News

Airplanes that fly themselves already exist and the accepted wisdom is that we’re not too far from the day when all airplanes will be robotically operated. But maybe not. At the first annual Sustainable Aviation Foundation symposium in Redwood City, California, three experts in the field were asked about the immediate prospects for commercial autonomous […]

A Russian-built An-2 biplane made an off-airport landing near San Bernardino International Airport near Los Angeles Friday. The 1940s aircraft, owned by the Commemorative Air Force, was on final approach for the airport when the engine quit. “I thought we had the airport made. But when we got closer, it was obvious we weren’t going […]

Early-year new aircraft shipments are down in 2016, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s latest report. For the first quarter of this year, total GA airplane shipments fell 3.7 percent compared to 2015, GAMA reported Friday (PDF).Piston aircraft remained relatively steady with 191 shipments for the first quarter of 2016, with 193 for the […]

An unmanned airplane made a successful first test of cloud-seeding operations in Nevada, adding a new kind of industrial-use experiment to one of the nation’s FAA-designated UAS test sites. The UAS, which weighs less than 55 pounds and has a wingspan under 12 feet, flew for about 18 minutes last week and reached 400 feet, […]

Five people were injured on anAllegiant Air jet that encountered clear air turbulence Thursday, forcing the flight to divert and land at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The Airbus A319departedPunta Cana and was bound forPittsburgh with 137 passengers and six crew members, according to media reports. The airline stated that “three passengers and two flight attendants […]

A Cessna 172 that crashed in in Alaska in April, killing all four on board, had struck a bald eagle, the NTSB found in its ongoing investigation. The lead investigator said this week it appears to be the first U.S. fatal crash for a civil flight resulting from a bald eagle strike, according to an […]

The FAA will stand up a new advisory committee for the drone industry beginning sometime this summer, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said on Wednesday. Speaking at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International in New Orleans, Huerta said the committee will be modeled after a similar panel organized to funnel industry opinions into the emerging […]

A Beechcraft Bonanza crashed in a residential area on New York’s Long Island Tuesday after the pilot declared an emergency, reporting a failed vacuum system. All three people on board are dead and the aircraft appears to have broken up in flight. The Bonanza departed Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, about 12:45 p.m., heading for Plainville, […]

A Boeing B747-400 that has been converted to an aerial firefighting tanker is ready to enter service, Global SuperTanker Services has announced. The airplane, christened Spirit of John Muir, will be based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. From there, it can be deployed at speeds up to 600 mph to reach wildfires almost anywhere in the […]

As the U.S. military deals with the uncertain complexities of a future dependent on and driven by robotic technologies, the soldier of the future will have unprecedented precision capabilities, but also higher expectations than soldiers of the last generation. That’s one of several observations offered by General David Perkins at Xponential 2016, the AUVSI trade […]