Michigan State Police pilot Jerry King was flying his state plane back to the Lansing airport after a mission when he saw a green pulsing light in the night sky. Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright flash, much like staring into a camera flashbulb as it goes off, and he was unable to see for several seconds. “It’ll seem like 10,” King said. “If you lose control of the aircraft, that’s it. It’s not like a co-pilot’s going to take over.” The cockpit of the single-engine plane was hit by a laser beam directed by someone on the ground. Such incidents once happened occasionally to pilots, as laser devices became commonly available to amateur astronomers, construction engineers and others, but now are reported at least 7,000 times a year. Michigan is poised to join a growing list of states enacting new laws to combat increasingly frequent laser attacks and put those responsible in prison. Twenty-two states now have passed such laws, most in the last few years. The Michigan legislation was approved unanimously by the Senate Tuesday and could be referred to Gov. Rick Snyder for his signature as early as next week. It would make “lasing” an aircraft or train a felony punishable by five years in prison. Though there have been no known air crashes caused by laser strikes, some pilots have been injured, and authorities are alarmed by the danger of pilots temporarily blinded as they are landing or taking off at airports. King sustained a flash burn in his left eye, requiring a trip to an ophthalmologist and a course of eye drops.<br/>
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A US aviation security agency said there are “no imminent” plans to add the UK or other nations to airports where passengers are banned from carrying electronic devices in the cabin on flights bound for American cities. The UK’s Times and Guardian had reported that US officials notified the UK they were considering such a move, citing unnamed Whitehall officials. “There are no imminent changes to the electronics ban,” US Transportation Security Administration spokesman Michael England said. “However, we are continuously assessing security directives based on intelligence and will make changes when necessary to keep travelers safe.” Starting March 21, the TSA prohibited passengers boarding flights to the US in 10 Middle East airports from carrying devices larger than mobile phones in the cabin. They must be stowed in checked bags.<br/>
A trade group representing three familiar US brands — JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and FedEx — is criticising United, American Airlines and Delta in a new advertising campaign, arguing the big airlines’ efforts to discredit the three largest Gulf carriers will harm US business interests. It’s a small ad buy, and it will only run for two weeks on social media and in Washington, D.C.-area media. But through a group called US Airlines for Open Skies, JetBlue, Hawaiian and Fedex, along with shipping company Atlas Air, suggest United, Delta and American are distorting facts to try to prop up their businesses and avoid competition. “The legacy carriers don’t speak for all — or even most — US airlines,” the group said in one of its ads. The group, which was founded in 2015, argues many US entities benefit from the Open Skies agreements American, Delta and United have criticised. The agreements permit Emirates, Etihad and Qatar to start as many new US routes as they want, including one-stop flights routed through Europe. But they also permit Fedex to operate a regional hub in Dubai, and they give Hawaiian and JetBlue unfettered access to many of the world’s most important airports.<br/>
China is set to become the world’s largest market for aircraft and the nation’s first domestically developed large jet will aim to grab a share of that business. The country will need 6,810 aircraft valued at more than $1t in the two decades through 2035, Boeing predicted in September. That would make China the biggest single-country market for planes, and the third-largest as a region, behind Europe and North America. State-backed Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd. is poised to conduct the first flight of the locally built C919 before the end of May. The test flight is delayed by more than a year. The nation will surpass the US as the world’s largest air-travel market even sooner, around 2024. The number of people flying to, from and within China will jump to 1.3b by 2035, compared with 1.1b for the US, IATA said. Of China’s total plane demand in the 20-year period, 75 percent will be single-aisle -- a category dominated by Boeing’s 737 and Airbus SE’s A320 family that the C919 will be looking to break.<br/>
Boeing is nearing a decision to launch a larger version of its 737 workhorse jet within two months to counter strong sales of the Airbus A321neo, after a breakthrough on the design for one of its parts, industry sources said. The 737 MAX 10 would narrow the gap between the 178-220 seat 737-9, which first flew this month, and the 185-240 seat A321neo, which dominates the top end of a market for narrowbody jets worth $2t over 20 years. Boeing has been studying how to solve a tricky problem with the design of the plane's landing gear, without adding cost or delaying a 2020 target for first deliveries. The sources said a solution had been found and that Boeing was talking more deliberately to airlines about launching the 737-10 at the Paris Airshow in June. Boeing is said to anticipate a total market of 1,000 of the planes. "Boeing is actively engaged in discussions with customers about the 737 MAX 10X," a spokesman said. "No decision has been made on the airplane and any discussion on timing of a possible launch would be speculative."<br/>