Pilot Proficiency

Are we witnessing the dawn of a kinder, gentler Federal Aviation Administration? Saying it is seeking to challenge the safety status quo, the FAA is adopting a new “compliance philosophy” designed to cut pilots and aircraft operators a break for honest mistakes as part of what is being described as an agency-wide push to identify […]

Neuroscientists tell us it is impossible for the human brain to multitask. We might think we’re becoming more productive by splitting our attention, but in reality when we attempt to multitask we really end up doing twice as much as we should, half as well as we could. There are unavoidable negative impacts when we […]

An American Airlines copilot safely landed an Airbus A320 in Syracuse, New York, yesterday after the captain became ill and died on the scheduled flight from Phoenix to Boston. American Flight 550 left Phoenix at 11:55 p.m. local time Sunday with 147 passengers onboard and diverted mid-flight, landing shortly after 7 a.m. EDT on Monday. […]

A brief smirk passed my lips. In an effort to hide my nerves, I made a feeble attempt at humor and queried the simulator instructor, “You really want me to execute the ILS without a flight director?” His wordless, stone-faced response wasn’t quite the reaction I had hoped for in alleviating my anxiety. I was […]

I’m front-page news. The lead story in my state’s big daily newspaper. On Page 1, above the fold. Where the Albuquerque Journal announced that my plane and I have “earned a spot in aviation history.” How did I do that? Simple. I set a world speed record. And you can too. WHAT DO YOU NEED […]

An unlicensed pilot in rural south Georgia, about 100 miles from Savannah, crashed his homebuilt plane on September 16 at about 3:40 a.m., killing all five people on board. No probable cause was identified in a preliminary report from the National Transportation and Safety Board last week, and there is no evidence of mechanical defects […]

We’re just a couple of weeks away from Flying Aviation Expo and the excitement for Southern California’s premier aviation event, planned for October 15-17 in Palm Springs, is growing by the day. If you haven’t made up you mind whether you’re coming, here is a list of reasons why you have to be there. • […]

Leadership. They write books about it. There are seminars, webinars, pamphlets and university courses about this elusive trait. I’ve known a few great leaders in medicine and one particularly great one in life. I’ve tried my own hand at medical school leadership. I really have no idea as to whether I was any good at […]

It’s hard to deny that we love watching pilots battle the elements and nail (or not) a particularly challenging crosswind landing — whether it’s in a light single or an airliner. But how about the world’s largest passenger airliner — an Airbus A380? One YouTuber managed to catch the massive wide-body jetliner arriving at Düsseldorf […]

The first part of the flight was peaceable enough. It was just two hours from Savannah, Georgia, to White Plains, New York, with two passengers (one a spry 95 years of age, delightful smile included) and plenty of gas. The weather at the destination was the only wrinkle in the silk fabric of a perfect […]