IATA: WEST SHOWS LOWEST ACCIDENT RATE, EVER
The accident rate for Western-built jet aircraft in 2010 was the lowest in aviation history, the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) announced this week. The data measured hull losses, which occur when an accident destroys an aircraft or damages an aircraft beyond repair. In 2010, for every one million flights of Western-built jet aircraft, IATA says the global figure for hull losses was 0.61 -- that's one accident per 1.6 million flights. And that figure bests the previous low set in 2006, when the rate was 0.65. According to IATA, the data translates to the safe carriage of 2.4 billion people flying on 36.8 million flights (split as 28.4 million jet and 8.4 million turboprop operations). That said, the number of fatalities was up in 2010, and safety of flight was significantly different depending on the geographic region of operation. More...

FAA TOLD: PHOTO IDS DON'T FLY
The FAA's proposal to require photos on pilot certificates has drawn almost 500 comments, many of them objecting to the plan, and several advocacy groups have asked the FAA to modify or withdraw the proposal. "As an ATP pilot, I already have an encrypted military ID [and] a state-issued drivers license," said one commenter. "The government does not need an ID to keep the terrorists and radicals in control. This is absolutely a waste of time and money." GA groups who weighed in before the close of comments last week included AOPA, EAA, the National Association of Flight Instructors and the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators. None of them supported the FAA's proposal, which could charge applicants up to $50 for a certificate and would cost pilots about $446 million over 20 years. More...

FLIGHT TRAINING STUDY AVAILABLE
AOPA has released the final report (4MB PDF) of its student pilot retention study and the tweaking hasn't changed the basic message. As we reported in November, the final report shows that the flight training industry isn't exploiting the cool factor of being a pilot as much as it might. It also says instructors should brush up on their organizational skills and flight school owners should sharpen their pencils. More...

RESTRICTED AIRSPACE, RENTED PLANE, HIJACK CODE
A pilot flying from an Ottawa airport last Wednesday in a rented Cessna 172M inadvertently set his transponder to broadcast the hijack code and then inadvertently flew into restricted airspace, according to Canadian authorities. Transport Canada says the pilot had planned a trip out of Ottawa with stops in Arnprior, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec. While en route at roughly 9:40 a.m., the aircraft suffered a mechanical problem, the agency said. In addressing that problem, the pilot mistakenly set the aircraft's transponder to broadcast the hijack code and then managed to fly into a restricted area that surrounds Parliament Hill. Transport Canada is apparently content that both actions were inadvertent, but that didn't prevent police involvement and the collection of one quote that everyone might have seen coming. More...

ENVELOPE FLAPS MAY HOLD EARHART'S DNA
A Canadian scientist plans to extract DNA from envelopes licked by Amelia Earhart to help determine if a bone fragment found on a Pacific island -- or any other remains found in the future -- might belong to the lost aviator. Dongya Yang, a genetic archaeologist at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, told National Geographic News last week that he will try out the technique on test envelopes first, to ensure that the process is not destructive. "When we have the best technique available, that's when we'll move on to the real letters," Yang said. If enough DNA is found in the envelope seals, it will be compared to DNA from Earhart's living relatives to determine if it's really hers, National Geographic said. More...

AVIATION GROUP NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Wings of Hope, a charitable flying group based in St. Louis, Mo., is on a list of nominees for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, the Air Care Alliance said this week. The group is one of 237 candidates for the prize, the largest number ever. Each nominee is selected by a qualified nominator who works with the Nobel Committee to identify deserving groups and individuals around the world. "This is a great honor to all of our volunteers and donors," Wings of Hope President Doug Clements told the Bellville News Democrat. "They are the ones who see the humanity of our fellow men and who seek to extend the hand of human kindness to them." By the end of March, the Nobel committee will reduce the nominee list to a short list of prospects, and in October, the Nobel laureates will be announced. More...

