News

Pilots must not use their laptops, iPads, or any other electronic device for personal use at any time while operating a Part 121 aircraft, whether for a passenger or cargo operation, the FAA said on Tuesday. The rule (PDF) reinforces procedures that already are standard at airlines, the FAA said. Also the “sterile cockpit” rule, […]

Is it possible to walk across a line slung between two hot-air balloon baskets at altitude? A team of acrobats tried it recently, caught their attempts on video, and posted it online last week. The project requires that the two balloon pilots control their altitude very precisely, and they must stay in close proximity — […]

Landing at the wrong airport, or starting an approach to the wrong airport, is not that unusual for commercial passenger and cargo aircraft, according to an analysis by The Associated Press this week. In an review of NASA safety reports, news accounts and other sources, the AP found 35 wrong-airport landings over the last 20 […]

The White House, with the apparent blessing of the FAA, is urging the FCC to make 406 ELT equipage in aircraft mandatory by 2022. In comments filed with the FCC on Feb. 5 (PDF), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recommended the FCC get moving on its plan to eliminate 121.5 MHz-only ELTs but […]

A Canadian hang gliding instructor may go to jail after pleading guilty to criminal charges in an accident that killed a Mexican woman he was taking on a tandem flight. Lenami Godinez-Avila died April 28, 2012, when she fell from the hang glider after it launched from a mountain about 80 miles east of Vancouver. […]

The Mooney production line will start moving Feb. 26 and the first new Mooney to be built in almost five years, an AcclaimTN Type S, should be ready for a flight test within days after that. Mooney CEO Dr. Jerry Chen said the production start comes after a couple of months of intense activity at […]

Agence France-Presse is reporting that a Turkish airliner made an emergency landing in Turkey due to a hijacking attempt. Other reporters are adding details on Twitter. So far, they’ve said that the Pegasus plane contains 110 passengers, and that the hijacker attempted to divert the plane to land in Sochi during the Winter Olympics opening […]

A lightning strike that injured an air traffic controller at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport has exposed a potential vulnerability at air traffic control towers during storms. It has prompted Federal Aviation Administration officials to inspect hundreds of towers nationwide, according to The Associated Press. The FAA said in a statement that the accident was […]

The Federal Aviation Administration took an important step on Feb. 5 to help improve safety in small aircraft by simplifying design approval requirements for angle of attack (AOA) indicators. AOA indicators give a precise indication of the angle between the wing and the relative wind, which provides critical information to the pilot regarding the lift […]

Our search of press releases this week uncovered an announcement from Think Global Flight (TGF) about a meeting it arranged between a Colorado public school student and astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The two spoke about the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The student urged her school system to join in TGFs international […]