The aircraft—registered as PS-VPB—was operated by Brazilian carrier Voepass. The airline confirmed the accident in a statement Friday afternoon.

Per the carrier, the flight was planned to operate from Cascavel to Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (SBGR). The 58 passengers and four crewmembers on board were killed, according to media reports. There was no word of any casualties on the ground.

In a translated Facebook post, Voepass said it has “activated all means to support those involved.”

The aircraft first began service in 2010, joining Voepass’ fleet in 2022.

Videos on social media show the turboprop aircraft, reportedly inbound for landing, involved in what appeared to be a flat spin before crashing. ADS-B data indicates the aircraft dropping by up to 24,000 feet per minute.

This article first appeared on AirlineGeeks.com.

The post ATR 72 Crashes in Brazil appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to EarthX, lithium-ion batteries are significantly lighter than traditional lead acid batteries.

“If you’re replacing the Concorde RG24-11 lead acid battery, you go from a 26.5-pound battery to a 7.2-pound battery—that is 19.3 pounds of instant weight reduction,” EarthX said in a statement. “That gives you a few more pounds of useful load.”

In addition, the life span of the EarthX battery is twice that of a lead acid battery. EarthX also points out that it cannot “freeze, boil over, lose electrolyte, corrode, or sulfate.”

• READ MORE: Electric Regional Aircraft Developer Lands Battery Manufacturing Hub

For pilots who have ever been surprised by a dead battery, the EarthX has a battery management system (BMS) that communicates directly to the pilot if there is anything outside of normal operation through either a flashing or solid LED light.

“This provides useful information not only for the pilot, but also your mechanic, to make the best-informed decisions,” EarthX said.

Once the EarthX is installed, a new weight and balance for the aircraft needs to be done, as is standard procedure when an STC is applied. EarthX does the STC paperwork for the customer, free of charge.

The 24V TSO-certified battery is available for $999, and the 12V TSO-certified battery for $699.

The initial kit for installation ranges from $195-$295, depending on the airframe.

More information can be found here. 

The post EarthX Aircraft Batteries Earn STC Approval appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

This question is being asked at flight schools across the country as the CFI world and the nonaviation media are sharing the story of 36-year-old Philip Everton McPherson II, from Haddon Township, New Jersey. McPherson faces one count of involuntary manslaughter for the crash of the Piper PA-28-140 on September 28, 2022, that killed student pilot Keith Kozel, 49.

A federal grand jury indicted McPherson on August 1. He was arrested at his home on August 5.

• READ MORE: NTSB Releases Prelim Report on Fatal Oshkosh Accident

McPherson’s commercial and CFI certificates were surrendered to the FAA more than a year before the accident because he had failed a 44709 ride (reexamination for airman privileges).

FLYING Magazine obtained a copy of the 11-page indictment that said McPherson “acted with gross negligence because he knew that he was not competent to safely fly an aircraft as the pilot in command.” According to the indictment, his commercial pilot and instructor certificates were surrendered to the FAA in October 2021 after he failed a reexamination ride.

McPherson was employed by ProFlite Aero Services in Easton, Pennsylvania. FLYING’s attempts to contact the flight school for comment were unsuccessful. The website for the business is no longer in operation.

According to the indictment, in 2021 the FAA received a hotline complaint about McPherson’s alleged poor airmanship that included going off the runway on two different occasions while flying with a student, resulting in substantial damage to the aircraft.

• READ MORE: PC-12 Crash Claims Members of Prominent Gospel Singing Group

The first off-runway event was on November 18, 2020, when during the second attempt to land a Cessna 172 in a gusting crosswind the aircraft went off the side of the runway and the nosewheel failed, and the aircraft flipped onto its back. The winds near the site were reported as 13 knots gusting to 25.

The second event was on March 6, 2021, but FLYING was unable to locate the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident report for it.

The indictment notes the FAA made several attempts to reach McPherson—first by letter then by telephone—as part of its investigation to set up a reexamination ride. When he finally did the reexamination flight with the agency, he botched a go-around and the FAA safety inspector had to take the controls to prevent a crash, per the indictment.

After surrendering his commercial and CFI tickets, McPherson was granted a temporary certificate that allowed him to fly by himself or with another instructor in order to gain the skills necessary to regain his certifications. The temporary certificate carries the warning: “Carrying of Passengers Prohibited.”

McPherson did not request another reexamination ride, nor did he ask for an extension of the temporary certificate, which expired on November 8, 2021. But he continued to serve as a flight instructor carrying passengers.The indictment includes two pages of the initials of students and dates of flights.

He faces an additional 40 counts of serving as an airman without a certificate as he continued to fly with passengers and as an instructor between October 12, 2021, and September 2022.

