AirGuideOnline Web	Subscribe | RSS | Advertise E-Mail This Page
Home Airlines Airports Destinations Fidelity Programs Travel Travel Tech Travel Tips Aircraft Air Safety Air Security Features Reviews NEWS News Center RSS News Center Business News World News Events FLIGHTS Flight Schedules Flight Status Travel Deals Travel Links Reservations Contact Us Site Map PUBLICATIONS Online Magazines Newsletters Business & Prof Books & eBooks ORDERS Subscriptions Order Center SERVICES Advertising Marketing Content Info Services Research Surveys CORPORATE About Us Press Center Contact Us	Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded a contract to Sensis Corp. of Syracuse, N.Y., to install runway status lights at 22 major U.S. airports. Runway status lights are designed to improve runway safety at busy airports by warning pilots when it is unsafe to cross or enter a runway. The initial award is a three-year contract valued at $131 million to install the lights. There are two one-year options to install the lights at additional airports, for a total contract value of $215 million. Sensis Corp. is responsible for developing the software, testing and installing the lights. When runway status light prototypes at Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego International airports proved effective in helping avoid potential runway conflicts, the FAA decided to install the lights at the same airports where the Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model X (ASDE-X) systems are being installed, said Sturgell. The runway status lights will use the ASDE-X surveillance data to operate. As part of the initial contract, runway status lights will be deployed at Atlanta; Baltimore Washington International; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago O'Hare; Dallas-Fort Worth; Denver; Detroit; Washington Dulles; Fort Lauderdale; Houston Intercontinental; New York John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Newark, N.J.; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; San Diego; and Seattle airports. Installing runway status lights is just one of the FAA's initiatives to improve safety at U.S. airports. The FAA also recently reached agreements with four U.S. airlines to fund in-cockpit runway safety systems in exchange for critical operational data. The data will help the FAA evaluate the safety impact of the technology and is expected to accelerate key safety capabilities necessary for the transition to the Next Generation Air Transportation System. The FAA earlier announced it will provide $600,000 each to Skywest, Piedmont, U.S. Airways and Southwest Airlines to invest in surface moving maps that show the pilot where the aircraft is on the runway for flights to or from 21 test bed airports. The safety technology provides greater situational awareness for pilots to help them avoid unsafe operations on the airport surface. For more information, visit http://www.faa.gov. Oct 17, 2008 FAA is investigating charges that air traffic controllers rerouted four flights into an area of thunderstorms on Saturday as part of training for a new hire. "There was no compromise of safety by the rerouting," said an FAA spokesperson, who noted that trainees "must receive on-the-job training under the supervision of another fully certified controller and a supervisor before they can check out." A spokesman for the controllers union said the affected flights were operated by Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Southwest Airlines in the vicinity of Savannah, Ga. The New York Times/The Associated Press (10/14) Oct 15, 2008 Airbus, Bombardier Four incidents within the last two years of operators experiencing separation of engine fan cowls have prompted the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to issue four safety recommendations to FAA to ensure those components are properly latched before flight. Three of the four incidents occurred this year, and the fourth happened in 2007. A recurring theme of NTSB's conclusions in the majority of the incidents is improperly fastened cowl latches following engine maintenance. NTSB is zeroing in on operators of Airbus narrowbodies and Bombardier regional jets. Research conducted by the board shows since 1992 15 engine cowl events involving Airbus aircraft and 33 domestic and foreign instances of engine cowl separation on Bombardier aircraft. Oct 13, 2008 Chicago O'Hare More airports this year are offering flu shots to fliers following a successful test at Chicago O'Hare that saw 5,000 travelers get vaccinated last year. About two dozen airports plan to offer shots this year at kiosks set up near restaurants and other services popular with passengers. Oct 16, 2008 Pratt & Whitney, Boeing National Transportation Safety Board is urging "immediate action" to inspect the Pratt & Whitney jet engines in use in 725 Boeing 757 aircraft. In a letter to the FAA, the NTSB said damaged or missing lugs have been found in six PW2037 engines, raising concerns that broken pieces could puncture fuel tanks and cause a fire. "These discoveries raise serious concerns and warrant immediate action by the FAA," the letter said. An FAA spokeswoman said the agency was working with Pratt & Whitney to decide whether the problem was restricted to engines manufactured during a specific period. "We're looking for a little bit more of a surgical approach," she said. "This is not something where you just park the plane and look at the engine." Oct 17, 2008 An urgent recommendation has been sent to FAA by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to require operators to cut inspection intervals for Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engines to prevent uncontained failures. The request is tied to an ongoing investigation of a 6 August incident at Las Vegas McCarran International airport where a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 experienced an uncontained engine failure during its takeoff run. Pilots of Flight 624 reported hearing a loud bang at the start of the takeoff, followed by indications that the right engine had lost power. The aircraft returned to the gate. None of the 166 passengers or four crew were injured and there was no fire. Examination of the engine revealed the right engine's high pressure turbine second stage hub had failed, throwing metal fragments, including lugs, through the high pressure turbine casing and the bottom of the core cowl. Investigators later learned that at least four other PW2037 second stage turbine hubs had experienced cracks in the blade retaining lugs, and that during a routine overhaul, American Airlines uncovered a PW2037 second stage turbine hub with cracks in two adjacent blade retaining lugs. A second recommendation the NTSB issued today asks for continuing inspections of the hubs until the cause of previous cracking incidents is found and a corrective action is identified. "These discoveries raise serious concerns and warrant immediate action by the FAA," says NTSB Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker. "A string of consecutively fractured blade retaining lugs could result in the simultaneous release of multiple blades, which would exceed the design capacity of the engine's cases and result in an uncontainment." Oct 16, 2008 ZZ AirGuide 081020	What's New? News Aircraft News Airline News - Africa / Middle East - Asia - Europe - Latin America / Carib - North America Low Cost Airline News - Africa / Middle East - Asia - Europe - Latin America / Carib - North America Airport News - Africa / Middle East - Asia - Europe - Latin America / Carib - North America Destination News Car Rental News Hotel News Fidelity Program News Travel News Travel Health News Travel Tech News Travel Safety News Travel Security News Fear of Flying Top 10 Tips Top 10 Questions Air Rage Travel Complaints News Center
	AIRguide 0801 / ISSN 1544-3760 Copyright © 1996-2008 Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
	Online | Magazines | Newsletters | Business & Prof | Books & eBooks Advertising | Marketing | Content | Info Services | Links Subscriptions | Order Center | Contact Us | Home Copyright © 1996-2008 Pyramid Media Group Liability | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service