News

The Airline Pilot Security Alliance (APSA) Thursday released a statement saying that TSA weapons-handling rules are to blame for the accidental discharge of a pilot’s firearm while in the cockpit of a flying US Airways jet last weekend. The APSA pointed specifically to the TSA’s requirement for pilots to remove the guns from their person, […]

A Brazilian airline is standing behind its native manufacturer, Embraer (the largest manufacturer of commercial jets with fewer than 120 seats), to the tune of $1.4 billion. Embraer signed a contract with the as-yet unnamed airline, headed by JetBlue founder and former president David Neeleman, for 36 118-seat fly-by-wire Embraer 195 jets with options for […]

Diamond’s 170-knot twin turbo-diesel DA42 Thursday earned FAA known ice certification, allowing the 12-gallon-per-hour aircraft to more completely utilize its 1,100-nm range. Owners currently operating TKS-equipped DA42s must comply with Diamond Service Bulletin OSB-42-015, Revision 3 or later to get known ice approval. Diamond says it will cover parts and labor (the aircraft will get […]

Thielert shares dropped to a record low of 3.65 Euros (its traded as high as 25.22) on the German stock market Tuesday on news the company was delaying the release of its financial statements. The company, which supplies diesel aircraft engines to Diamond and Cessna, as well as for STC applications, has some major accounting […]

All pilots know that eight hours bottle-to-throttle is an absolute minimum rule, but luckily there is no rule about how soon after landing you can tip back a cold one. Taking advantage of pilots’ affection for a tasty brew, some folks in Redlands, Calif., have opened up a microbrewery right next to the airport, in […]

Kemper Aviation, based at Palm Beach County Park airport near Lantana, Fla., has voluntarily given up its Part 141 flight school certificate, the Sun-Sentinel reported on Wednesday. Three airplanes from the school have crashed in the last five months, killing eight people. The school suspended all of its flight training operations after the last crash, […]

It seems that Maine is not the only state eager to slap visiting pilots with a “use tax” on their aircraft. Florida also has such a law on the books, and has used it in the past to collect thousands of dollars from aircraft owners. With Sun ‘n Fun coming up next month, the show […]

A mix-up over where to land led to a KLM crew extending its downwind leg a bit — by about 1,500 miles. It seems the crew, which had launched from Amsterdam, was expecting to land at its usual destination near the city of Hyderabad, in the south of India, but that airport had been closed […]

The FAA said on Tuesday that small airports around the country must upgrade their taxiway markings by March 31, 2010. The upgrades previously were voluntary. The agency also plans to mandate a change in how taxi clearances are issued. More explicit instructions are needed, the FAA says, and the U.S. should adopt international phraseology such […]

The aviation infrastructure in China is about to take a big leap forward with the addition of 97 airports, including a second international airport in Beijing. As of now, the country has only 147 airports, so the goal is to reach 244 in the next 12 years. (By comparison, the U.S.A., with less than one-quarter […]