News

The proliferation of technology in the cockpit can be distracting, and the NTSB this week issued a safety alert (PDF) reminding pilots to “see and be seen” and to visually scan for other aircraft. “As a pilot, your first job is to fly your own airplane,” said NTSB chairman Christopher Hart. “Part of that job […]

A move to reduce emissions from airliners burning jet fuel could roll out as early as Friday from the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a New York Times report this week. The EPA is set to announce the results of its study of the issue that began last fall. The agency is expected to conclude […]

Jeremy Monnett, CEO of Sonex, andMikeClark, a Sonexassembly mechanic,died Tuesday when the Sport Acro they were flyingcrashed into a row of military vehicles parked near the runway at Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport, where the kit company is based. “It is with heavy hearts that we report the loss of two members of our Sonexfamily,” the […]

The next Apple mobile operating system update is expected to fix a glitch that prevents iPads from communicating with some GPS accessories used for some aviation apps. As we reported in April, the last update, iOS 8.3, stopped early model GPS devices from supplying position information to certain aviation apps. The next release, iOS 8.4, […]

Aircraft of the future could be more fuel-efficient, says NASA, thanks to new non-stick coatings they recently tested that shed insect residue. By staying cleaner and bug-free, the coated wings are more aerodynamic. NASA tested five coatings recently during a two-week project in Shreveport, Louisiana, flying the Boeing 757 ecoDemonstrator. “One of the five coating/surface […]

Nearly 200 members of the Air Line Pilots Association are volunteering in Washington, D.C., this week, to help lobby Congress to pass a new FAA funding bill that prioritizes safety. The ALPA campaign, called “This is Your Captain Speaking,” features print and digital ads, radio spots, videos and a social-media effort. The campaign will target […]

Diamond Aircraft’s Austria headquarters is well along with a third-generation hybrid-drive electric aircraft design that it hopes will serve as a certification template for future electric aircraft. The new airplane is based on a DA40 composite airframe, but rather than a geared conventional prop driven by a diesel engine, the aircraft will have a single […]

Two of Ireland’s busiest airports, Cork and Shannon, will soon get remote control towers operated from a third airport in Dublinin what appears to be the first operational full-scale test of remote tower technology. The Swedish aerospace and industrial conglomerate Saab is providing the equipment and overseeing the test program. According to Saab, the remote […]

The loss of an Airbus A400M and four crew on a test flight on May 9 was caused by incorrectly installed software, an Airbus official told a German newspaper last week. “The black boxes attest … that there are no structural defects, but we have a serious quality problem in the final assembly,” Marwan Lahoud, […]

The Solar Impulse crew has cut short their attempt to fly from China to Hawaii on solar power, with a safe landing in Nagoya, Japan, at almost midnight local time Monday. Options for navigating a weather front along the route deteriorated, and the crew decided to land and wait for another opportunity. Despite the delay, […]