Business Aviation

Test pilots on the Boeing 737 MAX weren’t provided key details on how the MCAS stability system functioned and apparently weren’t aware of its aggressive trim capability. The Wall Street Journal reports that MAX flight test pilots were also unaware that MCAS relied on data from a single angle-of-attack sensor. The report follows a revelation […]

Bombardier has announced that it will consolidate its aerospace assets into a single business unit under the heading Bombardier Aviation. As part of the consolidation, Bombardier will be looking to sell its Belfast and Morocco aerostructures businesses. The company says the move will allow it to better focus on its Global, Challenger, Learjet and CRJ […]

When Boeing finally digs itself out of the self-inflicted PR disaster of the 737 MAX story—if it ever does—I wonder how it will be graded on handling the crisis. I wonder, but I’m kinda disposed to think it will become a textbook case of how not to behave in the searing glare of catastrophic bad […]

Southwest Airlines, Boeing’s biggest customer for the troubled 737 MAX, said this week that the airplane maker’s documentation incorrectly claimed that its aircraft had operable angle-of-attack disagree warning lights. But Boeing informed Southwest that the AoA function was actually inoperative only after the Lion Air crash in Indonesia last October. Even as Boeing finishes software […]

Addressing shareholders in Chicago Monday, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg spoke to reporters about the 737 MAX’s troubled MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System). “The MCAS system as originally designed met our design and safety analysis criteria,” he said. When asked if the MCAS was the cause of both Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents, Muilenburg sidestepped […]

Airbus has been flying the ACJ (Airbus Corporate Jets) 319neo for only a couple of days, but has already set an endurance record. Thanks to additional fuel tanks compared to the airline version of the A319, the ACJ-neo was able to make a 16-hour, 10-minute test flight. As previously reported, the 319neo completed a short […]

Eviation has announced that it has selected the magniX magni250 propulsion system to power its all-electric Alice aircraft. According to Eviation, the 375-horsepower magni250 will be one of two propulsion options on the nine-passenger composite commuter. The company says magniX motors have undergone more than 1,500 hours in test facilities and have been tested “for […]

Airbus’ ACJ319neo business jet successfully completed its first flight on Wednesday. According to the company, the one-hour-and-55-minute flight is the beginning of a short test program designed to verify the aircraft’s “corporate jet features” including extra fuel tanks in the cargo hold, which enable intercontinental range. The ACJ319neo being tested was built for Germany’s K5 […]

After having had scores of airline crew overnights in Los Angeles over the last 32 years, in a variety of area hotels, one I stayed in recently had special meaning for me. As I arose in the morning and opened the drapes, I was presented with a direct view of the approach end of Runway […]

For the second year in a row, FlightSafety International has been named one of Forbes’ “best mid-sized employers.” It is one of 500 companies with more than 1000 employees to be named, and just one of eight in the aerospace and defense industry to receive this accolade. “We are pleased and honored that FlightSafety has […]