Thursday, March 31, 2016

Major airline would benefit North Central West Virginia Airport (KCKB) and region, Clarksburg Council told

Clarksburg Councilman Gary Bowden, foreground, asks a question during Thursday's Clarksburg City Council work session.
  


CLARKSBURG — The right airline could take the North Central West Virginia Airport to new heights, Clarksburg City Council heard Thursday.

A financial incentive package is necessary, though, to lure such a carrier to a small operation that relies on Essential Air Service subsidies, airport Director Rick Rock said.

"We want a partner we can grow with," Rock told city council during a work session at Clarksburg City Hall. "The subsidy helps get them here, but eventually we want to get past that subsidy."

Rock attended the work session to ask council to contribute $250,000 to the incentive package. That's the same amount that Bridgeport and Harrison County Commission have pledged.


Airport Director Rick Rock

The airport’s Essential Air Service contract expires Sept. 30, and the Benedum Airport Authority would like to land a large carrier that flies to a major hub such as Charlotte, North Carolina.

Silver Airways is the current Essential Air Service carrier at the airport, providing flights to Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C.

With airlines being risk-averse, the community would need to come up with $2 million to combine with the federal  subsidies to convince a major carrier to take a chance on the rural airport, Rock said.

So far, about $1.45 million has been pledged formally or informally from public and private entities, Rock said.

"This is a one-time opportunity to get them (large airlines) to take a chance and put their assets here instead of somewhere else," Rock said.

The pledge funds would serve as collateral for a line of credit, Rock said.

The line of credit would only be drawn on if the passenger count doesn't meet projections, Rock added.

Councilman Chad Sigmon said attracting a carrier that flies to Charlotte would be exciting, given the number of West Virginia natives who live there.

Councilman Bob Caplan agreed, saying air service could entice some of those state natives to return for a show at the soon-to-be-restored Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center.

"You're going to fulfill a need for this city — that's the way I see it," Caplan said.

Mayor Cathy Goings asked Rock how many carriers he expects to submit proposals by the May 3 deadline.

At least two carriers have indicated they plan to bid for the Essential Air Service package, including the current provider, Rock replied.

City Manager Martin Howe said he will include the pledge request on the agenda for next week's meeting for council to consider.

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

Jareckis make aviation work and play



Chuck Jarecki got his pilot’s license in 1960 and married his life mate and co-pilot of 46 years, Penny Jarecki in 1970.

“I bought my first plane when Carter put the 55-mile-an-hour speed limit in,” Chuck Jarecki said.

Flying is a matter of transportation for the Jareckis as much as it is for adventure.

During his lifetime, Chuck Jarecki was involved in the leadership of a variety of high-level community service projects, which meant he needed to traverse large spans of country quickly.

Leadership boards included those in the aviation, science, food, beef, agriculture and conservation industries. And during those tenures Jarecki logged more than 5,000 hours while flying his C-185 floater plane or his C-180 single-engine Cessna airplane, nicknamed by the aviation industry as the Skywagon.

But along with the ability to make long trips quickly, the Jareckis used their planes to travel much of North America.

The pair enjoyed a birds-eye view of historical monuments in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. They’ve flown to Belize to snorkel; to the Canadian back country to adventure.

Penny Jarecki said she is happy to spend her lifetime with her husband.

“Chuck and I have flown extensively through Canada, the Yukon and northwest territories,” Penny Jarecki said. “We’ve been from the Arctic Circle to Panama.”

The Jareckis just returned from Matzatlán, Mexico.

“We’ve had many adventures,” Penny Jarecki said. “We camp under the wing of the plane and sometimes there’s literally nobody on the planet that knows where we are.”

Penny Jarecki is never afraid.

“Chuck is a cautious, meticulous person and I am thankful that we have a well maintained plane,” she said. “It is because of his thoroughness that I’ve never been afraid. We’ve never had a serious problem and that is because there is a lot of good planning.”

In addition to his love of air flight, Penny Jarecki said that her husband’s other passion is land management.

One of the Jareckis’ early life experiences was buying a 7,000-acre ranch west of Polson which they farmed and learned to conserve.

The pair were committed to the proper stewardship of the land and when they sold the property in the early 1990s, the Jareckis used the ranch sales’ proceeds to start a small family foundation at Montana State University, home to many of the Jareckis’ personal and professional friends. The foundation now provides scholarships to dedicated management and conservation students.

After the sale of his property Chuck Jarecki continued to work with local, state and national groups to further the development of responsible ranch and land management.

And along with that work, the Jareckis made a lot of friends.

In 1962 when Ron Normandeau lived in Polson and was taking flying lessons, he noticed a tall, dark-haired person who used to hang out there.

“That was Chuck,” Normandeau said. “He’s been that way all his life. Even though I didn’t know him at that time, that was Chuck.”

Normandeau said he moved away from Polson during his career working for the U.S. Government and did not permanently return until 2003 until he retired with his wife Kathleen.

“When I moved back to Polson I wandered out to the airport to look for something to do and met Chuck,” Normandeau said.

