Flight Safety

The FAA needs to improve oversight of BasicMed to ensure pilots who use it are actually entitled to do so, a new government report says. The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General issued a report to Congress on Friday saying the agency needs better verification of the very foundations of the program: drivers licenses […]

For the want of a good fitting cup holder, Airbus had to reengineer the center console of its new flagship A350 long-range twin (with apologies to Ben Franklin). As we reported in February, the use of the conveniently flat and accessible center console as, well, a coffee table prompted the costly diversion of at least […]

Many years ago as an instrument rated private pilot, I had the opportunity to take a mountain flying course in the Colorado High Country. Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport, known today as Northern Colorado Regional Airport, was home to a Designated Pilot Examiner who knew every mountain peak and valley south of Cheyenne. After several days […]

Just because the chances of dealing with a forced landing are relatively slim doesn’t mean we shouldn’t plan for one—on every flight, and especially on every takeoff. Flying in IMC poses an even greater risk for the complacent because there’s less time to assess what lies below. Knowing the immediate steps to take by memory […]

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg has been appointed to a second term in his position. His previous term as vice chairman began on Aug. 7, 2018, alongside a five-year appointment as an NTSB board member. According to the board, Landsberg’s priorities for his new term include “improved weather forecasts and reduction […]

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 […]

Boeing has told at least three airlines to immediately ground a total of eight Boeing 787 Dreamliners for structural defects that occurred during manufacturing. The company issued a statement late last week that said it knows the aircraft have “two distinct manufacturing issues” that “result in a condition that does not meet our design standards.” […]

The FAA has issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) telling those who have Sandia SAI-340A attitude indicators that they cannot fly them under IFR or night VFR conditions and that the instrument must not be coupled to an autopilot. The device is also sold as a BendixKing KI-300. The agency is aware of 54 units […]

Island Express Helicopters has filed a lawsuit alleging that two air traffic controllers are responsible for the crash of a company Sikorsky S-76B helicopter that killed retired NBA star Kobe Bryant and eight others last January. The cross-complaint asserts that the accident was caused by “a series of erroneous acts and/or omissions” committed by the […]

A pilot was killed on Monday in the crash of a helicopter involved in firefighting operations over Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the helicopter was a Type 1 Kaman K-MAX conducting bucket drops on the White River Fire, approximately 20 miles west of Wamic, Oregon. The identity of the […]