News

The ever-fertile mind of David Wartofsky has come up with a way of framing the movement to abolish third-class medicals for private pilots in a way the FAA is sure to understand. In a letter headlined “Potential Cost Savings for the FAA” (PDF), Wartofsky, the outspoken owner of Potomac Airfield, urges John Porcari, the Deputy […]

AgustaWestland has unveiled an unmanned electric tiltrotor technology demonstrator at Heli-Expo, which runs until Thursday in Las Vegas. The aircraft, which features twin rotors powered by independent electric motors, was built in less than six months and has flown a few times, tethered and untethered. The aircraft is entirely electric with no hydraulic system. Although […]

A small hovering drone was reported by an Alitalia pilot near New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport about 1 p.m. on Monday, officials said on Tuesday. “The FAA is investigating a report … [the pilot] saw a small, unmanned or remote-controlled aircraft while on final approach to Runway 31 Right,” FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown told […]

The weekend manager of a New Mexico airport questioned a Texas pilot’s intention to take off in a heavy crosswind that may have contributed to his Mooney crashing and killing all four occupants, including his 13-year-old niece. “‘Are you really going to try to fly in this weather?’” Angel Fire Airport manager Harvey Wright quoted […]

Cessna rolled out its first New Citation Sovereign in Wichita this week, sporting new winglets and new Pratt & Whitney PW306D engines. The airplane was announced at the NBAA show in October, and is one of six new Cessna models expected to start deliveries this year. The airplane, which typically seats nine in the cabin, […]

Pilots have been required to carry plastic certificates since 2010, but the deadline for replacing other paper FAA certificates, such as mechanic, repairman, flight engineer, or ground instructor, is coming up March 31. You still have time to meet the deadline, as long as you apply online, which takes about 7 to 10 days for […]

Don’t see a video screen?Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.If that doesn’t work, click here to watch on YouTube. The concern of a retired wildlife service officer and the deft hands (and feet) of a wildlife service pilot led to the happy reunion of a mother deer and fawn beside a frozen Canadian […]

A California pilot is hoping there will eventually be a series of “Sky Trails” over areas of national importance that pilots can use to view them from the best vantage point. Larry Dighera recently finished putting together an interpretive website that pilots can use as a guide for touring the vast Second World War Desert […]

FAA senior staff are expected to outline details early this week of the implementation of $600 million in budget cuts mandated by the sequestration measures signed into law by President Obama over the weekend. Last week, a letter to FAA employees from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta outlined the broad strokes […]

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says 2012 was the safest year ever for airline travel and it continues a trend that has made air travel by far the least hazardous way of moving around, except perhaps in Africa. IATA says there were a total of 75 airliner accidents in 2012, down from 92 in […]