Airplane News Update

This week in airplane news, an Embraer 175 lost a winglet in turbulence, the FAA revises eVTOL certification process, NTSB recommends SMS for AirTaxi, and a passenger lands a plane!

An Embraer E175 lost its right winglet in Turbulence on Tuesday

The American Airlines flight from Charleston (CHS) to Dallas (DFW) was forced to divert to Birmingham (BHM)

No word on what intensity of turbulence was encountered or other meteorological conditions

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/e175-loses-winglet-in-turbulence/

The FAA is revising its eVTOL certification criteria

Rather than be evaluated as small-aircraft under part 23, evtols will be evaluated as “Powered Lift” aircraft

This is the same category as tilt-rotor aircraft, such as the Leonardo AW609.

The FAA states this will NOT affect certification timelines… but… 

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/after-dot-audit-faa-reverses-on-evtol-certification-criteria

The NTSB has placed substantial blame on the FAA for a fatal 2019 helicopter crash in Hawaii

In a statement released on Tuesday, the NTSB says ““The NTSB previously made 11 recommendations to the FAA to prevent accidents like this one, but our recommendations only work when they are implemented. It’s time for the FAA to act.” ““When the NTSB issues safety recommendations, they are data-driven, supported by factual evidence developed from investigations, and are carefully crafted to prevent accidents.”

The accident occurred after the chief pilot and check airman flew the helicopter with 6 passengers onboard into a mountainous region surrounded by log fog.

The NTSB expressed frustration with the FAA for not mandating Safety Management Systems (SMS) in air taxi and air tour operations.

 “The NTSB initially recommended the FAA require air taxi and air tour operators to have safety management systems in 2016. Since the FAA refused to take such action, the board reiterated the recommendation for the sixth time.”

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/ntsb-lays-into-faa-for-inaction-on-safety-management-system-mandate

A passenger on a Cessna Caravan with no flying experience successfully landed at Palm Beach after the pilot suffered a medical emergency.

Nice job to the controller and to the passenger!

Listen to the audio: youtube.com/watch?v=8MDwzNtDMlA

https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/passenger-with-no-flying-experience-lands-plane-in-florida-after-pilot-becomes-incoherent/

This week in airplane news: Trent Palmer's license has been suspended, a pilot claimed responsibility for the RedBull stunt, Spirit rejects Jetblue offer, Cape Air orders 75 Eviation Alice Aircraft.

Pilot and YouTuber Trent Palmer announced on Thursday that the FAA suspended his certificate for 60 days

The FAA accuses Palmer of violating 14 CFR 91.13: careless and reckless operation of an aircraft

14 CFR 91.119(a) and (c), which cover minimum safe altitudes, including allowing for an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property if a power unit fails and not operating an aircraft closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure except when necessary for takeoff or landing.

“The problem here is the precedents or the case law that is established by the decision. The problem with that is that by the judge or ALJ stating that because I didn’t land it wasn’t a necessary landing procedure, now that would basically mean that any time we want to land in a new place that would require inspection passes to assess the feasibility of that spot, if there were any chance that you were within 500 feet of a vehicle, vessel, person, or structure—knowingly or unknowingly—you would need to go land there for it to not be a violation, meaning there would be external pressures making us change our aeronautical decision making.”

https://www.avweb.com/flight-safety/faa-regs/youtuber-trent-palmers-license-suspended/

Pilot and Skydiver Luke Aikins claimed responsibility for continuing red bull’s plane swap stunt without a waiver

“As Project Lead and Chief Pilot, it was entirely my responsibility to operate within the regulatory framework to ensure a successful outcome” 

The FAA is investigating, and we’ll see if they decide to give these pilots the same thing they did for Trevor Jacobs.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/pilot-claims-responsibility-for-attempting-plane-swap-without-faa-exemption/

Spirit Airlines rejected a purchase offer from JetBlue, citing a low probability of obtaining antitrust clearance.

JetBlue launched this bid to compete with the merger between Spirit and Frontier

JetBlue offered MORE than Frontier, but the board of directors found that the risk assigned to stockholders was not worth the additional money in the offer.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/spirit-rejects-jetblue-bid

Cape Air has signed a Letter of Intent with Eviation to purchase 75 Alice aircraft.

According to the Eviation, Alice will have a top cruise speed of 250kts, a maximum payload of 2500lbs, and a range of 440NM. 

