Aviation Safety

Just ahead of EAA AirVenture 2021, Garmin released two products for the general aviation marketplace—one, Smart Glide, is a safety enhancement to engage during an engine power loss, while the other is an improved GI-275 engine indicator system. When the pilot of a single-engine aircraft experiences a sudden power loss—whether instructor induced or for real—they […]

A July 7th report from the Alaska State Troopers in Aniak confirmed there were no injuries after an 18-year-old man—Jaden Lake-Kameroff—attempted to wrestle the controls of a Cessna Caravan away from the pilot and pushed the aircraft’s nose down. The incident occurred at approximately 1444 local time when the aircraft was about 5 miles from […]

The 1960s were a time when young people growing up during those years were pretty skeptical of authority. The motto I remember was: “Never trust anyone over 30.” I never figured out if that actually made sense, not even after I passed through my 30s and beyond. What I did learn for sure as I […]

Think about some of the performance numbers you use to operate your aircraft—climb or descent rates, airspeeds, and so on. In a jet, most of those numbers normally increase, significantly. In a Cessna 172, a descent rate of 3,100 fpm would be frightening to anyone on board, not to mention the nose down angle required […]

Appareo announced its AIRS-400 airborne image recording system at the Aircraft Electronics Association convention in Dallas, Texas, on June 22. The 4K ultra-high definition system captures video and ARINC 429 aircraft information—including pilot intercom and ambient audio—which can be offloaded via a cellular data connection. The lightweight unit is suitable for a full spectrum of […]

“Any other traffic, please advise.” Probably few radio communications that pilots make incur such wrath as that request, which many pilots still make at the conclusion of an initial call to a unicom frequency when approaching a nontowered airport. And it was just one of the topics covered by a panel of experienced GA pilots, […]

On a Sunday morning in April 2004, an air-ambulance helicopter approaching to land in VFR conditions found a blanket of fog forming over the Ukiah Municipal Airport (KUKI) in California. The automatic surface-observation system reported a 100-foot overcast and visibility between 1 and 1¾ miles. The ATP-rated pilot obtained a clearance for the localizer approach […]

The flight began normally. Little did I know how crazy and funny things would end up becoming. It was my student’s last flight before his first check ride in the private pilot portion of our Part 141 curriculum, which comes just before a student’s first solo. We were flying a Cessna 152. We had a […]

An in-depth look at the accidents that result from loss of power on departure.

Most pilots have at one time or another read an NTSB accident report created by the independent US agency responsible for investigating mishaps in all forms of transportation. And most of us have thought: “Wow. I’d never do anything as crazy as that pilot.” Yet pilots of all categories continue to make mind-numbing mistakes in […]