Aviation and Airport Development Law : Aviation Lawyer & Attorney : Chevalier Allen & Lichman Law Firm : Airport Development, Environmental Law

AAAE Urges Airport Provisions in FAA Bill. --- Aviation News Today, February 26, 2010
The American Association of Airport Executives is calling on Senate leaders to endorse a number of airport-related provisions in the upcoming Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. The provisions would enhance aviation safety, increase capacity, improve small community air service, and save or create much-needed jobs.
Click here to read more

Runway Improvements Planned for PalomarAirport. --- SanDiego6.com, February 24, 2010
McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California will close alternating weeks starting April 25, when work will begin to replace the 5,000-foot-long runway. Testing found that the supporting soils under the existing runway and the pavement surface are deteriorating. The $7.9 million cost of the project will be covered by Federal Aviation Administration funds.
Click here to read more

Airport Leaders Describe Plan to Allow For More Private Jets. --- Stephen Baxter, Community Neighborhoods, February 24, 2010
Airport officials at Mineta San Jose International Airport in California plan to ask the San Jose City Council to change the airport’s master plan and allow for the transformation of more space for private jets. Residents who live near the flight path express concern about noise, but private planes are often quieter than commercial jets, and certain loud activities could be restricted to specific operating hours.
Click here to read more

Somerset Windmills Would Not be Aviation Hazard, Feds Say. --- Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 25, 2010
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a “determination of no hazard” January 21, 2010 for the proposed Gamesa Energy USA wind energy project that would put 30 windmills atop an ecologically sensitive ridge on Shaffer Mountain in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Studies found the structures would not exceed obstruction standards or adversely impact air space and flight routes above the ridge. Local groups oppose the project because its proposed location places it in the watershed of two of the state’s highest quality native trout streams and on a major bat and bird migratory route.
Click here to read more

More articles on this topic:

FAA Approves Wind Farm. --- Kathy Mellott, The Tribune-Democrat, February 25, 2010
Two months after voicing concerns that the proposed Shaffer Mountain Wind Farm would potentially create problems for local airports, the Federal Aviation Administration is giving its OK to the project. The only conditions set forth by the agency are that the proposed turbines must be marked and lit in accordance with FAA requirements, including white paint and synchronized red lights. The project has been delayed at the state level as the Gamesa, the energy company behind the plans, is seeking approval from the Department of Environmental Protection for a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit. Ray Jennings, manager of nearby single-runway Bedford County Airport, is also frustrated because he says the location of some of the turbines could force aircraft taking off from the airport to fly 400 to 500 feet higher than at present.
Click here to read more

U.S. Airline Pilots Skipping Sleep Targeted in FAA Data Search. --- John Hughes, Bloomberg, February 25, 2010
After last year’s plane crash near Buffalo, New York raised fatigue concerns, the Federal Aviation Administration will ask carriers to examine voluntary safety reports by flight crews to see how often pilots skip sleep the night before a flight. The agency has already asked the industry to restrict pilot commutes, because the risk of fatigue may be boosted by major carriers’ increasing use of regional jets with low-paid pilots who can’t afford motel rooms.
Click here to read more

AOPA: Why the User Fees Battle Isn’t Over. --- Glenn Pew, AVweb, February 25, 2010
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association says the user fees battle isn’t over, because the country’s fiscal woes and the Federal Aviation Administration’s shrinking general fund could lead legislators to seek alternate forms of funding, like user fees. The FAA reauthorization bill has not made it past the Senate, either, and user fees could be incorporated into that bill or through other legislative means.
Click here to read more

Airport to Seek Appropriation for Terminal. --- David Still, The Barnstable Patriot, February 26, 2010
Barnstable Airport in Massachusetts hopes to see its over-$21 million appropriation order for a new terminal on the docket for its March 4 meeting with the Barnstable Town Council. Airport Manager Bud Breault says the airport can show completion or progress on each of the 19 conditions placed by the town council in September 2007 that had to be satisfied before any funding request would be recommended. The Barnstable Municipal Airport Commission is planning to cover the cost through expected state funds, airport reserve money, a town-backed general obligation bond, and stimulus funds, and even has surplus land that it could sell if necessary.
Click here to read more

