News

Congressman Sam Graves, R-Mo., chair of the House General Aviation Caucus, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to shelve LightSquared’s request for a waiver until testing ensures that there will be no interference with all types of GPS devices, Helicopter Association International said on Monday. The conflict over the LightSquared deployment is intensifying, as the […]

A federal court has found that the FAA misread its own regulations during its review of aviation hazards presented by a proposed wind farm off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the Boston Herald reported on Friday. “The FAA catapulted over the real issues and the analytical work required by its handbook,” the court said in its […]

The FAA has launched a page on its website to allow laser-pointing incidents to be reported online. Although penalties for shining a handheld laser at an aircraft have been beefed up (fines can be as high as $11,000) the number of reported incidents continues to climb. As of this month, there were about 2,800 reported […]

The pilot of a Northern Thunderbird Air King Air 100 that crashed in Vancouver last week told passengers they were turning back to the airport because of a minor oil leak in one engine. He notified the tower and said an emergency stand-by from the airport fire department wasn’t necessary. Ten minutes later, while the […]

It’s not often an ELT homes in on its would-be rescuers but that’s the position Canadian search-and-rescue volunteers found themselves in last week. Members of the Regina, Saskatchewan chapter of the Civilian Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) hopped in a Cessna 172 to help a Canadian Forces search-and-rescue C-130 pinpoint the location of an […]

A total of 25 exhibitors and attendees whose airplanes were damaged or destroyed in the March 31 tornado at Sun ‘n Fun have by now received an invoice from the show for the towing and environmental cleanup costs associated with their aircraft. In a podcast interview, SNF spokesman Jim Bernegger said the show’s insurers did […]

Australia’s labor tribunal Sunday ordered Qantas to resume operations a day after the airline locked out its employees and ceased operations. The tribunal Fair Work Australia also put an end to rolling walkouts by three of the airline’s unions, which Qantas officials say led to the unprecedented action. In a showdown with pilots, baggage handlers […]

Diamond aircraft is using the outcome of an Oct. 17 hailstorm that ravaged Middle Tennessee State University’s (MTSU’s) 20 Diamond aircraft and 5 Pipers to tout the repairability of its composite airframes. Hail cracked one canopy during the storm and put two holes in composite wing skins while also pelting other airframes, including some metal […]

A coalition of nearly 30 industry groups (including AEA, ALPA, AOPA and NATCA) has organized to fight aviation tax increases while supporting aviation spending programs. The Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) issued a statement Friday that urged Congress to “reject the proposed taxes” it says are part of a White House and Congressional Super Committee proposed […]

Teterboro-based aviation safety inspector Harrington Bishop, 63, entered a guilty plea in a federal court Thursday on charges of receiving illegal gratuities in exchange for what court documents allege were hundreds of unauthorized pilot check rides. Bishop had been assigned to the Teterboro FSDO. On available days off, weekends, and holidays, from May 2004 to […]