Aviation News

A sting operation mounted by the Office of Inspector General and Department of Transportation has led to the conviction of a San Francisco man for falsifying his student helicopter pilot medical records. Michael Shelby Ascarte was sentenced to 10 hours of community service and six months probation for withholding the fact that he was on […]

Liberty’s XL2 single-engine two-seater has received its Australian certification… Any reciprocating engine crankcases serviced by Crankcase Services of Tulsa, Okla., should be checked, says the FAA’s Suspected Unapproved Parts Program Office… Two European airlines have told their crews to follow special defensive procedures while in Brazilian airspace, Reuters reported this week… Need a stocking stuffer […]

The Thunderbirds will perform at the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends Sept. 27 to Sept. 30 in Columbus. More than two-thirds of the world’s 150 flyable P-51s are expected at the event, which will also honor 51 legendary figures involved with the storied fighter… The closure of a short runway has prompted expansion at Allegheny […]

Adam Aircraft has hired two new executives to manage flight test and engineering programs… A computer system at Miami Center was down for about an hour on Wednesday, and four aircraft in the flight levels “almost” violated FAA separation rules, The Associated Press reported… Brazil shut down three major airports on Tuesday when an air […]

Spectrum Aeronautical has received Organizational Designated Airworthiness Representative (ODAR) status with the FAA, allowing it to perform in-house airworthiness inspections of the two business jets it has under development. Spectrum says the responsibility came earlier in the aircraft development process than is usual… Galvin Flight Services will host the Pacific Northwest debut of the Diamond […]

Test pilot Scott Crossfield was posthumously awarded the Engen Trophy on Tuesday by the Washington, D.C., Aero Club. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey made the presentation to his daughter Susan… A helicopter crashed in Lyons, Oregon, last week while hoisting Christmas trees in a sling attached with a rope. The rope broke and rebounded, hitting the […]

A student pilot got a very graphic demonstration of the dangers of wake turbulence at Seattles Boeing Field a couple of weeks ago. According to the NTSB, the student was on final for Runway 13L in a Cessna 172 when Boeings modified 747 Large Cargo Freighter passed it on final to Runway 13R. A nine-knot […]

Diamond’s Twin Star DA42 got its type certificate from Transport Canada this week… Avantair, the exclusive provider of fractional aircraft shares in the Avanti P.180 aircraft, has acquired five Avanti IIs since September. Next year, the fleet will grow to 40, and the company will merge with Ardent Acquisition Corp… Keep up with the latest […]

The U.S. government is expected to release a confiscated video on Dec. 21 that may contain images of the final moments of the crash of an airliner into the Pentagon on 9/11. The Web site Flight77.info claims its freedom of information request resulted in the decision to release the video… Piper is providing financial incentives […]

Piaggio promises both style and performance in its new jet design, but is revealing no details. The new jet is expected to launch sometime next year, Flight Global reports… Bell/Agusta flew the second prototype of its BA609 tilt-rotor aircraft for the first time last week in Cameri, Italy. The aircraft flew for 52 minutes and […]