Press Release: B-17 and B-24 Flying to Greenville, South Carolina

For Immediate Release
Lara Kaufmann
LaraLKaufmann@gmail.com
864-634-1380

World War II B-24 and B-17 Will be in Greenville, S.C.

 
On Friday, October 26th, the “Wings of Freedom Tour” will land at the Greenville Downtown Airport in South Carolina.  They will depart on Sunday, October 28th.  This is a rare opportunity to visit, explore, and learn more about these unique and rare treasures of our aviation history.

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator “Witchcraft” WWII Heavy Bomber is the sole remaining example of its type flying in the World.  The vintage Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress” is one of only 11 in flying condition in the United States.

"These historic planes are quite rare and we are lucky that they have chosen to come to Greenville,” stated Tim Bishop, Director of Museum Development for the Upcountry History Museum.  “We had asked if they could come as part of our museum’s upcoming Veterans Tribute Weekend and we were told that it wasn’t possible.  So we said when CAN you come?” joked Bishop.  “After many back and forth communications they said how about October 26th – 28th and of course we said GREAT!”  Bishop added.

The B-17 & B-24 were the backbone of the American effort during the war from 1942 to 1945 and were famous for their ability to sustain damage and still accomplish the mission. Despite the risks of anti-aircraft fire, attacking enemy fighters and the harrowing environment of sub-zero temperatures, many B-17s and B-24s safely brought their crews home.

After the war, many aircraft were scrapped for their raw aluminum to rebuild a nation in post-war prosperity and therefore very few were spared. The rarity of the B-17 and B-24 and their importance to telling the story of WWII is why the Collings Foundation continues to fly and display the aircraft nationwide. For aviation enthusiasts, the tour provides opportunity for the museum to come to the visitor and not the other way around!

“I am constantly asked when historic planes will come again to the Greenville Downtown Airport.” said Joe Frasher, the Airport’s Director.  “Visits by planes like these are very popular.  They don’t happen very often because not many of these planes are still flying and the ones that are left are in very high demand to visit places all over the U.S.,” Frasher added.

The “Wings of Freedom Tour” travels the nation as a flying tribute to the flight crews who flew them, the ground crews who maintained them, the workers who built them, the soldiers, sailors and airmen they helped protect; and the citizens and families that share the freedom that they helped preserve.

“This visit is especially important because our WWII vets are getting well into their 90s, so time is of the essence if we want them to be able to see these planes that were so important to their service,” stated Paul Howell, Director of Honor Flight Upstate South Carolina.  “Our mission usually is to show our honor and support to these heroes by offering a program that flies our World War II veterans to Washington, DC, to see the memorial built in their honor, and to experience recognition for their service that literally saved the world. Now we have the opportunity to bring a bit of their history to them. This is a further extension of our community's way of saying thank you to our heroes. I know our local veterans and the whole community will love seeing these historic flying machines so close to home!” Howell said.


 “The Collings Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization that exists solely to keep these planes flying.  Parts are expensive because they are hard to find or make.  It cost about $4,000 an hour just to run the planes,” stated Hunter Chaney, Marketing Director of the Collings Foundation.  “The ‘donations’ for ground tours and flights enable us to keep our aviation history flying,” added Chaney.

Access to all three aircraft that includes walk through tours are just $12 for adults, and $6 for children 12 and under. WWII Veterans get into the ground tours at no charge.  No reservations are needed and the walk through tour times are:

Friday, 10/26/2012 12:00 PM to 4:30 PM

Saturday, 10/27/2012 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM

Sunday, 10/28/2012 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM

Flight Experiences take place before and after walk through tours. Reservations are required.  Call 978-562-9182 to arrange your flight.

Flight Experiences “Donations” are $425 per person aboard the B-17 or B-24.

“It will be a great weekend to visit the airport.  Hope to see you here!” stated Frasher.

The planes will be on the Runway Cafe's apron, which is on the South Ramp of the Greenville Downtown Airport, located at 21 Airport Road Ext., Greenville, SC 29607.

“For those who would like to attend the Veterans Tribute Weekend, it will be held November 10 – 11 at the Upcountry History Museum.  The event is free to attend and will include exhibits of military collections from the Upstate that include artifacts ranging from medals to army tanks, new Greenville Army Air Base / Donaldson Center exhibit as well as military flyovers!” stated Bishop.

The Collings Foundation is an educational foundation devoted to organizing “living history” events that allows people to learn more about their heritage and history through direct participation. The Nationwide WINGS OF FREEDOM TOUR is in its 23rd year and visits an average of 110 cities in over 35 states annually. Since its start, tens of millions of people have seen the B-17 and B-24 display at locations everywhere. The WINGS OF FREEDOM tour is one of the most extraordinary and unique interactive traveling historical displays of its kind.  For further information please visit www.collingsfoundation.org or e-mail Hunter Chaney at hchaney@collingsfoundation.org or call 978.562.9182

Honor Flight Upstate SC is a non-profit, volunteer-based program that is dedicated to honoring our World War II veterans and the sacrifices they have made to keep our nation safe and our people free.  Honor Flight Upstate SC has flown over 650 WWII veterans to Washington, DC since May, 2008, and the next flight is scheduled for April, 2013. Many financial supporters in the community have helped complete this task. For more information please visit www.honorflightupstatesc.com or contact Paul Howell at 864-869-VETS or HonorFlightUpstateSC@gmail.com

The Upcountry History Museum's mission is to promote, present and preserve the history of Upcountry South Carolina through education, research and service.  For more information please visit http://www.upcountryhistory.org/ or contact Tim Bishop at (864) 467-3100 or at Tim@upcountryhistory.org

The Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) is the busiest general aviation airport in South Carolina and is a self-sufficient entity with financial strength that doesn't rely on local taxpayers for funding. GMU is home to Greenville Jet Center, the largest Fixed Base Operation (FBO) in S.C., as well as more than 25 other aviation-related businesses creating 453 jobs that annually contribute more than $35.2 million to the Upstate economy. For more information about GMU please visit http://www.greenvilledowntownairport.com or contact Joe Frasher at 864-242-4777 or Joe@greenvilledowntownairport.com

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FCA Flight Center: Flight school ready to fill future demand for pilots - Fitchburg Municipal Airport (KFIT), Massachusetts

Charley J. Valera, owner of the FCA Flight Center at Fitchburg Municipal Airport, is shown with his dog Frankie. Mr. Valera says flight schools like his will supply the next generation of airline pilots.

 (Telegram & Gazette/RICK CINCLAIR)

  http://fcaflightcenter.com

Sunday, October 21, 2012

By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF 

 FITCHBURG —  Experts say the airline industry will soon face a crunch from a lack of experienced pilots.

Charley J. Valera, who has owned the flight school at Fitchburg Municipal Airport for the past year, said the anticipated demand has encouraged him to keep the school open.

Mr. Valera took over the flight school, FCA Flight Center, after one of his partners, Richard G. Sahldeck, died. Up to that point, Mr. Valera had been handling marketing for the school.

After a year of struggling with the decision to keep it open, Mr. Valera said he is now determined to train the future generation of airline pilots.

