Free Republic

In a sharp escalation of its drone campaign targeting strategic industries deep inside Russia, Ukraine seems to have fitted Cessna-style light planes with remote controls, packed them with explosives and flown at least one of them more than 600 miles to strike a Russian factory in Yelabuga, 550 miles east of Moscow.

VIDEO AT LINK........................ A passenger with no flying experience safely landed a light aircraft at an airport in Florida after his pilot fell unconscious, in what has been described as “nothing short of a miracle.” Remarkable audio from the cockpit showed the man telling air traffic control: “I’ve got a serious situation here. My pilot has gone incoherent and I have no idea how to fly the airplane.” The man, who has not been identified, was a passenger on a Cessna 208 Caravan and was flying home to Florida from the Bahamas to see his pregnant wife. However, just off...

May 29 (UPI) -- The world's largest all-electric aircraft took off from a Washington state airstrip for its first flight, staying in the air for 28 minutes, the plane's makers said. The eCaravan plane, a modified Cessna Caravan 208B, was created by a collaboration between engine company magniX and aerospace firm AeroTEC. It took its first flight Thursday in an event that was livestreamed on Facebook. The companies said the electric plane is more environmentally friendly and costs less to operate than its fossil fuel-powered counterparts. "As the world's largest all-electric aircraft, this first flight is a significant milestone in...

TOKYO -- Honda Motor delivered 43 of its business jets, the HondaJet, to customers in 2017, up 20 from a year before, becoming the top-selling model for the first time by beating out U.S. rival Cessna Aircraft. Cessna delivered 39 of its mainstay Citation M2 jets during the year. Honda said its aircraft business improved mainly due to the strong North American market and Europe. It said about half of the aircraft it delivered went to individuals, and half to corporate clients. The HondaJet is priced at $4.9 million. That would put annual sales at about $210.7 million, based on...

A family flight to Key West ended in tragedy Sunday when the small plane crashed and killed all five people on board. Among those was the pilot, John Shannon, a prominent Florida Lawyer. Shannon, 70, was a former marine who owned an ran an independent law firm in Lakeland, Florida, for 36 years, WTVT reported. The law firm specialized in serious injury, death and insurance claims, according to its website. Shannon was described as an “accomplished pilot” and was the president of the Lakeland Republican Club. He was also actively involved with the Citric Center Kiwanis Club and ran for...

The private aircraft was carrying 10 foreign passengers and two Costa Rican crew members, the ministry said. The crash occurred near Punta Islita, in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province, officials said. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. Authorities said they were traveling to the area to recover the victims' bodies.

The Cessna 208B, operated by Joy Air General Air, was carrying two crew members and eight invited guests, mostly government workers and local journalists, according to local media. ... The seaplane took off from Jinshan in suburban Shanghai and was bound for the Zhoushan islands, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) to the south. The route is designed for tourists and sightseers who want to escape to the islands from sprawling Shanghai. Local journalists were invited to tour the seaplane before its takeoff, and some of them boarded the aircraft for the subsequent flight along with local officials. Wednesday's flight appeared...

NASA Completes Its Third Cessna Crash Test. Popular Science (8/26, Atherton) reports on Wednesday’s crash test of a Cessna aircraft by NASA as part of a study to try to improve emergency location transmitters (ELTs). This third test involved “a tail-first crash into soil, which flipped the plane but didn’t crush it in on its crash-test-dummy occupants so much.”

Cessna plane crashes in North Korea last week 2015/07/23 14:44 By Kim Kwang-tae SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- A small North Korean plane, the same type of plane used by leader Kim Jong-un, has crashed, an official said Thursday. The Cessna went down near the eastern port city of Wonsan, home to Kim's special villa, on July 15, said the South Korean official familiar with the issue. The crash was confirmed with intelligence assets of South Korea and the U.S., she said, without elaborating on the assets or the Cessna model. She did not provide any further details of whether...

A military fighter jet crashed into a Cessna flight midair about 11 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina this morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The condition of the pilots of the planes is unknown at this time. There have been no reports confirming any other passengers. In a statement, the FAA said the collision involved a Cessna C 150 and an F-16 fighter aircraft at around 11 a.m. A defense department official confirmed to ABC News that the pilot of the F-16 ejected safely. The plane and pilot came from Shaw Air Force Base, roughly 100 miles north...

