With CBS's big eye glaring
last week at GA as a security
risk, you'd think all pilots might
be on their best behavior -- it
doesn't appear to have worked out
that way. When authorities finally
arrested John Salamone after chasing
him for four hours around
Philadelphia-area skies, he was
staggering, his eyes were bloodshot
and his pants were undone, according
to the Philadelphia Daily News.
Police told the Daily News Salamone
blew .13 on a breathalyzer (the
legal limit is .04) after he finally
landed his Piper Cherokee at
Limerick Airport about 10:30 p.m.
The flight had originated there
about 6:20 p.m. While in the air,
Salamone allegedly barged through
controlled airspace near
Philadelphia International Airport
as low as 100 feet AGL, forcing six
airliners to abort landings.
Authorities also said he circled the
nuclear power plant ... which sits
practically at the foot of the
runway at Limerick (PTW). Pending
final test results, the list of
charges is potentially a long one.
FAA spokesman Jim Peters said
Salamone still has his pilot's
certificate (go figure) but the
agency has opened an investigation.
"At the end we will make a
recommendation about what to
do," Peters said, noting the
penalty could range from nothing to
revocation of his certificate.
A Shuttle America flight Friday was
aiming for University
Park Airport (UNV) in
Pennsylvania, when it touched down
at Mid-State
Regional Airport (PSB). The
airports are 11 nautical miles
apart, offer identical runway
orientation -- 16/34 and 6/24 --
with different layouts, and both
fields are non-towered (a reminder
to self-announce, listen AND look
when operating near a non-towered
field). The two airports also have a
VOR situated roughly between them.
"When the pilot walked in, he
said 'Here's one for the
news,'" airport worker Joanne
Shields told the Centre Daily. The
eight passengers had to wait on
board, for security reasons, for
about an hour until a van was
dispatched to finish their journey.
Those familiar with the two airports
say it was a relatively easy mistake
to make for VFR pilots. The pilot
was apparently unfamiliar with the
area but there were ways to check.
Aside from the VOR, both airports
have an ILS. The airport spokesman
said that after the pilot phoned his
dispatcher, a long stream of forms
started coming out of the fax
machine. "I guess he had to
report it as an incident of some
sort," Shields said.
Capt. Dale Robin Hersh discovered
the Brazilian authorities' preferred
level of etiquette after last
Wednesday allegedly offering the
middle-digit salute in response to
Brazil's new requirement that
American visitors submit to
photographs and fingerprinting ...
which is how Brazilians are welcomed
to the U.S. under new security
rules. Hersh's alleged gesture
(maybe that's how he always holds
things) landed him in a federal
courthouse where formal charges
awaited, but "Since this was a
minor crime, I proposed that he be
fined $12,750, which will be donated
to a home for the elderly,"
Matheus Baraldi Magnani told the
Associated Press. Hersh was looking
at hard time in a Brazilian prison
until his airline came up with
$12,750 to soothe the indignity
suffered by the disrespected
security officials at Sao Paulo's
Guarulhos International Airport.
(Brazil has laws against
"showing contempt to
authorities.") Had the charges
gone through, he could have faced
two years in prison. By the time the
expensive etiquette lesson had been
administered, however, the photo of
Hersh in his now-infamous pose had
been released to the local papers.
Brazilian officials said they were
inundated with phone calls of
support from local residents
applauding the arrest and fine. All
of South America is on a list of
countries whose citizens must be
fingerprinted and photographed
before entering the U.S.
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Dramatic
Photos Of Rumored No-Hydraulics
Landing...
Although no one in officialdom has
publicly confirmed it, the landing
of a DHL Airbus at Baghdad Airport
after being hit by at least one
surface-to-air missile last Nov. 22
has been rumored as one of last
year's most incredible feats of
aviation. Extensive damage to the
aircraft's left wing may have
rendered the aircraft's three
hydraulics systems useless, leaving
the pilots with only differential
engine thrust to control the
aircraft. DHL has not publicly
elaborated on the attack and the
resulting heroism of the pilots
(which stands, regardless of the
true extent of damage). For those
with a flair for the dramatic, AVweb
has obtained a PowerPoint
presentation of the incident that
includes photos of the landing, the
damage, and text that may give some
insight into the specific nature of
the damage. The A300 had just left
Baghdad on a mail flight when it was
almost certainly hit by at least one
missile, widely suspected to be a
shoulder-fired ground-to-air device.
