Airplane News Update

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, and this week we have 3 stories for you; FAA Reauthorization appears close, Vitol disputes NATA Claim, and a class action lawsuit against the FAA. First up, congress appeared this week to agree on language for a long term FAA authorization. The reauthorization is over 1,000 pages, with topics including fine increases for consumer violations, legislation over near collisions, quality control for large aircraft manufacturers, and FAA staffing. Congress now will need to vote in favor of the bill before it heads to the President’s desk. We’ll keep you updated when we see more. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/bipartisan-congressional-approval-for-long-term-faa-reauthorization/ Next up is Vitol aviation and GAMI G100UL. Vitol Aviation has more than 1,000,000 gallons of GAMI G100UL for sale that the National Air Transportation Association says is not ready for sale. NATA says that without a fuel specification from ASTM International, furl suppliers and retailers “lack assurances that the unleaded fuel they are selling will not expose them to liability” and therefore cannot be commercially available. Vitol says it has had no issue getting insurance for the GAMI G100UL and that the fuel has an FAA approved specification. We’ll have to see if NATA’s claim hinders Vitol’s ability to bring the G100UL to market. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/g100ul-maker-refutes-nata-claim-that-its-not-ready-to-sell/ Last up, the FAA is getting sued! A class action lawsuit filed this week states the FAA turned away more than 1000 qualified air traffic controller applicants due to discrimination. The lawsuit doesn’t state that incompetent controllers were hired, but rather that particular demographics of controllers were never given a chance to demonstrate their competency. The suit continues, stating that certain minority candidates were given “Buzz words” to bring their resumes to the top. Questions were also alleged to have been placed in the biographical questionnaire that were weighted to give certain candidates advantages, such as playing more than 4 sports in high school giving a candidate 5 points, while an applicant holding a pilot certificate only gave them 2 points. The questionnaire also omitted relevant experience as a military air traffic controller. We’ll keep you up to date with what we see from this lawsuit. https://simpleflying.com/faa-air-traffic-controller-applicants-lawsuit/ Alright, that’s it! Have a great week and we’ll see you next week.

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, and this week we have 3 stories for you; Boom Supersonic XB-1 First Flight, Boeing Upper Management Changes, and United Airlines under FAA Scrutiny. First up, Boom Supersonic test flew the XB-1 this week. The XB-1 took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port and flew for 12 minutes. The aircraft successfully completed all its testing objectives, though specifics were not announced. The XB-1 reached a maximum altitude of 7120 feet and got up to 238 kts. Do you think that quiet supersonic travel is possible? Let us know in the comments! https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/boom-supersonics-xb-1-takes-historic-first-flight-paving-the-way-for-overture/ Next up this week, the Boeing saga continues. If you’re unaware, Boeing is attempting to recover after the 737 Max 7/8 issues and after a Door plug blew out of a 737 Max 9. Boeing has lost several upper management including the CEO of commercial airplanes, the CEO of Boeing as a whole has resigned effective at the end of the year, and the chairman of the board will not seek reelection. Hunt for the new CEO will occur later this year after a yearly meeting with shareholders. We’ll keep you updated if we see more from Boeing. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/boeing-top-management-purged Last up, United Airlines is getting some extra FAA Scrutiny after several incidents. Incidents have not resulted in any injuries, but include a taxi-way diversion, a lost wheel, an engine fire, the loss of a piece of the fuselage fairing on an aircraft, and other hydraulics related issues. Issues included both Boeing and Airbus aircraft with United admitting the issues and stating in an internal memo "we need to take an even closer look at multiple areas of our operation to ensure we are doing all we can to promote and drive safety compliance”. We’ll keep you updated if we see anything else from United. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/291018/ Alright, that’s it! Have a great week and we’ll see you next week.

