Pilot Proficiency

A historic World War II Spitfire fighter was damaged in a crash at Biggin Hill Airport outside London this week, but its owners vowed the warbird will fly again after the pilot performed a “textbook” emergency landing. Media outlets reported that pilot Dan Griffith lost power moments after takeoff and managed to put the airplane […]

Crash investigators believe with a “high degree of certainty” that the wing part that washed up on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean last week indeed did come from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 — though they have stopped just short of confirming a definitive positive identification. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced yesterday that […]

UK’s air traffic control provider, NATS, which created the very cool and mesmerizing videos tracking flight paths in some of the busiest airspaces in Europe, has hopped across the pond to bring us another video in their series of 24-hour data visualizations. This time, NATS partnered with FlightAware to show air traffic patterns over the […]

FlightSafety International is in the process of building a new full flight simulator to train King Air 350 pilots flying behind Rockwell Collins’ new Pro Line Fusion avionics suite. The new Level D FS1000 simulator will be introduced at the FlightSafety Learning Center in Atlanta and is expected to enter service early next year. The […]

We were bumping through the clouds at Flight Level 300, unable to escape the clutches of a low, winter jet stream thanks to 167 burly souls on board and 26,000 pounds of jet-A sloshing in the tanks. Under such conditions this McDonnell Douglas finds itself just a little short of wing, and the prudent pilot […]

After just over two years of flying our Comanche, Martha and I “needed” a second engine, and more knobs, levers, switches and gauges. In short, we “needed” a Twin Comanche. But we couldn’t afford one. That’s why the “bargain” Twin Comanche in Trade-A-Plane caught our eye. We knew the airplane would be rough, but we […]

Three members of Osama bin Laden’s family were killed on Friday when the Embraer Phenom 300 twinjet they were aboard crashed on approach to Blackbushe Airport west of London. UK officials confirmed those killed in the crash were Saudi nationals visiting England on vacation, as well as their pilot. The Saudi-registered Phenom reportedly crashed into […]

We all strive for landings that are silky smooth, where the wheels of the airplane appear to kiss the ground before they slowly roll to a stop. But in addition to making a soft touchdown a priority, you should have an area on the runway in mind as the touchdown zone. If you are not […]

“Cessna 53223 cleared to Runway 18 via Charlie taxiway, Pasquale 3 departure, squawk bingo.” That’s a typical controller clearance for my friend Charlie Peck. Charlie is retired from IBM and flies his Cessna 172 nearly every good weather day. He keeps it at the Portland International Jetport in Portland, Maine. The Auburn-Lewiston airport is his […]

Investigators say part of a wing that washed up on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean came from a Boeing 777, making it appear likely that searchers have gotten their first big break in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. French investigators will check a number found on the wing part, thought to […]