Aviation News

What’s bigger than “jumbo?” An Australian news outlet has reported that Airbus is ready to pull the trigger on development of a stretched A380 — an airplane that is already the largest capacity airplane ever to fly. Not surprisingly, Airbus has yet to comment on the report, which one would classify either as a leak, […]

Lockheed Martin is investigating the source of a major cyber attack last week against its information network, but insists the impact of the breach was minimal and additional steps have already been taken to safeguard the company’s computer systems against future breaches. ** ** “We detected a significant and tenacious attack on our information systems […]

An 11th-hour political fight over proposed FAA cuts and changes to union rules has derailed passage of a long-term agency funding bill, leading to yet another short-term extension — the 18th since 2007. House democrats are seeking to remove provisions that would cut $4 billion from the FAA’s budget and overturn a 2010 National Mediation […]

Viking Air of Sidney, British Columbia, said it has received Transport Canada final production approval for the Series 400 Twin Otter, a new-production airplane based on the original DHC-6 Twin Otter that features more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada engines and advanced Honeywell Primus Apex avionics. With the first five new aircraft already completed and […]

Gulfstream has resumed flight testing of its G650 business jet nearly two months after the crash of a test aircraft during takeoff at Roswell, New Mexico, that killed all four Gulfstream employees on board. “We have conducted all the necessary reviews to assure ourselves that we can safely resume the flight-test program at this point,” […]

Dassault Aviation has grounded its entire fleet of 112 Falcon 7Xs after one airplane experienced a pitch trim issue during a descent. The crew was able to control the airplane and landed successfully. However, as a safety precaution, Dassault requested directives from EASA and the FAA for a temporary suspension all 7X operations until the […]

Melbourne, Florida-based Liberty Aerospace has selected the 100-horsepower Rotax 912S air- and liquid-cooled engine as an alternative to the Teledyne Continental IOF-240-B. Liberty president and CEO Keith Markley says the new engine option is a response to international demands from customers in Southeast Asia, where aviation fuel can reach prices as high as $20 per […]

Scott Ernest, a veteran of GE Aviation, has been named president and CEO of Cessna Aircraft by parent company Textron. Ernest replaces former Cessna Chairman and CEO Jack Pelton, who retired only weeks ago. Ernest faces an extremely tough bizjet market that, despite recent hopeful signs, remains mired in a three-year slump. Single-engine business, likewise, […]

An official investigative report confirms speculation that Air France 447, the flight that crashed into the Atlantic two years ago under then-mysterious circumstances, suffered a high-altitude stall before descending 38,000 feet in 3.5 minutes and crashing into the ocean According to the preliminary accident report issued by the BEA, the captain had just relinquished control […]

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is embracing general aviation as part of its disaster planning preparations after conducting a successful large-scale disaster drill that included private aircraft dealing with a simulated national emergency. “Our GA ‘ready fleet’ performed superbly,” said Marianne Stevenson, president of AERObridge, a group that coordinates use of private aircraft […]