CONTROLLERS AS AIRSPACE POLICE?
If you've ever missed a turn, set the altitude bug incorrectly or committed any of thousands of sins that air traffic controllers routinely catch and help correct every day without much fuss, those days are apparently over. The FAA has apparently ordered controllers to violate pilots for any and all errors and has threatened to discipline them if they don't file the reports. While the FAA says it's just enforcing rules already in place, the head of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association say it's yet another burden an an already-overworked workforce that will pit controllers against pilots. "We are not the FAA police! The FAA's and controller's mission is to provide the safe and efficient movement of live air traffic," said NATCA President Patrick Forrey. "The fact that the FAA is now disciplining controllers for not 'policing' pilot actions as they relate to flight regulations is indicative of the tyrannical and oppressive culture the FAA has created." The FAA, as might be suspected, has a different view. More...

ECLIPSE DROPS BLOGGER HUNT
Within a week of the departure of former CEO Vern Raburn, the new management of Eclipse Aviation has reportedly dropped all court actions aimed at uncovering the identities of bloggers who had uncomplimentary things to say about Eclipse. The company had asked the courts to order Google to release the identities and IP addresses of about 30 contributors to EclipseCriticNG in an attempt to ferret out employees (who are covered by strict non-disclosure agreements) it believed were supplying insider information to the blog site. "Basically, [Eclipse] caved," EclipseCriticNG overseer Shane Price told AVweb. More...

CHINA, MEET GA; GA, MEET CHINA
Corporate aircraft have been flying into China for years, of course, but the launch of the Olympics in Beijing this week will bring general-aviation aircraft into the country in unprecedented numbers, and the country's aviation infrastructure will never be the same. U.S. officials are pressuring China to open up its skies, which are 80 percent under military control. "We certainly remain hopeful that ... there will be shifts to accommodate the civil aviation growth that has been forecast," Dorothy Reimold, the FAA's acting assistant administrator for international aviation, said on Monday. The GA fleet in China could expand from just over 700 aircraft today to as many as 10,000 by the year 2020, she said. FBO operator Jet Aviation is readying to serve that market, with a brand-new facility opening at Beijing's Capital International Airport (PEK) this week just in time to help handle the Olympics influx. The FBO will provide "around the clock in-house border police and customs clearance, security checks, baggage screening and metal detection capabilities ... for fast, secure passenger and baggage handling," the company said in news release. Also, earlier this month, aviation regulators in China sought to "rein in" pilots and restrict them from shopping around for jobs during the rise in traffic, Reuters reported. Such job-hopping was characterized as a threat to air safety. More...

ANTONOV THE OFFROADER OF BIZJETS
Although reliability and performance are always mentioned in promotional material for business jets, Russian planemaker Antonov has carved out what it says is a pretty difficult niche for competitors of its Antonov Business Jet to match. "The head of Russia's Business Aviation lobby Maksim Fedotov admits he'd rather have [a well-known business jet] than a domestic jet," Russia Today is reporting. "But on a Siberian gas field at minus 50 degrees Celsius, he says, only a Russian plane can be trusted to start and take off. More...

NTSB: MINNESOTA JET HIT ILS STRUCTURE ON GO-AROUND ATTEMPT
A Hawker 800 jet that crashed in Minnesota last Thursday, killing all eight on board, had already touched down but then ran about 1,000 feet beyond the end of the runway into a grass field where a wing hit an ILS antenna, the NTSB said late last week. "The antenna stands about 8 feet high and straddles the width of the runway," said Steven Chealander, of the NTSB. He added that according to witnesses at the scene, after touching down, the engines powered up and it appeared that the crew was trying to take off again, but the jet never became airborne. When the wing hit, the airplane rolled over and broke apart, coming to rest in a cornfield. The airplane, operated by East Coast Jets, crashed about 10 a.m. last Thursday at Owatonna Degneer Regional Airport in Minnesota during a light rain. "We are looking at everything," Chealander said. "There is no single focus at this point. It is a multiple-focus accident investigation." Former NTSB chairman Jim Hall said the FAA should require flight data recorders or cockpit video recorders in corporate and charter aircraft to aid in accident investigations. More...

AVWEB'S AIRVENTURE 2008 VIDEO ROUND-UP
This year at EAA AirVenture we brought you fourteen video reports over the course of seven days. We realize the news was flying fast and furious during the show, so just in case you missed any of our reports, you can catch them all here. (Click through to watch.) More...

STEVE TAYLOR NEW VP AT EXECUTIVE JET MANAGMENT

Steve Taylor

Steve Taylor is the new Vice President of Aircraft Management Sales for Executive Jet Management, covering the western U.S., including Hawaii and Alaska. He comes from NetJets where he was most recently International Operations and Special Programs Manager.
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ANDREW GEIST PROMOTED AT AIRCELL

Andrew Geist

Aircell has promoted Andrew Geist to Senior Vice President of Business Aviation Solutions. Geist has been with the company since 1997 and has held several leadership positions.
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BERNIE MCSHEA JOINS SPACE FLORIDA

Bernie McShea

Space Florida has hired Bernie McShea as Vice President of Business Development. He was most recently senior vice president of business investment for the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.
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WHO'S WHERE? YOU TELL US
Get a promotion or a new job? Your colleagues want to know about it, and AVwebBiz can get the word out. Drop us a line about the staff appointment, with a nice recent photo, and we'll do our best to include it in our new section, "Who's Where." The items will be permanently archived on AVweb for future reference, too. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

MEET THE AVWEBBIZ TEAM

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

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Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

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Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
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Glenn Pew

Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings

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Scott Simmons

Contributors
Mariano Rosales
Jeff van West

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