News

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 […]

Officials have confirmed that the flaperon found on Reunion Island off the coast of Africa last week originated from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which vanished in March 2014. That origin for the wreckage had already been widely assumed, since it was known to be from a Boeing 777, and only one of those has been […]

President Obama has nominated Beverly Scott, the former head of Boston’s public-transit system, to fill the fifth seat on the NTSB. The choice is expected to draw debate and opposition as it goes to the Senate for confirmation — Scott resigned her post abruptly in April, after a government report critiqued her agency’s performance when […]

The number of used business jets on the market continues to decline but older aircraft remain a tough sell, according to a report from JetNet released this week. The market analysis company said its figures show the total number of business jets available dropped from 11.8 percent of the fleet to 11.2 percent in the […]

Airbus has been granted a U.S. patent for an airplane that could fly commercial passengers at speeds up to Mach 4.5, according to various news reports this week. The plans show the hydrogen-fueled airplane would take off vertically, propelled by turbojets, then a rocket engine and wing-mounted ramjets would propel the aircraft as high as […]

Beacon, a new venture launched by the team behind Surf Air, plans to start offering a subscription-based private airplane service in the Northeast starting September 15, the company has announced. Beacon will offer unlimited access to its fleet for prices starting at $2,000 per month, with flights between Boston and New York, as well as […]

Operators of unmanned aerial systems now can submit their flight plans online, and those operations will be displayed graphically to general aviation pilots when they file their flight plans, Lockheed Martin said on Monday. “Our objective is an open, standards-based system that individual operators and other private UTM [UAS traffic management] systems can use to […]

Textron Aviation has “been listening to the market” and sees an opportunity to introduce a new single-engine turboprop, the company confirmed in an email to AVweb on Monday. “This is an entirely new, clean-sheet design aircraft — not a derivative or variant of any existing product,” the company said. The company is not yet releasing […]

One pilot died and another escaped with serious injuries when a Russian military helicopter crashed during an airshow in Russia on Sunday. The Mi-28N was taking part in a demonstration by the Berkuty (Golden Eagles) aerobatic team, which does formation aerobatics in the attack helicopters. Video shows the helicopter climbing for a breaking maneuver when […]

The flaperon found on a beach on French-owned Reunion Island last week has been confirmed as a piece of a Boeing 777 of the same model operated as MH370. Malaysian authorities confirmed Sunday that the control surface was positively identified as being from a 777 and the next step is to match the part’s serial […]