News

The FAA’s “overly conservative” approach to safety risk assessments creates a “significant barrier” to the development and implementation of drone technology, according to a report issued on Monday. Congress mandated the study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. “FAA needs to accelerate its move away from the ‘one size fits all’ philosophy […]

Daher has developed a new configuration for its TBM 910 and TBM 930 single-engine turboprops to carry intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment, which the company introduced at the Eurosatory 2018 Security and Defense Showin Paris this week. Nicolas Chabbert, director of Daher’s Airplane Business Unit, told AVweb the company’s main objective is to provide […]

Officials in Daytona Beach, Florida, say two occupants of a Piper Seminole that clipped two houses before crashing in a retention pond Saturday suffered only superficial injuries. The two were “alert” when first responders arrived. The aircraft was submerged except for one wheel. The duo apparently got caught in a hailstorm before the crash. Photos […]

The flight crew of a Sichuan Airlines A319 that had a windscreen failure on May 14 will split about $1.5 million in cash rewards granted by China’s Civil Aviation Administration and the Sichuan provincial government. According to the China Daily/Asia News Network, the captain on the flight, Liu Chuanjian, was granted about $800,000 and given […]

Airbus will close the deal with Bombardier to take over control of the Canadian company’s CSeries program on July 1. The two companies wrapped up negotiations over revenue sharing and the structure of the company that will build the aircraft. Airbus will assume 51 percent of the CSeries Aircraft Limited Partnership and provide procurement, sales […]

The Air Force has temporarily grounded the entire B-1B fleet after an ejection seat mishap in May. A Lancer diverted to Midland, Texas, on May 1 and one of the ejection seat deployment hatches was missing when it landed. The seat did not fire, however, and all four crew used the belly stairway to leave […]

The FAA is continuing to develop and expand its Offshore Precipitation Capability (OPC) system, which uses machine learning and image processing to estimate precipitation intensity and echo top heights in areas where Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) is not available. While not as precise as radar in identifying the location and intensity of precipitation—although with greater […]

The FAA has temporarily halted flight testing for its Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) unleaded 100LL replacement fuels program while issues related to the differences between the two PAFI fuels and 100LL are being assessed, according to a progress update issued by the FAA on Monday. “Both fuel producers, Shell and Swift, are currently evaluating […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) sent a letter to Congress on Monday urging the U.S. Senate to consider the FAA Reauthorization Act (S. 1405) as soon as possible. Both organizations expressed support for the bill in the letter (PDF), writing that “This comprehensive bill includes key FAA certification […]

American Airlines Flight 1897 was forced to make an emergency landing Sunday night after flying through a severe thunderstorm. The aircraft, which had departed from San Antonio heading for Phoenix, sustained significant hail damage to the windshield and radome. The A319 diverted to El Paso International Airport (ELP) and landed safely at approximately 8:03 p.m. […]