A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment charging a Granite Bay man with conspiracy to commit fraud involving aircraft parts.
According to court documents, William Hugh Weygandt, 63, is the former owner and president of WECO Aeropsace Systems Inc., a Federal Aviation Administration-certified aircraft repair station based in Lincoln, which was purchased in 2007 by Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
Former WECO executives -- Jerry Edward Kuwata, 60 of Granite Bay; Michael Dennis Maupin, 58, of Arbuckle; Scott Hamilton Durham, 39, of Roseville; Christopher Warren MacQueen, 53, of Lincoln; Douglas Arthur Johnson 52, of Granite Bay; and Anthony Vincent Zito, 47 of Saugus -- were previously indicted by the grand jury in September 2011 for conspiracy and fraud involving airplane parts, and mail fraud. Kuwata, Durham, MacQueen and Johnson are also charged in the superseding indictment. Maupin and Zito have pleaded guilty to federal offenses and await sentencing, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.
The FAA regulates air travel and publishes regulations that FAA-certified repair stations are required to follow. These regulations include the use of parts that are approved for repairs, as well as tests and inspections that repair stations are required to conduct before a repaired part can be returned and reinstalled in an aircraft.
According to its repair station certificate, WECO was permitted to repair, among other items, rotables and converters. Rotables are generally parts that convert a mechanical drive into electrical output such as generators, alternators, and rotary and linear actuators. Converters are components that supply electrical power to the systems on an aircraft that need it. In repairing these parts, a certified repair station is required to use FAA-approved parts.
According to the superseding indictment, the defendants regularly directed WECO technicians to use unapproved parts in repairs. On one occasion, MacQueen allegedly used a paper clip instead of an approved part to complete a repair, and then returned the part to the customer after certifying that the repair had been properly done.
The superseding indictment also alleges that the defendants regularly failed to follow the manufacturer's component maintenance manuals and didn't have the equipment needed to perform the tests required by the manuals. The defendants, however, performed repairs, or directed WECO technicians to perform repairs, of parts and returned those parts to customers, allegedly completing false certifications that each part had been repaired in accordance with FAA regulations.
There have been no known instances in which a fraudulent WECO repair resulted in an aircraft accident, according to the news release. Upon learning of the allegations, the FAA issued an emergency order suspending WECO's repair station certificate.
In addition, since finalizing its purchase of WECO in 2008, Gulfstream has fully cooperated with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of the case, authorities said. The conduct alleged in the superseding indictment occurred prior to Gulfstream's acquisition of WECO, and none of the defendants is currently employed at WECO.
Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com
October 10, 2012
Piper PA-32R-301T Saratoga II TC, N110UM: Accident occurred October 09, 2012 in Laramie Peak, Wyoming
NTSB Identification: WPR13FA008
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, October 09, 2012 in Laramie Peak, WY
Aircraft: PIPER PA-32R-301T, registration: N110UM
Injuries: 4 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 9, 2012, about 1344 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-301T Saratoga II, N110UM, collided with mountainous terrain near the summit of Laramie Peak about 51 miles southeast of Casper, Wyoming. The private pilot and 3 passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to one of the passengers and operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the departure and destination airports. No flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Marshall, Texas (KASL) about 0820 central daylight time. The pilot’s planned destination was Casper, Wyoming, with an intermediate fuel stop in Dodge City, Kansas. The pilot departed Dodge City about 1130 CDT.
On October 9, family members alerted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the pilot was overdue at his planned destination; that evening an alert notice (ALNOT) for the missing airplane was issued. On October 11, search and rescue personnel discovered the wreckage about 150 feet below the summit of Laramie Peak.
The wreckage was located on the southeast (upslope) side of the Laramie Peak about 150 feet below the summit. The summit of Laramie Peak is the highest obstruction between the wreckage and the destination airport.
Weather in the area during the timeframe of the accident included low clouds and mountain obscuration. An AIRMET (Airman’s Meteorological Information) for mountain obscuration was issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) for the area and timeframe of the accident.
http://registry.faa.gov/N110UM
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N110UM
Click here for a link to a Facebook page
http://www.bayouaviation.com
http://www.classg.com
KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Albany County Undersheriff Rob DeBree says crews plan to recover the wreckage Friday of a plane that was found in pieces on the south face of Laramie Peak.
Searchers in southeast Wyoming found the wreckage on Thursday after the plane failed to arrive at the Casper, Wyo., airport. There were no survivors. Their names weren't immediately released.
The search for the Piper PA-32 single-engine plane was led by the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol, a U.S. Air Force helicopter and ground crews.
The plane had been scheduled to land Tuesday evening at the Casper airport after taking off from Marshall, Texas, and stopping for fuel in Dodge City, Kan.
HARRISON CO., TX (KSLA) - The wreckage of an East Texas airplane that has been missing since Tuesday night has been found, and there are no survivors, authorities have confirmed.
The wreckage was spotted at 7:02 p.m. CDT sitting on a rocky ledge on the south face of Wyoming's Laramie Peak, which is about 9,800 feet above sea level, says Albany County Sheriff's Office Under sheriff Rob DeBree.
Authorities had been searching for a 2005 Piper-PA-32 that took off from the Harrison County Airport bound for Casper, Wyoming, but did not arrive as planned.
A recovery team will be sent in early Friday morning, when a helicopter will lower to the ledge so that team members can reach the remains, DeBrees says.
The search crew was led by Albany County Sheriff's Office members, who were aided by U.S. Air Force aircraft, DeBree says.
http://www.ksla.com
The missing
Billy Gee, owner of Bayou Aviation Inc. and operator of a flight school located at the county airport.
Maverick Cayce, a pilot and employee at the flight school.
Chuck Ford, owner of CW Ford Rentals in Marshall.
James Morgan.
CHEYENNE, Wyoming (AP) — More air and ground searchers are combing a rugged mountain area in southeast Wyoming for a single-engine plane carrying four people from Texas.
Albany County Undersheriff Rob DeBree says a United States Air Force helicopter is helping the search from the air and the ground search team has been bolstered to about 40 people.
The Wyoming Civil Air Patrol now has two planes in the search, which is focusing on Laramie Peak area about 60 miles southeast of Casper.
The Piper PA-32 aircraft was reported missing after it failed to land as scheduled Tuesday evening at Casper/Natrona County International Airport. It took off from Harrison County Airport in Marshall, Texas.
MARSHALL — Family members of four area men in an airplane missing since Tuesday held out hope late Wednesday that the men would be found alive after a full day of searching failed to locate the aircraft in southeast Wyoming.
Though the ground and air search was suspended as darkness fell over the mountainous region, a Wyoming National Guard helicopter was beginning the first of two sorties into the search area about 10 p.m. central time.
The missing plane was carrying Billy Gee, owner of Bayou Aviation Inc. and operator of a flight school at Harrison County Airport; Maverick Cayce, a pilot and employee at the flight school; Chuck Ford, owner of CW Ford Rentals in Marshall; and James Morgan.
“We’re just hoping for them to find him alive,” said Cayce’s aunt, Missy Delong.
She was among a group of family members and friends gathered Wednesday at Bayou Aviation’s hangar for moral support and to keep each other abreast of updates from loved ones, including Gee’s wife and Cayce’s mother, who were flown to Wyoming to join the search.
“Everything we’re getting is second, third-hand (information) for the most part,” said Steve Ford, Chuck Ford’s brother.
The organized search began Wednesday morning for the missing Piper PA-32, which departed Harrison County Airport on Tuesday morning en route to Casper, Wyo. The plane had been reported missing Tuesday night, but it was then too dark to conduct a search.
Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Northwest Mountain Region, said the single-engine aircraft’s last known position was about 60 miles southeast of Casper. No flight plan had been filed for the trip; they are not required for private flights.
Lynn Lomax, a friend of Gee’s, said the last family and friends heard from Gee was when the plane stopped to refuel in Dodge City, Kan.
“We’re just waiting to get some kind of news,” she said.
Steve and Marcus Ford said their brother was going to Wyoming on business. Alain Gee said his 65-year-old brother and Cayce were flying the two others north to scout a construction site.
Alain Gee said he and his brother, both Kilgore natives, grew up flying with their pilot father, also named Bill.
“We always had a plane,” he said. “When I would get out of school, other kids would go ride bikes, and I was able to get in a plane and ride with my dad.”
Billy Gee became a commercial pilot, spending much of his career transporting cargo.
“He’s delivered anything from military troops to Walt Disney film crews,” Alain Gee said. “He is a person raised in a plane by my dad.”
He said Cayce, 21, of Longview, is his brother’s protege.
“My brother taught him a lot about airplanes and working on them,” Alain Gee said.
Major Jeanne Stone-Hunter, spokeswoman for the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol, said the Albany County Sheriff’s Office provided two ground teams for the search. She said her agency was dispatched by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center to conduct an aerial search using two fixed-wing aircraft.
Stone-Hunter said a visual aerial search was attempted Tuesday night with one aircraft, but it was too dark.
“They did an electronic search, hoping to find an electronic location transmitter, but got nothing,” she said.
While the daylight search relied on visual identification, the National Guard helicopter was using forward-looking radar in the overnight darkness.
The visual ground and air search was to resume this morning.
“We’ll continue the search until the aircraft is found,” Stone-Hunter said.
— News-Journal
Click here for a link to a Facebook page setup by one of the family members of the missing men.
http://www.classg.com
http://registry.faa.gov/N110UM
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N110UM
Crews are on the ground and in the air searching for four East Texans after a plane went down in Wyoming.
The single-engine aircraft left Tuesday morning from the Harrison County Airport.
Major Jeanne Stone-Hunter with the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol said officials learned Monday night that the plane was overdue to its Casper, Wyo., destination.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration official, the search is localized about 60 miles southeast of Casper.
According to friends of the occupants, some family members joined in the search today after arriving in Wyoming by private plane.
“I heard the families are there now,” said Lynn Lomax.
The plane was piloted by Billy Gee, owner of Bayou Aviation and operator of a flight school located at the county airport.
According to postings on Facebook requesting prayer, passengers on the plane included Maverick Cayce, Chuck Ford and James Morgan, who are all from the Marshall and Longview areas.
The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center performed a search that night before calling the Civil Air Patrol to do an aerial search, according to Stone-Hunter.
Stone-Hunter said the search crew was looking for electronic location transmitted, but they failed to receive a transmission.
Nightfall forced the CAP to end their search. They sent another crew up after sunrise this morning searching for the Piper PA-32 plane, Stone-Hunter said. The Albany County Sheriff’s Department also has two crews on the ground searching in the area.
“As long as we’ve got air crews that are fresh to fly, we’ll just keep going,” Stone-Hunter said.
Abby Stevens, manager of Harrison County Airport, said the pilot and one of the passengers are at the airport every day.
