Over 85 WAA members and interested guests attended the WAA Breakfast on April 30th. Peter Scherrer, the Westchester County Airport Manager, was the featured speaker and spoke about the issues that are impacting the airport. One topic was runway 11/29. On the 29 approach end are trees bordering the airport in Greenwich and at the 11 approach end, the FAA is requiring an additional 300 ft. safety area be added to the end of the runway. Both of these factors are shortening the usable length of the runway to the point that the runway may not be a viable alternative for many aircraft.

The Airport Authority has retained a consulting firm to study the runway and present solutions that will maintain an optimum runway length. The consultant's report is due this summer and will be presented for public comment at that time.

Other members of the Airport Authority made presentations on wildlife and bird control, recapture of deicing fluids, winter operations, monitoring of ground water, bringing natural gas power to the airport and updating the airport's master plan.

Dean Saucier of NBAA spoke of his organization lobbying efforts against additional sales taxes and user fees, which would negatively impact the aviation industry in Westchester. Dr. Marsha Gordon, president of the Business Council of Westchester also spoke of the importance of a viable airport to the Westchester business community.

WAA Safety Program – Runway Excursions Are On The Rise Presented on May 1st.

Based on claims statistics from insurance companies, the largest increase in claims recently, have been for RUNWAY EXCURSIONS.

Beyond the obvious risks of injury and damage, Runway Excursions also result in increased insurance claims and FAA citations.

Why did this happen?
The crew of American Airlines Flight 331 was fully qualified and well-experienced as they began their approach into Kingston, Jamaica in heavy rain on a December night in 2009. The HUD-equipped B737-800 was in normal working order, including its auto and speed brakes. The approach flown met stabilized approach criteria established by the operator, was within limits for tailwind component, and was flown on-speed. The 8900-foot runway was longer than the aircraft’s factored landing distance. Another carrier’s B747 landed safely on the same runway ahead of this flight, but the outcome for AA331 was altogether different. The jet overran the runway, departed the airport perimeter on the ground, and broke apart. Why did this happen? Could it happen to you? We hope you’ll join us on May 1, 2012 for a discussion on risks and defensive strategies to reduce the occurrence of runway excursions.

Beginning next month, a number of forums will be held in NBAA's Northeast Region for those with an interest in mitigating the risks and reducing the occurrence of runway excursions.

One forum will be held on May 1st. at Westchester Hilton in Rye and will start at 8:30 AM, the another forum in our area will be held at OXC on June 20th.

The presentation is approximately 3- 4 hour long program and is free of charge and is presented by the WAA, USAIG and NBAA.

The presenters bring a mixture of military and civilian flying backgrounds, and include current operational corporate and airline pilots. This event will be pilots talking to pilots, discussing techniques for recognizing when runway excursion risks are escalating, and practical defenses you can employ.

Industry trend information will help illustrate situations where a "high performance" mind set is vital during approach preparation and execution in order to produce the desired safe and predictable outcome.

The program will go beyond the technical nature of runway excursions and discuss best practices, what to do when the unthinkable occurs, evacuation considerations, assessing the situation, and reporting requirements. Advance your knowledge and reduce your risk: please plan to attend one of the sessions.

Please contact Dean Saucier at dsaucier@nbaa.org or Lori Rosa at lori_rosa@mcgraw-hill.com for seat confirmation.

The Westchester Hilton is located at 699 Westchester Avenue Rye Brook, NY 10573, phone (914) 939-6300

Panorama Flight Service now has a Redbird FMX Simulator as part of its flight training.

The Redbird is a full motion, advanced aviation training device, which features wrap-around visuals, a fully enclosed cockpit, quick-change configurations, scenario-based training compatibility and an electric motion platform. The FMX serves up a level of realism that is simply unavailable in other training devices on the market.

Visit Panorama's website for more information about scheduling a demo. For more information about the Redbird Simulators, visit their website.

The Westchester Aviation Association's annual meeting will be held at the Rye Town Hilton hotel on Monday, February 27th starting at 7:00 PM.

Agenda and featured speakers will be noted in future email announcements. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Lori Rosa at lori_rosa@mcgraw-hill.com.

The Rye Town Hilton is located at: 699 Westchester Avenue Rye Brook, NY 10573. For directions click here.