Features

AVweb’sGeneral Aviation Accident Bulletinis taken from the pages of our sister publication,Aviation Safetymagazine. 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 atwww.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the accident, although some take longer. […]

Boeing 737 MAX That design is so utterly incompetent and the FAA allowing it is so utterly incompetent that it boggles the mind of this pilot flying for 35 years! Clearly the airline rule of requiring redundancy of any component with a greater than 1 in 10,000,000 chance of failure was ignored. Considering the MCAS […]

I was piloting N7304Y, a Miller Twin Comanche (a veritable “hot rod”) from San Antonio’s Stinson Airport to Houston Hobby Airport early in the morning. Houston Center passed me to Approach and then to the final controller for Hobby. Approach: “Say your indicated airspeed.” 04Y: “Indicating 140 knots on the dial.” Approach: “Maintain 140.” 04Y: […]

Aviation, at least in terms of controlled, heavier-than-air flight, does not have a terribly long history as these things go. In spite of its relative youth, that history is full of stories worth remembering; stories that brought us to where we are today and continue to provide valuable lessons, insight and inspiration for current and […]

Visit any flight school, flying club or FBO and you’ll hear many “go or no go” discussions. Rarely will you hear a “need to or want to” discussion—and yet the correct answer to this fundamental decision is the one that can keep you alive and thriving. You say you’ve never had to make this decision? […]

My airplane has wingtip-mounted fuel tanks, installed under a supplemental type certificate (STC). In many ways, they’ve transformed and improved the machine by adding greater loading flexibility, thanks in part to a gross-weight increase. What drag they produce isn’t noticeable, and the additional endurance means the airplane is faster over some trips than it was […]

Best radio call I ever got to make: I was a student pilot in the USAF, on my T‑38 cross country. Our final leg was a short hop from ABQ to home at Reese AFB (Lubbock, Texas). Of course, all surplus gas would be consumed with approach and landing practice. Departing ABQ, the TRACON asked […]

uAvionix SkyBeacon ADS-B Installations In his article on the uAvionix SkyBeacon, Larry Anglisano said that a pilot could ask ATC if they see his ADS-B. It is true that ATC has the capability to see whether an aircraft is ADS-B equipped, we discourage pilots from asking that question. It encourages unnecessary frequency congestion and the […]

Let’s start by dispensing with the obvious: “Loss of control in flight” is a lousy explanation, and not much better as a description. Eventually we’ll come up with something better, which hopefully will reflect the myriad ways pilots can let aircraft get away from them. Spatial disorientation in IMC is as different from a moose […]

AVweb’sGeneral Aviation Accident Bulletinis taken from the pages of our sister publication,Aviation Safetymagazine. 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 atwww.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the accident, although some take longer. […]