Office of Inspector General Report on FAA Oversight of Allegiant Air

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Last month the Office of the Inspector General’s Office released a report delving into incidents at the air carrier Allegiant Air—including a series of in-flight engine shutdowns, aborted takeoffs and unscheduled landings which raised concerns about its maintenance practices. The report is called, “FAA Needs To Improve Its Oversight To Address Maintenance Issues Impacting Safety at Allegiant Air” and the its objective was to assess FAA’s processes for investigating improper maintenance practices at Allegiant Air. Specifically, the report looked at FAA’s oversight of longstanding maintenance issues impacting safety at Allegiant Air and the process for ensuring Allegiant Air implemented effective corrective actions to address the root causes of maintenance problems. Aviation Maintenance Magazine spoke with safety expert Jeff Guzzetti, who has worked at NTSB, FAA and the Office of the Inspector General’s office to get his take on the report and what it means for FAA and Allegiant. Continue reading →

This entry was posted on January 16, 2020

Wings of Hope: Changing Lives Through the Power of Aviation

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Wings of Hope is a global humanitarian charity that has been helping the world’s poor since 1962. As our name suggests, we use our wings to deliver resources to the poor. Their state their mission is to “change and save lives through the power of aviation.” Although I had heard of them, I was not clear how and where they operate and how very different they are from other charities that may provide one trip for a family in need using a flight department’s aircraft. Wings of Hope owns and operates their own aircraft. I sat down with Bret Heinrich, president and CEO of Wings of Hope, to learn more about them and to find out about how volunteering with them works. Additionally, they are about to hold their annual fundraising gala in St. Louis, Missouri at the Chase Park Plaza February 9. This event raises funds dedicated to their domestic field base, the St. Louis based Medical Relief & Air Transport (MAT) Program. The organization also accepts aircraft donations for resale. You can see the aircraft here https://aircraft.wingsofhope.ngo/aircraft-for-sale/ and currently they have a beautiful looking Aviat Husky A-1B for sale. Continue reading →

This entry was posted on January 30, 2019

PROTO Tools: Safety Obsessed, Aerospace Compliant and Made in America

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PROTO Industrial Tools, a Stanley Black & Decker brand, has been providing Aerospace Compliant tools for the aviation industry since World War II. Their tools are proudly made in the United States at their Dallas, Texas facility. PROTO says being Aerospace Compliant (AS) takes their tools’ safety and performance to the next level with regards… Continue reading →

This entry was posted on December 11, 2018

Maintenance Control Podcast Ep. 2: Cybersecurity – What Flight Departments Need to do Now

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Corporate aircraft may be more at risk for cyber security breaches than many are aware. Satcom Direct likes to say about cyber security, “Altitude doesn’t make you safe.” And if you have the thought, “what does this have to do with the maintenance department,” listen to Rob Hill, business development director, Global Data Solutions at Satcom Direct explain how the cyber security of the flight department may be overlooked internally but when something goes wrong, where will the company look for a scapegoat? Hill talked to Aviation Maintenance Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Joy Finnegan at the NBAA Maintenance Conference about actions corporate flight departments can take right now to make their executives safer from cyber-threats, hacking and security breaches. Continue reading →

This entry was posted on August 1, 2018