Volume 11, Number 29b — July 21, 2005

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The Top Headlines From AVweb's Expanded, Illustrated News Coverage At AVweb's NewsWire.

46 PILOTS CHARGED WITH HIDING MEDICAL CONDITIONS...
A total of 46 California pilots, 14 of them active, have been charged with lying to federal authorities to obtain certificates. In most cases, authorities allege, the pilots, seven of whom held commercial licenses, hid medical conditions that would have disqualified them. "The fraud and falsification allegedly committed by these individuals is extremely serious and adversely affects the public interest in air safety," the FAA's Nicholas Sabatini, an associate administrator in charge of flight safety programs, told The New York Times. The charges were laid after a two-year investigation in which Social Security numbers of pilots were cross-referenced with other databases. More...

...AS BRITISH PILOT SUES TSA OVER TRAINING BAN...
A British pilot, who works for an American regional airline, is suing the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to find out why they deem him a "threat to aviation or national security." Robert Gray says the agencies have refused (on security grounds, of course) to tell him why he shouldn't be allowed to fly larger and more complex aircraft than those he's been flying for Cape Air, a regional airline that flies mostly to Massachusetts destinations (it also has operations in Florida, the Caribbean and Micronesia). He insists it's all a mistake but says security officials won't tell him what triggered his "threat" status so he can sort it out. They did, however, give him a copy of his U.S. Customs profile, which describes the Belfast-born Gray as "Hispanic." More...

...FOREIGN PILOTS DON'T GET INDEPENDENT APPEAL
Gray's case is further complicated by his British citizenship. When the TSA first adopted its pilot security review standards, it appointed itself the sole arbiter of who presented a security risk. The lack of checks and balances outraged aviation groups (and plenty of congressional leaders, too) and the rules were modified to give U.S. citizens the right to a third-part review of any TSA decision. "The third party review is only available to U.S. citizens," explained AOPA's Chris Dancy. "Mr. Gray does not have the same protection as a U.S. citizen." More...

FAA/NATCA TENSIONS MOUNT...
The next stage of contract negotiations between the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association unfolded Tuesday as the two sides traded proposals in Washington. But the actual negotiations took a back seat to the massive public-relations and political campaign being waged between them. The FAA held news conferences in 20 cities on Tuesday to explain its general stance on the negotiations (that the existing deal is too expensive and gives too much control to the, uh, controllers) and to point out just how well-paid controllers are. As part of the organization of the conferences, FAA Deputy Administrator for Communications Greg Martin issued 12 pages of instructions to those conducting the regional news conferences. NATCA got hold of the instructions and distributed them to various media outlets. Martin said the speaking notes and suggested answers for anticipated questions are standard in his business. "I absolutely make no apologies for any of the material," he told AVweb. More...

..."HIGHLY COORDINATED MEDIA ASSAULT," SAYS UNION…
The union said the FAA's PR effort is an indication of the agency's misplaced priorities. "This highly coordinated media assault is a disappointing indication of how much time and energy the FAA is prepared to expend in attacking air traffic controllers ..." NATCA President John Carr said in a release. "America's 14,500 air traffic controllers aren't interested in political fights and we don't like conducting negotiations in the press." However, last Wednesday, NATCA called a news teleconference with major U.S. mainstream and aviation media to criticize the FAA's bargaining stance. Martin said NATCA's media machine is well-oiled and the agency must do some PR of its own. More...

...NATCA CALLS IN REINFORCEMENTS
The AFL-CIO got into the scrap late Wednesday with a call for FAA Administrator Marion Blakey to stop what it termed the FAA's "national media assault on workers." Edward Wytkind, president of the transportation trades department, also called on the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General to investigate the costs of the "taxpayer-funded misinformation campaign. At a time when the FAA is pleading poverty, it is absolutely outrageous ..." he said in a press release. The FAA's Martin said the costs were minimal. More...

A NEW RACING SERIES...
Combine elements of the Reno Air Races, the World Aerobatic Championships and the military's William Tell competition into one action-packed afternoon and you have some idea of what Jeff Zaltman had in mind for Aero GP, which is being described as the aviation equivalent of Formula One auto racing. "They (competitors) do have to be nuts, but they are calculated nuts," Aero GP creator Zaltman told Reuters. "Aero GP is very dangerous, but it is also safe. These guys are very experienced. We want it to be safe while not looking safe." Perhaps what can safely be said is that it's possibly one of the most extreme forms of aerial competition devised so far. More...

...AND RED BULL SERIES COMES TO SAN FRAN
Meanwhile, Aero GP's predecessor, the Red Bull racing series, will hold events throughout Europe this year before ending the season in its only North American stop Oct. 8 in San Francisco. The precise location of the race hasn't been listed on the Web site but it should be available, along with a course map, in the near future. The Red Bull series is working its way through six European dates before the final race in San Francisco and, if ticket sales are any indication of popularity, then the public seems to have an appetite for this kind of thing. Tickets are sold out for the July 24 race at the Rock of Cashel in Ireland. More...