The incident fueled pre-existing
concerns about the vulnerability of
airliners to such attacks and
perhaps helped quench any potential
desires to initiate commercial
service into Baghdad.
The 1.3Mb PowerPoint presentation
(not recommended for slower
connections) is a new pairing of
photos not widely distributed, with
text previously available online
through various sources. AVweb
has repeatedly contacted DHL seeking
confirmation of the details of the
event (and an interview with the
pilots) but thus far, the airline
has politely refused all of our
requests, citing the ongoing
investigation -- there has been no
official confirmation or denial of
the "no-hydraulics
landing." Our
initial story on the event ran
in December, and AVweb has
been flooded with e-mails from
people claiming to have first-hand
knowledge of the incident and
confirming the details we presented.
At this time, we invite you to have
a look for yourself (warning: large
file -- right
click to save to your desktop)
at the latest material we received
and enjoy it for what it's worth.
Parker Hannifin Corp., maker of
vacuum pumps on the Cessna 335 that
crashed, killing a Missouri
governor, has been ordered to pay a
total of $4 million in damages to
his family even though the
NTSB's summary of the
investigation says,
"examination of the wreckage
... indicates [the pumps] were most
likely functioning at the time of
impact." Gov. Mel Carnahan, his
son Randy, who was at the controls,
and aide Chris Sifford died when the
plane crashed near Hillsboro, Mo.,
on Oct. 16, 2000. Carnahan's family
sued Parker Hannifin Corp. even
though the NTSB's report cited
spatial disorientation as a probable
cause with a faulty attitude
indicator as a contributing factor.
Parker Hannifin says it's been
vindicated by the verdict and
doesn't plan to appeal. Sure, read
that again. "It's clear to us
this was a compromise verdict,"
said Parker Hannifin spokeswoman
Lorrie Paul Crum. "We came here
not for money but to vindicate
Parker's good name, and we feel
that's been accomplished with this
verdict." Shortly after
takeoff, Randy Carnahan told air
traffic controllers the primary
attitude indicator had failed and he
was using the co-pilot's instrument
to help maintain control in IMC,
according to the NTSB report. The
right-side instrument was apparently
working normally, indicating there
was vacuum to the instrument, said
the report. Investigators theorized
that the pilot's head movements in
trying to read the right-side
instrument led to the spatial
disorientation. But Carnahan's
family insist the pumps were to
blame and, based on the jury's
verdict, they want the FAA to order
them removed from thousands of
aircraft. "We hope the FAA will
follow the lead of this jury, which
found the vacuum pumps were unsafe
and were killing people," said
Carnahan's widow Jean. "I want
the killing to stop."
Carnahan's lawyer had told the jury
that failed vacuum pumps had caused
20 plane crashes, killing 48 people,
between 1981 and 1998.
A Kentucky pilot, who federal
investigators say lacked a
multi-engine rating, was acquitted
of wanton endangerment charges
indirectly related to the Aug.
1, 1998, crash of the
twin-engine Cessna 340 he was
flying. One of Kenneth Asher's
passengers, Debra Zukhof, drowned
after the plane stalled on takeoff
from Meigs Field in Chicago and
flipped over in Lake Michigan.
Michigan authorities decided against
prosecuting Asher for the accident.
Instead, Kentucky authorities laid
the endangerment charges for the
Louisville-to-Chicago portion of the
flight that preceded the accident.
