Reno: Found component could be P-51D elevator trim tab The modified P-51D that crashed during qualifying runs at the Reno air races the afternoon of Friday, September 16, may have a lost an elevator component in the air before suddenly pitching up and diving to the ground near the public viewing area. "Pictures and video appear to show a piece coming off [the P-51]," said US National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) member Mark Rosekind, speaking to reporters during a press conference Saturday afternoon. "A component has been [found] in the area where it appeared to come off. It has not been identified and we're not sure yet whether it came off of this aircraft." Link
Braking force affected ill-fated Yak-42's take-off run: MAK Investigators probing the Yakovlev Yak-42 crash at Yaroslavl have revealed the presence of an apparent braking force on the aircraft during the take-off run, but have yet to understand its origin. The aircraft had entered runway 23 at taxiway 5 - about 300m (984ft) from the beginning of the strip - for the flight to Minsk on 7 September. Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) said the Yak-42 accelerated to around 89kt, in line with the engine power setting, but that the pitch did not increase when the crew attempted to lift the nose-wheel at 100kt despite elevator deflection of 9-10°. Link
ATA: Airlines would cut 26,700 jobs if FAA implements new pilot rest regulations The US Air Transport Assn. (ATA) said an analysis by consultancy Oliver Wyman demonstrates that the pilot fatigue and duty time rules FAA is proposing to implement would "have severe negative effects on US airline employment … while reducing service, especially to small communities." In a letter sent last week to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is conducting a final review of the pilot fatigue regulations proposed last year by FAA, ATA VP and general counsel David Berg cautioned that "the proposed rule would cause … approximately 26,700 direct airline and air cargo carrier job losses." Link
Air France KLM splits long-haul order between A350, 787 aircraft Air France KLM revealed its long-awaited order for new-generation, long-range aircraft Friday, stating that its board approved the order of 50 firm aircraft plus 60 options. A spokesperson confirmed that the 50 firm aircraft are evenly divided between Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s. Air France KLM cautioned that the orders are "still subject to the finalization of discussions with the manufacturers." Link
Senate passes FAA extension to fund agency through Jan. 31 By a 92-6 vote, the US Senate late Thursday passed the surface/air funding extension that will keep FAA fully operational through the end of January. The bill, cleared earlier in the week by the House of Representatives, went to President Barack Obama for signature into law, averting a partial FAA shutdown that would have started at 12 a.m. Saturday absent legislation. Link
Cargolux could seek capacity elsewhere after 747-8F rejection Cargolux is preparing to source alternative aircraft capacity should the dispute over delivery of its new Boeing 747-8 freighters fail to reach a quick conclusion. The airline said it opted to "reject" the first two 747-8Fs which had been due for delivery on 19 and 21 September. Link
No casualties in TAME overrun An Embraer E-190 operated by Ecuadorian carrier TAME Línea Aérea del Ecuador, registration HC-CEZ, appears to have been written off following a runway overrun at Mariscal Sucre International Airport, Quito on 16 September. Link
Other News
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWH) said Thursday it will place two Boeing 747-8 freighters with Panalpina next year. The Purchase, N.Y.-based wet-lease cargo specialist said the two aircraft will be delivered in the first half of next year and immediately be placed into service for the Swiss freight forwarding and logistics giant. Under a multi-year ACMI contract, AAWH subsidiary Atlas Air will operate two 747-8Fs dedicated to long-haul international cargo carriage on behalf of Panalpina.
US Dept. of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said the nation’s largest carriers reported only one tarmac delay of more than 3 hr. in July, compared to three in the year-ago month and 14 in June. Continental Airlines reported a tarmac delay of 201 minutes on July 7.
Slovenia-based Adria Airways (JP) will suspend nine routes from Ljubljana starting with the winter schedule, according to Slovenian media. A source said that the Slovenian government called an emergency meeting last week to evaluate the urgency of a rescue plan that would prevent the airlines going bankrupt.
Lion Air took delivery of its 50th NextGen 737-900ER, painted in a special design for the occasion. The aircraft is equipped with the new Boeing Sky Interior.
MASkargo, the freight subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, took delivery of its first of its four Airbus A330-200Fs, which can carry 70 tonnes of payload, with a range capability of up to 4,000 nm. The carrier said it intends to use the aircraft throughout Asia.
Air Madagascar leased a Boeing 777-200ER from Portugal's Euro Atlantic Airways for one year replacing a 767-300ER previously leased from Air Italy. Due to safety issues with its own two 767-300ERs, MD was last year banned from operating in European airspace.
TUI Travel has selected Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines to power two Airbus A330 aircraft, which will be operated by its Corsairfly subsidiary.
