Features

Heard over rural Massachusetts. Cherokee XYZ (tremulous voice): “Albany Approach, Cherokee XYZ five miles northeast of Pittsfield at 3500 feet, requesting fight following to Kilo Oscar Romeo Delta.” Silence: all on frequency were contemplating the Cherokee, a student pilot at the controls, attempting the impossibly long flight to Chicago and then penetrating the O’Hare airspace. […]

April 1, 2017, Edgewater, Fla. Cessna 170B/Grumman AA-5B Tiger At about 0842 Eastern time, the two airplanes were destroyed in an in-flight collision. The airline transport pilot flying the Cessna and the airline transport pilot flying the Grumman were both fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The airplanes were part of a five-ship formation flight. Shortly […]

With minimal fanfare, composite propellers have been appearing as original equipment on more and more airplanes and more and more owners are finding that they are an option for their airplanes when it comes time for an overhaul or replacement. Composite props are more expensive than their aluminum counterparts, so we were curious why owners […]

Heard recently on the CTAF frequency at Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO) in Washington: Cessna 123: “Departing 34, straight out to the west.” Eric Taylor

Sound judgment is only as good as the information available, the state of mind of the pilot, and his or her ability to rationally perceive a problem. The reality of aeronautical decision making (ADM) often doesn’t fit neatly into the book solution. Nor does analyzing accidents allow us to get into the mind of the […]

Heard from a foreign student turning off after landing at a strange airport.Tower: What are your intentions?Student: Returning to China as soon as possible! Robert Reser

It all started a few decades ago in a place 8500 miles away. Walt Fricke was in the copilot’s seat of an Army helo in the midst of the chaos of a combat assault in Vietnam. When the crew fired the air-to-ground rockets, one exploded leaving the tube. Shrapnel blasted into one of Walt’s legs, […]

If you’ve never wandered the pits at the Reno Air Races, you’re missing out. I’ve crewed twice (crewing gets you a pit pass)—once in Formula One and again in Sport Class—and can’t imagine going to Reno without a pit pass. There are so many amazing people, conversations, and airplanes. While you could simply purchase a […]

Heard over Joshua Approach in the southern California Mojave Desert: Approach: “All aircraft on frequency, turn right five degrees.” After a moment’s pause…. Approach: “All aircraft on frequency, return to previous heading. I am now retired. So long” Stephen Hackney

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 […]