Aviation Safety

As I related in December 2020’s article, “Engine Break-In,” my Beech Debonair was down for several weeks as the engine went out for an overhaul. I’m happy to report all the big parts are once again flying in close formation, even if I no longer have money to spend on fuel. Almost. Reacquainting myself with […]

Editor’s note: The following is a first-person account of an inadvertent gear-up landing and its aftermath, written by the incident pilot and adapted from a series of posts at BeechTalk.com, an online resource for Beechcraft owners and pilots of all aircraft types.  On August 5, 2020, I landed my much-loved Beechcraft F33A Bonanza gear-up at […]

Cessna 172N Skyhawk High Resistance The pilot observed a unusually high EGT reading. Examination revealed one of the engine’s eight REM38E spark plugs was not firing. Resistance check of all eight plugs revealed five exceeded the two kiloohm limit. An open current path in the failed spark plug was the probable reason for its failure. […]

Aviation presents ongoing and ever-changing hazards that must be considered at all times. Often overlooked is the airport ramp and the non-movement area. This is especially important at night when personal/commercial vehicles have access.  This came together a recent, adrenaline-pumping scene I witnessed on the ramp at the North Las Vegas, Nev., airport waiting for […]

October 1, 2020, Burlington, Wash. Zenith CH601 Experimental At about 1500 Pacific time, the airplane sustained substantial damage when it crashed short of the runway. The solo private pilot was not injured; visual conditions prevailed. After taking off on the first flight of the day, the pilot remained in the traffic pattern. During the turn […]

Most of my mountain-flying experience comes from frequent trips across or parallel with the Appalachian range in the eastern U.S. I’ve flown my share of trips to Las Vegas and California, though, and at least since an episode over North Carolina in a 160-hp Skyhawk, I’ve always tried to plan for and avoid related turbulence. […]

If there’s any upside to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic—any at all—it may be that many aircraft cockpits are cleaner than they’ve ever been. As a direct result of the pandemic and related guidance from public health officials, it’s not a stretch to suggest that crewed, rental and fleet aircraft of all sizes and types are […]

A December 1, 2020, article published by Bloomberg Quint, “Rusty Pilots Making Flying Errors Is Next Aviation Headache,” highlighted a September 15, 2020, event involving an Indonesian Airbus A330 that experienced a runway excursion on landing. According to the article, an investigation found “the pilot had flown less than three hours in the previous 90 days. […]

I don’t have to go very far out on a limb to suggest the multi-probe engine monitor has revolutionized how we manage piston powerplants. Gone are the days when we depended on a gauge system borrowed from a ’37 Buick to know one or two temperatures. Now, we can see at a glance how each […]

I presented a webinar recently about techniques for flying stabilized approaches. During the question-and-answer period, one of the viewers asked me for a technique for flying a traditional non-precision approach profile, that is, a steep descent from the final approach fix (FAF) to leveling off at the minimum descent altitude (MDA) and flying level until […]