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Lights-Out NOTAMs At FSS The Department of Defense has revised its system of issuing Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) about “lights-out” night training in Military Operations Areas to be sure that the information is available to private pilots when they are briefed by Flight Service Stations, AOPA said on Tuesday. Since the approval of lights-out operations […]

The crash of a West Caribbean MD-82 last Tuesday in Venezuela seems a little more straightforward but it’s not without its share of mystery. The pilots reported that both engines failed on the airliner, which went down in northern Venezuela on a flight from Panama to Martinique, killing all 160 people aboard. Officials are now […]

One question that arises out of the flight-attendant-at-the-helm scenario is why that flight attendant, who apparently managed to disengage the autopilot, was unable to use the radio to call for help. In fact, one aviation expert interviewed by The Associated Press suggested the lack of communication was deliberate. “Someone knew how to work the airplane,” […]

Student Pilot Was At Controls, Says Magazine A Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 full of unconscious or semiconscious crew and passengers ran out of fuel with a student pilot / flight attendant at the controls before crashing in Greece last week, according to a report in Flight International. The flight’s cockpit voice recorder has been recovered […]

As AVweb reported last week, Boyer took Russ Chew, the FAA’s Chief Operating Officer, out for a spin in Boyer’s Cessna 172. But it was more than a sightseeing trip. Boyer’s Skyhawk is decked out in the latest GPS/WAAS gear for satellite-based precision approaches. In the Flight Plan comments, Boyer urges the addition of more […]

Although Blakey rarely misses a public opportunity to stress the agency’s commitment to maintaining the system of airports throughout the country (she called it a “national treasure” at her Meet The Administrator session at EAA AirVenture), the fact is that rarely a day goes by that an airport somewhere isn’t under intense pressure because of […]

Input Gathered On FAA Flight Plan AOPA is repeating its mantra of “no user fees” as the FAA gathers stakeholder input on its next five-year plan. In a letter to the agency, AOPA maintains the so-called Flight Plan, which plots the agency’s direction for the coming half decade, has taken a turn toward general aviation […]

Comfort said the accomplishment is particularly noteworthy because Sino Swearingen is a new company and, as such, is the first to bring a clean-slate design through the certification process in 35 years. The company claims the six-passenger (single-pilot) aircraft has a range of 2,500 nm at 447 KTAS (514 mph). It has a high-speed cruise […]

New Jet Nearly Certified With the bizjet focus squarely on the emerging very light jet VLJ (or entry-level, as Cessna prefers) market, a San Antonio company has been working in its shadow for about five years. But Sino Swearingen burst into the spotlight earlier this week with the announcement that its SJ30-2 light jet (13,500 […]

So, what’s all this mean to GA pilots? If nothing else it serves as a good excuse to remind ourselves about the potential dangers of hypoxia and realize that it doesn’t just happen at the flight levels. AOPA has a comprehensive list of references on the insidious condition and its prevention, along with the reminder […]