Features

Eureka has become one of my favorite spots to get away and decompress.Situated on the northern California coast, just slightly more than 200nautical miles north-northwest of San Francisco, Eureka is one of thosespecial places that’s easy to reach by light plane but a long hard drivefor the wingless masses. During the summertime, when everything from […]

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 […]

Imagine an airport located in rural New England along the picturesqueConnecticut River. You fly in on a crisp, autumn day, enjoying the scenerythat only can be experienced in New England in the fall. Hop out of yourplane and walk four hundred yards to an historic nineteenth century hotelwhere you are served a delicious lunch or […]

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 […]

The recent mid-air between a Kazahk IL-76 and a Saudia Boeing 747 near New Delhi highlights a concern which we have been discussing between ourselves for months. While all the details may not apply; this disaster does dramatically illustrate our concern. The modern onboard GPS and/or DME-updated IRS/INS navigational equipment has greatly enhanced the ease […]

White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security Final Report to President Clinton Vice President Al Gore, Chairman February 12, 1997 Introduction Change. That one word sums up both the challenges in aviation safety and security, and the means by which government and industry must respond. Change is nothing new in this field. The first […]

PB97-910401 NTSB/AAR-97/01 NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 20594 AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT WHEELS-UP LANDINGCONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT 1943DOUGLAS DC-9 N10556HOUSTON, TEXASFEBRUARY 19, 1996 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On February 19, 1996, at 0902 Central Standard Time, ContinentalAirlines (COA) flight 1943, a Douglas DC-9-32, N10556, landedwheels up on runway 27 at the Houston Intercontinental Airport,Houston Texas. The airplane slid […]

I must take issue with Mr. Ponder’s guesteditorial. There is little doubt that the B737 rudder PCU has known rudder problems-but they should not upset the aircraft. Until the recent tests at very extreme conditions, no one could demonstrate any rudder malfunction that could have rolled USAir in Pittsburgh or United in Colorado Springs into […]

The FAA has just issued an Airworthiness Directive for Boeing 737 aircraft that incredibly does not offer to solve known problems with the aircraft’s rudder Power Control Unit (PCU), but instead mandates crew training so pilots can attempt to survive sudden control problems. NTSB investigators remain unsure why two Boeing 737s crashed, one near Pittsburgh […]