Expiration of Funds Leads to Rush on Runway. --- Christine Cullen, OceanCity Today, February 26, 2010
Ocean City in Maryland is rushing to reconfigure a runway at Ocean City Municipal Airport, to prevent losing $2.8 million from an account dedicated to airport improvements. The city will have to remit that money to the federal treasury if it is not used by December 2011.
Click here to read more

Court Rules Against Long-Term Protection of Aircraft Tail Numbers. --- Mike Mitchell, AvStop.com, February 28, 2010
A United States District Court judge has ruled that a list of private aircraft, whose aircraft tail numbers are blocked from the public view, must be released under the Freedom of Information Act. The National Business Aviation Association sued the Federal Aviation Administration to prevent it from releasing a blocked list to ProPublica, Inc., an independent, nonprofit organization that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. Anyone can go to the FAA website and look up an aircraft registration, but there are a select few who wish to keep their aircraft tail numbers anonymous, like corporations.
Click here to read more

More articles on this topic:

Court Upholds Release of Corporate Jets List Sought by ProPublica. --- Michael Grabell, Herald de Paris, February 27, 2010
ProPublica will be able to obtain a list of which companies have been seeking to block their planes after a federal district judge ruled that the list should be made available under the Freedom of Information Act. Companies sometimes request that their flights and tail numbers be kept secret to protect the security of their executives and to prevent disclosure of business trips that could affect stock prices or give competitors an edge about potential deals. ProPublica has been seeking the list ever since the CEOs of the “Big 3" automakers flew to Washington, D.C. on corporate jets to ask Congress for financial help.
Click here to read more

Aviation Industry Jobs Entail More than Just Airlines. --- Nathan Phelps, The Northwestern, February 28, 2010
One of the biggest misconceptions about the aviation industry is that everyone must work for an airline. The industry extends well beyond the cockpit and hands-on jobs with aircraft to a number of other specialties like human resources, accounting, information systems, and marketing. The aviation industry is a business, and a compelling one at that, accounting for more than $1.2 trillion in economic activity in the U.S. in 2008, as well as being a much “bigger world” than just becoming a pilot or just working for an airline.
Click here to read more

Dassault Falcon Jet Joins EPA Partnership, Pledges Mercury and Lead Reduction. --- Environmental Protection Agency, March 1, 2010
Dassault Falcon Jet has partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency National Partnership for Environmental Priorities to set goals to eliminate mercury containing devices throughout its Completion and Service operations. The company is also in the process of identifying a viable replacement for lead plate utilized as ballast during initial “ferry” flight operations of Falcon business jets between France and the U.S. The NPEP is a voluntary program with 266 members from private and public organizations committed to the reduction, reuse, or recycling of 31 priority chemicals, long-lasting substances that can build up in the food chain and cause harm to humans and the environment.
Click here to read more

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Sends Pasternack v. NTSB and FAA Back to Agency. --- Leagle, February 26, 2010
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Fred Pasternack’s petition and remanded it to the National Transportation Safety Board for further proceedings. The Federal Aviation Administration revoked Mr. Pasternack’s airman certificates because he refused to take a mandatory drug test, and the NTSB upheld the revocation order, but the Court vacated the Board’s decision on the ground that a key finding on which the Board relied was not supported by substantial evidence.
Click here to read more

Taxes and Fees Grow for Air Travelers. --- Susan Stellin, The New York Times, March 1, 2010
Governments are increasingly turning to travelers to raise revenue in lean times, and there is little oversight over how the money is spent. Taxes and fees are small individually but can add up to a significant share of the price of a ticket. Carriers have been lobbying against proposals to increase these fees, but international travelers will likely feel the pinch most as governments around the world have increased passenger fees to pay for security, airport improvements, customs inspections, tourism promotions, and environmental concerns.
Click here to read more

TradeWind Energy Approved to Install 100-Meter Met Tower in Indiana. --- North American Windpower, March 2, 2010
Kentucky-based TradeWind Energy has received approval from local authorities to build a 100-meter meteorological tower in Pleasant Township, Indiana. The tower would be the fourth such tower erected by the project developer at project sites under development in the Midwest. Because of its height, however, it will require a Federal Aviation Administration permit.
Click here to read more

