, but those of first responders as well.

“So we work for about seven to eight hours everyday at CHC with our colleagues at the hospital to try and ensure all the needs of the family members are met. This was collaboration among CHC, the Red Cross, the Chinese Consulate from California, and the local Chinese association to see if there’s anything we can do.

“This week we’re going to Tinian to meet with the people who actually came upon the crash site because it was a very traumatic scene. They need to process it. They [mental health volunteers] use the right words and get people to talk about their feelings. We do case work and make those determinations.”

Hirsh said the ARC-NMI Chapter has been very active in this particular disaster with their mental health volunteers.

“We have certified social workers that work for the Red Cross and volunteer for the Red Cross. So in addition to their regular working hours as mental health counselors they also go through intensive Red Cross training. So when an aviation disaster happens or any major calamity, we activate those people so they meet with the families, victims, and even first responders.”

Source:   http://www.saipantribune.com

Legal costs ascend in SilverWing lawsuit

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners declared a financial emergency Wednesday to sustain its vigorous defense of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit filed by developers of SilverWing at Sandpoint.

The declaration enables the county to pull additional funding from a contingency account in the county’s justice fund to cover legal costs in the federal lawsuit.

The county budgeted $400,000 in the current fiscal year to fend off the suit and the emergency declaration increases that line item by another $450,000, for a total of $850,000.

The county spent $400,000 during the last fiscal year on the SilverWing suit.

“It’s the nature of the litigation and the risk is so high that we have to fight it aggressively,” said Commissioner Mike Nielsen, noting that an adverse judgment could cost taxpayers up to $26 million. “We cannot afford to ignore this litigation.”

SilverWing, a fly-in housing project under development on west side of Sandpoint Airport, filed suit in U.S. District Court last year, alleging that the county engaged in unfair dealings and violated the developers’ rights to equal protection under the law.

The 45-unit subdivision features hybrid dwellings that are part residence and part aircraft hangar. At the time of the suit’s filing, developers said $6.1 million had been spent grading home sites and installing utility and road infrastructure.

When the developers purchased the 18-acre site in 2007, an easement afforded through-the-fence access to the airport grounds.

SilverWing alleges in the suit that the county sought to shutter direct access to the airport under pressure from the Federal Aviation Administration and was not forthright about plans to relocate a runway, which it argues would encroach onto its property and conflict with a $500,000 taxiway it developed.

The matter is set to be tried in federal court this spring, according to Nielsen.

Story and Comments/Reaction:  http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com

Severe turbulence: Passengers land at Dublin Airport with injuries sustained during flight

Several passengers on a United Airlines carrier that landed in Dublin Airport early this morning sustained minor injuries during the flight.

Flight UA23 from New York to Dublin “encountered severe turbulence during the flight’s descent into Dublin”, according to a spokesperson for United Airlines.

Carrying 129 customers and 8 crew on board, the Boeing 757 landed safely at Dublin Airport but was met by medical personnel on the runway.

A number of passengers reportedly sustained injuries due to a drop in altitude during the flight.

“One customer was taken to hospital to receive medical attention and has since been discharged.  Seven other customers sustained minor injuries and were released by medical services,” according to United Airlines.

A Dublin Airport Authority spokesperson has confirmed that the police and emergency services attended the landing “as a standard and precautionary measure” and that a number of passengers were treated for “minor injuries”.

United Airlines are currently carrying out an investigation into what happened during the flight.

Story and Comments/Reaction:   http://www.independent.ie

Passengers panic, turn hysterical while on Indonesian plane with NO AIR-CON

Passengers on a Lion Air flight from Manado to Jakarta became panicky and nauseous when complaints of the rising heat in the cabin went unaddressed.

According to a report on Indoboom, passengers had complained about the warmth the moment they boarded the plane on Sept 30.

One man, Raymond Pasla, said that tissues were handed out by flight attendants when passengers began to perspire, but this was only done for five minutes.

The situation became even more tense when doors closed and temperatures increased. The aircraft then suddenly moved backwards, causing more panic and hysteria.

"Some passengers in the rear even opened the emergency door," said Pasla, who claimed to have been in the plane for over an hour.

After the emergency door was opened, the pilot parked the plane and passengers immediately disembarked from the aircraft.

Full article: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com

Airport Authority looks at possible timetable to sale Hardwick Field (KHDI), Cleveland, Tennessee

February or March 2014 is beginning to take shape as the period when Hardwick Field can be sold after the old airport is closed at midnight Dec. 31.

Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority needs permission to proceed with the sale from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Airport Authority member Verrill Norwood said Friday during the October meeting of the board 12 planes are still housed at the old airport.

He said the three obstacles remaining before the airport can be sold are nearly cleared. The land survey and final appraisal report are finished. Those documents will be mailed to the state Monday.

Norwood said he cannot predict when the FAA, the Federal Register and other state and federal agencies will finish with Hardwick Field. He is hopeful of mid-January 2014.

“It may be fast tracked and it may not. I still think we’re looking at February or March for selling it and basically, no decision yet on how we’re going to do that,” he said.

Norwood also presented a report on the underground tank which will be submitted to the state by Marion Environmental Inc., of Chattanooga. Upon approval by the state, Norwood said the environmental assessment could be finished.

“There was no tank there, right?” authority member LeRoy Rymer asked.

“There was no tank,” Norwood said. “We took out two fill lines, the vent lines, the concrete pedestal and 122 feet of line between the above ground tank and the pedestal. All of the analytical work turned up no contamination. There are no problems in the tank report.”

The underground tank was reportedly filled with sand in 1989. However, the tank was removed.

Cleveland Regional Jetport Director of Operations Mark Fidler reported on T-hangar and private hangar construction. During his report, he said the structural steel is going up.

“The contractor is trying his best to get us in as soon as possible,” he said.

About 80 percent of the structural steel is up for the Voice of Evangelism hangar and it will not be long before work begins on the hangar for John Sheehan.

Fidler said PDC Consultants is compiling documents to justify the need to extend the 5,500-foot runway to 6,000 feet. The documents are mainly letters of airport users who need the additional 500 feet to safely land or takeoff.

Construction on the extension should begin in the spring.

Read more: Cleveland Daily Banner - Airport Authority looks at possible timetable to sale Hardwick Field

Business boost for Rolls-Royce at Barnoldswick and Kelbrook firm Euravia

 West Craven’s aerospace firms have received a double boost.

Rolls-Royce at Barnoldswick is expected to benefit from a £6 billion order from Japan Airlines for more than 30 new Airbus wide-body jets.

They will be powered by Trent XWB engines and the blades are made at Rolls’ Skipton Road site, which employs 1,000 people.

Under the latest deal, the Far East airline has secured 31 A350s, which will enter service from 2019 onwards, as part of a six-year fleet replacement programme.

An option has been taken on a further 25 craft, which are believed to have been selected in preference to Boeing’s delayed 777X.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said: “This is yet more good news for the aerospace industry in Lancashire and the north-west.”

The group has secured more than 750 orders for the jets to date and aims to start delivering them to customers by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, another local aerospace firm has signed a major deal to repair jet engines for an American company.

Euravia Engineering, based on Colne Road, Kelbrook, will work with Greenwich AeroGroup, from Wichita, to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Pratt & Whitney’s PT6A and PT6T engines on fixed and rotor wing aircraft in the United States.

The firm, which won a Queen’s Award for International Trade in 2010, has a mobile repair team in America, and engines can also be brought to the UK.

Euravia managing director Dennis Mendoros said: “We are very excited to work with Greenwich AeroGroup to expand Euravia’s services into the United States. Our commitment to quality engineering, cost-effective services and personal service aligns well with Greenwich AeroGroup’s pledge to provide customers with optimal aviation solutions.”

Jeff Mihalic, senior vice-president of Greenwich AeroGroup, said: “Euravia has an outstanding international reputation for delivering cost-effective, high-quality gas turbine engine services with exceptional performance and reliability.”

Euravia was founded in 1988 by Sudanese-born Mr Mendoros and the company has grown to a £10m turnover business, specialising in repairing and overhauling US-made Pratt & Whitney jet engines. 

Source:  http://www.cravenherald.co.uk

New Arizona: Unmanned aircraft could be boost -- Questions loom for sector reliant on U.S. contracts

Pilots are optional for a new breed of aircraft from Boeing Defense, Space & Security in Mesa.

The aerospace giant developed its Little Bird H-6U helicopter, an unmanned aerial vehicle or drone, at its Mesa plant. The unmanned aircraft completed 14 takeoffs and landings from a ship off the Florida coast last year.

Boeing also has a partnership with Schiebel Aircraft Industries of Austria to modify a smaller unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV. That rotor aircraft, the Camcopter S-100, weighs 243 pounds and can fly for six hours carrying a 75-pound payload.

The focus for Boeing’s two UAVs has primarily been on military operations to carry cargo to the battlefield, but there is growing interest in the commercial sector.

“Boeing is looking to see where our capabilities best fit with both the military and commercial needs that are out there,” said James Brooks, Boeing director of its unmanned-helicopter programs in Mesa.

Boeing’s UAVs are just one example of the work being done in Arizona by the aerospace and defense industry.

Though much of the work is for military purposes, there is growing interest in civilian use of the technology.

In the case of the UAVs, commercial applications include monitoring wildfires, search and rescue, communication relays, border protection, agricultural uses and remote cargo delivery, Brooks said.

“Those are the dull, dirty and dangerous jobs that are difficult to perform with manned systems,” he said.

Development and testing of UAVs for civilian use is expected to provide lift for the aerospace industry nationwide. An industry group estimates that the vehicles will create 70,000 jobs and boost the economy by $13.6 billion in the first three years of their development for civilian use.

Arizona could be in line for some of that revenue because it is among 24 states vying to host one of six UAV test sites that will be selected by year’s end by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Meanwhile, Boeing continues to pursue UAV development from its Mesa plant, which builds the Little Bird as well as another helicopter called Apache and electrical assemblies and composite materials for military and commercial aircraft. Boeing officials would not disclose how much work on the UAVs takes place at the 4,800-person Mesa plant, but the company reported $1.1 billion in annual expenditures to Arizona suppliers and vendors.

In September, during tests in New Zealand, Schiebel Aircraft demonstrated the S-100’s capabilities for inspecting high-voltage power lines with an attached thermal-imaging camera.

The Camcopter, at 10 feet long and with a rotor diameter of 11 feet, is small enough to fit into a standard garage. The remotely controlled aircraft with a 55 horsepower engine has a top speed of about 103 mph. Its maximum payload is 110 pounds.

Boeing’s unmanned Little Bird, a variation of Boeing’s MD 500 helicopter, can carry up to 2,400 pounds. Its rotor is 27.5 feet in diameter and the UAV has a top speed of about 165 mph.

The Little Bird can fly with or without a pilot in the cockpit, which makes it ideal to train pilots or test UAV technology, according to Boeing.

The medium-class helicopter is designed to resupply troops from a land or ship base, Brooks said.

Boeing has also developed the ScanEagle, a 4-foot-long UAV that can fly for 15 hours, and Phantom Eye, an unmanned aircraft with a 150-foot wingspan and powered with liquid hydrogen.

Overall, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $33 billion business with 59,000 employees.

Source:  http://www.azcentral.com

New airport safer for pilots, residents: Cantrell Field Airport (KCWS), Conway, Arkansas

Though not inherently unsafe within its perimeter, Conway’s Cantrell Field presents the same safety issues as any airport that’s had a city’s growth envelope it.

There have been three fatal accidents at Cantrell Field since 1990. The last was on Nov. 6, 2012, when a Cessna 210 Turbo Centurion piloted by Robert Allen lost power just after takeoff to the west. An engine failure on takeoff puts the pilot of a single-engine aircraft in one of aviation’s most difficult situations, and they are instructed that the best chance of surviving is to pick their spot for an emergency landing straight ahead if at all possible.

Straight ahead for Allen was the old Conway neighborhood. When his engine failed suddenly at less than 300 feet over the airport’s western threshold, Allen made the split-second decision to do the one thing pilots are cautioned against: turn back. Pilots call it “the impossible turn.”

Allen got the big Cessna back onto airport property, but didn’t have enough altitude or airspeed for a controlled landing. He died of his injuries at UAMS that night, but no one on the ground was hurt.

Local pilot and flight instructor Harrell Clendennon said that all pilots do, or should, have a lingering suspicion that their engine is about to fail during the entire takeoff process and constantly plan for it.

It’s not uncommon for Conway’s pilots to talk about which of the few bad options they’d have a seconds to decide on if “the fan quits” after they take off. There’s a small field just north of the International bus plant and a smaller field across the railroad tracks from the St. Joseph Cemetery, and that’s about it as far as open fields go.

Harkrider Street’s an option if the pilot could thread the needle between utility poles and power lines but there’s a good chance of hurting or killing a motorist, and a forced landing almost everywhere else risks the lives of people in their homes or businesses or schools. There’s still a little open land for a pilot taking off to the east, but they would have to get over a subdivision to get there.

