Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Aerospace supplier LMI announces expansion in Savannah

Airframe parts supplier LMI Aerospace’s recent acquisition of a related company will mean 100 new jobs and the second expansion of LMI’s local facility in less than a year.

LMI and the Savannah Economic Development Authority made the announcement Tuesday following a SEDA board vote to grant LMI a $125,000 cash incentive toward the expansion. The project will boost LMI’s presence at its Coleman Boulevard facility to 161,000 square feet and 155 employees.

“Our work force continues to grow, and we are pleased with not only the available plant space, but also the high quality of the workers who have joined us and the support of both the city of Savannah and the state of Georgia,” LMI CEO Ronald S. Saks said. “We consider ourselves fortunate that the aerospace industry continues to grow, and we intend to offer our Savannah products and services as a valued supplier to our customers.”

Missouri-base LMI opened its Savannah facility in 2003 and produces specialty airframe parts for riveting, machined parts and assemblies for Gulfstream as well as kits and assemblies for Boeing’s plants in Seattle, Wash. and Charleston, S.C.

In December, LMI completed its acquisition of Valent Aerostructures, which makes complex structural components, sub-assemblies and machined parts for Boeing, Gulfstream, Cessna and several defense contractors. Most of the work tied to LMI’s Savannah expansion will be for parts and structures previously produced by Valent.

SEDA courted Valent Aerostructures to Savannah prior to the company’s acquisition by LMI. Based in Kansas City with locations in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, Valent was looking to open a facility in the Lowcountry to be closer to Gulfstream’s Savannah home and Boeing’s Charleston facility.

Valent was “close” to committing to Savannah, according to SEDA’s Brandt Herndon, when the company broke off communications. SEDA would later learn LMI was negotiating the purchase for Valent, shifting the focus from a new facility for Valent to an expansion for LMI.

“This was what Valent was going to do here,” Herndon said. “The 100 jobs are new hires, not a relocation, and reflect the contract work Valent had lined up for Boeing and Gulfstream.”

LMI has already leased an additional 50,000 square feet of space for its expansion.



Source:  http://savannahnow.com

GE Aviation plans 105-job West Jefferson expansion

GE Aviation is taking a “the more the merrier” approach to its expansion plans in North Carolina, giving West Jefferson a significant role in producing aviation engines that will be lighter and more heat resistant.

The company announced at last month’s air show in Paris it was adding production at its Asheville facility, where it will make jet engine components made of advanced ceramic matrix composite materials.

On Tuesday, GE Aviation confirmed that its West Jefferson plant will be part of its overall $195 million capital investment over five years. Facilities in Durham and near Wilmington also will benefit from the expansion.

Pat Mitchell, county manager and economic-development director for Ashe County, said the company has committed to a $57.8 million expansion in West Jefferson that would add 105 jobs and an additional 80,000 square-feet of manufacturing space.

The company chose North Carolina over 11 other states, with Delaware considered as the other front-runner for the expansion taking place in Asheville.

GE Aviation entered West Jefferson in January 2007 through its purchase of Smiths Aerospace for $4.8 billion. Smiths opened its 120,000-square-foot plant there in 2005. The current GE Aviation workforce is 160.

With the projected expanded workforce of 265, GE Aviation would become Ashe’s second largest manufacturing employer behind American Emergency Vehicles’ 320-person workforce.

“GE is such a well-known, quality company that for them to decide to expand in North Carolina, and in particular in West Jefferson, speaks volumes about the confidence they have in our work ethic,” Mitchell said.

GE Aviation said the materials are “a differentiator for its next-generation aircraft engines.”

The company said the technology will result in enhanced performance and improved durability of engines, which translates into lower fuel and maintenance costs for aviation customers. Mitchell said GE Aviation has been conducting research and development on the technology for more than two decades.

Mitchell said the West Jefferson piece of the expansion involves making engine parts out of the new materials.

She said the company plans to begin the expanded work in West Jefferson with existing employees and production in year one. She said GE Aviation expects to have the new production space – which will be located in front of the existing facility – operational by mid-2015.

