Passenger Saw a ‘Threatening’ Text While Peeping at a Stranger’s Phone
On a recent American Airlines flight, a passenger reading texts over their seat neighbor’s shoulder created a somewhat dramatic situation that resulted in an early landing. After some further investigation, officials confirmed that the message was actually mourning the loss of a relative.
Also: Air Taxis May Be Close, AgEagle Sells 100th, VAI Likes Bedford, AURA AERO Cleans Up
Volocopter has resumed work towards the certification of its VoloCity eVTOL, this time under the guiding hand of Diamond Aircraft. The manufacturer filed for insolvency late last year before being saved in a $11 million deal this March. Volocopter had big plans: high-profile air show appearances, flashy partnerships with Honeywell and Mercedes-Benz, and a demo flight debut planned for the 2024 Paris Olympics... Swiss electric aircraft developer H55 completed over 50 demo flights in the Palo Alto stop of its Across America tour. The Bristell B23 Energic aircraft demonstrated the reliability of its electric propulsion system and the company said total purchase commitments garnered during the tour now account for the first two years of production. Searching through the debris of an assault on Ukraine led drone hunters to a startling discovery: Russia may be using
Also: 48th Annual Air Race Classic, Hot Air Balloon Fire, FAA v Banning 100LL, Complete Remote Pilot
The news Piper PA-18 Super Cub owners have been waiting for has finally arrived: CubCrafters announced the availability of an FAA-approved Supplemental Type Certificate, or STC, that increases the gross weight of the legendary aircraft to 2,300 lbs, more than 30% higher than the original specifications. The news comes after CubCrafters has been working on the down-low for years with industry partners including Lycoming, Hartzell, and others to make the Super Cub even better. On the heels of the first flight of yet another unique new type of aircraft to take flight with a Deltahawk diesel engine, their plans indicate that some three aircraft, the original SR20 (which ANN’s Jim Campbell flew two years ago), the Velocity V-Twin (Sporting TWO Deltahawks), and the recently completed RV-14 -- making for a total of four DH series engines to be
From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Deviation from the Historical Mean
Racine, Wisconsin-based DeltaHawk is a privately-held manufacturer of reciprocating engines for aircraft and hybrid power systems. The company and its teams of engineers, designers, manufacturing specialists, flight test, and certification experts has devised a new generation of patented, FAA-certified, jet-fuel-burning, aviation piston engines for a wide variety of general aviation, military, and experimental aircraft and ground-based applications.
Preliminary Weather Data Revealed Conditions, About Two Miles From The Accident Site Were 500 Ft Overcast, And 10 Statute Miles Visibility
On June 4, 2025 about 1055 Alaska daylight time, a Robinson R66 turbine-powered helicopter, N962MD, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Kaparuk, Alaska. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand charter flight. The helicopter was operated by Pollux Aviation, Wasilla, Alaska, and according to the director of operations, the flight was part of a contract conducting bird research. The purpose of the flight was to scout conditions in the local area, and the next day they planned to relocate to a remote work camp within the North Slope region for three weeks. The pilot was new to the company and flew from Wasilla to Deadhorse Airport (PASC), Deadhorse, Alaska, the day before the accident.
Aero Linx: Formation and Safety Team (F.A.S.T.), USA
The Formation and Safety Team (FAST) is a worldwide, educational organization dedicated to teaching safe formation flying in Warbirds which are former military aircraft. FAST is comprised of seventeen signatory organizations whose mission is to support education in the safe and responsible restoration, maintenance and operation of their members' aircraft.
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Captain Sully Sullenberger, the pilot who saved 155 people by safely landing an A320 in the Hudson River, has come forward with his thoughts on Trump’s pick to head the FAA: “We all deserve better.” The nominee has made some highly questionable comments regarding pilot experience requirements. The British Counter Terrorism Policing South East unit has charged four people following their arrest for trespassing into the RAF Brize Norton airbase and causing £7 million ($9.5 million) worth of damage to two military Airbus A330 MRTT multi-role Voyager aircraft. They were charged on July 2, 2025, with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage. Retired American space shuttle Discovery has gotten tied into Preside
Discrete Code
As used in the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS), any one of the 4096 selectable Mode 3/A aircraft transponder codes except those ending in zero zero; e.g., discrete codes: 0010, 1201, 2317, 7777; nondiscrete codes: 0100, 1200, 7700. Nondiscrete codes are normally reserved for radar facilities that are not equipped with discrete decoding capability and for other purposes such as emergencies (7700), VFR aircraft (1200), etc.
While broadband has become very much the default internet connection everywhere from homes to offices and coffee shops, there are still a lot of places where a high-speed connection is not available, or you're stuck tethering to your phone with only one "civilization bar" to get your Aero-News. ANN goes through a lot of trouble to make the graphics flashy and cool and an integral part of the story. But let's face it, they're bandwidth-intensive. So here are a couple of thoughts on how to get the most out of Aero-News in the least amount of time.
“About nine decades ago, Amelia Earhart was recruited to Purdue, and the university president later worked with her to prepare an aircraft for her historic flight around the world. Today, as a team of experts try again to locate the plane, the Boilermaker spirit of exploration lives on.”
Source: Purdue President Mung Chiang, discussing Purdue’s Research Foundation and Archaeological Legacy Institute are joining the search for the lost aircraft of aviation icon and former university flight instructor Amelia Earhart. The expedition will begin in November 2025 by sending teams to a potential wreckage location in the Pacific.
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