Flight Safety

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.

One Dead, Seven Missing After PC-12 Crash (Updated)

At least one person is dead and seven are missing following the crash of a Pilatus PC-12 off the coast of Beaufort, North Carolina, on Sunday. The aircraft went down at around 2 p.m. local time approximately 4 miles east of Drum Inlet. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the aircraft was “seen behaving erratically on […]

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FAA Ramps Up Small Drone Testing

The FAA has announced the next incremental step in putting drones into the National Airspace system with a field test of Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM.) The test will start in the next few months and will gather data on the integration of small drones operating at low altitude. “UTM includes a set of […]

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U-2 Pilot Helps GA Pilot In Distress

A GA pilot with an engine failure got some help from on high last week. The unidentified pilot lost his engine over Lake Berryessa, about 40 miles west of Sacramento, California, on Feb. 8, and he lost communication to air traffic control. But the distress call caught the attention of a U-2 Dragon Lady pilot […]

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ATC Pet Peeves

Being both a pilot and air traffic controller, I enjoy learning the dos and don’ts from both sides of the mic. We’re all human and everybody makes mistakes—yes, even controllers as I’ve observed from the pilot seat. But, I’m hoping you’ll ride along with me as I share some observations from the tower cab about […]

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Accident Probe: Course Reversal In IMC

We’ve long maintained that one of the best ways for a pilot to enhance his or her aviation risk management is to earn and use the instrument rating. This is especially true if the pilot in question has plans to use their pilot certificate for transportation on anything resembling a schedule. That’s because the skills, […]

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FAA Tells NTSB To Stay Out Of Space Crash Investigations

The FAA is telling the NTSB to mind its own business and butt out of investigating spaceflight crashes. Last month the NTSB issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adding space transportation to the list of methods of locomotion that it oversees. The commercial space industry pushed back, fearful that the new layer would curtail the […]

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FAA Urges More Stick Time For Airline, Charter Pilots

Airline and charter pilots may be in for more stick and rudder time assuming a new proposed advisory circular makes it through the 30-day comment period. The FAA has issued a draft of the AC on Flightpath Management and it includes a host of measures the agency wants operators to include in training and operations […]

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5G Issues To Linger For Years: Dickson

It would appear the chafe between 5G and aviation safety will be around for some time but FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told Congress on Thursday he expects future disruptions to be minimal. Dickson told the aviation subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that new rules on the interference resistance to 5G of […]

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Prepping For Darkness

It was well after dark when we arrived over the unfamiliar rural airport. We were descending toward that green and white airport beacon, and I thought I could see the headlights of my brother-in-law’s crew-cab pickup truck in the parking lot. “Watch this,” I said to my daughter, and I clicked the push-to-talk switch seven […]

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General Aviation Accident Bulletin

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 […]

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