General aviation companies have been among those providing relief for victims of deadly wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Relief supplies have been arriving at Maui’s Kaluhui Airport (POGG), which was undamaged by the conflagration. On Saturday, the Hawaii Department of Transportation announced it would shut down the airport's secondary 4,980-foot Runway 5/23 as it prioritizes commercial and cargo flights into the island.

FBO groups Atlantic Aviation and Signature Aviation, which both have extensive footprints throughout the Hawaiian islands, have assisted in the relief efforts, helping customers coordinate evacuation flights and transporting people from the Lahaina area to the safety of the airport. Atlantic noted its staff at other bases in Hawaii have purchased supplies such as bottled water, food, and toiletries.

Signature added that early on in the disaster, it provided shelter at its Kalhui FBO for people who escaped the fire and is continuing to send ice and water out to the affected areas for the local community.

Planet 9—a charter operator based at the Los Angeles-area Van Nuys Airport FBO Castle and Cooke Aviation—dispatched a large-cabin Bombardier Global Express jet packed with supplies to the area. 

Castle and Cooke’s Honolulu FBO has been supporting local helicopter tour operators Maverick and Rainbow Helicopters with donated fuel for their relief flights as they carry supplies into Maui and return with displaced victims. 

The July 26, 2021 fatal crash of a Bombardier Challenger 605 following a circle-to-land approach in marginal VMC was due to “the first officer’s improper decision to attempt to salvage an unstabilized approach by executing a steep left turn to realign the airplane with the runway centerline, and the captain’s failure to intervene after recognizing the FO’s erroneous action,” according to the NTSB final report published late last week. The accident near California’s Truckee-Tahoe Airport (KTRK) killed the two pilots and four passengers.

The Safety Board also faulted the flight crew for ignoring stall protection system warnings, which resulted in a left-wing stall and an impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident were the improper deployment of the flight spoilers; the captain’s improper setting up of the circling approach; the flight crew’s “self-induced pressure to perform”; and “poor crew resource management.”

During the descent, an air traffic controller told the pilots to expect the RNAV approach for Runway 20. After the pilots calculated that Runway 20 was too short, instead of requesting the straight-in approach to Runway 11, the captain told the first officer they could take the Runway 20 approach and circle to land on Runway 11. They did not brief each other about the new clearance.

NTSB further pointed to a breakdown of communications, incorrect performance, rushed actions, and “critical errors.” 

VistaJet reported that program memberships jumped by 40 percent and program flight hours sold rose by 20 percent in the first six months of the year. In fact, the international operator experienced a record number of new members onboarded in the first half, it said.

Meanwhile, existing clients are increasing their flying hours, with about half of the program hours sold characterized as “add-on” hours, VistaJet further said. Flying hours across the board are up by 30 percent globally with growth spanning across the globe. VistaJet hours flown in Europe increased by 38 percent in the first half and accounted for 34 percent of its total flight hours. The operator’s flight hours were up by 15 percent in the U.S., 80 percent in Asia, and 62 percent in the Middle East.

“We are off to a strong start in 2023 thanks to our rapidly growing subscription program,” said Vista founder and chairman Thomas Flohr. “Reflecting the enduring demand for the subscription model across our client base across all markets, we continue to see unprecedented levels of demand from existing and new members, with many more hours being sold to existing members as well as a large number of new clients asking to join Vista.”

Embraer’s second-quarter 2023 revenues reached $1.292 million, representing a 27 percent year-over-year boost and an 80 percent jump from its first-quarter results, the Brazilian manufacturer reported today. The company attributed the increases to higher delivery volumes in commercial and executive aviation. Deliveries were up 47 percent overall in the quarter.

Revenues for the Embraer Executive Jets division were $378 million, 42 percent higher than the second quarter of 2022. Gross margin in the second quarter was down slightly from 22.1 percent last year but still stood at 19.8 percent.

