The accident occurred shortly after the pilot, a family friend of the group members, reported an issue with the autopilot and a loss of control.

ADS-B data shows that the trip—which ultimately covered three time zones—originated at 9:24 a.m. EDT from Georgia Regional Airport (KCTJ), stopped at Nebraska City Municipal Airport (KAFK), where a local news outlet reported it took on 200 to 300 gallons of fuel, and departed for Billings Logan International Airport in Montana at noon CDT.

About two hours into the flight, while cruising at 26,000 feet, tracking data shows a series of altitude, speed, and heading fluctuations. The pilot reportedly told controllers he had an autopilot issue and was losing control.

At one point, the ADS-B data recorded on FlightAware showed a descent rate of 5,545 feet per minute. The airplane crashed near the town of Gillette, Wyoming, about 1 p.m. MDT, sparking a small fire that was reportedly quickly contained. No one on the ground was injured.

The pilot was identified as Larry Haynie, board chairman of the Georgia Department of Corrections. The 2010 model, 11-seat PC-12/47E (N357HE) was registered to Haynie Enterprises of Henderson, Nevada, on August 31, 2020. Haynie’s wife, Melissa Haynie, was also on board.

Among the other passengers were three members of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame quartet, The Nelons, as reported to the Associated Press by the fourth member of the group. The victims included Kelly Nelon Clark, co-founder of the group, and her husband and band member, Jason Clark. Their daughter, Amber Nelon Kistler, also a member of the group, was killed, as was her husband, Nathan Kistler. Melodi Hodges, identified as a family friend, was the seventh victim. The fourth member of the quartet, daughter Autumn Nelon Streetman, confirmed the identities to AP.

“As many of you have heard by now, my father and mother, Jason and Kelly Nelon Clark, along with my sister, Amber and brother-in-law, Nathan, as well as our dear friends Melodi Hodges, Larry and Melissa Haynie were involved in a tragic plane crash on Friday,” Autumn Nelon Streetman said in a statement. “Thank you for the prayers that have been extended already to me, my husband, Jamie, and our soon-to-be-born baby boy, as well as Jason’s parents, Dan and Linda Clark. We appreciate your continued prayers, love, and support as we navigate the coming days.”

According to a statement from the Gaither Music Group, which features a number of gospel performers including the Nelons, the final destination was Seattle, where the group was to join the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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Members of the evacuation team known as Arctic Dustoff received the mission request about 6:05 p.m. AKDT on July 5. They took off from Ladd Field at Fort Wainwright about 7:30 p.m.

• READ MORE: Trust Is the Cornerstone for This Alaska Air Rescue Team

Nearing the location of the accident after a flight that included some strong turbulence, the crew noticed that the patient’s friends had prepared a landing site for the helicopter. But the medical crew required transportation to the site of the accident by boat, where it assessed and treated the patient. It then took the boat back to the helicopter.

The turbulence had subsided for the return trip to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, which had to circumvent a temporary flight restriction due to wildfires along the route of flight. The patient was turned over to hospital staff about 10:35 p.m.

“I am proud of the crew for adapting to the changes of the mission,” said Arctic Dustoff operations officer Captain Laura Penley said. “No one on the crew was expecting to land on the riverbank and take a boat upstream to a remote cabin to treat the patient. The flight paramedics and crew handing the situation with ease and professionalism.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Alaska Army Crew Launches Evacuation Mission for Civilian appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Retired Royal Air Force (RAF) group captain John Allman “Paddy” Hemingway was born in Ireland in 1919. In summer 1940, Hemingway turned 21 while flying Hawker Hurricanes with the RAF’s No. 85 Squadron, led by then squadron commander Peter Townsend.

Townsend was later to earn arguably greater fame for his romantic involvement with Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II.

Hemingway and the No. 85 Squadron were based at RAF Debden (later home of the U.S. Army Air Forces 4th Fighter Group) and then RAF Croyden during the storied Battle of Britain, in which the badly outnumbered RAF Fighter Command defeated the previously unbeaten German Luftwaffe. The setback caused Adolf Hitler to reverse course eastward and attack Russia, turning the tide of World War II.

• READ MORE: Top 100 Warbirds

Though Hemingway was already flying in combat well before the official start of the Battle of Britain and destroyed a Heinkel He 111 on May 10, 1940, and a Dornier Do 17 the next day, he never achieved ace status (five enemy aircraft destroyed). But because of “the luck of the Irish,” he said he survived being shot down twice during the battle and twice more during combat in North Africa and Italy.

He served as an air controller during the Normandy invasion and was temporarily made squadron leader. Following V-E Day, he was appointed commander of RAF No. 43 Squadron and became a wing commander. He was later appointed station commander at RAF Leconfield.

Hemingway served as a NATO staff officer in France, ultimately achieving the honorary rank of group captain upon retirement in 1969.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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The OA-1K is based on the AT-802 and is a joint project between Air Tractor and defense contractor L3Harris.

Some observers have questioned the Air Force’s commitment to the Sky Warden program as the military shifts focus away from counter-insurgency operations that match up with the turboprop single’s capabilities. For example, the original plan to buy 75 OA-1Ks has already been scaled back to 62, according to reports.

