Aviation News

The U.S. military’s first war ace since Vietnam is fighting an enemy his predecessors couldn’t have imagined. Marine Capt. Earl Ehrhart has shot down seven explosives-packed suicide drones with his Harrier jump jet in the Navy’s effort to keep Red Sea shipping lanes open. The military defines an ace as any crew member whose aircraft […]

Autonomous flight pioneer Merlin has signed a deal with the Air Force that could eventually lead to its aircraft being refueled by autonomously flown KC-135 tankers. Merlin announced that the deal involves a stepped process of gradually integrating its technology into the 60-year-old airframes in a “multi-year” program. The first step is adding capabilities that […]

The first FAA-approved 100 octane unleaded fuel is virtually indistinguishable from 100LL in operation and offers some important benefits beyond the environmental ones. Rick Durden, a regular contributor to our sister publication Aviation Consumer, logged 3.3 hours in a Beech C55 Baron with one engine running on General Aviation Modifications Inc.’s (GAMI’s) G100UL and the […]

NetJets and its pilots union have reached approval in principle to end a long and acrimonious contract dispute. According to Private Jet Card Comparison, the union issued a social media post confirming the tentative deal late last week. The NetJets Association of Shared Pilots (NJASAP) union said it’s running the deal through its lawyers and […]

The Department of Justice has taken possession of a 31-year-old Boeing 747-300 cargo plane it says was used to carry weapons and soldiers of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO). Iranian airline Mahan Air transferred the plane to Venezuelan cargo carrier Emtrasur in 2022 in violation of international sanctions, the DOJ said. […]

The FAA has given Embry-Riddle a $1 million grant to study how pilots fly and think at the same time. According to a university news publication, the goal is to develop training methods that efficiently meld all the motor skills and brain work necessary to safely and efficiently operate an aircraft. “This work aims to […]

A 62-year-old man who was on a Mexican beach was killed when a Cessna Caravan carrying skydivers landed on top of him during a forced landing. The incident occurred on a crowded section of beach in the Pacific coast town of Puerto Escondido in the state of Oaxaca. The aircraft had four Canadian skydivers and […]

The FAA has rolled out its new Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) designed to allow graduates of college ATC courses to go directly to on-the-job training instead of stopping first at the FAA academy in Oklahoma City. “After graduating from one of the eligible schools, new hires can immediately begin localized training at an […]

The CEO of one of Africa’s largest banks and members of his family were among the six people killed in a Super Bowl-related helicopter crash on Friday. Herbert Wigwe, who headed up Access Bank in Nigeria, was killed along with his wife and son. Abimola Ogunbanjo, former head of the Nigeria Stock Exchange, also died […]

In what looked more like a high-level military extraction operation than the travel itinerary of a pop star, Taylor Swift was back in the U.S. a full day ahead of the Super Bowl featuring her boyfriend Travis Kelce. One of the most watched celebrity jet flights ever (at one point 12,000 people were logged into […]