Aviation News

An unidentified American Airlines captain turned a grumbling planeload of delayed passengers into putty in his hands with some honesty and a massive bar tab earlier this week. The aircraft was delayed on a flight from Phoenix to Puerto Vallarta and the pilot walked down the aisle with updates on the situation. “We’ll do what […]

Despite a major awareness and training campaign, the National Air Transportation Association says diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) remains a potentially catastrophic hazard for aviation. In a news release, the organization said a business jet in the southeastern U.S. recently experienced a double flameout and glided to a dead stick landing 280 miles away. There were […]

Most people don’t ask to be sued, but SpaceX has applied to be named a co-defendant in a suit against the FAA by several environmental groups. As we reported earlier, the groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity, allege the agency rushed the permitting process for the test launch of the massive Starship system, […]

Italian airframer Tecnam announced at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, this week that it has delivered the first two P2012 Traveller piston twins to Pacific Air Charters in Samoa. Under the brand name Pago Wings, Pacific Air Charters will expand its operations in Samoa using the P2012s from Tecnam. […]

LifeStyle Aviation has announced that Utah-based FLT Academy signed a firm order for 10 Diamond DA20 trainers, with an option to add 20 more of the single-engine piston aircraft. The academy’s long-term planning could call for “increasing the commitment to as many as 40 new DA20s in the next three years,” according to LifeStyle Aviation. […]

Though largely viewed as a cargo/utility aircraft, Textron Aviation’s Cessna SkyCourier recently notched its first delivery as a “passenger unit” to Hawaii-based Lāna’i Air, which provides high-end air service between the island of Lāna’i and Oahu. According to Textron, the Cessna SkyCourier team developed “innovative ways to optionally convert the aircraft from a 19-seat passenger […]

In a story with multiple twists and turns, fractional-ownership firm Jet It voluntarily grounded its fleet of HondaJets this week after a runway excursion on landing on May 17 that did not involve one of the company’s aircraft. Meanwhile, the HondaJet Owners and Pilots Association (HJOPA) has called for a safety stand-down meeting among its […]

A group of between 80 and 100 environmental activists pushed through security gates at Geneva International Airport in Switzerland today (May 23) to protest the ongoing European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE). Wearing yellow high-visibility vests that resembled those worn by security personnel, protestors breached the gates surrounding the EBACE static display ramp at […]

Bombardier has completed the first phase of testing on its EcoJet blended-wing-body aircraft research project. The company reported that it has seen positive results during the “design optimization loops and initial flight test campaign,” which used a small-scale model approximately 7 percent the size of a large business jet. The second phase of the EcoJet […]

The FAA announced on Monday that it has awarded over $100 million in funding aimed at reducing runway incursions. The money will go to 12 airports for projects such as reconfiguring taxiways, installing airfield lighting and constructing new taxiways. Funding sources include the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. “Some airfields have […]