“The FAA and military are looking for them,” she said, noting the plane flew out of the county airport before 11 a.m. on Tuesday. “The search is still ongoing.”
HARRISON COUNTY, TX (KSLA/KLTV) - The search for a Marshall, TX businessman continues after the plane he was flying to Wyoming went missing.
Management with CW Ford Rentals in Marshall said the company's owner, Chuck Ford, was one of four people on the plane heading to Casper, Wyoming. Ford also owns the plane, a Piper-PA-32. The plane took off from the Harrison County Airport Tuesday, and should have landed in Casper on
Tuesday night. Since it was a private and not a commercial flight, the Federal Aviation administration says the pilot was not required to file a flight plan.
According to the FAA, the last known position of the aircraft was about 60 miles southeast of Casper.
Converse County, Wyoming Sheriff Clint Becker says the Civil Air Patrol were searching an area primarily over the Medicine Bow National Forest. That's southeast of Casper, Wyoming where Converse, Platte and Albany Counties come together.
Platte County Sheriff Steve Keigley says they got a call around 11:30 Tuesday night from Casper Police with coordinates from a cell phone 'ping' from a phone believed to belong to one of those on the plane, but a search of the rural area where the 'ping' came from turned up nothing.
Officials have added that they will not label the plane as "downed" or "crashed", but simply "overdue."
http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com
http://www.news-journal.com
http://www.kltv.com
http://kowb1290.com
http://lubbockonline.com
http://www.ksla.com
October 07, 2012: Bayou Aviation thanks customers at Appreciation Day
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, October 09, 2012 in Laramie Peak, WY
Aircraft: PIPER PA-32R-301T, registration: N110UM
Injuries: 4 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 9, 2012, about 1344 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-301T Saratoga II, N110UM, collided with mountainous terrain near the summit of Laramie Peak about 51 miles southeast of Casper, Wyoming. The private pilot and 3 passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to one of the passengers and operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the departure and destination airports. No flight plan was filed for the flight that originated from Marshall, Texas (KASL) about 0820 central daylight time. The pilot’s planned destination was Casper, Wyoming, with an intermediate fuel stop in Dodge City, Kansas. The pilot departed Dodge City about 1130 CDT.
On October 9, family members alerted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the pilot was overdue at his planned destination; that evening an alert notice (ALNOT) for the missing airplane was issued. On October 11, search and rescue personnel discovered the wreckage about 150 feet below the summit of Laramie Peak.
The wreckage was located on the southeast (upslope) side of the Laramie Peak about 150 feet below the summit. The summit of Laramie Peak is the highest obstruction between the wreckage and the destination airport.
Weather in the area during the timeframe of the accident included low clouds and mountain obscuration. An AIRMET (Airman’s Meteorological Information) for mountain obscuration was issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) for the area and timeframe of the accident.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 110UM Make/Model: PA32 Description: PA-32 Saratoga, Turbo
Date: 10/09/2012 Time: 1925
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: CASPER State: WY Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES. CASPER, WY
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 1
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 3
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: CASPER, WY (NM04) Entry date: 10/12/2012
http://registry.faa.gov/N110UM
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N110UM
Click here for a link to a Facebook page
http://www.bayouaviation.com
http://www.classg.com
KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather
Piper PA-32R-301T Saratoga II TC, N110UM
Source: ClassG.com website
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Albany County Undersheriff Rob DeBree says crews plan to recover the wreckage Friday of a plane that was found in pieces on the south face of Laramie Peak.
Searchers in southeast Wyoming found the wreckage on Thursday after the plane failed to arrive at the Casper, Wyo., airport. There were no survivors. Their names weren't immediately released.
The search for the Piper PA-32 single-engine plane was led by the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol, a U.S. Air Force helicopter and ground crews.
The plane had been scheduled to land Tuesday evening at the Casper airport after taking off from Marshall, Texas, and stopping for fuel in Dodge City, Kan.
HARRISON CO., TX (KSLA) - The wreckage of an East Texas airplane that has been missing since Tuesday night has been found, and there are no survivors, authorities have confirmed.
The wreckage was spotted at 7:02 p.m. CDT sitting on a rocky ledge on the south face of Wyoming's Laramie Peak, which is about 9,800 feet above sea level, says Albany County Sheriff's Office Under sheriff Rob DeBree.
Authorities had been searching for a 2005 Piper-PA-32 that took off from the Harrison County Airport bound for Casper, Wyoming, but did not arrive as planned.
A recovery team will be sent in early Friday morning, when a helicopter will lower to the ledge so that team members can reach the remains, DeBrees says.
The search crew was led by Albany County Sheriff's Office members, who were aided by U.S. Air Force aircraft, DeBree says.
http://www.ksla.com
The missing
Billy Gee, owner of Bayou Aviation Inc. and operator of a flight school located at the county airport.
Maverick Cayce, a pilot and employee at the flight school.
Chuck Ford, owner of CW Ford Rentals in Marshall.
James Morgan.
CHEYENNE, Wyoming (AP) — More air and ground searchers are combing a rugged mountain area in southeast Wyoming for a single-engine plane carrying four people from Texas.
Albany County Undersheriff Rob DeBree says a United States Air Force helicopter is helping the search from the air and the ground search team has been bolstered to about 40 people.
The Wyoming Civil Air Patrol now has two planes in the search, which is focusing on Laramie Peak area about 60 miles southeast of Casper.
The Piper PA-32 aircraft was reported missing after it failed to land as scheduled Tuesday evening at Casper/Natrona County International Airport. It took off from Harrison County Airport in Marshall, Texas.
MARSHALL — Family members of four area men in an airplane missing since Tuesday held out hope late Wednesday that the men would be found alive after a full day of searching failed to locate the aircraft in southeast Wyoming.
Though the ground and air search was suspended as darkness fell over the mountainous region, a Wyoming National Guard helicopter was beginning the first of two sorties into the search area about 10 p.m. central time.
The missing plane was carrying Billy Gee, owner of Bayou Aviation Inc. and operator of a flight school at Harrison County Airport; Maverick Cayce, a pilot and employee at the flight school; Chuck Ford, owner of CW Ford Rentals in Marshall; and James Morgan.
“We’re just hoping for them to find him alive,” said Cayce’s aunt, Missy Delong.
She was among a group of family members and friends gathered Wednesday at Bayou Aviation’s hangar for moral support and to keep each other abreast of updates from loved ones, including Gee’s wife and Cayce’s mother, who were flown to Wyoming to join the search.
“Everything we’re getting is second, third-hand (information) for the most part,” said Steve Ford, Chuck Ford’s brother.
The organized search began Wednesday morning for the missing Piper PA-32, which departed Harrison County Airport on Tuesday morning en route to Casper, Wyo. The plane had been reported missing Tuesday night, but it was then too dark to conduct a search.
Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Northwest Mountain Region, said the single-engine aircraft’s last known position was about 60 miles southeast of Casper. No flight plan had been filed for the trip; they are not required for private flights.
Lynn Lomax, a friend of Gee’s, said the last family and friends heard from Gee was when the plane stopped to refuel in Dodge City, Kan.
“We’re just waiting to get some kind of news,” she said.
Steve and Marcus Ford said their brother was going to Wyoming on business. Alain Gee said his 65-year-old brother and Cayce were flying the two others north to scout a construction site.
Alain Gee said he and his brother, both Kilgore natives, grew up flying with their pilot father, also named Bill.
“We always had a plane,” he said. “When I would get out of school, other kids would go ride bikes, and I was able to get in a plane and ride with my dad.”
Billy Gee became a commercial pilot, spending much of his career transporting cargo.
“He’s delivered anything from military troops to Walt Disney film crews,” Alain Gee said. “He is a person raised in a plane by my dad.”
He said Cayce, 21, of Longview, is his brother’s protege.
“My brother taught him a lot about airplanes and working on them,” Alain Gee said.
Major Jeanne Stone-Hunter, spokeswoman for the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol, said the Albany County Sheriff’s Office provided two ground teams for the search. She said her agency was dispatched by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center to conduct an aerial search using two fixed-wing aircraft.
Stone-Hunter said a visual aerial search was attempted Tuesday night with one aircraft, but it was too dark.
“They did an electronic search, hoping to find an electronic location transmitter, but got nothing,” she said.
While the daylight search relied on visual identification, the National Guard helicopter was using forward-looking radar in the overnight darkness.
The visual ground and air search was to resume this morning.
“We’ll continue the search until the aircraft is found,” Stone-Hunter said.
— News-Journal
Click here for a link to a Facebook page setup by one of the family members of the missing men.
http://www.classg.com
http://registry.faa.gov/N110UM
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N110UM
Crews are on the ground and in the air searching for four East Texans after a plane went down in Wyoming.
The single-engine aircraft left Tuesday morning from the Harrison County Airport.
Major Jeanne Stone-Hunter with the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol said officials learned Monday night that the plane was overdue to its Casper, Wyo., destination.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration official, the search is localized about 60 miles southeast of Casper.
According to friends of the occupants, some family members joined in the search today after arriving in Wyoming by private plane.
“I heard the families are there now,” said Lynn Lomax.
The plane was piloted by Billy Gee, owner of Bayou Aviation and operator of a flight school located at the county airport.
According to postings on Facebook requesting prayer, passengers on the plane included Maverick Cayce, Chuck Ford and James Morgan, who are all from the Marshall and Longview areas.
The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center performed a search that night before calling the Civil Air Patrol to do an aerial search, according to Stone-Hunter.
Stone-Hunter said the search crew was looking for electronic location transmitted, but they failed to receive a transmission.
Nightfall forced the CAP to end their search. They sent another crew up after sunrise this morning searching for the Piper PA-32 plane, Stone-Hunter said. The Albany County Sheriff’s Department also has two crews on the ground searching in the area.
“As long as we’ve got air crews that are fresh to fly, we’ll just keep going,” Stone-Hunter said.
Abby Stevens, manager of Harrison County Airport, said the pilot and one of the passengers are at the airport every day.
“The FAA and military are looking for them,” she said, noting the plane flew out of the county airport before 11 a.m. on Tuesday. “The search is still ongoing.”
HARRISON COUNTY, TX (KSLA/KLTV) - The search for a Marshall, TX businessman continues after the plane he was flying to Wyoming went missing.
Management with CW Ford Rentals in Marshall said the company's owner, Chuck Ford, was one of four people on the plane heading to Casper, Wyoming. Ford also owns the plane, a Piper-PA-32. The plane took off from the Harrison County Airport Tuesday, and should have landed in Casper on
Tuesday night. Since it was a private and not a commercial flight, the Federal Aviation administration says the pilot was not required to file a flight plan.
