FAA REVOKES AMI JET CHARTER'S CERTIFICATE
The FAA said on Wednesday it has revoked the air carrier certificate held by AMI Jet Charter of Burlingame, Calif., which was suspended earlier this month. The company had tried to work with the FAA to resolve the issues, but apparently to no avail. The FAA says AMI allowed "entities that do not hold air carrier certificates" to exercise control over flights and failed to keep records needed to ensure safety. The agency's earlier actions against AMI provoked strong reactions from the industry -- James Coyne, president of the National Air Transportation Association, said he was "extremely angered" by the FAA's "shocking" action, and National Business Aviation Association President Ed Bolen said the FAA action should be viewed as a wake-up call to all charter providers. "This case sends a clear message that the FAA will act when it finds evidence that any air carrier is engaged in the franchising or rental of its air carrier certificate," Nicholas Sabatini, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety, said on Wednesday. "Federal Aviation Regulations clearly require that an air carrier maintain operational control of the aircraft and crews on its certificate." More...

NASA WILL RELEASE "SECRET" PILOT SAFETY SURVEY
After being inundated with criticism from all sides after a NASA official refused to release safety data to an Associated Press reporter who requested it, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told a congressional panel on Wednesday that the information will be made public after all (PDF). "I regret any impression that NASA was or would in any way try to put commercial interests ahead of public safety," NASA's administrator, Michael Griffin, told the House Science Committee. "That was not and never will be the case." The official who denied the reporter's request had said the information might scare people away from flying and hurt the industry. Griffin said that under federal law, "NASA is required to protect confidential commercial information that is voluntarily provided to the agency and would not customarily be released to the public." But, he said, all of the data from the safety survey that does not contain confidential commercial information, or information that could compromise the anonymity of individual pilots, will be released as soon as possible. More...

TODDLER LONE SURVIVOR OF MOUNTAIN CRASH
Three-year-old Kate Williams, described by rescuers as “an incredibly tough little girl,” was the lone survivor of the crash of a Cessna 172 that killed her grandfather and one of his business associates in the rugged mountains of British Columbia on Sunday. The girl was found hanging from the child car seat she’d been securely strapped into before the aircraft left Golden, B.C., on a trip to Edmonton, Alta. She was released from a Calgary hospital Tuesday after spending five hours in 30-degree weather in the wreckage. Her grandfather Allen Williams and his business associate Steve Sutton were killed in the crash, which occurred in bad weather shortly after takeoff from the Rocky Mountain town about 300 miles northeast of Vancouver. "When you think of what that poor little girl went through, watching the plane tumble through the woods and hanging upside down," rescue helicopter pilot Don McTighe, 51, told CanWest News Services Monday. "What an incredible, horrible scene." More...

JUDGE DECLINES TO CHARGE PILOT IN FATAL CRASH
Prosecutors don't have a case to charge pilot Brent Caldwell with first-degree manslaughter for the three deaths in a crash last December, a judge in Delaware ruled on Tuesday. Caldwell was flying a high-performance 300-hp Bellanca 17-30A, which he had bought about nine months earlier, according to the NTSB's final report, when the engine died "for undetermined reasons." The NTSB said Caldwell made an "improper decision" to extend the landing gear before ditching into a lake. The airplane came to rest inverted and Caldwell escaped, but his three passengers drowned. Police said they smelled alcohol on Caldwell's breath and found open containers of alcohol in the airplane, but a blood sample tested negative for alcohol. The NTSB also said the pilot did not hold any FAA pilot or medical certificates. District Court judge Robert Haney dismissed charges against Caldwell in May, saying prosecutors did not show he had done anything illegal to cause the plane to stall and crash. This week, after prosecutors again tried to press the case, Haney said he was not convinced there were any grounds to re-file. More...

U.S. REGIONALS STICK WITH Q400
Despite a decision by European air carrier SAS to stop flying its fleet of 27 Bombardier Q400 Dash 8 turboprops, airlines in the U.S. have said they intend to keep theirs in the air. Frontier Airlines, based in Denver, is working to launch a new turboprop service, Lynx, which will fly the Q400s. Five new aircraft have been delivered and orders for five more are in the works. "Safety, of course, is a top priority, and we're going to work closely with Bombardier to understand what the issues are and whether they are relevant to our fleet," Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas told the Rocky Mountain News. "At this point there's no change in our plans," he said, but added that since Lynx isn't expected to launch till the end of the year, there is time to make changes if needed. Bombardier said on Sunday it "stands behind the Q400 aircraft." Bombardier and the landing gear manufacturer, Goodrich, have completed a full review of the landing gear system and "results have confirmed its safe design and operational integrity," the company said in a news release. More...

RESIDENTS EVICTED BY PLANE CRASH SUE PIPER, PILOT'S ESTATE
Some of the 130 residents who have been forced to move out of their apartment building in British Columbia after a Piper Seneca crashed into the ninth floor earlier this month have launched a class-action lawsuit, CTV Canada reported on Tuesday. The 82-year-old pilot was killed in the crash, and no cause has yet been determined. There was no substantial post-crash fire but extensive damage to the building was caused by water as firefighters hosed down the smoking wreckage. The pilot, his estate and Piper Aircraft are all named in the lawsuit as defendants, CTV said. The residents expect it will take two to six months to repair the building before they can return home. "This has been a very stressful experience for them," the lawyer behind the lawsuit, David Varty, told The Canadian Press. "The cost to get new furniture or to make those improvements is up to the owner and some of them are complaining about lower property values," he said. More...

