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Tag: 2009

Embraer Phenom 300 is World’s Best Selling Light Jet for Ninth Consecutive Year

Melbourne, Florida, February 24, 2021 – For the ninth consecutive year, the Embraer (NYSE: ERJ) Phenom 300 series has become the world’s best-selling light jet according to numbers released today by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Embraer delivered 50 Phenom 300 series light jets in 2020, making it the most delivered light jet of the year. This is the ninth consecutive year that the Phenom 300 series has achieved this milestone, having accrued more than 590 deliveries since entering the market in December 2009. In 2020, the Phenom 300 series was also the most delivered jet model out of all twinjets in the market.

Originally launched in 2005, the Phenom 300 series is in operation in more than 30 countries and has accumulated more than one million flight hours. Embraer is continuously investing in the competitiveness of the Phenom 300E with enhancements to its comfort, technology, performance, and operational efficiency resulting in the highest residual value in the market.

In January of 2020, Embraer announced the new and enhanced Phenom 300E, followed by its ANAC, EASA and FAA approval in March, achieving triple-certification. The first delivery of the new and enhanced Phenom 300E occurred in June of 2020.

With its unparalleled technology, exceptional comfort, and stunning performance, the Phenom 300E sets the highest standard of excellence in the light jet category. In terms of performance, the new, enhanced Phenom 300E is even faster, capable of reaching Mach 0.80, becoming the fastest single-pilot jet in production, and able to deliver high-speed cruise of 464 knots, and a five-occupant range of 2,010 nautical miles (3,724 km) with NBAA IFR reserves.

Additional technology enhancements include an avionics upgrade, featuring a runway overrun awareness and alerting system (ROAAS) ― the first technology of its kind to be developed and certified in business aviation ― as well as predictive windshear, Emergency Descent Mode, PERF, TOLD, and FAA Datacom, among others. The Phenom 300E also features 4G connectivity via Gogo AVANCE L5.

The new, comfort-enhancing features on this jet include a quieter cabin, more legroom in the cockpit, and a new premium interior option — the Bossa Nova edition. Named for the Brazilian style of jazz music, and Portuguese for “new trend,” the optional Bossa Nova edition encompasses a package of Embraer’s latest interior developments, with features such as carbon fiber accents and Embraer’s exclusive Ipanema sew style. It is also the first of the Phenom 300 series to feature piano black surfaces.

French Judges Drop Charges Against Air France Over 2009 Crash, Blames Pilots

PARIS, Sept 5 (Reuters) – French judges have dropped charges against Air France and Airbus over a mid-Atlantic plane crash in 2009 that killed all 228 people on board, blaming the pilots for losing control of the plane.

In their conclusions, seen by Reuters, the judges said the pilots of the Airbus A330 had failed to process all the warnings and instrument readings provided by the aircraft.

The plane plunged into the ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris after entering an aerodynamic stall and falling from an altitude of 38,000 feet during a storm, its engines running but its wings losing lift.

“The direct cause of the accident is the crew’s loss of control of the aircraft’s trajectory,” the judges determined.

Other crews, faced with similar situations, had successfully maintained control of their aircraft, their ruling said.

The judges overruled the prosecutors investigating the case, who had recommended that Air France stand trial over the crash in July.

In their 2012 report, French civil accident investigators found the startled crew of AF447 mishandled the loss of airspeed readings from pitot sensors blocked with ice and pushed the jet into a stall by holding the nose too high. The report also cited poor training and the lack of a clear cockpit display for speed problems.

The three-year civil investigation was not designed to cast blame, which was the purpose of the separate judicial probe culminating in the decision on Thursday.

A lawyer representing the families of victims said an appeal against the judges’ decision would be lodged immediately.

“The judges have just written in black and white that the icing of the pitot sensors had nothing to do with the accident. It’s nonsense,” Sebastien Busy told Reuters. “If the pitot sensors hadn’t iced up, there wouldn’t have been an accident.”

The accident was the deadliest in the history of Air France and in the history of the A330.

A decade later, the aviation industry is still implementing lessons learned from the crash. Changes have focused on training, cockpit procedures and the tracking of aircraft in remote zones.

It took salvage teams nearly two years to locate the A330’s flight recorders on the ocean floor.

(Reporting by Sophie Louet and Emmanuel Jarry Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)