According to the FAA, the last known position of the aircraft was about 60 miles southeast of Casper.
Converse County, Wyoming Sheriff Clint Becker says the Civil Air Patrol were searching an area primarily over the Medicine Bow National Forest. That's southeast of Casper, Wyoming where Converse, Platte and Albany Counties come together.
Platte County Sheriff Steve Keigley says they got a call around 11:30 Tuesday night from Casper Police with coordinates from a cell phone 'ping' from a phone believed to belong to one of those on the plane, but a search of the rural area where the 'ping' came from turned up nothing.
Officials have added that they will not label the plane as "downed" or "crashed", but simply "overdue."
http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com
http://www.news-journal.com
http://www.kltv.com
http://kowb1290.com
http://lubbockonline.com
http://www.ksla.com
October 07, 2012: Bayou Aviation thanks customers at Appreciation Day
Nebraska Pilots Group Funds UNL Extension Tower Safety Project
A University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension educator is trying to make the skies a little safer for low-flying area pilots.
John Hay's goal is to encourage the wind-energy industry to properly mark its weather towers so pilots can see them. The Nebraska Aviation Trades Association, the professional organization of agricultural pilots in Nebraska, awarded a grant to UNL Extension to support Hay's work.
"This is the first grant that we have provided to UNL, and we are pleased that John Hay's project to encourage the wind energy industry to properly mark weather towers will save pilots' lives," saiBrian Wilcox of Tilden, president of NATA.
The structures, called Meteorological Evaluation Towers, are built by the wind energy industry to collect wind data to determine whether a wind turbine farm is economically feasible.
As part of the tower marking awareness program, Hay has produced two YouTube videos.
"One video describes MET towers, their role in the wind energy industry and their risk to aviation. The second video demonstrates the equipment and procedure to mark a MET tower per FAA guidance," Hay said.
Both videos have recently been posted to YouTube and are applicable to other states.
"We hope the videos will encourage owners of MET towers in Nebraska and other states to mark their towers to protect low-level aviation," Hay said. The two NATA/UNL MET tower marking videos are at http://www.youtube.com/user/cropwatchbioenergy.
The towers usually are built in one day and in place for one to two years. Typically, they are a slender column of galvanized metal, with guy wires in four directions. They are commonly built at a height of 194 to 199 feet, just short of the 200 feet requirement that requires lighting by the FAA.
The gray metal towers easily blend into the background, making them difficult for pilots to see and avoid, Hay said.
Hay expressed his appreciation for the support of the Nebraska Aviation Trades Association for its grant, which paid for purchase of materials and supplies for marking a tower, he added.
The FAA guidance to make the weather towers as visible as possible includes:
Seven paint stripes of aviation orange and white (top to bottom)
– Eight spherical marker balls on guy wires (four within 15 feet of the top wire connection to the tower, and four at or below the midpoint of the structure on the outer guy wires)
– One high visibility sleeve on each guy wire anchor point plus a second sleeve on each outer guy wire
For Hay to obtain footage for the YouTube videos, Wilcox piloted his Air Tractor 502B aircraft over a field near a MET tower in northeast Nebraska this summer. Wilcox said he and his fellow pilots are constantly on the lookout for towers that too easily can take them out of the sky.
"Because the MET towers can be constructed in one day and are nearly invisible until too late to avoid in gray sky conditions, Hay's project is a matter of safety of flight," Wilcox said.
Wilcox reflected on the loss of his pilot colleague, Stephen Allen of Courtland, Calif., who died while applying seed by air when his airplane struck an unmarked weather tower last year.
"I encourage owners of MET towers to view Hay's YouTube videos and follow the FAA's marking guidance," Wilcox said.
Several types of low-altitude aviation benefit from weather tower markings and including life flight crews / patients, law enforcement surveillance, wildlife / game surveys, power line maintenance crews and aerial fire suppression.
In addition, towers in Nebraska that exceed a height of 50 feet and are outside the boundaries of any incorporated city or village are required by state law to be registered with the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics. Currently, there are about 90 meteorological evaluation towers registered in Nebraska. As a supplement to his project, Hay prepared a Nebraska map showing the location of each of them.
http://kticradio.com
F-28 hits truck in Nigeria
http://hotgistshotnews.blogspot.nl/2012/10/irs-plane-runs-into-truck-on-runway-in.html
http://365naijanews.com/breaking-news-irs-airlines-plane-runs-into-a-truck-on-runway-at-mma2-lagos
LAGOS, Nigeria - Officials in Nigeria say a passenger jet crashed into the side of a vehicle while taxiing, causing no injuries.
Officials say the wing of an IRS Airlines aircraft hit the vehicle near a cargo loading zone Wednesday at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The plane had no passengers inside. Iyiola Akande of Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency described the damage as similar to "a scratch on your car," but said the airline pulled the plane from service to check it.
An airline spokeswoman did not answer requests for comment Wednesday.
Nigeria has a history of fatal air crash, including the June 3 crash of a Dana Air jet that killed more than 160 in Lagos.
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com
http://365naijanews.com/breaking-news-irs-airlines-plane-runs-into-a-truck-on-runway-at-mma2-lagos
LAGOS, Nigeria - Officials in Nigeria say a passenger jet crashed into the side of a vehicle while taxiing, causing no injuries.
Officials say the wing of an IRS Airlines aircraft hit the vehicle near a cargo loading zone Wednesday at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The plane had no passengers inside. Iyiola Akande of Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency described the damage as similar to "a scratch on your car," but said the airline pulled the plane from service to check it.
An airline spokeswoman did not answer requests for comment Wednesday.
Nigeria has a history of fatal air crash, including the June 3 crash of a Dana Air jet that killed more than 160 in Lagos.
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com
Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer, C-GABA: Cantley, Quebec resident pulls pilot from sinking plane
Stefan McClelland saved a pilot from drowning in the Ottawa River
An amphibious Lake LA 4200 aircraft that went down on the Ottawa River is transported along Innes Road after it was recovered from the water.
Photograph by: Chris Mikula, Ottawa Citizen
When Stefan McClelland finally reached the plane and saw the smashed cockpit rapidly filling with water, he knew he would need to act quickly to save the pilot trapped inside.
The Cantley native had just seconds to react Oct. 2, when he saw the bright yellow Lake LA 4200 float plane make a hard landing on the Ottawa River – seconds that could have made the difference between life and death for the pilot, Yvon Bedard. The 69-year-old Orleans resident is thankful his “guardian angel” showed up when he did.
“Who knows what would have happened?” wondered the pilot with over 40 years of flying experience from his east Ottawa home several days after the mid-morning crash. “It’s a good thing he was there.”
McClelland was in his little tinny fishing boat near Petrie Island, when he saw the plane take a sharp and unusual turn. He saw it splash into the river and instantly knew something was wrong.
McClelland quickly fired up his 25-horsepower motor and carefully inched toward the plane that was now spinning out of control on the water.
“I saw a body in there, but had no idea if he was alive,” said McClelland, a 39-year-old who is an Ottawa Police civilian employee. “I was petrified coming up to this thing.”
He saw Bedard trying to exit the half-submerged cockpit and noticed that he couldn’t get the door open. McClelland finally got his boat close enough to reach up and pull on the handle. Both men together struggled with the door for what seemed like minutes before it finally gave way – releasing a sudden flood into the cockpit. The powerful wave immersed Bedard as its weight began to pull the plane downward.
“I was holding onto him with all I had, and he was getting pulled down with the plane,” said McClelland, adding that even his boat was beginning to tip over.
“At one point I was thinking, ‘Am I going to have to let go?’ ”
But he never did. He held onto Bedard’s arm until the pilot surfaced and scrambled into the boat, shivering and in shock, according to McClelland.
The men watched silently as the small aircraft descended ominously into the depths, a sight McClelland can only describe as “creepy.”
“It was a matter of seconds,” added Bedard, reflecting on how lucky he was to escape with his life.
McClelland gave Bedard dry clothing and hot coffee and drove him to shore, where paramedics were called to treat him for broken ribs and bruises.
Bedard told McClelland a combination of sunlight in his eyes and the glassy river surface led to the crash.
It wasn’t the first time the Orleans pilot has cheated death. A mishap in 1970, four years after he started flying, left him out of commission for two-and-a-half months. Engine failure during takeoff was to blame for the crash that proved to be much more than just a physical toll for Bedard.
“I can’t remember much of that at all,” he said.
‘MacGyver’ move saves plane
Although Bedard had been brought to safety, McClelland’s rescue mission wasn’t quite over. He went back to save the plane.
Before heading for shore with Bedard in the boat, a quick-thinking McClelland jerry-rigged a makeshift anchored buoy, using a shoestring, a Leatherman multi-tool and a Gatorade bottle to mark the spot where the plane sank.
The MacGyver-type move saved divers hours of fishing in the dark for the aircraft, which was recovered less than an hour later.
http://www.lowdownonline.com
An amphibious Lake LA 4200 aircraft that went down on the Ottawa River is transported along Innes Road it was recovered from the water.
Photograph by: Chris Mikula , Ottawa Citizen
An amphibious Lake LA 4200 aircraft that went down on the Ottawa River is readied for transport on a flatbed truck after it was recovered from the water.
Photograph by: Noel Murphy, Reader Photo
Birds land on runway in Kolkata, stop flight operations
KOLKATA: After jackals and honeybees, it was birds that turned into a nuisance at the airport on Wednesday when a flock of crows and cranes descended on the secondary runway, halting operations. Four incoming and two departing flights were put on hold as airport officials scrambled bird chasers to clear the tarmac.
Birds are a major hazard to aircraft safety. Even a small bird getting sucked into a jet engine can lead to engine failure that can at times prove fatal. Kolkata airport is particularly vulnerable to bird hits as lack of garbage disposal and collection system in the adjoining municipalities attracts scavengers. Ironically, Wednesday's incident was triggered not by dumping of garbage but by a drive to keep the airport grounds clean. Grass cutting along the tarmac had let loose insects that had crawled over to the runway, inviting the birds to an afternoon feast.
Air traffic controllers at the tower first noticed the flock of birds to the north of the primary runway around 3.40pm. Alarmed at the sheer number of crows and cranes that were busy feeding on the runway, the controllers shut it down and radioed the four incoming flights-two IndiGo Airlines, an Air India and a Jet Airways-to hover over the city till the runway had been cleared. A departing JetLite flight was also asked to wait.
Contractual staff who had been earlier employed as bird chasers and currently keep the grounds clean were then summoned to drive the winged intruders away. An order from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety had turned bird chasing activity obsolete as they were viewed as a hazard by foreign pilots.
By the time the birds had been shooed away, it was nearly 3.55pm. With repairs on the primary runway complete by then, it was opened to flights and operations at the airport resumed.
