Flight Safety

King Schools has announced that Sarah Tamar has been awarded this year’s Women in Aviation, International (WAI)/Martha R. King Scholarship for Female Flight Instructors. Tamar, who flies amphibious Cessna Caravans for New York seaplane service Tailwind, currently holds certificates and ratings including private pilot, instrument, seaplane and commercial. Citing experiences with her own flight instructors […]

The FAA has proposed a new rule that would require commercial hot air balloon pilots to hold second-class medical certificates when operating for hire. As the regulations stand, balloon pilots are exempt from the medical requirement under 14 CFR 61.3(c)(2)(vi). According to the agency, the change will address the directive laid out in the FAA […]

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. […]

Experimental aircraft safety continues to improve and exceed goals set by the FAA, according to EAA. The organization said in a news release last week that there were 42 fatal accidents involving experimentals in the period from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, five fewer than the FAA “not-to-exceed” number for that fiscal year. […]

The FAA plans to issue a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin and an Airworthiness Directive in coming days concerning the rollout of 5G cellular phone service in 46 major metropolitan areas of the U.S. on Dec. 5, according to Reuters. The actions are expected to limit the use of automated systems on aircraft that rely on […]

Sporty’s has released the 2022 edition of its Pilot Training platform featuring additional TV app options, new audio training segments and an interactive flight instructor portal. The new version also allows integration with AOPA’s Flight Training Advantage (AFTA) web portal- and iPad-based training application, which will let Sporty’s users connect course progress to AFTA. In […]

The FAA announced on Monday that it has seen a rise in the number of laser strikes reported by pilots for the fourth year in a row. For 2021, 7,186 laser strike reports for had been received as of Oct. 14, the highest number recorded by the agency since 2016. 6,852 laser strikes were reported […]

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 […]

The Transportation Department’s inspector general says the FAA allowed American Airlines to fly snagged and even non-airworthy aircraft without following up on whether repairs were made. According to an Associated Press report, the IG was generally critical of the performance of both the airline and the regulator in the new safety enforcement environment of safety […]