WITNESS: CROSSFIELD'S PLANE "HIT BY LIGHTNING"
It should not be taken as fact -- eyewitness reports are rarely as accurate as the term suggests -- but one man who lives a few hundred yards from where the main wreckage of test pilot Scott Crossfield's 1960 Cessna 210 crashed last Wednesday said he saw the plane get hit by lightning just before it went down in mountains. "The plane just lit up, and then it went up a couple thousand feet and wheeled around," Gene Stone, 66, who lives near the border of Gordon and Pickens counties, about 70 miles north of Atlanta, told Cox News Services. "I thought it was heading back to the Gordon County airport, but then it sounded like the engine just cut off, and it went over the top of the pines as fast as it could." A vicious thunderstorm, with reports of hail as large as golf balls, was reported in the area. Click through to AVweb's NewsWire for much More...

THREE DEBRIS FIELDS FOR FAMED TEST PILOT'S CESSNA 210A
Gordon County Sheriff's Major Clent Harris told WISTV News that wreckage was scattered over a quarter mile in three debris fields. There were no details on what parts of the airplane were in each debris field. He said the body was with wreckage and was removed after NTSB officials gave the go-ahead. He said he assumed there would be an autopsy, which may be why funeral arrangements had not been announced by our deadline. The NTSB has not commented publicly on the cause of the accident. There's no indication of any fault with the airplane, a first-generation 210A (with wing struts) built in 1960. More...

YEAGER ON CROSSFIELD, A DISCORDANT NOTE
While tributes to Crossfield and biographies poured in from every corner of aviation (see AVweb's Joe Godfrey's 2001 interview with Scott Crossfield here), one of his peers was suggesting Crossfield was an overconfident pilot whose "complacency" finally did him in. Chuck Yeager told WISTV News that Crossfield would push weather and sometimes "exceeded his capability and got in trouble." And while Yeager, in his autobiography, referred to Crossfield as being among the most arrogant pilots he'd ever met, we can't remember Crossfield offering comment when Yeager's T-6 went off the runway in a routine landing in Georgia in 2003. Yeager, whose 50-year-old speed-record rivalry with Crossfield led to some remarkable achievements for both men, may appear to many as a minority of one in his disparaging comments. You can hear what EAA President Tom Poberezny had to say about Crossfield in AVweb's podcast released last Friday. More...

FAA PLANS RESPONSE TO NATCA TALKS REQUEST
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey will respond to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) president's formal request that labor negotiations between the two resume. Just what she will say won't be known until sometime today when the FAA releases her letter but the resumption of some kind of dialogue between the two might be taken as a hopeful sign ... others might call it an attempt by the controllers union to stall for time as bills that would affect the outcome of an impasse work their way through legislative halls. On Friday, NATCA President John Carr wrote a conciliatory-sounding letter to Blakey saying he believed that voluntary agreement "remains within the grasp of the parties." At the very least, he said, the two sides should give negotiations one more try "to be able to say with all conviction and honesty that every possible effort was expended by all parties." However, FAA spokesman Geoff Basye told AVweb that he's not sure reopening the talks makes sense. "Nine months of negotiating was more than sufficient time to reach an agreement," he said. "NATCA's dilatory tactics are obvious and the FAA will continue to support the legal framework that has been in place since 1996." More...

BEHIND THE SCENES -- MONEY, AND A POWER STRUGGLE
The FAA seemed struck by the almost cordial nature of the union letter and top officials met on Friday to discuss it. Basye told AVweb that while the agency "appreciated" the letter, it didn't agree with Carr's characterization of the final days of mediated bargaining. While Carr seems to think that progress was being made toward a settlement, Basye said NATCA's final offer was actually a step back from earlier positions and that both sides had agreed there was no point in going on. The fundamental issue is pay scale for newly hired controllers and the FAA says it's $600 million apart from NATCA on economic issues. In his Friday letter, Carr says the union will present a new financial package if talks resume. As is frequently the case in Washington, this issue is like a duck on a pond -- most of the real action is below the surface. More...

TSA ISSUES SECURITY ALERT
If you're the owner of a U.S.-registered bizjet, the Transportation Security Administration announced Thursday you should be especially security-conscious, particularly if you're headed overseas in it. The TSA's memo says that on April 13, an Arab Web forum urged all Muslims to destroy American business aircraft: "Destroy private American aircraft ... We call upon all Muslims to follow and identify private civilian American aircrafts in all airports of the world ... It is the duty of Muslims to destroy all types of private American aircrafts that are of the types Gulf Stream and Lear Jet and all small jet aircraft usually used by distinguished (people) and businessmen." More...

AVIATION SECURITY: WHAT YOU CAN DO
Although the average American bizjet owner and crew might not be a match for extremists bent on destroying their airplane, there are some common-sense suggestions that could at least make it more difficult for the bad guys. The TSA publishes a list of security precautions that include watching out for strange people, strange aircraft and strange behavior. AOPA publishes a similar list through its Airport Watch program. More...

D-JET RACKING UP HOURS
It's been widely speculated that the D-Jet was more than a logical business move for Diamond. Company President Christian Dries has apparently driven the project personally because he wanted a jet. Dries did little to dampen that speculation when he took the controls of the prototype on its second flight. "I was particularly impressed by the feeling of space, security and solidity," Dries is quoted in a Diamond news release as saying after his 53-minute hop. "The simplicity of operation, from engine start through take-off, flight and landing was very obvious and reflects my vision of what a personal jet should be." After Dries' April 19 flight, the D-Jet was also in the air on the 20th and 21st. More...

