News

A team at the University of Maryland is currently undergoing flight tests of their improved Gamera II human-powered helicopter targeting a challenge established in 1980 by the American Helicopter Society. The team’s goal is 60 seconds of sustained flight achieving (if only momentarily) an altitude of 10 feet. They’ve already achieved 35 seconds. The Gamera […]

New safety regulations announced by the FAA were influenced in part by the 2009 crash of Continental Flight 3407, but they may not be implemented until 2013 and that time frame has angered some safety activists. Rules affecting pilot rest requirements and training passed through Congress two years ago attached to an implementation date of […]

The pilots of an Airbus A320 operated by JetBlue as Flight 194 out of Las Vegas for JFK Sunday told controllers “we’ve lost two hydraulic systems” before they declared an emergency, audio of the event shows. Ultimately, the flight landed safely and the NTSB is investigating. But the flight itself was far from routine. In […]

The FAA should return all of its test questions to the public domain, so the aviation industry can help to review and revise the knowledge required of pilot applicants, an FAA rulemaking committee said this week. The recommendation was one result of a six-month review of the FAA’s knowledge tests. The committee also said the […]

The “age indicator” on some in-cockpit weather displays can show a time stamp that’s off by as much as 20 minutes, the NTSB warned in a safety alert issued on Wednesday. “Even small time differences between the age indicator and actual conditions can be important for safety of flight,” the safety alert (PDF) says, “especially […]

The FAA and NASA agreed this week to work together to create standards for commercial space travel to low Earth orbit and to the International Space Station. “This important agreement between the FAA and NASA will advance our shared goals in commercial space travel,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.By working together, the two agencies […]

Although airline passengers are paying higher fares and being charged to haul bags, they’re apparently happier with the airline experience than they were a couple of years ago, according to a new consumer satisfaction survey. The Michigan-based American Consumer Satisfaction Index reported this week that at 67 on a scale of 100, customer satisfaction with […]

Bombardier says its CSeries single-aisle airliner is on schedule and will fly by the end of the year. Marc Arcomone, president of commercial aircraft, also says first deliveries will be made by the end of 2013. “Yes, the CSeries program is on track,” he told analysts ahead of the all-important Farnborough Air Show in a […]

Embraer’s first manufacturing plant in the U.S. earned its production certificate this week. The Melbourne, Fla., facility has been shipping Phenom 100s since last December but the aircraft were certified under the type certificate for Brazilian-made Phenoms. The aircraft are assembled using assemblies made in Brazil. The plant was opened a little more than a […]

NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman has criticized some of the actions of Gulfstream staffers during an investigation into a fatal crash during a flight test of a G650 in New Mexico last year. In a letter dated April 4, 2012, that was recently posted to the NTSB’s public docket, Hersman says that while interacting with Gulfstream, […]