The goal is adding up to 18 jobs by mid-2014, 56 by mid-2015 and the rest by mid-2016. Mitchell said she does not know how GE Aviation plans to hire the new employees.

The average salary among all 242 jobs is expected to be $47,942 plus benefits. Gov. Pat McCrory’s office said the average annual wages will be above the average wage in all four counties. The company already has more than 1,300 employees in North Carolina.

David Joyce, GE Aviation’s president and chief executive, said Asheville will serve as its first facility involved in the mass production of ceramic matrix composite components.” “We believe the future Asheville plant will be on the ground floor of a new technology that will change aviation,” Joyce said.

The company has been made eligible for up to $3.57 million in performance-based incentives from the state’s Job Development Investment Grant program, and up to $1.25 million from the One North Carolina Fund.

Mitchell said West Jefferson is providing up to $610,000 in incentives toward the project, while Ashe County is providing $585,000. Those incentives will be paid out over seven years.

The nonprofit Ashe County Job Development Inc. is providing $350,000, while the N.C. Rural Center is providing $500,000 toward the cost of the expanded facility in West Jefferson.

“Our elected and community leaders should be commended for taking an aggressive approach to the incentive package considering the level of competition we were facing for the project,” Mitchell said.

The expansion will help to soften the blow from the loss this year of 142 jobs at United Chemi-Con Inc.’s plant in Lansing. The company has about 100 employees at the plant.

According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, GE Aviation has been made eligible for up to $4 million in local incentives.

By comparison, Delaware offered a package of $1.9 million in grants and $1.5 million in capital incentives, tied to 400 jobs and construction of the manufacturing building.

McCrory said the GE Aviation expansion fits right in his wheelhouse for job creation.

“We tend to get a bigger bang for our buck through getting existing businesses to grow,” McCrory said.

The expanding GE Aviation facility could enhance the reputation of the Triad's burgeoning aerotropolis industrial cluster. Although an aerotropolis is defined as a metropolitan area centered on a large airport or aerospace industry, it can include such logistical and distribution sectors as trucking.

Other key members of the local aerotropolis including Atlantic Aero, B/E Aerospace Inc., FedEx’s air and ground hubs, Honda Aircraft Co., NS Aviation LLC, Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., Timco Aerosystems and Timco Aviation Services, Triumph Actuation Systems LLC and Volvo Trucks North America.

“The aviation industry is a critical target sector for North Carolina, one that is becoming increasingly important to sustainable job and investment growth for the state,” said Sharon Decker, the state’s Commerce secretary.

“Our state has the customized job training programs and skilled workforce that advanced manufacturers like GE Aviation need to compete in a global market.”


Source:  http://www.news-record.com

Pilot Bruce King plans to fly from Zuehl Field (1TE4), Texas, to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in plane he designed -- Selling plans for plane he designed


SAN ANTONIO -  Bruce King, a pilot-turned-aircraft-designer-turned-businessman, designed a small, one-person airplane, built it from scratch, and soon he plans to take the BK1 on a cross-country trip.

He finished his last practice flight at Zuehl Field near Marion Tuesday morning, giving him the required 40 hours of near-home flying required before taking it on a much longer trip to Oshkosh, Wis.

King got into building planes when he couldn't afford to fly any other way.

"Between 1975 and 2002, I couldn't fly, because I didn't have an airplane. I couldn't afford to rent one. I couldn't afford to buy one. They're just too expensive. Then I said, 'Well, I'll build my own,'" he said.

After making major modifications to the kit plane he bought -- just so he could fit inside -- he decided it might be easier to design his own.

"To me, it's like an aerial version of a go-cart," he said.

He used a Volkswagen engine and aluminum, along with ideas from other designs that have all been around since the 1930s, and designed his first plane with pencil and graph paper.

He's since moved on to a computer to make the design more precise, and completed his second design, the BK1.

"My dream is that 50 years from now, they'll still be building them. There are plans-built aircraft out there that have been around since the '30s and are still being constructed, because they were good designs. People like them a whole lot," King said.

He has sold 80 sets of plans for the BK1 through his business, BK Fliers, and said 8-10 of them are being built.

He'll show off his design, and hopes to sell more plans at the aviation show in Oshkosh, Wis., in late July.

If things go according to his plans, his design will one day become a kit plane

Story, Video, Comments/Reaction:  http://www.ksat.com

Skydiver Victim Identified

 Omro, Wis. -- The Winnebago County Sheriff's Department has released the name of the skydiver instructor killed near Omro on Tuesday. 

The body of 55 year old Paul Olsen of Belleville was recovered from Lake Butte des Morts late yesterday afternoon after a four hour search. 

Olen and a student left Skydive Adventure in Omro for a tandem jump when investigators say wind drove them away from their intended landing target. Both landed in the lake and the student was able to swim to shore.

Company wins governor's blessing to test Russian wildfire fighting plane in Idaho this summer

BOISE, Idaho — A private company aims to test an amphibious Russian firefighting jet in Idaho this summer, hoping an up-close comparison with the U.S. government's existing fleet of tankers helps it eventually win lucrative federal contracts to fight wildfires.

David Baskett, president of California-based International Emergency Services, secured a letter from Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter inviting him to bring a twin jet Beriev Be-200 from Russia to Boise for a trial run.

But Baskett faces steep hurdles, including winning Federal Aviation Administration approval to fly American skies as well as acceptance from agencies like the U.S. Forest Service who say the Russian plane so far has passed none of the requisite safety tests to allow it to be used in the United States. Among other things, it lacks an FAA airworthiness certificate and has no certified maintenance program to ensure the planes can handle structural loads encountered while fighting a wildfire.

"The Be-200 currently does not meet any of these requirements," said Jennifer Jones, a Forest Service spokeswoman at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, which oversees U.S. wildfire fighting efforts.

By bringing one of the Russian Be-200s to Idaho, however, Baskett hopes a demonstration in front of Otter in Boise helps convince Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management leaders to take a closer look at a faster, modern aircraft designed specifically to attack wildfires that now cost U.S. taxpayers more than $2 billion annually to suppress.

The Be-200 can fly about 400 mph and suck 3,500 gallons of water from a lake within seconds, potentially allowing it to respond more quickly to fires than planes that drop water or retardant but then must land and be re-filled, he said.

"My personal belief, this is the best airplane known to do the job," Baskett said Monday. "I look forward to seeing a fleet of aircraft here, working for the various fire agencies and doing a better job."

In a letter last month, Otter told Baskett he wants to watch the Be-200 in action.

"This sounds like a special aircraft, and I would welcome your visit to Idaho," Otter wrote Baskett on June 10. "Firefighting in Idaho is a significant and ongoing priority, and we need to examine all options for addressing this challenge.

Otter added any visit should be preceded by FAA sign-off and coordinated with the National Interagency Fire Center.

In April 2012, Forest Service aviation specialists from California's San Dimas Technology and Development Center did travel to Russia, on a company-financed trip to evaluate the Be-200 planes that have been used to fight fires in Italy, Portugal, Greece and Indonesia.

Still, the jet wasn't among the winners this past May when Forest Service announced plans to spend $160 million over the next five years to help modernize its contract fleet with faster, bigger tankers, including a DC-10 jumbo jet that carries about five times as much flame-resistant liquid as any aircraft in regular use.

The agency has so far been reluctant to employ more scoopers, despite a Forest Service-commissioned study from the RAND Corp. think tank released last year that recommended switching to water-scooping planes like those commonly used by Canadian firefighting agencies.

Last July, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell rejected RAND's recommendation, questioning its conclusion such a change could save millions of dollars annually.

At the time, Tidwell said his agency would consider substituting a few water scoopers for water-dropping helicopters, but that retardant-dropping air tankers would remain the mainstay because they were effective and potentially safer for pilots because they fly at higher altitudes above the burning trees.

