The nights are long and dark in Alaska during the winter months, but at Lake Hood in Anchorage, one family is ensuring that bright lights that embody the Christmas spirit are shining bright for all to enjoy.

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NTSB Investigation: Marlin Air 2007

George’s Point of View

Now held responsible for a fatal June 4, 2007 Cessna 550 crash, pilot Capt. William Serra, 59, had apparently falsified training records and had been convicted in 1987 of conspiracy to import Quaaludes when he piloted a plane with 2,100 pounds of the drug from Canada to the USA in 1981. In the 2007 he had been responsible for safety checks; and both he and the other pilot were unfamiliar with the Marlin Air plane, resulting in a crash in Lake Michigan, killing both pilots and four members of a University of Michigan lung transplant team.

The NTSB holds FAA inspectors responsible for allowing Serra to conduct pilot inspections and oversee safety.

Investigators included the NTSB, the FAA, Cessna Aircraft, Marlin Air, Pratt and Whitney and Honeywell.

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Airbus Abandons Yemenia Air


Splitting the blanket?

Because Airbus has circulated the statement that the crash was due to “technical problems” (when no official statement should be made prior to an investigation), 49% Saudi-owned Yemenia Airlines is rumored likely to pull it’s order for 10 Airbus A350s. The order has been standing since a 2007 airshow, and involves millions. The Yemenia Airlines crash that occurred during a stormy weather landing on the Comoros Islands involved an Airbus.

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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.

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