Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) have introduced a "Pilot's Bill of Rights" measure to give aviators more protection and access to information during FAA enforcement actions, urging their colleagues in a letter to co-sponsor its proposed reforms.
What are the chances of stopping the latest push for user fees, one attendee asked during AOPA President Craig Fuller's pilot town hall Jan. 20 at the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Florida. The odds are good, Fuller said - this year, at least.
Aviation voices are now being heard as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) drafts its plans for managing federal land holdings in the Colorado River Valley.
The decision to include seaplane access as a component of the final planning document for the Ross Lake National Recreational Area in Washington state resulted from an effective collaboration between government planners and aviation organizations during the plan's review process, AOPA said.
Northrop Grumman's X-47B drone may represent "a major qualitative change in the conduct of hostilities" according to the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which reports to the Geneva Conventions. The X-47B is entering tests to see it land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, autonomously -- without in-cockpit or remote-pilot input. That sort of capability is only a precursor to what's coming. According to an Air Force report, the improvements in drone technology will eventually give drones the capacity to make life-or-death decisions while engaged in battle. And "increasingly humans will no longer be 'in the loop' but rather 'on the loop.'" And that, according to ICRC president Jacob Kellenberger, may challenge international law.
Pilots have begun using small aircraft to smuggle illegal immigrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to inland airports, according to authorities who last week seized a Cessna from a Southern California airport and brought charges against one pilot. "It seems to be a new avenue they're using," Border Patrol Agent Adrian Corona told a local newspaper. Federal prosecutors say 30-year-old Lino Rodriguez-Chavez used a Cessna rented from Hemet-Ryan Flight School in El Centro, California, to fly a group of illegal immigrants from a location near the border to Hemet airport. The pilot appeared in court Monday, entered a not guilty plea and was release on $20,000 bond. Multiple flights have been intercepted by El Centro Border Patrol agents in the past few years.
The Senate Thursday followed the House and approved a stop-gap funding measure that will carry the FAA through February 17 at current funding levels. The temporary measure provides funds through airport taxes and precedes another vote on long-term funding which is expected to take place in February. The temporary measure is the 23rd of its kind and it replaces another that was set to expire on January 31. The last long-term FAA reauthorization bill expired in 2007. For two weeks in 2011, Congress failed to provide either temporary or long term authorization for the FAA leading the agency to temporarily furlough thousands of workers and possibly tens of thousands of contractors. Current reports suggest lawmakers are optimistic they can reach an agreement prior to the new February 17 deadline.
In his court room appearances, Colton Harris-Moore, the late-teen who stole five airplanes as part of a two-year crime spree, appeared to be remorseful, but he saved his self-praise and color commentary for later, according to new reports. Emails Harris-Moore sent from prison were monitored by authorities and detailed in a memorandum filed by federal prosecutors ahead of a hearing scheduled to take place in a Seattle court, Friday, January 27. According to that document, the young man referred to police and the prosecution as "fools" and "swine" among more colorful language. Harris-Moore's attorney argues the clips are representative of isolated emotions cherry-picked from personal correspondence to negatively impact her client. As released, the emails appear to show the young thief had a distinctly more positive opinion of himself and, specifically, of his piloting abilities.
The possibility of an increase in the maximum weight for LSAs is being bandied about at the FAA. How much should an LSA weigh?Plus: Last week, we asked AVweb readers about crosswind landings: Do you crab or slip? Click through to see the breakdown of answers.
California Cities End ABLE, Outsource Air Support The cooperative agency known as ABLE, for Airborne Law Enforcement, has been jointly funded for 30 years by the California cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. Both have now voted to defund the program, and ABLE has retained private brokers to sell the agency's three helicopters.
Brings Non-Unionized AirTran Instructors Under TWU 557 Flight Instructors from Southwest Airlines, represented by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) 557, and Flight Instructors from AirTran Airways have voted to ratify their Seniority Integration Agreement. This tentative agreement, reached late last year, integrates the two groups' seniority lists.
Carrier Also Adds All-Premium Class A330 To Fleet Hong Kong Airlines has become a new operator of Airbus single aisle aircraft, following the delivery of its first A320. The aircraft is the first of 30 A320s ordered by the airline and is powered by CFM International's CFM 56 engines.
Flight Operations Were Suspended January 19th The Australian Army's Black Hawk helicopters have returned to full flying operations following the lifting of the recent suspension. The suspension was put in place on January 19 following the identification of a number of fractured bolts during a routine maintenance check.
First New 'Human Rated' Engine To Be Developed In Four Decades A new series of tests on NASA's new J-2X engine will begin next week at NASA's Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi. NASA says the tests on the engine bring it one step closer to the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine to be developed in 40 years.
