FAA Safety Alert for Operators all legacy single-engine Cessna models

The FAA has just issued SAFO 09002 for all legacy (pre-1986) single-engine Cessna models.
A SAFO contains important safety information and may include recommended action. SAFO content should be especially valuable to air carriers in meeting their statutory duty to provide service with the highest possible degree of safety in the public interest. Besides the specific action recommended in a SAFO, an alternative action may be as effective in addressing the safety issue named in the SAFO.

Subject: In-flight slippage of pilot and co-pilot seats on Cessna models 303, 336 and 337; and all legacy (pre-1986) single-engine Cessna models 150, 152, 170, 172, 175, 177, 180, 182, 185, 188, 190, 195, 205, 206, 207 and 210
Purpose: This SAFO is issued to remind inspectors, operators, owners and maintenance technicians of the mandatory requirement to comply with Airworthiness Directive (AD) 87-20-03 R2. This AD requires periodic inspections of the seat tracks, and repair or replacement of the tracks as necessary.
Background: Service Difficulty Reports (SDR) and accidents increased from nearly 2 per year (prior to 1996) to over 5 per year after 1996. The number of accidents statistically increased from 1 every 3 years (prior to 1996) to 1 every 20 weeks since 1996. In the past 20 years, 6 fatalities are known and 70 SDRs reported. These results indicate compliance to AD 87-20-03 R2 is not being accomplished for a significant number of airplanes.
Discussion: Full compliance to AD 87-20-03 R2 must be achieved.
Recommended Action: Recommend pilots and operators become familiar with the requirements and intervals of AD 87-20-03 R2 due to the significant operational safety concern it addresses. Also recommend pilots and operators confirm their maintenance provider’s knowledge and accomplishment of this AD to eliminate incidents and accidents due to in-flight seat slippage of pilot and co-pilot seats.
Questions: Contact Hieu Nguyen, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office, FAA, by phone at (316) 946-4129 (phone) or by fax at (316) 946-4107 for more information.
Go to SAFO 09002

NBAA to Merge Light Business Airplane Conference Into Annual Meeting & Convention

NBAA
Washington, DC, January 28, 2009 – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced today that the programming and other elements from the anticipated 2009 Light Business Airplane Conference (LBA2009) will now be incorporated into the Association’s 62nd Annual Meeting & Convention in Orlando, FL, scheduled for October 20 to 22, 2009.

The LBA event was originally scheduled to take place in San Diego, CA, on March 13 and 14. However, the state of the economy has caused NBAA to make adjustments that it believes will ensure maximum value for Attendees and Exhibitors.

“NBAA is totally committed to serving those who rely on light business airplanes, as well as those who are considering how to fit these aircraft into their business models,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “But in this economic climate, it is difficult to launch an event that our Members and Exhibitors expect from NBAA. We all know that our industry is finding it necessary to limit travel and marketing expenses, so we are going to combine all of the excellent elements we’d planned for LBA into the Convention.

“By incorporating the Conference into the Convention, the entrepreneurs and pilots for whom LBA was specifically designed will now be able to participate in the full two days of education sessions – including the Cessna Single-pilot Safety Standdown – and still have an additional day to see all of the general aviation products and services on display at the industry’s largest purely civil aviation trade show,” Bolen continued. “For Exhibitors, this move will reduce total expenditures for NBAA events in 2009 by allowing companies to combine the costs associated with two shows into a single event.

“Any change in plans has consequences and we regret the inconvenience to all who finalized their itinerary for San Diego,” Bolen said. “Still, we believe the step we’ve taken is the right one for both Attendees and Exhibitors in this very challenging economy.”
# # #

Founded in 1947 and based in Washington, DC, the National Business Aviation Association, Inc. (NBAA) is the leading organization for companies that rely on general aviation aircraft to help make their businesses more efficient, productive and successful. The Association represents more than 8,000 companies and provides more than 100 products and services to the business aviation community, including the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention, the world’s largest civil aviation trade show. Learn more about NBAA at www.nbaa.org.

NBAA Call For Member Action To Support Business Aviation

In a letter to members, NBAA President Ed Bolen is asking for members help in the support of Business Aviation. Mr Bolen writes “As everyone in our industry knows, the business aviation community is facing severe turbulence on several fronts. Our industry is being stereotyped and pilloried by the press, and the people and businesses in general aviation are weathering one of the worst economic storms anyone has ever seen.

The challenges coming out of Washington appear no less daunting: In the three weeks since the 111th Congress was sworn in, business aviation has repeatedly been in focus for lawmakers. A troubling pattern seems to be emerging in which some policymakers are discouraging and disparaging the use of general aviation for business purposes – a pattern in evidence as recently as this week.”

You can help! Read Mr. Bolen’s full request with links to quick and easy emails to Congress here

CONTACT THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION TO REQUEST EXTENSION ON NEW FOAM FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM REQUIREMENT!

NATA

What’s at Issue
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which develops building fire codes including requirements for aircraft hangars, recently issued new guidelines mandating that Group II hangars incorporate foam fire suppression systems.

Background
NFPA is widely recognized as the authority for the development and implementation of fire building codes. For the general aviation industry, NFPA 409 provides fire codes for all aircraft hangars in most jurisdictions throughout the United States. Specifically, general aviation entities adhere to fire code requirements for Group II hangars (hangars that are over 12,000 square feet with hangar doors 28 feet high or less) and Group III hangars (hangars that are less than 12,000 square feet) under NFPA 409.
To review NFPA 409, please click here.

Why It’s Important
The new NFPA 409 mandate will require aircraft hangar owners to incorporate foam fire suppression systems needing an enormous amount of water and will also require the foam and water to be collected in a cistern or other safe containment device. These two requirements would place a huge financial burden on aircraft owners, equaling the cost of the aircraft hangar itself by some estimates.

What to Do
Contact the NFPA today utilizing the association’s form letter requesting a six-month extension to the March 6, 2009 comment period deadline. The form letter also requests that the NFPA convene a group of general aviation aircraft hangar owners to review and develop a new code appropriate to our industry, accounting for implementation cost and benefit.
Click here to download the association’s form letter.

NATA Position
The NFPA 409 code is incredibly complicated according to experts and is interpreted differently throughout the country. Aircraft hangar owners, most of whom operate small businesses, will find this new requirement’s cost impractical and not justifiable. The NFPA must consider the impact this requirement will have on small businesses and convene a special group of general aviation aircraft hangar owners to review and develop a new code appropriate to our industry.

Status
Contact the NFPA today to ask for an extension to the March 6, 2009 comment deadline and request that the general aviation community have a seat at the table in the development of a new code appropriately scaled to the aircraft hangars used in the general aviation industry.

United posts billion dollar loss, will cut more jobs

eTravel

UAL, the parent company of United Airlines, has announced a net loss of US$1.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2008, on the back of losses made on fuel hedges and a deepening credit crisis.

Taking out the loss made on fuel hedges, United reports that it would have made a loss of US $547 million.

At the same time, United Airlines announced its intentions to cut 1,000 more jobs from its workforce by the end of 2009, adding to those previously announced job losses.
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