Tuesday, August 06, 2013

U.K. Regulator Dismisses Airbus Complaint on Boeing Ads: WSJ

Updated August 6, 2013, 8:16 p.m. ET

By  DAVID PEARSON

The Wall Street Journal


The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority has rejected a complaint by European commercial aircraft builder Airbus that its U.S. rival Boeing Co. made misleading statements in an advertising campaign in trade publications in late 2012.

The decision represents a victory for Boeing in a long war of words between the two aircraft builders that are vying for supremacy in a market estimated to be worth some $4 trillion over the next 20 years. The duopoly has a history of feuding in the public domain that goes back more than two decades, with the aerospace giants trading claims and counterclaims about their planes.

The latest volley in the tit-for-tat battle stems from ads taken out by Boeing in aviation-industry publications late last year claiming that the newest model of its 747 jumbo jet is a lot cheaper in terms of trip cost for an airline than Airbus's double-decker A380 superjumbo.

In the ads, the Chicago-based company claimed that the 747-8 has a 26% advantage over the A380 when measured by the cost of a 6,000 nautical mile route. It also claimed that its 747-8 is 8% more efficient in terms of fuel consumption because the A380 is bigger and heavier.

Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.,  responded with a campaign showing a Boeing plane with an elongated nose and the catch line: "Why is our competitor stretching the truth?"—a clear reference to the story book character Pinocchio, whose nose grew longer with every fib he told.

In its ruling, the U.K. independent regulator for media advertising dismissed Airbus's claims, saying Boeing's ad comparing the 747-8 and the A380 "was not likely to mislead," because airline executives reading it were unlikely to make a purchase decision without extensive research into the performance data of the two aircraft, based on their own specific requirements. The ASA acknowledged that the Boeing ad summarized "only a few relevant performance characteristics, which should be interpreted in the context of the vast amount of technical and supporting documentation provided to airline purchasers."

In a statement, Boeing said it was "pleased that our advertisements underlining the advantages of buying Boeing products have been supported." Boeing spokesman Charlie Miller acknowledged that comparative advertising can be a useful tool. "Occasionally it is a good idea to publish comparative data that underscore the value of your products," he said.

John Leahy, Airbus's chief operating officer-customers, said in a statement that Boeing "continues trying to mislead the public by claiming a 'standard layout' that actually has never been sold or installed on any of their aircraft. Boeing should stop trying to mislead and acknowledge that the old 747 'reference' layouts have been overtaken by reality."

Airbus said that a fair comparison between the two big planes on the basis of fuel burn per seat "must take into account current cabin configurations and comfort levels actually operated by the airlines. Under these comparable conditions, the A380 demonstrates [on more than 150 daily flights] significant lower fuel burn per seat compared to the 747-8." Airbus contends that Boeing's argument doesn't take into account the much-higher seating capacity and greater passenger comfort of the A380 with 525 seats in a standard cabin layout, compared with the Boeing plane's 467 seats.

Matt Wilson, spokesman for the ASA, said Boeing has lodged a complaint with the authority regarding Airbus's Pinocchio ads. "We are formally investigating Boeing's complaint that the ads and the claims made by Airbus are misleading and denigratory," he said.

Source:  http://online.wsj.com

Pregnant ice addict accused of dudding Melbourne Airport out of almost $90,000

A pregnant ice addict in charge of issuing permits at the airport stole almost $90,000 from her employers in a year.

Rebecca Dessmann dudded Australia Pacific Airport Melbourne Corporation of $86,773 by manipulating the cash register process and pocketing the money from her fraudulent bookkeeping.

The security services co-ordinator was in charge of issuing various permits and asset cards for the airport.

The Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court heard Dessmann would make cash reversals on sales for hire car and airport driving permits and then pocket the money from the till.

She would also ensure the money in the register matched the day's takings.

Every week Dessmann would add the takings and then reconcile the till with the orders before sending the money to airport management.

She was the only person in charge of reconciling the tills and no one checked her bookkeeping.

Her employers became aware of the fraud after a whistleblower contacted management.

An investigation by airport management revealed only Dessmann could have siphoned off the $86,773 it found missing.

Airport police reported the matter to the Australian Federal Police, who issued charges last January.

Leading Sen-Constable Daniel Taite told the Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court Dessmann would steal thousands each week.

"She was the last person reconciling the register at the end of the week and the end of the day, and no one checked her tally," Constable Taite said.

Dessmann yesterday pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining property by deception from January 2011 to the end of December 2011.

The court heard Dessmann, who is 13 weeks pregnant with her second child, stole the money to help feed her drug addiction.

Defence barrister Wendy James said her client had acknowledged she was likely to face a jail term but asked that it be wholly suspended.

"I need to acknowledge the three aggravating factors - that Ms Dessmann abused a position of trust to her employers, it was a long period of time and a significant amount of money.

"I first thought that it may have been gambling that was behind this offending but her problem was an addiction to methamphetamine - ice.

"Through unbelievably tough love from her family she has been able to turn her life around."

Ms James said her client had pleaded guilty at the earliest possible time saving 13 witnesses from giving evidence at a hearing.

Magistrate John Doherty adjourned sentencing until next week for court reports to be prepared.

Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au

Asiana Airlines flight 214, Boeing 777-200ER, registration HL7742: Accident occurred July 06, 2013 in San Francisco, California

NTSB Identification: DCA13MA120  
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 129: Foreign operation of Asiana Airlines
Accident occurred Saturday, July 06, 2013 in San Francisco, CA
Aircraft: BOEING 777-200ER, registration: HL7742
Injuries: 3 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 traveled in support of this investigation and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On July 6, 2013, about 1128 pacific daylight time, Asiana Airlines flight 214, a Boeing 777-200ER, registration HL7742, impacted the sea wall and subsequently the runway during landing on runway 28L at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California. Of the 4 flight crewmembers, 12 flight attendants, and 291 passengers, about 182 were transported to the hospital with injuries and 3 passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The regularly scheduled passenger flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 129 between Incheon International Airport, Seoul, South Korea, and SFO. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.