"Hitting a bird during takeoff and landing is one of the worst nightmares for a pilot. For those flying into and out of Kolkata, it is scary for no other airport in the country has so many crows and kites hovering over mounds of garbage," a pilot told TOI.
There is every reason to worry. There are garbage dumps on VIP Road that lie right on the flight path of planes taking off from the secondary runway while the twin dumps on Jessore road are on the flight path of aircraft approaching to land on the primary runway. Even Kolkata Municipal Corporation's sprawling solid waste dump at Dhapa is located on the flight path of approaching aircraft.
Disturbance of insect habitat during grass cutting does attract birds in flocks but this generally happens at the beginning of the monsoon. The delay in onset of rains this year led to the grass cutting schedule being postponed till recently . Hence, the unusual bird trouble on Wednesday. this late in the year.
BIRD HITS IN KOLKATA
Oct 8, 2004: Air India Kolkata-Bangkok flight
May 13, 2008: Air India Kolkata-Mumbai flight
Mar 5, 2008: AI Agartala-Kolkata flight
Jan 17, 2009: JetLite Guwahati-Kolkata flight
Feb 1, 2010: Paramount Airways Kolkata-Chennai flight
May 18, 2010: Air India Dibrugarh-Kolkata flight
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Air traffic controller shortage in Queensland (With Audio)
There is a shortage of air traffic controllers and the call's gone out to anyone interested in training up.
Neil Hall is an Air Traffic Control Supervisor at Brisbane Airport: http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2012/10/air-traffic-controller-shortage-in-queensland.html
Formula One bringing in more than 60 charter flights to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (KAUS), Austin, Texas
Austin-Bergstrom Airport officials already know more than 60 charter flights will be arriving for the Formula One race next month—and that number could rise in the next week.
One 747 jumbo jet is already on the reservation list, as are several other jets that can hold upwards of 225 passengers a piece.
Dale Murphy is chair of the Austin Aviation Advisory Commission, and was briefed on the anticipated air traffic Tuesday evening.
"It's a big influx over a short amount of time for us, but the airport really has the capacity currently to handle it," Murphy said.
The planes will stay in different areas of the airport over Formula One weekend.
ABIA's Jim Halbrook says the charter reservations list does not include smaller aircraft or those landing at neighboring airports.
Right now, ABIA and federal aviation officials are considering permits for two temporary helicopter landing zones in Austin with specific routes to and from the Circuit of the Americas track.
"It is going to take them north of this airport, and another one may go south,” Halbrook said. “I don't know, but they will be well out of the way of our air traffic approaches."
Halbrook says while passengers will be arriving at different times throughout the weekend, they will all want to leave by Monday or Tuesday, just days away from the Thanksgiving holiday.
"Which seems to be right before the big hit for folks leaving for the holidays and coming in for the holidays,” Murphy said. “It's definitely tight."
Security lines during the busy travel days could take more than one hour to clear.
"Consider your commute to the airport,” Halbrook said. “You may want to leave much earlier to get to the airport than you normally would."
ABIA is also seeing more passengers outside of major events like the Austin City Limits Music Festival and Formula One.
Halbrook says passengers returned three times the number of rental cars Monday. That may have been due, in part, to the UT game against West Virginia.
http://austin.ynn.com
Turkish Jets Force Down Syrian Passenger Plane - TV
Turkish fighter jets forced a Syrian passenger jet to land at the airport in the Turkish capital Ankara on Wednesday, Turkey's NTV television reported.
Turkish F-16s forced down the Airbus A320, which was flying from Moscow to Damascus, over suspicions it has prohibited cargo on board.
The plane, which took off from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, landed in Ankara at 5:15 p.m. local time, CNN-Turk reported.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed that a Syrian plane with 30 passengers on board was diverted to Ankara and forced to land by Turkish fighter jets on Wednesday.
“There is information that the plane had cargo on board that does not meet the requirements of civil aviation,” Davutoglu told TGRT television in Athens, where he is on a visit.
“Measures are currently being undertaken as provided under current legislation and international law,” he said.
Tensions between the two countries boiled over late last Wednesday when a mortar round apparently fired from Syria killed five civilians in the Turkish border town of Akcakale.
Turkey responded with artillery strikes against targets in violence-wracked Syria and the Turkish parliament authorized the government to order more strikes as necessary.
Although Damascus apologized for the incident, Turkish and Syrian artillery exchanged fire a number of times over the ensuing six days.
Read more:
http://en.ria.ru/world/20121010/176540076.html
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d2749540-12ce-11e2-aa9c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz28rsg43NP
Turkish F-16s forced down the Airbus A320, which was flying from Moscow to Damascus, over suspicions it has prohibited cargo on board.
The plane, which took off from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, landed in Ankara at 5:15 p.m. local time, CNN-Turk reported.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed that a Syrian plane with 30 passengers on board was diverted to Ankara and forced to land by Turkish fighter jets on Wednesday.
“There is information that the plane had cargo on board that does not meet the requirements of civil aviation,” Davutoglu told TGRT television in Athens, where he is on a visit.
“Measures are currently being undertaken as provided under current legislation and international law,” he said.
Tensions between the two countries boiled over late last Wednesday when a mortar round apparently fired from Syria killed five civilians in the Turkish border town of Akcakale.
Turkey responded with artillery strikes against targets in violence-wracked Syria and the Turkish parliament authorized the government to order more strikes as necessary.
Although Damascus apologized for the incident, Turkish and Syrian artillery exchanged fire a number of times over the ensuing six days.
Read more:
http://en.ria.ru/world/20121010/176540076.html
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d2749540-12ce-11e2-aa9c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz28rsg43NP
Kenya: Malindi Airport Pothole Causes a Plane Crash
An unknown number of people, including two pilots of a private jet, narrowly escaped death after their plane crashed immediately before it
took off at the Malindi Airport yesterday.
The 12-seater plane allegedly hit a pothole and its tire burst as it took off.
Witnesses said the plane rolled from North where it was heading and faced South before crashing with one of its wings down. A group of casual laborers building the the airport’s fence said the plane had stayed at the airport less than an hour.
The accident disrupted activities at the airport for several hours as rescue teams, including the two firefighting engines, ambulances rushed to the scene to help.
It is alleged that the airport’s runway is full of potholes and contributed to accident, the second in two weeks.”The plane left the hangar and upon reaching the beginning of the runway, it increased speed so as to be able to take off from the Northern side,” said Simon Kama, who was at the airport when the accident occurred.”It rolled and landed outside the runway, and moments later, we saw two people walking out of the plane,” he said.Curious onlookers jammed the airport’s fence as the security officials tried to handle the emergency.
Journalists were roughed up by the airport security officers who barred them from accessing the scene, forcing them to take pictures when far away from the scene.
Some of the security personnel also pursued the journalists to the fence but never caught up with them as they escaped to an interior area which was not visible.
Airport manager Walter Agong told the journalists to wait from outside as it was against the airport rules for them to access the accident scene.
He promised to call them later for further briefings as he was still in a ‘crucial meeting’ and could not immediately confirm anything. It was however not clear whether the plane belonged to foreigners or Africans. Two weeks ago, a plane crashed a few meters from yesterday’s scene.
http://allafrica.com
The failed take-off attempt yesterday, Tuesday, October 9, by a South African-registered, twin-engined aircraft, registered as ZS-SSY, spared the lives of 8 passengers, some of whom, however, were reportedly injured during the accident.
For no immediately available reasons, the aircraft, while on its take-off run, failed to leave the ground but eventually slid off the runway of Malindi Airport in Kenya. Speculation, however, focuses on either burst tires or the collapse of the main landing gear, perhaps supported by the fact that the aircraft, when it came to a stop in the grass besides the runway, was on its belly while the front gear was still extended.
The fire brigade and ambulance services rushed immediately to the scene when the tower saw the plane veer off the runway and evacuated the passengers to a Malindi hospital for treatment.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has launched an accident investigation, and inspectors were flown from Nairobi to Malindi to collect the evidence and check out the aircraft’s and pilot’s documentation while also securing the wreck for evaluation of damages and potential technical faults prior to take off.
The destination of the flight was not made available by a regular aviation source from Mombasa, who said overnight he was “stalled” by his own contacts in Malindi and the nationality of the passengers was also not known at the time of going to press.
http://www.eturbonews.com
Bell 407, N108MF: Accident occurred October 09, 2012 in Coolbaugh Township, Pennsylvania
NTSB Identification: ERA13FA014
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, October 09, 2012 in Coolbaugh Township, PA
Aircraft: BELL 407, registration: N108MF
Injuries: 2 Fatal,1 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 9, 2012, about 2000 eastern daylight time, a Bell 407, N108MF, operated by ACS Helicopters LLC., was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain in Coolbaugh Township, Pennsylvania. The airline transport pilot and one passenger were fatally injured, and one passenger was seriously injured. The corporate flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the planned flight to Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York. The flight last departed Elmira/Corning Regional Airport (ELM), Elmira, New York about 1845.
According to recovered cockpit documentation and passenger interviews, on the day of the accident, the helicopter departed Somerset Airport (SMQ), Somerville, New Jersey at 0730 for Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU), Morristown, New Jersey. After arriving at MMU at 0753, the pilot boarded four passengers, and then departed at 0830 for Camden County Airport (19N), Berlin, New Jersey, where it arrived at 0920. After having breakfast, the four passengers then played golf from approximately 1030 to 1500, and then socialized for approximately an hour before returning to the airport, where they once again boarded the helicopter. At 1630, the helicopter then departed for SMQ, landing there at 1710, and deplaned one passenger. At 1720 the helicopter departed once again, this time for ELM with three of the original four passengers onboard. After arriving at ELM at 1830 another passenger deplaned, and at 1845 the helicopter with the pilot and two of the original four passengers departed for HPN.
According to a limousine driver who was supposed to pick up one of the passengers at HPN, at 1938 he received a text from the passenger stating that they were "running late". Then at 1953, he received another text instructing him to go back to MMU to pick up the passenger. After arriving at MMU, the driver waited but the helicopter never arrived.
A search by Federal, State, and Local authorities was initiated. On October 10, 2012 at approximately 0230 the helicopter was discovered in a heavily wooded area approximately 1.3 miles northwest of Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport (MPO), Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.
Examination of the accident site and wreckage revealed that after striking trees, the helicopter struck the ground coming to rest on its right side. Further examination revealed that the ground was saturated with fuel, there was still fuel onboard the helicopter, and there was no evidence of any preimpact failures, or malfunctions of the rotor system, flight control system, or aircraft structure.
According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane multi-engine land, with commercial privileges for airplane single-engine land, and rotorcraft-helicopter. His most recent application for an FAA first-class medical certificate was dated June 1, 2012. On that date, he reported 19,000 hours of flight time.
