Aviation Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. National Guard Deployed To Fight Wildfires In Hardy County

West Virginia National Guard personnel were deployed to Hardy County Friday. They have joined an effort to put out wildfires sweeping across eastern West Virginia and neighboring states.

The West Virginia National Guard has joined efforts to put out wildfires spreading across eastern West Virginia and neighboring states.

Two helicopters and several National Guard personnel were deployed to Hardy County on Friday.

They aim to assist the West Virginia Division of Forestry and other emergency response personnel in quenching the blazes.

The deployment of National Guard personnel follows Gov. Jim Justice’s state of emergency declaration Thursday afternoon.

The National Guard said more than 4,000 acres of land has burned as of Friday.

Helicopters in use by the National Guard can hold 630 gallons of water each, which personnel then disperse over wildfires from above. This helps target areas of the wildfires that are unsafe for emergency responders to approach on the ground.

“Our aircrews have extensive experience in helping to combat wildland fires,” said Bill Crane, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard in a press release Thursday.

“We will do all we can to help bring these fires under control to protect lives and property in the impacted communities,” he said.

Dropping water onto wildfires from above allows firefighters to extinguish fires that are unsafe for ground personnel to approach.
*Photo Credit: West Virginia National Guard*

Capito: Senate Will Hold Hearing On Boeing 737 MAX 9 Panel Failure

Capito, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, says a hearing will be held “sooner than later” on the door panel that detached from a MAX aircraft in midflight.

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito wants answers about an incident involving Boeing’s 737 MAX 9.

Capito, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, says a hearing will be held “sooner than later” on the door panel that detached from a MAX aircraft in midflight.

No one was seriously injured in the incident last week, at 16,000 feet, minutes after the Alaska Airlines plane took off from Portland, Oregon. Still, Capito has many questions about it.

“Is it shoddy material? Is it shoddy work? Is it not enough inspections?” Capito said. “There’s all kinds of questions you can ask.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. Spirit Aerosystems, which makes the aircraft’s fuselage in Wichita, Kansas, and Boeing, which assembles the plane in Everett, Washington, are supporting the probe.

Indiana Lender Joins Justice Company’s Legal Dispute Over Helicopter

1st Source Bank, of South Bend, Indiana, joined Bluestone Resource’s motion for a stay in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia on Wednesday.

An Indiana bank that loaned money to a coal company owned by Gov. Jim Justice has joined a court case involving another of the company’s creditors and a dispute over a helicopter.

1st Source Bank, of South Bend, Indiana, joined Bluestone Resource’s motion for a stay in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia on Wednesday.

Bluestone and 1st Source want the court to stop the U.S. Marshals from seizing the helicopter on behalf of Caroleng Investments, an offshore company Bluestone owes $13 million.

Caroleng had sought the helicopter through the legal process to partly settle the debt.

In its filing, 1st Source estimates the value of the 2012 Bell helicopter at $1.2 million. Previous filings had indicated the helicopter was built in 2009.

1st Source identifies itself as “a lender with a perfected, first-priority security interest in the personal property” of Bluestone, meaning the helicopter.

Caroleng’s attorneys tracked the aircraft, which had been housed in Roanoke, Virginia, to Burlington, North Carolina. On Tuesday, the company asked the court to order Bluestone to turn over the aircraft to the U.S. Marshals, subject to contempt of court.

1st Source and Bluestone entered a loan agreement in 2018 for $1.5 million, the bank’s court filing says.

In 2021, Bluestone secured $10 million in financing from 1st Source, using the helicopter as part of the collateral. As of Oct. 15, Bluestone owes 1st Source about $5 million, the court filing says.

“By virtue of its security interest in the helicopter,” the filing says, “1st Source has a property interest in the helicopter that may be harmed by the execution of the writ.”

In an earlier court filing, Bluestone identified Caroleng, based in the British Virgin Islands, as a shell company controlled by Russian mining and metals oligarch Igor Zyuzin.

Caroleng disputed that description, identifying itself as a “special purpose investment vehicle.”

Showcasing Rescue Horses And Our Song Of The Week This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, Caroline MacGregor reports on one of the largest equine events to showcase rescue and at-risk horses taking place in Winfield, West Virginia. And as classes resume at WVU students react to the university’s proposed program cuts.

On this West Virginia Morning, Caroline MacGregor reports on one of the largest equine events to showcase rescue and at-risk horses taking place in Winfield, West Virginia.

Also, as classes resume at WVU, students react to the university’s proposed program cuts, a vocational aviation facility coming to Marion County is expected to stimulate high-tech job growth, and proposed changes to solar energy in the state.

In this show, our Mountain Stage Song of the Week comes to us from an encore broadcast of Mountain Stage featuring the powerful soul-rock of The War And Treaty, 2022 Americana Music Association’s Duo/Group of the Year. We hear their song “Lover’s Game,” a soulful rocker with a retro style that brings to mind the glory days of Ike & Tina Turner.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Caroline MacGregor, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Briana Heaney, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and producer.

Teresa Wills is our host. Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

FSU Receives Federal Funds For Aviation Program

The Aviation Center for Excellence at Fairmont State University will receive $270,000 from the Department of Education to purchase equipment.

The funds were acquired via a Congressionally Directed Spending request by Senator Joe Manchin through the Fiscal Year 2023 funding bill.

Fairmont State offers a variety of aviation related bachelor’s degrees and is West Virginia’s only Part 141 FAA certified school offering programs in Aviation Administration & Professional Flight.

In recent years schools around the state, including Marshall and Shepherd Universities, have created more aviation programs in response to a workforce shortage in the aviation industry.

In 2020, 3,600 West Virginians were employed in the aviation industry with an average salary of $78,000.

Industrial Park Set For Construction Near Raleigh County Airport

The 105-acre park is planned as part of an aviation and economic development hub in the southern part of the state. The New River Gorge Development Authority officially began work on the project after accepting a $7.7 million bid from A.L.L. Construction last Saturday.

Site preparations began Monday on an industrial park at the Raleigh County Memorial Airport.

The authority plans to use the park to attract aerospace and cargo firms to the area. It’s also meant to provide jobs for the local labor force – New River Gorge Community and Technical College expects to have its aviation and maintenance technician program open by the end of 2024.

Other recent developments at the airport include federal grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration and Economic Development Administration, the construction of a training hangar for aviation maintenance students and funding for a new road that would connect the airport to rail transportation.

Overall, the total investment in improvements being made to the airport and nearby facilities totals $8.3 million.

The industrial park is planned to be completed in a year, according to the agency.