Federal Agents Take Suspects Into Custody In Miami

At least 14 current and possibly former American Airlines employees at Miami International Airport have been charged with drug conspiracy in a suspected smuggling operation after a four-year investigation, U.S. government sources said. Federal drug agents picked up the first of the suspects at dawn Monday. Some of the defendants wearing American Airlines mechanic-type uniforms were seen in handcuffs being taken into custody at DEA offices in Miami. The U.S. attorney's office in Miami released a statement saying 14 people have been charged with drug conspiracy in two indictments.

Engine Trouble, Turbulence Affect Flights

The last couple of days have not fared well for Tokyo-bound flights. Two different US airliners were forced to return to their departure airports after running into trouble over the Pacific. An American Airlines flight that took off from Kennedy International Airport was forced to turn back due to engine trouble, authorities said.  A United Airlines flight from Hawaii to Japan hit severe turbulence over the Pacific Ocean on Monday, injuring three crew members who were later hospitalized, officials said.

Significant Labor Concessions Needed To Succeed

A broad new US Airways business plan released late last week calls for simpler fare structures, improved employee productivity and other measures aimed at lowering costs, while boosting revenue. However, a successful restructuring plan likely will have to also include significant pay, benefits and work rule concessions from labor to accomplish its goals and keep the nation's seventh-largest airline flying into the future. US Airways officials have been mum regarding specific details of its new business plan. However, the Association of Flight Attendants posted an eight-point overview of the plan, called "Framework for the Future," on its Web site following a meeting last week with US Airways president and CEO David Siegel and oth

Donation Joins Museum Move

When the new Frontiers of Flight Museum (TX) opens this spring, one display will be the forward section of a Boeing 737-200 airplane donated by Southwest Airlines. Southwest, which makes its headquarters at Love Field, retired aircraft N102SW in late January and airline employees have volunteered to work in their off-time to get the section ready for the museum. The donation comes as the 15-year-old museum prepares to move out of its old location, a 5,500-square-foot cranny in the Love Field terminal, to a new, $9 million, 100,000-square-foot, stand-alone building at 6911 Lemmon Ave. at the airport.

Watson Island Aviation Complex Under City's Eye

Now that the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau is no longer moving to Watson Island, Miami officials are rethinking the use of 5.6 acres on prime land. The only tenant enlisted to occupy the parcel so far is Chalk's Ocean Airways, owned by Miami entrepreneur James Confalone. Chalk's, the the world's oldest scheduled airline, currently operates a small terminal on the island, uses Biscayne Bay as the runway for its seaplanes heading to and from the Caribbean. Early last month, the city picked Kimley-Horn and Associates, a national consulting firm, to come up with different development alternatives for the waterfront site.

New Standards to Build And Maintain New Terminals

Skyscrapers and schools have them. So do hospitals and shopping malls. But in the airport business, there are no consistent benchmarks for airline terminals, no performance data for multi-billion dollar facilities and infrastructure construction projects built for millions of travelers. DFW International Airport officials are intent to make that change. The airport, in partnership with the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), will host the first-ever Airport Facilities Council for airport and airline executives March 25-26 with the goal of establishing industry-wide standards to measure and benchmark airport facility performance, and ultimately the potential development of industry facility design, operations a

AD NUMBER: 2004-04-05

MANUFACTURER: Rolls Royce SUBJECT: Oil System Check SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for Rolls-Royce Corporation (RR) (formerly Allison Engine Company) AE 3007A, AE 3007A1/1, AE 3007A1/2, AE 3007A1, AE3007A1/3, AE 3007A1P, and AE 3007A3 turbofan engines. That AD currently requires initial and repetitive inspections for bearing material contamination of the engine oil system. This AD requires the same inspections but with an extended repetitive inspection interval, and adds terminating actions to the repetitive inspections required by this AD.

AD NUMBER: 2004-04-06

MANUFACTURER: General Electric SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2004-04-06 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain General Electric Company (GE) CT58-100-2, CT58-140-1, -140-2, and T58-GE-1, -3, -5, -8E, -8F, -10, -100, and -402 turboshaft engines. This AD requires the removal from service of certain fuel flow divider assemblies.

AD NUMBER: 2004-04-04

MANUFACTURER: General Electric SUBJECT: Master VG Actuator Fault Messages SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for General Electric Company (GE) CF34-8E series turbofan engines, with certain serial number (SN) master variable geometry (VG) actuators installed. This AD requires initial and repetitive reviews of the airplane computer systems for master VG actuator fault messages. This AD also requires replacement of actuators reported faulty by the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC).