Wednesday, April 29, 2015

New aircraft will aim to keep Colorado safer from wildfire




DENVER - Colorado has new tools to use to protect residents from wildfire. Two new planes are dedicated to Colorado, equipped with heat sensing equipment.

The goal is to detect fires quicker than before, and keep residents and fire fighters safer.

The Department of Public Safety owns the planes, and will send them across the state in search of new ignitions, or to relay critical information to crews on the ground.

7NEWS spoke with Mike Frary, Unit Chief for Prescribed Fire, about how these aircraft will be used. He said, "If we see something that looks like it might cause a bunch more fires, like a big lightning storm, we can go on and look at lightning detection maps and say hey we got to go look at this."

From their home at Centennial Airport it will only take the planes 40 minutes to reach the farthest point in Colorado. With a cruising altitude near 20,000 feet, Frary mentioned that he has seen hot spots from more than 60 miles away.

The cameras looking for these hot spots are so sensitive they could see something as small as a baseball, if that source is hot enough. Lightning strikes, for example, could leave embers hot enough to be seen.

A lightning strike in Larimer County smoldered for days before it ignited into the High Park Fire -- one of Colorado's most destructive fires. Imagine if this technology had been used then; perhaps the aircraft could have relayed a report to the ground for that fire to be extinguished before it could spread. That would have saved thousands of acres, and hundreds of homes/structures.

That's the goal of these aircraft. Yet, the mission goes beyond just detection.

Frary added, this technology will add to the overall command of a fire. Other aircraft, ground crews, etc. will have much more detailed information on where the fire is going, how it is behaving, and can detect structures previously unseen that may need protection.

Original article can be found here: http://www.thedenverchannel.com

CAL FIRE helicopter critical tool in wildfire season



VINA, Calif. -

At CAL FIRE's Vina Helitack, the aviation team gears up everyday to train with their UH-1H Super Huey Helicopter. The aircraft is one of nine staffed helicopters in California.

When dispatched to a fire, the helicopter can fit up to 11 people including a pilot, a fire captain and multiple firefighters. It takes everyone a total of three minutes to gear up and take off.

Brent Starr is a fire captain and the helicopter pilot. He explained the abilities of the aircraft are endless, but it's main job is to help the firefighters get the job done safely.

"Flying is our everything, our bread and butter that we have to do, but it's really keeping the crews safe," Starr siad. "I mean that's the best thing we can describe it. What we do has an impact, but it's to support the guys on the ground."

Sean O'Hara is one of the fire captains who often flies next to Starr when they are responding to a wildfire. He said the aircraft is a crucial tool for many reasons.

"I think it's a great asset not only to the department but also the citizens of California," O'Hara said with confidence.

The abilities of the aircraft are endless. The helicopter can shuttle crews in, drop buckets of water on the fire, aid in an aggressive initial attack, hover over crews and complete air rescues. Often times air rescues happen when firefighters get near tough terrain or the behavior of the fire becomes dangerous.

"It's constantly changing, but we have communication, good communication with all our aircraft, helicopters and the air tankers and the air attack and we develop a safe plan," Starr said.

He shared the job is always busy and while flying, the team has to be ready to adapt to quick changes.

"Everything we do in the air, the whole air program, is to support the guys on the ground. We don't put fires out with the helicopters or the airplanes. It's the guys on the ground," Starr explained about the dynamic of the entire team.

During a fire, Starr and O'Hara are in constant communication with other air tankers and firefighters on the ground.

"I am their eyes in the sky for the guys on the ground. I see the firefighters get in a bad situation. We are in constant contact with them all the time. They have radios. I have my radios in the helicopter and I have a direct link to them," Starr said as he pointed to the six radio channels they listen to.

The Vina Helitack team goes through extensive training every morning to be prepared for wildfires that often happen in the afternoon.

O'Hara and Brent said at times the job can be dangerous, but the team is well-prepared to fight wildfires safely.

"Aviation gets in your blood. Everyone that's on that aircraft they wouldn't be there if they didn't have a love for flying. We all have a love for flying even if they aren't pilots love to do it," Starr said.

The other members of the team are Captain Skye McGregor and firefighters Dustin Reid, Kyle McWhorter, Shelby Caldwell, Steven Morgado and Travis Buick.

