Pilot Proficiency

Flying is a tough enough way to make a living sometimes — but for real economic desperation, try starting and running an aviation business. It’s a costly, unstable industry in which margins tend to be razor thin in even the best of times. The difficulty of consistently squeezing a profit out of things that fly […]

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 […]

Most pilots will tell you nothing quite beats the operational advantage of a set of eyeballs that are right up close and personal with aviation weather as it happens, especially when some region of the country is experiencing engaging phenomenon like convective or freezing conditions. For decades, a single pilot calling back to FSS or […]

The three-day Upset Prevention and Recovery Training course offered by Prevailance Aerospace includes stick time behind the controls of an Extra 330LX with former Navy instructors, who put students through the paces by introducing them to aerobatics, recovery from unusual attitudes and spins. The training is intended to sharpen the muscle memory needed to avoid […]

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 […]

I could see the cecum quite clearly and the obviously inflamed appendix sticking straight out of it. This had to be the easiest appendectomy of my surgical career. With a grasper in my left hand and a Maryland dissector in my right, I knew just where to look for the appendiceal artery. Geoff Bates held […]

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 […]

The vast majority of my flights are routine and mundane — certainly positive attributes from a safety perspective. But on some occasions, circumstances arise that require a little extra attention. These circumstances are not always entirely covered by a checklist. Such was the case on one particular trip returning home from London, a city I […]

A pilot in British Columbia managed to get himself and his passengers out of a scary scenario near Whistler after making a wrong turn into a narrow valley that pinned the airplane down with downdrafts and climbing terrain. In this video, Vern Hannah describes how he “jumped” a couple of cliffs, bringing the airplane very […]