The last week has been packed with aerospace news, as Swiss developer Pilatus revealed having updated its single-turboprop PC-12 with new Garmin touch-screen avionics (and other tweaks) to create the new PC-12 Pro.
Meanwhile, US airline and aerospace groups have started pushing back (albeit gingerly) against President Trump’s tariffs, warning about impacts on fragile supply chains. For now, imported Canadian aircraft (like Airbus A220s and Bombardier business jets) appear exempt from the tariffs, but Canadian aluminium is not.
This week Trump nominated Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford as the next FAA administrator – a selection praised by several large lobby groups, but one that left some unions concerned Bedford could roll back pilot flight-hour requirements.
And Rolls-Royce has resumed flight tests of its next-generation ALECSys combustion system, which is key to its in-development UltraFan.
On the safety front, the US NTSB is investigating a scary incident at Denver International airport that involved an American Airlines 737-800’s right-side CFM56 turbofan being engulfed in flames.
In Europe, investigators discovered bearing and fan-drive-gear-system damage in a PW1500G powering an A220 that suffered a fatal cabin-smoke event in December 2024. Officials have not disclosed conclusions about the event’s cause.
Also, a Jetstream 32 operated by Honduran carrier Lanhsa Airlines crashed on 17 March, killing 12 people.
In the air taxi arena, Virgin Atlantic Airways has ditched a deal with eVTOL developer Vertical Aerospace in favour of partnering with Joby Aviation.
And FlightGlobal this week examined the world of aerial firefighting aircraft, including De Havilland Canada’s in-development DHC-515 , A319 and 737-700 conversion projects and offerings from Embraer, Leonardo and Sikorsky.
Also, Boeing and the US Department of Justice may be close to finalising a revised guilty plea by the company to charges that it defrauded the FAA during the 737 Max’s certification.