Aviation News

Unmanned aerial vehicles—drones, as we all like to call them—have dramatically affected the world over the last decade with their ability to handle tasks considered either too dangerous or too mundane for humans. Public safety drones, for instance, are capable of heading into the teeth of a brush fire to gather critical intelligence, a place […]

It stands to reason that if a passenger pays for a charter flight, they’re entitled to expect a significantly better level of safety than if they accept a free ride from a neighbor in their single-engine trainer. That’s because the FAA has said, “Pilots who transport paying passengers must have the required qualifications and training, […]

OpenAirplane and FlyOtto ceased operations on December 29, 2019. The aircraft rental and charter services sought to make processes easier and with less hassle for pilots and prospective passengers. Co-Founder and President Rod Rakic cited a discrepancy between the stated desire of pilots to use the OpenAirplane service and the numbers that actually showed up […]

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced last week that it has officially opened its second company-owned maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Southern California, one of the world’s busiest corridors for Gulfstream business jets. The new service center at Van Nuys Airport has customer resources that include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and sizable ramp space. The […]

While it is still too early to draw any final conclusions about what brought down the Pilatus PC-12 this past Thanksgiving weekend, the NTSB’s preliminary report published December 18 does highlight some disturbing facts about the single-engine turboprop’s short flight after it departed Chamberlin Municipal Airport, South Dakota (9V9). The accident killed the pilot and […]

How times have changed. Delta Air Lines said on December 18, 2019, it plans to rejoin Airlines for America (A4A), the trade association it parted ways with in October 2015. A4A advocates on behalf of its passenger and cargo airline members to shape policies and measures that promote safety, security and a healthy U.S. airline […]

The Snowball Express—which brings together the children and surviving spouses of fallen US military heroes for a special trip to Disney World—arrived at the Norfolk International Airport on December 7 to deliver families to Orlando, the Navy Office of Community Outreach reported. In 2006, the Snowball Express sprung from a heartfelt letter that a solider […]

To many in the aviation industry, pilot Pete Combs was the longtime baritone voice of the NBAA’s Flight Plan podcast since early 2014, but he was so much more. Combs, an Arlington, Virginia, native was also a longtime WSB Radio reporter in Atlanta, Georgia, and a freelance journalist for CBS News Radio. Combs, 60, succumbed […]

Lancair IV pilot Bill Harrelson launched on his attempt to beat Max Conrad’s epic westbound round-the-world record with a flight that restarted in Ontario, California, after mechanical difficulties forced his diversion from his first planned segments. Harrelson has landed safely back in Ontario, where the calculations will now take place to determine if he has […]

The Monday, December 16, 2019, announcement at Boeing’s Chicago headquarters of the company’s plan to halt 737 Max production in January 2020 was not much of a surprise to anyone. Despite the troubled airplane’s grounding in March 2019, America’s top manufacturing exporter continued building 42 airframes each month, creating a backlog of more than 400 […]