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EAA IN NO HURRY TO PICK PRESIDENT
The current president of the Experimental Aircraft Association says the process to pick his successor is progressing and no time line has been set for the recruitment. Tom Poberezny told AVweb in a podcast interview that the board of directors decided to hire a headhunting firm to find his replacement after an internal effort collapsed during AirVenture Oshkosh in July. Poberezny said the failed attempt over the summer generated debate among board members, whom he characterized as "strong-minded," but he said the process is continuing. There are now two headhunting consultants in the running to find the new president. He said the board is more concerned with getting the right person for the job than with setting a deadline for the passing of the gavel. More...

SATSAIR SHUTS DOWN
SATSAir, regarded as a bright light in the air taxi field, abruptly stopped service late Friday and isn't guaranteeing customers that it will be back. A message on the Greenville, S.C. company's main number apologizes for the inconvenience caused passengers who have already booked flights. "A combination of circumstances will preclude us from providing scheduled flights on Oct. 24, 25 and 26 and beyond," it says. "You will be notified if any circumstances allow us to return to service. SATSAir used a fleet of Cirrus SR22 aircraft on short-hop flights around the Southeast and Cirrus Aircraft was a major investor. Passengers could soon have alernatives, however as at least three similar types of operations, OpenAir, Skyway Air Taxi and ImagineAir are willing to help fill the void. More...

FLIGHT 188 PILOTS MEET NTSB
The pilots of the Northwest Airlines that overshot their destination of Minneapolis last week met with federal investigators Sunday but there was no word of what transpired there by our deadline. Capt. Timothy Cheney and FO Richard Cole have consistently said that they were distracted by a conversation in the cockpit and simply lost track of time and where they were when their radio went silent for 75 minutes on the last part of the flight from San Diego. There seems to be gradual acceptance of that version of events in both the mainstream and aviation media, which widely speculated they'd both fallen asleep. However, Cole has since spoken twice to the media, insisting both pilots remained awake as they flew over the Twin Cities and headed east across Wisconsin for about 150 miles. The cockpit voice recorder aboard the A320 is an older one with a 30-minute loop so there may be no way to prove or disprove the pilots' claim. However, it was revealed Friday that radio contact with the aircraft was finally accomplished using the Denver Center frequency. More...

HOUSE BILL ADDRESSES PRO PILOT TRAINING
A bill passed the House on Wednesday requires that commercial airline pilots to have a minimum of 1500 hours flight time, their ATP rating, and it describes "minimum contents of study" for pilot academic training. It also calls for the Administrator to initiate a study of the effects of commuting on pilot fatigue. If the bill makes it through the Senate unchanged carriers will also have to display on passenger's tickets any separate carrier contracted for the flight. The bill was inspired by the crash of a Continental Connect flight (operated by Colgan Air as Flight 3407) near Buffalo, NY, in February that killed all 49 aboard, plus one on the ground. The captain of that flight had 3379 total hours, with more than 3000 hours of turbine time, and 110 logged in type (the accident aircraft was a Dash 8). He also held an ATP rating, but had been originally disapproved for his initial instrument, commercial single engine, commercial multi-engine, and ATP ratings. More...

F-16 IN TROUBLE BOMBS HILL AIR FORCE BASE
No one was killed, but there were explosions after an F-16 dropped two external fuel tanks and munitions (including a 500-pound bomb) onto an unpopulated area of Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Thursday. The event took place just before 4 p.m. at Hill Air Force Base. The pilot later landed safely and the 500-pounder did not explode on impact, but other munitions that were supposedly unarmed did. As a result, a work shed near an ordnance facility was blown up as was a nearby transformer, which caused a brief base-wide power outage. The fuel tanks and bombs which fell on the base landed roughly 2,500 feet from Interstate 15, which was affected as officials accounted for the explosives. Some 500 gallons of jet fuel in the drop tanks leaked onto the grounds and, until Saturday, the 500-pound bomb was resting under 17 feet of earth. More...

VIDEO: DRUG VIOLENCE SHOOTS DOWN HELI NEAR OLYMPIC STADIUM, RIO
Video has emerged of the helicopter crash that one week ago, Saturday, killed three members of the Rio de Janeiro police after a group of alleged drug traffickers reportedly shot down the aircraft. The police helicopter and violence were just one mile from Maracana stadium, which will host the 2016 opening and closing Olympic ceremonies in Brazil. Six officers were aboard the helicopter, which flew on fire over the densely populated city to a soccer field where it crashed and burned. Three officers aboard the helicopter survived. Police say drug traffickers armed with at least one large-caliber weapon were engaged in a fire-fight with a rival gang when the police attempted to intervene with helicopters and ground personnel. The Associated Press has acquired video that shows the aircraft passing over police, trailing flames and smoke. (Video after the jump.) More...

