Stephen Pope

Dramatic security video from five infrared cameras at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport in Colorado captured the January 5 crash of a Challenger 601 that killed a pilot and critically injured two others. The video, posted online by Aspen Journalism, a local non-profit media outlet, shows the airplane on its second landing attempt after aborting the first […]

The U.S. Senate has introduced a bill aimed at opening a dialog with pilots and the FAA before the agency adopts a controversial sleep apnea testing policy. The measure would compel the FAA to abide by the normal rulemaking process before implementing any policy change related to pilot medicals and sleep apnea screening. Introduced by […]

I spent some time this week with Kenny Dichter, the founder of Wheels Up, a startup private aviation company that is rolling the dice with a fleet of brand new King Air 350i turboprops. The New York-based firm has taken delivery of its first nine King Airs as part of a massive deal with Beechcraft […]

A variety of factors contributed to the tragic crash of a Twin Commander into an Arizona mountain that killed a father and his three young children just before Thanksgiving two years ago. Linking them all, however, was a culture of “complacency” that existed among the co-owners of the company that operated the airplane, according to […]

The National Transportation Safety Board’s 2014 “Most Wanted” list of transportation safety concerns includes, “General Aviation: Identify and Communicate Hazardous Weather,” and “Address Unique Characteristics of Helicopter Operations,” as two of 10 issues the Board says deserve increased focus in the coming year. In the 2014 Most Wanted list released today, the NTSB stated: “The […]

We recently heard a story involving a student pilot who headed out to the airport for some night solo time and ended up facing his first real emergency. According to his instructor, the student performed a preflight inspection in the winter chill with a flashlight before climbing aboard and heading out to the active. When […]

The FAA has been dragging its heels on the issue of driver’s license medicals for private pilots for the better part of two years, but the proposal might finally get the attention it deserves. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta recently sent a letter to AOPA apologizing for the delay in the association’s request to expand driver’s […]

The pilots of a Southwest Airlines 737 that mistakenly landed at the wrong airport near Branson, Missouri, won’t be flying again anytime soon pending an internal and FAA investigation into the incident, according to the airline. The Southwest 737-700 departed Chicago Midway Airport on Sunday bound for the 7,140-foot runway at Branson Airport, but landed […]

A Navy helicopter carrying five crew members crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Virginia during a training mission Wednesday, killing two crew members and injuring two others, the U.S. Navy said. Rescuers are still searching for the fifth crew member. The service members were hoisted from 42-degree waters by a Navy helicopter and taken to […]

Industry groups are sounding alarms over a surprise change to the FAA’s longstanding policy toward GA flight simulators that one organization says will diminish many pilots’ ability to receive adequate training. In the policy reversal issued on January 2, the FAA said it plans to rescind all Letters of Authorization for general aviation flight simulators […]