Flight Safety

The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday voted to provide $15.7 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration in fiscal year 2015, representing a slight increase from the current $15.6 billion funding level. AOPA is reporting that the bill prohibits the imposition of aviation user fees and also fees for digital navigational charts. The bill also directs […]

Aveillant, a British technology company, said recently its 3D holographic radar is now ready for the market. The technology “brings performance previously only found in high-end military systems to the civil aviation arena,” the company said. The system can survey 360 degrees of airspace for up to a 40-mile range, and because it doesn’t rotate […]

A commercial 747 was taxiing for take-off when a deer darted in front of the plane and was hit. The captain immediately called his wife to explain he would be arriving late as the plane had hit a deer. His wife asked, “What altitude was that deer at?” Nick Goodrichvia e-mail

For the second time in a little more than a year, a helicopter has been used to help alleged organized crime members escape from prison in the Canadian province of Quebec. Three inmates were plucked from the Orsainville Detention Centre about eight miles northeast of Quebec City Saturday evening by what Quebec Provincial Police say […]

Authorities evacuated the Capitol, Library of Congress and Supreme Court buildings in Washington, D.C., for a short time Saturday after a light plane violated restricted airspace around the city and its pilot couldn’t be raised on the radio. Some reports said the aircraft came within four minutes of flying time to downtown Washington, which would […]

The NTSB says that data recovered from the flight data recorder (FDR) a Gulfstream IV jet that was involved in a fatal crash at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass., Saturday indicates the crew aborted the takeoff after reaching about 165 knots. The thrust reversers were apparently deployed and brake pressures were rising, according to NTSB […]

It never seems to fail. You reserve the airplane for an early morning departure for the family vacation. Then the kids and the packing and the delays add up, so you launch hours late, and arrive at beautiful Lake Runamuck as one of the kids becomes spectacularly ill, the other is screaming about the dead […]

This week has seen two seen two military jet crashes, fortunately with no serious injuries. The first, a Marine AV-8B Harrier, impacted in a residential neighborhood in Imperial, Calif., at 4:20 PDT on Wednesday, destroying three homes and leading to the evacuation of eight others. The pilot ejected safely and was hospitalized for evaluation. The […]

AOPA will be raising its standard membership rates to $59 per year, president Mark Baker told AVweb on Thursday, but the organization also will offer more choices for members, including a lower-cost option. “If you choose to get AOPA’s magazine in digital form only, instead of in the mail, the annual dues are just $49,” […]

If you were asked to describe the great technological challenge of the age, what would it be? Cracking fusion as an energy source? The 1000 wh/kg lithium-ion battery? Cheap turbine engines made of plastic? For me, it would be a flashlight that does what its supposed to for, say, at least a year after purchase. […]