15 SEP 2009 _______________________________________   *Contact Air makes emergency landing *Aircraft in Gulf to be tracked using satellites ***************************************   Contact Air makes emergency landing   Contact Air commercial passenger airplane forced to make an emergency foam landing at Stuttgart International Airport in Germany.   New York aviation accident alert-Contact Air a Lufthansa commercial airliner operator forced to make emergency foam landing in Germany.   New York, NY–An airline pilot flying for Contact Air, a regional commercial airliner headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany and part of the Lufthansa Regional System, was forced to emergency land on foam at Stuttgart International Airport on Monday, as reported by AT&T. According to reports the passenger jet had problems with its landing gear when attempting to land at Stuttgart. The pilot made several attempts to deploy the landing gear of the passenger jet which was flying from Tegel International Airport in Berlin.   The Contact Air jet was carrying 73 passengers and five crew members when the flight crew emergency landed the plane on a protective layer of foam placed on the runway. The passengers were forced to exit the plane from its emergency side doors. There has been one report of a passenger injury and a stewardess who was transported to a hospital by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. The Fokker 100 was built in November 1995 and recently received a full inspection. The Captain of the plane is 60 years old and has over 17,000 flight hours as reported by news sources. http://www.justicenewsflash.com/2009/09/15/contact-air-emergency-landing_200909152156.html **************   Aircraft in Gulf to be tracked using satellites   WASHINGTON (AP) — Air traffic controllers will begin using satellite technology in December to track aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico, a significant milestone in the government's program to replace the nation's radar-based air traffic system, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Monday.   The most immediate beneficiaries will be airliners flying from the southern United States to South America, which will be able to take off more frequently and fly closer together, and helicopters servicing about 9,000 oil rigs in the Gulf, which should be able to fly more direct routes and be less limited by poor weather.   The new technology will be used in a 240,000-square mile area of the Gulf. Radar coverage extends only about 150 miles from shore, so aircraft flying over the Gulf — or any large body of water — aren't covered. As a safety precaution, controllers are required to keep 100 square miles around each plane free of other aircraft. To do this, they stagger planes leaving the continental U.S. by ten minutes, an inefficient system that dates back to World War II.   Likewise, helicopters, which service Gulf oil platforms with an estimated 5,000 to 9,000 daily takeoffs and landings, must be able to see other aircraft. That limits their ability fly in poor weather.   The satellite-based surveillance will give controllers the ability to see aircraft over water just as they do over land using radar.   The Federal Aviation Administration plans to deploy the system nationwide by 2013, although aircraft won't have to install the cockpit equipment needed to take advantage of the new system until 2020. Ultimately, the system — known as NextGen — is expected to save the airline industry billions of dollars every year in time and fuel, as well as cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.   The system "is one of the biggest steps in technology our generation is going to see," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, who joined LaHood at a news conference.   Airlines, who have been especially hard hit by the economic downturn, are seeking help paying for the estimated billions of dollars it will cost to install new equipment.   "Congress and FAA should make this program a priority by creating the necessary financial incentives for accelerated deployment," said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents major airlines.   LaHood said the administration is working with the industry to find a solution. ************* Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC