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The rule requires air carriers to use equipment designed to clear dangerous, potentially explosive vapors from the fuel tanks of all aircraft built after 1991, as well as all newly-manufactured aircraft. Around 55 percent of the nation’s current airliner fleet is expected to be affected by the ruling — over 2700 aircraft. Air carriers will have nine years to retrofit existing aircraft, while manufacturers must be in full compliance by 2010.

The FAA’s decision was hailed by air safety advocates, although many criticized the long delay in passing the rule. Although the National Transportation Safety Board suggested within five months of the airliner’s crash that a similar regulation be implemented to address the type of fuel tank explosion that downed TWA Flight 800, opposition from airline industry lobbyists and trade associations concerned about potential costs had kept the rule at bay. In the 12 years since TWA Flight 800 exploded 12 minutes after takeoff on July 17, 1996, the crashes of one airliner in Thailand and one in India have been attributed to fuel tank explosions.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters estimated the newly required fuel tank upgrades would cost air carriers between $92,000 and $311,000 per aircraft.

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Along with Continental Airlines, Continental mechanic John Taylor, Continental chief of maintenance Stanley Ford, Aerospatiale director Henri Perrier, former Concorde chief engineer Jacques Herubel, and Claude Frantzen of the French civil aviation authority were identified as defendants in the case.

In 2004, French investigators concluded that the July 25, 2000 crash of Air France Flight 4590 was caused by a titanium metal strip which fell off of a Continental Airlines DC-10 onto a runway at Charles de Gaulle airport and punctured the Concorde jet’s tires as it attempted to take off. The Concorde’s fuel tanks were also determined to be insufficiently shielded from shock, a defect Concorde’s makers were reportedly aware of since 1979.

Continental, which has consistently denied responsibility for the crash, vehemently denounced the indictments in an official statement and characterized the charges as “outrageous” and “completely unjustified.” If found guilty in the case, said to be likely to begin in 2009, Continental could face a multi-million dollar fine.

Flight 4590 was the only fatal Concorde flight in the aircraft’s 27-year history of regular service. The 2000 crash led to all Concorde airliners being withdrawn and refitted with additional safety modifications before being officially retired in 2003.

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Under the terms of the agreement, all airlines arriving at or leaving from airports located within the EU would be subject to emissions caps and emissions credits trading rules intended to reduce airline emissions to 95 percent of 2004-2006 emissions levels by 2012.

Because the terms of the agreement mean that the restrictions would also apply to non-EU carriers, international trade groups such as the US Air Transport Association, the International Air Carrier Association, and the Association of European Airlines were quick to express displeasure with the decision. Following the announcement, the director general of the International Air Transport Association called the decision “crazy” and asserted that jurisdiction over international emissions standards should fall to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations body.

Airline industry lobbyists also indicated that any costs incurred by US airlines required to purchase emissions credits to operate within the EU would likely pass those costs on to consumers and that air carriers are already financially stressed due to the rising cost of aviation fuel.

Before taking effect, the emissions agreement must be approved in a European Parliament vote (currently scheduled for July 9) and ratified by the governments of the individual EU countries.

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The 36-year-old Mutlu says on February 23 of this year, he had a standby ticket for a JetBlue cross-country flight from San Diego to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. After Mutlu was told the flight was full, an off-duty flight attendant volunteered to give up her seat and ride in a flight attendant’s jumpseat so that Mutlu could get on board.

90 minutes into the flight, Mutlu says he was summoned to the cockpit where the pilot told him the off-duty flight attendant was uncomfortable in the jumpseat, so Mutlu would have to instead move to the bathroom. According to a lawsuit filed by Mutlu against JetBlue on Monday over the incident, though Mutlu offered to switch and sit in the jumpseat, he was told it was for authorized personnel only and that the bathroom was his only choice.

Mutlu’s suit seeks $2 million for emotional damages suffered in the incident.

Federal Aviation Administration officials stated that the incident is under investigation, noting that all passengers must have seat belts available for use in case of turbulence.

JetBlue has made no public response to Mutlu’s allegations, saying that the airline does not discuss pending litigation.

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Three people died in the crash, including pilot Steve Lipperer, 39; surgeon Darren Bean, 37; and nurse Mark Coyne, 53; all of Madison, Wisconsin. There were no survivors. Witnesses said the helicopter apparently struck a hill or trees shortly after lifting off from the La Crosse airport, where the copter had stopped to refuel before its return flight to Madison. Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigations into the crash are currently underway.

The American Eurocopter EC-13 twin-engine helicopter owned by Denver-based Air Methods Corp. and leased to University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics in Madison for its Med Flight program featured satellite tracking, but was not equipped with pilot night vision goggles or a Terrain Awareness and Warning System to warn of approaching obstacles. While there are no known reported mechanical problems with this particular model of aircraft, the NTSB suggested in a 2006 report that many deadly EMS flights could be prevented with use of night vision goggles and a computerized warning system. Though neither technology is required, an Air Methods spokesman stated that about 40 percent of its 348 helicopters have night vision goggles and 6 percent have Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems.

