NASA has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to build a lightweight rocket designed to carry samples from the surface of Mars back Earth. The Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) will be part of the NASA’s Mars Sample Return program, which is working to retrieve rock, sediment and atmospheric samples collected by the agency’s Perseverance rover. If […]
Bell Textron announced on Wednesday that the global Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopter fleet has passed the 100,000-flight-hour milestone. The model flew for the first time in November 2014, receiving its Transport Canada type certificate in December 2016 and FAA type certificate in June 2017. According to Bell, it has currently delivered more than […]
Flying squadron colors as a form of establishing camaraderie and teamwork is a tradition that goes back to “pursuit” (later called “fighter”) pilots of World War I, the first air war. The legacy picked right back up in World War II, with the added incentive of enabling fighter pilots to instantly identify squadron mates by […]
Incidents involving lasers illegally aimed at aircraft increased by 41 percent last year over 2020. Pilots reported a total of 9,723 laser incidents in 2021, according to an FAA report. Over and above the danger of temporary incapacitation that could result in an accident, pilots have reported 244 laser-related injuries since 2010 when the FAA […]
The pilot of a Cessna 172 that crashed into one of Iceland’s largest lakes was Haraldur Diego, 50, president of AOPA Iceland, that country’s branch of the worldwide pilots organization. All four onboard the Feb. 3, two-hour sightseeing flight were killed and their bodies later located about 150 feet underwater in Lake Thingvallavatn, roughly 30 […]
U.S.-based budget air carriers Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines announced on Monday that they have signed a definitive merger agreement. In a move that would create the fifth largest airline in the country, the companies plan to combine to form a single “ultra-low fare” air carrier. Following the merger, which is valued at approximately $6.6 […]
The FAA is telling the NTSB to mind its own business and butt out of investigating spaceflight crashes. Last month the NTSB issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adding space transportation to the list of methods of locomotion that it oversees. The commercial space industry pushed back, fearful that the new layer would curtail the […]
Airline and charter pilots may be in for more stick and rudder time assuming a new proposed advisory circular makes it through the 30-day comment period. The FAA has issued a draft of the AC on Flightpath Management and it includes a host of measures the agency wants operators to include in training and operations […]
Leaked video that appears to show the crash of an F-35C on the USS Carl Vinson last month shows the aircraft sinking well below the approach path before as it approaches the carrier in the South China Sea. What appears to be cellphone video of the Pilot’s Landing Aid Television (PLAT) showing the crash sequence […]
It would appear the chafe between 5G and aviation safety will be around for some time but FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told Congress on Thursday he expects future disruptions to be minimal. Dickson told the aviation subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that new rules on the interference resistance to 5G of […]
Get the latest stories & special offers delivered directly to your inbox
SUBSCRIBE
