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September 15, 2010
By The AVweb Editorial Staff
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An air traffic controller distracted by a "nonpertinent" phone call while on duty was the main factor causing an August 2009 midair above the Hudson River in New York, the NTSB said on Tuesday. All
nine people on board a Piper Lance and a tour helicopter were killed. The board also faulted the FAA's see-and-avoid rules in the Hudson corridor. It was not possible for the helicopter pilot to see
the Lance approaching from behind, the board said, and investigators showed that it would have been difficult for the Lance pilot to see the helicopter against the city skyline until it was too late
to react. The controller failed to notice when the Lance pilot read back the wrong frequency, and as a result, controllers were unable to reach the pilot in time to warn about the conflict.
The Teterboro ATC facility was adequately staffed, the NTSB said, and controllers were working one hour on and one hour off. The local controller initiated two personal phone calls while handling
traffic. A manager on duty was aware of the first call but "did not address the issue as required," the board said. Also, both pilots had traffic advisory systems in their cockpits, but apparently
overlooked or ignored conflict alerts. The FAA said on Tuesday it took "swift action" after the accident to enhance the safety of the air corridor. New FAA rules now in force for the Hudson River define separate corridors for aircraft flying locally and
those in transit.
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Bombardier and Gulfstream are both seeing positive signs that the big business jet market is improving, although they measure it a little differently. In interviews with Business Jet Traveler, officials with
both companies offered cautious optimism that the pain is easing in their business. Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin said the market "is starting to see signs of recovery as shown by the significant
reduction in business aircraft order cancellations." New orders are outpacing cancellations, he said. General Dynamics CEO Jay Johnson is also seeing stability.
He said the order backlog for large-cabin aircraft is about 18 months, which is about where the company likes it. The mid-size market is lagging but getting better. "It's not where it needs to be
or where it will be," he said. "But we're seeing order book activity for mid-cabin Gulfstreams at modest but encouraging levels."
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2nd Annual Aviation Asset Management in the Middle East to Be Chaired by Dr. Donald H. Bunker of Donald H. Bunker & Associates
The Second Annual Aviation Asset Management in the Middle East Summit in Dubai will explore the latest developments in aviation asset management in the region, as well as the future of asset
management services in this marketplace. It will provide the platform for high-level debate and exchange of ideas and information, as well as extensive networking opportunities for aviation
executives from the Middle East and the rest of the world.
Click here to learn
for more information.
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Use of mid-sized business jets has jumped substantially in the last year, perhaps signifying that corporate air travel is rebounding. Use of Part 91 mid-sized jets was up 8.1 percent in August 2010
compared to August 2009 and Part 135 operations jumped 12.9 percent, according to figures tallied by Aviation Research Group US (ARGUS).
ARGUS counts serial-number-specific arrivals and departures of all IFR flight plans filed in each time period to arrive at the results. It considers mid-sized jets as those weighing from 20,000 to
41,000 pounds. Other classes of business jets didn't have as strong a showing and Part 135 and fractional operations remain challenged, according to the figures.
Turboprop activity remained virtually unchanged across the board while small jets (under 20,000 pounds) were up 3.6 percent in Part 91, down 6.1 percent in Part 135 and up 4.1 percent in fractional
operations. Large-cabin aircraft (bigger than 41,000 pounds) operations were down 2.8 percent in Part 91, up 2.7 percent in Part 135 and down 9.7 percent in fractionals. It all adds up to a modest 1.7
percent increase in overall business aircraft activity.
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The agenda has been set for the fourth annual Future of Business Jets conference in London and this year's
meeting adds topics and generally builds on the themes that have been discussed in previous years. The conference will be held Nov. 10-11 at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel and Conference Centre in
London's Kensington district. Representatives from companies and organizations from all sectors of the business aircraft industry will speak on a breadth of topics of interest to those who own and
operate business aircraft.
There will, of course, be plenty of discussion on the economy as it relates to bizav, with speakers covering the new and used market, industry trends and new market opportunities in the so-called
BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Other topics include security, airport improvement and access, and bizav's role in climate change and other environmental issues.
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The U.S. Air Force said this week it has unmanned aerial vehicles ready to deploy in North Dakota, but is being held back by the FAA's reluctance to open airspace access for the aircraft. The
military has asked for an area 35 miles wide by 45 miles long to be designated for UAV training. "We have six ... Predators in the state right now in boxes, waiting to be opened up and put into the
sky," Brigadier General Leon Rice said at a hearing on Monday, according to Minnesota Public Radio.
"Our limiting factor now is the training airspace for the crews." Hank Krakowski, chief operating officer for the FAA's Air Traffic Organization, said the airspace accommodation must be done
"deliberatively." The agency is concerned about allowing the unmanned aircraft to use the same airspace as civilian aircraft, he said. "These are unusual vehicles to enter in to the national airspace
system; they were designed for typically the war theater," Krakowski said.
The Air Force has proposed a three-layer restricted area for UAV operations in North Dakota. The bottom layer would be from 6,000 to 10,000 feet MSL, a second layer to 14,000 feet, and a third
layer to 18,000. When one section was being used by a UAV, civilian aircraft could still freely use the other two levels. Several transit areas are also included in the proposal.
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| Brig. Gen. Carr |
Brig. Gen. Charles (Chuck) Carr is the new National Vice Commander of the Civil Air Patrol. An incorrect photo accompanied last week's announcement of the appointment.
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.
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This security program is supposed to apply to large aircraft, but its impact could be widespread enough to affect even the smallest airports. Guest blogger John Hyle joins the AVweb Insider
to argue that we need to be paying closer attention to encroaching (and entirely unnecessary) government security procedures.
Read more and join the conversation.
Over on the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli confesses he doesn't need a motivational speech to take the Cub out for a hop — but it's sure nice to have an enthusiastic mechanic,
nonetheless. While he's at it, he has some less-than-maudlin comments on the 9/11 anniversary.
Read more and join the conversation.
 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. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part.
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name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you'll be entered in our prize drawings for the entire year — so if you've already entered, you're all set.)
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Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time Friday, September 24, 2010.
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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.
The AVwebBiz 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
Webmaster
Scott Simmons
Contributors
Jeff van West
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