That’s when the two like-minded men became friends and Jarecki introduced Normandeau to the Recreational Aviation Foundation where the two men spent more than 10 years working together to help preserve the field of aviation and its back-country landing strips.

“He would talk about it out there and piqued my interest in the organization,” Normandeau said. “I said I’d like to become involved in that. So I did and I became what they call Chuck’s grunt. Chuck would give me tasks to do and I would go out and do them.”

Jarecki and Normandeau’s friendship took them to some of Montana’s most interesting places and challenged them to pave the way for future pilots.

Their first working adventure was the preservation of Ryan Field near West Glacier.

The field was given to the RAF by Ben and Butchy Ryan, two World War II veterans who now reside at a senior living facility in Columbia Falls.

The goal of the project was to develop the airfield so it can be used by recreational pilots, Normandeau said.

The two men, accompanied by three or four other people cleared brush, built a shelter, a restroom facility and filled gopher holes, enabling pilots to land safely at the location.

From there, the two men became involved in an airfield restoration project called the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument Project, created by a Clinton era proclamation in 2001 that designated 378,000 acres of land that included 10 existing airstrips, as national monuments.

Jarecki and Normandeau helped create a necessary environmental impact report as well as other government paperwork needed to see six of the 10 airstrips restored.

But before the pair helped accomplish the project’s goals, they flew to regular meetings across the state.

“Chuck is a person I respect because of who he is and what he does, and I like doing the same kind of thing, so it’s a mutual interest kind of thing,” Normandeau said.

Jarecki, who served nearly 12 years as Western Director for the Montana Pilots Association, was awarded the President’s Award by the Montana Pilots Association at this year’s Montana Aeronautics Aviation conference held from March 3 to March 5.

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

Jet Prices Take Center Stage in Boeing Job Cuts: Cost will take a larger role alongside the performance of the companies dueling jetliners



The Wall Street Journal 
By JON OSTROWER
March 31, 2016 7:26 p.m. ET


Boeing Co. has opened a new chapter in its battle with Airbus Group SE, with price taking a larger role alongside the performance of their sparring jetliners.

The U.S. company wants to boost productivity and efficiencies at its jet plants, with plans to cut 4,500 positions from its 161,000-strong workforce by June, as part of its strategy to offer airlines and lessors the lowest price, according to one of its most senior executives.

The staff reductions would include 4,000 employees—or roughly 5%—from a commercial unit that has a $431 billion backlog of about 5,800 aircraft as of the end of 2015.

The unprecedented order boom only has intensified the competition with Airbus, prompting a shift by Boeing, which has long sought a price premium over Airbus for its high-performance jetliners.

The jetliner unit’s chief executive,  Ray Conner, said its focus on costs was coming “at a time when price carries more weight than ever in sales campaigns,” according to an internal message to employees last week.

Thursday, a Boeing spokesman pointed to February comments by Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg, who asked investors to view its cost cutting as “playing offense in a competitive marketplace.”

Boeing in recent years has invested heavily in automated manufacturing equipment, in addition to incremental moves to trim development costs, while aggressively renegotiating supplier contracts to lower expenses under a program it calls Partnering for Success.

In recent weeks, however, Boeing executives have signaled that won’t be enough. 

Mr. Conner in February laid out the urgency of cutting more internal costs. He said jetliner competition has become increasingly fierce with Airbus and Bombardier Inc.

Boeing also faces an improved slate of Airbus jets that Boeing believes have narrowed its performance advantage, particularly for its highest volume product—the single-aisle 737 and rival A320 jetliners.

“This should concern us all,” Mr. Conner wrote. “Because if our costs are high, it gives us less pricing flexibility, and customers will be forced by their own competitive pressures to take their business elsewhere.”

The aerospace giant’s renewed push on costs starts with trimming the ranks of managers and executives, offering voluntary layoffs, leaving open positions unfilled and scaling back business travel. Involuntary layoffs would be a last resort, if its cost targets aren’t achieved, Boeing said.

Large cuts to Boeing’s workforce historically have come during times of industry downturn. The company laid off 30,000 in the year that followed the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and cut about 7,000 jobs during the global financial crisis.

In 2016, however, global commercial aviation is booming. Airbus and Boeing both delivered record numbers of jets last year, and assembly lines are preparing for fresh increases on both single-aisle and twin-aisle products.

Boeing ended 2015 delivering more jets than Airbus, but the European jet maker captured 57% of the orders. Airbus also holds roughly 1,400 more orders than Boeing on its newest single-aisle jets.

While the company sounds the alarm about its market share to its employees, it is telling investors there is nothing to worry about. Boeing sent a note to the investment community earlier this week rebutting a Goldman Sachs research report that signaled concerns about falling prices and declining company market share for its workhorse 737.

“As clearly indicated by deliveries, the current 737/A320 market is 50-50.” Demand and deliveries for “737 is the least of our worries,” according to the note reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Former Boeing strategists examined how Airbus slowly expanded its market share during the past four decades, in part using its less complex and cheaper jets to woo the most cost-sensitive buyers, which view single-aisle aircraft as complex commodities.

