RJ DOWN IN LEXINGTON, KY
Crash investigators in Lexington, Kentucky Sunday gathered information from the wreckage and data recorders of a Comair CRJ that crashed and burned during a pre-sunup takeoff shortly after 6 a.m. at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport. Forty-nine of the 50 people onboard died in the wreckage, one -- the co-pilot -- was pulled free. The airport offers crossing runways: 3,500 by 75-foot Runway 26, and 7,001 by 150-foot Runway 22. The aircraft damaged an eight-foot fence and scarred earth off the end of Runway 26. It came to rest less than a mile from the end of that runway. Bombardier's CRJ-200 (and -100 series -- Delta and Bombardier information on the crash aircraft Sunday were in conflict) does not have leading edge slats and takeoff distance under standard conditions at maximum weight is listed at 5800-feet. When questioned about the clearance given to the flight, an NTSB spokeswoman said yesterday, "there were references to Runway 22," and stated that data indicates the aircraft aligned to 260 (matching the shorter runway) for the takeoff roll. She declined adding more details (analysis of voice and data recorders will begin in earnest, today). The one controller scheduled for duty at Lexington early on Sunday mornings would end his shift at 6:30 a.m, according to the St. Petersburg Times. More...

PREVIOUS MISHAP AVERTED
According to the Aviation Safety Network, it was at least the second time an airliner crew had initiated a takeoff roll on the shorter runway. According to ASN's report of Sunday's accident, an airliner lined up for takeoff on the shorter Runway 26 13 years ago but a controller caught the error and cancelled the clearance. A report of the 1993 incident, reported on the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System and quoted by ASN says, "Possible contributing factors were poor visibility and wx (rain), confusing rwy intxn and twr's request for an immediate takeoff." More...

11,800 NEW CONTROLLERS OVER NEXT 10 YEARS
The FAA says it will actually have 200 more air traffic controllers on duty two years from now compared to today's figures as it tackles the "retirement bubble" created 25 years ago when President Ronald Reagan fired two-thirds of the agency's controllers. However, a report (3.5 Mb file) on the necessity of hiring 11,800 controllers over the next 10 years also notes that given the agency's penny-pinching of late "it will be extremely challenging to sustain the long-term hiring and training to meet the projected controller staffing requirement." Despite the challenges, the FAA says it's on track to keep the consoles manned and it's doing so with a combination of efficiency and ramped-up hiring. "The controller workforce plan ensures that the FAA will have the right number of controllers in place at the right time to address the controller retirement bubble," FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said in a news release. "We are focusing on all aspects of the process, including recruitment, hiring, training and staffing requirements." More...

UNION SAYS TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association says the FAA's math is a little fuzzy (or selective) and the reality is there are now almost 1,100 fewer controllers (or 7 percent) on duty today than there were three years ago. "And that's a problem, because we certainly have not seen a 7-percent decrease in traffic volume," NATCA spokesman Doug Church told AVweb. "Quite the contrary, in many locations. So you have fewer controllers working more traffic than ever before. Church said the FAA also seems to underestimate just how upset the membership was when working conditions (the FAA's contract) were imposed on them in June. Church predicts many members will head for the door as soon as their retirement numbers add up. More...

BEECHJET FLAMEOUTS PROMPT WARNING
Three dual engine flameouts on Beechjet 400 bizjets, including one that resulted in a dead-stick landing, have prompted the NTSB to urge immediate action to resolve the problems that are causing the failures. "Dual-engine flameout is an unacceptable risk that needs to be addressed as quickly as possible," NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said in a news release. The flameouts occurred on July 12, 2004, near Sarasota, Fla.; Nov. 28, 2005, near Jacksonville, Fla.; and on June 14, 2006 near Norfolk, Va. (There was also one in Brazil in 2000.) In two of the U.S. incidents, the pilots were able to restart at least one engine but the crew of the third Beechjet had to glide to a landing. All the landings were without injury. More...

ENGINE ICING TO BLAME?
In its news release, the NTSB says an FAA engine icing specialist notes that thunderstorms blow a lot of ice crystals into the upper-airway altitudes. Pratt and Whitney did a study on the phenomenon and discovered that if pilots don't turn on the engine anti-icing gear when this is going on, ice can build up on the front inner compressor stator and cause a surge and/or a flameout. The NTSB wants the FAA to make sure pilots are aware of the potential problem and what to do to avoid it. More...

ORENDA V-8 MAKING COMEBACK?
A Texas group in the Midland/Odessa area is revving up plans to build the Orenda 600, a geared aircraft engine based on an 8-cylinder big-block Chevy racing engine. Trace Engines holds all the rights to the engine, which went into production in the late 1990s in Nova Scotia but was dropped by Orenda Aerospace's parent company Magellan Aerospace about five years ago. According to the Odessa American, Trace Engines now expects to spend about $20 million to set up a manufacturing plant for the engine, which previously achieved certification but has yet to make much impact on the commercial market. When originally developed, the engine was touted as a low-cost replacement for turbine and radial engines in the 600-hp range -- Trace says that market still exists. More...

