01 OCT 2008 _______________________________________ *Board: Lives lost 'needlessly' in medical helicopter crashes *Two-star moves from AMC to Safety Center *FirstFlight Appoints Gary Hart Chief Operating Officer *Air Transport Association Comments on ADS-B *‘FAA Category One achievable by mid 2009’(Nigeria) *Report: Gov't Ponders Reinforced Cargo Containers For Aircraft *Business aviation shows its safety weaknesses *VIP client seeking early 747-8 slot, or possibly A380 *************************************** Board: Lives lost 'needlessly' in medical helicopter crashes Accident rate for medevac flights in darkness or bad weather is too high, NTSB says Report: Almost half of EMS helicopter accidents occurred during nighttime hours Parents mourn David Bacon Jr., killed in a foggy 2004 crash in South Carolina Shortage of night-vision goggles for helicopter pilots may be adding to problem (CNN) -- Investigators are again on the scene of a fatal medical helicopter crash. Four people were killed Saturday night in suburban Washington when the chopper, operated by the Maryland State Police, went down in a park. Four people were killed Saturday night in Maryland when an emergency medical helicopter crashed in a park. 1 of 2 The emergency medical-services helicopter had picked up two automobile accident victims and was attempting to land when air-traffic controllers lost contact with the pilot. Authorities said the pilot had twice radioed for help in foggy weather. Nationally, it was the eighth fatal medical helicopter crash in the past 12 months. Pilots, flight nurses and paramedics who fly emergency medical operations often must navigate rough terrain, darkness and bad weather. But the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says the accident rate for such flights is far too high. "The Safety Board is very concerned with the increasing number of these EMS helicopter accidents," said Robert Sumwalt, NTSB vice chairman. "We have had too many of them. The number is increasing. We need to do something about it. We need to do something about it right now." It's a problem that David Bacon of Simpsonville, South Carolina, and his wife, Barbara, know only too well. Their son, David Bacon Jr., was killed along with three others on an EMS helicopter July 13, 2004, in Newberry, South Carolina. Their aircraft collided with trees in fog about 5:30 a.m. after picking up a patient from an accident site on an interstate. The senior Bacon, a volunteer firefighter when David Jr. was a boy, remembers exactly when his son decided he wanted to be a paramedic. "Another volunteer firefighter worked as a flight paramedic. I took him down there one day when he was working, and [my son] got a tour of the helicopter. He was 13 years old, and I have the picture, him standing by the helicopter. And that's when he decided that's what he wanted to do," Bacon said. "That flight paramedic was also one of his pallbearers." Bacon's crash was one of 55 EMS aircraft accidents investigated by the NTSB between January 2002 and January 2005. Those accidents resulted in 54 fatalities and 18 serious injuries. In a 2006 report on the crashes, the NTSB found that 29 of those 55 accidents could have been prevented. The NTSB identified four recurring safety issues: • Less stringent requirements for EMS operations conducted without patients on board. • A lack of aviation flight-risk evaluation programs for EMS operations. • A lack of consistent, comprehensive flight-dispatch procedures for EMS operations. • No requirements to use technologies such as terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS) to enhance EMS flight safety. The NTSB report showed that while 38 percent of all helicopter EMS flights occur at night, 49 percent of accidents during a 20-year period occurred during the night. "We are an independent federal agency, charged by Congress to investigate transportation accidents, to determine the probable cause, and then to issue safety recommendations. And when those recommendations are not implemented, lives are lost, needlessly," Sumwalt said. While the NTSB offers recommendations, it is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that has the power to make regulations mandatory. "We understand the NTSB safety recommendations, and we agree with all of them," said Jim Ballough, director of the FAA's flight standards service. "We also understand that rulemaking takes a long time," he said. The details of the federal rulemaking process provide little comfort to Bacon's parents. "It is now four years later [since the crash], and I have seen no response to any of the recommendations made by the NTSB," said Bacon. "Why the FAA either doesn't want to deal with it, doesn't want to take action, doesn't have funds allocated to do this, I don't know what their problem is." One technology that veteran EMS pilots say could improve their safety is the use of night-vision goggles (NVG). Developed for use in the military, the goggles can improve visibility for pilots flying in darkness. The NTSB has encouraged NVG use since 2006. It costs about $60,000 to train two pilots and retrofit an aircraft cockpit with night-vision technology. But because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a shortage of the goggles. In