NTSB: NEGLECTED TIRES STARTED LEARJET'S FATAL ACCIDENT CHAIN
The operator of a chartered Learjet 60 failed to properly maintain its tires, starting a chain of events that ended with a deadly crash in Columbia, S.C., in September 2008, the NTSB said on Tuesday. All four of the main gear tires were severely underinflated, which compromised their integrity. The first tire failed about 1.5 seconds after the airplane reached V-1, the maximum speed at which the takeoff could be safely aborted. The captain's decision to then attempt a high-speed rejected takeoff "went against standard operating procedures and training," the NTSB said. Making things worse, the tire failure damaged a sensor, which caused the jet's thrust reversers to return to the stowed position. While the captain was trying to stop the airplane by commanding reverse thrust, forward thrust was being provided at near-takeoff power because the thrust reversers were stowed, contributing to the severity of the accident. "This entirely avoidable crash should reinforce to everyone in the aviation community that there are no small maintenance items because every time a plane takes off, lives are on the line," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. More...

U.K. GROUP CALLS FOR BIZAV FUEL TAX
A British environmental group says business aircraft should pay a fuel tax currently charged airline passengers. The Air Passenger Duty is part of every airline ticket but the Campaign for Better Transport says business aviation passengers don't pay it even though they have a much larger environmental footprint than the average airline passenger. Although bizav is a soft target for the environmental movement, pronouncements such as this might carry a bit more weight as the U.K. heads to the polls May 6. More...

HONDAJET SPECULATION CONTINUES
A leading market analyst says it doesn't really matter why Honda is joining the business jet market, the fact that it will start delivering aircraft in less than two years should be enough to give existing airframers pause. The Gerson Lehrman Group says critical observations about the HondaJet's quirky engine-over-wing design and the lack of scalability of the aircraft are similar to those heard when Honda introduced the Civic 35 years ago. "The Detroit automotive establishment said that Honda would never be successful," the analysis says. "Honda in fact went on to make the Civic the best selling subcompact in the industry." No one doubts the company's ability to follow through with the HondaJet program but there are two schools of thought on the "real" motive behind it. More...

FAA AD TARGETS THIELERT ENGINES
As if they didn't have enough troubles already dealing with excessive costs and a manufacturer in bankruptcy, owners of Thielert diesel engines now must cope with a proposed new Airworthiness Directive that could cost them another $1,600. The FAA posted the proposed AD on Monday, citing a problem with an oil separator that could fail, leading to an in-flight power loss or possible shutdown due to excessive gas pressure. The problem was found in servicing, and the FAA didn't note any cases of actual failure. About 250 of the Thielert engines have been installed in Diamond twins, some Piper Cherokees, and Cessna 172s in the U.S. Owners must take care of the problem within 110 flight hours of the effective date of the AD. Comments will be accepted on the proposal until May 20. More...

NEW YORK'S FOURTH AIRPORT GETS CUSTOMS
New York City's "fourth" airport, Stewart International, is getting a temporary Customs and Border Protection facility as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey looks for ways to expand service. Stewart International is a former air base about 60 miles north of the city in the Hudson Valley. It has the runways to handle any size aircraft but airline service is limited to a few flights to mainly Northeast destinations. The Port Authority hopes the availability of Customs service will attract overseas charter service. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AVIATION REPORTING — BAD TO THE BONE
There are plenty of examples of bad aviation reporting in the mainstream media, but AVweb's Mary Grady came across one of the worst recently — a mish-mash of inaccuracy made worse by bad timing and a poor understanding of airplane stalls. Mary shares the details on the AVweb Insider blog. Click here to read her take on the story and share your own thoughts. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: BETTER TO TREAT DEPRESSED PILOTS
The FAA's relaxation of rules for depressed pilots already generating discussion among aviators — and especially those aviators who work in medicine. Dr. Brent Blue joins us on the AVweb Insider blog with his take on the decision. Click here to read more and share your own comments. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

WHO'S WHERE? YOU TELL US
Get a promotion or a new job? Your colleagues want to know about it, and AVwebBiz can get the word out. Drop us a line about the staff appointment, with a nice recent photo, and we'll do our best to include it in our new section, "Who's Where." The items will be permanently archived on AVweb for future reference, too. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: A HUMOROUS BUT-NOT-THAT-GENTLE LOOK AT FLYING TRAFFIC PATTERNS
If you like your aviation information to come straight out of the AIM, umm — this is not that. In this week's video, Paul Bertorelli takes a somewhat biting look into the heads of CFIs who teach their students to fly traffic patterns that would be too large for a Triple Seven. More...

15 YEARS AND NOW 15 GRAND GIVEAWAYS ... IT'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A WXWORX XM WX SATELLITE WEATHER RECEIVER

Win an XM WX Satellite Weather receiver from WxWorx as we continue the celebration of AVweb's 15th Anniversary! All you have to do is click here to enter your name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you'll be entered in our prize drawings for the entire year — so if you've already entered, you're all set.)

And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, ever. Tell your friends, and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can qualify for our 15 Grand Giveaways prize drawings, too. (We won't spam them, either — but we hope they will sign up for our newsletters.)

Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time April 9, 2010.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

Congratulations to Colleen Keller of San Diego, California, who won a Garmin 510 aera handheld GPS in our last drawing! (click here to get your own Garmin aera)

MEET THE AVWEBBIZ TEAM

AVwebBiz is a weekly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.

The AVwebBiz team is:

Publisher
Timothy Cole

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Jeff van West

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? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.

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

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.