The aircraft will seat 9 passengers and two crew.

Eviation expects the Alice to fly “In the upcoming weeks”

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/cape-air-signs-deal-for-75-electric-alice-commuter-aircraft

This week in airplane news, Trevor Jacobs cert has been revoked, RedBull's failed plane swap, FAA takes the blame for the capitol evacuations, Summoned Tesla hits jet, and a pilot shot at during landing.

Trevor Jacobs has lost his cert for the stunt where he parachuted out of his plane resulting in it crashing into national forest land.

He was NOT fined

He only lost his cert for 10 months

Redbull attempted their plane swap - against the wishes of the FAA.

They’d apparently requested authorization and were denied.

The plane swap did not go as planned, and one of the C182s crashed into the AZ desert. 

There were no injuries. 

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/plane-swap-stunt-fails-no-injuries-repoted/

The FAA has apologized for causing mayhem at the capitol by not notifying Washington DC authorities about a golden knights parachute event

The appearance of these aircraft within the DC TFR promoted evacuations of government buildings.

“The FAA’s initial review of the circumstances surrounding Wednesday night’s parachute demonstration by the U.S. Army Golden Knights at Nationals Park showed that we did not provide advance notification of this event to the U.S. Capitol Police,”

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/plane-swap-stunt-fails-no-injuries-repoted/

A driverless Tesla hit the tail of a Cirrus VisionJet in Washington State

The car appeared to be in summon mode, where it drives autonomously to the owner

From the video, we can see the collision, but not if/how much damage was done to the airplane. 

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/summoned-tesla-hits-visionjet

A student pilot on landing at Gardner Municipal Airport was shot at on Monday

The FAA said the pilot of the 172 reported a bullet hole in the gas tank of the airplane

The pilot said he was about 700 feet off the ground and two minutes from landing

The pilot and instructor heard a pop and smelled fuel - luckily there was no fire.

https://news.yahoo.com/bullet-hole-found-plane-landed-205759951.html

This week in Airplane news; China Eastern resumes 737 operations, a new medical application tracking app, Iris Automation & TruWeather Solutions partner to provide weather for GA, the FAA rescinds a proposed AD for Grumman aircraft.

China Eastern has returned its fleet of 737-800s to service

There is still no word on the cause of the China Eastern crash on March 21st. 

The airline says they have checked their 737s for structural integrity, system checks, and test flights, with a special interest in the aircraft with similar serial numbers to the accident aircraft.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/china-eastern-resumes-737-800-flights

The FAA has added a new feature to MedXPress that allows pilots to track the status of their application

This online portal means you no longer need to call the Office of Aerospace Medicine to determine where your application is.

This does NOT change the certification process but does allow for an easier time checking on your cert.

https://generalaviationnews.com/2022/04/20/pilots-now-able-to-track-medical-applications-in-real-time/

Iris Automation has announced a partnership with TruWeather Solutions that seeks to bridge the gap in low altitude weather forecasting

This is particularly important for Agricultural operators, balloon operators, and even UAS.

This system will include weather stations, airspace awareness, and other new sensors.

This will pave the way for UAM, BVLOS sUAS operations, and general aviation safety. 

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2022/april/20/iris-automation-pairs-up-with-truweather-solutions

The FAA has rescinded the AD introduced in December for Grumman Cheetah and Tiger aircraft for delimitation of the stabilizer.

The AD was challenged by 41 commenters, including AOPA.

In rescinding the FAA said “[T]he instructions in the airplane maintenance manual are sufficient to detect the type of damage that is believed to have led to the originating accident, as well as similar damage on the rest of the airplane. The FAA further agrees that the original findings were not indicative of an unsafe condition, but instead indicative of incorrectly followed maintenance procedures. Based on this assessment, the proposed inspection in the NPRM would exceed what is sufficient to detect the main issue of bonding delamination.”

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-rescinds-labor-intensive-grumman-cheetah-tiger-delamination-ad

This week in airplane news; a DHL 757 has been substantially damaged due to an emergency landing that resulted in a runway departure, TurbAero has introduced a new turboprop for aircraft that require 200hp, the FAA has fined two unruly passengers over 150k, and the Air Force has awarded a contract to Lift Aero for their eVTOL.

The two pilots of a DJI 757 were uninjured in an emergency landing where the aircraft departed the runway and broke the rear fuselage. 

Shortly after take off the pilots reported hydraulics problems

The pilots flew holding patterns for about and hour before attempting landing. 

