Flight Safety Information - July 22, 2025 No. 145 In This Issue : Incident: Aeromexico Connect E190 and Delta B738 at Mexico City on Jul 21st 2025, E190 overflew B738 on landing : Incident: India A20N at Mumbai on Jul 21st 2025, temporary runway excursion : Incident: Singapore B78X at Tokyo on Jul 20th 2025, overran runway on landing : Incident: Virgin Australia B738 near Hobart on Jul 21st 2025, fire in cabin : The voices in the cockpit fuelling controversy over Air India crash : Are India's skies safe? Air safety watchdog responds amid rising concerns : Airplane makes emergency landing on South Carolina golf course : Frontier Airlines flight lands safely at CVG after note found; no threat detected : Flight heads back to Paris after being denied landing clearance in Chicago : India's Akasa Air sees Boeing deliveries picking up in coming years : Who Builds Boeing's Jet Engines, And Are They The Same As Airbus Uses? : NASA's X-59 'quiet' supersonic jet rolls out for its 1st test drive : Beaufort Community College’s new pilot program holds first open house : Calendar of Events Incident: Aeromexico Connect E190 and Delta B738 at Mexico City on Jul 21st 2025, E190 overflew B738 on landing An Aeromexico Connect Embraer ERJ-190, registration XA-ALP performing flight AM-1631 from Aguascalientes to Mexico City (Mexico), was cleared to land on Mexico City's runway 05R and was on final approach. A Delta Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N3766 performing flight DL-590 from Mexico City (Mexico) to Atlanta,GA (USA), was cleared to line up runway 05R via taxiway B1 (about 520 meters/1700 feet ahead of the displaced threshold of the runway), was cleared for takeoff and commenced takeoff. The Embraer overflew the Boeing at low height and touched down touched down on runway 05R in the landing zone on schedule. The Boeing rejected takeoff at low speed (about 60 knots over ground) and returned to the apron. The Boeing departed later and reached Atlanta with a delay of about 2 hours. The Embraer continued the schedule with one hour delay. https://avherald.com/h?article=52a9d3cc&opt=0 Incident: India A20N at Mumbai on Jul 21st 2025, temporary runway excursion An Air India Airbus A320-200N, registration VT-TYA performing flight AI-2744 from Kochi to Mumbai (India), landed on Mumbai's runway 27 at 09:27L (03:57z) but touched down to the right of the runway center line with the right main gear beyond the right runway edge. The crew steered the aircraft back onto the runway centerline and vacated the runway. The airport reported the aircraft suffered a temporary runway excursion in rain, there was minor damage to the runway, which needed to be closed for repairs. The airline reported the aircraft experienced a runway excursion after touchdown in heavy rain. The aircraft taxied to the gate, the aircraft has been grounded for checks. The aircraft is still on the ground in Mumbai about 15 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=52a96732&opt=0 Incident: Singapore B78X at Tokyo on Jul 20th 2025, overran runway on landing A Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10, registration 9V-SCJ performing flight SQ-638 (sched dep Jul 19th, act Jul 20th) from Singapore (Singapore) to Tokyo Narita (Japan), landed on Narita's runway 16L (length 2500 meters/8200 feet) at 7:59L (22:59Z Jul 19th) but overran the end of the runway crossing the runway end at about 15 knots over ground and coming to a stop with the nose gear on the paved runway end safety area. The aircraft needed to be pushed back by a tow truck about 40 minutes later. The aircraft was able to depart for the return flight with a delay of about 3.5 hours. https://avherald.com/h?article=52a94696&opt=0 Incident: Virgin Australia B738 near Hobart on Jul 21st 2025, fire in cabin A Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800, registration VH-YFY performing flight VA-1528 from Sydney,NS to Hobart,TA (Australia), had been enroute at FL380 and was initiating the descent towards Hobart when smoke emanated from an overhead locker in the cabin. Cabin crew doused the fire. The flight crew declared emergency and continued the approach to Hobart for a safe landing on runway 30 about 20 minutes later. The airline reported the aircraft landed safely in Hobart, firefighters boarded the aircraft and removed a bag from the overhead locker. Passengers reported there was a funny smell at first, then about 10 minutes prior to landing smoke became visible. When cabin crew opened the overhead locker, a small ball of fire burst out. Cabin crew doused the fire with water after realizing that there was some sort of charging device, possibly Lithium Ion battery, had overheated in someone's bag. A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration VH-YFV performed the return flight with a delay of about 5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Hobart about 10 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=52a9248a&opt=0 The voices in the cockpit fuelling