New FAA Safety Initiatives Unveiled
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Randy Babbitt is putting a new spin on air safety, moving to improving the agency's response to public safety complaints and whistleblower charges while ensuring that air carriers comply with safety directives. And as part of a strategy to reduce risks by... [read more]
Roadmap for NextGen Implementation
The public unveiling of the recommendations of RTCA's NextGen Mid-Term Implementation Task Force (NextGen TF) took place on Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C. at the NowGen NEXT conference sponsored by Avionics Magazine and RTCA, the organization that develops consensus-based recommendations for the aviation...
Report Calls for Infrastructure Investment
Saying U.S. airlines have made measurable progress despite the recession, the Air Transport Association (IATA) believes any further progress requires the deployment of a modern air traffic management system which will yield higher productivity, greater efficiency and customer service, better environmental...
S&S at the Core
In a speech to the International Aviation Club of Washington, DC, International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said both safety and security remain concerns for the world's financially-strapped airlines. IATA outlined several steps the U.S. Department of Homeland...
Towards Better Cabin Air Quality
BAE Systems and Quest International UK have introduced the AirManager, a new active air management system, which they say sets a new standard for exceptionally clean air on board aircraft. In addition to introducing AirManager onto its own BAe 146/Avro RJ airliners, BAE Systems has signed an agreement with...
A Better 'Black Box'
In the wake of the fatal crash of an Air France Airbus A330-200 in the Atlantic on May 31, 2009 and the inability of searchers to retrieve the jetliner's flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from the bottom of the deep ocean water, interest has grown for continuous data streaming of...
Babbitt Targets Lack of Professionalism
Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt continued to focus on regional safety in a speech to the International Safety Forum in Washington on Sept. 10, citing the difference in the professionalism of US Airway's Sully Sullenberger and those of Colgan Flight 3407. However, he cautioned the audience that...
High Profile Air Crashes Raise Concerns
The rate of commercial jet crashes around the world is climbing and a spate of recent fatal accidents threatens to push the totals to levels not seen since the 1990s. "If we continue at this pace, we'll be turning the clock back 10 years on safety," says Bill Voss, president of the non-profit...
Kaman to Demo Unmanned Cargo Delivery
Kaman's helicopters unit has received an $864,000 contract from the U.S. Marine Corps to demonstrate the ability of the Unmanned K-MAX helicopter to deliver cargo to troops in extreme environments and at high altitudes. The demonstration will be conducted by Kaman and Lockheed Martin as Team K-MAX. Kaman...
Safety & Technology Trends
Tool Kit for Runway Excursions The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) has released a Runway Excursion Risk Reduction (RERR) tool kit. The toolkit, a joint effort between FSF and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), provides an in depth analysis of runway excursion accident data, a compilation of...
Security Shortlines
Meeting the Cargo Security Mandate The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), in a letter to air cargo shippers regarding the congressionally mandated August 2010 deadline for 100 percent screening of all cargo on passenger planes, outlined its support of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)...
Safety Rules & Regs
Flightcrew Alerting; Reopening of Comment Period. Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); reopening of comment period. SUMMARY: On July 9, 2009, the FAA published an NPRM to amend the airworthiness standards for flightcrew alerting and invited comments for a 60- day period. The comment period closed on...
Accidents & Incidents
Date Aircraft Type Narrative Death/Injury Remarks August 01, 2009 Nairobi, Kenya CESSNA U206 N5Y-LMB A/c owned and operated by African Inland Mission collided with the ground. 1 fatality, one serious A/c conducting low flight while passengers filming underlying area. During accident sequence, a/c struck...
|
