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This FAA airworthiness directive (AD), which takes effect Mar. 25, requires operational inspections of each engine drain valve for certain helicopters, inspections of each affected rear-cargo compartment hose, installation and repetitive inspections of thermal papers, and corrective actions, if necessary. It also requires inspection of the rear-cargo compartment hoses in conjunction with the initial operational inspections. The FAA is accepting comments on the AD through Apr. 24.

(AVweb) – The FAA has activated a radar data-sharing initiative with the Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Test Site in Grand Forks, North Dakota, enabling the integration of federal radar information into the state’s Vantis beyond visual line of sight system.

At the VERTICON Safety Symposium on Mar. 9, Elias Kontanis, PhD, chief of the US National Transportation Safety Board’s Transportation Disaster Assistance Division, explained why every vertical aviation operator, no matter its size, needs its own assistance program for accident victims and their families.

The OEM formally launched an unmanned aircraft division Mar. 10 at VERTICON 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. The company said the separate Robinson Unmanned business unit will be dedicated to “the development and support of a full suite of remotely piloted and autonomous aircraft” that includes modified models of its R44 and R66 helicopters and its Ascent line of coaxial rotor unmanned aircraft systems.

(AIN) – Eve Air Mobility is displaying a full-scale mock-up of its Eve-100 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at VERTICON 2026 this week in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of its efforts to build the advanced air mobility business case among helicopter operators—and within the US market in particular.

The FAA and US Department of Transportation (DOT) have chosen BETA Technologies to participate in seven of the eight projects under the Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program (eIPP).

Officially designated the X-76, the experimental aircraft that is part of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Speed and Runway Independent Technologies program will be built by Bell Textron following a successful critical design review.

(AerialFire) – For advocates seeking regulatory reform and greater awareness of an emerging aerial hazard following a Jan. 2 accident in Arizona, where a helicopter struck a slackline resulting in the deaths of four people, the goal is straightforward: transform a devastating loss into meaningful safety improvements that protect all users of low-altitude airspace, writes George Parker III.

(AIN) – François Lassale headed into his first VERTICON as the president and CEO of VAI this week as the event is gaining momentum. The show—in its second edition as VERTICON and building off the years the event was held as HAI HELI-EXPO—has 15,000-plus attendees, more than 650 exhibitors, 280,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, and some 60 aircraft on static display.