Latest Aerospace Headlines

All the headlines from our Aerospace Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Agency M&As: Private Equity Still in Driver’s Seat; Digital Agencies Attract Attention

Mar 2 2020 // The private equity bandwagon continued to roll through the insurance agency and brokerage mergers and acquisitions territory in 2019. As many as two-thirds of all deals involved private equity, according to experts. Most...

Helicopter Pilot in Kobe Bryant Crash Had FAA Violation in 2015

Feb 24 2020 // The pilot of a helicopter that crashed into a Southern California hillside, killing Kobe Bryant and eight others, was reprimanded five years ago for flying into airspace that had reduced visibility without permission,...

NASA Says Software Errors May Have Doomed Boeing Starliner Flight Test

Feb 10 2020 // Defective software could have doomed Boeing’s crew capsule during its first test flight, a botched trip that was cut short and never made it to the International Space Station, NASA and company officials said...

20 Noteworthy Agency Merger Stories of 2019

Feb 10 2020 // 1. January Nationwide Acquires Liability Insurance Program Manager E-Risk Services: Nationwide acquired a New Jersey privately held program manager specializing in management liability lines. Nationwide said E-Risk will...

Boeing Employees’ Emails on Pilot Training Could Boost Crash Victim Claims

Jan 17 2020 // Internal emails from Boeing Co. employees could strengthen the legal case for families claiming the company’s push to minimize the training needed for new 737 Max aircraft contributed to two crashes that killed 346...

Tensions Between U.S. and Iran Hamper Probe of Boeing 737-800 Crash near Tehran

Jan 8 2020 // As investigators sift through the charred wreckage of a jetliner that crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran, contradictory reports have emerged about what might have caused the Boeing Co. 737-800 to abruptly plunge out...

BGC Insurance’s Aerospace Broker Rebrands as ‘Piiq Risk’ with Spate of Key Hires

Jan 7 2020 // BGC Insurance Group (BGCI), a global broker and division of BGC Partners Inc., announced it has rebranded its global aerospace re/insurance brokerage as Piiq Risk Partners.Since the division was launched during the second...

Congress, FAA Reviewing ‘Disturbing’ Boeing Employee Communications on Safety

Dec 27 2019 // Boeing Co. documents under review by a U.S. congressional panel appear to point to a “very disturbing” picture of commentary from the planemaker’s employees over the grounded 737 MAX aircraft, a...

Starr Taps Swiss Re’s Nawrath as Underwriting Chief for New Aviation Unit in Germany

Dec 18 2019 // Starr Insurance Cos. announced the appointment of Carsten Nawrath as Aviation underwriting manager, leading the build-out of a new Aviation insurance operation based in Munich, Germany. The operation will write aerospace...

Irish Plane Lessor Seeks $185M from Boeing for 737 MAX-Related Losses

Dec 18 2019 // An Ireland-based plane lessor sued Boeing Co. on Tuesday for breaching a contract for 22 of the U.S. planemaker’s 737 MAX aircraft and sought a compensation of $185 million.Timaero Ireland Ltd. cited design flaws in...

Boeing 737 MAX Planes to Remain Grounded Rest of This Year: FAA

Dec 11 2019 // Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson confirmed Wednesday the agency will not allow Boeing Co.’s grounded 737 MAX, involved in two fatal crashes in five months, to resume flying before the end of...

Boeing Settles More Than 60 Wrongful Death Cases Filed After Lion Air Crash

Nov 22 2019 // A Boeing Co. lawyer said the aircraft maker has reached settlements in more than 60 wrongful death cases filed after a 737 Max 8 plane flown by Lion Air crashed in Indonesia last year, killing all 189 people...

Shareholder Suit Claims Boeing Board Liable in 737 MAX Problems

Nov 19 2019 // A shareholder lawsuit filed on Monday accused Boeing Co.’s board of doing nothing to investigate the safety of the 737 MAX until the fast-selling plane suffered a second deadly crash in five months.The lawsuit is the...

FAA Chief Vows Improved Safety Reviews of New Aircrafts and Pilot Technology

Nov 14 2019 // Aviation regulators around the world need to do a better job of assessing hazards in aircraft designs and understanding how pilots might be tripped up by complex technology in the wake of the two fatal crashes on Boeing...

French Search Teams Find Fragments of Airbus Engine that Exploded in Flight

Nov 7 2019 // French volunteer search teams have found fragments from an engine that exploded in mid-air over eastern France in July, officials said on Wednesday.The discovery came in an unprecedented search operation involving 150...

Boeing 737 Max’s Design, Pilot and Regulatory Errors Caused Lion Air Crash

Oct 28 2019 // Indonesian investigators found sweeping problems and missteps in connection with last year’s fatal Lion Air crash, including design flaws in Boeing Co.’s 737 Max jet, certification failures by the U.S....

Senators Introduce Safety Legislation to Address Boeing 737 Issues

Oct 28 2019 // Two Democrats on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday introduced legislation to mandate numerous aviation safety recommendations in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people and led to...

Global Safety Regulators Fault U.S., ‘Undue Pressure’ from Boeing for 737 Max Approval

Oct 11 2019 // U.S. aviation regulators assessing Boeing Co.’s 737 Max sometimes didn’t follow their own rules, used out-of-date procedures and lacked the resources and expertise to fully vet the design changes implicated in...

Marsh JLT Specialty Aviation Hires 4 Execs from Aon, Global Aerospace and Swiss Re

Oct 9 2019 // Marsh, the insurance broker and risk adviser, announced four senior appointments to Marsh JLT Specialty’s Aviation Practice in London and New York.In London, Tony Ambrose and Martyn Holland are set to join as...

Southwest Pilots Sue Boeing for Lost Pay, Legal Costs Over ‘Rush’ Sale of 737 Max

Oct 8 2019 // The union for Southwest Airlines Co. pilots sued Boeing Co., saying the manufacturer rushed output of the 737 Max jet to stay competitive, withholding key information about a feature that contributed to two fatal crashes...