News

The arrest in New York last week of four people who allegedly planned (among other things) to fire shoulder-launched missiles at aircraft happened at almost the same time a cargo jet was flown by Homeland Security over Memphis to test onboard missile-defense equipment. The New York foursome’s alleged plot was to fire missiles at Air […]

The fatal crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 has commuter air transportation in the public hot seat and hot on freshly minted FAA administrator Randy Babbitt’s personal plate. Just last week, and all related to the crash: One carrier was fined, four senators called for an independent investigation into federal oversight of carriers, and a […]

The Senate Thursday confirmed Randolph Babbitt to sit at the helm of the Federal Aviation Administration. Babbitt, a former president of the Air Line Pilots Association and an aviation consultant, now faces the immediately popular concerns of pilot training scheduling and fatigue, along with the enduring problems of labor relations (particularly those between the FAA […]

The House of Representatives Friday passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009, which would provide funding for the FAA and NextGen development in part through an increase in general aviation fuel taxes. The action brought praise from some camps — the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA). Funding through […]

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. Last week, the FAA issued a final airworthiness directive affecting some 17,000 Cessna 150s and 152s in the U.S., despite widespread input from owners and advocacy groups who had opposed the directive when […]

Click the image for video of the Skyraider flying (after some nice footage of Hendrickson’s P-51). Federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the Department for Homeland Security, have seized a Douglas AD-4N Skyraider that was imported to the U.S. from France last year, EAA said this week. “The feds have […]

Randy Babbitt, President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the FAA, has passed one hurdle — on Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously voted to send him along to the full Senate for confirmation. Senate confirmation is the final step before he can move into the post. NBAA applauded the move. “As a […]

Four senators have asked the Transportation Department Office of Inspector General to investigate safety enforcement at regional airlines, the Associated Press reported this week. Also, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the aviation subcommittee of the Commerce Committee, said he will hold a series of hearings, starting June 10, to investigate the issues. “The disclosures […]

New rules that require passenger manifests to be filed online by general aviation pilots crossing U.S. borders became effective on Monday, and this week both EAA and AOPA are offering aids for pilots who need to get up to speed. EAA has developed a “kneeboard fact sheet” to help with flight planning. The one-page PDF […]

The U.S. Air Force said recently that it plans to build a 450-foot-long blimp within five years that will hover at 65,000 feet and stay aloft for a decade. The unmanned ship will serve as an aerial platform for surveillance gear that will allow the military to observe wide areas in fine detail. “That lets […]