Flying Magazine
• Jack Daleo
Boeing paid a $3.1 million FAA penalty tied to safety deficiencies identified at its Renton and Wichita facilities, including failures connected to the 2024 737 MAX door-plug blowout. The enforcement action underscores continuing scrutiny of Boeing’s production controls, training, guidance and oversight.
Aviation Safety & Regulation
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Two Democratic senators are urging the FAA to distribute the remaining 2.8% of a congressionally approved pay increase for air traffic controllers, accusing the agency of withholding raises. The FAA says additional conditions remain, intensifying a dispute over controller workload and a broader scheduling overhaul.
Landing is often treated as the defining skill in pilot training, but the ability to recognize an unstable approach and execute a go-around is at least as important. Teaching pilots to go around early—and repeatedly—can make rejected landings a normal, disciplined part of flight operations.
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Boeing paid a $3.1 million FAA penalty tied to safety deficiencies identified at its Renton and Wichita facilities, including failures connected to the 2024 737 MAX door-plug blowout. The enforcement action underscores continuing scrutiny of Boeing’s production controls, training, guidance and oversight.
The FAA would allow aviation medical examiners to issue pilot medical certificates directly to applicants with diabetes not treated with insulin, removing an additional agency review step. The proposed change would not apply to insulin-treated pilots and could streamline certification for eligible aviators.
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Airbus nearly halted A330neo deliveries for about three months after identifying a quality issue involving the horizontal tailplane, including a stray tool found in one aircraft’s tail section. Inspections and corrective work have allowed handovers to resume, but some deliveries will slip into 2026.
The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive covering Lycoming O-235, O-540 and IO-540 engines after identifying defective piston pins. The directive creates a compliance requirement for operators and maintenance providers, with potential implications for general aviation safety, maintenance scheduling and aircraft availability.
Sri Lanka’s anti-graft body arrested lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa, son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, over alleged corruption tied to the national carrier’s 2013 Airbus aircraft purchase. He was remanded until Sept. 18; the investigation follows allegations of kickbacks and prior findings that Airbus agreed to pay bribes in Sri Lanka.
Congo has revoked the licences of 16 air operators, a significant regulatory action affecting the country’s commercial aviation market. The move could reshape the competitive and operational landscape for affected carriers, though the available report does not specify the reasons or immediate consequences.
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