A California man injured in last month’s plane crash at San Francisco International Airport filed a lawsuit against The Boeing Company Monday in Chicago.

The man, identified only as John Doe, was a passenger on the flight that crashed July 6 and is claiming that negligence on Boeing’s part in the design and manufacture of the plane were responsible for the accident, according to a suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

Asiana Airlines Flight 214, a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport on July 6.The suit claims the plane’s airspeed as it approached the runway was too slow, which caused the landing gear and tail to strike the airport’s seawall before the plane collided with the ground.

Three people were killed in the crash and 304 other people onboard were injured, according to the suit.

The suit alleges that a faulty autothrottle was responsible for the reduction in speed and altitude that caused the crash, and that Boeing had a responsibility to ensure the equipment was working properly when it manufactured and subsequently inspected the plane.

The three-count suit charges Boeing with product liability, negligence and willful and wanton conduct and is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

A spokesperson for Boeing declined to comment on the suit Monday night.


Source:   http://www.wlsam.com

Surf Air 'Airline'? What Passengers Need To Know Before They Sign-Up

Forbes 

John Goglia, Contributor,
Airline industry and aviation safety


With all the media hoopla surrounding Surf Air’s all-you-can fly business model and comparisons to Netflix there seems to be some basic information missing that passengers need to be aware of before they decide to spend thousands of dollars – between membership fees and a three-month commitment – to join up. That basic information is that Surf Air does not hold the same FAA air carrier certificate, and is not required to meet the same safety standards, as most scheduled airlines, including commuter or regional airlines.

Surf Air holds an FAA certificate issued under Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. While most commuter airlines were required to upgrade to Part 121 standards – after a series of accidents in the 1990s – scheduled operations using aircraft with 9 or less seats were allowed to continue to operate under Part 135. Since Surf Air operates three Pilatus aircraft – with less than 9 passenger seats –it is legally allowed to operate as a commuter under Part 135.

Read more and comments/reaction:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoglia

Cessna 172M Skyhawk, Cardinal Wings Aviation LLC, N118JD: Accident occurred June 11, 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky

National Transportation Safety Board - Aviation Accident Final Report: http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf 

National Transportation Safety Board  -  Docket And Docket Items: http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms 

National Transportation Safety Board  -  Aviation Accident Data Summary:   http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

NTSB Identification: ERA13LA279
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, June 11, 2013 in Louisville, KY
Probable Cause Approval Date: 06/09/2015
Aircraft: CESSNA 172M, registration: N118JD
Injuries: 4 Serious.

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 could not recall any information about the accident except that the airplane had ascended to about 200 ft above ground level. According to Federal Aviation Administration radar data, the airplane had performed three takeoffs and landings, and the accident occurred during the initial climb after the fourth takeoff. The airplane impacted the ground in a right-wing, nose-down attitude about 430 ft from the departure end of the runway. No mechanical abnormalities were noted with the engine or airframe that would have precluded normal operation.
Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the flaps were set at 30 degrees. According to the Pilot’s Operating Handbook, the flaps should be up for normal and obstacle-clearance takeoffs, and flap settings greater than 10 degrees are not recommended at any time for takeoff. Further, calculations of the airplane’s weight and balance revealed that the airplane was over the maximum allowable takeoff weight by 114 pounds before the airplane’s initial departure. The exact weight at the time of the accident could not be determined; however, it is likely that the airplane was still operating above the maximum allowable weight. Although the airplane had taken off and landed three times while overweight without incident, it is likely that the improper flap setting increased the drag and, in combination with the airplane’s overweight condition, degraded the airplane’s climb performance, which resulted in the airplane experiencing an aerodynamic stall at a low altitude.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to set the correct flap position before takeoff and his inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in the operation of the airplane over the maximum allowable gross weight, both of which led to an aerodynamic stall at too low an altitude at which to recover.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 11, 2013, about 2230 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N118JD, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during takeoff from Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky. The private pilot and three passengers were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The pilot was unable to recall any information about the accident; however he did report that the altitude of the occurrence was about "200 feet [above ground level]." Review of radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed the airplane was performing takeoff and landings to runway 33 at LOU. The airplane impacted the ground about 430 feet from the departure end of the runway in a right wing low, nose down attitude.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

According to FAA records, the pilot, age 17, held a private pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land. The certificate was issued on February 17, 2013. His most recent FAA third-class airman medical certificate was issued on October 30, 2012. According to the pilot's logbook, as of May 19, 2013, the pilot had accumulated 58.2 total hours of flight experience; of which, all of those hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The pilot had accumulated 9.6 hours total night time experience, of which 1.4 hours of night time experience were within the 90 days preceding the accident, including four night takeoff and landings.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The four-seat, high-wing, fixed tricycle-gear airplane, was manufactured in 1975. It was powered by a Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150-hp engine. Review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that its most recent annual inspection was completed on March 1, 2013. At the time of inspection, the airplane had accumulated 8,173.5 total hours in service. The engine had accumulated approximately 1,145 total hours of time in service since major overhaul. The most recent 100-hour inspection was completed on May 14, 2013, and had 8,322.77 total hours in service.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The 2253 recorded weather at LOU, included wind from 160 degrees at 3 knots, 10 miles visibility, clear skies, temperature 26 degrees C, dew point 19 degrees C, and a barometric altimeter setting of 29.95 inches of mercury.

According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, on the day of the accident, official sunset was at 2106, the end of civil twilight was at 2138, and official moonset was at 2311. The moon phase was waxing crescent with 8 percent of the moon's visible disk would have been illuminated.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

The airport was a publically owned airport and at the time of the accident had an operating control tower that operated between the hours of 0700 and 2200. The airport was equipped with two runways designated as 6/24 and 15/33. The runways were reported as "in fair condition" or "in good condition" at the time of the accident. Runway 6/24 was a 4,326 -foot-long by 75-foot-wide runway and runway 15/33 was a 3,579-foot-long by 75-foot-wide runway. The airport was 546 feet above mean sea level. Both runways were equipped with medium intensity runway lights (MIRL) that were pilot activated over the common traffic advisory frequency. The lights were tested following the accident and stayed on for 15 minutes when activated.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

According to photographs provided by an FAA inspector, after impact the airplane pivoted around the nose before coming to rest upright, nose down, on a golf course. Both propeller blades exhibited chordwise scratching and the wings and fuselage sustained substantial damage.