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, and this week we have 3 stories for you; proposed tax hike for business jets, 787 troubles, and United loses tire after take off. First this week is a proposed tax increase for business jet operators. The tax increase would be implemented by raising the federal tax on Jet Fuel fivefold over the next 5 years. Estimated revenue to be generated would total 1.1 billion which would be funneled into the FAA to increase the number of air traffic controllers by 2000. The proposal has gotten push back from several aviation groups including the NBAA, who said “The Biden administration’s sweeping plan would hurt business aviation and the jobs and communities that depend on it, and make it harder for U.S. companies to compete in a global economy,” It doesn’t appear this proposal has any bills associated with it, so we’ll have to wait and see if this is just talk. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/biden-administration-proposes-five-fold-jet-fuel-tax-hike-for-bizjets/ Next up is another fire for Boeing, a LATAM Airlines 787-9 experienced a technical issue which resulted a sudden drop injuring between 30 and 50 passengers. The Dreamliner was cruising at 41,000 feet and was two hours into the flight. A passenger said the captain told him the “Gauges went blank” and he was unable to control the airplane during the incident. Pretty scary stuff, we’ll be following this one for sure. https://www.avweb.com/flight-safety/technical-event-cited-in-787-sudden-loss-of-altitude/ Last up, A United Airlines 777 taking off from San Francisco lost a tire. The flight was initially scheduled from San Francisco to Osaka, Japan but diverted and landed at LAX. The tire fell off destroying and damaging a number of cars in a parking lot near SFO. No one was injured by the rogue tire. It’s likely this was a maintenance issue and yet another issue plaguing Boeing. https://abc7news.com/flight-emergency-sfo-tire-falls-from-united-airlines-to-osaka-35/14500843/ Alright, that’s it! Have a great week and we’ll see you next week.

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, and this week we have 3 stories for you; First hydrogen electric fuel cell airplane in France, Textron pauses orders for Bonanzas and Barons, and the EAA wants the piper AD rescinded. First up this week is a light sport demonstrator aircraft that uses a Hydrogen Electric propulsion system. Beyond Aero announced this week that they flew their demonstrator, called “Bleriot”, in early January. The Bleriot completed 10 takeoffs and landings over six weeks to validate the 85 kW propulsion system. The electric motor was powered using 1/3 battery power and 2/3 gaseous hydrogen, compressed in three tanks to nearly 5000 PSI. Beyond Aero hops to create electric business aircraft with hydrogen propulsion systems with in the decade. We’ll keep you updated when we see more. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/france-marks-first-crewed-hydrogen-electric-flight/?MailingID=%CAMPAIGNID%&utm_campaign=avwebflash&utm_medium=newsletter Next up this week is Textron, who confirmed they are not currently taking orders for new Beech Bonanzas or Barons. Textron hasn’t detailed why there is a pause in orders nor when they may resume accepting them. The company said in a statement ““To ensure the best experience for our customers throughout every stage of their ownership journey, Textron Aviation has temporarily suspended additions to the order book for the Beechcraft Bonanza,” We’ll keep you updated when we see more about these aircraft. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/textron-pauses-orders-for-bonanzas-barons/ Last up this week is the EAA, who is pushing back on the Airworthiness directive for 31,000 high-wing pipers. The AD was implemented due to incidents on a PA-12 and a PA-14 which resulted in deformed rudders. Both incident aircraft had been modified with after market engines and aftermarket tail beacons. The EAA says the AD is “flawed in regulatory process, scope, and requirements” and continues to say later that at current production and supply rates, retrofitting all 31,000 aircraft would take 75 years. We’ll keep you updated if we see anything else about this! https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/eaa-wants-piper-rudder-ad-rescinded/ Alright, that’s it! Have a great week and we’ll see you next week.

