Safety

Uncertainty makes for an accident waiting to happen.

A 2016 Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) study of 16 years of runway excursions determined that “83 percent could have been avoided with a decision to go around. In other words, 54 percent of all accidents could potentially be prevented by going around.” Failure to conduct a go-around is the number one risk factor in approach […]

I was providing flight instruction toward a commercial rating with a student whom I had recently helped obtain her instrument rating. We were flying my own Cessna Cardinal RG, and we had already flown together a great deal. In fact, she actually handled the airplane better than I did in most cases, especially landings. Because […]

As the COVID-19 pandemic grinds on and more pilots are flying fewer hours, it is more important than ever to stay focused on safety. When the workload of flying single-pilot crashes head-on into the stresses of our personal lives, it is sometimes easy to push aviation safety away from top-of-the-mind. However, it is then that […]

One of the major ­advantages of storing your airplane in a common-storage hangar is line-service personnel will usually pull your aircraft in and out in time to your schedule. Common storage often includes a host of additional services for a monthly rental fee, often twice the price of a T hangar. Line-service folks can help […]

One of the most common questions asked of me as an airline pilot—and now as a former one—is, “Did you ever have any really close calls?” My coy response is usually, “The espresso maker on the Triple Seven quit just as we reached our North Atlantic oceanic entry point after departing from London.” The inquiries […]

Skydiving operators would like to carry as many people aloft for a single jump as possible—while observing the aircraft’s weight limits. However, the FAA has issued an important safety alert for pilots—20013—warning operators of a possibly overlooked hazard when using aircraft that are certified with two control wheels, such as single-engine Cessnas. In most skydiving […]

During the NTSB’s probe into the February 2019 crash of an Atlas Air Boeing 767 into a marshy area in Trinity Bay, Texas, the board determined the crew lost control of the airplane as it approached Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). The accident, an all-cargo flight, killed both pilots and also took the life […]

Twenty-five years ago, a Seattle-area pilot tried to do his mother a favor. He would take her to visit a friend on the other side of the Cascades. Their route would go through the Snoqualmie Pass, which, on the day of the trip, was unfortunately beset by fog and low-lying clouds. The pilot was instrument-rated, […]

Early in my multi-engine flight training in the Cessna 310, the instructor and I practiced the required maneuvers, including loss of an engine on takeoff, as well as an engine failure in cruise. To this day I remember Dave telling me to consider a cruise engine failure just as seriously as the one at takeoff […]