Sikorsky has settled a $20 million lawsuit brought by Cougar Helicopters and its insurers following the fatal crash of an S-92A off St. John’s, Canada, in March 2009. The helicopter crashed 11 minutes after losing main gearbox oil pressure. Cougar is still suing Transport Canada for improperly certifying the S-92A.
Aviation
January 5, 2012 - 2:10am
A new 10-hour jet card is available from broker Magellan Jets. The card costs $34,950 and imposes no daily minimum flight times, federal excise taxes, positioning charges within the base service area, blackout dates or fuel surcharges. The card includes 10 hours in an Eclipse 500 very light jet for flights in the Northeast U.S.
January 5, 2012 - 1:05am
The Regional Airline Association (RAA) board of directors elected officers for 2012 during last month’s first American Association of Airport Executives/RAA Airport & Regional Airline Executive Summit in Memphis. American Eagle’s Dan Garton becomes RAA chairman; ExpressJet’s Brad Holt, vice chairman; Cape Air’s Dave Bushy, secretary; and Empire Airlines’ Tim Komberec, treasurer. The board also elected Air Wisconsin’s Jim Rankin and Jazz Air’s Joe Randell to its executive advisory committee.
January 4, 2012 - 3:05pm
Citic Offshore Helicopter (COHC) has ordered seven EC225 LP long-range helicopters in a new agreement with Eurocopter. The deal also paves the way for the two companies to pursue future joint ventures in training and maintenance to serve China’s rapidly developing rotary-wing market. Under the terms of the agreement COHC and Eurocopter will develop cooperative training services and establish a maintenance facility for China and the wider Asian marketplace.
January 4, 2012 - 5:10am
The FAA has proposed levying a $777,000 fine against Seattle-based Horizon Air for allegedly operating 32 Bombardier Q400s on 49,870 flights while the airplanes didn’t comply with FARs. The FAA alleges Horizon installed new external lighting systems on the aircraft, but did not conduct required tests for radio frequency and electromagnetic interference before returning the aircraft to service. Horizon operated the aircraft between Oct. 19, 2009 and Mar. 17, 2010, before the FAA discovered the compliance problems during routine surveillance.
January 4, 2012 - 4:50am
Sandel Avionics has shipped the first production WireWatch helicopter wire alerting system software upgrade to Agusta A109 operator North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsville, Minn. MSP Aero of Minneapolis is installing the upgrade.
January 4, 2012 - 2:30am
Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems (ACSS), a joint-venture company of L-3 Communications and Thales, is busy preparing for upcoming avionics mandates such as ADS-B as well as the expected EASA requirement for TCAS Change 7.1.
January 4, 2012 - 12:08am
Pilot unions say they were outgunned by a cargo industry lobby that convinced the FAA to exclude air cargo operations from its new flightcrew member duty and rest requirements, a rule they vow to amend.
January 3, 2012 - 3:20pm
On December 23, Embraer rolled out the first midsize Legacy 500–S/N 00001–from the production hangar at the company’s São José dos Campos, Brazil headquarters. “This is a significant day for the Legacy 500 program,” said Embraer Executive Jets vice president of programs Maurício Almeida. “Releasing the aircraft from production to the test team will allow us to gather vital information during ground tests, which will be used to shorten the flight-test campaign.” The Legacy 500 is scheduled to fly in the third quarter.
January 3, 2012 - 3:15pm
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) recently approved two Raisbeck Engineering King Air performance systems–the dual aft body strakes and the Crown wing lockers. First applications of the modifications in China are on a King Air 350, the Seattle-based company said. Other applications for Raisbeck mods–including current and upcoming performance systems on the Learjet 31/35/36/60 and all other King Air models–are currently working their way through the CAAC, according to Raisbeck.
