Forward This E-mail | Edit Email Preferences | Advertise | Contact | Privacy | Help

<="225773">
  • Text size:

    • A
    • A
    • A

image: NBC News

An object that could be a piece of a Boeing 777 has been found on a sandbank in the Mozambique Channel, between Africa and Madagascar, and is being examined by investigators searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, sources told NBC News today. "The object has the words 'NO STEP' on it and could be from the plane's horizontal stabilizer — the wing-like parts attached to the tail, sources say," according to NBC News.

The object was discovered by an American who has been blogging about the search for MH370, which disappeared nearly two years ago. The find has not yet been confirmed or verified by authorities, but investigators have seen photographs of the latest object and sources told NBC there is a good chance it comes from a Boeing 777.

Sponsor Announcement
Free ADS-B In from Avidyne || Buy an IFD540 with an AXP340 and Get an MLB100
<="225777">

The FBI arrested a flight attendant this week for allegedly setting a fire in an airliner lavatory during a flight, then pretending to discover it and save the day. Johnathan Tafoya-Montano was on the job during an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Detroit on Feb. 1 when he reported a fire in a lav at the rear of the cabin. He put it out and reported it to the captain as the jet was on approach to Detroit Metropolitan, the FBI said. The captain alerted the tower to the situation and was given emergency status. The aircraft landed and parked without any further issues and there were no injuries to the crew or the unknown number of passengers. 

During an ensuing investigation, Tafoya-Montano, 23, of Texas, changed his story several times and then admitted to authorities he set the fire intentionally in the lav by igniting paper towels with a lighter, then put it out once the flames started picking up, according to a Detroit Free Press report. He went out to the hall and waited before pretending to find a fire, raising the alarm with other flight attendants and deploying an extinguisher to douse the paper towels, the report said. After appearing this week in U.S. District Court in Detroit, Tafoya-Montano was released on bond and prohibited from flying without court permission. The FBI then put him on an American flight to Dallas with a security escort, the newspaper reported. The FBI charged him with "destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities" and making false statements.

<="225780">

A commercial flight school student from Egypt is in jail in California after he posted what immigration officials perceive as a threat to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. It appears the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department is intent on deporting Emadeldin Elsayed  for the Facebook post even though there was not enough evidence to charge him criminally. In the post, Elsayed said he would be willing to go to prison for life for killing Trump and the world would thank him for it. Elsayed and his lawyer Hani Bushra both have said the post was dumb and Elsayed said he regretted hitting the button as soon as he did it. He said he was reacting to Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from the U.S. temporarily. "It's just a stupid post. You can find thousands of these every hour on Facebook and the media," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview from jail. "I don't know why would they think I am a threat to the national security of the United States just because of a stupid post."

It apparently took the Secret Service and immigration officials more than a week to determine it was more serious than a "stupid post." He was interviewed by the Secret Service shortly after he put up the post and eight days later they returned to tell him that while he didn't break the law, his visa to attend flight school was being revoked. He said the agent who interviewed him spoke about the mass killing in nearby San Bernardino by a Muslim couple and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. Elsayed will appear at an immigration hearing to discover his fate but it appears Customs and Immigration has already determined the outcome. The department issued a statement saying the student pilot violated "the terms of his admission to the United States." Elsayed said that if he's deported he'll seek a refund of the $65,000 he paid Universal Air Academy and get his training elsewhere. Universal Air Academy owner Alex Khatib said he'd welcome Elsayed back. "He is honestly a good student," Khatib said. "He seemed to be a good guy."

Sponsor Announcement
Not All ADS-B Systems Are Created Equal || Buy Blue - Find Your Rangr Solution at EquipIt2020.com
<="225772">

Only one person on Earth can claim the title "The Last Man on the Moon," and a new documentary film by that name takes a look at how Gene Cernan has been affected by his spaceflight experience. Cernan, 81, worked with independent filmmakers Mark Craig and Mark Stewart, from the UK. Craig "deftly creates a lyrical documentary by blending archival NASA footage with animation inspired by mid-century design and contemporary video and audio of Cernan," according to the Houston Chronicle. Space.com called the film "an engrossing look at spaceflight history."

