Rob Mark

An interim accident report published by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation highlights the need for flight crews to remain vigilant for unexpected hazards that might appear even in good weather while in cruise flight. On January 7, 2017, a German-registered Bombardier Challenger 604 was significantly damaged while two passengers on board the […]

London City Airport’s chief executive officer Declan Collier called the creation of the UK’s first digital control tower at the city’s Canary Wharf business airport an opportunity to bring the airport into the 21st century. When the current brick and mortar tower building is decommissioned, responsibility for safe air traffic control services for LCY’s 300 […]

The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Tuesday that debris found floating in the water 15 miles east of Eleuthera in the Bahamas came from a Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop that went missing on Monday during a flight from Puerto Rico to Florida. The twin turboprop had departed Borinquen at 11 a.m. local time Monday on a flight […]

In written testimony delivered yesterday to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said the best solution to squelch the relentless in-fighting over the future of the U.S. air traffic control system is to set aside the idea of privatization altogether and simply find a better solution. Bolen, as well […]

The FAA believes pilots need more practice hand-flying aircraft if the industry is to be successful in reducing the number of loss-of-control accidents, still listed as the leading cause of industry fatalities. In an era of glass cockpits teeming with practical technology aimed at reducing pilot workload, it’s often difficult to convince some aviators to […]

A Learjet 35A on final approach to Teterboro’s Runway 1 crashed yesterday afternoon a quarter mile short of the airport. The accident occurred about 3:30 p.m. local time following a short flight from Philadelphia International Airport to New Jersey. The two pilots, the only occupants of the jet, were killed in the accident although no […]

In a month where it seems like more and more airline customers in the news are cranky, if not downright angry, Canada’s WestJet tried something novel to thank a plane full of passengers and celebrate the company’s 21st year in business. Because WestJet delivers more passengers to Las Vegas from outside the United States than […]

The National Transportation Safety Board met April 25 to detail its investigation into the June 2015 midday crash of a turbine Otter sightseeing aircraft in mountainous terrain 25 miles east of Ketchikan, Alaska. Operated by Promech Air Inc., of Ketchikan, the accident claimed the lives of the pilot and all eight passengers. The investigation uncovered […]

Aircraft range has been a problem since the Wright Brothers, usually meaning too much mission for the fuel aboard. But after last week’s first flight of the sunlight-powered SolarStratos, range problems just might be headed for a permanent solution. The Swiss two-seat electric aircraft, originally created to mimic the mythical flight of Icarus, uses electricity […]

NASA wants its FUN3D software, the application its engineers use to design aircraft and airfoils, to run 10,000 times faster, and is asking for anyone with working knowledge of the Modern Fortran software language to take up the High Performance Fast Computing Challenge. Doug Rohn, director of NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program, calls the effort […]