For example, Boeing has long-promoted higher-leasing rental rates for its single-aisle 737 jets, compared with its European rival’s A320, a boon for lessors and the financial community.

However, more stable production rates at Airbus during industry down turns meant lower leasing rental rates for its jets. With more available aircraft, the low prices were attractive to lessors and upstart low-cost carriers building their fleets, which were unlikely to switch models after establishing an infrastructure.

Airbus, too, for years faced pressure to cut internal costs when the dollar weakened against the euro, putting the European plane maker a competitive disadvantage.

The currency momentum has swung in Airbus’s favor, giving it more leverage in price negotiations, though executives for the company have denied they are using the currency tool to offer discounts. 

Beyond currency, analysts also point to a less complex approach to its products by Airbus, compared with Boeing’s expensive and delayed effort to develop its 787 Dreamliner.

—Robert Wall contributed to this article.

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

Federal Aviation Administration Issues Safety Directive Concerning Airspeed Sensors on Boeing 787 Jetliners: U.S. regulator orders changes to flight manual while Boeing works to correct issues that could overwhelm plane’s capabilities



The Wall Street Journal 
By ANDY PASZTOR
March 31, 2016 7:32 p.m. ET


U.S. Federal aviation regulators have issued a safety directive warning pilots flying Boeing Co.’s flagship 787 jetliners to avoid abrupt flight-control commands in the event of unreliable airspeed indications.

Following nonbinding recommendations that plane maker Boeing issued earlier in March to 787 operators world-wide, the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday alerted cockpit crews that excessive pilot inputs under some circumstances amount to a safety hazard because they “could exceed the structural capability of the airplane.”

The agency ordered changes to the aircraft’s flight manual by the end of April, as an interim step while Boeing works on permanent modifications to the “crew alerting system, flight control system and air data system that will address the unsafe condition.”

The 787 fleet’s airspeed sensors, three separate devices called pitot tubes, are prone to some of the same problems that have plagued many other jetliner models over the years. “Significant water ingestion or simultaneous icing” of two of the tubes can cause the displayed speed to drop sharply below the plane’s actual speed, according to the FAA, and such “erroneous low airspeed” readings can lead to dangerous commands by pilots.

A Boeing spokeswoman said the company fully supports the directive and has worked “closely with the FAA to monitor the fleet and take appropriate actions.”

The FAA document was posted on the Federal Register website and mentioned three separate reports of in-service problems with airspeed sensors, without listing specific dates or carriers.

During one incident, according to the agency, a pilot failed to disconnect the autopilot before reacting to the erroneous low speed reading by abruptly pointing the plane’s nose downward. In this situation, when the aircraft is actually cruising at a high speed, the FAA determined such a response “could cause the airplane to exceed its structural capability.”

The revised manual, among other things, is supposed to stress “the need to disconnect the autopilot prior to making any manual fight control inputs.”

The FAA said it acted quickly to fix an unsafe condition, noting that the risk to the flying public “justifies waiving notice and (public) comment prior to adoption of this rule.” The directive directly applies to 43 planes operated by U.S. carriers, but foreign regulators eventually are expected to adopt it to cover hundreds of additional Boeing 787s.

The general problem of heavy rain or ice plugging pitot tube systems emerged as a major global safety issue after the fatal 2009 crash of an Air France Airbus A330 in the Atlantic. The crash investigation revealed that both the plane’s manufacturer and French regulators years earlier had recognized such hazards. But they failed to move aggressively to quickly replace suspect devices or step up pilot training focused on dealing with unreliable airspeed indications, especially at cruise altitude. Since then, regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have taken various steps to reduce such risks.

Nonetheless, questions about possible ice accumulation are still prominent in the minds of many experts as well as average fliers. Ice particles embedded in intense, high-altitude storms have caused pitot tubes to malfunction and contributed to other fatal jetliner crashes over the years. The best-known example, however, remains Air France Flight 447, which crashed nearly seven years go en route from Brazil to France, killing all 228 people on board.

Investigators determined that while flying through an area known for strong, high-altitude storms, the Air France crew failed to respond properly to unreliable airspeed indications, allowing the plane to slow too much and failing to get out of a deadly stall because they kept pulling the jet’s nose up at a sharp angle.

After Flight 447, European air-safety regulators issued safety directives mandating replacement and upgrades of pitot tube systems on Airbus jetliners, including A320s. In the fall of 2014, they issued a new mandate giving operators two years to make certain modifications because initial replacement parts didn’t demonstrate the necessary “level of robustness to withstand high-altitude ice crystals.”

The latest directive underscores that jet models designed years afterward also are susceptible to similar pitot tube system malfunctions caused by weather.

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

Google's former CEO charges the company $7,500 an hour to use his private planes, but he's not making a profit

Alphabet had to reimburse its executive chairman $396,000 for flying in his private planes, according to an updated 10-K filing on Tuesday.

