Aero-News Network: The aviation and aerospace world's daily/real-time news and information service

NOTAM Number: FDC 7/2533 Issue Date: October 31, 2007 at 0115 UTC Location: Los Angeles Center , Valley Center, California Beginning Date and Time: Effective Immediately Ending Date and Time: Until further notice Reason for NOTAM: To provide a safe environment for fire fighting Type: Hazards Replaced NOTAM(s): N/A Pilots May Contact: Los Angeles (ZLA) Center, 661-265-8205

NOTAM Number: FDC 7/2644 Issue Date: October 31, 2007 at 1557 UTC Location: Albuquerque Center, 11 Mi SE of Prescott, Arizona near DRAKE VORTAC (DRK) Beginning Date and Time: Effective Immediately Ending Date and Time: Until further notice Reason for NOTAM: To provide a safe environment for fire fighting Type: Hazards Replaced NOTAM(s): N/A Pilots May Contact: Albuquerque (ZAB) Center, 505-856-4580

NOTAM Number: FDC 7/2648 Issue Date: October 31, 2007 at 1622 UTC Location: Columbia, South Carolina Beginning Date and Time: November 02, 2007 at 1410 UTC Ending Date and Time: November 02, 2007 at 2150 UTC Reason for NOTAM: Temporary flight restrictions for VIP (Very Important Person) Movement Type: VIP Replaced NOTAM(s): N/A

About Face: NASA To Reveal Safety Study After All

Will The Facts Be Worse Than The Fears?

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 10.31.07 1545 EDT: The truth will come out after all. In his prepared remarks before a Congressional hearing, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin announced the agency will release the results of a controversial airline safety study after all.

Aero-News Featured Aero-Casts For Wednesday 10.31.07

The Challenges Of Innovation, With Cirrus Design CEO Alan Klapmeier

ANN Daily Touch N Go: 10.31.07 (ANN's Short-Form Daily News Program) ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 10.31.07 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News Program) ANN Special Feature -- The Challenges Of Innovation: 10.31.07 (ANN Special Feature, with Cirrus Design co-founder and CEO Alan Klapmeier.)

Call For JFK Restrictions Casts Doubt On New BA Spinoff

British Airways To Launch New US-Europe Direct Carrier

Open skies... but a closed ramp? Plans in the works by British Airways to spinoff a new airline between Europe and New York may be jeopardy, due to the Federal Aviation Administration's desire to curb traffic at congested John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Lockheed Anti-Missile System Passes Test

THAAD Intercepts, Destroys Target Over Pacific

Chalk up another hit for Lockheed Martin's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports THAAD successfully intercepted and destroyed a target missile over the Pacific Ocean last week.

Lancair Completes Testing On Evolution's Lightweight Empennage Assembly

Structure Bore Over 9,000 Lbs Load "Without So Much As A Groan"

Lancair International tells ANN the Redmond, OR high-performance homebuilt aircraft maker recently completed structural testing on the aft fuselage and empennage for its new Evolution kit aircraft.

Sleeping Difficulties A Common Complaint For Regular Airline Travelers

Best Advice? Have The Boss Spring For Business Class

Ah, to sleep... perchance to dream. If you're flying commercially, however, there's a rub.

Japanese F-2B Fighter Down On Takeoff In Nagoya

Pilots Able To Escape Burning Plane

A Japanese F-2B fighter jet crashed on takeoff Wednesday from Nagoya Airport, destroying the aircraft and leaving its two pilots with minor injuries.

Navy F/A-18 Bombs Virginia Beach

Whoops!

There were no injuries reported when a US Navy F/A-18 accidentally dropped an inert training bomb over the resort town of Virginia Beach, VA on Tuesday afternoon.

Organizers Say Aviation Education Expo Was A Great Success

Over 300 Students, Parents Attend 2nd Annual Gathering At FDK

More than 300 students, faculty, parents, and guests from schools in Maryland, neighboring states, and the District of Columbia attended the 2nd annual Aviation Education Expo at the Frederick Municipal Airport in Frederick, MD on October 16.

Judge Allows American Airlines Case Against Google To Continue

Denies Motion To Dismiss

A somewhat unusual case involving copyright infringement, brought on by American Airlines against internet mega-search provider Google, will be allowed to continue, after a federal court judge denied a motion to dismiss the case last week.

Lindbergh Grant Awarded To Dr. William Knecht

Project To Test 4-Dimensional Collision Avoidance System

The Lindbergh Foundation told ANN this week Dr. William Knecht of Maneuver Space Technologies of Pocasset, OK has been awarded a 2007 Lindbergh Grant for his project entitled, "Reducing Upper Atmospheric Fuel Burn through Direct Routing Air Traffic Technology."