Another related safety issue is a that a pilot landing too far along the runway or too fast — or both — faces a similar dilemma: they can either brake and hope to stop or accelerate and hope to get airborne. With homes and businesses at the west end and Interstate 40 on the east end, running off the runway can end in tragedy.

On Sept. 12, 1990, the pilot of a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron landing in heavy rain wasn’t able to stop and tried to get the airplane back in the air. The Beechraft clipped the airport’s perimeter fence and crashed into a house on Bruce Street before catching fire and destroying both the airplane and the house. Co-pilot Kerry Gooch was killed, but the pilot, three passengers, and a woman in the house survived.

An almost identical crash happened in June, 2007, but with a bigger and faster airplane. Just after a rainshower, pilot Hugh Rains landed a Cessna Citation 500 twin-jet and couldn’t get it slowed down, according to a National Transportation Safety Board accident report. Like the Beechcraft pilot 17 years before him, Rains tried to get the jet back in the air, but didn’t have enough runway. The jet hit a house on Ingram Street about 200 feet from the end of the runway with its engines screaming, killing Rains and resident of the home Janet Brady. Again, both the airplane and the house were consumed in the fire.

The NTSB investigatory report of this crash notes that Cantrell Field’s main runway is 4,875 feet long, and that the calculated landing distance for a Citation 500 on a runway with standing water is 4,789 feet.

The new airport in the Lollie Bottoms will not have these problems. A 1,000-foot object-free safety area extends from either end of the runway and the city has easements going out 2,500 feet that prevent any structures from being built in the glide slope. Though the airport can be expected to bring some degree of development to the Lollie Bottoms area, for the foreseeable future pilots taking off and landing in either direction will have nothing on the ground to hit and more than a mile of farmland straight ahead.

Source:  http://thecabin.net

A brief history of Cantrell Field (KCWS), Conway, Arkansas

In 2010 a small group of local fliers wrote “A History of Aviation in Conway, Arkansas,” and much of the book is a warm remembrance of Dennis F. Cantrell Field and its people, not least of which was Cantrell himself.

Conway Municipal Airport, as it was then called, started in 1928 on the same 150 acres it still occupies, and it was said at the time that the largest airplane made at the time could easily land on its grass airstrip, though single-engine biplanes were the common traffic until the rise of the monoplane in the ‘30s and ‘40s.

During World War II, the airport attracted Women’s Army Air Corps and U.S. Navy training programs to Arkansas State Teacher’s College (Now UCA) and Hendrix College in what then-airport operator Kenneth Starnes called in 1942 “the first million-dollar business that ever had been here; the first big money that ever came to Conway.” About 50 military training aircraft, including 33 Stearman biplanes, were based at Conway Municipal Airport during the war and more than 2,000 pilots received training there.

Aviation mechanic and flyer Dennis Cantrell took over the airport lease in 1947, and would continue as its sole operator until retiring in 1986.

The book, written by brothers Robert and Stuart Hoyd, Al Hiegel, and Harrell Clendennon, is full of anecdotes and stories about the airport and several about Cantrell, who is described as inspiring to the groups of children who frequented the airport over the years and impressive to the adults who’d come from far corners to have him fix their aircraft or just to drop in for a visit.

The book describes a hailstorm that damaged every airplane not under a good roof in 1951, and a disastrous hangar fire in the same year that destroyed 14 airworthy machines, including seven owned by Cantrell. The most expensive single loss in the fire was a V-tailed Beechcraft Bonanza, then a brand-new design at the cutting edge of private aviation (and still not far from it) just purchased by Dave Ward, of Ward Body Works/Ward School Bus Manufacturing and in whose honor Dave Ward Drive was named.

1n the mid-1970s, the Conway Development Corp started angling for the construction of a new airport and the redevelopment of the Cantrell Field property for industrial use. Cantrell and some other aviators spoke out against this. At a public meeting in Jan. 1976, Cantrell said that with some improvements the airfield would be good for five or 10 years at the least, but that he couldn’t speak for the next 20.

“I believe that if Conway grows like it has in the past, with minor changes we can keep pace,” Cantrell said later in 1976. “But we should keep our eyes open and if [the need for a new airport] hits us in the face we can base our actions accordingly. With what we’ve got we’re ahead of most; for several years I believe we’re in good shape.”

The airport was named in his honor in 1978.

