News

This is the last month in which a pilot can take the ATP written (knowledge) examination before a new, onerous and expensive prerequisite requirement takes effect. As of Aug. 1 of this year, FAR 61.153(e) requires that anyone seeking to just take the written-not the checkride-must have completed an FAA-approved airline transport pilot certification training […]

Blade, an app that makes it easy for travelers between New York City and the Hamptons to book helicopter rides, is partnering with Uber, the car-service app, this week. The Blade service enables users to either book a seat on a scheduled flight or “pick the time you want to fly and crowdsource your own […]

The FAA is still grappling with “unresolved technological, regulatory, and privacy issues” that make it unlikely it can integrate unmanned aerial systems into the National Airspace System by the September 2015 deadline, according to a report (PDF) this week from the federal Transportation Department inspector general’s office. The deadline was set by Congress in 2012. […]

The Farnborough Air Show doesn’t start for another two weeks but the order contest between Airbus and Boeing that often grabs the headlines from the show has already started. In fact, Euronews is reportingthat Boeing CEO Ray Conner has emailed employees urging them to claw for every sale possible as the company fights to increase […]

The airport at Mojave, in southern California, is known as an innovation hub for general aviation, and the 1,600-mile route from there to Oshkosh, Wis., has been flown many times by many iconic aircraft — and this summer, a group of about six to eight pilots plans to fly the route together nonstop in their […]

The first Pilot’s Bill of Rights, signed into law in 2012, is in need of an update, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said this week, so he’s working on new legislation to expand pilot protections. “The goal of Pilot’s Bill of Rights 2 is to continue to address unfair practices and regulations towards the aviation industry,” […]

If you have an opinion about allowing the use of commercial unmanned aircraft systems in the national airspace, the FAA wants to hear from you — and soon. Comments will be accepted until mid-July regarding a recent petition from six companies in the movie and TV industry asking for exemptions that would allow them to […]

A Cirrus pilot may have been confident that he could land safely on a private rural airstrip on a dark moonless night, with help from the headlights of a relative’s car pointed at the runway, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in its final report (PDF)last week, but the flight ended in a fatal crash. […]

A United Airliners 737 en route from Chicago to Los Angeles landed in Wichita Sunday night after an emergency evacuation slide inadvertently inflated inside the cabin. The aircraft was in cruise flight at FL 380 when the incident occurred, according to Reuters. The aircraft, a 737-700, was carrying 96 passengers plus five crew members. “The […]

The first production HondaJet made its first flight last Friday and the company calls it “another milestone toward aircraft certification and entry into service in 2015.” The aircraft took off from Piedmont Triad International Airport, flew for 84 minutes, and got as high as 15,500 feet and as fast as 348 knots. It will be […]