AVweb’s Flight Safety section offers in-depth coverage of aviation safety topics, including accident analyses, risk management strategies, regulatory updates, and pilot training insights. Designed for pilots, instructors, and aviation professionals, this section provides timely information to enhance situational awareness and promote best practices in flight operations.
The Air Force has confirmed that a B-2 nuclear bomber caught fire after an emergency landing at the stealth aircraft’s home base of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on Saturday. “A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit experienced an in-flight malfunction during routine operations today and was damaged on the runway at Whiteman Air Force […]
The Mooney M20J that hit a power line tower in Maryland was well below the the approach the pilot was trying to fly, according the NTSB’s preliminary report. Although the report does not determine cause, it does describe a long list of heading and altitude errors on the approach to Montgomery County Airpark, which ultimately […]
Unusual attitude recovery is a standard part of the FAA checkride for nearly every rating, plus flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks. Pilots dutifully don a hood, put their heads down as an instructor or examiner puts the airplane through a few gyrations and then says, “You’ve got it.” The pilot looks up to see […]
Editor’s note: For our July 2021 Accident Probe, Oshkosh Or Bust, we explored an accident involving a non-instrument-rated pilot who took off into dark night IMC and crashed into an open field near the airport, killing himself and his passenger. This month’s accident is eerily similar, except both occupants were instrument-rated commercial pilots. The underlying […]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is urgently recommending that the FAA and Transport Canada require both immediate and more frequent inspections for Bell 407 helicopters. The recommendations are the result of the NTSB’s ongoing investigation into the crash of a Bell 407 that experienced an inflight separation of the tail boom during an on-demand […]
Heading into another winter season, our thoughts begin shifting to cold-weather flying hazards—fog, icing, and widespread precipitation. Most pilot training considers each of these factors individually. But most of them share a common cause, and it’s rooted in the weather patterns. Because of that, most pilots will be ahead of the game if they can […]
The NTSB has cited the absence of altitude deconfliction guidance in the collision of a P-63F and a B-17 at the Wings Over Dallas Airshow on Nov. 12. Six people were killed in the tragedy at Dallas Executive Airport. In its preliminary report, the NTSB said there were a total of eight vintage aircraft involved […]
The pilot of a Mooney that crashed into power lines and a tower in Maryland earlier this week told a 911 dispatcher that visibility was a factor in the accident. Patrick Merkle, 66, called 911 after the aircraft that carried him and passenger Janet Williams came to rest and discussed the moments before the crash […]
The FAA has published its response to the 737 MAX certification debacle in the form of a 117-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that aims to rid the system of loopholes and regulatory gaps that played a role in the tragic crashes of the aircraft shortly after it was signed off. “The FAA proposes revised […]
The death of a young copilot who fell from a jump plane in North Carolina last July was an accident, an autopsy report has ruled. The report, obtained by NBC News, says Charles Hew Crooks, 23, died from injuries resulting from his fall to a backyard in a suburb of Raleigh on July 29 and […]
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