PAPER CLIP REPAIR SPARKS CHARGES
Anyone who had maintenance or repairs done by WECO Aerospace Systems in Lincoln, CA before it merged with Gulfstream Aerospace in 2007 might want to comb their logs for these guys, all from California: Jerry Edward Kuwata, 60, of Granite Bay; Michael Dennis Maupin, 58, of Arbuckle; Scott Hamilton Durham, 39, of Roseville; Christopher Warren MacQueen, 53, of Lincoln; Douglas Arthur Johnson, 52, of Granite Bay; and Anthony Vincent Zito, 47, of Saugus, and check their airplanes for paper clips. A Sacramento federal grand jury has approved 36 charges against the men for using unapproved parts in aircraft repairs. In at least one case, a paper clip did the job, the indictments allege. The repairs apparently did the trick, at least temporarily, because there were no incidents reported that were directly related to the work but the long list of alleged corner cutting and fraud has raised the dander of prosecutors. It should be noted that there have been no reported problems since Gulfstream took over. More...

DRUG BUST AT BOEING PLANT
A Thursday morning raid at Boeing's helicopter plant outside of Philadelphia resulted in the arrest of 37 current and former Boeing employees who authorities allege were associated with the purchase and sale of prescription drugs. The plant at Ridley Park produces the CH-47 Chinook and the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. It employs roughly 6,000 workers. The majority of those arrested reportedly worked in production at the facility. According to Boeing, the arrests were facilitated by its own internal investigation that began in 2006 after other employees reported suspicious activity to the company's internal ethics hotline. The company alerted federal law enforcement and a four-year DEA investigation followed. During that time production at the plant continued, with care, according to Boeing. More...

GPS COMPLACENCY CITED IN ACCIDENT
A pilot's sole reliance on what proved to be unreliable GPS information during an approach in IMC is being blamed for the crash of Piper Cheyenne that killed six people in Australia in 2004. A coroner has ruled that the pilot didn't check the GPS information against other navigation instruments as the Cheyenne went off course and hit a ridge near Benalla. "It is reasonable to infer that he believed that operations were normal and that in 'scanning' the array of instruments before him he focused on information from the GPS unit," Coroner Paresa Spanos said. "Taking all evidence before me into account, I find that the accident which took the lives of all six deceased was caused by navigation with the GPS in dead reckoning mode." The coroner also found that an air traffic controller failed to warn the pilot that he was deviating from his filed course. More...

PLANE HITS FERRIS WHEEL; NO INJURIES (UPDATED)
The 52-year-old Australian pilot has answered the obvious question. Paul Cox told rescuers he didn't see the Ferris wheel. "The next thing I knew, I was stopped inside the Ferris wheel," he said. "I had no idea for a few minutes and I was just hoping no one got hurt." There are likely to be some more probing inquiries from Australian authorities in coming days, chief among them why a Ferris wheel was allowed off the end of the grass strip at Old Bar, perhaps within about 50 yards of the threshold. Initial reports focused on the collision and the safe rescue of the plane's occupants and the five kids on the ferris wheel, none of whom were hurt, but an AVweb reader has provided a different perspective on what might have happened. "The Ferris wheel was about 50 yards from the southern threshold of the runway," Jens Meinecke told AVweb. "The guy was doing a missed approach from the north and with the nose high on climb out did not see the wheel." More...

DC-9-50 NEARLY LOSES ENGINES ON HARD LANDING
On Sept. 26, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 operated by Aeropostal landed at Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, with enough force to crack both engine pylons at the airframe, leaving them dangling at the rear fuselage sides. None of the five crew and 125 passengers were seriously injured and all were evacuated onto the runway after the aircraft was stopped. The jet, registered YV136T, is more than 35 years old. The flight, VH 342, according to the Aviation Safety Network, had operated from Caracas and landed at Puerto Ordaz in a manner that has been described as "very hard."  This is one you really have to see to believe. We expect your letters, either way. Pictures (and very brief passenger account) after the jump. More...

SAFETY BOARD: SWITCH MISTAKE NEARLY FLIPS ANA 737
On Sept. 6, an ANA 737-700 with 117 aboard rolled through 130 degrees of bank and lost more than 6,000 feet of altitude partly due to poorly placed switches, according to Japan's Transport Safety Board's (JTSB's) preliminary report. No serious injuries were reported. Flight NH140 was cruising at 41,000 feet out of Okinawa for Tokyo when the captain left the cockpit. Upon his return, the co-pilot reached for what he thought was the control that unlocks the cockpit door and moved it to the left. The preliminary report states that the pilot instead grabbed and moved to the left the rudder trim control, which on the incident aircraft shares a similar position at the rear of the control pedestal. The four-year old jet then reacted to that control input as it should. More...

