Pete Muntean

Celebrating 100 years of the @GoodyearBlimp with a blimp flying lesson over Oshkosh! And it’s true—blimpin’ ain’t easy :)

NEW prelim NTSB report says the private jet that crashed into a San Diego neighborhood was too low on its descent path for *more than a mile* before clipping power lines at less than 100 feet.

DEVELOPING: The FAA is banning nearly all flights from more than 3,700 square miles of airspace around a chemical spill in McArthur, Ohio. The new TFR says "only relief flights" are authorized in the no-fly zone that spans a 30 nautical mile radius up to 23,000 feet.

DEVELOPING: No apparent distress call from the Citation private jet that crashed into Navy housing on approach into San Diego's Montgomery Field. Unclear how many were on board or if any on the ground were killed. About 100 people were evacuated to a nearby school.

NEWS (CNN) The FAA confirms it is investigating Friday's close call involving Delta regional jet (SkyWest 3788) and an Air Force B-52 bomber near Minot International Airport. The B-52 was performing a flyover of the North Dakota State Fair, USAF confirms.

NEWS: Senator Ted Cruz—sharply critical of Army aviation since the D.C. midair collision—says he will introduce a bill that will “close the regulatory loophole” that allowed the Army Blackhawk helicopter to fly near DCA with ADS-B turned off.

NEW: "Every rule is being evaluated," says Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after TSA officially announces the end of the rule requiring passengers to remove their shoes at airport checkpoints.

RIGHT NOW: NTSB convenes to decide on the final cause of the dramatic January 2024 door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy lauds the crew, says their actions were “nothing short of heroic.”

JUST IN: The NTSB is issuing a rare, urgent safety bulletin warning of potential engine problems with Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. This comes after two Southwest flights hit birds. The NTSB says damage to CFM LEAP-1B engines can cause smoke to enter the cockpit and cabin.

NEW: FAA says it will stop ALL arrivals and departures at Reagan National Airport from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday for Army 250th parade. Coincides with President Trump’s 79th birthday.

New: @SenDuckworth slams FAA nominee Bedford on his efforts to lower airline pilot experience rules. "Well-trained pilots are our last line of defense in incident after incident." Bedford: "I will not do anything that will reduce safety, full stop." Duckworth not satisfied.

Now: Sen. Ted Cruz asks FAA nominee Bryan Bedford what must change since the DCA midair collision. "Problems persist and more work needs to be done," Bedford says, citing that his airline, Republic Airways, has had *three* collision avoidance advisories at DCA since 1/29.

NEW: Trump FAA nominee Bryan Bedford just called the DCA midair collision a "clear oversight" by the agency. "In the years preceding that tragic night in January, there were 85 similar near misses at Reagan National. How did this go unaddressed? It’s unacceptable."

Just now: @SenatorCantwell says she will grill Bedford on his criticism of reforms that upped airline pilot experience requirements. “Fatalities have been reduced by 99% in the last 11 years, so I'm sure I will ask you for the record what you think about the 1,500-hour rule.”

Now - @SenateCommerce chair Ted Cruz opens hearing for FAA nominee Bryan Bedford by acknowledging DCA midair collision. “That accident—and the air traffic control breakdowns that have occurred since—laid bare the vulnerable state of the US air traffic control system.”

NOW: Senate committee hearing for Trump nominee to lead the FAA travels into order. Bryan Bedford is an airline executive who has been critical of the agency’s safety mandate.

SCOOP: NTSB investigators will hold a three-day-long public hearing on the DCA midair collision, according to an agency email obtained by CNN. The hearing starts on July 30.

What happens if air traffic control radar screens go blank? @petemuntean goes inside a United Airlines flight training simulator to see how pilots prepare for equipment failures.

NOW: A month on, @SecDuffy insists a software and telecom upgrades have fixed repeat failures at Newark air traffic approach control. New fiber lines have been laid by Verizon, are being tested, and should be online by July, Duffy says.

NEW: ATC told the pilot of the private jet that crashed on approach into San Diego's Montgomery Field that the ASOS weather system there was not working, per audio from @liveatc. Controllers reported poor conditions at nearby Miramar MCAS—200' ceiling & .5 mile visibility.