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AVweb’s search of aviation news around the world turned up new corporate appointments at Airbus Group, European certification for Embraer’s Legacy 500, an award to Norwegian Air from Rockford, Illinois, and the National Aviation Hall of Fame 2015 inductees. The Board of Directors of Airbus Group announced four appointments effective Jan. 1, 2015: Tom Williams, presently Executive Vice President of Programs at Airbus, will succeed Gunter Butschek as Airbus Chief Operating Officer (COO) and will become a member of the Group Executive Committee of Airbus Group. Butschek will leave Airbus at the end of 2014 to pursue other career opportunities. Didier Evrard, currently Head of the A350 XWB program, will succeed Williams and in this new function will become a member of the Executive Committee of Airbus. He remains A350 XWB program director until his successor is appointed. Klaus Richter, Chief Procurement Officer of Airbus and Airbus Group, has been promoted to become a member of the Group Executive Committee of Airbus Group. In addition, he will become the national representative for Airbus in Germany. Embraer’s Legacy 500 executive jet was granted certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) during a ceremony at its headquarters, in Cologne, Germany. This approval enables entry into service of the aircraft in the Member States of the European Union as well as in EASA associated countries. “EASA’s certification is a very important achievement for the Legacy 500, which is introducing advanced technologies and superior comfort in the midsize class,” said Marco Tlio Pellegrini, president and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets.

Norwegian Air CEO Bjorn Kjos received the inaugural “Rockford Award” on Nov. 21 in Washington, D.C., from a delegation representing the region, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Winnebago County Chairman Scott Christiansen, City of Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey and representatives from the Chicago Rockford International Airport and the third-largest global MRO provider, AAR. The award recognizes an organization or individual for outstanding contribution to the North American aerospace industry. Norwegian Air utilizes a majority of Boeing aircraft, of which its parts are a significant contributor to the creation and sustainability of jobs in the Rockford region. The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) announced the names of four individuals who have been elected for enshrinement at its annual formal ceremony, to be held Oct. 2, 2015 in Dayton, Ohio. They are: Brig. General Robert L. Cardenas, USAF (Ret.); the late Robert N. Hartzell; Eugene “Gene” Kranz, who flew fighters in Korea and was an Air Force flight test engineer before joining NASA’s Space Flight Group in 1960; and the late Abe Silverstein, a mechanical engineer and aerodynamicist who contributed to the improvement of WWII and early supersonic aircraft.

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