News

Landline and radio communications at Oakland Center both failed for several minutes Wednesday morning, leaving controllers to orchestrate via cellphone with surrounding facilities to separate aircraft over the large area for which the center is responsible. Now, controllers are asking why. The outage, which lasted for at least 15 minutes between what the FAA said […]

In going over pre-owned aircraft figures, Conklin & de Decker, an aviation consulting firm, finds that more than 25% of “older business jets” are currently for sale and that will have an impact on the business jet market and its recovery, with new designs leading the charge. For business jets built before the mid-1990s the […]

Air Canada still has a mandatory pilot retirement age of 60, and Raymond Hall (who last month was forced to retire) has found support from the Canadian Human Rights Commission for his desire to continue working. The Commission’s ruling found that Air Canada’s policy is unconstitutional and Air Canada now has 30 days to appeal. […]

Owned by Daryl Habich for three decades, Firstair Field in Monroe, Wash., a privately owned, public-use, 2,087-foot paved strip, is for sale and its proximity to local fairgrounds suggests to some that it may be destined to become a parking lot. That would put it in line with the loss of about one airport per […]

Originally scheduled to fly its highly efficient composite-built 787 Dreamliner in August 2007, Boeing announced Thursday it has reset the aircraft’s first flight date to year-end 2009 with first deliveries now estimated for year-end 2010. Earlier this year, the company announced the jet was on track to fly before July. Days later Boeing revealed it […]

With only two months remaining in the 2009 North American airshow season — as defined by the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) — the 2009 season “will see record attendance,” according to ICAS. That means ICAS believes attendance figures for 2009 will be greater than any prior year. The organization projects that 2009 attendance […]

The NTSB Thursday recommended (among other things) that the FAA create a special flight rules area (with vertical separation for heli and fixed wing traffic) and pilot training specific to what is currently the Hudson River class B exclusion area (a.k.a. VFR corridor). The NTSB issued five operational changes delivered in the form of safety […]

Cirrus Aircraft became the latest manufacturer to announce layoffs this week but most of the 85 people losing their jobs are office workers rather than production staff. “These are challenging days for Cirrus, but the decision made is in the best interest in the entire company,” VP of Marketing Todd Simmons told reporters. “Our outlook […]

Fourteen-year-old Joseph Sutherin got the memorable first day of school he hoped for, when his father dropped him off in the schoolyard in a Hughes 300 helicopter early Monday morning. But his father Bart got more than he bargained for, when school officials “freaked out,” according to the Orlando Sentinel, and called the sheriff and […]

Aerobatic pilot Michael Goulian came to EAA AirVenture last month to collect the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship, and this month he topped that off with his first win ever in a Red Bull Air Race, after four years of competition. Goulian edged out Britain’s Paul Bonhomme for first in the Budapest race, which takes […]