Saturday, May 21, 2016

Cessna U206F Stationair, N50159, Sunrise Aviation: Fatal accident occurred April 08, 2016 in Angoon, Alaska

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

NTSB Identification: ANC16FA017
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Friday, April 08, 2016 in Angoon, AK
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/23/2017
Aircraft: CESSNA 206, registration: N50159
Injuries: 3 Fatal, 1 Serious.

NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The commercial pilot was conducting a commercial on-demand flight between two villages over open water in an amphibious float-equipped airplane before navigating through mountainous terrain. As the airplane approached the usual route company pilots took through the mountains, the accident pilot relayed to the operator's director of operations via airborne communications that he was unable to make it through the pass due to low clouds and reduced visibility and that he was going to try an alternate route over lower terrain. After the director of operations determined that the airplane did not arrive at its destination, search and rescue efforts ensued. The airplane was subsequently found in an area of rising steep mountainous, snow-covered terrain at an elevation of about 2,240 ft mean sea level in a near-vertical attitude.

A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. GPS data for the accident flight showed the airplane making a total of five 360° turns in various locations in cloud-obscured, mountainous terrain while attempting to make it to the destination; the last turn was made shortly before impact. Based on the conversation the pilot had with the director of operations and the location of the wreckage, it is likely that the pilot thought he had taken a path over lower terrain but that he actually flew into a different valley which had higher-than-anticipated terrain, and then executed a 360° turn to gain altitude before continuing the flight. However, the airplane did not gain sufficient altitude to clear terrain, and it is likely that the pilot attempted another climb, which reduced the airspeed and led to the exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack. The disposition of the airplane at the accident site was consistent with an aerodynamic stall and a right spin.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's inadvertent turn toward terrain that was higher-than-expected while trying to avoid poor visibility conditions and his subsequent attempt to clear terrain, which reduced the airspeed and led to the exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall and spin.

David Robert Galla
Gregory Gene Scheff

Thomas Siekawitch





The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident. 

Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office;  Juneau, Alaska
Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
Continental Motors; Mobile, Alabama 
Hartzell Propellers; Piqua, Ohio

Investigation Docket -  National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

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

Sunrise Aviation Inc: http://registry.faa.gov/N50159 

NTSB Identification: ANC16FA017
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Friday, April 08, 2016 in Angoon, AK
Aircraft: CESSNA 206, registration: N50159
Injuries: 3 Fatal, 1 Serious.

NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On April 8, 2016, about 0914 Alaska daylight time, an amphibious float-equipped Cessna 206 airplane, N50159, sustained substantial damage after impacting snow-covered, rising terrain about 17 miles southeast of Angoon Airport, Angoon, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by Sunrise Aviation, Inc., Wrangell, Alaska, as a visual flight rules 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 commercial on-demand flight. The commercial pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries, and one passenger sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the airport at the time of departure, and company flight-following procedures were in effect. The flight departed from Wrangell Airport, Wrangell, Alaska, about 0810, destined for Angoon. The area between Wrangell and Angoon consists of remote inland fjords, coastal waterways, and steep mountainous terrain. 

During an interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) 4 days after the accident, Sunrise Aviation's Director of Operations stated that, while flying another company airplane, he spoke with the accident pilot over the company radio frequency. The accident pilot commented to the director of operations that, while en route to Angoon, he was unable to make it through Pybus Bay due to low clouds and reduced visibility and that he was going to try an alternate route over lower terrain. The director of operations added that, about 15 to 20 minutes after speaking with the accident pilot, he landed in Wrangell and noticed that the Spidertracks signal for the accident airplane was stationary in an area of mountainous terrain. (As part of their company flight-following procedures, Sunrise Aviation incorporated Spidertracks, which provided company management personnel with a real-time, moving map display of an airplane's progress.) He then called personnel at the Angoon Airport and was told that the flight had not arrived. Shortly after attempting to reach the pilot on his cell phone and over the company radio frequency, he received a phone call from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center notifying him that the 406-Mhz emergency locator transmitter (ELT) assigned to the accident airplane was transmitting a signal.

The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center notified the US Coast Guard (USCG) Air Station Sitka about the overdue airplane and the ELT signal transmitting along the accident pilot's anticipated flight route. About 1025, the USCG launched an MH-60 helicopter to search for the airplane. About 1054, the airplane's wreckage was located by a helicopter operated by Temsco Helicopters who then relayed the location to the USCG.

About 1117, the USCG crew located the airplane's wreckage in an area of steep mountainous, snow-covered terrain. However, due to hazardous weather and terrain conditions, the helicopter crew was unable to lower a rescue swimmer to the site, and the crew returned to Sitka to pick up rescue personnel from Sitka Mountain Rescue. 

About 1355, the USCG helicopter crew returned to the accident site and landed the helicopter on an adjacent ridgeline. Members of Sitka Mountain Rescue and the USCG hiked to the accident site. Once on scene, they discovered that three of the airplane's occupants had died at the scene and that one occupant had survived the crash. The sole survivor was hoisted aboard the USCG helicopter and then transported to Juneau. 

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 60, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land and sea and instrument ratings. His most recent second-class medical certificate was issued on October 21, 2015, and contained the limitation that he must "possess glasses for near/intermediate vision." 

