Aviation News

After a cabin ground fire destroyed a first-generation Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet, the FAA issued emergency airworthiness directive AD 2020-03-50, which grounds the fleet of jets until faulty audio amplifier circuit cards are removed from the cabin.  In the aircraft that melted on the ramp, the FAA wrote in its AD that the pilot observed […]

Struggling Bombardier has divested itself of its minority share of the Airbus A220 program, moving it another stop closer to leaving aviation altogether. On the heels of suggestions that Bombardier bizjet division could end up with Textron, it has divested itself of the A220 airliner program that it shared with Airbus. Airbus and the government […]

Rolls-Royce has started manufacturing fan blades for its UltraFan demonstrator engine in Bristol, U.K., the company announced on Tuesday. According to Rolls-Royce, the composite blades are the largest in the world with a diameter of 140 inches. The company says the UltraFan engine will offer a 25 percent reduction in fuel and emissions along with […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office of Inspector General announced on Monday that it has initiated an audit of the FAA’s pilot training requirements due to concerns raised by the fatal crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019, both Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The […]

In a stinging report, the DOT has criticized the FAA for lax oversight of Southwest Airlines, saying, in part, that the agency accepted Southwest’s justification that “issues identified were low safety risks.” As a result, the DOT’s Office of Inspector General said in a report today that Southwest “operates aircraft in an unknown airworthiness state, […]

Superior Air Parts has settled the lawsuit stemming from a 2016 crash of a Van’s RV-8A experimental following catastrophic failure of the XP-400 engine. The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Superior settled for $5 million in the crash of builder/owner Dane Sheahen and passenger James Kos in March of 2016; both men were killed […]

Collins Aerospace Systems announced the opening of its new 10,000-square-foot Singapore Innovation Hub near Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) on Monday. The hub will focus on areas including additive manufacturing capabilities and techniques and automation, sensing and machine learning technology. Collins says it intends to deliver more than 40 proofs of concept over the next five […]

Airbus officially introduced its Model Aircraft for Validation and Experimentation of Robust Innovative Controls (MAVERIC) blended wing body technological demonstrator on Tuesday at the 2020 Singapore Airshow. Airbus believes the design could “reduce fuel consumption by up to 20 percent compared to current single-aisle aircraft.” The remote-controlled scale model demonstrator measures 2 meters (about 6.56 […]

McFarlane Aviation, which provides a host of replacement parts for Cessna aircraft, has released Service Bulletin SB-10, Revision A, warning that there might be “material defects” in the extruded-aluminum hinges the company sells for Cessna ailerons. These defects could lead to cracking of the hinge. McFarlane says the hinges were produced between Feb. 22, 2019, […]

Women in Aviation International has a new CEO starting this month. Allison McKay, formerly the VP at the Helicopter Association International Foundation, will join WAI and will be responsible for “the future strategic vision of the 14,500-member strong organization while overseeing the board of directors, professional staff, and daily operations.” McKay takes over for WAI […]