News

On May 17, 2011, the pilot of a Cirrus SR22 became incapacitated while climbing for 17,000, through clouds, out of San Bernardino en route to Colorado Springs — we now have audio of the event. On board the Cirrus, a 70-year-old pilot was flying with his non-pilot wife. They were in daytime IFR conditions when […]

Sources speaking ahead of an official release of information expected Friday suggest that content collected from the cockpit voice and data recorders of Air France Flight 447 is building a case for pilot error. The investigation has so far implicated pitot tubes, which may have fallen victim to icing at 35,000 feet. But The Wall […]

The first aircraft from Pipistrel’s coming Panthera line will carry four people and full fuel for more than 1000 nautical miles, with reserves, at 202 KTAS, while burning 10 gallons per hour — and it may be the least efficient of the Panthera line. Pipistrel has plans to produce three versions of the aircraft, including […]

Flight instructors complained when unannounced changes to FAA knowledge tests led to a spike in student failures, and now the FAA has agreed to make changes in one test and revise the grades of students who got some questions wrong. Representatives of AOPA, the National Association of Flight Instructors, several university aviation programs, and others […]

As the business jet industry expands geographically, if not economically, companies are finding well-heeled customers all over the world and oil-rich Nigeria is among the newest targets for the well-traveled sales leaders of the major airframers. According to the Daily Independent at least six high-end business jets have been sold to Nigerian nationals in the […]

The NTSB says it can’t be sure, but it seems likely that something bad happened to the pilot of the turbine Otter that crashed in Alaska last Aug. 9, killing Sen. Ted Stevens and four others. It’s not often that NTSB investigators fail to agree on the probable cause of an accident, but on Tuesday […]

Diamond Aircraft President Peter Maurer says the company isn’t ruling out anything, including Chinese investment, to get the D-Jet to market. As AVweb reported last week, the Canadian government turned down Diamond’s $35 million loan application to finish the development program. In a podcast interview with AVweb, Maurer said the government loan, despite the dire […]

Cirrus Aircraft was not at fault in the accident that killed Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and instructor Tyler Stanger in 2006, a New York court ruled on Tuesday. A six-person jury decided the wrongful-death suit after a four-week trial and three hours of deliberation. “We’re gratified that the jury reached a decision that confirmed what […]

Hawker Beechcraft is the latest to announce it’s considering building aircraft in China. CEO Bill Boisture told Bloomberg the company has been negotiating with Chinese officials about a technology transfer in exchange for greater access to the Chinese market, which is expected to grow rapidly with the relaxation of airspace regulations. Hawker Beech could potentially […]

In a page-one story published over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported on the use of private jets as documented by FAA flight records obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests. The FAA released data from 2007 through 2010, including details of privately operated flights that are protected under the BARR program (Blocked Aircraft […]