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, and this week we have 5 stories for you; small airplane crash, New Piper M700 Fury, FAA tells congress not to increase pilot retirement age, FAA advises to use analog NAVAIDs, and comments close for the 25 hour CVR rule. First up this week is a crash of a Grumman GA-7 Cougar. While we don’t normally talk about small aircraft accidents, this one was recently rebuild by a popular YouTube channel called Rebuild Rescue. The aircraft departed Coatesville-Chester County Carlson Airport in Pennsylvania and crashed shortly after takeoff. Based on a map provided from Aviation Safety Network, the crash appears to have occurred less than 2 miles from the airport. The pilot and only occupant of the Cougar was killed in the crash. As usual, we’re not going to speculate on the cause of the accident. We’ll wait until the NTSB report is released, which may take a few years. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/351359 https://www.fox29.com/news/coatesville-plane-crash-chester-county-school-board-president-killed-in-small-plane-crash Second up this week is the new Piper M700 Fury! Piper has unveiled their new M700 Fury, a single engine turboprop with a 301kts max cruise speed, 3400 foot per minute rate of climb, and take off and landing distances under 2000’. The M700 Fury comes with a Pratt and Whitney PT6A-52 Engine, Garmin G3000 Avionics Suite with HALO Safety System, Garmin PlaneSync, and Garmin Auto land. The Fury has a useful load of 2,220lbs, a maximum rage of 1852NM, and a maximum approved altitude of 30,000’. At 4.1 million, I’m not sure your flight school is going to be picking one up but for those who can afford it, the M700 is a cool new turboprop airplane! https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/290413/ https://www.piper.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024_M700_SpecSheet.pdf Next up this week is the FAA and Congress discussing the potential of raising pilot retirement age to 67. The new FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker has asked congress to leave the current mandatory retirement age in place until the agency has had more time to study the increase. The pilot retirement age is now part of negotiations towards a 5 year FAA reauthorization act. Without another extension or a reauthorization act, the FAA’s reauthorization will expire on March 8th, 2024 . We’ll keep you up to date if we see any reauthorization updates or changes to pilot retirement ages. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/age-67-pilot-retirement-back-in-legislative-spotlight/ Third up this week is guidance for anyone experiencing GPS spoofing or other anomalies. The FAA is advising that pilot use analog NAVAIDs such as VOR or NDB if pilot notice issues such as: Report Link: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/nas/gps_reports SAFO: https://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/safo/all_safos/SAFO24002.pdf Last up this week is that comments have closed of the 25 Cockpit Voice Recorder rule. If you’re unfamiliar, the NPRM aims to increase Cockpit Voice Recorders from 2 hours of recording to 25 hours. This would allow the FAA and NTSB to better investigate incidents. Reactions to the NPRM have been mixed, with a number of comments expressing concern that the 25 hours of CVR will be used to listen in on pilot conversations or used to punish pilots with certain viewpoints. ALPA addressed this in their comments, suggesting that there should be restrictions on the use of recording or transcripts for administrative or disciplinary proceedings including by both Federal Agencies and by a pilot’s employer. We’ll keep you updated when we see the final rule. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/mixed-reaction-to-25-hour-cvr-rule/ https://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2023-2270-0001/comment Alright, that’s it! Have a great week and we’ll see you next week.

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, and this week we have 4 stories for you; Atlas 747 Engine Fire, Zenith Aircraft Workshops, Comments on MOSAIC, and Three Years of Airplane News! https://youtu.be/RNItNKbjwBs https://youtu.be/UKHXfoKZxE4 00:00 Introduction 00:16 Atlas 747 Engine Fire 00:55 Zenith Aircraft Workshops 01:40 Comments on MOSAIC 02:18 Three Years of Airplane News Not sure where to start for your Pilot's license? Check out our FREE guide: https://pilotinstitute.com/course/ultimate-pilot-guide/ Get your Private Pilot's License today: https://pilotinstitute.com/course/part-61-private-pilot/ Already got your PPL? Go for Instrument: https://pilotinstitute.com/course/instrument-rating-made-easy/ First up this week is a crazy one, an Atlas Air 747 had an engine failure after taking off from Miami. Video shows the airplane’s engine throwing sparks in bursts out of the back of the engine. It isn’t immediately clear what caused the incident, but the FAA said the aircraft had a “Softball sized hole” above the incident engine. The crew returned to Miami and landed without injuries. We’ll let you know if we see more. New up this week is Zenith Aircraft, who will be hosting a hands-on workshop for kit aircraft! The event will be February 23 and 24th at Boerne Stage Airfield (5C1), north of San Antonio, Texas. Participants will learn to read blueprints, drilling, blind riveting, will learn the process for assembling an aircraft, and will leave with an assembled rudder kit for a Zenith Aircraft. Fees for the event are $375 for a Zenith rudder kit, and 425 for a CH 750 model kit. If you’re in the area, this seems to be a pretty cool workshop opportunity. Third this week is MOSAIC, which closed comments after a number of major aviation groups asked for tweaks. The primary requested changes include increasing the maximum clean stall speed to 57kts and increasing the number of passengers from one to three, allowing sport pilots the ability to fly more aircraft. As of Monday, the NPRM had more than 1200 comments. We’ll keep you updated when we see a final rule from the FAA. Last up this week a big one for Pilot Institute, Three years of Airplane news as of this week! Thank you for watching, this channel is now at 13,000 subscribers and we’re going to continue to release videos like our Fronts and Trim videos, If you haven’t had a chance to check those out, be sure to! We also are continuing to expand our catalog of airplane courses adding more free deep dive courses and more courses to help you become a better, safer pilot. Alright, that’s it! Have a great week and we’ll see you next week. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/atlas-747-engine-failureZ https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/aviation-groups-post-joint-mosaic-comments https://generalaviationnews.com/2024/01/23/zenith-aircraft-returns-to-texas-in-february/