According to FAA and maintenance records the helicopter was manufactured in 2007.The helicopter's most recent annual inspection was completed on August 3, 2012. At the time of the accident, the helicopter had accrued 837.3 total hours of operation.
The recorded weather at MPO, at 2003, included: wind 100 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 1 1/4 miles, light rain, mist, overcast ceiling of 200 feet, temperature 09 degrees C, dew point 09 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.10 inches of mercury.
The helicopter was retained by the NTSB for further examination.
Fraser Sullivan Founder Tighe Sullivan Dies in Helicopter Crash
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Tighe Sullivan, co-founder of WCAS Fraser Sullivan Investment Management LLC, was killed in a helicopter crash in Pennsylvania while returning from a golf outing. He was 51.
Sullivan, of Darien, Connecticut, was among three passengers in a helicopter that went down in a wooded area in Coolbaugh Township about 8 p.m. on Oct. 9, the Monroe County coroner’s office said yesterday in a statement. The pilot, William Ellsworth, 52, of Califon, New Jersey, also died, while passenger Stephen Barral of Bernardsville, New Jersey, a fraternity brother of Sullivan’s, survived.
Sullivan started the leveraged-loan firm with John Fraser in 2005 after leaving Deutsche Bank AG, where he was a managing director in high-yield sales. He is survived by his wife, Callie, and their children, Jessie, 18, Lila, 17, and Tiger, 15, said Richard Lombard, his father-in-law.
“He was just a wonderful guy,” Lombard said in a telephone interview. “Full of spirit. An action person.”
Sullivan, an alumnus of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, enjoyed wakeboarding and skiing and coached his son’s hockey teams, Lombard said. A service will be held at the United Church of Rowayton in Norwalk, Connecticut, at 1 p.m. on Oct. 14, he said.
3i Group Plc, the U.K’s oldest private-equity firm, said in August that it was starting a U.S. unit with New York-based WCAS Fraser Sullivan, which managed about $2.5 billion at the time. Sullivan was slated to be co-head of the U.S. business when the transaction was completed, reporting to Jeremy Ghose, chief executive officer of 3i Debt Management.
Deutsche Bank
“We are all shocked and saddened by this tragic loss,” Ghose said in a statement. “I know how excited Tighe was to be part of 3i and, together with John Fraser and his colleagues, we will continue to build on the foundations he laid and to keep his memory in our hearts.”
At Deutsche Bank, Sullivan helped market $185 billion of junk bonds and bridge loans, according to a biography on the WCAS Fraser Sullivan website. Before joining Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank in 2001, he worked at ING Barings LLC and First Union Securities Inc., according to records maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Sullivan covered a lot of big accounts at Deutsche Bank, said Michael Herzig, who worked with him there. He had a “big, energetic, enthusiastic personality,” said Herzig, 44, now a managing director at THL Credit Senior Loan Strategies, a unit of private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP.
‘People Person’
That popularity on Wall Street helped Sullivan recruit talented employees when he ventured out on his own, Fraser, the co-founder, said in a telephone interview. The two met in 1983 when both were working for Chase Manhattan Bank and had talked about starting a company together since around 2000, he said.
“Tighe’s a people person,” Fraser said. “He was great at developing relationships with people that ultimately proved valuable.”
When the helicopter went down, Sullivan was returning from a golf trip to Pine Valley, New Jersey, Lombard said. They had dropped off a passenger in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and were returning to the New York area when the pilot diverted toward a local airport to escape bad weather, Chief Harry Lewis of the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department said in a statement. They crashed about a mile from Mt. Pocono Airport, he said.
Police found the wreckage in a heavily wooded area near Interstate 380 at 2:29 a.m., about 6 1/2 hours after it went down, according to the coroner. After an initial search failed, Barral’s mobile phone signal eventually led police to the crash site, WNEP-TV of Moosic, Pennsylvania, reported on its website.
Fraternity Brothers
Sullivan and Ellsworth were dead when police arrived, the coroner said. Barral, who was riding in the helicopter’s back seat, was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to the coroner.
Ellsworth flew helicopters part-time. He was also a first officer for American Airlines Inc., based at New York’s LaGuardia airport, according to Sam Mayer, a spokesman for the pilots union. He been an American pilot for 19 years, the airline said in an e-mailed statement.
Sullivan and Barral were both members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Colgate, Charlie Herzog, a fraternity brother, said in a telephone interview. Barral graduated in 1984 and worked on Wall Street, Herzog said.
‘Star Personality’
Sullivan was born on March 16, 1961, in Montclair, New Jersey, his wife said. His mother, Cheryl, made furnishings, such as curtains, and his father, John, was manager of operations for retailer B. Altman & Co., she said. Both are deceased.
After two years at Montclair State College, Sullivan transferred to Colgate, his father-in-law said. He borrowed from an acquaintance and sold newspapers to pay tuition and became a “star personality,” he said. Sullivan joined the economics and politics clubs and took a turn on the student-run radio station, according to Colgate’s website.
“He was a total Horatio Alger story,” Lombard said.
Three years after he graduated, Sullivan met Callie while he was in the training program at Chase and she was working as an art saleswoman, she said. A mutual friend set them up on a blind date at the Dew Drop Inn, a bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, on Dec. 5, 1986, she said.
Lake George
“My friend said that he had red hair and was kind of obnoxious and liked to drink a lot of beer,” Callie said. “I said, ‘Why would I want to go out with somebody like that?’ She said, ‘Because you like a challenge.’
“We fell in love at first sight, that was it,” said Callie, a former member of the Darien Board of Selectmen.
The couple were married in 1989, and in 2000 they bought a house on Lake George in upstate New York, which they renovated. He used one of their boats for wakeboarding there, she said.
“He would spend hours dragging people around the lake,” Callie said. “He was there every weekend in the summer.”
Sullivan served on Colgate’s alumni council, endowed a scholarship for his fraternity and received a service award from the school in 2008, according to the college’s website. His daughter Jessie is now a freshman there, Lombard said.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com
By CHRISTOPHER MELE
Pocono Record Executive Editor
~
Tighe Sullivan and William Ellsworth moved in different circles but shared a gusto for life and golf, their families said.
Ellsworth, an American Airlines pilot for 19 years, piloted a helicopter in his part-time work for a New Jersey-based charter service.
Sullivan, founder and chief operating officer of a New York City-based investment management firm, was a doting father of three, active in charitable causes in his hometown of Darien, Conn.
Theirs were separate, passion-filled lives connected in death.
Sullivan was one of two passengers on their way back from a golf outing when the Bell model 407 chopper Ellsworth was piloting hit rough weather Tuesday night and attempted to land at Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport.
The helicopter crashed in the woods off Interstate 380, the front of the chopper first hitting a tree, then the ground and ultimately landing on its side, authorities said.
Ellsworth and Sullivan, seated in the front, were killed. A rear-seat passenger, Stephen Barral of Bernardsville, N.J., survived, though he was critically injured.
Barral has worked for W.H. Mell Associates, a municipal bond brokerage in Summit, N.J., since 2011, according to The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. He is also listed as a managing member of Gulfstream Capital Management, a hedge fund run that manages about $325 million in assets, records show. Prior to that, he was head of U.S. convertible bond sales at Barclay's Capital.
Flying and golf
Ellsworth's love of family was unmatched, said family member Tim Fleischer. Ellsworth spent as much time as he could with family, given that he was a commercial pilot.
Fleischer said Ellsworth, 52, of Califon, N.J., was married for 23 years to his wife, Trish. They had two children, Eliza, 18, and Harry, 15.
"If there were passions in his life outside of family, it was flying and golf," Fleischer said.
Ellsworth got his pilot's license when he was 21, said Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen.
"American Airlines is saddened to learn of the death of First Officer William "Will" Ellsworth, who had been a pilot with American for 19 years," the company said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Will's family and the others affected by this tragedy."
'Just loved life'
Callie Sullivan described her late husband as "one of the most gregarious, fun-loving, generous people I have ever known. There will be hundreds of people who will agree with that."
She described him as a "ball of fire" who was involved in numerous charitable causes in his community.
"He just loved life. He loved every second of it. He was full of energy," she said.
He described her husband as a "Renaissance man" with an appetite for all things outdoors and nature, including hiking, skiing and golfing.
"He was happiest when he was on the move and when was with his children," two girls ages 18 and 17, and a son, 15, said Callie Sullivan, who met her husband on a blind date set up by one of her girlfriends and one of his fraternity brothers. They were married 24 years.
Sullivan had a career in finance.
Before he founded the investment management firm of WCAS Fraser Sullivan, he was a managing director in high yield at Deutsche Bank from 2000-05, according to the company's website.
While at Deutsche Bank, he marketed 600 new issues representing $185 billion of high-yield bonds and bridge financings. He previously held numerous other posts with other financial firms after starting his career at Chase Manhattan in 1983.
Story: http://www.poconorecord.com
Victims in fatal Mount Pocono chopper crash identified; were returning from golf outing
2 dead, survivor listed in critical condition
The victims in the helicopter crash outside of Mount Pocono have been identified by Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen. The two men killed were William Ellsworth, 52, of Califon, N.J., the pilot of the helicopter, and Tighe Sullivan, 51, of Darien, Conn., the front-seat passenger.
Stephen Barral, of Bernardsville, N.J., who was in the backseat, is listed in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital.
The group was returning from a golf outing and headed toward the metro New York area, police said this morning. Shortly before the crash Tuesday night, the chopper dropped off a passenger in Wilkes-Barre, according to Pocono Mountain Regional Police.
The chopper, which had been returning from an outing in Elmira, N.Y., got lost in bad weather and was attempting to land at Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport.
A truck driver reported seeing a chopper flying above I-380 shortly before it crashed. The wreckage was discovered about 100 feet from the road in the woods near Mount Pocono this morning.
A report of a missing helicopter reached police around 10 p.m. Tuesday but an initial search turned up nothing.
When Barral, the surviving passenger, called for help on a cell phone, the U.S. Air Force and the Monroe County Control Center were able to rely on GPS technology to hone in on the crash site. It is not clear how long Barral was in the woods alone. The wreckage was found around 2 a.m.
Allen pronounced Ellsworth and Sullivan dead at 4:20 a.m.
The front of the chopper hit a tree, then the ground and landed on its side, Allen said.
The Bell model 407 chopper is registerd to ACS Helicopter LLC in Far Hills, N.J. Efforts to reach the company this morning were unsuccessful. Ellsworth was a part-time employee for company.
Allen said Ellsworth obtained his pilot’s license at age 21 and was a pilot for American Airlines in his full-time role.
Lewis said he did not know if the $2.3 million chopper was equipped with a weather radar. He said it did not have a so-called “orange box” that would have recorded flight information.
