FAA probes Boeing’s possible role in 737 Max 9 cabin blowout
Nearly a week after a four-foot wall panel blew out of a Boeing plane cabin midair, exposing Alaska Airlines passengers to open air at 16,000 feet, the Federal Aviation Administration formally notified the Arlington County-based aerospace giant Wednesday that it will investigate the company’s potential role in the incident and whether it failed to ensure […]
Blackstone vertiport receives landmark approval
Move over, North Carolina. The Tar Heel State may have been first in flight, but Virginia landed a first for the advanced air mobility industry in September 2023 when the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration granted conditional approval for the nation’s first public-use vertiport, a landing and launch site for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft […]
Va. joins collaborative to launch air taxi industry
Virginia has joined seven other states in forming a collaborative to support the growth of the advanced air mobility industry. The Advanced Air Mobility Multistate Collaborative represents all aviation modes, including small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS) and electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL), which are both often referred to as air taxis, as well […]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: C. JEFFREY KNITTEL
As head of Airbus’ Americas arm, Knittel runs the European aerospace giant’s commercial aircraft business for North and South America, as well as its helicopter and defense units. He also chairs Acubed, Airbus’ Silicon Valley-based innovation arm, and serves on the board of Airbus Ventures, the company’s VC firm for early-stage technologies. Before coming aboard […]
Leidos buys Aussie special missions biz
Reston-based Fortune 500 federal contractor Leidos Holdings Inc. has entered into an agreement with British technology aerospace manufacturer Cobham Ltd. to purchase the special missions business from its Australia-based Cobham Aviation Services subsidiary, according to a news release. Financial details of the deal, which will add airborne surveillance and search and rescue missions to Leidos̵[...]
PAE aviation division receives $136.5M Air Force contract
Arlington-based PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC has received a $136.5 million contract to provide aerial target operations and maintenance for the Air Force, the Pentagon announced Thursday. Under the contract, PAE will conduct lethality testing of major weapons systems and munitions programs at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida and Holloman Air Force Base […]
Averett students take flight at Danville airport
Times are changing at Danville Regional Airport. Averett University became the airport’s fixed-base operator in July 2021, replacing General Aviation Inc., a family-owned business which served as the FBO for more than 70 years. The city of Danville owns the airport and its fueling facility. The city’s chosen FBO pays the city for the privilege […]
Airbus U.S. Space & Defense promotes COO to CEO
Robert Geckle has been promoted to be the CEO of Arlington-based aerospace and aviation contractor Airbus U.S. Space & Defense Inc., moving up from serving as the chief operating officer and head of operations and corporate functions, the company announced Thursday. Geckle has worked with Airbus across its major business lines in multiple countries for […]
Aery Aviation to add 211 jobs, expand Newport News HQ
Newport News-based defense contractor Aery Aviation LLC will add 211 jobs with the $15.3 million expansion of its headquarters in Newport News, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. The aviation company will build a 60,000 square-foot hangar with access to the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport runway and an engineering technology center to provide maintenance and modification [&helli[...]
Intelsat closes $400M cash deal for commercial aviation business
McLean-based communications satellite services provider Intelsat Corp. announced Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of in-flight broadband connectivity provider Gogo Inc.’s commercial aviation business for $400 million in cash. The acquisition was first announced in early September. Intelsat plans to pair its satellite and ground network to Gogo’s customer base of more than 3,000[...]
Arlington logistics, security company names CFO
Arlington-based Cambridge International Systems Inc. announced Tuesday it has hired Josh Golden as chief financial officer. With more than 25 years of experience, Golden was most recently the CFO and chief operating officer with Advanced Technology Systems Co. In his new role, he will lead Cambridge’s finance department and work with the executive leadership team […]
ROA passenger traffic up 7.1% from last year
The Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport‘s (ROA) January grew 7.1% on a year-over-year basis, with 53,016 passengers flying in January 2020, the airport announced Friday. ROA has sustained passenger growth since September 2016. In January 2019 to January 2020 there were 3,552 more passengers — 114 more passengers per day. “Passenger demand is a critical factor when […]

