The Fatal Flight

According to the NTSB, the fatal flight took off at 1:40 ET. McPherson told the agency the purpose of the flight was to go to a towered airport nearby so Kozel, the student who had 51 hours, could practice towered-airport operations.

McPherson instructed Kozel to perform a soft field takeoff. The aircraft was sluggish during the takeoff roll and had trouble obtaining airspeed. Kozel flew the airplane in ground effect trying to build up airspeed, and at least once the aircraft settled back on to the runway.

• READ MORE: NTSB Releases Details on 2 Lockheed 12A Crashes

McPherson allowed the takeoff to continue, but when the aircraft had trouble climbing above 200 feet, he took the controls. He told NTSB investigators that the engine was not producing full power, and there were trees ahead of them and no open places to land.

The Piper struck the trees and became inverted, coming down hard and catching fire. McPherson told investigators that Kozel was unresponsive after the crash. McPherson claimed he was injured but was able to drag himself away from the burning airplane. He told investigators he saw people approaching him and begged them to get Kozel out of the wreckage, but the fire was consuming the aircraft.

A witness account of the accident differs. The witness said he pulled McPherson from the wreckage and then tried to rescue Kozel, but the flames drove him back.

It should be noted that the Piper Cherokee only has a door on the right side of the fuselage. The instructor traditionally sits on the right side of the aircraft.

The NTSB ruled the cause of the accident to be a “partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.” The investigation noted that the weather conditions at the time were conducive to the “development of serious icing at glide power and was between the range for icing at glide and cruise power and serious icing at cruise power.”

According to the investigative docket, at the time of the accident McPherson reported having 1,350 hours total time of which 700 was in Piper Cherokees, with his last flight review or equivalent happening in March 2021. He also reported having flown 40 hours in the previous 90 days.

McPherson was arrested at his home in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on August 5. He pled not guilty to all the charges and was released the same day after posting a $50,000 bond and surrendering his passport.

If convicted he could face a maximum possible sentence of 128 years in prison and a $10.25 million fine, and a $4,100 special assessment. He has been assigned a public defender. 

According to the Office of the Inspector General, the case is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorney Robert Schopf and special assistant U.S. attorney Marie Miller.

The post Illegal CFI Faces Charge of Involuntary Manslaughter appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In an August 6 letter to Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) president Jason Ambrosi urged the manufacturer to reconsider its proposal to reduce cockpit crew from two to one from entering the commercial aviation environment.

• READ MORE: Airbus, Avincis to Explore Europewide Electric Air Taxi Operations

Ambrosi cited the recent CrowdStrike cybersecurity incident as an example of the risks associated with an overreliance on technology. Ambrosi stated that technology should complement human expertise and monitored airline operations rather than replace it.

“Technological advancements can and have enhanced aviation safety, but in order to maintain and enhance our current level of safety, technology alone will never replace the indispensable role of two pilots in the flight deck,” Ambrosi said in the letter.

In addition to ALPA, the letter garnered support signatures from leaders of the European Cockpit Association and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, which represent tens of thousands of pilots around the world.

This article first appeared on AVweb.com.

The post Associations Urge Airbus to Reconsider Single-Pilot Cockpit Proposal appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The flights were conducted at the Pittsburgh Air National Guard Base under a waiver from the Air Force. Merlin has contracts to develop autonomous flight systems for several Air Force platforms and the 1960s-era tankers are the first in line.

• READ MORE: U.S. Air Force, Merlin Partner for KC-135 Autonomous Flight Demo

Merlin said the first flights gathered data on how to design and fine-tune the robotic controls.

“Autonomous capabilities are essential to increasing operational capacity for the USAF and enhancing national security, emphasizing the importance of these data collection flights to properly inform the integration design ahead of flight demonstrations,” Merlin CEO Matt George said in a news release. “Over the last few months, we’ve achieved important milestones on the KC-135 that allow us to strengthen the relationship between the pilot and the aircraft as well as enhance safety and operational efficiency aboard a vital military aircraft.”

This article first appeared on AVweb.com.

The post Merlin Tests Autonomous Controls on KC-135 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Can you imagine learning about aviation not to mention your ABCs this way? Some lucky preschoolers in Florida are having this opportunity through the STEM Sprouts program at the Aerospace Center for Excellence at the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland.

“We have had story time at the museum for two years now, and this program is an outgrowth of story time and part of our philosophy of cradle to cockpit, where we get preschoolers interested in aviation,” said Jennilyn Crump, youth program coordinator for the Aerospace Center for Excellence.

According to Crump, the program, designed for ages 3 to 5, is an age-appropriate way to get children interested in aviation.

