Boeing Backs Safety Gear From Local Companies
By CHRIS CZIBORR
Two Orange County aerospace companies have been tapped by Boeing Co. to help bolster security on commercial jets.
Last week, Huntington Beach-based C & D; Aerospace was selected to provide strengthened cockpit doors for several types of Boeing jets.
Thales Avionics Inflight Systems, an Irvine maker of commercial airline passenger systems that is part of France’s Thales Group, was named the preferred supplier of wall-mounted cockpit security cameras for an unspecified number of Boeing planes.
C & D; Aerospace is set to design and make strengthened cockpit doors for most of Boeing’s narrow-body planes, including 737s and 757s. In all, C & D; Aerospace said it expects to help retrofit 5,500 U.S.-registered commercial jets. Boeing itself plans to make new doors for the oldest of its jets, the 707 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-8, as well as wide-body models including the DC-10 and MD-11.
Officials at C & D; said they expected to hire up to 200 people in Huntington Beach to handle the new contract work. The company now has 2,000 OC employees, after shedding 800 employees in early fall.
After Sept. 11, C & D; created a new division focused on airline cockpit security in a bid to win retrofitting work. At the start of the year, the company added a new Huntington Beach facility, a half-mile from its other Surf City operations. Each facility spans 150,000 square feet. C & D; has teamed with Honeywell International Inc. on the project.
Surveillance cameras from Thales are set to be backed by Boeing as part of a cockpit safety system.
“It’s up to the airlines whether they’ll buy the cameras,” said Thales spokeswoman Lori Krans. “The safety kit is a recommendation by Boeing to their customers, including American Airlines.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is yet to require airlines to install in-flight surveillance systems. Thales counts 400 employees in Irvine with no current hiring plans, according to Krans.
“The devices are on the table for consideration,” Krans said. “And the airlines have shown a lot of interest in video technology for aircraft onboard security.”
Thales has been showing its camera to the FAA, Krans said. It’s also being installed on an unnamed airline for evaluation, she said.
The new doors and surveillance system won’t be cheap for airlines. A Boeing spokesman said that, depending on the aircraft model, cost per aircraft will range from $40,000 to $100,000. The cameras themselves each cost $12,000 to $15,000 per unit.
