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Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, both Democrats representing New Jersey, announced Thursday they would block President Bush’s nomination of Robert Sturgell from reaching the Senate floor for a vote, according to The Associated Press. The two Senators based their stand on flight delays originating in East Coast airspace and Sturgell’s actions as acting administrator […]

The total cost of a NextGen system empowering pilots with satellite-based air traffic control information is expected by the FAA to cost up to $22 billion, but that figure may be very conservative. At least one analyst, Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin L. Scovel III, forecasts that software development alone will push costs over $50 […]

In August of 2004, he flew his aircraft into power lines before it crashed into the Wisconsin River, killing his passenger as her family watched — now he’s going to jail. Mark Strub was sentenced to six months in jail for his role as pilot, but much of that time may be spent in community […]

A woman passenger reportedly stabbed one of the pilots of a New Zealand commuter aircraft, tried to take control of the aircraft and threatened to blow it up early Friday (New Zealand time). The pilot suffered only minor injuries and the woman was restrained before the other pilot landed the 19-seat Jetstream at Christchurch Airport. […]

NASA and the CAFE Foundation will host a $300,000 General Aviation Technology Challenge this August in Santa Rosa, Calif., to determine which small aircraft are most advanced in a number of measures that include fuel efficiency, quietness and safe handling. The idea is to encourage the development of GA aircraft that can fill the personal […]

Cessna Aircraft Company revealed details of its recently announced large-cabin jet at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday. The intercontinental aircraft will be called the Model 850 Citation Columbus. The jet is designed for intercontinental travel, Cessna said, with a target range of 4,000 nautical miles at Mach .80 carrying eight passengers. The ship […]

Maine is in a “state of confusion” when it comes to imposing onerous tax bills on out-of-state aviators, say the folks at AOPA, who have been trying to reason with officials there. “There is a fundamental fairness issue here,” says AOPA Vice President of Regional Affairs Greg Pecoraro. He has met with Maine officials several […]

While it’s still deep winter in much of the country, this year’s edition of Sun ‘n Fun is right around the corner, with spring not far behind. This week, the FAA published the NOTAM with instructions for those who plan to fly in to Lakeland, Fla., for the show, which runs April 8 to 13. […]

At last October’s National Business Aviation Association meeting in Atlanta, leaders of the major general aviation groups agreed that despite headway made in Congress on the user fee issue, they believed the matter was far from settled. On Monday, with the FAA functioning on an extension of its 2007 budget because of the administration’s failed […]

Three days after Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell put his stamp of approval on an FAA budget that would retain the user fee proposal, President Bush’s nominee for the five-year appointment as administrator will go before a confirmation hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. It’s been more than three months since Bush […]