Embraer’s private jet sales continue to rise with a book-to-bill of 2:1 and an order backlog of $4.3 billion. This was up from $ 4.1 billion at the end of March. This past quarter, it announced a deal with NetJets for up to 250 Praetor 500 jets along with a comprehensive services and support agreement, which represents a potential total value of more than $5 billion.

The airframer’s services and support division has an order backlog of $2.7 billion. It reported revenues of $339.7 million for the quarter, representing a year-over-year growth of 6 percent, and the company noted that its FBO in Sorocaba was recognized as the best FBO in Brazil for the fifth consecutive year, according to the AIN FBO Survey 2023.

The NTSB has started investigating another close call between an airliner and business jet. This one occurred on Friday at San Diego International Airport in California. The incident involved a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a Cessna Citation XLS+ during daytime VMC.

Preliminary information indicates that San Diego tower cleared the 737 to line up and wait on Runway 27, while also advising that the Citation traffic was on a five-mile final and cleared to land. About two minutes later, with the airliner still on the runway but not cleared for takeoff, the Citation crew radioed the tower, asking whether they were still cleared to land.

Possibly this call by the Citation crew helped alert controllers to the proximity of the two aircraft because they immediately issued go-around instructions for the Citation. The 737 subsequently departed and the Citation landed about 15 minutes later.

Executing the go-around, the Citation reportedly overflew the 737 by about 100 feet.

On February 27, a Bombardier Learjet 60 and JetBlue Embraer E190 narrowly missed each other at Boston Logan Airport. According to the NTSB’s final report published earlier this month, despite acknowledging ATC instructions to line up and wait, the flight crew of the Learjet 60 took off without clearance and caused a near-collision with the landing Embraer E190, which passed over the business jet at about 400 feet after it was instructed to go around.

Teesside Airport in northern England is introducing hydrogen-powered ground support vehicles with the help of UK government funding as part of wider initiatives to achieve net zero carbon in the air transport industry. Following earlier trials involving cars, tow tugs, vans, and forklift trucks, £8 million ($10 million) in funding is being provided to install a permanent hydrogen refueling facility at the airport by 2025.

The airport, which has been publicly owned since 2019, will continue to use a temporary refueling station for its ground vehicles until the permanent facility is ready. It is working toward a self-imposed objective of achieving net zero operations by 2030, with other initiatives including increased use of sustainable aviation fuels and solar panels installed on land next to the runway.

As well as providing hydrogen for the airport’s apron vehicles, the new facility will be available to other commercial vehicles and those operated by local authorities. The project has been conducted as part of the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub trial, which began in 2021.

A UK company called Element 2 is providing the hydrogen refueling infrastructure. The facility is not yet planned for use with future hydrogen-powered aircraft.

Vita Inclinata Technologies has acquired Air Rescue Systems (ARS), a helicopter response, training, and equipment company that has served customers in various branches of the military and emergency response organizations worldwide for more than 20 years. Vita said combining the companies will provide lifting solutions to a broader range of emergency response organizations, equipping them with the tools and skills required to execute successful missions. 

ARS offers courses for advanced helicopter operations, including hoist, short-haul, rappel, fast rope, medical/rescue, precision long line, and skid operations tailored to mission-specific requirements with equipment that is purpose-designed and built by helicopter operations professionals. This includes the Air Rescue Vest—Quick Connect, which is used by the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines.  

Part of Vita Inclinata, Vita Aerospace manufactures the Vita Rescue System—Litter Attachment, which utilizes a computer-controlled fan package to adjust speed and stabilize hoist loads and eliminate spinning. "We are honored to partner with Air Rescue Systems to expand our reach and impact in the emergency response landscape," said Caleb Carr, co-founder and CEO of Vita Inclinata Technologies. "This partnership enables us to provide comprehensive solutions needed to address the challenges of emergency situations. Together, we will drive innovation and empower teams worldwide to save lives and protect communities."