No personal logbooks were located for the pilot. A review of company records revealed that the pilot had reported on his annual résumé, dated April 3, 2015, that his total flight experience was about 19,981 hours, 556 hours of which were in the previous 12 months. 

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The airplane was a Cessna 206 manufactured in 1972, and it was equipped with a Continental Motors IO-550 series engine. At the time of its last annual inspection, completed on February 17, 2016, the airplane had 14,028 hours in service.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

At 0410, the National Weather Service Alaska Aviation Weather Unit issued an area forecast for central Southeast Alaska, including the accident site, which forecast scattered clouds at 800 ft mean sea level (msl) with a broken-to-overcast ceiling at 2,000 ft msl. Layered clouds were forecast from 2,000 ft msl through flight level 250. Occasional broken ceiling to 2,000 ft msl and light rain were forecast with isolated ceilings below 1,000 ft msl and visibility to 4 miles in light rain and mist. An AIRMET for mountain obscuration due to clouds and precipitation had also been issued and was valid at the accident site at the accident time.

The closest weather reporting facility was Angoon Airport, about 17 miles northwest of the accident site. At 0856, Angoon Airport issued a METAR that reported, in part, calm wind; sky condition, broken clouds at 500 ft, overcast at 1,800 ft; visibility 7 statute miles; temperature 45° F, dew point 45° F; and altimeter setting 29.71 inches of Mercury.

(Refer to the Meteorology Group Chairman's Factual Report in the public docket for further weather information and weather camera images).

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The wreckage was located in an open area of snow-covered rising terrain at an elevation of about 2,240 ft msl. The impact area was sloped about 27°. The airplane impacted terrain in a near-vertical, nose down attitude and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.

The right wing remained attached to the fuselage, and the leading edge exhibited extensive spanwise leading edge aft crushing. The right wing was displaced about 20° aft of the airplane's lateral axis.

The left wing remained attached to the fuselage at the forward attachment point and exhibited minor impact damage. The left wing was displaced about 40° forward of the airplane's lateral axis.

The horizontal stabilizer, elevators, vertical stabilizer, and rudder remained relatively free of impact damage. The elevator trim actuator was measured to be about 1.5 inches, consistent with a neutral setting.

The rudder and elevator primary flight control cables were continuous from the cockpit controls to their respective flight control surfaces. The aileron primary flight control cable continuities were confirmed from the cockpit controls to their respective flight control surfaces with cable separations at the wing root area. All cable separations exhibited signatures consistent with tensile overload and recovery cuts.

The fuselage exhibited crushing damage under the rudder pedals from the floor upward. The top of the fuselage was severed laterally the width of the cabin at the wing forward spar attachment points. The aft fuselage exhibited signatures consistent with stretching on the left side with the location corresponding to compression damage on the right side.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The Alaska State Medical Examiner, Anchorage, Alaska, conducted an autopsy of the pilot. The cause of death for the pilot was attributed to "multiple blunt force injuries." 

The FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory performed toxicology testing of the pilot's specimens on July 06, 2016, which was negative for ethanol, drugs, and carbon monoxide. 

TESTS AND RESEARCH

On October 18, 2016, an engine examination was performed by Continental Motors, Mobile, Alabama, under the supervision of the NTSB. Due to limited damage, an engine test run was conducted following the replacement of impact-damaged components. The engine was fitted with a test club propeller for the IO-550 series engine.

The engine started normally on the first attempt without hesitation or stumbling in the observed rpm. The engine rpm was advanced in steps for warm-up in preparation for full-power operation. The warm-up sequence was completed over 15 minutes before the engine throttle was advanced to the full-open position and then held for 5 minutes to stabilize. Throughout the test phase, the engine accelerated normally without any hesitation, stumbling, or interruption in power, and it demonstrated the ability to produce rated horsepower. During the engine test, the magnetos were checked, and a drop of 44 rpm was noted for the left magneto, and a drop of 32 rpm was noted for the right magneto.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

GPS Information

A Garmin 396 handheld GPS was found mounted on the instrument panel, and all cables were still attached. The unit was removed and sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory, Washington, DC, for examination. Extracted GPS data for the accident flight included, in part, time, latitude, longitude, and GPS altitude. Groundspeed and course information were derived from the extracted parameters.

The GPS data indicated that the airplane departed Wrangell Airport at 1208:33 heading toward the southeast before turning to the northwest. The airplane continued on the northwesterly heading until crossing Beacon Point on Kupreanof Island and then turning west-northwest. The airplane continued on this heading until it entered Pybus Bay at 1,861 ft msl. The airplane then made four 360° turns, exited Pybus Bay while descending, and then leveled off about 215 ft msl. After exiting Pybus Bay, the airplane flew between Grave Island and Admiralty Island at 261 ft msl before entering Little Pybus Bay on a west-northwest heading at 940 ft msl. The airplane then turned 360° and continued heading west-northwest. The last recorded GPS data plot was at 1314:05 when the airplane was at 2,405 ft msl, heading 299°, and at 74 miles per hour.

A flight track map overlay and tabular data corresponding to the accident flight are available in the public docket for this accident.

