CHICAGO, Dec 01, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) will be presenting at the 2010 Hudson Securities U.S. Airlines Conference on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010, in New York. The presentation will begin at 8:55 a.m. CT / 9:55 a.m. ET.
The live audio webcast and accompanying presentation will be available at ir.unitedcontinentalholdings.com. The company will archive the audio webcast on the web site within 24 hours of the presentation for 14 days.
ST. LOUIS, March 15, 2012 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] has completed delivery of the U.S. Navy’s first aircraft acquired through the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G Multi-Year Procurement (MYP) III contract, ahead of schedule.
Aircraft G-57, an EA-18G Growler, was the first of 148 F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18Gs that the Navy will purchase through the contract. The aircraft was delivered to the Navy on Jan. 26 and arrived at its home base at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island on Jan. 30.
On Sept. 28, 2010, the Navy awarded Boeing the MYP III contract for delivery of 66 F/A-18E/Fs and 58 EA-18Gs, to be purchased through 2013. The Navy has since expanded the contract with the addition of 24 F/A-18E/Fs. The Navy has the option to procure up to 194 F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18Gs under the MYP III contract terms.
“This program continues to successfully draw on efficiencies from across Boeing to reduce cost, while increasing capability for the men and women who serve this nation around the globe,” said Mike Gibbons, Boeing F/A-18 and EA-18 Programs vice president. “Today’s new Super Hornets provide unequaled air dominance and precision strike capability for the U.S. Navy carrier fleet. At the same time, the EA-18G continues to expand its dominance as the world’s premier airborne electronic attack aircraft, as demonstrated by its recent successes supporting operations in Libya. The Super Hornet and Growler give the U.S. Navy a significant capability for a broad spectrum of anti-access, area-denial missions.”
Boeing delivered 210 Super Hornets to the Navy during MYP I, which spanned fiscal years 2000 through 2004. The company then received a second multi-year contract that included 213 F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft, and spanned fiscal years 2005 through 2009. Through fiscal year 2009, 44 more aircraft were added to MYP II, including 24 F/A-18Fs acquired by the Royal Australian Air Force under a Foreign Military Sales agreement with the U.S. Navy.
Procuring aircraft through the first two multi-year contracts generated $1.7 billion in savings for the Navy. The MYP III contract is projected to generate more than $605 million in savings, for total savings of more than $2.3 billion across the three F/A-18E/F and EA-18G contracts.
WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a civil penalty of $359,350 against GKN Aerospace Chem-Tronics, Inc., an El Cajon, Calif.-based aircraft repair station,for allegedly violating FAA drug and alcohol testing regulations.
The FAA alleges GKN failed to conduct required pre-employment drug tests and receive verified negative drug test results before hiring 17 people to perform safety-sensitive functions. The alleged violations took place between May and December, 2011.
The FAA also alleges the company failed to test four randomly-selected individuals for alcohol use in January, April and July, 2011; failed to carry out all the required drug and alcohol testing for two employees as part of the return-to-duty process; and conducted inappropriate post-accident drug testing for two employees.
The FAA discovered the alleged violations during an inspection of GKN’s testing program, Jan. 23-27, 2012.
AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 7, 2010 — Knowing your limits is sage advice that applies to everything in life from financial risk to piloting an airplane or even that return trip to the buffet. But when it comes to aircraft tire wear, it’s all about routine inspection and knowing the facts.
Aircraft tires experience wear during taxi, takeoff, and landing. Takeoff generates the most tire wear because the airplane has a full fuel load and the tires are pre-heated by taxiing. So with all aircraft, tires should be routinely inspected during preflight to check tire wear.
When inspecting aircraft tires, the first thing to check (after checking the tire pressure) is the amount of remaining tread to avoid excessive wear and possible unsafe conditions. According to Larry Rapsard, product support manager for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT), “Aircraft tires should be removed when the tread is worn to the base of any groove at any spot, or to the minimum depth stated by the aircraft manufacturer.”
Tires should also be examined for uneven wear. In cases where gear camber wears one side faster than the other, tires can be demounted and turned around to extend the tire life. Uneven aircraft tire wear is usually an indication of gear misalignment or tire underinflation.
