Safety, Ops & Regulation

The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive requiring repetitive inspections of 14,653 U.S. registered single-engine Cessna 172, 182, 206, 207 and 210 models to check for cracks in the strut attach fittings at the forward cabin doorpost.

The policy revision prevents grant funding from being used to purchase drones from “an entity that DOJ leadership has determined is subject or vulnerable to extrajudicial direction from a foreign government.”

The FAA should strengthen its oversight of avionics cybersecurity to protect against evolving risks to commercial aircraft, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) advised in an Oct. 9 report to Congress.

Irrational, “fear-based” concerns over drone safety and security are stifling the use of the technology in the U.S. after the initial progress that was made in 2016, leading drone manufacturer DJI says.

U.S. President Donald Trump called on Congress to quickly approve a standalone bill to extend the U.S. federal government’s CARES Act Payroll Support Program (PSP) until March 2021.

Business aviation is slowly but steadily recognizing the need to adopt sustainable aviation fuel.

New customers are entering the business-aviation market through charter and membership programs, but will they stay?

With a growing number of aircraft projects aiming for type certification under its revamped, performance-based Part 23 regulations, the FAA has expanded the list of industry-developed consensus standards that can be used to demonstrate compliance with the rules.

Ask the Editors: Pilots are concerned about fulfilling requirements during the pandemic.

Mark V. Rosenker, former NTSB chairman, retired U.S. Air Force Major General and a tireless transportation safety advocate, died Sept. 26 in Alexandria, Virginia. He was 73.

There was a sustained and unified emphasis on accentuating the positives during the British Business and General Aviation Association’s Brexit webinar held Sept. 22.

IATA is now calling for systematic COVID-19 testing of all international passengers before departure as a key part of efforts to restart aviation during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a last-ditch effort to prevent mass airline employee furloughs beginning Oct. 1., two U.S. Senate Republicans introduced a bill to extend the Payroll Support Program (PSP) through March 31, 2021.

The FAA has announced its policy for approving drone designs as a special class of aircraft.

Over 5,000 airports providing jobs, facilitating commerce and easing the pandemic crisis.

Readers comment on articles in past issues of BCA.

When the FAA conceived NextGen as the long-awaited modernization of the U.S. air traffic control system, it hooked its progeny to the Global Positioning System.

Aviation groups have been actively engaged with the FAA in the development of the Minimum Operational Network of legacy navaids.

The third Block IIIA satellite supporting the third generation of GPS was launched June 30 aboard a Space X Falcon 9 rocket.

The U.S. Transportation Dept. has selected nine high-tech companies to demonstrate technologies that could support air traffic movement and management should GPS become unusable.

What is the difference between ADS-C, or FANS 1/A, the oceanic surveillance system used especially in the North Atlantic, and ADS-B?

The lack of accurate, timely information about the amount and nature of runway contamination has been a factor in too many accidents.

Selected accidents and incidents in August 2020. The following NTSB information is preliminary.

In 2019, more than 4.5 million people traveled by air every day worldwide and many of them arrived late because of weather. The FAA says up to 70% of air traffic delays are caused by instrument meteorological conditions.

While nearly every state allows a felon’s records to be expunged with a showing of good behavior, a pilot will have to live with a failed check ride for the rest of his or her life.