NTSB Identification: ANC16FA017 
Nonscheduled 14 CFR Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Accident occurred Friday, April 08, 2016 in Angoon, AK
Aircraft: CESSNA 206, registration: N50159
Injuries: 3 Fatal, 1 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 either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

On April 8, 2016, about 0912 Alaska daylight time, an amphibious float-equipped Cessna 206 airplane, N50159, sustained substantial damage after impacting snow-covered, rising terrain about 17 miles southeast of the Angoon Airport, Angoon, Alaska. The airplane was operated by Sunrise Aviation, Inc., Wrangell, Alaska, as a visual flight rules (VFR) commercial on-demand flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. Of the four people on board, the commercial pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries, and one passenger sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of departure, and company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight departed from the Wrangell Airport, Wrangell, about 0810, destined for Angoon. 

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), along with another NTSB aircraft accident investigator and members of Juneau Mountain Rescue, reached the accident site on the morning of April 9. The wreckage was in an open area of snow-covered rising terrain, at an elevation of about 2,240 feet mean sea level (msl). The impact area was sloped about 27 degrees. The airplane impacted the snow in a near vertical attitude and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.

The area between Wrangell and Angoon consists of remote inland fjords, coastal waterways, and steep mountainous terrain. 

As part of their company flight following procedures, Sunrise Aviation incorporates Spidertracks, which provides company management personnel with a real-time, moving map display of the airplane's progress. In addition, the accident airplane was equipped with a digital, 406 MHz ELT that instantly transmits a distress signal to search and rescue satellites, thereby alerting rescue personnel within minutes of the location of the crash. 

During an interview with the NTSB IIC on April 12, the operator's director of operations stated that while flying another company airplane, he spoke with the accident pilot on a company radio frequency. The accident pilot commented to the director of operations that while en route to Angoon, he was unable to make it through Pybus Bay due to low clouds and reduced visibility, and that he was going to try an alternate route that had a lower terrain elevation. The director of operations added that about 15-20 minutes after speaking with the accident pilot, he landed in Wrangell and noticed the Spidertracks signal was stationary, in an area of mountainous terrain. He then called personnel at the Angoon airport and was told the flight had not arrived, and attempts to contact the accident pilot on his cell phone and aircraft radio were unsuccessful. Shortly thereafter, he received a phone call from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center notifying him of a broadcasting 406 Mhz emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal assigned to the accident airplane.

About 1025, after being notified of an overdue airplane, and after learning about reports of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal along the accident pilot's anticipated flight route, search and rescue personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka launched an HH-60 helicopter to search for the airplane.

About 1054, the airplane's wreckage was located by a helicopter operated by Temsco Helicopters.

About 1117, the crew of a U.S. Coast Guard HH-60 helicopter located the airplane's wreckage in an area of steep mountainous, snow-covered terrain. However, due to hazardous weather and terrain conditions, the helicopter crew was unable to lower a rescue swimmer to the site, and the crew retuned to Sitka to pick up rescue personnel from Sitka Mountain Rescue. 

About 1355, the HH-60 helicopter returned to the accident site and landed on an adjacent ridgeline, and members of Sitka Mountain Rescue and the Coast Guard hiked to the accident site. Once on scene, they discovered that three of the airplane's occupants died at the scene, and one had survived the crash. The sole survivor was hoisted aboard the Coast Guard HH-60 helicopter, and then transported to Juneau. 

The airplane was equipped with a Continental Motors IO-550 series engine. A detailed examination is pending. 


The closest weather reporting facility is Angoon Airport, about 17 miles northwest of the accident site. At 0956, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Angoon Airport was reporting in part: Wind calm; sky condition, few clouds at 2,300 feet, broken clouds at 4,200 feet; visibility 10 statute miles; temperature 45 degrees F, dew point 43 degrees F; altimeter, 29.75 inHg.



The sole survivor of a Southeast Alaska plane crash that killed three people is now being treated at a Colorado hospital where her family describes her tale of recovery as "miraculous."

Ketchikan resident Morgan Enright, 21, is working with physical, occupational, and speech therapists daily. She had her first shower last weekend and is “happily eating and drinking throughout the day,” her mother posted on CaringBridge, a website for shared medical updates.

Chere Klein, Enright’s mom, said she’s not ready to speak publicly about her daughter’s experience in the April 8 crash but gave KTUU permission to write about it based on her CaringBridge posts.

Enright was on her way from Wrangell to Angoon for work when the Cessna 206 she was flying in crashed on Admiralty Island at 9:12 a.m. The plane went down in steep, snowy terrain about 17 miles southeast of Angoon, a mostly Tlingit community located in the coastal rainforest.

Pilot David Galla, 60, was killed along with passengers Greg Scheff, 61, and Thomas Siekawitch, 57. All three were from Wrangell.

The Coast Guard launched a helicopter from Sitka and located the plane’s wreckage at 11:17 a.m., according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The chopper couldn’t land due to hazardous weather.

At 1:55 p.m. the Coast Guard, along with Sitka Mountain Rescue, returned to try again. Ron Duvall, a volunteer with Sitka Mountain Rescue, was among the group of four first responders.

The helicopter dropped them off on a ridge, Duvall recalled in an interview today with Channel 2. Two rescuers hiked down to the crash site while the other two stayed above to watch for possible avalanches.

“We saw Morgan move her arms. We radioed back to the helicopter that there was a survivor,” Duvall said.

