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More information at AACA Scholarships
Applications due January 1, 2020 – Apply Now!
We have some great scholarships!

Join AACA
along with our
Aviation Partners as they

​TAKE US AROUND ALASKA!


​Join us March 4-5, 2020 at the AACA Annual Convention & Trade Show
Anchorage International Airport – Concourse A.

Pilots, aviation companies and aviation-oriented organizations come together from all corners of Alaska to network and learn from guest speakers and each other.  
​Share with your employees, vendors and aviation partners!
​
Safety and Continuing Ed Workshops
Industry Awards
Silent and Live Auctions
Guest Speakers

Scholarship Awards for future pilots, mechanics and transportation specialists.

​ Online registration, sponsorship opportunities, and trade show schedule:    www.alaskaaircarriers.org 

 
Omni Air Group’s principals have over 35 years’ combined experience as key managers under Parts 135 and 121. They began their aviation careers flying DC-3s off the beaches of Bristol Bay in 1980. Today, almost 40 years later, they have created the most advanced integrated SMS/QMS available anywhere.
 
These folks have taken SMS to a new level! Purpose-built to meet the needs of 121 air carriers and 135 commercial operators, OmniSMS:

• Meets Part 5 and SMS Voluntary Program standards;
• Aligns with FAA’s SAS Systems and Elements;
• Includes an in-house ASAP that does not require a 3rd-party facilitator;
• Is harmonized with full documentation, web application, training and support;
• Uses ARMS Event Risk Classification for better, less subjective risk assessments;
• Incorporates Boeing’s Maintenance Error Decision aid (MEDA);
• Supports your CASS with Mx system monitoring and measurement;
• Is customizable, scalable, and facilitated with expert SMS / QMS mentoring!

 
Omni’s president, Paul Salerno, is extending an open invitation to all AACA members for free consulting on where to take their safety programs in the wake of Medallion Foundation’s closing.
 
For more information, please call Paul Salerno at +1 (760) 239-7895 or email: paul@omnisms.aero

NTSB Annual Air Carrier Family Assistance Meeting
When: Tuesday, October 15, 2019 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT
Add to Calendar
 
Where: NTSB Board Room & Conference Center
420 10th Street SW
Washington, DC 20594
Driving DirectionsGreetings! 

Please join the Transportation Disaster Assistance (TDA) staff for this year's annual Air Carrier Meeting to be held at the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center in Washington, DC on October 15, 2019.  
Get more information
Register Now!
I can't make it
If you have any questions about the event or how to register, please contact Kim Frierson via email at assistance@ntsb.gov.
 
Thank you for your time and we hope to see you on October 15 in DC.
 
Contact: Kim Frierson
NTSB TDA
assistance@ntsb.gov
202-314-6139

​Recently,  Corvus Airlines d.b.a. RavnAir Alaska, a 121 Certificate holder, experienced an increase of TCAS Resolution Advisories (RAs) flying between Anchorage and Kenai. The primary concern for RavnAir was along the Victor 334-456 airway with northbound traffic before communications with Anchorage Approach are established.

To mitigate the number of TCAS RAs received, RavnAir Alaska worked with ANC Center to create a new waypoint off of the ENA 012 radial at 17nm. This location allows RavnAir Alaska to fly west of the traditional route without interfering with the AMOTT arrivals.

The following Event Schedule include all TCAS RA's reported by RAVN pilots in the area between Anchorage and Kenai.

​University of Alaska and Ravn Air Group Announce Nation’s First Aviation Degree & Airline Pilot Employment Program
                                        
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – The University of Alaska, Anchorage (“UAA”) and Ravn Air Group (“Ravn”), Alaska’s largest regional airline, today announced the launch of the country’s first-ever program that allows students to simultaneously complete their aviation degree (by earning final course credits in the air) at the same time they get jobs and are paid to fly as regional airline pilots.  
 
In this innovative new college degree/paid employee job program, local Alaska-based students who are in UAA’s accredited aviation program, and at the point where they are already certified through their college studies and aviation training to fly passengers, can now put those skills into practical use as full-time Ravn second-in-command pilots while earning their final semester of course credits required for graduation. 
 
The innovative program is an unprecedented partnership between a university and airline and is the first and only program in the nation for providing students with paid airline pilot jobs while they complete their undergraduate education.
 
