IMC News Service

Flight Attendants Union Coalition Launches Nationwide Opposition To Knives In Cabin

Washington, DC – The Flight Attendants Union Coalition, representing nearly 90,000 Flight Attendants at carriers across the country, is coordinating a nationwide legislative and public campaign to reverse the announcement from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that effective April 25, knives would be allowed in the aircraft cabin for the first time since 9/11. The Coalition will utilize a series of tactics to apply pressure, starting with a petition to the White House.

“Flight Attendants are outraged. We are the last line of defense in aviation security and time does not change the fact that we were among the first to die in a war we didn’t know we were fighting on September 11, 2001. At great cost, we know better today. There is no excuse for this.

“(…), our unions have received an overwhelming response of outrage from members and passengers across the country. This policy reversal is against the best interest of the security of crew and passengers in the aircraft cabin and we will stop at nothing to fight it. We encourage all those who agree and wish to join our growing coalition to sign the petition at www.NoKnivesOnPlanes.com

“(…) The continued ban on dangerous objects is an integral layer in aviation security and must remain in place.

“We will continue to oppose this dangerous approach to aviation security until the TSA reverses the decision and keeps knives and other dangerous objects out of the aircraft cabin and on the ground where they belong,” said leaders from the five unions.

Mike Goulian Appointed to the IMC Club’s Board of Directors

Norwood, MA -The IMC Club appointed an air show superstar and former United States Unlimited Aerobatic Champion, Mike Goulian, to its Board of Directors.

Michael Goulian, co-author of a series of books titled Basic and Advanced Aerobatics published by McGraw Hill, which became the industry standard for aerobatic flight training manuals is also a very experienced and devoted instrument pilot with over 7500 hours and over 500 of actual IMC.

Board meetings take place at Norwood Airport (Norwood, MA) quarterly and are held at the IMC Club International corporate offices.

Born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, Goulian is an American aviator, who has competed in aerobatic competition, flown air show displays, and has also raced in the Red Bull Air Race World Series. He was born into an aviation family, which founded Executive Flyers Aviation, one of the largest flying schools in the Northeastern United States in 1964. Michael's father Myron Goulian (also known as "Mike") was an FAA examiner. Michael learned to fly before he could even drive a car and soloed a Cessna 150 on his 16th birthday.

He began his aerobatic training in 1985 during his pilot study. He then established an aerobatic school within Executive Flyers Aviation. He worked his way toward the top ranks of air show display flying and competition aerobatics and became US National Champion in the Advanced Category at the age of 22. In 1995, he became the US National Champion in the Unlimited Category. He was a member of the US Aerobatic Team in 1994, 1996 and 1998.

“Many people might be surprised to know that I'm just as comfortable flying in the front of a Lear Jet or a King Air as I am performing at air shows in my Extra 330SC.

In the world of professional corporate flying and air shows, the safety culture is passed on through a mentor or a senior pilot who passes on their knowledge to a less experienced associate. The IMC Clubs rely on this atmosphere of constant learning which is a system that I truly believe makes for a safer and more well rounded pilot. It's an honor to join this organization as I feel it can make a significant impact on safety for pilots who want to utilize their aircraft on more than just beautiful VFR days" – said Mr. Goulian

Mike is one of only seven people to have been awarded all three of the air show industries most prestigious awards: the Art Scholl Memorial (2006) Showmanship Award, and the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship (2009), and the ICAS Sword of Excellence (2012). He is also a Lifetime Member of the IMC Club.

“I would like to welcome Mike as one of our newest Directors and extend my sincere appreciation for accepting our invitation to provide his knowledge and experience to further improve our outreach to the general aviation pilots for a purpose of improved proficiency and exchange of experience in instrument flying. Mike’s participation will allow us to gain yet another prospective from a very experienced aviator for the benefit of our members and safety of General Aviation” – said Radek Wyrzykowski, President of the IMC Club International, Inc.

Too often pilots finish their training and then become distracted and disengaged from the flying community. The result is a dangerous lack of proficiency and or the loss of support to the flying community as a whole. IMC Club, through its nationwide chapters, provides organized “hangar flying” focused on building proficiency in IFR. Believing that safety and proficiency are developed through education and experience - monthly meetings use real world scenarios to engage members and allow them to share and build their experience. It’s the only organization of its kind.

TSA: New Knife Policy Will Stand Regardless The Opposition

Washington, DC - John Pistole, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), told a House Homeland Security subcommittee that his decision will be carried out next month as planned. Small knives were banned following the 9/11 al Qaeda hijack attacks on the United States.

