Aviation Safety

Beech 58 Baron Cold-Weather Failure While at cruise altitude of 14,000 feet on a very cold day, the G500 panel flagged the airspeed, altitude, AIS, OAT, heading and horizon all “x” out with big red x’s. Loss of all data from the AHARS.  Pilot used the backup instruments to complete the flight. Whenever cold, the […]

There’s an old saying: “Landings are mandatory; takeoffs are optional.” Like so many other phrases we hear in the pilot lounge, it’s cute while trying to be educational. Although I’ve had to abort a takeoff before, and demonstrated them many times when transitioning to various multi-engine airplanes, I’d never really understood the truth of the […]

February 1, 2022, Danville, Va. Cessna 310R At about 1006 Eastern time, the airplane was destroyed when it collided with terrain. The solo commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed for the aerial surveying flight. According to ADS-B data, the airplane climbed to 2300 feet msl about two minutes into the flight before beginning […]

I hit a bird once. I was flying a Piper Arrow II, on short final, with landing gear and full flaps extended, when I saw the bird ahead of the airplane. It was maneuvering and, from my perspective, flew in a circle as we neared each other, then disappeared under the left wing. I heard a […]

Since about the time two airplanes tried to use the same airport at the same time, runway and taxiway collisions have been a safety issue. With the growth in traffic outpacing construction of new facilities in recent years, the FAA has also noticed greater numbers of what are called “wrong-surface events.” It’s a broad term, […]

One instrument almost all aircraft have is an airspeed indicator. Of course, it’s important to know how fast we’re going, if for no other reason than bragging rights, and that’s true for airplanes, rotorcraft, gliders and even dirigibles (hot air balloons need not apply). Piston-powered personal airplanes, meanwhile, often have a bunch of color-coded markings […]

One of the local GA airports in my area recently got an FAA improvement grant. They got new taxiway lights—real ones, to replace the old blue reflectors—and new paint for all of the surface and runway markings. The hold-short signs at the ends of the runway are now carefully mounted, bright red and well-lit at […]

Many years ago, when I was still a bold pilot, I was in the U.S. Air Force, based at Beale AFB and flying as a copilot aboard the KC-135Q, the venerable airborne tanker system based on the Boeing 707. The “Q” version of the KC-135 was specially modified to refuel the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird with […]

When I am doing check rides, training and instrument proficiency checks, I take a lot of notes. My goal is to write down symptoms needing attention, such as altitude deviation or airspeed mismanagement, and find solutions. Most pilots strive for professionalism, and they work with me to identify those solutions. During post-flight briefings, I start […]

Thank you for Jeb Burnside’s “Follow the Money” commentary in the April 2022 issue. I’d like to highlight another aspect of the leaded-avgas issue that aviation’s “alphabet soup” hasn’t called much attention to. According to the EAA’s own hardcopy STC materials (but not emphasized on the EAA or AOPA web sites), “more than 65 percent […]