READ MORE: Recon Crop Duster: Special Ops Selects Modified AT-802U Platform for Armed Overwatch

The OA-1K, as ordered, can carry up to 3 tons of weapons such as precision-guided missiles and bombs. The aircraft can also be equipped with externally mounted sensor pods with electro-optical and infrared video cameras. The airframe can accommodate up to eight underwing pylons.

According to L3Harris, the Sky Warden can fly 200 nm and loiter on-site for as long as six hours with a full combat load.

“The OA-1K is a low-cost, reliable, multirole, small-to-medium-size aircraft system to support geographically isolated special operations personnel,” the Air Force said in a statement. “The aircraft will perform close air support, precision strike, armed intelligence, and surveillance and reconnaissance in austere and permissive environments.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Air Force Pilots Begin Training for Air Tractor-Based Light Attack Variant appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to a report by Reuters, the probe marks the first time ICAO has called for such a probe since 2007.

The two-week review will involve 12 auditors from 10 countries and begin this week. The results are expected to be released in January. The FAA, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), U.S. Department of Defense, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be under the microscope, along with other agencies involved in aviation matters in the U.S.

According to the Reuters report, 790 questions will examine eight separate areas of civil aviation legislation, regulation, accident history, incident investigation, and air navigation systems. A positive score in the audit would enable the U.S. aviation infrastructure to “demonstrate leadership in meeting robust aviation safety standards and to encourage nations around the world to do the same,” according to the FAA.

The Reuters report cites FAA struggles with shortages of air traffic controllers that have contributed to a series of near-collisions—some blamed on controller error. It cites a staffing shortfall of 3,000 controllers, causing mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks to meet coverage.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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Different sources have estimated the number as between 11 percent and as high as 20 percent. The company issued a statement to Private Jet Card Comparisons, an online news source that specializes in shared ownership aviation companies and their pricing programs.

“As a matter of policy, Wheels Up does not comment on personnel matters out of respect for the privacy of those involved,” the Wheels Up statement read in part. “However, given the release of internal communications, we do feel it is our responsibility to publicly acknowledge the macro industry factors were the largest contributor to our decision. The sharp decline in our pilot attrition rates in the first half of this year, due in part to a reduction of pilot hiring at the commercial airlines and pilots choosing to stay at Wheels Up, created the staffing imbalance that led to today’s actions.”

The statement cited that aligning its pilot roster with the size of its fleet is critical and “the abnormalities in the industry over these last few months made appropriate staffing forecasting against regular attrition challenging.”

Wheels Up did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday from AVweb for comment.

Despite a $500 million funding package from Delta Air Lines and a new management team, Wheels Up has continued to report losses, though executives still expect to return to profitability by the end of this year. The company reports it fleet includes around 170 aircraft: 59 Beech King Air turboprops, 43 Cessna Citation X super-midsize jets, and 35 Hawker 400XP light jets.

Earlier this month, according to a Jet Card Comparisons report, Wheels Up reduced daily minimum flight times for its jet aircraft and cut back the number of peak days for its entry-level program customers. In September, Wheels Up divested its aircraft management division.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Wheels Up Confirms Pilot Layoffs appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The homeward journey across the Atlantic follows a European tour where it participated in commemorations of both the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.

The D-Day mission was particularly noteworthy. That’s All, Brother—so named as pilot John Donalson’s personal message to Adolf Hitler that his time as the conqueror of Europe was running short—is the actual aircraft that led the first wave of 800 jump aircraft over the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

After the war, the aircraft followed a winding pathway through the decades, only to be discovered among a group of C-47/DC-3 airframes destined to be converted to turboprop power by Basler Conversions in—of all places on the planet—Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The CAF restored the airplane in time to participate in the 75th anniversary of D-Day—retracing its path over the French coast.

This year, That’s All, Brother took center stage during commemorative ceremonies in Normandy, including the flight over the invasion beaches, parachute jumps by reenactors wearing World War II-era gear and a very special flight carrying five war veterans over the sacred ground of Operation Overlord.

After the D-Day events, the C-47 continued on to Germany, where it helped commemorate the 1948-1949 Berlin Airlift, in which Allied aircraft delivered lifesaving supplies to citizens of Berlin during the Soviet blockade.

“The presence of That’s All, Brother in Germany was a tribute to the spirit of cooperation and resilience that defined the Airlift,” the CAF wrote.

Deena Clausen, wing leader of the Commemorative Air Force Central Texas Wing, expressed appreciation for the safe return of its prized possession, now making its way back to its home base in San Marcos, Texas.

“This aircraft is a flying museum and a testament to the bravery of those who served during World War II,” Clausen said. “Its journey to Europe and back has allowed us to honor and remember their sacrifices in a profound way.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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Under the agreement, Archer would secure takeoff and landing sites for its aircraft at more than 200 Signature locations, many located in major metropolitan areas, including New York-area airports Newark Liberty International (KEWR) in New Jersey and Chicago O’Hare (KORD) International. The first electrification sites are expected to enter service as early as next year.