Postaccident examination by an FAA inspector and a representative of the airplane's manufacturer revealed that the flap actuator jackscrew measured about 4 inches, which correlated to a 30 degree flap position. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that he did a weight and balance prior to accident flight. When asked if he still had a copy of it, he said he "did it in his head." Calculation of the airplane's weight and balance information revealed that the airplane's total weight was 2414 pounds; the maximum allowable takeoff weight was 2300 pounds.

Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25A)

Chapter 8, "Weight and Balance," states in part "Compliance with the weight and balance limits of any airplane is critical to flight safety. Operating an airplane above the maximum weight limitation compromises the structural integrity of the airplane and adversely affects its performance…an overloaded airplane may not be able to leave the ground, or if it does become airborne, it may exhibit unexpected and unusually poor flight characteristics…excessive weight reduces the flight performance of an airplane in almost every respect. The most important performance deficiencies of the overloaded airplane are…higher stalling speed."

Cessna 172M Pilot Operating Handbook


Section 2, "Takeoff" states in part "Wing Flap Settings – Normal and obstacle clearance takeoffs are performed with wing flaps up… Flap settings greater than 10 degrees are not recommended at any time for takeoff…" Also, a review of the "normal take-off" and "maximum performance take-off" stated in part that, the wing flaps setting is zero degrees.


http://registry.faa.govN118JD

NTSB Identification: ERA13LA279
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, June 11, 2013 in Louisville, KY
Aircraft: CESSNA 172M, registration: N118JD
Injuries: 4 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On June 11, 2013, about 2225 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N118JD, operated by a private individual, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during takeoff from Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky. The private pilot and three passengers were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The pilot was seriously injured and unable to provide a statement about the accident. Review of radar data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed the airplane was performing touch-and-go landings to runway 33 at LOU. On the fourth touch-an-go landing, the airplane took off from runway 33, and radar contact was lost at about 200 feet above ground level. The airplane impacted the ground about 430 feet from the departure end of the runway. According to an FAA inspector, the right wing impacted the ground first and the airplane pivoted around the nose before coming to rest upright, nose down, on a golf course. Both propeller blades exhibited chordwise scratching and the inspector noted substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The wreckage was retained for further examination. 




















A fundraiser will be held Saturday to help the four victims of the June 11 plane crash at Seneca Golf Course. 

Pilot Cody Goodan and passengers Adam Breitmeyer, Josh Daddona and Josh Trumbo, all of Louisville, were all injured while Goodan was practicing touch and go landings at nearby Bowman Field in a small Cessna plane. The plane crashed at the 18th hole.

Proceeds will go the four boys’ families to help pay medical bills, said organizer Eric Black.

The event will be from 6-11 p.m. at the Mill Creek VFW Post 5421 at 7111 Lower Hunters Trace in southwest Louisville.

Food includes smoked barbecue, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans and ice cream. Games include an inflatable bounce house, horse shoes and corn hole. Entertainment will be provided by live bands, a DJ and karaoke.

Silent auction items and raffle prizes include iPads, flat screen televisions, gift cards, gift baskets and more.

Monetary donations can also be made an any BB&T bank branch to the “Butler Boys” account. All four men were Butler High School graduates.

Anyone willing to donate silent auction items or raffle prizes can also contact Black at (502) 376-0585 or eblack@insightbb.com.


http://www.courier-journal.com 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Four men are still in the hospital after a plane crashed on a golf course Tuesday night. 
 
Family members of the four men say one of the young men had been previously warned by his father not to go up in the small plane. The family of the four man involved in the plane crash say it's a miracle that no one died in the accident.  University Hospital says one patient is still in critical condition, with the other three upgraded to serious.

The four young men inside the plane just graduated from Butler Traditional High School last week, according to family members.

The plane is a Cessna Skyhawk tail number N118JD.  It was removed from the golf course on Wednesday afternoon.

No official information has been released about the identities of the men on the plane, or on where the plane was headed, and what may have caused the crash. Crews from Louisville Fire & Rescue did contain a fuel leak from the plane after the accident.

A spokesperson for the FAA says based on the circumstance, the pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings when the accident occurred. FAA officials also say the plane was registered to Cardinal Wings Aviation, a flight school on Bowman Field.

WDRB news was unable to get in touch with Cardinal Wings Aviation, but they did have a photo of a plane matching that tail number listed on their website as a rental.

A family member tells us the pilot had only had his license for nine months.

FAA officials say there are no records indicating that the plane was involved in prior accidents or incidents.

Even after this accident, golf course officials say the golf course will remain open until further notice.

http://www.wdrb.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Four men were hospitalized after a small aircraft crashed on Seneca Golf Course late last night near Bowman Field.

The plane went down before 10:30 p.m. on June 11 near the 18th hole of the Seneca Golf Course, which is next to the small airport.

Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley says four men believed to be in their early 20s were trapped inside and had to be pulled out. All were conscious and taken to University Hospital where all of them are listed in critical condition.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane was a Cessna 172 and that preliminary indications are that the plane was practicing takeoffs and landings when the crash happened.

Crews from Louisville Fire & Rescue contained a fuel leak from the plane.

A neighbor, who is a commercial pilot at Bowman Field, says the crash itself didn't wake him -- but all of the commotion and sirens did.

Once James Chaney found out a plane had crashed, he had to come take a look. "It's definitely a concern. It's kind of an eye opener," he said.

Kirk Brown, the Assistant Superintendent at the course, was not aware there had been a crash until he saw our news crews early Thursday.

When he found out what happened, he was amazed the four people inside survived.

