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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Fatal Photo Shoot Operating Into Turkey Tackling Turbulence MAY 2020 VOL. 116 NO. 5 The Organization Failed . . . Digital Edition Copyright Notice

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DOWNLOAD YOURS AT: Now Available acukwik.com/products for Android! CONTENTS MAY 2020 Business & Commercial Aviation Intelligence 18 10 Edited by William Garvey, Keep up with all Jessica A. Salerno the news and blogs and Molly McMillin from BCA editors Embraer Phemon 300E “like” us on facebook Receives Certifications facebook.com/avweekbca and follow us on twitter Major Aviation and Aerospace twitter.com/avweekbca Events Cancelled Worldwide Due to COVID-19

Bombardier Temporarily Suspends Production

GE Aviation Cuts Workforce

Spirit Aerosystems Halts Work

UPS Flight Forward, Delivery-by-Drone Service Features Fatal Photo Shoot Fast Five With Mark Clark, 32 Ross Detwiler President and Owner, Embraer Phenom Harnessed passengers Courtesy Aircraft 18 300E Enhanced unable to break free Fred George The Organization Third-generation offers 38 upgraded performance, 38 Failed convenience and technology James Albright . . . If I wrote the accident report DDIGITALIGITAL EXTRASEXTRAS 48 Tackling Turbulence 44 Patrick Veillette Simply put, seat belts are still key Stopping 48 Coronavirus 2 Departments Tap this icon in articles Fred George in the digital edition Surviving and thriving in 9 Viewpoint of BCA for exclusive the new non-normal era Accidents in Brief features. If you have not 37 signed up to receive your Ensuring Corporate 57 Point of Law digital subscription, go to Operating Into 52 AviationWeek.com/bcacustomers Relevance 20/Twenty 24 Turkey Mark H. Goodrich 5 8 David Esler A flight department On Duty For the latest While tensions exist, must contribute as a full 60 developments, go to there’s still business to member of a larger team, 60 Advertisers’ Index AviationWeek.com/BCA be done or else Selected articles from BCA 62 Products & Services and The Weekly of Business Aviation, 64 BCA 50 Years Ago as well as breaking news stories and daily news 24 updates

COVER Courtesy of Embraer Executive Jets 59 Marketplace

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 1 Business & Commercial Aviation

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LEADING THE WAY Viewpoint William Garvey Editor-in-Chief [email protected] After This Passes The pandemic will end. What then?

MY ELDEST IS ABOUT TO RETIRE FROM THE U.S. COAST GUARD AFTER former aircraft manufacturing executive and partner with Jet- 20 years as a cutterman, HH-65 pilot, working intelligence in net in the iQ business aviation seminar series; Charlie Priester, Washington, a Black Sea embassy assignment, and finally inter- chairman of the Chicago-based business aircraft management national relations and planning for Pacific region partnerships. and charter operation founded by his father 70+ years ago; In response to my query about his next step, he said he was inter- and Dick Van Gemert, the former head of the Xerox flight de- ested in civilian aerospace. Oh, boy. partment and general services and founder of New World Jet, As I write this, workers at Piper Aircraft in Vero Beach, among other things. Florida, are fashioning transparent face shields for medical While this estimable foursome were not in complete agree- personnel while doctors and nurses in New York are treating ment on what may be forthcoming, there was general consensus patients afflicted with COVID-19 while wearing face masks on the possible: fetched from China by a pair of NetJets aircraft. Simultane- υThere will be consolidations of businesses, some failures and ously, the Flexjet fleet, among the many, is being sanitized with the fleet will likely be impacted as a result. When aircraft are anti-bacterial agents; training centers are so bereft of trainees redundant or shareholders get worried or angry, the flight depart- that CAE shuttered several; Textron, Bombardier, Spirit, GE ment often wrongly takes the hit. Moreover, the decline in the Aviation and other manufacturers have furloughed thousands number of types of new aircraft being marketed is continuing. of employees; and Patient Airlift Services canceled all flights to υThe drastic reduction in scheduled and private flying has protect pilots and passengers generated daily data on the against the coronavirus. commensurate reduction in The contraction of all in- CO2 emissions. The “plane dustries, very much including shamers” have taken note aerospace, is without prec- and are now focused on cal- edent and spurred by a lethal, culating pounds of contami- fast-spreading, global invisible nation by seat. Not good for menace with no known oppo- the community. nent. It’s really quite terrify- υThe near universal embrace ing. The enormity of the virus’s of videoconferencing is here physical and economic impact and will affect some busi- upon the world is impossible to ness travel plans negatively. calculate and its duration un- However, the importance of known as well. in-person, face-to-face meet- But here’s the thing: This pan- AEDKAIS ings in deal making will con- demic will end, just as have all those that preceded it. tinue to be key. Business aviation facilitates that activity. So, rather than focus on the terrible present — and God bless υThe aversion toward airline travel, both domestic and inter- the first responders, those manning the emergency rooms and national, could enhance the value of business aircraft since it ICUs, and everyone working to assist and protect them — I won- minimizes interaction with large groups of strangers, assures dered what consequences the crisis of 2020 might have on busi- a germ-free cabin environment and eliminates any need for ness aviation in the years going forward. Will there be any and, if transfers. However, an unintended consequence, already dem- so, will they be helpful or not? onstrated, is that some owners will choose to withdraw their Although I’ve been a member of the community for longer aircraft from charter service. than I care to admit, I readily acknowledge I’m no sage about As one of the solons correctly noted, “A time of crisis is a time its future course. But I do know a few who qualify. And while the for innovation.” Well, this is that time, and everyone is alert to coronavirus calamity is unlike anything any living person has novel (sorry about that) solutions, practices or technology going experienced — and thus its “novel” adjective — many have been forward. There’s no telling what those might be, but the move- through distressful cycles, economic reversals and technological ment toward what Wheels Up’s Kenny Dichter calls “the de- advances, and that experience could help to set expectations for mocratization” of business aviation, that is lowering the price of what’s coming. entry and participation, is a worthy aspiration. And the promise This time around, helping me see what might lie ahead was a of drones or urban air mobility technology is another. familiar, sagacious group of business aviation veterans including Meanwhile, there are armies of homebound employees and Lou Seno, chairman of JSSI and a former leading aircraft leasing those like my near-retiree eager to get aviation moving again. pro; Rolland “Rollie” Vincent, a well-known industry consultant, That can’t happen soon enough. BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 9 EDITED BY WILLIAM GARVEY, JESSICA A. SALERNO AND MOLLY MCMILLIN [email protected] [email protected] INTELLIGENCE [email protected] NEWS / ANALYSIS / TRENDS / ISSUES CAE Lays Off Staffers υ ON MARCH 25, BOMBARDIER TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED aircraft and rail pro- duction and other work considered nonessential at most of its Canadian operations. Work and Closes Training Centers was scheduled to resume in late April. In addition, the company planned to furlough a small number of employees in Wichita but keep the site operational. The suspension in Canada followed mandates from the governments of and Ontario to help slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Bombar- dier also suspended its 2020 financial guid- ance while it evaluated the impact of the temporary closure and other actions taken Beginning March 27, CAE temporarily in response to the pandemic. The company’s laid off more than 400 staff members service and support network was continuing and cut the salaries of managers. to operate, but strict screening, disinfection, In addition, it closed three training distancing and hygiene measures were being implemented. The company also suspended centers in Peru, Belgium and Italy work at its , Northern Ireland, facility, which builds the wings for the A220 along and said more closures could follow. with the tail and sections for the Global 7500; it was to restart April 20. It asked for federal government aid. “We’re going into this with a sound υ GE AVIATION, THE LEADING DIVISION WITHIN GENERAL ELECTRIC, cut 10% balance sheet,” CAE CFO Sonya of its U.S. workforce in late March in anticipation of a steep falloff in maintenance, repair Branco said at the time. They had and overhaul (MRO) work. The furlough was planned for three months, and the company ample liquidity to weather the storm, said it will continue to let go outsourced workers and put a freeze on hiring in the wake of she added. the novel coronavirus. In addition, it canceled salaried merit increases and dramatically cur- tailed nonessential spending. The moves marked a reversal of the company’s outlook from Rolls-Royce Pauses late February when top executives confidently told Wall Street and others they expected the Engineering and Production COVID-19 illness to be just a blip for the aerospace industry.

υ DESPITE SHUTTERING VOOM, ITS ON-DEMAND HELICOPTER booking service operating in São Paulo, Mexico City and the San Francisco Bay Area, Airbus reaffirmed its support of the urban air mobility (UAM) technology and marketplace in which it said it will continue to invest. The grounding of Voom came in late March, another victim of the novel coronavirus crisis. “This is just one chapter in urban air mobility [UAM], with so much more to come,” Voom CEO Clement Mon- net said in announcing the closure. “It is Rolls-Royce halted engineering and not a question of whether the UAM market production operations for a week in will open up, but when . . . Airbus contin- late March at its UK facilities as a re- ues to invest in UAM and will be able to sult of the viral invasion. The company leverage the knowledge gained through said the halt would allow it to modify its operations in line with UK govern- Voom.” Launched in 2016 as a project within Airbus’ Silicon Valley outpost A-Cubed, Voom ment guidelines, particularly in terms later became part of the company’s UAM business unit. Operations began in August 2017 in of social distancing among workers. São Paulo, expanding to Mexico City in March 2018 and San Francisco in September 2019. Rolls-Royce said the changes would allow it to sustain modified operations υ SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS, ’S LARGEST SUPPLIER, temporarily halted work and activities over a longer period and at its Wichita and Tulsa, Oklahoma, facilities after Boeing announced a temporary shutdown allow it to support its customers. of its Puget Sound facilities in Washington state. The aerostructures maker warned that more layoffs could follow depending on the rate of production when Boeing restarted. Earlier this year, Spirit laid off around 3,200 workers in Wichita and Oklahoma after Boeing stopped For the latest news production of the 737 MAX. But the company said operations will continue in support of and information, go to U.S. defense customers — it is involved in the B-21, CH-53K and other programs — as well AviationWeek.com/BCA as with Airbus, aftermarket and MRO, third-party fabrication work. It said the employees in those activities should expect to work their regular schedules.

10 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA INTELLIGENCE

υ EMBRAER EXECUTIVE JETS ANNOUNCED MARCH 27 THAT IT earned a “hat New Generation Dornier trick,” receiving type certification for its Phenom 300E light jet from three aviation authori- ties: the National Civil Aviation Agency of (ANAC), the European Union Aviation Safety Seastar Prototype Flies Agency (EASA) and the FAA. The Phenom 300E is an upgraded version of the Phenom 300, with the E for Enhanced referring to a redesigned cabin and other upgrades. The aircraft achieved certification with a 2,010-nm range, high-speed cruise of 454 kt. and a maximum payload of 2,636 lb. It also received upgrades and enhancements to lower cabin noise. The Phenom 300E’s avion- ics upgrade includes a runway overrun awareness and alerting system, predictive wind shear, Dornier completed the emergency descent mode and other features. Pilot and copilot seat tracking has increased first flight of its new-generation to provide almost 40% more legroom. It is available for delivery now. Dornier Seastar amphibious aircraft on March 28 when the υ AVFUEL HAS LAUNCHED A VOLUNTARY CARBON OFFSET PROGRAM “com- prototype took off from Ober- mitted to helping the industry reach its carbon neutrality goals.” The program assists in- phaffenhofen airfield in Germany, terested operations in one of two ways: designating a specific number of gallons to offset flying for 31 min. in what the com- when creating an Avfuel Contract Fuel authorization or opting to offset emissions from all pany said was a “major milestone gallons of fuel purchased through Avfuel. “Aviation currently accounts for 2% of the world’s and achievement for the program.” The flight follows extensive ground CO2 emissions,” said C.R. Sincock, Avfuel’s executive vice president. “Other than utilizing testing, engine runs and approvals sustainable aviation fuel, carbon offsetting is going to be the key way to reduce industry from EASA. emissions in the near term.” Companies can zero out their CO2 greenhouse gas emis- sions by purchasing carbon credits (certificates showing the offset of one ton of CO2) that is then invested in certified projects with a positive impact upon the environment. The Thrush Aircraft Reports Avfuel program uses a carbon offsetting calculator with a standardized industry formula. ‘Strong’ First Quarter Measured in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the ISO 14064 standard and based upon carbon dioxide emissions coefficients as assigned by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, it is used to calculate the number of carbon credits required to offset gallons of fuel uplifted.

υ LYNN TILTON STEPPED DOWN IN LATE MARCH AS CEO of MD Helicopters (MDH) after bankruptcy judges ordered her to sell companies to repay collateralized loan obligations worth nearly $2 billion. Although she withdrew from active management of the helicopter maker and other Patriarch Partners portfolio companies, Tilton remains the largest single shareholder and a major creditor of MDH. Through Patriarch, her private Following completion of a restruc- equity company, Tilton specialized in buying turing from Chapter 11 bankruptcy up and turning around distressed compa- in 2019, agplane maker Thrush nies using a series of collateralized loan ob- Aircraft said it turned in a “strong” ligations known as the Zohar funds, which first quarter in 2020 and more she controlled until 2016. Those funds went than doubled its number of em- bankrupt two years later. Tilton took over ployees to 103. The company’s MDH in 2005. Included in the sale were 2020 order book includes 17 the MD 500E and MD 530F single-engine aircraft for spray and firefighting helicopters, the MD 520N and MD 600N operations, including the Thrush single-engine NOTAR rotorcraft, and the MD 900 Explorer twin. She went on to turn around 510P, 510G and 710P. Last year, the company’s fortunes, helping it to secure a number of major U.S. Army contracts and the Albany, Georgia, manufacturer delivering helicopters to Afghanistan, Kenya and . At Heli-Expo 2020 in January, delivered 26 aircraft, compared to she announced that the company was close to restoring production of the MD 902 after 38 in 2018. a decade-long hiatus in production.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 11 INTELLIGENCE

Textron Completes Initial υ ALAIN BELLEMARE IS STEPPING DOWN AS PRESIDENT AND CEO of Bombar- dier, having overseen a radical reshaping of the Canadian company in a bid to restore SkyCourier Ground Engine Tests its financial health. He will be replaced by Eric Martel, current president and CEO of Hydro-Quebec and a former Bombardier executive. After joining Bombardier in 2015, Bellemare launched a five-year turnaround plan to restore profitability and reduce debt in the wake of the heavy financial drain of developing the C Series narrowbody . The restructuring was completed in February with the agreement to sell Bombardier’s rail transportation business to France’s Alstom for $8.2 billion. This leaves the com- pany as a manufacturer only. Martel is a former president of Bombardier’s business aviation and customer services divisions. According to Chairman Pierre Beau- doin, “Eric is the right leader at the right time for Bombardier” and has “a deep under- In late March, Textron Aviation an- nounced it had completed initial standing of our organization and product portfolio ground engine tests on its prototype as well as of the global business aircraft industry.” Cessna SkyCourier high-wing, utility When Bellemare replaced Beaudoin as CEO, the twin turboprop. It said the testing company was on the brink of bankruptcy because verified the functionality of the fuel of delays and mounting costs in developing the C system, the Pratt & Whitney Canada Series. He had been CEO of ’ PT6A-65SC engines and the inter- Propulsion & Aerospace Systems business, having face with the avionics and electri- previously led Pratt & Whitney Canada. Among Bel- cal systems. The manufacturer is lemare’s first actions were to cancel development advancing in the assembly of the of the 85 and stretch out development of aircraft and an additional five flight- the Global 7500 to reduce spending. In 2016, he persuaded the Quebec provincial gov- and ground-test articles. First flight ernment to invest $1 billion in the C Series program and the following year transferred is expected this year. a controlling 50.01% stake in that program to Airbus. The company then sold the Dash 8 program to Canada’s Longview Aviation Capital, the CRJ program to Mitsubishi, its RUAG Reconfigures EC635 business-aviation training business to CAE and its aerostructures factories in Northern for COVID-19 Patients Ireland and to Spirit AeroSystems. Bellemare completed Bombardier’s exit from the commercial aircraft market in February with the sale of its remaining stake in the C Series, now the A220, to Airbus. With large debt repayments looming in 2021, that left the company looking for a buyer for either its aircraft or underperforming train business. In the end, the Alstom deal came through, leaving Bombardier as a business- jet-only manufacturer.

υ GOGO BUSINESS AVIATION HAS PETITIONED THE U.S. PATENT and Trade- mark Office challenging the validity of Patent No. 9,312,947 to SmartSky Networks for a terrestrial-based, high-speed data communications mesh network. “We have submit- RUAG MRO Switzerland has modified ted evidence of published materials clearly showing that well before SmartSky asserts the EC635 helicopter for COVID-19 to have invented the concepts in the ’947 patent, others had conceived of the claimed patients. The repurposed helicopter’s subject matter,” said Sergio Aguirre, Gogo Business Aviation president. “Further, we large dimensions make it ideal for use believe there are many of SmartSky’s patents that are not valid. This is only one of many as a mission aircraft. The Swiss Air patents we could have challenged in a patent review.” SmartSky said it is confident the Force commissioned RUAG to modify Patent Office will uphold its grant of the patent, one it says resulted from an extensive, the infrastructure of the helicopter to three-year examination process. “SmartSky has developed, demonstrated and is de- transport patients. Its spatial sepa- ploying a game-changing, air-to-ground [ATG] network,” SmartSky President Ryan ration of the cockpit from the cabin Stone said. “Creating a 10x or better inflight connectivity experience required substan- aids in protecting the pilots from the tial innovation.” He said Gogo is challenging a patent covering the use of software- virus. The aircraft is currently used for defined radios for beamforming to deliver continuous and uninterrupted high-speed individual and patient transport for data communication to aircraft, but that SmartSky’s efforts have resulted in more than the Swiss Army and is equipped with 150 domestic and international patents with another 116 pending. Gogo’s objection, standard materials for medical care. he said, “validates SmartSky’s longstanding position that our intellectual property is absolutely critical to the essential function of a next-generation ATG network.”

12 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA υ RESPONDING TO A CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTIVE TO exercise leadership in en- FAA OKs Appareo Transponders abling the return of supersonic air travel, the FAA has proposed noise certification regu- lations for new supersonic aircraft that cover landing and takeoff noise, but it did not for Part 27 Helicopters lift the existing prohibition on civil supersonic flight over land. Released March 30, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) addresses noise standards for supersonic air- craft with a maximum takeoff weight no greater than 150,000 lb. and a maximum cruise speed of up to Mach 1.8. Thus, the proposal would include Aerion’s AS2 supersonic business jet but would not appear to cover Boom Supersonic’s larger Over- ture airliner, which is being designed to carry up to 75 passengers at speeds up to Mach 2.2. The agency said other classes of airplanes and their respective Appareo, a designer, developer noise levels would be added later. Using and manufacturer of electronic and the same noise certification methodology software products for aerospace, applied to subsonic aircraft, the NPRM has received FAA approval to in- proposes two sets of limits, for supersonic aircraft with three engines — such as the stall Stratus transponders in FAR Part 27 aircraft. The Stratus ES/ AS2 and Overture — and those with two. As proposed, a 150,000-lb. gross-weight ESG approved model list includes aircraft with three engines would have a noise limit at the lateral certification measure- Bell, Leonardo, Robinson and Airbus ment point of 96.5 EPNdB, a flyover limit of 94 EPNdB and an approach limit of 100.2 helicopters. The ES-H and Stratus EPNdB. For a similarly sized two-engine supersonic aircraft, the lateral and approach ESG-Hare are now available through limits are the same, but the flyover limit is reduced to 91 EPNdB. For comparison, under authorized Appareo dealers. current Stage 5 rules, a 150,000-lb. gross-weight subsonic aircraft has limits of 96.5 EPNdB for lateral noise, 91 EPNdB for flyover and 100.2 EPNdB for approach. So, the major difference in the NPRM is a higher proposed limit on flyover noise for three-engine Leonardo Completes supersonic aircraft. The flyover measure point is a location on the ground under the Acquisition of Kopter Group climb-out flight path 3.5 nm from the start of the takeoff roll. Flyover is therefore a key measure of community noise exposure for supersonic aircraft.