The military is not training as many pilots as it once was, he said, and many airline pilots trained in the military are approaching retirement.

“Who’s going to fill their shoes, and where are they going to get them from?” Mr. Valera asked. “With UAVs (unmanned air vehicles) and drones flown from central headquarters remotely, there are a lot less aircraft needed than there ever was and the military doesn’t train as many pilots as they did. Almost all airline pilots are ex-military, because the only way to accumulate the amount of flight hours airlines are looking for is to have someone else pay for it.”

But, he said, commercial airlines are going to have to rely more heavily on small flight schools to provide experienced pilots. Small flight schools are also more cost-effective for pilots-to-be, he said.

“You can go to a flight academy and you might pay $60,000 for your pilot’s license, or you can go to a local flight school and pay $6,000,” Mr. Valera said.

Pilots also can then gain more flight experience through instructing while earning money at the same time, he said.

Flight instructor Richard B. “Bo” Riley of Boylston, who will provide instruction at Mr. Valera’s flight school in the new Cirrus airplane arriving next week, said soon those instructors will be in demand.

“As the need grows for airline pilots when the economy expands again, airlines are going to have to pay them a lot more. It is going to be a supply and demand issue,” Mr. Riley said.

Until airlines offer higher salaries and better working conditions to attract more pilots, there will be a time when the airlines suffer because of a lack of pilots, he said.

He said the pilots who do it the “old-fashioned way,” of coming to a small local airport, taking lessons, getting a pilot’s license, building up experience, obtaining further ratings and then becoming flight instructors to gain more flight time, will be in high demand.

“There needs to be a crunch time before that shift occurs, but it is coming,” he said.

There are more than 5,000 small airports in the country like Fitchburg’s, he said, and only about 30 large airports like Logan, LaGuardia and Atlanta.

“These little airports are where all the grass-roots instructions happen, and where all certified instructors come from,” he said. “They are an important resource often underestimated by the communities in which they operate. Towns and cities that have airports and sometimes operate them have a hard time understanding they act as a conduit and through it the cash flows.”

It is not the $50 landing fee the airport gets that is the benefit, but the business owner who decides to set up shop in Fitchburg because he knows he can fly in from anywhere in the country and land a jet at the airport to check on the 200 people he is now employing, he said.

“That is the magic of small airports,” he said. “It draws in ancillary business that often the city doesn’t recognize.”

Right now, Mr. Valera’s flight school is experiencing a crunch of its own, having more students than instructors, Mr. Valera said.

But, that is a good crunch because the flight school has grown quickly in the last five years, he said.

“We have more students than instructor hours available, and in other parts of the country flight schools have plenty of instructors and not enough students,” Mr. Valera said. 

Story and photo:  http://www.telegram.com
 
http://fcaflightcenter.com

Missing Man flyover honors Maj. Garrett Wayne Knowlan

Three F16 jets from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida fly over Jackson City Park Saturday, October 20, 2012 after flying a missing man formation in honor of Maj. Garrett Wayne Knowlan over Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson. Knowlan, 32, who was based at Eglin, died October 11 while participating in a water survival training exercise in Pensacola, Fla. A native of Jackson, he was a 2002 graduate of the Air Force Academy and a 2010 graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot School. He flew the CV-22 Osprey and HC/MC 130J.

See Photo:  http://www.semissourian.com

Aviation Career Day at Groton-New London Airport (KGON), Connecticut

Groton/New London Airport is hosting the United States Coast Guard’s pilots along with their airplanes and helicopters from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 27. This is a rare opportunity for the community to learn about aviation on the airfield.

The first 100 youth who enter the airport’s gate that day will receive a gift. There will also be refreshments for guests. Persons who are interested in attending should email catherine.young@ct.gov or call (860) 445-8549 in advance.

Local military personnel saluted

Greg Dubrule, Heather Dubrule and Faith Allen of the Niantic sportfishing boat Black Hawk won the Military Community Support Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut during Friday’s annual Military Appreciation Breakfast at the Mystic Marriott.

Among the speakers were U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.

Others to speak included Rear Adm Richard P. Breckenridge, commander of Submarine Two; Major Gen. Thaddeus J. Martin, adjutant general of the Connecticut National Guard; retired Rear Adm. Joseph Walsh, an Electric Boat vice president, and Capt. Wes Pulver, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Barque Eagle.

 http://www.theday.com

U.S. Army Veteran Kreg Smith Makes Jet Engines at GE

 

GE and its partners launched a new coalition to train and find high-tech manufacturing jobs for veterans. The goal is to train and place 100,000 veterans by 2015.

Aviation firm flies into new Daedalus business complex

A DRIVE to turn a former naval airfield into a thriving business park has got under way.

Sapphire Aviation, which specializes in aircraft management and handling, has moved into a hangar at the former HMS Daedalus in Lee-on-the-Solent.

It has become the first firm to benefit from Fareham and Gosport borough councils’ new business rate rebate scheme. This gives businesses the chance to be exempt from paying business rates for five years.

It’s hoped businesses will invest the money they save into creating new jobs – boosting the local economy.

Sapphire Aviation is a start-up firm, whose parent company is Sapphire Jet Ltd in West Sussex.

It had been looking at potential sites and finally settled on Daedalus. Twenty new jobs will be created.

Steve Ford, managing director at Sapphire Aviation, said the opportunity gives the firm the chance to invest in its infrastructure.

He said: ‘The money that would have gone into the rate system is being self-invested. It’s being spent directly on the infrastructure on the airfield to sustain it in the long term.

‘One of the biggest challenges for private enterprise is dealing with the public sector, but what’s happening here is the councils have approached it as if they were in the private sector as well.

‘There’s no free lunch. We’ve taken a 1941 hangar and made them usable, so employees can work in them safely.

‘Instead of going to Fareham and Gosport councils for grants, we are investing in ourselves and cutting out a lot of red tape, which is exactly what the government is talking about in making it easier for businesses.’

As reported, almost 1,200 jobs are set to be created after it was announced more than £25m will be pumped into Daedalus.

Fareham council leader Sean Woodward said: ‘It’s going to be huge for them.

‘As someone who runs a business themselves, it’s got incredible potential for jobs and enterprise in Fareham.

‘They have taken a few hangers in there. We are the council councils, in partnership, to have this scheme and the first in the country to get the scheme in operation.’

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk

Farnborough Airfield celebrates 100 years of innovation

Farnborough has been at the forefront of innovation and engineering for years.

 The Airfield is celebrating it’s centenary this year and to celebrate BAE systems have opened up their archives in the famous Black Sheds.

 It showcases the town's rich aviation history - with over 16 million items.

 Heritage Manager for BAE Systems Howard Mason says British engineering is still going strong:

“If you look at what we have in the archive it’s never actually been lost- we’ve been innovating for a century and we shall continue to do so.

 “The company values are trusted, innovative and bold and what we’re showing here are records of how we’ve been bold in the past and innovative, so that we can be trusted in the future.”

http://www.964eagle.co.uk

Show respect for WWII hero

Opinion  

Grant Mahoney Park is a quaint, 1.5-acre park at Mariposa Street at Arkansas Street in Vallejo. It includes a children's play area, open turf, picnic tables, rose garden, and community building.

One small problem. It's "Mahony."

Now, I get that human spellcheck is horribly flawed. But Grant Mahony wasn't just some local dignitary or a resident who forked over cash to get his name on a park.

Far, far from it.

Lt. Col. Grattan "Grant" Mahony was believed to be Vallejo's first WWII hero, winning the Distinguished Service Cross as announced by Gen. Douglas MacArthur in Manilla on Dec. 20, 1941.

The citation for "extra-ordinary gallantry in action" in which Mahony "displayed exceptional courage" is second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor.

It wasn't his last heroic act.

In early 1945, Mahony believed other flyers in his squadron didn't have the experience to strafe a Japanese seaplane in the southern part of Luzon. So he did it himself.

Mahony made the first run and was ambushed. The seaplane was a decoy and Mahony's plane was hit and plunged into the water.

He left a wife and a young son in Astoria, Ore., parents who had moved from Vallejo to Oakland, and, apparently, a city that can't even respect a war hero by spelling his name correctly.

When notified earlier this week, Shane McAfee, director of the Greater Vallejo Recreation District, said it's the first he's heard that the spelling was incorrect.

"GVRD will now begin to review and change the written spelling both electronically and in print," McAfee said.

Well, now you know. And if it's going to take a few bucks to correct, I'm willing to write a check toward the cost.

Veterans' Day is coming up Nov. 11. What better way to make amends by not only installing a sign for Grant MAHONY Park, but perhaps our city officials can retell the story of the fallen WWII at the local ceremony.

And if the GVRD and city can't even get that right, Vallejo's more lost than I thought.

Source:  http://www.timesheraldonline.com/opinion

Medical helicopter station opens at Potsdam Municipal Airport (Damon Field) KPTD, Potsdam, New York

POTSDAM — St. Lawrence County welcomed the arrival of medical helicopter service at the official opening Thursday of Air Methods’ LifeNet of New York station at Potsdam Municipal Airport.

The north country’s need for medical helicopters has been alleviated by two new LifeNet stations opening this year; the station at Watertown International Airport near Dexter opened in June.

According to Air Methods Regional Vice President David M. Poulsen, the choice to bring service to Potsdam was an easy one.

Local leaders “knew what they needed, and they knew the answers to our questions, so it was an easy match,” Mr. Poulsen said.

The helicopters have been operating out of Potsdam since Oct. 1, but Thursday’s ribbon-cutting marked the ceremonial start for the fee-for-service business here. Village Mayor Steven W. Yurgartis and Administrator David H. Fenton welcomed the helicopter and its crew to the region.

The Potsdam station will employ 14 full-time staff members: four pilots, four paramedics, four registered nurses and two mechanics. Some employees are on loan from other stations at the moment, as LifeNet recruits and trains new full-time staff.

The local staff expects to respond to about 20 calls a month. The Potsdam and Watertown stations will back each other up in case of multiple emergencies.

Helicopters respond to emergency scenes such as car crashes or travel to area hospitals to fly critically injured patients to trauma centers such as Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, or Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vt.

The job is stressful, but rewarding, said flight paramedic Lanny A. Miglioraro. “It’s ever-changing every day. You never know what you’re going to get,” he said.

Every flight has a team of three: the pilot, a nurse and a paramedic.

Even before the crew gets off the ground, there are important decisions to be made. The Potsdam station has made two flights so far, but has had to turn down several other requests because of weather conditions unsafe for flying.

“The weather is the ultimate factor in what we do,” said Jesse A. Edwards, the lead pilot at the Potsdam station.

Mr. Edwards took the job as a LifeNet pilot after finishing his time with the Army at Fort Drum. “It gave me a chance to keep flying,” he said.

The pressure is high when patients’ lives are on the line.

“We’ve seen some of the worst, most critically injured patients,” said Mr. Miglioraro, who has worked as a paramedic for 22 years.

Sometimes, despite best efforts, a patient doesn’t survive the trip to the hospital. But many do, with crucial time saved thanks to the speed provided by medical helicopters. This is what makes the job worthwhile, Mr. Miglioraro said.

“There’s always that positive feeling,” he said.

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com

Learn more about the Naples Municipal Airport Water Management Improvement and Taxiway A Project

The City of Naples Airport Authority invites the community to an open house to learn more about planned water-management system improvements and the Taxiway A extension project at Naples Municipal Airport. From 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, information stations will provide details about the project’s engineering, water-quality goals, environmental effects and taxiway extension design. Brief overview presentations will be repeated throughout the two-hour event, and visitors will have the opportunity to discuss the project with airport staff and project consultants. The open house will be held in the airport’s commercial terminal on the south side of the airport at 500 Terminal Drive.

This story is contributed by a member of the Naples community and is neither endorsed nor affiliated with Naples Daily News

Indiana State Police crack down on reckless driving: by air

ISP crack down on reckless driving: by air

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHI) - The Indiana State Police crack down on reckless driving: by air.

ISP patrol the road, enforcing speed limits to keep you safe.

Often, they’ll track your speed with a radar gun, but with the help of a Cessna Skyhawk, Troopers know how fast you’re traveling without even seeing you.

“This is our airplane detail. This mainly focuses on aggressive driving and reckless driving,” said ISP Trooper BJ Patterson. “We use a system called VASCAR, which we pre-determined marks on the roadway that measures vehicle speed. So, basically, it’s time and distance that equals the vehicles speed.”

The moment a car crosses a painted mark in the road...the pilot starts to calculate the time it took for the car to travel a predetermined distance.

If you're speeding, the calls goes out.

“He’ll be able to determine how fast that care is going. He will then radio the Troopers that are on the ground, and point out the vehicle to the troopers,” said Trooper Patterson. “Our main goal is to reduce reckless driving and aggressive driving. That’s our number one goal.”

It’s a tool used to crack down on unsafe drivers, giving police eyes in the sky to keep you safe.

In a specific exercise, the pilot and Indiana State Troopers pulled over 22 cars in a matter of two hours.

http://www.wthitv.com

Judge: No mining rights to Flight 93 site

A Somerset County company does not have coal mining rights to land beneath the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek, a federal judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose said Svonavec Inc. of Somerset failed to prove it had mining rights under the memorial site when the federal government took the land in September 2009 through eminent domain.

“Defendant relies primarily on missing, unrecorded, and incomplete documents to support its chain of title for the alleged coal leases,” Ambrose said in the order issued on Tuesday. “... Svonavec Inc. has not shown that it possessed any right to mine the coal underlying the property.”

Svonavec, a coal and quarry company, owned about 275 acres of land that the government took, including six acres where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

An attempt to reach the company on Saturday evening was not successful. A spokesperson for the Families of Flight 93, a nonprofit organization representing the Flight 93 passengers and crew, also could not be contacted.

The 40 passengers and crew members on Flight 93 are credited with storming the cockpit and preventing terrorists from crashing the plane into landmarks in Washington. The plane crashed in a field in Stonycreek. All aboard were killed.

