Features

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 […]

January 30, 1997 Dear Mr. Marbach, The National Business Aircraft Association recognizes the significant role single and light twin piston-engine aircraft play within business aviation. We encourage operators of all types of general aviation to participate in NBAA Membership and the various informational programs offered by the Association to the entire business aviation community whether […]

This year’s National Business Aircraft Association meeting in Orlando, Florida, was judged by most of the press as a success. It sure looked like it: Lots of heavy metal on the spacious conventions site floor (more at the static displays at the airport), and lots of suits walking around looking like they had money to […]

AirworthinessDirectives have been with us since the 1940’s, butit seems as if the industry’s attitude toward them has changeddramatically in recent years. Twenty years ago, manufacturerswould often brag in their sales literature that their airplanesor engines “have never had an AD issued against them.”Issuance of an AD was considered a black mark against a manufacturer,suggesting […]