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Video below
Press Release: FAA Proposes Civil Penalties Against Five Companies
FAA Proposes Civil Penalties Against Five Companies
WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing to assess civil penalties ranging from $50,000 to $70,000 against five companies for alleged violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations or Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.
$50,000 against Spirit Airlines, Inc., Miramar, Fla., for returning an aircraft to service, and then operating that aircraft on revenue passenger flights when it was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The FAA alleged that Spirit failed to replace a faulty elevator aileron computer (ELAC) after the aircraft experienced an uncommanded pitch down of the nose while operating between Orlando, Fla. and San Juan, Puerto Rico on Aug. 21, 2009. Although Spirit’s maintenance program required replacement of the ELAC computer, the airline did not do so before flying the A321 on a revenue passenger flight the next day from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale, when the aircraft experienced another uncommanded pitch down.
$63,525 against Friendship Airways Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., an air taxi operator, for operating two Cessna 402 aircraft on 77 commuter flights in violation of its air carrier certificate and operations specifications. The FAA alleged that the two aircraft were not authorized for use for the flights between June 21 and July 21, 2008 because they were not listed on the company’s operating specifications for commuter service.
$50,000 against Fleet Aviation of White Plains, N.Y., an on-demand charter and air taxi company, for operating two of its aircraft on 251 flights between June 15, 2009 and March 19, 2010 when crews had not completed the emergency drills required by its training program.
$54,000 against Englund Marine Supply Co. of Astoria, Ore., for offering a package containing flammable gasses and liquids to UPS for transportation by air from Astoria to Rio Vista, Calif., March 26, 2010. The package was discovered leaking at Portland before it was loaded on an aircraft.
$70,000 against Coty, Inc., of New York, for offering a package containing perfume, a flammable liquid, to FedEx for transportation by air from Upland, Calif., to Covington, Wash., March 9, 2010. FedEx employees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport discovered the shipment leaking.
In all instances of alleged hazmat violations, the materials offered were not properly classed, described, packaged, marked, labeled and in proper condition for shipment under the hazardous materials regulations.
Companies have 30 days from receipt of the FAA’s notice of proposed civil penalty to respond to the agency.

Huntington Beach student athlete and father were the 2 killed in Fullerton plane crash
Members of the Huntington Beach Oilers soccer team identified Kelly Reid and her father Pascal Reid as the two people killed after a single engine plane went down shortly after taking off from Fullerton Airport.
Mitsubishi. With Wings.
Boeing advised Japan’s Mitsubishi Regional Jet to revamp the design of their upcoming 70-90 seat airliner MRJ by increasing cabin and cargo space and switching to aluminium for the wings, from carbon-fibre.
US carrier Trans States has signed a letter of intent for 50 orders of this, the first jet to be developed in Japan. The jets are expected to be in circulation by 2014.

Assemblywoman pitches small plane safety bills amid string of crashes
Her proposals could face opposition.
Sikorsky Still Being Researched
The (Canadian) Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause of the Cougar Flight 491 crash, which killed 17 people.
Sikorsky claims to have proven that the chances of an oil leak from the gearbox housing is extremely unlikely.
However:
The gearbox of the Sikorsky S-92A model hadn’t passed a 30 minute dry-run test which is an industry standard that required it to run for 30 minutes without oil.
The gearbox fell about 20 minutes short of the goal when it was run at moderate speeds after oil was rapidly drained.
European regulators say the test proved the helicopter could only stay in the air for “around 10 minutes after an oil loss, and question if the cooler would be the only likely source of oil leakage.
On March 12, 2009, about 0926, Atlantic Daylight Time, a Sikorsky S-92A helicopter operated by Cougar Helicopters, impacted the waters of the North Atlantic about 28 miles east of Cape Spear near St. John’s, Newfoundland. Two pilots and 16 passengers were on board. One passenger survived with serious injuries, but the other occupants were fatally injured.
The helicopter was en route from St. John’s International Airport to an offshore oil platform in the Hibernia oil field. The pilot made a MAYDAY call due to a mechanical difficulty, and was returning to St. John’s. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The sea had 3 – 5 meter swells.