υ UNDER A PROPOSED NEW REGULATION, OPERATORS employing professional pilots would be required to enter and share pilot records in an FAA-managed Pilot Re- cords Database (PRD) before making hiring decisions. Published in the Federal Register on March 30, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) affects air carriers, public aircraft operations, air tour operators, fractional ownership programs and corpo- rate flight departments. Pilots would be required to provide consent for an air carrier to access their records during the hiring process. The records-sharing requirement also Leonardo has completed its would apply to commercial drone operators holding FAR Part 107 remote pilot certifi- $185 million takeover of Switzer- cates when an unmanned aircraft system is used in air carrier operations. Operators land’s Kopter Group from private would incur costs to train and register as users of the electronic database and to report equity firm Lynwood. It means pilot records to the PRD. The NPRM separately proposes a user fee to cover the FAA’s that Leonardo has secured a new, operation and maintenance costs of the database, amounting to an estimated $1.9 mil- mature single-engine helicopter lion annually over 10 years. Comments on the proposed rule are due by June 29. “This development program at a frac- proposed rule would enhance aviation safety by assisting air carriers in making informed tion of the cost it would have taken hiring and personnel management decisions using the most accurate and complete to develop such a platform in- pilot records available and electronically accessible,” the NPRM states. Those records, house. Kopter’s SH09 is the new- the FAA said, “would remain in the PRD for the life of the pilot.” The proposed rule is a est single-engine light helicopter response to several open NTSB recommendations, including those stemming from the design in decades and has been crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 in February 2009, and requirements that Congress en- developed to compete directly with acted in the Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010. The latter legislation required Airbus’ H125 Ecureuil/AStar and the agency to establish an electronic PRD, and reauthorization legislation passed in Bell’s Model 407. 2016 called for the FAA to establish a PRD by April 30, 2017.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 13 INTELLIGENCE

Aircraft Interior Purification υ ORGANIZERS FIRST POSTPONED BUT SUBSEQUENTLY CANCELED the Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo and have announced the Lakeland, Florida, event will next be held System Modified for Ground Use in April 2021. Meanwhile, as of early April, the leadership of EAA AirVenture said it will decide in May as to whether to go forward with the July 20-26 gathering in Oshkosh, Wis- consin. The annual Sun ’n Fun Expo is said to provide more than $2 million a year for science, technology, engineering and math education programs, flight training and aerospace-related college scholarships. To continue the resources, its organizers plan to host events and content online in a new series called Sun ’n Fun at Home. It is also plan- ning an overhaul of its website, www.flysnf.org, in order to support the digital experience. While the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) contemplates the viability of AirVenture 2020, two significant events also originally scheduled for late June and July in Wisconsin — the Democratic National Convention and Summer- International Aero Engineering fest 2020 music festival — were postponed due to and Aviation Clean Air (ACA) are COVID-19. That may be a factor in the EAA’s ultimate teaming up to offer an ionization decision. “Events are starting to move out,” said Jack purification system as a portable Pelton, EAA chairman and CEO. “We have time to ion distribution unit for ground wait, but it is not looking good.” Another factor is use only. The unit will be used for whether the EAA’s corps of 5,000 volunteers are willing to participate in the wake of the disinfecting aircraft interiors and coronavirus crisis. Many are seniors and thus in a high-risk category. uses the same technology as ACA’s patented airborne system that is υ BCA PUBLISHER FRANK CRAVEN HAS JOINED THE BOARD of Trustees of the licensed for aircraft installation by National Aviation Hall of Fame after receiving a unanimous vote by the sitting members. He will an FAA STC. serve a three-year term. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, and congressionally chartered, the Hall is dedicated to honoring “aerospace legends” and inspiring future leaders. BBJ Joins Silver Fleet υ TWO BUSINESS AVIATION NOTABLES FLEW WEST RECENTLY. Joe Clark, founder and CEO of Inc. (API), passed away unexpectedly on March 30. Peter Fleiss, the former executive director of the Corporate Angel Network (CAN), succumbed after a series of health issues on April 3. A consummate pilot and long-time aviation entrepre- neur, Clark collapsed hours after a morning flight in his single-engine GameBird aerobat and never recovered. He was 78. A long-time Seattle resident, he helped found the blended winglet company in 1991 and went on to install the fuel-saving airfoils on more than 9,000 business jets and Boeing to date. Prior to API, Clark co-founded Horizon Air, which he later sold to Alaska Airlines. He began his business aviation career in 1966 by starting Jet Air, the first Silver Air, a private jet management Learjet dealer for the Pacific Northwest and Canada. The inspiration behind Jet Air was provided and charter company, has added by Clay Lacy, who famously gave Clark his first flight in a Learjet, rolling it several times dur- a (BBJ) with ing climb-out. Clark said that event changed his career path and created a lifelong friendship unrestricted charter access based with Lacy. Prior to taking the helm at CAN, Fleiss worked at Safe Flight Instrument Corp. in West Palm Beach, Florida. The in White Plains, New York, in close collaboration with company founder and president Leonard BBJ will be available for charter this Greene. It was Greene who helped found CAN, which provides cancer patients with free travel spring. Silver Air says it is the only to treatment facilities, and in December 1981 piloted the first CAN flight. Fleiss took charge operator of BBJs with unrestricted of CAN’s operation in 2005 and over the next 11 years grew its member companies to include charter availability. The new BBJ over 500 supporters, encompassing half of the Fortune 100. His efforts resulted in tripling the features an 18-passenger con- number of cancer patients flown, leading to 50,000 patient flights just before his retirement in figuration with a master bedroom, 2016. “Peter was instrumental in developing CAN into the organization it is today,” said CAN shower, conference group, lounge Executive Director Gina Russo. “His continued commitment to the mission was well-known by area and three lavatories. patients and business aviation peers alike.” She said Fleiss’ legacy “will live on through CAN’s mission and we will continue to follow in his footsteps to reach new heights.”

14 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA υ THE U.S. AIR FORCE IS SCRAMBLING TO ACQUIRE GULFSTREAM G550s to Jet-A and Avgas complete the EC-37B Compass Call acquisition program in advance of a possible production line Per-Gallon Fuel Prices shutdown, despite no official change in Gulfstream’s outlook for the long-range business jet. The April 2020 service selected the G550 Conformal Airborne Early Warning in 2017 to rehost an elec- tronic warfare payload from a fleet of aging C- Jet-A 130Hs. But it has so far received funding to Region High Low Average buy only the first five of 10 G550 Eastern $7.57 $3.30 $5.45 to be modified into the EC-37B, with a sixth New England $7.05 $2.60 $4.84 requested in the budget for fiscal 2021. Gulfstream has not announced a schedule for Great Lakes $7.06 $2.98 $4.82 shutting down the G550 line, but a lawmaker Central $6.35 $2.57 $4.33 and senior Air Force acquisition official referred Southern $7.34 $3.45 $5.40 to the aircraft during a March 10 hearing as if a Gulfstream decision to terminate commercial production had already been made. Rep. Don Southwest $6.75 $2.17 $4.67 Bacon (R-Neb.) also suggested during the House Armed Services Committee hearing that the NW Mountain $7.52 $2.40 $4.60 Air Force is already discussing workarounds, such as acquiring a mixed fleet of new and used Western Pacific $7.96 $3.95 $5.55 G550s for the EC-37B. “Now the Gulfstream production line is going to stop, and we’re talking about buying used ones,” he says. In response during the hearing, Will Roper, assistant secretary Nationwide $7.20 $2.93 $4.96 of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, did not dispute Bacon’s characterization of the problem. In addition to buying used aircraft, he hinted that another option is to buy more airframes before the production line closes to perhaps keep them in storage until modification Avgas funds become available. “We are working many options to try to accelerate how quickly we can Region High Low Average deliver the capability,” Roper says. “We’re in discussions with the vendors, and so those aren’t Eastern $8.25 $4.50 $6.09 things that I can share publicly.” Gulfstream is transitioning large-cabin business jet production New England $7.45 $4.50 $5.71 to a new line of G500s and G600s, but a spokesperson said it “is committed to supporting the program, with manufacturing and customer deliveries scheduled into 2021.” Great Lakes $8.59 $4.45 $5.93 Central $7.59 $4.05 $5.28 υ UPS FLIGHT FORWARD (UPSFF), A DELIVERY-BY-DRONE SERVICE, is to col- Southern $9.40 $3.95 $5.89 laborate with Germany’s Wingcopter on development of a longer-range unmanned aircraft to expand those services in the U.S. and elsewhere. Wingcopter’s tilt-prop UAV transitions from Southwest $7.19 $3.73 $5.45 a multicopter for vertical takeoff and landing in confined spaces to efficient, high-speed wing- NW Mountain $6.45 $4.49 $5.51 borne flight. UPSFF is already using Matternet’s M2 quadcopter to transport medical samples Western Pacific $8.52 $4.31 $6.10 at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. Working with CVS Pharmacy, UPSFF has also used the M2 drone to deliver prescription medicines to homes in Cary, North Carolina. Wing- Nationwide $7.93 $4.25 $5.75 copter’s hybrid rotary/fixed-wing UAV “will allow UPSFF to begin developing solutions that, if The tables above show results of a fuel price survey approved, will go well beyond the health- of U.S. fuel suppliers performed in April 2020. care and retail industries,” the company This survey was conducted by Aviation Research says, citing technology, manufacturing, Group/U.S. and reflects prices reported from hospitality, entertainment and other over 200 FBOs located within the 48 contiguous United States. Prices are full retail and include all markets. Noting that “drone delivery is taxes and fees. not a one-size-fits-all operation,” Bala Ganesh, vice president of the UPS Ad- For additional information, contact Aviation Research/U.S. Inc. at (513) 852-5110 vanced Technology Group, says UPSFF or on the internet at is building a network of technology part- www.aviationresearch.com ners to broaden its capability to serve customers. Wingcopter has previously worked with Deutsche Post DHL, delivering medicines in East Africa in 2018 with the DHL Parcelcopter 4.0 version of its UAV. And working with Unicef, Wingcopter in 2019 delivered vaccines on demand to health centers on the Pacific island of Vanuatu. In late 2019, Wingcopter participated in an For the latest news Irish demonstration of insulin delivery to offshore islands. And in February, the company began and information, go to flying pigment samples between two Merck factories in Germany under a government-funded, AviationWeek.com/BCA intrafactory logistics project with Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 15 FAST FIVE INTERVIEW BY WILLIAM GARVEY

Questions for Mark Clark

COURTSEY AIRCRAFT Courtesy’s well known for moving warbirds — how many? 1 Clark: In a typical year, we’ll be involved in 40, 50 and upward of 60 trans- actions. About 80% of those will be former military aircraft, from SNJs and P-40s to B-17s. Over the years I’ve sold 80 Mustangs. But we sell everything, from J3s through Citations. Right now our inventory includes an AirCam on floats, a P-40, Harrier jump jets and a ski-equipped Norse- man. All totaled we’ve sold and delivered over 3,000 aircraft, many of them multiple times. Mark Clark 2 What kind of restrictions are imposed on former warbirds? President and Owner Clark: That depends. For a variety of American-built models including the Courtesy Aircraft Beech T-34, Piper L-4, Stinson L-5 and North American T6 and SNJ, their Rockford, Illinois manufacturers applied for and received standard civilian type certificates. So, their TCs are no different than those for a Cessna 172 or Beech Bonanza A youngster when his father founded and have no restrictions. However, all the others, including all the jets and Courtesy in 1957 as a Cessna foreign-made aircraft, go into the Experimental category. Also, all the foreign dealer, Clark grew up with the scent aircraft must receive an import permit from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, of avgas and the sound of spinning Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. All aircraft must be certified as airworthy props. He was thoroughly smitten and then are issued a special airworthiness certificate, usually with sev- with aviation, after a 35-min. ride eral pages of operating limitations. Of course, all weaponry and targeting in a P-51 Mustang at 14, with equipment must be removed and any drop tanks secured so they cannot be warbirds in particular. He earned jettisoned. his pilot’s license at 16, began flying a North American T-6 Texan And the pilots? two years later, and sold his first 3 Clark: Anybody with enough money can buy one of these things, but if you surplus military bird as well. After don’t have a lot of experience, you won’t be allowed to fly those in the Ex- graduating with a marketing degree perimental category. The FAA watches that closely. Consider the T-28 Trojan. from Bradley University in downstate It’s a trainer but with retractable gear, a 1,425-hp Wright radial and a max Peoria, he began selling airplanes takeoff weight of over 8,000 lb. So, if you don’t have a lot of time in complex, in earnest, and has been doing so heavy aircraft you’ll have to get it. There’s instruction available and you’ll ever since. He bought Courtesy from need to safely operate the aircraft. Most of the maneuvering skills demanded his father in 1983 and focused on are of ATP tolerances. And keep in mind, insurance companies have their own marketing exotic machines along requirements and they can be even more rigid. with standard civilian birds. He holds a Commercial license and 4 Production of many of these airplanes ended 60 to 80 years ago. What an unlimited letter of authorization about maintenance? in all makes and models of high- Clark: There’s actually a pretty good network out there. This is a small com- performance former military aircraft, munity and I can help point owners in a direction. For example, I know of type ratings in the B-24 and A-26 a half dozen shops that work on P-40s and P-51s. The support is actually and numerous other warbirds, quite good. The fact is the people in those places love working on warbirds, along with an A&P certificate. He especially World War II aircraft. They have a passion for them. has logged some 7,000 piloting That war’s veterans are disappearing; what’s the impact? hours, more than 1,500 in high- 5 performance ex-military aircraft, Clark: I knew you’d ask that. We’re still close enough to World War II so the and owns a Cessna Conquest. buyers are still connected but through their fathers’ or grandfathers’ service. One customer wants to buy an AT-6 because that was the aircraft his grand- TAP HERE in the digital edition father trained in before moving into a P-51. The buyer said he can’t afford a of BCA to hear more from this Interview or go to Mustang but can learn like his grandfather in a Texan. And beyond that, there AviationWeek.com/FastFive are Corsairs, Skyraiders and Bird Dogs from the Korean War and beyond. So, this will continue. BCA

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Third-generation offers upgraded performance, convenience and technology

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF EMBRAER BY FRED GEORGE [email protected]

mbraer’s engineers are putting the 300E, a second-generation model, in including choices of stitching styles, hammer down to keep the Phe- 2017 and it entered service a year later. chair back insert patterns, leathers, fab- nom 300 in its position as the best- It features improved acoustical insula- rics, carpets and furniture finishes. All selling light jet for the last decade. tion, an Embraer-designed interior with this boosted empty weight. Add in 250 lb. EMore than 500 units have been deliv- a 3-in.-wider dropped aisle, an inch more of typical customer upgrades and avail- ered since its entry into service in 2009. headroom, a Techniks Nice able payload with full tanks shrank to This is due in large part to sizable orders HD infotainment system and passenger 1,110 lb. for a two-pilot Phenom 300E. from all three major fractional owner- chairs designed and manufactured by The third and latest version, the Phe- ship business jet operators: Flight Op- Embraer Aero Seating Technologies in nom 300E Enhanced, is due for intro- tions, NetJets and Executive Air Share. Titusville, Florida. duction in May 2020 at serial number No other light jet has been endorsed by In response to customer feedback, 560. This newest version gets increased these big three. several new interior completion op- operating weights for more loading flex- Embraer introduced the Phenom tions were added to the Phenom 300E, ibility with the goal of enabling two-crew

18 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA aircraft to carry six passen- barrier for the cabin door quashes high gers with full fuel. A software frequency sound. Passengers perceive throttle push inside the full considerably lower interior noise levels authority digital engine con- as a result of these changes. trol (FADEC) increases engine The cabin gets an optional 4G Gogo thrust to offset the higher op- Avance L5 air-to-ground internet box, erating weights, thereby pre- capable of peak 9.8-mpbs speeds and serving takeoff performance upgradable to 5G connectivity when and improving climb and the ground station network is complete. cruise performance. Pratt & Video and audio streaming is supported. Whitney’s Eagle Service Plan Gogo’s Talk & Text feature provides Wi- hourly maintenance rates, Fi calling for mobile phones. Avance L5 though, remain unchanged. includes an upgraded inflight entertain- There’s also a slight increase ment (IFE) storage system that holds in published range perfor- dozens of movie and music selections. mance, mainly due to fine-tun- The forward cabin galley and stor- ing flight test data. age compartments have been recon- A high-style Bossa Nova figured to provide a much needed Edition interior, created by 3.5-in. increase in pilot legroom. That Embraer design guru Jay may not seem like a large improve- Beever and adapted from the ment, but the crew seats now track Praetor 600 cabin, now is an back 40% farther. option for the Phenom 300E This newest version of the cate- Enhanced. It features chair gory-leading aircraft carries a base back inserts with an Ipanema price of $9.65 million, but with popu- Beach boardwalk-like tile pat- lar options we estimate the final tally tern, high-tech carbon-fiber at $10.15 million. panels and subtle bright-red accents. Improved acoustical G3000 Integration and insulation sops up more N1 fan noise, especially during Improved Functionality climb. A trio of bleed-air sys- tem check valves have been The Prodigy flight deck, powered by redesigned for quieter opera- Garmin G3000 avionics, has 10 times tions. The air-conditioning faster, more powerful processors, system gets a new muffler to higher resolution displays and new fea- reduce sound and a new noise tures that boost safety margins and re- duce pilot workload. The avionics are better integrated with almost all con- trols available through the touch-screen panels. The FMS initialization process has been streamlined for quicker time to taxi for takeoff. The FMS is now capable of computing advisory takeoff/landing distance data as well as climb/cruise/ descent performance projections. Embraer has become the first aircraft manufacturer to earn certification of a runway overrun awareness and alerting system (ROAAS) whose goal is to reduce the risk of overrun during landing roll- out. This virtual copilot function evalu- ates landing approach speed, predicted touchdown point and computed stopping distance, including adjustments for con- taminated runway surfaces, in compari- son to landing distance available. It also warns pilots if they’re at risk of an over- The Phenom 300 has been the best selling light jet for run due to excessive float in the flare. a decade, with more than 500 deliveries. The Garmin system’s baseline features Third-generation Phenom 300E Enhanced gets a thrust also include an automatic emergency boost and needed weight increases. descent mode, graphic entry and display of weight and balance loading, ADS-B In and digital VOR bearing indication

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 19 Pilot Report

on the PFD, plus autopilot coupled go- around, synthetic azimuth and glidepath for VFR approach guidance, VNAV for non-precision approaches and enhanced HSI symbology, along with support for QFE (baro pressure setting for height above field elevation) and stabilized ap- proach advisories. New options include predictive wind- shear from the optional turbulence de- tection radar, FAA data comm for digital clearance delivery and en route CPDLC in the future, and electronic IFR and VFR en route charts. An optional third VHF transceiver is required for FAA data comm functions. The twin G3000 backbone chassis are The optional Bossa Nova interior and upgraded interior furnishings are unsurpassed for upgraded to support new functions. The comfort, style and quality. latest versions of the G3000 have many G1000 NXi features, including faster pro- full tanks. Final weight limits for the new Flightstream 510 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth link EMBRAER cessors. HF transceiver and SELCAL model are pending certification. that allows flight plans to be uploaded to control, CVR/FDR test and several main- The day we flew the aircraft, zero fuel the aircraft from tablets running either tenance data logging functions now are weight was 12,432 lb., with only three of us Foreflight or Garmin Pilot. That short- accomplished through upgraded touch- aboard, and there was 4,050 lb. of fuel in coming wasn’t an issue because Baerst screen panels. The glareshield flight guid- the wings. Ramp weight was 16,482 lb. at already had created and stored a flight ance panel has been modified to support Orlando Melbourne International Airport plan that would take us on the preferred new functions, including FMS speed com- (KMLB), Embraer’s Florida headquarters route to the W-139E and F warning ar- mand and additional VNAV functions. facility. The new graphic weight and bal- eas east of Jacksonville, where we would Garmin’s own GTS 8000 TCAS II and ance feature provided a complete CG map check cruise performance and perform GTX 3000 Mode S ES transponders re- on the MFD from engine start to tanks a few basic air-work maneuvers. But for place similar ACSS units. The swap allows dry, confirming that the aircraft would everyday operations, we find the ability to the Garmin data loader to be used for soft- remain well within the loading envelope. perform preflight planning on a tablet, file ware updates, and the new units integrate Airport elevation was 33 ft., barometer the desired flight plan with the FAA and and filter traffic information provided by was 30.19 and OAT was 17C. Using flaps 1, then upload to the aircraft to be a useful, the ADS-B In and TCAS II systems. computed takeoff distance was 2,959 ft.; time-saving feature. The all-digital 40-watt GWX 75 weather Runway 27L has 10,181 ft. available for We started the first engine using the radar replaces the GWX 70 in first- and departure. Takeoff speeds were 104 KIAS ground power unit, then the second using second-generation aircraft. Doppler tur- for V1, 113 KIAS for rotation, 116 KIAS for the aircraft battery and generator-assisted bulence detection and ground-clutter sup- the V2 one-engine-inoperative (OEI) take- cross-start. We noted that the FADEC on pression are optional features. off safety speed and 131 KIAS for VFS the engine furnishing supplemental power This version of Prodigy Touch, how- retraction/final segment. for the cross-start automatically increases ever, lacks some features found in other Already connected to ground power, idle rpm to boost generator output. aircraft equipped with G3000 avionics. the aircraft’s electrically powered vapor- Taxiing out of the chocks, we used a , full integration of ADS-B In cycle air-conditioner and cabin air cir- healthy throttle push to accelerate quickly weather for computing TOLD data, cross- culation fans were available as needed. straight ahead before chopping power to functional data sharing and Flightstream While the OAT was uncharacteristically make a tight turn with the tail sweeping in 510 Bluetooth/Wi-Fi connectivity for tab- cool for Florida, we’ve previously noted front of Embraer’s headquarters building. let computers are not included. that the Phenom 300’s cabin cooling Nosewheel steering through the rudder works impressively well in hot weather. pedals is soft, so it takes differential brak- Let’s Fly Checklists are short for this aircraft ing and thrust to maintain tight turns. and preflight chores are simpler aboard The carbon brakes are quite effective, We strapped into the left seat of s.n. 505- the Phenom 300E because of better inte- but response is not immediate and brak- 537 with engineering Steve gration of FMS initialization procedures, ing action is grabby when cold. It takes a Baerst in the right seat and instructor including the new graphic weight and bal- light touch on the pedals and patience to and demo pilot Sebastian Arrazola on ance and TOLD data computer functions. provide a smooth taxi experience for the the jump seat as safety pilot. Loaded with Embraer is one of the few light jet manu- passengers. more than 400 lb. of options, including facturers that requires the flight crew to We departed from Runway 27L and the Bossa Nova interior, HF transceiver enter OAT for the FADECs to compute then received ATC vectors toward the and Gogo Avance L5 system, plus LHT takeoff rated thrust. We first entered the oceanic warning areas off Florida’s east Nice enhanced cabin management sys- 17C for the engines and then had to enter coast. The aircraft is easy to fly, with well- tem, radio altimeter, dual transponders it a second time for FMS TOLD compu- harmonized control forces in pitch, roll and DME, the aircraft’s two-pilot BOW tation because the data is not shared be- and yaw. It’s quite stable in pitch and the was 12,232 lb. In this configuration, the tween these FMS functions. substantial increase in stick-force-per- aircraft can carry five passengers with Embraer has yet to certify Garmin’s G prevents overcontrol. En route to the

