Officials in Ohio are continuing their investigation into the cause of a fatal accidental hangar foam discharge at Wilmington Air Park (KILN).
On Aug, 7 at around 1:45 pm, the foam fire suppression system in a large commercial aircraft maintenance hangar operated by Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services discharged, trapping five people in a vehicle at the entrance of the hangar and leaving one person unaccounted for.
A spokesperson for parent company Air Transport Services Group confirmed to AIN that fire was not the cause of the discharge and that maintenance work was being conducted in the hangar at the time of the malfunction.
The emergency responders rescued the workers in the vehicle, and the deceased man was located four hours later after responders were able to flush out the hangar, according to Wilmington Fire Chief Andy Mason. The victim was a 55-year-old Airborne Maintenance area supervisor who had been employed by the company for more than a year. His is believed to be the first civilian fatality caused by hangar foam discharge, following a military-related death in 2014.
NATA spearheaded the campaign to have the requirement for foam fire suppression systems lessened for Group 2 business aviation-type hangars, where hazardous activities such as maintenance and fueling did not take place. However, an airliner-size hangar such as the one at KILN would fall under the Group 1 category, which would still require foam suppression under National Fire Protection Association guidance.
Public charter operator Aero has raised $65 million in capital through $50 million in series B funding and $15 million in convertible notes for a total post-money valuation of $300 million. Co-led by Albacore Capital Group in Europe, this latest financing round included investments from returning investors Expa and Keyframe Capital, as well as new investment from Capital One Ventures.
Launched by Uber co-founder Garrett Camp, Aero uses refurbished Embraer ERJ-135s in black livery to provide semi-private travel through private terminals and concierge services. San Francisco-based Aero offers flights to Aspen, Colorado; Los Cabos, Mexico; and Sun Valley, Idaho from private terminals in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as Ibiza, Mykonos, and Nice from London’s Farnborough Airport.
The financing will allow the company to further expand its markets and respond to increasing demand on existing routes.
“I am really excited to announce Aero’s Series B raise to further ignite growth and expand into new markets. Aero's success over the last few years highlights that customers in both the U.S. and Europe have been waiting for the Aero travel experience,” said Aero CEO Uma Subramanian. “Aero is growing fast, and we look forward to bringing the Aero experience to new markets in the coming months.”
Putting in place the complex infrastructure required for so-called advanced air mobility (AAM) operations could be the new sector's greatest challenge. That was the consensus of a diversity of speakers at the recent Electric Aircraft Symposium, hosted by the Vertical Flight Society (VFS).
Experts pointed to a plethora of potential roadblocks including the need to raise massive amounts of capital for AAM infrastructure, the complexity of folding autonomous flight into the national airspace system, and the costs associated with delivering sufficient electric power to vertiports. But what was not disputed was the tremendous financial impact AAM could have on states and local communities. And that’s key to raising the $10 to $30 billion needed to build out AAM infrastructure in the 38 largest American urban markets.
However, those funds are unlikely to be provided by the public sector, and private sector sources can’t be counted on to provide them without rock-solid demand forecasting. To be credible, that forecasting must be local and there must be more of it. Ruben Del Rosario of Crown Consulting pointed out that a study done in Ohio found that AAM could add $11.4 billion to that state's gross domestic product by 2045, create more than 15,000 jobs, and raise $2.5 billion in tax revenue, with a big chunk of those numbers coming from cargo and emergency services operations.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
Threshold Aviation Group, an aviation services provider based at California’s Chino Airport (KCNO), has acquired an additional 50,000-sq-ft hangar from San Bernardino County. The newly-leased structure, originally built to house military transports, is Threshold’s fourth hangar of that size on the field and will be used to support its business jet operations. The company’s managed and charter fleet includes Gulfstream G650s, G550s, and IVs, as well as Bombardier Challengers.
The FBO—which also offers MRO, completions, avionics, and aircraft brokerage services—now occupies 250,000 sq ft of hangar, shop, and office space. In addition, it has about a half million sq ft of ramp space at KCNO.
“Our operation is truly full service,” noted company founder and CEO Mark DiLullo. “We can fly your airplane, store your airplane, maintain your airplane, refurbish your airplane and gas it up at our fuel farm. We can even buy an airplane for you, sell it for you, or even part it out if it has reached the end of its service life.”
