briefs

The NTSB says it’s analyzing the composition of red smears found on the fuselage of a Cessna Caravan that crashed mysteriously in Alabama in 2002. The red marks have become the focus of urban legend-type speculation on the cause of the crash. Some think the Mid Atlantic Freight plane hit a drug runner, others say […]

In the third instance of its type so far this year (just off the top of our heads), a man has committed suicide by jumping out of an aircraft. Last Thursday, an unidentified man leapt out of a sightseeing helicopter in the Grand Canyon. The pilot tried to stop him but the determined man got […]

Flying to EAA AirVenture is always an interesting experience but it’s more fun with friends. The “mass arrival” pioneered by Bonanza owners in 1990 has now spread to (at least) three other type clubs. About 80 Bonanzas are expected to arrive about 3 p.m. on July 25, while 42 Mooneys will land at 4:40 p.m. […]

The NTSB is suggesting the FAA review its standards for color blindness in light of its investigation into the crash of a FedEx Boeing 727 in Florida in 2002. The NTSB found that the flying pilot, the first officer, had a color-vision deficiency that made it hard for him to tell the difference between the […]

If, like many pilots, you use a cellphone for FSS briefings when you do any cross-country flying, you should download this list and put it in your flight bag. As handy as they are, cellphones have some unique limitations that make them a pain to use with telephone features that were originally designed for the […]

The FAA took a step in the direction of satellite-based navigation last week when it allowed some airliners to use their GPSs to find their way across the country instead of flying routes defined by ground-based radio aids. Seven air route traffic control centers began accepting point-to-point air navigation flight plans for airliners using the […]

It took New Piper about two weeks to find and repair a total of 49 aircraft that contained parts made from a faulty lot of heat-treated steel. Spokesman Mark Miller told AVweb on Thursday that the last of the bad parts had been replaced earlier that day and the entire fleet was again fit to […]

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_______COLUMNS The Savvy Aviator #6: Trusting Saboteurs An alarming number of today’s piston GA aircraft are in poor mechanical shape, and their owners are partly to blame. AVweb’s Mike Busch describes how owners encourage poor maintenance — sometimes through misplaced trust and sometimes through inadvertent sabotage — and explains how you can avoid doing so.

Some fly for fun, some for money and some to serve. If you know anyone in that last category (or any combination, for that matter) you can nominate them for one of five categories in the National Public Benefit Flying Awards Program, which was launched by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) in cooperation with the […]