20 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA warning areas, we switched range sev- cruise performance comparison data for at 100 ft., just prior to reaching the run- eral times on the displays. Image change the original aircraft at ISA+8C, but in ISA way threshold, we heard “Overrun, Go response to these inputs was noticeably conditions, it would cruise at 440 KTAS Around. Overrun, Go Around.” and appreciably faster thanks to the more while burning about 1,490 lb./hr., again ac- We heeded the advisories and executed powerful G3000 enhanced processors. cording to the Flight Planning Guide. a missed approach. Notably, the overrun Now, zoom-in and zoom-out functions are We returned to Melbourne for three alerts also were logged by the aircraft’s nearly instantaneous. approaches to Runway 27L. The first two flight data recorder for post-flight analy- We climbed directly to FL 450 and ac- were ROAAS demonstrations. Baerst ex- sis. On the missed, we turned downwind celerated to max cruise. In ISA-3C condi- plained that the system uses weight and to the south to remain in the VFR pattern tions and at a weight of 15,500 lb., the new balance, air data, GPS position and veloc- and set up for the second ROAAS dem- model cruised at 433 KTAS (Mach 0.759) ity, wet versus dry runway surface, and onstration. while burning 924 lb./hr. at max cruise aircraft systems status, among other fac- This time, we approached Runway 27L thrust. The original aircraft would have tors, to compute whether the aircraft is at on speed. But at 50 ft. over the threshold, flown at 409 KTAS while consuming 850 risk of a runway overrun. It cannot com- we began a long, slow flare as though we lb./hr., according to the Flight Planning pute stopping distance for runways con- were pursuing the perfect, softest kiss of Guide. Baerst commented that fuel flow taminated with frozen precipitation and it the tires on the tarmac. We floated a few for the new model is the same as the old won’t warn if the aircraft will touch down feet above the runway surface, well be- version at equal cruise speeds. We also short of the threshold. yond the large touchdown zone stripes, noted the cabin altitude was only 6,600 ft. On the first approach, we intention- failing to touch down properly. at FL 450, a tribute to the aircraft’s 9.4-psi ally added 20 kt. to the aircraft’s 111 KIAS Using inputs from the optional ra- pressurization system. VREF landing speed. Passing through dio altimeter, along with GPS position Down at FL 330, in ISA+8C conditions 1,000 ft., the system activated. As we de- and velocity, among other variables, and at a weight of 15,300 lb., the aircraft scended through 500 ft. AGL, we heard ROAAS triggered a “Long Flare! Long cruised at 469 KTAS (Mach 0.793) while “Caution. Overrun. Caution. Overrun” and Flare!” audio alert. Had we touched burning 1,548 lb./hr. We have no equivalent a visual alert popped up on the PFD. Then down, it’s likely that we next would

A Prodigy flight deck, powered by Garmin G3000, is upgraded with 10X faster processors that support a host of new standard and optional functions.

EMBRAER AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 21 Pilot Report

have heard “Overrun, Brakes! Over- run, Brakes!”. Instead, we executed a go around and again joined the downwind VFR pattern south of the runway in prep- aration for a final full-stop landing. This time, we crossed the threshold at 50 ft. AGL at VREF, stabilized on the VASI visual glidepath. At 30 ft., we slowly reduced thrust to idle and began the flare. But there was considerable ground effect just a few knots below VREF, so we floated excessively. Touch- down was long but smooth because of the long-travel, trailing-link main land- ing gear. Memo to self: Anticipate plenty of ground effect; avoid the float; smartly reduce thrust at 50 ft. AGL; maintain pitch attitude and allow the aircraft to decelerate to touch down on the big stripes. Braking action on roll-out was pow- erful, but grabby. However, as the car- bon-brake heat packs began to warm, brake response became smoother. Opportunities for Growth The Phenom 300E Enhanced has clear performance, comfort and technology improvements that distinguish it from its predecessor aircraft. Pilots will appreciate the 3.5-in. increase in leg- room. The weight boosts that increase loading flexibility are more than offset by stronger engine performance. Per- ceived noise levels in the cabin are no- ticeably lower and the innovative style of the optional Bossa Nova interior is unmatched. The new FMS TOLD computer and graphic weight and bal- ance functions reduce pilot workload. The optional runway overrun aware- ness and alerting system is a signifi- cant safety enhancement — it’s virtual must, in our opinion, especially for sin- gle-pilot operators. However, there still are opportunities EMBRAER (3) for growth. Crisper nosewheel steer- ing through the rudder pedals would be a plus, as would smoother brake response. Buyers in upper-end light Bossa Nova interior blends Ipanema style with engineering substance; popular floor jets increasingly expect autothrottles plan features two side-facing seats, up front across the galley, a center club section to be optional, if not standard, equip- and two forward facing chairs in the aft cabin. A belted potty seat is standard. ment. Garmin’s emergency system has gained plenty of attention with tablet computers is not yet on par end state for the model. Instead, it’s an from single-pilot operators and some with best-in-class G3000 platforms, important milestone marking progress say they believe it ought to be offered such as the HondaJet Elite. on a path of continuous improvement. as a future option on the Phenom 300E Embraer, though, is best-in-class at It’s a convincing sign that Embraer in- Enhanced. listening to and learning from its cus- tends to keep this light jet the best-sell- And the level of integration between tomers. The Phenom 300E Enhanced ing model in its class. That leaves all various Prodigy Touch FMS functions, is a far more capable aircraft than the other light jet contenders competing for ADS-B In weather and connectivity version we first flew in 2009. It’s not the second place. BCA

22 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA KVNY - Van Nuys, CA PHNL - Honolulu, HI KPAE - Everett, WA

Fuel  Ground Handling  Catering  Hangar Storage  Customs CastleCookeAviation.com | (818) 988-8385 Operations Operating Into Turkey While tensions exist, there’s still business to be done

BY DAVID ESLER [email protected]

he nation of Turkey exists with history. This continues today, as it hosts a in the image of Ataturk, whose vision for one foot in antiquity and the other thriving business community, grudgingly the country was inarguably western and in modernity. One of the most an- accepts and monitors a flow of migrants secular in dress, mores, philosophy, poli- cient civilizations on earth, it has across its border from beleaguered tics and business practices. Tprogressed from its Anatolian origins in Syria, and deploys its troops into the the first millennium CE through an em- neighboring state to fight Syrian Pres- First World . . . But Not EU pirical adventure that lasted 500 years ident Bashar Assad’s Russian-backed and dominated Southeastern Europe to army, ISIS terrorists and the stateless Accordingly, the country is a charter evolve into the advanced and ostensibly Kurds, who since antiquity have claimed member of the United Nations and G20 secular nation that it is today. the eastern third of Anatolia as their and an early member of the North At- In addition, Turkey has always had homeland. lantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the one foot in Europe and the other in Asia, Since the republic’s first president, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and bridging the eastern and western parts Kemal Ataturk, recast and modernized the World Bank. It became an associ- of the Eurasian land mass, and as such, the then predominately Muslim country ate member of the European Economic has been a crossroads for everything during the 1920s, Turkey has entertained Community (EEC, predecessor of the from trade and commerce to migration a fascination with the West. One could EU) in 1963 and, from 2005, was in line and the movement of armies throughout say that until recently, Turkey existed for EU membership until 2018 when the

24 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA Turkey bridges the ancient and the modern. — medieval Constantinople — which straddles the Bosporus and separates Europe from Asia, ranks as the largest city in both Europe and the Middle East with a population of 15 million.

who died in 1938, including freedom of from entering their territory, leading to the press. Some of this has occurred in violence and some refugee injuries and reaction to terrorism by Kurdish insur- death. Erdogan grouses that the EU has gents. Responding to a long history of not released funding to Turkey promised Turkish discrimination and atrocities last year to support housing and care of and led by the PKK (Kurdish Work- the refugees; the EU counters that it has ers Party), the insurgency is agitat- released the funds. As this is written in ing for either autonomy within Turkey early March, the situation remains in or creation of an independent Kurdis- flux and highly flammable. tan. Terrorist incidents have occurred, Turkey’s incursion into Syria also most notably an attack in April 2015 gives Erdogan free rein to torment Kurd- by three men at the main passenger ish fighters battling ISIS terrorists, after terminal at Istanbul Ataturk Interna- the U.S. pulled troops training and fight- tional Airport in which 44 people were ing alongside them. Meanwhile, Turkey killed and another 239 injured. Since has paid for its action in the war, having the insurgency began in 1984, more lost 26 of its troops during a February than 40,000 people have died, most of bombing raid that may have been per- them Turkish Kurd civilians. petrated by Russian aircraft. While the On the other hand, Turkey has been origins of the raid are so far unclear, it subject to international condemnation is understood that Russia controls the for the mistreatment of its minorities, skies above northwest Syria where Turk- with the European Court of Human ish troops are fighting. (After the raid Rights having documented more than and other losses fighting Syrian troops, 1,600 human rights violations between in early March, Erdogan traveled to Mos- 1998 and 2008 involving murder and cow in an attempt to broker a cease fire. torture. Following an attempted coup against Erdogan in July 2016, the gov- Risky Russian Relationship ernment began a mass purging, ul- timately dismissing 160,000 judges, Turkey navigates a complex relation- teachers, police and civil servants, al- ship with Russia, on one hand recently most half of whom were formally ar- purchasing an advanced antiaircraft rested. The news media has also been missile system from and on targeted, with 160 journalists impris- the other directly pushing back against oned and 130 media organizations, Assad, whom Russia is backing in order including 16 television outlets and 45 to maintain a presence in the Middle newspapers, shut down by the govern- East and ensure continued access to its ment. To cap this off, the government naval base on the Syrian Mediterranean has also begun limiting internal access coast. Further, as a result of the missile to various nodes and websites on the system buy and rumors that Erdogan is internet. considering exiting Turkey from NATO, As noted, Turkey has taken an ac- not to mention the government’s fester-

FLORIDA CHUCK/ISTOCK tive role in the Syrian conflict, sending ing human rights abuses and hobbling of thousands of troops, bolstered by ar- the Turkish press, the country currently latter ended the courting process, pri- mor and artillery, across its southern has few friends in the West, especially marily due to policies enacted by Tur- border to engage Syrian government among the EU. key’s current president, Recep Tayyip forces and their Russian backers. In Slightly larger than Texas at 302,534 Erdogan, and the country’s drift toward addition to long-simmering differences sq. mi. (7,873,562 sq. km), Turkey em- nationalism and coziness with Russia. with Syria’s Assad, Erdogan wants to braces 82,017,514 people, 70-75% of Formerly a parliamentary repub- shut off the flood of refugees driven whom identify as Turkish and about lic, Turkey converted to a presidential out of Syria and pouring into Turkey, 19% as Kurdish. Other ethnic groups system after a 2017 referendum, con- more than 3.5 million so far, the major- include Arabs, Laz and Circassians. ferring increased powers to Erdogan, ity attempting to get to Europe. Turkey It is notable that during World War who a year later engineered with the had refused, at the request of the EU, I, the remnant government of what Turkish Assembly an option where he to open its western border with Greece was the Ottoman Empire committed could serve as president for life, if he so to allow refugees into Europe. genocides against Turkey’s Armenian, chooses. Since then, his administration However, in early March, Erdogan Assyrian and Pontic Greek subjects, has enacted measures increasing the relented and opened the gates to the scars of which persist today among influence of Islam in government af- West, telling the EU, “Now they’re your descendants of those peoples. (The fairs and reversing many secular poli- problem.” The Greeks were incensed Turkish War of Independence, led by cies dating from the rule of Ataturk, and immediately barred the refugees Ataturk in the early 1920s, abolished

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 25 Operations

the monarchy, effectively ending the investment to finance growth, which ICAO identifier LTFM. Operations were Ottoman Empire.) Of the total popula- some economists say leaves it vulner- limited until April 2019, when all sched- tion, 99.8% are Muslims, with the re- able to destabilizing shifts in investor uled commercial passenger flights were mainder identifying as Christian and confidence. Other worrisome trends transferred to the new field from Istan- Jewish. include rising inflation and unemploy- bul’s venerable Ataturk International Istanbul, straddling the Bosporus ment beginning in 2017, spurred by the Airport (LTBA), which is now reserved Strait that connects the Black and Marmara Seas (and thence, the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas), is Turkey’s largest city, accounting for 20% of the country’s population. Ankara, located inland in the roughly north-central re- gion of the Anatolian Peninsula, is Tur- key’s capital. Despite Turkey’s apparent turn to- ward authoritarian government, the country continues to maintain a free- market economy and close business relationships with the West. Industry, distinguished by automotive manu- facturing, petrochemicals, electron- ics, textiles, clothing and a thriving services sector, drives the economy, while traditional agriculture still con- tributes 25% of the gross domestic product, which in 2017 totaled an esti- mated $2.186 trillion. Other industries include mining of coal, chromate, cop- per and boron; steel production; and food processing. Agricultural products include tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, citrus, nuts and livestock. In 2017, the labor force numbered 31.3 million, and exports that year amounted to $166.2 billion. After a severe financial crisis in 2001, the government instituted finan- cial reforms that ushered in an era of strong growth averaging 6% annually until the global recession of 2008. A government-sponsored privatization program reduced state involvement in industry, banking, transport, power generation and communication. While the GDP contracted in 2009, well-reg- ulated financial markets and banking helped the country through the global crisis, and in 2010-11 the GDP surged again, this time to 9%, as exports and investment recovered. Turkish currency’s continuing depre- exclusively for general and business avi- While this is impressive, it should ciation against the dollar. ation and air cargo operations. be noted that in 2016 and 2017, three Located near the Black Sea, 35 km credit rating agencies downgraded Aviation — an (22 sm) north of the Istanbul business Turkey’s sovereign credit ratings, district, when construction began in citing concerns about the rule of law Instrument of Pride 2014, LTFM was intended to be the and the pace of economic reforms. world’s largest airport, servicing up Following years of stability and eco- The preceding has not prevented Tur- to 200 million passengers a year. Only nomic growth, the recent political key from making big investments in partially completed now with four run- turbulence, domestic uncertainty and its aviation infrastructure, however. In ways in place (and three now in op- security concerns are precipitating October 2018, the government officially eration), plans call for the addition of market volatility, casting shadows on opened its new multi-billion-dollar Is- four more runways — and possibly four the country’s economic outlook. In tanbul super port on the European side more after that for a total of 12 — when particular, Turkey runs a large account of the city, so far identified simply as Is- construction is finished, projected deficit, forcing it to rely on external tanbul Airport with the newly assigned for 2025. Everything about the new

26 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA Istanbul Airport is grand: 16 taxiways, major passenger and cargo hub in the Turkish Air, the flag carrier of Tur- 70 million sq. ft. of apron space capable expanded region and wants to go head key, is also engaged in a simmering ri- of absorbing parking for 500 aircraft to head with to accom- valry with the UAE’s state (43 million sq. ft. completed so far), plish that goal. airline over a sort of hegemony in the the largest terminal under one roof Al Maktoum, which opened in 2010, air. Currently the largest airline in the at 15.5 million sq. ft. (three more huge has also been touted by the UAE as the Middle East and fully owned by the UAE government, Emirates serves 150 destinations with an all-widebody fleet of 270 aircraft, including 115 Airbus A380s. Turkish Air, 49% of which is government-owned and the remain- der publicly traded, currently fields a diverse fleet of 357 aircraft and claims to be the world’s largest airline by des- tinations: 315 in 126 countries. Welcoming Business Aviation

Meanwhile, at the new Istanbul Air- port, two sets of parallels are sepa- rated by airport support facilities. On the west side of the field are Runways 16L/34R, 12,303 ft. long by 147 ft. wide, and 16R/34L, 12,303 ft. by 196 ft. On the east side of the support infrastruc- ture are 17L/35R, 13,451 ft. by 196 ft., and 17R/35L, 13,451 ft. by 147 ft. All are surfaced in asphalt with PCN values of 96/F/A/W/T. ILS, DME and VOR ap- proaches are available. Farther east from the 17/35 runways is the massive passenger terminal, road network and auto park. The field elevation is 325 ft. In its first full year of operation, the airport served 52.5 million passengers, the ma- jority of them international, and handled nearly 330,000 operations. LTFM initially prohibited business aviation; it now not only welcomes it but has erected a general aviation ter- New Istanbul International Airport, which opened in 2018, minal, or GAT, to provide a modicum now vies with UAE’s Al Maktoum International as world’s largest of support for visiting operators. The airdrome. The field’s service area, shown here, separates two GAT provides a location for handlers’ sets of parallel runways measuring up to 13,451 ft. offices, customs processing and a fuel desk. Gozen Air Services is the prime

DEDMITYAY/ISTOCK fueler and ramp services provider; it also is a major handler for the region terminals planned), and parking for up world’s largest airport — in its case, in and operates at Istanbul’s two other to 70,000 cars. Total projected cost of terms of cargo processed through the airports. the project is €7 billion (approximately facility. But things apparently haven’t But there are caveats to consider. $8 billion). gone entirely as its developers hoped. The new Istanbul Airport is an option In addition to being the largest air- First, while six parallel runways were if an operator’s business is north of the port in Europe, it may even eclipse planned, each 14,800 ft. long, only two city, as surface travel time to downtown Al Maktoum International Airport were laid, both in different orienta- has to be considered. Then, according (OMDW) in the desert southwest of tions, one (2/30) at 14,764 ft. and the to Gokmen Sendag, Universal Weather in the other (13/31) 6,020 ft. Early goals for and Aviation’s man on the ground at (UAE) to become the more dominant. the field were 13 million tons of cargo Istanbul, at its present state of exis- Indeed, in addition to accommodating and 260 million passengers per year, tence, there is no dedicated parking traffic growth that was beginning to with the latter eventually increasing to for general aviation. And because the swamp Ataturk International, the new 700 million passengers annually. So far, airport is so huge, it can take up to 35 Istanbul facility makes a bold state- none of these goals has been met and min. of taxi time after rollout to reach ment that Turkey intends to be the the field remains unfinished. assigned parking.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 27 Operations EVRENKALINBACAK/ISTOCK “They park you close to the inter- national terminal, taking another 15 min. for passengers to reach the GAT for CIQ,” he told BCA. “Then it takes 10 min. to clear, on average.” So, the new airport is not recommended now unless operators take into consider- ation the time and fuel burn for taxi- ing. “When it is completed,” Sendag pointed out, “there will be a runway close to the general aviation area, re- ducing taxi time to dedicated general aviation parking to 10 min.” Back to Ataturk So, currently, Ataturk International, located on the Marmara Sea coast on the south and European side of Istan- bul, remains the preferred airport for business aviation. Dating from 1924, when its namesake was presiding over the republic, Ataturk ranks as one of the first commercial airports in Europe. In 2018, the last full year in which Ataturk hosted airline traffic, nearly 68 million passengers passed through its termi- nals, making it the fifth busiest airport in Europe. Prior to the opening of the new Istanbul Airport, Ataturk was often so congested that operators had to drop passengers and divert to other airports for parking. But today, with the airport accepting only air freight and general aviation, LTBA is the prime choice for business aviation, augmented by its lo- cation within the city limits. “Ataturk International used to be dif- ficult to get into due to the requirement The sculpture-like control tower for New Istanbul International Airport. for commercial slots, but with the new airport, that has changed,” said Steve is 163 ft. There is no noise curfew, as Sendag said, “so total time from rollout Leathem, international flight planner Ataturk is a 24/7 airport. to sidewalk can be as short as 15 min. at Jeppesen Flight Support U.K. “Tech According to Sendag, under the “Aircraft service is located in the stops and diversions into Ataturk, how- new status at LTBA, confirmations for same area as parking,” he continued, ever, are now prohibited via permanent arrival and parking can be obtained “so ground handling is easy. All the NOTAM, as a lot of the services there within a few minutes. Obtaining slots, vendors are close to the parking. If have been relocated up to the new air- on the other hand, can be iffy. As at your business is on the east side of the port.” For tech stops, Leathem recom- most busy airports, slot availability is Bosporus, it takes 90 min. by road to mends Corlu (LTBU) to the west of best for late in the day or early in the get there from Ataturk. In addition to Istanbul. morning, otherwise operators have to driving, public transportation is good “Ataturk is still OK for business, take what is available and attempt to and costs about $10 but takes 2.5 hr. though,” Leathem continued, “and the make improvements as they approach either by train line or bus.” Helicopter best place to go, as it’s in the heart of the their dates of departure. Slot validity service is also available, provided by city. Ataturk still requires slots, however. times for arrival are +/- 20 min. and for Kaan Air, with two of its 12 helicopters The new airport is a 90-min. drive to the departure +30 and -10 min. now permanently based in Istanbul city center during rush hour, so Ataturk While there are no FBOs at Ataturk, specifically for transportation between remains the better choice in terms of there is a GAT where licensed han- the city’s airports, especially during proximity to the business district.” dlers coordinate services for visiting the busy summer season when Istanbul Ataturk has three runways: two par- operators. Aircraft parking is a 5-min. fills with tourists. allels, 18L/36R and 18R/36L, both 9,842 car ride to the GAT, and some park- ft. by 148 ft., concrete, PCN 100RAWT; ing slots are within walking distance. Across the Bosporus and 5/23, 7,546 ft. by 197 ft., grooved as- Unlike Istanbul Airport, taxi time to phalt, PCN 100RAXT. All are equipped parking is no longer than 5 min. “Cus- The third option at Istanbul is Sabiha with ILS approaches. Field elevation toms clearance takes another 5 min.,” Gokcen International Airport (LTFJ)