The memorial will be built in phases. The first phase, dedicated last year, includes a Memorial Plaza, which overlooks the crash site.

The crash site, called Sacred Ground, is off-limits to the public. It will be left untouched and is considered the final resting place of the passengers and crew. Only family members will have access, though the public can view it from the Memorial Plaza.

The names of the passengers and crew are inscribed on a white marble wall that follows the path of the doomed plane.

http://triblive.com

Cessna 172D Skyhawk, N2879U: Accident occurred October 20, 2012 in Indian Trail, North Carolina

 NTSB Identification: ERA13LA037 
 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, October 20, 2012 in Indian Trail, NC
Aircraft: CESSNA 172D, registration: N2879U
Injuries: 4 Uninjured.

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 may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On October 20, 2012, about 1430 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172D, N2879U, was substantially damaged when it struck trees and terrain shortly after takeoff from Goose creek Airport (28A), Indian Trail, North Carolina. The certificated airline transport pilot and his three passengers were uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91.

According to the pilot, on the day of the accident he was originally supposed to rent a Piper J-3 Cub but it was unavailable. Instead he rented the Cessna 172D but was not given a rental checkout in the airplane by a flight instructor.

Prior to the flight he checked the weather conditions, and weight and balance accounting for the three passengers and the 36 gallons of fuel which was already on board. He then did a preflight inspection of the airplane, loaded his passengers and briefed them.

Prior to takeoff from the 2,350 foot long asphalt runway, he performed an engine run-up. Everything was "in the green" and though a witness reported "popping", the pilot did not hear it and did not notice any engine anomalies. He then selected the wing flaps to ten degrees, added full power, and commenced his takeoff. At 60 "knots" indicated airspeed, he pulled back on the control wheel and the airplane lifted off. Upon liftoff, the speed began to deteriorate, the stall warning sounded, and about 40 feet above ground level he "got a sinking feeling". There was a row of trees off the end of the runway and there was not enough room for him to land so he turned slightly left by about 10 degrees and aimed towards a tree that was lower in height, but the right main landing gear impacted one of the trees. He then tried to lower the angle of attack to aid in stall recovery but the airplane would not accelerate, so he landed on a nearby road. During the landing rollout the left wing struck a tree, the airplane swerved to the left, and the nose landing gear sheared off. The airplane then slid to a stop on top of a fallen tree.

Post accident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the left wing spar had incurred substantial damage.

 

Credit: Diana Rugg

 Pilot talking to FAA. 

They're pointing out path of travel. 

Note the broken tree limb near the wing tip on ground 

 

 Credit: Diana Rugg 

 Plane lost part of its wing as pilot tried to land. 

Witness say it clipped the trees

UNION COUNTY, N.C. -- The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash of a small plane from a Union County flight school, hours after the pilot attempted to land it on N. Rocky River Road in Indian Trail.
 
The pilot and three other people on board were not injured in the rough landing, which happened around 3 p.m.
 
A witness said he saw the plane coming down, and watched as it clipped trees in front of his home.  Val Kavardakov said the plane continued down the road before crashing off to the side.
 
The 1963 Cessna 172D is registered to Leighton Pressley, who runs Pressley Aviation at nearby Goose Creek Airport.  A tip of one wing could be seen feet from the plane.
 
Pressley declined to comment about the rough landing, except to say he was glad everyone was safe.
 
The pilot and passengers also declined to comment.
 
Another pilot on scene as the plane returned to the airport around 5 p.m. said he believed the plane was too heavy with a full tank of fuel and four people on board, but the pilot also declined to confirm that.
 
 http://www.wcnc.com

 CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - A small plane that took off from Goose Creek Airport in Union County crashed Saturday afternoon on the Highway. 

Nobody was hurt. 

The pilot just rented the plane from Pressley Aviation located at the airport. 

 The owner of the aircraft company says the pilot crashed on Rocky River Road near Indian Trail and Fairview Roads, clipping trees on either side of the plane. 

The FAA was on the scene looking into the cause. 

 Investigators later transported the plane back to airport. No word tonight on where the flight was heading.

http://www.goosecreekairport.com

http://www.wbtv.com

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N2879U

http://www.learn2flyhere.com/Fleet.html

http://www.charlotteobserver.com

Cloud seeding trials take off in Mysore

At a time when the residents of Mysore and Mandya districts wait for rains to alleviate the water crisis, a private company has been conducting ‘basic trials’ in cloud seeding in the City of Palaces.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, chief pilot Captain Arvind Sharma of Agni Aviation confirmed that cloud seeding trials have started. A Piper Cheyenne aircraft has been kept on ‘operational standby’ to undertake seeding, depending on the formation of clouds in the catchment areas of the Kabini, the Cauvery and the Hemavathi River basins.

“The seeding will be carried out depending on the cloud formation in the coming days by the Piper Cheyenne aircraft, which has been stationed at Mandakalli Airport in Mysore,” Sharma said.

According to Sharma, “Cloud seeding is a technique of precipitation enhancement.” But unless there are “good clouds available,” it becomes impossible to carry out the process. 
 
Pointing out that there were good rains on Saturday, Sharma said that while nature was doing its job, the technique has only increased the amount of rainfall. He credits cloud seeding with having contributed 20 to 25 per cent of the rainfall.

Agni Aviation plans to employ cloud seeding techniques for the retreating monsoon, which will end by the first week of December.

“The window of opportunity is available until the first week of December. Cloud seeding will continue into Sunday and Monday,” Sharma said.

As there is no guarantee as to when clouds form, Sharma said that the aircraft and personnel involved in seeding will be placed on operational standby from morning to sunset until the first week of December.

Cloud seeding will not be undertaken at night because of safety reasons, he added.
 
Officials at the Agriculture Department have feigned ignorance over the seeding trials. A senior official, who requested anonymity, said that he was not aware of the development.

http://www.deccanherald.com

Ab Sportine Aviacija GENESIS, N4KN: Accident occurred October 20, 2012 in Roseland, Virginia

NTSB Identification: ERA13CA035 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, October 20, 2012 in Roseland, VA
Aircraft: AB SPORTINE AVIACIJA GENESIS 2, registration: N4KN
Injuries: 1 Minor.

NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot stated that as the glider reached flying speed it began to oscillate with the right wing dipping and impacting the grass runway, which resulted in a loss of control. The tow line disconnected, as designed, and the glider came to rest in an inverted position. The pilot sustained minor injuries. A post-accident examination conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the wings and the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the glider that would have precluded normal operation.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 4KN        Make/Model: EXP       Description: GENESIS 2 GLIDER
  Date: 10/20/2012     Time: 1610

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Minor     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
  City: ROSELAND   State: VA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED ON TAKEOFF, NEAR ROSELAND, VA 

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   1     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Take-off      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: RICHMOND, VA  (EA21)                  Entry date: 10/22/2012 

http://registry.faa.gov/N4KN 

 An afternoon of aviation in Roseland came to a halt Saturday when a member of Shenandoah Valley Soaring, a local gliding club, crashed a glider before taking off. The crash happened just after 2 p.m.