Eric Schmidt, Google's former CEO, "owns 100% of one aircraft and 33% of another aircraft, both of which are used by Eric and our other executive officers from time to time for business trips," the filing states.

As a result, the board of directors approved a reimbursement rate of $7,500 an hour for use of the plane. The $396,000 payment for 2015 meant that Alphabet executives spent approximately 52 hours on Schmidt's planes.

Luckily for Alphabet, that's less than what it had to shell out in 2014.

Last year, Google had to pay Schmidt $672,400 just to fly guests to one conference. In previous years, the company paid $61,706 in airplane reimbursements in 2013. The year before, his plane tab was a much-lower $14,018.

It's a lot of money, but the company insists that the former Google CEO isn't making a profit.

"Due to the fact that the $7,500 hourly rate paid for the use of these aircraft is less than the actual operational costs incurred by Eric as owner of these aircraft, Eric does not profit from the use of these aircraft," the filing states.

But Alphabet does make some money back thanks to owning the airport that Schmidt flies out of when his aircraft are not being used for business.

Alphabet became the operator of Moffett Federal Airfield in early 2015 and has since let Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Ram Shriram, and Schmidt use it for their private planes.

That does come with a charge, which the filing states is "non-preferential," to fly into it. In 2015, the company charged the four a total of $1,725,222 for using the airfield.

Alphabet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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

Governor signs Rep. Dent's aircraft registration bill

OLYMPIA — A bill sponsored by Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, was signed into law Friday by Gov. Jay Inslee.

The bill reduces a penalty that aircraft owners were required to pay if their aircraft registrations were 60 days or more past due.

The penalty will be reduced to $100 once the law takes effect July 1.

"A potential $400 penalty on a $65 combined annual aircraft registration and excise tax fee is simply excessive," Dent said in a prepared statement. "This small change to current law provides a fairer approach and will be helpful to many in the aviation community."

Current law has a scaling penalty that starts at $100 and can reach $400 if registration is more than 180 days past due.

The bill also redirects penalty revenue from the general fund to the aeronautics account.

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

Cessna 180D Skywagon, N180XV, TumiAir Inc: Accident occurred March 31, 2016 at Shiprock Airstrip (5V5), San Juan County, New Mexico

TUMIAIR INC:   http://registry.faa.gov/N180XV

FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Albuquerque FSDO-01

NTSB Identification: CEN16LA138
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, March 31, 2016 in Shiprock, NM
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/16/2016
Aircraft: CESSNA 180D, registration: N180XV
Injuries: 1 Serious, 1 Uninjured.

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

The airline transport pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot reported that, during the landing roll, shortly after he had completed a three-point landing, a left quartering tailwind gust caused the tailwheel-equipped airplane to veer to the right. The pilot was unable to regain directional control before the airplane departed the right side of the runway into a drainage ditch. The right main landing gear collapsed during the runway excursion, and the airplane subsequently nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 

The pilot stated that, about 25 minutes before landing, he obtained the current weather conditions from the closest aviation weather station, which was located about 23 miles from the destination airport, and that the reported surface wind was from 200 degrees at 4 knots. A postaccident review of available weather data established that the surface wind was likely variable in direction at 5 knots. Although the surface wind was considered light and variable, a sudden change in wind direction shortly after touchdown likely contributed to the pilot's loss of directional control during the landing roll.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control after encountering a sudden change in wind direction during the landing roll.

On March 31, 2016, about 1145 mountain daylight time, a Cessna model 180D single-engine airplane, N180XV, was substantially damaged while landing at Shiprock Airstrip (5V5), near Shiprock, New Mexico. The airline transport pilot sustained serious injuries. The passenger was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by TumiAir, Inc. under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that had departed from Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO), Durango, Colorado, about 1100.

The pilot reported that while enroute he obtained the current weather conditions at Four Corners Regional Airport (FMN), Farmington, New Mexico. According to the pilot, at 1120, the surface wind at FMN was 200 degrees at 4 knots. Upon reaching 5V5, the pilot completed an overflight of airport before entering a left traffic pattern for runway 20 (4,840 feet by 75 feet, asphalt). The pilot made a normal three-point landing, at about 50 miles per hour, with the wing flaps extended to 30 degrees. The pilot reported that shortly after touchdown a left quartering tailwind gust caused the airplane to veer to the right. The pilot stated that he was unable to regain directional control before the airplane departed the right side of the runway into a drainage ditch. The right main landing gear collapsed during the runway excursion and the airplane subsequently nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The fuselage, vertical stabilizer, and rudder sustained substantial damage during the accident.

The closest aviation weather station was located at Four Corners Regional Airport (FMN), Farmington, New Mexico, about 23 miles east-northeast of the accident site. At 1153, the FMN automated surface observing system reported: a variable surface wind direction at 5 knots, surface visibility 10 statute miles, clear sky, temperature 7 degrees Celsius, dew point -7 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.89 inches of mercury. The weather station's previous hourly report, issued at 1053, indicated that the surface wind had been light-and-variable.


