Engine Failure Suspected As MD-11 Goes Down In Flames 

A fully loaded UPS McDonnell Douglas MD-11 headed from Louisville, Kentucky, to Honolulu, Hawaii, crashed shortly after takeoff and went down in a large fireball with at least 9 confirmed dead and 11 injured. An uncontained engine failure is suspected, according to a former Department of Transportation Inspector General.

Nearly 20% of A220s are Grounded, Many Airlines are Moving to Retire Them

The A220, once marketed for its profitability and efficiency, seems to be spending a lot more time parked than planned… and operators are starting to lose patience. Nearly 20% of the global fleet is grounded due to ongoing issues with Pratt & Whitney’s PW1500G geared turbofan engines.

Starship Prepares to Return Humankind to the Moon

SpaceX has provided its most detailed look yet at Starship’s progress, positioning the towering vehicle as the backbone of NASA’s Artemis program and the company’s broader goal to make humanity multiplanetary. Starship, designed to be fully reusable and capable of carrying 100 metric tons to the Moon or Mars, is apparently being built at a pace rarely seen in aerospace.

Security Lines and ATC Delays Expected to Skyrocket Nearing Thanksgiving

The federal government shutdown is stretching into its second month with no clear end in sight, potentially making it the longest shutdown in US history. And, as if the situation isn’t bad enough, the busiest travel season of the year is fast approaching with bookings at an all-time high.

Production of Tail Kits Begins as Flight Testing Shows Promising Results

Sonex has announced another major step forward for its eagerly awaited Highwing model: a successful static load test of the aircraft’s horizontal tail section. With the hard part out of the way, production of the Tail Kit is set to begin, and customers will receive shipping timelines by mid-November.

Organization Calls on Longer-Range Aircraft As Jamaica Faces the Tragic Aftermath of Melissa

The National Business Aviation Association is putting its humanitarian arm to work, activating its Humanitarian Emergency Response Operator (HERO) Database as Jamaica faces the aftermath of the strongest Hurricane in its history. The move connects volunteer aircraft operators with relief coordinators to ferry supplies and aid into areas with massive power outages, blocked roads, and collapsed infrastructure.

More Planes, More Flexibility, and Fewer Barriers to the Sky

The FAA’s new MOSAIC rule doesn’t just reshape how light sport aircraft are built: it changes what Sport Pilots can do. Starting in late 2025, pilots flying under Sport Pilot privileges will gain access to a much wider range of aircraft, which translates to enhanced accessibility, affordability, and flexibility across the board. The most significant update was ditching the long-standing 1,320-pound limit, replacing it with stall speed. This change alone opens the door for popular aircraft like the Cessna 172 and Piper Archer to qualify under the new rules, bringing a huge boost to availability and training options.

Also: AFE25 Ticket Info, Flying Into AFE, Deltahawk Steps WAY Up, SnF Invaluable to AFE25

OK... this is an insane record... and one that is likely to stand for a while as we’re not sure there are many who would choose to challenge it. A next-gen CubCrafters Carbon Cub UL has climbed to a verified altitude of 37,609 feet above sea level over the California coast just a few days ago — setting what CubCrafters claims to be an unofficial new world altitude record for Cub-type aircraft (and let’s face it, it’s not likely that most Cub-types have seen anywhere near HALF that altitude. The Affordable Flying Expo is building up a healthy

Also: Drone Rulemaking Stalled, LA County FD Adds FIREHAWKs, Wilsbach Confirmed, CAF Honors Vet

Even with parts of the federal government on pause, Yosemite National Park isn’t letting BASE jumpers off easy. Park officials announced that three people were recently convicted for illegal parachute jumps off Yosemite’s formations amid a legal push to lift the 40-year ban against them. BASE jumping has been prohibited in all national parks since the 1980s. One of the more intriguing features of the 2025 Affordable Flying Expo, scheduled for November 6-8 at the Sun n Fun Aerospace Expo campus is a Friday event we call the MOSAIC Town Hall. Schedul

Also: Horizon Picks P&W PT6A, Army Buys 3 EagleNXT, First Hybrid-Electric Regional, Army Selects AEVEX

Anduril Industries’ YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft was flown for the first time on October 31, 2025, as announced by the U.S. Air Force, who also confirmed that a decision about production of the CAA is still expected during FY2026 despite the ongoing government shutdown. The Air Force sent out a press release announcing the first flight but there were not many details about what the YFQ-44A actually did, how long it flew, or where it ended. Merlin, developer of autonomous flight technology for the defense sector, announced it has gaine

Includes 15 Cargo and 35 Passenger Models For Late 2025 Delivery

Shanghai-based eVTOL manufacturer AutoFlight announced that Falcon Aviation Services in Abu Dhabi has ordered 50 of its eVTOL aircraft consisting of 15 V2000CG CarryAll cargo aircraft and 35 V2000EM Prosperity passenger models.

