THREE SURVIVE MOUNTAIN CRASH
Partly because they had a cellphone, all three aboard a 1966 Cessna 172 survived a mountainside crash Saturday that left a section of the Cessna's wing in a tree and sent two of the occupants through the windscreen. Pilot Brian Brown, his wife and their youngest daughter were en route from Sacramento to Idaho when Brown says the aircraft encountered icing, lost lift and crashed into a snowy Idaho mountainside. Brown told a local news station that the impact knocked the doors off of the aircraft and sent both he and his wife through the windscreen, briefly knocking his wife unconscious. The aircraft's radio and GPS were broken, it was 9 p.m., they were injured, on a mountainside, and it was snowing. Fortunately, they had cellphone service. But it would take them six hours to use it. More...

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
The news of a Cessna 172 crash and its aftermath has made us curious how prepared our readers are for an emergency situation in a remote area. Do you carry survival gear in your airplane?

Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers about Gary Connery's wingsuit flight and successful landing: Was it "a stunt"? Dangerous? Groundbreaking? Click through to see the breakdown of reader answers. More...

RESEARCHERS EXPLORE RARE HELLDIVER WRECK
Researchers from the U.S. Navy have started to explore a rare Curtiss SB2C Helldiver wreck from the 1940s that was found in December off the Florida coast. "I really feel like, finally, we're going to find out who belonged to that airplane and if somebody is in it," said diver Randy Jordan, who discovered the wreck, to the local KPLC News. "I was starting to lose hope we were going to find out too much about it. It's in 185 feet of water." A data plate was recovered from the airplane's tail on Thursday, which may lead to a positive identification of the aircraft and help to uncover details about the final flight and the fate of the crew. More...

UNIQUE AMELIA EARHART RELIC FOUND ON NIKUMARORO?
Pieces of glass found a year ago on Nikumaroro Island in the southwest Pacific may add to circumstantial evidence that Amelia Earheart lived there as a castaway, but there are complications. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) have been on the otherwise uninhabited island searching for any evidence that Earhart crashed near the landmass 75 years ago when the pilot and her navigator, Fred Noonan, went missing. Among their latest findings are glass fragments that reassemble into the form a jar that is nearly identical to one once used to hold Dr. C. H. Berry's Freckle Ointment. And "it's well documented Amelia had freckles and disliked having them," a TIGHAR researcher told Discover News. But the jar's origins aren't clear. More...

TEAM PLANS TRANSATLANTIC ELECTRIC FLIGHT
A new company called Flight of the Century Inc. announced last week they intend to fly an electric-powered aircraft nonstop across the Atlantic, following Charles Lindbergh's famous route between New York and Paris. To solve the problem of limited battery life, the design team plans to use small drones that will meet up with the airplane en route and recharge the batteries in flight. "Our purpose in setting out on this very difficult path is to force innovation that drives electric flight technology forward in a significant and measurable way," said Chip Yates, CEO of the company. More...

FAA CLARIFIES GA SEATBELT RULES
Pilots of general aviation aircraft should be careful about allowing passengers to share a seat and a seat belt, the FAA says in a clarification to its seat-belt requirements, released last week. "Prior [FAA] interpretations state that the shared use of a single restraint may be permissible," the FAA said. But the new clarification says it is permissible only if it conforms to the limits defined in the Airplane Flight Manual. The pilot also must check that the seat belt is approved and rated for such use, if that information is available. Pilots should also attempt to affirm that the structural strength limitations of the seat are not exceeded. Even better, says the FAA, "Whenever possible, each person onboard an aircraft should voluntarily be seated in a separate seat and be restrained by a separate seat belt." More...

NAVMONSTER CLOSED
NavMonster, a popular free online GA flight planning and information site, is the latest to announce that uncertainty about future costs and potential lawsuits have forced its closure. The site went offline in April over a dispute with its server host but said it would be back after it found a new internet service provider. On May 22, the site announced that past issues with FlightPrep and future costs from the FAA combined to seal its fate. More...

CONGRESSMEN OPPOSE PARK AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS
The co-chairs of the House General Aviation Caucus are seeking supporters for their opposition to a bill that would expand the authority of the National Park Service to control aviation operations, EAA said last week. If the bill passes, it would grant authority to the Park Service director to regulate commercial air tours above the parks and within a half mile of park borders. U.S. Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and John Barrow, D-Ga., are asking others in Congress to sign a letter that says this would be "a step backward in aviation safety and should be rejected." The two have asked aviators who are opposed to the change to contact their congressional representatives and ask them to sign on to the letter. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

Have you signed up yet for AVweb's no-cost weekly business aviation newsletter, AVwebBiz?

Delivered every Wednesday morning, AVwebBiz focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry, making it a must-read.

Add AVwebBiz to your AVweb subscriptions today by clicking here and choosing "Update E-mail Subscriptions."

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FAA'S FUEL ARC -- PROGRESS?
Yes, says Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider blog — just don't expect to be struck by the blinding clarity of a bold action plan. Although it hasn't released the details, the UAT-ARC's work has at least moved things off static dead center, and even the most cynical among us would have to call that progress. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

VIDEO: DIAMOND MULTI-PURPOSE PLATFORM DA42
Diamond has diversified its market to the military, law enforcement and even media realms with the DA42 Multi-Purpose Platform. Diamond Airborne Sensing's Markus Fischer took AVweb through the product at Diamond's factory in Wiener Neustad, Austria. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: BRUNSWICK COUNTY AIRPORT (KSUT, OAK ISLAND, NC)

AVweb's latest "FBO of the Week" is Brunswick County Airport at Cape Fear Regional Jetport/Howie Franklin Field Airport (KSUT) in Oak Island, North Carolina.

Reader Ron Horton had high praise for the FBO:

Flew to KSUT for an overnight stay. Greeted by John and the ground crew as soon as the engine stopped and immediately felt at home. They tied us down, guided us to the FBO, where we found a friendly airport dog lounging on the couch and several locals planning the next day's "Big Toys" event, which included Young Eagle flights. They offered a crew car, but since we were overnight we opted for an inexpensive rental; the desk is right there with the FBO. Asked them to refuel at their convenience and left the airport.

Got back the next day and realized we left our Nflight cam running after we landed, so we got to review how they moved our airplane to the pumps for refueling and then moved it back to the tiedown spot. It looked like they were handing their personal airplane!

The next day we departed in the middle of a line of planes, taking those Young Eagles up for an aerial view of the North Carolina coast. This is not just the kind of FBO you want to have for your stops; this is one that makes you wish you were based here!

Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.

AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
Our latest winning photo comes from Harold Moritz of East Haddam, CT — and it kicks off a running theme in our latest review of reader-submitted photos. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions. More...

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

The AVwebFlash team is:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Jeff Van West

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? Your advertising can reach over 225,000 loyal AVwebFlash, AVwebBiz, and AVweb home page readers every week. Over 80% of our readers are active pilots and aircraft owners. That's why our advertisers grow with us, year after year. For ad rates and scheduling, click here or contact Tom Bliss, via e-mail or via telephone [(480) 525-7481].

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your phone or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.