Aviation Safety

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 […]

The FAA in January 2021 sent a letter to Pedro Fabregas, president and CEO of Envoy Air, Inc—American Airlines’ largest regional partner—that the agency’s safety assurance system inspectors had identified nine potential operational safety concerns related to flight crew performance. The letter and other documents were anonymously sent to Flying magazine, but were believed to […]

Three people walked away unscathed on May 12 after a Cirrus SR22 and a Swearingen Metroliner collided in midair about three miles north of the threshold of Runway 17L at Denver Centennial Airport (KAPA) located a few miles southeast of the city of Denver, Colorado. The AvHerald reported the Metroliner—Key Lime Air 970—was inbound to […]

“What’s it doing now?” If you haven’t said or thought it in the cockpit, you’ve almost certainly heard it from someone else. The question often has to do with new technology in the cockpit or automation not doing what you think it should. With more and more advanced systems—particularly with regards to navigation—expectation bias is […]

When you can say, “Been there, done that!”

Whatever may be said about the FAA, it produces some useful publications. One of them is Advisory Circular 90-109A, Transition to Unfamiliar Aircraft. Not to be confused with its sister publication, AC 90-89, Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Testing Handbook, AC 90-109A is directed at pilots beginning to fly an airplane of a type with […]

Aerox creates the latest product in the company’s line of aviator’s oxygen gear, the PrO2 Plus.