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December 06, 2011

Updated: Aero-News Alert -- Babbitt Resigns As FAA Administrator

Babbitt Submits Resignation To SecTrans LaHood (Updated with DoT, AOPA Reaction)

ANN Real-Time Update, 120611, 2126: The Washington Post is reporting that former FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt was flying as the co-pilot aboard an FAA Cessna Citation 560XL, N2, Monday morning, December 5th... some 36 or so hours AFTER his arrest for DWI. They have published an audio recording of the flight. The Fairfax City Police have yet to disclose Babbitt’s blood-alcohol level, but .08 is the legal threshold required to levy charges of DWI, in VA. Babbitt is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 2.

ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 12.06.11

Randy Babbitt is out of the office, maybe for good.
Two high-tech execs embarass themselves on an Air Canada flight.
And the US Coast Guard is prosecuting a crash survivor.

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Zuccaro Calls for Working Group On Public Use Aircraft

HAI President Part Of NTSB Forum Held Last Week

The line between public use and civil aviation operations is currently so blurred, especially for contract operators, that the time has come to bring all the stakeholders together as a working group to provide clarity on the issue. That was the message HAI President Matt Zuccaro brought to the NTSB at its forum on public use aviation safety.

Analyst: Better Times Ahead For Bizjet Market

Study Predicts Nearly 11,000 Jets Will Be Built By 2020

In a new study "The Market for Business Jet Aircraft," Connecticut-based market research firm Forecast International predicts that 10,907 business jets will be produced between 2011 and 2020. The value of this production is estimated at $230.3 billion in constant 2011 U.S. dollars. The study projects that business jet production will resume growing in 2012, after declining each of the previous three years.

Fashion Editor Injured In Prop Strike

Friend Said She Walked Into A Moving Propeller

There are few things at an airport more dangerous than a moving propeller, and an incident reported over the weekend points out just how dangerous they can be. After a flight in a private airplane to view Christmas lights, 23-year-old Lauren Scruggs was severely injured when she walked into the moving prop of the plane on the airport ramp.

'Most Challenging' Mountainside Helicopter Rescue Wins Cormorant Trophy

Crew Worked In Darkness To Winch Hiker Trapped Nearly A Mile Up A B.C. Mountain In 45 Knot Winds

The daring cliff-side rescue of a lucky British Columbian which pushed both the rescue crew and their search and rescue helicopter to the limits has been selected for as the 2011 winner of the Cormorant Trophy for Helicopter Rescue.

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Air Force Confirms F-22 'Physiological Incidents'

Spokeswoman Says There Were 'No Events Of Interest'

The U.S. Air Force says that there have been two "physiological incidents" associated with the F-22 Raptor recorded since November 21st. After the F-22 was returned to service in September, a special reporting category was established to record hypoxia-like symptoms that may be related to the ongoing problems with the jets oxygen generating systems.

Transaero Airlines Firms Up Order For Eight A320neo Aircraft

First Customer In Russia And CIS For The Updated Airplane

Transaero Airlines, Russia’s second largest carrier, has signed a firm order for eight A320neo aircraft following a Memorandum of Understanding signed in August at the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2011 in Moscow. The A320neo is an efficiency improvement package Airbus says offers up to 15 percent fuel savings on the A320 Family.

Gone West: WASP Betty Haas Pfister

Two-Time Winner Of All Women's International Air Race

One of aviation's pioneer women passed away November 17th. Betty Haas Pfister, who served as a WASP during WWII, died at her home in Aspen, CO, at the age of 90.

Court Awards Widow $10 Million In Helicopter Accident

Said Pilot Intentionally Flew Between Electrical Towers Rather Than Over Them

A court in Victorville, CA has awarded a $10 million settlement to the widow of John Goble, who was fatally injured in an accident involving a vintage Piasecki PV-18 helicopter in November of 2009.

Teenager's Purse Raises TSA Hackles

Gun Design On Handbag Flagged As Security Risk

A teenager from Jacksonville, FL, was told by a TSA screener in Norfolk, VA, that carrying her purse with the design of an old-west six-shooter onto an airplane is a "federal crime," and had missed her flight by the time the issue was sorted out and the offending bag was checked through to ... Orlando.

Elderly Woman Claims She Was 'Strip Searched' By TSA

Agency Says Protocols Were Followed

An elderly woman from New York who opted out of screening by a body scanner before her flight says she was "injured and humiliated" by what she called a "strip search" which caused her to miss her plane. But TSA says on its blog that no strip search occurred.

