AINalerts will not be published on December 31 or January 1.
The next issue will be published on Thursday, January 2.

Cert Scrutiny To Extend into 2020 in Washington

The FAA ended a difficult year under intense scrutiny in the aftermath of the Boeing 737 Max crashes, and Congress gave notice that pressure was not going to let up headed into the new year. “Though 2019 is coming to an end, the [House Transportation and Infrastructure, T&I] Committee’s investigation is far from over,” warned House aviation subcommittee chair Rick Larsen (D-Washington). That scrutiny extends to the FAA’s delegation activities, approach to pilot training, and international leadership. “It is increasingly clear the process by which the FAA evaluates and certifies aircraft is itself in need of repair,” Larsen said.

With the FAA’s processes under fire, GA groups are spending considerable time on Capitol Hill explaining the need for programs such as Organization Delegation Authorization.

FAA administrator Steve Dickson recently appeared before the T&I committee, laying out an overview of what lies ahead for the agency, saying it is focused on moving toward a more holistic versus transactional, item-by-item approach to aircraft certification. Dickson also called for a coordinated and flexible information flow and emphasized a need for SMS at manufacturers, use of analytics or “big data,” and maintaining a “just culture.”

This is among a number of Washington issues expected to capture the industry attention in 2020, with others surrounding ADS-B, education of lawmakers in an election year, and recently introduced bills to restrict aircraft access.

Leading Bizav Names Featured on ICAO CORSIA List

ICAO has published a list of 670 operators that, according to submissions from its member nations, will be subject to CORSIA (The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation)—with many leading business aircraft operators included.

“CORSIA Airplane Operator to State Attributions” includes the likes of NetJets, EJM, and Flexjet in the U.S. VistaJet, Qatar Executive, TAG, and Luxaviation are listed among the international companies. Also falling under the auspices of the scheme are Execujet (Switzerland); several in the UAE, such as Falcon Aviation, Execujet ME, and Royal Flight; and NetJets Europe under Spain.

According to consultancy Verifavia, the CORSIA reporting and verification season will start soon. “All operators flying international routes with an estimated annual CO₂ emissions above 10,000 tonnes should now have their Emission Monitoring Plan (EMP) approved by their administration and should be in the process of monitoring their flights, fuel consumption and aircraft emissions since January 2019,” said the company. The next step is to engage a verification body to start the verification process. 

Operators need a valid certificate of accreditation before entering into an agreement with a verifier. Reporting of consolidated data and calculated emissions is done using a standardized Emissions Report (ER) template. Once the ER is verified, both the operator and the verifier independently submit it and the associated Verification Report to the operator's CORSIA Administering Authority by May 31, 2020.

Hawaii Tour Helo Wreckage Found—Seven Dead

On Friday the Coast Guard located wreckage of an air tour helicopter that went missing on the Hawaiian island of Kauai Thursday afternoon. All seven aboard the Safari Helicopters Airbus AS350B2 were killed, including Safari’s chief pilot, Paul Matero, 69. Matero held a commercial rotorcraft rating issued in 2011 and a second-class FAA physical with limitations for corrective lenses. He was scheduled to retire in early 2020. The six passengers were described as two separate families, one from Switzerland and the other from Wisconsin that included a 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter.

The helicopter was flying over the northwest side of the island when it made its last position report at 4:40 p.m. Thursday shortly after leaving the Waimea Canyon area. The wreckage was located northwest of that area in the Kokee State Park, approximately 1.3 miles from the coast. Local officials said the helicopter appeared to have struck a cliff and then dropped up to 300 feet to the terrain below in a remote and rugged area between the Milolli Ridge Road and the Nualolo Trail, 13 miles north of Hanapepe.

Kokee is a large plateau that encompasses 4,345 acres with elevations from 3,200 to 4,200 msl. The area is notorious for late afternoon fog. 

Metrojet Sees Growth in Gulfstream Managed Fleet

Metrojet has added five Gulfstream business jets to its managed fleet, bringing its tally to 16 Gulfstream aircraft, the Hong Kong-based business aviation services provider announced. “Gulfstream is delighted to see this latest addition to Metrojet’s managed fleet, which reflects the continued growth and popularity of Gulfstream aircraft in the region,” Gulfstream Aerospace senior v-p of worldwide sales Scott Neal said.

Gulfstream and Metrojet have had a long-standing partnership, beginning in 2001 with the receipt of its first GIV in 2001. In 2020, Metrojet expects to see additional Gulfstream jets enter its managed fleet because it’s one of the most popular business jet OEMs in the region, according to Metrojet CEO Gary Dolski. “We are also pleased to provide seamless maintenance support to the full family of aircraft through our approved warranty facility in Hong Kong and our soon-to-be-completed—in Q2 2020—new hangar and parking facility in Clark, the Philippines,” he added.