Upon landing the aircraft veered off the runway and into a ditch, resulting in severe damage to the aircraft. 

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/pilots-safe-in-757-runway-excursion

Australian company TurbAero has shown off a new mock-up of a light turboprop

This light turboprop engine will produce about 200HP

Using Recuperative heating, TurbAero hopes to position their efficiency between a Piston and traditional turboprop aircraft.

https://www.avweb.com/multimedia/turbaero-aims-for-a-new-turboprop-engine-for-small-airplanes

Two passengers have been fined a total of over 150k 

The first of these passengers is looking at $81,950 and the second is looking at $77,272.

These two people assaulted the flight crew and passengers, requiring them to be restrained.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/nasty-passengers-face-80000-fines

Lift eVTOLs has secured a new contract to continue its development of a single seat eVTOL.

The Lift Hexa, has been in prototyping since 2018

Due to its weight, the Hexa does not require any pilot certificate and operates under part 103.

Lift says the aircraft is developed for both civil, military, and public safety operations.

https://www.flyingmag.com/usaf-accelerates-flight-testing-of-unique-single-seat-hexa-evtol/

This week in airplane news: A charter company has ordered 200 eVTOLs, an emergency landing due to a shattered windshield, pilot exodus blamed for Alaska Airlines cancellations, and Textron announces updates for Piston planes. 

Embraer has gotten another order for their Eve eVTOLs, bringing the total order count to 1785 aircraft.

The company said they will deliver these aircraft in 2026 - just four years away.

However, Embraer has yet to fly a full-scale prototype

The Eve will be autonomous with the option for an onboard pilot.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/charter-company-orders-200-eve-evtols

A Delta Airlines 757 flight from Salt Lake City to Washington DC was forced to divert due to the windshield shattering during the cruise phase of the flight.

This occurred nearly 90 minutes after take-off

The flight landed safely in Denver and there were no injuries.

https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/pilots-land-delta-flight-safely-after-cockpit-windshield-cracks/O4QFY6ZEJRH6JP3YJORVGB4QJU/

Alaska Airlines blamed over 200 cancellations on the loss of pilots.

It is estimated over 35000 passengers were affected across the US, and Alaska Airlines had more than a 10-hour phone wait

Capt. John Ladner, the airline’s VP of flight operations, said pilots heading for the door caused the weekend issues. “The primary driver for our performance right now is the shortage of pilots we have available to fly versus what was planned when we built our April schedule in January,”

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/pilot-exodus-blamed-for-alaska-cancellations

Textron announced at Sun ’n Fun that the Beechcraft Bonanza Piston single, Baron twin, and Cessna line of Piston Singles will receive “A range of enhancements”

The Bonanza will get a maximum take-off weight increase of 155lbs

The Baron and Bonanza will be upgraded to the Garmin GI 275 Electronic standby instrument, along with the Garmin Avionics system, USB ports, and updated exterior lighting

Cessna Piston Models are getting the Garmin GI 275, and USB ports, along with a retro paint scheme on the 182 Skyline.

https://www.avweb.com/air-shows-events/sun-n-fun/textron-updates-and-upgrades-beechcraft-and-cessna-piston-models/

This week in airplane news, a fundraiser has been started to rebuild the AN225, East Hampton Airport becomes private, Interim FAA Admin has been announced, and an update on the 737 crash in China.

Antonov calls on AN225 Fans to rebuild the aircraft

The goal is to raise $3b 

The AN225 was more of less destroyed during the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

It is the only aircraft that can carry certain pieces of heavy equipment into emergencies and national disasters. 

https://simpleflying.com/antonov-an-225-rebuild-fundraiser/

The FAA has approved a plan for the East Hampton airport to become private.

The town of East Hampton will close the airport on May 17th as a public airport and reopen it on May 19th as private.

After re-opening, pilots wishing to use the airport will need to apply for permission.

https://www.flyingmag.com/faa-approves-plan-to-switch-east-hampton-airport-to-private-use/

The FAA’s top safety official will become the interim administrator when Steve Dickson officially steps down.

Billy Nolen is the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety

Billy Nolen has only been on the job for three months, he comes from West Jet where he was the VP for Safety, Security, and Quality.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/safety-chief-becomes-interim-faa-administrator/

China Eastern appears to be the result of an inflight break-up.

Lab tests taken from the China Eastern 737 crash show no signs of an inflight explosion.

