News

The FAA’s special review of the Zodiac CH601XL and CH650 has implicated “several areas of concern” within the aircrafts’ design that may couple with operational aspects to cause in-flight structural failures. EAA is now urging operators to not fly the aircraft until operators comply with a forthcoming Safety Directive/Safety Alert from the Zodiac’s manufacturer. The […]

FAA administrator Randy Babbitt spoke last week at a meeting of the International Aviation Club, calling for improved standards in the cockpit, making examples of pilots who demonstrated poor professionalism, and punctuating it with the statement, “Fly right or don’t fly at all.” Babbitt cited Flight 188’s overshoot of MSP and the crash of Flight […]

Jeff Skiles was serving as first officer to Sully Sullenberger when US Airways Flight 1549 successfully ditched in the Hudson and last week he sat beside Scott Maurer, father of a victim of Continental Connection (Colgan) Flight 3407, to push for changes in minimum federal standards for pilots. While 1549 ended relatively well, all aboard […]

The slowdown in corporate flights has forced NetJets Inc., which early this year initiated voluntary unpaid leaves of absence and early retirements, to lay off up to 495 pilots early next year. NetJets currently owns more aircraft than demand warrants as business clients seek to cut expenses. The pilots could see pink slips as early […]

Year over year, general aviation airplane shipments fell by nearly half, with pistons leading the way, over the first three quarters. Year-over-year totals show 2,982 total units (all general aviation shipments) in 2008 to 1587 units in 2009, with industry billings down 23.5 percent. GAMA released the figures along with a statement from its president […]

Aerion, which aims to deliver the first supersonic business jet, has been delayed in that goal by the state of the economy, but presently claims 50 letters of intent that represent an order backlog of $4 billion — nearly 25% of which comes from customers in the Middle East, Pakistan and India. The U.S. restricts […]

Piper Aircraft has shuffled the front office after the resignation of former president John Becker. Current CEO Kevin Gould will assume the presidency and that, along with some promotions from the ranks, seem to be in line with the new owners’ plan. “The expansion of Kevin’s responsibilities and the augmentation of his management team directly […]

The general aviation industry, which each year contributes an average of $150 billion to the economy, lost 19,000 jobs over the past year and among the industry’s biggest coming challenges is the implementation of NextGen. Financial incentives may help, says GAMA. The organization Thursday told a House Subcommittee on Aviation that steps necessary for putting […]

Aviation Consumer would like to know. We’re most interested in hearing about successful long-term aircraft partnerships. What works for you? How have you sustained group ownership? And what effect has the current economic downturn had? Contact the editorial staff directly at avconsumer@comcast.net and we’ll respond with our questions. (The results will appear in a future […]

The FAA has tightened up its treatment of pilots convicted of alcohol-related driving offenses. In the latest issue (PDF) of the Federal Air Surgeon’s Medical Bulletin, AMEs are advised that first-time DUI and DWI offenders don’t necessarily escape the agency’s scrutiny as they have in the past. As noted by Aero Legal ServicesUnder the new […]