We look at Spirit Airlines exiting bankruptcy, fundamental changes at Southwest Airlines, the non-functional CVR in the Philadelphia Learjet crash, helicopter route restrictions around DCA, a bill permitting property owners to shoot down drones, the JetZero blended wing body (BWB), Sikorsky’s “blown wing” VTOL, and countries looking beyond the F-35 for 5th-generation fighters.

Aviation News

Spirit Airlines exits bankruptcy 4 months after filing for Chapter 11 protection

Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2024. The airline continued operations through the proceedings. Spirit has reorganized its corporate structure, converted $795 million of debt into equity, and received $350 million in new equity from existing investors. Spirit changed its fare product structure with several tiers of premium seating.

Southwest Airlines Threw Away Its Biggest Selling Point—And That’s Exactly Why It Had To Start Charging For Bags

Gary Leff writes, “Southwest is going to charge for checked bags, start expiring flight credits, and introduce no seat assignment basic economy.” Gary says this will end Southwest's product differentiation. Also that people are going to be bringing on a lot more carry-on bags, slowing down boarding. More carry-on bags means full overhead bins and customers having to gate-check bags.

NTSB - Black Box from Plane in Deadly Philly Crash Never Recorded Audio

On January 31, 2025, at 1807 eastern standard time, a Learjet 55 airplane, Mexican registration XA-UCI (call sign MTS056) was destroyed when it was involved in an accident in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The two pilots, two medical crewmembers, and two passengers were fatally injured. One person on the ground was fatally injured, 4 people were seriously injured, and 20 people incurred minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 129 air ambulance flight.

The airplane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The CVR was recovered from the initial impact crater under 8 ft of soil and debris and was sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory, Washington, DC, for processing and readout. The recorder displayed significant impact-related damage as well as liquid ingress. After extensive repair and cleaning, the 30-minute-long tape-based recording medium was auditioned to determine its contents. The CVR did not record the accident flight and during the audition it was determined that the CVR had likely not been recording audio for several years.

NTSB: Aviation Investigation Preliminary Report, Learjet 55, Philadelphia, PA

Helicopter Route Permanently Closed After Deadly Black Hawk Collision with Plane

After the NTSB highlighted the number of close calls in the DCA area, the FAA has permanently restricted helicopter flights. Excluded from the helicopter restriction are presidential flights, law enforcement flights, and lifesaving missions. The FAA is looking at other airports where different aircraft types share the same air space, including Boston, New York, Baltimore-Washington, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.

NTSB urges ban on some helicopter flights at Washington airport where 67 people died in midair crash

The NTSB recommended a ban on some helicopter flights in the DCA area. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said in just over three years, there were 85 close calls when a few feet (meters) in the wrong direction could have resulted in the same kind of accident.

Tennessee congressman proposes allowing property owners to shotgun low-flying drones

Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett has sponsored HR1907, the Defense Against Drones Act [PDF] that would allow a property owner to use a shotgun to shoot down drones flying 200 feet or lower over their property. The bill also requires the property owner to report the aircraft and its registration number to the FAA within 60 days of the drone shooting.

Related: S.F.