18 Passengers, Five Crew Reportedly Onboard

All 23 persons aboard an Azerbaijan Airlines Antonov 140 twin turboprop (file photo of type, right) are feared dead after the aircraft went down near the village of Kyurdakhany, along the Caspian Sea coast.

DATE: December 23, 2005 AD #: 2005-26-53 Send to all owners and operators of Pacific Aerospace Corporation Ltd. Model 750XL airplanes, all serial numbers, that are certificated in any category.

NOTAM: 5/1990 Issued: 12/23/2005 11:10 Effective: 01/02/2006 14:00 - 01/02/2006 20:00 State: CA Facility: ZLA - LOS ANGELES (ARTCC)PALMDALE, CA. Type: AIR SHOWS/SPORTS Description: PASADENA CA.

NOTAM:  5/1995  Issued:  12/23/2005 14:30  Effective:  12/26/2005 18:50 - 01/01/2006 17:35  State:  WY  Facility:  ZLC - SALT LAKE CITY (ARTCC),UT.  Type:  VIP  Description:  JACKSON, WYOMING, DECEMBER 26, 2005-JANUARY 1, 2006 LOCAL.

NOTAM: 5/1992 Issued: 12/23/2005 11:10 Effective: 01/03/2006 23:59 - 01/04/2006 01:00 State: CA Facility: ZLA - LOS ANGELES (ARTCC)PALMDALE, CA. Type: AIR SHOWS/SPORTS Description: PASADENA CA.

Part Two (of Three) Of ANN's Year-End Interview With AOPA's Phil Boyer

ANN Daily Touch N Go: 12.23.05 (ANN's Short-Form Daily News Program) ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 12.23.05 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News Program) ANN Special Feature -- Phil Boyer Looks Back at 2005 and Forward to 2006 (Part 2 of 3): 12.23.05

ADIZ? CBS? The Waking Nightmare That Is The C150?

Okay, enough with those cheery holiday sentiments and rosy predictions that 2006 will be the bestest year EVER. Deep down, we know you're afraid... and the Aero-News staff would like to know what YOU most fear the upcoming year will bring to the world of aviation, by telling us in our Aero-Survey located at the bottom-right corner of our Top News page.

Three Month-Old Plane Should Still Be Under Warranty...

The sparks seen during Tuesday's emergency landing of a Midwest Airlines Boeing 717 at Boston's Logan International Airport have been traced to a faulty wheel bearing, according to the FAA.

A Wrong Number Started A Holiday Tradition

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is observing its 50th anniversary of tracking Santa Claus on his annual rounds, NORAD officials told Aero-News Thursday.

F-14s Help Ground Forces View Their Surroundings

Aero-News has learned the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) proved quick to answer the fleet’s request to install technology on F-14 Tomcats that gives boots on the ground an eye in the sky.

116 Airplanes Sold!

ANN has learned that there was more than turkey for Thanksgiving this year up in Duluth, Minnesota. Cirrus Design, manufacturer of the leading edge SR20 and SR22 four place GA aircraft has just posted their best-ever month, in terms of actual orders taken.

Investigation Turns To Deep Cracks, Corrosion On Wing Spar

As investigators carefully examine parts of the wing spar recovered from the wreckage of the Chalk's Ocean Airways seaplane that went down Monday after takeoff, NTSB acting chairperson Mark Rosenker said in a news conference nothing audible was recovered from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) installed in the tail of the Grumman G73-T Mallard.

Shuttle And ISS Funded, Centennial Challenge Expanded

Just before they left on their holiday break, senators passed legislation funding NASA's effort to keep the space shuttle program going, as well as for continued support of the International Space Station and giving a much-needed boost to meeting President Bush's call for ambitious future space exploration programs.

ANN Readers Attempt To "Out-Klyde, Klyde"

Outboard Engines Swapped By Outsourced Maintenance Facility

Heads are likely rolling at Japan Airlines and Singapore's ST Aviation Services after the airline discovered one of its 747s has been flying for seven months with the left outboard and right outboard engines mistakenly swapped.

C150 Hit Truck While On Approach To Land

While the crew at Aero-News freely admits to being wholly and completed biased on the side of aviation in almost all matters... even we must admit this one is rather strange, at least on the surface.

Issued Infamous 1947 Roswell Release, Founded UFO Museum

Aero-News has learned Walter Haut, the US Army Lieutenant who issued a press release that forever cast doubt that mankind is all alone in the universe, died in Roswell, NM on December 15. He was 83.

Former CASA Chief Alleges Fatality Rates Have Spiked

Australia's aviation safety body has rebuked claims by former Civil Aviation Safety Authority chief Dick Smith that the country's skies have seen a sharp increase in the number of fatal accidents of late.

Facility Consolidated With Other Airbus Operations

Aero-News has learned Airbus recently inaugurated its new state-of-the-art AIRTAC (Airbus Technical Aircraft-on-ground Centre) support center, located in Hamburg, Germany. The aim of the AIRTAC team is to minimize on-the-ground-time for aircraft for trouble shooting and repairs.

"The ATSB has been instructed and even threatened by the government to keep aviation safety out of the news and it has done that very effectively. The [fatality] announcements are always done before Christmas in the silly season when Parliament is not in session." Source: Former Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority Dick Smith, on the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's questioning of figures Smith maintains he pulled from the ATSB website to support his claim Australia's skies have become more dangerous now to commercial flyers than in any time since the 1990s. ATSB officials maintain the skies are safer, and have the figures to back it up. The agency also questioned where Smith got his numbers, and why he chose to publicize his informati

AD NUMBER: 2005-26-04 MANUFACTURER: Bombardier SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2005-26-04 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Model CL-600-1A11 (CL-600), CL-600-2A12 (CL-601), and CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A and CL-601-3R) airplanes.

AD NUMBER: 2005-26-05 MANUFACTURER: Bombardier SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2005-26-05 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes.

Applicability: Model 750XL aircraft, all serial numbers.