Aviation News

According to the FAA’s latest release on NextGen, implementation of the next steps to air traffic modernization will rely at least in part on aircraft operators to shoulder the expense of new onboard equipment. Listed among the primary “Challenges to Implementing NextGen” was the following: “NextGen’s increasing dependency on aircraft-centric capabilities means that we must […]

Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, 59, has flown his last airline flight. The captain of US Airways Flight 1549, who landed his bird-strike stricken Airbus in the Hudson River a year ago January, has been hailed as a hero ever since. Though eligible to continue flying until age 65 (the FAA’s age-60 retirement mandate was extended to […]

Eurocopter announced last month it was developing new technology to reduce the noise generated by helicopter rotor blades. The company has named the new developments “Blue Edge” and “Blue Pulse” technology, and has tested them on an EC155. The reshaped Blue Edge blade tip reduced noise by up to 4 decibels with its cranked leading […]

JFK Tower controller Glenn Duffy, 48, and his family are dealing with the results of his lapse in judgment. Duffy allowed his twin 9-year-old children to issue a few ATC directions to departing airliners on the tower frequency on successive days to the apparent delight and appreciation of pilots who responded (click here to listen […]

On Monday, President Obama nominated retired Maj. Gen. Robert Harding to head up the Transportation Security Administration. Harding served 33 years in the Army, mostly as a specialist on intelligence. At his retirement in 2001, he was director of operations at the Defense Intelligence Agency. After retirement, he launched his own defense and intelligence contracting […]

In what many see as a recognition long overdue, the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) from the World War II era were honored with Congressional Medals yesterday. Dr. Peggy Chabrian, president of the Women in Aviation International said, “This intrepid group of women pilots made an invaluable contribution to the war effort. We are delighted […]

By the close of the 21st Annual Women in Aviation International (WAI) Conference on Feb. 27 in Orlando, Florida, nearly 3,000 attendees had made their presence felt. They came from all aviation disciplines, including airlines, corporate flying, the military, maintenance, research, academia, engineering, business and more (for a first-hand look at the Conference, click here […]

At a time when the word, ‘bipartisan’ might as well be part of a dead language, members of the House on both sides of the aisle have rallied behind extending the bonus depreciation incentive that expired last December. Late last month, Representatives Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) and Chris Carney (D-Pa.) sent a copies of a letter […]

Last Friday, a federal court ruled that the FAA must release its list of participants in the NBAA Blocked Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program. The program was instituted years ago when air traffic information was made public, launching third-party flight-tracking services such as FlightAware. Under the NBAA program, aircraft operators could block their tail numbers […]

A pair of industry surveys by engine-makers Honeywell and Rolls-Royce point to continued decline in the turbine rotorcraft market through next year. Long-term outlooks continue to be optimistic, though Honeywell predicts the uptick might not arrive until 2014. The declines in sales are blamed on high inventories and tight credit conditions. One bright spot in […]