Hartsfield Airspace Plan Adjusted, More Changes Possible. --- April Hunt, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 2, 2010
The Federal Aviation Administration adjusted its proposal for how planes come in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, by changing the airspace above nearby Covington Municipal Airport. The proposed change removes the airspace above the Covington Airport from its Class B proposal, meaning an aircraft flying in and out of that airport would not be required to contact air traffic control. The change comes after concerns that pilots would abandon Covington because of the new restrictions, but the region’s smaller airports will be impacted with their planes being forced to fly lower and for longer.
Click here to read more

Wind Farm Proposed for PoorMountain in RoanokeCounty. --- WDBJ7.com, March 2, 2010
Invenergy, a private company, announced that it wants to build an electricity-generating wind farm on Poor Mountain in Roanoke County, Virginia. The project would set 15 turbines on about 2,000 acres of land and produce enough electricity to power approximately 8,000 households. The company says it will begin the permitting process soon by filing a hazard evaluation report with the Federal Aviation Administration, and the project will also have to be cleared by the State Corporation Commission and Roanoke County.
Click here to read more

Senator Grassley Announces FAA Grant for Sioux Gateway. --- Lynn Zerschling, Sioux City Journal, March 2, 2010
Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa announced that Sioux Gateway Airport will receive nearly $395,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration to help pay to install guidance signs, which will improve safety and efficiency of the airport. Sioux Gateway is one of six Iowa airports to be awarded $2.32 million in federal funds.
Click here to read more

South Bend, LaPorte Airports Among Federal Grant Recipients. --- South Bend Tribune, March 2, 2010
Seven Indiana airports, including South Bend Regional Airport, LaPorte Municipal Airport, and Starke County Airport, will receive Federal Aviation Administration grants totaling over $5 million.
Click here to read more

FAA Plans to Move Radar From WillardAirport in 2014. --- Michael Maione, Daily Illini, March 3, 2010
The Federal Aviation Administration plans to move the radar control rooms in the air traffic control tower at Willard Airport in Champaign, Illinois to its facilities in Elgin, Illinois, by 2014. The FAA cited the need for an updated tower as the impetus as the change, and said that putting the radar in one centralized location can save taxpayer money. The air traffic controllers union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and even pilots have presented objections or concerns about the plan.
Click here to read more

Kid Directs Traffic at NY’s JFK Airport. --- CBS News, March 3, 2010
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating how a child was allowed to direct air traffic at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The first incident being investigated occurred February 16, when a boy was allowed to make at least five transmissions to commercial jets. The same air traffic controller also brought a different child, presumably his own, into the tower the following night.
Click here to read more

AA Flight Attendant Talks Continue Around the Clock. --- Scott Friedman, NBC DallasFort Worth, March 3, 2010
The union that represents American Airlines flight attendants continued around-the-clock meetings with airline management and federal mediators in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, the last day of scheduled negotiations. If an agreement is not reached this week, the union has said it may ask to be released from federal mediation, a move that would trigger a 30-day cooling-off period and could lead to a strike.
Click here to read more

More articles on this topic:

AA, Flight Attendants End Talks With No Deal, Talk of Strike. --- Scott Gordon and Scott Friedman, NBC DallasFort Worth, March 4, 2010
Leaders of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants accused American Airlines of “walking out” of the contract negotiations talks in Washington on Wednesday and said they would discuss setting a strike vote this weekend. Airline managers countered that they did not walk out of the talks and concluded them at the end of business on Wednesday as scheduled, and said the airline looks forward to continuing to bargain when the federal mediators establish the next round of dates. The union announced that it would seek to be released from mediation.
Click here to read more

FAA Tells Dartmouth to Lower Height of South Turbine by 5 Feet. --- Curt Brown, SouthCoast Today, March 5, 2010
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the town of Dartmouth, Massachusetts to lower the height of its 462-foot south turbine by 5 feet, saying its proposed height presents a hazard to aviation at New Bedford Regional Airport. The agency said the maximum allowable height for the south turbine is 457 feet, and in an earlier decision found the town’s planned north turbine was also a hazard to aviation and set its tallest allowable height at 417 feet. The chairman of the town’s Alternative Energy Committee said the town’s engineers will conduct ground surveys and file new applications with the FAA for both the north and south turbines.
Click here to read more