NTSB Identification: CEN16LA138
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, March 31, 2016 in Shiprock, NM
Aircraft: CESSNA 180D, registration: N180XV
Injuries: 1 Serious, 1 Uninjured.

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

On March 31, 2016, about 1145 mountain daylight time, a Cessna model 180D single-engine airplane, N180XV, was substantially damaged while landing at Shiprock Airstrip (5V5), near Shiprock, New Mexico. The airline transport pilot sustained serious injuries. The passenger was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by TumiAir, Inc. under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that had departed from Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO), Durango, Colorado, about 1100.

The pilot reported that while enroute he obtained the current weather conditions at Four Corners Regional Airport (FMN), Farmington, New Mexico. According to the pilot, at 1120, the surface wind at FMN was 200 degrees at 4 knots. Upon reaching 5V5, the pilot completed an overflight of airport before entering a left traffic pattern for runway 20 (4,840 feet by 75 feet, asphalt). The pilot made a normal three-point landing, at about 50 miles per hour, with the wing flaps extended to 30 degrees. The pilot reported that shortly after touchdown a left quartering tailwind gust caused the airplane to veer to the right. The pilot stated that he was unable to regain directional control before the airplane departed the right side of the runway into a drainage ditch. The right main landing gear collapsed during the runway excursion and the airplane subsequently nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The fuselage, vertical stabilizer, and rudder sustained substantial damage during the accident.

The closest aviation weather station was located at Four Corners Regional Airport (FMN), Farmington, New Mexico, about 23 miles east-northeast of the accident site. At 1153, the FMN automated surface observing system reported: a variable surface wind direction at 5 knots, surface visibility 10 statute miles, clear sky, temperature 7 degrees Celsius, dew point -7 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.89 inches of mercury. The weather station's previous hourly report, issued at 1053, indicated that the surface wind had been light-and-variable.


Ryan Arroyo, a passenger in a Cessna 180D Skywagon plane that overturned Thursday at the Shiprock Airstrip, stands near the plane. The pilot was taken to the hospital after the incident. 


FARMINGTON — Joe Tumminaro — the pilot injured in Thursday's Cessna 180D Skywagon plane crash at the Shiprock Airstrip — remained in serious condition Friday afternoon, according to San Juan Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Laura Werbner.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that the federal agency was notified of the crash and has started an investigation.

"The NTSB investigator determined he did not need to go to the scene," spokesman Chris O'Neil said. "He is doing what's called a desk investigation."

O'Neil said a final report will be released once the investigation is complete.

Tumminaro, a licensed airline transport pilot, was practicing a "touch and go" landing procedure in a Cessna 180D Skywagon when a gust of wind flipped the aircraft onto the paved airstrip, according to a Navajo Police Department press release.

Tumminaro, 67, was transported by helicopter to San Juan Regional Medical Center, the release states. A passenger, Ryan Arroyo, did not report injuries, but he was also transported to the Farmington hospital.

Werbner said Friday that Arroyo, 33, is no longer at the hospital.

Arroyo said in an interview Thursday the two men departed from their hometown of Durango, Colo.,  that morning on a sightseeing trip.

Navajo Division of Transportation spokesman Carl Slater said Friday that a review of records indicated there had never before been a crash at the Shiprock Airstrip. Slater said the airstrip reopened on Friday.

New Mexico State Police is continuing to investigate the crash, according to press release issued Friday.

Story and photo gallery:  http://www.daily-times.com




SHIPROCK — The condition of a pilot who was injured in a propeller plane crash today at the Shiprock Airstrip was still unknown in the afternoon.

Ryan Arroyo, 33, a passenger in the plane, said strong winds overturned the aircraft during landing. The pilot, Joe Tumminaro, was transported by helicopter to San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, according to Arroyo.

Hospital spokeswoman Laura Werbner said shortly before 4 p.m. that Tumminaro's condition was not yet known.

Arroyo did not suffer any apparent injuries.

Arroyo said the two men, both from Durango, Colo., departed from Durango at about 10:30 a.m. on a sightseeing trip.

They landed at the Shiprock Airstrip, and the crash was reported at 11:46 a.m., according to police dispatch. The airstrip is about eight miles south of Shiprock.

“It was a normal landing, but the wind caught (the plane),” Arroyo said.

Tumminaro is a certified airman, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In January 2015, he obtained an airline transport pilot license, the highest level of aircraft pilot license, records state.

New Mexico State Police spokesman Sgt. Chad Pierce said a preliminary investigation indicated the plane had fully landed when winds pushed it off the runway. The plane sat upside down today in a grassy median between runways at the airstrip. A wheel and the pilot-side door were crumpled and had broken apart from the wrecked plane.

Wind today at Four Corners Regional Airport in Farmington was recorded at speeds of 20 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

Pierce said police planned to contact officials with the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board to see if the agencies will investigate the incident.