“We are thrilled to work with the University of Alaska to provide a new pathway that can accelerate careers in Alaska commercial aviation,” said Dave Pflieger, Ravn Air Group President & CEO. “A program like this will not only contribute to great, local jobs for Alaskans, it will provide eligible students with an expedited career path into the rewarding and exciting airline industry. Given the current nationwide and world-wide pilot shortage, it’s a win-win for aspiring commercial pilots and our aviation industry here in Alaska.”
 
Another key objective of the UAA-Ravn internship program is to train applicants in “industry best practice” safety processes and procedures with the goal of making aviation safer in Alaska. With its own top priority of aviation safety, Ravn not only has an FAA-approved Safety Management System (“SMS”), it is Alaska’s first regional airline to be accredited by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), the global standard for airline safety and operations management.
 
“We are extremely excited to partner with Ravn on this ground-breaking new program that benefits our students, our local economy, and our State,” said Denise Runge, Dean of the UAA Community and Technical College. “Having the opportunity to get an education in the classroom coupled with practical industry experience with Alaska’s largest regional airline and one of the largest employers here in the State is invaluable.”
 
Pilots in the new UAA –Ravn paid internship program will be able to move from a classroom and flight school setting to actual commercial pilot flying with the opportunity to fly regularly scheduled flights while being supervised by highly experienced airline pilots, check airmen, and UAA program faculty members.
 
Those who enroll in the UAA/Ravn pilot training program and get simultaneously hired by Ravn will be added to the Ravn pilot seniority list where they will be eligible for salaries starting of $36,000 per year; $15,000 annual retention bonuses; and Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Certification Training Program (CTP) reimbursement. 
 
For information on the ATA A295 and ATA A495 Aviation / Pilot Internship Programs, please visit: https://catalog.uaa.alaska.edu/coursedescriptions/ata/#sthash.QPluplDl.dpuf

    Many Great Opportunities

  Available For Your !


   Maintenance Team

  New and Seasoned Leadership

  CEO's

  Director Operations

  Pilots

  Hazardous Materials Handlers

  And Everyone in Between!

   

Steve Pavish,  the principal at Northern Horizon Company began his professional experience in Alaskan airports and aviation  after signing on with the former Alaska Division of Aviation in 1973. From 1975 until his retirement from state service in 1999, Steve Pavish supervised the property leasing functions for state airports, including the rural airport system.

From 1985 through retirement, Steve also managed projects to update airport regulations and airport user fees. From retirement until the present time, Steve Pavish operated an aviation consulting firm, providing services to the AACA, air carriers, private pilots, hunting guides, municipalities, Alaska Native corporations, private sector law firms, the Alaska Department of Law, and the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF). My principal areas of expertise are airport property leasing, airport operating regulations, and airport land use planning.

Recently, Mr. Pavish published an Aviation Leasing Tutorial.  This is a must read for anyone leasing property on  State of Alaska,  Rural Airport System property.  

The term “rural airport system” encompasses all state-operated airports, except the international airports at Anchorage and Fairbanks. The latter are operated under a separate set of regulations and are outside the scope of this paper.

Leasing state airport land can be a complicated affair, especially for air carriers based in rural locations where law firms and other professional assistance may not be locally available. Navigating the jungle of rural airport leasing agreements, policies, procedures, forms, and regulations, can be a nightmare for anyone trying to make a living in the flying business. Steve decided to write this tutorial in the hope that he might be able to bring some order out of this apparent chaos and make it a little easier for AACA members to coexist with the state’s rural airport land leasing program.

Let's support our sponsors and spread the word about the 2019 AACA Convention and Trade Show
Feb. 27-28th.
​SabreWing Aircraft will be there - will you?
​www.sabrewingaircraft.com

Don't forget to register!

We are in the process of opening up discussion/comment areas. In this area members are able to click on Comment and leave a reply. We also encourage clicking on the Facebook LIKE button and the Twitter TWEET button to share articles with your social media community. Feedback is appreciated. Please direct Blog Comment feedback directly to aaca@alaskaaircarriers.org - thank you!

