Aviation News

Airbus Aerial has received a waiver from the FAA to conduct urban unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drone) flight operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and without requiring a visual observer in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The flights will be conducted under the North Dakota Department of Transportation’s UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP), an FAA-sponsored public-private […]

Australian airline Qantas has announced that it will be conducting three research flights to study the effects of ultra-long-haul routes on passengers and flight crew. The flights will make use of planned deliveries of three new Boeing 787-9s, which would typically be flown empty from Boeing’s facility in Seattle, Washington, to Australia. Instead of going […]

Ten people—two pilots and eight passengers—survived a fiery runway overrun in Oroville, California, Wednesday morning local time. The aircraft, a Cessna Citation, was taking off from Oroville for a flight to Portland, Oregon. The Citation had just taken on fuel at Oroville and evidently overran the runway on takeoff. Both main gear legs appear to […]

Embraer has announced that it will be building new facilities at its Eugênio de Melo unit in São José dos Campos, Brazil. The company plans to invest approximately $30 million in the project, which will include the construction of four new buildings along with the expansion and improvement of existing facilities. According to Embraer, the […]

German urban air mobility developer Volocopter introduced its fourth-generation electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) design on Wednesday. The VoloCity, which is intended for use as an urban air taxi, is expected to have a range of 35 km (19 NM), a top airspeed of 110 km/h (59 knots), and a payload capable of […]

Changes to the way the FAA certifies aircraft are said to be part of the Joint Authorities Technical Review panel’s report on the Boeing 737 MAX, due next week. CNN is citing sources close to the panel saying that it is in the “final stages of completing their work” and that it will recommend changes […]

NASA has moved to using 3D printing as a data-gathering method for a five-year research project on aircraft icing at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. 3D printing techniques allow researchers to scan ice buildup and accurately reproduce it in materials that won’t melt. According to NASA, previous methods of mapping ice formations included […]

Garmin has announced that it intends to certify the GFC 600H helicopter flight control system on the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X. The company expects to have the Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for the Bell 505 by the first half of 2020 and plans to make it available through the Bell production line and Garmin […]

The FAA published an InFO (Information For Operators) sheet last week detailing its concerns about human damage to angle-of-attack sensors. “It is imperative that all operators are aware of the criticality of AOA sensors,” the notice says.  “Based on continued airworthiness activity on multiple foreign and domestic products, including large transport aircraft and small general […]

After a difficult season for Part 135 operators in Alaska, the National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to hold a public roundtable on Sept. 6. NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt will host the event at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. “The number of Part 135 fatal accidents in Alaska is troubling,” he said in concert with […]