Aviation News

Former Helicopter Association International (HAI) President Matthew Zuccaro passed away this week at the age of 70. He retired from HAI on Jan. 15, 2020, after 15 years as president of the organization. Under Zuccaro’s leadership, HAI launched programs including “Land & Live,” HAI Online Academy and HAI Aviation Reporting Program (HARP). Zuccaro was awarded […]

Italy-based Piaggio has put out a call for buyers for its Piaggio Aero Industries branch and subsidiary Piaggio Aviation, which together operate as Piaggio Aerospace. Piaggio Aerospace is currently under extraordinary administration, a procedure designed to protect the “assets, goodwill and employees” of large insolvent companies. Potential buyers will be screened by Extraordinary Commissioner Vincenzo […]

In an effort to “mitigate incidents of unprofessional pilot behavior and reduce pilot errors that can lead to a catastrophic event,” the FAA on Monday published changes to training requirements for airline pilots. It emphasizes training and testing in the leadership aspects of the flight deck and sets formal goals for mentorship of new flight […]

California-based Surf Air has acquired BlackBird, an “online aviation marketplace” that pairs passengers with private aircraft owners and charter operators via mobile app. The companies will form the new Surf Air Mobility Corporation, which will focus on 50- to 400-mile trips as an “alternative to commercial airlines and driving on short routes.” As part of […]

Superior Air Parts issued a statement regarding the FAA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on potentially defective crankshafts in some Lycoming engines. The parts were manufactured by Superior under Parts Manufacturer Approval or PMA. This NPRM, which identifies cranks in some 115 engines, is likely to turn into an airworthiness directive. According to Superior, the NPRM […]

NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson passed away today at the age of 101. Johnson was known for her work on historic missions and projects including America’s first human spaceflight (Alan Shepard—Freedom 7) and first orbital spaceflight (John Glenn—Friendship 7), syncing Project Apollo’s lunar module with the command module, the Space Shuttle program and the Earth Resources […]

Airlines are employing tactics used by professional sports teams to find and attract new talent for their businesses, according to a South Carolina technical college. While the pilot shortage tends to hog the headlines, an equally crippling deficit of maintenance techs is forcing airlines to be much more proactive in keeping their hangars humming, according […]

Aviation regulators and authorities are a “find and replace” away from welcoming more females to the industry according to one advocacy group. The Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide (IWOAW) has launched a petition calling for the FAA and others to eliminate airman and airmen from the thousands of pages of rules and regulations they […]

Michael “Mad Mike” Hughes was killed in the crash of his homemade steam-powered rocket Saturday in California. It was the second launch for Hughes in his mission to prove the Earth is flat by eventually taking photos of the lack of curvature of the planet from space. Hughes, 64, launched from the desert northeast of […]

Bell Helicopters unveiled a 429 modified with four electrically driven tail rotors that it says has proven the concept over almost a year of testing. The Electrically Distributed Anti-Torque (EDAT) system has been flying since last May from the company’s Mirabel, Quebec, facilities and it works just fine. “This is the first time anyone in […]