REBOOTING YOUR AIRBUS (AFTER ALL THE SCREENS GO DARK)
Cures aside, pilots of Airbus A320-series airliners are getting new guidance on what to do if the screens on their electronically biased aircraft go blank. "Checklists will be streamlined so re-booting of power is quicker," an Airbus spokesman told the London Daily Mirror after Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch released a report on an incident aboard a British Airways A319 last October. The plane was carrying 76 passengers to Budapest from London when most of the electronic displays went blank. The crew was able to bring everything back online in 90 seconds and the passengers were blissfully unaware of the glitch. The incident brought to light five similar instances on Airbuses. More...

SMOKE HOODS RECALLED
Owners of EvacU8 and Evac+ emergency smoke hoods have until June 16 to return them (with proper documentation) to Brookdale International Systems for a partial refund after the company recalled the hoods last week. In a letter to customers, the company said that tests confirmed the hoods, which pilots would theoretically don in the event of an in-flight fire, could fail to work properly and expose the wearer to harmful levels of carbon monoxide. The company had earlier recommended that pilots not use the hoods pending the outcome of tests and the recall was announced when the results came in. The hoods have a shelf life and there will be no refunds for those with an expiration date prior to March of 2006. More...

LIGHT SPORT PILOT AMPHIBIOUS EXEMPTION SOUGHT
Last week, the FAA granted an exception for one aircraft (Czech Aircraft Works "Mermaid"), but an ultralight pilots' group is asking the FAA to allow those with Sport Pilot certificates to operate the retractable gear on all amphibious aircraft that meet the Light Sport Aircraft criteria. The stopgap measure would exist while paperwork to fix the "error" made in the original Sport Pilot rule is corrected. According to Aero Sports Connection (ASC), the FAA has, after almost two years of lobbying by amphibian pilots, agreed to change the rule regarding retractable gear. The way it's written now, those with a Sport Pilot ticket can only use an amphibian as a land or water plane. They're not legally allowed to reposition the gear in flight. More...

747-INSPIRED HOUSE IRKS FAA
Francie Rehwald's new Malibu digs may be the only house in the neighborhood that comes with a disclaimer that can be read from a passing plane. The Mercedes-Benz dealership heiress is having her $2 million spread built from parts of a scrapped Boeing 747-200. The FAA says the "strewn" design chosen by architect David Hertz will look like a plane crash from overhead and it doesn't want pilots (or passengers) of aircraft headed to LAX to be alarmed. The FAA has asked that "special numbers" be painted on the wings to assure pilots that it's not a crash site (no, we don't know what they're talking about, either). The wings will form the roof of the house and ailerons will control shade on the deck The wings will form the roof of the house and ailerons will control shade on the deck. Other parts, including the meditation temple made from the nose, will be scattered around the property, hence the crash site concerns. More...

EXPERIENCED CFIS WANTED: PILOT'S AUDIO UPDATE
Our sister audio publication, Pilot's Audio Update, is accepting applications for contributors. If you're an experienced CFI and you'd like to provide practical, incisive aviation information in an audio format, contact Richard Taylor at rltaylor5498@earthlink.net for more details. More...

ON THE FLY...
Charlie Victor Romeo, the crash-tapes play, goes to Boston and Washington...
SoCal TRACON unaffected by power failure...
Airbag seatbelts for all proposed by AmSafe. 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. Our best stories start with you. More...

PODCASTS
Online Now: Interviews not included in AVweb's Flash or NewsWire, plus today's news. Click here to listen. Subscribe free to AVweb's podcasts and receive them automatically, or check this spot each Monday and Friday to download them individually for listening on your computer, iPod, or while traveling with any MP3 player. Find AVweb's Podcast index, here. The content includes exclusive interviews with Scott Crossfield, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, and more... More...

NEW ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON AVWEB
COLUMNS
The Pilot's Lounge #99: Turn Back? You Bet!
Press on. Finish what you started. You're better than the rest. What do the voices in your head tell you when you're considering turning around in the middle of the flight? AVweb's Rick Durden had to fight those voices during a winter VFR flight, as he tells in this month's The Pilot's Lounge column.

More...

READER FEEDBACK ON AVWEB'S NEWS COVERAGE AND FEATURE ARTICLES ...
http://www.avweb.com/avmail/

Reader mail this week about FAA/NATCA negotiations, Delta pilot negotiations, scud running and more. More...

FBO OF THE WEEK: FALCON TRUST AIR
AVweb's "FBO of the Week" contest is sponsored by Aviation Safety magazine, the monthly journal of risk management and accident prevention.

Thanks to all the pilots and AVweb readers who took time to nominate their favorite FBOs in our "FBO of the Week" contest. Today's ribbon finds its target in Florida.

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to FALCON TRUST AIR at KTMB, Kendall-Tamiami executive airport, Miami, Florida.

LILLIAN LEBLANC filed direct, "THIS FBO IS TRULY THE TAJ MAHAL OF GENERAL AVIATION. THE BRAND NEW, MULTIMILLION DOLLAR FACILITY, OPENED IN JUNE 2005, RAISES THE BAR FOR THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY. THIS FBO IS WORTH A TRIP JUST TO TOUR THE FACILITY - BELIEVE ME, THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT ANYWHERE."

Keep those nominations coming.

Click here to nominate your favorite FBO and here for complete contest rules

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...

SHORT FINAL...
We were out taking pictures for a safety seminar, and admittedly a bit distracted (no, the irony is not lost on us) when we reported a left base to the tower. That's when things got silly...

Us: Tower, we're high, uh, Cessna 1234, on the left base.

Tower: Sir, you're speaking with ATC, and I'm only qualified to respond to the second part of your transmission. Cleared to land 14.

(short pause)

...that first part sounds more appropriate for someone with the ATF. More...

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.

Today's issue was written by news writer Russ Niles (bio).

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