The iPad has replaced the bulky flight manuals airline pilots lugged from gate to gate. But should it be used to train pilots on how to fly new aircraft?
Aviation officials will pursue this question as they investigate two recent fatal crashes of the new Boeing 737 Max.
A pair of new Apple hirings may hint that the company is setting its sights on the sky.
Two of Google’s top satellite executives have reportedly left the Alphabet-owned company in recent weeks and were hired by Apple. What they’ll be working on isn’t clear, but their experience indicates Apple could be getting serious about satellite internet.
Apple has announced a new board member in the form of James A. Bell, previously the chief financial officer and corporate president of The Boeing Company.
“James brings a wealth of global, financial and industrial experience from his successful career at Boeing as corporate president and CFO,” Tim Cook said in a statement. “I am thrilled to welcome him to Apple’s board of directors and I look forward to working with him.”
American Airlines has now ditched heavy flight manuals and become the first major commercial carrier to introduce iPads to all of its cockpits in a move that is expected to save more than $1 million in fuel costs every year.
The company first began piloting (get it?) the scheme back in April, when it used Apple’s device alongside traditional paper manuals, which typically weigh around 35 pounds. Now those manuals have been phased out completely in favor of digital versions.
Wireless interference from an iPhone has been blamed for disrupting the compasses on a regional airliner and sending pilots several miles off course. The incident happened on a 2011 flight as it climbed past 9,000 feet, but the issue was resolved when a flight attendant asked a passenger to turn their iPhone off.