"This story just never gets old," said New York Times film reviewer Neil Genzlinger. Cernan is "an eloquent guide to his own career, stretching back to his days as a Navy pilot," Genzlinger says. "Mark Craig, the director, does a fine job of capturing the competitive camaraderie of the early Apollo days through Captain Cernan and interviews with other astronauts, their wives, and NASA officials." The film, an hour and 36 minutes long, is scheduled to play at independent theaters nationwide, and can be rented for $6.99 via iTunes.

Sponsor Announcement
Waco Aircraft || For a Good Time, Call (269) 565-1000
<="225775">

Seeker Aircraft of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will manufacture its light observation aircraft in the U.S. to accommodate growing demand, the company announced Wednesday. Seeker's SB7L-360A and SB7L-360A2 aircraft have only been manufactured in Australia, where Seabird Aviation Australia operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Seeker Aircraft. Erickson Inc. of Portland, Oregon, will be the North American manufacturer. Erickson's aviation services include manufacturing, engineering and maintenance for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. 

The Seeker, marketed as an economical fixed-wing surveillance aircraft with short-field capabilities, is used around the world for military, law enforcement and commercial purposes. "To ensure the quality of the Seeker's construction meets the demands of its operators, we are very pleased to have a partner whose dedication to excellence assures us of producing a top quality aircraft," Seeker Aircraft CEO David Pohlman said. The company's expanding markets include North, Central and South America as well as Europe and Africa.

<="225776">

Boeing's first 727 jet to be produced took a final flight Wednesday after 25 years of sitting at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The airliner had been donated to Seattle's Museum of Flight in 1991, but it was dismantled before undergoing a long, volunteer-driven restoration at Paine. Wednesday's flawless 10-minute flight to Seattle marked the fruition of a retired Boeing engineer's vision of seeing it fly one last time. The museum will now add it to a future exhibit that will include the airline's 737 and 747 prototypes. "Taking it apart would be very destructive," Bob Bogash told KOMO News during the event. "It would be cut up and put back together ... more like a mock-up instead of a real airplane." Spectators at the departure and destination points caught the Boeing's departure and arrival on video.

Bogash told the station that "hundreds of pilots" applied for the job of ferrying the 727 to Seattle. The honor went to Tim Powell, along with co-pilot Mike Scott and flight engineer Ralph Pascale, who are all experienced 727 crew members, according to the museum. Bogash served on board as safety officer. The first 727 was completed in 1962 and went into service the following year. The three-engine jet was a business risk for Boeing at the time due to a competitive short-haul market and choosy customers, but aggressive promotion helped the 727's sales, according to the company's website. More than 1,800 of the jets were built over 22 years.

Sponsor Announcement
Wings for Humanity || Call (414) 763-5781 to Help
Give the Gift of Life!
Wings for Humanity is a non-profit humanitarian aid organization working in areas of the world where traditional transportation is unavailable. WFH regularly flies medical workers, medications, and supplies into areas where medical assistance and supplies are needed.

Through your donation-in-kind (airplane, car, land, or other items of value), you can help save a life. For more information, call (414) 763-5781 or go to Wings4Humanity.org.
<="225779">

AVweb's search of news in aviation found award announcements from Angel Flight and AOPA, and scholarship announcements from the Ninety-Nines/EAA and Whirly-Girls International. Angel Flight South Central announced that Board Chairperson Dianna Stanger has been awarded the coveted Endeavor Award for leadership and service in Public Benefit Flying. As a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight South Central, as well as several other Public Benefit Flying organizations, Stanger sets a high bar through flying missions providing transportation to people in their time of greatest need. California general aviation advocate Elliott Sanders has been named the 2015 winner of the Laurence P. Sharples Perpetual Award. The award is the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's (AOPA) highest honor for individuals. Sanders is AOPA's Airport Support Network volunteer at Van Nuys Airport, an active private pilot and the owner of PAB Insurance Solutions. 

