Articles by Alan Levin

Cause of Kobe Bryant Copter Crash Unclear; Flight Approval Under Review

The helicopter carrying retired basketball star Kobe Bryant and eight others had been cleared to operate in deteriorating weather but not the dense clouds into which it apparently flew shortly before crashing, according to investigators and flight data. The Sikorsky …

Long-Awaited U.S. Drone Safety Rules Call for Extensive Tracking Network

All but the smallest civilian drones would have to broadcast radio tracking data to ensure greater safety and prevent terrorism under a sweeping proposal unveiled by U.S. regulators Thursday. The long-awaited draft rules call for a massive new tracking network …

New York Doors-Off Helicopter Ride Raised Concern Months Before Crash

A government safety inspector who saw a popular New York City, doors-off sightseeing helicopter flight operation six months before a fatal 2018 crash called it “unorthodox,” but officials thought they had no authority to regulate it and allowed it to …

FAA Chief Vows Improved Safety Reviews of New Aircrafts and Pilot Technology

Aviation regulators around the world need to do a better job of assessing hazards in aircraft designs and understanding how pilots might be tripped up by complex technology in the wake of the two fatal crashes on Boeing Co.’s 737 …

Uber’s Self-Driving Car That Killed Pedestrian Lacked Tech to Detect Jaywalkers

Uber Technologies Inc.’s self-driving test car that struck and killed a pedestrian last year wasn’t programmed to recognize and react to jaywalkers, according to documents released by U.S. safety investigators. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday released more …

Boeing 737 Max’s Design, Pilot and Regulatory Errors Caused Lion Air Crash

Indonesian investigators found sweeping problems and missteps in connection with last year’s fatal Lion Air crash, including design flaws in Boeing Co.’s 737 Max jet, certification failures by the U.S. regulator and a raft of errors at the airline by …

Global Safety Regulators Fault U.S., ‘Undue Pressure’ from Boeing for 737 Max Approval

U.S. aviation regulators assessing Boeing Co.’s 737 Max sometimes didn’t follow their own rules, used out-of-date procedures and lacked the resources and expertise to fully vet the design changes implicated in two fatal crashes, a review panel comprised of global …

Boeing Vows New Safety Panel, Design Changes in Response to 737 Max Crashes

Boeing Co. aims to sharpen its focus on safety after the 737 Max’s grounding ends, forming a new oversight panel and recommending changes to the planemaker’s structure and design practices after two crashes that killed 346 people. The board’s new …

U.S. Aviation Regulator Denies It Misled Congress on 737 Max Inspectors

American aviation regulators misled Congress about a whistle-blower’s allegation that many inspectors performing safety assessments on the now-grounded Boeing Co. 737 Max airplane weren’t properly qualified to certify pilots or assess pilot training, a government watchdog agency has concluded. The …

Automated Driver Assist Cars Still a Work in Progress

To the human driver, it would have been an obvious obstacle: a police car and fire truck, emergency lights blazing, blocking the lane ahead. But to the Tesla Inc. Model S traveling down a Southern California freeway last year on …