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The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) determined that the collisions with terrain the two aircraft suffered were likely due to rotor drive-belt failure.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2022-27-08, which applies to certain Bell Textron Canada Model 407 helicopters. AD 2022-27-08 requires inspecting the tail-boom attachment structure and reporting the inspection results. Since the FAA issued the AD, two additional broken upper-left tail-boom attachment bolts have been reported. The proposed AD would require repetitively inspecting the tail-boom attachment structure, performing a torque inspection, and replacing attachment hardware, among other tasks. Comments are due on this notice of proposed rulemaking by Aug. 31.

PZL Mielec, a Lockheed Martin company, has commenced production of Europe’s first Sikorsky S-70 Firehawk helicopters. The aircraft are being manufactured for the Czech Republic Ministry of the Interior through a partnership with Česká letecká servisní, a Helicopter Alliance company, and United Rotorcraft.

(Vertical Plus) – Agencies around the world are building layered aerial fleets to combat increasingly intense wildfires.

Vermont-based BETA Technologies announced Jul. 10 it has conducted what it called the first operational flight under the US Department of Transportation’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), transporting a genetically modified pig heart. BETA’s flights in Virginia are part of a multistate collaborative in the eIPP that includes Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and 15 other states.

The latest edition of the United States Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) newsletter includes the group’s most recent safety report; working with pilots who think they’re “smarter than the checklist”; deciphering terminal aerodrome forecasts; and more.

The longtime US congressperson from Missouri, who as House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair led many efforts on behalf of general aviation, will receive the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) 2026 Freedom of Flight Award, the organization’s highest honor, at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh on Jul. 25.

(NBAA/Business Aviation Insider) – With reports of aircraft GPS interference skyrocketing worldwide, original equipment manufacturers are responding with solutions.

Learn more about the seven operators, manufacturers, and suppliers that became members of VAI last month.

VAI and a broad aviation coalition had warned that tariffs would disrupt critical supply chains, increase costs, and weaken US competitiveness.