Stephen Pope

The Internet is rife with speculation as to what may have caused the crash of a Russian jetliner in Egypt on Saturday after an airline executive categorically ruled out pilot error or a mechanical problem. The suggestion by the executive with airline Kogalymavia is that a missile or a perhaps a bomb brought down the […]

The future of AgustaWestland’s AW609 civil tiltrotor program has been thrown into doubt after the crash of a prototype in Italy on Friday that killed the two test pilots on board. Radar data appears to confirm that the aircraft, Prototype 2, went down about 10 minutes after takeoff near Santhia in northern Italy, near the […]

A dramatic scene was captured on video today as a Boeing 767 caught fire while taxiing for departure at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. Passengers could be seen evacuating via slides onto the taxiway though there are reports of injuries. Plumes of black smoke billowed from the jet as passengers streamed to safety. A […]

The Canadian government has agreed to bail out Bombardier after the company posted a bigger than expected $4.9 billion loss in the third quarter due to writedowns to its CSeries and Learjet 85 aircraft programs. The Quebec government will take a 49 percent stake in the CSeries program while the Learjet 85 program has now […]

An Army surveillance blimp broke free from its ground mooring in Maryland on Wednesday, drifting for miles over central Pennsylvania as F-16s and Air National Guard helicopters tracked it. The runaway blimp finally landed by itself 160 miles away in Montour County, Pennsylvania, after reaching a maximum altitude of about 16,000 feet and floating for […]

The Tecnam P2010 is one of those airplanes that you can’t help but stop to look at when you see it on the ramp. Mainly because you’ll be wondering why that Cessna Skyhawk looks so good. Until you realize it’s not a Skyhawk. It’s something different. Something silky smooth. With flowing lines. My goodness, it’s […]

Over the weekend, the board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) created a new “associate member” category for electric and hybrid-propulsion aircraft. The reason for the new membership category is to hasten the worldwide development, growth and airworthiness certification of electric airplanes, which very well could play an important role in securing […]

It’s a deepening mystery that probably will only lead to more questions than answers as we try to get to the bottom of the case of a stolen Piper Cub by an absconder that can only be described as, well, “skinny.” YouTube poster Gizmo brought us the creepy video of Mr. Skeltal, a decent-enough pilot […]

Redge Greenberg, a pilot from Durango, Colorado, is one of the few people in the world ever to have built his own jet in his garage after completing the first customer-assembled SubSonex, serial number JSX0003. “I flew the SubSonex this morning, for about 35 minutes…all went well,” Redge wrote to inform kit manufacturer Sonex Aircraft […]

Flying Aviation Expo wrapped up on Saturday with the Parade of Planes back to the Palm Springs Airport, leaving everybody who was there smiling and wanting more, more, more. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say the second annual Aviation Expo was twice as good as the first. The convention hall featured more exhibits, […]