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Last we heard, the FAA remains adamant in upholding the rule. It’s a topic that always comes up at the annual Meet The Boss session at EAA AirVenture and current FAA Administrator Marion Blakey has consistently refused to consider a change. Could it be taken out of the FAA’s hands? Congress in 2001 considered (and […]

The union’s stance isn’t the only thing that’s changed in the debate. The strong dose of emotionalism that has always characterized the issue is giving way to more practical arguments. As struggling airlines work with worker unions to slash salaries (up to 35 percent at some carriers) and dump once-lavish pension plans, some senior pilots […]

ALPA Members To Be Polled On Age 60… Probably the longest-running debate in aviation circles (besides how to properly lean an engine) took a twist this week. After decades of defending mandatory retirement at age 60 for airline pilots, the largest pilots’ union has agreed that it might be time for a change. “We have […]

Meanwhile, an old threat is gaining new attention in the U.S. as federal authorities urge crop-duster owners and pilots to keep an eye out for anything strange. A crop duster was reported stolen in Mexico on Nov. 1, provoking a TSA advisory. Robert Jordan, the FBI’s top agent in Oregon, confirmed to the Associated Press […]

Of course, if hijacking an airliner is getting a little risky for terrorists, there’s no shortage of used big iron on the market, some of it possibly selling at bargain prices. A South African auction house is selling off a couple of (very) used airliners today. However, Aucor, the auction company, believes (which is different […]

Heathrow, London Skyscrapers Were Alleged Targets… British authorities have thwarted 9/11-style attacks in that country, according to a television report. Quoting unnamed government sources, ITV reported that al Qaeda was planning to ram airliners into three downtown London skyscrapers and Heathrow Airport but British Intelligence got wind of the plans and was able to stop […]

For the second time in a couple of weeks an airline pilot has collapsed at the controls. Australia’s 7News reported this week that the pilot of a Garuda (Indonesia) Airlines Boeing 737 suffered a heart attack just after takeoff from Pontianak, on Borneo island. The first officer assumed control and landed the plane safely but […]

How’s Your Near Vision?… Families of seven passengers who died in a 2003 plane crash in New Zealand have attacked lax vision standards for commercial pilots during an inquest hearing in Christchurch. Under questioning by the family members’ lawyers, Dr. Dougal Watson, the principal medical officer for the Civil Aviation Authority, confirmed that the CAA […]

The first commercial spaceport for paying passengers could be in Malaysia, if a proposal now in the works comes to fruition. Bristol Spaceplanes has approached the Malaysian government with plans to build a launch site for the Ascender sub-orbital space plane, The Star reported on Nov. 12. The Ascender would take up to two crew […]

Opponents of the bill wanted more scrutiny for the new industry. “I don’t want to see people dead from a space experiment, and then the federal government comes in to regulate,” said Minnesota Rep. James Oberstar, senior Democrat on the House Transportation Committee. Rohrabacher said too much regulation would “strangle this industry and drive these […]