Aviation News

The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that mountain downdrafts-as strong as 400 feet per minute-exceeded the climb capability of Steve Fossett’s borrowed Bellanca Decathlon. He crashed into the side of a mountain in eastern California after taking off from a friend’s ranch airstrip for a pleasure flight. High density altitude (estimated at 13,000 feet) […]

Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes Magazine and the owner-pilot of a 2005 Cirrus SR22 GTS will address the opening session of this year’s National Business Aviation Association Convention. The meeting runs from October 20-22 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Karlgaard will be the keynote speaker. He said, “I look forward to […]

Icon Aircraft has announced a fresh round of equity financing for its unique A5 light-sport-capable amphibian. The company plans to have an A5 flying-from land and water-at this month’s EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh. Founded by former fighter pilot and current airline pilot Kirk Hawkins, Icon holds a $40 million sales backlog and is sold […]

Cessna’s parent Textron has announced the cancellation of the Columbus large-cabin jet program. First announced in 2006, what would have been the largest Citation had notched orders for some 70 units at a price of $27 million each. The current sales climate caused Cessna to suspend development of the Columbus a little more than two […]

Cirrus Aircraft has announced a partnership with Aerospace Products International (API) in which the latter would take over distribution and logistics services for Cirrus. API will support Cirrus owners, operators and service centers worldwide. Under the brand “Cirrus Parts by API,” the Memphis, Tennessee-based company will have responsibility for “all field supply chain services and […]

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville to Baltimore on Monday were jolted by a loss of cabin pressure caused by a one-foot-square hole in the upper fuselage. Passenger oxygen masks deployed, the crew initiated an emergency descent and diverted to Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia where the Boeing 737 landed uneventfully. No […]

When James and Kathy Wiebe acquired the production rights to the Kitfox-Lite kitplane, they formed Belite Aircraft, with the intention of placing the aircraft on yet a further weight reduction program. The result is a redesigned version of the legacy Kitfox; this one aimed at an empty weight of less than 245 pounds. That would […]

One truism holds, there will always be those who can take advantage of a down market. Fractional-share provider Avantair, based in Clearwater, Florida, is pressing that advantage, luring former jet customers to its Piaggio Avanti and Avanti II twin turboprops. With a current fleet of 53 of the unique pusher twins, Avantair expects to take […]

Every day, more than 1.5 million messages are generated as part of the FAA flight plan infrastructure. The agency is nearing rollout of a hardware update that will fully integrate the process, streamlining the flow of information. The new National Airspace Data Interchange Network covers airlines and general aviation flights, with flight plans filed through […]

After protracted delays, Bell’s Model 429 light twin helicopter has received type approval from U.S. and Canadian regulatory agencies. With letters of intent for more than 300 Model 429s, Bell expects to begin deliveries next month. Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207DI turboshaft engines, the Bell 429 is priced at $4.87 […]