FAA'S FUZZY GA MATH
"The number of fatal general aviation accidents declined by 5 percent this year," the FAA announced in a news release on Monday. But a closer look at the FAA data showed that 5 percent was the difference between the number of accidents they had projected for the fiscal year -- 331 -- and the number that occurred, which was 314 -- that is not quite the same thing as an actual decline. AVweb asked the FAA if they could provide the number of fatal accidents for the previous fiscal year, to see if there really was a decline or not, but so far they haven't gotten back to us. However, the same news release also reported that the number of people killed in GA accidents did decline significantly, from 676 in fiscal 2006 (the 12 months ending Sept. 30) to 564 in fiscal 2007. That's about 20 percent fewer fatalities. For these calculations, "general aviation" includes not only privately flown planes but also non-scheduled air taxi flights, the FAA said. More...

THE SKY IS GROWING GREENER
Pressure for general aviation to clean up its emissions or face restrictions is growing, especially in Europe, and aircraft manufacturers are responding. On Wednesday, Embraer said it will create a new division, the Environmental Strategies and Technologies Office, with the goal "to achieve new levels of sustainable development." There is a growing concern within the company regarding environmental issues, said president and CEO Frederico Fleury Curado. "This is reflected in the products developed by the company, as well as in the environmental policies that are established," he said. Meanwhile, a company in Reno, Nev., called GreenFlight International, earlier this month flew a Czech-built L-39 jet on 100 percent biofuel. The group gradually increased the percentage of biofuel, made from renewable sources, mixed with diesel. Test pilot Carol Sugars said, "The aircraft continued to perform well, giving me the confidence to transition to 100 percent." Flight tests up to 17,000 feet showed no significant difference in performance compared to conventional jet fuel, the company said. More...

ECLIPSE WILL MONITOR PERFORMANCE DATABASE ON JETS
Eclipse has received FAA approval of its Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) program, the company said on Wednesday. The system is similar to those used by airlines, in which onboard software records the aircraft performance data, and it is then downloaded into a central database for analysis. "FOQA is a perfect addition to our progressive safety management system, which gives us the tools to proactively ensure the highest level of safety across all Eclipse 500 operations," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. The information gathered by the system is used to identify, assess and correct high-risk operating conditions before they cause an accident, according to Eclipse's news release. More...

AVWEBBIZ: AVWEB'S BUSINESS AVIATION NEWSLETTER
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb's NO-COST weekly business aviation newsletter, AVwebBiz? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry. Business AVflash is a must read. Sign up today at http://www.avweb.com/profile/. More...

ON THE FLY ...
Able Flight named two winners of flight training scholarships ...
FAA exceeded its goal for reducing runway incursions ...
EAA got FAA to clarify a glitch in ultralight-to-LSA conversions. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

BRAINTEASERS QUIZ #126: CONTROL INPUT
Ercoupe pilots, cover your ears. The rest of you, please get your feet off the floorboards and help us get a grip on a few questions about control surfaces. Proper input coordination is required.

Take the quiz.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
HOMELAND AIR CHARTERS, FOREIGN HANDS — SAFETY OR PARANOIA?
With the FAA's revocation of AMI's jet air charter certificate, we're hearing a lot of talk that reminds us of last year's Dubai port controversy. Safety and security definitely seem to be at play in the FAA's decision, but were they overreacting? We'd like to hear what AVweb readers think: Should foreign companies be allowed to manage the flight operations of U.S.-based charters? Plus: Who did AVweb readers say should have the final call when it comes to releasing safety information (like that found in NASA's notorious safety report) to the public? More...

FBO OF THE WEEK:
MINUTE MAN (MINUTE MAN AIRFIELD AT 6B6 IN STOW, MA)

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Minute Man Airfield at 6B6 in Stow, Massachusetts.

AVweb reader Dick Shafner recommended the FBO after spending some time there and discovering that (for piston pilot at least) "Minute Man Airfield has it all":

[Onwer Don and wife Nancy] still treat each incoming aircraft like it is their first customer. The motto on the Minute Man web site is "Where Piston Pilots Rule", and it certainly is. Fuel is cheap (pay cash and it is even cheaper) and there is always a friendly "hello" on the frequency when arriving or departing. ... And then there is Nancy's Airport Cafe. What a find. Locals consider it "the place to go" for breakfast and lunch during the week, and on Friday and Saturday nights Chef Nancy prepares gourmet meals in a very relaxed cafe setting.

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!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK: AVWEB'S FLYING PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE
Each week, we go through dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of reader-submitted photos and pick the very best to share with you on Thursday mornings. The top photos are featured on AVweb's home page, and one photo that stands above the others is awarded an AVweb baseball cap as our "Picture of the Week."

If your first thought on seeing the name of this week's winner is "Oh, that's not fair," then buddy, you ain't alone. We were just as shocked as you to learn that Patty Wagstaff (of St. Augustine, Florida) is as handy behind the lens as she is behind the stick — but hey, them's the breaks. The lady can fly, she can snap pics of warbirds like nobody's business (apparently!), and she'll soon have an AVweb cap to keep the sun off her brow this winter. (Wonder if she can write or code web pages? Hmmm ... .) 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

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

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If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.

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