"I think the decision is solid and it stands," Pistole said. "I plan to move forward with it."

Some lawmakers supported Pistole and praised his efforts in leading the agency. "Why should the federal government devote taxpayer dollars to low-risk people, places, or things?" said Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, the subcommittee's chairman.

Most critics challenge that even small pocket and other knives still pose too great a safety and security risk for airline crews, reminding that the 9/11 hijackers used box cutters to take control of four jetliners. The TSA decision is strongly opposed by Airline Pilots’ unions and Association of Flight Attendants.

Boeing Leaves Its Offices Atop Seattle's Investments Center

Seattle, WA - Boeing is closing its deluxe offices in the heart of downtown Seattle, WA. In November 2011 the plane maker signed a 10-year lease for the top two floors of the Russell Investments Center, with the aim of using the sky-high outpost as an executive suite.

Executives are now moving out of the 45,000 square feet of space and Boeing is on the hook for finding a sub-tenant to take over the roughly $2 million-a-year lease.

Boeing is not saying how much is paying in rent downtown, but according to a various reports company signed a lease that runs through February 2022, and is paying an average of $47 per square foot a year. 

Frontier Airlines To Use Electronic Flight Bags In All Phases Of Flight

Denver, CO - Frontier Airlines announced that it has started the FAA-approved evaluation program of Apple iPad tablets as Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) in all phases of flight. Frontier plans to use the iPad EFBs on all flights. Removing traditional 30-pound flight bags, as well as other aircraft manuals, from each Frontier Airlines aircraft will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel costs annually.

In addition to fuel savings through weight reduction, use of the iPads will reduce paper and printing expenses.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to reduce costs and our carbon footprint while improving reliability and safety,” said Scott Gould, Frontier’s vice president of flight operations. “We are proud to continue moving forward in implementing this technology for all phases of flight.”

To implement this improvement, Frontier partnered with Jeppesen, a part of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, based in Englewood, Colo. Frontier pilots will utilize the Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro application for use throughout all phases of flight.

Waddick assumes the title of President of Cirrus Aircraft

Duluth, MN - Cirrus Aircraft Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dale Klapmeier today announced that EVP and Chief Operating Officer Pat Waddick has been named President of the company. Waddick assumes the title of President and COO while Klapmeier remains CEO.

Klapmeier noted the natural timing of the announcement and great optimism about the future of Cirrus with Waddick as President. "Now is the perfect time for me to hand over day-to-day responsibility of the business to Pat. There is no more qualified, capable or proven leader to take the enterprise to the next level. Pat has been with us since the beginning and has been an instrumental part of the leadership team at every stage from airplane development to these most recent operational improvements. He has the depth and breadth of vision to lead Cirrus to greater success ahead. With Pat running the daily operation, now I can spend more time with our customers, dedicate more energy to developing exciting new products and play an even larger role in making access to flight a reality for more people around the world. I couldn't be more excited for Cirrus, Pat and our customers, partners and employees."

As President and Chief Operating Officer of Cirrus, Waddick will have responsibility for daily company operations, including sales and service, manufacturing and supply chain, product development and administration.

“This new role is quite an honor considering Cirrus’ strong leadership position in general aviation,” Waddick said. “We are proud that the Cirrus family has grown to include an amazing team of dedicated people, over 5,300 uniquely enthusiastic customers, and an exceptional partner network.  Working closely with Dale and his compelling global vision and strategy - and with exceptional investment support - we are well positioned to fly even higher.”

After joining Cirrus in 1988, Waddick became chief engineer of the company’s original aircraft, the VK30, and subsequently headed up development of the ST50 turboprop aircraft as Director of Engineering. Waddick was named Vice President of Engineering in 1997 and led the SR20 and SR22 program teams through the design, certification and production launch phases.  As Senior Vice President of Engineering, he shepherded multiple generations of innovation on the SR-line and is facilitating the advanced design and production startup of the Vision SF50 Jet program. Waddick is an active private, instrument-rated pilot with more than 25 years of flying experience. 

NTSB Issues Five Safety Alerts To Improve General Aviation Safety

Washington, DC – Today the National Transportation Safety Board issued five Safety Alerts that focus on the most frequent types of general aviation accidents.

“Because we investigate each of the 1,500 GA accidents that occur in the United States every year, we see the same types of accidents over and over again,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. “What’s especially tragic is that so many of these accidents are entirely preventable.”

