Articles by Alan Levin

Alphabet’s Wing Is First Commercial Drone Unit Certified as Airline

An offshoot of Alphabet Inc.’s Google has become the first drone operator to receive government approval as an airline, an important step that gives it the legal authority to begin dropping products to actual customers. The subsidiary, Wing Aviation LLC, …

FAA Board Says Boeing 737 Max Software Fix Won’t Require Added Training

A board of pilot experts appointed by U.S. aviation regulators has reviewed Boeing Co.’s proposed software fix for the grounded 737 Max aircraft and concluded that pilots won’t need additional simulator training once the plane is returned to service. The …

Records Show Sensors Linked to Boeing 737 Max Crashes Vulnerable to Failure

The crashes of two Boeing Co. 737 Max jets in five months have focused attention on a little-known device that malfunctioned, starting a chain reaction that sent the planes into deadly dives. Pilots have for decades relied on the weather-vane-like …

Next-to-Last Flight of Lion Air’s Doomed 737 MAX Was Saved by Off-Duty Pilot

As the Lion Air crew fought to control their diving Boeing Co. 737 MAX 8, they got help from an unexpected source: an off-duty pilot who happened to be riding in the cockpit. That extra pilot, who was seated in …

Investigation Found FAA Employees Warned of Boeing Influence Over Safety Approvals

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees warned as early as seven years ago that Boeing Co. had too much sway over safety approvals of new aircraft, prompting an investigation by Department of Transportation auditors who confirmed the agency hadn’t done enough …

Satellites Found 1st Concrete Evidence of Link Between Boeing 737 MAX Crashes

The first concrete evidence of a possible link between two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes came from space. A new satellite network capable of tracking planes in high fidelity across the globe captured the flight path of the Boeing Co. …

U.S. Joins Nations Grounding Boeing 737 MAX Planes Following New Data

U.S. regulators reversed course Wednesday and announced they will ground Boeing Co.’s top-selling 737 Max family of airliners amid safety concerns after a crash Sunday in Ethiopia — five months after a similar tragedy off Indonesia. “The safety of the …

U.S. FAA Reaffirms Safety of Boeing 737 Max as Groundings Continue Across Globe

U.S. aviation regulators reiterated that they see no safety issue with the beleaguered Boeing Co. 737 Max jetliner that warrants grounding the plane despite a pair of deadly crashes and the move by more than 40 other nations to temporarily …

FAA Signals Confidence in Airworthiness of Boeing 737 MAX After 2nd Deadly Crash

U.S. aviation regulators signaled their confidence in the safety of Boeing Co.’s embattled 737 MAX jetliner, issuing a global notice of “continued airworthiness” a day after the model’s second deadly crash in less than five months. There isn’t conclusive evidence …

Recording Indicates Amazon Cargo Plane Crew Lost Control Seconds Before Crash

Recorded conversations by pilots on a cargo jet carrying packages for Amazon.com Inc. that crashed last month near Houston reveal they began losing control of the aircraft about 18 seconds before it slammed into a shallow bay, investigators said Tuesday. …