Although Asher insisted he had the
multi rating, neither the FAA nor
NTSB could find any record of it. A
flight instructor named by Asher
also denied giving him any
multi-engine training. The
prosecution cited the Chicago
accident as compelling evidence that
Asher had put the three passengers
in jeopardy in the earlier flight,
but the jury apparently didn't buy
it. Asher claimed the left engine of
the 340 lost power during the
takeoff roll in Chicago, but he
elected to continue with the
takeoff. Both engines ran within
specs on test stands after the
accident and the NTSB said it was
Asher's decision not to use full
power for the takeoff that
contributed to the accident. The
plane ended up in 20 feet of water
about 250 feet from the end of the
runway.
There are some startling
coincidences in two midair
collisions that occurred one day and
2,000 miles apart last week. The
collisions occurred in Tehachapi,
Calif., on Friday and Clearwater,
Fla. on Saturday. In each case, a
light twin and a single came
together and in each accident the
twin pilot was able to maintain
control and land safely while the
single did not. Pilots of both
singles died. In the California
crash, a Beech Baron flown by Robert
Hollis Gates, of Bear Valley
Springs, was in collision with a
Cessna 180 flown by David Aaron
Lazerson. The 180 fell out of
control into a mountainside but
Gates, whose airplane was missing a
big piece of the cockpit, was able
to put the plane down on a small
private strip. He suffered minor
injuries. In the Florida accident, a
Twin Commanche, owned by John
Collins, of Winter Haven, was trying
to land at Clearwater Airpark when
it came in contact with a Cessna 150
that was taking off. The 150 crashed
about 20 feet from a group of
parents and children in a playground
and the pilot, 79-year-old Bela Toth,
died at the scene. The pilot of the
Comanche was able to land at
Clearwater and he and a passenger
walked away apparently unharmed.
There was damage to the twin's right
wingtip.
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The FAA should face the people it's
planning to put out of business with
a new set of regulations rather than
hide in cyberspace, according to
AOPA. The FAA has extended the
comment period (from Jan. 20 to
April 19) for a roundly criticized Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking that
would set national standards for
sightseeing and tour operations. The
NPRM acknowledges that about 700
firms will likely be put out of the
tour business by the tougher rules,
which, among other things, would
require that all such flights be
operated under Part 121 or Part 135
rules. More than 1,100 comments have
been received so far. AOPA has been
demanding that the FAA set up a
series of public meetings to hear
directly from affected businesses
but the FAA has opted for a
high-tech alternative. The agency
says it will host an interactive
virtual public meeting in which
participants can type in their
comments, in real time, over the
Internet. The initiative has even
given birth to a new acronym, the
NVPM, which is a Notice of Virtual
Public Meeting. The meeting date
will be announced in the Federal
Register. AOPA President Phil Boyer
said the FAA should meet the
affected people face-to-face but the
agency said it doesn't have the
money to hold public meetings all
over the country. "Many who
could be most affected by the
proposed rule would be unable to
participate because of geography and
our limited resources," said
the FAA documents extending the
comment period.
A Maryland developer has come up
with a novel approach to gaining
approval for his plans to cover an
airport in condos. Polm Companies
Ltd. says that if it can't build 600
homes, it will instead turn the
sleepy Suburban
Airport into a major business
and commuter facility. Suburban is
now home to 65 airplanes and 37
hangars. Polm envisions 300
aircraft, 160 hangars, a flight
school and heliport. Of course, if
the local council prefers, the
company could put in the nice, quiet
condos, instead. However, Bruce
Mundie, director of the Maryland
Aviation Administration, has assured
local residents that Polm's plans
are pie-in-the-sky. Mundie said the
54-acre airport simply doesn't have
the space for all that development.
He said, at most, it could handle
half of what is being proposed. But
Polm spokesman Andrew Zois said the
development plans were designed by
"highly regarded aviation
specialists" who have assured
Polm that the plans are feasible.
Zois also insists the operation
would be "extraordinarily
profitable." Polm has issued
public statements in recent weeks
saying it doesn't need council
permission to expand the airport
because the zoning is already in
place. Rezoning would be required
for the housing development.
