briefs

They may be bright orange on the outside but Southwest Airlines apparently likes its Boeing 737s a little gray on the inside. According to Time Magazine, Southwest is poised to become the first major airline to back a bid by a pilots’ group to abolish the Age 60 rule. “Times are changing,” Southwest spokeswoman Linda […]

First it was voluntary, but it now appears airlines operating A300 and A310 aircraft will be compelled to conduct thorough inspections of the planes’ composite rudders. France’s civil aviation regulator has issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive calling for the one-time visual and tap-test inspection to be completed within 550 hours or before June 18. Other […]

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arrested 27 illegal immigrant workers in a raid last Tuesday. These folks weren’t stocking department store shelves or picking fruit — they were fixing airliners. ICE conducted the raid on theTIMCO Aviation Services facility in Greensboro, N.C. The 27 people arrested face a variety of charges, including using false […]

The sometimes conflicting dynamics of political expediency and common sense will get another test in Pennsylvania as a state representative continues her campaign to make it illegal to fly drunk there. You may recall an earlier effort to pass the Flying While Impaired Bill was shot down by Gov. Ed. Rendell … at least in […]

Remember when the fear was that we could cross paths with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)? Well, NASA is assuring us that it will someday be safe to “enable swarms of aircraft to move safely from one area to another as a flock or a group,” according to NASA researcher John Melton. Melton was flushed […]

Ron Tessier paid defunct Canadian airline Jetsgo $30,000 to be trained to fly its planes. With $29,000 still owing on the loan he took out, Tessier, a pilot for 18 years, is heading home to Sudbury, Ont., and to a possible job at the local Home Depot to pay off the debt, Tessier told the […]

The date given in Monday’s AVflash for next year’s Women in Aviation Conference in Nashville was incorrect. The correct date is March 23-25, 2006.

COLUMNS The Savvy Aviator #16: Who Is Responsible For What?Who is responsible for the various aspects of maintaining an aircraft in airworthy condition? The aircraft owner, the authorized inspector (IA), and the certificated mechanic (A&P) all have well-defined roles and responsibilities. AVweb’s Mike Busch lays them out in this months Savvy Aviator column.

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP yet for AVwebs NO-COST twice monthly Business AVflash? Reporting on breaking news, Business AVflash also focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the Business of Aviation. Business AVflash is a must read. Watch for a Business AVflash regular feature, TSA WATCH: GA IN THE […]

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