A Senate Appropriations Committee report says Aeronav should immediately restore the 17-day advance availability of digital charts to the public on its website, and further demands to see a business case supporting Aeronav’s claims that it needs to charge fees for digital charts. “Sales of paper products have fallen but the FAA should not view the sale of digital products simply as a convenient source of revenue to compensate for the loss of revenue,” the report said.
The crew of a United Express Embraer 145 called controllers at Denver International Airport with a report of smoke in the cockpit, but the controller apparently misheard the aircraft’s flight number and initially dismissed the call’s urgency. Controllers at the airport have reportedly become leery of false transmissions initiated by people on the ground. It was only after the aircraft landed and the crew called again that the controller alerted rescue crews. By that time, five minutes had elapsed since the initial emergency call. Once on scene, firefighters extinguished a fire behind the instrument panel. The NTSB has turned over the investigation to the FAA.
