Aviation News

Boeing’s latest version of the 737, the Max 9, is now FAA certified and will soon start deliveries, the company announced last week. The airplane adds three additional seat rows compared to the Max 8, for a total capacity of 220 passengers. CFM International LEAP-1B engines and Advanced Technology winglets enhance efficiency and reduce noise. […]

Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) has certified the Pipistrel Alpha Electro in its advanced ultralight category, the first certification of an electric aircraft in North America. The certification means the aircraft can be used commercially in its intended role as an economical trainer. Electricairplanes can’t qualify for the factory-built light sport category (S-LSA) because FAA […]

The FAA and NTSB are now mulling the circumstances of a relatively minor helicopter crash in South Carolina that may go down in history as the first U.S. aircraft crash caused by a drone. According to the narrative available so far, the drone didn’t directly cause the crash but the pilot’s evasive maneuvers to avoid […]

A company in Wyoming has secured FAA approval to start flight tests with a large twin-engine drone, the Flyox Mark II, built by Singular Aircraft of Barcelona, Spain. The amphibious drone has a 35-foot wingspan and can carry up to 4,000 pounds of water for dropping on forest fires. According to Singular, it’s the world’s […]

The pilot at the controls of a Learjet 35A until just before it crashed in Teterboro last year should not have been flying, according to documents released by the NTSB this week. Company policy required that first officers with a rating of 0, on a scale of 0 to 4, were not permitted to fly […]

Voom, the on-demand helicopter service that Airbus launched in Sao Paulo last April as part of its A^3 incubator program, is now officially part of Airbus Helicopters, the company announced on Tuesday. Voom has flown thousands of passengers, and the company plans to expand its operations this year. “Urban transportation on and below ground is […]

Three people were killed and four badly injured when a sightseeing helicopter went down in the Grand Canyon Saturday. The aircraft was destroyed in the post-crash fire and at least two survivors were seen running from the wreckage before it exploded. The condition of the injured wasn’t immediately available. The helicopter was operated by Papillon […]

Airbus Helicopters has flown its commercial parcel delivery prototype and expects it to be picking up and dropping off small parcels for students and staff at the National University of Singapore later this year. The octocopter took off from its maintenance center, landed on the roof of a purpose-built parcel station and a robotic arm […]

The first Pilatus PC-24 business jet has been delivered to New Hampshire-based PlaneSense. The fractional company has ordered 10 of what Pilatus has termed its “super versatile jet” for its ability to use unimproved runways. It already has 34 PC-12 turboprops so its relationship with Pilatus is substantial. The company bought four Nextant XTI jets […]

NASA has approved a mission using Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser spacecraft, in late 2020, the company announced on Wednesday. The mission will carry 6 tons of supplies to the International Space Station. “The Dream Chaser is going to be a tremendous help to the critical science and research happening on the space station,” Mark Sirangelo, […]