Duvall and his partner started removing gear and luggage strewn about the plane, along with the seat Enright was strapped in. When the two other rescuers arrived, they extracted her from the plane, which was nose down in the snow.

One person stabilized Enright's neck. Another held her hips while another stabilized her feet.

Duvall said, “Her eyes were not open. She was cold to the touch."

But she was alive.

After extracting her from the plane, Duvall and the team placed Enright in a Coast Guard basket along with a rescue swimmer. The helicopter hoisted her inside.

Enright was medevaced to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center in critical condition.

Doctors placed her on dialysis to help her kidneys function. A ventilator assisted her with breathing.

Three days after the crash, Klein wrote that her daughter’s condition was precarious but that she was "steady."

“In her extremely critical condition this is very positive,” Klein wrote.

Enright began breathing on her own a week after the crash. When she would open her eyes, Enright recognized her family. She would squeeze hands when instructed by a nurse. Soon her brain pressure monitor was removed.

By April 20, 12 days after the crash, Enright moved to the acute care unit after having surgery on left leg two days earlier.

“She will need a skin graft in the near future but overall a stable day!” Klein posted on April 18.

When she was a bit more stable, Enright was able to sit in a gravity chair.

Earlier this month, Enright started eating ice chips and apple sauce, and drinking milk. On May 6, her mom posted that Enright’s kidneys were working again.

“Morgan said it’s time to celebrate with a Mimosa!” Klein wrote.

Harborview Medical Center discharged Enright to the care of a rehabilitation center in Englewood, Colo., on May 12 where she continues to improve.

Part of Enright’s recovery involves getting visits from a variety of therapy dogs.

“From Newfoundlands to mini-Schnauzers; many Golden Retrievers and Yellow Labs have snuggled right up in bed. Thank goodness for all the folks willing to share their special dogs!” Klein wrote.

A final NTSB report on the crash is expected to come out in early July. Meantime, Duvall, the rescuer, has been monitoring Enright’s progress on CaringBridge.

“I’m ecstatic. I’m dumbfounded," he said. "I’m not sure I could put a good adjective on the emotions that come with seeing her recover."

Story and photo gallery:  http://www.ktuu.com





Silver City Flying Club celebrates 70 years: Meriden Markham Municipal Airport (KMMK), Meriden, New Haven County, Connecticut

Pilot Keith Hall

Leigh Tauss, Record-Journal


MERIDEN — You feel a pang in your gut the moment the wheels of the 1979 Piper Archer aircraft leave the runway and the nose of the plane tilts upward toward a cloudy sky in steady ascent. Pressure starts to build in your ears, cushioned beneath a large headset.

“Unlike an airliner, this is not pressurized,” Pilot Keith Hall says with a smile as he navigates the airspace far above Meriden. “You can only go about 14,000 feet maximum.”

Hall is a member of the Silver City Flying Club, which celebrated their 70th anniversary Saturday with a humble gathering at their Meriden-Markham Airport hangar. He was happy to take a spin in one of the club’s two aircraft to mark the occasion.

Founded in 1946, 40-member club is one of the oldest flying clubs in Connecticut, according to President Paul Merola.

“A lot of these guys were World War II pilots and they came back from the war and had flying in their blood so they formed a club,” Merola said.




The nonprofit club is equity based, meaning each member owns a portion of the club’s assets, including its two airplanes, the 1979 Piper Archer and 1981 Cessna. Aviation is an expensive hobby, but the club allows members to fly for much less than renting or owning their own plane would cost, Merola said.

Flying conditions Saturday afternoon were optimal, with minimal wind and no rain. Hall, who is also flies Civil Air Patrol for the Air Force Auxiliary, goes through an exhaustive checklist, inspecting the planes wing flaps, propeller and engine fuel.

Soon it’s time to buckle seat belts inside the cockpit. The small plane’s interior is even tinnier than it appears from the outside and has barely enough room to stretch an elbow. Every inch of the dashboard is covered with an array of controls and displays indicating altitude, navigation and radio frequency. Hall announces our takeoff over the radio and the plane turns a corner out of the hangar.

He revs the engine briefly to ensure the spark plug is firing and then begins to head down the runway, steadily increasing speed. The wheels gently lift from the runway and with seemingly no resistance we’re climbing hundreds of feet in seconds.


Pilot Keith Hall of the Silver City Flying Club navigates over Meriden. The club celebrated its 70th anniversary Saturday. 



“The biggest difference between a jetliner and something like this is the speed,” Hall said. “The aerodynamics of an airplane are the same no matter if the plane is small or large.”

Castle Craig looks like a thimble from 2,500 feet up and the highways merely gray threads peaking out from a dense tree canopy. Spring is in full bloom, and despite the clouds, its easy to see New Haven harbor and Long Island Sound in the distance.

We glide briefly over Southington whose suburbs are reminiscent of small twisted spider web dotted with houses before turning back toward Meriden.

“Meriden traffic, Piper N325AV, we’re about 5 miles north, heading into the airport,” Hall says over the radio, though it’s hard to hear anything over the sound of the chopping propeller. Soon the runway is in sight and we’re descending quickly toward it.

“I’m going to tell you now, landing is the hardest part,” Hall says.

