Russ Niles

Editor-in-Chief at Canadian Aviator

Writer at AVweb

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Articles

Rotor Assembly Recovered From Hudson

1 week ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

The NTSB has recovered the last of the Bell 206 LongRanger helicopter that went down in the Hudson River last week. The rotor assembly, transmission and roof beam from the helicopter are now at a secure NTSB facility for examination. Videos and photos show those parts separated from the helicopter before the cabin and part of the tail boom fell into the water off Jersey City, killing a Spanish family and the pilot.
Canadian Pilots Say They'll Skip AirVenture In Patriotic Gesture

1 week ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

A lively debate has emerged on the Canadian Owner and Pilots Association Facebook page on whether or not Canadian pilots should attend AirVenture in July. The levying of stiff tariffs on Canadian goods and repeated comments by President Donald Trump suggesting the 158-year-old country should become the 51st state has unleashed a wave of patriotism and that has apparently influenced the flight plans of Canadian pilots, particularly when it comes to making the trek to Oshkosh. "Not a chance.
Delta Says It Won't Be Paying Tariffs On New Airbuses

1 week ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

The CEO of Delta Airlines says he has the threat of import tariffs on dozens of new Airbus aircraft figured out. Ed Bastian said he's simply not going to pay them. The airline announced it would pause deliveries from Airbus factories in Canada and Europe to avoid the blanket 10 percent tariff that is now in effect on virtually all goods imported to the U.S. Delta was expecting 20 A350s by the end of this year but the number A220s from a plant near Montreal, Quebec wasn't announced.
All-Female Blue Origin Flight Returns Safely

1 week ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

There were a few extra stars briefly in space Monday morning as a celebrity all-female entourage blasted off for a quick trip outside the atmosphere aboard a Blue Origin rocket. The six women, including pop star Katy Perry, news anchor Lauren Sanchez (also fiancé of Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos) TV host Gayle King, along with civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerrianne Flynn, all guests of Sanchez, launched about 9:30 a.m. EDT.
Ex-SEAL Tech Was Pilot In New York Crash

1 week ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

A 36-year-old former Navy SEAL technician has been identified as the pilot of a New York Helicopters Bell LongRanger that crashed in the Hudson River off Jersey City last Thursday. Seankese Johnson worked in security after leaving the Seals until he could save enough money to fulfill his dream of flying for a living. “There were a lot of obstacles in front of him, but he climbed that mountain," Remi Adeleke, a former SEAL who became friends with Johnson in the service, told NewsNation.
FAA Wants To Drop FSS Radio Network

1 week ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

The FAA intends to decommission the radio network that allows pilots to contact Flight Services by radio. In a Notice of Intent published late last month in the Federal Register, the agency says hardly anyone uses the service anymore because they use their phones and computers. "In the mid-1980s, Flight Service received 22,000 service requests per day across this network, while today they receive fewer than 300 per day," the agency said in the notice.
NORAD Pilots Step Up Mar-a-Lago Intercepts

2 weeks ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

NORAD says one of its F-16 pilots had to pull a "headbutt maneuver" to get the attention of a GA pilot who busted the TFR over President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort last Friday. Apparently after all else failed, the Viper pilot turned sharply and cut in front of the unidentified GA plane. Then it pulled in close and escorted the plane away. It's not clear whether it was taken to an airport or just take outside the TFR.
Five Hurt In HondaJet Overrun

2 weeks ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

Five people aboard a HondaJet were hospitalized after the plane went off the end of the runway at North Bend-Southwest Oregon Regional Airport and into Coos Bay. The extent of their injuries was not immediately released. It was the latest in what seems to be an unusual number of Hondajet overruns. According to Aviation Week, this was the ninth overrun by the type in the last two years.
Cruise Hangs Out On A Stearman

2 weeks ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

Actor Tom Cruise gets some serious hang time in his next Mission Impossible role, this time with sequences on a two Stearmans. The 62-year-old Cruise is featured in a new trailer for Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning. The stunts were shot in England. But he's not just hanging around the classics. His character Ethan Hunt apparently gets control of an aircraft carrier and some stick time in a fighter in his normal quest to save the world.
Europe, Japan Sixth Generation Fighter Program Gathering Steam

2 weeks ago | avweb.com | Russ Niles

Saudi Arabia has become the latest country to show interest in a joint U.K., Italy and Japan effort to build a sixth generation fighter within the next 10 years. The Global Combat Air Programme is a three-way split between BAE Systems in the U.K., Leonardo of Italy and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to develop the plane. All would have an equal share and no single country would control the program. Last week, Canada was also mentioned as a potential participant in the program.