Commentary

NOTE: Following Capt. Baiada’s editorial, we’ve published a reply by an air traffic controller. As I read Ms. Garvey’scomments in a letter she wrote to USA Today (“FAA out Front on Safety,”in the August 20, 1997 issue), what struck me most was not FAA’s after-the-fact actions,but her assurance that things are getting better and that […]

Jessica Dubroff died 21 months ago as a very youngpassenger in the left seat of a Cessna airplane. The pilot, in the right seat, took off ina driving rainstorm, in the thin air of an unfamiliar high-altitude airport, with thefuel-air mixture improperly set and the plane carrying almost a hundred pounds over itscertified weight limit. […]

The midair collision on thelakefront on July 19, 1997 was a tragedy. Seven people died and the sorrow that incidenthas caused can not be measured. I had a personal loss just last month that I will nevercompletely recover from so I am not making light of it. What angers me is the exploitationby the media […]

“Oh happy, happy, joy, joy!” we thought to ourselves as wesaw signatures of famous people in the FAA, N.J. Division of Aeronautics,and the City of Atlantic City on a “memorandum of understanding” about BaderAirport. The long nightmare was ending. The airport would survive for anotherdecade. In return for being allowed to proceed with constructing a […]

NTSB Identification: DCA97MA009. Aircraft #1: Beech A90, registration: N112DAircraft #2: Beech 1900C, registration: N87GL Scheduled 14 CFR 135 operation of GREAT LAKES AVIATION, LTD.(D.B.A. United Express AIRLINES) Accident occurred NOV-19-96 at QUINCY, ILInjuries: 14 Fatal. On November 19, 1996, at 1703 CST, a UnitedExpress Beechcraft 1900c, Flight 5925 collided with a Beechcraft King AirA90, N1127D, […]

AVweb: David, first of all, thank you for taking some time to talk with AVweb. I don’t have to tell you that there was a lot of initial concern about the composition of the Commission. There are those who feel that general aviation was omitted and that perhaps other segments of the aviation industry were […]

The old man stooped and opened the door of the old wood burner. The handle sent a flash of heat through his hand and into his arm. As he swung the door he became enveloped in blazing heat that felt comfortable for some seconds before becoming sweltering and then painful. The logs were against the […]

In 1996, Bill C-20, “An Act respecting the commercialization of civil air navigation services” was passed by the government of Canada. Essentially, this piece of legislation allows a new, “not-for-profit” corporation called “NavCanada” to take over responsibility for all of the air navigation services in the country. In the last decade, successive Canadian governments (regardless […]

The following is the full text of a letter sent by the author to the FAA. This letter is to inform you of an incident that occurred during a routine flight from Austin, Texas (AUS) to Addison Airport, Dallas, Texas (ADS). This incident in no way deals with any violation of current FAR’s or use […]

The grass strips serving the towns of Banff and Jasper in Alberta,Canada, are scheduled to close forever. This fight has been going on formany years, and AOPA and COPA have been helping the local pilots make theircase, but if you’re the letter writing type, this would be a good time todo it. There’s a bit […]