A Brazilian federal judge has extinguished the case against two American pilots of an Embraer Legacy 600 that collided in September 2006 with a Boeing 737-800 over the Amazon. The judge ruled that too much time had passed for a sentence to be imposed.

Joseph Lepore and Jan Paul Paladino were piloting the Legacy 600 on its delivery flight to ExcelAire on Long Island when Brazilian air traffic control cleared them on a collision course with Gol Flight 1907. The midair collision sheared the Boeing’s wing, and all 154 aboard died. The Legacy 600 made an emergency landing with all seven aboard uninjured.

Among the factors leading to the collision were the Legacy’s transponder being turned off, disabling the TCAS, and a series of failures by Brazil's military-run ATC. Several controllers were found guilty by criminal and military courts.

The American pilots were eventually sentenced to three years and three months of alternative penalty for failing to observe the “TCAS Off” message. But the NTSB disagreed with the safety investigation’s conclusions, and the specific charge—placing an aircraft in danger—has no equivalent in the U.S., making the crime non-extraditable.

The judge blamed the “lack of cooperation from the United States” for the lapse of time, which means that under Brazilian law the sentence can no longer be enforced.

Bombardier Defense is expanding its footprint in Germany through an order from the automobile association, Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC), for an air ambulance-configured Challenger 650. ADAC subsidiary Aero-Dienst will operate the large-cabin twinjet for medical transportation of its customers around the world. The Challenger 650 is slated for delivery in 2026.

“The ambulance service of ADAC Versicherung, in cooperation with Aero-Dienst in Nuremberg, has been setting global standards in the field of patient repatriation for more than 50 years,” said Sascha Petzold of ADAC Versicherung’s board. “By investing in a new aircraft, we are reaffirming our commitment to providing our ADAC members and policyholders with first-class services. Thanks to the Challenger 650’s long range, we are able to serve our members worldwide with our own ADAC fleet.”

Petzold added that the 4,000-nm aircraft is a significant step in its strategy to modernize the company’s fleet.

“The Challenger 650 is the best aircraft available for our kind of ambulance operation as the performance fits perfectly to our flight profiles,” added Aero-Dienst managing director Oliver Kosing. “Another important factor for Aero-Dienst is the availability of intensive care medical equipment at the highest level for transportation of up to four patients. Furthermore, the dimensions of the fuselage with its large diameter and standing height enables our med crew to provide the best possible care for patients during flight.”

Bryan Sherbacow, the founder and former CEO of sustainable fuel company Alder Renewables, was sentenced this week to three years in prison after pleading guilty in February to wire fraud charges.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), between 2021 and 2022 Sherbacow illegally siphoned nearly $6 million from the company by transferring funds to his personal bank account without authorization and by making unauthorized personal expenditures from a company bank account.

The DOJ noted that he attempted to hide his crimes by emailing altered bank statements and other false documentation to Alder’s accounting firm and company board members. To raise additional funds for the company, Sherbacow authorized false documents to be sent to current and prospective investors. In response to this misleading financial information, three investors collectively invested $15 million.

According to the DOJ, the embezzled funds were used to pay for a vintage Mercedes-Benz sports car, a Range Rover SUV, art auction payments, personal tax liens, personal credit card payments, rent on personal residences, membership to a beach club, and a downpayment on a condominium.

West Star Aviation has revealed a revamped executive leadership structure that will see Jim Rankin step down from his CEO post and serve as executive chairman. The company appointed Stephen Maiden as Rankin’s replacement as CEO, while current COO Allen McReynolds assumes an expanded role as president and COO, responsible for all West Star operations.

Maiden joined West Star in November when West Star acquired Gama Aviation subsidiary Jet East, where he had served as president and CEO. Maiden’s career in aviation maintenance began when he served in the U.S. Air Force as an electrical and environmental specialist on F-16s. He has served a variety of roles with increasing responsibility, starting as an avionics technician and later as team lead and manager, moving up to director of quality and of operations. He spent the last 18 years serving as CEO at various MRO companies.

McReynolds accepted a position as West Star’s COO in September. As part of the recent leadership restructuring, McReynolds will assume increased responsibility and oversight of all business operations in his new role as president and COO.

“Stephen and Allen bring a unique set of skills and experiences to their leadership roles,” said Rankin. “I’m excited to support them as they build on West Star’s long-standing guiding principle of taking care of customers and employees.”

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Lufthansa Technik (LHT) is now offering a fuel tank sanitization method that it says provides a more effective and longer-lasting cleaning than current processes. Moreover, it is chemical-free and does not employ biocides that can be harmful to the environment.

Microbial contamination buildup—known as biofilm—has a detrimental effect on the health of aircraft fuel systems and structural integrity by clogging filters and causing corrosion. Fuel system cleaning is typically conducted as part of a maintenance layover. A patent is pending for the new procedure, which has been certified through LHT’s Part 21J Design Organization status.

The company's procedure employs steam cleaning and vacuum suction that effectively removes the biofilm, even from difficult-to-reach areas such as around rivet joints. According to LHT, the results are far in advance of those obtained with existing biocide-based methods and significantly exceed the requirements described in aircraft maintenance manuals. The effectiveness of the cleaning also lasts considerably longer than with current methods, it said.

Numerous post-treatment microbial examinations are conducted as part of the process, testing critical areas of the fuel system. “The complete absence of microbes documented in all the areas treated by our new sanitization procedure has thus convinced us that we found a truly effective solution to break the vicious circle of fuel tank contamination,” said Christian Siry, head of LHT's central materials technologies unit.

Aviation Clean Air (ACA) announced that it has finalized an agreement with Embraer for the installation of its ionization purification system as a factory-approved production option in Phenoms and Praetors. The ACA system has also been approved for installation as an aftermarket option.

“We are pleased that Embraer has chosen to include the ACA system as an option for new aircraft owners, as well as for aircraft already in service,” said ACA managing member Howard Hackney. “The proactive ACA system improves interior air quality and neutralizes pathogens. Although the system had been installed on a variety of aircraft models for several years, the advent of Covid-19 brought the need to mitigate the spread of that virus and others into sharper focus.”

According to Hackney, the system is installed in the aircraft’s environmental control system (ECS) and functions automatically when the ECS is running. It provides continuous decontamination of the aircraft interior without any harm to cabin furnishings or components, while requiring no scheduled maintenance, he noted.

ACA’s facilities are located adjacent to the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport in Savannah, Georgia, and near Los Angeles, California.

Vertical Aviation International (VAI) has opened nominations for its Salute to Excellence Awards, with entries being accepted through September 30. There are now 11 award categories for people, teams, and companies who make outstanding contributions to the vertical aviation industry, and information on submitting a nomination is available at the VAI website.

On Monday, VAI also highlighted its new award, the Harold Summers Legacy Award, paying tribute to the late Harold Summers, the association’s director of maintenance. The first recipient was Zhilin Summers, who was recognized for “her unwavering support of her late husband” at Heli-Expo 2024 in February.

“Our Salute to Excellence Awards program has always recognized special achievement by individuals or groups throughout our industry,” said VAI president and CEO James Viola. “Our goal with this award is to recognize Harold’s passion for the industry, particularly his enduring efforts to improve every part of it.”

“Each of us knows someone in our industry niche who is worthy of an award,” said Tanya Kirchner, VAI director of conventions and Salute to Excellence Awards program coordinator. “There’s no need to rush to submit your nomination for that person. Take the time to explain their impact on the industry and provide supporting details. Show us who they are and why they deserve the award.”

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