Boston Executive Helicopters (BEH) on Monday won the most recent court decision in the long-running legal fight with the Town of Norwood, Massachusetts, over disputes about its FBO at Norwood Memorial Airport.
The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld BEH's argument that requiring its FBO to provide an easement on its leased ramp for use by the airport's other FBO, FlightLevel, violates the settlement agreement signed between BEH and the Town of Norwood in July 2019. BEH contended that an easement would interfere with its use of the West Apron by, for example, requiring it to move parked aircraft to accommodate FlightLevel's passage.
According to court documents, “The parties' prolonged negotiations prior to signing the settlement agreement make it crystal clear that there was to be no encumbrance in favor of FlightLevel.” That lease, as BEH points out, “says nothing about encumbrances; nevertheless, Norwood continues to maintain that FlightLevel still has an easement to use the West Apron."
After an 11-year effort, BEH finally pumped its first fuel as a working FBO in July 2021, but it is undetermined if this court decision will resolve any disagreements because of each party's determination to stand their ground. A spokesperson for the law firm representing the Town of Norwood told AIN, “At the moment, we're still assessing the decision and next steps, and are not ready to comment."
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A new national safety education campaign, backed by major aviation groups and aimed primarily at the general aviation pilot community, launched this week in Australia encouraging aviators to increase their skills and knowledge. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is working with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), Airservices Australia, Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), and other airplane and rotorcraft trade organizations to enhance aviation safety through the “Your Safety Is In Your Hands” campaign.
The campaign encourages pilots to keep up to date with safety developments, refresh their knowledge, invest in their ongoing development, and, most importantly, stay safe. CASA CEO Pip Spence said the campaign was developed with input from pilots and ATSB accident and incident data. “Each quarter we will focus on a new safety topic with information and online resources available through the new CASA pilot safety hub.”
“Airservices Australia and the BOM have also contributed to our campaign by providing information and resources on operating at controlled airports and navigating weather and forecasting,” Spence said. “We’ve been working on a range of resources for local flying schools and industry associations to encourage their students and members to get involved.”
A preliminary report of the July 29 accident involving a CASA 212-200 turboprop twin, suggests that the second-in-command (SIC) may have taken his own life by jumping out of his airborne airplane without a parachute following a recovery from a hard landing.
The SIC was the pilot flying enroute to Raeford West Airport (NR20), North Carolina, when the aircraft made hard contact with the runway following a late decision to go-around. The impact separated the CASA's right main landing gear from the aircraft. After several low passes in order for ground spotters to verify the damage, the SIC then declared an emergency as directed by the pilot-in-command (PIC) and began a diversion to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (KRDU).
According to the NTSB, the PIC said the SIC became “visibly upset” during the flight. He lowered the rear ramp of the aircraft and then “got up from his seat, removed his headset, apologized, and departed the airplane via the aft ramp door” at an altitude of approximately 3,500 feet. The SIC's body was discovered in the backyard of a residential neighborhood.
The PIC reported the event to ATC, proceeded to KRDU, performed a low approach, and executed an emergency landing. The aircraft departed the right side of the runway and came to rest on some turf, upright. Damage to the aircraft included the right main landing gear, landing gear fittings, and airframe structure.
UK-based Smith Myers, a member of the Arctic Security and Emergency Preparedness Network (ARCSAR), will take part in the Livex search-and-rescue exercises outside of Svalbard, Norway, from August 28 to September 1. During the exercises, the company will demonstrate its Artemis search-and-rescue (SAR) technology aboard a Norwegian Air Force SAR-configured Leonardo AW101 helicopter in concert with the M/S Quest surface vessel.
“Artemis can detect, locate, and communicate with phones even when there is no local cellular network coverage,” said Smith Myers director Peter Myers. According to the company, Artemis turns any mobile phone into a rescue beacon with just two small antennas to generate latitude/longitude fixes at ranges in excess of 16 nm. The technology increases the odds of a positive outcome in low light/IMC conditions and is available in several configurations for manned and unmanned platforms. Smith Myers said Artemis is particularly useful for the offshore energy industry.
ARCSAR’s 20 members address SAR challenges in the Arctic and North-Atlantic region including long distances, severe weather, ice/cold conditions, a poor communications network, lack of infrastructure, and limited resources.
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