As the pavement draws closer you can feel the plane buckle slightly against the wind. There’s a bump as the wheels touch the runway, but not overall it’s a pretty smooth landing.




Back at the hangar, Silver City members were eager to chime in on the benefits of being in the club.

“I like the camaraderie of the pilots,” said member Doug Loose, of Southington. “You meet a lot of people with similar interests.”

The cost savings is what draws many to the club as owning or renting an airplane is expensive.

“We’re not wealthy people and it makes flying affordable,” said Meriden resident Andy Roberts. “You share the burden of taking care of an airplane.”

Marilyn Stone enjoys going on flights to Block Island with her husband Norm, soaring over the traffic and the ferry for a weekend get-away. The Southington couple has been in the club since 1976.

“I feel safe in a small plane because you have control ... It’s like three-dimensional sailing,” Stone said. “You can drift and glide like in a boat.”

Story, video and photo gallery: http://www.myrecordjournal.com

Fort Bliss to conduct flight training in Lincoln National Forest

Lt. Col. Segura, G3 for Air Operations at Fort Bliss demonstrates how a helicopter lands in a wooded environment like in the Lincoln National Forest to Otero County Commissioners at their regular county commission meeting Thursday morning.

From left to right: Col. Tom O’Connor, Commander of the Combat Aviation Brigade, Lt. Col. Segura, G3 for Air Operations and Chief Pilot Murino, Combat Aviation Brigade presented to county commissioners their proposal to train in Lincoln National Forest to practice high altitude flying and landing.



ALAMOGORDO – The Garrison Command team and 1st Armored Division (1AD) Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) at Fort Bliss in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service plans to train in Lincoln National Forest to practice flying their aircraft at high altitudes.

The Fort Bliss brigade is proposing to establish a number of sites within the LNF to conduct their new mission, the High Altitude Mountain Environment Training Strategy (HAMETS), for certification training for their helicopter pilots.

The purpose of HAMETS is to train pilots in conducting approaches and landings within wooded mountain environments that challenge and hone aviator skills prior to deployment.

To more efficiently reach the sites, the 1AD also proposes to periodically stage and fuel helicopters at the Alamogordo White Sands Regional Airport.

The USFS asked the 1AD to present their proposals to County Commissioners to notify them of the proposed action and to give commissioners the opportunity to ask questions.

Conservation Branch Chief of the Environmental Division at Fort Bliss Brian Knight was accompanied by Col. Tom O’Connor, Commander of the Combat Aviation Brigade, Lt. Col. Segura, G3 for Air Operations and Chief Pilot Murino, Combat Aviation Brigade.

O’Connor said although Fort Bliss is an excellent training installation, it lacks proper environmental helicopter training for their soldiers who are about to be deployed.

“Although Fort Bliss is a phenomenal training installation, there’s not a lot of opportunities for our soldiers to prepare. One of the challenges we have is that we don’t have a lot of trees, as well as high altitude landing zones for our soldiers to practice at,” O’Connor said. “Lincoln National Forest is obviously very close to us and offers elevations of up to 9,000 feet. The density of the forest with the tall trees gives it a more confined area for us to navigate and land the aircraft which adds to the complexity of flying in that same environment overseas such as Iraq and Afghanistan.”

He said as a part of his responsibility it his job to ensure that his soldiers are well prepared before they’re sent off into a war zone.

“Part of my responsibility is to ensure that my soldiers are trained in aviation operations to perform the duties of not just flying an aircraft but execute the mission at different altitudes of different environments throughout the world,” O’Connor said. “Some of the regions where they are deployed are very mountainous which can be a hazard when flying a helicopter. My responsibility is to ensure that they have the right training as well as proficiency before I send them off in harm’s way.”

There are three types of helicopters that Fort Bliss soldiers will be training with, the Chinook, Black Hawk and Apache.

Segura said the brigade looked within their own flying area for the training which is quite extensive but agreed that the LNF would be a world class training environment and they have already identified 18 small landing zones.

“We looked within the local flying area of our first armored division but the LNF that resides within your county, provides our aviators a world class training environment to conduct high altitude training,” Segura said. “As we look forward and we start to look at different options, we’re looking at utilizing, potentially, the opportunity to use the Alamogordo airport for the refueling. It will give us the ability to rotate our aviators in and out of their aircraft as we go into the Lincoln National Forest.”

He said they would also be conducting night training so soldiers can practice using night vision goggles and the LNF is the perfect location for this kind of training.

“Nowhere else can we find the near exact environment like in Afghanistan or North Korea with the mountains and elevations we have here. We’re working to get a 25 year special use permit from the Lincoln National Forest,” Segura said.

Knight said in 2012 the LNF granted Fort Bliss to conduct this kind of training and it was extremely beneficial for their troops.

“In 2012, the LNF generously gave us temporary authorization to conduct this kind of training and the feedback we got from it was fantastic,” Knight said. “It really helped them in Afghanistan.”

He said they are currently in the scoping period and they will later present to the City of Alamogordo and the Village of Cloudcroft.

The presentation to County Commissioners will be a part of the scoping process for the EA that the Army intends to generate.

Once the draft is made available they will have public meetings that will include the mountain community of Weed hopefully in October or November of this year.