Original article can be found here:   http://www.krcrtv.com


Trike, 32-9393: Accident occurred in Toodyay, Western Australia



An weight-shift-control aircraft has crashed near Toodyay, east of Perth, with its pilot taken to hospital after calling police.

The aircraft crashed in a paddock off Hall Road in Nunile, in WA's Wheatbelt, before 7:40am, police said.

The 48-year-old male was taken to Northam Hospital in a serious condition, authorities said, and would be transferred to Royal Perth Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Fire and ambulance crews were also called to the scene.

Toodyay farmer Frank Panizza, who went to the site of the crash, said he saw the pilot be put into an ambulance.

"He's been talking and he's been awake most of the time and he was actually able to make the call to police after he crashed," he said.

"There's a large ambulance and police and rescue contingent here and he's being loaded into the ambulance as we speak and he'll be making his way to hospital.

"It appears he's hit powerlines. The aircraft is actually only about 30 metres away from the bottom of the powerlines where they go across to the next-door neighbor's paddock."

A Western Power crew are also at the scene after a powerline was clipped during the incident. 

Original article can be found here: http://www.abc.net.au


Aero AT-4 LSA, N344UA: Accident occurred April 29, 2015 near Black Forest, Colorado Springs, Colorado

NTSB Identification: GAA15CA053
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, April 29, 2015 in Colorado Springs, CO
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/27/2015
Aircraft: AERO SP Z O O AT 4 LSA, registration: N344UA
Injuries: 1 Minor, 1 Uninjured.

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

The Flight Instructor (CFI) piloting the airplane reported he was not performing aerobatic maneuvers; however, a review of the onboard airplane video by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Safety Inspector revealed that the pilot had been performing aerobatic maneuvers in an airplane not certified for aerobatic flight. 

During the flight, the airplane entered a spin, descended uncontrolled, and impacted a creek bank. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine compartment, wings, fuselage, and tail section. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures prior to flight, which would have prevented normal airplane operations. 

According to Aero Sp. Z.O.O AT-4 LSA Pilot Operating Handbook, aerobatics and intentional spins are prohibited.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's decision to perform aerobatic maneuvers in an airplane not certified for aerobatic flight, which resulted in a loss of control and collision with terrain.

FAA FSDO: FAA Denver FSDO-03

Sale Reported: http://registry.faa.gov/N344UA


BLACK FOREST - Update: Two men were on-board. 

The pilot is identified as 35-year-old Matthew Tanner and the passenger is identified as 18-years-old Isaac Brumm.

Both men walked away from the crash on their own.

The pilot has a small scrape on his arm. 

He was practicing stall maneuvers before the plane crashed.

HAZMAT responded to a small fuel leak at the incident. 

The plane is a total loss.

The National Transportation Safety Board or NTSB is investigating the incident. 

Update: The Black Forest Fire Department tells News5 there are no injuries that they know of at this time. Two people were in the plane. 

There is a single-engine plane is down in the Black Forest area. 

It went down in the area of Glenridge Lane and Shoup Road.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office says initial information is that there was a tailspin and a crash.

Source:   http://www.koaa.com




Two people escaped a single-engine plane crash in Black Forest Wednesday evening with minor injuries, according to a Black Forest Fire/Rescue spokesman.

The two were practicing recovery from stalls when the plane went into a tailspin and crashed about 6:30 p.m. in a steep gully, the spokesman said.

The crash was off Glenridge Lane, which is near Shoup and Milam roads.

The pilot was identified as Matthew Tanner, 35 and the passenger as Isaac Brumm, 18, the spokesman said.

The plane was damaged beyond repair.

Original article can be found here:  http://gazette.com


Part of Yeager Airport (KCRW) hill collapse to be removed

Out of concern more of the Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) at Yeager Airport could continue to collapse and block Elk Twomile Creek, airport officials approved an offer from S&E Clearing and Hydroseeding as an emergency to tear down thousands of cubic yards of material from the collapse.

“About as much as has come down is still up there,” Atkinson said of the fill material. “The fear is if more material comes down ... there’s no way to get (the creek) back open quickly.”

A blocked Elk Twomile Creek could cause flooding as far upstream as the Go-Mart on Greenbrier Street, Atkinson said.

“The amount of damage it could do would far exceed the cost of the mitigation,” he said.

