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Accidents

Business Aircraft Accident Reports: January 2023

Preliminary and final accident reports, January 2023
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Accidents

Four Dead in Australian Helicopter Midair

Four dead, nine injured after pair of Airbus EC-130B4 air tour helicopters collide near Australian theme park
Sea World Helicopters Airbus EC130B4 tour helicopter
Accidents

Gulf Operator Loses Second Helicopter in Two Weeks

The U.S. Coast Guard has called off the search for survivors from a Bell 407 operated by Rotorcraft Leasing, which has now had three crashes in 2022.
Oil platform in Gulf of Mexico ten miles from Southwest Pass, Louisiana
Charter & Fractional

UK Group Demands Tenfold Tax Hike for Air Charter Flights

The Campaign for Better Transport also wants UK commercial business aircraft operators to lose their exemption from value-added tax.
Environmental protesters outside the business aviation area of London Luton Airport.
Rotorcraft

Sikorsky Challenging FLRAA Award

Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky unit is challenging Bell's win of the Army's award of the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft contract to Bell.
Sikorsky Defiant X rotorcraft
Accidents

NTSB Cites Major Gaps in Ethiopian Final Report on Max Crash

Final report into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 fails to sufficiently consider flight crew performance, according to U.S. authorities.
Recovery crews sift through the wreckage of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max
Aircraft

Hydrogen Demonstrator Flights Set To Start in the New Year

ZeroAvia and Universal Hydrogen plan to fly their respective hydrogen-powered regional airliners early next year.
ZeroAvia Dornier 228 hydrogen demonstrator on airport taxiway
Safety

Polaris Launches Advanced FlightRisk Safety App Features

Polaris Aero has expanded its Vocus app suite of aviation safety software with a sharable FlightRisk component.
Macbook Pro displaying Polaris Aero's FlightRisk safety application
Maintenance and Modifications

Robinson Mandates Tail Rotor Inspections, Replacements

Loose tail rotor tips prompted a Robinson service bulletin affecting all of its helicopter models.
Robinson R66 helicopter in flight over city
Aircraft

New FAA Policy Could Delay Aircraft Transactions

U.S. aircraft owners could be forced onto foreign registrations by a new FAA privacy policy.
partial view of business jet parked at airport
Regulations and Government

FAA Clears One-shot Covid Vaccine

The FAA has approved the one-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine for pilots, air traffic controllers, and others subject to FAA medical clearance.
Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Covid-19 vaccine vial atop packaging
Aircraft

Textron Announces First Airline Order for SkyCourier

Mexico's startup regional airline Aerus has placed an order for two Cessna 408 SkyCourier and four Cessna Grand Caravan EX turboprop singles.
Rendering of Aerus Cessna SkyCourier and Grand Caravan EX in flight
Maintenance and Modifications

Contracts To Grow Embraer's Macon Mx Facility

Two contracts with Envoy Air and JSX call for the addition of three heavy maintenance lines at Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services in Macon, Georgia.
Embraer maintenance crew on cherry picker
Maintenance and Modifications

ExecuJet MRO Malaysia Completes Falcon 2000 2C Check

The 2C inspection—completed once every 12 years—includes extensive removal and reinstallation of the entire cabin.
Aircraft technician working on a Falcon 2000
Airlines

Southwest Airlines Struggles To Normalize Stricken Ops

After a schedule meltdown triggered by winter storms over the Christmas holiday weekend, Southwest Airlines slashed two-thirds of its flights.
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 airplane in Manchester, New Hampshire in winter
Aircraft

Hydrogen Demo Flights Now Set to Start in the New Year

After aiming to kick off flight test programs of hydrogen-powered aircraft by year's end, Universal Hydrogen and ZeroAvia are now eyeing early next year.
ZeroAvia's Dornier 228 technology demonstrator
Sustainability and Environment

IRS Issues SAF Blender's Tax Credit Guidance

Following the establishment of a sustainable aviation fuel blender's tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the IRS has issued guidance.
World Energy Sustainable Fuel Plant in Paramount, California
Aircraft

Rafale is Front-runner for Colombia’s Kfir Replacement

The French multi-role fighter has emerged as Colombia’s preferred solution to replace its aging Israeli fighters.
Kfir fighter jet in Colombia
Rotorcraft

Leonardo to Upgrade Canada’s Cormorant SAR Helicopter Fleet

The upgrade has been planned for a decade, but initially delayed on cost grounds, and will now expand the fleet in terms of both capability and numbers.
CH-149 Cormorant helicopter
Aircraft

TEST: The fastest business jet in the world makes public debut

Why did Nakatomi Corporation decide to get into the airplane manufacturing business?
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Safety

TEST: Flying It My Way or the Highway

How many pilots does it take to change a lightbulb?
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Accidents

AINsight: Adaptations, Groupthink Down Twin Otter

Canada TSB drills down into group dynamics to find root cause of fuel starvation that led to a crash of a de Havilland Twin Otter.
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Airlines

Ukraine Crisis and Engine Overhaul Delays Challenge AirBaltic

AirBaltic has shifted its business model in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while also dealing with delays in maintaining engines for its A220s.
Latvia's AirBaltic operates a fleet of Airbus A220 aircraft.
Aircraft

NASA's Retired SOFIA Flying Telescope Heads to Museum

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) will be immortalized at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.
NASA's SOFIA flying telescope is pictured in flight.
Aircraft

Bombardier Expresses Concern on Canadian CMMA Tender

Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel voiced concern that the Canadian government was considering a sole-source contract with Boeing.
Special mission equipped Global 6500 in flight
Aircraft

Volato Taking Delivery of Its First Two HondaJet Elite IIs

The deliveries stem from an order that Volato made for 25 HondaJet Elite IIs earlier this month.
HondaJet Elite II in showroom hangar
Aircraft

Gulfstream G650 Marks 10 Years in Service

Gulfstream has delivered more than 500 of its flagship G650/G650ER long-range jets since its entry into service in 2012.
Gulfstream G650 taxiing
Aircraft

ASG Builds on Cirrus Mx Services with SF50 Jet Approval

Following EASA approval, the Guernsey-based company can now provide maintenance on EASA-, 2-REG-, and FAA-registered Cirrus SF50 Vision Jets.
Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet in flight
Maintenance and Modifications

KULR Vibe AI Technology Mitigates Helicopter Vibrations

KULR Vibe technology utilizes artificial intelligence and on-aircraft sensors to mitigate helicopter vibrations.
digital rendering of helicopter with lights indicating excess vibration in rotor
Maintenance and Modifications

Pulse Aviation Adds Embraer-X's Beacon Mx Platform

Business aircraft MRO Pulse Aviation has signed on to Embraer-X’s Beacon digital maintenance coordination platform.
Aft view of business jet