"The plane looks destroyed," Brown said. "It looks like someone would pass away in something like this."

Meanwhile, the golf course remains open -- including the 18th hole where the plane went down. It will be a par three instead of a par four.

Aircraft face hazard from space debris

After last week’s explosion of a spent Russian rocket booster in the skies over the Cayman Islands, urgent questions are being asked about the threat to aviation posed by falling space debris.

The Cayman Islands Airports Authority last week minimized the danger, acknowledging the potential threat, but pointing out no damage had resulted when the booster, dubbed SL-14 R/B, having lifted communications satellite 39033 into orbit in December, decayed on Monday night over the coast of Honduras, tracing a fiery arc across Cayman, heading for Cuba and finally disintegrated in the night sky.

On Monday, former CIAA chairman Dick Arch echoed previous remarks, saying chances of a collision were so slim as to be negligible. “When you think of the speed and course [of debris], the chances are one in a billion,” he said, observing that lightning strikes to aircraft occur several times each year with little damage.

“I have never heard of an aircraft ever being hit” by falling debris, Mr. Arch said.

Nevertheless, the problem continues to loom, increasing with the proliferation of cheap air travel and the accumulation of space junk, which includes everything from spent rocket stages, old satellites, lost equipment, fragments from disintegration, erosion and collisions.

Estimates are that 19,000 pieces of debris larger than 2 inches orbit the earth, as well as 300,000 pieces smaller than 0.4 inches, including dust from rocket motors, surface-degradation products such as paint flakes and even coolant released by nuclear-powered satellites. The impacts of these particles are similar to sandblasting.

While most debris incinerates in the atmosphere, larger objects can reach the ground. The original Skylab station entered the earth’s atmosphere in 1979, trailing debris across the Indian Ocean and Southern Australia; a Navstar rocket crashed in Saudi Arabia in 2001 after a “catastrophic orbital decay”, while the Columbia Space Shuttle in 2003 shed debris across a swathe of the southern US, ending in Florida.

A US Federal Aviation Administration study after the shuttle accident determined the probability of an impact between Columbia debris and commercial aircraft in the vicinity was at least one in a thousand, and the chance of an impact with a general aviation aircraft was at least one in a hundred.

In March 2007, the pilot of a LAN Chile flight to New Zealand, carrying 270 passengers, notified Auckland air traffic controllers after seeing flaming wreckage from a Russian satellite five miles from his plane. He reported hearing the sonic boom as it passed. The Pacific Ocean is among the safest places in the world for a satellite to descend because of its vast uninhabited areas.

A pilot with Australian and International Pilots Association said the debris could have caused catastrophic consequences had it struck the aircraft.

“For [the pilot] to have heard it, one of two things - [the debris] was a lot closer than he thinks or it was bigger and going at quite a high speed,” Qantas Captain Steven Anderson said.

With more than 1,000 operating satellites and more than 13,000 objects in low earth orbit, the problem appears to be growing. More than 38 large debris objects have re-entered the atmosphere since the 
beginning of 2012.

Washington’s Federal Aviation Administration, the Office of Commercial Space Transportation and the US Department of Defence have developed aircraft vulnerability models, concluding that a fragment as small as 300 grams would prove “catastrophic” to aircraft, particularly if penetrating the fuselage or fuel tank.

Still Anthony Philbin, acting chief of the communications section of the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization, said the risk from space debris “is extremely low and, to date, we have no record of any incidents, adding that “no one has ever been killed by falling space junk, whether in an aircraft or not,” although five Japanese sailors and one Australian woman have been struck by falling fragments.

“Inbound meteorites are a more common occurrence,” Mr. Philbin said, pegging their numbers at 50 per day. “Space debris, in contrast, comes in at a rate of 150 pieces per year. “Larger pieces usually have functioning engines and are guided back by the [United] States who operate them in a controlled manner and with the required 
hazard warnings.”

In a May meeting in Montreal, the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety assessed the risks to aviation of falling debris, saying 40 large space debris objects annually re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, and that between 10 per cent and 40 per cent of their mass survived, “posing hazard to people and property”.

“The location of uncontrolled re-entries is unpredictable,” the society sad, “and the debris impacts in long, thin ground footprint[s]”.

Only four months earlier, in January, the group noted, the Russians issued a “Note to Airmen”, citing a decaying satellite and asking Europe to close its airspace for two hours. Authorities declined, however, estimating potential costs at 20 million euro.

The society said it hoped to complete the initial work this autumn, mapping air traffic density and calculating the probability of impacts and the vulnerability of aircraft, observing the impact point for surviving fragments was impossible to predict, the spread of fragments depended on where they are released, while wind speed and direction are critical.

Already, the outlines of a space-vehicle-mounted Reentry Direct Broadcasting Alert System are apparent helping ease concerns.

According to Space Safety Magazine, when a spacecraft carrying the system enters the atmosphere, it relays a message with the coordinates of the falling debris area to anyone with a receiver 
and a display.

Predictions remain uncertain, however, largely due to the skipping effect that an uncontrolled spacecraft will experience as its hits the upper atmosphere. When the skipping ends, trajectory and overall location of fragments can be calculated, but leaving little time for evasive manoeuvres.

The magazine quotes the system’s inventor, Tommaso Sgobba, saying an airplane would have between five minutes and seven minutes to get out of the way.

“With a typical hazard area being 1,000-2,000km (620-1,240 miles) long, but very narrow, 30-70km (18.5-43.5 miles), an escape manoeuvre from the risky area can be readily performed or the aircraft could hold its position until it is safe to cross the hazard area,” 
Mr. Sgobba said.

The system is unlikely, however, to address the random re-entry of decaying fragments, leaving wider worries outstanding.


Story and Comments/Reaction:  http://www.compasscayman.com

Pair accused of scamming air charter firm: Jet Aviation at Teterboro Airport (KTEB), New Jersey

NEWARK — Dante Dixon may not be honest, but he does have style.

When he needed to get from New Jersey to Miami, the convicted scam artist didn’t bother with a commercial flight. He chartered a corporate jet. He also arranged a limo ride to the airport before anyone realized he had no money.

