briefs

NTSB and FAA officials Sunday continued their investigation into the cause of Friday’s crash of a King Air A-100 that claimed the life of Minnesota Sen. Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minn.), one of the Senate’s leading liberals. Eight people — including two pilots and three Wellstone campaign staff members — were killed when the turboprop went […]

It looks like the folks at Lancair’s certified aircraft division will get a much-needed cash-flow infusion, as the company is close to sealing a deal — as early as November — with a new investor. Mum’s the word as to who this person or entity is, but early details (subject to change) indicate the investor […]

While Eclipse Aviation tries to figure out how to get its engines from burning out accessories after one test flight — see last week’s NewsWire — it has announced a new training program for the Eclipse 500. The multi-tiered program — which integrates a relationship with UND Aerospace — is designed to provide training for […]

While many American aviators wallow in their insurance woes, they can at least take some comfort knowing that the big boys are suffering too … globally. In response to insurance concerns, theInternational Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transportation Association (IATA) have proposed to set up an exclusive insurance company for airlines, airports, leasing […]

Airports across the country continue their fights to grow despite the economic and aviation-specific complications of the post-9/11 world. For general aviation strips, it’s largely a matter of increased interest in a reduced-hassle method of transportation. At Bremerton National Airport near Seattle, all 89 of its publicly owned hangars are rented and there’s a waiting […]

After all of the layoffs, cross-country moves and sheer instability of Boeing, local Seattle residents are a bit wary of the company’s next step. To help reassure Snohomish County residents about the future of the Boeing Co. and its thousands of jobs, Alan Mulally, president and CEO ofBoeing’s Commercial Airplane Division, said the company expects […]

The embattled Forest Service is struggling to respond to warnings that its firefighting airplanes, which fell from the sky at a disconcerting rate this summer, could be potential targets for terrorists. The agency has reviewed security at about a third of its air-tanker bases, but has only made major upgrades to one, according to a […]

Good grief, Charlie Brown! Snoopy is grounded. Is seems that MetLife’s blimp — Snoopy One – encountered some foul weather recently and the result was a rather rough landing. Last week, the insurance company’s airborne marketing machine was in the Valdosta, Ga., area, when it crossed paths with a thunderstorm. During the encounter, the blimp […]

Extra 300 This amendment [Docket No. 99-CE-85-AD; Amendment 39-12917; AD 2002-21-11] adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain EXTRA Flugzeugbau GmbH (EXTRA) Model EA-300S airplanes. The total cost of each airplane’s compliance is approximately $1,440. This EXTRA AD requires operators of all affected airplanes to inspect the upper longeron at the horizontal […]

Vigorous use of the rudder is being blamed for the crash of an American Airlines Airbus last November even though company officials and the NTSB may have known excessive rudder use could cause the airframe to fail. Documents released at the first day of the public hearing into the crash of Flight 587 revealed that […]