Aviation News

An Airbus A320 captain is in hot water after investigators found he was forced to abort a landing below 500 feet after preoccupation with his cell phone caused him to forget to deploy the landing gear. According to the Australian newspaper the Age, the Jetstar captain was sidetracked by incoming text messages as he and […]

Boeing and All Nippon Airways made history this week, flying a 787 Dreamliner across the Pacific Ocean powered in part by aviation biofuel. The brand new 787 flew from Washington state to Japan using a biofuel blend made mainly from used cooking oil. The airplane emitted an estimated 30 percent less CO2 emissions compared to […]

The FAA has given the nod to the TouchTrainer – a home-based basic avionics training device (BATD) based on the X-Plane software with which you can stay instrument current in the comfort of your own home. You can even log up to 10 hours toward your instrument rating with this system, as long as you […]

Following FAA and EASA certification a few years prior, Transport Canada has given the official thumbs up to both the regular and special-mission versions of the Diamond DA42 NG. While Diamond continues to wait on Transport Canada’s okay for DA42 NG flight into known icing conditions, the company says the new certification will allow it […]

Cessna Aircraft showed positive momentum in the first quarter of the year, posting a big revenue increase to go along with reduced losses as the company delivered more airplanes. Cessna reported $669 million in revenue in the quarter, compared with $556 million a year ago, according to numbers released by parent Textron. Cessna also posted $6 million in […]

Authorities have suspended the search for the body of the Cessna 421 pilot who crashed into the Gulf of Mexico Thursday afternoon after remaining unresponsive to air traffic control calls for several hours. The Cessna 421 took off from Slidell, Louisiana, on Thursday morning and headed southeast over the Gulf, but drew concern from air […]

Each month I receive the NTSB Reporter (ntsbreporter@aol.com), which provides an abbreviated version of some of the more interesting NTSB reports that have been issued recently, along with a paragraph or two on a number of recent accidents and other stories of interest. As I read through the weather and other information available to a […]

With the strong backing of its new Chinese owners, Cirrus Aircraft on Wednesday announced that the long-gestating Vision SF50 single-engine jet program has received full funding through certification and into initial production, now anticipated to start in 2015. “Today is simply a tremendous milestone for Cirrus,” said Dale Klapmeier, CEO and cofounder of Cirrus Aircraft. […]

Pipistrel took the wraps off its super-efficient Panthera four-seater this week at the Aero Expo in Friedrichshafen, Germany, giving avgeeks a first glimpse at the aircraft that boasts a 1,000 nm range and a cruise speed of 200 knots, all while burning a mere 10 gallons of gasoline per hour. The prototype unveiled at the […]

After hearing news that one English farmer’s 15-year quest to locate Spitfires buried beneath Burma has proven successful, Prime Minister David Cameron has in turn struck a deal to have the iconic aircraft returned to England. According to the Telegraph, the announcement stems from the dogged efforts of 62-year-old David Cundall, who made it his […]