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The unidentified manager of the Lexington tower was apparently trying to solve a staffing shortage by shifting responsibility for radar control of aircraft when Flight 5191 crashed off the end of the airport’s GA runway. According to The New York Times, the FAA issued a memo to managers nine months ago specifying that towers with […]

While the battle inside the towers and centers may (to outsiders) have its whimsical side, the practical impact of the new regime could be significant. NATCA appears determined to fight each and every violation of the new rules cited by management. In a memo to controllers at a major center (we do know which one), […]

The contract clamps down on areas of alleged abuse by the union, including the entitlement to sick pay. Whereas controllers have, in the past, self-certified their medical fitness on a day-to-day basis, in addition to the mandatory medical checkups, the new rules appear to require supervisors to judge whether a controller can get through a […]

If your clearances are a little clipped, your handoffs a little brisk, it could be the controller working your flight is a little hot under the collar — the collar he or she likely now has to wear while at work. Now, it’s hard to tell if the agency was sending a message to the […]

Delays and security rules at the airlines could prove a real boon to the VLJ market. James Coyne, president of the National Air Transportation Association, said charters experienced 20-percent growth since 9/11 and a 20- to 70-percent bump since Aug. 10, when carry-on liquids were banned from airline cabins. Tim Spahr, director of charter sales […]

The Times also reported that a new air-taxi operator, Magnum Jet, plans to launch next year with a fleet of Adam A700 jets. Jim Burns, who founded Magnum Jet in a partnership with ubiquitous FBO operator Million Air, said he wanted to keep a low profile until he was sure the airplanes would be available. […]

Adam’s A700 very light jet has a lavatory on board, and Eclipse’s VLJ doesn’t. Is that going to be what drives sales for one, and not the other? As the first wave of VLJs prepares to debut on the market, a story in Monday’s New York Times explores the “battle of the bathrooms.” Adam Aircraft […]

As in all fatal crashes, questions have arisen about what could be done to prevent similar accidents in the future. USA Today cited hundreds of cases since the 1980s when pilots tried to take off or land on the wrong runways. Suggestions have ranged from installing better signage and runway markings, to requiring that controllers […]

“[The controller] expected the flight to take off from Runway 22,” according to Debbie Hersman, of the NTSB. “He said the pilots didn’t seem confused or disoriented” when he talked to them. The CRJ hit the grass off the end of the runway but then became airborne and was starting to climb when it crashed […]

There should have been two controllers on duty in the Lexington, Ky., control tower instead of just one, on the morning that a Comair Bombardier CRJ-100 commuter jet crashed after trying to take off from the wrong runway, the FAA said on Tuesday. Of the 50 people on board the Comair flight, 49 were killed. […]