Aviation News

The Seattle Times reported today (Jan. 24) that “a person familiar with the details of the work” said Boeing mechanics in Renton, Washington, improperly reinstalled the now-infamous fuselage door plug on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737. The Times also reported that the FAA has blocked Boeing’s plan to increase production of the MAXes […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association says it supports almost everything about the proposed Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) initiative but isn’t convinced the FAA has properly considered the risks of one of its main proposals. In its comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the organization, which represents about 150 OEMs, parts and subsystem […]

The B-21 Raider is already in “low rate production” even though flight testing has just begun. The stealth nuclear strike bomber had its first flight two months ago and the prototype is undergoing testing at Edwards Air Force Base as operational aircraft are being assembled at Northrop Grumman’s plant at nearby Palmdale. “This past fall, […]

Six people died and the sole survivor has severe burns in the crash of a 19-seat BAE Jetstream in northern Canada. The 19-seat BAE Jetstream operated by Northwestern Air Lease went down shortly after takeoff from Fort Smith in the southeastern part of the Northwest Territories. The local hospital initiated a mass casualty response but […]

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minucci told NBC News Tuesday technicians have found “many” loose bolts on door plugs in Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft since the planes were grounded more than two weeks ago. The NBC interview was scheduled to run on the NBC Evening News. The FAA […]

Southwest pilots have voted overwhelmingly to accept a new five-year contract that will give them a cumulative 50% wage increase over the term. The Associated Press reported that in the first year, they get a 29.15 percent bump followed by 4% increases in the next three years and a 3.25% raise in the final year. […]

NetJets has adopted a mandatory retirement age of 70 for pilots and let go about 100 earlier this month. Business Jet Traveler reported the pilots were terminated Jan. 10. Some of those pilots have launched a lawsuit against NetJets trying to overturn the age cap, but Congress gave Part 91K and Part 135 operators the […]

Four major aviation groups have signed on to comments to the FAA that would tweak the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to expand its benefits to recreational aviation. Monday was the comment deadline and EAA submitted the comments that were co-signed by AOPA, NBAA and the National Air Transportation […]

The FAA has told airlines operating Boeing 737-900ER airliners to check the installation of door plugs as they are the same design as those on the 737 MAX 9. The agency issued a safety alert, which is a recommendation that carriers inspect the planes. It does not ground the type as an earlier order for […]

Van’s Aircraft says 65% of customers have agreed to pay more for their kits and more than 100 of those kits have now been shipped. The company, which went into bankruptcy a month ago, says it’s ramping up kit deliveries but is still buried under email inquiries. “Our shipping throughput will increase over the coming […]