FAA May Consolidate Northern Ohio Air Traffic Controllers for Efficiency’s Sake. --- Associated Press, February 5, 2010
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing to consolidate air traffic control operations for Akron, Mansfield, Toledo, and Youngstown airports at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Ohio. The agency said no decision has been made and the upgraded Cleveland facility will not be ready before 2015, but that the proposal is considered an efficiency move. The controllers union opposes the move, asserting that emergency flights would be denied contact with controllers who know the local terrain.
Click here to read more

Airport Meeting Yields Ideas, No Decisions. --- Brad Dicken, The Chronicle-Telegram, February 5, 2010
Lorain County, Ohio officials had a private meeting with pilots, condominium owners, and others with a vested interest in Lorain County Regional Airport, but no decision was reached on whether the airport will not be closed. County commissioners intended to close the airport January 15 but faced opposition from airport users and the Federal Aviation Administration, which warned the county it could face a federal lawsuit to keep the airport open. The county is examining ways to increase traffic and thereby revenue at the airport, and how to get federal stimulus money to improve the airport.
Click here to read more

Airport Asks for FAA Help to Keep Wanderers Off of Taxiway. --- Andrew Travers, Aspen Daily News, February 8, 2010
Airport officials for Sardy Field in Colorado have requested the Federal Aviation Administration visit the airport and observe the number of people walking into an area where planes taxi to and from the runway in the section reserved for private jets. The phenomenon is potentially dangerous and the airport is hoping the FAA can assist in brainstorming a way to stop it. Airport director Jim Elwood pointed out that none of these incidents have interfered with flight traffic or put anyone in danger, but said the airport just wants to ensure it is operating at “the highest standard of safety.”
Click here to read more

Agencies to Fault American on Maintenance. --- Andy Pasztor, The Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2010
The Department of Transportation’s inspector general will soon release a report outlining apparent failures by AMR Corp. to identify and promptly resolve aircraft maintenance problems in 2008. American Airlines will be under sharp criticism from the DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration, which both accuse it of serious maintenance lapses.
Click here to read more

Southwest Airlines Facing FAA Safety Investigation. --- Dave Michaels, The Dallas Morning News, February 9, 2010
In the third such investigation in two years the Federal Aviation Administration is examining violations of safety directives by Southwest Airlines. FAA inspectors believe Southwest and a Seattle-area repair station failed to follow federally approved procedures when they carried out repair work on sections of the fuselage. The FAA could levy a fine in the tens of millions of dollars because 44 planes flew more than 100,000 flights while out of compliance. The agency has also become stricter in regards to federal airworthiness regulations after a 2008 congressional investigation found some FAA officials in North Texas became too “cozy” with carriers like Southwest.
Click here to read more
            
More articles on this topic:

American Airlines, Southwest, FAA Under Fire. --- Gary Stoller, USA Today, February 10, 2010
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating both American Airlines and Southwest Airlines over aircraft maintenance problems. The investigations may result in the biggest fines in aviation history and could approach the $10.2 million fine the agency proposed against Southwest two years ago. The FAA itself is under scrutiny as the Transportation Department’s inspector general will soon release an audit criticizing the FAA for its lax maintenance oversight of American.
Click here to read more

Report: American Airlines May Face Eight-Figure Fine. --- Triangle Business Journal, February 10, 2010
Though sources told the Associated Press that the Federal Aviation Administration could hit American Airlines with a fine similar to the $10.2 million penalty assessed against Southwest Airlines in 2008, an FAA spokesman said the investigation was not finished and that it was too early to speculate on the amount. The investigation was launched in 2008 after safety concerns were raised about nearly 300 of the carrier’s MD-80 aircraft: improper bundling of wires in the wheel well posed a fire hazard. The problem has been fixed but the probe uncovered other possible irregularities and violations in American’s maintenance operations.
Click here to read more

