Got your resume at the ready? UPS has revealed that it will hire
an additional 200 pilots to support the growth and expansion of its
air transport business. This announcement brings the total number
of UPS's new pilot hires to 300 when combined with the 100 new
pilot hires the company announced in October 2004.
Accused Of Threatening To Crash Plane Into Wall Street
You know the old warning, "Be careful what you say -- it could
come back to haunt you"? A case in point would be that of UAL Capt.
Robert Feneziani, who's been booked on charges of threatening to
fly his plane into New York's financial district.
Although less than two years old, the Federal Flight Deck
Officers Program, which arms cockpit crew members in hopes of
providing commercial flights with a last-ditch protection system,
has grown to become the nation's fourth-largest law enforcement
organization. And to hear it told in Washington, the program is
much more of a success than even the TSA's air marshal
operation.
Thirty E-model C-130 Hercules were grounded Feb. 10, and 60
other models including some E, H, H1 and HC-130P/N were placed on
restricted flight status. Gen. John W. Handy, commander of Air
Mobility Command, directed the grounding and restricted flight
status to minimize wing stress and increase the safety margin.
Wichita Has A Well-Funded Retraining Program -- But Few
Students
Right after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on
9/11, the one US city with more aerospace workers per square mile
than just about any other saw the future. Wichita, KS, and
surrounding Sedgewick County rushed into place a worker-retraining
program for aerospace workers who were to be laid off in the wake
of those attacks. Both the city and the county dumped $200,000 into
the program. To date only ten students have obtained their
objective in becoming licensed Airframe and Powerplant
mechanics.
The wing-mate of the Citation Mustang is the latest in a long
list of program milestones to be accomplished. On February 3, 2005,
at 0830 (CST), Cessna team members mated the wing to the
fuselage of the Citation Mustang prototype. The entire process took
less than 20 minutes.
by Gary Wiblin, Editor, International Aviation & Safety
Forum
I recently spent some time having lunch with an airline pilot
friend of mine and the topic of flying hours logged came up. It was
during our conversation that I began to question the system of
logging flight hours we are subject to.
A woman in Lebanon, TN, is in critical condition after she
apparently walked into a spinning propeller Friday night. The
woman, whose name wasn't released by authorities, was severely
injured on her right arm, side and pelvis.
The National Air Transportation Association's (NATA) Airline
Services Council (ASC) met in Washington, DC, last week, focused on
strategic business issues and Airport Operating Area (AOA) safety
and security. This gathering of ASC members was of particular
importance because participants set the 2005 agenda of key issues
and initiatives for the council and supporting NATA staff.
USAF Aging, But Still More Than Capable, Says General
Today's Air Force is a deployed force, the service chief of
staff told the Senate Armed Services Committee Feb. 10. Gen. John
Jumper told the committee that the Air Force has 30,000 airmen
deployed around the world.
In an effort to better serve the public, the National
Transportation Safety Board's website now provides Spanish language
information about the Safety Board, as well as information about
the Board's products and services. "Making this information
available in Spanish directly delivers the Safety Board's message
to more people so that more lives will be saved," said NTSB
Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners.
CharterX will announce at the National Business Aviation
Association Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference in Reno,
Nevada, that ten additional companies have joined the single
largest air charter marketplace. The industry continues to embrace
the web as the new communication medium for the collection and
distribution of charter aircraft information.
Here's What The Business Folks Are Up To This Year
The NBAA is out with a calendar of events for the rest of 2005,
including the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention, the world's
largest civil aviation trade show; international exhibitions in
Europe, Latin America and Asia; several Business Aviation Regional
Forums a year, in cities around the country; and a comprehensive
program of seminars for flight department personnel and others
involved in business aviation operations.
Arianespace's Ariane 5 lifted off without a hitch from the
Kourou spaceport in French Guiana Saturday, boosting into space a
US-Spanish satellite and an ESA microsatellite. But it was much
more than a routine space mission. For the Ariane V, it was a
return to credibility.
AOPA members continue their work to fund relief efforts in
tsunami-ravaged Southeast Asia. AOPA and AOPA members have donated
more than $115,000 to Air Serv International, a non-governmental
humanitarian organization (NGO) that uses GA aircraft to provide
logistical support to other NGOs and relief agencies.
To Repair Bearings For General Electric CF34-3 Engine
Timken Aerospace has been named by Cincinnati-based GE
Transportation Aircraft Engines as an approved source for the
licensed repair of bearings for the CF34 aircraft engine.
Viva International says it has executed an acquisition agreement
with Cool Tours dba San Juan Aviation), a Part 135 air carrier in
San Juan, Puerto Rico, through Eastern Caribbean Airlines
Corporation, a newly formed Puerto Rican subsidiary of Viva
International.
India's SpiceJet last week placed a firm order for ten Boeing
737-800s, valued at $630 million at list prices, and has options
for ten more. First delivery is scheduled for 2006.
"While spin training is required to earn a flight instructor
rating, the quality and depth of that training can vary widely.
Safety, however, demands that flight instructors be thoroughly
competent and current in these procedures, because an instructor's
ability to impart this knowledge and skill creates better pilots
who can handle such situations. NAFI is happy to assist with this
effort to gauge training levels and enhance aviation safety and
proficiency."
Source: NAFI Executive Director Rusty Sachs, after
NAFI joined with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to coordinate
a major safety study regarding flight instructor experience and
opinions on aircraft spin training.