The Forest Service said it does have three water-scooping aircraft available for the 2013 fire season, though their tank capacity is less than half that of the Be-200 and they fly at roughly half the speed.


Source:  http://www.therepublic.com

Public Reviews for Pilots?


Aviation safety consultant Keith Mackey on whether records and reviews of pilots should be made available to the public. 

Watch Video: http://video.foxbusiness.com

Jensen Beach, Florida: Flying Physician uses pilots license to cover growing emergency room shortage

Jensen Beach -   Hospitals all over the U.S facing more and more difficulty to to cover emergency rooms.

It's a crisis that's not going away. A shortage of E-R doctors all over the country, including here in South Florida.

The problem is so bad, some hospitals are even paying physicians thousands of dollars to fly to their emergency rooms.

Dr. Mike Adelberg spends most of his days, seeing patients at his Stuart Urgent Care in Jensen Beach.

But Adelberg isn't just a doctor. He's a pilot too.

The emergency room physician uses his twin engine Piper Seneca to fly around the country covering shifts at hospitals that need him.

"I have nine active licenses all over the country, because of that I get calls in states mainly along the eastern seaboard."

Adelberg earned his wings before getting his medical license. His career as a flying doctor started after he finished his residency in the Detroit area nearly three decades ago he got a call to work a shift about four hundred miles away.

"I asked them if they wouldn't mind if I fly up there seemed like a good way to use flying as an excuse to get to work."

Flying Physicians can make about $10,000 to cover three  shifts over a 36-hour period.

Adelberg says its all about supply and demand.


Source:  http://www.cbs12.com

Camp Rilea to host round-the-clock helicopter training missions this week

The sound of crashing waves and seagulls will compete with the sound of military helicopters during training operations at Camp Rilea Wednesday through Friday, officials said Tuesday.

The camp, located between Astoria and Seaside, is the Oregon National Guard's premier training center, and also hosts numerous state and regional training cadres including the Oregon State Police and wildland fire training.

Officials say most of the training will happen in the interior of the camp, on training ranges and also near the base’s heliport. Expect to hear military choppers--including AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook helicopters--at all hours of the day and night.

On Saturday and Sunday, the camp will host a wildland fire training course, which will likely include multiple controlled fires and plenty of smoke.

Officials said coastal residents can contact the Camp Rilea's range control office at 503-836-4096 if they have questions.


Source:  http://www.oregonlive.com

Coast Guard seeks help on battery thefts: St. Johns River, Florida

 
The Coast Guard said four batteries, that each weigh approximately 40 pounds and costs $106.86, have been stolen since the end of April from federally owned navigational aids in the St. Johns River from Sanford to DeBary. 
(PHOTO/U.S. Coast Guard)



Officials with the U.S. Coast Guard's Aids to Navigation Team are seeking the public's help in gathering information about the theft of four batteries from federally owned channel markers on the St. Johns River. 

According to Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Soto, someone has removed the batteries on markers in waters in the area of Sanford and DeBary.

"Non-functioning navigation aids can endanger mariners who rely on them for safe navigation," Soto said in a release issued Tuesday. "That may cause accidents."

The batteries weigh 40-pounds each and cost $106.86 per unit, Soto said.

He said vandalism of aids to navigation is a federal offense with, depending on the violation, a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 upon conviction.

Anyone with information about the thefts, which started in April, is asked to contact Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Holt, officer in charge of the Aids to Navigation Team, Station Ponce de Leon in New Smyrna Beach by calling 386-427-3227.


Source:   http://www.news-journalonline.com

Cessna 182H Skylane, N2062X: Accident occurred July 08, 2013 in Hesperia, California

NTSB Identification: WPR13LA317 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, July 08, 2013 in Hesperia, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 10/27/2014
Aircraft: CESSNA 182H, registration: N2062X
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.

NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot reported that, shortly after leveling the airplane for cruise during the night flight, he adjusted the fuel mixture control, and the engine lost all power. He performed troubleshooting procedures and discovered that by cycling the throttle forward and aft the engine would produce intermittent bursts of partial power. He subsequently landed the airplane on a road short of a runway and then the airplane slid along the shoulder and down an embankment, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings and the lower cabin structure.

Postaccident examination revealed that the outer sheath of the fuel mixture control cable had become detached from its clamp on the carburetor body and that the cable’s sheath exhibited signatures consistent with movement. As a result, movement of the mixture control within the cabin resulted in unpredictable movement of the mixture control arm. When the pilot adjusted the mixture just before the loss of engine power, the detached cable likely allowed the mixture to become excessively lean. According to maintenance records, maintenance personnel tightened the clamp during the last annual inspection; however, it could not be determined if maintenance personnel improperly tightened the clamp during the inspection. No other mechanical anomalies were noted that would have precluded normal operation. Data extracted from the airplane’s engine monitor indicated that the pilot’s continued throttle control movements following the power loss would have activated the carburetor’s accelerator pump, which resulted in sufficient quantities of fuel being delivered to the engine to produce partial power.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The loss of engine power during cruise flight due to the detachment of the mixture control cable from its mounting clamp.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On July 8, 2013, about 2320 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 182H, N2062X, landed on a road following a loss of engine power near Hesperia, California. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence. The cross-country personal flight departed Apple Valley Airport, Apple Valley, California, about 2300, with a planned destination of French Valley Airport, Murrieta/Temecula, California. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The pilot reported that having departed to the south he leveled the airplane for cruise at 7,500 feet mean sea level. As he approached Lake Arrowhead, California, he began to lean the fuel mixture, and the engine lost all power. He reduced the airplane's airspeed to best glide, and cycled the fuel selector valve from the "both," to "right," and then "left" positions, with no change. He set the mixture control to full rich, and realizing he would not be able to glide the airplane over the adjacent ridgeline and into the Los Angeles Basin, he initiated a shallow left turn. He continued to troubleshoot, and discovered that by cycling the throttle control forward and aft, the engine would produce intermittent bursts of partial power.

The airplane continued to descend at a reduced rate towards the unlit desert terrain. Shortly thereafter, the landing lights illuminated a boulder field, and his GPS system began to issue terrain warning alerts. He was unable to see the surrounding terrain, so maneuvered the airplane towards Hesperia Airport utilizing his GPS for guidance, while continuing to "pump" the throttle control. The airplane continued to descend, and as it came to within about 2 miles of the airport, the right main landing gear struck the chimney of a house. The airplane continued a further 1/4 mile, and the pilot spotted a flashing stop light. He aimed for the light, aware that a new 4-lane road had been recently constructed in that area. The airplane landed in the center of the road, and rotated to the right as soon as the damaged right main landing gear made contact with the ground. The airplane subsequently slid along the shoulder, and down an embankment, where it came to rest against a power distribution pole. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the lower cabin structure during the accident sequence.

TESTS AND RESEARCH

Examination

The airplane was recovered and examined by the NTSB investigator-in-charge and an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The engine appeared undamaged; the gascolator was full with clear blue-colored fuel, and all fuel lines between the gascolator and the carburetor inlet were intact, with their fittings tight. The carburetor drain plug was removed and fuel flowed from the bowl. The engine mixture control inner cable remained attached to the mixture control arm; however, the outer spiral sleeve had become detached from its clamp on the carburetor body. Movement of the mixture control within the cabin resulted in unpredictable movement of the mixture control arm. The cable and associated carburetor clamp were coated in oily residue and black debris, and the spiral sleeve exhibited polishing and flattening of its surface in the area which would have been bound by the clamp. Rotation of the throttle lever resulted in squirts of fuel issuing from the accelerator pump discharge tube.

The carburetor was dissembled and examined along with the engine. No anomalies were noted which would have precluded normal operation; a complete report is contained within the public docket.