FAA STARTS PAPERLESS TRANSITION
The FAA has announced it will no longer mail certain airworthiness-related documents to affected owners and operators as the first stage of its program to eventually distribute all of this kind of material electronically. According to Helicopter Association International, starting last Friday, the agency stopped mailing corrections to Airworthiness Directives that don't trigger a new amendment number or AD number. The corrections will continue to be published in the Federal Register and on the FAA Web site. More...

RE-ENGINED CITATION CERTIFIED
Sierra Industries has obtained a supplementary type certificate (STC) to install modern engines on a classic bizjet. The company says that by putting Williams FJ44-2A engines on the Cessna Citation 500 and 501 series, the 30-year-old jets can compete with modern designs in terms of performance and endurance. It calls the faster-climbing, faster-cruising, longer-legged creation the Stallion. "The Stallion offers the exhilarating performance that comes with a substantial power increase and provides owners with choice when it is time to overhaul engines," Sierra CEO Mark Huffstutler said in a news release. More...

FIRST "AIR-PORT" TO CLOSE
The iconic airport labelled as the first to use that particular term will close next month. Development pressure and what appears to be an almost complete lack of community support has sealed the fate of Bader Airport in Atlantic City. A local newspaper reporter was credited as the first to use the term "air-port" in describing the facility in 1919. The name stuck. Bader has been in continuous operation since 1910, making it one of the oldest in the U.S. (College Park in Maryland opened in 1909) and saw its share of firsts, including being the launch point for the first attempt to cross the Atlantic by air. Development of Atlantic City International Airport 15 years ago shifted interest and business from Bader (though Bader is closer to and a few minutes from casinos and beaches) and there are now only about a dozen aircraft based there. More...

SCOTTSDALE BANS AERIAL COMMUTING
Scottsdale, Ariz.'s planning commission has passed a motion that would ban landing aircraft in residential areas. Commission spokesman James Heitel said legislation with that intent has been on the books for 20 years but the motion passed last week clarifies the old law and makes it "black and white" according to a report in The Arizona Republic. The new rule fixes a problem that might hardly exist. The Republic states, "Scottsdale planners say that to date, only a handful of residents have landed aircraft on their properties," but the community's apparent failure to deal with another planning issue has prompted the pre-emptive strike against those who might want to change that condition. More...

ENFLIGHT FOUNDER DIED IN CRASH
Geoff Peck, whose software creation evolved into one of the most popular flight planning services on the Internet, died earlier this month when the Piper Arrow he was flying crashed in the mountains of Colorado while he was returning to his California home from EAA AirVenture. Peck, a computer scientist, devised a program to translate weather information into plain language. That breakthrough evolved into Enflight. According to the preliminary NTSB report, Peck was making a forced landing at the 12,000-foot level of the Rocky Mountains near Salida, Calif., on Aug. 7 when one of the Arrow's wings hit a tree and the plane skidded to halt in rocky terrain. An unidentified passenger in the plane was injured. More...

ON THE FLY...
First female space tourist to launch Sept. 14…
New rules governing rocket launches unveiled…
A380 flies with new engines. More...

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What have you heard? There might be something to it. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email tonewstips@avweb.com. Our best stories start with your tips. More...

AUDIO NEWS
For AVweb subscribers who prefer their news straight from the horse's mouth, AVweb posts fresh audio news issues each Monday, plus interviews, Friday. We call them podcasts, but no iPod is required. Check our audio news index and hear what you've been missing.

Find exclusive interviews featuring Cessna's Jack Pelton on his company's LSA, TCM president Bryan Lewis, NATCA president John Carr, New Piper CEO Jim Bass, Hal Shevers for Sporty's Pilot Shop, Light Sport guru Dan Johnson, Excel Jet's Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft's Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design's Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb's Podcast index, is online, now. You'll hear things you won't find anywhere else.

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AVMAIL

FBO OF THE WEEK: DAVIS FIELD AVIATION (KMKO, MUSKOGEE, OK)

For local prices, enter your U.S. ZIP Code or Airport Identifier: Fuel prices provided weekly by AirNav, based on prices from the past 2 weeks. Changes are relative to last week.

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Davis Field Aviation at KMKO in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Gordon Richardson II writes, "We stopped at MKO with a flight of Texas bound AT-6s on the way home from Oshkosh, and what a treat! The operators gave us some courtesy cars to go get some lunch. They were friendly, helpful, and had great fuel prices. Not to mention a nice airport."  Now that sounds like a top-notch stopover!

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!

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

I was in the pattern at KSRQ shooting a bunch of touch and goes in a Piper Cherokee. The tower called with my next landing clearance. The conversation went something like this...

Tower: Warrior 12345, cleared touch and go, runway 22.

Me: Cherokee 12345, cleared touch and go, runway 22.

Tower: Cessna 12345, roger. Winds 240 at 5.

Me: 12345 is a Piper Cherokee, sir. Roger Wind.

Tower: Warrior 12345, copy.

[pause]

Tower: (Laughter)

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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