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Leeham News • Bjorn Fehrm, Leehamcoeu

Faster Aircraft Development — Continuing vs. Continuous Airworthiness

Leeham's latest in a series on shortening large-airliner development timelines contrasts traditional 'continuing airworthiness'—post-certification maintenance and modifications—with a 'continuous airworthiness' model that integrates regulatory oversight, iterative updates and supplier/OEM change control during development. The piece outlines regulatory hurdles and program-level implications for schedule compression.

2026-01-30T00:03:45.449671-08:00

Leeham News

FAA airworthiness directives tighten oversight; 737NG pickle‑fork AD highlights regulatory drag on airliner programs

2026-01-30T00:03:44.888050-08:00

Leeham News

Shortening Large‑Airliner Development Times: Regulatory Challenges for Continuing Airworthiness

2026-01-30T00:03:44.918013-08:00

Leeham News

Shortening large airliner development times: regulatory bottlenecks and solutions

2026-01-30T00:03:45.460611-08:00

News Timeline

Leeham News

Shortening large airliner development times: regulatory bottlenecks and solutions Leeham's series examines ideas to compress the long development timelines for large airliners while detailing the regulatory work — across the Department of Transportation, FAA and the Federal Aviation Regulations — that would be required to enable faster design, testing and certification paths.

2026-01-30T00:03:45.460611-08:00

Shortening large airliner development times: regulatory bottlenecks and solutions

Leeham News

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Faster Aircraft Development — Continuing vs. Continuous Airworthiness Leeham's latest in a series on shortening large-airliner development timelines contrasts traditional 'continuing airworthiness'—post-certification maintenance and modifications—with a 'continuous airworthiness' model that integrates regulatory oversight, iterative updates and supplier/OEM change control during development. The piece outlines regulatory hurdles and program-level implications for schedule compression.

2026-01-30T00:03:45.449671-08:00

Faster Aircraft Development — Continuing vs. Continuous Airworthiness

Leeham News

Shortening Large‑Airliner Development Times: Regulatory Challenges for Continuing Airworthiness Leeham's Bjorn Fehrm lays out a multi‑part set of proposals to shorten large‑airliner development cycles, while detailing the complex regulatory and continuing‑airworthiness work required. The series identifies certification, post‑delivery compliance and oversight changes that would be needed to compress design‑to‑entry timelines safely.

2026-01-30T00:03:44.918013-08:00

Shortening Large‑Airliner Development Times: Regulatory Challenges for Continuing Airworthiness

Leeham News

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FAA airworthiness directives tighten oversight; 737NG pickle‑fork AD highlights regulatory drag on airliner programs The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive targeting cracked rear ‘pickle‑fork’ fittings on high‑time Boeing 737 NGs, while industry analysis underscores how ADs, rulemaking and regulatory oversight are extending large‑airliner development timelines and adding near‑term compliance burdens for manufacturers and operators.

2026-01-30T00:03:44.888050-08:00

FAA airworthiness directives tighten oversight; 737NG pickle‑fork AD highlights regulatory drag on airliner programs

AeroTime

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Lufthansa's Zürich training hub deploys AI to analyse millions of pages of documents At Lufthansa's Zürich training centre, engineers are deploying AI to analyse and index millions of pages of technical and training documents. The system streamlines content search and accelerates curriculum updates, enabling faster extraction of operational knowledge from manuals and records.

2026-01-29T20:04:18.671805-08:00

Lufthansa's Zürich training hub deploys AI to analyse millions of pages of documents

ch-aviation

Japan Transocean Air warned over maintenance record-keeping Japan Transocean Air has been formally warned over shortcomings in its maintenance record-keeping, according to ch-aviation. The regulator flagged lapses that could affect airworthiness oversight and compliance; the warning underscores increased scrutiny of regional carriers' maintenance processes in Japan.

2026-01-29T18:52:31.201747-08:00

Japan Transocean Air warned over maintenance record-keeping

Reuters

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Trump threatens to decertify Bombardier Global Express and impose 50% tariffs on Canadian aircraft President Donald Trump said the U.S. will 'decertify' Bombardier Global Express type certificates and levy 50% tariffs on Canadian-made aircraft unless Canada approves U.S. Gulfstream large-cabin models. Cirium data show 5,425 Canadian-built aircraft operate in the U.S., including 2,678 Bombardier jets, putting 2,000+ U.S.-registered planes at risk.

2026-01-29T17:26:59.447348-08:00

Trump threatens to decertify Bombardier Global Express and impose 50% tariffs on Canadian aircraft

Vertical Mag

NTSB: Paramedic Attempted Emergency Landing After Pilot Incapacitation on Vanderbilt LifeFlight The NTSB's preliminary report says a Vanderbilt LifeFlight paramedic took control and attempted an emergency landing after the pilot became incapacitated, and the agency has opened a formal investigation. Investigators are examining crew actions, medical issues and flight records as evidence is collected.

2026-01-29T16:31:17.446988-08:00

NTSB: Paramedic Attempted Emergency Landing After Pilot Incapacitation on Vanderbilt LifeFlight

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Aviation Safety & Regulation News

Faster Aircraft Development — Continuing vs. Continuous Airworthiness

FAA airworthiness directives tighten oversight; 737NG pickle‑fork AD highlights regulatory drag on airliner programs

Shortening Large‑Airliner Development Times: Regulatory Challenges for Continuing Airworthiness

Shortening large airliner development times: regulatory bottlenecks and solutions

News Timeline