Engine Monitor

The airplane was equipped with a JPI EDM-700 Engine Monitor. The unit was removed from the instrument panel, and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board Office of Research and Engineering for data extraction. The EDM-700 recorded exhaust gas and cylinder head temperatures (EGT, CHT), oil temperature, fuel flow, and fuel used at 6-second intervals.

The data revealed that about 8 minutes after engine start, EGT and CHT for all six cylinders rose to about 1,300 and 330 degrees F, respectively, with a corresponding fuel flow rate of 21 gallons per hour. These values remained relatively constant for another 8 minutes. Over the next 90 seconds, fuel flow gradually reduced to 3 gallons per hour, with a corresponding temporary rise and then drop in EGT to 375 F, along with a decline in CHT to 180 F. For the next 2 minutes, fuel flow increased to 6 gallons per hour, and the EGT began a gradual increase, recovering to the pre-anomaly temperatures.

Over the next 7 minutes EGT began to rapidly fluctuate with a temperature spread across all cylinders of between 1,100 and 1,375 F, during which time the cylinder head temperature remained constant at about 275 F. Thirty-seconds later the EGT dropped to 750 F, and the recording ended.

Carburetor

The airplane was equipped with a Precision/Marvel Schebler MA-4-5 series carburetor. The carburetor was equipped with an accelerator pump connected to the throttle linkage. The pumps fuel was supplied by the main fuel bowl via a check valve, and its operation was independent of the mixture control position. The design of the accelerator pump was such that repetitive movement of the throttle linkage forced a small amount of fuel to continually flow through the discharge tube, and into the carburetor throat.

Maintenance records revealed that the last maintenance event was an owner/operator assisted annual inspection, performed on March 11, 2013, about 30 flight-hours prior to the accident. The following entries were documented at that time:

" 6. LUBE CARB MIXTURE CABLE
1. TIGHTEN MIXTURE CABLE ATTACH POINTS, PANEL/CARB
....
3. INSPECTED All CONTROLS FOR SECURITY AND TRAVEL"

No other entries were observed indicating the cable or clamp had been replaced since the engine was installed, 1,021.08 flight hours prior in August 2001.
 
http://registry.faa.gov/N2062X


NTSB Identification: WPR13LA317 
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, July 08, 2013 in Hesperia, CA
Aircraft: CESSNA 182H, registration: N2062X
Injuries: 2 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 July 8, 2013, about 2320 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 182H, N2062X, landed on a road following a loss of engine power near Hesperia, California. The airplane was registered to, and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage during the accident sequence. The cross-country personal flight departed Apple Valley Airport, Apple Valley, California, about 2245 with a planned destination of French Valley Airport, Murrieta/Temecula, California. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

The pilot reported that having departed to the south, he leveled the airplane at 7,500 feet msl. He set the engine to cruise power by reducing manifold pressure from 21 to 19 inches of mercury, and reducing the engine speed to 2,300 rpm; as he began to lean the fuel mixture, the engine lost all power. He reduced the airplanes airspeed to best glide, and cycled the fuel selector valve from the “both”, to “right”, and then “left” positions, with no change. He set the mixture control to full rich, and initiated a shallow left turn, after realizing he would not be able to glide the airplane over the adjacent ridgeline and into the Los Angeles Basin. He continued to troubleshoot, and discovered that by cycling the throttle control forward and aft, the engine would produce intermittent bursts of partial power.

The airplane continued to descend at a reduced rate towards the unlit desert terrain below. Shortly thereafter, the airplane's landing lights illuminated a bolder field, and his GPS system began to convey terrain warning alerts. He was unable to see the surrounding terrain, so he maneuvered the airplane around a mountain and towards Hesperia Airport utilizing his GPS for guidance, while continuing to “pump” the throttle control. The airplane continued to descend, and as it came to within about two miles of the airport, the right main landing gear struck the chimney of a house. The airplane continued about 1/4 mile, and the pilot spotted a flashing stop light. He aimed for the light, aware that a new 4-lane road had been recently been constructed in that area. The airplane landed in the center of the road, and rotated to the right as soon as the damaged right main landing gear made contact with the ground. The airplane subsequently slid along the shoulder, and down an embankment, where it came to rest against a power distribution pole. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and lower cabin structure during the accident sequence.