Part of the future of aviation might
fit in the palm of your hand or on
the head of a pin. Scientists are
furiously working on Micro Air
Vehicles (MAVs), tiny aircraft that
can fly autonomously where human
pilots can't (or shouldn't). Now
scientists at Cranfield University
in Britain have put the machine they
are developing on display at the Thinktank
Museum in Birmingham. The Cranfield
MAV will mimic insect flight with
wings that both oscillate and
rotate, allowing it to hover and
maneuver. The computer brain on
board will allow it to navigate
itself. The museum exhibit allows
people to fly a computer-generated
image of the machine around a
virtual smoke-filled building in
search of trapped people.
"Micro Air Vehicles have been
developed for the defense industry
to provide surveillance on the
battlefield, " said Prof.
Clifford Friend. "But they
could have many other uses." He
said camera-equipped MAVs could help
out in emergencies and may even be
employed by the movie industry.
DIAMOND
ENGINEERS REDESIGN DA40 PANEL
TO OPTIMIZE FORM AND FUNCTION
Diamond's DA40 is the platform
for the first certified
installation of Garmin's new
integrated glass panel. The
G1000 offers better
situational awareness by
rolling the functions of
conventional panel-mounted
instruments into two 10-inch
sunlight-readable displays,
including digital audio, a
WAAS-capable IFR GPS, VHF
navigation with ILS and VHF
communication,
8.33-kHz-channel spacing, Mode
S, solid-state attitude and
heading, a digital air data
computer and optional weather
and terrain data all hooked up
to a Bendix/King KAP two-axis
autopilot. The jet-style,
laser-etched polycarbonate
overlay adds the final
high-tech touch. For more
information on the DA40, and
Diamond Aircraft's other
innovative aircraft designs,
go to http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/diamond.
All ten people aboard a Cessna
208 Caravan are feared dead after
the plane crashed on a frozen Lake
Erie, Saturday, in snow. The
Georgian Express plane left Pelee
Island with a pilot and at least
eight Canadian men on board and
crashed a short time later. A
helicopter found the wreckage nose
down on the ice at 7:30pm Saturday
but saw no sign of life and was
unable to land. By Sunday, the
wreckage was submerged in 24 feet of
water...
Hundreds of kites with
messages about world peace and the
AIDS epidemic kicked off the
Celebrating India festival in Mumbai
last week. The kite competition was
one of dozens of events in the
12-day cultural festival...
The National Aeronautics
Association is accepting
nominations for its biggest
honor. Nominations will be
accepted until Jan. 31 for the
Robert J. Collier Trophy. The award
is handed out every year for the
greatest achievement in aeronautics
or astronautics that was actually
put to use in the previous year.
_______ COLUMNS CEO of the Cockpit #28: A
Different Airline World
AVweb's CEO of the cockpit is back
in recurrent training, trying to
remember everything he forgot about
767s and 757s since the last time he
was here a year ago. The security
training session, however, prompted
him to consider ways to really cut
down on security problems. His
airline might not like it, though...
WORRIED
ABOUT BUSTING A REG? YOU
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too easy with today's
tightened rules and
enforcement. Join the smart
pilots who trust Aviation
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and in the air. Discover this
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savvy and air readiness.
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HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVweb’s
NO-COST twice monthly Business
AVflash? Reporting on breaking news,
Business AVflash also focuses on the
companies, the products and the
industry leaders that make headlines
in the Business of Aviation.
Business AVflash is a must read!
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___________________________________________________________________ Reader feedback on AVweb's news
coverage and feature articles: http://www.avweb.com/avmail/
Reader mail this week about FSS
privatization, CBS' investigation of
GA safety and more.
E-OX:
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WIN
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$395! The unique flip up design has
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equipment on all styles. For more
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"TEST
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especially those interested in airline
careers. Presented exclusively by ATOP
Inc., the course features 12 hours'
ground school, one hour in the 737/300
FTD, and two hours in the 737/300
full-motion simulator. Earn the
optional "High Altitude
Endorsement," too! Register for
any class by February 1 and get a $40
discount off the $435.00 course fee by
mentioning AVweb! For details go
online at http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/atop.