Searchers have found a transmitter associated with the flight data recorder, but not the actual flight data recorder.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/explosives-ruled-out-in-china-eastern-crash/

This week in airplane news, a 737 has crashed claiming the lives of 132 people, RedBull pilots to attempt a mid-air plane swap, Embraer has announced a training program, and Textron will be purchasing Pipistrel.

A 737-800 operated by China Eastern crashed on Monday.

The aircraft was carrying 132 people. Currently, there are no survivors.

ADS-B tracks of the 737 show that the airplane was in the cruise phase of flight and lost nearly 30,000’ of altitude in 3 minutes. 

The aircraft was delivered to China Eastern by Boeing in 2015.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-plane-crash-eastern-airlines-boeing-737-guangxi-wuzhou-guangzhou/

Two red bull pilots will attempt to jump out of their planes and into the others where they will regain control and fly the other’s plane

This stunt is sponsored by Redbull and will use a pair of C182s with custom air breaks. 

The airplanes will dive from 14,000 feet and the event will air live on Hulu on April 24th. 

https://www.redbull.com/us-en/events/plane-swap#:~:text=Skydivers%20Luke%20Aikins%20and%20Andy,and%20attempt%20to%20switch%20planes.

Embraer has launched a new program that will offer grants, internships, and scholarships.

Embraer will be choosing six aviation training programs to partner with in order to train their students.

As part of EPP, Embraer will send representatives to each school to assist with academic support and advise on curriculum.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/embraer-launches-educational-partnership-program

Purchase Agreement to acquire Pipistrel in Q2 of this year, developer of the Velis Electro aircraft 

This will lead to the creation of Textron eAviation. 

This will allow Textron to start developing urban air mobility aircraft, GA and cargo aircraft. 

Hopefully, this doesn’t mean the death of the Velis since Textron has a history of canceling GA programs like the Skycatcher or the Corvalis.

https://www.flyingmag.com/textron-to-acquire-pipistrel-in-bid-to-position-in-electric-airplane-market/

Join Greg in discussing the new flight academy brought to us by Alaska Airlines,  the updated FAA legal interpretations, the NTSB's conclusions on the Joby crash, and the FAA's decision to release the grounding of the 777.  

Alaska Airlines and its regional airline, Horizon Air, have launched a flight academy  The school is partnered with Hillsboro Aero Academy in Oregon. Students will earn private through commercial, and a contingent job offer to become a first officer at Horizon Air. Horizon operates the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and the Embraer 175. https://thepointsguy.com/news/alaska-airlines-horizon-air-ascend-pilot-academy/ 

Joby’s eVTOL crash was due to a component failure says the NTSB. The aircraft did not have anyone in it, and was involved in a post-crash fire. ADS-B data shows that the aircraft hit 275MPH during testing prior to the crash, and was traveling at 114kts at the time of the crash.  https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/ntsb-says-component-failure-caused-joby-crash/ 

The FAA is finalizing its airworthiness directive that will lift the grounding of 777s with Pratt and Whitney PW4000s This engine type was the one that experienced an unconfined failure over Colorado in February of 2021. United is the only carrier with 777 and the PW4000 in the US. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-to-lift-grounding-of-united-777s

This week in airplane news: Netjets to buy 150 Lilium eVTOLs, Ukraine has vowed to rebuild the AN225 after it was destroyed, a drunk pilot was removed from a JetBlue flight, and PSI troubles.

NetJets said last week they will be purchasing 150 Lilim eVTOLs

The aircraft will be operated as part 135 charter aircraft

NetJets will base the aircraft in Florida and create a network for serving the state

They will also create “Vertiport” facilities to serve new nonairport locations

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/netjets-to-buy-150-lilium-evtols 

Ukraine says they will rebuild the AN225 after it was confirmed destroyed during the ongoing conflict.

Images surfaced last Friday of the aircraft within its hanger, burned and destroyed.

See images of destroyed aircraft

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/ukraine-vows-to-rebuild-an-225-and-send-putin-the-bill

A pilot was removed from the cockpit of a JetBlue Airbus A320 at Buffalo Niagara International Airport Last week

The 52-year-old pilot blew a .17 on a breathalyzer test administered by TSA. 

JetBlue has since removed the pilot from his duties.

The FAA is investigating.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/airline-pilot-removed-from-cockpit-on-suspicion-of-being-drunk/