“Commonwealth” Misconstrued

Airlines for America (A4A), a Washington D.C.-based trade group that advocates on behalf of its members to shape crucial policies and measures that promote safety, security and a healthy U.S. airline industry—has filed a complaint with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) alleging unjustifiable, unreasonably discriminatory, anticompetitive, and unreasonable charges have been levied against its member airlines by the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. A4A asserts subject policies and measures violate the Air Transport Agreement (ATA) between the two nations.

"It Was Never Anything But A Bureaucratic Paper Chase"

Our friends at SAFE (The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators) have been celebrating the elimination of a particularly onerous bit of FAA decision-making... by virtue of an act of Congress. H.R. 7776, the “James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023”  -- which was passed by both the House and Senate and signed into law by the President just before year's end.

King Air 200 and 200 Pilots Rejoice!

Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S)—an Exton, Pennsylvania-based systems integrator and purveyor of flight guidance and cockpit displays—announced on 04 January 2023 that its ThrustSense auto-throttle system has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for installation on Beechcraft King Air 200 and 300 aircraft equipped with G1000 and NXi flight decks. Subject certification allows ThrustSense to be installed on all certified glass cockpit systems for the King Air.

Pathos and Artifice

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA)—the public policy group that represents the interests of the general aviation business community before the U.S. Congress, as well as federal, state, and local government agencies—has lauded Joe Biden’s signing of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.

The Ethics of Privacy in the Age of Smash-and-Grab

Beverly Hills has bolstered the ranks of its drone fleet with a new device known as Hawkeye. The sophisticated contraption is designed to help safeguard the affluent Los Angeles suburb’s gilded streets by affording responding police officers overhead views of crime scenes, and aiding in locating and pursuing fleeing suspects. That such capability invites praise from engineers and skepticism from philosophers and historians encapsulates the ethical conundrum to which Hawkeye and its ilk have given rise.

Trouble on the Rotary Wing

The administration of Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has launched an inquiry into allegations that Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) pilots misused state funds by operating aircraft for personal reasons and obtaining advanced flight training unrelated to and inconsistent with the department’s mission. The impetus by which the inquiry was set in motion derives of two letters sent to members of the Kansas legislature by a state employee and a concerned taxpayer.

Klyde Isn't Sure He Wants ANYTHING To Do With This Party...

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

Pilot Transmitted “Mayday” Several Times And Advised The Controller That The Airplane Was Experiencing A Rough Running Engine

On December 13, 2022, at 0925 central standard time, a Mooney M20B, N74586, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Kellyton, Alabama. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated by the pilot as a corporate flight conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The airplane owner reported that the pilot worked for him flying various airplanes that the owner managed, and that the accident flight was the pilot’s second flight in the owner’s personal airplane. The first flight was the day before the accident, and the owner stated that

AD 2022-26-06 Requires Inspecting The Left And Right Horizontal Stabilizer Decals

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Canada Limited Partnership Model BD-500-1A10 and BD-500-1A11 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of flight control (horizontal stabilizer, rudder, and elevator) decals degrading and peeling (damage), reports of operators painting over these decals, and reports that procedures to replace these decals were inaccurate, potentially causing incorrect positioning of replacement decals.

Aero Linx: Wings of Mercy For patients who can’t travel commercially, Wings of Mercy is a unique, nonprofit organization providing free air transportation to distant medical centers. As a faith-based organization, we seek to honor God by serving and sustaining life for those in need. Serious or rare illnesses are not always treatable at local or even regional medical centers. Sometimes the best or only treatment can be hundreds of miles away. And, even when a patient’s health insurance will cover treatment, it rarely covers transportation to those services. That’s where we come in, connecting people in need with volunteer pilots who can fly them safely to their destination.

Waypoint A predetermined geographical position used for route/instrument approach definition, progress reports, published VFR routes,  visual reporting points or points for transitioning and/or circumnavigating controlled and/or special use airspace, that is defined relative to a VORTAC station or in terms of latitude/longitude coordinates.

"After significant engagement with the government of The Bahamas on this issue, the members have not seen or received any details that confirms that Bahamas’s air navigation charges are consistent with their treaty obligations. Accordingly, the members resort to requesting that the department exercise its authorities under IATFCPA (International Air Transport Fair Competitive Practices Act of 1974) to remedy the unjustifiable, unreasonably discriminatory, anticompetitive activities of the Government of The Bahamas." Source: Part of a complaint by Airlines for America (A4A)  with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) alleging unjustifiable, unreasonably discriminatory, anticompetitive, and unreasonable charges have been