S&E will start from the top of the collapse and work its way down, in all removing about 145,700 cubic yards of fill material. Removal will begin later this week and will continue for about a month.

The entire EMAS structure contained about 1.5 million cubic yards of fill material, but the exact amount that collapsed is still unknown.

The goal of the work is to turn the slope of the collapse into a 1-to-1.5 ratio, which is expected to help stabilize the slide.

However, the airport can’t afford the estimated $855,000 cost of the work, and its property insurance company, AIG Aerospace, won’t cover the expense, Airport Director Rick Atkinson said.

Therefore, the agreement with S&E will include the stipulation that payment will be part of any damages the airport seeks from insurance companies of the engineers and builders of the collapsed structure.

Some board members, including Karen Haddad and Todd Goldman, questioned if the board is permitted to accept the offer from S&E without going through the normal bidding process.

The airport board had declared an emergency situation for expenses from March 11 to 25, but not after that date.

Atkinson said he believed the fill removal as an emergency in its own right because though engineers acknowledge more of the hill will come down, no one is sure when.

Thus the sooner the risk of more property damage is reduced, the better.

Airport board president Ed Hill agreed.

“I don’t see we have a reasonable option,” he said.

In the process of the removal, however, the EMAS will be treated as being out of service, Atkinson said.

Meanwhile, the airport is still trying to figure out how to pay for slide expenses until insurance kicks in as well as how to get residents affected by the slide back on their feet.

So far, the airport has been hit with a financial impact of about $1.2 million, not including the fill removal approved Wednesday.

In addition, Atkinson said the airport has reached settlement agreements with one business owner and one residential property owner to the tune of about $40,000 each, though he didn’t know the exact amounts.

In turn, those property owners have signed full releases with the airport, thereby preventing the airport from being sued.

Any further settlements are on hold, however, after AIG Aerospace informed the airport that making settlements without the insurance company’s consent would make those payouts ineligible for reimbursement from AIG.

In a letter dated April 22, AIG also told the airport it has doubts the airport board is even liable for damages to property owners.

Instead, those claims would be the responsibility of Triad Engineering, which designed the EMAS, and Cast and Baker, which built the structure.

Exact blame for the failure still has not been determined, and five families remain in hotels. An additional displaced family is in an apartment, assistant airport director Kim Lewis said.

Matt Nelson, an attorney appointed by AIG to represent the airport, said negotiations among insurance companies have been ongoing for the past few weeks and an agreement should be reached “very soon.”

In other business, Yeager Airport will lose its direct flight to Dallas in June because of reorganizing of routes by American Airlines, airport officials said Wednesday.

Instead, American will offer a second daily flight to Philadelphia International Airport.

Atkinson said the Dallas flight performed well in terms of passengers, but used a less fuel efficient plane.

- See more at: http://www.charlestondailymail.com

Cessna 172RG Cutlass, N5424V: Accident occurred June 20, 2017 at Gillespie Field Airport (KSEE), El Cajon and Incident occurred April 29, 2015 at Montgomery Field Airport (KMYF), San Diego, California

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; San Diego, California

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Registered Owner: Sorbi Aviation Inc

Operator: California Flight Academy

http://registry.faa.gov/N5424V

NTSB Identification: GAA17CA372
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, June 20, 2017 in El Cajon, CA
Aircraft: CESSNA 172RG, registration: N5424V
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.

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

The flight instructor reported that, during a stage check for the commercial pilot training course, the private pilot student completed the "G.U.M.P. [gas, undercarriage, mixture, propeller] check" on downwind in the traffic pattern. He added that, before the turn to the base leg, "everything was normal, and the gear was selected down by the student." He added that he observed three green landing gear extended indication lights illuminated. He further added that, after a normal landing touchdown, when the airplane slowed to 40 knots in the ground roll, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane veered off the runway to the right. He reported that he did not visually check the right main landing gear to see if it was extended.

The private pilot reported that, "on downwind we followed the G.U.M.P.S checklist and verified the landing gear was down. My instructor checked the right [main landing gear] and I checked the left [main landing gear]." He added that, on base he "checked the landing lights with green [lights]." He further added that after a normal landing touchdown, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane veered off the runway to the right. 

The right elevator sustained substantial damage. 

The Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector assigned to the accident performed a functional test of the accident airplane's landing gear system one day after the accident. The inspector observed the landing gear retracting, extending, and locking down into place "several times." He added that during two gear extension cycles, he "simulated an air load on the right main landing gear by pulling back on it as it extended; the gear extended and locked down properly without discrepancies." 

According to a commercial pilot witness, while he was driving a car along an airport perimeter road, he had a "head-on-view of the aircraft landing." He added that, he observed a "red and white C172RG" airplane on final approach that "appeared to not have the gear down." He added that, he stopped his car and continued to watch the airplane, and as it passed off to his right, he observed the "front wheel" down and both main landing gear were "hanging." He subsequently observed the airplane touch down on the left main landing gear first, and then skid off the runway to the right.

April 29, 2015:  Aircraft landed gear up.
 
Blossom Valley Aviation LLC:   http://registry.faa.gov/N5424V

Date:    29-APR-15
Regis#: N5424V 
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 172RG
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Minor
Activity: Instruction
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
FAA FSDO: FAA San Diego FSDO-09
City: SAN DIEGO
State: California






 
SAN DIEGO — A small-plane pilot and passenger made a safe belly-landing at Montgomery Field April 29, 2015, a fire official said.

The pilot of a single-engine Cessna 172 radioed the tower that he was having landing gear problems about 11 a.m., said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Capt. Joe Amador.

Only one wheel descended as the plane headed for the runway. 

When the plane touched down, the single wheel retracted back inside and the aircraft skidded about 50 yards on its belly, Amador said.

The pilot kept the Cessna on the runway and neither he nor his passenger were injured, Amador said. 

The plane sustained some damage to its propeller and underside. Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; San Diego, California 

Sorbi Aviation LLC:   http://registry.faa.gov/N5424V

Aircraft on landing, gear collapsed.  


Date:    20-JUN-17
Time:    20:20:00Z
Regis#:    N5424V
Aircraft Make:    CESSNA
Aircraft Model:    C172
Event Type:    ACCIDENT
Highest Injury:    NONE
Aircraft Missing:    No
Damage:    SUBSTANTIAL
Activity:    UNKNOWN
Flight Phase:    LANDING (LDG)
City:    EL CAJON
State:    CALIFORNIA


April 29, 2015:  Aircraft landed gear up.
 
Blossom Valley Aviation LLC:   http://registry.faa.gov/N5424V

Date:    29-APR-15
Regis#: N5424V 
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 172RG
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Minor
Activity: Instruction
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
FAA FSDO: FAA San Diego FSDO-09
City: SAN DIEGO
State: California






 
SAN DIEGO — A small-plane pilot and passenger made a safe belly-landing at Montgomery Field April 29, 2015, a fire official said.

The pilot of a single-engine Cessna 172 radioed the tower that he was having landing gear problems about 11 a.m., said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Capt. Joe Amador.

Only one wheel descended as the plane headed for the runway. 

When the plane touched down, the single wheel retracted back inside and the aircraft skidded about 50 yards on its belly, Amador said.

The pilot kept the Cessna on the runway and neither he nor his passenger were injured, Amador said. 

The plane sustained some damage to its propeller and underside.

Cessna 210K Centurion, N8149G, Dave's Air LLC: Incident occurred April 29, 2015 at St. Marys Airport (4J6), Camden County, Georgia

Regis#: N8149G 
 Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 210
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Minor
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
FAA FSDO: FAA Atlanta FSDO-11
City: SAINT MARYS
State: Georgia

AIRCRAFT LANDED GEAR UP OFF THE RUNWAY INTO THE GRASS, SAINT MARYS, GA

DAVE'S AIR LLC: http://registry.faa.gov/N8149G




A pilot in Camden County had a terrible scare Wednesday afternoon when he was trying to land his plane and the landing gear refused to come down. 

The pilot, flying a single-engine fixed wing Cessna registered to Dave’s Air out of Fernandina Beach, was coming in for a landing when he realized there was a problem.

After figuring out that the landing gear was locked up, the pilot circled the landing strip at St. Marys Airport and decided to bring the plane down anyway a source said.

According to witnesses the pilot executed the hard landing perfectly, causing minimal damage to the plane and leaving the pilot unharmed.

