Features

At first glance, many readers might think general aviation is as far removed from helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) operations as east is from west. However, there are more similarities than meets the eye, especially when it comes to safety. Let’s have a look at what we, as general aviation IFR pilots, have in common […]

A couple of relevant PIREPs from the East Coast noreaster on March 2: AVL UUA /OV AVL170002/TM 1720/FL001/TP CRJ9/WV +15-20KTS/RM LIKE A BULL RIDE IAD UUA /OV KIAD/TM 1238/FL040/TP CRJ2/TB MOD-SEV/RM VERY BUMPY ON DESCENT. PRETTY MUCH EVERY ONE ON THE PLANE THREW UP. PILOTS WERE ON THE VERGE OF THROWING UP. AWC-WEB

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine and is published twice a month. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause in the NTSB’s web site at www.ntsb.gov. Final […]

Ford Motor Company recently advertised their new line of truck frames as being made of military-grade aluminum. It’s a new twist on the old hype: made of aircraft-grade aluminum. I suppose the salespeople figure: What could be better than aircraft-grade (or military-grade) aluminum, right? After all, you wouldn’t want a truck frame made of beer-can […]

ATC: Cessna XXXX, traffic is going to be an HH-60 departing to the North at 1,700. Me: Roger, we are looking for the traffic now. Pause: Me: Tower, we have the traffic in sight and we are turning to avoid. ATC: If I were in charge, I would paint all aircraft blaze orange. My instructor: […]

For more than 20 years, administrations on both sides of the aisle have proposed some form of ATC privatization for reasons ranging from ideological purity to hoped-for cost savings and increased efficiency. There was never hard evidence to support the savings and efficiency argument, despite the FAA’s historic snail-like speed in accomplishing major revisions to […]

The morning fog rolled across the airport like a vast cotton blanket, smothering runways, parked airplanes and the airport terminal. Within minutes, it pushed up against the tower windows, trying to seal us inside like something out of Stephen King’s The Mist. We quickly flipped on the airport beacon and cut a new ATIS reflecting […]

ATC: Squawk 0007 maintain 4500 direct to XXXX Me: Maintain 4500 direct XXXX, squawk licensed to kill ATC: Only if your name is Bond, James Bond Me: Since my name is Dave I guess I will just squawk 0007 Dave Gagliardi

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine and is published twice a month. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause in the NTSB’s web site at www.ntsb.gov. Final […]

Symptomless and pain free, high blood pressure is an insidious condition that can cause serious havoc to your body systems if left unattended. It’s item 18h on the Basic Med checklist. Even though you won’t be able to tell if your blood pressure becomes elevated, you’ll certainly know about the consequences of high blood pressure […]