REGISTER
NOW FOR THE 2004 GREAT LAKES
INTERNATIONAL AVIATION CONFERENCE
Phil Boyer and Lane Wallace are among
the many prominent speakers slated to
address the Great Lakes International
Aviation Conference, February 6 to 8
in Lansing, Michigan. In addition,
there will be over 150 breakout
sessions for pilots, mechanics, FBOs
and aviation enthusiasts. IA renewal
and FAA Wings program are available
for those who qualify. The exhibit
area will be filled with the latest
products and technologies. For more
information call 248 348-6942 and
mention this AVflash, or visit http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/gliac.
TAKE
ANY VEHICLE FOR A SPIN WITH THE
CARPROP! Carprop is a free spinning
propeller mounted on the front of a
vehicle indicating the driver's
enthusiasm for flying. As the vehicle
moves the propeller spins. Carprop's
design allows the propeller to park in
a horizontal position when the vehicle
stops and doesn't interfere with the
license plate numbers. For the pilot
who has everything this is perfect!
Order at http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/carprop.
SAVE
TIME WITH SUMMIT AVIATION'S
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LIBRARY FARs can change on any
government working day. Many handbooks
and advisory circulars are updated at
predetermined intervals, others are
updated irregularly; and others are
rarely changed. Summit Aviation keeps
track of all of this for you with the
Computerized Aviation Reference
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other vital information on a single
CD-ROM that organizes, formats and
makes information accessible! Updates
are available from twice a year to
every two weeks. Order at http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/summit.
AVIATION
CONSUMER'S FEBRUARY ISSUE
HIGHLIGHTS:
"Garmin's Bold Stroke", the
G1000 and not a retrofit for older
Garmin systems any time soon;
"Roll Your Own Oxygen";
"Where is that AD?", in
search of ADs; "Budget ANR
Headsets"; "Datalink
Hell"; "Used Aircraft Guide:
Cessna 340"; and "What
Cylinders Ya Got, Sport?". Aviation
Consumer will shortly conduct a
survey on owner experiences with new
cylinders. They will look at all
brands. If you've bought an overhaul
during the past five years and want to
participate, send an e-mail to mailto:avconsumer@comcast.net?subject=AVConsumer
Cylinder Survey (referred from
AVflash), and they'll forward a
survey form. To order your personal
subscription to Aviation Consumer
go to http://www.avweb.com/sponsors/belvoir/avcon.
_____________________________________ We Welcome Your Feedback!
AVflash is a twice-weekly summary
of the latest aviation news, articles,
products, features and events featured
on AVweb, the Internet's Aviation
Magazine and News Service.
http://www.avweb.com
Have a product or service to
advertise on AVweb? A question on
marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales
team:
mailto:sales@avweb.com
.
Let's all be careful out there,
okay?
AVflash is now available in
optional easier-to-read graphic
format, which includes some photos and
illustrations. If you prefer, you can
continue to receive AVflash in
text-only format. Simply follow these instructions
and AVflash will continue to arrive as
it always has, in text format.
IN
PRINT AND ONLINE,
TRADE-A-PLANE GIVES YOU THE
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
With CBS's big eye 
A Shuttle America flight Friday was
aiming for 
Capt. Dale Robin Hersh discovered
the Brazilian authorities' preferred
level of etiquette after last
Wednesday allegedly offering the
middle-digit salute in response to
Brazil's new requirement that
American visitors submit to
photographs and fingerprinting ...
which is how Brazilians are welcomed
to the U.S. under new security
rules. Hersh's alleged gesture
(maybe that's how he always holds
things) landed him in a federal
courthouse where formal charges
awaited, but "Since this was a
minor crime, I proposed that he be
fined $12,750, which will be donated
to a home for the elderly,"
Matheus Baraldi Magnani told the
Associated Press. Hersh was looking
at hard time in a Brazilian prison
until his airline came up with
$12,750 to soothe the indignity
suffered by the disrespected
security officials at Sao Paulo's
Guarulhos International Airport.