Once the meetings are held they will allow a 30-day comment period for the communities to ask any questions about their operation. If everything goes as planned the Army should receive a 25 year special use permit from LNF to conduct their training's there when needed.

County Commissioners were in support of the proposal.

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

With commercial airlines soaring, why have some private jet start-ups failed?

Captain Chris Pimentel, right, waits for passengers to board the SurfAir airplane at the Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Hawthorne last year. SurfAir is an all-you-can-fly membership airline.



The nation's commercial airlines are reporting soaring profit margins and enough revenue to invest billions of dollars in new planes, airport lounges and even designer-made employee uniforms.

So why hasn't that success extended to the fleet of private jet start-ups that launched in the last few years? 

Private jet charters Blackjet, Blue Star Jets and Beacon, among others, have ended operations in recent months, citing funding difficulties as well as problems securing planes, among other issues.

Many of the new jet charter businesses have tried to jump on the popularity of the "shared economy," with some comparing themselves to the ride-hailing business Uber. The private jet businesses have also promoted themselves as a way to avoid long airport security lines.

"There was this feeling that we have this unmet demand," said Brad Stewart, chief executive and president of XOJET, a San Francisco-based charter jet business.

But according to industry experts, too many of the charters either overestimated the demand or underestimated the funding needed to keep the businesses in the air.

Commercial airlines can squeeze more seats into each cabin and use each jet as extensively as possible to keep costs down, but private charter jets don't have that option, said Seth Kaplan, managing partner at the trade magazine Airline Weekly.

"The economics of small private jets are not the same as the economics of commercial carriers," he said.

The most publicized failure was the sudden closure of Florida-based BlackJet, which was backed by tech executives and Hollywood celebrities including Ashton Kutcher, Jay-Z and Will Smith. It collected annual membership fees of $3,000 and up plus fares starting at about $950 to share a ride on other people's jets.

BlackJet Chief Executive Dean Rotchin wrote a letter to members of the business May 5, saying he was "abruptly ceasing Blackjet operations," citing "bad press," the departure of a "critical team member" and finance problems.

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

Potsdam Municipal Airport (KPTD) runway closed while widening underway

POTSDAM – The runway and taxiways at Damon Field, the Potsdam Municipal Airport are closed through the projected end date of July 13 for widening the airport’s runway.

“That date was decided at a pre-construction meeting two weeks ago, but completion is somewhat dependent on the weather,” said airport manager Brad Clements.

The contract for the work on the village-owned airport was awarded to local building company J.E. Sheehan Contracting, which will widen the runway from its current 60 feet to 75 feet under the exacting specifications of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Sheehan got a jump on the work while the weather was good in November, doing things such as regrading some soil in preparation for the major work in warmer weather.

The $1.4 million job includes the runway widening and refinishing, maintenance of runway lighting, and installation of a visual guidance system.

The Federal Aviation Administration is paying 90 percent of the cost, and the state and the village are splitting the remaining 10 percent.

While fixed-wing aircraft will not be able to use the runway, some helicopter traffic at the airport will be permitted since they do not need to use the runway.

And Air Methods’ LifeNet medical transport service, based at Damon Field, has moved its operations temporarily to Massena’s Richards Field, since it has replaced its helicopter service with fixed-wing aircraft that can’t fly in and out of Potsdam’s airport for the time being, but they have told Clements that they might make helicopter flights to and from Potsdam. Also Mercy Flight might make use of the airport for their helicopters, Clements said.

And the operator of the UPS cargo flights that use the airport to deliver to the shipping company’s nearby facility will use other nearby airports while the runway work is done.

The runway widening is being done due to safety considerations, Clements said.

Twice in the last seven or eight years, pilots flying twin-engine Embraer aircraft for Ameriflight, the contractor operating planes that make deliveries and pickups for the nearby UPS facility, have gone off the side of the runway in slippery conditions.

No serious damage and no injury was reported in either incident, but the chief pilot of the air charter company told Clements he has a limited number of pilots he can allow to come to Potsdam because of the currently narrow runway.

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

Air service likely to have major economic impact: Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport (KBWG), Kentucky

It is not only the travel plans of many southcentral Kentucky residents that are being altered based on the news that commercial air service is returning to Bowling Green. The service is likely to have a significant effect on the region's business landscape as well.

It was announced Tuesday that, after a 44-year absence, commercial air service will once again be offered from Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport. Contour Airlines will offer two round-trip flights daily during the workweek to Atlanta and one per day on the weekends. It will also offer two weekly flights to Destin, Fla., from April through October. The flights are scheduled to start in August and are the culmination of many years of efforts by local officials to get commercial service here.

"We have worked well on solving problems here, but air service has been just outside our grasp for so many years," Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said.

Until Tuesday.

Using about $1.8 million in incentives from the state and federal governments as well as commitments from local businesses, the airport board signed a one-year contract with the Smyrna, Tenn.-based carrier. As well as being a convenience for local residents, the commercial service is expected to have significant economic benefit in several ways.

Directly, the return of air service will mean more than a dozen new local jobs.

The Transportation Security Administration will hire seven to nine people locally, Airport Manager Rob Barnett said, with the jobs being a mix of full-time administrators and part-time screeners. According to the TSA website, part-time screeners make in the $15 to $23 an hour range with full benefits.

The airport will also hire six to eight additional people for jobs such as baggage handling and other ground operations, Barnett said.

