Investigative Agencies Dispute March 2019 737 MAX-8 Accident

Upon its 27 December receipt of the Ethiopian Aircraft Investigation Bureau’s (EAIB) final report on the 10 March 2019 loss of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302—the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) took the unusual step of publishing comments it had previously provided to the EAIB regarding the infamous 737 MAX-8 accident. The board asserted the EAIB “failed to include the NTSB’s comments in its final report on its investigation.”

Also: Marine Charged, United Aviate Taps APS, Ampaire Nets $150K, Embraer E195-E2/E190-E2

It didn't get much more ridiculous than this... The State of New York’s Senate Bill S7493A as put forth by the New York State Assembly and State Senate, and forwarded to the desk of Governor Kathy Hochul, would have heavily impacted helicopter operations in New York. The far-reaching and potentially catastrophic bill would have allowed anyone to sue a pilot, flight department, line service personnel, or company employee for alleged rotorcraft noise pollution by a flight operation in the state of New York. BUT... there’s some good news. Governor Hochul

The Perils of Latency

On 03 March 2020 at approximately 16:34 EST, a Piper PA-46-310-P Malibu, registration N43368, was destroyed, and its three occupants killed in a weather-related accident near Bishop, Georgia—a hamlet some 48-nautical-miles northeast of Atlanta. The personal flight was conducted under Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations and commanded by a 62-year-old, instrument rated private pilot with an estimated 1,178 total flight hours. On 20 December 2022, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its final report on the accident.

Something Old, Something

Founded in 2018 with a stated mission of “radically accelerating air travel,” Atlanta-based Hermeus is about the business of developing a trio of hypersonic aircraft. For all its implicit hyperbole, hypersonic is a valid aerospace term describing velocities greater than five-times the speed of sound—Mach 5.0. On 20 December 2022, Hermeus announced it had selected Pratt & Whitney’s F100 turbofan engine to serve as the turbine portion of its combined-cycle hypersonic engine—to which the company has ascribed the apposite moniker Chimera II.

$110.5-Million Deal Brings Total TH-73A Acquisitions to 130

That the TH-73A has found enduring favor with Pentagon brass is evinced by a 24 December 2022 U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announcement that AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation has been awarded yet another TH-73A procurement contract. The $110.5-million deal will see an additional 26 Thrashers produced and delivered by 2024. The TH-73 will replace the U.S. Navy’s TH-57 Sea Ranger fleet. Venerable but aging, the TH-57 derives of Bell’s highly-successful, patently ubiquitous, 206 Jet Ranger.

Aero Linx: The South County Airport Pilots Association (SCAPA) The South County Airport Pilots Association (SCAPA) is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation organized as a sub-chapter of the California Pilots Association (CalPilots). SCAPA’s mission is to: Preserve San Martin Airport Improve airport’s value to the community Participate in any planned airport growth Enhance flying safety Promote fellowship among pilots and aviation enthusiasts Encourage and assist people’s pursuit of aviation.

Multicom A mobile service not open to public correspondence used to provide communications essential to conduct the activities being  performed by or directed from private aircraft.

“The EAIB provided the NTSB with its first draft of the report last year. The NTSB reviewed the report and provided comments on several aspects of the accident the NTSB believed were insufficiently addressed in the draft report. The comments primarily were focused on areas related to human factors... The NTSB also noted that the final report included significant changes from the last draft the EAIB provided the NTSB. As a result, the NTSB is in the process of carefully reviewing the EAIB final report to determine if there are any other comments that may be necessary.” Source: Upon its 27 December receipt of the Ethiopian Aircraft Investigation Bureau’s (EAIB) final report on the 10 March 2019 loss of Ethiopian Airlin