Alaska Airlines pilots get tentative deal
Alaska Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association said they have reached a tentative agreement for the carrier's 1,200 pilots. Contract negotiations have been ongoing since January 2007.
Former NTSB chief wants to ground turboprops
National Transportation Safety Board investigators have said it's too early to draw conclusions in the investigation of Colgan Air Flight 3407, which crashed February 12 in Buffalo, New York, but former NTSB chief Jim Hall said all twin-turboprop aircraft should be grounded immediately. Hall said that the ATR 42 and the Bombardier Q400--the Flight 3407 aircraft--have inherent problems with icing, mainly because of their slow speeds and pneumatic-boot deicing systems. An FAA spokeswoman said grounding is unlikely.
No Plane, No Gain makes gains
An industry public relations effort aimed at educating the public about the value of business aviation in the face of heightened scrutiny seems to be taking hold. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) recently said he'll continue to fight against "any measure that negatively impacts the use of general aviation aircraft or limits the ability to use these aircraft to grow business opportunities."
Career-related news is updated weekly on AOPA Online.
