Aviation News

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded CubCrafters an aircraft fleet modernization contract for the certified CC19 XCub. The exact number of aircraft ordered via the contract, which is listed as having an initial award value of $1 million, was not announced. The XCubs will go the USDA’s Wildlife Services to be used primarily […]

Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Joby Aviation has partnered with New York’s Aviation High School to “prepare the next generation of aircraft maintenance technicians and aerospace leaders for career opportunities” in electric flight. Joby noted that 100 Aviation High School students have enrolled in its online Private Pilot Ground School course as […]

Bell Textron has been awarded a contract to develop its V-280 Valor tiltrotor for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program. According to Bell, the initial contract will cover refining the weapon system design, sustainment, digital enterprise, manufacturing, systems integration, flight testing and airworthiness qualification. The Army launched FLRAA in 2019 to “replace […]

Embraer has announced plans to further explore two concepts for its Energia project, the Energia Hybrid Electric and Energia H2 Fuel Cell aircraft. 19- and 30-seat variants being considered for both models, which debuted last year as nine- and 19-seaters respectively. The Energia Hybrid Electric E19-HE and E30-HE aircraft will have a target range of […]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is urgently recommending that the FAA and Transport Canada require both immediate and more frequent inspections for Bell 407 helicopters. The recommendations are the result of the NTSB’s ongoing investigation into the crash of a Bell 407 that experienced an inflight separation of the tail boom during an on-demand […]

The FAA has officially signed off on Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW812D engine, joining Transport Canada and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The engine was designed to power the new Dassault Falcon 6X business jet, which is expected to enter service in mid-2023. Pratt & Whitney reports that the PW812D has currently undergone […]

The CEO of Mission Aviation Fellowship is calling on the Mozambique government to release an American pilot who was arrested a month ago on allegations that he was supplying goods to rebels. Ryan Koher, 31, and two South African volunteers were arrested Nov. 4 as they prepared to fly vitamins and other supplies to orphanages […]

An Air Force accident investigation says a Tulsa Air National Guard F-16 was destroyed after an off-the-books intercept of a private light aircraft near a Louisiana airport last March. Investigators found the pilot of the $26 million fighter mistakenly thought he’d lost control of the fighter as he closed in on the unidentified light aircraft […]

Hearings to confirm Phil Washington as the new FAA administrator won’t be held until early in the New Year, according to various reports. The delay times out Washington’s nomination by the Biden administration, but Sen. Maria Cantwell told Reuters she expects him to be renominated and subsequently confirmed. “There wasn’t enough time to meet with […]

The world’s first “sixth generation” military aircraft was unveiled to friend and foe when Northrop Grumman and the Air Force rolled out the first B-21 Raider on Friday. The flying wing was also vaulted to the pointiest end of the stick at the ceremony, which took place at the company’s Palmdale, California, facility. “The B-21 […]