SAFETY WARNING
Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is warning aerial agriculture pilots to be aware of the risks of striking powerlines while crop spraying after the authority revealed that there have been 119 wire strike accidents, 98 incidents and 45 deaths as a result of wire strikes over the past 10 years. Some 62% of wire strike accidents occur in aerial agriculture operations, says CASA. The Aerial Agriculture Association of Australia says that nearly three-quarters of wire strike accidents involve aircraft hitting wires that pilots had already identified. CASA is urging pilots to conduct thorough pre-flight planning to identify wire strike risks.
THORPEDO LAUNCH
IndUS Aviation will introduce an improved version of its T211 Thorpedo light sport aircraft at the Sun 'n Fun show in April. The company is working with LoPresti Speed Merchants to increase cruise speed, fuel economy, visibility and safety.
DIRECT FAIL
Independent distributor to the US experimental aircraft market, Direct-To Avionics, has failed, stranding customers who had paid for, but not received, Chelton Flight Systems avionics. Chelton is offering replacement components at reduced cost.
SIKORSKY SALE
Sikorsky has sold a VIP-configured S-76C++ to Trustair of the UK. The deal marks the third sale of the type to the UK. Trustair has also acquired a secondhand S-76B.
HELICOPTER CRASH
An Aeropatiale Alouette II crashed in the Camargue region in France on 7 January, killing three and seriously injuring one person on the ground.
AMPHIBIAN ORDER
France's civil protection corps has ordered another Bombardier 415, bringing its fleet of firefighting amphibians to 12. Bombardier has to date delivered 64 415s to firefighting agencies in Europe and Canada.
Source: Flight International
