After an evaluation of the light jet market and current forecasts, Piper Aircraft Inc. has announced that they are indefinitely suspending development of the Piper Altair business jet. President and CEO Simon Caldecott's reasoning being that the light jet market has not recovered sufficiently or quickly enough to continue under the current economic circumstance.

Piper does plan to continue making improvements to the current piston and turbo prop product lines. They also plan on implementing programs to preserve as many jobs as possible.

Due to this announcement, Piper is planning on progressively laying off approximately 150 employees. Piper does plan to assist those employees in finding job placement by aggressively working with other aviation companies which are looking to hire.

For more information, visit Piper.com for the latest press release.

As of today, 9 people have been confirmed dead, including veteran pilot Jimmy Leeward, 74, of Ocala, FL. Leeward has performed in over  1200 races and has also been a stunt pilot in movies, including "Amelia" and "Cloud Dancer." At the time of transport, 56 had been taking to the hospital for injuries, many serious.

Pilot spectators and friends say that Leeward was an incredibly qualified and experienced pilot with no medical issues. They also say that it is possible he was able to veer the plane toward the tarmac, possibly preventing the death of hundreds more.

Horrific accounts of the tragedy include spectators seeing body parts scattered across the ground. "Unbelievable gore," is how it was described as one member of the crowd.

After reading comments from many of the articles out there, you hear people saying that they should shut the races down, and that it's just too dangerous.

Then, I read an article written by Patty Wagstaff, world-renowned air show/stunt pilot. What she discussed in her article was the importance of airshows to the community and the risks we take in life. She mentions that people young and old, can come to airshows and sit inside the cockpit of an airplane that they either may have flown in 1943 or can become inspired by to become tomorrow's aviators. Not only are these shows inspirational and amazing entertainment, they have served to raise millions of dollars for charity. Patty Wagstaff, herself, got started all because she had been a spectator at an airshow and became inspired.

Another topic she brings up are the risks we take in life. In her article she says this, "Is it possible to predict every risk?  Not unless you avoid it.  If you don't wish to get into a car accident, you must never get in a car.  Avoiding the risk of driving would, of course, eliminate what you might gain from the freedom driving gives you. Not going to or flying in airshows or an air race because something bad might happen would eliminate any risk, but it would also eliminate what we gain.  Rather we strive to reduce rather than avoid risk, because risk is always possible. "

I couldn't have said it any better. What we must do as aviators and enthusiasts is learn how to reduce risk and prevent tragedies as much as possible. Risk will never be eliminated in life. Jimmy Leeward died doing what he loved, and even though I don't know him personally, I don't think he would have quit doing what he loved if somebody had told him that one day he would die from it. There is not a single pilot out there that doesn't understand the risks they take by getting into the airplane each day. I may die from an airplane crash or one of a million other things, but I hope to always keep flying.

Thursday, September 15, 2011, the Federal Aviation Administration regulators have proposed to fine regional airline, Colgan Air of Manassas, Va, $1.9 million. Colgan Air allegedly has been allowing flight attendants who were not trained to use fire extinguishing systems aboard the plane to continue working despite warnings.

84 newly hired flight attendants were allowed to work onboard flights of the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400, a twin turbo prop aircraft, for a week in 2009 after an FAA inspector notified the company that the new-hires were not properly trained to use fire extinguishing mechanisms onboard that particular airplane. A total of 172 flights were taken that week with the untrained flight attendants. 

The FAA stated that the flight attendants had been trained on a previous fire extinguishing system that was different from the system on the Dash 8-Q400 aircraft. The two systems work differently which is why additional training is required.

Colgan Air was heavily criticized for their lack of pilot training after the February 2009 crash in Buffalo, N.Y. which killed 50 people. In that crash, icing conditions were prevalent and cockpit recordings can hear both pilots discussing their inexperience handling certain situations.