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| AVflash! Riveting Landing in Poland | back to top |  |
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767 Belly-Lands In Warsaw
The crew of a 767 out of Newark made a successful gear-up emergency landing in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday, with sparks flying as the airplane skidded to a halt on the runway. The crew circled the airport for more than an hour, then landed with minimal fuel on a foamed runway, fire trucks standing by. Crews hosed down the fuselage with fire-retardant foam as a precaution, and the passengers were quickly evacuated via the emergency slides. The flight, with 220 passengers and 11 crew on board, was operated by LOT Polish Airlines. The airline said the jet's hydraulic system failed and the backup system worked only for the flaps, not the gear. Bronislaw Komorowski, the president of Poland, said he plans to award "state decorations" to the airplane crew. "To all those involved, I say thank you with all my heart," he told a news conference.
During the landing, the passengers stayed calm and there was no panic, according to the airline. "The cabin crew prepared them for the emergency landing well," Marcin Pirog, president of the airline, told reporters. The crew, Captain Tadeusz Wrona and First Officer Jerzy Szwartz, executed a "perfect emergency landing," Pirog said. It was the first time a LOT crew had to make such a landing, Pirog added. Wrona reportedly has over 20 years of experience and a glider rating. It's not clear if there was a mechanical backup or other method for lowering the gear that also failed.
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| Spectrum Saga Comes to Capitol Hill | back to top | |
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House Caucus Acts To Stall LightSquared
Congressman Sam Graves, R-Mo., chair of the House General Aviation Caucus, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to shelve LightSquared's request for a waiver until testing ensures that there will be no interference with all types of GPS devices, Helicopter Association International said on Monday. The conflict over the LightSquared deployment is intensifying, as the FCC is expected to rule by the end of this month whether to allow the company to launch, according to NBAA. LightSquared, in a statement on Friday, reiterated its position that it's up to the GPS industry to fix the interference problem by recalling and upgrading their devices.
That may not be so easy, however. In a recent congressional hearing, Tim Taylor, CEO of FreeFlight Systems, said even if the technology is available to filter the LightSquared signal, that doesn't mean it can be immediately deployed. "The idea that a new entrant into the marketplace can arbitrarily introduce a product that immediately compromises aviation safety and security, while expecting the aviation industry to design, manufacture, test, certify and install an aviation compliant filter, is simply not realistic," he said. An analysis (PDF) by the Coalition to Save Our GPS, released last week, claimed that if LightSquared proceeds as planned, the cost to the FAA and the civil aviation community would be about $72 billion. |
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or call (800) 337‑5263.
| Rethinking the Training Paradigm | back to top | |
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Flight Training Reform Is Happening
The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators has heard back from government and industry stakeholders on progress toward flight training reform and its encouraged by the early results. SAFE, which held a two-day forum in Atlanta last May to set goals for changing the way pilots learn to fly, sent delegates away with homework to do after establishing six basic benchmarks for improvement. In its Oct. 31 report (PDF), it heard from nine companies and organizations. "SAFE is encouraged by the comments received [and] the related training reforms that are currently underway," the interim report says.
There have been some concrete steps taken toward flight training reform, including the FAA's creation of the knowledge test aviation rulemaking committee, the formation of a CFI accreditation committee by university flight programs and AOPA's student retention program. But SAFE is urging anyone involved in flight training to keep the momentum going. "Engaged stakeholders are encouraged to press on with their initiatives," the report says. "Stakeholders who have thus far chosen not to participate in the reform process are urged to commit to this effort in a meaningful way. |
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| Production Winds Down for Popular Garmin | back to top | |
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Garmin Discontinues GNS530
Garmin announced Tuesday it will discontinue production of the popular GNS530W navigator beginning November 30, 2011. While the GNS430W series product is still available, Garmin anticipates this product will be discontinued in the first half of 2012. The news from Garmin comes as no suprise to the avionics world after the company recently introduced the next generation GTN600 and GTN700 series touch screen navigators. Those who are happy with their 530s and 430s can continue to use them for the foreseeable future.
Garmin has pledged continued support of the GNS line with factory repair service and software updates for years to come. The GNS series panel-mounted GPS systems helped usher in the glass cockpit era for general aviation aircraft. |
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| Aviation Safety | back to top | |
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Hendrick Jet Crashes In Key West
Just over seven years after 10 people died in the crash of a King Air carrying employees of the Hendrick NASCAR operation and several family members, another Hendrick aircraft has crashed, but this time everyone walked away. Rick Hendrick, owner of the Hendrick Motorsports team, suffered a broken rib and a broken clavicle on Monday evening when the team's Gulfstream G150 ran off a runway in Key West, Fla. Hendrick's wife, Linda, was treated for minor cuts and bruises, and the two pilots were checked out but they were unhurt, according to the Hendricks website. According to the Miami Herald, the jet was landing at about 7:45 p.m. when it ran off the end of a 4,800-foot runway. The jet came to a stop in a 600-foot unpaved safety overrun area, about three feet from the perimeter fence.
The jet experienced "braking issues" during the landing, according to the Hendricks website. According to the Monroe County Sherriff's Office, the captain, James Klepper, said he had no brakes, and the first officer, Jay Luckwaldt, also tried to brake but had "no pressure." Airport Director Peter Horton told the Miami Herald "the outcome would have been different and probably catastrophic" if not for the overrun area, which was only added to the runway in May. "Before, we had only 100 feet of overrun and then they would have gone into a salt pond and hit an embankment." In 2006, the NTSB determined that the King Air crash was caused by the crew's failure to properly execute a missed approach procedure. The King Air ran into a mountain near Blue Ridge Airport in Virginia. |
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| Who's Where | back to top | |
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Dancy to HAI
Chris Dancy, the long-time media relations director for AOPA, is the Helicopter Association International's (HAI) director of communications and public relations.
Kvitkovich Joins HAI
Gina Kvitkovich is Helicopter Association International's new director of publications and media. She has 25 years of experience in a variety of publications.
Ufen at JA
David Ufen has been appointed JA Air Center's Director of Avionics. He was formerly at Elliott Aviation.
Who's Where? You Tell UsGet 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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| Opinion & Commentary | back to top | |
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AVweb Insider Blog: Fun with Parachute Mode
The Diamond DA40 has about the lowest accident rate in general aviation. One reason for this is its benign handling, as demonstrated by what Diamond calls "parachute mode." Paul Bertorelli's experienced it for himself and describes parachute mode in his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog.
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| AVweb Media: Look, Listen, Laugh and Learn | back to top | |
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Video: American Champion Factory TourOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Even in an age when composite airplanes rule, the rag-and-tube taildragger still has a place in the market. In Rochester, Wisconsin, American Champion Aircraft still builds the airplanes the way they always have, but with a number of modern improvements. In this video, ACA owner Jerry Mehlhaff gives us a factory tour and tells us about some of ACA's models.
Video: Denali HotrodOriginal, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos When the Aeronca Champion first appeared, it had 65 horsepower and was just fast enough to get out of its own way. Into what is a very similar airframe, American Champion has stuffed a 210hp Lycoming IO-390 to produce ACA's latest model, the Denali Scout. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli recently took a test flight in it, and here's his video report.
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| The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! | back to top | |
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AVweb's Newstips Address ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 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. |
| Names Behind the News | back to top | |
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Meet the AVwebBiz TeamAVwebBiz 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:
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