controversy over Air India crash Air India Flight 171 crashed into a crowded neighbourhood in Ahmedabad [Getty Images] When the preliminary report into the crash of Air India Flight 171 - which killed 260 people in June - was released, many hoped it would bring some measure of closure. Instead, the 15-page report further stoked speculation. For, despite the measured tone of the report, one detail continues to haunt investigators, aviation analysts and the public alike. Seconds after take-off, both fuel-control switches on the 12-year-old Boeing 787 abruptly moved to "cut-off", cutting fuel to the engines and causing total power loss - a step normally done only after landing. The cockpit voice recording captures one pilot asking the other why he "did the cut-off", to which the person replies that he didn't. The recording doesn't clarify who said what. At the time of take-off, the co-pilot was flying the aircraft while the captain was monitoring. What we know so far about Air India crash investigation Read the preliminary report Are India's skies safe? Air safety watchdog responds amid rising concerns The switches were returned to their normal inflight position, triggering automatic engine relight. At the time of the crash, one engine was regaining thrust while the other had relit but had not yet recovered power. The plane was airborne for less than a minute before crashing into a neighbourhood in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. Several speculative theories have emerged since the preliminary report - a full report is expected in a year or so. The Wall Street Journal and Reuters news agency have reported that "new details in the probe of last month's Air India crash are shifting the focus to the senior pilot in the cockpit". Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera claimed that its sources had told them the first officer repeatedly asked the captain why he "shut off the engines". Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, was the captain on the flight, while Clive Kunder, 32, was the co-pilot who was flying the plane. Together, the two pilots had more than 19,000 hours of flight experience - nearly half of it on the Boeing 787. Both had passed all pre-flight health checks before the crash. Understandably, the wave of speculative leaks has rattled investigators and angered Indian pilots. As theories swirl about Air India crash, key details remain unknown Last week, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the lead investigator, stated in a release that "certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting". It described these "actions [as] irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing". Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the US's National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is assisting the investigation, said on X that the media reports were "premature and speculative" and that “investigations of this magnitude take time". Back in India, the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association condemned the rush to blame the crew as "reckless" and "deeply insensitive", urging restraint until the final report is out. Sam Thomas, head of the Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA India), told the BBC that "speculation has triumphed over transparency", emphasising the need to review the aircraft's maintenance history and documentation alongside the cockpit voice recorder data. At the heart of the controversy is the brief cockpit recording in the report - the full transcript, expected in the final report, should shed clearer light on what truly happened. A Canada-based air accident investigator, who preferred to remain unnamed, said that the excerpt of the conversation in the report presents several possibilities. For example, "if pilot 'B' was the one who operated the switches - and did so unwittingly or unconsciously - it's understandable that they would later deny having done it," the investigator said. "But if pilot 'A' operated the switches deliberately and with intent, he may have posed the question knowing full well that the cockpit voice recorder would be scrutinised, and with the aim of deflecting attention and avoiding identification as the one responsible. "Even if the AAIB is eventually able to determine who said what, that doesn't decisively answer the question 'Who turned the fuel off?'". "We may even never know the answer to that question." Investigators told the BBC that while there appeared to be strong evidence the fuel switches were manually turned off, it's still important to keep "an open mind". A glitch in the plane's Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system - which monitors engine health and performance - could, in theory, trigger an automatic shutdown if it receives false signals from sensors, some pilots suggest. However, if the pilot's exclamation - 'why did you cut-off [the fuel]?' - came after the switches moved to cut-off (as noted in the preliminary