the United States, the military gets first access to the goggles, and only a couple of companies manufacture the complex, and classified, equipment. Less than a third of about 800 EMS helicopters in the United States have night-vision technology. A lot more would like it, according to a survey of 382 active helicopter EMS pilots by the National EMS Pilots Association (NEMSPA). The survey, published in May, found that 82 percent of pilots prefer to use night-vision equipment. Among their comments: "I feel night-vision goggles have improved the safety in our program more than any other thing I have seen in 17 years of EMS flying." "Landing in unimproved areas at night without NVGs is idiotic!" "The FAA many times seems to hinder rather than enhance safety with some of their rules made by out-of-touch desk jockeys." "... I left my last job because they didn't have a NVG program..." Mike Atwood, owner of Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) in Boise, Idaho, is the distributor of night-vision systems for ITT Technologies, the largest U.S. manufacturer. His company provides training for pilots in the use of NVG, and modifies cockpits for their proper operation. He said the waiting time for civilian uses of NVG -- mostly emergency medical services and law enforcement -- is about six to eight months. "The [ITT] plant is maxed out -- they are operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," said Atwood. "It would be very difficult to make any more than they are making right now." Atwood said night-vision technology has improved dramatically since it was first introduced in World War II. He first used the goggles in the military in 1978. "I thought, this is the greatest thing in the world. Even though they were a full-faced goggle then, you could go into dark areas and be able to see," he said. The equipment ASU sells is a third generation of the technology. It works through "image intensification," amplifying a small amount of light from the moon or stars to produce a green image. As CNN correspondent and pilot Miles O'Brien learned when he flew with ASU pilot Justin Watlington, there is no doubt that the equipment makes night flying safer. So when might the FAA adopt the NTSB's safety recommendations? "I can't give you a timeframe at this point. We continue to strive to enable the technology to be implemented by these [EMS aircraft] operators, and we will certainly look to codify that in the future," said the FAA's Ballough. Meanwhile, 52 people have died in EMS flight accidents since the NTSB made its recommendations in 2006. Nearly two thirds of those fatalities, including Saturday's crash in Maryland, involved nighttime or poor-visibility flights. David Bacon says there is a big hole in his life because of his son's death. But he can't get angry. "I'm just thrilled, I know his mother is thrilled [our son] got to do what he wanted," he said. "He got to live his dream, and he got to do it for a year. I wish it had been 20 years." ************** Two-star moves from AMC to Safety Center A new commander for the Air Force Safety Center is among the general assignments announced Sept. 26 by the service. Maj. Gen. Frederick F. Roggero, a career mobility pilot, moves to the Pentagon to become Air Force chief of safety and commander of the Air Force Safety Center. Roggero now serves as director of operations for Air Mobility Command headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Brig. Gen. Robert H. Holmes, a career special tactics officer, becomes director of U.S. Special Operations Command’s Inter-Agency Task Force at the Center for Special Operations, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Holmes now serves as U.S. Central Command’s deputy director of operations and force protection. And Brig. Gen. William W. Uhle Jr., now the assistant vice commander of 3rd Air Force at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, moves to the other side of the globe to become deputy director for strategic planning and policy at U.S. Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. Uhle is a career F-16 pilot and has done tours in Japan and South Korea. http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/09/airforce_general_moves_093009w/ ************** FirstFlight Appoints Gary Hart Chief Operating Officer ELMIRA, N.Y. & CORNING, N.Y., Sep 30, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FirstFlight, Inc. a charter management and aviation services company, announced today that aviation industry veteran Gary Hart has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Hart has 25 years of executive management and operations experience in aviation. The new position reports directly to John Dow, FirstFlight's President and CEO at the Company's corporate headquarters in Elmira/Corning, NY. According to Dow, "Gary has the right background to help lead the Company as we continue to increase our fleet and develop a stronger market presence. He comes highly recommended and has a wealth of knowledge in our business with a strong record of leadership and success. He will be a great asset to FirstFlight and I look forward to working closely with him as we take the Company to the next level." Hart has held a number of senior executive positions in operations. He