Will Moore, 46, had no major injuries as a result of the incident. He was taken from the scene, a grassy field off Route 151, in an ambulance for treatment.

Moore was given medical treatment “for precautions more than anything else,” Carl Irvine, of the Nelson County Sheriff’s Department, said. Where Moore was transported was unavailable at press time.

Irvine said the glider’s left wing got caught on the ground during takeoff, causing the glider to flip forward and land upside down.

Irvine said both of the department’s on-duty deputies responded to the scene. State police and members of the Piney River Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the incident.

Graham Pitsenberger, the club’s president, said Moore just scratched his head.

“It’s broken up badly,” Pitsenberger said of the glider. He said the glider, owned by club member Hal Loken, likely cost more than $100,000.

Loken also owns the property the group was using for takeoff, Pitsenberger said.

http://www2.dailyprogress.com

A Staunton man is recovering from serious injuries after a minor plane crash Saturday afternoon in the Roseland community of Nelson County. 

Police say a single-engine Piper aircraft was in the process of taking off with a Genesis 2 glider in tow. 

When the glider attempted to align itself with the Piper for takeoff, its wing was caught on the ground. 

The glider then overturned. 

The Piper did not have any damage. 

The glider’s pilot, Presley W. Moore, III, 46, of Staunton, was transported by ambulance to Augusta Medical Center for treatment of serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

http://www.newsplex.com

First responders test disaster preparedness at Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR), New Jersey

NEWARK – It was all a drill Saturday morning, but the scenario was all too real:
The Port Authority held a full-scale emergency drill Saturday involving two airplanes at Newark Liberty International Airport.

An incoming United Airlines flight had made a hard landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, skidded and crashed into a departing FedEx cargo plane, injuring numerous passengers.

Volunteer “passengers” covered in faux blood were sprawled on the ground around the planes while thick smoke drifted up from both aircraft. The FedEx plane, emergency responders learned, also was reported to have hazardous materials on board.

Now it was up to federal, state and local authorities and first responders to test how they coordinate extinguishing the fires, investigating the hazardous cargo and tending to the injured and dead.

“It’s creating a scenario that’s as real as the real thing and challenges them to use the same types of communication and responses that they would in a real scenario,” said Anthony Hayes, assistant director of media at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“This is something that is a necessary item to make sure that we know what happens and everybody knows their duties in an actual emergency,” said Ramon Martinez, commanding officer of Newark Liberty International Airport and Teterboro Airport for the Port Authority Police. “It’s all about learning how to make it better.”

The Federal Aviation Administration requires that disaster drills be held every three years.

Saturday’s two-hour drill, sponsored by the Port Authority, involved 300 first responders, 150 volunteers, 100 support personnel, 30 mannequins and 80 vehicles.

Multiple agencies and companies were involved including Newark and Elizabeth firefighters; Essex and Union County emergency officials; State Police; the FBI; and the FAA.

The exercise’s estimated cost — which authorities placed at “under $200,000” — was funded with a Department of Homeland Security grant, Hayes said.

Normal airport operations were not disrupted by the drill, which was held at the FedEx ramp at the south end of the airport. Information was also distributed throughout the week to alert the public and pilots to not be concerned about the smoke and numerous emergency vehicles responding to the scene.

The drill bore some resemblance to a real emergency in February when a twin-engine jet had to make an emergency landing, forcing one of the country’s busiest airports to briefly close. The plane landed and skidded on the underside of the aircraft’s nose but no passengers were injured.

Here’s how the drill played out Saturday:

At 10 a.m., emergency responders were alerted that the United aircraft – coming from South America – was reporting problems three miles away. As it landed, the plane, which carried 150 passengers, skid and struck a departing FedEx cargo plane. The FedEx plane had 10 people on board and 15,000 pounds of cargo.

Port Authority fire trucks were the first to arrive on the scene of the two planes — positioned nose to nose — pretending to put out fires and rescue passengers. The United plane’s emergency chute was activated.

Hazmat crews from Union County and Port Authority police also set up a perimeter around the FedEx plane and contained the materials.

Shortly after, a line of ambulances rushed along the airfield to the area. The crews quickly assessed the severity of injuries to passengers, who wore make-up to simulate severe gashes and broken limbs and moaned for help.

Rebecca Kim, 19, of Carlstadt, was one of about 16 Rutgers University students who participated as an injured actor for her volunteer-management class.

“You volunteer for fundraisers but this is a totally different type of volunteering,” she said. “Nobody thinks to volunteer for this stuff.”

The exercise came just one day after the Transportation Security Administration moved to fire 25 airport employees and suspend 19 others for improper screening of checked luggage.

 http://www.northjersey.com

Aero Commander 500-B, N1165Z: Aircraft force landed on a dirt road - Porterville, California

RECORDER PHOTO BY RENEH AGHA 

Aero Commander 500-B (N1165Z) made an forced landing on a dirt road off of Road 224, just south of Teapot Dome Avenue at about 3 p.m. Wednesday.

A Aero Commander aircraft made an emergency landing just prior to 3 p.m. Wednesday on a dirt road between two young citrus groves, 2 miles south of the Porterville Airport. 

 The plane landed an approximate 200 yards west of Road 224, just south of Teapot Dome Avenue. No injuries were reported.

Fortunately, the plane landed where the citrus trees were not much taller than 3 feet, giving plenty of room for the aircraft. It came to stop just before some utility lines.

Numerous law enforcement entities responded. However, as of press time, Sgt. Chris Douglass, TCSO Public Information Officer, said she had no additional information.

Porterville Airport manager Jim McDonald said the aircraft is a twin engine, six-passenger plane contracted with the U.S. Forest Service chartered by the Porterville Air Attack Base.

“I don’t have any other information other than it landed off the airport and our mechanic has gone out to take a look at it,” McDonald said. “I don’t know why he landed where he did. All I know is that the aircraft and one other person is fine.”

Raul Contreras, Porterville Air Attack Base manager, was also on site but said he did not know anything, other than a plane landed where there was no airport.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 1165Z        Make/Model: AC50      Description: 500 Commander 500, Shrike Commander
  Date: 10/10/2012     Time: 2200

  Event Type: Incident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: None

LOCATION
  City: PORTERVILLE   State: CA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED ON A DIRT ROAD, NEAR PORTERVILLE, CA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Landing      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: FRESNO, CA  (WP17)                    Entry date: 10/11/2012 

http://registry.faa.gov/N165Z

 http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo

Man accused of pointing laser at Seminole County police helicopter, temporarily blinding pilots

SEMINOLE COUNTY — A Winter Park man is facing charges, accused of pointing a laser at a Seminole County Sheriff's helicopter eight times.

Deputies said Usman Tufail, 24, pointed the laser at them while they were chasing a burglary suspect. They said the chopper pilots had to halt their pursuit because they were blinded by the beam.

"Some of his statements were such that he wanted to see how far he could shine a laser -- if he could hit the helicopter," said Steve Farris, chief pilot for Seminole County Sheriff's Office.

