Aviation Law

NORAD fighters fired flares to get the attention of an RV-7 pilot who blundered into the presidential TFR surrounding President Donald Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort on Saturday. The jets were scrambled and intercepted the homebuilt in the restricted airspace but weren’t able to raise the pilot on the radio. Shortly after the flares […]

AOPA is reporting that hundreds of pilots may have to take their practical tests over again after an FAA investigation revealed issues with the performance of a Cincinnati FAA examiner. Anyone who passed ride with Michael A. Puehler between 2008 and 2019 may have to take the test again. AOPA says the FAA said the […]

A Las Vegas air maintenance student has pleaded guilty to trying to bribe his way through the final exam. Frank A. Jalion Amaro, 21, offered an FAA designated mechanic examiner Duluth, Georgia, $2500 for a passing grade on the test. The examiner immediately reported the bribery attempt and it was turned into a sting operation. […]

The FAA says it’s working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to update guidelines for air carriers on COVID-19 precautions but the head of the nation’s biggest pilots’ union says the current regime isn’t enough. ALPA President Capt. Joe DePete told WOIO in Cleveland that the FAA needs to mandate compliance with CDC recommendations […]

It’s been 20 years since the Air Tour Management Act of 2000, governing the nature and frequency of commercial sightseeing flights in national parks, was enacted and a federal judge says it’s time the FAA and National Parks Service started enforcing it. Circuit Court Judge Thomas Griffith told the agencies to end their turf war […]

Embraer will likely sue Boeing after the collapse of a $4.2 billion deal to buy Embraer’s commercial aircraft division. Boeing announced on Saturday it was pulling out of the deal and said it’s because Embraer didn’t live up to its end of the deal. “Boeing has worked diligently over more than two years to finalize […]

Any pilot whose medical expires after March 30 can continue to fly until June 30 without renewing in light of the novel coronavirus crisis. The FAA announced on Friday it will not be enforcing medical expirations during that period so that medical personnel can focus on dealing with the pandemic. “The Notice states that from […]

Canada has extended medical privileges for as much as four months for pilots whose medicals expire before June 1 and AOPA is asking for similar consideration and more for U.S. pilots. AOPA says it is now working with the FAA to figure out what to do about pilots whose medicals expire at the end of […]

The FAA has updated guidance on expense sharing for private flights with an advisory circular that adds modern context to the 30-year-old rule. AC 61-142 was published at the end of February and is in response to the 2018 FAA reauthorization, which required the FAA to issue clearer guidance on flight sharing. Although not a […]

A former American Airlines mechanic was sentenced to 37 months in prison on Wednesday for “attempted destruction of an aircraft.” Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, 60, had previously pleaded guilty to tampering with the air data module (ADM) on American Airlines Flight 2834, which was scheduled to fly from Florida’s Miami International Airport (MIA) to Nassau, […]