28 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA located on the Asian side of the city. airport slots, and Eurocontrol will assign Humphrey pointed out. “The route you “Where your meeting is will determine the operator a new departure slot. get may or may not be the most efficient, which airport to file for,” Sendag pointed In the air, again, Eurocontrol will have as it is subject to flight management. out. “If on the east side of the Bosporus, precedence, and if the operator is de- You have to make sure your plan passes you might choose Sabiha Gokcen In- layed on arriving, Eurocontrol will work a validation check by Eurocontrol to ternational, but it can be restrictive, as the aircraft into the airport with its man- make sure you are on the right route at it is reserved mostly for charters, and aged flow. On the ground, an operator’s the right altitude and going in the right operators have to apply for landing and slot will slide forward or back as Euro- direction.” parking slots. That can take up to 36 hr. control sorts out the traffic from its Net- Operators can check their routing for response, and they might give you a work Operations center in Brussels. If an against the Central Flow Management slot that will not correspond with your operator is early for a departure, and the Unit (CFMU) Network Operations Por- schedule.” Prior permission is required aircraft is buttoned up and ready to go, the tal at https://www.public.nm.eurocontrol. (PPR) to get in there with a minimum crew can call the tower with a ready mes- int/PUBPORTAL/gateway/spec/index.html 48-hr. lead time for applying. sage. The tower — at its option — can con- to make sure that what they’re plan- Sabiha observes the same slot win- tact Eurocontrol and attempt to get the ning to do is correct. “It has lots of in- dows as Ataturk, and management of the aircraft out and into the flow early, as the formation on it,” Humphrey said. “You traffic is shared between the two. Permit controllers will try to help when they can. can buy a paid subscription that allows requests for Sabiha are often rejected, Security at Istanbul’s airports is con- you to view other people’s flight plans, as the airport authorities are trying to sidered good, especially since the 2015 ter- as well, as another mode of checking send as much general aviation to Ataturk rorist attack at Ataturk, and is handled by your routing. You can propose a flight as possible. Thus, commercial operators state police. But for operators who want plan routing, and the system will look will always have precedence over general more, such as guards for their aircraft or at it and present you with acceptable aviation in terms of access and fueling. to accompany passengers, all three air- options, if necessary. Whatever goes Due to ongoing runway construction, slots ports host licensed security companies. for Eurocontrol goes for Turkey, as are allocated for only the non-busy times “In general, Istanbul is a safe city — but well, so there is a standard in place of day, and are often refused. As a result, note that there are more than three mil- here.” Make sure the flight plan has slots should be requested a minimum of lion refugees in the country at the present been filed at least 3 hr. before entering five days ahead so handlers can monitor time,” Sendag observed. Turkish airspace. the local situation and take advantage of Tekirdag Corlu Ataturk Airport “For business aviation, if the aircraft opportunities that might arise. (LTBU), not to be confused with Istan- you are operating is registered in an Sabiha’s single runway (6/24), is 9,843 bul’s Ataturk International Airport and ICAO member state and has more than ft. long by 148 ft. wide, concrete, assigned mentioned earlier as a good venue for re- 19 seats, you will require a permit to a PCN of 100RAXT, and equipped with fueling (tech) stops, is a joint civil/military land in Turkey,” Leathem said. There an ILS. Elevation is 312 ft. Despite the field serving the city of Corlu in northwest- is a minimum lead time of five days restrictions, there is a functioning GAT ern Turkey near the Greek border. The for applying from the Turkish airports at the airport, and customs clearance is airport is 6.5 sm east of the city and about authority (Devlet Hava Meydanlari said to be easy. Maximum stay at Sabiha 15 sm north of the Marmara Sea. A 24-hr. Isletmesi, or DHMI), and the permit is only 24 hr., and if passengers need to airport, it has a single concrete-surfaced is valid for 72 hr. “With less than 19 remain on the Asian side of Istanbul lon- runway: 5/23, 9,844 ft. by 148 ft. TACAN, seats,” Leathem continued, “you do not ger, it might be necessary for the opera- VOR-DME and NDB approaches are avail- need an overflight or landing permit. tor to reposition the aircraft to another able. Elevation is 574 ft. Jet-A-1 fuel with- But make sure that in line 18 of your airport. A work-around for well-heeled out icing inhibitor is available. As the field flight plan that you specify the purpose operators is to request hangarage to the is shared with the Turkish Air Force, and of the flight [e.g., business].” tune of $600 to $1,000 a day depending probably sited at Corlu because it is near And there is an insurance require- on aircraft size. the Greek border (remember the long- ment that must be met before per- More on slots, as all three Istanbul standing rivalry between the two coun- mits are authorized. For aircraft airports require them. When operating tries), prior permission will be required to with MTOWs greater than 50,000 kg to and from Turkey, it is important to un- operate there. (110,231 lb.), or cargo-configured air- derstand, as Jeppesen’s Ian Humphrey, Smaller airports in the south “can be craft regardless of weight, an original vendor relations manager in the UK, ex- very congested with holiday traffic in the copy of the operator’s insurance policy plains, that “Turkey, from a flight plan- summertime,” Humphrey said. Izmir with a rider for Turkey must be sent ning perspective, operates within the (LTBJ) and Bodrum (LTFE) are popular by postal mail, recorded or courier, to jurisdiction of Eurocontrol. When you examples that are said to be stable and the Sivil Havacilik Genel Mudurlugu at file for Turkey, you file with Eurocon- safe. Gazi Mustafa Kemal Boulevard No: 128, trol.” (See “Eurocontrol and Business A Maltepe-Cankaya, Ankara 06570, Tur- Aviation, Parts 1 and 2,” BCA, October You’re in Eurocontrol key. (“Original” in this case, means the and November 2019.) document must be printed in the origi- Note that weather and traffic delays Country nal ink under the insurer’s letterhead are managed by Eurocontrol, which is to and signed, dated and stamped.) “They say, Eurocontrol will institute a delay to When planning routes in or out of will then load it on their website, and manage the traffic in an affected region, Turkey, bear in mind that Eurocon- once on the system, if you do require a and an operator’s slots will then become trol maintains a predetermined route permit, you can apply,” Leathem said. “If essentially irrelevant. In other words, “catalog.” “Route selection in Europe is they do not have a copy on their system, the Eurocontrol slot system will override much more regulated than in the U.S.,” they can refuse the permit. If you have

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 29 Operations

a chuckle, “note that you will see FIR NOTAMs in Turkey delegitimizing certain Greek NOTAMs — and vice versa. It seems the two countries argue via NOTAM; just disregard them and ISTOCK/OZGURDONMAZ move on.” A pilot and retired corporate avia- tion manager interviewed by BCA who often flew his principals to Turkey de- scribed ATC “as good as anywhere in Europe. We went there 20 times. We never shot an approach below 1,200 ft. when we broke out. It was generally clear at night. We experienced some rain and once, snow flurries. Once we went to Bodrum, a modern well-run airport, landed there, parked on the ramp, and saw little traffic except a couple other business jets. We took a ride down to the seaport Goechke and had a nice time, and people were friendly — but this was in 2009. We were amazed at how clean and pretty the country was — it was a postcard.” When the new Istanbul International Airport opened, all passenger airline service was moved We can add that from a touring point to the field from Ataturk International Airport, which is now exclusively used for general of view, Turkey offers incredible sight- aviation and air cargo operations. seeing, from the Hagia Sophia church, mosque and now secular museum, built any doubt that you need a permit, check and make sure there is nothing going in 537, and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque with your agent, as you do not want to on beneath them that would be dan- (the so-called “Blue Mosque”), an art turn up there without one.” Now, that’s gerous.” Check the Ops Group weekly treasure in its own right, both in Is- for the “heavy iron”: BBJs, AC319s and briefing for good up-to-date intelli- tanbul, to some of the finest and best- other VIP-converted airliners. For air- gence on this region and what to avoid. preserved Greek Hellenic ruins and craft lighter than the 50,000-kg thresh- Turkey is often used for overflights artifacts in the southwestern part of old, an emailed copy (in PDF format) of between Europe and the Middle East, the country. Then there is the Bospo- the Turkey-specific insurance document but plan carefully, Humphrey recom- rus itself, the waterway that divides is acceptable. mends, by checking NOTAMs and Europe from Asia and connects major Visas, which are dependent on na- other information sources, as things seas. And this just scratches Turkey’s tionality, the reason for visiting and can change very quickly. “There may surface. There are, for example, ruins length of stay, can be obtained on line not be restrictions, but there can be in this crossroad of history more than for U.S. citizens and are also available dangers,” he warned. “Avoid going any- 11,000 years old, including at a place on arrival. Crewmembers do not need where near the Syrian border. If fly- named Gobekli Tepe, the oldest reli- visas for stays up to 120 hr. (or five ing from Iran and Iraq [or going the gious structure yet found. days) but must complete GenDecs and other way] there are only certain way- Turkey is very European in the way have official crew IDs to qualify for the points you can use to transfer into Tur- it operates, Humphrey insisted, as it privilege. Aircraft documents required key. They connect with airways that emulates Europe and has in the past include registration, airworthiness will orient you to Istanbul and enable wanted to be an EU member. “Every- certificate and insurance policy with a you to avoid the southeast portion of where we went in Turkey, everything rider covering Turkey. Turkey and the Syrian border. That works, they are savvy technically,” area is a non-official no-fly zone — it the retired av manager added. On the Operating in Turkey is universally understood that it is to other hand, though, “The farther east be avoided.” Note that, given the hos- you go, the less European it becomes,” In terms of operating in Turkish air- tilities beneath that airspace, there is a Humphrey pointed out. “If you are fly- space, “EASA rules are the paradigm, very real danger that an aircraft stray- ing an N-registered aircraft, you are even though Turkey is not a European ing in there could be shot down. generally safe and accepted.” Union member,” Humphrey said, and Be aware, too, that due to the long- But because of unrest in recent its airspace is interwoven with EU air- standing conflict between Greece years, the drift toward authoritari- space. Altimetry in Turkey is QNH ex- and Turkey (dating back about 3,000 anism and a greater Islamic partici- pressed in feet, and the country is WGS years), it is prohibited to fly directly pation in the government, attitudes 84 compliant. between southern Cyprus (the Greek could change — and quickly. So al- “In Eastern Turkey,” he continued, portion of the bisected island) and Tur- ways check ahead to know the politi- “you will be in proximity to countries key or Turkey to the Greek Cypriot cal situation before going and exercise that are not particularly stable at the side of the island. sensible vigilance and security when moment. Pick your routings carefully “Finally,” Humphrey advised, with on the ground. BCA

30 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA For Salesforce®

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For additional information, please contact: Andrew Young at 732-530-6400 ext. 147 or [email protected] Cause & Circumstance Fatal Photo Shoot Harnessed passengers unable to break free BY ROSS DETWILER rossdetwiler.com

n March 11, 2018, at about 1908 River and the North Newark Reach to Briefing EDT, an Bayonne, where it crossed eastbound to- AS350 B2 (N350LH), lost engine ward the Statue of Liberty. Prior to the accident flight’s departure, power during cruise flight, and The operator allowed the five pas- each passenger was fitted with a NYO- Othe pilot performed an autorotative de- sengers (one in the front seat, four in Nair-provided harness/tether system scent and ditching onto the East River in the rear) to take photographs of vari- that NYONair developed with the intent New York City. The pilot survived, sus- ous landmarks while they extended their to prevent passengers from falling out of taining minor injuries, but all five pas- legs outside the helicopter during por- the helicopter. The system used on the sengers drowned. tions of the flight. Another Liberty he- accident flight consisted of a full-body, The flight was operated by Liberty He- licopter took off at approximately the workplace type fall-protection harness licopters Inc., per a contract with NYO- same time and the two flew within sight that was secured with a locking cara- Nair (originally called New York On Air). of each other for, at least, the first part of biner to a tether strap, the other end of Both companies considered the flight to the flight. These aerial photo shoots are which was secured to an anchor point in be an aerial photography mission oper- advertised as “shoe selfies.” the cabin. Each passenger also wore the ated under FAR Part 91. In the NTSB’s The accident pilot later talked about helicopter’s installed, FAA-approved re- subsequent meeting with Liberty’s chief the amount of moving around and shuf- straints while seated. The pilot (who was pilot, there was much discussion about fling that was being done as the pas- seated in the front right seat) wore only what would otherwise appear to be a com- sengers took pictures of the Statue of an installed, FAA-approved restraint. mercial Part 135 charter flight operating Liberty and other landmarks. Coinci- According to Liberty personnel in- under the auspices of the lesser super- dentally, much promotion of the service terviewed by the NTSB, the passengers vised Part 91 due to a regulation that al- is actually done by passengers who post went to the harness room to be fitted lows for such photographic flights. their images on Instagram and through and were briefed so that they fully un- VFR weather conditions prevailed, and Snapchat type messages. For the acci- derstood the loading process. They made no flight plan was filed for the intended dent and other FlyNYON flights, Liberty sure nothing was in the passengers’ 30-min. local flight, which departed from removed the AS350 B2’s two right and pockets and then put all their belongings Kearny Heliport, Kearny, New Jersey, at front left doors and the left sliding door in a bin and double checked that step. about 1850. It proceeded over the Passaic was locked open. They said they explained exactly what they were doing when har- nessing the passengers. The passenger rep- resentative said she ex-

GOOGLE EARTH plained to the passengers that they had a cutter on the left side of the harness to be used in case of an emergency. She stated she would always review the information with the pas- sengers and ask, “What is the cutter there for?” She said all of the accident pas- sengers knew they had a cutter and they all knew how to use it if necessary. When asked if she spe- cifically remembered go- ing over all those details with the passengers on the accident flight, she stated, “Yes, yes.” When asked to confirm the cutter was on the left side of all the

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removed their FAA- quantified but were numerous and fre- NTSB approved restraints quently taken near landmarks. and sat on the cabin A review of onboard video showed floor, but wear- that, when the flight was proceeding ing their harness/ northwest over Manhattan toward tether systems. The Central Park at an altitude of 1,900 passengers seated ft., the front passenger, who was fac- in the outboard ing outboard in his seat with his legs seats were allowed outside the helicopter, leaned back sev- to rotate outboard eral times to take photographs using a in their seats. To en- smartphone. able such freedom The onboard GoPro video showed of movement, the that, each time he leaned back, the tail SOPs allowed the of the tether attached to the back of his passengers to wear harness hung down loosely near the their lap belts ad- helicopter’s floor-mounted controls. At Harness worn by passengers. justed loosely and one point, when he pulled himself up to the shoulder har- adjust his seating position, the tail of his harnesses, she replied, “Yes.” She also ness routed under their arms. tether remained taut but appeared to stated that all the harnessing was done The fifth passenger was seated in the pop upward. Two seconds later, the he- at the terminal, before they loaded the front left seat of the helicopter and had licopter’s engine sounds decreased, and passengers into the vans to take them to been instructed that the way to take the the helicopter began to descend. the heliport. “shoe selfies” was to lean back, raise his feet and shoot the picture. The Ditching Cabin Set-Up and Videos Videos show that once the helicopter was airborne, passengers began using As the pilot performed the emergency After the flight departed, and consis- their personal electronic devices (PEDs) procedures to execute an autorota- tent with the standard operating proce- to shoot videos and photos. Throughout tion and address the apparent loss of dures (SOPs) used for FlyNYON flights, the flight, it appeared the passengers engine power, he noticed that the fuel the passengers were allowed (when in- were sharing photos over a cell network shutoff lever (FSOL) was in the closed structed by the pilot) to position them- to social media photography/video apps position. It had been inadvertently selves to extend their legs outside the and, in some instances, were interact- moved to that position by the tail of helicopter. The two passengers who had ing with one another. The number of the front passenger’s tether, which had been seated in the rear inboard seats “shoe selfies” taken were not specifically become caught on it.

NTSB 34 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA NTSB Although the pilot pushed the FSOL down to restore fuel flow and attempted to relight the engine, power was not re- stored. In his post-accident debrief, the pilot stated that the engine responded immediately with a temperature in- crease, but the aircraft was too low to allow sufficient time to come to power. The pilot pulled the activation handle to deploy the helicopter’s emergency flotation system, and ditched the air- craft on the East River. The flotation system installed on the AS350 B2 contains two pressurized gas reservoir assemblies that inflate, via hoses, six skid-mounted floats. Three floats are mounted to each side of the skids; each float contains two cham- bers. The floats on both sides of the skids are identified as “forward,” “mid” and “aft,” i.e. “left-forward” identifies the forward-most float installed on the left skid. Each float is packaged within its own float cover. Passenger seat on right (viewed from front) showing the nearness of mechanical fuel The reservoir assemblies are mounted shut off handles to where the passenger’s harness loop would have been when turned to the airframe via loop clamps. One res- to his left and then leaned back. ervoir assembly is mounted underneath the left baggage compartment while the Going Under captured the ditching and the GoPro other is mounted underneath the right video recorder was recovered from the baggage compartment. Each assembly is However, the floats did not fully inflate accident helicopter as well. composed of a valve and a cylinder. The on one side, and as a result the helicop- valve is opened via a mechanical pull ca- ter rolled right in the water and became The Findings ble system that the pilot activates with a fully inverted and submerged about 11 handle mounted on the cyclic stick, near sec. after it touched down. After examining all the information col- the base of the cyclic grip. The pilot was able to release his lected by its investigators, the NTSB The pilot deploys the floats by pulling restraint while under water and suc- determined the probable cause of the the activation handle aft. The float ac- cessfully egress from the helicopter. accident to be Liberty Helicopters’ use tivation handle is offset from the cyclic Tragically, none of the passengers were of a NYONair-provided passenger har- grip by about 32 deg. to the right to pre- able to do so. ness/tether system, which caught on vent interference with the grip when the A medical report stated that the pilot and activated the floor-mounted engine activation handle is pulled aft. A shear had eight abrasions to his left knuckles, fuel shutoff lever and resulted in the in- pin, installed within the activation han- and contusions inside his right hand’s flight loss of engine power and subse- dle, is intended to prevent inadvertent palm. He said a bruise on his right hand quent ditching. activation of the float system between his thumb and index finger was Furthermore, it found that contribut- When asked to describe how the caused by squeezing the cyclic prior to ing to the accident were Liberty’s and float system was deployed during impact. He also had a cut at the bottom NYONair’s “deficient safety manage- the accident flight, the pilot stated of the knuckle for his left index finger ment which did not adequately mitigate that when it came time to deploy the from actuating the emergency fuel shut- foreseeable risks associated with the floats, he “took [his] left hand off of off lever back to the cockpit floor. harness/tether system interfering with the collective and placed it on top of The onboard GoPro showed that all the floor-mounted controls and hinder- the cyclic . . . and gripped the [activa- passengers survived the landing on the ing passenger egress” and Liberty allow- tion] handle with [his] right hand and water. Their attempts to unhook the ing NYONair to influence the operational pulled it back fully and completely.” harnesses and move out were also re- control of its flights for the latter. He stated that he heard a “pop” sound, corded in detail as the cabin sank and In addition, it faulted the FAA’s “in- which to him indicated that the float filled with water. The recording ended adequate oversight of Title 14 Code of system deployed, and that “after with the cabin becoming too dark to dis- Federal Regulations Part 91 revenue pas- pulling the [activation] handle, [he] cern what was happening as it filled. senger-carrying operations.” returned [his] hands to the regular Water impact occurred at about 1908. And finally, it found that contributing positioning and grip on the collective Rescue divers arrived 30 min. later. to the severity of the accident were the and cyclic.” The pilot stated that there The accident helicopter remained rapid capsizing of the helicopter due to was extra drag after the floats had de- submerged until March 12, and once partial inflation of the emergency flota- ployed and that he could see parts of recovered revealed no evidence of an tion system and the use by Liberty and the left front float and right front float inflight break up. No major compo- NYONair of a harness/tether system after the deployment. nents were missing. Two witness videos that hindered passenger egress. BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 35 Cause & Circumstance

