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; Mental Health Committee issues recommendations, NTSB Warns of Dust devils, Controllers credited with Hypoxia Save. First up, the Mental health ARC has issued a recommendation that pilots are allowed to get “Talk Therapy” from professionals without needing to disclose it on their medicals. The ARC report also discussed the current culture within the aviation industry that contributes to medical disorders not being disclosed including fear of job/income loss, reputation loss, and potential prosecution. Along with culture, the report discusses trust levels between pilots/controllers, the FAA, and AMEs. In total, the report is 164 pages long, including figures, and has 24 total recommendations for the FAA. The FAA has received the report and is in the process of reviewing it. We’ll keep you updated if we see more. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/mental-health-committee-says-pilots-shouldnt-have-to-report-talk-therapy-sessions/ Next up, the NTSB has issued a safety alert for Dust Devils. Dust devils have been present in 170 aviation accidents since 1982, and can pose a serious risk to small aircraft. The small, swirling vortex of air are typically 100 to 300 feet wide, and about 1000 feet tall. Wind speeds can exceed 60mph and are most commonly found in the South West of the United States. The NTSB says that dust devils are commonly invisible and can result in uncommanded roll or yaw inputs along with loss of lift. Should you encounter a dust devil, promptly report it to ATC. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/ntsb-warns-pilots-of-dust-devil-dangers/ Finally, two controllers out of Boston are being credited with a Hypoxia save. Rosella Owen and Scott Elms were controlling a Cessna 310 on a photo mission at 13,500 when they noted the pilot wasn’t as responsive as most pilots in the congested airspace. Owen asked if the pilot was okay and was on oxygen, to which he replied he was. The controller determined his performance didn’t match the level of experience he had as a pilot and directed him to descend to 9000 feet. Upon descending, radio calls were “getting clearer and sharper every time,”. The pilot later found a kink in the oxygen line. Great job to these controllers out of Boston! https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/controllers-credited-with-hypoxia-save/ 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; FAA recruiting pilots for Sun N Fun Study, new aircraft designed to carry wind turbine blades, and a Boeing has issued a safety advisory for the 787. First up, the FAA is asking pilots who hold a current medical certificate and have flown in the last 6 months to be part of a study at Sun N Fun.  The study session will pay $300-$500 depending on the class of medical certificate, and the study session takes about 4 hours.  The purpose of the study is to obtain data for computerized tests.  These tests are used to recertify pilots following a medical event like a head injury or stroke. We’ll leave a link below to sign up if you’re interested!  https://generalaviationnews.com/2024/03/18/faa-recruiting-pilots-attending-sun-n-fun-for-research-study/ Next up this week is a new design for an airplane that would be long enough to carry wind turbine blades. The company, Radia, out of Colorado hopes to build the 356 foot long jet to deliver turbine blades to remote land-based wind farms. The aircraft, a 4 engined jet called the WindRunner, will carry two turbine blades per flight to remote unimproved airstrips near the wind turbine fields. Delivery of the blades will allow wind turbines with blade lengths up to 320 feet, 100 feet longer than currently used.  To put the cargo volume in perspective, WindRunner will have 7 times the cargo capacity of a C5 Galaxy along with a range of 1200 miles. We’ll keep you up to date with more news about the WindRunner. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/massive-aircraft-designed-to-carry-wine-turbine-blades/ Last up this week is Boeing’s Response to the LATAM 787 issue we discussed last week. If you’re unfamiliar, there was an issue in a LATAM 787 that resulted in a hard pitch down injuring 50+ people.  Previously the cause was unknown, now it’s speculated the seat switch on the Dreamliner may be to blame. Boeing has issued a safety advisory asking airlines to inspect the switches on their 787s as a precautionary measure, noting that in certain circumstances the safety cap can jam the button resulting in unintended seat movement.  According to a Wall Street Journal report on the LATAM flight, a flight attendant serving a mean inadvertently hit a switch on the back of the seat pushing the pilot into the controls of the 787. Currently, no official report from New Zealand has been released. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/boeing-issues-safety-advisory-after-latam-airlines-incident/ 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.