A winglet separated in flight from a Cessna Citation CJ2 equipped with Tamarack Aerospace’s Smartwing active winglet system on Thursday evening. According to a statement from Tamarack Aerospace, the winglet broke off due to an as-of-yet unidentified “external cause.”
The 21-year-old aircraft, registered as N869AC by Minnesota Equipment Leasing, was on a flight from Anoka County Airport (KANE) near Minneapolis to Tampa International Airport (KTPA) with an intermediate stop in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. The pilot was descending to Tampa when he experienced “bumps” and then noticed the left winglet was missing. He slowed the aircraft, declared an emergency, and landed without incident.
The approach and landing were filmed by the crew flying WFLA TV’s Eagle 8 AStar helicopter, which happened to be in the air when the incident happened. According to WFLA, “Officials at Tampa International Airport said a Cessna Citation was at 27,000 feet near St. Petersburg when the pilot lost the left winglet and part of the wing.”
Jacob Klinginsmith, Tamarack Aerospace Group president, said that certification flight testing for the company’s Smartwing modification included a “one winglet removed” scenario simulating birdstrike, lightning strike, “or any other abnormal event to the winglet.”
“We are obviously grateful that nobody was injured in this strange incident,” he said. “We’re still investigating, but it appears that external factors caused the winglet to be ripped from the aircraft.”
Dassault Aviation has added a continuous supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its Little Rock completions facility at Bill and Hillary Clinton International Airport (KLIT) in Arkansas. The fuel, supplied by Avfuel and refined by Neste in a 30 percent SAF blend, is being used for all Falcon customer acceptance and departure flights from the facility.
Use of the green fuel at this site is part of the SAF plan implemented by Dassault to reduce the carbon footprint of its aviation operations. Under this plan, all flights operated by company-owned Falcons—whether for business, transport, or Falcon support—are being flown using SAF blends.
In its neat form, SAF offers carbon emission reductions of 80 to 90 percent versus traditional jet-A, according to Dassault. For the 30 percent SAF blend being pumped at KLIT, this translates to a 24 to 27 percent CO2 emissions reduction. All Falcons are currently certified to use up to 50 percent SAF blends, while the under-development Falcon 10X is expected to be able to use 100 percent SAF when it enters service in 2025.
“Although the business aviation industry accounts for just a tiny proportion—0.04 percent—of worldwide CO2 emissions, it is helping lead the way in decarbonization, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050,” Dassault said. “SAF is currently the most promising solution to meet this target.”
Jetcraft expanded its brokerage reach through the acquisition of Corporate Fleet Services (CFS Jets), which specializes in light and midsize jets, along with turboprops.
Peter Antonenko, president of Jetcraft, called CFS Jets’ services complementary to his company’s own focus on super-midsize, large, and ultra-long-range jets—providing diverse expertise across aircraft products. Plans call for the companies to continue to operate individually for the time being, Antonenko said.
Approaching its 40th anniversary, CFS Jets is based in Cornelius, North Carolina, with offices in Texas and Tennessee. Jetcraft, meanwhile, traces its roots back to the Raleigh-Durham Aviation FBO ownership change in 1962 and has evolved into the global sales brokerage that conducted at least 800 business jet transactions worth $15 billion over the past decade.
“This strategic alliance represents a significant milestone for Jetcraft while also bringing additional benefits to our clients,” said Antonenko. “Together with CFS Jets, we now offer nearly a century of experience, more than 100 dedicated global advisors, and the largest number of exclusive jet listings.”
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill, the Aviation Workforce Development Act (H.R.1818), to make training at certain commercial pilot and aircraft maintenance technician schools qualified expenses for 529 plans.
Designed as tax-advantaged investment accounts to boost savings for higher education, 529 plans originally were limited to use toward degrees at four-year universities. Backers of the Aviation Workforce Development Act noted that Congress has expanded the list of qualified expenses to certain trade apprenticeship programs. However, aviation has not been included in that list.
To address that, four members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Ways and Means committees—Reps. Mike Collins (R-Georgia), Jimmy Panetta (D-California), Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania), and Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee)—introduced the bill with another four original co-sponsors. In addition, the Aviation Workforce Development Act has received backing from nearly 20 commercial and business aviation organizations.