DOT Temporarily Grants Delta/US Airways Slot Waiver. --- Department of Transportation, February 9, 2010
The Department of Transportation has tentatively decided to grant the waiver requested by Delta Airlines and US Airways to proceed with their proposed slot swap transaction at Reagan Washington National Airport and New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The airlines are required to sell some of their slot interests to carriers with no or limited service at the two airports, to lessen the harm to consumers that might otherwise result from the two airlines’ increased dominance there.
Click here to read more

More articles on this topic:

Delta, US Airways May Call Off Slot Swap. --- Andrew Compart, Aviation Week, February 11, 2010
Delta and US Airways said they will cancel their slot swap deal at Washington National and New York LaGuardia airports if the Federal Aviation Administration does not change the conditions it wants to attach to approval of the transaction. The carriers believe that the requirement to sell some of their slot interests to carriers with no service or limited service at the two airports would negatively impact consumers and the economic benefits created by the swap. The FAA’s decision is not final and interested parties have 30 days to comment on the tentative decision before it is made final or finalized with changes.
Click here to read more

FCC Joins Search for Solution to Airport’s ILS Woes. --- Walt Nett, Avalanche-Journal, February 10, 2010
The Federal Communications Commission has joined the Federal Aviation Administration in searching for the causes of interference that have plagued the instrument landing system at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport in Texas for more than a week. An FAA check airplane flew several approaches and gave the system a clean bill of health on Tuesday, February 9, but pilots later began reporting sporadic interference with the signal.
Click here to read more

Time for the City to Privatize Midway Airport. --- Jerry Roper, Chicago Tribune, February 10, 2010
Mayor Richard Daley should affirm his commitment to privatization of Midway Airport in Chicago, Illinois, an initiative that could provide money for infrastructure improvements and shore up public pensions. Midway has become a phenomenal success story under the mayor’s leadership, but it must be privatized for the city to tap into its value. Economic conditions are significantly better than they were two years ago when a similar plan to privatize the airport fell through, and the mayor will hopefully relaunch the long-term lease of Midway soon.
Click here to read more

Modifications Could Affect Local Airport., --- Crystal Tatum, Newton Citizen, February 10, 2010
A Federal Aviation Administration proposal to expand airspace for Class B commercial aircraft at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia could affect aviators at nearby Covington Municipal Airport and city and county residents. The proposed changes come in response to air traffic controllers’ having difficulty spotting aircraft in the current airspace. The modifications would mean more noise and more traffic congestion as all the larger aviation will be flying closer to the ground and pushing general aviation below them.
Click here to read more

Smaller Jets Gain Bigger Role at O’Hare. --- Chicago Tribune, February 11, 2010
Smaller jets are taking on a larger role at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, with United and American Airlines, the airport’s two major tenants, scheduling two regional jet flights for every one flown on larger jets. The airlines are making the changes because the regional jets are cheaper to fly and they are increasingly deployed for travel to big cities such as Boston, New York, and Miami, but passengers are not thrilled as the regional jets are less comfortable. Aviation consultants say airlines’ increased reliance on regional jets is a trend that is not likely to abate in the future.
Click here to read more

FAA Safety Reforms Finally Going to Senate. --- Jerry Zremski, The Buffalo News, February 11, 2010
A week of the U.S. Senate floor time will be scheduled in March for the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, including its safety provisions. Several of the provisions address concerns that the National Transportation Safety Board listed last week as part of its investigation into the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York, last year. The bill would raise pilot-training standards and set requirements for the airlines’ remedial training programs, as well as mandate other increased safety initiatives. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finally made the commitment to move the FAA bill up by six months because the Senate has passed its version of health care reform, which had kept it occupied for months, and because the latest in a series of short-term extensions of the FAA bill is set to expire March 31.
Click here to read more

Airport to Conduct Study on Wildlife Hazards for Planes. --- Eve Byron, Independent Record, February 12, 2010
Helena Regional Airport in Montana is undertaking a wildlife hazard assessment over concerns about the potential of a devastating collision between birds and airplanes. The one-year study, paid for with $125,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration, will look at birds, deer, elk, and other wildlife that could cause problems at the 13,050-acre airport. A qualified airport wildlife biologist will be hired to complete the study and that person will also look at wildlife habitats in and around the airport, and may be able to make suggestions, like changing flight patterns if birds are a problem.
Click here to read more