Pilot Proficiency

Some surprising findings are highlighted in the National Transportation Safety Board accident report detailing what went horribly wrong in the skies over Afghanistan in May 2013, when a National Airlines Boeing 747 cargo plane climbing out after takeoff suddenly rolled over and plummeted into the ground, sending up a massive fireball. The dramatic accident was […]

The preflight inspection is, as you well know, an important process where you check all the visible parts and fluids to ensure the airplane is ready to fly. There are, however, many components that we can’t inspect with our eyes. But some of these invisible components can be inspected by other means. You can simply […]

Certified flight instructors now have a new option for renewing their annual Transportation Security Administration requirement through King Schools. TSA Security Awareness Training for CFIs is a free course designed to help flight instructors with the recurrent TSA training in the year between the Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC), which includes the required training. The […]

Air traffic controller Ray Smid watched the yellow blips slide across his radar screen. The circles moved in silence, but Smid never forgot that they embodied real aircraft. It didn’t matter if the traffic was big or small. Lives were lost if the blips merged. The eraser-shaped images toted “data blocks” displaying flight number, destination, […]

It’s every passenger’s worst nightmare. The flight is going smoothly and then, out of nowhere, the pilot convulses and passes out at the controls. Suddenly, the front-seat passenger is faced with the most daunting challenge he or she may likely ever face: to control the airplane and land it safely in more or less one […]

Tuesday’s deadly midair collision of an F-16 and Cessna 150 in South Carolina was the first in the United States between a military and civilian airplane in a decade, highlighting how rare such tragedies are while also pointing to the need to remain especially vigilant when airplanes of vastly different performance capabilities mix in the […]

An Air Force F-16 fighter jet and a Cessna 150 collided over South Carolina this morning, scattering debris from the airplanes over a wide area. The collision occurred about 11 miles north of Charleston near the uncontrolled Moncks Corner Airport in the vicinity of a number of military jet routes. The F-16 pilot safely ejected. […]

After making a few circuits in the pattern in a Legend Cub at the Sentimental Journey Fly-in in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania — the site of the original Piper Cub factory — I stuck around to watch the other taildragger pilots do their thing. I was heartened that every single one of the Cub drivers made […]

While the United States gets ready to celebrate for the Fourth of July holiday, here is a look at some the most unique ways to watch fireworks. Whether you get to look down from an airplane or look up from the ground, these two videos shot with GoPro cameras offer some stunning up-close views of […]

Representatives from the FAA and general aviation community gathered this week in Washington for a GA Safety Summit aimed at developing strategies to reduce the risks of personal flying for business and pleasure. The FAA noted that last year 434 people were killed in 251 general aviation accidents, a trend that has remained stubbornly flat […]