Aviation News

Although the attempt to corporatize the nation’s ATC system has been sent to a semi-permanent holding pattern, the criticism of how the FAA has been managing the NextGen project to update the national airspace system continues. The DOT’s Inspector General in a recent report said it received 17 hotline complaints “alleging serious problems and abuse […]

Five passengers who died in a helicopter crash into New York City’s East River on Sunday were strapped into the doorless Airbus AS350 by five-point harnesses and screwed-down carabiner shackles that required a knife to cut through the nylon safety straps that held the occupants inside, according to reports. When the single-engine helicopter went down […]

The pilot of the Cessna Conquest that crashed about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis a few weeks ago was ATP-rated and filed an IFR flight plan for the nighttime run from Eagle Creek Airport to Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Cessna 441 Conquest is a twin turboprop capable of carrying 10 passengers and has been out […]

Under the FAA’s Part 107 rule, operators of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are required to obtain approval to enter airspace controlled by an air traffic control facility. Airspace authorization is based on data from UAS Facility Maps, which generally allow for operations below 400 feet, and currently involves a 19-step manual application process, which […]

The argument is an old one: Can we teach judgment to pilots, or is the aviation industry left to simply search for pilots who already possess solid problem-solving skills? I’ve always thought the answer was somewhere in between, especially since FAA examiners like to ask applicants questions based on scenarios those pilots might encounter later […]

Four years to the day after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, mysteriously disappeared from radar, officials announced that the full report on the investigation has been suspended until the current search effort has concluded. U.S.-based Ocean Infinity Limited began the search in late January after […]

GE Aviation has a name for its new Advanced Turboprop engine that its engineers began development work on in 2012. The ATP engine is now the GE Catalyst Advanced Turboprop, a name that “represents GE Aviation’s commitment to moving the turboprop market forward through innovation.” Hallmarks of the new 900- to 1,700-shp engine include better […]

Garmin has added the popular Fltplan.com and Fltplan Go app for Apple and Android devices to its Connext “ecosystem” that now allows pilots to wirelessly transfer flight plans from the app to certain Garmin panel-mount avionics. FltPlan Go customers can also wirelessly receive and display aviation weather from various sources in flight including Flight Information […]

For bizjet owners, an aircraft being grounded can be a devastating event and, in most cases, it is critical to get the airplane back in operation as soon as possible. To help make that happen for the more than 2,800 jets Gulfstream has delivered worldwide, the company has launched a dedicated aircraft-on-ground (AOG) center at […]

A few weeks ago, a Frontier Airbus A320 on approach to Las Vegas was overflown by a hobby drone, action that was captured by the UAS’ camera and later uploaded to the Internet. The aviation industry was not amused, nor were pilots, safety advocates and of course the FAA, which is investigating the incident. Realizing […]