Flight Safety

Toward the end of my flight, I had the following exchange with air traffic control: Approach Control: “N1234, expect visual approach Runway 32.” Me: “Any chance we can get the ILS 32?” Approach Control: “Well, there’s always a chance …” Me: “Well, capitalizing on that chance, we’d like to request the ILS 32.” Approach Control: […]

This week, AVweb‘s news roundup found reports of a new simulator for a Florida flight school, a scholarship for aspiring pilots, the launch of a STEM working group in the U.K., an AML expansion for fuel quantity senders and international garbage handling authority earned by a Washington FBO. ALSIM has announced the sale of an […]

The Trouble With Trainers Interesting, Paul’s correlation of lack of trainer sales to the alleged “pilot shortage”. The lack of interest by producers (or former) of trainers just another indication to me how overblown the “pilot shortage” is. As far as Cessna building piston powered planes, I agree that I think they want to eventually […]

The failure of a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle on Oct. 11 was caused by abnormal separation of one of the rocket’s boosters, according to Russian space agency Roscosmos. The committee investigating the incident says the malfunctioning booster hit the vehicle’s core stage in the fuel tank area, resulting in its decompression and a loss of attitude […]

A law firm has filed a second class-action suit against the FAA based on the agency’s air traffic controller hiring practices in 2014. The lawsuit alleges that the biographical assessment added to the initial air traffic controller application process in late 2013 was used to “intentionally disadvantage [Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian, and other] applicants based on […]

Six aviation associations released a document detailing a series of communications best practices for FBOs on Wednesday. “Know Before You Go” (PDF) calls on FBOs to provide clear, complete and easily accessible online descriptions of available services, along with all associated prices and fees. The organizations, which include the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), […]

Here in Florida, September was the hottest month on record. Ever. So on Sunday, when the weather finally delivered the fall temperature break, I luxuriated in simply standing in front of the hangar for 10 minutes watching the world go by. And what went by, among others, was what I sometimes call the Cryin’ Shame. […]

The FAA is accepting comments until Dec. 21 on its proposed new ATP certification standards, which have been posted online. The standards were revised by an industry group chaired by David Oord, AOPA senior director of regulatory affairs, working with the FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee. The working group proposed the new standards, and the […]

Officials in Indonesia, where a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed into the sea on Monday, killing all 189 on board, ordered on Tuesday that all Max 8 aircraft in the country operated by commercial airlines must be inspected. It was not clear if the aircraft are grounded pending the inspections, or precisely what […]