EVAS™ Smoke Protection Selected by Kalitta Air

Kalitta becomes the second 747 carrier to protect the cockpit from smoke using EVAS.

Kaneohe, HI & Ypsilanti, MI - September 21, 2011:

VisionSafe and Kalitta Air finalized an agreement to equip Kalitta’s Boeing 747’s with EVAS, the Emergency Vision Assurance System technology that allows pilots to see in continuous dense smoke. With the agreement announced today, Kalitta Air joins UPS, Fed Ex and JetBlue as large fleet operators that selected EVAS to provide their pilots with smoke protection and ability to see through blinding smoke in the cockpit.

As stated by Connie Kalitta, “You really become a victim in a cockpit with smoke, so I try to give the best tools to get the aircraft safely on the ground”.
In the event of smoke in the cockpit, EVAS maintains a pilot’s critical field of vision by displacing the smoke with a transparent vision tunnel. “EVAS allows pilots to see their flight path, vital instruments and perform the key tasks of flying in dense, blinding smoke situations. It’s a real safety enhancement and we’re very pleased to be working with Kalitta Air”, said EVAS manufacturer Visionsafe’s president, Bertil Werjefelt.

About Smoke and Vision

The FAA recommends that aircraft meet higher standards for continuous cockpit smoke protection (FAA AC25.109). The Air Line Pilots Association’s (ALPA) in-flight fire project reported more than 1,100 in-flight smoke and fire incidents over only 10 months, causing 360 emergency landings. FAA’s concern about smoke continues - this is still a “serious” problem and the statistics are essentially unchanged (Info 10019 10/6/10). Flight Safety Foundation ranks smoke/fire emergencies as the 3rd highest cause of fatalities. Smoke is also a leading cause of diversions of ETOPS aircraft.

EVAS - winner of the Aerospace Industry Award for Safety, with over 70 FAA and global certifications – has earned acceptance in every segment of aviation. The alarming rate of smoke incidents has been addressed by more than 600 operators, including the US military, FAA, airlines, and corporate flight departments. All have done so using the more than 3000 EVAS systems delivered by VisionSafe.

UPS is the 1st air cargo carrier to commit an entire fleet to EVAS. In 2003 Fed Ex joined industry leader JetBlue Airways as one of the first airlines to address smoke in the cockpit by installing EVAS.

About VisionSafe

VisionSafe Corporation was formed to explore various new ways to provide vision in vision impaired conditions for individuals in common land and air environments as well as marine, submarine, and scuba diving environments. In the process, the company developed and patented the EVAS system for pilots to see to safely control and land when confronted with dense, blinding smoke in the cockpit. The system has been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration since 2001.

About Kalitta Air

Kalitta Air is owned solely by Conrad Kalitta and is an all cargo airline headquartered in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, United States. Mr. Kalitta operates 22 Boeing 747 aircraft on international scheduled and ad-hoc cargo charter service with its main base is Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti.

Connie Kalitta has a lifetime of experience in the airline industry that goes back to 1967 when he began transporting parts for the automotive business with a twin engine Cessna 310 that he piloted himself. Over the years, Kalitta grew that one airplane operation into a substantial airline conglomerate, American International Airways, Inc. (AIA), that used B747, L1011, DC8, B727, Twin Beech and LearJet aircraft in worldwide airfreight, air ambulance and charter passenger operations.

Kalitta's civilian acquisition of Wurtzsmith Air Force Base facilities to overhaul the turbine engines and airframes of his growing fleet was a milestone in Military/Civilian cooperation saving hundreds of jobs in the Oscoda, Michigan area. AIA supported the Desert Shield/Desert Storm operations with award winning efforts. AIA was one of the world's 25 largest airlines with revenues in excess of $400 million derived from both scheduled and on-demand air charters as well as third party engine and airframe maintenance service.

In 1997, AIA merged with Kitty Hawk, Inc. and Kalitta resigned from the company and the Board of Directors to pursue other interests, mainly to start another company -- Kalitta Leasing. Kalitta Leasing is an aircraft brokerage company which buys sells and leases large aircraft. By April, 2000 Kitty Hawk International (the former AIA) ceased operations and filed Chapter 11. Dismayed that the airline he built from scratch was shut down, Kalitta fought to purchase the Aircraft Certificate and resurrect the airline. Kalitta Air received its DOT and FAA authority to begin operations in November 2000 and immediately began revenue service.

Conrad Kalitta is also known as a professional drag racer in the top-fuel class of the NHRA. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in June of 1992 for his tremendous contribution to the sport, having won three world championships and setting the world's speed record on more than one occasion.