Volume 12, Number 1b — January 5, 2006

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

THE PILOT HIRING MARKET, 2006
So, Independence Air is going out of business today, most of the big airlines are in bankruptcy or close to it and thousands of airline pilots have been furloughed, but the job market for pilots hasn't looked this good in five years? Kit Darby, who runs Air, Inc., a publishing company that tracks pilot employment, says more than 10,000 jobs will open up this year. He said experienced pilots looking for work can probably find it but a few of them might need an attitude adjustment. "Whatever it is, you just have to get over it," said Darby. "Then you've got to get yourself up and get back to the marketplace. There are a lot of quality jobs out there." More...

WHERE TO LOOK
Most of the new hires are with regional airlines, fractional operators and charters, which, despite the widely publicized problems of the big airlines, are, according to Darby, doing just fine, thank you. "They're growing, they're profitable and they're hiring," he said. But it's not only the bottom half of the market that's looking for pilots. Darby said Continental and Alaska Airlines are both in the market and freight carriers like UPS and FedEx have been unscathed by recent downturns by big iron operators. While it's true that wages are being cut and pension plans restructured, Darby said they're still a pretty good deal. Despite the rollbacks, the average top salary for airline pilots is $168,000 a year and for cargo pilots it's $193,000. (Good luck at the negotiating table.) More...

JOBS: THE LONG TERM OUTLOOK
And while such unpredictable events such as 9/11, SARS or even avian flu could sewer the industry again, if things keep on a reasonably even keel, there should be above-average hiring for years to come, according to Darby. That's because over the next 10 years, tens of thousands of airline pilots will hit the mandatory retirement age of 60. However, there are about 9,600 fully qualified pilots currently on furlough and if they start pounding the pavement, how are young, inexperienced pilots supposed to compete? The key word is enthusiasm. "Airlines don't hire the best people, they never have," he said. "They hire people they like." More...

WHY WE FLY OURSELVES -- LIGHT AEROBATICS IN AN RJ
Some people will pay big bucks to fly aerobatics but we'd wager these folks just wanted to get to Pittsburgh. Nobody was reported injured after an American Airlines regional jet reportedly suffered severe roll- and yaw-control problems while en route from Dallas Tuesday evening. According to WTVQ News, the American Eagle Airlines Flight 3629, a Bombardier CJR-700, was cruising at 37,000 feet when the pilot "lost control." Passenger Gene Buttyan told the station that after the impromptu air show, the pilot made an announcement that he was "unable to control the plane" and that he'd "attempt" to make an emergency landing. The attempt was successful and the plane touched down at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky., about 9:30 p.m. John Hotard, a spokesman for AMR, told ABC news the aircraft suffered problems with a trim mechanism. More...

THE LAW TURNS FLIGHT DELAY INTO FALSE IMPRISONMENT
So, just how infuriating can it be to sit in an idling airliner for seven hours while the pilot waits for a break in the weather? According to Reuters, infuriating enough that six German passengers aboard the British Airways flight have filed "false imprisonment" charges against the pilot of the plane, who was trying to get from Berlin to London. Heavy snow prevented the plane from taking off and the pilot elected to wait out the storm. His patience was apparently much greater than that of some of his passengers. After more than three hours, one passenger called a police emergency line on his cellphone, saying he felt like he was being "held hostage." More...

AIRLINE STRANDS REVELERS ... IN BALI
Strangely enough, though, we haven't heard a whisper of complaint from a planeload of New Year's revelers who were stranded in Bali for three days. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Skywest flight left Port Hedland on New Year's Eve and was supposed to return later that night. But a faulty warning light grounded the unidentified aircraft and distance (and likely the holidays) complicated what should have been a simple repair. The passengers were finally flown back to Perth by another airline on Jan. 3. More...

PILOTS DITCH IN HUDSON "NEAR" GW BRIDGE
A Piper Warrior pilot who spent about 20 minutes in the 37-degree waters of the Hudson River last Monday was released from hospital a little more than a day later, none the worse for wear. John Eberle, 42, the flight’s pilot and a flight instructor, met with reporters on Tuesday, 27 hours after the Warrior lost power after departure from South Jersey Regional airport and ditched in the Hudson. Mark Sorey, 44, identified by FAA spokesman Jim Peters to The Associated Press as a student pilot, also escaped the ditching but was kept in the hospital longer. Eberle said they were climbing out at about 1,000 feet when the engine just quit. "At this point, I'm contacting emergency -- 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Piper Warrior, one mile north GW Bridge, engine failure, going down.' " And in New York's busy airspace, there were plenty of people listening. AVweb reader David Faile wrote us to say he heard the Mayday, as did the crew of the Air Force AWACS plane that keeps watch on the Big Apple. More...

ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEM APPROVED FOR AIRLINERS
An Israeli company has received the first-ever certification of an anti-missile system for civilian aircraft. Israel's Civil Aviation Authority this week approved the system, developed by Israel Aircraft Industries’ (IAI’s) Elta Systems Group. The system is specifically designed to thwart terrorist attacks from man-portable air defense systems (MANPADs), which are in the hands of as many as 27 guerilla and terrorist groups around the world, according to Jane's Defense Weekly. The system uses invisible infrared decoy flares to trick the heat-seeking sensors in the missile (the FAA isn't keen on conventional magnesium flares dropping around civilian airports) and a laser version is in the works. More...

TANDEM SKYDIVERS DIE IN CRASH
Investigators are concerned that harnesses holding novice skydivers to their jumpmates may have played a role in the death toll resulting from a crash in Australia earlier this week. Five people died when the Cessna 206, with a pilot and three tandem pairs on board, clipped a tree and crashed into a dam on private property near Brisbane. It flipped on impact, trapping most of the occupants under water. According to the Scotsman newspaper, the harnesses would have made it virtually impossible for them to escape. One woman was thrown from the plane and, despite broken bones and lung injuries, walked about 200 yards back toward the airstrip before being picked up by paramedics. The other survivor, an instructor, was found sitting on the tail of the airplane with his dead partner hanging from the harness. More...

POMPANO APPEALS FAA ORDER ON AIRPORT OPERATIONS
The city of Pompano, Fla., is asking the FAA to reconsider a Dec. 15 ruling that would force it to abandon long-standing noise-abatement regulations that the FAA says are illegal. For almost 10 years it has been "illegal" to do touch and goes at Pompano Air Park except on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. In 2003, the city tightened the rules even further by outlawing stop-and-go exercises and also banning helicopter training outside of those hours. But, acting on a complaint by AOPA, the FAA said the city had no business restricting air operations and threatened to cancel a 1992 deal that allows the city to use land that was supposed to be used for the airport for a park, a fire house, a water-treatment plant and stables. More...

TWO CERTIFICATES FOR HIGH SCHOOLER
A South Carolina teen claims to be the youngest dual-rated pilot in the U.S. According to his local newspaper, The Southern Pines Pilot, Zealand Shouse got a private airplane certificate on Dec. 10 to go along with his lighter-than-air ticket. His father, a former airport manager, is also a CFI and provided most of Zealand's instruction. "It's probably harder when your instructor is your father," Shouse said. "He knew what I was capable of and if I ever seemed to back off from studying or flight lessons, he let me know." In 2004, Shouse was part of the U.S. Hot Air Balloon team that competed in the world championships in Japan. More...

ANOTHER WAY TO CHECK TFRS
Remember four years ago when temporary flight restrictions were the next big threat to GA? Granted, it was a little harder to avoid them when they kept popping up unexpectedly and descriptions were sometimes only available in text form. Well, TFRs are a fact of life, but fortunately the flying fraternity is nothing if not innovative and TFR Check, the latest tool to keep those Blackhawk helicopters off your wing, has been rolled out by Adventure Pilots, which is a nifty site dedicated to getting you out of the pattern and off to other destinations. With updates every five minutes from Jeppesen's database, the TFR Checker offers a great last-minute look at what might be on your flight path, and as long as you know where you're going you can use it. More...

ON THE FLY...
Delta's first DC-3 back home...
Independence Air didn't find backer...
RNAV fixes named for Boyer...
Chalk's hopes to resume flights Jan. 10. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
What have you heard? There might be something to it. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, don't be shy. 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? #58: ATC 207 -- The ILS
Want an easy and relatively safe way to get into an airport that's IMC? Let your friendly air traffic controller give you vectors to the localizer and take that ILS right down to your port. But could there be some subtle tricks waiting to catch you when talking to ATC? This wouldn't be a column by AVweb's Don Brown if there weren't.

AUDIO CLIP
Top flight instructors and former air traffic controllers offer tips for managing every phase of your flight. Click through for a sample from former controller, Paul Berge. 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 ...
Flying VFR vs. flying IFR — this week, AVweb wants to know (if you had to pick), which method you'd choose. PLUS: Results of last week's question on your biggest health concerns in regards to medical certification. More...

AVWEB'S PICTURE OF THE WEEK ...
2006 has arrived, and "POTW" submission numbers are beginning to rise back into the sky. Of course, we'll need you to submit your own photos if we hope to stretch that metaphor into the upper atmosphere. We can't offer you an X Prize — but we will award a spiffy, brand-new AVweb baseball cap to each week's top winner. Betcha even Burt Rutan would appreciate that! To kick off the New Year, let's welcome a past "POTW" winner — Robert "Bob" Burns, who took the top spot two years ago and returns this week to add a second cap to his collection. More...

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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