An interesting difference of opinion has emerged among U.S. Federal District Court Judges over whether government agencies have the last word on how they enforce their regulations. A Texas Federal Judge ruled on April 7th, that U.S. Food and Drug Administration improperly certified the abortion pill, Mifepristone and failed to heed the concerns of physicians and associations opposed to it. This post is not about abortion. It points out the curious relationship of that decision with a contrary one by Kansas Federal Judge Monti Belot in a Boeing manufacturing case. In 2014, Belot ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration was the final authority when it… Read More…

Today at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, a man entered with a gun and soon, 5 people were dead and 8 injured. In Orlando, Florida on Sunday, eight people including 3 children were shot in two separate mass shootings. The day before, four people were killed at – get this – “a celebration of life” event in Houston, Texas. There was a mass shooting somewhere in America every.single.day in April. I do not know the circumstances of this most recent shooting.  It does not matter. What matters, is that America is the country where one of humankind’s greatest feats of ingenuity was imagined and accomplished… Read More…

The first American airplane factory, a 1910 structure built for Orville and Wilbur Wright, caught fire early this morning in Dayton, Ohio throwing into doubt, long-sought plans to turn the buildings into a historical park under the management of the National Park Service. Firefighters battled the fire for 14 hours but aerial footage from WHIO television shows that the two adjoining brick buildings built by the Wrights along with three others built later, have been badly damaged. Sections of the roof over the Wright factory area appear to have collapsed. In November 1909, Orville Wright announced his Dayton plans to reporters telling them, “We propose… Read More…

(Note, this story has been changed to correct Peter Goutiere’s age at death, which was 108, not 109.) Peter Goutiere, a World War 2 Hump pilot, died on Sunday at the age of 108. His death leaves Moon Fun Chin, the last surviving member of the group of daredevil aviators who brought troops, food, fuel and other supplies into China after Japan severed China’s only land supply route. Goutiere flew for CNAC, a partnership between the Government of China and Pan American World Airways. Before and during World War 2 flying over the Himalayans was a deadly serious business. The planes were unpressurized and heavily… Read More…

A Federal Judge in Texas ordered Boeing to appear in court in San Antonio later this month to be arraigned on the criminal charge of fraud against the United States, for the company’s role in deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration about flaws in its Boeing 737 Max aircraft. Families of the 346 people who died in the crashes of two Boeing 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019 will be present to speak to the court – as is their right as victims of the crimes to which Boeing has already pled guilty. This hearing is a knock-on effect of Judge Reed O’Connor’s ruling last… Read More…

Prior to the near collision of two airliners departing New York on international flights last week, pilots of American Airlines complained to the Federal Aviation Administration about new operating procedures presented to crews at the beginning of the new year. Now, some American pilots are wondering if those new procedures may have contributed to the near disaster on January 13th by creating confusion on the flight deck. Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board say they are investigating what happened last Friday, when a Delta 737 aborted takeoff during the roll as an American Airlines 777 crossed its path about 1000 feet ahead…. Read More…

  Two international flights, one an American Airlines Boeing 777 and the other a Delta Air Lines 737 came within a thousand feet of colliding as both were taxiing for take off from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday night.  The Delta flight, headed for Santo Domingo was cleared to take off and had begun accelerating when American flight 106 to London crossed in front of it. On the control tape, one can hear a partial expletive from the air traffic controller as he realized the conflict. Following swiftly with “Delta 1943 cancel take off plans.” The plane braked sharply as the… Read More…

As the holiday lights in Geneva twinkle, the chief of the global airline association that calls this city home, has some less-than-festive news for air travelers; airfares will continue to rise. There will be increased ticket prices, said Willie Walsh, Director General of the International Air Transport Association. Walsh was quick to acknowledge that won’t be welcome news. But for anyone who has been reading the news or buying a tank of gasoline, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise either. “You cannot expect an industry making on average $1 per passenger to absorb the oil prices we’ve seen,” Walsh told a group of aviation… Read More…

Instructions given to pilots flying in the Wings Over Dallas air show last month, appear to have directed the historic fighter plane on a collision course with a World War 2 bomber. Both planes plummeted to the ground, killing all six aboard both planes during the Commemorative Air Force show on November 12. In a preliminary report on the disaster released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday, the investigator notes the person responsible for managing the aircraft from the ground, a position known as “air boss” directed the fighter planes to change altitude as they approached the airport where spectators were gathered. “There… Read More…

As bird strikes go, this one had to be a doozy. Late Tuesday night, American Airlines flight 1855 from Chicago to Kansas City flew through birds on approach, about 7 and a half miles from the runway. The pilots declared an emergency and Kansas City airport fire and rescue trucks hurried into position. The pilots landed safely and there were no injuries to passengers or crew. Looking at the damage though, which extends across the front of the aircraft, it appears the engine cowling took the brunt of the impact on the right along with the radome while birds created craters on the leading edge… Read More…