report), it would undermine that theory. The final report will likely include time-stamped dialogue and a detailed analysis of engine data to clarify this. Speculation has been fuelled less by who said what, and more by what wasn't said. The preliminary report withheld the full cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript, revealing only a single, telling line from the final moments. This selective disclosure has raised questions: was the investigation team confident about the speakers' identities but chose to withhold the rest out of sensitivity? Or are they still uncertain whose voices they were hearing and needed more time to fully investigate the matter before publishing any conclusions? Peter Goelz, former NTSB managing director, says the AAIB should release a voice recorder transcript with pilot voices identified. "If any malfunctions began during take-off, they would be recorded in the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and would likely have triggered alerts in the flight management system - alerts the crew would almost certainly have noticed and, more importantly, discussed." Investigators are urging restraint in drawing conclusions. "We have to be cautious because it's easy to assume that if the switches were turned off, it must mean intentional action - pilot error, suicide, or something else. And that's a dangerous path to go down with the limited information we have," Shawn Pruchnicki, a former airline accident investigator and aviation expert at Ohio State University, told the BBC. At the same time, alternative theories continue to circulate. Indian newspapers including the Indian Express flagged a possible electrical fire in the tail as a key focus. But the preliminary report makes clear: the engines shut down because both fuel switches were moved to cut-off - a fact backed by recorder data. If a tail fire occurred, it likely happened post-impact, triggered by spilled fuel or damaged batteries, an independent investigator said. Last week, AAIB chief GVG Yugandhar stressed that the preliminary report aims to "provide information about 'WHAT' happened". "It's too early for definite conclusions," he said, emphasising the investigation is ongoing and the final report will identify "root causes and recommendations". He also pledged to share updates on "technical or public interest matters" as they arise. Summing up, Mr Pruchnicki said the probe "boils down to two possibilities - either deliberate action or confusion, or an automation-related issue". "The report doesn't rush to blame human error or intent; there's no proof it was done intentionally," he added. In other words, no smoking gun - just an uneasy wait for answers that may never even fully emerge. https://www.yahoo.com/news/voices-cockpit-fuelling-controversy-over-015431350.html Are India's skies safe? Air safety watchdog responds amid rising concerns India's passenger air traffic has more than doubled since 2014–15 Just how safe are India's skies? It's a question many are asking after June's devastating Air India crash, which killed at least 260 people. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in western India on 12 June. "India's skies have always been safe - in the past and even today," said Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the chief of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) - India's aviation safety regulator - in an interview with the BBC. "If you look at global safety metrics, such as those published by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which track the number of accidents per million flights, India consistently performs better than the world average," he said. "There were only two years within the 2010–2024 period where we exceeded the global average - those were the years when major accidents occurred." In August 2020, Air India Express Flight 1344 crashed after skidding off a rain-soaked tabletop runway in Kozhikode, killing 21 people. A decade earlier, in May 2010, Flight 812 from Dubai overshot the runway in Mangalore and plunged into a gorge, leaving 158 dead. June's Air India crash was the third such accident in the country in 15 years. While such major accidents remain rare, recent headlines have raised fresh concerns. From a Delhi-Srinagar flight that hit severe turbulence, to growing reports of maintenance oversights and training shortfalls, questions around aviation safety are once again in focus. The latest involved SpiceJet, India's fourth-largest and longest-running low-cost airline. June's devastating Air India crash killed at least 260 people in Ahmedabad The Economic Times newspaper found that the aviation regulator had recently summoned the airline's leadership after a series of alarming findings - not from routine audits, but triggered by a British aviation firm. The newspaper reported that it began earlier this year when two of SpiceJet's De Havilland Q400 turboprops showed premature propeller failures. The airline alerted Dowty