The FAA has released the first iteration of its “Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence Safety Assurance,” a 31-page document outlining the U.S. air safety regulator’s approach to safely integrating novel AI technologies in aviation. In addition to making AI safe, the FAA also seeks to identify ways that AI can make the industry safer, according to the strategy document.

To come up with its AI roadmap, the FAA consulted with industry officials and other regulatory agencies, including EASA, which published its first AI roadmap in 2020. EASA released AI Roadmap 2.0 in May 2023, and this year published guidelines for companies that intend to certify AI systems.

In its version of the AI roadmap, the FAA introduces a list of core principles to guide AI safety assurance methods. For example, it recommends taking an incremental, safety-focused approach to implementing AI—starting with lower-risk applications such as pilot aides to reduce workload.

The document also spells out key actions that must be taken to enable the safe use of AI. One area where EASA and the FAA differ in their roadmaps is ethical considerations. The FAA’s document declares that “the treatment of the ethical use of AI is outside the scope of this roadmap,” and EASA wrote in its version that “the liability, ethical, social and societal dimension of AI should also be considered.”

 Textron Aviation’s Cessna SkyCourier received validation from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, extending the utility twin turboprop aircraft’s reach to remote areas of southeast Asia.

Plans call for delivery of the first SkyCourier in the region in the second half of 2025 to Leading Edge Air Services Corp. (Leascor). A subsidiary of ACDI Multipurpose Cooperative in the Philippines, Leascor opted for a 19-passenger variant of the aircraft.

“We are excited to connect underserved communities in the Philippines with the new 19-seat SkyCourier turboprop, which will complement our present fleet,” said ACDI MPC chairman Gilbert Llanto. “It will surely boost our business lines in tourism, agriculture and food, aviation, mobility, and the construction industry across the archipelago.”

Certified by the FAA in March 2022, the high-wing SkyCourier is offered in freighter and passenger variants, along with a combi configuration or gravel kits to enable missions to remote locations with lower operating costs. The 19-passenger variant features crew and passenger doors and large cabin windows, while the freighter variant can accommodate three LD3 shipping containers with 6,000 pounds of payload capability. 

Powered by Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65SC engines with McCauley Propeller C779 110-inch aluminum four-blade propellers and Garmin G1000 NXi avionics, the SkyCourier has a maximum cruise speed of more than 200 ktas and a 900 nm range.

Aircraft departing New York City-area Teterboro Airport’s (KTEB) Runway 24 will now use the new WENTZ 1 RNAV SID. The departure route was intended to replace RUUDY 6 in starting in July, but its implementation was delayed to ensure proper air traffic control (ATC) training and familiarity.

According to the Teterboro Users Group (TUG), it has worked with the FAA to develop a KTEB Runway 24 SID that “offers greater clarity, improved procedural simplicity, and lower susceptibility to error than the current RUUDY 6 SID.”

TUG offered two specific reminders for operators unfamiliar with the new procedure, noting that the maximum altitude for WENTZ is 1,500 feet, with aircraft not permitted to climb above that until authorized to do so by ATC. In addition, there are no left-hand turnouts allowed in the new departure route—to do so will put aircraft leaving KTEB into the Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) traffic flow.

RUUDY 6 will remain as a fallback for some time should unforeseen circumstances necessitate its use, and it is expected to be eliminated within the coming year.

AEG offers a complete sustainability solution package designed to offset carbon emissions and provide operators with easy access to SAF. In turn, operators will receive both SAF credits and Carbon credits. The company sees this program as the gold standard in sustainability, making it easier for customers to manage their carbon footprint.

A cracked spinner fairing that caused the failure of a Gulfstream IV Rolls-Royce Tay engine resulted in revised inspection procedures that could help detect such cracks before they cause damage. The event took place on June 17, 2023, and the final NTSB report cited as a contributing cause “inadequate spinner fairing inspection procedures that did not require removal of the spinner fairing to inspect the aft side for earlier detection of crack indications.”

The incident took place during a charter flight operated by Planet 9 Private Air as the crew began a step climb at FL400. After the right engine failed, the pilots diverted to Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, and made a successful single-engine landing. No one was injured.

Inspection of the Tay 611-8 engine’s spinner fairing is required every 2,000 hours for corporate operations and 600 cycles for regional operations. In this case, the 2,000-hour interval applied, and the spinner fairing was inspected on Oct. 12, 2022, and had accumulated 542.2 hours since. According to the maintenance manual procedure, technicians were tasked with inspecting “for cracks and indentations emanating from spinner fairing bolt holes.” However, according to the NTSB, “The procedure did not call for removal of the spinner fairing from the nose cone."

On Oct. 20, 2023, Rolls-Royce issued updated nose-cone fairing inspection criteria, the NTSB report noted, “to add an instruction to remove the spinner fairing."

JetAviva is finding a “notable uptick in ‘wait and see’ conversations recently” surrounding aircraft transactions—reflecting apprehension and uncertainty in the political climate, said CEO Emily Deaton in a new market analysis.

Deaton explained that during election years this is typical—the private jet market usually sees “three slower quarters followed by a flurry of transactions towards the year's end, once the political dust settles." However, adding to this, she noted, is the increased unpredictability of this year’s political season.

“Although the percentage of fleet for sale remains healthy and below 10%, suggesting a continued sellers' market, it's essential for sellers to remain strategic,” she said.

Potential interest rate reductions are still possible for 2024, which could also create a favorable environment for aircraft transactions.

“Supply chain constraints and labor shortages continue to affect our industry, which means buyers and sellers who delay decisions until November may find themselves grappling with limited availability for pre-buy inspections, parts, and service timelines,” she added.

Titan Aerospace Insurance has acquired Plimsoll Specialty Markets.

Under the deal, Plimsoll CEO Michael Clark will become president, wholesale of Titan. Clark is a veteran of the aerospace insurance industry, previously serving as head of QBE’s aviation business and as senior vice president of Old Republic Aerospace, where he led the specialty risk division. Jon Downey will remain at Titan as CEO.

Plimsoll operated joint ventures with Lloyd’s of London and placed reinsurance treaties with large insurers in London, Europe, and other regions. “The addition of Michael Clark to our leadership team further enhances our capability to deliver exceptional value and service to our clients,” said Downey.

Titan is a worldwide aviation insurance brokerage. Sister company Titan Aviation Fuels has more than 600 branded locations in the U.S. and a network of 2,000 locations worldwide. It provides non-fuel support services including pilot loyalty, aviation card processing, contract fuel, quality control training, equipment leasing and financing, online parts store, and Atlas FBO management software.

Genesys Aerosystems has received an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) for digital S-TEC 3100 autopilot installations in the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop twin, which is used for passenger and cargo operations. Models covered by the STC include the SA226-TC, SA227-AT, SA227-AC, SA227-BC, SA227-CC, and SA227-DC.

The S-TEC 3100 can support third-party electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) displays and integrate its own air-data attitude heading reference system for aircraft without EFIS. Features of the three-axis S-TEC 3100 include automatic trim, envelope protection and alerting, one-button straight-and-level recovery, indicated airspeed hold, altitude preselect, and lateral and vertical navigation.

“We are excited to add the Metroliner to our vast STC portfolio and provide safety-enhancing technology to the fleet,” said Jamie Luster, Genesys Aerosystems director of sales and marketing.

More than 700 Metroliners were built between 1969 and 1998, when production ended.