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The FAA on Monday told airline pilots they should “evaluate their personal practices” regarding the use of devices such as phones and laptops while on duty. Also, the FAA said, operators need to create a “safety culture” that reinforces the importance of controlling cockpit distractions. The FAA released its guidance in an Information for Operators […]

As details firm up for the huge gathering of DC-3 and C-47 aircraft just before AirVenture, those with a personal attachment to the venerable aircraft are telling their stories. Organizers of the Last Time, a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the aircraft, have opened a diary section on their Web […]

The homeless man who tried to steal a Super Cub from the Frederick Md., airport in December will have a roof over his head for nine months, courtesy of the penal system. Calvin Cox, 51, who told authorities he’d lived in the woods by the airport for seven years, was handed the nine-month sentence Thursday […]

The NTSB is investigating the “near collision” of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 and a Cessna 172 near the intersection of Runways 8 and 15 at Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport in Southern California. The April 23, 2010, incident involved Southwest’s Flight 649, which was inbound from Oakland with 119 aboard and landing on Runway 8. […]

The International Air Transport Association estimates that aircraft grounded due to volcanic ash affected 1.2 million passengers per day for six days and resulted in total lost revenue of more than $1.7 billion. For the three-day period that covers April 17-19, when the disruptions were most widespread, losses totaled roughly $400 million per day for […]

April 21, the Transportation Department Inspector General, Calvin Scovel, spoke before a House panel regarding the cost and progress of key NextGen technologies and what he had to say wasn’t all good. According to Scovel, the En Route Automation Modernization system (ERAM), set to be a major part of the FAA’s NextGen system, is experiencing […]

The United States Air Force’s X-37B unmanned space plane has been billed as being a generation beyond the Space Shuttle and, though it was set for launch, Thursday, details of its purpose remain sparse. Intended to be a reusable unmanned payload-capable spacecraft, the Cape Canaveral launch, from atop an Atlas V rocket stack, will help […]

What if airfoils spun to produce lift? What if a gas that makes your voice sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks lifted an aircraft? And what if someone wrote a quiz about it? You’d ace it, right? Take the quiz. More Brainteasers

Ten years ago, a NASA DC-8 unintentionally flew through a diffuse ash cloud generated by Hekla, a volcano in Iceland, and upon first inspection showed no damage — key words “unintentionally” and “upon first inspection.” What the event showed is that the most up-to-date information on ash cloud location could be misinterpreted and significant damage […]

DARPA is seeking “innovative solutions” and is offering financial rewards for work that would by 2015 lead to a roadable/flyable VTOL vehicle prototype capable of carrying up to four persons and their gear. Dubbed the “Transformer (TX)” program, the end result may not lead to production of such a vehicle, but DARPA intends to “at […]