Also: Cosmonaut Kicked Out, Airbus Scales Back, AF Silver Star, Russian A-60 Clobbered

A Samaritan’s Purse humanitarian flight was hijacked on Tuesday, December 2, while attempting to supply a mobile medical unit in South Sudan. Authorities were able to meet the aircraft on the ground and take the suspect into custody without further incident. The aircraft involved was one of the organization’s Cessna Grand Caravans that operates solely within Africa. The FAA has taken an unusually cooperative step towards pilot mental health reform, reducing the stabilization wait time for approved antidepressant medications from 6 months to just 3. Though this is, in itself, a basic change, it reflects years of industry efforts. Under the revised policy, airmen and air traffic control specialists may now submit Special Issuance medical packages after maintaining a stable dose of an approved antidepressant for at least three continuous months. The maid

Also: Trailblazing Aviator Betty Stewart, Wind Farm Scrutiny, Chatham Ban Overturned, Airbus Shares Dive

A Thunderbird pilot, ID'ed alternately as Thunderbird 5 or Thunderbird 6, (but not yet confirmed officially) ejected from his/her Lockheed Martin F-16CM-52-CF Fighting Falcon Wednesday (12-03-25) during a training mission in California. The accident occurred near Trona Airport on an unoccupied dry lake bed area south of the airport in San Bernardino County. The pilot ejected safely just before the airframe impacted the ground. Air India somehow misplaced a 43-year-old Boeing 737-200 and forgot about it for over a decade. The Kolkata airport didn’t forget about the airplane though, and continued to add parking fees. The airline was oblivious until recently, when it received a parking bill that, over a 13-year period, accumulated to a total of 10 million Indian Rupees, about USD$120,000. Dynon has released SkyView HDX software version 17.4,

Also: IAE Acquires Diamond Trainers, Army Drones, FedEx Pilots Warning, DA62 MPP To Dresden Tech Uni  

The danger to the flight training industry and our future pilots is clear. Donald Frano, a member of the Central Florida Pilots Association, posted a statement as an urgent warning about the increasing number of airports using or considering using a third-party vendor to send landing fees to pilots based on ADS-B data. This began in Florida and is a growing threat that the aviation community needs to stand up to and strongly oppose. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, has thrown his full support behind the bipartisan Mental Health in Aviation Act (MHAA) by joining as a co-sponsor of the bipartisan legislation. The bill intends to destigmatize mental health issues in aviation, train aviation medical examiners, and make it overall easier for aviation professionals to seek and receive mental health treatment without fearing the loss of their careers. The Federal Go

From 2009 (YouTube Version): Granley Describes His Passion for Aviation and Air Show Performance

Bud Granley is certainly not a new face on the air show circuit; after 47 years as an aerobatic pilot, Granley now performs with his company, “Granley Family Airshows,” alongside his son Ross. Their hair-raising formation act has garnered much acclaim among the aerobatic community. In 2005, Bud Granley received the Art Scholl Showmanship award and just recently, he also accepted the Bill Barber Showmanship award. After earning his pilot’s license in 1956, thanks to a Royal Canadian Air Cadet scholarship, Granley joined the Royal Canadian Air Force earning honors in both his basic and advanced flying schools. 

Pilot’s Inadvertent Use Of The Landing Gear Control Handle Instead Of The Flaps Selector Switch During The Landing Rollout

Analysis: The pilot reported that during the landing roll, about the time that he was applying the brakes, the nose landing gear collapsed. Having no training on what to do in this scenario, he cycled the landing gear by raising then lowering the landing gear control handle. Postflight inspection revealed substantial to the undercarriage near the nose landing gear bay. 

Aero Linx: Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) Founded in 1997, the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (USCAST) has developed an integrated, data-driven strategy to reduce the commercial aviation fatality risk in the United States and promote new Government and industry safety initiatives throughout the world. 

Land And Hold Short Operations Operations that include simultaneous takeoffs and landings and/or simultaneous landings when a landing aircraft is able and is instructed by the controller to hold short of an intersecting runway or taxiway, a predetermined point, or an approach/departure flightpath. Pilots are expected to promptly inform the controller if the hold short clearance cannot be accepted. 

We're Everywhere... Thanks To You!

Even with the vast resources and incredibly far-reaching scope of the Aero-News Network, every now and then a story that should be reported on slips through our fingers. There's a lot of news out there, and sometimes we just don't get to all of it. Fortunately for us, we realized early on we couldn't be everywhere at once -- curse the laws of physics! -- so we came up with the idea of News-Spies. Just as the title suggests, a News-Spy is a reader who notices a news item -- be it in the newspaper, on television, or something they came across at their own airport, town hall, at the office water cooler or just by walking down the street -- basically, any item a reader may think is newsworthy, that pertains to the world of aviation.

“Escondido’s Royce Williams is 100 years young, a Top Gun pilot like no other, and an American hero for all time. The heroism and valor he demonstrated for more than 35 harrowing minutes almost 70 years ago in the skies over the North Pacific and the coast of North Korea saved the lives of his fellow pilots, shipmates, and crew. His story is one for the ages and it now has its rightful chapter as Royce receives the Medal of Honor.” Source: California Representative Darrell Issa (CA-48) announced the finalized 2026 National Defense Authorization Act includes his legislation that permits U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams (Ret.) to be eligible to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. The NDAA is expected to be approved by the House and Senate in the coming days before heading to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

First Global 8000 Goes to Patrick Dovigi, Marking the Jet’s Official Entry into Service

Bombardier has earned a round of applause from the business aviation community, celebrating the formal entry into service of what it calls the “fastest civil aircraft since the Concorde.” Keys to the first Global 8000 were turned over to loyal customer and GFL Environmental CEO Patrick Dovigi on December 8.