In an era when GA sales have been slumping overall and commercial air traffic is... well, we're still trying to figure that one out (changing is a safe word that comes to mind), the idea of local governments fighting over a GA plant is kind of refreshing. That's just what's going on in southern Florida, where Miami-Dade County and Collier County are duking it out for the hand of Safire Aircraft. At stake is a final assembly plant and the 600-700 jobs that go with it.

Just when you thought things were getting so much better... Fuel prices are "accelerating faster than anyone imagined, though I don't think it changes overall where trends are going" in general aviation, said Ed Bolen, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

A small Illinois town is in mourning this weekend after a Piper Saratoga (file photo of type, below) went down, carrying six of its sons and daughters. For Carlock (IL), the deaths of the men and women aboard that aircraft has hit especially hard. The three couples were on their way home from Darlington (SC), where they had attended a NASCAR race. The victims were identified as Don Maurer Jr., 40, and his wife, Amy, 38, of Carlock; Amy's brother, Brad Webb, 34, and his girlfriend, Erica Edgington, 27, also of Carlock; and the pilot, Curt Piercy, 41, and his wife, Linda, 42, of Normal. The aircraft impacted Little Black Mountain near Highsplint in Harlan County (KY), about two hours after taking off from Darlington.

French search teams have found the wreckage of a small, single-engine aircraft down in the mountains of Haute-Savoie, according to local news reports. The aircraft, whose manufacture and type were not immediately known, went down shortly before landing Thursday night.