After three years of development and testing, Safe Flight Instrument’s “Powerline Detector” system for helicopters received FAA supplemental type certificate approval last month. The approval applies to the White Plains, N.Y.-based company’s own Aerospatiale Gazelle, and STCs for other helicopters will be sought as customer needs dictate.
Accidents, Safety, Security and Training » Safety
News and information on safety procedures and concerns.
May 27, 2008 - 7:11am
On March 25, 1911, the worst factory fire in the history of New York City erupted in the three floors occupied by the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in a tall building on the northwest corner of Washington and Greene streets in Greenwich Village. The fire began in the cutting room on the eighth floor shortly after 4:30 p.m. and, fed by thousands of pounds of cotton fabric, it spread rapidly.
May 22, 2008 - 7:56am
Aviation safety officials probing the British Airways (BA) Boeing 777 accident at London Heathrow in January are continuing to focus on the fuel system. They want to know why the airplane lost power on final approach to LHR. The 777, on a long-range flight from Beijing to London, touched down 1,000 feet short of the paved surface of LHR’s Runway 27L before coming to rest astride a taxiway junction near the threshold.
May 22, 2008 - 6:05am
EVAS Worldwide, an affiliate of Ramsey, N.J.-based Aircraft Services Group, said its $11,950 Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS) personal cockpit smoke-displacement unit received certification for use in the Challenger 600, 601 and 604. The company expects STCs to be awarded soon on the Global Express and King Air series. Approvals are also pending for the Falcon 50 and 50EX, Beechjet and Airbus A320.
May 21, 2008 - 10:10am
Phoenix-based Simula has been awarded a $11.1 million contract for 490 front and side cockpit airbag shipsets for U.S. Army UH-60A/L Black Hawk helicopters. Dubbed cockpit airbag systems (CABS), the shipsets consist of airbags sited in front of and beside cockpit aircrew, with the side-mounted bag attached to whichever fuselage wall is closer. An accelerometer triggers the system when it senses a crash.
May 21, 2008 - 6:31am
Water. It’s rather simple stuff really. Two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, bound together by positive and negative electrical charges. Pure and clean. Turn the tap and out it comes. So simple we often take it for granted. But should we?
May 21, 2008 - 4:30am
Although the media and Congress continue to wring their collective hands over the rising number of reported runway incursions, the FAA is claiming that the severity of these incursions has remained relatively low and stable over the past four years.
May 19, 2008 - 11:58am
Starting in the first quarter of next year Bombardier will begin installing Amsafe’s aviation inflatable restraint (AAIR) systems in the bulkhead row of passenger seats on new CRJ-700 and -900 regional jets. The system is installed as an integral part of each passenger’s lap belt and inflates within milliseconds of a crash to protect against head and upper-body injuries at impact forces up to 16 gs. A self-contained under-seat
May 19, 2008 - 11:55am
New operators of Learjets now receive, at no cost, an initial subscription to MedLink aviation medical-support services from Phoenix-based MedAire. The services are already standard onboard Bombardier Global Express and Challenger business jets. With MedLink, crewmembers can consult directly with board-certified emergency physicians for advice on managing medical incidents that occur during flight.
May 19, 2008 - 7:48am
Although the number of general aviation accidents last year was the lowest total since record keeping began in 1938, the NTSB noted that the accident rate increased slightly from 6.33 accidents per 100,000 flight hours in 2000 to 6.56 accidents last year.