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, and this week we have 3 stories for you; 737 Max 9 loses plug door in flight, NASA to release X59 this week, and the new Cirrus G7 Series. 00:00 Introduction 00:15 Boeing 737 Loses Door 02:06 NASA Releasing X59 03:06 New Cirrus G7 Series First up this week is an Alaskan Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, which lost a plug door while climbing out of Portland, OR. The door was blown off in an explosive decompression that left a hole in the airplane and even reportedly tore the shirt off of a teenager sitting nearby. The decompression occurred at nearly 16,000 feet. No one was occupying the seat directly next to where the decompression occurred and thankfully injuries were limited to scratches. The aircraft landed without incident back in Portland where an investigation was promptly initiated. So far, the FAA has issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive to carriers operating the 737 Max 9 requiring inspection of the door plugs. These plugs exist because some carriers use more seats in the aircraft and thus require additional emergency exits. On United and Alaska Airlines planes, the number of seats is reduced, so the doors are fitted with a permanent plug. It’s unclear how this plug failed and became loose enough to be blown off, but loose screws and bolts were found on other 737 Max 9s in United’s fleet after the Airworthiness Directive. And this folks, is why you wear your seatbelt… Maybe Trevor Jacobs was onto something?? Next up this week is NASA, who has announced that they will unveil the X59 supersonic demonstrator. NASA, in partnership with Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, has been developing the X59 since 2018 when Skunk Works was selected to design, build and fly the demonstrator. The primary goal of the X59 is to prove that quiet supersonic flight can be achieved. The X59 will cruise at 55,000 feet, mach 1.4, and will be about 75dB. The aircraft will fly over selected US cities later this year as part of NASA’s research to hopefully bring back supersonic air travel! We’ll keep you updated with what we see out of the X59! Third up is the new Cirrus SR Series G7! The G7 is an update to the SR20, SR22, and SR22T with updates including 12-inch and 14-inch touchscreen displays, similar to those in the Vision Jet. Engine start is now a push-button start, again mimicking the Vision Jet. Cirrus has also added improved flight controls, incorporating a stick shaker on both left and right controls, an automatic fuel selector that switches tanks every 5 gallons, and flap protection to protect the pilot from accidentally deploying or retracting flaps. Interior additions include the 12 or 14-inch Garmin displays, dimmable task lights, accent lighting, two center console compartments, powered headset jacks, and USB-C chargers. Pretty cool updates from Cirrus affecting the new 2024 model SR aircraft! Alright, that’s it! Happy new year and we’ll see you next week! https://www.flyingmag.com/the-big-reveal-cirrus-shows-off-the-sr-g7/ https://www.nasa.gov/mission/quesst/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alaska-airlines-flight-door-plug-jack-teenager-shirt-passenger-kelly-bartlett/

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, and this week we have 4 stories for you; More California Airports try to ditch leaded fuel, NTSB final for Jet Blue A320 Tail Strike, EAA Announces Jet Demo Teams for 2024, and a Pilot Institute Update!

First up this week is FedEx and UPS, who both seem to have too many pilots. FedEx and UPS have advised pilots to take severance offers and move to American Airlines subsidiary PSA. PSA is offering existing FedEx and USP pilots a $250,000 bonus and a left seat job in Embraer and CRJ regional jets. While $250,000 sounds like a ton of money, it’s less than a year’s pay for senior captains at UPS and FedEx. FedEx went as far as saying they don’t have enough business to keep all their pilots fully employed. Fedex VP of flight operations said “While I understand this is not something that will appeal to every pilot, for those of you who are frustrated with current flight hours, career progression, or have just been on the fence about available options, you may consider this unique opportunity enough of an incentive to make a move,” Some speculations say FedEx may have 700 extra pilots or more as shipping volumes have turned down. We’ll keep you updated if we see anything else about this! Next up this week is a man in Omaha who pointed a green laser at a helicopter. 34 Year Old Richard Detty was on a smoke break when he shined the laser at buildings to see how far it would go before turning the laser on a helicopter. The helicopter turned out to be a police helicopter who found the location of the laser using a camera array. Getty was arrested and pled guilty stating “I was not aware it was a crime,” and “I regret my actions.”. Getty was sentenced to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Don’t point lasers at aircraft. The third story this week is a scale B29, which collided with a golf cart injuring a bystander. The incident occurred at Glendale Airport near Kokomo, Indiana. The replica B29 has a 50 foot wingspan, is 35 feet long, and is driven by four Honda Fit car engines. The 35% replica of the B29 Superfortress was on landing when it drifted and struck a golf card causing the cart to rollover and knock a women filming the landing unconscious. The pilot of the scale replica was apparently uninjured. Crazy story! Last up this week is a lucky pilot in Florida who survived a night time crash in the Everglades. A pilot in a C172 crashed into alligator infested waters around 4AM from an altitude of 2000 feet. The aircraft, owned by a flight school wasn’t reported missing until 10:30 the following morning. Miami-Dade fire Rescue located the down Skyhawk with the Pilot sitting on the wing of the sunken airplane. The pilot of the 172 was then winched into the Fire Rescue helicopter with a non-life threatening leg injury. Another crazy story with a happy outcome! Alright, that’s it! Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next week! https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/florida-pilot-survives-crash-landing-and-several-hours-in-the-everglades/ https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/omaha-man-gets-15-months-in-prison-for-aiming-laser-pointer-at-police-helicopter/ https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/fedex-pilots-advised-to-work-for-regional-airline/ https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/193-ups-pilots-take-buyouts-regional-offers-soft-landing https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/woman-hurt-in-collision-with-scaled-piloted-b-29-replica/