Propellers, a GE Aerospace-led UK manufacturer, which found damage to the internal bearings of the propellers. Each propeller has bearings with two races, or rings or tracks. In this case, the inner race was damaged. Instead of addressing the root cause, SpiceJet "reportedly kept applying more grease to the [entire] unit instead of addressing the root cause". Frustrated by the lack of corrective action, Dowty escalated the issue directly to India's aviation regulator, the newspaper reported. The DGCA's own audit in April "revealed even more deficiencies, including snag occurrences", the report said. Mr Kidwai told the BBC that the "turboprop propeller issue came to our attention through one of SpiceJet's maintenance organisations". "We took it up with SpiceJet and we ensured they took corrective action. We also found out that the senior management was not fully aware of the situation. We took action against the various post holders who were supposed to ensure compliance with the original equipment manufacturer and other regulations. We directed SpiceJet to remove them and suspend a few of them which they did," he said. More recently, Reuters reported that the aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India's budget carrier in March for delaying mandatory engine part replacements on an Airbus A320 and falsifying records to show compliance. Air India Express told the news agency it acknowledged the error to DGCA and undertook "remedial action and preventive measures". Mr Kidwai told the BBC that the information in this case came through "self-reporting by the airline". "I would not condone it [the lapses]. But [at least] we have started getting these reports. This came from the airline. Action has been taken in this case. In our audits we have mandated our people to be more alert and see whether there is any lapse and bring it to our attention." Since 2020, Indian domestic carriers have reported nearly 2,500 technical faults In May, an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar faced severe turbulence and hail about 45 minutes after takeoff. The Airbus A321, carrying 222 passengers, reportedly encountered extreme vertical air currents - updrafts followed by downdrafts - that dislodged overhead bins and caused nose damage. The crew declared an emergency and safely landed at Srinagar with no injuries. The regulator launched an investigation, during which two pilots were grounded. Mr Kidwai told the BBC that the regulator had now "refined" its guidelines for pilots flying in turbulent conditions. For instance, if there's significant cloud cover or any weather pattern that poses a risk - and "we've clearly defined what constitutes such a risk" - pilots are now required to take specific action a set number of nautical miles before reaching it, he said. "This could include diverting, going around, or taking other appropriate steps." Since 2020, Indian domestic carriers have reported 2,461 technical faults, according to the federal civil aviation ministry data. IndiGo accounted for over half (1,288), followed by SpiceJet with 633, and Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express with 389 cases, as of January 2025. "Reporting of snags by airlines has gone up. This is good," Mr Kidwai said. "I wouldn't say I'm pleased about it. But I do see value in the growing culture of reporting [snags]. It's far better for every snag to be brought to the attention of the authorities than keeping quiet and operating the aircraft." Mr Kidwai said with the number of flights increasing, it's important to "see whether the turnaround time for flights is adequate for [maintenance] checks or not". To be sure, demands on the regulator have grown: India has emerged as the third-largest passenger aviation market in the world. Yet, over the past two years, the ministry of civil aviation has faced budget cuts, reflecting a reduced financial priority for the sector. Today, the country's scheduled carriers operate nearly 850 aircraft - a significant increase from around 400 just a decade ago. The number of air passengers has more than doubled since 2014–15 - from 116 million to 239 million. The number of commercial aerodromes has also seen a substantial rise - from around 60-70 a decade ago to nearly 130-140 today. "In total, including both scheduled and non-scheduled operators, we now have 1,288 aircraft in operation. By the end of the decade, we are projected to operate over 2,000 aircraft," Mr Kidwai said. (Non-scheduled operators include charter airlines, private jet operators, air taxis and helicopter services.) So had the latest Air India crash dented the reputation of air travel in India? Mr Kidwai said the data didn't point to that. "We looked at the data to assess whether it had any impact on domestic or international operations. There was no significant drop in traffic. At most, we observed a very marginal dip for a short period, affecting both domestic and international flights, along with a few cancellations," he told the BBC. "It's natural for people to feel anxious after such incidents. But over time, as more clarity emerges and the situation is better understood, that anxiety tends to subside. Time is a great healer." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgnr828z0go Airplane makes emergency landing on South Carolina golf course Small plane appeared to have skid up fairway in Pickens County The Piper PA-46 airplane landed at the Reserve at Lake Keowee golf course on July 17. SUNSET, S.C. (WBTV) - A pilot had to make an emergency landing on a South Carolina golf course last week, officials said. The small, single-engine airplane touched down just before noon at the Reserve at Lake Keowee golf course in Pickens County on Thursday, July 17, according to sister-station WHNS. Officials told WHNS that the Piper PA-46 was flying from Tennessee to Georgia when it experienced midflight mechanical problems. WHNS reported that the pilot tried to land at Pickens County Airport but was unable to. The pilot reportedly had minor injuries and it is unclear if anyone else was onboard the plane. No golfers or course staff were in the area where the airplane landed. Video taken by WHNS showed the plane appeared to have skid up a fairway before it came to a stop. WHNS said the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, was investigating the emergency landing. The golf course where the plane landed is on the shores of Lake Keowee, about an hour west of Greenville, S.C. https://www.wbtv.com/2025/07/21/airplane-makes-emergency-landing-south-carolina-golf-course/ Frontier Airlines flight lands safely at CVG after note found; no threat detected HEBRON, Ky (WXIX) - A Frontier Airlines flight landed safely at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) on Monday night after crew members reported that they discovered a “threatening note” on board, the airline said in a statement. Frontier Airlines says that nothing of concern was found during a thorough security inspection by law enforcement. The incident involved Flight 1048, which was traveling from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport to CVG. After it was reported, authorities were notified, and the aircraft was directed to a remote area of the airport. Passengers were then taken to the terminal by bus while the security sweep was conducted. Frontier Airlines confirmed that the aircraft would resume normal service after completing additional standard procedures. https://www.fox19.com/2025/07/22/frontier-airlines-flight-safely-lands-cvg-after-report-threatening-note/ Flight heads back to Paris after being denied landing clearance in Chicago CHICAGO (WKRC) - A flight headed back to Paris after being denied landing clearance in Chicago. According to AviationA2Z, an Air France transatlantic flight to Chicago, Illinois headed back to Paris, France after a near seven-hour journey to nowhere. The outlet, citing AIRLIVE, reported that Flight AF136 was reportedly denied landing clearance at Chicago O'Hare airport, which prompted the crew to reverse course mid-flight. FlightRadar24 data shows that the plane took off from Paris at 12:49 p.m. on Saturday, June 28 and turned around over the Atlantic Ocean while between Iceland and Greenland. The flight had already completed half of its journey when the crew redirected the flight to its point of origin, per the outlet. A passenger speaking to AIRLIVE said the decision was made after the flight failed to receive landing authorization at Chicago O'Hare Airport, with Air France later confirming that the decision was made for "operational reasons," although the company did not elaborate further. The flight safely landed back in Paris around six hours and 37 minutes after departure, per AviationA2Z. A substitute service departed from Paris to Chicago on Sunday, June 29, the outlet reported. https://keprtv.com/news/nation-world/flight-af136-heads-back-to-paris-after-being-denied-landing-clearance-in-chicago-air-france-o-hare-airport-cincinnati-travel-headaches-nowhere-operation-reasoning-midflight-revert-course-charles-de-gaulle-radar-runway-26r-cruising-altitude-route-origin India's Akasa Air sees Boeing deliveries picking up in coming years NEW DELHI, July 22 (Reuters) - India's Akasa Air expects a pick up in plane deliveries from Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab over the coming years and to reach its target for a fleet of 226 aircraft by 2032, up from 30 currently, chief financial officer Ankur Goel said on Tuesday. The airline expects available seat kilometers - a measure of passenger-carrying capacity - to increase by more than 30% this fiscal year, on top of 50% growth the year before. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. Goel did not provide a year-by-year breakdown of deliveries, but said they were expected to increase over the period, in a press briefing in India's capital city. