Was To Fly Former President Bush To South American Conference

A Gulfstream bizjet on its way to pick up former President George HW Bush went down in poor weather early Monday morning, just south of Houston's Hobby Airport, authorities said. None of the three crew members on board survived.

Some Say CRJ-200 Tried To Return To Airport

Witnesses say the China Eastern regional jet "flew like a drunkard" just before it went down into a lake Sunday, killing 54 people.

Deliveries Expected To Begin Soon

The Mooney Airplane Company has announced the certification of the Garmin G1000 avionics suite featured in the GX versions of its popular Ovation and Bravo high performance single engine aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) to Garmin on November 16, 2004 and Mooney incorporated the approval into its Type Certificate.

Copilot Landed Aircraft As Pilot Suffered Heart Attack The pilot of a Garuda Indonesia Airlines Boeing 737 collapsed at the controls, minutes after take-off from Pontianak, on the island of Borneo, forcing his copilot to take the controls and make an unassisted landing back at the airport in Borneo, according to local news reports. None of the 107 passengers on board was hurt.

Air Force By Service, Army By Trade

They are a unique breed of servicemembers on the frontline -- Air Force by service, but Army by trade. Air Force joint tactical-air controllers can be found throughout Afghanistan -- planning, communicating and facilitating the execution of close- air support for ground forces.

...Sort Of

The Mooney Airplane Company, which left Wichita more than 50 years ago, is back. Well, at least, the sales office is.

Engineer Claimed He Was Wrongly Turned Down As Test Pilot

A 59-year old engineer at Boeing's Wichita plant said his age and his Cuban heritage were the reasons the company denied him a job as a test pilot in 2001 -- and last week, a federal jury agreed.

But Congressman Bill Young Is Taking Some Heat About It

It's proof that one Congressman's pork is another's pudding. Because of term limits on Capitol Hill, Representative CW Bill Young (R-FL) is stepping down as head of the House Appropriations Committee.

The Ashes, Says Jim, Are Blowing In The Wind... And That's The Problem

British sport pilot Jim McTaggart has flown cropdusting missions in Texas and mercy missions in the Sudan. Now, for a fee, he'd like to scatter your loved ones' ashes to the wind.

Issues Travel Tips

The head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wants air travelers to become partners over the holiday season in ensuring security and minimizing passenger wait-times at screening checkpoints.

Controller Missed by Family, Friends

By ANN Senior Correspondent Kevin "Hognose" O'Brien Every student pilot learns that controllers can help him when he's lost -- "Climb, Conserve, Confess, Comply" and they can give you a bearing and distance to an airport or navaid, or vector you home. Some student pilots actually use that facility. Some pilots who aren't students do, too (although they usually fib about it afterward). And even when you're not lost or not even, as Daniel Boone called it, "a mite bewildered," that calm, confident voice from the Tower or Center or TRACON is a comfort in the clouds or the night. Controllers are great folks who put up with many of the hassles pilots do ("fill the cup to the line, please"), and don't even get the view from the front off

One Small Step... One Giant Leap

Fantasy of Flight, along I-4 between Orlando and Lakeland, FL, is fast becoming one of our favorite places to simply hang out. In passing by the other day, we came across a series of mass parachute jumps. We whipped out our cameras and started shooting. This is a little of what we got.

Cost Of The Wedding: $110 Million

Smiths Group says it's taking over Integrated Aerospace Inc., a privately owned, California-based supplier of specialist landing gear systems, for $110 million.Integrated Aerospace is a leading, sole-source supplier of landing gear products for small aircraft including US military helicopters, fighter aircraft, business jets and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Examples include the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet and the UH-60 Black Hawk.

They're Available Online

Get ready to start writing, because the 2005 scholarship listings are now available online and in the September issue of Aviation for Women magazine. Women in Aviation, International has given out $3.5 million in scholarships since 1996. Last year alone nearly $500,000 was awarded to Women in Aviation members during the organization's annual international conference.

"I was deeply saddened to learn of the plane crash this morning... I'd flown with this group before and know them well. I join in sending heartfelt condolences to each and every member of their families." Source: Former President George HW Bush, after learning that the bizjet he was to travel to Ecuador in had gone down on approach to Houston's Hobby Airport. All three crew members on board the Gulfstream G-II were lost.

Motson Keeps The Production Gear And Key Players

Motson Graphics says it's acquired the Gentape product line. Motson will begin manufacturing all of the Gentape products immediately. Motson acquired all of the necessary production equipment and will retain key personnel to assure a smooth take-over of the operation.

AD NUMBER: 2004-23-15 MANUFACTURER: MDHI SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2004-23-15 SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI) Model MD900 helicopters. This action requires reducing the life limit of certain Notar fan system tension-torsion (TT) straps.

AD NUMBER: 2004-23-17 MANUFACTURER: Mooney SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2004-23-17 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) to supersede Airworthiness Directive 91-03-15, which applies to certain Mooney Airplane Company, Inc., (Mooney) Model M20M airplanes. AD 91-03-15 currently requires you to replace the tailpipe coupling with improved tailpipe coupling.

AD NUMBER: 2004-23-16 MANUFACTURER: McCauley SUBJECT: Airworthiness Directive 2004-23-16 SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for McCauley Propeller Systems propeller assemblies, part numbers (P/Ns) B5JFR36C1101/114GCA -0,C5JFR36C1102/L114GCA-0, B5JFR36C1103/114HCA -0, and C5JFR36C1104/L114HCA-0,installed on BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Jetstream Model 4100 series airplanes.