AVIATION QUOTE
This thing we call luck is merely professionalism and attention to detail, it's your awareness of everything that is going on around you, it's how well you know and understand your airplane and your own limitations. Luck is the sum total of your of abilities as an aviator. If you think your luck is running low, you'd better get busy and make some more. Work harder, Pay more attention. Study your NATOPS more. Do better preflights.
— Stephen Coonts, The Intruders.
ON THIS DATE
September 19th
---In 1783... In a demonstration for King Louis XVI, a sheep, duck, and rooster fly up to 1,700 feet in a hot air balloon and return to the ground safely.
---In 1907... The 1st piloted helicopter rises at Douai in France. Piloted by Volumard, it rises only about 2 feet and is steadied by men on the ground. It does not constitute free, vertical flight.
--- In 1928... The 1st diesel engine to power a heavier-than-air aircraft is flight tested in Utica, Michigan.
---In 1946…TAP Portugal commences flight operations.
---In 1949…First flight of the Fairey Gannet prototype VR546.
---In1969…First flight of the Mil Mi-24, the most widely exported helicopter gunship.
---In 1976…A Turkish Airlines Boeing 727 (registered TC-JBH) crashes into a mountain while on apprach to Antalya, Turkey. It was later learned that the pilots were referencing the approach charts for a different airport.
---In 1988…Israel launches its first satellite, for secret military reconnaissance.
---In 1989…UTA flight 772, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft (registered N54629), crashes in the Sahara Desert in Niger after a bomb explodes while enroute to Paris, killing all 170 on board. The bomb would eventually be blamed on Libyan terrorists.
---In 1994… Congress passed the FY95 defense authorization bill and added $100 million to bring three SR-71s out of storage. (Q)
DAILY VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE
HUMOR
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CARRIER PILOT (Note: Every day is groundhog day.) • 0400 - Awakened to sound of power buffers banging against your stateroom bulkhead. • 0515 - Awakened again to the 1-MC, for "Sweepers, sweepers, man your brooms. Sweep down all passageways and ladderways. Give the ship a clean sweep both fore and aft. Now sweepers, away." • 0600 - Alarm clock goes off. Reset alarm for 0900. • 0730 - Sleep through breakfast. Most aviators don't even know that the ship serves breakfast. • 0800 - Reset alarm when alarm accidentally goes off prior to 0900. • 0900 - Begin hitting snooze every 7 minutes until roommates complain. • 0930 - Stagger into shower. Forget soap. Go back and get it. Realize you left your key in your flight suit again. Pound on door until sleepy roommates wake up to let you in. Return to shower. Forget Shampoo. Use soap to wash your hair instead. • 1000 - Walk to the squadron ready room to see if anybody wants to go to lunch. Receive annoyed looks by Lieutenant Commanders who have been there since 0730. • 1030 - Lunch. • 1045 - Lunch is over. The day officially begins. • 1100 - Back to stateroom for a quick nap. • 1300 - Get up and walk to the ready room for a meeting. Drink coffee with the other junior officers until the skipper shows up. • 1345 - Squadron Duty Officer calls skipper to remind him that the meeting was supposed to start at 1300. • 1346 - Skipper walks in. 1300 meeting begins. • 1346-1530 - Some Lieutenant Commander or other drones on and on about some project of his. Amuse yourself trying to tie a noose out of your shoelace. • 1525 - The Lieutenant Commander is finally cut off so that the flight crews can use the ready room to brief for the first mission. • 1526 - Begin flight planning. Realize you do not have time to be thorough. Decide that your key phrase in the brief will be to "remain flexible." • 1530 - Brief your crew/flight on what is expected of them. Remind them repeatedly that in today's rapidly changing environment, it is important to "remain flexible." Act like you know what you are doing. • 1600 - Finish brief. Walk down to the mission planning office to find out all the information you should have just briefed your crew on. • 1615 - Go to Maintenance Control to read the Aircraft Discrepancy Book to find out what other pilots have found wrong with your plane. • 1630 - Preflight and start aircraft. Listen to the Air Boss scream on tower frequency at some other pilot whose fly-by was a little too aggressive. • 1715 - Begin taxiing to the catapult. Realize that you should have used the head after drinking all that coffee in the meeting. • 1730 - Catapult shot. Pressurized steam accelerates you from 0 to 135 mph in 0.8 seconds. The coolest feeling in the entire world. It requires the same force needed to launch a VW Beetle straight up 6 miles.
TRIVIA
Aircraft Names based on clues
1. The flying condom. 2. Steve McQueen movie, legendary car chase scene. 3. Reservation system used by American Airlines 4. Partial name of Broadway Play by Andrew Lloyd Weber 5. Character from James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans” 6. If you’re going to hunt pheasant, you’ll need this besides a shotgun. 7. New Orleans 5-man Pro team. 8. One of the outer planets, sub chaser. 9. American Red Cross, South Carolina 10. Tactical equipment, holsters, Chicago Pro team.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