Gregory Blatt Discusses Company At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025

ANN’s Rex Alexander spoke with Gregory Blatt, co-founder of H55, at the 2025 EAA AirVenture Air Show and Fly-in in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Blatt first recapped the company’s background, which is that he and the two other co-founders were members of the Solar Impulse Project team. That was an electric airplane that completed the first solar-powered flight around the world in 2017. The flight covered 50,000 km with one person onboard and during that groundbreaking achievement, the aircraft’s longest solar flight lasted 5 days and 5 nights, leading to the company&r

Also: MOSAIC Town Hall, Lockheed Martin Venus, Electric Aircraft Cooling, Korea Taps Archer

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is at the front end of a year-long AI policing experiment, putting a completely autonomous, $200,000 squad car equipped with thermal imaging drones to the test. The so-called Police Unmanned Ground (PUG) Patrol Partner was developed and donated by Policing Lab and Perrone Robotics. The SUV comes on a Ford Explorer platform, fitted with 360-degree cameras, thermal sensors, license plate readers, and a rooftop drone dock. U.S. National Parks have prohibited the use of drones for any reason – absent a special permit –

Also: Orlando Air Show Cancelled, ATC Staffing Shortages, CH-47F Block II Chinooks, Sustainable $$

More than a decade of hard work, legal setbacks, and community advocacy has finally come to fruition, with MOSAIC officially becoming a final rule on October 22, 2025. Around three-quarters of the entire GA fleet now falls under the sport aviation category. The October 22 date is the initial effective date, with additional reforms scheduled for July 2026. Diamond Aircraft is responding to a wave of popular demand from flight schools, clubs, and owners by restarting the production line for its Katana 2-seat single-engine piston airplane. The Katana is well-k

Also: AIR Loses eVTOL Demonstrator, USCG Getting New Helos, Freighter Fleet To Grow, US Army Falls Behind

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, in partnership with NASA, successfully completed the first flight of the X-59, an innovative, quiet supersonic aircraft designed to return the capability of supersonic flight to commercial air travel. The X-59 launched from the Skunk Works facility at the U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, and landed near the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. King Schools is stepping up to help fill the gap left by the sudden closure of AceCFI, offering impacted CFIs a major discount to its Flight

Also: Beech M-346N, Metro Gains H160 EMS STC, New Bell Boss, Affordable Flying Expo Tickets NOW On Sale!

Purdue University’s Research Foundation and the Archaeological Legacy Institute have confirmed that they will be putting their quest to find Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra aircraft on hold until next year. The announcement blamed seasonal weather that would jeopardize the expedition if it continued to wait for Kiribati’s green light. SpaceX is clipping the wings on its Starlink Mini users. The company announced that starting November 7, 2025, the maximum supported operating speed for its Roam, Local Priority, and Global Priority p

While Descending Toward ASN, He Advanced The Throttle, But The Engine Did Not Respond

On October 2, 2025, at 1126 central daylight time, a Cirrus SR22, N812SE, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Talladega, Alabama. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries, and the two passengers were not injured. The airplane was being operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight originated from Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, Birmingham, Alabama, and was destined for Talladega Municipal Airport (ASN), Talladega, Alabama. According to the pilot, after departure he climbed to 3,500 ft., mean sea level (msl).

From 2016 (YouTube Edition): Hear the Story of the CAF B-29 Named “FIFI”…

While at EAA AirVenture 2016, our ANN video crew headed out to get some shots of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) B-29, known as “FIFI”. We met up with Steve Zimmerman, who was the aircraft commander for “FIFI” on this year’s trip to AirVenture. Zimmerman provides a great overall background of the airplane, how it flies, and what kind of original equipment it still has installed. As Zimmerman describes

Aero Linx: British Gliding Association (BGA) The British Gliding Association is the governing body for the sport of gliding in the UK and members are the 76 clubs that provide gliding facilities for their members – clubs that are spread throughout the UK from the north of Scotland to the SW tip of England and which range from small, member-run clubs through to some of the largest gliding clubs in the world. Through these clubs, we represent and provide services to all glider pilots.

Outer Area (Associated w/Class C Airspace) Non-regulatory airspace surrounding designated Class C airspace airports wherein ATC provides radar vectoring and sequencing on a full-time basis for all IFR and participating VFR aircraft. The service provided in the outer area is called Class C service which includes: IFR/IFR-IFR separation; IFR/VFR-traffic advisories and conflict resolution; and VFR/VFR-traffic advisories and, as appropriate, safety alerts. The normal radius will be 20 nautical miles with some variations based on site-specific requirements. The outer area extends outward from the primary Class

“Our strategic partnership with AutoFlight, backed by their substantial technological expertise and tangible advancements in eVTOL airworthiness, represents a significant milestone. The established delivery timeline will be instrumental in accelerating the adoption of low-altitude air mobility, fostering a revolution in regional transportation, and reinforcing Falcon’s leadership in pioneering the future of aviation, including within the energy industry." Source: Capt. Raman Oberoi, CEO of Falcon Aviation Services, discussing Shanghai-based eVTOL manufacturer AutoFlight having announced that Falcon Aviation Services in Abu Dhabi has ordered 50 of its eVTOL aircraft consisting of 15 V2000CG CarryAll cargo aircraft