News

The airline industry is suffering from “automation addiction,” Rory Kay, co-chair of an FAA committee that is examining pilot training, said in an Associated Press story published on Tuesday. “We’re seeing a new breed of accident with these state-of-the-art planes,” said Kay. “We’re forgetting how to fly.” Pilot skills have been cited by investigators in […]

The FAA on Wednesday published a final rule with updates to regulations that affect pilot, flight instructor, and flight-school certification. The rule allows pilot applicants to apply concurrently for a private pilot certificate and an instrument rating, and permits flight schools to apply for a combined private pilot certification and instrument rating course. The rule […]

Colleges and universities have long participated in accreditation programs that provide an independent assessment of the school, and now a new program promises to do the same for flight training. The Flight School Association of North America, based in Allentown, Penn., recently launched a flight school accreditation program, which it says is the first of […]

Analysts are predicting Bombardier will announce layoffs and production slowdowns this week as part of its quarterly reporting. The Montreal-based company is doing well with its business jet division but has seen only a trickle of orders for its regional airliners this year. There were no orders in Q2 and only five in Q1. The […]

Deer Jet, China’s largest business jet operator, has become the only one with an ARGUS Platinum Rating. The designation, the most prestigious awarded by the independent audit organization, is reserved for the best of the best in terms of service, safety and equipment. Of 2,000 operators that have submitted to the voluntary audit, only 87, […]

Boeing’s board of directors has approved the executive plan to re-engine existing models of the Boeing 737 in response to Airbus’s similar plan for its A320. The “new” aircraft will be called the 737 MAX and the zeroes will be dropped from the current 700, 800 and 900 model numbers in the new designations. The […]

New research supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security aims to help officials detect unusual activity or behavior at general aviation airports. “We want to understand the variation associated with usual general-aviation activity and operations, so unusual activity can be detected, analyzed and resolved,” said Justin Chimka, a researcher at the University of Arkansas. […]

The FAA acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when it reversed a longstanding policy and refused to allow aircraft owners to block their flight information from the public, NBAA and AOPA argue in a court brief (PDF) filed this week. “Very real concerns about safety, security and competitiveness justify giving aircraft owners and operators a way to […]

Aviators around the world should be on their guard against small shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles, the U.S. State Department said recently. The weapons, also known as Manpads (man-portable air defense systems), “pose a serious threat to passenger air travel, the commercial aviation industry, and military aircraft around the world,” the State Department said. Forty civilian aircraft […]

One of the biggest spoils of war taken by the rebels in Libya was opened up to the media on the weekend. Muammar Gaddafi’s private A340 has been turned into a kind of ridiculous retreat for rebel leaders, although the irony of their latest occupation doesn’t appear to be lost on them. Clad in fatigues […]