The Global Positioning System Directorate has released a Federal Register Notice announcing plans to execute a test in February 2019 to investigate legacy receiver week roll-over behavior and analyze any off-nominal behavior exhibited.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) week number rollover occurs in the GPS legacy navigation (LNAV) message every 1024 weeks due to the GPS week number being represented by only 10 bits within the LNAV message. The next GPS week number roll over will occur 18 seconds prior to the 0000Z boundary (Coordinated Universal Time) between April 6/7 2019. In most cases, any negative response from a GPS receiver caused by a problem accounting for the 10-bit week number roll over would likely affect the calendar conversion from GPS time to UTC date/time and could result in the GPS receiver thinking it had jumped backward in time by 1024 weeks to 21/22 August 1999.
If you wish to participate in this test, please submit the answers to the questions in the Federal Register Notice to the SMC/GPE mailbox by February 4, 2019. After the submission of the questionnaire, the team will schedule individual meetings with interested civil vendors to further discuss their participation in the test in more detail.
You will find the full text of the Federal Register Notice and the list of nine questions at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/01/25/2019-00111/2017-public-interface-control-working-group-and-forum-for-the-navstar-gps-public-documents

​
Rick Hamilton
CGSIC Executive Secretariat
GPS Information Analysis Team Lead
U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center
703-313-5930

More than 2,000 FAA inspectors and engineers furloughed due to the partial government shutdown that began on Dec. 22 have been recalled to work, according to an FAA statement made on Tuesday. The latest revision of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) plan for operations during the shutdown now categorizes a total of 3,113 Aviation Safety positions as necessary for life and safety and therefore excepted from furlough.

 Read more

K​ate O'Connor  AvWebFlash

“Antarctica was the final continent on our checklist,” says Lynden Air Cargo President Rick Zerkel. “Now we can cross it off.” Lynden Air Cargo has joined a short list of operators that serve all seven continents by starting a new project in support of an Italian Antarctic expedition team doing research on the icy land mass.
The month-long mission lasted from October 30 through November 30 and involved carrying supplies from Christchurch, New Zealand to Italian base Mario Zucchelli Station and Phoenix Field at McMurdo Station, the US base in Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. According to Lynden Air Cargo Captain Pat Madland, Terra Nova Bay is about 2,000 miles and seven hours from Christchurch, and Phoenix Field is 300 miles further south and about eight hours flying time. “This was accomplished with an augmented crew to allow for rest,” Pat explains. “We also carry a loadmaster and mechanic.” The whole operation requires nine people on the ground in Christchurch.


“This high-profile project illustrates Lynden Air Cargo’s capabilities in remote locations,” says Adam Murray, Director of Business Development and Marketing. “With 98 percent of the continent covered in ice, there are no cities or villages. This is another addition to our capabilities and we hope to provide this service next year and on an ongoing basis if possible.”


The flight crew includes Captains Pat Madland and Thomas Lindberg, First Officer Josh Havel, Flight Engineers Bill Spencer, Clint Swanson and John Worley, Loadmaster Leonel Lopez and Aircraft Mechanics Travis Blaszak and Dan Spears.
​

“The cargo on the first two trips to Terra Nova Bay consisted mostly of helicopters. We carried two Squirrel helicopters on each trip. Since then, the cargo has been scientific equipment and food,” Pat says. “Although it’s exciting to go to Antarctica, Lynden Air Cargo crews are used to flying to remote locations in challenging conditions. Antarctica closely resembles Greenland with its mountainous terrain covered with an ice cap. Much of the continent is around 10,000 feet high although we landed on sea ice runways at sea level. Most of our Lynden crews have been to six continents and it’s nice to add the seventh.”

Due to a lapse in Federal Government funding, the Fairbanks FAA Safety Team cancelled the following seminars and events:

• Wednesday, January 23 – CFI Meeting; Fairbanks FSDO
• Friday, January 25 – IA Seminar; UAF Wood Center and ALL broadcasted locations
• Saturday, January 26 – Mini Expo; UAF Hangar
• Saturday, March 2 – Super Cub Seminar; UAF Wood Center

After our status changes and we are able to schedule new events, we will post them on www.faasafety.gov.  Meanwhile, we will not attempt to reschedule any of the above seminars.  For IA renewals, those individuals will need to satisfy the requirement through another method for their March renewal.
Thank you for your support!
Regards,
 
Lisa Asplin
FAA SafetyTeam Program Manager
4419 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska  99709
(907) 457-9241
lisa.asplin@faa.gov
​