Aviation News

The Cirrus Vision Jet is progressing toward certification on schedule after the FAA issued the SF50’s Type Inspection Authorization (TIA), marking the start of formal FAA flight evaluations of the single-engine jet’s type design, airworthiness, performance and handling. The TIA allows Cirrus to begin certification flight tests with an FAA pilot on board, one of […]

Five passengers and a pilot on a sightseeing flight were killed on Monday when their floatplane crashed in rugged terrain north of Quebec City. The de Havilland Beaver crashed into a mountainside near Quebec’s Lac Saint-Jean in good weather, according to crash investigators. The passengers included four British nationals and one woman from France. A […]

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. recently announced details on the progress of the test program for its G500 and G600 family of business jets, which are expected to hit the market in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The G500 took to the skies for the first time on May 18. Since then, company test pilots have completed five […]

In my March Aftermath column on the 2012 crash of a Pilatus PC-12 in Florida, I faulted the National Transportation Safety Board for mixing up indicated and true airspeeds. Actually, it was I who misread the report. I am indebted to reader Timothy Burtch, an accident investigator with the NTSB, for pointing out that the […]

The Bugatti 100P replica race plane that has been under construction for the last several years in Oklahoma sustained damage yesterday during its first test flight, nosing over and striking both propellers after a failure of its right brake and a slow-speed departure from the runway into soft mud. Still, the builders of the airplane […]

Canadian police wasted no time apprehending a suspect who shone a bright laser at the Air2 police helicopter over Vaughn, Ontario, this week, using their infrared camera from on high to direct officers to a 19-year-old man’s location as he tried to evade arrest. The entire episode was captured on police video from the helicopter […]

Two airplanes carrying as many as 40 parachutists collided over Slovakia today, raining down debris over a forested area as the occupants jumped for their lives. At least seven were killed in the collision while another 15 parachutists remain missing. The rest reportedly jumped from the airplanes during and after the collision. The Czech-built L-410 […]

Enstrom Helicopters announced that the flight test program for its two-seat TH180, currently in development, is progressing on schedule with the second prototype building flight hours. “We are into the envelope expansion phase,” said Enstrom test pilot Bill Taylor. “We’ve had it out over 90 knots so far, and everything is performing as expected.” A […]

King Schools has made some modifications to its Flight Instructor Refresher Course to allow CFIs to focus on areas of weakness or greater interest. Rather than having a list of set course components that must be completed, the course now includes elective sections. “CFIs new to the King FIRC can customize their course for what […]

South African airshow pilot Nigel Hopkins, who is in France getting prepared for the 28th FAI World Aerobatic Championships, is fortunate to be alive after his MX Aircraft MX2 airplane broke up in flight. Hopkins was on a practice flight in preparation for the competition, which is set to take place August 20 through 29 […]