• READ MORE: Bring Aviation to Middle Schools

“At this age they are like sponges and interested in anything that moves, like cars, trains, and airplanes,” Crump said. “We’re going to get them excited about airplanes and aviation and build on that.”

The class is open to 15 children and their caregivers. It is described as hands-on, skill-based learning that uses playtime to educate.

“Each class will last a little more than an hour and will consist of 30 minutes of circle or learning time and 30 minutes of center time,” Crump said. “The center time will consist of math, literacy, art, and other miscellaneous activities that are related to the ‘word of the day.’ [An example would be] ‘aerodynamics.’”

The children will learn that aerodynamics is the study of air and how things move through it, and since water behaves like air, there will bea tub of water to demonstrate how certain objects passing through the water behave differently.

The class activity could be teaching directions, using small gliders and an airplane-letter match, passport stamps, or a cloud-letter search and identifying different letters.

And because these are small children, expect there will be singing and dancing to add to the fun.

“Our hope is that if this class is successful, next year we will be able to build classes to support higher grade levels up through at least fifth grade,” said Crump.

The program debuts in September and will be held for 26 weeks on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. ET.

According to Crump, aviation will be a springboard to other STEM topics.

“For example, when we get to the letter ‘S,’ we will talk about seaplanes and use that to explore the science of ponds and aquatic life,” she said.

The goals of the program are to foster a love of learning in the children, lay a foundation of STEM knowledge to prepare them for school, and hopefully provide a lifelong relationship with aviation.

The education center plans on building on the STEM Sprouts to create more age-appropriate programs for elementary and perhaps even middle school students.

The STEM Sprouts program can only accommodate 15 children and their caregivers, so preregistration is required. If there is enough demand, a second class may be added. Each class costs $10. Registration opens August 1.

For more information, email Crump at jcrump@flysnf.org.

The post STEM Sprouts Program to Offer Unique Learning for Little Ones appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to the study, Alaska had 4,996 private jet departures per 100,000 residents and a total of 36,650 departures in 2023, averaging over 100 flights daily.

• READ MORE: Finding Freedom by Flying in Alaska

Wyoming and South Dakota also ranked high with Wyoming reporting 24,263 jet departures a year and 4,173 registered aircraft, while South Dakota had 26,944 annual departures and 2,961 private jets. Montana, North Dakota and Nevada rounded out the top six, while surprisingly no East Coast states made the top 10.

In fact, despite the significant wealth in New York, Connecticut, and Maryland, these states had the fewest annual private jet departures per 100,000 residents.

“America flies more private jets than any other country in the world, with a grand total of 3,123,007 departures in the U.S. in 2023,” Rustic Pathways CEO Shayne Fitz-Coy said.

This article first appeared on AVweb.com.

The post Study Reveals Alaska Leads U.S. Private Jet Departures appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“Restoring trust starts with meeting our commitments, whether that’s building high-quality, safe commercial aircraft, delivering on defense and space products that allow our customers to meet their mission, or servicing our products to keep our customers running 24/7,” Ortberg’s message said. “It also means meeting our commitments to each other and working collaboratively across Boeing to meet our goals. People’s lives depend on what we do every day, and we must keep that top of mind with every decision we make.”

Boeing’s reputation took a tumble in the wake of the 2018 and 2019 737 Max crashes that were attributed to a design flaw, resulting in a 20-month FAA grounding of the aircraft and the January 2024 loss of a door plug during an Alaska Airlines flight.

The latter has been the topic of two days of hearings before the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy noted that the agency still needs to determine how the jet (Alaska Airlines Flight 1282) left the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, missing four crucial bolts that held the door in place.

• READ MORE: NTSB Hears Testimony of Boeing Retaliation for Workers’ Mistakes

Ortberg will be based in Seattle, stating that it is important to be close to the place where the bulk of Boeing’s aircraft are made. William Boeing, the founder of the company, chose the Puget Sound because the first airplanes were made of spruce, and the area was rife with spruce forests. When aircraft manufacturing turned to metal, Boeing adapted, creating Washington factories in Everett, Renton and Seattle.

In 2001 when Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago, and later Virginia, many industry experts suggested the aerospace giant’s focus had shifted from turning out quality products to increasing profit, even if it meant cutting corners. They also predicted that having the headquarters so far from the main factories would result in a degradation of product quality.

Ortberg announced he would be spending his first day on the job on the factory floor in Renton, “talking with employees and learning about challenges we need to overcome, while also reviewing our safety and quality plans.”

Ortberg, who brings more than 30 years of experience to his new role, vowed to be transparent with Boeing employees.