The air service is also being seen as a boon for existing businesses and for business recruitment efforts.

Buchanon cited as an example the case of a company official who was looking at locating a business here. After landing at the Nashville airport, he began the hourlong car drive to Bowling Green. "He got halfway here and asked 'How much farther?' That was the end of that project. This will level the playing field with other communities" that have commercial air service, Buchanon said.

Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Ron Bunch said that during the airline recruitment effort, officials tried to estimate the economic impact. A rough estimate is that the state will get the $750,000 it has provided as an incentive for air service returned in one year in additional tax revenue.

"When people travel to Nashville, they spend money on fuel, food" and other items, he said. "We will be able to retain a lot of that spending."

In working on the airline recruitment effort for the last several years, Barnett said he met with numerous CEOs, corporate travel directors and other local business leaders who were almost all "extremely interested" in local commercial service.

"We expect a large percentage of the Atlanta route to be business oriented," he said.

The corporate interest stems from the fact that it will "save them time and save them money," Barnett said.

A charter flight with four passengers to Atlanta costs well into the thousands, he said. Although ticket prices have not been determined, Contour fares will likely be a fraction of that cost.

Bunch said "85 percent of our success comes in business expansion" – efforts that will be aided by Tuesday's news. "Now we can say we have service right here that's probably more convenient."

That convenience will also be a major benefit to local business travelers.

"When you are talking about an executive officer, to save four or five hours in a day, that's a lot of money," Barnett said.

Bowling Green-based Fruit of the Loom was a major presence at Tuesday's news conference, with displays, give-aways and many employees on hand. The company's commercially recognized "Fruit" guys also were on hand.

“We have been supportive of this project, and it certainly is a reflection of the growth in our community," Fruit of the Loom Chief Operating Officer Tony Pelaski wrote in an email to the Daily News. "We are excited about the opportunity to improve our travel options and make it easier for our customers and vendor partners to travel to Bowling Green.”

A key element to the success of the service will come down to selling tickets over the long haul.

"Sustainability is the key element," Barnett said. He said the airport will hire a marketing firm to promote the flights across a region stretching from Columbia to Elizabethtown, Hopkinsville to Portland, Tenn.

Local officials will also be marketing the flights to Bowling Green.

"We are already on it," said Vickie Fitch, executive director of the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, just hours after Tuesday's news conference. The CVB staff is working on plans to promote tourism to Bowling Green via the air service.

Fitch said the commercial service will also help Bowling Green lure and keep convention and event business. She pointed to the Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals event in August, a car event that drew 11,000 people here last year. "They bring international people," she said, who will now be able to fly directly from Atlanta's international airport to Bowling Green.

As for recruiting new events, "It will be so nice to say, 'Yes, it's coming,' " when asked by event planners about the availability of air service, she said. And when meeting with international tour operators, "that will be an instant pitch."

And even though Destin is seen as a destination more than a place to draw visitors from, "we won't ignore that market either," Fitch said.

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

New Alma Municipal Airport (4D9) terminal to include pilots room and lounge

Alma Municipal Airport manager Ron Hawley, left, and Alma City Administrator Doug Wilson planned the construction of the new terminal at the airport. Wilson said it took two years to build the reserves in the city budget to pay for 10 percent of the $550,000 building, and Hawley traveled Nebraska and Kansas to get ideas for the layout of the building during the same time. Hawleys 1967 Mooney M20F is stored at the city's hangar.


When pilots drop into Alma's Municipal Airport for fuel, they will soon have a place to use the bathroom, relax, get a snack and plan their remaining flight at the new airport terminal. Construction on the 1,250 square-foot building began in April and is expected to be complete in June. 



ALMA — Private pilots flying through Nebraska soon will have greater incentive to stop at Alma Municipal Airport.

Alma City Administrator Doug Wilson said nearby Harlan Lake draws many pilots to Alma, population 1,100, but the amenities offered at the airport also are an incentive for them to land.

Construction began on a 1,250-square-foot airport terminal in April, and it is anticipated to be complete in June. It will offer bathrooms, a snack bar, pilots room and lounge. The exterior will feature brick veneer, which will be done this week, Wilson said.

Currently, the airport offers self-service fuel and port-a-potties. Wilson said the airport will be a nice place for pilots to relax, plan their flight and use the restroom.

Airport Manager Ron Hawley said there will be comfortable furniture in the lounge; a refrigerator, microwave and vending machines in the snack bar area; and computers will be available to check weather reports in the pilots room.

“If you don’t have the facility here, they’re not going to stop,” he said.

A pilot himself, Hawley said the terminal is going to be a nice facility for pilots.

This is not the first time the city has updated its airport, which was built in the mid-1980s. In 2011, the self-service fuel station was installed. In 2013, the sod runway was paved, two hangars were built, and runway lights, a beacon and precision approach path indicator were added.

There are four hangars at the airport. Those house 13 local aircraft. One hangar is owned by the city.

Hawley said fuel sales tripled when the latest improvements were made, and he believes sales will double again once the terminal is complete.

He hopes more traffic will also be good for business in Alma. The airport is on the outskirts, so the city will provide courtesy cars for pilots to drive to town.

“The more activity we have out here, that helps downtown activity,” Hawley said.

