Features

Are Pilot Skills Worse Than Ever? A lot of places where pilot skills are down are places where we won’t expect to see accident rates rise until much later. These are big flight schools pumping out new pilots for airlines to put in the right-hand seat. These pilots are not in command of aircraft themselves […]

During training and checkrides, pilots are expected to be able to use all the features of a glass panel including the autopilot. In this article we’ll address some of the intricacies of addressing that challenge. This is especially relevant to instrument rated pilots who have mainly flown round gauge airplanes without autopilots and flight directors. […]

It’s not enough to present young people with opportunities, they have to be sold on their benefits according to a young pilot who has made it his mission to do just that. Barrington Irving, who became the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo at the age of 23, told an audience at NBAA-BACE that […]

Late in the afternoon of July 4, I was flying with my wife from Nebraska to Philadelphia International Airport in our Piper Cherokee. Stationary storms around the airport were causing major departure delays. As we landed on Runway 35 we could see planes lined up all along Taxiway K—nearly to the intersection with Runway 35. […]

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 […]

What’s the Outlook for Icon? What amazes me is Icon is another example of aircraft design, certification, and manufacturing that has no conception of development / manufacturing cost, ROI, and an understanding of the aviation market they insist they are trying to serve. Where in the world is this kind of company leadership ineptness coming […]

I knew we were too high and too fast coming into Atlanta, Idaho (55H), the type of backcountry airstrip that offers no go-around potential. I had blown it, but CFI Paul Leadabrand, in the right seat, had forced me to select an abort point and departure route before we started into the pattern. It was […]

Flying in the north, we had just landed at Resolute Bay (CYRB), a bustling arctic metropolis with a last reported population of 198 people and a 6500‑foot gravel runway that’s surprisingly manned 24/7. Before turning off the radios, we heard the following exchange on the common frequency: United: “Resolute Bay radio, this is United 1234. […]

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 […]

Emergency: Declare Early, Declare Often I learned the power of saying things out-loud when I was in “the box” (a Redbird, but close enough for us GA-ers) and the instructor failed stuff on me in IMC and I had to actually use the words “I’m declaring an emergency”. I had never actually used the phrase […]