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.

Your Flight Review: Inexpensive Prep Tips

One would think that a fairly simple recurrent training requirement established by the FAA over 40 years ago would be a ho-hum thing by now. One would be wrong. The FAR Part 61.56 requirement to fly with an instructor biennially (every two years) and receive an endorsement of a pilot’s basic fitness for flight is […]

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FAA To Adjust Hours At 100 Control Towers

The FAA has announced plans to temporarily adjust operating hours at approximately 100 air traffic control towers nationwide due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. When choosing how to modify hours, the agency says it looked at hourly aircraft counts and safety during non-towered times, air carrier, air taxi, and special operations, the ability of the […]

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AOPA Launches New Flight Planning Tool

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) announced the launch of a new online flight planner on Wednesday. The customized version of the iFlightPlanner platform is intended to replace the AOPA’s previous online flight planning tool, which is being retired at the end of the month. iFlightPlanner features include a Google Maps interface with U.S. […]

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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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Cars Change Lanes As Cherokee Lands On Freeway

When Florent Gagné needed some air last week the last places he expected to end up were on a freeway and on the evening news. The Quebec City pilot took off for a cobweb-clearing break from self-isolation on Thursday and was over the main freeway to Montreal when the engine in his Piper Cherokee began […]

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FAA Approves Seatless Airliners For Freight

The FAA has issued guidance to airlines who want to take the seats out of idle aircraft and fill them with cargo. The drastic drop in passenger traffic has had a parallel effect on available cargo space. Some airlines were flying cargo-only flights with empty seats upstairs but the safety alert for operators (SAFO) issued […]

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U.K. GA Pilots Told To Stay Home

While pilots in many places are taking advantage of the COVID-19 downtime and getting some flying done, the U.K. is strongly suggesting that recreational pilots hang up their headsets until physical distancing measures are relaxed. The government has not prohibited recreational flying but it has suggested that those who don’t fly to provide essential services […]

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Many Superjet Crash Survivors Grabbed Bags Before Evacuating

About half the passengers who managed to escape the burning wreck of an Aeroflot Superjet 100 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport last May 5 hit the slide with their carry-on baggage, according to a video released by Russian authorities this week. The remarkable surveillance video shows the Russian-built regional airliner, one of the newest in Aeroflot’s […]

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FAA Emphasizes 48-Hour Flight Ban For Pilots Taking Chloroquine

Pilots using chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus infection (COVID-19) cannot fly while on the medication and for 48 hours after the last dose, according to guidance issued by Director of the Medical Specialties Division at the FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine Dr. Penny Giovanetti. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are typically used for prevention and treatment […]

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