Search Results for: vfr

According to the TSB, the string of errors began before Flight 183 left Toronto on its daily nonstop flight to Kelowna, a city of about 100,000 people 200 miles east of Vancouver. An Air Canada dispatcher, aware of a major forest fire burning near Kelowna, called Kelowna Tower to ask if the airport was even […]

I spend an awful lot of time trying to explain how the system is supposed to work. Those explanations are often at odds with what people have experienced first-hand. This leaves a lot of people confused. It just leaves me frustrated.But no matter how conscientious we are, things can and do go wrong. As a […]

In Search Of Causal Factors The pilots of an Air Force training jet saw the crop-duster seconds before the two airplanes collided 5,000 feet above rural Oklahoma about 11 a.m. on Jan. 18, the NTSB said in its preliminary report, posted Thursday. The two pilots in the Cessna T-37B jet ejected safely. The pilot of […]

A couple of months ago we got into an extended discussion of emergencies here in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport as a result of a gear-up landing gone seriously wrong. The column that evolved generated a fair amount of comment, including one from Dr. Alex Aimette, who has taught surgery for some years […]

AVweb’s Rick Durden recently corresponded with a surgery instructor who described one of the methods he used to teach new surgeons: He had them write down everything that could go wrong during an upcoming operation and then set out what should be done to deal with each anomaly. When he became a pilot, Dr. Aimette […]

The FAA has again delayed, until Aug. 31, 2005, implementation of a rule that would stop air carriers from simply closing off seats in aircraft to allow them to comply with a less-expensive maintenance regime. To meet the nine-or-fewer regs, some operators placard or barricade the extra seats on larger aircraft. The new rule would […]

As I sit on an airliner hissing through the night sky — as someone involved in aviation — I’m struck by all the lies we tell each other. I’m traveling with my family, accompanying my wife to her parent’s home. As always seems to be the case, when you need to make haste, airplanes seem […]

The Piper Navajo occupies a unique niche among piston twins: it has found a substantial market in the commuter airline business while retaining an appeal for owners who want to fly themselves in relative comfort and luxury. Cessnas 402 is another such twin but you dont find many of those in private ownership. The PA-31 […]

Spar Cracks Apparently Spreading… The FAA has grounded the entire fleet (about 320 in the U.S.) of Beech A45 and T-34 aircraft after it was discovered that cracks in a location on the wing spar not covered by a previous Airworthiness Directive (AD) led to the crash of a Texas Air Aces T-34 last Tuesday. […]

I once had a supervisor accuse me of “just looking for trouble.” I want you to pause and let that sink in for just a second. I know I did. An air traffic controller — a safety rep no less — looking for trouble. “Uh, yeah, I guess you’re right about that, boss. I am […]