The Ninety-Nines and EAA will award a $3,000 Karen Johnson Solo Scholarship to provide a young woman (age 16-20 at any time during 2016 calendar year) who wants to learn to fly with financial support for flight training through first solo and beyond. In addition, the winner will receive a King School flight training course to prepare for the written exam and checkride. Whirly-Girls International announced the winners of the 2016 Whirly-Girls Scholarship Awards. The Whirly-Girls Scholarship Committee made the announcement on Feb. 28 at the Whirly-Girls International Annual Awards Banquet during the HAI Heli-Expo convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The Whirly-Girls awarded a record-breaking number of 28 scholarships to deserving female aviators, setting the bar for the entire helicopter industry, thanks to the support of aviation leaders.

<="225774">

The Weekender found some three-day getaways on SocialFlight coming up along with a few morning fly-ins. Reserve your single-engine spot for a dry camping site across the street from the three-day Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival in Florida, which starts Friday. The private Citrus Hedging Ranch offers 80 acres of room with its own grass runway. On Saturday, Fort Lauderdale Airport will host an Aviation Safety Expo to promote aviation and runway safety. The day will be packed with information, exhibits and activities of interest to South Florida general aviation pilots and aircraft owners. 

Join fellow aviators Thursday through Saturday for the United States Pilots Association's spring fly-out to Texas, highlighting Houston, Galveston and NASA. Highlights include a private, behind-the-scenes tour of NASA and the Lone Star Flight Museum along with dinner theater and local sightseeing. Membership in USPA is not necessary, but advance registration is. Plan on arriving at Pearland Regional Airport Thursday to kick things off. For those just looking for fly-to breakfasts, Saturday morning will have pancakes and more waiting thanks to EAA Chapter 1055 in York, Nebraska, EAA Chapter 1001 in Searcy, Arkansas, and EAA Chapter 699 in Winchester, Tennessee. For more on this weekend's events, visit SocialFlight.

<="225747">

The staff at Aviation Consumer magazine is conducting an avionics equipment and brand satisfaction survey.  They want to know about your experience with recent major avionics upgrades, including ADS-B equipment.  The results will appear in an upcoming issue of Aviation Consumer magazine.

Click here to take the survey.

Sponsor Announcement
Sign Up for the New Kitplanes Homebuilders Portal
Are You Overlooking the Most Affordable Way to Own Your Own Aircraft?
Kitplanes magazine is introducing a monthly electronic newsletter – The Homebuilder's Portal – that will tell you everything you need to know about the fastest growing segment of general aviation.

The Homebuilder's Portal is the only publication that specifically addresses the interests of GA pilots who want to learn more about homebuilt aircraft.

Click here or visit Kitplanes.com to opt in.
<="225778">

According to GAMA statistics, there are 611,000 active pilots in the United States and only 223,000 registered general aviation aircraft. Even allowing for air taxi airplanes, clubs and partnerships, this means that lots of us are flying airplanes that we don't own. Some of us rent from local flight schools, some borrow from friends.

Few flight schools can afford to carry insurance that gives the student or renter pilots much, if any, protection. And while permissive users of privately owned airplanes are usually automatically included under the aircraft liability coverage, insurers will frequently subrogate to recover the cost of physical damage.

With new singles tipping the scales at over $600,000, this is an increasingly risky proposition. Even an old beater can cost a great deal to repair. Airplanes are expensive, delicate things that can be ruinously expensive to repair (even more so for the people riding with you in them). The aviation insurance industry is ready with a solution: Personal non-owned aircraft liability insurance, or renter's insurance.

Sue-Me Coverage

Renter's insurance typically contains two parts: The first protects the renter from lawsuits brought by passengers or others who claim that they suffered bodily injury, or people who claim that the renter negligently damaged their property while using the rented aircraft. The second part, which is optional, protects the renter from lawsuits arising from damage that he or she negligently caused to the aircraft.