The Shiprock Airstrip was closed today due to the crash, according to a press release from the Navajo Department of Transportation. Shiprock Airstrip is one of six airports on the reservation and is listed in the FAA's facility directory. It is 4,840 feet long and 75 feet wide, according to Daily Times archives.

The Navajo DOT has previously proposed upgrades to the aging airport, including improvements to the runway's markings and pavement, according to archives. The pavement condition was listed in a 2014 report as fair to poor with surface cracks found on a majority of the runway, archives state.


Navajo DOT spokesman Carl Slater said today's crash was the first to occur in several years at the airstrip.

Original article can be found here:  http://www.daily-times.com









A small plane crashed about 8 miles south of Shiprock just before noon Thursday, injuring the pilot.

There were two people in the plane, which was seen upside down in a field south of the city. 

One person, the pilot, was airlifted to the San Juan Regional Medical Center with back pain and the passenger walked away and was treated at the scene.

New Mexico State Police said the plane was landing at the Shiprock Airstrip when it got caught in a crosswind and was pushed off the runway. 

The plane caught an edge and flipped.

The plane, a Cessna 180D, is registered to a company out of Durango, Colorado.

NTSB and the FAA have been notified of the crash, but state police say they are unsure if either agency will respond since the plane was on taxi approach.

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

Pascan Aviation: Incident occurred March 30, 2016 at Bonaventure Airport, Quebec, Canada



A plane headed for the Magdalen Islands from Quebec City was forced to make an emergency landing Wednesday evening at an airport on Quebec's Gaspé coast.

The Pascan Aviation plane landed at Bonaventure Airport a little after 7 p.m.  

None of the 14 people on board were injured.

One of the passengers, Denis Fréchette, is the brother-in-law of Jean Lapierre, the political commentator and former Liberal cabinet minister who was among seven killed in a plane crash on Tuesday.

Fréchette was on his way to join his wife Laure Lapierre, who was already in the Magdalen Islands.

Tuesday's crash took the lives of Jean Lapierre, his sister and two brothers. Laure Lapierre is now the only surviving sibling.

Sûreté du Québec said a mechanical problem was behind the emergency landing.

Engine had to be shut down

Pascan Aviation, a regional airline based in Saint-Hubert, makes regular flights from Quebec City to the Magdalen Islands with a stopover in Bonaventure, Que.

Yani Gagnon, of Pascan Aviation, said the crew noticed there was a problem with an engine as the twin-turboprop, British Aerospace Jetstream began its descent into Bonaventure Airport.

"The settings in the engine showed a loss of power and according to the protocol, which was followed to the letter, an emergency engine shutdown was initiated as a precaution," Gagnon told Radio-Canada. 

Yvette Fortier, another passenger, told Radio-Canadian the plane tried to lighten its load for the emergency landing.

"We turned around in circles to drain the fuel to have as little as possible," she said.

Fréchette told Radio-Canada that the airline handled the incident professionally.

He said three ambulances and a fire crew responded as soon as the aircraft landed.

Gagnon said mechanics were on their way to the scene Thursday morning, and Transport Canada would investigate the details of the incident. 

Several passengers from the flight arrived in the Magdalen Islands safely aboard another flight that arrived at 11:20 a.m.

An 11 a.m. flight was pushed to 2:30 p.m., which Fréchette and the other passengers were expected to board. 

Original article can be found here:  http://www.cbc.ca

Direct flights to D.C. will resume at Capital Region International Airport (KLAN), Lansing, Michigan

LANSING - A direct flight to Washington, D.C. from the Capitol Region International Airport will resume this summer.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has granted American Airlines a slot exemption to provide the service after Sun Country Airlines stopped offering its Lansing-to-D.C. flight in October.

American Airlines could offer daily flights from Lansing to the Washington Reagan National Airport as soon as June 29, said Robert Selig, airport president and CEO. It's proposing a 7 a.m. flight from Lansing to Washington, D.C. and a 5:30 p.m. return flight daily. Flights can carry 76 passengers.

"People can really do a day's work there without having to stay another day," Selig said. "It's a great leap forward for us. This will make a big difference in the airport budget. It's been no secret that we've been struggling."

The airport was facing a $1.3 million deficit for its 2017 budget, which starts in July, due to the departure of  Sun Country and Allegiant Air, which provided flights to Orlando and left in February 2015. American Airline's new D.C. route will help bridge that budget gap, bringing more passengers to the airport, Selig said.

The airport reached its peak traffic in 1997 with 720,365 total passengers. By 2009, the first full year of the recession, those numbers had plummeted to 265,967 but steadily crept back up to 418,850 in 2013. In 2014, the number dipped to 376,912 passengers and again in 2015 to 323,510.

"This will increase those numbers of passengers," said Chris Holman, chair of the Capital Region Airport Authority board. "It will turn the budget to where we won't have to lay people off."

American Airlines also plans to offer three daily flights to Chicago later on. From both Chicago and D.C., passengers can connect to numerous destinations, Holman said.

"This is a real economic boost, not just for the airport, but for the community," Holman said.

