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All News

December 21, 2004

Raptor Down In Nevada

All Raptors Grounded Until Further Notice

The pilot's okay, but his $130 million aircraft is trashed after the first-ever reported crash involving an F/A-22 Raptor.

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Raptor Down, Pilot OK

Nellis Based Pilot Ejects, Safe

The first operational F/A-22 Raptor crash has taken place at Nellis AFB, after a takeoff incident forced the pilot to eject. The single seat fighter went down off the end of a Nellis runway while its pilot ejected and was seen shortly thereafter "walking around" the impact site.

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First Flight: P&WC PW610F for Eclipse 500 VLJ

Successful First Flight Aboard Boeing 720 Test Bed

Pratt & Whitney Canada's (P&WC) PW610F engine, selected to power Eclipse Aviation's Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ), has successfully completed its maiden flight on P&WC's Boeing 720 flying test bed (FTB), marking a significant milestone in its development program.

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Pilots: KFI Tower Was 'Accident Waiting To Happen'

Aviators Say Tower Lighting Was Inadequate

Southern California pilots say the KFI radio tower near Fullerton was an accident waiting to happen. That accident indeed happened on Sunday, when a Cessna 182 collided with the tower, killing both occupants, destroying the aircraft and bringing down the 820-foot (MSL) tall structure.

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Loy Was Strong Advocate Of AOPA's Airport Watch Program

Loy Was Strong Advocate Of AOPA's Airport Watch Program

Adm. James Loy, the second-in-command at DHS, has been a strong advocate for balancing the needs of general aviation with the demands of security. Among the programs he vigorously promoted is AOPA's Airport Watch, which he cited as a model for partnership between industry and government.

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Robinson Issues Blade Replacement Bulletin

ALL AO16-2 Blades To Be Replaced After Another Cracking Incident

This just in from Robinson Helicopters: DATE: 14 December 2004  TO: All R22 Owners, Operators, and Service Centers SUBJECT: A016-2 Main Rotor Blade Replacement

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So Long, Admiral Loy

DHS Deputy Secretary Will Serve Until March 1st, 2005

The exodus from Washington continued Monday as James Loy, a retired Coast Guard admiral, announced his plans to step down from his post as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security by March 1st.

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ANN: Help Wanted

After a few false starts, ANN's editorial staffing is shaping up rather nicely. ANN has become populated by a good solid FUN group of people who generally work pretty well together (so long as we keep them away from sharp objects). BUT... we do have a major staff position to fill -- and now's the time to get serious about it (after some instructive disappointments).

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Hired: NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe

Officially Employed At LSU

Meeting in special session, the LSU Board of Supervisors tonight unanimously voted to approve the hiring of NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe as LSU chancellor.

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Another Settlement In OU Basketball Crash

Raytheon Still On The Hook

The family of an Oklahoma State University basketball player -- one of ten killed in an aviation accident three years ago, have settled for $1.6 million, according to an Oklahoma City newspaper.

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Pilot, Passengers Disappear After Crash

But They Forgot To Take The Drugs They Were Smuggling

It might have been cocaine, it might have been some other drug. But a crash investigation near the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport in West Virginia has become a criminal investigation. State police say large amounts of illegal drugs were found on the aircraft.

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Indonesian Sky Blasts May Have Been Meteor

Resident Report Bright Lights, Big Noise

In a country plagued by terror attacks from an affiliate of Osasma bin Laden's al Qaeda, things that go boom in the night are taken very seriously.

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Northrop Grumman Tapped To Help NASA Go To Moon, Mars And Beyond

Company Offers New Ideas for Human and Robotic Space Exploration

NASA has selected six Northrop Grumman Corporation proposals valued at approximately $137 million over four years to develop human and robotic technologies that would have pivotal roles in its Vision for Space Exploration.

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California Realtor Saves Piece Of Aviation History

Third Generation Pilot Finds WW2-Era Engine. You'll Never Guess Where.

Peter Thompson, a realtor in Fallbrook, CA, wasn't looking for extra work, but what appeared very much like a windmill atop a 30-foot tower structure beckoned to him. That's because it wasn't a windmill. It was an engine -- specifically, a Fairchild PT-19 engine -- a rare thing dating back to World War Two. And therein lies a tale.

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PAMA Offers New Professional Development Workshop

Savvy Piston Aircraft Maintenance

The Professional Aviation Maintenance Association has a new addition to its popular series of Professional Development Workshops, offered each year at PAMA’s Annual Maintenance Symposium.

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Australia Signs For New Air Tankers

$1.4 Billion Deal Goes To EADS/Airbus/CASA Consortium

Australia's Defense Department has signed a $1.4 billion contract with EADS/CASA to provide the Royal Australian Air Force with five new air-to-air refueling aircraft, Defence Minister Robert Hill announced Monday.

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NASA Hacker Launched Into... Confined... Space

"Computer Geek" Gets Six Months For Breaking In To Systems

Gregory Herns helped NASA technicians improve the security of their computers, but they didn't show him a lot of gratitude. Instead, they helped put him in jail. Maybe that's because of the way Herns pointed out security deficiencies of the space agency's powerful information systems -- by exploiting them to give himself a place to store movies that he had downloaded from the net.

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TSA Issues Holiday Travel Advice

Stop Us If You've Heard This Before...

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is moving to duplicate, over the upcoming Holiday Season, the short wait times at security checkpoints that air travelers experienced over Thanksgiving. Data collected by TSA over the Thanksgiving Holiday showed an average passenger wait time of 12 minutes during peak travel periods, with overall wait times averaging less than four minutes. Year-end holiday travel typically is not as concentrated as Thanksgiving, but offers other challenges including families traveling together and the need to move gifts through security systems.

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There's Helium-3 In Them There Moon Hills

And That Could Be Reason Enough To Return

The current value of pure gold (Au), at today's price is $15,500 per kilogram. So consider: Helium-3 (He3) a rare particle on Earth but abundant on the Moons lunar surface (He3 is required for a fusion reactant - safe nuclear energy) has an energy value in today's dollars is $5.7 million per kilogram when compared to the value and energy potential of oil.

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Aero-News Quote Of The Day (12.21.04)

"[On a] particularly clear day... when you are looking down, the tower gets lost in all the colors and patterns that are on the ground - ground clutter, you can't see it. It is very difficult to see, even if you know where it is," he told the TV station." Source: Pilot Richard Fields, in an interview with KCAL Television in Los Angeles. He's talking about the KFI tower that, until Sunday morning, stood near the Fullerton Municipal Airport in California. The tower was struck by a Cessna 182 headed to the airport. The two occupants, a husband and wife, were killed. The plane was destroyed. The tower collapsed.

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AD: SAAB

AD NUMBER: 2004-25-20 MANUFACTURER: SAAB SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2004-25-20 SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to certain Saab Model SAAB 2000 series airplanes. This action requires various repetitive inspections for cracking of the drag and shear angles that attach the nacelle to the wing, and related corrective action.

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AD: Raytheon

AD NUMBER: PL2004-25-51 MANUFACTURER: Raytheon SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive PL2004-25-51 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Raytheon Aircraft Company (Raytheon) Beech Models 45 (YT-34), A45 (T-34A, B-45), and D45 (T-34B) airplanes.

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AD: Bombardier

AD NUMBER: 2004-25-19 MANUFACTURER: Bombardier SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2004-25-19 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Model CL-600-1A11 (CL-600), CL-600-2A12 (CL-601), CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R, and CL-604) series airplanes. This AD requires revising the airplane flight manual to provide the flightcrew with procedures and limitations for operating an airplane with out-of-tolerance angle of attack (AOA) transducers.

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