EMBRAER FLORIDA PLANT A BEGINNING?
Embraer CEO Fred Curado says the Brazilian company now has a "industrial footprint" in the U.S. and future expansion will depend on developing new products and markets. Curado told AVweb in a video interview at the ribbon-cutting for its new Phenom final assembly plant in Melbourne, Fla., that while there are no firm plans for expansion, there's room to grow in the U.S. and particularly in Melbourne. The central Florida town will be hard hit by cutbacks at NASA, and the Embraer plant has been welcomed with open arms by a community that has a strong aerospace base. More...

GAMA: NO TURNAROUND IN 2010, BUT MAYBE THIS YEAR
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association released its annual industry report (PDF) on Tuesday, showing that aircraft deliveries continued to fall in 2010 despite improvements in the global and U.S. economies. Deliveries of GA aircraft fell by 11.4 percent overall in 2010 compared to the year before. Piston deliveries were down by 7.7 percent, from 963 units to 889; turboprops declined 17.7 percent, from 441 units to 363; and business jets fell from 870 deliveries in 2009 to 763 last year, a drop of 12.3 percent. John Rosanvallon, CEO of Dassault Falcon Jet and chairman of GAMA, said shipments traditionally lag an economic recovery by one to two years, and signs are good for the industry to start a rebound in 2011. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER

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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."

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: WHAT DOES "MADE IN THE U.S.A." MEAN?
Many American aircraft manufacturers perform varying amounts of the construction of their aircraft in other countries. Now Embraer is doing final assembly of its Phenom light jets in Melbourne, FL and saying those aircraft are "made in the U.S.A." This week, we put the question to readers: What is an American airplane?

Plus: Last week, we asked what project would top Congress's aviation spending if AVweb readers were in charge of the budget; click through to see the breakdown of answers. More...

AN AVWEB SURVEY: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT AVGAS REPLACEMENTS
The FAA just announced that it will convene a special committee to investigate an unleaded replacement for 100LL avgas. This committee will hear from the alphabets, aircraft manufacturers and users of avgas. AVweb would like to know your opinions on the current state of affairs in the search for an unleaded replacement for 100LL. Click here to take the survey. More...

HAVE YOU USED OIL ADDITIVES? 'AVIATION CONSUMER' COULD USE YOUR INSIGHT
Have you added more than oil to your engine? If you've tried oil additives like CamGuard or AVblend, Aviation Consumer wants to know how it worked out. Whether your experience was good, bad or of no consequence whatsoever, they want to know. Please take a moment to fill out their survey to help the research effort for an upcoming, in-depth review. Click here to take the survey. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AND STOP TELLING ME TO BE CAREFUL!
Geez, some well-meaning geezer tells Paul Bertorelli to "be careful," and he goes off the deep end. But he does have a point. What does this banal statement mean relative to aviation risk? After 500 words on the AVweb Insider blog, Paul has the conclusive answer: Not much, it turns out. 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: EMBRAER COMES TO THE U.S.
Brazil's Embraer held the ribbon-cutting for its first U.S. assembly plant in Melbourne, FL on Feb. 21. Embraer CEO Fred Curado says the plant, which is designed to build as many as 100 Phenom 100 and 300 light business jets a year, may not be the end of the company's investment in the U.S. More...

VIDEO: U FLY IT AIRCRAFT INTRODUCES THE SPORT STORCH
In the 1930s, the German war machine created an amazing STOL aircraft called the Storch. A 3:4 scale version of the aircraft is now available as an LSA or experimental amateur-built plane through U Fly It Sport Aircraft. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: BAY MINETTE AVIATION (1R8, OUTSIDE MOBILE, ALABAMA)

Our latest "FBO of the Week" has actually held the honor once before — two years ago.

Bay Minette Aviation at Bay Minette Municipal Airport (1R8) near Mobile, Alabama makes a return appearance on our top FBOs list after getting high marks from AVweb readers in the intervening months. "Friendly staff, low prices, and plenty of runway," remarked Tim Hynes, before confessing, "I almost want to keep this one a secret!"

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
This week's winning photo comes from Bengt Olson of Hindås, Sweden. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions. More...

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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