The NTSB has released a safety alert, “Circling Approaches: Know the Risks,” advising on the risks and preparation necessary to perform circling instrument approach procedures. It was issued to coincide with the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s (ACSF) Safety Symposium last week, as well as in the lead-up to a report on the agency's investigation of the July 2021 Bombardier Challenger 605 accident in Truckee, California, that involved an unstabilized circle-to-land approach.
At the ACSF event, Board member Michael Graham provided an overview of the publicly available facts on the Truckee accident. He cited that accident—as well as ones that involved the May 2017 Learjet 35A crash in Teterboro, New Jersey, and the December 2022 Learjet 35A accident at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California—in the development of the safety alert.
In the alert, the NTSB noted that since 2008, 10 accidents involving Part 91 and 135 operators have occurred during a circling approach and resulted in 17 fatalities. While sometimes necessary, pilots don’t always evaluate the risks before accepting them, it further noted.
The safety alert advises operators to fully understand the risk involved in circle-to-land approaches, consider their own experience and limitations such as weather and runway configuration, and know that they may be able to request alternatives. Further, the NTSB recommends scenario-based training in realistic environments for such approaches.
Phil Washington, the CEO of Denver International Airport and embattled nominee to become the next FAA Administrator, has withdrawn from consideration, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed on Saturday evening. Buttigieg released a statement on Twitter saying, “The FAA needs a confirmed Administrator, and Phil Washington’s transportation and military experience made him an excellent nominee. The partisan attacks and procedural obstruction he has faced are undeserved but I respect his decision to withdraw and am grateful for his service.”
Republicans in both the Senate and the House raised objections over Washington's aviation experience, saying the FAA is facing numerous challenges that required a person with a strong aviation background. Also clouding the nomination was a corruption probe ongoing stemming from Washington’s time as CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) offered strong support citing his background in transportation and her office released numerous letters of endorsement from unions, airport groups, airlines, and from past FAA administrators.
The Commerce Committee scheduled a vote on the nomination this past Wednesday but Cantwell delayed that ;consideration at the last minute, saying there would be a “future date pending information that members have been seeking.”
It had become unclear whether the votes were present to push through the nomination. In addition to Republican opposition, Senate Commerce Committee members Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona) and Jon Tester (D-Montana) reportedly appeared uncertain about the nomination.
Davinci Jets, which recently opened a Part 145 MRO facility at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, is now a sales and installation partner for SmartSky’s air-to-ground connectivity system. According to SmartSky Networks, Davinci Jets was the first aircraft management company to offer customers the option to install the SmartSky system in their aircraft.
Plans call for Davinci Jets to install SmartSky systems in a variety of jets and turboprops that it is approved to maintain. These range from the Pilatus PC-12 and Beechcraft King Air turboprops to jets including Bombardier Challengers; Embraer Phenoms, Legacy 600/650s, and EMB-145s; Dassault Falcon 50EXs, 900s, and 2000s; and Gulfstream G150s and G200s. Supplemental type certificates are available for many of these aircraft and others will be forthcoming, according to SmartSky. Smaller airplanes such as the PC-12 would be suitable for SmartSky's Lite system, which has just one antenna, while larger airplanes will be able to accommodate the two-antenna flagship system.
“SmartSky’s greatly enhanced performance features ensure each passenger can stay continuously connected on multiple devices simultaneously while using the same applications at the same high performance that they do on the ground,” said Joe Chaundy, director of Davinci Jets Services. “As an MRO, we want a fast and easy installation that minimizes downtime for the aircraft. SmartSky delivers the speed our customers need in both connectivity performance and installation.”
Business aviation advocates are working with government leaders to help ease the transition in the implementation of the new EU passenger-entry programs—the Entry/Exit System (EES) and European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS).
Carriers that fly passengers into the EU must register for EES and ETIAS to enable the verification of travel details for arrivals into the 27 countries that make up the Schengen Area. The programs apply to Part 135 and 125 operations but it is still unclear whether Part 91 operators must comply.
While deadlines for both programs were delayed (requirements originally were scheduled to begin in September 2022), transitions to them are anticipated to begin this year. The EU is estimating mid-May for the transition to begin with EES, which will replace the manual stamping of passports with electronic records. ETIAS, an online pre-travel and pre-boarding system for visa-exempt third-country nationals, is targeted for implementation in November.
NBAA is coordinating with EBAA and the Canadian Business Aviation Association to help facilitate a smooth implementation of the programs for the business aviation community, said NBAA director of flight operations and regulations Brian Koester. The association recommends carriers that travel to Europe to begin the registration process and warns that operators should not wait for additional guidance in hopes of being exempt from the requirements.
