Aviation News

The shortage of face masks has reached the FAA aircraft certification bureaucracy in the form of an extension of compliance time for an AD requiring inspection of the wing carry-through spars on some Cessna 210s. The process involves chemicals that require technicians to use masks so the calendar deadline for compliance has been moved from […]

Boeing is turning its vast manufacturing and transportation resources to helping with the coronavirus outbreak now that it has suspended manufacturing airplanes. The company’s plants in St. Louis, El Segundo, Mesa, Huntsville and Philadelphia all have 3-D printing machines and they’ve been building face shields for medical personnel and first responders. The company is also […]

At least one American and one Canadian were among eight people killed in the reported explosion and crash of a Westwind business jet that was on a medevac flight from Manila to Haneda, Japan, on Sunday. “The plane caught fire and exploded as it was taking off the [Ninoy Aquino International Airport] Runway 24,” Philippine […]

Any pilot whose medical expires after March 30 can continue to fly until June 30 without renewing in light of the novel coronavirus crisis. The FAA announced on Friday it will not be enforcing medical expirations during that period so that medical personnel can focus on dealing with the pandemic. “The Notice states that from […]

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, has designated up to $25 billion in financial assistance for passenger air carriers, up to $4 billion for cargo carriers and up to $3 billion for aviation contractors. To be eligible for assistance, air […]

Piper Aircraft announced on Thursday that it will begin making protective gear to support the Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital in Vero Beach, Florida, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. According to Vero Beach-based Piper, its manufacturing engineering team designed a prototype face shield using off-the-shelf materials. Once the prototype was approved, the team created a […]

The U.S. Army has selected Bell Textron and Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky to build prototypes for the second phase of its Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. Other companies with FARA design entries included Boeing, Karem Aircraft and an AVX Aircraft-L3 Technologies team. Phase two will end with a flight test evaluation, which the […]

Jack Pelton, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s CEO and chairman, confirmed earlier reporting that this July’s AirVenture is still considered a go, and the next “decision point” isn’t until May. “Today we are still planning on having the event beginning July 20, 2020,” he said in a statement. The company is actively considering keep-on, cancel or […]

FAA airman knowledge testing contractor PSI Services has temporarily closed its test centers in the U.S. and U.K. due to the coronavirus pandemic. The country-wide closures only affect locations PSI directly owns and operates. According to the company, it is monitoring PSI test center locations operated by third parties to make sure they “adhere to […]

Citing lapses in training, maintenance and the lack of a safety culture, the FAA has rejected the Collings Foundation’s permission to carry passengers on revenue flights in its 10 vintage aircraft. The decision was prompted by the FAA’s investigation into the crash of the foundation’s B-17G Nine-O-Nine at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on Oct. 2, 2019, […]