 


HESPERIA, Calif. (KABC) -- A pilot and his daughter have an amazing story to tell after their small plane hit a home in Hesperia.

The crash happened Monday night in the 7100 block of Amanda Way. The pilot was headed back home to Temecula when he believes the plane's fuel pump went out.

He was trying to make an emergency landing at the Hesperia Airport but clipped the chimney on a vacant home, as the single-engine Cessna ran out of air speed.

Pilot Jim Neeley says an article he read recently in a flying magazine helped him out.

"Even when I gave it a pump, it would make power for maybe a second. It would make about 25 percent power for a second," said Neeley. "Every time I pumped, I got power, and that's exactly what the article said. I'm so glad that I read it."

Both Neeley and his daughter are OK. He walked away with a small scratch on his nose. His daughter wasn't hurt.

Federal Aviation Administration minivan catches fire at Miami International Airport (KMIA), Florida

A minivan parked near the Federal Aviation Administration watch tower at Miami International Airport caught fire Tuesday afternoon, sending up visible smoke in the area, airport officials said.

The Dodge Caravan, owned by the FAA, was used to transport equipment, said airport spokeswoman Maria Levrant.

At about 1:40 p.m. the van, which was parked and off, caught fire for unknown reasons.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and police responded to the scene and extinguished the fire by 1:50 p.m. The vehicle is a total loss.

No one was harmed in the fire.

Smoke could be seen from surrounding roads and highways.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com

Low-Flying Airplane Maps New Madrid Zone: U.S. Geological Survey

Credit: U.S. Geological Survey 
Department of the Interior/USGS
 U.S. Geological Survey/photo by Michael Hobbs , EDCON-PRJ, Inc.


Starting around July 10, and continuing for approximately one month, an airplane operating under contract to the U.S. Geological Survey will be making low-level flights over a 1400-square-mile area including Blytheville, Ark., Kennett, Mo., Piggott, Ark., and Qulin, Mo., along with other parts of southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, and western Tennessee. The magnetometer on the airplane measures the magnetic field of the earth without emitting any energy or signal of its own.

The survey is designed to measure the magnetic field of the earth, which is related to rock formations that lie below the land surface. These flights are part of an ongoing USGS earthquake research program to identify hidden geologic features, such as changes in rock types, thus providing a better understanding of the geology and hydrology of the area. For example, the magnetic survey may help map shallow concealed faults associated with the New Madrid seismic zone. It will take several months to a year before results from the survey are released.

"Faults sometimes bring together rocks with different magnetic properties,” said Dr. Richard Blakely, the USGS geophysicist who organized the survey and will lead data analysis. “These variations in magnetic properties produce very small magnetic fields that can be measured with low-flying aircraft, allowing us to map and characterize faults even though they may be completely hidden by vegetation or young sediments."

For the last 40 years, the New Madrid area has been the most seismically active region in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Although no knowledge of an imminent large earthquake exists, the USGS has serious concerns about the potential repeat of a destructive earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone, like those that occurred in the winter of 1811-1812. Large sequences of earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 7 to 8 also occurred in this region in about 1450 A.D., 900 A.D., and 2300 B.C. The geologic evidence indicates that these were large earthquakes that produced prolonged and very strong ground motions in the area that is home to several million people today.

Anyone observing the low-flying single-engine Cessna red and white airplane should not be alarmed if they see it fly overhead or pass below the horizon. The airplane is operated by experienced pilots who are specially trained for low-level flying.

The airplane is operated by EDCON-PRJ of Lakewood, Colo., which is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure flights are safe and in accordance with U.S. law.

Photo of the Cessna airplane to be used for the study.

In the public interest and in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the USGS is announcing this low-level airborne project.  Your assistance in informing the local communities is appreciated.

Source:  http://www.usgs.gov