Risk Management

On Tuesday, the FAA issued a safety notice noting that since 149 contract towers will close starting this Sunday, April 7, it is important for pilots “to increase our awareness of proper operating practices and procedures at airports without an operating control tower.”The FAA suggested that pilots should always check Notams prior to flight, communicate, […]

Last week, the city of Spokane, Wash., went to court to try to prevent the FAA’s shutdown of an airport tower, and this week other cities are trying the same tactic. Lawsuits now have been filed by city officials in Bloomington, Ill., and the operators of three airports in Florida — Naples, Ormond Beach, and […]

A test program in Alaska to integrate the consumer tracking devices Spot and Spidertracks with FAA search-and-rescue has been successful, officials said last week. The Enhanced Special Reporting Service was tested for two years and now has been made an official option for all pilots flying VFR in Alaska. The technology could be a lifesaver […]

A 19-year-old man who pointed a powerful laser at a Netjets Cessna Citation and then at a police helicopter that responded to the pilot’s complaints in Burbank, Calif., was sentenced on Monday to 30 months in prison. Adam Gardenhire pleaded guilty to the charge, which was made a federal crime last year. At sentencing, “Gardenhire […]

Boeing launched a 787 from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on Monday afternoon and flew a two-hour test flight with its redesigned battery system. The 787 returned and landed with no apparent problems, The Associated Press reported. Boeing had said in a statement prior to the flight that during the check flight, the crew would […]

If the tower at the local airport was supposed to be closed but wasn’t it’s because someone convinced the FAA that closing it would pose a threat to national security. At least 24 towers that would normally have been closed under the mathematical limits set by the agency before sequestration took effect (fewer than 150,000 […]

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has reopened its aircraft rescue firefighting training and research facility and announced a partnership with Embry-Riddle after a yearlong expansion that includes a new burn pit and “the only” Airbus A380 training hull in the United States. The $29 million expansion was designed to enhance the facility’s real-world training environment and […]

A Hawker Beechcraft Premier I jet that crashed into a house on Sunday had made two attempts to land, the NTSB said Monday afternoon. The airplane hit two houses before crashing into a third near South Bend [Ind.] Regional Airport. The owner of the aircraft, Wesley Caves, 58, of Tulsa, Okla., and his friend Steve […]

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is considering whether to investigate why the crew of an Air Canada flight ignored two orders from air traffic control to abort a landing at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport last week. Controllers spotted a ground radar return showing an object near the threshold of the runway the flight from Edmonton was […]

Current AOPA President and CEO Craig Fuller announced in February that he would resign as soon as a suitable replacement could be found and AOPA chairman Bill Trimble has now described the kind of individual the association is seeking. In an open letter to AOPA members, Trimble said the candidate “must be a passionate outgoing […]