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Akasa Air's top executives were privately criticising Boeing for delayed plane deliveries and were scrambling to assuage hundreds of anxious pilots who were idle without work. The Mumbai-based low-cost airline, which started operations about three years ago, has ordered 226 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Deliveries have been delayed as the 737 MAX programme faced regulatory scrutiny after a mid-air cabin panel blowout last year and suffered the effects of a seven-week workers' strike. Goel did not provide profit or revenue data for fiscal year 2024-25. The year before, Akasa's revenue quadrupled to $356 million, but its loss widened to $194 million from $86 million. Akasa had a domestic market share of 5.3% in May, compared with the combined 90%-plus commanded by leader IndiGo (INGL.NS), opens new tab and Air India Group. Akasa, started with the backing of the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, dubbed India's Warren Buffett, went on a hiring spree and began international flights to Qatar and Saudi Arabia within two years of its launch. Despite challenges, Akasa in February raised an undisclosed amount of new capital from Indian billionaire Azim Premji's investment arm and Jhunjhunwala's family. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/indias-akasa-air-sees-boeing-deliveries-picking-up-coming-years-2025-07-22/ Who Builds Boeing's Jet Engines, And Are They The Same As Airbus Uses? American aerospace giant Boeing has taken a bit of tarnish of late. A pair of deadly crashes and other lesser malfunctions have sullied the reputations of the latest iterations of the brand's 737 Max aircraft, but those concerns don't extend to the jets' powerful engines. Boeing is responsible for building the 737's iconic flat-bottomed nacelles, or casings, which house the engines. However, the turbofan powerplants themselves are farmed out to various global manufacturers. The world's largest producer of jet engines, including for Boeing, is a joint venture called CFM. The two entities behind CFM are General Electric and the French manufacturer Safran. As part of its 39% global market share, CFM's fuel-efficient Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion (LEAP) engines power every one of Boeing's 737 Max aircraft. Coincidentally, engines from this brand can also be found on some Airbus A320 jets, a competitor to the 737 that's assembled largely in Europe. Of course, Boeing doesn't just build the 737. Other commercial Boeing jets include the venerable widebody 777 and the high-tech 787 Dreamliner, both of which are staples of long-haul or high-capacity routes, such as between the United States and Europe. And the engines there are made by others. Before Rolls-Royce started selling bougie land yachts, it was known for its airplane engines. For example, its Merlin engine was a force to be reckoned with in fighter planes during World War II. Over 120 years since its inception, Rolls-Royce is still in the aeronautical sector with a 12% market share. In particular, its products can be found in many long-haul widebody jets. Rolls' Trent 1000 powers some Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, and Rolls says the plane is 25% more fuel-efficient than its predecessor, the Boeing 767. Rolls-Royce engines also propel some examples of the widebody Boeing 777, the fuel-guzzling double-decker 747, and what remains of the largest single-aisle jet ever, the Boeing 757. Like CFM, Rolls-Royce prefers to diversity its clientele and happily accepts engine purchases from Airbus, too — for example, the Airbus A330 and A350 long-haul jets. Next up is General Electric, which also has a fairly small — about 14% — share of worldwide jet engine manufacturing. That's understandable, since most of its involvement in aerospace is via the CFM joint venture with Safran. Alone, GE turbofan engines appear on both Boeing and Airbus products in small quantities. Especially the Boeing double-aisle widebodies. Finally, we come to Pratt & Whitney, a veritable institution in American aviation since 1917. When it's not building engines for fighter jets or cruise missiles, P&W captures about 35% of the market for commercial jet engines. That includes a presence at some level in nearly all Boeing products, excepting newer models like the 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner. P&W sells to Airbus, too. Notably, its engines are the only ones used in the new-ish A220 narrow-body jet, a feather in the company's cap to be sure. So there you have it. Boeing uses four sources to procure jet engines for its planes: CFM, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce. And not a single one of those companies has a problem crossing the aisle to sell to rival manufacturer Airbus. Clearly, some passengers prefer one aircraft brand or another — for example, avoiding airlines with the largest Boeing fleets following an awful 2024 for the brand. However, under the engine nacelles, there's little difference to be had between the two aircraft