OSU PLANE HIT NOSE-FIRST, WEATHER NOT A FACTOR
Investigators have ruled out weather as a factor in the crash that killed two Oklahoma State University basketball coaches and determined that the Cherokee 180 involved hit the ground nose-first. The crash killed OSU Cowgirls coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna. The pilot and aircraft owner, former state senator Olin Branstetter, and his wife Paula were also killed. The aircraft crashed about 4:30 p.m. in mountainous terrain 45 miles northwest of Little Rock, Ark. NTSB investigator Jason Aguilera told The Oklahoman the nose-down attitude leads to inescapable speculation on the flight's final moments. "That's pretty significant," he said. "That makes us feel as though there's a good chance there was a loss of control prior to impact." And while there's no initial indication that the size and type of aircraft had any bearing on the crash, size is apparently all that matters for OSU and other schools now assessing the transportation policies for staff and students. More...

COMMITTEE: NO CASE FOR ADS-B MANDATE
A committee chartered by the FAA has determined that the FAA has yet to make a business case for mandated near-term ADS-B equipage and recommends the FAA not pursue such a mandate at this time. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) In Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) was formed in June 2010. Its mission is, in part, to "provide recommendations that clearly define how the community should proceed with ADS-B In while ensuring compatibility with ADS-B Out." ARC has concluded that "many of the ADS–B In applications show significant promise, but additional development and analysis are necessary before aircraft operators can justify investment or implementation decisions." As per its charter, the committee did offer ideas to change that. More...

BOEING LANDS BIGGEST DEAL, EVER
Lion Air, a private Jakarta-based airline, has signed a commitment to order 230 Boeing aircraft with a street value of $21.7 billion -- Boeing's latest clean-sheet design, the 787, is not represented in the order. The order consists of 201 737 MAX single-aisle airliners (aircraft that are expected to first enter service in 2017) and 29 extended range 737-900ER jets, plus options for 150 more aircraft. Even without the options, those figures make this the largest deal Boeing has ever negotiated with a carrier by number of aircraft and dollar amount. The deal coincides with a visit to Indonesia by President Obama ... and one potentially relevant lawsuit brought Wednesday by the Airline Transport Association. More...

BRAZILIAN CHARGES LINGER FOR COLUMNIST
A New York Times columnist says he'll continue fighting a court ruling stemming from his coverage of a 2006 plane crash in Brazil even though the proceedings might seem ludicrous in the U.S. Joe Sharkey was onboard the Legacy 600 business jet that collided with a GOL Boeing 737, causing the airliner to crash and killing all 154 people aboard. Pilots of the damaged Legacy were able to land safely and all seven people aboard were uninjured. The pilots, Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino, were subsequently convicted of negligence and sentenced to four years of house arrest in absentia. Last week a Brazilian appeals court overturned a lower court's dismissal of defamation charges brought against Sharkey by the widow of one of the GOL passengers. The suit was based on a peculiarity of Brazilian jurisprudence that allows individuals to file suit if the country itself is dishonored by the publication of material deemed defamatory. In a podcast interview with AVweb, Sharkey says the case is difficult to grasp in the U.S. and other countries in which freedom of speech and the press are taken for granted, but it's become an ongoing drain on his time and money as he fights to clear his name, even if it is in Brazil. "The First Amendment means something to me," Sharkey, a longtime beat reporter and columnist, said. More...

PODCAST: LEGACY COLLISION LEGAL NIGHTMARE CONTINUES
A Brazil appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that cleared New York Time columnist Joe Sharkey in a strange lawsuit resulting from his coverage of the tragedy. In an interview with AVweb's Russ Niles, Sharkey says he'll keep fighting, even if it means more late-night visits from Brazilian-paid process servers. More...

PILOT LANDS MUSTANG AFTER ANEURYSM
Danie Minnie was flying a Cessna Citation Mustang on Nov. 12, out of Bloemfontein for Johannesburg, South Africa, when he suffered an aneurysm -- he landed the plane safely but did not survive the larger event. Minnie, 43, suffered symptoms that included vomiting and paralysis that affected his left side. He contacted controllers who found him sounding confused. The pilot elected to return to his less populated point of departure. Minnie's brother, also a pilot, and his wife were at the airport to meet him when he landed. A local news station reported that Minnie "managed a perfect landing." Paramedics then took more than 40 minutes to remove Minnie from the aircraft as his condition worsened. More...

AIRLINE TROUBLES UPSET PASSENGERS
After enduring a nine-hour ground delay, one might think the last thing passengers would want is to stay on the aircraft after it arrived at its destination. That was the situation facing Hong Kong Airlines staff last week when more than 50 passengers refused to get off the flight when it finally arrived in Hong Kong from Singapore. The passengers staged the sit-in to protest what they considered inadequate compensation for the original delay, which was caused by a mechanical fault on the aircraft. They left the plane after 90 minutes and continued the protest inside the airport until the airline agreed to pay them about $150 instead of the $50 originally offered. Almost exactly the opposite occurred in Vienna last week when passengers had to dig into their wallets to continue their flight to England More...