was the Senior VP Flight Operations for NetJets based in Columbus, OH. Hart was also President of Raytheon Travel Air for 5 years and led the company from start-up to over 600 employees with more than 110 aircraft. He has held VP positions with Ameriflight, AMR Combs/Business Jet Solutions and Martin Aviation and has experience in operating environments throughout the US. About FirstFlight, Inc. FirstFlight is an aviation services company. FirstFlight's operations are conducted in three core segments: aircraft charter management activities; fixed based operations; and aircraft maintenance. FirstFlight's charter management segment provides on-call passenger air transportation. FirstFlight's fixed base operation segment is the primary provider of services such as fueling and hangaring of private/general aviation aircraft operators. FirstFlight's aircraft maintenance business is conducted at FirstFlight's FAA-certificated facilities. FirstFlight maintains a website located at www.FFLT.com. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/firstflight-appoints-gary-hart-chief/s tory.aspx?guid=%7B39A80F32-0E57-4C53-A2F7-CE615E2AFCFE%7D&dist=hppr **************** Air Transport Association Comments on Release of FAA Advisory Rulemaking Committee Report on Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) WASHINGTON, Sept 30, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today commented on the completion of the report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Rulemaking Committee (ARC) on Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). ADS-B is a critical component of NextGen and is strongly supported by ATA and its member airlines. FAA drafted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which generated extensive comments and was not warmly received because it lacked industry input prior to its publication. To coordinate that input, the FAA subsequently established the ARC. This team of industry experts spent the last nine months evaluating more than 1,400 public comments related to the ADS-B proposed rule and developed a set of recommendations for FAA that will help resolve programmatic and technical uncertainties and enable them to create a rule that yields benefits for all who operate in the nation's airspace. "As an active participant and co-chair of the FAA ADS-B ARC, we worked hard to reach consensus on some fairly complex issues," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "We support the recommendations contained in the report and encourage FAA to embrace all of the ARC recommendations." ATA airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For additional information about the industry, visit www.airlines.org. SOURCE Air Transport Association http://www.airlines.org ************** ‘FAA Category One achievable by mid 2009’(Nigeria) Many aviation watchers have been following the ongoing programme to achieve the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration’s Category One status with keen interest. The Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren, in this interview with DAVID AMUWA talks on latest developments. Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren What is your assessment of the aviation sector? We have started to be prosperous now. The key thing we are looking for is safety, security and prosperity. I think if we take these three key things into consideration, I will say we are looking good. What can be done to tackle fuel crisis in the sector? The problem is global. It is a problem civil aviation authorities of all countries are battling with. But in Nigeria, maybe we will get it right when we have more functional refineries, so that we start to produce Jet A1 fuel by ourselves. When we are at this stage, then we can be deciding on how to lower the price of aviation fuel to cushion the effect on the airline operator. Apart from skyrocketing aviation fuel prices, pollution or emission control, low manpower development as mentioned earlier; consequent effect from the fluctuations in the global economy and recurring safety lapses such as air misses, runway incursion, bird strikes, air returns and others are still found in the system, although, most of these problem are global issues. How do you rate Nigerian airlines? They are growing. They are growing now, they are growing airlines. What they need is sustainable development. And every support should be given to them to achieve this level of development. They need to be supported as it is done globally. But in Nigeria, we are happy now that banks are now coming to assist them financially. This is encouraging. Many of them are buying more new aircraft, even the new airlines are planning big for their operations. The healthy competition among the airlines has actually strengthened them to do more. Really, they are not doing badly. How has it been to lead the Nigerian civil aviation industry in the last three years? It has been very challenging. There are a lot to battle but we thank God for where we are today. The tremendous assistance from international aviation organisations, my colleagues in Nigeria and the Federal Government had kept us going well. I must tell you that when you have capable and dedicated staff to achieve organisational goal it is