Duke helicopter pilot may have shut off wrong engine before fatal crash, NTSB says

The pilot of a Duke Life Flight helicopter that crashed in Hertford County in 2017 may have accidentally shut off one of the aircraft’s engines just before the second malfunctioning engine failed, according to federal investigators. The helicopter came down in a ditch between two fields near Belvidere, about 12 miles from Elizabeth City, killing all four people on board. They included the pilot, Jeff Burke, two flight nurses and a patient they were flying from Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in… (www.yahoo.com) More...

US Airlines To Get Another $14 Billion In Government Aid

The United States Senate passed a stimulus package on March 6th that will include another $14 billion for airlines under the Payroll Support Program (PSP). The support package will preclude airlines from laying off or furloughing additional workers through the fall and keep people employed. Though the full package has a few more steps to go, it is quite likely that the airlines will have another $14 billion headed their way. (simpleflying.com) More...

INCIDENT: Batik air A320 lands with rotated nose gear

An Airbus A320 belonging to Batik Air, landed back in Jambi, Indonesia, with the nose gear rotated 90 degrees. There were no injuries. (simpleflying.com) More...

De Havilland entitled to terminate SpiceJet Dash 8 order: UK judge

Turboprop manufacturer De Havilland Aircraft of Canada was entitled to terminate a Dash 8-400 purchase agreement with Indian carrier SpiceJet after the airline stopped making payments and taking delivery of aircraft, a judge has ruled. SpiceJet originally ordered 25 of the type from Bombardier – part of a September 2017 agreement for up to 50, the largest single deal for the aircraft type – before the airframer sold the programme to Longview Aviation Capital, which placed it under the De… (www.flightglobal.com) More...

The Air Force Is Having To Reverse Engineer Parts Of Its Own Stealth Bomber

In a surprising turn of events, the United States government is calling upon its country’s industry to reverse engineer components for the Air Force’s B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. The requirement includes reverse-engineering the re‐core process for the B‐2 Load Heat Exchangers. The B‐2 Load Heat Exchanger (NSN 1660‐01‐350‐8209FW) uses air and Ethylene Glycol Water (EGW) liquid to produce cold air for the cooling system. (www.thedrive.com) More...

1944 North American T-6 Texan Goes from Trainer to Entertainer

Before American war aces were able to prove themselves in the skies over the Pacific, for instance, they had to learn how to do it. There were a lot of solutions at hand to get these pilots up to speed with what flying a fighter plane was all about, but few are as important as the T-6 Texan. (www.autoevolution.com) More...

Why UPS Cancelled Its Cargo Airbus A380 Order

Once upon a time, Airbus had taken orders for a freighter variant of its A380 superjumbo. Some of these orders came from global shipping giant UPS but were eventually canceled in 2007. Let’s take a look at why UPS eventually lost interest in operating the A380 as a cargo jet. (simpleflying.com) More...

Pilot Shortage Threatens Airline Recovery

The pandemic-paused pilot shortage will be felt again by 2023 and back with a vengeance by 2025, according to a new study on the pilot supply. The report, by the consulting firm of Oliver Wyman, says the aviation industry could be short as many as 50,000 pilots worldwide by the middle of the decade after full recovery from the pandemic. The study also says North American operators will see the shortage first and feel it hardest. “In North America, with an aging pilot population and heavy use of… (www.avweb.com) More...

Dassault Heir Dies in Helicopter Crash

A French billionaire aviation industrialist and member of parliament has died in a helicopter crash along with the pilot, authorities said. Olivier Dassault, 69, was heir to a powerful family business empire that made Falcon private jets and Rafale fighter planes and owned many other businesses including Le Figaro newspaper. (www.ctvnews.ca) More...

The first A220 in Africa, including visit in the cockpit during a training flight

The blogger was invited into the cockpit where he had time to interview the pilots during a training flight. (www.youtube.com) More...