Flight Safety

The general aviation industry has long known about the vulnerability of the engine-driven vacuum pump. This device supplies the energy to spin vacuum-driven primary flight instruments, typically the artificial horizon and directional gyro of a so-called “steam gauge” airplane. It’s an Achilles heel of an otherwise IFR-capable platform and, although conscientious pilots train for so-called […]

The FAA has launched an investigation into whether a Las Vegas helicopter charter company violated safety regulations by dropping $10,000 in cash on a soccer field during halftime promotion for the local pro team. The Skyline Helicopter Tours aircraft circled the field in the packed stadium a half-dozen times before dropping the cash over 200 […]

The FAA has formally requested the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to address the issue of declining manual flight skills among airline pilots. In a brief submitted to ICAO, the agency says pilots have become too dependent on aircraft systems and either haven’t adequately learned or have not maintained their ability to manually control their […]

The entire fleet of Boeing 737NG aircraft must be checked for potentially serious structural cracks but the inspections are easy to accomplish and will only add an hour to routine maintenance, unless cracks are found. As we reported last week, Boeing found cracks in the “pickle fork” assembly on a relatively low-time NG that it […]

My career in aviation started in 2006, when I earned my private pilot certificate flying in some of the most congested airspace in the world. Today, I fly mainly Cessnas, but over the years have logged time in Pipers, Diamonds and other aircraft types. My passion for aviation took me to the point where the […]

A World War II B-17 Flying Fortress owned by the Collings Foundation crashed at Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport (BDL) on Wednesday morning, killing seven people and injuring seven more. There were three crewmembers and ten passengers onboard the aircraft. Victims were transported to three hospitals in the area. Some have since been released. Pilot Ernest […]

Sun ‘n Fun, known for its annual fly-in at Florida’s Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL), announced on Tuesday that it has restructured its organization under the leadership of the Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE). ACE, which was introduced by Sun ‘n Fun in 2014, is a nonprofit organization that provides aerospace-based science, technology, engineering and […]

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 […]

A helicopter giving rides to fairgoers at the Bloomsburg Fair in Pennsylvania crashed Saturday night, injuring the pilot and two passengers onboard but missing everyone in the parking lot where it came down. The Enstrom 28F was close to the ground, either taking off or landing, when something went wrong and it came down on […]

As airliner seats get smaller and Americans get bigger, the FAA has decided to quantify the effect seat size (on the airplane) has on safety. Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell announced the agency will conduct 12 days of emergency evacuation testing at the end of November to see if stuffing ever growing, uh, masses into progressively […]