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Navy Official Says F-35 Production Should Be Slowed

Cites Flaws Uncovered By Fatigue Testing Of Early Aircraft

A Navy Vice Admiral says Lockheed Martin and the Department of Defense need to put the brakes on production of the F-35 JSF after fatigue testing revealed potential flaws in the design.

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Airborne News Bulletin: FAA Administrator Placed On Leave After DWI

Babbitt Asked For Leave After Informing Administration, Monday

This was not a good weekend for FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. Late Saturday night, the FAA Boss was observed driving in the wrong lane in Fairfax City, VA, a mistake that appears to be a costly one as the FAA leader has now been placed on leave after being charged with driving DWI.

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Iran Claims RQ-170 Shot Down

USAF Says No Evidence To Support Claim

The US military is dismissing the latest claim by Iran that it has downed a US drone as a distraction tactic in the face of growing international isolation. The Pentagon does say the US Air Force lost control of an RQ-170 Sentinel reconnaissance and surveillance drone over western Pakistan last week, but there is no evidence it was shot down by Iran.

Cessna Launches Single-Engine Aircraft Safety Education Initiative

Has Published Revised Inspection Procedures For Older-Model Piston Singles

Cessna has launched a safety initiative to educate 100- and 200-series single-engine piston aircraft owners around the world about new supplemental aircraft inspection procedures that will be added to Cessna service manuals.

Airborne News Bulletin: FAA Administrator Placed On Leave After DWI

Babbitt Asked For Leave After Informing Administration Monday

This was not a good weekend for FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. Late Saturday night, the FAA Boss was observed driving in the wrong lane in Fairfax City, VA, a mistake that appears to be a costly one as the FAA leader has now been placed on leave after being charged with driving DWI. No accident took place and Babbitt was alone at the time of his arrest. Babbitt, one of the most positively received FAA Admins in recent memory, was released on his personal recognizance after being taken to the local jail and ANN has learned (via the AP) that he has been placed on leave from the FAA.

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ARSA To Congress: Complete FAA Reauthorization Bill

Trade Association Cautions House And Senate To Be Mindful Of Maintenance And Service Facilities

In a letter dated December 1st, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association told leaders in the U.S. House and Senate that the uncertainty created by Congress’ failure to pass a new, multiyear reauthorization bill for the FAA is wreaking havoc on the aviation industry and undermining the competitiveness of American aviation maintenance providers.

Boeing Launches 787 Dream Tour In China

New Airplane Pays Its First Visit To Mainland China, Landing In Beijing

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrived Sunday at the Beijing Capital International Airport, making its debut in mainland China, one of the world's fastest-growing aviation and travel markets. It also marks the start of a six-month worldwide Dream Tour with the all-new jet.

Europe Calls Off Search For Russian Mars Probe

Efforts To Contact The Spacecraft Have Yielded No Results

Russia's space program suffered a setback when the Mars probe it launched November 8th failed to fire a transfer rocket that would boost it out of Earth orbit on its way to Mars. Friday, the European Space Agency said it was calling off efforts to regain control of the spacecraft.

German B747-8 Intercontinental Debut Set For December 6

Pre-Delivery Testing For Airplane, Personnel

Boeing and Lufthansa are fast approaching the next major milestone on the 747-8 Intercontinental program with the start of pre-delivery testing of the new airplane at Lufthansa's main operations base at Frankfurt Airport from Dec. 6 to Dec. 9.

SR20 Executes Emergency Landing In Jacksonville, FL

Instructor And Student Landed On Busy Interstate, Both Were Uninjured

A Cirrus SR20 on a night flight from Sanford International Airport in Orlando, FL, To Jacksonville Executive Airport at Craig Field made an emergency landing Saturday night on a busy interstate highway. Neither the flight instructor or the student pilot were injured, but the plane was struck after landing by a pickup truck which did not stop at the scene.

Aero-News: Quote Of The Day (12.06.11)

"While the country desperately needs the predictability of a new FAA law, Congress must also ensure that the final legislation does not detrimentally impact the thousands of facilities in communities throughout the country that provide aviation maintenance services.” Source: ARSA Executive Vice President Christian Klein.

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ANN's Daily Aero-Term (12.06.11): Radar Contact

The situation which exists when the radar position of a particular aircraft is seen and identified on a situation display.

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (12.06.11)

Aviation Wings and Badges of World War II

This site is for veterans, enthusiasts or anyone else interested in aviation insignia of World War II.

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