The bill would permit 529 plans to cover tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for participation in a qualified aviation maintenance course or a qualified commercial pilot course. This includes Part 147 maintenance schools and Part 61 and 141 flight schools. Since H.R.1818 involves a tax-related measure, the bill would first need to be considered by Ways and Means. Backers hope to include the bill in a larger tax measure that would be added to a comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill later this year.
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Looking to address the hangar shortage in Florida, Corporate Air, a full-service FBO at Vero Beach Regional Airport (KVRB), will break ground this week on the first phase of a major expansion that will nearly triple the facility’s existing aircraft shelter. The company, which began operations at KVRB in 1986, recently negotiated a 40-year lease with the city, including a 13-acre parcel of land with six acres of newly-poured ramp on the east side of the field off Taxiway E at the end of 7,314-foot Runway 30L.
On this plot, opposite the field from its FBO, Corporate Air plans to build six 20,000-sq-ft community hangars with 28-foot-high doors to handle the latest ultra-long-range business jets. Each will have up to 3,000 sq ft of customizable office space and 10 covered parking spaces.
The first pair in the $12 million project is expected to be completed by November, at which point construction will begin on the second pair. The entire expansion is set to wrap up in 2025. Corporate Air president Rodger Pridgeon believes the resulting influx of aircraft will double its fuel sales volume.
This move comes just as the company begins construction on a dedicated U.S. Customs facility that will allow KVRB to receive direct international flights.
Montreal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport has temporarily closed 11,000-foot Runway 06L/24R for major pavement reconstruction. Work now underway includes concrete slab replacement between future Taxiway B2 and Taxiway B1, rehabilitation of Taxiway B2 and B1, and construction of a new high-speed exit taxiway.
The runway is scheduled to reopen on June 23. Airport officials said construction activities will run “continuously for the entire duration of the work,” with the following impacts on operations: Taxiway B2 North of Taxiway B and Taxiways B1 and B3 will be closed; approach lights and runway edge lights for Runway 06L/24R will be disconnected; and low-visibility operations plan and CAT II procedures will be unavailable.
During the construction period, IFR training is not authorized, and VFR flights, including photo survey operations, “can anticipate restrictions or denied access to the Montreal Class C airspace,” according to notams. Also, slot reservations are required for all inbound and outbound general aviation flights, except for helicopter and medevac. Finally, Runway 06L/24R approach and departure procedures are not authorized at this time.
Boeing has donated $5.1 million to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for a research center at its Daytona Beach, Florida campus. The center, headed up by former NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt, will explore safety improvements throughout the industry.
Named the Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle, the facility will be used for research involving operational safety risk, encompassing topics such as data analytics to predict and potentially prevent safety incidents; runway safety; safety management systems; risk management; and the integration of new entrants into the global airspace system, among others.
“By its nature, aviation is self-correcting in that we must continuously apply lessons learned to keep all who fly as safe as possible,” said Embry-Riddle president P. Barry Butler. “The Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle will provide an infrastructure for systematically investigating and reducing safety risks, from technological challenges to human factors.”
Embry-Riddle will house the center in a 13,000-sq-ft building that is undergoing renovation. Slated to open in January 2024, the building will be equipped with both office and lab space, as well as dedicated classrooms.
The center is designed to foster collaboration across academia, industry, and government entities and establish research partnerships. Findings will be shared with the broader aviation community to advance safety.
A LifeSaver program helicopter crashed last night near Birmingham, Alabama, killing two of three crew aboard. The surviving crewmember, a flight medic, was in critical, but stable condition at a local hospital. The Airbus EC130T2, registered as N231SH, was attempting a scene pickup of a hiker in distress when it crashed while attempting to land.
The Air Methods-operated aircraft was dispatched from the Sylacauga airport (KSCD) at approximately 5:54 p.m. local time and crashed 27 minutes later. Tracking from FlightAware shows the helicopter, “LifeSaver 4,” flew orbits over the scene for approximately 16 minutes prior to the accident and had slowed to a forward speed of 16 knots just before impact. The aircraft went down near Highway 280 and Bear Creek Road in Shelby County.
Wreckage photos show the helicopter resting on its left side across pavement and grass next to a fence and a wooded area. The cabin is largely intact, but the cabin windows are discolored. There is evidence of a post-crash fire aft and forward of the engine compartment, the tail boom cracked where it attaches to the aft bulkhead, and the main rotor blades snapped off.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
Which of the following increases the risk of a runway excursion?
A. A mishandled rejected takeoff.
B. Takeoff performance calculation errors.
C. Unstable approach.
D. All of the above.
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