Both parts of renter's insurance is "sue me" insurance, because coverage is based on the renter being at fault, or at least being accused of it. If the renter is not at least blamed for negligently causing damage or injury, there probably is not any coverage. But if there is a claim of negligence, the insurer will provide attorneys to defend the renter. And if the owner of the aircraft makes it stick, the renter's insurer will pay.

Personal non-owned aircraft coverage is tailored to the student pilot, the renter pilot and almost anyone else borrowing or using an airplane for a non-commercial purpose. Most of the companies also offer additional coverage for individual CFI's while they are providing flight instruction.

Keep in mind that a renter's policy will usually not cover the owner(s) of the airplane, an airplane that is leased for more than 30 consecutive days, any commercial operations or any type of aircraft not listed in the policy.

In its most basic form, a non- owned policy will cover use of a non-pressurized, single-engine fixed-wing landplane with no more than seven seats and no more than 450 HP.

Coverage is available from one or more companies for multi-engine airplanes, floatplanes, experimental aircraft and even piston helicopters. Available non-owned bodily injury and property damage liability limits range from $250,000 per accident to $1,000,000 per accident, limited to $100,000 per person or per passenger. Aircraft damage coverage ranges from $1000 to $200,000. We wish that higher liability limits were available, especially for bodily injury, as it generally is for owned aircraft.

Major Players

Providers of non-owned insurance include AVEMCO, AIG, QBE Aviation and Starr Aviation. Global Aerospace also writes a non-owned program for EAA members. Each provider has a different policy form and each tries to offer something unique.

Starr Aviation has a CFI program tailored to members of the Society for Aviation and Flight Education (SAFE). AVEMCO provides enhanced coverage to CFIs who are members of the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI). AIG Aviation offers coverage on behalf of AOPA members and along with AVEMCO, is one of the two original providers of this coverage.

AIG and Starr Aviation both provide coverage for piston helicopters. Starr created a mobile app that allows policyholders to view their policies, find claims contact information, an accident checklist and provide proof of insurance on the fly.

AVEMCO can be accessed directly by individual pilots. The other companies are reached through brokers.

What to Avoid

Remember that if you want protection for damage to the airplane, you need to buy both coverages to get it. Liability for bodily injury and property damage by itself will not cover damage to the airplane. Read the policy form carefully. Most of them are fairly short and well-worded.

While all are similar, each of them has specific coverage territories, definitions of cost-sharing and types of aircraft that are included. Words in quotes or boldface have specific meaning that can be found in the definitions section of the contract.

Never use non-owned liability insurance to cover an airplane that does not have primary hull and liability coverage on it. If it wasn't your fault, it probably isn't covered by non-owned. If you are using an airplane that you don't own, and you are fortunate enough to have that rare accident that was not your fault, your renter's policy probably won't cover it.

Make certain that you know what types of aircraft are covered on your policy. Discuss with your insurance provider what kind of flying you do and in what kind of aircraft.

Some policies exclude experimental aircraft, or kit-built aircraft during a fly-off period. Some exclude floatplanes. Many exclude twin-engine airplanes unless you specifically request it. Most exclude helicopters, unless you specifically purchase extra coverage. If you are being paid to be in an airplane and you are not a CFI, you need the kind of non-owned coverage that flight schools and commercial flying services carry.

If you rent, ask the FBO how much insurance they have and whether any of it protects you. You should understand the terms of the rental agreement and whether the FBO requires you to be responsible for the deductible or the full value of the airplane. In some cases, you might be covered by the school, but you need to understand how much coverage they offer.

"We do not require renters insurance. It's included in our pricing. We own our entire fleet so our prices aren't dictated by leasers, but by actual operating costs," said Kevan Ross, the chief instructor at Connecticut Flight Academy in Hartford, Connecticut. CFA's fleet has a clean accident and incident record. We wonder if that policy might change if that record were to change.

Still, look for a renter's policy that carries a no-fault deductible provision. This provision allows your policy to pay the flight school's deductible even if the damage to its airplane was not your fault. CFA's Ross told us his school would pick up the claim deductable. That's an exception, rather than the rule.

If you own a share of an airplane as a partner, or if you are in an equity-based flying club, ask if there is a non-owned product that will help you to increase your coverage. Although owners are excluded in most of these policies in capital letters, some carriers will cover partners and club members if their ownership percentage is 20 percent or less.

In addition to what is offered in off-the-shelf products, some underwriters will provide higher limits of liability, or specialty coverage. In general, we feel that the market for non-owned liability insurance is fairly well served and most premiums are palatable.

For an arguably good price, you can get coverage for the vast majority of types of planes and helicopters that you are likely to rent or borrow. Our main reservation is that current limits of bodily injury coverage available in these policies are lower than what many pilots are comfortable with.

This article originally appeared in the March 2014 issue of Aviation Consumer magazine. 

For more great content like this, subscribe to Aviation Consumer!

<="220023">

AVweb is the world's premier independent aviation news resource, online since 1995. Our reporting, features, and newsletters are brought to you by:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Elaine Kauh

Contributors
Rick Durden
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Paul Berge
Larry Anglisano

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

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.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? Your advertising can reach over 225,000 loyal AVwebFlash, AVwebBiz, and AVweb web site 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:

Forward this email to a friend
Tailor your alerts!
Click here to update alerts preferences.
AVweb Insider <="225763">

Tarkio, Missouri, isn't the sort of place someone like Rep. Bill Shuster would normally visit but sometimes a politician just has to do what a politician has to do. I suspect the urbane and well-connected Pennsylvania congressman, chairman of the prestigious Transportation and Infrastructure Committee,  dug in his closet for a pair of old shoes and headed to the mall for some jeans and a cotton shirt. He then made the trek to corn country because he knew he could never get the kind of access and interaction with aviation's top leaders all at once in any other place.

With all due respect to AirVenture, NBAA, Sun 'n Fun and HAI, if you want to buttonhole the Who's Who of U.S. aviation, the somewhat presciently named Wingnuts Flying Circus airshow in Tarkio (population 1,583) is the place to be. The show has a nice lineup of well-known performers and the usual assortment of warbirds and military aircraft typical of the hundreds of small-town airshows that bring aviation to the masses across the U.S. It also hosts an aviation "town hall" meeting which, by the looks of Facebook photos, attracts about 100 people.

That's not the usual audience for a panel that includes EAA President Jack Pelton, NBAA President Ed Bolen, GAMA's Pete Bunce, NATA's Tom Hendricks, Matt Zuccaro of HAI, along with Jim Coon, the head of government affairs for AOPA, Andrew Moore, from the National Agricultural Aviation Association, and John Cudahy, who heads up the International Council of Air Shows. I've been to a lot of aviation meetings and I've never seen that big a lineup at any of them.

You get the idea that this is no ordinary country airshow. One of the organizers is Rep. Sam Graves, who grew up in Tarkio and has represented the 6th District for almost 15 years. He's an avid pilot and that's led to him becoming what Aviation Week calls "Aviation's Man in Washington." Graves also attracts some heavy hitters from the House and Senate and that's why all the groups show up. The ear-bending goes both ways.

So you can see why Shuster thought it a good place to float his idea. That, as far as I can tell, was the first place he talked about his bid to create a privatized air traffic control system. As dramatic as that news might have been, local reports suggest most of the discussion at the meeting was about the threat drones present to low-flying aerial application aircraft. Welcome to the Heartland, Bill.

But the formal meeting, held in a hangar just before the airshow started, was just the window dressing. The real work apparently takes place over drinks and barbecue. One of the aviation leaders told me it was apparent Shuster was there to push his agenda and not listen to input and the notion started to unravel at that point. Everyone knows the FAA is broken so why not fix it by giving away its biggest asset to the people who could most profit by controlling it? What could possibly go wrong?

