News

Just three days after four people died in a helicopter crash while sightseeing in Kauai, another air-tour helicopter has crashed, killing a 60-year-old California man and seriously injuring a couple from New Hampshire and a woman from California. The pilot was treated for minor injuries. The Hughes 500 helicopter, operated by Inter-Island, was flying low […]

In the wide, wild spaces of Africa, it’s tough to enforce the laws that protect wildlife from poaching. But that effort is getting a boost thanks to retired military aircraft that have been donated by several countries to help the cause. So far, eight airplanes have been donated by Israeli, U.S. and French aviation agencies, […]

The numbers of accidents and fatal accidents in general aviation in 2006 were the lowest in the 40 years that the NTSB has been keeping records, the Safety Board said on Tuesday. However, the accident rate for GA has been relatively stable since 1990. The overall decline in numbers is mainly due to a decrease […]

The FAA should lift its ban on weather radios in air traffic control towers, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said on Tuesday. According to the controllers union, the radios provide warnings about severe weather and tornadoes that are not available otherwise. The radios were banned under new work rules imposed on the union […]

Czech Aircraft Works, which was among the first companies to enter the U.S. Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) market, has been expanding rapidly over the last year and has more growth plans in the works. CEO Chip Erwin told the Czech Business Weekly that he expects his company will be the top producer of LSAs by […]

The FAA’s spending goals for 2008 through 2012 have been outlined in the FAA Capital Investment Plan that provides spending roadmaps for Next Generation Air Transportation System technology. Modernization is the key, according to the FAA, and systems upgrades are a focus. System Wide Information Management (SWIM) and ADS-B “are highlighted” in the plan and […]

This year’s winners of the FAA General Aviation safety awards have been announced. Recipients are Mike Gaffney of Lake Saint Louis, Mo., CFI of the Year; Paul New of Jackson, Tenn., AMT of the Year; Jerry Luttrull of Riverside, Calif., Avionics Technician of the Year; and Cheryl Ann De Filippo of Deltona, Fla., FAA Safety […]

The FAA announced Monday it has found an error in an airworthiness directive (AD) for Continental GTSIO-520 series engines targeting the starter adapter assembly and/or crankshaft gear on about 4,200 engines. As a result, the FAA is superseding that AD with a new proposed AD and expects that 25 percent of the affected engines will […]

Jet Advisors, the Broomfield, Colo., bizjet acquisition and management firm, said last week it is adding former Raytheon sales and marketing vice president Karl R. Childs to its staff. In his new position, Childs will help the company focus on private jet sales and acquisitions, an area Jet Advisors said will be one of its […]

Gulfstream Aerospace said last week it had completed the previously announced acquisition of WECO Aerospace Systems Inc., a privately held aviation-component overhaul company. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The company, which specializes in electrical, electronic accessories and flight instrument services, will retain the WECO Aerospace Systems name as part of Gulfstreams Product […]