Accidents/NTSB

In an AVweb Insider blog a month ago, we observed how the FAA got rapid and intense pushback on its proposal to require sleep apnea diagnosis for pilots with BMIs of 40 or higher. In this guest blog, the NTSB’s Mark Rosekind explains that the agency has given this topic more than a passing glance. […]

Thanks to radio traffic recorded by LiveATC.net, we know that winds may have been a factor in the crash of a Challenger 600 at Aspen on Sunday. AVweb’s Russ Niles prepared this report. Duration: File Size: download here

Remember the movie, Wall-E, a Pixar animated tale whose subtext was that technology eventually evolved to be so all enveloping that humans were reduced to quivering mounds of fat conveyed in bins attached to a mechanical belt? If that future awaits us all, are airline pilots leading the way? In the midst of its investigation […]

A Eurocopter EC135 T2 police helicopter crashed Friday night into the roof of a Glasgow pub, which at least partially collapsed. Nine people, including the pilot and two others in the helicopter, were killed and 14 others were in the hospital with injuries.Early reports say the helicopter had a crew of two police officers and […]

Police may have solved one mystery surrounding a passenger’s fall from a Piper Malibu over Miami Thursday but they’re not saying much about other aspects of the strange mishap. Miami-Dade Police say they’ve found a body believed to be that of Gerardo Nales in a mangrove swamp in Miami’s Biscayne Bay. They’ve been looking since […]

Pilots and controllers who may be obese will have an extra hoop to jump for their medical certification to ensure they don’t have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton has notified(PDF) Air Medical Examiners (AMEs) that they will soon be required to measure the body mass index (BMI)of all pilots and […]

In a public submission, the NTSB has told the FAA it does not understand the foreseeable safety benefit of the FAAs proposed action regarding specific parts of the agencys NPRM on ECi cylinder assemblies. As written, the FAAs NRPM would require thousands of aircraft owners to inspect or replace certain ECi engine cylinders. In its […]

A passenger reportedly fell from a Piper PA-46 Thursday soon after departure from Tamiami Airport, but authorities could not immediately confirm the incident took place because they could not find a body. According to the FAA, the pilot told air traffic controllers that the passenger opened the backdoor and he just fell out the plane, […]

Last weekends midair collision between two Cessnas carrying skydivers wasnt the first midair caught on camera, but it may be the first impact filmed by a passenger from five feet away. Google gives the accident an entire page of search hits. That film will give the FAA and NTSB plenty to chew on in determining […]

Pilot Matt Fandler, who escaped under canopy from an airborne, broken and burning Cessna 182 after a midair with a Cessna 185 prior to a planned formation skydive, has spoken with NBC News in an exclusive interview recorded for Dateline. All 11 participants and one of two aircraft survived the event. Fandler, who flew the […]