Then he did it again. And again.

But that’s only part of the Dante Dixon saga. There was also thousands of dollars more in executive gifts at Tiffany’s, all put on a fraudulent corporate account, and $25,466 in overnight stays at an exclusive South Beach boutique hotel.

Dixon, 45, of Miami, who was arrested at his mother’s house in Akron, Ohio, and Christopher Henderson, 32, also of Akron, were both taken into custody today by the FBI, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said the two men made at least four flights between May and June through Jet Aviation, a worldwide business aviation services company headquartered at Teterboro, by pretending to be high-level executives at an unnamed financial institution.

Dixon, jailed more than a decade ago in a complex credit card scheme using sham companies to mine personal information on potential victims through credit reporting agencies, was charged with racking up $164,911 in charter flights, and another $10,879 in limousine services over a two-month period.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Newark, the two arranged a line of credit after an individual using the name "Josh Stevens" called Jet Aviation’s offices in Chicago, Ill., and Van Nuys, Calif., to inquire about its private charter flight services. The individual allegedly identified himself as a senior vice president at a "well-known financial institution." The company was not identified in the complaint.

A Jet Aviation employee subsequently sent an e-mail to an address purported to be affiliated with the institution containing a draft Charter Services Agreement, which was signed by Stevens and returned to Jet Aviation on May 9. The agreement listed Stevens as a senior vice president, Dixon as a vice president, and Henderson as a vice president of international affairs.

Jet Aviation, based on the agreement, created an account and a $350,000 line of credit, which was later tapped to arrange for flights between California, Ohio, New Jersey and Miami.

The company today did not returns calls for comment.

It all unraveled in June after a Jet Aviation employee met Dixon and Henderson as they boarded a charter flight from Teterboro to Miami and contacted the company where they supposedly worked, only then learning that neither were employees.

Officials said Jet Aviation was never paid for the charter flights or limousine services.

Prosecutors said the two also used their fake corporate credentials at the Tiffany & Co. store in Bal Harbour, Fla., and The W South Beach Hotel in Miami, charging $19,991 in watches, sunglasses, sterling silver and leather business cardholders, and men’s cologne from Tiffany, and approximately $25,466 in overnight hotel stays at The W.

Court records — confirmed by federal prosecutors — show Dixon has a history of criminal fraud. He was charged in July 2000 in a scheme to obtain hundreds of unauthorized credit cards by submitting applications using the identities of real individuals, both living and deceased, through phony companies that were used as mail-drop addresses.

One of the companies was used to collect personal identification from real people, as well as obtain credit reports on unwitting victims, according to the court filings. Prosecutors said the scheme led to $1.4 million in losses to several financial institutions. Dixon was later sentenced to six years in prison.

Dixon and Henderson both made their initial court appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Burke in Akron federal court today and were ordered held until they can be transported to New Jersey.

If convicted, the two face up to 20 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Story and Comments/Reaction:  http://www.nj.com


Jet Aviation:  http://www.jetaviation.com

Plane spotters: In an age of tight airport security, it can be hard to find a place to watch jets come and go at close range ... But devotees say it's worth it

 
By Matt Cochran· Published on August 1, 2013 
Sunday, 7/28/2013 - "Another Sunday afternoon at Hartsfield-Jackson featuring many of my favorite catches as well as another interception at the hands of Homeland Security. Luckily this time, however, the agent in charge is someone I've encountered before. So come along! Join me for yet another Sunday Funday at Hartsfield-Jackson International Delta-port!"
~


 
Plane spotter Douglas Thompson watches jets from the aptly named Planeview Park outside LaGuardia Airport in New York.
 (Tina Susman / Los Angeles Times / July 24, 2013)


NEW YORK — Most people can't wait to leave the airport once they've reached their destination. Douglas Thompson can barely tear himself away, which explains why Thompson, a visitor from Glasgow, Scotland, was perched happily on a bench in the aptly named Planeview Park one recent afternoon, watching jets roar into the sky from LaGuardia Airport's Runway 4.

The bench is one of the few amenities in this park, a triangular acre where the roar of traffic on the adjacent Grand Central Parkway competes with the thunder of jet engines on the taxiway abutting the expressway.

A few trees offer slivers of shade. Buses belch as they pick up passengers on a busy street behind the park. Jets pass so closely overhead that signs on the Grand Central Parkway warn of "low-flying aircraft," lest drivers fear an incoming Boeing, Airbus, Embraer or other flying machine is about to crash into traffic.

Bucolic it is not.

But in this age of tight airport security, Planeview Park, which is run by the city, is a blessing to those whose idea of fun is watching planes take off and land in startling proximity. They record their registration numbers, snap pictures of the bellies, and sometimes witness an anomaly: a go-around to avoid another plane on the runway, a rarely seen aircraft carrying a foreign leader, or the worst-case scenario — a crash.

Twice in the last month, aviation nightmares have unfolded in view of runway watchers. An Asiana jet crashed on landing July 6 in San Francisco, killing three people. Less than two weeks later, a Southwest Airlines jet slammed nose-first onto Runway 4 here, skidding thousands of feet in a spray of sparks before stopping. Several people suffered minor injuries.

Devoted plane spotters say the last thing they want to see is a catastrophe.

"I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that's why they're out there," said Jason Rabinowitz, associate editor of the online magazine nycaviation.com and a longtime plane spotter. "Any crash is a terrible tragedy. It's not anything you hope to see, ever."

Thompson, who developed an affinity for plane spotting as a boy growing up near Glasgow's airport, agreed.

"You either do this to take pictures — which I don't — or you do it to collect plane numbers, which I do," said Thompson, who had a pair of binoculars and a notebook. As each plane reached the end of Runway 4 and turned its rear toward Planeview Park to take off, Thompson jotted its alphanumeric registration in his notebook.

When Thompson and his family — who were taking in the sights of New York City — get home, Thompson will enter the numbers into his personal database to see how many of the planes he has spotted in the past. There is no competition involved, no prize if he spots the same jet a certain number of times. There's just the joy he derives from his hobby, which is far more popular in Europe than in the United States.

