Search Results for: vfr

It was well after dark when we arrived over the unfamiliar rural airport. We were descending toward that green and white airport beacon, and I thought I could see the headlights of my brother-in-law’s crew-cab pickup truck in the parking lot. “Watch this,” I said to my daughter, and I clicked the push-to-talk switch seven […]

All things being equal, accident data reflect that we pilots are pretty good at dealing with the risks involved with repeatedly causing inanimate objects to leave the ground, move through the air and land. Unfortunately, things are not always equal, and the factors that make us human, such as stress, distraction and impatience, can conspire […]

As was anyone who ever had the honor to meet him, I was saddened to learn of the passing of General Charles McGee last week at age 102. Like many journalists, I had the chance to talk at length with McGee about his experiences as a Tuskegee Airman, and the rest of his distinguished 30-year […]

The recent double-fatal collision between a cargo-carrying Cessna Caravan and a powered parachute in Class Echo airspace has generated a lot of interest in the dangers posed by such unconventional aircraft when flying at altitudes where pilots of more conventional aircraft might not expect to see them. The controversy pulls between the freedom to fly […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

The Case For Flight Helmets Thought provoking piece Paul. I don’t consider myself short at 6’1” but always crave better visibility when taking off or landing my Husky. It has an excellent 5 point harness but a fixed position seat. As a result, I’ve taken to using cushions to improve visual awareness. The downside is […]

Slow, but rugged and easy tempered, the ubiquitous Cessna 172 Skyhawk first flew in 1955 when company engineers moved the tailwheel of the Cessna 170 to the nose. This so-called “tricycle” gear wasn’t new, and arch-competitor Piper had already rolled out a nosegear design on the popular Pacer to fashion the Tri-Pacer. But the Cessna […]

Eyeball the typical proposal for a modern avionics installation and you might consider scaling the job back to include used avionics. But sourcing the equipment—especially more advanced gear—is challenging and risky. We’ve seen our share of buyers get stung by what initially seemed like a smoking deal, but in the end they paid as much […]

A Learjet 35A crashed at Gillespie Field (KSEE) in El Cajon, California, around 7:15 local time Monday night (Dec. 27) while executing an overhead visual approach from the north to Runway 27R. The pilot had canceled his IFR clearance after flying a GPS instrument approach to Runway 17. ATC recordings reveal the pilot requesting the […]

Roll The Trucks I’ve declared emergency 3 times in my 20 years in the Pt. 135 business. Twice as PIC with smoke in cabin and once as SIC with flap failure. Never once did I get asked to file a report even though the trucks were rolled. Of course, my chief pilot handled reports to […]