Flight Safety

Bill requires civilian and military aircraft to use ADS-B navigation technology.

Union opposes efforts to diminish existing crew requirements in commercial airlines, stressing an emphasis on safety.

The Transportation Secretary’s comments come weeks after the FAA’s NOTAM system crashed.

“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, […]

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 […]

“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 […]

ZeroAvia’s Piper M-class demonstrator—developed to test flight on hydrogen power—suffered an off-airport landing on April 29, 2021, just outside of the perimeter of the Cranfield airport in the UK. The aircraft was conducting a routine flight within the latter stages of its six-seat HyFlyer testing regime—which was expected to conclude in the next few weeks—recorded […]

One of the most common questions asked of me as an airline pilot—and now as a former one—is, “Did you ever have any really close calls?” My coy response is usually, “The espresso maker on the Triple Seven quit just as we reached our North Atlantic oceanic entry point after departing from London.” The inquiries […]