• READ MORE: Boeing Names New CEO to Lead Through ‘Consequential Period’

“Soon I’ll be visiting many of our sites and I look forward to meeting with teammates around the world,” his message to employees said. “In speaking with our customers and industry partners leading up to [Thursday], I can tell you that, without exception, everyone wants us to succeed.”

In addition to winning back the trust of the air traveling public, Ortberg will be faced with improving Boeing’s financial situation. The 737 Max crashes and door plug accident have sent the company’s stock prices into a nosedive.

The post First Day at the Office for New Boeing CEO appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

On Wednesday in Washington, D.C., NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy noted the investigation into the door plug blowout in January near Portland, Oregon, has revealed that the message to Boeing workers is “you mess up, you get moved.”

The 737 flying as Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 had been in service less than four months when it lost a door plug on January 5 shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX). The airline grounded its fleet of 737 Max 9s and the FAA followed suit, keeping the airplanes on the ground out of an abundance of caution.

• READ MORE: NTSB Grills Boeing Over Max 9 Door Plug Loss

Within two weeks, the NTSB determined the door plug had been reinstalled without four retaining bolts. Two crews who flew the aircraft prior to the blowout reported issues with the pressurization system. The aircraft was slated to go into maintenance.

On the first day of testimony on Tuesday, Boeing officials stated that during the build process the door plug was removed from the fuselage at the Renton, Washington, factory in order to replace substandard rivets. The required paperwork authorizing and tracking the removal and subsequent reinstallation has still not been found.

Homendy stressed that no evidence has been discovered to suggest the improper installation of the door plug was anything more than a mistake. Boeing has stated there is a no-retaliation policy, and it should not implement disciplinary action for unintentional mistakes.

However, Homendy questioned that assertion, citing a decision by Boeing to move two members of the door installation crew from the plant at Renton to the factory in Everett, Washington, describing it as “a form of retaliation.” There were references to Boeing employees calling the Everett facility a “cage,” “jail,” or “prison” for workers who speak up about safety issues or report mistakes.

• READ MORE: Boeing Names New CEO to Lead Through ‘Consequential Period’

During the proceedings there were several mentions of how lucky the people aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 had been, as there were injuries but no loss of life. Several officials noted that had the aircraft been much higher, the damage and outcome likely would have been much different.

A representative from the flight attendants union described his emotions when he learned of the blowout on the jet that had only been in service since October, realizing he had been assigned to the aircraft on a previous trip.

Much of the testimony over the past two days carried the theme of an “accident waiting to happen” because of a lack of oversight, rush jobs, and hastily trained and overworked technicians. Those who testified spoke of a factory culture where employee training is rushed or sometimes incomplete. In addition, employee turnover is frequent, resulting in employees with limited experience who don’t recognize a mistake or hazard on the floor during the build process.

Boeing officials touted the “speak up” process that encourages employees to call attention to airplane safety issues by reporting them to a manager or anonymously. However, many employees when questioned stated that they were not familiar with the “speak up” process, or they feared retaliation, saying “nothing within the Boeing system is confidential.”

• READ MORE: Boeing to Plead Guilty in DOJ 737 Max Crash Cases

It was noted that Boeing has faced accusations of retaliation against whistleblowers in the past, most notably in 2018 and 2019 after the two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people. Both crashes were attributed to the MCAS, an automated system that put the aircraft into unrecoverable dives shortly after takeoff. The subsequent investigation revealed the pilots had not been told of or trained on the use of the system.

FAA representatives stated that the agency hotline has received an increase in reports of safety concerns from Boeing employees and those from Spirit AeroSystems, a Boeing contractor that builds the components of the 737 fuselage, such as the door plugs, since the accident.

The post NTSB Hears Testimony of Boeing Retaliation for Workers’ Mistakes appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, declaring $170 million in debt. In June, legal filings showed SG Investment bought ICON for $15.79 million.  

• READ MORE: ICON Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection, Pledges Transparency

“It has been an incredible honor to lead ICON Aircraft and work with the brightest and most passionate group of people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing,” said outgoing CEO Jerry Meyer said in an August 2 press release. “I want to extend my deepest appreciation to every team member for their dedication and hard work. I wish them and the company nothing but success in this exciting new chapter.”

Jason Huang, the new company president, will lead ICON through the transition and noted that he is optimistic about the company’s growth and opportunities.

According to ICON, the company is committed to upholding its reputation of producing high-quality aircraft and service to its A5 owners. The manufacturer says service and flight training operations will continue in Tampa, Florida, and Vacaville, California, as well as 60 other service and training partners throughout the U.S.

This article first appeared on AVweb.com.

The post ICON Aircraft Completes Sale to SG Investment America appeared first on FLYING Magazine.