Helicopters are equipped with orange boxes while airplanes are outfitted with black boxes to record such information.
Authorities were awaiting the arrival of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board from northern Virginia to arrive at the crash site, which was about a mile from Mount Pocono.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
http://registry.faa.gov/N108MF
http://www.aerialperspectives.org
SPECI KMPO 100039Z AUTO 12005KT 1/4SM FG VV002 09/09 A301 RMK AO2 RAE27 P0001
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, October 09, 2012 in Coolbaugh Township, PA
Aircraft: BELL 407, registration: N108MF
Injuries: 2 Fatal,1 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 9, 2012, about 2000 eastern daylight time, a Bell 407, N108MF, operated by ACS Helicopters LLC., was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain in Coolbaugh Township, Pennsylvania. The airline transport pilot and one passenger were fatally injured, and one passenger was seriously injured. The corporate flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the planned flight to Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York. The flight last departed Elmira/Corning Regional Airport (ELM), Elmira, New York about 1845.
According to recovered cockpit documentation and passenger interviews, on the day of the accident, the helicopter departed Somerset Airport (SMQ), Somerville, New Jersey at 0730 for Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU), Morristown, New Jersey. After arriving at MMU at 0753, the pilot boarded four passengers, and then departed at 0830 for Camden County Airport (19N), Berlin, New Jersey, where it arrived at 0920. After having breakfast, the four passengers then played golf from approximately 1030 to 1500, and then socialized for approximately an hour before returning to the airport, where they once again boarded the helicopter. At 1630, the helicopter then departed for SMQ, landing there at 1710, and deplaned one passenger. At 1720 the helicopter departed once again, this time for ELM with three of the original four passengers onboard. After arriving at ELM at 1830 another passenger deplaned, and at 1845 the helicopter with the pilot and two of the original four passengers departed for HPN.
According to a limousine driver who was supposed to pick up one of the passengers at HPN, at 1938 he received a text from the passenger stating that they were "running late". Then at 1953, he received another text instructing him to go back to MMU to pick up the passenger. After arriving at MMU, the driver waited but the helicopter never arrived.
A search by Federal, State, and Local authorities was initiated. On October 10, 2012 at approximately 0230 the helicopter was discovered in a heavily wooded area approximately 1.3 miles northwest of Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport (MPO), Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.
Examination of the accident site and wreckage revealed that after striking trees, the helicopter struck the ground coming to rest on its right side. Further examination revealed that the ground was saturated with fuel, there was still fuel onboard the helicopter, and there was no evidence of any preimpact failures, or malfunctions of the rotor system, flight control system, or aircraft structure.
According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane multi-engine land, with commercial privileges for airplane single-engine land, and rotorcraft-helicopter. His most recent application for an FAA first-class medical certificate was dated June 1, 2012. On that date, he reported 19,000 hours of flight time.
According to FAA and maintenance records the helicopter was manufactured in 2007.The helicopter's most recent annual inspection was completed on August 3, 2012. At the time of the accident, the helicopter had accrued 837.3 total hours of operation.
The recorded weather at MPO, at 2003, included: wind 100 degrees at 6 knots, visibility 1 1/4 miles, light rain, mist, overcast ceiling of 200 feet, temperature 09 degrees C, dew point 09 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.10 inches of mercury.
The helicopter was retained by the NTSB for further examination.
Fraser Sullivan Founder Tighe Sullivan Dies in Helicopter Crash
Tighe Sullivan was one of the victims in the helicopter crash Tuesday night near Mount Pocono.
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Tighe Sullivan, co-founder of WCAS Fraser Sullivan Investment Management LLC, was killed in a helicopter crash in Pennsylvania while returning from a golf outing. He was 51.
Sullivan, of Darien, Connecticut, was among three passengers in a helicopter that went down in a wooded area in Coolbaugh Township about 8 p.m. on Oct. 9, the Monroe County coroner’s office said yesterday in a statement. The pilot, William Ellsworth, 52, of Califon, New Jersey, also died, while passenger Stephen Barral of Bernardsville, New Jersey, a fraternity brother of Sullivan’s, survived.
Sullivan started the leveraged-loan firm with John Fraser in 2005 after leaving Deutsche Bank AG, where he was a managing director in high-yield sales. He is survived by his wife, Callie, and their children, Jessie, 18, Lila, 17, and Tiger, 15, said Richard Lombard, his father-in-law.
“He was just a wonderful guy,” Lombard said in a telephone interview. “Full of spirit. An action person.”
Sullivan, an alumnus of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, enjoyed wakeboarding and skiing and coached his son’s hockey teams, Lombard said. A service will be held at the United Church of Rowayton in Norwalk, Connecticut, at 1 p.m. on Oct. 14, he said.
3i Group Plc, the U.K’s oldest private-equity firm, said in August that it was starting a U.S. unit with New York-based WCAS Fraser Sullivan, which managed about $2.5 billion at the time. Sullivan was slated to be co-head of the U.S. business when the transaction was completed, reporting to Jeremy Ghose, chief executive officer of 3i Debt Management.
Deutsche Bank
“We are all shocked and saddened by this tragic loss,” Ghose said in a statement. “I know how excited Tighe was to be part of 3i and, together with John Fraser and his colleagues, we will continue to build on the foundations he laid and to keep his memory in our hearts.”
At Deutsche Bank, Sullivan helped market $185 billion of junk bonds and bridge loans, according to a biography on the WCAS Fraser Sullivan website. Before joining Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank in 2001, he worked at ING Barings LLC and First Union Securities Inc., according to records maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Sullivan covered a lot of big accounts at Deutsche Bank, said Michael Herzig, who worked with him there. He had a “big, energetic, enthusiastic personality,” said Herzig, 44, now a managing director at THL Credit Senior Loan Strategies, a unit of private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP.
‘People Person’
That popularity on Wall Street helped Sullivan recruit talented employees when he ventured out on his own, Fraser, the co-founder, said in a telephone interview. The two met in 1983 when both were working for Chase Manhattan Bank and had talked about starting a company together since around 2000, he said.
“Tighe’s a people person,” Fraser said. “He was great at developing relationships with people that ultimately proved valuable.”
When the helicopter went down, Sullivan was returning from a golf trip to Pine Valley, New Jersey, Lombard said. They had dropped off a passenger in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and were returning to the New York area when the pilot diverted toward a local airport to escape bad weather, Chief Harry Lewis of the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department said in a statement. They crashed about a mile from Mt. Pocono Airport, he said.
Police found the wreckage in a heavily wooded area near Interstate 380 at 2:29 a.m., about 6 1/2 hours after it went down, according to the coroner. After an initial search failed, Barral’s mobile phone signal eventually led police to the crash site, WNEP-TV of Moosic, Pennsylvania, reported on its website.
Fraternity Brothers
Sullivan and Ellsworth were dead when police arrived, the coroner said. Barral, who was riding in the helicopter’s back seat, was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to the coroner.
Ellsworth flew helicopters part-time. He was also a first officer for American Airlines Inc., based at New York’s LaGuardia airport, according to Sam Mayer, a spokesman for the pilots union. He been an American pilot for 19 years, the airline said in an e-mailed statement.
Sullivan and Barral were both members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Colgate, Charlie Herzog, a fraternity brother, said in a telephone interview. Barral graduated in 1984 and worked on Wall Street, Herzog said.
‘Star Personality’
Sullivan was born on March 16, 1961, in Montclair, New Jersey, his wife said. His mother, Cheryl, made furnishings, such as curtains, and his father, John, was manager of operations for retailer B. Altman & Co., she said. Both are deceased.
After two years at Montclair State College, Sullivan transferred to Colgate, his father-in-law said. He borrowed from an acquaintance and sold newspapers to pay tuition and became a “star personality,” he said. Sullivan joined the economics and politics clubs and took a turn on the student-run radio station, according to Colgate’s website.
“He was a total Horatio Alger story,” Lombard said.
Three years after he graduated, Sullivan met Callie while he was in the training program at Chase and she was working as an art saleswoman, she said. A mutual friend set them up on a blind date at the Dew Drop Inn, a bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, on Dec. 5, 1986, she said.
Lake George
“My friend said that he had red hair and was kind of obnoxious and liked to drink a lot of beer,” Callie said. “I said, ‘Why would I want to go out with somebody like that?’ She said, ‘Because you like a challenge.’
“We fell in love at first sight, that was it,” said Callie, a former member of the Darien Board of Selectmen.
The couple were married in 1989, and in 2000 they bought a house on Lake George in upstate New York, which they renovated. He used one of their boats for wakeboarding there, she said.
“He would spend hours dragging people around the lake,” Callie said. “He was there every weekend in the summer.”
Sullivan served on Colgate’s alumni council, endowed a scholarship for his fraternity and received a service award from the school in 2008, according to the college’s website. His daughter Jessie is now a freshman there, Lombard said.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com
Mount Pocono helicopter crash victims lived with gusto, families say
Pocono Record Executive Editor
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Tighe Sullivan and William Ellsworth moved in different circles but shared a gusto for life and golf, their families said.
Ellsworth, an American Airlines pilot for 19 years, piloted a helicopter in his part-time work for a New Jersey-based charter service.
Sullivan, founder and chief operating officer of a New York City-based investment management firm, was a doting father of three, active in charitable causes in his hometown of Darien, Conn.
Theirs were separate, passion-filled lives connected in death.
Sullivan was one of two passengers on their way back from a golf outing when the Bell model 407 chopper Ellsworth was piloting hit rough weather Tuesday night and attempted to land at Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport.
The helicopter crashed in the woods off Interstate 380, the front of the chopper first hitting a tree, then the ground and ultimately landing on its side, authorities said.
Ellsworth and Sullivan, seated in the front, were killed. A rear-seat passenger, Stephen Barral of Bernardsville, N.J., survived, though he was critically injured.
Barral has worked for W.H. Mell Associates, a municipal bond brokerage in Summit, N.J., since 2011, according to The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. He is also listed as a managing member of Gulfstream Capital Management, a hedge fund run that manages about $325 million in assets, records show. Prior to that, he was head of U.S. convertible bond sales at Barclay's Capital.
Flying and golf
Ellsworth's love of family was unmatched, said family member Tim Fleischer. Ellsworth spent as much time as he could with family, given that he was a commercial pilot.
Fleischer said Ellsworth, 52, of Califon, N.J., was married for 23 years to his wife, Trish. They had two children, Eliza, 18, and Harry, 15.
"If there were passions in his life outside of family, it was flying and golf," Fleischer said.
Ellsworth got his pilot's license when he was 21, said Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen.
"American Airlines is saddened to learn of the death of First Officer William "Will" Ellsworth, who had been a pilot with American for 19 years," the company said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Will's family and the others affected by this tragedy."
