Pilot Proficiency

Five passengers and a pilot on a sightseeing flight were killed on Monday when their floatplane crashed in rugged terrain north of Quebec City. The de Havilland Beaver crashed into a mountainside near Quebec’s Lac Saint-Jean in good weather, according to crash investigators. The passengers included four British nationals and one woman from France. A […]

In my March Aftermath column on the 2012 crash of a Pilatus PC-12 in Florida, I faulted the National Transportation Safety Board for mixing up indicated and true airspeeds. Actually, it was I who misread the report. I am indebted to reader Timothy Burtch, an accident investigator with the NTSB, for pointing out that the […]

Two airplanes carrying as many as 40 parachutists collided over Slovakia today, raining down debris over a forested area as the occupants jumped for their lives. At least seven were killed in the collision while another 15 parachutists remain missing. The rest reportedly jumped from the airplanes during and after the collision. The Czech-built L-410 […]

King Schools has made some modifications to its Flight Instructor Refresher Course to allow CFIs to focus on areas of weakness or greater interest. Rather than having a list of set course components that must be completed, the course now includes elective sections. “CFIs new to the King FIRC can customize their course for what […]

South African airshow pilot Nigel Hopkins, who is in France getting prepared for the 28th FAI World Aerobatic Championships, is fortunate to be alive after his MX Aircraft MX2 airplane broke up in flight. Hopkins was on a practice flight in preparation for the competition, which is set to take place August 20 through 29 […]

When flying into uncontrolled airports, you rely on other pilots in the area to help avoid midair collisions by following the recommended procedures and communicating intentions on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). Without a controller providing guidance, it is important to follow the recommended arrival and departure procedures to minimize the risks. While radio […]

A tragic accident happened on Sunday morning as a result of a midair collision northeast of Brown Field Municipal Airport located in the suburb of Otay Mesa 13 miles southeast of San Diego, California. Five people were killed when the two airplanes, which were both approaching the airport to land, plummeted to the ground in […]

Rescue workers in Indonesia have reached the crash site of an ATR-42 twin turboprop that went down in a mountainous area with 54 people on board, a senior government official told reporters. The teams on the ground have so far found at least 38 bodies at the scene and haven’t found any survivors, according to […]

The Coast Guard has suspended its search for the pilot of a Lancair Evolution that went down in the Pacific Ocean 460 miles off the California coast Thursday night. Coast Guard aircraft and ships searched for the crash site for five hours on Friday, reporting spotting aircraft debris but no signs of the pilot. They […]

A landing Ryan ST-3KR collided with a lawn mower Thursday morning, killing a 75-year-old man who was mowing the grass runway at Frazier Lake Airpark in Hollister, California. The WWII taildragger, traveling from Monte Sereno, California, had already touched down when it struck the lawn mower on the landing strip. The FAA and NTSB are […]