PILOT'S TOILET INCIDENT SPARKS TERROR CONCERNS (AUDIO)
The Nov. 16 flight of Indianapolis-based Chautauqua Airlines operated as Delta Flight 6132, an ERJ-145 out of Asheville for LaGuardia, took a turn for the unusual when the captain stepped out of the cockpit and failed to return as expected. The flight was carrying 14 passengers and was progressing normally until, about 30 minutes from a holding pattern for LaGuardia, the captain left the cockpit to use the lavatory and got stuck there. Unable to force the door open, the captain pounded until he acquired the attention of a passenger. The captain endowed that passenger with his confidence and a message for the copilot. However, when the copilot received the message, recordings archived at LiveATC.net clearly show the copilot did not apply the same confidence to the messenger. "Someone with a thick foreign accent is giving me a password to access the cockpit," the copilot tells controllers, "and I'm not about to let him in." Click through for details and to listen to the rest of the exchange.  More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: RAMP DELAYS -- I GOT MY EDUCATION
In last week's blog, Paul Bertorelli opined about the $900,000 fine levied against American Eagle for busting the DOT's three-hour ramp delay rule. He asked for some feedback from the airline community, and in his latest post to the AVweb Insider, he says he got just that. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVMAIL: NOVEMBER 21, 2011

Letter of the Week: Online Chart Fees

With budget deficits in the trillions, no one can deny that our government has a problem with spending. So the ruckus in the aviation community because the government wants to cover its costs in producing and distributing aeronautical data seems to me a symptom of what got us here.

Everyone is for cutting the cost of government, so long as it doesn't affect their benefits. At the end of the day, that attitude will not solve our budget problems. It is hard to argue that we in aviation don't benefit greatly from the government. From the millions spent on infrastructure at the 5,000 GA airports, to data, weather, FSS, ATC, the list goes on.

While we do pay for some of that with the tax on avgas, I am confident that it doesn't come close to covering the total benefit we receive. To solve the budget crisis, funding changes will have to be made. Rather than fight every proposal for change like it is the end of the world, I would encourage the flying community, and AOPA, EAA and NBAA specifically to proactively evaluate and choose which changes are most palatable and affect the least number of users.

They should offer those up, while fighting to save those that have the most negative impact to flying. I will gladly pay another $75 per year to have IFR data if it means I can avoid user fees on every IFR flight. AOPA and EAA need to show leadership in helping to solve this problem rather than blindly objecting to every proposal. Change is coming, we can either embrace it and try to manage it, or we can be run over by it.

Don Ward

Click through to read the rest of this week's letters.

SURVEY: HOW'S THAT GLASS PANEL WORKING OUT?
Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, is conducting a survey on owner experiences with early model EFIS systems such as the Garmin G1000 and Avidyne Entegra installed in OEM aircraft no newer that 2007. The magazine is interested in finding out how these systems have held up in the field. For this survey, we're interested only in OEM aircraft, not experimentals or LSAs and not aftermarket glass. Click here to take the survey. 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...

FBO OF THE WEEK: GALAXY AVIATION (ST. AUGUSTINE AIRPORT, FL)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Galaxy Aviation at St. Augustine Airport (KSGJ) in St. Augustine, Florida.

AVweb reader Joe Jenkina recommended the FBO:

When my wife and I flew in in our 182, we were greeted as if we were flying a jet. Kathy, Juan, and all the staff made sure our car was out on the ramp with the A/C on. Everyone we encountered from the Galaxy staff was courteous, and I recommend them to anyone flying into KSGJ.

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!

VIDEO: JEPPESEN'S MOBILE FLITEDECK (PART 1)
Last summer, Jeppesen rolled out its iPad-based Mobile FliteDeck, a complete chart manager system for owners who already subscribe to Jeppesen's electronic charting products. In this video, AVweb launches the first of three Product Minutes to review the new app. More...

VIDEO: JEPPESEN'S MOBILE FLITEDECK (PART 2)
Jeppesen's new Mobile FliteDeck is a route-based app that compiles approach plates and procedures from Jeppesen's charting materials. In this video, part two of three, Paul Bertorelli takes a look at how its route functions work. More...

SHORT FINAL

Sad but true. I was en route to Winchester, north of the DC area, when I heard a pilot in a Piper making this request:

Piper:
"I am low on fuel and need to go direct Martinsburg."

Potomac:
"Sir, I cannot give you direct Martinsburg. That route would take you through P40."

Piper:
"But I am low on fuel and need direct Martinsburg."

Potomac:
"Sir, if you are concerned about fuel I can give you vectors to Gaithersburg."

Piper:
"If you give me direct Martinsburg, I won't need to stop for fuel."

Potomac:
"Sir, If you went direct Martinsburg from your position, it would put you right in the middle of P40 and fuel would be the least of your worries."

June Smith
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

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