Aviation News

The FAA has issued a document clarifying the rules regarding the use of seat belts for part 91 operations. It is still permissible under 14 CFR 91.107 (a)(3) to share seat belts and to allow children under the age of two to be held on the lap of an adult without any restraining system. But […]

After seeking bankruptcy protection just last month, Hawker Beechcraft is exploring a variety of options to improve its position, including a sale of the company, according to a recent report in the Wichita Eagle. Potential buyers have until Thursday to submit their bids, in anticipation of Hawker Beechcraft’s submission of a detailed restructuring plan to […]

Investigators on Tuesday announced that they have found the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the MD-83 that crashed on Sunday afternoon into the heavily populated city of Lagos, Nigeria, killing all 153 aboard and a number of others on the ground. Recovery workers had found 150 bodies as of Tuesday afternoon. They […]

A Cold War-era Lockheed P2V tanker crashed in western Utah on Sunday, killing two pilots who had been battling a lightning-sparked wildfire. Eyewitnesses said it appeared a wingtip hit the ground in a rocky canyon as the airplane was dropping its fire retardant. The P2V disintegrated on impact, leaving a 1,000-foot-long debris field, officials said. […]

During its inaugural dealer conference last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ** Eclipse Aerospace** announced the official production launch for the Model 550, the successor to the original Eclipse 500 very light jet. To mark the occasion, members of the Eclipse management team and board of directors on Friday signed the fuselage of the first […]

Pieces of a cosmetic jar found on a remote Pacific island have rekindled speculation over what happened to Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan during their ill-fated circumnavigational flight attempt in 1937. The jar remnants, found by the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) on the island of Nikumaroro, reportedly resemble pieces of a […]

Members of the House General Aviation Caucus have sent a letter to congressional leaders opposing an amendment to a federal transportation bill that some say could kill the nation’s air tour industry. Eighteen representatives signed the May 30 letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. John Mica (R-FL), whose committees will be considering a […]

On the heels of SpaceX’s successful mission to the International Space Station, the FAA has given the green light for another commercial venture to move one step further toward space flight by granting Scaled Composites an experimental permit for rocket-powered test flights of SpaceShipTwo. With the permit in hand, Scaled says it anticipates the commencement […]

The first privately built spacecraft to travel to the International Space Station returned home on Thursday after successfully completing a historic mission that proved commercial firms can indeed take over duties that until now have been reserved for large governmental space agencies. Descending beneath three giant red-and-white parachutes, the SpaceX Dragon capsule ended its nine-day […]

Burgeoning aircraft designer John McGinnis is searching for support for an aircraft design with quite an ambitious goal: To provide the fuel efficiency of a small jet 10 times over while cutting the price tag by the same measure. That design, known as Synergy, was unveiled last year at the CAFÉ Electric Aircraft Symposium in […]