Search Results for: vfr

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 […]

Lengthy Process Nearing Decision Time… FAA Administrator Marion Blakey was at a Flight Service Station in Mississippi last week, to talk with the staff about the current bidding process that could change federal employees to contract workers. “It’s going to be a challenging time,” Blakey told the Greenwood (Miss.) Commonwealth. “We don’t know whether it […]

Because of the nature of my job, I receive a lot of emails and phone calls from pilots wondering how best to prepare themselves for advanced training. This applies to any advanced training (beyond the instrument rating) from checkouts in high-performance aircraft to turbojet type-ratings. Now, there’s one disclaimer I need to make here and […]