Flight 447: Press release N° 3

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    ASTRONAUT JOSE HERNANDEZ LEAVES NASA

    HOUSTON — After a decade working in various roles, astronaut Jose Hernandez has left NASA for a position in the aerospace industry.

    “Jose’s talent and dedication have contributed greatly to the agency, and he is an inspiration to many,” said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “We wish him all the best with this new phase of his career.”

    The son of Mexican migrant farm workers, he joined NASA in 2001 as a materials research engineer at Johnson. He was promoted to the Materials and Processes Branch chief in 2002 and served there until he was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2004.

    During the STS-128 shuttle mission in 2009, he managed the transfer of more than 18,000 pounds of supplies and equipment between the shuttle and International Space Station and assisted with robotics operations. He also served as a flight engineer in the shuttle’s cockpit during launch and landing.

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  • Flight 447: Press release N° 4

    Paris, 01 June 2009 – 14:44 local time
    Press release N° 4
    Versão brasileira abaixo

    Air France expresses its deepest sympathy to the relatives and friends of the passengers and crew who were on board AF flight 447 on 31 May 2009, which disappeared somewhere between Rio de Janeiro and Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

    Air France is doing its utmost to provide support to relatives and friends: counselling with physicians and psychologists as well as specially trained Air France volunteers has been set up at the airports of Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2 and Rio de Janeiro.

    Air France has also established a special toll-free number for the attention of relatives and friends of passengers who may have been on board. They can use this number to obtain information on whether or not a member of their family or friends was on board.

    Phone number reserved for relatives and friends

    0800 800 812 in France,
    0800 881 20 20 in Brazil,
    and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 for calls from all other countries.

    Air France will release further information as soon as it is available.

    NB: We ask journalists not to call this number, which is reserved for relatives and close friends.

    Português
    Air France dirige suas sinceras condolências às famílias e amigos dos passageiros e membros da tripulação que se encontravam a bordo do voo AF 447 do dia 31 de maio, desaparecido entre o Rio de Janeiro e Paris Charles de Gaulle.

    A Air France está concentrando todos os seus esforços em dar suporte às famílias e parentes: uma assistência psicológica foi instalada no aeroporto de Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 e no aeroporto do Rio de Janeiro. Ela é composta de médicos e psicólogos, assim como voluntários da empresa, especialmente treinados para estas situações.

    A empresa também colocou à disposição um número de telefone toll free especial de atendimento às famílias dos passageiros. Ela informa, conforme solicitação, de uma eventual presença a bordo de um familiar.

    Números de telefone reservados às famílias
    0800 881 20 20 para o Brasil,
    0800 800 812 para a França,
    e 33 1 57 02 10 55 para outros países

    Air France comunicará outras informações assim que elas estiverem disponíveis.

    NB : Solicitamos aos jornalistas que NÃO liguem para este número, reservado às famílias.

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    $155,000 in Civil Penalties Against American Eagle Airlines

    FAA Press Release:

    FORT WORTH, Texas – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing $155,000 in civil penalties against American Eagle Airlines of Fort Worth, Texas for allegedly operating eight flights with incorrect weight and balance data, and for using improper maintenance procedures when repairing a jet engine and then operating the aircraft when it was not in compliance with FAA regulations.

    FAA inspectors observed 12 American Eagle flights arriving at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dec. 28-29, 2010. In eight instances, loading documents for checked luggage did not match observations made by the inspector.

    American Eagle’s FAA-approved weight and balance program calls for the use of an automated Electronic Weight and Balance System (EWBS) to make sure aircraft are operated with correct weight and balance information. However, accurate data must be entered for the EWBS to function properly.

    Operators may not exceed an aircraft’s weight limit when loading the plane and the weight must be distributed so that the aircraft remains in balance during the flight. The FAA alleges American Eagle entered inaccurate data in the EWBS, then operated the aircraft with incorrect weight and balance information. The proposed civil penalty is $80,000.

    The FAA also alleges American Eagle used improper procedures to repair an engine on one of its Embraer 135 regional jets, and that a mechanic signed off as “complete” on work he had not performed. As a result, American Eagle operated the aircraft on 34 flights between Sept.11 and Sept. 17, 2010, when it was not in compliance with regulations. The proposed civil penalty is $75,000.

    American Eagle has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letters to respond to the agency.

