Stephen Pope

The stall warning system aboard the AirAsia Airbus A320 that crashed near Indonesia after encountering violent storms in late December sounded moments after the jet began a steep ascent and continued for more than three minutes until the jetliner impacted the Java Sea, crash investigators say. Based on flight recorder data, investigators now know the […]

The leaders of 14 aviation organizations sent a dire warning to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, telling him in a joint letter to do something now to bring down the costs of ADS-B compliance or risk seeing a “significant reduction” in general aviation activity when the ADS-B Out mandate takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020. Writing […]

Facing a backlash from pilots and aviation lobbying groups, the FAA has reversed course on a controversial medical policy that would have grounded overweight pilots until they underwent screening for obstructive sleep apnea. Under the revised policy pilots will be allowed to keep flying while being evaluated for the disorder. The FAA’s new medical screening […]

In reaction to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 last year and the crash of Air France Flight 447 in 2009, the National Transportation Safety Board has issued new recommendations for equipment on airliners that would enable searchers to locate missing aircraft more quickly. Among the recommendations, the NTSB is calling on the FAA […]

The case of the FAA vs. Raphael Pirker has finally come to an end with a settlement that reduces the videographer’s $10,000 fine to $1,100 after he was charged by the agency for flying his Zephyr drone recklessly to capture aerial shots of the University of Virginia in 2011. In court Pirker argued that the […]

A number of general aviation’s most influential lobbying groups have come out in strong support of Terrafugia’s request for an exemption to LSA weight and stall speed limits for the company’s developmental flying car. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association and Experimental Aircraft Association all submitted formal comments to the FAA supporting […]

Flying the Feathered Edge, a new documentary film on the life of aviation legend Bob Hoover, is now available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The 86-minute documentary, produced, directed and edited by Kim Furst, includes interviews with Harrison Ford, Carroll Shelby, Burt Rutan, Dick Rutan, Medal of Honor Recipient Col. Bud Day, Gene Cernan, Clay […]

Even if you’ve never flown a taildragger, you probably know what a “groundloop” is. If not, it’s a sudden loss of directional control on the ground that’s normally associated with taildraggers, which have their centers of gravity aft of the pivot point and so naturally want to swap ends on landing. But can you groundloop […]

Nextant Aerospace completed the first test flight of the G90XT business turboprop, a remanufactured version of the venerable King Air C90A with new GE H75-100 turbine engines, Garmin G1000 avionics and fresh paint and interior. “The increased power was very noticeable during the takeoff run,” said Nextant chief test pilot Nathan Marker. “I was also […]

An analysis of radar data from the AirAsia Airbus A320 that crashed near Indonesia late last month points to a steep climb and aerodynamic stall that caused the jetliner to go out of control and plummet into the Java Sea, a government official said. Indonesian Transportation Secretary Ignasius Jonan said at a government hearing that […]