briefs

Australian pilots may face random drug and alcohol testing after an investigation determined that drugs and alcohol might have contributed to a crash that killed a charter pilot and his five tourist passengers in 2002. Cause of the crash was an engine malfunction on takeoff, followed by a low-level stall in a turn by the […]

The General Accounting Office (GAO) made “completely inappropriate” comments about security at general aviation airports in a report that should have been confined to concerns about aerial advertising, says the National Air Transportation Association (NATA). As AVweb told you earlier this month, the GAO released a report examining the potential security threat of allowing banner-towers […]

They don’t happen like this every day. No one was hurt last Thursday near Gulf Shores, Ala., when the towline pulling a teenage girl on a parasail behind a boat crossed the line on an advertising banner being towed by an airplane. The banner-tower quickly released the banner and it fell harmlessly away. The age […]

A place that calls itself “Lethal Country” might not be your first choice in an emergency but a Mooney pilot says the folks at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico (slogan: “America’s Most Lethal Warfighting Team”) likely saved his life. Dr. George Carlson wasn’t having the best of days in the left seat after […]

_______COLUMNS The Savvy Aviator #3: Whom Can You Trust? As aviators, we often find ourselves in the position of having to trust other people with our lives, our safety, and our financial well-being. We trust air traffic controllers to keep us from hitting anything, mechanics to keep our aircraft airworthy, engine manufacturers and overhaul shops […]

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A new Airworthiness Directive (AD) has been issued (for an old Mandatory Service Bulletin) to include 161 engines not included in a rule concerning the replacement of crankshaft retaining bolts on Lycoming 540-series engines. The latest rule takes effect at the end of the month, with no notice period, because of the serious nature of […]

Tennessee continues to funnel money for security measures at GA airports and the initiatives follow a familiar theme. The state’s Department of Transportation is distributing $1 million in federal grants to build fences, install gates and add lighting at some of its 69 GA airports. Individual airports are eligible for up to $50,000 each year […]

As layoffs continue at some aircraft manufacturers, New Piper has actually added about 100 employees since being purchased by American Capital Strategies about six months ago. The company now employs about 820 people, about half its full-production complement of 1,600. Spokesman Mark Miller told TCPalm.com that a resumption of engine deliveries from Lycoming (previously affected […]