A planeload of Delta passengers left their A321 on slides instead of the jet bridge Monday after a fire started in the front landing gear well. Airport authorities said the fire started after the aircraft was plugged into shore power after a flight from Cancun. The crew called for an emergency evacuation with a PA announcement quoted by one passenger as: “Drop your belongings, unbuckle and head to the exits.” There were 189 passengers and six crew onboard and no one was hurt. Meanwhile, 272 passengers and crew on an Air France Boeing 787 who were also on their way to Seattle instead ended up s ..read more

The FAA has expanded the list of antidepressants potentially allowed for pilots with three relatively common drugs. Now on the “conditionally approved” list are duloxetine (Cymbalta), venlafaxine (Effexor) and desvenlafaxine (Pristiq). A special issuance is required for active pilots to maintain their medicals. The change took effect April 24 and was covered in an update to the AME Guide. All three drugs are serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors and all are prescribed for depression and anxiety. The work by increasing the activity of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. The po ..read more

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) concerning potential cracks in the wing structures of certain aircraft manufactured by Revo Inc., including various Lake and Colonial amphibious models. The bulletin specifically addresses concerns regarding cracks in the “wing rear attach beam assembly and hole-quality issues identified in a significant number of aircraft.” The FAA said the issue does not pose an unsafe condition prompting an airworthiness directive but urges owners and operators to take precautions. The affected models include the ..read more

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) concerning potential cracks in the wing structures of certain aircraft manufactured by Revo Inc., including various Lake and Colonial amphibious models. The bulletin specifically addresses concerns regarding cracks in the “wing rear attach beam assembly and hole-quality issues identified in a significant number of aircraft.” The FAA said the issue does not pose an unsafe condition prompting an airworthiness directive but urges owners and operators to take precautions. The affected models include the ..read more

A Utah company says it’s packed more power into its aircraft batteries, allowing a practical leap in capability, particularly for the electric training fleet. Provo-based EP Systems says its new EPiC 2.0 storage system will give aircraft like the forthcoming eDA40 trainer up to 30 minutes more usable flight time, and that’s an important half-hour. The company’s earlier model, the 1.0, would allow for about 60 minutes of flight time, which is just a little less than the length of a typical flying lesson. That means students had to divide their time between the electric plane and a conventional ..read more

A Utah company says it’s packed more power into its aircraft batteries, allowing a practical leap in capability, particularly for the electric training fleet. Provo-based EP Systems says its new EPiC 2.0 storage system will give aircraft like the forthcoming eDA40 trainer up to 30 minutes more usable flight time, and that’s an important half-hour. The company’s earlier model, the 1.0, would allow for about 60 minutes of flight time, which is just a little less than the length of a typical flying lesson. That means students had to divide their time between the electric plane and a conventional ..read more

U.S. Congress negotiators from the House of Representatives and the Senate agreed this morning (April 29) on language of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill addressing potential safety breaches as well as consumer protections. The House voted in favor of a reauthorization bill in July 2023 that would have included raising the mandatory airline pilot retirement age to 67 from 65. But in February this year, the Senate Commerce Committee rejected that element of the proposed five-year, $105 billion FAA reauthorization measure. According to a Reuters report, the mandatory-retirement-age extension ..read more

A C-54 transport carrying fuel crashed a few minutes after takeoff from Fairbanks, Alaska, on Tuesday. The plane, the military version of the DC-4 airliner, was carrying two crew and both died in the crash. The aircraft was owned by Alaska Air Fuel and crashed into the Tanana River about 10 a.m. Video shows fire erupting on the aircraft before it banked sharply left and descended quickly. “The aircraft slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire. No survivors have been located,” the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement. The post C-54 Fuel Transport Do ..read more

A C-54 transport carrying fuel crashed a few minutes after takeoff from Fairbanks, Alaska, on Tuesday. The plane, the military version of the DC-4 airliner, was carrying two crew and both died in the crash. The aircraft was owned by Alaska Air Fuel and crashed into the Tanana River about 10 a.m. The crew may have attempted an off-airport landing before the aircraft went into a wooded area next to the river. “The aircraft slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire. No survivors have been located,” the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement. The post C-5 ..read more

On April 17, the day before a runway incursion at Reagan National Airport in Washington made headlines, a Swiss Air crew aborted their takeoff at JFK because there were four aircraft crossing the runway from which they’d been cleared to take off. “Swiss 17K Heavy, rejecting takeoff. Traffic on the runway,” the Swiss Air pilot reported to JFK Tower on ATC recordings compiled by VASAviation in the animation above. Another controller on a different frequency cleared the other four aircraft to cross Runway 4L at roughly the same time as the Swiss heavy was starting its roll. The Swiss pilot most l ..read more