Getting It

NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt ac- by air, over water or near water. behavior; I just don’t know enough cused the doors-off helicopter photo In my case, this included being about helicopters. But I do know tour company NYONair, parent of Fly- strapped in a simulated helicop- such activity isn’t safe enough for NYON, of turning “a perfectly good ter fuselage, dunked in water and me. Too many things can go wrong. helicopter into a death trap” and rolled over, just as happened with Since the Liberty accident, the characterizing that as “madness.” the Liberty helicopter upon ditch- FAA has mandated that passen- He has a point. ing in the East River. Exiting an in- gers be fitted with quick-release I’ve been getting in and out of verted, submerged helicopter was harnesses as company pilots had aircraft seat belts and shoulder a difficult, but doable, task — the previously recommended. The sight- harnesses for well over 55 years. second time I tried. Prior to the seeing flights continue. But not with While flying an F-100 Super Sabre first dunking, I was briefed for an me, thank you. on an attack mission in Laos in extended period of time on what At Survival Systems, we trained 1969, I was shot down by AAA. I to do, what to expect and how to with only an FAA-approved seat spent a long 2 hr. in a very tall tree move. I also knew that when I went belt to release. Our company chair- in the jungle, trying to get out of a under, there would be two or three man mandated that executives who quick-escape Air Force parachute guys in scuba gear within feet of regularly used the Sikorsky S-76 harness on which I’d been trained me at all times. The water was attend the course with we pilots, for hours and hours, including being contained in a well-lit pool, crystal and in regular operations we never placed in an artificial tree, undoing clear, and a flick of my wrist was moved around in our helicopter’s the harness and lowering myself to all that was needed to be released cabin except to lean forward for a the ground. But that training never from my seat. Indeed, we had to snack and pass it around. Does all addressed the conditions in which I learn not to release too early when that mean we would have done any found myself. a fuselage is rolling under water. better than the five photographers Oh, I was cool, with pieces com- Now, I picture myself going in this story? No, but it means we’d ing off the airplane, as I ejected, through the briefing that was given have had much better odds. That’s during free fall and parachute ride to the passengers on that tragic what safety is about: managing risk. down. I actually radioed my No. 3 photographic flight over New York How do we as professionals im- during the descent. Several hundred City. Upon being told about a knife bue our passengers with the un- feet above the trees, I deployed tucked in the upper left of my har- derstanding that something can go my life raft as trained; it inflated ness for cutting my way free should wrong — and that if it does, we can and hung below 50 ft. of line. But the helicopter sink in cold, dark wa- manage better with a clear under- then the raft and rope got caught ter while surrounded by five other standing of the factors involved, and on the trees and dumped me into people frantically trying to get out by applying that understanding most the jungle canopy. As the branches of the machine, I’d have smiled likely survive? sprung me back upward, the chute and asked the whereabouts of a Believe me, most passengers came in around me. Suddenly, I was Coke machine since I’d need some- don’t seem to get it. I once had a upside down, 30 ft. off the ground, thing to drink while I waited for my very senior executive come to the snarled in parachute risers and ini- pals to return from their “shoe front of a Falcon 50 as we were tially unable to even move my arms selfie” sortie. starting an instrument approach. I and legs. I knew I’d eventually work I don’t consider myself any assumed he just wanted to have a free, but there was nothing I could smarter than the rest of the profes- quick look and would sit down. But do if an unfriendly came along the sional pilots and cabin personnel as we were coming through about path below me. None did, but the reading this article, but the pictures 1,500 ft., he struck up a conver- “cool” had utterly abandoned me in of people smiling, waving, moving sation. I couldn’t believe it and as the meantime. about and hanging out of a flying politely as I could asked him to re- Survival Systems USA Inc., in machine several thousand feet in turn to the cabin. Passengers don’t Groton, Connecticut, offers wonder- the air are unsettling. I have no get it. ful training for people who travel way of judging the safety of such We have to “get it” for them. BCA

36 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA to Hays Regional Airport (HYS), Hays, proceeded to a geographic area known as Accidents in Brief Kansas. A review of FAA preliminary the “Old Ocean Entry.” As the helicopter ARC communications and commercially passed over the shoreline, the pilot available radar and ADS-B data revealed noticed a significant, high frequency Compiled by Jessica A. Salerno that the flight departed ICT about 0751 airframe vibration. He said that as soon Selected accidents and incidents in March 2020. CDT. At 0825, the HYS automated weather as the vibration started, the tail rotor The following NTSB information is preliminary. observation service was reporting, in part, chip annunciator light briefly illuminated, winds from 080 deg. at 11 kt., visibility 1 and as the vibration continued, the tail υ࠙࠙March 17 — About 1545 EDT, a sm, and overcast clouds at 200 ft. AGL. rotor chip light “flickered.” He selected Cirrus SR22 (N150X) was substantially About 0831, the radar and ADS-B data a large open area as a precautionary damaged when it was involved in an were lost as the airplane descended landing site and slowed the helicopter on accident near Conway, South Carolina. through 4,000 ft. while being vectored for the approach. As the helicopter slowed, The pilot stated that he departed from the ILS approach to Runway 34. Shortly he raised the collective, and applied Hammond Northshore Regional Airport thereafter, the pilot executed a missed right tail rotor pedal, but the nose of the (HDC) about 1215 on an IFR clearance approach. The pilot stated to ATC his helicopter veered to the left. At about 200 and proceeded toward the destination intention to attempt the ILS approach to ft. AGL, with the right tail rotor pedal fully airport, but elected to divert to Myrtle Runway 34 a second time. depressed, the helicopter began to spin Beach International Airport (MYR) due At 0841, the HYS AWOS indicated that to the left. In an effort to stop the spin, he to the low ceiling at the destination. He visibility had dropped to one-quarter sm attempted to gain forward airspeed, but was told to expect the ILS approach to in fog. About 0853, radar and ADS-B data eventually closed the engine throttle and Runway 18 and was vectored to the initial were again lost as the airplane descended preformed a hovering autorotation. He approach fix (IAF). While in IFR he flew on the ILS. About 0859, the airplane was said the helicopter descended, touched toward the IAF with autopilot on and in reacquired by radar northwest of HYS. At down hard, and subsequently rolled on its NAV mode, and he also reduced engine that time, the pilot stated his intention to right side, sustaining substantial damage. power to lose altitude. As the flight divert to Great Bend Airport (GBD), Great approached the IAF the airplane was still Bend, Kansas. A review of radar and υ࠙࠙March 3 — About 0847 CST, a high, “. . . not as stable as he wanted to ADS-B data showed the airplane begin Cessna 172S (N157SF) was destroyed be,” and had a tendency to turn to the left. a turn to the south toward GBD while when it crashed near Lincoln, Illinois. The He increased engine power to maintain climbing to about 7,000 ft. About 0918, air transport pilot and two passengers were altitude or climb as necessary and had the airplane began a descent and left killed. The airplane was operated as a Part trouble stabilizing the instruments, turn. The last radar and ADS-B targets 91 survey flight to conduct an aerial survey adding that it felt like he was “fighting were observed about 0918:48. of a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) [the airplane]” in the roll axis. He realized The wreckage was discovered in a field nest near Lincoln. At the time of the that the flight was too slow and when about 0945. The airplane’s tail and wings accident, the pilot was employed as the attempting to correct, felt the airplane were visible above ground, with the forward chief flight instructor at Synergy Flight getting away from him and was likely in an fuselage and engine section buried several Center, however he was also employed as a unusual attitude. He activated the Cirrus feet under the terrain, consistent with a regional airline pilot. For the accident flight, Airframe Parachute System, and while near-vertical, high-speed impact. the owner reported the pilot was flying with descending under canopy, secured the two ecologists from Shoener Environmental engine and prepared for the touchdown, υ࠙࠙ March 5 — About 1130 Hawaii and the ecologists would use cameras to which occurred on all landing gears. The standard time, a Airbus EC130 B4 document the bald eagle nest. A review airplane’s nose gear collapsed, and the helicopter (N11QK) was heavily damaged of L3Harris Technologies OpsVue track rudder partially separated. when it was involved in an accident, about data showed that after departure at 0804, 6 mi. north of Kalapana, Hawaii. Of the six the airplane traveled south near Le Roy, υ࠙࠙March 17 — About 0919 CDT, a occupants on board, the commercial pilot Illinois, before traveling southwest near Cessna 208B (N274PM) was destroyed and three passengers were uninjured, and Heyworth, Illinois. It continued southwest when it was involved in an accident about two passengers sustained minor injuries. toward Lincoln. Northwest of Lincoln, the 7 nm northwest of La Crosse, Kansas. The helicopter was operated as a Part Cessna entered a right descending turn, The airline transport pilot was killed in 135 flight. orbiting around a heavily wooded area that the accident. The airplane was operated According to the pilot, the accident is intersected by the Kickapoo Creek and Part 135 on-demand cargo flight. Due helicopter was the second of two Highway I-55. The data showed that during to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NTSB commercial air tour helicopters departing the turn, the airplane was losing altitude did not respond to the accident site. Hilo International Airport (PHTO). After and ground speed. The track data was lost The Planemasters Ltd. flight, PMS1670, departure, they flew in a southerly at 0846. The last track data indicated the was being operated on an IFR flight direction and remained slightly offshore airplane was about 1,075 ft. MSL, at an plan from Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower for a short time before turning west estimated ground speed of 50 kt., and was National Airport (ICT), Wichita, Kansas, along the shoreline. The two helicopters traveling southwest. BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 37 Management The Organization Failed . . . If I wrote the accident report BY JAMES ALBRIGHT [email protected] KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, USAF graduated from the U.S. Air Force’s Aircraft Mishap Investigation Course in 1985 and although I’ve only writ- ten two official accident reports, the Icourse changed the way I fly airplanes and evaluate such documents. If you have anything to do with the ownership, management, scheduling or any other aspect of operating airplanes, the words “the organization failed” should concern you. That word, “failed,” doesn’t seem to be used as often as deserved. The most important lesson in an air- craft accident investigation is that you’ve not gotten to the bottom of things until you can point to someone involved who failed. Spoiler alert: That someone isn’t always the pilot. In fact, it rarely is. In today’s politically correct society finger-pointing is discouraged. We want Students at the U.S. Air Force’s Aircraft Mishap Investigation Course examine the wreckage to find out what is wrong but not who of an F-16 Fighting Falcon. is wrong. If you are in the business of making everyone happy, that might be of us approach cockpit automation. As that at least one pilot took away the idea the right approach. But if you are in the he said, we are “children of the magenta.” that the aggressive use of rudder was business of accident prevention, who He describes several examples of pilots acceptable. The result was the crash of is wrong is precisely what needs to be in his simulator failing to drop down lev- American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus determined. And you will almost always els of automation to prevent disaster. Af- A300, while departing New York’s JFK have to cast your aim higher than at the ter each story he says, “I am so sorry, I International (KJFK) on Nov. 12, 2001, two people sitting in Row One of an air- did not mean to make you like this.” after twice flying through the wake tur- plane. Sure, the pilots have a great deal But he is also credited with another bulence of a and killing all 260 to do with every aircraft accident. But course called the Advanced Aircraft passengers and crew and five persons on as Capt. Warren Vanderburgh, author Maneuvering Program, which can be the ground. of the original American Airlines series summed up by saying: Fly the airplane; The first encounter was at low speed about automation dependency, says, don’t let the airplane fly you. The pro- and the first officer’s (F/O) control in- “We made you that way.” And the “we” gram received some criticism from puts appeared to be perfectly normal. to whom he refers is the organization. NASA, Boeing, Airbus and the FAA for The second encounter was at 250 kt., the the use of rudder in correcting bank an- maximum permitted below 10,000 ft., The Airline Failed gles. This might work on smaller aircraft and the F/O’s rudder inputs were larger but can lead to disastrous results in a and included several reversals. He didn’t Vanderburgh was a U.S. Air Force pi- large, transport category airplane. Some understand that his aircraft’s full rud- lot for 27 years and followed that with who attended the course deny that the der deflection at that speed could be 32 years at American where he earned use of rudder was encouraged, but oth- reached with as little as 1.25-in. rudder rock star status at the company’s Flight ers complained that it was. pedal movement and 10 lb. of pressure. Academy. I think his reputation as an I spoke with a member of the NTSB He also didn’t understand the dangers of exceptional instructor pilot was well de- investigating the accident that follows rapid rudder reversal. served and his teaching on automation who says the use of rudder was indeed Airbus, for its part, said the aile- dependency has changed the way many sanctioned by the course. It is apparent rons and spoilers were effective for roll

38 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA Rudder pedal movements during American Airlines Flight 587’s second wake event.

is sound, but not so easy in practice: “The control of a divergent Dutch roll is not difficult so long as it is handled properly. Let us assume that your aero- plane develops a diverging Dutch roll. The first thing to do is nothing — repeat nothing. Too many pilots have grabbed the aeroplane in a rush, done the wrong thing and made matters a lot worse. Don’t worry about a few seconds delay because it won’t get much worse in this time. Just watch the rolling motion and SOURCE: NTSB AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT AAR - 04/04 get the pattern fixed in your mind. Then, control down to stall speed and to use Air Force likes to call “mishaps.” That’s when you are good and ready, give one rudder as necessary to avoid sideslip but a loss rate of 2.24 aircraft per year. That firm but gentle correction on the aileron not as a primary source of roll control. rate held up through about 1990. Since control against the upcoming wing. Don’t But looking for someone to blame, many that year, six have been lost, slicing the hold it on too long — just in and out — or singled out the advanced aircraft ma- rate to one airplane every five years. The you will spoil the effect. You have then, in neuvering course. I think Vanderburgh’s difference has mostly been attributable one smooth controlled action, killed the reputation with the company sank as to technology: better engines, better avi- biggest part of the roll. You will be left a result, and that is unfortunate since onics and adoption of many of the things with a residual wriggle, which you can many of his lessons remain valid to this the rest of the world had take out, still on ailerons alone, in your day, especially the one that says, “We taken for granted. For example, consider own time.” made you that way.” the humble yaw damper. Ask anyone who has many hours fly- The NTSB determined that the prob- Thanks to aircraft with either be- ing aircraft with this type of negative able cause of the accident “was the in- nign Dutch roll tendencies or automatic stability and you will hear that it is no big flight separation of the vertical stabilizer yaw dampers, nowadays the subject of deal, just counter with opposite aileron as a result of the loads beyond ultimate Dutch rolls tends to be an academic that you immediately reverse and en- design that were created by the first of- one. But not too long ago, dealing with sure each opposite movement is smaller ficer’s unnecessary and excessive rudder it was a primary pilot skill for some air- than the previous. Watching it happen, pedal inputs.” They found as contribut- planes. My favorite book on the topic is it looks like a flick of a wrist magically ing factors the -600 rudder Handling the Big Jets by D.P. Davies. He stops the Dutch roll. Now watch some- system design and elements of the air- writes, “Negative stability is potentially one without the necessary experience, line’s Advanced Aircraft Maneuvering dangerous because sooner or later, de- and you will see a sickening roll and yaw Program. If I were writing the accident pending on the rate of divergence, the that increases in intensity, sometimes report, I would say the cause was that aeroplane will either get out of hand or with fatal results. the airline failed to ensure all of its pilots demand a constant very high level of Commercial airlines recognized this were properly trained in upset recov- skill and attention to maintain control.” tendency in the Boeing 707 and quickly ery. That may seem unfair in that most His technique to get out of a Dutch roll adopted yaw dampers that solved American Airlines pilots seemed to learn the correct lessons imparted by the com- pany’s highly robust simulator upset re- covery program. But at least one pilot never got the message. That is a common theme among very large organizations. The Air Force Failed I have a few years flying an Air Force aircraft that seemed ancient at the time but is still flying 40 years after I first took to the skies with it. The KC-135A Stra- totanker was a forerunner of the vener- able Boeing 707, though it began its life with the designation of . The aircraft became operational in 1956 and over the years included several variants; in all, 732 were built. By the time I got into the airplane in 1980, 56 of them had been destroyed through crashes and other events the Dutch roll technique from USAF KC-135A Flight Manual, 1966.

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 39 Management

Dutch roll illustration from USAF Accident Investigation Report. everything. The Air Force, in its own style, decided its pilots could handle the problem with a little training. And that training required a lot of skill and nerve from instructors, since the training could not be duplicated in simulators and had to happen very low to the ground. On Aug. 27, 1985, an instructor pilot was flying with a student crew on their second training sortie at Beale Air Force Base, California (KBAB). A very good in- structor pilot would let the new copilot get very low to the ground before ordering a go-around to maximize the training. Any copilot’s second flight in the KC-135A was bound to be exciting, with large bank an- gles low to the ground. This instructor pi- that would take most pilots considerable situation. The Air Force investigation lot was very good but let the copilot stray experience to master. And I’d further note determined that the aircraft was still in too far and they ended up hitting the run- that the Air Force required its KC-135A a flyable condition when the pilot applied way with their left outboard engine. The instructor pilots to allow unqualified pi- and varied left rudder pressure several engine failed and the instructor took the lots fly the aircraft very near the margins times and then reversed pressure to the airplane and executed a go around. The of controlled flight in an attempt to teach right. The pilot was found “causal” be- instructor’s control inputs were timely those techniques. cause of the inappropriate rudder inputs. and correct until turning on downwind, To its credit, the Air Force came up If I were writing the accident report, I when he allowed the airplane’s nose to with a very good course in asymmetric would say that the Air Force failed to climb too high. The airplane stalled, the flight for KC-135A pilots and eventually train its pilots to adequately recognize aircraft banked sharply and dove to the installed very good yaw dampers. And the conditions of Dutch roll in an air- ground. All seven on board were killed. that leads us to the second crash involving plane prone to it, and how to handle the The Air Force mishap report cites as KC-135 yaw dampers. condition manually. the first finding that the copilot “induced In the late 1990s, the service up- So far, I have pointed fingers and sec- lateral instability while on short final” and graded the engines, avionics and much ond guessed the actions of an airline and that the instructor pilot “failed to ad- of the safety equipment of the KC-135A of a very large military organization. Bu- equately intervene.” Perhaps both those fleet, producing over 400 KC-135Rs. A reaucracies seem prone to these kinds of findings are true. But consider the copi- full-time yaw damper made Dutch roll things. But so, too, are smaller organiza- lot had about 200 hr. total flying time and a thing of the past and Dutch roll tech- tions in which there is some distance a year of experience. The instructor pilot niques took on a much lower priority. between decision makers and those car- On May 3, 2015, a KC- rying out those decisions. 135R departed Bishkek- KC-135A 59-1443 just prior to impact Manas International The Organization Failed Airport (UCFM) in for a com- I have flown for a few organizations in bat aerial refueling which an executive assistant simply called mission. A flight con- a scheduler with a foreign destination in trol malfunction dur- mind and assumed everything would be ing takeoff caused the just as safe and routine as a hop to domes- aircraft’s nose to slowly tic airport. In my experience, however, a drift from side to side, word of caution from the captain was or “rudder hunt.” The always heeded: “I can’t take you to your crew did not properly ski holiday in Switzerland without some diagnose the condi- simulator training first,” or “Your airplane

USAF tion and the rudder is not allowed into City because it hunt progressed into a isn’t approved for steep approaches,” or “I had 2,700 hr. and was tasked with allow- Dutch roll. The crew initiated a turn to am not willing to fly to that valley airport ing the situation to push right up to the their on-course heading, using a small at night or in the weather because they boundaries of safety without crossing the amount of rudder. The use of rudder in- don’t have radar coverage.” In every ex- line to unsafe. creased the aircraft’s oscillatory instabil- ample, the pilot’s word prevailed. But that If I were writing the report on that ac- ity. The Dutch roll very quickly increased isn’t always the case. cident, I would have noted that the Air to a point at which the aircraft’s tail sec- On Sept. 4, 1991, Gulfstream GII Force failed to install commercially avail- tion separated from the aircraft, which N204C, which was owned by E.I. du Pont able yaw dampers on the KC-135A fleet, crashed, killing all three crewmembers. de Nemours & Co. and leased by Conoco, even though they had been available for The aircraft flight manual called for crashed while attempting to land at Kota at least 20 years. Instead, the service re- either turning off the yaw damper or Kinabalu Airport (WBKK), on quired new KC-135A pilots to learn diffi- rudder power to reduce the rudder hunt what should have been a routine fuel stop. cult Dutch roll compensation techniques and prohibited the use of rudder in this It appears the pilots were uncertain of

40 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA The Smarter, Faster Way to Grow Your Business