simple. That had really worked for NCAA. We thank God we are making progress in the face of several challenges. Do you have the hope of achieving FAA’s category 1 before December 2008? Let me repeat myself here. The Federal Aviation Administration Category One status is what certifies an airline to operate on commercial basis to the United States of America. Without achieving this, you can only operate private jets; having met all the safety requirements, to the US, but you cannot fly there to make money that is the simple meaning. Usually, it took most countries five years to attain it, but with the progress we had made earlier, we thought we could make it in 2008. But as it is now, it cannot happen before December. We initially wanted to crack it in one year but we are now very confident that by the middle of 2009 we will get it. We are very hopeful we will be there by June 2009. We have done quite to make it and more efforts are ongoing. What does Nigeria stand to benefit from Nigeria-UAE BASA Agreement? It is going to open up the Middle East to Nigerians and open more cities to Nigerians. We have a lot to benefit. It will also open up business opportunities between Nigeria and United Arab Emirates. It is a new agreement for investment and development for both countries. Recently, you cried out that some airlines were owing NCAA about N2.5bn, are they now responding? The situation is that they pay, they owe. Every time they fly, they owe us money. But if somebody owes you N200m today and pays N150m, and the following week he owes you another N200m. As they keep flying, they own us. But they must be credit worthy that is what we are saying. They must be paying regularly, that is the message. You cannot run aviation business without being credit worthy. It is an ICAO rule. So accumulation of debt is not encouraged in the aviation sector. There was an attempt to change the insurance payable to victims of air crash, how far? For now, it has not been changed. It remains $100,000 per person when there is any crash. The insurance company must pay this to each family of the victims of the crash. It is an ICAO recommendation, and it is not negotiable. Any airline that is involved in a crash and its insurance company cannot pay, is not credit worthy. So, we will not allow such an airline to continue operation. How many of the airports have been certified so far? For now, we have not certified any one yet because they have not met the requirements. When they meet up with all the requirements, they will be certified. However, they have made tremendous progress. But our requirements are very huge or stiff, very tough- the International Civil Authority Organisation safety requirements are very tough. They must have perimeter fence to solve runway incursion, and several other things they need to do. We know that all these cost money, but not until when they put all these in place, we will not certify them. But they are making progress. How do you assess manpower development in the industry? Mnapower development is one of the major challenges we have in the industry. Human capacity development has been neglected in the sector for a while but efforts are being made now to reverse the trend. Today, the average pilot age in the Nigerian aviation industry is about 55, which is not good for us. But some of the airlines are now responding to our call in this area. Aero Contractor, Arik and Virgin Nigeria are now training cadet pilots at INCAT and abroad. The government, (federal, states and local inclusive), should begin a master plan for manpower development in the aviation sector. How much can be injected into Nigerian aviation sector to break even? The truth is that aviation is very expensive. Countries all over the world are injecting huge amounts of money into the aviation sector. Countries like Pakistan injected $10bn; Trinidad and Tobago, $5bn, Turkey, $40bn, China and India are investing more. If you look at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, which is the best in Nigeria, it has 1970s architectural design. We do not build airports again. For instance, look at the new Heathrow Terminal 5, it has the capacity and service infrastructure to accept A380 size superjumbo. The edifice was constructed with £4.2bn. But besides, I think what we need in Nigeria most are judicious use of the funds that are injected and private-public partnership. We need PPP because the government cannot do it all alone. In the area of fleet renewal, we have done well with the implementation of the Cape Town Convention, but we still need airlines that are profitable, airline that have the money to buy the required equipment, that can develop human capacity such as training of staff for professionalism. We also need airlines that contribute to infrastructure and navigation development in our airports. Definitely, we need to inject more funds into the aviation sector but such funds must be protected, monitored and judiciously applied. http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200810010443912 ************** Report: Gov't Ponders Reinforced Cargo Containers For Aircraft ATA Notes Kevlar-Laced Pods Would Weigh More, Carry Less The US government is very interested in proposed "bomb-resistant" luggage containers for