Accidents

In August of last year, a 125-hour pilot rented a Piper Arrow in Palm Beach, Florida. The rental agreement the pilot signed included a proviso that “there are not to be any night flights to or from the Bahamas or Florida Keys before sunrise or after sunset.” Notwithstanding the advice of one’s parents, one may […]

Two Bell Helicopter employees were killed Wednesday during a flight test in rural Texas near the company’s XworX facility in Arlington. The pilots were testing Bell’s new fly-by-wire 525 Relentless turbine twin when the helicopter crashed in a field. There were no other injuries. The crash is being investigated by the FAA and NTSB, and […]

The following is an excerpt from official NTSB summaries of general aviation accidents in the United States. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report. Cessna 421B Diboll, Texas/Injuries: 1 […]

The following is an excerpt from official NTSB summaries of general aviation accidents in the United States. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report. Piper PA-18-150 Chuglak, Alaska/Injuries: 2 […]

It was a dramatic scene on the tarmac at Singapore’s Changi Airport on Monday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 caught fire moments after making an emergency landing. All 241 people on board the jetliner evacuated safely shortly after firefighters battled the blaze, which started near the right engine before growing out of control and […]

In the beginning — well, the beginning of my airplane love affair — you could get your medical/student pilot certificate from the doctor if you were 16 years old, warm, breathing, had most of your important appendages and $30, preferably in cash. For some fledgling aviators, that’s as far as it went — which is […]

The pilot, 65, had 33,000 hours. He had retired six years earlier as a 777 captain after a 36-year career in airline flying. He was a CFI-I and ATP 
with ratings in a slew of Boeing and Lockheed types, and was an air-frame and power-plant mechanic to boot. He and some family members had flown […]

Following two bizarre June 2 crashes, the Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds have announced show cancellations. In the wake of the death of Capt. Jeff Kuss, the pilot who crashed during a practice flight, the Blue Angels are in a safety stand down. The team called off June demonstrations at the Syracuse International Airshow […]

The pilot of an Embraer Phenom 100 failed to turn on either the jet’s engine anti-ice or structural de-ice system during the last 15 minutes of a December 8, 2014, instrument approach despite flying in known icing conditions. The pilot also selected an approach airspeed that was too slow for flight in ice, according to […]

A Blue Angels pilot was killed Thursday afternoon when his jet crashed in central Tennessee during practice for an upcoming airshow. According to the Navy, the pilot involved in the fatal crash was Capt. Jeff Kuss, who had been with the elite flight demonstration squadron since September 2014. The crash happened soon after the six-pilot […]