Original article can be found here: http://www.news4jax.com



ST. MARYS, Ga. -- A pilot walked away unscathed after faulty landing gear forced him to make a crash landing at St. Marys Airport Wednesday evening, authorities said.

According to the St. Marys Police Department, investigators are at the scene where the pilot of a Cessna 210 was forced to make a belly landing in the grass off the runway about 5:30 p.m.

Police report, though, that the pilot is OK.

The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified.

Original can be found here: http://www.firstcoastnews.com


A plane crash landed at the St. Marys airport on Wednesday afternoon. 

The pilot was reported to be OK, according to the St. Marys Police Department.

The plane had to crash land due to landing gear failure, according to SMPD.

Firefighters from St. Marys and Camden County are laying a foam layer as a precaution.

Original article can be found here: http://www.actionnewsjax.com

Pilot flies again with Parkinson’s brain implant



AUSTIN (KXAN) — One million Americans suffer from Parkinson’s disease, a chronic neurological disorder, incurable, with worsening symptoms such as tremors of the head arms and legs, slow movement and unstable posture. Nearly a third of the cases are diagnosed before the age of 40. There is no cure and as a patient’s condition deteriorates, increased medications can create their own side effects. It cost one Austin man his commercial pilot’s license, but thanks to a Deep Brain Stimulation implant, he has his life, and the sky, back.


Barry Alan Stein was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a decade ago. Tremors worsened, his medications were increased and side effects kicked in.

“It was very frustrating. I was taking forty pills a day and I felt horrible, not good at all,” he says. In the fall of 2013 he got the bad news, after 37 years he could no longer be the pilot in command of his aircraft. “That was incredibly difficult. I loved to fly, it was my life, what I did.”

New doctors suggested a Deep Brain Stimulation implant. Approved a dozen years ago, they have been used cautiously at first, sometimes too late to provide much help. Dr. Robert Buchanan, chief of neurosurgery for Dell Medical School, recalls “We brought patients into the operating room that were so far advanced in their disease that you almost needed a magic wand to help them.”

The implant trains the misfiring brain neurons to behave. It tames the tremors and those medication side effects. Dr. Georgeta Varga at the Movement Disorders Specialist Clinic, saw what the meds were doing to Stein, “Making mistakes, poor decisions. That’s not a good thing for anybody, especially a pilot.” She and Dr. Buchanan performed the implant. She says, “Doing the surgery earlier you can decrease medication prior to surgery 30 to 60 percent. Doing so you diminish the side effects of higher medication.”

Dr. Buchanan notes doctors are using the implant sooner and more often,

“They had gone through ten years of disease or more where their quality of life could have been immediately improved,” he explained.

While generally safe and effective, the implant is an invasive brain procedure, and as such a patient should consult their doctor and consider carefully before going ahead. The implant is covered by all insurance companies as well as medicare and medicaid.

Only 3 percent of the people with Parkinson’s have received the implant but those numbers are expected to rise. Three weeks ago, Barry Stein got his pilot’s license back. He smiles, “It’s a beautiful experience, to sit in the left seat of an aircraft and go up all by myself. A beautiful feeling to leave this earth and go into the sky, feel it again. It’s wonderful.”

Original article can be found at:  http://kxan.com

Makeover inches ahead at Flagler Executive Airport (KFIN), Palm Coast, Florida • Officials hoping new name will help take facility to new heights

Renovation work continues on “taxiway delta” as part of a multimillion-dollar investment in the newly renamed Flagler Executive Airport.




PALM COAST — With sky-climbing Cessnas buzzing overhead and bulldozers rumbling in the distance, about a dozen private planes sat silently atop the tarmac's revamped blacktop at Flagler County's lone airport.

The tarmac was overhauled last summer — a sign of things to come, county leaders contend. It's one of several upgrades in recent years tied to an ongoing multimillion-dollar rebranding effort officials hope will take the airport to new heights.

The 1,100-acre facility recently got a new moniker as well. The County Commission voted unanimously last week to rename the Flagler County Airport to Flagler Executive Airport as they continue working to reshape the airport's image.

“Changing the name is a culmination of many things,” Commissioner Nate McLaughlin said. “I think that building this into the airport that it is has been the goal of the County Commission for many years. What's happening here is not new, it's just a culmination of the dream.”