airliners, that could prevent a small suitcase bomb from taking down an airliner. But practical considerations may leave the idea on the shelf. USA Today reports the Department of Homeland Security is keen on the new containers, which measure 5-feet-by-5-feet and are reinforced with high-strength Kevlar. Howard Fleisher, deputy director of the Transportation Security Lab at DHS, notes such containers may have prevented the 1988 downing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Though there has been a relative dearth of similar terrorist attacks against airliners since then, officials remain concerned that similar explosive devices could make it past security, and onboard commercial planes. The working theory is the reinforced cargo pods could contain such blasts, at least minimizing damage to the plane itself and allowing time for an emergency landing. The idea sounds wonderful on paper... until, that is, you start discussing practical applications of the technology, and who's going to pay for it. The Transportation Security Administration says it won't purchase the containers, as Congress has not appropriated any funds to pay for them. That places the financial burden on the airlines... and, well, you can imagine how receptive they are. "Carriers won't pay for them," David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, says bluntly. He notes each container would cost around $18,000... and, perhaps most importantly in these fuel-saving times, would weigh 265 pounds apiece. Besides the weight hit, the physical dimensions of the containers would also reduce available space for luggage and other cargo. Scientists lament such attitudes will probably keep such containers off airliners for the foreseeable future. "We can do all this work for 15-20 years and have something that potentially saves lives," says Robert Fu, an engineer Telair International, which manufactures the containers. "However, it's going to be probably left on the trophy rack." No one interviewed by USA Today mentioned what seems to be an obvious point to us. If a small explosive placed in checked luggage can slip past security and make it onboard an airliner, to hopefully be contained by the Kevlar pods... what's preventing a similar explosive device from being placed inside a carry-on bag? Wait... that attitude places the total burden to stop such devices on TSA screeners. Nevermind. FMI: www.tsa.gov, www.airlines.org, www.telair.com aero-news.net ************** Business aviation shows its safety weaknesses Business aviation is subject to US and international safety initiatives that appear to be welcomed by the industry, but statistics suggest many operators are not getting the message. Runway excursion resulting in serious damage, one of the accident types theoretically among the easiest to eliminate, occurs regularly. In 2007 there were 10 reported serious runway excursion accidents involving business jets, almost all in the USA. To late September the number of business jet excursion accidents was five. The Flight Safety Foundation, which studied 251 business aircraft accidents from 1991 to 2002 recently, found that 63 of them (25.1%) involved runway excursions. Speaking at the European Business Aviation Association Conference and Exhibition in Geneva this year, FSF president Bill Voss highlighted runway safety in all its forms as being worthy of particular attention, but excursions in particular. He said: "Data shows runway excursions are the most common type of runway safety accident (96%) and the most common type of fatal runway safety accident (80%)." The US National Business Aircraft Association has registered the industry-wide concern with the number of runway excursion accidents and reiterated the message to its member operators. Heightened concern followed the Federal Aviation Administration runway safety awareness campaign after the National Transportation Safety Board's publication of its report on an overrun from a snow-contaminated runway at Chicago Midway airport in December 2005. The fatal Comair Bombardier CRJ100ER crash in 2006 gave rise to new terminology describing a potentially serious runway safety risk: "runway confusion" - using the wrong runway without realising it. But, as Voss pointed out, among all categories of runway safety events, runway excursions produce 80% of the fatal accidents. RUNWAY INCURSIONS The figures for the whole industry from 1995 to 2007, according to the FSF's Jim Burin speaking at this year's FSF/NBAA Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar at Palm Harbor, Florida, show that five runway incursions have produced 129 fatalities, two runway confusion incidents have produced 132 deaths, but 31 excursions have resulted in 680 fatalities. Having said that, Burin points out that it was the uncleared entry on to a runway in fog by a business jet that produced Europe's worst runway incursion accident in that period. That was when an SAS Boeing MD-80 that had been cleared to take off collided with a Citation CJ2 at Milan Linate airport in October 2001, killing all 114 people in both aircraft, and four more people in a cargo terminal hit by the wreckage. Voss also points out that in the vast majority of cases the way of avoiding landing overruns or excursions is