CBL Systems to Provide Fiber Optic Flight Data Acquisition Units for Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Trans States Airlines.

Business/Technology Editors

FARNBOROUGH, England, and HOPKINTON, Mass--(BUSINESS WIRE)

July 24, 2000

Fiber Optic Technology will Upgrade "Black Box" Capabilities

for Regional Carriers

CBL Systems, a leading supplier of fiber optic-based distributed sensing and intelligent automated control solutions, announced today it has received orders from two regional carriers, Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) and Trans States Airlines, to supply its fiber optic-networked Distributed Flight Data Acquisition Unit (DFDAU) on the airlines' fleets of ATR-72 and ATR-42 aircraft. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

With these orders for the CBL Systems DFDAU, ASA and Trans States Airlines join Continental Express as industry leaders in meeting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements to significantly expand flight data recording capacity on existing passenger aircraft. CBL Systems, which received final FAA certification for its DFDAU last year, is in negotiations to supply the fiber optic system to other major airlines. The product is used in new production aircraft as well as upgrades to existing fleets.

ASA is a Delta Connection carrier and wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. Trans States Airlines, which provides connecting service with flights of Trans World Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, operates its own aircraft and has its own staff.

"With this order, ASA and Trans States Airlines take an important step toward enhancing aviation safety and flight data recording capabilities," said Brian D. Morrison, President and CEO of CBL Systems. "Our system was designed to help the aviation industry meet the FAA's new standards quickly and cost-effectively, so airlines can provide the highest level of safety at a reasonable price."

The two airlines will install the CBL Systems DFDAU on the Aerospatiale ATR-72, a 66-seat twin turboprop aircraft, and the ATR-42, a smaller version of the aircraft that seats 46 passengers. Atlantic Southeast Airlines will install the CBL Systems DFDAU on 19 ATR-72 planes, while Trans States Airlines will install it in five ATR-42 and three ATR-72 planes, with an option for additional aircraft. Sensors and interconnect cabling will be provided by Delta Engineering of New Castle, Delaware, under contract to CBL Systems. Delta Engineering is a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) and modification center specializing in regional aircraft, and will perform the STC work to certify the installation kit.

"Safety is always our top priority, and we feel this next-generation flight data acquisition system offers an even greater level of security to our customers," said Warren L. Bunn, Director of Engineering for Atlantic Southeast Airlines.

"We chose CBL Systems because it offers the most reliable and cost-effective way to meet the new FAA guidelines." said Alfred Blosse, Vice President of maintenance operations for Trans States Airlines.

CBL Systems developed and markets the aviation industry's most cost-effective digital flight data acquisition systems that use an integrated system of intelligent remote sensors, fiber optics and distributed remote data acquisition units. When configured for new aircraft, the system can provide detailed and accurate recording of pilot actions and aircraft responses from more than 200 sources within an aircraft. The system translates all data into a standard protocol and routes all information to the flight data recorder via a ring-configured single optical fiber.

FAA regulations require that by August 2001 all existing passenger aircraft be upgraded to record and monitor 22 to 34 flight parameters. Many current data acquisition systems record between seven and 18 flight parameters and have yielded insufficient information in some recent aircraft incident investigations conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). By August 2000 all newly manufactured passenger aircraft must have flight data recording capabilities to monitor 57 flight parameters, according to FAA rules, and by August 2002, all new aircraft must monitor 88 flight parameters.

Because it transmits information as light rather than electricity, fiber optic technology is immune to electrical interference, electromagnetic noise, lightning and power failure. CBL Systems' patented bi-directional fiber and ring architecture provide a continuous, redundant information path with extensive built-in diagnostics, and continues to capture and provide flight data despite localized failure in any link or part of the system.

The CBL Systems DFDAU can be used to upgrade existing systems when new sensors must be added, as is anticipated for pending B-737 rudder upgrades. The CBL system also meets pending FAA regulations that would require systems to continue recording flight data even if there is a total loss of electrical power on board an aircraft. The pending rule would ensure that critical flight data is not lost in the final seconds of a flight. The CBL system can be configured with a self-contained emergency back-up power system and is presently configured to accept power from more than one external power source.

ASA operates more than 600 flights each day to 75 airports in 22 states and Canada. Founded in 1979, ASA has operated as a Delta Connection carrier since 1984 and carried nearly five million passengers during calendar year 1999. The airline operates a fleet of 104 aircraft and employs more than 3,500 aviation professionals across its route system.

Trans States Airlines has 300 departures daily, serving 21 markets in the Midwest and 10 in the Northeast. Its two main hubs are St. Louis and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. Trans States Airlines has a sales partnership with TWA and regional service agreements with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines but operates its own aircraft and has its own staff.

CBL Systems markets its products worldwide through distributors and systems integrators in the United States, Europe, Japan, and China. The company, previously located in Sudbury, Mass., has moved into new facilities in nearby Hopkinton, Mass. Additional information about Control-By-Light Systems can be found at www.controlbylight.com.