AVMAIL: OCTOBER 3, 2011

Thanks to all those who elaborated on the third class medical "Question of the Week," but there isn't enough cyberspace to run all of your responses. Here's a sampling, starting with two letters that make the point and counterpoint.

Click through to read this week's letters.

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...

BRAINTEASERS QUIZ #164: DOWN TO MINIMUMS
ATC does not treat IFR and VFR pilots equally, but VFR pilots can benefit from a grasp of IFR procedures. See how much you know about the dark art of instrument procedures by unraveling this quiz.

Take the quiz. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: MEDICAL PROPOSAL DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH
Is a little freedom better than none? In a guest posting to the AVweb Insider blog, Potomac Airfield owner David Wartofsky argues that the answer is a resounding "no" and that it's time to abolish third class medicals entirely for those flying aircraft that weigh less than 6,000 pounds. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: HOW OLD IS TOO OLD?
Jimmy Leeward's tragic P-51 crash at Reno last week raised the emotional issue of age and piloting abilities. We might not like to hear it asked, but it's a fair question even if the pilot's age had no bearing on the accident. There's no easy answer, either, other than to look in the mirror and be honest with yourself. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli shares some reflections of his own. Read more and join the conversation. More...

PODCAST: INSIDE THE EAA/AOPA MEDICAL CERTIFICATE PROPOSAL
If you've been hearing rumors that the FAA may soon change medical requirements for many pilots, chances have never been better that those rumors are true. AVweb's Glenn Pew spoke with EAA vice president of industry and regulatory affairs Sean Elliot to see what dates and details had already been laid out in a plan, what pilots might expect, when they might expect it, and what compromises might come.

This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation. More...

VIDEO: 'IFR' MAGAZINE LEARNS HOW JEPPESEN PRINTS APPROACH PLATES
Jeppesen prints half the approach plates they used to -- one billion sheets per year instead of two billion. But they've also changed the way they print many of them. Any custom order, from trip kits to new manuals, gets printed similarly to how you might at home. Just bigger. And faster. And more. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: GLACIER JET CENTER (KPGI, KALISPELL, MT)

It's been a busy week for FBO nominations on AVweb.com -- but when all was said and done, we had to give this week's blue ribbon to Glacier Jet Center at Glacier Park International Airport (KPGI) in Kalispell, Montana.

AVweb reader Mark Fryburg had high praise for the staff and facilities at Glacier:

Best FBO service I've ever received in my 29 yeas of light aircraft flying. From my first e-mail to book a tie-down and rental car through ramp service and tourism advice, they constantly offered to help and promptly delivered on their promises. A three-man ramp crew greeted us to park, fuel, and unload our Debonair then load luggage in the car. The front desk staff was equally helpful. Everything was delivered on time and as promised. Everyone was courteous and friendly. And my non-pilot wife felt especially welcomed.

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!

SHORT FINAL

While flying southbound IFR in good VMC conditions to Sun 'n Fun two years ago, we overheard the following conversation:

Cessna 1234 (sounding like a student pilot) :
"Approach, request flight following."

Approach:
"Cessna 1234, what is your location -- altitude and destination?"

Cessna 1234:
"We just departed Salisbury. 1,500 feet."

Approach:
"What is your destination?"

Cessna 1234:
[A few unintelligible words mumbled, with no definitive answer.]

[Long pause.]

Approach (laughter in his voice) :
"Would you like me to select your destination?"

Cessna 1234:
"Where do you recommend?"

Howard McVay
via e-mail

HEARD ANYTHING FUNNY ON THE RADIO?
Heard anything funny, unusual, or downright shocking on the radio lately? If you've been flying any length of time, you're sure to have eavesdropped on a few memorable exchanges. The ones that gave you a chuckle may do the same for your fellow AVweb readers. Share your radio funny with us, and, if we use it in a future "Short Final," we'll send you a sharp-looking AVweb hat to sport around your local airport. No joke. Click here to submit your original, true, and previously unpublished story. 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

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 AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.