Aviation News

With each passing day, the mystery grows deeper surrounding the Pilatus PC-12 crash last week in Butte, Montana. All 14 Californians on board died, including seven small children. They were on their way to a ski vacation at Yellowstone Club, near Bozeman, Montana. The single pilot-65-year-old Air Force veteran Bud Summerfield-requested a diversion to Butte […]

W.W. (Bill) Boisture Jr., who has made the rounds of top management of several leading business aviation companies, was appointed chairman and CEO of Hawker Beechcraft in late March. Boisture replaces Jim Schuster who had announced his retirement last year. Boisture has held top positions at Gulfstream, NetJets, SimuFlight and Butler Aviation, the predecessor of […]

Executive bonuses are at the top of the news’ hit list. And Cessna’s parent company, Textron, has revealed through filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its CEO Lewis Campbell saw his performance bonus steeply diminish last year. The overall downgrade amounted to a bottom-line pay cut of 16 percent-down to $9.8 million […]

All aircraft owners who have retained their loran receivers as backups for GPS raise your hands. (Mine is up.) Well, it seems our strategic move could backfire, as the Obama administration is considering decommissioning loran as of next year. Eliminating the system would save Uncle Sam $190 million over five years, according to reports. Loran-C […]

U.S. Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) didn’t mince words when assessing the TSA’s Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP). After a meeting with the TSA on March 10th, the congressman said, “This is a prime example of a stupid rule. Simply put, the threat does not warrant this level of regulation.” Under provisions of LASP, passengers on […]

Selected as National Flight Instructor of the Year in 2006, Rich Stowell has resigned his membership in the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)-and demanded a refund of his dues. NAFI management has faced considerable push-back from members in recent months, leading to the establishment of a rival group known as Society of Aviation and […]

Less than a year after an insolvency debacle that left its engine supplier in ruins, Diamond has achieved European certification for its DA42 NG-powered by Diamond’s own Austro diesel engines. The 170 hp Austro engines have 20 percent more power than the Thielert engines they replace, while nevertheless claiming lower fuel burn. Certification by the […]

Grob Aerospace is now virtually out of sight as far as its SPn light jet program is concerned, but a new group of investors could resurrect the program from insolvency. Development of the composite light jet ceased last year when funding evaporated, but a report indicates the former Grob CEO is assembling a group to […]

Tensions are running high surrounding the Korean peninsula as North Korea has threatened the safety of civil aircraft in its airspace over the Sea of Japan. In a statement North Korea warned, “Security cannot be guaranteed for South Korean civil airplanes.” Fueling the tension is the upcoming joint South Korean-U.S. military exercise, which North Korea […]

This week, groups of air medical services providers from around the country are meeting in Washington, D.C., as part of their annual trade conference. The meeting this year takes on larger significance with the recent attention called to the poor safety record of medical transportation providers, specifically those operating helicopters. Today, leaders of the Association […]