Happy Birthday, FlightAware!

FlightAware turned nine years old on March 17th, 2014. In the past eight years, FlightAware has grown from just an idea into a business with over 40 employees, offices in Houston and New York, flight tracking operations in over fifty countries, and over six million users across the world using FlightAware in over a dozen languages. (flightaware.com) More...

Low on fuel, Jet pilot made blind landing on 7th attempt

A Jet Airways aircraft made a “blind“ landing in Kerala in August last year in an unprecedented seventh attempt after running dangerously low on fuel due to six previous failed landing attempts on account of bad weather in two cities. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had conduced an inquiry into this case of August 17, 2015, and the report has brought out some chilling facts. The Boeing 737 on its way from Doha to Kochi had six failed landing attempts -a first ever in aviation… (epaperbeta.timesofindia.com) More...

Cockpit fight: AI pilot hits engineer over inspection

Jan 18 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi) Chennai:A fight between a pilot and a flight engineer in the cockpit of an Air India plane at Chennai airport on Saturday landed the engineer in hospital and left 118 passengers in disarray . The flight, which was to depart at 9.45am, took off two hours late because of the scuffle.The flight captain, Maniklal Sanghi, has been grounded till investigations are over. There were no passengers on board when the incident happened around 9am. The plane, a… (epaperbeta.timesofindia.com) More...

EASA proposes new requirements for flight recorders and underwater locating devices

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has announced new proposals for flight data and voice recorders and underwater locating devices (ULDs) in the wake of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. ..... ..... If adopted by the European Commission, the new requirements would include extending the transmission time of ULDs fitted on flight recorders from 30 to 90 days. EASA is also proposing that large aircraft flying over oceans should be equipped with a new type of ULD that has… (atwonline.com) More...

`Forgetful' engineers put plane in peril, grounded

New Delhi : Two Air India engineers were grounded on Monday as they reportedly “forgot“ to remove pins from landing gear ­ which ensure that wheels of an aircraft on ground do not accidentally retract ­ while clearing a plane to take off. Due to this, the pilots could not retract the wheels on getting airborne and had to return to soon after take off. This unprecedented lapse took place on Monday when an AI aircraft was being prepared at Delhi for flying to Kochi. “The plane was cleared to take… (epaperbeta.timesofindia.com) More...

Presidential helicopter VH-60N to receive processor upgrade on control display unit avionics from Rockwell Collins

....... The CDU-7000 consolidates control of communications, navigation, weapons, and defensive aids in a military-hardened package. The unit is designed for military Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) requirements, as commercial Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM). The CDU-7000 features a color active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD), and 3U CompactPCI circuit cards. (www.avionics-intelligence.com) More...

Drone air traffic control system being developed in Singapore

The skies of the near future will be increasingly packed with drones, surveying, snapping photos and delivering an array of goods. A network with that many moving parts needs some structure, so Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is developing an air traffic control system for drones in Singaporean airspace, exploring ideas like geofencing, designated flight lanes and ground stations that track all airborne UAVs. NTU obviously isn't the first to tackle an idea this fundamental to the… (newatlas.com) More...

2 Jet Pilots Aborted Take-Off In Riyadh. Plane Was Not Even On Runway

Mumbai: On Friday, a Jet Airways flight was not even on the runway when it tried to take off from the Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia. Its two pilots are close to losing their flying licence after they allegedly attempted take-off from a taxiway instead of the runway, endangering nearly 150 on board. Aviation sources have told NDTV that the taxiway, which runs parallel to the designated runway, had not been properly mapped into the plans of Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. The… (www.ndtv.com) More...

University of Texas team takes control of a yacht by spoofing its GPS - Next stop Aircraft

Civilization depends on the Global Positioning System for everything. Indeed, access to GPS's strengths and capabilities has grown so fast that little concern about its weaknesses has penetrated the public consciousness. (www.gizmag.com) More...

GE Honda Secures Long-Awaited HF120 Engine Certification

The General Electric Honda HF120 engine for the HA-420 HondaJet light business aircraft has received FAA Part 33 engine certification, clearing the way for the start of full-scale production. The engine development proved far more arduous than GE or Honda expected. Certification comes nine years after the formation of the joint venture between the engine makers and four years later than originally planned when the program was launched in 2006. Certification for the HF120 production engine was… (www.aviationweek.com) More...