Aeromedical

A journalist on a familiarization flight gained an intimate understanding of a system even the most seasoned military pilots almost never touch when he was accidentally ejected from a two-seat Rafale fighter in France this week. The unidentified 64-year-old man suffered a serious back injury in his abrupt return to the runway at Saint-Dizier 113 […]

A teenager has petitioned the FAA to exempt him from its minimum age requirements so he can set some records. The young man, 15, wants the FAA to allow him to be a fully certificated private pilot before he turns the minimum age of 17 so he can pursue some records that would be ambitious […]

Canada has dropped its ban on pilots with pre-existing Type 1 diabetes becoming commercial pilots. In 2001, the agency made pre-existing insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetes a disqualifying condition for the commercial medical even though it had previously allowed pilots who developed diabetes after obtaining their commercial license to continue flying. Private pilot Austen McDonald, who […]

A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to New York diverted to San Francisco after a flight attendant fell ill and died over the Pacific on Thursday. The 50-year-old flight attendant suffered an apparent heart attack on the flight. There were reportedly several doctors on board who administered aid but could not revive the crew member. […]

Family members of passengers killed in the 2016 crash of a Cessna 182 in Tennessee are claiming controllers should have warned the non-instrument-rated pilot he was about to hit a mountain in IMC. Pilot David Starling, his eight-year-old son Hunter and the pilot’s girlfriend Kim Smith died when the Skylane hit the cloud-shrouded 6,500-foot mountain […]

More than 2,000 FAA inspectors and engineers furloughed due to the partial government shutdown that began on Dec. 22 have been recalled to work, according to an FAA statement made on Tuesday. The latest revision of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) plan for operations during the shutdown (PDF) now categorizes a total of 3,113 Aviation […]

A French helicopter pilot got the job done in a tight rescue operation in a back country ski area of the Alps on Jan. 2. A skier was climbing up the mountain in the Pass of Anterne in Passy, France, when he fell and hurt himself. His companions called for a rescue and got out […]

Lightning strikes are relatively common on aircraft but not many show up on cockpit video. A Kuwait air force F/A-18 Hornet pilot was on a training flight when his glareshield cam caught a bolt from the blue hitting the canopy next to his head. He was shaken up by the noisy encounter but landed safely, […]

Fuel Strainer Lottery A significant omission from Jeff Parnau’s very interesting article is the Decathlon’s fourth fuel drain point under the rear fuselage aft of the rear seat that is easily overlooked. It is there because the gascolator is not the lowest point in the fuel system when the aircraft is parked. The plumbing to […]

Eighteen months after a serious fatigue-related close call at San Francisco Airport involving an Air Canada airliner, Canada has announced it’s tightening crew rest requirements. Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Wednesday the new regs will bring Canada in line with most other countries in applying rest requirements that vary according to the time of day […]