The crash of Comair Flight 5191 was indeed a tragedy. I have never lost a loved one in an airline accident, so I cannot directly relate to what the families are going through. Having said that, however, I am somewhat irritated at what the press and our government have done since the accident.

First let me address the press. They have purposely worded headlines in such a way as to almost blame the crash entirely on the air traffic controller on duty at the time. I would sure hate to be in his shoes anyway, as I can only imagine he does feel some guilt with what happened. The press, however, has used headlines like ‘turned his back to do paperwork’ to make it sound as though he shirked responsibility and let 49 people die. I do not personally see where it was his responsibility to verify the aircraft was taking off the on the correct runway. Some people might disagree with that, but the controller did what he was required to do – direct and clear the aircraft to take off while providing appropriate separation from other traffic. He was dealing with a professional flight crew, not a student pilot, or even a run-of-the-mill private pilot. He fully expected the crew to taxi to the proper runway for departure. It would have been great if the controller had verified the departure was on the correct runway, but I cannot blame him at for the accident. Ultimately, the crew behind the controls failed. They are 100% responsible. I see the press as trying to somehow spread the blame to those who are alive because they might be able to create a ‘story’ out of it.

The FAA, on the otherhand, recently issued a directive that requires any controller on a break to not take a nap during that time. Apparently, at many control towers, a controller on a break could choose to get some shut-eye if they wanted to. This new directive overrides any local agreements that the controllers had that allow naps during breaks. The entire justification is that a controller could be called back onto to duty at any time and they might be slightly groggy if they were napping. Not sure about you, but I don’t see how this would have prevented the 5191 crash, or how it is going to substantially help make our system safer. I would imagine that if a controller took a short nap, and fell into some REM sleep during that time, he was totally exhausted to begin with. He should not be napping, but sleeping at home if that was the case. My only conclusion to this is that the FAA wants to have the appearance of “doing something” that makes the public feel better.

Many FBOs provide “courtesy cars” to pilots who need to make short trips away from the airport.  However, this is not always an option.  Sometimes the vehicles are already taken, or you need the vehicle for an extended period of time.  So, the only other option in this case is to rent a vehicle.  Enterprise is making that easier by providing a web site where you can enter the aiport code and it will list the FBOs that it knows about.  Enterprise will then either deliver the car, or pick you up and take you to the office.

This may seem to be a small detail, but it shows that Enterprise has picked up on the number of pilots who could benefit from this.

If you have been keeping up with commercial aviation at all, one of the most talked about subjects lately is the subject of Very Light Jets (VLJs). If you didn’t know, a VLJ is a small jet aircraft that is typically approved for single pilot operation. They usually only seat 4 to 6 passengers and have a maximum take off weight of under 10,000 pounds.

In recent articles about these jets, it was pointed out that Adam aircraft’s A700 has a lavatory, but one of its main competitors, the Eclipse 500, does not.

Adam Aircraft claims that a bathroom on a plane is essential and that it will be a deciding factor for passengers who will fly on these jets. DayJet, a company planning on using the bathroom-less Eclipse 500, claims that their flights will be between 40 and 80 minutes long and it won’t be a problem. He pointed out that most people commute in their cars for that length of time without having to stop.

Personally, I think it will still come down to price of each seat.

The Atlantic online edition has an interesting article about the role that Bangor, Maine’s airport is playing in helping with unruly passengers.  Their geographical location provides them with a somewhat unique opportunity and they are capitalizing on it.  Essentially, they have assembled a “quick turn-around” system for airline flights that have to land in case an unruly passenger is causing problems.  With little traffic at the airport, problem passengers can be taken care of in as little as an hour.

Read more here.

If your significant other is not as into aviation as you are, then maybe they enjoy music and you can use this to your advantage. The Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, near Macon, Georgia is hosting a concert series at the museum in September. The concerts will be performed by the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve. The band has a rock group, called Reserve Generation, a jazz ensemble, called Blue Notes, and a Celtic group called Southern Aire. Each group will perform on consecutive Tuesdays in September, in that order, starting on September 12. The last concert will be October 3, and will consist of Broadway and Hollywood tunes.

I last visited the museum in 1995 when I was working for Georgia Tech Research Institute on a military contract. We took advantage of some free time to shoot over to the museum for a couple of hours. I actually visited the museum in the early 80s, when my dad was stationed at Robins AFB while in the Air Force. He actually finished his 20 year Air Force career there in 1985. We lived about a 45 minute drive south of the base “out in the country” between Hawkinsville and Eastman Georgia.

The museum has a great assortment of aircraft, including none other than the SR-71 Blackbird.

You can find out more about the museum at their website.

Brian Hollnagel is a risktaker – and he’s reaping the rewards. When Delta airlines wanted to get rid of some of it’s older, less efficient jets, he jumped at the chance to buy them. Now some of those planes have found homes as far away as Russia.

A few years ago, he heard about a 737 that needed a new home. He helped broker the deal, and never looked back. Soon he founded BCI Aircraft Leasing, Inc., managed to raise $5 million dollars, added a loan from Bank of America, and bought more aircraft, which he then turned around to lease. The company now owns more than 90 aircraft.

You can read more about Brian here.

Baron Tayler is trying to raise awareness of powered parachute flying by completing a 3600 mile cross the U.S.A. trip in a specially built powered parachute.  The trip, which started in May, consists of over 50 stops along the route to give interviews and educate the local public on powered parachute flying.

Tayler has an additional focus in that he is making local law enforcement and rescue personnel aware of the benefits of using a powered parachute in both law enforcement and in search and rescue.  He formed a non-profit group that volunteers its time and ‘chutes in the event that they can be used by local authorities.

While he admits that a helicopter is the best resource that can be used in search and rescue / law enforcement events, the powered parachutes offer a tremendous advantage in that they are very inexpensive to operate.  Because of the cost, many agencies simply cannot afford to own a helicopter and in the event of a natural disaster, those resources are quickly utilized.

You can read more about his trip and the organization at:  PCEFoundation.org and Red Baron Coast To Coast.

The Alaska Region Forest Service has a great reason to celebrate this summer – they have had 10 years of flying with no accidents.  Considering the harsh environment that Alaska provides for aviators, they should be celebrating.  General aviation, when compared to the airlines, has a pretty poor record of safety.

The reason?  Training is probably the biggest factor, although quality, well-maintained equipment also plays a role.   

Additionally, the Alaska Region Forest Service has placed a huge emphasis on safety in general.  That is, each employee who flies must take an annual aviation safety course, must attend a pre-flight safety briefing, and must wear float/survival gear when flying.  Subsequently, each employee is empowered with not flying if they deem the weather or air-worthiness of the aircraft to be questionable.  

Each pilot who is contracted by the Forest Service must meet strict safety standards and must have their aircraft inspected by the Forest Service.

 [Source: Vertical Mag]