FAA and Regs

The FAA published Airworthiness Directives this week that affect certain Piper Cherokees and turbo Bonanza airplanes. The proposed Piper AD (PDF) was prompted by reports of corrosion found in an area of the main wing spar that’s not easily accessible for inspection. The AD would require installing an inspection access panel in the lower wing […]

Air traffic control privatization could trigger government paralysis as the extra $100 billion it costs ripples through the programs that money is needed to fund, according to EAA. The organization cites a memo issued by the Congressional Research Service, which says that because of the dent in the budget caused by privatization “a sequester would […]

There are probably few people who know more about aviation safety than former AOPA Safety Foundation President Bruce Landsberg so it would seem to be a no-brainer that he cap his influential and important career by becoming the newest member of the NTSB. But it’s a political appointment and the politics of aviation safety are […]

The FAA and NTSB both issued safety alerts recently that warn pilots to use proper procedures when operating on runways. The NTSB (PDF) cites several accidents when pilots chose an intersection takeoff to save time, and then lost power. In each case, if the pilot had used the entire available runway, there would have been […]

Now that the Part 23 rules to certify airplanes have been revised, the FAA says it’s ready to take on an overhaul of the regulations for certifying helicopters. “The proposed changes are necessary to address modern designs currently used in the rotorcraft industry and would reduce the burden on applicants for certification of new rotorcraft […]

The FAA wants to fine the now-shuttered NavWorx $3.7 million for allegedly altering its ADS-B transmitters to hide the fact that they used a non-compliant GPS chip. The agency says in a news release that NavWorx knew the chip didn’t meet standards tightened in 2015 for system integrity level (SIL) and rather than use a […]

This week, we’re launching a new periodic column called Healthy Pilot. While BasicMed has simplified the medical authorization needed to fly, it introduces its own challenges in that now you have to self-certify for fitness to fly for much longer periods. It’s unrealistic to believe there aren’t legitimate health concerns related to flight safety and […]

Flight-path changes implemented due to NextGen have resulted in noise complaints in neighborhoods across the country, but due to the way the NextGen technology works, it may be difficult to address those conflicts, according to an Associated Press story published this week. David Grizzle, a former FAA chief operating officer, said it’s not possible to […]

The integration of drones into the National Airspace System will accelerate with a pilot program directed by the FAA, the Transportation Department announced on Wednesday. The initiative will implement a directive signed by President Donald Trump this week that aims to develop a regulatory framework to allow more complex low-altitude operations; balance local and national […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine and is published twice a month. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause in the NTSB’s web site at www.ntsb.gov. Final […]