ECLIPSE AWARDED PRODUCTION CERTIFICATE

Eclipse Aerospace received FAA production certification for its Eclipse 550 twin-engine jet. The production certificate allows Eclipse to manufacture the very light jet and its parts in conformity with FAA-approved type design and is only granted when the FAA has determined that the organisation’s manufacturing processes and quality systems comply with all federal regulations. The Eclipse 550, with a base price of $2.7 million, will have the same air frame and Pratt & Whitney engines of the original Eclipse 500, and will include enhanced avionics systems from Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S) of Exton. Eclipse said it expects to make 50 to 100 per year with deliveries in 2013. urgent steps to strengthen the institutions like DGCA to meet the challenges of a fastgrowing air traffic. “In the last two years alone domestic traffic has grown by 36 per cent and international by 19 per cent. However, there has been virtually no increase in resources at the DGCA. Under-staffing, therefore, is once again a major concern as the regulatory oversight is weak,” said CAPA in a study. CAPA also observed that “it is disappointing to note that the focus on safety which emerged in the aftermath of the Mangalore accident in May 2010 has evaporated”. Terming the safety report card “dismal”, it said the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council did not meet for a year, while incident and operational data analysis was “poor”.