News

Air traffic controllers need better training in how to assist aircraft in distress, the NTSB says in a report released this week. The safety recommendation is based on an analysis of five general aviation accidents, from 2012 to 2015, in which seven people were killed. In each case, the pilot was communicating with ATC but […]

The U.S. Air Force has created a new kind of testing regime for evaluating military aircraft, and recently announced that Textron AirLand’s Scorpion jet will be the first product to go through the process. The process, called a cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, is open to any industry partner, on a first-come, first-served […]

The Red Bull Air Race series moves to North America in a few weeks and the last race on its European leg set the stage for drama on this side of the Atlantic. Australia’s Matt Hall won Sunday’s race at EuroSpeedway Lusitz in Germany followed by Germany’s Matthias Dolderer. Canada’s Pete McLeod was third for […]

The producers of “Sully,” the movie based on the ditching of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in 2009, are apparently so confident of its authenticity they’ve invited a theater full of pilots to a preview screening on Sept. 7, two days before it opens to general audiences. Warner Bros. has given free tickets to […]

 The Wall Street Journal is reporting the FAA is considering reducing the number of hours military pilots must have before they can be airline first officers. An industry-labor panel has recommended that military pilots with as little as 500 hours be allowed to slide directly into the right seat of airliners. The current minimum […]

A National Guard Apache helicopter got a little help from a bigger and stronger friend Thursday after it became mired in a muddy rice field near Baytown, Texas. The helicopter was on a training flight late Tuesday when it had what the Guard says was a minor mechanical issue. The pilot put the attack helicopter […]

The fallout following this week’s fiery destruction of a SpaceX rocket during a test at Cape Canaveral include delayed satellite launches for customers around the world that had hired the company to send equipment into orbit. It was the second total loss of a rocket since June of last year for SpaceX, which had one […]

All Nippon Airways is modifying or replacing all 100 engines on its fleet of 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners because the turbine blades are corroding and cracking. ANA, the launch customer for the 787, chose Rolls Royce engines and as the engines accumulate hours the blade problems have been getting worse. CNN reported the issue has […]

An environmental group that has been urging the EPA to regulate avgas in piston-powered aircraft released a new report this week on lead emissions in its ongoing campaign to remove 100LL from airport pumps. Friends of the Earth says that EPA data shows that piston-engine aircraft using leaded avgas account for about 50 percent of […]

Explosions this morning at Cape Canaveral, where SpaceX is testing an unmanned rocket to prepare for a satellite launch, were due to “an anomaly on the pad resulting in the loss of the vehicle and its payload,” SpaceX said following the incident, which shook buildings in the area. “Per standard procedure, the pad was clear […]