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SUBMISSION OF THE AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD REGARDING THE ACCIDENT INVOLVING USAIR FLIGHT 427 NEAR PITTSBURGH, PA ON SEPTEMBER 8, 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY II. B737 FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN III. AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE IV. B737 LATERAL VS. DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AUTHORITY V. HUMAN PERFORMANCE VI. CONCLUSIONS VII. […]

Iknow. You’re thinking “Hey wait, Godfrey! There’s already an article in AVweb’s’Places to Fly‘ section called ‘The Last Fightertown Airshow.’What’s the deal?” Here’s the deal. Fightertown (aka Top Gun) moved its airplanes and pilots earlier thisyear to Oceano, VA and Fallon, NV. So last year’s airshow was the last Fightertownairshow. 1997’s airshow was the last […]

Myairplane and I spent the last four days as part of the static display at NAS Miramar.Miramar’s nickname is “Fightertown” and it’s the home of Top Gun….where thebest of the best American pilots go to train. At least it has been since the end of WWII.This was the last Navy-sponsored air show at Miramar. As […]

Big-bore Continental engines — the IO-470, IO-520, IO-550 andtheir turbocharged counterparts — are perhaps the most popular high-performance pistonpowerplants in General Aviation. These engines power Beech Bonanzas and Barons, Cessna200-series singles and Cessna 300- and 400-series twins, and many other models. Acarburetor-equipped version — the O-470 — powers the ubiquitous Cessna 182. Theturbocharged versions have […]

I hadn’t heard from my friend Mil Harmon for a while. When I got his letter the otherday I understood why. For the first time in 27 years he is without “Ten Romeo,”a beautiful 1969 Beech Bonanza 36 (full registration N7710R) considered by some to be themost renowned single-engine aircraft in the world. This plane […]

Howard Pardue’s Bearcat Richardson’s YAK before the accident… …and after. (Hint: something’s missing!) Howard Pardue’s Sea Fury taxiing in after the accident. Interesting tail art on the YAK! The 34th Annual Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada opened on September 8, 1997 witha record number of entries in the unlimited racing class. All in all, […]

NOTE: Following Capt. Baiada’s editorial, we’ve published a reply by an air traffic controller. As I read Ms. Garvey’scomments in a letter she wrote to USA Today (“FAA out Front on Safety,”in the August 20, 1997 issue), what struck me most was not FAA’s after-the-fact actions,but her assurance that things are getting better and that […]

NOTE: This narrative was compiled from interviews with the pilot, Jim Hawley, and one passenger who played a key role in the incident, Jens Lundy. All times are local; Loreto, Mexico is one hour ahead of Phoenix, Arizona. It was supposed to be just a fun father and son weekend, fishing off the coast of […]

Jessica Dubroff died 21 months ago as a very youngpassenger in the left seat of a Cessna airplane. The pilot, in the right seat, took off ina driving rainstorm, in the thin air of an unfamiliar high-altitude airport, with thefuel-air mixture improperly set and the plane carrying almost a hundred pounds over itscertified weight limit. […]

 Some pilots who hear the term “humanfactors” dismiss whatever comes afterward because they think it is all a bunch ofpsycho-babble. But if you take the time to think about aviation accidents it doesn’t takelong to realize that every one of them has some form of human input — whether the resultof actions by the pilot, […]