Aviation News

Hawker Beechcraft on Monday announced an exclusivity agreement with Superior Aviation Beijing Co. in a deal that, if completed, will allow the Chinese-based company to acquire Hawker Beechcraft for a purchase price of $1.79 billion. Hawker Beechcraft reps say Superior intends to continue present operations at the debt-plagued company while also pouring investment into the […]

A Brazilian Air Force pilot landed himself in hot water this week after flying a supersonic Mirage 2000 fighter fast and low enough to shatter approximately 100 windows of the country’s Supreme Federal Court Building. The blowout took place during a monthly flag ceremony in Brasilia that featured a scheduled aerial demonstration organized by Brazil’s […]

At the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) gathering in Duluth, Minnesota, yesterday, Avidyne announced a new product, the IFD-440. The navigator will boast many of the features of the larger IFD-540, which Avidyne announced at last year’s AirVenture show and which it currently plans to start shipping early next year. The IFD-440 will be […]

Spaceport America, the first purpose-built commercial spaceport, based in southern New Mexico, revealed its new image on Independence Day — a logo the new spaceport has named “Spirit.” The new logo symbolizes one red and one blue star coming together, displaying “Spaceport America’s core commitment to the spirit of exploration, the promise of human potential, […]

Chinese state-owned manufacturer Avicopter this week received the type certificate for its AC311 light utility helicopter, expanding the AVIC subsidiary’s growing product portfolio. The AC311 is a single-engine helicopter that is reminiscent of the Eurocopter AS350. It has an mtow of 4,850 pounds, can carry six people and is offered with a choice of Honeywell […]

The **** JetBlue Airways pilot who was charged with interfering with a flight crew after he left the cockpit of his Airbus A320 and began ranting about religion and terrorists has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. A federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, issued the ruling during a bench trial on Tuesday for […]

When Cessna put production of its Corvalis single-engine speedster on hiatus two years ago following a delamination event of a wing structure — no one got hurt — the company clearly had its work cut out for it. It not only had to fix its production processes, something the company says it has successfully done, […]

In the final report issued Thursday on the Air France 447 crash that killed 228 people in May 2009, investigators said the pilots were “completely surprised” by technical problems experienced at high altitude and engaged in increasingly de-structured actions until suffering “the total loss of cognitive control of the situation.” The report, issued by the […]

A C-130 that crashed while battling a fire in South Dakota’s Black Hills on Sunday belonged to the North Carolina Air National Guard’s 145th Airlift Wing based at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Four of the six crew members on board were killed and two others are in the hospital in serious condition, according to the U.S. […]

Members of the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) set out on Tuesday on a renewed search for Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, almost exactly 75 years after the historic aviator disappeared somewhere in the Pacific while attempting to circumnavigate the globe. The expedition team is headed to the island of Nikumaroro, where TIGHAR members […]