Aviation News

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 […]

The Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has teamed up with American Flyers to provide flight training for NSU’s new Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services Administration, which concentrates on human factors in aviation. The program begins Aug. 20. Academic classes will be held online, but students can also opt to take some courses at NSU’s […]

What makes an airplane an airplane as opposed to a model of one? Well, having a pilot is one factor, but with remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs) all the rage these days, is that really such a big defining factor any more? If it’s size that counts, then I think we can all agree these gorgeous […]

The families of three drunk passengers killed in a May 2010 floatplane crash off Vancouver Island are suing the airline, saying the pilot never should have let them on board in the first place. The airplane crashed into the water not long after takeoff, killing the three passengers and pilot Damon York on impact. Canada’s […]

The NTSB has asked Canada’s Transportation Safety Board to take over the investigation of a midair collision over Virginia between two light airplanes owned by employees of the FAA and NTSB. On Monday afternoon a Piper Cherokee registered to an FAA employee and a Beechcraft Bonanza owned by an NTSB employee collided in flight near […]

Here’s a heartening statistic: To judge from an unscientific search of NTSB accident records, fewer than one in eight fuel-exhaustion accidents during the period 2006 through 2010 were fatal. Notice that these are the accidents that come to the attention of the NTSB because they involve injury or property damage of a certain magnitude. We […]

U.S. Navy divers are currently spending the week off the coast of Florida investigating quite an unusual find: A Curtiss SB2C Helldiver lying upside down approximately 185 feet below the water’s surface. The aircraft was spotted several months ago by a group of individuals on a routine tech dive near the waters off the coastal […]

The FAA and EASA recently issued emergency airworthiness directives (EAD) for Eurocopter’s popular twin-engine helicopter – the EC 135. There are some differences between FAA’s EAD 2012-10-51 and EASA’s AD 2012-0085-E, but both were implemented because cracks have been found in the hub-shaft flange of a main rotor hub. These cracks could result in the […]