Plans for a new airport fell to the back burner until the mid-1990s, when Dallas aviation engineering firm Huitt-Zollars presented a report showing that Cantrell Field would fail in almost every way to meet the city’s projected 2015 needs, specifically in runway length, inadequate runway overrun areas and load-bearing weights, too few taxiways and aircraft storage space, too little fuel storage and too little automobile parking.

The main runway, this report stated, were “marginal for takeoffs on hot, humid days and landings on wet runways” for larger, heavier aircraft.

Again, many local pilots defended the airport’s staying where it had always been, and Bill Cope, former president of the Conway Pilot’s Association and owner of current Cantrell Field operator Conway Aviation Services, took up the cause.

By 2005, the Lollie Bottoms site had been identified as the preferred location for a new airport, bringing concerns the population of ducks and geese in the bottoms would mean swapping one danger for another: bird strikes.

“It basically tears that engine apart,” Cope said in 2005 of the possibility of a bird strike on one of the twin jets that were increasingly flying into and out of Cantrell Field. “And then you’ve got what was designed as a twin-engine aircraft that’s struggling to break ground. It’s a dangerous situation.”

In May of 2007, Cope said that he and the airport’s supporters “can sit around the old airport and argue about [it] all we want to, but the fact is the city fathers, the CDC, the chamber of commerce and the FAA have all determined the airport needs to be moved.”

Then, on June 30, 2007, the pilot of a Cessna twin-jet couldn’t slow down after landing at Cantrell Field just after a rainshower and didn’t have enough runway or airspeed to take off again. The aircraft ran off the west end of the runway and hit a house, catching fire and killing its pilot and a woman inside the home.

Conway Mayor Tab Townsell said he saw the crash as a tragic exclamation point for end of discussing a Cantrell Field relocation, and in July he and City Engineer Ronnie Hall went to the FAA’s regional headquarters in Fort Worth “to get an airport, and we’re not coming back until we’ve got one.” In April, 2008, the FAA issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the Lollie Bottoms site after a multi-year study into birdstrike and flooding hazards there.

Now, with the new airport taking shape and an agreement for the sale of the Cantrell Field property reached, the “old” airport is scheduled to cease operation in September, 2014.

Part workplace, part community economic engine and part social club, Cantrell Field’s role in the lives of Conway’s fliers, many of whom literally grew up at Cantrell Field, won’t be forgotten when the last plane departs.

The new airport will also be named Dennis F. Cantrell Field.

Story and Photo Gallery:   http://thecabin.net

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines informs airlines of Manila radar outage

The  Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has issued a notice-to-airmen (NOTAM), saying the Manila radar would be out of service for maintenance from October 21 to 26.

There would be a continuous outage of the radar service from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on October 24, the NOTAM said.

During this period, all landing and takeoff procedures would be done through “conventional” means, using the celestial navigation called STAR, and Standard Instrument Departure.

To limit congestion, air traffic controllers would limit the number of aircraft under its control to 11 arrivals and 11 departures per hour.

“International flight schedules will be the first priority for the arrival and departure sequence,” the Caap said.

To give more airspace within the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Aerodrome, the Caap said general-aviation flights will not be allowed.

“Departure flights will be subject to Air Traffic Flow Management release, and departure,” the Caap added. Flights will be advised of their estimated departure clearance time while waiting for clearance on the ground.

To meet the flight-separation requirement, air traffic controllers said five to seven minutes of separation must be applied between flights while in the holding patterns, since possible complications may arise during bad weather condition, unexpected  flight delays, or during emergencies.

The Caap told the Airline Operators Council (AOC) that it would be prudent to advise their head offices to assign sufficient extra fuel for Manila-bound flights affected by the radar outage schedule to avoid flight diversions.

The chairman of the AOC, Herr Obusan, the local manager of Japan Airlines (JAL), said he had recommended to Jal to add at least one hour extra hour of fuel when leaving Narita, Osaka, for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. 


http://www.businessmirror.com.ph

ANALYSIS: Is JetBlue next at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (KCVG), Covington, Kentucky

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport has greeted two new discount airlines in the past five months with water-cannon salutes, balloons, beach balls and bands.

The arrival of Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air is evidence the airport is making strides toward shedding its longtime reputation as having some of the nation’s highest ticket prices.

New routes to Denver, Orlando, Florida’s Gulf Coast and Trenton, N.J. (serving nearby Philadelphia), are a nice mix of flights for business and leisure travelers. Ultimate Air Shuttle, popular among business travelers, also recently added premium-priced flights on its 30-seat jets to the New York City region.

But the pressure is still on.

