Global fuel provider Shell and Neste, the world’s largest sustainable fuel producer, have signed a supply agreement that will provide Shell with its first European-produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The company has existing SAF supply partnerships with SkyNRG and World Energy and this latest deal, which starts in October, will increase the availability of the renewable fuel, primarily in Europe, through Shell’s extensive refueling network. According to Shell, the deal will serve all segments of the industry including commercial airlines, cargo, and general aviation.
“To tackle climate change and reach net-zero emissions, the aviation industry must act fast,” said Shell global aviation president Anna Mascolo. “Shell Aviation aims to reduce the carbon intensity of the fuels we sell, which includes selling more lower-carbon fuels like sustainable aviation fuel, over time.”
Neste’s current SAF production capacity is 34 million gallons a year, and the Finnish company said that volume could grow to more than a half billion gallons by 2023.
“SAF offers the only viable alternative to fossil liquid fuels for powering commercial aircraft with an immediate potential to reduce aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions,” said Thorsten Lange, Neste’s executive v-p for renewable aviation. “We are fully committed to supporting the aviation industry, its customers, and corporates with their emission-reduction targets.”
NTSB Releases Final Report on Earnhardt Jet Accident
The NTSB yesterday released the final report on the crash of a Citation Latitude on Aug. 15, 2019, in Elizabethton, Tennessee. The two pilots and three passengers—Nascar driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., his wife, and daughter—escaped from the burning wreckage after the jet touched down four times then finally stopped 600 feet beyond the runway threshold.
In the report, the NTSB’s probable cause found that the accident was due to “the pilot's continuation of an unstabilized approach despite recognizing associated cues and the flight crew's decision not to initiate a go-around before touchdown, which resulted in a bounced landing, a loss of airplane control, a landing gear collapse, and a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to deploy the speedbrakes during the initial touchdown, which may have prevented the runway excursion, and the pilot's attempt to go around after deployment of the thrust reversers.”
According to the NTSB, the Latitude’s speed at the first touchdown was “about 18 knots above Vref.” The report added, “Both the pilot and copilot commented on the airplane's high speed several times during the approach. During short final, the pilot asked the copilot if he should go around, and the copilot responded, 'No.'”
The final touchdown resulted in the right main gear collapsing and the Latitude went off the runway.
More litigation has been filed related to the fatal helicopter crash that killed retired basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others in January. Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, who had filed previous lawsuits against the estate of pilot Ara Zobayan and helicopter owner Island Express Helicopters in February, has now added OC Helicopters, which acted as a charter broker for the flight, to her complaint.
The suit alleges that OC provided Zobayan with routing information and failed to instruct him to abort the VFR flight before it entered IMC. Further, the complaint alleges that OC personnel instructed Zobayan that the flight was “doable” and were continuing to monitor the flight and en route weather conditions. It states that OC “improperly failed to tell the Island Express pilot Ara George Zobayan to abort or cancel the flight or turn around when its agent and employee, Richard Webb, was in communications with defendant Zobayan and monitoring the weather during the flight.”
While OC acknowledged it acted as a “travel agent and concierge for the Bryant family for many years,” it adamantly denied “any responsibility for the accident.” In a statement, OC said it “never at any time had 'operational control' of the Sikorsky helicopter operated by Island Express. Ultimate flight decision making authority and responsibility was that of the pilot, Ara Zobayan, alone."
Alto Aviation has expanded its line of cabin audio and entertainment systems for business aircraft by introducing the SM-1070 system master controller yesterday at the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) East Connect Conference in Naples, Florida. The new module links together cabin management system (CMS) components with various communication protocols and allows wireless remote control of components, via touchscreens and/or iOS or Android personal electronic devices, using an existing onboard Wi-Fi or LAN.
Devices supported include Alto’s Forte amplifiers; Acapella speaker and headphone amplifiers; and relay, temperature, and cabin call controllers. It also supports third-party devices such as Rosen Blu-ray players, Innovative Advantage AVDS node, infrared remote controls, and digital devices using Alto’s Cadence keypads. It connects to these devices via RS-485/RS-422, RS-232, Ethernet, controller area network, infrared control, and/or Arinc-429.
"Alto’s new system master controller will play an integral part in our CMS offering moving forward as a serial gateway to Alto and non-Alto controlled devices," said Alto v-p of sales and marketing Kevin Hayes. “Also, this system master controller allows PED wireless control and touchscreen options to our Cadence cabin management system, enhancing the available offerings to our customers.”