FORT HUACHUCA — Two people aboard a Cessna 500 — a two-seater aircraft — were injured in a 10 a.m. accident at the joint Libby Army Airfield and and Sierra Vista Municipal Airport, according to a post spokeswoman. Both individuals were transported to medical facilities for treatment, with one being flown to a Tucson hospital and the other taken by ground transportation to the Sierra Vista Regional Health Center, fort media relations officer Tanja Linton said. Their names and conditions were not available. Michelle Fidler, spokeswoman for the National Park Service Intermountain Region, said Ponderosa Aviation in Safford has a...

These are the new images I've got, to go with the second of my youtubes, which is posted at http://youtu.be/usFBn99pJMc In the first youtube we looked at what could be seen above the water in the video. In this new video I show footage of some more that is above water but also some that is underwater. The images on my blog are clearer than what shows on youtube, so even if you see the youtube (which I recommend, because it explains what you're seeing and gives other links as well) you might want to look at the stills to...

The photos of the Loretta Fuddy Cessna crash that Josh Lang provided to the media? They weren't of the same plane. The plane that crashed with Fuddy in it had a window between the door and the tail; Lang's photos don't. (I've got photos at my blog and in the first post I'll post them so you can compare the 2 planes) Lang apparently had photos of a DIFFERENT plane ditching in the water and gave them to the media, claiming they were of this crash, and apparently the media didn't check out the genuineness of the photos... Now why...

As we reported few weeks ago, on Nov. 10, two B-52s, launched from Minot and Barksdale AFB for a training mission, flew hundreds of miles off course to give assistance to a Cessna plane that had lost radio contact with Anchorage Air Traffic Control Center in bad weather, over Alaska. While all the details about the successful rescue mission were released by the U.S. Air Force and can be found here, little was known about the mission the two Buffs were flying when they received the distress call. But, since then, we gathered some more information. The two B52s that...

Well done to Textron AirLand, which has completed the first flight of its (let’s be kind) “unique-looking” Scorpion light strike aircraft. Stephen Trimble’s report into the design’s 12 December debut reveals an expected unit cost of less than $20 million, discussions with at least two potential military customers, and the possibility of producing the aircraft in an unmanned configuration. Do we think the Scorpion will be a game-changer? Most likely not in the manned counter-insurgency segment: this is a model which could satisfy a niche requirement for most optimistically a small number of users. The prospect of a twin-jet unmanned...

The deadly plane crash off of Molokai was the second in less than two months involving the same model of aircraft in Hawaii. [....] According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there have been a total of six accidents involving Cessna Caravans in Hawaii since 1992. but the Makani Kai crash was the only deadly one.

Cessna CEO Scott Ernest told aviation media at NBAA 2013 in Las Vegas the company's made-in-China S-LSA Skycatcher has "no future" but he didn't have much to say about it other than that.

PICTURES: Cessna parent Textron pushes new strike jet Ground testing is under way of an all-new jet-powered tactical strike aircraft designed to perform “lower-threat battlefield and homeland security missions” pitched at cash-strapped militaries across the globe. Cessna parent Textron has teamed with AirLand Enterprises, forming a joint venutre, Textron AirLand, to develop the Scorpion, with first flight anticipated later this year, it says. Textron Development work on the programme started in January 2012 with the aiming building the “world’s most affordable tactical jet aircraft”, says Textron chairman and chief executive Scott Donnelly. “We relied on commercial best practices to develop...

Cessna Aircraft has signed a contract with China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. (CAIGA) to form a joint venture company to conduct final assembly of Cessna Citation XLS+ business jets in China for the Chinese market. Cessna’s relationship with CAIGA “taps into what is expected to be the highest growth aviation market during the coming decade,” Cessna said in a statement. Formation of the company is subject to various government approvals. “It’s so exciting,” Cessna spokeswoman Stephanie Harder said of the agreement. Currently she said no Citation XLS+ airplanes operate in China. Cessna remains close to signing a similar arrangement...

  1-5-01 Kid didn't know it was '02 yet. I have prepared this statement in regards to the act I am about to commit. First of all, Osama bin Laden is absolutely justified in the terror he has caused on 9-11. He has brought a mighty nation to its knees! God blesses him and the others who helped make September 11th happen. The U.S. will have to face the consequences for its horrific actions against the Palestinian people and (illegible, could be Iraq?) by its allegiance with the monstrous Israelis who want nothing short of world domination! You will ...