U.S. FAA

China’s electric first; Europe’s regional certification; Dutch LH2 demo; and South Korean eVTOL.

A firefighting Canadair CL-415 Super Scooper was taken out of service Jan. 9 after it was struck by a drone while battling the Palisades fire in Los Angeles.

A total of $332 million in FAA grants will fund upgrades at 171 airports across 32 states under the latest round of the Airport Infrastructure Grants program.

Flexjet said it has formally submitted a declaration of compliance to the FAA that it meets the agency’s new SMS mandate.

Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room: airspace integration of large numbers of AAM aircraft.

The FAA has made a variety of revisions to its operations specification, management specification and Letter of Authorization A025 templates.

The barge is named Jacklyn after the mother of Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos.

“This is a monumental milestone and a glimpse of what’s just around the corner for New Glenn’s first launch,” said Jarrett Jones, senior VP, New Glenn.

The company, owned by Jeff Bezos, has not released a launch date for its first New Glenn mission.

A “vendor technology issue” briefly grounded American Airlines flights on Dec. 24, the disruption landing in the middle of a busy holiday travel period.

The changes will direct pilots to a specific checklist when smoke or fumes are detected in the cockpit following an engine failure.

The new ruling limits electronic access to Work-in-Progress aircraft documents, a change made as part of implementation of its Registry Modernization System.

German startup Vaeridion has raised €14 million ($14.6 million) in a Series A round led by European climate investor World Fund.

Joby says it has completed initial testing under FAA Type Inspection Authorization (TIA), with agency personnel assessing human factors and flight safety in a type-conforming flight deck using a company simulator.

Major events in aerospace and defense during 2024.

New orders are rolling in, buoyed by upticks in defense spending and increased demand from the public safety, air ambulance and energy sectors.

Business aviation will see lots of changes in 2025.

The FAA has finished its Certificate Holder Evaluation Program (CHEP) of Southwest Airlines, a formal review initiated following several incidents.

Results of the tests are expected to lead to FAA certification of a new high-pressure turbine design of the Trent 1000 in early 2025.

The FAA cleared SpaceX to conduct a series of Starship-Super Heavy flight tests from Boca Chica Beach, Texas.

The agency administrator has timed his resignation to coincide with President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration day.

Boeing did not rush its production restart following the strike, and the climb to needed rates—notably for the 737—will not come quickly.

The FBI has received more than 5,000 reported drone sightings over the past few weeks, with about 100 leads generated.

The FAA has fast-tracked a final rule mandating drug and alcohol testing in non-U.S. repair stations approved to work on U.S. aircraft.

Locke’s first day as executive director of Aircraft Certification (AIR-1) was Dec. 16; she replaces Wes Mooty, who has been serving as acting AIR-1 since June.