simply to ensure that the approach is stabilised in profile and speed, and touchdown is achieved within the runway touchdown zone. As Burin neatly expresses it: "Not all unstable approaches end up as a runway excursion, but every runway excursion starts as an unstable approach." Among the 10 business jet runway excursions in 2007, eight involved excursions on landing, and seven of those followed unstabilised approaches. Regarding overrun incidents in the last two years, the National Transportation Safety Board has noted that pilot fatigue is often a factor in the failure of pilots to plan approaches and landing performance properly taking into account weather and runway contamination, and failure to recognise the cues that should lead to a decision to go around. Using a regional jet overrun at Cleveland airport in February 2007 as an example of a classic set of circumstances likely to lead to runway excursion, the NTSB has called for more comprehensive simulator training for pilots in making go-around decisions. The agency says that the crew of the Shuttle America Embraer 170 landed in light snow and poor visibility and "failed to execute a missed approach when visual cues for the runway were not distinct and identifiable". The NTSB cites several contributory factors: The crew's decision to descend to the instrument landing system decision height instead of the localiser only minimum descent altitude The fact that the first officer [the pilot flying] landed long and fast on a short, contaminated runway and the crew failed to use reverse thrust and braking to maximum effectiveness The captain's fatigue, which affected his ability to plan for and monitor the approach and landing Shuttle America's failure to administer a policy that permitted pilots to report their fatigue without fear of reprisals. The NTSB has since called for all operators to adopt a policy stating that either pilot may call for a go-around, and the response should be an immediate missed approach. This year to late September, however, there has been only one serious business jet landing excursion, although it followed an unstabilised approach. But there were several excursions during take-off. So, if nearly nine months of one year is anything to go by, maybe the message is getting through. In addition to the FSF's continual efforts at improving awareness of specific risks and developing strategies to avoid them, an International Civil Aviation Organisation-endorsed organisation known as the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operation (IS-BAO) has been in existence since 2002 and is gathering registered operators, whose numbers earlier this year stood at 100. It is based upon helping the sector develop codes of best practice, and provides advice on setting up safety management systems. REGIONAL CO-OPERATION Meanwhile the European Business Aircraft Association is working with regional agencies to address safety problems particularly relevant to corporate and business aircraft operation. Operational areas in which business aviation performs significantly less well than airlines, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority's general aviation flight operations policy manager Chris Finnegan, include: level busts, runway incursions, standard instrument departure deviations, communications errors and crew fatigue-related incidents. Finnegan said at this years' EBACE business aviation conference in Geneva that sector safety improvements could flow from better communications between the operators and the regulatory agencies, including the European Aviation Safety Agency and the national aviation authorities, and that they plan single-point contacts at the agencies for the business and general aviation sectors. He says there is a perceived lack of interest in the sector by the regulators. Eric Sivel, EASA's deputy director of rulemaking, says he is in favour of the modern performance and competency-based systems as embodied in training for the multi-crew pilot licence and Europe's standardised JAA pilot licensing system. But Sivel says that whenever the agency tries to advance the regulatory case for competency-based training programmes at all levels, pilot organisations and states press for adherence to hours-based training, because - he says - "hours are easier to count". Finnegan adds that there is concern at the inadequate level of system preparation for single-pilot operated VLJs (see box). Sivel was comprehensively backed up by Capt Robin Pursey, flight operations director at Airbus's executive and private aviation division, in his advocacy of performance-based training programmes and testing schedules aimed at modern commercial aviation, addressing specifically the type of operation each operator performs and the risks it faces. EUROCONTROL POISED TO DEFINE STRATEGY TO HANDLE VERY LIGHT JETS Eurocontrol is about to mount an air traffic management simulation of European airspace likely to be used by very light jets, says the agency's deputy director of air traffic management strategies Alex Hendriks. This year it has been working to collate enough information about VLJ performance, and about the types and expected frequency of operation, to be able to run a realistic simulation of what controllers and