Earhart Expedition Rules Out Wreckage - Howland Island Mystery Deepens
An $11 million deep-sea expedition ruled out its best sonar lead near Howland Island, leaving the fate of Earhart's Lockheed Electra unresolved after 88 years.
ATIS
Aviation news and analysis with Tower. FAA policy changes, industry trends, safety data, and what the headlines mean for the pilots who fly every day.
Expedition Finds No Evidence of Amelia Earhart’s Electra at Nikumaroro
Radio Hangar explores Expedition Finds No Evidence of Amelia Earhart’s Electra at Nikumaroro.
MQ-25A Stingray Controlled from USS Ronald Reagan, Bringing Unmanned Refueling to the Carrier Deck
The Boeing MQ-25A Stingray was successfully controlled from a shipboard ground control station aboard USS Ronald Reagan, validating the carrier-based command link for the first time at sea.
NBAA, Rolland Vincent Associates, and the Recurring-Pulse Platform Bringing Real-Time Business Aviation Data to Members
NBAA has partnered with Rolland Vincent Associates to launch a member-exclusive platform delivering real-time business aviation market intelligence instead of static annual surveys.
The Austrian Airlines Bomb Threat Diversion, the Bulgarian Fighter Escort, and What Military Intercept Procedures Mean When a Commercial Flight Becomes a Security Emergency
An Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv diverted to Sofia under Bulgarian Air Force fighter escort after a bomb threat - here's what the procedures behind that headline actually mean for pilots.
The FAA Airbus Helicopter Inspection Proposal and What a Disconnected Rotor-Control Fitting Means for Nine Hundred and Eighty Aircraft
The FAA has proposed mandatory inspections on approximately 980 Airbus helicopters after a disconnected rotor-control fitting was discovered on at least one aircraft.
The FAA-NATCA Pay Deal, Controller Staffing, and Why It Matters in the Cockpit
The FAA and NATCA reached a new agreement in October 2026 covering a 2.8% pay increase and new scheduling rules - here's what it means for pilots.
The Gen Three Cessna Citation, Textron's Flight Test Marathon, and the Light Jet Certification Countdown to Twenty Twenty-Six
Textron Aviation has logged 1,220 flight test hours on the Gen Three Citation CJ series, with FAA certification for the CJ4 targeted for 2026.
American Eagle Flight Five Three Four Two, the Reagan National Collision, and the Systemic Failures the NTSB Investigation Found After the Deadliest U.S. Aviation Accident in Twenty-Four Years
The NTSB's investigation into the January 29, 2025 Reagan National midair collision found systemic failures in airspace design, ATC staffing, and altitude compliance killed 67 people.
Colgan Air Flight Three Four Zero Seven, the Iced-Over Dash Eight Descending into Buffalo, and the Stick Shaker That Rewrote Airline Pilot Training for a Generation
The 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo killed 50 people and triggered the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. airline training and hiring standards in a generation.
Pakistan Extends Its Airspace Ban on Indian Airlines, the Months-Long Closure, and What It Really Costs When a Border Slams Shut at Thirty-Five Thousand Feet
Pakistan extended its airspace ban on Indian carriers through November 2026, a six-month closure costing hundreds of millions in monthly fuel costs.
Soviet Supersonic: A Tu-one-forty-four Gets a Second Life at Zhukovsky
Russian volunteers are actively restoring a Tu-144D supersonic jet at Zhukovsky airport near Moscow, ahead of an anticipated return of the MAKS airshow.
Stepdowns on Instrument Approaches, What You Still Owe the Procedure When You Go Visual
Breaking out of the clouds mid-approach doesn't cancel stepdown fix obligations - only a visual approach clearance does, and the terrain doesn't move either way.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel, the EU ReFuelEU Mandate That Just Took Effect, and What Every Turbine Pilot Needs to Know Before SAF Arrives at Their FBO
The EU's ReFuelEU Aviation regulation took effect in 2025, mandating SAF blends at every EU airport - here's what turbine pilots need to understand now.
The 777 Partners Collapse, Joshua Wander's Guilty Plea, and What Five Hundred Million in Aviation Fraud Actually Looks Like
777 Partners co-founder Joshua Wander pleaded guilty to wire fraud and securities fraud in a scheme prosecutors say totaled roughly $500 million across multiple airlines and continents.
The Pilot Records Database, the Federal Ledger That Follows Every Practical Test Result and Enforcement Action, and What Every Student Pilot Needs to Know Before the Checkride That Goes Into a Permanent Record
Every checkride result is a permanent federal record in the FAA's Pilot Records Database, queryable by every airline and charter operator before they hire you.
The TALPA Runway Condition Code, the Global Excursion Data That Reveals Landing as Aviation's Most Underreported Risk Category, and What the Three-Zone Friction Report Changed for Pilots Flying Contaminated Surfaces
Runway excursions are commercial aviation's most frequent accident category, and the TALPA Runway Condition Code gives pilots plannable stopping-distance data where subjective reports once left a dangerous gap.
Cleared Straight-In, the Procedure Turn You Skipped, and the Obstacle Clearance Guarantee That Just Disappeared
'Cleared for the approach' does not authorize skipping the procedure turn - a misunderstood IFR distinction with serious obstacle clearance implications.
Hypoxia, the Payne Stewart Learjet, the Helios Ghost Flight, and the Oxygen Standard Every General Aviation Pilot Is Getting Wrong
Hypoxia kills pilots before they know anything is wrong - and the FAA regulation meant to protect GA pilots sets a threshold well below what research considers safe.
Starfighters Space Mounts a Rocket on a Legend: The Starlaunch 1 Captive-Carry Test
Starfighters Space plans a December 2026 captive-carry test of its Starlaunch 1 suborbital rocket mounted to an F-104 Starfighter - here's what that means and why it matters.