He said the airport currently provides an opportunity for engineers working on Harlan Lake gates, fishermen and hunters to land their planes. He said the new terminal may also be incentive for specialists from other cities to fly in to work at Harlan County Health System in Alma.

Hawley said it took a couple years to plan the building project. During that time, he and others flew to seven or eight airports in Nebraska and Kansas to get ideas for the terminal. They modeled much of their design on Jim Kelly Field at Lexington.

Wilson said it also took a couple of years to build reserves to pay 10 percent of the $550,000 construction cost. He said the remaining 90 percent is covered through grants from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Wilson and Hawley said they want to continually make additions to the airport. The next thing on their wish list is to build another hangar, and several years from now, Wilson said, they would like to hire an airplane mechanic.

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

Hollister Air Attack Base ready to battle fires in 11 counties



The Hollister Air Attack Base is back in action, ready to respond and be in the air within five minutes or less anywhere within 11 counties after receiving a 911 call. Established in 1962, at the Hollister Airport, it typically responds to about 150 calls a year. The base provides initial attack coverage for an area north to Mt. Diablo, south to Kings Canyon, east to Interstate 5, and west to the ocean. This area includes the Los Padres National Forest.

Joshua Nettles, battalion chief and air attack officer, said CalFire is contracted to have aircraft in Hollister between May 1 and Oct. 1. The planes and personnel can come earlier and stay later, depending on weather conditions.

“Last year we ended fire season right before Thanksgiving,” Nettles said. “At that time, the planes left for the winter and went to McClellan Airfield (formerly McClellan Air Force Base in North Highlands, Calif.), which is where our maintenance hub is and they get all the winter maintenance done. The planes returned on May 9, and we completely opened the base again.”

Nettles said the crew consists of three pilots, an air attack officer, a base manager, three firefighters, an aircraft mechanic, and one heavy equipment operator to drive a bulldozer that is also kept at the airport. He said the base manager acts as the liaison between emergency command centers and the air attack base to relay information. At the base the firefighters are the ground contingent who also assist in parking the aircraft and loading retardant.



The command is manned 24/7. When not on duty, if someone lives within 45 minutes of the airport, they can go home at night. With the exception of the pilots and the mechanic, who are private contractors, everyone else, including helicopter pilots, works for CAL FIRE. Nettles commutes from Clovis; one tanker pilot lives in Dixon, another lives in San Juan Bautista, and another pilot moved to Ridgemark for the season.

There are three planes at the airport: two S2T air tankers and an OV-10 Bronco. All are military excess aircraft that have been reconditioned and are classified as restricted category aircraft, meaning they have been designated as firefighting-only aircraft and don’t carry passengers.

“The Bronco is the command-and-control aircraft, which is the plane that I ride in,” Nettles said. “It seats two people, the pilot and the air attack officer. I control all the aerial resources over a fire, so I’m kind of like an air traffic controller in the sky. I coordinate with the ground forces to determine where the retardant drops and helicopter drops need to go, so we all work in unison.”

Each air tanker can carry up to 1,200 gallons of retardant.

“The retardant is phosphate-based,” he said. “It’s basically fertilizer, and the phosphate salt in it actually retards the fire. When the retardant falls out of an aircraft we’re looking for the aircraft to be at around 150 feet over the ground. The idea is that the retardant rains straight down and completely coats the grass and brush and timber, so when the fire reaches it the phosphate salt in the retardant prevents the fuel from burning.”

Nettles said the retardant is made out of food-grade materials and is biodegradable. The color, he said, is called “fugitive,” and degrades from ultraviolet light within 14 to 21 days. He said the bright orange color is used in order for the aircrews to be able to see where retardant has already been dropped.



The air attack base receives fire calls in a number of ways.

“Up in Santa Clara County there is a lookout tower that is staffed by volunteers, but typically most fire calls come in through 911 to our emergency command center in Monterey,” Nettles said. “It can come from a person on the road who sees smoke, and sometimes its general aviation aircraft flying over a remote area and they may see a fire and call it in to a local airport tower, which relays it. Or they can call it in themselves.”

When crews respond to a call, it’s all hands on deck because CalFire's mission is to keep 95 percent of all vegetation fires to 10 acres or less.

“We send everybody,” Nettles said. “As far as the aviation resources are concerned, if we get a call for a vegetation fire in our responsibility area, we send both tankers, the OB-10, and at least one copter.”

While he didn’t recall how many fires crews responded to from Hollister in 2015, he did say that 451,475 gallons of retardant were dropped on those fires. With two aircraft carrying 1,200 gallons each, a rough calculation would add up to 188 drops fire calls for each aircraft, which is above the norm of 150 missions.

“We’re within the three to five busiest air bases in the state,” Nettles said.

The 12 air attack bases in California are staggered around the state in order to assure a response to any fire within 20 minutes. All are funded through the state’s general operating budget.

Always looking for an opportunity to toss out a fire prevention message, Nettles encouraged people who fly drones to not to do so over fires.

“If they fly, we can’t,” he said. “If you see a fire don’t send up your drone or your RC aircraft in order to get good pictures. Our aircraft are in the same space, so we’ll leave the area because it’s a safety hazard. We’ll monitor the area and come back when it’s safe.”

Story and photo gallery:  http://benitolink.com