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Or call Anne McMahon at +1 646 291 6353 or Thom Clayton +44 (0) 20 7017 6106 Management Gulfstream GII N204C at Shannon Airport (EINN), Ireland

their position while descending on an in- strument approach and executed a go around in a lackadaisical manner. One

pilot was recorded saying, “I don’t like MALCOLM NASON what we got here, I’m climbing this sucker outta here.” A cursory look at the events of that day reveals the pilots were undisciplined in their instrument procedures, and failed to plan their descent to properly execute the Massachusetts, on May 31, 2014, provided Our former colleague was in his usual approach from the correct altitude and at the industry with a wakeup call. The crew form, ignoring checklists and over-speed- the expected clearance limit. Their radio managed to get themselves into takeoff ing flaps. The report was not flattering, phraseology was poor and nonstandard. position without having verbalized a sin- and our former colleague was given a So, the accident resulted from the pilots gle checklist, ending up with the flight small severance and asked to leave. erring multiple times. But that is just the controls locked and the engines at less If it sounds like I am advocating our tip of the iceberg. than full thrust. They then attempted CEOs and owners to start suspecting The case of N204C is murky because to unlock their flight controls — which those they have entrusted with their lives, the official accident report isn’t available, would have been impossible at the speed I am not. I am saying that we pilots should the first draft of the accident history was attempted — rather than abort. They keep an eye on each other and invite cri- written by the company’s legal team, and ended up in a fiery crash, killing them- tique as often as we can get it. I like to call the Flight Safety Foundation used that selves and everyone aboard. And yet the this a “peer review.” draft for a video covering controlled flight crew was trained at the premier GIV In practice it goes like this: You invite into terrain. Roger K. Parsons, a research training center and had received glowing someone from outside your flight depart- scientist hired by Conoco before it was comments in two safety management sys- ment to join you on an operational trip. acquired by DuPont, lost his wife in the tem (SMS) audits. You ask them to ride along and observe. crash and has investigated the accident As NTSB member (and now Chair- After the flight is over, you earnestly ask, in great detail. He charges that misman- man) Robert L. Sumwalt observed: “Al- “How did we do and how can we do bet- agement of aviation resources by senior though the crewmembers may have ter?” If you choose your peer carefully and DuPont officers and directors was the become complacent, I have to believe the if you are operating outside of industry primary cause of the disaster. owners of this airplane expected the pilots best practices, the critique should provide Parsons points out that the inexperi- to always operate in conformity with — or a wakeup call. When you reciprocate, you enced pilots were poor choices to assign exceed — their training, aircraft manu- have the responsibility of providing hon- on such a demanding trip. The accident facturer requirements and industry best est critique of your own. And if you notice aircraft was not equipped with a ground practices. Yet, as evidence showed in this your peer has the potential of ending up proximity warning system (GPWS) that investigation, once seated in their cockpit, in an NTSB report, you will have more was installed on the company’s newer these crewmembers operated in a man- work to do. Gulfstream GIV. Pilot training and air- ner that was far, far from acceptable.” Of course, inviting a jump seat pilot on craft equipment were cut to meet budget In this case, the owner of the aircraft a trip with your passengers will require a reduction objectives. Some pilots who died at the hands of these complacent permission step you might be reluctant voiced concern for diminishing safety pilots. It appears he died thinking he had to take. But the peer review can be seen standards were fired. One 30-year Du- the best two pilots up front; the training as the highest level of professionalism Pont pilot wrote letters to the three direc- and audits he paid for told him just that. and can go a long way to reassure those tors of aviation between 1988 and 1991, to There can be no doubt that these pilots in back that the two up front are worthy a DuPont chief counsel and to the com- failed to behave in the professional man- of trust. There are a few things to do first. pany CEO, “warning these men that a ner that was expected of them. But I also Your company probably has a non-disclo- fatal accident would certainly occur if Du- think we as an industry failed these pilots. sure agreement (NDA) for your peer to Pont continued to require poorly trained In the words of Capt. Vanderburgh, “I sign. You might also want to consider a and ill-prepared pilots to fly demanding am so sorry. I did not mean to make you hold harmless agreement (HHA). Finally, trips of questionable safety.” like this.” a “Peer Review Observation Form” (see I suspect stories like this can be found in I think there is something we can do the accompanying sidebar) can be useful many business aviation accidents, but not about this and I take as an example a for- to guide your peer’s observations. always due to a company’s willful desire mer colleague of mine who was fired from If you are a crewmember in a flight to cut costs and quell descent. It is just as his position as chief pilot for a startup department, I encourage you to come up likely to be a lack of oversight; assuming company in Silicon Valley. Our flight de- with your own peer review program. If everything is OK because nothing bad had partment was stunned when he was hired you are the company officer responsible ever happened previously. But how does a away from us, as this particular pilot was for the flight department, I encourage company CEO without an aviation back- sloppy in procedure and technique. One you to explore the idea; it is cheap insur- ground assure oversight of an endeavor day he was our worst pilot, the next he ance. he or she is not qualified to judge? was leading a new flight department car- Chairman Sumwalt concluded his re- rying around a CEO we all recognized marks about the Bedford GIV with, “You How to Avoid Failure from the daily financial news. This par- can fool the auditors, but never fool your- ticular CEO must have sensed something, self.” I contend it is awfully hard to fool a The crash of Gulfstream GIV N121JM because he invited a pilot from another peer who does the same thing you do for at Hanscom Field (KBED), Bedford, company to ride along in the jump seat. a living. BCA

42 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA SOURCE: BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 43 Safety

Tackling Turbulence Simply put, seat belts are still key

ILDAR IMASHEV/ISTOCK BY PATRICK VEILLETTE [email protected]

ows of ambulances were lining up the ceiling so forcefully, she was killed. turbulence. No more than 2 min. later, at the jetway at New York’s JFK In- Another 18 passengers received serious the United aircraft was in turbulence. ternational Airport (KJFK) when a injuries and 171 suffered minor injuries. Seconds later there was another episode, pulled The official accident report reveals at which point the captain instructed the Rinto the gate on March 9, 2019, all there to the flight crew had tried to make the flight attendants to sit down. He ordered whisk 30 injured occupants to nearby hos- best decisions possible with the informa- the first officer to reduce speed and the pitals. Afterward, passengers recounted tion available but also illuminates the aircraft slowed to 330-340 KIAS. At the and videos confirmed bodies being tossed difficulty in doing so when in oceanic time of the encounters the total air tem- into the overheads and blood everywhere. airspace. According to the captain, a vet- perature read approximately -40C to Some vowed never to fly again. eran of 30-40 Pacific crossings, because -44C. There was no rapid change in wind Unfortunately, what happened on of his concern about turbulence, he chose direction or speed before or after the Turkish Flight 001 is hardly without an oceanic track that had no SIGMETs encounter. precedent. And injuries from inflight near it. Further, he briefed the purser After the flight crew dealt with several turbulence will happen again. of the possibility of turbulence approxi- warning lights, the captain asked the According to NTSB Senior Meteo- mately 2 hr. after takeoff. second officer to check on the condition rologist Donald Eick, turbulence has During the en route climb the captain of the cabin crew and passengers. After caused more serious injuries to passen- made a PA announcement including a he returned to the cockpit with a pre- gers than any other class of accident. Be- request that each passenger keep his or liminary report, the captain went back to tween 2000 and 2011, 71% of air carrier her seat belt fastened when seated. How- observe the damage and injuries himself. weather-related accidents were due in ever, most of the passengers spoke only The nearest suitable landing airport part to turbulence. On average, FAR Part Japanese and a bilingual flight attendant was Midway Island, which the captain 121 carriers experience 27 “significant did not fully translate into Japanese one considered appropriate if there were turbulence” events annually, resulting in of the captain’s instructions to fasten structural damage to the aircraft, but he 14 serious and 69 minor injuries. seat belts, although such an announce- favored Narita for medical treatment for These short-lived but violent encoun- ment was made and translated several the injured. In addition, a medical doctor ters can even be fatal. times prior to the CAT encounter. who was a passenger suggested getting One hour, 40 min. into the flight the medical aid as soon as possible. After as- Pacific Nightmare airplane encountered what the cap- sessing the aircraft’s airworthiness and tain described as “wave action” and he collecting information on the injuries — On Dec. 28, 1997, a Boe- turned the seat belt sign on as a precau- a process that took about 20 min. — the ing 747 cruising at a cloud-free FL 310 tion. PA announcements were made in captain used his emergency authority to en route from Tokyo to Honolulu en- English and Japanese. The captain ra- turn off course and climb 500 ft. Upon countered clear air turbulence (CAT) dioed a Northwest flight up ahead re- request, Tokyo ATC quickly granted a so severe that one seat-beltless woman questing its experience and was told the clearance back to Narita and emergency was thrown upward and smashed into ride was smooth with occasional light services met the aircraft when it landed.

44 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA The NTSB has issued abundant recommendations for countering exposure to inflight turbulence. We all need to put Turbulence and Flight them to practice.

The upper air data at the time of the Attendants turbulence encounter showed westerly winds at 105 kt. at 30,000 ft. and 125 kt. According to Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants- at 34,000 ft. Significant horizontal wind CWA, turbulence “is one of the highest causes of serious on-the-job injury shears were evident in the area. The flight to flight attendants.” She goes on to note that “the forces created in sud- data recorder indicated that while the den clear-air turbulence can throw bodies and unsecure items forcefully aircraft was cruising at FL 310, it expe- rienced a +1.814 vertical acceleration, fol- through the cabin much like the impact of a high-speed collision” and just lowed 6 sec. later by a -0.824 one. The as deadly. aircraft rolled 18 deg. right-wing down and According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), flight attendants have recovered to wings level shortly there- a higher injury rate than police officers. Harvard’s School of Public Health after. Altitude excursions were nominal. conducted one of the most comprehensive studies on flight attendant The NTSB determined the probable cause of the accident to be the PIC’s in- safety in 2007. It discovered that 47% of all participants had been injured advertent flight into adverse weather in the previous year. Musculoskeletal injuries accounted for one-third of conditions, and the difficulty of obtain- reported injuries. ing adequate weather forecasts of over- BLS data from 2006-2010 showed that flight attendants had an injury ocean turbulence. It is significant to rate six times higher than the average for all private industries. The Turbu- note that none of the passengers who sustained serious injuries were wearing lence Joint Safety Analysis Team found that a flight attendant’s risk of seri- their seat belts at the time. ous injury is 26 times greater than that of their passengers. Furthermore, the team determined that for every report of a serious turbulence-related Mitigating Turbulence injury to a flight attendant, 70 minor injuries occurred. Cabin crewmembers often suffer serious injuries because they are standing or walking in the Load factor variations generated by turbulence are not necessarily the same cabin when turbulence strikes. throughout an aircraft. According to the On Dec. 6, 2017, a Spirit Airlines encountered turbulence Airbus document “Managing Severe during approach to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Florida, International Airport Turbulence,” the vertical longitudinal (KFLL), seriously injuring a flight attendant. There had been no reports of motions are concentrated within a few turbulence in the area, and the five flight attendants were conducting their seconds and injuries generally occur to non-buckled passengers and cabin crew final cabin checks when all were thrown to the floor; one who had sustained when the vertical load factor decreases an ankle injury remained there for the rest of the flight. After landing, all five under 0 G before increasing again. Tur- were taken to a hospital where one was diagnosed with a fracture. bulence has a great impact on those On May 2, 2017, a JetBlue Airbus A320 departed Boston Logan Airport in the aft cabin, which is where nearly (KBOS) for New York’s JFK International (KJFK). One flight attendant stated eight out of 10 injuries have occurred, according to the training video “Turbu- that because the ride was “slightly bumpy,” she remained seated for an lence Education and Training Aid.” additional 5 to 10 min. after the cabin received the double chime indicating Most injuries result when non-buck- that the flight had passed 10,000 ft. Once it seemed to have smoothed led passengers or cabin crewmembers out, she stood up and began to prepare for cabin service. Shortly after her are tossed during turbulence. Advisory standing, however, the airplane shook violently, tossing her off her feet, Circular 120-88A, “Preventing Injuries Caused by Turbulence,” dated Jan. 19, and she landed on her right ankle, ending up on the galley floor. She sat 2006, strongly suggests that during a in a passenger seat for the rest of the flight with her foot elevated and ice turbulence encounter passengers and applied. The flight was met by emergency medical personnel and the flight cabin crew be sitting with seat belts fas- attendant was transported to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a tened. From 1980-2003, only four belted broken ankle. people received serious injuries during turbulence. Yet despite the mandatory Knowing that turbulence is ahead does not necessarily mean a pilot before-takeoff briefings about seat belt can avoid it. However, the information would alert passengers and flight usage, too many passengers release their attendants to fasten their seat belts. Flight attendants should rightly buckle at cruise. expect pilots to give timely briefings about turbulence, including the es- During turbulence any loose object timated time until reaching the turbulence area, the estimated intensity can become a projectile. Soda cans can fly across a cabin with enough energy to and duration, and necessary actions before and after entering turbulence cause severe harm. Food service carts conditions. BCA not attached to the floor can crush the unlucky. Coffee pots can scald. Flimsy

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 45 Safety

latches on overhead bins can fail, thereby Transcontinental flights have the benefit close to the horizon will only scan in a launching loose luggage as blunt missiles. of reports from heavily traveled air lanes. high range of altitude where precipita- Unfortunately, unrestrained infants By contrast, flights over some oceanic re- tion particles are in ice form and poorly are especially prone to being ripped free gions are notoriously “data sparse.” reflect radar signals. from a parent’s protective arms by tur- And even though formal definitions Satellites can be used to predict the bulence. A United en route of the severity categories are provided turbulence associated with convection, from Denver to Billings, Montana, on in terms of normal accelerations or and the new generation of satellites Feb. 17, 2014, encountered severe turbu- airspeed fluctuations, in practice the (GOES-16) with higher spatial and tem- lence at FL 340. An infant was flung from measures are subjective and aircraft de- poral resolutions have the potential to its mother’s arms but fortunately landed pendent, meaning that a heavily loaded improve turbulence avoidance by helping in an adjacent seat. Unfortunately, three with its highly identify deep convection and detecting of the flight attendants aboard were in- will experience less aircraft disturbance gravity waves. jured, one with a severe head wound. than a lightly loaded straight-wing King Analysis by Airbus found that a large The flight crew declared an emergency Air. Pilot observations are therefore of- part of turbulence events come from air- and upon landing those injured were ten unreliable for providing consistent craft incursions into cumulonimbus that rushed to the hospital. information about atmospheric turbu- were either not localized by the crew or Quite correctly, the FAA urges pas- lence levels. not avoided with sufficient margin. sengers to use an approved child-safety Airborne weather radar does not as- Furthermore, turbulence associated seat when flying with children under two sure protection from turbulence. An with cumulonimbus is not only con- years of age. Airbus review of previous turbulence en- tained within the cloud. And since cur- counters revealed that some flight crews rent weather radars cannot detect dry Avoiding Turbulence lacked a full appreciation of the intensity turbulence, it is essential to take ad- and extent of the weather in their vicin- equate precautionary measures, and to Again citing Airbus’ “Managing Severe ity. As a result, they failed to deviate soon do so especially in the “clear air” above Turbulence,” weather information avail- or far enough to avoid the weather. a thunderstorm. able before takeoff and weather brief- As is well known, airborne weather ings have to be as complete as possible, radar detects precipitation but not wind, Cabin Preparation and depending on context, this informa- ice, fog or CAT. When properly utilized, tion has to be updated in flight as often the equipment can be quite efficient in Aircraft cabins are not designed to pro- as possible. In some severe turbulence the detection and avoidance of convec- vide readily available restraints in case events, post-flight investigations re- tive clouds laden with droplets. It is only of turbulence. For example, the lav and vealed that an appropriate update of helpful for the avoidance of turbulence galley often lack safety features such as weather information in flight would have associated with detectable precipitation hand holds for support when passengers very likely allowed its avoidance. — in other words, associated with con- or crew are unrestrained during unex- Up until recently the only routine vective storms. And to do so, it must be pected encounters. observations of turbulence have been properly tuned (tilt, weather mode and Accordingly, it’s good practice to keep those provided verbally as pilot reports range control) to present an optimum the cabin as ready as possible for turbu- (PIREPs) in the U.S. and as air reports weather radar picture. Also, the flight lence and to periodically check that pas- (AIREPs) internationally. Unfortunately, crew must perform regular vertical scans sengers are wearing seat belts, that bins PIREPs can err substantially in the activ- and interpret the screen display correctly. are latched, and carts and other loose ity’s reported intensity, position and time. For example, a tilt setting in cruise too items stowed. Summary Will LIDAR Help? The costs to operators that result from Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) is able to sense clear-air turbulence (CAT). Ac- turbulence encounters can be substan- tial and involve medical attention, li- cording to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it uses light in ability suits, lengthy absences of injured the form of a pulsed laser to measure variable distances. cabin crewmembers, higher insurance The technology projects a laser ahead of the aircraft and an optical sensor de- premiums and workers compensation, tects scattered laser light reflected back by aerosol microparticles suspended in along with repairs to the aircraft and the the atmosphere. This differs from conventional radar, which is dependent on the loss of aircraft availability due to inspec- tions. Moreover, any inflight injury to reflected radar signal energy from precipitation particles. passengers or crew may require a flight LIDAR technology could warn pilots of turbulence ahead, thus allowing timely divert and emergency landing, which can decisions to avoid the area and warn passengers and cabin crew. Recent airborne be a costly necessity when operating in tests have illustrated the system’s ability to detect the air density fluctuations as- remote or oceanic airspace. sociated with light-to-moderate CAT at 5 km or moderate CAT at 10 km. The NTSB has issued abundant rec- ommendations for countering exposure Unfortunately, LIDAR technology currently costs more to install than its pre- to inflight turbulence. We all need to put dicted savings. So, this type of sensor is currently primarily used for atmospheric them to practice. research. But work is underway to make the technology cost-effective soon and And people in back, please keep those available for broader application. BCA seat belts buckled. They’re there to keep you pain free. BCA

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conditions, long-term corticosteroid use or severe obesity, especially if accompa- nied by liver or kidney disease, are more at risk. Chinese scientists also hypoth- esize that their statistics are skewed be- cause the vast majority of people who contract COVID-19 quickly recover and never report their symptoms to medi- cal authorities. At this point, the test- ing is inadequate to determine the true rate of infection. SARS-CoV-2 is spreading far faster than previous coronaviruses, such as the 2002 SARS-CoV-1, especially as the world population has grown more than 20% since 2002 and there is much more af- fordable access to international air travel. The rate at which the infection spreads from one person to others, known as R0

BOGDAN KHMELNYTSKYI (R naught) or R-factor, is between two to three, perhaps higher because of the unique characteristics of this form of coronavirus compared to other strains. One person infects three, three infect nine, nine infect 27, 27 infect 81. In con- trast, common flu bugs have R0 factors of about 1.0 to 1.3. Moreover, “silent transmission” of the BY FRED GEORGE [email protected] virus can occur during the period after a person becomes infected but before cientists named it SARS-CoV-2, into a zoonotic form that infected people. experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. This short for Severe Acute Respiratory Because this is a novel virus, humans phenomena became apparent on the Syndrome caused by a second-gen- have no natural immunity to it. Even cruise ship Diamond Princess in Febru- eration coronavirus. It’s the seventh so, 80+% of the people who come down ary when more than 600 people aboard Sstrain of betacoronavirus that has infected with COVID-19 (coronavirus disease dis- tested positive but fewer than half humans and it spreads up to 10 times as covered in 2019), the illness caused by showed symptoms. All those infected fast as the original 2002 SARS-CoV bug. SARS-CoV-2, experience mild to moder- potentially were contagious. Other coronaviruses include Middle East ate symptoms, including fever, dry cough SARS-CoV-2 spread from China to Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and four and shortness of breath. other regions in early 2020, recently milder viruses that cause common colds. The other 20% can become seriously including the U.S. The first case in the First discovered in the 1960s, these or fatally ill. Pneumonia is a major cause. U.S. was confirmed in January. It slowly germs get their names from the crown- Doctors at China’s Centers for Disease ramped up to eight in early February, like spikes on their surfaces. SARS- Control determined that people over the then 42 in early March. But then in mid- CoV-2 began as a mutant form of age of 65 are particularly at risk from CO- March, COVID-19 began to spike expo- betacoronavirus that originated in bats, VID-19, especially if they have pre-exist- nentially in the U.S. By late March, more perhaps ones that were slaughtered in ing medical conditions, such as diabetes, than 112,000 cases had been confirmed, so-called “wet markets” in Wuhan or lung disease or hypertension. The U.S. almost half of which were in New York Guangdong. Transferring and mutating Centers for Disease Control and Preven- City. The Big Apple is becoming Ameri- between species of different wild ani- tion also warns that people undergoing ca’s Wuhan Virus Central, with New Or- mals in very close proximity inside the cancer treatment and with compromised leans emerging as another center. markets, this novel virus finally morphed immune systems, or those with heart As with COVID-19 outbreaks in China,

