leadnews

Air travel is growing, more aircraft are projected to be flying to more places and the OIG wonders how the agency is going to cope with the surge in demand for its services. Making better use of its existing resources will help, but the report says major investments will be needed to accommodate the demand. […]

Although no one seems to dispute the FAAs need to hire 11,000 new air traffic controllers over the next 10 years to cover the retirement bulge that has already begun, the OIG would like the FAA to figure out exactly where the new recruits should be deployed and just how much this hiring push is […]

The FAA has an uphill battle to convince its masters that a user-fee-based system is the best way to tackle the funding challenges of the next decade, according to a report from the Department of Transportations Office of Inspector General (OIG). And even if the agency can make the case for user fees (which, because […]

The Legacy was flying straight and level before the collision, Sharkey says, and adds, “The Legacy pilots’ skill and courage saved my butt.” He says a lawyer for the pilots will appeal the judge’s decision on the grounds that of all the professionals involved in the accident, only the pilots are being detained. This “discriminatory […]

A federal judge in Brazil said on Monday that the two U.S. pilots who were flying a Legacy jet involved in a midair collision in September still cannot leave the country. The pilots — Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino, both from New York — have been in seclusion in a hotel in Rio de Janeiro […]

The NTSB also cited runway incursions, which have been cited every year since the lists inception in 1990. “These incidents continue to occur with alarming frequency,” the NTSB said. “The FAA indicates that during fiscal year 2005 there were 327 incursions, and during 2006 there were 330. A system introduced by the FAA provides warning […]

The NTSB on Tuesday released the latest version of its “Most Wanted” list of aviation safety improvements. New to the list this year is a request for the FAA to mandate that crews who fly for on-demand air-taxi operators regulated under Part 135 must be trained in crew resource management (CRM). The training should include […]

The memo to customers also identifies another problem seen in the test fleet — windscreen cracking in the patch holes, where the windscreen attaches to the airframe. Eclipse Aviation president and CEO Vern Raburn said the cracks are only on the outer layer, so they aren’t posing any pressurization problems (at least not yet). “However, […]

Eclipse Aviation president and CEO Vern Raburn yesterday confirmed in a memo to customers that the Eclipse 500 test fleet has been grounded for the past two weeks or so because of a problem with the aft wing attach bolt bushing. Raburn told AVweb that the problem was discovered during a routine inspection and in […]

This year’s AOPA Expo reached an all-time record high of 12,973 attendees by the time the show closed on Saturday afternoon. Later that evening, AOPA paid tribute to Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers, R-Ky., for his dedication to general aviation, awarding him with the prestigious J.B. “Doc” Hartranft Award for 2006. Rogers is responsible for funding […]