Search Results for: Citation X

Allied Pilots Association President Daniel Carey vigorously defended the Ethiopian Airlines pilots who died when their Boeing 737 MAX overpowered their determined but ultimately futile attempts to keep the airplane from diving into the ground. Carey and several others testified at a hearing held by the Houses Subcommittee on Aviation as a stakeholder in the aftermath of the lengthy grounding of the new aircraft. Carey said public comments that cast doubt on the skills and professionalism of the Ethiopian crew are baseless and offensive. I am very familiar with Ethiopian Airs pilot training program and facilities, and I can tell you that they are world-class, he told committee members. To make the claim that these accidents would not happen to U.S.-trained pilots is presumptuous and not supported by fact. He also called for changes to the FAA certification process and warned of training shortcomings for pilots returning to the MAX with its new software.

After months of speculation, the 2019 Flying Innovation Award went to the team at Gulfstream for their development of the G500 business jet. Gulfstream president Mark Burns accepted the big prize at an awards event in Oshkosh on the opening day of EAA AirVenture. The Flying Innovation Award recognizes the most innovative product to have […]

It’s been said that there is no such thing as a perfect flight. I know I’ve never come close. On most flights I can admit to some minor imperfection even before engine start. Though I’d like to think that none of these common omissions or out of sequence commissions are dangerous, I can think of […]

On July 10, the FAA approved an alternative method of compliance (AMOC) for all Active Winglet equipped Citation jets, which returned CJ1, CJ2, CJ3 and M2 aircraft to flying status. EASA regulators also recently resolved flight restriction issues in Europe created around the recent Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) against Tamarack active winglet installations awaiting a […]

By now you might be growing tired of talk of the upcoming ADS-B mandate. While avionics producers and installers likely are more welcoming of the regulation because it has spurred business for them, it’s becoming a source of stress for aircraft owners and operators who have not already found a good solution. Sevan Gerard and […]

After noting that five incidents of aircraft uncommanded roll events with the ATLAS activated have been reported to EASA and the FAA, the U.S. agency on May 24 issued an airworthiness directive (AD) grounding Cessna CitationJet 525, 525A and 525B models equipped with Tamarack active load alleviation system (ATLAS) winglets. The action is related to an EASA AD and is mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product.

Tamarack Aerospace, the company under investigation following incidents involving aircraft it had modified, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy early in June, and announced its position on Friday, June 7. The company, based in Sandpoint, Idaho, cited recent airworthiness directives issued by the FAA and EASA that had “effectively grounded” those Citation CJ1s, CJ2s, CJ3s, and […]

National Transportation Safety Board investigators are on the scene attempting to determine what caused an Augusta 109E helicopter to crash onto the rooftop of a Manhattan skyscraper on Monday afternoon, killing the pilot and causing a fire atop the building that briefly caused panic for those inside and on the streets below. The corporate helicopter, […]

It seemed like it would be a routine Sunday trip back to Wichita for the crew of a corporate Cessna Citation CJ3. But when a handful of abnormal alerts popped up on the ECAM (electronic centralized aircraft monitor) display, the pilot in command went on alert as well. With a “PFD Compare Fail” noting a […]

Just off the shore of northwest Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, is HEVVN, an oft-used fix for pilots crossing the Gulf from the southern U.S. over to Florida. I was recently in Alabama and heard this exchange with Atlanta Center.