News

“There is evidence of repair facilities hiring low-wage mechanics who can’t read,” alleges Dallas/Fort Worth-area news station WFAA. The station has been investigating the way the FAA licenses aircraft mechanics and believes it has found “evidence of years of problems in testing these mechanics” and evidence that “hundreds of mechanics” are working with “questionable licenses” […]

Mark Wisdorf was kite surfing at Turnagain Arm, Alaska, when things turned bad, leaving him and his kite floating in the water for nearly an hour and a half before his friend, a seaplane pilot, attempted a somewhat unconventional rescue. The waters of Turnagain Arm meet Cook Inlet in swirling currents that include riptide-induced waves […]

The FAA Thursday announced that a local city ordinance that bans C and D aircraft with approach speeds between 139 and 191 mph “unjustly and unreasonably” discriminates against certain aircraft, meaning the ordinance may be headed to federal court. The city’s position is that by allowing the faster jets, the FAA is not following its […]

Reports are in on first-quarter lobbying monies spent by airlines and industry interest groups and the results show airlines spend millions … sometimes working against pilot groups. In the mix are Continental, which spent $810,000, and American, which spent $1.5 million. American’s pilot union, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), spent $140,000 lobbying the new administration. […]

“It is uncertain whether the Air Force will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain current GPS service without interruption,” warns the GAO. “If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be adversely affected.” The report, issued April 30, notes the Air Force’s struggle to successfully build satellites on time […]

The FAA has taken the unusual step of withdrawing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, according to the Aircraft Electronics Association, was a well-intentioned attempt to modernize the standards and ratings that apply to repair stations. Trouble is, according to the more than 500 companies and individuals who commented on the rule, which was proposed […]

Early next month, pilots Matt Hansen and Jessica Scharle of Able Flight will attempt to set the initial speed record for a transcontinental flight of a light sport aircraft, with a plan to fly coast to coast in a single day. Their purpose is to demonstrate that an LSA is a viable mode of transportation […]

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. The Gweduck experimental amphibian, pronounced “gooey-duck,” made its first flight last weekend, launching from Lake Washington in Renton, Wash. The twin-engine airplane was designed by Ben Ellison, owner of Ellison Throttle Body Injectors. […]

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. The crew of the Colgan Air Dash-8 that crashed in Buffalo, N.Y., in February violated the FAA’s sterile-cockpit rule, which mandates no extraneous conversation while flying below 10,000 feet, according to evidence released […]

Information about the Obama administration’s FAA budget proposal that was released on Tuesday “makes it clear that the White House … seems determined to radically reduce general fund support for aviation in America,” AOPA said this week. Starting in 2011, the proposal envisions $9.6 billion coming from user fees, an increase of more than $2 […]