News

Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo, also known as “Mothership Eve,” was on its way from Scaled Composites in Mojave to fly past the groundbreaking ceremony for Spaceport America in New Mexico on June 19 when the crew noted the failure of a speedbrake actuator as they descended toward the site. Pilot Peter Siebold and his crew made […]

Don’t see a video screen?Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.If that doesn’t work, click here to download the video directly. Belite Aircraft, a new company based in Wichita, Kan., unveiled its prototype airplane Tuesday afternoon in the middle of the city’s Old Town neighborhood. The aircraft, which flew for the first time just […]

So far, start-up companies aiming to build very light jets have found the going tough (the now-defunct Eclipse Aviation and Adam Aircraft, for example), but that isn’t stopping newer companies whose leaders believe they have a better idea. One of those is Stratos Aircraft, a Bend, Ore., company that is moving forward with its concept […]

Jerry Comeaux, 69, the proprietor of Quality Aircraft Support in Ninety Six, S.C., pleaded no contest to fraudulently repairing aircraft parts without FAA credentials and is being forced to pay $403,000 to customers who paid more than $2.5 million for them. Before Comeaux copped the plea, prosecutors told a U.S. District Court in Greenville that […]

A 28-year study of helicopter sightseeing accidents in Hawaii suggests that rules enacted in 1994 to reduce accidents did reduce the overall number by 47 percent. However, the rules did nothing to address the main cause of accidents (mechanical failure) and may have inadvertently led to an increase in the deadliest type of accidents (weather-related […]

The FAA said last week it has reached a “major milestone” in its efforts to help the aviation industry develop sustainable alternative fuels, and this week, the U.S. House exempted aircraft from a major bill that will impose greenhouse-gas emissions standards. The House bill, which was passed last Friday, still must be approved in the […]

Both the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and AOPA said this week that current proposals now in play in Washington are good news for general aviation. One bill introduced in the House would require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to create a rulemaking committee including GA industry stakeholders, which would have input into new security […]

Officials searching for an Yemenia Airways A310 that crashed near the archipelago of Comoros early Tuesday have found a 12-year-old girl who survived the accident. She was swimming amidst debris and bodies and is believed to be the only survivor. She is reported to be conscious and stable in hospital. The aircraft was carrying 142 […]

Viper Aircraft‘s new Viperjet LXR fanjet is a 375-KTAS, experimental two-place tandem aerobatic-capable personal jet with an 1100-nm range (with reserves) and room for 125 pounds of baggage — and it’s now available with a special endorsement from the FAA. The company has established standardized qualifications and training for the aircraft that qualifies pilots who’ve […]

The EASA Type Certificate covering the Eclipse 500 has been suspended (PDF) as of June 12, 2009, striking a potential blow to the value of Eclipse Aviation’s intellectual property assets that may soon be sold at auction. Now in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Eclipse Aviation has even less to offer potential buyers. Eclipse achieved the EASA […]