News

The pilot in the left seat of Asiana Flight 214 that crashed in San Francisco in July told the NTSB he didn’t feel comfortable flying a visual approach on that cloudless, calm day, nor did he feel well enough trained to operate the Boeing 777’s automatic flight systems. The NTSB held a public hearing Wednesday […]

Representatives in the house Wednesday introduced legislation that would expand the use of a drivers license as an acceptable qualifying medical standard for pilots flying light certificated GA aircraft. The General Aviation Pilot Protection Act would set the drivers license as the medical requirement for noncommercial VFR flights in aircraft with no more than six […]

At least two snowy owls were shot and killed by airport employees in New York last week, after owls reportedly struck five airplanes in the New York/New Jersey region. News of the killings brought swift protests from local birdwatchers. The New York agency that manages the airports now says they will instead work with the […]

Next week, the 110th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., will be celebrated with several events at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. The First Flight Society is hosting a public ceremony on Tuesday, from 8:30 a.m. until noon, with a band concert, a flyover of military and civilian aircraft, […]

In preparation for a planned round-the-world flight in 2015, the builders of Solar Impulse, the world’s largest solar-powered electric airplane, will conduct a 72-hour simulation next week, during which pilot Bertrand Piccard will experiment with using self-hypnosis as a means to fight fatigue. “I hope it will work,” he said. During the 2015 flight, a […]

Bell Helicopter has announced it will build its new Short Light Single helicopter at Lafayette Regional Airport in Louisiana. The SLS is a restart of the iconic JetRanger line, an updated five-seat turbine single that will include modern technology standard on bigger airframes. It’s aimed at the utility, law enforcement and flight training sector and […]

“Education of the many would have far greater public health impact than regulation of the few,” the Civil Aviation Medical Association, which represents FAA aviation medical examiners, said in a recent letter to the FAA, regarding its proposed sleep-apnea policy. The letter (PDF), posted online Tuesday by EAA, objects to the FAA’s proposal that AMEs […]

Last year, the showcase military teams were grounded by federal budget problems, but for the 2014 airshow season, both the USAF Thunderbirds and the Navy’s Blue Angels are back in full force. The Thunderbirds released their full schedule last week at the International Council of Air Shows annual conference, and the Blue Angels also announced […]

After an Air Wisconsin pilot was fired from his job and boarded a commercial flight to go home, his former employers alerted the TSA that he might be armed and mentally unstable, launching a legal dispute that made it to the Supreme Court this week. William Hoeper was fired in 2004 after he failed several […]

As air travelers brace for the annual holiday ordeal that awaits many of them, Canadian budget carrier WestJet had a holiday miracle in store for passengers on two of its flights earlier this week. The airline began by creating present-shaped check-in kiosks at Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario airports for two flights bound for its hub […]