Part of that dream is to wipe away notions of the airport's rustic past, which dates back to when Flagler was a rural county with fewer than 20,000 residents. Built on the grounds of a former World War II Naval air station, airport administrators said recent renovations address outdated runways, terminals and taxi ways originally constructed in the 1940s, among other things.

Now, with the airport situated in the heart of a burgeoning county with a population that recently topped 100,000, according to the latest U.S. Census figures, airport officials want to finally shed the facility's rural veneer.

The recent name change, approved during the County Commission's April 20 meeting, came about five months after county officials voted to change the airport's Federal Aviation Administration designation from XFL to FIN. The “X” in the three-letter identifier marked the airport as a rural landing zone. County airport officials chose the FIN designation, seeing it as more fitting for a modern Florida facility.

Airport administrators and county commissioners contend the new name and reclassification are important steps to help ensure pilots and those in the aviation industry will no longer associate the airport with being rural. Airport director Roy Seiger has served as architect of the facility's modernization since taking over as its director six years ago. So far, he's implemented more than $22 million in projects and improvements, which include a new level-one air traffic control tower erected four years ago that operates 365 days a year, according to county documents.

The overhaul also features enhanced runway safety areas, a revamping of one of the two land-based runways, as well as a new hangar and ramp designed for corporate aircraft.

County officials said the recent moves are geared toward appealing to corporate clients and high-level executives who charter private flights.

Flagler's aircraft operations have hovered around 190,000 takeoffs and landings for several years, buoyed by Embry-Riddle Aeronautic University's captain training program, which operates out of the airport. In 2013, more than 195,000 aircraft passed through the airport, making its contract tower the third-busiest in the nation, county documents show. The 2013 Flagler County Annual Report states the airport accounts for about $120 million in impact to the local economy each year.

Tripp Wacker began using the Flagler flight grounds in the mid-1980s when he relocated to the area. He founded Ryan Aviation Seaplanes at the airport in 1989 and has watched the facility grow from a pilot's view, as well as that of a business owner. He noted the new “executive” name makes the airport sound more credible and will likely attract pilots who can choose between a bevy of local, regional and international airports in the region.

“Perception becomes reality,” Wacker said. “So although we are growing by leaps and bounds — we have more services, more availability and more capability than Ormond Municipal Airport — at the Flagler County Airport , it doesn't sound that way. So we wanted to change that.”

County officials also hope the improvements will help to lure businesses to set up shop on the airport grounds. The Florida Army National Guard established a base inside a former training hangar in January, and Delta Engineering moved onto the grounds earlier this year. County commissioners in 2013 voted to lease a 14,000-square-foot corporate office to Aveo Engineering, an international company that manufactures LED lights for aircraft. Aveo was expected to break ground on a manufacturing facility this year but company officials were unavailable for comment.

McLaughlin pointed to multiple ongoing projects, which include plans to build an industrial park at the south end of the airport grounds, replete with businesses along the strip and a 1.4-mile access road connecting the park to an entrance off Belle Terre Parkway.

“When the airport grows and the businesses with it grow, Flagler County's economy grows with it,” Wacker said. “So it's a gateway into our county from many aspects. Not only just people flying in, but for bringing commerce and people to spend their money in Flagler County.”

Original article can be found here:  http://www.news-journalonline.com


FAA Temporarily Withheld Medical Certificate to Germanwings Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz • U.S. Federal Aviation Administration cited a ‘history of reactive depression’

The Wall Street Journal
By ROBERT WALL
Updated April 30, 2015 12:22 p.m. ET



LONDON—The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration temporarily refused to issue a pilot medical certificate to Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot believed to have deliberately crashed a Germanwings jetliner last month, before reversing its decision.

The FAA in a July 8, 2010 letter declined to grant Mr. Lubitz a certificate, citing a “history of reactive depression.” It asked the German pilot to submit an updated report from his prescribing physician, or else it would formally deny the request, according to information the U.S. agency released in response to freedom of information requests.

In a subsequent letter dated July 28, 2010, the FAA granted the medical certificate and said “because of your history of reactive depression, operation of aircraft is prohibited at any time new symptoms or adverse changes occur or any time medication and/or treatment is required.”

Mr. Lubitz is suspected of having intentionally crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 into the French Alps last month, killing all 150 people on board. The 27-year-old had been medically excused from working, but hid that fact from his employer.

