Accidents/NTSB

Medidata Solutions co-founder Glen de Vries and flight instructor Thomas Fischer were killed in the crash of a Cessna 172 on Thursday. A private pilot with an instrument rating, de Vries, 49, travelled to space alongside actor William Shatner onboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft last month. Fischer, 54, owned Fischer Aviation, a flight school […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

After the primary flight controls—elevator, rudder and ailerons on conventional airplanes—the most frequently used secondary control is pitch trim. That’s because a typical flight in any airplane involves a range of speeds, and pitch trim is used to minimize control forces throughout the operating envelope. Even if the pilot can supply that force, it’s fatiguing. […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

The NTSB is asking for tips from the public after the aviation version of a hit and run in Alaska earlier this month. The board says a Cessna 180 was hit by an “unknown” aircraft near Sutton Alaska on Oct. 13. The 180 took serious damage to a wing but the pilot was able to […]

A McDonnell Douglas MD-87 carrying 18 passengers and three crew members crashed during takeoff from Texas’ Houston Executive Airport (TME) at approximately 10:08 a.m. local time on Tuesday. Everyone onboard was safely evacuated from the aircraft, which was subsequently destroyed by a post-crash fire. Two individuals were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

Recently released by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Air Safety Institute (ASI), the 31st Joseph T. Nall Report found that fatal accident rates in non-commercial and commercial fixed-wing aircraft and commercial helicopters all rose in 2019 while rates fell for non-commercial helicopters. The report noted that while the total number of accidents for […]

I’ve always been one to advocate getting as much airplane as you can afford for your mission. For example, if your analysis says a Cessna 172 meets your needs, seriously consider a 182. The operating costs aren’t that much more, it’s faster and it carries more. Plus, it’s a good bet your mission will expand—mission […]