Rapsard also lists other aircraft tire wear conditions revealed through inspection that may require tires to be removed from service. “Sidewall damage including some weatherchecking, cracks, or cuts means the tire should be scrapped if the damage extends down to the fabric plies. The same goes for tread cuts and groove cracking,” he said. Damage that doesn’t expose the cords normally does not require the tire to be removed.
Other excessive operating conditions will cause the tread to wear much faster, such as high energy braking, high speed taxiing and high speed cornering. Be sure to consider these if you see fast tread wear.
Also, tires that have been run while more than 10% underinflated can be damaged internally and should be removed.
By taking the time to conduct proper inspections and knowing the limits of acceptable aircraft tire wear, you’ll get the most out of your tires.
These tips and more are covered in detail in Goodyear’s Tire Care & Maintenance Manual. For information about Goodyear aviation tires and dealer locations, visit www.goodyearaviation.com.
NEW YORK — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed to assess $572,150 in civil penalties against Atlas Air, Inc., of Purchase, NY, a scheduled air cargo airline, for alleged violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations.
The FAA alleges that Atlas Air incorrectly installed a replacement cockpit window on a Boeing 747F, and then operated the aircraft on 49 flights between April 4 and April 27, 2009, when it was not in compliance with those regulations.
The FAA said Atlas Air replaced one of the windows at the first officer’s position, but failed to use the methods, techniques and practices specified in the manufacturer’s maintenance manual or alternate procedures accepted by the FAA for the B-747F. The airline then approved the aircraft for return to service. As a result, the replacement window suffered pressurization leaks while in flight according to multiple reports made by crews operating or maintaining the aircraft. The FAA has proposed a penalty of $506,150 for those violations.
In a second instance, the FAA alleges that on May 14 and 15, 2009, Atlas Air operated a Boeing 747 on international flights from Huntsville, AL, to Glasgow, Scotland, Luxembourg City and back to Huntsville without a required outboard engine pylon access panel door. The FAA said Atlas Air improperly fabricated a panel cover from aluminum sheet metal and affixed it with speed tape over the access door opening. On each of these flights, the panel came off the aircraft enroute and a new panel was fabricated and installed in the same manner at each subsequent stop. The FAA has proposed a civil penalty of $66,000 for those violations.
Atlas Air has 30 days from receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letters to respond to the agency.
NASA UPDATES SHUTTLE TARGET LAUNCH DATES FOR TWO FLIGHTS
WASHINGTON — NASA is targeting 4:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 24,
for the launch of space shuttle Discovery’s STS-133 mission to the
International Space Station. The liftoff of shuttle Endeavour’s
STS-134 flight is planned for 7:48 p.m. EDT on April 19, from NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The target dates were selected Thursday during the Space Shuttle
Program’s weekly Program Requirements Control Board meeting.
NASA sets official launch dates for each shuttle mission following
agency Flight Readiness Reviews, which typically occur about two
weeks prior to launches. All target launch dates are subject to
change.
NTSB Advisory
National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
October 22, 2009
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an incident where an Airbus A320 overflew the Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain Airport (MSP).
On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 5:56 pm mountain daylight time, an Airbus A320, N03274, operating as Northwest Airlines (NWA) flight 188, became a NORDO (no radio communications) flight at 37,000 feet. The flight was operating as a Part 121 flight from San Diego International Airport, San Diego, California (SAN) to MSP with 147 passengers and unknown number of crew.
At 7:58 pm central daylight time (CDT), the aircraft flew over the destination airport and continued northeast for approximately 150 miles. The MSP center controller reestablished communications with the crew at 8:14 pm and reportedly stated that the crew had become distracted and had overflown MSP, and requested to return to MSP.
According to the Federal Administration (FAA) the crew was interviewed by the FBI and airport police. The crew stated they were in a heated discussion over airline policy and they lost situational awareness. The Safety Board is scheduling an interview with the crew.
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) have been secured and are being sent to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, DC.
David Lawrence, the Investigator-in-Charge, is leading the team of 3 in investigating the incident.
Parties to the investigation are the FAA and Northwest Airlines.
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