Mr. Lubitz had temporarily interrupted his flight school training at the Lufthansa Flight Training School in Bremen. Once he was reinstated he went for live flight training at Lufthansa’s Airline Training Center Arizona in the Phoenix area.

The U.S. license application was not needed for Mr. Lubitz’s professional training in the U.S. but cleared him for private flying.

He joined Germanwings, a budget unit of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, in September 2013. The airline said it learned of the FAA correspondence only when the documents were publically released. Lufthansa previously said it hired Mr. Lubitz as it considered his prior problem resolved but in need of monitoring.

A personal physician in Germany cleared Mr. Lubitz as fit to fly after psychotherapy from January to October 2009, according to the FAA-released documents. Mr. Lubitz’s “high motivation and active participation contributed to the successful completion of the treatment, after the management of symptoms,” the physician, whose name has been redacted, wrote in a letter in February 2010.

Germany’s federal aviation office, the Luftfahrtbundesamt, or LBA, said it didn't receive any information from the FAA. The LBA previously said it had no information on Mr. Lubitz’s medical condition.

Mr. Lubitz was prescribed anti-depression drugs Cipralex and Mirtazapine. Those drugs caused a remission in Mr. Lubitz’s depression and he was considered “completely recovered,” according to a medical specialist in Germany. The depression was attributed to “modified living conditions,” the medical specialist wrote, without providing details.

Authorities said they would examine the process of pilot medical screening in the wake of the crash of the Airbus A320 jetliner.

Original article can be found here:   http://www.wsj.com

Airbus A320,   D-AIPX

Residents angered by airplane noise • Community members want Federal Aviation Administration and Port Authority to check flight paths

Residents complained about redirected flights and the noise generated by airplanes Above, at the TVASNAC meeting on Monday, Daniel Segall of North Woodmere, left, showed FAA spokesman Jim Peters, where the planes fly over his house.




About 40 residents —many from North Woodmere— attended the monthly Town-Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee (TVASNAC) meeting on Monday in Hempstead and to expressed their concern over an uptick in airplane noise in their community.

The noise, they said, is disruptive and occurs about every 90 seconds, and mostly at night and first thing in the morning. They have also noticed the increase in noise over the past couple of months. Currently a noise study known as Part 150 is being conducted throughout communities surrounding the John F. Kennedy Airport.

Jim Peters, the regional spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said that even with the runway closures and construction projects currently going on, there has been no real difference in flight patterns and noise levels. “We’re not doing anything differently today than we’ve ever done before,” he said. 

The current construction involves widening and lengthening the runway 4L/22R, which will accommodate larger aircraft and allow for fewer flight delays, according to John Selden, the deputy general manager for JFK Airport. 

Daniel Segall, a North Woodmere resident who works from home, said he noticed on April 24 how his house shook from the plane noise. “At 7:30 at night, as I was standing right over on my street corner, I could see the planes landing right on 22R,” he said. “They were landing, spaced about 90 seconds apart, and I noticed this lasted for a good hour.” He said his neighbor was able to track the wind speeds at 7 miles per hour with a weather station, and wanted to know why couldn’t someone redirect the planes to land on a different runway in an opposite direction.

Peters told Segall that he would find out what happened on that date and let him know why the planes were flying in such a way. Peters also said that he would work with TVASNAC, looking into the matter and responding personally to each resident interested in finding out why.

Another North Woodmere resident, Judith Gutman, started a petition called, “Stop Commercial Jets From Flying over North Woodmere,” which she said has collected 174 signatures in 10 days. “Planes fly as over as early as 5:00 in the morning,” she said. “It wakes up my babies. I have two toddlers and they can hardly sleep due to the noise. I’d like to see something change, and hopefully something does. I’ve lived here four years, and it’s only recently changed. You talk about this construction, but not about how it affects North Woodmere.”

Port Authority update

Ed Knoesel said that as part of the study more noise monitors have been installed. He noted the launching of WebTrak — webtrak.bkvs.com — that tracks flights and the creation of the roundtable — a large committee for all interested parties — that includes two subcommittees. Kendall Lampkin, TVASNAC’s executive director, was elected co-vice chairman of the roundtable.

Original article can be found here:  http://liherald.com