• READ MORE: Archer Installs ‘Automotive Style’ Air Taxi Battery Pack Production Line

Archer would contribute the leverage of its collaborative agreement with Beta Technologies and its interoperable rapid charging devices. The systems can charge not only eVTOL aircraft, but also electronic cars, buses, tugs and other airport vehicles.

Beta Technologies systems have already been installed at more than 20 airports in the U.S., with another 50 sites in development. The systems are compatible with “leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)” and were recently endorsed by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), according to Archer.

• READ MORE: FAA Issues Final Airworthiness Criteria for Archer Midnight Air Taxi

“This partnership will help us establish a robust network of landing sites across the country to enable the scaling of our air taxi service, ensuring our Midnight aircraft can seamlessly integrate into urban environments and provide a reliable transportation solution for our passengers,” said Bryan Bernhard, Archer’s chief growth and infrastructure officer.

• READ MORE: Beta Makes First Crewed eVTOL Transition Flight

Derek DeCross, Signature’s chief commercial officer, also said the collaboration “unlocks new possibilities in the design and introduction of innovative sustainable aviation solutions while also bringing our guests greater access to the future of urban air mobility via Archer’s Midnight aircraft.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Archer Inks MOU With Signature for eVTOL Charging Stations appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The first-of-its-kind competition, dubbed “Ramstein 1v1,” challenged combat pilots from the U.S., U.K., Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, and Germany.

The meeting was assembled in light of Russian ground gains in Ukraine during the third year of the war that rages at “NATO’s doorstep,” the Air Force Times reported. The allied nations’ air forces envision a need to sharpen air-to-air combat skills as tensions with Russia and China threatened to boil over to a shooting war that would put some of the world’s most advanced air forces head-to-head for the first time in decades.

Aircraft on the ramp at Ramstein included U.S.-built F-35A Lightnings, F-16 Fighting Falcons, F/A-18s, and A-4 Skyhawks, as well as Eurofighter Typhoons and French Dassault Rafales.

“Basic fighter maneuvering is a foundational skill set for fighter pilots,” Lieutenant Colonel Michael Loringer, U.S. Air Force-Europe (USAFE) chief of weapons and tactics, said in a statement. “It tests a pilot’s reaction time, physical stamina, and situational awareness. There is no better way to build trust in a pilot’s aircraft or a pilot’s skills than to engage one-on-one.”

“We don’t want to go to war with Russia, and I don’t think they want to go to war with us, either,” USAFE Commander General James Hecker told the Air Force Times last July. “But we need to make sure that we have the forces capable of deterring them so that nothing bad will happen.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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In transitioning from vertical takeoff mode to wing-borne flight, the six front-facing electric motors tilt forward as it picks up speed to power the aircraft like a conventional fixed-wing aircraft. As shown in a company video, the Midnight achieved speeds of greater than 100 mph on the remotely controlled flight. It then reverted to vertical mode for landing.

• READ MORE: FAA Issues Final Airworthiness Criteria for Archer Midnight Air Taxi

“For the first full transition flight, we chose to keep the aft propellers spinning at very low speeds (200-300 rpm) rather than initiating the ‘stow routine’ to stop them,” Archer told AVweb when asked about the configuration of the six aft rotors. “Envelope expansion is a step-by-step process. In future flights we will exercise this functionality. You can think of this as being analogous to how, for conventional aircraft, the landing gear may not be retracted on a first flight. All of the lift was generated by the wing at the speeds we were flying (100-plus mph).”

At a design max takeoff weight of 6,500 pounds with a 1,000-pound payload, the Midnight is among the largest eVTOLs to achieve transition flight, according to Santa Clara, California-based Archer. The company recognizes the milestone as “critical to being able to carry commercially viable passenger payloads.” Archer did not immediately answer AVweb’s inquiry about how much payload was on board for the unmanned June 8 test flight.

The Midnight is the second of Archer’s full-scale eVTOL models to establish successful transition flight. The manufacturer did so in November 2022, 11 months after its first flight. The aircraft still flies regularly as part of Archer’s flight-test program.

• READ MORE: Midnight Electric Air Taxi Completes First Phase of Flight Test Campaign

“Over the seven eVTOL aircraft I’ve built and flown in my career, they have gotten progressively larger as we pursued payloads that made the aircraft platform commercially viable,” said Archer chief engineer Geoff Bower.

Said Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein: “Transitioning two generations of full-scale eVTOL aircraft in less than two years is another remarkable achievement for Archer’s team. This shows we continue to successfully execute against our plan to create the most efficient path to market with an aircraft that is designed for certification and to be manufactured efficiently at scale.”

According to Archer, the Midnight is in the final “implementation” phase of FAA type certification. Piloted flight testing is on track to begin later this year.

The long-term goal of the Midnight is to replace 60- to 90-minute automobile commutes in populated areas with 10- to 20-minute air taxi trips. The flights are meant to be “safe, sustainable, low-noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Archer’s Midnight eVTOL Completes First Transition Flight appeared first on FLYING Magazine.