News

The FAA is showing no signs of backing off a controversial new policy to detect and treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). As we reported in an exclusive story on Monday, Federal Flight Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton is ordering Aviation Medical Examiners to automatically refer pilots (and at some point in the future, controllers) with a […]

Ten grants to aviation charities, totaling $60,000, have been awarded by the Lightspeed Aviation Foundation. The recipients were chosen through an open online voting process at the Foundation’s website. “With twice as many votes as last year, the awards are having a meaningful impact on expanding awareness and appreciation for aviation,” said Allan Schrader, president […]

Just three days after 50 people died in the crash of a Boeing 737 in Russia, a government panel said the pilots climbed too steeply after their first missed landing attempt, then lowered the nose to try to gain speed, but they overcompensated and sent the airplane into a near-vertical dive. The Interstate Aviation Committee […]

The Learjet 75 has completed FAA certification, Bombardier has announced. The jet was introduced in May 2012 at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Geneva. It’s based on the fuselage of the Learjet 45, with new Honeywell engines and winglets, plus a new interior and an updated flight deck. About two dozen of […]

In a video clip (below) broadcast by Russian TV on Monday, the 737 that crashed on Friday appears to descend quickly at a near-vertical angle to the runway, exploding into a fireball on impact. All 44 passengers and 6 crew died in the crash. The airplane was flying in from Moscow, about 500 miles away, […]

Police may have solved one mystery surrounding a passenger’s fall from a Piper Malibu over Miami Thursday but they’re not saying much about other aspects of the strange mishap. Miami-Dade Police say they’ve found a body believed to be that of Gerardo Nales in a mangrove swamp in Miami’s Biscayne Bay. They’ve been looking since […]

A Tatarstan Airlines Boeing 737 operated for Ak Bars Aero crashed in Kazan, the capital city of Tatarstan Sunday, killing all 44 passengers and six crew. Early reports out of Russia said the airliner, on a flight from Moscow, attempted to land two or three times and crashed on the final attempt. Weather was reported […]

Pilots and controllers who may be obese will have an extra hoop to jump for their medical certification to ensure they don’t have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton has notified(PDF) Air Medical Examiners (AMEs) that they will soon be required to measure the body mass index (BMI)of all pilots and […]

In a public submission, the NTSB has told the FAA it does not understand the foreseeable safety benefit of the FAAs proposed action regarding specific parts of the agencys NPRM on ECi cylinder assemblies. As written, the FAAs NRPM would require thousands of aircraft owners to inspect or replace certain ECi engine cylinders. In its […]

Wind tunnel testing conducted earlier this month at Moffett Field, Calif., has shown promising results for active flow control technology and its potential for reducing the size of vertical tail structures for a whole family of aircraft. NASA, in partnership with Boeing, equipped a full-scale Boeing 757 vertical fin with active flow control technology that […]