AINalerts | October 5, 2006

Cirrus To Launch Jet Single at NBAA
Cirrus Design will officially launch its single-engine CirrusJet this month at the NBAA Convention in Orlando. In a promotional mailing sent out this week, Cirrus said the very light jet will be able to cruise at more than 300 ktas, fly more than 1,000 nm and have a service ceiling of 25,000 feet. The Duluth, Minn., company said the all-composite CirrusJet will be outfitted with an emergency ballistic parachute recovery system from BRS, which also supplies a similar system for Cirrus SR20 and SR22 piston singles. Cirrus’s brochure also notes that the VLJ will have “a large, comfortable cabin.” The CirrusJet is expected to sell for less than $1 million, and the manufacturer is currently accepting fully refundable $100,000 deposits to hold early positions. The engine supplier for the new jet will be revealed on Wednesday afternoon at the NBAA show, and photos and other program details will also be revealed. No CirrusJet mockup or aircraft will be at the convention.

Business Jet Fatal Accidents Tripled
Business jets were involved in 18 non-fatal accidents and three fatal accidents during the first nine months of this year, compared with 16 non-fatal accidents and one fatal accident in the same period last year, according to safety analyst Robert E. Breiling Associates of Boca Raton, Fla. Although the number of fatal accidents tripled, the number of people killed remained level at eight for both periods. Two people were killed in one accident involving a chartered business jet versus no fatal accidents involving chartered jets in the nine-month period last year. There were two non-fatal accidents involving fractional jets versus one period-over-period. In the first three quarters of this year, fatal accidents involving business turboprops increased to 13 from 10 last year, but fatalities decreased to 24 this year from 32 last year. Corporate operations of propjets were involved in two fatal accidents in the first three quarters of this year, compared with no fatal accidents in the same period last year.

Night Curfew Among Agreed-to Limits at TEB
A night curfew between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. is one of five voluntary measures reached by a government/industry working group to help reduce noise and improve safety at Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey. The other measures are a ban on operations by Stage 2 aircraft and operations by aircraft over 100,000 pounds; all FBOs will participate in the National Air Transportation Association’s Safety Management System; and airport operators promise to support the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (which owns TEB) in its effort to install a surveillance and perimeter intrusion alert system at a cost of approximately $15 million. It’s expected to take at least 15 months for all these measures to be fully in effect. The working group consists primarily of representatives of TEB operators and the Port Authority. The announcement of the measures was made by Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.), a long-time advocate of curbs at TEB, during a press conference yesterday.

GAO Sees User-fee Option for Funding ATC
While the debate continues over how best to fund the next-generation air transportation system, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is of the opinion that “given the diverse nature of the FAA’s activities, a combination of alternative [funding] options may offer the most promise for linking revenues and costs.” In a study released last week, the GAO stated that among the alternatives that the FAA should consider are “user fees.” The GAO apparently is not a fan of the current excise tax system. It said in the study that trends over the past 25 years “suggest that the revenue collected under the current funding system has fallen and will continue to fall.” But business aviation users support the current excise tax system because they believe it has been successful in funding the FAA, has low administrative costs and distributes the tax burden in a reasonable manner. Others (including the FAA, according to the GAO) state that under the current system “there is a disconnect between the revenues contributed by users and the costs those users impose on the ATC system.”

Procedures Proposed for FBO Reimbursement
Procedures have been proposed for reimbursing FBOs and other providers of general aviation ground-support services at five airports in the Washington, D.C. area “for the direct and incremental financial losses they incurred while the airports were closed” after 9/11. The airports are Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; College Park Airport in College Park, Md.; Potomac Airfield in Fort Washington, Md.; Washington Executive/Hyde Field in Clinton, Md.; and Washington South Capitol Street Heliport in Washington, D.C. A total of up to $17 million has been appropriated for this purpose. For the heliport, “closed” would mean the time between Sept. 11, 2001, and Nov. 30, 2005. For the three Maryland airports, because general aviation operations resumed more gradually, “closed” would mean the time between 9/11 and the date that transient traffic was generally permitted to return. The proposed rule would establish the eligibility requirements and application procedures for those who may qualify for assistance. Comments on the proposal are due November 3.