WFTV found out the laser doesn't have to be pointed directly at pilots' eyes to blind them. All the laser has to do is hit any one of the eight windows on the chopper and the laser's beam will fill the entire cockpit.

"Airliners fly at 10-20 thousand feet, the beam gets wider as it gets higher so it can become like a very big flood light even though it's a small laser purchased on the Internet," Farris said.

The sheriff's office said the pilots were temporarily blinded as if they looked directly at a flash on a camera. It said the laser flashed through the cockpit eight times, while the chopper was 800 feet above the ground.

Tufail is facing multiple charges that include pointing a laser at a pilot, which is a felony.

The FAA and FBI are also investigating the incident along with two other laser-related arrests involving the Seminole County Sheriff's Office helicopter earlier this year.

Those agencies are involved because it is a federal offense to shine a laser pointer at an aircraft or into its flight path.

The law, passed earlier this year, requires prosecutors to prove a suspect knowingly targeted an aircraft.

Anyone convicted of the crime could be fined up to $11,000 for each count and get a 5-year prison term.

 http://www.palmbeachpost.com

Globe GC-1A Swift, N80823: Accident occurred October 20, 2012 in East Moriches, New York

NTSB Identification: ERA13FA032 
 14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, October 20, 2012 in East Moriches, NY
Aircraft: Swift Museum Foundation, Inc. GC-1A, registration: N80823
Injuries: 2 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 20, 2012, about 1506 eastern daylight time, a Swift Museum Foundation, Inc., GC-1A, N80823, registered to and operated by a private individual, impacted the water of Moriches Inlet, East Moriches, New York. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight from Spadaro Airport (1N2), East Moriches, New York, to Republic Airport (FRG), Farmingdale, New York. The airplane was substantially damaged and the private pilot and 1 passenger were fatally injured. The flight originated from 1N2 about 1500.

On the morning of the accident date the pilot flew from the home base airport (Republic Airport), to Brookhaven Airport (HWV). He did not fly while there and at 1220, the main tank was filled for the pilot’s request. The flight departed HWV and flew to 1N2 arriving there between 1315 and 1330. While there the pilot and passenger had lunch with a friend at the airport; no maintenance was performed while at 1N2.

After lunch the pilot started the engine, taxied to the approach end of runway 18 and departed. One witness reported that the airplane became airborne about the first 1/3 of the runway and saw the landing gear retract. She also reported that to her the engine sounded fine. Another witness who is an airframe and powerplant mechanic and who was located near the departure end of runway 18 heard a sound from the engine that caught his attention. At that time the airplane was past the departure end of runway 18 about 100 feet above ground level (agl). He described the sound as an “after noise” which he had trouble describing. He thought because of the abnormal sound the pilot would return but he did not. The witness did not see any smoke trailing the airplane.

One witness who was located at his house which was located about 14 miles west of the crash site reported seeing a red colored airplane with tip tanks (matches the accident airplane’s description) flying 20 to 30 feet agl in an easterly direction. The witness advised FAA the airplane flew about 100 feet abeam from his deck.

Another witness who was driving eastbound on the beach near the Moriches Inlet (close proximity to the accident site) reported the airplane flew overhead his position about 30 feet agl. The witness heard a sputtering engine, and assumed that the airplane was in distress, and was going to land on the beach. He then lost sight of the airplane and assumed it had impacted the water in the inlet. Another witness who was on the west jetty immediately adjacent to the accident site reported seeing the airplane flying low with a sputtering engine. He called 911 at 1506 to report the accident. One witness who was located about 1,000 to 1,500 feet west of the inlet also reported seeing a low flying airplane. The witness stated that the low flying airplane spooked a flock of birds which lifted off. The witness then reported seeing the airplane pitch up followed by a pitch nose down and impact in the water.

An individual who was in a boat in the Moriches Inlet at Buoy 3 facing southwest observed the airplane flying in an easterly direction, turning to the west, then saw the left wing drop, followed by it going out of sight.

 

Cyril McLavin, originally from Dysart in Co. Westmeath

 Photo by courtesy Greg Semendinger

 A small plane crash claimed the lives of an Irish immigrant and his longtime friend off Long Island this past weekend.
 
Cyril McLavin, originally from Dysart in Co. Westmeath was killed when his private plane spun out of control and plunged into the sea on Sunday afternoon.
The crash occurred near Fire Island shortly after takeoff before 3pm last Sunday, according to CBS New York.

According to police, the red and white Low Wing Globe Swift private plane had just taken off from Spadaro Airport in nearby East Moriches. The crash happened at the east end of Fire Island and the plane sank shortly after impact in about 15 to 20 feet of water.
 
The two victims were identified as Cyril Mclavin, 51, of Fresh Meadows and Dr Andrew Messana, 72, of Bayside. Their two bodies were recovered just after 11pm on Saturday night.
 
Susan Spadaro, the owner of the airport, said that the two men spent the day giving kids plane rides as part of a charity event at Brookhaven Airport.
“The only reason they took the plane out was to help at the event,” Spadaro told the NY Post.
 
“We had heroes for lunch, and then they took off. A few minutes later, they were gone.”
 
“They were great guys and loved to fly,” she added.
 
A witness who heard the plane in distress said he heard a loud noise.
 
“You could see he was in panic mode because the motor was sputtering and he was losing the motor,” the witness told CBS 2′s Cindy Hsu. “When he hit, a very loud noise and that was the last that would happen to him.”
 
The National Transportation Safety Board has begun an investigation into what caused the single-engine plane to crash.

Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com

Irishman dies in plane crash on Long Island 

The New York Post has reported that an Irish man, Cyril McLavin (51), originally from Dysart, Co Westmeath, was killed in an air crash in his private plane.

According to the report McLavin had just taken off from Spadaro airport on Long Island in the company of his flying companion Dr. Andrew Messana (72), when the 1946 Globe GC-1A plunged into Moriches Inlet.

The men had been helping at a charity event in which they had given children plane rides from Brookhaven Airport in an event sponsored by an aviation group. The crash is reported to have happened about 3pm local time on Saturday. 

“The only reason they took the plane out was to help at the event,” Susan Spadaro, owner of the airport, said. “We had heroes for lunch, and then they took off. A few minutes later, they were gone.”

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 80823        Make/Model: GC1A      Description: GLOBE GC-1A
  Date: 10/20/2012     Time: 1930

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
  City: EAST MORICHES   State: NY   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE 
  FATALLY INJURED, EAST MORICHES, NY

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   2
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   2     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # 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: FARMINGDALE, NY  (EA11)               Entry date: 10/22/2012 

http://registry.faa.gov/N80823

 BROOKHAVEN  (WABC) -- A small plane that crashed off the coast of Long Island Saturday, and the bodies of two men inside, have been pulled from the water.  Coast Guard Petty Officer Erik Swanson said the bodies of two men and the plane were retrieved from the inlet shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday, about eight hours after the crash.

The aircraft went down around 3 p.m. in Moriches inlet, near the eastern end of Fire Island. After it crashed, it sunk in about 15 to 20 feet of water. Suffolk County police divers worked to reach the occupants for hours after the plane sank.
 