Consistently, the need for more flights to more business destinations ranks as a top priority for companies and community leaders anxious to keep and create new jobs. Interviews with business leaders, airline experts and airport officialsshow a clear demand for a game-changing carrier offering low-cost flights to major airports in all-important East Coast markets such as New York and Boston.

The only game-changing option is JetBlue Airways. Any chance CVG may have had of landing Southwest ended when the standard-barrier of low-cost airlines started flying out of Dayton early this year.

Airport officials have been working to land a game-changer since Candace McGraw took over as CEO in summer 2011.

“JetBlue is our best opportunity at this time,” airport board Vice Chairman Larry Savage said a year ago. “We’ve talked to JetBlue. They’re the ones in play.”

Officials say talks with New York-based JetBlue are ongoing, but negotiations are confidential. The airline is proving a tough get not only for CVG but other Midwestern cities, which generally are not in JetBlue’s expansion plans.

Still, there is tempered optimism at the airport about landing JetBlue sometime next year or in early 2015. Success by Frontier and Allegiant will only help prove that demand exists here, McGraw said.

“I think we have great momentum going right now,” the CEO said.

Airline expert: 'JetBlue on deck'

It’s uncertain how recent turmoil in the boardroom – the failed attempt in August by some board members to fire McGraw – might play with JetBlue. But McGraw has built strong relationships with top Cincinnati business leaders, who will help determine whether JetBlue comes to town.

McGraw also has worked hard to build relationships with all low-cost carriers. That allowed Frontier to make a successful transition from Dayton in May and Allegiant to announce last week it’s coming to CVG.

CVG is positioned to land the game-changing airline, airline experts say. They cite Frontier’s New Jersey route – recently announced just five months after the airline arrived at CVG – as a clear signal that a low-cost carrier can compete here against dominant Delta Air Lines. Frontier became the airport’s first low-cost carrier since the late 1990s when it launched a daily nonstop flight to Denver.

Recent news that the number of local passengers flying out of CVG has increased for six straight months is another selling point for the airport, experts say. It shows more local fliers are choosing CVG instead of driving to airports in Dayton and other nearby cities to catch flights.

Frontier has contributed to the increase in local passengers: Half of fliers on its Dayton-to-Denver flight typically were from Greater Cincinnati. Delta’s downsizing during the past eight years also has opened the door for competition.

“I think JetBlue is on deck,” said local aviation expert Jay Ratliff, a former Northwest Airlines general manager. “Six months from now, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if CVG is making an announcement about JetBlue.”

Discussions between CVG and JetBlue have focused on adding flights to Boston – among eight cities to which CVG is trying to add more flights to reduce fares. In a study commissioned by CVG and top Cincinnati companies, the business community identified Boston as the No. 1 U.S. city to which it wants more nonstop flights. New York also is on the list.

Currently, Delta’s four daily flights to Boston are the only nonstop options to that city out of CVG. Boston is home of Procter & Gamble’s Gillette brand and of Fidelity Investments, which has a large office in Covington. JetBlue officials have been talking to representatives from some top Cincinnati companies, gauging potential interest.

JetBlue has big impact on East Coast fares

It’s uncertain whether JetBlue will want a financial incentive to come to CVG. If so, that could be a deal-breaker.

The airport is limited by the incentives it can offer because of its lease agreement with current airlines. The business community has not embraced subsidizing an airline, primarily because there is no guarantee it will stick around after the incentive expires. Example: Columbus waived landing and gate-rental fees for a year to convince JetBlue to start flights to Boston and New York in 2006. JetBlue left town a year later.

JetBlue operates flights in comparable business markets to Cincinnati. The airline offers East Coast flights from Pittsburgh and Charlotte. In Pittsburgh, JetBlue added a fourth daily nonstop flight to Boston in May – but dropped all flights to New York in February.

JetBlue’s decision to end the New York flights showed the impact a low-cost carrier has on flights to major East Coast business markets. Fares that had been as low as $116 soared to as high as $838 immediately after JetBlue ended itsNew York flights, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

There’s not much else that indicates JetBlue has any interest in Cincinnati. Chicago remains JetBlue’s only presence in the Midwest. JetBlue’s expansion plans have been centering mostly on adding flights to the southeastern U.S., Caribbean and Latin America from its main hub at New York’s JFK Airport and Boston.

Meanwhile, CVG will continue to focus on incrementally adding more flights, pecking away at reducing fares.

Story and Comments/Reaction:   http://news.cincinnati.com