OLDER MISSOURI SURVEY BACKS GA BENEFITS
A 2004 study of 114 airports in Missouri is being used to support the notion that federal funds are well spent to bolster general aviation -- to the tune of $1.1 billion. The survey was performed by South Carolina-based Wilbur Smith & Associates for the MIssouri Department of Transportation. The big number reflects the sum that small general aviation airports are estimated by the survey to have generated via economic activity within the state. But it also breaks down to smaller, more personal, numbers. These airports, according to the survey, employ roughly 11,000 people, representing $364 million in paying jobs, mostly in smaller communities throughout the state. And the airports may not just keeping jobs, they may be bringing them. Quoted by the Springfield Business Journal, one local pilot stated, "people coming to this town who are going to build factories and bring corporate business ... are not coming in to that airline terminal across the field. They're coming into the GA facility." More...

CHINA TESTS (RELATIVELY) OPEN AIRSPACE FOR GA
Airspace restrictions have kept the reins tight on China's general aviation industry but, as part of a pilot project, those restrictions -- for one Chinese province -- will be relaxed, according to China Daily. Airspace around the Shaanxi province industrial park will have relaxed military control of low altitude airspace, which means general aviation flights within the area don't need the air force's permission to fly. Hope is that this will stimulate growth in China's general aviation industry, which has been stifled by severely restricted airspace access More...

Columns | Features | What's New | Calendar | Brainteasers

EAA CONTINUES SEARCH FOR PRESIDENT
It was hoped that a successor to Experimental Aircraft Association President Tom Poberezny would be announced at AirVenture 2009, but that attempt has failed. EAA is now planning to hire a headhunting firm to find him or her, and AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with the current president about the process. More...

VIDEO: NEAR CFIT — CLOSE CALL WITH TERRAIN
The circumstances of this incident are unclear (and the subject of much speculation in the forums), but the result is pretty clear. The people aboard this Bonanza came within a tree branch or two of becoming victims of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). More...

NBAA CONVENTION 2009 COVERAGE ROUND-UP
A complete recap of our podcasts, videos, blogs, and news reports from the 2009 NBAA Convention in Orlando, Florida. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: WE'D PREFER YOU WERE SLEEPING, ACTUALLY
The crew of Northwest Airlines Flight 188 said it got into a discussion about airline policy that was so engaging that they, well, goshdurn flew 150 miles past the destination airport. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli argues that it would be better for all concerned if they were actually sleeping. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FLIGHT 188, CONTINUED — DID THE SECURITY APPARATUS DO IT RIGHT?
According to the Air National Guard, the F-16s stayed on the ground. If that's true, AVweb's Paul Bertorelli thinks it's good thing, showing a level of restraint that may mean things are going in the right direction with regard to aviation security. Read more of his thoughts in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog. 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...

FBO OF THE WEEK: MONTGOMERY AVIATION, INC. (KTYQ, ZIONSVILLE, INDIANA)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Montgomery Aviation at Indianapolis Executive Airport (KTYQ) in Zionsville, Indiana.

AVweb reader James Shobert does a lot of flying in the area and told us how Montgomery never forgets the little guys while serving all those executive jets:

I fly several aircraft in and out of KTYQ, but most often an LSA used to commute to work. [Montgomery] give[s] me the same service as they do someone flying a Lear or King Air. They really focus on customer service!

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!

IT'S THE FINAL AV8OR PRIZE THIS YEAR ... AND YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

Bendix/King by Honeywell is helping us give away one last AV8OR handheld MFD unit this year! All you have to do is click the image at right to enter your name and e-mail address. And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, but Bendix/King by Honeywell may send you information on the AV8OR. You may also forward this newsletter to friends and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can qualify for the AV8OR prize drawing, too. (We won't spam them, either, but we hope they will sign up for our AVwebFlash and AVwebBiz newsletters.)

Deadline for entries is midnight EST on Wednesday, November 4, 2009.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

(There's nothing to buy. All you need to do is be registered with AVweb.)

SHORT FINAL

A pilot recently got a little distracted when calling in over Illinois:

Chicago Center:
"56Y, please say destination."

56Y:
"That's Mike Gulf Whiskey, ma'am."

wingman:
"I think he meant to say 'Mike Gulf Yankee.'"

Chicago Center:
"Is that correct, 56Y?"

56Y:
"Yes, ma'am. Sorry. I was thirsty."

Karl Hipp
via e-mail

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

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

The AVwebFlash 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
Mariano Rosales

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