Pilot Proficiency

Some instructors say that flying can’t be taught in the cockpit. And while we have to fly a certain number of hours in an actual aircraft in order to earn the various levels of pilot certificates, there is some validity to this argument. In the cockpit, there are many distractions from the teaching process: traffic, […]

Taiwan’s TransAsia Airways has ordered its pilots to undergo additional training on engine failure emergencies in the aftermath of the fatal crash of one of the airline’s ATR 72-600 twin turboprops. Investigators say the flight data recorders from TransAsia Flight 235 indicate that the airplane lost power in the right engine just after takeoff from […]

In the age of the tablet, it’s just the sort of inflight emergency many pilots have contemplated dealing with. A pilot and his wife reportedly used their iPad to fly about 80 miles in their darkened cockpit and land safely, without landing gear, at Rapid City Regional Airport in South Dakota after a total electrical […]

After we’ve been flying for a while as pilots, things get a lot easier. Our hands and eyes begin to go to the right places in the cockpit naturally, and the body just knows how much response the airplane will make to each control movement. We become comfortable with aviation communications. We get to know […]

At least three dashboard video cameras captured the final terrifying seconds of TransAsia Flight 235’s descent over Taipei, Taiwan, on Tuesday as the twin turboprop struggled to remain aloft before abruptly rolling left and knifing into the Keelung River. The pilot can be heard on ATC audio declaring an emergency, stating, “Mayday, Mayday, engine flameout” […]

Dramatic up-close video captured the crash of a TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 in Taipei, Taiwan, on Wednesday that killed at least 31 people and injured several others. The ATR 72-600 turboprop took off from Sungshan Airport around 11:30 a.m. local time and issued a mayday call shortly afterward, although the transmission did not include additional […]

A National Transportation Safety Board report on a Cessna 150 crash in Watkins, Colorado, last May is raising eyebrows for partially blaming the fatal accident on the pilot’s use of his cell phone to take selfies mid-flight. The 29-year-old pilot at the controls of the Cessna, who was not Instrument or night current, took off […]

The National Transportation Safety Board’s determination that a** 29-year-old Cessna pilot’s use of his cell phone to take selfies in flight caused a crash** that killed him and a passenger has a lot of folks scratching their heads. For starters, there’s no evidence that the pilot was taking pictures with his cell phone when the […]

An incident that was caught on amateur video has highlighted the incredible precision with which a fire bomber can hit a needy target. A heavy truck caught fire after it collided with a motor grader on a remote section of the Trans-Labrador Highway, which transitions the provinces of Labrador and Newfoundland in eastern Canada. Being […]

“Gentlemen, start your engines!” The crowd cheered as Mitchell Municipal Airport reverberated with the sound of 50 piston power plants rumbling to life. Dozens of slick homebuilt airplanes with flashy paint jobs and neatly applied race numbers taxied in a long line to the runway. “Race 38, cleared for takeoff,” boomed the loudspeaker, and a […]