News

NASA is working with Gulfstream to test a “fly-by-cam” system in which the pilot of a supersonic business jet would land the aircraft using a video feed from an HD camera. According to The Register the system is aimed at solving one of the vexing issues facing development of the speedy bizjets in that their […]

The FAA says it’s “looking into” whether the training of a developmental controller in Florida was accomplished at the expense of three airlines and their passengers aboard four airliners. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association alleged Tuesday that a supervisor ordered on-duty controllers at the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center to re-route a Delta […]

The Blackswift project, which aimed to develop a hypersonic airplane that could fly at Mach 6, has been cancelled due to a lack of funding. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Air Force had hoped to start work on an unmanned prototype later this year and fly it by 2012, but […]

A pilot who died last year while practicing formation aerobatics prior to an air show should have been restricted from such flying by his FAA medical examiner, the NTSB said in its final report on the accident. Jan Wildbergh, 74, who had flown with the Geico Skytypers since 1986, died in September 2007. According to […]

The abrupt dive of a Qantas A330-300 last week that injured scores of passengers wasn’t caused by a passenger’s electronic device, but by an internal breakdown in the Airbus’s flight-control computer system, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said on Tuesday. The aircraft was flying at FL 370 en route from Singapore to Perth when the […]

Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, marked the grand opening and recognition of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field, Tuskegee, Ala., now officially a national landmark. The site serves as testament to the all-black 99th Fighter Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group of World War II whose combat performance and civilian struggles have earned them […]

AOPA Air Safety Foundation Friday announced the launch of a free online course called “Do The Right Thing” designed “to help pilots improve their decision-making skills” and reduce accidents by preventing the formation of poor decision strings. Based on its seminar titled “Do The Right Thing: Decision Making for Pilots,” the online course presents pilots […]

Late last week, The Associated Press wrote in multiple short articles (and at least one long one) that implementation of the FAA’s proposed satellite-based NextGen air traffic control system could save aircraft operators (and U.S. airlines in particular) roughly $10 billion per year, and newspapers across the country noticed. From the Chicago Tribune to USA […]

“Off we go into the wild blue yonder” will take a significant turn as the military plans to grow its fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles from about 100 to about 370, and its roster of non-flying pilots from about 450 to 1,100, by 2011. Those figures will make UAV pilots a major stakeholder in the […]

Comp Air, the manufacturer known for its sturdy back-country-capable, turbine-powered kit aircraft, has announced that it has been granted $150 million to develop, certify and produce the 310-knot, eight-plus-two, near-standup cabin (with lavatory) Comp Air 12 composite pressurized turboprop single. With this cash infusion from MercMed investment company, Comp Air has set target dates for […]