Aviation Safety

Everything seemed routine. I was cruising along in nice weather. The satellite radio played soft music in the background. Suddenly, the engine began coughing, and quickly lost power. I tried manipulating the throttle but nothing changed; it almost seemed like it wasn’t connected to the engine at all. I looked around for options, not panicking […]

So I’m flying along, fat, dumb and happy in my Lancair IV-P. I had blasted off out of Fargo, N.D. There is good news and bad news about the frozen north, my new home. Okay, the bad news first—it’s really cold here. Did you know that the Centigrade/Celsius system is the same as the Fahrenheit […]

A few months ago, I was assigned an empty flight to take a plane to a maintenance center and return. What an opportunity! Two empty legs? An overnight in a neat city? Sounds like a free family vacation! I made sure it was all above board with the company and planned everything out. It was my […]

At about 1600 local time, the transient Cherokee 180 pilot requested that his airplane be fueled. The line staff was unable to do so at that time due to heavy rain and lightning nearby. Meanwhile, FBO personnel discussed his plan to take off in poor weather at night. The recently certificated private pilot, heading home […]

Thanks for your editorial, “Airline Pilot Shortage?” in the February 2023 issue. As a career aviator with over 50 years in the “Wild Blue,” both a corporate and airline kinda guy, I have some insight I’d like to share. You are right that the road up to the Bigs through the commuters is or was […]

If you’re reading these words in the dead-tree version of this magazine, you may have already realized it’s a bit thinner than previous issues. That’s because we’ve been forced to reduce the number of pages each month, from 32 to 24, thanks to high paper prices. We’re not the first magazine to face this reality […]

Beechcraft A36 Bonanza Stator And Rectifier Failure During descent, electric power was lost. Selected standby alternator. Unable to extend gear electrically; manually extended gear and landed uneventfully. Removed alternator (p/n 649304). Repair station replaced the stator and rectifier. Part total time: Unknown Beechcraft 58 Baron Cracked Solder Joint Pilot reported left alternator was intermittent (indicator […]

After a few months of relatively inactive flying, I discovered my flight review had expired. Although my flight instructor and I flew often over the last two years, they never signed off a BFR for me, and it had been more than 24 months since my last one. Scheduling my favorite club airplane and instructor […]

January 23, 2023, Provo, Utah Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 At about 1135 Mountain time, the airplane was substantially damaged during an attempted takeoff. The pilot sustained fatal injuries, two passengers were seriously injured and one passenger sustained minor injuries. Instrument conditions prevailed. A witness reported the accident airplane was hangared until 1055, when it was […]

One of the truisms in aviation is that there’s weather no airplane should tackle. The addendum is that if you want to go shoot approaches in your Cessna 150 through relatively benign IMC, there’s probably not that much that can go wrong. But even a 747 likely won’t tolerate extreme icing. And we all (should) […]