'Just loved life'
Callie Sullivan described her late husband as "one of the most gregarious, fun-loving, generous people I have ever known. There will be hundreds of people who will agree with that."
She described him as a "ball of fire" who was involved in numerous charitable causes in his community.
"He just loved life. He loved every second of it. He was full of energy," she said.
He described her husband as a "Renaissance man" with an appetite for all things outdoors and nature, including hiking, skiing and golfing.
"He was happiest when he was on the move and when was with his children," two girls ages 18 and 17, and a son, 15, said Callie Sullivan, who met her husband on a blind date set up by one of her girlfriends and one of his fraternity brothers. They were married 24 years.
Sullivan had a career in finance.
Before he founded the investment management firm of WCAS Fraser Sullivan, he was a managing director in high yield at Deutsche Bank from 2000-05, according to the company's website.
While at Deutsche Bank, he marketed 600 new issues representing $185 billion of high-yield bonds and bridge financings. He previously held numerous other posts with other financial firms after starting his career at Chase Manhattan in 1983.
Story: http://www.poconorecord.com
Victims in fatal Mount Pocono chopper crash identified; were returning from golf outing
2 dead, survivor listed in critical condition
The victims in the helicopter crash outside of Mount Pocono have been identified by Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen. The two men killed were William Ellsworth, 52, of Califon, N.J., the pilot of the helicopter, and Tighe Sullivan, 51, of Darien, Conn., the front-seat passenger.
Stephen Barral, of Bernardsville, N.J., who was in the backseat, is listed in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital.
The group was returning from a golf outing and headed toward the metro New York area, police said this morning. Shortly before the crash Tuesday night, the chopper dropped off a passenger in Wilkes-Barre, according to Pocono Mountain Regional Police.
The chopper, which had been returning from an outing in Elmira, N.Y., got lost in bad weather and was attempting to land at Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport.
A truck driver reported seeing a chopper flying above I-380 shortly before it crashed. The wreckage was discovered about 100 feet from the road in the woods near Mount Pocono this morning.
A report of a missing helicopter reached police around 10 p.m. Tuesday but an initial search turned up nothing.
When Barral, the surviving passenger, called for help on a cell phone, the U.S. Air Force and the Monroe County Control Center were able to rely on GPS technology to hone in on the crash site. It is not clear how long Barral was in the woods alone. The wreckage was found around 2 a.m.
Allen pronounced Ellsworth and Sullivan dead at 4:20 a.m.
The front of the chopper hit a tree, then the ground and landed on its side, Allen said.
The Bell model 407 chopper is registerd to ACS Helicopter LLC in Far Hills, N.J. Efforts to reach the company this morning were unsuccessful. Ellsworth was a part-time employee for company.
Allen said Ellsworth obtained his pilot’s license at age 21 and was a pilot for American Airlines in his full-time role.
Lewis said he did not know if the $2.3 million chopper was equipped with a weather radar. He said it did not have a so-called “orange box” that would have recorded flight information.
Helicopters are equipped with orange boxes while airplanes are outfitted with black boxes to record such information.
Authorities were awaiting the arrival of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board from northern Virginia to arrive at the crash site, which was about a mile from Mount Pocono.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
http://registry.faa.gov/N108MF
http://www.aerialperspectives.org
SPECI KMPO 100039Z AUTO 12005KT 1/4SM FG VV002 09/09 A301 RMK AO2 RAE27 P0001
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 108MF Make/Model: B407 Description: Bell 407
Date: 10/10/2012 Time: 0636
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Unknown
LOCATION
City: MOUNT POCONO State: PA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
N108MF BELL 407 ROTORCRAFT CRASHED INTO TREES, THERE WERE 3 PERSONS ON
BOARD, 2 WERE FATALLY INJURED, 1 SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURIES, NEAR MOUNT
POCONO, PA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 2
# Crew: 3 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: 1
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: ALLENTOWN, PA (EA05) Entry date: 10/10/2012
October 9, 2012
Bangalore: Pilot training schools flying low
Published on Oct 4, 2012 by IIJNM Bangalore
The number of students applying for commercial pilot license or CPL has seen a steady decrease. The compulsory paid internship hikes up the already high fees to almost double. Anesha George finds out.
Controller suspended after mid-air collision scare
An air
traffic controller has been suspended over a mid-air incident in which
two planes carrying 270 passengers came within 200 metres of colliding
near Darwin International Airport.
The Australian Department of Defence and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are investigating last Tuesday's incident.
An ADF spokeswoman says it is believed an air traffic controller directed a Qantas Boeing 717 flight from Alice Springs, that was on course to land, and a Qantas Boeing 737, that had just taken off en route to Melbourne, on to a path that would have taken them through the same height.
The ABC understands that a RAAF Hercules C-130 transport plane also flying in the area at the time had been assigned the same air traffic control system tag as one of the two passenger airliners.
This is believed to have caused confusion about the aircraft in the air traffic control tower.
The traffic collision avoidance system aboard the Boeing 717, carrying 115 passengers, is believed to have indicated that the two aircraft were on the same path and separated by about 200 metres in altitude.
There were 155 passengers on board the Boeing 737.
One plane is reported to have passed directly below the other.
President of the Australian and International Pilots Association president Barry Jackson says the pilots worked quickly to avoid a collision.
"Air traffic (controllers), as pilots, are under pressure and there are incidents like this that happen," he said.
"The investigation process is designed such that we find out if there are any failings."
The controller has been suspended temporarily while the investigation takes place.
http://www.abc.net.au
The Australian Department of Defence and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are investigating last Tuesday's incident.
An ADF spokeswoman says it is believed an air traffic controller directed a Qantas Boeing 717 flight from Alice Springs, that was on course to land, and a Qantas Boeing 737, that had just taken off en route to Melbourne, on to a path that would have taken them through the same height.
The ABC understands that a RAAF Hercules C-130 transport plane also flying in the area at the time had been assigned the same air traffic control system tag as one of the two passenger airliners.
This is believed to have caused confusion about the aircraft in the air traffic control tower.
The traffic collision avoidance system aboard the Boeing 717, carrying 115 passengers, is believed to have indicated that the two aircraft were on the same path and separated by about 200 metres in altitude.
There were 155 passengers on board the Boeing 737.
One plane is reported to have passed directly below the other.
President of the Australian and International Pilots Association president Barry Jackson says the pilots worked quickly to avoid a collision.
"Air traffic (controllers), as pilots, are under pressure and there are incidents like this that happen," he said.
"The investigation process is designed such that we find out if there are any failings."
The controller has been suspended temporarily while the investigation takes place.
http://www.abc.net.au
Brazil court to review conviction of Long Island pilots in fatal crash
An
appellate court in Brazil next week will review the conviction of two
Long Island pilots for their role in a 2006 midair collision that killed
154 people. The appellate court ruling will come 17 months after the
pilots of a Ronkonkoma-based ExcelAire business jet were convicted of
one count and exonerated on five other counts and sentenced to community
service.
Two American pilots of a business jet will be retried for their role in a 2006 airline crash that killed 154 people on an airliner in Brazil, the federal prosecutor's office said Tuesday.
Pilots Joseph Lepore of Bay Shore, New York, and Jan Paladino of Westhampton Beach, New York, will be retried in absentia Monday, a statement released by the prosecutor's office said.
The two were allowed to leave Brazil two months after the crash, but were convicted last year and sentenced to 52 months in prison. The sentence was commuted to community service in the United States.
The retrial was ordered after prosecutors appealed the sentence and asked that it be increased to 69 months in prison, without the possibility of it being replaced by community service.
"The sentence should be increased because despite being professionals the defendants kept the aircraft's anti-collision system turned off for almost one hour, thus causing the accident," the statement quotes prosecutor Osnir Belice as saying.
The two pilots have insisted anti-collision system and transponder on the business jet they were flying were never turned off. They deny any wrongdoing.
The Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet collided with a Boeing 737 operated by Gol Lineas Aereas Intelligentes SA. The smaller plane, owned by Ronkonkoma, New York-based ExcelAire Service Inc., landed safely while the larger jet crashed into the jungle, killing all aboard.
It was Brazil's worst air disaster until a jet ran off a runway less than a year later in Sao Paulo and burst into flames, killing 199 people.
Lepore and Paladino faced charges in Brazil of negligence and endangering air traffic safety for allegedly flying at the wrong altitude and failing to turn on the aircraft's anti-collision system. The judge convicted them of impeding the safe navigation of an airplane.
Theo Dias, a Brazilian lawyer for the American pilots, has appealed last year's sentence.
http://abcnews.go.com/
Two American pilots of a business jet will be retried for their role in a 2006 airline crash that killed 154 people on an airliner in Brazil, the federal prosecutor's office said Tuesday.
Pilots Joseph Lepore of Bay Shore, New York, and Jan Paladino of Westhampton Beach, New York, will be retried in absentia Monday, a statement released by the prosecutor's office said.
The two were allowed to leave Brazil two months after the crash, but were convicted last year and sentenced to 52 months in prison. The sentence was commuted to community service in the United States.
The retrial was ordered after prosecutors appealed the sentence and asked that it be increased to 69 months in prison, without the possibility of it being replaced by community service.
"The sentence should be increased because despite being professionals the defendants kept the aircraft's anti-collision system turned off for almost one hour, thus causing the accident," the statement quotes prosecutor Osnir Belice as saying.
The two pilots have insisted anti-collision system and transponder on the business jet they were flying were never turned off. They deny any wrongdoing.
The Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet collided with a Boeing 737 operated by Gol Lineas Aereas Intelligentes SA. The smaller plane, owned by Ronkonkoma, New York-based ExcelAire Service Inc., landed safely while the larger jet crashed into the jungle, killing all aboard.
It was Brazil's worst air disaster until a jet ran off a runway less than a year later in Sao Paulo and burst into flames, killing 199 people.
Lepore and Paladino faced charges in Brazil of negligence and endangering air traffic safety for allegedly flying at the wrong altitude and failing to turn on the aircraft's anti-collision system. The judge convicted them of impeding the safe navigation of an airplane.
Theo Dias, a Brazilian lawyer for the American pilots, has appealed last year's sentence.
http://abcnews.go.com/
Judge to decide whether to extend temporary ban on jet-fuelers strike: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA), Seattle, Washington
A
federal judge will hear arguments Tuesday on whether to extend a
temporary order prohibiting a suspended aircraft fueler and his
supporters from instigating a strike at Seattle-Tacoma International
Airport.
Aircraft Service International Group, ASIG, obtained a temporary restraining order late Friday forbidding Working Washington, Teamsters Local 117 and fueler Alex Popescu from encouraging a strike or other disruption of aircraft fueling.