When American Airlines announced its bid in August, USDOT and the federal Aviation Administration received roughly 1,200 letters of support from government officials, business owners, special interest groups and residents in the region. Delta Air Lines, which offers daily non-stop flights to Detroit and Minneapolis, also was vying for the route.

"Those letters exhorting the need for service was huge," Holman said. "This is the payoff of all their letters."

The official start date, schedule and fares for the Lansing-Washington, D.C., and Lansing-Chicago routes have not yet been established.

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

American Airlines, Boeing 777: Incident occurred March 29, 2016 near Pueblo County, Colorado


Date: 29-MAR-16
Time: 22:10:00Z
Regis#: AAL61
Aircraft Make: BOEING
Aircraft Model: 777
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: Unknown
Damage: None
Activity: Commercial
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
Aircraft Operator: AAL-American Airlines
Flight Number: AAL61
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Denver FSDO-03
City: PUEBLO
State: Colorado

AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT AAL61, BOEING 777 AIRCRAFT, REGISTRATION NOT REPORTED, ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE NEAR PUEBLO, COLORADO, DURING FLIGHT, 1 FLIGHT CREW MEMBER SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURY, FLIGHT DIVERTED AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.



SEATTLE -- An American Airlines flight attendant is being treated for minor injuries in Seattle after her flight hit some turbulent weather over the Rocky Mountains Tuesday afternoon.

Flight 61 was heading from Dallas to Tokyo when the plane ran into some moderate turbulence, according to an American Airlines spokesperson.

A witness on the plane said they were over Colorado when the turbulence hit.

The flight was diverted to Seattle so the attendant could be checked by medical personnel. The attendant stayed in Seattle and the plane was being checked before being sent on its way to Tokyo. No other passengers were injured.

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

'It was torture': Aircraft problem left passengers stranded for hours on tarmac

An Ottawa woman says she watched passengers on a recent Sunwing flight collapsing, vomiting and losing consciousness after their plane was stuck on a tarmac without power for hours as temperatures soared.

In a CTV News exclusive, Ashley Colling said the trouble began on the flight from Cuba to Ottawa late Sunday night, when their plane made a stop in the Bahamas to pick up more passengers.

"As soon as we landed, power just cut out on the plane," Colling told CTV Ottawa.

Ashley Colling says she was among the passengers stuck on the tarmac for hours on a recent Sunwing flight.

Without power there was no air circulation on the plane, she said, and the temperature began rising quickly.

Colling said passengers were given a small drink of water, but they were told they couldn't use the toilets.

"People were starting to panic," she recalled. "Some people were starting to breathe heavily, people were sweating, babies were on board crying.

"It was torture. It was cruelty," Colling added.

After waiting on the plane for two hours, Colling says the passengers were briefly let onto the tarmac to get some air. She said some passengers were forced to relieve themselves on the tarmac.

"There were a few little carts to hide behind to get some privacy, but it was really undignified to say the least," she said.

When the passengers returned on to the plane, they were expecting to take off. But the plane remained on the tarmac for more than an hour, and the heat became worse during that time.

"People are going into distress," Colling recalled. "A lady collapses and has to be taken to the back of the plane and put on oxygen. A man passes out flat on his family… another man starts vomiting."

She said at that point her eight-year-old son began hyperventilating.

"Another passenger gave us an inhaler so we could open his airways better," Colling said.

After a nearly four-hour ordeal, the passengers were taken off the plane and spent the night in a hotel.

Sunwing said a mechanical issue on the plane affected the air conditioning system.

"Passengers were served refreshments and lavatory facilities were available,"Jacqueline Grossman, senior director of marketing at Sunwing Travel Group, said in a statement to CTV Ottawa.

She said passengers have also received a $150 voucher for future travel with Sunwing "as a gesture of goodwill."

But Colling said she doesn't plan to travel with the company anytime soon.

"It's illegal to leave an animal in a car like that for five minutes, and they left us for hours," she said.

Story and video:  http://www.ctvnews.ca

Envoy Air, Embraer ERJ170: Incident occurred March 30, 2016

Date: 30-MAR-16
Time: 16:33:00Z
Regis#: ENY3358
Aircraft Make: EMBRAER
Aircraft Model: ERJ170
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: Unknown
Damage: None
Activity: Commercial
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
Aircraft Operator: ENVOY AIRLINES
Flight Number: ENY3358
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Little Rock FSDO-11
City: LITTLE ROCK
State: Arkansas

ENVOY AIRLINES FLIGHT ENY3358 EMBRAER E170 AIRCRAFT, REGISTRATION NOT REPORTED, ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE AND DIVERTED, 2 FLIGHT CREW SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURIES, LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT AT LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.




Two flight attendants aboard an American Eagle flight from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Memphis were taken to a hospital Wednesday after being injured during violent turbulence.

American Eagle Flight 3358, operated by Envoy Air, was diverted to Little Rock, Arkansas.

Passengers on the plane told WFAA the turbulence was bad enough that it flipped a beverage cart, injuring a male flight attendant and tearing a leather seat.

