News

Elon Musk says he’s “close” to developing a “vertical takeoff and landing electric jet” as a practical alternative to conventional aircraft. During a Q&A session with students at Texas A&M last week the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX was asked what his “next great idea” might be and he brought up the design that he […]

The former president of Sikorsky Aircraft was killed along with his passenger when his P-51D crashednear Maricopa, Arizona, on Friday. Jeffrey Pino, 61, was head of Sikorsky from 2006 to 2012. He was flying the Mustang, named Big Beautiful Doll, when it went down. The passenger was identified as Nickolas Tramontano, 71, of Brookfield, Connecticut. […]

Coast Guard boats and divers are searching the waters off Los Angeles this morning after two single-engine airplanes collided Friday afternoon. The Coast Guard said the collision occurred about 3:30 p.m. in clear skies, The Associated Press reported. Two men, ages 61 and 81, were on board a Beechcraft Bonanza, and a woman, 72, was […]

The FAA is looking at cutting its Contract Weather Observer staffing at 57 airports around the country, moving some duties to local ATC, according to an agency document and various media reports in recent weeks. Trained human weather observers contracted by the FAA supplement automated weather reports at towered airports, providing more discerning information including […]

The National Aeronautic Association announced this week nine nominees for the 2015 Robert J. Collier Trophy, which recognizes projects and achievements in aviation and aerospace. The nominees include four aircraft ranging from the Icon A5 light-sport amphibious airplane to the C-5M Super Galaxy, the Air Force transport airplane built by Lockheed Martin. Airbus’ A350 XWB […]

Better batteries for electric aircraft are in the works, but it may be five years before we see significant improvements in energy density, according to a leading battery researcher at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Jeff Chamberlain, who heads the lab’s Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Research Science, told AVweb in an exclusive interview […]

The captain of the Airbus A321 that landed Tuesday with a hole blown out of its side believes a bomb exploded as the jet climbed out ofMogadishu, Somalia. Authorities haven’t confirmed the source of the blast, and one passenger is believed to be dead from falling out of the hole. “It was my first bomb; […]

Two congressmen in favor of privatizing the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization introduced their proposal Wednesday, just after receiving written opposition from others in the House and Senate. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., introduced the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act, H.R. 4441 (PDF), […]

The organizers of ModAero, a “next-generation aviation festival” set for March 16 to 19 near Houston, Texas, say they are offering a “fresh take” on the traditional aviation event, with the goal of attracting a younger demographic, especially pilots in the 16 to 39 “millennial” age range. “That’s where all the growth is happening, and […]

The House Appropriations Committee has added its opposition to the nascent debate over privatizing the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO). Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., and other senior members of the committee wrote a letter (PDF) to the House leadership Monday saying air traffic management should remain a government function. “The annual oversight and funding role […]