First up this week is the EAA who says amateur-built fatal accidents are down 28% this year when compared to pervious years. This is down from 39 fatal accidents between Sept. 30th 2021 andSept. 30th 2022 to 28 between Sept. 30th 2022 and Sept. 30th, 2023. EAA Vice President of Advocacy and Safety Sean Elliot said “The activity data is necessary to paint the full picture, but the initial indications are very positive indeed. It shows a continuing trend toward safer operations, even as total hours flown increase. It reminds us that safety is an ongoing journey that always needs the highest attention of our flying community.” Keep being safe out there! Next up this week is a fiery gas balloon crash in Dallas. Two pilots in a gas balloon were competing in the Gordon Bennet Cup, a long distance race from Albuquerque and the goal is to fly the furthest. According to race organizers, the Poland 1 Team was over Dallas when the pilot reported he heard “What sounded like automatic gunfire” and began an emergency descent to avoid getting shot. During the emergency descent, the balloon hit a high-voltage power line causing an explosion. Both pilots were transported to the hospital with no word on their current conditions. According to officials at the Balloon Fiesta, “Both are experienced gas balloon pilots who have logged significant time in gas balloons. Our thoughts are with the gentlemen, their families and friends for a full and complete recovery.” We’ll keep you updated if we see more. Next up this week is Michael Whitaker, the FAA Admin Nominee. Support from he Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation unanimously agreed that he’s the right man for the job. While we don’t normally like to talk politics, both major parties had good things to say about Whitaker, suggesting that a confirmation hearing may go more smoothly than the last. Whitaker said, “I would view my role as administrator, as chief recruitment officer, certainly for FAA, but also for the industry.” It’s been over a year and a half since we had a senate confirmed administrator, we’ll keep you updated if we see anything more! Last up this week is a big one, the EPA has released its findings on 100LL. We’ve seen a large push over the last year for the elimination of 100LL, with certain airports and states banning or attempting to ban its use. The EPA report reinforced this sentiment with the report stating “The science is clear: exposure to lead can cause irreversible and life-long health effects in children,” The EAGLE (Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions) group said during a briefing following the findings that they and the FAA are committed to ensuring the availability of 100LL until a safe and suitable replacement has been found. The FAA stated “The EPA can find that a component causes harm. The FAA will define the standards.” And described the timeline going forwards as a cooperative effort between the EPA and FAA. We’ll continue to follow this story and update you if anything changes! That’s it, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next week! https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/homebuilt-fatal-accident-rate-drops-28-percent https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/gunfire-preceded-gas-balloon-crash https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/biden-nominee-for-faa-administrator-notches-bipartisan-senate-support/ https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-determines-lead-emissions-aircraft-engines-cause-or-contribute-air-pollution https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/epa-releases-endangerment-finding-on-100ll-eagle-responds

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, we have 3 stories for you; Boom Supersonic gets permission to test fly, Mig Airshow Crash Prelim out, and the FAA is probing 5000 pilots who may have withheld info from medicals, lets get to it!

Welcome to your weekly General Aviation news update, we have four stories for you; The FAA enters the 21st century with online aircraft registrations, B17 AD is released, Republic wants pilots to pay $100,000 if they switch jobs within three years and an FAA NPRM designed to overhaul the Flight Instructor certificates.

Welcome to your weekly aviation news update, we have 3 stories for you this week, NTSB denies Trent Palmer appeal, SWA Ground Stop Again, Coming AD to ground B17s.