Lightspeed's Sierra Headset Adds Full Bluetooth Capability

Lightspeed Aviation's entry-level headset now comes with full Bluetooth audio capability, the company announced Thursday. The upgrade to the Sierra headset now makes all three Lightspeed headsets capable of connecting to cellphones, music, and audio alerts. Each headset can connect to an iPad or iPhone with Lightspeed's FlightLink app.

"Sierra already enabled pilots to use a cellphone via Bluetooth. By adding the music functionality, we are also responding to the growing number of pilots that are accessing audio alerts from popular navigation apps," said Teresa De Mers, executive vice president of sales, marketing, and customer support at Lightspeed.

 The Sierra, which retails for $650, is marketed as a value-priced active noise-cancelling headset compared to the Zulu.2 and Zulu PFX, which retail for $900 and $1175, respectively.

HondaJet Nears Final Type Certification

The HondaJet has received provisional type certification from the FAA, Honda Aircraft announced Friday. Honda has four HA-420 jets in its test fleet with more than 2500 hours to date and is planning for final type certification in the next few months. The twin-engine business jet, the company’s first commercial aircraft design, is being manufactured at Honda Aircraft’s headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina and preparations for customer deliveries are under way. There are now a dozen jets in the final assembly line with another five under production, Honda said. The first production jet flew in June 2014. The aircraft features an over-the-wing mount design with two GE Honda HF120 turbofan engines and can seat up to six passengers.
“Provisional type certification for the HondaJet is a tremendous milestone for the program, and we are pleased to reach this significant step toward customer deliveries and entry into service,” said Honda Aircraft Company President and CEO Michimasa Fujino. “Honda Aircraft has completed nearly all of the testing and reports required by the FAA, and we are very close to achieving final type certification.” Melvin Taylor, manager of the FAA’s Atlanta Aircraft Certification Office, said, “It is a pleasure for the Atlanta ACO to issue Honda Aircraft Company a provisional type certificate for the Model HA-420,” said “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Honda as we move to final completion of their HA-420 approval.”

Airliners To Require Two Crew Members In Cockpits

Airlines around the world said Thursday they’ll start requiring two crew members in the cockpit at all times. The change comes after details emerged that the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 deliberately locked the captain outside the cockpit and crashed the jet into the French Alps on Tuesday, killing all aboard. Norwegian Air Shuttle announced it has been considering the change and now is “speeding up the process.”

The low-cost European carrier said the new rule will take effect upon approval from Norway’s aviation authority. The Associated Press reported that other carriers, including Britain's EasyJet and Air Canada, also will adopt the procedure. The policy has been in place among U.S. airlines following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, requiring that a flight attendant sit in the cockpit if one pilot leaves. Some European airlines, such as Finland’s Finnair, already have a similar policy, the AP reported.

The Airbus crashed about 47 minutes into the mid-morning flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, killing all 144 passengers and six crew members. The search continues for the flight data recorder, but the cockpit voice recorder revealed that the German co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately began a descent from 38,000 feet while the captain was away from the cockpit. 

The captain could be heard on the recording banging on the door with no response from Lubitz, then the sounds of screaming in the final moments before the Airbus 320 slammed into a mountain, CNN reported Thursday. The A320 cockpit door can be opened from the outside with a code, but it’s not certain whether Lubitz activated a lock from inside the cockpit that would have prevented the captain from opening it, according to the CNN report.

Air Canada Landing Accident (Updated)

Authorities at Halifax's Stanfield International Airport reported early Sunday morning that about 20 people were injured when an Air Canada Airbus A320 landed hard and skidded off a snowy runway just after midnight. The injuries weren't believed to be life threatening. The flight had departed from Toronto with 133 passengers and five crew aboard, authorities said early Sunday morning.

Peter Spurway, a spokesman for the airport, reported that the aircraft "took a very hard landing and skidded off the runway," CBC News reported. At the time of the accident, heavy snow was reported, but the condition of the runway isn't known. The flight may have struck powerlines on the approach as power was briefly cut to the airport and terminal, but was restored during the rescue effort.

"Right now, we have some minor injuries. Nothing that is deemed to be life-threatening," Spurway told CBC. For the time being, authorities aren't considering the accident a crash because airplane was believed to be under control until it contacted the runway. There's no indication yet of whether the airplane simply skidded off a snowy runway or if the crew touched down too hard or too fast. Avweb will update the story as more information becomes available.






and the incident may have cut power to the airport. Various reports early Sunday suggest the aircraft, on a flight from Toronto "crashed on the runway" but there are apparently no serious injuries. It was reported to be snowing at the time. FlightAware has not shown the aircraft at the gate and Twitter is lighting up with reports of the incident. Several Tweets say there are 138 passengers, no serious injuries but rescue is hampered by powerlines on the runway. Full story in the morning.