pilots can expect, and how they can deal with the additional movements in medium- and high-level controlled airspace. The intention is to examine how air navigation service providers will have to plan to be able to cope with the expected rapid growth in VLJ numbers. The growth rate in business aircraft operating in European airspace is not restricted to jets only, although jet numbers are growing fastest: jet numbers were up 12.1% in 2007 compared with the year before, but turboprop numbers also increased by 6.1%, while piston numbers declined by 0.1%. Starting shortly, the simulation will be mounted at Eurocontrol's research centre in Budapest, Hungary, says Hendriks. It will be a vital tool in determining how best to handle this new air transport phenomenon, which he says should not be under-estimated. "The growth of VLJs adds a significant extra dimension to the complexity of air traffic in Europe," he adds. Hendriks says the different performance characteristics of VLJs compared with regular commercial aircraft, both in the departure and en-route phases of flight, are likely to have a "considerable impact" on the air transport network. They do not fly as fast as most jet airliners, and their climb rate is slower. As a result, ideas already being developed for testing in simulation include separate VLJ-specific departure paths from busy airports, and tactical offsets from busy routes. Europe is working hard to determine what is required to enable the air traffic management system to cope with the demands VLJs will pose, says Hendriks. He reveals that the US Federal Aviation Administration has been sufficiently impressed with Europe's ongoing research on measures to deal with the growth of VLJ traffic that it has invited Eurocontrol to Washington DC to share ideas on how to meet this new challenge. About 500 VLJs are on order from customers intending to use them in Europe and nearly half of these are expected to be delivered by the end of 2010, says Eurocontrol. It estimates that 100 aircraft will enter service each year and 700 will be operating by 2015. Eurocontrol's latest research indicates that the average VLJ in Europe - mostly in the hands of air taxi operators - will operate three flights of about 1h duration each day. Eurocontrol believes that in about a year's time, the ATM system will handle a net additional 200-300 flights a day purely because of the introduction of VLJs into the marketplace. This number may be offset by the airline traffic reduction caused by the current economic situation, but the performance differences from other aircraft using the upper airspace remain. "We'll also need to assess the technical requirements for on-board systems," says Hendriks. This will include an analysis of whether VLJs should be required to carry an airborne collision-avoidance system. European airspace regulations only mandate carriage of such systems by civil aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of over 5,700kg (12,550lb) - twice that of a typical VLJ - or with more than 19 seats. That rule was made in an era when most aircraft below that weight band would have been turboprops or piston-powered aircraft, which would naturally occupy flight levels below flight level 290 (29,000ft/8,840m). There are also issues with the high level of reliance by certain VLJs on satellite navigation assuming that space based augmentation - the equivalent of the USA's wide area augmentation system (WAAS) will be available in Europe. Well, there will be one eventually - the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System - but it is not approved for operational use yet, Eurocontrol warns. Meanwhile it also predicts that air traffic safety will increasingly depend on technology as well as see-and-avoid, explaining: "Each flying object must report its position and have access to the position of other aircraft." Automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast in and out, which can receive datalinked flight information system and terminal information system signals will be the answer for general aviation and business aviation use, says Eurocontrol. It does not envisage the need for small aircraft to be fitted with VHF datalink like airliners. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/09/29/316594/business-aviation-sho ws-its-safety-weaknesses.html ************** VIP client seeking early 747-8 slot, or possibly A380 Consultants connected with the arrangement to deliver the first private Airbus A380 are seeking to purchase a Boeing 747-8, or possibly an A380, for another VIP customer. OCG Aviation, which has offices in Dubai and Toronto, says that it is seeking the "earliest possible" 747-8 delivery or manufacturing slot, for a "high-profile customer". It plans to perform the VIP conversion itself, probably in North America. The customer has not been publicly identified. While the 747-8 is the preferred airframe, a source at OCG says that it will look instead at an A380 if a suitable Boeing aircraft cannot be obtained in a reasonable time - one or two years. Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud is the customer for the first private A380, which the OCG source says is in Hamburg undergoing fitting. Source: Air Transport Intelligence news **************