Denzil White, Metrojet’s managing director of aircraft management and charter, explained that 2019 was a tough business environment for the region. “Given the recessionary environment, Metrojet is pleased with the steady growth,” White said.

NTSB Returns To Full Board with Graham, Chapman

The National Transportation Safety Board is set to return to its full complement of board members with the recent confirmation of two new members, both of whom have had strong ties to business and general aviation.

Michael Graham, who had been director, flight operations safety, security, and standardization for Textron Aviation, was confirmed for terms extending through 2025. Graham has a deep background in business aviation safety, formerly chairing the Air Charter Safety Foundation and leading the NBAA Safety Committee’s Pilot Safety Working Group, as well as volunteering on the FAA’s Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing program’s General Aviation Issues Analysis Team.

Joining him on the board is Tom Chapman, who was confirmed for a term extending through the end of 2023. Chapman most recently was minority counsel for the Senate aviation subcommittee and has also held government affairs positions for US Airways and Southwest Airlines. He was also formerly senior v-p for government and technical affairs for AOPA.

The Senate confirmed both on December 19. “NBAA welcomes the return of a full five-member board at the NTSB,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “Given that safety is a core value for business aviation, we are pleased to see the confirmation of Michael Graham, and we look forward to working with him and Thomas Chapman in their new roles at the NTSB.”

China To Inject $223 Million in Small, Medium-sized Airports

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has committed $223 million to subsidize the operation of 175 small to medium-sized airports next year as part of Beijing’s effort to encourage connectivity in its western and northeast regions. An estimated 75 to 80 percent of the country’s airports lose money every year due to a paucity of traffic.

According to CAA official Lu Bian, the airports generally fail to make a profit due to their remote locations and a limited number of flights. “Another factor could be because of the provincial government’s decision to build an airport just to reflect its city’s status irrespective of whether it would be [financially] feasible,” Lu said.

As part of the plan to improve links with the western and other remote regions in the country, the government plans to build another 200 airports between 2020 and 2035. Lu noted that much of the construction will take place in obscure cities and districts. An estimated 115 airports will fall into the small to medium-sized category.

China this year expects its airports to handle a total of 1.35 billion passengers, amounting to an increase of 10.7 percent over the previous year.

NTSB: No Distress Calls Came Before LA Piper Crash

A team of NTSB investigators is looking into what led to a Piper PA31-T Cheyenne II turboprop twin to take off from Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT), enter into a steep decline, and crash into a U.S. post office parking lot on December 28, killing five of six aboard, including the daughter-in-law of the offensive coordinator of the Louisana State University (LSU) football team.

The 1980 model Cheyenne, N42CV, departed from Runway 22L from LFT at about 9:20 a.m. local time Saturday for what was to have been a flight to Atlanta-DeKalb Peachtree Airport (PDK) ahead of the LSU-Oklahoma University playoff game in Atlanta. NTSB vice chairman Bruce Landsberg briefed reporters yesterday that the aircraft reached an altitude of 900 feet and started a left descending turn. Two witnesses described the aircraft as being in a “steep left bank turn ….then rolling about wing’s level” just before striking power lines and trees and coming to rest in the post office lot, according to the investigator in charge, Jennifer Rodi.

There was no distress call that NTSB was aware of, nor was there a flight data recorder. Weather at the time was three-quarters-of-a-mile visibility, wind of five knots, and a cloud base at 200 feet. Along with the five fatalities, the sixth person aboard was seriously injured. Three more on the ground were injured. 

European FBO Operator Makes Green Pledge

European business aviation ground support provider Omni Handling has partnered with environmental group Rainforest Action, in an agreement that pledges to plant one new tree in its native Portugal for every ground handling operation it performs. Since the program’s launch, it has sponsored the planting of more than 500 trees in Marvão and Meda, to reforest areas that have recently been affected by forest fires.

The company, one of Portugal’s largest FBO operators—with locations in Lisbon, Cascais, Porto, Faro, Beja, the Azores, and Madiera—noted that based on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) forecast, emissions from international aviation that affect the global climate are expected to increase through 2050.

“As part of the aviation industry Omni Handling is fully aware of this threat and is willing to take action and participate in the preservation of nature,” said company CEO Ricardo Pereira. “By encouraging the use of innovative practices and the development of cleaner technologies, our industry will be able to reduce the impact on the environment.”

Pereira added that after reducing his company’s carbon footprint, simple actions such as planting trees can have a significant impact on the future.