In Brief

NBAA Vice President Joe Ponte announced his retirement on Monday, the latest in a recent string of changes in the group’s upper ranks… Yesterday, the NBAA said it has hired Lisa Piccione as its new senior vice president of government affairs… Ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland is diverting air traffic in the North […]

The recovery continues, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. GAMA’s third quarter surveyof industry activity shows across-the-board increases in sales and revenue. Industry billings were up 15.9 percent to $7.8 billion for the first nine months of 2004, while total units rose 7.7 percent to 1,928… Want to buy a nuclear bomber? Brian Bateson […]

Small aircraft usually lose in an encounter with power lines but an Ontario pilot is a living exception to that rule. The 19-year-old Pembroke man managed to land his 172 safely after slicing three large lines carrying 230,000 volts each. A power company official termed the incident “a miracle”… Dudley J. Hill, a well-known Pennsylvania […]

A Learjet crashed in the mountains near San Diego yesterday, killing all five on board — two pilots, two paramedics and a nurse. The crew was based out of Med Flight Air Ambulance in Albuquerque, N.M….Two pilots and eight passengers died in the crash of a Beech 200 in Virginia last night. The Beech, owned […]

The NTSB on Monday dedicated its training academy in Ashburn, Va., to the victims of transportation accidents and their families… Loose change left behind from pockets emptied at airport security gates totaled $321,329.48 last year. The money went into the U.S. federal general fund… EAA’s Young Eagles to participate Saturday in national “Make A Difference […]

Small aircraft manufacturers waiting for money to rain down on them from the government will wait a long time. AVweb reported Thursdaythat the Senate had approved tax breaks worth $245 million for plane-makers but it was just the extension of delivery dates, to the end of 2005, on aircraft qualifying for bonus depreciation. Good news, […]

An errant pilot saw the light last Saturday during an unauthorized excursion over Minneapolis. An Air Force F-16 launched a flare to get the attention of the pilot, who was busting a presidential TFR over the Twin Cities. By now, the pilot can almost certainly say he’s met a real Secret Service man… There’s never […]

The U.S. House passed a bill last week that includes an extension of the bonus-depreciation tax break for new GA aircraft… Bombardier Aerospace will lay off 2,000 workers in Montreal and Belfast due to slowing demand for its 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet… Kirby Chambliss took top place at the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, held in […]

Pilots are warned to beware of volcanic ash and possible eruptions in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens in Washington. AVweb is aware of a volcano cam (that was not showing a picture Tuesday)… Black Sky: Reaching for the X Prize, an update on the space race, airs tonight at 9 p.m. on the Discovery […]

Hartzell Propeller Inc. has created a holding company and begun acquiring other aerospace firms. The first acquisition was Industrial Tube Corp., of Perris, Calif. Industrial Tube makes composite tubes, ducts and special shapes for the aerospace industry… Daniel Webster College held its fourth Aviation Heritage Festival last week. Displays of aircraft ranged from biplanes to […]