WICHITA, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 6, 2026--
Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, today announced Brazos Valley Flight Services, Executive Air Taxi Corporation, Fairmont State University, Sterling Flight Training and Victors Aviation as its 2026 Top Hawk program recipients, continuing a legacy that has placed 55 factory-new Cessna Skyhawks in training environments since the program launched in 2015.
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Now entering its second decade, Top Hawk is one of the industry’s longest‑running manufacturer‑school partnerships. Designed to support aviation workforce development, the program loans custom‑branded, factory‑new Skyhawks to selected organizations for one year, giving students access to the world’s most popular training aircraft and helping schools modernize their fleets with advanced avionics and safety features.
“Top Hawk has grown into a powerful engine for pilot development,” said Chris Crow, vice president, Piston & Utility Sales. “These organizations demonstrate strong student engagement, high training utilization and a commitment to growing the next generation of aviators. More than 1,000 students have already trained in Top Hawk aircraft over the past decade, and this year’s class will build on that impact.”
Program fuels national pilot pipeline
Top Hawk was created to help aviation schools meet rising pilot demand and to expand access to modern training aircraft. Industry forecasts have projected a need for more than 200,000 new pilots over the coming decade, strengthening demand for high‑quality training equipment and advanced cockpit technology.
Each Top Hawk aircraft is typically the most utilized plane in a school’s fleet during its year of service. Early program recipients logged more than 1,300 flight hours in less than a year, demonstrating how heavily the aircraft are used in collegiate and commercial training missions.
Beyond training, schools often use their Top Hawk aircraft for community outreach, including discovery flights, airshow appearances and youth aviation days that expose thousands of young people to flight each year.
A decade of results
Since 2015, the Top Hawk program has delivered measurable benefits to participating universities, flight schools and training centers across the United States and abroad:
About the Cessna Skyhawk
The Cessna Skyhawk is considered the aircraft of choice for pilot training, and it is the most popular single-engine aircraft in aviation history. Since the aircraft first took flight in 1955, over 45,000 Skyhawks have been delivered to customers around the world – more than any other aircraft in the industry. The single-engine four-seat, high-wing Skyhawk is renowned for offering the best combination of modern features, including the Garmin G1000 NXi avionics with wireless connectivity, a standard angle-of-attack display system, and proven dependability. The aircraft also features a McCauley Propeller Systems aluminum fixed pitch propeller. Learn more about the Cessna Skyhawk at cessna.txtav.com.
About Textron Aviation Inc.
We have been inspiring the journey of flight for nearly 100 years. Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has empowered our collective talent across the Beechcraft, Cessna, Hawker and Pipistrel brands to design and deliver the best aviation experience for our customers. With a range that includes everything from business jets, turboprops, light and high-performance pistons, to special mission, military trainer and defense aircraft, Textron Aviation has the most versatile and comprehensive aviation product portfolio in the world and a workforce that has produced more than half of all general aviation aircraft worldwide. Customers in more than 170 countries rely on our legendary performance, reliability and versatility, along with our trusted global customer service network, for affordable, productive and flexible flight. For more information, visit www.txtav.com.
About Textron
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell, Cessna, Beechcraft, Pipistrel, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, and Textron Systems. For more information, visit: www.textron.com.
Certain statements in this press release may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update them. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Factory-new Cessna Skyhawks (Model 172) to take flight as Textron Aviation names five 2026 Top Hawk recipients—helping train the next generation of pilots
BEIRUT (AP) — A U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon came under attack with small arms fire Saturday morning leaving one French peacekeeper dead and three wounded, two of them seriously, France's president and the force known as UNIFIL said.
Both President Emmanual Macron and the UNIFIL force blamed Hezbollah, but the militant group denied involvement.
The attack near the southern Lebanese village of Ghandouriyeh came after a 10-day ceasefire went into effect at midnight Thursday between Israel and Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2 when the Iran-backed group launched rockets into Israel after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, killing top officials including the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The war, in which Israel invaded parts of Lebanon, left nearly 2,300 people dead in Lebanon, more than 1 million people displaced and caused wide destruction.
“Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media. “France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest those responsible and assume their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL,” the U.N. mission in southern Lebanon.
In Beirut, three judicial officials said the country's Military Tribunal opened an investigation over the incident and is in contact with the army's intelligence department to work on identifying the attackers. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Hezbollah denied links to the attack calling in a statement for caution in assigning blame and judgment until the Lebanese army completes its investigation to determine the full circumstances of the incident. Hezbollah said peacekeepers should coordinate with the Lebanese army in their operations.
Hezbollah expressed surprise in the statement at the hasty accusations leveled against it, especially given the silence of these same parties “when the Israeli enemy attacks UNIFIL forces.”
Macron identified the dead soldier as Staff Sgt. Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment from Montauban. He added that three of Montorio’s “comrades in arms were injured and evacuated.”
“The nation bows in respect and extends its support to the families of our soldiers and to all our military personnel engaged for peace in Lebanon,” he said.
His death came nearly a month after a drone attack on March 12 targeted a Kurdish military base in Iraq's Erbil region, killing French Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion and wounding six others.
French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said Saturday that the soldier was killed during an ambush. She said he was on a mission to open a route toward a UNIFIL post that had been isolated for several days due to fighting in the area between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.
A 10-day ceasefire took effect in Lebanon on Friday, but it wasn't clear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a truce it did not play a role in negotiating.
“He was caught in an ambush by an armed group at very close range,” she said on X. “Immediately hit by a direct shot from a light weapon, he was pulled back under fire by his comrades, who were unable to resuscitate him.”
UNIFIL said a patrol clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the village of Ghandouriyeh on Saturday to re-establish links with isolated UNIFIL positions came under small-arms fire from non-state actors. UNIFIL said one peacekeeper succumbed to his injuries and three others were injured, two of them seriously.
Macron spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam following the attack “in order to call on the Lebanese authorities to shed full light on this incident, to identify and prosecute those responsible without delay, and to do everything possible to ensure the safety of UNIFIL soldiers, who must under no circumstances be targeted,” Macron's office said.
Salam posted on X that he has ordered an investigation into the attack and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Aoun and Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri condemned the attack.
The Lebanese army condemned the attack in a statement adding that it will continue its “close coordination” with UNIFIL. The army added that it is investigating the attack to detain the perpetrators.
Macron also reiterated “the importance of full respect for the ceasefire by all parties and reaffirmed France’s commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty, for the benefit of all Lebanese people and regional stability.
Earlier Saturday, the Israeli military said it had conducted aerial and ground strikes in southern Lebanon adding after it identified several incidents in which militants “violated the ceasefire understanding” by approaching areas close to where Israeli troops are located.
The military mentioned for the first time what it called a “Yellow Line,” saying militants tried to approach it from the north.
There is no mention of a “Yellow Line” in the 10-day ceasefire agreement that was announced by President Donald Trump and went into effect this week.
The U.S. State Department said Thursday that according to the ceasefire agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.”
Senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qammati told Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed TV Saturday that the group will not tolerate any Israeli strikes similar to what happened after the November 2024 truce, when Israel continued to carry out almost daily airstrikes.
“This time we will not practice the strategic patience policy,” Qammati said.
Petrequin reported from London.
A French U.N peacekeeper sits on an armored personnel carrier at a road used by displaced people to return to their villages on the second day of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in Qasmiyeh, near Tyre city, southern Lebanon, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Barber Mohammad Mehdi cuts the hair of his client Ayman Al Zein inside his shop, which was damaged in an Israeli airstrike that also damaged Al Zein's shop, in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man walks between destroyed buildings on the second day of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Saturday, April 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Residents remove rubble from their destroyed house on the second day of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Saturday, April 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Residents remove rubble from their destroyed house on the second day of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in Jibchit village, south Lebanon, Saturday, April 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