Each year, about 475 pilots and passengers are killed and hundreds more are seriously injured in GA accidents in the United States, which is why GA Safety is on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List.

A Safety Alert is a brief information sheet that pinpoints a particular safety hazard and offers practical remedies to address the issue. Three of the Safety Alerts focus on topics related to some of the most common defining events for fatal GA accidents. These include low-altitude stalls, spatial disorientation and controlled flight into terrain, and mechanical problems. The other two Safety Alerts address risk mitigation.

The five Safety Alerts issued today are:

• Is Your Aircraft Talking to You? Listen!
  
• Reduced Visual References Require Vigilance
  
• Avoid Aerodynamic Stalls at Low Altitude
  
• Mechanics: Manage Risks to Ensure Safety
  
• Pilots: Manage Risks to Ensure Safety
  

The NTSB is creating five short videos - one for each Safety Alert - , which will be rolled out this spring. The videos will feature regional air safety investigators sharing their experiences and observations of the many accident investigations they conducted as well as advice on how pilots and mechanics can avoid mistakes that can have such tragic consequences.

“GA is essentially an airline or maintenance operation of one, which puts the responsibility for sound decision making on one person’s shoulders," Hersman said. "We are promoting and distributing the alerts to reach pilots and mechanics who can benefit from these lifesaving messages.”

The presentations investigators made to the Board today are all available on line.

2013 Most Female Pilot Friendly Training Center Worldwide

Vancouver, BC, Canada - On April 3 2013, the Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide will announce the 2013 winner of the “Most Female Pilot Friendly Training Center Worldwide”. The competition is taking place this week during Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week, March 4-10 2013.

Besides having bragging rights to this prestigious title and receiving a trophy, the winner will have its name added to the list of title winners on Wikipedia and the accomplishment will be widely reported in the media.

Participating in the Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week celebration as a training center earns the training center a free listing of the Certified Women Friendly Directory, the reference for thousands of women looking for training.

What does it take to participate in Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week? Simply organizing an event or a promotion directed strictly at girls and women during the week and submitting the information to The Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide.

What is does it take to win the prestigious “Most Female Pilot Friendly Training Center Worldwide” title? Be the agent for the most female discovery flights given during the week in one location.

NTSB To Consider New Safety Alerts For The General Aviation Community

Washington, DC - The National Transportation Safety Board members will meet on Tuesday, March 12 to consider five Safety Alerts aimed at reducing the number of general aviation accidents.

A Safety Alert is a brief information sheet that pinpoints a particular safety issue and offers practical remedies to address the hazard. 

Each year the NTSB investigates about 1500 GA accidents in which about 475 pilots and passengers are killed and hundreds more are seriously injured. The safety issue areas under consideration at the Board meeting will include:

• Reduced-visual-reference accidents, including controlled flight into terrain and uncontrolled descent to the ground due to spatial disorientation
  
• Aerodynamic stalls at low altitude in daylight visual weather conditions
  
• Pilot inattention to indications of mechanical problems
  
• Risk management for aviation maintenance technicians
  
• Risk management for pilots
  

General Aviation Safety has been on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List since 2011

Beechcraft to Protest U.S. Air Force Decision – “1,400 jobs in Kansas and other states are in jeopardy”

Wichita, KS - Beechcraft Corporation today announced that it will formally protest to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) recent award of the Light Air Support contract to its Brazilian competitor. An estimated 1,400 jobs in Kansas and other states are in jeopardy as a result of the Air Force decision.

“Following our debrief with the Air Force earlier this week, we are very perplexed by this decision,” said Bill Boisture, CEO, Beechcraft. “Our belief that we have the best aircraft was confirmed by the Air Force rating our aircraft ‘exceptional’ and the fact that we are the lower cost solution was confirmed by the USAF’s public award announcement.”

Last year, an Air Force investigation found evidence of bias toward Brazil-based Embraer and its Nevada-based partner, which led to the decision to restart the competition. Although SNC later sued the Air Force attempting to enforce the biased decision, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Christine O.C. Miller wrote in her Nov. 1, 2012, opinion that based on the investigation’s evidence of bias “the Air Force’s decision to cancel the contract award to SNC and re-solicit proposals was reasonable and rational and should stand.”

“We simply don’t understand how the Air Force can justify spending over 40 percent more – over $125 million more – for what we consider to be less capable aircraft,” Boisture said. “Given our experience of last year and our continued strong concern that there are again significant errors in the process and evaluation in this competition, we are left with no recourse other than to file a protest with the GAO. The Air Force needs to make the right decision for the nation and our future allies.”