The Dubai Helipark has begun construction on a 461,000-sq-ft facility at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH). The rotorcraft facility, being built in cooperation with Air Chateau International and adjacent to the private jet FBO, will include a dedicated hangar complex large enough to host MRO services and an expanded ramp that can park 12 helicopters, up from the current eight.
It will also feature a VIP lounge and a helicopter showroom. Air Chateau began helicopter operations at the Helipark in 2022.
MBRAH is located between Dubai International Airport (OMDB) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (OMAA) and is proximate to Al Maktoum International Airport (OMDW). OMDW is following a path of phased development designed to make it the world’s largest airport with an area of 35,000 acres and the capacity to handle up to 260 million passengers annually.
The hub is located 23 miles southwest of Dubai and opened in 2010. Adjacent to the Jebel Ali seaport and served by the cargo handling capability of the Dubai National Air Travel Agency, MBRAH is designed as a fully-integrated, multi-modal aviation ecosystem, serving commercial passenger and cargo, as well as private aviation.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
Which of the following activities supports flightpath monitoring?
A. Attention management.
B. Attention deficit.
C. Flight in VFR conditions.
D. Reducing flight time to less than 50 percent of the maximum duty time.
Colorado’s Pitkin County Procurement Office has narrowed the list of FBO operators interested in becoming the sole FBO operator at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport from seven to three. In February, in response to its request, the county announced it had received proposals from six FBO operators looking to take over the facility, along with a proposal from incumbent Atlantic Aviation, whose lease expires later this year.
The successful finalists are Atlantic, Signature Flight Support, and Modern Aviation. While the first two are long-established chains with more than 100 locations each in their networks, Modern—which launched in 2018—has 16 facilities across the country, including a newly-expanded FBO at Denver Centennial Airport.
“The review committee was impressed with all seven proposals received in response to the RFP,” said Chris Davis, the county’s procurement manager. “Following individual scoring and a number of meetings, the committee members identified three proposers to move forward in our review process based on the criteria issued with the RFP.”
Now, the three finalists will move to shortlist interviews next month with the review committee that will include questions formulated with input from the airport advisory board and the community. Based on those results, the committee will make a final recommendation to the board of county commissioners.
Wheels Up introduced the UP King Air access program this week for its eight-passenger King Air 350i turboprop twins. The three-tiered deposit plan—$50,000, $100,000, and $200,000—provides guaranteed availability and fixed hourly rates for flights east of the Mississippi River. The King Air 50 plan includes 250 days per year at $4,695 per hour, while the King Air 100 and 200 programs offer 275 days per year guaranteed at $4,495 per hour. According to Wheels Up, the 200 program “locks in more volume at the discounted price.”
All three plans include a complimentary Wheels Up Connect membership, which otherwise requires a $1,995 initiation fee. Its Connect program provides features and benefits such as shared flights, private online community forums, access to signature events, and discounted empty-leg flights.
Wheels Up aims to “push King Air demand in specific regions where our routes have known profitability and we have aircraft available,” said executive v-p Nicole Hammond. The new deposit plans are expected to appeal to customers “that have been chartering with local providers and have historically voiced hesitation about paying an initiation fee or annual dues,” as well as to customers introduced to Wheels Up through ad hoc charter arranged by subsidiary brokerage Air Partner, Hammond added.
The Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority Board of Commissioners has voted to incentivize the transition to UL94 unleaded avgas at Denver Centennial Airport (KAPA). While the Eagle program led by the FAA has set a target date of 2030 for the elimination of 100LL gasoline, KAPA wishes to position itself among the vanguard of airports leading the charge.
“We have engaged in numerous discussions with the community regarding the use of leaded aviation fuel and are proud to be among the first general aviation airports in the country to commit to this transition,” said Centennial Airport executive director Mike Fronapfel. “One of our goals is to be able to provide a framework that other airports around the nation can use to make this transition as well.”
To facilitate the program, the airport will use a budget surplus available from an FAA grant for the site selection and design of a new air traffic control tower. It will provide financial assistance towards UL94 supplemental type certificates for aircraft based on the field, as well as subsidies aimed at bringing the cost of the unleaded fuel more in line with that of 100LL. Airport staff will be authorized to allocate funds to work with stakeholders to pursue strategies to facilitate the transition as soon as possible. KAPA expects to have UL94 available by the second quarter.
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