Megan Elliott

Equity crowdfunders are gearing up for what they hope to be the first commercially certified vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) plane. XTI Aircraft Company has secured upwards of $10 million in reserved shares to develop the TriFan 600. With two turboshaft engines and three rotating ducted fans, the TriFan 600 design should take off like a helicopter and […]

An unlicensed pilot in rural south Georgia, about 100 miles from Savannah, crashed his homebuilt plane on September 16 at about 3:40 a.m., killing all five people on board. No probable cause was identified in a preliminary report from the National Transportation and Safety Board last week, and there is no evidence of mechanical defects […]

Marking the final flying season of the Vulcan XH558, the U.K.’s Royal Air Force Aerobatics Team, the Red Arrows, took its final flight with the mighty Cold War bomber on Saturday, September 19 at the Southport Air Show. With only three scheduled displays left, the Vulcan will be grounded for good in October. The Red […]

The FAA has issued flight advisories detailing temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) in the vicinities of New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., to enable Pope Francis’ scheduled visits to each region. From September 22-27, all three cities will be “no drone zones,” and additional flight restrictions will apply to each throughout the papal visit. The FAA […]

A pilot’s quick actions saved a dog from freezing in the cargo area aboard an Air Canada flight after the heating system malfunctioned. “As soon as the crew became aware of the temperature issue, the captain grew rightfully concerned for the dog’s comfort and well-being,” Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told CNN. The aircraft, traveling […]

Beacon — the Netflix of the private air industry — today premiers its all-you-can-fly service between New York and Boston, the first unlimited flight subscription service in the Northeast. “The route between Boston and New York is among the most traveled in the U.S.,” says Wade Eyerly, CEO and co-founder of Beacon, “yet there’s no […]

A Piper Aerostar used in the Tom Cruise film “Mena” crashed near Medellin, Colombia, on Friday, killing two and leaving one in critical condition. The U.S. embassy confirmed the crash Sunday, but did not release the names of the occupants. However, local reports say the victims of the deadly crash were veteran Hollywood pilot Alan […]

“Swarm Man” takes to the sky — er, several feet off the ground — in a DIY super drone that sounds like an army of bees. The homebuilt flying machine is equipped with 54 counter-rotating propellers fastened in a hexagonal pattern, with a chair in the center. It’s also rigged with a polycarbonate dome, which […]

On August 6, two pilots and five passengers aboard a Wheels Up Citation Excel XLS were in for a scare when the door swung open as the plane climbed to 2,000 feet. “The door is hanging and uh… passengers… I think they’re okay but they’re gonna be pretty upset,” the pilot said in recorded correspondence […]

Winds were high on the Styrian mountain track Sunday, as pilots raced along the circuit in Spielberg, Austria, for another installment of the Red Bull Air Race. Australian Matt Hall celebrated his first-ever win in his Red Bull Air Race career, putting significant pressure on Britain’s Paul Bonhomme, who had been on track for a […]