News

A Cessna 172 that was stolen in Concord, Calif., over the weekend, crashed Sunday afternoon near Fresno, killing the person at the controls, who NTSB investigators said was not certified to fly the airplane. Felix Boston, of Walnut Creek, owned the airplane, and told the Fresno Bee he was unaware it was missing until he […]

A plan to fly to 120,000 feet in a helium balloon then parachute back to Earth is back on schedule this week after a long hiatus, Red Bull said on Tuesday. The Red Bull Stratos team is working with Col. Joe Kittinger to break the record he set 52 years ago for the longest jump. […]

The Senate on Monday voted to pass a four-year FAA funding bill that just last week was agreed on by a joint committee and then passed in the House on Friday. The bill now goes to President Obama. General aviation advocacy groups were united in applauding the bill. AOPA President Craig Fuller said the $63 […]

Hollywood’s aviation films often prove disappointing to aviators — though it might be argued that a bad flying film is still better than none — and another one now in the works, starring Denzel Washington, provides a fresh chance to see if Hollywood can portray the life of a pilot in a way that rings […]

Flight attendants from more than 20 airlines will “occupy” a section of LAX on Monday to protest labor provisions in a proposed FAA reauthorization bill. The OccuFLY protest, organized by the Association of Flight Attendants, is a reaction to change in voting standards for union organization that unions consider an attack on organized labor. “This […]

The FAA’s next major rulemaking effort may reflect a shift in agency standards that could hobble one emerging sector and set the tone for the rest of the industry, according to a Washington-based consultant. Gary Church, of Aviation Management Associates, has been representing companies developing unmanned aerial systems for several years and he told AVweb […]

Operation Migration (OM) has leapt to the defense of the FAA in light of the recent controversy over the use of allegedly paid pilots in the well-known aircraft-led migration of whooping cranes to Florida. In a letter to AVweb, OM spokesman David Sakrison said the temporary grounding of this year’s migration resulted from the persistent […]

Nearly 10,000 of the Air Force’s active National Guard and Reserve airmen would be cut next year if plans detailed Friday by the Air Force go into effect. Cuts will reportedly target the National Guard for more than half of the total personnel, aircraft and other equipment to be trimmed. Specific numbers trim 5,100 guardsmen, […]

As part of its bankruptcy reorganization, American Airlines could announce plans next week to lay off more than 13,000 workers and eliminate pension plans, or, warns one analyst, the end of the airline could be near. “American made promises to pilots” about “pay, benefits, retirement and employment,” that in many cases “are not going to […]

Production may be about two years off and the facility has yet to be built, but Kestrel Aircraft Co. hopes to create 600 jobs in Superior, Wisc., over the next few years, and resumes are already coming in. The company currently employs about 50 engineers who are working to transform the Kestrel prototype single-engine six- […]