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FAA Press Release: Continental Airlines

FAA Proposes $230,000 Civil Penalty against Continental Airlines

FORT WORTH, Texas — The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a civil penalty of $230,000 against Continental Airlines Inc., of Houston for allegedly operating a Boeing 767 on 22 revenue flights when it was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations.

The FAA alleges that on Aug. 12, 2008, Continental replaced the nose landing gear wheel and tire assembly on a B-767, but failed to install the required axle washer despite warnings in the maintenance manual and on the tire assembly itself. The warning said failing to install the washer could lead to failure of the wheel bearing.

FAA inspectors discovered the violation during a records check and noted three identical earlier violations.

Continental has 30 days from receipt of the civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.

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    Dassault’s Falcon 2000LX Receives Approval for London City Airport (LCY)

    DUBAI, UAE, December 6, 2010 / — Dassault’s Falcon 2000LX recently has been granted approval for arrivals and departures at the challenging London City Airport (LCY) in England. With this approval, European registered Falcon 2000LXs can connect London City, located in the heart of the city of London, nonstop with all of Europe including Moscow. Dassault is currently developing a program to gain FAA steep approach certification which will also allow American registered aircraft to operate at LCY.

    In order to use London City’s short runway (4,327 ft/1,319 m at landing and 3,934 ft/1,199 m at take off), an aircraft must demonstrate exacting performance. To help achieve this, Dassault developed a unique autobrake feature for the Falcon 2000EX and 2000LX that reduces landing distances by as much as 300 feet on steep approaches, which are required for London City. The steep approach procedures require a glide slope of 5.5 degrees as opposed to the standard 3.0 degrees.

    “Flying into London City is not only a challenge for aircraft performance, aircraft are also required to be good neighbors and must abide by strict noise procedures,” said John Rosanvallon, President and CEO of Dassault Falcon. “Meeting these requirements is not an easy task but the convenience of flying into the heart of downtown London is highly valuable for business jet operators.” The Falcon 2000LX noise level was measured in the same category as smaller turboprop.

    The Falcon 2000LX received EASA and FAA certification in April 2009. The 4,000 nm range 2000LX offers the same spacious, quiet interior as the 2000EX EASy but also the capability to serve a more extensive city pairs. It offers a 10 to 15% better climb speed improvement in comparison to the Falcon 2000EX and allows the aircraft to reach 41,000 ft in just 18 minutes. The Falcon 2000LX comes standard with the award-winning EASy flight deck which has won high marks and praise for its integrated features and intuitive displays.
    In 2009, the Falcon 7X was approved to operate at London City Airport for both EASA and FAA registered aircraft. The Falcon 7X offers the longest range of any business jet qualified for London City with nonstop capability to New York. Additionally, the Falcon 900DX/EX, Falcon 50 and Falcon 10 all have London City approval.

    About Dassault Falcon
    Dassault Falcon is responsible for selling and supporting Falcon business jets throughout the world. It is part of Dassault Aviation, a leading aerospace company with a presence in over 70 countries across five continents. Dassault Aviation produces the Rafale fighter jet as well as the complete line of Falcon business jets. The company has assembly and production plants in both France and the United States and service facilities on multiple continents. It employs a total workforce of over 12,000. Since the rollout of the first Falcon 20 in 1963, 2,000 Falcon jets have been delivered to 67 countries worldwide. The family of Falcon jets currently in production includes the tri-jets-the Falcon 900DX, 900LX, and the 7X-as well as the twin-engine 2000LX.

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  • IATA PRESS RELEASE:

    Aviation Organizations Launch Safety Information Exchange

    Montreal – The International Air Transport Association (IATA), along with three governmental aviation safety organizations, took the first step to creating a global information exchange to improve aviation safety.

    IATA, together with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Commission of the European Union (EU), has signed a Declaration of Intent to exchange safety data. The signing took place during the ICAO High-Level Safety Conference in Montreal.

    “Today’s milestone agreement marks the first time the global aviation community has come together to work on a global safety information exchange. Data must drive our actions so that we can focus our joint efforts on reducing the greatest risks,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

    “Working together with governments using global standards, safety has improved tremendously. In 1945, there were 9 million passengers and 247 fatalities. In 2009, 2.3 billion people flew with 685 fatalities. Every fatality is a human tragedy and reminds us that we must do better. Today’s agreement is one more important step to make a safe industry even safer,” said Bisignani.

    Audit data will be a key element in the project. IATA, ICAO, the FAA and the EU conduct audit programs that collect complementary safety information. “We must understand safety trends, not just from the handful of accidents each year, but by bringing together and analyzing data from millions of safe flights. With this we can take more effective action to reduce risks and improve safety performance,” said Bisignani.

    “There is no competition when it comes to safety. Cooperation is the way forward. We have a common goal of zero accidents and zero fatalities. The safety data from audits and oversight programs contains important parts of a whole picture. Agreeing to put this data together is a major step forward,” said Bisignani.

    The four organizations will now start work on a way to standardize safety audit information and ensure compliance with local privacy laws and policies. This is targeted to be completed within 12 to 18 months.

    The 2009 global accident rate, measured in hull losses per million flights of Western-built jet aircraft, was 0.71. This is a significant improvement of the 0.81 rate recorded in 2008. Compared to 10 years ago, the accident rate has been cut 36% from the 1.11 rate recorded in 2000.

