Flight Safety

In a move under consideration for “decades,” the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced yesterday (Dec. 6) it plans to mandate that aviation repair stations in foreign countries require their employees to submit to drug and alcohol testing if they perform safety-sensitive maintenance procedures for U.S. airlines. According to the FAA, such testing is rare, […]

The U.S. military announced yesterday (Dec. 6) that all V-22 Osprey tiltrotors are grounded as a result of the preliminary investigation into the U.S. Air Force aircraft that crashed off the coast of Japan last week, killing all eight crew members. Investigators found evidence of material failure in the debris recovered from the water. In […]

In conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Park Service (NPS) has introduced strict new rules for air tour operators conducting sightseeing within national parks. The new restrictions stem from the National Park Air Tour Management Act of 2000—legislation signed into law requiring operators conducting commercial air tours over national parks, or over tribal […]

Navy divers have found a large piece of the V-22 Osprey that went down off Japan Nov. 29. The wreckage, which includes the flight deck, contains the bodies of five of the eight people who were aboard the aircraft. Two of the bodies were recovered Monday. There are still two bodies missing. The remains of […]

Yesterday (Nov. 30), General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) president and CEO Pete Bunce testified before the Aviation Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The hearing, titled “Turbulence Ahead: Consequences of Delaying a Long-Term FAA Bill,” addressed the importance of providing funding and leadership stability within the Federal Aviation Administration. GAMA was […]

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released new details in its ongoing investigation of a near-collision between a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 and a FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), Texas, earlier this year. The agency collected roughly 3,000 pages of transcripts from interviews with the involved pilots and controllers and other factual […]

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing to extend cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) recording time to 25 hours for all newly manufactured aircraft that require them, according to a press release issued today (Nov. 30). Existing regulations require CVRs, commonly known as black boxes, to record a minimum of two hours before new data begins to overwrite […]

The Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) team announced today (Nov. 29) that the first high-octane unleaded aviation fuel has reached an FAA milestone. According to an FAA announcement today, the agency “has approved the advancement to full-scale engine and flight testing of unleaded UL100E aviation fuel for piston-engine aircraft developed by LyondellBasell Industries/VP Racing. […]

Republican Sen. John Thune told Reuters on Tuesday there’s been a breakthrough that may allow the FAA Reauthorization Bill to be taken up by the Senate. The House passed its version of the bill in the summer but there’s been a logjam in the Senate over relaxing airline pilot training, specifically a proposal to increase […]

The Short Wing Piper Club says a proposed AD to replace rudders on almost 31,000 Piper aircraft built before 1974 is a huge overreach and the process itself is deeply flawed. Last week the FAA issued a notice that the comment period for the AD would be extended 90 days until late February. The Short […]