Airplane News; China Eastern resumes 737 ops, Medical Tracking, Weather info for GA, FAA Rescinds AD

This week in Airplane news; China Eastern resumes 737 operations, a new medical application tracking app, Iris Automation & TruWeather Solutions partner to provide weather for GA, the FAA rescinds a proposed AD for Grumman aircraft.

China Eastern has returned its fleet of 737-800s to service

There is still no word on the cause of the China Eastern crash on March 21st.

The airline says they have checked their 737s for structural integrity, system checks, and test flights, with a special interest in the aircraft with similar serial numbers to the accident aircraft.

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/china-eastern-resumes-737-800-flights

The FAA has added a new feature to MedXPress that allows pilots to track the status of their application

This online portal means you no longer need to call the Office of Aerospace Medicine to determine where your application is.

This does NOT change the certification process but does allow for an easier time checking on your cert.

https://generalaviationnews.com/2022/04/20/pilots-now-able-to-track-medical-applications-in-real-time/

Iris Automation has announced a partnership with TruWeather Solutions that seeks to bridge the gap in low altitude weather forecasting

This is particularly important for Agricultural operators, balloon operators, and even UAS.

This system will include weather stations, airspace awareness, and other new sensors.

This will pave the way for UAM, BVLOS sUAS operations, and general aviation safety.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2022/april/20/iris-automation-pairs-up-with-truweather-solutions

The FAA has rescinded the AD introduced in December for Grumman Cheetah and Tiger aircraft for delimitation of the stabilizer.

The AD was challenged by 41 commenters, including AOPA.

In rescinding the FAA said “[T]he instructions in the airplane maintenance manual are sufficient to detect the type of damage that is believed to have led to the originating accident, as well as similar damage on the rest of the airplane. The FAA further agrees that the original findings were not indicative of an unsafe condition, but instead indicative of incorrectly followed maintenance procedures. Based on this assessment, the proposed inspection in the NPRM would exceed what is sufficient to detect the main issue of bonding delamination.”

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-rescinds-labor-intensive-grumman-cheetah-tiger-delamination-ad