"I guess the Americans don't get it," said Thompson, who visits the United States regularly and always sets aside a few hours for plane spotting. He has never seen an accident, "which is really good," he added. "I'm not sure I'd want to see one, especially since we're getting on an airplane Saturday to fly home."

He has seen many airplanes multiple times, including a Boeing 727 that was parked to the side of Runway 4 on this day. Thompson recognized it as an executive jet. "I've seen that in Spain before, when we were on vacation there." Like most plane spotters, he has his favorite airports. "In America, you won't get much better than Phoenix Sky Harbor. It's superb," he said, crediting the runway layout and the location of parking lots.

Planeview Park, though, is unique because of the view from its location on a bluff overlooking the airport, and its proximity to the planes. When the wind is right, Rabinowitz estimated, they are just 80 to 100 feet overhead before touchdown on Runway 4.

That closeness is a rarity since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said Rabinowitz, whose website has a forum full of accounts of plane spotters confronted by officials concerned about people taking pictures of aircraft. Perimeter fences with high-tech security systems now line most runways.

"If you even get near to one, you'll get a SWAT team dispatched to you," Rabinowitz said.

So plane spotters work around the problem. Some pursue their hobby from a Costco parking lot near John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. In Los Angeles, people gather at a spot dubbed the In-N-Out Location. "You'll often see that park packed with people eating burgers and watching planes," said Rabinowitz, who ranks LAX as his favorite U.S. plane-spotting airport for the "wild variety of planes using it."

Not all airports try to push plane spotters away. Miami put holes into the top of a metal perimeter fence to hold spotters' cameras. Fort Lauderdale has a loudspeaker that plays audio from the air traffic control tower for plane spotters in a designated viewing area.

Like Thompson, Rabinowitz grew up near the sound and view of jets, in his case at JFK. "I picked up a camera and started clicking away," said Rabinowitz, who was on hand in September when a jet had to make two go-arounds after its nose gear jammed at a 90-degree angle on approach to JFK. It landed safely.

Many plane spotters, Rabinowitz said, adopt the hobby after hopes of becoming pilots are dashed. Others are pilots, like Tony Riaz, who just like to watch them come and go in their spare time.

"It becomes a part of you," said Riaz, who visited Planeview the same day as Thompson. Riaz said he had flown for four different airlines over the last 14 years and was about to begin a new piloting gig with a regional airline.

Then there are people like Aldo Biancospino, who lives near LaGuardia and stops at Planeview while out bicycling or walking. He can recite the crashes that have occurred near the airport over the decades and marvels that most flights begin and end without problems.

"I find it amazing that something so big can fly," he said as a jet lifted into the sky. "It's so graceful, and yet it's a monster."

Story. Photo and Comments/Reaction:  http://www.latimes.com

Dona Ana County Airport at Santa Teresa (5T6) construction could cost businesses

EL PASO, Texas -

After a long day of flying, the pilot of a Cessna 172 can land his or her private plane on the runways of the Dona Ana County Airport at Santa Teresa.

Once landed, the plane is parked in the hangars of Francis Aviation, a first-class fixed-base operator (FBO), just a third of mile down Airport Road.

Here the pilot can kick back in the lounge, eat, read, maybe catch a move, and refuel.

But pending construction this October at the Santa Teresa Airport, intended to improve the runway and provide for more parking, could block pilots from flying into Francis Aviation, crushing Tyler Francis' business for an estimated six weeks or more.

"It's just going to put everything to a complete standstill here," Francis said.

The $44 million project funded by the Federal Aviation Administration to improve Santa Teresa could end up costing Francis $100,000 and leave him no choice but to lay-off some of his employees.

"Every bill is going to be due no matter or not we can sell something or not, which is a scary premise when you think of what it costs and not being able to make a penny," Francis said.

Airport Spokesman Jess Williams said paving the landing strip won't shut down the airport since they're counting on using their taxi lane, that is, if everything goes as planned.

"Some of the businesses located on the airport are going to feel a little discomfort as anybody does when there's construction," Williams said/ "We don't anticipate any closures obviously, but when your in a construction project sometimes things can happen."

For now, Francis is counting on that lane being open, although he's only 25 percent confident it will actually happen.

"We're just going to have to sit on our hands and wait," Francis said.

Source:    http://www.kvia.com


Francis Aviation:   http://www.francisaviation.com

Coast Guard Pilots In Massachusetts Feel Sequester Pinch

BOSTON — While the U.S. Coast Guard is the smallest of the nation’s armed forces, it’s the largest component of the Department of Homeland Security, and across-the-board federal budget cuts known as sequestration will cut deep into its operations.

Effects In Mass.

Joint Base Cape Cod serves an area that stretches along the coast from the Canadian border to southern New Jersey. In an average year, these guardsman will save 58 lives at sea. But these days the Coast Guard also has to save money. Nationally, the sequester cut $350 million this year from the Coast Guard’s $8 billion budget.

“In general, what the sequester has done for the Coast Guard is it has caused us to reduce our day-to-day operations by about 25 percent,” said U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp.


That’s because the Coast Guard can’t touch most of its fixed expenses, including buildings, infrastructure and the biggest item, salaries. Pay for the 42,000 guardsmen and 8,000 civilians is off limits. That leaves operations.

Papp says he’s letting officers on the ground, sea and air decide what goes and what stays.

“All those commanders are closer to the action, they’re closer to the activities, they understand the threats and challenges much better than I do,” Adm. Papp said. “So I give them the broad guidance, which we call ‘commander’s intent,’ then it’s their job as leaders to exercise judgment in carrying out those missions.”

Search And Rescue Still A Top Priority


Cmdr. David Husted, operations officer at Joint Base Cape Cod, is head of the Coast Guard’s mini air force located near Falmouth. Those who fly also fix their aircraft, and on the day I visited, crew members were hanging by bungee cords repairing part of a wing.

