briefs

Boeing has confirmed published reports that it called off an FAA certification inspection of a 35-foot section of fuselage for the 787 after bubbles were discovered in the composite material. However, Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach told The Associated Press the cancellation of the pivotal inspection will not delay deliveries of the mostly plastic airliner because […]

A student at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H., got an education in what happens if you run afoul of FAA regs. The unidentified student is alleged to have buzzed the school in a Piper Cherokee at about 250 to 300 feet several times over a 30- to 45-minute period last Tuesday, wagging his wings as […]

Chris Pugliese said his training kicked in when he quickly put out a fire in the engine compartment of the tanker truck he had just parked under the fuel-laden wing of a Boeing 767. Now officials at Orlando Sanford International Airport are saying he may have saved hundreds of lives. “He averted a horrible catastrophe,” […]

Healthy airline and cargo pilots who hit the magic (or tragic) number can potentially add five years to their flying lives as of Nov. 23. That’s when the International Civil Aviation Organization will formally adopt 65 as the mandatory retirement age for professional big-iron pilots. The FAA isn’t going along with the new standard and […]

The FAA has committed to installing Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast equipment to cover the Gulf of Mexico, thanks in part, no doubt, to a $100 million carrot dangled by the gulf-oil-fed helicopter industry. According to a news release issued by the Helicopter Association International, chopper operators will supply manpower, facilities and free flights totaling a value […]

Two Australians are relaxing in Hawaii after they were rescued uninjured from a Piper Seminole they ditched in the Pacific last Thursday, 535 miles northeast of Hilo, Hawaii. Pilot Lyn Gray told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin they were about 1,000 miles from Santa Barbara, Calif., when she noticed one engine “was using far more fuel than […]

COLUMNS The Savvy Aviator #32: 2006 Aging GA Aircraft SummitThe average GA airplane is now more than 35 years old. The FAA believes this represents a significant threat to safety, but most owner associations and type clubs disagree.

Check AVweb.com tomorrow for the podcast link at the top of the page.Online Now: Exclusive interviews featuring New Piper’s Jim Bass, Excel Jet’s Bob Bornhofen, Adam Aircraft’s Joe Walker, FAA administrator Marion Blakey, Cirrus Design’s Alan Klapmeier and more. AVweb‘s Podcast index, is available online — pick and choose your pleasure, or subscribe free to […]

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