Aviation News

The Seattle Times says Boeing says is beefing up its quality control efforts and allowing inspectors from airlines into its factories to examine its future aircraft in production. The moves come 10 days after a door plug separated from a 737 MAX 9 over Oregon and a week after the FAA grounded the fleet in […]

A Chinese company says it has developed a nuclear battery that supplies power for decades without recharging. Beijing-based Betavolt also says its postage-stamp-sized cells are so safe they can be used in medical devices. “The atomic energy battery developed by Betavolt is absolutely safe, has no external radiation, and is suitable for use in medical […]

Phillips 66 has “paused” evaluation of its unleaded avgas alternative after what sources have told AVweb was a major test failure. Phillips 66 confirmed to AVweb that evaluation of the fuel it is developing with Afton Chemicals through the Piston Engine Aviation Fuels Initiative has been suspended, at least temporarily. “We can confirm that PAFI […]

Four people died, including the pilot, and one is critically injured after a hot-air balloon crash in Eloy, Arizona, about halfway between Tucson and Phoenix, on Sunday. The balloon, identified on Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board as a Czech Republic-made Kubicek BB 85, took off with 13 people in the basket, including eight […]

One of aviation journalism’s most respected voices, our sister publication FLYING Magazine’s Fred George, will literally join aviation royalty when he’s inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation on Jan. 19. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is also among the inductees as are CAE CEO Marc Parent and renowned warbird expert and pilot Steve Hinton. George is […]

WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline says it had to cancel more than 200 flights because it was too cold to de-ice aircraft. On Saturday, wind chill temperatures went as low as -90 degrees F at Edmonton International Airport, one of about 20 airports the airline serves in the western half of the country. “This morning on […]

On Friday, NASA and Lockheed Martin displayed the X-59 QueSST (Quiet SuperSonic Technology), the agency’s latest X aircraft designed to break the sound barrier without generating a sonic boom. The aircraft was shown off at a ceremony hosted by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works at its Palmdale, California, research facility.  According to NASA, the X-59 QueSST is integral to […]

On Thursday, Airbus announced it secured 2,094 aircraft orders in 2023—a record-breaking year for the European aircraft manufacturer. According to a company press release, 735 commercial aircraft were delivered globally last year, an 11% increase from 2022. Additionally, its current order backlog now stands at an impressive 8,598.  “We originally anticipated aviation to recover sometime in the […]

During a layover in Johannesburg, a British Airways pilot was abducted, assaulted and robbed by thieves, according to The Sun.   The first officer was apparently the victim of a scam when a woman asked him to help carry her bags to her car outside of a supermarket. Upon reaching the vehicle, several men pushed him […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association says it will support the expansion of Light Sport pilot privileges to include four-seat aircraft and will also endorse an increase in “the size, performance and scope” of the aircraft covered by the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). “GAMA intends to support the MOSAIC […]