Aviation News

Deborah Hersman has been named as the nominee for chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. She would replace Mark Rosenker, who has been serving as interim chairman since his term expired last August. Hersman has been a member of the NTSB since 2004 and has led the investigations of many high-profile business aviation accidents, […]

The pulse of general aviation activity continues to show signs of life. Aviation research firm ARG/US compiles flight activity data through its TRAQPak program. The data represents serial-number-specific aircraft arrival and departure information for all IFR flights, including Hawaii and Alaska. In the ‘it’s not getting worse’ category, activity for May 2009 was down 15.5 […]

Taking a page from luxury car sales strategy, Hawker Beechcraft Corp. (HBC) now offers five years of free maintenance for Premier 1A jet buyers, or 1,000 hours, whichever comes first. The deal is available until September 30. Buyers are also able to take advantage of bonus depreciation in 2009, with potentially significant tax savings. The […]

A few months after Cirrus announced it had chosen Garmin to provide avionics for production versions of its developmental Vision light jet, L-3 Avionics Systems’ legal department has reacted. L-3 had been on board with Cirrus as the avionics provider in the early stages of the Vision single-engine-jet project with L-3’s SmartDeck integrated suite. According […]

With an amendment last week to the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act, the aviation industry will now be able to review and provide input on proposed TSA security measures. Under amendment to H.R.2200, a new Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) will be formed. It will include a group of aviation industry stakeholders and a general […]

The two largest general aviation ‘alphabet groups’ have always had a cooperative working relationship. But that synergy was formalized last week in a meeting between the two groups’ leaders. AOPA President Craig Fuller and EAA Chairman and President Tom Poberezny met to map out strategies in using the groups’ resources to further the interests of […]

Despite previous claims insisting he had experienced catastrophic damage to his Piper Malibu, an Indiana fund manager pleaded guilty last week to intentionally crashing the airplane and sending false distress calls. Marcus Schrenker, 38, bailed out of his PA-46-500TP over Alabama, near where he had stashed a motorcycle in a storage facility. The airplane crashed […]

Lawyers for Cirrus Design are considering their appeal options in a Minnesota court ruling that found the company negligent in a fatal accident. The pilot of a Cirrus SR22, who was killed in the crash along with his passenger, was found 25 percent negligent. The jury found Cirrus and the University of North Dakota 75 […]

The January 15 ditching of a US Airways Airbus earlier this year highlighted the growing problem of bird strikes. Now, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has established a center for studying wildlife hazards, including bird strikes. Aviation safety has always included wildlife experts-not just to mitigate bird strikes in flight, but also to minimize runway encounters with […]

After 28 flights, stage one of testing is complete for the Terrafugia ‘Transition’ roadable airplane. Woburn, Massachusetts-based Terrafugia (Latin for ‘escape from land’) now moves on to the Beta Prototype testing stage, with a second airframe to be developed based on lessons learned from the POC vehicle. First flight was March 5. First deliveries of […]