FUEL CONSORTIUM FORMED TO CUT COSTS
A group called the National Aviation Fuel Consortium (NAFC) says GA pilots deserve the same kind of deals on jet fuel that some relatively high-volume users get. The NAFC is urging individual pilots to join the consortium and sign a petition to lobby for a break on rapidly escalating fuel costs. "The [NAFC] is forming an alliance of general aviation fuel buyers," says the NAFC Web site. "NAFC's initiative is to implement cost effective, unbundled general aviation fuel price methods." More...

FAA PROMISES ACTION ON AIR AMBULANCE SAFETY
One of the most dangerous flights you'll ever take could be one aimed at saving your life. The FAA is promising action to curb an extraordinarily high crash rate in air ambulances. More than 10 percent of the U.S. air ambulance helicopter fleet crashed in the past five years. A total of 60 people died in 84 accidents. About two-thirds of the crashes occurred in poor visibility conditions, according to USA Today. "We take this very seriously," said FAA spokesman Jim Ballough. "The public will see change." But industry groups say the issues are complex and not that easy to address. More...

O'HARE EXPANSION WILL HURT OTHER AIRPORTS, SAY OPPONENTS
If needed upgrades to your local airport go into a holding pattern in coming years you can probably blame Chicago, according to some of those opposed to the current plans to expand O'Hare International Airport. A group, made up mostly of representatives of neighboring communities that would be affected by the $15 billion proposal, claims that Chicago is looking for 20 percent of the discretionary portion of the Airport Improvement Program's funds for the next 10 years. That, they say, means 20 percent less for every other airport in the country looking for new runways, lights or infrastructure improvements. More...

CONGRESS PASSES GA SECURITY REVIEW AMENDMENT
GA dodged another legislative bullet last week when Congress passed a Homeland Security appropriations bill without an amendment that would have imposed severe penalties for those violating the Washington flight restricted zone. Under the amendment, pilots violating the zone could have faced big fines, long suspensions and even confiscation of their aircraft. The amendment was pulled, but the sentiments that got it that far continue to echo through the government buildings, which have been evacuated several times in the past couple of years due to errant pilots. AOPA lobbied hard to kill the amendment but another one, by Sen. Hilary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to study GA security and the threat posed by GA aircraft, passed unanimously. More...

PILOT CONDITION TO BE MONITORED
In the future, pilots may wear wristbands that will be able to detect signs of fatigue, stress or other dangerous conditions and send a signal to a monitoring center. That's the goal of an Australian project aimed at reducing the number of fatigue- and stress-related accidents in airplanes and heavy transport trucks. Over the next three years, the Forge Groupe and the University of Technology will develop and test sensors that will enable real-time monitoring of the alertness, stress level and decision-making ability of pilots and drivers. "This information will allow feedback on a dangerous situation and alert either the operator or the system controller to make it safer," said project spokesman Sara Lal. More...

FIRST SPORT-JET READY FOR ROLL-OUT
The first Excel Sport-Jet has had its final coat of paint and will be ready for taxi and flight testing by the end of this week, the company said yesterday. "We expect to start these [tests] shortly," designer Bob Bornhofen said. That would put the four-seat Sport Jet at the front of the pack of new single-engine very light jets. The prototype is fitted with a T-58 engine, though the production model will fly with a Williams FJ33-4A. The Williams engine is on order but not expected to be available until this fall. So far, the engine on the prototype has been test-run, and avionics and control systems are installed and have been checked. More...

ON THE FLY...
Missing F/A-18 pilot found dead...
Flight Explorer introduces Pilot Edition...
Lancair Certified becomes Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Drop us a line. Heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about? If it caught your eye, it will probably interest someone else, too. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part. More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
Say Again? #52: Changing Culture
Good pilots know better than to make a special request of ATC when flying in busy airspace; if the controller doesn't actually tell you off, then you'll hear the annoyance in his voice. But do you really know which areas are busiest? Things have changed and it's only going to get worse, as AVweb's Don Brown tells us in this month's column.

More...

AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVFLASH
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE "SPOTLIGHT". Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/ More...

AVWEB'S QUESTION OF THE WEEK ...
This week, AVweb wants to know what you think of the latest FAA/NATCA discontent. More...

AVWEB'S PICTURE OF THE WEEK ...
This week's group is a reminder that there are Picture Of The Week archives (we're also gearing up for AirVenture). Keep sending those photos, as we're determined to get them all in!

Every once in a while, a theme emerges from your photo submissions without any stretch of the imagination on our part. This week's clear theme was "skylines" — more specifically, skylines and stormfronts. Would you believe that one out of every four "POTW" entries was a skyline photo? C'mon, 'fess up — you guys got together and planned this, didn't you? ... Fine, just sit there and stare — we're on to you, and we'll catch you before this is all over. In the meantime, take a look at three of the best horizon photos — plus one extra pic, just for good measure. More...

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AVflash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest aviation news, articles, products, features and events featured on AVweb, the Internet's Aviation Magazine and News Service. http://www.avweb.com

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Today's issue written by News Writer Russ Niles:
http://www.avweb.com/contact/authors.html#rniles
AVweb's editorial team: http://avweb.com/contact/authors.html.

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