U.S. District Court Judge James Robart signed the order after ASIG claimed fuelers' threat to strike was part of an attempt to unionize them and boost their pay, in contrast to fuelers' stated goals of improved safety and reinstatement of Popescu, who workers said was suspended for reporting safety hazards.
ASIG Senior Vice President Tim Ramsey said in a statement the threat of a strike "was organized by outside labor organizations with ulterior motives."
A strike over economic issues by nonunion workers would violate the Railway Labor Act and disrupt commercial-aircraft operations on a massive scale beyond Sea-Tac Airport, the company said in its legal complaint.
ASIG fuels 75 percent of flights at Sea-Tac, including planes operated by Alaska, United/Continental, Southwest and American airlines.
The company also suggested that Popescu was suspended last month for insolent behavior, not for complaining about safety problems.
ASIG's general manager for Sea-Tac, Jeffrey Stevenson, said in a declaration that he suspended Popescu pending investigation of reports that he "was out of control and had screamed obscenities at a supervisor" on two occasions. Later, while being interviewed by a human-resources manager, Popescu yelled obscenities and threw his chair across the room, Stevenson wrote.
Popescu declined Monday to say whether those claims were accurate. "That's still an ongoing investigation, and I'm not willing to speak on that," he said.
Popescu and other fuelers have complained of trucks with bad brakes and other mechanical problems, unsafe fuel nozzles, broken ladders and the expectation they will launder their fuel-soaked clothes at home.
The Federal Aviation Administration inspected ASIG fueling operations and equipment Friday, and reported finding no safety problems.
Working Washington, the labor coalition which organized a demonstration in support of fuelers last week, said the FAA inspectors failed to find problems because they didn't ask fuelers which equipment was defective.
Jonathan Rosenblum, campaign director for Working Washington, said the ASIG lawsuit "shows how desperate the company is. ... Rather than respond to the concerns that workers have complained about — safety on the job — and rather than return a whistle-blower to his rightful place on the schedule, the company is trying to hide behind a lawsuit."
Rosenblum said federal law gives workers the right, whether represented by a union or not, to strike over health and safety issues and retaliation against an employee. Working Washington is supported by Service Employees International Union.
ASIG said Working Washington and Teamsters employees were harassing fuelers in its parking lot last month. Teamsters Local 117 organizing director Leonard Smith declined to discuss the lawsuit other than to say his local is not organizing the fuelers.
http://seattletimes.com
Aircraft Service International Group, ASIG, obtained a temporary restraining order late Friday forbidding Working Washington, Teamsters Local 117 and fueler Alex Popescu from encouraging a strike or other disruption of aircraft fueling.
U.S. District Court Judge James Robart signed the order after ASIG claimed fuelers' threat to strike was part of an attempt to unionize them and boost their pay, in contrast to fuelers' stated goals of improved safety and reinstatement of Popescu, who workers said was suspended for reporting safety hazards.
ASIG Senior Vice President Tim Ramsey said in a statement the threat of a strike "was organized by outside labor organizations with ulterior motives."
A strike over economic issues by nonunion workers would violate the Railway Labor Act and disrupt commercial-aircraft operations on a massive scale beyond Sea-Tac Airport, the company said in its legal complaint.
ASIG fuels 75 percent of flights at Sea-Tac, including planes operated by Alaska, United/Continental, Southwest and American airlines.
The company also suggested that Popescu was suspended last month for insolent behavior, not for complaining about safety problems.
ASIG's general manager for Sea-Tac, Jeffrey Stevenson, said in a declaration that he suspended Popescu pending investigation of reports that he "was out of control and had screamed obscenities at a supervisor" on two occasions. Later, while being interviewed by a human-resources manager, Popescu yelled obscenities and threw his chair across the room, Stevenson wrote.
Popescu declined Monday to say whether those claims were accurate. "That's still an ongoing investigation, and I'm not willing to speak on that," he said.
Popescu and other fuelers have complained of trucks with bad brakes and other mechanical problems, unsafe fuel nozzles, broken ladders and the expectation they will launder their fuel-soaked clothes at home.
The Federal Aviation Administration inspected ASIG fueling operations and equipment Friday, and reported finding no safety problems.
Working Washington, the labor coalition which organized a demonstration in support of fuelers last week, said the FAA inspectors failed to find problems because they didn't ask fuelers which equipment was defective.
Jonathan Rosenblum, campaign director for Working Washington, said the ASIG lawsuit "shows how desperate the company is. ... Rather than respond to the concerns that workers have complained about — safety on the job — and rather than return a whistle-blower to his rightful place on the schedule, the company is trying to hide behind a lawsuit."
Rosenblum said federal law gives workers the right, whether represented by a union or not, to strike over health and safety issues and retaliation against an employee. Working Washington is supported by Service Employees International Union.
ASIG said Working Washington and Teamsters employees were harassing fuelers in its parking lot last month. Teamsters Local 117 organizing director Leonard Smith declined to discuss the lawsuit other than to say his local is not organizing the fuelers.
http://seattletimes.com
Bethel Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania: Crews call off search, do not believe plane crash occurred
UPDATE:
Crews were called off the search for the possible plane crash in Lebanon County. It is believed that a bi-plane in the area was doing a smoke show earlier in the day, which may have been what concerned a passerby on I-78.
___________________________________________
Crews out of Lebanon County are searching for a small, two-seat plane that may have crashed.
The incident occurred in Bethel Township, south of I-78 and was called in by a passerby.
Numerous fire crews are looking for the aircraft, but have not found it at this time. A helicopter from Fort Indiantown Gap was called in to assist the search.
The crash is believed to be into a field in the area.
CBS 21 is en route and will provide details as they become available.
FREDERICKSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) - State police in Lebanon County say they have called off a search for a small plane that reportedly made an emergency landing near Interstate 78.
Police said a two-seater plane was believed to have landed near mile marker 4 in Bethel Township, but troopers and other responders from Lebanon and Berks counties were not able to find any aircraft in that area.
A trooper at the Jonestown barracks said the county's 911 center was flooded with calls from people who claimed to have seen the emergency landing.
Callers flood 911 with reports of emergency landing near I-78
Crews were called off the search for the possible plane crash in Lebanon County. It is believed that a bi-plane in the area was doing a smoke show earlier in the day, which may have been what concerned a passerby on I-78.
___________________________________________
Crews out of Lebanon County are searching for a small, two-seat plane that may have crashed.
The incident occurred in Bethel Township, south of I-78 and was called in by a passerby.
Numerous fire crews are looking for the aircraft, but have not found it at this time. A helicopter from Fort Indiantown Gap was called in to assist the search.
The crash is believed to be into a field in the area.
CBS 21 is en route and will provide details as they become available.
FREDERICKSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) - State police in Lebanon County say they have called off a search for a small plane that reportedly made an emergency landing near Interstate 78.
Police said a two-seater plane was believed to have landed near mile marker 4 in Bethel Township, but troopers and other responders from Lebanon and Berks counties were not able to find any aircraft in that area.
A trooper at the Jonestown barracks said the county's 911 center was flooded with calls from people who claimed to have seen the emergency landing.
Callers flood 911 with reports of emergency landing near I-78
Experimental plane crashes near Animas Air Park (00C), Durango, Colorado
SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald
Members of the Durango Fire and Rescue Authority standby at the scene of a single engine plane crash northwest of Animas Air Park south of Durango. The pilot was the only person on board and was not injured.
A pilot escaped serious injury Tuesday after crashing a small plane near the Animas Air Park south of Durango.
The crash was reported about 11:20 a.m. by Gregg Flying Service, the fixed-base operator at the airport, said Karola Hanks, fire marshal with the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.
The pilot, whose name was not immediately available, walked away without injury, Hanks said. He declined to be taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center for observations.
It appears the pilot was coming in for a landing, possibly from Tucson, Ariz., she said.
The crash occurred about 300 yards northwest of the runway, Hanks said. The plane came to rest in thick pinion and juniper. A helicopter from Mercy helped rescue workers on the ground locate the wreckage.
http://durangoherald.com
Flight over Säntis in a Diamond DA40-TDI
Published on October 3, 2012 by Chilipilot
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Säntis is one of the most distinctive mountains in East Switzerland.
Gov. Nikki Haley: South Carolina might be better off selling its planes
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Gov. Nikki Haley questioned Monday why the state of South Carolina should keep planes after she had to shell out $9,590 to reimburse the state for newly banned uses of state-owned aircraft.
Haley’s opponent in the 2010 governor’s race agreed with the first-term Republican governor - sell the planes if it means ending the controversies about their use that have occurred in recent years. “We keep having these flares-ups,” said state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw.
The state’s two planes could fetch up to $3.2 million if sold, based on prices on online sales sites for aircraft.
Haley reimbursed the state after the Associated Press raised questions about her using the planes to tour the state for bill signings and news conferences on ethics and tax reforms – uses banned in a budget clause that Sheheen helped craft last year.
The governor’s office said it was not aware of the clause before being alerted by a reporter. But Haley thinks the trips were part of her doing business as governor.
“Now I am in decision mode of: Do we need a plane?” Haley said during a news conference Monday, after the latest plane dustup story broke.
Haley did not offer details about what she would do with the state’s two planes – except that her opponents would not stop her efforts to promote reforms around the state.
Sheheen said he wanted the new limits after Haley’s predecessor, two-term GOP Gov. Mark Sanford, agreed to pay the largest ethics fine in state history – $74,000 – for his personal use of state planes, among other things.
“They (the planes) are not for helping win attention to personal political agendas and getting in front of cameras,” said Sheheen, widely expected to run again against Haley in 2014. “They are for truly administrative government functions,” such as meetings with economic-development clients.
In recent months, the state’s planes have been used by lawmakers, Commerce Department officials, state Treasurer Curtis Loftis, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson president James Barker, according to state flight records.
It cost $258,000 to operate the state’s two twin-engines planes last year, counting the costs for pilots, maintenance, insurance and fuel, said Paul Werts, executive director of the S.C. Aeronautics Commission. The state planes are a 1990 nine-passenger King Air 350 and a 1983 six-passenger King Air C90.
The planes cost $140 per seat to charter, Werts said, cheaper than charter options. (A six-passenger twin-engine Cessna Conquest I costs $250 a seat to charter from Eagle Aviation at Columbia Metropolitan Airport.)
While private charters might cost more, Sheheen predicted use would drop if the state’s planes were sold, saving taxpayers money.
The state Aeronautics Commission would have to approve any sale of the planes after a review by the Joint Bond Review Board, S.C. Budget and Control Board spokeswoman Lindsey Kremlick said Monday.
House Ways and Means chairman Brian White, an Anderson Republican who is a pilot, said he does not see a need to sell the planes.
“The state has become an advocate for the airline industry,” he said, referring to Boeing’s North Charleston plant that opened last year. “They’re tools that need to be used.”
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com
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