48 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA Iran and Italy, the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. threat- ens to overwhelm health care facilities. The University of Wash- ington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) projected the U.S. epidemic to peak in mid-April 2020 with more than 460,000 cases. Between now and early August, the IHME estimates that more than 81,000 people will die of the disease, with 79,000+ by June 1. At present, there is no vaccine, no cure, no medicines proven to fight the virus. Limited clinical trials using protease inhibi- tors, such as lopinavir and ritonavir, and/or chloroquine or hy- droxychloroquine approved to fight malaria, have yielded mixed results, anecdotally positive in some cases. Health officials say we’re months away from getting a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral vac- cine approved. So, it’s critical to flatten the exponential expansion of the dis- ease, drag it down into a months-long, gradual rise and fall of those infected in order to buy time to beat the bug and avoid over- whelming hospitals and healthcare providers. It’s back to basics, just as it was with the bubonic plague in the 14th century: Social distancing, self-quarantining, strict personal hygiene, shelter in place. Do it long enough and wait out the disease. But the months- long pause could result in devastating economic consequences the likes of which no one has experienced. Here’s what some aviation organizations are doing to combat SARS-CoV-2 while maintaining essential services. NBAA’s Resource Center The NBAA provides a broad range of resources and references to help members protect against the spread of coronavirus. In- formation from the NBAA is available on U.S. ports of entry for international flights, restrictions on arrivals from specific countries, updates on ATC facilities closures due to virus con- tamination and individual state shelter-in-place orders. There are links to the FAA’s SAFO 20003 (Safety Alert for Operators) on COVID-19 as well as the CDC website. Elevated body temperature often is the first sign of CO- VID-19. SAFO 20003 emphasizes self-quarantining for any- one who has a fever of 100.4F (38C) or higher, staying away from crowds, avoiding public transportation and maintain- ing a distance of 6+ ft. between people. It recommends only using ground transportation arranged by one’s employer, staying inside hotel rooms as much as possible and using room service or food delivery services rather than eating in restaurants. Other precautions include frequent 20-sec. soap-and-water hand washing, use of 60% minimum alcohol hand sanitizers and avoiding touching one’s face. The FAA also recommends choosing lodging facilities close to airports and checking ahead to determine how well they’re cleaned and sanitized. The advisory also suggests finding contact information for local health departments, taking one’s temperature twice daily, and checking for cough and shortness of breath — all early warning signs of the onset of COVID-19. And, of course, steer clear of sick people, being mindful of the fact that in the early stages of COVID-19, the symptoms can mimic the common cold or seasonal flu. The SARS-CoV-2 virus can remain active on hard surfaces for 72 hr. or more, cardboard for 24 hr. and aerosols (cough and sneeze droplets) for 3 hr. or more, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. The NBAA provides an “Aircraft Disinfection and Cleaning Procedures” guide that recommends cleaners don personal protective equipment (PPE) for enhanced cleaning of aircraft on which people with

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 49 Safety

COVID-19-like symptoms have trav- well-proven diluted solutions of house- about avoiding catching the disease, but eled. It details sanitizing procedures hold chlorine bleach or 70% alcohol. The also about preventing its spread from and products that are effective. The as- University of Virginia also recommends themselves to others, should they be in- sociation also provides links to aircraft certain glutaraldehyde, phenolic and fected but have yet to show symptoms. manufacturers’ documents, including iodine compounds. Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer, Gulf- As coronavirus remains active on Risk Management Protocols stream and Textron, that suggest recom- surfaces, the CDC recommends clean- mended sanitizing products least likely ing and sanitizing anything that people Matt Hagans, CEO of Eagle Creek Avia- to damage interior furnishings. might touch in homes and offices, includ- tion, the Indianapolis-based family of It’s critical to assume that PPE, in- ing landline and mobile phones, door and aircraft charter, management, sales, cluding gloves, is contaminated after cabinet knobs, light switches, bathroom maintenance and FBO companies, takes cleaning and sanitizing processes are fixtures, soap dispensers and faucets, heed of NBAA, World Health Organiza- complete and thus after use must be put tables, desks and work surfaces, and tion and CDC guidelines and directives, into bio-safe containers for disposal or staircase handrails. Computer screens, as well as best practices recommended transport to cleaning facilities. Cleaning keyboards and cursor control devices by aviation industry specialists. In addi- staff are advised to take warm, soapy must not be overlooked as germ sources. tion to daily cleaning of facilities, he also showers and dress in clean clothes be- Oddly, neither the NBAA nor the has all surfaces that people might touch fore coming into contact with other peo- CDC discuss using face masks. We’ve cleaned and disinfected at least three ple, offices or homes. Clothes hampers witnessed new ab initio pilots arriving times throughout the work day. need to be cleaned and disinfected after from mainland China on international Pilots and staff are adhering to social contaminated PPE has been removed airline flights, destined to undergo pilot distancing, handwashing and covering for cleaning. training in the U.S. These days, they all their coughs. At the first sign of cold, flu The CDC provides comprehensive wear masks and observe strict personal or COVID-19 symptoms, employees are instructions for how to clean surfaces hygiene protocols. They’ll wave, but they sent home for quarantine, assured their to remove grime, germs and impuri- don’t shake hands or make personal con- jobs are secure when they’ve recovered ties and then how to disinfect with tact. Six months ago, we saw them smile and are able to return to work. chemicals to kill germs. It lists 350+ and shake hands. When asked about Charter and managed aircraft are EPA-approved disinfectants, along with these disciplines, they say it’s not just cleaned and disinfected after each flight,

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50 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA using products recommended by aircraft Still, some people are minimizing the Thus, the business aircraft commu- manufacturers and/or “hospital grade,” risks of spreading the disease, sloughing nity cannot relax from strict cleaning EPA-approved chemicals. Hagans con- off the guidelines, meeting their friends and disinfecting procedures, along with siders these protocols to be a personal and partying after work, says the offi- comprehensive personal hygiene pro- responsibility, as some of his clients are cial. Many openly talk about their social tocols, after the COVID-19 pandemic elderly, have pre-existing medical condi- gatherings and post pictures of events on has passed. People must assume their tions or are undergoing cancer treatment social media. hands are contaminated after open- that compromises their immune systems. “They can do as they please after work. ing doors, holding handrails, handling Aircraft inducted for maintenance are But they may find we won’t let them re- packages, touching tools, manipulating cleaned and disinfected using the same turn to work here,” he added. “This is all cockpit controls, hoisting luggage, using procedures as charter and managed air- about risk management.” a handkerchief or even shaking hands. craft to assure they’re germ-free when Interiors of aircraft inducted for main- Handwashing and hand sanitizing will delivered to customers. tenance are considered contaminated. be even more critical before touching Another large, midwestern operator Mechanics first work on the outside of food or face. that wishes to remain anonymous ex- the aircraft. If access to the flight deck or Aircraft should be cleaned and disin- plains that it’s considered to be an “es- cabin is required for maintenance, staff fected often. Flight decks are known to be sential business” in accordance with its members in PPE carefully disinfect those germ-laden, so they too should get special state health department’s stay-at-home areas to be occupied by mechanics. Ac- attention. One airline pilot tells BCA that order intended to curb the spread of the cess to the inside of aircraft is limited to he assumes everything up front is con- virus. only those areas where maintenance func- taminated. He won’t touch a crew meal “Essential also means we have to be ex- tions will be performed. without using hand sanitizer. tra vigilant, super proactive. An epidemic Cleveland-based Constant Aviation New technologies are emerging to dis- could shut us down,” says a company of- announced that it is treating the entire infect facilities and aircraft. One firm, for ficial. Nonessential staff members have 160+ Flexjet fleet with MicroShield 360, instance, is developing a mobile ultravio- been sent home. The company is using an antimicrobial coating that is electro- let germicidal irradiation (UVGI) system videoconferencing in place of face-to-face statically applied after first cleaning and that uses short-wave (UV C) light to neu- meetings whenever possible. disinfecting aircraft interiors. tralize or kill germs by destroying RNA He added, “We’ve halted all domestic The firm “has been evaluating a num- and DNA. Such systems already are in travel, except for emergencies. Interna- ber of products over the past year and use by more than 300 hospitals. Using a tional travel must be pre-approved. We’ve MicroShield’s solution and electrostatic similar system adapted for aviation use, recalled most of our international people. application process offers an incompa- technicians could sweep through an en- Those returning from China or Italy are rable aviation solution,” said Constant tire large-cabin business aircraft interior self-quarantined for 14 days.” CEO David Davies. “Since becoming the in 10 min. But the MRO business unit still has only MRO certified to apply MicroShield Regardless of promising new tech- to provide essential AOG maintenance to aircraft, we have applied the product to nologies, personal and corporate respon- issues, so it’s keeping its technicians at more than 40 aircraft via our MRO facili- sibility remains key to preventing the work and taking steps to prevent the ties and we are nearly finished applying spread of disease. Those with cold or flu spread of COVID-19 among the staff. It’s MicroShield to the entire Flexjet fleet.” symptoms, such as coughing and sneez- splitting shifts to reduce the number of It costs about $3,000 to apply Micro- ing, will quite likely feel peer pressure to employees on site at any one time. It’s Shield 360 to large-cabin aircraft, but wear face masks if coming into contact staggering work breaks and using mul- according to Constant it is effective in with others. People will feel increasing tiple break rooms to reduce the number killing 99.99% of bacteria, along with pressure to self-quarantine at the first of people who congregate. reducing “viruses, mold, algae, yeast, sign of illness. No longer will it be ac- Furthermore, it’s locking down mildew, fungi and odors.” The EPA-ap- ceptable, much less encouraged, to come most entry doors and restricting ac- proved product is clear, colorless and to work with a cold or the flu. Employ- cess through only a select few points. odorless, proven safe and hypo-aller- ers will feel compelled to authorize sick Employees entering the premises are genic for humans and pets, say company leave to ensure employees don’t return screened for body temperature. Fever officials. to work until they’re healthy. Working at frequently is the first symptom of a CO- home and videoconferencing will likely VID-19 infection. “This is everybody, Post-COVID-19 Protocols become more commonplace to promote every day,” says the official. social distancing. Anybody who exhibits mild cold or The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic serves as As noted, disease prevention is all flu symptoms immediately is sent home a wake-up call for the aviation commu- about risk management. As always, busi- for at least three days. If the employee is nity, a warning that even more virulent ness aircraft operators need to identify, asymptomatic after 72 hr., he or she can and contagious zoonotic diseases may rate and mitigate risks, including this return to work. However, if symptoms emerge from bats and other animals. new one, while continuing to provide persist or worsen after three days, the The world population is projected to travel services. COVID-19 was a surprise firm requires employees to self-quaran- grow to 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion attack that is causing severe health and tine for a total of 14 days. by 2050 and 10.9 billion by the end of economic consequences. The company has designated moni- the century, according to the United Prompt, decisive, prophylactic action tors who enforce its rules. It also strongly Nations. Ready access to international can help flatten future pandemic moun- encourages staff members to observe airline travel, coupled to forecast popula- tains into molehills. But only if we heed social distancing and shelter-in-place tion growth, potentially will increase the the hard lessons we’re learning from the protocols when off work. spread of disease exponentially. 2020 global health crisis. BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 51 Management Ensuring Corporate Relevance

A flight department must contribute as a full member of a larger team, or else

BY MARK H. Goodrich [email protected]

n the early 1960s, business and cor- Long-time readers of BCA well remem- becoming larger, with subsidiary opera- EXTREMEPHOTOGRAPHER porate aviation was getting its first ber the musings of J. Sheldon “Torch” tions increasingly spread across the U.S. real foothold as more owner-flown Lewis in his Greenhouse Patter column, and beyond. The ability to fly farther, single-engine and light-twin models in which the lives and times of he and faster and in most weather conditions Iwere giving way to professionally flown his fellow early corporate pilots were became more important, and business cabin-twins, turboprops and early tur- recounted in entertaining detail. Always aviation was compelled to support those bojets. Light and medium twins had printed on the final pages of each issue, requirements with aircraft and aircrew been staples in the hangars of even the most readers turned to his column first. able to meet those new realities. country’s largest companies, except for Those who don’t remember Torch’s col- As that new era unfolded, many cor- a few that opted for surplus military umns will be well served by looking them porate pilots were not even instrument airplanes, some of which were World up and revisiting (borrowing a phrase rated, or for those who had been origi- War II bombers and transports outfit- from the “Lone Ranger” TV program) nally trained during the war, at least not ted with executive interiors. Those cor- “those thrilling days of yesteryear.” instrument current. But the next decade porate DC-3s and Lodestars were then It was during the 1960s and 1970s that saw a sea change as ratings and profi- disappearing from the ramps, and in- corporate aviation really came into its ciency expanded to meet the increas- dustry publications were replete with own. By then it was peopled with profes- ing sophistication and capabilities of the advertising and news releases touting sional pilots whose skills matched those business aviation fleet. To those then new aircraft models, such as the King flying for the scheduled airlines but who flying, it seemed as though the changes Air, Sabreliner and JetStar. transported the movers and shakers of were monumental, but over the next sev- were several years away, and Citations the expanding corporatocracy on mis- eral decades, they were to see technolo- would not be seen for another decade. sions of capitalism, in their own aircraft gies advance at an exponential rate. Helicopters were a near exclusive of the and on their own schedules. Airplanes, As ol’ Torch might have said after a military services. systems and avionics were becoming morning of EFB, NEF, FMS, PDC, EDCT, While professional business pilots had more sophisticated; airspace more com- SID, LNAV, VNAV, RVSM, TCAS, STAR, been around since the 1920s, through the plicated and more regulated. Due to the GPS, ILS PRM and ASA, “You know, 1950s they tended to be former wartime mergers and acquisitions that were a Hersch, the days are clearly over when squadron mates of a company executive. forecast of the future, businesses were we could just fire up the old girl on 30

52 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA Resist any impulse to jump the chain of as a primer regarding some of the things as to flight department issues that also command by bringing problems directly to that you might consider with respect to impact the work of other company de- senior managers riding as passengers. your flight department. partments. Keep your position within the com- Flight department budgeting is of minutes’ notice, fly over to Chicago and pany in perspective. A level of profes- significant importance to both the land.” He might even have mused about sional intimacy is inherent because of the department and the company. Meet whether, given the rate that aviation was frequent personal interaction between with the CFO and let him or her know depleting the world’s supply of acro- senior executives and flight crew person- that you want to develop a two-way nyms, there would be any left for use by nel, but it does not imply personal friend- communication protocol that allows our grandchildren. ships. You can and should be cordial, but all concerned to have a dependable The role of the pilot within the cor- do not lose sight of your position with the budget but acknowledging the vari- porate organization has also changed. company, and maintain the professional ables that make the flight department In the early days, it was usually just one distance that accords senior managers unique. If the CFO understands how pilot and an executive or two on board. the respect to which their positions en- unforeseen expenses can occur in the Suddenly, even companies with piston title them. context of Airworthiness Directive or turboprop aircraft were using two Respect your chain of reporting. Re- compliance requirements, or engine pilots for the enhanced safety, improved sist any impulse to jump the chain of issues, it allows the finance depart- efficiency and lower insurance rates that command by bringing problems directly ment to structure a reserve fund or resulted. As the size of the corporate to senior managers riding as passengers. other mechanism in advance to cover organization grew, its aviation operation It is easy to rationalize that their proxim- such contingencies. This approach is also expanded commensurately and in ity gives you direct access around your far superior to first educating the fi- many ways becoming a small airline not official chain of reporting. Even if asked nance department about such things limited to just flight operations, but in- by an executive to provide some sort of after the unexpected expense arrives cluding dispatch, maintenance and line information, it is important to report without notice. functions. The average flight department that request and bring the manager to Often the flight department will was no longer a one-man band, foretell- whom you report into the loop, asking learn through industry trade associa- ing the trend that continues to this day. how he or she would prefer to see the tions, publications or other information One result of this evolution is that all matter handled. Breaching corporate sources about pending legislation that members of a modern flight department protocol can be the start of a very tur- may impact the way in which tax laws must appreciate their roles within it and bulent flight. affect the ownership and operation of the broader organization. Flight depart- Work to establish relationships with the company aircraft. Such information ment managers are responsible for the other departments. Always working with should be promptly shared with the fi- establishment of standards, training, and through your reporting point within nance department. Let the CFO know oversight, enforcement and supporting the organization, seek meetings with ex- that you would like to work with a team documentation to ensure the depart- ecutive managers who will most often of people from both the flight and finance ment operates well and as an integrated use aviation services, usually including departments on budget development, part of the overall corporate structure. the CEO and COO. Your questions will in- and for the purpose of quickly bringing Individual pilots and mechanics have not clude how the flight department can best the finance department into the loop if only departmental duties and respon- assist the other company functions, and and when circumstances change from sibilities, but also those as corporation the implicit message is that you under- those assumed in the budgeting process. employees and representatives. stand the only reason for the existence For example, world events may indicate In some cases, that requires the po- of the flight department is to support the that fuel expenses could increase beyond litical skill to stand one’s ground where organization. the forecasts originally used for budget- an ultimate decision about safety is at Make clear that you want the flight ing. Executive management and finance issue, while presenting it to senior man- department to serve the interests of the are always concerned about presenting agement in a way that makes clear no company as seen by the executive man- earnings forecasts to the market that affront to their managerial authority agement. Do not overlook that, whether are borne out by financial results. Your is intended. The modern flight depart- its business is in service or manufactur- efforts to help provide data that allows ment must retain the authority to make ing, the fundamental purpose of the com- finance to stabilize the sometimes less- safety decisions, but will be expected to pany is to make money. Senior managers than-stable realities of aircraft opera- justify those decisions, as are other de- will evaluate your department through tion will demonstrate your interest in the partments in their respective areas of ex- that prism, and you must make clear that company beyond the hangar walls. pertise. Most modern flight departments efficiency — defined as effectiveness over A recurring problem across the in- effectively use the policies and proce- expense and tempered by requirements dustry is that flight departments some- dures documentation of the company — to operate safely — is also your focus. how slip through the cracks where HR usually developed and managed by the Flight department operations will of- is concerned. This is most often because human resources (HR) department — to ten include activities that also require the department is located away from the define their departmental authority, and involvement of the financial, HR, legal main company premises, coupled with the reasons for and limitations to that and risk management departments. its characteristically lower number of authority. Your efforts to affirmatively reach out employees. The unique requirements for There is no “one size fits all” set of cri- to the managers in these areas will dem- aviation professionals also present some teria for how a flight department should onstrate that you want the flight depart- issues that are different from the normal work within its particular corporate en- ment to be an efficient contributor to the processes of evaluation and hiring. More vironment, but the following are offered company’s success, and your concern than a few flight department managers

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 53 Management

Ensure that professionalism and ethics guide your operations.