Medics had remained on the scene for hours after the crash in case the two survived, but they were submerged for hours and presumed dead because water had come into the cabin.

The Globe Swift aircraft departed Spadaro Airport, not far from where it crashed, earlier Saturday.

Good Samaritans on a nearby boat were first on the scene, and tried to keep the plane above water but tying a rope to it, but the aircraft sank.

The Federal Aviation Administration was sending inspectors to the crash site.

The victims have not yet been identified. 

 Suffolk County Parks Police assisted at Smith Point County Park while dvers tried to rescue people on board a plane that crashed into Moriches Inlet on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012.

Suffolk County police divers are working into the night to try and rescue a reported two people from a small airplane that crashed into Moriches Inlet in East Moriches and sank under about 30 feet of water on Saturday afternoon.

A U.S. Coast Guard boat from nearby Station Shinneock was first on the scene after witnesses called 911 reporting the low-flying aircraft sputtering over the east end of Smith Point County Park on Fire Island and hit the water before going under shortly after 3 p.m.

“We’re going as long as it takes,” Mark Avrill, command duty officer at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, said after a boom crane truck was brought on the beach at about 8 p.m. to assist in the operation.

Two teams of three divers are alternating in shifts in the 64-degree water as they try to free the victims, a task that became harder when the plane sank upside down and settled on a rock jetty, Deputy Inspector Chris Hatton, chief of the Marine Bureau, told reporters at a press conference near the scene.

He did not speculate on the condition of the victims, although other local news outlets have reported that the pair are presumed dead. Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick, chief of the Homicide Squad, was on the scene.

Federal Aviation Administration and National Safety Transportation Board investigators will continue the probe once police resurface the wreckage. An FAA spokeswoman said the the Globe Swift took off from Spadaro Airport in East Moriches, but it was not immediately clear where it was destined.

Fishermen in the area who reported the crash tried to rescue the pilot and passenger but were unable to open the cockpit door, the Coast Guard said. They tied a rope to the plane to prevent it from drifting while the tide was going out at the time.

Hatton said the witnesses reported a “large chunk” of the plane fell off, although it was unclear if that was before or after the plane crashed.

The incident came after a single-engine plane crash landed and burst into flames about eight miles away on a Shirley side street minutes after taking off from nearby Calabro Airport in August, killing two and critically injuring a third person. It is also a few miles from where TWA Flight 800 exploded over the Atlantic Ocean on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 on board.

Moriches Inlet, formed by the hurricane of 1938, is considered such a treacherous passage between the ocean and Moriches Bay that it is not marked by buoys because the Coast Guard officially considers it “non-navigable.”

-With Rashed Mian

 At 3:06pm today, a small plane crashed in the Moriches Inlet and sank.  The Coast Guard and Marine Bureau arrived at the scene along with members of the Mastic Beach Ambulance and Mastic Fire Department and Rocky Point Search and Rescue trying to recover victims from the wreck.

Dave Didio who saw the plane flying low said that he was fishing by cut 3, approximately a 1/2 mile from the end.  “I saw a red and white plane go by.  He wasn’t flying very high, about a hundred feet up.  I  heard one little noise from the plane, that is what made me turn around and then I saw the plane continue on.”

Two witnesses who were fishing on the jetty saw a plane coming right towards them.  They said that they quickly ran and hid behind their truck to protect themselves.  They explained how the plane was feet away from hitting them and then it nosedived into the water.  The front of the plane quickly submerged into the water followed by the rest of the aircraft.

A man with his two young grandchildren were on the beach when they saw the plane flying about 15 feet above the water and then crash.  At the time that they saw the plane, they did not hear any motor sounds.  The plane came gliding in, turned slightly and plunged propeller first into the inlet.

Steven Congemi who was boating in the inlet at the time of the crash stated, “We just heard it crash.  At first we thought it was a boat until we saw the tail sticking out of water.  We then motored quickly to help along with other boaters.  My mate Brian Dawson hooked the anchor around one of the wheels and threw the line to someone on the rocks.  Someone from another vessel jumped in but couldnt get to them.”

At this time, there is no word on who was piloting the plane or how many people were on board.  The Suffolk County Police stated, “At this time they are still in the water, trying to put more cables on the plane to lift it out of the water and they do not know how many victims there are.  It’s dark, there’s a strong current and the visibility is next to zero.”

WILLIAM D HUNTHROP, AUTOGYRO MTO SPORT, N589DH: P Aircraft on takeoff, crashed off the side of the runway, Bourland Field, Fort Worth, Texas

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 589DH        Make/Model: EXP       Description: AUTOGYRO MTO SPORT
  Date: 10/20/2012     Time: 1646

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Serious     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
  City: FORT WORTH   State: TX   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT ON TAKEOFF, CRASHED OFF THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, BOURLAND FIELD, 
  FORT WORTH, TX

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   1     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:    


OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Take-off      Operation: OTHER


  FAA FSDO: FORT WORTH, TX  (SW19)                Entry date: 10/22/2012 

 http://registry.faa.gov/N589DH

PARKER COUNTY — A pilot was hospitalized after his experimental helicopter crashed in Parker County Saturday morning.

 The gyroplane went down around 11:20 a.m. while performing touch-and-go maneuvers at Bourland Field Airport near Cresson, 17 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Department of Public Safety Trooper Gary Rozzell investigating the crash said the 60-year-old pilot lost control in strong winds. No one else was on board.

The pilot was critically injured, but his condition was stabilized before being transported to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

The pilot's name was not released pending notification of his family.

Gyroplanes are a specially classified aircraft that use a rotary wing, similar to a helicopter. They fly safely at low altitudes and low speeds, but they can't hover as a helicopter can.

 http://registry.faa.gov/N589DH

 http://www.wfaa.com

 A Fort Worth man is in critical but stable condition after his experimental aircraft was downed at Bourland Airfield.

Gary Rozzell with the Department of Public Safety said 60-year-old Willaim Don Hunthrop of Fort Worth was flying an experimental gyroplane.

Rozzell says Hunthrop was doing "touch and goes" for license requirements at Bourland Airfield in Cresson, TX in Tarrant County.

Hunthrop was injured in the incident and airlifted to John Peter Smith Hospital in critical but stable condition.

Steve Ridgeway: Virgin operates from where consumers want, for now that's Heathrow

Steve Ridgway, Virgin’s outgoing chief executve, talks about his frustration over the runway debate and how securing short-haul routes can keep the pressure on British Airways.

 Steve Ridgway may have another six months before he disembarks Virgin Atlantic for good, but the airline’s long-standing chief executive already appears to be in holiday mode.

The man who has dedicated the past 23 years of his life to Sir Richard Branson’s aviation group has taken an hour out to relax at a corner table at the Delaunay restaurant on Aldwych, and he’s in the mood for small talk as he sips on a fruit smoothie.

“I only went out on my boat once or twice this summer,” the 61-year-old laments, referring to a speedboat, which he hopes will see far greater use after his retirement in April.

“I told Richard I wanted to leave before a summer and I’m glad it wasn’t this one,” he adds as we bemoan the appalling weather.

