News

The FAA has expanded the list of medical conditions that can be evaluated by an aviation medical examiner instead of requiring a special issuance and an FAA review, EAA reported last week. Under a new FAA policy, applicants with arthritis, glaucoma, hypertension, pre-diabetes and several other common conditions are eligible for the simplified process. Further […]

Cirrus is promoting aircraft ownership to non-pilots through “Cirrus On Demand,” which offers two programs of service as an option for purchasers of new Cirrus aircraft. Both programs come at additional cost to the buyer and in either case, includes a pilot “trained to the company’s corporate flight standards.” The program can operate like a […]

All 108 people aboard a Lion Air Boeing 737-800 survived after the aircraft reportedly missed a runway Saturday at Denpasar Airport in Bali and ended up in the rocky shallows of the ocean at the end of the runway. Details are scarce but there are conflicting reports about whether it was an overrun. Early reports […]

A new claim by a security consultant that he could take control of an aircraft’s autopilot through vulnerabilities in ADS-B has elicited a response from the FAA, which said, in part, “It does not work.” The consultant, Hugo Teso,recentlymadeheadlines for himself and his employer when he demonstrated an Android app of his creation at a […]

The Navy’s Laser Weapon System (LaWS) recently targeted and shot down an aerial drone in testing; meanwhile another aircraft-mounted laser system (this one for self-defense) may commence testing in 2014. The Navy’s test involved a destroyer-mounted laser that successfully tracked and engaged a flying drone. The aerial vehicle caught fire in flight and crashed into […]

Florida Institute of Technology researchers say that a silent phenomenon called dark lightning can silently deliver to pilots and passengers high doses of ionizing radiation in one sudden burst. Dark lightning is associated with thunderstorms, which pilots usually actively avoid, and occurs at a rate of roughly once per thousand visible flashes, according to researchers. […]

A section of President Obama’s proposed 2014 budget aims to “reduce the deficit and more equitably share the cost of air traffic services” through a “$100 per flight fee” payable to the FAA, with exceptions. The fee would not apply to piston, military, public, or air ambulance aircraft as detailed on page 43 of the […]

An accident synopsis from the NTSB identifies the pilot’s personal texting as a contributing factor in the Aug. 26, 2011, crash of a Eurocopter AS350 B2 helicopter near Mosby, Mo., that killed all aboard. The flight was operated as a medical services mission flown in VFR conditions, carrying three crew and one patient. It crashed […]

A bipartisan group of senators will introduce legislation to stop the FAA from closing any control towers to meet its sequester cut requirements. “The Protect Our Skies Act, which is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 18 Senators, would prohibit the Department of Transportation (DOT) from closing any air traffic control towers, including those that […]

St. Andrews Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is the World’s Most Female Pilot-Friendly Airport after the results from Women of Aviation Worldwide Week in early March were tabulated. More than 150 volunteers, including dozens of pilots, gave introductory flights to 680 girls and women on March 9. Second place went to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, which […]