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Maybe you first sensed it when you got up out of a chair: A lightheadedness or dizzy spell that made you reach out to hold onto something. A more serious incident of dizziness may have caused a fall. For the accomplished pilot, this sort of situation is worrying, especially if it happens at the FAF […]

Daylight Saving Time got switched off over the weekend, to the anguish of more than a few of my friends. Not only do they like sunlight of an evening, the return of Standard Time means they can no longer deny the nearly imminent arrival of winter and its challenges to aviating. It also seem to […]

Many instrument-rated pilots struggle to maintain their proficiency for IFR. Logging the six approaches, holding procedures and course intercepts/tracking required by FAR 61.57(c) can be quite the challenge for pilots who fly infrequently or who are based in regions where good weather is routine. Simulators and training devices can be major boosts to maintaining proficiency, […]

Ever since the Wrights, one of the vexing problems of aircraft maintenance has been access to the nooks and crannies of the machine. Maintenance technicians have spent major portions of their lives with flashlights and mirrors peering through inspection ports trying to assure that all is well within; at significant expense, major assemblies have been […]

This week, we’re launching a new periodic column called Healthy Pilot. While BasicMed has simplified the medical authorization needed to fly, it introduces its own challenges in that now you have to self-certify for fitness to fly for much longer periods. It’s unrealistic to believe there aren’t legitimate health concerns related to flight safety and […]

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 […]

The enthusiasm and awareness that often accompanies a new job can be an exhilarating experience. There were, no doubt, many thoughts running through this pilot’s mind as he lifted off on the next leg of his flight into the black of night. But one thought should have taken precedence—fly the airplane. Flying Freight The commercial […]

Some years ago I had an engine stoppage in a Piper Aztec. It was during climbout, shortly after I had shut off the aux pumps. Yes, I had shut them off one at a time. I turned the pumps back on and the affected engine restarted. A bit of troubleshooting revealed that the left engine […]

One of the benefits I have found of being in the aviation writing business is that I get the chance to fly a fair number of other people’s planes. Whether I am doing it to write a flight review on the type, test or check out new avionics, or am simply offered the chance to […]

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 […]