Bombardier CEO suggests new CSeries delay possible

Bombardier’s new chief executive appeared to disclose a new delay for first delivery of the CS100 at a press conference in Montreal on 27 March, but a company spokeswoman says there has been no change.
In comments reported by the Bloomberg news service, Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare says that first delivery is scheduled in 2016, while certification is scheduled for the “end” of this year.
That timeline conflicts with repeated previous Bombardier statements, including by Bellemare, that type certification and entry into service remain “on track” for the second half of 2015, a window that begins in July.
By using the term “delivery” in the press conference, Bellemare appeared to refer to a distinct milestone that often occurs quickly after type certification and weeks or months before entry into service. The delivery event is also significant for the manufacturer’s shareholders, as it represents a milestone usually tied to a customer payment.
Bombardier spokeswoman Isabelle Gauthier confirms that Bellemare made the remarks at the press conference, but maintains that the company’s internal schedule has not changed.
That means type certification and entry into service remain internally scheduled for the second half of 2015, she says. The entry into service milestone could be delayed to 2016 based on the customer’s readiness to operate the aircraft, she says, but that has not been confirmed.
Asked to clarify the internal schedule for the first delivery milestone based on Bellemare’s recent comments, Gauthier replied that Bombardier is only discussing the timeline for type certification and entry into service.
The first CS100 aircraft entered flight testing in September 2013. Four more CS100 test vehicles and the first CS300 test vehicle have since joined the certification campaign, accumulating more than 1,100h through the end of February.
The flight testing has continued after being disrupted for 100 days last year due to an engine malfunction that required a minor redesign of an oil system. Shortly after flight testing resumed last September, Bombardier activated the normal mode flight envelope protections in the fly-by-wire system for the first time.Bombardier has confirmed orders for 243 CSeries aircraft, with about three-fourths of the sales claimed by the larger CS300 variant. Lufthansa’s Swiss International Air Lines became the launch customer for the CS100 in 2008, but Bombardier has not identified which airline will become the first operator.

Would two-crew cockpit rule prevent another Germanwings tragedy?

Among the many repercussions of the shocking revelation that Germanwings flight 9525 was deliberately crashed by co-pilot Andreas Lubitz while alone at the controls, the most immediate has been a move to require that there be two crew members in a cockpit at all times.
US regulations have long required this two-crew protocol. After the 24 March tragedy that claimed 150 lives in the French Alps, European low-cost carrier Norwegian moved quickly to change its procedures. "This means that if one of the pilots leaves the cockpit, one crew member must replace him/her during this time," Norwegian says. "Our passengers’ and crew’s safety always comes first, which is why we have decided to change our procedures, in line with US regulations."
Canadian transport authorities quickly followed the Lubitz revelations with an interim rule to ensure that two crew members are at the flight deck at all times, “to ensure the security of Canadian passengers". Early reports indicate that Air Canada and WestJet have implemented the new rule.
EASA followed suit on 27 March, with a temporary recommendation that airlines ensure at least two crew - including at least one qualified pilot - occupy the flight crew compartment at all times. Airlines, says EASA, "should re-assess the safety and security risks associated with a flight crew leaving the cockpit due to operational or physiological needs".
In Europe, national aviation safety authorities have no power to make a binding rule, which would have to come from EASA. As the UK’s CAA observes, though, individual airlines are free to modify their own operating procedures. Norwegian's adoption of a two-crew rule was followed by Germanwings parent, Lufthansa group.
The US requirement to have two crew members up front at all times was just one response to 9/11. After the attacks on New York and the Pentagon, regulations requiring that cockpit doors be sealed – and reinforced against breakage by weapons or battering devices like trolleys or fire extinguishers – were devised to prevent terrorists from taking control.
Those protocols, well-illustrated by this 2002 Airbus video, provide for an override to permit a crew member outside the cockpit to gain access should both pilots be incapacitated. However, the post-9/11 protocols also – understandably – permit the occupants of the cockpit to actively block that override. Alone in the cockpit of Germanwings 9525, Lubitz apparently employed that safeguard to keep the pilot out and ensure the success of his murderous scheme.

Gulfstream G280 earns Brazilian type certificate

Gulfstream G280 earns Brazilian type certificate

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. today announced that the Gulfstream G280 has been certified by Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC). This approval validates the airworthiness of the aircraft’s design and clears the way for in-country deliveries to begin.

“We have delivered more than 50 G280s since the aircraft first went into service in November 2012,” said Larry Flynn, president, Gulfstream. “It has proven to be popular with owners around the world, and we now have aircraft in the U.S., Canada, China, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Mexico and South America.

“Of all the South American countries, this aircraft is particularly well-suited for Brazil. Departing from São Paulo, the G280 can reach the entire continent without refueling and can fly to the U.S. and Europe with one stop.”