Operational Ramifications Will Increase Costs and Introduce Unnecessary Risk

At the 130th Regular Executive Board of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), pilot leaders adopted a resolution opposing any attempts to increase the retirement age for professional airline pilots. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), at the direction of Congress with the 2007 Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act (P.L. 110-135), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) currently mandate that airline pilots in multi-crew operations must retire at age 65.

Also: Honor Flight 250,000th, USMC Aviation Plan, United's Green Fuel, Oshkosh 2022!

That incredibly foolish Red Bull Skydive-and-switch-planes-in-midair stunt that went so bad last month has  resulted in both pilot/skydivers losing their certificates. Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington received nationwide attention for the poorly planned and executed stunt. The result is this... both of them have to surrender their tickets immediately and Aikins is facing an additional financial penalty in the form of a nearly $5000 fine. An individual with allegedly no prior flying experience had a chance to live many a pilot’s dream/nightmare, by landing a s

NASA Sends Boeing’s Uncrewed CST-100 Aboard ULA Atlas V Rocket

Yesterday evening around 6:54PM EDT, NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) launched Boeing’s uncrewed CST-100 into space aboard the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, and is expected to dock at the ISS later this evening (20 May 2022) sometime after 7pm. The launch site was the Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The goals of this mission is to “test the end-to-end capabilities of the crew-capable system as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Also: ERAU Pilot APP, RESIDCO Launches, CAP Is NOT Lost In Space, Epic Flight Academy

Eric Crump’s storied history in aviation reaches new heights with his appointment as Director of the Aerospace Center Excellence (ACE), beginning 1 June 2022. Mr. Crump was founder/director of the Polk State College Aerospace Program in since 2012, and grown the aviation program from scratch to a student body of almost 300. Additionally, he was the driving force behind making Polk State College in Florida the first to offer a BS degree in Aerospace Sciences. In an interesting twist that Virgin Atlantic referred to as a ‘rostering error, an international fl

Pilot Of Plane Landed By Passenger Is Recovering After Surgery

Last week, we reported that a Cessna 208 Caravan on a routine flight from Marsh Harbor (MHH) in the Bahamas to Ft. Pierce (FPR) Florida made an unplanned landing by a ‘spontaneous pilot’ (a passenger) at International Airport (PBI) in Florida after the original pilot conked out. The event dubbed ‘miracle in the air’ by the FAA made the headlines, buoyed by the fact that it landed without incident. Today, we’re pleased to provide an update on the original pilot who was unconscious for the last 30+ minutes. Shortly after the aircraft landed, the pilot was taken to hospital where it was discovered that he had suffered

SurfAir Mobility’s Three Fer: Electric Aircraft, Southern Airways, Tuscan Holdings

Earlier this week, Surf Air Mobility appeared to be blowing up the airwaves with a multitude of deals and signings announced on 18 May 2022. If you haven’t heard of Surf Air, then today may be just the beginning of an ongoing acquaintance. Firstly, Surf Air signed an exclusive agreement with AeroTEC and MagniX to accelerate the development of electrified commercial aircraft. In this deal, the sought development and certification of hybrid and fully electric powertrains for new and retrofitting existing Cessna C208 Grand Caravan aircraft, in an effort to reduce operating costs and emissions while improving affordab

Frontier And Spirit Airlines Proceeding With Merger Despite JetBlue’s Antics

Frontier Airlines announced that Spirit Airlines’ Board of Directors had reaffirmed their commitment to combining forces with Frontier Airlines, and at the same time urged shareholders reject JetBlue’s unwelcome advances. Both Spirit and Frontier Airlines see this merger as an opportunity to create an ultra-low fare environment that delivers shareholder value while also competing against the ‘big four’ (American, Delta, Southwest, and United Airlines).

From 2016 (YouTube Version): EAA’s Pilot Proficiency Center Is Designed to Encourage Proficiency and Provide Actual Training…

While at EAA AirVenture 2016, ANN News Editor, Tom Patton, stopped by the Pilot Proficiency Center in its new location at what was known as the, EAA Four Corners. This new central location brings to light EAA’s position that pilot proficiency is key to aviation safety. Tom met up with Chuck Gensler, who is the Operations Manager for EAA’s Pilot Proficiency Center. Gensler pointed out that the purpose of the Pilot Proficiency Center was not only to promote the concept that

Airplane Abruptly Turned To The North And Rapidly Descended

On May 11, 2022, about 1235 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N airplane, N73670, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Broomfield, Colorado. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight.A preliminary review of track data indicated that the airplane departed from the Rocky Mountain Metro Airport (BJC), Broomfield, Colorado. The airplane departed to the southeast and entered the traffic pattern at the Colorado Air and Space Airport (CFO), Watkins, Colorado. The pilot performed a landing at CFO and then departed to the southeast. The pilot performed flight maneuvers to the south of Ben

Aero Linx: Independent Pilots Association   Welcome to the Independent Pilots Association. The IPA is the collective bargaining unit representing the more than 3150 professional pilots who fly in service of United Parcel Service, the world's largest transportation company. The IPA is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, home of UPS Worldport, the largest fully automated package handling system in the world.

Instrument Approach Procedure [ICAO]   A series of predetermined maneuvers by reference to flight instruments with specified protection from obstacles from the initial approach fix, or where applicable, from the beginning of a defined arrival route to a point from which a landing can be completed and thereafter, if a landing is not completed, to a position at which holding or en route obstacle clearance criteria apply.

“This discussion is yet another attempt to distract the conversation from the real issue which is the failure of airlines to deliver on a key goal of the multibillion-dollar relief plan Congress provided them during the pandemic which was to effectively manage air-service operations as travel resumes. ALPA strongly opposes this proposed legislation as there is no reason to change the retirement age today and doing so would only increase costs for airlines as well as introduce unnecessary risks to passengers and crew alike.”   Source: Capt. Joe DePete, ALPA president, explaining their rationale in opposition to an increase in the so-called 'Age 65' rule.