When it was announced in September that Mr Ridgway planned to retire after 11 years as chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, the news was met with surprise.

Industry rumours suggested the decision was linked to Ridgway’s pay, after he said in an interview just weeks earlier that his £350,000-a-year salary and no bonus was “not as high as I’d like it to be and my bosses know that”.

It was a fair point, given that Ridgway is the poor man among his peers in the UK aviation industry. By contrast, British Airways chief executive Keith Williams receives a basic salary of £650,000, while Carolyn McCall at easyJet is on £665,000 a year before bonuses. Even Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, who recently claimed to be the “most underpaid and underappreciated airline boss in Europe”, received €768,000 (£623,608) last year in basic salary.

Mr Ridgway laughs at the conspiracy theories. He insists that he mentioned to Sir Richard – “Richard” to him – at the start of the year that it was approaching the time for him to step out of the cockpit. As for his comments about his pay: “That was just a bit of naughty fun and it certainly wasn’t said in that context.”

So pay wasn’t a problem then? “No, not in that way,” he smiles. The Virgin chief, who lives on a houseboat in Chelsea, plans to take next summer off, but has no intention of jetting off into the sunset for good.

He hopes to take on some non-executive directorships and will get more involved in the hotel he owns in Cornwall with his brother Hugh, called St Moritz.

“I’d like to see that grow. I have also got a few other things,” he says, adding that he has always been interested in “design and innovation”.

Ridgway will leave Virgin at a turbulent time for the industry, when sky-high fuel prices and a squeeze on consumer spending are putting airlines under extreme pressure.

Virgin swung to an £80.2m loss in the last financial year, despite revenues climbing 3pc to £2.7bn. Rival long-haul carriers are sheltering from the economic headwinds behind new strategic partnerships, such as the codeshare agreement recently announced between Air France and gulf carrier Etihad, and Emirates’ tie-up with Qantas.

Analysts believe Virgin, which is 49pc owned by Singapore Airlines, is in a particularly vulnerable position following BA’s takeover of bmi, which used to feed UK domestic passengers into Virgin’s long-haul network. The £172.5m sale to BA by Lufthansa was approved in March following a short investigation by the European Commission (EC).

Sir Richard was so riled by the EC’s decision to wave through the takeover “in just 35 working days” that he launched a legal appeal, which is likely to roll on for several years.

In the meantime, Virgin has applied for the 12 pairs of Heathrow take-off and landing slots that are up for grabs following the deal to launch its own short-haul operation, serving Manchester and Scotland.

Irish carrier Aer Lingus is competing for some of the slots to launch services between Edinburgh and London. Aviation analysts believe Virgin must win the slot battle if it wants a sustainable way of feeding its long-haul network to destinations such as New York, New Delhi and, as of next week, Mumbai.

Ridgway, who has seen “three or four” serious aviation downturns during his career, shrugs off all talk of Virgin’s fight for survival.

It’s a story he has heard many times over the decades since he joined the company in 1989 as managing director of Virgin Freeway, its frequent flyer programme.

“People say to me, 'surely it’s getting much tougher for you now?’. But it was probably never tougher than when we had one or two planes [in the late 1980s].

“We were a tiny player at Gatwick, but now we are a £3bn organisation with 6m passengers a year, a set of routes and slots at Heathrow that you couldn’t replicate today.

“It’s never easy and even in the good times margins are very thin. In our 28 years we have had very few years of losses.”

Julie Southern, Virgin’s chief commercial officer, and Rob Fyfe, Air New Zealand’s outgoing boss, are among the favourites to take over from Ridgway, but the launch of short-haul is one last hurdle he’d like to clear before heading for the exit.

He admits that Virgin should have done the deal with bmi itself “a long time ago”, specifically in 2009 when Lufthansa took control. But “that’s history now”, Ridgway says hastily, and he has been shouting loudly in Europe that the only way to ensure there is effective competition with BA on key feeder routes to Heathrow is if the 12 slot pairs are kept together.

Short-haul may finally be within Virgin’s grasp, but one long-held goal – to see a clear and long-lasting aviation policy in the UK – isn’t even a spot on the horizon. A fact that Ridgway finds “frankly quite depressing”.

He has been in the industry for more than two decades and during that time, no new runways have been built in the South East.

Ridgway is usually less excitable than his industry peers, in particular IAG’s Willie Walsh, but he can’t help betraying his frustration over the inertia of successive governments.

The Coalition has kicked the airport expansion debate into the long grass by setting up the Davies commission, which won’t report until 2015.

“That is a long time and it’s an overly long time,” says Ridgway. “All I would say is, let’s get to 2015 and make sure we have a completely full evaluation, alignment right across the political spectrum and that we have cleared the decks in terms of noise, environment, planning etc... so that the day after [the final report is released] the button can be pressed. Because if you don’t, you have another five years of environmental impact studies, planning battles etc.”

In the past, Virgin has stressed the importance of a hub but has been more reluctant than the likes of BA to pin its colours to Heathrow’s mast. BA has ruled out flying from “Boris Island”, even if the Estuary airport does get off the ground.

Today, however, Ridgway makes Virgin’s case perfectly clear: “Virgin would operate from wherever there is a hub that consumers want to fly from, and right now, and for the foreseeable future, in affordability terms, that is Heathrow.”

“There are many different business models in aviation, and there absolutely needs to be regional aviation and strong point-to-point flows to other markets. But if you’re going to connect the UK to the world, you need to be doing that through a hub.”

Ridgway may be on his way out but he can’t resist one parting shot at ministers before he heads for the door.

“It annoys me that people who build bits of planes are absolutely loved – whether it’s Rolls-Royce building the engines and exporting them or Airbus building all of the wings at Broughton and exporting them.

“But what doesn’t seem to be loved is us actually flying the planes and that is bizarre.

“If you look at companies such as BA and Virgin in terms of overseas sales, we generate many billions a year, so we are a pretty large exporter in our own right.

“No one ever thinks of us as an exporter, they think we have to be taxed and regulated, whereas normally exporters are loved, so I do find it very frustrating.”

Those he is leaving behind in the aviation industry will be hoping ministers are listening.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Work Continues at Columbus Municipal Airport

The taxiway revitalization project at the Columbus Municipal Airport is going very well. That from Airport Director Brian Payne, who says they are about one week ahead of schedule.

The current project is a full deck restoration on taxiway "Delta" and is scheduled to be completed by November 20. Barring any unforeseen, extreme weather, Payne says the contractors should have no problem finishing the project on time.

Payne adds that the current work-rate is good news as the project is causing a few inconveniences. "Currently, we have a lot of back-taxiing operations going on," he said.

Payne says that while this project is underway, aircraft are unable to taxi to a couple of runways without going down an additional runway. Even with that, Payne says that once the current project is completed, these inconveniences will "be well worth it."

Payne also spoke briefly about future plans for the airport. He says their five-year plan calls for a lot of pavement repairs, including work on a couple of connector taxiways, specifically numbers 83 and 84. Payne adds that they also want to fully restore runway 1432.

For more information on the Columbus Municipal Airport, visit their website at www.columbus.in.gov/airport.