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  • NTSB PRESS RELEASE

    NTSB CHAIRMAN HERSMAN TESTIFIES ON AIRCRAFT ICING

    NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman today, in testimony
    before the House Aviation Subcommittee, Committee on
    Transportation and Infrastructure, discussed the dangers of
    aircraft flying in icing conditions and highlighted
    longstanding Safety Board recommendations that have yet to
    be adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration to address
    the issue.

    Reducing the dangers of flying in icing conditions has been
    on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety
    Improvements since 1997. Last week, the NTSB voted to keep
    the issue area, along with its four open recommendations to
    the FAA, on the 2010 Most Wanted List with a “red”
    classification. The red classification indicates an
    unacceptable response by the FAA.

    “Although the NTSB relies on others to implement these
    recommendations, we have worked to educate the pilot
    community about some of the hazards associated with icing
    conditions through our Safety Alerts,” Hersman said.

    In 1981, the NTSB published a report titled “Aircraft Icing
    Avoidance and Protection” and recommended the FAA review
    icing certification criteria. The special study followed a
    series of icing-related accidents where aircraft operating
    in icing conditions and the varying consequences that ice
    accretion had on different types of aircraft raised concern,

    In the 1990s the NTSB re-examined the issue of airframe
    structural icing and concluded that the icing certification
    process continues to be inadequate. The Board also became
    concerned about airplanes that fly in supercooled large
    droplet conditions and that used pneumatic boots to deice
    the aircraft in flight. In the last decade, the Board has
    investigated more than 50 accidents involving aircraft
    icing, resulting in over 200 fatalities and it continues to
    investigate accidents where icing is a factor.

    In the last few years, the FAA has addressed some of the
    recommendations related to icing by issuing a number of
    final and proposed regulations. However, not all of the
    NTSB’s recommendations on icing have been addressed.

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    Pratt & Whitney’s JT8D Engine Receives FAA Certification for Engine Enhancements

    EAST HARTFORD, Conn., Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company, today announced the certification of several enhancements for the JT8D-219 engine. These enhancements successfully completed 150 hours of endurance testing in May, clearing the way for Federal Aviation Administration certification of the upgrades in early November.

    “The JT8D is a major part of Pratt & Whitney’s history; improving its reliability and modernizing its capability will keep it a viable engine for years to come,” says Rick Krueger, chief engineer for Pratt & Whitney’s Operational Commercial Engines.

    The overall project includes several configuration updates: a nickel high-pressure compressor rotor system that provides enhanced corrosion resistance, external changes to accommodate mounting the engine under the wing, an enhanced bleed override system, and higher load-carrying towershaft and gearbox elements to accommodate increased power extraction.

    The JT8D-219 engine will be offered to support B707 re-engining via the Supplemental Type Certificate approved by the FAA for Pratt & Whitney’s Joint Venture partner, Seven Q Seven, on July 20, 2010. Seven Q Seven is a San Antonio, Texas-based company that converts and upgrades aircraft, primarily Boeing 707s, for commercial and military support applications.

    The first enhanced JT8D-219 engine is on track to be delivered to Northrop Grumman in February, in support of re-engining the USAF E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft. The E-8C is a modified B707-300.

    “Pratt & Whitney is excited to provide the enhanced JT8D-219 configuration, which will provide improved mission capability to the Joint STARS platform,” says Bev Deachin, vice president Military Engines and Customer Support. “Joint STARS will benefit from the significantly reduced fuel consumption and additional thrust. Joint STARS is the only all weather, long-range, real-time Wide Area Surveillance (WAS) and Battle Management System. The fleet operates out of Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and plays a significant role in supporting ground and airborne forces.”

    The JT8D-219 engines will be assembled and tested in Pratt & Whitney’s Middletown, Conn., facility. If the U.S. Air Force chose to retrofit its entire Joint STARS fleet, production quantities could result in excess of 80 engines.
    Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, CT, is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries.

    This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities and operational engine performance. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in funding related to the JSTARS aircraft and JT8D engines, changes in government procurement priorities and practices or in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

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    NASA SELECTS UNISYS FOR SIMULATION, AIRCRAFT TECHNICAL SERVICES

    HAMPTON, Va. — NASA has selected the Unisys Corp. in Reston, Va., to provide simulation and aircraft technical services for the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

    The cost-plus-fixed-fee award is valued at $48.5 million over a three-year base period with one two-year option.

    Unisys will provide simulation-related hardware and software technology support services, including analysis, development, verification, validation, operations, maintenance, modification and systems integration for Langley flight simulation facilities and research aircraft systems.

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