“The flight attendant had multiple cuts on his face,” one passenger’s note read. “My husband said the plane had drinks dripping from the ceiling.”

The flight crew had started serving drinks because "everything was running smooth," Don Paul, who was on board the plane, told WFAA via telephone.




"I look over and the cart actually goes up in midair [and] flips upside-down," he said.  "I don't know how many hundred pounds with all the beverages and everything that's on them."

"Immediately the passengers that could reach him are trying to pull the cart off of him. He's bleeding and having a hard time." 

According to a statement from American Airlines, the aircraft landed “without incident” just after noon and made it safely to a gate at Clinton National Airport.

No passengers were injured, the airline said. American did not provide details on the extent of the flight attendants' injuries.

Flight 3358 was expected to land in Memphis at 5:46 p.m. after departing from Little Rock.

On Tuesday, a flight attendant aboard American Airlines Flight 61 from DFW to Tokyo was slightly injured after the Boeing 777 encountered "moderate turbulence."  The plane made an unscheduled landing in Seattle before continuing its trans-Pacific journey.

Story and video:  http://www.wfaa.com

Boeing F/A 18E Super Hornet: Fatal accident occurred March 30, 2016 at Naval Air Station Lemoore

REGIONAL (KRON) — Two San Jose residents were killed in a car crash at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Kings County following a pursuit with California Highway Patrol officers that started late Wednesday evening.

The two were identified as Anthony Castillo, 29, and Melissa Miller, 36, according to the Kings County Sheriff’s Office.

Castillo was driving a 1997 purple Grand Cherokee seen by CHP officers on the shoulder of Jackson Avenue, west of state Highway 41, at about 11:40 p.m. on Wednesday, CHP Officer John Tyler said.

The officers in a patrol car pulled up behind the Jeep to check on whoever was inside, but Castillo erratically drove away, Tyler said.

Castillo continued west on Jackson Avenue, ran past a stop sign at Avenal Cutoff Road and went onto eastbound state Highway 198.

The officers saw the suspect vehicle briefly travel the wrong way on the freeway, then cross the center divide, according to Tyler.

Officers lost sigh of the Jeep, but soon after saw it east of Enterprise Avenue and continued their pursuit.

Castillo drove to Reeves Bypass before he entered the operations side of the air station, where officers lost track of the Jeep, according to Tyler.

A CHP helicopter crew monitored the suspect vehicle and relayed its location to officers on the ground.

The Jeep then crashed into the back of a parked F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft, according to Tyler.

Miller, a passenger in the Jeep, was pronounced dead at the scene. Castillo was transported to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Security personnel at the air station responded to the pursuit when the Jeep entered the operations area and helped the CHP helicopter crew from its air traffic control tower, air station spokesperson, Marcelo Calero, said.

Investigators have not determined if drugs or alcohol played a factor in this incident.


LEMOORE, Calif. -- A California Highway Patrol pursuit ended with the suspects ramming through the gate and into a fighter jet at Naval Air Station Lemoore, killing the driver and a passenger, military officials said.

The incident started around 4 a.m. Thursday when officers spotted a wrong-way driver on State Route 198 south of Fresno and heading toward NAS Lemoore, authorities said.

CHP chased the vehicle as it crashed through the south fence of the airfield and then crashed into an FA-18E Super Hornet on the south side of the naval base.

The passenger died at the scene. The driver died at a hospital. Their identities were not immediately released.

Officials say the car hit the jet's horizontal stabilizer but have not detailed the damage.

Naval Air Station, Lemoore, built in 1961, has two runways and hosts four Carrier Air Wings.

Story,  video and photo gallery:  http://abc7.com











A wrong-way driver leading authorities on a high-speed chase crashed through a gate and into a fighter jet at a central California naval base, killing himself and a passenger, authorities said Thursday.

The Navy base does not appear to be an intended target, and the man and woman who died were not affiliated with the military, said Capt. Monty Ashliman, commander at Naval Air Station Lemoore. He said authorities are investigating what started the chase and how the driver broke through the secured gate.

"Regardless of procedures we have in place, something went wrong and we had a tragic accident," Ashliman said. "We have got to figure out a way to prevent that from happening in the future."

Authorities say the chase began off the base late Wednesday, when a California Highway Patrol officer stopped to check on a Jeep Grand Cherokee parked on the roadside. The driver sped off, driving erratically and going the wrong way at one point on highway south of Fresno.

The CHP does not know why the SUV fled, Lt. Dave Knoff said.

The driver eventually left State Route 198, smashed through a gate at the base and hit the FA-18E Super Hornet parked about 7 miles inside the base, Ashliman said.

He said the chase lasted about 15 minutes.

The passenger died at the scene, and the driver died at a hospital. Authorities have not released their identities.

The SUV hit the jet's horizontal stabilizer, but officials have not detailed the damage. The jet will be fully inspected before it takes flight again.

Naval Air Station Lemoore, built in 1961, has two runways and hosts four Carrier Air Wings.

Original article can be found here: http://abcnews.go.com