“If my phone rang right now, or the search and rescue alarm went off, you would see probably four of these guys get down as quickly as they can and go grab their gear and go to the aircraft outside that’s ready to go fly,” Cmdr. Husted explained.

But they’re flying less. Sequestration means no more public air shows or holiday demonstrations, fewer maritime and border surveillance missions or flights to check on vessels that might be carrying drugs. One Coast Guard admiral estimates an extra $1 billion in illegal drugs will make its way to our shores because of the sequester.

But for Cmdr. Husted, search and rescue is still the top priority.

“We’re focusing on those capabilities that are going to save lives,” he said.

On Cape Cod, pilots and their crews will bear most of the budget cuts. Coast Guard aviators will get 50 fewer hours in the air each year.

“They’ll still be trained in all the mission sets, they just won’t be as experienced,” Husted said. “Instead of having three-hour training flights, I now do two-hour training flights. Flying is a perishable skill. If you don’t do it frequently enough you’re not as proficient at it. So the pilot’s are still flying as frequently as they would in the past, they’re just not flying for as long.”

Lt. Daniel Clooney, who has been at this air station for about a year and flying for about seven months, hopes to make the Coast Guard his career. But for young pilots, cuts in flight hours means a slower climb up the ranks.

“This past week I flew four times. The week before that it was three times. So I’m still flying, but they’ll shorten the amount of time with our patrols,” Lt. Clooney said. “But I try to make the most out of every flight, every little flight hour. I’m jumping at the chance to get it, and I’m trying to be as productive as I can to become the most proficient at the aircraft.”

A Decade Of Cuts

 
This is just the first year of sequestration, a decade-long period of budget cuts. Adm. Papp fears that in the future he’ll have to cut guardsmen and admit fewer students to the service academy.

“My biggest concern is we send young people, you know, in their early 20s, out in helicopters, aircraft, ships and boats in the middle of the night in the worst of weather, and we want them to be properly prepared and trained to take on those dangerous missions,” Papp said.

Papp is hoping for the best, but in the tradition of the Coast Guard’s motto, “semper paratus” or “always ready,” he is preparing for the worst.

To buffer the impact of sequestration in future years, Papp is eyeing one of the Coast Guard’s biggest-ticket items: its new Ocean Sentry aircraft. They’re two times more fuel efficient than the planes they replace, but each costs almost $40 million. So Adm. Papp is rethinking the service’s $3 billion contract with European manufacturer Airbus, and he’s taking advantage of how the sequester is affecting the U.S. Air Force.

Because of the cuts, it seems the Air Force can’t afford to fly planes it recently purchased and it’s offering them for free. Adm. Papp is first in line.

“If you can get aircraft for free and they are brand new you save a lot in your life-cycle costs and it’s a very intriguing, attractive deal for me,” Adm. Papp said.

It’s not a done deal yet, but it could help keep the Coast Guard afloat during hard times — harkening back to the days it began as a way to fund a young, bankrupt nation. Originally known as the Revenue Cutter Service, it was created to collect taxes from commercial shippers and discourage smuggling.

“There is a bit of irony in fact that there is a cut in revenue,” Adm. Papp said. “You know, the revenue produced by the Revenue Cutter Service and the Customs Department actually funded our federal government almost all the way up to the first World War.”

Then Congress passed the federal income tax, but these days that’s not enough to float the boat, and the Coast Guard — like the rest of the federal government — is struggling to navigate a sea of red ink.


Story and Comments/Reaction:  http://www.wbur.org

Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (KBAF), Westfield/Springfield, Massachusetts: Runway reconstruction is underway

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The main runway at Barnes Regional Airport in Westfield is now officially closed for construction. 

Barnes Regional Airport and Barnes Air National Guard Base share one main runway. That runway has been in use for 28 years, 8 years past its 20-year life expectancy.

Barricades are now up on the main runway, and as Senator Elizabeth Warren toured the construction site, the work began.

Colonel James Keefe, the 104th Fighter Wing Commander, told 22News, “The issue of course was the runway was deteriorating. It wasn't able to keep up with the mission of the F-15's. After burn or blasts were tearing up some of the asphalt.”

The main runway is expected to be closed until the beginning of November, but meantime, business goes on as usual at the airport using the crosswind runway.

The base and the airport have more than 2,000 employees, and they generate $180 million for the local economy.

Senator Warren said “All the folks who work here and get out there, and they buy haircuts. They buy pizzas. They buy property out in the area. It makes a real difference.”

Military and airport officials agree once the runway is complete, it will better support the F-15 operations and better serve airport's major clients such as Gulfstream.

Airport Manager Brian Barnes told 22News, “They doubled their business, so they have airplanes coming internationally from all over the world. Obviously you don't want to have an airplane land and have something happen to that because of the runway so it's going to help them.”

The majority of F-15 fighters jets a temporarily stationed at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, and the 24/7 alert mission is being carried out from Otis Air Reserve Base on Cape Cod while the work is being done.

Story, Videos and Photos:  http://www.wwlp.com

Video of near-vacant L.A./Ontario airport paints grim picture

 

 Trash lines the perimeter fences. Millions of square feet of commercial and hangar space are vacant. The arrival area for international passengers has fallen into disuse, and no jetliners stand at the terminal gates. 

That is the bleak picture of L.A./Ontario International Airport presented in a new video prepared for Inland Empire officials seeking to obtain the recession-battered facility from Los Angeles.

The film received a screening Monday at a meeting of the Ontario International Airport Authority, which was formed in anticipation of operating the once popular aviation hub that has lost about 40% of its passengers since 2007.

The 3 1/2-minute video tour of Ontario International was shot from the air during the late morning July 2.

It first goes over Terminals 2 and 4 where no aircraft are parked at the jetways for passengers. The tour then proceeds to the empty international arrivals area, an abandoned military facility and vacant buildings once occupied by General Electric, Lockheed and the U.S. Postal Service.

Parking lots are empty or only partly filled. The landscaping has been neglected, and many of the long-empty buildings are run-down.