giants. https://www.yahoo.com/autos/articles/builds-boeings-jet-engines-same-220500901.html NASA's X-59 'quiet' supersonic jet rolls out for its 1st test drive The X-59 was designed from the ground up to fly faster than the speed of sound without generating the thunderous sonic booms typically associated with supersonic flight. The 99-foot (30-meter) aircraft features a radical elongated design, which eliminates a front windscreen; pilots instead see what's ahead through an augmented reality-enabled closed circuit camera system that NASA calls the External Vision System, or XVS. This month, NASA took the experimental aircraft out for a drive, performing what are known as taxi tests. During these tests, NASA test pilot Nils Larson drove the X-59 across a runway at low speeds so crews could ensure the jet's steering and braking systems work as intended. Next, NASA and Lockheed Martin will perform high-speed taxi tests in which the X-59 will accelerate to close to the speed at which it will take off. The taxi tests took place at the U.S. Air Force's Plant 42 facility in Palmdale, California. The Air Force and its contractors use the plant to manufacture and test classified aircraft; the X-59 is being developed by Lockheed Martin, whose legendary "Skunk Works" facility is found at Plant 42. Some of the U.S. military's most advanced aircraft were developed to some extent at Plant 42, including the F-22 Raptor, the B-2 Spirit, and the uncrewed RQ-170 Sentinel spy drone. NASA's recently-retired SOFIA airborne observatory aircraft, the "flying telescope," also called Plant 42 home. The agency's space shuttles, the world's first reusable spacecraft, were also assembled and tested at the facility. These taxi tests are only the most recent tests that have taken place over the last several months. Earlier this month, NASA teamed up with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to test a scale model of the X-59 in a supersonic wind tunnel in order to measure the noise produced beneath the aircraft. Months prior, in May 2025, NASA fed data into the aircraft's computers that simulated being in flight, including experiencing failures. A month before that, NASA ran the X-59 through an "engine speed hold," similar to a car's cruise control, to ensure its engine can maintain a specific speed. But 2025 began with the most photogenic of all: afterburner tests, during which extra fuel was injected into the aircraft's hot exhaust. If the X-59's upcoming tests continue to be successful, NASA will soon conduct a flight test campaign that will see the jet fly over selected populated areas to collect data on how the aircraft's quieter sonic "thumps" are perceived on the ground. The ultimate goal is to develop technologies that can help bring supersonic flight back to the continental United States. Commercial supersonic flight has been banned for decades because of how disruptive the associated sonic booms can be. If the X-59 and other supersonic aircraft can find ways to mitigate these loud sonic booms, supersonic flight could indeed return, greatly reducing flight times for civilian travel, disaster response, medical transport and other applications. https://www.yahoo.com/tech/science/articles/nasas-x-59-quiet-supersonic-190000358.html Beaufort Community College’s new pilot program holds first open house WASHINGTON, N.C. (WNCT) — Beaufort Community College held the first open house for the college’s new flight program at Washington-Warren Airport. Representatives from both Beaufort Community College and D2 Flight Academy were eager to share information on the unique learning environment for prospective piolets. “Right now in Beaufort, the flight training rates are low and so we can provide local affordable flight training,” program manager Christopher Johnson said. “the biggest driving factor is this building and all this aviation equipment.” The program is three semesters long, and students will earn their commercial piolets license after completing the course. https://www.wnct.com/local-news/washington/beaufort-community-colleges-new-piolet-program-holds-first-open-house/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS . Asia Pacific Aviation Safety Seminar 2025; 10-11 September 2025; Manila, Philippines . 2025 PROS IOSA SUMMIT - SEPT 10-11 - Denver, CO · ISASI ANNUAL SEMINAR 2025'September 29, 2025 – October 3, 2025, DENVER, COLORADO . 2025 NBAA Single-Pilot Safety Standdown; Monday, Oct. 13 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; Las Vegas, NV . 2025 NBAA National Safety Forum, Tuesday, Oct. 14 – Wednesday, Oct. 15; Las Vegas, NV . Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC™) - 2025 – October 27-29th (Omaha, Nebraska) . 29th annual Bombardier Safety Standdown, November 11-13, 2025; Wichita, Kansas · CHC Safety & Quality Summit, 11th – 13th November 2025, Vancouver, BC Canada . 2026 ACSF Safety Symposium; April 7-9, 2026; ERAU Daytona Beach, FL . 2026 NBAA Maintenance Conference; May 5-7, 2026; New Orleans, LA Curt Lewis