Waltzing Matilda Approved for DCA Charter Flights
Waltzing Matilda Aviation (WMA) has been approved by the TSA to operate at Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington, D.C., a goal of the on-demand charter provider following its late 2018 move to Hanscom Field/Bedford Airport, 20 miles northwest of Boston. Access to DCA adds a “significant improvement to convenience for WMA’s clients” and should drive additional business because the D.C. area is a major destination for business travelers based in Boston, according to the company.
The approval also follows a strong rebound from Covid-19, WMA officials noted, especially in July, when it noted a record level of flight activity. “Our July charter revenues were over three times the level of July 2019, which has further cemented our position as the largest light to midsize aircraft jet charter operator based at Bedford,” said WMA CEO John Thomas. “This increase has been partially fueled by a strong resurgence in business-related travel.”
WMA’s fleet comprises a company-owned Cessna Citation Bravo and Excel, as well as managed aircraft.
NATA, DOT Partner on New Safety Manager Program
NATA, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Safety Institute (TSI), has launched a new Air Transport Safety Manager program, bringing together industry safety experts to develop qualified and certified air transport safety managers. Open to all aviation service providers such as charter operators, MROs, FBOs, corporate flight departments, and governmental agencies with aviation operations, the program will focus on how to design, implement, and maintain a verifiable safety management system.
Topics will include fundamentals of safety program management, safety risk management, safety assurance, promoting safety, safety culture/safety policy requirements, quantum safety metrics, and the use of current FAA system tools. The initial course will be held from November 16 to 20 at the DOT Transportation Safety Institute in Oklahoma City. Dates of future sessions will be announced later.
“The future of aviation safety hinges on collaboration and the exchange of best practices and data,” said NATA senior v-p Ryan Waguespack, adding the organization appreciates its relationship with the DOT in the establishment of this first of its kind course. “This collaboration with TSI allows us to take our mission of empowering aviation business safety to a new level.”
U.S. To Deport UK Man Convicted of Aircraft Parts Fraud
After admitting in court to attempted aircraft parts fraud, the owner and operator of a Tennessee helicopter sales and repair shop has been sentenced to time served—amounting to nearly eight months—in prison as well as three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. Richard Paul Harper, the owner of Apple International in Bristol and a UK citizen, must also surrender to immigration for deportation.
Harper admitted in a June 16 plea agreement in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee that he obtained a helicopter with significant damage to its underbelly and switched its fuselage and data plate with that of one that had crashed in New Jersey. He then marketed the helicopter and tried to sell it to an undercover agent posing as an aircraft broker.
Harper was arrested in Los Angeles on January 24, when he returned to the U.S. to attend Heli-Expo 2020. He faced up to 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
Arsenal of Democracy Set for WWII Aerial Tribute
The Arsenal of Democracy (AOD) is set to return to Washington, D.C., tomorrow with upwards of 70 vintage aircraft providing an aerial tribute over the National Mall and Potomac in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Rescheduled from May when it was set to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Victory Europe Day, the event will involve World War II-era aircraft flying in historical sequence formations representing significant battles from the global conflicts and end with the missing man formation.
Staged five years after the first AOD flyover was held in recognition of the 70th anniversary of VE-Day, the commemorative tribute is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. EDT and will be live-streamed on the Arsenal of Democracy Flyover website. Programming will begin at 10 a.m.
“The 75th anniversary of the end of World War II is such a seminal event that Congress passed legislation…directing its official commemoration,” said Pete Bunce, president and CEO of GAMA and Arsenal of Democracy Executive Committee member.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), which is serving as an event organizer, said more than 20 different types of military aircraft will be featured beginning at 11:30 a.m., with planes flying over the Lincoln Memorial and proceeding east in two-minute intervals for the following 70 minutes.
Making Business Aviation Environmentally Sustainable
Making aviation environmentally sustainable is now a business opportunity, as much as an unavoidable imperative. Social, political, and market pressures are converging to provide fresh impetus for business aviation to reduce its environmental footprint. Our webinar will consider the key paths to cutting carbon emissions, including new fuels, as well as other efficiencies within the industry’s operations. Join us on October 15 at 1:30 p.m. EDT as AIN senior editor Charles Alcock moderates this discussion with Keith R. Sawyer, manager of alternative fuels at Avfuel.
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