Authority members said they were dismayed by the dilapidated condition of the airport grounds and the inability of Los Angeles World Airports to find new uses for the facility's abandoned sites.

Representatives of the five-member commission noted, for example, that plans by Aeroterm to develop a 95-acre cargo hub at Ontario ended in a court battle over whether Los Angeles broke an agreement to help market the operation. Aeroterm received a $1.66-million settlement in 2011 and the project was canceled.

"Does Los Angeles have any other facilities in such deplorable condition?" said authority president and Ontario City Councilman Alan Wapner. "It's not accidental mismanagement. It has to be intentional mismanagement."

Officials for Los Angeles World Airports said Ontario's grounds are well maintained and that staff will clean up any trash, which, they contend, is in isolated areas.

Some landscaping in the terminal area is difficult to maintain during the summer, officials added, but any problems will be addressed.

Source:  http://www.latimes.com

Invitation to Bid, Notice of Public Hearing: Murfreesboro Municipal Airport (KMBT), Tennessee

INVITATION TO BID 

 Notice is hereby given that the Owner, Murfreesboro Municipal Airport, will accept bids for the construction of the Project identified as Hangars #2 and #3 Roof Replacement located at Murfreesboro Municipal Airport, 1930 Memorial Blvd, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37129.

All bids must be in accordance with the Contract Documents prepared and issued by Griggs & Maloney, Inc. located at 745 South Church Street, Suite 205, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37130.

The following is a general description of the Project:

The project consists of demolition and replacement of the metal roof including downspouts, gutters, and trim, and underlying insulation for Hangar #2 and Hangar #3. Both Hangar # 2 and # 3 will receive new downspouts, gutters, and trim. Hangar #2 will have an alternate involving roof repairs to the existing roof, including removal and replacement of the skylight panels and replacement with new metal panels from ridge to eave, with new fasteners, seam repair, surface preparation, and application of an elastomeric coating.  An additive alternate for exterior painting of the structures will be considered.

A non-mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Tuesday August 13, 2013 at 9:00 a.m.

Bids will be accepted on a Lump Sum basis, and when applicable, includes additive and/or deductive alternates.

Bids will be received in the Administrative Conference Room in Murfreesboro City Hall located at 111 West Vine Street, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130 until 2:00 p.m. on August 22, 2013.  Bids received after the above time and date will be rejected.

Read more here:  http://www.murfreesboropost.com/legal-and-pubic-notices-for-8-4-13--invitation-to-bid-notice-of-public-hearings-1--cms-36446

Cessna 208B, Guyana registration 8R-AMS, operated by Air Services Limited: Accident occurred July 15, 2013 in Mathews Ridge, Guyana

NTSB Identification: ERA13WA322
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Non-U.S., Commercial
Accident occurred Monday, July 15, 2013 in Mathews Ridge, Guyana
Aircraft: CESSNA 208B, registration:
Injuries: 12 Serious,2 Minor.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. The foreign authority was the source of this information.

On July 15, 2013, about 1157 coordinated universal time, a Cessna 208B, Guyana registration 8R-AMS, operated by Air Services Limited, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during approach at Matthew's Ridge Airport (SYMR), Matthew's Ridge, Guyana. Eleven of the 14 occupants were seriously injured.

This accident investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Any further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from:

Guyana Civil Aviation Authority
Fairlie House
96 Duke Street, Kingston
Georgetown, Guyana
Telephone: (592)-227-1219
Fax: (592)-225-6800
http://www.gcaa-gy.org
Email: dasr@gcaa-gy.org

This report is for informational purposes and contains only information released by the government of Guyana.



 Passengers on board the Cessna Caravan 8R-AMS which crashed at Mathew’s Ridge a few weeks ago are dissatisfied with the “meager” compensation that the aircraft operator's are offering them.

Attorney Melvin Duke told Kaieteur News that the amount that the aircraft owner, Air Services Limited (ASL), is offering his clients is not enough.

He added that the offer is insufficient since passengers are led to believe via their plane ticket that their insurance coverage is far more than what the company is giving.

Duke said that ASL was prepared to pay the passengers GY$150,000. But after expressing their dissatisfaction, the amount was raised to GY$200,000. But this too is insufficient, he said.

The ticket states that the passengers can claim a maximum of US$50,000 ($GY10M) once the aircraft is involved in any one accident, while the airline could pay out up to US$2M ($GY40M), Duke stated.


In a draft to ASL, the lawyer pointed out that airlines specifically designate cash for mishaps. He mentioned that last year, a passenger on board a regional airline from Port-of- Spain, Trinidad to Guyana was awarded US$3,000 (G$600,000) when she got sick after drinking from a dirty glass.

This, he said, is a plane crash and persons are being offered “meager compensation”.

Duke stated however that his clients are awaiting another offer from the airline operators before taking any other steps.

Clinton Campbell, 30, and Troy Henry, 25, are seeking compensation for minor injuries sustained and trauma endured as a result of the accident.

They claimed that the flight encountered problems after takeoff and during the landing process. Campbell is a father of two and has a pregnant wife. He said he is unable to work because he received injuries to his hand, while Henry also received injuries, but has no family to maintain.

A female pilot and nine other passengers were injured when the aircraft went down near the Mathews Ridge airstrip. Reports said that the aircraft was flying in heavily overcast conditions.
According to initial investigations Captain Feriel Ally was not informed of weather change.

It was said that after arriving at Matthew’s Ridge with poor visibility, the pilot circled the airstrip three times, and while circling a fourth time, one of the wings clipped a tree. She reportedly switched off the fuel pumps as the plane went down. This, it is believed prevented the plane from bursting into flames when it crashed.

The pilot, who had been flying the ill fated Cessna caravan for a year, has been suspended and is not allowed to fly until she is cleared by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority.

It was noted that the Cessna is more complex machine than the Britten-Norman BN 2 Islander, which the pilot had previously flown.

ASL covered medical bills for the passengers and disbursed approximately $600,000 to cover incidental expenses and transportation costs.


Source:  http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com