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That’s what Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wants Bobby Sturgell, the acting FAA administrator, to find out. On Wednesday, Durbin said he is calling for an immediate investigation into air traffic controller conditions, including staffing levels and fatigue, at Chicago air traffic facilities. Durbins announcement follows last week’s runway safety report by the Government Accountability Office, […]

Two jets landing on perpendicular runways at New York’s Kennedy Airport on Sunday afternoon were never in danger of colliding, the FAA said on Tuesday, contradicting an assertion by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association that both aircraft barely escaped a midair. “It was a non-event,” FAA spokesman Jim Peters told The Associated Press, after […]

With pressure increasing from all quarters for aviation to lighten its load on our ecological systems, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) said on Wednesday it has established an Environmental Committee. The committee will review issues and develop NATA’s position for dealing with concerns such as aircraft emissions, carbon offset programs, spill prevention and containment, […]

Would you pay $200,000 for an aircraft that could fly for only 10 minutes before you have to stop and refuel? You might, if that aircraft was a James Bond-ish, futuristic jet pack that you can strap on your back and fly. Jet Pack International has been showcasing a working model at sports events around […]

The House has unanimously passed a bill that would raise the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots to 65. According to The Associated Press (the actual bill was not available on the Library of Congress Web site at this writing) the proposed legislation, which still has to pass through the Senate, would bring the U.S. […]

Business analyst Frost and Sullivan says there’s no end in sight to increased corporate profits so business jet manufacturers can expect to ride the current boom for some time. In fact, corporations are so confident about future profitability, they’re ordering jets in anticipation of having the money to pay for them. “Previously, the increase in […]

Adam Aircraft says it’s confident its A700 light jet will be certified by the end of next year, following the FAA’s granting of the first Type Inspection Authority for the program. Adam got its first type conforming A700 in the air in the spring and the TIA means that hours flown by FAA inspectors now […]

There aren’t many bizjets with short, unimproved field capability, and that’s what attracted PlaneSense to the Grob spn. The fractional arm of New Hampshire-based Alpha Aviation has ordered 25 Grob spn business jets and hopes to have the first one by the end of next year. The company was founded in 1996 and found a […]

One of the bottlenecks Eclipse is dealing with is a backlog of training for its customers as their new jets roll off the assembly line. In a recent letter to customers, Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn said it will be sometime in the spring before the company can “close the gap between customer aircraft delivery and […]

Flight Options now has three wholly owned private jets in its fractional fleet through a system it calls its Fractional Interchange Management (FIM) Program. Under the program, aircraft owners turn over management of their planes to Flight Options, which adds them to the fleet of more than 130 fractionally owned aircraft under Flight Options’ management. […]