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    BEA release: Human Factors Committee


    The BEA has just formed the « Human Factors » working group whose creation was announced at the time of the publication of the third Interim Report on the investigation into the accident to the Rio-Paris flight on 1st June 2009.

    This working group’s objective is to analyze all aspects connected to the conduct of the flight:

    Crew actions and reactions during the last three phases of the flight described in the third Interim Report, in particular in relation to the stall warning;
    Cockpit ergonomics;
    Man-machine interfaces.
    This working group is made up of seven experts:
    Three BEA investigators specializing in human factors;
    A psychiatrist specializing in risk analysis;
    A human factors aviation consultant;
    A type-rated A330 pilot;
    An A330 test pilot.

    The BEA may call on other experts from time to time and will consult Airbus and Air France when required.

    The group’s work will begin very soon and should be completed by the end of December 2011. Its thinking will take into account input from both the «Operations» and the «Airplane Systems» groups.

    All of the work carried out will be included in the Final Report, which will establish the causes of the accident, whose publication is planned for the first half of 2012.

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    Azerbaijan Airlines Orders Boeing 767-300 Passenger and Freighter Models

    FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom, July 22 — Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Azerbaijan Airlines have signed an agreement to substitute two Next-Generation 737 airplanes for one 767-300ER (extended range) and two 767 Freighters, a new model type for the Baku, Azerbaijan-based airline. The substitution has been updated on Boeing’s Orders and Deliveries website.

    “With our centralized geographic location, Azerbaijan is becoming a busy hub in the region between east and west and north and south,” said Jahangir Askerov, president of Azerbaijan Airlines. “We are capitalizing on this development by expanding our long-haul passenger fleet and growing our cargo business with the proven efficiencies of the 767 Freighter.”
    Including today’s announcement, Azerbaijan Airlines has a total of eight Boeing airplanes on order: two 767-300ERs, two 767 Freighters, two Next-Generation 737s and two 787-8s.
    “With the economic recovery gaining momentum at various speeds around the world, our customers are making changes to their fleets to accommodate the upturn,” said Marlin Dailey, vice president of Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We have worked with Azerbaijan Airlines to make changes to its order book that meet its needs.”

    The Boeing 767 family is a complete family of clean, quiet, fuel-efficient airplanes that provide maximum market versatility in the 200- to 300-seat market. The Boeing 767 family includes three passenger models — the 767-200ER, 767-300ER and 767-400ER — and a medium-widebody freighter, which is based on the 767-300ER fuselage.

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    NTSB TO HOLD PUBLIC FORUM ON CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY IN AUTOMOBILES AND ON AIRPLANES

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 13, 2010
    SB-10-35

    Washington, DC – The National Transportation Safety Board will address the safety of children traveling in airplanes or in cars when it holds a public forum on child passenger safety on Thursday, December 9, 2010.

    “American families are on the go, and children today are frequent travelers almost from the time they are born,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. “Much more should be done to reduce fatalities and injuries of our smallest travelers, whether they are in a jumbo jet or their family’s car.”

    The forum will be geared to providing parents and care givers information they can use immediately to protect their children while traveling. The forum will explore current education and other safety advocacy efforts by non-profit groups and government, as well as the continuing problem of nonuse of child seats and seat belts by a significant portion of the traveling public.

    Safety experts from the transportation industry, trade associations, unions, advocacy groups, and federal government will be asked to discuss the best approaches for keeping children safe while flying and riding in cars, how to increase the use of child seats and seat belts, and the importance of government data collection on the issue of nonuse.

    The NTSB has issued 33 safety recommendations addressing child passenger safety; 12 of these safety recommendations have been or currently are on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements.

    The forum, titled “Child Passenger Safety in the Air and in Automobiles”, will be held at the NTSB’s Board Room and Conference Center, located at 429 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. Parents, care givers, and others interested in child safety are encouraged to view the forum in person or by webcast on the NTSB’s website, www.ntsb.gov. Additional information about the forum can be found at www.ntsb.gov/children.

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    NASA SELECTS HIGH-PERFORMING INTERNS AS AGENCY AMBASSADORS

    WASHINGTON — NASA has selected 101 of its high-performing interns and
    fellows for the agency’s Student Ambassador Program. The students
    will represent NASA at a variety of education and outreach events at
    schools and universities to help inspire future students interested
    in science, engineering, mathematics and technology, or STEM,
    opportunities.

    The new ambassadors represent 31 states and 64 different universities.
    This third group of student ambassadors, known as Cohort III, joins
    189 other student ambassadors selected in 2009 and 2010. NASA
    managers and mentors nominated the ambassadors from hundreds of
    current interns and fellows who have participated in various NASA
    Education projects.

    “The ambassadors have demonstrated their ability to motivate students
    to enter the STEM workforce,” said Leland Melvin, associate
    administrator for education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “They
    play an important role in our effort to develop the next generation
    of explorers, because they can engage fellow students in a meaningful
    peer-to-peer dialogue. That’s something that more traditional
    approaches cannot accomplish.”

    The new student ambassadors will join a virtual web-based community,
    which allows them to interact with NASA staff and other ambassadors
    to share information and make professional connections. Through the
    website, the ambassadors also will have access to the latest NASA
    news, cutting-edge research and career resources.

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