Aviation News

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) reported last week that Los Angeles County has unwisely added $1.3 million to its $600,000 budget for assessing how to repurpose Whiteman Airport (KWHP), despite the fact that the county has a federal obligation to keep the airport operational “in perpetuity.” That mandate comes from language that requires […]

A flood of nighttime drone sightings over northern New Jersey has nearly every level of local law enforcement and government concerned and confused, but no one has been able to get satisfactory explanations. NBC News reported that New Jersey State Senator Jon Bramnick today proposed a limited state of emergency banning all drone flights until […]

Crew aboard a Volaris Airlines A320 thwarted an apparent hijacking and then continued to their destination of Tijuana on Sunday. The Guardian reported the flight originated in León, Guanajuato, a notorious drug cartel base, and a passenger, identified only as Mario, tried to divert it to the U.S., which is steps away from Tijuana. He […]

The Los Angeles City Council did an about face last week and approved a 25-year lease extension for a helicopter company at Van Nuys Airport. Last March, the council bowed to public pressure and voted against giving Bonseph Helinet the extension, which was tied to a planned $25 million redevelopment of its existing facilities at […]

Phillips 66 will supply United Airlines with up to 8 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel over the next seven months thanks to incentives from the State of Illinois. Phillips and United have signed a firm agreement for 3 million gallons to be delivered to O’Hare and 600,000 gallons to be delivered to LAX. The […]

The NTSB is recommending that airshow bosses be required to undergo recurrent training and that FAA inspectors be better trained in what to look for when monitoring airshow operations. In the synopsis of its forthcoming final report into the midair collision between two American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum warbirds at an airshow near Dallas in […]

A well-known former Alaska air charter operator has been found guilty of two federal charges following what has been termed a near-collision in 2023. According to the Anchorage Daily News, William Marsan, 57, of Palmer, a self-described “free citizen,” was convicted of flying without a certificate and operating an unregistered aircraft by a jury. The […]

The FAA has enacted a final rule that, among dozens of other fine print details, allows certain types of pilot training, testing and checking in experimental aircraft without the need for a letter of deviation authority (LODA). The rule fixes a situation that resulted from a court decision five years ago concerning for-hire sightseeing rides […]

In a final report that seems scripted to prove the old adage about aircraft accidents resulting from a series of seemingly minor mishaps, the NTSB has determined that pilot actions, not turbulence and later a trim issue, as was widely reported at the time, caused an upset that led to the death of a passenger […]

A California Superior Court judge will hear arguments Jan. 28 that could result in 100LL becoming unavailable in California and replaced by GAMI’s G100UL unleaded avgas. The court will also be asked to require the four major fuel distributors serving California airports to carry G100UL. The Center for Environmental Health says it’s bringing the action […]