Boeing Opens First F-15E Mission Training Center

Will Provide Crews With Sim-Based Training

Boeing recently opened its first F-15E Mission Training Center (MTC) for the US Air Force's 366th Fighter Wing at Idaho's Mountain Home Air Force Base. The center will provide aircrews with high-fidelity, simulator-based training without the material and personnel costs associated with training on operational aircraft.

AD: Bombardier

AD NUMBER: 2007-22-09 MANUFACTURER: Bombardier SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2007-22-09 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes.

Judge Dismisses Charges Against Pilot For Second Time In Fatal Accident

Not Enough Evidence To Support Manslaughter Charges

For the second time this year, a judge dismissed charges against the pilot of a Bellanca Viking that crashed into an Oklahoma lake last year, killing three passengers.

Kitty Hawk Cuts Service, Jobs Following Bankruptcy Filing

Filed Chapter 11 Twice In Seven Years

Beleaguered air freight and ground cargo operation Kitty Hawk Inc. announced this week it has shut down most of its operations, and will eliminate 500 jobs.

PASS: IG Report Highlights Problems With FAA's Self-Audit Of Inspector Concerns

Says Report Validates Safety Concerns During NWA Mechanics Strike

The Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS), AFL-CIO, the union that represents more than 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees including aviation safety inspectors, are applauding a recent Department of Transportation (DOT) Inspector General (IG) report, "Actions Taken to Address Allegations of Unsafe Maintenance Practices at Northwest Airlines (Report Number AV-2007-080)."

House Hearing On Suppression Of Airline Safety Survey Set For Wednesday

Science Advocacy Group Says NASA Should Release Results

Faced with considerable evidence NASA is withholding the results of a nationwide survey of pilots on airline safety problems -- fearing the findings would undermine public confidence and hurt airline profits -- the House Science and Technology Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday to try to determine why the agency has been sitting on the survey results for more than a year.

Huh? Airfares Dropped In Second Quarter Of 2007

But Rising Fuel Costs, Fewer Seats Mean Low Prices Won't Last

Be prepared for a bursting bubble. Even as fuel prices continued to climb, the cost of purchasing a domestic airline ticket actually fell in the second quarter, according to figures released Tuesday by the US Department of Transportation.

Spacewalkers Inspect Damage To Solar Array

Fourth Excursion Planned For Thursday

NASA tells ANN astronauts and ground controllers are looking at apparent damage to the P6 4B solar array spotted by the crew during deployment. NASA halted the deployment of the solar array wing to evaluate the damage. Deployment is about 75 percent complete with 25 of 31 bays deployed.

APA's Hill Thinks American CEO Arpey 'Is A Nice Man'

But Asserts Union Will Fight Tough For New Contract

In a recent interview with the Dallas Morning News, new Allied Pilots Association president Lloyd Hill said he fully intends to battle management at American Airlines for a more favorable contract for its pilots... though he also stepped back ever-so-slightly from the fiery rhetoric expressed in his September letter to American CEO Gerard Arpey.

Alabama Lawmakers Go To Bat For KC-30 Tanker

Say Boeing's 767-Based Aircraft Is Less Capable Than Northrop/EADS Offering

Below is a joint letter -- written by Alabama Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, and Alabama Representative Jo Bonner -- that representatives of Northrop Grumman and EADS say "addresses key issues concerning the upcoming US Air Force acquisition of new tanker aircraft to replace its aging aerial refueling fleet."

Rescuers Say Car Seat Likely Saved Toddler In Plane Crash

Crews Find Kate Williams Scared, But Alive

Investigators say a standard car seat may have helped save the life of a three-year-old girl, the only survivor of a weekend aircraft accident in Canada.

WSP Plane Busts Driver, Sneaky Ferrari Owner

Didn't Expect Plane To Still Be Overhead

Here's a friendly tip for those hoping to evade police... be sure to look up first. Seattle's KIRO-7 reports the owner of a Ferrari F430 failed to consider the Washington State Patrol airplane overhead, when he attempted to pull a fast one.

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (10.31.07)

Aero-Linx!

The purpose of this web site is to provide you with all the information you need to know about the sport of hang gliding as well as continue learning to make your experience more enjoyable.

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (10.31.07): Flag Alarm

Aero-Terms!

A warning device incorporated in certain airborne navigation and flight instruments indicating that instruments are inoperative or otherwise not operating satisfactorily. Also indicates signal strength or quality of a received signal has fallen below a level that can be relied upon.

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (10.31.07)

"PASS is encouraged that the IG report addresses the critical need for the FAA to implement better internal review procedures to deal with inspector safety concerns."

Source: Tom Brantly, president of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists union. PASS applauds a recent Department of Transportation (DOT) Inspector General (IG) report, that the union says validates safety issues uncovered by an FAA inspector represented by PASS during the August 2005 aircraft mechanics strike at Northwest Airlines.