(Brazil has laws against
"showing contempt to
authorities.") Had the charges
gone through, he could have faced
two years in prison. By the time the
expensive etiquette lesson had been
administered, however, the photo of
Hersh in his now-infamous pose had
been released to the local papers.
Brazilian officials said they were
inundated with phone calls of
support from local residents
applauding the arrest and fine. All
of South America is on a list of
countries whose citizens must be
fingerprinted and photographed
before entering the U.S.
Although no one in officialdom has
publicly confirmed it, the landing
of a DHL Airbus at Baghdad Airport
after being hit by at least one
surface-to-air missile last Nov. 22
has been rumored as one of last
year's most incredible feats of
aviation. Extensive damage to the
aircraft's left wing may have
rendered the aircraft's three
hydraulics systems useless, leaving
the pilots with only differential
engine thrust to control the
aircraft. DHL has not publicly
elaborated on the attack and the
resulting heroism of the pilots
(which stands, regardless of the
true extent of damage). For those
with a flair for the dramatic, AVweb
has obtained a PowerPoint
presentation of the incident that
includes photos of the landing, the
damage, and text that may give some
insight into the specific nature of
the damage. The A300 had just left
Baghdad on a mail flight when it was
almost certainly hit by at least one
missile, widely suspected to be a
shoulder-fired ground-to-air device.
The incident fueled pre-existing
concerns about the vulnerability of
airliners to such attacks and
perhaps helped quench any potential
desires to initiate commercial
service into Baghdad.
The 1.3Mb PowerPoint presentation
(not recommended for slower
connections) is a new pairing of
photos not widely distributed, with
text previously available online
through various sources. AVweb
has repeatedly contacted DHL seeking
confirmation of the details of the
event (and an interview with the
pilots) but thus far, the airline
has politely refused all of our
requests, citing the ongoing
investigation -- there has been no
official confirmation or denial of
the "no-hydraulics
landing." 
Parker Hannifin Corp., maker of
vacuum pumps on the Cessna 335 that
crashed, killing a Missouri
governor, has been ordered to pay a
total of $4 million in damages to
his family even though 
A Kentucky pilot, who federal
investigators say lacked a
multi-engine rating, was acquitted
of wanton endangerment charges
indirectly related to the 
There are some startling
coincidences in two midair
collisions that occurred one day and
2,000 miles apart last week. The
collisions occurred in Tehachapi,
Calif., on Friday and Clearwater,
Fla. on Saturday. In each case, a
light twin and a single came
together and in each accident the
twin pilot was able to maintain
control and land safely while the
single did not. Pilots of both
singles died. In the California
crash, a Beech Baron flown by Robert
Hollis Gates, of Bear Valley
Springs, was in collision with a
Cessna 180 flown by David Aaron
Lazerson. The 180 fell out of
control into a mountainside but
Gates, whose airplane was missing a
big piece of the cockpit, was able
to put the plane down on a small
private strip. He suffered minor
injuries. In the Florida accident, a
Twin Commanche, owned by John
Collins, of Winter Haven, was trying
to land at Clearwater Airpark when
it came in contact with a Cessna 150
that was taking off. The 150 crashed
about 20 feet from a group of
parents and children in a playground
and the pilot, 79-year-old Bela Toth,
died at the scene. The pilot of the
Comanche was able to land at
Clearwater and he and a passenger
walked away apparently unharmed.
There was damage to the twin's right
wingtip.
The FAA should face the people it's
planning to put out of business with
a new set of regulations rather than
hide in cyberspace, according to
AOPA. The FAA has extended the
comment period (from Jan. 20 to
April 19) for a roundly criticized 
A Maryland developer has come up
with a novel approach to gaining
approval for his plans to cover an
airport in condos. Polm Companies
Ltd. says that if it can't build 600
homes, it will instead turn the
sleepy 
Part of the future of aviation might
fit in the palm of your hand or on
the head of a pin. Scientists are
furiously working on Micro Air
Vehicles (MAVs), tiny aircraft that
can fly autonomously where human
pilots can't (or shouldn't). Now
scientists at Cranfield University
in Britain have put the machine they
are developing on display at the 
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