Falcon 900 Accident Inquiry Reveals Non-certified PIC

A pilot with a revoked FAA airman certificate was serving as pilot-in-command of a Dassault Falcon 900EX EASy when it crashed off the end of the runway at San Diego Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport after he was unable to obtain rotation during takeoff. The aircraft was substantially damaged in the Feb. 13, 2021 accident, but all six occupants escaped without injury.

According to the NTSB's recently published final report, the pilot flying did not hold any pilot certificates at the time of the accident because they had been revoked in February 2019 due to falsification of logbook data. Additionally, he had never held a type rating for the accident airplane—about a year before the accident he had started, but not completed, training in the model. While the first officer had logged about 16 flight hours in the Falcon 900EX EASy, he was not authorized to serve as pilot-in-command.

The unauthorized flight crew attempted to take off with the airplane 2,975 pounds over mtow, a center of gravity close to the most forward limit, and an incorrect stabilizer trim setting. Further, the captain attempted takeoff at a rotation speed 23 knots slower than the calculated rotation speed at mtow. These factors resulted in the runway being nearly 600 feet shorter than the distance required for takeoff.

Leesburg Moving On from Its Remote Tower

The town of Leesburg, Virginia, is keeping ATC services available at Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO) with an FAA mobile tower that began operating on June 22 to replace a remote tower that is closing. The FAA is shutting down the uncertified remote tower operating at KJYO after eight years of development following Saab's decision not to complete system design review and withdrawing from the project. Saab has deployed more modern remote towers that are operating in other countries.

Meanwhile, the FAA said it will pay for the mobile tower lease and controllers at KJYO through September. Leesburg officials plan to enter the federal contract tower (FCT) program and must construct a permanent tower by 2028. “The agency is working with them to identify applicable funding and grant programs,” the FAA said in an email response to questions.

Just eight miles from Washington Dulles International Airport, KJYO is a busy general aviation airport with 74,000 operations in 2022, now up 23 percent year-to-date, with five flight schools on the field.

“We are upset the remote tower is not moving forward,” said KJYO director Scott Coffman, considering all the time spent developing a project that improved safety. “We will shift gears and do all we can to maintain air traffic control safety and efficiency at the airport.”

Fly Louie Introduces Wyvern Partnership

With a potential mandate for safety management system (SMS) adoption by charter operators looming, Fly Louie, a provider of service solutions to independent Part 135 operators, has announced a partnership with industry safety management company Wyvern to help prepare for any changes to the regulatory landscape.

Fly Louie, which began in 2019 to provide independent charter operators with economy-of-scale savings through a free membership plan, is transitioning to a paid enrollment model as it expands the dimensions of offered services. As a benefit of its newly-introduced Alliance Pro membership tier, enrolled operators will receive cost savings of up to 50 percent from Wyvern.

“Aviation safety is what we do, and aligning with a top partner such as Fly Louie will help make our services more accessible to more operators,” said Wyvern senior v-p of operations Andy Day. “We work hard to make SMS easy and effective for operations of all shapes and sizes, and look forward to working with the Fly Louie team to make another positive impact on the private aviation industry.”

Those savings are in addition to the others they would receive through the Alliance membership such as the Fly Louie fuel program, which offers preferred fuel pricing at more than 75 FBOs nationwide.

EU Sets World’s Largest SAF Blending Mandate

The European Union expects to soon introduce legislation mandating the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for flights within and departing the bloc. A deal on the ReFuelEU Aviation proposal, agreed upon at the end of April after lengthy and often tense negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, mandates that as of 2025, SAF must account for at least 2 percent of aviation fuels.

This minimum increases every five years—to 6 percent in 2030, 20 percent in 2035, 34 percent in 2040, 42 percent in 2045, and 70 percent in 2050. A proportion of the fuel mix—1.2 percent in 2030, 2 percent in 2032, 5 percent in 2035, and progressively reaching 35 percent in 2050—must consist of synthetic low-carbon aviation fuels such as e-SAF.

EU transport commissioner Adina Valean hailed the agreement as “a turning point” for European aviation toward a pathway to decarbonization. “Shifting to [SAF] will improve our energy security while reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports,” said Valean. “[The new rules] will help make Europe a front-runner in the production of innovative clean fuels, globally.”

Darko Levicar, mobility policy director at Hydrogen Europe, added that binding mandates for the uptake of SAF deliver “long-term certainty” for fuel producers to establish a European supply chain for cleaner fuels.

Erickson Air Crane Gets FAA Night Vision Goggle Approval

The FAA has granted supplemental type certificate (STC) approval for the installation of night vision goggle (NVG) systems in an Erickson S-64F Air Crane. The company partnered with Aviation Specialties Unlimited on the installation and intends to use the equipped aircraft for night firefighting operations.

In preparation for those operations, Erickson conducted NVG coursework at its annual spring training event in Oregon. Ray Touzeau, Erickson's director of operations, said that risk-mitigation strategies such as employing extensive training and following detailed standard operating procedures, regulatory protocols, and procedures will be paramount in achieving NVG safety and performance objectives.

Before conducting operational night fire training, flight crews completed helicopter NVG operations in accordance with FAA regulations. During the fire training, crews performed a variety of drops using multiple coverage level options, as well as filling techniques including ground fill, pond snorkel hover release into an open water source, hover fill, and tank fill operations. The FAA and U.S. Forest Service were on-site observing the training, and Oregon's Crook County fire department provided ground fill and conducted required helicopter coordination training and signoffs.

Safran Turbogenerator To Power Electra’s HeSTOL

Safran Helicopter Engines is developing the 600-kilowatt turbogenerator propulsion system for the prototype of Electra Aero’s nine-passenger, hybrid-electric short-takeoff-and-landing (HeSTOL) aircraft, the companies said last week at the 2023 Paris Air Show.

Earlier this month, Electra rolled out a two-seat technology demonstrator vehicle, which uses blown lift via distributed electric propulsion. It plans to be ready to fly the full-scale prototype in 2025 as it advances toward FAA Part 23 certification in 2028.

According to Electra, the Safran turbogenerator is the heart of the as-yet-unnamed eSTOL’s hybrid-electric propulsion architecture. The turbogenerator includes a gas turbine based on Safran’s Arrano turboshaft engine driving two electric generators, as well as an electrical power management system.

“We’ve closely evaluated the advanced air mobility market, and we believe the Electra eSTOL offers groundbreaking capability in a practical design,” said Safran Helicopter Engines executive v-p of OEM sales Florent Chauvancy. “We will be bringing to their project all the expertise we have independently developed in the field of hybrid-electric propulsion, combining electric and thermal energy sources, to develop the right turbogenerator for Electra’s first nine-passenger prototype aircraft.”

J.P. “James” Stewart, Electra’s v-p and general manager, explained that “hybrid propulsion is key to providing emissions and cost reductions while preserving useful payloads, ranges, and speeds.”