leadnews

AOPA’s annual Expo opens today in Palm Springs, Calif., with a sold-out exhibit hall and a jam-packed schedule of events. With the theme “AOPA looks to the future,” the three-day show highlights technological advances and regulatory issues that will affect GA in the years ahead. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey will address attendees tomorrow, and other […]

The story also prompted spirited comments from a minority of respondents who said they were tired of the rhetoric. A contract tower controller and former PATCO controller who was fired by President Reagan in 1981 said controllers know what theyre in for when they sign up. The shifts, the overtime, its all part of it, […]

A single line in an AVweb story about a controller caught napping has unleashed a torrent of response (with a little prodding from union headquarters) about just how much overtime is being scheduled in towers and centers. Controllers from all over the country have responded to a request from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association […]

The report says that radar data showed the Cirrus track up the east side of Roosevelt Island, roughly the middle of the river. From that point, the plane had about 1,700 feet of clearance to the west in which to complete the turn. However, the wind would have pushed the plane 400 feet during the […]

The NTSB says a 13-knot easterly wind may have contributed to the circumstances that led to the crash of New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidles Cirrus SR20 into a Manhattan apartment building on Oct. 11. An update to its investigation issued Friday suggests the brisk breeze would have effectively decreased the turning space available for […]

Although it would seem a simple matter to release the transcript and tapes and let the investigation proceed with the benefit of that crucial information, the Brazilian air force has refused to do so. The air force oversees air traffic control in Brazil and told The Associated Press its normal to sit on this kind […]

A Brazilian newspaper says the American pilot of an Embraer Legacy 600 bizjet that collided with a Brazilian airliner last month was flying at the altitude assigned by air traffic control. Folha de S. Paulo reported Thursday that transcripts of the radio exchange between the controller and the aircraft show that the Legacy crew was […]

Air traffic staffing in Brazil is down because the 10 controllers who worked in Manaus and Brasilia on the day of the crash have been taken off duty to undergo psychiatric treatment. They were scheduled to testify before investigators this week, but said they cannot talk until after Nov. 13, when their treatment is complete, […]

As Brazil continues to cope with the repercussions of the Boeing 737 midair accident that killed 154 people last month — the country’s worst air disaster ever — aviation authorities there have restricted private flying in certain airspace segments. Air traffic controllers said they have to impose the restrictions so they can try to reduce […]

While Peters was in Wichita, AOPA President Phil Boyer was in Washington, D.C., speaking out against aviation user fees during a panel discussion at an air traffic control conference. The topic: what’s “fair” when it comes to paying for the air traffic control system? “Grandma in seat 28B should only have to pay her fair […]