Shuster was apparently deaf to the lack of verbal support and blind to the rolling eyes from the folks he went to woo and fell back on what he knows. He apparently figured the seamy mix of bribery, arm twisting and deal making that is the currency of Washington would eventually win aviation leaders over to supporting the biggest change in government operation in decades. The next couple of years would include a few clumsy media events and lots of hallway meetings to result in the ham-fisted reauthorization bill that collapsed from the weight of its own ineptitude last week. Right up until the last minute, aviation leaders were getting calls inquiring "what it would take" to bring them onside with the blockbuster legislation. Shuster's people had already salted the bill with goodies that appeared intended to bribe the aviation groups into compliance.

The most important was the guarantee that most private aircraft operators would never have to pay the hated "user fees" that would provide revenue for the new private system. Most of the aviation group leaders took that guarantee with a grain of salt, reasoning that if the corporation was setting up the collection system for those fees it was only a matter of time before they spread to GA. Another big carrot was a section of medical provisions stripped of all the due diligence measures contained in the Pilot's Bill of Rights 2. It required no medical oversight whatsoever for private pilots of aircraft weighing less than 6,000 pounds and carrying five passengers or less whereas PBOR2 ensures that every pilot will have had at least one FAA medical in his or her life. There were also liberal changes to aircraft certification and even a section to formally allow homebuilders to work in airport hangars.

If we are to assume that the bill failed because of the privatization provision, then it's also fair to think that the medical, certification and homebuilding measures are still on the table. So the groups are now preparing to press the case for inclusion of those items in the next bill. They're also not holding their breath. Rather than considered pieces of legislation aimed at improving the form and function of aviation regulation, those measures could be simply bargaining chips in the bigger game, which, by the way, is far from over. We'll know that if they disappear from the next reauthorization.

Shuster knew this wouldn't be easy and he's clearly aligned himself with people who are ready to settle into a long campaign. But that's a whole other story that we'll let the Washington media have for now. One thing he surely learned from the first skirmish is that the aviation community isn't about to be bought off with a few cheap trinkets when the system they know, and seem to have found new respect for, is being sold off to the highest bidder.

It will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.

Ram Overstock Sale || Save Up to $5,000 Until March 31, 2016
<="225756">

At its Kerrville, Texas factory, Mooney International has made significant investments to build the new Acclaim and Ovation Ultra aircraft.  AVweb's Paul Bertorelli recently toured the plant and shot this video.

TKM Avionics || MX170C & MX300 || Direct Slide-In Replacement Nav/Comms You Can Install Yourself in Minutes
<="225731">

Perhaps one of the most popular flight schools in the U.S. to earn a single-engine seaplane rating, Jack Brown's Seaplane Base in Winter Haven, Florida, has trained nearly 20,000 pilots. To find out what the draw is all about, Aviation Consumer editor Larry Anglisano recently enrolled in Brown's $1,400 SES course and had his cameras rolling to capture the experience.

A20 Aviation Headset || Now with Enhanced Features
<="225646">

Paul Bertorelli recently sat down with Jeff Chamberlain from the Argonne National Laboratory as part of his research for an in-depth comparison of battery technologies for our sister publication Aviation Consumer.  Chamberlain had a lot to say about the future of battery technology and its impact on the push toward electric airplanes.

Read more here.

Aircraft Spruce || Sun 'n Fun Pre-Order Deadline Reminder || Order by March 31 for Pick-Up at the Show
<="220114">

Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something the flying world might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via e-mail here. (Or send them direct to Newstips at AVweb.com.)

With a Full Line of Premium ANR Headsets, Lightspeed Has a Headset for EVERY MISSION || Zulu PFX - Tango - Zulu.2 - Sierra
Picture of the Week <="225539">
Picture of the Week

Tom Ciura of Lancaster, NY kicks off our latest batch of reader-submitted photos. Click through for more shots from AVweb readers.