Even when asked about things that are closer to flight department opera- tions, such as the evalua- tion of a new or different aircraft type, it is best to not “shoot from the hip.” Rather, note that there are many issues to consider, offer to pull to- gether some preliminary data, and suggest that a team of people from at least the flight, finance and executive manage- ment areas should work VIAFILMS on the matter. Team with a reputable consultant to be certain that all possible issues are considered. have been distressed to learn that HR many cases, the failure of the flight and You might have a favorite aircraft has hired a new crewmember absent HR departments to effectively interact on model or brand, but do not confuse any advice from the department itself as such issues first comes to light in the con- your personal preference with what is to qualifications or experience require- text of regulatory violations, appearance best for the company. Be cautious about ments. Affirmative efforts to educate HR in an administrative law court and fines. over-reliance upon any single source of employees in advance will help to ensure Insurance issues are usually within the data, even that from a manufacturer. that the standards and processes used province of legal or risk management, and Executives take this type of approach to locate, interview and hire for the flight it is axiomatic that aircraft operation pres- when evaluating the acquisition of a department will include input from the ents insurance issues different from those subsidiary or the construction of a new department itself. of other departments. Flight department building and will appreciate your similar Federal and state laws, and regula- audits routinely reveal problems with in- conservative professionalism. tions promulgated under and in support surance that range from modest adminis- Ensure that professionalism and eth- of those laws, apply to the flight depart- trative oversights to failures to meet basic ics guide operations. There have been ment as they do to other departments conditions of the insurance contracts that many changes to corporate flight op- of the company. Those laws and regu- could result in a failure of coverage. Too erations over the past six decades, but lations are diverse, and the specialized often, such audits occur in the wake of a safety and efficiency continue to be knowledge of HR personnel can be criti- coverage denial. A general rule is that law- fundamental for any flight department cal to operating legally. Everyone has yers and risk managers know little about managed and operated with beacons of heard about the Occupational Safety airplanes, and pilots know little about in- professionalism and ethics at its core. and Health Administration (OSHA), surance. It is essential that they work as Operations must always be conducted and most aviation professionals know a team so that the intended coverage is in a good faith effort to comply with there are federal regulations of the De- in place, and operations are conducted so all laws, regulations and good operat- partment of Transportation address- as ensure that coverage will apply in the ing practices. Department personnel ing hazardous materials. But few know event of a loss. must understand that a single failure of the extent of those requirements, or the Do not oversell your areas of exper- professionalism or ethics can result in myriad laws and regulations of both fed- tise. A pilot is often presumed to be corporate ramifications far beyond an eral and state agencies that govern em- an expert in everything aviation, from FAA enforcement proceeding or NTSB ployment practices. aircraft evaluation to tax laws and ac- accident investigation. A high-speed Consequently, manuals must be devel- counting regulations relating to aircraft pass at a remote airport, falsification of oped, approved and maintained, includ- use. Resist the temptation to give advice documents or attempts to work around ing requirements for training, record beyond your actual areas and levels of charter regulations can have disastrous keeping and the reporting of defined expertise. If you are aware that pro- effects on such seemingly diverse fac- events. Which laws and regulations ap- posed or newly enacted legislation may tors as corporate share price or a poten- ply depends upon the state in which you be relevant, do not stray too far beyond tial merger. are located, and specific facts, such as the flight deck in an effort to seem more Evolution exists in business, just as it whether a fuel farm or maintenance fa- knowledgeable than you are. It is best to does in nature, and a flight department cility is operated to support your air- raise the issue along with the suggestion that does not evolve to conform to the te- craft. A working relationship with HR that the legal and finance departments nets of the modern business enterprise can be the key to avoid becoming an em- investigate and determine the potential may find itself extinct — replaced by a barrassment to the corporation. In too applicability. “jet card.” BCA

54 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA More Know Before You Go with an AC-U-KWIK Online subscription

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So many destinations. So many aircraft. One source: aircharterguide.com Point of Law Kent S. Jackson Contributing Editor [email protected] Force Majeure The power is with the seller

WHEN COVID-19 WAS YOUNG AND NO ONE IMAGINED SHELTER IN delivered within 180 calendar days after the Delivery Date or the place orders would result, lawyers began discussing “force parties agree to a later Delivery Date. majeure” and how an epidemic in China was not likely to affect While no manufacturers will agree to delete this provision domestic contracts in the U.S. Now that the virus has grounded altogether, they might agree to shorten the period of force ma- much of aviation around the world, companies are grappling jeure delay. For example, instead of 180 days, a manufacturer with sales and service contracts that didn’t envision a paralyzed might agree to 90 days. That means that at the end of 90 days, planet. if the manufacturer has not delivered the aircraft, the parties “Force majeure,” French for “major force,” has gradually re- can cancel the agreement and the manufacturer will refund placed “acts of God” as the legal term referencing a party’s in- the customer’s money. But, just like the typical charter opera- ability to perform contracted obligations due to forces beyond tor, the manufacturer will insist on limiting its liability for the their control. However, force majeure is not a constitutional or consequences of failing to produce the aircraft on schedule. statutory right, nor a doctrine of case law, either. That means You had to spend twice as much to get the aircraft somewhere if something happens beyond your control, else? That extra cost falls under the con- and you have no contract, then the law does cept of “consequential damages” and the not automatically give you protection for While no manu- contract will protect the manufacturer from not performing your obligations. having to pay it. For example, if you ran a charter opera- facturers will agree But can a buyer of products and services tion, and you didn’t use contracts or Terms to delete this provi- delay payments to the manufacturer after & Conditions (T&Cs) of any kind, but rather their business shut down for two months relied on verbal agreements, then you would sion altogether, they due to “circumstances beyond my control?” have no automatic force majeure protection. No. For centuries, courts have been If you failed to fly a charter because the pi- might agree presented with force majeure contract lots were sick, then you breached the char- cases. There have been many variations ter agreement. That is why the majority of to shorten the over the years, and there are different charter operations attach T&Cs to every views among the different jurisdictions, quote. The T&Cs may not use the phrase but there are general principles that the “force majeure,” but they will certainly pro- period of force courts uniformly follow. The first is that a vide protection to the charter operator for court won’t “even out” an unbalanced con- cancellations due to weather, mechanical majeure delay. tract. For example, if a manufacturer can failures or pilot unavailability. The T&Cs delay production for six months in the event typically provide that the charter operator of an epidemic, that doesn’t mean that the will return the cost of the charter but won’t customer can delay any progress payments. be responsible for anything else. Without T&Cs, the charter op- However, the court would make the manufacturer show erator could be responsible to pay the customer for the “conse- that the delay was in fact caused by circumstances beyond quential damages” caused by the cancellation such as lost time its control. The courts are also extremely wary of manufac- or extra expenses, or even the cost of a lost business contract turers and service providers who want to use force majeure because the customer didn’t make the meeting. clauses to cancel contracts in order to sell to a higher bidder. Force majeure is a negotiated contract term. For instance, if For example, imagine that you had a contract to purchase you buy a new aircraft, the manufacturer will likely include the a new aircraft for $20 million. A worldwide pandemic shuts following: down the airlines and many of them go out of business. As the Force Majeure Event. If Seller fails to the deliver the Aircraft economy wakes up from its enforced slumber, the demand on the Delivery Date and the failure to timely deliver is the result for business jets could spike. The manufacturer would love of a Force Majeure Event which includes, but is not limited to, to cancel your contract and sell the jet to a new buyer for a strikes, lockouts or other labor or industrial disturbances; riots; higher price. Can they get away with that? If the force ma- epidemics; war; governmental actions, inactions or regulations jeure period was short enough, and either party had the right (including, but not limited to, partial government shutdown or to terminate the contract, then yes, so long as the production Seller’s inability to obtain any governmental certification or air- line was in fact stalled by the epidemic for the entire period. worthiness approval for the Aircraft); fire; weather; delay in Manufacturers and service providers will see a new avia- supplier deliveries; or other cause beyond Seller’s control, Seller tion world once COVID-19 exits. And the fear of the next epi- will not be liable to Purchaser for any damages if the Aircraft is demic will color negotiations from now on. BCA

AviationWeek.com/BCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 57 20/Twenty Fred George Senior Editor [email protected] Hawker Beechcraft Premier 1A The light-jet orphan is a bargain

Weight gain has been the bane of Premier 1A. The 212-sq.-ft. wing and 2,300-lb. thrust Williams FJ44-2A engines are under- sized for a 12,500-lb. aircraft. Typically, single-pilot BOWs are close to 8,600 lb. Thus, tanks full payload is 320 lb. Premier 1A aircraft have pleasing handling qualities with the solid feel of a midsize jet, but with the crisper control re- sponse of a light jet. It has some midsize aircraft systems, such as a 3,000-psi hydraulic system that powers the spoi- lerons, actuators and wheel brakes. A rather cumbersome spoiler system check, though, is required before taxi. The aircraft has only one engine fire extinguisher bot- FLIGHTSAFETY/TEXTRON AVIATION tle, a semi-automatic pressurization controller, short-travel, SPEED, CABIN ROOM AND PRICE ARE THREE GOOD REASONS TO straight-leg landing gear and an annunciator light panel rather consider the Premier 1A, if you’re in the market for a light jet, than a full EICAS. says Gavin Woodman, co-founder of Aerocor, a business air- Airport performance is not best in class. You’ll need 3,792 ft. craft brokerage based in Los Angeles. The aircraft cruises as of runway to depart from a sea-level, standard day airport and fast as 450 KTAS and it offers a cabin cross-section nearly as 6,888 ft. when departing BCA’s 5,000-ft. elevation/ISA+20C large as that of the Citation Excel. runway. Even so, the aircraft can fly four passengers 1,100 nm. Hawker Beech manufactured 163 units between 2005 and Operators say they’re more comfortable flying 1,000 nm legs. 2011; there are 156 aircraft in operation still and 21 are for sale. Loaded to MTOW, the aircraft will climb directly its 41,000- With more than 13% on the market, asking prices of $1.3 million ft. service ceiling even at ISA+10C. But such warm day condi- to $2.1 million are soft, says Woodman. tions will knock 20 kt.off of max cruise speed as well as reduce The second-generation Premier 1A is much improved over range performance. the original model produced between 2001 and 2005. Braking Operators love the aircraft’s speed, but most say they need feel and response is considerably improved, the lift dump func- as much as one more hour of range. The 400+ nm boost would tion is manually controlled, the flight deck is upgraded with enable them to fly between the U.S. coasts virtually every day of dual PFDs, standard IFIS and TCAS II. The IFIS supports the year with one fuel stop. It also would enable them to fly non- electronic charts and XM satellite radio weather graphics. stop from New England to Florida in the winter. Perennially cash-strapped Hawker Beechcraft was late in Pilots say they plan on burning 1,200 to 1,300 lb. the first hour, offering a WAAS GPS upgrade for Premier 1A., even though 820 lb. the second hour and 900 lb. during the final hour of most it is essential to support ADS-B OUT. Serial number 282 and high-speed cruise missions, assuming standard day conditions. subsequent aircraft have the upgrade, but it’s available for ear- Slowing down to long-range cruise adds up to 11% in travel time, lier aircraft. The aircraft’s TDR-94 transponders also need up- but increases range by less than 100 nm. Budget fuel consump- dating or replacement to meet the ADS-B requirement. LPV tion at 154 gal. per hr., says Woodman. approach is offered as another upgrade. Elliott Aviation offers Maintenance tasks are relatively easy. There are compre- a dual Garmin GTX-3000 Mode S transponder kit with GDL- hensive line service and lube inspections at 200-hr. intervals, A 88 data link and FlightStream 110 that provides both ADS-B checks at 600 hr. and B checks at 1,200 hr. There are also some IN and OUT functions. calendar required inspections. Williams’ TAP Blue runs close to Aircraft typically are fitted with a four-seat center club section, $300-$340 for both engines. plus two chairs in the aft cabin. The main seating area is 11.2 ft. The Citation CJ2 and Nextant 400XT/XTi are the Premier long, about the same as that of a CJ2. There is forward, right-side 1A’s main competitors. The CJ2 has considerably better airport refreshment center and a fully enclosed, full-width 2.3 ft.-long aft performance and it can fly four passengers more than 1,500 nm. lavatory. There is a 10-cu.-ft. baggage compartment in the nose But it’s 30 to 40 kt. slower, has a smaller cabin cross-section and and a heated, 40-cu.-ft. baggage compartment in the aft fuselage. it’s up to $1 million more expensive. Nextant 400XT also has a Premier 1A has a completely redesigned interior, offering in- tighter cabin, albeit with a flat floor. It’ll fly 1,800 nm and it has creased rear seat legroom and more overall headroom. Better considerably sportier runway performance. acoustical insulation sops up more sound, but the aircraft isn’t So, if you’re looking for a roomy cabin, comparatively high the quietest in class. The interior has more comfortable cabin cruise speeds and excellent fuel efficiency, Premier 1A has ap- chairs than its predecessor, along with higher quality cabinets peal. Just mind the runway performance and tanks-full loading and more IFE options. limitations when planning your trips. BCA

58 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA AIRCRAFT LIGHTING INT’L Presents PMA’d LED’s FOR FALCON 900’s AND 2000’s APPROVED PMA

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AcUKwik 2nd Cover Edited by Jessica A. Salerno [email protected] acukwik.com/products News of promotions, appointments and honors AcUKwik Page 55 acukwik.com/products involving professionals within the business aviation community AirCharter Guide Page 56 aircharterguide.com υ AAR, Wood Dale, Illinois, announced that H. John Gilbertson, Jr., retired managing director of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Aircraft Bluebook 3rd Cover has been elected to the company’s Board of Directors. This aircraftbluebook.com increases the size of the Board from 11 to 12 members. Aircraft Lighting Page 59 υ British Business Aviation Association (BBGA), Dorton, Aylesbury, aircraftlighting.com Bucks, U.K., awarded Tim Scorer, long-serving aviation lawyer and currently a consultant at Kennedy’s Law Firm, is the recipient of AMSTAT Page 31 the BBGA Michael Wheatley Award for Outstanding Services to JOHN GILBERTSON JR. www.amstatcorp.com the general aviation industry. Aviation Week Intelligence Network υ Duncan Aviation, Lincoln, Nebraska, announced the Pete Marte Page 41 is the manager of the company’s Satellite Avionics Shops in pages.aviationweek.com/intelfleetdata White Plains, New York, and Oxford, Connecticut. Marte and his team routinely work at area airports including Bradley, Aviation Week Network Pages 4-5 Bridgeport and Danbury in Connecticut and Duchess County Aviationweek.com/awininfo and Stewart in New York. Aaron Jensen is the new manager of the Seattle Satellite Avion- TIM SCORER Castle & Cooke Page 23 ics Shop based at the Boeing Airfield at King castlecookeaviation.com County International Airport. Robert Montano Embraer Page 8 was named as an Engine Tech Rep, provid- executive.embraer.com ing troubleshooting and technical support to Rolls Royce engine customers and Duncan Engine Assurance Program Page 61 DETIEF KAYSER Aviation engine line maintenance teams. aep.aero/my-engine Tyler Spurling was named assistant manager ROBERT MONTANO FlightSafety International Page 33 of MRO Rapid Response Team providing lead- flightsafety.com ership and direction for all three of the com- pany’s main MRO facilities in Lincoln, Battle Garmin 4th Cover Creek and Provo. garmin.com υ General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Washington, D.C., named three new member- Global Business Aviation Solutions Page 3 THORSTEN DIRKS ships: Epic Aircraft, Bend, Oregon; Calnetix Tech- aviationweek.com/ nologies, Cerritos, California; XTI Aircraft Company, TYLER /SPURLING globalbusinessaviationsolutions Englewood, Colorado. υ AG, Hamburg, Germany, announced the Global Jet Capital Page 17 Dr. Detief Kayser is the new chairman of the Supervisory Board tak- https://www.globaljetcapital.com/ ing over from Carsten Spohr as chairman. In addition, Thorsten Dirks was elected as a new member of the Supervisory Board. Jet Appraisals Page 47 jetappraisals.com υ Pace (TXT Group), Berlin, Germany, announced the appointment FRANK EHLERMANN of Frank Ehlermann to the company’s senior executive team. He Luxivair SBD Page 3 supports the three founders of PACE in the role of Managing luxivairsbd.com Director and serves as head of the Product Configuration busi- ness line. Manassas Regional Airport Page 49 flyhef.com υ Traxxall, Montreal, Canada, announced the Michael Fantaski has joined the company as regional sales director based in Las Vegas, NBAA Page 7 Nevada. His territory includes Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Ari- nbaa.org/2020 zona, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii. He reports to President MICHAEL FANTASKI Mark Steinbeck. BCA SmartSky Networks Page 50 smartskynetworks.com

The Weekly of BuinessAviation Page 2 If you would like to submit news of hires, promotions, appointments or awards for www.aviationweek.com/wba possible publication in On Duty, send email to [email protected] or call (520) 638-8721

60 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA

LEGACY AIRCRAFT? The best time to call EAP to get a quote for a competitive engine maintenance program is prior to closing.

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TFE731-2 TFE731-3 TFE731-5 PW305 A/B TAY 611-8 CF34-3A/-3A1 Lear 31 Falcon 50 Falcon 900B/C Lear 60/XR Gulfstream GIV/SP Challenger 601 1A/3A Falcon 10 Hawker 700 Falcon 20-5 Hawker 1000 Lear 35 Astra 1125/SP Hawker 800A /XP Citation III/VI/VII Hawker 850XP Lear 55

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Customer focused. Less expensive. Fewer exclusions. Trusted resources. Products & Services Previews By Jessica A. Salerno [email protected]

1. Flying Colours Opens 1 Hangar at Ontario Flying Colours has officially opened the doors of its newest, largest and most advanced paint preparation and application facility at its Peterborough, Ontario headquarters. Fully comput- erized and climate controlled, the pressurized cross-draft paint booth measures an impressive 138 ft. wide and 158 ft. deep with the tail height reaching 55 ft. Flying Colours Peterborough, Ontario www.flyingcolourscorp.com 4. FSI Offers 2. Sun Air Jets Launches PC-24 Training New Brand FlightSafety International is now Sun Air Jets, jet charter and aircraft offering training for the Pilatus management company, unveiled its PC-24 Super Versatile Jet at its new brand and website, which are Le Bourget Learning Cen- intended to more fully represent the ter. FSI also offers training for company and its services. The new 2 the PC-24 in Dallas, Texas. The website features the company’s di- training program uses a new verse charter fleet, including day and PC-24 simulator equipped night configurations and a 360-deg. with the Honeywell Primus virtual tour of each aircraft. Visitors 3 Apex avionics suite that in- can request a charter quote with the corporates the SmartView new flight booking tool. synthetic vision system. It also features FSI’s latest Sun Air Jets advances in technology sunairjets.com including the CrewView collimated glass mirror 3. ABS Jets New FBO display and VITAL 1150 vi- sual system. The simulator The Prague and Bratislava-based busi- has been qualified to Level ness jet operator ABS-Jets has been D by the FAA, EASA and the approved by the Bratislava Airport Au- DGCA. thority to provide full FBO services at Bratislava Airport in Slovakia. The com- FlightSafety International pany has operated there since 2009 www.flightsafety.com supervising business aviation ground handling services. As well as comprehen- 5. Online LiveLearning sive FBO services, the base in Bratislava provides line maintenance support to from FSI business jet operators and owners of FlightSafety is providing the ground Embraer Legacy 600/650 and Phenom school portion of its recurrent train- 100/300 aircraft, and Gulfstream 650 ing programs online through the and 550 models. instructor-led LiveLearning train- ABS Jets ing system. “FlightSafety worked Prague, Czech Republic 4 with the FAA and other regulato- www.absjets.com ry agencies to obtain approval for

62 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA this innovative new approach, which includes the requirement to complete the simulation portion of the course within 90 days of finishing the online ground school,” said Steve Gross, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing. FlightSafety International www.flightsafety.com

6. Elliott Technologies Expands Network 5 Elliott Technologies has established an agreement with Duncan Aviation, expanding their dealer network to 10. Dealers are approved to install Elliott Technologies products, includ- 6 ing Prizm cabin LED lighting. Deal- ers include: AeroElite Interior, Banyan Air Service, Constant Aviation, Cut- ter Aviation, Duncan Aviation, Elliott Aviation, FlightStar, Flying Colours, Stevens Aerospace and west Star Aviation. Prizm cabin LED lighting fea- tures full color spectrum lighting for an aircraft that is controlled through a mobile app or existing cabin light- ing controls. Elliott Technologies Moline, Illinois 8 ments including easier www.elliotttechnologies.aero navigation, updated de- sign, focus on airframe- specific expertise and 7. PrimeFlight an all new in-depth Acquires Proflo careers page. The new Careers page offers in- PrimeFlight Aviation Services has ac- terested applicants a quired the assets of aircraft refueling variety of details and equipment supplier ProFlo Industries, insights about the com- LLC as well as a majority stake in pany’s various locations the South American Free Trade Zone and benefits. “Our goal based ProFlo LSTAM. The acquisition is to communicate the is being made through PrimeFlight’s exciting careers avail- ground support equipment mainte- able at all of at our lo- nance subsidiary, Global Aviation cations and maintain a Services, LLC based in Eagan, Min- steady flow of new talent nesota. ProFlo is a global supplier of 8. West Star at West Star Aviation,” aircraft refueling equipment. said Katie Johnson, vice president of PrimeFlight Enhances Website Human Resources for West Star. Sugar Land, Texas West Star Aviation’s website has been West Star Aviation www.primeflight.com revamped with several new enhance- www.weststaraviation.com/careers

AviationWeek.comBCA Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 63 BCA 50 Years Ago THE ARCHIVE May 1970 News In 16,701 general aviation accidents in all operations over a three-year period from 1966-1968, the pilot was cited as cause or factor in 82% of 1,891 fatal accidents. – BCA Staff Edited by Jessica A. Salerno [email protected]

Aircraft and parts manufacturers must report all defects, failures and malfunc- tions discovered in their equipment after July 2. GAMA won a 90-day extension claiming that manufacturers needed time to set up internal reporting procedures.

The Arava is as unattractive in appearance the Otter, perhaps more so. It looks like a stubby cigar bolted under a long, thick straight, high-lift wing. Photo is an early test fl ight. Indian-file on the taxiway at Lock The fi rst fl ying prototype of Haven, Pennsylvania, for of Piper’s Arava best-selling models pose for photogra- the Commodore Jet — actually a pher Simpson Kalisher. The line-up, Model 1121 Jet Commander whose foreshortened in the long lens, shows a fuselage was cut and then spliced Cherokee followed by an Aztec D, Commodopre Jet Cherokee Arrow and a Navajo. Of together with a 22-in. additional the aircraft shown, only the twins are section. Tip tans are from a Fouga built in Lock Haven; all Cherokees are Magister trainer; they will be larger built at the company’s Vero Beach, on the production model. This par- Florida, plant. ticular plane was lost when a hung fl ap caused its crew to abandon it on its third fl ight.

A fourth side window, part of the rear entrance door on the right side of the Baron 58 is identifying feature. Airplane is 10 in. longer in the cabin.

Baron 58 Hugh Heffner showed up at La Guardia last month with the Big Bunny, fi ve Jet Bunnies [cabin attendants] and his personal Bunny, a 22-year-old actress named Barbi Benton. (The three-man crew, all em- ployees of Purdue Airlines, which man- ages the aircraft, told BCA they have no Bunny designation.) The RDR-110 gives you superior weather-detection and terrain-map- Preliminary report on Pilgrim Twin ping capability for any light or medium twin. Priced at $7,866 and weighs only Otter crash fatal to fi ve on Feb. 10 in Long 20.5 lb. Heffner & Benton Island (NY) Sound indicates that ATC delays, below-minimums weather, faulty transponder and fuel management problems will be cited as prime causal factors in the accident. BCA

64 Business & Commercial Aviation | May 2020 AviationWeek.com/BCA PRINT & DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS | APPRAISAL SERVICES | DATA LICENSING

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