Aviation News

So-far-unnamed senior FAA officials overruled their own engineers who called for the immediate grounding of Boeing 737 MAX after the second fatal crash in five months in Ethiopia in March of 2019. The Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General issued its report on the decision chain within the agency on Friday. It said the engineers […]

The commander of the Army has ceased all non-essential aviation operations after the second midair collision of Army helicopters within a month. Two Apaches collided near Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on Thursday, killing three soldiers and injuring one. It came after a collision between two Blackhawks on a night training mission near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in […]

Spirit Airlines has partnered with Illinois-based Lewis University to launch a pilot pathway program at the university’s College of Aviation, Science and Technology. Another addition to the airline’s Spirit Wings Pilot Pathway program, the agreement allows students pursuing an aviation technology degree to apply for the program once they complete their sophomore year and receive […]

Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Joby Aviation has received a $55 million extension on its contract with the U.S. Air Force. The extension is the company’s third, bringing the overall contract value to a maximum of $131 million. The recent agreement also includes provisions for the delivery and operation of up to […]

Bell officially introduced its 407M special mission aircraft at the 2023 Army Aviation Association of America Mission Solutions Summit. A variant of the Bell 407 civil utility helicopter, the 407M is designed for military operations such as light attack, special operations, anti-piracy and armed reconnaissance. Bell noted that it is also planning to offer special […]

Boeing is planning to expand its ecoDemonstrator flight test program for 2023 using a company-owned 777-200ER and adding “Explorer” aircraft. This year, the 777 ecoDemonstrator will be used to assess 19 technologies focused on sustainability and safety including sustainable wall panels in the cargo hold, a fiber optic fuel quantity sensor and an electronic flight […]

The FAA has formed a blue chip panel of aviation industry experts to recommend safety enhancements industry-wide. The members of the new FAA National Airspace System Safety Review Team include: former NASA Administrator and astronaut Charles Bolden Jr.; former Air Line Pilots Association, International President Captain Tim Canoll; former National Air Traffic Controllers Association Executive […]

A private moon landing attempt ended with the likely destruction of the lander. Japanese firm ispace said it lost contact with the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander when it apparently ran out of propellant needed to slow the vehicle. “It apparently went into a freefall towards the surface as it was running out of fuel to […]

The nasty labor dispute between NetJets and its pilots took a legal turn last week when the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots launched a suit over a company policy on talking to passengers and aircraft owners about the negotiations. Specifically, NetJets has ordered pilots to not refer clients to the website the union created […]

The FAA has grounded SpaceX’s Starship program while it investigates last week’s explosive test launch of the full system. This time, however, the agency appears to be at least as interested in the scorched mess left behind by the booster as it is the explosion that was triggered a few minutes later when the second […]