Army Confirms Black Hawk, Drone Collided Over New York City

The U.S. Army confirmed that one of its helicopters collided with a small drone in domestic airspace on September 21 in what the service described as the first such incident. The Army is now reviewing its procedures for missions like the security flight it provided for the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City, where the collision happened.

While flying over Staten Island at 500 feet at 7:30 p.m., an Army UH-60M Black Hawk assigned to the 82ndAirborne Division collided with what appeared to be a “civilian quadcopter,” said Lt. Col. Joe Buccino, public affairs officer for the division, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The collision caused “minor” visible damage to a main rotor blade and a window on the upper left-hand side of the helicopter, which landed safely at Linden Airport in New Jersey.

Four crew were flying in the helicopter, one of two Army Black Hawks providing security for the annual General Assembly session, which drew world leaders including President Donald Trump to New York City. As a precautionary measure, the Army replaced the affected rotor blade and returned the helicopter to service within 24 hours, Buccino said.

The FAA confirmed that it was assisting with the investigation of the incident, but said the U.S. Secret Service was the lead agency for media inquiries. The latter agency referred questions to the New York field office of the FBI, which said it was assisting the Army's investigation. The New York Police Department said it was also cooperating with the investigation, but it referred questions to the FAA and the military.

Buccino said the Army is rethinking its procedures for domestic missions over populated areas. “We traditionally fly [in] restricted airspace or in combat, so this is a new experience,” he said. “We were obviously flying over a residential area—a municipal area—supporting this mission. We are reviewing the process now should we receive another mission like this.”

Staten Island was in fact covered by a Temporary Flight Restriction at the time of the collision on September 21, which disallows civil drone-flying activity. FAA safety guidelines also call for keeping recreational drones below 400 feet and beyond five miles of an airport or heliport. Although the Army reported the drone was flying above 400 feet, the location of the collision over the eastern shore of Staten Island is not within five miles of either Newark Liberty International or Linden airports.

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Eurofighter pilot attempting loop-the-loop in front of his parents and girlfriend dies after crashing into sea

This is the terrible moment that a fighter pilot lost his life after crashing his Eurofighter into the sea during an air show off the coast of Italy.

Capt Gabriele Orlandi, 36, was attempting to perform a loop-the-loop in his 85million euro Eurofighter Typhoon when he apparently misjudged the manoeuvre and smashed into the water, a few hundred yards from the coast.

The Italian air force pilot was performing the stunt in front of a large crowd that included his girlfriend and his parents at the air show in Terracina, south of Rome.

His girlfriend had to be taken to hospital and treated for severe shock.

Capt Orlandi died on impact and his body was recovered by navy divers.

He had more than a decade’s experience as a pilot and had trained in the United States with American Top Gun flyers.

The air show was immediately suspended after the accident and  two investigations were opened, one by the air force and another by civilian magistrates in the nearby town of Latina.

“A day of joy turned into a day of great sadness,” said General Enzo Vecciarelli, a senior air force commander. “Our deepest condolences go to the relatives of Capt Orlandi.”

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Volocopter Completes Test Flight Over Dubai

The Volocopter autonomous air taxi is expected to handle a significant amount of the city's passenger transport by 2030.

Dubai officials say they want theirs to become the world’s smartest city. A project certain to help reach that goal is developing a fleet of autonomous vehicles to handle a quarter of all passenger transport by 2030.

Ignoring critics who scoffed at the claim earlier this year that the German-designed Volocopter, recently renamed the autonomous aerial taxi, would begin testing a two-place vehicle in Dubai this year, the government of that Middle Eastern city released a video shot during the first flight of the electric aircraft.

The short flight conducted without passengers near the Jumeirah Beach Park was attended by Dubai’s Crown Prince HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The successful flight kicked off a testing regime expected to consume another five years before regular AAT service is expected to begin.

The testing period in Dubai will also allow time to develop laws and policies governing certification of the aircraft and AAT operations, defining aerial routes and corridors, designing and locating take-off and landing points. Standards for official operators of AAT services in Dubai will also be created, as will identifying the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, while specifying security and safety standards for service.

The Volocopter tested in Dubai was powered by 18 individual rotors that offer a 30-minute range at 60 mph without the need for a battery recharge. A spokesman for Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority said the “AAT is also fitted with optional emergency parachutes, nine independent battery systems, a battery quick-charge and plug-in system, which takes two hours to reach full charge in the prototype version, a time that will be significantly reduced in the production version.”

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Two Missing as Small Plane Crashes in Northern Greece

On Friday, a small private plane crashed north of Komotini, near the Greek-Bulgarian border.

Two crew members were aboard the CT2K-type aircraft when it disappeared from radar, after it took off from Alexandoupolis airport. Its final destination being an airport in Romania.

There is no information as to whether the two crew members survived the crash.

Greek Air Force planes are searching the area.

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Dubai tests world’s first self-flying taxi

Dubai made aviation history on Monday afternoon with the first “proof of concept flight” of its new two-seater, self-flying taxi in an aerial test in Jumeirah Beach Resisdence area, said officials.

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai witnessed the maiden flight of the Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT), according to a statement by Dubai Government Media Office.

The self-flying taxi will “be used for the world’s first self-flying taxi service set to be introduced by Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA),” said the statement, noting that the aerial taxi will shuttle passengers across the city without a pilot.

Built by Volocopter, a German specialty manufacturer of autonomous air vehicles, the aircraft’s aerial test comes seven months after plans for a self-flying taxi were unveiled at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

Word of Dubai’s leap into the future of automated aerial taxis made headlines around the world at the February summit.

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Flawed control rod installation led to fatal Apache crash

The faulty installation of a tail rotor flight control rod on a Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter led to a fatal crash at Ramon base, the Israeli air force has concluded.

An investigation committee has delivered its final report into the 7 August 2017 accident, which killed one crew member and injured a second. It attributes the mishap to an incorrect installation of the tail rotor component, which resulted in rapid wear and control rod disengagement.

The crash happened as the Apache was returning to base following a training flight. After reporting a technical problem, the pilot was instructed to attempt to land on one of its runways using an emergency procedure. It crashed 9min later, while over the runway preparing to land.

Following the accident, the air force swiftly determined that it was not linked to a tail rotor blade cracking issue that had previously been detected, prompting aircraft inspections and a shortened replacement schedule for the affected part.

The 7 August flight had been part of an effort to return the Apache fleet to full operational status after the fault's detection.

The air force has now removed a temporary grounding of its remaining Apaches, due to the report's findings.

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