News

The erratic work schedules of air traffic controllers often cause chronic fatigue, endangering the system’s safety, according to a 2011 NASA report that The Associated Press saysthe FAA “kept secret for years.” The FAA now has posted the report online (PDF), hours after the AP posted its story.Controllers participating in the study wore a wrist […]

A new design for a solar-powered hybrid hot-air balloon, by Cameron Balloons, made its first flight this weekend at a balloon rally in Bristol, England. The aircraft is the first fully certified balloon to use the hybrid solar concept. The balloon envelope is designed with a special black panel, which absorbs the heat from the […]

A lawnmower operator is dead after he was hit by a Ryan PT-22 while cutting the turf runway at Frazier Airpark, near Hollister, California, on Aug. 7. KSBW TVreports Douglas Ralph Jackson, 75, died instantly when the aircraft hit the large riding mower he was on after landing. The unidentified pilot of the Ryan told […]

Just Aircraft says water in the fuel caused the loss of their demonstrator SuperSTOL aircraft on Aug. 2. Company founder Troy Woodland was at the controls when the aircraft went down shortly after takeoff at the company’s home base of Walhalla, South Carolina. Although the aircraft was destroyed, Woodland and his unidentified passenger were uninjured. […]

Officials are crediting teamwork between air traffic controllers and the pilots of a Delta Air Lines A320 with a successful outcome after the severely hail-damaged aircraft made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport on Friday. The aircraft was on a flight from Boston to Salt Lake City when it went flew through an area […]

The number of fatal general aviation accidents in the U.S. increased slightly in 2014 to 253, from 222 the previous year, the NTSB said Thursday in its preliminary report of annual statistics. The fatality rate also climbed in 2014, with 1.4 accidents per 100,000 flight hours compared to 1.12 the previous year. Overall, the accident […]

A carburetor malfunction led to the loss of engine power in the Ryan PT-22 flown by Harrison Ford when he made a forced landing in March, the NTSB said Thursday in its probable cause report. The board also cited faulty shoulder harness hardware that contributed to Ford’s multiple injuries. The actor and pilot was hospitalized […]

More debris, possibly from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, has washed up on Reunion Island, Malaysian officials said late Wednesday, although the French government did not confirm the findings. The island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, is the where a flaperon found last week was confirmed by Malaysian officials to be from the […]

An uptick in business flight activity last month, particularly in turboprop aircraft, continued to mark an uphill trend so for this year, Aviation Research Group/US found in Wednesday’s report for the U.S. and Canada. The report, which tallies IFR departures and arrivals, shows that flights increased 3.7 by percent between June and July. Turboprop activity […]

A research team at the University of Bristol in the UK has successfully tested new technology that could be used to develop “self-healing” airplane surfaces, according to the BBC. The technology comprises tiny microspheres that contain a liquid, carbon-based “healing agent.” The spheres could be interspersed in the surface structure, and when they are damaged […]