News

The FCC’s proposal to scrap its ban on cellphone use in aircraft has prompted the Department of Transportation to consider a ban of its own. It’s now the FCC that technically keeps us all from using a cell phone while in an aircraft of any type but the focus of the current action is for […]

Prison officials in Quebec say they have to beef up air defenses around their facilities after a remotely piloted aircraft dropped a package that likely contained drugs into the Hull Prison near Ottawa, Ontario. “We have to adjust,” Stephane Lemaire, president of the union representing prison guards, told the Ottawa Citizen. If they are able […]

Textron AirLand says response from military and paramilitary organizations to the first flight of its Scorpion tactical jet has been overwhelmingly positive and the twin jet may appear at airshows this coming season. Dale Tutt, the chief engineer on the project, told AVweb in a podcast interview the Scorpion, which will cost “somewhere south of […]

Fifty-eight-year-old Kansas man Terry Lee Loewen has been charged with attempting to explode a car bomb Friday morning at Wichitas Mid-Continent Airport where he worked as an avionics technician for Hawker Beechcraft. Authorities allege that Loewen intended to detonate the explosives and die in the explosion, having been radicalized by fundamentalist Islam. Authorities say Loewen […]

The FAA is moving ahead with implementation of mandatory screening and tests (apparently regardless of widely reported objections) for obstructive sleep apnea in pilots with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher, the agency said Thursday. Individuals are typically categorized as obese by current BMI charts if they score a number higher than […]

Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), testified before a House subcommittee Thursday to promote industry growth through cooperation. Bunce told the subcommittee that the FAA should partner with the industry to streamline the certification process, cutting costs for both the government and manufacturers while increasing safety. Actions should prioritize […]

With Christmas approaching, AVweb checked in with Mission Aviation Fellowship to learn about its ongoing involvement flying relief missions in the recently typhoon-stricken Philippines and found the organizations work there is still well under way. MAF pilots like Dave Forney have been delivering food to coastal dwellers in the Philippines who have used it as […]

Textron AirLand has announced the first flight of its Scorpion Intelligence, Surveillance Reconnaissance/Strike aircraft took place at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita early Thursday. The twinjet took off just after 9 a.m. and landed 1.4 hours later and “met all expectations” according to Textron CEO Scott Donnelly. When the design phase began less than […]

The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) Wednesday joined the NTSB, AOPA, EAA, the National Air Transportation Association and others in requesting that the FAA reconsider proposed rulemaking regarding ECi cylinders used in Continental engines. ARSA wrote in electronic comments submitted to the FAA that the agency disregarded the most basic requirements for promulgating a regulation, […]

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 […]