briefs

It’s been another good year for U.S. airline safety and it’s not all just good luck, say government officials. While some in the industry say the statistical bubble could burst with a single accident, both the NTSB and FAA are inching out on a limb to take credit for the relative absence of accidents in […]

The government agency that oversees pension plans (and picks up the pieces when they fail) wants to immediately pull the pin on the plan covering retired United Air Lines pilots. UAL and the pilots had recognized the inevitable and agreed to wind up the pension plan in May. But the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) […]

It now seems clear that there are wholesale changes in store for the automated flight services system (AFSS) as a result of study into its privatization. The results of the review, called an A-76 study, won’t be released until later this month, but FAA Administrator Marion Blakey has already announced measures designed to soften the […]

It’s sort of neat to be in on the ground floor of an urban legend but the truth, the whole truth, must be told about effects (or lack thereof) of the Asian tsunami on flight navigation. Simply put, there are none. Not long after the devastating undersea earthquake (widely reported at 8.9 on the Richter […]

Well, the goal was to open up more room on the busiest high-altitude airways, but this wasn’t exactly the effect envisioned by Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (DVRSM). As of Jan. 20, aircraft flying between FL 290 and FL 410 will be separated vertically by 1,000 feet instead of the current 2,000 feet. That effectively […]

A New Jersey man has admitted to pointing a laser pen at a bizjet on approach to Teterboro Airport last week, but not before trying to pin the rap on his seven-year-old daughter, according to a Reuters news report. David Banach, 38, of Parsippany, N.J., was arrested last Friday after a laser beam hit a […]

Too much of a good thing? Flight instructors, flight club members (and controllers?) may be able to relate. Pilot: Tower, Cherokee eight … no, Cessna seven five … wait, no … Cessna one two three four ready for takeoff at one five left. Tower: Ahhh, so many planes, so little time….

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https://avweb.com/avmail/ Reader mail this week about engine exchange policies, how low is a buzz, and ongoing controversy about controller and pilot retirement ages.