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Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Transportation Affairs John Byerly stated that according to the terms of a US proposal he plans to present at international aviation deregulation meetings in Slovenia on Thursday, more than 60 countries should be included on a list of nations promising not to bar service by an airline based on ownership nationality.

Current worldwide aviation rules, based on a global treaty ratified in 1944, stipulate that an airline from a particular country must be owned and controlled by citizens of that country. These restrictions have previously hampered several proposed international airline takeovers, including a deal for Russian-based OAO Aeroflot to acquire Italy’s Alitalia SpA.

The U.S. proposal would not affect ownership limits placed by countries upon their own airlines. U.S. law currently limits foreign ownership of American air carriers to 25%, while the European Union limits non-EU airline ownership to 49%.

EU negotiators are expected to propose an easement of US restrictions on foreign ownership in Slovenia on Thursday. Byerly indicated that he would be open to the European proposal, but conceded that it will likely be difficult to convince US lawmakers to support the idea.

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The bill would pave the way for an overhaul of the much-criticized FAA as well as modernization of the nation’s air-traffic control network to incorporate newer satellite-based technologies. Although the House of Representatives’ version of the bill passed over seven months ago, movement on the Senate bill has been stalled due to disagreements over how to fund the air-traffic control system upgrades.

Friday’s agreement reached between Senators Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate aviation subcommittee, calls for general aviation turbine aircraft fuel taxes to increase from the current 21.8 cents per gallon rate to 36 cents per gallon.

The May 2007 version of the bill approved by the Senate Commerce Committee had included a $25 per flight surcharge. The Bush administration had threatened to veto the House version of the bill due to its lack of a per-flight user fee surcharge, a provision also supported by the airline industry. However, user fee surcharges have been removed from all versions of the FAA Reauthorization Bill currently being considered.

It is expected that the bill’s passage by the full Senate could come as early as later this week.

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The Federal Aviation Administration has recently begun a new round of plane inspections due to Congressional concern over lax inspection procedures within the agency, which led to American grounding many of its planes because of concerns over wheel well wires which may have been improperly bundled. FAA guidelines mandate that wires be bundled at one-inch intervals, while FAA inspections found American planes which had tied spaced every 1.25 inches, along with retention clips and lacing cords which were placed incorrectly.

15 out of 19 jets inspected by the FAA were found to be out of compliance with the FAA guidelines, though spokesmen say it is extremely unlikely the nonstandard wire bundling could have led to a crash. The company currently expects to be back to regular flight scheduling by Saturday evening, though more flight groundings may be on the way as the FAA is currently conducting another round of inspections which will run through June.

Customers whose flights were cancelled may request either a full refund of their ticket price or apply the amount to purchase of future American tickets.

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Today’s hearing exposed a climate of conspiratorial behavior between the FAA and Southwest in which federal inspectors reporting safety problems at the airlines were threatened with demotion or firing and whistleblower employees at the airline reporting lapsed inspection were not protected from retaliation. Numerous FAA and Southwest whistleblowers told of being threatened, demoted, or removed from their duties after attempting to address problems within the agency or hold the airline to its safety obligations.

Southwest has been accused of flying tens of thousands of flights without performing required inspections of the fuselage skin of their planes. The FAA levied a $10.2 million fine against the airline last month after documents indicated at least 117 planes were flown repeatedly without mandatory safety checks.

Committee chairman James L. Oberstar of Minnesota sharply criticized the quality of FAA supervision, characterizing it as among the worst examples of aviation safety oversight, and indicated that the FAA has lost sight of its mission to maintain passenger safety.

In a related note, Southwest announced that it has suspended plans to outsource a significant percentage of its maintenance work to El Salvador due to the intense scrutiny being placed on the carrier’s maintenance and inspection operations.

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Honolulu-based Aloha Airlines, which had operated interisland and transpacific routes for over 60 years, cited rising fuel prices, unfair competition from rival carrier go! and a three-way price war between go!, Aloha, and Hawaiian Airlines which drove interisland ticket prices as low as $20 as the primary factors making continued operation of the airline unfeasible. A lawsuit filed by Aloha against go! parent company Mesa Air Group alleging the company engaged in predatory pricing and used confidential information to gain a competitive advantage is scheduled to be heard in October in federal District Court.

Indianapolis-based ATA Airlines, which began as a Midwestern charter carrier, had in recent years increasingly focused on operating flights between mainland cities Los Angeles, Oakland, Phoenix and Las Vegas and Honolulu, Maui, and Hilo in Hawai’i. In a statement released Wednesday, company spokesmen said the loss of a contract for the company to provide charter flights to transport military personnel and families to oversea destinations made discontinuing service unavoidable.

At the time of shutdown, Aloha employed over 1,900 people, while ATA had 2,230 employees. Passengers holding tickets on both airlines were advised to contact their credit card companies or travel agents for information on possible refunds.

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