Aviation News

Garmin announced today (March 6) it has upgraded its FltPlan safety management system (SMS) by updating the system’s Flight Risk Assessment Tool (FRAT). The new FRAT is streamlined, needing less input from pilots, and enables customizing operators’ FRATs for different pilots and aircraft within the same organization. FRAT enhancements are now simplified, according to Garmin, […]

As part of its career-development program, the FAA announced yesterday (March 5) it will dispense $13.5 million to 32 schools and colleges nationwide “to attract and train students for careers as pilots and aviation maintenance technicians.” A dozen of those institutions will share $4.5 million from the agency’s Aircraft Pilots Aviation Workforce Development Grant program, […]

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its annual safety report on Feb. 28, noting that 2023 was the safest year ever for commercial air travel. In its analysis, the trade group stated that there were no hull losses or fatal accidents involving passenger jet aircraft in 2023 despite a 17% uptick in aircraft movements compared to […]

PSI, the third-party contractor that administers all FAA tests, has been purchased by ETS, a Princeton, New Jersey nonprofit that is one of the largest language testing organizations in the world. ETS’s main business is in administering language tests for admissions requirements for universities, but it bought PSI as a diversification move to expand into […]

Five Canadians were killed in the crash of a Piper Turbo Lance next to a freeway in Nashville on Monday. Two adults and three children died after the plane crashed and caught fire next to I-40 in a commercial area about three miles south of John C. Tune Airport west of downtown Nashville. The aircraft […]

The FAA has allowed an exemption to light sport rules for the Textron/Pipistrel Velis Electro. The agency has permitted an exemption to 14 CFR Part 21.190, the special airworthiness certificate for light sport category aircraft, and that will pave the way to use it for flight training. The aircraft, which is type certified in Europe, […]

Piper says deliveries of its new flagship M700 FURY will begin “immediately” after the aircraft earned type certification on Feb. 29. It also said there will be new aircraft announced shortly. “We are thrilled to announce the U.S. certification of the Piper M700 FURY by the FAA just a month after its announcement,” said John […]

American Airlines has ordered a total of 260 new aircraft, including 85 Boeing 737 MAX 10s, an equal number of Airbus A321neos and 90 Embraer E175 regional jets. The MAX isn’t certified yet, and American said it built time into the order for Boeing to get that done. “Our first MAX 10 delivery is going […]

The FAA last month extended the comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC). The extension adds a memo concerning a conversation between an FAA representative and members of the Light Sport committee of ASTM International about a technical error in the NPRM. That exchange didn’t make […]

Brad Walker is frustrated, but resolute. A long-time GA pilot based at Jefferson County, Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (aka “Jeffco”), he has filed multiple requests under the Colorado Open Records Act (similar to the Freedom of Information Act) to obtain information related to legal action by area residents against the airport. Walker’s findings include […]