AINalerts: December 20, 2005 | Printer Friendly

Wing Separated before Mallard Crashed
The NTSB has begun recovering the wreckage of the Chalk’s Ocean Airways Turbo Mallard that crashed off the coast of Miami yesterday afternoon, killing all 18 passengers and two crewmembers. The 1947 Grumman G-73T had taken off from the airline’s Watson Island seaplane base shortly before 2:40 p.m. for a flight to Bimini in the Bahamas, when only seconds later it broke apart in an inferno and fell into Government Cut. Amateur video appeared to show the right wing breaking away from the fuselage. Recovery crews have now turned their attention to finding the airplane’s cockpit voice recorder while investigators pore over maintenance logs and operations records. The crash ended Chalk’s 86-year record of no fatal accidents involving passengers, although two Chalk’s pilots died when their Mallard crashed during takeoff near Key West, Fla., on March 18, 1994. The NTSB determined the cause of that accident to be an excessive aft c.g. because the crew failed to ensure that the aircraft’s bilges were pumped free of water.

Raytheon Issues 1900D Maintenance Alerts
Raytheon issued a new safety communiqué to advise Beech 1900 operators of another misleading illustration in the type’s maintenance manuals. The notice represents the latest in a series of manual revisions prompted by the crash of two Beech 1900D airliners that killed 23 people in 2003. The communiqué, mailed to operators on December 5, warns that an illustration incorrectly depicts the position of the trim cable terminal ends during an installation of a forward rudder-trim cable. After installing the cable, a 1900C operator found the rudder tab to move in the direction opposite that commanded by the rudder-trim cockpit control. After investigating the incident, Raytheon found that the 1900D manual contained the same discrepancy. The company recommends that all 1900 operators who have installed a forward rudder-trim cable since November 2004 perform a rudder-trim operational check.

EASA Certifies Ae270 Turboprop
On December 15, the European Aviation Safety Agency awarded the type certificate for the Ibis Aerospace Ae270 turboprop single to Aero Vodochody, the Czech partner in the joint venture with Taiwan’s Aerospace Industries Development. FAA approval is expected shortly. Ibis said its expects to receive additional financing next year that will fund development to the production phase. However, the current version of the aircraft has not met its performance targets and the manufacturer now intends to develop an improved Ae270 that will go into production. The Ae270B will have a larger, lighter wing that will be longer and deeper than the existing design. Repositioned flaps and ailerons will provide greater range and improve stall characteristics. The Ae270B is not expected to receive certification until mid-2007 at the earliest.

Dassault and Honeywell Settle Lawsuit
Dassault Aviation has reached a settlement with Honeywell over a $60 million lawsuit filed against the avionics manufacturer by the French business jet builder in October. The complaint stemmed from software integration delays with Honeywell’s Primus Epic avionics platform, the baseline system behind the EASy cockpits in the Falcon 900EX and 2000EX, as well as several in-development Falcons. In its lawsuit, Dassault claimed that the setbacks postponed certification of the two models and damaged its reputation for delivering airplanes on time. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. In a statement, Honeywell said it reached a “mutually satisfactory resolution” with Dassault and that it welcomed the chance to continue the two companies’ “longstanding and successful relationship.”

Eclipse Gets TIA, but Supplier Problem Looms
An ongoing “supplier problem” is casting a shadow over Eclipse Aviation’s receipt of its first type inspection authorization (TIA) from the FAA earlier this month. The TIA authorizes agency personnel to begin performing onboard aircraft testing of the Eclipse 500 for certification credit. But the supplier problem–which sources say is related to the avionics system–could delay the March certification target for Eclipse’s very light jet. Eclipse will meet with the unidentified vendor tomorrow in hopes of resolving the issue. At present, company president and CEO Vern Raburn is “70-percent sure” that the Eclipse 500 will be certified by the end of March, and “95-percent certain” that the approval will be achieved by mid-May. A spokesman told AIN that the troublesome supplier’s name would be revealed if no resolution was reached in this week’s meeting.

Operational Alert

RVSM Wake-turbulence Reminder – The FAA has reiterated its request that pilots submit information via the NASA-operated Aviation Safety Reporting System on wake-turbulence encounters that occur in domestic RVSM airspace, which includes the U.S., offshore airspace and the San Juan flight information region. Pilots reporting such incidents should submit two forms, both of which can be downloaded from the FAA’s RVSM Web site.

Also Noted...

Acorn Growth Equities of Oklahoma City has acquired privately-held King Air modification firm Commuter Air Technology. The Arizona-based company is known for its Catpass (commuter air technology passenger and safety system) modification that increases King Air payload capacity.

Pilatus Business Aircraft distributor Western Aircraft earlier this month celebrated delivering its 100th PC-12. Boulder, Colo.-based Pilatus Business Aircraft said the delivery brings the PC-12 fleet up to 583 aircraft since the turboprop single went into service in 1994. Pilatus delivered 80 PC-12s this year and projects 90 deliveries next year.

The Department of Homeland Security has certified BAE Systems’ Matador heat-seeking missile jamming system for fixed-wing aircraft as an approved product for national defense. The Matador system has been installed in a number of corporate jets since it received FAA certification in 1987.

Conquest II operators can once again fly above 28,000 feet, thanks to the recent RVSM approval of an autopilot manufactured by S-Tec. The Mineral Wells, Texas autopilot maker has achieved RVSM approval for Conquest IIs equipped with the Magic 2100 digital flight control system and Magic flight displays.

AirNet Systems, which operates some 130 business aircraft in charter operations, expressed “disappointment” in failing to reach a merger agreement with an undisclosed private-equity firm. The Columbus, Ohio firm said it will now focus on “continuing to operate as an independent company,” although it remains open for offers.

Delta AirElite’s president and CEO is Michael Green. AINalerts apologizes for giving his name incorrectly in an item in last Thursday’s edition.

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